Benefits

because of Jesus Resurrection

Pastor Kim J. Alexander














2016, Kim J. Alexander. All rights reserved.

Layout and Design by Kim J. Alexander

Unless otherwise identified all Scripture quotations in this
publication are taken from The Holy Bible: New King
James Version (NKJV), Copyright 1997 by BB.
KIRKBRIDGE BIBLE CO., INC, all rights reserved.

Few people seem to realize that the

resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone to a
worldview that provides the perspective to all
of life. Josh McDowell

his Resurrection Day I want to answer the question:

Whats so great about the Resurrection? I purposely
decided that I was not going to preach a sermon to defend
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This will not be an
apologetic message. I decided that what I wanted to do this
Resurrection day was to share with you as a follower of Jesus
Christ the benefits of Christs Resurrection.

Before we jump in to this message, lets take a look into the
word of God. We read in I Corinthians 15:12-19,


Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the
dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection
of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is
empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false
witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised
up Christ, whom He did not raise upif in fact the dead do not
rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if

Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most
pitiable.

This passage of Scripture tells us that the RESURRECTION of
Jesus Christ is fundamental to all that we believe.

I want to share with you twelve (12) important reasons why the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ matters. I am going to use the word,
RESURRECTION as an acrostic and provide you with twelve
reasons why the RESURRECTON of Jesus Christ is so great. Are
you ready to receive them? Here they are:

I. Redemption

Because of the death (shed blood), burial, and RESURRECTION
of Jesus Christ, we have been purchased; bought out of the slave
market of sin. The biblical word is: Redemption. Here is what the
Bible teaches us about our redemption. We read,

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
(Ephesians 1:7)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood
He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained
eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
About fourteen years ago a couple with their their children
came to SLBC for the first time. They pulled into the church
parking lot, and walked slowly up the stairs and into the church.
They shared with me that they were afraid, and didnt know
what to expect. Jim and Margie Sowers, two wonderful and
godly saints greeted them as they crossed through the threshold
of the church doors. The four of them sat through the sermon,
intently listening to the gospel message about Jesus
resurrection. Before the service closed they gave their hearts
and life to Jesus Christ. They were redeemed that day. I am
speaking about Kelly and Stacey Thiel. Happy Spiritual birthday
to the two of you.

The hymn writer penned these words,

Redeemedhow I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.

Resurrection Sunday is all about redemption. We have been
purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and the
RESURRECTION is proof that God the Father accepted the
ultimate sacrifice of His Son. Paid in Full.

II. Eternity


Here is a second reason why the RESURRECTION is so great. We
receive ETERNAL LIFE! There are a lot of Christians who do not
fully grasp the concept of eternity. Many believe that eternity
starts when you die, but the truth is that eternity starts at the
moment of you believe. When you place your faith and trust in
Jesus Christ for personal salvation, it is right then and there that
eternity begins for you. I started my eternity on Nov. 14, 1976!!!

For the believer ETERNITY is not something you wait to receive;
it is something that you already possess. It is very important that
we grasp this, for it does change the way we live. We are to be
living in the presence of eternity.

Many people know this verse, but please listen to it as I read it
again,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Open your own Bible to this great Bible verse, and underline
the two words, everlasting life. Now, focus for just a moment
on these two words. They are thrilling to think about, and if the
truth be known most of us probably dont think of eternity
enough.

Jesus said,

 And I know His command is everlasting life. (John 12:50)

How long is ETERNITY? I have heard it explained like this.
Suppose that you gave a sparrow the job of taking a grain of sand
from the beach and flying it to the moon. By the time the
sparrow emptied all the beaches of the world by carrying the
grains of sand to the moon, only a day in ETERNITY would have
passed.

ETERNITY is just that ETERNITY! Hard to fathom huh?

III. Spirit

Here is a third great reason why the RESURRECTION of Jesus
Christ matters. Because Jesus followers received the Holy Spirit
after His RESURRECTION. Do you recall that Jesus told His
disciples to go to Jerusalem and to wait for the coming of the
Holy Spirit? (See Acts 2). They obeyed, and they gathered in an
upper room, and on the day of Pentecost (50 days after the
Resurrection) the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples.

Here is what Jesus told His disciples,

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit is the power source of the early church. How
awesome is that? The Holy Spirit is our source of our power

today. Can I ask you a very important question? Are you living
under the influence of the Holy Spirit? Are you relying on the
indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit in you? Do you see this
POWER in your life?

The Holy Spirit will

Be our helper and abide with us forever John 14:16
Teach us all things John 14:26
Guide us into all truth John 16:13
Be our power Acts 1:8
Seal us unto the day of redemption Eph. 4:30

Those are just a few of the many things you and I enjoy because
of Christs RESURRECTION, and the indwelling ministry of the
Holy Spirit.

IV. Understanding

A fourth great reason why the RESURRECTION is so great, is
because we receive understanding. It was after the
RESURRECTION that the disciples understood the things that
Jesus taught them. Now this is an interesting thought. People
cannot know the things of God unless the Spirit of God reveals it
to them. For us, like His disciples it was after the RESURRECTION.

