WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.459 Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Giant Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:06.459 --> 00:00:12.419 and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:16.940 We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we are trying to fill seats, 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:23.160 although it seems that we've done that this morning, but because we are following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:29.359 And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good that they don't need God's grace 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:37.480 and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:44.019 We're taking a break this morning from our series in the book of Daniel as part of our celebration for Easter, 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:48.879 and instead we're turning to Ephesians chapter 2. Now, if you've been with us over the last several years, 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:55.239 you know the last couple years on Easter we've been in the chapter, the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:01.859 And we have been looking in that chapter primarily about what we gain from the resurrection in the future. 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:08.280 So, for example, last year we talked about our future hope of the resurrection bodies that we will one day have. 00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:15.260 As we looked at the crisis of the coronavirus around us, we had hope knowing that God would remake and restore us one day. 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:20.939 This morning, though, I want us to think primarily not about our future hope, 00:01:21.380 --> 00:01:25.859 but what it is that the resurrection gives us here right now, 00:01:25.980 --> 00:01:31.460 the present power that we have access to because Jesus has risen from the dead. 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:37.880 Hope changes our perspective. It does not always change our circumstances. 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:47.579 Power, however, does. Power changes us right now. It changes things here and now. 00:01:47.659 --> 00:01:54.659 And so it's with that question, what's the power that we have? How does it affect us here today, April 4th, 2021? 00:01:55.640 --> 00:02:00.019 As Christians living in this world, I'm going to invite you to turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2. 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:06.280 You can turn there in your worship guide. You can turn there on your phone, or you can turn there in your Bible. 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:10.340 And as we come to this, we're going to be taking a special focus. 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:12.599 By the way, I'm not going to cover everything in verses 1 through 8. 00:02:12.640 --> 00:02:16.080 Our special focus is going to be on verses 5 and 6. 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.139 And so as you turn there, remember that this is God's word. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:24.560 And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold, 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:29.879 and that it is sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:34.680 And so it's for that reason that we read now Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 1. 00:02:34.680 --> 00:03:02.300 Verse 4. 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:32.280 Verse 5. 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:33.919 You have been saved through faith. 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:35.879 And this is not your own doing. 00:03:36.419 --> 00:03:38.120 It is the gift of God. 00:03:39.420 --> 00:03:42.560 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:03:44.139 --> 00:03:49.599 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, has risen from the dead. 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:53.520 And we thank you that we can gather together this morning to celebrate that. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:07.100 We ask that you would use your word to speak to us this morning, that we would be able to see clearly Jesus Christ and his beauty and his glory and the power that he gives us, 00:04:07.160 --> 00:04:12.660 those who believe in him even now, from his resurrection as we live life in this world. 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:21.040 We thank you that we don't need to earn or deserve what we've asked you for, but instead we ask it in the mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:21.699 Amen. 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:21.839 Amen. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:31.979 Those of you who know my story know that I was raised by two economists. 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:43.040 My parents met and married in graduate school for economics, which means there were lots of lessons in my family growing up about money, lots of conversations about money. 00:04:43.520 --> 00:04:46.980 And there was one time as I was growing up that we showed up. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.460 We were probably, I think, in elementary school at the time. 00:04:49.540 --> 00:04:51.680 My brothers and I, there's three of us, were very close in age. 00:04:52.460 --> 00:04:58.920 We showed up to the dinner table, and at each of our seats, there was a $20 bill sitting next to the plate. 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.480 Now, we didn't know what this was about. 00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:06.400 I think my mom asked my dad, why are there $20 bills next to our children's plates? 00:05:07.480 --> 00:05:15.319 My dad explained, this was one of his lessons about money, that he, in his work, had received a bonus. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:22.319 And so he had decided each of his sons, each of his children, were also going to receive a bonus. 00:05:22.460 --> 00:05:24.860 He was going to give us a portion of what he had been given. 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:27.560 He had gone out, he'd earned this for the family. 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:34.680 He was going to give each of his children 1% to teach us a lesson about life, about the world. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.240 One of the main lessons, of course, is that there's blessings for the whole family. 