Sermon Cloud

WYTWHRUFTG?

None of us were there physically at the resurrection event; but as we’ve made our way through this series, we have learned that the New Testament regards every aspect of Christ’s life as belonging to the believer.  Therefore, we “were there” with Christ, as each stanza of this popular song recounts.

Now let’s be absolutely clear.  The Christian faith is rooted in history, not sentiment!  Historic events that took place on the historic calendar, taking place in locations you can visit today, Taking place in front of the very people we have clearly documented as living in history.  So although we were not there physically in history, the witnesses to these events have left us their accounting of these events so that we could in some sense be there… they mention for us the sights and sounds and sensations for us to capture the events -- they also make direct spiritual application of these realities as they actually benefit those who believe in their reports – BUT this events would never make any sense if these events had not in fact happened as they did in the real world.  The spiritual application requires the historic context, otherwise its just an elaborate theater of the mind…

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

I saw a clip of Larry King interviewing someone about Christian history, and he questioned this person asking, “Did this happen in history, can I read about it in history – not gospel – but history!”

I thought, “Larry, don’t you realize the gospels are historic documents that have the greatest manuscript attestation of any work of antiquity?  There are no other ancient documents that have the corroborating manuscript support from copies and fragments which were written as closely in time to the original articles as the NT gospels!   And when we read the gospels and read about the details of geography, language, customs, characters, occupations, monetary references, Jewish feast days, descriptions of architecture, burial practices, and on and on and on, the gospels accurately report the things that we find when we research history  -- so Larry, the gospels are the best piece of first century history that you will ever read!”

And what do the gospels report?  2 things in an interesting way: First, an empty tomb and Second, the confusion as to how it was that way.  The ONLY way the first witnesses attempt to figure this out is by the only way they thought of most things in life – with natural explanations!

"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."

"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."

Only after Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples did they finally believe in resurrection, did they finally believe in a proper interpretation of the Bible, and did they finally believe the implications of the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

So we were not actually there when he rose up from the grave, but I have a letter from a guy who first walked into that empty tomb, and he has something profound to say about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

NIV 1 Peter 1:21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Through him you believe in God à interesting preposition “Through…” which establishes the definitive role of Christ to connect us to everything that God values – ONLY with the complete assistance of Jesus, do we possess any favorable status with God.  Listen, you are not going to get through this life, and through eternity, unless you go through Jesus – Am I getting through to you?

And because Jesus Christ went through so much to reveal to us the eternal plans of God, we now have the most accurate understanding of God possible through Jesus.   I know that history and imagination is littered with all kinds of folks conjuring up notions about God – we like inventing gods!  The gods we create give us power and control and strength and advantage – that’s completely human!  But what Jesus goes through to give us a proper belief about God, he gives up all his power and control and strength and advantage so that he could truly redeem a people who would only seek those things in Christ.  First by admitting we don’t have any of that stuff, and trusting in what Jesus has done to provide it for us!

So it is through him you believe.

I know it is through him… but who is him?  This is how Peter describes HIM

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him àPeter saw him, but Peter wants us to see so much more…

1 Peter 2:4 a living stone rejected by men

1 Peter 2:6 precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

1 Peter 2:9 who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:13 (directs us to be subject) to every human institution,

1 Peter 3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

1 Peter 4:5 ready to judge the living and the dead.

1 Peter 4:11 To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This HIM is HIM because God raised HIM from the dead and glorified HIM.  Jesus is, because of his resurrection, the final rule, the final authority on every matter on which eternity depends.  And that eternal rule and authority is expressed in how our faith and hope is expressed daily

NIV 1 Peter 1:21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Do you believe that Christ was prophesied in the OT?

Do you believe that Christ suffered?

Do you believe that Christ is glorified in God’s presence?

Do you believe that Christ sends the Holy Spirit to his people?

Do you believe that you are saved by grace and not works?

Do you believe that God calls you to live a holy life as He is holy?

Do you believe that a holy life rejects selfish passions that are contrary to the purity of Christ?

Do you believe that Christ paid a ransom price to redeem believers with his own blood?

Do you believe that God foreordained all of Christ’s life and our response to him before the foundation of the world?

DO you believe that Jesus rose from the dead?

Do you believe that Gods word is true, and will remain forever?

I don’t know how you answer all those questions.  But a person who believes and trusts in Christ answers all these questions by saying, “Absolutely, these are the truths of my faith, and my life has no meaning without these statements being true.  All of this makes complete sense of my world because of the life and resurrection of Christ.  And I don’t see it in some teaching that I try to believe by having faith – I see it as the truths of my faith that I believe in because Jesus has been raised from the dead and glorified.

Now all of these faith statements came to us from 1 Peter 1:10-25.  I just arranged them as questions to highlight what it is that our faith teaches in this one section of Scripture.  But because of the resurrection and because of who Christ is and where he now rules – all of these statements define our world, our relationships, and our hope.

NIV 1 Peter 1:21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Your faith and hope are in God.  Our faith is the set of beliefs that not only define what we understand to be true, but our faith rests on them as being true.  Therefore our faith defines all of our life.

For example, If I believed that a crazed balloon salesman was coming to interrupt our service this Sunday, you would probably see the corresponding actions and words from me warning you to be prepared, and I would give you all some sharp needles to prevent us from being exposed to that terrible balloon twisting sound.  Faith is a conviction that exhibits actions now; but hope is the forward reaching conviction that says, “What is promised to me will certainly become mine.”

1 Peter 1:3 … he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

So our faith proclaims the resurrection, our hope is the conviction that we will be resurrected too. 

Faith believeth in the truth of the word; hope waits for the fulfilling of it. Faith looks through the word to God in Christ; hope looks through faith, beyond the world, to glory.

 “Faith looks to Christ as dead, buried, and ascended; and hope looks for his second coming. Faith looks to him for justification; hope anticipates glory.

Faith says to hope, ‘Look for what is promised;’ hope says to faith, ‘I do, and I will wait for it too.’

We believe the resurrection.  Why?  Because it’s the most convincing argument for everyone to accept?  Not at all, when we preach the resurrection, we should expect to be sneered at!  It is not a teaching that plays to most crowds because it is so… MIRACULOUS!  But it is the work of God to reorder all of reality.  And because of the resurrection, we can actually hope for a lot of things!  We can hope in a God who does the humanly impossible.  We can hope in a God who actually can make defeat turn into triumph.  We can hope in a God who says, “With gentleness and respect (not guns and torture) I can take your ready defense of the gospel and change hearts.”

I don’t know where else the world gets hope.  Statistics?  Probability? The advance of science?  Most of the western world hopes that progress will make life more enjoyable.  Other parts of the world hope that their leaders will solve their problems.  IN journalism classes, I was taught that a reporter should never use the word HOPE because it betrayed objectivity – somehow, hoping for a little girl stuck down a well to be recovered safely was the injection of an opinion for an outcome that was beyond the right of a reporter.

Admit it, “hope” is a loaded word.  It longs for an anticipated outcome!  Because of the resurrection of Christ, we know what HOPE is!  Hope means that not even death ends life!

I know that most of the world looks at each other and says, “Well, I hope that works out for you!” Only because it’s a polite thing to say.  But those words are a dispassionate wish.  The Christian knows that broken hearts WILL be restored, that eternal realities ARE true, that those in terror WILL be comforted in Christ who entered into a hopeless situation and appeared to be in every respect, hopeless. Hopelessly dead and abandoned!

Just this Friday, we asked the questions at the GF service, were you there when they laid him in the tomb.  Talk about the end of hope. Talk about a final resting place.  But the reality is that Christ only came under the power of death for a time.  In that tomb, Christ buried the last remnants of our fallen humanity, a humanity that only put faith and hope in this life alone.

But because Christ has risen from the dead, we may now put our faith and hope in the God who has brought us Jesus so that he would, for the sake of sinners, endure every trial of life and death in order to place within us God’s true conviction on everything, that faith and hope have their place in this life for the next, and to keep us fixed on the unrivaled glories of Christ.  He has risen!