“For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

                                                                                                                               Galatians 2:19-20

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“‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”                                                                              John 14:18-21

This is the second of four-week sermon series on “Practicing the Positive Presence of Jesus.”

In our culture there is a great interest in “spiritual enlightenment,” how we can “awaken to our life’s purpose” and” be connected to the divine power of the universe.”

We can learn much from this interest as we explore the dimensions of being one with God in Christ – individually and corporately as the church, the Body of Christ.

Many of the current popular “spiritual” authors and speakers emphasize the theme of how important human beings are. One author says, “You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are!”

We can find in our faith, some amazingly powerful and positive statements about our identity “in Christ” and who we are in God’s eyes.

In John 14:20, Jesus says, “You will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you.”

In Galatians 2:20 the apostle Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ, It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”

We live in and through the energizing presence of the risen Christ.

Listen to the following story (I’ve told it before!) by the late Bruce Thielemann, former Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. I heard Bruce relate this story over 25 years ago:

“I think of a Presbyterian elder in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who got a phone call one night – it was not an ordinary night – Pittsburgh had undergone a terrible ice storm making travel almost impossible.

This elder got a call from the pastor of his church. There was a family in the church whose little boy was very sick and suddenly had taken a turn for the worse. The family had called the hospital and was told to bring the boy in. No transportation was available. The family didn’t own a car. The pastor’s car was in the shop. So the pastor called the elder who lived near the family. The elder said he would go and started out for the little boy’s home.

It was so slick that he could not stop for stop signs or stop lights. He had three minor incidents on the way to the family’s house. When he reached the home, the parents brought out the little boy wrapped in a blanket. The mother got in the front seat and the father in the back. Ever so slowly they drove to the hospital. They came to the bottom of a hill and as they managed to skid to a stop, the elder was trying to decide whether he should attempt to make the grade on the other side, or whether he should go to the right and down the valley to the hospital.  As he was thinking about this, he happened to look over and see the face of the little boy. The youngster’s face was flushed, and his eyes wide with fever and with fear. To comfort the child, he reached over and rubbed his hair. It was then that the little boy said to him, “Mister, are you Jesus?”

Do you know in that moment the Presbyterian elder could have said “yes,” because that elder lived by Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…”   “For him to live was Jesus Christ.”

Yes, Christ lives in us as individuals. Christ lives in us corporately - as the body of Christ.

Theresa of Avila (16th C. reformer of the Carmelite order)

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet, on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which He looks, Compassion on this world

Yours are the feet With which He walks to do good.

Your are the hands With which He blesses all the world

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet.

Yours are the eyes, you are Christ’s body.

Christ has no body now but yours.

 Christ lives in us as individuals. Christ lives in us corporately - as the body of Christ!

The positive presence of the risen Christ lives in us.

Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) was known as the Champion of Positive Thinking.

Peale confessed that as a youth he had "the worst inferiority complex of all," and developed his positive thinking philosophy just to help himself.

As Pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City from 1932 to 1984,  he gained fame for his sermons on a positive approach to modern living,

His most popular book, The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), has sold more than 20 million copies in 41 languages.

Peale applied Christianity to everyday problems and is the person who is most responsible for bringing the insights of psychology to the Church, blending its principles into a message of "positive thinking." Peale said, "through prayer you ... make use of the great factor within yourself, the deep subconscious mind ... [which Jesus called] the kingdom of God within you ... Positive thinking is another term for faith."  

There is a great need for us to emphasize the positive aspects of our faith:

• “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, I am your God.” IS 41:10
• “Perfect love casts out all fear.” I JN. 4:18  Love never fails ICOR 13
• Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you….do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.” JN. 14:27
• “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rms. 12:21
• “The Lord your God is with you and will take great delight in you, God will renew you in his love, God will rejoice over you with singing.” Zeph. 3:17
• Jesus: “I am with you always…I will never leave you or forsake you
• Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

This past week Diane Sawyer interviewed Professor Randy Pausch, 47-year-old computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon University,. In September, Pausch said goodbye to his students and the Pittsburgh college with one last lecture called "How to Live Your Childhood Dreams," on his life's journey and the lessons he's learned

Randy has terminal pancreatic cancer. He has been on palliative chemotherapy, intended to slow the growth of the tumors. The chemo worked well until two weeks ago, when side effects began causing congestive heart and renal failure, resulting in hospitalization. He is now at home, getting his strength back.

"You know, life is a gift," Pausch told Sawyer. "Again, it sounds trite, but if you wait long enough, other people will show you their good side. If there's anything I've [learned] that is absolutely true. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than you might like. But the onus is on you to keep the hope and keep waiting."

Randy’s message was very inspiring. It touched many people.

We are called to live out the positive presence of Jesus.

Christ lives in us as individuals.

Christ lives in us corporately - as the body of Christ!

The positive presence of the risen Christ lives in us.

Amen.