Why Do We Celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

I appreciate your being here for the whole service

and the way we're going to end this service

because it is designed to be from beginning to end

a time of celebrating

what God has done for us in Christ,

not just His death on the cross for our sins,

but His victorious resurrection,

His demonstration that Jesus has conquered

sin, death,

even defeated the devil

through His triumphant resurrection.

But I want to ask you as an individual,

is this truly a time of celebration for you?

Everybody knows Easter is supposed to be

a celebration service like what we've had,

but for you as an individual,

is there this sense of, feelings of, thoughts of,

real joy, celebration,

thanking God, praising God

for what He has done for you

in the death and resurrection of Jesus?

I want you to look with me, if you would,

at the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15,

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

where the Apostle Paul explains the resurrection

in the most detail that you'll find anywhere

in the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul helps us understand

various reasons why we should truly be excited,

happy, celebrating the resurrection this morning.

There's all kinds of things from chapter 1

through the end of the chapter

that explains the significance of,

the historical reality of,

what it means that Christ arose.

If you've never read 1 Corinthians 15,

if you're not familiar with it,

I'd encourage you to read it this day,

this Easter Sunday.

But right now,

I want us to read together verses 12 through 20.

And what you're going to see,

Paul explains the significance of the resurrection

from the perspective of

what we would not have

if Christ had not risen.

So understand,

that's how he's explaining the resurrection

in these verses.

Let's read it together.

Verse 12, 1 Corinthians 15.

Now, if Christ is proclaimed

as raised from the dead,

how can some of you say

that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Some in that church

were saying,

there's no such thing as a resurrection.

People don't come back to lie.

The body certainly would not be.

They were under the influence

of Greek philosophy maybe.

Some of them were just under the influence

of unbelief.

They just struggled with it.

Verse 13,

But if there is no resurrection of the dead,

then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised,

then our preaching is in vain

and your faith is in vain.

We are even found to be misrepresenting God

because we testified about God

that He raised Christ

whom He did not raise

if it's true that the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised,

not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised,

your faith is futile

and you are still in your sins.

Then those also

who have fallen asleep in Christ

have perished.

He's telling them,

your family members and friends

who died as Christians,

they're doomed.

They've perished.

There's no hope.

Verse 19,

If in Christ

we have hope in this life only,

we are of all people

most to be pitied.

But in fact,

Christ has been raised from the dead,

the first fruits

of those who have fallen asleep.

I want us to look at a couple of reasons

why we must celebrate the resurrection.

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus

because it assures us of God's forgiveness.

Paul states this truth,

what you would consider in a negative way

in verse 17.

Look at it again.

And if Christ has not been raised,

your faith is futile.

Some translations say

worthless,

useless.

You are still in your sins.

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the grave,

what Paul is saying is,

you are still guilty of sin

and under the condemnation of sin.

You are separated from God by your sin.

You have no hope,

if Christ has not been raised,

of forgiveness,

of ever being made right with God.

You will pay the penalty for your own sins,

is what he's saying here.

If Christ has not been raised,

your faith is absolutely worthless,

of no value.

You are still in your sins,

condemned,

doomed,

the separation from God for all eternity,

in hell.

But the good news,

what Paul is trying to stress

from every conceivable angle,

is that Christ did rise from the grave.

And so,

we could just restate this

from a more positive perspective like this.

Since Christ has been raised,

your faith is priceless.

You are forgiven,

set free from the guilt

and power of your sins.

We are here today

because Jesus Christ is alive.

You know,

there are people who are involved

in world religions,

and their key figure,

their prophet,

is dead.

And they know he's dead.

And many people travel

to see the grave,

the tomb,

that holds their founder's bones.

But as Christians,

if we choose to go to the place,

the tomb where Jesus

was buried,

it's open.

There's nothing there

because he arose

three days after he died.

He is alive today.

He is coming back

literally into this world

for his people

one day.

The resurrection

is a historical reality.

I want you to understand that.

what Christians believe

is not just wishful thinking.

It's not just some type

of mystical religion.

It's not some philosophy

somebody invented.

The Christian faith

is based on things

that really happened

in time

2,000 years ago.

Jesus

appeared.

He died.

He was buried.

He arose.

And he appeared

to many different people

in many locations

over a period of time.

I want you to look back up

in 1 Corinthians 15.

Note in verse 5

that it said

he appeared

to all these people.

He appeared to Cephas.

That's Peter.

Another name for Peter.

Then to the 12.

Then he appeared

to more than 500 brothers

at one time.

Most of whom

are still alive.

Though some

have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared

to James.

And then to all

the apostles

last of all

as to one

untimely born

he appeared

also

to me.

Now these

appearances

to all these

different people

different places

different geographical

locations

they took place

over

a 40 day period.

