The Power of the Resurrection

Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's

a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands,

and activates God's promises. In our brand new

book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a

powerful journey through some of Scripture's

most transforming moments, where ordinary people

dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf.

Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon.

Today we celebrate that He was resurrected for

us. We're going to talk about how important the

resurrection of Christ is. The account in John

goes like this. John 20, starting in verse 1.

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that

the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

Historians say that stone probably weighed two

tons. The stone had been rolled away from the

entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the

other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. John's

talking about himself. If you don't know that,

he's talking about himself. And what an amazing

way to talk about yourself when you're talking

about Jesus. Say, I'm the one that he loves.

Would anybody say that in this room? I'm the

one that he loves. I'm the one that he loves.

John had a revelation of the love of Christ.

Unlike any of the other guys, greater than all

the... rest of the people, but we should have

a similar revelation. Everybody say, I'm the

one that Jesus loves. She ran and found Simon

Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus

loved, Simon Peter and me, right? She said, they

have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and

we don't know where they have put him. Peter

and the other disciple started out For the tomb.

Still talking about himself. They were both running,

but I can run faster than Peter is what he's

saying. I outran him. But the other disciple

outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped

and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying

there. But he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter

arrived and went inside. He also noticed the

linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth

that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and

lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the

disciple who had reached the tomb first also

went in, and he saw and believed. Everybody say,

he saw and he believed. For until then, they

still hadn't understood the Scriptures that had

said Jesus must rise from the dead. Now, in the

Old Testament, there are as many as 574 Messianic

prophecies that talked about Jesus, that were

written before He actually took on flesh and

was born in this earth. 574 prophecies. And here's

the deal. He fulfilled every one. He fulfilled

them all. But they didn't recognize it. They

didn't see it. But John said, when he saw that

the tomb was empty, he saw it. Now Mary was standing

outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, She

stooped in the tomb and looked in the tomb. She

saw two white -robed angels, one sitting at the

head, the other at the foot of the place where

the body of Jesus had been lying. Dear woman,

why are you crying? The angels asked her. Because

they have taken away the Lord, she replied. And

I don't know where they have put him. She turned

to leave and saw someone standing there. It was

Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. Dear woman,

why are you crying? Jesus asked her, who are

you looking for? Now, Mary thought he was the

gardener. Sir, she said, if you have taken him

away, tell me where you have put him, and I will

go. And get him. Mary. Jesus said. That always

makes me smile. Mary. Jesus said. See. She had

heard that voice. Say her name. So many times

before. That's why she instantly knew who it

was. Mary. Jesus said. She turned to him and

cried out, Rabbani, which is Hebrew for teacher.

Jesus said, don't cling to me, for I haven't

yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers

and tell them that I am ascending to my Father

and your Father and to my God and your God. She

ran and told him. That's what happened on that

first morning when they found that the tomb was

empty and they found that Jesus was alive and

He had risen from the grave. From that day forward,

every time believers got together, I guess it

was after Pentecost, every time they got together,

they would greet each other by saying, He's risen.

He's risen. And then the response to that would

be, He's risen indeed. He's risen. Can I have

a response? He's risen. He's risen indeed. That's

the way they greeted each other for hundreds

of years after the resurrection. When believers

would talk to each other, they would talk about

the risen Christ. Mary Magdalene found the disciples

and told them, I have seen the Lord. Then she

gave them his message. Look at the person beside

you and tell them his resurrection was for you.

It was for you. It was for you. We need to understand

something. The resurrection is what sets apart

Christianity from any other religion. Christianity

stands or falls on the truth of the resurrection

of Jesus. And the Bible confirms this. This isn't

just something that the preacher is saying. I

mean, this is what the Bible says. 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:14–19

15 verses 14 through 19. Listen, it says this.

If Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching

is useless. Everybody say useless. And your faith

is useless. Everybody say useless. See, we're

just wasting our time. If Jesus didn't rise from

the grave, I mean, some people, I don't even

understand how some people who teach the Bible

and teach preachers who preach the Word of God,

they talk about, well, He didn't rise bodily.

