The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

One of the biggest proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in the stone that was rolled away from the entrance of the borrowed tomb. The stone was not rolled away to let our Lord out but to prove to the skeptics, the unbelievers, the atheist, the world and yes, to the Christians also that He was resurrected from the dead as He had predicted. He conquered death so the historians and archaeologists who are searching for His body will never find Him covered in dust in the midst of the earth. We know that He is not there He is risen and sitting right now at the right hand of the Father in glory. The empty tomb is proof enough that He has conquered death and paid the price for the sins of humanity. If He is still in the grave we are all dead in our trespasses and sins and on our way to this awful place called hell which was created for the devil and his angels. Jesus said, "... destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up." John 2:19.

Jesus predicted His own death and also predicted His own resurrection. Jesus fulfilled every word that He said He would do. For further study read Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:17-19; Mark 9:30-32; Luke 18:31-34; John 10:17-18.

The new Testament is full of examples of places where Jesus appeared in person, for example He appeared to Mary Magdalene in John 20:11-17; to Peter in Luke 24:34; to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Mark 16:12-13; to the Apostles and Thomas in Mark 16:14; Luke24:36-43; John 20:19:24. Then according to Paul in I Corinthians 15:6 He appeared to 500 people. Jesus was seen by the apostles and many people on Mount of Olive as He ascended to Heaven on the ascension day in Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:3-9.

As we can see there are many evidences of Jesus being resurrected from the dead. He was also seen of Stephen will he was being stone to death for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts7:55-56. The resurrected Christ also met with the biggest persecutor of Christians, a young religious leader by the name of Saul who later his name changed to Paul. Paul's first encounter with the resurrected Christ was on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-6) where he had the approval of the religious Jews to imprison and killed all those who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus also appeared to Paul on other occasions, for example, He appeared to Paul in Arabia Acts 20:24; 26:17; Galatians 1:12,17. He appeared to Paul in Caesarea while in prison in Acts 23:11 and in the Temple in Acts 22:17-21; 9:26-30; Galatians 1:18.

There is so much evidence and variety of appearances in the New Testament, that it is almost impossible not to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Another strong evidence of Jesus being resurrected is His appearance to the beloved apostle John to whom He appeared on the Isle of Patmos where John penned down the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation.

We also prove the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ when we celebrate the Lord's Supper or Communion. This is a time when we remember His death, burial and resurrection til He comes back, I Corinthians 11:23-26. When we Identify with our savior in the waters of baptism we do proclaim His death, burial and resurrection. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also would walk in newness of life." Romans 6:3-4.

We must accept by faith that Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead to save us from our sins. He did this also so we can live a victorious, holy and sanctified life. One day we will all meet the risen Christ, because every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. What a day that will be when we see the resurrected Savior face to face. What a day that will be to know that we will be with Him for eternity and be able to worship Him for all eternity. Praise His holy name!

The Sin Of Presumption

{39} And Mose told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. {40} And they rose up early in the morning, and gather up on top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we are here, and will go up onto the place which the Lord has promised: for we have sinned. {41} And Moses said, Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. {42} Don't go up, for the Lord is not among you; so you don't be beaten before your enemies. {43} For the Amelekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword: because you have turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you. {But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. {45} Then the Amelekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and defeated them, even unto Hormah. (Numbers 14:39-45).

It has been said: "Wise men presume nothing, but hope for the best; presumption is hope out of her wits."

In this portion of Scripture we have a solemn example of the fool hardiness of attempting to do work for the Lord without his presence and the help of the Holy Spirit. Sad to say is happening in a lot of our local churches today.

I - Who were they?

1. They were pilgrims from Egypt who had been saved by the power of God.
2. They were followers of the Divine pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.
3. They had, through Moses the servant of God, witnessed again and over again the wonder
working miracles of Him who dwelt therein.
4. They were murmurers who had refused to accept the report of the two faithful spies, Caleb
and Joshua.
5. They were the ones who desired ro make for themselves a captain and return to Egypt. (v.4).
6. Where have you seen this before?

II - What they did.

When they heard the Lord had, because of their unbelief, sentenced them to 40 years of wondering in the wilderness, they said, "Lo, we be here, and we will go up." (v.34).
By doing this out of God's will,

1. They went against the Word of god - (v. 41).
2. They went presuming on the past mercies of God (murmuring will lead to failure).
3. They went without the presence of the Lord, you can't accomplish anything for God without
the Lord and His Holy Spirit.
4. They went thinking that a formal or religious confession would satisfy God. (V.40).
5. Where have you seen this before?

