Keeping the Resurrection Real

Friends,

Rodney Buchanan shares this story -- I read a recent magazine article about a pastor and his encounter with some unbelievers while having breakfast. Here is how he tells the story: “My wife and I were vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado, and had breakfast in a coffee shop. It was empty except for four men at another table. One was mocking Christianity, and in particular, the Resurrection of Christ. He went on and on about what a stupid teaching that was. I could feel the Lord asking me: ‘Are you going to let this go unchallenged?’ However I was thinking, But I don’t even know these guys. He’s bigger than me. He’s got cowboy boots on and looks tough. I was agitated and frightened about doing anything. But I knew I had to stand for Jesus. Finally, I told Susan to pray. I took my last drink of water and went over and challenged him. With probably a squeaky voice, I said, ‘I’ve been listening to you, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I did my best to give him a flying rundown of the proofs for the resurrection. He was speechless, and I was half dead. I must have shaken for an hour after that. But I had to take a stand. We cannot remain anonymous in our faith forever. God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when He does we must be ready to speak for him.” I admire this pastor’s courage and his determination to be a witness, regardless of how difficult it was. A lot of Christians would have just sat there in fear or fumed, thinking about how terrible the things were that these men were saying. I realize that I have the opportunity of looking back with hindsight on the situation, but it seems to me that he missed the most important and impressive proof of the resurrection — his own life. I wonder if it would not have been more effective to walk over to the men at the table and say something like this: “You know, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and found it very interesting. If you don’t mind, I would like to pay for all of your breakfasts. The reason I want to do this is that, because of the resurrection, Jesus Christ has changed my life and lives in me, and wants to communicate his tremendous love for you.” Rational arguments do not change people…changed lives do. Changed lives change the lives of others, and thereby change the world. 

I want to take a closer look at resurrection applied, now that we are about a month removed from Easter.  Resurrection does not mean a whole lot to us unless we are living like “resurrection” people who one day will be resurrected. And this brings us to Pauls’ explanation concerning the importance of the resurrection for us. (1 Corinthians 15:1-23) Paul is addressing the Corinthian church, and there are some there who have some misunderstandings concerning Jesus’ resurrection.  Paul seeks to correct these issues.  Paul shares that one of the greatest proofs of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ were His many post-resurrection appearances.  15:6 says that Jesus appears to more than 500 people!  So, there are many people that could testify to the trustworthiness of the Resurrection of Jesus. The reality of His appearance is that a transformation in Jesus’ followers takes place. This is evidence of the reality of the resurrection.  Lee Strobel writes, “Nobody willingly dies for something that they know is false.”(Case for Easter, p.88). But they know that the Resurrection is true, so they are willing their lives because of their belief in the resurrection of Jesus.  And the reality of the resurrection’s transforming power doesn’t stop with the eyewitnesses, but ultimately affects thousands of people.

So the question is, “Why should Christ’s resurrection be important to me?”  As we have seen, the Resurrection proves that Jesus is God and not an imposter. Paul opens the letter to the Romans (1:1-4) and reveals that the Resurrection proves Jesus to be the Son of God and brings us face to face with the fact that He is who He claims to be -- God. The founder of every other religion has found a way to die and stayed dead. Jesus rose again. This is important to us because it forces us to make a decision about our lives. Since Christ is who He claimed to be, how will you respond to Him? We need to come to understand that the Resurrection makes your salvation possible. Without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, every person is still dead in their sins. If Christ did not rise, then you are still dead in your sins and your Christian faith is worthless and anyone you’ve known who died a believer is just as lost as an unbeliever. But, faith in Christ is not in vain. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)  It is important to you, because Jesus’ being alive means the way to God has been “paved” by Jesus and you can be made right with Him and have relationship with Him this morning.

