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Jeff Schreve - From Death to Life


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    Jeff Schreve - From Death to Life
    Jeff Schreve - From Death to Life
TOPICS: Resurrection, Easter

But here’s the big, big question on Easter Sunday. Has the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ truly changed your life? We can talk about the resurrection of Jesus and that’s a fact of history. But has that impacted your life? Has that changed your life? Now, how do you know that you’re truly a Christian? The way that you know that you’re truly a Christian that you truly come into a personal relationship with Jesus, is your life changes. My testimony as a 17-year-old high school senior, when I gave my life to Christ, and I didn’t understand a lot about what that exactly meant, but my life could not stay the same. Why? Because the God of the universe came to live inside of me. And when the God of the universe comes to live inside of you, He changes you, you’re under new management, and the old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.

So, has the life-changing gospel really changed your life? I want to share with you three truths for this Easter Sunday morning. Three truths about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Truth number one, the gospel of Jesus Christ is often misunderstood. So many people don’t understand what the gospel is. They say, «Well, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that’s doing good to the poor». No, that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. «Oh, no, no, the gospel of Jesus Christ is loving your neighbor as yourself». No, that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. «Well, well, the gospel of Jesus Christ is letting your light shine among men». No, that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s not that those things are bad. Those things are good. But that’s not the gospel. Paul defines the gospel in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and he says this: «Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel».

Euangelion in the Greek. It means good news. «I make known to you the good news which I preach to you, which also you received in which also you stand by which also you are saved if you hold fast the Word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures». That is the gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

So how do we understand the gospel? Because the devil is gonna try and work to confuse you about the gospel. Understand that Jesus came to Earth to die as a sacrifice for sin. That was His purpose for coming. And you say, «Well, Jesus came to heal the sick». Well, He did that but that wasn’t His purpose for coming. «Jesus came to raise the dead». Well, He did that, but that wasn’t His purpose for coming. «Jesus came to cleanse the leper». Well, He did that, but that wasn’t His purpose for coming. «He came to feed the multitudes with the little kid’s lunch». He did that, but that wasn’t His purpose for coming. His purpose for coming, he says in Mark 10:45: «For even the Son of Man did not come to be served». Why did I come? «But to serve and to give His life a ransom for many».

To give His life on the cross: That was His purpose for coming. In John chapter 1, verse 29, John the Baptist, you remember John the Baptist had a huge ministry. Everybody came to John the Baptist. But John the Baptist said, «When Jesus came on the scene, He must increase and I must decrease». And he pointed the way to Jesus. And he said, «Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world». That was His purpose, to take away the sin of the world, to die as a sacrifice for your sin, for my sin, for our sin, for the sins of the whole world.

So of first importance is the gospel. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, but He didn’t stay dead. He was buried and then He rose again from the dead. And Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death and hell. Now it said He did that, rose on the third day. Some people have a real hard time with that. And they say, «Ah, the math doesn’t work. You know, I’ve added it up, the hours. It doesn’t work». You gotta remember how the Jews thought. Any part of the day constitutes a day. So Jesus died at 3 p.m. on Friday at the exact time that the priest would slit the throats of the Passover lambs. That’s when He died. And He breathed His last and said, «It is finished. Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit,» and He died.

And they took Him off the cross, and they put Him in the tomb. He was in the tomb before 6 o’clock. Remember, 6 o’clock. Their days are not like ours. We mark ours from 12 to 12. They marked theirs from 6 to 6. So that was 6 p.m. is a new day. So Jesus is in the tomb by 5 p.m., which is Friday. He’s in the tomb at 6 p.m., all of Saturday. Well, Sunday begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday is Sunday. He’s in the tomb on Sunday. He’s in the tomb for 3 days because any part of a day constitutes a day. Well, on Sunday morning, early, He rises from the dead and He conquered death and hell. Now John, the Gospel writer and the revelator in the Book of Revelation, he’s exiled on the Island of Patmos. The year is about 95 AD and he sees the resurrected, glorified Jesus.

