The Power Of The Resurrection

The Power of the Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15: 3-8; Philippians 3:7-11, John 11:23

1 Corinthians 15

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Philippians 3

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

INTRODUCTION:

The month of November was declared as our theme Jesus The Resurrection and Life. We remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the garden tomb. The power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to be seen in His victory over Satan, sin, death, and hell. In our identification with Christ, Romans 6: 4 tells us, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” You and I are called by God to live in the power of His resurrection. Our faith in Christ has placed us in Christ. We have been raised to walk in newness of life.

Reality of Resurrection: (Explain briefly)

Resurrection – is the return to life after being dead.

1. God’s plan for everyone is to rule and subdue all He created. Gen. 1:27-30

2. Fall of Man – Gen. 3 ; Romans 5:12

3. God’s absolute love for man ( the plan of redemption)– John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Romans 6:4

Read: Text Philippians 3:7-11

I. The Power of the Resurrection Brings REstoration.

A. Restore = reinstate, bring back, re-establish, return

- It brings back to life that which was dead.

- It reinstates and re-establishes our relationship with God the Father

John 1:12

1 John 3: 1-2

1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

C.S. Lewis said, "The Son of God became man to enable men to become the sons of God...”

- It returns the ownership of one’s life to his Creator.

Romans 8:15

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship And by him we cry, “Abba Father.”

Illustration:

In his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, John Maxwell tells the story of one of the most incredible restorations in American business history. It happened at the Chrysler Corporation in the early 1980’s. Chrysler was in a mess, despite a long history of success. At one point in Chrysler’s history they had captured an incredible 25% of the entire domestic automobile market. By the time the 1970’s rolled around, the Chrysler Corporation was in a steady decline. By 1978 they only had 11% of the market. Things looked bleak. The company was headed toward bankruptcy. In November 1978, Chrysler brought a new leader to take over the company. His name was Lee Iacocca. Iacocca had just left Ford in 1978 after serving as their president. When he left Ford, the company, under his leadership, was earning record profits of 1.8 billion in each of the last two years. The task of turning around Chrysler proved to be enormous. Iacocca described the company as having been run like a small grocery store, despite its size. There were no viable financial systems or controls in place, production and supply methods were a mess, products were built poorly, and nearly all of the divisions were run by turf-minded vice presidents who refused to work as a team. Morale was very low throughout the company, customer loyalty was low, and the company continued to lose money. Iacocca did everything he knew how to turn things around. He replaced 33 of the 35 vice presidents. He brought in the best leaders he could find. He reduced as many expensed as he could. He grudgingly and humbly went before Congress for loan guarantees so that Chrysler would not go bankrupt. Finally, he reduced his own salary to $1.00 a year. Iacocca brought about a total restoration to the Chrysler Corporation. By 1983, Chrysler was able to pay back its loans. Before he retired, Chrysler had gained 16% of the market, double what it was in the first years he took over. The company has fought its way back and been restored to a growing, profitable industry.