EASTER DAY: 8th April 2007
RESURRECTION: Wonder of the New Birth!
Luke 24:1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
24:2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
24:3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
24:4 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.
24:5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?
24:6 "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
24:7 "saying, ’The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ "
24:8 And they remembered His words.
24:9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
24:11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
24:12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.”
Introduction
John Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress tells the story of a man on a spiritual quest in which he meets great opposition and faces tragedy and then great success and finally enters heaven.
The first thing that has to be remembered is that this is an allegory.
Christian’s story, for that was his name, sets out clearly that the godly life is dangerous, uncertain, sad, joyous, rewarding, testing, intriguing, frustrating, blessed, fulfilling and has serious consequences relating to the decisions we make.
Right at the beginning of the story, Christian leaves his wife and children to flee from the wrath and eternal consequences to come.
Bunyan’s character, Christian, did not leave his wife and children in order to selfishly save himself from physical danger.
It is a picture of the lost soul’s quest for salvation and truth.
The main character, Christian, did however leave home to pursue his own spiritual journey.
His family thought he was mad and they would not believe or follow him.
What was he to do?
(His wife and children do eventually follow Christian and catch up with him.)
And so the story begins…
Christian meets many different characters along the way and Bunyan uses these to explain to us how to reach heaven and to deal Biblically with criticism, opposition, hatred, temptation and the like. All things that the Christian must face along the road to heaven.
The genius of Bunyan’s allegory and one reason for its popularity over the centuries is that the characters he paints can be found in every walk of life or time of life, so they are very helpful to us all.
May I suggest if you have not read it, get a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. You may need your Bible also to read along with it in order to get the best from it.
Bunyan’s central figure Christian comes across many different characters with which he has many adventures. Some of these characters are very “2007”
Many of them in their own way try to get Christian to forget about doctrine or Christian teaching and morals and make them into a wax nose…you can bend them any way to your own purpose.
That is precisely what you are not to do and are warned against regarding the resurrection of Jesus.
As the Apostle Paul says in I Cor 15:15 “Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up-if in fact the dead do not rise.”
So he is saying that if it is true that dead people do not rise again we, the Apostles who speak on God’s behalf, are false witnesses, since we have preached to you that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead.
15:16 “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
15:18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Pity us all, says Paul.
If there is no resurrection of the dead.
If the dead do not and cannot arise and become alive again, think about the consequences of that:
• your faith is empty,
• your are left guilty for all your sins,
• all your loved ones have perished in death, never to be seen again,
• and hope only lasts until your last breath!
Yes, pity us if that is true, says Paul.
If you change this teaching of the NT to fit your own philosophy, you remove its real power to change your life.
Sure, you can see some change in the lives of people who belong to sects such as Mormons, Jehovah witnesses etc, but are they born of the Spirit of the risen Christ and where are they destined to end up?
That is one of the great themes of Pilgrim’s Progress…
Where are you going and at what cost, by whose rules and where will you end up?
Ask yourself:
Where am I going?
What is it costing me?
Whose rules am I really following?
Where will I end up?
The true gospel offers true hope based on the actual physical resurrection of the Man Jesus Christ from the dead on that first Easter Sunday.
“The man in Christ rose again, not only the God. That is the whole point.” (Richard A. Kauffman)
Sunday Worship
The resurrection is why we worship on a Sunday. It’s why we are here today. Luke 24:1 “Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came…”
Sunday of every week is always resurrection Sunday
Sunday is the only day set down in the Bible when we must come together for public worship.
And there is the hope of the resurrection
HOPE
The living Christ tells us there is still hope.
Illustration:
In the game of chess ‘checkmate’ means the end of the game.
“James S. Stewart tells of an oil painting depicting Faust engaged in a chess game with the devil. Faust, you will recall, was the man who gambled his life with the devil and lost. The look on Faust’s face in the painting is one of abject despair. He has been reduced to a few pawns, a knight, and his king. From across the chessboard the devil leers at him in anticipation of his expected victory. According to Stewart, chess players from around the world came to the gallery to study the board situation, and all agreed that the position of Faust was hopeless. Indeed, the painting was entitled "Checkmate".
One day, a renowned chess master came to view the painting. Other viewers came and went, but still he pondered the position of the pieces on the board. Then, people in the gallery were startled when this chess master suddenly shouted out, "It’s a lie. The king and the knight have another move.”
http://kirkinthehills.org/templates/cuskirkinthehills/details.asp?id=25103&PID=187199
“It looks like we are checkmated, but a risen Jesus declares we have moves left.” (From: Easter Means Hope by Kenneth Chafin Text: Luke 23:55–24:5; http://pttranscripts.stores.yahoo.net/chkeeameho1.html)
You know the resurrection Of Jesus Christ is great!
