Na-na-na-na-na
Colossians 2: 6 – 15
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
I am going to make a statement here and you are probably going to say, “Amen,” and yet I would put it to you that you may not yet have the full understanding of all that the statement involves and includes.
DEATH HAS BEEN DEFEATED!
Did you say “Amen”?
Proverbs 4: 7
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
I believe our Father in heaven wants to upgrade our understanding on the stuff of life.
Proverbs 9: 1
1 Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out and set up her seven pillars.
A brief synopsis of our message at New Wine Church is that we may not have a storm-free life but provision has been made so that we can all have a storm-proof life. The reality is that storms are inevitable but our God is invincible and we are in him.
Our supernatural storm-proofing means that we can have and enjoy these seven pillars: a sin-proof heart; a sickness-proof body; an oppression and depression-proof mind; recession-proof finances; a divorce-proof marriage; strife-proof relationships and a division-proof church; and ultimately, a death-proof life.
In what I truly believe is a vital and foundational message I want to remind us of what is probably the least claimed promise of God’s word – the promise of longevity and of long life.
Psalm 91: 16
16 With long life [length of days] I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.
Deuteronomy 30: 19
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live
We have been given the right to choose life – to choose life over death and to choose blessing over the curse, to choose a death-proof life.
Jesus submitted to our death – a sinner’s death on the cross – so that we could resist death with his life. At the cross – the place of Divine exchange – where every negative became a positive, Jesus’ life was cut prematurely short so that our lives could be extended.
The title of today’s message is NA-NA-NA-NA-NA which is a taunt that has been commonly heard in school playgrounds over generations and was often employed in a cruel way to intimidate and demoralise, discourage or knock the stuffing out of the recipient of the taunt.
This, of course, is never something for us to employ towards one another but it is a strategy we can legitimately employ against the enemy of our souls. As I considered this I came up with the notion that this could be tongues for “The Lord rebuke you, satan!”
Let’s take a journey through some powerful death-defying Scripture and get ready to join in with the chorus.
1 Corinthians 15: 52
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Do you know that we are already raised with Christ?
Romans 6: 1 – 11
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
All through the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit – the author of the Word – is trying to wean us off the language of death and dying and transition us to language more compatible with our new creation life like sleeping and asleep. I love what it says here:
2 Corinthians 5: 1
1 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.
One day we are simply going to upgrade from living in a tent to living in a house. In fact the glorious hope of the church is not simply to die and go to heaven one day, but to be changed at Jesus’ return while still alive. The truth is that the less fear we have of death, the more faith we will have to live the life that Jesus came to enable us to live and to enjoy.
Faith that, according to Galatians 5: 6, comes [is activated, energised, expressed, and put to work] by hearing what God’s word of love says. So let’s hear what he says.
Jesus said that we live by what he says – hearing and believing his words that are spirit and life.
John 11: 25 – 26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
There is no loss to the person who transitions or falls asleep before Jesus returns.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Hebrews 2: 14 – 15
14 Because God’s children are human beings made of flesh and blood the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
The most powerful weapon that the enemy had against us was the fear of death and so Jesus has forever disabled that weapon and stripped the enemy of his control over us.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Romans 6: 23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s a gift! We did nothing to earn it and there is nothing we can do to forfeit it.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Proverbs 12: 28
28 In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Proverbs 13: 14
14 The instruction of the wise is like a life-giving fountain; those who accept it avoid the snares of death.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Proverbs 14: 27
27 Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
John 5: 24
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
There really is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus and so don’t ever fall for the condemning lies of our fallen enemy.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Romans 5: 17
17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Wow! What a turnaround!
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Romans 6: 4
4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Romans 8: 2
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
It’s a done deal!
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Romans 8: 6
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Galatians 2: 20
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
The awesome reality is that devil can’t touch you when there is no fear for him to dominate, intimidate, or manipulate you through.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
We can move from passive acceptance in regard to a prematurely cut-short life to active and aggressive expectation of life in all of its fullness – a fully satisfied life.
Genesis 6: 3
3 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
Many people take what Moses wrote in Psalm 90 regarding the years of a man being three score and ten (seventy years) as God’s standard for a person’s lifespan. But Moses goes on to say that there will be those who are stronger who will live for eighty years. Moses was speaking about a people who were in rebellion against God. Moses himself actually lived until he was 120 years old.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Psalm 91: 1 – 2, 7, 16
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.
16 “With long life (and length of days) I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
Such is the confidence of those who know their God as he longs to be known – as a loving and faithful Father who always protects and provides for his children.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Psalm 23: 4 – 6
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
This is not a psalm for the dead but for those who choose to live out the fullness of their days without fear until they finally transition from their tent to a house.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Psalm 118: 17
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
Proverbs 18: 21
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
A death-proof life is possible for one reason only and that is because God’s word says it is possible. We live by faith – by taking God at his word and celebrating the full life he has blessed us with.
Romans 6: 8 – 9
8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
We are not under – we are over – all the power of the enemy, including the power of death.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
John 10: 10
10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
The word translated abundance here – perissos – means “more, greater, excessive, abundant, exceedingly, beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; going past the expected limit, more than enough”. Jesus came to give us perissos life.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!
It is time for God to be glorified as we his people take hold of his promise of a long and a full life as a part of the fulness of our inheritance in Christ.
Why don’t you make the following declaration:
Death has been defeated and so I am going to fully live until my tent is dismantled and I transition to my house, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
And don’t forget the chorus.
NA-NA-NA-NA-NA!