THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
INTRO.- ILL.- A Sunday School teacher was explaining to a group of small children about the death and resurrection of Jesus. She made a crude cross out of some sticks and explained how Jesus was nailed to the cross. And little boy responded by saying, "Oh, that’s too bad."
In the very next breath, however, the teacher told how Jesus rose from the grave, coming back to life. And the little boy’s eyes got real big and he said, "TOTALLY AWESOME!"
Brethren, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus is totally awesome even though many people of the world don’t know this.
For many people, Easter is just another holiday, a 3-day weekend of fun and sun. Or doing something. For others, it’s bunny rabbits and hunting Easter eggs with no other meaning than these. For others, it’s just another so-called ghost story, which they do not believe. BUT WE KNOW BETTER!
For believers in Christ, Easter means the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!
It means the promise of life after death because Jesus conquered the grave! It means hope of a better life. It means joy, not sorrow.
ILL.- Dr. Henry Morrison of Institute for Creation Research said, “The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. Everything else that was said or done by Christ and the Apostles is secondary in importance to the resurrection. If the resurrection did not take place then Christianity is a false religion. If it did take place, then Christ is God and the Christian faith is absolute truth.”
“All other men, even the greatest men and the holiest men, have died. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Caesar, Marx—men who made a profound impact on the world in one way or another—are all dead.
“But Jesus Christ is alive! It is true that He died and was buried, in common with all other men, but unlike other men He returned from Hades, resurrected His own dead body, made it henceforth immortal, and emerged from the tomb, alive forevermore! This was the greatest of all miracles since the creation itself, and could have been accomplished only if Jesus indeed is God, as He had claimed to be.”
Brothers and sisters, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important thing about the Christian religion. Without the resurrection we are no different than anybody else and we are no better off than anyone else!
But the resurrection remains. It stands true.
ILL.- Someone put it this way. The empty tomb has a message for us.
- To science and philosophy it says, "Explain this event."
- To history it says, "Repeat this event."
- To time it says, "Blot out this event."
- To faith it says, "Believe this event."
The Resurrection of Christ stands true and will as long as this world stands.
PROP.- If the resurrection of Christ is true then it should give meaning to our lives.
1- It means that we have an all-powerful God
2- It means that life cannot get us down
3- It means that there is life beyond the grave
I. THE RESURRECTION MEANS THAT WE HAVE AN ALL-POWERFUL GOD
What is the greatest demonstration of power in the world today? Scientific power? Human power? Athletic power? Intellectual power? Political power? Military power? Medical power? You name it and they all fall short of the power of God.
ILL.- At a party one time, a surgeon was watching the host carve the meat. The host said, “How am I doing, doc? How do you like my technique? I’d make a pretty good surgeon, don’t you think?”
When the host finished and the meat slices lay neatly on the serving platter, the surgeon spoke up: “Anybody can take them apart, Harry. Now let’s see you put them back together again.”
Brothers and sisters, God can take them apart and He can put them back together again. God can take a life from this earth but He can also restore life. He can raise the dead.
Here are some examples in Scripture:
- When Jesus was resurrected, some other saints who had died and been buried were raised out of their graves and appeared to many people (Matt 27:52,53).
- Peter prayed life into Tabitha (Acts 9:40), and Paul prayed for Eutychus who came back to life. (Acts 20:7-12).
- In the Old Testament, Elijah raised the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24), and Elisha prayed life into another young boy (2 Kings 4:18-37).
- Jesus, of course, raised Lazarus (John 11), the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7:11-15), and the daughter of the synagogue ruler (Luke 8:40-46).
God’s power is totally awesome! God can raise the dead! God speaks and things happen.
Gen. 1:3 “God said, Let there be light and there was light.”
God merely spoke things into existence. He spoke and there was light. He spoke again and there was planet earth. God spoke and there were stars in the universe, more than man can number. God spoke and man became a living being.
How is it possible for God to create something out of nothing? It is because God is God and He is not limited like we human beings. God can do anything He wishes to do. He can create anything His heart desires. He can create babies and He can raise the dead.
