Happy Easter everyone!
We’ve been in a series called End Time Prophecy Revealed in the last few weeks which can get a little sober at times can't it? But, the truth is that we serve a RISEN SAVIOUR! Hallelujah! And this special Resurrection Sunday is a great way to mark that truth. But did you know that every single day for the born again believer is a resurrection day!
What Jesus accomplished for us, even in this life, is a very real thing. When we put our faith in Christ we are born again and made new! It’s a glorious truth, church, that should bring great hope and joy. It's not just pie in the sky for when we die. It's steak on the plate while we wait. (Sorry to the vegetarians out there - but hopefully you get my point!)
Let’s go to the Word. Romans 6:4; 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.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
And in John 4 Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
John 4:10-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
This Easter Sunday, we want to focus in on the nature of our new life. The life we have in Jesus Christ is supernatural, otherworldly, it’s always new! The life that Jesus gives us means we are in a continual and perpetual state of newness. We are constantly being made new and refreshed. The life of Jesus is a spring of life, always bubbling up and never dies out of even gets dull!
Paul said that we should walk in newness of life. Notice that he didn’t say we should ‘come back to life’, but rather walk in it! What does that mean, to walk in newness of life? To continually experience it ever day in fresh ways. Life on earth is only a matter of time. It’s always undergoing a process of deterioration. But that is not the case with Jesus. When He came up out of the grave, He gained a new body for Himself and that fountain of life is now yours. It’s inside you and never runs dry. We can continually experience, not just life, but newness of life!
Hebrews 7:16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
God is life. He doesn’t just give it, He is it! The very fountain, the source of life is inside you every moment for the rest of all eternity. It’ll never go away or run dry. Now that is good news!
So what are the benefits of this for us? How can we see this amazing truth practically in our lives? Well, there are three benefits that we want to share that come from this spiritual reality.
1. Unlimited grace
2. Supernatural power
3. Hope for the future
That's a pretty good list!
Grace. Unlimited. Your phone might have unlimited calls, but the battery will die! You might have the big phone storage you know with 500GB or whatever. But you'll run out eventually. Not so with the Grace of God. It is truly unlimited.
No matter what you’ve done or where you are on your journey with God, Jesus’ resurrection this morning means you can start over, reset, as often as you need. You have an eternal, everlasting reset button with God! Phew, right?! Lamentations 3:22-23 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
His mercies are new every day for you and for me because that newness of life springs from Jesus and brings us everlasting, reliable and unconditional grace. Wow! Maybe you feel like the Lord must surely have had enough of you by now. The devil wants you to believe that you’ve crossed a line, that you’ve fallen from grace and there is no way out for you. That is a lie.
In tennis, you get two serves, right? The first serve hits the net or misses the line and the umpire shouts ‘Fault’! Then you get a second serve. But if you miss again, it’s a ‘double fault’ and you lose a point. Well, with Jesus, you get as many serves as you need to hit that perfect ace!
Jesus’ sinless life means His blood, through his death and resurrection is more than enough to provide forgiveness and grace for you always and forever. That is good news! Jesus wasn’t only a sacrifice, He was also the priest! He wasn’t just a type and shadow, He was the ultimate, real sacrifice that completely dealt with sin permanently and forever. Praise God!
Did you know that God doesn't send people to hell? Sadly, they send themselves! The gift of grace is available to everyone, all the time, forever. All you have to go is receive it!
1 John 1:7-9 says But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The second benefit is supernatural power. God lives in you! Ephesians 1:16-20 is awesome. Look at this: Cease not 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 unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
Paul is praying for the saints in Ephesus. Look what he prays; that they might know all those amazing things. What things? The exceeding greatness of his power toward those who believe. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Then the same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in you! Hallelujah!
Ephesians 3:20 - according to the power that works in us!
Finally, benefit 3 is hope for the future. God will never leave you nor forsake you. He will always be with you, providing for you, loving you, wanting to commune with you every day 24/7. No matter how difficult this life becomes, because Jesus is alive forevermore, the blessings of the world to come and guaranteed to you. Glory like we can’t even imagine. We discussed this in church a few weeks ago didn’t we. The blessings of the world to come. If you missed that blog, check it out here.
The lyrics of Because He Lives by Bill Gaither are such a blessing. We are going to finish by posting those lyrics, but you can listen to it here.
We also wanted to give you a taste of home church with this special Easter service from last year. We don't make our home church videos public because we actually want people to go to church! We don't want them to watch in the pjs at home on the own. But, this is last years Resurrection Sunday service and we wanted to bless you with it this Easter weekend. The whole video is available for you to watch if you'd like, with Pastor Richard teaching on God's Surpassing Love as well. Be blessed! WATCH HERE.
Well, Happy Easter church! God bless each and every one of you this special weekend. Celebrate today your eternal salvation in Jesus Christ and enjoy that never-ending, everlasting newness of life that is available to you day in and day out! Check out these lyrics....
BECAUSE HE LIVES by Bill Gaither
God sent His son
They called Him Jesus
He came to love
Heal and forgive
He bled and died
To buy my pardon
An empty grave
Is there to prove
My saviour lives
And because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives
And then one day
I'll cross the river
And I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then
As death gives way to victory
I'll see the lights of glory
And I'll know He reigns
Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives (He lives)
Hallelujah
He lives
Have a blessed week church,
Upstream Ministries
Watch Richard Harris by Clicking on the Image Below
Comments