REAL 09-05-2010 Pastor Bruce Plummer

This message is based upon an experience the Disciples had after the resurrection of Jesus.  They were introduced to a new “reality” that would conform their lives to the truth that He was alive and all that He said was true.  We too are faced with a question: if it’s true that Jesus is alive and all that He taught is true, then how should we live? Luke 24:36-39 

REAL  Luke 24.36-39

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but as a church we have a value statement printed on just about everything. 

One statement with three parts.  Real God. Real people. Real relationships. 

And that one word, real, represents what we know to be so important. 

The Disciples struggled with reality/what was real 

Jesus was dead, His body wrapped up in cloth, ready for embalming spices, the tomb sealed with a big stone.

And yet, this inner room scene was full of reality too.  Just not one they were ready for. 

What does the word “real” mean? 

Relating to the fixed and permanent, the immovable. 

Not artificial or fraudulent. 

Capable of being detected. 

Was Jesus real? 

Really alive, really brought back from the dead?  

He told His followers, look, check Me out.  I’m not a ghost or a mirage.  I’m real. 

Our statement, our values, say that God is real. 

We want to be real, as opposed to phoney, people. 

And that we strive to have real relationships with people, not just surface contact.

What is real, if it’s in your path, you must be conformed to.  

You have to adjust to reality.  That wall.  That car.  The amount in my wallet or bank account.  The time it takes to go from here to that destination. 

Some people have a disconnect between what you can humanly sense (yeah, I can see, touch, taste, smell that) and what is real but only detectable by faith, by spiritual senses.

 Unseen things can be more real than what you can see, taste and touch.

Those that live by their senses alone are just as deceived as a person who ignores their checkbook balance.

Do you believe that Jesus is real, alive, and what He teaches is true? 

I can tell how much you believe in a real God by your level of conformity to that reality. 

We have centuries of evidence and our own spiritual senses, directed by God, and a Book, in detecting what’s real. 

Some people with their words say that God and what He says are real.  But they don’t live a conformed life.  Do they believe in a real God?  Likely no. 

If you seek Him honestly and find evidence that He is real, let that reality be like a lever to change how you live, your priorities and your practices.  And what you dedicate yourself to.