ILL.- The brilliant Albert Einstein once said, "My religion consists of a humble admiration of the immortal superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
Whether Einstein believed in Christ or not, he did believe in a superior being we call God. And he frankly admitted that we human beings have frail and feeble minds and are only able to understand the slightest details of what God has done or created.
ILL.- Perhaps we can look at it this way. Do you think a common ant can understand anything that we human beings do? Could this be similar to God and us? I do think, however, we have a bit more understanding than an ant has because we are created in the likeness of God. Still, we are so limited in our understanding of God our creator.
God is God. He is all-powerful. Far more powerful than we can begin to think or even imagine. If God had not given us information about the creation of the world and the universe then we would be lost in the fog of darkness for sure.
Rom. 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead means that we have an all-power God whom we worship and love.
II. THE RESURRECTION MEANS THAT LIFE CANNOT GET US DOWN
II Cor. 4:7-9 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Paul is saying that no matter what happens to us in life nothing can keep us down. We will have some “down” times, but we will not stay down because Christ is alive and is our Savior!
ILL.- Did you hear about that Richmond, Virginia couple who won $239 million in the second largest lottery payout in history? J.R. Triplett, retired truck driver, of Winchester said he bought five tickets at a store a few miles from his home and told his wife, Peggy, the day after the Feb. 20 drawing, “Sweetheart, I’ve got those numbers.”
Triplett said, “Then she got down on her knees and thanked the Lord.” Triplett said, “It didn’t excite me all that much. It’s no big thing to me.”
At a news conference with his wife, Triplett said he had no big plans for the jackpot but will probably invest in real estate “because they don’t make no more dirt, you know.”
“Sweetheart and I might get lost for a couple of days,” Triplett said. His wife said, “I’m going to shop till I drop.”
His wife also said the first thing they bought when they knew they won was a tombstone for a childhood friend of her husband’s who died 25 years ago.
That $239 million jackpot is the world’s second-largest single-ticket lottery win. Triplett would be allowed to take the $239 million in 26 annual payments of $9.19 million before taxes or a lump sum of $141.5 million before taxes.
Brothers and sisters, it is my understanding that J. R. Triplett decided to take the $141.5 million lump sum.
Can you even begin to imagine what you would do with $141 million dollars? No, I’m sure none of us can. We don’t have that kind of problem. MOST OF US DON’T HAVE AN OVERABUNDANCE PROBLEM. We have, however, experienced the other end of that problem, that is, not having enough money to pay our bills. Believe me, I know about it too.
I have known of people who had to rob Peter to pay Paul. And sometimes they couldn’t pay either one. I have known of people who have gone bankrupt and have had to file bankruptcy and sometimes more than once. I have known of people to get fired, lose jobs, have cars repossessed, have their electricity turned off, lose their homes, etc.
Life is not easy on people. Financial problems are not fun. Life is sometimes very hard on us and very cruel to us.
What other kinds of problems do we face in life? Work related problems, family problems, raising children, health problems, accidents, aging, aging parents, etc. THESE ALL ARE VERY REAL AND VERY DEMANDING AND DRAINING AT TIMES!
ILL.- A lady knocked on my door one day many years ago. It was probably over 30 years ago. She and her husband were having trouble with their oldest child, a rebellious teenage daughter. She was wild and uncontrollable. I listened to her talk, prayed with her and invited her to church. She and her family started to come to church.
And even though I eventually baptized the whole family, they continued to have trouble with all three of their children.
As best as I recall, their oldest girl got pregnant out of wedlock. Their middle child, a boy, was extremely wild and was eventually killed in a car wreck. Their third child, a girl, who seemed to be the best of the three, ended up running off with some carnival worker who came through town.
Raising children is not an easy job, even at its best. Life is tough.
ILL.- I recall a young husband and wife who had only one son who was three and a half years old. The boy got sick and they took him to the local small town doctor. After several days, the doctor told them to get him to the Medical Center in Columbia, MO. They did and the next day the boy died. That was a horrible thing for that young couple to go through, since she could not have any more children. But there is victory in Jesus!
