2022 saw some truly bizarre Guinness World Records. They include:
The fastest time to find and alphabetize the letters in a can of alphabet soup (2 minutes and 8.6 seconds);
The farthest tightrope-walk in high heels (639 feet, in four-inch stilettos);
The largest gathering of people with the same first and last name (178 Hirokazu Tanakas in Japan, beating the 2005 record of 164 Martha Stewarts); &
The fastest time to eat 10 Carolina Reaper chilies (Ben Hooper, “Odd 2022: The 10 oddest Guinness World Records of the year,” UPI.com, 12-13-22; www.PreachingToday.com).
Now, I don’t know about you, but I can think of a lot more significant things to do with my time, especially since Christ is risen! You see, if Christ had not been raised from the dead, then life would be full of meaningless pursuits like that. But since Christ is indeed risen, God has prepared so much more for you to do.
The question is: How do you live the life God designed you to live? How do you move beyond the trivial pursuits to significant accomplishments in your life? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ephesians 2, Ephesians 2, where the Bible shows how Christ’s resurrection can impact your life today.
Ephesians 2:1-2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience… (ESV)
The Apostle Paul, a Jew, reminds his Gentile audience where they came from. And if you want to live the life God designed you to live, then you too must first of all…
REMEMBER WHERE YOU CAME FROM, as well.
Remember where you were before you knew Christ.
Remember that at one time you were dead in your sins. That means you were separated from God’s goodness and grace.
Death in the Bible always means separation. Physical death separates your spirit from your body. Spiritual death separates you from God relationally. And that was your condition before you trusted Christ.
You were separated from God, because you were disobedient to God. You followed the ways of this world and of Satan himself. In fact, not only were the pagan gentiles dead and disobedient. The Apostle Paul says that even all the so called “good people” were also dead and disobedient. Notice the subtle change in verse 3:
Ephesians 2:3a Among whom WE ALL once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind…
Even good Jews followed the sinful desires and thoughts of their own hearts. Now, that’s quite an admission for Paul, a so-called “righteous Jew,” to make. He’s basically saying, no matter what your background, if you grew up in a religious home or not, you were ALL separate from God because of your own sin. ALL of you were dead in your sins because of your disobedience.
As a result, you were doomed. You were destined for hell.
Ecclesiastes 2:3b [We] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
That word, “children,” implies an intimate relationship with wrath. At one time, you were not close to God’s love; you were by nature close to His rage against your sin. That was your condition before you came to know Jesus Christ. And even the thoughtful unbeliever recognizes this.
Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and the author of The Science of Good and Evil, writes:
I once had the opportunity to ask Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's List, what he thought was the difference between Oskar Schindler, rescuer of Jews and hero of his story, and Amon Goeth, the Nazi commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp. His answer was revealing.
Not much, he said. Had there been no war, Mr. Schindler and Mr. Goeth might have been drinking buddies and business partners, morally obtuse, perhaps, but relatively harmless. What a difference a war makes, especially to the moral choices that lead to good and evil.
Shermer goes on to quote Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” (Michael Shermer, Something Evil Comes This Way)
Carl Sandburg put it this way: There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud (Richard Hansen, “A Good Mystery,” Preaching Today Audio, issue 253).
That’s where you were before you knew Christ. By nature, we were “children of wrath.” All of us were separated from God because of our sin.
So if you want to live the life God designed for you to live, remember that. Remember where you came from before you knew Christ. But don’t dwell on that too long. For if you want to do all the good things God has prepared for you to do, you must also…
REALIZE WHERE YOU ARE TODAY with Christ.
Know where God has put you since you came to faith in Christ.
Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… (ESV).
God raised us from the dead and seated us with Christ. God gave life to those of us who were dead, but He didn’t leave us in the graveyard. No! He seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms.
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (in John 11), the first thing we see them do is enjoy a meal together (in John 12). So it is with those of us who have trusted Christ. Like Lazarus, we have been called from the grave of sin to sit with Christ and enjoy his friendship.
The best thing about your new life in Christ is that you are WITH Christ. God took you out of the grave and seated you WITH Christ.
In the second year of George W. Bush’s presidency, the Republican Party mistakenly invited an Ohio prisoner to dinner with the president. It was a $2,500-a-plate fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C. The Republican Party sent the invitation and a letter from Vice President Cheney to Robert Kirkpatrick at the Belmont Correctional Institution in eastern Ohio. Kirkpatrick, 35, was sentenced the year before to nearly three years for drug possession and escape.
“I'm going to tell him that I'd be happy to attend,” said Kirkpatrick, “but he's going to have to pull some strings to get me there” (John Bacon, “Guess Who's Not Coming to a Bush Dinner,” USA Today, 6-5-02, p.3A)
In essence that’s what God did for every one of us sinners who have come to faith in Christ. He “pulled some strings” to get us a seat right next to the Lord of the Universe, not at some time in the future, but right now, today!
