Northside Church - Sydney
Easter Sunday: Easter Changes Everything
You're listening to another great message from Northside Community Church. Well three guys were at a barbecue and just having a chat as guys do and one guy said that he'd been hit up a lot on the phone recently with people wanting to sell him a funeral plan and so the conversation unexpectedly turned to the subject of death, not often guys or anybody for that matter talking about death and the conversation went this way one of the guys said well you know what would you like people to say about you at your funeral as they walked past your casket for the last time and sort of look in and must have been America because open caskets are very big over in America not so common here. What would you like people to say and the first guy said well I'd like people to say you know he was a good family man he was devoted to his wife raised three beautiful kids yeah yeah that's he was just a good family guy and the second guy said well I'd like people to say you know he got involved in his community and he served the community really well and he did a lot of good and he's left behind a community that's better now than it was when he first came into it and the third guy was being pretty quietly they said well what about you Dave what would you want people to say as I look at on you and he thought I'd like people to go look he's moving now like there is a bit of a fear of death around the place and we don't like to talk about it and everybody of sound mind and body really wants to live for as long as they can I mean nobody wants to die if body and soul are in place if you sort of reach that end point and you're really sick and you're suffering and many people do welcome death or at least look forward to it but most people if they have sound body in mind we don't want to die the drive within all of us to survive is the strongest drive of all the drive to survive people will do extraordinary things to hold death off because of this strong desire to live death is a subject most people don't like to talk about it's seen as the great unknown and because of our ignorance we'd rather just keep it you know hush hush especially when you're when you're young but friends this is where Christianity really comes into its own because for the follower of Jesus Christ there is no fear in death irrespective of of what age we're at as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 55 death where is your sting grave where is your victory thanks be to God who gives us the victory so Jesus Christ our Lord this is what we're celebrating today of course this is what changes everything Jesus is alive now for our purposes this morning I've identified three three things that are changed forever because of the resurrection three things that make the difference between merely existing and really living I hope I'm talking to people this morning you really want to live not just exist but really want to live here are the three things the first one is this our life is not futile that's the first thing there's meaning there's purpose because of the resurrection the second thing is this our failures aren't fatal there's always the option to start over because of the resurrection and thirdly our death is not final and how good is that I mean how does that compare to the viewpoint of the cynical atheist who says that when you get to the end of the road it's just like hitting a brick wall that's it it's all over our death is not final that sounds to me a lot better than any other option let's unpack these one by one because of the resurrection our life is not futile now friends I don't know about you but that word futile I find that word extremely distasteful even the way you say futile it just doesn't sound like a very good word it essentially means incapable of producing any useful result it means pointless now I'm not suggesting for one moment that only those with a faith in Jesus Christ are capable of living life with meaning and purpose I'm not going to try and hit that one on you today because I just don't believe that I mean clearly that's not true there are people all around us who would claim to be finding fulfillment and purpose and meaning within their work within their families within their volunteerism in a whole range of ways we don't have the edge on meaning and purpose in in the Christian church so what is the difference what difference does belief in the resurrection make how does that defining moment of history how does that change a person's view of life well friends I think in the first instance I think it has to do with with perspective with overall perspective you see once we begin to grasp the idea of eternity that's where it starts once we begin to grasp the idea of eternity that beyond the grave there's an existence that has no bounds no limitations it just goes on forever that provides the believer with a certain perspective on life we begin to realize that life is not about accumulation it's not about reputation it's not about self preservation it's about transformation start to sort of get that into our into our minds into our beings it's about coming to the point of realizing that the purpose of our being on this earth is to live in a relationship with the one who created us that's where the breakthrough begins when you begin to realize that our purpose on this earth is to is to have a relationship with God our heavenly Father and that belief takes a person into a dimension of mission and meaning that I believe it's not possible to achieve outside of a faith in God that that's where I'm coming from it just takes you into a much deeper understanding of what life is all about it leads us to the place where we see our existence on this earth