That young couple who lost their only son eventually confessed Christ as their Savior and were baptized into Him. To this day, they continue to faithfully attend church and God enabled them to adopt a boy and raise him. Life is tough, but there is victory in Jesus!
Brothers and sisters, we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time to us. BUT WE CAN MAKE IT IN LIFE! Why? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Knowing that Jesus overcame death we have the power to live by faith in life. We know that eventually we, too, will overcome.
And we have an all-powerful Savior who loves us and is not without compassion toward us in our troubles. He does see and hear and help!
I Pet. 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
III. THE RESURRECTION MEANS THAT THERE IS LIFE BEYOND THE GRAVE
Heb. 9:27 “Man is destined to die…”
Death is one of the most traumatic things that we face in life. The closer it gets to home, the harder it is to bear and the worse it hurts. I’ve lost grandparents, uncles, my parents, etc., but I’ve never lost a brother or sister. I’ve never lost a mate and I’ve never lost a child. And I know those loses have to be the greatest to bear.
Here are the cries of people who have lost loved ones.
- My father committed suicide when I was 23 months old. Does my father feel sorry for what he has done? Can he see me? Will I ever see him?
- My father passed a few years ago. He died from cancer, I was praying that it would be peacefully in his sleep but it didn’t turn out that way.
- My son passed away 22 months ago. I have been researching everything I can on the spirit world. Can you tell me anything to help my search for him?
- My dear father passed away recently. I am finding it difficult to accept the reality of no more physical presence.
- I miss my daughter so much. It has been 9 years since her death from SIDS and my heart still hurts and aches for her. Why did she have to go at only one month old?
- My father past away on 23 February, 1996 in a road accident. I want to know where is he now? Do dead people have emotions? Do they feel the pain of leaving their loved ones behind?
Brothers and sisters, these are honest, heart searching questions of people who have lost their loved ones. And all of us have questions and experience great grief when we lose loved ones in death. But there is victory in Jesus! There is hope in Christ!
ILL.- 16-year-old Caroline Atkinson, daughter of New Zealand Baptist pastor Maurice Atkinson and his wife Miriam, had to face the prospect of suffering and early death. Though she did not experience her wish for healing in this life, her victorious spirit shines through the last entry she wrote in her diary on May 15th, 1992, the day before an operation for her brain tumor from which she died two days later.
Caroline wrote, “Well, according to medical science I am never going to grow old. I have a year in the least to live. I have brain surgery tomorrow to remove as much of a malignant tumor as possible, but God has promised me he is in charge and he is the one who can heal me. I believe it may be gone when they go to remove it, Amen! Or perhaps his purpose is different and I have to go through more to continue his plans. I have a purpose. I am not going to die. God is in control.
“I would love to catch sight of the Glory of God only to return to lead my friends to the Lord. Oh! If only, please God let me.
“Lead my paths and help me to live and honor you in everything I do and bring glory to your name. Please help me have the peace I now do in you to pull me through. For that I may honor you and bring others to get to know you. Let that be my purpose. Yes please, O God, take my life. You are the potter, I am the clay. Mould me. Make me. This is what I pray.”
The Lord did take her. He took her on to glory to be with Him where there is no pain and no sorrow.
I Thess. 4:13-14 “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
Because of the resurrection of Christ, we have hope of another life and a better life! The dead in Christ are not dead!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
ILL.- In New York, firefighter Hank Molle looked at his friend’s charred, motionless body and was sure that he was dead. THEN SUDDENLY CHRISTOPHER SIEDENBURG STARTED TALKING!
He asked Molle to deliver one last message of love to his family. He said, “If I don’t make it, tell my parents I’ll see them in heaven.”
And Molle did deliver that message to Siedenburg’s parents at the hospital, shortly after Siedenburg died. Molle said, “It was hard. They cried a bit. I cried a bit. But I think they were happy to hear it, knowing they were in their son’s thoughts.”
“TELL MY PARENTS I’LL SEE THEM IN HEAVEN.”
Heaven is real and it’s possible for us to go there and it’s all because of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the risen Savior! He lives and we, too, will live!
