========================================================================
  PROVING THE POWER OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION IN OUR LIVES
  by Santosh Poonen
========================================================================

Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing and
experiencing the power of Christ's resurrection in our lives. It
challenges believers to surrender all ambitions to God, be free from
condemnation and fear, and reign with Christ in heavenly places. The
focus is on living a life where our affections are set on heavenly
things, ruling over sin, and trusting in God's resurrection power in
every aspect of our lives.

Topics: "Resurrection Power", "Surrendering to God"
Scripture References: Matthew 11:28, Psalm 139:23, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 1:19, Colossians 3:1

------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This sermon emphasizes the importance of knowing and experiencing the
power of Christ's resurrection in our lives. It challenges believers to
surrender all ambitions to God, be free from condemnation and fear, and
reign with Christ in heavenly places. The focus is on living a life
where our affections are set on heavenly things, ruling over sin, and
trusting in God's resurrection power in every aspect of our lives.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's important for us to know that all of us have a responsibility. What
the world will taste is not what the world will ultimately need to
taste, is not what they see and hear, but the spirit in our midst. It's
the spirit in our midst that makes the messages meaningful and the
memory verses meaningful and the singing and the praying.

And the spirit in our midst is determined by every single one of us,
from the youngest to the oldest. And so if you think you don't have a
part to play, if you think, well, I can stay home this Sunday, I've just
got a slight headache, I'm not supposed to speak anyway, I don't have
any visible ministry, I don't need to be there, then it means you really
haven't understood the body of Christ. It means you haven't seen that
God is doing a spiritual work.

It would be like the heart saying, I don't need to pump blood today, I
don't need to move to speak. You think the tongue can speak if the
heart's not pumping blood? If the inner workings of the body are not
functioning well, I could sit here and try to move and I would just
collapse. And so there are a few that God calls to be his mouthpiece, a
few here and there in the inner church, a few teachers.

In fact, James says, don't be many teachers. But all of us, if you
really believe God has called us to be knit together in this local body,
we have a responsibility. You do, brother, sister, child, every single
one of you, whatever age you are, if you're born again and you're a part
of God's family, we must be a church that proclaims it, that everybody
in this church who's a member of the church has a responsibility.

And you must know that. Think if you can communicate to your children at
a young age that they must pray for the meeting. I love that our
children pray for the meeting.

More children pray than adults in our morning prayer time before the
meeting starts. It's wonderful. I hope more adults would pray, by the
way.

But it's good that the children pray because it shows that they
recognize my prayer is going to make a difference. Pray, Lord, I pray,
Lord, that the meeting will go well. Yes.

Do you think God heard that prayer? Absolutely. And do you believe that
the meeting will go according to his plan because God heard the prayer
of a little child sitting in this room? A simple prayer of faith. Oh,
what a difference it'll make.

I think it was Sadhu Sundar Singh who said, you know, why a local
church? Why do we need a local church? Isn't it, oh, it's one body? Yes,
it is. He said it this way. It's a beautiful picture.

I've never forgotten that, you know, water comes from rivers and springs
and lakes and oceans. But when you want a cup to drink, want water to
drink, you need a cup. And the local church is like a cup.

Water that can be touched and tasted. Because not all of us can go to
the river or go to the lake. We need an expression of that same water.

Now, it's not our water. We didn't manufacture it. We're not the spring.

Jesus Christ is the spring. But we want to be that little vessel that's
being filled from the ocean that is God. The Spirit of God.

The river of life, literally. I mean, spiritually, the river of life,
whether that's our name or not, that we're being filled and they come
and they can taste it. They want to know the same water.

And when you tell somebody, somebody comes to your house and you say,
and they ask you for something to drink, you don't point them to the
Thompson River and say, hey, you can go and drink it. You say, yeah,
I've got a water, a cup right here. You can have it.

It comes from little Thompson water, you know, the stream or the river
that's flowing through town. But here's a cup you can actually have
right now. That's what River of Life Christian Fellowship must be.

A cup of water that's being filled, each one of us representing that.
Can you be a cup, a little cup even, child, brother, sister? Can you be
a little cup? If a visitor comes and there's a child your age, can you
be a cup to that child or a young person your age? Can you be a cup
where you ask God? I'm speaking primarily to the local church here now.
Those are members.

But you don't have to be an extrovert to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I hope you know that. You don't have to be an extrovert.

You need the power of the Holy Spirit to be a witness. And so you can
shy as you are, say, well, there's a visitor in our church meeting today
and never seen him before. There's a child, maybe your age or a young
person your age.

And you say, Lord, I'm not an extrovert. God says, OK, that means you
have to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit even more. They say,
Lord, fill me, fill me this little cup.

All I can do is go to that person and just ask them what's their name
and where are they from. And not with any friendly motive or to try to
add people to this church or anything like that, like a lot of churches
do. You know, I've been in churches where they throng you to try to get
you to, oh, a visitor, maybe they'll become a part of the church.

If God wants you to be a part of this church, he'll make it clear to
you. But what we want to do is to give you a cup of water, the life of
Jesus that we've been drinking all week and tasting all week. And we
want to pour that out into you if you're thirsty, if you're in need in
some way.

We may not know all the answers, but we hope you'll taste Jesus. That's
what we want to testify to those online, even if they never see us face
to face. And those that visit us here, welcome visitors.

There are a few of you here I see. God bless you. And I pray that you
will taste the life of Christ in us.

We're not perfect. We're very simple. There's nothing attractive about
us.

But we really seek to exalt Jesus. That I know and I've tasted in this
church. I'd like to begin by turning to a verse in Jeremiah chapter 6.
If you will turn there with me please.

I'm very mindful of our responsibilities, responsibility as elders and
those of us who speak God's Word in the church. If you're one whom God
is using to even speak for five minutes or so, whether it's after the
meeting or during the open sharing time or you have a ministry to share
something from here. Regardless, and especially for those of us who are
teachers, we have a responsibility.

