This is the final installment of our Gospel Series. The last couple weeks we’ve looked at some of the foundational beliefs about what it means to follow Jesus and what one actually believes if they should choose to follow Him. We’ve looked at truths like the fullness of God dwelling in bodily form (that’s Jesus). We saw that the reason God came to Earth was because of His love for us and He was going to show us what the Father was like. Last week we saw that Jesus had to die. It’s only through the death of Jesus that you and I can be saved. 

Today, we come to the biggest stumbling block of all… The Resurrection. 

I’m from a small town called Mooresville, Indiana. It’s a nice little town and it’s not known for much. However, the town has one major claim to fame. The infamous outlaw John Dillinger grew up there.

Here’s how one writer summed up the end of Dillinger’s life: 

Outside Chicago’s Biograph Theatre, notorious criminal John Dillinger–America’s “Public Enemy No. 1″–is killed in a hail of bullets fired by federal agents. In a fiery bank-robbing career that lasted just over a year, Dillinger and his associates robbed 11 banks for more than $300,000, broke jail and narrowly escaped capture multiple times, and killed seven police officers and three federal agents.

Dillinger is known as one of the greatest criminals in America and the government poured lots of money and resources to capturing him. His story is one of the greatest manhunts in our history that has taken over books, papers, and even Hollywood. Some believe that he was never killed, but escaped and the manhunt for Dillinger never truly ended. 

The Dillinger manhunt was a big deal… The Jesus manhunt is a bigger deal. In fact, for the last 2000 years, people have been dying to know, “What happened to the body.” Because there is no refuting that Jesus went into the tomb for three days, but three days later his body was gone. There’s TONS OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE that supports this claim. 

The body was for sure gone. The manhunt was and is underway… I guess the question for you is, do you believe the evidence or do you believe the skeptics? 

Because if the resurrection is true, then Jesus has made His claim on you. There is no indifference to Him. If Jesus resurrected from the grave, then He truly has all authority on Heaven and Earth.

Through the resurrection Jesus shows His power over sin, death, and the grave. Through the resurrection Jesus was announcing His cosmic dominion over every created thing both in Heaven and on Earth. Through the resurrection Jesus shows us that He is King. And we had better obey the King. 

Philip Yancey writes, 

"In many respects I find an un-resurrected Jesus easier to accept. Resurrection makes him dangerous. Because of the empty tomb, I have to listen to his extravagant claims and can no longer pick and choose from his sayings. Moreover, Resurrection means he must be loose out there somewhere."

So the idea of resurrection does not allow us to be indifferent to Jesus… If He did in fact rise from the dead, He lays claim on our lives. He must be listened to and He must be obeyed. However, it’s about more than our allegiance to Him. 

If Jesus has resurrected from the grave, then that means there is hope for you and I. Paul would call Jesus the first born of the dead and the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. If Jesus is first, that must mean there is more to come! For the Biblical writers, the resurrection of Jesus was that which they hung their hat on… It was the reason they did what they did! Because the resurrection of Jesus means that there is life after living! 

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, 

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

If you want to find Jesus, it starts by trusting in the Resurrection. It starts by following Him with your life and trusting that He has in fact risen from the grave. And when You realize that He has truly defeated the grave, it no longer becomes a manhunt. Because you will feel that peace and love that comes over you reminding you that He’s with you. You realize that His wisdom and commands are good because He’s been where you are. And you’ll soon realize that He’s been sitting at the right hand of the Father telling God how much He loves you the entire time. 

Romans 8:34

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

I try hard to be a disciplined and healthy individual… But I often fall short of even my own goals. 

I try to work out at least 2x a week. But even then, I look for every excuse to skip the gym (especially leg day, you know what I’m saying?). I like waking up at 5am so that I can have a few hours to myself before everyone wakes up. But I often find myself snoozing till 6:30a. I try to observe a low carb, low sugar diet, but last night I had a Nerds Rope, 3 miniature Baby Ruth bars, and a handful of tortilla chips. I’ve set goals to limit my coffee intake and increase my water intake. But on average I drink 3-5 cups of coffee and maybe 2 cups of water… If I’m lucky. 

I have in my mind that I’m not the kind of person that drives my gas tank until it’s on “E”, but I rolled into the station on “E” this morning. My wife and I say all the time, “We are only gonna eat at home this week…" And then lunch time rolls around and we find ourselves sitting at the local Chinese restaurant once again enjoying a buffet with mounds of Lo-Mein and Spicy pork (not really a low carb meal!). 

