THE RESURRECTION POWER OF CHRIST
(Inspired by Max Lacado’s book: He Still Moves Stones)
A. (SHOW NEWS CLIP ABOUT "THE LOST TOMB OF CHRIST")
ILLUSTRATION:
Michael Medved is right, once again Christianity and our belief in Jesus as the Christ is under another ATTACK. Last year at this time it was the DAVINCI CODE, followed by the GOSPEL OF JUDAS and the ABC series called the JESUS PAPERS. Each of these tried to discredit the Christian belief that Jesus is the Son of God, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again in three days.
This year, as was REPORTED in the NEWS CLIP, James Cameron, director of Titanic, claims to have found the COFFINS (Ossuaries or Bone Box) of Jesus, his so-called wife Mary Magdalene and their son, Judah. Although Cameron in his documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, insists that this is indeed the REMAINS of Christ and the "most amazing archeological find of all time", most SCIENTISTS and even the ARCHEOLOGISTS who oversaw the work at the TOMB (who have no claim to Christianity) believe that there is no CREDIBLE EVIDENCE to PROVE the coffins found are that of Jesus and his so-called wife and son. They described the theory as "NONSENSE".
Amos Kloner, one of the archeologists, said "The names found on the coffins had been found in tombs before", adding: "It makes a great story for a TV film, but it’s impossible."
B. That doesn’t SURPRISE us, because Scripture reveals that Jesus never MARRIED, and, consequentially, never had a SON.
1. But what’s even more DANGEROUS is Cameron’s ATTEMPT to DISCREDIT the Bible’s CLAIM of Jesus’ BODILY RESURRECTION.
2. The entire BASIS or TENETS of our FAITH rests on the FACT that Jesus DIED on the CROSS and AROSE from the DEAD three days later- I Corinthians 15:12-19 (READ and COMMENT)
a. If Christ Jesus has not been RAISED from the dead, then Paul insists:
- "Our PREACHING is USELESS."
- "We have MISREPRESENTED God."
- "All of us are to be PITIED."
- "Your FAITH is in VAIN."
- "You are STILL in your SINS."
- "Your Christian LOVED ONES whom have passed away are LOST."
b. But Paul then says, "But Christ has indeed been RAISED from the DEAD" -v. 20.
3. Everything hinges on the RESURRECTION of Jesus.
C. But we are not just talking about an INTELLECTUAL BELIEF that the RESURRECTION happened.
1. How many of you believe in the RESURRECTION of Christ?
COMMENT:
As Christians we believe whole-heartedly that Jesus AROSE from the DEAD. But how does His RESURRECTION impact our lives? What DIFFERENCE does it make? How do you DEAL with life’s STRUGGLES?
2. Jesus told Martha, the sister of Lazarus: "I AM the RESURRECTION and the LIFE."- John 11:25.
COMMENT:
Jesus’ RESURRECTION impacted Lazarus and his SISTERS before He, Himself, AROSE from the DEAD. There is POWER in the RESURRECTION that IMPACTS our lives NOW as well as when we RISE from the DEAD.
3. Paul- "I want to know Christ and the POWER of His RESURRECTION"- Philippians 3:10a.
COMMENT:
And although "KNOWING the POWER of Christ’s RESURRECTION" included his own RESURRECTION, Paul was also referring to the POWER that was AVAILABLE to him NOW.
The RESURRECTION gives us HOPE and POWER and MEANING today because we experience it in our DAILY LIVES. The RESURRECTION POWER of Christ is available right
HERE and NOW, if we don’t OVERLOOK it.
MESSAGE:
I. RESURRECTION POWER SEEN IN THE STORY OF LAZARUS - John 11
A. "Jesus receives word from the sisters of his good friend, Lazarus, that their brother is sick"- vv. 1-3
1. Jesus does something very unusual . . . "He stays in His location for two more days"- v. 6.
ILLUSTRATION:
If we received a PHONE CALL informing us that a good friend was DEATHLY ILL, we would immediately RUSH to his side--especially if we had the POWER to make him WELL.
Yet Jesus realizes that the PURPOSE of Lazarus’ SICKNESS and impending DEATH is so that "God will GLORIFY His Son through it" -v. 4. Mary and Martha, the twelve DISCIPLES, and many others are going to WITNESS the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ.
2. By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the TOMB for 4 days.
a. Martha hears that Jesus is coming, so she runs out to meet Him. "Lord," she says to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died"- v. 21.
