Resurrection Courage

This morning I want to speak to you on resurrection courage.

! Resurrection courage.

Let's first look at what the definition of courage is.

! Courage is broadly defined as the ability or quality that enables a person to confront fear,

! danger, pain, difficulty, or uncertainty, even when feeling afraid or anxious.

It is often associated with bravery, valor, and fearlessness, but does not require the absence

of fear. Rather, it involves acting in spite of it.

Okay? So that's the definition of courage.

And every form of courage has its source, right?

Strength is the strong man's courage, right?

A strong man feels courageous because, hey, I'm strong and I'm stronger than other people, right?

Athletic ability is the athlete's courage.

If an athlete believes they're better than other athletes, then he is more apt to do more

courageous things on the sports field or sports court.

Training is the soldier's courage, right?

If a soldier is well-trained and has better training than other people, whether it's shooting

or other kinds of things, they feel a confidence, a courage on the battlefield because they've

been trained well.

Knowledge or intellect is the debater's courage.

Okay?

When debating someone else, if someone feels like they have superior knowledge or superior

intellect, they have this courage and boldness in their debating.

Moral conviction is the protester's courage, right?

Those who protest confidently and boldly tend to have some kind of moral superiority, moral

high ground that they have.

And so it makes them courageous.

And lastly, alcohol is the drunk man's courage or liquid courage as they would call it.

So, right?

And I don't really know what that's all about, but just they think that they're better than

they are in that moment and they feel courageous, right?

But it begs the question, what is the Christian's courage?

What is the Christian's courage?

Christians are to be courageous.

That great verse on that, when spoken to Joshua, right?

Be strong and courageous.

And all throughout the Bible, we see this phrase.

I believe it's actually there 365 times, which is perfect.

You could read one for every day.

Do not fear.

It's one of the most reiterated commands in the whole Bible.

Do not fear.

But be courageous.

Be brave.

Okay?

Well, what is the Christian's courage?

Let's look at Peter and John's courage, right?

In the book of Acts, there was some religious leaders who noticed something different about

Peter and John.

That Peter and John had courage and it was an unusual amount of courage.

So my question to you this morning is, what was their courage?

What is the Christian's courage?

Let's look at Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

A little context before this.

They had just walked into a city and at the gate was a man who was born lame.

And he was asking for money and he said, silver and gold I don't have, but this I give to you.

And he said, rise up and walk.

And the lame man walks.

Okay?

So that's the context for this.

Fast forward to Acts chapter 4, starting in verse 1.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

It says, and as they were speaking to the people, they being Peter and John, the priests

and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.

Now, if you ever wonder, you know, what's the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees?

Sadducees, the Sadducees are the ones who didn't believe in the resurrection, which is why they're sad.

You see?

So you got that.

So you have the Sadducees.

That's an important context.

They don't believe in the resurrection.

Right?

And that's who they're actually speaking to or who's coming around when they're speaking.

As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.

Greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

So that's why the Sadducees are annoyed.

They don't believe in the resurrection of the dead.

And these guys have the audacity to preach this.

So right away, they're annoyed because they're proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Verse 3.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.

Remember earlier, 3,000 were saved in a day.

Now it says there's 5,000 men.

So you include women.

That could have been close to 10,000.

A lot of people are getting saved.

Could be possibly from like 3,000 to 10,000 people.

A lot of people are believing.

On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas,

and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family.

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,

By what power or by what name do you do this?

So in other words, like, who do you guys think you are?

Like, who, who, who, who, where do you, where do you get your authority from?

Who, who, who, who, who said that you could do this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and the elders.

Now, note, this is rulers.

These are people with power, right?

Specifically, they have the power to throw people in jail.

Clearly, they just threw Peter and John in jail.

So, you know, we typically don't get afraid of people who don't have any power.

But if someone actually does have power, especially the power to throw you in jail,

you tend to have understandable concern or fear of what they might do, right?

