The Resurrection of Jesus-Why it Matters

Grace Coach Podcast

Why is the resurrection of Jesus the single most important event in world history? Was it to prove the Jesus was God, or is there something more? Listen in as Mike and Kevin talk about the real meaning of the resurrection and what it might mean to you.

Transcript:

Welcome to Grace Coach. This is Kevin Smith and my cohost, Mike Stone. What's up, Mike? Hey, good to be with you, Kevin. Great, great to be with you, too. Yes. Today we're gonna talk about about the resurrection of our Lord and Jesus Christ. And we just got through celebrating Easter and the worldwide celebration of Jesus Christ resurrection from the dead was celebrated around the world just a few weeks ago. And we're going to talk about it today. And we're going to talk about not just the resurrection, but an aspect that you may or may not have heard about in Church a few weeks ago. Mike, what do you think about this part of what we're going to talk about today, about having died with Christ and are seated with him? What are some of your generations? Because that's really what the distinction of what we're going to talk about today. Yeah. Well, that's good because you mentioned Good Friday, which all of us are celebrating or realizing that's the day that Jesus died on the cross and he took away the sins of the world. And really, most of us just we deal with Jesus on the basis of sin and forgiveness. And the thing is that the resurrection is moving past, that the resurrection is about new life and being saved. And there are two different things. But again, most Christians, most of the time when we hear messages, they're talking about Jesus and sin and forgiveness. But again, the message of the gospel is also the resurrection of Jesus, where Jesus was raised from the dead and that for the purpose that we would be raised from the dead when we put our faith in Christ. Yeah. And that's that verse in Colossians Three. I know you want to talk about 31, where it says, since you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. And it also says that in Ephesians 26, it says that and God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. And when you look at that for face value, you're like, now, wait a minute, my feet are on the Earth. I know I am still here. So what is Paul talking about in these two verses that we have already been raised with Christ? Exactly. Well, like you've just said, when we talk about Easter, we talk about new life. That's really the message that we hear Friday. You died Friday, Christ died Sunday morning, he ride. That's really just the thing. But we don't talk about we died with Christ. And if you don't really catch that piece of it, I'm just going to read what you just read at Colossus Three is actually the verse that I'm going to read. It says for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. I'll read that again for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. So obviously, we didn't die physically. It's it's a spiritual death, right?

