Easter Breakthrough

The Breakthrough is in You

Key Ideas

We must die to ourselves in order to experience the power of the Holy Spirit.Easter means that death has been defeated.Trails are God’s way of forming us into the people He created us to be.

Scripture References

● Romans 8:11; 1:16

● 2 Corinthians 2:14

Outline

Introduction: The presence of God is within us.God’s presence isn’t only around us, it’s within us.Good Friday and Easter are about getting a fresh perspective on life through remembering everything Jesus has done for us!Our breakdowns are preparing us for a breakthrough.The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us!Jesus crucified our limitations- sin, disease, and death- by taking them upon Himself.What are we merely gazing at that we’re supposed to be moving powerfully in?Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can see challenges as opportunities for God to manifest Himself in our lives.The power of God is connected to the story of God.When we remember and respond to the Easter story, we are empowered.Jesus’ mission was not that His presence would surround us, but that His presence would be in us.Death was reigning, but Jesus defeated it through His resurrection. Through Christ, we can do all things, even face death with courage!

“When you talk about resurrection power, you’re talking about power that cannot be contained. We’re talking about power… that will confront any power, and any circumstance, and will prevail.”

We must die to ourselves.Sometimes, we don’t feel the Spirit because we’re not dead to ourselves. The Holy Spirit is a treasure in the “earthen vessel” of our humanity, and only death (or the breaking of our vessel) can make it shine forth.At Easter, we celebrate that Jesus, through His resurrection, defeated death.Likewise, we must die in order for the Spirit to work through our lives.We have to die to live. That’s what the cross symbolizes.The more you die, the stronger the power of the Holy Spirit gets in your life.This “Death” is death to everything we rely upon and worship (e.g. people, money, and image).We put our trust in idols, causing us to disconnect from the Holy Spirit.God will put us through trials to align us with His will for our lives.God has not forsaken you, He has put you on a cross so that you can be resurrected as a new creation.Don’t come down off your cross. Look at the joy set before you and endure it.

“You’ve been praying for the resurrection, but not acknowledging the reality of the cross.”

It’s comeback time!See your problems and challenges through the lens of the cross.You (your humanity, your flesh) has to die so that there can be less of you and more of God. Sometimes God allows your flesh to be attacked in order to deliver you.God makes us uncomfortable so that we will turn to Him.Challenges are really opportunities. If you’re going through something, it’s because is necessary for the plans and purposes God has for you.When we feel distant and think God has forsaken us, it means we haven’t seen Him correctly.Through trials, God is teaching us to trust Him, not our circumstances. ConclusionThe next level of glory necessitates a resurrection, and a resurrection necessitates a death.The cross, for a real believer, is normal- the hurt, confusion, sense of lack & deficit. And so is the subsequent resurrection.Prayer: Father, put a “Nevertheless, not my will but Yours” in all of our spirits!