Embracing the Resurrection: The Answer to Life's Questions

See, questions will always be part of life. We never outgrow questions. Some questions we can live with and some things we can live without because because they're the answer like why is the sky blue? Right? We could just ask Google. because those answers are not going to make a difference if we know them or not. But there are other questions that do make a difference on whether I know or don't know it like where did I come from? What is my purpose? Is there a God? Does God love me? What happens when I die? [00:03:48]

Rabbi Zachcharias, he's a renowned Christian apologist who passed away and he said that every person wrestles with four fundamental questions in life. No matter what their background, belief, system or culture, these questions cut to the heart of the human existence and form the foundation of how we see the world. Here's the first question. Question of origin. Where do I come from? And this question deals with the beginning of life and our existence and our source and our identity. Are we created or evolved or random? Is there a divine origin? What makes me me? [00:04:30]

Here's the second question. It's about meaning. Why am I here? This is a search for purpose and significance and value in life. What is the point of my life? Do I matter? What gives life meaning? The third kind of question is about morality. How should I live? The question relates to right and wrong uh and and ethics and how do we make moral decisions like who determines what is right and wrong? Is there absolute truth? What guides my choices? And the last category of questions is destiny. Where am I going? [00:05:08]

See, if there are fundamental questions that everyone asks, how do we find the answer? And how do we know that we found the right answer? Because everyone thinks they have the right answer. That's why there are over 10,000 religions in the world because there's a quest, a quest to find the answer. And today I will share how the resurrection of Jesus is the answer to all our questions. [00:05:51]

Literally the disciples who were locked behind the closed doors because of fear of the religious leaders became bold and they started preaching and sharing Jesus rose. Jesus rose and they talked about to about Jesus to everyone not just the Jews but everybody. And they even changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday to highlight the resurrection. and churches were started and communities were formed living out the life and teachings of Jesus. [00:09:30]

Now brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you. So this is Paul talking to the church at Corinth, right? And he's he's he's speaking to them about what is happening in the church which you received on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel, you are saved. If you hold firmly to the word I preach to you, otherwise you have believed in vain. For what I received, I passed on to you as first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. [00:10:30]

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not raised, our preaching is useless. We could go home now. And so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses. We are frauds about God. For we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But if but he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. [00:12:06]

See, the resurrection puts an end to the tiresome search for answers because we're always looking for answers. We're always looking for answers. And here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, uh, Paul is talking about this gospel of this, oh, gospel just means good news, right? And he's saying that, you know, the gospel is is about, you know, this this search, right? You've been searching for identity and meaning and purpose and morality and all the questions about death and eternity and destiny. All of them are found in a person named Jesus. Why? Because he rose. [00:14:01]

Everything he said about him is validated. Everything he taught about is validated. Everything he he spoke about eternity past and eternity future and and origins and and and Adam and Eve and all of the Bible. Everything he talks about is valid. Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead. And so you don't have to go searching anymore. And many people do. So they take pilgrimages, right? Some of them go to Mecca and some of them some holy site or, you know, you don't have to go, you know, become a monk and live in a monastery and go on some journey searching. [00:14:57]

Every search apart from Jesus ends in futility and leaves us with more questions than answers. Right? Because there's a lot of people searching. There's a lot of people going on this journey looking for truth. Why? Because they have a lot of questions and they're looking for answers. And they're thinking that where if I go on the spiritual journey, if I go searching, I'm going to find answers. And what Paul is saying, you don't have to search anymore. You don't have to go looking for answers anymore. The answer is Jesus. He is the truth. [00:15:43]

The thing about the resurrection of Jesus, you can't miss it. It doesn't take long. You don't have to go searching for it. Jesus came to be visible, to show you the truth, to show you who is God. You don't have to go looking. You don't have to go searching. No, this is very important. And so when he's saying that when you don't believe the resurrection of Jesus that everything falls apart, it's like that domino effect, right? If you hit the first domino, every other domino is going to go down. So if you don't have the resurrection, if Jesus never resurrected, everything you're doing is futile. [00:17:01]

The resurrection gives us faith. And what is that faith? That it's a confidence that we are right with God. Look at verse 16. For if the dead are not raised and g Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is feudile. You are still in your sins. And see, in Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." If you are parents of little children, you already know they're sinning the first time, right? [00:18:26]

So none of us none of us are exempt from sin. All have sinned. And there is a price that must be paid. There is a wage. Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is what? Death. Spiritual death. This disconnection. Not just physical debt, but there's also this spiritual debt. This disconnect from God. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So here we are disconnected from God because of sin. And when we think about the resurrection, the resurrection is going to give us faith. [00:18:56]

But God says, "Listen, I'm going to put all of your sins upon my son, Jesus. every lie, anytime you cheated, anytime you committed adultery, anytime you stole, you murdered, you any kind of sin that you've done was placed on Jesus and he paid the debt you and I owed. And it says that since we have now been justified by this blood's blood, how much more shall we be what? Saved from God's wrath through him. God is not angry with us. He's angry with the sin that we commit. He loves the sinner, but he hates the sin. [00:20:18]

So now how God sees me is perfect instead of sinful. He sees me not defined by my sin, but defined by the Savior. So when he sees me, he sees the blood that was covered and and forgiven and and that I am cleansed and and washed and all of my past and my present and my future sins are been washed away. I'm I'm so whole before the God of and there is a confidence, there's an assurance, there's a faith and never a doubt because of the resurrection of Jesus. [00:22:02]

There is a joy. There's a hope that whatever questions I'm living with, things that I don't understand that's going on in my life. I can still be strong. I can still walk with confidence. Why? Because the joy of the Lord is my strength. When it's overwhelming me when I feel tired, when I'm about to collapse, there's an eternal life with inside of me that Jesus has given me. The Bible says, "Greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world." The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of me. [00:27:42]

A life without Jesus is trying to live this life connected to the culture, to the world, trying to stay alive. Trying to stay alive with money, sex, drugs, addictions, worldly pleasures. All of that is so fleeting, so empty, and none of it satisfies us because how much money is is is enough? How many relationships is enough? Right? When you when you're done with one here, you want you want more. And there's never enough. But thank God. But Jesus is always enough. That he satisfies every thirst that we have. Every emptiness that we have, Jesus can fill. [00:29:18]

And it says that and now these three things remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 John 3:16. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. Questions. I don't know a lot and I still have questions. Jesus had questions on the cross. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? God was okay with the questions. But the thing, the one thing, the one answer that was given to me that that God is giving us that gives us peace that helps me and you live with unanswered questions is the truth that Jesus rose from the dead. [00:33:50]

See, his resurrection gives me an answer that every unanswered question, every form of worry and anxiety and every form of doubt and every form of pain and sorrow, every one of them, every form of pain, every form of sorrow, all of that has to bow down to the answer. You see these questions that we live with that we don't understand because we have an answer because we have Jesus because he did it all. These questions have to bow down. And though I might I might have to sit with it, it must bow down. [00:34:46]