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Illustration
There’s a story of a woman who was released from the hospital after
extensive rounds of therapy failed to turn back the progress of a deadly
disease. Confined to her bed at home, the woman received regular visits
from her physician, but she could not work up the courage to explain her
illness to her six-year-old daughter. One morning, however, the little
girl overheard the doctor speaking gravely with her mother and father.
"I'll be
frank with you, Susan," the physician said. "You don't have much time. I
don't think you'll survive the autumn."
A short while later, the mother glanced out the bedroom window and saw
something that nearly broke her heart. She watched as her daughter
stooped to pick up the leaves that had begun to fall in the September
breeze; and then, as if to foil the force of gravity itself, the little
girl worked to scotch-tape each leaf back on a branch.
The
process has already begun in us. We adults, to varying degrees, are
decaying steadily and are gradually slowing down. Our muscles,
bones, thought processes are all affected.
I think
that the most popular request if people thought that it were possible,
would be to live forever and not to die. Most people seem to
resign themselves to the inevitable that it happens and there is nothing
that we can do about it so we shut out thoughts about it and shelve it
until we are confronted by it in a loved one or in our own lives.
What a message I have for you this morning!
I know how you can live forever and never really die. I know how
you can begin to live this side of the grave and have assurance
that your life will result in eternal life. I know how you can have a
new body which will never decay or suffer and which will never die.
I know
someone who has died and has come back to tell us what it is like and
what we have to do to beat death.
I know
how each and every person in this hall this morning can live forever.
Every one of us can know the ecstasy of knowing that we need fear
nothing in life or death because we have beaten it.
I know
how each of us can have hope that will not be diminished by anything
that the world can throw at us.
It all
centres around the truth that Jesus Christ came back to life and
conquered death for us all.
1. Jesus predicted His
resurrection (Matt 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22).
2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts
2:25-31; 13:33-37).
3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. if those who
opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was
produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9).
4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His
face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20;
Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8).
5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they
fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared
no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt 26:56, 69-75).6.
The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church
grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the
Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24).
6. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ
has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only
because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has
miraculously touched our lives.
Background to the passage
Paul is
writing to some folk who aren’t sure if there will be a resurrection, at
least not a physical one. He argues out that by not believing in a
physical resurrection that they were by implication calling him and the
other Apostles liars; they were failing to take into account that there
were so many eye reliable witnesses who saw Jesus resurrected – many of
whom were still alive.
Read
V3-6
The apostles wouldn’t all
have died for a lie that they made up (there would also have been many
to discredit it) –
Illustration
Charles Colson, convicted for his involvement in the Watergate scandal
as an assistant to President Richard Nixon, writes:
“When I am challenged on the resurrection, my answer is
always that the disciples and 500 others gave eyewitness accounts of
seeing Jesus risen from the tomb. But then I'm asked, "How do you know
they were telling the truth? Maybe they were perpetrating a hoax." My
answer to that comes from an unlikely source: Watergate.
Watergate
involved a conspiracy perpetuated by the closest aides to the president
of the United States—the most powerful men in America, who were
intensely loyal to their president. But one of them, John Dean, turned
state's evidence, that is, testified against Nixon, as he put it, "to
save his own skin"—and he did so only two weeks after informing the
president about what was really going on—two weeks! The cover-up, the
lie, could only be held together for two weeks, and then everybody else
jumped ship in order to save themselves. Now, the fact is that all those
around the president were facing was embarrassment, maybe prison.
Nobody's life was at stake.
But what
about the disciples? Twelve powerless men, peasants really, were facing
not just embarrassment or political disgrace, but beatings, stonings,
execution. Every single one of the disciples insisted, to their dying
breaths, that they had physically seen Jesus bodily raised from the
dead. Don't you think that one of those apostles would have cracked
before being beheaded or stoned? That one of them would have made a deal
with the authorities? None did. Men will give their lives for something
they believe to be true; they will never give their lives for something
they know to be false.
The
Watergate cover-up reveals the true nature of humanity. Even political
zealots at the pinnacle of power will, in the crunch, save their own
necks, even at the expense of the ones they profess to serve so loyally.
But the apostles could not deny Jesus, because they had seen him face to
face, and they knew he had risen from the dead.