Do you recall the two disciples on the Emmaus road? (See Luke
24). They were traveling home from Jerusalem after the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. All their hopes and dreams were

shattered. They thought everything they believed in was for

naught. They were walking along kicking up the dirt. All their
dreams were shattered. Life was bleak!

Jesus shows up, but he doesnt allow them to recognize Him.
He speaks with them, he taught about everything they
experienced back in Jerusalem. He opened up the Scripture to
them, and gave them understanding. Immediately, they
recognized that it was Jesus who was in their presence. In Luke
24:32 we read,

And they said to one another, Did not our heart burn within
us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the
Scriptures to us?

What does the Bible say about those who are not believers?
We read in I Corinthians 2:14,

But the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of
God, for they ate foolishness to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.

I would encourage all of us to commit this verse to memory.

God wants you to have understanding. He doesnt want you
left in the dark. To receive understanding you must first place
your faith and trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ.
Believe that He took your place, and that He died for your sins.

Call upon Him to save you, and He will save you. Once you decide
to follow Jesus Christ He will open your eyes as well.

Jesus said this to Nicodemus,

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

Simply put you cannot understand Gods kingdom until you
become a part of that kingdom.

V. Rest

There is a fifth reason why I believe the RESURRECTION of Jesus
Christ is so great. Because of the RESURRECTION you and I can
experience rest. There are a whole lot of people who are not at
rest today. They live some very agitated lives; they are not
experiencing the peace of God, yet alone a rest. Are you
troubled?

Jesus said, Come unto Me all you who are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)

The believer finds a complete rest in Jesus Christ.

According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus is our rest. We read,

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said,
So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest, although

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the works were finished from the foundation of the world. (Heb.
4:3)

Are you at REST today in your walk with Jesus Christ?

Listen, life will never be problem free, but the believer can find
a place of shelter, a place of rest in the midst of the storms. Jesus
is our anchor in times of trouble. Our rest is found in Him.

VI. Resurrection

Our RESURRECTION is the sixth great reason for Christs
RESURRECTION! Not only did Jesus rise from the dead, but
because He became the first fruits, we are promised that we too
shall rise from the dead. We too will one day be RESURRECTED,
save the Rapture of the Church (I Thess. 4:13-18).

The Prophet Daniel spoke of this RESURRECTION. We read in
Daniel 12:2,

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting
contempt.

This verse speaks of two different RESURRECTIONS. The
RESURRECTION of the just to everlasting life, and the
RESURRECTION of the unjust to everlasting contempt.

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 Jesus Himself promised His disciples a future resurrection. We

read in John 5:28-29,

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who
are in the graves will hear His voice and come forththose who
have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have
done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Here is what Paul had to say about a future RESURRECTION in
Acts 24:15,

I have hope in God, which thy themselves also accept, that
there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the
unjust.

The evidence for a future RESURRECTION is overwhelming in
the Bible.

VII. Election

Election is the the seventh great reason why Jesus
RESURRECTION is so great. Now, I want to be careful here with
this term, Election. I dont want us to think that God saves
some for salvation, and elects others, and send them to hell. No,
I believe that the Bible teaches us that all mankind can be saved
not just an elect few. However, not all mankind desires to be
saved. Now having said that, I also believe that no one can come
to God unless God draws him.

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 Hear what Jesus taught,

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (John 6:37)

In Johns Gospel we read, words of Jesus,

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that
you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
(John 15:16)
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
(Eph. 1:4)

Those verses indicate that ELECTION is a God thing. I accept
that. I have no problem believing that. However, the Bible also
says,

For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
(Rom. 10:13)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and
believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not

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come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John
5:24)

I do not believe in a limited election, but in an unlimited
ELECTION!

Have you checked the name of Jesus Christ for salvation? If so,
you are a part of the elect!

VIII. Correction

The eighth reason why the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ is so
great. Because God will not leave us to ourselves; He will correct
us when needed. As earthly parents we have to correct our
children. The same is true with God. We are His children, and He
will not allow us to live disobedient lives without correcting us.
As a matter of fact, correction is a sign that we belong to Gods
family.

We read in Hebrews 12:5-11,

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you
as to sons: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the
Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He
receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with
sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But
if you are without chastening, of which all have become
partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore,

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we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them
respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the
Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days
chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that
we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems
to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have
been trained by it.

You might get mad at God, but He is a loving Father, and He
wants the best for you. If you are living outside of Gods will for
your life you had better expect correction, or you had better
consider whether you really belong to His family.

IX. Truth

The ninth reason why the RESURRECTION is so great is because
you and I can experience what it means to know truth. Before
our salvation experience we believed lies, and lived in lies, but
after we were saved, and because of the RESURRECTION we can
know and experience truth.

Pilate asked, What is truth? (John 18:38)

Jesus taught,

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free. (John 8:32)

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 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the
Father except by Me. (John 14:6)

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
Someone as important as Pilate didnt know truth, but Jesus
proclaimed himself as truth, and He taught that the Bible is truth.
We read in John 1:17 the following,

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.

