Living a NEW Life in OLD Circumstances

In our last message we focused on the reality of receiving an entirely NEW Life and identity when you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and receive Him as your personal Lord and savior.  We looked at the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, one on His right hand and the other on His left.  As I was studying the crucifixion account in Luke’s Gospel, it occurred to me that everyone who sneered, mocked, and blasphemed Jesus was so fixated on their present circumstances, and they railed against Him with hateful disbelief that said He could do nothing to change things for the better.  But there was one man who was able to see beyond his present circumstances and envision a NEW Life, which he expressed with one simple request, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.”  The Lord, so moved by his faith responded immediately, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

The Jewish Temple was called by several names, one of which was “Heaven and Earth.”  We know the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was only minutes away from being physically ripped open, from top to bottom, when the Life of Jesus (His Spirit) would pass from temporal earth into the eternal heavenly realm.  I believe the temple veil symbolized that faithless, hopeless, religious mindset that blocks the OLD from seeing the NEW, the PRESENT from seeing the FUTURE, and the EARTHLY from seeing the HEAVENLY.  As the veil was ripped open, light rushed into the Holy of Holies, pushing back the darkness that signified mankind’s ignorance of the HEAVENLY and of the Divine.  What was revealed was not the Ark of the Covenant, as it was lost long ago, along with the glory of God shining from above the Mercy Seat, between the Cherubim.  Jewish tradition maintains that the Ark disappeared during the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC.  It seems as if God wanted to make sure no one would miss His point by giving us only one thing to see behind the veil.  It was a huge rock jutting up from the floor of the Most Holy Place, spattered and stained with the sacrificial blood of countless bulls and goats.  The Ark was gone, but the rock where it once sat remains.  Paul answers any remaining mystery with these words in 1 Corinthians 10:4, “And that rock was Christ.”

Faith opened the spiritual eyes of one criminal and now that same faith opens our eyes to look beyond the veil of our present circumstances into the future where Jesus is Lord over all of heaven and earth.

The POWER to Live a NEW Life in OLD Circumstances is JOY!

As we gaze at that Rock, with our new spiritual eyes, I think of what Paul must have envisioned as he wrote Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,”  Truly, our faith begins and ends with Jesus!  Have you ever wondered how Jesus found the strength to endure the agony of the cross?  Paul gave us a priceless clue with his next words: “Who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus does not fixate on present circumstances, nor does He endure them by accepting or ignoring them.  His reaction is to actively DESPISE the shame.  The Greek word is kataphrŏnĕō which means not to fixate on, but to look down upon with contempt. 

The power Jesus used to endure these present circumstances and move on to a NEW Life was to look past the present circumstances and focus ALL His attention on the JOY set before Him.  The Greek word for JOY is chara.  Joy is an expression of gladness, great happiness, and pleasure.  But the joy that empowers Jesus is more than an emotional expression, it’s a manifestation of the most powerful force in the universe—JOY is a manifestation of God’s agape LOVE!  JOY is also a PERSON that causes JOY, and that PERSON includes you and me!  Jesus looked past the painful circumstances of the cross and focused His full attention—ALL HIS LOVE—on His Father and His NEW FAMILY, with whom He would spend all eternity.  This is the UNFAILING POWER OF LOVE!  Hallelujah!!!

No one comes into this NEW Life in Christ knowing how to live it—no one! 

Do you agree?  Together, we’re in good company!  Think of the Apostle Paul!  When he became a born-again believer, there was not even a New Testament Bible, let alone any close role models to follow, so he was pretty much on his own to hear the Holy Spirit and figure out how to live this NEW Life.  Are you with me in relating to this?  Yet, God always feels and understands what we are going through and uses all of it for His and our greater good!  I believe it’s no coincidence that the Lord kept Paul somewhat at a distance from the other apostles, so He could personally mentor him, then use him as a powerful influence to teach and mentor all of us in how to live this NEW Life in a world where we’re surrounded with OLD Circumstances. 

The key is to remember that because of Jesus, we can now look beyond the veil of that faithless, hopeless, religious mindset that has permeated the world and sadly, too much of the church.

Important principles for Living a NEW Life that Paul wants to impart to us:

Philippians 4:4–13  4 Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, rejoice!  (JOY is the FIRST STEP!)  5 Let your gentleness (moderation, patience) be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand (He is inside of us).  6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Worry about nothing, but pray about everything!); 7 and the PEACE of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Lacking PEACE is a strong indicator that prayer, repentance, and change is needed!).

Remember: The Mind is the Battleground!

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate (THINK) on these things. (Get your mind off social media and the NEWS and get it on the GOOD NEWS!)  9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of PEACE will be with you (There’s that “PEACE” word again!).

Living a NEW Life in OLD Circumstances requires LEARNING some things!

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly (There’s that “JOY” word again!) that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.  11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content (autarkēs – happy, not complacent, self-sufficient, strong enough in Christ—not fearful): 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)

HOPE and a FUTURE—His name is JESUS—He is my NEW Life!

Jeremiah 29:11–13  11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV84)

Conclusion: God’s eternal plan is a loving family which includes YOU!