Look in Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

It says

after his suffering

he presented himself

to them

and gave many

convincing proofs

that he was alive.

He appeared to them

over a period

of 40 days

and spoke about

the kingdom of God.

What happened

was not just

some people

had some kind

of dream

got caught up

in some excitement

the emotion

of the day

of a couple

of day period.

Jesus

appeared to

all

different

kinds

groups

sizes

of people

not talking

about fat

and skinny

and tall

and short

I'm talking

about one

or two

a big crowd

a little crowd

over a period

of 40 days.

You see

the point

that the Bible

writers are

trying to say

trying to make

when they talk

about the

resurrection

of Jesus

like this

it really

happened

there were

eyewitnesses

who verified

it

you can

bank on

the fact

that the

resurrection

is a historical

reality

but also

the resurrection

changed the

lives of his

followers.

Most of you

in this room

know that

when Jesus

was arrested

his disciples

scattered

they were

afraid

they ran

after Jesus

was crucified

and put in

that tomb

before

they saw

him

before he

arose from

the grave

they were

still hiding

out.

In fact

some of the

times when

Jesus appeared

to his

disciples

they were

hiding out.

They were

behind locked

doors

when he

appeared to

them.

But after

the crucifixion

after they

saw the

resurrected

Jesus

and after

they were

filled with

the spirit

of God

on the day

of Pentecost

that you can

read about

in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

they came

out of

hiding

and they

preached

the gospel

the good

news about

the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

they preached

it to

everyone

that they

could find.

They stood

before the

people they

had been

hiding from.

They stood

before the

people who

were responsible

for killing

Jesus.

They stood

time and time

again after they

were warned

don't do this

anymore.

Stop talking

about him.

Don't say

this junk

that Jesus

is alive.

They still

said it

after they

were beaten

after they

were imprisoned

after some

one of the

apostles the

first martyr

James

was killed.

the disciples

they saw

Jesus

that changed

their life

especially after

they were

filled with

the Holy

Spirit.

This helps

us see the

Christian message

it's not

just a

message about

the cross.

It's not just

a message about

the death of

Jesus as

important as

that is.

it is equally

about an

empty tomb.

The gospel

that we

believe if we

believe it

the one that

we're called

to share with

other people

is that Jesus

died on the

cross as our

substitute

to experience

the death

that we deserve

because we're

the ones who

are guilty of

sin.

His death

was real.

He was buried

in a sealed

tomb.

But that's

not the end

of the story.

Jesus arose

came forth

from that

tomb.

He came

back to

life.

And in

coming back

to life

being seen

like he

did

he demonstrated

he proved

that the

penalty for

sin had been

paid and

God had

accepted it.

Chuck Swindoll

describes this

in a very good

way.

Look at his

statement.

He says we

know that

Christ

death completed

the work of

atonement

because God

raised him

from the

dead.

If God

had not been

satisfied in

the death

of his

son the

son would

have remained

a lifeless

corpse in

the tomb.

When the

father raised

the son it

represented his

stamp of

approval.

The

resurrection of

Jesus means

that everyone

who truly

puts their

faith and

trust in

him

can have

confidence

my sins

are forgiven.

I want you

to understand

if you are a

true believer

follower of

Jesus

if you are

really and

truly united

him by

faith

the penalty

for your

sins has

been paid

you need to

be confident

of your

forgiveness.

You don't

need to be

dragging around

the weight

of guilt

any longer

because Jesus

suffered what

you should have

suffered.

He paid

the price

your actions

deserve.

Don't be a

prisoner of

your past

sin and

guilt if you

are truly

trusting in

Jesus.

Leave your

past behind.

Forget it.

The penalty

has been

paid.

Move forward

with confidence

that you are a

child of God

forgiven,

cleansed.

The penalty

for your sin

has been paid.

The power of

sin has been

broken.

Trust him.

Now if you're

not a Christian

I want you to

understand that

what I've just

said to

Christians this

can become

true about

you.

But what

you've got to

do is you've

got to come

clean with

God and

admit your

sin, your

rebellion against

him, your

breaking of

his law.

You're choosing

to live your

way instead of

his way.

And if that

really and

truly bothers

you it'll

grieve you.

You'll be

able to

sincerely express

sorrow to

God for the

way that you

have sinned

against him

and truly

turn from

that mindset

way of

life.

I encourage

you to

don't just

turn from

your sin but

turn to God

in faith.

Trust that

when Jesus

died on the

cross he

died in your

place taking

your punishment.

Trust him.

Put your

confidence in

him.

Depend upon

him for your

salvation.

call upon

him right

now to

come into

your life

and save

you.

Surrender

it to him

now.

Let him

know that

from this

day forward

you're going

to follow

him.

