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"Resurrection Benefits" Luke 24:1-12

by Clancy Nixon

Church of the Holy Spirit

April 8, 2007

Ashburn, Virginia

www.HolySpiritAnglican.org

Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter!

This is the day, this is the season that we tell the world the greatest news of all: Christ is

alive! Be like the two Marys on the first Easter, running from the empty tomb and from

the angels shining like lightning no, like a Tide commercial! Sprint to find your friends

and tell them "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" [hand to ear] The Lord is risen indeed!

Alleluia!

You may be saying to yourself something like this: "Whoa. Not so faster, Pastor!

This may be good news for you, but I'm not sure I believe it, so I'm in no position to tell

others about it. Since it's Easter, I thought I'd come here today to kick the tires of this

Christianity deal. What I want to know is, is it really true? What's in it for me? Will you

level with me about the benefits and costs? Why should I believe?"

If those are your questions, rest assured, they are great questions. When I was in

my twenties, I was asking the same questions for a long time. I'd like to share with you a

few things I learned on my own spiritual journey. What do we mean by Jesus'

resurrection? I'm not talking about his legacy. In Latin America, many students have

such confidence in Che Guevara as one of their leaders that they often chant, "Che lives."

The legacy of Che lives on for communists because of his violent zeal. C. S. Lewis

expressed sympathy for Lazarus, who was resuscitated by Jesus, brought back to this life.

Lewis said it must have been hard on Lazarus, because he had to do his dying all over

again. But Jesus didn't. We are talking not about Jesus' legacy, nor about his

resuscitation, but about his resurrection. John Stott says that God arrested the process of

decay in Jesus' body and rescued Jesus out of the realm of death; and transformed his

body so that he had a new power and was now immortal, never to die again. If you have

questions about whether the resurrection of Jesus is a real historical event, I suggest you

read Lee Strobel's popular book that I'm giving you today, The Case for Christ. If you

want to go deper on this topic, you can try Anglican bishop N.T. Wright's new book, The

Resurrection of the Son of God. The best reason to believe something is not because it

works, or because it benefits you, but because it is true. The resurrection of Jesus is

central to the claims of Christianity, and Paul says that without it, our faith is foolish.

The good news is that it is true, and Jesus is alive today! How do I know that? I

am persuaded not only by the overwhelming evidence, and by the Bible, but also by my

personal experience, and the experience of 2,000 years of church history. I know that

Jesus is alive because I talk to him every day, and he talks to me! Only Jesus could have

saved me from myself, saved me from my self-seeking rationalizations designed to allow

me to believe whatever would permit me to do what I had decided in advance that I

wanted to do, namely, pursue my my own satisfaction. Only Jesus could have given me

power to do things I certainly can't do myself.

Sometimes people have questions about the costs and benefits of Christianity.

For the believer, the very question can seem suspect, since believers do what God wants

them to do no matter the cost to them. We need to remember that God accepts people

just where they are, including people who don't believe yet. The truth is that people have

many choices in spiritual things just check out the spirituality section of any Borders

Bookstore - and that there are many good reasons to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord.

Remember the state you were in when God accepted you. Not only was I a flagrant

sinner, I was a lawyer when God accepted me! Shocking, I know. Even more shocking, I

am still a lawyer! I used to practice law; now I practice grace. God will take anybody who

comes to him in faith. This is the first benefit to you. Paul says in Romans that "while

we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Please open your bibles and turn with me to Acts chapter 10, starting at verse 34,

on page 1089 of your blue pew Bibles. Peter is preaching to a Roman centurion named

Cornelius and his household. Peter's homily here is a great synopsis of the gospel. This is

Peter's witness to the resurrection, there in verse 40. In verse 34, Peter says that God does

not show favoritism. No matter your ethnicity, no matter your age, no matter your

particular sins, if you repent and believe, God will take you in. Peter should know: when

the heat was on, he denied Christ three times. Still, Christ loved him and took him in,

and after Peter repented, Christ made him a leader. Verse 35 says that God accepts people

from every nation who are in awe of him and who attempt to lead a new life. Benefit #1

is that no matter how many times you mess up, God is willing to accept you. I don't see

any cost or downside to this one.