And so, you may be a little more timid in how you speak to them, or a little more nuanced,

or maybe you don't want to even speak to them at all because you don't want to say anything

that might cause them to be upset and throw you in jail, right?

Or keep you in jail in this case.

And so, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, says to them, rulers of the people and elders.

If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man,

by what means this man has been healed,

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel

that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

whom you crucified,

uh-oh, easy there,

whom you crucified,

whom God raised from the dead,

by him this man is standing before you well.

So, he doubles down on the whole resurrection thing,

says Jesus rose from the dead,

he then points the finger at them for crucifying the one who rose from the dead,

so you'd think, okay, he might be maybe annoying them even more.

If they were annoyed before, maybe they're even more annoyed now, right?

By him this man is standing before you well.

Verse 11,

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders,

which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven,

given among men,

by which we must be saved.

Now,

this is the important verse in the context of courage, right?

Verse 13,

Now,

when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,

or some versions say courage of Peter and John,

and perceived that they were uneducated common men,

they were astonished,

and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Okay?

So, clearly,

Peter and John,

the fact that he's not dialing it back because they're in jail,

but actually dialing it up,

says,

oh,

this,

you know,

they were probably,

it says they were astonished,

right?

Is that what it says?

Yes.

It says they were astonished.

Well,

why were they astonished?

Because they're not used to that kind of response.

Typically,

the people of power,

who have the power to throw people in jail,

who threw people in jail,

these people,

they tend to,

you know,

start getting what they want.

You know,

kiss up to us,

pander,

because we have the power to keep you in jail.

And,

it's not like Peter and John were lawyers,

who,

you know,

who had gone to school to speak to the rulers and authorities.

These are unschooled ordinary men.

Okay?

Fishermen.

And so,

they were astonished.

And they took note.

They recognized that they had been with Jesus.

So,

that,

that,

I think we're starting to get maybe an answer to our question,

but not the full answer to our question.

My question was,

what is the Christian's courage?

Well,

it looks like here,

they're,

they're,

they're pointing out that,

well,

they had,

took note that they had been with Jesus.

They were courageous because they had been with Jesus.

But,

another,

it begs another question.

Why does that embolden them?

It can't just be,

because they had been with Jesus.

because,

because,

because,

because,

they had been with Jesus before,

like,

earlier in the story,

and they weren't courageous.

They weren't bold then.

So,

that,

even though that's what they took note,

it has to be something specifically about Jesus.

Not just that they had been with him,

because they were,

they were with him before,

right?

You follow me on this?

Before they were with him.

And,

Matthew 26,

56,

when they're the Garden of Gethsemane,

how does that story end?

It says,

then all the disciples left him and fled.

Sounds like a little different picture.

This is including Peter and John.

They all left and fled.

Even though they had been with Jesus,

they're still not courageous.

So,

it must be something specifically about Jesus.

Even,

you see,

Peter's denial in Matthew 26.

It says,

now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard,

and a servant girl came up to him and said,

you also were with Jesus the Galilean.

But he denied it before them,

saying,

I do not know what you mean.

Now,

this is a similar situation,

right?

He's,

he,

he follows Jesus into the courtyard,

and,

people are talking to him and said,

hey,

weren't you,

you were with Jesus too.

And,

it's the same consequence.

They could throw him in jail.

Same Peter,

same scenario,

same consequence.

And yet,

in this picture of Peter,

he says,

hey,

I do not know what you mean.

And when he went out to the entrance,

another servant girl saw him,

and she said to the bystanders,

this man was with Jesus of Nazareth.

And again,

he denied it

with an oath.

I do not know the man.

I swear.

You know,

basically,

he did it with an oath.

I swear,

I don't know the man.

After a little while,

the bystanders came up and said to Peter,

certainly you two are one of them,

for your accent betrays you.

Then he began to invoke a curse on himself,

and to swear,

I do not know the man.

Okay,

so,

you know,

you picture he's getting really upset about it,

swearing about it,

and,

I do not know the man.

