APRIL 21, 2019 HE IS NOT HERE - HE HAS RISEN
Mark 16:5-7 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” Mark 16:9 “Now after He had risen early on that first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.” Luke 24:5b-6b “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Acts 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then the bible and the Christian message is all a hoax. If Jesus was raised from the dead, then the bible-the word of God-and the message of the gospel is the greatest news of all eternity. Everything hinges on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. All of mankind-the naysayers, the unbelieving, the doubters, the atheist and the agnostic-all have to make a decision regarding the resurrection of Jesus; either accept it as true or deny it happened. If one believes that God raised Jesus from the dead, everything changes. (We cannot begin to fathom the power of God that brings a dead body back to life.) The resurrection of Jesus is living proof of the God we read about in the scriptures. And here is the utterly fantastic news, the reality of how the resurrection of Jesus impacts all who know Him as savior-“The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.” Romans 6:10-11. Even though most people have heard about the resurrection of Jesus many times and are familiar with the biblical account of His resurrection, let us once again marvel at the awesome event that occurred early one morning on the first day of the week over 2000 years ago, when God spoke the word and the dead body of Jesus came back to life-He arose, folded up the burial cloth, and left the tomb! Can you imagine what was going on in the hearts of His followers who had witnessed His horrible crucifixion, when they began to hear the news of His resurrection? ‘Could it be true?’ they must have wondered. The resurrection of Jesus was not just for the benefit of His disciples of that day, but for all of those who would come to know Him as Savior-that includes you and I. The resurrection of Jesus conquered death; assured the forgiveness of sins; meant that believers would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; that we would be raised to new life in Him; that He would be our intercessor before God in heaven; and that we have a destiny in Him, starting now. Perhaps the most important thing we can do in light of His resurrection, is to walk in newness of life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Mark 16:5-7 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” Mark 16:9 “Now after He had risen early on that first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.” Luke 24:5b-6b “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Acts 4:33 “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
If Jesus was not raised from the dead, then the bible and the Christian message is all a hoax. If Jesus was raised from the dead, then the bible-the word of God-and the message of the gospel is the greatest news of all eternity. Everything hinges on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. All of mankind-the naysayers, the unbelieving, the doubters, the atheist and the agnostic-all have to make a decision regarding the resurrection of Jesus; either accept it as true or deny it happened. If one believes that God raised Jesus from the dead, everything changes. (We cannot begin to fathom the power of God that brings a dead body back to life.) The resurrection of Jesus is living proof of the God we read about in the scriptures. And here is the utterly fantastic news, the reality of how the resurrection of Jesus impacts all who know Him as savior-“The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.” Romans 6:10-11. Even though most people have heard about the resurrection of Jesus many times and are familiar with the biblical account of His resurrection, let us once again marvel at the awesome event that occurred early one morning on the first day of the week over 2000 years ago, when God spoke the word and the dead body of Jesus came back to life-He arose, folded up the burial cloth, and left the tomb! Can you imagine what was going on in the hearts of His followers who had witnessed His horrible crucifixion, when they began to hear the news of His resurrection? ‘Could it be true?’ they must have wondered. The resurrection of Jesus was not just for the benefit of His disciples of that day, but for all of those who would come to know Him as Savior-that includes you and I. The resurrection of Jesus conquered death; assured the forgiveness of sins; meant that believers would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; that we would be raised to new life in Him; that He would be our intercessor before God in heaven; and that we have a destiny in Him, starting now. Perhaps the most important thing we can do in light of His resurrection, is to walk in newness of life.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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