I can try really, really hard to be healthy and disciplined. But I admit, I fail more often than not
In much the same way, I try hard to be a holy follower of Jesus. I want to be someone who has their life together and doesn’t fall into to sin. But as hard as I try, I know that the anger still creeps in when my patience is wearing thin. I know that when I’m scrolling through Instagram or Facebook that inappropriate images or posts will grab my attention or entice me to linger longer than I should. I know that I shouldn’t be envious or jealous of other people’s success, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look at other people and say “I wish I had that talent, money, or success.” 

The reality is, as good as we might try to be, we will still fall short of perfection. I can barely reach my own personal and professional goals, let alone my spiritual goals. And if I can’t live my diet, routine, and overall health lifestyle to perfection, why in the world would I ever think that I could be perfect spiritually? 

Yet, so many of us, knowing that we can’t even reach a simple goal like waking up at 5am every morning, look at our lives as followers of Jesus and say, “I got this. I’m doing okay. I don’t need to change. There are no areas of sin that I need to cut out.” 

That mindset, however, is immediately confronted when the Apostle Paul writes, “ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” In other words, everyone has sin in their lives. Even the best of us. And the devil’s greatest lie is, “You’re not that bad. You’re doing great.” Because, if Satan can convince us that we are “doing okay,” then that means the death of Jesus on the cross won’t impact us the way it should. 

However, if we can recognize our sin... If we can name our sin and acknowledge that we aren’t perfect… If we can admit that we need a savior who can actually remove the stain of sin from our lives, then the power of the cross becomes paramount in our lives. We realize that it is only through the sacrifice of Jesus that we can experience freedom from our sin. It’s only by His blood that we are washed and we are cleansed from failure. 

But we have to admit our sin first. Because if we aren’t sinful, then Jesus died for nothing. So you have a decision to make: Will you believe Satan when he whispers, “You’re okay. Keep doing you. Be happy.” OR will you believe the God who says, “All have sinned… But I’m giving you a way out in Jesus.” 
The essence of the Gospel is that Jesus came to defeat evil and rescue sinners… So, if you’re not a sinner, then His sacrifice on the cross was kind of pointless. But if you are a sinner, then your life has changed forever. Because the greatest news in all of history is that on the cross your sin was forgiven and you are now found to be whole and good before God.

Admit it... You're a sinner. But God loves you anyway and shows His love for us because while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. 

by Trey Faull

I’m not a very patient person. When I want something I usually find a way to get it as soon as possible so I don’t have to wait. When there is an event or a trip planned, I will often waste the time leading up to that event because all I can think about is how much fun it will be. I’ve wasted much time not being productive in my waiting because my impatience drives me to obsess over whatever is on the horizon. 

It’s ironic though, because I’m obsessed with my time. I’m never late and always early. I love watches and have a clock in every room. One of my greatest professional skills is time management - I always get my work done. Yet, I still get impatient and waste time when there is something I want waiting for me in the future. The thought of a future reward often distracts me from working and getting things done in the waiting. 

I think we often approach God in a similar fashion. We pray for God to move in our lives and do a miracle, but then we fail to make the most of our time while we are waiting on Him to move. It’s easy to pray, “God please relieve my financial stress,” wait a few days, and then get mad and quit when we don’t have a big increase in income. 

But that’s not God’s fault… That’s our fault for not knowing how to wait. 

What if, instead of sitting idly by and wasting our waiting time, we actually set out to grow and improve so that we are ready when God does answer us. Let’s go back to the finance example.

You want an increase of income, but do you have a budget that says, “I can manage money?” Have you worked to pay off your debts so that you’re not slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7)? Have you taken the money you do have and been generous with it by tithing or helping others? 

You see how the attitude is different in the waiting when you commit to working on yourself in the process? By the way, this is a principle that Jesus taught in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Except in this situation you’re investing in yourself and in the time God has given you.  

What if instead of throwing a hissy fit when God doesn’t give us what we want, when we want it, we inclined ourselves to wait and grow through the time we spend waiting?
Maybe you are waiting on a job, so while you hustle with Uber Eats to make ends meet, you should spend extra time learning software, a trade, adding new skills to your arsenal, and getting yourself ready to accept that job that you have prayed for. 

Maybe you’re waiting on the relationship to heal. Have you gone to counseling? Have you taken inventory of your life and apologized for the wrongs you may be guilty of? Are you working through the pain (s)he caused so that you can forgive him/her when (s)he asks?

You see, when we decide to grow while we wait, we end up placing ourselves in a better position to receive the answer to our prayer. Your growth in the waiting will often indicate that you are ready to receive whatever God has in store for you.

So be patient. Trust God’s timing… But use that time to grow. Grow by pursuing God. Grow by becoming a better you. And maximize the time God has given you while you wait on Him.