It wasn't some bodily resurrection. What a joke.

Because the Bible says if he hasn't been raised,

then all the preaching is useless and all the

faith is useless if he hasn't been raised. And

then Paul goes on to say, and we apostles would

all be lying about God. So everything written

in the Bible about Jesus being raised from death,

that'd just be a bunch of lies. For we have said

that God raised Christ from the grave, but that

can't be true if there's no resurrection of the

dead. And if there's no resurrection of the dead,

then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ

has not been raised, then your faith is useless,

and you are still guilty of your sins. Without

the resurrection, We're all hopelessly and helplessly

lost. We're guilty. We're guilty. In that case,

all who have died believing in Christ are lost

too. And if our hope in Christ is only for this

life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in

the world. Because we just... believed a bunch

of lies and wasted her time on a bunch of lies.

Like I said, without the resurrection, Christianity

would be no different than any of the other man

-made religions in the world. But the resurrection

sets us apart. Here's the good news. 1 Corinthians

15, 20. In fact, after Paul wrote all that, led

by the Holy Spirit, breathed the word of God.

After all that, after he said it'd be useless,

we'd be lost, he says, wait a minute, in fact,

Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the

first, everybody say first, he's the first of

a great harvest of all who have died. He has

been raised from the dead. The resurrection validates

who Jesus is. It validates everything he said.

It validates every promise that he made. It validates

the gospel. It puts a stamp on everything that

Jesus said. Because without the resurrection,

we couldn't trust him. He would have just been

a good moral teacher. With the resurrection,

now we know He is God. He's the risen Christ.

Because of the resurrection, we can have some

things. You can have confidence. You can have

confidence in the promises of the Word of God.

You can have confidence in your faith because

of the resurrection. Because of the resurrection,

You can also have some more things. You can have

everlasting life. And you can have abundant life.

Life to the fullest. An overflowing life with

peace and joy. It's for us. 1 Corinthians 15,

22. Just as everyone dies because we all belong

to Adam. Everyone who belongs to Christ will

be given new life. John 11, verses 25 and 26.

John 11:25

Jesus said, this is before he went to the cross.

He was going ahead and let us know some things,

some very important things. He says, I am the

resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes

in me will live even after dying. Everyone who

lives in me and believes in me will never, ever

die. Because of the resurrection, everything

he said, every promise he made is true. It's

been verified by his resurrection. John 10, 10.

Jesus tells us, Why he came. I came that they

may have life. And that they may have it more

abundantly. Because of the resurrection. His

promise is fulfilled. And it's fulfilled for

you and for me. We can have eternal life. We

can have abundant life. And I've got to tell

you, when I say abundant life, I'm not talking

about everybody living in a 5 ,000 square foot

house and driving a Bentley. That's not what

I'm talking about. Because there are people who

have way more than we have who wind up committing

suicide. So abundant life is not found in possessions.

Doesn't mean God is against you having anything

either. Some people would go on the far opposite

and say that, but all I can tell them is like,

well, go check out Abraham and check out David.

I mean, if somebody can give billions of dollars

in an offering, they're not broke, busted, and

disgusted. So God's not against you having things.

He says that the love of money is the root of

all evil. It's when that's what our passion is.

If your passion is money, see, our passion has

to be God. I'll get off of that. Because I'm

talking about the resurrection. Because of the

resurrection, you can have it. You can have everlasting

life. You can have abundant life because of the

resurrection. Because of the resurrection, here's

something else. The Holy Spirit can now live

inside of you and empower you. And without the

resurrection, that wouldn't happen. Listen to

Romans 8, 11. The Spirit of God who raised...

Jesus from the dead. Everybody say resurrection.

