Victoria Osteen - Live the Resurrection Life
Joel and I were at a restaurant having a lovely dinner one evening. We had been sitting there for a while chatting, but we were ready to go. So we called the waiter over to ask him for our check, and he said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have been over here earlier". He said, "There was a man in the corner booth right there, and he already paid your bill. He paid the tip and all". He said, "You guys are free to go". Joel and I looked at each other and we thought, "Man, that's awesome. That's good news. Somebody paid our bill". But can I tell you today, there's a man who has already paid your bill? He's already canceled your debt. It is paid in full, and his name is Jesus Christ.
See, we've been talking about it all day. It's the Easter message: "It is finished. It is done". He has already created you in his righteousness when you are found in him. He has given you the power of the resurrection. Joel quoted it earlier, "The same power that raised him from the dead is alive in you". You see, you've got resurrection power. God has given you mercy and grace so that you can go in this resurrected life. You are free to go. How do we live this resurrected life? We don't want to just talk about it. We don't want to just come in here on Easter and say, "Yes, Jesus is alive". We want to live the life that he died to give us. We want everything that Jesus died to give us.
Can you imagine if you did something for someone, you labored for someone, you gave it your all, and they weren't interested? You see, Jesus gave it his all because he wanted me and you. He wanted us to be interested. He wanted us to walk in power. So we have to take hold of everything that he took hold for us. The apostle Paul said in Philippians, he said, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold for me". He said, "I have to press".
You see, sometimes it's hard to take hold of the things that are right there in front of you because there are some things that are trying to distract you. There are some things that are trying to act more powerful than what is right there in front of you. Have you ever known what to do but you didn't do it? You just didn't do it. Aren't you glad you're forgiven? Aren't you glad that Jesus gives us second chances? See, there's a pressing. There's a fight of good fight of faith that's involved. Paul said, "I'm not looking back". He says, "I'm pressing forward".
You know, Paul killed Christians before he gave his heart to Christ, before he had that Damascus moment when he was blinded and shown the resurrection of Jesus. Can you imagine the guilt that he had to face when he was coming to these Christian believers and trying to speak the Gospel to them? Can you imagine what that felt like? Have you ever heard, like, in your mind, like, something that's saying that "You can't tell somebody about this, because you've made mistakes"? "You can't share the Gospel. You're not good enough". "Who says you can do that"? Can you imagine that Paul had to press and he had to say, "I'm not settling. I'm not stopping. I'm not looking back. I got a call on my life. I'm going to take hold of everything Christ took hold for me, and I'm moving forward".
You see, that's what you and I are going to have to do. We're going to have to do some pressing. We're going to have to say, "There's some things out there that Jesus did for me, and I'm not letting anything stop me". Paul, he didn't let a shipwreck stop him. He didn't let prison stop him. He let nothing stop him. In fact, when he was in prison, can you imagine, he said, "I'm writing, I'm writing this down so the generations to come can read it. They can hear what the Lord Jesus did for them. They can hear how to live. They can partake of this". See, in prison, he pressed on because he had resurrection power on the inside of him. You see, he left a legacy on this earth, and when you and I take hold of the things Christ has taken hold for us, it is our turn.
We too can leave a legacy to our families. We can make this earth a better place. Hey, don't let the hard stuff stop you. Press on, Jesus is there to help you. His blood is full of power. He's taken away the shame. He's taken away the guilt. If you don't like your past, hey, you can rewrite your future. Don't worry about it. He has set you free to go and live this resurrected life. When Jesus walked the earth, it wasn't easy for him. He didn't stop short. He didn't say, "I'm not interested anymore". He didn't say, "This is too hard".
Listen, he was beaten. He was bruised. He was spit on. It wasn't good. He was denied. He was hung on a cross to die. It wasn't good. It was hard, but on that third day, when he came out of that grave, just like he said he would, hey, he turned that whole thing around, and guess what? It was good. Can I tell you, his plan worked, and his plan is still working in your life? He can turn around what's not good and make it work for your good. You see, it says in Jeremiah 29:11, this is what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. He said: "'I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord. 'they're plans to prosper you, not to harm you. They're plans to give you a future and a hope'", and he went on to say, "Call upon me. If you seek me, you will find me".
You see, his plan was to reconcile our life to his. His plan was to break down that dividing wall between us and God so that we could call upon him, so that he would answer us and show us great and mighty things, but sometimes we stop short because it's difficult, but can I tell you, God can change those difficult things in your life if you'll press on and take hold of all Jesus did for you? You know, sometimes we think we have to pay God back, but can I tell you, there is nothing that you can do to pay God back for giving his only begotten son for you? He exchanged death, your death for his death. Now you can live in eternity, forever and ever with the father.
See, he didn't come just for eternal purposes. He came down to empower you right here on earth. We think we can pay God back, but we could never pay him back for what he's done for us. You know, he didn't die to make us religious. He didn't die so that we could have religious ceremonies, that we could do this, that we could keep this strict rule. He died because he wanted a relationship with us. That's what this death, burial, and resurrection is about today. That's why he said, "My plans are good for you. They're to prosper you, not to harm you. Call upon me". It's an invitation to say, "My plan worked on the cross and it's still working in your life today".
I love what the Psalmist David said in Psalm 116. He said, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that he has given me"? He was saying, "What can I give back to God for everything that he's done for me"? He was prophesying the resurrection and what Jesus would do, and this was his answer: "I will take up the cup of my salvation and call upon his name". What can I give? What I can give is to take what he's done for me and call upon his name.
See, we think we have the price to pay, but Jesus has already paid the price. All we have to do is take hold of it. Listen, when guilt, when condemnation comes knocking at your door, when failure says, "You can't go on, you've made a mess", when things don't look good, I want you to know his plan is still working in your life, and he can take what doesn't look good and turn it around and use it for your good, amen? Call upon his name. Live this resurrected life. Praise God, he is awesome in this place today, amen?