1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,320 Well, a very happy Easter everyone. How wonderful to be able to gather in this 2 00:00:07,040 –> 00:00:14,400 beautiful sanctuary and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 3 00:00:14,400 –> 00:00:21,120 lifting our voices to praise and to exalt him together. Thank you for being here today. 4 00:00:21,120 –> 00:00:27,760 May this indeed be a blessed day as we exalt him and praise his name. 5 00:00:28,719 –> 00:00:35,840 I invite you to open your Bible at Romans and chapter 1 where we find a marvelous statement 6 00:00:35,840 –> 00:00:42,959 of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This is the third Sunday we have spent 7 00:00:42,959 –> 00:00:47,840 in this passage of scripture. Just one great sentence that flows through four 8 00:00:47,840 –> 00:00:53,599 magnificent verses. And as you open your Bible in Romans 1 you will see that right at the beginning 9 00:00:59,599 –> 00:01:05,360 simply means God’s good news. And he tells us, verse 3, that the gospel of God 10 00:01:05,360 –> 00:01:13,360 is regarding His Son. Regarding God’s Son. That’s important. We are not here to celebrate 11 00:01:13,519 –> 00:01:20,959 ourselves, the good news is not us. The good news is in God’s Son. Jesus Christ. It’s regarding 12 00:01:20,959 –> 00:01:29,760 Him. We sin. We die. And obviously therefore the hope does not lie in us. The hope lies 13 00:01:29,760 –> 00:01:36,800 outside of us. The good news, Paul says, is regarding God’s Son. And it becomes good news 14 00:01:36,800 –> 00:01:44,160 for us as we become His and as He becomes ours. Now the great question, then, is why 15 00:01:44,160 –> 00:01:54,199 is God’s Son good news for us? And we have seen so far two answers to that question. 16 00:01:54,199 –> 00:01:59,599 God’s Son, first of all, is good news for us because He is Lord. Paul says, verse 1, 17 00:01:59,720 –> 00:02:07,279 the Gospel of God regarding His Son, verse 3, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord, verse 4. 18 00:02:07,279 –> 00:02:14,279 God’s Son is good news because Jesus is Lord. If you’re in a fight, someone’s attacking 19 00:02:14,279 –> 00:02:20,520 you, and someone comes to help you, the first important question is how strong is the person 20 00:02:20,520 –> 00:02:25,520 coming to help you. If you’re in debt and someone offers to pay your bill, that would 21 00:02:25,520 –> 00:02:30,160 be a wonderful thing, wouldn’t it? Your first question is what’s their capacity? How much 22 00:02:30,160 –> 00:02:36,279 are they going to be in with me for? And here is the good news you see that Jesus Christ, 23 00:02:36,279 –> 00:02:43,339 God’s Son, He has infinite capacity. He has all power. All strength is His. All authority 24 00:02:43,339 –> 00:02:50,919 is given to Him. He is Lord. A savior who is not Lord is of no use to you, no use to 25 00:02:50,979 –> 00:02:55,419 me because He could always be overruled by a higher power. But here is the good news 26 00:02:55,419 –> 00:03:02,419 regarding God’s Son. He is Lord. What he wills gets accomplished and no one and nothing 27 00:03:02,979 –> 00:03:07,800 can stop Him. So God’s Son is good news because He is Lord. That was the first step 28 00:03:07,800 –> 00:03:14,800 we took in Romans 1. Then last week we took a second step. God’s Son is good news for 29 00:03:15,240 –> 00:03:21,460 us not only because He is Lord, but also because He became a man. And you see there the Gospel 30 00:03:21,460 –> 00:03:28,460 of God, verse 1, is regarding His Son, verse 3, who as to His human nature was a descendent 31 00:03:30,960 –> 00:03:37,919 of David. So you see here is this Son of God. He has all power. He has infinite capacity. 32 00:03:37,919 –> 00:03:42,240 But the question is what in the world does that have to do with us? How can He possibly 33 00:03:42,320 –> 00:03:48,360 relate to us since He has infinite capacity so far from us? And here is the answer. He 34 00:03:48,360 –> 00:03:55,360 took our nature. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He came to us. He stood with us in order 35 00:03:55,559 –> 00:04:01,339 to act for us. And so we saw last week that very wonderfully the Lord Jesus Christ knows 36 00:04:01,339 –> 00:04:08,339 your life. He knows your experience better than any pastor, any counselor, any friend, 37 00:04:08,580 –> 00:04:15,300 any family member. The Lord Jesus Christ knows you better than anyone else knows you, better 38 00:04:15,300 –> 00:04:20,920 than you know yourself. He gets it. He knows where you’re coming from. He is our Savior. 39 00:04:20,920 –> 00:04:26,220 And when you understand that He has experienced our life, then you will find that you can 40 00:04:26,220 –> 00:04:28,660 come to Him freely and gladly. 41 00:04:28,660 –> 00:04:33,920 We don’t have a Savior who is somehow out there, remote and removed from us, who doesn’t 42 00:04:34,059 –> 00:04:40,160 really understand us. We have Savior who has been tested in every point as we are, yet 43 00:04:40,160 –> 00:04:46,239 He was without sin. And so when you know that, let us come boldly to His throne of grace 44 00:04:46,239 –> 00:04:52,579 that we may receive from Him mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. 45 00:04:52,579 –> 00:04:58,480 So these are the great central truths of the Gospel that we have been learning together. 46 00:04:58,559 –> 00:05:04,119 The good news – it is regarding God’s Son. It’s not us, it’s Him. And He’s 47 00:05:04,119 –> 00:05:11,119 Good news for us first because He is Lord and secondly because He became a man. 48 00:05:11,320 –> 00:05:18,320 And thirdly Paul says and this is our great focus today, God’s Son is Good news, not 49 00:05:18,779 –> 00:05:24,320 only because He’s Lord of infinite capacity, not only because He has become man with us, 50 00:05:24,540 –> 00:05:31,540 but because He is risen from the dead. The gospel of God verse 1 is regarding His Son 51 00:05:32,839 –> 00:05:39,839 verse 3 who verse 4 through the Spirit of Holiness was declared with power to be the 52 00:05:41,619 –> 00:05:48,619 Son of God through His resurrection from the dead. That’s obviously our focus this morning. 53 00:05:49,579 –> 00:05:56,579 The Son of God is good news for you and for me because He rose from the dead. 54 00:05:58,320 –> 00:06:03,899 Now I want to make just three observations from this wonderful statement of the resurrection 55 00:06:03,899 –> 00:06:10,899 in Romans chapter 1 and verse 4. The first is simply this, that the resurrection declares 56 00:06:11,839 –> 00:06:18,839 what was already true, that is that Jesus is the Son of God. Notice what Paul says here 57 00:06:22,339 –> 00:06:29,339 in verse 4, that Jesus was declared, declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection from 58 00:06:29,779 –> 00:06:36,779 the dead. Now notice that important word, declared. The resurrection was an affirmation, 59 00:06:37,160 –> 00:06:44,160 it was an authentication, it was a demonstration or a declaration of what was already true, 60 00:06:45,940 –> 00:06:52,220 that Jesus is the Son of God. In other words the Apostle Paul is making it very clear that 61 00:06:52,220 –> 00:06:57,820 Jesus did not somehow become the Son of God through the resurrection. No the resurrection 62 00:06:57,820 –> 00:07:04,459 declared what was already true, that He is the Son of God. Remember that Jesus was the 63 00:07:04,779 –> 00:07:11,779 Son of God for all eternity the second person of the Trinity in heaven. He was the Son of 64 00:07:12,100 –> 00:07:17,459 God in the Virgin’s womb. He was the Son of God when He lay in the manger and when 65 00:07:17,459 –> 00:07:22,299 He walked the streets of Nazareth. He was the Son of God when He called the disciples 66 00:07:22,299 –> 00:07:27,380 to follow Him. The Son of God when He gave the Sermon on the Mount. He was the Son of 67 00:07:27,380 –> 00:07:32,820 God when He was dying on the cross. He was the Son of God when He rose from the dead 68 00:07:32,940 –> 00:07:37,880 on the third day. He was the Son of God when He ascended to the right hand of the Father 69 00:07:37,880 –> 00:07:43,959 and He will be the Son of God when He comes again in power and glory. So being the son 70 00:07:43,959 –> 00:07:48,279 of God was not something that was somehow added to Jesus through the Resurrection, a 71 