Today: What Difference Does the
Resurrection Make?
1 Corinthians 15:17-20a And if Christ has not been
raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this
life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 20But
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…
What Does The Resurrection Mean? It Means...
1. Jesus is who he
claimed to be.
Matthew 26:63b-65 The high
priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if
you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64"Yes, it is as you
say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on
the clouds of heaven." 65Then the high priest tore his clothes
and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses?
Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
Daniel 7:13-14 (400 BC)
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and
was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and
sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his
kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
John 11:25b "I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he
dies…”
John
14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.
2. Jesus has the power he claimed to have.
John 10:18a [Jesus talking about his own life:]No
one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to
lay it down and authority to take it up again.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
3. Jesus does what he promises to do.
Mark 10:32b-34 Again he took
the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33"We
are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be
betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to
death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34who will mock him
and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."
Matthew 28:5-6 The angel said
to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as
he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
1. My past can be forgiven.
Colossians 3:14-15 …having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and
authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the
cross.
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus…
Romans 4: 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised
to life for our justification.
2. I can have power to live in
the present.
Ephesians 1:18-20 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his
incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of
his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him
from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…
Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
3. My future can be secured.
1 Peter 1:3-4 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…
1 Peter 1:3-4 (The Message) What a God we have! … Because Jesus was
raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything
to live for, including a future in heaven, and the future starts
now!
1 Corinthians 6:14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and
he will raise us also.
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A
prayer to begin a relationship with Jesus: Dear Jesus. I don’t understand it all but I want a
relationship with you. I want to thank
you for loving me. I want to thank you
for coming to earth for me. I want to
thank you for giving your life for me so I could go to heaven. I ask for forgiveness for what I have done
wrong. I accept your free gift of forgiveness and salvation. I want you to be the Savior and Leader of my
life. You call the shots from here on
out. I want to learn to trust you and
to love you and to fulfill your purpose for my life. Amen.