What Does The Resurrection Mean To You?

Greetings

Good morning and Happy Resurrection Sunday! This week, we have been observing Passion Week, the week where our Lord Jesus set his face toward the cross and accomplished His earthly mission. I hope you have had the chance to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice throughout the week. It’s important that we internalize and meditate on the sacrifice made by a Holy God that made reconciliation with Him possible. It can be a very solemn time knowing what Jesus endured on our behalf, but today, we get to celebrate the crown jewel of God’s redemptive plan and His eternal victory over death and the grave, amen?!

Story of baptizing my kids.

At every baptism, 3 questions are always asked:

Do you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Do you believe he died on the cross for your sins?

Do you believe he rose from the grave?

Just like a nucleus controls and regulates the activities of our cells, the answers to these questions form the nucleus of our faith.

But why? What does an even that happened 2,000 years ago applicable to my life today? Didn’t Jesus say, “It is finished,” on the cross? Wasn’t his death enough? Why is the Resurrection so important?

I will answer these questions today, but before I do, I want you to think about this for a moment. If you look at some of the great sermons found in Acts, you will quickly see that they all focus on the resurrection as their main driver.

Peter in Acts 2: God ordained Jesus to die and you killed him, but God raised him from the grave. Because he is exalted to God’s right hand, he has made possible what is happening right now.

Paul in Acts 17: Paul speaks in the Areopagus, and the crowd is divided over the message of the resurrection from the dead.

Paul in Acts 24: Paul on trial before Felix. He says, “Today I am on trial before you concerning the resurrection of the dead.”

If it was the turning point for the Apostles in the 1st century, it should be the same for us today… and here are 4 reasons why.

Outline

Your sins are forgiven

Jesus is your living High Priest

You now have the Holy Spirit

You have a future hope

1. Your sins are forgiven

A. As the Old Testament Predicts:

First, to describe what Jesus accomplished, lets look at a passage of scripture that was written over 700 years before Jesus’ birth.

He bore our sins

Isaiah 53:4–6 (CSB)

Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

He rose from the dead

Isaiah 53:10–12 (CSB)

Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

OT Sacrificial system - temporary coverage (like sunscreen that needs to be applied every time you go back outside).

What did it do:

Performed by a High Priest

Atoned for the current sins of Israel

Satisfied God’s judicial wrath

Allowed for continued fellowship with God

Here is the problem, though. It was all temporary. It was never designed to be the permeant solution. It was meant to point TO the permanent solution.

Hebrews 10:4 ESV

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Hebrews 10:1 ESV

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

There was something more that needed to be done. That is why the eternal Son of God came down into his creation. He came to fulfill that model and much, much more.

Jesus’ mission in the incarnation was to BE the sacrifice that accomplished:

B. As the New Testament Confirms

1. Substitutionary Atonement for sin (permanently)

Atonement = Payment for sin through the sacrificial work of Jesus resulting in the reconciliation of sinners to God

By this definition, the atonement was sacrificial in nature. Jesus willingly laid down his life for ours as a substitution, meaning, the judgement and wrath for sin was for us, but like the OT sacrificial system, he willingly bore it in our place.

2. He bore God’s wrath (Propitiation)

The Atonement carried a penalty. That is why it is called penal atonement, because God’s wrath against sin must be satisfied.

Not only did Jesus offer up his life for his people, but he also bore God’s wrath on the cross. He took the punishment for sin that we rightfully deserved.

3. Your Justification

This is a courtroom term and is a declaration by the judge that the defendant is not guilty.

4. Reconcile you to God

Your sin separates you from God, and you are powerless to fix it. Only’s Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to remove sin and bring you back into a relationship with the Father.

5. Makes all this possible for YOU

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

no resurrection means Jesus is not raised

If Jesus is not raised:

our faith is worthless

we are false witnesses of God

we are still in our sins

Yes, it is true that his death accomplished all these benefits that we now enjoy. Yes, all of us who profess Jesus as Lord have been reconciled to God, having the penalty of sin removed, thereby receiving the grace of God instead of the wrath of God. That is good news that should make everyone shout for joy right here, right now...

but, NONE if it would be applicable to us unless the sacrifice was presented to and accepted by God.

C. Don’t let the devil and your guilty conscience undermine your joy in the forgiveness of your sins.

What have you carried with you into this room today?

What sins are weighing you down right now?

What worldly things are you using to satisfy the longings of your heart instead of allowing Christ to fill you?

The GOOD NEWS of Resurrection Sunday is that you can now cast all of that on Jesus because he has paid for it in full! You are free! Cast it on Jesus and be done!

The main difference here being that the sacrifice and the presenter of the sacrifice are the same person, which leads us to the 2nd thing that the Resurrection accomplished...

2. Jesus is your living High Priest

The OT priests represented the people before God, but they died and did not continue.

They carried out the sacrifices

Prayed to God on behalf of the individual and the nation of Israel

Stood as mediator between God and man.

A. He has presented His blood as an all-sufficient atonement for your sins

Hebrews 9:11–14 CSB

But Christ has appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?

B. He understands your trials, temptations & troubles, so He can present your needs before God

Hebrews 4:14–16 (CSB)

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

Hebrews 7:23–25 (CSB)

But because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him...

Jesus represents you before God eternally.

