Do you believe?

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Welcome
What a great day to be here with you today!
This is the day we celebrate the day Jesus made all things new. Today we celebrate not a dead Savior, but a Risen, Reigning, King who has given us life. We celebrate His victory over death and because of that, our victory too.
I want to begin by reading a little Scripture
Jesus made many claims during his time on earth. His claims were significant and those that only God himself could make. I want to read one of those claims from the Gospel of John:
John 11:25–26 (NASB95)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
The same question that Jesus asked Martha that day is the same question that Jesus is asking each one of us today: Do you believe this? Do you truly believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that by placing your faith in Jesus Christ, you can have eternal life. Do you believe that Jesus those who believe in Jesus as the Christ will never die?
Prayer
Worship that is pleasing
For people to believe in You today
INTRODUCTION
What I want us to think about today are the undeniable facts of the resurrection. And that if this resurrection is true, then what does that means for us? And how can the resurrection change our lives?
It seems to me today that people will believe just about anything without any basis of facts.
People believe that the world somehow created itself out of nothing which is impossible according to the First Law of Thermodynamics.
Some people believe in reincarnation which is simply a suggestion and has no basis of fact.
People even believe today that they have somehow been transformed into an animal. This belief is so prominent they even have a name for it called Lycanthropy (li-can-thropy).
What I want to show you today why the resurrection is more than a myth, it is a fact. And it has a foundation of proof that should convince even the biggest skeptic.
Turn with me to John 20:1-2 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

The Christian church stands as a testimony that the resurrection is true

John 20:1–2 NASB95
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
Explanation
Jesus has just been crucified. He was betrayed in the garden by Judas. He was placed on trial by the Jewish leaders and they handed Him over to the governor Pilate. Pilate had Jesus beaten severely, and stood Him before His own people who demanded that He be crucified. The Scripture says Jesus carried His own cross to a place called Golgatha which means the place of the skull. And there they raised Him up on that cross until He died. The next day was the Sabbath, and according to Jewish law the body had to be taken down off the cross. So He was taken down, wrapped in grave cloths, anointed with spices, and laid Him in a tomb. This happened on a Friday. The Sabbath was Saturday. And the Scripture jumps immediately to the first day of the week.
Creation
God created the earth in 6 days Gen 1-2. God brought the earth into existence, the animals, and then on the sixth day He created us in His image.
On the seventh day, when God finished His work of creating what did He do? He rested! And he blessed that day and called it holy and told Israel that they must rest on the seventh day as well. And named called that day the Sabbath.
When Jesus hung on cross do you remember what He said before He died? He said, “It is finished”. The work that the Father had given Jesus to do on earth, the mission that God had called Him to was complete. Then came the Sabbath and Jesus rested in the tomb just as God had rested when He finished His work.
Our verses says: “on the first day of the week”
This is not the 7th day but the 8th day. Boys were circumcised on the 8th day. Pentecost happened on day 8 of the seventh week. The feast of tabernacles was 8 days long.
The point is to say this day was a new beginning of creation! This is the day that a new created order began. It is a day when the Lord Jesus Christ stepped out of the grave and brought A new kind of life!
This is the day when the Creator went back into the garden that Adam failed in to conquer death and sin once and for all and walked out the grave victorious! And everyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life!
Application
This is why the church gathers on Sunday! This is the day after the Sabbath, the 8th day.
You can look out into the world today and see here that had never been here before the resurrection of Jesus Christ: THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH!
It is estimated that there are over 37 million Christian churches across the globe! There are over 380,000 in America alone! Are so many people believing a lie or is the church something that came as a result of the resurrection?
Why do people come together as a church? It is because the people of God who have received the grace of God that gave them a new life. People cannot create a church. (Not a true church). A true church is born by people being born again into the Kingdom of God!
Christianity is not about something that we do, it is something that we have become. Each one of us in Christ, has become a new creation, a new person, a free person with a future promise of permanent redemption.
And now every single Sunday is set aside to worship this Risen King who has called us out of the grave!
Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruit for everyone who will ever believe in Him.
What are first fruits?
When you plant a garden or a crop you’ll have some plants come up before anything else. Every time I plant corn there will alway be a few who come up before the entire crop. And what this tells me is those few plants guarantee that the rest are going to come. That means that I didn’t plant the corn in cold ground, or too wet ground. It is a good crop.
Jesus is our first fruit. He was the first to rise from the dead that is why Paul says he is the “firstborn” of all creation. This does not mean Christ is born, but that He is the first to rise from the dead.
And what this means for us is that since He arose, we will be resurrected too. Since Jesus walked out of the grave, we will walk out of the grave too! There is life after death and on this glorious day 2000 years later we must fall down and worship the one who can give life to our souls!
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). It is because “he is risen!” that death itself has been defeated. This is more than just a fact of this life, for it is also what gives this life its meaning and purpose. He is risen indeed!

