William C. Turner, Jr. - "Fruits of the Resurrection" (March 30, 1975)
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Transcript
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(choral music) | 0:02 | |
- | Lift up your hearts. | 1:20 |
- | We lift them up to the Lord. | 1:23 |
- | He is risen. | 1:26 |
- | He is risen indeed. | 1:28 |
- | Blessed be the God and father of our lord, Jesus Christ | 1:31 |
who according to his abundant mercy | 1:36 | |
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope | 1:39 | |
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. | 1:43 | |
- | We have an inheritance incorruptible | 1:50 |
and undefiled and that does not fade away, amen. | 1:53 | |
- | Please join in praise to the lord | 2:00 |
by singing Christ the Lord is Risen Today. | 2:03 | |
(organ music) | 2:07 | |
♪ Christ the Lord is risen today ♪ | 2:51 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 2:56 | |
♪ Earth and heaven in chorus say ♪ | 3:02 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:07 | |
♪ Raise your joys and triumphs high ♪ | 3:14 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:19 | |
♪ Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply ♪ | 3:25 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:31 | |
♪ Lives again our glorious King ♪ | 3:39 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:44 | |
♪ Where, O death, is now thy sting ♪ | 3:50 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 3:56 | |
♪ Once he died our souls to save ♪ | 4:02 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:07 | |
♪ Where's thy victory, boasting grave ♪ | 4:13 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:19 | |
♪ Love's redeeming work is done ♪ | 4:28 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:33 | |
♪ Fought the fight, the battle won ♪ | 4:39 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:44 | |
♪ Death in vain forbids him rise ♪ | 4:50 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 4:56 | |
♪ Christ has opened paradise ♪ | 5:02 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:08 | |
♪ Soar we now where Christ has led ♪ | 5:16 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:21 | |
♪ Following our exalted Head ♪ | 5:26 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:32 | |
♪ Made like him, like him we rise ♪ | 5:37 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:43 | |
♪ Ours the cross, the grave, the skies ♪ | 5:48 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 5:54 | |
- | The first scripture reading is taken | 6:29 |
from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, | 6:31 | |
chapter 15 verses 12 through 28 | 6:33 | |
and I urge you to concentrate | 6:38 | |
on what Paul is saying in this passage. | 6:39 | |
Now if Christ as priest is raised from the dead, | 6:43 | |
how can some of you say that there | 6:46 | |
is no resurrection of the dead? | 6:48 | |
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, | 6:51 | |
then Christ has not been raised. | 6:54 | |
If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain | 6:57 | |
and your faith is in vain. | 7:01 | |
We are even found to be misrepresenting God, | 7:04 | |
'cause we testified of God that he raised Christ | 7:08 | |
whom he did not raise. | 7:11 | |
If it is true that the dead are not raised. | 7:13 | |
For if the dead are not raised, | 7:17 | |
then Christ has not been raised. | 7:19 | |
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile | 7:22 | |
and you are still in your sins. | 7:26 | |
Then those also who have | 7:29 | |
fallen asleep in Christ, have perished. | 7:30 | |
If in this life we are in Christ have only hope, | 7:40 | |
we are of all men most to be pitied | 7:44 | |
but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. | 7:48 | |