as part of a continuum which begins here and if our life is represented by a line that goes to the sound desk well this line just goes beyond to those doors beyond this building just goes forever and ever and ever that's you see yourself as part of that continuum Jesus said because I live you will live also in friends because of this eternal perspective people of the resurrection can cope with any how because we have a why they can cope with any how because we have a why and of course we all realize that how questions of life abound how did I get to this situation how come it's ended like this how did this happen how will I handle this grief this loss this disappointment people of the resurrection can handle these questions and rise above them because their sense of why why these things may be happening is intimately linked to their relationship with God their heavenly Father through Jesus Christ his son everything that happens is seen as part of the journey everything that happens is seen as part of the journey it's seen as an opportunity to grow in our faith to strengthen our alliance on God to trust Him more fully everything and this is linked to the kind of perspective that led Paul to write in Romans chapter 5 and verses 2 to 5 this is what he says and so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory we also boast of our troubles because we know that trouble produces endurance endurance means God's approval his approval creates hope and this hope does not disappoint us for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit who is God's gift to us you see friends resurrection people see the whole of life through the lens of faith making sense of the various incidents and the events in light of our relationship with him and even when an event makes no sense and a lot of things in life let's be honest make no sense whatsoever even when an event makes no sense at all the person of the resurrection uses those moments to demonstrate faith to increase trust to deepen resolve and to express courage in the face of adversity I've got so many examples of this kind of thing over the years and many of them relate to this church but I haven't sought permission to share any of those let me take you back to a guy who was my very dear friend back in the in the 80s guy called Jeff Jeff Rody back in Adelaide and I was in my 40s early 40s and he was not much ahead of me and he he learnt the news that he had a very severe form of cancer and was given a relatively short time to live he was a man of great faith a man of great faith in the Lord and he said he gave me one occasion he said Graham I'm going to do something for you you're in your seat all the time speaking in those days I was speaking on the corporate circuit as well as in church and this was pre pre-computer days or at least I wasn't in the computer they were still early days and I didn't have a computer back in those days he said Graham I'm going to research all I can for you on the subjects you talk on I've got the time I'm not going anywhere not for now anyway he said I'll research all these things and I would get reams of stuff photocopy stuff over a period of months from Jeff Rody that was just goal for me he knew I was talking on teamwork I was talking on leadership he picked up on various aspects of biblical theology and I kept the Jeff Rody file still have remains of them in parts of my filing system and he devoted himself in his time of anguish and time of need to a very specific and a very useful purpose they said he had six months he lasted for 15 months and just defied the predictions of the medical stuff he had his how questions how did this happen how come I find myself in this predicament but he was resolute about his purpose and his mission he had a why he wanted to reach out beyond himself he wanted to touch others I wasn't the only recipient of his research in those days he didn't know for how long he had but he knew why and he had a purpose and I just saw the difference it made to that man's life he developed a new reason to live what about the second assertion because of the resurrection now failures are not fatal those who had walked with Jesus like the character picked up so beautifully by merida in in the in the play those who'd walk with him those who'd served with him those who'd hung on every word he said seeing that stone rolled over the grave on the Friday and the Saturday that I mean that must have looked like the greatest failure of all time wouldn't you agree I mean if you'd really if you'd hung out with Jesus if you'd hung in every word he'd said if you had tremendous expectations of what he was about to deliver seeing that stone rolled across the tomb you'd be thinking wow it's it's all over it's finished he promised so much he promised the establishment of a kingdom now granted they'd misunderstood that that's shown by the guys on the Emmaus robe look at them next week you know he said he was going to establish the kingdom of Israel they thought it was a political kingdom Jesus was talking about something far different but he also promised a fresh approach to the old traditional Jewish religion time and time again Jesus said you've heard it said but I say under you you know it's a whole new ball game things are different it's a whole new scene they built up their expectations and now the stone was rolled across the grave it was all over it was finished well then came the events that we read about just a little while ago and he took us through so so beautifully and the stone was rolled away in defiance of the natural order you know normally somebody's dead they're dead that's it the stone was rolled away Jesus walked free and here's a wonderful reality put to the test on numerous occasions in this