The Hope Of His Ressurection

But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give it to you. And Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. And Jesus said to her, I am, let those words sink in. I am, I am the resurrection and the life. Those two wonderful words, I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Why do you believe this? So we are posed the question, along with Martha, do you believe this? Father, I pray by your Holy Spirit and his teaching that we would understand that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is not just a day that we celebrate. It is a day for people like Ruby who commit their lives to you, who have the barrier of sin completely destroyed and removed so that they can have fellowship with you. Lord, I don't believe it stops there, and I don't believe it's just for eternity when we pass from this life to the next. I believe that God, the power of the very resurrection of Jesus is available to us here and now for this life. May we live it, I pray. May we live like people who have access to this glorious power. I pray that your spirit would lead us into an understanding of that as we walk through your word. And may it become practical for every one of us. May it become practical in the life that we live from day to day, the thoughts that we have, the intentions of our heart. I pray that it would guide us in that. So we trust you to do this work. We pray for those that may be here today that have never accepted you, that have never come to a place where they cry out to you like Ruby did this morning. I pray, Father, may you help them to find that place. There's somebody sitting in their living room right now, God, that needs you. I pray that your spirit meet them there. Speak to their hearts and call their name so they can hear. May they respond by faith. Lord, we trust you to do that work. That is a work that only you can do. We trust you with it in Jesus' name. Amen. I am the resurrection and the life. It's not just about an event. Now the resurrection was an incredible, unexplainable, powerful event. The resurrection represents, I believe, two things to us. Number one, it represents life. Yes, it represents eternal life, doesn't it? For a believer who comes to Christ and accepts that resurrection power, it means life eternal. You know the verse, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. It is about life that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So the resurrection represents life, eternal life, doesn't it? And we just talked through that in the office for a couple of minutes, that it's not just about here, it's about in eternity. When I leave this life, I've got hope. There is a hope, isn't there? And that's what the resurrection represents, that kind of life. It represents life eternal. But I don't think it stops there. I think sometimes that we stop at eternal life, and we forget the teaching of Jesus to the disciples just a chapter before he raised Lazarus from the dead in John chapter 10, when he taught his disciples that you have an enemy that's coming. Look what John 10 says, the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. There is the M.O. of your enemy. There is the game plan of your enemy. This is the plan of war for the enemy. And left without any hope, we are nothing. It's exactly what you get. But because of the resurrection that represents Jesus said to his disciples, I am the resurrection and the life. Look what he says in the rest of that verse, but I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. So I don't believe that the resurrection is just for eternal life. I believe it's for the life that you live right now. That the resurrection, it represents life to come, but it represents life right now. Are you living life in the resurrection power of Jesus? The resurrection also represents, not only does it represent life, but it represents power. Can you imagine the kind of power it takes to raise someone from the dead? By the way, in case you doubt, Jesus was dead. There was no life in his fleshly body. He was dead. His spirit had separated from his body. And three days later, God came into the tomb and restored life to a dead body. Life to the dead. That is the power of God. That is a representation, the culmination of the power of God. A power of God that's given to his children so that they might be able to live. Not just live spiritually, but again, I believe to live this life. Look at 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. The power of God, the creator God, to speak life back into a body, to raise it from the dead, that is only a power that God can have. But just like I do not believe that it's just about life eternal, I do not believe that that same power that raised Jesus from the dead is just for the eternal life. Look what 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 3. We covered this a couple of weeks ago as his divine power, his divine power. We're talking about the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Look who it's been given to. It's not just for dead people in tombs. It's for you. And it's for me. That his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue. That power is yours. How beautiful, how incredible. Now what's so important about the resurrection then? What's so important? Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians 15. What's so important about the resurrection? 1 Corinthians 15, we'll begin with verse 9. Moreover, brothers and sisters, I declare to you the gospel. I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand. By which also you are saved. If you hold fast the word which I preached to you, lest you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins. This, folks, is the gospel. If you ever want to preach the gospel to somebody, this is what you preach to them. This is the good news. That Christ died for our sins. I would love it if you would just read this with me to yourself, but as you read it, would you replace our sins with my sins? That Christ died for my sins. According to the scriptures. Don't you love it? It's foretold, we'll talk about it. And that he was buried. And that he rose again the third day. He did not stay dead. If he had stayed dead, it would have been just like every other religion, but he did not stay dead. He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That means that the resurrection fulfills scripture. Why is it important? Because it fulfills the scriptures. Absolutely fulfills the scriptures that were written thousands of years before. Psalm 16, verse 18. Complete fulfillment of Psalm 16. So the resurrection is a fulfillment of the scriptures. Continue reading with me. Verse 5. And that he was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve. And after that, he was seen by 500 brothers at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present. Some have fallen