HE IS RISEN! HE’S ALIVE!

Revelation 1:9-20

July 20, 2003am

Key verse: 1:17-18- “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One: I was dead and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Jesus Christ’s resurrection is the centerpiece of the Christian faith and the strength of the Christian’s faith. No other religion in the world can lay claim to a resurrected Savior who offeres the forgiveness of sins and a life that is then freed from the entanglements of sin.

What makes Jesus Christ so different from all other religious leaders throughout history is that Jesus Christ didn’t come into this world to make bad people good. Think about that for a moment. Think about all of his miracles, his teachings and sayings. Consider his life, death and resurrection. Consider the ramifications of all that Jesus said and did.

Jesus did not come to make bad people good. Jesus came to make dead people live. (Ravi Zaccharias) He came so that those dead to God in their transgressions and sin, who were children of wrath, can come alive to God. He came that we might be born again. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

And he is the Living One. And because Jesus is the Living One, we have a hope that is not dead, a faith that is alive and a love that is powerful. Our past is forgiven, our present is sustained and our future is full of hope and glory. Jesus- the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End- tells us not to be afraid and that he holds the keys to death and hell.

But far too often we, the glorious Church, limp our way through life. We tolerate the devil and his schemes, his temptations and his fear. But brothers and sisters, we have redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We are overcomers- not by our power, not by any power of this world or universe but by the blood of Jesus Christ who holds the keys to death and hell.

And this letter of Revelation is not intended to send Christians into fear as I all too often see, but to encourage us to realize that the victory is ours if we will only endure by faith to the end. We will one day experience the full glory of what was won on the cross and out of the tomb.

Today, my friends, I want you to fully realize and understand the truth of Christ’s resurrection. We were bought with a price and that price was Christ’s own precious blood and broken body. Without the resurrection, however, all would not be quiet on the western front. This is the day that I believe God wants to set you free, set this church free, set his people free from the grip of fear, the authority of death and the power of hell.

1. FREEDOM FROM FEAR.

Do you live in fear? Are afraid of dying, losing your retirement, not having enough money, your health going from bad to worse, or any other problems too numerous for me to mention.

You see, satan loves to hold Christians hostage with fear.

a. Faith to do Ministry.

There are churches who fear not having enough financial means to do ministry. So they keep closing in the fences, reducing expenses but at some point the ministry begins to get short-changed. We learn that churches operate in one of three areas: survival, success or significance mode. Ideally we want to minister from the significance mode because it is there that we realize that God’s will is done regardless of costs to us either financially or inidvidually. But when fear grips the Church, the Church begins to back-pedal.

But brothers and sisters, the Bible says that the righteuous will live by faith. And if we as a church are to do ministry are we to do so by faith or by fear? What do you suppose would have the greater positive spiritual results? We have to put greater faith in what God has promised. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Money? God’s got all we need. Power? It’s all his. The problem is that too often we allow fear to control rather than faith. We need faith to do ministry.

b. Faith to Mature.

There are some who fear God the wrong way. There are some Christians and maybe even some of you who believe that if you commit one sin God will cast you aside. Well, I refuse to live in that kind of fear. My God has given me the Spirit of sonship. And yes, I believe that if I were foolish enough and stupid enough I could choose to walk away and reject this great salvation.

However, I am God’s child. I am counted with those who have named Jesus as Lord and Savior. Sure I have failed God and chosen to do the wrong at times. Yes, there are times that my temper has gotten the better of me. But the Holy Spirit has been faithful in speaking to me and calling me on these issues. We will all fail God but do we have a listening ear to the Holy Spirit when we have failed him? That is a sure sign of being God’s child. The Bible says that he disciplines his own. If that is true then it must mean that we as Christians are prone to failures and even sin. Afterall, we are human beings.

Now if you take this as a license to sin then perhaps you were never saved to start with. The intent of having confidence in our salvation is not so that we can sin and get away with it and still go to heaven but so that we can grow and mature in God’s grace. We are his children. Good children honor and respect their parents. And good parents love their children and give them mercy and grace and help them to learn from their mistakes and sin. This is God’s intention so that we can grow and mature in faith. We cannot grow and mature by fear.

Our key verses tell us that Jesus holds the keys to death and Hades. Death we can easily understand as the moment of passing from this life to the next. Death can be described as the end of life. When you die. Jesus Christ has given to all believers and to the Church victory over death.

