“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (I Corinthians 15:14, NIV).
The Resurrection is controversial. It’s radical. It’s almost unbelievable, but its power is what builds the foundation of faith. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in all believers.
That power is what fuels an almost unbelievable event in human history. It’s a power that we can either embrace or overlook, but it’s a power that exists and it exists for YOU.
We base our faith on a living Savior, a man that died for us and yet lives in us. It’s a great mystery that we may not understand completely, but when we accept it, it changes our lives. So, the hope for today is that this remarkable Resurrection happened for you.
When we examine the Resurrection, we can find 4 soul-serving truths—truths we can hang onto when life gets rough or when it becomes more than we can bear.
1. The empty tomb means God’s work continues.
When Jesus rose from the grave, time did not end. Death did. Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross defeated Satan and offered a path for every man and woman in creation to enter the eternal Kingdom of God. The power that rose Jesus from the dead brought the Kingdom to each and every person who believes. If God’s work continues, then the work you do continues. The progress you make matters to Him.
2. The empty tomb means you will never be the same.
When you embrace the empty tomb as your gift from God, it changes everything about you. When the man who left the tomb alive and well enters your life, you become a work of God. He shapes your purpose, your choices, your life for His glory. You can’t hide from it.
David writes in Psalm 139:7-10 NIV, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Once you are His, you will never be the same.
3. The empty tomb makes the irrelevants in life irrelevant.
The enemy is greatly concerned with getting you so tangled up in the irrelevant things in life that you take your focus off the relevant work God is doing in you. When your steps have been ordered, the enemy has no power. You have the same power that emptied the tomb. It empowers you to look past the struggles and the pain and to look into the eternal. What’s relevant today is that you are alive, you are a disciple, and God is on His throne.
4. The empty tomb means you have God’s Word.
A man of His word, Jesus Christ fulfilled all the promises God gave you when He went to that cross and walked out of that tomb alive. His Resurrection means you have God’s Word.
God said He would stop death. God said He loved you enough that He sent His one and only Son to die and live again so you don’t have to perish (John 3:16). He loves you with the same intensity He used to raise His Son from death.
Invest your time and attention in that promise and all your mistakes get erased. That’s hope for today.
