The Implications of Easter The Resurrection’s Three Gifts

 The Implications of Easter

The Resurrection’s Three Gifts 

Opening Illustration:

Good morning brothers and sisters. Welcome to Eastern Shore Baptist Church. I am so thankful, so delighted that you have chosen to worship with us this morning. Today, we are in the second week of a four week series entitled “The Implications of Easter”. The resurrection of Jesus is still, to this day, the most widely discussed and hotly debated events in human history. Time was split in two by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The very course of our human existence has been profoundly impacted by His life, His death, and the historical proven act of His rising from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection has also steered the lives of potentially billions of men women and children. We have documented cases of people being radically changed, transformed, altered by the life of an ancient, Middle Eastern, rabbi and iterate preacher. Think about it, every year, people all over the world have to grapple with the reality that there is an empty grave in Jerusalem. A grave that once contained a body. A grave that was emptied of its contents. A grave that lays open today as a testimony that something miraculous transpired. The implications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ripple out and touch our lives today. What will you make of that empty tomb? How will you live in the light of Jesus’ victory over death? Is it real? Is it true?

I have been the pastor of this church for 14 years now. My very first funeral at this church was for a man that I never met. It was for a man that I never knew. Adrian Sloop was his name. I had been in this pulpit for less than a week when I received the call that this man had stepped into eternity. If Im being honest, I had no idea what I was doing. I did the best I could do, having only performed two funerals in my entire life and ministry up to that point. The Sloop family was gracious, kind, and patient with me as I felt my way through those sad days. The one thing that I did know about Mr. Sloop was that he was a Christian. A mighty man of God. A faithful servant. His faith lay a foundation of life eternal in heaven with his Creator. While that funeral was sad, it was also hopeful. 

After Adrian’s passing, I have done a few more funerals. I went back and counted. I have performed roughly 200 hundred funerals in 14 years. That comes to about 14 funerals a year. Just this year alone I have performed 7 funerals and it is only March. Many of those funerals were like Adrian’s: filled with hope, full of rejoicing, looking forward to heaven. Sadly, some were not. In fact, I was joined by two marvelous pastors just this past Thursday as we laid to rest one of our foundational charter members, Mrs. Camilla Butler. What a precious Godly woman. I was struck by the crowd that had gathered for this 91 year old woman. There were probably 200 people in attendance. That is unusual for someone of that age. Still, the event was so much sad as it was grateful. It wasn’t so much mourning as it was expectant. You see, Camilla was faithful and true. She was Godly and loving. She was what I call “a Jesus woman”. She put her faith in Jesus Christ at a young age, she loved His church, served God’s people, and loved her husband Bill faithfully for 67 years. God blessed her with long life and now…eternal life. You see friends, that is another implication of the resurrection. Death is nothing to be feared for the Christian. Death is just a new beginning. A doorway to a new future. 

I would wager this morning that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of human existence. The most important event in all of human history. Nothing, no other event can match it in it’s miraculous nature, no other even can match it’s magnificence and no other event can compete with it’s mystery. So significant is this event that the whole of the Christian faith would crumble if the resurrection of Jesus Christ were not true. 

William Lane Craig suggests that, “Without the belief in the resurrection, the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even if they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, His crucifixion would have silenced any hope of his being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad shameful end of his career.” Therefore, it is crucial that the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are true and historically accurate.

This morning, let me provide you with your thesis statement for today’s message. Fill in the blanks under “Today’s Thought”. 

There Is No Redemption, No Reconciliation, and No Reward Without The Resurrection!

Another implication of the resurrection is how it reorients our view of death. Prolific writer Clarence W. Hall remarks about this deep truth saying, "The resurrection of Jesus changes the face of death for all His people. Death is no longer a prison, but a passage into God’s presence. Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. Easter says you can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets, and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!" 

Today’s Thought:

There Is No Redemption, No Reconciliation, and No Reward Without The Resurrection!

Today’s Quote:

"The resurrection of Jesus changes the face of death for all His people. Death is no longer a prison, but a passage into God’s presence. Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there. Easter says you can nail it to a cross, wrap it in winding sheets, and shut it up in a tomb, but it will rise!" 

-Clarence W. Hall

Background and Context:

This morning we will be reading excerpts from I Corinthians 15. Sadly, because of time, we cannot read the entire chapter as it is quite lengthy. I will help you follow along with me as we read. Before we read the Apostle Paul’s words, I want to set up the background and context of the chapter. 

As I just stated, first and second Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul. This is the first letter to the church located in Corinth. Corinth was a bustling city filled with diverse cultures and beliefs. In this letter, Paul addresses various issues within the church, including divisions, immorality, and questions about the resurrection.