And immediately,

the rooster crowed,

and Peter remembered,

saying of Jesus,

before the rooster crows,

you will deny me three times.

And he went out and wept bitterly.

Same Peter,

same circumstances.

One,

he's courageous,

one,

he's not.

Okay,

so,

even though he had been with Jesus,

so much so that Jesus told him ahead of time,

hey,

you're actually going to deny me three times.

When Peter explicitly said,

oh,

I will never deny you.

Like,

I'll go to you to the death,

Jesus.

So,

he had the bravado,

and the language of this bravado,

but,

didn't carry through.

But then in Acts 4,

we see a different picture of Peter,

and all of a sudden,

now he is courageous.

So,

what is it from?

It's not just Jesus,

it's something else.

Is it that the whole resurrection was a hoax?

You know,

that's what started getting spread around.

this conspiracy theory in Matthew 28,

Matthew 28:11

verse 11.

It says,

while they were going,

behold,

some of the guard went into the city,

and told the chief priests,

all that had taken place,

basically of the resurrection of Jesus.

And when they had assembled with the elders,

and taken counsel,

they gave a sufficient sum of money,

to the soldiers,

and said,

tell people,

his disciples came by night,

and stole them away,

while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears,

we will satisfy him,

and keep you out of trouble.

So,

they took the money,

and did as they were directed,

and this story has been spread among the Jews,

to this day.

At the time of the writing of the book of Matthew,

this conspiracy had been perpetrated.

This hoax,

basically saying,

really,

Jesus didn't raise from the dead,

he,

he stole their body.

Okay?

And if it didn't really,

and still,

honestly,

crazily enough,

still to this day,

people say that.

Thousands of years later,

people say,

the disciples,

stole his body.

But,

would people be so bold,

as to give up their life,

which all the disciples,

eventually did,

except for John,

like,

would you do that for a hoax?

Would you die,

for a lie?

Hey,

let's just tell everybody,

that we stole the body.

I mean,

let's just tell everybody,

that he rose from the dead,

but really,

we stole the body,

and made it look that way.

And then finally,

it comes down to,

they're going to kill you.

And you say,

okay,

okay,

okay,

it wasn't true,

it wasn't true.

You would typically do that,

right?

Like,

you wouldn't die for a hoax,

or for a lie,

especially if you knew it was.

So,

that wouldn't make any sense.

Okay,

they weren't emboldened,

because they just had a good story.

It had to be more.

Well,

maybe it was because they heard about Jesus.

Maybe it was,

was it courage from hearsay?

Luke 24,

Mary Magdalene,

and Joanna,

and Mary,

the mother of James,

the other one with them,

they had seen Jesus,

after death,

resurrected.

They saw him.

And so,

what'd they do?

They went and told the apostles.

So,

was that it?

Was that what gave them boldness?

No.

Verse 11 in Luke 24 says,

these words seemed to them an idle tale,

and they did not believe them.

Okay?

So,

after these women had seen Jesus,

the disciples still aren't buying it.

So,

that wasn't it.

Then in John 20,

Thomas,

poor guy,

we always call him Doubting Thomas.

Geez,

the guy had one bad day,

and he gets the name Doubting Thomas.

We could all be called Doubting Josh,

you know,

whatever.

Like,

that would be really easy.

We've had our days.

But this guy Thomas,

man,

he just gets a bad rap.

Now,

Thomas,

one of the twelve,

called the twins,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So,

the other disciples told him,

we have seen the Lord.

Again,

hearsay.

What does he say?

Was that good enough for him?

No.

But he said to them,

unless I see in his hands,

the marks of the nails,

and place my finger into the mark of the nails,

and place my hand into his side,

I'll never believe.

Okay?

So,

still no boldness there.

He's got to see it with his own eyes.

Which brings me to,

I think,

is the real answer to the question,

what is the Christian's courage?

And it's that

real,

real eyewitnesses

saw Jesus

risen from the dead.