COMMENT:
Can you imagine how those WORDS must have HURT? Jesus LOVED these people so much. To see Martha’s TEAR-STAINED CHEEKS and to hear the DISAPPOINTMENT in her VOICE must have been HARD.
b. Jesus tells her, "Your brother will RISE AGAIN!"- v. 23.
COMMENT:
Max Lacado commenting on this event writes, "Martha probably lost track of the number of times she heard it while she stood by the BODY and TOMB of her brother Lazarus. Friend after friend stepped forward, hugged her and kissed her, and said, ’Your brother will rise again.’ Now along comes Jesus and He says the same thing. Choking back her TEARS she says, ’I know he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day’- v. 24. But that sure seems a long time away and doesn’t give her much comfort for the HERE and NOW.
"Jesus knows in a little while she is going to be so HAPPY to see her brother come WALKING out of that TOMB. But all she knows now is that her brother’s BODY is lying in a TOMB and Jesus could have PREVENTED it if only He didn’t DELAY."
3. Then Mary came out to see Jesus, fell at His feet crying, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"- v. 32.
COMMENT:
By this time Jesus is overcome by EMOTION, and He begins to CRY! He knows what He’s going to do, but He has such LOVE for Mary and Martha that He can’t hold back the TEARS. (Friend, never think that your PAIN and SORROW doesn’t touch the HEART of God! When we HURT, God HURTS!)
B. Jesus is led to the TOMB- vv. 38-40
1. "Take away the STONE," He said.
COMMENT:
Martha doesn’t understand what’s happening. "Lord, by this time there is a BAD ODOR, he’s been there four days." Jesus has already told her that "He is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE, and those who BELIEVE in Him will LIVE even though they DIE."
We cannot LIVE by the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ if we can’t see beyond the IMPOSSIBLE--beyond the PROBLEM. If we FOCUS only on our "GRAVE SITUATION," we will overlook the POWER that is AVAILABLE to us.
2. After the STONE is moved, Jesus begins to pray- vv. 41-42 (READ)
a. I love the way Jesus PRAYED! He thanks God in ADVANCE for answering His PRAYER.
COMMENT:
This is the way we need to PRAY--the way I need to PRAY. There are times I approach God in PRAYER thinking, "What’s the use? He’s not going to ANSWER this PRAYER." Then I sometimes wonder why there is no POWER in my PRAYER!
b. Not Jesus! He PRAYS believing! He PRAYS with CONFIDENCE knowing that God answers His PRAYERS.
3. Jesus then cries out in a loud voice, "LAZARUS, COME OUT!"- v. 43.
COMMENT:
When the RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE speaks, GRAVES OPEN! For four days Lazarus’ DEAD BODY laid in that TOMB. But when Jesus SPOKE all of the POWERS of HELL could not keep Lazarus in that GRAVE! That’s the POWER of the RESURRECTION.
II. THE RESURRECTION POWER OF CHRIST IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO US HERE AND NOW
A. Earlier when I asked how many of you believe in the RESURRECTION, hands went up all over.
1. Believing INTELLECTUALLY in the RESURRECTION and EXPERIENCING the RESURRECTION are two different things.
COMMENT:
The fact is we believe that Jesus is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE because AT some PRECIOUS MOMENTS in our life, that is what we have FOUND Jesus to be. We may BELIEVE it in our HEADS because we have READ about it in the Bible or been TOLD it by someone, but in our GUT, we BELIEVE it because that is what we have EXPERIENCED.
2. That’s the "RESURRECTION POWER" that Paul wrote about in Philippians 3.
COMMENT:
When he said that he wanted to "KNOW the POWER of Christ’s RESURRECTION." he was in a Roman PRISON awaiting possible EXECUTION. The RESURRECTION POWER of Christ did more for Paul than provide a FUTURE HOPE that God would RAISE him from the DEAD, it gave him strength to RISE above the GRAVE SITUATION he was in PRESENTLY.
That’s why Paul wrote: "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient COURAGE so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"- Philippians 1:20-21.
3. When have you experienced the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ in your life?
ILLUSTRATION:
I have seen the DESPERATION of people who have lost a JOB. It is a CRUSHING blow. Their sense of SELF-WORTH is shattered and FINANCIAL concerns weigh heavily on their mind. But when they are finally able to TAP into the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ, they look at their GRAVE SITUATION from a different perspective. They realized that the JOB they were in was not what they wanted to spend the rest of their life doing. And they have made CHANGES (sometime hard changes), but they end up doing something that brings them JOY and FULFILLMENT. And after the DEATH of losing their job, there has come a RESURRECTION.
