(# 357) Romans 10 - THE RESURRECTION DAY CELEBRATION You Have Access to Resurrection Power

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Welcome to our Resurrection Day Celebration.  We begin today’s lesson with a few announcements…

 

BARAH MINISTRIES ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

NEXT WEEKEND!

Homecoming for the Non-Resident Congregation

April 21-23, 2017

 

The schedule of events is on the website…it looks like this…

 

HOMECOMING SCHEDULE

Friday Night          April 21

Unity:  The Elusive Christian Virtue  

7:00PM-9:00PM

 

HOMECOMING LOCATION

Friday Night          April 21

 

@ Barah Ministries

1220 S. Alma School Road

Suite 201

Mesa, AZ 85210

 

HOMECOMING SCHEDULE

Saturday                 April 22

??? Ask the Pastor ???

9:00AM-11:00AM

 

HOMECOMING LOCATION

Saturday                 April 22

 

@Tumbleweed Park

South Mountain Pavilion- B

745 S. Germann Road

Chandler, AZ 85286

 

HOMECOMING SCHEDULE

Saturday                 April 22

Food and Fellowship

11:00AM-3:00PM

 

HOMECOMING LOCATION

Saturday                 April 22

 

@Tumbleweed Park

South Mountain Pavilion- B

745 S. Germann Road

Chandler, AZ 85286

 

HOMECOMING SCHEDULE

Sunday                   April 23

Romans 11 Lesson

9:00AM-11:00AM

 

HOMECOMING LOCATION

Sunday                   April 23

 

@ Barah Ministries

1220 S. Alma School Road

Suite 201

Mesa, AZ 85210

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

John Miller

April 14

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Pastor Rory Clark

April 13

 

THE RESURRECTION DAY CELEBRATION

You Have Access to Resurrection Power

 

Today we celebrate Resurrection Day, the most important day in divine history…the day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our God, who is the Supreme Being of the Universe, became the only Person ever to be resurrected from the dead!

 

Welcome to a place where you can learn about how our God conquered death to make something out of us nothings.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

CELEBRATE JESUS

Various Artists

 

Let’s CELEBRATE JESUS in song.  He is Risen!

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for the gift of Your Son…thank you for resurrecting Him from the dead to prove that He is Deity…thank you for giving us the same power that resurrected Him to use in our daily lives…

 

Teach us how to access this power to move us from death to life in our daily situations…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...

Amen.

 

THE RESURRECTION DAY CELEBRATION

You Have Access to Resurrection Power

 

In the book THE BONDS THAT MAKE US FREE by C. Terry Warner, he proposes this thought…

 

THE BONDS THAT MAKE US FREE

 

“Imagine living a life where you take offense at nothing, and harbor no accusation against anyone within your heart.”

 

I don’t have to imagine that life.  I have a God, a Savior who lived that very life, the Lord and Jesus Christ.  John, Chapter 1, Verse 14…

 

JOHN 1:14

And the Word (God the Son…The Lord) became flesh (true humanity…Jesus Christ), and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory…glory as of the uniquely born one from God the Father, full of grace and full of truth.

 

Why did the Lord do such a selfless thing as to come to the earth… humiliating Himself by taking on the form of man?  He did it, and voluntarily, because He was obeying His Father’s request…John, Chapter 3, Verse 16…

 

JOHN 3:16

“For God the Father loved the world so much, and He loved the world so unconditionally, that He gave His uniquely born Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall instead (immediately) have eternal life (a share in the resurrection life).”

 

God the Father’s motivation is unconditional love…and His objective was to solve the sin problem creatures had as a result of Adam’s sin.  And God the Father didn’t just feel motivation toward us…He displayed it…Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 8…

 

ROMANS 5:8

But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were sinners (while we were ungodly, unrighteous unbelievers), (God the Father sent) Christ to die instead of us.

 

God the Father provided for His creatures while we were powerless, helpless and hopeless to do anything about our sin problem.  He turned the solution to our sin problem over to His Son…First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 24…

 

FIRST PETER 2:24

…and Jesus Christ Himself bore our sins in His own body on the Cross, so that we might die to the sovereignty of sin and so that we might live to righteousness…for by His wounds you were healed.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ paid for crimes He did not commit…He was treated unjustly…yet He was perfectly willing to be the only satisfactory payment for our sins…First John, Chapter 2, Verse 2…

 

FIRST JOHN 2:2

…and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins…and not for our sins only (as believers in Christ), but also for those sins of the whole world (unbelievers as well).