The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, | 7:52 | |
for as by a man came death. | 7:55 | |
By a man has come also the resurrection of the dead, | 7:57 | |
for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ | 8:01 | |
shall all be made alive, | 8:05 | |
but each in his own order. | 8:08 | |
Christ the first fruits, then at his coming | 8:10 | |
those who belong to Christ. | 8:13 | |
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom | 8:16 | |
to God the father after destroying every rule | 8:19 | |
and every authority in power, | 8:24 | |
for he must reign until he has put | 8:26 | |
all of his enemies under his feet. | 8:28 | |
The last enemy to be destroyed is death, | 8:31 | |
for God has put all things in subjection under his feet, | 8:34 | |
but when it says all things are put in subjection under him, | 8:37 | |
it is plain that he has accepted | 8:41 | |
who put all things under him. | 8:43 | |
When all things are subjected to him, | 8:46 | |
then the Son himself will also be subjected | 8:49 | |
to him who put all things under him, | 8:51 | |
that God may be everything to everyone. | 8:55 | |
The second scripture reading | 9:00 | |
is taken from the Gospel of Mark, | 9:01 | |
chapter 16 verses one through eight. | 9:04 | |
And when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene | 9:09 | |
and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices | 9:11 | |
so that they might go and anoint him. | 9:16 | |
And very early on the first day of the week, | 9:18 | |
they went to the tomb, when the sun had risen | 9:20 | |
and they were saying to one another | 9:23 | |
who will roll away the stone for us | 9:25 | |
from the door of the tomb? | 9:26 | |
And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back, | 9:28 | |
for it was very large, and entering the tomb | 9:32 | |
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, | 9:35 | |
dressed in a white robe and they were amazed. | 9:37 | |
And he said to them do not be amazed. | 9:41 | |
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. | 9:43 | |
He has risen, he is not here. | 9:46 | |
See the place where they laid him, | 9:48 | |
but go tell his disciples and Peter | 9:50 | |
that he is going before you to Galilee. | 9:52 | |
There you will see him as he told you. | 9:55 | |
And they went out and fled from the tomb, | 9:57 | |
for trembling and astonishment had come upon themm | 10:00 | |
and they said nothing to anyone, but they were afraid. | 10:02 | |
- | Let's pray together. | 10:17 |
Lord God, you are good. | 10:22 | |
We praise you for who you are, for your holiness | 10:24 | |
and for your loving kindness new every morning. | 10:27 | |
For speaking to us in the songs of birds | 10:30 | |
and the roar of waves. | 10:33 | |
For sending Jesus to speak in action, | 10:34 | |
to live and die and love. | 10:36 | |
We praise you for the resurrection, | 10:39 | |
for giving life to your people and hope through your spirit. | 10:41 | |
We love you Father. | 10:45 | |
But we admit we don't act like it or speak like it | 10:47 | |
or even think like it. | 10:51 | |
We don't live as if we've been crucified with Christ, | 10:53 | |
so we repent before you and before one another. | 10:56 | |
We're sorry for using you and not being used by you, | 11:00 | |
for wanting you to be our partner and helper | 11:03 | |
but not our savior or our master. | 11:06 | |
Father we blame you for every evil, | 11:11 | |
but don't commit our own selves to good. | 11:13 | |
In fact, we even harm our own bodies | 11:15 | |
which are temples of your Holy Spirit. | 11:17 | |
So forgive us for dreaming instead of praying, | 11:22 | |
for talking when we should be listening, | 11:24 | |
for not learning and not caring. | 11:27 | |
