How to Die and Be Raised with Christ

 2018-04-01 1 How to Die and Be Raised with Christ Re-creating Easter Every Day 2 The Embarrassment of the Bible 1 – Marketing run amok – Deut 31:6 – Ps 34:19 – Ps 103:2-5 – Mt 6:33 – Mk 10:28-30 – Phil 4:19 – “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” Ps 23:1 3 How to Interpret These Promises 1 – The simple interpretation – Do right and God will reward you with health and wealth – Pain = you’ve done wrong – The spiritual interpretation – Imperceptible benefits, mostly in the life to come – Pain = just hang on – The sufficiency interpretation – God is all you really need; with Him, you’ll be alright even if you’re not OK 4 The Triangle of Sufficiency 1 – From Willard’s Life without Lack : – Trust in God – Death to Self – Love for Neighbour – All are divine gifts (but we have a role to play in each) and we receive them in ever-increasing abundance 5 Trust in God 1 – The first and foundational sin is to mistrust God’s goodness toward us – Gen 3:4-6, Jer 2:13, Isa 55:1-2, Mt 7:9-11 – Faith makes us ready to receive God’s sufficiency – Faith = trust – Trust brings sufficiency in the moment of need – even a blood-stained moment 6 Trust in God 1 – Trust is a gift from God, not something we work up in ourselves – Where you do not trust, don’t pretend to; instead, ask for it – “Lord, give me trust in you. I want it. Take me through whatever I need to prepare me for it.” – The discipline of praise – Gradual process 1 2018-04-01 7 Death to Self 1 – When we fled God, our desire for the infinite remained – Misdirected to things – Impatience and manipulation – Desires can’t be satisfied by things (Eccl 1:8), so must be resisted – Hard to let them go – “This isn’t abundance; it’s dry!” – What’s really dry is the never-ending quest to get what you want 8 Death to Self 1 – The joint project of crucifixion – Jesus was crucified so we could be, too – Understand what death to self is and ask for it: “Lord, give me the gift of death to self. I want it. Do whatever is necessary for me to lay everything down for you.” – Disciplines of self-denial (fasting) – A gradual process 9 Love for Neighbour 1 – Love is neither a feeling nor an action; it is a source of action – Arises from character – Don’t try, train – Trust in God – Die to self 10 Love for Neighbour 1 – Planning to love – Pick somebody – Ask God how to love them – Seek thankfulness for them – Sacrificially work for their true good – Practice secrecy – Could mean saying “No” to them – Leave you ego at home – A gradual process 11 Conclusion – Summary – Trusting in God draws us nearer to Him and positions us to receive His blessings – Dying to self makes room for His abundant life by rejecting counterfeits – Love for neighbour flows through us into a thirsty world, making our life a joy to ourselves and others – Mutually reinforcing 2