Without the Resurrection, there is no such thing.
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1 Corinthians 15:12-19 If there is no resurrection, there is neither.
France had an ambitious hero. He was astonished to learn that there are billions of followers of Christianity worldwide. So, like Jesus, he wanted to create a religion. So I went to a priest and said, "Pastor! Like Jesus, I want to create a religion. Please teach me the secret to creating the greatest religion in history."
Another story. There was someone who wanted to be the Messiah. He went to the newspaper. And I cried to them: "I am the Messiah, the Son of God. Put me in the newspaper." He thought the newspaper would be startled that the Son of God had appeared. But the newspapers were not interested. So I asked. “I am the Messiah, the Son of God, so why not put it out in the newspaper?”
Then the newspaper editor said: "If you commit murder or startle the world, we will put it in the newspaper. But we have no interest in claiming that you are God!" Still, he kept saying that he was the Son of God and asked me to put it in the newspaper, and the newspaper said. "I don't have much to say! You die and come back to life in three days, then I'll put it out in the newspaper."
Ladies and gentlemen, whether or not Jesus is truly the Messiah of mankind depends on whether Jesus was resurrected or not. If Jesus has not been resurrected, he is not qualified to be the savior of mankind, even if he is the head of the religion of Christianity. That is why the resurrection is so important to Jesus. Without the Resurrection, the following would not exist.
1. Without the resurrection, there is no resurrection of Jesus.
Today's text says: “If there were no resurrection of the dead, neither Christ would have risen” (verse 13). It was Leland Stanford who founded the prestigious Stanford University in the United States. He has a motive for establishing the university. He was quite rich at the time. And he was a senator from California. But suddenly his only son died. He was the only son who was handsome and talented.
He was so terribly sad that he was speechless at his son's funeral. And I couldn't sleep in sorrow, but that night my son appeared vividly in a dream and said, "Father, I am with the resurrected Jesus. Help the young people instead of me." Stanford saw this vision and changed his outlook on life. "Yes. Jesus is alive and so is my son!"
Stanford was built on trust. So I decided to grant my son's wish. So, I decided to do my best to educate the youth. At that time, a huge sum of $20 million was devoted to the establishment of today's prestigious Stanford University. And he devoted himself to helping students in need. He left this note when he died. "Don't leave a penny of my fortune, but use it to educate the youth."
Gentlemen, the resurrection of a person after death, that is, the resurrection, is not well understood by human common sense or science. Wearing a resurrected body that never dies again and living forever is like a fictional story out of a fantasy novel. However, the Bible testifies that such a resurrection does exist. And it proves that Jesus was resurrected. Without the resurrection, there would be no resurrection of Jesus.
2. If there is no resurrection, there is no resurrection of us.
A prisoner who had been sentenced to death and awaited execution was living anxiously every day. He refused any visits. The reason is that when someone comes to visit, the guard informs the prisoner of the fact, and the guard appears and says, "Someone, I have a visit." He is refusing to visit for fear that he will be dragged to the death penalty.
But one day, unexpectedly, he was pardoned, and his sentence was lowered from the death penalty to life imprisonment. The jailer with the pardon came to him. However, the death row inmate shrieked and yelled at the jailer to get out. He didn't even give the jailer a chance to announce the good news. As the prisoner calmed down, the jailer put down the pardon and said: "You are no longer a death row prisoner. A pardon saying that your brother was pardoned."
The death row inmate at first doubted his eyes. It was because he had committed such a heinous crime that, in light of his own sins, there was no room for pardon. But he was given a pardon. When he received the pardon, he wept. And I loved it so much that I ran and rolled around. Guys, this is the case with all of us. We are all condemned to death someday. But our sins are forgiven because Jesus died on our behalf. As a result, we can live. Because Jesus is resurrected, so are we.
3. Without the resurrection, there is no faith for us.
There is a saying that Christians often confess. It is none other than "I believe." But what do we believe? Do you believe in winning the 649 lottery? Do you believe in Lucky Sevens floating in piles at casinos? The really important "believe" is to believe that even if we die, we will live again. But if there is no resurrection, how can we confess, "I believe"? In other words, without the resurrection, our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection, we cannot believe in heaven. Without the resurrection, our beliefs are fake.
A few years ago, there was a riot in Los Angeles, USA. It is an incident in which Mexicans and blacks set fire to Korean stores and looted goods. This is a story that happened in an elementary school after that incident. The principal was looking around the school. The Mexican kid who usually wore dirty clothes was wearing pretty clothes that day. So I asked. "Son! Who bought you these clothes?" The child liked it and replied. "My dad stole it from a Korean clothing store."
When the principal heard this story, he looked around the school again and found Korean students gathered under a tree and lying face down with their eyes closed. "What are you guys doing?" Korean children said. "Yes. We are praying to God to forgive the blacks and Mexicans who burned and robbed Korean stores." "Why do you pray for those who attacked the Korean people?" The children answered. “When we die, we will all go before God, so why not go and be scolded for not forgiving them?”
Ladies and gentlemen, we Christians believe that we will go to God when we die. For Christians, death does not mean the empty end of what the people of the world say. Rather, our death is a day of new beginnings and a day in anticipation of the resurrection. Because of the resurrection, we can live a life of faith that forgives others. If there is no resurrection, the foundation of the life of faith collapses.
4. Without resurrection, there is no reward for hard work.
After the plane explodes in mid-air, everything burns down and there is one thing left. It's a black box. So, in case of an airplane accident, the first thing you look for is a black box. The black box is that it never burns in any powerful fireball. When a person dies, they sometimes wear cremation. After a few hours of putting the corpse in a hot fire, the corpse burns out, leaving behind a few pieces of white bones. It is made into a fine powder and stored.
Conclusion. Without the resurrection, there is no resurrection of Jesus. If there is no resurrection, there is no resurrection. Without the resurrection, we have no faith. Without the resurrection, there is no reward for labor. But because of the resurrection, the end of our short life is worthwhile. There is happiness. I pray that you will participate in the eternal happiness that is given through the resurrection.