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28th October 2007 AM

Pastor Linton Smith's final Message. 

FOCUS ON JESUS!    Pastor Linton Smith

What does one say in his final message? I turned to the Apostle Paul for inspiration. When he was in his sixties he was chained like a common criminal in a cold dungeon. He knew his days were numbered. At any time they could come to him to take him away to be executed. From that dungeon he wrote a letter to Timothy. He had many important things to say to this young pastor.

One thing he said stands out to me..

 2 Timothy 2:8.. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel..

Jesus Christ.. descended from David.. raised from the dead. This was Paul’s focus! This was his gospel, the good news he preached.

In Acts 17:18 Luke summarizes what he preached in one line..

Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

Everywhere he went Paul preached something similar to this:

We have for a very long time been waiting for the Messiah to come. He has come. The man Jesus is the promised Messiah.  How can He be the Messiah? Wasn’t he crucified? How can a crucified man be the Messiah? Yes, He was crucified. He died and was buried, but God raised Him from the dead. He is alive. He has ascended to heaven. He is at the right hand of God. He is the Messiah!

In 1 Corinthians 15:14 he says..  If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith..  and then he says in vs 20..  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead..

If Christ has not been raised, what we Christians believe and preach has no foundation!  But He has been raised! What we believe is true!

Today I invite you to consider six things we know because Jesus was raised.

BECAUSE JESUS WAS RAISED..

·         WE KNOW HE IS THE SON OF GOD.

In Acts 2:32,36 Peter says..

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.  Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

This man you crucified is Lord. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is supreme in the Universe. He is the Christ, the Messiah you have been waiting for!

In Romans 1:4 Paul writes.. 

[Jesus was] declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul had been hard to convince. He had thought Jesus was a fake, a blasphemer. How dare he claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God!

But his attitude was totally changed shortly after Jesus rose from the dead.

Paul had been on his way to Damascus to arrest and imprison Christians when the Risen Jesus appeared to him. There and then Paul knew he had risen and almost immediately he began preaching that Jesus was the Son of God. Now almost 30 years later he is preaching the same!

Jesus is alive. He is at the right hand of the Father in heaven. He is the Son of God, the Lord of the Universe, the Messiah. In fact – He is God!

In the 1960s I was ministering in three country churches and teaching Religious Instruction in High Schools. One student asked me, ‘But why should we believe what you say about Jesus?’ I struggled to answer her. My usual answer was because the Bible says so. But that was not enough for this keen thinker. I began searching for an answer. I studied the preaching recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and found that they always spoke about Jesus, and always preached that He had been crucified and raised from the dead. I then searched the New Testament for references to His resurrection. I found that it refers to His resurrection again and again. And these words, ‘He was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead’ took on new meaning!

I had found my answer. Why believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Why should we take Him seriously? Because God raised Him from the dead!

Are you unsure about Jesus? Start searching. Start with the resurrection of Jesus. 

Do you know people who say Jesus is just a man, nothing more, and don’t know how to answer them? Point them to the resurrection of Jesus!

Because Jesus was raised we know that He is the Son of God.. and..

·         WE KNOW THAT HE WILL BE OUR JUDGE.

In Acts 10:39,40,42 Peter says..

They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen..  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

In Acts 17:31 Paul says..

[God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.

Jesus was raised.. is at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.. and one day He will judge every one of us!

It seems to me that very few people believe this today. As a result they live as they please. They say things like someone in the city said to me this week. He said something like this. ‘When I was 62 I divorced my nagging wife and the last 9 years have been the best. Life is too short to waste. Some people I know save their money. I don’t. I spend it. I travel the world. Life is great.’ There was not a single thought in his head that one day he would give an account to Jesus!

Do you believe that Jesus will judge us all.. and judge the hidden and secret things? Not convinced? Consider the resurrection.

Do you know someone who ridicules the very idea of judgment? Point them to the resurrection of Jesus.

Because Jesus was raised we know that He is the Son of God, know He will be our judge.. and..

·         WE KNOW THAT HE FORGIVES.

When it hits home that Jesus will judge us.. we begin to worry. How can we possibly face up to such a day? This is where we have good news.

