Resurrection - First We Must Die! - How Dead Are You? Harold Troyer

What is to happen to the wheat for it to be made into bread? Well, it needs to be ground to flour. This is the same process we go through as we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. We lose our personal identity and become a part of the whole.

No more do we see individual grains; we see fresh loaf, we see a body, we see a community.

It's good to be with you this morning. Greetings in Christ's name.

As was mentioned, I know some of you are here, and it's a pleasure to be here with you this morning. Also, the topic today is resurrection, and I want to talk a bit about that, some aspects about the resurrection. This is Sunday morning, and I often think about that on Sunday morning.

A verse starting out here, Psalm 119:130, is, "The entrance of thy words giveth light. It gives understanding unto the simple." And that is what I need this morning as I think about the Word of God and sharing. I need His Word; I need His presence.

My name is Harold Schroyer. My wife's name is Larissa. In Russian, you say Larissa, but since people often say it with a D sound, it doesn't sound right. She says, "Just say Larissa. Sounds better." We have seven precious children.

I can imagine that Sunday morning, nearly 2,000 years ago, the disciples woke up and were hit between the eyes with the reality that Jesus was gone, forever, gone, buried. My imagination's here. All the scenes came flashing back to take away their breath, like a tsunami destroying all their dreams of a powerful and everlasting kingdom. I can imagine they didn't have much of an appetite that morning, but likely drank a little water, maybe some wine.

Sitting around with broken hearts and tears in their eyes blew me. It was the third day, and they just couldn't get over it. John was hit the hardest. As he sits, he stares out over the rooftops of Jerusalem, seeing only the blood-caked and writhing man he had adored, nailed to a cross. In reliving the cries of the bloodthirsty crowd, he shuddered.

It just couldn't be true. I mean, he had walked on water. He recalled how Jesus had healed the blind man and cast out the demon they had tried to cast out, but had failed. It seemed nothing was impossible to him.

As John recalled the Passover supper where Jesus broke bread and passed the cup, he broke down and cried. He could still feel the warmth of his best friend as he laid against him at the table. His sobs raked his body, and hot tears spilled down his cheeks and through his fingers.

He knew he should get a hold of himself, but he didn't really care. A breeze touched his face, but he didn't even notice. Something was wrong. Just then he heard running on the stairs beneath him. He didn't even want to turn to see who it was. "John!" He heard the shouts of women. "Peter!" John could see Peter leaning against the balcony, just staring into the clouds.

A few of the disciples lounged and talked in low tones. "John, Peter, brothers!" John could see it was Mary Magdalene and more women behind her. The words spilled out so fast he could hardly understand. "The tomb! Empty! Angels!" The disciples stared at the women. "The tomb is empty!" Peter finally found his tongue. "Empty? What do you mean?" John asked as he headed for the stairs.

As John ran through the city toward the spot of the tomb, he could hear puffing behind him. Peter was close behind. Racing up to the tomb, John could see that the stone had indeed been rolled away, as Mary had said. He hesitated. Could he go in? He couldn't bear the thought of seeing him dead.

He had been the best friend he'd ever had.

There could never be anyone else. Never. Just him. Jesus. Peter thundered past him and down into the opening into the rock. Getting up nerved, John also stepped carefully down the steps and into the tomb. He stopped. Where a body had lain there was only linen clothes and a cloth napkin that had been around his head. But where was Jesus? "What did Mary say?" John looked at Peter finally. "She said, 'The angels said Jesus would meet us in Galilee.'" "So what are we waiting for?" John climbed the stone stairs and ducked out into the sunlight. "I'm going to Galilee.

You can't go alone." Peter caught up with John. "Let's go back to Jerusalem and tell others what we saw. Then we'll go together. I think Jesus would want us to stick together."

Apostle Paul writes this to the Philippians, this desire of his, that I may know him, speaking of Jesus, in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. I have a couple of points this morning to the message. Number one, a physical death that results in a physical resurrection. Number two, a figurative death that results in a figurative resurrection, and a practical death that results in a practical resurrection, and then the way to resurrection power.

Recently, an aged saint passed into eternity from our local church in Belleville, Pennsylvania, where I've been a member the last 18 years. And when our family walked past the casket, Sister Anna didn't move.

We stood near her. I talked to my wife and children about her, but she didn't seem to hear.

She didn't even blush or get upset with what we were saying. She didn't even blink at all. She was dead. And then her body was planted into the ground, six feet under. Well, you know what the scripture says? Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, "And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain.