Oh Lord, we'll do almost anything to please | 11:31 | |
a professor or an administrator, but we forget | 11:34 | |
to say thank you to the maids or the cooks. | 11:37 | |
Forgive us for pushing and shoving, | 11:41 | |
for cheating and lying. | 11:43 | |
Convict us of your righteousness and turn our lives around. | 11:45 | |
Give us new beginnings today, Lord. | 11:49 | |
Hearts of flesh instead of stone. | 11:52 | |
Passionate prayers and compassionate lives, like Christ. | 11:55 | |
We pray for those who don't know the joy of your salvation, | 12:01 | |
for those too sick or too hungry to feel your cool winds | 12:04 | |
or share in real human friendships, | 12:08 | |
and we pray for those who are just too busy. | 12:11 | |
Thank you Lord for making each of us as you did. | 12:14 | |
Thank you for faces and hands to speak with. | 12:18 | |
And thank you that when no one else hears us, you do. | 12:22 | |
We want to be like Jesus Lord, and not just admire him. | 12:26 | |
We want to belong to Christ and to one another. | 12:30 | |
Holy Spirit, baptize us with fire | 12:33 | |
and make us lights in the world. | 12:37 | |
In the name of the risen Christ we pray, amen. | 12:40 | |
(gentle guitar music) | 13:30 | |
♪ Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 13:39 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 13:43 | |
♪ Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 13:47 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 13:52 | |
♪ His victory o'er death ♪ | 13:56 | |
♪ Has anyone told you of my savior's plan to save ♪ | 14:00 | |
♪ He'll make you walk ♪ | 14:05 | |
♪ He'll turn you around ♪ | 14:06 | |
♪ He'll set your feet ♪ | 14:07 | |
♪ Upon solid ground ♪ | 14:08 | |
♪ He'll lead you through the flame or flood ♪ | 14:09 | |
♪ If you're covered by the Lord ♪ | 14:12 | |
♪ His precious blood ♪ | 14:15 | |
♪ Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 14:18 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 14:23 | |
♪ Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 14:27 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 14:31 | |
♪ The stone rolled away and the angel said ♪ | 14:35 | |
♪ Rise did he now living among the dead ♪ | 14:40 | |
♪ Though he's not here remember what he said ♪ | 14:45 | |
♪ I'll be crucified and rise from the dead ♪ | 14:47 | |
♪ Thought their leader had gone ♪ | 14:49 | |
♪ Everyone there is no prison for God's son ♪ | 14:51 | |
♪ Or anyone ♪ | 14:55 | |
♪ Who will trust in Jesus ♪ | 14:58 | |
♪ Trust in Jesus ♪ | 15:00 | |
♪ Trust in Jesus today ♪ | 15:02 | |
♪ Trust in Jesus ♪ | 15:07 | |
♪ Trust in Jesus ♪ | 15:09 | |
♪ Trust in Jesus today ♪ | 15:11 | |
♪ Discover the way of life by plan ♪ | 15:16 | |
♪ We'll never be happy living in sin ♪ | 15:20 | |
♪ Even when you're dead and lying in the ground ♪ | 15:25 | |
♪ God will raise you up and the trumpets sound ♪ | 15:27 | |
♪ On that day when the shall rise up to the skies ♪ | 15:29 | |
♪ Because Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 15:35 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 15:40 | |
♪ Christ is risen Christ is risen ♪ | 15:44 | |
♪ Christ is risen today ♪ | 15:49 | |
(gentle guitar music) | 16:16 | |
♪ Glorious in majesty ♪ | 16:22 | |
♪ Holy in his praises ♪ | 16:24 | |
♪ Jesus our savior and our king ♪ | 16:27 | |
♪ Born a man yet lord of all ♪ | 16:32 | |
♪ Let us all adore him ♪ | 16:35 | |
♪ Filled with his spirit let us sing ♪ | 16:37 | |
♪ Living is to love him ♪ | 16:43 | |
♪ Serving him to know his freedom ♪ | 16:45 | |
♪ Come along with us to join the praise of Jesus ♪ | 16:47 | |
♪ Come to Jesus now ♪ | 16:53 | |
♪ Go to live his word rejoicing ♪ | 16:56 | |
♪ Victory he won for us ♪ | 17:00 | |
♪ Freeing us from darkness ♪ | 17:03 | |
♪ Dying and rising from the dead ♪ | 17:05 | |
