He is Risen?
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Welcome everyone to Easter Sunday
To most Christians this is The Sunday
This is the day we celebrate
This is the day we waited for
And yet so many don’t truly understand what this days means
So I decided to hit you with a little bit of truth today
Something that will help you validate what you believe in
Because my goal, and as some of you soldiers know
Is that I want you to know what you believe in
I want you to fully grasp and understand
Exactly what it means to be Christians
I like to use the analogy of a soldier that never went to basic
An officer that never went to officer school
Can they really call themselves a Soldier?
Same goes with Christianity
If you don’t truly understand the depths of what you believe
Then are you really what you claim to be?
Thats why I chose today’s section of Scripture.
1 Corinthians 15 is a profound section of scripture
One that is arguably a center piece of our faith
In fact scholars use this section as validation of our faith
We use it in creeds
We use it in end times studies
We use it to better define the Gospel
And today
We are going to use it to explain why the resurrection is so important
So today is Easter.
Perhaps the holiest day of the year
Many celebrate this day as if it was Christmas
Others use this day as one of the two days they actually go to church.
Anyone guess what the other day is?
Christmas correct.
Well today I want to take you into a deeper understanding of what we believe.
I want to first show you what the true Gospel is,
I personally know many of you have heard multiple versions of the Gospel
Well today I’m going to share with you the no Bull Gospel.
Second we are going to admit the obvious
Which is that we believe something crazy,
something supernatural,
something that defies what many of us consider rational thinking.
However with that we are also going to validate the truth of what we believe
with facts.
Third, I want to answer why Christ had to die and what our future state in eternity will be like.
So let’s get started cause I’m gonna jam almost four years of seminary into one sermon.
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.
And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
**Prayer**
First off
Notice how Paul opens up this section of Scripture
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.
Its odd but i find that so reassuring
It tells me that others struggle in their faith
It tells me that Paul is dealing with a church that may be struggling a bit
Its almost as if Paul is attempting to bring them back into the faith.
You see if you read the entire book of 1 Corinthians
You begin to catch on that this church had lost its way
In fact many pastors
professors
academics
would say this book is purposed by God
In giving us the definition of how NOT to do church.
AND that’s good news
because its not as if Paul is condemning them
Rather he is bringing them back in.
I know that can be an incredibly important point to make
Because so many of us feel as though
we have crossed that line of no return
So many of us feel as though
we have been abandoned by God
Yet Paul is saying something entirely different here
In fact he is doing what a mature Christian ought to do
that is to reel them back in
In fact Paul writes about style of LEADERSHIP
in another book he wrote
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Powerful words on what leadership looks like
On what Christian leadership is and should be
So its easy to say Paul is following his own advice here
He is actually giving us a model to follow
An active example
How many of us today are actively witnessing another brother or sister in Christ
Fail in life
Fail in morals
Fail in friendships
Fail in their addictions
Fail in their relationship to God
And yet we do nothing
Pauls model for leadership here requires that we hold each other accountable
You see Christianity is something deeper
Its profound
Its a family
Its a connection to God
Through the person of Jesus Christ
And it was never meant to be done alone
And thats the catch here
Because Paul is lining it up under the premise of the Good news
That Good news is Jesus Christ
But whats unique about that statement
So many of us don’t necessarily understand
The depths of what I or Paul is referring to
I mean have you ever truly thought about what you believe?
If I was to tell you that I believed
2000 years ago
there was this guy
a nobody a worthless carpenter
who suddenly raised to fame
ends up dying on cross
Oh by the way a criminals death
Yes only criminals died in this manner
Who later supposedly rose from the dead
By His own power
And is now my savior
and the one I dedicate my life to
Would you believe I’m crazy?
I mean seriously
If you came up with a story like that
In modern times
They would throw you in the nut house.
And this is why I absolutely love Paul
Because Paul recognizes what you’re thinking
Paul understands the ridiculousness of what He is claiming
I mean seriously think about it,
you believe in a story that defies all logic and all common sense.
Am I right?
But wait, because like i said
Paul recognizes what you’re thinking
in fact he lays out the case
He lays out the evidence to prove to you
That the claims of Scripture are real
Because after all if Jesus didn’t raise from the dead …
then what we believe in is pointless.
Paul even states this saying
And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
Basically stating
If this one story
If this one incredible claim
If this one supernatural event
IS NOT TRUE
THEN YOU BELIEVE IN A LIE
So look with me at verse 3
and just follow along
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
So then Paul’s claim is that not only was Christ seen by some of the most prominent apostles,
but by 500 others
and all after he was supposed to have been dead and buried
Now whats even more unique about this is,
there is a book that is a compiled collections of ancient letters
Written in those days, all collected by archeologist
One letter is actually from Caiapas to the sanhedrin
Or the Jewish Government
actually investigating the resurrection of Christ.
