“THERE IS LIFE; DEATH
HAS BEEN DEFEATED”
(Version two of this message preached at Greenmount and O’Leary April 16, 2017))
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4, 14-20
(Previously named: The Resurrection Makes the Difference (Version One -- Dorn Ridge Church of Christ, April 24, 2011)
Video Link: https://youtu.be/AcU64FsK-lk
INTRODUCTION:
1.) In the year 1739 just one year after coming to Christ, a young man sat down to pen some of the most famous words we sing on Resurrection Sunday.
2.) The song is different than we sing it today. Originally the song that John and Charles Wesley published had eleven verses, and did not include the Al-Le-Lu-Jahs that we sing today.
A.) Just the same, today those words echo as true as when they were written nearly three hundred years, as powerful and relevant to our world as when those resurrection happened 2,000 years ago:
aa.) 1. “Christ the Lord is ris’n to-day,”
Sons of Men and Angels say!
Raise your Joys and Triumphs high,
Sing ye Heav’ns, and Earth reply.
ab.) 4. Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O Death, is now thy Sting?
Once He died our Souls to save,
Where thy Victory, O Grave?
B.) I consider this Hymn to be one of the greatest pieces of music we can sing on Resurrection Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our own future resurrections from the grave.
C.) Today on this Resurrection Day, it is truly a day we should celebrate.
ca.) This day on the Christian calendar declares victoriously that “There is life; Death has been defeated.”
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
1.) The Resurrection Is the Basis of Our Fellowship.
A.) We stand by the Gospel
aa.) 1 Corinthians 15:1-3
ab.) It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ on which our faith, salvation, and hope for both this life and for eternity stands.
B.) We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection.
ba.) 1 Corinthians 15: 2,17
bb.) Today is Resurrection Sunday.
bba.) For the Christian this is the most important day on our Christian calendars.
bbb.) Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus our Christ.
bbc.) Today is not merely a day of religious festivities, though that happens.
bbd.) Today is the day of commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
bbe.) This day is a day that is different from all others because the salvation of every man, woman, and child on this planet rests on the reality that Jesus rose from the dead.
B.) We are secured by the Gospel.
ca.) 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
cb.) That reality carries the weight of salvation for all humanity.
2.) The Resurrection Is the Basis for Our Faith .
A.) 1 Corinthians 15:14
B.) It is the basis of our public faith,
ba.) Paul speaks of the preaching and proclamation of the Word of God.
bb.) The value of every sermon that every preacher has ever delivered can be weighed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
bc.) If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then every sermon and every preacher you have ever heard has been a lie giving mankind a false hope.
bca.) But thanks Be to God it is not a lie.
bcb.) The resurrection is true.
bcc.) There is so much proof of this including the witness of more than 500 people at one time.
C.) The resurrection of Jesus Christ is also the basis of our personal faith.
ca.) It is not just the public expression of our faith that is dependent on the resurrection of Christ.
cb.) As Christians the very basis of faith and the life we live in Jesus Christ is all anchored in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
cc.) The most valuable possession any of us have is our faith in and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
cca.) When all else in life fails us it is our faith that will sustain us.
cbb.) Paul shows us the importance of the resurrection of Christ by our own faith.
01) All other religious leaders of the world died and are still in the grave.
.011) Joseph Smith who founded the Mormon religion has never come forth from the Grave.
.012) Charles Taze Russell the founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses is still dead.
.013) Buddha’s lifeless bones still lie somewhere in a grave.
.014.) Somewhere the grave of Mohammed can be found with his body and spirit still separated from each other in death.
D.) Jesus the Christ is the only one who does not have a grave.
da.) There is no need for a grave for the living, only for the dead.
daa.) If Jesus had remained in the grave, our faith would be worthless-- we would believe in a God who is not great enough to deliver, save, or ultimately raise our bodies from the dead.
3.) Resurrection Sunday tells us that death has been defeated.
A.) This past number of weeks we have looked at the progression from Life to Death, to life again.
B.) In Jesus we have something the world does not have – We have a living Saviour and Lord.
ba.) Because of this we have a living hope.
bb) Today there is life.
bc.) Death and the grave have been defeated.
bca.) Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the world has a source of hope to hang on to.
bcb.) In Jesus Christ there something greater than death, and the greatness of what Christ has extends into eternity.
4.) The Resurrection Is the Basis of Our Future
A.) verse 19
B.) We do not have a misguided hope.
ba.) The resurrection of Christ shows that our faith and hope is real.
ab.) If the resurrection was not true, what a sad and deplorable state it would be to assemble in worship of a Christ who had not been raised from the grave.
aba.) If the only thing that brought us hope was this life alone, how depressing would be our outlook.
abb.) But the resurrection shows that we have a God who has conquered Satan and also the greatest enemy of mankind –death.
B.) If the resurrection was not true, we would have a most miserable future
ba.) We would be pitied more than any other.
bb.) The only thing worse than having no hope would be to have a false hope that leaves us spiritually comfortable while actually headed for hell.
bc.) When Jesus broke through the gates of death, he gave to us a living and certain hope that nothing can defeat!
II. THE IMPACT OF THE RESURRECTION
1.) The Resurrection Empowers Our Life
A.)1 Corinthians 15:20
B.) A risen Christ can sustain us.
ba.) Today – Resurrection Sunday is a day that powerfully demonstrates the falseness of every world religion while proclaiming the truth and hope found only in the Christian Religion.
ab.) That hope and faith given to Abraham’s descendants so many centuries ago was brought to fulfillment and perfection in Christ with his death on a cross at Calvary.
ac.) By means of the resurrection, God proved beyond doubt that Jesus Christ is the only source of salvation this world can know.
ad.) Through the resurrection, Jesus declared himself superior to all other world religions and leaders.
ada.) All other great founders of world religions worshipped today lie defeated and lifeless in graves. – Only Jesus, the Christ is alive and triumphant over the grave.
adb.) Only Jesus has proven Himself worthy to receive worship – For only He is greater than our great and fearful enemy of death.
2.) The Resurrection Emboldens Our Witness
A.) 1 Corinthians 15:15-16
B.) Christ is alive, our witness is focused.
ba.) It is focused on the truth that Jesus is alive and risen from the dead.
C.) Because Christ is alive, our witness is fearless
ca.) It you look at the Apostles of Jesus Christ, these men were fearful of the religious leaders, death, persecution and everything that following Jesus meant.
cb.) this all changed when Jesus came from the grave. These men became courageous and bold for the cause of Christ, to the point of being willing to lay down their own lives for their faith in Christ.
3.) The Resurrection Embodies Our Hope (15:18)
A.) The resurrection gives us a meaningful, purposeful life today;
B.) The resurrection gives us the hope of a meaningful, and purposeful life to come
C.) The resurrection gives us the assurance of a beautiful, eternal reunion with those who have gone before.
** Jesus is alive and He wants a place in your heart. Will you yield to His love and
salvation today?
