Church Sermon - March 31, 2002

HAS CHRIST RISEN IN YOU?

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson; Acts 10:34-43
Gospel Lesson; John 20:1-9 (10-18)
Sermon Text; Matthew 10:16

I wonder how many Christian husbands and Christian wives who have lost their spouse, whose spouse has gone before them, have found great comfort and joy in what happened on Easter Sunday and in the

How many spouses have sat down at their table, with their hands folded and thought of that great passage in 1Thesseloinans which says,

How many have found their great confidence, hope and joy in the sure and certain promise of God, that the dead in Christ will be raised and we will be with our loved ones, together forever in Heaven, through Christ!

How many parents down through the centuries who have lost a little child to death, have not found profound comfort in the resurrection of our savior, and have turned to His Words which says,

How many parents have found their profound comfort, joy and confidence in the victory that Christ gives us over death, and the promise that we shall rise again some day and be with our loved ones, through Christ!

How many individuals throughout the years, who have lost their parents in death, have found great comfort, joy and confidence in the resurrection of our savior from the dead and the promise that He gives,

They have found their confidence in the promise that Jesus will one day give us the victory over death and we will live for Him, and with Him forever, because of what He has done!

How many Christians down through the centuries, who have been racked with pain and sickness in this mortal body, and with grief and trouble in this earthly life, have not found great comfort in the passage of scripture where the Bible says,

They have found confidence in the fact that Jesus will come back, as the risen savior and will give to us Eternal Life and glory with Him! This mortal body shall be made like His glorious body!

In the book of Revelations, St. John saw a powerful vision of Jesus, the risen Lord. Christ said to St. John these powerful words,

Our friend, our savior holds in His hands the keys to death. He can unlock the grave for us, because He has conquered death. Scripture tells us that one day that will happen. Scripture says,

"The day is coming when

who are in the grave

will come forth."

The Bible promises us that our Lord, with a loud command will shout, the dead will come forth, and the grave will be forced to submit to the Almighty Voice of our risen savior, who has defeated death! The grave will have no choice but to give up its dead! And all the dead will be raised, because Christ is the victor over death! He has risen from the dead and He holds the keys to death in His hands. Scripture tells us that on that day, when all the dead have been raised that we will hear His voice. To some He will say,

What joyful and happy words those will be.

But, to others He will say,

"Depart from me

you cursed

into everlasting fire

prepared for the Devil and all his angels,

for I never knew you."

Who of us here does not long to be among that great multitude and that great host that hears Christ say to us, "Come, come you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for you, before the foundation of the earth."

We all long to be in the host, in that multitude, in that group which Jesus gives to us the share in His victory. We all long to be in that host which Jesus gives His share of eternal glory in Heaven, which He has won for us, through His death and by His resurrection!

There is nothing that Jesus wants more for you, than for you to know that you can have a share in His victory over death, eternal death. There is nothing more that Christ wants for you than that you be in that multitude which stands before Him and hears Him say,

And so, Christ wants us to know that if we are to be of that group which hears Jesus say, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father", we need to know that already in this life, already in this life here on earth, there must be a resurrection that takes place in your life. Already in this life there must be a resurrection that takes place in your life, if you are to partake in that resurrection to eternal glory.

In today’s scripture reading God promises, "When Christ, who is your life appears, then you shall also appear with Him in glory." But, whom does He say that to? When He says, "You have been raised with Christ", He is speaking to those who have already undergone a resurrection in this life. He is speaking to those who have already been raised in this life. He is speaking to those for whom Christ lives in this life. He is speaking to those who live in Christ, during this life.

And, so it is incumbent for all of us to ask ourselves, "Has Christ risen in my heart? Is Christ raised in me? And, am I raised in Christ? Am I alive? Has a resurrection taken place?"

Christ came, not just to give us new life in the future, but He came to also to give us new life, NOW! He came to give us new life TODAY!!!

As we look at our lives, every one of us must look at our own heart and ask, "Do I have a longing to hear the word of God, to hear the voice of my savior? Is there longing in my heart to come to His Holy Supper and hear that my sins are forgiven, being assured that He is my savior, receiving strength for my faith? Is there longing in my life and in my heart to share the abundance that God has given to me, and give with my offerings to further His Kingdom? Is there longing in my heart to come before my Lord in prayer, putting everything into His almighty hands?"

Or, rather is there no longing in my heart to hear His Word and to sit at His feet? Is there only longing and desire in my heart for the things of this earth? Do I only long and desire for my family, my friends, my job, my money, my possessions, and the things of this life? Do I only have longing for the things of this flesh? Do I long to be involved in this sin, or that sin and have no desire to give it up?