A confession without a submission of the will to the mind of Christ is ardent hypocrisy.

III - What they experienced?

In their self-confident effort they only gained for themselves. (V.45).

1. Disappointment - They did not reach the place which the Lord had promised. They built their
house on the sand.
2. Defeat - The enemy overcame them. Without the armor of God we can't make it!
3. Disgrace - They lost the favor and presence of God.
4. Death - Many died. Presumption is always accompanied by the blow of death. The wages of
sin is death.
5. Where have you seen this before?

IV - What they teach us - I Corinthians 10:11

There is in this passage a solemn warning,

1. To the Christian worker. - Beware of Godless effort hoping to succeed in Christ's work
without the presence of God and His Holy Spirit with you and in you. Except the Lord build
the city they labor in vain who build it.
2. To the self-righteous - make absolutely sure that God is in it with you.
3. To the religious or formalist - Beware of trusting formal prayers and confessions while the
revealed will of god stands opposed to your character and purpose - (Vs. 41-45).
4. To the procrastinators - Beware on depending on a late repentance. If God gave you a
vision
make sure you just don't only talk about it but that you execute it. Talk is cheap when the
Lord is not in it.
5. Where have you seen this before?

Conclusion:

Beware of the sin of presumption. For this sin there was no sacrifice appointed.

{4} "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, {5} And have tasted of the good word of god, and the powers of the world to come, {6} If they shall fall away, to renew again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:4-6).

The Will Of God

1. The Will Of God Allows Us To Experience Salvation.

"The lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9

God is not willing that any should perish and end up in hell. It means that God does not delight in the death of the wicked. God's will is for every person on the face of this earth repents of their sins and turn their lives over to Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus Christ is our redeemer and there are no other. We were dead in trespasses and sins and Jesus had to come down to rescue us and deliver us from our sins. He paid the price on the cross of Calvary. To be be able to claim that we are not perishing we must come to Jesus Christ to be cleansed from our sins, there are no other way. We entered into this world as sinners and if we want to get out of this world saved we need Jesus to do it for us.
God's desire is to save everybody but unfortunately not to many people want to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb is Jesus Christ the Messiah. The world's desire is to remain in their sins and prefer to stay in darkness where the Devil love to keep them.
God on the other hand wants to quicken us or make us alive. He does not want us to stay in darkness. When He saves us he turns the light on and makes us alive by the Power of the Holy Spirit, we do not come to God on our own God is the one doing it. Read the following verses carefully and see for yourselves.


"And you has He quickened (Made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in time past in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Ephesians 2:1-3.

God needs to come and enlighten us reveal to us our sins, then we need to act in repentance which is an absolute necessity before the act of salvation is performed in our hearts by God. You cannot be saved unless God touches your heart with His wonderful Gospel, then you repent of your sins and turn to God so He can reveal to you the wonderful truth of the Gospel and place it it your heart.

2. The Will Of God Gives Us Power To Become Sons Of God.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of god, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13.

The power to become the sons of God is according to God's will not our will, religion's will, pastor's will or anybody else will. This is the first act of God in the sinners life. God wants sinners saved. God cannot work or go to the next thing until a person first deal with his or her issue of sin. We must recognize we are sinners and admit we are sinners for God to perform His work of salvation in our lives.

3. The Will Of God Will Cause You To Submit To the Process Of Sanctification.

"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, ..." I Thessalonians 4:3

Sanctification is more important than soul winning, teaching, preaching, getting baptized or going to church on Sunday, all these we will do because we are saved. Sanctification of the believer is not a very popular subject in the realm of Christianity because our sinful nature loves to sin and play with sin. Sanctification is very important because Christians need to abstain from sin and fornication. Only the Holy Spirit can give you the desire and ability to be sanctified before God. We can't make it on our own. Most of the time we are guilty of going out with the devil while engaged to the Lord. Holiness is not about weary nice clothe on Sunday morning and wearing a fake smile in church. Holiness is not about being on time or attending prayer meeting every week. God wants us clean. sanctification is a total submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an attitude, a way of life and totally dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit to succeed. We must constantly be in tune with God and do the right thing. We will never be sinless but we can become more mature in Christ, and do His will. We must learn to discern the voice of the Spirit and walk away from doing wrong and constantly look to Jesus for help. This only means that you are continually or habitually dealing with being sanctified. You need to not to submit yourself to temptations but flee from sin. You must constantly work at it and stay on the right path. You need to continually pray, read the Word and be obedient to God.