Because I'm challenged by the life of the prophets in the Old Testament.
Because you see that most of them, actually all of the true prophets of
God were unpopular. Because they spoke the things that people didn't
want to hear.

And in Jeremiah 6 we read verse 13. From the least of them to the
greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain. Jeremiah 6 verse 13.

And from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. Look at
that. The prophets and the priests were the ones who were supposed to be
responsible to lead God's people.

To guide them to the true God and to keep them away from false gods. But
they were the ones who were dealing falsely, it says. And they're
telling lies.

That's the literal meaning there. They have healed the brokenness of my
people superficially. What lies were the prophets telling? And I
believe, dear brothers and sisters, if you pay attention to Christendom,
this is going on in Christendom even today.

Prophets and priests dealing falsely with God's people. Telling lies.
What lies? They heal the brokenness of my people superficially.

That means they say, it looks like cancer but let's just put this little
ointment on top of it and the boil will go away. It's all right, it's
all right. They heal the brokenness of my people superficially.

That means something is fundamentally wrong inside. But they're afraid
of losing that person. Mostly because that person maybe brings a lot of
money to the church.

And so they're afraid of offending that one person who contributes a lot
or has a lot of say. They're a powerful person. They're afraid of losing
them.

And so they say, peace, peace. But there is no peace. Ezekiel says the
same thing, I think chapter 13 or something.

Interestingly about Jeremiah and Ezekiel, you know that both of them
were killed? We're not told in the Bible how, but history tells us that
Jeremiah, after the captivity in Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar took the people
of Israel into captivity. Jeremiah was left behind, maybe because he was
too old. And then eventually he went to Egypt and preached there and
tried to draw people there to God, to tell them about the true God.

And eventually he was killed in Egypt. Not by the Egyptians, by the Jews
in Egypt, whom he offended. The religious people who were also in Egypt,
they were the ones that killed Jeremiah.

The Egyptians were okay with him preaching them. It was the religious
Jews who killed Jeremiah. Same thing happened, I think they, one of them
was stoned and the other was thrown off, I forget exactly.

But Ezekiel, the same thing. He was in Babylon and he preached to the
Jews in Babylon, the religious Jews in Babylon. And he said, I don't
care if all the other prophets will say peace, peace.

There is no peace for you in sitting in Babylon, Ezekiel said. And so
who killed him? He also died a martyr's death at the hand of the Jews in
Babylon. The Jews.

You see the same thing in Jesus' time. It wasn't the Romans that killed
him. They were the ones that actually put the nails into his hands.

But the ones that sent him to the cross were the religious Jews. People
who said they believed in God, the true God. He is the true God,
Jehovah.

He's the true God. We call him Father today. And it was those people,
the religious people, of all the true prophets that killed them.

All the way including Jesus Christ, who is the captain of our salvation.
And I'm saying this because, you know, today is a day that a lot of
people celebrate Easter in the world and in Christendom. Whether you
call it Easter or Resurrection Sunday or whatever name for it.

I think most of you, if not all of you, know that there's no evidence of
the early church, the Apostles celebrating Easter or Resurrection
Sunday. It came in the second or third century, as far as we know, after
pagan people converted to Christianity. And that's why you see that both
Christmas and Easter are tied to the sun.

It's the winter solstice around December 22nd or 25th that was turned
into the birth of Christ. It's the birth of the sun, really, coming
back. The end of, you know, that the sun starting its journey back up
north.

Physically, that is, the earthly sun. I mean the universal sun, not the
earthly sun. The physical sun.

And likewise with Easter and the springtime and the kind of the
freshness of life coming back. Whether their intentions were good or
not, we don't know. It's not for us to judge.

But regardless, what has become commonplace in Christendom today is to
adopt, is to just because they've done it for hundreds of years, that's
what they do. We just do it because it's done. And I believe God has
called us, wants us, to test these things that are the traditions of men
and people with his word.

Not to judge other people. Now, it's not a message about whether you
should celebrate Christmas or Easter. If you do, it's up to you.

That's fine. But let's examine all of this in the light of God's word.
And firstly, we're never told in Scripture to celebrate either of these
things.

Jesus' birth date could easily have been recorded. It's the Gospel of
Mark, I think, that is quite likely given through the account of Mary
and Peter. And yet, in writing that account, Mark says nothing about
what day Jesus was born.

Don't you think Mary knew it? Of course she did. Says nothing about it.
Don't you think the Apostles knew exactly what date? I mean, you look at
the way dates are recorded in the Old Testament.

I'm reading again Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers. How many dates are
recorded? That was in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament, if
you really believe, we will call it to be a new covenant minded church.

We'll realize that God has intentionally left out the date of Jesus'
death and his resurrection. The one thing he does say to remember, he
says, remember this, is the Lord's table where we partake of the bread
and the cup. Says, do this in remembrance of me.

We read in 1st Corinthians 11. Let's turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 11.
Actually, we'll look at that verse very quickly.

This is what we are called to remember. 1st Corinthians 11 verse 23. For
I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the
Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread.

And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body
which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the way, in the same
way, he took the cup also after supper saying, this cup is the new
covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. He says it twice.
And then he says it a third time.

As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death until he comes. So we're never told to celebrate Christ's
death or resurrection. We're told to remember it and partake of it.

And if I'm remembering Christ's death and resurrection in a way that I'm
not partaking of it, then I have a false Jesus. And the reason I said
this, I started by talking about how the prophets in the old days said,
peace, peace. I received a lot of greetings around this time from
friends all over the world, different people greet me on Easter because
they know I'm a Christian.

And that's a common thing to do, whether it's from Christians or
unbelievers. And again, please don't understand, I'm not here to point a
finger at anybody or judge anybody. But the point of what I'm getting at
in this message is that let's test ourselves to see whether we know the
power of Christ's resurrection and not just know his resurrection.

