The HINGE Of RESURRECTION-III
Attention:
The Trapper’s Stove!
An engineer, a psychologist, & a theologian were hunting in the wilderness of northern Canada.
Suddenly, the temperature dropped & a furious snowstorm was upon them. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. The hunters had heard that the locals in the area were quite hospitable, so they knocked on the door to ask permission to rest.
No one answered their knocks, but they discovered the cabin was unlocked & they entered. It was a simple place ... 2 rooms with a minimum of furniture & household equipment. Nothing was unusual about the cabin except the stove. It was large, pot-bellied, & made of cast-iron. What was strange about it was its location ... it was suspended in midair by wires attached to the ceiling beams.
"Fascinating," said the psychologist. "It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated this stove so that he can curl up under it & vicariously experience a return to the womb."
"Nonsense!" replied the engineer. "The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics. By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin."
"With all due respect," interrupted the theologian, "I'm sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire LIFTED UP has been a religious symbol for centuries."
The three debated the point for several hours without resolving the issue. When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy pot-bellied stove from the ceiling.
His answer was succinct. “Had plenty of wire, not enough stove pipe.”
Everything about the unusual situation hinged upon one pivotal reality!
Likewise, Christian faith hangs upon the pivotal reality of Christ’s resurrection.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is worthless because it cannot circumvent sin!
Christian faith hangs upon Jesus’ Resurrection.
How/Why is Christian faith hinged upon the resurrection?
We have found that Christian faith Hangs upon the Resurrection...
1. PROMISE(Mat. 16:21; Mat. 17:22-23; Mat. 20:17-19)
2. NEED(Jn. 19:31-37)
3. REALITY(Rev. 1:4-7)
4— Christian faith Hangs upon...
The RESURRECTION RESPONSE(Various)
Explanation/Argumentation: (Various)Stance
The stance of Christians regarding the resurrection is undeniable.
Without the resurrection of Christ & of the saved/church/believers, it becomes clear that such belief is ill-founded & not Christian.
Acts 1:15-26—“And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred & twenty), & said, “Men & brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; for he was numbered with us & obtained a part in this ministry.” (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; & falling headlong, he burst open in the middle & all his entrails gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it’; &, ‘Let another take his office.’ “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in & out among us, “beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, & Matthias. And they prayed & said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen “to take part in this ministry & apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” And they cast their lots, & the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
Acts 2:25-32—[Peter states:]““For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart rejoiced, & my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’[Ps. 16:8-11] “Men & brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead & buried, & his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, & knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.”
Acts 4:1-4—“Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, & the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people & preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, & put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; & the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
Acts 17:16-19—“Now while Paul waited for them[Silas & Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews & with the Gentile worshipers, & in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean & Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus & the resurrection. And they took him & brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians & the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus & said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through & considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world & everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven & earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, & all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, & has determined their preappointed times & the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him & find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; “for in Him we live & move & have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art & man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” So Paul departed from among them. However, some men joined him & believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, & others with them.”
Acts 4:33—“And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”
Paul was arrested at the temple in Jerusalem but the Roman soldiers protected him after discovering that he was a Roman citizen. Paul related his testimony of salvation. In that testimony Paul reveals something about Jesus—He is not an idea, but a Person!
Acts 23:6-10—““Now it happened, as I journeyed & came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. “And I fell to the ground & heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ “So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ “And those who were with me indeed saw the light & were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise & go into Damascus, & there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’”
Acts 23:1-9—“Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men & brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, & do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?” And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees & the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men & brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope & resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees & the Sadducees; & the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--& no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose & protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.””
Acts 24:14-15, 20-21—““But this I confess to you[governor Felix], that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law & in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just & the unjust.”.....““Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, “unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’””
Acts 26:22-23—[Paul before governor Festus]““Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small & great, saying no other things than those which the prophets & Moses said would come--that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, & would proclaim light to the Jewish people & to the Gentiles.””
Rom. 1:1-7—“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, & declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace & apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you & peace from God our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rom. 6:3-11—“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
*1Cor. 15:12-23—“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty & your faith is also empty. Yes, & 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. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.”
The concept of referring to death as “falling asleep” is proof of the Christian belief of resurrection!
1Cor. 15:30-34—“And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat & drink, for tomorrow we die!” Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, & do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”
Paul struggled to ensure that everyone around him knew that Jesus had risen from the dead & was thus his living Lord.
The absolute certainty of that resurrection knowledge secured & empowered everything Paul was called to do in relation to God’s plan & design.
To struggle declaring what you ‘know’ to be a lie is foolish at it’s very core/source! To eat & drink with hopelessness & utter abandon, is proof of living without the power of Christ’s resurrection!
NOW—Examine your life...Is Christ resurrected? Or does your flesh reign supreme?
The ‘resurrection’ may be something you voice because you are around that kind of talk as a church member or as an associate of this body of believers or another...And ‘resurrection’ may be a subject to which you may not have given much thought...Yet it is essential to saving faith! Illustration:
*We are so attuned to AIR that we don’t take time to consider the existence of AIR/But the specific qualities of AIR guide most everything we do/These factors guide our growing of food, our manner of living, the manufacture of buildings, & cars, airplanes & jets & rockets, etc./People are made by God to live surrounded by AIR/The response to AIR defines our relationship with it...Our respect for it/If I consider AIR is of no consequence then when I went SCUBA diving, as a young man, I would not have considered the ‘self-contained underwater breathing apparatus’ at all because it’s cumbersome & expensive to have & use such!/I would have instead just dived into the water & breathed in deeply...& died in doing so!/My RESPONSE to the recognition of all that relates to AIR is most important to life!/The RESURRECTION RESPONSE
Application:
?You Cling to the RESPONSE of Jesus’ Resurrection?
?Does Your Christian faith Hang upon the Resurrection(of Jesus)?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The Trapper’s Stove!
Everything about the unusual situation hinged upon one pivotal reality!
Action:
Christian faith Hangs upon the Resurrection...
4. RESPONSE(Various)
1. PROMISE(Mat. 16:21; Mat. 17:22-23; Mat. 20:17-19)
2. NEED(Jn. 19:31-37)
3. REALITY(Rev. 1:7)
Pt# 4 only!-END- presented 04/15/2018am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave, SE(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-4 Presented 04/08/2012am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Needmore Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
