Christ is Risen! May His name be praised. Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon for Easter. I hope that you are all having a great week.
On Easter, we celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Because He lives, we shall live also. Through His resurrection, Jesus defeated the consequences of sin. Due to sin, death passed upon all because all have sinned. However, because Jesus rose from the dead, those who put their faith and trust in the risen Lord Jesus do not have to fear death. Death has no hold on those who are in Christ.
What I want to focus upon specifically in this Easter message is the fact that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. One of the things that I like to do is to listen to sermons from a lot of different places. Something that I find troubling is that there are quite a few ministers who do not preach the bodily resurrection of Jesus. I've heard them say things like the resurrection of Jesus means that the message of Jesus is alive in our hearts, or Jesus is alive spiritually in the church. This is not the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible tells us that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, and that is very important to us.
First of all, let us look at Matthew chapter 28 where we read one of the resurrection accounts. Jesus has risen from the dead and the women who came to the tomb have found the tomb to be empty. As they were going to tell the disciples what they had seen, Jesus appeared to them. They fell down before Him and worshipped Him. The Bible tells us that they clasped His feet. This demonstrates that Jesus rose from the dead with a physical body.
In his great chapter on the resurrection found in I Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. He was seen by the disciples, by James and by over 500 other people. He was seen bodily not as a spirit. He ate and drank with those to whom He appeared.
Why is it so important to believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus? It is the basis of our hope and in the victory over death, hell and the grave. Paul tells us that Jesus is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Because Jesus rose bodily from the grave, we too shall rise because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
Paul makes it quite clear in I Corinthians 15 that the body that died will be raised and we will receive a glorified body like unto the glorified body of the Risen Lord. Since Jesus rose bodily from the grave, He is the victor over death. He can now raise us up to be with Him.
Where is Jesus now? Jesus is in Heaven with the Father. When he was being martyred, Stephen saw Jesus standing next to the Father. Jesus was in Heaven in bodily form. Peter tells us that Jesus will remain in Heaven until it is time for Him to come and restore all things. At that time, Jesus will come in power and great glory. Those of us who have put our faith and trust in the Risen Lord will rule and reign with Him forever.
You can come to know Jesus Christ today. He died on the cross to take away your sins. He rose bodily from the grave to defeat death. Jesus invites you to come to Him in repentance and faith. He wants you to trust in Him and invite Him to be your Savior and Lord. I hope that you will do that on this Easter weekend. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying that my health will improve. I am doing some better, and I thank you for your prayers.
Let us all pray for those who are recovering from the many natural disasters around the world. Here in my country, there have been many who have been in tornadoes. Pray that they will get the aid and help that they need. There are places in Africa still recovering from storms, and we need to remember them in prayer as well.
Continue to pray for peace. Syria, Israel, Ukraine, Yemen and Libya all need our prayers at this time.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Malaysia and Azerbaijan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will begin a new sermon series. I will post the verses on Monday, and I may have a midweek post. May God bless you all.
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