What are you Building your Life on?

1 Peter 1:3-5 What Are You Building Your Life On? Introduction: Today people all around the world are remembering and celebrating the greatest event in human history- the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! All human discovery and achievement, all scientific breakthrough and advance pale in comparison to this most glorious eventwhich was essentially, the abolition of death! "The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.” ― N.T. Wright In our passage Peter speaks of having a living hope, an inheritance, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This inheritance is not perishable (it does grow old), not able to be defiled (it can’t be corrupted or marred), and not able to fade (it will not ever diminish or grow old). This hope is everlasting, totally secure because Jesus alone has risen from the grave, never to die again. He has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, and He alone has the keys of hell and death. Now he sits at the right hand of God the Father with all authority and power until the time when he will bring his kingdom to reign on earth, in righteousness and peace, world without end.. Notice the certainty with which Peter speaks. Peter was an eye witness to the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and he says that it is through this resurrection that we have this living hope, a hope that can give purpose to even though most mundane and meaningless of lives, to the most painful and suffering of lives, Peter’s claim is that it is a hope big enough to withstand anything life throws at us. A hope that we can build our lives and our eternal destinies upon. 1. What Hope and Trust Are You Basing Your Life Upon? a. It’s interesting that we want so much proof and evidence of Jesus Christ resurrection if we are to put our trust in him and yet we build our own lives on so much less, without evidence or proof. b. You see, each of us is believing in something, trusting in something, and that is taking us somewhere, either further into life or further into death, now and forever. You might have the perfect plan for your life, a great education, career, marriage, family, and if these things don’t happen something inside of you dies. And that mini-experience of death is a warning sign. i. “Beliefs that let us down are prophetic whispers, saying, “Don’t you see where this is going?” -Ray Ortlund Jr c. Each one one of us is building our lives on something, a foundation of sorts. Each of us is trusting or believing in, hoping in something and we all fall into one of three categories: i. The First Person. 1. Looking for relationships to give us meaning - Family boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, children, grandchildren) 2. Looking to possessions - House, car, boat, gadgets, money, stuff..etc) 3. Looking to power - status, popularity, achievement, career.) a. When we build our lives on relationships, possessions and power we are like a contractor building a 5,000 sq ft house on a 1,000 sq ft foundation. The house might stand for a while, but over time the ground beneath begins to shift and change and the house begins to pull a part and break. b. None of these desires are bad things to have or want in and of themselves. But when they become ultimate things, an end in themselves- they have life destroying power, we’re giving them power and status they were never meant to carry. When you build your life on the foundation of relationships, possessions and status your life begins to fall apart, and separate because the foundation is too small, you need something bigger, something greater.. Also, if you fail these things they cannot forgive you, absolve you from guilt or pay for your sin.. ii. The Second Person 1. The Cynic - Self Trust. a. This person has tried everything and been disappointed so many times in their life they are done basing their hope and trust on relationships, possessions, and power, and now they base it on nothing, they trust only themselves. b. They have become hard, cold, and cynical, but they aren’t going to be hurt. c. “Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” - C.S. Lewis i. Let’s be honest the person that lives their life as a cynic and skeptic like this is not even living.. it’s more like existing.. This will ultimately ruin you, you were made for and thrive in healthy relationships. We all do! d. Both of these categories are too small a foundation for your life, your life is so much bigger, so much more significant than any of these things. You must build your life on something; something certain, something that will not change. In order to have true hope about life in the present and the future in order to live a truly full and meaningful life you must put confidence in something bigger, something greater than yourself. e. Augustine said, “Only love of the immutable (Unchanging) can bring (true) tranquility.” iii.The Issue of Death. 1. Another problem with both the first person and the second person is the issue of death. Neither one of these lifestyles has any help in the face of death or answers for what comes after this life. This type of person is only living for the moment, only for the here and now. 2. “The current death-rate is awesome. Three people die every second, 180 every minute, nearly 11,000 every hour, about 260,000 everyday, 95,000,000 every year. Death comes to young and old, rich and poor, good and bad, educated and ignorant, king and commoner… The dynamic young businessman, the glamorous actress, the great athlete, the brilliant scientist, the television personality, the powerful politician – none can resist the moment when death will lay it’s hand upon them and bring all their fame and achievements to nothing… Death is no respecter of time or place; it has neither season nor parish. It can strike at any moment of day or night, on land, on the sea or in the air. It comes to the hospital bed, the busy road, the comfortable armchair, the sports field and the office; there is not a single spot of the face of the planet where it is not able to strike”. a. Epicurus said, “It is possible to provide security against other ills, but as far as death is concerned, we men live in a city without walls”. It’s like a scene from the Coen brothers -No country for old men.. death comes from nowhere and is going nowhere.. it is just haphazardly taking life… iv. The Third Person 1. The one who finds hope and trust in Jesus Christ. a. The resurrection is not a theory but a historical fact. If I told you that, Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, or Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, or George Washington was the 1st president of the US, would you doubt the validity of any of those statements? I’m sure that you wouldn’t. b. But what do we base our belief on since we weren’t there to witness it? We accept these things as fact based upon the written testimony of those who were there. c. The scriptures are eye witness testimony of what took place concerning Jesus of Nazareth. 