It may chance of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption.

It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." I'm sure among us there are some green thumbs, those who enjoy gardening and planting of seeds. And maybe most of us have planted seeds in late winter, early spring, in preparation for gardening. We prepare the soil. We plant the seed, and then the seed dies.

Scientifically, it doesn't really die, but it dies, we say. Sister Anna's body of clay, that frame of dust, was planted in the earth. That body will someday be raised to life, be a spiritual body. And according to verse 30:44 of 1 Corinthians 15, it will be raised a natural body that will be incorruptible. Our bodies today are subject to corruption and death. We face difficulty. We face sin, corruption, pain.

When the resurrection is believers, our bodies will not be sinful and will not die. I trust we're looking forward to that day. There'll be no more death, no more sorrow, no more dying, no more crying. Turn with me to Romans chapter 6, if you will. We'll read a few verses in Romans chapter 6.

If your Bible's with you, I'd like to read the first few verses there in that chapter.

Verses 1 through 5. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many as of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into his death, that like his Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father. Even so, we also should walk in the newness of life. For we have been planted together in the likeness of his death. We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection."

Now, here we have another kind of death and resurrection. It's not a physical death, although it's likened to it. Here is speaking of being buried into baptism. A person has believed in Jesus. He believes that Jesus indeed is the Lamb of God, which takes with us into the world. He has made a full surrender and then desires water baptism.

So when this repentant sinner is buried into the water, baptized, fully wound, this is figurative of Christ's death in burial in that tomb, right? When we come up out of the water after baptism, this is figurative of Christ's resurrection from the dead, that unforgettable Sunday morning 2,000 years ago.

Baptism is saying that we are now dead to sin, to the world and Satan. We are dead to our old fleshly carnal desires. We are now alive unto righteousness. We are alive unto kingdom values. We are alive unto God. I still remember when I was but a youth, a young boy, our Bishop Alan A. Miller would illustrate this point by saying this. He'd say, "You offer a dead dog a piece of meat.

Do you think he'll respond?" No. A dead dog will not even raise its head to look at the offered meat, right? This also is how we should respond when we are tempted with sin.

There is a side to the figurative death, this death of dying with Christ that is practical. It's a practical side. The practical side is that we choose to follow Jesus and obey him as our Lord and King. And when that choice comes, denying ourself, taking up our cross daily, following Jesus.

A difference with this death, we are called to die, is that it's not permanent.

We are called to daily take up the cross, to daily die to the flesh and to the world. Somehow, I need to be reminded that just because I surrendered my life to Jesus and was baptized in the autumn of 1991 does not mean that 30 years later, in 2021, I am still going to be dead to sin to the world.

There's a quote by D.L. Moody who says something like this: "The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar." Moody had experienced the reality of Jesus Christ's teachings. Every morning, when he got up, he had to die again. He had to put that sacrifice back on the altar. I think one of the biggest problems in our day with churches closing their doors and church splits and disagreements, lifeless churches, leadership teams leaving the church, you hear all kinds of stuff.

Members leaving the church is found right here. We don't want to die. We don't want to deny the flesh. We don't want to crucify the flesh. We don't want to follow Jesus. And then we can't figure out what the problem is. Churches are staying around, scratching their heads and trying to figure out what the problem is with the church life.

There's just no life. I realize that most churches may have a specific issue, but in general, this is the problem.

The Spirit of God will not force you to do his will.

We want to be alive. My rights are important to me. We want to be comfortable. I don't want pain. We want to plan our own life. I don't want to follow anyone else. This is so unlike the heart of Christ or the early church.

See if you recognize these statements. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. I do not count my life dear to myself."

"And the multitude of them that believe were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them the ought of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common."

That sounds like Christ.

Now, we've spoken of death. I would like to speak now of the power of the resurrection, the way to resurrection power.

What are the practical aspects of the resurrection? We have the empty tomb. We have new life. We have the coming of the Holy Spirit. And we have thousands that are filled with Christ's presence.

We spoke of the grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying.

What are the normal natural consequences of that dying? Well, the seed moistens, as you know, and softens, and a tiniest sprout of life emerges from that seed. In due season, there's a harvest.

From one grain of wheat comes many grains of wheat, much fruit.

Perhaps some of us have eaten a fresh loaf of bread. Maybe even now you're thinking about that. You know, that is much tastier than scooping up a pile of wheat and chewing on it, right? How do you get bread and butter, jam on kernels of wheat after all?

