THERE IS HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION
Easter Sunday, 4-4-10 New Liberty Christian Church, Rich McQuinn, Pastor
Veedersburg, Indiana. Mr. McQuinn lives in Lafayette, Indiana
LUKE 24:1-10
INTRODUCTION: Your preacher stands before you today on drugs. He is walking like a duck and his pain level, on a scale of 1-10, is a 4 or 5, but evil will not prevail!
CHRIST IS RAISED FROM THE DEAD!
How has your week been going for you? What have you accomplished that has been worthwhile? What is one thing that you can be proud of that you did or has happened to you this week before Easter?
I read in the paper a couple of days ago where the events that happened this last week in the life of one nurse, changed her entire life. She was feeling ill and stopped at the proper place to buy some RX. Inside the store she also bought a scratch off lotto ticket. Wednesday of she won $1,000,000. She will collect $43,000 each year for the next 30 years. I would say that she had a pretty exciting week.
As we look through the pages of Scriptures from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John we find that Jesus has had an up and down week. It was His final week. A week of challenge, of instruction, of prayer, of companionship, of miracles, of defiance, of tears, and a week of sacrifice in giving.
His final week on earth can be divided into three phases. The first two days of the week find the masses of people in a mood of acceptance and praise. Palm Sunday had to be a high in His life. The celebration, the parade, the commotion, the curiosity was all part of the first two days.
In the middle of the week, the same people began to really question who He was and then to challenge His Authority.
By the end of the week, their attitudes had changed from celebration, parties, fun loving things------to anger, rejection and in the end, His crucifixion. It was Murder in the first degree. What a week!
My week was not so dramatized. Upon doctors orders I was to remain in side my home with as little clothing on as possible to give air to the incision that removed my separated tail bone. It has not been fun or exciting, but as I have already said, evil will not prevail.
Christ is Raised from the Dead!
This week around the world, has seen more destruction, poverty, killings, drug parties, deaths and miracles. It may have changed some folk’s lives, but it did not change the history of mankind.
I must confess to you that when I see the results of the mighty earthquakes that you and I have seen recently that tore countries, villages, towns, and families apart, I want to jump on a plane and get to those places as fast as it can. Is it because of my ego, or a willingness to help in a time of need? Is it a need to be where the action is and be a do-gooder? What I know is this. These world shaping events are so important. They do change history as we know it.
Then I am reminded of this simple fact about life. Life does not go on forever. You and I both know that death is going to accrue. Death is real! Make no mistake about it. Everyone of us must face our own death sooner or later, unless Jesus comes and takes us home!
When we view our world, we know for sure that there is no military victory, no break-through medical cure, and no global village that can prepare any of us to answer the ultimate questions in life.
We celebrate today the one single event in history that changes all mankind. Jesus was raised from the dead as He said He would. Christ is Risen!
So today instead of me running off to the earthquake towns, or towns of poverty to put band-aids on a quick fix, I will stand firm in this pulpit and proclaim to you that there is HOPE in the Resurrection of Christ. He is not dead, the angel said, He is Risen. Go and find Him!
There are three things about the resurrection that will fit right at home in your heart today. You did not come here by an accident. It is worth your while today. You may have come in here confused in life as to what your purpose is, of what plan God has for you, or what sins can you get rid of and be forgiven forever. Today is the day. Your needs will be revealed and satisfied. Christ is Risen from the Dead. There now is hope in life, in death and the after life.
I. THE RESURRECTION MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLES.
They had been with Him for 3 years as He helped them develop their ministerial instincts. They doubted like normal men. They question the Son of God on many things He taught. These men were very common, but they each had a heart of gold.
They were divided, down, discouraged, deflated and even depressed when they saw what happened to Him in the garden when He was arrested, then tried, then murdered. Their hope was in the pre-resurrected Christ. When they saw Him on the cross. When they saw Him take His last breath, all that they had been working for was gone. They were out of business in this reform of religion. They had no leader anymore. As many would say, they were wiped out.
What good are all the abilities of making miracles happen if there was no purpose in living anymore? What good is all of the sermons, or Sunday school lessons, or giving, and sharing if the leader of this religion is dead and in fact buried.
The resurrection of Jesus the Christ changed their lives. All of them. It is one thing to see Lazarus raised from the dead first hand. It is one thing to see a dead boy raised from his cot and given back to his mother. It is one thing for a daughter, who was already dead, was brought back to life with just a word and the faith of her father, BUT it is another thing to be the person who comes back to life on their own.
Christ is Risen. There is hope for the disciples.
You could not keep their excitement down. When they may have been a chicken to spread the news of Jesus the Christ the Son of the Living God before His death, not a one of them were timid about their testimony after His Resurrection. They were eye witnesses of the event. They saw it happened. They fellowshipped with Him. They ate supper with Him, prayed with Him and listened much more intently to His instructions than ever before. They were contagious in their message.
This stuff really works! Oh, yes, they believed in it. They believed in Him, but were never tested on it until the first Good Friday. Then He rose from the Dead. It is true! Every word is true. They preached it with new lightning skills and convictions.
These Twelve men were like the rest of us: they were selected from the unworthy and the unqualified. They became discouraged and disheartened in their spiritual life just like you and I get, but they were eye witnesses to the fact that these words are really true. “I was there, I saw Him die, I saw Him get put to death, I saw Him be placed in a tomb, and I was there when He rose from the Dead. I went into the tomb where He was laying. He got up and walked out and I tell you the man----I mean the MAN---no I really mean The Son of the Living God is alive” They could not stop talking about this moving experience in their life.
