Life In Christ Gods Work Of Art Religion Essay

Today I want to speak to you about “ Trophies of Grace. ” Whenever I visit in person ‘s place, I ‘m ever looking for a point of conversation so I can speak to them about some of their involvements. You can larn a batch about a individual by looking about to see if they have any trophies in their place.

In one place in America where I ‘ve stayed several times — there is a cervid caput mounted on the wall of the invitee sleeping room, I know the adult male is a huntsman. If there is a trophy on the shelf with a golf player on it, I know he likes to play golf. If there ‘s a bowling trophy, I know he likes to bowls – My male parent had plentifulness of lawn bowling trophies on show. You can larn a batch about a individual by their trophies.

You can larn a batch about the grace of God when you understand you and I are trophies of God ‘s grace. If you do n’t understand what that means yet, you will by the clip we finish this Word Alive.

Dr Derek Stringer is presenting today ‘s Word Alive – and I ‘m Mark Williams. If this is your first clip with us I hope it wo n’t be the last! I for one do n’t desire to set you off! I know merely excessively good the manner I can flick from station to station when I ‘m listening to the wireless. I hope you ‘ll remain with us for the following few minutes.

Word Alive is all about taking the message of the Bible and allowing it speak right into our lives as they are today. And truly – that ‘s what the Bible ever wants to make. It truly is WORD ALIVE!

Derek has been explicating the Bible for many old ages now. He teaches pupils at international Bible schools. Church leading meetings. Tonss of different churches in the UK and around the universe. Word Alive brings some of the things that he says right to where you are.

Derek

And it ‘s good to hold your engagement with us every bit good Mark both as the Producer and Presenter. Mark will bit in here and at that place as I comment. In fact – he will make what I ‘ve merely done to him! Interrupt!

LIFE IN CHRIST is today ‘s subject. I ‘m so pleased to hold the chance of a series through Paul ‘s missive to the Ephesians.

Mark

And if you miss a message, you can catch up at the web site. We ‘ll merrily direct you a free transcript. There are Cadmiums available every bit good. I ‘ll give you the info you need to reach us at the terminal of the programme. Here ‘s Derek.

Derek

Thankss Mark

Well, I ‘m traveling to stretch you a small today by inquiring you to conceive of that I am a universe category

painter. I decide on one juncture that I want to make a chef-d’oeuvre. I want to set all of my accomplishment, all of my energy, and all of my passion into this picture to observe my love for art and beauty. It is truly my look of who I am as a individual. So I pour myself into this chef-d’oeuvre and give it everything I have and paint this beautiful picture. In order to run systematically with my intent or end, I decide to give you this chef-d’oeuvre. At first you are hesitating to have it, and you say, ‘I could ne’er afford that. It is excessively nice a gift. ‘ I say, ‘That is truly the point. I want people to cognize this is non about money ; it is n’t about anything except the pure love of art and beauty. Let me give it to you and you merely appreciate it. ‘

So you receive the gift and you are really aroused about it.

You take the picture place and bent it on the wall, and your friends start to come

over to see it. Soon the word is out that you have a Stringer original in your house, so the art critics begin coming.

Originally when you were speaking about the picture, you were speaking about he. You were stating, ‘He did this and he did that. He put this coloring material in here and he was seeking to show this. ‘ You were speaking about me, the painter. But I begin to hear, ‘The ground I did this and the ground I did that… I put this coloring material here… I was seeking to pass on… . ‘

Now I am truly inquiring what is traveling on. Because you are taking recognition for something I did, my intent for that picture is wholly lost. You are believing, Derek, that is a unusual narrative. Who would take recognition for something they did non make?

That is a reasonably good inquiry. In fact, Paul has that same concern.

Paul has talked about this brilliant redemption that we have. He talks about what it means to be chosen and adopted, to be heirs to the household luck, to hold our wickednesss forgiven and all of the glorification of our redemption. I think he has a concern that we will lose sight of the fact that this was truly all about God. Those of us who have been Christians for a long clip have a inclination to possibly bury what we were, and how we got from what we were to who we are. In a sense, we start to take recognition for that which God did ; it is called self-righteousness. To do certain that we are n’t losing any position along the manner, the apostle Paul goes back to some rudimentss and says, “ Never bury what you were, who you are and how you got from at that place to here. ”

Mark

In Ephesians 2:1 Paul says: “ You were DEAD in your evildoings and wickednesss. ”

Derek

Here Paul does n’t precisely crush around the shrub — he gets right to it. This is what you were. You were dead, non sort of dead, non headed toward decease — you were dead. You were a

cadaver. Every individual individual falls into one of two classs: either you were dead or you are

dead. Those are the lone two classs that are available.