♪ Living with the father now ♪ | 17:11 | |
♪ Yet he is among us ♪ | 17:13 | |
♪ We are the body he left ♪ | 17:16 | |
♪ Living is to love him ♪ | 17:21 | |
♪ Serving him to know his freedom ♪ | 17:23 | |
♪ Come along with us to join the praise of Jesus ♪ | 17:26 | |
♪ Come to Jesus now ♪ | 17:30 | |
♪ Go to live his word rejoicing ♪ | 17:33 | |
♪ Brethren we live in awe ♪ | 17:38 | |
♪ Living with each other ♪ | 17:41 | |
♪ Gladly we share each other's pain ♪ | 17:43 | |
♪ Yet you will not leave us so ♪ | 17:48 | |
♪ Soon he is returning ♪ | 17:50 | |
♪ Taking us back with him to reign ♪ | 17:53 | |
♪ Living is to love him ♪ | 17:58 | |
♪ Serving him to know his freedom ♪ | 18:00 | |
♪ Come along with us to join the praise of Jesus ♪ | 18:02 | |
♪ Come to Jesus now ♪ | 18:07 | |
♪ Go to live his word rejoicing ♪ | 18:10 | |
♪ Come to Jesus now ♪ | 18:15 | |
♪ Go to live his word rejoicing ♪ | 18:17 | |
- | Let us all say amen. | 18:58 |
- | Amen. | 19:02 |
- | Amen. | |
Song said | 19:04 | |
living is to love him. | 19:07 | |
Serving him to know his freedom. | 19:10 | |
And to that we should all be able to say amen. | 19:15 | |
From | 19:23 | |
our New Testament lesson | 19:26 | |
in First Corinthians chapter 15 | 19:28 | |
we want to read again verses 20 through 23. | 19:30 | |
But the truth is | 19:38 | |
Christ was raised to life, | 19:40 | |
the first fruits of the harvest of the dead. | 19:43 | |
Or since it was a man who brought death into the world, | 19:48 | |
a man also brought resurrection from the dead. | 19:53 | |
As in Adam, all men die | 19:59 | |
so in Christ all will be brought to life. | 20:03 | |
But each in his own proper place. | 20:07 | |
Christ, the first fruits. | 20:11 | |
And afterwards at his coming those who belong to Christ. | 20:15 | |
From those verses we want to lift | 20:21 | |
a subject, fruits of resurrection. | 20:24 | |
Fruits of resurrection. | 20:30 | |
I've often wondered what Adam ate. | 20:36 | |
Must have been mighty rough and must have been mighty tough | 20:45 | |
for all of the trouble it caused him, and us. | 20:49 | |
What did Adam eat? | 20:54 | |
Popular thinking seems to suggest | 20:58 | |
that he ate an apple. | 21:00 | |
Certainly the maker of a given | 21:03 | |
brand of pipe tobacco says Adam ate an apple. | 21:07 | |
But how could an apple cause so much trouble? | 21:12 | |
What did Adam eat? | 21:15 | |
A cursory reading of the story leads us | 21:19 | |
to the conclusion that it cannot be determined what he ate. | 21:22 | |
The story says he ate fruit, | 21:26 | |
but seemingly it does not tell us what kind of fruit he ate. | 21:29 | |
Upon reading the story, a bit more carefully, | 21:36 | |
it can be determined what he ate. | 21:40 | |
For we will remember that upon being driven from the garden, | 21:45 | |
the Lord said let us remove him | 21:51 | |
and banish him lest he put forth his hand | 21:54 | |
and take from the tree of life. | 21:57 | |
Obviously then the tree of life | 22:01 | |
was available to him. | 22:03 | |
At the same time he was forbidden to eat | 22:05 | |
from the tree standing in the middle of the garden, | 22:08 | |
and was told the day you eat of that tree, you shall die. | 22:11 | |
The story unfolds then and | 22:17 | |
allows us to picture two trees standing in the garden. | 22:20 | |
A tree of life and a tree of death. | 22:24 | |
For if indeed the day he ate of the tree, he would die, | 22:28 | |
the tree was death. | 22:31 | |
With the option of life and death, | 22:34 | |
Adam chose death. | 22:38 | |
The fruit he ate | 22:41 | |
was the fruit of death. | 22:44 | |
Make no mistake, this morning we are all Adam. | 22:51 | |
And we all make the choice of death. | 22:57 | |
And turn down the choice of life. | 23:02 | |