4 The Will Of God Will Cause You To Suffer For Well Doing.

" Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." I Peter 3:16-17

Count on it, it is a fact that for certain you will be opposed for doing good and sometimes the opposition comes from the people that will claim to be close to you. Your own self at times will oppose you. The world and the devil will oppose you. Even family members and close friends will oppose you. All this opposition is because they don't want you to walk in the Spirit. Remember that the school of suffering is a good educator it make you better at what the Lord wants you to do. You will experience suffering, hard times and persecution so down the road you can help other cope with what they are going through. The prophets, the Apostles and the disciples of Christ all had their thorn in the flesh to keep them humble and remind them to turn to the Lord for help. The devil will never be against you until you give your life to the Lord and surrender to Him. Suffering will come as a result of submitting to the process of sanctification.

5. The Will Of God Will Cause You To Submit To Authorities Placed By God.

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: I Peter2:13


God wants us to submit to earthly authorities. We must be willing as servant of the Lord Jesus Christ to do so. We must submit to divine authority. It is God who placed the authority in the home fathers, mothers, and children. He is the one who raises pastors and leaders in the body of Christ the church. he is the one who has placed them and called them to be leaders and we are not supposed to go against God authority, lest we be rebelling against God's plan instituted by Him.

6. The Will Of God Causes You To Give Thanks In All Things.

"In everything give thanks for this is the will of God." I Thessalonians 5:17

Whatever happens in our life, under any circumstances we must constantly praise and give thanks to the Lord. This is the will of God. In all things we must praise and give thanks to the Lord, in sickness and in health, in prosperous times and poor times, in good times and in rough times, in easy times and in tribulation times, you must be ready to give thanks to God in whatsoever predicament you find yourself into. If you are not giving thanks to the Lord at all times, you are in rebellion against God. Be satisfied and at peace with God and be thankful for all your needs which are met by the Lord.

May God abundantly bless you!

Confess To God

There is only one remedy for sins in your life. Confess them to God, repent and turn away from them. Then look to Jesus he will help you to overcome, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2.

Anybody who tries to hide his sins will never prosper with God, He knows we are human and do sins, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13. If you confess with your mouth to God He will listen to your prayer, forgive you of your sins and save your soul, this is a fact, "... if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Romans 10:9, and "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9.

The reason we sin is because we are born into this world with that sinful nature inherited from Adam and Eve. Sin was brought to us by the fall of Adam. Since because we were in Adam he fell placed the whole world under a curse, sin. Therefore this is why Romans 3:23 reminds us that, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." But when we realize that we are sinners and need to confess to God we will have the desire to do 5 things:

1. We will make a wise decision and follow it with the appropriate action.
2. We will acknowledge that we have sinned against God.
3. We will seek to make it right with God and those we have offended or sin against.
4. We will seek reconciliation with those whom we have hurt.
5. We will prepare our hearts to forgive those who have sinned or offended us in the past.

This whole confession thing must be done in a spirit of humility and repentance toward God and follow the instruction of Jesus who said "Go and sin no more." Sin should not be considered lightly, because God doesn't. Matter of fact He is so concerned about it that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to handle the problem of sin. Sin is forever before us and the only way to be delivered from sin is by asking Jesus through the Holy Spirit to help us and accepting His sacrifice on the cross for sins. David had to deal with this and we do also, read Psalms 32 and 51 in your Bible.

Unconfessed sins will ruin and wreck you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I think that a lot of people are needlessly suffering and are depressed because they fail to confess to God and depend on the Holy Spirit to help them in their daily walk.

Happiness comes from confessed sin. If you confess your sin to God you will receive peace within. Before you have the peace of God you need to be reconciled to Him and make peace with God through Jesus Christ. Just like the prodigal son of Luke 15 received forgiveness of his sins only after he confessed and admitted he needed to go back to his father and ask forgiveness for the sins he committed against him. Then fellowship with his father was restored. True confession always involves humbling yourselves and repentance toward God.

If we fall and stumble and sin we must always go to God for forgiveness. We need to teach by example and don't be holier than thou. Learn to forgive and go on with your life. God is always there to lead us and guide us when we do stumble and fall. Don't be so hard on people who don't understand the forgiveness and love of God, but pray for them that the Lord will grant them the ability to look to Him for forgiveness. There is joy in confession. Teach it by your life and example.