Sunday Sermon: The Ability to Get Back Up, August 30th, 2020
Sunday Sermon at Grateful Church in Phoenix
The victory of the cross inspires hope, faith, and the ability to get back up in difficult times. Our resilience is premised on the concepts of incarnation, regeneration, and resurrection. We are more than conquerors because we are regenerated in Christ. Because He lives, we can face the issues of today and tomorrow graciously without fear. Christ’s victory over death is an answer to life question. The question that if we die, can we live again. Jesus’ resurrection proves that there is life after death for those who will believe in Him. Reading from the text
Acts 2:22-32
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
The Foreknowledge:
God had predetermined the ability to regenerate that inspired David’s prophecy about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus expanded on this concept in:
John 12:24,31-33
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Jesus prevailed over death and the grave to raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet the Pharisees did not perceive it. Christ did it again at Calvary by rising from the dead the third day.
John 12:17-24
17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.
18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.
Thus, what is sown will raise again because in it, is the power to regenerate. We rise with increases capacity, wisdom, understanding, and the ability to effect positive change.
Gen 1:11-12
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
The seed has the power within, and the Earth was commanded to enable the regeneration process, it was impossible for death/ grave to hold Jesus.
The foreknowledge and predetermination of this process, inspired the:
Prophetic utterance in Act 2:24, 27.
24 … having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Confidence in God’s salvation in vs25,
25 … I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Unspeakable joy of vs 26
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover, also my flesh shall rest in hope:
We are built to overcome anything
We are an incredible force of nature and wonderfully made that the powers of hell cannot withstand our faith, nor the snares of the fowlers
1 John 4:4
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Rom 8:11
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you
The grace of God is more than sufficient to overcome are troubles. We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. This is the foundation of our resilience and boasting in Christ
In Matth 13: 24-30, The objective of the enemy was to diminish our effectiveness and profitability for the kingdom of God. But in His foreknowledge and divine grace God built us to last beyond the present stress
Matt 13:24-30
24 … The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest …
So, Jesus left the tiers alone until the harvest because the impacts of internal and external forces were designed for. The gates of hell shall not withstand us (Matth 16:18) when we believe the word of God and exercise our faith in Christ Jesus
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