What has to happen to the wheat for it to be made into bread? Well, it needs to be ground to flour. This is the same process we go through as we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. We lose our personal identity and become part of the whole.

No more do we see individual grains. We see a fresh loaf. We see a body. We see a community. In Acts 4, we see an example of this in the early church. They were praying, it says. In verse 24, it says here in Acts chapter 4, "And when they heard that, the testimony of Peter and John, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and with one voice and said, 'Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is.'" This is the result of that resurrection power.

The way to resurrection power, I'd like to emphasize that Jesus is the way to resurrection power.

He said, "I am the way." To Martha, you recall, on the way to their place, Martha and Mary's place in Lazarus, he said to her, "Not I can resurrect your brother Lazarus." He didn't say that. He said, "I am the resurrection."

God is calling us. We need to realize our sinfulness and God's holiness. We repent of our sins. We put our faith and trust in Jesus. We surrender our entire life into his hands and to his control. We are baptized. The Holy Spirit then empowers us, comes into our heart and life. We are now dead to our flesh, to sin, to the world. Romans 8:10 and 11 says, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

This is the way to resurrection power and new life in Christ. I still remember well my new birth and the way to that resurrection power. I was 14 years old, and I knelt beside my bed, and I prayed.

And I surrendered my life to Jesus. I knew the gospel. Dad had preached it often. I heard it often.

I talked to my father then and told him about my desire, my desire to be baptized. I went through a time of instruction, perhaps from the time I knelt and surrendered my life to Jesus, and the time I was baptized, perhaps there was maybe a period of conception. I'm not sure how you titled that, but I was learning. I was coming to God. I was developing.

After I was baptized with water and the Holy Spirit, my life changed. I still recall those first two years very well, how my life changed. It's a mystery. And like Jesus said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth." So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. We don't see the Spirit, but we see its effect in our lives and those around us. The same power that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead is helping us live in righteousness and true holiness.

And as we walk with God, he begins to work in our life in various ways. He begins to guide us in ways that cause death to things that are hindering our walk with him. And I'd like to share some of that with you this morning, some of my own journey.

I was about 24 years old, and I had my heart set on a certain young girl. I thought she'd make me a godly wife. I spoke with my mother about it. She had agreed it was a good choice.

I had noticed her for a few years already and was praying about it. However, her father basically said no.

My world fell apart. I don't have time to tell the whole story. It's not necessary to tell the whole story. I was deeply hurt. I was devastated.

I knew my heart was right with God. I was walking in holiness and had believed this was God's will. But God said no. Like it shook my world. I mean, I could understand God if I was living in sin or had some ulterior motive or some problems, right?

But no, everything was perfect. And this is the right person. This is the right everything was right. But God said no.

If what I wanted would have happened my way, I would likely be still living out west in Missouri and had a house and some children and have a day job and whatever, whatever.

But God said no. As I look back at how God touched that one thing in my life and caused it to die, out of that death came resurrection power and abundant life. At first, I struggled emotionally and even mentally for a time. I began to search for answers and didn't find very many.

My parents moved to Ukraine and around the same time as missionaries, year 2000, so I sold my nice property and house and barns and all I had. I sold it, gave everything away. Moved to Ukraine, lived with my parents again.

Thought if I'd sit with Dad, learn from him, I could learn a few things. Next year, my parents moved back to Belleville. The mission bishop that had oversight in Ukraine with that mission, he had suggested that Dad come back because he didn't have a home church where there was a membership. So Dad did that, and we moved back to Belleville.

And there about eight months, and Dad bought a house there. Our time there at the church, I learned to know the youth. And I saw a few nice girls there, and I asked one of them. I waited and waited and waited.

Father said his daughter wasn't interested finally. When my parents moved back to Ukraine, I stayed in Belleville at the house they'd bought and taught school at the Concordia Mennonite School there in Belleville.

Taught there about two years. The church then at that time, I was a part of the church at Belleville Pleasantview, and they voted me to be a part of an outreach work. And I began looking into doing prison work in prisons.

And I also began at that time going to the local cities, Lewistown, Pennsylvania, and also State College, Pennsylvania, and walking in the streets and passing out tracts and literature and praying fervently for these towns. And I would pray that God would raise up an Anabaptist witness in these towns. I would pray quite a bit. And soon after this, it was interesting that a family moved to Lewistown, Pennsylvania, right downtown, and they've been there ever since.

