Ep 76 – The Resurrection
- Genres:Preaching & Teaching, Tom Mahairas
Ep 76 – The Resurrection
okay Vicki and I have been looking at the facts of the prophecies concerning the triumphal entry and the resurrection of jesus christ and come and join us as we study this subject Hi there and we are excited to get into this study because this is one of my favorite subjects, if not the favorite subject in my life. First of all, my greek name is Anastasios, which means the resurrection, so tom they call me tom but that’s not my real name, although Tom and Vicky has been the way you know us, but I was baptized Anastasios in Greece, in Thessaloniki and it means the resurrection anna again, Stassi is to stand and I remember easter was we call it in greek pascal, the passion, the pascal which we get pascal lamb from the Passover and I remember that that time in my life Vicki with all kinds of red and blue and green eggs, I believe the bakery and the all the cakes and looking for, we have traditions in the greek Orthodox church that make this time of year, so exciting to me. But today we’re gonna look at the scriptures, we’re gonna go deep into the bible and find out what the bible has to say about the pass over the passion, the pasqua which they called easter in in english, but we’re dealing with the resurrection, the resurrection of jesus christ, I don’t know the images that come to your mind as a little girl as you were growing up. But what are they? Chocolate, easter bunny rabbit and he had to have, he had to have solid ears. So it was a cheap chocolate, it was a cheap chocolate. So eating that easter bunny with the, with the solid chocolate ears. I lived for that day. I loved it. Okay, I am a recovering chocoholic Vicky loves also ice cream, I might add. Okay, we’re getting into now the resurrection. Let’s look at this incredible study Vicky, It says in Philippians 3 10, we’re going right to the epistles and not really to the uh gospel account, because this has made such an impact on my life. I want to go to Philippians 3 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection And the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. This is Philippians chapter three and verse 10. Uh, there’s there’s an amazing amount of insight that uh, we can say about the word that I may know him. This is really, really important his person. And I repeated this in this graphic, to know him, to know his power to know his passion, to know his purpose and really what for me the way it’s changed in my life as when I became a believer and evangelical believer, a believer in the scriptures, not just in the traditions and not just in the holiday, but really to believe that jesus christ, the man died on the cross for our sins that he is the messiah that he was buried and three days later, physically bodily, he arose again from the dead. And the thing that made it different from me is this personal relationship aspect of it, that it went from traditions and holidays and food and celebration like that to a person. So what about yourself? Definitely the same for me that I was 18 when I accepted christ as my savior and I went from uh just showing up at church or sometimes my parents sent me and I didn’t go, I would go to the candy store and hang out and went to the candy store yet. I would have an ice cream soda with my friend or something. I, you know, I didn’t really like going to church. Um it was just, it just was really kind of meaningless to me. There wasn’t like anybody really speaking, it was just repeating the same thing every week, liturgy, liturgy tradition a form, but the power somehow the power was missing. And I didn’t really read the bible, I don’t think I was taught to really read the bible when I was younger. So, so this versus scripture. This versus scripture is amazing because it’s personal. It says that I may know him, you know, paul is talking about his relationship with jesus, but that we can say this when we come to that relationship with him, that I Vicki may know him and I may know the power of his resurrection and I may know the fellowship of his sufferings because he’s a God of great comfort and to die to myself, Vicky being conformed to his death. So it’s very personal to me. So, you know the fact that he rose from the dead Vicki uh tells us that what he died for as a sacrifice for our sin, the lamb of God, this, this lamb of God, this paschal lamb died on the cross for our sins, shed his blood. And because of that, you know, our sins are forgiven. But how do we know that? Because of the power of his resurrection? That’s how we know that, to know him and to know his person, his power, his passion and his purpose. Let’s go to the next slide here. We’re gonna read it in that context from the top, if you’ll read it for us. Finally, my brethren rejoice harrow in the Lord to say to write the same things again is no trouble to me. And it is a safeguard as far as felice, the alpha primitive not and swallow totter or cast down for you. Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evil workers. Beware of the false circumcision for we are the true circumstances. Decision who worship in the spirit of God and glory in christ, jesus and put no confidence or the root of faith. We put no faith or confidence in the flesh. Yeah, paul says, although I might have confidence, even I myself might have confidence even in the flesh and he’s gonna now brag his bragging rights. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more circumcised. The eighth day of the nation of Israel. These are his credentials of the tribe of Benjamin where the first king came from. That tribe saw a hebrew of the hebrews as to the law of pharisee, as the zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness, which is in the law found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me now, all these things that he just enumerated, I have counted as lost for the sake of christ. So it’s not in his birth rights and religious uh station or the sect that he belonged to or the things that he did in the flesh to show how good he is. The laws that he kept. Just an amazing list here. But all of this, he says, I are rubbish. I count them at a loss in order to win christ. Because if I put confidence in that, I don’t put confidence in jesus christ, any comment. Well, in the hebrew line, your bloodline was really important. Sure. But in the gospel line, God brings it to anybody from any tribe, any nation, any family, any background. We don’t have to go back to look to ourselves, anything from ourselves that’s all about christ. The only thing he puts focus on is whether we believe it for ourselves and that’s the thing that we read right before this more than that he says, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing christ, jesus, my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. I count them but rubbish garbage so that I may gain christ and may be found in him not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in christ, the righteousness which comes from the, from God on the basis of faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death in order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead. So this whole, this whole context is talking about all these things that he was putting confidence in and now all of a sudden is shifting his confidence and he puts all of it In Jesus Christ just fabulous, you know, he was boasting of all these things, the Bible tells us in Jeremiah nine, not to boast in certain things. Pick it up. Thus says the Lord, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this that he understands and knows me so ya is the yacht is the hebrew word and unesco is the greek word, you know like people say yada, yada to know me that I am the Lord who exercises loving kindness, justice. Righteousness on the earth. For I delight in these things, declares the Lord. So God clearly is showing us, hey, you know what, Don’t put confidence in your wisdom. Don’t put confidence in your money. Don’t put confidence in your strength. Don’t put literally don’t put confidence in your own attainment and accomplishments and righteousness but put confidence in the Lord our God. So we were identifying the word to know, you know school here Vicky you can pick it up properly to know especially through personal experience. First hand, acquaintance experientially. No is used in this sense for example, in Luke 130 for and mary a virgin said to the agent angel, how will how will this be? Since I do not know unesco sexual intimacy with a man. So it’s a very personal knowing. And in Genesis 4 1 and Adam knew in the seP two urgent Moscow’s sexual intimacy with Eve, his wife and she conceived and bare cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Yes. So this word to know is the same word to have sexual intimacy with with a man and a woman. And in contrast evil typically focuses on objective self evident knowing as it results from observation, absolute knowing in the sense it does not require personal relationship to what who is doing the knowing. The experiential personal knowing conveyed by UNESCO is only defined by the individual context, Romans 8 28 for instance. And we know either that that is talking about intuitive knowledge that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. So we don’t have to experientially know that God loves us because we know intuitively God who is holy, who is cannot lie, who is righteous, who is love loves us because intuitively, he he put it in in the human being that he created, that God loves us. Unlike me though, the greek perfect tense, you know, school is significant because it expresses a complete knowing that is ongoing results. This personal knowledge acquired by first hand experience then continues on in terms of its effect, said the the commentator archer and the power of his resurrection. That is the typical word for power, Denham is if you could pick it up, Vietnamese to be able and have ability, properly able ability to perform for the believer power to achieve through the Lord’s inherent ability and power, we have power over sin over satan over death and the grave. This is an amazing statement that paul is making here in Philippians chapter three And verse 10 that I may know him and we’ll come back to that and the Vietnamese. So you know him experientially through my repentance, through my hearing, that he is the messiah that he died on the cross, that he was buried, that he arose from the dead and then to apply what he did on that cross to myself. And the power of not only his death as a sacrifice, he has a propitiate a shin, but that he physically bodily arose again from the dead, which proves that he has power over sin and over satan and over death and over the grave. This is the power of the resurrection. No greater power in the universe, Vicki. And that’s what makes Christianity so incredible. Buddha