Facing The Zombies

Facing the zombies

Luke 6:27-40

2 Cor 5:17

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come.

I want to tell you of an amazing transformation in my life. Jesus Christ changes lives. He makes us into something he can use, something new and wonderful. In my own life as a child I had 2 big fears. One was public speaking. I lived in fear that the teacher would call on me and I would have to speak in front of the class. Hard to believe isn’t it. I get up here and make announcements. Today I am preaching. What a change!

My prayer partner pointed out to me last week that God is all about defeating fear. When God reveled himself to Moses in the desert he said do not fear. When the angel appeared to Mary he said fear not. When the women met Jesus after his resurrection he also told them not to fear.

Rom 8:15 for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear.

God will take away your fears. God has also taken away my second fear. Zombies! As a child Saturday afternoon television was agony for me. There was a program called Shirley temple theater. Shirley Temple was grown up then and she hosted a Saturday program that featured horror films for children. Strange but true. I just had to watch, I could not stay away. I needed to learn how to protect myself from things that went bump in the night. This program had a limited budget and showed the same 6 movies over and over. The zombie movie was the scariest.

The plot was this; a group of ten friends would be on this island. One by one they would be turned into zombies. Other monsters I could understand, but when your friend becomes a zombie look out. No one could tell that they had turned bad. This guy gets turned into a zombie and he starts walking like this. (limps dragging one leg) And nobody notices. Hi John, Grunt! Not very talkative today are you? Grunt! What happened, did you do turn your ankle on the beach? Grunt!

Sometimes they do notice. The scariest part is that you have a zombie that walks like this (limps dragging one leg) and nobody can out run him. This one character runs like an Olympic champion and yet can not stay ahead of a limping, staggering, zombie!

So I’m over it. No more fear. Now I know what you are going to say. Bill, there is no such thing as zombies. You have no need to fear! I assure you, that you and I are surrounded by zombies every day. We just have a different name for them. What is the definition of a zombie? The walking dead. I will prove it to you right from the Bible that the walking dead are around us every day.

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned.

There you have it; everyone who is a prisoner of sin is dead. They are the walking dead. We don’t call them zombies, but they are. I have been afraid of them. I was not afraid they would kill me. But I was afraid to share my faith with them. I am not afraid any more.

I am thrilled to speak the Lords words this morning. I can’t tell you the honor I feel. The Lord the creator of the universe, the one who’s words spoke creation. The creator of life has chosen me to speak his words. I think it is wonderful. Someone as small and insignificant as me can speak the Lords words. But not just me, but you can also. You can speak his words; his words are full of power.

John 5:24

I tell you the truth whoever hears my word and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned He has crossed over from death to life.

God’s word still creates life! God’s word spoken by you and me still create life. You can save the zombie. You can speak the words of God to an unbeliever, to one who is lost; if the words are heard, and taken to heart, you have created life. A person who was once dead in sin is now alive in Christ.

Mark 16:15

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

Jesus is speaking to his disciples in this verse and if you consider yourself his disciple, like I do, then he is talking to you. Go to all creation and speak his words. Now he isn’t asking all of you to stand up and preach to 100 people, like I am this morning. You would likely to get stage fright, get a little nervous. But you can do it one to one. Just you, one other person and the Lord. You don’t need to be all that nervous, it is just you and that one other person. I know we get nervous anyway. It is hard, but the Lord has asked us to do it so we do.