Because He Lives

Intro

Welcome | RESURRECTION SUNDAY | As we celebrate, Easter Sunday, I’d like to invite you to turn to John 20:1-20.

1. The Unexpected Vacation (Humorous take on the Empty Tomb):

Share the well-known joke: A man was on vacation in the Holy Land with his wife and mother-in-law. Sadly, the mother-in-law passed away. He went to the undertaker who explained they could ship the body home for $5,000 or bury her there for $150. The man thought for a moment and said, "I'll ship her home." The undertaker, surprised, asked, "Why pay $5,000 to ship her home when you can bury her here for only $150?" The man replied, "Well, 2,000 years ago, a man died here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance!"

Connect to Easter: This lighthearted (though perhaps a bit dark) joke highlights the absolute certainty and unique nature of Jesus' resurrection. While it's a humorous take on a serious event, it underscores the undeniable fact that the tomb wasempty, and that's what makes Easter the most significant event in history – death couldn't hold Jesus.

We like to say word here at First Baptist Church Georgetown because we love God’s word, so if you have found your place in John 20:1-20 would you say word?

John 20:1–20 ESV

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

What a hope we have in Jesus because he is the first one who has ever lived who has died and then risen from the grave to never die again!

We celebrate Because Jesus lives!

This morning, I want to spend a few minutes talking to you about “THE VICTORIOUS JESUS: BECAUSE HE LIVES.”

If you have your Bibles Please turn to 1 Peter 1:3-9

Spoiler Alert Illustration: There is nothing more frustrating than having a good book or movie being spoiled. Yet, Jesus’ resurrection is the best spoiler we could even understand. Because Jesus lives, we can know that no matter what the world throws at us, we have hope in Jesus because we receive life and a future in Christ!

Peter’s message is one that reminds us death is spoiled at the hands of Jesus and our future in Jesus is secure! If you found 1 Peter 1:3-9 would you say word?

1 Peter 1:3–9 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1. Because Jesus lives, you can have hope.

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Peter celebrating the Lord God tells the people that it is God’s mercy that has provided us a living hope!

The beauty of the resurrection is that Jesus our hope for salvation is risen from the grave! Without his resurrection we have no hope in Jesus.

See without Jesus’ resurrection, he would be just like any other person. Without the resurrection, He would have only bee someone who had lived doing some awe inspiring miracles and taught with wisdom. He’d have been a great historical figure that we could try and replicate and learn from. Yet, Jesus is more than just a fantastic teacher and miracle worker. He is more than just someone to learn from in history. Because he lives and rose from the grave, he is our living hope!

“Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”

Peter recognizes that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the key to unlocking true hope that is found in Christ alone for our salvation.

Is an amazing place. I love going out to the shore, seeing the power of the waves against the shore. Life teeming in the pools as the tide drifts out. It is a wonderful reminder of all that God has done in his creation.

Another great time out at the beach is building elaborate sandcastles. For those unfamiliar with the way tides work, especially tourists, you can make the mistake of building your castles to close to the shoreline. As you build the compound with it’s tall towers and inner city square, and dig the mote around the castle to protect it from the would be enemy forces.

The water begins to rise, and swiftly, you see the mistake you’ve made. The structure is to close to the water and it is bombarding the edges of our castle. For a child and parent alike, the feeling can been demoralizing. You’d spent so much time and and had hoped to enjoy your efforts for the rest of the afternoon, but alas your hopes were misplaced because you did not place the structure in the right place.

Our hopes can be so easily misplaced in life. We place it on our careers and pour our lives into building out as successful a career as possible. We can place it in our family and pour all of our energy into our spouse and children and when they fail us in some way our dreams are dashed our hope fades and frustration sets in. It can be in something material where we want something so much that we think we will be happier once we have that car, boat, or home; yet, once we get it we find ourselves unhappy because it didn’t give us the joy we wanted.

But, when we place our hopes in the living hope Jesus Christ. Our hopes never fade because he has secured our hope through his resurrection.

Are you placing your hope in Jesus or the things of this world?

Not only can you have hope because Jesus lives.

2. Because Jesus lives, you can have an inheritance.

1 Peter 1:4–5 ESV

4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Because Jesus rose from the grave, those who place their hope in Christ alone receive an inheritance! Peter notes four things about the inheritance we have in Jesus.

It is imperishable. We live in a world where we have a lot of opportunities to spend money. The world of watches is incredible. There are some watches that are outrageously expensive. The Graff Diamonds Hallucination has multicolor diamonds all over the band with yellow pink blue and other colors spread throughout it. It is a $55 million dollar watch. Yet, there are other brands far cheaper that still command $5,000 plus price tags. Why do I share that? Even a time piece, no matter how expensive and well made, will eventually breakdown and no longer tell time. No matter what the investment we make in this world, if it is not heaven focused, it will diminish and can perish over time. Our inheritance will not cease to exist. It cannot be destroyed. It is eternal! The inheritance we have in Jesus does not die!