Here's benefit number 2: Eternal Life. Some churches don't like to talk about the

reality of the alternatives on this one, but Jesus himself was very clear about it. This

benefit has a corresponding cost if you choose the wrong door. One day, sooner or later,

you and I will die. Even though our bodies clearly die, there is part of us that will live

forever our spirit. Your spirit will appear before Jesus Christ, verse 42, who will be

your judge after you die, and he will decide your eternal destiny. Trust me on this as a

lawyer, at this particular legal proceeding, it is best to know the judge beforehand! You

are going to live forever, and you get to decide if you take the up elevator or the down

elevator. If you choose to follow Jesus, the Bible gives several images of what Heaven

will be like for you. Playing a harp on a cloud is not one of them. The Bible says that

there is a seat reserved for you at the heavenly banquet, an ongoing celebration with the

angels, an extended family reunion and worship extravaganza including at least 144,000

close personal friends. (You'll have all eternity to get to know them, so why not?) If you

like to play round-ball, you'll get to play with legends like Steve and LeBron and Kobe

and Dirk, if they're there. It'll be like pros vs. joes, except that you get to play with the

pros, not just against them. This celebration is the eternal destiny God desires for you.

Life is short, hell is hot, the choice is clear. Get to know the Judge. He's loving and kind

and good. Don't take the down elevator to the smoking section.

Benefit #3 of believing in Jesus: Forgiveness of sins. Verse 43 says, "everyone

who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." A psychiatrist once

said, "I could dismiss half my patients tomorrow if they could be assured of their

forgiveness." The truth is that all of us have done something, or said something, or

thought something of which we are deeply ashamed. Mark Twain said, "Man is the only

animal that blushes, and the only animal that needs to." We are ashamed, are we not, of

things we've done in the past. Nobody is free who is unforgiven. When our conscience

troubles us, instead of being able to look at God or to look one another in the face, we

want to run away and hide. Several times during his public ministry, Jesus said to

somebody, "Your sins are forgiven." And in the upper room on his last night on earth, he

referred to the Communion cup as his "blood which was shed for many for the

forgiveness of sins." We are reminded of it every week when we prepare for communion.

Jesus linked our forgiveness with his death. With forgiveness comes freedom.

Benefit # 4: Power for living. Verse 38 says that God the Father "anointed Jesus

with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were

under the power of the devil...." We don't have time to go into detail here, but the real

deal is that God will empower you to live a life like Jesus. Faith in God is the funnel

through which all this flows. God will give you victory over sin patterns in your life. You

name your problem, your limitation be it loneliness, or disease, or poverty, you name it

- and God can enable you either to conquer it or to be content with it, as may be best for

you. God can do anything! God will renew your mind, give you hope and faith and love,

and enable you to think noble thoughts, not ignoble ones. God will shape your character

so you become a far better person than you have dreamed you could be. God will give

you new friends in the church who will be your best friends ever, because they will know

how to treat you right. God will give you wisdom and even change your desires so that

you become all you were created to be. God will pour out his Holy Spirit power on you

to do things you absolutely could not do yourself, like speak in another language you

have not learned, as Cornelius and his household did in verse 46, or to lay hands on the

sick, and see them healed.

The Bible often uses business principles to discuss the spiritual life. This is not in

the Bible, but one sound principle of business is this: "Never leave anything on the

table." In other words, don't pass up free money or benefits! Teenagers, would you say

"No" if your parents offered to double your allowance or put money in a savings account

for you? No, you wouldn't say no! If you did, you'd be leaving money on the table.

