Have we missed the Point?

As we sit, let's pray together.

Our gracious Father, we thank you that we're not here today to worship a dead hero.

But in this season of Easter, we remember especially that we're here to worship our living Lord Jesus.

And so, Father, we pray as we study your word now.

So your Holy Spirit would reveal to us in new ways the risen Christ.

And we pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.

Peter wrote, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In a recent book written by Sam Knight, a journalist, with the somewhat disconcerting title of Premonition Bureau,

Sam investigates the weird and uncertain world of premonitions.

Some people have premonitions, usually warning them of some kind of impending disaster.

Some of you will recall that in 1966, there was that shocking disaster in Wales in the village of Abavan,

where 150 tons of slurry from coal mines came crashing down the mountain, enveloped the school,

killing 116 children and 28 teachers.

Immediately on the day after the disaster, a psychiatrist called Dr. John Barker arrived in the village to study a child who'd been saved from the mess that the disaster had caused.

Sadly, the child died of fright, and he wasn't able to investigate it.

But what he did discover was this very strange phenomenon.

That in the week before the Abavan disaster, children, note, children, had these premonitions of things to come.

A 10-year-old girl dreamt of the school with something black all over it.

An 8-year-old boy had drawn figures digging in the hillside and had written, as a kind of annotation on his drawing, the end.

Most of Sam Knight's book is based on the research done by Dr. Barker.

And so, you'd be probably keen to know, does the author, does Sam Knight, is he convinced that premonitions actually are significant?

This is what he writes.

Premonitions are impossible, and yet they come true all the time.

The second law of thermodynamics says it can't happen.

But you think of your mother a second before she calls.

So, is Knight a believer in premonitions?

Well, the answer is, he kind of reserves judgment.

He thinks there might be something in it, but he's not convinced.

And I wonder how many there are in our churches in the 21st century who have a similar view of the resurrection.

They think there might be something in it.

But if push comes to shove, they're not quite convinced.

And so they suspend their judgment.

Paul, writing in Romans, wrote these words.

This is how central to Christian belief Paul thought the resurrection was.

If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

He goes on, for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified.

And it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Or again, Paul wrote, if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless.

And you may have a view on that anyway.

Our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

So in the minds of a founding father of the church, and in the minds of the patristic fathers,

the resurrection was not a kind of belief for religious fanatics and enthusiasts.

Not a bolt-on belief.

But critical, the focal point, the fundamental principle of Christian living.

And of course, for centuries, in the church, in the creeds, we've stood up and we've affirmed that we believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

There was an American bank robber called Willie Sutton.

And he was being arrested for the umpteenth time for robbing banks.

And somebody shouted, a journalist shouted in the crowd,

Mr. Sutton, why do you rob banks?

Because, Willie Sutton said, because that's where the money is.

I wonder how many of you would answer,

why are you a Christian?

Your response would be, because I believe it to be true.

I think it makes sense of life and death.

And that's why I believe.

Some of you might say, because I think it makes me feel good.

Some of you might say, because I think living in the way that Jesus taught might lead to a kinder society than the one that we have.

I must confess that, I think this is true of me, that for years as a Christian, I went to church.

I said the creed, and I tried to falteringly model my life on the example of Jesus Christ.

But if by some chance, the bones of Jesus had been discovered somewhere in a suburb of Jerusalem,

I'm not quite sure that it would have made that much difference.

How wrong was I?

Because the resurrection really should make a difference.

And this morning, I hope to show you in the limited time available,

as Peter and Paul clearly tell us,

that everything to do with the life of discipleship hinges on belief in the resurrection.

Three questions.

Did it happen?

Does it matter?

And in the light of it, how now shall we live?

Did it happen?

Of course, some of you may have picked up some popular,

and in the end, facile science, written by people like Professor Dawkins.

Professor Dawkins said,

the proof for belief in the resurrection,

there is more proof in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Wrong.

The crucifixion and the resurrection was an event in human history,

observable and detestable.

Let me give you very quickly five reasons why I think it happened.