And not just saw him,

but a few more details.

Let's look at it.

John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

one through nine.

Well,

we don't need to read all this,

but basically,

Mary Magdalene finds out,

they tell Peter and John,

and so Peter and John,

we're back to Peter and John again,

they start,

they start running,

right?

they get,

they're,

they're sprinting over there.

The guy who's writing this book

lets us know this little detail

that he got there first,

that he was faster than Peter.

So,

I kind of like that little part right there.

Oh,

just so you know,

just,

you know,

I mean,

the disciple got there

before Peter.

Then the other disciple,

who had reached the term first?

He just put that little phrase in there.

Also went in,

and he saw,

and believed.

For as yet,

they didn't understand the scripture

that he must rise from the dead.

So John,

he didn't even see Jesus,

but the fact that he saw the empty tomb,

John believed.

Okay?

John believed.

But then the rest of them,

Luke 24,

36,

as they were talking about these things,

the disciples all together,

they're talking about everything,

and then Jesus himself

stood among them

and said to them,

peace to you.

They were startled and frightened

and thought they saw a spirit.

And that's an understandable thing.

It'd be one thing to say,

okay,

maybe this is a vision,

or we're just seeing like his spirit,

or like a ghost or something,

but

it's not really

his,

he's not really rose from the dead.

He just has come from the afterlife

and appeared to us,

but he's not a real,

he's not actually alive again.

We're just

seeing a vision

or seeing a spirit,

you know.

That's understandable.

You would,

you would think

that would maybe,

you would doubt at first,

and then maybe like you,

if you even see it,

so they see with their own eyes,

but even then,

they're still doubting and thinking,

well,

they thought they were seeing a spirit,

a ghost.

And he said to them,

why are you troubled,

and why do you doubt,

why do doubts arise in your hearts?

So even seeing that still cause doubts in their hearts.

And so,

what does Jesus say?

He says,

see my hands

and my feet,

that it is I myself.

Touch me

and see.

Okay,

you can't touch a spirit or a ghost,

but they touched him.

They saw with their own eyes,

for a spirit is not of flesh and bones,

as you see that I have.

Okay,

and when he had said this,

he showed them his hands and his feet,

and while they still,

but they're still disbelieving.

They're still not believing.

So,

if you ever want to convince someone that you're not a ghost,

here's the thing you do,

right?

And while they still disbelieve for joy and were marveling,

he said to them,

have you anything here to eat?

Because ghosts don't eat,

right?

Everybody knows that.

And so he says,

they gave him a piece of broiled fish,

and he took it and ate before them.

Okay?

Finally,

it's like,

okay,

we touched you,

we saw you,

and you ate,

we ate and drank with you.

All right?

This essentially is,

is the thing.

And you know,

but Thomas wasn't there,

or doubting Thomas.

And then he comes again in John 20,

and he says to Thomas,

put your finger in here,

see my hands,

put out your hand,

and place it in my side.

Do not disbelieve,

but believe.

And then Thomas says,

my Lord and my God.

He believes as well.

So,

fast forward again to Acts chapter 10,

Acts 10 · chapter mention

and this gives us more of an answer to,

what is it that gives the Christian courage?

In Acts chapter 10,

Acts 10 · chapter mention

we see Peter preaching here,

and he says,

we are witnesses of all that he did,

both in the country of the Jews,

and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,

but God raised him on the third day,

and made him to appear.

Not to all people,

but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses,

who ate and drank with him,

after he rose from the dead.

So he points this out now,

post-resurrection,

post this time that they're eating fish to them.

Says,

hey,

listen,

Jesus rose from the dead.

We know because we ate and drank with him.

Right?

Which they also did on the beach after,

you know,

when they,

when Jesus appeared on the beach,

he was making breakfast.

What a sweet little picture that is,

right?

Jesus making a little campfire,

and cooking up some shore lunch.

I mean,

that's a great picture right there.