In I Corinthians 15, Paul tackles the topic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He emphasizes the centrality of this truth to our faith. Brothers and sisters, the resurrection isn't just a historical event—it's the cornerstone of our faith! It's the heartbeat of Christianity, the pinnacle of God's redemptive plan for humanity. Through Christ's resurrection, we have been set free from sin and death, and we have the blessed assurance of eternal life.

In the letter, Paul reminds the readers of the hundreds of eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection. In fact, Jesus revealed His resurrected form to more than 500 individuals over 40 days following His death and burial. Furthermore, Paul emphasizes the importance of Christ’s victory over death. Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory? These words resound with power and triumph! Because of Christ, death has lost its grip on us. We no longer fear the grave, for we have the hope of resurrection and eternal life with our Savior.

So, let’s take a few moments to read from I Corinthians 15 this morning. However, before we do that, I want to remind you that…

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.  

Today’s Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 NLT

Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. [2] It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you-unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. [3] I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. [4] He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. [5] He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. [6] After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. [7] Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

1 Corinthians 15:14-23 NLT

And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. [15] And we apostles would all be lying about God-for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. [16] And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. [18] In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! [19] And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. [20] But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. [21] So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. [22] Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

1 Corinthians 15:35-42 NLT

But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" [36] What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. [37] And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. [38] Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. [39] Similarly there are different kinds of flesh-one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. [41] The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. [42] It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

Stuart: “This is the Word of the Lord”

Response: “Praise His Name, Praise His Holy Name”

Christ’s Resurrection Offers Three Gifts…

1. The Gift of Redemption vs. 2

This morning, I want to talk to you about three gifts that Christ’s resurrection offers to all of us this morning. Clearly, there is a pantheon of gifts, to numerous to even hope to speak of, that we receive from His defeat of death. However, we are just going to look at three this morning. 

So, let’s look at our first gift. The gift of redemption. Go back and read verse 2 with me. 

[2] It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you-unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 

The word “redeem” is a word that we are familiar. We “redeem” things all the time. We “redeem” coupons at our favorite stores so that we can get money off our favorite products. We “redeem” points at our favorite restaurants so that we can get free meals. As many of you know, I have talked about my fondness for the 1980’s, the greatest decade in the history of mankind. I can proudly say that I am a 1980’s kid. I am going to test your nostalgia 80’s kids. How many of you remember the old “Book It” program. Book It was a national reading innitive that encouraged kids across America to pick up a book and read it. If you read a book, your parents has a Book It punch card. If you received enough punches, you could take that card to your local Pizza Hut or GodFather’s Pizza and get a free pizza. Boy those were the good old days. That Book It card was a treasure. You’d walk into Pizza Hut like a king or queen. You’d show that card at the counter, the punches would get redeemed, and out would come a pizza. 

Redeem, if you were to define the word, simply means to buy back, to repurchase. It means to get or to win back. You see brothers and sisters, Jesus’ death and resurrection served as a redemption for all of mankind. God, through the death of Jesus, bought back humanity from hell, paying the price for our sin. Jesus trades His life for our life. It means that, because of Jesus, we have been saved from sin. We receive the grand prize for His death. We have access to eternal life. 

When we choose to follow Christ, when we believe, repent (turn from our sin), and willingly become Christ followers, we then belong to Him. We share in His resurrection and get to have a place in heaven with God when we die. God redeemed His people elsewhere in Scripture but it all pales in comparison to the permanent, forever redemption seen through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

Ephesians 1:7 NLT

He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.

Colossians 1:20-22 NLT

and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. [22] Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. [19] It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

Simply put, the gift of our redemption is the trade of death to life, a new life, a new existence. 

Romans 6:6 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Christ’s Resurrection Offers Three Gifts…

1. The Gift of Redemption vs. 2

2. The Gift of Resurrection vs. 23

So, our first gift is the gift of redemption. Our second gift is the gift of resurrection. I touched on that in the first point. We will lean into this point now. Again, go back to verse 22-23 this morning. 

22] Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

A man that I have long admired is the great leader Winston Churchill. Chances are you might have never heard about his funeral service. Before his death Winston Churchill became a follower of Jesus Christ. He made his own funeral arrangements. When they said the benediction, he had arranged for a bugler high in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral to play “Taps,” the universal signal of the day is over. After he finished there was a long pause, and then a bugler on the side of the dome played “Reveille,” the signal of a new day beginning. It was Churchill’s way of saying that while it was “Good night” here, it is “Good morning” there. Churchill believed his confident hope of victory over death was based on Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life.

Do you believe in the resurrection? Do you believe that at the end of all things, that when Jesus returns, that you and I will be raised to new life, a new home, a new heaven? I certainly do. 