And this is not an exhaustive kind of work on the proof of the resurrection.

But it might just help you.

The first thing is,

if you wanted to create a fantastic story

that would be easy to discredit,

then you would only need to read the gospel narratives to see

that in the culture of the first century AD,

the idea of resurrection would be easy to discredit,

not least,

not least,

because the first witness to the resurrection

was a woman

and a prostitute.

That is not me attempting to be sexist.

But in terms of gender equality,

the first century AD was not peculiarly advanced.

Women had no rights whatsoever in relation to men.

Luke tells us in his gospel

that Mary Magdalene,

Mary Magdalene,

had seven demons

thrown out of her.

Can you imagine

in a court of law today

a less reliable witness,

a prostitute

who probably had severe mental illness

and she is the person chosen

to be the first witness to the resurrection.

In the world in which Jesus died and rose again,

it would be inconceivable

that this could be true.

The second thing is,

just about everybody

everybody

who has ever tried

to write a book

to disprove the resurrection

has failed.

And indeed,

Frank Morrison's book,

Who Moved the Stone?

Frank Morrison was a barrister

who put all the evidence together

for the resurrection

and amazingly

ended up becoming a believer.

Theologian Tom Wright

has written a book

more recently

called

The Son of God

and the Resurrection.

People

with great minds,

clear analytical thinking

who are able to say

when you look at the evidence

it is incontrovertible.

The third thing is,

this is a belief

that has survived

for the best part

of 2,000 years.

Most lies

die a death,

don't they?

But this

has sustained

generations

of people.

Fourthly,

it has helped people

in dire circumstances.

Believing

that Jesus

is risen

has given hope

to people

maybe in a way

that nothing else

has.

I always

used to think,

you know,

God's great

when you're at the fun fair,

but he's amazing

when you are

at the funeral parlor.

And the fifth thing,

and Peter gives us

a clue of this

in the reading

that Ros read

for us earlier.

It gives human suffering

a new context.

Verse 6,

in this,

in this,

said Peter,

you greatly rejoice,

in this the resurrection,

you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while

you may have had to suffer grief

in all kinds of trials.

These have come

so that your faith

of greater worth

than gold,

which perishes,

even though refined

by fire,

may be proved genuine.

believing in the resurrection

doesn't mean

that your life

will be pain free.

Somebody sticks a pin in you,

you'll still feel it.

If somebody you love

dies,

you will still feel it.

But belief in the resurrection

means

that you will always

maintain your hope.

Second thing,

does it matter?

I say,

yes it does,

although you're sitting there

thinking he gets paid

to say that.

Well,

I don't get paid anymore.

Yes,

it does matter.

The whole of our Christian faith

pivots

on this foundational truth.

For without the resurrection,

Jesus' claims

about himself

would be null and void.

They would mean nothing.

He would just come across

as a kind of rather

naive,

charismatic,

but dangerously deluded

person.

Without the resurrection,

the atoning work

of Jesus

on the cross of Calvary

would not be complete.

Without the resurrection,

you would have no hope.

Without the resurrection,

you would have no assurance

of eternal life.

And it changes everything.

One of my favorite speakers

is an American Presbyterian

called Tim Keller.

And Tim Keller retired

about 18 months ago.

And literally,

within months of retiring,

he was given

a terminal diagnosis

of pancreatic cancer.

In an interview

with the New York Post,

he said this,

if the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

really happened,

then ultimately,

God is going to put

everything right.

Suffering is going

to go away.

Evil is going

to go away.

Death is going

to go away.

Aging is going

to go away.

Pancreatic cancer

is going to go away.

Now, if the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

did not happen,

then I guess

all bets are off.

But if it actually happens,

then there's all the hope

in the world.

Here's the point.

The resurrection

really does matter

and should be

the very foundation

of the faith

that we're here

to express

and the Lord

that we're here

to worship

this morning.

The third thing is,

how should this belief

impact

the way

that we live?

If the resurrection

is truly

the focal point

of Christian discipleship

and living,

let me first tell you

what it isn't.

