A Place Of Grace
4-5-26
  • Glorious Day
  • At The Cross (Love Ran Red)
  • Friday we saw Death Had No Power
    At the Cemetery we celebrated Death Has No Grip
    NOW… consider with me how Death Has No Victory!
    The resurrection firmly establish Jesus Christ’s VICTORY over Sin & Death… HE HAS RISEN!
    Why do we answer “Indeed”???
    INDEED= without question, undeniable, it is reality or a matter of fact.
    IF… you shout back “indeed” how does Christ’s Victory over death impact you?
    IF… Death has no victory what in your life changes?
    Why… is this Sunday / This Celebrating event so important to you?
    The prophet Isaiah 25:6 declares that God will swallow up Death in victory. Paul delivers a compelling argument for the POWER OF THE RESURRECTION in 1 Corinthians 15.
    His closing of this argument makes the bold statement followed by two questions that deserve our hearty INDEED or AMEN!
    Statement: “Death is swallowed up in victory”
    Questions: “O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?”
    Here is Paul’s argument that leads him to share some wonderful truths for us to live by:

    The Power of the Gospel

    Right out of the gates… Paul shares the Gospel [Good News] of Jesus Christ that the scriptures declare!
    1 Corinthians 15:1-4 gives it so clear and powerfully…
    1 Corinthians 15:1–4 NLT
    Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
    Paul would share this gospel Truth to the Ephesian church this way Ephesians 2:1-5
    Ephesians 2:1–5 NLT
    Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
    Placing your faith… not in your deeds, your actions, your status… but in the finished work of Jesus Christ!
    Faith: staking your eternal destination on what Jesus did
    Faith: letting God take your sin, and living a new life for Him
    The gospel of Jesus Christ holds power fir you and me because it declares that what Jesus did at Calvary and the work of His Resurrection changes my status if I place my faith from DEATH to LIFE!
    BTW… faith is not blind. Paul in the following verses in Corinthians gives all those who saw Christ, witnessed His Resurrection… and encouraged his readers to go talk to them!
    After giving the gospel Paul shares with his readers the power that there is for us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ…

    The Power of Christ’s Resurrection

    It is seldom if ever disputed that Jesus lived and taught what He did.
    It is not disputed that He died on a cross.
    It is not disputed that He was buried in a grave.
    Many religious leaders have come and gone and all have thier graves, all remain dead… But not Christ!
    The dispute was weather or not Jesus actually rose from the dead, weather there was a resurrection of the dead for all as well.
    1 Corinthians 15:12-23 gives a solid argument for the Truth of His resurrection.
    1 Corinthians 15:12–23 NLT
    But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is 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. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
    Paul gives thier lives as an example or proof… suffering, dying, torture, wild beats, the arenas
    Prior (while Christ was alive, before the cross) all the disciples scattered, abandoned Jesus in fear of death or harm.
    But NOW… after the resurrection, after the Holy Spirit has come… watch out world! These men would go to thier death declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ
    BTW… suffering is not fun! Paul acknowledges this in 1 Corinthians 15:30-34…
    1 Corinthians 15:30–34 NLT
    And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.
    Yet, in light of the resurrection, in light of what Christ did and calls us to…
    He declares we are to live different, stop sinning
    Then… to those who give lips service he makes a statement that some “don't know God at all”
    Suffering, hardships, even death can disillusion some so easily. God never promised this life would be easy. Paul then goes on to explain and describe the resurrection of all people…

    The Power of Our Resurrection

    We are removed from farming in our society to a large degree. Paul here illustrates with the picture of a seed.
    In order for a seed to grow into a live plant it must first die
    The seed is then buried in the ground
    It is then that a seed will grow… and it will ONLY produce “like” plants depending on the seed
    Apple seeds grow apple trees
    A peach seed produces a peach tree
    You cannot expect to plant an avocado seed and get apples or peaches
    In order for you and I to have our new resurrected bodies, the old body must die, be buried, and there will be a new resurrected body… 1 Corinthians 15:42-50
    1 Corinthians 15:42–50 NLT
    It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
    Our bodies still die, EVEN with the VICTORY Christ had that Sunday morning as He rose from the DEAD!
    We still burry our loved ones, we still struggle with bodies falling apart, failing, crippled with disease
    Currently and always these bodies need to die in order for us to receive our new spiritual bodies able to LIVE for eternity
    Our spirit is eternal, but these bodies are not!
    But because Christ who took on a body “like ours”
    He died, was buried, and rose again...
    We have HOPE, COMFORT, and it EMPOWERS US TO LIVE!
    The FEAR removed, rather now, it is almost welcomed as it ushers in the opportunity for the new resurrected body...
    Paul delivers one extra piece of amazing news… 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
    1 Corinthians 15:51–53 NLT
    But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
    Not all of us will die… there is a moment coming (AT ANY MOMENT) that we will be gathered up to Jesus Himself in the clouds
    1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 speaks to this!
    1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NLT
    And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.
    So those who die in Christ Jesus will see the resurrection
    This is why we approach this Sunday celebration of Jesus Christ risen from the grave with such JOY, with such HOPE…

    The Power to Live in Victory!

    When our bodies see the resurrection as Christ was resurrected we will see… “DEATH swallowed up in victory” once for all time.
    That is why we gather today and declare with a victory shout towards DEATH...
    Where is your victory?
    Where is your sting?
    1 Corinthians 15:56–58 “For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
    I began with three questions as we began contemplating our affirmation of “INDEED”
    IF… you shout back “indeed” HOW does Christ’s Victory over death impact you?
    Will you now LIVE for Him?
    Will the FEAR that held you captive and the sin that brings death now have NO control?
    IF… Death has no victory what in your life changes?
    Do you now LIVE each day each moment… for His glory, in His Power
    Do you find “strength” do you find yourself “immovable” in your position in Christ
    Do you find yourself now “enthusiastically serving the Lord each day”… at home, at work, with friends and people around you!!!???
    Why… is this Sunday / This Celebrating event so important to you?
    Is it merely a tradition?
    Or is it a reminder and reason to CELEBRATE the work of Jesus Christ who set you free from the BONDAGE OF SIN and set you FREE TO LIVE LIKE NEVER BEFORE!
    Church we come together today to BOLDLY, CONFIDENTLY WITH A VICTORY CRY DECLARE AND SHOUT
    HE IS RISEN!… HE IS RISEN IN DEED!

      • 1 Corinthians 15:1–4NIV2011

      • Ephesians 2:1–5NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:12–23NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:30–34NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:42–50NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:51–53NIV2011

      • 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18NIV2011

      • 1 Corinthians 15:56–58NIV2011

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