00:07:48,279 –> 00:07:54,040 kind of reward for living a good life. No, the Resurrection declared what was already 72 00:07:54,799 –> 00:08:03,359 true, Jesus is the Son of God. I was reading an article the other day about 73 00:08:03,359 –> 00:08:12,880 the art loss register which is maintained in New York. Over the years millions and millions 74 00:08:12,880 –> 00:08:21,500 of dollars worth of paintings, masterpieces have either been lost or stolen. And so in 75 00:08:21,519 –> 00:08:27,739 New York, as well as in other places, there is this art loss register. I was reading a 76 00:08:27,739 –> 00:08:35,700 fascinating story of one piece of art that had been stolen and had been lost for years 77 00:08:35,700 –> 00:08:41,919 so that the folks who had originally owned it had died. Then it was recovered. When it 78 00:08:41,919 –> 00:08:45,640 was recovered of course it was given to the next generation. I’m not sure if it was 79 00:08:45,640 –> 00:08:51,200 one or two generations on, and the folks who received it, the heirs, promptly turned around 80 00:08:51,599 –> 00:08:55,880 and sold it for twenty-five million dollars. 81 00:08:55,880 –> 00:09:01,500 So you never know whats coming your way next week, its absolutely marvelous. Who knows 82 00:09:01,500 –> 00:09:08,080 what was stolen from your ancestors? But now suppose someone comes to an art dealer with 83 00:09:08,080 –> 00:09:16,820 a Holbein or a Rembrandt that is on the art loss register, here it is. And of course the 84 00:09:17,039 –> 00:09:23,200 question that the art dealer is going to ask is, well is this authentic or is it a fake? 85 00:09:23,200 –> 00:09:28,219 And the dealer will want to run tests on the painting. I was reading up on the internet 86 00:09:28,219 –> 00:09:35,219 as to how they do this. Absolutely fascinating! They need to use a white lead dating, x-rays 87 00:09:35,919 –> 00:09:42,119 to see what is underneath the surface of the painting, ultra-violet to see if there have 88 00:09:42,119 –> 00:09:47,440 been any repairs or adjustments that have been made. Indications, obviously, of forgery. 89 00:09:47,440 –> 00:09:54,440 Now they’re using a digital analysis with computers. They call it wave-let decomposition 90 00:09:54,640 –> 00:10:01,640 so that they can actually measure and test the very texture of the paint itself through 91 00:10:02,159 –> 00:10:08,500 computer imaging. So the dealer would run this whole raft of tests and where there is 92 00:10:08,500 –> 00:10:15,500 confirmation of the genuineness he will do what? He will then declare it to be genuinely 93 00:10:15,940 –> 00:10:22,940 a Holbein or a Rembrandt. Now the declaration doesn’t make this painting a Holbein or 94 00:10:24,419 –> 00:10:31,419 make this painting a Rembrandt. What the declaration does is it announces, it authenticates, it 95 00:10:32,419 –> 00:10:39,419 seals, it demonstrates what was already true. And this is what happened at the resurrection. 96 00:10:41,099 –> 00:10:48,099 Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. And of course 97 00:10:50,179 –> 00:10:55,020 as we follow the story through the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, this was always the central 98 00:10:55,099 –> 00:11:01,919 issue. Do you remember when he was in the judgment place in the house of Caiaphas, the 99 00:11:01,919 –> 00:11:08,919 high priest. And the high priest said to him, I charge you, under oath, tell us now, are 100 00:11:10,820 –> 00:11:17,820 you the Son of God, the Son of God, and Jesus said, It is as you say. And then you remember 101 00:11:18,820 –> 00:11:25,820 that the high priest said and those around him said, Well, he’s worthy of death. And 102 00:11:26,859 –> 00:11:32,179 so when he was crucified, there he is on the cross and the crowds around there taunting 103 00:11:32,179 –> 00:11:39,179 him, you see, Jesus has said, I’m the Son of God, in the judgment hall and now around 104 00:11:39,640 –> 00:11:45,219 the cross here’s this great crowd. They say, No, you’re not. No, you’re not. No, you’re 105 00:11:45,739 –> 00:11:51,820 not. And then God steps in and raises him from the dead on the third day and says, Yes, 106 00:11:51,820 –> 00:11:58,820 he is. Yes, he is. So you know, folks, that over 2,000 years, 107 00:11:59,799 –> 00:12:05,840 the Lord Jesus Christ has been discussed, written about, debated, interpreted more than 108 00:12:05,840 –> 00:12:12,840 any other person who has ever lived. And in the resurrection, Almighty God steps in and 109 00:12:15,340 –> 00:12:22,340 he says, I am making a declaration. This is my son. And folks, the decoration of God in 110 00:12:27,340 –> 00:12:33,739 the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is for us. The angels already know, always 111 00:12:33,739 –> 00:12:37,820 have known that he is the son of God. The demons already know, they were the first to 112 00:12:37,820 –> 00:12:42,299 recognize as you read the gospel story, that he is the son of God. They saw it and they 113 00:12:42,479 –> 00:12:49,479 knew it long before other people did. God is speaking to you in the resurrection of 114 00:12:50,020 –> 00:12:57,020 Jesus Christ and he is saying to you, Now this is my son. He is unlike any other person 115 00:12:57,479 –> 00:13:01,840 who has ever lived. He doesn’t fit the category of simply a great teacher or an example or 116 00:13:01,840 –> 00:13:06,400 whatever. Great teachers and great examples do not rise from the dead. No God says this 117 00:13:06,640 –> 00:13:13,640 is my son. So hear him, and trust him, and believe him and love him and worship him and 118 00:13:16,820 –> 00:13:23,739 follow him and serve him and give your life to him because there is no one else like. 119 00:13:23,739 –> 00:13:30,739 The resurrection declares what was already true. Will always be true. Jesus is the Son 120 00:13:30,739 –> 00:13:37,739 of God. It’s God’s declaration to us today. If you ever said well I wonder if God would 121 00:13:41,799 –> 00:13:48,799 ever speak to me, he speaks to you in the resurrection of Jesus. Now that’s the first 122 00:13:49,960 –> 00:13:55,440 thing. Here’s the second. The resurrection declares what was already true that is Jesus 123 00:13:55,440 –> 00:14:02,419 is God’s son. But secondly, the resurrection reveals what was previously hidden that is 124 00:14:05,679 –> 00:14:12,679 that Jesus is the son of God with power. Now if you have your bible open as I hope you 125 00:14:12,820 –> 00:14:18,559 do, I want to show you that there are two ways to read and understand what Paul is saying 126 00:14:18,559 –> 00:14:25,159 here in this verse. If you have the NIV which is the edition of the Bible that is in the 127 00:14:25,400 –> 00:14:32,020 pew also, you will see that the wording the NIV has there is that he was declared with 128 00:14:32,020 –> 00:14:39,020 power to be the son of God. That would mean, of course, that the resurrection is a powerful 129 00:14:39,219 –> 00:14:45,219 statement that Jesus is the son of God, which it certainly is. Could hardly be a more powerful 130 00:14:45,219 –> 00:14:50,260 statement that Jesus is the son of God, but I want you to notice if you have very good 131 00:14:50,299 –> 00:14:55,419 eyes and also have an NIV you will see that there is also a footnote there that reflects 132 00:14:55,419 –> 00:15:02,419 the order of the words in the original language in which Paul wrote, which is that he was 133 00:15:02,840 –> 00:15:09,299 declared to be the son of God with power. That’s the order in which the words were 134 00:15:09,299 –> 00:15:14,299 originally written in the Greek, and I think that that is how we should understand Paul 135 00:15:14,299 –> 00:15:21,299 says here, Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from 136 00:15:23,440 –> 00:15:29,500 the dead. In other words Paul is saying exactly the same thing as he says later in 2 Corinthians 137 00:15:29,500 –> 00:15:36,500 and chapter 13 where Paul says that Jesus was crucified in weakness yet he lives by 138 00:15:37,380 –> 00:15:42,760 God’s power, crucified in weakness but he lives in God’s power, and here he puts it 139 00:15:42,760 –> 00:15:49,760 another way Romans 1, for he is declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection 140 00:15:50,059 –> 00:15:57,059 from the dead. Now, Jesus has always been the Son of God. 141 00:16:00,739 –> 00:16:07,739 Power is always his. But when you look at his earthly life what you see is the Son of 142 00:16:07,940 –> 00:16:14,940 God embracing our weakness. Look at him in the manger, the Son of God, but he needs to 143 00:16:21,219 –> 00:16:28,219 be fed and clothed by his Mother. Look at him in the wilderness, the Son of God, but 144 00:16:29,099 –> 00:16:36,099 he’s hungry, and he’s tempted and angels come to minister to him. See, through the earthly 145 00:16:45,900 –> 00:16:52,900 life of the Lord Jesus, as we sometimes say at Christmas, his glory was veiled in flesh. 