SUPERHEROE S WORD SUPERHEROE S OF THE WORD Co-laborers With God, pt. 2

THE NEED TO BE INSPIRED? “If you tell them to fight, they’ll fight. But they need to be inspired, and let’s face it, “Superman” … the last time you really inspired anyone was when you were dead.” --Batman

AT LAST WEEK’S CONCLUSION… God had become flesh and we beheld His glory. He had been crucified for the sins of the world. He had been placed in the grave. If He’d stayed in the grave we wouldn’t be inspired.

THE SOURCE OF OUR POWER Paul summed up the source of true power to save the world. Romans 1: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

CO-LABORERS WITH GOD As we teach and preach the gospel, we join in saving the world one precious soul at a time. It all depends, though, on what Christ accomplished at Calvary – and additionally AFTER Calvary.

INCARNATE GOD CAME BACK TO LIFE TO REIGN FOREVER Known as the RESURRECTION There is nothing inspiring about a dead Savior. A resurrected Savior, though, brings eternal hope!

JESUS RESURRECTED BY GOD’S POWER “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” – Acts 2:24 Acts 5:30 --The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.

JESUS RAISED NEVER TO DIE AGAIN Romans 6:9-10 – “…knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”

REVELATION 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

IS THERE EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION? Matthew 28:1-8 Women who saw the burial returned to the same tomb to find it empty. Guards who had been posted had fled in terror. Angel spoke to the women and sent them to the disciples. Guards reported and were paid off to lie.

LUKE 24:13-32 Emmaus bound disciples. Talk to Jesus for some time and hear the gospel from Him. Sit down to a meal with Him and realize who He is. He vanishes. They return even though it is night to tell the disciples.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8 “ 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, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

WHY IS THE RESURRECTION IMPORTANT? 1 Corinthians 15:16-24 If the dead are not raised, Christ wasn’t raised. Our faith is worthless. We are still in our sins. The dead will stay dead. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep….” By which we are added to the kingdom of God.

INCARNATE GOD WAS GLORIFIED The Ascension/Glorification Jesus had to return to Heaven to open the way for us. Otherwise, He was nothing more than a man and we still would not be inspired.

EYEWITNESSES TO THE ASCENSION Acts 1:9-11 – “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

ACTS 9:3-6 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.”

ACTS 7:55 “But being full of the Holy Spirit, [Stephen] gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God….” Stephen saw the resurrected and glorified Jesus enthroned in heaven.

WHY IS THE GLORIFICATION IMPORTANT? Hebrews 1: And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

HEBREWS 7:25-26 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens…

1 TIMOTHY 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus….” Christ intercedes. Christ mediates. Christ reigns. Christ inherits.

WE PREACH THIS BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE We can’t help it! Acts 4:19-20 – “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

WE HAVE A COMMAND TO DO SO Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit….”

THE LOST NEED THE WORD 2 Corinthians 2:15 – “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing….” Would you be a superhero to someone else? Teach them the gospel!

WE ARE CO-WORKERS WITH GOD! 2 Timothy 1:8 – “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God….”