In Acts 10:39,40,43 Peter says..

They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen..  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

Jesus died.. and rose.. and now every one who believe in him receives forgiveness of sins!

In Romans 4:25 Paul says..

He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

What is so special about the death of Jesus on a cross?

Is it the way He died? No. Thousands died that way.

It is who it was who died. The One who died on the cross was the Son of God. 

This was the most amazing event in history.

The Son of God was crucified. Why? To deal with our sin and guilt! He took our place. He bore our sins in His body on the tree. Now He can and will forgive us.

Perhaps you have never asked Jesus to forgive you.

Today.. turn to Him.. sorry for your sin.. willing to change.. and He will forgive.

That is the good news.. but only part of it.

Because Jesus lives.. and lives for ever. He keeps on forgiving.

The next day.. when you sin.. you can go to Him.. and the next.. and next..

And at the last day when the day of judgment is here and millions are being judged.. and it is your turn.. and you know in your heart of hearts that you have failed and deserve to be judged severely.. Jesus will be there. He will say.. I died for this one.. he/she trusted in me.. I have forgiven him/her.

Because Jesus was raised we know that He is the Son of God, will be our judge.. He forgives.. and..

·         WE KNOW HE IS WITH US NOW!

When I was a child we were taught a song that said something like this. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. At a later time I began to wonder just what that meant. In what way can Jesus come into our hearts? The mystery was cleared up when it dawned on me that we were speaking to the Risen Jesus.

 Peter says in.. Acts 2:32,33..

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Jesus rose.. was exalted to the right hand of God.. and sent the Holy Spirit. When we believe in Jesus.. He gives the Holy Spirit to us..

In Romans 8:9 Paul says..

You.. are controlled.. by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

The Spirit of God lives in every believer. He is none other than the Spirit of Christ. That is why Paul can say in Galatians 2:20..

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Many years ago a picture came to me, a picture of people trudging across a desert, longing for the cool water of an oasis ahead. Along side of them ran a pipeline with taps here and there, a pipe carrying the very water of the oasis, and they trudged on, dry and thirsty.  It came to me as a picture of many believers trudging on, looking ahead to the joys of heaven, unaware that the living water can be theirs now right now! Unaware that the Spirit of Christ wants to live in their hearts and give them a taste of heaven here and now.

Does that picture speak to you? If it does, ponder this. Jesus died for you and will receive you into heaven one day, but right now He is risen, has sent His Spirit and His Spirit is with you and in you! Open your heart to him!

Jesus said that He came that we may have life and have it to the full.

This is what it is – to have a foretaste of heaven now. To be able to sing with joy.. He lives. He lives.. You ask me how I know He lives?  He lives within my heart!

Because Jesus was raised we know He is the Son of God, He will be our judge, He forgives, He is with us.. and..

·         WE KNOW HE WILL RETURN.

Paul reminded the believers in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10..

You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

They turned to God.. to serve Him.. and to wait for His Son from heaven.. to wait for Jesus to return. He is in heaven now and one day He will return and rescue us from the coming wrath.. from the terrible days that are coming on the earth.

Yes.. Jesus will return! History is going somewhere! It is heading for the most dramatic event ever.. when Jesus returns in power and glory!

In Revelation 1:5-7 we read..

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.  So shall it be! Amen.

Because Jesus was raised we know  He is the Son of God, He will be our judge, He forgives, He is with us, He will return.. and..

·         WE KNOW WE WILL BE WITH HIM FOREVER.

In 2 Corinthians 4:14 Paul writes..

We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.

God raised the Lord Jesus.. and will raise us also.. together with all believers.. and present us to Jesus.. like a bride presented to the groom.

We know that God will do that but sometimes ask, what happens when we die?

In Philippians 1:23 Paul says..

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far..

When we die.. our spirit goes to be with Jesus.. and then when Jesus returns.. something truly amazing will happen..

In 1 Thessalonians 4:14,16,17 Paul says..

We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.. The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The believers who have died are with Christ now.. and when He returns.. they will appear with him.. and those still alive at that time will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord.. and all of them will be with the Lord for ever!

What an amazing event that will be!

Too amazing to believe? No.

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