Breakthrough - THE OFFER

If you are visiting with us today we are so glad that your are with us … We have been in a sermon series entitled, “Breakthrough” and we have been considering the nature of Miracles.. and the relevance of miracles in Scripture and Do miracles still happen today?

There is this story of a woman who looked out of her window and saw her German shepherd shaking the life out of a neighbor's rabbit.

Her family did not get along well with these neighbors, so this was going to be like a disaster.

She grabbed a broom, pummeled the dog until it dropped the now extremely dead rabbit out of its mouth.

She panicked. She did not know what else to do. She grabbed the rabbit, took it inside, gave it a bath, blow dried it to its original fluffiness, combed it until that rabbit was looking good, snuck into the neighbor's yard, and propped the rabbit back up in its cage.

An hour later she heard screams coming from next door. She asked her neighbor, "What's going on?"

"Our rabbit! Our rabbit!" her neighbor cried. "He died two weeks ago. We buried him, and now he's back!"

Easter is about Come Backs — it’s about the Resurrection miracle

The Bible is full of miracles… John tells us that Jesus did many miracles in the presence of his disciples and many of them are not recorded in the Scriptures…(John 20:30)

A miracle is an event that supersedes natural laws… something that defy’s the possible…

The miracles that Jesus did in his ministry have been divided into three Categories..

Miracles of Compassion —

Miracles of Necessity

3. Miracles that Created faith

The religious leaders of the day were demanding that Jesus give them “proof” that he was the Son of God by doing some sort of miracles..

Jesus responded by saying that Evil Generation seeks after signs.” In other words… Even though Miracles are “proofs” they were never simply to be “Proofs.”

The purpose of miracles were to build faith faith and belief ---

Whenever someone demonstrated Faith in --- Jesus always commended their Faith… Whether it was the faith of the Centurion…the woman who reached out and touched his garment… or as we heard last week the friends of the paralytic who tore open the roof of the house to get their friend to Jesus....

Jesus was concerned about Faith...

Miracles were one of the ways of creating Faith…and belief… but MIRACLES were also called Signs… Just like road signs have a purpose to get us to a certain destination… So miracles are always pointing to something greater that is ahead..

… for example in the OT when Israel being delivered from Egyptian bondage .. the miracle of deliverance was accompanied by these preliminary and accompanying miracles…

“the dividing of the Red Sea,

the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, the water from the rock, and the manna.”

These preceded miracle of Israel the Jordan into the promised land.

In the Gospels we have these preliminary miracles of Jesus where he turns water into wine, heals the sick, raises the dead and delivers people from evil spirits —

These miracles point to the miracle of Resurection…

Do miracles happen today? that is good question… some people are skeptical.. maybe things happen that coinsidences.. here is the thing if you experienced a miracle you know that GOD intervened .. Two weeks ago.. I got text from Andy that Myrna was going to be airlifted to Mercy San Jaun because of some blockage on her brain.. prayers offered..she arrived their the surgeon could find anything.,they took mri nothing? Myrna will tell you it’s a miracle… I believe it...

Miracles today are signs pointing toward to a day when everything will be in subjection to Christ - things will that are wrong will be turned upside down., I know there are those here this morning that have suffered difficulty, paina e loss..but this morning we reminded of the Power of resurrection.,

The Miracle of Easter is really about God’s Offer to us…It s an offer for us to believe in the miracle of His resurrection and to partake in His Divine Nature..

T/s JOHN TELLS US

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

… God sent his Son on a mission into the world and that was to Save the world from the consequence of sin..... The word GAVE means to sacrifice or relinquish something of value…

God Gave his beloved Son… that through his one time sacrifice… He would repair the damage done by sin and restore the relationship between himself and his creation… this is the free gift of grace that is being offered...

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

No one in heaven will ever be able to say, “Look at me! I made it! With a little help from God, I made it!” Salvation is all by God. Not even the smallest part of it is the result of what we do or do not do.

The offer has everything to do with Faith and Belief…

T/S What DOES THE Resurrection offer?

