2 Cor 5_17_21 SEPT 18 22 SERMON
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2 Cor. 5:17-21 “A Fresh Word”
Intro: I woke up Wednesday morning in a great funk. The pressures and stresses of life engulfed me. The long hours of burning my candle both ends and the middle had caught up with me. I found myself in need of a great word and prayed for a fresh word from God to renew me and bring joy to my life. It wasn’t long before God breathed and reminded me of how blessed I am in Him.
CPS: Today I want to meditate and rejoice over what Jesus has done for me and hopefully what He has done for you!
He Reconciled Me
Our text opens with the conjunction “therefore,” then followed by the phrase “if any man be in Christ.” Whenever we see the conjunction “therefore” we must always ask ourselves what it is there for? This conjunction returns us to vs. 15 telling us that those who are in Him no longer know Jesus according to flesh, now we know Him according to faith; thus we are in Him.
Once I lived a life according to the flesh, I was a lost and rebellious sinner who was at odds with God. I was hostile towards Him and was His enemy. There was a great divide that kept me from the God who created me. Yet in all my rebellion He loved me and proved it while I was still a sinner Christ died for me. In His sacrifice He extended reconciliation and righteousness to me through the blessed Gospel message.
Reconciliation
From birth all people are estranged from the God who loves them and stands in need of reconciliation. The word reconciliation literally means to be restored to one whom you have been estranged from. In this context it means that those who come to Jesus through faith is restored to the family of God. I was once cut off from God’s family but now I have received son ship having come home to the Father whose arms were ready to receive me through Jesus Christ my Lord.
ILL: It’s horrible for a child to be cut off from their family. Deep within the child desperately desires his parents embrace and the parents deeply long to hold their child in their arms. I recall the story of Jessica McClure, “Baby Jessica” as the world knows her. It was Oct. 14, 1987, the 18 month old girl fell 22 foot down a well located in her yard in Midland Texas. For 56 hours rescue works worked to free her from entrapment as the world watched. Workers drilled a shaft alongside the well then cut through the rock and 8 inch well casing using a water jet. When the workers got close they could hear baby Jessica though she was pinned in the well with one foot stuck above her forehead, singing Winnie the Pooh. Ten hours later Paramedic Robert O’Donnell inched his way through the shaft releasing baby Jessica and delivering her to her family and the waiting ambulance where she was taken to the Hospital.
Like those rescue workers who rescued baby Jessica and returned her to her parents, Jesus rescued me on Calvary’s Cross and by faith placed me in the loving arms of the Father. I can only imagine the wonderful reunion that took place at the McClure’s home but that was nothing compared to the wonderful celebration in heaven when one of God’s children is returned.
Righteousness
Along with being restored to the family of God comes right standing (righteousness). The Bible tells us that all have sin and fallen short of the glory of God. Glory means splendor, in the context of human experience this is the idea of being separated from God’s personal presence. Only the righteous can stand in the presence of God. But the sacrifice of Jesus took care of that as “ He made Him who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Jesus knew no sin, Knew means to have familiarity through personal experience. Jesus did not know sin because He is the only perfect righteousness of God. Though He never sinned God made Him become our sin for our sake! Jesus took my place on the cross, imputing His righteousness to me and taking my sin as His own!
ILL: In Matt. 27:16,17 we see the murderous revolutionary Barabbas, released by Pilate and the righteous Jesus condemned to death. He is the only man in the world who could say that Jesus took his physical place at Calvary. But by grace through faith I can say that Jesus took my spiritual place, for it was I who deserved to die. I deserved the wrath of God poured out on me. I deserved eternal punishment. But Jesus was delivered up for my offenses. He was handed over to judgment for my sins. JESUS WAS MY SUBSTITUTE! I deserved hell; but Jesus took my hell and now there is nothing left for me but His heaven!
Jesus became what He was not that I might become what I was not! Jesus reconciled me and made right at His own expense! How blessed I am!
He Recreated Me
Once I was a bag of death encased by living flesh, I was dead in my trespasses and sin. I did only the things that carnal flesh led me to do. I was a slave to sin and trapped upon its salve market. I was not a child of God but a child of the devil as is everyone who has not been born again. But the Bible tells me that in an instance, when grace touched my heart and faith flooded my soul that I was no longer who I once was.