And John said, «When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man». And then this is what Jesus said to him: «Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I’m alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades». He conquered death, He conquered Hades or hell. He’s the only one to have ever done that. You know, there are other people in the Bible who died and Jesus raised them from the dead. I can think of three. You have Jairus’s daughter, the little 12-year-old girl. She was freshly dead. She was still warm to the touch, but she had died. Don’t trouble the teacher anymore, your daughter has died. But Jesus raised her from the dead.

The second person He encountered who was dead was the widow from Nain, N-A-I-N, a little town called Nain, and they were having the funeral procession. This guy was cold and dead and Jesus stopped the funeral procession, touched the casket and, boom, he was made alive. Then the third guy. So you have warm and dead, you have cold and dead, and you have Lazarus. He is stinking dead. He’s been dead for 4 days. Jesus raised him from the dead. And all three of those folks died again. Jesus is the only one who died and rose again and He’s alive for evermore. And He has the keys of death and of hell. So we can rejoice in that.

And so where does the gospel go from there? Jesus offers eternal life to all who will repent and believe. That’s the gospel. Jesus died for your sins, my sins, our sins. He was buried. He rose again from the dead. He conquered death, hell, and the grave, and He offers eternal life forever in heaven with Him, abundant life right here on this earth, right now, for all those who will simply repent, that means turn from the way you’re going and believe. Turn from sin, turn from self, and turn to Him and believe. Eternal life is not something you earn. You can’t earn it. «For by grace, you’ve been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any man should boast». It’s not something you earn. It’s something you receive by faith. It says in Acts 4:4: «Many of those who heard the message believed and the number of men came to be about 5000».

Now, I can preach all about the Resurrection. I can preach the gospel that Jesus died for you. It’s very personal. «The promise is for you and your children and all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself,» Acts chapter 2, and it can be personal to you. But the question is, have you personally received it? So many people come to church at Easter time, and they’ve never received it. They wear the cross on their neck, but they don’t wear it in their heart. What was the testimony that Brian just gave us when one of the dear ladies, Miss Grayson who got baptized. She was on a mission trip. She was telling people about Jesus and she realized, «I don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus,» and she gave her heart to Christ.

Hey, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 2, «For indeed, we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the Word they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard it». What is the ingredient that gets you to heaven? How do you receive Christ? By faith. By faith. You put your puny little hand of faith in God’s great big hand of grace and He pulls you up from the pit, so to speak, and puts your feet on a rock, making your footsteps firm. So the gospel of Jesus Christ, often misunderstood, and how do we get it confused? We think it’s related to works. We think we work for it. We’re gonna earn our way to heaven. No, you won’t. If it is by grace, Romans 11, verse 6, for if it is by grace, the unmerited favor of God, it is no longer on the basis of works.

Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. The moment that you add any works to grace, you destroy the whole concept of grace. It’s all of grace. And we put our faith and trust in God’s grace. So often misunderstood. Second truth: The gospel of Jesus Christ is always disturbing to the world. Now, in the book of Acts, such a great book, you know, Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and he also wrote the book of Acts. In seminary, you’ll take a class that’s called Luke-Acts because same author, and Luke tells us what Jesus began to do and teach and then he tells in Acts, we call it the Acts of the Apostles. It’s the acts of Jesus through the apostles, what happened after Jesus ascended to heaven.

So Acts chapter 1, Jesus is with the disciples. Remember He was with them for about 40 days, right at 40 days, and He was talking to them and teaching them, and He proved to them, the Bible says «with many convincing proofs» that He was really resurrected from the grave. They knew that. I mean, they saw Him, they touched Him, they ate with Him, they talked to Him. Remember, Thomas wouldn’t believe: «Unless I see the nail prints and put my finger in the nail prints and put my hand in His side, I will not believe». And Jesus appeared to Thomas. We call him Doubting Thomas. And Thomas saw and He said, «Go ahead, Thomas. Put your fingers in My hands, put your hand in My side. Be not unbelieving but believing». And Thomas said, «My Lord and my God».

