"Resurrection People"
April 16, 2006

The Old Testament Lesson: Job 19: 23 - 26
The New Testament Lesson: II Corinthians 5: 16 - 21

To inspire people to take a close look at their lives for the marks of being a contagious Christian

I.  Why Did Jesus Rise from the dead?
    A. People are often mistaken about the purpose of the resurrection.
        1. It was not a magic trick: Jesus was not Houdini!
            a. Many people make that mistake about Jesus.
            b. Thinking all his miracles were used simply to show his power.
            c. Even Satan thought that and tempted Jesus to show off.
            d. But Jesus clearly rejected that kind of thinking by saying, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord, Thy God.”
            e. The resurrection was to display Jesus’ power
        2. It is not a Divine “So There!”  Jesus was not Douglas McArthur!
            a. McArthur is famous for saying “I shall return!” when driven from the Islands.  A fancier for of “I’ll get you!”
            b. The desire to prove your opponents wrong is very human.
            c. But it is also a desire that Jesus did not share.
            d. Jesus’ compassion is limitless.
            e. From the cross itself, he prayed for us, “Father forgive them!  They don’t know what they are doing.”
            f. The resurrection was not a divine retribution for Jesus’ enemies.
    B. The purpose of the resurrection was to kick start our eternal lives!
        1. When he rose from the dead, Jesus confirmed Satan’s defeat.
            a. The sting of death has been removed.
            b. We do not have to live in fear of falling into darkness.
        2. Jesus proclaimed that the new life he is offering is never ending!
            a. The turn around we make in conversion is permanent!
            b. Once we have received God’s grace, we have eternal life.
        3. Even more importantly, that eternal life begins right now!
            a. Eternal life is not a reality reserved for the moment we die.
            b. As soon as we accepted the gift of God we begin living it.
            c. At this very moment, all of us who trust in Jesus are living a life that knows no ending!

II.  Not just a longer life; it is also a new kind of life!
    A. Jesus told us that this was really his main purpose in life.
        1. I have come so you might have life & have it in all of its abundance!
            a. The life that he is offering us is not just more of our stumbling.
            b. Eternal life has a very different quality than standard human life!
        2. A friend of mine referred to this as resurrection life.
            a. because it is a gift coming through the resurrection of Christ.
            b. And it makes us “Resurrection People”
    B. New Characters are the mark of Resurrection People.
        1. Jesus’ character traits grow in us through the Holy Spirit
        2. We become noticeably different from those around us.
            a. In the kind of we are everyday.
            b. In the way we treat other people.
        3. It is a life filled with Authenticity, Compassion, Joy, and Courage
    C. New Relationships
        1. As those characteristics grow in us, the transform the way we relate.
        2. That’s because we see people around us from a new perspective.
            a. We begin to see people the way God does.
            b. We recognize that the members of the church are our family.
            c. We are literally brothers and sisters in Christ!
            d. And we learn that every person is someone loved by God.
            e. In turn, we learn to love and value them as God does.
        3. That should transform the manner of all our dealings.
            a. We see those around us as objects of our love.
            b. We desire to draw in those who are outside God’s family
            c. We care deeply about everyone’s fate.
    D. New Purposes are motivation for everything Resurrection People do.
        1. We see our primary goal is to honor God in gratitude for new life.
        2. We develop our skills and gifts to be more useful to God.
        3. We yearn to touch the lives of people others have forgotten.
        4. We no longer live for selfish purposes, we life for God’s purposes

III.  We have wonderful examples of what that transformation looks like.
    A. Some are transformed out of lives of immorality: Phil Keaggy
        1. He was known world wide as the guitarist for Glass Harp.
        2. At one point, he was involved in the world of drugs culture.
        3. In 1972, he was in a hotel room suffering from a bad LSD trip when he was informed that his parents were in a terrible car wreck
            a. When his mother died, he began questioning the meaning of life.
            b. He found that meaning in Jesus, gave his heart to the Lord.
            c. Since then, he has lived a life using his musical ability for God.
    B. Some are transformed from the grip of negative religion: Phil Yancey
        1. He grew up in a Baptist church that taught him all about hate.
            a. It was a Southern church that was open in its prejudice.
            b. Initially, he accepted that hate oriented version of Christianity.
        2. But the Spirit of God lead him to question that perspective.
        3. As he read Scripture, he discovered the message of love.
        4. Lead him to write the book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?”
    C. Some are transformed out of Characters gone astray: Don McCollough
        1. We are so lucky to have him as President of Salt Lake Theological Seminary
        2. But he comes to us by a strange route.
            a. Famous pastor and president of San Francisco Theological Seminary
            b. Wandered into marital infidelity
            c. Led to his termination as president.
        3. Could have been the end of his usefulness.
            a. Who would want to listen to him preach or teach?
            b. But God led Jeff Silliman to share the Salt Lake Theological Seminary Challenge.
            c. God brought him to Salt Lake where he has transformed Salt Lake Theological Seminary
   D. Stories of personal transformation abound!
        1. Being resurrection people means that we are being renewed
            a. Wrongs are being washed away.
            b. Characters of love are being built.
            c. Eternal lives are begun everyday in the kingdom of God.
        2. All of us can be transformed on a continual basis
            a. in the pew next to you there is a story of the grace of God!
            b. In fact, there is one in the seat where you are sitting!

    Friends, the story of the resurrection is not the happy ending of a fairy tale; it is the good news of eternal life for you and I.  That Eternal life is not just more and more of the same old thing.  It is a transformation into people who live out the reality of resurrection in everything they do.  We become living examples of what the creative hand of God can do with just a little bit of dirt and water and the breath of the Holy Spirit.  Determine in your heart this day that you want to be such a reflection of the living Christ and let God’s Spirit make you one of His Resurrection People!