WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?

Introduction

Pray

Introduce yourself and the video

Easter is the culmination of the sacrifice of Good Friday.

You know the story! Our perfect God sent His Son into the world to take on flesh. He was tempted in every way yet He was without sin!

He died on the cross an innocent man! He poured out His spotless blood as a sacrifice for the sins of the world!

Leviticus says that sin can not be forgiven without the shedding of blood. And God does not desire the blood of sheep and goats.

But the sacrifice that the Lord desires is a broken and contrite heart.

They laid His body in a borrowed tomb. And three days later, the King of Life took His first resurrected breath!

Because (shout) He is Risen!!

Some of you here are saying why is that guy shouting?!

I remember growing up and hearing our Pastor shout “He is risen!” and wondering why do people always shout that phrase?

Why?

Why is it so great that our Savior lives? Why should that make us want to shout?!

That is the question I want to attempt to answer this morning!

Because by the end of the service I want us all to be able to truly shout for joy that He is Risen!

“The truth of the resurrection gives life to every other area of gospel truth. The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be so much wishful thinking, taking its place alongside all other human philosophy and religious speculation.” – John MacArthur

WHAT’S SO GREAT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?

What does it show us or do for us that should cause us to shout?!

HE IS RISEN!

TO SHOW HIS POWER

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Garden, sin was introduced as the consequence of sin.

The enemy unleashed death upon the world and it was his greatest weapon.

Jesus died on the cross, His blood poured out for the taking away of our sin. To remove our sins for us. And we couldn’t do anything without His dead. Without His sacrifice! His dead is one of the greatest examples of love ever seen on this earth.

But a dead Savior doesn’t defeat the enemy.

However, A risen Savior defeated the enemy’s greatest weapon.

2 Timothy 1:10 (ESV)

which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

1 Corinthians 15:54–55 (ESV)

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The resurrection of Jesus shows us His power to defeat death and resurrect someone from death because we put our hope in Him to do it for us!

One day, we will die. and He will return! And when He does, the bible says that the dead in Christ shall rise. The enemy can NOT keep us in that grave!

We have hope that this coming resurrection is true because He has done it before!

A dead savior can’t give us that hope.

But a resurrected Savior gives us hope in His proven power!

HE IS RISEN!

TO SHOW HIS ABILITY TO SAVE

Hebrews 7:25 (ESV)

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

So much of the book of Hebrews is about this very topic. Jesus is the great because He is alive! He is greater than angels because He is alive! He is greater than Moses because He is alive!

Because He is alive, He actively holds the office of our Great High Priest.

In this passage though it says that a risen Savior serving in the office of High Priest is able to save to the uttermost.

A dead savior could not do that!

But a Risen Savior is able to save!

He is able to remove your sins.

He is able to place on you the righteousness of God.

Can you grasp that concept?

You can’t can you?

“able to save to the uttermost”

Last week, we talked about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and He said, John 13:10

John 13:10 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.

“Completely clean” that word completely means all, whole, entire.

That uttermost means altogether, perfectly, so that nothing should be wanting afterwards for ever.

Do you hear the completeness of these words? Do you hear the absoluteness of these words? Lacking nothing. To perfection.

Because He lives, He is able to save perfectly. Absolutely. Completely. Entirely. Without lack.

So, why has doubt already filled your mind?

“You don’t know what I have done!”

Paul wrote 1 Timothy 1:13-15

1 Timothy 1:13–15 ESV

though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

He accepted the full grace of Jesus.

Have you ever thought what David did?

Impregnated one of his soldier’s wives.

And because the man was too devoted to David and too devoted to his fellow soldiers, too good of a person, that David orchestrated his death to cover up his sin.

Have you thought about the depth and grotesqueness of those sins?

And yet, David understood the grace of God to the point that he was able to write Psalms after that.

God’s grace is so powerful and so deep and so complete that it is even through the children of David and Bathsheba that Jesus is born!

See, there is no too far gone for Jesus!

Oh, that you could open your heart to believe and put your faith in the absolute nothingness that our sins are in the grace of God!

Hebrews 10:14 (ESV)

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

A dead savior can not give us that depth of grace.

But a risen Savior can show it to us, let us feel it, can overwhelm us with it, can reveal it to us.

HE IS RISEN!

TO INTERCEDE ON OUR BEHALF

As we walk through this sinful world, still battling between walking my the flesh and walking by the Spirit. We will fail. We will sin.