I find this fascinating because the claims of this material
The details within these letters
Are validation of what the Bible claims
Its proof outside of the Word of God
That what you are reading is true.
As if having proof inside the Bible and outside the Bible is not enough
There is also the means in which the Gospel was spread.
I mean lets take just a moment and really think this through
Jesus is supposed to be this guy who is going to change the world
But then
He is killed
pummeled by romans
embarrassed
and made to look like a criminal
He is nearly beaten to death
then hung on cross until dead
But then randomly his disciples
decide go and tell the world that this dead guy is the messiah?
No way,
there isn’t a soul on earth that would risk their life
for a dead messiah,
for a guy they watched die
for a guy they watched suffer
No the Bible tells a different story
It says these disciples acted normal
meaning
they were terrified
They literally locked themselves in a room
Prayed the Romans wouldn’t come do the same thing to them
But then suddenly the Bible records just what Paul stated,
that he was seen by them all,
Look with me
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
Think about this logically
The disciples behavior is completely normal,
they’re terrified
fearing for their lives
But then very soon after
Are willing to risk it all
Even death
In fact each one of these men died a martyrs death
and they become a force that changes the world
Many scholars use their motivation as proof solid that Christ rose from the dead
Ask yourself,
would you risk your life for a dead guy?
Maybe you would if he suddenly came back to life
proving him to be everything he said he was.
So then if He truly is the Messiah,
Then what truly is the Good news?
I mean we’ve just proven that believing in His resurrection isn’t as outlandish as it may have seemed
But...
for us to have a Messiah we have to be saved from something.
I mean theres no point in a Messiah if He’s not becoming the hero, make sense?
See the Bible talks about
from the very beginning
that everything was perfect
that mankind walked with God
had a perfect relationship with God
In fact the Bible even mentions sickness and death were not apart of the creation prior to the fall
But the problem occurs in a single sin
A point at which Adam and eve
Chose to go against the command of God
Immediately God has to take action,
He cannot allow Sin to go unchecked.
Think about it,
is God wrong for holding you to a standard?
Is a police officer wrong for holding you to the standard of the law?
So then because God has to act on disobedience
We are hence forth separated from God
For all eternity
Doomed to spend eternity apart from the love of God
So then the question must be asked,
how do I get right with God?
Because lets face it,
eternity is a long time
Because you see the Bible teaches you only go one of two places
Regardless of if you want to live eternally or not
You are going to but where you go is up to you.
Heaven or hell?
Which one?
That’s why Paul mentions the purpose of Christ’s death in verse 3
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.
Then the Good News is that through the death of Christ
You can be made right with God
You can spend eternity in His love
In His care
Only made possible by the sacrifice offered by Christ on that cross.
You see the Bible says
for sins to be forgiven you have to offer the perfect sacrifice
But you or I cannot be that sacrifice
We are all sinners and worthy of God’s judgment
SO then the only person in history that could offer
The perfect sacrifice is God
And therefore Christ came
in total obedience to the Father
With a sole purpose of offering himself up
TO be that sacrifice for you and me
SO that we can be with God in eternity
But what about Easter Sunday?
What significance does that hold?
Well if Christ never raised from the dead
Then all we have is a convincing lie
A crazy guy who convinced a lot of people He was special
A man that was really good at magic.
Thats why today is so important
Because if Jesus did in fact rise from the dead
Then in fact He is God.
Paul puts it like this.
And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
The resurrection is proof solid of what you believe
Its validation that Christ is our only hope.
Look one day
whether you like it or not
You’re going to die
I’m going to die
Our families are going to die
Everyone we know will eventually die
At the end of your life their is only one thing that matters
Are you right with God?
Guys its not going to matter how much money you have
the rank you have
the power you gained
NO
The only thing that is going to matter
is did you have faith in the answer to our sin problem
faith in the Gospel
faith in Jesus Christ
And with that
being that today is Easter
I wanted to give you the opportunity
to take communion
I know and understand we have
multiple denominations here
I know we have some catholic
some protestant
so if this is slightly unfamiliar to you
I understand
And if you don’t feel comfortable
please don’t feel pressured to partake
but if you want
I am going to ask that you take a peace of bread
and dip it in the grape juice and eat.
This is what we call a field version of communion
We call this intinction
But before we do that let me read one passage of Scripture.
Then please start to come up as you feel led
take a few moments of prayer to yourself
Then I will dismiss you out with a blessing.
If you choose not to partake then please stay seated
so as not to distract
just for the moment of prayer
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
Please come if you wish.
‘May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.’
Have a great day guys, you’re dismissed.
Thanks for coming.
