Christ Lives in You

[On Easter] I always say to my skeptical, secular friends that, even if they can't believe in the resurrection, they should want it to be true. Most of them care deeply about justice for the poor, alleviating hunger and disease, and caring for the environment. Yet many of them believe that the material world was caused by accident and that the world and everything in it will eventually simply burn up in the death of the sun. They find it discouraging that so few people care about justice without realizing that their own worldview undermines any motivation to make the world a better place. Why sacrifice for the needs of others if in the end nothing we do will make any difference? If the resurrection of Jesus happened, however, that means there's infinite hope and reason to pour ourselves out for the needs of the world.

N.T. Wright has written: The message of the resurrection is that this world matters! That the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love have won. If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense—[then] it is only about me, and finding a new dimension in my personal spiritual life. But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world—news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn't just about warming hearts. Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things—and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all.

Hope is as vital in our day and age as it has been since the beginning of time. So many have written about hope. So many have said the most grandios of it. “What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life.” “Human beings can live for forty days without food, four days without water, and four minutes without air. But we cannot live for four seconds without hope.” “It is not the way we deal with our human situation that is the basis for hope--hope is the basis for how we deal with our human situation.” “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.”

But think about this… In 1963, Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book entitled Cat's Cradle in which the narrator and main character, John, sought to write a book about the day the world ended. Vonnegut was prompted to do so by the nuclear bomb at Hiroshima. His fictional story deals with the technological ability of the human race combined with its stupidity.

Within the story, in the process of his research and travels, John comes across a chapter in a book related to his new religion. The title of the chapter is, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?" It doesn't take John long to read this book because it consists of only one word followed by a period: "Nothing."

Vonnegut's book reveals what many in our world today think—there is no hope. The continuing difficulties we face in life. So many injustices. Corruption with people we need to trust in. Deception and lies galore. The war in the Ukraine and the elevating escalation of even more violence. Natural disasters. Covid and other sickness and disease. Problems and even more problems today. Does Christianity have anything to say in this situation? Does the church have a message of hope in the apparent hopelessness?

It is called the Gospel of Jesus. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let’s take a look.

Colossians 1:24–27 NLT

I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

The grass withers the flower fades but the Word of our God stands forever.

Artificial Hope

Actual Hope

The first thing we will look at today is the unfortunate practice of humanity for all history to try to find hope in the creation instead of the creator. The second thing we will look at is that the hope we find in Christ is the hope that we can truly hold on to. It will not disappoint. And we will see why today.

Thesis: Though sin, the pattern of this world, and the false teachers in the world cause us to put our hope in things that bring no hope at all, it is the truth of the Holy Scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to find our hope in Christ and in Christ alone our hope of future glory.

I. Artificial Hope

- Hope in things that bring no hope at all.

A. Paul makes it clear right here at the beginning a huge stumbling block for Christianity in our culture today. Paul is glad when he suffers. This is for many of us incomprehensible. Why is the world would we be glad when we suffer? I don’t like suffering. And so as Christians, we are caught in an artificial hope because of our defective perspective.

B. We feel like God is failing us. We feel like God has abandoned us. We feel like God has not kept up His part of the the deal when we became Christians. Why are we suffering? I am disapointed with God when I suffer. After 30 years of ministry I have watched suffering destroy the faith of many believers. And because of suffering, harship, tribulation, and persecution I watched many walk away from Christ. Are you serious? Paul is happy about it? Why?

Romans 5:3 NLT

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

1 Peter 4:13 NLT

Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

Acts 5:41 NLT

The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.

C. Paul says that he is glad in suffering because it is bringing good things to the church. It was through his suffering the the gospel spread throughout the land. When we read the book of Acts, we see the many trials that the apostles went through in order to proclaim the gospel and to build the church of Christ. Suffering helped to further the spread of the Gospel.

D. When we suffer from defective perspective, we see our suffering as something peculiar to ourselves, but do not see how it is helpful to others and to the kingdom of God. In our lives and experiences we look at what God is doing in us as pertaining only to ourselves. What if the reason we were lead by God to go somewhere was not for us at all but so that you could be there for someone else?

E. John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” said: “God appoints his ministers to be sorely exercised, both from without and within; that they may sympathize with their flock, and know in their own hearts the deceitfulness of sin, the infirmities of the flesh, and the way in which the Lord supports and bears all who trust in Him.”

- So we can clearly see that when God’s servants benefit, everyone benefits. For Paul, this is cause for rejoicing. And it should be as well for all of us. The suffering of a brother or sister in Christ is a great source of blessing to the Church, for their elevated character is transferred to fellow believers.

F. But as it pertains to our hope today, why is it that we continue to look for love in all the wrong places? For since the beginning of human history we see the endless efforts of mankind in our own way to establish a basis of belief in some kind of immortality, life after death, or some kind of future state of perfection. Or ultimately a bit of the good life and eternal happiness and bliss.

G. But in the end, because of our defective perspective, many will find the hope that the scriptures declare as unacceptable and therefore we search for other options or even create our own. Christianity is too hard. All the rules. The abstinence. The enduring of suffering and persecution. This is not the kind of life I want. I need hope that my life will be better tomorrow not when I get to heaven.