You probably already know that they died all of them as martyrs one way or the other. They paid with their life what they preached with excitement and enthusiasm.
II. THE RESURRECTION MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
Why do we respond so well when major events of destruction around the world happen? It does not matter to us where, or how rich or how poor, if they are our friends or our foe. We simply respond to help out fellow human beings who are suffering.
Why do we have the institutions of caring? Red Cross, Hospitals, Salvation Army, Half way houses, the places to better You. It is the caring attitude of Christ that promotes that in us. He said when you do it to the least of these people-----those who don’t have---then you are really giving it to me.
We share because we have been taught that. The Good Samaritan in the Bible is a story is what this is all about. We care, we share no matter what color the skin is, or even what color the religion is, we step up to the plate and give of what we have to give. We make the world a better place to live. We pass this passion on to the next generation.
Jesus was raised from the dead. It makes a difference in what we believe. Buddha died, but he was not raised from the dead. You can go see where they buried him and he is still there. Maybe a great teacher but he is dead. I know that he still has followers, but they are putting their hope in to a dead mans teaching. There is NO hope in his grave.
Then there is Confuses. Same thing. Good man. Had good sayings. Perhaps a good heart, but he too died and was buried and you can go and visit his tomb. Oh Yes I know he still has followers, but they too are believing in a dead mans philosophy. He simple is dead.
Then there is Joseph Smith. Good leader to some. He is dead. You can go see his bones, but he is dead and he won’t be back. You can bank on the book of Mormons and still be dead wrong on what really counts.
Whose God is bigger? The gods of dead men are still dead and won’t be coming back again. Or the God of Jesus the Christ who rose from the dead and sits in Heaven with His Father.
There is something about following the teaching of a man who is raised from the dead just as He said He would do. That means to me that all of His teachings are true. He came to teach the world how to live and get along with each other. He told us to love each other and wish the best for all mankind. Followers of the Risen Lord are the most caring people in the world. They know that they are only passing through and the best is yet to come.
CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY----HALLELUJAH.
III. THE RESURRECTION SHOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOU!
I do not know what you might have been expecting coming into this service this
Morning. You were invited, or it was a family thing and you could not get out of it, or you always go on Easter Sunday. You may know that the services on Easter are usually more upbeat, more singing, better sermons and even once in a while they serve breakfast.
You may be expecting a Word to be delivered to those sitting around you and that everyone will feel better when the closing prayer is given. Many who celebrate Easter today are not looking for a Word for themselves. You have forgotten that Jesus delivered on His promise. He did what He said He would do. This is proof to you! His words are true.
You may think that you are too bad for Him to die for you and then be resurrected--- just for you. We are all convicted of our shortcomings---you know the bad stuff we have all done in our lives. How can God really love anyone as bad as we are? How in the world can He really prepare Heaven for a person like me? I am too bad for the Son of God.
Satan plays his word games and we feel bad about ourselves.
We are no longer any good for any church or religion, etc. We can help each other out in times of need, but our needs can’t be taken care of because in our youth, we were on the wrong side of the spiritual tracks. We think that God can’t even hear our prayers. We do not deserve His love, or His blessings, or His home that He is preparing for us to live in.
Get over it! The sooner you have a relationship with God Almighty and His Son Jesus, the sooner you will feel very much a part of this Easter story. He took all of your lies, all of your stealing, all of your cheatings, all of your broken promises, all of you sexual mistakes, all of your doubts, fears, anxieties, and died on the Cross for you. He was there between Heaven and Hell and yelling at the top of His lungs-----I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU. That is your Easter God. That is your Easter Saviour.
Jesus The Christ the Son of the Living God has risen from the Dead!
Don’t spend another minute running from Him! You can not outrun Him! He is always there, everywhere, all of the time. He is just waiting for you to stop running. Stop! Take a breath and surrender your will to His. He made you, He knows you and He knows what is best for you.
You do not have to be a goodie two-shoe to be a Christian. Just look at those sitting around you this morning. They are not perfect, they also have sinned, they broke the spiritual law, but they came searching for the Truth from the guy who was raised from the DEAD.
All you have to do today is ask Jesus into your heart. Have the willingness to open up to Him and ask Him to help you change your life. For some folks it is instant, for others it takes a life time. You will never reach perfection until you reach Heaven. Life is an act of one step at a time trying to walk in a straight line.
You can’t walk in a straight line when you have been caught drunk. You are caught. You fell down once again. It is not as important as how many times you fall down as it is how many times do you get up and try again. God is in the business of 2nd chances and 3rd chances and He keeps on giving and giving and giving. As long as you get up and want help, He is there to hold your hand, to hug you and give you focus.
If you think you are dirty, He will clean you up. If you lack the blood and guts it takes to walk down this isle and accept Him as your personal Saviour then He will send the Holy Spirit to help you take the first step.
When you leave today, I want you to fully know that you have been in an Easter service filled with love, laughter, joy, singing, communion, a Word from God and your personal forgiveness of sin.
What is stopping you today? You don’t have to be good to accept Him; you just have to be willing to take the first step in the rest of your life.
Death holds no more stings! We all can now face death knowing that there is Hope on the other side. If there were no Resurrection then there would be no hope from the grave. There is hope for you and your family today in Christ Jesus.
It is Easter Sunday and Christ is raised from the Dead---Just as He said He would.
Amen and Amen!