146 00:16:53,119 –> 00:17:00,119 flesh! People did not look at Jesus and immediately say, oh, there’s God in the flesh! No, they 147 00:17:02,559 –> 00:17:07,839 didn’t say that. What did they say? They said is this not the carpenter’s son? Can 148 00:17:07,839 –> 00:17:14,839 anything good come out of Nazareth? He saved others, but he can’t save himself. The glory 149 00:17:15,819 –> 00:17:22,819 of the Son of God was hidden, it was veiled throughout most of his earthly life. So that 150 00:17:23,719 –> 00:17:29,060 even when you come to the miracles, they are seen mostly by relatively few people and often 151 00:17:29,060 –> 00:17:35,880 where Jesus heals someone by his divine power, he says to them now don’t tell anybody. 152 00:17:35,880 –> 00:17:42,619 Because his time had not yet come. Even among the disciples those closest to him, it was 153 00:17:42,660 –> 00:17:48,760 three years before Peter came to the place of being able to say you are the Christ, the 154 00:17:48,760 –> 00:17:53,260 Son of the living God. Before that what were they saying? They are saying things like, 155 00:17:53,260 –> 00:18:00,260 ah well who is this, that even the winds and the waves obey him. And strung up on the cross, 156 00:18:00,280 –> 00:18:07,280 and strung up on the cross, writhing in agony and forsaken by the Father, Jesus could hardly 157 00:18:11,619 –> 00:18:18,619 have looked less like the Son of God with power. But now he rises from the dead, no 158 00:18:18,619 –> 00:18:25,619 longer the Son of God in weakness, no longer his glory veiled, he is declared to be the 159 00:18:32,060 –> 00:18:38,560 son of God with power through his resurrection from the dead. In other words, the resurrection 160 00:18:38,560 –> 00:18:45,560 reveals what was previously hidden. He is the Son of God with power. He was once crucified 161 00:18:46,180 –> 00:18:53,180 in weakness, but now he lives by God’s power. He is not on the cross today. The Son of 162 00:18:55,119 –> 00:19:02,119 God is not writhing in agony, longing for what is yet to be today. He is risen. He is 163 00:19:03,400 –> 00:19:08,760 exalted. He is seated at the right hand of the Father. What is he doing? By his divine 164 00:19:09,199 –> 00:19:16,199 power, he is saving sinners. He is sustaining his saints. He is building his church. He 165 00:19:17,520 –> 00:19:24,040 is pouring out the gifts of his Holy Spirit. One hymn writer put it this way, Christian, 166 00:19:24,040 –> 00:19:31,040 look, the sight is glorious. See the man of sorrows now. From the fight he’s returned 167 00:19:31,040 –> 00:19:38,040 victorious, and every knee to him will bow. I want you to see on this Easter day, not 168 00:19:42,859 –> 00:19:49,859 only that Jesus is the Son of God, but that Jesus is the Son of God with power, and that 169 00:19:50,500 –> 00:19:57,500 is revealed through the resurrection. And here’s why that is so important. Folks, some 170 00:19:57,880 –> 00:20:04,880 of us have only ever experienced a powerless religion. It’s been about traditions. It’s 171 00:20:08,839 –> 00:20:15,640 been about rituals. It’s been about disciplines. It’s been about things that you do, but you 172 00:20:15,640 –> 00:20:22,640 have not yet found or experienced anything that really changes your life. You’ve experienced 173 00:20:23,119 –> 00:20:30,119 religion without power, and the resurrection reveals what may have been hidden to you. 174 00:20:36,199 –> 00:20:41,199 That, when we’re talking about the Son of God risen from the dead, we’re not talking 175 00:20:41,199 –> 00:20:47,699 about a season of the year. We’re not talking about