And there's a sense in which it's popular to talk about Easter, talk
about resurrection, and talk about Jesus' death and all that this time
of year in traditional Orthodox or even in Evangelical Christendom, and
yet not experience the power of his resurrection. And that's the danger.
And there could be a sense of, oh, peace, peace, it's Easter time, it's
a time of peace, Christmas time is a time of peace, and there's no
peace.

And let's not give people the false impression that there is peace, just
because it's Easter, just because it's Christmas, when there is no
peace. Now it's unpopular, and we may be hated, and people might reject
us or throw reproach on us, and I don't know what else they might do,
like they did to the prophets who were bold and said, no, there is no
peace, no matter how much you say there is peace, there is no peace.
When you read the true preaching of resurrection, which I'd like us to
look at a little bit today.

First of all, you see, for example, in Acts 17, if you turn there with
me, Acts chapter 17, we'll read verse 31. This is Paul preaching on Mars
Hill to unconverted people who didn't know God. Acts 17 verse 31, he has
fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through
the man whom he has appointed, we know that man is Jesus, having
furnished proof to all by raising him from the dead.

Paul talked about the resurrection of Jesus right there, and when the
moment they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer,
and others said, we'd like to hear more about it, and I believe that
you'll see this even in the world today. Remember when Peter was
preaching on the day of Pentecost, and he spoke about Jesus, he said,
this man whom you crucified, God raised him on the third day, and it
says they were cut to the quick. When we truly preach the resurrection
of Jesus Christ, there is a cutting to the quick, and I'll tell you,
dear brothers and sisters, what concerns me about Easter or Resurrection
Sunday is I don't see that preaching.

I don't hear the kind of Resurrection Sunday sermons that cut people to
the quick that say, hold on, I'm just, this is all Easter eggs and
bunnies and all that fun stuff and eating lamb roast, but there's no
conviction of sin. Now, if there is the true preaching of resurrection
of Jesus, there will be the conviction of sin. Read again the sermon
that Peter preached in Acts 2, where he mentioned the resurrection of
Jesus, and they were cut to the quick.