It is undefiled. I don’t do well with white clothes. Those that are able to wear white and never drop a piece of food on your shirt or dress. I have mad respect for, no matter how hard I try it never fails after I eat. I manage to get some stain on my white shirts. It is how I’ve learned that baby wipes work great when in a pinch to get that stain out. The unfortunate reality is that every good in this world will eventually no longer be good for use. Yet, our inheritance is undefiled, it will not tarnish. It will not rust or decay. It is good forever! God preserves it without blemish. Our lives will be made pure and will not have the taint of sin ever again!

It is unfading. Here is the thing. Overtime some of our favorite items have a tendency to fade. Think about that beautiful painted house, car, or fence. As the weather and sun go to work on the paint, over time it fades it cracks, and it needs a new coat. It has to be maintained. Our inheritance will not fade away. It will never dull. Eternal life with Jesus is exciting and joyful every day we spend with him in eternity.

It is in heaven. Our salvation is being guarded by God himself in heaven. It is secure and cannot be removed. It will be revealed to us at God’s perfect timing. When we die or the Lord comes calling us home, we receive our perfect salvation from the Lord that Jesus provided to us through his death and resurrection.

Not only do we see that we can have hope and and inheritance,

3. Because Jesus lives, you can rejoice.

1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is because of the resurrection and our security in Jesus that we can rejoice in this world. Peter goes as far as to tell us that even if we face trails we can praise God and honor him.

We see that we rejoice in trials because we can recognize that trials are a way our faith is tested and proven as real. A student goes through tests in School to prove that they know the material. It proves that they understood the assignments and can apply the information in the proper contexts.

If you told me, Ben we are going to be flying in a plane, but the mechanics that work on the plane haven’t passed their tests yet. The pilates have never flown a plane without passing flight school. I’d be taking my bags and waiting for the next plane. They are unproven and have given no reason to believe in their abilities to fly us safely to our destination or prepare the plane for the journey.

When Christians go through trials in life and pass them, lets define that as obediently submitting to the Lord with joyful hearts. We trust the Lord rather than ourselves and we keep our eyes on Jesus through the trial. Then, our life serves as a proof text to the world that we believe what we say we do. We earn permission to speak truth into the lives of others because we have gone through the trials of life praising God even when it was difficulty. Are you praising God in the good times and bad? OR are you a fair weather worshipper? When things are good you rejoice. Or are you the type of person that only comes to God when things are bad and you want him to fix it so you can go back to living a life without him in it.

For the person who has placed their hope in Christ alone for salvation, they know that their future is in heaven and they can truly rejoice and focus on praising God in the good times and bad.

But not only do we see that because Jesus lives, that you can have hope, that you can have an inheritance, and that you can rejoice.

4. Because Jesus lives, you can be saved!

1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Here we see how the cross and resurrection play out in the life of the repentant. Even though we have not seen Jesus in person, the repentant heart loves Jesus with all they have because they understand the great love demonstrated through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Even though they cannot see him, they believe and rejoice with joy the work of Jesus in their life. They are filled with his glory that is obtained through faith in the work of Jesus!

Ultimately, although they have not seen him. A Christian places their total trust in Jesus alone for salvation.

It is not their works but Christs that gives them true victory over sin and death. It is not their effort. Their desires. Their ideas. It is Christ alone that saves!

Have you trusted in Christ alone for your salvation?

Conclusion

Because Jesus lives, you do not have to wonder where to place your hope today. You will not find satisfying hope in a politician, a philosophy, you will not find it in a family or a career. The hopes of this world will fade, they will fail and when they do you will find something else that might fill that hope for a season but just like before it will fail you. But in Jesus that hope never fails. It will never leave you.

Because Jesus lives, you do not have to wonder where you will be when you die. You can know that you have a place secure with God for all eternity that it is an eternal inheritance that will never tarnish, fade, or be destroyed. You can stop the tiresome pursuit of building up an earthly kingdom with earthly glory and surrender your life to storing treasure of obedience in heaven through saving faith!

Because Jesus lives, you do not have to wonder where your joy will come when life is hard. Let me tell you, if you are not in a trial now, it is on the horizon. Life is a constant up and down of going in and out of seasons of trials. Yet, you can rejoice in all seasons if you will trust in Jesus in all things. Yes, you can trust him with your career, family, finances, relationships, dreams, hopes, and hobbies. You can rejoice even in the face of death, grief, health issues, and struggles.

Because Jesus lives, you do not have to wonder how to be saved. You can be saved simply by fully trusting in Jesus alone for salvation. Will you trust him today?

With heads bowed and eyes closed:

Are you placing your hope on Jesus?

Are you focused on your heavenly inheritance more than your earthly pleasures?

Are you rejoicing in trials?

Have you trusted in Christ alone for salvation?