When all about you fails to help, and
You run out of ideas as to where to turn next and
The way seems not only hard but impossible:
The risen Christ declares hope is with Him, hope is in Him, hope is through Him, our hope is complete because He rose from the dead.
I wonder what kind of hope is offered by those who preach a Jesus whose bones are still to be found somewhere in Palestine?
Not a very happy story about a dead saviour.
The Apostles who witnessed the living Lord on that first Sunday tell their story from a hopeful, substantial basis:
The risen Lord Jesus who walked and talked with them, later ate with His men on the beach and then ascended above them into heaven.
That’s a story of hope!!!
CHANGE
But as Bunyan keeps reminding us, it is also a story of change. Christian does not remain the same throughout his pilgrimage.
He grows and he changes throughout his journey.
We must allow the living Christ to change us.
Kenneth Chafin says: “It is possible to believe in the doctrine of the risen Christ and not be affected by it.” (From: Easter Means Hope by Kenneth Chafin Text: Luke 23:55–24:5; http://pttranscripts.stores.yahoo.net/chkeeameho1.html)
Becoming a Christian is not being a nice person so that you will fit in as a Christian at church or in heaven or anywhere else.
Becoming a Christian is becoming a new, a different person so you will be obedient to God and genuinely loving toward other people.
As David Jeremiah says: “Imagine a chef who collected cookbooks, took cooking classes, studied recipes, and developed menus—but never cooked.” (Today’s Turning Point with David Jeremiah Thursday March 29 2007)
Such a person would not feed anyone, not even himself.
If you are like that, you need to eat this message of hope.
You need to take this to heart, you need to trust Jesus Christ personally!
So where is the evidence of the new birth in your heart?
And some people say, how can this be?
Can I be reborn?
Can I go through physical rebirth?
That was Nicodemus’ question of Jesus.
Well it’s a spiritual rebirth. That does not mean it’s any less real, in fact it’s all the more real.
Jesus did not turn the world upside down.
Jesus Christ turned the world the right way up when He rose from the dead that first Sunday
And so shall you see that happening in your life if you are born again.
It’s all because of the resurrection of Jesus.
When I first became a Christian I spent a lot of time reading the Bible. Often I would read long into the night in bed and think; can this really be so? Is this really true?
What made the difference in my life 34 years ago on the 14th of April 1973 was that God graciously granted me the new birth.
As Jesus said: You must be born from heaven, not from some empty human gospel, but from heaven, where you are destined where all who are truly born from above will be received.
Why? Because Jesus died on the cross and rose again that you may have His life coursing through your veins.!!!!!
PRACTICAL
So what difference does it make? Is it any practical use?
The new birth based on Jesus’ resurrection is practical.
For example, you can have confidence in death:
As Haddon Robinson says:
“You know that when you face death you can say to those around you who are Christians, ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’”
(http://pttranscripts.stores.yahoo.net/rohalianddea.html)
I liked that!
I’ll see you in the morning! Maybe we should have that written on our graves stones?
Why? Because we will see him in the morning, and He will have with Him all whom He has saved by his death and resurrection on that first Sunday together with the angels.
Rev Keith Garner says: “John Wesley said of the early Methodists – ‘Our people die well!’ It has been a mark of all who live the Christian faith close to Jesus Christ that they find strength to face death.”
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/Christian_Life/Multimedia_Ministry/Easter_Mission_2006/Last_seven_words_of_Jesus_6.asp?ct_from=b
ROM 6:8 “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him”
COL 2:12 “…buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
1THES 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
MT 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”
My Lord, what a morning!
My Lord, what a morning!
O my Lord, what a morning!
When the stars begin to fall.
See: http://patriot.net/~bmcgin/mylordwhatamorning.mp3
I repeat what Richard A. Kauffman said:
“The man in Christ rose again, not only the God. That is the whole point.”
(Reflections: Cross and Resurrection: Quotations to stir heart and mind at Easter: Richard A. Kauffman)
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2003/april/26.94.html
Practical living, as well as dying of course, comes with the new birth.
What greater reason could you have to live positively than to live to please the highest Power in the Universe?
What greater thrill than to lead others to know Him?
What bigger job than together to be His ambassadors?
Rev 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Amen.