cut to the quick and we truly preach Jesus resurrected there is a
conviction of sin and there's even a reproach you know it says they
sneered at him here they're like ah don't preach that let's just go back
to our celebrating Easter and that's that's how you know it's a false
religion here's a verse children you must know well Romans chapter 10 I
say children because it starts there but all of us must know it well to
Romans chapter 10 verse 9 how are we saved most Christians will tell you
I'm saved because Jesus died for my sins as far as I know that's never
recorded in Scripture that way what we are told in Romans 10 verse 9 is
that you are saved because Jesus rose from the dead my sins are forgiven
and I have saved for my sin because Jesus rose from the dead let's read
it carefully Romans 10 verse 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus
as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you
will be saved plain and simple yes Jesus had to die to be raised but
it's his resurrection that is the source of our salvation so children I
hope at least you will be able to tell your Christian friends and your
non-christian friends I'm saved because I put my trust in Jesus I
believe in my heart that Jesus is Lord I confess with my mouth and
believe in my heart Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead
that's what we testify to Romans 10 verse 9 and the danger you know in
fact the danger with this cyclical celebration of Jesus death and
resurrection is you know the one time where it talks about crucifying
again Jesus it's a dangerous verse I don't have time to show to you but
you can look it up Hebrews 6 verse 6 they crucify again Jesus Christ
because they repeat that maybe we should look at it the false peace
saying peace peace when there is no peace why is there no peace because
people continue to live in sin continue to have bad attitudes be
unforgiving towards others defeated by lust defeated by anger love money
love themselves unwilling to for example be submissive to earthly
authorities that's popular in American Christendom today just you know
we don't submit to earthly authorities I'm not talking about sinful
things Romans 13 verse 1 those sorts of things but in Hebrews 6 verse 6
it says or verse 5 have tasted the good word of God and the powers of
the age to come and then have fallen away that means they continue to
live in sin and they fall away it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance since they again crucified to themselves the Son of God and
put him to open shame now I'm not saying therefore that it's wrong to
remember Christ's death obviously we do remember Christ's death but if I
remember it in a way that I have a careless attitude towards sin then go
ahead put Jesus back on the cross it was my sin that held him there we
just saying until it was accomplished having sung that and having
realized that would you do it again would you say hold on Jesus I want
to put you back on the cross whether it's Good Friday or Good Thursday
or whatever by my sinful attitude crucify again Jesus Christ so we're
not told that we're to celebrate even the resurrection of Christ or his
death we're partakers of it in the bread and the cup but what the
apostles were we read in multiple times in the book of Acts where they
were witnesses of his resurrection Acts chapter 1 you read this verse
Acts 1 verse 22 so they had to decide who would be the 12th disciple I
don't believe he was the 12th apostle in the sense that talks about the
12 apostles in the book of Revelation as you know they ended up picking
a man named Matthias they drew lots and they picked him this is before
they were filled with the Holy Spirit so they didn't have the Holy
Spirit to guide them today elders and leaders aren't picked by lots or
putting a name in a book and try to find who it is and that's not how
you do it the Holy Spirit has given us as a guide but before the Holy
Spirit came in Acts 2 in Acts 1 they were like who should be the 12th
and they picked Matthias and they said how shall we pick who this 12th
person should be they said it must be somebody who verse 22 beginning
with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us one
of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection this was the
test are you a witness of his resurrection have you really seen that
Jesus was risen from the dead that's how they picked Matthias and that's
the rest of 11 of them also had seen the resurrection now others like
Paul Jude and James who were the brothers of Jesus also saw Jesus they
saw him crucified and they saw him risen that's why they were
eyewitnesses of his resurrection now how about you and I have you seen
the physical Jesus no we haven't but we must be as certain of his
resurrection as if we had seen him that's what it means to be a witness
to be a witness can you testify think about it I want to be slow with
this can you testify with absolute certainty that Jesus Christ is risen
from the grave even though you never saw the empty grave even though
you've never seen the physical Jesus risen from the grave can you
testify that now it's not enough to say well yeah I guess the preacher
told me that it's another thing to have experienced it and the only way
you and I my dear brothers and sisters and children can be witnesses of
Christ's resurrection is if it is experienced in our lives if you are
experiencing the resurrection life of Jesus in impossible situations of
death Christ bringing life out of death in your life then you can say
yeah I know the resurrected Jesus he's absolutely risen but if it's just
our it's April was at 17 so it's Easter I guess Jesus rose from the dead
then you have the form of his resurrection and not the power you know
that verse in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 no chapter 3 I believe many so-
called Christians have the form of Christ's resurrection but they have
denied its power let me say it again the only way you and I can be
absolutely certain that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead is in his
resurrection power and life is working in us if it's just knowledge no
you're just imagining something you're reading a fairy tale and you will
have no answer for the atheist who says how can you tell me that this
book is just not another fairy tale like all the other religious books
how will you answer that you need to go to apologetic school and become
an expert on apologetics and analyze the Greek and the Hebrew no you
need the resurrection power of Jesus in your life where you can say it's
my experience brother friend let me tell you how Jesus has brought life
into me in those areas that were dead I used to be defeated by lust I
used to be defeated by anger I used to be defeated by the love of money
I used to be unforgiving I used to have bitter attitudes and he has
brought life now you have the power of godliness the power of
resurrection 2nd Timothy chapter 3 realize this that in the last days
difficult times will come if you think times are difficult now it's
going to get worse not because the government will restrict us or
anything like that that's nothing I mean you think that's difficult not
at all don't get caught up with all the other stuff that people get
caught up with difficult times are really going to come I'll tell you
what people will talk about resurrection and Easter but they won't have
the power in their lives that's what he's talking about read it
carefully but I'll just skip down to verse 5 holding to a form of
godliness see he talks about lovers of self lovers of pleasure lovers of
money boastful arrogant etc and all those verses and he says I could
summarize all of this these people are disobedient to parents they're
arrogant they're irreconcilable they're unloving they're malicious
gossips they're without self-control brutal haters of good etc he's not
talking about unconverted people these are people who are sitting in
churches they hold to a form of godliness and they have their Easter
services and they have their Good Friday services and all of that but
they have denied its power holding to a form of godliness although they
have denied its power it says avoid such people as this oh but they talk
about Jesus and you know all this avoid such men who if you sense that
these people don't have the power of God in them it's just a it's just
language it's just talk the power of God is not in them avoid them some
people ask me hey what why do you avoid certain people I'll tell you
because the Bible tells me to I don't want there to be even one command
in the Word of God that I disobey and this is one of them the people
that God wants me to avoid I avoid and I'm wary of holding of this I'm
wary of days like Easter and Christmas again nothing against those days
or people who choose to celebrate it if any of you do nothing against
those days but I'm wary of it because I see plenty of the form of
godliness in Christendom on a day like today and a time like this and
around Christmas time and it's especially maybe we have to be especially