traditions and rituals. We’re talking 176 00:20:47,699 –> 00:20:59,000 about the Son of God who is able to break the power of addictions, the Son of God who 177 00:20:59,000 –> 00:21:09,859 can soften and change a hard heart, tame a bitter and vitriolic tongue, the Son of God 178 00:21:09,859 –> 00:21:18,459 who is able to give you peace with God, to cleanse you of every sin, including your unbelief 179 00:21:18,459 –> 00:21:24,939 and resistance over the years towards Him, the Son of God who is able to sustain you 180 00:21:24,939 –> 00:21:31,339 in your darkest hour, the Son of God who’s able to give you a new heart that loves God 181 00:21:31,339 –> 00:21:38,099 and that loves other people, the Son of God who is able to bring you into His immediate 182 00:21:38,180 –> 00:21:44,819 presence. Listen, there is hope for you in Jesus Christ because He is the Son of God 183 00:21:44,819 –> 00:21:54,140 with power, a Risen living Christ, who is able to touch and change the lives of all 184 00:21:54,140 –> 00:22:00,040 who will come to Him. That is why the Son of God, risen from the dead, is good news 185 00:22:00,520 –> 00:22:07,719 for us. He is God’s Son. He is God’s Son with power. 186 00:22:07,719 –> 00:22:12,579 Now that takes us to the very last thing. The resurrection declares what was always 187 00:22:12,579 –> 00:22:19,579 true that Jesus is the Son of God. The resurrection reveals what was previously hidden, the Son 188 00:22:19,959 –> 00:22:26,959 of God with power. And here is the last thing, the resurrection begins what was long promised. 189 00:22:27,959 –> 00:22:34,959 Now I put up on the screen and want to read for you a literal translation of the precise 190 00:22:36,760 –> 00:22:43,300 words that Paul uses here in Romans and chapter 1 and verse 4. Literally translated, word 191 00:22:43,300 –> 00:22:50,300 for word it goes like this. He was declared to be the Son of God with power by a resurrection 192 00:22:50,800 –> 00:22:57,800 of dead persons. That’s word for word literally translated from the Greek words written by 193 00:23:02,339 –> 00:23:07,880 the Apostle Paul. And let me by way of explanation quote to you from a distinguished scholar 194 00:23:07,880 –> 00:23:14,880 Leon Morris who explains the significance of these words in this way. He says, it is 195 00:23:15,599 –> 00:23:21,959 Jesus’ own resurrection of which Paul is writing. So be absolutely clear, he’s writing about 196 00:23:21,959 –> 00:23:28,859 the resurrection of Jesus. But, says Morris, we should not overlook the fact that he chooses 197 00:23:28,859 –> 00:23:35,859 to do this in a way more commonly used to denote the general resurrection. The resurrection 198 00:23:35,920 –> 00:23:42,439 of Christ and the resurrection of the dead are not two totally different things. For 199 00:23:42,439 –> 00:23:49,439 Paul, the resurrection of Christ is beginning of the resurrection of the dead. Now that’s 200 00:23:50,380 –> 00:23:56,400 the important point here. He writes about the resurrection of Jesus, but very deliberately 201 00:23:56,400 –> 00:24:02,119 does it in such a way as to indicate that this is not an isolated event but that the 202 00:24:02,119 –> 00:24:08,839 resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the resurrection of the dead. That is why 203 00:24:09,739 –> 00:24:16,739 the resurrection of Jesus that happened 2,000 years ago is good news for us today. The resurrection 204 00:24:17,079 –> 00:24:23,219 of Jesus is the first resurrection of many that will follow which is what Paul says in 205 00:24:23,219 –> 00:24:29,579 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that, Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 206 00:24:29,579 –> 00:24:35,819 He rises and others who belong to him in their turn will rise also. That’s why Jesus said 207 00:24:35,880 –> 00:24:42,880 to the disciples, because I live, you shall live also. That’s why he says in John chapter 208 00:24:45,079 –> 00:24:52,079 11 I am the resurrection and the life, but he who believes in me even though he die yet 209 00:24:52,500 –> 00:24:59,500 shall he live. In other words, the full glory of the Son of God, the full demonstration 