This is our time of greatest celebration when every sin is obliterated, every burden we carry is lifted, every demon is defeated, and the pathway is made for the Holy Spirit to fill, lead and guide every believer and that is amazing and incredible but does it affect you every day?
In John 11: 25,26
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
One of the “I AM” statements
Jesus is talking about a resurrection of life. He wasn’t just talking about the resurrection of Lazarus (read the whole story later) but a resurrection that we should expect as we accept Christ into our lives.
Sin causes death in our lives but Jesus came to bring us life, resurrection life.
When we allow the world and world system to control us it is easy to lose sight of the plan Jesus has for us to have “life and have it abundantly” for this present life as well as the one to come. In other words, a real relationship with Jesus gives us that resurrection life now.
Today I want us to look at some things to celebrate this Easter that you may not have seen before.
Jesus came to resurrect your freedom!
One of the leading bondages today, holding so many into a spiraling pain of rejection, bitterness, and hopelessness is unforgiveness.
Jesus knows what it is like to have a best friend stab you in the back he warned two of them that they would do it. Judas and Peter. Judas sold Jesus’ life for chump change. He gave up on the vision, the promise, the love, and the hope that Jesus poured out.
Matthew 26:14-16
Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
Peter feared the cancel culture, he was afraid of what others thought of him or would think of him if they knew he was a follower of Jesus
Matthew 26: 69-74
Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. 71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.
73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.” 74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
These two had followed Jesus, been his completely trusted friends, been his confidants, been the ones he enjoyed the most….and yet they stabbed him in the back, rejected him, denied him even let his enemies have the upper hand on him.
Yet from the cross Jesus said these words….
Luke 23:34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
He said that for them and for you and me….there is nothing you can do that he can’t or won’t forgive….sometimes the biggest challenge for forgiving ourselves and choosing to realize if God could forgive you then he will give you the strength and the love Jesus had on the cross to forgive those who have hurt you!
He wants to resurrect you today and give you back your life as you receive His forgiveness for yourself and the love and strength you need to forgive all of those who have hurt you!
That will begin a cycle in your life of renewed hope and he will even resurrect your hope…
Jesus wants to resurrect your hope!
Leprosy is a disease that destroys the nerves in the body, in other words you lose all feeling and through that process people would lose toes, fingers, hands, along with disfigurement of nose and large ulcers from their physical body but what was worse they would lose hope.
If you were diagnosed with leprosy you were given over to a life of rejection and loss. Every relationship, all of your property, your job, were all taken away from you. Your family could never be around you again because the disease was considered highly contagious, incurable and by being around them you placed their lives at risk.
In an instant one could go from a position of importance, a loving family, nice house and be condemned for a lifetime of abandon, being alone, homeless completely without hope.
Jesus came across a few such people he was even forbidden to have anything to do with them but Jesus still reached out.
Luke 17: 11-14
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
Hope is what gives value to our future. It is what gives us peace that everything is going to be OK. These ten men had none of that. Maybe you are feeling that way. You have lost a loved one, a job, bad relationship break-up, estranged family, a bad diagnoses from a doctor. Maybe you have lost all feeling, dead inside, no life in you
The resurrection power of Jesus brought hope in an utterly impossible situation. His resurrection reminds us that nothing is impossible with Him. Allow Him to resurrect your hope again today! God has a plan and purpose for your life despite how hopeless you may feel.
His resurrection gives us the hope that He is ultimately in control and on one hand he has the whole universe in His hands but on the other he knows every sparrow that falls, every word you speak, every hair on your head and He loves you! He can and will give you hope again even to see the impossible become possible!
Jesus wants to resurrect your calling!
So many times we do things for a living but it is not really our calling, it doesn’t fulfill us, perhaps it doesn’t meet our needs mentally, physically, and or emotionally.
There is a difference between a job and a calling. A job is something you do to earn your way through life. A calling is something that fulfills you as a person and child of God.
Jesus changed the calling on some people’s lives to help them become who they really were
Matthew 4:18-22
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Peter, Andrew, owned their own fishing business James, and John were fisherman in their Father’s business. We understand Matthew was a government Tax collector, and Simon was a zealot which could have been a politician or what the Romans would have called a terrorist, the Jews would have called him a freedom fighter.
There was something Jesus saw in each one of them, something more! He called them to their real calling to be 100% followers of Jesus and it changed everything for them.
Jesus has a call on your life.
He sees more in you!
If you know the Father, you are His child
You were created as His masterpiece
You are Light which is something that shatters darkness
You are salt which preserves, protects, brings out the flavor and makes people thirsty
You are to bring hope and life in everything you do.
He wants you to walk in the fruit of His Spirit every day and enjoy the success and prosperity that comes with that
Your job may be your calling, being able to be who God called you to be using your gifts, skills and talents to fulfill God’s call on your life and earn a living while doing it.
Or Your job may simply be a means of having an income to meet your needs as well as an opportunity to touch the lives of others, but your real call may be a ministry outside of your job doing something that uses the way God designed you to touch the world around you.
You may be called to do both as I believe most people are!
The key is God wants you to feel loved, fulfilled, and have His Spirit flowing through you to touch people’s lives and he will bless you in every way…..Allow him to resurrect your calling!
This is resurrection weekend Jesus came full of life to bring us into relationship with the Father, allowing us to crush the enemy and have the power to overcome our flesh, and to be filled with His Spirit so we might truly understand what it is to walk in freedom and have life abundantly.
If you aren’t sure if you are living the privilege of this life or if you need to have your freedom, your hope, or your calling resurrected to answer for yourself why am I here, what is my purpose then come today and allow someone to pray with you….Let the Lord resurrect you on this day!