Ultimate Cage Fighting
Pt. 2 – The Cage of Death
I. Introduction
In cage fighting, some opponents are more dangerous and more of a challenge than others. Usually the fighter who has a more varied bag of skills is the most difficult to face. Some fighters are very skilled at striking, but are easily defeated if you can take them down. Others have a great ground game due to their expertise in submissions and yet they are open to strikes on their feet. The most dangerous fighter has developed both areas and is able to strike and be effective on the ground. Another element that makes a fighter more of a challenge is experience. In fact, often the commentators talk about the lack of cage experience that impacts a young fighter. A veteran of the octagon knows his way around the cage and is a dangerous foe. Today, I want us to look at a dangerous opponent. This opponent has been squaring off against us since the very beginning. The opponent that we must deal with today is the Cage of death.
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery says…“Death is the greatest of humankind’s enemies, a relentless Grim Reaper that shows no respect for age or wealth. It robs parents of a precious child, leaving them to mourn the loss for the rest of their lives. It deprives wives and children of their breadwinner and protector, leaving them vulnerable in a hostile world. It takes away an aging spouse, leaving a gray-haired senior citizen without a lifelong companion and closest friend. Sometimes it arrives suddenly and unannounced; at other times it approaches slowly, as if stalking or taunting its helpless victim. Sometimes it hauls away its victims en masse; on other occasions it targets individuals. It uses a variety of methods and weapons, but only rarely does it capture its prey without inflicting pain and terror. Power, beauty and wealth can usually overcome any obstacle, but in death they meet their match.”
Today is Easter Steve we thought you would talk about life. You are correct. However, you can’t experience life until you first defeat death. Death is a constant in life. We face it and we deal with it every day. It has been around a long time. When you examine the drama of our existence you discover that death entered script very early on. The first time this opponent is heard from is in Genesis 2.
II. Text
Genesis 2:15-17
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
God acts like Bruce Buffer, the announcer for the UFC, and heralds the arrival of our opponent – death. If you eat of this one tree you will die. The only problem with that announcement is that we know the rest of the story. You know that in Genesis 3 Adam and Eve did in fact eat from the tree and they didn’t die. They continued to live and carry on. Maybe death isn’t as tough of an opponent as we first thought. The problem is that we misunderstand God’s concept of death. When God spoke in Genesis 2 about eating from the tree will produce death in the original language that was used the word death literally means “separation”. So what God was saying “If you eat from this tree you will die from isolation or separation from me.” Isn’t that a more well developed view of death? For in fact, that is what happened. The daily walks, the daily interaction, the unbroken relationship now is shattered and destroyed by death . . . by separation.
And so we discover that death is not only experienced, but well rounded because it has developed attacks that invade every aspect of our lives. When we think about death we think that death is a one faceted foe. We think we just have to deal with the very obvious issue of the end of our life physically. However, death is more far reaching and varied than that. Death is dangerous opponent not just because it can take our physical life, but because death can gain victories/submissions in our emotional, relational, and spiritual lives as well.
Should you think about physical death? Absolutely! But you can live your life and never really stop to think about the end of our physical life and still taste death in the other areas of your life.
I. Three Rounds of Death
Let me illustrate from Scripture.
We know that the disciples watch from hidden locations as Jesus battles with the cage of death. We know that Peter tries to stay as close as he can to Jesus. In John 18:26 Peter is confronted for the 3rd time about his relationship with Jesus. Listen to what happens:
John 18:26
26One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Death didn’t just impact Jesus physically. Death separates Peter and Jesus spiritually. He betrays his closest friend and his savior. In Mark’s account it says that Peter broke down and wept!
Then in John 21:2-3 we see the result of death emotionally.
2Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3"I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Disciples fishing again. They have seen Jesus crucified and now they succumb to the cage of death and it submits them and they lose hope and they are overtaken. Please understand this is more than short fishing vacation with the boys. This is an indication that one time professional fishermen who have been called to a life of ministry have now have given up on this God thing and thrown in the towel. They are going back to what they have always known. They are quitting. They are emotionally spent and defeated! They have been beaten down by separation. Their hopes and dreams of the messiah have died before their very eyes. Now they go fishing. Death had defeated them.
So how does death impact us? The same way.
a. Physical death
The old saying the only two things that are guaranteed in life are death and taxes. Like it or not physical death is a reality. We must prepare for it. Scripture makes all kinds of promises to us including one about death. The promise is that it is appointed once for man must die. No one escapes physical death. We are all going to die. In fact, we are all born dyeing. Our physical life will come to an end. We must come to grips with that. People around us that we love and some with whom we don’t have any relationship at all will die.
So how do we deal with death? We can deal with the fact of death by ignoring it, living life to the fullest, going for the gusto, experiencing every fantasy and pursuing every activity during our short years on the planet and in doing so never really think about our final demise and final separation. Our motto could be “Just live for today.” We could make a bucket list and accomplish everything on our list and call that a great life. The only problem is that this attitude and method of coping is short sighted and lacks the wisdom to beg the question, “what happens after this life.” It is naive and selfish not to think about our death! What we do when we are in the cage of death will determine if we are permanently separated from God and from loved ones.
b. Emotional death
The second area that death invades is emotionally. Hopes die. The trials of life dash our dreams. Hardships come and changes take place that derail our destiny. How many of us have found ourselves in the disciple’s boat? We have thrown in the towel. We have quit. We have cried ourselves into hopelessness! Death may not have overtaken us physically, but we find ourselves emotionally separated. Life hasn’t been what we thought it was going to be! Marriage has been tough when it was supposed to be storybook romance like we saw on screen. Children have rebelled when they were supposed to just be good because we were good. Jobs have been lost. Promotion has been postponed. Debt has mounted. Sickness overwhelming. Ever been in that boat? Emotional pain. Emotional devastation. Separation . . . death!