asleep. And after that, he was seen by James, and then by all the apostles. And then, last of all, he was seen by me also, as one born out of due time. Stop for a second. The resurrection is important because it was witnessed. It wasn't just a couple of people in the back room said, yeah, I know Jesus lives. There were witnesses. And here we see over 500 personal witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. Witnesses that can say, I saw him. I heard him speak. I sat with him. Witnesses. The resurrection is important because it was witnessed by others, and it is proved by their witness. Continue reading, if you would. For look at Paul. Then last of all, he was seen by me also, by one born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, but I persecuted, because I persecuted the church of God. He was seen by, even after he had ascended, he was seen by Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul saw him. He is a witness to the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrected Lord. He is a witness. Verse 12, now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God. Do you hear what he's saying? If there is no resurrection, if Jesus did not raise from the dead, then what I am preaching at this very moment is a lie, and useless, and that what you believe, what you believe as a believer is a lie, and useless, and it makes us false witnesses, and if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if, in fact, the dead do not rise, for if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Oh, I'm glad the resurrection is real, aren't you? I'm glad that I am not stuck in my sins. Then he says, then all of those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, and look what he says, verse 19, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. What a pitiful life. If only in this life we have Christ, and there is no life to come, how pitiful is that? I am glad that there was a resurrection, aren't you? Because the resurrection means that I am not stuck in my sins. That's what's important about it, is that because it is true and it is real, that you are no longer stuck in your sins, and the faith that you feel, the faith that you have is real. It is grounded in what is real and what is true. Your faith is real, it is not futile. It is not empty. Aren't you glad? I'm glad we don't have an empty faith. Now I want to look and see what the power of the resurrection of Jesus should mean to us. This is what's important about the resurrection. Now let's look at what's important. Why is the resurrection of Christ important to me and to you? The kind of power that we're talking about to raise someone from the dead is a supernatural power. It is a power that only God possesses. God can and has worked through men to express that power. Do you understand what I mean? God has and can work through men to express that kind of power, but mere people, mere mankind cannot possess that power in and of themselves. That is solely the power of God. It is solely a supernatural phenomenon, an unworldly power that you and I could never contain and possess. There were at least 10 people in the Bible, 10 incidences anyway of people who were raised from the dead. I'll give you a couple of them. Remember Elijah? You probably remember the first two, the two boys that Elijah raised from the dead, but do you remember the third, the Israelite that was thrown into the tomb where his bones were? The dead man that was thrown into the tomb and when his body touched the bones of Elijah, the man raised back to life. Then there's Peter and Tabitha or Dorcas in Acts chapter 9. Tabitha was loved by all of the church and she died and they were all taken back and they told Peter and Peter came and ran them all out of the room upstairs and then he sat and he prayed for her and he said, Tabitha, wake up. And she did. In Acts chapter 20, Paul raised Eutychus. I might have to use this, have access to this power someday. It wasn't my long-winded preaching. Paul preached a long time and Eutychus fell out of the window and died and Paul came down and prayed over him and raised him from the dead. That was not a power that they possessed, but it was a power that God gave to be used. So it is not a power that we can possess, but it is a power that we have access to. The resurrection of Jesus is the standard of the power of power in the New Testament. There was no power like it. There was nothing like it. It proved that everything that Jesus said was true. When you have 500 plus witnesses and he's raised from the dead, it proves that everything he said before he died was true. So the power is the standard of power in the New Testament. In all power after that point, it's judged by that standard. The power of the Creator, who spoke life into his creation, now gives life through that power to those who are dead in their trespasses and their sins. This power is the crowning miracle of God. There is no other religion that has any power like it. Do you know of one? I don't know of any religion that purports to have power to raise from the dead, but Jesus was resurrected, the power of God. The death of Jesus on the cross does two things, I believe. Well, the death of Jesus does this. It proves the love of God. The death of Jesus proves the love of God. We said it, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. So Good Friday illustrates and shows us the wonderful love of God that he has for us. The resurrection of Jesus from the grave proves the very power of God that he has towards us. What does it mean to us then? What does it mean to me and you and how I live every day? Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. I love these verses. I will be the first to admit to you that I do not understand the depth of what we are reading. I do not completely understand the depth of what it means, the exceeding power to me. I don't. But I know that it is available to me and to you. This is not a preacher thing. This is a believer thing, okay? You have access to this beautiful resurrection power. Look what Ephesians says, chapter 1, verse 15, Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. So to experience the power, we need wisdom and revelation that comes from the Spirit, so that the eyes of your understanding, so that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened. That we may be opened to understand and see, and see what? That you may know what is the hope of your calling. Do you remember us talking about the calling? Dead people walking, alive people walking. I don't want to be a dead man walking. I want to be alive. And Jesus has provided for us that power. Look what he says, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of his glory, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe. Now do you see what he's saying? Why is the resurrection so important to me and to you? Why is it important to