Life and death are offered to us. | 23:06 | |
We pass life by and we choose death. | 23:09 | |
In Adam, we all die. | 23:12 | |
In Adam, we all see ourselves choosing death. | 23:16 | |
And passing life by. | 23:22 | |
But thank God for Jesus. | 23:30 | |
Thank God for Jesus! | 23:33 | |
For he too chose death. | 23:37 | |
But unlike Adam and differently from us, | 23:40 | |
he chose death knowing fully what he was choosing. | 23:43 | |
Jesus knew the consequences of death | 23:47 | |
and what death had brought upon the human race, | 23:50 | |
how it had seared and scarred the tissue of human life. | 23:52 | |
With an act of obedience to the Father, he chose death. | 23:56 | |
Unlike Adam, however, he had a stomach for it. | 24:03 | |
Adam chose it, but couldn't digest it. | 24:07 | |
Jesus chose death, but by choosing death in obedience | 24:10 | |
to the Father, rather than in disobedience, | 24:16 | |
he gained victory over death. | 24:20 | |
Now is Christ raised from the dead, | 24:23 | |
and become the first fruits of those who slept, | 24:28 | |
even as in Adam we all die. | 24:33 | |
So in Christ can we all be made alive. | 24:37 | |
First fruits | 24:42 | |
was the best part of the harvest. | 24:45 | |
That which was planted and came to ripeness first. | 24:50 | |
The first fruit was the freshest part of the harvest. | 24:56 | |
Possessed a greater measure of the richness | 25:02 | |
and nurture from the land, the first fruit | 25:07 | |
in being consecrated and offered to God | 25:12 | |
provided consecration for the entire harvest. | 25:16 | |
It was from the first fruit | 25:19 | |
that God demanded that the sacrifice to him be given, | 25:22 | |
and so it is with resurrection. | 25:27 | |
Christ is the first fruit of the harvest of the dead, | 25:29 | |
and following him come all who belong to him | 25:34 | |
but that's not all. | 25:39 | |
As fruits of resurrection, not only do we get | 25:41 | |
Christ as fresh fruits and we, his sons and daughters, | 25:44 | |
but the whole world is delivered | 25:47 | |
as fruits of that harvest. | 25:52 | |
Resurrection day | 25:57 | |
yields options, choices, | 26:01 | |
and possibilities | 26:06 | |
that before now had been closed | 26:08 | |
to the race of humankind. | 26:12 | |
Resurrection yields as fruit | 26:16 | |
the choice of life | 26:23 | |
after a prior choice of death. | 26:26 | |
Adam chose death, and immediately upon choosing death, | 26:32 | |
death's iron claws began to wrap themselves | 26:37 | |
around his throat, squeezing the very eternal | 26:41 | |
and spirit-given life of God out of his body. | 26:45 | |
The choice of death was made. | 26:51 | |
The choice of death for Adam was a final choice. | 26:54 | |
It sealed him in his doom, | 26:57 | |
but with resurrection we are allowed once again | 26:59 | |
to choose life, | 27:02 | |
even though we've already chosen death. | 27:04 | |
Choices for death are all around us | 27:08 | |
in our day. | 27:13 | |
A nation | 27:17 | |
who in the third quarter of the 20th Century | 27:20 | |
seeks to attain self-sufficiency | 27:25 | |
while ignoring the emergent world order | 27:29 | |
upon the face of the Earth has chosen death. | 27:32 | |
The attempt to sustain a style of life | 27:36 | |
that was built on the bloodshed and suffering | 27:39 | |
of the rest of the world at this time in history | 27:41 | |
is a choice for death. | 27:44 | |
The resources of the world cannot allow us | 27:48 | |
to continue living as we've been living. | 27:51 | |
The peoples of the world will not tolerate it. | 27:55 | |
The mere suggestion of going to another part of the world | 27:58 | |
and taking resources | 28:03 | |
is a choice for death. | 28:07 | |
To ignore the new world order in which we | 28:10 | |
have now been thrust is a choice for death. | 28:13 | |