Notice, in verse 6, the verbs are in the past tense. God raised us up with Christ (past tense) and seated us with him (also in the past tense). This is not something that WILL happen at some time in the future. This is something that has ALREADY happened to every believer in Christ. We have been seated WITH Christ ever since we trusted Him as our Savior.
And that means you are right now with Christ in the place of all power. Satan no longer has any authority over you whatsoever.
In Ephesians 1, we see exactly where Christ is seated. Look at it. Ephesians 1:20—God raised Christ from the dead and “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”
That means if you are seated with Christ, you are seated in that same place—“far above all rule and authority.” You don’t have to “follow the ways of this world” any longer. You don’t have to listen to Satan, “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” And you don’t even have to “live in the passions of your flesh” anymore. You’re above all that, because you are right now, today, seated with Christ. Hallelujah!
Larry Christenson says, “Think of yourself as living in an apartment house. You live there under a landlord who has made your life miserable. He charges you exorbitant rent. When you can’t pay, he loans you money at a fearful rate of interest to get you even further into his debt. He barges into your apartment at all hours of the day and night, wrecks and dirties the place up, then charges you extra for not maintaining the premises. Your life is miserable.
“Then you get a new landlord. He says, ‘I’ve taken over this apartment house. I’ve purchased it. You can live here as long as you like, free. The rent is paid up. I am going to be living here with you, in the manager’s apartment.’ What a joy! You are saved! You are delivered out of the clutches of the old landlord!
“But what happens? You hardly have time to rejoice in your new-found freedom when a knock comes at the door. And there he is—the old landlord! Mean, glowering, and demanding as ever. He has come for the rent, he says. What do you do? Do you pay him? Of course, you don’t! Do you go out and pop him on the nose? No—he’s bigger than you are! You confidently tell him, ‘You’ll have to take that up with the new Landlord.’ He may bellow, threaten, wheedle, and cajole. You just quietly tell him, ‘Take it up with the new Landlord.’ If he comes back a dozen times, with all sorts of threats and arguments, waving legal-looking documents in your face, you simply tell him yet once again, ‘Take it up with the new Landlord.’ ln the end, he has to. He knows it, too. He just hopes that he can bluff and threaten and deceive you into doubting that the new Landlord will really take care of things (Larry Christenson, The Renewed Mind, Bethany House Publishers, 2001, pp. 51-52; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s what it’s like to be seated with Christ in the place of power. You can tell the world, the flesh, and even the devil to “take it up with your new Landlord.” The devil may try to intimidate you, but Jesus, through His death and resurrection, set you free Satan’s tyranny and control. He set you free to be all that God has called you to be.
If you want to live the life God designed for you to live, then know that in your heart. Understand where you are with Christ today. Realize that you are right now seated with Him in the place of all authority, over every power and dominion, even that of Satan Himself. You don’t have to take his stuff anymore, because God has seated you with Christ.
Now, why did God do that? Why did God give those of us who were so low such a high position? Well, God did it to demonstrate his grace. He wanted everybody to know how much he loved you.
Ephesians 2:7 …so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (ESV).
God wanted to make us trophies of His grace.
In the movie, A Walk to Remember, Jamie Sullivan (played by Mandy Moore) is the high school daughter of a widowed minister in the small town of Beaufort, North Carolina. Jamie is ridiculed by the “in crowd” for her conservative appearance and values, but she resolves to be her own person. Her high school yearbook recorded her primary ambition in life: “To witness a miracle.”
In the movie, Jamie is dying of leukemia. When Jamie befriends Landon Carter, one of those who mock her, her father and Landon's friends are concerned. But Jamie pours her life into Landon, helping him study, rallying him to memorize his lines for a school play, and introducing him to the wonder of astronomy. During this period, Landon falls in love with Jamie.
Eventually they marry. After a mere three months, Jamie dies. In honor of Jamie, Landon decides to attend college, where he distinguishes himself as a capable student. After graduation, he returns home to Beaufort. The first person he wants to see is Jamie's father.
As the two sit down, Landon announces he's been accepted into medical school. Then Landon says, “I'm sorry [Jamie] never got her miracle.”
The minister looks straight at Landon. “She did,” he said. “It was you” (A Walk to Remember, Warner Brothers, 2002, written by Nicholas Sparks and Karen Janszen, directed by Adam Shankman, starting at 1:34:35).
Landon’s changed life was a miracle and a testimony to the power of unconditional love. So it is with you. You were once separated from God, dead in your sins and doomed to hell. Now, you are seated with Christ as a testimony to the miracle of God’s unconditional love.
You see, it is not guilt that changes lives; it is grace. And if you want to live the life God has prepared for you to live, then grasp that concept in your own heart. Know in your heart how much God really does love you.