00:05:38.339 --> 00:05:42.180 As members of the family, we as sons took part in it. 00:05:42.740 --> 00:05:45.459 We received some of the blessing. 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:49.879 Now, it should go without saying that my brothers and I had contributed in no way. 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:50.920 My father's an economist. 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:54.259 We were not, in our elementary school years, econometricians, nor are we now. 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:56.259 We did not measure or manage risk. 00:05:56.300 --> 00:05:57.939 We did not lead teams of mathematicians. 00:05:58.039 --> 00:06:00.779 We did not write journal articles about the housing market. 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:05.579 We had nothing to do with my dad's bonus. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:10.519 In fact, had he not had us, perhaps he would have had more time and he'd be able to do a better job. 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:20.240 And so, receiving that was not based on anything we had done, but only and solely by virtue of our relationship with him. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:30.160 As we come to this passage, it is important for us to understand spiritually the concept that my dad was teaching us in that moment. 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:36.660 That we, Paul is telling us in this letter, are united to Christ, is what it's called. 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:38.319 We have union with Christ. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:46.000 We are connected with him, which means that if we're Christians, what's true of Jesus is true of us. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:07:01.540 Jesus Christ has earned something for us by his work in his death and resurrection. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:08.199 And so, because of and only because of our relationship with him, we also take part in that. 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:14.019 That is the foundation here for everything that Paul is going to tell us. 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:17.279 By the way, it's important also to note that this was not an inheritance. 00:07:18.779 --> 00:07:22.139 My father was giving it to us there in that moment, right? 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:23.099 He was still alive. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:27.659 We, as Christians, look forward to a great inheritance. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:33.180 Remember, in 1 Peter 1, we talked about the fact that it can't be affected by anything in this world. 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:37.319 And so, there is something in the future that we want and long for and look forward to. 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:42.680 And there is also present power that God gives us now. 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:45.079 There is a present reality. 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:53.420 There is a portion that we take part of that he has earned for us through his resurrection that we have access to now. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:55.699 We have an inheritance that we look forward to. 00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:59.500 We also have a benefit that we experience now. 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:05.339 What was true of my father was true for us. 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:07.040 He did the work. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:08.459 We receive the benefit. 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:11.879 What is true of Jesus is true of us. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:13.379 He does the work. 00:08:13.819 --> 00:08:15.860 We receive the benefit. 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:24.680 And so, this morning, we are going to look specifically at two benefits that we receive from Christ because of his resurrection. 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:29.519 Things that we have access to right now that we do not have to look forward to. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:33.440 First of all, we're going to look at the benefit that we have of being raised with Christ. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:35.440 This is in verses 5 through 6. 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:39.680 And we're going to look at the benefit that we have with being seated with Christ. 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:42.700 We have benefits because we've been raised with Christ. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.419 And we have benefits because we have been seated with Christ. 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.259 First, we've been raised with Christ. 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:55.519 Paul begins to tell us about our condition before Jesus called us. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:57.139 Tells us in verses 1 through 3. 00:08:57.220 --> 00:09:03.120 By the way, the overarching theme of this entire passage that we've read is going from death to life. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.460 The main verb here shows up in verse 5. 00:09:08.539 --> 00:09:10.279 He made us alive together with Christ. 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:13.159 The point of this passage is that God made us alive. 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:18.939 And so the introduction in verses 1 through 3 is explaining the type of death that we experienced before that. 00:09:19.300 --> 00:09:21.300 We were under the control of the world. 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.280 We followed our appetites. 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.640 We were under the dominion of Satan. 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:28.860 We were controlled by the world. 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:31.020 We followed our appetites. 00:09:31.280 --> 00:09:33.380 We were ruled by Satan. 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:35.940 In other words, we were dead. 00:09:36.140 --> 00:09:41.040 This is often what people talk about as the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. 00:09:42.380 --> 00:09:43.460 That's our condition. 