Resurrection Reality

Have your Bibles with you turn with me if you would first Corinthians chapter 15 looking the day this great Easter day at versus 12 to 20 that Christ is proclaimed as raising the dead. How can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead, but if there is no resurrection of the dead did not even Christ has been raised. If Christ is not been raised in our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We were even failed to be messed 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 the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then those 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 that with me as we got our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father. I'm filled with emotion. This Easter week versus a focused on the resurrection of Christ, my joy is just multiplied. I don't serve a dead Savior. I serve the risen Lord Jesus, you are alive, you are on your throne this world and a subfield with fear and uncertainty is not a puzzle to you. You are sovereign, I have to believe this pandemic is being used to view to shake this planet. I pray Lord that you will break the church out of its lethargy and complacency. I pray father that you will convict the world of its sin.

Break the bonds of unbelief and draw people from the four corners of the globe Christ Lord help us to humble our sales under your mighty hand so that you can lift the sup.

But today there is also an emotion of sadness. I miss fellowship face-to-face fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I miss the Lord's supper. I miss seeing our faces.

I miss hearing a sing together to praise God we have this for now. Lord bless us and bless the preaching of the word keep my lips from era and may Jesus be exalted, and those hearing this message. May they be edified for DS in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ that we pray.

Amen a few years before I went in the ministry. I went to a a Christian business men's breakfast and we got together for the first 15 minutes and sang hymns and spiritual songs and then the pastor stood up and read some Scripture and then he prayed and then he called on Amanda come up and give his testimony and approach the podium and got up in the podium and they stood up and he held his hands up and when he did he could see big scars in his wrist and the man said to us, he said I'm ashamed to admit this but he said a while back I tried to kill myself is that I slit my wrist, hoping to put myself to death. They told us a story. He said that he was over in Vietnam that I was a soldier in Vietnam and while I was there.

My life is just so empty that I started looking for truth and he said I tried Buddhism, but I found it nothing but futility hated that didn't work and I tried Confucianism and he said that left me empty, and he said that he tried shared truism, but there was nothing there either came back to the United States and he said I was just terribly terribly depressed. He said my life was empty.

There was no joy there was no peace. It was just nothing swot went.

He said to a hotel and I took a razor blade with me. I put the razor blade on the night table and said then I went over and got down on Mondays and I prayed he said.

I prayed to Buddha asking him for help, but nothing happened. He said I prayed to Confucius asking him to relieve this depression and nothing happened. He said I prayed ashamed to but there was absolutely nothing she said. I went over and I took that razor blade and I said to myself there is no God have just been a full one city took that razor blade. So I cut my wrist in the blood begin the flow.

He said then I walked over to lie down in the bed to die.

When I walked over to the bed. They are lying on the floor was a gospel tract in the gospel tract said Jesus is the answer. He said I knew it was not there by accident. So I ran in the bed, bathroom, and I grabbed some towels wrapped around my my arms to stop the bleeding. And he said then I went back and I read that gospel tract. He said I read every word of it several times in the gospel tract said to me that that I was a sinner and I was headed for the turtle hail that I had broken the law of God had broken God's commands I had broken the heart of God and my only hope was a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and he said there was one particular verse that hit me like a ton of bricks. He said that versus Romans chapter 10 verse 13 whosoever colophon the name of the Lord will be saved.

He said he was there on his knees crying out to God, he cried out, the Lord, he said, Lord, please save me. He said I know that I'm a rotten sinner. I know that I'm headed for hail.

I broken God's law broken God's command, I broken your heart a Lord, I repent of my sins, I submit to your lordship I believe and trust in what you did for me on the cross of Calvary. Please save me at man stood before us. Tears begin to just roll down his cheeks and NEC said to us fellows.

He said I have never experienced anything like that in my entire life, God flooded my heart with peace. God steeled me with unbelievable joy. God saved my wretched soul. He said I tried the other gods. Confucius couldn't help me because Confucius is dead.

