AN UNPREACHED SERMON (174)
Photo by Ch. P. on Unsplash.
It’s a matter of convenience that the Four Gospels are grouped together at the beginning of our New Testament. But it obscures the fact that when Dr Luke was writing up the story, he designed it as a two-volume work. John’s Gospel interrupts the flow of the complete narrative Luke wants to tell. In broad outline Luke’s Gospel tells the story of Jesus and Acts recounts the story of the Church. His Gospel ends with a brief mention of the ascension and Acts begins with a little more detail on the same theme. It is a succinct summary (Acts 1:1-5) acting as a connecting bridge. And in Luke’s mind the central stanchion holding up the bridge is the fact that Jesus is alive. “He presented Himself alive...” (v3). It is this essential truth that gives meaning to our faith and strength for our daily lives. Since Jesus is alive there follow certain practical truths for living in the newness of life we now share with Him. They are best grasped by the simple formula: “Jesus is alive...therefore...”.
THEREFORE YOU CAN TELL YOUR PROBLEMS TO HIM.
Believing and trusting in a living Lord means we are not talking into the air. He listens, cares and understands. There is nothing too trivial or too gigantic that He will not bend His ear to listen.
Increasingly, we seem to be living in an age of problems and the common cry is that there is no one to take them to. Unlike so many in this busy, busy world the Lord will listen and give you the time you need to unburden. You bring before Him the problem and He will present Himself very much alive to the situation. Many Christians can tell you that it was when they “took it to the Lord in prayer” that the root cause was clearly seen. That then enabled them to deal with the core difficulty and move on.
THEREFORE, YOU CAN CONFESS YOUR SINS TO HIM.
Far too many, including Christians, go around with a great big burden of guilt weighing down upon them. Our psychiatrists’ and psychologists’ couches are full of people who cannot shake off the blackness of depression due to past actions. I once had a prisoner come to see me in HMP Shotts who had just been for his monthly visit to his counsellor. He wasn’t a happy man. “For the last hour he has dredged up all this stuff in my past” he moaned, “but he can’t tell me what to do with it; can you help me?” My answer was simple: “I can’t, but I know a Man who can”. It was the start of a new way forward for this prisoner, without the shackles of a guilty past. “If we confess our sins (the living Lord Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). But this promise only becomes effective when we recognise the depth of the need causing the problem. For “if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves...” (1 John 1:8), which only compounds the guilt and prolongs the problem.
THEREFORE, YOU CAN LIVE YOUR LIFE FOR HIM.
Everybody needs something to live for. Family, friends, children, money and career are all part and parcel of living, and we cannot do without them. But none of them carry cast iron guarantees. Too often families fail, friends prove unreliable, children disappoint, money runs out and careers come to an end. It is only when these things are infused with the presence of the living Lord that all of life becomes worthwhile. Again, there are many Christians ready to tell you that it was only when they handed over their lives to Christ that all the jigsaw pieces fell into place and for the first time, they saw the complete picture.
It was in the light of the resurrection that the disciples began to understand the enormity of what Jesus had done for them. Luke latches on to this and continues the story in his second volume (Acts), showing how the early Christians found purpose and direction in carrying on their witness for Christ without His physical presence.
THEREFORE, YOU CAN FIND YOUR STRENGTH IN HIM.
What we have said so far doesn’t all depend on us. This is where the genius of Luke writing a two-volume work comes into its own. In his Gospel, Jesus is with His disciples; an external companion on the way. In Acts, with its emphasis on the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus is within the believers. The Easter story does not end with Christ being resurrected, glorious as that is. Easter continues as the living Lord by His Spirit takes up permanent residence in our lives. Here is the amazing New Testament truth of an indwelling Saviour - “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
If we gathered up all the Bible references to the resurrection, we would be able to fit them into three categories, and all three are intrinsically important to our faith.
Resurrection as an historical event (Easter Sunday)
Resurrection as a present reality (our Christian experience now)
Resurrection as a future hope (“made like Him, like Him we rise”)
How grateful we should be to Luke for bringing these truths to our attention in such a meticulous way. The time and research he spent in doing so has served the church well all these years (Acts 1:1-3). When he and Paul were engaged in mission activity together in later years, they must have spoken of these things often. It was Paul, of course, who gave it more precise theological formulation.
“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).
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