I interrupt the series on Moses to bring you an annual message I send to honor our Lord's resurrection, which we will celebrate this week. We will resume our look at Moses' excuses next week.
A PACKED HOUSE
My church has six weekend services and we are getting ready for overflow crowds next weekend. People who don't darken the door of a church throughout the year will come to church on Easter Sunday, which will make for a packed house. They sit with the regular attenders, family and friends, and pay homage to the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. It is probably the same in your church.
We will assemble next week and say by our presence, "Yes, we believe Jesus was dead. Furthermore, we believe that He was in the tomb for three days. Yes, we believe that God raised Jesus, who was both fully God and fully man, back to life. And yes, we further attest to the fact that Jesus ascended into heaven, and that our flesh, Mary's boy, intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father." I hope you agree that those affirmations summarize truths of Easter. But is that all the truth?
It always intrigues me that many will come and attest to these truths yet all too often those truths have no meaning or application in their daily lives. Stop for a minute and ask, "So what if Jesus was raised from the dead? What difference should that make in my life?" Those are good questions; let's try to come up with some answers.
MAKING EASTER PERSONAL
If you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then you can believe God for anything! If God raises the dead, which He does, then He can cure cancer. He can provide for your business or ministry. He can transform you into the person He intended you to be, that person you want to be. If God can take a dead body and give it life, then nothing is beyond His miracle-working power. What's more, you have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead living in you! It is not a replica or a portion of that Spirit. You have the Spirit that raises the dead living in you. Here is what Paul had to say about the implications of this Spirit-resident:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you (Romans 8:9-11).
I trust you plan on being at your local church fellowship next weekend. Don't go as someone merely giving assent to a historical fact, go celebrating the truth that God is alive in You Then find how you can release that resurrection power into your life, relationships, work and purpose. If you can believe that God raises the dead - and you should - then you can believe God for anything. Have a great resurrection-power-filled week! Happy Resurrection Day!
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MY NEW BOOK: I have information on my next book coming out in July on the home page of my website, along with my updated travel schedule and resources. Check all my updates and then pre-order your autographed copy of Faith Files, Volume Two today.
THANK YOU'S FROM KENYA: You can read the thank you notes I received from my most recent visit to Kenya here along with some pictures. Thank you so much for making these donations possible through your generous giving. I am going back to Kenya in August and it's not too soon to make a contribution toward my work there. You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you in advance! You can view the blog entries from my last trip here to help you understand how important your contributions are.
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