Dr. John Goetsch: From Death to Life

take your Bible if you will let's go to the book of Ephesians and chapter 2 Ephesians and the second chapter I'm going to read the first 10 verses and you can follow they're in the Word of God or in the notes whatever you choose but Ephesians chapter 2 and we'll begin with verse number 1 Bible says in Ephesians 2 starting in verse 1 and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of Wrath even as others but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved and it's raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of His grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them when I was a boy my dad was the caretaker of a cemetery it was called the River Road cemetery it was about 3 miles from our farm where I grew up and so weekly my dad would go to that cemetery and my mom and us kids and my dad mow the grass my mother would trim around the tombstones and I would play as I got a little bit older and my teen years my dad worked it out where I could have that job and the cemetery board voted me in as the caretaker of that cemetery and I spent many days in that place mowing the grass and trimming the hedges and watering the flowers and when someone would die I would dig the grave and and and then covered back up and you know those times of being in that cemetery I would often look at those tombstones I would look at those grave markers and the people in that River old cemetery they were all different they all had different names on those grave markers they all were from different backgrounds and had different occupations they all had different durations of life some of them died at a very early age and just spent a few short years on this line out life's planet and others lived a very long time they were all different but they all had one thing in common they were all dead they were all dead in this auditorium this morning we have quite a variety of people don't we if we look around we all have a little different name we have a little different background our personalities are different our likes and dislikes vary we have various educational backgrounds and all of us have different types of hobbies and interests but there is a commonality that all of us in this room share we are all born into this life dead in trespasses and sins did you notice it there in verse number one you have he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins in Colossians 2 and verse 13 the Bible says and you being dead in your sins all of us or something in common we originally when we come to this life are born dead in sin we back in the book of Genesis we read where God created the heavens and the earth he created the man upon the earth and God said to Adam in Genesis 2 and verse 17 he said but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die so God placed man in the Garden of Eden he provided all these trees for him to enjoy the fruits of them but he said there's one tree this one right here the tree of knowledge and good and evil thou shalt not eat of it the moment you eat of it though shalt surely die well we read a few verses on into Genesis chapter 3 and the Bible says in verse 1 now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and the serpent said unto the woman hath God said ye shall not eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden and the woman said we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree that's in the midst of the garden God has said you shall not eat of it neither shalt thou touch it lest you die and the serpent said he shall not surely die for God doth know in the day you eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as God's knowing good and evil when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and gave also to her husband with her and he did eat and the eyes them both were opened and they knew that they were naked immediately Adam realized that he had sinned and when he sinned he died he died spiritually the Bible says in Romans five and verse 12 were by one man Adam sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned all of us today share the commonality of being dead in sin all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and the wages of that sin is death death in fact the Bible says in first Timothy five and verse six she that liveth and pleasure is dead while she liveth physically we're alive physically we're here this morning enjoying life on earth but spiritually all of us came into this life dead now we have a choice we can remain dead in fact you don't have to do anything to remain dead people who are dead today physically don't have to do anything to remain that way and spiritually you don't have to do anything to remain dead the Bible tells us in proverbs 21 and verse 16 the man that wander out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the Dead today you can say you know what I I don't really care about spiritual things I really don't care about what the Bible says I don't really care about heaven or hell I I don't really care about these things you call Christianity that's your choice to reject knowledge is to remain in the congregation of the dead that's your choice or you can choose to allow God to quicken you to bring you to life from that spiritual death Christ came to bring life the Bible tells us in John 11 and verse 25 jesus he said I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me jesus said in John 10 and verse 10 the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy but I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly now is made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel so how do we make this choice of going from spiritually dead to being alive in Christ well I want you to notice in our passage this morning three clearly presented facts about the spiritual life that God is offering to all of us as dead men notice first of all the deadness of a natural man now be honest with yourself humanly this morning all of us we don't like to think of ourselves as dead we like to think of ourselves as doing well I mean after all we're we're experienced in some level of health this morning some level of energy we're alive and we kind of feel like we're sufficient in ourselves where we're doing okay we we've got a job perhaps where our needs are met we have a family we we have a church we were in church and we tend to think that we're doing pretty good and we wonder well what's the big deal if I'm dead or alive spiritually but notice the deadness of this natural man there is a satanic control over that dead man look at verse number 2 wherein in time past he walked according to the course of this world according to the print of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience understand something if you have never been made alive in Christ if we are in that spiritually dead condition the Bible tells us that we are under a satanic control Lucifer was an angel in heaven he was one of the three most powerful angels in heaven along with Gabriel and Michael and Lucifer according to Ezekiel chapter 28 had charge