 

The Lord Jesus Christ never gives us what we deserve…He took on the full consequence of our actions…Jesus suffered His Father’s wrath so we would not have to…Second Corinthians, Chapter 9, Verse 15…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:15

Thanks be to God the Father for His indescribable gift!

 

In today’s lesson we’ll review the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we’ll learn how His death on the Cross opened up resurrection power to each of us who believe…resurrection power…the power to turn the deaths we experience into life.

 

This is one of those times where the whole lesson could be verses.  The bible speaks about resurrection like no one can.  As we listen to Luke’s account of the crucifixion and the resurrection, let’s pay close attention to how the Word of God is speaking to us as individuals.  I want you to notice DEATH and BURIAL and RESURRECTION as you listen to the passages.  Let’s begin at Luke, Chapter 23, Verse 1…

 

LUKE 23:1

Then the whole body of the Sanhedrin…a group of Pharisees…got up and brought Jesus before Pontius Pilate.

 

LUKE 23:2

And the Sanhedrin began to accuse Jesus, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding the paying of taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is the Christ (the Jewish Messiah), a King.”

 

They Pharisees are lying…in Luke, Chapter 20, Verse 25, the Lord said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s (taxes)…and render unto God the things that are God’s.  In addition, Jesus hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes (the lowest of the low)…in fact, Jesus had an apostle who was a tax collector…Matthew.  Liars never look at the evidence.

 

LUKE 23:3

So Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus answered Pilate and said, “It is as you say.”

 

Admitting that He is God was a death sentence for the Lord.  Yet Pilate had an interesting response…

 

LUKE 23:4

Then Pontius Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

 

Pilate is saying, “I find for Jesus.”  Pilate is saying that what Jesus is saying is true…that Jesus is indeed God.  Undoubtedly this was Pilate’s wife’s influence…she called Jesus a righteous man who had tortured her dreams.

 

LUKE 23:5

But the chief priests and scribes kept on insisting (they were implacable… they refused to be guided to another course of action), saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from around the Sea of Galilee even as far as this place…the Judean region.”

 

LUKE 23:6

When Pilate heard what they were saying, he asked whether Jesus was a Galilean.

 

Jesus was a Galilean.  Pilate was looking for a “political out,” and he found one.  He chose to pass off his problem to someone else…Herod Antipas… the murderer of John the Baptist.

 

LUKE 23:7

And when Pilate learned that Jesus belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time for the  Passover feast.

 

LUKE 23:8

Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus…for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because Herod had been hearing about Jesus and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.

 

Herod wanted to be entertained.

 

LUKE 23:9

And Herod Antipas questioned Jesus at some length…but Jesus answered him nothing.

 

LUKE 23:10

And the chief priests and the scribes of the Sanhedrin were standing there, accusing Jesus vehemently.

 

LUKE 23:11

And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Jesus with contempt and after mocking Him, dressed Jesus in a gorgeous King’s robe and sent Him back to Pontius Pilate.

 

This beautiful robe is one of the reasons they were dividing up Jesus’ garments at the base of the Cross.

 

LUKE 23:12

Now Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate became friends with one another that very day…for before they had been enemies with each other.

 

LUKE 23:13

Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people…

 

LUKE 23:14

…and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I HAVE FOUND NO GUILT IN THIS MAN regarding the charges which you make against Him.”

 

LUKE 23:15

“No…nor has Herod Antipas seen any guilt in this man…for Herod sent Jesus back to us…and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.”

 

LUKE 23:16

“Therefore I will punish Jesus and release Him.”

 

LUKE 23:17

Now Pilate was obliged to release one prisoner to them at the feast of the Passover.

 

LUKE 23:18

But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man (Jesus), and release Barabbas for us!”

 

LUKE 23:19

(Barabbas was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city…and for committing murder.)

 

LUKE 23:20

Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again…

 

LUKE 23:21

…but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”

 

LUKE 23:22

And Pilate said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I HAVE FOUND IN JESUS NO GUILT DEMANDING DEATH…therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”

 

LUKE 23:23

But they were insistent in their implacable condition, and with loud voices kept on asking that Jesus be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.

 

LUKE 23:24

And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand of crucifixion be granted.

 

A guilty man was released and an innocent man was put to death.

 

LUKE 23:25

And Pilate released the man they were asking for, Barabbas, who had been thrown into prison for insurrection (a revolt against the government) and murder, but Pilate delivered Jesus to their will.

