"I Am The Resurrection and the Life!
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I. Introduction
I. Introduction
A wounded soldier, knowing he was going to die, took his BIble out of his pocket and placed his finger on John 11:25.
As the blood ran down his finger it caused his finger to stick to the page at that verse when He died.
A precious hope for every child of God, and a witness to those who read it:
“I Am the resurrection and the life!”
And that is why we are all here today!
This aint about me and it aint about you!!!!!
IT’s all about Jesus!!!!!
Jesus, Jesus Jesus!!! He is everything!
It’s all in Him!!!!
Greater than any ruler!
Mightier than any warrior,
Nobler than any king!
Wiser than any sage!
Bigger than any kingdom!
Better than any crown!
Lovelier than any name!
Worthy of Worship!
Deserving of Praise!!!
Go ahead and Praise!!!!
Go ahead and Praise!!!!
Folks, we live in such a beautiful place!!!
I was zooming off to work on 116 the other day, and simply in awe!!
Green fields, Blue sky, puffy clouds and all the little baby critters!
A wonderful time of year!
And yet, we’re not celebrating bunnies or a good deal on a car or even the fresh joys of spring.
This is the day we celebrate a risen savior!!!!!
He’s not dead folks!!!
He’s alive!!!!
He is no museum display, He is not inshrined in death, Jesus Christ is alive!!!!
Asoka, once emperor of India, distributed Buddha’s ashes in minute portions, to eighty four thousand shrines all over India!
It is said that Buddhism is centered arond the worship of the ashes of the the dead founder.
But we know Christianity centers around our living Lord!!!
He is alive!
He ever liveth!!!!!
When God did not want to be touched.
When God did not want to be touched.
We read in John, how that Mary recognizes Jesus, and she apparently grabs on to him in excitment, to which He responds by saying: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father..”
I’ve often wondered about that.
A lot of really smart Theologians have asked the question: “Why did Jesus say that?”
It doesn’t seem to quite fit the Master.
Many men and women far smarter than I, have debated this over the years.” Why did not Jesus want to be touched?”
Some say that since Jesus’ physical presence would soon ascend and be replaced by his spiritual presence, physical contact between Jesus and his disciples was no longer fitting. And I can see how that might fit.
We read in the gospels how that during this period, Jesus was able to essentially float through walls and just appear or disappear.
Imagine how overwhelming that would be? To have Jesus suddenly appear in your prayer meeting or your family Bible study?
Perhaps this is why Jesus did not want to be held on to. It’s not that He was cold toward people!
Jesus is on a mission!
He was about to ascend and prepare a home for his new bride!
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Others feel that the reason Jesus did not want to be touched was simply his response to her clinging to him in shock and with joy!
They feel Jesus was simply telling her not to cling to him as though she would never see him again!
“Go tell my brethren, I ascend to my Father.”
Whatever the reason, I am so glad that Jesus is not holding us at arm’s length today!
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.”
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.”
He has accomplished His great sacrifice!
He has redeemed us!
Jesus Christ loved fallen humanity so much, He loves us so much, that He lived his entire life, as a dead man walking!
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Now that Jesus has ascended, things are different!
He’s not holding you back.
He does not push anyone away!
On this special day, we celebrate a God who says:
Matthew 19:14 (KJV 1900)
... Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Here’s something I have learned:
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;
Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
How bout you? Ever prayed a desperate prayer?
Ever been so low, in so much trouble, you didn’t know what to do or where to turn?
But then, in your darkest hour, you felt the love of a living God!!!
You felt the very hand of God reach to your need and your now!
James tells us that if we would draw nigh to God, He would draw near to us!
So yes, on this day, we put on our nice clothes, we get all dressed up and come together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
But maybe underneath the smile, beneath the outward veneer, you are hurting.
Maybe you are dealing with some things that weigh down your very soul!!!
A crushing force!
Circumstances!
Pain! Disappointemnt!
I am here to encourage you this day: Do not leave without peace today!!!
Jesus is Here!
The one who loves you more than your mother, more than your father, more than the closest love you have ever known!
This Jesus is here today!
And he welcomes you with open arms!
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
That’s right! The God of heaven is not aloof, or removed from your life and your needs!
He reaches out to the weary and confused!
He orients himself toward your situation with love!
“Bring you sorrows, bring your pain and loss, bring you disappointments and your fears! In fact, not only will I take those from you, I’ll give you something in exchange!!!
“I’ll give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness!!”
Friend, you are in the right place today! Regardless of past mistakes, If you’re willing to be truly open and honest before God, He has something for you that is stronger, greater and more wonderful than any other gift!
We call it the baptism of the Holy Ghost!
The earnest, of your inheritance, a downpayment of heaven, if you will, a taste of glory to come and help to make it through this old world on our way to a better one!
And the writer of Hebrews gives us some real world, practical advice. This is what He says:
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
On this day of all others, we celebrate a Risen Christ!!!!!
Can we zoom in just one click?
Got just a few more minutes?
Can we look just a little bit closer?
Here’s your Scripture today. Found in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in vs 12:
Now here it is folks, Paul was dealing with folks who thought they had it all figured out!