Is there power in prayer? Depending on your background you might have a different answer to that question than the person sitting next to you. However, there is no denying that prayer is pervasive throughout our culture (We talked about that HERE). 

Lots of people want to know if prayer works… Is it worth journaling or getting up early to spend time with God? It’s a valid question. But it might be the wrong question. Maybe a better question to ask is, “Do you work?” 

Last week I saw a tweet from Christian artist Lecrae that said, 

Most people say, ‘I’ll pray for you…’ and that’s it. That’s the prayer… Don’t be that kind of person.

While this made me chuckle, it’s true. So often we say or comment, “I’ll pray for you,” but then we never take the time to actually pray for that person. We end up using prayer as an excuse to actually get out of walking with that person through their pain (See James 2:15-16 for some excellent sarcasm on this topic). 

I think a better way to be with people in their pain is to say, “I’ll pray for you,” and then actually go home and pray for them. But then, those words should immediately be followed with, “How can I help?” 

I’ll pray for you… How can I help? 

Here’s why this is incredible: You end up being the very answer to the prayer you’re praying for them. 

Example: Joe is having marital problems and he lets you in on the drama. You say to Joe, “I’m going to pray for you right now… God, restore their marriage and give them the willingness to work through the uncertainty.” 

As soon as you say “Amen,” Joe looks at you for more help and this is the moment. This is not when you say, “Welp… See ya later.” Rather, this is when you say, “Would it be helpful if I babysat your kids for the evening so you and your wife can have some time together and work on your marriage?” 

Boom Sauce. You’ve prayed for him and asked God to heal their marriage… And then, holy smokes! You’re able to immediately help Joe take a step in seeing that prayer come to life. You are the answer to your prayer! 

Saint Augustine once wrote, 

“Pray as though everything depended on God… But work as though everything depended on you.” 

I believe prayer works (God’s already proven Himself), but I’m hesitant to say, “We work.” Prayer is important, but God almost always calls us to move.

And understand, our work does not take away from the power of God, rather it taps into the power of God as we allow ourselves to be used by God see His kingdom become a reality on Earth as it is in Heaven.

I’ll pray for you… How can I help? 

I’m not sure what your personal thoughts or experiences with prayer are. But prayer is unavoidable.

In all cultures, through all eras of time, prayer has been a fundamental part of life. Prayer is a global phenomenon. Whether you are Islam, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, or even an atheist, prayer is one of the most common practices in all walks of life. 

Muslims pray five times a day to Allah. Jews have traditionally prayed 3 times a day, Christian prayer varies based on your tradition, Buddhists use prayer wheels, and Hindus pray for ultimate union with the Supreme Being. For those who claim no religion… Well I’ll send some good vibes your way. Tim Keller says, Prayer is one of the most common phenomena of human life. Karl Barth calls prayer our incurable God-sickness. 

Prayer seeps into our cultures because deep down all of us long to believe that there is something greater. We want to believe that there is something beyond ourselves that we are able to connect with. 

In fact, that’s what we see time and time again in the book of Psalms.  We see God connecting with His people. The Psalms are ancient prayers from God’s people. And you can learn a lot about prayer just by spending a few minutes each day in the Psalms. For example, read Psalm 25 today. And as you read it, watch for these two truths. 

Prayer is the ultimate path to self-discovery

In verses 1-7 look at how many times David cries out to God and trusts in God. He says things like, I give my life to you, I trust in you, you are the God who saves me, Remember your compassion and unfailing love, and do not remember the sins of my youth. Why does he say those things? Because anytime David approaches God, he’s confronted with the evil and sin that exists within his heart. 

David realizes how helpless he is and that the only way to live and experience salvation is to trust in God. Modern meditation practices would tell you to go off and be alone and work through those thoughts. But prayer in the name of Jesus invites us to sort those thoughts out in the presence of a Holy God that we can trust. 

So get rid of the Enneagram, the Meyer’s Briggs, and any other personality profile… Instead, spend some time in prayer before God and you’ll quickly learn who you are.  But it’s more than just learning about who you are. 

Prayer is the ultimate path to knowing God

When we pray, we are demonstrating and taking advantage of the access to God that we have been given. We are literally talking to the Creator of all that we see and experience everyday. And as we spend time with Him, we inevitably learn more about Him. Read verses 8-10 and see how much David recognizes about God. 

As the Psalm progresses, we see David go through some intense spiritual battles. And every single time he cries out to God for salvation. Why? Because He knew that God was good, that God guides, that He does what is right, that God teaches, that He loves, and that He is faithful (see v. 8-10). 

So why should you pray? Because in prayer you learn more about yourself and you learn more about God. And those just might be the two biggest questions that every human being asks… Who am I? And who is God? 

The answer is waiting for you in prayer.