EASTER SUNDAY 2019

EASTER 2019

April 21, 2019

John 20:30-31 (NKJV) And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus is all about life…

Everlasting life…

John 3:16 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Abundant life…

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.

Secure life…

John 10:28 (NKJV) And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

God’s life…

Romans 8:11 (NKJV) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life (Zoe; the God type of life) to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

How do you tap into the life that Jesus came to offer?

By believing in Him!

Remember the last verse we read: but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

What must we believe?

We must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. The Lamb of God who has come to give His life as a ransom for sinners. He came as a substitute for us. The angels proclaimed it to the shepherds on the night He was born:

Luke 2:11 (NKJV) For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (NKJV) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

The Great Exchange: Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness; He took our poverty and gave us His riches; He took our guilt and gave us His forgiveness; He took our judgement and gave us His justification; He took our wrath and gave us His peace; He took our sickness and gave us His health; He took our iniquities and gave us His freedom; He took our death and gave us His life!

Jesus paid it all; All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.

O Praise the Name of the Lord our God; O praise His name forever. For endless days we will sing Your praise, O Lord, O Lord Our God!

How do we believe?

You believe with your heart, not your mind. After all, the devils believe and tremble! Heart believing is action! You act on what you believe. Head believing never acts. Faith = Belief = Trust! When we trust, we act!

John went to the tomb of Jesus. He waited for Peter to go in, then he went in.

John 20:8 (NKJV) Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

John believed in the Resurrection! You must believe in the Resurrection; that Jesus is not dead, but alive!

You must believe that He is God, the King of Kings, the Lord is Lords, the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. And you must surrender yourself to His Lordship and rule. He didn’t come just to be your Savior, He came to be your Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 (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. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

To confess involves acting on your faith. The one who truly believes puts his faith in action. Let me see your actions, and I can tell you what you believe!

Illustration: Derek Prince

Matthew 16:13-17 (NKJV) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Four stages to faith…

1.     Divine confrontation

2.     Divine revelation

3.     Personal acknowledgement

4.     Personal confession

When you believe, you receive.

What do you receive? Life!

1 John 5:11-13 (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. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

What is this life like?

John 1:4 (NKJV) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 5:24 (NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 8:12 (NKJV) Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

How do you receive?

John 1:11-13 (NKJV) He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

You must be born again! This is what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3. You have to be born of the flesh and the Spirit; born from above.

Let me tell you how…

Roman Road