Ginger couldn't help me because Shinto is dead couldn't help me because Buddha is dead. He said, but Jesus is not dead. Jesus is alive and he saved my soul for all of eternity today is Easter and were not gathered together corporately today because of the coronavirus but coronavirus are not. It still is Easter and this is the greatest day of the entire year to the Christian but we are not gathered were in it were not in in our homes together worshiping it in order that we might mourn over a deadly virus, but we are listening and gathered in an and praising God today because we serve the Lord that is risen Lord who is on his throne. We are going to start over dead Savior on the cross we are going to data hail a conquering king a conquering king that is on his glorious throne today is Easter and guess what the tune is still empty.

If you're Christian this morning. Your emotions are to be soaring with Eagles your heart, all to be beaten about twice as fast as it usually does.

This is Easter, the day that Jesus walked out of that tomb alive and never to die again but is it for real. Did Jesus really rise from the dead is there the possibility that his body is still rotting in decay and in some is rightly tune. There are many people today who would have you to believe that lie here in first Corinthians 15 Paul is doing with the heresy that was propping up in the early church. The Gnostics were teaching at that time that that that there was only a spiritual resurrection that Jesus was with us spiritually. There never was a physical bodily resurrection and the first part of this chapter, Paul goes to great lengths to refute that heresy and he tells us of many different accounts of of of eyewitnesses that actually literally saw the resurrected Christ.

Is this relevant for us today. You better believe it is liberal theologians today spout the same lies that the Gnostics were spouting 2000 years ago when Paul was living that when they give you a quote from a liberal theologian name is Gordon Kaufman is a professor at Harvard Law's Harvard theology school. He was a Mennonite pastor and he wrote a systematic theology book. The first chapter he explains how the Bible is not the word of God.

How it contains the word of God. This not the word of God and their errors in it. It can't really be trusted and then he goes on to tell us about the resurrection. This is the resurrection of Jesus Christ was nothing more than hallucination on part of the disciples, he said, but don't worry about that. It really just doesn't matter. That's what Paul is addressing in first Corinthians 15 the church hearth was a Greek church, a church in Greece. It was a church that was planted in a very pagan society and the great Society for the most part I believe that the body was inherently evil.

So the idea of of the resurrection of the body did not appeal to them at all. I thought it was absolutely ludicrous. Some of the great philosophers were heavily influencing the Christians know professing Christians. It said you know we want to follow the teachings of Jesus, and we believe most of the teachings of Jesus. But this idea of a bodily resurrection. Just that we we just can't buy weight, we don't agree with that. We don't know what to do with this. So here in the last part of of this letter to the Corinthians Paul says okay what if it's worth it's all a hoax or if it's a lie.

What is Jesus body is still rotting in the grave.

What if there were no Easter. Let me ask you a question you have any real proof that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead.

Do we have any real proof.

And I want to share with you today.

What I consider to be some very powerful evidence for the resurrection. First, if it were a hoax. How do you explain the 16 top-notch Roman soldiers that were strategically placed in front of that tune.

These guys were like Green Berets and they were there they had a purpose. That purpose was to guard that sealed tomb to be sure that nobody could get in and steal the body if they were to go to sleep while they were on duty.

It was an offense that was punishable by death. You think anybody could just gotten into that Truman stolen the body, absolutely not.

Secondly how do you explain the role the Whitestone headstone was a massive stone. It was thought to be around two times are over 4000 pounds of a massive stone in Matthew chapter 28 versus 233. The Scripture says this in the hall there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and is closing white as snow, and for fear of him. The guards trembled and became like dead man. Matthew says that the stone was rolled away, but we get in the Gospel of John, and John is even more explicit presales of the stone was taken away in the Greek word for the four taken his word and wrote in it means to be picked up and to be carried to put yourself in the shoes of the soldiers it would be one thing to see seven or eight of those soldiers get right beside that stone put their shoulders to it, with all their might begin to strain to try to push it away to get get far enough back so that they could get the body out brothers and sisters that did not happen. That didn't happen.

What did happen this mighty angel appeared in any wall down toward the 16 soldiers and the soldiers saw that that that angel and they were frightened and they begin to clear out and he walked right down it into the to the entrance of the tune and there was the stone and he had to walk down the incline to get to it. And then he reached down the pick that stone up with his hands and he held it up over his head in the walk up the heel and eat through it down. He turned around to the soldiers that were lying there look like they were dead, trembling and shaking with absolute fear and the angel said to them, don't look for a dead man in that tune. Don't look for a dead man. Therefore he's not there please go P has risen. He said I move the stone away not to let let Jesus out is that I move the stone away to show you that Jesus is an in their while folks that evidence. Thirdly, how do you explain empty grave close the lid and strips of cloth have been wrapped around the body of Jesus where he already had been wrapped in a shroud and we been wrapped around, over and over and over again like a money and when Jesus was resurrected. He just came right up to the shroud right up through the, the, the linen cloths and just came right up through it and it was left. They are in the very same spot never moved. It was left there and look like a an empty deflated balloon forcefully how to explain the missing body.