Remember where you came from. Realize where you are today. Then …
RECOGNIZE HOW YOU GOT THERE.
Understand how you got to where you are today. Once, you were separated from God, relationally. Now you are seated with Christ, and it’s not because of anything you have done. It’s only because you have been saved by grace.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (ESV).
You have nothing to boast about. You are GOD’S workmanship, not your own, and you are where you are today only by the grace of God. You are where you are today only because God chose to love you when you didn’t deserve it.
I think it was Billy Graham who said, “When you see a turtle on a fence post, you know it didn’t get there by itself.” You got to where you are today only by the grace of God, who chose to put you in such a high position.
One ad for the U.S. Marines pictures a sword, and beneath it the words: “Earned, never given.” If you want to become a Marine, be prepared to earn that name through sacrifice, hardship, and training. If you get it, you deserve it.
But if you want to become a Christian, you must have the exact opposite attitude, for the message of the gospel is: “Given, never earned.”
You cannot save yourself, and God will not save anyone who tries to earn salvation. It is only for those who humbly receive it as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ. If you get it, you absolutely did not deserve it (Craig Brian Larson, editor, Preaching Today.com).
My friends, if you’ve never done it before, I invite you right now to humbly receive God’s gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Just put your trust in Christ. Call upon Him and ask Him to save you from your sins. Ask Him to give you a new position with him and to change your life forever.
Trust Christ with your life and no longer find yourself separated from God. Instead, find yourself seated with Christ, all because He has saved you by His grace. Then, and only than, can you live the life God designed for you to live and impact your world for Christ.
Ray Ortlund once put it this way: “We were married to Mr. Law. He was a good man, in his way, but he did not understand our weakness. He came home every evening and asked, "So, how was your day? Did you do what I told you to? Did you make the kids behave? Did you waste any time? Did you complete everything I put on your To Do list?" So many demands and expectations. And hard as we tried, we couldn't be perfect. We could never satisfy him. We forgot things that were important to him. We let the children misbehave. We failed in other ways. It was a miserable marriage, because Mr. Law always pointed out our failings. And the worst of it was, he was always right! But his remedy was always the same: Do better tomorrow. We didn't, because we couldn't.
“Then Mr. Law died. And we remarried, this time to Mr. Grace. Our new husband, Jesus, comes home every evening and the house is a mess, the children are being naughty, dinner is burning on the stove, and we have even had other men in the house during the day. Still, he sweeps us into his arms and says, "I love you, I chose you, I died for you, I will never leave you nor forsake you." And our hearts melt. We don't understand such love. We expect him to despise us and reject us and humiliate us, but he treats us so well. We are so glad to belong to him now and forever, and we long to be “fully pleasing to him” (Colossians 1:10)!
“Being married to Mr. Law never changed us. But being married to Mr. Grace is changing us deep within, and it shows” (Ray Ortlund, "Who are you married to?" The Gospel Coalition blog, Ray Ortlund, 2-15-15; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, cease striving to keep some law. It will only frustrate you. Instead, count on God’s grace. Rest in His unconditional love for you. It will empower you for “every good work.”
If you want to live the life God designed for you to live, 1st, remember where you came from. 2nd, realize where you are today, and 3rd, recognize how you got here—purely by God’s grace. For it is grace that changes lives, never guilt.
As a 17-year-old Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, was involved in a car accident. Speeding carelessly down a windy mountain road, Anne smashed into her neighbor, Mrs. Pickering’s car. Anne was too afraid to tell her father about the accident, so for the rest of the day she kept avoiding him. When she finally came home, she tried to tiptoe around her dad, but there he was, standing in the kitchen.
Anne tells what happened next:
I paused for what seemed a very long moment frozen in time. Then I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck… I told him about my wreck – how I'd driven too fast and smashed into the neighbor's car. I told him it wasn't her fault; it was all mine. As I wept on his shoulder, he said four things to me:
“Anne, I knew all along about your wreck. Mrs. Pickering came straight up the mountain and told me – and I was just waiting for you to come and tell me yourself.”
“I love you.”
“We can fix the car.”
“You are going to be a better driver because of this.”
Anne says, "Sooner or later, all of us are involved in some kind of wreck – it may be your own fault or someone else's. When the damage is your fault, there's a good chance you'll be confronted by the flashing blue lights of the morality police. But my father gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to experience the loving, forgiving embrace of my heavenly Father” (Adapted from Anne Graham Lotz, Wounded by God's People, Zondervan, 2013, pp. 155-156; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, if you have made a wreck of your life, stop avoiding your Heavenly Father. Run to Him and tell Him about your wreck. He already knows, and He still loves you. He can fix it; but best of all, He can fix YOU!
His grace not only releases you from judgment for your sin; it makes you a better person; it absolutely changes your life.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.