And get this, it is because of the RESURRECTION that you and I
can know and experience this truth. Jesus is truth, the Bible is
truth, and we as Christians are called to walk in truth (See II
John).

X. Inheritance

There is a tenth reason as to why the RESURRCETION is so
great. Because it provides for us our eternal inheritance. We can
read about this wonderful inheritance in the book of Ephesians.
Time doesnt allow me to build upon this today, but here is a
sampling of what we inherit:

Election chosen in Him Eph. 1:4
Adoption made sons and daughters of God Eph. 1:5
Acceptance we have been accepted in the Beloved Eph.
1:6
Redemption forgiveness of sins Eph. 1:7

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 Knowledge of His will according to His good pleasure Eph.

1:9
His will His purpose fulfilled in us Eph. 1:11
Sealed Holy Spirit sealed us Eph. 1:13

Our parents may leave us with an earthly inheritance, but we
know that it never lasts, it fades away, but the inheritance we
have in Christ is eternal. It will last forever!

XI. Opportunity

The eleventh reason why the RESURRECTION is important is
because it was after the resurrection that spiritual gifts were
given to Gods people.

Please hear me - Opportunities abound for the people of God
to use their giftedness for His glory.

We all have been graced with a special gift, and I would
encourage you to spend time in I Cor. 12-14, Romans 12:4-8,
Eph. 4:11-12; I Peter 4:10-11. Discover your giftedness, and
begin to use it for the profit of all.

I dont want to offend you, but once you are in Christ, you are
to use your gifts to serve others. These gifts are to be used out
of love for Christ, and for His church, and for the lost.

Where can you serve Christ best? Out of your giftedness:

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Prophecy ability to expound Gods word.

Ministry ability to serve where the needs are great.
Teaching ability to pass on Spiritual truth.
Exhortation ability to build up people around you.
Giving ability to share the resources God has blessed you
with.
Leadership ability to lead an organization through rough
waters.
Mercy ability to come along side hurting people and bring
about a healing.

That is a small sampling of the many different types of ways in
which you can serve in Christs kingdom. Opportunities abound
everywhere!

XII. Name

Finally, because of the RESURRECTION I receive a NEW Name!
I once was a sinner, but now I am a saint. I once was lost, but
now I found. I once was a child of the devil, but now I am a child
of God. I once an unbeliever, but now I am a believer. Yes, I have
a new name.

I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N, And I have C-H-R-I-S-T in my H-E-A-RT, and I will L-I-V-E - E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y! Amen!

In the book of Acts, we read that the disciples were first called
Christians in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:26). Before that they
were called, people of the Way (See John 14:6). Note that it was

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the people of the world that gave the people of the way, the
name, Christian. What did the people of the world see in the
people of the way? They saw Jesus Christ in them. They did,
spoke, and acted like Jesus Christ. This is what it really means to
be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Christian means: Christ in one.

Twice in Revelation 2-3, it speaks of a new name that Christ
will give to those who overcome (Rev. 2:17; 3:12). Overcomers
are those who place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (I John
5:4).

Can I ask you if you possess this new name? Are you a real
believer, or a make believer? Are you an overcomer? Have you
trusted Jesus Christ to save you? Have you been born again?
Pleas make sure that you settle this today. It is an eternal
decision.

Conclusion: Wow! Twelve fantastic benefits because of the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But remember, none of this would
be available without Jesus rising from the grave. Because He
lives, we are blessed beyond measure. And get this, you probably
could take the acrostic: Resurrection and come up with an
additional twelve benefits, and someone probably could come
up with another twelve. The point is simple, the benefits of the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ are inexhaustible.

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 Take a look at the acrostic printed below, and circle the

benefits that are most meaningful to you?

R- Redemption (Purchased from our sin).
E Eternity (Started when we believed in Jesus Christ).
S Spirit (Holy Spirit in us).
U Understanding (Of Gods Word).
R Rest (Our rest today, tomorrow, and into the future).
R Resurrection (our future Resurrection).
E Election (Chosen by Him, I receive Him).
C Correction (God disciplines His children).
T Truth (I can know and walk in truth).
I Inheritance (Blessings from my Father).
O Opportunities (Places where I can serve God).
N Name (Christ in me).

Now understand that if these benefits dont resonate with you
in some fashion, then we have got to ask ourselves, why does
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ even matter? If these benefits
dont transform our lives, then why celebrate Jesus
Resurrection?

Look at the acrostic, and take some time to thank God for the
benefits that matter most to you right now. Whisper a prayer up
to God and thank Him for what the Resurrection provides for you
as a Christ follower.

Would you do me a favor? Would you share this message with
your family and friends that are a part of your social media

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contacts? Lets make these truths transferable share them

with others.

Prayer: God, thank you for the RESURRECTION of Your Son,
Jesus Christ. Because Jesus lives, I am on the receiving end of
some tremendous benefits. I would like to take a moment right
now and thank you for the following benefits now it is your turn
to take over and pray from your own heart.

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