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:48.800 Unable, incapable of doing or wanting anything truly good. 00:09:49.780 --> 00:09:56.360 And so it's with that background that we learn in verses 5 and 6 that we have been raised with Christ. 00:09:57.260 --> 00:09:59.200 We've been made alive with him. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:03.680 In other words, what happens to us is not simply a transaction. 00:10:04.180 --> 00:10:06.040 Now, there is a transaction involved, right? 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:08.780 Jesus pays the penalty for our sins. 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:12.180 We receive the credit of his righteousness. 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:13.819 So there is a transaction. 00:10:14.139 --> 00:10:16.159 It's just not only a transaction. 00:10:16.359 --> 00:10:18.199 It's also a transformation. 00:10:19.319 --> 00:10:20.819 It's not just a transaction. 00:10:21.019 --> 00:10:22.379 It's also a transformation. 00:10:22.839 --> 00:10:27.679 Being raised to life means we are actually and truly changed as people. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:30.279 I want you to think about it in this way. 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:32.919 You know that I was gone a couple weeks ago. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:36.379 I was in North Carolina at the beach with my parents and my grandmother. 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:40.079 And we would have family dinner together every night. 00:10:40.139 --> 00:10:41.039 We'd often have a salad. 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:45.240 And there was one salad that we had that had a controversial ingredient in it. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:46.559 It had cilantro. 00:10:48.079 --> 00:10:51.579 And so we kept the cilantro in a separate container. 00:10:52.079 --> 00:10:52.559 Why? 00:10:53.899 --> 00:10:56.199 Because there are two kinds of people in this world. 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:02.120 There are people who love cilantro and people who hate cilantro. 00:11:02.680 --> 00:11:06.120 And as fate would have it, my grandmother hates cilantro. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.600 And if you're someone who hates cilantro, you know that it has this soapy taste. 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:12.720 Now, I can only describe, I actually love cilantro. 00:11:12.800 --> 00:11:13.200 I don't know. 00:11:13.280 --> 00:11:14.879 I mean, I can imagine what soap tastes like. 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:20.540 And the problem, the great problem with people who don't love cilantro is this. 00:11:21.540 --> 00:11:24.100 You cannot learn to love cilantro. 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:26.840 It's genetic. 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:32.720 People who don't love cilantro, there's something in their genes that causes it to taste soapy. 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:37.000 And so they cannot stir up a love of cilantro within themselves. 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:40.200 They are constitutionally opposed to cilantro. 00:11:40.680 --> 00:11:45.700 They would have to modify their own genetic makeup to be able to change. 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:49.420 Some tastes are developed, right? 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:52.540 You can develop a taste for coffee. 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:55.539 You can develop a taste for certain kinds of beer. 00:11:56.059 --> 00:11:58.019 Kids, you can develop a taste for vegetables. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:00.959 Amen. 00:12:01.819 --> 00:12:03.639 Some tastes are fixed. 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.779 You cannot develop a taste for cilantro. 00:12:09.139 --> 00:12:09.439 Okay? 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:13.439 You need a change in your constitution. 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:15.799 You need a change at the genetic level. 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:21.559 And so, my grandmother, I can welcome her and invite her to love cilantro as much as possible. 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:24.439 I can encourage her and urge her. 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:27.819 And she is incapable. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:30.559 She is dead to cilantro. 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:36.139 She needs a radical change from the outside. 00:12:37.579 --> 00:12:45.299 What we find out here when we're told that God has raised us with Christ means that he has not just paid the penalty for our sins. 00:12:45.439 --> 00:12:48.579 He has changed us at a constitutional level. 00:12:49.579 --> 00:12:53.239 He has radically changed our tastes. 00:12:53.240 --> 00:13:00.360 Things that we were incapable of tasting as sweet before are sweet to us now. 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:03.460 We have new and real life. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:05.519 God has changed our hearts. 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:07.960 Something that we could not change ourselves. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:12.480 God makes us able to love what is good. 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:19.300 He makes us able to love and choose what is right for the right reasons. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.820 That is what it means to be raised with Christ. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.220 We are given life. 00:13:23.560 --> 00:13:28.180 We have that power because of Jesus' resurrection, not just in the future, but now. 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:33.960 That is part of the benefit that we receive from Christ. 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:42.639 God has transformed you and he is transforming you into the image of his son. 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:44.759 That is the power of resurrection at work. 00:13:45.060 --> 00:13:53.580 Paul tells us in the previous chapter, in Ephesians chapter 1, that the power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that is at work in us. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:56.600 We have resurrection power now. 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.400 You might think to yourself, cilantro is gross, right? 