Choices for death | 28:20 | |
are all about you. | 28:24 | |
University that gives more attention to | 28:28 | |
tradition than to the urgent | 28:34 | |
needs of humankind has made a choice for death. | 28:39 | |
Whenever more concern is given | 28:46 | |
for name and image, | 28:51 | |
than for what it takes to make life rich, full, | 28:55 | |
and meaningful for every constituent part | 28:58 | |
of the body and the family | 29:01 | |
a choice for death | 29:03 | |
has been made, yes! | 29:06 | |
These are difficult and tough economic times. | 29:08 | |
We're all living in the crutch. | 29:12 | |
We are being pressed as stagflation and inflation | 29:14 | |
gets out of control. | 29:18 | |
But in our attempt to live in this | 29:22 | |
new economic reality, | 29:26 | |
when the fat must be trimmed, | 29:29 | |
if the tightening of the strings around the purse | 29:33 | |
also snuff out the life of people, | 29:36 | |
a choice for death has been made. | 29:38 | |
People need their jobs. | 29:42 | |
People need educational opportunities. | 29:45 | |
People need a chance to grow and develop | 29:48 | |
and express themselves. | 29:52 | |
Whenever this is denied, a choice for death | 29:54 | |
has been made. | 29:59 | |
Students, young people | 30:00 | |
who pass through | 30:04 | |
the most vital years of life | 30:09 | |
without finding meaning and fulfillment | 30:12 | |
have made a choice for death. | 30:15 | |
Never again will there be the opportunity | 30:18 | |
to give attention to spiritual | 30:21 | |
and intellectual enrichment and growth. | 30:23 | |
Never again will there be freedom to study | 30:26 | |
and to search oneself to look introspectively | 30:29 | |
in the deepest corners of the being | 30:33 | |
and come up with an understanding | 30:35 | |
of what God is calling us to do. | 30:37 | |
Never again | 30:39 | |
will we have that opportunity. | 30:41 | |
The moment we leave this place, | 30:43 | |
we'll be thrust into a rat race | 30:45 | |
where we won't have time to sit down. | 30:46 | |
Never again, and if we pass up | 30:48 | |
these days, we've made a choice for death, yes! | 30:53 | |
These economic times, | 30:59 | |
the spiritual and intellectual competing forces in the world | 31:02 | |
can seemingly dash every shred of hope | 31:07 | |
within our heart and mind, but if we lose hope, | 31:10 | |
if we give up and say there's no use, | 31:15 | |
we've made a choice | 31:20 | |
for death. | 31:23 | |
But thank God for resurrection. | 31:29 | |
For resurrection allows us | 31:33 | |
to choose life, | 31:36 | |
even if we've already chosen death. | 31:38 | |
If we're in the grave, we can still be raised | 31:42 | |
if in our decisions and choices for death, | 31:47 | |
the shell of life has already begun to dissolve around us. | 31:50 | |
If the nation is on her way down, | 31:56 | |
standing on the last leg, Lord have mercy. | 31:58 | |
If all meaning and hope has been lost, | 32:03 | |
there is still the option of choosing life | 32:06 | |
because of resurrection. | 32:11 | |
Even if death has been chosen, | 32:13 | |
we can still choose life | 32:16 | |
because of resurrection. | 32:21 | |
Policies should still be changed. | 32:27 | |
Priorities can still be reordered. | 32:34 | |
We can still look out upon our world | 32:39 | |
and understand what was told to us long ago | 32:42 | |
that God has made of one flesh | 32:45 | |
all men who dwell on the face of the Earth. | 32:48 | |
We can still live! | 32:51 | |
We need not stay in the tomb. | 32:54 | |
Now is Christ raised from the dead, | 32:58 | |
and become the first fruits of those | 33:01 | |
who slept. Resurrection yields | 33:07 | |
not only the choice of life | 33:11 | |
after the prior choice of death, | 33:14 | |
