1 Corinthians 15:1-15:8
Because He Lives!!!
I’d like to start this message off with a question; What’s your ambition in life?
Now, maybe it would be a good idea to define the word ambition in order to help you answer that question. Webster’s 9th New Collegiate Dictionary defines it this way;
Ambition ¡V an ardent desire for rank, fame or power ¡V the second definition is, the desire to achieve a particular end.
A very short boy wanted so badly to play basketball. He even told his dad that he wanted to become a pro when he was older. Knowing that his son would never be able to play the game, the dad asked the local coach if there was anything he could recommend to make the boy taller. ¡§You might take him down to the museum and put him on the old torture stretch rack,¡¨ the coach said. Several weeks later the coach asked the father if putting the boy on the stretch rack had helped. ¡§Well, it didn’t make him any taller, but he confessed to several things that I never knew he.¡¨
Our world is full of ambitious people we see them in the sports world, in entertainment, politics and business. People all around us are desiring to achieve a particular end; to move up in their company, to build a retirement, to save for college, to get that first car or home.
J Oswald Sanders says of ambition; ¡§Nothing is wrong in seeking great things. But it is wrong to seek great things for yourself¨
I’d like to show a video of man who had a great ambition ¡V and as you will quickly see this ambition had nothing to do with personal gain.
SHOW ¡V the video; ¡ Secret Ambition¡¨
(Michael W Smith)
PRAY
The title for our message today is BECAUSE He LIVES!!!! And our main text is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now, brothers, I want to REMIND you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and ON which you have taken your STAND. BY this gospel you are SAVED ¡V IF you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ DIED for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was BURIED, that He was RAISED on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brethren at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as one abnormally born.¡¨
1 Cor 15:1-8
In those verses Paul reveals 2 of the 3 most important events in all of human history. And that what I want us to talk about today as we make our faith promise commitment. And we will be talking about them not in their order of importance but in order of their occurrence.
Event #1 is;
The DEATH of Jesus
IT WAS LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON. HE HADN¡¦T SLEPT SINCE WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HE HAD BEEN BEATEN, WHIPPED, MOCKED, SPIT UPON AND HIS BEARD HAD BEEN RIPPED OUT BY THE HANDFUL.
THE MINISTRY THAT HE BEGAN JUST 3 YEARS EARLIER HAD REACHED IT¡¦S DRAMATIC CLIMAX.....
THE MISSION OF MANKIND¡¦S REDEMPTION, THAT WAS FORMED IN THE MIND OF GOD LONG BEFORE HE EVEN FORMED THE UNIVERSE WAS NOW UNFOLDING NEARING IT¡¦S COMPLETION.
AND AS JESUS HUNG ON THAT OLD RUGGED CROSS, SUSPENDED BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH ALL OF CREATION WATCHED. AND AFTER 6 HOURS ON THE CROSS STRUGGLING JUST TO TAKE A BREATHE, GOD THE SON ROSE UP ON THOSE NAILS FOR THE LAST TIME AND SAID AS RECORDED BY THE APOSTLE JOHN IN HIS 19TH CHAPTER, "IT IS FINISHED!" AND HE BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP HIS SPIRIT...
THE PLAN WAS FULFILLED
THE MISSION WAS COMPLETE
THE DEBT HAD BEEN PAID
FREEDOM HAD BEEN WON
SIN HAD BEEN DEFEATED
MERCY HAD BEEN FOUND
ND GRACE IS NOW AVAILABLE
The great chasm of sin that had separated all men from God since the garden had been bridged by a wooden cross that is held by the back of Jesus.
Listen ¡V Jesus Christ was a very ambition man ¡V and the particular end he was desiring to achieve was to give His life away ¡V Why? so YOU could have life!
The second most important event in all of human history is;
The RESURRECTION Of Jesus
It was dark as they arose that Sunday morning... The two got up and put on their garments grabbed their spices and headed out on the dirt road that lead out of the city.
As they headed out on the road and as the sun began to rise the path was lined with many dark shadows... but no shadow or darkness could compare with the darkness that hovered over their soul.
As they walked up the path towards the tomb... thoughts and sights of the last week -- ripped through their minds like violent tornadoes..
They had been there when Jesus rode in on the colt before thousands shouting his praises, what an incredible moment that was. But unfortunately their minds and the events of the last week didn’t stop there.
Try as they might, they couldn’t stop - those other thoughts, they couldn’t prevent those terrible scenes, from playing out, again and again, in their minds.