The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead

lives in you. And just as God raised Christ from

the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies

by the same Spirit living within you. I'm not

even preaching. I'm just reading the Bible to

you. Ephesians 1, 19 and 20. I also pray that

you will understand the incredible greatness

of God's power for us who believe Him. Listen,

this is the same mighty power that raised Christ

from the dead and seated Him in the place of

honor at God's right hand. In the heavenly realms.

And then it goes on to say that in Christ we

are seated with Him. In heavenly places. Same

power that raised Christ from the dead. If you're

in Christ today, that same power is in you. That

same potential is in you. Same Holy Spirit. that

raised him from the grave, is in you. Because

of the erection, the Holy Spirit can live inside

you and empower you. Living with that kind of

power, we should never be pitiful. I'll keep

going. Because I'm preaching about the resurrection.

Because of the resurrection, get this, sin has

no power over you. Unless you let it have power

over you. It has no power over you anymore. Romans

6, 14. Listen, sin is no longer your master.

For you no longer live under the requirements

of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom

of God's grace. So sin is no longer your master.

Look at the person beside you and tell them,

quit letting sin be your master. Quit. Because

of the resurrection, sin has no power over you.

Because of the resurrection, listen, the enemy

has no power over you either. Have you ever heard

somebody say, well, the old devil's just beating

me up? He's just beating me up. I'm having a

tough week, man. That old devil's just beating

me up. Only if you let him. Because of the resurrection,

the enemy has no power over you. Listen, Colossians

2, 13 through 15, you were, everybody say, used

to be, you were dead because of your sins. and

because of your sinful nature, and because your

sinful nature was not yet cut away, then God

made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all

your sins. See, you used to be dead, but now

God has made you alive. If you're in Christ,

you've been made alive. Listen, He canceled.

the record of the charges against us, and took

it away by nailing it to the cross. I spent most

of my life thinking that there was this book

in heaven that was writing down everything that

I ever did wrong. And then when I got to heaven,

when I got to heaven, I thought there was going

to be this projector. that was going to show

everybody everything that I'd ever did wrong.

Anybody ever thought that before? Am I the only

one that ever thought that? And I was going to

be so ashamed. Obviously, I didn't. I think I

read this verse, but I didn't hear it. See, you

can hear the Word of God with your ears. and

still not hear it. Listen. God canceled the record

of the charges against you when you came into

a relationship with Christ. When you were born

again, God canceled that record of all the charges

against you, and He took it away, and He nailed

it to the cross. So it doesn't exist anymore.

In this way, this is... This is how he did it.

In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers

and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his

victory over them on the cross. Because the enemy

likes to whisper to all of us, don't you remember

what you said? Don't you remember how you acted?

Don't you remember what you did? You're a sorry,

good -for -nothing Christian. Don't you remember

that? Don't you remember? Nope. God don't remember

it, so I don't remember it. He has sprinkled

his blood on my conscience is what we found out

in our study. So because of the resurrection,

the enemy has no power over you. Here's something

else. Because of the resurrection, you can stand

in the authority of Christ. Just like a policeman

stands in the authority of the government, right?

Can a Polk County Sheriff's deputy stand out

on 27 and physically, by his own power, stop

any cars? No, but if he's wearing his uniform,

he can walk out there, he can have his car parked,

and he can walk out there and do this, and everybody

will stop. Even the largest transfer trucks.

Why? Because he's operating in an authority that's

higher than his own. As followers of Christ,

As the people of God, that's the way we're supposed

to live our lives. Walking and standing in the

authority of Christ. We are His representatives

in the earth. We are His ambassadors. We represent

His kingdom. So we stand in His authority. Jesus

came and told His disciples, I have been given

all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore,

you go. You go in my authority, he said. I am

authorizing you to go in my authority. So because

of the resurrection, you can stand in the authority

of Christ. And because of the resurrection, those

who are in Christ will be resurrected too. We

can be resurrected too. 1 Corinthians 15, 21.

So you see, just as death came into the world

through a man, everybody say Adam. Now the resurrection

from the dead has begun through another man.

