WHAT THE RESURRECTION MEANS TO YOU
1 PETER 1:3–6 PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST! IN HIS GREAT MERCY HE HAS GIVEN US NEW BIRTH INTO A LIVING HOPE THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD, 4AND INTO AN INHERITANCE THAT CAN NEVER PERISH, SPOIL OR FADE—KEPT IN HEAVEN FOR YOU, 5WHO THROUGH FAITH ARE SHIELDED BY GOD’S POWER UNTIL THE COMING OF THE SALVATION THAT IS READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME. 6IN THIS YOU GREATLY REJOICE, THOUGH NOW FOR A LITTLE WHILE YOU MAY HAVE HAD TO SUFFER GRIEF IN ALL KINDS OF TRIALS.
INTRODUCTION: AS WE CONTINUE WITH OUR EASTER SERIES, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO WHAT THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST MEANS TO US. IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF THE RESURRECTION. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT LAST WEEK WE ANSWERED THE QUESTION OF WHY EASTER MATTERS.
IN LOOKING AT GENESIS CHAPTER THREE AND THE INTRODUCTION OF SIN IN THE WORLD, EASTER MATTERS BECAUSE IT IS THE EVENTS OF EASTER THAT GAVE US THE WAY TO RETURN TO GOD. WITH OUT THE DEATH OF CHRIST – THE PERFECT SACRIFICE, WE WOULD HAVE NO AVENUE TO RESTORE THE RELATIONSHIP MAN HAD WITH GOD IN THE BEGINNING.
TRANSITION: NOW, THIS MORNING, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND LOOK AT WHAT THE RESURRECTION MEANS TO US, AND THERE ARE A FEW POINTS THE TEXT GIVES US TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
1. THE RESURRECTION IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO THANK GOD FOR SALVATION.
a. OUR TEXT TELLS US THAT PRAISE – THANKS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO GOD FOR OUR SALVATION.
b. ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, IS THAT MAN WAS RESTRICTED FROM EVER GETTING CLOSE TO GOD.
c. HE RELIED ON OTHERS, THE PRIESTS, TO GO TO GOD FOR HIM
d. HE WAS ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING TO EITHER KEEP HIMSELF RIGHT WITH GOD, OR RESTORE HIMSELF RIGHT WITH GOD
e. THIS CAME IN THE FORM OF SACRIFICES. IN ESSENCE MAN WAS ALWAYS DOING SOMETHING REGARDING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
f. WITH THE RESURRECTION, WE FIND THAT THIS WAS AN ACT OF GOD’S GRACE
i. GRACE IS DEFINED AS GETTING WHAT WE DO NOT DESERVE. AND I AM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD ME GIVE THIS DEFINITION BEFORE.
ii. THIS IS A HUGE SHIFT
iii. INSTEAD OF US GIVING TO GOD WHAT HE DESERVES -- SACRIFICES FOR OUR SINS
iv. GOD GAVE US WHAT WE DID NOT DESERVE – A PERFECT SACRIFICE FOR OUR SINS THAT PROVIDES A WAY BACK TO HIM,
g. SINCE THE FALL OF MAN GOD HAS ALWAYS WANTED THE RELATIONSHIP, HE HAD WITH HIS CREATION AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME
h. WHAT MAKES THIS SALVATION SO WORTHY OF THANKS IS THAT IS ALL COMES FROM GOD. ONCE ONE COMES TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND LORD’S THERE IS NO GUESS WORK AS TO WHETHER THE CROSS WORK OF CHRIST WAS ENOUGH.
i. JESUS SAID IT BEST WHILE HANGING ON THE CROSS – “IT IS FINISHED.”
ON DECEMBER 6, 1865, JUST MONTHS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ENDED, THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT OUTLAWING SLAVERY WAS RATIFIED AND BECAME THE LAW OF THE LAND. BUT THAT DIDN’T MEAN EVERY STATE APPROVED THE RATIFICATION OF THE AMENDMENT. MISSISSIPPI’S STATE LEGISLATURE, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS DOMINATED BY WHITES BITTER OVER THE DEFEAT OF THE CONFEDERACY, AND THEY REJECTED THE MEASURE.
