It is Easter. The day that we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A time when Alleluias fill the air: ....Beloved ... You know the response:
Alleluia Christ is Risen..... The Lord is Risen in Deed Alleluia.
We have hope through the resurrection.
Yet often that hope..... is not fully realized until we come face to face .... With the reality.... of our mortality.
Professional golfer Paul Azinger .....was diagnosed with cancer ...at age 33.
He wrote about that experience: ......"A genuine feeling of fear came over me ..... I could die ....from cancer.
But then another reality hit me ....even harder:..... I'm going to die eventually anyway, ....whether from cancer ....or something else.
I am definitely going to die.......It's just a question..... of when.
Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me.......All I wanted to do.. was live"
About that same moment ......he remembered something that Larry Moody..... who taught a Bible study on the pro tour ....said to him:
"Zinger,... he said.... we are not in the land of the living .....going to the land of the dying.
We are in the land of the dying .....trying to get to .....the land of the living". (Long Pause)
Many ask the ancient question that Job asked so long ago: ....."If a man dies, shall he live again?" REPEAT (Job 14:14)
That is .... One of the most important questions..... that we could ever ask, ......for life .....is our most precious possession.
Jesus said, " For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).
If a man dies, shall he live again?
It is not until we have confidence of living beyond the grave...... that this life .....will take on..... ultimate meaning and enjoyment.
The Scriptures state , BIBLE " If in Christ we have hope in this life only, .... we are of all people .....most to be pitied." END 1 Corinthians 15:19
The longer you live, ....the more you realize ......that life is moving quickly ....and coming to a dead end.
The end is futile .....if there is not hope ....beyond the grave.
In our text from Corinthians the apostle Paul deals with this question ......in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Listen to how he begins: BIBLE "Now I would remind you brothers and sister, of the good news that I proclaimed to you; .....which you in turn received .....in which you also stand. .....Through which also you are being saved,...... If ...You hold to the message... I proclaimed to you." END 1 Corinthians 15:1-2a.
The good news is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ .......provides answers .....to the question of life after death.
If a man dies, shall he live again?
Is there life after death?
The answer is an emphatic and glorious yes, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ...is the proof.
Old Testament Scripture .....had predicted that Messiah was going to die.
It states that he would be led like a sheep .....to the slaughter.
So Jesus' death was not the accidental death.... of a martyr.
It was the deliberate death ...of a person who offered His life .....as a sacrifice.
Our heavenly Father, .....in his tender mercy, .....gave his only Son ....Jesus Christ .....to suffer death upon the cross for our redemption.
He offered himself and made, .....once for all time, .....a perfect and sufficient sacrifice .....for the sins ....of the whole world.
A woman wrote Dr. J. Vernon McGee: "Our preacher said that on Easter, .......Jesus just swooned on the cross .......and that the disciples nursed Him back to health.
What do you think?"
McGee replied, "Dear sister, ......beat your preacher with a leather whip with 39 heavy strokes, .....nail him to a cross, ......hang him in the sun for six hours, ......run a spear through his side....., put him in an airless tomb for three days, and see what happens!"
The Old Testament Scriptures .....state that God the father.....would not allow the Holy One ......to undergo decay.
Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb. ....Jesus was not staying permanently.
He was raised... he was resurrected from the dead. (Pause)
One night during the Easter Pageant, ....there was young boy who was enthralled.....with the story.
When the crucifixion scene took place.... he became very quiet.
But when Jesus came back from the grave......His eyes lit up and he looked at his mother..... and loudly proclaimed, ......He's alive!"
And he began to clap ....and he hugged his mother around the neck.
It is so powerful ....to see someone..... understand the resurrection .....for the first time.
On that first Easter morning Jesus left the borrowed tomb .....very much alive.
When the women went to the tomb to anoint His body, ......they discovered the tomb was empty.
The angel said, ...."Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here,.... He is risen, .....just as He said "
Now Paul said emphatically, "We know Jesus is alive, .....because We ......have seen Him."
Peter too saw Him alive. .....He ate breakfast with Him ....and spoke with Him.
The disciples saw Him alive in the upper room .....when suddenly Jesus appeared and said,..... "See the nail prints in my hands."
We are told that the risen Lord also appeared to a large group..... of at least 500 people.
When I was in grade school we would have discussions ....about whether a man would ever make it to the moon.
But then on July 20, 1969,..... Neil Armstrong walked on the face of the moon.
