2017-04-16 Easter 1 Corinthians 15:8-11 A Life-Changing Encounter

A LIFE-CHANGING ENCOUNTER (I Cor 15:8-11) April 16, 2017 Read I Cor 15:3-11 -- Ever have a life-changing encounter? For me, one such happened in 1956 when I was 8. We moved from a farm near Columbus, NE to Hutchinson, KS. We’d been there a couple days when Frank Gordon came by carrying two gloves and a baseball – and my life changed forever. I had no knowledge of baseball prior to that, but two throws and I was hooked. But as great as that encounter was, it can’t hold a candle to an encounter that I wish and pray for everyone here today – an encounter with the risen Christ. Nothing in life or eternity could compare with that life-changing encounter. I Cor 15:3-4 contains the most succinct statement of the gospel found in the Bible: “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” Got a guilt problem, as we all do? Good news! Jesus took your penalty on the cross and rose again to give you life, forgiveness and freedom from guilt. But the question is, have you met Him? The life He gives is not automatic. We must repent our sin and accept the gift He offers. That involves a personal encounter with the risen Lord -- exactly what Paul describes in our text that happened to him. He met Jesus, in person. So can we. Jesus is no longer here physically, having ascended back to heaven. BUT He remains present in the world in the person of the Holy Spirit whose job it is to point us to Jesus as Savior and Lord, effecting that personal encounter needed to give us new life in Christ and a lifetime of companionship with Him. That surrender to Christ can be just as life-changing for us as for Paul. How? I. The Risen Christ Helps Us See Self Differently All Paul’s witnesses saw Jesus during His last 6 weeks on earth. But after His ascension, there was one more physical appearance. 8) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” Untimely born bc tho Paul lived for part of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he never saw him. The appearance he had was untimely bc it came after Jesus left the scene. And what an appearance! Paul was born Saul in the city of Tarsus. But he was educated at the finest schools in Jerusalem and became a devout Pharisee. Like other Phars, he thought when Jesus as put to death, that was that! He was no believer. Far 1 from it, he became the greatest enemy of the early church – seeking out followers of Christ to imprison and kill them. In Acts 9, he’s got permission from the high priest to go to Damascus, root out Christ-followers and return them in chains to Jerusalem. But he’s about to have a life-changing encounter. Acts 9:3: “Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” Thus began the most dynamic ministry of any follower of Jesus ever. Paul was a master of understatement in saying, “[Jesus] appeared also to me”! Immediately, Paul saw himself differently. “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Before, he saw himself as flawless: Phil 3:5: “ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” Before, he saw himself as a hero for persecuting the church. Now he sees that what he thought so right was abominable to God. His pride took a huge hit: Phil 3:7 “But whatever gain I had [good works and ritualistic precision], I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” Paul came to see that it was him or Christ; it was his good but horribly flawed intentions or the perfection of Christ. He had to choose – and he chose Christ because he saw himself for the lost soul that he really was despite his every advantage. And all who have encountered the risen Christ have made the same discovery. Paul said he was “unworthy to be called an apostle” – but so was Peter and James and John and all the rest. None of us is worthy. Rom 3:10, “None is righteous, no, not one.” The first thing we discover in meeting Christ is we are not worthy of Him – but we also discover He’s been worthy in our place! Years ago a prestigious church in London had 3 subsidiary churches in rough areas. But on the first Sunday of each new year, all the churches came together and celebrate Communion. One day the pastor noticed a former thief kneeling at the Communion rail beside a judge of the Supreme Court of England – the very judge who had sent him to jail for 7 years. After release, the thief had accepted Christ and joined one of the sister churches. So, there they knelt – the judge and his convict. Later the judge walked out with the pastor and said, “Did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the Communion rail?” The 2 pastor said, “Yes, but I didn’t think you noticed.” After a moment the judge said, “What a miracle of grace.” The pastor agreed, “Yes, that man is a marvelous trophy of grace.” The judge said, “I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself.” “Yourself? I don’t understand.” The judge explained, “That man is a miracle, but when he heard about Christ, he and everyone else knew he had nothing to offer; his need of Christ was obvious. But look at me – brought up in the best environment, taught to live a moral life; faithful at church and prayers, graduate of Oxford and now a judge. With all that, it is only by God’s grace that I could ever see my sin and repent my selfish goodness. I’m a far greater miracle.” Are you a miracle of God’s grace this morning? Have you met Christ face-toface, seen yourself for the self-righteous sinner that you are and repented your sin – like Paul – like the judge? When we meet Jesus we see self differently. II. The Risen Christ Helps Us See God Differently Nothing in life is more critical than this. Before Christ, Paul saw God as a great Judge in the sky just waiting to strike him down. He pled his goodness, all the while knowing deep down it never could be good enough. Always lurking in the back of his mind was Lev 11:45: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” In his most honest moment, he knew he could never meet that standard. But when he met the risen Christ, he got a whole new view of God. When he met the Christ who died for his sins and rose again to give him life he realized that what God demands – GOD SUPPLIES! It wasn’t up to Paul to provide his own holiness. It had already been provided for him, by Jesus. That was crystal clear when Paul saw the risen Christ. And with that the demanding God became the holy, giving, loving Father. Paul saw God differently. V. 10, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” Not by the works of Paul, but by the grace of God – the grace that sent Christ to pay Paul’s debt and set him free. Grace is amazing, isn’t it? Paul got it. Gal 3:10 “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” You want to save yourself – all you gotta do is be perfect. That’s why, 11) Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” Not works, faith. So, v. 13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”. The penalty we earned, He got; and the righteousness He earned, we got – by grace thru faith. Amazing! 