 

What a coward Pilate was…

 

LUKE 23:26

When they led Jesus away, they seized a man…Simon of Cyrene…coming in from the country, and placed on him the Cross to carry behind Jesus.

 

LUKE 23:27

And following Jesus was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.

 

LUKE 23:28

But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me…but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

 

LUKE 23:29

“For behold, the days are coming when the men of the Sanhedrin will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’”

 

LUKE 23:30

“Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’”

 

LUKE 23:31

“For if they do these things when the tree is green (when I am alive), what will happen when the tree is dry (when I am gone)?”

 

LUKE 23:32

Now two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Jesus.

 

LUKE 23:33

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus and the criminals, one criminal on the right and the other criminal on the left.

 

 

LUKE 23:34

But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

 

LUKE 23:35

And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Jesus, saying, “He saved others…let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God (the Jewish Messiah), His Chosen One.”

 

LUKE 23:36

The soldiers also mocked Jesus, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine…

 

LUKE 23:37

…and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews (maybe you are and maybe you aren’t), save Yourself!”

 

LUKE 23:38

Now there was also an inscription above Jesus, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

INRI - Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum

 

LUKE 23:39

One of the criminals who were hanged there (the insulting one) was hurling abuse at Jesus, saying, “Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Save Yourself and us!”

 

LUKE 23:40

But the other criminal (the repentant thief) answered, and rebuking (the insulting one) said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation (crucifixion)?”

 

LUKE 23:41

“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds…but this man has done nothing wrong.”

 

LUKE 23:42

And the repentant thief was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”

 

Nine words requesting salvation…

 

LUKE 23:43

And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

 

Salvation granted!

 

LUKE 23:44

It was now about the sixth hour (12:00 PM), and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 PM)…

 

LUKE 23:45

…because the sun was obscured…and the veil of Solomon’s temple was torn in two.

 

LUKE 23:46

And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last breath (the moment of physical death).

 

LUKE 23:47

Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent.”

 

LUKE 23:48

And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.

 

LUKE 23:49

And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Jesus from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

 

LUKE 23:50

And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council of the Sanhedrin, a good and righteous man as one of two believers in Christ on the Sanhedrin…along with Nicodemus (of John Chapter 3)…

 

LUKE 23:51

…(a man who had not agreed with the council’s plan of action against Jesus)…Joseph, a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews (in the Judean region), who was waiting for the kingdom of God (a believer in Christ)…

 

LUKE 23:52

…this man, Joseph, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

 

LUKE 23:53

And Joseph took Jesus’ body down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Jesus in a tomb cut into the rock (Joseph’s own tomb… Matthew 27:60), where no one had ever lain.

 

LUKE 23:54

It was the preparation day for the Sabbath, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

 

LUKE 23:55

Now the women who had come with Jesus out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how Jesus’s body was laid.

LUKE 23:56

Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.  And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

 

Let’s take a music break…

 

MUSIC BREAK

JESUS THE ONE AND ONLY

Babbie Mason

 

THE RESURRECTION DAY CELEBRATION

You Have Access to Resurrection Power

 

We have listened to Luke’s account of the DEATH and the BURIAL of Christ…now let’s hear about the Lord coming back to life.  Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 1…

 

LUKE 24:1

But on the first day of the week, Sunday, at early dawn, the women came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared to preserve the body from decay.

 

They were expecting to see a dead person.

 

LUKE 24:2

And instead the women found the stone rolled away from the tomb…

 

LUKE 24:3

…but when they entered the tomb, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 

LUKE 24:4

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men (angels) suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing…

 

LUKE 24:5

…and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?”

 

Remember what Job said in Job, Chapter 19, Verse 25?

 

JOB 19:25

“As for me, I (Job) know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last Jesus will take His stand on the earth.”

 

Continuing at Luke, Chapter 24, Verse 6…

 

LUKE 24:6

“(The angels said to the women) Jesus is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee…”

 

LUKE 24:7

“…saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men (unbelievers), and be crucified, and on the third day rise again?”

 

LUKE 24:8

And the women remembered Jesus’ words…

 

LUKE 24:9

…and the women returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven (apostles…minus Judas Iscariot) and to all the rest (of the disciples of the Lord).

 

LUKE 24:10

Now the women were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James (Jesus’s Mom)…also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

 

LUKE 24:11

But these words appeared to the disciples to be nonsense…and they would not believe them.