Old ages ago there was the weirdest film. It was called, “ Night of the Living Dead. ” Did you know you are populating in a twenty-four hours of the “ life dead ” ? There are a batch of dead people walking about, driving on the main roads. You say, “ Well, it looks like some of them are moving like it. ” I am non speaking about physically dead ; I am speaking about those who are spiritually dead. If you have Jesus, you have life. If you do non hold Jesus, you do non hold life. Life does non get down at 40. Life begins with Jesus. These people may look alive ; in fact, some of them make themselves look reasonably good, but if they do n’t hold Jesus, they do n’t hold life.

Mark

It ‘s like when you go out during the Christmas season and convey the tree into your place and adorn it and do it look better than it of all time looked out at that place in the field, but the minute

you cut it off from its roots, it was dead even though it may look alive and it ‘s got all the visible radiations

and tinsel on it ; it is dead. There are work forces and adult females, adolescents, and male childs and misss who look fantastic, but because they are cut off from the beginning of life, the Lord Jesus Christ, they are dead. You and I were dead at one clip.

Derek

Paul is stating that those who have trusted Jesus as Saviour must ne’er bury that they were perfectly dead. You might inquire what he means by that. We look about and it looks like people are alive. But what he is speaking approximately is that there is more to life than merely physical life.

There is another dimension to life called the SPIRITUAL life. The religious dimension really is more existent than this physical dimension, because it is a dimension that goes on forever. The religious life is a connexion to God and sing life with God. But every one of us, from the minute of birth, is spiritually dead because of wickedness. We are dead because of the wickedness nature and who we are ; and we surely confirm that, so, by our behavior. When we are dead, we have no existent connexion to God and no existent relationship with Him. If we could take a machine that would let us to somehow melody into this religious dimension that is all around us ( non like this physical dimension that we can see ) we would recognize that we have no life at that place. We are dead to that dimension.

We were created to hold a relationship with God, and that creates a certain emptiness

in our psyche. All people feel that unresponsiveness. They merely know there is something losing and

that there has got to be something more. There is a feeling that something is n’t rather right,

even though it is hard to specify. Peoples try to make full that nothingness with success, pleasance, money

and all sorts of things. But none of those things will make full the nothingness. Paul says that we were a

cadaver — we were wholly dead.

IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THIS PASSAGE I WANT TO CREATE AN IMAGERY.

Let ‘s conceive of that there is a bike right here. Imagine that we take and put a cadaver on the bike. One thing we know for certain about a cadaver is that it has no ability to make anything.

Over my old ages in ministry, I have done tonss of funerals. I have learned that a cadaver truly

Department of energies n’t make anything to assist with the funeral. It does n’t assist with the planning or with the

particular music. It does n’t give a testimony. It does n’t assist transport the casket. The cadaver is

dead ; it is merely a cadaver. Imagine, so, that we put the cadaver on the bike.

Paul says, “ You were dead in your evildoings and wickednesss, in which you once

bicycled. ” He says ‘lived ‘ — but we are traveling to utilize a somewhat different metaphor – ‘when you followed the ways of this universe. ‘

Here he is speaking about the value system of this universe. The word universe here is used negatively, as it is most of the clip in the New Testament. It is speaking about a universe that is disconnected from God — a universe that is spiritually dead. That means significance, intent, and everything in life is defined by a value system that is disconnected or dead to that religious dimension.

We try, for illustration, to find value and worth based on simply this physical dimension. Many people may experience, for illustration, that they get their value from what they own, how much money they have in the bank, what sort of wage they make, or their profession. Others may specify their value system by the sort of auto they drive, the house they buy, what sort of success or rubrics they wear, or by their popularity or celebrity. Some people try to specify it through pleasance, so that is what they pursue. The doctrine of this physical dimension of life is to populate for the minute: to eat, imbibe and be merry — It is believing that this is all there is to life and that defines the value system. Paul says that when you were a cadaver, that is all you knew, and that is how you lived your life — harmonizing to the value system of this universe full of cadavers.

