Easter - Experience It!

But we all know that we can’t experience life without hope. Without hope we lose our will to live. Without hope we lose purpose and meaning. Without hope we lose our enthusiasm, our joy, our peace.

But the good news is that the resurrection of Christ gives us a fresh hope.

vv. 8-11

"And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus."

Someone said, “We can live several weeks without food, days without water, and only minutes without oxygen, but without hope – forget it.”

We need hope to live. Do you know what it feels like to feel hopeless? (Ballgame / lost keys / marriage / terminal illness) It’s a dull, throbbing ache in your gut. It’s a heavy, sinking feeling on your shoulders. It’s overwhelming and depressing. This is where most who commit suicide find themselves. They see no way out, no other option, no hope.

This is one of the reasons that we’ve been raising money to build wells in Rwanda – to offer hope.

“Because Jesus was raised from the dead we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven – and the future starts now.” 1 Pet. 1:3-4 (Msg)

Truth > You will never find hope living for yourself. You weren’t made to live for yourself. In fact, the more selfish and more self-centered you are – the more miserable you are. You not made to live for you. You were made to live for God.

Hope is found in things that last. When you’ve been working hard and your stomach is growling and your insides are longing for something real, something substantial – do you hope for cotton candy or do you hope for a steak and potato? You want something that will fill you up / fulfill your hunger. Likewise, we need something real to fulfill us. Material things don’t/won’t last . . . but eternal things do.

Remember what we read earlier – "Jesus died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised to life for our sake." When you start living for God that’s when you discover real happiness / meaning / significance / purpose / value in your life. When you fill yourself with something real and substantial that’s when you experience fresh hope.

The resurrection conquers hopelessness. It gives you purpose and meaning. It gives you a reason to live.

And when you learn to have a fresh hope anchored in a new life brought about by the resurrection of Christ, that’s when you will experience a Transformed Faith.

vv.12-14

"[Therefore] Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace."