He is risen!

I am the resurrection and the life
We gather together this early morning to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus! Much of the world will spend this day as they spend every day, oblivious to or denying of the claims of Jesus when he announced that he was the resurrection and the life. Newsweek’s April 13 magazine had on its cover the following headline, "The Decline and Fall of Christian America". Written by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, the story is based on last month's highly reported American Religious Identification Survey which revealed that the percentage of Americans claiming no religion rose to 15 percent while that of Christians declined to 76 percent. It also found that the non-religious population, or "Nones," has shifted away from the Pacific Northwest to Northern New England.
The survey reflects to a great extent what is happening in many countries of the world as people doubt Christianity’s claim of exclusivism and have more confidence in their own beliefs. Last week we talked with several people in the park in Antigua about their beliefs. One of young men from Guatemala stated that it really did not matter what you believed as all beliefs were different ways to get to God. One could not claim one belief was better than another. He struggled to be able to answer my question as to how two opposite beliefs could both be true. This is the dilemma of modern man who does not want to exclude anyone or believe that there is absolute truth. Another young man when trying to explain what he believed stumbled over his own words and could not logically explain what he believed. It is as though it does not really matter what you believe because there is no absolute truth by which we can judge things. We live in a time when many people have never really thought through what they believe. They have not asked the hard questions about what they believe but seem content to live in a state of ignorance and do not seem to care about the consequences of their belief system.
It was very different talking to an elderly man who was sitting on the bench by himself. He had been to a full gospel businessman’s meeting that morning and was sitting on the bench thinking about God and what God was saying to him. He knew there was a God yet he acknowledged that his relationship with God was not one of closeness, he was lukewarm. However, he was sensing that God was trying to speak to him. Several things had happened to him during the week that had gotten his attention to the reality of God in his life. He was mulling over these things as he sat on the bench. When we approached him to talk with him, he thought we were going to ask him for directions. He was pleasantly surprised when we began talking to him about God and his relationship with him. He received what we said and got direction for his pursuit of God.
We live in a world of many contrasting belief systems but you and I are gathered here today because we have placed our confidence in a risen Savior Jesus Christ who fulfilled the claims that he made about himself .25Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:26-28)
Every other religious leader has been buried in a grave and never returned to life. They did not possess resurrection power and they did not promise any of the followers they would one day be raised from the dead.
Without Christ’s resurrection we are no different than the animals that die and return to the earth. We have the evidence of the resurrection through the eye witness accounts that have been recorded and given to us in the Scriptures and in historical documents. Jesus did not keep his resurrection a secret. The Jewish leaders had heard Jesus declare that he would rise from the dead and they were afraid that it could possibly be true so they made sure the tomb was sealed tightly and guarded by soldiers. Jesus had already upset the leaders with his statements regarding his origin, purpose and his destiny. When he rose from the dead the Jews had to create a story to cover themselves and try to keep the people in the dark. His resurrection proved that what he claimed about himself really was true and this was more than the Jewish leaders could bear. They were afraid of the truth just like many people today. They really do not want to believe in Jesus because that would mean they are wrong and that they need to change their ways. One of the prime ways they try to undermine the truth is to deny the inspiration of the Scriptures. If you can destroy the written evidence by invalidating its credibility then you are free to believe what you want.
God’s Word is the foundation of our beliefs but beyond this we have our own personal experiences with Christ and how he has changed our lives. Your personal testimony has great impact on people and testifies of the reality of the resurrection power of Christ working in your life. It is hard for someone to deny a changed life although they may question how Christ changed it.
Another evidence that we have of the resurrection of Christ is the power of his Name. If Christ were simply a man who died how could his name have power over demonic forces and physical conditions such as sickness, disease and abnormal bodies? When believers pray in his Name there is power released and people are healed and set free from demonic bondages. The Name of Jesus is powerful and everything must bow to its authority. Last night in the park I talked to a Guatemalan lady who shared her testimony of being healed of cancer through the prayers of a believer from the USA. Demons must leave when they are commanded to go in the Name of Jesus. I have personally witnessed people who were demon possessed for years but were set free when the demons were commanded to leave in the Name of Jesus. If Jesus’ name meant nothing more than just a human name then the demons would not have to leave. But behind his name is all authority in heaven and on earth. At his name the demons tremble, at his name sickness leaves, at his name people are miraculously healed. I have never heard of someone being healed by declaring the name of Mohammed, or Buddha, or any other leader of a religion.
We have reason to celebrate today because we serve a risen Savior who is actively working on our behalf through the intercessory prayers he is praying for us today. Jesus is praying for you and I right now!
He is the head of his church, those who have been called out of the world to become part of his Body on earth. He is in control and he is actively working in his people who have submitted themselves to his Lordship. The intimacy that Jesus shared with his disciples is now possible for all believers through the gift of the Holy Spirit who Jesus sent to be the Teacher, Counselor, Guide, and Helper. The Holy Spirit is our other witness of the truth of the resurrection. Jesus promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit and in order to do this he had to ascend and go to the Father in order for the Holy Spirit to be sent to the earth. As much as the disciples enjoyed Jesus’ presence with them each day, Jesus told them it was better for them as well as for future believers that he go to the Father and send the Spirit. Our spirit bears witness to the reality of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each one of us.
We have the witness of the eye witnesses, the witness of the written Word of God, the witness of the power of the Name of Jesus, the witness of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to prove the resurrection of Christ being true.
We have been given this message and its reality to share with a lost world. The first disciples after they were empowered by the Holy Spirit shared this message with their Jewish friends and enemies as well as with the Gentiles. They did not remain silent, the message was too important to not share and the stakes were too high for those who never had the opportunity to hear the message. We have an urgent message to share because it is a true message. It is a message that changes the outcome of the verdict that the world is facing which is a sentence of death. When I grew up there was a tv show called Perry Mason. Perry Mason was a lawyer who always defended someone who was falsely accused of a certain crime or he was called on to present evidence that would convict the person guilty of the crime. Many times the key evidence that had the power to change the verdict that seemed inevitable was not presented until the last minute. Once the evidence was presented the case was closed. The evidence of the resurrection is that piece of evidence that we all need to change the verdict on our lives. Believing in Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. It is the most liberating event that has ever occurred and it is the message that we have been given to share with the world.
Today we have the opportunity to both be the message and share the message of the truth of the resurrection with the world. We cannot hold back, we cannot be ashamed or timid about sharing this message even though we may be ridiculed or rejected the message is the truth that God wants the world to know. There are many who will receive a verdict of guilty unless they hear and believe the message God has given us. Our privilege is to share the truth with them and live the truth before them so that they can see its reality and be drawn by the Holy Spirit to surrender their lives to Christ and receive his gift of eternal life made possible through the resurrection of Jesus.
May we leave this place filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the joy of knowing that we know the truth, filled with the hope that one day we too will rise from the dead and forever be in the presence of Jesus where we will rule and reign with Him.
The early church celebrated the resurrection by confirming with one another the truth of the resurrection. As they greeted each other one would say,”He is risen!” and the other person would respond, “He is risen indeed!” There was both certainty and joy in their confession. Let’s leave today with that same certainty and joy.