But he goes on to state, secondly, ‘when you followed the ways of this universe and of the swayer of the land of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ‘

The 2nd force at work in our lives, when we were dead, was the prince of the power of the air. It is truly mentioning to the diabolic ground forces that is out in the universe. Merely because we are dead to the religious dimension does n’t intend that it does n’t be. There is still Satan and his ground forces that are alive and good in that religious dimension, and their end is to fundamentally maintain us dead.

It is non stating that every individual is possessed of the Satan.

It is stating that those liquors, in a sense, can be thought of as the advertizers or the sellers of this universe ‘s value system. The universe has a value system, and there is besides this selling bureau whose occupation it is to advance those values and convert us that they are true. Jesus said that Satan and his devils are prevaricators, so they are false advertizers. They lie through their dentitions, as they try to convert you, “ This is where life is ; this is what gives life significance ; this is what gives you purpose in life. ” They become the sellers of that value system, and they influence the civilization a certain way. Of class, that way is off from God.

And there is one more force at work in verse 3:

Mark

It says: “ All of us besides lived among them at one clip, satisfying the cravings of our iniquitous nature and following its desires and ideas. ”

Derek

That ‘s like the old narrative I heard about from the American Wild West. The old excavation prospector who came down out of the mountains into the old western town. He had his old ugly, dirty, smelly pack mule loaded down. He walked up and hitched his mule to the catching station. There were some cowpunchers inside the barroom and one of them said, “ C’mon exterior. We ‘re traveling to hold some merriment with this ole male child. ” He walked out at that place and he said to that prospector “ Old adult male, have you of all time danced in the street? ” The old adult male said, “ Nope. ” The cowpuncher said, “ Well, you ‘re traveling to dance now. ” Prisoner of war! Prisoner of war!

He started hiting at the old prospector ‘s pess, who started dancing a gigue. Everybody was express joying and holding a good clip. The cowpuncher ran out of slugs and before he could recharge, the old prospector reached into the battalions on his mule and pulled out a double-barreled scattergun. By the clip the cowpuncher had his guns reloaded and looked up, he was looking down the dual barrels of a scattergun. The old prospector said, “ Cowboy, have you of all time kissed a mule? ” The old cowpuncher said, “ No, but I ‘ve ever wanted to. ”

He was n’t free to make the right thing, he was free to make what he wanted-but you might state he was under strong irresistible impulse. I said that in order to state this: A lost individual is free, certain, but they are free to make what their nature tells them to make to make what they want, and they want the incorrect thing. When you become a Christian, God sets you free to desire the right thing.

All of us, because we are born into wickedness, have this natural set or thin toward evil. We of course lean off from God. That is the iniquitous nature — that is where we of course go.

At the underside of this bike drive is the wrath of God, and that is where this journey

terminals.

Mark

That ‘s what Paul means at the terminal of poetry 3 when he makes this drumhead statement that we “ Were by nature objects of wrath. ”

Derek

The thought of nature is my kernel, my nucleus — it is who I am and what defines me. What defined me, because I was spiritually dead, was that I was an object of wrath. It ‘s the thought that it was my nature from the beginning. I was destined for wrath, because wickedness — which is what causes me to be dead — deserves the wrath of God. I am, by nature, headed down that way of ageless devastation.

Now let ‘s take all of those constructs and set them back into our bike imagination.

You were wholly dead and you were put on that bike as a cadaver. We know a cadaver has no ability to maneuver. It has no ability to bicycle, and no ability to halt. The cadaver can non make

anything but merely travel wheresoever the motorcycle goes. Now this way is n’t level — it is a hill — which is

the flesh. There is a natural set to travel one way and that is down the hill. Gravity pulls

down, which is the iniquitous nature. Second, there is the value system of the universe.

Surrounding that bike are all the fellow cadavers in this universe who are determined to maintain the cadaver on that motorcycle headed down that hill. Added to that are all the diabolic forces that are determined to make the same thing. The universe and the devil pull together, with the flesh, to do certain that the cadaver goes downhill, finally sing the wrath of God. The awful portion of all of that is that the cadaver has no ability to alter anything. It can non maneuver or halt. It is merely an full-scale predicament sing the wrath of God.