As I stated earlier, I along with three other pastors, performed Camilla Butler’s funeral service this past Thursday. The Butlers are a large family. They are a faithful family. While they were sad about Camilla’s passing, they were hopeful. They knew that they would see Camilla again one day soon. Camilla’s service was unusual for me. Different. She did not want a lot of fanfare. She just wanted the preachers to speak and that was it. Simple. Clean. Easy. However, she did want one song played at the end. 

She wanted “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” played. What about “Amazing Grace”? Nope. What about “How Great Thou Art”. No. Surly you want “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. No sir. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is what she wants. 

I shrugged my shoulders and said “Ok”. After all, I have heard a lot worse songs played at a funeral. At least this song was about the Lord. 

Before the funeral was played, I went back to review the lyrics of that song and then I got it. I understood why Camilla wanted to hear that song. 

Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage
Where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
Of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watchfires
Of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar
In the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence
By the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet
That shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men
Before His judgement seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him;
Be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.

Chorus
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. 

Camilla’s eyes did see the coming of the Lord. 

How? How did Camilla see this sight? That question is answered in the last verse. 

With a glory in His bosom
That transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on. 

Jesus died to make men holy! He died so that they may receive His resurrection power, His resurrection victory. 

This great truth reminds me of I Peter 1:3. 

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Christ’s Resurrection Offers Three Gifts…

1. The Gift of Redemption vs. 2

2. The Gift of Resurrection vs. 23

3. The Gift of An Eternal Reward vs. 42

Our first gift is the gift of redemption. Our second gift is the gift of resurrection. Our third gift is the gift of eternal reward. Again, let’s rewind back to verse 42 this morning. 

42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

I want to ask you a very simple question this morning. Are you building for today or are you saving for the future? Are you more concerned about this life or are you laying up treasures in heaven? You see brothers and sisters, most people today are living in the hear and now. They are only concerned with getting and gaining more and more even though what we acquire will rust, will fade, will transition away. Our homes will eventually become old and out of date. Our cars wont retain their cool value, if they had any cool value in the first place. Our phones are only as good as the year that they are made. There is always a new model, another shiny trinket, a more attractive gadget or gismo. We are so blindly consumed with worldly pursuits that we have taken our eyes off our eternal reward. 

The other day I was reminded of a story that I used years ago in a communion devotion. It was the strange story of Sarah Winchester. Sarah was the devoted wife of Oliver Winchester, the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Sarah Winchester’s husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918, she moved to San Jose, California.

Sarah was convinced that the dead souls of the many Indians who lost their lives because of Winchester rifles haunted her. Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her, “As long as you keep building your home, you will never face death.”

Sarah believed the spiritist, so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years.

Today that house stands as more than a tourist attraction. It is a silent witness, an Erie reminder as to how people often focus on creating earthly palaces instead of looking towards an eternal reward. Sarah Winchester spent so much time being shackled to the threat of death that she never put her hope in the one who could give her eternal life.  

Paul even speaks to this…yet again…in Romans 6…

Romans 6:9-10 ESV

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

Friends, there is a reward waiting for us when we turn our eyes to Jesus Christ. A reward not made with human hands but with the hands of our redeemer. When we die in Christ, trading our sin for His life, we have so much offered to us. It frankly doesn’t make sense to say “no”. Let me read briefly for you from John 14 this morning. John 14 speaks to the reward that we have in Christ Jesus. 

John 14:1-6 AMP

"Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. [2] In My Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. [4] And [to the place] where I am going, you know the way." [5] Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?" [6] Jesus said to him, "I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

The reward that awaits us is pretty amazing. We will see God. We will be reunited with Christ. We will have an eternal family. We will have an eternal home. That home will be filled with perfect peace. No more disease. No more death. We will have perfect health. All of our relationships will be made right. Even the broken relationships that you could never resolve here on earth will be made right in heaven. We will have the reward of a perfect state of mind. No more fear. No more worry. No more anxiety. 

Listen to what Jesus tells us in John’s Revelation…

Revelation 2:10 CEV

Don't worry about what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into jail, and you will be tested and made to suffer for ten days. But if you are faithful until you die, I will reward you with a glorious life.

“I will reward you with a glorious life.” What a day that will be!

Jesus Christ’s victory over death gifts us redemption, it gifts us with our own resurrection, and it gifts us with eternal heavenly reward. 

As we stand on the threshold of Easter, I invite each one of you, young and old alike, to consider the implications of this profound truth in your life. Are you walking in the fullness of redemption, resurrection, and eternal life that Christ offers? If not, I urge you to open your hearts to Him today.

Let this Easter be more than just a celebration; let it be a divine encounter with the living God who longs to transform your life. Invite Christ into your heart, surrendering all to Him, and experience the abundant life that He promises to all who believe.

May the joy of Easter fill your hearts, may the hope of resurrection sustain you, and may the love of Christ compel you to follow Him all the days of your life. Amen.

The Gospel Is The Best News Ever!