THERE IS MORE - The Resurrection!
1 Corinthians 15:3-20
* It was on Feb. 27, 1991, at the height of Desert Storm, that Ruth Dillow received a very sad message from the Pentagon. It stated that her son, Clayton Carpenter, Private 1st Class, had stepped on a mine in Kuwait & was dead. Ruth Dillow later wrote, "I can’t begin to describe my grief & shock. It was almost more than I could bear. For 3 days I wept. For 3 days I expressed anger & loss. For 3 days people tried to comfort me, to no avail because the loss was too great." But 3 days after she received that message, the telephone rang. The voice on the other end said, "Mom, it’s me. I’m alive." Ruth Dillow said, "I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice, & he really was alive." The message was all a mistake! She said, "I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had thought was dead, was really alive. I’m sure none of you can even begin to understand how I felt."
* The disciples, other believers, and friends of Jesus completely understand how Ruth felt. On that painful, crucifixion day, they suffered through the agony Jesus endured. The abuse, the scourging, the walk down the Via Dolorosa, & the crown of thorns.
* They heard his raspy voice from the cross as He said, “I thirst”, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” “Father, why have you forsaken me,” “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” and “It Is Finished. (Tetelestai).” As His life slipped away from Him all of these people felt their hope slip away. When His body was placed in the tomb and the stone rolled over it, it seemed too much. When the government sealed His grave so that no one could get in, it was adding insult to injury.
* Those Sabbaths Jesus was in the grave were like an eternity. Quite likely, in the natural course of their lives, even the most ordinary chore was magnified because He was gone. The one who has brought such life, gave such hope, and offered such promise, was now gone. He had talked of knowing God, getting to God, and seeing God; now He was dead.
* It was around 1982 that Bill Gaither painted this picture;
They all walked away, with nothing to say, they'd just lost their dearest friend.
All that He said, now He was dead, so this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed were not what they'd seemed,
now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nail, How could a night be so long.
* The first line of the chorus is the title of the song and is the Easter Thesis: THEN CAME THE MORNING! Death wasn’t all, the grave wasn’t all, darkness all there was; there was and there is MORE!
* Jesus was raised from the dead! And in His resurrection, life is impacted and changed forever. In our text, Paul is confronting some Philosophers who followed Plato. They were saying ‘there is no resurrection.’ Paul counters by giving some helps or hurts.
1. It Affects our Preaching – Some of us would say, “Will it make the preaching shorter?” Here’s my response: Do a historical study and discover that today, there are weaker believers than ever before, and at the same time, the sermons are briefer than ever before. To Hear Spurgeon, Wesley, Calvin, and others would be a laugh today. It is reported that Jonathon Edwards first sermon at Princeton was upwards of two hours.
* Just as an aside, there is ONE OCCASION in scripture when God says to STOP PREACHING. This was God’s message through the prophet Micah and do you know why God said to stop preaching?
* Because they had gone too far from God. In the 2nd Chapter, verse 3 quotes Jehovah as saying, “I am planning a disaster against this nation.” In verse 6 He continues, “Stop your preaching”. Finally in verse 10 God’s words are “Defilement brings destruction.”
* The Bible repeatedly mentions preaching. Preaching has many facets. The Bible teaches us that some preaching is against things. While some people don’t like or believe this, both Ezekiel and Jonah were given instructions to ‘preach against.’
* Ezekiel was to preach against the idolatry of Israel while Jonah was told to preach against the wickedness Nineveh. I will preach against the sin which God is against. If no one preaches this truth, then we have no first-hand knowledge of right and wrong. Because of the resurrection, we can preach against idolatry, wickedness, immorality, and more. The flip side is: we preach you can have redemption from these sins because Jesus rose from the dead. However, if there is no resurrection, then preaching is in vain.
* We do not just preach against things but we also preach ‘for’ thing”, this is the good news of the gospel.
* In the resurrection of Jesus, God has given us the gospel that you can be raised from death to life! I can stand and preach to you that Jesus died for your sins – so that you don’t have to…He was raised for justify you or make you right before Holy God. This means you can be made right before God and it can happen today, Resurrection Day. In Christ, we are brought from death to life.
* The life from death found in the resurrection of Jesus affects our preaching. The scripture says, without the resurrection our preaching is without foundation or is in vain. In other words, we are wasting our time. Verse 20 says, “NOW Christ is indeed risen.”
2. It Affects our Predecessors – Let’s play on our emotions just like Paul did. The resurrection renews our hope, our confidence, for our loved ones! Verse 17- 8 can be disturbing for the one who does not believe in the resurrection. Paul is building the ‘legal argument’ to those who doubted the resurrection. He does this by approaching the resurrection in the negative. If it is not true, then our hope is gone, our dead loved one are gone, those who have given their lives for the sake of the gospel are gone.
* Without the resurrection the loved ones who have passed on before you and that you hope to see in heaven are gone. They have passed into utter darkness, you’ll never hear from them against, and their existence is passed. I offer you the joy of knowing that Jesus did rise from the grave and that, ‘if they had a relationship with Him,’ you’ll see them again. All was not last in the grave of Jesus, but was found in His resurrection.
3. It Affects our Peace – When we read verse 19, we notice the focus on eternity. If we only have hope HERE, we are miserable, pitiable, and even hopeless. Without the resurrection there can be no joy, no hope, no security, & no future which equals no peace. Really, I would have difficulty sleeping if my future was not secured in heaven by Jesus. Do you know why? Because of the frailty of this body and the certainty of eternity. For the person who is not connected to God, on His terms, only human arrogance can give you any peace. Human arrogance (God calls pride) is dangerous.
* Deb is from Florida and loves the beach. People frequently build wonderfully stunning sandcastles on the beach.
* When they build these beautiful things too close to the water, the high tide comes in and washes away their work.
* When you think you can approach & know God on your terms, you are building sandcastles on the beach of life and they’ll be washed away by the tide of eternity. (VERSE 19) Hope is not found here.
4. It Affects our Permanent home – Look at verse 17 again. “If Christ is still dead and not raised, then you are still in your sins.” Know what that means? That means you are dead and have no hope of heaven. Paul explains this to the church at Ephesus some 3 or 4 years later. ( READ) Ephesians 2. It is by grace through our faith in Jesus that our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:27) This tells us that “nothing profane nor anyone who does what is vile or false will enter heaven, only those who name is written there.” Had Jesus not resurrected from the dead, we would have no reasons to be here today. Great leaders of well known religions have come & gone (the operative word is GONE). Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed and others have graves that are occupied! Jesus died, but there’s more, HE LIVES!!
* During the Battle of Waterloo, a man stood on top of a great cathedral in London. He was like a man who stands on an aircraft carrier, and holds signal flags. The whole city of London was anxious to know how things were going. All were wondering if the Duke of Wellington could defeat Napoleon. The man stood on that cathedral watching for signals from the battlefield relaying news. When he received a message he waved his flags to give the people of London a report on the battle. He received news and began waving his flags. When the people of London looked up they could barely see through the fog. The message they were able to see was, "Wellington defeated." They could not believe it. Their hearts sank. But then there was a break in the fog and they saw the rest of the message which said, "Wellington defeated Napoleon." The entire nation of England rejoiced.
* Today, I offer a truth that is Biblical and Historical; Jesus rose from the dead! In defeating death, He has defeated sin, self, and Satan. In doing so He offers you release, relief, and security. What will you do with His offer?