So it says,

to all the people,

those who had been chosen by God as witnesses,

who ate and drank with him,

after he rose from the dead,

and then it says,

and he commanded us,

who's us?

Us is those who he chose as his witnesses,

those who actually saw,

touched,

and ate and drank with him.

He commanded us to preach to the people

and to testify that he is the one appointed by God

to be judged of the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness

that everyone who believes in him

receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

So,

the guy who rose from the dead,

the guy who made it really clear,

he proved it,

he let you touch him,

he saw him,

he actually ate and drank with you,

that guy,

because no one had seen this happen before

where someone did this on their own accord,

where they actually rose from the dead.

They had seen people raised from the dead

because the guy who did raise from the dead

told them to get up

and rose them from the dead,

but they never seen anyone do it on their own.

And here we see Jesus,

who was risen from the dead himself,

and that guy says,

he commanded us to preach to the people

and to testify that he is the one appointed by God

to be judging of the living and the dead,

which is kind of a big deal

because the guy who raises from the dead

gets to say whatever he wants.

Right?

He's been charged.

He defeated the one,

you know,

I said,

you know,

one of the,

another way to say that a military's courage

is from all the wins that they have.

Right?

Typically in past history,

the military armies or military generals

that were the most courageous

were the ones who had the most W's,

right?

They had won the most battles

and had defeated the hardest enemies.

They have the greatest courage

because basically like,

they look back at their track record

and say,

hey,

listen,

we,

we won.

So there's no reason

we're not going to keep winning.

And

who more than anybody

has authority

and

to say something

than the one who defeated

the one enemy

that nobody could beat,

the one enemy

that takes everybody,

the one enemy

that takes everybody

all the time,

death.

death.

Jesus

defeated death.

He overcame death.

The one thing that no one can beat,

we can,

maybe we can beat age

and look younger.

Maybe we can beat

dying young

and be healthy

and live long.

Or maybe we can

defeat,

you know,

all kinds of other things

in our life.

But you can't defeat death.

You eventually,

it's appointed to all of us

to die.

And

Jesus beats that.

And then he commands us

to tell everyone

that he is the one

who's appointed by God

to be judged

of living and dead.

Which is what they did.

In Acts 17,

you see them,

there's preaching again

and it says,

God commands all people

everywhere to repent

because he has fixed

a day on which

he will judge the world

in righteousness

by a man whom

he has appointed.

And of this

he has given assurance

to all

by raising him

from the dead.

Okay?

The resurrection

is everything.

If Jesus didn't raise,

it doesn't make any sense.

In fact,

I was even thinking

one of the questions

we should ask

unbelievers often is,

do you believe

Jesus rose from the dead?

Because

end of discussion

in one sense

if they have it.

Like,

not end of discussion

we want to keep discussing,

but end of discussion

in the fact that

you're not a Christian.

They might say,

oh yeah,

I'm a Christian

or I'm a,

you know,

this,

that,

or the other.

Do you believe

Jesus rose from the dead?

Well,

I mean,

that's a little far-fetched,

don't you think?

It's like,

whoa,

whoa,

whoa,

hold on,

time out.

If that ain't true,

then all of,

then none of this

other stuff matters.

In fact,

there's no point

in doing all the

Christian stuff

if he didn't raise

from the dead.

That's what gives

all this meaning

and authority.

In fact,

in 1 Corinthians 15,

12 to 22,

it says,

now if Christ is

proclaimed his race

from the dead,

how can some of you

say that there is

no resurrection

of the dead?

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 were found

to be misrepresenting

God because we

testified about God

that he raised

Christ,

whom he did,

who he did not

raise if it is 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're still

in your sins.

Okay,

that's why this

is such a big deal.

Your faith doesn't

make any sense.

I was thinking about

when we were singing

these songs.

Think of how stupid

and foolish

it would be

to sing to God

if he's still dead.

It would be so dumb.

It would be like,

what are we doing?

You guys are

a bunch of fools.