on guard that the danger is even greater that the form of godliness will
be there the form of the resurrection will be there the form of the
death of Christ will be there but we've denied its power Paul's goal you
read in Philippians chapter 3 this is Paul writing towards the end of
his life Philippians was one of the last letters he wrote second last or
third last as far as we know towards the end of his life look at the
ambition of his life Philippians chapter 3 we read in verse 10 you know
he says earlier I've whatever things were gained I've counted loss I've
I counted as dung I suffered the loss of all things verse 8 and count
them rubbish verse 9 I'm that I may be found in him not having a
righteousness of my own etc and then we get to verse 10 why did Paul
throw everything that he'd had into the red the dung heap why verse 10
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection you see pop you
know by this point as far as I know Paul had already seen Jesus you know
he was taken up into the third heaven and he saw Jesus it says that
least of all the Apostles he was revealed Jesus came to Paul physically
Paul saw Jesus but Paul's testimony of the resurrection of Jesus was not
because I saw him physically otherwise he says I don't need to know
about Jesus resurrection I saw him he says no I'm not talking about that
I'm talking about the power of his resurrection Paul's about 60 years
old now serving God for 30 years after God turned his life around and
after 30 years of serving God planting churches writing inspired
scripture he says I want to know the power of his resurrection I have
not fully known it yet meanwhile we have Christians today who have done
nothing compared to what Paul's done and says oh yeah resurrection right
that's around April time we we we have the little lamb meal and all this
stuff we get up on Sunday morning and for the sunrise and they don't
know the power of his resurrection like Paul did they don't have a
burden for it they don't have an urgency for it to know the power of his
resurrection knowledge versus power this is very important I think the
entire world knows about Jesus resurrection whether they believe it or
not they know yeah this is the time when they say Jesus came out of the
grave and all that some people so-called Christians nominal Christians
say yeah you know we get even politicians and everybody's says greets
happy Easter what's Easter they'll say yeah Jesus rose from the grave
they know it you think they really know the power if it's not working in
us the life the resurrection life of God is not in me I know his power I
know about his resurrection but I don't know his resurrection you know
it says in let's look at this verse in first Corinthians 15 I'm showing
you a lot of scripture because I don't want you to think that this is
some idea I have or anything I have not planned to speak this by the way
but the Lord laid a burden on my heart this morning to to speak on this
so I'm answerable to him for it you know it says in first Corinthians 15
that I think 2nd Corinthians 4 first of all he says that the God who
raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us up right 2nd Corinthians 4
14 and he says here that Jesus is the first fruit in verse 20 1st
Corinthians 15 verse 19 first of all if we have hoped in Christ in this
life only we are off men most to be pitied listen to that if you
celebrated the resurrection of Jesus but it did you no good in eternity
that means you've got nothing out of Jesus death and resurrection that
you could take to eternity when we stand before Jesus will say well Lord
but every resurrection Sunday I celebrated you or I remembered your
resurrection I knew about it you'll say no what do you have in you what
life do you have in you as a result of my resurrection that's what he's
saying here if we have hoped in Christ in this life only but when I get
to eternity I have nothing of eternal value that came through Christ
resurrection then he says I feel you're more petite than the person who
never even had the resurrection knew about the resurrection we are of
all men most to be pitied but he says no now Christ has been raised from
the dead the first fruits children tell me if there are first fruits
what must come next you said it yes the second fruits who are the second
fruits you and I let's read it carefully for now Christ has been raised
from the dead the first fruits of those who are asleep for since by a
man came death by a man also came the resurrection of the dead came the
resurrection of the dead means who did it come to to us the resurrection
of the dead was not for Jesus alone it was for you and I have the
resurrection of life come to you for as in Adam all die so also in
Christ all will be made alive but each in his own order Christ the first
fruits after that the second fruits you can say those who are Christ's
at his coming so he will raise us up also to eternal life now he goes on
to say this is a way of dishonor there's a way of reproach you read in
verse 42 in other words it's sewn in dishonor it's sewn in reproach that
means it's a way that the world rejects but it's the way of eternal life
my dear brothers and sisters this the essence of what I'm the burden of
my heart this morning is have you received the resurrection power of
Christ in your life are you receiving it in increasing measure can you
say as it says in verse 21 for since by Adam came death and so you've
got death through Adam how did you get the law of sin or death you know
the children just memorize that verse for us the law of the spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death that
means that once upon a time I was in bondage to the law of sin and death
how did you get that because you were born to your parents now don't
blame your parents blame Adam I didn't realize you have to blame
yourself as well so we were born according to bound by the law of sin
and death and so I got that can you say the law the law of death came
into the power of death it was in your body of course yeah I know it
when when my when my desire said grab that eat the eat eat all eat the
last cookie that's left I did it without thinking of others when when
somebody said something to me I did it in return I returned evil for
evil that's death that's the law of sin and death operating in my body
you didn't even have to try it just came to you by birth because you
were born in death born in sin born into the flesh but if you are born
into Christ Jesus it says since by a man came death by a man also came
the resurrection of the dead can you say now I have a power within me
that says that I don't have to speak evil back to my spouse when they
when we're in an argument I don't have to keep the argument going
because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free
from the law of sin and death have you received that resident has
resurrection life come to you and is it just once a year or is it every
day are you living every day by the resurrection power of Jesus then you
know the power of his resurrection that I may know him and the power of
his resurrection seek to know that dear brothers and sisters I'd like to
show you five things that I thought about as I was meditating this
morning on how we can test prove the power of Christ's resurrection in
our lives proving the power of Christ's resurrection in our lives will
look at them one by one real quickly first of all are you no longer a
slave to sin are you no longer a slave to sin Romans chapter 6 Romans 6
verse 14 or verse 4 let's begin verse 4 therefore we have been buried
with him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from
the dead through the glory of the Father so we too might you can say be
raised from the dead to walk in newness of life this is knowing the part
do you know the power of his resurrection do you know the power of
Christ's resurrection in your life actually know it here's the test are
you no longer a slave to sin let's keep reading for if we have become
united with him in the likeness of his death we partook with him in his
death certainly we shall also be united with him in the likeness of his
resurrection when Jesus died and was raised up you died and were raised
up you died with him and you were raised with him that's what he's
saying knowing this that our old self was crucified with him what was
the purpose of Jesus dying and being raised up and you're dying and
being raised up if you want to know the power of Christ's resurrection
in your life you must have been a partaker with his with him and being
raised up with him you must have been up you must be a partaker with him
in both his death and resurrection then that life is in you as well
otherwise it's just I know about it and the proof of that he says in
verse 6 knowing this that our old self was crucified with him in order
that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer
be slaves to sin for he who has died is freed from sin but if it's just
a nice thing to talk about and say peace peace I believe in Christ's