3 Do you know grace? When you meet the risen Christ, you meet the God of grace. Beloved, listen, it’s not what we can do for God; it’s what He’s done for us – in Christ. That’s what the story of the flood was all about, the story of Abe and Isaac, the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace – all showing us grace. A guy walked into a restaurant and asked, “Do you serve crabs here?” The host said, “We serve anybody; please sit down.” Paul was a hostile crab before he met Christ. Rom 8:7: “For the mind set on the flesh (my efforts) is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” But in Christ, God serves any crab, any enemy, any sinner; He serves a helping of grace that will change your life. You need this God. John 17:3: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Get Him and you can say with Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” Not by my goodness, but by His! III.The Risen Christ Helps Us See Life Differently 10b-11: “and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.” So, when Paul met the risen Christ he saw himself differently; he saw God differently, and, he saw life differently. No longer is life a mission to ingratiate himself to God – a selfish endeavor to take care of himself no matter who else gets hurt. Now he’s on a mission to share a life-changing gospel. He can even say he worked harder than any of the other apostles. He’s not bragging, just saying that tho “untimely born”, he’s made up for lost time! He’d supported himself more, traveled more miles, preached to more people, wrote more letters and suffered as much or more hardship than any of the apostles -- all by God’s grace – not out of a sense of duty but out of love. Life changed for Paul when he met the risen Christ. Life always changes when people meet Christ. Maybe not occupation or location, but it’s always a change in orientation. Christ-followers are no longer living for self but for Him. At school, at home, on the job, how can I represent Christ? There’s a new orientation in an old career! We must say with Paul, Gal 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Om Christ, the old me is gone; the new me lives for Christ by faith. His goals are my 4 goals; His interests are my interests; His purposes are my purposes. Life changes when Jesus comes in. I’ve used this before, but it fits so well. Lee Strobel was a Harvard-educated Legal editor for the Chicago Tribune – a profane, hard-drinking, carousing man when his wife came to faith in Christ. That started a skeptical Strobel on a 2-year jihad to disprove Jesus’ resurrection. But he say: “On November 8, 1981, I realized my biggest objection to Jesus also had been quieted by the evidence of history. The tables had turned. In the face of this overwhelming avalanche of evidence in the case for Christ, the great irony was this: it would require much more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to trust in Jesus of Nazareth!” He gave his life to Christ – and everything changed – so much so that a few months later, his 5-year-old daughter, Allison, said to her mother, “Mommy I want God to do for me what He’s done for Daddy.” The risen Christ changes lives, Beloved – from the inside out. IV. The Risen Christ Helps Us See Truth Differently Relativism rules today. Absolute truth is out. If it works for you, so be it. But the question isn’t, does it work for me? The question is, does it work for God? So Paul concludes: 11) Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” Preach what? The gospel that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.” That is the rock-bottom, absolute truth of the universe because there is salvation in no other name” (Acts 4:12). There are not multiple truths; not multiple ways to God; all roads do not lead to the same place. The only certainty is this: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except thru me” (Jn 14:6). That’s good news, folks. Jesus told Pilate just before Pilate sentenced Him: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth” (Jn 18:37b). Then He went and proved it by His death and resurrection, validating every claim He ever made. There is absolute truth. That truth is Jesus – the risen Lord. Have you met Him? A Russian lady, new to the US, was on her first shopping trip. As she stepped into the store, she stopped stock-still. “What’s wrong?” Looking at the vast array of choices she answer, “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just, how do you ever decide?” Maybe you’re asking the same about all the religions in our world. How do you ever decide? I have just one question. Where besides Christianity do you find a person who lived a perfect life, spoke with divine authority, performed other-worldly miracles on a daily basis, willingly gave His life for 5 your sake and then rose again? Just one place. And that’s why there’s just one way of salvation; because there’s just one risen Christ. He changes everything. Conc -- Josh McDowell hated his father – the town alcoholic. All his high school friends would joke about Josh’s father and he joined in – laughing on the outside but crying on the inside. Sometimes he’d find his mom in the barn so beat she couldn’t move. When friends came over Josh would tie his dad up in the barn, hide his car and pretend he wasn’t home. He hated his dad. Then, in college, some friends challenged this atheist to investigate the resurrection of Jesus. Josh set out to disprove it, but instead, he encountered the risen Christ and his extensive research resulted in the best-seller, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. He still hated Dad, but he testifies, “About 5 months after I made that decision for Christ, a love from God entered my life so powerfully it took all that hatred, turned it upside down and emptied it out. I was able to look my father squarely in the eyes and say, ‘Dad, I love you.’ And I really meant it. That shook him up.” Josh got in a serious car accident, and his dad came to visit, sober that day, but uneasy. Pacing the room he said, “Son, how can you love a father like me?” Josh shared the gospel and then said, “I have placed by trust in Christ, received God’s forgiveness, invited him into my life and he has changed me. God has taken away my hatred and replaced it with love. I love and accept you just as you are.” About an hour later his dad said, “Son, if God can do in my life what I’ve seen him do in yours, then I want to give him the opportunity. I want to trust him as my Savior and Lord.” What a miracle. Josh further testifies, “Usually after a person accepts Christ, change is slow. In my own life the change took about 6-18 months. But the life of my father changed right before my eyes. It was as if God reached down and flipped a light switch. Never before or since have I seen such a dramatic change. My father touched alcohol only once after that day. He got it as far as his lips before thrusting it away. There’s just one conclusion: relationship with the risen Christ changes lives.” And it can change yours, too – or that of those you love. If you don’t know Him, accept Him. If you do, share Him. Let’s pray. 6