APRIL FOOL

APRIL FOOL

The Resurrection is not an April Fool joke!

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

CONNECT What was the best April Fool joke you ever experienced? The best one you ever pulled on someone else?

TENSION There are many today that would say that the Resurrection is the cruelest April Fool joke ever.  Only a fool would believe that someone could rise from the dead!

SOLUTION The Resurrection is the foundation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Don’t be a fool by rejecting the fact of the Resurrection.

My purpose today is not to talk about the “What”; to convince you that the Resurrection

happened. Most people here in El Paso believe that Jesus got up and walked out of the tomb.

My purpose today is to talk to you about the “Why". Why is it important? Believing that Jesus

rose from the dead is essential to enjoy everything God has for you, both in this life and the next!

TEXT 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NKJV) For I delivered to You first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

INSTRUCTION

1. The Resurrection declares that Jesus is God

Romans 1:4 NKJV and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of

holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

2. The Resurrection allows us to be saved, be born again, become a child of God

Romans 10:9 NKJV that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart

that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

3. The Resurrection gives us the forgiveness of sin.

I Corinthians 15:17 NKJV And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

4. The Resurrection gives the promise of eternal life to us and our loved ones.

I Corinthians 15:18 -19 NKJV Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If

in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

5. The Resurrection gives us hope while we live today.

I Peter 1:3 NKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

6. The Resurrection allows us to rule and reign over death, hell, and the grave!

Revelation 20:6 NKJV Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such

the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign

with Him a thousand years.

ILLUSTRATION

In the movie, “The Green Mile”, Tom Hanks character, Paul Edgecomb, has an encounter with a

mystical character called John Coffee, played by Michael Clarke Duncan. The result was that he couldn’t die! In the final scene, he says, “I was infected with life!”

INSPIRATION

John 10:10 NKJV The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have

come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly!

1 John 5:11–12 NKJV And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have

life.

APPLICATION

Jesus came to give us life!

John 11:25 NKJV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me,

though he may die, he shall live.

ACTION STEPS

What does it mean to believe? It doesn’t men intellectual belief; the devils believe and tremble!

Remember that Paul said “If you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you

will be saved!” What is ‘heart belief’? The NT was written in Greek. The Greek word ‘believe’

means three things:

1. Trust in – you cannot save yourself; you must trust Christ will save you.

2. Cling to – you cannot walk it out; you must cling to Him and let Him walk it out in you.

3. Rely upon – it is Jesus alone; nothing added; nothing left out.

INVITATION

Roman Road…

HASHTAG #nofool!

THE WEEPING JESUS

THE WEEPING JESUS

Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018

CONNECT Many marches and demonstrations… One of the greatest in Jerusalem in 33 AD… Israel was converging on Jerusalem for Passover… Jesus made His Triumphant Entry!

TEXT God’s Personal Visit

Luke 19:28–31 (MSG) After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”

32–33 The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, “What are you doing untying the colt?”

34 They said, “His Master needs him.”

35–36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

37–38 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

 Blessed is he who comes,

 the king in God’s name!

 All’s well in heaven!

 Glory in the high places!

Matthew 21:10-11 (NKJV) And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

39 Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

40 But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

41 When the city came into view, he wept over it.

TENSION Jesus weeping over His people. Everyone is celebrating but Jesus is weeping!  

Why is Jesus weeping?

He had mourned over Jerusalem before…

Luke 13:34 (NKJV) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

He wept at Lazarus’ grave…

John 11:35-36 (NKJV) Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

Jesus was not weeping over Lazarus; He was about to raise him from the dead!  He was weeping over their unbelief!

Jesus tells us why he is weeping…

42–44 “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead, your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit.”

Pastor Warren Wiersbe says this in his Bible Exposition Commentary: “No matter where Jesus looked, He found cause for weeping. If He looked back, He saw how the nation had wasted its opportunities and been ignorant of their "time of visitation." If He looked within, He saw spiritual ignorance and blindness in the hearts of the people. They should have known who He was, for God had given them His Word and sent His messengers to prepare the way.  As He looked around, Jesus saw religious activity that accomplished very little. The temple had become a den of thieves, and the religious leaders were out to kill Him. The city was filled with pilgrims celebrating a festival, but the hearts of the people were heavy with sin and life's burdens.  As Jesus looked ahead, He wept as He saw the terrible judgment that was coming to the nation, the city, and the temple. In a.d. 70, the Romans would come and, after a siege of 143 days, kill 600,000 Jews, take thousands more captive, and then destroy the temple and the city. Why did all of this happen? Because the people did not know that God had visited them! John 1:11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not". Luke 19:14 "We will not have this man to reign over us!"

There it is right there. Jesus is weeping because He has wonderful plans for them, but they will have none of it. It is breaking His heart. He is not weeping out of rejection or anger, but the pain that’s comes from knowing their outcome!

My question: Is Jesus weeping over us today?

INSPIRATION John Wimber…

Are we breaking God’s heart?  Are we understanding the work of God in our life?  Or are we only wanting His acts but not His ways.

After His entered Jerusalem, he went to the temple and cleaned it out! This was what Malachi had promised!

APPLICATION

Let the Lord clean out our temple…

1.     Any area of known sin?

2.     Any rebellion to His will?

3.     Is Jesus only a part of our life?

4.     Are we living for ourselves?

A.W. Tozer wrote this over 50 years ago… “The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray; that we should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low and we are spiritually cold. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, stop running when and where we have not been sent, and cease trying to sanctify carnal projects by professing that we are promoting them “in the name of the Lord” and “for the glory of God.” We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament. We need to boldly and indignantly cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place and overthrow the tables of the money-changers. And this must be done in our own lives first and then in the churches of which we are a part.”

INVITATION

HASHTAG #weepingJesus