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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Resurrection |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Matthew 28:5-10 |
Date |
2014-04-20 |
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Passage
[Matthew 28:5-10]
"The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. [6] "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. [7] "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." [8] And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. [9] And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. [10] Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me."
[Introduction]
Dear brothers and sisters,
Greetings on this day of the Lord's resurrection!
When Jesus was conducting His ministry on this earth, people believed Him after listening to His words and seeing the amazing works of God's power. They thought He was the Messiah for whom they had waited for thousands of years and the king who would establish a strong nation and give them honor. Furthermore, as the news spread that He revived Lazarus who had been dead for four days and smelled foul, such a mood reached its peak. The disciples of Jesus had the expectations of the glory they would enjoy together with Jesus.
But unlike their expectations, the situations began to change radically. Jesus was arrested as though He was a criminal and He was executed before the disciples understood what was really going on. In particular, Jesus was hung on a cross, which was the cruelest method of execution that usually was inflicted on those who were cursed.
The disciples of Jesus were devastated. It was shocking enough to watch the beloved Lord suffer through the hardships, and moreover they did not know what to do and how they were going to live. They felt like, "Is this the end of our dream? What is it that we have seen and believed? What were those happy days?"
But God let the situation turn about completely. Jesus died on the cross but He resurrected on the third day! It seemed Jesus' death took away all hopes, but in fact, it was just in the process to complete the way of salvation before the resurrection.
To those believers who are united with the Lord, the way of blessing was opened for them to enjoy life and glory as children of God. The disciples met the resurrected Lord, and their lives had now become completely different. They were filled with joy and hope and they gained the faith to overcome the world. They willingly became martyrs.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will realize the blessing that God has given to us through the resurrection of the Lord and receive it completely listening to this message.
[Main]
Dear brothers and sisters,
Resurrection has such an important spiritual meaning in our faith.
When this church first opened, the holiness denomination we belonged to had a fourfold gospel. It consisted of regeneration, holiness, divine healing, and second coming of the Lord. But before two years passed after our opening, God told us that we would form a new denomination and accomplish world evangelism. He said we would have to add 'resurrection' to the fourfold gospel.
Resurrection confirms all the powerful works and teachings that Jesus showed for three years. To see the resurrected Lord is to see Heaven, and resurrection is the hope of all mankind and the completion of God's will.
1 Corinthians 15:14 says, "and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain." We have to understand that the resurrection of the Lord is a very important event for our faith. Now, let me talk about the blessings that the Lord's resurrection gives to us.
The first blessing given through the Lord's resurrection is the blessing of salvation.
Jesus came to this earth to redeem us from our sins. A redeemer can redeem sinners from their sins only when he is qualified to become the Savior. And you know well about those qualifications. The Savior, first of all, must be a man. Second, he must not be a descendant of Adam. Third, he must have spiritual power. Namely, he must not have any sin. Fourth, he must have love.
Only Jesus met the qualifications of all four these criteria and became the Savior. Satisfying the third requirement, He had spiritual power because He had neither original sin nor sins of commission. Because Jesus was free of sin, He could overcome death and resurrect. He also had the spiritual authority to save the sinners from death. The fact that Jesus resurrected proves with certainty that He has the spiritual power to save the souls.
For this reason 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, "and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." Because of the resurrection of the Lord the way of the cross was completed. The door was opened for us to be forgiven by faith and to receive salvation. And how deeply do you feel in your lives that you received such a great blessing as this?
Suppose you are a very wealthy man in this world. You enjoy not only wealth but social power, health, knowledge and everything else. But you found out that you had but one night left and then you'd be executed by being thrown into a fiery pit. Then, would you be able to enjoy your time and forget about tomorrow? Of course you cannot. Everything you have right now will feel very meaningless. And you will not spare anything if only it could save you from tomorrow's execution.
Here, if somebody accepts the execution on your behalf and saves you, would you be able to forget the grace? This is not just an allegory. You and I actually received exemption from punishment in the lake of fire or burning sulfur. It is because the way of salvation was completed thanks to the resurrection of the sinless Lord who overcame death. Now, we were freed from the punishment of death and we enjoy the blessing of salvation and eternal life. By taking the punishment of death on our behalf, Jesus opened the way of life and salvation for us.
Since you have received such a precious blessing, what do you think you should do now? Romans 6:10-11 says, "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." To be united with the resurrected Lord, we have to be dead to sin just as Jesus was dead to sin.
If one is dead to sin, how can he get angry, commit adultery, or steal? Such a person can never commit sins or practice evil. I ask you in the name of the Lord that you become dead to sin and be alive to God in the truth.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The second blessing given through resurrection is the blessing of receiving the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7 says, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."
When Jesus was on this earth, the disciples and many people always followed Him. But due to the limit of time and space, Jesus could not be with them all the time, although He tried His best so that as many people as possible could hear the Word and experience God's power. But after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, the believers could experience God's works at any time. It was because God sent the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Before Jesus completed the providence of salvation through resurrection, the Holy Spirit could not come into our hearts. As Genesis 6:3 says, "Then the LORD said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years,'" God could not dwell with sinners. If sinners die just by seeing God, then how can the Holy Spirit of God dwell in the hearts of sinners?
The Lord fulfilled the providence of salvation through His resurrection so that even those who have not cast away all sinful natures are justified by faith. So, anyone who repents of his sins and accepts Jesus as his Savior can now receive the Holy Spirit. It is said the Holy Spirit dwells with us forever. He dwells in the heart of each one and leads us to live by the will of God.
Galatians 4:6 says, "Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"" Through the Holy Spirit with us, we can certainly believe in the Lord as our Savior, and we can wholeheartedly call God 'Father'. We can understand about sin, righteousness, and judgment, and receive the strength to walk in the way of life and blessings. Also, we can live a prosperous life only if we follow the guidance and urging of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit does not leave us like orphans, but He leads us to the safe and peaceful way, as a mother would lead her child. Led by the Holy Spirit, we can go to Heaven, and New Jerusalem. Because the Lord completed the ministry of redemption by resurrecting and ascending into Heaven, the way of great blessing was opened, which is for us to receive the Holy Spirit. I hope you will give thanks for this grace and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit all the time.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The third blessing that came upon us through resurrection is the blessing for us to receive the Lord who is coming again.
The disciples who witnessed the resurrection of the Lord soon witnessed the Lord's ascension into Heaven. There were two men in white robes at that time. Acts 1:11 says, "They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'" As the disciples received this promise, they lived with hope, waiting for the Lord to come back.
In one of the epistles of Paul, the scene of the Lord's second coming is described so that the believers would have hope until that day. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." Through these words, the believers could be comforted even though they had to be separated from their beloved ones who had already died, for they were assured that they could see them again later.
Those who had this hope of second coming looked forward to the life in Heaven. They did not try to store up things on this earth, but they invested their earthly things to store up things in Heaven. Even though they were persecuted for the Lord or they suffered poverty and contempt, they could overcome. Also, as you've seen in the Easter performance, even though they were punished or executed, they willingly gave their lives with their love for the Lord and hope of Heaven. They believed that God the Father would receive what they were giving, and give them back with rewards that could not compare with what they gave.
I hope you will also quickly finish the preparations to receive the Lord and become filled with the hope to meet the Lord who is coming again. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will adorn yourselves with the white robes of the whole spirit and be able to be at the bosom of the Lord boldly at any time.
[Conclusion]
Dear brothers and sisters,
One of the Manmin praise songs has the following lyrics. "My yearning heart will not have to wait too long. The hope I have will never change at all. The longing for my Lord that He's given me is all my reason to live." The women and the disciples met the resurrected Lord and became full of hope to participate in the resurrection. They were freed from all worries and fear. They proclaimed the resurrection of the Lord filled with joy.
When they were alone at night after living a busy day's life, they prayed thinking of the Lord. If there was little rustling sound, they looked around thinking, "Is it my beloved Lord? Did He come to see me just as He showed Himself to us after the resurrection?" The reason why they lived was to meet the Lord who was coming again.
But until then, they had things to do. As the Lord asked them, they had to spread the gospel so that many people could believe in the Lord of resurrection and receive salvation. Also, they tried to change themselves more perfectly to resemble the Lord. I hope you will also live in this kind of hope. I also hope that you will have the fullness of the joy of meeting the resurrected Lord. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will proclaim the blessing that you received through resurrection and quickly finish your adornment as His brides to receive the Lord. |
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