It's amazing what God can do. I'd also walk the streets of State College and pass out tracts and pray for the town, hold up gospel signs. And God, I prayed, "Raise up an Anabaptist church in this city." I was inspired to make a couple of gospel signs and stand there on that one corner and pray.

Many a week, I stood there, just me and God, broken, praying.

Talking to international students and anyone who would listen, sharing the love of Christ and praying for that town. In 2008, my father moved back to America from Ukraine. He'd been there eight years. And he would come with me. We'd stand on the corner and we'd pray for State College.

We shared Jesus on those streets with people. We prayed together, my father and I. I still recall often crying out to God and praying.

I prayed that God would give us a house or land in that town to have a church. And I think God probably looked at me and my thoughts and he said, "You know, I can do a lot better than you can do."

Today, there's an Anabaptist church there, not downtown, but there's one there called FOJ, Followers of Jesus. We also put a Sower's Harvest Cafe in town, a witness five days a week, just up the street from Rice to Stand and pray for the town.

They have a great business going there where Followers of Jesus influence hundreds of people every week.

And off hours, they have Bible studies there at the cafe.

Also, we have the mission there called All Nations Bible Translation. It's there too as a result of a lot of prayer, a lot of hard work, a lot of brokenness.

You know, God has said he can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. Far more we can actually comprehend. Out of death can come lots of life.

After the death of my dream, I began to pray more. I spent more time with God. You know, after that death of my when I was 24 and my dream died, I began to pray more and spend more time with God. I recall making a prayer list for my new girlfriend or new wife I would get. And I recall writing down all the things I wanted to see in a wife I thought she should be. And stuck on my mirror, prayed about it. It wasn't until years later after I was married to my wife now, Larissa, that I thought about that list. I'm like, "You know what? Everything's on there.

Every point's on that list, plus a few extra." I got more to ask for in a good way. I think back to how God destroyed that dream of mine. Out of that death came resurrection power and abundant life.

A fervent walk with God, a love for prayer, six years of school teaching experience, five years of going into prison, five years of cross-cultural mission work in Ukraine, a godly and wonderful wife, seven precious children, experience at helping start a Bible translation mission, helping start a church in State College, helping start a prison aftercare home in Belleville, starting a prayer chain called Eternal Prayer Flame. I have hundreds of wonderful relationships all over the world. Out of death, something had to die.

Tremendous death. And how that came life, abundant life, resurrection, life, and power.

Let's conclude with this thought. There cannot be a resurrection without first there being a death. If you want to experience the power of Christ's resurrection, then you will need to experience the death of his crucifixion. There is no easy way to glory. There's no cross. There's no crown. If we are going to build God's kingdom the way he intended it to be built, we must lay down our life, not just some of our interests or not just some of our plans, but our very life.

May God help us to repent of our pride and humble ourselves and die. My concluding question would be this: How dead are you? How dead are you?

I realize that we're alive physically. However, we are called to be dead to sin, to the world, and to Satan's. I'd like to actually open up this time for any questions you might have. I've shared this morning a few thoughts. Would you have questions for me? I don't have any questions, but my thought was, I think every guy should be turned down if that much good comes out of it.

Okay. Well, there's steady things. Every young man should be turned down if that much good comes out of that death. That's what I was thinking about. I think every individual does go through a time to learn to give up of yourself, something you really, really want, whether it's a girlfriend, wife, or there's other things that people go through. And learning to know what that means, that you'll never get it, whatever that is, and lay that down. It does seem like that that's very, very helpful in an individual's life.

And then I think about where Paul says we are to die daily. It's more than just one time. If you learn to know what that death is, I think you can't die regularly or consistently daily. So I appreciate the inspiration.

That's a tall order to learn to die daily. Thank you. Thank you for your attention. Shall I pray? Let's pray. Let's stand for prayer.

Father, we thank you this morning for your goodness to us again. We thank you, Lord, for your presence this morning. And I pray as we think about our lives and dying with Christ, we pray we can be able to experience that new life in Christ because of our death with him.

We pray, God, we have tried to stay alive and tried to fudge and go around the death. We needed to die. We pray you'd forgive us and help us to understand the importance of death. And I pray, Father, just now for this group. We thank you for them. We thank you for the brotherhood. We pray your blessing upon this congregation. And Father, I pray for our home as well. We can be faithful in lifting up the word of life and being a witness for you wherever we might be. We pray your blessing upon this day. We pray for your spirit to guide us. We ask for your good hand to be with us today and the days following.

In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.