Now That’s Real Living!

3rd Sunday of End Time, Saints Triumphant, 11/14/21 John 5:25-29 Now That’s Real Living! I. We have heard and live. II. We will hear and live forever. If you’re well past midlife, let me ask you something. Did you ever reach a point in your life at which you felt as if you had “made it” in life? You know, it’s that point in which you’re confident you have jumped over the last hurdle, overcome the last obstacle, won your last battle, and now what stretches ahead of you is nothing but enjoying life. Did you ever attain that life? If you did, how long did it last? I’m guessing not that long. Perhaps only for a few moments. If you’re in school right now or you’re a young adult with perhaps 10 years of employment under your belt, what will it take for you to “make it” in life? When do you think you’ll arrive at that point when all your struggles will be behind you, and you’ll be able to really start living the good life? The only thing I can say to you is that I wish you well, but, as your pastor, I wouldn’t want to give you a false sense of optimism. In these verses before us from John 5, Jesus spoke about life, living, and eternal life. This event occurred early in his ministry, when Jesus was enjoying a good deal of popularity, but he spoke these words to a group of Jews who wanted nothing to do with him. In fact, when he claimed that God was his Father, they were intent on killing him. You see, they figured they had made it in life already—spiritually speaking—without Jesus. They figured they had already attained all that God required of them to have life with him. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. As people intent on killing Jesus, they were as far away from attaining that life as they could be. Jesus spoke to them about attaining real life, life right now and life with him forever. That’s “making it” in life. That’s “attaining it” in life. Now that’s real living! Let’s see what that’s all about as Jesus explains it to us here in John 5 this morning. Part I. The only way you could have missed what’s happening over the past 20 years is if you’ve had your head buried in the sand. To what am I referring? The decline of Christianity in America. Some religious statistical experts are already referring to America as being a post-Christian country. One prognosticator has stated that by 2035 non-Christians will be the majority in the United States. But what do these sobering—perhaps alarming—statistics have to do with our discussion this morning about real living? Well, it’s apparent that more and more people are convinced they can have real life without Jesus Christ. And that’s exactly the dead-wrong opinion held by the people to whom Jesus spoke these words of our text. Listen to Jesus’ attempt to correct their noxious notions. “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.” At first hearing or reading, you might think that Jesus is speaking about the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day. But look and listen more closely. He stated, “A time is coming and has now come.” He can’t be talking about the resurrection on the Last Day. So, what is he talking about? It’s possible he’s speaking about the fact that he has the power to raise the dead. We know he did that very thing on at least three occasions during his earthly ministry. He raised the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain, and his dear friend Lazarus. There may have been others that the Bible doesn’t share with us. But the point is, at the voice of Jesus these dead people came to life. I think an even better explanation is that Jesus is speaking about bringing spiritually dead people to spiritual life. Jesus met countless spiritually dead people during his ministry on earth. He shared the word of God with them, the truth that he was their Savior from sin, the gospel, and they believed his message. They went from being spiritually dead people to spiritually alive people. He gave them real life! And he’s done that very thing for you and me. There’s no reason for you to be discouraged that you have failed to make it in life. There’s also no reason for you to envy those whom you consider to have made it. The truth is you have real life, the only life that matters. It’s been that way ever since the Lord Jesus sent his Holy Spirit into your heart to create faith in him as your Savior. On that day you came to life—spiritual life. It was likely the day of your baptism as an infant. And ever since that day the Holy Spirit has sustained you in that faith through God’s word and sacrament. In the final analysis, the only life that will matter is life with Jesus. By God’s grace, you have that life! And that means victory! You don’t have to wait until you enter heaven to enjoy life with Jesus. It’s yours right now. That means right now you have victory over your three great and powerful enemies—sin, death, and hell. Listen again to your Savior’s words, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” You have heard and live. Now that’s real living! Because you have life with Jesus right now, you’re a winner! You’re victorious! And usually when we’re the winner we feel like a winner. We’re on cloud nine, at least for the moment. But let me ask you. Do you feel like a winner? I’m guessing that most of us don’t. We’re losing at some of our relationships. We’re losing in our careers. It seems like every day we lose another health battle. I asked you when this sermon began if you’re making it in life. You might have replied to yourself, “Pastor, I’m just trying to get through today and hope I can get up and do it again tomorrow.” Truth be told, we’re feel like losers, like we have an “L” tattooed on our foreheads. “Those who hear will live.” That’s your spiritual reality. What Jesus wants you to be and to have he has already made you and given to you by faith in him. You already have the only life that matters—life with him. With that life comes the blessings of your daily forgiveness, the certainty that you are his own dear child, and the guarantee of eternal life in heaven. What life could be better than that? We have heard and live. Now that’s real living! Part II. I’m sure I’m not the first person to state that it isn’t easy getting old. That fact struck me about two decades ago when my knees began to hurt and my doctor advised me not to jog anymore for my daily exercise. And it’s been a slow downhill slide ever since. Now I’m confronted with the fact that there are things I can no longer do, things that I’d like to do, but can’t. I’ve lost that ability. Can you relate to my experience? And even though we don’t like to think about it, the daily losses will continue until our final earthly loss. We die. It’s inevitable. Unless Jesus returns first, we’ll all face it. Not the most cheerful topic, is it? But as a Christian, you know that isn’t the end for you. In fact, it will be the beginning of a new life—life in the presence of your Lord and Savior in heaven. The death of a Christian—a saint—is not a loss; it’s a victory. The Lord Jesus has brought another soul out of the church militant and into the church triumphant. A Christian funeral doesn’t commemorate a loss; it celebrates a victory. And one day, by God’s grace, you’ll experience that victory. But there’s more. Listen to the words of your Savior, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” While your soul enjoys a victorious life with your Savior in heaven, your body awaits the resurrection on the Last Day. Those who are good—God’s saints by faith in Jesus—will rise from the dead and their bodies will be glorified like the glorious body of Jesus. Then we will finally experience life the way our God intended it to be for us—a perfect life with a body that is not in any way subjected to sin or death. No more crying, mourning, or pain. No more disease or death. No more physical limitations. Just perfection. With your own body. What people clamor for—a perfect life with a perfect body—Jesus promises to give you by faith in him. And it will never end. Now that’s real living! We will hear the voice of Jesus and live forever. I’ve been told that decades ago an American oil company’s advertising stated, “There are no solutions; just intelligent choices.” To be honest, I’m not sure how the company intended its audience to respond. Isn’t that rather pessimistic? There are no solutions? But that’s the way life seems to be, isn’t it? Look at the problems our country and our world face, and they seem to increase every day. Things just don’t seem to be getting any better. And it looks like they never will. Unless you have life with Christ right now by faith in him. You see, sin and death are at the root of all our problems in this world. Jesus is the Victor over sin and death. Even though billions of people refuse to believe it, on the Last Day he will display his victory over sin and death when he raises all the dead and glorifies the bodies of every Christian. That’s his plan. That’s his promise to us. And nothing can stop him from fulfilling that promise to us. And then we will begin really living—living with him forever with glorified bodies. Now that’s real living, and that’s your life—your life with Christ. Let’s start enjoying that life with Christ right now and forever! Amen.