resurrection but the proof's not there still defeated by the same old
sin same old bad attitudes mom's in a bad mood dad's in a bad mood all
fighting this and that arguing about that grabbing stealing love of
money want the approval of people all these things slaves to sin let's
repent when when when they will cut to the quick you know if you if you
go through this checklist it's not us it's not a comprehensive checklist
please the Holy Spirit must reveal it to you these are something the
Lord laid on my heart but if you find that that one of these is not
really true in your life and you say you're convicted about it and
you're cut to the quick which I hope you are as I was when I was
thinking about it this morning you know what Peter ends the sermon with
repent there's a way by which you can experience it truly repent and
it's the message of repentance that we need on a Sunday like this more
than any oh I praise God that Jesus rose from the dead not just because
good for him but because it's brought life into me it's changed me is
changing me so it says he who has died is freed from sin now if we have
died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing
that Christ having been raised from the dead is never to die again no
more good Fridays no more good Thursdays never to die again death no
longer is master over him for the death that he died he died to sin once
for all but the life that he lives he lives to God even so consider
yourself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus so don't let
sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts the next time
you're tempted to lust or tempted to get angry or to use your tongue you
say no Lord I want the resurrection power of Christ in me I want to know
your resurrection power in me help me that I won't react in that sinful
way like I used to that driver cuts you off that's where it is for me
the driver cuts you off or you know what's the worst thing the slow
drivers in the fast lane that's where I need the resurrection I want to
love this person and not honk at them or stare at them as I drive
therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its
lust the old Santos used to just give them the wicked eye now I don't
raise my finger anything like that that would be sinful but just the
wicked eye like hey did you see me looking at you none of that I'm
asking God I want to know the power of his resurrection I want to have
love towards everyone do not go on presenting the members of your body
that means it's up to you now you present your eye or look with lust to
that woman walking by or use that tongue say that or send that text or
you know respond that way don't present your bodies your members of your
body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness but presented to God as
those alive from the dead and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God for sin shall not be master over you you're no
longer under the law but under grace what wonderful words the next time
the devil wants you to say say this or look at that or listen to that
gossip or whatever say no I'm raised with Christ the risen Santos who
was raised with Christ does not present his body the members of his body
to do that or to think those thoughts you're no longer a slave to sin
God will give life to our mortal bodies it says the second thing is are
you dead to the law and married to Christ Jesus said that as the father
John 5 as the father has life and gave life and raised him from the dead
so the son has life in him to give to whomever he wishes right John
chapter 5 but let's look at this in Romans chapter 7 in the next chapter
and Jesus said there I think in the next chapter John 6 you if you eat
my flesh and drink my blood the father will raise you up also with me
John 5 and 6 you can look at that sometime but meanwhile here in Romans
7 we read verse 4 see we talked about the old man being crucified with
Christ and that's been dead buried and I was raised into newness of life
but Paul goes on to say and you've heard Zach talk about this the three
marriages right I used to be married to the old man and then God killed
the old man the old Santos died now I'm raised up in newness of life but
no not yet raised up in newness of life but I got married to the law it
says and the law can't be killed because the law is perfect the law God
will never destroy the law the law stands forever God would never have
lied there's nothing even in the Old Testament that will not stand the
test of time we'll see that the law was fulfilled actually but in order
for for this second marriage of Santos being married to the law to end
Santos had to die I'm summarizing here what Paul says in the first few
verses of Romans chapter 7 first it was the old man that died I was a
woman and I was married to this old man who was just said go ahead keep
sinning keep sinning keep sinning God says I'll kill the old man on the
with that what baptism is the old man is crucified and now Santos is
still alive but then I get married to the law the law says you shall not
and you shall and you shall not and you shall and now I'm in a bind
because I thought I was getting into a good marriage the old man was a
horrible guy but this this law is also kind of a hard taskmaster and so
Paul says you died and then when you're brought back to life you're
married to Christ and if you're not experiencing that resurrection life
of Jesus it's no wonder that you'll still be bound to the law so let's
read that that's a quick summary let's go on reading here because he
talks about marriage first of all that if a husband a man and a woman
are married that that agreement that marriage is broken by death and
he's using that as a picture to talk about marriage the spiritual
marriage so he says verse 47 chapter 7 verse 4 therefore my brethren you
also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ so that you
may be married to another and who is this person I'm married to to him
who was raised from the dead you see how the resurrection of Jesus is so
key to that new marriage and you know the power of Christ's resurrection
if you're no longer married to the law but you're married to Jesus
Christ are you dead to the law and married to Christ and here's the
proof of that the Christian life is joyful like a happy marriage if your
Christian life is burdensome and heavy and dull and dreary and you find
that the things in the world are far more exciting you'd much rather go
and do the things in the world with your friends than the Christian life
then I want to tell you you don't know the power of Christ's
resurrection yeah oh yeah you know that Jesus rose from the dead but you
haven't you don't know it here and the more we know the power of his
resurrection as in experience the more I realize that I'm no longer
married to the old man and I'm no longer married to the law I'm married
to the risen Jesus Christ who's full of life whose life is exciting
who's full of joy who's full of peace who helps me yes the standard
under Christ is even higher than it was in the old covenant but Jesus is
helping me he's given me his Holy Spirit within me I have the
resurrection power of Jesus within me to live this life no longer under
the law but married to Christ thirdly are you surrendering all your
ambitions to God are you surrendering not just once upon a time you
didn't just sing I surrender all on the day that you were born again but
you're singing it today because the devil is presenting to you today the
kingdoms of this world like he did with Jesus in Matthew 4 and say here
I'll give you all of this if you'll just bow your knee a little bit to
me just give a little bit of your love to this world a love of pleasure
a love of food excessive love of food a love of a self the love of the
opinions of people the devil say just give me a little bit of that and
I'll give you success here in this world are you actively continually
surrendering all your ambitions to God let's go back to Romans chapter 4
we're given the example of Abraham as somebody who knew about the
resurrection it's very interesting that Abraham knew about it Romans
chapter 4 we read in verse 20 Romans 4 verse 20 with respect to the
promise of God Abraham did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in
faith giving glory to God and being fully assured that what God had
promised he was able to perform therefore it was also credited to him as
righteousness but then he goes on to say verse 23 now not for his sake
only was it written that it was credited to him but for our sake also to
whom it will be credited if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord
from the dead so the real proof that I have that I know the power of
Christ's resurrection in my life is that God credits righteousness to me
as well and I see it and I know it and I experience it now in Abraham's
case it says he did it was credited to him and as righteousness and
there's a very interesting incident in Abraham's life that you know from