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS PASSED BEFORE MISSISSIPPI TOOK ACTION. BY 1995, MISSISSIPPI WAS THE ONLY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES, THAT HAD NOT APPROVED THE RATIFICATION OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT.
FINALLY, ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1995, THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO OUTLAW SLAVERY BY APPROVING THE RATIFICATION OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. SENATOR HILLMAN FRAZIER, A MEMBER OF MISSISSIPPI’S LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS, SAID, “I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT WE HAVE PUT THE PAST BEHIND US.”
ii. WITH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST – WHAT WAS WRONG WAS MADE RIGHT.
iii. IF YOU ARE SITTING HERE TODAY AND YOU NEVER ACCEPTED CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR
1. YOU ARE STILL SEPARATED FROM GOD BY YOUR SINS
2. YOU HAVE MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY THANK YOU TO GOD FOR ALL HE DID
3. AND, PROVIDENTIALLY, YOU CAN “GET IT RIGHT”. INVITE JESUS IN!
2. THE RESURRECTION IS THE CATALYST THAT CHANGED HOPELESSNESS IN TO HOPE.
a. WITHOUT THE RESURRECTION, WE WERE HOPELESS
b. WE HAVE NO CONFIDENCE OF OUR FUTURE ETERNITY
i. WE ALREADY KNOW THAT WE HAVE ALL SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD
ii. WE KNOW THE WAGES OF OUR SIN IS DEATH – SEPARATION FROM GOD
iii. WITHOUT THIS HOPE, ALL WE CAN BE EXPECTED TO HEAR IS, “DEPART FROM ME – I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
c. WITH THE RESURRECTION COMES HOPE
i. BIBLICALLY, HOPE MEANS CONFIDENCE
ii. THINK FOR A MOMENT, WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU REALLY HAD CONFIDENCE IN ANYTHING
I AM NOT TRYING TO BE POLITICAL, YET RIGHT NOW POLITICS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS ON OUR MIND. SO, WITH THAT, I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH. FROM 1958 (THE YEAR I WAS BORN) TO 2023, THE CONFIDENCE, OR SHOULD I SAY HOPE IN OUR GOVERNMENT HAS GONE FROM 73% IN 1958 TO 77% IN 1966, AND THEN HAS SLIDDEN (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW SPIKES) TO 16% IN 2023.
I AM SURE THAT WITH LITTLE EFFORT, YOU CAN THINK OF OTHER AREAS WHERE CONFIDENCE IS EITHER TANKED, OR WANING
d. HERE IS WHAT MAKES THIS HOPE SO SPECIAL
i. THE HOPE GOD GIVES US THROUGH THE RESURRECTION DOES NOT STOP THERE. IT IS LIVING.
1. A LIVING HOPE IS SURE, CERTAIN, AND REAL
2. A HOPE THAT IS NOT LIVING IS DECEPTIVE, EMPTY AND FALSE
ii. THIS HOPE – CONFIDENCE IS ETERNAL. IT NEVER ANDS.
iii. WITH THAT IN MIND, THIS HOPE GIVES US THE CONFIDENCE THAT NO MATTER WHAT THIS LIFE OFFERS. NO MATTER WHAT SITUATIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCES COME MY WAY. NO MATTER WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH, THERE IS AND WILL BE MORE TO LIVE THAN THIS!
3. THE RESURRECTION OFFERS ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE BORN AGAIN.
a. WHAT EXACTLY DOES IT MEAN TO BE BORN AGAIN?
b. THIS IS WHAT JESUS TOLD NICODEMUS HE HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
c. HERE IN PETERS FIRST LETTER IS THE ONLY TIME WE SEE THIS PHRASE USED AGAIN IN THE SCRIPTURES. SO, WHAT DOES IT MEAN EXACTLY?
d. THE THEOLOGICAL TERM IS REGENERATION
i. THIS IS AN ACT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD WHERE HE BRINGS BELIEVERS INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD
ii. IN THE NEW BIRTH, WE BECOME DEAD TO SIN AND ALIVE TO GOD WITH A FRESH BEGINNING. PEOPLE CAN DO NO MORE TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR “NEW BIRTH” THAN THEY COULD DO TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR OWN NATURAL BIRTH.
