Easter – He Is Risen

Easter – He is Risen

{Audio: https://mega.nz/file/mEEWkSTK#wXOc7HZnt3BPH9AbRBqu1HZMlsFk3r_joaqnORZLJx8}

{YouTube Channel: Mesquite NV Living Waters Fellowship}

Last week, in our message entitled, “Recovering Our Hope,” we looked at the story of the women who came to the tomb on that first Sunday Morning, and the message they received. And it if from that message that every message about faith in Jesus Christ should originate, because, in essence, it was the first Easter Sunday message ever preached, and it was by angels.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He (Jesus) is not here, but is risen!” (Luke 24:5-6 NKJV)

And this message that Jesus is alive was proven time and again as He showed Himself to the disciples, proving that He was indeed risen and alive by asking Thomas, who doubted by the way, to put his hands into the scars in Jesus’s hands and side (John 20:27).

But we are also told that Jesus appeared to over 500 different people over a period of forty days after His resurrection. And when each of these people encountered Christ personally, all doubts were dispelled.

You see, it’s one thing to be told that Jesus rose from the dead, but it is quite another thing to see Jesus standing in front of you, inviting you to touch his hands and side and share a meal with you.

And it is this faith, this belief, which has been proven to be true and accurate, even through some of the most rigorous standards, including what it takes to prove something in a court of law.

And the reason the Christian church has gone through such lengths to reveal the truth of Jesus’s resurrection, is because we have the good news that every person needs to hear for their lives to be forever changed.

The Apostle Paul addresses this very thing as to the importance of establishing the truth about the resurrection. ‘“

“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.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14 NKJV)

While the death of Jesus upon the cross is what forgives our sins, the reality is that without the resurrection then it would have never made a difference. It was and is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that makes it all available, because He is alive and ready to redeem all those who come to Him.

And so, He is risen, and because He has risen from the dead, He is alive. And because He is alive, all those who believe in Him can have their sins forgiven, and have a really neat and great life to boot.

There are therefore three things that I would like to share with you this morning as to what we can expect because He has risen and our sins are forgiven through faith in Him.

First, because He has risen, We Can Have

1. A Relationship with Him

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20 NKJV)

In other words, Jesus is inviting us out to lunch; because He wants to spend time with us and for us to get personally connected to Him. He said that He wants us to abide in Him, which means to dwell in and with Him (John 15:4).

Therefore, since we can have such a good relationship with Jesus when we come into His saving faith, here are some of the perks.

a. Go Over To His House

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession … “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14, 16 NKJV)

After the resurrection, Jesus went into heaven and behind the veil of the heavenly temple, into the Holy of Holies, the throne of God, as our Great High Priest.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20 NKJV)

I love how the writer of Hebrews says this, that it is “a new and living way.” And because Jesus is alive, our relationship needs to be alive as well.

And so, we can go directly to His home, the heavenly Jerusalem, and into the temple itself to talk with Him. It’s this last part, “to talk with Him,” that brings me to the second aspect of this relationship, and that is we can give Him a call at any time.