210 00:25:00,500 –> 00:25:07,500 of his almighty power will be seen not only in his resurrection, but also in yours in 211 00:25:07,760 –> 00:25:14,219 the gathering of a vast company of people who belong to Jesus Christ who share in the 212 00:25:14,219 –> 00:25:21,119 resurrection that was begun on that Easter day. That’s why it’s good news for you, for 213 00:25:21,119 –> 00:25:25,719 me. See the Bible speaks so clearly about the 214 00:25:25,719 –> 00:25:30,239 purpose for which Jesus came into the world, the purpose for which he died and the purpose 215 00:25:30,239 –> 00:25:37,219 for which he rose and ascended. What was that? Hebrews chapter 2 in verse 10 puts it this 216 00:25:37,219 –> 00:25:44,219 way. It was to bring many sons to glory. Love this picture of the family. To bring many 217 00:25:44,300 –> 00:25:49,199 sons to glory. To bring many sons to glory. And in order to bring many sons to glory, 218 00:25:49,199 –> 00:25:56,199 it says in Hebrews 2.10 it was fitting that the author of their salvation, Jesus, should 219 00:26:00,199 –> 00:26:01,959 be made perfect through suffering because both the one who makes man holy and those 220 00:26:01,959 –> 00:26:08,959 who are made holy are of the same family. You notice the language here, sons. Family. 221 00:26:08,959 –> 00:26:15,959 Continuing the writer to Hebrews says, Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers. And 222 00:26:19,400 –> 00:26:24,660 again He says, here am I and the children that God has given me. You see the 223 00:26:24,660 –> 00:26:29,880 picture? What is the Lord Jesus purpose in coming into this world? Dying on the 224 00:26:29,880 –> 00:26:34,780 cross, rising from the dead. It is not simply about Himself, it is to bring many 225 00:26:34,859 –> 00:26:41,859 sons to glory. Family, children, brothers, sisters, a vast community of 226 00:26:48,099 –> 00:26:54,260 people who belong to Jesus Christ by faith and they are drawn from every 227 00:26:54,260 –> 00:26:59,500 tribe and every language and every nation and every culture and every 228 00:26:59,500 –> 00:27:06,979 background. The Son of God became a man, he went through the agonies of death on 229 00:27:06,979 –> 00:27:11,040 a cross, he rose from the dead, why? 230 00:27:11,040 –> 00:27:16,459 To bring many sons to glory, so that by his resurrection our 231 00:27:16,459 –> 00:27:19,339 resurrection of his people would be begun. 232 00:27:19,339 –> 00:27:23,560 So that not only would we be with him, the Bible says that when we are brought 233 00:27:23,560 –> 00:27:26,500 to be with him we shall actually be like him, 234 00:27:26,500 –> 00:27:32,000 we shall be conformed to his image so that he will be the first born among 235 00:27:32,000 –> 00:27:37,579 many brothers, that’s Romans chapter 8 and verse 29. 236 00:27:37,579 –> 00:27:43,099 Was for us, so folks, here’s the great truth of the gospel. 237 00:27:43,099 –> 00:27:50,540 Think of it in its great sweep, here we are in this fallen world so full of 238 00:27:50,719 –> 00:28:00,219 God’s goodness and yet so plagued by the scourge of human sin and death and no 239 00:28:00,219 –> 00:28:10,739 man overcomes sin and no man overcomes death, sin reigned, death reigned. 240 00:28:10,739 –> 00:28:17,359 Sin and death have become so wrapped up in what it means to be human that for us it’s 241 00:28:17,500 –> 00:28:20,819 almost impossible to imagine being human without them. 242 00:28:20,819 –> 00:28:23,500 I mean can you imagine yourself living forever? 243 00:28:23,500 –> 00:28:25,000 Can you? 244 00:28:25,000 –> 00:28:32,079 It’s so tied up with what it means to die that we can’t really even imagine what it 245 00:28:32,079 –> 00:28:36,819 begins means to live forever because to be human is to die, isn’t it? 246 00:28:36,819 –> 00:28:39,540 You imagine yourself in perfect resplendent holiness. 247 00:28:39,540 –> 00:28:43,020 Can you imagine that yourself? 248 00:28:43,599 –> 00:28:50,380 See, we are so wrapped up in sin that we can hardly imagine ourselves in the perfection 249 00:28:50,380 –> 00:28:53,979 of pure holiness. 