2. The Evidences of Christ’ Resurrection. d. The Scriptures Foretold It. - The scriptures foretold of a savior, a champion, the messiah (The anointed true king) who would in fact die for the sins of his people, in order to bring God’s world back into God’s plan of making the world his good kingdom. This messiah would engage in mortal combat with humanity’s great enemies of sin and death, he would be victorious but would be slaughtered in the process, yet he would rise again, not only to enjoy his spoils but reign as king over God’s renewed kingdom - Genesis 3; Psalm 22 & 102; Isaiah 52,53 e. Then of course there is Jesus. His words, his miracles, his claims of divinity - the predictions of his death and resurrection.. one has to take all of this into consideration, there has never been another person like him in human history f. Jesus’ death: Fact! No swooning. No possibility of reviving. i. He had no sleep the night prior to his death, He was beaten multiple times, he received Roman scourging - which often killed a man, beaten again, a crown of thorns was pressed into his skull, nailed to the cross by a professional executioner, a spear pierced his side and into his heart - outflowed blood and water, he was wrapped in over a hundred pounds of spices and linens, and laid in a tomb with no medical attention. Jesus died. g. Buried in a well known tomb: i. If he didn’t really rise people could have checked it out... The body was gone, the tomb was empty. h. Women were the first at the tomb and the first to see the risen Jesus - in those days a woman’s testimony would not hold up in court on account that she was a woman. So, the apostles aren’t doing themselves any favors if they’re making that up. i. Jesus was seen alive by many witnesses: i. 1 Corinthians 15 (written within 20 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection) declares that Jesus Christ was seen alive from the dead by Peter, and the twelve to over 500 brothers at one time, he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles, then Paul says that he appeared to him as well. Also, Jesus didn’t just appear once, or twice but many times, Luke records in Acts 1:3 “He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. The theory about mass hallucination just doesn’t hold up… a hallucination trip that lasted forty days and only affected the people who were followers of Jesus…? j. He was declared to be alive from the dead and The Lord by his family and skeptics. i. Jesus’ brothers James and Jude, as well as his mother Mary worshipped Him as God. Formally they thought He was out of His mind, but not after they saw Him risen from the dead. -remember all of Jesus’ followers, in the beginning, were monotheistic religious Jews - not polytheistic pagans. what would it take for them to be convinced he was who he said he was?? -Resurrection. ii. Finally Paul the Apostle was the most unlikely convert. He persecuted the church, he caused people to blaspheme the name of Jesus, and thought that he was working for God in persecuting Jesus name. What happened to this man that Changed Him so much???? He saw Jesus Christ alive from the dead! 1. Also… 2. The boldness and change of the Apostles. The lives they lived, the deaths they died.. 3. The Birth of the Church, a movement that changed the World only possible by the fact of the resurrection. 3. Jesus Resurrection affirms. k. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead has huge implications. l. Romans 1:3-4 says, “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. - the resurrection affirms Christ deity. m.This changes everything, if Jesus in fact rose from the dead, it is proof that He is God, therefore, he should be feared, worshipped, obeyed, and believed upon for salvation. You are building your life on something, you are trusting in and crowing something as ultimate and guaranteed it is not serving you or giving you life, quite the opposite. Jesus is the only king who will not oppress you, he’s the humble savior that died and rose again to save you!! n. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, than he is not to be compared with the other great men of earth, Jesus is unique. He is not on an equal playing field with, Mohammed, Vishnu, Buddha or any other icon or religious leader, because He alone has risen from the dead! He alone is the way to eternal life. o. If Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead than we can build our lives upon him. We can put all our trust and faith in him. p. I quoted Augustine a moment ago -“Only love of the immutable (Unchanging) can bring (true) tranquility.”… q. “There is only one thing that is immutable. It is God, his presence and his love. The only love that won’t disappoint you is the one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that. Not only can your poor performance not block it, but even the worst possible circumstances in this life - sudden death - can only give you more of it.” -Tim Keller r. “God alone is the place of peace that cannot be disturbed, and he will not hold himself from your love unless you withhold your love from him.” - Augustine Conclusion: Build your life on Jesus Christ - He has said: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” - Revelation 1:17-18 “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” - John 7:37-38 In him is eternal security, in him and only in him can we have relief from all fear - he has conquered death, and is the absolute sovereign ruler over all things in time and eternity. Secondly, he says, that he can completely satisfy our every longing- he can meet that inner thirst for meaning, for peace, for identity, for Joy. Because he is the source of life - the creator, the beginning and the end, in him you can experience eternal life, resurrection life today. I’ve told you what Jesus resurrection means for today can I quickly tell you what it means for the future? In the resurrection lies the hope of the whole world; The renewal or restoration of all things. God will recreate, restore, renew all things! The Resurrection, in a sense, is God’s message that he is totally committed to his creation from Creation to New creation. Therefore the Resurrection is the Hope of the whole world, all of creation groans and waits eagerly for the restoration of the Shalom of God, many of us don’t even know what it is but we crave it, we long for it. C.S Lewis said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world. Yes! A renewed world! Let us worship the king who gave his life blood to make all of this possible.