Genesis 22 but I'd like you to turn with me to Hebrews 11 where we are
told how Abraham saw this resurrection how did Abraham know about the
resurrection I don't think Abraham had ever seen anybody raised from the
dead as far as we know he didn't but look at this he had the power of
the resurrection in him and it was evidenced in his actions in the
choices he made see that's the thing the power of Christ's resurrection
in your life will change the way you think it'll change your attitudes
it'll change your motives it will change your words it will change your
actions and here's the example in Abraham Hebrews 11 we read in verse 17
by faith Abraham when he was tested offered up Isaac and he who had
received the promises was offering up his only begotten son see Abraham
didn't sit there and try to figure out well God you said that you were
going to bless all the nations of the world through me and this is my
only son I don't think I'm going to get another one how are you going to
do all of this Lord why would you ask me to give up the one heir that is
going to be the fruit he didn't try to figure it out that's what he's
saying here he was offering up his only begotten son it was he to whom
it was said in Isaac your descendants shall be called and yet he said
look at this here's the how Abraham's knowing the resurrection power of
God is evidenced in his life verse 19 he considered that God is able to
raise people even from the dead from which he also received back as a
title Isaac so Abraham I mean if you went to Abraham do you know the
power that people can be raised from the dead he says no I don't know it
because he's never seen anybody raised from the dead but he would have
said I know it I'm here going to show you how I'm going to put Isaac on
the altar now Abraham was absolutely convinced here's what I believe
according to this verse Abraham was absolutely convinced that he was
going to kill Isaac the knife was going to penetrate Isaac's heart and
he was going to I don't know burn up the sacrifice and all that and
somehow God was going to bring Isaac back from the dead and God said
listen I see that you know the power of the resurrection you don't even
have to kill him anymore one day I'm gonna have to kill my own son the
father was saying and he is going to have to die but Abraham I see that
you know the power of my resurrection in your life by your actions now
God is saying will you offer this up will you give up that I know you
have these ambitions and these goals for your life I know you have these
plans or you have your business model and all these things you're going
to climb the corporate ladder or you want this ministry or that other
thing and God says will you lay it all on the altar even your children I
mean for Abraham it was physically his children can you put your
children on the altar brothers and sisters adult children young children
still in our home put it on the altar that is believing in the power of
God's resurrection that's how you know the power of Christ's
resurrection is in your life but if you're still having to fight and
push other people down and and and try to control your life that means
you know that Jesus rose from the dead but you don't have his power in
your life it's no wonder there's no peace there's no rest in your life
and I'm here to tell you you can know peace it's possible to know peace
through Jesus Christ if you know the power of his resurrection are you
free from all condemnation and fear oh this is a tough one isn't it are
you free from all condemnation and fear Romans chapter 8 Romans 8 verse
34 you know he's just got done saying in verse 28 all things work God
causes all things to work together for good to them who love him and are
called according to his purpose and then he says what then verse 31
shall we say to these things if God is for us who is against us he who
did not spare his own son but delivered him over for us all how will he
not also with him freely give us all things so who will bring a charge
against God's elect God is the one who justifies who is the one who
condemns who can condemn you God will not allow anybody to condemn you
that's what this verse is saying now you may choose to let people
condemn you or even condemn yourself or let the devil condemn you but
God is saying don't let anybody condemn you why let's read verse 34 in
its entirety who can condemn you because Christ Jesus has died but more
than that was raised and he's at the right hand of God and he intercedes
for us you see how the power of knowing the power of Christ's
resurrection sets me free from condemnation and if you're battling
condemnation self-condemnation all I'll never be good enough I'm never
going to get it it's not me I'll tell you this you don't know the power
of Christ's resurrection you you think you know it it's intellectual
knowledge but it isn't an experiential knowledge of the power of
Christ's resurrection in your life I tell you this my dear brothers and
sisters the more I have come to know by experience the resurrection life
of Jesus I'm set free from all condemnation I don't I'll tell you
honestly I don't struggle with condemnation at all anymore I used to oh
I used to I people call me the black sheep when I was in middle school
and I thought yep they must have been right and then I got to know the
power of Christ's resurrection I tell you I don't even I'm not I don't
have condemnation at all I'm not here to lie to you I don't have any
condemnation my life at all because I've come to know the power of
Christ's resurrection and my burden I meet so many Christians they write
to us email saying I'm condemned and I feel like there's no hope for me
and I'm in a hopeless situation oh that we would know the power of God
Christ's resurrection in our life it will set us free but also fear you
know 2nd Corinthians 1 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 look at the experience
of Paul when he says here he is serving God and laboring for God and
look at the what is what he's facing in his life he says we don't want
you to be unaware brethren of our affliction which came to us in Asia
that we were burdened excessively 2nd Corinthians 1 verse 8 beyond our
strength have you ever been burdened excessively beyond our strength
beyond your strength you know some people say God will not be allow you
to be tested beyond your ability here's the converse of that he will
test you beyond your strength but it's not beyond your ability if you
will receive his strength that's what Paul is saying here you ever feel
like Lord I thought 1st Corinthians 10 verse 13 was true that you
wouldn't test me beyond my strength and God says no I won't test you
beyond your ability but I will test you beyond your strength so that you
will not trust your own strength you won't put confidence in your
ability in your flesh here was Paul saying we were burdened excessively
beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life he said Paul
thought I'm gonna die this is it finally at the end of my life look at
the honesty Apostle Paul writes I love it he says in verse 9 indeed we
had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in
ourselves in other words God allowed his situation to become so hopeless
I imagine Paul treading water in the deep like he says he did a few
times I think and he thinks Lord it's it says a day and a night right I
think he was treading water and finally he thinks I'm running out of
strength now I'm about to die here the water is now up to my mouth and
I've just got my nose up this is it Lord I'm ready to come home inside
he says he had the sentence of death so God says no Paul you're not
ready to go home yet I have some work to do through you he says indeed
we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust
in ourselves but in God who raises the dead huh this is not the
resurrection of Jesus on the cross with Mary went to the tomb no this is
the resurrection power of Christ in Paul when he needed it when he was
despairing and he's like I have run out of hope I don't think any of us
in this room or listening online has ever come to the place where I
thought this is it these are my last few seconds of my life and my dear
brother dear sister if you're there or somewhere before that which is
where we probably are today take courage come to know the resurrection
power of Christ in you like Paul did we came to no longer trust are in
ourselves but in the God who raises from the dead who Paul already knew
that Jesus was raised from the dead he says Lord you got to prove that
in me now which means Lord even if I drown and sink to the bottom of the
ocean you got to bring a fish or something like Jonah because my task on
earth is not yet over years later as far as I know he writes 2nd Timothy
4 my time has come now I finished my course I've run the race and is
waiting for me he knew his time was up at that point but swimming in the
ocean he says God said no I just needed for you to come to the end of
your own strength so that you would rely a hundred percent on the