Albert Schweitzer who once observed: "The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives."
c. Spiritual death
The Bible is very clear about what causes spiritual death. We are told in Romans 6:23 that wages of sin is death/separation. The enemy of our soul loves nothing more than to separate us from our creator. In fact, Jesus himself tells us that the devil is in the death business. In John 10:10, we are told that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy! The greatest death that you can experience is not physical death or emotional death, but spiritual death. The enemy’s ultimate goal is to separate us from God!
How has death impacted you this morning? We know since you are here that you have not personally been impacted by death physically. You will one day. But perhaps you find yourself dead this morning emotionally. Maybe you just can’t face another day. Perhaps you have given up. Maybe you have lost your dreams, your hopes, and you feel like going fishing. Maybe you are dead spiritually this morning. No amount of activity, riches (your bank account can be full and your heart empty), relationships, or any other distraction can change the aching in your heart or the hole in your spirit. You are in fact caged in by death!
III. Victory Over The Cage of Death
So what is the good news? Pastor you have told us that we will experience death physically. You have dredged up the pain of loss of dreams and hope and even dealt with spiritual death. The good news is that it is Easter! The message of Easter is not only that death can be, but has been defeated! Jesus is crucified. He faces the reality of a brutal death. He has squared off against physical death and now he walks out of the tomb and once and for all defeats physical death.
a. Physical life
Hear the victory cry of Jesus when he bursts through the cage door and proclaims, “55Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" in 1 Corinthians 15:55.
His victory strut (for you wrestling fans – you think Rick Flair could strut – check out Jesus) can be seen in Revelation 1:17-18:
"Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates.
b. Emotional Life
But Jesus goes one step further and not only deals with physical death, but his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection also cripples the separating aspects of death. So now, because of Christ’s death, Paul can declare:
Romans 8:34-39
“The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
Nothing can separate us now. Life, death, highs or lows, emotional pain, depression, hopelessness are all dealt with by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus illustrates this when he comes on the scene when Peter and the disciples are fishing again. Jesus deals with their emotional death. They have given up and quit, but Jesus steps in and reinstates their dream, their destiny, and their hope by calling Peter and disciples to once again follow him.
Jesus can heal your emotional death. He can give you back your dream and your hope. In fact, Habakkuk says that in the midst of the years, after the devastation of all you had hoped for, He will revive us. And Joel tells us that God will restore the years the destructive things have stolen.
c. Spiritual Life
But perhaps the greatest victory that Jesus secured for us is the solution for spiritual death or spiritual separation. I read to you Romans 6:23 that the wage of sin is death. Sin does separate us, but we need to read on because we see the defeat of death by Jesus when we are told that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus!
The great news this morning is that He took on our greatest opponent and He took out our opponent. He defeated the most dangerous foe. He took our bullet.
Perhaps a fictional story will help us understand best what Jesus has done for us in regards to the Cage of Death.
The setting is a concentration camp in Belgium, 1964. The main character in Hart’s War is played by Bruce Willis. His character’s name is Colonel William A. McNamara. One of the prisoners is killed in the camp by another POW and a court marshal trial is conducted. Lt. Thomas W. Hart, played by Colin Farrell, is tasked with defending the accused prisoner. What Hart didn’t know was that under the cover of this fake court marshal trial Colonel McNamara had orchestrated an escape from the camp by a group of 35 men to attack a nearby ammunition warehouse which the allies have mistaken for a shoe factory. The plan works, however, the commandant of the camp discovers the plot during the trial and is going to execute the men involved in the trial for their part in cover up of the escape.
Hart’s War Video
Jesus stared death in the eyes. He stepped between us and the executioner’s gun. He took our bullet. He stood in for us. We deserved punishment. We deserved to die. He was home free. He, being the son of God, didn’t have to come to our rescue. He didn’t have to lay aside the garment of deity and privilege, but He did. He knew that death would keep us caged up and so Jesus paid it all! Jesus destroyed death so that we could live not only forever, but so that we could live now! We don’t have to be separated now or ever! We can wag our finger in the face of death and ask the same question Jesus did, “Death where is your sting? Death where is your victory?”
IV. Close
I don’t know where you are this morning. Maybe you fear physical death. Perhaps you feel emotionally dead. Maybe all hope seems to have been lost. Desperation has set in. Or maybe you are separated from God spiritually today. All I know is that death has been defeated and we have a savior who has and will fight for us! What better way to celebrate Easter than to see death destroyed and conquered in your own life?
Prayer – Those that are emotionally dead. Those that who spiritually dead. The wages of sin is death! It is a slow, miserable, painful death caused by separation now and worse than that, separation for eternity! The good news is that Jesus took your bullet and wants to give you life!