One final, important matter to consider is that the Resurrection makes your resurrection possible.  You and I are spirit and body -- we are spiritual and physical. Our resurrection is only made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Stanley Horton points out, “Christ’s resurrection and ours are part of one and the same plan of God.” (Horton, Stanley. I & II Corinthians. p. 150)  Christ’s resurrection guarantees our own “spiritual,” bodily resurrection. The Bible refers to Him as being the ‘first fruits,’ which guarantees the whole harvest, of which you and I are a part if we are in Christ. In other words, since He was raised first, we know we will be raised. (vv. 20-23)  Paul says, “We ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.” (Romans 8:23)  This ‘first fruits of the Spirit’ spoken of in Romans 8:23 is elsewhere referred to as a deposit or guarantee, in Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:5.  The Spirit’s indwelling is a guarantee that much more is on the way. We have the down payment of the Spirit, but are awaiting the full transaction that will come to fruition when our bodies are resurrected and we live forever with Him. When will our resurrection take place? The passage says “When he comes”…whenever that is to be. When we receive “resurrected” spiritual bodies at Jesus’ second coming, our current bodies will be transformed.  They will be bodies completely perfect and dominated by the Spirit rather than the sinful nature. We are awaiting the day our bodies are completely made new and free of the weight of sin and be entirely spiritual. “For in this hope we were saved” indeed…resurrection is our hope.  When Christ returns we will see Him and we will be transformed -- what a blessed hope indeed!

Unlike the beliefs of the Greek philosophers who thought the body was evil and something we should want to be released from, God made our bodies as part of who we are and they complete us. Right now our bodies are affected by sin and they die, but God has a plan to resurrect our bodies to perfection. So now, just look at yourself. Take a minute. Do you feel too fat? Too thin? Got hurting knees or allergies? Losing your hair? Whatever problems and imperfections you have are temporary and will one day be changed in the twinkling of an eye…if you are in Christ.  That is our hope. It is the completion for us of “the extreme body makeover”…a heavenly body for eternal living. While you may be as broken as Humpty Dumpty because of sin that is not fixable by anyone in the world, the tomb is genuinely empty and Jesus is definitely alive.  What He did on the cross paid for your sins and you’ve been given an opportunity to not only be fixed, but to become a new creation and to have fellowship with God. This is the joy of living in the Resurrection. God can fix you spiritually and you can have the hope that He will one day complete your redemption by redeeming your body to be something like Jesus’ body!  

Blessings, Don

The Journey of Joy

Friends,

We certainly do not have an understanding of what lies ahead of us on the journey of life.  This is why we seek to walk by faith and not by sight.  I believe that our friends, Eddy and Jenny, may understand this better than a lot of folks, given what their family has been through in this past week (and over the last several weeks).  They knew that their grandson, Paxton, was going to have surgery to fix a hole in his heart.  But, once again, as it is with surgery…and as it is with much of life…we often do not understand what is taking place on the journey, just that we must trust in Him who can and will guide us on the way.  As the doctors, nurses and surgeons prepared to do surgery on Paxton, they discovered that the little man had another small complication that needed to be repaired.  Thankfully, all of this was able to be accomplished, and without any difficulty.  And now Paxton and family are recovering from the ordeal. 

But, what do the Ross’, their kids, and others gain from such an experience…an increasing faith and trust in the Lord that brings joy.  Is it any different when we experience situations in our lives that do not go as we have planned?  (And most of us have been there).  The hope is the same, as we remain focused on the goal of living by faith.  And the experience can and should be the same…that we can experience the joy and peace that the Holy Spirit brings into our lives.  We may not always understand or have answers as to why or why not a certain situation or experience takes place the way that it does, but trusting in Him who is in control is what is able to unleash joy for us on our journey.  And this is precisely what Jesus wants His disciples to understand in this section of John’s gospel (16:16-22).  All of their cumulative experiences with Jesus…the good and the bad…are intended to teach and train them to be His servant-people so that they can experience joy on their journey with and for Him.