We do not ask that question any longer, .....because the accomplishment......eliminates the need of further discussion.
Jesus Christ demonstrated that there is life after death.... And there weren't only one or two witnesses ...... there were hundreds.
In his letter to the Church in Corinth Paul seems a little perplexed why people even ask the question. BIBLE "Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, .....how can some of you say,...... 'There is no resurrection of the dead'?" END 1 Corinthians 15:12.
We have the eyewitness testimony of those who saw the risen Lord.
We have the testimony of millions of people ....whose lives have been changed ......over the centuries .....by the risen Christ.
And we have the Holy Spirit .....convicting us ..... that Jesus is alive....that Jesus is risen.
Winston Churchill chose to accept the truth of the resurrection.
In fact, ....before he died...he arranged his own funeral.
There were stately hymns ......in St. Paul's Cathedral .....and an impressive liturgy.
When they said the benediction, ......he had arranged for a bugler .....high in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral on one side to play "Taps," .....the universal signal ....that the day is over.
But when that was finished, .....there was a long pause ....and then a bugler on the other side played "Reveille," ......the signal of a new day beginning.
It was Churchill's way of sharing..... that while we say "Good night" ....on this side of eternity, ......it is "Good morning" .....on the other side!
Beloved... Have confidence that there is a glorious life after death ...... for those who are in Christ Jesus.
If life after death were for sale, .....how much would you pay for it?
If this were a legitimate offer ...... if you knew life after death is available ..... you would pay everything for it.
Beloved....You cannot pay for or earn eternal life.
Heaven is the dwelling place of God, a place of perfection, .....a place of Holiness.....and we have forfeited our right to be there .... Due to our sin.
The only purchase price is the blood of a perfect person, .....a holy person....and you and I ......do not qualify.
We cannot earn it ......and we do not deserve it, ......but the good news is .....Jesus paid the debt in full....for us.
You cannot earn it. .....You have to receive it.
You have to believe it... you have to confess it.
Now, I can only think of two reasons why anyone would refuse such a glorious offer.
For some.....they have a Love for sin for others it is personal pride.
In a sense ......eternal life .....does not cost you anything,
Yet.....in another sense ....it costs you everything.
The Scriptures tell us that we are to repent of our sins, ....put our trust in Christ, ...and confess Him.
We are to be baptized into Him,..... "Leaving the old world behind ....and entering a new life in Christ."
Yet some are so in love with this world..... that they cannot give it up.
For them death will be "Taps." .....It will not be "Reveille."
We want to believe that we earned the right for eternal life ..... that we were good enough to receive eternal life.
Three friends were discussing death and one asked the others: "What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?"
The first one responded, "I'd like them to say ....'He was a great humanitarian, ....who cared about his community.'"
The friend who initiated the conversation replied "I'd like them to say 'He was a great husband and father, who was an example for many to follow.'"
They nodded in agreement and looked to the third who had been silent.
Without hesitation the third man concluded, ...... "I'd like them to say ..... 'Look, he's moving!!'" (Pause)
It is in our nature as human beings to want to extend life as long as possible.
Death is our enemy.... Death entered the world through sin.
Beloved we cannot be good enough ...we cannot be holy enough.... It is only trough grace that we receive salvation.
BIBLE "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that no one can boast" END (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour.
But that experience with cancer deepened his perspective.
He wrote: "I've made a lot of money since I've been on the tour..... and I've won a lot of tournaments, .....but that happiness is always temporary.
The only way you will ever have true contentment .....is in a personal relationship ....with Jesus Christ.
I'm not saying that nothing ever bothers me ....and I don't have problems, .....but I feel like I've found the answer .......to the six-foot hole.
I know I'll spend eternity with God ......and I have a promise that as a child of God..... He'll help me deal with anything.
He promises to offer me contentment regardless of what life brings, even cancer".
Beloved..... The most important lessons in life are wrapped up in three short statements:
Life is short.... Death is certain..... Eternity is forever. REPEAT
For Those who are in Jesus Christ.... The future is no longer dark .... The future is no longer unknown.
That knowledge ... that promise ...... should affect the way we live.
That knowledge ... that promise .....should affect the way we face the question of the six foot hole.
Beloved..... we know that death has been defeated.
And That Jesus reigns.
We are a resurrection people ... We are an Easter people!
Beloved join me in the Easter acclamation once more:
Alleluia Christ is Risen
(Motion to the Congregation)
The Lord is risen indeed Alleluia .........
Amen and Amen!
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