The Corinthians got their timeline all wrong, and they thought they had already recieved all the good things that God had for his people.
Based on this, they figured that the resurrection of the Dead was not important!
But listen to what Paul says:
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Folks, I love chocolate more than most.
Y’all know me!!!
In fact, I have an appointment with some chocolate after this service!
I find it interesting, you know we all have our own way of doing it:
Some eat their chocolate bunny, starting with the ears. Some just break it in half and start that way.
Me? I will use multiple ways because I plan to eat several!!
What I really like is the marshmallow ones!!! Gonna be fun!
But that is not the reason we celebrate this special day!
Old Pagan holidays and terminology aside, I choose to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ!!!!
If he had not been resurrected, we would have absolutely no hope!!!!
Plum outta luck! No hope at all!!!
I would stew in my own juices, rot in my own shame and die in my own sin, but God who is rich in mercy, loved me enough to die for me!
And to rise!!!!
He is our firstfuit!
He is our Lord and Savior!!!
He bought us with His own blood!!!
Okay, here now is the nitty gritty:
The BIble says that humans are sinners.
I get it okay, I’m sure there is some wisdom to be found in the Koran, the Bhagravad Gita, other ancient texts.
There is wisdom there no doubt, albeit the wisdom of man.
But the Bible is the only book of philosphy or religion that basically says the central problem with humans is that we are sinners!
How about a little honesty today?
Kinda harsh? You bet!
But I’d rather have an ugly truth than a beautiful lie!
Every other book tells you how that you can improve yourself through mediatiation, through good works, through believing in some deity, in that way, you can improve yourself.
Not so the Word of God!
The BIble says you cannnot improve yourself. That’s a task as hard as jumping to the moon! You might could try, but you’ve never even get close!
What you need is a savior: Jesus Christ!
That is a universal truth!
GK Chesterton said: “The one doctrine of the Bible that can be impircally proven is that all have sinned!”
Everyone knows, even those who do not believe in the Bible, they know that they have violated their own conceience.
They have at times, lied, cheated, stolen.
Every human being if your honest, you know that you have sinned.
And of all the books of philosophy, all the boooks of religion in the world, only the BIble is bold enough and honest enough to say:
“Your root problem is that you are a sinner!
Oh but thank God it does not leave us there!!!!
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
“If Christ be not risen, then our preaching is in vain!!!!”
We do not serve a historical figure dead and gone!
We serve the very Lamb of God!
Fully God, and fully man!
The Almighty, tabernacled, or clothed in flesh, who walked among us!
He never drove a nice car, never enjoyed the luxuries so available today.
He walked where he went. He slept under the stars, He spread truth and love and just as today, you’re either gonna love him or hate him!
I choose to love Him!
I know what He has done for me!!!
I remember repenting before God, drowning in my shame, but coming clean to Him!
I chose to be baptized in his Name, entering covenant specifically with Jesus Christ as His name was called over me in baptism!
And I’ll never forget when he moved on me and baptized me with His Holy Spirit!
OH the glory of it! OH the peace!!!!
Unlike anything else in this world!
It’s greater than any high!
Warmer, stronger, more peaceful, all consuming, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a promise and the gift of God!
I’ll tell you what let’s do:
let me stop talking, and let’s enjoy this Holy Ghost right now!
If you have it, start talking to God, start praying in the Spirit!!!
If you don’t have it, but you want this spirit baptism, then tell Jesus!
And the best way is simply to lift your hands to heaven, lift your face to heaven, give up every old offense, every old insulst, all the old stuff that is not helping you anyway and ask God to baptize you!
Weather it is the first time or you’re just thirsty, let us draw from the wells of salvation!
Living water!!!!!
Jesus Christ is the firstfruits of them that slept!!!
You may not have been dead in a physical sense, but you were spiritually dead, lost in trespasses and sins!
But then came Jesus witht he answer to every problem, the salve for every wound, the cure for every broken heart!!!!
Reach out to God today!
Pray with someone here today!
Mix your faith and your love for God together today!!!
Christ is Risen!!!!
He is no longer in the grave!
He ever liveth!!!!
And he loves you!
He’s got a plan and a ministry for you!
We’ve got to reach lost people!
Men and women and boys and girls in Sonoma county, Jesus loves them all!!!
He has so much more for them!
He can fix the root problem!
Jesus Christ is the answer!!!!
Isaiah 9:6–10 (KJV 1900)
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
And the government shall be upon his shoulder:
And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end...
A new Job isn’t gonna fix things!
A new relationship, a new home, a new president, none of that is the ultimate answer!
Jesus is the fix!
He is the one to heal broken hearts!
He is the one to set the captives free!!!
He is the one to open blinded eyes, and set at liberty them that are bruised!!!
Jesus!!!!!!! Jesus Jesus!!!!!
This is a Holy Ghost church folks!!!
We serve the Prince of Life!
The firstborn from the dead!
The firstfruit of them that slept!
This morning, I think of a woman from Louisiana, who lies buried beneath a grove of 150 year old trees in the cemetery of an old church.
Only one word is carved on her tobstone: “Waiting!!”
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
What a deal!!!
We get new life down here, and when this one is done, we get a new body, a new world, a new city!