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4~/6~/2007 *evening* service
Can /You/ Testify To The Resurrection?
* **Read Matthew 28:1-10*
I know we discussed Easter and the resurrection this morning….
But what a topic…
And tonight… we are going to look at it from a different perspective…
Today, is a day that most of the people in America celebrate.
Easter Sunday…
And I am on one hand happy that it is celebrated by so many… but on the other hand *saddened* by how it is celebrated…
Most people today think of Easter Sunday as a day that revolves around the Easter bunny, colored eggs, and candy…
How sad that is.
My first church was a mission church some 30 miles south of Tupelo Mississippi… and the church sat in the middle of 90 government subsidized apartments…
… I had started teaching the children on Wednesday nights, because we could not find enough workers to do it…
I quite often had a lot of children… anywhere from 15 to 40…
And I will never forget asking the kids that first year… what Easter was all about…
and *none* of them… *none* of them… mentioned Jesus Christ at all… and we were in Church...
You know… many people come to the cross… and they stop right there… they go no farther…
But we must understand.... without the empty tomb.... the Cross means nothing…
Without the Resurrection,.. the suffering means nothing…
Without the defeat of death...the propitiation for sin would mean nothing.
I know many of you have heard of the Apostles Creed…
Perhaps the greatest part of the Apostles Creed is in it’s final sentence… where it says…
“ I believe in the resurrection of the Body, and life everlasting”
You see… without that one article, the other great affirmations have no meaning…
Suppose someone decided to say…
“I believe in God the Father… but *not* in life everlasting”
or
“I believe in Jesus Christ his only son… but *not* in life everlasting”
or
I believe in the holy Ghost… but *not* in life everlasting.
Or
I believe in the holy Church, and the communion of the saints, but *not* in life everlasting.
All of these great affirmations would be *meaningless* without that great chord that is struck in the final sentence of the creed…
I believe,........ in the life everlasting
*Without* that final sentence… *without* that great affirmation… *all* the other affirmations would be *worthless*.
And just as with that final sentence of the creed…
Without the Resurrection of our savior… without the empty tomb… all of the other things would be meaningless.
…The Pyramids of Egypt are famous because they contain the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings…
Westminster Abbey in London is renowned because in it rests the bodies of English Nobles, and notables…
Mohammed's tomb is noted for the stone coffin and the bones which it contains…
Arlington cemetery in Washington D.C. is revered because it is the honored resting place of many outstanding Americans…
There is, however… all the difference in the world between the tomb of Christ and these places which we have just mentioned.
They are famous and draw visitors from afar because of what they *contain*…
… while the garden tomb of Christ is famous because it is empty..
… I know that people come to Church on Easter Sunday Year after Year, Easter Sunday after Easter Sunday, and very often, they hear the same message, time and time again…
And very often, people will sit in Easter Sunday Services, and be thinking only of the ham and potato salad that is awaiting them at home…
I mean, they have heard the Easter message time and time again, so why listen today.
But we must understand that the resurrection is what gives us the *meaning* of life…
The Resurrection is what gives us *hope* for the future…
The Resurrection is what gives us eternity....
We can praise God today folks….
Because in John 14:19 Jesus Christ said,
Because *I *Live, you also will live.
Jesus Christ arose from the tomb… Jesus Christ defeated death… Jesus Christ conquered the grave… and Jesus Christ, has won the victory!!!
AND *THAT* IS WHY WE HAVE HOPE!!
Now… the question has been raised for thousands of years,
How do we know that Christ rose from grave?
How do we decide that this event actually occurred?
Well… in our society today… how do we decide what did or did not happen?
Who do the police contact at the scene of an accident or at a crime?
Who do the lawyers call to testify in the court of law?
They all call on *Witnesses*.........
I have given depositions on different occasions over the years about heavy equipment related accidents or incidents…
I have given these depositions because of what I KNEW to be TRUE about certain types of heavy equipment…
I have never been asked to testify on the stand… but to give depositions in a room full of lawyers…
I think I would rather be on the stand…
And it is sad to say but I have been a witness to numerous accidents on the roads… and I know many of you have to.
A witness is simply someone who gives testimony of what they know to be true.
Now, Christ had many witnesses to testify of who he was.
The prophets *testified* of Christ.
Acts 10:43
43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The Bible says that *all* of the prophets were a witness to Christ… even before his birth.
Let me from read psalm 22
Psalm 22:1-26 (NIV) \\ ….
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
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