Resurrection Sunday – Hope Lives!
Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:17-20
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.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
HOPE FOR A HOPELESS WORLD
Welcome to Resurrection Sunday. On Good Friday we remembered the sacrifice of Christ dying on the Cross for us, but today we celebrate the hope of His rising again, the hope upon which our faith is built.
We are currently living in a world that is desperately short on hope. In Gaza and Ukraine, we are on the brink of world war. Housing affordability is at an all-time low, the cost of living is skyrocketing, we have the government sanctioned murder of babies at an increasing rate, governments are infringing basic human rights in the name of inclusion, and our younger generation cannot figure out if they are boys or girls or cats. Homelessness, rents and interest rates soar while hopes plunge.
The message of Easter is a message of hope in a dark world, that threatens to get darker every day. More than anyone else, we truly have hope!
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
The disciples had seen Jesus die with their own eyes. They heard Him cry out, they’d seen the spear thrust into His side, they saw blood and water pour out. They knew He was dead, that He’d been placed in a tomb, wrapped in cloth with spices. For them hope was dead and buried…literally!
HOPE DIES
On that dark Friday hope had died. All the dreams of the disciples, all the plans, all the good times had come to nothing. They had seen Jesus heal people. He’d challenged hearts and He’d spoken of eternal life, of His Kingdom to come. He’d fed 5,000, raised the dead, challenged the hierarchy…He’d promised big. However, on that dark, miserable Friday He’d died, just like any man might. The centurion said truly this man was the Son of God, but all the disciples saw that Friday was the dead body of their friend.
John 19:34-35
But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth – that you also may believe.
Today as I talk to people, I recognise that they are devoid of hope. The economy has tanked, it’s near impossible to find homes to rent, to maintain a mortgage, to afford basic groceries. We face a federal election, and I can barely see a difference between the two parties.
YOUR HOPES
Maybe your hopes, like those of the disciples, have died. Your dreams of a successful business, a stable job, a loving, perfect partner in life, your hopes of health or a family that’s not fighting one another. Maybe you have a desire to minister, but no avenue to pursue.
Perhaps today your dreams lay shattered in the ground. Maybe you lost that job, your marriage broke down, your family looks ok on the surface but behind closed doors it’s falling apart. Perhaps that child you love so much is breaking your heart.
Like those disciples so long ago, maybe you’ve lost hope and feel like you’re standing on the boulevard of broken dreams, standing outside the tomb of everything you hoped and believed for, burying the hopes you once had. The disciples were there, they saw everything crumble right before their eyes, and despair won the day. Many of us are there right now.
But I’m here today to tell you that Jesus isn’t in the tomb anymore, He’s alive!
HOPE LIVES
And Hope is alive because the tomb is empty! Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Buddha is buried somewhere in a tomb. Mohammad, Confucius, they’re buried somewhere, but Jesus is not. Three days later, Jesus exploded out of the tomb. He’s alive, and therefore everything He promised those disciples, and everything He promises you, is alive as well.
Matthew 28:5-6
But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
MODERN HOPE IS DEAD
In the modern world, things that people have relied on for generations have been suddenly thrust aside. Things we have always thought were a given are now defunct. Life is a mess!
The modern word hope is a word that we like to kind of throw around. I hope this works, I hope you feel better, I hope the weather improves, I hope tomorrow will be better. Modern hope is more like a wish. Look around, many are saying life as we know it is ending, but I say in Jesus there is life, and life to the full!
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
BIBLICAL HOPE IS ALIVE
Biblical hope doesn’t depend on your predicament, prospects, prestige or property, it depends on God’s promises. A biblical hope doesn’t depend on what you see or feel, it depends on what you believe. Biblical hope transcends and eclipses any problem you face right now. Biblical hope is a sure expectation based on the promises of God.
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
The hope that God offers is a sure thing, something to build your life on, it’s an anchor, it keeps us from drifting after this and floating after that. It is the rock upon which the Christian stands, one that cannot be moved or shaken. This is the hope of God, and this magnificent hope is forever bound up in the resurrection of Christ that we celebrate today. Biblical hope is not a maybe, it is a surety. It is an absolute fact, it is something we can live for, even something we can even die for! They say seeing is believing, but Biblical hope says believing is seeing!
HOPE IS CONTAGIOUS
Mary and the women told the disciples that Jesus was alive, but they couldn’t believe He had risen. That’s what lack of hope does, it steals the hope and belief from you. The enemy wants to bleed your faith dry, and some of you are experiencing that right now.
