Easter Sunday - 2008

It Makes All the Difference

Have you experienced one of those "ah, so that's the key?" moments recently? We wrestle with an issue; study it, think about it, walk away from it, dream about it - and then, at some unexpected moment, the solution presents itself. You want to shout, sing, dance! It works, problem solved.

Last week, I walked the pathway of death with Gaby and her family. She was young, bright, and beautiful. As the ugliness of death steadily advanced in that hospice room I wrestled with a way to deal with it, to make sense of it. I read the Scripture, prayed, even sang. Then, the Spirit brought me to an ancient text from the book of Job. Job 19:25-27 (NIV)I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

It was a break through moment. Anew I realized that the hope in that situation was eternal life. Through each hour of that journey; I clung to the Truth of the Resurrection tightly. As I prayed with her and her family, as I held her frail hand, there was, in the middle of all that sorrow, a sweet serenity that came from the Promise made secure by Christ's own death and Resurrection.

Christianity, as it is commonly practiced, is a system of ethics, taught by a good Man who lived long ago, who loved us enough to die for us. His nobility is inspiring, but impractical. Yes, we read the story of His Resurrection, but given our modern bias against all things supernatural, we tend to re-interpret it away from literal understanding to the good old line - "He lives on in spirit!" But that is a far cry from what the Bible teaches. It is a partial message, but the without an actual Empty Tomb, we have no real cause to rejoice.

Half truths are no comfort at all! I am reminded of this story.

In 1815 a decisive battle took place near the Belgian town of Waterloo. The powerful French armies under Napoleon were locked in a winner-take-all conflict against the allied forces of Britain, Prussia, and the Netherlands under the command of the Duke of Wellington. This was before electronic communications, and in England the people depended on a chain of semaphore signals to bring them news of the battle. Ships placed in the Channel relayed information from Belgium to a signalman high in the tower of Winchester Cathedral, and then on to other stations all the way to London.

Late in the day a ship flashed a signal. The first word was “Wellington.” The next word was “defeated.” Then the fog closed in and the ship could no longer be seen. “Wellington defeated” – that was the message sent across England, and the result was deep despair. A while later the fog lifted, and the complete message came through. Not two words, but four: “Wellington defeated the enemy.” In minutes the word had spread, and England’s sorrow turned to joy.

- James Montgomery Boice, The Christ of the Empty Tomb, Moody Press, 1985

So, Believer, ponder the Cross for that is moment of our reconciliation with the Father, our guilt removed, our relationship restored. But, do not forget the Empty Tomb, for that is moment of our assurance of final victory.

Every passage that deals with the Resurrection presents the event as factual and as the key to understanding our Christian life. When we grasp this Truth by faith and it becomes part of our spiritual life and intellectual process, everything changes.

A New Perspective

The Resurrection brings us a new point of view from which serving Christ makes sense! Christianity without the Resurrection is a hoax, a waste of time, a distraction from the business of living. So says the Bible!! "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:17-19, NIV)

• What sense does self-sacrifice make, if life ends at the grave?

• Why ''turn the other cheek" if all we have is this life?

• If there is no Heaven, if we do not live beyond the grave, then the only rational way to live is to go for broke, to experience everything that can be experienced, to satisfy every sensual desire, and to do our utmost to create a life that spares us the most difficulties, while presenting us with the most comfort.

PAUSE – And, isn't that exactly how most people live?

But, there is a Heaven to gain. Christ did rise from the dead. Life does not end when our body ceases to function! This is the testimony about the true nature of our existence which is demonstrated by Jesus Christ. An Eternal perspective makes the life to which He calls us make sense. The whole of the life He calls us to live - a life of love, a life of holiness, a life that says 'yes' to God and 'no' to Self; is completely rational when viewed with eyes that are open to the reality of Eternity. Our small sacrifices now are nothing compared to the glory of the commendation of God and the joy of His Heavenly reward!

And then, too, there is this.

An Amazing Power

Jesus Christ came to restore our God-given destiny, to build a bridge back to our Creator/Father, and to point the Way across the abyss of death to our eternal home. It would be a mistake to think that Christianity is only about dying! It is about living a new life, right here, right now!

