"Because He Lives"

Love Come Down

Welcome (Mike Klaassen)

Scripture Reading (Luke 23:36-49)

Prayer of Praise (Jesus is alive), Trish Figgers

Jesus Strong and Kind

Man of Sorrows

Prayer of Confession (Doubting the resurrection), Cliff Hall

Christ Our Hope in Life and Death

PBC Catechism #21

Pastoral Prayer (Bubba Jones)

SERMON

“He is Risen”

There was a time in American history when gathering on Resurrection Sunday to celebrate was the thing to do! In 1948, nearly 70% of Americans identified as Protestant Christians. Today that number has been cut in half. [1]

Christians are in the minority. We’re increasingly made to feel stupid, backwards, or weird.

About fifteen years ago, I felt that way when I was talking with a dear friend about what I believe. He told me, “Hopson, you're wasting your life.”

"As concerned as you are about my soul in the future, I am as concerned for you in the present. I am concerned for the countless hours that you . . . spend in church, reading the bible, and preaching the word, the countless money spent on tithes and schooling, for what I believe to be absolutely nothing more than a crooked preacher's chance at a power trip, a mega-corporation looking at the dollar signs, a politicians mind-control technique, a fallacy."

My unbelieving friend understood far more than he knew.

If what Christians believe isn’t true, we are the most pitiful people on the planet.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 15:12

Apostle Paul is writing around 20 years after Jesus’ resurrection to Christians in a local church where some are denying the resurrection of the dead

Doubting the resurrection isn’t a new problem

And in the text we’re about to read he agrees with my unbelieving friend. Christians are wasting our lives, we are the most pitiful people on the planet IF Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20—“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Five Ways Christians are Wasting Their Lives if Jesus Isn’t Alive:

1) Our preaching is in vain (v. 14)

2) Our faith is in vain (v. 14)

3) The Apostles are liars (vv. 15-16)

4) Our forgiveness is a sham (v. 17)

5) Death is the end (v. 18)

Summary (v. 19): If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

This is bad news. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we are wasting our lives! My unbelieving friend is right!

But!

v. 20—But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Because Jesus lives, the reverse of v. 19 is true. Because Jesus lives, Christians are of all people most to be envied.

Because Jesus Lives...

Five Reasons Christians are the Most Enviable People in the Universe:

Christian: be encouraged! Don’t be ashamed to call yourself a Christian, to be involved in a local church, etc.

Not a Christian: come to Christ! Talk to someone at the white flag after the service.

1) We Have An Unstoppable MISSION

Everybody wants their lives to matter for something, to be involved in a noble mission that’s bigger than them.

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe because we have an unstoppable mission.

v.14a—And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain...

Since Christ has been raised, our preaching isn’t in vain. It matters. It’s effective. It’s unstoppable.

Why should this matter to me, I’m not a preacher?

By “preaching,” Paul likely means more than merely the act of preaching a sermon at church. He’s talking also about the content, the message that we proclaim.

Explain the Gospel (God, Man, Christ, Response)

Christian: you weren’t just saved from your sin. You were given a mission to spread this good news!!!

It’s an unstoppable mission!!!

Matthew 16:18—“...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

I WILL -- not "I hope to" or "I want to"

GATES OF HELL -- we usually think of the church huddled in the corner, "it's a close one, but we're gonna survive" NO!!! --gates aren't offensive weapons, they're defensive weapons!!!

Jesus is going to use His church to make disciples of all nations. He's going to get the glory forever and ever. Not even Satan himself can stop it because God's work never fails. The only question is what part will we play?

It was a baseball game for the history books. On August 5, 2001, my beloved Cleveland Indians squared up against the unstoppable Seattle Mariners, a team that went on to win a MLB record 116 games.

For most of my life, Ohio sports have been mostly a bunch of loveable losers and that day looked no different. The Indians were down 12-0 by the bottom of the 4th inning.

In the bottom of the 7th the Mariners still led 14-2. But the Indians reminded us that the game's not over til it's over.

They scored 3 runs in the 7th, 4 in the 8th, and tied it up with 5 in the 9th. Then in the bottom of the 11th inning, after back-to-back singles by Kenny Lofton and Omar Vizquel, Jolbert Cabrera hit a looper into left field allowing Lofton to score from second. The Indians completed the most improbable comeback in baseball history.