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:04.459 Why would anyone eat that? 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.699 The same is true for many of us before we became Christians. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.360 What those people do sounds terrible. 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:15.279 Why would you do that? 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:17.179 Why would you live in that way? 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:18.939 Why would you embrace those things? 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:25.679 And some of you have had the experience of becoming Christians and you realize, oh, now what used to be bitter for me now tastes sweet. 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:30.000 God has not just saved me, he has changed me. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.559 He has raised me with Christ. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:40.279 And so as Christians, we have new tastes. 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:42.200 If you're not a Christian, maybe you're still confused. 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:48.419 Maybe you still wonder why it is that Christians do the things that they do and love the things that they love. 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:50.699 And the simple answer is this. 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:51.779 We've been raised with Christ. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.879 There is a new power at work in our lives. 00:14:55.959 --> 00:15:00.360 We have been changed constitutionally at our very core. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:02.479 We have a new heart. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.159 And so what it means for us is this. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:09.399 That special power is at work for us who believe even now. 00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:20.720 As you are hurt by friends and family and coworkers, you have the ability to reconcile rather than choosing bitterness and resentment. 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:21.220 Why? 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:24.420 Because you have a new taste and a new power. 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:28.819 Some of us in this room have trouble getting along. 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:31.379 We have very different personalities. 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:40.639 And we have chosen to walk together in this community, bearing with one another in love. 00:15:40.699 --> 00:15:40.959 Why? 00:15:41.699 --> 00:15:43.679 Because we have new tastes and a new power. 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:48.899 Some of us are willing to lose money rather than to lose our integrity. 00:15:49.219 --> 00:15:49.459 Why? 00:15:50.239 --> 00:15:52.319 Because we have new tastes and a new power. 00:15:52.419 --> 00:15:53.939 We have been raised with Christ. 00:15:54.519 --> 00:16:01.679 Some of us are willing to admit we were wrong as painful as it is because we have a new taste and a new ability. 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:12.740 Some of us are willing to choose to overlook an offense rather than to keep a tally list of wrongs and hurts because we have a new taste and a new ability. 00:16:14.339 --> 00:16:24.979 Some of us are willing to spend money on others and for the community, not just our own pleasures as spenders or on our security as savers because we have a new taste and a new power. 00:16:25.699 --> 00:16:27.979 We have been raised with Christ. 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:34.299 Some of us, this one's a big one today, some of us are willing to keep the commitments we make. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:36.459 We keep the promises we make. 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:38.579 The psalmist says this in Psalm 15 verse 4, 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:41.919 The righteous man swears to his own hurt and does not change. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:46.539 He keeps his promise because he has new tastes and a new ability. 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:59.279 We're willing to enter into the power of community and confess our need as we journey away from all sorts of addictions because we have new tastes and a new ability. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:06.399 Today, we have that power right now. 00:17:06.399 --> 00:17:15.680 As we gather together this morning and this afternoon, as families and communities, we celebrate freedom from bondage. 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:21.240 Christian, you have been raised with Christ. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:26.440 And you experience that right now. 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:39.420 Now, it's not just that we have a new power. 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:43.880 There's also a special presence at work. 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:48.660 We're told that we've not just been raised with Christ, but we're also seated with him. 00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:51.140 And so now we get to talk about a very confusing verse. 00:17:51.140 --> 00:17:56.980 Verse 5, we're told that he seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:01.860 Now, this strikes us as strange because you're not seated right now in the heavenly places. 00:18:01.860 --> 00:18:05.180 You're actually seated on a church chair in Colorado Springs. 00:18:08.100 --> 00:18:11.520 And so what does it mean that we're seated with Christ in the heavenly places? 00:18:11.620 --> 00:18:14.620 Well, first we have to understand what the heavenly places are. 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:17.720 And one man explains it this way. 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:24.360 The heavenly places is the place where God especially manifests his presence and his glory. 00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:29.460 The place in which the Lord Jesus Christ in his glorified body now dwells. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:32.440 In other words, Jesus is still a man. 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:33.240 He still has a body. 00:18:34.360 --> 00:18:39.259 Where Jesus in his physical body is, wherever that is, that's the heavenly places. 