1. Three Benefits of Jesus Resurrection
Acknowledgement:
Freddy Fritz (Sermon Central)
Matthew 28 verses 1-10

2. Characteristics of a healthy church
Expository preaching based on the Word of God
Integrated ministry by the Body through the use of spiritual gifts
An evangelical mission
Today’s is an evangelical message

3. Dealing with scepticism
Do you REALLY believe that Jesus rose from the dead?
If not, what are you doing here?
Basis of faith?
If Jesus did not overcome death, what can He offer us?
Paul tells the Corinthians:
“If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men”

4. The Fact is
The resurrection of Jesus is one of the most historically verifiable facts in all of history
Can people scientifically explain it and other apparently inexplicable scriptural events?
As Christians we do not need scientific explanations!!
God’s irrefutable Word tells us that Jesus rose from the dead

5. So we can truly rejoice
He is risen!

6. Three benefits for the believer
Forgiveness for past sins
Power for present living
Hope for future destiny

7. Forgiveness for past sins
The Bible says that “because of our sins Jesus was handed over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God” (Romans 4:25, Good News Translation).
His resurrection assures us:
that Jesus has overcome death
won a great victory for his people
It is the resurrection therefore that makes all the difference and puts us right with God

8. The Cross is only half the story!
Battle of Waterloo (1815)
Duke of Wellington vs Napoleon Bonaparte
Watchers stationed to watch the semaphore signals
“Wellington defeated” – message relayed and nation gripped with discouragement & defeat!
“Wellington defeated the enemy” – discouragement banished & replaced with joy

9. Disciples deflated – they were expecting so much!
Jesus said:
He had come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10),
He came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
He had come so that his people might have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).
Whoever was thirsty—spiritually thirsty—could come to him and be refreshed (John 4:13-14; 6:35; 7:37)
Whoever would follow him would never walk in darkness, but would have the light of life (John 8:12).
He had come to give eternal life to his people (John 10:28).
BUT THEN HE WAS CRUCIFIED!!!

10. The Message rang out! Jesus is defeated! Discouragement & illusionment
The road to Emmaus
But .... Three days later there was a new message
Jesus has defeated the enemy
Jesus had defeated death and the enemy
Rejoice!

11. God’s vindication of Jesus’s work
The resurrection was God’s stamp of approval. The resurrection was God saying, “Jesus, I accept your death as a substitute for guilty sinners.”
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we can be confident that Jesus paid the penalty for all the sin of his people.
If there was one single sin for which he did not die, then he would have never been raised from the dead; he would still be in tomb
His resurrection proves that his death covers every single sin.
We can be confident that God forgives us all our sin
His resurrection guarantees that God will forgive us our sin when we sincerely and wholeheartedly cry out to him for forgiveness
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

12. Forgiveness of ALL past sins
So the first benefit ....
Forgiveness of ALL past sins

13. Power for present living
How do we get through our daily & life challenges?
Things seem to be getting worse!
Promises from God?
Answers to prayer?
Because Jesus is a living Saviour, he is a Saviour who is able to empower us to live each day for him
Jesus’ resurrection guarantees power for daily living.
No matter what difficulty, no matter what trial, no matter what the hardship, Jesus empowers his people for daily living
so that they can say with the apostle Paul, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
Example
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16)

14. Power for present living
Our second benefit ....
Power for present living

15. Hope for future destiny
Because Jesus is alive, we do have hope.
We know that all that he said is true
Those promises WILL come about!
Those prayers WILL be answered in His time
The apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, “By his power God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will raise us also” (1 Corinthians 6:14).
What a magnificent promise that is!
The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will one day raise believers back to life as well!
Jesus said to his disciples (in John 14:1-2) just before he was crucified, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

16. An illustration: Hope for future destiny
Eric Barker – missionary to Portugal during WW2
“My family are safely home”
Notified that the ship carrying his family had been torpedoed and his entire family had drowned
He knew that his family belonged to Jesus and that they were indeed “home”
This is the hope that the resurrection gives to those of us who know Jesus Christ personally as Lord and Saviour. We will be raised back to life and we will find ourselves at home with Jesus in heaven for all eternity

17. Conclusion Three benefits of the resurrection for the believer
Forgiveness of all past sins
Power for present living
Hope for future destiny
Where do you stand on this?
Three simple steps to follow

18. A simple prayer in three steps:
First, you must acknowledge and confess that you are a sinner. You must recognize that your sin has offended Almighty God. You must believe that it was your sin that sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross
Second, you must believe that Jesus died to pay for your sin. You must believe that he paid the full penalty for all your sin. You must put your trust in Jesus alone for the gift of eternal life
And third, you must repent of your sin. Repenting means that you forsake all your sin, everything that offends Almighty God.

19. “How will I know that God has forgiven my sin?”
The Bible says that God will give you an assurance that he has forgiven you.
Personalised: Happens in various ways
I urge you to plead with God for his forgiveness until you know for sure that you have it.
Then you too will joyously sing:
God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.