by Pastor Mark Cowart
The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ was the greatest event of all time in human history. It is important that we remember this was a beginning, not an ending. This fulfillment of God’s foretold plan of redemption for mankind began a new dispensation of grace. It is our job to seek and find out what all that entails.
In the garden of Eden, after the fall, God told the serpent that the seed of the woman would crush his head, and he (Satan) would bruise His heal (Christ). The latter would be injured, but the former would be destroyed. So now, here we are. The mystery has been revealed as to who and what that described. The Son of Man defeated all the powers of darkness.
Where do we go from here?
The morning of the Lord’s resurrection, when the women went to the tomb and found it empty, the angel, asked them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” and reminded them He had foretold this event. Verse 8 records, “and they remembered His words.” We will find direction for ourselves in recalling His words to us.
When we are born again, we are raised up from spiritual death. Then, it is our job, our responsibility, our assignment to fulfill The Great Commission, to spread the “good news” that the Messiah has come, to the ends of the earth. Man is reconciled to God! No one has to go to hell!
How do we begin to bring that message of God’s favor to those who are bound? When we receive the Lord and repent, we change. We step out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God, becoming then equipped by the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses, as He said we would be.
That Greek word for “witness” is actually martys, used for the martyr, Stephen, later in Acts. His testimony cost him his life, while it influenced a certain Saul of Tarsus standing by at his execution, who after encountering the Lord Jesus himself, became Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament.
Guess what? You and I must also die to carry out The Great Commission – if we are going to experience the resurrection power that is God’s will for us. The Lord is quoted in 3 of the 4 gospels as stating we must lose our life to save it. What does that mean?
It means when we truly pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,” we are putting aside, even putting to death our own will. If you are serving yourself and your flesh, you will not be part of that “ekklesia”, that exclusive, called-out group that will be His Church, His Bride, and will storm the gates of hell by the resurrection power that comes to you only after your own death to self.
DIG DEEPER
Genesis 3:15
Colossians 1:20
Luke 24:1-8
Matthew 16:18
Ezekiel 11:19
Matthew 6:10
Galatians 3:8
Matthew 16:18
Acts 1:8
Luke 10:19
Acts 22:20
Matthew 16:25
Mark 8:25
Luke 9:24
PRAY
Thank God for His power that raised Christ from the dead.
Ask for clear direction to follow the Spirit’s leading, to “lose” your own life and experience that resurrection power.
Submit to Him any reservations you may have, just as Jesus did in the garden the night before His death, believing that He will help you.
REFLECT
To what lengths are you willing to go to be His witness?
What is the alternative?
How will the testimony of your changed life help the people around you – those who already know the Good News, and those who do not?
