Series: JESUS IS LORD! Easter 2023

The incredible reality of Easter is that Jesus death and resurrection really is good news to be shared. The truth of Easter touches people’s hearts as they grasp Jesus’ LOVE for them. It fills them with HOPE as they see Jesus power to help them. And it inspires people to step out in FAITH following in the footsteps of Jesus. And as this Easter message has been shared 1) Christianity has grown to be the largest religion on earth. What’s more, 2) some of the hardest and most crooked people on earth have really been miraculously changed. I myself am living testimony to the power of the gospel. God took a druggie and turned him into a preacher.   

The good news of Jesus we are sharing is powerful to change peoples lives because it really is good news. So trust the gospel and expect the gospel to be received positively. I’ve seen again, and again, that when we faithfully share the gospel (not watering it down or turning it into something else) some people do become Christians. There’s no TRICKERY or CLEVERNESS to it. There’s no sleight of hand. The plain ordinary gospel of 1) Jesus our Penal; Substitute, 2) Jesus Christus Victor and 3) Jesus Christus Exemplar is powerful to save. And believe it or not – Jesus and the Holy Spirit are still using this good news – to save sinners, draw them to God and change their lives.

The words; “DO NOT BE AFRAID” or “FEAR NOT” are perhaps the most common command in the entire Bible. More than 100x God tells His people “Do not be afraid” – which kind of suggests human beings have a problem with fear. But post Jesus’ resurrection – both the angel AND Jesus tell the Mary’s “Do not be afraid.” So how big a problem is fear and is Jesus’ resurrection really the answer?

As Christians our fear is completely swallowed up in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Death has lost its sting. Good Friday tells us Jesus loves us more than own mothers. And Resurrection Sunday tells us Jesus is God and He is more powerful than anything we face in this world. So if JESUS loves us enough to die for us and JESUS is powerful enough to defeat death – what have we got to fear. Even if we do die – Jesus has promised to bring back to life – those who believe in Him. AND WITH THIS OBJECTIVE TRUTH (based on the historicity of Jesus) comes an unassailable subjective truth – that I am LOVED, I am SECURE, I have finally found something – ETERNALLY GOOD in Jesus – and that produces joy.

The Bible explains that ever since the beginning of the world – the real problem for humanity is we have rejected God as King. We made ourselves kings and started doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. BUT IN THE PROCESS – we have all become like little sinful, selfish, satans – damaging others – as we try to preserve our self rule. THE CONSEQUENCE of all this – is that we deserve to be punished by God. We deserve to die for rejecting God’s kingship. But the true King – God’s Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) – then comes to earth and allows himself to be put to death – to take the punishment for our wrongdoing. Jesus does this because he loves us.

Our Easter series begins with Jesus’ weeping in the Garden of Gethsemane with a stern warning “the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.
Please join our Easter series as the Son of Righteousness rises up with healing in His wings.