His enemies certainly wouldn't have stolen it. That would've been the last thing that his enemies would've wanted to do and if they had stolen it. And when the disciples started talking about a resurrection.

All they had to do was go back and retrieve the body and bring it back and say here's the body that were to shut the disciples up forever. Fifthly, what about the disciples could they have gotten the body. No way 16 top-notch Roman soldiers there guarding that that time to make sure that nobody stole the body they could have been invisible and would not of been able to steal the body sexually at explain all the witnesses, Mary Magdalene saw the resurrected Christ. All the disciples saw the resurrected Christ. The two disciples on the Emmaus Road saw the resurrected Christ. James, the half-brother Jesus saw the resurrected Christ and Paul tells us in this very same chapter, first Corinthians 15 that there were 500 people who saw the resurrection of Jesus.

At one time. He said most of them are still living. If you don't believe me said go ask them. They'll tell you impulses. Oh yeah by the way, I saw the resurrected Christ is as I was on the Damascus Road I fell down in the dirt and I saw Jesus in his resurrected body and then separately to me. Probably the greatest evidence of all is a change lives of the disciples. What brought these men out of hiding. Why were they willing to risk going to prison or being put to death. Why couldn't the authorities shut them up and and why were 10 of the 11 disciples martyred for their faith is one reason they had seen the risen Christ they felt his hands.

They saw him eat. They talked with thing they knew beyond a shadow of the doubt that Jesus Christ was risen, that he was alive. I listen to carefully. If you're listening to this message today and you're not a Christian, then you need to understand this. Christianity is not based on theory. It is not based on the teaching of a man who lived it one time but is now gone.

Christianity is grounded and rooted in history and the one event that proves its validity and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord, is the resurrection right here in this passage Paul gives a hypothetical situation. What if there were no resurrection would fit is all alive. What would the implications be number one gospel preaching would be profitless.

Look first at first part of verse 14. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. The word vein in the Greek is the Greek word K Gnostic means empty or hollow. And that's right if Jesus is still in the tree then that I'm nothing but a big bag to win and all the the studying that I've done all the preaching that I've done for all these years and all the time that you have come to listen to the word of God expounded if Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead then then it's just foolishness and selling it didn't happen. What a horrible thing to have to do with Jesus Christ's is not has not been raising the dead, you might as well take your kids and go out to like while you're like normally good fish and if Jesus Christ was not raised from the from the tomb, you may as well take your family go to the beach because friends a dead redeemers. No Redeemer at all.

In Romans chapter 1 and verse four Paul said Jesus Christ was declared to be the son of God in power by the resurrection from the dead. See, the resurrection was God stamp of approval on what Jesus did on the cross is God the father did not lift the dead body of Jesus up and give him life and bring him to life. If that didn't happen. Then Jesus was a fake, a phony and a liar. But brothers and sisters when God supernaturally raised him from the dead, God will send us look Jesus is my son. He is my son and his death is sufficient payment for your sins. And if you won't prove look at adding, for he is risen right after I got saved.

The Lord called me to preach and being the obedient child of God and the faithful man of God that I was.

I said the Lord know who I don't want to do that by what I can do that I'm not articulate auto communicate well hello Laura.I just am scared to do that get somebody else to do that, not me.

He dealt with me for several months over my call. Finally, I got an opportunity to preach for on a Sunday morning at Calvary Baptist Church and in Charlotte and I can remember you. Some preachers tell you that I get butterflies in their stomach before they preach honey get butterflies that day. I got water buffaloes, man. I was scared to death and I preached and it was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do after the service was over man in our church. Robert Winston came over to me, put his arm around my shoulder.

