Easter Sunday

Since it was Easter Sunday, I thought it would be a good idea to post the sermon I preached in front as a guest speaker for Enloe Baptist Church today.

This has been an extraordinary time in my life. Just a year ago, I was single, living on my own in East Texas, and getting ready for my wedding. Now, I am a married man, expecting my first child in October, and filling the pulpit for you nice people today. I want to say that it is truly an honor to stand before you today on this extraordinary day.

Of course, yesterday was an extraordinary day as well. Growing up in the north, there was one thing that I experienced so much more than I ever wanted to. It was so much a common occurrence that I didn’t even bat an eye unless it turned out to be a major event.

So imagine my surprise when I’m down in 150 miles south of here, I look out the window, and I see it. Snow… Those fluffy white flakes falling down, not just little ones, but full-fledged snowfall. Not to mention, there was a lot of it. Snow, in Southeast Texas… in April!

I make such a big deal out of it, because it’s not supposed to happen. Snow in April in Texas is an extraordinary event. Especially when it was 85 earlier in the week. I guess the expression “Expect the unexpected” has come true again.

Today, we celebrate the most extraordinary of all days on the calendar. A day that dwarfs a little weather event. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 NKJV

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ whom He did not raise up-if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not fires, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men the most pitiable.

But now, Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

When I read stories in the Bible, especially those that I’ve heard over and over again, I like to try to put myself in the position of the people in the story. The bible is not a collection of tales, but a living, breathing account of real people with real emotions at real times. So just imagine what it must have been like.

You’ve been following the Jesus fellow for some time now. You’ve seen the miracles first hand. You know what people say about him. He’s healed sick people. He made lame people walk again. He’s given sight to the blind. But the Pharisees hated him. They got Pilate to sign the death warrant. He’s dead.

Death is the end right? This man dies and the movement ends. It’s time to go back to your regular life. Then Mary Magdalene comes running in screaming, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” I think the disciples were trying to find some nice way to convince her she was hallucinating. Something like, “Of course, Mary, we all think he’s alive. Don’t we guys?”

Points

1. The resurrection of Christ was an extraordinary event

People just don’t get up out of the casket. Burial stones don’t just roll away. These things just don’t happen. Right? The very idea of the resurrection was so mind blowing. But it really shouldn’t have been. The disciples had seen it before. Jesus went to Lazarus’s grave. Martha met him there.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. - John 11:23-25

Christ rising from the grave showed his power over death. Jesus died on the cross, was dead for three days, and then came back to life just as he had been telling people he would do, amen? Jesus Christ displayed his power over death and now offers that power to those who believe in him. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. When Christ arose, he proved he had the power to make that statement true!

In Storytelling: Imagination and Faith, William J. Bausch shares: "In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter was devoted to telling jokes. . . .They felt they were imitating the cosmic joke that God pulled on Satan in the Resurrection. Satan thought he had won, and was smug in his victory, smiling to himself, having the last word. So he thought. Then God raised Jesus from the dead, and life and salvation became the last words."

2. The resurrection of Christ makes our faith complete

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

The remote control…How I like to flip channels… Tell about the features of the remote, then finally remove the batteries.

“You see, without the batteries, this remote is a worthless piece of junk. It can’t get rid of the commercials. It can’t see what else is on. Paul tells us that without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is worthless. We must believe this if we believe in Christ, or else we are lying. The resurrection of Christ makes our faith complete.

3. The resurrection of Christ gives us hope.

For if the dead do not fires, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men the most pitiable.

When Christ conquered death, he conquered it for us all. He offers that power to all who believe in him. This gives us the greatest hope- that when we die, we can have eternal life in Heaven with him. Jesus Christ died so that we can live!

Hebrews 2:9 says But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

“Strangely enough, we find it hard to trust Him, while all the time He has been trying to lead us out of the dark dungeons we have created for ourselves and let us run free in the light of day…Jesus was crucified as a criminal, but what His accusers didn’t know was that He was planning and fulfilling history’s most extraordinary prison break. – Erwin McManus from the book “Chasing Daylight.”

4. The resurrection of Christ gives us extraordinary life.

But now, Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The firstfruits were the best part of a person’s harvest, and was to be set apart as a sacrifice to the Lord. It was the best, and best was what God required. Paul tells us that when Christ rose from the grave, he became the first-fruits for us. In other words, he became the best. He came to not only give us eternal life, but the best life possible.

Since we believe in this wonderful event, shouldn’t it make us want to live our lives in such an extraordinary way so that people notice a difference in us? We are alive! We have hope! We will never die! Shouldn’t we want to share that with everyone we can? Shouldn’t it make us live our lives with pure joy?

As we celebrate this resurrection week and enter into the time of celebration leading toward his day of Ascension, who will God place on our hearts to tell the wonderful news to? Is there someone you have been talking to? Is there someone in your life who needs to know what the resurrection can do for them? I encourage you to ask God to place someone on your heart who you can share this extraordinary life with this next month. Perhaps you can invite them to a service here. Perhaps it’s as simple as meeting a need in their life. Perhaps it’s even as simple as a smile and an encouraging word. How can you share this extraordinary life?

5. The resurrection of Christ gives us eternal life.

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Warren Webster tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. "Some of his friends asked him, 'Why have you become a Christian?' He answered, 'Well, its like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn't know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive--which one would you ask which way to go?'"

Warren Webster, April, 1980, HIS, p. 13.

Conclusion -

There is no other religion in the world today where the leader has died and returned from the grave. I can get on a plane and see the tomb of Mohammed. I can go to China and see Buddha’s grave. I can’t go see the tomb of Jesus; no matter what some TV shows try to say. The grave is empty! Jesus is alive.

He offers that life to you today. I ask you, which way do you go? If you are a believer here today, I ask you who can you share the extraordinary life of a resurrected Christ with this month? If you have never accepted this life today, Jesus offers the chance to do that right now. Everyone is at the fork in the road. Which way will you go?