The Greatest Comeback in the History of the World John 11:25

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1 The Greatest Comeback in the History of the World John 11:25 Chan Willis F.P.C.-L.C. March 6, 2016 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26) Comeback stories. You all are familiar with this phrase. A person, or persons, who overcome seemingly overwhelming circumstances, beating the odds, to achieve ultimate triumph. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. People love comeback stories. Like when David beat Goliath. The classic underdog story that even the most non-biblical person resonates with. The U.S. Hockey team beating the heavily-favored Russians in the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics. I can still picture Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig, draped in the American flag people love comeback stories. In November 2001 yes, just two months after 9/11 Sports Illustrated did an issue on the top 10 Comebacks in history. Aside from sports contests, the list also included such nonsports figures as Elvis ( 68 TV special that skyrocketed his, at the time, sagging career) and Harry Truman s presidential victory over Thomas Dewey (in spite of a Chicago Tribune headline to the contrary). Since I know that you re just dying to know, here s the top 5: Muhammad Ali ( 74) KO s George Foreman 7 years after title stripped. John Travolta ( 94) Comatose movie career takes 180* turn with Pulp Fiction Michael Jordan ( 95) Quits baseball to make first triumphant basketball comeback Japan & Germany (50 s) Rise from ashes of WWII to become industrial superpowers Jesus Christ (33 A.D.) Defies critics and stuns Romans with his resurrection Yes, that great pinnacle of theological thought, S.I., voted our Savior #1! So what does their acclamation of Christ as the greatest Comeback of all time mean to us? Well, in-and-ofitself, NOTHING! BUT by virtue of Jesus comeback -- a person who overcame seemingly overwhelming circumstances to achieve ultimate triumph Snatching life from the jaws of death we too can comeback. We too can be overcomers. And so, from the Gospels those distinct writings that describe the One Lord Jesus Christ better than any others we will

2 consider several different comebacks. Several Life-changing revivals that we are assured of because of the ONE resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God the ultimate Comeback Kid Because of the resurrection, we can come back from despair. In America today, more and more people are struggling with hopelessness, despair, and deep discouragement. People ask, how do I make a comeback in this culture? How do I come back in this economy? How do I comeback from losing my house my marriage my loved one? How do I comeback from a broken relationship with my children my sibling my spouse? How do I comeback from losses of health, of independence, of security. In America, we thought we could count on the economy. But can we? We thought we could count on employment. We thought we could count on the government to provide wise, inspirational leadership. Americans are wondering, is there anything you can count on when you ve discovered you can t count on anything? Is there any foundation solid enough to hold my life so it can t be taken away? It was just such despair and disillusionment that gripped those first followers of Jesus as they struggled with the loss of the One they loved so deeply. In their grief and hopelessness the women approach the tomb in order to pay their respects and honor at the gravesite of their Lord. But what do they find? There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. (Matthew. 28:5) Those three words He has risen are the reason a billion people gather each weekend to celebrate and worship. Why? He has risen. Those three words separate Jesus from every other religious leader in history. You pick any one you want like Moses, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, L. Ron Hubbard they all have one thing in common: You can go to their grave, they re still there. You go to Jesus s grave, He s not there. Why? He has risen! What is it about these three words that give people of every generation hope? People have not gathered for two thousand years and said, The stock market has risen. It has risen indeed. People have not gathered to say, The employment rate has risen. Or, Gross

3 Domestic Product has risen. Or, General Motors has risen. We don t greet each other by saying, The value of my 401(k) has risen. No, but people the world over gather each Easter to proclaim, Christ is risen! And that one fact replaces despair with hope. Because Jesus has risen from the grave, people discover finally there s something I can count on. Because Jesus conquered the challenges that He endured, there is hope for me to do the same. Because Jesus said, I will come back and take you to where I am, we can, in turn, come back to Him Like his earliest disciples, we too can come back from despair. Because of the resurrection, we can also come back from defeat. We can come back from those disappointments, those failures, in our lives. Consider the experiences of Peter before he encountered the resurrected Christ. Peter failed and fell hard. Peter s the one who said to Jesus, Hey, look, You can count on me. I ve got Your back, I ll be there for You. However, Peter wasn t there for Him. Peter denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. Then he swore. Then a little girl scared him. So, he ran away, leaving Jesus and going back to his former way of living just when Jesus needed him most. A couple of days later Peter heard, Jesus is alive. If you re Peter, is this really good news or really bad news? You can imagine the other disciples telling Peter, You re toast now! But don t most of us occasionally wonder the same thing? If Christ is alive and if I show up at church, am I going to find forgiveness or are they going to condemn me? Am I going to be accepted or am I going that to be rejected? Do I have a future or is God done with me and ready to discard me? And let us not forget that such acceptance or rejection forgiveness or condemnation starts with US! It is by our action or Inaction that those who are searching for a relationship with God will believe themselves to have a future or, feel discarded. When we consider ourselves to be a friendly church both inside and outside these walls is it toward everyone? Or just our B.F.F. s? Two of the most encouraging words are tucked into the Gospel of Mark. Many people miss this. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. (Mark 16:7)