The apostle tells us that whoever is in Christ Jesus is a new creature. Creature means what has been created and Creation is exclusively God’s work! Verse 18 tells us “that all these things are from God.” God once created me in His image but sinned marred that creation. But, by grace through faith in Jesus I have now been recreated in the likeness of Jesus to display His love and holiness. The things I once desired to do are not the things I now do. The sinful pleasures I once desired are no longer the deepest desire of my heart. The places I use to go are no longer where I go and the people of sin that I once enjoyed are no longer who I enjoy. God has put His mark on me and I have ceased to be who I was once.
The apostle tells us that “the old things have passed.” Old Things means ancient. This is the idea of the original. The original man has passed away (parerchomai) or ceased to be.
Romans 6:6 tells us “that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin”
ILL: When Augustine was still without God and without hope, the Holy Spirit convicted him on the basis of Paul’s words in Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Augustine acknowledged his sinfulness, accepted Jesus as his Savior, and became a different person. His entire outlook on life began to change because of his new nature. One day he had to attend to some business in his old haunts in Rome. As he walked along, a former companion saw him and began calling, “Augustine, Augustine, it is I!” He took one look at the poor, disreputable woman whose company he had once enjoyed, and he shuddered. Reminding himself of his new position in Christ, he quickly turned and ran from her, shouting, “It’s not I! It’s not I!”
Augustine had found the secret of Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Jesus recreated me in His likeness! How blessed I am!
He Repurposed Me
I once had a purpose, it was destruction. Had I died in my sin I would have spent eternity in death in the fiery pit of hell. But Jesus blessed me and by grace through faith He gave me a new and glorious purpose. It is to invite mankind to receive the good news that the Just God of heaven and earth will Pardon their sins if they will only receive His invitation and come to Him.
The apostle tells us (19) He “committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” Who? Us the believer (not preacher)! The apostle goes on to say that Jesus made each of us His ambassador (representative or spokes person) that through us Jesus makes His appeal to the world inviting mankind to receive a pardon for their sins!
He put in my (our) hand the Pardon for the sins of the world.
ILL: During the revolutionary war there a pastor by the name of Peter Miller who lived in Ephrata Pennsylvania. Miller was greatly loved by everyone in the community, but there was one man who lived near the church who hated him and had earned a distasteful reputation for his abuse of the minister. This man was not only a hater of the church, but also turned out to be a traitor to his country and was convicted of treason and sentenced to death.
The trial was conducted in Philadelphia, and no sooner did Miller hear of it than he set out on foot to visit General George Washington and interceded for the man’s life. But Washington told him, “I’m sorry that I cannot grant your request for your friend.” Friend! Miller cried. “Why that man is the worst enemy I have in the world!” “What?” the general exclaimed in surprise. “Have you walked sixty miles to save the life of an enemy? That in my judgment, puts the matter in a different light. I will grant him a pardon for your sake.”
The pardon was made out and signed by General Washington, and Miller proceeded at once on foot to a place fifteen miles distant where the execution was scheduled to take place that afternoon. He arrived just as the man was being carried to the scaffold, and when he saw Miller hurrying toward the place, remarked. “There is old Peter Miller. He has walked all the way from Ephrata to have his revenge gratified today by seeing me hung” but scarcely spoken the words when Miller pushed his way through to the condemned man and handed him the pardon that saved his life.
As Peter Miller interceded for someone who had wronged him and hated Him, Jesus intercedes for those who hated Him and brought a pardon made out and signed with His blood. As Peter Miller carried this message of the man’s pardon we carry the message of Jesus’ pardon.
I was once destined for doom but Jesus repurposed me for His glory.He put in my hand the pardon for the sins of the world. And one day when my life is over or when Jesus calls me into the sky I will see people whom received God’s pardon from own hand. How very blessed I am!
Conclusion: Today it is my honest prayer that you can say along with me regardless of life’s trials. How blessed I am! Jesus reconciled me! Jesus recreated me! Jesus repurposed me! HOW BLESSED I AM!