It's not a formula

for complacency

in this life.

We're really not

people who are

hanging around

waiting to die

so that we can be

raised to a brilliant

new life in heaven.

We're not dispassionate

about the world

we live in

with the view

that if it goes

to hell

in a handcart,

that's fine by me.

No, God loves

the world

and invites us,

his disciples,

to love it as well

and to live the life

that he's described

to us

in Holy Scripture.

neither is the resurrection

the hope of an eternal life

that is simply

an extension

of this life

because for some people

that would be

unbearable.

This will be

a completely different

order of being.

we shall see the Lord

face to face.

We should be given

a new body

that will never age.

We shall have

all our unanswered

questions

about life

clarified for us.

It will be life

or maybe

more accurately

a way of being

that will be

of a totally

different kind.

So to conclude

in the church's

calendar right now

are the 50 days

of Easter

leading to Pentecost.

And I want to end

by suggesting

one or two

practical things

you might do

to help you

position the resurrection

in your thinking

and in your life

to where it should be

if you are

a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus.

The first thing is

what I call

the mirror exercise.

I'm imagining

that at some point

when you crawl

out of bed

you look in a mirror.

For some of you

that's more pleasurable

than for others.

Here's my suggestion.

When you go home

you write on a piece

of paper

he is risen

and you slot it

in the mirror.

so that every time

you look at that mirror

for the next

43 days of Easter

you remind yourself

that Jesus

is risen.

I apologise

if you think

this is some weird

crackerjack

kind of exercise.

But actually

repetition

does help us

to kind of

settle things

in our minds.

look at the mirror

and tell yourself

Jesus is alive.

The second is

the reality

of the resurrection

in the lives

of believers

will be fulfilled

when we die

but life

resurrection

life

begins

the moment

you start

to trust

in Jesus.

God wants us

to rise

above our

problems

of

unforgiveness

our

errant

behaviour

our habits

that we find

difficult to

kick.

God really

wants us

to rise

above

these things.

Tell God

daily

what it is

you want

to rise

above

and claim

the power

of the Holy

Spirit

to help

you.

And the third

thing is this

if you lose

your dignity

you lose

something

important

and your

life will be

marked by

terrible

low self

esteem

but if you

lose your

hope

you're

really done

for.

Hold on

to your

hope

in any

and every

situation.

I don't

know about

you but

one of the

things that

I have found

admirable

about those

people who

come on our

television screens

from Ukraine

Ukraine is a

deeply devout

country

incidentally

the Ukrainian

Orthodox

Church is a

big deal

out there

and what's

amazing is

in the face

of circumstances

that would

finish off

most of us

off mentally

they retain

their hope.

Tim Keller

said this

in that article

I find this

utterly moving

writing about

the resurrection

he says

yet if we

come to the

place where

we truly

accept it

then suddenly

there's no

limit to what

kinds of

things we can

look forward

to.

I know

he writes

some of your

readers are

thinking I

can't believe

there's a

person with

more than

a year

three education

that actually

believes it

but I do

and these

last few

months as

we've gotten

in touch with

these great

parts of our

faith

Kathy his

wife and I

would both

say we've

never been

happier in

our lives

even though

I'm living

under the

shadow of

cancer.

friends he

is risen

let's start

to think and

live in the

light of that

staggering truth

let's pray

who would

believe

Lord that

any of us

could sit

on earth

with the

terminal

prognosis

and affirm

that as

we've gotten

in touch

with these

greater parts

of our

faith

we would

say we've

never been

happier in

our lives

Lord we

find that

so difficult

to imagine

but Lord

wherever

the centre

of our

faith is

Lord we

pray

that we

might put

the

resurrection

nearer to

the centre

of our

lives

Lord that

in any

and every

situation

in the face

of suffering

we may

find hope

that one

day Lord

we shall

live that

life with

you that

your

resurrection

makes

possible

come Holy

Spirit

reveal this

truth to

us this

Eastertide

in new

ways

we pray

these things

in Jesus

name and

the people

who agreed

said together

in a loud

voice

Amen

Amen