The Walking Dead Series
“Sometimes They Come Back” (1 of 4)
October 6, 2013 Chester FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A The cable channel AMC airs the most popular show among the highly sought after demographic of the 18-49 age bracket. The show is “The Walking Dead.”
1 The premise of the show is how groups of survivors make it in a post-zombie apocalypse world.
a Zombies, The undead, Walkers, Biters are a cultural phenomena that has captured the attention & imagination of audiences worldwide.
b The Undead, may be the flavor of the moment, their mythos has been around for a very long time.
aa The zombie genre was reinvented in 1968 with George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” (Recent deceased coming back to life.)
bb This summer’s “World War Z” based on Max Brook’s book of the same title is still dishing up tales of zombies.
2 The reason why the dead rise varies slightly in each film, story.
a Sometimes biological chemicals that got away, virus, or under a demonic curse/voodoo (The Serpent & the Rainbow)
b When they come back they are soulless, walking bags of flesh. In most of the stories the walking dead all have one purpose: to satisfy their desire to take the life of the living.
bb They only want to kill & destroy.
B These tales are the things of campfire stories and Friday Night Creature Feature Films . . . However, the dead coming back to life is mentioned several times in the pages of Scripture. (Reality)
1 When the dead do come back in the Bible, God does not bring them back as a zombie, walker, or a biter . . . he/she always has their soul/conscience with them.
a There are no fewer than 10 instances of the dead coming back to life in the Bible.
aa Elijah & the widows son.
1 Kings 17:17-24 (NASB) 17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, "What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!" 19 He said to her, "Give me your son." Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 He called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child's life return to him." 22 The LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 23 Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, "See, your son is alive." 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."
bb Elisha & the son of a prominent woman.
2 Kings 4:32-34 (NASB) 32 When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed. 33 So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.
cc Unknown soldier’s body that was thrown into Elisha’s grave was brought back to life.
2 Kings 13:20-21 (NASB) 20 Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 As they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they cast the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.
dd Jesus raised three people from the grave:
Jairus’ daughter
Luke 8:51-55 (NASB) 51 When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. 52 Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep." 53 And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. 54 He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child, arise!" 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.
Son of Widow in Nain
Luke 7:7, 11-15 (NASB) 7 for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 11 Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. 12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Lazarus
John 11:4, 43-44 (NASB) 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
ee When Jesus died, several dead saints were brought back to life and were seen in Jerusalem later.
Matthew 27:51-53 (NASB) 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
ff Jesus own resurrection.
gg Peter raised Tabitha
Acts 9:39-42 (NASB) 39 So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
hh Paul raised Eutychus
Acts 20:9-12 (NASB) 9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." 11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.
b I should tell you, all of these people did eventually die again, with the exception of Jesus.
aa The record of these resurrections proves to us that our God has the power, ability to bring back those who have died!
bb John 5:28-29 (NASB) 28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Acts 24:15 (NASB) 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
2 In Revelation 11.7-12, we find a prophecy that reveals two of God’s witnesses will be killed, lie dead in the streets for 3.5 days (be seen globally on T.V., internet, FaceBook, etc.) and then those two men will come back from the dead.
Revelation 11:7-12 (NASB) 7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.
C This month I’m going to share with you a sermon series entitled, “The Walking Dead.”
1 Today, I’m going to preach on the first instance of the dead coming back to life (1 Kings 17.17-24), Sometimes They Come Back.
a Next week, I’m going to preach from Eph. 5, a remixed version of a sermon preached 123 years ago by C.H. Spurgeon called, “Life from Death.”
b The third message is going to take us the Ezekial’s graveyard, the valley of dry bones.
c Conclude on the last Sunday of October looking at the promises of God that all the dead will rise in the future!
2 In Bible Study, there is a principle called the “First Mention” which means anytime happens for the first time in Scripture is a key to understanding the concept in future occurrences, offers a foundation for fuller development in later parts of the Bible.
a The first mention of someone who was dead coming back to life is in 1 Kings 17
b For 3,000 before this moment the death bell had rang a final ring on every soul who had ever lived since the murder of Abel until the death of the widows son in 1 Kings 17, marking the end of the road.
aa Nobody had ever came back from the grave, escaped death’s chilly waters . . . that is until 1 Kings 17.
bb This is the first instance, first mention of the dead walking/living again in the pages of Scripture.
I Contextual Background
A The King of Israel, Ahab, had just married one of the baddest girls in the Bible, Jezebel.
1 She was a Gentile, Baal-worshiping, mean, brutal woman who had many of priests of the One True God put to death. (Lead Israel into embracing idol worship, paganism, occult, etc.,)
a Elijah went to Ahab to tell him God is going to stop the rain from falling because you and have knelt before another god.
1 Kings 17:1 (NASB) 1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."
aa After the man of God gave his message, God sent him to a brook where twice a day God would send a raven to bring him a sandwich.
1 Kings 17:6 (NASB) 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.
bb When the brook dried up (no rain) God sent him to a small town called Zarephath (v.9) where a widow would take care of him. (BTW, I thank God for that widow women still take care of the man of God!)
1 Kings 17:9 (NASB) 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
b Elijah got to the city gate and her is this widow woman, just like God said, gathering sticks for her and her son.
aa “Ma’am, could I have a drink from your jar?” . . . and maybe a piece of bread.
bb “Sir, I have no bread. In fact, all I’ve got is a handful of flour & a little oil back at the house. My plans are to go back home and make my boy and I a small meal then we plan on eating it and just wait to die.”
2 1 Kings 17:13 (NASB) 13 Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.
The woman did as the prophet asked and as long as Elijah was her guest, she took care of him . . . the flour jar & the oil jar NEVER went empty. . . until it started raining again.
