Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we start a new series titled “The Living Christ”.
Today we are talking about Hell’s Most Horrible Hypothesis.
Prayer
Father, only Your Son can pour healing balm into our sore and wounded hearts.
Only His love has preserved in us the faith that alone comforts and sustains in in dark times.
We pray that the blessed promise of the Spirit’s presence, together with the hope of resurrection and eternal life, will enable us to bear the heartaches and sorrows that we know will come along our life’s journey.
On this Easter morning, may the presence of the risen and living saviour enable us to say with a trusting heart, “Thy will be done.”
Keep us ever faithful in Your Word.
Accept our tithes and offerings today as part of our dedication to You.
Help us use these gifts wisely and make them effective in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ in our church, our community, and even to the ends of the earth.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
1 Corinthians 15:14 (AMP)
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth].
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 15:10-20 (AMP)
10 But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.
11 So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed and trusted in and relied on with confidence.
12 Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that [a]some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth].
15 We are even discovered to be false witnesses [misrepresenting] God, because we testified concerning Him that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin].
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.
The Order of Resurrection
20 But now [as things really are] Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, [and He became] the first fruits [that is, the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body, foreshadowing the resurrection] of those who have fallen asleep [in death].
Introduction
One of Paul’s greatest strategies was to anticipate the argument of his opponent and then answer it.
To the Romans he wrote, Romans 6:1-2 (AMP)
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow?
2 Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer?
To the Galatians he wrote, Galatians 3:21 (AMP)
21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a system of law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness (right standing with God) would actually have been based on law.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul anticipated an argument that, had it been valid, would have destroyed the foundation of the Christian faith.
Some in that sophisticated city were saying that there was no such thing as a resurrection from he dead.
This was, of course, one of the cardinal differences between the Pharisees and the sadducees.
The former held tenaciously to the super natural and thus accepted the fact of a resurrection.
The Sadducees, borrowing their worldly wisdom from the Greeks, had “thrown in the towel” and given up any hope for a life to come.
With a keen logical mind, Paul saw that if there was no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, then the glorious news that Christ is alive must be labelled as false and untrustworthy.
What would that do to the Christian faith?
The worst possible thing!
For the sake of discussion, Paul posed an assumption to the Corinthian Christians.
What if the worst possible thing that can be said about Jesus is true?
Let’s look at it!
One authority defines a hypothesis as “a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical, consequences.”
Paul presented the most horrible hypothesis that hell could ever manufacture in order to set the scene for an examination of the consequences, thus testing the validity of such a claim.
- Our personal faith and witnessing is meaningless, if Christ is not risen.
Think for a moment of the great preachers who have lived throughout the centuries, Spurgeon in London, Moody in America, David Livingston in Africa and the many others.
All of these men were fools, duped by their own egos, wasting their lives.
In more recent times, Billy Graham’s crusades and now Franklin Graham’s festivals are not only a waste of time and money, but a propagation of false doctrine.
These terrible things are true unless the historical fact of the resurrection are true.
Every effort that we have made to win the lost to Christ has been only foolishness and vanity unless Christ arose from the dead.
We have received no true forgiveness because the price of redemption’s not been paid.
For, you see, the resurrection of Christ was the one event by which God placed His approval on the atonement.
Our loved ones who have gone on before are not asleep in Christ but have gone out into a dark and empty nothingness.
We are all of people most miserable if Christ is not risen.
2. But wait a moment.
The horrible dream is not true!
The nightmare is ended!
Christ is risen!
The grave could not contain Him.
The enemies of Christ could not prevent God acting in power.
Some who crucified Him seem to have had more faith in His resurrection than some of His followers.
They said in Matthew 27:64 (AMP)
64 Therefore, give orders to have the tomb made secure and safeguarded until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception [the reporting of His resurrection] will be worse than the first [the reporting that He is the Messiah].”
Why did they do this?
Perhaps not so much that they feared the disciples, but they were afraid Jesus was actually telling the truth and had power to perform His words!
Jesus did arise!
So many scholars have tried to dispute the death and resurrection of Christ but all evidence vindicates the claim, there is no doubt about it, Jesus arose.
The purpose of this message if not to prove but to proclaim.
Others have proved.
Read their works, study the evidence, but then remember one thing, you cannot be saved by believing with your head.
You must accept the truth with your heart, which means full commitment to the resurrected Christ.
3. Do you have the “burning heart”?.
Luke recorded the conversation between Jesus and the two disciples on the Emmaus road.
At first they did not recognise Jesus, but later, after He had revealed Himself to them and then disappeared, they said to each other, Luke 24:32 (AMP)
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?”
When the resurrection is accepted by faith, a power comes into our lives that is possible no other way.
It is this “burning heart” that sends missionaries across the sea and inspires men and women to “count all things but loss” for service in God’s kingdom.
Christianity is founded on the resurrection of Christ.
Unless He arose, we have no motive for going into all the world and preaching the gospel.
Jesus did arise!
The evidence is irrefutable.
His death on the cross was a public event known to everyone.
Paul said to King Agrippa, Acts 26:26 (AMP)
26 For [your majesty] the king understands these things, and [therefore] I am also speaking to him with confidence and boldness, since I am convinced that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner [hidden from view, in secret].
In a short time, the news of Jesus’ death and resurrection spread over the known world.
Do you have this burning heart?
Even those who have been skeptical of religion feel. Tug when a crisis comes.
The burning heart is a reality!
When we face the issue of life and death, the flame is fanned.
If we will accept the fact of the resurrection and receive as personal Saviour the One who arose, the flame can burst forth into a dynamic fire.
Conclusion.
The hypothesis is not true!
The satanic forces have done their best to persuade the world, but the evidence is irrefutable.
Earth’s blackest day, Calvary, and earth’s brightest day, the resurrection, were just three days apart.
Jesus went for a short time into the realm of death that He might come back forever as Lord of life.
During those three days and nights that Jesus was in the tomb, the land was desolate.
Jesus slipped out into the dark black night and brought back the freshness of eternal life.
This was no accident!
God acted in history!
Death took hold of the manhood of Jesus and killed Him.
God took hold of death. And death died!
Christ is the first fruits of those who sleep.
Because He has arisen, we, too. Will arise with new and glorious bodies!
Hells most horrible hypothesis fails the test of experience and validity.
The resurrection is true!
Jesus is alive!
Go and tell it on the mountain!
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2021 IS A YEAR OF REFORMATION
© www.refinerylife.org 2021 All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this Article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission.
Visit us at
@PastorGaryHoban
@RefineryLifeGC
@PastorGaryHoban
@RefineryLifeChurch
@gary_hoban
@refinerylifechurch
YouTube
Gary Hoban
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxvrTCsjg98vGjMTObxJhtQ
Refinery Life Church Australia
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvD9z50SuKWxhSw0TPQkgQ
