Wading River A.G. The Power of the Resurrection

The Power of the Resurrection

(For Wading River Assembly of God)

29 Dog Wood Drive

Wading River, NY 11792

4/8/07 – Easter Sunday

Introduction

My recollection of Easter as a kid had a lot to do with Easter being centered on making kids happy, at least as I think about it now, that is what it seems like.  Or it could be that many churches simply copied the pattern for the celebration of Easter with what others around them was doing, a blended believer type of thing, whatever the temperature of society was at the time, so they were; if the church was red hot, so they were, if the church was user friendly, so they were, and if the church was politically correct, so they were.  Their conviction seemed to fluctuate with the mood of the society. 

Whatever the reason, one thing is certain in my mind: if you were a little boy, you got a new suit, if you were a little girl; you got a new dress, shoes, with matching pocket-book, and a bonnet.  There were plenty of Easter eggs, bunny rabbits, and chocolate candy. Now while I’m all for allowing kids to have a good time, I realized this, as I grew from childhood to adulthood, fun is what you make it, and kids don’t make Easter programs, they follow them.  They are an extension, a reflection as it were, of our own theology and thinking. Allow me to submit to you this morning that if in the next 20 years, if Jesus tarries, if the thing that is indelibly impressed upon a child’s mind as he/she is reflecting as an adult concerning Easter is Easter eggs hunts, chocolate candy and bunny rabbits, then society is affecting the church and not the other way around.  And in this time and day in which we live, at five minutes before midnight, it is way too late to placate a dying society who is depending on truth, not fairy tales.  Easter is not about the eggs of a rabbit, but the blood of a lamb.  Not new clothes, but a new character beloved. We have the perfect vaccine for this debilitating disease called the bondage of sin.  Why offer things that treat the symptoms, when we can break the cause right at its core.  It is like taking aspirins for the symptoms of a headache and never fighting/eliminating the cause of the headache.           Give example of this weekend’s youth convention   

So then, if the disease is bondage to sin, the vaccine is the power of the resurrection.  Understanding the resurrection, how it affected your past, how it affects your present, and how it will affect your future, will give you an overcoming lifestyle everyday.

I.                  The Past – No more guilt of a sinful life  Romans 6:6

After the sacrifice of the lamb, the blood of that lamb was applied to the door posts of every Israeli house in the land of Goshen or wherever the Israelites lived. At the stroke of midnight, the judgment of God in the form of a death angel, took the life of every first born in the entire land, that of man and beast.  Because of the application of the blood of the lamb over the door posts of the house of the Hebrews, judgment did not fall on their house.  The death angel passed over the house where blood was applied, hence, the Passover.  To commemorate this event, God instructed Moses, in Exodus 12 to command the leaders of the people to make this event a memorial throughout their generations so that they would never forget that God delivered them with a mighty hand. 

And just as the blood of the lamb some thousands of years prior in the land of Egypt caused the judgment of God to Passover the household applied with such, the blood of Jesus, the Paschal lamb of God, translated us from a sentence of death, to an opportunity for life.  Everything that God required of Moses that Moses required of the people of Israel concerning this lamb was met in The Lamb, it was without blemish, Jesus was without sin; it’s bones were not allowed to be broken, Jesus’ bones were not broken; it was offered in the 14th day of Abib; Jesus was offered on the 14 day of Abib.  Everything that the law required of this lamb, Jesus met and beyond.  

There was however, one major difference, none of the sacrifices ever came back to life.  The resurrection said the Father was pleased with and accepted the sacrifice of the Son, and because of that, two major things happened:

·         The body of sin which the bible sometimes refer to as the old man has lost its capacity to control the sinner because of grace.  Rom. 6:1-6

·        The guilt of past sin does not have to hold us captive anymore – Heb. 10:1-4; 11-22.

The best way to understand this concept is to say that the old sacrifices though it covered the sins of the people and they were forgiven, it left a scar on their conscience. (the remembrance and guilt of their sin).  Jesus’ sacrifice takes away that scar on the conscience.  So then, if you are feeling guilty or condemned over past sins, you have not fully understood the power of the resurrection…

Refer to Rom. 5:1 Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…

II.               The Present – We receive an extreme makeover – Romans 6:4 (Ephesians 4:17-24)

There are a number of shows today that offer products that promises to produce a new you.  From joining gyms, to various weight loss programs, from facial feature to body parts, the world is enamored with concept of newness, and quite honestly, to a certain extent, who wouldn’t be.  Just about anything you want can receive a makeover:

Well, I’ve come to offer you this morning extreme makeover, the believer’s edition, and yes, I say even more than a makeover, you are made over, created from a different pattern. The affects of the resurrection on the present is that if I want to, I can live a lifestyle that pleases God.  I don’t have to be a slave to sin.  Rom. 6:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24. 

It affects:

·        Our heart – a change from the inside out

·        Our hands – a change in the way we treat people

·        Our heads – a change in our though life

·        Our tongue – a change in the way we communicate and the words we use

·        Our attitude, and so son and so forth…

   III         The Future – 1 Corinthians 15:35-44

How does it affect our future?  The heavenly man is revealed