WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:24.359 And if you've got a church Bible, I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, which is on page 976. And I'm going to read you from verse 15 of chapter 1 through to 9. 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:32.299 Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 15, page 976. 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:54.340 For this reason, the Apostle Paul writes, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom. 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:56.939 And a revelation in the knowledge of him. 00:00:57.899 --> 00:01:03.299 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you. 00:01:03.980 --> 00:01:06.879 What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:13.980 And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his great might? 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:21.280 That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:28.460 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:37.700 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:43.640 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:51.600 Following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:02:02.439 Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:13.939 But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:22.699 By grace you've been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:29.300 So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.300 For by grace you have been saved through faith. 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:34.979 And this is not your own doing. 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:38.599 It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:48.199 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 00:02:50.459 --> 00:02:51.139 Let's pray. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.159 Heavenly Father, we ask for the help of your Holy Spirit. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.659 Your Holy Spirit who inspired the Apostle Paul to write these words. 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:03.740 And we pray, Heavenly Father, that he would enlighten us. 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:09.420 And we ask that he might open our eyes, that we might see the wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:09.540 --> 00:03:10.939 Teach us by your Spirit. 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:13.659 Through your word we pray in Jesus' name. 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:14.719 Amen. 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:21.360 The message of Easter is vast. 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:26.760 Easter is not just a season to be celebrated. 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.979 It is a message to be believed and embraced. 00:03:32.019 --> 00:03:33.780 And a gospel to be proclaimed in all the world. 00:03:35.459 --> 00:03:44.519 And recognizing that this message of Easter is something that transforms the lives of those who've understood it and embraced it. 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.539 Because the message of Easter is the message of resurrection. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.899 And resurrection lies at the very heart of the Christian faith. 00:03:53.900 --> 00:04:00.300 Resurrection is the very essence of true Christian experience. 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:04.500 And so when we speak about Easter this morning, 00:04:05.700 --> 00:04:10.819 we're speaking about something that men and women and boys and girls who really know the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:14.060 Easter and resurrection is not just something out there. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.180 It is something that they've experienced in their own lives. 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.840 If you come as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, 00:04:20.840 --> 00:04:22.980 you are no longer a spectator of Easter. 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:26.839 Easter is something that has happened to you. 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:29.620 Christ is risen. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:32.439 And they are risen in him. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:40.199 And it's this message that the Apostle Paul is pressing upon you this morning in the passage we've just read. 00:04:40.539 --> 00:04:43.279 He's praying that you will have a spiritual eye-opener. 00:04:44.539 --> 00:04:46.719 He's praying that your eyes would be opened. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:50.080 He prays that the Lord God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:51.420 Chapter 1 and verse 17. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:58.960 The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge of him, 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:01.300 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, 00:05:01.780 --> 00:05:04.240 that you may know what is the hope to which he's called you. 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:09.200 What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints? 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:13.180 And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe, 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:14.899 according to the working of his great might? 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.319 That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:22.779 In other words, Paul is praying for you and I this morning, 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:28.699 that we might have a revelation of exactly what the implications of the resurrection are for us. 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:31.519 And if you look at it more closely, 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:34.379 you will see in Ephesians chapter 1 and 2, 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:37.000 that he's not only speaking of one resurrection, but three. 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:41.399 Because Christianity is a religion of resurrection. 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:48.500 And specifically, of three resurrections that the good news of the Lord Jesus brings. 00:05:49.659 --> 00:05:50.879 So here's my three resurrections. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:51.439 Here's my points. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:54.000 First of all, the resurrection of Jesus on the third day of the week. 00:05:55.339 --> 00:06:00.279 Secondly, the resurrection of sinners in the present day of grace. 00:06:01.219 --> 00:06:03.699 And thirdly, the resurrection of the body on the last day. 00:06:04.979 --> 00:06:06.359 That is the good news. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.719 That is the resurrection in the Bible. 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.640 A message that speaks to us about our past, 00:06:13.340 --> 00:06:15.560 and the present, and the future. 00:06:15.700 --> 00:06:17.100 So first of all, resurrection past. 00:06:17.400 --> 00:06:19.420 The resurrection of Jesus on the third day. 00:06:20.340 --> 00:06:21.980 He puts it really plainly, doesn't it, in verse 20. 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:22.420 Can you see it? 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:29.020 He says that God the Father raised him from the dead. 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:35.220 God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.580 That's always the way that the New Testament speaks of the resurrection. 00:06:40.140 --> 00:06:41.260 It's something that God has done. 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.620 And men, human beings, they've killed the author of life. 00:06:45.980 --> 00:06:46.860 You've taken him. 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:49.480 By wicked hands, you've crucified him. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:52.240 But God has raised him from the dead. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:58.680 It's God's answer to what men have done with the Lord Jesus. 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.199 God has raised him from the grave. 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:04.980 You killed the author of life. 00:07:05.660 --> 00:07:06.939 But God raised him from the dead. 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.379 And the question immediately arises, well, why did God do that? 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:15.300 And it's a question that you and I need to grapple with and understand. 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:16.819 Easter can go by, can't it? 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:18.220 And we can miss it so easily. 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:24.980 The sheer glory and wonder of why did God raise Jesus from the dead? 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.040 And Paul tells us, doesn't it, in verses 20 to 22, 00:07:28.700 --> 00:07:35.760 that God raised Jesus primarily to confirm that he was the Son of God 00:07:35.760 --> 00:07:38.200 and the Lord of the universe. 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:42.000 Look at verse 20 of Ephesians chapter 1. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:47.660 The apostle says that he accomplished this great work of might in the Lord Jesus 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.480 when he raised him from the dead 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:54.259 and when he seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:59.439 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:01.379 and above every name that is named, not only in this age, 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:03.540 but in the one that is to come. 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.180 And he's put all things under his feet. 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:13.120 Now in the whole of the New Testament, this is the great testimony, 00:08:13.459 --> 00:08:14.939 this is the great message of the resurrection. 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:17.759 It tells you who Jesus is. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.780 In Romans chapter 1 and verse 4, 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:24.139 it tells us that Jesus was designated Son of God 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:26.180 with power by the resurrection from the dead. 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:29.300 In Romans chapter 14, it says, 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:32.200 Christ had died and returned to life 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:36.299 so that he might be both Lord of the living and the dead. 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:39.979 And that's a vital thing for you and I to grasp. 00:08:41.219 --> 00:08:44.339 But this is what God was doing in the resurrection of Jesus. 00:08:45.459 --> 00:08:48.459 He is overwhelmingly, God is declaring, 00:08:49.099 --> 00:08:50.939 in the resurrection of Jesus, 00:08:51.219 --> 00:08:53.699 Jesus who was despised, Jesus who was rejected, 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:55.620 who was crucified on the Friday, 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:57.479 who men did not esteem, 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:00.539 they regarded him as somebody under God's judgment, 00:09:01.019 --> 00:09:02.099 God has raised him from the dead. 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:08.740 And God has raised him to a place of unique and unsurpassable glory. 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:12.000 Every enemy beneath his feet. 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:16.460 He's been exalted on all authority and power and dominion 00:09:16.460 --> 00:09:19.440 and every name that is named, he's above it. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:23.040 And the importance of that is this. 00:09:23.780 --> 00:09:25.820 During the time when Jesus was on earth, 00:09:26.420 --> 00:09:29.360 he claimed, didn't he, if you've read Jesus' story at all, 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:31.720 he claimed he was not simply a prophet. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:35.460 That he was the one whom the prophet spoke about. 00:09:36.380 --> 00:09:38.980 That he was the fulfillment of the prophecy. 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.580 He was not just some man amongst men. 00:09:41.660 --> 00:09:43.340 He was not just a decent teacher. 00:09:43.340 --> 00:09:46.800 He was the Lord of men. 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:49.800 Who would ultimately become their judge. 