Resurrection Essential

I want to say something that may get under some peoples skin. I hope it does and I hope it sticks. Why do we “celebrate” Jesus’ death. I was talking to some of my friends the other day and we were talking about that terminology. We don’t say “Yeah Jesus died… Alright Woo hoo!!!” No but we do “Celebrate” his death… I think that it’s not the death that makes Jesus who he is… Anyone can die… It’s his Resurrection that we should celebrate. That is what makes him who he is. Without the resurrection of Jesus he would have been counted as just another good man who died unjustly and then in all likelihood forgotten. But not this man… This man was different. This gets me to my main point.

Resurrection Essential....

I want to talk about the power and the revolution that is Resurrection. In the world today people are less interested in "Does Christianity make sense?" and more focused on "Does Christianity make a difference?” I believe that if we want to make a difference we need to focus on one thing. The thing that makes Christianity what it is, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that didn’t happen then Jesus would have just been another good guy who taught good things, but he was so much more than that.

We need to quit trying to prove that Christianity makes sense and show people that it makes a difference by the way we live and by the way we see that there is more to this life than just living and dying.

Paul doesn’t focus so much on the Resurrection but what the Resurrection does to us. How it Changes us!! He believes our future hope is supposed to make a huge difference in our lives right now. Resurrection as a belief is revolutionary.

We really should actually look back in the Old Testament and see what people back then were driven by. They weren’t so much driven by the resurrection of life but by serving God with all that they were. People in the Old Testament were not living for God so that they could go to heaven that wasn’t there incentive. They just wanted to Serve God because He told them to.

This is evident with Shaderack, Meshack and Abednigo. They said that they would not bow down to the idol. They said that even if God didn’t save them they were still not bowing down to the false idol. Bowing down to the idol was worse than death. And dying for their God was better than life.

Why is resurrection such a revolutionary idea?

Resurrection takes away a tyrants power of death. If people aren’t afraid to die then there is no threat to people who believe in Christ. Resurrection is bad news for tyrants. People who believe in Jesus are a threat to tyrants and powers of darkness. Resurrected people are dangerous to people in authority.

Jesus was threatening to all the powers that be and the tyrants. He didn’t compromise and change what he did. So he died for it. And he was raised for it. God raised his faithful servant and son.

1 Cor. 15:21-22 For since death came through one man “Adam,” the resurrection of the dead comes through one man “Jesus” For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

“Christ has been raised from the dead. Just as death came into the world through one man, Adam, a new life has begun in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And all who believe shall be raised to new life in him. Resurrection has begun.

Jesus’ resurrection gave us a promise of what is to come.

The reason the Apostles were so excited and courageous in their faith was because they knew that Christ was raised from the dead.
The resurrection should put courage in us. Followers of Christ should have nothing to fear. Resurrection made a difference in the early church and it should be making a difference in our lives. Most in the early church never stopped preaching Christ. The more they were persecuted the more Christianity spread.

The blood of the Martyrs was the seed that spread the Gospel.

We have nothing to fear. Tyrants don’t get the last words. God is creating a new world and he is raising his people to be a part of it. Our God gets the last word. If the resurrection is true then we should be the most courageous people on the face of the planet. Resurrection power should give us the courage to stand up for what is right and stand against what is wrong.

If the resurrection is really true then why are so many churches and people who claim Christianity so slow to change and so timid about their faith? Why are we so slow as a church to go where he sends us? Honestly if the resurrection is true what do we have to be afraid of?

When you know what is to come it gives you courage for the present!!!!

The devil and the powers that be have no real power because the resurrection gives us faith and courage to overcome any doubt and fear that we have.

Have a blessed day,

Ky

Accounting

I'm sitting in Accounting right now bored out of my mind. I could never be an accountant. I don't think like an accountant. I feel overwhelmed by numbers and thousands of ways to organize them with Debits, Credits, Ledgers, Adjusted entries and so many other things. I think I'll stick with the Bible. It's hard to understand too but at least I have a helper in the Holy Spirt.