us? Because if God is going to give you the command to live holy, for I am holy, if God is going to give you the command to walk worthy of the gospel, and then not give you the tools by which to do that, then he is not a loving God at all. But if he gives you a command to live holy, to walk worthy, and then he gives you everything you need to be able to do that, if we don't experience it, whose problem is it? It is certainly not God's. Look what he says, according, well let's read verse 19 again, and what is the exceeding greatness, there's that unworldly supernatural phenomenon of power, the greatness of his power towards who? Towards the preacher? Towards us, towards you who believe. So the formula for access to the power of God is believing, faith. If you don't believe that there is no power available to you, that you are left to do this on your own, just try hard Donny, come on, you don't have to lie, just try hard not to lie. You don't have to lust, just try harder not to do that. If we don't believe that we've been given a power, then we have no access to the power that's available. But it is given to us who believe, according to the working, now look at that, according to the working of his mighty power. It's not according to what? It's not according to the working of my abilities, what is it? It's according to the working of his mighty power. We've been studying with a couple of ladies through Ephesians chapter 6 and the armor, and it says, stand therefore in the power of God, in the armor of God, not in your armor but in the armor of God, and here he says that it is according to the working of his mighty power. Verse 20, how does this have anything to do with the resurrection? Which he worked in Christ, when he raised Christ, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places. There's the connection, there's the connection between what happened on that first Easter day and what happens to you in your everyday life. It is not just a holiday, folks, to celebrate. The power of the resurrection is not just about a holiday, it's about life, it's about living. And there's the connection that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at the right hand of God is now available to you. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us, towards us who believe? You have been given that power. We can and we should know the power, this kind of power, as his followers. We should. And if we don't, brothers and sisters, we're missing out. We are missing out on a key part of life and life abundantly. You wonder why you struggle with that same sin over and over again? You wonder why you struggle with lust? You wonder why you struggle with anger? You wonder why you struggle and you fill in the blank. Wonder why you struggle with it? Because we have not accessed the power of God to help us. Now remember, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago. That power and the ability to live that way is a process. And if we are intentionally moving towards God, then God, that power is consistently and constantly available to us. But if we move away from him, he did not take the power away, it's just our access to the power. It's lost because we're going in the opposite direction. Look at Philippians chapter 3, Philippians 3 verse 7. This power and access to it was the aspiration of Paul. He aspired to this power. He wanted it to be an active part of every day in his life. Look what he says. For what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him. Not having my own righteousness, just try harder Donny, just try harder, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. You hear it? The aspiration of Paul, that I may know him and the power that raised him from the dead. I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. So much there to go through, but I can't. Of all the great things that Paul accomplished in his life, of all the incredible things that he aspired to, his greatest aspiration and experience in life was knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. So then I ask you the question, is this your aspiration? As a believer who consistently and constantly struggles with sin, is this your aspiration? Do you aspire to know the power that will allow you to live the righteousness of Christ? Do you desire to know it? It comes by wisdom and revelation. It comes by the knowledge of him. It comes through knowing him. It comes through believing that a power is made available to you. It's yours, Christian. It's yours. It's mine. It's ours. Let's find it. Let's live in it. No, we don't have to find it. That was the wrong word to use. It's already there. We just have to access it by faith. We just have to use it. Are you using it? Are you accessing it? Those of you that may be here today that have never come to Christ, we are about to picture the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in the baptism. Jesus died for you, for your sins. And he rose again that you might be able to have life and to have it more abundantly. Are you living life? I want to tell you that if you are outside of Christ, there is so much more to life than what you have now. And it is available to you. Simple faith and believing. You must have a recognition that it is your sin that separates you from God. It's your sin that puts you in the coffin of death forever, separation from God forever. And Jesus took that sin away. It was nailed to, your debt was nailed to him on the cross, Colossians says. And you just need to believe that he did that for you. Do you? I'm going to pray for you real quickly and then we're going to begin our baptism. So our candidates get ready. Father, I pray for us as believers that we would realize that there is available to us not just a holiday where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but there is a power that is ours. In Christ. To live righteous and to fulfill the commands of being holy and being worthy, living worthy God. Thank you for that. And at the same time, I say forgive us for not accessing the power, for not believing, for struggling on our own way too often. I pray that you would help us to learn to look to you and to the power that you have made available to us. May we access it. Give us the knowledge and understanding of what that means. Father, I pray for those here today that have never stepped out in faith. I pray that you would help them to make that move today. Provide for them an opportunity, Father, to respond to you. God, we will celebrate that new life. As heaven, I believe, celebrates every new life that comes in. Lord, we want to picture today the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord, and we pray that you would be honored by that picture. So we trust you with this, the rest of the service. And thank you for it in Jesus name, Amen. If you need to talk or want to talk after the service, I'll be available here at the room.