of the worship in heaven he was in charge of giving the praise and worship to God and yet Lucifer one day and heaven decided that he wanted that worship to come to him instead of God the Bible says in Isaiah 14 and verse 12 how art thou fallen from heaven o Lucifer son of the morning how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nation's for thou has said in thine heart I will ascend into the heavens I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will sit also in the Mount of the congregation of the sides of the north I will rise above the clouds I will be like the Most High Satan as an angel Lucifer as an angel decided I want that place of preeminence I want to be God God said no and the Bible says that Lucifer was cast out of heaven down to the sides of the pit down to a place called hell and today Lucifer is now labeled as the Prince and the power of the air the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience friend without Christ in this dead condition of sin we are under Satan's control and I remind us he is a liar I know what he's telling some of you right now he's saying oh listen to this you don't need this you're fine you're gonna get to heaven everybody's going to heaven we're all God's children that's what he's saying but he's a liar John chapter 8 and verse 44 Jesus said year of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do he was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth for there's no truth in him he is a liar and the father of it any time we listen to Satan we are listening to a lie he's a liar his chief tool is deception he loves to deceive us about truth in 2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 4 the Bible says in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of God which is the image of Christ should shine unto them the devil has a job here this morning and his job is to try to blind you and I from the truth of God's Word he wants to block that gospel that can change your life and make you alive in Christ he wants to hide that from you he is the author of confusion he is the author of deception he is the author of fear and his end is destruction in a place called hell revelation 20 and verse 10 says the devil that deceived them was cast into a lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are and he shall be tormented day and night forever and ever all this and friend this is serious this morning if you are still dead in sin you are under satanic control and you are in a sinful condition no one is exempt look at verse 3 among whom also we all that's me that's you no one is exempt here we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and we're by nature the children of Wrath even as others we are all at a sinful datian all have sinned and come short of the glory of God there's none righteous no not one there's none that understand if there's none that seeketh after God they're all gone out of the way they're together become unprofitable there's none that doeth good no not one the scripture hath concluded all under sin and this sinful condition this satanic control puts us under a subscribed curse verse 3 at the end of that verse it says and we're by nature the children of Wrath what is the result of this sinful condition we come into life with what is the result of being dead in trespasses and sins the Bible says in John 3 and verse 36 he that believeth on the son of God hath everlasting life but he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of God watch this by this on him present tense friendís this isn't something to think about later this isn't something to come to grips with on your deathbed the wrath of God abideth without Jesus Christ this morning we are under the curse of sin and that curse leads to an everlasting destruction in a place called hell the fearful the unbelieving the abominable the murders the mongers the Sorcerer's and idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death yes all of us are heading to a physical death but friend if you are still dead in sin you are headed to a second death a spiritual death is separation from God forever in a place called hell a subscribe curse whosoever was not found written in the Lamb's Book of Life was cast into a lake of fire there was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass that the beggar died it was carried by the Angels into Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and was buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom and he cried and said father Abraham have mercy upon me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame friend hell is not a joke hell is not some tough time we go through in life hell is not a state of being or a state of mind the subject of hell is not just some religious scare tactic hell is real and every person who remains dead in sin is under the curse of that sin and is headed for eternal destruction in a place called hell the curse of our natural condition is an eternal curse in hell but wait wait oh this passage informs us of the deadness of a natural man but look at verse 4 but God but God notice the display of a non-partisan mercy but God is that wonderful when God steps in to the mix in a great when God gets involved with something that's a problem why aren't you glad that God intervened here that God intersected our life it says but God I think of the creation story back in Genesis chapter 1 the very first verse of the Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth verse 2 says the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep can you see this in your mind this this this darkness prevails this void of any form or any structure it's just kind of it's created but it there's nothing there like we see today it's dark it's void it's it's without structure but I love that next verse and God said let there be light and immediately everything begins to change in that creation my friend this morning you and I are like the early form of that world it is dark in our heart there's no structure there's no order there's no direction there's no purpose there's no eternity but God but God in whom we have redemption oh thank God that he stepped in for when we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly for scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us you see for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have ever last in life this the curse of sin is the law and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory to our Lord Jesus Christ now this display of a non-partisan mercy brings us to a curious motivation why why would God step into our life were sinners were undone were alienated from him why would God step into our life why would God be rich in mercy that's not like us when someone wrongs us as we have wronged God our our reaction is one of retaliation our reaction is one of revenge or retribution we want to get even but but God who is rich in mercy Micah said who is a God like unto thee that pardon of iniquity that passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage he retained if