Chapel Service

Kern County Raceway Park

March 15, 2018

“Resurrection”

“The Most Important Truth in Our Life”

Bob Butcher

Last Easter, …or what I always call Resurrection Day, our Grandkids ask me a question after sitting through the Easter Service at church: “Papa, what is the most important thing you know?”  

I thought of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, where the apostle Paul explains the heart of the Gospel, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.”  Obviously, they were thinking; but had they understood the whole truth about Easter?  So I thought of the great gift the Lord had just opened the door for me to share with them: The Resurrection is the most important truth a Christian has set in stone forever, unshakable, faithful, proven!

If Christ has not risen, then our faith is useless (1 Corinthians 15:14). That’s right — useless!  Without the Resurrection, we might as well forget God, church, the Christian life — it is all a lie.

On the other hand, if the Resurrection is real, then there are a few important truths that must follow:

1.  It’s simple – just believe in Jesus

The Bible is clear in Acts 16:31 when the Apostle Peter tells the prison guard “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…”

There is NOTHING you can do to earn it except believe as the Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians in 2:8: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourself, because it is the gift of God:…”

2. Our sins ARE forgiven

The Bible makes it clear that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). And sin put a huge breach in our relationship with God, our Creator, separating us from His love. But because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have received forgiveness, and our relationship with God has been restored, completely, without flaw!  All we need to do is ask for it, believing in what Jesus did at the cross.

3. Death is NOT the end

Jesus conquered the grave and promises that we can follow in His footsteps (Philippians 3:21). Because of the resurrection of Christ, death no longer has power over us. We have gained eternal life. Paul shouts defiantly, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Of course, there is no reply.

4. How we live IS important

Because we know we will live forever in God’s presence, our priorities and devotion are focused on Him, NOT on the concerns of this present world. This focus does not take us out of this world, but keeps our attention where it belongs (Colossians 3:2). In fact, living with our hearts focused on eternity enables us to be more effective in God’s business — living out His truth and building His kingdom — right here and now; each and every day of our life.

Saying it another way…

The resurrection of Jesus means that … 

  • God’s grace is a complete gift to us, simply believe Jesus
  • our sins are forgiven when we ask.
  • He conquered the power of death. 
  • our lives now have an eternal perspective.

So… Commit this verse to Memory:

1 Peter 1:3:  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 

For your extra in-depth study on the Resurrection look at these Bible verses:

Matthew 28,    Luke 24,          John 11:21-27,            1 Corinthians 15

 

In closing, life doesn’t warn us of the trouble coming our way.  Just like a driver heading out onto the track we need to stop and tighten our seat belts one more time every day. Secured in our seat like a driver we can safely ride out the mistakes we make and the turbulence life brings upon us.

When the impact of life’s crash hits us we can go to the throne of our gracious God boldly, in confidence, and receive His mercy and find grace to help us in any situation when we need it most. (Hebrews 4: 15-16 NLT)

In His presence we can be “buckled in tight’ and find peace during threatening times because we brought our concerns or shame to the One who is greater than anything life can bring us.