Resurrection Power
Resurrection Sunday. The most celebrated day of the year in our faith of Jesus. The fact I am declared righteous by God, set free from shame, guilt, sin – and not only that, but the authority of Christ reigning supreme over all things – this is certainly a day to celebrate and honor all that God has done for us in a His Son Jesus.
That part of the night that turns to morning when you look up to the sky to see the slightest hint of light starting to pierce through the darkness – that was a beautiful sight to behold this morning. It reminded of Mary when she had visited the tomb of Jesus while it was still dark Sunday morning. By the time everything had transpired, not only was the light of the sun shining on her, but the light of THE SON was behind her, calling her name.
As I sat there in the silence of the early morning, only the sound of the fountain in the water in the background, I wondered how many would hear the calling of their name by Jesus this Sunday. Now I was excited, now I was awake. It took min a few minutes, but now it was on.
The crackling of the sausage cooking on the stove and the near whistle of the hot water boiling in the pot for coffee were behind me as I had my notes in front of me, going over them while I cooked breakfast. It would be about 5 hours before I had to deliver a sermon, and I was actually nervous. I haven’t been nervous in some time. Was it the lack of prep I felt in it? Was it the gravity of the day and all that I knew God wanted to communicate to people? Not sure, but I prayed and gave it to God, clapped my hands and set let’s go.
On my way to the Community Center, trying to be the first there, because you know, competitiveness, I pulled up and very shortly later the other ministry leaders did the same. We all huddled for a brief moment outside, all fixated on what was in store for this day. There was a reminder of those experiencing Easter for the first time, the impact of that, and for us to hold so dearly to our heart the weight of what that represents for people coming today.
I made myself scarce soon after this, trying to stay focused on what God wanted to say today. There was a great peace, calm, and the thankfulness of my heart could be felt within me. This was the place I needed to be for what was going to happen over the next few hours.
I was so proud of all of the leaders and volunteers today. It was seamless, or at least it appeared to be. We were able to move in grace and ease, with a focus on the moments at hand. Some more people began to trickle in as prayer was about to start. It was really refreshing to see people come early for this. I know it’s a special day, and I wish it was more of a regular thing, but I’ll take it today and as our voices raised up to heaven and our hearts bowed low to the ground, you could feel it – the sense of awe and wonder of what God has done for us in Jesus.
I kept pushing back the start time of the service because of the genuine and heartfelt connection that was happening before service. As Arcelia called everyone together, you could tell the Holy Spirit was present as she prayed us into a time of worship. And worship. My goodness! I know it’s Resurrection Sunday, but wow, even in years before there wasn’t this type of worship of gratitude and reverence before. I could have just played some more songs and called it a day it was that wonderful with the Lord.
After some time of ministry and announcements, my grandfather came up to read the account of the crucifixion and resurrection from John. It was a needed time, to focus and dial in on what happened, the weight of it, the resounding glory in it, and the hope it produces when we know what Jesus has done.
Then it was time. Teaching the Word is no matter to take lightly. During the week I had, myself, become convicted of what I was about to teach. It certainly helps when you’re trying to communicate something profoundly that God is doing something in you first. I had this strong conviction and revelation from God this week and I believe that is what drove the sermon through. It wasn’t out of knowledge; it came from deep inside and a knowing of the truth represented when we live in the resurrection power of Christ (you can listen to the sermon here) (and get the notes here).
As I was winding down, I began to think, is this it? It’s gone by so fast. It was times like these I wished I lived in the Book of Acts. I would have just kept going. I would have been like Paul and preached until midnight. I would have hit play again on worship and said whoever wants to stay, stay. Maybe when one day when we have our own building and a worship team, we can do things like these. Until then, today was full. Really full. Full of everything I believe everyone needed to honor Jesus for what He’s done. That was the only thing that mattered and I believe we experienced it today.
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I Peter 1:3-7
Romans 8:9-11
Ephesians 1:18-23
II Corinthians 4:8-10
Romans 8:31-39
Colossians 2:13-15
Philippians 1:6
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