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:44.299 And in that place, there's a special presence and power of God. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:46.980 Can we talk about heaven? 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:48.900 And that's part of the concept that we're talking about. 00:18:49.860 --> 00:18:53.759 The same man says this, the place in which the glory and presence of God are manifested 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:56.339 in this marvelous and wonderful manner. 00:18:56.579 --> 00:18:57.920 So we know what the heavenlies are. 00:18:58.120 --> 00:19:02.420 The heavenlies, the heavenly places where we're seated, that's wherever Jesus is seated. 00:19:03.539 --> 00:19:05.880 Do you know where Jesus' physical body is right now? 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:08.120 Well, then you know where the heavenly places are. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:10.400 Okay, we don't know exactly where that is. 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.900 We know physically we're not seated with Jesus. 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:16.120 Jesus in his physical body is not right here sitting next to you. 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:46.980 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:47.500 Unfinished. 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:51.299 So we experience in part what we will one day experience in full. 00:19:52.360 --> 00:19:58.420 And as you think about what it means to be seated with Christ, I want you to just think of one simple principle, and it's this. 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:01.299 Location matters. 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:04.940 Location matters. 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:06.759 This is what any real estate agent would tell you. 00:20:07.840 --> 00:20:13.059 So a couple summers ago, before COVID, summer of 2019, I had a zoo membership. 00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:22.359 And so that meant I had access to evenings at the zoo, which, you know, during the summer, you're able to go after hours, only if you're a member, and experience the zoo at night. 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:30.479 And so when I was there at night, I was there with a friend, and we were there at the right time for the lion feeding. 00:20:31.399 --> 00:20:37.839 If you're familiar with the lion feeding, you know they have these big hunks of meat that they wrap up in some kind of parchment paper or butcher paper, 00:20:37.979 --> 00:20:42.279 and they have these zookeepers who throw these huge bags of meat where the lions are. 00:20:42.819 --> 00:20:46.959 You watch the lions run in, and they devour it, you know, and, like, they don't even chew. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.900 You just kind of watch the meat go in their mouth and, like, through their necks. 00:20:52.340 --> 00:21:00.960 And you think, or at least I would think, well, I wonder what would happen to me if I fell into the lions area. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.740 It probably would not go well. 00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:06.059 However, here's the good news. 00:21:07.059 --> 00:21:10.299 The lions, if you're familiar with the zoo, are down in the African Rift Valley. 00:21:11.340 --> 00:21:12.100 Where was I? 00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:15.240 I was hanging out with the elephants and the meerkats. 00:21:15.240 --> 00:21:17.799 Which means I was up high. 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:20.980 One might even say I was in the heavenly places. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:21.839 Okay? 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:28.579 I was looking down on the lions from, not the African Rift Valley, I was in Encounter Africa. 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:30.120 That's what that section of the zoo is called. 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:33.539 Are the lions dangerous? 00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:37.960 Yes, the lions are dangerous. 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:39.180 They're very dangerous. 00:21:40.099 --> 00:21:41.960 Do I need to fear them? 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:45.539 Why do I not need to fear them? 00:21:46.860 --> 00:21:48.319 Because location matters. 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.340 Location matters a lot. 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:54.620 Okay, I was up high in Encounter Africa. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:57.900 Now, even if I was down below, there would be glass between me and the lions. 00:21:57.980 --> 00:21:59.259 I would be safe, right? 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:01.160 Am I in the zoo? 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:01.560 Yes. 00:22:01.560 --> 00:22:01.960 Yes. 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:02.440 Yes. 00:22:03.560 --> 00:22:06.500 And I'm in a different domain and sphere. 00:22:07.580 --> 00:22:12.460 The lions are present there with me now, but I belong to a different world. 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:15.680 There is a limit to who and what can touch me. 00:22:16.100 --> 00:22:19.380 These lions cannot separate me from my life. 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:21.780 They're there. 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:23.360 We're both in the zoo together. 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:26.480 And I belong to a different sphere. 00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:31.480 My location is different than the location of the lions. 00:22:32.800 --> 00:22:39.100 Brothers and sisters, what's true physically in that illustration is true of us spiritually right now. 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:40.120 Location matters. 00:22:40.260 --> 00:22:42.800 Ephesians chapter 1 talks about Jesus being seated. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:48.619 And when it says he's seated, it talks about the fact that he has authority over all dominion and powers. 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:50.859 Are you in this world? 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:51.379 Yes. 00:22:51.919 --> 00:22:55.859 Is this world a dangerous place filled with evil and its powers? 00:22:57.059 --> 00:22:57.539 Yes. 00:22:57.879 --> 00:22:59.399 Do you need to be afraid? 