Rev. David Holwick Easter sermon
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
March 30, 1986
Resurrection Power
2 Corinthians 5:11, 14-17 (NIV)
The Bible is an extraordinary book and makes many extraordinary claims. There is something else that seems too extraordinary to believe: the Bible says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to change our lives. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5 that this change occurs when we accept Christ as our Savior. He says we become "new creatures." We look the same on the outside but within us something is supposed to radically change. It's like God rebuilds us from scratch.
This is a great claim but is it true? Are Christians really any different from anyone else? Many people are tempted to share the skepticism of the prophet Jeremiah. He asked rhetorically:
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil." (13:23)
Paul claims that we can change because Jesus died on the cross. Paul says we can die to our old way of life. We don't have to be enslaved by our lust, greed and selfishness, and because Jesus was resurrected we can have the power to live different kinds of lives. Lives that are full of love, faith and happiness. Theologically, this may all be true but the more you get to know people who claim to be Christians the more you wonder. Look at people sitting in your pew, are they any different? Sometimes it seems that Jesus died and rose again for nothing.
If you really want to see what people are like, you have to put them in extreme situations. Such a situation occurred during World War II. As the Japanese conquered country after country in Asia, hundreds of foreign missionaries and businessmen were captured, along with their families. Many of them were Americans. All of these civilians were herded into concentration camps, mostly in China. One of them was a little boy named David Storey. Today he is the pastor of the Burt Avenue Wesleyan Church in Coshocton, Ohio. Another prisoner was Eric Liddell, the Christian athlete the movie "Chariots of Fire" was based on.
In the concentration camps the civilians were not tortured or killed but they never knew what was going to happen to them. Living space, food and security were all in short supply. Since many of these civilians were Christians, how did they measure up? Some of the evidence is pretty discouraging. As more people were crammed into the camp families were asked to give up the extra rooms in their living quarters. In this way the others would have a place to live. Nobody disagreed with this as long as their rooms weren't taken away.
One missionary offered this excuse. He said the other missionaries often asked him to preach in the camp's church services. Then he said, "It is for their sakes and for that of the camp as a whole that may family needs a little extra space. This way I can have quiet to think out these sermons." This sounds very religious but actually he's just being selfish. The non-Christians were equally selfish but believers had an advantage because they could wrap their selfishness in God's will. The missionary's excuse was not an isolated incident. Many of the most devout Christians ended up cheating, lying and groveling to get their daily necessities. If they were new creatures in Christ the others weren't impressed.
This is one of the main reasons why people turn against the church today. They come expecting to see people who reflect the love of God, people who are happy, excited and interested in others. They want to see some evidence of the new creation because they like to think it can happen to them, too. But churches aren't much different than those concentration camps in China except that churches are a little less intense. We do religious things, we use religious language but you sometimes wonder if it's all a game.
But some Christians do stand out. When the camps in China became almost unbearable it was a handful of Christians who held things together. They were the ones who cleaned out the latrines and nursed the sick back to health. They took on such undesirable work that the others coined a phrase - only a missionary would take on that job! Not every Christian seems to be different but some have been so consistently and significantly. They have overcome self-interest.
In the camps two things were apparent about these people. First of all, they were disciplined. They were accustomed to daily prayer, routine study of the Bible and a simple lifestyle.
The second thing was even more important. According to Langdon Gilkey, one of the prisoners, those who stood out were the ones who acknowledged "A Higher Power" than themselves. Because they had a deep commitment in God, in the times of crisis they were able to rise above their own concerns and help others. Paul refers to this in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 11. He says he knows what it is to be in awe of God. He is in touch with a Power that is greater than he is. Because Paul knows God's power, it affects his life. He tries to persuade and influence other people. But it cannot be just acting or empty words. He says we are made manifest to God. This means we are exposed before him. We can't hide. Neither does Paul try to hide from other Christians. He is not afraid for them to see him as he really is. It takes a lot of faith to take a stand like this. He dares people to see if he is a new creation.
How would you hold up? Many people in churches hide their true selves. We don't care what God sees but we care a great deal about what Mrs. Smith sees. That's probably why churches are often criticized for being full of phonies and hypocrites. It's not that we're horrible people. In our hearts we are utterly sincere before God but since we put on a false front, people see that and compare it with our actions. But outsiders want to see if we've really changed or not.
