UnashamedSermons.com

Podcast: Download

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

INTRODUCTION

{show video – “The Easter Story” – http://www.sermonspice.com/videos/567/easter-story-the-/}

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen–by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:39-43 (NIV)

Today is the day know as Easter Sunday. It is the day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, from the dead. It is a subject of the utmost importance to the church and is the expression of our most assuring hope! Sometimes, I think that we’ve gotten so used to saying it, that the actual reality of what we are talking about – the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, from the dead, somehow gets lost in the process! Let us be reminded – as scriptures tell us – that Jesus, the Christ, the only-begotten Son of Almighty God, who after being nailed to the Cross atop Golgotha’s Hill; and, who after experiencing complete and total death; literally came back to life again!

The body that literally rose from the dead was none other than the body of God in human flesh, who died three days previously, for the sin of the entire world – as John exclaimed,

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29 (NIV)

Now, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if we cannot get excited about that, somebody better check our pulses to see if we are still among the living and not “dead men or dead women walking!”

The Christian author, pastor and radio Bible teacher, Rev. Dr. Warren Wendell Wiersbe (Born: 1929), once said, “Easter is the Truth that turns a church from a museum into a ministry.” The most fundamental Truth of the entire Bible – the written Word of Almighty God – is that Jesus, the Christ, rose from the dead! Without the resurrection, the rest of the Bible becomes pretty much meaningless! As a matter of fact, when we read about the “Early Church” in the New Testament Book of Acts, we discover that the resurrected Christ was the topic that she was to proclaim throughout the world! Indeed you can’t read about the Early Church without hearing that message proclaimed over and over and over again. It was the single most influential, motivational, and inspirational event in the entire history of the church! The church would not exist if Jesus had not risen!

Listen, as we read today’s text, one more time, from the New Living Translation (NLT):

“And we Apostles are witnesses of all He did throughout Israel and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by crucifying Him. But God raised Him to life three days later. Then God allowed Him to appear; not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen beforehand to be His witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He ordained us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is ordained of God to be the Judge of all – the living and the dead. He is the One all the Prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.”
Acts 10:39-43 (NLT)

The Apostle Peter was talking to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, Captain of the Italian Regiment, and others; and, what he proclaimed so many years ago, is the same thing that we need to be proclaiming today! And that’s what I’m going to do this Easter Sunday morning.

If we can get a handle on the next two concepts that I am going to relate to you, this will be the best Easter Sunday ever: (1) What we need to know! and (2) What we need to do!

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW

There are three specific things that we need to know, whether we are already a Christian “true believer” or if we are thinking about becoming one!

1. Jesus died for everyone of us!
First of all, Jesus, the Christ, died for each and every one of us! Jesus, the Christ, went through an extremely horrible death voluntarily – He chose to die that way – He made the choice because He knew that one day we would be sitting here lost in our sins and in need of a Savior! The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 2:24 (NLT), tells us:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)

Do you realize the incredible reality of this Truth we can know – that Jesus, the Christ, being the sinless Son of Almighty God, took every sin that you and I would ever commit upon His own shoulders, and took the punishment for those sins that you and I deserved?

Let me put this in perspective for you – you and I both sinned and that has separated us from a God who has never sinned! Almighty God, being a just God, had no choice but to punish us for the sins we committed; but, at the same time, Almighty God who never sinned wanted to close the gap and bring us into a right relationship with Himself!

So, He decided that instead of punishing us, He would place the punishment for sin upon His Son, who had done nothing wrong, so that the price would be paid, and we could come into a right relationship with Him. I’m reminded of the chorus we sing entitled, “You Are My King,” by Billy James Foote: “Amazing Love, how can it be. That you, my King, would die for me?”"

Jesus, the Christ, was our substitute upon the Cross at Calvary – the death that we deserved for our sin, was placed upon Him! We were placed on trial for the sins we have committed, and we were found guilty! The punishment for that sin we were found guilty of was death; but, even though we were guilty, God paid the price for all of us! He made it possible for us to break free of the shackles of sin, or the penalty of sin, and escape the punishment for sin. When we place our trust in Jesus we walk out of the “Eternal Courtroom” as free men and women without the stain of sin on our records! We have been totally and completely set free from condemnation and from guilt – because Jesus, the Christ, while we were yet sinners, died for us! That’s something that the Lord really thought we needed to know today!

2. Jesus rose for us!
Secondly, Jesus, the Christ rose for us! Easter, my friends, contrary to our modern-day society, is not about the Easter Bunny – it is all about Almighty God – in human flesh – literally rising from the dead; and, proving that He is exactly who He claimed to be! After Jesus, the Christ, had been crucified, the women went to His tomb, and met two angels there!

Listen to the Gentile physician, Luke, as he records the event in Luke 24:6-7:

6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
Luke 24:6-7 (NIV)

This is a question that we need to ask of ourselves – “Don’t we remember?” Don’t we remember that this same Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus, the Christ, who died for us has also risen for us? Don’t we remember that His victory over death is proof positive that everything else He claimed about Himself is true?

Don’t we remember that Jesus, the Christ, cared about us so much that He not only died on the Cross at Calvary as our substitute; but, that He returned for us so that we could be with him forever and ever? Jesus, the Christ rose for us – that’s something that the Lord thought we really needed to know today!