Now if you were one of the lucky Cleveland Indians' fans in attendance that night at Jacobs' Field, for the first 6 1/2 innings you probably regretted choosing this game. You might've even been tempted to leave the ballgame early, like many of the fans around you. But if you left early you would've missed out one of the most exciting and improbable comebacks in sports' history.

If you could interview one of those fans who left before the comeback was complete, what do you think they'd say? "I had to work the next day!" "I had no idea they would comeback!" "If only there was some way I could've known the final score I would've stayed!!!"

Brothers, sisters, and friends, no matter how dark it looks around us now, we know the final score. We know how this thing ends. Jesus Christ may be ridiculed now, but He'll be glorified for the rest of eternity. They may curse Him now, but they're call Him Lord later.

So here's the question, Christian: will you check out early or will you get in the game? We know the final score. We know Christ is victorious. We know the church will grow, we know disciples will be made. The only question is what role will we play?

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe. Because Jesus lives, we have an unstoppable mission.

2) We Have An Unapologetic FAITH

Everybody has faith in something. We exercise faith any time we trust something we cannot see. Whether that’s trusting your engine won’t blow up on the way to church or the chair you sat in won’t fall underneath you, we’re exercising faith every day. But what we want is a faith that doesn’t disappoint us. Faith that we don’t have to to apologize for in the end.

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe because we have an unapologetic faith.

v.14—And if Christ has not been raised, . . . your faith is in vain.

Since Christ has been raised, our faith isn’t in vain. It won’t disappoint us in the end.

What does it mean to have faith that is in vain?

Think of someone who has turned over your life savings to a swindler like Bernie Madoff. You put your faith in this man’s ability to make you rich. Instead, you lose everything. You trusted in someone or something to deliver, and in the end you lose.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, you’ll be just like a victim of a Ponzi scheme. Your faith will be in vain. You’ll have lived your life with faith in a Savior who’s dead.

But because He lives, you don’t need to apologize for trusting in Jesus. Even if nobody else around you trusts Him, you can trust Him unapologetically!

Have you trusted this Jesus?

In the summer of 1859, Charles Blondin walked on a tightrope 160 feet above Niagara Falls several times back and forth between Canada and the United States as huge crowds on both sides looked on with shock and awe. 

Once he crossed in a sack, once on stilts, another time on a bicycle,  and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet!

On July 15, Blondin walked backward across the tightrope to Canada and returned pushing a wheelbarrow.

The story is told that after pushing the wheelbarrow across while blindfolded that Blondin asked for some audience participation.  The crowds had watched and "Ooooohed" and "Aaaaahed!"  He had proven that he could do it; of that, there was no doubt.  But now he was asking for a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow and take a ride across the Falls with him!

It is said that he asked his audience, "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?"  Of course the crowd shouted that yes, they believed!

It was then that Blondin posed the question - "Who will get in the wheelbarrow?” CRICKETS.

Trust is to get in the wheelbarrow!

If Jesus really rose from the dead, trusting Him makes far more sense than getting in that wheelbarrow.

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe. Because Jesus lives, we have an unapologetic faith.

3) We Have the Unchanging TRUTH

We live in a world that has lost any confidence in truth.

For evidence, look no further than a popular conspiracy theory that’s gaining traction throughout the country that claims Birds aren’t real.

According to the theory, birds used to be real. Until the U.S. Government murdered over 12 billion biological birds over the last half century, replacing them with surveillance drone replicas which watch us every day.

So the dirty little secret you likely never suspected when you were birdwatching is that the “birds” were watching you too.

Not convinced?

Why do you think birds perch on power lines? It’s nothing but a convenient cover for them to recharge.

Why do birds almost always defecate on vehicles? What you call “bird poop” is a liquid tracking apparatus that makes it easier to track you in your car.

Believers in the “Birds Aren’t Real” movement call themselves “Bird Truthers” or “the Bird Brigade.” Their followers on TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram number in the millions.

It turns out the movement is actually satire, it’s a parody of life in a post-truth world dominated by conspiracy theories. They know their theory isn’t true. For them, it’s a way to poke fun at a world that has lost confidence in truth. It’s a way to fight “lunacy with lunacy.” [2]

So I say again, we live in a world that has lost any confidence in the truth.

But not for the Christian! We are not confused, unsure, or lacking confidence.

