Our Lord Jesus Christ is Risen!
Matthew 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. He is not in the grave, but at the right hand of the Father in Heaven!!!! Ephesians 1:15-23.
He ever lives to make intercession for us!! Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. He is preparing a Bride without spot or wrinkle, Ephesians 5:25-27. He will return, sooner than we think, to receive His bride to Himself. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Christianity is a religion of the open tomb. Roy L. Smith
Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed. John R. W. Stott
I. Seven Reasons we know that He is Risen:
1. The Roman government sealed the tomb.
A. The penalty for breaking that seal was such a horrible thing that none would risk it.
2. The Jewish leaders placed a Roman guard on the tomb where Jesus lain.
A. The penalty to the soldiers for neglect of their charge was a slow torturous death.
3. The disciples went to the tomb not expecting him to be risen.
4. Jesus appeared many times over a period of 50 days to over 500 people in many different ways and locations.
5. Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus.
A. He is considered the greatest Christian leader of all times writing 2/3 of the New Testament.
B. He gave up the status that he enjoyed as a Pharisee, in the tradition of the Jews, and later died for his testimony that Jesus Christ was the Risen Lord and Savior.
6. Millions have testified that Jesus has made Himself real to them over the centuries. A Many have been willing to be martyred rather than recant their testimony that He is Alive!!!
7. He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies of His first coming that He would not see corruption (experience physical decay) but would rise again.
A. The odds of those prophecies being fulfilled were impossible in the natural, but it happened according to all the detail and to the day that it was predicted in the Bible.
II. He gave His Resurrection Power to Us!!!!!
1. We are assured that He is Alive because when He rose, He prayed the Father that we would receive the Holy Spirit.
A. The Holy Spirit makes us to know Him when we believe! John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
2. His Spirit is poured out in our hearts giving us love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, self-control, faith, and hope.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
3. The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead gives life to our mortal bodies. He provides healings and will raise us up in the day of the Lord. Romans 8:10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
4. We can receive resurrection life that makes us to be born again. We become a new creation. Old things are passed away and behold all things become new. 2 Corinthians 5;17-19
5. We can receive forgiveness for all our sins, past, present, and future.
Hebrews 10:12-23
6. We can walk in a sense of God’s presence and power because He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. 2 Corinthians 2:10-16
7. We can have hope when there is no hope because the Holy Spirit now leads us and encourages us to know that all things do work together for the good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Romans 5:1-5
What should we do to receive this Resurrection Power ?
1. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Romans 10:9-13; John 1:10-12
2. Walk in Christ by praying every day. Jude 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
A. If I am a Christian, I am not set on saving my own skin, but on seeing that the salvation of God comes through me to others, and the great way is by intercession.
3. Read God’s Word daily (which is the Bible). The same Spirit that the Risen Christ sent lives in you. That same Spirit wrote the Bible through the Prophets and Apostles. He will cause you to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ as you become more like Him. Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
4. Find a group of believers to meet with on a weekly basis for fellowship and encouragement. Acts 2:40-47
A. Be united with other Christians. A wall with loose bricks is not good. The bricks must be cemented together. Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)
5. Share your story with someone who doesn’t know Christ to encourage them to receive Christ into their heart. 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
A. There’s nothing more exciting than helping another person become a Christian--except helping that person into an exhilarating experience of discipleship. Lloyd John Ogilvie
B. No matter how much the church wants to reach out, growth will not happen if the building and the people fail to say, "Welcome!"
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