not his anger forever but God is rich in mercy God delighteth in mercy oh the mercy of God is high above the heavens the psalmist said it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed first Compassion's fail not not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy he saved us the mercy of God God who is rich in mercy and then he goes on in verse 4 to say and the great love wherewith he loved us why would God love me I'm a sinner in his sight I'm an abomination but God in His great love toward me behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God the love of God is greater far than any tongue or man can ever tell it goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell the guilty pair bowed down with care God gave his son to win his erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin Paul could we would think the oceans fill and were the skies of parchment made where every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade to write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry nor could the scroll contain the whole they'll stretch from Sky to sky all love of God how rich and pure how measureless and strong it shall forevermore endure the saints and angels song listened Christ on that cross one day displayed a non-partisan mercy and because of it we see a complete metamorphosis look at verse number five if you will the Bible says even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ by grace ye are saved and it raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of His grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast how does Christ take us from death to life well he quickens us the Bible says he quickens us he brings us to life we call it salvation sometimes we refer to it as being born again a new birth sometimes we call it conversion we become a new creature in Christ any man be in Christ second Corinthians 5:17 says he's a new creature literally a new creation old things are passed away behold all things are become new I remember in about eighth grade I walked into my general science class one day and the teacher announced that we were going to be studying metamorphosis I thought oh cool I wonder what kind of dinosaur this is he pulled from under the lab table a jar in that jar was a stick and on the stick was a kind of a furry ball we had all seen it I'd seen him many times run up on the farm little furry ball and we called it a cocoon the teacher explained how a caterpillar had crawled up on that stick and formed a cocoon around his body if we would be patient and we would watch eventually we'd come to school one morning and that cocoon would have opened and out of that cocoon would not come an old worm but a beautiful butterfly and that's exactly what happened it's called in science metamorphosis a change of form and that's exactly what God is describing here a change of form you see going from death to life is not Reformation it's not religion it's a regeneration it is taking the old and making it brand new a complete metamorphosis I was scheduled to preach a Sunday morning in a church and I got there early and met with the pastor in his office we were just chatting a bit and he said why don't we have a word of prayer before we go out and he began to pray and about halfway through his prayer the choir began to sing he abruptly closed his said before he started we got to get out there listen yeah that'd be a good idea he said well that's not let's not go through the front he said let's go around the back and we'll we'll wait in the back who will come in during the first congregational so we went down a hallway around the auditorium and we were standing we came in the back doors and we stood in the back there and watched the choirs they say and I was enjoying the choir there all of a sudden I I heard some sniffling and I kind of looked at the pastor and he had out his handkerchief and he was wiping his eyes and crying and I said you okay through those tears he said I I've never looked at our choir from here I'm always on the platform they're always behind me I've never looked at him like like from here he said you you see that lady on the second row the third one in from the right he said why that lady used to be a woman of the street God saved her God changed her life in fact he said that man's standing right behind her used to be the one the one that trafficked her body but God saved him and he began through that whole choir I said don't tell me everything he began to tell me about all those lives that once were dead in sin but had become alive in Christ a complete metamorphosis this is my son who was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found the deadness of a natural man the display of a non-partisan mercy but then finally this morning we see the direction of a new man now this is more you see that than getting some religion or going to church or cleaning up our act a bit there's a big difference between a caterpillar and a butterfly and I want you to see here an unparalleled position look at verse number 6 again and has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus do you understand what God is saying there we who were once dead in our trespasses and sins when we get saved when we asked Christ to come into our life to save us we have an unparalleled position we are positioned with Christ in the heavenlies look over at Ephesians chapter 1 and look at verse 13 in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also after that ye believed he were sealed with that holy spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of his glory do you understand what God does when he saves us he makes us positionally righteous not because of what we're doing not because we joined a church not because we lived a different kind of a life than before no he's positioning us in Christ because of what Christ has done for us and that Holy Spirit of God seals that until the day of redemption and we are seated positionally just as if we're already there in the very presence of the father an unparalleled position but wait it's an unfinished picture look down to verse number 10 for we are his workmanship we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them you see salvation is the beginning when we trust Christ when we when we see ourselves dead in trespasses and sins I'm praying this morning that if there's somebody here you've never awakened to this fact you've never understood I'm dead in my sin I'm dead spiritually the moment we realize that and we say god there's nothing I can do I'm dead I can't make myself alive I can't go to church enough times I can't I can't do enough good deeds I can't give enough money to become alive but when we realize that in our sin we can call upon that one who displayed that mercy on the cross of Calvary when we call upon him the Bible says instantaneously at that very moment he saves us whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and instantaneously there's a radical change in our life positionally all of a sudden we go from death to life we go from lost to