Psalms 43:5 (ESV Strong’s)
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Fear not, because if you are hearing this today and hope is burning low, you’re in good company. The disciples, and great heroes like Job, David, Joshua, Paul and many others shared the same experience of hopelessness. Without the resurrection, all of us would be without hope today, but because of the resurrection hope springs eternal.
If you feel like your hope is gone today, if you’re walking through the valley of the shadow or death, keep walking. Don’t camp there, and don’t give the devil a foothold.
HOPE FOR THE PAST
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us hope for the past…
1 Peter 1:3
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,
God’s great gift of hope took a cross, the very symbol of death and despair, and a tomb, the epitome of hopelessness and turned them forever into symbols of life and hope.
Today we celebrate the fact that Jesus is risen. And risen with Him is our hope, the true hope, the surety of eternal life, which begins the moment we ask Jesus into our life. In the power of His resurrection, we have the hope of living in victory, the hope of restored families, the hope of healings and miracles and fellowship and ministry.
No matter what we’ve done in the past, the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope for our future.
HOPE FOR NOW
Because Jesus is risen, whatever you face in life right now, whatever fear, whatever drama, pain, sickness, tiredness, conflict or lack, you can have hope for today. Because Jesus rose again and because He lives you can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives!
Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Because Jesus is alive, we now have absolute hope to live each day in the power of His Spirit. When we face problems, instead of losing hope we can mount up on wings like eagles!
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Titus 2:13
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Jesus Christ,
Jesus promised that He would rise from the dead and conquer death. He did it. He’s also promised us that He will return to this world again soon, and He can be trusted to keep that promise too! Last time He came as a baby, grew to be a man and sacrificed His life on the cross. But next time He comes not as a baby but as a triumphant King, in awe and majesty.
1 Corinthians 15:19-20 (ESV Strong’s)
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
The resurrection we celebrate today gives us true, lasting and unshakable hope both for yesterday, today and forever!
RESURRECTION HOPE FOR A HOPELESS WORLD
Colossians 1:27
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
To a world that is struggling to cope with the fear and hopelessness, the resurrection of Jesus Christ offers real, lasting and indeed eternal hope. So, turn off the news and turn on the Saviour, because one is a source of fear and hopelessness, and the other is hope.
If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour, you have no access to the hope of the resurrection. Ask Him into your life and make this the greatest day of hope you will ever experience.
Then, fill your mind with the things of God, not the hype and hysteria the media constantly pedals. As Paul suggests…
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE
Steve McQueen accepted Christ and asked to meet Billy Graham in November 1980. He was heading to Mexico for filming and shared a short ride to the airport with Billy Graham. He was fighting cancer at the time, and asked Dr Graham how he could be assured of eternal life. Billy Graham underlined…
Titus 1:2
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
And gave his Bible to Steve McQueen.
The actor passed away a few weeks later. His body was flown back to LA, and he was buried at his request with Billy Graham’s Bible open on his chest, and his finger pointing to this verse…
Titus 1:2
in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.
THE HOPE OF EASTER SUNDAY
Easter Sunday is not about rabbits, Or chocolate eggs, or days off work. Today, resurrection Sunday is about hope. Hope restored, hope to face anything, hope that fills us, hope that is alive, just as Jesus is alive today!
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a historical event, and it’s certainly not a fairy story. It was the resurrection of hope for those disciples, who moved from despair to abundant joy, and from fear to incredible courage. Of the eleven disciples who witness the death and resurrection of Jesus, the eleven who cowered in fear in an upper room, they were so inspired, they were so filled with hope that ten of them died martyr’s deaths for what they believed.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the resurrection of hope, a hope that will never fail. It’s the rock on which we stand, it’s the power by which we live, it’s the hope we have for all eternity. And today, amid the mess the world is in, the resurrection of Jesus gives us real and eternal hope. This hope is here today for you, if you want it!
Colossians 1:27
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
If you want a picture, and image of the hope of God, let me finish by introducing the eagle.
HOPE IN THE LORD
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Eagles are magnificent birds, the kings of the sky. When they encounter a storm, when other birds find a safe place to shelter, Eagles face the winds and the rain, set their wings, and harness the power of the storm to rise above the storm.
When they encounter opposition, criticism, little irritating birds pecking out their feathers, they don’t try and fight back. They simply start to fly higher and higher until the annoying, opposition drops away for lack of oxygen.
This is the hope we have in the resurrection, a hope that lifts us above the dark, dreary earth and allows us to soar in the Spirit. This resurrection Sunday, some of you here are tired, some are depressed, some are confused and overwhelmed, but today I am going to ask you to let the hope of the Lord, the hope demonstrated by the power of Jesus’ resurrection, to fill you and lift you above the storms of life.
If you are facing a storm or an attack, if you need renewed hope, this is for you.