The problem is that the new creation is spiritual and material. Spiritually speaking, when we accept Christ we are re-created. In God's eyes we become different people. This is something we receive; we don't have to work for it. No matter how much we may backslide if our commitment to Christ was genuine we are spiritually reborn.
There is also a material element to our re-creation. Because we have been changed inwardly, it should start to show up on the outside. The Holy Spirit begins to work on us and the power of the resurrection is unleashed. It's supposed to, but you can starve it and hide it and even destroy it by clinging to your old sinful nature.
The power of the Christian faith must be sought. It doesn't come if you don't want it, but if you do want it, if you are willing to trust in God's promises, fantastic things can happen. No matter who you are or what you have done God can change you.
What follows is a true story. Roger Simms was walking down a highway. He had just been discharged from the army after doing a tour in Vietnam. He was tired and wanted nothing better than to get back home and settle down. He saw a car in the distance and began to get hopeful. So Roger stuck out his thumb and waited but his hope faded when he saw it was a sleek black Cadillac. To his surprise the stopped and the door opened for him. He jumped in and found the man was going to Chicago which was past Roger's home. The man's name was Hanover. They talked about cars, war experiences and life in general. Then Roger began to feel the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart, urging him to witness to Mr. Hanover but he resisted. This guy was loaded! He wouldn't be interested in spiritual things. They talked about some other stuff but Roger still felt this conviction to witness to the man but he couldn't do it. It was the last thing this guy would want to talk about.
Time passed and in another thirty minutes he would be home. For the third time Roger began to feel convicted; and he couldn't ignore it, so he cleared his throat, "Mr. Hanover, I would like to talk to you about something very important. I want to talk to you about your soul." Mr. Hanover's steel gray eyes pierced him but he didn't say anything. For the next fifteen minutes Roger poured out his soul. He explained the way of salvation and then asked Mr. Hanover if he would receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger's astonishment, the Cadillac pulled over and stopped. He thought he was going to get kicked out. Instead, the businessman bowed his head over the steering wheel and began weeping. With a broken spirit he accepted Christ. A few minutes later he dropped Roger off at his home. Mr. Hanover thanked him for sharing with him and handed him a white business card. He told him if he was ever in Chicago to look him up.
For Roger it was one of his happiest days. He was home from the Army and he had led someone to Christ. As time went by, he got married and started his won business. Then one day he learned that he had to go to Chicago. He happened to come across the white business card so he decided to look up Mr. Hanover. It had been five years. In Chicago he arrived at the impressive building of Hanover Enterprises. He went in and asked the receptionist if he could see Mr. Hanover. A strange look came over her face; "You'll have to talk to Mrs. Hanover." He didn't know why but he soon found himself facing a woman in her mid-fifties; "You know my husband?" "Yes, he picked me up when I was on my way home from the Army." "When was that? What day?" Roger had to think for a moment. "It was five years ago. May 7." She seemed very nervous. "Did you talk about anything special?" Now he was nervous. "Well, we talked about spiritual things. I talked with him about his soul." At this point her lips were trembling. "What was his response?" Mrs. Hanover, we pulled over to the side of the road and he cried against the steering wheel. Then he gave himself to Christ." With this the woman burst into tears. "I had prayed for my husband's salvation for years. God had promised me his salvation." By now Roger was curious. "Where is your husband, Mrs. Hanover?" "He is dead. He was in a car crash after he dropped you off. He never got home. You see, I had thought God had not kept his promise. I stopped living for God five years ago because I thought he had not kept his promise." [1]
God does keep his promises. He promises to change you if you are willing. God has the power to change your life no matter who you are or what you've done. If you'll commit yourself to him and listen to his voice he will be able to do unimaginable things through you. You'll be the kind of person others will look up to.
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1. The earliest published reference to this story that I can find is by J. Kirk Johnston, "Why Christians Sin," Discovery House, 1992, pp. 39-41. However, I preached it in 1986 and don't remember the original source. I could not find a reference to Hanover Enterprises in Chicago and have some reservations about his illustration. I have put it on my "Questionable Illustrations" page at http://www.holwick.com/questionable_illustrations.html#Faithful]
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Typed on July 15, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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