Do You Know If You're Dead Or Alive

The movie sixth sense is a powerful movie. Not only does it have suspense, it can also be used as an example when talking about spiritual death. You see, Bruce Willis’ character in the movie was a child psychiatrist. His primary role was to help a young man who had a problem. He kept seeing dead people! Throughout the movie, there are scenes showing the child psychiatrist having sessions with the young man, trying to help him with his problem.

The key part of the whole movie was although the child psychiatrist thought he was helping the young man, the truth of the matter was, the young man was actually helping the child psychiatrist.

You see, the child psychiatrist was actually dead and he didn’t even know it. There was an incident earlier in the movie where something tragic happened to him, but he thought he survived it. Unfortunately he didn’t. Imagine the shock to him when he realized that he was actually dead and didn’t know it. It sounds too crazy to be true. But is it? I suggest to you that we have a lot of young people and those who are young at heart, walking around and are just as dead as Bruce Willis’ character. They may not be physically dead, but you can best believe they are spiritually dead.

In our text today, God shows us another example of some young people who were dead and probably didn’t even know it – until it was too late.

A. BEING IN GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES YOU AWARE OF THINGS THAT CAUSE PEOPLE TO DIE

1. Wrong desires cause people to die (popularity, selfishness, disobedience)

2. Wrong relationships cause people to die (unsaved influential friends, giving more of self to someone other than God, a love of self more than God)

3. Wrong choices cause people to die (picking the easy way over God’s way)

TRANS: IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW, FIT ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES, YOU’RE ON THE VERGE OF BEING SPIRITUALLY DEAD. IF YOU NEED MORE PROOF, LISTEN TO THE 2ND POINT.

B. BEING IN GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES YOU AWARE OF THINGS THAT DEAD PEOPLE DO

1. Dead people run from their problems (addictions, sex, violence)

2. Dead people run from their purpose (plans to prosper, have hope, a future)

3. Dead people run from their provider (God made you in his image)

TRANS: IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW FIT CATEGORIES A & B, JUST LIKE JARIUS’ DAUGHTER AND THE WIDOW’S SON, YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY DEAD AND DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT. YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY TO THE GRAVE – UNLESS YOU RECOGNIZE GOD’S PRESENCE

C. BEING IN GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES YOU AWARE OF THINGS THAT BRING PEOPLE FROM THE DEAD

1. You must have a Change of Attitude (be transfromed by renewing your mind)

2. You must have a Change of Direction (switch the path that your life is going in, before it’s too late)

3. You must have a Change of Heart (open the door of your heart when Jesus starts knocking)

TRANS: SOME OF YOU DIDN’T KNOW IT, BUT YOUR PARENTS BROUGHT DEATH INSURANCE WHEN YOU WERE BORN, FROM THE SPECIALIZER

D. KNOW THAT GOD SPECIALIZES IN BRINGING DEAD THINGS TO LIFE (EPH 2:1-5)

1. Like the Widow’s son (Jesus has the power to bring hope out of any tragedy)

2. Like Jarius’ daughter (Jesus is calling you to get up)

3. Like His own Son (God’s love made us alive through Christ, even when we were dead)

JESUS IS SO POWERFUL; HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE TO TOUCH YOU. LIKE THE WIDOW’S SON’S COFFIN, ALL HE HAS TO DO, IS TOUCH YOUR SITUATION!