I have observed people who have faced and are facing LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS with a quiet confidence--people who somehow see past the HOPELESSNESS of the GRAVE SITUATION to a far greater HOPE they have in Christ. Even in the midst of TERMINAL ILLNESS, the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ is available.
I have known those who go through the HEARTACHE of DIVORCE and all the PAIN and CHAOS that brings. The HURT may last a long time. But I have watched as they begin to live again and find NEW LIFE through the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ.
There are those who have LOST LOVED ONES, and just as a DARKNESS hung over Martha and Mary, they have felt a kind of DARKNESS hovering over them--a deep, numbing PAIN.
Jerry Jones, a gospel preacher, tells about a Christian man and his wife who lost their young SON in a TRAGIC ACCIDENT on Good Friday in 1996. The boy’s funeral was on Easter Sunday. During the MEMORIAL service the father got up and shared with his family and friends that Easter had taken on a new importance. "Until you stare death eye-to-eye," he began sobbing, "Easter is just a word. It’s a nice day with bunny rabbits and eggs . . . .but when someone so precious to you dies, Easter becomes everything . . . an anchor in a fierce storm . . . a rock on which to stand . . . a hope that raises you above despair and keeps you going."
B. Have you experienced the RESURRECTION POWER of Christ in your LIFE?
COMMENT:
Have there been a TIME when you felt like your WORLD was CAVING IN, and you felt so HELPLESS? But then you turned your CARES and CONCERNS over to God and He gave you a SENSE of PEACE that everything was going to be ALL RIGHT.
The STORM of LIFE was still RAGING on the OUTSIDE, but on the inside was a CALM RESOLVE knowing that God was in CONTROL and that you were going to come out of that GRAVE SITUATION more WISER, more HUMBLE, more STRONGER, more FAITHFUL than when you went in. You went in feeling LIFELESS, but came out more ALIVE than ever.
ILLUSTRATION:
In the year 1873, Haroatio Spafford, a lawyer from Chicago, placed his wife and four daughters on the LUXURY LINER “Ville du Havre” sailing from New York to France. Spafford expected to JOIN them in about 3 or 4 weeks after finishing up some BUSINESS, but with the exception of his wife he never saw them again.
The trip started out beautifully. But on the evening of November 21, 1873, as the SHIP proceeded peacefully across the Atlantic, it was suddenly struck by another VESSEL and SANK a mere twelve minutes later, with the loss of nearly all on board.
On being told that the SHIP was SINKING, Mrs. Spafford knelt with her four children and PRAYED that they might be SAVED or be made willing to DIE, if such was God’s WILL. A few minutes later, in the CONFUSION, 3 of her daughters were SWEPT away by the WAVES while she stood CLUTCHING the YOUNGEST. Suddenly the YOUNGEST CHILD was SWEPT from her ARMS. Mrs. Spafford became UNCONSCIOUS and awoke later to find that she had been RESCUED by SAILORS from the VESSEL that struck the LUXURY LINER. But the FOUR CHILDREN were gone, having DROWNED in the OCEAN.
Back in the United States, Horatio Spafford was waiting for NEWS of his FAMILY, and at last, 10 days later, it came. “SAVED ALONE” was his wife’s MESSAGE. That night Mr. Spafford walked the FLOOR of his rooms in ANGUISH, as anyone would have done. But as he SHARED this GREAT LOSS with his Lord, a PEACE came over him that indeed “SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING.” The next morning he told a friend, “I am glad to be able to TRUST my Lord when it COSTS me something.” Sometime later, as he REFLECTED on the DISASTER at SEA, he wrote this HYMN:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-bellows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
THAT IS THE RESURRECTION POWER OF CHRIST AT WORK!
CONCLUSION:
A. Do not underestimate RESURRECTION POWER.
1. The RESURRECTION POWER centers in the person of Jesus Christ.
COMMENT:
He is alive because of that RESURRECTION POWER. And because He lives, we live as well. But we live in our PRESENT SITUATION by the POWER of His LIFE living within us. He is both our FUTURE HOPE and our PRESENT STRENGTH.
He has already given us eternal life. We merely have the PRIVILEGE of BEGINNING to LIVE it out NOW no matter what you have to face in life.
2. HOW HAS THE RESURRECTION POWER OF CHRIST WORKED IN YOUR LIFE?
