This Sunday, we celebrate Easter – Resurrection Sunday!
This is the day our Lord was raised from the dead, Triumphant over all of hell, Alive forevermore, and possessing the keys of hell and death! Jesus the first born among many brethren! Jesus had conquered death. He had destroyed him who had the power of death (the devil). And now, He carried the keys with Him. He cleansed the heavens with His blood and preached peace to His disciples. All was well!
Years passed and people begin asking, “How will the resurrection happen? And, what will it look like?” Paul answered these question in, 1 Corinthians 15.
How are the dead raised up? The dead are not raised unless they die. Paul likened it to what is sown ”…what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.” 1 Corinthians 15:36
Death, all letting go – forgiveness, trust, committing our spirit into the hands of the Father – is a precursor to all resurrection.
Whether it be the ultimate resurrection of our bodies, or our arriving inside resurrection life, as Paul sought in, Philippians 3, death is an ending, for a new beginning. Death is letting go of how it “ought to have been”, laying no claims to what it must be. Death is trust that does not control an outcome. It is unconditional surrender. Paul counted all things loss in order to gain Christ.
With what body do the dead come? Resurrection takes a body of the Lord’s choosing. Paul again likened this to sowing, “And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:37, 38
This is a huge truth because we are not trying to save our life, rescue our project, or dream, or anything. We are trusting it to go into God’s hand, into His resurrection. We are looking for a resurrection of a new body, a new dream, something God gives as He chooses. It is far better than what was sown, it is a new creation, whether a relationship, a dream, or anything.
When Jesus was raised from the dead He raised a new creation. Jesus had lived as the first Adam – a living soul – now He was a life-giving spirit. He had been sown in corruption and raised incorruptible. He had been sown in dishonor, and now raised in glory He was sown in weakness, now raised in power, and sown a natural body, now raised a spiritual body. Jesus could still eat fish, but He could also walk through walls and vanish at will. He could cloak His natural looks, to conceal His resurrection life, until He chose to open Mary’s eyes, or the eyes of His disciples to see Him as the resurrected Christ.
The same will be for us. Having borne the image of the man of dust, we will bear the image of the heavenly man. This Sunday, come and celebrate with your brothers and sisters the resurrection of Jesus! Come expecting to receive His resurrection life. This week, let go of all that has disappointed you, all the betrayals, losses, and deaths. Commit your life, whatever it’s state, into the hands of the Father; and trust Him to raise you up into newness of life!
Happy Resurrection life!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesday March 23, 7 pm: Purim begins! We have a wild and fun Purim play in which everyone can participate. Roots Ministry will be leading this evening of worship, dance, and celebration of the triumph of God. There is so much prophetic imagery of Jesus overcoming Satan through His intercession, just as Esther overcame Haman in her intercession. Purim is a celebration of deliverance, resurrection, and newness of life. It’s awesome that it comes this year a few days before Easter.
Sunday March 27, 9 am: I will share, “What Happened From the Cross to the Throne.” Everything changed from the cross to the throne – death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and the intercession of Jesus. It changed
everything forever! The greatest thing we can do now is receive all that has been given to us, in Christ.
Sunday, 10:20 am: Nations Prayer – Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:18b, 19a. Everything begins with prayer. Without prayer, our efforts will be in the flesh as will our results. Please join us as we pray for the nations.
Sunday, 11 am: I will share “Why are You so Sad?” Everything has forever changed, by Jesus’ resurrection. But for many of us today it doesn’t appear so. We may be struggling in lost hope, or perplexed by circumstances of recent events. But, a conversation with Jesus can change all that. Imagine a conversation where everything you felt as loss, now became your gain, disappointment His appointment, and death new life. Imagine Jesus walking along side, listening to your description of yesterday’s events, and then, everything changes. That’s resurrection!