church and in every community in which I have served people of the resurrection experience many stones being rolled away and this happens whenever new life is breathed into a situation that appears to be a failure or appears to be beyond hope or that appears to be impossible to bear or beyond redemption when the stone was rolled back on that first Easter Sunday not only did it allow a resurrected Jesus to walk free but within weeks a worldwide movement would be born which would touch every continent on the face of the earth and two thousand years later now over one third of the world's population would would give allegiance in some form or other to this man Jesus and his teachings well over two billion people now that would have seemed absolutely impossible with the scene those guys would have seen on Saturday with the stone over the tomb that would have seemed just totally way out way out of the realms of possibility but that's resurrection power and that's the kind of thing that's possible when stones are rolled away in your life and in my life what happens when stones are rolled away sins are forgiven and cleansed relationships are restored hopes and dreams once dead are revitalized prayers are answered lives are transformed we could just keep listing all the things that happen when by the power of the Holy Spirit stones are rolled away and all of these things and more are possible for the person who of faith who embraces the resurrected Jesus and all that he has to offer the Bible is is so bold so bold as to state in Ephesians chapter one verse nineteen that the power working in us through the Holy Spirit is the same the same as the mighty strength which raised Jesus Christ from death now friends I got to be honest I've been a minister for many years Christian most of my life I don't think any of us fully understand what that verse is all about I don't think any of us fully appreciate we just can't get a head around that we have the same power that raised Jesus from death one thing is sure we're probably all grossly under utilizing the power that we have I would say that's a fair statement what are the stones in your life that need to be rolled away today what is that what what is blocking you from aspiring to your full potential in Jesus Christ what are the issues that need the need the touch of the master to set you free unresolved conflict and unforgiving spirit a lack of faith and over dependence on things maybe you're still at the point where you think life is about accumulation reputation self-preservation instead it's about transformation I couldn't leave a better day than Easter Sunday to allow Jesus Christ to roll the stones away for you and just give you a whole fresh new beginning it's possible that's what we're here for well the final point our death is not final the Apostle Paul saw this fact as the pivotal point of the Christian faith look what he says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 17 this priest is a pretty bold statement in itself if Christ has not been raised your faith he says is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins he goes on further if our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more than we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world he's basically saying we Christians we'd be the laughing stock of the whole world if this is not true if this resurrection is not true you see people of the resurrection see death as a bend in the road not the end of the road it's just a bend in the road it's just a transition and that belief affects every area of our life when I think about it when we're young maybe but then it affects every area of our life our goals and aspirations what we do with our lives where we serve whom we touch our approach to suffering and setback our our level of confidence and optimism about the future it's all related to the belief that death is not the end of the road it's just a bend in the road wow the assurance of life beyond the grave for the people of God the people of the resurrection there's nothing like it nothing like it one of my favorite Easter stories is of the real estate company that used to send a big sheet of flowers to every person who bought one of their homes and on this occasion this particular morning these new residents of our home received this big sheet of flowers but they're a little bit puzzled by the by the card on the on the sheet of flowers it said with deepest sympathy gosh meanwhile on the other side of town there was a funeral for a saintly woman of God who'd served all of her life in the Christian church had a remarkable record of achievement and a sheath of flowers was laid at the base of the casket which had a car in it welcome to your new home and friends that's like that's there was no more appropriate sheath than that even though delivered by accident here's the message of Easter Sunday if my life is not futile if my failures are not fatal if my death is not final then I am ready to live I'm really ready to live if I can be sure of those three things would you agree I mean they're the big ones that you've got to tick off to really know what living's all about Jesus Christ said I've come that you might have life not just light not just existence not just some sort of drudgery life in all its fullness and he came back from the dead to make that point crystal clear do you know that life today do you know that life today Easter is more than just a good feeling once a year kind of one something it arouses our hope and optimism yeah great stuff and then forget about it the rest of the year Easter is not just a day it's a way of life it's a continuous journey everything we're packaged into this day this weekend can be yours and mine 24/7 365 days a year.