00:09:50.280 --> 00:09:52.700 He had pictured the end of the age in his teaching 00:09:52.700 --> 00:09:56.180 in quite graphic and dramatic terms 00:09:56.180 --> 00:10:01.820 as a day when he would be singled out from every other creature. 00:10:03.540 --> 00:10:05.040 When he will judge the world. 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:08.920 And the whole of humankind will be gathered before him. 00:10:09.280 --> 00:10:10.800 And lots of people, when they heard that, 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:13.240 they greeted the message with scorn, as they do today. 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:16.399 They were as cynical as we are. 00:10:16.540 --> 00:10:17.519 They mocked him. 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:21.680 That he claimed to be the son of God 00:10:21.680 --> 00:10:24.060 and the saviour of men and the Lord of all. 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:24.780 It seemed ridiculous. 00:10:25.300 --> 00:10:26.940 And they said to Jesus, give us a sign. 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:28.340 Show us then. Prove it. 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:32.100 Give us a sign that we would know that these things are true. 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:34.759 And Jesus says to them, there will be no sign. 00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:39.060 There will be no sign given to this generation except one. 00:10:40.259 --> 00:10:41.700 And it was the sign of the prophet Jonah. 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:41.780 Jonah. 00:10:43.160 --> 00:10:48.280 Because, says Jesus, Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.920 So shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 00:10:53.180 --> 00:10:55.320 And then, like Jonah, there will be resurrection. 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:59.040 And when they challenged him, do you remember? 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.620 He said, I will destroy this temple. 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:04.420 And the temple he spoke about was his body. 00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:06.780 And in three days I will raise it again. 00:11:08.780 --> 00:11:09.720 What was that sign? 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:13.320 The sign was the sign of his resurrection. 00:11:14.800 --> 00:11:17.600 And it was to be a sign that all his claims were true. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:26.000 And when God raised Jesus, he raised him in order to place him on this throne of infinite glory. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:31.500 Where he would be on high, above all dominion and power and authority. 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.879 That he would be in the place of king of kings and lord of lords. 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:39.259 That he would be the designated son of God with power. 00:11:39.259 --> 00:11:43.419 And that is to Jesus we come to worship this morning. 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:51.939 And the father points to him and says, he is the one in all the universe. 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:57.559 Whom the hearts of men and women are to turn to in order that they might worship and adore him. 00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:05.059 But God raised Jesus not only to show us who he was, but also to show us what he's done in his death. 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.639 That's why Paul says he was put to death for our trespasses. 00:12:09.719 --> 00:12:11.219 He was put to death for my rebellion. 00:12:12.379 --> 00:12:15.799 But he was raised for our justification. 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:17.500 In Romans chapter 4. 00:12:18.939 --> 00:12:24.419 And so here in this letter to the Ephesians, he's speaking about the plight of men and women. 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:32.559 That the men and women and boys and girls, can you see it in chapter 2 verse 1, they are dead in their trespasses and sins. 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:38.659 And then he goes on to speak about what God has done for us in sending the Lord Jesus. 00:12:40.659 --> 00:12:42.659 Where does the resurrection come into all this? 00:12:44.419 --> 00:12:45.319 The point is this. 00:12:45.819 --> 00:12:49.539 It is not enough to simply know that Jesus has died. 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:54.559 It is not enough to simply know that Jesus died in the place of sinners. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:56.959 That he said he was going to go to the cross at Calvary. 00:12:57.620 --> 00:12:59.539 To give his life as a ransom for many. 00:12:59.839 --> 00:13:02.899 That they might know the redemption he was offering. 00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:05.379 It is not enough to know that Jesus died. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.799 The question arises, doesn't it, after his death is this. 00:13:09.959 --> 00:13:15.439 How do we know, how do we know this morning that the death that Jesus died has been successful? 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:18.340 That it's paid the price, that it's sufficient. 00:13:19.660 --> 00:13:22.040 That it's dealt with my rebellion and my sin. 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:28.640 How do we know that the sacrifice that he has offered has been accepted by God? 00:13:28.780 --> 00:13:33.260 How do we know that he alone in the universe is the only God-appointed saviour? 00:13:34.280 --> 00:13:35.420 How do we know that? 00:13:35.419 --> 00:13:43.959 And the answer is that the resurrection is God's finger pointing down from heaven to Calvary. 00:13:45.179 --> 00:13:49.419 As the only place under heaven where you and I may be saved. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:55.620 The resurrection of Jesus, if I can put it like this, is God's amen. 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:58.399 To the sacrifice that Jesus offered. 00:14:00.579 --> 00:14:02.759 Whatever men may say, they might spurn it. 00:14:02.860 --> 00:14:04.919 They might despise a crucified saviour. 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:05.899 They might mock him. 00:14:05.959 --> 00:14:07.519 They might take his name in vain. 00:14:08.599 --> 00:14:11.699 But God the Father reaches down from glory. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:15.699 And he snatches Jesus from the grave. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:19.500 And he raises him to a place of unexcelled glory. 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:23.579 But the Lamb of God. 00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:26.539 And the saviour of the world. 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:31.099 So all of heaven cries this morning, worthy is the Lamb who was slain. 00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:34.719 To receive honour and glory and blessing and dominion. 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:41.360 And so what resurrection Easter morning tells you is that God has done something in history. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:49.079 God has done something in history which has set the seal on Jesus' sacrifice for himself on the cross. 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:53.900 And this is God's way of saying that there's no other way. 00:14:55.540 --> 00:15:02.580 There's no other name under heaven given to men by which you may be saved. 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:15.960 And if you're here this morning and you are seeking eternal life and you want to be acceptable with God on any other grounds than the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:18.660 then God the Father has got a problem with you. 00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:22.740 Because he says the only way. 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:29.059 The only way that you can be made right with God is through the death of my son. 00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:34.819 Because in the resurrection, the finger of God points you to the cross. 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:39.959 It points you to the cross of Jesus and says that is the place where I'm satisfied. 00:15:41.079 --> 00:15:43.099 I'm satisfied with what my son has done. 00:15:43.619 --> 00:15:45.079 I'm satisfied with my son. 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:51.759 And God has raised Jesus to demonstrate who he is and who he was. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:55.580 That's the resurrection of Jesus on the first day. 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:00.319 Secondly, the resurrection of the sinner in the present day. 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:08.580 For these men in the New Testament, for these people in the New Testament, Easter was something that had happened to them. 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:16.039 They said quite simply that their Christianity was about having passed from death to life. 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:21.279 The Bible's Christianity is not turning over a new leaf. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.120 It's not reformation. 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:28.480 It's not trying your best. 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:36.519 They spoke about true Christianity and they said it is a resurrection in someone's soul to everlasting life. 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.899 And so the Christians in the New Testament, they would say we have passed from death to life. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.860 It's no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:16:50.319 --> 00:16:51.259 That's the resurrection. 00:16:51.759 --> 00:16:56.220 The essence, the heart of Christian experience is this. 00:16:56.220 --> 00:17:01.039 That by faith, I am united to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.779 By trusting him, I am joined to him. 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:10.940 And I am therefore raised with him out of spiritual death into spiritual life. 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:14.599 So look with me at what Paul says in chapter 2. 00:17:14.639 --> 00:17:17.139 Look at verse 5 in chapter 2. 00:17:17.140 --> 00:17:21.600 He says we were dead in chapter 2. 00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:21.600 00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:26.980 But God has made us alive together with Christ. 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:31.319 We've been made alive. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:37.980 If you look at the start of chapter 2, he gives us the diagnosis of what we were without Christ, before Christ. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:43.819 He says we were dead in our rebellion, trespasses and sins, in which you once walked. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.259 And he described what did that life look like? 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:50.720 What does life look like without the Lord Jesus Christ? 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:55.579 You see, that's an extraordinarily offensive thing to say, isn't it? 00:17:55.579 --> 00:18:00.720 Just because a person doesn't know Jesus Christ, they're dead? 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.720 Here's a guy, he's got a really acute and an active mind. 00:18:05.899 --> 00:18:07.059 He's an intelligent young bloke. 00:18:07.419 --> 00:18:09.359 He's got a fit body of an athlete. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.419 He's got a glowing and attractive personality. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:13.339 But he's no time for God. 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:14.819 He's no time for Jesus. 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:17.399 He's not against him. 00:18:17.439 --> 00:18:18.460 He's not angry with him. 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:19.759 He's just got no time for him. 00:18:19.860 --> 00:18:21.240 Am I telling you that he's dead? 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.980 That's precisely what I'm saying. 00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:33.380 Because that guy, he was created and formed for the very essence of what true life really is. 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:34.880 That it's found in Jesus Christ. 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:36.579 Only in Jesus Christ. 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:42.299 This is eternal life, says Jesus, that they might know me. 00:18:42.299 --> 00:18:53.240 And if you do not know God this morning, through the Lord Jesus Christ, you are no more alive than a dead man is alive physically. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:04.240 Because the heart of Christianity, the essence of spiritual life, for which God created you, and created the universe in which you live, 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.059 the essence of that life is that you might know God. 00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:13.940 The apostle says, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 00:19:14.059 --> 00:19:15.539 You followed the course of this world. 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:18.740 Do you notice the description there? 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:21.419 You followed the course of the world. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.720 That means, just like everybody else, going along with the flow. 00:19:24.879 --> 00:19:28.659 You followed the prince of the air, which means that you were disobedient to God. 00:19:29.679 --> 00:19:31.579 And you followed the desires of your flesh. 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:33.079 That is that you did what you wanted. 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:38.799 That is the characteristic of someone who is dead in their trespasses and sins. 00:19:38.899 --> 00:19:41.819 But in verse 4, but God. 00:19:44.379 --> 00:19:45.659 That's what the resurrection means. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.779 Verse 4, but God. 00:19:49.399 --> 00:19:50.699 Being rich in mercy. 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.419 Because of the great love with which he loved us. 00:19:54.420 --> 00:20:04.620 Even when we were dead in our rebellion, God made us alive. 00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:07.460 Together with Christ. 00:20:10.100 --> 00:20:13.940 What's happened to these people here this morning that would claim to be Christians? 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:16.120 That would call themselves Christians? 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.360 Who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? 00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:19.580 What has happened to them? 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:26.139 Is that the grace and the kindness and the mercy of God touched them? 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:34.839 True Christians will say to you, it's not that I decided that I was going to become or going to be religious. 00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:41.240 It's not even that somebody persuaded me mentally about the Christian gospel. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:42.980 And I said, well, I agree now, so I might as well follow. 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:48.920 It's not that they signed their name on some kind of pledge to be more religious. 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:54.960 No, what has happened in the person that has put their faith in Jesus Christ is something cataclysmic has happened. 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:03.099 Something miraculous, something so supernatural that they cannot fully understand it. 00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:04.579 They cannot fully explain it. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:06.940 They cannot grasp it. 00:21:06.940 --> 00:21:11.980 There's been a supernatural miracle of grace in their heart. 00:21:12.120 --> 00:21:14.259 And it's a resurrection to newness of life. 00:21:16.900 --> 00:21:20.720 And if you are a Christian here this morning, that is what has happened to you. 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:31.320 The same divine energy that brought Jesus Christ from the grave has been operating in your life. 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:36.939 To bring you from being dead in your trespasses and sins into new life in Jesus. 00:21:38.779 --> 00:21:45.919 And just as Jesus now reigns in glory, he's raised you into a life that is indestructible in him. 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:51.919 So you can understand, can't you, why the disciples got so excited about the resurrection. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:58.339 And according to the New Testament, it doesn't just refer to the beginning of the Christian life, 00:21:58.399 --> 00:22:00.019 but actually the living of the Christian life. 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:02.559 Did you notice the eye-opener prayer? 00:22:03.859 --> 00:22:08.839 That you might have the eyes of your heart enlightened. 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.839 That you may know this. 00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:14.519 What does he pray, verse 19? 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:15.900 What does he pray that they might know? 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:20.319 That they might know the immeasurable greatness of his power working towards us who believe, 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:22.299 according to the working of his great might. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:25.539 That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. 00:22:25.539 --> 00:22:33.399 I was saying just a few minutes ago that the resurrection gives you the proof of our forgiveness, which it does. 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:37.500 But I need to add to what the apostle says here. 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:43.099 He says the resurrection gives you proof, but the resurrection also gives you power. 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:47.859 The resurrection supplies the power for our holiness. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.879 The proof of our forgiveness and the power of our holiness. 00:22:52.879 --> 00:22:56.659 Because when God raises human beings from spiritual death, 00:22:56.919 --> 00:22:59.339 it's in order that God may take hold of you 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:03.399 and recreate you into the glorious image of the Lord Jesus. 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:10.560 And so living as a Christian, by necessity, changes you. 00:23:13.040 --> 00:23:13.980 How does that happen? 00:23:14.040 --> 00:23:15.940 How does someone live the Christian life? 