We started walking off a little bit said Doug. He said don't you go to Israel with me. He said you don't be a preacher on which you to walk with Jesus. Walt and he said I'll pay your way. I could not believe it. I went to Israel with Robert Winston we just had a glorious time and us all things that that I will never forget the thing that meant the very most to me was the tomb in the garden. I can member be in there and just looking at that time I waited till everybody else got on the way and I got down on my knees and I looked directly into that tune and you know what I saw nothing.

I saw nothing because Jesus is that they are Jesus is alive.

Jesus has risen from the dead. So when I preach.

I don't have to worry about the inarticulate I will have to worry about stumbling over my words.

I don't have to worry about not being able to persuade someone to come to Christ on that trip, I learned something I learned that I'm a preacher, not the Savior. I learned that I don't have the power to persuade anybody to come to Christ.

I'm not an eloquent profit. I'm nothing but the FedEx man. All I can do is deliver the message. All I can do is point people to the empty tune if I could not.

It pointed you to the empty tomb this morning and I would not even showing up for this message because gospel preaching would be profitless. Secondly, if Christ be not risen, then our faith is foolish.

Last part of verse 14 says in your faith is in vain. So if Jesus is still dead.

Not only my stupid preacher, but you're a bunch of numbers for listening to what I've got to say Paul wants to leave no doubt pulses. I saw him he said I was on the Damascus Road in and he appeared before me. I fell down in the dirt, trembling and shaking. I looked up and I saw the resurrected Christ Saul the resurrected Jesus, Peter, after the resurrection ate fish with Jesus. Jesus put his arm around Peter.

They walked on the shore of the Sea of Galilee together. Jesus ask him three times.

Peter do you love me Peter saw the resurrected Christ.

Thomas doubted Jesus came back appeared to Thomas.

He held his hands out tooling is a Thomas reach in my hands and feel the nail prints and quit doubting and believe all the disciples had that testimony don't let some pseudo-intellectual agnostic tell you the disciples were in error, nor that they were lying or that they were just trying to pull off a hoax EA in order to start a new religion, no, no books, 10 of the 11 disciples died for the gospel they died for the gospel. Peter was crucified upside down.

Paul, who is not one of the original apostles, but he was definitely apostle was decapitated. James was killed by the sword.

Thaddeus was beaten to death by club.

Some of them were stoned to death. Some of them were burned at the stake.

And you know I have known people who were willing to live for a lie. Live not known anybody who purposely was willing to die for a lie and this is the testimony of the disciples to live is Christ to die is gain.

They were willing to go out to give Jesus everything they had. Why because they need that he had risen, if not our faith is foolish. Thirdly, if Christ is not risen, then sin is sovereign.

Look it over 17 and if Christ is not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. You see your sins can't be forgiven if Jesus is still in the grave, the death of Jesus Christ without the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not worth half a hallelujah. In Romans chapter 4 verse 25 of the Scripture says by by the apostle Paul. It says this it says that that Jesus was delivered prior offenses and he was a and he was raised for our justification foods.

If the resurrection of Christ is a hoax, then we have no hope of salvation. Fourthly, if Christ is not risen, then death hath dominion verse 1918 skis me then those who also have fallen asleep in Christ have perished in other words, all those Christians who have died are right now.

Inhale my grandmother's one of the sweetest Christians that I've ever known. She was so filled with the love of Christ that I just love being around her. I felt like I was around her. I could feel the presence of Jesus. She died in 1976 I watch the men take her in and take her casket and lower it down into the grave. I have missed her terribly. I look really forward to see you in my grandmom again and talking with her and praising Jesus with her. But if Jesus did not come out of that grave. My grandmother's inhale right now. If Jesus is not risen, then Peter and Paul and James and John and Ann John Calvin and Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon and James Boyce and Jim Elliott all those who have revised their lives for Christ sake. Suffering inhale right now. Don't tell me that it doesn't matter whether Jesus has been risen from the grave were not it. If Jesus is still decaying and in that tune in this life is nothing but a bad joke.

I like to think of it this way if Jesus Christ is still in the tune. The nothing really matters.

Jesus Christ came out of that time nothing but that matters fitfully.

If Christ be not risen in our future is fearful. Verse 19.