Jesus in the John 13:10 passage says that once you are washed by Jesus, you don't need to be completely washed again.

But as we walk through this life, we are still going to need to have our feet washed. We are still going to need to have His grace and mercy wash away what we pick up.

John 13:10 ESV

Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.”

Hebrews puts it this way. Hebrews 7:25

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

“Since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

As we walk through this life picking up road dirt and sin, because Jesus lives, He makes intercession for us!

He is constantly applying His atoning work for you and for me as we walk through this life.

Dane Ortlund says, “The atonement of the cross accomplished our salvation; intercession is moment- by-moment application of that atoning work.”

I don’t know about you, but I need His moment-by-moment atonement and grace upon my life.

And Jesus lives to do that for you!!

Do you see the heart of Christ in that?

This is what He lives for! This is what He desires! This fulfills His mission! He lives to intercede on your behalf!

A dead savior could NOT do that!

But a risen Savior can!

HE IS RISEN!

TO BRING US TO THE FATHER

John 14:6 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Ephesians 2:18 (ESV)

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Hebrews 4:14 ESV

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

If you could do any study on this topic, study the phrases like “in Him” or “through Christ”.

Scripture is FULL of references to the people, places and things that we have access to in Christ.

But there is no greater gift that the access to our heavenly Father!

Throughout world history, God has wanted to be with His people. His heart is to dwell with His people!

and Jesus came to restore peace between sinful man and a holy God.

Ephesians 2:14–16 ESV

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

The presence of God, access to the Father, approaching the throne of grace is where Christians find His peace.

Its where we find shelter from the storm.

Its where we find rest.

Its where we whisper the deepest hurts in our hearts and they get soothed by our Father.

Its the place David called His refuge.

Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

Its the sweet dwelling place of the Lord.

Its where we find the well-springs of life.

Psalm 16:11 (ESV)

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

The presence of God is where all of the promises of scripture are found fulfilled.

The presence of God is where we can fill with the fullness of God.

Jesus gives US access to all of that NOW and throughout all of eternity!

None of that would be possible with a dead savior.

(Build up)

But a RISEN SAVIOR MAKES ALL OF THAT POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND FOR ME!

IF THAT’S NOT WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS!

Lastly,

HE IS RISEN!

TO KNOW HIM PERSONALLY

This morning, we have sought to answer the question “Why do we shout, “He is risen?”

We have talked about how all of us have sinned and fallen short of the expectations of God.

We have talked about how the penalty of that sin is death.

We have talked about how Jesus bore that penalty for the you and for me!

We have talked about how Him rising from the death, he defeated death and sin! He took away the penalty of death!

We have talked about how no one can be too far gone, can be too sinful for Him. He is able to save to the uttermost, to perfection. And how His atoning work is being applied to us day by day.

We have talked about how Jesus is the only way to the Father and the only way to the fulfillment of all of the promises of scripture.

How He is the only path that leads to spending an eternity is His presence.

We have talked about how a dead savior could not do any of that.

But a Risen Savior is able to save to the uttermost.

So how? How do you receive all of this? How can you know for sure that your can have all of this?

Some of you here are thinking about your life now and you know that you have never had any of these things that I have talked about. You have never been able to truly shout “He is risen” because it has never meant anything to you!

So how??

Right now, I want to read one of the scariest verses is scripture. But it could at the moment it might be your only hope. Because is shows us the answer to that question, “How?”.

Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

One of the scariest verses holds the key to all that we have talked about today!

There is it!

TO KNOW HIM!

To know means to have a personal relationship with!

You can not to that with a dead savior!!

But you can KNOW PERSONALLY A RISEN SAVIOR!!

How?

You believe that all that we have read in His Word today is true. You don’t have to have proof. You just have to have faith.

Faith that He is who we have said that He is and He can do what He said will do.

Will you turn away from leading your life and lay it down at His feet? Will you make Him the Lord of your life? Will you follow Him? Will you seek Him? Will you pursue knowing Him?

Would you be willing to accept this invitation for your to meet the risen Savior??

Do you know Him?

Close eyes and bow heads.

Pray a salvation prayer in the Spirit.

Raise hand. Fill out a visitor card. Bring it to me personally, I’ll be standing down here. Bring it to me and hand it to me and say, I met Jesus today.

What’s so great about the resurrection?? Jesus is alive!! Does that make you want to shout it out? He is alive! His is our living hope!