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:17.300 How do you live as a Christian? 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:23.019 You don't live it, do you, by some superhuman effort of your own. 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:27.320 The transformation of our characters 00:23:27.320 --> 00:23:31.480 is not something that God leaves to ourselves. 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:36.420 It is the same divine power that raised Jesus from the grave, 00:23:36.560 --> 00:23:37.900 which is at work in you, says Paul. 00:23:40.360 --> 00:23:41.180 And Paul says this, 00:23:41.280 --> 00:23:44.280 May God open your eyes to see what's happened to you. 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:48.120 And that brings hope, doesn't it? 00:23:48.120 --> 00:23:51.240 That brings hope to the feeblest child of God this morning. 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:54.280 Into the weakest Christian. 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:59.519 That the very power of God that operated in raising Jesus is in you this morning. 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:02.019 And if you are Christ, 00:24:02.139 --> 00:24:06.900 and if you are battling away with things that you cannot control without Christ, 00:24:06.980 --> 00:24:10.099 that is an awful, awful substitute for Christianity. 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:13.579 If you are there trying your best, 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:14.879 making your lists, 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:16.579 doing what you can, 00:24:17.460 --> 00:24:20.079 that is a terrible, awful substitute 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:22.000 for real Christianity. 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:25.519 The resurrection on the third day. 00:24:26.599 --> 00:24:28.279 The resurrection of the sinner in the present day. 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:28.799 And then lastly, 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:30.920 the resurrection of the body in the last day. 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:34.339 So as you read this letter, 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:35.339 which Ephesians is, 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:38.660 you'll find there's a future focus going all the way through it. 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:41.079 Verse 18, he prays, 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:42.720 Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:44.799 that you may know what is the hope, 00:24:45.099 --> 00:24:45.759 that's in the future, 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.519 to what he's called you. 00:24:46.519 --> 00:24:49.759 What are the riches of his glorious inheritance, 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:51.099 in the sense, 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:52.160 that's in the future. 00:24:53.220 --> 00:24:54.819 Now the hope that the resurrection has brought, 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:59.579 it's brought hope to a world that is gripped in despair. 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:03.339 And we live in a world, don't we, 00:25:03.379 --> 00:25:05.440 that is gripped in despair in many ways. 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:07.759 Verse 21, he goes on to say, 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:09.980 That the Lord Jesus has been raised, 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:13.599 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, 00:25:13.639 --> 00:25:14.779 and above every name that is named, 00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:15.960 not only in this age, 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:16.980 but also in the one to come. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:20.359 And then chapter 2, 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.299 in verses 6 and 7, 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:21.579 it says, 00:25:21.859 --> 00:25:22.500 We are raised, 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.200 and God has raised us up with him, 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:26.440 and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:27.799 that in the coming ages, 00:25:27.879 --> 00:25:28.379 the future, 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:32.059 he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace, 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:34.240 and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.579 The apostle Paul, 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:40.299 he wants you to look back to Jesus' resurrection. 00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:43.519 He wants you to understand what has happened in the present, 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:45.700 if you've trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:47.480 and he wants you to look forward. 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:54.940 And he's telling you that the resurrection that we've experienced in Jesus Christ 00:25:54.940 --> 00:26:00.139 is a foretaste of something that is infinitely more glorious, 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:04.000 that we are yet to know. 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:08.840 And so that is why resurrection is so exciting. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.860 That Jesus' resurrection is not only an historical fact, 00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:14.640 it's a prototype. 00:26:15.460 --> 00:26:16.580 It's an hors d'oeuvre. 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:19.899 It is the first fruits, 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:22.319 as Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:24.079 of the Christian's resurrection. 00:26:25.679 --> 00:26:26.819 And Jesus' resurrection, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.500 it gives us a guarantee, 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:32.000 but it's also a pattern of what is to come. 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:35.019 Because God is at work. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:35.919 God is moving on. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:38.019 He's not stopped with the resurrection of Jesus. 