didn’t rise from the dead. Uh you know, no Earthly leader has risen from the dead. Jesus is the only one. Confucius didn’t rise from the dead, Mohammed did not rise from the dead. Jesus is the only one. He stands unique by himself, risen from the dead. He’s the only God man. He’s the only God man power over the grave Acts chapter one verses one through a this is a phenomenal passage of scripture Vicky. So I’ll let you read it. It’s uh the title is Alive by many convincing proofs. The first account I composed theophilus about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up to heaven after he had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom he had chosen to these. He also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs tech Marion. It’s the only place found in the Bible. It’s the only word, they’re convincing proofs keep going, appearing to them over a period of 40 days. And speaking of the things concerning the Kingdom of God now, that’s amazing. Most people don’t know that Jesus remained and spoke after his death and resurrection With his disciples for 40 days. Yeah, and he and he had uh there’s, there’s more to this scripture that this word tech median coming from a mark or a sign, a sure sign is evidence. It’s proof. It’s a sure sign that Jesus Christ rose again and the way the way that luke who wrote this uh acts of the apostles, the way he wrote it was that he’s a doctor, he’s very precise, he’s very meticulous and even in pulpit commentary it says that technical meaning of tech media in Aristotle is a demonstrative proof as opposed to a similar, which leaves room in some ways for doubt and in medical writers, which is important as regards ST luke. The tech medium is the infallible symptoms that ST luke by the use of the word here undoubtedly means to express the certainty of the conclusion based on those proofs appearing on to them, jesus appeared to the disciples and they were witnesses in Acts chapter 3 18 in Acts chapter 17 3 in Acts chapter 26 23 they will witnesses of his resurrection. Now look at these appearances, maybe you can just go down the list, He appeared to Mary Magdalene in John 2011 through 18 to the other women in Matthew 288 through 10 to Peter Luke 24 34 To the 10 disciples Luke 24 36 and John 2019 2 11 including thomas john 2026 at his ascension luke 24 Acts 14, he also appeared to the disciples on the road to me is in luke 24 13 through 25 notice where these are, you know, this is in judea in Mia’s and then you have, he appeared in galilee and Matthew 28 16 through 20 and john 21 way up there in galilee john 21 he appeared uh in galilee and then 500 people saw him in first Corinthians 15 6. I mean these are all convincing proofs, you get 500 people to see someone after he died. You know, he was dead buried for three days and then rose again from the dead and 500 people collaborated this and this is incredible. Then he appeared to James, his half brother, first Corinthians 15 7, then to all the apostles and last of all he appeared to meet Paul says in uh in the Book of Acts and here to Paul on the road to Damascus Acts nine verses one through six and then later on he gives a testimony in 18 9 and 10. So this is these are all the places now in Acts 18, we have witnesses in Acts 1 28 you’ll see each one of them beginning with the baptism of john until the day of of he was taken up from us. One of these must become a witness. Every one of these verses talk about a witness of what of his resurrection. So Acts 18, Acts 1 28 Acts 2 32 witnesses of that God raised him up. Acts 3 15, Acts 3 30 to every one of these verses, We are witnesses. Acts chapter 10:39 through 43 of all the things he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem and how he rose again from the dead and acts 1331 And for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. The very ones who are now his witnesses to the people. You read the next one, Vicki acts 20-15 for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. Acts 26 16, but get up and stand on your feet for this purpose. I have appeared to you to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you. So that is it. So you see the whole book of acts was really a witness of the fact that jesus died was buried Rose again and now they’re going out as it says in Acts 18 go and and as your power is gonna come upon you and you’re gonna be my witnesses of what happened, how I died, how I was buried, how I arose from the dead both and that word is both and in Jerusalem in judea and samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth that was the beginning of the church. And so he was so excited that we could actually talk about the main proof. The main proof was that the witnesses tell about jesus christ being alive and actually going to their death. Many of them for that testimony until the next time join us in this study on the resurrection. The resurrection of jesus christ is in all the gospels. Matthew, Mark luke and john and of course all throughout the Book of acts and explained in the epistles, I love the the explanation in Philippians 3 10 that it gives us to know him and the power of his resurrection. The fellowship of his sufferings being made even confirmable onto his death. We studied that with Vicki. But right now what I’d like to do is go back to the old testament and look at the plagues that God gave to Egypt because they would not let the people go, pharaoh was hardened And