Here's an example for grown-ups. Stay with me now. XYZ Corporation wants to

encourage Tom Holinpocket to save money for the future in his 401(k) account, so XYZ

offers to match Tom's savings. For example, if Tom puts away 5% in his 401(k) account,

then XYZ will give him an extra 5%, at no cost to Tom. If Tom is not willing to forego

some spending now, and put away a small part of his current income to his retirement

account, then he is leaving money on the table, both in tax savings and in total assets. Are

you following me? While Tom will have to live on a little less now, down the road, the

upside of savings plus a free match plus less taxes to pay is so much greater than the

downside of less money to spend now, Tom would be foolish not to take that deal. So

would you.

There is a cost. For the 401(k) deal, the cost is less money to spend now

deferred gratification is costly in the short run. If you turn to Christ, you will find that

same theme comes up a lot. You must leave your old life of sin; and submit your life to

God to live it his way. Parts of this will hurt in

the short run, because sometimes it will feel it's

not just your sin that's dying but parts of you are

dying. Indeed they are. The cost of no longer

being the captain of your own soul is real. You

do not have the same kinds of freedom as a

believer that you did as when you did not have a

king. You have different kinds of freedom. I do not have the freedom to simply decide

to retire to Florida simply because I may have the money to do it I am called here, and

will remain here until I get different orders from my Master. Weigh the costs carefully

before you submit to Christ. Jesus said, "count the cost [of discipleship.]" The benefits

are real, and so are the costs.

Tom Landry, the late coach of the Dallas Cowboys and bane of Redskins fans,

was once asked how he forged teams out of individuals so that they would win,

something he managed to do every year for twenty-nine years. He said: "My job is to get

men to do what they don't want to do in order to achieve what they've always wanted to

achieve." What do you want to achieve in life and after life? Do you want to be on the

team that wins the final victory? Do you want to live an abundant life, a life where God

gives you power to do his will? Don't leave anything on the table. Just as God wants

every part of you that you have to offer, he wants you to receive everything that he has to

offer. Repentance is a business term. It means to turn away from a bad business deal and

to turn to a good business deal. Exchange the deal you have made with your self, with

your parents maybe; with your idea of who you should be whatever deal that you are

now living that leaves you unforgiven, unloved, and without hope or assurance for an

eternal future. Exchange that deal, that life, for the deal that God offers to you come

into his New Covenant, his new deal, and find authentic community, where people really

love and care for one another. Church of the Holy Spirit is a great church where you can

find what your heart searches for, because we will consistently point you to Jesus. Our

faith will work for you. But never forget, it works because it's true.

Now I want to give you an opportunity to pray to live this life. Prayer is just

addressing God while you talk or think. If you're ready to do that, you can pray this

prayer on the screen with me. If you're not ready to pray this, no sweat, just hang in there

while others pray it. If you have already prayed a prayer like this before, please be

praying for those who have not yet done so. If God moves you to pray this, you don't

have to pray it aloud, you can pray it silently. God knows your heart. Please pray

without bowing your head, with your eyes open.

Just pray something like this: "God, I want to start living a life of resurrection

power. I need your power to live the life you want me to live. I've counted the cost and

I'm ready to do your will. I'm ashamed of my many sins, Lord; please forgive me my

sins. You raised your Son Jesus to eternal life, and I want to live forever, too. I open up

my life to You, Jesus. I want to experience the power of your resurrection. Fill me with

your Holy Spirit and with power for living. Show me your way and guide me. I invite

you to be the Lord of my life. You call the shots from this day forward. Thank You,

Lord. Amen."

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today is the first day of eternal life

for you. Welcome to the family! Tell me about your decision today.

As we close, I'd like to ask everyone to participate in our annual Spiritual Survey.

Please pick up your service leaflet and tear off the Response Card flap. We will all fill

this card out during the next few minutes. If you need a pen, please raise your hand, keep

it raised, and an usher will get one to you. Please answer all the questions on it,

especially the one I'm going to ask you now. Look at the bottom, where it says A, B, C,

D, E I'll explain these, and then I'd like you to circle one of these letters.

If you'd say, "Clancy, I'm already living the abundant Christian life. That prayer

you prayed I prayed a long time ago, before I came to Church of the Holy Spirit." You

circle A You've been living with Christ for a while.