1. The Miracle of Resurrection Offers REAL JOY

When Jesus died that on that Good Friday 2000 years ago it seemed that like all systems had failed — it seemed like death had won the day…

Luke tells us that those who had witnessed Jesus final words and seen Jesus breathe his last breath…were visibly impacted..…The Message Bible tells us that the crowd was overcome with grief…

..Jesus was viewed by many as the Messiah --- The one who would deliver them from Roman occupation…Seeing Jesus lifeless body on the cross must have been a stark and unbelievable sight… The hope of Israel… The promised Redeemer… nailed to the cross like a broken reed.. What intense sense of loss… and hopelessness…

You look at the Cross and maybe wonder Why would you call this scene Good Friday… should been Bad Friday....

The reason why it’s Good Friday… is not because of the torture that Jesus endured… The Roman crucifixion was usually reserved for slaves, foreigners, insurrectionists, and those guilty of the vilest crimes. The reason because was an excruciating death… it was so bad that Romans.. were exempt from this kind of punishment.. There is nothing really attractive about the cross… just like any instrument of excution...

Crucifixion was designed to do more than merely kill a man. The cross was intended not only to break a man's body, but also to crush and defame his spirit… Jesus was on the cross from 9 in the morning until 3pm…it was long ordeal..

There is no joy in an execution…

What brings Joy is not the suffering but what Jesus achieved on the Cross

The writer of Hebrews tells that when we go through struggles we are to look to Jesus the perfecter of our Faith… WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS… Jesus consider the endurance of the cross…why did Jesus consider the cross JOY.,

Joy because He knew what lay on the other- side of the cross lay Resurrection - —

One of the Great chapters in the Bible is the 1 Cor 15 --- it has been called the resurrection chapter… In these Verses Paul unpacks for us Why it is importance for us to Holding onto this message of Resurrection…

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

The church at this point was begining to drift from some of the core teachings of the gospel…the resurection of Jesus in particular was under attack...So Paul wants to remind them about the foundations of faith.. rewind..go back and consider.. some key facts.

Paul begins with some key facts…

Paul assures the church in Corinth that he had received the Gospel from the apostles themselves.. He had spent time with Peter and with James the brother of Jesus… He is passing on first hand knowledge… what’s he was proclaiming came from primary sources… something that could be depend upon and trust in this Gospel.

Paul is man who seeks truth.. Paul doesn’t believe in unreasonable Faith.. He wants them to know truth for themselves… He doesn’t believe in empty faith..

He ends his thoughts here by saying lest They believed in vain…. this word means with out cause or purpose..it is believing in something contrary to reason—‘unreasonable, without basis..

The second thing he reminds them is the power of the Gospel itself.

What Paul received was - The Gospel - Good News..the word

Euangelion (gospel) - Gospel is Good News that brings great joy - or the message that makes the heart to be sweet.. The Gospel is Joy News.

The great story teller J.R.R. Tolkien, says there’s a kind of story … that brings us unbelievable joy … He says these stories always have a certain kernel to them. There’s always some incredibly hopeless situation, and victory is snatched out of the jaws of defeat.

But how?

Always through someone who comes in, and whose weakness turns out to be strength, someone whose defeat turns out to be a victory. He says it’s those kinds of stories that just seem to bring us joy.

He called them eu-catastrophes.

Do you know what the word eu-catastrophe means? The joyful catastrophe. The tragedy that turns out to be a triumph.

The sacrifice that turns out to bring joy. He said, however, there’s a Eu -catastrophe of the eu-catastrophes. There is a Story in all of the stories.

There is Story of all Stories of the Resurrection —

The cross looked like utter defeat…but out of the cross comes the victory of Victories.. if you read a little further in 1 Cor 15:25 Paul tell us that all things are leading to a joyful end…that this last enemy death itself will be destroyed… Everything that is wrong align in the world will once again be aligned with God… God will once again

The fact is that Gospel transforms it takes pain, disappointment, discouragement..,All the bitter things that happens in life… the gospel changes the narative,,

Just like Israel when Israel we’re in the wilderness.., God was in the process of saving them when they reached the bitter waters of Mara and Moses through the branch… Christ the righteous branch makes bitter waters sweet..

