Not a fairy tale

There is a story about a grandfather who wanted to see how much his four-year-old granddaughter knew about the Easter story. He put her on his lap and asked, “Julie, why do we celebrate Easter?” Without hesitating, she said, “Jesus was crucified. After He died, His body was put into a grave. They rolled a big stone in front of the opening. A bunch of soldiers guarded the tomb. On the third day, there was a big earthquake and the stone rolled away.”

Grandpa was pleased with how much his granddaughter knew about the Easter story but then she continued, “When the earthquake happened, the entire town came out by the grave. And if Jesus came out and saw His shadow, they knew there would be six more weeks of winter!”

I Corinthians 15:17 

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Jesus is not a fairy tale.

For thousands of years people have tried to prove that Jesus’ death and resurrection is just a fairy tale. For thousands of years people have tried to prove that his death and resurrection isn’t a fairy tale. It is a never ending battle of words against words.

Scientists have attempted to explain away any possibility of near death experiences by saying that “Within the first 30 seconds after the heart had stopped, all the mammals displayed a surge of highly synchronized brain activity that had features associated with consciousness and visual activation. The burst of electrical patterns even exceeded levels seen during a normal, awake state.”

I have had “tweeting battles” over the past couple of years with atheists who for some reasons follow my tweets that are mostly scripture (tweet me at @trsouth87). It has been a never-ending war with words. There is no way I could prove that God exists and they can’t prove to me that God didn’t exist.

As important as I think words are, and as much as I like to prove others wrong, and as much as I want to persuade them and you to believe that his death and resurrection did happen. As much as I want to persuade them and you that without his death resurrection there would not be hope. As much as I want to persuade you to believe that without his death and resurrection your faith is futile;

If his death and resurrection doesn’t cause you to think different
If his death and resurrection doesn’t cause you to have a different attitude
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect the direction of your life
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect what or who you put your belief in
If his death and resurrection doesn’t affect the way you think and feel

Your faith is futile which means it’s powerless.

His death and resurrection is only a fairy tale. His death is only a fairy tale with a happy ending if it’s not transforming your life.

Believing in his death and resurrection and knowing that’s it true and saying “thank –you for dying on the cross for me” does not transform your life. Even showing up for church on Easter doesn’t transform your life. Like some my atheist debaters on twitter ask me – show me the evidence! Show the commitment. Show me the surrender! Show me you meant it.

A young man who was a part of my student ministry years ago use to steal from me. He came to know Christ and immediately he started running. Not a marathon. It was more like a 100 yard dash to him. He used to sit in my office and read scripture all the time. He would ask me questions. It got rather annoying. I sat him down and told him he was going to fast. He is going to burn out and flame out. Well, he didn’t listen to me. He flamed out. After he flamed out, he was kicked out of his house. He still came to church after that only to unlock a window so he could sneak in at night to sleep on the youth couch. He didn’t have any food so he ate the candy in the youth room. During this time he was on drugs, getting drunk, and was totally messed up. He finally joined AA. He rediscovered his faith and started following Christ. again. One day he stopped in my office. He started talking and tears were flowing down from his eyes and his voice was quivering. He asked for forgiveness for all that he had done and for all the candy he stole. I knew he didn’t have a job but he handed me a $50 to pay for all the candy he stole in that 6 month period of time.

He was transformed. He was committed. He life and his decisions reflected it. He knew that Jesus had died for him. He knew that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for him. It took him a couple of years to let that story sink into his heart and mind. Once it did …. his life was flipped right side up.

It’s a true story. The cross and tomb are still both empty! He was raised from the dead. He walked the earth and thousands witnessed it. It changed the history of the world.

It’s not just a matter of believing that its true. All of us believe in something. Even atheists believe. For an atheists they believe that the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is just a fairy tale. It’s a nice story OR it is just a legendary story. It is just like all the other religions stories.

Who or what you believe in does matter. Belief is an intellectual pursuit of the truth. All of us in here have a belief system. It effects are daily life. How we spend our time? How we make decisions? How we spend our money?