3. Jesus cares for us!
Thirdly, Jesus, the Christ, cares for us! On Easter Sunday, the church nearly always has people in attendance who do not usually come to church; and, I think that is a wonderful thing – I truly am glad for each and every one who is here today! There is no way that I could possibly know what everyone’s life circumstances are; and, I can’t possibly know what each and everyone believes about God! However, no matter where we are in life today, I cannot impress upon you enough that whether you are a “true believer” in Jesus, the Christ; or, an atheist; or, someone who has tried to please God your entire life; or, someone who doesn’t really care what Almighty God thinks – none of those things have any bearing on the fact that Jesus, the Risen One, cares for us!

This God – in human flesh – who died on the Cross at Calvary and rose from the dead, is the same God who wants you to know that there is nothing that you could possibly do or say that would change the fact that He is deeply, intimately in love with you! Do you need proof of His care for you? Look at the Cross at Calvary – isn’t that enough? It should be; but, if it is not, consider His love for those who were hassled and helpless; consider His care for those who were caught up in the most vile acts of sin; consider His provision for those who had nothing to eat, no place to stay; consider His miracles performed for those who were blind, lame, and oppressed by the society in which they lived!

If that is not enough to prove that Jesus, the Christ, cares for you, consider the promise that He makes to you right now: that if you will only believe, He will forgive every bad thing you have ever thought; every sin you have ever committed; every bit of guilt that has plagued you from your past! He promises that He not only loves and cares for you now; but, that He wants to love and care for you for all of Eternity! He tells us in John 3:16-17

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17 (NIV)

Tell me, friends, “Are you ready to accept His care for you today?” Simply believe and you will receive everything that He has promised! The Lord thought that this was something we really needed to know today!

Now, let’s examine what we need to do, shall we?

WHAT SHALL WE DO?

1. We need to die to ourselves!
First of all, we need to die to ourselves! This is the hardest thing that we could ever do; yet, it is doable! And more than that, it is something that Jesus calls all who would follow Him to do! In other words, it is a necessary part of being a Christian “true believer” – a Christ follower – and, what Jesus, the Christ, calls us to accomplish, He also gives us the power to get done!

The Apostle Matthew, in Matthew 16:24, records these words:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:24 (NIV)

To “take up your cross” means to die to self – to “die to self” means that we are no longer going to be number one!

Theologically speaking, it is an act of identifying with what Jesus did on the Cross at Calvary! Practically speaking, it is coming to the realization that Jesus, the Christ, is Lord; accepting Him as the Savior of our lives; and, allowing Him to take first place from that point forward!

2. We need to live for Jesus!
Secondly, we need to live for Jesus, the Christ! To live for Jesus, the Christ, means that we are now going to consider what He wants from us first, what His desire is for our lives – what kind of student, what kind of employee, what kind of father, what kind of mother, and so on, does He expect us to be? We must simply acknowledge that because we have died to self, Jesus is in charge and the fruit of our lives will be evidence of that! Do you know the secret to living for Christ? Follow the two greatest commandments – the only ones that Jesus thought important enough to emphasize. He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”

3. We need to rise with Christ!
I don’t know if any of you knew this; but, the late Prime Minister and British Statesman, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874 – 1965), arranged his own funeral. There were stately hymns in St Paul’s Cathedral, in London, England, that day; and, there was an impressive liturgy. But, at the end of the service, Sir Churchill had an unusual event planned. When they said the benediction, a bugler high in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral on one side, played “Taps,” the universal signal that the day is over! There was a long pause – then, a bugler on the other side played “Reveille,” the military wake-up call! It was Sir Churchill’s way of communicating that, while we say “Good Night” here, it is “Good Morning” up there!

You see, church, Sir Churchill believed in Jesus, the Christ, who said to Martha, in John 11:25-26:

25 … “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25-26 (NIV)

If you are indeed a Christian “true believer,” you are promised that like Jesus here is going to come a point in time when you will experience the resurrection of the dead! We can trust in that promise because it was made by the One who has already died and come back to life!

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 tells the church at Corinth and us:

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (NIV)

Jesus, the Christ, is the first in a long line of people who are going to be raised to life when the alarm goes off on that eternal spring morning. My hope and my prayer, today, is that if you haven’t already done so, you will turn your life over to Him, so that you can join with us together and be one of them!

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I counted it up and discovered that this is my 34th Easter Sunday. The first few, I didn’t really know what it was about! And, in point of fact, even as I grew a little older, I have to admit that the Easter Bunny and the Easter Basket, filled with candy, had more of an impact on my life than the resurrection of Jesus! However, there finally came that point in time when I had to wrestle with the fact of the ressurection in my mind and in my heart! I had to decide whether what Jesus, the Christ, had done, and is presently doing, was enough for me to give my life over to Him!

My decision was “Yes,” He had proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was the only One worthy enough to hold my life in His hands – He was the only One worthy enough of my dedication to Him – He was the only One worthy enough of my worship – “Worthy Is The Lamb!” Since that day things have never been the same!

Before I finish this morning I want to ask, “Have you come to your own decision concerning Jesus?” It is the most important decision that you will ever make – why? Because your answer will determine your future life – one of everlasting torment in the Lake of Fire or one of everlasting joy with Almighty God forever! Only you can make that decision – nobody else can do it for you and it must be made while the blood is still running warm in your veins! None of us are promised tomorrow! So, tell me, “What will your choice be?”

{Show Video “tombwatchers” http://www.sermonspice.com/videos/1255/tomb-watchers}