The resurrection reminds us that us that the Gospel offers us (Joy) … But this joy has to be possed..

This the clearest Gospel presentation in the Bible..

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

1 THE GOOD NEWS HAS BE PROCLAIMED… faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.,,

a. The message has to be received…the word received is inheritance language… it literally means to take from another.. you can be offered an inheritance… but it still has to be taken..

b. The message has to be Believed -

Belief is not a noun it’s a verb..

belief means to put you confidence in something or someone… We don’t believe something because its a good idea or a nice sentiment… We believe something based upon the truth… Belief has to have substance to it…if the Gospel has no substance to it --- It should be rejected.. There is a difference between having faith and acting on faith.. I can believe that this stool will hold me..but belief acts on truth.,

C. Paul says tha once you believe you got to stand in Faith.. there are a lot of distractions.., there are lot of things that try and get you to move from faith… Jesus tells us in Matt 24 that in the last days that even the elect will be led astray… Jesus said to Peter that Satan himself would try and sift him as wheat, but take Heart because he has prayer for him.,

d. Salvation is this process.. of being saved… Hold on to the word of truth… This is real Joy..

T/S What DOES THE Resurrection offer?

1. The Miracle of Resurrection Offers REAL JOY

2. The Miracle of the Resurrection offers us REAL HOPE

Humans seek after hope.., It’s intrinsic to who we are.

Neuroscientists Tali Sharot argues hope is so essential to our survival that it is hardwired into our brains, arguing it can be the difference between living a healthier life versus one trapped by despair.

Studies show hopeful college kids get higher GPA’s and are more likely to graduate.

Hopeful athletes perform better on the field, cope better with injuries, and have greater mental adjustment when situations change.

In one study of the elderly, those who said they felt hopeless were more than twice as likely to die during the study follow-up period than those who were more hopeful.

Hope is important… the resurection offers us real hope…,biblical hope is not of the wishful thinking.. hope that has assurance…it has conviction… Faith is tied to HOPe..

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Paul want them to know that their faith is not empty… The resurrection offers Real hope.

1 Corinthians 15:3–6 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Hope come from Real Resources..

Paul tells us that he was passing onto the church that which he himself had received — This was key to ancient education - was what scholars call “traditioning” the passing down of teaching from one generation to the next… this not haphazard scholarship this the task would be accurate and carefully stewarded - carefully memorized - line upon line — precept upon precept… accurately past on verbatim… What Paul is passing onto the Corinthians what he received word for word from first Apostles of Christ..Those who knew Jesus personally… (You don’t get closer than that)

What Paul shares is Creedal in nature...

It was something often recited in the church and something that was common in the early Church.… and affective..

Of First importance.

1..JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS according to Scripture.....

No one in the first century denied the death of Jesus. The crowds were there, the soldiers were there, the friends and enemies alike were there.

The torture He went through prior to the declaration of His death, the crucifixion itself, and the piercing of His side all pointed to the reality that He was really dead.

Jesus not only Died a physical death..but there was a purpose in the death of Christ.

Paul points out that Jesus didn’t just die at a human natural level … Something happened at the spiritual level..

Jesus died for sins..

This is the language of atonement. In saying “Christ died for our sins,”

this kind of forgiveness not only forgiveness of past sins, but in a very real sense deliverance from the bondage of one’s sinfulness as well.

Christ died for our sins according to Scripture.. The deaTh of christ was no accident, no afterthought. It had been part of God’s plan from all eternity in order to bring about the salvation of all who believe. It was according to scripture Isaiah spoke about this event..

Isaiah 53:5 ESV

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

next is the burial..

2. He was buried (1 Corinthians 15:4).

Paul tells us that it is not only important that Jesus died but that he was buried..... The reason this is necessary information is because you don’t normally bury live people.. There have been many Theories about the Resurrection… Jesus didn’t really die on the cross but he fainted… That he was swooned… and some how revived latter on..

The fact is that this wealthy man called Joseph of Aramathea bought the tomb of Jesus and he was buried in a tomb.. Pauls logic here..is

‘If he was buried he must have been really dead;

There were witnesses to the burial and guards were at the tomb. There was no doubt about it. He was dead and buried.