C. What does this mean for you?

Have you ever gone through something hard and had a friend how has gone through the same thing? Isn’t it better to go and receive comfort from that person than another friend, even a close one? Isn’t it so much more reassuring to be comforted by someone who has felt the same sting and pain? Story of Ben comforting me when Granny died.

Jesus can relate to anything you are going through (temptation, betrayal, loneliness, loss, rejection). He has faced it all and can sympathize with you in your struggles.

He looks at you with brotherly, compassionate eyes, not in condemnation.

Not only is he our High Priest and Mediator, but he is also the offended party, and yet, you can come to him boldly knowing there is only mercy and grace at his feet.

When you are compelled to stew in the shame of your sin, look to the one who bore your sin, who feels your pain, and who invites you in with a smile knowing there is no condemnation

This is a glorious truth, is it not?! But as glorious as it may be, it won’t make a difference in your life as long as it says in your head as intellectual knowledge. It must be grasped by your heart and spirit, and that cannot happen unless the Holy Spirit applies it, and this leads us to our 3rd point...

3. You now have the Holy Spirit

We could talk about the gift of the Spirit for your personal walk with God, but perhaps it will be helpful to think of Him in relation to your individual witness and the witness of Grace Covenant Community Church.

A. The overflow of your OWN life depends on the Holy Spirit

The Spirit was not poured out until Jesus was glorified in the resurrection and ascension.

John 7:37–39 CSB

On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The inner ministry of the Spirit would be impossible without the resurrection. Think about what that means for just a moment.

Just how dependent are we on the Spirit to live a pleasing life to God?

He fills us with spiritual life and joy with streams of living water. Water purifies. Hydrates. Refreshes. Sustains. Invigorates. Only the Spirit produces that.

Scripture is spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2). How could we understand it without Him?

The Spirit guides us into all truth. How then could we even know what truth is without Him?

The Spirit always points to Christ. How then, could we see Jesus in His fullness?

He prays on our behalf when we don’t have the words.

He empowers us to fulfill God’s mission to the nations (Acts 1:8).

He gifts us to fulfill God’s mission (Romans 12 & 1 Cor. 12).

He produces fruit in us for the benefit of the Body (Gal. 5).

B. The outpouring of the Spirit produced a fruitful witness for the church BODY

This has happened because of Pentecost. During Peter’s first sermon after being filled with the Spirit, he said:

Acts 2:32–33 CSB

“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since he has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he has poured out what you both see and hear.

Acts 2:37–41 (CSB)

For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”… So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

The entire christian population went from 12- 3,012 in a single day! This is the good news of the Gospel! The filling of the Spirit is a promise for those to repent from sin and turns to Jesus for forgiveness. Amen!

Acts 4:31–33 (CSB)

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.

As a final point for the giving of the Holy Spirit, note the result. Yes, we get all of those benefits mentioned earlier, but this passage shows us that we also are empowered to live boldly and in unity.

Without Him, we look just like the world around us, but with Him, we can transform the world around us.

How? Through the ministry of the Spirit within us both individually and corporately.

C. We are looking forward to fruitful cooperation between Grace Covenant and Alliance, but the most important factor in the future witness of the church is the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Do you want your spiritual walk to be renewed with streams of living water?

Do you want to see your prayer and devotional life re-ignited?

Do you want to see GCCC budding with new life and membership?

Do you want to see this community transformed by the power of the Gospel?

Then seek to be filled with the Spirit… the One who came to us because Jesus went to the Father.

Let’s pray for that. Let’s seek that.

Now up to this point, we have discussed the benefits of the resurrection in this life, but it doesn’t stop there. The final point for today is that...

4. You have a future hope

A. The Second Half of 1 Cor. 15

Earlier, we looked into the 1st part of 1 Corinthians 15 to see why the resurrection matters. If Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, then our faith is in vain. If he didn’t rise, then we won’t either.

But praise God, Paul didn’t end the discussion there. He went on to say that (1 Cor 15:22) “For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

If Jesus was the firstfruits of the dead, then we will follow suit.

Our lowly bodies will be 1 Cor 15:42-44 “Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

At the right time, the trumpet will sound and we will be raised incorruptible!

At that time, the pains of this world will forever be left behind!

We’ve all felt the sting of pain at the death of someone we love, the hollowness of their absence, and the

In this life, we long to be reunited, but death has not yet been defeated, but..

There will come a time where Jesus will return and proclaim complete victory over death with all of its heartaches and we will live eternally in God’s presence alongside all who have fallen asleep in Christ.

There will come a time when we will experience the greatest family reunion of all time!

There have been many who try to calculate the timing of Jesus’ return. Not only does scripture say we won’t know the timing, it’s completely besides the point. The point is the hope. If Jesus was raised, those who believe in His name will rise also. The timing is irrelevant. The joy of knowing it will happen is everything.

B. So, why is the Resurrection such a big deal?

Because Jesus had to rise and ascend to the Father to present His sacrifice that secured our redemption and reconciliation.

It set Jesus as our eternal High Priest who sympathizes with our weakness and advocates for us when we fall short.

It paved the way for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to work within us.

It gives us hope for a future resurrection upon Jesus’ return.

Last week, we praised God with a heavy heart as we mediated on His pain and sacrificial death on the cross. Today and moving forward, we praise Him and live in the victory of the resurrection knowing that tomb in Jerusalem is empty because our savior is alive!