The Cross and the Chaos Part 3: The Ressurection (Ebenezer; Full Sentences)

Introduction

Attention:

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The resurrection of Jesus is something that you can bank on; it is something that is worth investing in.

Jesus really did rise from the grave, and that changes everything

One of the main things that it changes has to do with the problem of evil

For those of you who weren’t here last week, let’s go ahead and re-familiarize ourselves with the problem of evil:

The Problem of Evil (POE): “If God exists and He is good, why is there so much bad stuff in the world?”

Tonight, we are looking at Romans 6:8-10, where we will see that Christ’s resurrection conquers the subject of our questions.

Need:

One of the reasons that you need to hear this message is because of this: it is easy to forget that, when we are talking about the problem of evil, we are talking about something that has ultimately already been dealt with

You haven’t dealt with it, but Christ has, and the way that He has dealt with it is through the resurrection

We need to connect those dots

Another reason that you need to hear this is because you need to know how to deal with your questions

Where are you going to go to search for the answers? Who will you turn to?

Lastly, you need to hear this because Jesus wants you to experience the freedom that results from seeing the problem of evil in light of Christ’s resurrection

Well, know that we know why this is something that is really important to hear, let’s dive-in and see what God’s got for us tonight!

Body

The Big Idea: Christ’s Resurrection Conquers Evil

The Question: How does Christ’s resurrection conquer evil?

1. Believers join-in

2. Death is uncrowned (6:9)

3. Life is forever (6:10)

Romans 6:8 (NLT)

And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

Explanation:

Ask: Why did we need to die with Christ?

Because, whether or not we realize it, we are part of the problem

Whenever we talk about the problem of evil, this is something that we must realize.

The things that we don’t like about evil and suffering in the world are the same things that we see inside of ourselves.

Now, you can still ask, “God, why did you allow me to do this evil?” Like, “why did you even give me the option?” But at the end of the day, we are responsible for our own actions, not God.

Ask: But what happens to the that is evil within a person when he/she accepts Christ?

It is defeated.

There is still sin inside of us, but it no longer rules us. It has been demoted

Ask: Why is evil defeated within the person that accepts Christ?

Because Christ has chosen to share His resurrection with us

Jesus doesn’t rise from the grave by Himself; he takes believers along for the ride

We live because Christ lives

We might not have all of the answers, but the problem has been dealt with.

We might not know the answers, but we experience them.

There is an “already/not yet” factor in the way that we experience the answers. When believers make it to the other side of eternity, we aren’t going to be asking the problem of evil question anymore; all will be clear.

But even though we are not on that side of eternity yet, we get a small glimpse, a little taste, of what God has in store for us

That small glimpse comes in the form of our spiritual transformation; into looking more and more like Jesus everyday as we walk and do life with Him.

If you have accepted Christ as your lord and Savior, eternal life is happening right now on earth! Although it will be even more complete when we are in Heaven with Jesus

And the reason that any of this happens is all because of the resurrection.

Christ’s resurrection creates new life in us as we join in with it.

Illustration:

So, you want to know something that I joined that was great?

When I was in high school, I was joined a Christian metal band called Sons of the Day

Want a photo? Here you go.

And yes; it was cool to look like this back then; I promise.

Anyways, we did a lot of cool stuff back then; we recorded five songs and played some cool shows

This was something great to be a part of.

But you know what? It didn’t last forever (less than 2 years)

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you join the greatest thing that has ever happened; and it lasts forever!

You join in Christ’s resurrection; the experience of the answer to your unanswerable questions

Application:

How are you a part of the problem?

Get vulnerable and be specific!

What sins have you struggled with this week/today?

How does it make you feel to know that, if you are in Christ, the evil within you has died?

It makes me feel peaceful

It gives me hope that I can continue to sin less, and that even when I do sin, Christ’s grace will be enough for me

Have you joined Christ’s resurrection?

Have you accepted Christ into your life?

Are you allowing His resurrection power to continue to transform you?

Praise the Lord that we can join in His resurrection!

Transition Statement: What makes it so powerful that believers join in Christ’s resurrection is that the resurrection is what Christ conquered death through.

The Big Idea: Christ’s Resurrection Conquers Evil

The Question: How does Christ’s resurrection conquer evil?

1. Believers join-in (6:8)

2. Death is uncrowned (6:9)

3. Life is forever

Romans 6:9 (NLT)

We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.

Explanation:

“We are sure of this because...”

Ask: What is it that we are sure of?

That we have died and risen again

Ask: And why are we sure of it?

What happened to Christ proves what has happened to us.

We are sure of the fact that we have joined in Christ’s death and resurrection because He really did die and rise again

Christ conquered death, which confirms the fact that death has been conquered for us.

“Death no longer has any power over Him.”

Jesus won’t die a second time because He can’t die a second time

Death is dethroned.

But what do death and the problem of evil have to do with each other?