It also means that if he was buried, the resurrection must have been a miracle....

If he was buried, and was subsequently seen alive outside his grave, the grave must have been empty, and may well have been seen to be empty.’

Jesus died., buried.,,rise again in the third day,,

3. He Rose from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:4 ESV

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

After the Sabbath…early Sunday morning at the first opportunity the Mary from Bethany .. Mary the mother of Jesus and apparently another Mary… go to the tomb To put spices in the tomb when they get there the stone has been rolled away.. and the tomb is empty.. they run and tell the other disciples…

The tomb is empty and that’s about all we here about the tomb..

TIm keller asks this intersting question.

why is it that Jesus Christ’s tomb was lost?

Why is it that by AD 120 Christians weren’t even sure where it was anymore?

Why is it, when the tomb of every prophet, every religious founder was always regarded with great respect ? It was a shrine. It was a place of pilgrimage.

How could the Christians have lost the tomb of Jesus? The reason the tomb didn’t matter to them was that they had him. He wasn’t away.

It was not an empty tomb that brought them new faith and hope; it was a living Christ.

Yet the empty tomb must not be dismissed as irrelevant to the Resurrection. If his tomb had not been empty, neither they nor anyone else would have believed that he had risen from the dead.

Jesus appeared to many different witnesses

The people who saw him—, the Twelve, five hundred at once, James (Jesus’ own brother).

This was key moment in the life of James from the Resurrection onwards we see James being a key leader in the Jerusalem church… it’s one thing to convince others that you are God son how about trying to convince your sibbling., the fact that James believed the resurection is amazing

Paul himself is one greatest witnesses of the Resurrection was Paul himself, for as an unbeliever he was soundly convinced that Jesus was dead. The radical change in his life—a change which brought him persecution and suffering—is certainly evidence that the Lord had indeed been raised from the dead. Paul made it clear that his salvation was purely an act of God’s grace; but that grace worked in and through him as he served the Lord.

T/S What DOES THE Resurrection offer?

1. The Miracle of Resurrection Offers REAL JOY

2. The Miracle of the Resurrection offers us REAL HOPE

3. The Miracle of the Resurrection OFFERS REAL FAITH.

Resurrection Message of Joy and Hope -- But it also is a message Of Faith… It takes looking at the evidence and asks,, is enough evidence to believe or not?… In the first Century there were false teaches infiltrating the Church and saying there are no such miracles as people raising from the Dead… Paul makes the Argument for Faith… Because if we don’t believe in the resurrection the whole of Christianity falls apart..

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 ESV

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Paul addresses those who deny the resurrection .… the denial of the resurrection had its roots in Greek philosophy that taught that the physical body was evil… Paul is a truth man… he is a scholar… he himself was a Pharisee… he understands proofs and evidences… Jesus hinself Warner the dangers of following blind teaches, blind following blind fall into a pit.

Paul is agreeing with the Skeptics.. The resurection has to be a historical fact!

… Paul is not talking the teaching of Resurrection theory --- or believing in Resurrection principle… But the importance of the Historical Resurrection — the facts or the actual Resurrection…

Christianity is based on historical facts, not on human reason or imagination; it is neither an ingenious hypothesis to account for any phenomena, nor a poetic myth to adumbrate any truth. It is based on facts.

If you take out the Event of Resurrection… you are left with doctrine and dogma… Paul says their preaching lacks power --- because it is just words ---Empty word

Paul agrees with their hypothesis

if Jesus Christ has not risen again; and, if that is the case, the whole Christian faith is wrecked.’

If we don’t have an actual Resurrection ..Everything he mentioned in verses 1-3

you have received nothing

you have believed nothing

you have nothing to stand upon

you have nothing to hold onto

infact what is worse is thwt Paul and the other apostles have been peddling in liars... The Message says "All these affidavits we passed onto you verifying that God raided Christ up - sheer fabrications...

. If resurrection of the dead is impossible.. THEN Christ wasn’t... If Christ wasn't raised - then you are still wondering around in darkness. What is worse is that those who have died hoping in Christ are still in their graves.