This section of John deals primarily with some of the emotional struggles that the disciples are enduring.  Some of them are sorrowful because of Jesus’ words that He will be leaving them…others of them are simply confused…and yet others are afraid.  These disciples were real people with real feelings, and yet, Jesus was able to use them…which gives all of us hope, doesn’t it?  All of God’s servants have been ordinary people tasked with living according to extraordinary faith, purpose.  One of the recurring themes in this section is “joy.”  The disciples are not experiencing a whole lot of joy at this point, but Jesus wants them to understand that “joy” does not come in spite of our circumstances, but because of them.  Jesus’ illustration of the woman giving birth to the child makes this clear.  The same baby that caused immense pain also is cause for great joy!   He uses whatever situations we are dealing with to transform us into being His people in a better way.  Much like the child that comes to expect a new toy if one is broken, we cannot mature spiritually if someone is always substituting things in our lives in order to make us or keep us happy.  Transformation is able to accomplish what substitution is unable to do.  God is able to take seemingly impossible situations, add the miracle of His grace, and transform trials into triumphs and sorrows into joys.  Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave, and Potiphar put him into prison as a criminal…but, God transformed that hopeless situation into victory.  And there are dozens of others stories in the Word of God that we love, because we learn of the victory of grace and faith in people’s lives…including Jesus death on a cruel cross, burial and resurrection from the dead.

Jesus often uses figures of speech when He is making statements to the disciples, and verse 16 is such a case.  It has to be perplexing to them.  At the same time, He wants them to seek, to question…to grow.  He is likely speaking of His upcoming death, but also of the hope that they would experience in His resurrection.  It also could be that He is speaking of His ascension, and they would all soon give their lives for His kingdom, and they all will go to join Him.  Either way, the hope and joy of His disciples will be fulfilled by His presence.  This is the way it is intended to be.  The religious and the political leaders of that time expected that Christianity would die out, but such was not the case.  Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to them (and to us, His church), in order to continue to live and share the truth of the gospel.  There is no doubt that the world did not want Jesus then, and it does not want Him now. But, while the bridegroom is away, the bride longs for Him to return and take her home.  We who are in Christ await His return, as He shares with the disciples back in chapter 14:11…He goes away, only to return and bring those who belong to Him home with Him.  So, the immediate message He shares is with His sorrowing disciples, but the ultimate application is for all of God’s people…that there may be trials and tribulations that we face on the journey, but it is ultimately for “the joy set before us” as well.  While we work and wait, the process of transformation continues for each of us, that we become more like the Son.  And as we seek Him, we will grow and mature to be who it is that He wants us to be.

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn’t really know Him. But later on when I recognized this Higher Power, It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that God was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was that he suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since—life with my Higher Power, that is. God makes life exciting! But when He took the lead, it was all I could do to hang on! He knew delightful paths, up mountains and through rocky places—and at breakneck speeds. Even though it looked like madness, he said, “Pedal!” I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. When I’d say, “I’m scared,” He’d lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, God’s and mine. And we were off again. He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight”…so I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and our burden became light. At first I did not trust Him in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it. But He knows bike secrets—knows how to make it lean to take sharp corners, dodge large rocks, and speed through scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places. I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant Companion. And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more, He just smiles and says, “Pedal!” -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 247-248.

Jesus shares some words in 10:10 that fit with what he is sharing here, that His disciples should “live the spiritual life and live it abundantly.”  This is a message that is not far from me…much like “live a life worthy of your calling.” (Ephesians 4:1).  Why do these have appeal?  It is because they keep us honest.  They help us to realize in the spiritual battle that we not only have hope, but a continual obligation and challenge.  Jesus wanted His disciples to understand -- even though they did not understand much of anything…they needed to trust in Him.  It is no less with us.  As the Hebrews writer shares (12:1), we need to continue to put aside all of the things that seek to bind us and hold us back spiritually…and press on toward the goal of eternal life.  This perspective should help to keep us honest. If we have made a commitment to Jesus that He is Lord (Master, Ruler of our lives), then we need to be certain that it is so.  And if it is so, will be able to fully appreciate and experience the joy in the journey that He and the Spirit have in store for us…now, and forevermore. 

Blessings, Don