You may be believing, ‘Boy, those are certain cheerful poetries. ‘ They are non meant to be

cheerful — they are meant to be rather awful, because that was our status apart from

Jesus. We had perfectly no hope. That is why we are so grateful that we read a word in

poetry 4, ‘BUT! ‘ — Because that reminds us that there is hope:

Mark

“ BUT because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in clemency, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in evildoings – it is by grace you have been saved. ”

Derek

This could be translated that he resurrected us with Christ. You have this image of

the motorcycle traveling down the hill, with all the forces necessary to maintain that motorcycle traveling all the manner

to the underside to see the ageless wrath of God. But in the thick of that, God comes

along and He breathes life into that cadaver. It now goes from a dead cadaver to a life psyche. It is really the thought that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and conquered decease, that same Resurrection life so is breathed into that cadaver.

Mark

Paul goes on from there in poetry 6: “ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the celestial kingdom in Christ Jesus. ”

Derek

He reminds us that it was by grace, which is a no-brainer at this point, because we know the cadaver is dead and ca n’t make anything. He is stating, ‘You were made alive – and do n’t bury, this is something God did. You did non make it because you were dead. Not merely were you raised to life, but when Jesus was ascended, you ascended with Him. When Jesus was seated at the right manus of the Father, you were seated with Him.

This is an astonishing truth of who we are. We call this our place IN Christ.

Peoples have all sorts of sentiments about who Jesus is. If we could take our machine and dial into the religious dimension that is true, right now at this exact minute, what we would see is Jesus exalted at the right manus of God and all of His glorification.

We would see this brilliant scene as He reigns over the universe. We back-pedalled and

said, ‘That is merely a olympian scene. ‘ Paul is stating that it is more than that.

It is even greater, because when I dial that in, I find out that even though I was a cadaver

headed for ageless wrath, God in His grace came along and voiceless life into my psyche.

Suddenly I became alive. But it is still more than that! When He was ascended, I besides was

ascended with Him, and when He was seated at the right manus of the Father, I look into that

dimension and what do I see? I see myself seated with Christ in the celestial kingdom in this elevated place. It is about beyond what we can even get down to conceive of because it is so fantastic.

In the thick of all of that, we find ourselves inquiring, ‘How did I acquire at that place? Why would

God do this? What is this all about? ‘

Paul explains that in poetry 7. Why would God make this? …

Mark

“ In order that in the coming ages he might demo the uncomparable wealths of His grace expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ”

Derek

This is the reply to the inquiry of why God would take a cadaver, conveying it to life, and go up it to this glorious place in the celestial spheres. I am seated with Him in the celestial kingdom in this place. I do n’t merit it and should n’t be at that place. I am even uncomfortable believing about it. Paul says the ground I am there is so that God might expose and observe the admiration of His grace. It is all about God and His grace.

The lone manner that God could to the full expose His grace was to take a cadaver that had no ability

to make anything but merely simply receive what God had given, and to take that cadaver and place it ( us ) in the celestial kingdom. For all the ages — for all infinity — He wants all of creative activity to observe these trophies of His grace. That is why He saved us. That is His intent — that we might observe the really nucleus and the really kernel of who God is.

Ephesians 2: 8-9 are two of the most familiar poetries in all of the New Testament. Often when we quote them, we refer to them as using to the disbeliever. There is application to the disbeliever, but allow us non lose the point. These poetries are truly directed to us as trusters. The point being made is that you should ne’er lose sight of the fact that you were chosen, you were adopted, you were forgiven. You are seated with Christ in the celestial kingdom, but ne’er bury this was non something you did. When we start to believe that somehow we were a portion of that, it becomes self-righteousness. Look at the accent of these poetries.

Mark

Paul says, “ By grace ( which is the unmerited favor of God ) you have been saved, through faith – and this non from yourselves, it is the gift of God – non by plants, so that no-one can tout. ”

Derek

Faith is belief. Our portion is to believe this is true. Our portion is to believe that Jesus died on the cross for our wickednesss and believe that He is giving us this gift in order to expose His grace. Belief is our portion — everything else is God ‘s.

OK, Paul, we ‘ve got it. It is all of God — OK, Paul, we got it. I know it is God, non me. — Not as a consequence of plants. — OK, OK. — that no 1 should tout.

There is a grim buffeting of one simple message here — the message is that it was n’t you. The Derek Stringer interlingual rendition would be, ‘It was n’t you. It was n’t you. It was n’t you. It was n’t you. And merely in instance you missed it, it was n’t you. ‘

Some people spell redemption “ D-O. ” “ It ‘s what I do. ” Those of us who know the Bible enchantment redemption “ D-O-N-E. ” “ It ‘s already been done. ”

Why does Paul lb that message place? Because the inclination is, over clip, to get down to take recognition for something we did n’t make. That becomes self-righteousness.

