A. One day Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, “Go get me a glass of water.”
1. Linus looked surprised and said, “Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me.”
2. Lucy replied, “On you 75th birthday, I’ll bake you a cake.”
3. Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, “Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to.”
B. It is very helpful to have something to look forward to – something to hope for.
1. Many people hope for things that will never happen – for them it was just hopeful thinking.
2. The hope that God offers to believers in Jesus isn’t just “hope so” thinking, rather it is “know so” thinking – it is an assurance.
3. The only reason we call it something to hope for is because it has not yet happened, but the fact that it will happen is certain.
C. Sadly and tragically, many people today are living with little hope.
1. In 1927, a U.S. S-Class submarine was accidentally sunk when it was rammed by a U.S. Coast Guard destroyer.
2. There were 40 men aboard the submarine when it sunk and a number were lost immediately.
3. A significant effort was made to rescue the 6 known survivors trapped in the forward torpedo room who had exchanged a series of signals with the rescue force by tapping on the hull using morse-code.
4. As oxygen was running out the trapped men sent the question: “Is there any hope?”
5. The response they sent back was: “There is hope. Everything possible is being done.”
6. Unfortunately, thwarted by he weather and other factors, the rescue of the six men was not possible and all 40 men aboard were lost.
D. To me, the cry of those trapped men seems to be the cry of humanity today: “Is there any hope?” and many people add to that the additional question: “Is there really anything worth living for?”
1. On a purely human level, there seems to be little hope in the world.
2. Immorality and lawlessness seem to be increasing.
3. Marriages and families are crumbling and disappearing.
4. The world continues to be a place of hatred and anger, unrest and conflict.
5. Wrong seems to be winning and right seems to be losing.
6. The future is characterized as bleak and all we hear about is bad news:
a. If we don’t annihilate ourselves with nuclear weapons, then we surely will by destroying the environment.
b. When we seem to get the upper hand on disease, new diseases pop up, or old ones reemerge.
c. We hear that the American debt and the projected deficits in Social Security are sure to bury the next generation or cause our country to implode.
7. With all this bad news and dire predictions, is it any wonder that many live with a sense of despair and hopelessness?
E. That’s why I am eager to share a message of hope this morning.
1. For if the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead means anything it means hope.
2. The apostle Peter wonderfully cries out in 1 Peter 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you…”
a. We have been born into a living hope - doesn’t that sound great?
b. Our hope is alive, because Jesus our Lord is alive.
2. This has been the testimony and the hope of Christians from the very beginning of Christianity.
3. Listen to the testimony of hope because of the resurrection given by the apostle Paul in a number of his speeches and writings:
a. Acts 23:6, Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
b. Acts 26:6-8, “And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?”
c. Romans 8:23-25, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
d. I Corinthians 15:19-22, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
F. Can you imagine what life would be like today without a risen Jesus?
1. Can you imagine how different the last 2000 years would be if Jesus had not been raised?
2. Can you imagine how different your life would be today if Jesus had not been raised?
G. I think we would feel a bit like the two men who walked along the road leading from Jerusalem to Emmaus. (Their story is found in Luke 24)
1. It was the Sunday following the crucifixion of Jesus and the two men were making the seven mile journey back to their home.
2. The two men were walking and talking about the death of Jesus and they were very sad - the Bible says that their faces were downcast.
3. As the two of them were talking, Jesus came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from being able to recognize him.
4. Jesus asked them what they were talking about.
5. They were very surprised by the question, and responded with something like: “What are you from another planet? Everybody knows about the things that have happened in Jerusalem!”
6. Jesus played dumb and asked: “What things?”
7. Then they proceeded to explain things to Jesus.
a. They said that Jesus was a prophet, powerful in word and deed, but he had been handed over to the chief priests to be sentenced and crucified.
b. Most touching to me was the reflection of their hope - they said, “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”
c. His crucifixion and death had dashed their hopes.
8. Yet there was an element of confusion because some of their women had amazed them by going to the tomb early that morning only to find it empty.
a. Those same women had reported seeing a vision of angels who said that Jesus was alive.
b. But others went to the tomb and did not find Jesus or angels.
9. From what it appears, those two men were without hope at that point.
a. Even though the women had seen and heard some things, they did not believe at that point.
10. Finally, when they sat down together for a meal, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
a. It was then that their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus, but then Jesus disappeared from their sight.
11. The two men were then filled with joy and returned to Jerusalem at once to tell the other disciples that it was true - Jesus was alive and they had seen Him and talked with Him!
a. Can you imagine how in that instant those men went from depression to exhilaration?
b. Their hopes had been dashed and dead, but now hope was alive, because Jesus was alive.
H. Let me ask the same question I asked you a minute ago: Can you imagine what life would be like today if Jesus had died, but had not been raised?
1. What would there be to live for? We would only have this life and this world to live for.
2. Who would we be living for? We would only have ourselves, or our family and friends to live for.
3. What future hope could we have? We would have no hope beyond this life and this world.
I. Fortunately, we do not have to face today or tomorrow without a risen Jesus, because the Bible and our experience tell us that Jesus is alive, He arose from the dead, and for that reason, we have a living hope.
1. That living hope reveals itself in many precious promises and realities.
J. First, Because of the Resurrection, we know that God’s Power is not Feeble.
1. If Jesus was still in the grave then we would question the power of God.
2. If God could not raise Jesus from the dead, then Satan had won that battle, and Satan would no doubt win many other battles against God.