If that describes me, if the latter describes me, then I have not been raised with Christ yet, and Christ has not been raised in me. Then I am still dead, in my sin. I have not come to life, yet. Then I will not partake in that glorious resurrection to glory, through Christ.

All of us, as we look at our hearts, need to know the voice of Jesus who says to anyone who is troubled over their sin, (for we all have sin in our lives), and to anyone who knows that our sin could keep us from that resurrection to eternal glory, and to anyone who is laboring over their sin, Jesus says such sweet words of invitation,

Jesus also says,

Here our savior calls and invites sinners to come to Him.

Ø To all those who turn to Jesus,

Ø to all those who look to Jesus in faith,

Ø to all those who trust that what happened on

Good Friday, happened for me,

Ø to all those who believe Jesus suffered for my sin,

Ø to all those who believe Jesus died for my sin,

Ø to all those who believe Jesus paid the price for that sin,

Ø to all those who believe Jesus paid the penalty for my sin, and what happened on Good Friday was

Ø to all those individuals,

Ø God promises in scripture that for Christ’s sake

They have been tossed into the depths of the sea, never to be brought up again. They have been removed from us, to be as far as the east is from the west.

Whoever believes this to be true for Christ’s sake, whoever believes that God has declared me forgiven, when He raised Jesus from the dead, scripture says,

"Christ was delivered over to death

for our offenses and

raised to life

for our justification."

When Jesus was raised from the dead, God was justifying the world. That means that God was declaring to the world, for My Son’s sake, because of what my Son has done for you, you are innocent! You are not guilty! Everything that Christ has done, has been given to me as a free gift! God sees me, as if I had always loved Him and always served Him and always lived for Him, as His child! And, all because Christ did that for me.

To all who believe this, the Holy Spirit has brought you to life! You have been resurrected. Your soul has been resurrected in Jesus, your savior. Jesus lives in you and you live in Jesus. Scripture promises, it promises, "When Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory." Scripture also tells us that because His believers have come to faith, we are spiritually alive. Our souls are forgiven. We trust in our savior and our sins will never be held against us anymore.

Because the guilt of sin has been taken away and we are alive, scripture tells us, that if you are alive in Christ there will be evidence in your life that you are alive. There is evidence, there are signs of life in the human body. If you are alive, there is breath. If you are alive, there is a heartbeat. If you are alive, there is blood pressure. The same is true for those who have been brought to life in Christ, who believe in Christ as their savior. If you are alive, there will be signs of life. Sin will begin to loose its power over me, already in this life. Remember Jesus didn’t just come to give me new life some time in the future. Jesus came to give me new life now, today! There will be signs that I am alive and that I believe in my savior. I will love my savior. I will trust in my savior. My savior is the one I will cling to for all eternity. Our scripture says,

"Since you have been raised with Christ,

set your hearts on things above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."

A Christian, one who believes in the risen savior, will begin to set his heart on things above. A Christian will begin to show signs of life.

In this life I want to live like my savior, who is seated at the right hand of God, who is holy and perfect. In this life I want to live for Him. I want to be alive in Him.

In this life I want to hear His Word. I long to hear His Word, because I know that through that Word He strengthens me, He delivers to me the forgiveness of sins, and He builds me up in my faith.

In this life I want to come to His Holy Supper. There He assures me personally that my sins are forgiven and that He lives in me! I am alive!

In this life I want to use the gifts that God has given to me, using them as offerings to Him. I want to serve Him in His Kingdom, because I am alive in Christ.

In this life I want to pray to Him. I want to take all of my troubles to Him, because I am alive in Christ!

In this life I want to spread His message to all people. I want them to know about their risen savior, because I am alive in Christ.

And, when I fall into sin I want to turn to my savior and seek His forgiveness and find His full and free forgiveness, because I am alive in Christ!

To those who are alive in Christ here in this life, to those who believe in Christ as their savior, their only savior from sin, Jesus promises, Jesus promises that we shall live forever. Jesus promises that we are immortal, because of what He has done for us, not what because of what we have done for Him. Our scripture gives us this promise,

"When Christ who is your life appears,

then you will also appear with Him in glory."

In this life we have been raised to Christ by faith. Our sins are forgiven. Guilt is gone. In this life Christ’s resurrection gives us the power over sin, and we can begin, already in this life, to live a new life in Christ. When we die, death has already been defeated and we will be with our savior in Heaven. Our souls will be with Him forever in Heaven. We will be delivered. When the Day of Judgment comes, we will hear the voice of our savior who will say,

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father.

Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven,

prepared for

before the foundations of the earth."

Our savior holds in His hands the keys to death. He will unlock the door. Then the saying that is written will come true.

Death has been swallowed up in victory!

Where oh death is your sting?

Where oh grave is your victory?

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen.

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