NO GRAVE

What if Jesus had never risen from the dead?

Friends, the reason for hope and joy is because our Christ is risen! 

There is no grave that can hold Jesus; through grace, there is no sin which can hold us.

1. The resurrection shows us the power and glory of God.

2. The resurrection shows us God’s compassion.

3. The resurrection shows it isn’t just about one person or one people; the resurrection changes everything.        

Do you believe this?  Do you believe Jesus?  

Believe in Jesus. 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to the New Beginnings Church podcast from Delaware, Ohio. To learn more about New Beginnings Church, visit us online at Delaware NewBeginnings.com. Today's message is from Pastor David Forth.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

He is risen. That's pretty good. Let's try it again. He is risen! I like that. No matter what life brings, we can always look and say that he is risen. That he is risen indeed. Speaking of Easter, I want to have a little fun today and kind of I don't know. I'm just a fun guy. Not like a mushroom fun guy, see? I'm already off script. Humpty Dumpty, who knows Humpty Dumpty? Who knows Humpty Dumpty? Do you know the true story of Humpty Dumpty? Anyone old enough to know the true story of Humpty Dumpty? Here's what we know is Humpty Dumpty was not an egg. You know what Humpty Dumpty was? No? Close. Humpty Dumpty's a canon. Humpty Dumpty was a canon. Now think of that in your head. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. So what happened in the 1600s is there's a civil war in England, and this wall sat on, I always get the name wrong, Colchester, England. The enemies came, destroyed the wall, Humpty Dumpty fell, and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't get a ton of steel back together again. And that's true story. And so around 1871, Lewis Carroll made him an egg in his story. Um, in fact, Humpty Dumpty then had a little fun slang, meaning I'm gonna get in trouble, short and clumsy. That's all I'm saying. And so you may say, what does this have to do with Easter? What does Humpty Dumpty have to do with Easter? It's simply it's this that for over 230 years, we've taken one thing of a canon and it took a life of its own that became an egg. They couldn't keep the story straight. And for over 2,000 years, we have the same story of the resurrection that has never changed. Amen. Out of all the stories that we know in our lives, whether they're fables, uh, even some history stuff has been twisted back and forth, here's what we know is that the story of Jesus has never changed. And it started with 12. We have the evidence, whether it's some secular writings from those days and even within the next century about Jesus, the closer to the time, the more accurate the history is, is what is kind of the rule of thumb. We have the biblical thing, and here's what we know is we can accept it or we can reject it. Just like Humpty Dumpty, we've we've known him as an egg. That's what we were told, that's what our grandparents told us, our great-grandparents told us, and we were free to accept or reject without actually going back and seeing who Humpty Dumpty really was. And we have the Easter story where we can go back 2,000 years, and all of this, these writings line up and they never change. Friends, the reason for hope and joy is because Christ is risen. There is nothing that tells us otherwise, there is no evidence to contradict it in any other way. He is alive. But what if? What if? What if Jesus was never risen from the dead? Let's think about that for a minute. What if Jesus had never risen from the dead? I mean, we're here to talk about that Jesus is alive, but we know we have people that go, I just can't buy that. I can't hold on to that, I can I can't believe that. So we as Christians, we we look at their questions and we can even question using our human reasoning and say, what if Jesus never died? In fact, Paul does this in his letter to the Corinthians in chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15. Uh the first two verses, first couple verses, talk about the resurrection of the Christ. And what Paul's doing is he's trying to fix some theological beliefs and statements, people either not believing that Jesus actually rose from the dead and it was a symbolic thing, which we hear in some churches today, yeah? Uh or that there wouldn't be a resurrection of the dead to come. And so Paul in in 15 here talks about this. Verses 1 and 2 here. It says, Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preach you. Otherwise you have believed in vain. And that's important to remember. It's important to remember where Paul's going in verse 12. Before we get to 14 through 19, verse 12 he says, But if it is preached that Christ has risen from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? And if there's no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. So Paul is already, we're only a few years removed here. And and Paul's already defending the faith, defending what we believe, defending the resurrection. And he says, so if the resurrection isn't true, let's what he reads here in 14 through 19, verse 14, and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. You know what he's saying here? If Christ never really raised from the dead, if he wasn't risen, if he didn't defeat death, I'm wasting my time. And in fact, I'm not just wasting my time. All the time, all the faith, all the belief, all the love that you have used towards this man, Jesus, that we have told you about. What's he say it is? It's useless. It's useless. And then he continues in 15. He says, more than that, we are then found to be false witnesses, which also means in just simpler terms, a liar. False witnesses about God. We're breaking the commandment, we're being false witnesses to our neighbors and to God who God is, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. So if Christ never raised from the dead, now not only are we lying to the people we love, but we're actually breaking the commandment and lying to God. Knowing the people that he's preaching to, that's not a good thing either. Uh verse 16. More than, but he did not raise them. But he did not raise him. In fact, I'm sorry, but he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. And in verse 16, for if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. So if the dead can't be raised, then Christ isn't either. But we know also from the gospels that what did Jesus do? We're gonna talk about a little bit later, a couple people he did raise from the dead. So the evidence is already there and in the stories of Jesus, the accounts of Jesus. And in verse 17, and and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. This is a big thing, then you're still in your sins. That means you're not forgiven. Then those who also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. They're not really saved. Verse 19, he sums all this up. If only for this life we have hope in Christ. If only in this life, if our hope is only for this life, we are of all people most to be pitied. Because for us, you know, if if we don't believe in Jesus, then that means there is no life to come. These are the consequences, if you will, if Jesus really didn't rise from the dead. And again, I said there's there's all kinds of different evidences out there, secular, biblical, even scholars that can show and prove that Jesus was risen from the dead. How many of you are familiar with the name Chuck Coulson? Anybody? A few years ago. Just a few years ago, 50 years ago now. Uh, but he was the special counsel of Nixon's at Watergate. Here's what he wrote. Here's what he wrote. I think I got this. Yep. I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. I love this. This is so funny. How? Because twelve men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, and then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world and they couldn't keep alive for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep alive for 40 years? Absolutely impossible. Human reasoning. Nobody wants to be tortured over a lie. Nobody wants to have harm to them or their family or their loved ones because they're trying, they're purposely going, hey, let's let's let's spread a false rumor and see what goes. Yeah, as long as you're gonna get hurt, what? That doesn't work that way. That's not how life is. Here's what we know we use our faith, and if we need evidence, there's evidence is out there, but Christ is risen. And because Christ is risen, our faith is not in vain. You hear that? Your faith is not in vain. You are not bearing false witness, you are not lying to anybody or about God. You have a future hope. You are no longer slaves to sin because of Jesus and what he did on the cross and busting out of that tomb. We have been made alive. During that last song, I was wondering, I was thinking about um, you know, you have that holy Saturday where everybody's silent. I wonder what heaven was like. I wonder if they're all like, oh, it's coming. You know, they they knew it's coming, it's coming, and I wonder what it was like when it happened. I'll bet you it was just amazing to be around there because, friends, there is no grave that can hold Jesus. There's no grave, no grave in your life, no grave from his life, no grave whatsoever that can hold Jesus, and through his grace, there is no sin that can hold you. There is no sin that can hold you down. There is nothing that grace can't be greater than. Do you have that unwavering hope? Do you have that unwavering belief? Some people, it does waver. They say it's just too far-fetched. Sometimes we struggle with our faith. And I want you to know that's okay. Because if we're not struggling with our faith, I don't think we're trying to grow it then. It's in our in our struggles that our faith grows. It's in our struggles that our love grows. I can testify that to Tracy and I's uh relationship. Is that when life was hardest is when we grew together. And it's the same thing with Jesus: that the harder you struggle in life and even with your faith, the more he wants to draw you in. And so the resurrection this morning, I want to tell I want to share with you the resurrection what it shows us. And the first one is this is the resurrection shows us the power and the glory of God. That there are no boundaries to it, there's nothing that can hold it back. We say that he's all powerful, all-knowing, all-present, that he's everywhere all at once. And remember just a few months how we celebrated Jesus as a baby. God incarnate, all his glory and his power and skin. People go, well, how does our body hold all that glory? Only but God. It shows the boundless power and glory of God. And so through Jesus, God incarnate, God's Son, here's what Jesus says as he's praying in the garden before he goes to the cross. John 17, he says, The Father, the how the hour has come. Glorify your son, so that your son may glorify you. This speaks to part of the the Trinity here, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, where they live in harmony with each other, that there's a reciprocating love for each other. One God, three persons never disagree. So, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life. You hear that? That he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. The power of God in flesh, God incarnate. And with that power and glory, then he gives to us to be like Jesus, not Savior, but remember to be a disciple of Jesus is to be with him, to learn from him how to be like him. We want to be sanctified. So in Romans 4, uh Paul writes, He had He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God. So this power was not just about the resurrection. The power and glory of God was about righteousness, making us righteous. All these things that God said they had to do in the Old Testament that they couldn't do in order to save themselves, God says, I have the glory and the power, and we're gonna do it through Jesus to make you righteous, justified, just as if you've never sinned. And then in Romans 8, here comes the third person of the Holy Spirit. Paul talks about here where he says, the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. Spirit of God, and Jesus says, When you believe, you're gonna receive my spirit. And so with the Holy Spirit, the same power lives in you, continues. And just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same spirit living within you. The same way he rose Jesus from the dead, we will too when his day comes. Paul writes about this again in 1 Corinthians 15, a little bit later on in 23 from our reign. He says, There is an order to this resurrection, Christ was raised as the first of the harvest, harvest of believers. Remember, Jesus says, Go out, go, go, plant seeds, go. The workers are few, the harvest is great. He says, Christ was raised as the first of the harvest, and all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. Now you tell me someone here on earth that can do all this besides Jesus. Because we know he was true man, too. Anyone besides? No, we can't. This is the power and the glory of God. This is this is what God has has promised us. That our eternity begins in this world, that our forever with him begins with our relationship with Jesus. In fact, John Wesley, in in his writing on the resurrection of the dead, he writes this let death prevail over and pull down this house of clay. He's talking about our bodies. Pull down this house of clay, since God hath undertaken to rear it up again, to bring it back up infinitely more beautiful, strong, and useful, just like it was in the garden. The resurrection shows us the power and glory of God, but it's not this ruling power. So many people go, well, God just wants the control. It's not a ruling power, it's a power of love. The resurrection shows us God's compassion. The resurrection shows us God's infinite love, shows you his infinite love for you. And we can see this. This is where Luke 17, or in Luke 7, this is where a young man who is dead, basically in a funeral procession, and Jesus raises him from the dead. In John, John chapter 11. This is the story of Lazarus. Lazarus, who is dead, good friend of his. In the tomb, four days, and Jesus comes, and he tells him to come out. The resurrection proves God's compassion by showing us that his love is greater than our sins and even more powerful than death itself. Hear that? Even more powerful than death itself. And it's freely offered to each one of us every day. Through Christ's grace, we receive. When we say yes through his grace, we receive his mercy, we receive his forgiveness, we receive his justification, we receive righteousness, we overcome the finality of death. We just don't float away into nothingness. We're reunited, and we have the life, the eternal life, the promise of the life to come. So the resurrection shows us God's glory and his power. But within all that, hovering that, because first John tells us God is love, we see God's compassion. And it's far more than we deserve, and it's far more than what we expect. The third one, the resurrection, shows it isn't just about one person. It's not just about one person, it's not just about one people, it's not just about one nation, about one race, one color, one whatever you want to say. The resurrection changes everything. The resurrection changes everything. Revelation 21 says, Behold, I have made all things new. This is the promise when Jesus comes back, we are risen up. He's gonna make all things new. John 11, he says, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will what? Live, even after what? Dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Jesus is saying this in his encounter with Martha before he raises Lazarus from the