Because He Lives
Notes
Transcript
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
Because He Lives...
Fear of Death - New, Eternal Life
Fear of Rejection - Acceptance
Guilt - Forgiveness, Cleansing
Bondage - New Creation, Power over Sin
Doubt - Faithfulness
Difficulties, Persecution - Hope, a certain Future, Strength to persevere
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
Priests continue their work daily
Priests are standing, bc their work is not done
Priests cannot take away sins
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
Jesus - offered for all time one sacrifice
Jesus sitting - his work is done, just as he told the priests,
“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Advocate
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Deals with Guilt
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Made perfect forever
those who are being made holy
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
laws written on our hearts
will remember no more
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Fear of Rejection -
Doubts - am I worthy
Confidence to enter
The very presence of God
Draw near to God
Sincere heart
full assurance that faith brings
hearts sprinkled to cleanse from a guilty conscience
Guilt - I feel dirty
bodies washed with pure water
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Doubts
He is faithful
He has forgiven
He has cleansed
He has purified
He has made us new
Bondage to sin...
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
New Creation - new resurrection life
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength
he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Power to change us
Creation power is one thing - working with new materials
Resurrection power is another thing - recreating old into new
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
How do we deal with these fears? With the Guilt? With the feeling of bondage to sin?
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
the problem is that we too often have our minds set on the earthly
For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
What does a mind set on heavenly things look like?
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
This deals with our anxieties, depression
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
In this world, in our human weakness and flesh we too often are drawn to
Fear of Death - New, Eternal Life
Fear of Rejection - Acceptance
Guilt - Forgiveness, Cleansing
Bondage - New Creation, Power over Sin
Doubt - Faithfulness
Difficulties, Persecution - Hope, a certain Future, Strength to persevere
We need to keep our minds on heavenly things… but the world is constantly bombarding us… that is why we need one another. We need to spur one another on...
as paul did
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
And this can only happen as we...
not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Fear of Death - New, Eternal Life
Fear of Rejection - Acceptance
Guilt - Forgiveness, Cleansing
Bondage - New Creation, Power over Sin
Doubt - Faithfulness
Difficulties, Persecution - Hope, a certain Future, Strength to persevere