Resurrection Sunday
Easter Service 2020
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Isaiah
53
Who has
believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract
us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of
suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely
he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by
God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But
he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by
his wounds we are healed.
6 We
all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He
was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so
he did not open his mouth.
8 By
oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation
protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He
was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet
it was the Lord’s
will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an
offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the
will of the Lord will
prosper in his hand.
11 After
he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by
his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he
will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore
I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the
spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was
numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.
a. Today
is not about Ishtar
i.
The
Assyrian/Babylonian goddess of fertility, war, love, and sex
ii.
This is why
the Pagan holiday “Easter” is celebrated with rabbits, which are symbolic of
reproduction, and eggs, which are symbolic of fertility.
iii.
Although
Ishtar worship has been around for approximately 4,500 years, only 1 of the
many days of Ishtar worship actually come near to the day of Passover.
iv.
CONTRARY to
Pagan claims, today is NOT a Pagan holiday taken over by a “new” faith called
“Christianity,” but rather, a HOLY DAY which just happened to take place during
one of their many Pagan days
that fill our calendar.
v.
We find in
Titus, Paul addressing the Pagan world around us, all things are pure to those
who are pure. We are not celebrating the goddess on this day. Therefore it is
OK for us to say “Happy Easter” for we know and acknowledge that this Holy Day is
in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection.
vi.
Because THAT
is what we celebrate. The Holy Day of His Resurrection.
vii.
Passover...the
Holy Day established by God for the remembrance of the day the Lord freed his
people who were enslaved to Egypt.
viii.
A
foreshadowing of His people today (Christians) being freed from the bondage of
our Egypt, sin.
b. It
IS the PASSOVER
i.
Leviticus
23:5 specifies that the festival year begins
with Passover, on the end of the fourteenth day of the month (Nisan 15, which
actually starts at sundown).
ii.
In both the
Old Testament and the New Testament, Passover is the Feast of Salvation.
iii.
Jews
receiving Salvation from Egypt after the death of the firstborn. The blood of
the lamb as a covering in the Old Covenant, and in the New Covenant, salvation
from sin after the death of the Firstborn of God, and the Lamb's blood which
does not cover as the foreshadowing example in the Old, but cleanses, for it is
the fulfillment of the promise of God.
iv.
Today, we
mark our bodies (the house of the “spirit”) with the blood of Christ.
v.
Today is a
celebration of Salvation!
c.Today
is a promise of God fulfilled!
i.
Man's
relationship with God was broken because of sin (Genesis 3)
ii.
Through the atonement of Christ's sacrifice at Passover, He brought us a NEW COVENANT,
purchased with His blood
iii.
ANYONE who
drinks of this cup (Outwardly accepting what has taken place in their heart),
can receive a New Covenant with God, through Christ Jesus, and once again, be
in fellowship with our Father in heaven.
iv.
This New
Covenant brings with it forgiveness of sin, a new mind, and renewal of life.
v.
The Spirit
also brings access to the power of God’s Spirit which allows us
1. Protection through the Whole Armor of God (Ephesians 6)
2. Spiritual
Gifts so that we may be equipped to serve Him
(Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:8-10;
I Peter 4:11)
3. Christ will begin
a work within us, changing us, drawing us closer to what we were created TO
BE, as opposed to what this world has made us (Philippians 1:6)
4. Because of God’s Holy Spirit, we, in turn, will
produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, which is not our characteristics,
but God’s brought into this world through us. (Galatians 5:22)
II. HOW
DID GOD PREPARE HIS PEOPLE FOR THIS DAY?
a. Through
prophecies (approximately +350 individual)
i.
Such as Isaiah 53
ii.
There are
literally thousands (some were repeated in various texts) of prophecies
concerning Jesus, which He fulfilled, proving He was the Christ
iii.
The Old
Testament (Covenant or contract with God) teaches of Jesus and the coming New
Testament
iv.
Remember,
the Testaments are COVENANTS (agreements/contracts made with God)
v.