00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:41.399 He's not stopped with the resurrection of the sinner. 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:44.220 He's going forward to the coming ages, 00:26:44.560 --> 00:26:47.360 to the hope of glory that lies before us. 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:49.700 And Paul says, 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:53.019 may God today open your eyes, 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:54.460 that you might see it. 00:26:55.960 --> 00:26:59.500 That you may grasp the hope that is set before us, 00:27:00.040 --> 00:27:05.780 that has been guaranteed to you by a living, reigning Savior. 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:09.000 And that hope is not just the immortality of the soul, is it? 00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:13.059 It's not just that there's somewhere else up there, 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.980 that we'll go on living forever and ever in heaven. 00:27:16.399 --> 00:27:18.960 No, the hope of the children of God, 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:20.940 is the resurrection of the body. 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:24.899 That there will be a day, 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:29.480 when our spiritual resurrection is matched by our physical resurrection. 00:27:31.259 --> 00:27:33.599 And we will have perfect glorified bodies. 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:37.660 And in those bodies, 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:38.500 we will serve, 00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:39.420 and we will worship, 00:27:39.740 --> 00:27:40.579 and we will rejoice, 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:42.399 and we will adore God, 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:46.359 and we will enjoy fellowship with him fully. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:50.139 Oh, the glory of that hope. 00:27:52.639 --> 00:27:54.920 Some of you have experienced what it is 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:58.119 to lose a loved one in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:02.759 To stand in the crematorium, 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.660 and watch the curtains close. 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:09.000 Or to stand at the graveside, 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:10.980 as the coffin is lowered into the ground. 00:28:13.399 --> 00:28:15.000 And you've been able to say, 00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:18.019 the Lord Christ is risen. 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:20.500 He is risen indeed. 00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:23.920 And that is a guarantee, 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.619 that one day, 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:28.259 we shall be raised with him. 00:28:28.259 --> 00:28:33.879 It's a guarantee that the places of sorrow and sadness, 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:36.519 will become places of overwhelming joy. 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:39.240 As the Lord comes, 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:39.940 and says, 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:41.400 come you blessed of my father, 00:28:41.539 --> 00:28:43.220 inherit the kingdom prepared for you. 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.920 And all our limitations, 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:47.140 and all our weaknesses, 00:28:47.879 --> 00:28:48.920 and all our struggles, 00:28:49.980 --> 00:28:50.859 and all our rebellion, 00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:52.119 and all our brokenness, 00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:54.879 will be gloriously renewed. 00:28:57.579 --> 00:28:59.039 And we shall reign with him. 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:03.259 And that is the Christian hope. 00:29:05.199 --> 00:29:07.519 That he will change our lowly bodies, 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:08.539 into his glorious body. 00:29:08.539 --> 00:29:13.200 And that is something that our world, 00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:14.339 and it is something that you, 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.759 desperately need to hear, 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:16.379 this morning. 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:19.779 It needs to hear, 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:20.879 who Jesus is. 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:23.720 And it needs to hear, 00:29:23.819 --> 00:29:24.960 what Jesus has done. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.019 And it desperately needs to, 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:30.539 discover the resurrection power, 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:31.299 of Jesus Christ. 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:34.079 And it needs the hope, 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:35.380 that the resurrection brings. 00:29:35.539 --> 00:29:35.779 Because, 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:37.980 if you haven't got that, 00:29:39.120 --> 00:29:41.120 it's a sad, 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:42.079 sad world to live in, 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:42.380 isn't it? 00:29:45.360 --> 00:29:46.420 It would be so sad, 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:47.640 if you were just to drift out, 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:48.960 these doors this morning, 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:49.660 without knowing. 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:53.059 And really having this Jesus, 00:29:53.900 --> 00:29:54.259 risen. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:55.680 reigning. 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:56.980 Coming. 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:00.980 And I pray, 00:30:01.100 --> 00:30:02.380 that he being lifted up, 00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:05.200 may draw you to himself, 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:06.039 in faith this morning. 00:30:07.420 --> 00:30:08.019 Let's pray. 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:08.100 Amen.