18 Apr He’s Not Dead… & Now What?| The Gifts of the Resurrection’ – Mehdi Chnioulli
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Key Verse: John 20
The Gifts of The Resurrection
We celebrate the risen Lord every time we gather. We need to get back to the basics of our Christian Faith. If we did not have the Resurrection, none of us would be ‘here’. Christianity would be a forgotten heresy but because the Resurrection is true and the Lord is alive, we get to come and celebrate.
In these following passage, we are taken to the room where Jesus appeared, let’s focus and hear the words’ of Jesus. The disciples were scared because they thought Jesus was dead.
John 20:19-23 ESV
Q. Put yourself in place of the disciples, what do you think your reaction may have been to see and hear Jesus for the first time since His death?
There is power in the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection our faith is nothing.
A. His Resurrection Offers Us Peace
John 20:19 “Peace be with you.”
- He comes Along With Us & Stand With Us in Our Mess
He comes in their midst and stands among them. We tend to numb ourselves from the outside world for fear of getting hurt. If our fear and hurt is too great, we eventually distance ourselves from the very Person that can heal our hurt – Jesus.
Q. What is an example of where your fear and hurt was so great, that you distance yourself from others and from Jesus?
There is no door or barrier Jesus can’t go through to get to us. He defeated our number one enemy: Death. The difference between the world and Jesus is this: the world says: ’think positive thoughts’ and Jesus comes and sees our needs and says: ‘I got you.’ ‘Here is My peace.’
John Piper’s Quote: “Jesus can go where no one else can go. He can go where no counselor can go. He can go where no doctor can go. He can go where no lover can go. He can reach you, and reach into you, anywhere and any time. There is no place where you are, and no depths of personhood that you are which Jesus can’t penetrate.”
Q. What experience have you had where you realized the only help that would truly solve your problem could only come from Jesus (maybe you tried a councilor, your spouse, friend, only to find out they cannot truly give you what you need)?
2. He Speaks Peace Into Us
When we follow Jesus, there are not guarantees we won’t have trouble.
John 16:33 ESV
Sometimes we are put right in the middle of trouble, but Jesus is right there with us.
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
Jesus does not just show up and give lip service. Peter denied him 3 times and still Jesus does not rebuke him. The disciples were scared in the moment He appeared to them and needed His peace and Jesus offers that to them in that moment. They needed Him to speak those words to them at that moment
Q. What precise moment did you need Jesus to show up and he actually showed up in that moment you needed Him to (sometimes he shows up in a different way than expected)?
There is no self help book or seminar that will fix your life, marriage, or children. The only one that can is the Prince of Peace.
John 14:6 ESV
If we are in Christ, the Father sees us is the Righteousness of Christ.
3. He Builds Our Faith
John 20:20 (ESV)
Jesus is trying to reassure them and tell them that He is not a ghost that it is really Him. He showed them it was Him. Showing them his hands and feet and his side. The Lord shows us He is real and He is near and not only that He brings provision, but He is our Provision.
God can and will show up in those desperate moments but more likely in the midst of our storm and offers us calm and anchors us. He sets up a banqueting table in the middle of our trouble with or without the resolution to the trouble. God wants to shift tour focus and take it away from the circumstance. He meets us and reveals Himself to us.
Q. What is an example of where God had not offered you a resolution to your problem but shifted your focus and built your faith?
B. His Resurrection Offers Us Purpose.
The revelation of Jesus gives reassurance.
John 20: 21 (ESV)
Right here He reassures them. Because He says this twice there must be significance there.
1. He Reassures us.
He continues to offer His peace to us after we give Him our ‘Yes.’
He never stops caring for us. He knows how stubborn we are but He is willing to speak that peace again and again. It is not a one time deal.
Q. What are some of the same things that you continually need His peace and reassurance for and why?
2. He sets The Example.
He is the Blueprint and the Source. We are not asked to do anything that does not align with the word or that Jesus Himself had not been called to do. He tells us to do what He did. There is no place Jesus would send us where he has never been. He would not us ask us to do anything that does not align with His Word.
3. He Calls Us Into Service
How do we live out the mission of our Church? We are called into action with Jesus and not just admiration of His works. He asks us to come along with Him and work with Him for our own sake. He did not need us but knows it is good for us and good for our soul.
Q. How has your service to others benefited you more than the person you were serving (even though that was not your intent)?
We all have a purpose and by us stepping out in faith we never know what God might do. Mehdi joined the cafe team, joined a life group, became a life group leader, is now location pastor for Fall River and is preaching the World of God to us! It takes a minimum of 200 people to run a weekend. If you are not serving, there is are plenty of opportunities to use the gifts God has given you.
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)
C. His Resurrection Offers Us Power.
- He Breathes New Life.
John 20:22-23 (ESV)
The disciples were born again.
Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
1 Peter1:3 (ESV)
The disciples needed a divine touch, we need a divine touch we cannot do this on our own. We need His dwelling with us.
2. He Gives Us The Holy Spirit.
John 15:26 (ESV)
The Holy Spirit is the engine that propels our new life in Christ. We cannot do life in Christ without the Holy Spirit. We receive purpose and He equips us with the power because we cannot do it on our own. Other religions are works based, but Jesus flipped the switch. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Sermon In a Sentence
We benefit from The Cross of Christ & His Resurrection by Experiencing His Peace, Receiving The Holy Spirit’s Power to Live Out Our New Purpose in Him!
Challenge:
To be like Mary: announce that the tomb is empty to people who have not yet heard.
To be like the Disciples: to be filled with the Holy Spirit to announce the forgiveness of sins.
To be like Thomas: armed with eyewitness testimony for doubters.
To be like Peter: commissioned to lead in our circles of influence to glorify God in life and death.
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