2. VICTORY OVER DEATH.

Did you know that as believers we have power over death? Jesus Christ has given to us the victory over death.

Jesus died and was raised from the dead on the third day. And listen to me carefully: we do not need to die.

Too many Christians live in the shadow of death rather than walk through it. They allow themselves to come under death’s control. They think they are going to die or they have to live with certain afflictions. And perhaps I may be sounding a little bit crazy but we must not allow death to control our life, our church or our ministry.

Jesus has won victory over death and so now we can claim victory over death. But how do we do this, Pastor Rob? How can I have victory over death?

I am glad you asked.

a. You must believe that you will not die unil your ministry is complete.

I hear, too many times since I have been here, of Christians who just want to die and go home to heaven. And that is understandable. But we must not allow death to control us. It is sin and wrong to do so no matter what our age.

The Apostle wrote these words to the Philippian Church 1:21-25-

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.

Obviously he was torn between going away and being with Christ or staying behind to do ministry. And this is what we must be convinced of: I will not die until my ministry on earth is fulfilled.

And notice the last line on verse 25: I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. That should be your goal as a Christian who may be struggling with this death issue. Trust me, we have faced this issue too many times in our home and as pastors. But the reality for us today is that death must not be allowed to control your ministry. Never, never. You will not die until your work is complete.

b. You will die without fear.

The Christian overcomes death in those final moments by not having any fear of death. They know where they are going. They are confident of their Savior. “O death where is your sting?” Death is overcome by the Christian and we do so with courage and fearlessness.

c. You will not die; you will be raptured.

This is promise that has been given to the church and we watch and wait for that glorious moment when the Church age is ended according to Revelation 4:1 when the Apostle John writes, “After this I looked,” indicating that there is a change in context and subject. Without going into a full discussion on the matter we can confidently know that we could be that generation that overcomes death through the rapture. We are closer now than ever before.

Satan would have you believe that the Christian life is a loser’s life. But we are the winners. We don’t have to fear anything thrown our way because our confidence is in Jesus Christ and we know that we can overcome death. But there is a more formidable enemy that lies in wait against the Church. But God has empowered us through his Spirit to be more than conquerors.

3. JESUS HOLDS THE KEYS

In the Jerusalem Targum, on Genesis 30:22, are these words: “There are four Keys in the hand of God which he never trusts to angel or seraph.

1. The key of the rain;

2. The key of provision;

3. The key of the grave; and

4. The key of the barren womb.”

(Adam Clarke)

So what are we to understand from the term keys?

Jesus holds all the authority and power in all of the universe. Check out Ephesians 4:8-10. In these verses Paul makes very clear to us that from the very ends of all of creation Jesus Christ controls all of the power. And here is the clincher for the believer: We are the beneficiaries of that power.

a. Power to believe.

Sometimes my faith is weak. Sometimes I do struggle to know that God is there and that he is not silent. And yet I can be assured that God hears me and knows who I am. And more than that, I know that God answers prayer. Jesus Christ died so that we can not only be forgiven but so that we can have a life of power- power to believe.

b. Power for protection.

Satan cannot touch you. 1 John 5:18 tells us these words: “The one who was born of God keeps him safe and the evil one cannot harm him.” You are safe from the enemy no matter how desperate the enemy becomes. Nothing will happen to you that God has not already believed and known you will endure for the better.

c. Power to serve.

Let’s face it: the power to serve must come from a higher power than ourselves. We cannot do what God wants us to do. Only the flesh begats the flesh and spirit begats spirit. Therefore we must do spiritual works by spiritual power and when we do we can be assured that as we lay down ourself for God’s work his power will be at work within us. “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

What does this all mean to us as believers in Jesus Christ?

First, we do not need to fear. We have the Spirit of sonship. We are God’s children. You and I and this whole church have been called and we must be convinced of that calling. We are not alone ever. Jesus tells us to not be afraid.

Second, we have victory over death. We do not need to be consumed with death regardless of how death seems to overwhelm us. Do what you have to do to live so that you can be used of God. Go on a diet plan, change your habits, get some excercise. Whatever you do, don’t come under death’s dominion.

Thirdly, stand firm in the faith. All power belongs to Jesus Christ. We need to fear neither today nor tomorrow.

I love the last part of Romans 8:35-39. And it is with these words we will close .