found we go from blind to sight we are now in the presence of Jesus Christ seated with him positionally and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God nothing can take it from us we are saved it's a radical instantaneous change and guess what there's another one coming one day when Jesus comes back one day when you and I die whichever comes first there's going to be another radical instantaneous change it's called glorification when we are changed to be like him when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is in that going to be great no more sickness no more crying no more death all these earthly things are gonna pass away we're gonna be in heaven forever a glorification a glorified body salvation glorification instantaneous radical changes saved in-between salvation and glorification is a process we call in the Bible sanctification and it begins the moment you get saved now God starts us on a journey of becoming like him of conforming to his image to be made like him you see it in verse 10 that we should walk in these things that God already did permit ahead of time we should walk in them God is working on us he's changing us to be like him as the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 3 and verse 18 we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord this book the Bible is often referred to as a glass or a mirror when you look in the Bible you see yourself don't you God shows you who you are and you look in the Bible and you see yourself but it's also a glass in which you can see through to God himself and when you see in the Bible God and you see in the Bible yourself you realize there's some things that God wants to do to make me like him and so the Spirit of the Lord who guides us into the truth of his word changes us from glory to glory as by the sphere of the Lord we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and so the moment you get saved you begin to take that step toward becoming like Jesus Christ by the way that first step is what we call believers baptism now why is that the first step that seems like a pretty big step to go down into the water and be baptized after we ask Christ to save us why is that the first one that seems like a big step but you see that step pictures what you just did in salvation because it pictures the gospel it pictures the death the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ Paul said it very succinctly in Romans 6 and verse 4 therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life when you go down into the waters of baptism your body in that water are forming a picture of the cross and you are identifying with the first aspect of the gospel which is the death of Jesus Christ and you are saying to those who are witnessing this I have died to my sin I have repented of my sin I've realized I'm a sinner and can't save myself and so I've asked Christ to save me on the basis of what he did on that cross then as your place beneath that water you're picturing the burial of Jesus Christ as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whales belly so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and so when we bury somebody or something we put it completely beneath the surface of the ground and so likewise we picture baptism burial has beneath the water now that water's not washing away your sin the Bloods already done that but the water is picturing what the blood has already done and you're saying to people I can't save myself I've had to come to the cross I've had to ask Christ to save me and he's washed my sins away by the blood of Jesus Christ and when you're raised up out of that water you are picturing the resurrection of Jesus Christ on that third day and you're saying to those watching I'm no longer a sinner dead trespass and sins but now I'm a new creature in Christ and I'm gonna walk in newness of life oh man what a great first step what an exciting step to declare hey I'm no longer dead I'm alive in Christ and God has an unequivocal purpose in verse 10 he says unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them all God has a wonderful purpose for your life he has a plan and his plan is a perfect plan a new direction to become like him so we have a choice we can do nothing and remain in the congregation of the Dead or we can allow Christ through his finished work on Calvary to make us alive they say that self-preservation is the strongest human desire to simply preserve our life the desire to live we often read of some amazing stories of people in life-and-death situations who go to great lengths to preserve their life I read one day about a medical doctor who enjoyed in his free time hiking he loved to go up in the mountains and and do some hiking and one particular afternoon he was a bit stressed from his job and decided to go out and the outdoors and and go hiking up in the mountains he was an experienced hiker and decided to go alone which may not have been wise but he had been on this trail before and had hiked this particular mountain and was really just doing it to kind of relieve some of the stress from the day in the week he got up into those mountains was enjoying himself immensely and there was an avalanche suddenly toward evening those boulders began to roll down the side of that mountain he was hit injured and suddenly trapped as that Avalanche passed he was alive and he could move parts of his body but his right arm was trapped it was pinned beneath some heavy boulders he tried to free himself but without a veil he cried for help but no one was near enough to hear his cry as darkness began to settle he realized being somewhat experienced in that part of the mountains that there were animals such as mountain lions that would become a great threat to him throughout the night he knew that if he stayed there his life would no doubt be in great jeopardy so self-preservation kicked in he ripped part of his shirt from his body with his left hand and put it around his upper arm and created a tourniquet he then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocketknife and over the next hour that doctor amputated his own arm severed his arm walk down that mountain to the hospital and survived amazing story how desperate are you to live eternally are you desperate enough to leave your pride at your seat to leave what other people may think of you at your chair come down an aisle and ask Jesus Christ to be your savior are you desperate enough to say I don't want to live another day of physical life dead I'm gonna run down that aisle so that I can preserve my life eternally in heaven the choice is ours we can remain in the congregation of the Dead or we can become alive in Jesus Christ

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

Views: 1,519

Rating: 4.8823528 out of 5

Keywords: lancaster baptist church, lancaster baptist, baptist church, paul, chappell, paul chappell, pastor paul chappell, Ephesians 2, alive, Dr. John Goetsch, awakening

Id: O7wFhb-NoGQ

Length: 43min 15sec (2595 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 28 2019