Up From The Grave He Arose
1 Cor 15:50-58
I dug myself a little hole this week. Last Sunday evening we looked at how we can
believe in the resurrection of Christ as a real happening. Today, this chapter is also dealing with the
resurrection and that we can and must believe that Christ was raised from the
dead. So… I’ll try to approach things a
little differently today that last week as we look at this chapter.
Anne Graham Lotz tells this story: The year was 1799. It was
Easter Sunday. Napoleon had laid siege
to the little town of Feldkirk, Austria. The people of the village were
terrified by the size of his army and had decided they had no choice but to
surrender. As they were about to raise
the white flag, the bishop of the church interrupted them.
In a voice filled
with emotion, he said, "Remember what day this is. This is the day of the resurrection of our
divine King. We must have one moment of
triumph. Let us at least ring all the
bells of Easter."
So they did, but
not without a great deal of trepidation.
They were afraid such audacity might have severe consequences. As the sun came up over the mountains, the
church bells began to ring. Soon the air was filled with the triumphant sounds
of a victory celebration.
The soldiers surrounding
the town were puzzled as to what was going on.
Napoleon's generals called a hasty meeting and decided that the only
reason the townspeople could possibly be celebrating was that Austrian troops
had arrived during the night to defend the town. So even before the bells stopped ringing, the French forces had
begun to retreat!
In Christ we
already have the victory, we just need to start celebrating! That is the essence of this chapter.
PRAYER
I. The
Resurrection Is Everything
A.
Paul makes the resurrection the centerpiece of Christian
belief
1.
READ 15:1,2; 12-19
2.
Paul understood the importance of Christ being resurrected and
wanted to make sure the Corinthians did
too.
B.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is meaningless
1.
For those of you who were here last Sunday evening, this is a
repeat.
2.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is a meaningless
religion.
3.
Inscribed on the cornerstone of a large, fashionable church
was the text: "But we preach Christ crucified." As the years passed, vines grew up around it
until all that was visible were the words, "But we preach." Ironically, this was a sad commentary on the
deteriorating ministry of that church, for the pastor spoke only of social
issues and no longer mentioned the crucified, risen Savior.
4.
America has far too many dying churches who are really no more
than social clubs.
5.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is meaningless
C.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is powerless
1.
The resurrection is the centerpiece of all we believe in.
2.
Without it, Christianity is a great set of moral codes and an
interesting philosophy to debate.
3.
An article from a
Christian periodical related an interesting account about Harry Rimmer. While traveling in Egypt, he had an
opportunity to talk with that country's secretary of state, and in the course
of the conversation he brought up the subject of Christianity. Rimmer told the official that Christians
believe God has given us three revelations of Himself. "We too believe that," said the
official, who was a Muslim. "We
believe God revealed Himself in the works of creation," said Rimmer. "We also believe that," the other
responded. Rimmer continued, "We
believe God has revealed Himself in a book--the Bible." The Muslim answered, "We too believe
God has revealed Himself in a book--the Koran." Rimmer declared, "We believe God has revealed Himself in a
man-- Jesus Christ." "We also
believe God has revealed Himself in a man," replied the official,
"the prophet Mohammed."
"We believe," added Rimmer, "that Jesus is able to substantiate
His claims because He arose from the dead." The Muslim hesitated, then his eyes fell. Finally he replied, "We have no
information concerning our prophet after his death."
4.
That is the big difference between Christianity and all other
religions.
5.
The resurrection gives real power to Christianity.
6.
The resurrection sets Christianity apart and above all other
religions.
7.
Without the resurrection, Christianity is powerless
II. The
Resurrection Changes people
A.
The Apostles
1.
Through most of the gospels, the one picture we consistently
get of the Apostles is that they just didn’t get the picture.
2.
They were scared most of the time and timid the rest of that
time.
3.
Yet after the resurrection these men changed.
4.
Peter denied Christ at his trial.
a)
Later he asked to be crucified upside down because he wasn’t
good enough to die as Christ did.
b)
From the resurrection on, he was a great force and spoke
boldly for Christ.
5.
The others
a)
All of the apostles but John are believe to have been martyred
for their belief in Christ.
b)
Those men who ran and hid at his trial, never ran again.
B.
Paul
1.
Before Paul came in contact with the resurrected Christ, he
was the chief persecutor of Christians.
2.
He did all he could to destroy Christianity.
3.
Then he met Christ
a)
READ 15:9-11
b)
Those are words of someone who has been profoundly changed by
the resurrection.
4.
There is a similar story of a modern Paul. In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down
a ruling that prohibited prayer and Bible reading in public school
classrooms. The impetus for the
decision was a lawsuit filed by the famous atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair and
her son Bill Murray, who was in high school at the time. Madalyn had raised her son to hate
anything religious and to believe that there was no God. While in his 20s, Bill
worked with his mother on various lawsuits she was pushing through the
courts. She wanted to get rid of the
tax-exempt status of churches, to have the phrase "In God We Trust"
removed from U.S. coins, and to expunge the words "under God" from
the Pledge of Allegiance. At some
point, Bill began to question atheism. He realized that his mother was a
bitter, destructive person, who had abused and manipulated him all his
life. He fell into depression and began
drinking heavily. In an alcohol
treatment program he came in contact with people who had had their lives
transformed by faith. He eventually
opened his heart to God and came to the point of commiting his life to Jesus
Christ. Today Bill Murray is an
evangelist Even though he resisted God
every step of the way, he couldn't keep fighting forever. This story is very reminiscent of the
testimony of the apostle Paul.
C.
You
1.
Has the resurrection changed you?
2.
For Christians, it’s the greatest part of our faith.
3.
It’s what helps us deal with death.
a)
We know it’s not permanent.
b)
We don’t have to say what the people of Paul’s time said in vs
32. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow
we die.”
c)
We have a very different outlook on death.
d)
READ 15:54-57
III. Stand Strong
A.
Paul calls them to stand strong
1.
If you are a Star War’s buff you are very familiar with the
words, “Use the force Luke” or “the force be with you.”
2.
That’s what Paul tells the Corinthian Christians in vs 58 READ
B.
Paul calls you to stand strong
1.
The power of the resurrection hasn’t faded in the 2000 years
since this was written.
2.
Stand Firm
3.
Don’t get moved by false ideas
4.
Do the work of the Lord to the best of your abilities
5.
One of the most common tactics of war is waging a propaganda
war. Trying to convince the other side
they are losing. All is hopeless. There is no use in fighting any more.
6.
Satan is doing a great job of that today.
7.
We need to remember however, We’ve already won the war, we
just have to finish fighting the battles.
The outcome is already decided.
8.
Stand strong, don’t be moved, do the work of the Lord with all
your heart.
9.
Your Labor is not in vain.