dead. He's comforting her. I am the resurrection and the life. Even if he's dead, he's going to be alive again. But the thing is, this isn't just for Israel. This isn't just for people of Jerusalem. This isn't just for Americans. This isn't just for whatever you can fill in the blank there. Throughout the Old Testament, it is written that God's grace is also for the Gentiles. And if God didn't write that, and if Jesus didn't say that, if Jesus didn't say, for God so loved the world, then we're lost. Then it's only for people, but it is for the entire world, not just good people, but even the bad people. Even the person that you go, I never want to see that person again. I never want to talk to that person. Even that grace is extended to him or to her. Because God's grace is greater than anything that we can do. God's grace can make us all righteous. It's for everyone. Theologian N.T. Wright, uh, he scripts this. He says, the point of the resurrection is not simply that the creator God has done something remarkable for one solitary individual, as people today sometimes imagine is the supposed thrust of the Easter proclamation. But that in and through the resurrection, this is what I want you to hear, the present evil age has been invaded by the age to come, the time of restoration, return, covenant, renewal, and forgiveness. You hear that? All the stuff that we see on TV has been invaded by the grace of Jesus because of his death and resurrection. And through Jesus, through this invasion, comes restoration and return and covenant renewal and forgiveness. And he continues, he ends up here, he says, an event has occurred as a result of which the world is a different place, and human beings have the new possibility to become a different kind of people. That's what grace does to us. That's what grace is. It's a new life. It's salvation and new life. It's a change. It's redemption. Grace literally changes everything. Behold, I have made all things new. There is no grave that can hold Jesus. And through his grace, there is no sin which can hold on to us. There is no sin that can make us prisoners. Back up a second, back to John 11, 25 to 26. Remember, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying? Remember he says that? And then he says, Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die? Usually stops there. But what's the question he asked Martha after it? Do you believe this? Do you believe this? I think it would be beneficial for all of us every day when we open our devotion and we read about Jesus and we read about his grace. We go back to this question that Jesus is asking someone who has been with him pretty much his whole earthly ministry. And he asked her, Do you believe this? We have to ask, do we believe this? Do I believe this? Do I believe Jesus? I don't want you to believe me. I'm here to tell you, you know, to give you the word, but I don't want you to believe me. I want you to believe Jesus. I can't save you. Jesus saves you. And so you say, Do I believe Jesus? Do I believe that what Scripture says is true? That's what we hold on to saying, Yes, I believe Jesus. Do you have a secure hope in Christ that is unwavering no matter the circumstances? If you say no, that's okay. You are truthful. It's okay. Let's work it together. Do you believe that Jesus is coming back to make things new? I hope we all say yes to that. But here's what I want to say: is this is if you're still searching for Jesus, if you're still trying to figure out who this Jesus is, he is risen just as he said he would. And there is no grave that can hold him, and there's no sin that can lock you down. He loves you and wants an intimate, passionate, life-changing relationship with you. And all you have to do is say yes today. That's all you have to do. Yes, Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and Savior, and He will begin to change your life. Now, if you believe in Jesus, and you've believed, even maybe you've believed Him in your life, and you're resisting His grace to change your life. Here's what I want you to hear is that He is risen, and there's no grave that could hold Him, and there's no sin that can hold you down, and He too wants an intimate, passionate, life-changing relationship with Him. He doesn't want you stagnant in your faith, He wants you to grow in your faith and to be prepared to live with Him for all eternity, where all things are new and all things are perfect and all things are loving, and we are in our Father's house. Amen. This is what He wants. Sunday mornings are great. He loves when we come and worship, but He wants you to grow in your faith. He wants us all to grow in our faith because our eternity begins now. And I don't want you to believe me, I want you to believe Jesus because he said so. When people say, give me the evidence, I say, I just believe in Jesus. You can go believe in Humpty Dumpty or the Spaghetti Monster. If you know the book, you know the book. I believe in Jesus. I believe in Jesus. I believe that he is risen. He is risen indeed. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Thanks for listening to the New Beginnings Church Podcast. For all our messages, sermon notes, and the latest updates, visit Delaware New Beginnings.com. We'll see you next week.