No, you can take it from
an expert in cover-ups—I've lived through Watergate—that nothing less
than a resurrected Christ could have caused those men to maintain to
their dying whispers that Jesus is alive and is Lord. Two thousand years
later, nothing less than the power of the risen Christ could inspire
Christians around the world to remain faithful—despite prison, torture,
and death. Jesus is Lord: That's the thrilling message of Easter. It's a
historic fact, one convincingly established by the evidence—and one you
can bet your life upon.”
You can’t take the resurrection out of Christianity
If
there is no resurrection then you are saying that Christ did not rise;
that he is still dead and there has been no victory over death.
Therefore, Jesus can’t have done away with sin, you and I are still in
our sins and have no hope. All the people who have died already are
still there and we are deluded with no hope.
A
similar thing could be said to people today: “If there is no life after
death then life for the Christian is a very misguided one, life for
everyone is meaningless and there is no hope. There is nothing good we
can say about anyone who dies and there is no hope for us. What is the
point if we just cease to exist sooner or later? It may as well be
sooner rather than prolong the inevitable.
Illustration
While driving to church on Easter Sunday two years ago, a father told
his children the Easter story. "This is the day we celebrate Jesus
coming back to life," he explained. Right away, his 3-year-old son,
Kevin, piped up from the back seat, "Will He be in church today?"
That’s a very good question!
What
difference does it make to us that Jesus was resurrected?
Belief in the
Resurrected Jesus - PowerPoint
1) Power to live in the
present
a) prospect of a
fabulous trade-in
One
thing that gets us down more than almost anything are our bodies. If
it’s not how our bodies look it’s the pain and limitations we feel.
Where do you start - Illness, disease, disablement, depression, injury
and so on? What effect do these things have on our lives? A massive one
that’s for sure; physical pain almost always affects us in an
emotionally negative way. Our pain can seem to last for an eternity, and
there often can seem no prospect of an end to it. Life and hope is
crippled by our physical and mental limitations and suffering.
Some of
the Corinthians couldn’t grasp that there could be another body that we
could get.
Read
1 Corinthians 15 v 35-38 & 43-44
At the
moment our bodies disappoint us and let us down - they are basically
weak and slowly falling apart.
One day
you and I will get a new body that will be strong, one that will never
cause us pain and never let us down. It will be a superhuman body.
You will one day have a superhuman body.
The
hope of a new body is consolation to us as we go about in these old
bangers.
2
Cor 4 -
Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are
being renewed every day. 17For our present troubles are quite
small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably
great glory that will last forever! 18So we don't look at the
troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have
not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to
come will last forever.
Our
present troubles are small really! This is Paul speaking now –
shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, imprisoned – small really?!!
Compared to Paul’s troubles and pains ours are none the less real but in
comparison really small! What was the key with Paul then? It’s
easier said than done to acknowledge that it’ll all be better some day.
1) Spirits being renewed day by day. God was in his life
and was working in his spirit each day. God will get us through
everything. Do you believe that? He doesn’t promise to get us out of our
pains but he promises to keep our spirits so that we can cope with
anything and still rejoice in him, still enjoy him and still have hope.
The renewal that goes on inside is further proof to you that there will
one day be a renewal of the outside also. The interior decorating is a
work in progress now; the exterior decorating will be completed in an
instant one day in the future
2) Won’t last very long. Like moving out of a tent after
a day to live in a mansion for millions of years. Keep thinking that it
will soon be fantastic. The pain is only for a while. Like a mother in
childbirth. No-one doubts that it’s painful (though I think it’s
exaggerated!) but what comes afterwards helps you get through it all as
you focus on an impending lifetime of joy. We’ll have our new bodies
sooner than we think – soon, very soon.
You and
I will soon have supernatural/spiritual bodies that we will be so proud
of.
Have
you ordered your new body yet? Do you know that you’ve got one waiting
for you?
b) Power to be
like Jesus
v 10 “I
am what I am by the grace of God”
Romans 6 - PowerPoint
6Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin
might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
7For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of
sin. 8And since we died with Christ, we know we will also
share his new life. 9We are sure of this because Christ rose
from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any
power over him.
We
still have a sinful part to our make up. Our minds and hearts are still
affected by sin and will always be tarnished by sin this side of heaven.
