Without The Resurrection
1. THERE WOULD BE NO HOME FOR OUR SOUL AND SPIRIT.
A. IT IS TRAGIC TO SAY GOD IS WRONG. THERE IS NO HOPE WITHOUT HIS PROMISES.
- PEOPLE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION HAVE TO BE SAD, YOU SEE.
Acts 23:8 “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.”
(***Biblical joke… In New Testament times, the Sadducees were a group of religious Jews who did not believe in an afterlife of any kind – that when you die, that is all there is. Without this hope of eternal life, physical resurrection or even heaven, they must have been “sad, you see”.)
- GOD MADE THE HOUSE FIRST, AND THEN BREATHED LIFE TO DWELL INSIDE IT.
Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
2. THERE WOULD BE NO WAY TO COMMUNICATE AND INTERACT WITH THAT WHICH IS PHYSICAL.
The rich man could not communicate with those in the body unless he had a body. But, his souls and spirit could feel pain, just like a body does.
Luke 16:23-24 “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.”
3. THERE WOULD BE SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT THE TRUSTWORTHINESS OF GOD.
BECAUSE HE PROMISED A NEW BODY. HE SET THE EXAMPLE BY RISING FROM THE DEAD. HE GIVES SPECIFIC PROMISES WHICH WE CAN COUNT ON.
PREACHING FROM JESUS, THE PROPHETS, AND THE APOSTLES ALL SAY THAT THERE IS A RESURRECTION.
- THE PROPHETS.
Luke 20:37 “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
1 Corinthians 15:12 “Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?”
1 Corinthians 15:13 “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:”
JESUS SPECIFICALLY SAID HE WOULD RISE FORM THE DEAD BODILY.
Matthew 16:21 “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”
Matthew 17:23 “And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.”
- THE TOMB WAS EMPTY. IF IT WAS JUST A SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION, THE BODY WOULD STILL BE THERE.
Matthew 28:6 “He is not here: for He is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:7 “And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.”
JESUS LEFT US EVIDENCE THAT HIS PROMISES ARE TRUE.
Luke 24:36-40 “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
WHY DON’T CHRISTIANS TODAY DESIRE THE RESURRECTION LIKE EARLY CHRISTIANS DID ?
**THIS DESIRE WAS NOT JUST FOR THAT GENERATION WHICH EXPERIENCED THE LORD WALKING WITH THEM ON THE EARTH. IT IS EXPRESSED BY GOD’S PEOPLE UNTIL RECENT TIMES.
TODAY, PEOPLE ARE TOO BUSY TO WALK WITH HIM. THEY HAVE THEIR KIDS, THEIR GRANDKIDS, THEIR DOCTORS, THEIR GARDENS, THEIR PETS, THEIR HOUSES, AND THEIR JOBS. THEY HAVE TIME TO SPEND WITH THEIR RELATIVES, BUT DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO COME TO KNOW JESUS BETTER. THEY SAY THOSE THINGS KEEP THEM BUSY. THEY DON’T HAVE THE TIME.
BUT THEY MAKE TIME FOR THEIR INTERNET CHATS AND EMAILS. THEY MAKE TIME TO VISIT ONE ANOTHER. THEY MAKE TIME TO SEE DVD’s WHICH ARE NOT MORALLY UPLIFTING. THEY MAKE THE TIME TO SEE DOCTORS, LAWYERS, AND BUSINESSMEN. BUT, THEY CAN’T MAKE THE TIME TO WALK WITH JESUS AS ALL PAST GENERATIONS OF CHRISTIANS HAVE DONE.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TIME ! THEN, THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS WILL BE IMPORTANT TO YOU. IT WILL COMFORT YOU. THAT IS HOW THIS CHAPTER ENDS. BUT, IF WE ARE TOO BUSY TO APPRECIATE WHAT JESUS DID, WE HAVE NO COMFORT AND NO EXPECTATION.