there were 10 plagues and what was the purpose of these plagues. It was to let the Egyptians know pharaoh look what it says, The Lord said to moses see I make you as a god to pharaoh. And your brother Aaron shall be to you as a prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And your brother Aaron shall speak to pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of this out of his land. But I will harden pharaoh’s heart. That I may multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. When pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring out my hosts, my people, the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt. My great judgment, the Egyptian shall know that I am the Lord, that’s the key. And when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their myths. So God Punish them with these 10 plagues and every plague was to knock down and destroy their confidence in their gods. The first plague was turning the Nile to blood. That was a judgment against a peace. The God of the Nile which was in the form of an oxen because that was the fertility and the and the harvest and the life of the whole nation was the Nile. And uh God turned the Nile into blood and then the second play was bringing frogs from the Nile. That was a judgment against Hecate. The frog headed god goddess of birth. Hecate noticed the ugliness of these gods. And then the third plague was the nats was a judgment on set. The God of the desert. The fourth plague was the flies was the judgment on you to ship. The fly god can’t even pronounce that name. Every one of these are idols and and and wicked and God a pours in and one of the reasons God told moses how he hated idolatry. The fifth plague, The death of livestock was a judgment on the goddess Hafer and the God of peace. Again, both of these gods and the sixth plague were the boils was a judgment against several gods over health and disease segment and Isis. The seventh plague hails attacked uh nut, the sky goddess Osiris, the crop fertility god and set the storm god Every one of these. The 8th plague was the locust against, focused again, focused on nut Osiris and set the latter crops of the Nile. And then the ninth plague was darkness and was aimed at the sun God ra ra And then you had the final plague. The 10th plague. The death of the firstborn males was a judgment on Isis, the protector of Children And of course the firstborn, both of the firstborn of the people and of the animals died. Unlike the other plagues, which the illustrates survived by virtue of their identity as God’s people. This plague required an act of faith by them. The last plague God commanded each family to take an unblemished male lamb and kill it. The blood of the lamb was to be smeared on top of the sides of their doorways and the lamb was to be roasted and eaten that night. Any family that did not follow God’s instructions would suffer. In the last plague, God describes how he would send the Destroyer through the land of Egypt with orders to slay the firstborn male in every household, whether human or animal, the only protection was the blood of the lamb on the door. When the destroyer saw the blood, he would pass over that house and leave it untouched. Exodus 1223 says, for the Lord will pass through the to smite the Egyptians when he sees the blood on the Lintel and on the two door posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. This is where the term passover comes from. The death angel would passover Passover as a memorial of that night. In ancient Egypt when God delivered his people from bondage First Corinthians 57 teaches that jesus became our Passover clean out the old level so that you may be a new lump just as you are in fact unleavened for christ. Our passover also has been sacrificed such a powerful verse in First Corinthians Chapter 5: verse seven when he died when he died to deliver us from the bondage of sin. While the Israelites found God’s protection in their homes, every other home in the land of Egypt experienced God’s wrath as their, as their loved ones died. You see how they would put the blood over the door post, making it almost in the sign of the cross. And this is jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and we have to talk to him and cry out to him for mercy. And today right now, if you will realize that God is a living god, jesus christ bled and died on that cross as the lamb of God, the lamb, the passover lamb pasqua, the pass over judgment of this angel who came to slay that that death and that destruction would pass over your life and you will not experience that because of the blood of jesus christ upon your life. All you have to do is put the blood there. It doesn’t matter whether you were, you were clean or dirty. If you were in that house whether you were evil or if you had tried to be the best you could. It doesn’t matter male or female. It doesn’t matter rich or poor. It doesn’t matter as long as you were in the house with the blood on the door post, the death angel passed over and did not bring judgment to that household Right now, you can ask the blood of christ to come on your heart and on your mind and on your life, Say Father God, thank you for the blood of jesus. I want to accept that sacrifice for my sins. I believe he died for me and rose from the dead. Please forgive me and come into my heart and save me in jesus name. I hope you do that, my friend, God bless you, have a great night.