They saw Jesus tied to a post a Roman scourge filled with broken pieces of pottery, glass and bones ripping across His back. As they recalled the purple robe -- the beatings, the cruel mocking and the crown of thorns, the tears began to flow again.
They had seen it all -- they had seen Jesus, their teacher, their friend, their Lord they had witnessed everything that Jesus went through...
And these 2 women, these two Mary’s (Mary of Magdalene and Mary the mother of James) were there at the cross...
They saw Jesus hanging there on that rough cross of wood... they saw His body struggle and wince with pain with every breathe that he took...
They were there when Jesus cried out, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI -- MY GOD MY GOD WHY HAS THOUGH FORSAKEN ME" -- and they saw his head fall as he cried, "IT IS FINISHED."
They where there when Jesus died, and when he died they died to.. O¡¦ they were still alive physically but their hopes and joy died on that cross with Jesus, on that dark Friday nearly 2,000 years ago.. Their Lord was dead... And their hope was gone.
So what are they doing up so early on this Sunday morning? Why aren’t they lying in bed wallowing in their misery... What was it that drove them from their beds before dawn, and put them on this dark up hill climb.
The thing that drove them, was their love for and devotion to Jesus -- someone had to prepare the body for burial and no one else had volunteered; Peter didn’t, James didn’t, neither did John -- So it was up to these 2 faithful followers, 2 women who had never left the side of Jesus, who were with Him until the end -- it was up to them to do it, and they did..
Now, the task they were going to perform was a somber task, a difficult task... They would be the ones, who would wipe the blood from the brow, from the legs, from the sides, They would be the ones, to clean the blood from the body of Jesus... they would be the ones, to remove the blood that had matted in his beard, They would be the last ones, to touch his face and close His eyes.
And as they were nearing the tomb -- suddenly a problem -- something they hadn’t thought of until now, entered their minds and they said to each other,
"MARY WHO IS GOING TO REMOVE THE STONE -- HOW CAN WE GET INSIDE TO JESUS IF THE STONE IS IN THE WAY?"
"AND SUDDENLY THERE WAS A VIOLENT EARTHQUAKE, FOR AN ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND, GOING TO THE TOMB, ROLLED BACK THE STONE AND SAT ON IT. HIS APPEARANCE WAS LIKE LIGHTENING, AND HIS CLOTHES WERE WHITE AS SNOW. THE GUARDS WERE SO AFRAID OF HIM THAT THEY SHOOK LIKE DEAD MEN.
THE ANGEL SAID TO THE WOMEN, "DO NOT BE AFRAID, FOR I KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR JESUS, WHO IS CRUCIFIED. HE IS NOT HERE; HE HAS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID. COME AND SEE THE PLACE WHERE HE LAY.
And the 2 Mary’s bent down and walked into the tomb, and when they did, they saw that it was empty (Jesus was not there).
Question - what do you think they were thinking at that moment?
How do you think they felt?
Did they just look in and leave?
or do you think they stayed awhile?
Did they touch the linen that had been around Jesus?
Did they shed tears of joy?
Matthew goes on to say, "SO THE WOMEN HURRIED AWAY FROM THE TOMB AFRAID, YET FILLED WITH JOY AND RAN TO TELL THE DISCIPLES.."
Listen - once they found that the tomb was empty -- once they believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, these women were on a direct path that would ultimately led them to meet the risen Lord...
And as they were running down the road back to Jerusalem -- suddenly Jesus appeared to them -- and they fell down and clasped His feet (perhaps wanting to make sure he was real), and they worshipped Him....
You see, the love and devotion that these women showed to Jesus while he hung on the cross and as they arose early to tend to His body was greatly rewarded...
Listen - even when Jesus didn’t seem to be acting according to their plans or wasn’t giving them what they wanted, these 2 women never wavered or faltered in their devotion to him... And that kind of love and devotion will always be rewarded by the Master.
The women arose from worshipping the Lord, and went into town to tell the others... What started out as a terrible day, had suddenly been changed into a day filled with inexpressible joy (Meeting Jesus can do that)...
The contrast between the journey to and from the tomb is overwhelming.... the steps they take now are full of hope, something they didn’t have when they had gotten up this morning (It’s just like Jesus to drive the clouds away¨)
So Mary and Mary hurried to tell the others the great news of hope.... Can you even imagine, what it would be like to be the first ones to ever tell the news that Jesus is Alive!
Two of the most important events in all of human history, Jesus¡¦ death and His resurrection.
Our text today starts off one of the great chapters in the bible ¡V in fact 1 Corinthians 15 is known as the resurrection chapter of the bible. The powerful truth that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive is the focal point of all 58 verses in that chapter.
One of the purposes of the chapter is Paul desire to refute those who were denying the resurrection and thus attacking the foundation of the Christian faith.
And if you we were to take the time to read the entire chapter you would see Paul list one awesome benefit after another, that IS ours, because He Lives!!!
Because He Lives!!!
Our faith has meaning (14)
Our sins are forgiven (17)
We have HOPE beyond this life (19)
We will also be resurrected from the dead (21)
Death is destroyed (26)
Because He Lives!!!!
Our hardships for Him have meaning (32)
We must watch the company we keep (33)
We must STOP sinning (34)
We will one day, get an imperishable, incredible, unbreakable, disease free, sin resistant body (42)
Our victory is assured (57)
We can stand firm letting nothing move us
Because we Know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
BECAUSE God so loved the world ¡V He sent his one and only son into the world so that whoever believes in Him would not perish BUT have everlasting life
God’s plan was that through Jesus mankind could be reconciled back to Him. And with Jesus’ death and resurrection we are 2/3 of the way there.
The MEETING In Galilee
But there is till one more crucial event and in Matthew chapter 26 ¡V we see mentioned for the very first time the third most important event in all of human history
Jesus has just instituted the Lord’s Supper ¡V he has just talked about as he passed the loaf and the cup ¡V His broken body and his blood that would be shed for the forgiveness of sins. He told them they would abandoned him in just a few short hours and that He would rise again from the dead.
And then he tells them of this all important 3rd event.
¡§BUT after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into GALILEE - Mt 26:32
Question - What is the 3rd most important event in human history?
The Meeting In Galilee. Now the first 2 events are very dramatic ¡V they are well known ¡V we are reminded of these events each week as we take the Lord’s Supper. We have heard countless sermons and Sunday classes about these events.
Compared to these, this 3rd event, may seem a little dull it’s just a meeting, and we all know how everyone feels about a meeting.
BUT understand this meeting is just as important and just as vital, as both Jesus¡¦ death & resurrection
So important was this meeting, that Jesus prepared for it during the final meal of his earthly life - in the very same sentence in which he spoke of His death & resurrection he said; and after I have risen, I will go ahead of you in Galilee
So important was this meeting, that it was among the first words spoken by the angels at the empty tomb
He is not here; he has risen, just as He said, Come and see where he lay, Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ¡¥He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee¨ Mt 28:6,7
So important was this meeting that Jesus speaks of it in His very FIRST conversation following His resurrection. Jesus said to the women as they meet Him after leaving the empty tomb, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me¨ Mt 28:10
Listen the whole redemptive plan of God DEPENDS on these three events; Jesus death, His resurrection and the meeting in Galilee
The first two have been accomplished and as far as Jesus work goes as he himself said it is finished.
Okay, SO what happened in this meeting that makes it so very important?
SHOW VIDEO Visual bible Mt 28:16-20
Those are the three greatest events in all of human history ¡V each is intricately woven into the fabric of God’s plan for mankind’s redemption.
Jesus died a cruel death on a rugged cross to pay the debt of sin, for the entire world
And Jesus Christ rose from the dead ¡V the tomb is empty ¡V both Jesus and our hope, is alive!
And now, you must be his witnesses ¡V he has commissioned you, his follower, to take this good news into a world full of people who are lost in their sins.
EDWIN LOUIS COLE TELLS THE STORY OF MAN WHO HAD A DREAM ABOUT THE TIME WHEN CHRIST AFTER HIS RESURRECTION -- LEFT THE EARTH AND ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN TO BE WITH THE FATHER.
AND AS JESUS COMES INTO HEAVEN THEIR WERE MANY ANGLES ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR HIS ARRIVAL, WAITING FOR HIM TO BRING THEM NEWS OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED ON THE EARTH.
AND AS THE ANGELS APPROACHED JESUS THEY ASKED HIM, "MASTER, HOW DID IT GO ON EARTH?"
"MEN WILL BE SAVED" WAS THE ANSWER.
THEN JESUS HELD UP HIS HANDS, AND THE ANGELS SAW THE SCARS ON HIS HANDS, FEET, SIDE AND BROW WHERE HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR MANKIND¡¦S SIN.
AND BECAUSE ANGELS ARE MINISTERING SPIRITS, ANOTHER QUESTION CAME: "BUT HOW WILL MEN KNOW OF THEIR SALVATION....?"
"I HAVE COMMISSIONED MY DISCIPLES TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS IN ALL THE WORLD" WAS THE REPLY.
THE ANGELS REJOICED, BUT THEN IN CONCERN THEY ASKED, "BUT WHAT IF THEY FAIL?"
JESUS SIMPLY ANSWERED, "I HAVE NO OTHER PLAN."
Listen there is NO other plan! The only way the world will ever know that Jesus Christ has died for them is if we (you & I) tell them.
Jesus Christ was a very ambitious man, and it was His ambition to GIVE His life away for you and me and Jesus did just that BUT though he died he is not dead
JESUS Christ is alive!!!!!!!!!!
And because he lives our ambition in life - is to change.
And that really shouldn’t surprise after all, Paul says in Gal 2:20 that the Christian Has been crucified with Christ and no longer lives but Christ lives in them
Now , the apostle Paul was an ambition man both BC & AC. Before Christ came into His life Paul’s ambition was for himself Paul was on the fast track, he was the man that everyone who was anyone in Jerusalem was watching, he was moving up the rung of Jewish achievement faster than anyone
BUT we know the rest of the story Paul had a run in with Jesus himself, and he came to the conclusion that Jesus is the Christ. And because He Lives Paul’s life ambition changed
In 1 Corinthians 15, after talking about the importance Jesus death and resurrection, Paul wrote these words
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. BUT by the grace of God I am what I am, and the grace of God to me was not without effect. No, I work much harder than all of them ¡V yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me¨ 1 Cor 15:9,10
Circle His grace to me was not without effect¡¨
The word that is translated without effect is the Greek word keno, and it means empty, without result, without profit, hollow, shallow
What Paul is saying is that the Grace of God had an effect in his life ¡V His was not a hollow, surface, empty or shallow commitment to Christ. No, the grace of God changed Paul. It changed his life it changed his ambition.
There is a verse in Acts chapter 20 that describes this new ambition in Paul’s life in a very vivid way.
Paul is concluding his third missionary journey and he feels that God is leading him to go back to Jerusalem. He is saying Good bye to the leaders of the church in Ephesus (they were some of his closest friends in the ministry). It’s an emotional scene that ends with them kneeling, praying, weeping and embracing on the beach.
WHY all the emotion?
Well you see, Paul knew and the church leaders from Ephesus knew that the Jews were hunting for Paul and that he would probably be arrested and killed and that they would most likely never see him again. (not an easy good-bye to say)
BUT the thing that enable Paul to say it is that Jesus lives!!!! And because He does - Paul had a new ambition.
And no passage of Scripture describes that ambition any better than Acts 20:22-24
And now compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not know what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. HOWEVER, I consider my life worth nothing to me, IF only I may Finnish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.¨
I consider my life worth nothing to me unless I take the gospel of God’s grace into a sin sick world. THIS is Paul’s ambition ¡V THIS is the particular end that Paul desired to achieve.
Question has God grace had an effect on your life? (sure his grace has freed you from your sin and giving you the hope of heaven)
BUT has it given you a new ambition?
Has it given you a driving passion, a burning desire to DO what were it takes , to PAY whatever it costs to make sure that people around the world, have the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus Christ to make sure they are given the choice to choose between heaven or hell.
CAN you think of a great ambition.
Because He lives!!!!!
Paul was willing to give his very life (he was willing to be beaten throw in prison and even to die) for that gospel he was willing to give it all away.)
Question What are you willing to give away for the sake of Christ and His gospel?
Are you willing to give your time? Talents?
Today is faith promise and the # 1 question of this day is are you willing to give your
Treasure For the sake of the gospel.
[illustration]
a MISSIONARY was on furlough and was shopping in a store, she was looking for a globe to take back with her. She found one that was reasonably priced and then she saw a globe next to it that had a light in it. She asked the clerk what it cost and it said it cost more than globe that had no light.
A lighted world cost more. And that’s true.
It costs to light the world right here in Lawrenceville
And it costs to light the world at Life Point, Central Japan, woodland camp, save the child, Ghana Africa, Ukraine
Because He Lives!!!
And because people matter to God
We ask you to make a faith promise commitment an amount above your tithe to help Central light the world!