H. But in accordance with the scriptures your life is better already. We say no because of problems we face here on earth that we don’t like. It is the constant problem we have with defective perspective. We feel that riches are the thing that will make us happy but in the end it could cause you to deny God and be forever in misery. I have hope that one day I will be successful. We feel that success is what will make us happy, but what do you think is successful? I once had a friend who always defined success in such a way… lots of money, a company that has steady business, pay back all that was invested, go home after only working 8 hours, more to spare, building a nest egg, the respect of people who work for you, able to buy a house for your mother, you can go on vacations anywhere you want, you can buy anything you want, big house with a maid, nice cars… well that’s nice, but even a drug dealer can fit that description. And even if you get all that but do not believe in Christ in the end you get nothing and weeping and gnashing teeth for ever. What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your own soul.

I. But Shane I have hope that I will be popular someday and everyone will like me. Yeah people will reject others and rush to your side for a time, but then it will fade and another generation will rise and reject you too. But Shane I hope that one day I will have good things in life. Yeah Solomon tried this too (he lived the rock star life) and in the end with all the homes, the women, and money all he could say was it was all meaningless a vanity a chasing after the wind. Nothing was worthwhile.

J. But I have hope that one day I could work hard to leave something behind for my children and children's children, but who knows if they will be wise or foolish? Yet these will control all that came from my skill and hard work. And waht do we get from the anxiety of our toil? Pain and grief while we work and then we can;t sleep at night because we worry.

K. And life is hard enough by just living… and we hope for the better, but in the end the injustices in life continue to keep piling on. Somebody is always getting rich at our expense. We hope that the governing authorities have our best interest in mind, but we know right? My friend who works for the government tells me lots of stories about the additions. Even in the news we saw the representative from the Ukraine say that everyone is telling them we gave them 14 billion, but she said they only got 3 billion… where did the rest go? Hmmm social justice leaders and politicians are moving into multimillion dollar homes and have foundations in the hundreds of millions. But we would think the church would do better? Right? Wrong.

L. Tithe and Offering monies are being used to buy multimillion dollar homes, private jets, and even pay for rent and tuition of women who these ministers are having affairs with when they travel. We saw in a recent docuseries that a large church is using offering to pay off men to keep quiet who were molested as boys by the founding pastor of this gigantic church.

M. But Shane if I don’t have hope for something more… then what is the point? The Lord wants us to have hope. But there is only one place actual, not artificial, hope will come from.

N. Paul and Timothy make it very clear. It is Christ in me.

II. Actual Hope

- Christ in me the hope of glory.

A. Sinclair Ferguson shares the following story: The first physician to die of the AIDS virus in the United Kingdom was a young Christian. He had contracted it while doing medical research in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In the last days of his life, his power of communication failed. He struggled with increasing difficulty to express his thoughts to his wife. On one occasion she simply could not understand his message. He wrote on a note pad the letter J. She ran through her medical dictionary, saying various words beginning with J. None was right. Then she said, "Jesus?" That was the right word. He was with them. That was all either of them needed to know. [And] that is always enough.

B. We see here in the scriptures the wonderful description of being “in”. We are no longer outcasts or alienated from the living God and we are not just brought back to Christ, but we are brought back to Christ so close that it is not possible to be any closer. You cannot be closer to a person than in. So again we see the relationship, the intimate relationship that we have with Christ through His work and through His sacrifice.

C. It is because of this, that we can have hope of future sharing in His glory. We will experience this final glory.

Romans 5:2 NLT

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

D. And this hope is in the wonderful news. And it is a hope that we can only get with Christ and with Christ alone.

Colossians 1:5 NLT

which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

E. But Shane… what about now? You talk about the blessing that we get when we go to heaven, but what about blessings right now? Again, no more defective perspective. What do we get right now? As a Christian today you already have more than could be asked for. We right now have: peace that transcends all understanding. We are right now justified and called Holy by the Holy One in heaven. We are right now a child of God and a co-heir with Christ so we are all a king and queen of the kingdom of heaven. We are right now forgiven and God has separated our sin from us as far as the east is from the west. We are right now “in Christ” and if you abide in Him and He in you there will be much fruit. We are right now filled with the Holy Spirit who will bear the fruit of the Spirit love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness self-control. We are right now saved from outer darkness. We are in the light and He is in the light. I am my Beloved’s and He is mine. I am right now redeemed from the hand of the enemy. I am right now a partaker of His divine nature. I am right now a new creation and delivered from the powers of darkness. We are right now able to do all things through Christ who gives me strength. We are heald by His stripes. We are right now more than conquerors. We are right now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are right now redeem from the curse of the law. We are right now salt and light in the world. We are right now sons of God. We are right now the bride of Christ. We are saved right now by Grace. He has given us right now His grace. And His grace will be sufficient. Right now we have all that we need for life and godliness. Wisdom is better than rubies and we got a whole book full of them. Better is little with righteousness than much wealth with injustice. Better to be poor and honest than dishonest and rich. Better to have a bowl full of vegetables than steak with someone you hate.

F. And all of these and more are here for you now…because of what it means for Christ to be in us and for us to be in Christ. This is the beauty of the gospel. It is sin in our lives that cause us to have a defective perspective and desire all that will not give us hope. But we can be free from sin and have the power to overcome it. Because of the work that Christ did on the cross

G. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. He came into this world to seek and save that which was lost.

H. And the promises continue… If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you confess your sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I. It is all possible because of the work that Christ had done on the cross on good Friday many centuries ago. He declared it is finished. And we know that that our Heavenly Father agreed with it, because Christ rose from the grave. And today we can rejoice. Christ not only lives, but He also live in us.