resurrection power of Christ and so there was no fear you think Paul was
in a panic for a while he was and then he got filled up afresh with the
resurrection power of Jesus Oh dear brothers and sisters we're gonna
need this in the time to come times of fear are coming upon the earth
believe it I'm not here to scare you but I'm here to tell you and
encourage you and exhort you dear brothers and sisters and children what
do you think the world will be like for our children 20 years from now
as bad as it is now you think all the stuff that they're teaching in
schools and all that is the worst of it oh it's gonna get worse but God
says you don't have to fear but I can't preach to you not to fear us
elders can't try to beat you over the head don't fear don't fear don't
fear you must have the resurrection power of Christ in you then you
won't fear and you won't be condemned Oh come to Christ today and
receive this life finally are you reigning in heaven with Christ
Ephesians chapter 1 we sing in that song we're called to more than just
survive called to thrive nice words it rhymes well and it's based in
scripture Ephesians 1 we are seated in the heavenly places with Christ
now act that way live that way it shouldn't just be a verse if I says
hey do you know that you're seated in the heavenly places with Christ he
says yeah that's Ephesians chapter 1 right I say yeah you know it but do
you know it are you ruling are you reigning with Christ over your body
over your lusts over your desires over your passions do you have
spiritual authority to bind the work of Satan when he comes and tries to
tear open your marriage and tear open your home do you have the
authority over Satan are you ruling with Christ do you have the
authority that Christ has over the devil when he comes to attack you if
you don't know the resurrection power of Christ in you then you'll be
afraid of the devil let me ask you honestly dear brothers and sisters if
you could see the devil coming and attacking you right now at this very
moment the devil himself how would you react be honest with yourself
don't tell me the answer be honest with yourself if you could see the
devil coming at you right now with all his power about to attack you
about to attack your marriage about to attack your children how are you
going to react that answer will tell you whether you know the power of
Christ's resurrection I hope you're not afraid of the devil I can't tell
you that the devil is defeated on the cross I can't convince you because
you'll get it here but if Jesus Christ can give you his life his
resurrection power of life you know what you will do within you you will
have an experience within you that tells you that the devil is defeated
you don't need a preacher to tell you that you'll say I know the devil
was defeated and the devil come at you says what are you talking about
devil I have Christ's resurrection power in me the same life that
defeated you on the cross and took Jesus out of the grave that's in me
and the devil has to run then oh that we would be such a church this is
the church that's taking down the gates of hell Ephesians chapter 1 we
read in verse 19 he says I pray verse 18 that the eyes of your heart may
be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of his calling
what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints and
what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe not
just the power manifest in Jesus Christ but the power in us who believe
oh do you see the surpassing greatness of the power in Santos it's not
his power is Jesus Christ power in him now put your name there oh I hope
you see your name in first in Ephesians 1 verse 19 the surpassing
greatness of Christ's power in I who believe these are in accordance
with the working of the strength of his might the strength of it look at
the superlatives the excessive words that the Holy Spirit is using
through Paul to demonstrate that this is the power that's in you and I
he had these are in accordance with the working of the strength of his
might I mean if the strength of the might of God you really have to like
be what do they call it repetitive right you have to say the strength of
his might isn't like no he says I really want you to know it because
it's a new it's a new the strength of his might which he brought about
in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places so that mighty power that God manifest in
Jesus Christ when he brought him up from the dead and then took him up
and seated him at the right hand right hand is the power that's in you
and I oh how it'll change the way we live I realized that that same
power that raised Jesus from the dead it's not just a song you know
there's a song it's popular on the radio the same power that's in Christ
and sadly the people who sing that song often don't really experience it
this is their they have the form of godliness they have the resurrection
words and the resurrection songs but they deny its power they close
their hearts to the to its power such great power is working in us as
well many goes on to say we're seated with him in heavenly places one
last verse now close Colossians chapter 3 Colossians chapter 3 verse 1
this is these are all tests whether we have truly experienced the
resurrection power of Christ in our lives if you have been raised up
with Christ you see the if there here's a test the proof that you have
been raised up with Christ is that you will keep seeking the things
above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your affection
on the things above not on the things that are on earth so what will you
say about a man who says I'm a Christian or a woman who says I'm a
Christian and I happy Easter a happy resurrection day and I believe in
Jesus Christ but my mind is set on the things of this earth I need more
money and I need a better this and a more comfortable life and I need
help for my children I need that other thing and my mind is set on the
things of this earth and I'm taken up with what's going on in the world
around me and I'm involved in this the political arguments of today and
this and that and the other thing oh the last two three years have
demonstrated it with the vaccine and masks and all this stuff people got
taken up with it so much you could see that their minds were set on
things of the earth he says these are not people who know the
resurrection power of Jesus you know the example I really it's helped me
so much that my dad is used of like a rubber band what does it mean to
set your affections on the things above not on things of this earth keep
seeking the things above each of us is like a rubber band you know how
when you stretch if you hold a rubber band in one place and you stretch
it to reach something and then you release it it's gonna spring back
because it's gonna come back to its fixed point if you are raised with
Jesus if you have the power of Christ's resurrection in you what's
happened is your fixed point has changed you used to be fixed on this
earth and so yeah you could come on a Sunday morning and think about
religious things but then right back to it the football games waiting
for you or something else is coming up this week that's what your
affections are based on and then the Monday and the Tuesday and then of
course Sunday you spring up to get a little bit more of Jesus or on
Easter or on Christmas and then you spring back to self-centered earthly
focused living but you died and were raised with Christ and God took
that fixed point and put it there in heaven now the things that you're
taken up with other things of heaven now yeah it doesn't matter if
you're playing football or going eating out at a restaurant what you're
taken up with is the things of heaven your affections are there and you
could go watch a football game or play some basketball or play a board
game with your children or watch a healthy movie but in the midst of it
all you say Lord don't let me lose my fixed point I'm raised with Christ
and seated there yeah think about these brothers and sisters let's pray
father I want this life more Lord even as I've been speaking I long to
experience it in my life more oh how we need this Lord you're coming as
soon we don't have time to waste let's redeem the time Lord that we'll
make sure that when we stand before you and eternity is before us
there's no more opportunity to gain more of your life that we will be
ready we will have used the short life that you gave us on this earth to
take up our cross deny ourselves and follow you and receive the life
that you want to give us thank you you will do it Lord pray that you
will speak hope and life breathe life into each one of us through your
Holy Spirit in Jesus name I'm in

========================================================================
Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/ip0-N3w8krU.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/santosh-poonen/proving-the-power-of-christs-resurrection-in-our-lives/
========================================================================