No one

else, not

even yourself,

but he is

going to be

your Lord.

Now I

want to

remind everyone

in this room,

every single

person, regardless

of what your

relationship

with God

is.

Saving

faith is

continuing

faith.

Look where

we are in

1 Corinthians

15.

Look at the

first two

verses.

Paul writes

to these

people,

Now I

would remind

you, brothers,

of the

gospel I

preached to

you, which

you received,

in which you

stand, and by

which you are

being saved, if

you hold fast to

the word I

preached to

you, unless

you believed in

vain.

hear me.

There are

many people

who could say

on any

Easter Sunday

morning, I

believe Jesus

is real, that

he lived in

this world, that

he died on a

cross, he was

buried in a

tomb, and I

believe he arose

from the grave.

But you only

believe that as

historical facts,

the truth is,

you don't

trust him.

You're not

trusting him as

your Savior.

You're not

committed to him

as the Lord of

your life.

You've never

really and

truly repented

of your sins,

changed your

mind, turned

from sin, and

put your faith

in Jesus, surrendered

all to him, and

continued to

trust him.

I became a

Christian a long

time ago, many

years ago now.

But you know

why I know that

he is my Lord

this morning?

Not because of

some kind of

decision I made

many years ago,

but because I'm

trusting him right

now, this moment,

as my Savior.

I'm surrendered

to him right now

as my Lord.

Truth is,

I failed him on

many occasions.

Truth is,

sometimes I am

selfish, and I

just choose to do

what I want to do

instead of what he

wants me to do.

Every Christian in

here, that's your

testimony, isn't it?

But the way that we

know we really are

the Lord's is

because as

Christians, the

Spirit of God

lives within us.

And when we

rebel, when we

ignore God, when we

live our way instead

of his way, sooner

or later, the Spirit

of God convicts us,

inflicts guilt upon

us.

God disciplines us

if we're really his

children.

And he does that to

wake us up, to get

our attention, and to

call us back to

himself.

If you don't have

that experience, if

you don't understand

what I'm talking

about, according to

Scripture, I just

don't see how you

could call yourself a

Christian.

Because saving

faith is continuing

faith.

John 3, 16, that

most everybody in

this room has at

least heard of, for

God so loved the

world that he gave

his only begotten

Son, that whoever

believes in him will

not perish but have

everlasting life.

It talks about whoever

believes in him.

It's not talking about

believes in him one

day in the past.

It's talking about

whoever believes in

him continuously.

Whoever trusts him,

whoever has a

relationship with him,

is the one who will

not perish but have

everlasting life.

So I want to ask you

on this Resurrection

Sunday, the Sunday

that we should be

celebrating, can you

celebrate your

relationship with the

risen Lord Jesus?

thank him for your

forgiveness.

Thank him for the

eternal life that is

yours now and forever.

If you can, do it.

Celebrate.

Praise and worship him.

But if you can't, then

right now, this moment,

humble yourself before

him, the risen Lord.

You may be a church

member, you may be a

church leader.

You may be a church

leader.

Here are some other

church.

But if you don't have

this real relationship,

if there's not real

life-altering faith,

trust, confidence in your

heart for this Lord,

I encourage you right now,

admit it to God,

repent of your sins,

put your trust in Jesus,

call upon him to save you

now.

I want us to bow

together.

I want us to spend this

time right now responding

to the Lord as he speaks

to you.

That's all you need to do.

Listen to him.

He is fully capable of

making it clear what you

need to do.

You just obey him.

And then,

ask him to help you to

take it one day at a

time,

one hour at a time,

as you move forward from

here.

After I pray,

I'm going to be here at

the front.

If you'd like for me to

pray with you,

talk with you about your

relationship with the

Lord, I'll be happy to do

that.

If you know someone that

you'd rather talk to,

about your relationship

with the Lord,

and they're in this room,

go and talk to them now.

Go and talk to them

before the sun goes down

today.

This Easter Sunday,

2017,

can be a day for everyone

to celebrate

because everyone can

come to Christ

if you want to

and if you will

the way that he says.

So let's pray.

Dear God,

show us how we should

respond to you.

Dear God,

work in people's hearts

who are not Christians

to call them to trust

Jesus.

Show them that when

Jesus died on the cross,

it was for their sins.

Help them to know it's

because you love them

that you sent Jesus to do

that.

Help them to understand,

dear God,

that this Jesus is not

dead,

but is alive.

And so,

help them right now

to call upon him

to come into their life

and be their savior

and surrender their life

to him as their living

Lord,

master,

boss right now.

And in this attitude

of prayer,

let's just be still

and quiet

as musicians play.

Again,

I'd be happy to speak

with you here at the front,

pray with you

you come forward

during this time.