(THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION) #1
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION: HE'S ALIVE
1 Cor 15: 1-11 (p815) April 3, 2011
INTRODUCTION:
Have any of you ever played the game called "Jenga"? It's where you have all these different shaped wood rectangles that fit together into a Tower…and players take turns trying to remove one of the rectangles without causing the tower to fall…
But if you pull out the wrong one the whole structure is going to collapse…it's gonna fall apart all over the table.
Over the years many people have treated Christianity like the Jenga tower…pulling out pieces….selectively removing "rectangle" of the gospel…leaving big wholes and gapes in the structure…until finally you pull out the wrong one…and it collapses in a fumbles mess….
One of those essential pieces that holds the structure of Christianity together is the resurrection of Jesus. It is the cornerstone and foundation of the gospel…if you remove it…there simply is no gospel.
The apostle Paul knew this truth without a doubt…He says "If Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Cor 15:14)
there simply is no "good news" to be preached if Christ died and stayed in the tomb…there is no reason to commit our lives to Jesus if death defeated Him instead of the other way around.
So it should not be surprising that those who opposed Christ would try to pull out this essential piece of the puzzle just hours after His resurrection.
Mary Magdalene and the other women show up at the tomb of Jesus, early on Sunday morning with expectations of finishing the burial preparations of Jesus…Joseph and Nicodemus have had to do it quickly because the sun was setting on Friday and the Sabbath was quickly approaching…their biggest worry as they approach the tomb…"How are we gonna move that big rock that block the door?"
As they arrive, there's a violent earthquake and an angle takes care of the Rock…the angels appearance is like "Lighting"…His clothes white as snow…and the guards posted there by Pilate are so afraid they shook and become like dead men.
The Angel speaks to the women…his message "Do not be afraid…I know your looking for Jesus who was crucified…He is not here, he has risen just as he said….come look at the place where he lay…now, go tell his disciples He has risen and is going ahead of them into Galilee" "You'll see him there"
1.
With that promise they take off for Galilee like a lightening bolt…filled with fear and joy and suddenly….there's Jesus
"Greetings ("Its the everyday term for Hello")
Fear, joy, heart racing…feet flying and all of a sudden Jesus meets them and says "Hi"
I Love it! They fall at his feet….Holding on for dear life in worship…that Jesus says "Don't be afraid…complete your mission…Go into Galilee and tell my brothers to meet me there…and they will see me.
But remember the Guards…remember why they were at the tomb…something amazing is happening in the Roman world of politics…while a risen Savior is arranging meetings. Listen to Matt 28: 11-15 (p 706)
Man…we've got to pull this Jenga piece right now! We'll lie, bribe, author alternative theories…what ever it takes because…
I THE RESURRECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM ON THE LIST.
Paul the Apostle writes in our text in! Cor 15 "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to scripture". (v. 3, 4)
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for our sins is No 1 when it comes to our salvation…by God revealing this plan in scripture long before it came to be…lets us know everything he did was preparing for this event.
On the Birthday of the church the apostle Peter grasped this truth…as he spoke to the House of Israel he said.
Acts 2: 22-36 (p771)
The very first gospel message is a history lesson concerning God's essential plan for our salvation…David, Israel's greatest King…caught a glimpse of a forever King…but David died and his body is buried somewhere in Israel…decaying back to dust…His faith said…"But God you have not abandoned me to the grave…nor will you let your Holy one see decay"
David spoke of the resurrection of Christ and his rescue from the grave…and the Messiah's body wouldn't stay in the grave decaying.
I love how Peter says "God raised Him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."
Its Christ's physical and spiritual victory over death that assures us God has made this Jesus…the one you crucified…both Lord and Christ.
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Lord means "Ruler", "Christ" means "Anointed One"
He put all our enemies under his feet as a footstool…and the greatest and last enemy…Death the promised one of God, Jesus…Rules over everything ….even death.
It's important we understand…
II THIS IS A PHYSICAL RESURRECTION
Physical bodies decay…for a physical body not to see decay…it must be resurrected. One of the greatest consequences of sin from Adam and Eve's fall was…they started to decay…their bodies started to die…Adam lives 950 years (maybe because he was closer to perfection and sin was just getting its hold on creation) but he still died. All creation began to decay because sin entered this world…each of us, and all creation deal with the sufferings world decaying because of sin.