4. THE RESURRECTION OFFERS ME AN INHERITANCE I COULD NEVER HAVE OBTAINED MYSELF.
a. THIS INHERITANCE IS IN A CLASS BY ITSELF.
b. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT WHEN FOLKS DESCRIBE GOLD, SILVER, OR PRECIOUS METALS, THEY WILL SAY THAT IT IS .999 PERCENT. SOME EVEN GO AS FAR TO SAY THAT IT IS .9999 PERCENT.
c. WHEN THEY USE THIS TERMINOLOGY, THEY ARE SPEAKING OF THE PURITY OF THE METAL.
i. THERE IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF IMPURE WITH THE PURE.
d. NOT SO WITH THE INHERITANCE GOD HAS FOR US BECAUSE OF THE RESURRECTION
i. THIS INHERITANCE DOES NOT PERISH OR CORRUPT
1. IT DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE OF DECAY. COMPARE THAT TO “INHERITANCES” TODAY. MANY OF THEM ARE HOPED FOR, YET THEY PASS AWAY LONG BEFORE THEY ARE OBTAINED.
2. IT CANNOT BE AFFECTED BY INFLATION, SHRINKFLATION, OR DEPRESSION
ii. THIS INHERITANCE DOES NOT SPOIL OR DEFILE
1. THIS WORD CARRIES THE THOUGHT OF BEING STAINED.
2. WHEN A PIECE OF CLOTHING IS INSPECTED AND FOUND TO HAVE A FLAW, IT BECOMES A SECOND. IT CANNOT BE SOLD A “WITHOUT DEFECT”.
3. THIS WORD IS ALSO USED OF SOMEONE WHO LOSES THE TITLE TO PROPERTY BECAUSE THERE A FLAW IN THE TITLE. THE INHERITANCE OF GOD IS A “CLEAN TITLE”.
iii. THIS INHERITANCE IS NOT SUBJECT TO FADING
1. THIS WORD IS USED OF A FLOWER THAT WITHERS
2. THE INHERITANCE OF THE BELIEVER NEVER LOSES ITS BRILLIANCE
iv. THIS INHERITANCE IS GUARDED I HEAVEN AND AS SUCH CANNOT BE STOLEN OR REMOVED. HEAVEN IS MORE SECURE THAN FORT KNOX!
5. THE RESURRECTION OFFERS ME SO MUCH MORE OF MY SALVATION WITH THE RETURN OF CHRIST.
a. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST OFFERS ME A FUTURE ETERNITY WITH GOD IN HEAVEN
b. MY FRIEND EMMANUEL OFTEN USES THE PHRASE, “IT GETS BETTER”.
c. THE RESURRECTION IS THE ASSURANCE THAT WHAT WE EXPERIENCE AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST GETS BETTER AND THAT BETTER COMES WITH HIS RETURN
6. THE RESURRECTION HELPS ME PUT THE EVENTS OF THIS WORLD IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE.
a. DOES THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST SUFFER, SURE WE DO
b. WE ARE UNDER THE SAME CONSEQUENCES OF A SINFUL WORLD AS EVERYONE ELSE
i. WE GET SICK
ii. WE HURT
iii. WE STRUGGLE
c. THE BLESSING THOUGH IS THAT WE SHIELDED/OR KEPT
i. THE WORD MEANS TO GUARD OR PROTECT BY A MILITARY GUARD. A GARRISON!
ii. WE ARE GUARDED AND PROTECTED BY THE GARRISON OF GOD HIMSELF
iii. UNTIL WE GET TO GLORY
SO, AS WE CONTINUE OUR APPROACH TO EASTE, I HOPE YOU WILL HAVE SEEN THE EASTER REALLY MATTERS – IT WAS THE RESET THAT ALLOWED MAN TO RETURN TO GOD, AND NOW THAT EASTER MEANS SO MUCH FOR OUR WALK WITH CHRIST NOW, AND OUR LIFE WITH HIM IN ETERNITY.
