15 min
Why Easter Changes Everything The King's Church International Audio Podcast
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- Christianity
History has witnessed many amazing moments of change. Yet there have been no events, no discoveries and no inventions that have had more impact on the world than what happened on that first Easter in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.
For the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ shifted forever the world’s moral and spiritual axis and opened a whole new age of freedom and hope. The darkness of Good Friday was replaced by the bright new dawn of Easter Sunday. Sadness was replaced by joy. Life had conquered death.
The big truth of Christianity is that Jesus certainly was dead but that he didn’t stay dead (Matthew 28:5-6). In other words, the Easter story is fact not fiction (see: Lee Strobel, ‘The Case for Christ’).
The most compelling reasons for belief, however, are so often not through intellectual arguments, but by seeing the power of Christ at work in real people which literally billions of people have experienced. Easter changes everything and can give us all new life.
1. Easter changes our past (1 Corinthians 15:14-22; Matthew 27:51; Romans 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10; Ephesians 1:7; Isaiah 53:4-5; Psalm 34:18)
2. Easter changes our present (Matthew 28:20; John 20:25; John 20:29; Luke 24:13-16,32)
3. Easter changes everything about our future (Matthew 28:7; Hebrews 2:18; Revelation 1:17-18; John 11:25-26; John 14:19)
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1. Easter changes our past. The great writer CS Lewis, in his parable the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, said that when the lion Aslan, representing Christ died, death started ‘working backward.’ In other words, God can reverse our history and cause us to be justified with God ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’ Through the shedding of the pure blood of Jesus and His resurrection, our hearts can be cleansed from past sins and healed from past hurts. We can be forgiven for past sins (1 Corinthians 15:14-22). When Jesus died, He made possible access to God which had previously been impossible. The 90-foot-high thick curtain blocking access to the most Holy Place in Jerusalem’s temple was miraculously ripped in two from top to bottom symbolising the removal of the barrier between a Holy God and sinful humanity (Matthew 27:51). At the Cross Jesus Christ paid the full price of sin and made a way for repentant former sinners to come into fellowship with a holy God (Hebrews 10:19-22). Jesus took on Himself the punishment due for our sins (Romans 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10; Ephesians 1:7). Because of God’s grace and love for every person, Jesus made it possible for us to be totally forgiven. The good news of Easter is that whatever sins you have committed, whatever mistakes you have made, you can be forgiven by God for every sin and washed clean and made a new person from the inside out. Your past will no longer define you. You can be made new in Christ. You can also be healed from past griefs (Isaiah 53:4-5). On the cross Jesus bore our sorrows as well as our sins and He wants to carry yours and comfort you (Psalm 34:18). Today give your grief to God and open your heart to receive His healing. You do not have to live any longer with the pain of your past.
2. Easter changes our present. The big shock for the first disciples was that Jesus was no longer dead. They were not alone as they had imagined. Jesus was with them, and He promises to be with us (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is with us despite our failures. Peter was full of guilt for how he had panicked and denied the Lord. But he found that the Lord was looking out for him. In Galilee Jesus had breakfast with Peter and recommissioned him to be one of the great leaders of the first century church. Jesus is with us when we doubt. Thomas wasn’t there where Jesus first appeared to his fellow disciples, and he was cynical about their report (John 20:25). But his doubts disappeared when Jesus appeared before him and invited Thomas to see for himself that He was real (John 20:29). Jesus is with us when we don’t reali
History has witnessed many amazing moments of change. Yet there have been no events, no discoveries and no inventions that have had more impact on the world than what happened on that first Easter in Jerusalem 2000 years ago.
For the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ shifted forever the world’s moral and spiritual axis and opened a whole new age of freedom and hope. The darkness of Good Friday was replaced by the bright new dawn of Easter Sunday. Sadness was replaced by joy. Life had conquered death.
The big truth of Christianity is that Jesus certainly was dead but that he didn’t stay dead (Matthew 28:5-6). In other words, the Easter story is fact not fiction (see: Lee Strobel, ‘The Case for Christ’).
The most compelling reasons for belief, however, are so often not through intellectual arguments, but by seeing the power of Christ at work in real people which literally billions of people have experienced. Easter changes everything and can give us all new life.
1. Easter changes our past (1 Corinthians 15:14-22; Matthew 27:51; Romans 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10; Ephesians 1:7; Isaiah 53:4-5; Psalm 34:18)
2. Easter changes our present (Matthew 28:20; John 20:25; John 20:29; Luke 24:13-16,32)
3. Easter changes everything about our future (Matthew 28:7; Hebrews 2:18; Revelation 1:17-18; John 11:25-26; John 14:19)
Apply
1. Easter changes our past. The great writer CS Lewis, in his parable the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, said that when the lion Aslan, representing Christ died, death started ‘working backward.’ In other words, God can reverse our history and cause us to be justified with God ‘just as if I’d never sinned.’ Through the shedding of the pure blood of Jesus and His resurrection, our hearts can be cleansed from past sins and healed from past hurts. We can be forgiven for past sins (1 Corinthians 15:14-22). When Jesus died, He made possible access to God which had previously been impossible. The 90-foot-high thick curtain blocking access to the most Holy Place in Jerusalem’s temple was miraculously ripped in two from top to bottom symbolising the removal of the barrier between a Holy God and sinful humanity (Matthew 27:51). At the Cross Jesus Christ paid the full price of sin and made a way for repentant former sinners to come into fellowship with a holy God (Hebrews 10:19-22). Jesus took on Himself the punishment due for our sins (Romans 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10; Ephesians 1:7). Because of God’s grace and love for every person, Jesus made it possible for us to be totally forgiven. The good news of Easter is that whatever sins you have committed, whatever mistakes you have made, you can be forgiven by God for every sin and washed clean and made a new person from the inside out. Your past will no longer define you. You can be made new in Christ. You can also be healed from past griefs (Isaiah 53:4-5). On the cross Jesus bore our sorrows as well as our sins and He wants to carry yours and comfort you (Psalm 34:18). Today give your grief to God and open your heart to receive His healing. You do not have to live any longer with the pain of your past.
2. Easter changes our present. The big shock for the first disciples was that Jesus was no longer dead. They were not alone as they had imagined. Jesus was with them, and He promises to be with us (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is with us despite our failures. Peter was full of guilt for how he had panicked and denied the Lord. But he found that the Lord was looking out for him. In Galilee Jesus had breakfast with Peter and recommissioned him to be one of the great leaders of the first century church. Jesus is with us when we doubt. Thomas wasn’t there where Jesus first appeared to his fellow disciples, and he was cynical about their report (John 20:25). But his doubts disappeared when Jesus appeared before him and invited Thomas to see for himself that He was real (John 20:29). Jesus is with us when we don’t reali
15 min