If he was just

a good man,

some people are like,

oh yeah,

I believe Jesus

was a prophet.

I believe he's

a good man.

Okay,

but then you're

going to gather

for him

and do things

for him

and throw up,

write songs about

him that we put

lyrics on the screen

and we're all

going to sing

about him

and worship him,

but he's dead?

Like,

he's just like

everybody else then.

He was conquered

by death as well.

That would be so dumb.

It would be so foolish.

Which is why he says,

if Christ has not been raised,

your faith is futile,

pointless,

and you're still

in your sins.

Then those who have

fallen asleep

in Christ have perished.

If in Christ

we have hope

in this life only,

we are of all people

most to be pitying.

But in fact,

Christ has been raised

from the dead

and the firstfruits

of those who have

fallen asleep.

For as by a man

came death,

by a man has come

also the resurrection

of the dead.

For as in Adam all die,

so also in Christ

shall all be made alive.

So,

if in Christ

we have hope

in this life only,

we are of all people

most to be pitied.

And a lot of times

people have this thought

that,

you know,

even if Christ

really didn't raise

from the dead,

it would still be better

to be a Christian.

That is one of the

dumbest things

in the world.

That doesn't make

any sense.

That doesn't make

any sense.

It would be real,

like you just,

just think that

thought through.

That means

you don't get

the benefits

of the afterlife,

you don't get

the benefits

of a real living

relationship

with a living God,

and you don't get

any of the,

you don't get

the pleasures

of sin either.

You're basically,

you don't get

anything.

You're just

forfeiting pleasure

your whole life.

And if it's

not true,

you would be

the most

to be pitied.

There's nothing

good about that.

That's why Paul

says in 1 Corinthians

15,

30 to 32,

why are we

in danger

every hour?

Paul is

voluntarily

putting himself

in danger

every hour.

He says,

I protest,

brothers,

by my priding

you,

which I have

in Christ Jesus

our Lord,

I die every

day.

What do I

gain if,

humanly speaking,

I fought with

beasts at Ephesus

if the dead

are not raised?

Then let us

eat and drink

for tomorrow

we die.

His whole point

is,

what would be

the point

of me dying

every day,

like giving up

my life every

day?

What would be

the point

of me suffering

and facing

all this

hardship

if Christ

is not raised?

If Christ

is not raised,

then we might

as well eat,

drink,

and be married

for tomorrow

we die.

That's why

Christianity

doesn't make

sense in that

way.

And I think

for some

of us,

sometimes we

have a hard

time dying

to ourself

because we

really don't

haven't gotten

this true

conviction that

Jesus rose

from the dead.

If Jesus

rose from

the dead,

like literally

rose from

the dead

and people

saw him

and ate

with him

and a man

who was

dead is

now alive,

that man

is God.

That man

will now,

when he

says he's

going to

resurrect us

from the

dead

unto eternal

life,

we can

believe him.

Anybody

that's,

if I said

to you,

hey,

when you

die,

don't worry,

I got you.

I'm going

to raise

you up

and you're

going to

live with

me for

eternity.

You'd be

like,

you're

loony tunes,

bro.

Like,

what are you

talking about?

You're

dead.

You can't,

you're going

to die

too.

No,

no,

no.

You would

never believe

me in that

unless I

died and

then rose

from the

dead and

ate with

you.

Now you'd

start to

think,

oh,

wait a

second.

Everything this

guy said

is a big

deal,

even more

than a big

deal than I

thought before.

I thought

before he was

a prophet.

I thought,

wow,

he said some

really profound

things,

you know,

seemed to have

a good grasp

on things.

But the fact

that he rose

from the dead,

that changes

everything.

Jesus rising

from the dead

is the end

all be all

of all things.

It changes

everything.

like we

are the

people who

profess that

Jesus rose

from the

dead.

We believe

that death

is not the

final word.

That is our

message.

