Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
Dear Crosswind Church,
A blessed Resurrection Sunday to all! Today, we celebrate the most important event in all of history, the very cornerstone of our faith, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! As the Apostle Paul said: "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins" ! (1 Corinthians 15:17). The translators were careful to place the exclamation point to keep the emphasis that Paul placed on this truth. It is either an empty tomb or an empty faith! But praise be to God that He indeed raised Jesus from the dead, assuring the efficacy of our faith and an offer of power to live our lives.
One result of the resurrection of the Lord is that we have been made alive now. We do not have to wait for our own resurrection (which is also guaranteed by Christ's resurrection) in order to experience the abundant life. From Jesus' words from the text above, He promised us a) life after death (verse 25) and also b) eternal life now (verse 26). That means we do not have to live defeated lives in the deadness of sin. Though death is inevitable because of our sinful nature, it no longer has power or any sting on us. The resurrection gave us the booster shot in the arm that even though we die, we are immune from the eternal effects of it. We can say with the apostles, "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory" (1 Corinthians 15:55).
We can see the product of the resurrected life in three P's: We have been given 1) Purpose, 2) Promise and 3) Power.
Purpose:
"and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." (2 Corinthians 5:15)
Promise
"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, to an inheritance [b]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-4)
Power
"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4)
Let us live life fulfilling God's purpose, working with power as children of His promise!
Love, grace and peace from our Risen King!
In Him,
Pastor Ramon
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