If these poetries are true, so that should dramatically impact the manner I treat other trusters recognizing we all came in the exact same manner. We are receivers of the grace of God. It besides reminds me that the lone difference between me and that cadaver following door, that cadaver at school, or that cadaver in the market place, is the grace of God.

I am non smarter ; I am non better ; I am non more righteous than anyone else. It is merely that, for whatever ground, God chose me as a receiver of His grace, to be a trophy of His grace so that He could expose His glorification to the universe.

This is why faith is so violative to God. There is a inclination to believe that faith is existent near to the truth. Religion is taking recognition for a picture we did n’t pigment. It is adult male ‘s manner of stating, ‘I did this ; I got here on my ain. Somehow I was a portion of this chef-d’oeuvre. ‘ When that happens, it distorts God ‘s intent, because His intent is strictly to expose His grace. Religion is stating, ‘You know, I did that. ‘ And God says He wo n’t take that, because His intent is for us to be a trophy of His grace so that we say, ‘It is all God — all God. ‘

Mark

Verse 10 summarizes all of these poetries: “ We are God ‘s craft ” –

Derek

In the Greek is the word from which we get our English word POEM. When we think of a verse form, we think of something reasonably specific. But the Grecian word really referred to anything original that was created. It could mention to a verse form, a novel, a sculpture, or a picture. It was truly a word that meant a master-piece.an original creative activity. What he is stating is that we are His chef-d’oeuvre, created — which is a existent term of art – or painted by God in Christ Jesus for good plants, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are God ‘s master-piece! We are this astonishing picture that He has painted. All we

did was have that painting. As this picture hangs in the gallery of the market place, or this

painting bents in the gallery of your place, your vicinity, or your school, what God

wants is non for you to look at that picture and state, ‘God and I, we painted this. This is why

we did this and that. ‘

God wants you to state, ‘This is a work of art, a chef-d’oeuvre, painted by God entirely to expose the glorification of His grace. ‘

When Paul negotiations about good plants, we can believe back to this image we have of the

cadaver that is wholly exanimate. It is traveling downhill on this bike with all of the forces

necessary to do certain that it gets to the underside, to see the wrath of God. Suddenly,

God in His grace brings life into this psyche, and all of a sudden that psyche comes to life. Now that

psyche — that individual — has the ability to maneuver, to bicycle, and to turn that bike about. That

individual can get down to bicycle and travel in the opposite way. We must understand that it is

ever traveling to be an acclivitous pedal, because the iniquitous nature is ever with us, and the flesh is that thin toward the other way. With the power of God and with the apprehension that we are seated with God in the celestial kingdom, God begins to authorise us to bicycle up that hill. The more we realize what is true about ourselves in Christ, the more motivated we are to bicycle, and to travel up that hill beyond this degree of life. We begin to populate at a whole different degree, as we display this powerful work of God in our lives. When people see that they say, ‘Man, where did that chef-d’oeuvre come from? ‘ The reply is that it was all God — it was all God.

Those are the good plants that He wants, that His grace may be displayed.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS RECEIVE IT SO THAT HIS GRACE IS ON DISPLAY.

Some of you are believing that I do n’t cognize your past and I do n’t cognize what you have

done. You are believing that God could ne’er accept you. But you are losing the point. The

point is that no affair how bad you have been, you are a trophy of God ‘s grace. You do n’t

hold to gain this. You do n’t hold to merit it. You are non the one making the picture. You

are merely to have it.

Let God expose His grace through you by giving you a gift, and all you have to make is have it. If you are willing to swear Jesus as Saviour, God will convey this religious dimension to life and make full your life with significance and intent in a relationship with Him. God will take your life to a degree you have ne’er known.

For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we understand that we are

a chef-d’oeuvre of God ‘s grace.

Every twenty-four hours this chef-d’oeuvre hangs in the gallery at school. It

bents in the gallery at place and it hangs in the gallery at the market place. This chef-d’oeuvre

bents in the gallery everyplace you go, and it is a brilliant testimony to the grace of God.

What God wants back from you is to expose this degree of life that is consistent with whom He has made you to be as one who is alive in Christ. When people look at that and state,

‘Wow, who painted this chef-d’oeuvre? ‘

Be really careful to ever state, ‘It was God, merely God, cipher but God. ‘ To the congratulations and glorification of His grace everlastingly.

Mark

You have been listening to Derek Stringer on Word Alive – A Good News Broadcasting Association production.

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