After the Resurrection
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04-11-2021
Now What
Intro
Last week we were able to celebrate Easter
We celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior
Last week we learned that it is all about the resurrection
We know for a fact that the resurrection happened because Jesus left the stone rolled away so that you and I can look in
I think we talked a bit about it but after Jesus arose from the grave and defeated death he was seen by a number of different people
But then what happened
Because if the resurrection truly changed them and I believe we will see it did, shouldn’t it change us as well
Lets be honest Church, Easter is not a holiday we celebrate what a life change in our lives
If the resurrection did not change our lives to the point that we are not the same to the point that we different from this world then church it is just a holiday
See I don’t think it is just a holiday
So if it was not just another holiday what happens next
Church once again it is all about the resurrection
Church we have said it I am sure and if not we are to Read, Pray and DO
If in fact the resurrection changed us
If the resurrection changed us to the point we are different, we are what Paul called heirs with Christ if we are changed
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
The way we know we are changed is if we are obedient
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Church we are to be doing the will of God
That is how we know that we have been changed by the resurrection
Because church it is all about the resurrection
So lets see what it should look like after the resurrection
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” 9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
This is 40 days after the resurrection and church it was still the most important thing
It had changed them so much they were ready for the coming kingdom of Christ
They were expectantly waiting for the coming Kingdom of Christ, because church they had just spent 40 days with the Savior of the World after he had risen from the grave!
So God begins to share with them they will serve as His witness, they will serve as a witness to the resurrection because church with no resurrection, there would be no reason to have a witness, because there would be nothing to witness
Church for those who have a personal relationship with Christ, meaning the risen Lord resides in your heart you are also called to be a witness of the fact that the Lord has risen
Risen indeed
Church we are to take what we are witnesses of to ends of the earth and also to our neighbors, to our families
Church we are to take what we have witnessed about the risen Savior to our 1
We are to go and share what we have witnessed about Jesus to our 1!
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Church after Jesus had risen from the grave, and then spent 40 days with His followers He ascended into heaven
They were witnesses to all of this and were told they were to go out and share that with others
We are told to share that with others
Notice though what the apostles did immediately after
They went to the upper room and stayed there, and they all were unified
Church they were in one mind, they were unified
The resurrection had so changed them, that they were unified about prayer
Prayer was of the most importance church
They were praying because the resurrection had changed them
40 days after the resurrection, they didn’t plan anything, they didn’t look for a curriculum, they didn’t spend upset or whining
40 days after the resurrection they spent in prayer church because the resurrection had changed
And church hint hint wink wink nudge nudge we should follow suit, we should be unified in prayer, our church you show up at prayer meeting because it was important to the 1st church it should be as important to us!!
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
We are witnessing the Spirit of God being poured out on the apostles
They are getting ready to be used by God because they have been prepared
They had to wait for the Holy Spirit to move before they could go out and share the Gospel
They had to be prayed up, and then they were able to be go and do what God had prepared them for
Church we have to be reading our Bibles, we have to praying, and then church we can be used by the Holy Spirit
Just like the early church we see the Holy Spirit being poured out on these men and then they are about to go out and share what they have witnessed for the last 40 days
14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
They are being used by God to share what they are witnesses to
Of all people it had to be Peter
If you will recall last week Peter was one of the named disciples to go to the empty tomb, to see for himself
But Peter, this time it had a different meaning, it wasn’t that Peter didn’t believe, this particular time, it was Peter standing and sharing with the crowd what he had just witnessed for 40 days
Church the resurrection had changed Peter so much that now we start to see Peter being bold for the Gospel
Peter preaches his first sermon and the peoples response was
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”
Church Peters invitation is to repent, to turn from your sin and be baptized,
His finally plea was for a perverse generation to repent and trust the Lord for the first time
Church we know what happened 3000 people began a personal relationship with the Risen Savior
And church it was because the resurrection had changed them so much
The resurrection was not just some emotional experience for these men and women, it completely and utterly changed their lives
Peter was an uneducated fisherman, and because of the resurrection he now becomes a leader in the first church
Peter was the guy who was always that guy, that guy who seemed to be all excited about Jesus but no follow through, except now, this is that same Peter who had witnessed the resurrection and been made whole by Jesus
Church it is all about the resurrection
Easter cannot and will not just be a holiday we celebrate once a year but something that you and I personal celebrate each and everyday because church it is all about the resurrection
The resurrection must have changed us church
We should have been effected by the resurrection much like these men and women
for our lives to never be the same again
Church is time we take stock and reflect on our lives, has the resurrection effected us in such a way that it has changed our lives
or has the resurrection simply become another holiday for us to celebrate
because it is all about the resurrection for us
church just like the first church
We are to be reading, praying, and doing
We are to study the Word of God, read it memorize it, live by it
We are to pray, not just around meal time, but we are to pray privately, and corporately
And then church just like the first church, we are do what the Holy Spirit has prepared us todo and called us to do
Which is to be a witness of the resurrection to those who are lost and headed for hell
Closing
Our call and invitation this morning church is just like the invitation peter gave in his first sermon
Repent and believe, repent and trust in the Lord Jesus who is alive
Turn from sin you perverted generation
The altar is open