Because He Lives

Do you believe this?
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

All fear is gone! We can face death!

When Christ died He left a will in which He gave His soul to His Father, His body to Joseph of Arimathea, His clothes to the soldiers, and His mother to John. But to His disciples, who had left all to follow Him, He left not silver or gold, but something far better - His PEACE!
--- Matthew Henry

Because He Lives

• I can face the future
• I can live today
• I can walk in victory
• I can live in hope

No Other Message of Hope

• All of man’s religions are his attempts to reach up to God or to become a god or part of god.
• Christianity is the only revelation of good news: the God of all creation has reached down to man.

The Mystery of Death

• Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of conquering death!
• It will be completed in the final judgment.
• It was the beginning of the end!
• The resurrection is at the heart of Christianity
• We do not need to fear death!
• I Corinthians 15:50-58
• God intends to remove the veil of mystery
• God has eliminated the fear of death
• Jesus had entered through the “veil” and gone before us.

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.

Faith for Life!

• This hope of resurrection, this hope of conquering death, is at the heart of Christianity.
• Jesus is Lord over life’s question marks
  • Over uncertainties
  • Over seasons of confusion and disorientation
  • Over ignorance about where I’m headed
• All these piled up clouds of anxiety are scattered to the winds by the wild, sweet cry of joy that echoes through the centuries:
  • He is alive! He is risen as He said!

Anyone who can descend into death, conquer hell and the devil, touch bases with the earth and earthlings, and then spring heavenward into the glorious rule at the right hand of All Power on high deserves my vote of confidence about handling my future – and whatever it holds.
--- Jack Hayford

Victorious!

• Revelation 6:2 “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
  • The power of sin
  • The strength of satan
  • The enmity with God
  • The fear and power of death
• Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it Acts 2:23-24

Evidence for Resurrection

• Living Witnesses
• The writers of the four Gospels either had themselves been witnesses or else were relating the accounts of eyewitnesses of the actual events.

I claim to be an historian. My approach to Classics is historical. And I tell you that the evidence for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Christ is better authenticated than most of the facts of ancient history . . .
--- E. M. Blaiklock
Professor of Classics Auckland University

There exists no document from the ancient world, witnessed by so excellent a set of textual and historical testimonies . . . Skepticism regarding the historical credentials of Christianity is based upon an irrational bias.
--- Clark Pinnock
Mcmaster University

If the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt.
--- F. F. Bruce
Manchester University

If you see God as creator,
you will admire Him.
If you see God as wisdom,
you will learn from Him.
If you discover God’s strength,
you will rely on Him.
But when He saves you,
you will worship Him!
--- Unknown

The Lion and The Lamb
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!" Matthew 21:9

Why such a large crowd?

• Passover celebration
  • Upwards to 100,000 to 250,000 people in and around Jerusalem
• Waiting for the High Priest
  • Lulav’s prepared and waiting

The Beginning of the End
Matthew 21:1-17

Preparing for Passion Week

• This event reveals at two-fold fulfillment of Scripture
  • The humble King
    • Zechariah 9:9
    • Psalm 24:10 “Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.”
  • The selected Lamb
    • John 1:29, 36 The “Lamb of God”

7 Feasts – 3 Seasons

• Three Spring Feasts:
  • Passover - Unleavened Bread - First fruits
  • Prophetic of the redemption accomplished in Christ
  • Salvation - Sanctification - New Life in Christ
• Time between times – Pentecost - Harvest
  • Prophetic of the present time of the Church
• Three Fall Feasts:
  • Trumpets – Day of Atonement – Tabernacles
  • Prophetic of the Rapture – Salvation of the nation of Israel – Return of Christ

God’s Great Gatherings

• Leviticus 23:1-2
• The three purposes of the feasts:
  • To define Israel’s covenant ID with God.
  • To strengthen devotion and renewal.
  • To give a prophetic revelation of God’s redemptive plan for the ages.

So what?

• Knowing that God’s “Big Picture” is being fulfilled.
  • Provides meaning
• We have a responsibility to respond to God’s provision, His lamb!

Lordship is defined in four words:

• Admit
  • sin and need of a Savior
• Submit
  • forsake sin and submit your life to God
• Commit
  • yourself and your way to the Lord each day
• Transmit
  • share His love and goodness with others
    ---Samual Wilburforce

There Was and There Will Be
—Roy Lessin

• There was a time when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem in a most unusual way.
  • John 12
• There will be a time when Jesus returns to this earth in a most unusual way.
  • I Thessalonians 4:16
• There was a time when He rode upon a young donkey.
  • John 12:14
• There will be a time when He rides upon a white horse.
  • Revelation 19:11
• There was a time when He came as the Sacrificial Lamb.
  • John 1:36
• There will be a time when He comes as the Righteous Judge.
  • Revelation 19:11
• There was a time when He came humbly and lowly.
  • Zechariah 9:9
• There will be a time when He comes to conquer and make war.
  • Revelation 19:11
• There was a time when palm branches were cast before Him.
  • John 12:13
• There will be a time when crowns will be cast before His throne.
  • Revelation 4:10
• There was a time when people proclaimed, “Hosanna.”
  • John 12:13
• There will be a time when people proclaim, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him.”
  • Revelation 5:13
• There was a time when the local crowds cried out His praises.
  • John 12:13
• There will be a time when people from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation will worship at His feet.
  • Revelation 5:9
• There was a time when a multitude saw His triumphal entry.
  • John 12:12
• There will be a time when everyone on earth will see His triumphal return.
  • Revelation 1:7

A Godly Presence
The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

God Reveals Himself

• He is a Father in search of a family!
  • His response in the garden
  • Reveals the foundations of His holiness and mercy
  • Reveals the great cost of redemption
  • Reveals the requirements of a redeemed relationship

If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.

But since our greatest need was forgiveness,
God sent us a Savior.

Question?
Is there a way to live, a process to incorporate (actions, habits) that will produce stability in life, effect growth and acquire wisdom and peace?

The Overcoming Life
I John 5:4-5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Kingdom Living

• Restoring the Passion
• Recovering the Peace
• Reclaiming the Joy

Righteousness
I Corinthians 15:34
“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin”

Peace
Colossians 3:15
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Joy
Psalm 16:11
“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

The Gate of Hope
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” Hosea 2:14-15

A Godly Presence
The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

Question?
Is there a way to live, a process to incorporate (actions, habits) that will produce stability in life, effect growth and acquire wisdom and peace?
Jesus is the answer!

The Overcoming Life
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:4-5

The “Why’s”

• Origination
• Destiny
• Morals
• Meaning

I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Psalm 138:2

Kingdom Living

• Restoring the Passion
• Recovering the Peace
• Reclaiming the Joy

Not to overpower — But to empower

And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. I Corinthians 2:4-5