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe because we have the unchanging truth.

vv. 15-16—We [the Apostles] are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

Since Christ has been raised, the Apostles aren’t misrepresenting God. They have testified rightly that God raised Christ from the dead. The Apostles can be trusted.

2 Timothy 3:16-17—All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Christian: don’t be ashamed of the Bible!

Unbeliever: even if you don’t believe the Bible, you have to admit that without God’s Word there is no basis for unchanging truth

We probably believe Putin is evil. Or the Brooklyn Subway Shooter. But why? By what standard do you judge them?

Would anyone have said 10 years ago with a serious face that they couldn’t define a woman because they aren’t a biologist?

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe. Because Jesus lives, we have the unchanging truth.

4) We Have an Unassailable FORGIVENESS

Everybody wants to be forgiven.

The head of a large mental health hospital once said that he would be able to send half of his patients home cured if only they could be assured of the forgiveness of sins. [3]

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe because we have an unassailable forgiveness.

v. 17— And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Since Christ has been raised, your faith isn’t futile and you’re not still in your sins. You are forgiven!

But what does it mean to be forgiven?

In Charleston, South Carolina on June 19, 2015, Dylan Roof was confronted by the family of nine people he had murdered during a church service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Washington Post reported that, "One by one, those who chose to speak ... did not turn to anger. Instead, while [Roof] remained impassive, they offered him forgiveness and said they were praying for his soul, even as they described the pain of their losses." [4]

Beautiful!!! The people hurt by Roof's rage chose not to hold his evil against him, despite what he had done. That’s a picture of what forgiveness looks like!

Forgiveness is a decision to not hold something against another person, despite what he or she has done.

But what if the judge decided to do the same thing? There would have been a public outcry for justice, and rightly so.

God cannot simply forgive us. To do so would compromise His justice. A penalty for our sin must be paid.

Colossians 2:13-14—“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Not a Christian: repent and believe! Trust that Jesus died in your place and rose from the dead!

Christian: your forgiveness is unassailable. The resurrection is PROOF that God forgave you!

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe. Because Jesus lives, we have an unassailable forgiveness.

5) We Have an Unshakable FUTURE

Everybody wants to live forever. In 2013, Google CEO Larry Page launched Google's most audacious project: a life science startup called Calico. Backed by billions of dollars and some of the sharpest minds in the world, Google hopes that through this project we can finally find a cure to death. Needless to say, Calico has yet to find a cure. [5]

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe because we will live forever. We have an unshakeable future.

v. 18— if Christ has not been raised . . . then those also who have fallen asleep [euphemism for death] in Christ have perished.

Since Christ has been raised, those who died in Christ haven’t perished. They have an unshakeable future!!!

John 3:16—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Christian: this future is unshakably yours, because Jesus lives!!!

Not a Christian: this future is available to you, simply by believing!

Ice skating—everybody walks onto the ice believing that it will hold them. Some are skilled, some aren’t. Some are confident, some aren’t. But the ice holds everybody up, no matter your skill or confidence level. Why? Because the ice’s strength isn’t affected by your skill level. Or your confidence level. If a bunch of NHL players and Gold-medal Olympians skated on a thin sheet of ice, it would fall through.

Why? Because what matters is not your skill or confidence, but the strength of what you’re trusting in.

So too with believing. If Jesus really rose from the dead, He’s solid. He’s strong. There’s no better Person or thing in the universe to place your trust.

Christians are the most enviable people in the universe. Because Jesus lives, we have an unshakable future.

This morning I was reading an article on the front page of a major news website about how this Easter for a lot of people may be different.

“People aren't just celebrating the risen Christ this year. Some are giving thanks for the resurrection of hope in their own lives, because the worst of the pandemic may finally be over.”

The article was mildly interesting, but what really caught me was the last line:

"...when pastors preach this morning about Jesus' disciples finding new life after experiencing grief, those who have lost so much during the past two years can say: ‘And so have we. So have we.’” [6]

Stories about “finding new life after experiencing grief” are important, but if that’s all Easter is than we are of all people most to be pitied.

But, if today is about a crucified Savior who really died and really rose from the dead, than Christians are of all people most to be envied!

We have an unstoppable mission, an unapologetic faith, the unchanging truth, an unassailable forgiveness, and an unshakeable future.

Unbeliever, you can too. But not by working for it or trying harder. Simply by believing.

Hallelujah for the Cross

Benediction (Hebrews 13:20-21)