Thomas ended up getting killed for his faith in Christ because he knew that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. So, many convincing proofs. And Jesus told these guys, «Listen, you stay in Jerusalem until you receive the promise of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit». And so, they were gonna wait. He’s gonna come in just 10 days. And so, they waited. Acts chapter 2, what happens? The day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes and these guys are filled, 120 believers in that Upper Room. They are now filled with the Holy spirit. It’s not that the Holy Spirit just came upon them. The Holy Spirit came to live inside of them. And Peter, the same guy who denied Jesus three times, all of a sudden now, he stands up and he delivers a sermon that is powerful and is pointed and calls people out and calls people to repentance.

And people respond and 3000 were saved and baptized. And then Acts chapter 3, what do you have? You have Peter and John and they’re going up to the temple to pray at the hour of prayer which is 3 o’clock, and they go to pray and there’s this beggar there. He’s been crippled from his mother’s womb. He’s 40 years old. And they just, they would put him there every day. Well, take him to the the gate called Beautiful and let him beg because he can’t do anything else. And so he’s begging there and Peter sees him and says, «Look at us». And so he looks toward Peter and John, and Peter says, «Silver and gold we don’t have. But what we do have we give to you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk».

And this guy who has never walked in his whole life, 40 years old with dead limbs and shriveled up muscles, and all of a sudden he takes him by the hand, he raises him up and his legs are strengthened, and all of a sudden he’s walking and leaping and praising God. And that creates a big stir, as you can imagine. This is in the temple area where that happened. And all of a sudden the people are like, «Wow, this is awesome. This is incredible». And Peter says, «Let me tell you how this happened. It’s not through me, it’s not through John. It’s through the name of Jesus, God’s Son». And then he preaches the gospel and he says, you know who Jesus was. He was the one, the Messiah, and you asked for Barabbas instead of Jesus. You traded the Son of God for a murderer and you crucified the Prince of life.

Man, these are like, «Wow, that’s so pointed, that hurts». But he says, «Listen, repent therefore and return in order that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord». He’s preaching all this stuff, preaching the Resurrection of Jesus. And then the chief priests and the temple guard and the religious leaders that oversaw what happened at the temple, they got wind of it.

Acts chapter 4, verse 1: «And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the message believed and the number of the men came to be about 5000 and it came about on the next day that the rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem». That’s the Sanhedrin. «And Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, 'By what power, or in what name, have you done this? '»

They were greatly disturbed. And see, here’s the thing, this is why it’s always disturbing to the world: because people hate to be exposed for their sin and false beliefs. They just hate it. This is what Jesus said in John chapter 3. «And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world. And men love the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested,» shown, «as having been wrought,» or done or accomplished, «in God».

Hey, sinners are like roaches. You turn the light on and you have a room that has roaches in it, as soon as the light comes on, they are going to scurry away into the darkness. They don’t want to be exposed. And Jesus was the light of the world. And he said, you know, in order to come to Him, you have to come to the light. You have to let your sin be exposed. Well, the Sadducees didn’t want that. The chief priest didn’t want that. The religious leaders didn’t want that. So many people don’t want that. They don’t wanna be exposed for their sin and false beliefs. And they will often respond violently to the good news of Jesus. The gospel is always disturbing to the world. Why? Because it calls men out and women out and boys out and girls out that they’re sinners and what kind of sinners? Helpless, hopeless sinners. That’s the only kind of sinner that there is.