1 Kings 17:16 (NASB) 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.
B 1 Kings 17.17-24 (First Mention) (This section “I,B” from a sermon by Pastor John Walls; Elijah Raised The Widows Son)
1 There is a trial of faith (v.17)
1 Kings 17:17 (NASB) 17 Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
a “things” is the miracle of the bottomless oil jar & flour jar.
aa Her faith had been built up, hope bolstered.
bb She was batting 1000 & her future looked bright. . .
b The bottom dropped out of her private world with the death of her young son (her & his future!)
aa She was in the will of God & still had her heart ripped out.
bb Part of the unexplainable process of how God does business.
2 There is an awareness of her conscience (v.18)
1 Kings 17:18 (NASB) 18 So she said to Elijah, "What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!"
a Did I sin? Did I do something wrong? What did I do to bring this calamity on myself? (We do the same thing do we not?)
b The pattern plays through out Scripture from Joseph’s brothers to Rich man & Lazarus. (Gen. 42.41, Luke 16.27-28)
Genesis 42:38 (NASB) 38 But Jacob said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow."
Luke 16:27-28 (NASB) 27 "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
c Tragedy triggers our awareness to sin.
3 The Tender Request resulting in Triumph (v.19)
1 Kings 17:19 (NASB) 19 He said to her, "Give me your son." Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.
a The woman gives her son to Elijah (who I’m sure had grown attached to the boy.)
aa Go to a small upper room on the second floor her shanty and Elijah goes to God in prayer.
bb The place where every battle is fought & won, revival is started, deliverance is gained, . . . prayer.
b As Elijah prayed (v. 20-21) he made contact with his dead body three times (pointing to the 3 days our Savior would be in the grave) and the boy came back to life!
1 Kings 17:20-21 (NASB) 20 He called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?" 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child's life return to him."
aa The next scene is the boy who was dead, but is now alive in the arms of his momma.
bb Tears, laughter, joy, dancing . . .That’s my God!
c Today, our churches do not need bigger building, better singing.
aa We need to see souls who were dead to their trespasses & sin raised to the newness of life.
bb We need to hear testimonies of how God brought them from the death into life!!!! (Means more than all our offerings, gifts)
II Application
A Doing work for the Kingdom does not make us immune from tragedy, just ask the widow woman.
1 Anytime God is working/producing in your life, the devil working to steal and disrupt and discount what God is doing.
a When we are doing “good works” and things go wrong for us, we often tend to question God (or why we are doing what we’re doing.)
aa v.18, It’s Satan’s oldest trick in the book: When things go wrong . . . blame God.
bb When troubles arise, just keep going with God.
b IF your part of the problem, confess/repent and go on.
2 In the NFL there is a term that was coined by John Madden called YAC (Yards After Contact.)
a YAC is the measurement of yards a runner gains after an opposing player hits them.
aa Just because the running gets hit, he doesn’t stop running, quit, . . . keeps running towards the end zone, goal line.
bb The best players in the NFL make their most important yards (touchdowns, third down conversions) after they have been hit by the opposing team.
b Christian, the opposing team may have hit/hurt you . . . don’t stop running for the end zone!
B Elijah “stretched himself out upon the child” (v.21), lit. made contact with dead child.
1 Christian, if your faith is not making “contact” with Jesus Christ it’s as dead as anything out in the cemetery this morning.
a Until we come into contact with the Savior we are dead bodies (The Walking Dead)— lost sinners, dead to our trespasses & sin.
b If we trust in Christ then we can say were crucified with Him 2,000 years ago; He died and we died with Him.
aa Three days later He was raised & we were raised with Him, too!
bb Today, we are joined w/ a living Jesus - - - if we are not, we are truly dead.
c Galatians 2:20 (NASB) 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
2 Death has every right to keep us, unless our sins can be covered; The grave has every reason to hold us, unless a payment can be made; Satan has every right to make a claim on us, unless a ransom has been paid.
a On Calvary, when Jesus took His last breath my sins were covered, payment was made & the ransom was paid!
b I’m no longer the Walking Dead, I’m now a New Creation, Child of the King, Royalty . . .
aa The grim reaper has lost my contact information & my forwarding address is my daddy’s house!
bb I’ll never hear the dreaded sound of death coming to drag me away, but I will hear the footsteps of my King coming to carry me home.
cc A child of God never comes to the end of the road, ... we just follow our Shepherd into the cleft of the Rock!
dd Death never calls our name . . . our names are called by our daddy off the roll!
Conclusion:
A The God of Elijah lives!
1 He’s still as powerful as He was on the day He raised that widow woman’s son from the dead!
a He’s still in the life-giving, soul-saving business.
b He wants us to believe in/expect on Him to work.
aa Pray, believe and receive.
bb Pray, doubt, and do without.
Notice to Sermon Central Users:
My name is Mike Fogerson, and I pastor a Southern Baptist Church in Chester, Illinois. I have been a long-time user of Sermon Central and truly appreciate its content and contributors. Some of the best sermons I’ve ever preached have been reworked material from this website. As you use the material from my sermon bank, understand that it is work that has been done from not just myself, but from hundreds of other pastors as well. If you see part of your message, or a bunch of your message with my name on it and this upsets you, please email me and I will quickly respond and cite you as the main source. My intent is not to claim someone’s work as my own. I am disclaiming up front that I use the resources from Sermon Central and appreciate the tool. I simply want all those who use my work to know that some of these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit working through other pastors. Because I do use the messages of other pastors I waive all claims of originality or origin of creativity for the messages posted under my messages. I pray God blesses your preaching ministry for the glory of His Kingdom.
Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