We believe

that one

day,

and so the

one who

gets risen

from the

dead,

he can tell

everybody,

hey,

I want you

to preach

to the

people and

testify that

Jesus is

the one

appointed by

God to

be judge

of the

living and

the dead.

And that's

what we

should tell

people.

Because he

rose from

the dead.

That just

means I

can lose

my life,

my entire

life here

knowing I'm

going to

rise from

the dead

too,

because the

one who

rose from

the dead

said that

it's going

to happen

and he's

going to

raise me.

But if he

doesn't,

then what

am I doing

denying myself?

What am I

doing?

Why would we

fast and

pray?

Like,

really?

No way.

Why would I

abstain from

things?

Why would I

give my life

and suffer

for other

people?

What would

be the

point?

There

wouldn't be

a point.

Unless,

of course,

he really

rose from

the dead.

Did he

rise from

the dead?

If he

did,

then it

changes

everything.

So I

said,

2 Corinthians

5,

14 to

15,

speaks of

this

resurrection

courage.

For the

love of

Christ

controls

us,

because we

have concluded

this,

that one

has died

for all,

therefore all

died,

and he

died for

all,

that those

who live

might no

longer live

for themselves,

but for

him,

but for

him who

for their

sake died

and was

raised.

The love

of Christ

controls us.

We now

live for

him who

for their

sake died

and was

raised.

That's our

compulsion.

That's what

compels us.

That's what

motivates us.

He's risen

from the

dead,

and so that

changes

everything.

I don't

count my

life as

my own

anymore.

I die

daily because

he died

for me,

and I

know one

day he's

going to

raise us

up,

and we'll

live together

with him

forever,

in paradise,

forever and

ever and

ever.

The fact

that he

rose from

the dead

changes

everything.

1 Peter 1,

3-5,

blessed be

the God

and Father

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

This is

the same

Peter.

This is

the same

Peter who

was afraid,

and then all

of a sudden

he's saying,

you killed

the author

of life.

He's so

bold,

even though

he's speaking

to the

people just

through him

in jail.

This same

Peter writes,

blessed be

the God

and Father

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Exclamation

point.

According to

his great

mercy,

he has

caused us

to be

born again

to a

living hope

through the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ from

the dead,

to an

inheritance

that is

imperishable,

undefiled,

unfading,

kept in

heaven for

you,

who by

God's

power are

being guarded

through faith

for a

salvation

ready to

be revealed

in the

last time.

This is

resurrection

courage.

You have

boldness

because you

know,

the one I

follow,

he can't

lose.

Death

could not

hold him.

It couldn't

keep him.

Couldn't

keep him

down.

I have

boldness

because that's

my guy.

That's the

one I

follow.

That's the

one I

worship.

This is

my God.

Why would

I be afraid

of anything?

What you

might think

of me when

I preach

the gospel

to you,

when the

one I

ascribe to,

the one I

worship,

the one I

proclaim,

that he

has caused

me to

be born

again to

a living

hope.

Not a

dead hope,

a living

hope.

A hope

that's

alive.

My hope

is living.

It's not

based on

some ancient

writings and

that's it.

It's based

on ancient

writings that

proved that

he rose from

the dead and

that he's still

alive today.

And so I

have a living

hope.

This God

who I

worship is

not a relic

from the

past.

It's not

some idol.

It's not

something made

with human

hands.

It's a

real person

who still

lives.

Jesus,

the risen

one.

So I'm

born again

to a

living hope

through the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ from

the dead

to an

inheritance

that is

imperishable.

My

inheritance

in Christ

is the

same as

Christ.

It doesn't

perish.

His body

didn't decay

and just

go away.

It was

resurrected.

And because

he has the

power to

keep his

body from

decay,

he has the

power to

keep my

inheritance

from decay.

Because his

body wasn't

defiled with

sin or

death because

he rose from

the dead,

my inheritance

is also

undefiled.

Because Jesus

didn't just

fade away

and was

no more,

but is

still today,

the same

yesterday,

tamed forever,

and lives,

my inheritance

is unfading.

It's kept

in heaven.

It's not

kept in heaven

randomly.

It's not

kept in

heaven in

some

circumstantial

weird,

like,

hoping for

hope itself.

It's kept

in heaven

by the

one who

rose from

the dead.

It's kept

in heaven

by the

one who's

still alive.

If someone

said,

hey,

I'm going to

keep this

for you,

and then

they died,

you'd say,

yeah,

I don't think

they can

really keep

this for

me anymore.

They're dead.

Jesus is

still alive,

so he can

still keep

the inheritance

in heaven

for us,

and he

can use

God's

power to

guard us

through faith

until that

day.

Therefore,

I have

boldness.

I have

courage,

because all

the other

religions,

they all

talk about

a dead

guy who

stayed

dead.

Muhammad

died.

He's still

dead.

Buddha died.

He's still

dead.

All the

Hindu gods,

they're all

dead.

They all

died.

All these

gods,

they're all

dead.

Every

god that

everybody's

professed

has died

and did

not raise

again,

except for

ours.

It changes

everything.

It's our

resurrection

courage.

This is why

we're bold.

This is why

we talk to

people at

work.

We say,

listen,

do you

understand?

This isn't

just another

religion.

We're either

the most

psychotic,

crazy people

on the

earth,

or Jesus

wrote from

the dead.

Like,

it's either

one or the

other.

It doesn't

make any

sense.

Christianity,

it's not like,

oh,

that's cool,

that's good

for you.

No,

it's not

good for

you.

If Jesus

didn't rise

from the

dead,

that's not

good for

you or

anybody in

society.

You're a

psycho.

You're a

psycho.

You're claiming

that someone

rose from the

dead and you

sing songs to

him every

Sunday and

do all these

things for

him, but

he's dead?

You're weird.

You're literally

crazy.

You can see

why people

wanted to

eradicate

Christians.

Christians because

they don't

believe Jesus

rose from the

dead.

The only way

it makes sense

is that Jesus

rose from the

dead.

That Jesus

rose from the

dead, that

unschooled

ordinary men

speak to

authorities with

boldness and

tell them,

you crucified the

Lord of life and

until you

repent, you

will suffer the

consequences.

No fear.

Or even in

the spite of

fear, they have

courage.

They just press

right through.

resurrection

courage is the

greatest courage

of all because

there's nothing

like it.

If Jesus

didn't raise

from the

dead, we

were a bunch

of psychotic

fools.

And so, just

know that if

you don't act

like Jesus is

risen, you

don't talk like

Jesus is risen,

if your

Christianity is a

form of godliness

but denies the

power of the

resurrected Lord,

you look like the

wrong kind of

fool.

fool.

The fool you

should look like

is the one who

is vehemently

committed and

convicted that

Jesus rose from

the dead.

And yes, that

will look foolish

to people, but

it makes sense

if God is

raised.

Don't have your

life not make

sense if Jesus

is raised, where

you look just as

foolish as someone

who would believe

when someone would

think Jesus wasn't

raised.

Those of us who

believe that Jesus

is raised should

have a courage that

is unlike anybody

else's courage.

They should have a

boldness like

unlike anybody

else who's ever

had boldness

before.

It should be

different because

the fact that

people saw Jesus

touch Jesus, that

he appeared to

over 500 witnesses,

that they ate and

drank with him, that

means it really

happened.

And if it really

happened, all of

human history has

changed.

All of human

history has changed.

Game changer, the

game changer of all

game changers.

And so our life

should look

differently, should

look drastically

differently.

And if it

doesn't, we kind

of look like the

people who don't

believe that Jesus

rose from the

dead, we got a

problem.

We should look

crazy to them.

They should look at

us and either be

really curious or

think we're psychos.

That is the message

of the resurrection.

It's resurrection

boldness.

It's resurrection

courage.

Amen?

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to

close with a song

on this Easter

Sunday.

Okay.