And so, people want to feel good about themselves. «So I’m a pretty good person. I’m a self-made man. Look what I’ve done. I’ve, really, you know, have a great name in the community and I’m moral and I’m upstanding». You’re a sinner on the highway to hell without Jesus Christ. That’s what the gospel tells us. It’s bad news that leads us to the good news. And people say, «Well, where do you get off saying that»? I’m not getting off anywhere. I didn’t write the Bible. I’m just telling you what it says. I’m the delivery boy. Get mad at the author. Don’t get mad at me. People get upset. «Well, I don’t want to believe that». Well, you can believe whatever you want, but there’s a way that seems right to a man and the end thereof is the way of death. It’s important to believe the truth.

And as we see today, truth is hate to those who hate the truth. And there are many today who hate the truth, who hate the true God, who hate the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it’s often misunderstood. It’s always disturbing to the world. And thirdly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is what really matters in life. Someone has well said, «If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then what really matters»? Nothing really matters. «But if Jesus did rise from the dead, nothing else really matters because God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead».

And when they bring Peter and John and the guy that was crippled for his whole life, they bring 'em and they put 'em in the middle of this august assembly and it’s very intimidating. And they asked the question, verse 7, it’s just teeing it up for Peter. «And when they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, 'By what power, or in what name, have you done this? What authority do you have to do what you’re doing? ' Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them». Now watch this. Jesus had told these guys, «And when they arrest you and deliver you up, don’t be anxious about what you will say for the Lord by His spirit, will give you the words to say. It’s not you who speak, but it’s the Holy Spirit who will speak through you». And these are words from the Holy Spirit, spoken through Peter.

«Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, '» can you imagine being on trial for that? How dare you heal that man? «If we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved».

Can you imagine you are an uneducated fisherman? You get in front of all these muckety mucks, and it’s intimidating. These are the same guys that condemned Jesus to death. And Peter is the guy when the slave girl said, «You’re one of His disciples». «Oh no, I’m not. I don’t know anything about Him,» and he cursed and swore and said he didn’t even know the man when a little servant girl asked him a question. Now he’s before all the highfalutin elders and rulers of the people and he stands tall. He stands up as a soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ and he boldly lets 'em have it. Listen, Christians are called to be bold witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 1:8: «You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses». And we’re to be bold witnesses. Those are witnesses who speak up and stand up and, as the song says, «Stand up, stand up for Jesus, you soldiers of the cross». We speak the truth in love. They were very bold for Jesus Christ. And we’re called not only to be bold for Jesus, we’re called to make the message crystal clear. Crystal clear. There is salvation in no one else. You don’t get to heaven through your Judaism. You don’t get to heaven through your religion. There’s salvation in no one else for there’s no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. The name of Jesus. That’s the only way you get to heaven.

There’s no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. We need to make the message crystal clear, and here’s the thing. And Quinn did a great job with this. Listen, all of us have feet of clay. Every Christian has feet of clay. No one has arrived in the Christian life. I don’t stand up here and say, «Hey, I have it all together. I never make a mistake. I’m just this perfect guy». I’m not. I’m just a guy like you’re a guy. And my wife is a girl like you’re a girl and we’re just human beings, right? We struggle with the same things. But here’s the difference. A Christian is gonna look to Jesus and bring all the struggles to Jesus and say, «Lord, I need You, as we cried out, as we sang those songs. I need You, Lord, change me from the inside out. Help me, help me to respond in a way that’s pleasing to You. I don’t have what it takes. You have what it takes».

That’s why Jesus said, what do we do? John 15, «Abide in Me. I am the vine, My Father is the vine dresser. You are the branches. You have to abide in Me. And if you abide in Me, My life flows through you. If you don’t abide in Me, apart from Me you can do nothing». Zip, nada. We need Him every second of every hour. And so, Christians are called to make the message crystal clear and we’re called to be faithful until death. Jesus said in Revelation chapter 2, verse 10, «Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life».

Listen, I don’t know where you are today, but I know at Easter time, lots of people come. They have the cross on their neck, but they don’t have a cross in their heart. We don’t want you to leave this place without knowing for certain that you belong to Jesus Christ. And how do you know? Your life is changed. You can’t be the same anymore.
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