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:01.339 No. 00:23:01.659 --> 00:23:02.019 Why? 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:04.180 Because location matters. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:06.980 You have been seated with Christ. 00:23:06.980 --> 00:23:18.440 In other words, there are incredible, powerful, evil forces in this world, and they are restrained. 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:22.599 There is a limit to who and what can touch you. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:32.620 Those forces cannot separate you from your life in Christ because you have been seated with him in the heavenly places. 00:23:32.619 --> 00:23:36.979 You are seated right now. 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:44.539 And so there's a limit and a control on how much evil can touch you. 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:52.679 Now, when I'm at the zoo, I trust not in myself, right, even if I'm down in the African Rift Valley. 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:55.239 I trust in the power of the glass. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:24:01.200 We trust not in our own power as we look out at the forces of evil in this world. 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:04.059 We trust in the power of our mighty God. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:09.539 And we know that he is in a safe place. 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:13.140 So it is with you, Christian. 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:17.960 You have safety now. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:22.380 There are many evil and terrible things in this world. 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:25.240 They cannot separate you from God. 00:24:26.760 --> 00:24:30.840 And they cannot do it because you've been raised with him and you've been seated with him. 00:24:33.200 --> 00:24:35.440 James chapter 4, verse 7 says this, 00:24:35.520 --> 00:24:36.880 Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. 00:24:37.060 --> 00:24:38.800 Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 00:24:38.840 --> 00:24:40.380 Now, that's a pretty amazing statement, right? 00:24:41.060 --> 00:24:46.020 If I got thrown into the lion's den, do you think that if I resisted them, they would flee from me? 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:49.580 No. 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:52.699 But that's true of the devil. 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:56.179 If I resist him, if you resist him, he'll flee from you. 00:24:57.159 --> 00:25:00.839 Because you are seated in the heavenly places. 00:25:03.919 --> 00:25:07.579 One pastor says this, speaking of the devil in this verse, 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:25.919 Christian, Satan can shout at you and he can entice you. 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:28.000 He cannot touch you. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:33.980 And he cannot touch you because you've been raised with Christ and you're seated with him in the heavenly places. 00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:36.019 And that is true because of Jesus' resurrection. 00:25:37.099 --> 00:25:39.339 There are real evil spiritual forces in this world. 00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:43.120 They cannot conquer you and you do not need to fear for your life. 00:25:43.940 --> 00:25:45.880 You are not removed from this world. 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:49.339 But there are limits and boundaries to the scope of evil. 00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:52.419 Because Jesus has risen from the dead. 00:25:54.879 --> 00:26:00.379 We know whatever forces we see, they cannot destroy our souls. 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:02.079 We are safe. 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:06.240 And we're safe because we're seated with Christ. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:15.240 And so as you celebrate Easter today, now and later today, as you eat and drink and have conversation with those you love, 00:26:15.620 --> 00:26:21.160 as you do those things, you are at the same time seated with Christ in the heavenly places. 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:25.799 That is true of you, not just in the future, but now. 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:35.339 As you live in an evil world, you can sleep tonight because you know that Jesus is seated on his throne and you are seated with him. 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:37.839 You've been raised with him. 00:26:38.399 --> 00:26:40.759 You're seated with him in the heavenly places. 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:47.139 Jesus gives that to you now through his resurrection power. 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:55.320 You have that access now as we wait for many things to be full in the future. 00:26:59.780 --> 00:27:04.500 Now you may have noticed earlier in my story about my father giving us each $20, 00:27:05.080 --> 00:27:11.000 that there were only $20 at three plates because my father only had three sons. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:17.539 When it came to my father's bonus, there were only two kinds of people in the world. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:24.359 There were the true sons of Charles A. Capone Jr. and those who were not the true sons. 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:28.480 The same is true of this passage. 00:27:28.660 --> 00:27:33.619 There are only two statuses, only two kinds of people that we're told about. 00:27:33.619 --> 00:27:43.959 There are, verse 3, the children of wrath, and then what Paul refers to as us, those who have been raised. 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:45.819 There are either those who are dead. 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:50.219 Remember, those who are dead are controlled by the world. 00:27:50.419 --> 00:27:52.639 They follow their appetites and they're ruled by the devil. 00:27:53.419 --> 00:27:57.279 Or there are those who are alive, those who've been raised by Christ and are seated with him. 00:27:57.439 --> 00:27:58.899 There is no third option. 00:27:58.900 --> 00:28:05.100 As we discussed in our confession of faith, there is a coming day of judgment. 00:28:06.040 --> 00:28:10.200 God is going to come and he's going to make clear who fits into which category. 00:28:10.360 --> 00:28:13.900 Who are the sons of wrath and who are the true sons and daughters. 