 

Unbelief…the disease of the faithful…an “I’ll believe it when I see it” attitude.  Yet for us believers, the attitude must be, “I’ll see it when I believe it.”  There is no doubt when you have faith.

 

LUKE 24:12

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb…stooping and looking in, he saw the

linen wrappings only…and he went away to his home, marveling at what

had happened.

 

Peter didn’t really understand what had happened.  The apostles and disciples were so deeply engulfed in their grief that they weren’t even able to think.

 

LUKE 24:13

And behold, two of the disciples were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.

 

LUKE 24:14

And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place (the report about the Lord’s resurrection from the dead).

 

LUKE 24:15

While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached them and began traveling with them.

 

LUKE 24:16

But their eyes were prevented by God the Father from recognizing Jesus.

 

LUKE 24:17

And Jesus said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.

 

LUKE 24:18

One of the disciples, named Cleopas, answered and said to Jesus, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem who is unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?”

 

LUKE 24:19

And Jesus said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people…”

 

LUKE 24:20

“…and how the chief priests of the Sanhedrin and our rulers (Pilate, Herod,

 and the Roman Authorities) delivered Him to the sentence of death, and

crucified Him.”

 

LUKE 24:21

“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.”

 

They were looking for the redemption of Israel…the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed all mankind instead.  The Lord is a bigger thinker!

 

LUKE 24:22

“But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning…”

 

LUKE 24:23

“…and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.”

 

Alive…resurrected from the dead.  The disciples continued their story…

 

LUKE 24:24

“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said…but they did not see Jesus.”

 

LUKE 24:25

And Jesus said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

 

The disciples had the Old Testament predictions in writing…they should have understood clearly what had happened.

 

LUKE 24:26

“Was it not necessary for the Christ (the Messiah) to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

 

LUKE 24:27

Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, Jesus explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

 

 

LUKE 24:28

And they approached the village where they were going, and Jesus acted as though He were going farther.

 

LUKE 24:29

But they urged Jesus, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So Jesus went in to stay with them.

 

LUKE 24:30

When Jesus had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.

 

LUKE 24:31

Then their eyes were opened by God the Father and they recognized Jesus… and He vanished from their sight.

 

LUKE 24:32

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He

was speaking to us on the road…while He was explaining the Scriptures to

us?”

 

LUKE 24:33

And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them…

 

LUKE 24:34

…saying, “The Lord has really risen from the dead and has appeared to Simon (Peter).”

 

We believe things when we hear things from two or three witnesses…the women, Peter, and Cleopas.  Or the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The Lord does not expect BLIND faith.  In fact, there is no such thing as blind faith.  The Lord proves who He is and what He says to us.

 

LUKE 24:35

They began to relate their experiences on the road and how Jesus was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

 

 

 

LUKE 24:36

While they were telling these things, Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”

 

LUKE 24:37

But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.

 

LUKE 24:38

And Jesus said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”

 

LUKE 24:39

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself…touch Me and see…for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

 

LUKE 24:40

And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

 

LUKE 24:41

While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

 

LUKE 24:42

They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish…

 

LUKE 24:43

…and He took it and ate it before them.

 

A resurrection body with flesh and bones…a resurrection body that is recognizable to friends…a resurrection body that eats!  Yes!  We have a lot to look forward to…

 

LUKE 24:44

Now Jesus said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

 

LUKE 24:45

Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…

 

It is written…

 

LUKE 24:46

…and Jesus said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ (the Messiah) would suffer and rise again from the dead on the third day…”

 

LUKE 24:47

“…and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

 

LUKE 24:48

“You are witnesses of these things.”

 

LUKE 24:49

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you…but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

 

The filling of the Spirit would be coming in fifty days at Pentecost.   The

Helper who was promised, God the Holy Spirit, would go on duty.

 

LUKE 24:50

And Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.

 

LUKE 24:51

While He was blessing them, Jesus parted from them and was carried up into heaven (the Ascention).

 

LUKE 24:52

And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy…

 

LUKE 24:53

…and were continually in the temple praising God.

 

If the Lord Jesus Christ was not resurrected from the dead, all of the

following things have to be true…First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 13

to 19…                                                          

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:13

But if there is no resurrection of the dead…not even Christ has been raised from the dead…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:14

…and if (for the sake of argument, it’s true that ) Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is vain…and your faith also is vain.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:15

Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God the Father… because we testified on behalf of God the father that He raised Christ from the dead whom He did not raise…if in fact the dead are not raised.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:16

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:17

…and if Christ has not been raised from the dead…your faith is worthless… you are still in your sins.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:18

Then those also who have fallen asleep in union with Christ have simply perished.