The only reason that people ask about the problem of evil is because death has entered our world

Before death entered the picture, Adam and Eve were not sitting around thinking, “if God is so good, why is there so much evil in the world?”

Death is the thing that points evil out, because death is the fruit of evil.

But now, the fruit of the problem of evil has been cut off

What this means is this: The question remains, but its power doesn’t.

You don’t have to spend your life in search of all of the answers because their weight has been deflated.

Illustration:

What are some things that you have conquered in your life?

A challenge that I conquered that I feel pretty good about is graduate school

By the time I got to graduate school, I felt pretty pretty burnt out and ready to be done

It felt like I was never going to get out of school, but after awhile I did, and it felt like a great accomplishment

But as great as that felt, the greatest accomplishment of all time is that Jesus uncrowned death itself; nothing greater has ever happened than that

And because he’s done that, we can trust God and have peace in spite of all of the questions that we have

Application:

Have you been treating death as if it has authority over you?

If you haven’t accepted Christ, then it does have authority over you. This is because you are a sinner, and the price of sin is death (Romans 6:23)

But if you have accepted Christ, it doesn’t, so you don’t have to live as if it does!

You don’t have to keep feeling guilty about that mistake you made. Your mistakes don’t own you.

You also don’t have to keep making those mistakes, because His Spirit lives inside of you!

How does this change your outlook on evil in the world?

Knowing that the branch of the problem has been conquered helps me to see that I don’t have to have the answers.

What is it going to look like for you to be content in the midst of your questions?

What can you look to for comfort other than inaccessible answers?

What else can you pursue?

How can you have a deeper faith in the God that has overcame the very thing that you have questions about?

Transition statement: Because Jesus put an end to death, life doesn’t have to have an end

The Big Idea: Christ’s Resurrection Conquers Evil

The Question: How does Christ’s resurrection conquer evil?

1. Believers join-in (6:8)

2. Death is uncrowned (6:9)

3. Life is forever

Romans 6:10 (NLT)

When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.

Explanation:

Simply put, Jesus died for sins and lives for God’s glory.

He died to kill sin and he rose to give glory to God

Ask: But how does this fit with the problem of evil?

Jesus died for the question and lives for the answer.

He died to rid the world of evil.

And rising from the grave, He lives to fill eternity with God’s goodness

Jesus died once so that He could live forever, along with those who put their faith in Him

Jesus death is “once and for all;” it only happens once and is enough for all sin.

There is no need for a “second fight” (FF Bruce); the battle has been eternally won

Jesus’ life is “all for one” because it lasts for ALL of time and gives glory to the ONE God.

Life for God’s glory is life eternal, because God’s glory is eternal; it always has been, and it always will be.

Jesus died to free us from something, and He rose from the grave to free us to something.

He died to free us from sin

He rose to free us to living for God’s glory

Ask: How does this statement connect back to the problem of evil?

Jesus died to free us from the question and rose to free us to the answer.

While it is okay for us to ask God questions about the nature of evil in the world, these questions don’t own us.

What does own us is God’s glory and goodness, which is part of the answer to the problem, even if we don’t know how it all fits together.

Illustration:

Something that I wish could last forever are early mornings

Raise your hand if you are a morning person.

There is just something about getting up before the light is out, feeding the cat, making coffee, and opening up my Bible that is just incredible

I always wish that that time in the mornings could last a little longer.

Man, aren’t you glad that life doesn’t have to end?

And we are talking about eternity with God Himself

THAT’S something worth talking about.

An eternity with the answers to all of this stuff exists; we just have to wait for it, and as we await Heaven, we can have a calm and a peace as if we really did have all of the answers

Application:

How might the concept of eternal life impact the way that you view evil in the world?

What it reminds me of is that the problem of evil is a temporary question with an eternal solution

One day, the problem won’t exist anymore, because evil won’t exist

Now THAT’S something to look forward to!

How does God’s glory give you hope?

I might not know why God has allowed certain things to happen in my life, but I know that His glory is the eternal solution to my temporary question.

What would it look like for you to fully embrace resurrected living?

For some of you, this means giving your life to Christ because you are yet to do so.

For some of you who do already now Jesus, it means embracing your questions in a way that doesn’t hang-up your faith but that grows your faith.

It means placing your COMPLETE faith in God and trusting that He has all of the answers, and that His answers are good

For others, you need to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God (6:11)

You know what that means? You need to stop living as if sin has authority over your life.

You need to stop looking at that stuff on the internet

You need to stop talking bad about that person behind their back

You need to stop “going through the motions” with your faith and to embrace a faith that is authentic and consistent.

The Lord is calling you to respond… are you listening?

Conclusion

Visualization

Here you stand with your questions

Now here you stand at the empty tomb

How will you respond?

Reiteration

My encouragement for you tonight is this: if you have big questions, ask them in a way that is helpful to your faith.

The questions that we are asking about God and the existence of evil is something that has ultimately been overcome. Like the Psalmists, ask your questions, but do it in faith.

Let’s Pray.

PRAY