PARTICIPANT #1

4:23

Yeah. Not I think what this is saying here, Paul is saying in Colossians three three, that we died to our old sinful nature, to the nature of being born in the image of Adam, which is how we came into this world, and we died to that nature, and we were given a new nature, a new spirit, when we were born again. So not everybody is born again, right? Most people are probably still in the condition of being spiritually dead in Adam. But the gospel is about coming to Christ by faith and being born again. And as John, I think it's 546, I'm not sure, but it says that we've crossed over from death to life. That's when we put our John 524, we put our faith in Christ. So, yeah, we've died to our old nature and our life is now hidden with Christ and God. In verse four. I just want to read, Kevin, that it says when Christ, who is your life because why Christ is now living inside of you, his life is in you as a born again Christian. It says when Christ, who is your life, appears, you will also appear with him in glory. And so we're talking about the Rapture, when the event where Christ is coming back. We don't know what day that is. We just know that it's going to happen because the Bible says that he's going to appear and we're going to meet him in the clouds. And that's what they're talking about, that we will appear when he appears, and that's when we're with him forever. Yes. I love what you were talking about earlier about having a new nature. And that, again, is something that I think we've been talking about it a bit recently. But you don't hear this much in churches and sermons that you have a new nature. We have new hearts and this new heart that we have. Even though we do the things that we may have done in the past, that's not our new setting. That's not our new default setting. We don't get pleased by that in the same way we did before when we were in Adam. When we were dead, it was all about the flesh. It was all about doing whatever you could do, whatever you wanted to do. Right. But now that we're in Christ, we have a new heart, we have a new nature. Despite the fact that we do some of these things, this doesn't please us the way it used to please us. And that's the incredible blessing of our new nature and our new spirit. Yeah. And we're lucky now that Christ has come to live inside of us. He's given us the mind of Christ and he's in the business of renewing our mind and changing our thoughts. I don't know about you, but when I started getting some new thoughts about some of the old things, I was doing and thinking, I was like, well, this is a miracle. I can't believe it's happening. I didn't even know what love was. For 30 plus years of my life, I had no idea. I thought love was just about loving yourself and being nice here and there. But when you understand the love of God, that he's taken away all of your sins, I mean, that's a big thing right there. That's the Good Friday event, right, that we were talking about. But not only did he do that, but then he rose from the dead so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. And you have that. It's like that's our new position as born again Christians. So going back to that verse, Colossians three, one to four, verse one, since you have been raised with Christ, and again, we know our feet are still on Earth, but what does that mean is that we've been raised positionally with him. We know that when he appears, it's not like we have to wonder if we're going to be raptured, if we're going to be with him forever. We know that this is a done deal. It's a position that we have that is concrete, is like etched in God's will. Amen. Without a doubt, it's the anchor that we can hold onto through the storms of life. I want to just respond to what you were just saying to a second ago about learning to love and learning what love is all about. And God has really shown me a new thing about this, too, about love. And really the key to it is because I know when you were talking in your mind, you were thinking of Tina, your wife, and other people that you've had relationships in the past, maybe women or parents or earthly relationships. What God has spoken to me about is the uniqueness of our relationship is with God, not with people. And because it's with God, it is different than every other relationship we ever had and ever will have. It is a Grace based relationship with the creator of the world who is infinitely perfect. And that to me, is what sets our relationship with God apart from every other relationship we can have with other people. Because I'm not perfect. And every other person that I am in relationship is not perfect, but God is perfect. He never makes a mistake in his relationship. He deals with me perfectly every single time. Every decision that he ever makes is the right decision. And when you really think about that and ponder that and own it in your heart, it does change the way you have your relationship, not just your relationship, but just your life. That I think is a huge factor in being at peace in life. And no matter what comes about, if you've got that total understanding locked in in your heart, I mean, it's mindblowing. Yeah. And great peace and certainly when you do know that about your relationship with God is solid, that you can't lose your Salvation, that he will never leave you, that you are completely forgiven and positionally ready to meet them in the air one day. It really does change your life and changes your relationships down here. Right. And yeah, we make mistakes. We say the wrong thing, but the motive is knowing that God has taken away our sins isn't counting our sins against us. That's really a motivation to let it go with people. When we hold a grudge against somebody, our standard is higher than God's because God has forgiven them. And here I'm holding onto a grudge that puts me in a greater position than God. Right. That he has taken away their sins. What am I doing holding on to such foolishness? Really, it's really crazy. But, you know, the thing with the resurrection is mentioned over 25 times in the Book of Acts. As important as the cross is, yes, but without the resurrection. One Corinthians 1514 says, we're still on our sins, and it says that our preaching is useless. If Christ hasn't been raised, then, yeah, you're still in your sins. In One Corinthians One Five 1717. But he has arisen from the dead, and because he lives in us, we're not in our sins. And it's an amazing thing to know about the resurrection. Paul, even in Romans, goes as far enough to say that God will credit righteousness for us who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the death. He's not talking about that when we believe that Jesus took away our sins. As again, as important as that is, he's saying that he will credit righteousness for us who believe in him who raised Jesus from the dead. And here in Romans ten, nine, it says, if you believe in your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. So there's an element of this resurrection that has to do with our Salvation and understanding it. Yes. It's a huge topic that really needs to be talked about more than anything is the resurrection of Jesus. He came back from the dead so that we could be raised to life and be with him forever. Right. Even when we are baptized in Romans six, we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. I mean, there's this aspect of we have to die. It's not just Jesus Christ dying in resurrection. We have to identify ourselves with him in his death, burial and resurrection. That's right. We will have a new life and we have a new life. Romans 811. There's a beauty. It says, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. All right, we're talking about God right. The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. I mean, there's a reason for the resurrection, just not to prove that Jesus was God. It's the Romans 811 thing, so that the Spirit of God would come to live inside of you. And that is really the crux of the whole deal, because without his Spirit living in us, we can't be in a relationship with Him. That's the new life, that's the new heart, the new life, the new nature. God has come to Indwell us. We are the temple of God. He lives in us and he is not going to forsake us. He's never going to leave us. He has signed, sealed and delivered this deal. And it sounds you hear the term easy believe is or whatever. There's so many terms for it, but it's biblical. It's in black and white, plain as day. And we really hope that if you do not understand this, if you're listening to this podcast and this does seem a little foreign to you, we just want to just give you an opportunity. Right now, as you're listening, just talk to God and say, God, I am kind of understanding this. I don't understand everything completely, but I do understand that I am not going to make it in heaven by myself, and I do need a savior and that I am a sinner and in need of Grace, in need of Salvation. And you just need to receive what God has done in Christ through his death, burial, resurrection like we've been talking about and believe. Oh, somebody wants you.

PARTICIPANT #1

19:03

I have to edit that one out and that is the best. If you want to just send us an [e-mail], that would be the greatest news we could ever hear. If you in this moment through this podcast, said yes to Jesus and his life. Absolutely. And that is the gospel. So yes, the full picture for that weekend, the weekend of Good Friday and Easter, understand they're two separate events and that Jesus took away your sins, but three days later, he rose from the dead. And like you said, Kevin, you put your faith in him. You will be saved forever. Forever. Yes. So good to be with you, Kevin. Great to talk about the resurrection. I can't wait to do a new podcast in the coming weeks, and I hope you and everyone listening has a good night. Absolutely, Mike. I love you and really enjoyed our resurrection Easter podcast. We have died with Christ and we're risen with Christ. Go and celebrate. Amen. Have a party. See you soon. All right, bye.