Day 11 - The Resurrection

Key #1 – God Owns Everything


Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:21
• A time will come when Jesus will return and restore God’s good creation to a sin-free state
• As disciples, we are called to begin living by that reality and the values of that age right now (1 Timothy 6:12)
• Because the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord and he has promised to restore everything and cleanse the entire world of impurity and sin, it becomes obvious that treasures of this present age like personal wealth, possessions, and comfort will be of absolutely no value
• This is why Jesus urged his disciples to do God’s will with everything in our lives so that we can invest in the things that will last for eternity
• A new car or bigger house will be of no value in the age to come, but being able to visit someone whom we helped become a Christian through our own efforts or even by helping to fund a missions church overseas is a reward of inestimable value

2 Timothy 2:8, 11
• Just as Jesus resurrected from the dead, the promise is that we will be as well
• What we do and how we sacrifice right now as Christians matters because we live by the values and investment standards of the age to come (1 Corinthians 15:58). What seems like an unwise investment with resources, from the standpoint of the present age, will be shown to be not only wise but an eternal investment when the resurrection age is revealed

Philippians 3:20-21
• The point of citizenship in the Roman world (Paul was writing a very Roman colony in this letter) was that you went to establish a colony like Philippi, you weren’t going to go back to Rome one day, but you stayed where your were at and could demonstrate for the people around you what it looked like to live like a Roman
• Our call, because we will be resurrected and be part of the age to come, is to realize that we are citizens of heaven, so we need to be busy showing people what it looks like to live by the values of the age to come


Matt.5:5; Matt. 25:21, 23; 1 Cor. 6:3; Eph. 6:8; Rom. 2:6, 10; Luke 19:12-19
• Those in Christ will inherit the earth in God’s restored future and rule over with God as his people


• In what ways do you already intentionally live by the values of the resurrection age?
• Do you spend your time, resources, energy, and wealth in the reality of the age to come or do you find yourself often living more according to the values and patterns of the people who have no hope beyond this age?


Romans 13:11-14
• Paul calls disciples of Jesus to live as though the day is coming, because it is, even though it is still night
• Rather than living by the principles and values of the darkness of this present age, God’s people are to begin living right now like we are in the resurrection. This doesn’t mean to ignore reality and become delusional but to do what Jesus did which was to constantly demonstrate to people what the kingdom of God looks like when it breaks into the present age
• We can do this through many means, but a main indicator of how much we have truly embraced this concept is how we handle our possessions and finances

Jeremiah 12:5; Luke 16:11-12
• What we do now with what God has given us matters a great deal
• Jeremiah’s point was that we cannot expect to handle more difficult responsibilities when we have failed in the easy things
• How can we expect God to trust us to be good stewards of his age to come if we are not good stewards with small responsibilities like our own possessions and finances in this age?



Convictions
• Are there any areas where you need to stop living by the values of this present age and start making decisions based on the values and eternity of God’s age to come?
• In what areas of your life have you been a good steward of what God has given you? In what areas of your life do you need to improve your stewardship?