Life came at Dawn
Notes
Transcript
The Emptiness of the Tomb and the longing of the Human Heart
The Emptiness of the Tomb and the longing of the Human Heart
The tomb is empty but our hearts are longing for something more
Eternity is in all of us because someone from eternity has created us to be with Him.
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
The Human heart knows that there is a God, but pride and deception blinds our minds to think this isn't something of great importance
The biggest threat to the human race is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes & the pride of life
For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
Looking at different translation for greater clarity
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
If we our lives are solely based on what we see, hear & taste,we miss the true meaning of life & what we were created for, & who we were created for.
This is called the sensual life, living life only through our 5 senses.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This kind of sensual life gives way to our fallen nature.
the fallen nature is the natural inclination of human beings toward sin, it isn’t habitual in essence but its something were born with at birth.
Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.
Clarification: A baby when born is innocent there is an age that a person, male or female knows what their doing is right or wrong the conscious is developed and they are now responsible for their actions.
but when a child is growing up you don’t have to teach them to lie or even be unselfish you can see those tendencies and that's where we come in as parents to teach them not to lie, take whats not theirs or learn how to share
This is a good example of the sin nature in human beings growing as they mature.
That sin nature was passed down to us through Adam in the Garden when him and Eve made a decision to disobey God.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
This is the condition of man(human beings) outside of Jesus Christ
We are inclined to follow our senses and do what we feel is right or desire to do the things we want
This is called rebellion, this what going astray looks like
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
As human beings we are always looking for something, we are prone to wander.
Prone to wander in our thoughts, in our actions, in our beliefs & convictions.
So this is what the Lord says to his people: “You love to wander far from me and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people. Now I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.”
The reason we wander is because we are truly looking for love & purpose in our lives. Looking for love in the wrong places.
“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
We think & believe that what we see, what we have & what we trust in really can satisfy us.
Unfortunately as we go through life we see that, that way of thinking starts to reveal itself as a lie, a slow deception that has crept up on us.
God knows this about us. The minute Adam & Eve sinned He knew that humanity would be separated from Him & inherit that nature of rebellion which is prone to wander & be deceived.
Because of this nature in us God had a plan to bring us back into fellowship with him.
But His justice had to be satisfied.
God is not only Merciful, Kind, Loving, & long-suffering, but He’s also a just God.
The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
God is righteous & Holy this understanding about The Lord must be restored back into the church, back into our society.
Your throne is founded on two strong pillars—the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence.
Jesus Himself talked about things being done in the light before God
But he who practices truth [who does what is right] comes out into the Light; so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—wrought with God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence upon Him].
The true light that God wants us to live in is found is His Son. Jesus is The Light of The World
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
See Jesus didn't come to start another religion He came to give us light, bring deliverance & salvation to every human being on earth.
When Jesus arrived & made His appearance on earth 2025 years ago it was for our benefit, so that we can once again be in relationship & right standing with God.
For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
At the cross there was a divine exchange an eternal transference.
His righteousness for our sin.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Gods justice had to be meet in some capacity for human beings to be made right in Him.
Even Abraham the patriarch understood that God was a righteous judge.
Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Some of us have a problem with this side of God’s character
In a society where we call good evil & evil good our moral compasses can be blurred, they can be skewed with the opinions of the world, with the trends of the media, but Gods nature hasn't changed.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
God cant change His character because He is not a man that he should lie or a son of man that he needs to repent
But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow.
That good and perfect gift came from God the Father in & through His Son to grant us the gift of eternal life and a living relationship with Him while on earth.
Where God through His Spirit taking residence in us can once again find full expression through those who are called His people.
I want bring clarity this resurrection Sunday on a saying that we hear a lot in our generation, which says every human being is considered God’s child.
Every Human being is made in His Image
Which being made in God’s image grants us dignity, respect and love. No matter race, greed or gender.
But it doesn't mean because I’m created in the image of Almighty God that I’m His child.
That I have a living relationship with Him and that I’m known by Him
AND YOU [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind.
God had to deal with this nature that lives in every human being. Even created in His image we are still separated from God because spiritually we are dead.
So how do we become children of God then?
How do i once again come into relationship with my heavenly Father?
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
That word where it says “He gave that right”, in other translations it says authority
The word for authority is exousia
it has a few meanings within its context and how it is used in the new testament.
in this verse it means God has given us the privilege to be His children now because we've received Christ
We are privileged, loved and honored by God because we've come back to The Father by believing, by repenting, and receiving The name of His beloved Son, & that name is Jesus. Which means God saves.
In other context that word authority (exousia) means: authority over a domain or sphere of influence; often pertaining to the political or religious sphere.
Lets look how The Word of God brings this to light & gives us a better understanding of one of the primary privileges we've received by believing in His name
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
See today we are in this building because some of us know, believe and understand that our God is alive, He’s been raised!
Raised far above all power or principalities
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
Jesus is seated at the right hand, the right hand always symbolized strength, honor, authority, and favor., if the scriptures says we are seated with Him in heavenly places that means that has been given to me as a child of God.
That is part of my inheritance, it is my due portion in Christ, lets not live below our spiritual means
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
But to come into the fullness of this inheritance as a child of God. You must turn back to God, repentance is the key to faith.
We must come out of our ignorance to the fullness of understanding of what God really has done for us
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
That is the call for you today.
To come back to the family of God
To turn back to God, believe and receive His Spirit. To believe upon the name of Jesus to have the right, the authority to be called a child of God.
This is the spiritual rebirth, Jesus taught one of the most prominent religious leaders of the day, this goes beyond our intellect, it is by faith we receive.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
That is what God desires for all humanity, to be born of His Spirit!
To come alive in The Spirit!
To turn from living in sin and walk in the newness of life.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
This is so far from any other religion, belief system, or political ideology
This is about knowing God in The Spirit. About becoming a new creation
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
Deep calls onto deep
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
But to know those things that have been freely given us by God we must turn back to Him, Repent, believe and receive!
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