There are
currently 2 contracts with God, the Old which does not save, only reveal our
sin and need for a savior, thus condemning us, and the New which was purchased
in Christ’s Blood, releasing us from the requirements of the first contract,
which is bondage to sin and death as payment of sin.
b. God
also prepared His people by showing His people through example (or
foreshadowing)
i.
Prophecies
told of what was to come, and have been fulfilled by Christ, but foreshadowing SHOWED through an
example to the people what was to come!
ii.
God showed what He was going to do to bring
Salvation to His people and renew the relationship that had been broken because
of sin, by saving the Jews from Egypt, using symbolic teachings such as the
blood of a sacrificial lamb over the door stoops, and the death of the
firstborn.
1.
In
fact, God revealed His plan of salvation when Adam and Eve first sinned against
God in Genesis 3:21-22 “The Lord God made
garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And
the Lord God
said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”
2. Because of sin against God, a sacrifice was made,
blood was shed, and a covering for man, foreshadowing Christ coming, shedding
His blood for payment.
iii.
This
foreshadowed what Christ would accomplish and was revealed to us in the
beginning.
c.Finally, God not only gave prophecies that were fulfilled by Christ, and foreshadowing to SHOW what Christ
would accomplish, but Jesus taught before the Cross of what His mission was, and what OUR mission would be once He left.
d.
Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the
mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him,
they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to
them and said, “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”
e.
This is “The Great Commission” and what “we” are called by God to do. Help others
escape the bondage of sin and be reunited in relationship with God the Father
through Christ Jesus and what He accomplished at the cross, thus allowing them
to come into a covenant with Christ, receive the Holy Spirit and allow Christ
to be a work in them, and seal their eternity within the Kingdom of God.
III. HOW
DO WE HONOR PASSOVER TODAY?
a. Celebrate
it as a feast of God!
i.
Not as a ritual, instead of a feast of celebration
in honoring God's fulfilled plan of Salvation
b. Remember
it!
i.
As the
Israelites were instructed to do, teach it to our young, so the next generation
will know what God has done!
c.Many
want to celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birthday, yet;
i.
We know from
scripture Jesus was not born in December
ii.
We were
NEVER told in scripture to celebrate Jesus' birth
iii.
Jesus
Himself told us in scripture to CELEBRATE HIS DEATH & RESURRECTION!
1. At the Passover feast, the night Jesus was taken
into custody, he celebrated with the Disciples and had what we call the “Last
Supper”, and during the breaking of bread, and the drinking of wine into the
New Covenant, Jesus told them “EVERY TIME you do this, do this in remembrance
of me”
2. Jesus told them, every “communion”, as we call it,
every breaking of bread, celebrate the Passover, Jesus' substitutional
death & His resurrection!
3. Why? Because
it is ONLY through His atoning sacrifice that we have a New Covenant, which
Jesus told us was purchased with His blood, which was poured out for the
remission of sins; and His body, which was broken for you and me, on PASSOVER.
CONCLUSION
So, TODAY, Passover, Easter, Resurrection Sunday, whatever we call
it, was, is and always will be a celebration of the Salvation and redemption of
God's people!
Let us celebrate PASSOVER today!
Resurrection Sunday!
Feast with family and friends, give thanks, accept the New
Covenant with God the Father, through Jesus Christ, and HONOR the Lord, by
LIVING the Great Commission of Jesus Christ!
If you have never taken the opportunity to accept this New
Covenant in Christ, then you will be judged by the Old Covenant and found
guilty.
Accepting the New Covenant in Christ is simple.
Accept Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the debt of sin, the
requirements of the Old Covenant.
Believe that this payment for your debt through His substitutional
atoning death on the cross was acceptable by God as payment, because God raised
Christ from the dead as the First Fruits.
Confess your sin, and repent, turn away from it, accepting Jesus
as your Lord, serve Him.
And your sins will be forgiven, and Christ, through the Holy
Spirit will begin a new work in you, and you will become a NEW creation!
The Old will pass away, and you will be counted among the
children of God.
Amen!
CONCLUSION
He is faithful and willing to change us,
but we must submit to Him, His will, and allow Him to do the great work and
reveal the beautiful plans He has for us in this life.
Want to learn more about Salvation and
Getting Saved?
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