Easter Sunday - Entering the Good Life
Notes
Transcript
Easter Sunday – Entering the Good Life
Jesus’ resurrection guarantees the Good Life as being worth it, and worth more than anything.
Reading during service: 1 Corinthians 15 (Or portions: Verses 3-8, 12-14 & 17-20, 30-32, 35-44, 50-58)
Introduction – Real Life is So Precious
For their radio show, Hamish & Andy once interviewed British billionaire Richard Branson.
Once the microphones were switched off, their producer Jack Post put a cheeky proposition to him.
‘Will you give me $1,000 right here and now?
I mean, you’re a billionaire, it will mean nothing to you. But it will change my whole month.’
Surprisingly, Branson looked at him seriously.
And he said, ‘Actually, there’s something you have that I’d give you all of my money for.’
They were stunned, and asked ‘What is it?’
Branson answered, ‘Your age. I’d much rather be broke and 22 than a billionaire and 68.’
Our theme this Easter has been Finding the Good Life.
Imagine how happy you’d be if today someone gave you a million.
Or a billion.
Money alone is not the Good Life, it only helps make life easier.
Imagine ordering a car online and when it arrives, it’s a cardboard cut-out model?
Only good for Instagram.
Actually I understand Temu is a bit like that, you order something and when it arrives it is much smaller that it looked in the picture.
Luke 12:15 ‘Life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions,’ said the richest person ever – a man named Jesus.
But let’s stay with the hunt for the truly Good Life!
The great news is it’s much easier for you to find and take hold of than a billion dollars.
And let’s face it, we can’t all have a billion dollars.
If everyone in the world was given a billion dollars, what would change?
Only prices.
Don’t settle for an approximation.
Go for the real Good Life.
Life that is confident, joyful, meaningful, and lasting.
And one more thing:
It must be REAL, here and now.
You can get a bit of a kick by watching movies or hearing stories about others.
But ultimately that still leaves you on the outside.
Imagine if God said, ‘Sorry, you’ve missed out on heaven.
But I tell you what, you can stand by the window and watch everyone here having a great time.’
Would you be happy?
No, it needs to be real, not a fantasy.
And fantasy is what so much of our world is built on now days.
No wonder people are struggling.
For the good life found in Christ to be true and worth giving your life to there are a couple of really important questions that you need to ask.
The first is did it happen?
This is the first question to ask of Christianity
‘Is it legit?’
Or just another inspirational fable to put on a wall calendar?
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul addresses this head-on.
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
It makes all the difference to whether he has real answers for us, or mere suggestions.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-7
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
When he says, ‘according to the Scriptures,’ he doesn’t just mean that it happened ‘according to some report’.
No, Paul means, ‘it happened as the Scriptures had predicted it would.’
And he insists it did happen.
He lists all the witnesses. Including more than 500 ‘most of whom he says are still alive if you want to ask them yourself’, and ultimately he includes himself as having met the resurrected Jesus.
He points to the Scriptures of course and the predictions of the prophets.
And he says this is either 100% true and changes everything, or 100% hoax and changes nothing at all.
It cannot be inspirational fable.
Paul is very clear and honest he makes it plain in 1 Corinthians 15:19 when he makes the point that, ‘If Christ was not raised,’ ignore us entirely, treat us as liars who have nothing at all to offer you.
The dead are simply gone, there’s no hope, and Christians should just be pitied for investing in a dud.
Except, of course, that it did happen.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
This is one of the great things about Christianity, unlike any other religion that I can think of it invites you to investigate the facts.
To test the evidence and to see if it is true.
The second essential question to ask of Christianity is.
What Difference Does it Make?
Did you notice in 1 Corinthians 15:20 and in many other places throughout 1 Corinthians that the Apostle Paul refers to sleep not death.
The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Paul keeps using the word ‘sleep’ instead of ‘death’, because physical death isn’t the end!
There’s a waking up!
‘Hallelujah!’
Because what I’ve just said is better news than winning a lottery.
Paul echoes Jesus’ own teaching in talking about death and resurrection in terms of sowing and reaping.
Death is simply like a seed being planted in the ground.
It looks like it’s the end of the story for that seed!
And of course it never goes back to being a mere seed.
But it’s actually the start of a bigger story, the start of a more spectacular life!
And when you are convinced of this, it leads you into a different way of living.
A way of living that is no longer fearful.
A way of living that is completely focussed on sharing Christ with others.
A way of living that has the eternal in sight.
The Aposlte Paul makes a classical statement in 1 Corinthians 15:30-32
30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. 32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
Paul and his crew lived a risky life!
In danger every hour, facing death every day, fighting wild beasts in Ephesus!
And on the other hand:
If there is no resurrection we may as well be like people who say, ‘Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.’
What’s the difference?
On the one hand are people who know that they are doomed.
Like a king surrounded by an enemy army and knows it’s all over tomorrow – ‘Well, we might as well live it up tonight.’
What sort of party is that?
On the other hand are people who know they are the opposite of doomed – that they are essentially indestructible.
They can stare death in the face and say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
These are people who know that what is coming tomorrow is not being slaughtered by an enemy army but being rewarded by a returning master.
They know what pleases the master – the caring for others, building others up, setting people free from captivity, loving the outcasts.
And so they spend their lives like an investment, like a seed, knowing that the pay-off will be huge, and so delighting in it even now.
And this is why Paul signs off the chapter with 1 Corinthians 15:58
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
The Good Life involves hard work – hard work that is not in vain but is in full expectation of being abundantly rewarded.
You Can Enter It Now
So look into the evidence.
It’s 100% true or 100% hoax.
But look into it, and when you’re convinced by Jesus, to entrust your life to him, you can do that today regardless of your circumstances.
You’re invited into his kingdom.
Into the Good Life.
And you’ll find it real in the here and now.
The great news is that you don’t need everything around you to be perfect in order to live the Good Life.
In the fake version of the Good Life, imagine if you were given a holiday on a beautiful island in perfect weather, with everything laid on … and one of your kids (or parents) is in a bad mood or annoying, or the food is undercooked, or the neighbours too loud.
Just about anything can rob you of the good life!
So frustrating!
But in the real version, Jesus’ version of the Good Life, it’s the opposite.
You might find yourself in a bad situation at work, or in a dysfunctional family, or living in a less-desirable place, or threatened by others, or facing wild beasts in Ephesus … and you can put it all to good use, all to your credit with the Master by investing love and goodness and kindness, by bringing light in that darkness.
The darker your situation, the better your light and the greater your reward!
It’s the Good Life:
Confident, joyful, meaningful, lasting, and real.
And right in front of you.