Everybody say Jesus. So because of the resurrection,

those in Christ will be resurrected too. This

has been a lot of verses and it's been very fast,

but listen. If you're in Christ today, you can

agree with these statements, you can say these

statements. Because of the resurrection, I have

confidence in my faith. Because of the resurrection,

I have confidence in the promises of God's Word.

Because of the resurrection, I have eternal life.

I'm not waiting to get it, I have it. I have

eternal life. And I have abundant life, life

to the fullest. A life filled with the peace

of God and the joy of God, the life of God. Because

of the resurrection, I live empowered by the

Holy Spirit, and He lives inside me. Because

of the resurrection, sin no longer has any power

over me. Because of the resurrection, the enemy

has no power over me. I'm not going to listen

to your lies anymore. Because of the resurrection,

I stand in the authority of Christ in this world.

And because of the resurrection, I will be resurrected

too. Everyone who's in Christ, everybody say

in Christ. Everyone in Christ. This is not a...

This is not an exhaustive list of what the resurrection

has provided for you, but it's a good start for

us to live in that when we're in Christ. But

I have a question. Are you in Christ? That's

the vital question today. It's the most vital

question you can ever ask anybody. Are you in

Christ? What does that mean? Well, it means that

you've come to the point in your life where you

first of all recognize that you need Christ.

And then you've received Christ. You've acknowledged

Christ. And you're living for Christ. So, are

you in Christ? How do you recognize your need

for Him? Well, the Bible tells us in Romans 3

.23 that all of us have sinned. All of us have

sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We've all messed up. We've all messed up. The

Bible says, Romans 6, 23, that the wages of sin

are the paycheck that you deserve and I deserve

for sin, even though I'm a preacher. I mean,

I've been preaching almost 35 years. I still,

if I get what I deserve, I get spiritual death.

The wages or the paycheck of sin is death. Spiritual

death, being separated from God for all of eternity.

That's what I deserve. That verse doesn't stop

there. It says the wages of sin is death, but

then it says, but the gift of God is eternal

life. I'm here today to tell you that God has

a gift for you. That gift is eternal life. Now,

how do you receive that gift? Because I found

out just because a gift is offered doesn't mean

a gift is received. One time I bought gifts for

extended family and there was some family drama

going on. Anybody ever had any family drama before?

There's some family drama going on. So we take

the gifts. We invite the extended family to the

party. They decided they didn't want to come

to the party. So we left the gifts for the children

only to come back a month later. All the Christmas

decorations were down, but the gifts that we

left for our extended family, you know what?

They were still there and they were unopened.

Our gifts were refused. Even though they were

provided, they were refused. Jesus died on the

cross to offer you His gift of eternal life.

But you have to receive it. How do you receive

it? The Bible says that we're saved by grace.

Everybody say grace. That's because God has done

something for us that we didn't deserve. His

acts of kindness and favor towards us. That's

grace. But we're saved by grace through faith.

And that's how we receive His gift. It's through

faith. So, we hear of God's love for us, and

then we say yes to His love. Here's the way it

worked in my life. This is just my testimony.

One day I realized that my sins separated me

from a holy God. And here's what I did. I asked

Him to forgive me. I said, Jesus, thank You for

dying for me on the cross. Thank You for shedding

Your blood for me. Thank you for offering me

your gift of eternal life. And Jesus, I ask you

to forgive me, cleanse me, wash me. Jesus, I

believe you died for me. And then the Bible says

this, and I'm done. It says to call on the name

of the Lord and you'll be saved. That's more

than just saying Lord, because in the Bible it

says there's a lot of people going to call Jesus

Lord. They're going to say, Lord, didn't we do

this spiritual thing in your name? Didn't we

do this spiritual thing for you? Didn't we do

this? And Jesus is going to say, I don't know

you. So it's not just... saying the word Lord.

Because Lord, listen, Lord is not just a name.