Romans 6:3-4 (NLT) When we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death. For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Many people approach the call to live a good life, a Christ-honoring life, the way they approach any other challenge. They learn what the plan is, they find someone to teach them the skills they need, they gather the tools and/or equipment they need, and then they go do it! But, there is something we need to know - building a godly life is not like any other ‘do it yourself’ project.

Being a Christian requires supernatural intervention. A life that pleases God is gained by reformation. It requires transformation. We are, the Bible says, “dead in sin,” but the Resurrection says that we can be “alive in Christ.”

Ill. A young woman called me this week with a terribly sad story about her husband. Prior to their marriage, he struggled with addiction, but over the last couple of years has been able to live without the drugs. He started to attend church with her and has been gung-ho about mastering the basics of Christianity! I have observed the process and been thrilled. But, then, the old addictions returned. He began to look for drugs on the street, spending their limited resources to get high.

It is clear to me that this young man needs to experience Resurrection power! As important as his choices are, he cannot simply discipline himself out of addiction. He knows the rehab drill having been through it, so psychological counseling alone won’t produce a Christ-honoring life free of the drugs. Is there any hope? Yes!

Ephesians describes this empowering of the Spirit for us.

Let me read it to you.

READ Ephesians 1: 13, 18-20; 2:1-2, 4-6

What turned Peter into the lion that led the Church for the first two decades of her existence?

The experience of the Resurrection Power of the Spirit of God!

What changed Saul, the religious Pharisee into Paul, the Apostle of the Good News?

The experience of the Resurrection Power of the Spirit of God!

What makes a holy life possible for you and me who are born with a broken, sinful nature?

The experience of the Resurrection Power of the Spirit of God!

Are you struggling with a habit that resists your efforts? Replace your determination with the faith to believe that God is greater and that He is ready to work in you with the same power that brought Christ back from the grave! “Raise me up, Lord Jesus, with Resurrection Power!”

A Wholly New Purpose

There are few things in life that are more sad than a person who is living without purpose!

Asked the question, ‘why are you alive?’ they stare back with a blank look.

“Uh, I guess to make a living....

to learn a better golf game....

to get married and have some kids ....

to win the office pool in March Madness....

is this a trick question?”

When we’re just starting out in life, some of those things might seem exciting enough to be a purpose, but after a person has gone to work every morning for 10-15 years, paid a rent or mortgage pay’t the first of every month, ... Hunted, fished, golfed, married their sweet heart, lived through a couple of crises... some serious questions arise about the meaning and purpose of life.

By the way, achieving great worldly success doesn’t help a person to avoid the questions, either!

Ill. At the end of a season in which his football team had not lost a game, Tom Brady, QB of the Patriots was interviewed on 60 Minutes. The 28 year-old quarterback who has won three championships, who has a $60 million contract with the New England Patriots, said, "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be."

Another man who was blessed in every earthly way, the king named Solomon, grew old and complained, Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 (NLT)
I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

In Christ, we gain a purpose that is really larger than life! He commissions each one of us to go and spread the good news of the Kingdom of God and to build the Kingdom in the world where we live!

How do we do that?

We love God and we love others.

We live with integrity, humility, self-sacrifice, a commitment to excellence, and with the desire, above all, to do the will of God.

We never outlive that purpose because loving God and loving others survives death! Love remains forever!

Contrast the despairing words of Solomon, with the hopeful words of Paul, when he was in the last days of his life. He wrote to Timothy saying,

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

What a purpose. What a hope!

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This morning - I want to offer you this Perspective, this Power, and this Purpose.

It’s a faith decision. Invite Christ to come into your life.

It’s a PERSONAL choice that only YOU can make today.

Don’t wait until you have all the answers before you make that choice. After 40 plus years as a Believer, there is plenty of mystery in all of this for me. I still have questions that probably will not be answered on this side of Eternity.

But there is one Answer that is the anchor point of my life - Christ died, Christ lives- I will die, I will live!

Make that your anchor Truth today.

"Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:54-58, NLT)

Amen.

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