250 00:28:53,979 –> 00:29:01,260 So the Son of God becomes a man, and He enters our helplessness, and He 251 00:29:01,260 –> 00:29:07,739 enters our defeat, and He does what no other human being has ever done. 252 00:29:07,739 –> 00:29:12,219 He lives a sinless life. 253 00:29:12,219 –> 00:29:15,699 And then He offers what no other man could ever offer. 254 00:29:15,699 –> 00:29:23,140 He lays down that sinless life as a sacrifice for the sins of others. 255 00:29:23,140 –> 00:29:28,939 And then He goes where no man could go, through death and into the presence of the Father 256 00:29:28,939 –> 00:29:33,699 so that today He is exalted at the right hand of the Father in heaven. 257 00:29:33,839 –> 00:29:41,219 And what that means, the good news of God’s Son, is that there is a man without sin and 258 00:29:41,219 –> 00:29:47,619 there is a man who has conquered death and there is a man in heaven and He is there for 259 00:29:47,619 –> 00:29:54,900 us in order to bring many sons, a whole family, His people from every tribe and language and 260 00:29:54,900 –> 00:30:02,719 nation, into His presence and into His likeness to share His life forever and ever. 261 00:30:02,760 –> 00:30:07,300 That is why, folks, at the end of the Bible, what you find is this great vision that was 262 00:30:07,300 –> 00:30:11,280 given to John of this vast multitude of people. 263 00:30:11,280 –> 00:30:16,500 And they are drawn from every kind of background in the world, and they are singing the praise 264 00:30:16,500 –> 00:30:21,500 of Jesus, the Son of God, and they are saying, you are worthy. 265 00:30:21,500 –> 00:30:27,560 You are worthy, because with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and 266 00:30:27,560 –> 00:30:31,560 language and people and nation, and you have made us to be a kingdom. 267 00:30:31,619 –> 00:30:38,060 You have made us to be priests to serve our God, so worthy is the lamb who was slain to 268 00:30:38,060 –> 00:30:45,859 receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise. 269 00:30:45,859 –> 00:30:50,680 So here’s what the resurrection is telling us. 270 00:30:50,680 –> 00:31:00,300 God is speaking to you, and he is saying, Jesus is my son. 271 00:31:00,300 –> 00:31:02,239 And He’s the Son of God with power. 272 00:31:02,239 –> 00:31:11,020 He’s able to touch and to change not only your life now, but your eternity. 273 00:31:11,020 –> 00:31:15,739 The one of infinite capacity, who took our nature and lived that sinless life and died 274 00:31:15,739 –> 00:31:21,520 that sacrificial death and rose in that triumphant resurrection and is at the right hand of the 275 00:31:21,520 –> 00:31:28,079 Father, lives gathering a family of people who follow and trust Him. 276 00:31:28,119 –> 00:31:34,560 And He lives to bring us to glory so that His resurrection would not be an isolated 277 00:31:34,560 –> 00:31:43,579 event, but the beginning of the resurrection in which all His people will one day share. 278 00:31:43,579 –> 00:31:50,660 Listen, why shouldn’t you be part of this family? 279 00:31:50,739 –> 00:32:01,579 If the son of God has come, died and risen and lives to gather a family of people who 280 00:32:01,579 –> 00:32:08,000 trust in Him and belong to Him and love Him and serve Him, why should you not become part 281 00:32:08,000 –> 00:32:10,219 of that Family? 282 00:32:10,219 –> 00:32:18,520 I invite you on this Easter day to believe what God says to you, to rejoice in what Christ 283 00:32:18,520 –> 00:32:25,000 has done for you and to lay hold of what this Saviour offers. 284 00:32:25,000 –> 00:32:30,719 Let us bow in His name together. 285 00:32:30,719 –> 00:32:46,500 Father, thank you for the Son of God, born, crucified, dead but risen, ascended in power 286 00:32:46,500 –> 00:32:53,859 and glory and coming again for us. 287 00:32:53,859 –> 00:33:02,680 Father, grant that we may be found in Him. 288 00:33:02,680 –> 00:33:14,939 Those who draw near with faith and with love to follow and to obey, to worship and to adore 289 00:33:14,939 –> 00:33:22,719 and to lay hold of everything that the Savior died and rose again to accomplish and to give 290 00:33:22,719 –> 00:33:25,579 to His people. 291 00:33:25,579 –> 00:33:29,300 For these things we ask in the Savior’s name, amen.