It's a title. It's a title. To call Jesus your

Lord means that you've surrendered your life

to him. Lord means master, boss, the one in charge.

So when you call on the name of the Lord, you're

saying Jesus. I receive you as my Lord, my master,

my boss. I give all that I am to you. Surrender

my life to you. I want to live for you. I want

to know you. I want to follow you. Is everything

going to be perfect after that point? No. No.

But that's the desire of our heart, is to live

for him and know him. So I want to ask you, are

you in Christ? Listen, I'm not asking you if

you're a member of a church. I'm not asking you

if you've been dip, dunked, or sprinkled. I've

got a friend in Myrtle Beach that got dip, dunked,

and sprinkled before she got saved. So none of

that's going to get you there. God's not going

to look at a church roll. He's going to look

at the Lamb's book of life in heaven. Is your

name written there? That's a question we have

to ask ourselves individually. Are we in Christ?

If you are, you're going to know it. It's not

going to be, I hope so. You're going to know

it if you're in Christ. Because you have a relationship

with God. If you would, I want everybody to bow

your head and close your eyes just for a minute.

And if you're here today and you would say, Dean,

I look at my life and I don't know that I have

a relationship with God. I can't look back and...

see a time when I've realized that I was a sinner

and my sin separated me from a holy God. I've

never asked Him to forgive me. I've never called

on Him as my Lord. I've never surrendered my

life to Him. If that's you, I want to lead you

in a prayer, but please, please, please, please

listen to what I'm going to say. Becoming a Christian

is not repeating words after somebody. We can

teach birds to repeat words after somebody. So

it's more than that. I'm just going to help you

put into words what I just said. But they have

to be your words. It has to be your heart crying

out to God to receive His gift of eternal life.

So if that's what you want, I want to ask you

to pray with me. One Friday morning, I prayed

a prayer like this, and I want to tell you something.

I've never been the same since. Let's pray. Jesus,

I believe you are the Son of God. Tell him that.

I believe you are the Son of God. I believe you

died on the cross for me in my place, for my

sin. You did it for me. And I believe that you

rose again from the grave. Jesus, today, I ask

you to forgive me of my sin. Thank you for dying

for me, shedding your blood for me. I ask you

to wash me clean. Forgive me. And Jesus, today,

I realize that up until now, my life's just pretty

much been all about me. But from now on, I want

to live for you. I want to know you. I want to

be in relationship with you, Jesus. I surrender

all that I am to you. I ask you to be my Lord.

Thank you. For forgiving me. Thank you for adopting

me into your family. Thank you for giving me

your gift of eternal life. Nobody's looking around.

If you say, Dean, I just prayed with you. I just

asked Jesus to forgive me. I just asked him to

be my Lord. If that's you, would you raise your

hand while nobody's looking around? I'm the only

one looking around. Anybody? Anybody else? Okay.

Everybody look this way. The Bible says there's

rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God

when one person turns from their sin and turns

to God. I saw people moving around, but I saw

one person raise their hand like, you know, some

people are like, I don't know. I saw one person

raise their hand. That means that there's a celebration

going on in heaven. And I want to ask you to

do one more thing. See, believing in Jesus is

a personal thing. I can't do that for you. You

can't do that for me. Listen, it can never be

a private thing. Because Jesus said, I'll just

always go with His words, right? Jesus said,

if you're ashamed of me in front of other people,

I'll be ashamed of you in front of my Father

in heaven. It just comes down to that. So there's

no such thing as secret Christians. It doesn't

exist. That's why I'm going to ask you to do

something right now. Now, while everybody's watching,

I'm going to count to three. It's going to be

really quick. We're not going to sing 47 verses

just as I am. I'm going to count to three, and

if that's what you did, whether you raised your

hand or not, if today you asked Jesus to forgive

you, and today you asked Jesus to be your Lord,

I'm going to ask you to stand up on three. One,

two, three. Stand up if that's what you did today.

That's awesome. That's awesome. That's awesome.

That's awesome. That's awesome.