00:28:14.620 --> 00:28:16.519 Hell is a real place. 00:28:17.060 --> 00:28:18.040 People are going there. 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:21.080 That is where the sons of wrath are going. 00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:24.280 Heaven is a real place. 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:25.900 People are going there. 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:30.620 That is where the people who have been raised with Christ and seated with him will be one day. 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:33.880 And so the question is simple for us. 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:35.980 Are you dead or are you alive? 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:39.980 Are you dead or are you alive? 00:28:40.580 --> 00:28:44.320 If you have not been raised with Christ and seated with him, you are dead. 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.420 You are dead now. 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:50.400 You are incapable of doing what's right and loving what's right. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:56.340 In the same way that my grandmother is incapable of loving cilantro, you'll be dead in the future as well. 00:28:56.460 --> 00:29:01.300 You will face God's eternal wrath and his judgment unending in fire. 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:07.879 And so the call is for everyone to determine whether they are people of life or death. 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:08.700 The call is for you. 00:29:08.779 --> 00:29:18.440 If you are not someone who has faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who believes that you have been raised with him because you have repented of your sins and you have accepted his offer of salvation, 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:21.639 then the time to make that decision is now. 00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:25.019 The time to repent and turn from your sins is now. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:28.599 You are either dead or alive. 00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:29.919 There's no sort of dead. 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:32.820 There's no sort of alive in the Christian life. 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:41.120 And so if that is not you, if you are not alive, but you know that you are dead, the challenge to repent is now. 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:42.740 You can talk to me about this afterwards. 00:29:42.820 --> 00:29:43.480 You can talk to our elders. 00:29:43.560 --> 00:29:44.920 You can talk to people who are sitting next to you. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:46.519 There are many people around here. 00:29:46.980 --> 00:29:47.920 Watch who takes communion. 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:52.779 Those who take communion are saying, I was dead and now I'm alive. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:57.300 I have no hope except being raised with Christ and seated in the heavenly places. 00:29:57.299 --> 00:30:06.139 And so resurrection matters for you now, Christian, and it matters for all of us in the future. 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:20.400 These things that Paul tells us about are actually answers to something that Jesus himself, our Lord, prayed for before he died. 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:25.340 And he prayed for them in John chapter 17, verses 14 through 19. 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:26.919 Jesus says this. 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:28.079 He's praying to his father. 00:30:28.879 --> 00:30:34.839 I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:40.299 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 00:30:40.299 --> 00:30:47.579 Remember, we are in this world, but we belong to a different domain, a different realm, a different sphere. 00:30:47.879 --> 00:30:49.379 We're not removed from the world. 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:54.639 We're protected from the evil one because we're seated with him in the heavenly places. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:59.579 Verse 16, they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:03.159 Verse 17, sanctify them in the truth. 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:04.079 Your word is truth. 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:05.779 In other words, we're being raised. 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:06.599 We're changed. 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:12.000 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:18.559 And for their sake, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth. 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:28.740 Brothers and sisters, we have present tense benefits that we experience now because Jesus has risen from the dead. 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:32.219 We have been raised with Christ. 00:31:32.339 --> 00:31:33.259 We have a new power. 00:31:33.259 --> 00:31:37.559 And so he has broken the power of evil inside of us. 00:31:38.059 --> 00:31:40.599 We have also been seated with Christ. 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:45.259 And so we are safe from the evil outside of us. 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:51.819 And we have both of these things now because we belong to Christ and he belongs to us. 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:56.900 By virtue of our union, what he has earned, he gives to us as our blessings. 00:31:56.900 --> 00:32:03.880 And he does it because of his son and our savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead. 00:32:04.560 --> 00:32:05.220 Let's pray. 00:32:06.740 --> 00:32:13.400 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we enjoy the benefits of being your sons and daughters now. 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:20.880 And we ask that you would encourage us with that today, that we would be able to celebrate the new power that you've given us. 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:25.700 And we would take courage and confidence from the protection that you have for us. 00:32:26.360 --> 00:32:33.840 We ask these things, not having earned them or deserved them, but we ask them in the mighty name of your son, who has risen from the dead, Jesus Christ. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:34.460 Amen.