4 The angel is announcing that Jesus is alive and wants to meet with the disciples. The angel says, Go, tell his disciples. And then the next two words the angel says are, and Peter. Isn t that awesome? Essentially the angel is saying, Make sure you tell Peter that Jesus still loves him. Make sure you tell Peter that Jesus wants to meet with him. Make sure you tell Peter he s got a future. Make sure you tell Peter that he still matters. Here s what Mark is saying: Christ s resurrection means your past, no matter what it is, is not unforgiveable. You cannot walk so far away from God that He cannot reach you. God reaches out to us through the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. That no matter the ways that we continue to fail Him, Jesus still wants us to know that He loves us wants to meet with us we still matter. In Christ, we have hope, and a future Finally, because of the resurrection, we can come back from death itself. On this subject of death, three guys were talking about what they wanted said at their funerals. The first guy says, I want them to say, you know, he was a great friend and coworker. The second guy says, I want them to say he was a wonderful husband and a great dad. The third guy says, You know what I want? I want them to say, Hey, look! He s moving! How does life after death really work? Remember how Jesus said it: Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25 26, NIV) It would appear pretty obvious that Jesus is speaking of our eternal life. That life which come AFTER our days on earth are over. But I would challenge us all to consider how that resurrection power is NOT to be limited to that transition when we graduate to our heavenly institution of higher learning. That belief in the Christ who conquered death, the One who gives hope to those who are dying, is to be lived out with confidence in our everyday lives. HERE AND NOW. I ll give you two examples. There is no denying that this body of believers has been in decline for a number of years. There has been that very real fear that no matter who much we might be reluctant to use the D word this congregation was dying. Figuratively, and literally. AND YET, it would appear as though the invigorating, life-giving winds of change are indeed blowing through this body. And if we truly believe in the power of God, in Christ, through the Spirit, to bring new

5 life that in Jesus words, whoever lives by believing in me will never die then we must be confident that the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead can also breathe life into this body. The question is, as Jesus himself said, Do you believe this? And aside from the corporate aspect of belief in God s resurrection power on earth, there is also the more personal level of faith and trust in that power. As many of you are aware, last week we lifted up in our prayers Sarah Emanuel, the daughter-in-grace of Bob and Christi. She is the 33 y.o. wife of Jon, and mother of 3 children. As we mentioned last Sunday, and I repeated in a subsequent prayer request , Sarah was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. Shortly after sending that message out, I received the following response from Christi. With her permission, I am sharing it with you now: Thanks for putting Sarah on the prayer list. I m thinking that you might want to just say breast cancer and not stage 4. Some of the reactions we are getting to stage 4 is that people are shutting down and having trouble with expectancy for God to intervene. We don t want sympathy we want hope! Thanks!!! It is just that type of expectancy for God to intervene just that type of HOPE that we are to have for those whose situations seem most bleak. Is it God s will for Sarah to be healed? I don t know. But I am going to pray like it IS! I KNOW that same power that raised Jesus from the tomb of His solitary confinement can also raise her up from that tomb of despair, doubt, and death. In God s providence, there is no hopeless cause. For in Jesus, there is always cause for hope. It was such hope that Jesus sought to instill in Martha for her brother Lazarus, telling her that whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? So too does he challenge each one of us in our life of prayer and faith. whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? As you and I grapple with how to live out a faith that proves we do indeed believe that whoever lives by believing in Christ will never die, let us be mindful of how many others struggle with despair and doubt defeat, and death. It is just such rampant fears that have fueled this raging turmoil and childish bickering in our current presidential campaigns.

6 BUT, because of the resurrection, no matter HOW ugly human nature sinks to, I don t have to get stuck in despair. I can live with hope, and when I have hope, anything is possible. As Paul said, I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) I don t have to live a life of defeat. I can experience forgiveness. I don t have to give in to doubt. I can have a confident faith. And I can overcome even death. I can know my future is secure. Because of the resurrection, there are NO odds, NO trials, NO obstacles that we cannot overcome. Why? All because of the greatest comeback in History CHARGE/BENEDICTION As we consider the ways that Jesus allows us to comeback from despair, defeat, and doubt, there is another word that comes to mind. Overcome. It is to this notion that Christ leads the way for us to be overcomers that reminded me of a contemporary song, entitled, as you might imagine, Overcomers. And so, as that song is played, you are welcome to listen, sing along, or fellowship with one another. Regardless, may this song remind us of similar words of encouragement from the book of James: Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12) As we continue to persevere under trial, standing the tests of everyday life, we are confident that we will indeed receive the crown of life that our Lord Jesus promises to those who love him. And thanks be to God that we do NOT face those trials and tests alone. For the Spirit of the Living God