Many people have made Jesus a part of that belief system. Do you see the problem? Many have only made Jesus a PART of their belief system. When he becomes a part of the belief system he becomes one of many gods we worship. What I mean by this is that He becomes just a plaque on the wall, or a Christian book or magazine, or a Jesus bumper sticker or that little fishy emblem simply declaring who we believe in. The bottom line is not everyone who believes in him actually puts their faith in Him.

One of my favorite stories is about the great Charles Blondin.Charles Blondin’s greatest fame came in June of 1859 when he attempted to become the first person to cross a tightrope stretched over a quarter of a mile across the mighty Niagara Falls. He walked across 160 feet above falls several times, each time with a different daring feat – once in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, in the dark, and once he even carried a stove and cooked an omelet! On one occasion though, he asked for the participation of a volunteer. In 1859 at Niagara Falls, A large crowd gathered and a buzz of excitement ran along both sides of the river bank. The crowd “Oooohed!” and “Aaaaahed!” as Blondin carefully walked across one dangerous step after another — blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow. Upon reaching the other side, the crowd’s applause was louder than the roar of the falls! Blondin suddenly stopped and addressed his audience: “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” The crowd enthusiastically shouted, “Yes, yes, yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. You can do anything!” “Okay,” said Blondin, “Get in the wheelbarrow…..” Everyone believed that Blondin could do it … no one was willing to put their faith in him.

Anyone can believe – but believing is just an intellectual pursuit.

Faith is more of a heart issue.

When Jesus was crucified and pronounced dead everything the disciples believed was crushed. He had told them a couple of times that he was going to die and would be resurrected. Once it actually happened what they believed was put to the test. It now went from a head issue to a heart issue:

“Am I still going to follow Him?”

Am I still going to believe in Him” ….. Even though He’s gone?”

Believing affects your head. Faith affects your heart.

After Jesus death and resurrection, the disciples were immediately transformed from men who were hopeless and fearful after the crucifixion into men who were confident and bold witnesses of the resurrection.

But there still was doubt – The women who saw the empty tomb, couldn’t believe their eyes. They couldn’t find his dead body any where.Was it stolen? If it was they would have brought in the first century CSI unit and they would have been able to produce a body to stop the successful spreading of the Christian faith in the very city the crucifixion occurred. Was He even dead? Wasn’t he just unconscious? I am sure he woke from being beaten near to death and stabbed in the side, removed the 2 ton stone, overcame the soldiers, and vanished from history after a few meetings with his disciples in which he convinced them he was risen from the dead.

Or did he really rise from the dead? Am I just being gullible? Jesus said it would happen. The disciples said it happened. The women saw the tomb rolled away. They saw the linens they wrapped him in on the slab. Hundreds of witnesses actually saw Jesus walking around. Is it gullible to believe that the supernatural happened?

I have been told by some atheists over the past couple of years that I was believing in a fairy tale and that Jesus was just an emotional and psychological crutch. If they ever tell me that again – I am going to say, “yes, He is my crutch” what’s yours?”

Believing in and putting your faith in his death and resurrection changes the direction of your life.

• His death and resurrection transformed the criminal that was hanging on the tree hanging next to him into a committed follower.
• His death and resurrection transformed some hopeless and fearful men and women into bold witnesses of the resurrection.
• His death and resurrection transformed a pagan holiday which worshiped the god of fertility and the god of weather into a Christian holiday where we now celebrate his death and resurrection.
• It turned this weak, little boy who was shy and timid and literally walked on in jr. hi school, ignored in high school, and didn’t have a clue to what he was going to do with his life in college, into a man who now boldly proclaims to you that his death and resurrection did happen and putting your faith in him, giving your heart to him will change your life.

Fairy tales are nice and they make us feel good and they always have a happy ending but they can’t change your life. But understanding (understanding is where the heart and mind come together) that a man loved you so much He was willing to lay down his life to prove that He loves you. He is simply wanting us to love Him back. That’s why he came back to life. So we could love him and prove to us that it was just a fairy tale.

His death and resurrection is not a fairy tale. Thousands of people saw Him die. Thousands of people saw Him walking around after he rose on the 3rd day. And millions of people have given their life for Him. And people still today are being martyred because of their faith and belief in his death and resurrection.

What about you?

Is your faith real or do you believe it is just a fairy tale?