The eye witness accounts unmistakably testify that the resurrection happened

John 20:4–8 (NASB95)
The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.
Explanation:
Remember Mary’s response when she came to the tomb. She thought someone had taken the body of Jesus. So she runs to get for help and summons Peter and John. And they immediately run to the tomb expecting to find what Mary had told them. Why? Because they just could not comprehend that Jesus had been risen from the grave. They immediately thought rational that someone must have stolen the body!
I could only imagine that grave robbers (which were fairly common in those days) to take the grave clothes with them. Why would anyone who is stealing a body to leave behind evidence. And why would anyone unwrap a corpse before taking the body out of the tomb?
But what is so shocking is that they the grave clothes lying there as if His body had passed through them. Notice they are still in place and the head cloth is folded in a separate place.
It was not the empty tomb that convinced them that Jesus had risen. It was not the testimony of Mary that had convinced them something miraculous had happened.
It was the grave clothes. And specifically when they saw the grave clothes with their own eyes that John says, he “believed”.
And it is John who testifies that he believed has written this gospel is to us today that what he saw in that tomb that day had convinced him that the resurrection is true!
John would later say this:
1 John 1:1–2 NASB95
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
John said this is what we have seen with our own eyes and held with our hands.
John was a man like you and I who had a life like you and I. And Jesus invited him to be a part of something that was much bigger than he could comprehend. And as he walked with Jesus and saw miracles, but he still could not fully understand who Jesus truly was. And WHAT HE SAW that day in that tomb made him believe that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead.
This gospel was written by a man who had nothing to gain whatsoever from making a story up.
John suffered greatly because of his continuing witness for Jesus.
Tertullian tells us that John was plunged into boiling oil because his faith but he miraculously survived!
He was later exiled to an island called Patmos which was like where prisoners were sent to die. And that is where John spent the rest of his life and wrote the book, “The Revelation of jesus Christ”
How many people do you know would give up their life and suffer to the point of death for a lie?
But what about Peter? He was with John. Did he agree with John? Absolutely! He wrote a letter too and he also testifies of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead in the first three verses!
Why? Because Peter was there! Peter looked in that grave too and Peter saw the linens lying there and Peter saw the face cloth that was folded in place and he knew!
And what happened to Peter? Peter was crucified upside down because he did not consider himself to be worthy to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord Jesus.
My question to you this morning is: Do you believe this?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was foretold in the pages of Scripture

John 20:9–10 NASB95
For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Explanation:
What Scripture is the author speaking of? The Scripture of the OT! The Bible of the Hebrews and that the Jews possessed and lived by. Over and over in the pages of Scripture are prophecies that testify of the Messiah, His death, and his reign
Notice that he says, “He must rise again”.
Psalm 21:4 “He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever.”
Psalm 91:16 “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.”
Hos 6:2 ““He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.”
Hos 13:14 “Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.”
Is 26:19 “Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.”
Is 53:10 “But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”
Application
The resurrection is a fact because the Bible prophesied that it would happen! The testimony of not only these men but the entire Bible was written about Jesus Christ! The OT prophecies about the Messiah have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ!
A professor at Westmont College did a project to determine the chance that prophecy could be fulfilled by one man. This was not conducted by him alone, but by 600 students.
An Ex: Micah 5:2 ““But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.””
This tells us that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. The chance of one man being born in Bethlehem fulfilling this prophecy was one in 300,000.
They concluded that if one man could fulfill 8 prophecies it would be a chance of one in 10 to the 17th power. What that means is 17 zeros behind it.
How many prophecies did Jesus Christ fulfill? It has been suggested that Jesus fulfilled 456 prophecies. What are the chances of that? Impossible.
You can bet your life on the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God who has come to give you life.

Do you believe this?

Why does this matter?
Because the entire Christian faith hinges upon the resurrection of jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection then we have no hope! Our churches meet in vain! Our preaching is in vain! Our future is nothing and when we die that is all that there is!
Ecc 3:11He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart”
Mankind knows there is life after death because Jesus put that within us when he created us!
He made us to know that there is life after death and God calls us to him so that we can live after we we die. And that we can truly live on this earth in the here and now.
INVITATION
You do not have to completely understand to believe.
(v 8-9) “So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture”
You belief in the resurrection does not depend upon your understanding of the every doctrine.
You do not have to have every question answered.
You do not have to have every thing figured out!
This is not an intellectual belief, but a heart belief.
When it says John believed it does not man he had it all figured out, but that from that moment on he trusted Jesu with His life and committed everything into His hands.
Do you believe?
~PRYER~
OFFERING
CLOSING HYMN
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