Title: Rise up (Acts 9:36-43)
Contents
***Introduction
Do you know what is the most important foundation of faith in the Christian faith that confesses God as Creator? It is the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both are central to the Christian faith, and both are celebrated by the Church today. The gathering to think about the cross of Jesus is the Friday prayer meeting, and the meeting to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus is the Sunday worship service. Of course, Sunday worship includes the concept of the Sabbath in the Old Testament. So, this worship we offer now includes the joy and thanksgiving of the resurrection through Jesus. The reason why I think about the resurrection even though it is not Easter is because the central axis that makes the Christian life the most vital is 'resurrection faith'.
* How are the resurrection and the resurrection faith different and why is it necessary?
After Adam, the first man, sinned, man had to live in a state where his relationship with God was cut off. The state in which the relationship with God is severed is called “spiritual death.” Due to spiritual death, man has been reduced to being a being who lives according to his animal instincts. In order for man to restore his original function, he must restore the life of his spirit. In order to restore the life of the spirit, someone must take responsibility for their sins and become a sacrifice. Because the result of sin is death. But unfortunately, because everyone has sin, he is not worthy to be sacrificed for the sins of others. That is why God had compassion on people and sent His Son Jesus into the world in the form of a human being. The fundamental purpose of Jesus' coming to this earth is to become a sin offering for people's sins. In Mark 10:45, Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” .
Jesus accomplished that purpose by dying on the cross. So, when a person believes that Jesus died for their sins, their sins are shifted to Jesus and atonement is made. This is the grace of the forgiveness of sins. The important thing here is to confess your sins. That is, I confess that Jesus died for my sins and at the same time admit my sins and ask for forgiveness. If this belief is genuine and there are no lies, then sins are forgiven immediately and the relationship with God is restored. That is, there was a change of status. From the status of a 'slave to sin', he became a 'free man freed from sin'. A free person belongs to the God who paid the ransom, and this is what makes them ‘saints’, that is, ‘children of God’. And the moment of becoming a child of God is the moment when the life of the spirit is restored, and the moment of being born again, that is, resurrection of the spirit.
Resurrection faith is a life in which a person who has restored spiritual life walks with God as a child of God, that is, a saint. The biggest characteristic of resurrection faith is a change in the value of life. The worldly values will be replaced with spiritual values centering on the will of God. As such, the life of the saints must be centered on faith in the resurrection for the spirit to grow and the fruits of various spiritual lives to be produced. In other words, the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23), the fruits of the light (Ephesians 5:9), peace, joy, satisfaction, thanksgiving, and prosperity in life are achieved.
As soon as a child is born, it is not something that eats rice and meat and runs around. It takes time for this to happen, and it is only possible through normal growth. Spiritual birth is like that. Believing in Jesus and being born again of the spirit does not make you a powerful saint. In order to become a mature member of the Church who demonstrates spiritual abilities, we must constantly grow centered on the resurrection faith in the midst of many temptations, worries, anxiety, and pain in the world. The text of this hour is good evidence to confirm these facts.
* How is the life of resurrection manifested in the life of the saints?
1) Let's understand the text first.
‘Tabitha’ in the text is a faithful disciple of Christ who lives in Joppa, a port city on the Mediterranean coast. The Bible testifies that “the works of good deeds and almsgiving were very many” that Tabitha did. In addition, in verse 39, those who had been assisted by her presented evidence. However, Tabitha fell ill and died. David's death made many people around him sad. They were the people who received a lot of help from Davida during her lifetime. In hopes of some miracle, they sent to the apostle Peter, who was staying in Lydda, for help. And they testified to Peter how faithful Tabitha was during her lifetime. Peter asked God for Tabitha's life. “Tabitha, get up.” God heard Peter's prayer and gave Tabitha's life back. Davida is alive.
This event makes a lot of sense to Christians living in modern times. We are too abstract about the resurrection. But the resurrection is the real life we must enjoy now. In John 5:24, he said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” , 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, the new has come.” Such was David's life.
2) The life of resurrection is revealed through the Word.
The Word of God is not an ornament of the saints hanging on the wall. The Word of God is a living Word that is active in our lives. Today's saints are living in the age of the flood of the Word, in which they have access to more words than ever before. Nevertheless, in the life of the saints, the power is not shown more than ever before.
Why are you so incompetent? The reason is simple. If you do not have faith in the Word, and you do not have faith, you do not put into practice the Word. The saints today do not receive the word of God as a living word. Just pass by the nice words you hear all the time. How do you know that? Because they do not put into practice the Word. Jesus said that he could not perform miracles in his hometown, so he healed only a few sick people. The reason is that they did not believe (Mark 6:4-6). This is why modern Christians are incompetent.
However, the people around Tabitha had trust in God and had faith in the Word. They put their faith into action by sending people to ask for Peter. They called Peter because they believed that God could bring Tabitha back to life. For what is it to ask for grace for the dead but to raise them up again?
When Peter knew their intentions, he let them go, pleaded with God, and God gave Tabitha's life back. This was the result of Davida's life while she was still alive, and it was a victory for the faith of the people around her. In this way, faith in the Word allows us to experience the power. The way to save today's gloomy times is to let the Word of God become active again in our hearts, where the Word of God has died.
3) The life of resurrection is manifested in the practiced life.
Tabitha melted the Word in her daily life. She said, “There was a lot of good deeds and almsgiving.” As if to prove it, the widows around her were infested with widows. This was the fruit of her life.
is an important vital element indispensable to all living things. But no matter how important it may be, if the salt is not dissolved, it cannot be flavored. And salt that is not seasoned is useless for anything.
Now let's summarize the words.
Are you sure that you have spirit life? Now, if you do believe it, let me make two things clear in order to create in me a life of power, full of peace, joy, freedom, and gratitude.
First, it is about acknowledging, believing, and confessing that God is the master of my life and life.
Second, we must accept God's Word by faith and put it into practice in our lives.
As we practice these two things, our spiritual and physical life will arise.
Will you promise to make these two things clear?
If you promise, we will pray together now. Please join us with Amen when we pray.