Becoming a Christian doesn’t make you perfect but it gives you added
power to be better. I guess you see some Christians and you might be
tempted to say “Well if that’s a Christian then you can keep it” what I
say in reply is “You should have seen them before they became a
Christian”. Christ makes you better!
What are you plagued by?
Temper – do you keep on blowing
your top and reacting in a way which constantly ends up in you hurting
people?
Anger/bitterness – are you
riddled with angry/bitter thoughts because of what people have done?
Selfishness and not being a
kind/nice person
Inability to cope with problems
Anxiety and worry – are you at
the whim of whatever you fear will happen or will happen?
Lack of self control – knowing
what you should do but never doing it
Jesus produces new life and
power in a person. The old ways can go and he gives you power to conquer
those sins. You can defeat those sins in your life that are
damaging you and others.
The fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self
control
The
Holy Spirit works within you producing life – another proof of the
resurrection.
To
live a life that is fulfilling and enjoyable is to live the way God
intended for us to live. Sin really does try and fool us that
because we have this desire inside to do it the result will be
satisfying – it never is in the long term. Sin doesn’t make you happy.
Like the alcoholic who wants another drink to drown his sorrows.
It feels good at the time but alcohol is a depressant and just makes you
feel even more down – it’s so deceptive.
Jesus
brings new life, a new impetus to do the right thing and a power, which
if put to use, will enable you to do anything. You have the spirit of
Christ and can be like him – that’s why we’re saved – to be like him.
When
you look at Jesus you see how God intended you and me to be – aside
from his Godhood.
Live a
better life; be like Jesus. Realise the power that you can have or have
and use it. You no longer have to give in to sin. Don’t let it deceive
you. Jesus has risen from the dead and has conquered sins power over you
– know victory in your life.
2) Power
to live in the future
2 Corinthians 4 -
14We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will
also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you.
John 11
25Jesus
told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.[5]
Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will
live again. 26They are given eternal life for believing in me
and will never perish.
Illustration
Little Philip, born with Down's syndrome, attended a third-grade Sunday
School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. Typical of that
age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences,
according to an article in leadership magazine. But because of a
creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part
of the group, though not fully.
The Sunday after Easter
the teacher brought L'eggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like
large eggs. Each receiving one, the children were told to go outside on
that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the
egg-like container. Back in the classroom, they would share their
new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion.
After running about the church property in wild confusion, the students
returned to the classroom and placed the containers on the table.
Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one.
After each one, whether a flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would
ooh and ahh.
Then one was opened,
revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, That's stupid. That's
not fair. Somebody didn't do their assignment."
Philip spoke up, "That's
mine."
"Philip, you don't ever
do things right!" the student retorted. "There's nothing there!"
"I did so do it," Philip
insisted. "I did do it. It's empty. The tomb was empty!"
Silence followed. From
then on Philip became a full member of the class. He died not long
afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged
off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the
altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each to
lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.
The moment a believer
shuts his or her eyes in death they go straight to heaven. The old body
is then replaced at a later date – what a hope!
when our perishable earthly bodies
have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die--then at
last the Scriptures will come true:
"Death is swallowed up in victory.[10]
55
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"[11]
56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law
gives sin its power. 57How we thank God, who gives us victory
over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Sin is the thing that ultimately destroys us.
The sins we commit are deserving of death. We are dead as far as our
relationship to God is concerned and that will result in eternal
separation from God as the just punishment of our sins. Sin is like a
deadly poison that we have been stung with. But Jesus sucked it all
in on the cross, died as a consequence, but took all that death had
to give, exhausting its powers. Jesus defeated death and all who follow
him follow him through to eternal life and past death.
Death
stands on the horizon of the gauntlet of life and awaits us all. But the
weapon he uses is the dagger blows of our sins. We can approach death
knowing that he cannot touch us and that only his shadow will pass over
us.
We can taunt him now from a
distance as Paul does.
“Death,
you can’t touch us. You cannot hurt us, you have nothing on us. And one
day we will march right by you.”
Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting
out the lamp because the dawn has come.
We can
answer that question the little girl asked her father “Will Jesus be in
Church today?” Yes, he’s alive. We follow him in life and we follow him
in death, we will be raised with him and when we see him face to face we
shall be like him. What a hope! What a reality! Live forever! Begin
eternal life today. Follow Jesus and know all your sins forgiven. |