That’s why Romans 8: 18-23 (p800)
says… All creation…including you and I are subjected (held under it's authority) to frustration…what causes that frustrations…Our bodies wear out…our loved ones die…people get sick…this is a life which always has some amount of hurt, pain and stress..
What is our hope…will there be a time where there is no frustration and decay?
Glorious freedom…adoptions as sons and daughters…the redemption of our bodies…God's glory on this day won't be revealed to us…it will be revealed …IN US
The Holy Spirit, God's gift is a deposit…a down payment to remind us of this day of freedom… 2 Cor 1: 21,22 says "He anointed us set his seal of ownership on us put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come"
[I remember buying my car about 8 years ago…It was exactly what I wanted…A black Hyundai Tiburon…it was used, but just barely…less then a year old…3,000miles….black on black…loaded and I bought it on Ebay…ran a carfax…did all my homework…talked to the guy who owned it…for 6 months (He traded it in on Corvette…"I hated Him" It was in Sarasota Flordia…, not to far from Kari's folks…so I sent them a $500.00 deposit…got my receipt and papers…and 3 weeks later picked it up and drove it home, after our vacation…the deposit made it mine…it was a guarantee…but the real joy came when I sat in it…owned it for good.]
God has purchased our salvation through the death of His son…His blood paid for my sin…his resurrection is proof that he conquered sin's punishment…my biggest enemy…death.
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When I'm buried with Christ in Baptism…when I repent and turn from my sin to God I rise to walk in new life…How…God's made a down payment…a deposit garneting His ownership of me for good one day…there's even better news…He won't trade you in for
a new model either…one day He'll just make all things new…including the dents, rust, things caused by this world of decay and frustration.
As I end this morning…one last thought….
III THERE'S NOTHING THAT PROVES THE RESURRECTION MORE THAN NEW LIVES.
Jesus bodily appeared to Peter, the 12 apostles (Matthew has replaced Judas) more then 500 in a group setting… (Most of those 500 were still alive as Paul writes the letter), James, all the Apostles and then Paul says
He then appeared to me "as to one abnormally born" King .James Version "Out" of Season"
"For I am the least of the Apostle, because I presented the Church of God."
Peter, James, John…the others has walked with Jesus for 3 years…been there when he was arrested, ran for their lives, and been some of the first witnesses of the resurrected Lord…Peter and John had a footrace to the empty tomb after the women told them about their encounter with Jesus…John's faster he gets there first, but Peter is bolder…He's the first one inside.
They witnessed Jesus on earth for 40 days after the resurrection…hundreds watched him ascend into the sky…The angel promises his return…and tells them to go wait for the Holy Spirit…10 days later…the spirit comes upon them…and Peter and the others preach…the day of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church…3,000 + respond, are baptized…are saved.
Paul wasn't there ….in fact he wasn't even Paul. He was Saul…of Tarsus…He's first reaction to the church is to help kill on of its first deacons "Stephen"…He hates Jesus…Hates those who follow Him…he threatens…He curses…He arrests…He blasphemies the name of Christ.
And then one day it all comes to a blundering Halt. He meets Jesus on the Road to Damascus. He's blind, but Ananias helps him see…He surrenders…he's baptized…and scales fall from his eyes. Spiritually and physically…Saul died…Paul is resurrected.
That's the greatest proof of a resurrection…New Life. Hundreds saw "and touched by the way" the Risen Lord. Even Paul…one born not at the same time as the apostles…But each of their testimonies had one truth in common.
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This is the gospel…Jesus died was buried and rose again…whether they preach it or "Its by the grace of God, I'm a new man…that grace had a huge effect…I work hard because
God's at work in me… A man who use to be arrogant, violent, threating, and proud…has become the most unworthy tool in Jesus workshop…all because of the resurrection"…His and Mine!
Jesus said "you can't put new wine in old wineskins or sew a new patch on old clothes"
And you cannot be a resurrected believer of Christ without a new life…
9. Jim Wallis writes in The Call to Conversion (HarperCollins, 1992,p.108
his testimony: "When I was a university student, I was unsuccessfully
evangelized by almost every Christian group on campus. My basic response
to their preaching was, "How can I believe when I look at the way the church
lives?" They answered, "Don't look at the church, look at Jesus." I now
believe that statement is one of the saddest in history of the church.
….People should be able to look at the way we live and begin to
understand what the gospel is about."