If Christ is in Christ, we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Paul didn't mean that the Christian life on earth is not abundant and greatly joyful. Francis is most certainly is what he meant was this a formula spend all this time talking about Jesus and and and reading the words from Jesus and and and praising him and singing to him if were going to do that and were never going to see heaven because he was never raised from the dead and were just nothing but a poor bunch of deluded fools. Cam Townsend was the founder of Wycliffe Bible translators he he wore himself out for Christ sake that he was taking the word of God and get it translated into every language that he could. He wanted to reach the whole world and give be sure that everybody had a Bible in their own language, but when he was in his early 80s he got cancer. The cancer was was a rapid spreading cancer and and he started going down fast he went to Duke Hospital and his doctor was Dr. Armstrong. It was Neil Armstrong the astronauts brother's daughter sat down beside his bed.

He said cam I got bad news for you at AAA said you're not in a live but maybe just a few more days. He said cam, you may not live but a few more hours.

Dr. Armstrong said cam lifted his head up in bed and said he looked over at him and said his payee had this huge smile on his face and said, his eyes were just sparkling and cam said to him, I'll be glad to die.

I'll be glad to die. He said because then I will see Jesus face-to-face people. If Jesus did not rise from the dead than cam Townsend's a fool. He has nothing to be glad about wanted to share with you something John Piper said, listen to his words. When Jesus was dead and buried with the big stone rolled against the tune. The Pharisees came to Pilate and asked for permission to seal the stone to guard the tune.

Pilate said you have a garden, soldiers go to make it as secure as you can so they did. They gave it their best shot in vain was hopelessly and it's hopeless today. It will always be hopeless tries they may people can keep Jesus down they can keeping buried. They may use physical force or academic scorn or media blackout or political harassment or religious caricature first season. They will think the team is finally sealed, but it never works. He breaks out. It's not hard to figure out he can break out because he wasn't forced in he lets himself be libeled and harassed and blackballed and scorned and shoved around and killed. I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down to my own accord. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. No one can keeping down because no one ever knocked them down. He lay down when he was ready.

If China was close for 40 years to Western missionaries is not because Jesus slipped and fell into the tune he stepped in and when it was sealed over he saved 50 million Chinese from inside without Western missionaries and when it was time.

He pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done is no fable about a lion. Big huge lion that walked into a dark cave to get some sleep lion walked in the start Katie lay down, shut his eyes started sleeping and left side of that tune. There was a spider.

The spider said to them, so that line going there and so I'm gonna weave a web all across the entrance of of that cave and then when he tries to get out out catching me in that way of and he will be my prisoner, so the spider went to work and worked all day anywhere 80 was that way up all over the entrance of that cave finally got it all done when it wasn't long until the line woke up one line woke up in the and he rolled his neck around when he woke up and he roared powerfully and then he walked right through that web is if it didn't even exist any roared again and the spider ran off. Let me tell you something infidelity and hatred and unbelief have woven all the way of a doubt over the tomb of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But Jesus Christ, the line of the tribe of Judah cannot be hailed. He broke through the chains of her two soldiers talking as they came down the hill. The somber hill of Calvary's oblique and black and steel.

One said the night is late. These things take long to die, the other said, I'm so afraid but yet I don't know why her two women weeping is down the hill they came.

The one was like a broken Rosen one was like a flying one said me a chill through this deed. Their hands have done one set only see her tears. My son, my son, my son, I heard two angels sing in air. Yet the doll was bright and they were clad in shining roads and crowns of brilliant light and one said death is vanquished and wanting golden voice said Christ has conquered all all heaven and earth rejoice. Paul tells us what would happen if there were no resurrection, and then he gives us.

Verse 20 verse 20 says, but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So what we do with these resurrection facts, I think, here's the answer we bow before him and acknowledge what his resurrection proves, and what is it prove it proves this Jesus Christ is Lord, hallelujah the spray father. Nothing gives us hope. Like the resurrection of Jesus in the time in which we are living we are in the desperate need of hope hope our sales as individuals hope our families hope for our church hope for our nation and hope for our world. May your Easter message. Give us all hope and father help our witness make people feel our passion for Christ and we pray for mercy on this world lift the pestilence Lord, and may the world understand that their need is not more money not more illicit pleasure, not more selfishness but Christ we love you Jesus, thank you for our salvation. We were Christians no that we didn't seek you, but you sought us, for it is the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen