Sermon Central
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Hope Is Alive
Contributed by John Dobbs on Apr 7, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: The greatest news the world has ever heard: He Is Not Here, He Is Risen!
HOPE IS ALIVE
Introduction
The greatest news the world has ever heard: He Is Not Here, He Is Risen!
Matthew ends his gospel with the staggering news of the resurrection. We should never let this get old in our hearts.
In Matthew 28
Angels testified
Roman Guards fainted
Women ran to tell the news
Chief priests had to bribe
False witnesses lied
Disciples worshiped
Jesus Showed Up and Sent the Disciples out into the World
It was a bad day for the devil and a great day for all humanity!
The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead tells us that Hope is Alive!
John 11:25-26 ESV “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
The message of the resurrection resonates throughout the NT.
Romans 1:4 NLT and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:4 ESV We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
We find in the resurrection that hope is truly alive!
1. We Have No Hope Without the Resurrection! (1 Corinthians 15:14-19)
Faith is Useless.
1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
The Resurrection would simply be a myth, a fictional moral tale. The Apostles could no longer be trusted.
1 Corinthians 15:15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
They claimed to spend 40 days with Him after the resurrection, eating and drinking with Him (Acts 10:39-41). There is no way they could have been deceived or mistaken; either they told the truth or they were deliberate liars, deceivers, and frauds!
We Remain in Our Sins.
1 Corinthians 15:16-17 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
All those who have died are simply gone.
1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
Their faith would have been in a false Messiah who did not atone for their sins. There would be no evidence of life after death.
Christians are to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
We would have believed in a false Messiah, refrained from worldly pleasure, been ridiculed/persecuted for our faith, and all for nothing.
The resurrection of Christ is a core foundational teaching of the Christian faith. If Jesus is not raised then we should not be Christians!
2. Hope is Alive Because Jesus is Alive!
He Saves!
Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
1 Peter 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He Cares!
Romans 8:34 Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Hebrews 7:25 LSB Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercession for them.
He Guides!
Romans 14:9-10 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
He Reigns!
Ephesians 1:19-23 That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