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:19

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, and we have, then we are of all men most to be pitied.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ did what no one else has been able to do…He conquered the unconquerable…DEATH.  Let’s take a music break and then we’ll reflect on the implications of Christ’s resurrection.

 

MUSIC BREAK

YOU OWN ME

June Murphy

 

 

THE RESURRECTION DAY CELEBRATION

You Have Access to Resurrection Power

 

I asked you to think about DEATH, BURIAL, and LIFE as you reflected on the Luke passages.  What made Jesus Christ different from all the pretender gods (with a small “g”) isn’t His death…everyone dies…it isn’t that He was buried…most people are buried…it’s that He rose from the dead…it is His resurrection we celebrate today.  Jesus is the “first fruits.”  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 20…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:20

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

 

The bible is interpreted in the time it was written, and in the first century, when a farmer began the harvest, he offered his first fruits of the harvest for inspection… and if they were acceptable, he was free to harvest the rest of his crop.  The Lord Jesus Christ as the first fruits of the resurrection harvest is totally acceptable to God the Father…and all of Christ’s believers will be harvested later…we, too, will be resurrected from the dead.

 

Here’s a lie…“The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most powerful beliefs in Christianity.”  It is not at all a belief that Christ was resurrected from the dead.  It is the absolute truth.  What is the power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead?  It is the most amazing display of power in divine history. 

 

What we celebrate today is that the power that was used to resurrect Christ from the dead is the exact same power we have available to us every second of every day.  If we only knew that, none of the maladies that we suffer … none of the little deaths we experience would be so bad.

 

And as a believer in Christ, because we are in union with Christ, we have complete access to this exact same power.  As believers in Christ we want to know about the power we have access to…here is the apostle Paul describing it in reflection, in Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 7 to 11…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:7

But whatever human accomplishments were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

 

What Paul is saying is that all the time he wasted chasing human accomplishments was just that…wasted time…and then Christ found him on the Damascus Road.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:8

More than that, I count all things (even things other than human accomplishment) to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord personally, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ…

 

Paul is saying nothing is more important than Christ…and nothing in life compares to knowing Christ.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:9

…and that I may be found in union with Christ…not having a righteousness of my own derived from following the Mosaic Law…but having that righteousness which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God the Father on the basis of faith…

 

As believers in Christ we rest with the comfort of knowing that we are in union with Christ, and the entire Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) is indwelling us…and we forget that we have access to their divine power during all the tough times in our lives.

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:10

…that I may know Christ intimately, and that I may know THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION, and that I may know the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:11

…in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 

The power of Christ’s resurrection for us as believers in Christ is that we can overcome any resistance using divine power…we can overcome any death.  Let’s face it…we’re like Paul…First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 31…

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:31

I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in union with Christ Jesus our Lord…I die daily.

 

We die daily, too!  What are the little deaths?  They’re not so little.  They are all the things we encounter where we see no hope of deliverance.  Maybe we lose a loved one…maybe we’re diagnosed with what could be considered a terminal illness…maybe we’re in the midst of a divorce…maybe we’re forced to do something against our will…maybe we’re betrayed by a friend or a love…maybe we’re facing the pressures of being rejected or treated as an outcast…maybe we lose a sense…we’re deaf or we’re blind…maybe we face prolonged unemployment…maybe because of our lack of financial acumen there is always too much month a the end of the money and never any savings…maybe we’re encountering all manner of discrimination… sexual…racial…gender…or maybe we’re just being lied to about God by false teachers...and we believe them.

 

When you encounter DEATHS…do you BURY them…and let the Lord deliver you to LIFE?  If you do, then you know how to use resurrection power.  You turn over your problems to God and you sit back and watch.  That’s what we have at our disposal thanks to our magnificent Savior.  And it’s a pleasure for us to celebrate the most important day in divine history today…no bunnies matter…no eggs matter…only Christ matters.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 9:15

Thanks be to God the Father for His indescribable gift!

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

ACTS 16:30

“…the jailer asked (Paul and Silas), “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

ROMANS 10:10

…for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of, but instead He is patient toward you unbelievers, not wishing for any to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

LUKE 19:10

“For the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

CLOSING SONG

REDEEMER 

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION

 

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Thanks for listening!

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