Good morning, CHURCH!

(Church joke of the day)

One Easter morning a mother woke up early and began preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin who was 5 and Ryan who was 3.

The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.

“I want it.” “No, I want it.”

“I’m older.” “I’m younger.”

And on and on they went.

Finally, their mother had enough.

But she saw it as an opportunity for a moral lesson.

“Boy’s, If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’”

Then their mother smiled and just waited to see which of her sons would step up and be like Jesus.

So, the older brother Kevin turned to his younger brother Ryan and said, ‘Mom is absolutely right.’

“Okay Ryan, you can be Jesus!”

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s go to the book of Matthew 12:40 ESV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

Jonah 1:17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Most people know about that story in the Bible.

But not everyone connects that to the Resurrection of Jesus.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination

Matthew 12:40 ESV

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

And just as God was showing love for the people of Nineveh by bringing his prophet back to warn them, He is showing us love by the death burial and resurrection of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 ESV

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.

6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

There are a lot of glitz and glamour on Easter Sunday in most churches.

Some people turn it into a day for the kids to play hide and go seek with colored eggs.

We often get dressed to impress.

But one thing I want to emphasize early on in my message today is this overwhelming act of love that can never be topped.

Let’s get into the message.

From Death to Life

In this life we’ve come to put so much emphasis on life as it leads to death.

And we’ve come to think of death as the great tragedy.

And sometimes it is a great tragedy if it’s the first time you’ve died.

Point #1

The New Birth in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

What does it really mean to become a new person.

Let me tell you, when I came to the Lord, I needed to become a new person. (More than I even knew.)

My wife could probably tell you better than I could.

To become a new person.

The old life is the Setav (seetoff).

Setav is a Hebrew word that means the season of hiding or the time of darkness.

It’s like the winter which is the season of darkness, barrenness, and death.

In the winter we lose our beautifully green colored grass and our multicolored flowers.

And this is a representation of the old life before Christ.

The crazy thing about it, is that before Christ I didn’t even know I was living in darkness.

But with nature we do look forward each year to the time when the winter ends.

Winter ends with the coming of the Hebrew month of Nisan(nisin). (In the Spring).

Nisan is the month that ends the season of darkness, that breaks the death of winter.

Nisan is the month when the earth again bears its fruit, and its flowers again begin to blossom.

The green of the grass starts to color the neighborhoods.

Nisan is the month of new life.

In Hebrew Nisan is a word that means the beginning.

Nisan is the month when the sacred Hebrew year begins anew.

Why is this significant and why am I using these Hebrew words?

Nisan is also the month that Messiah, Jesus the Christ chose to bring redemption.

The month he entered Jerusalem.

Them month he died on the cross.

And the month he rose from the dead.

Do you think it was a coincidence that all of that happened in the month of Nisan.

Nisan brings new life.

So also, the Messiah’s coming brought us new life.

We call it the new birth.

Just as Nisan signifies the end of winter.

Our Messiah’s coming signified the end of winter in our lives.

The end of the season of darkness in our lives.

The end of our time of hiding.

The end of our living in the shadows.

The end of our season of barrenness.

A new life in Christ signifies the time in our lives in which we can bear fruit.

The time in which we are to blossom.

A springtime in our lives which brings about all the vitality that colors bring.

And for those of us that are in Christ our Messiah, we are always in Nisan.

From Setav to Nisan.

From Death to Life.

The death burial and resurrection of Jesus are historical facts.

But what do they mean for us today?

How should they impact our lives today?

Point #2

The Benefits in Christ

Jesus didn’t die just to get us to Heaven.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.

If Jesus’ death was just to get us to Heaven, God should have taken our breath away the moment we truly became born again.

(Jesus, I believe that you are God’s son born of a virgin. I believe you died was buried and rose from the grave for the sins of the whole world. I would like to receive you as savior and Lord of my life today.)

So, there must be more than just us getting to Heaven.

Jesus died to connect us to the Father.

Eternal life doesn’t start when you die in the flesh.

Eternal life starts when you die in the Spirit and are born again.

That’s why Paul the apostle calls our difficulties a momentary, light affliction.

2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

And this is why death has no victory over a believer.

1 Corinthians 15:55 NLT

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

We don’t just benefit from being in Christ once we lay down this flesh suit.

We benefit right now in so many other ways.

We get a loving Father who cares for us, provides for us, forgives us, rescues us, cleanses us, never lies to us, mends all our broken pieces, and calls us his son/daughter.

When I was out in the 200 acres of land during my spiritual quest, the Lord had me look at the birds and insects, getting after each other.

Then he reminded me of when I’ve seen video of the animals in the wild, going after each other for food.

And he told me how man strives after one another.

Then he told me as only a loving father could, that I was at the top of the food chain.

If you only knew how that made me feel.

And that is just one of the benefits of being in Christ and being connected to the Father.

Let’s look at another.

Point #3

The Wisdom in Christ

The Karate Kid was a popular movie in the mid 80’s that told a story of a boy (Daniel) in need of saving from being bullied.

And a man (Mr. Miagi) who was a former karate instructor that would be his savior.

Mr. Miagi used wise life lessons to teach Daniel how to survive the bullying he was subjected to in the local high school.

Life has been bullying a lot of you.

And you need a savior to teach you some life lessons that will keep the bully (Satan) off your back.

James the brother of our risen savior had these wise words to say.

James 4:7-8 NLT

So, humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

We are to choose between the value system of our God or the value system of this world.

When we choose the value system of God, we will be forced to resist the devil and thus he will flee.

Last week Michael was trying to use lyrics to songs that he knows nothing about to make a great point.

Here is one for you.

God, the closer I get to you,

The more you make me see,

By giving me all you’ve got,

You’re love has captured me.

Who wouldn’t want to serve A God like this?

If you’re watching online or here in the building, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?