3. But the fact is that God’s power is greater than Satan’s power.
4. If God’s power can raise Jesus from the dead, then His power can certainly do everything that we need it to do, both in this life and in the life to come.
5. Romans 8:11 says: And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.
6. And so, we have living hope knowing that the power of God is working in our lives.
7. We face every day of life and death with the knowledge that there is a power working in us and through us that is both greater than our power and greater than the power of our enemies.
8. The apostle John wrote: “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn 4:4).
9. Aren’t you thankful that God’s great power is available in your life?
10. Can you imagine how dark life would be without it.
K. Second, Because of the Resurrection, we know that Failure is not Fatal.
1. If Jesus was not the Christ, and He did not rise from the dead, then is there is no forgiveness.
2. Paul declared that reality in 1 Corinthians 15:17, when he wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
3. Can you imagine going through life without a way to erase your mistakes and without a way to be forgiven for your sins?
4. The wonderful thing about the salvation that comes through Jesus is that He paid the price for our sins and that He has washed away all our iniquities.
5. In Jesus we can have a clean slate to work with every day.
6. Our failures and sins do not have to mount up against us and weigh us down.
7. Every new tomorrow is filled with hope, because we can be a new creation in Jesus every day.
8. Isn’t it wonderful to know that yesterday’s failures and sins need not sap the life out of today?
9. Without the forgiveness that Jesus purchased, our failures and sins would surely destroy us for the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 6:23)
L. Finally, Because of the Resurrection, we know that Death is not Final.
1. Ever since the beginning of time, man has longed for these questions to be answered:
a. “If a man dies, will he live again?”
b. “Is death the end?”
c. “Is there anything on the other side of the grave?”
2. Never have those questions been answered more completely and emphatically than in the resurrection of Jesus.
3. Can you imagine life without the living hope of the resurrection?
a. Can you imagine trying to find meaning in this world alone?
b. Can you imagine trying to frantically fill up your life with the good experiences of this world knowing that you only go around once, so get it while you can?
4. But the resurrection of Jesus changes everything and assures us that death is not final.
a. Because of Him we can live knowing where we came from, knowing why we are here, and knowing where we are going!
b. Because of His resurrection, we don’t have to be afraid to live, and we don’t have to be afraid to die.
c. Like Paul we can say, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)
d. The Christian cannot lose by living with Christ and dying with Christ, because either results in a abundant life.
e. Isn’t it wonderful to live with the purpose and meaning that the resurrection of Jesus gives?
M. I want to end by telling you a story that illustrates the living hope that we have because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
1. High above the little town of Gisors, in Normandy, stands an ancient castle.
a. The castle is beautiful, but it’s beauty is not why I tell you about it.
b. The castle is very strong with thick walls, but it’s strength is not why I tell you about it.
c. The castle has a rich history full of interest and brimming with brave deeds and desperate adventures, but again it’s not of them that I tell you about it.
2. Rather, the most important thing about this castle is what took place centuries ago in a basement dungeon cell, by a prisoner whose name is long forgotten.
a. Whatever his life had been, it seemed as if it had come to an end, so far as the world outside was concerned.
b. Yet that prisoner found hope and purpose even in that dark and deadly place.
3. The dungeon cell has a little square window atop the cell, and the sun shines through it and casts a square of sunlight on the opposite wall.
a. For a few hours each day this little patch of light on the wall, passed from left to right, and then vanished into darkness.
4. One day the prisoner found a piece of metal, perhaps a rusty nail, and began his work.
a. There in that dismal cell far under the castle, he carved a little each day.
b. He didn’t carve his name, for he was not thinking about himself.
c. The prisoner carved four pictures about the life of Jesus:
1. The first picture was of Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem.
2. The second picture was Jesus having the Last Supper with His disciples.
3. The third picture was of Jesus on trial before Pilate.
4. And the fourth was of Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary.
5. In time, the prisoner died and left his dungeon cell empty, except for the pictures he carved about the life of Jesus.
6. Today thousands of visitors come to that castle, not to see its beauty, and not to see the strength of it’s walls, but they come to descend into that dungeon to see the prisoners cell and the four pictures he carved.
7. To every visitor of that prison cell that former prisoner proclaims the greatest truths of all time: He proclaims that Jesus was born for our salvation; that He is the Bread of Life for our souls; that He was condemned by Pilate even though He was innocent, and that He died for our sins.
8. But had Jesus not been raised from the dead, then none of that would have any meaning.
N. Today we are liberated from any prison we find ourselves in because of the resurrection of Jesus, and like that prisoner our very lives can be a permanent monument to the truth about Jesus.
1. He is indeed raised from the dead, and he lives to reign with God on our behalf.
2. For that reason, we are filled with a great and living hope.
3. In Colossians 1:27, Paul declared that Christ living in us is the hope of glory.
4. Praise God for the glorious difference that the resurrection of Jesus has made in our lives!
5. In Jesus we find and receive everything we need for abundant life and eternal life.
6. Therefore, let the discouraged come to Jesus for encouragement.
a. Let the helpless find help.
b. And let the hopeless find hope – a living hope.
7. Our hope is built on the solid rock of Jesus – who is the resurrection and the life!