.If Christ is just a little inspiration for a few short years... WE ARE PRETTY SORRY LOT.

The miracle of the resurection has to be based in facts.., thats the offer on the table

1. The Miracle of Resurrection Offers REAL JOY

2. The Miracle of the Resurrection offers us REAL HOPE

3. The Miracle of the Resurrection OFFERS REAL FAITH.

4. The Resurrection offers us Real Miracles

Paul has laid out God’s offer of Joy, Hope, Truth and now He tells us that the linchpin… Everything rests on the MIRACLE OF RESURRECTION… If this is not true… then we have been offered a Check that is Going to bounce… it is not going to be honored… Paul makes this propositional statement..BUT THE FACT IS THIS.

1 Corinthians 15:20–21 ESV

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

... CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED.. This But must rank with the great ‘buts’ of the Bible… BUT CHRIST IS RAISED.

I was reading this interesting research done by Caersar Hidalgo…Director of Collective learning at the MIT learning — Study was on how long someone will expected to be remembered after they die?

They studied famous people and historical figures.. for example not many people would remember the most famous tennis player? the Frenchman Rene Lacoste born 1904… They also studied things like songs, people, patents… and what they found is that - “The universal decay of collective memory and attention… are kept alive through “oral communication” from about five to 30 years...

Here we are two thousand years later we still have these core tenants of Faith that are the solid core of the Gospel…

Not only do we have the scripture

We have the writings of Polycarp 2nd century church fathe r Discple of John whose writing survive … In the introduction and at the end of his letter Polycarp speaks of the cross and resurrection of Jesus as the salvation event,

We have Josephus the Jewish historian.... who was alive at the same time as those who had seen Jesus alive .... Josephus tells us that “There were reports that he appeared to witnesses following his resurrection.”

PAUL TELLS US WITH OUT DOUBT

BUT CHRIST IS RAISED… IF HE IS ALIVE there are implications..

since Christ was raised from the dead, that means that God has set in motion two irreversibles: the resurrection of all who are “in Christ” will also be raised to life… and therefore the final destruction of death itself (vv. 23–28).

Jesus says that He firstfruits of those will be resurrected.

Firstfruits refers to the guarantee that Christ’s resurrection is the first-of-a-kind resurrection that promises others will follow in the end time..

where “firstfruits” can be translated “guarantee,” “first installment”). In this instance the phrase who have fallen asleep refers specifically to those who have died in Christ. For more general usage of “fallen asleep,” see note at 11:30–32.

CONCLUSION --

Martin Luther once said that

“Christ’s pulpit is his cross: it is from the cross that he addresses the world” Martin Luther

The resurrection was a watershed in the world’s history and was a watershed in personal history.

It not only is (you might say) the linchpin on which all of history rests, but it’s the acid test of whether or not you’re a Christian, whether you believe in the resurrection or not.

Christ’s resurrection deals with both the past, the present, and the future. It deals with the past because He died for “our sins.”

Our faith in the resurrection of Jesus causes God to forgive us of our past.

His resurrection relates to the present, because He changes us and gives us His Spirit to live out the present life.

His resurrection relates to the future, because it points us to the time when Jesus will come again and we will live forever in Heaven.

THE OFFER IS ON THE TABLE…

Three kind of responses… those who Reject Christ… John tells us that “Light has come into the world, but there people who loved darkness rather than light… There are those who stand in the middle…These are undecided… Skeptical of the miracle of resurrection… those who have accepted the offer… are in this process of being saved… God still working in us....

This message is too Vital to ignore… How was it possible that such an Iconic building that survived

This PAST Monday the World watched while 900 years old NOTRA DAME cathedral was in flames … we are not sure exactly what caused the proble, …

Jean-Michel Leniaud, president of the scientific council at the national Heritage Institute told AFP.

"The lack of real upkeep and daily attention to such a major building is the cause of this catastrophe.”

One of the greatest Neglect is the Spiritual life… Faith is about Believing… Jesus was looking for one thing that his followers would have Faith…

Often things collapse simply because of neglect… I want to challenge you this with this Easter Miracle…