but resurrection yields the power | 33:16 | |
to sustain the choice for life. | 33:20 | |
Resurrection power breaks the iron claw of death. | 33:25 | |
It shatters the bands and the manacles that hold us. | 33:31 | |
It severs every yoke that would bind us. | 33:36 | |
The power of resurrection | 33:39 | |
is power. | 33:44 | |
Just as creation was power. | 33:46 | |
Creation you see called life out of nothingness. | 33:49 | |
Resurrection calls life back out of death. | 33:52 | |
Resurrection power is power to slip down | 33:56 | |
into the seams of the earth and split it wide open | 33:59 | |
such that it begins to reel and rock | 34:03 | |
and the grave can't hold the bodies | 34:05 | |
that have been interred to her. | 34:07 | |
Resurrection power is power to move the stone. | 34:09 | |
Power to move every yoke and every bit of bondage. | 34:14 | |
Lord have mercy, resurrection power is power to hold | 34:20 | |
the grave such that it cannot exercise control | 34:25 | |
over the bodies who've been interred there. | 34:30 | |
Resurrection power | 34:34 | |
is power that raises us | 34:37 | |
to new life through Jesus Christ | 34:40 | |
our Lord. | 34:45 | |
We choose life. | 34:47 | |
But because of the resurrection, | 34:50 | |
we are promised power to sustain the choices | 34:52 | |
that have been made. | 34:57 | |
Fruits of resurrection, power, | 35:01 | |
to sustain | 35:06 | |
the choice of life. | 35:08 | |
Even in violation of Caesar's seal, | 35:11 | |
the tomb was sealed. | 35:15 | |
The rock was put in place. | 35:18 | |
It was understood throughout the land | 35:20 | |
that there had been promises or even implications | 35:22 | |
that this man called Jesus would get up in three days. | 35:25 | |
There was fear among the people | 35:28 | |
that the disciples would go to the tomb, | 35:29 | |
remove the body, carry him away | 35:31 | |
and send forth the myth | 35:33 | |
and the legend that he had been raised. | 35:34 | |
So a stone was rolled in front of the door. | 35:39 | |
A guard was put there to watch the body, | 35:43 | |
but it was understood and known | 35:47 | |
that enough men could come and overtake the guard, | 35:49 | |
and remove the stone. | 35:52 | |
In order to make sure that the body was not moved, | 35:55 | |
the seal of Caesar was stamped upon it. | 35:58 | |
The seal of Caesar was a statement saying keep out. | 36:01 | |
The full authority of the Roman empire | 36:05 | |
was concentrated into that one little seal, | 36:08 | |
but resurrection power is power | 36:11 | |
to even cross the seal of Caesar | 36:14 | |
in order to sustain the choice for life. | 36:18 | |
Thank God for resurrection, | 36:22 | |
for Caesar has sealed a whole lot | 36:26 | |
that keeps us in bondage. | 36:29 | |
A whole lot of men and women are sealed in the tomb | 36:31 | |
by Caesar's seal. | 36:35 | |
All kinds of injustices. | 36:39 | |
All kinds of malpractices. | 36:42 | |
All kinds of dehumanizing decisions | 36:44 | |
are canonized into law by the seal of Caesar! | 36:47 | |
But resurrection power sustains us in our choice to live | 36:51 | |
so that when the prophetic witness is needed, | 36:57 | |
against social and economic evils | 37:00 | |
when a prophetic witness is needed | 37:03 | |
against political wrongdoing, | 37:05 | |
we have been given power to sustain us | 37:07 | |
in making our choice for prophetic witness | 37:11 | |
because of resurrection. | 37:13 | |
Resurrection power even violates | 37:16 | |
the seal of Caesar. | 37:20 | |
The power is the promise of the father. | 37:24 | |
Not only to those who are witnesses that day, | 37:28 | |
but to those who are near, those who are far, | 37:31 | |
and to as many as the lord God shall call. | 37:33 | |
Still that's not all. | 37:39 | |
For resurrection yields as fruit, | 37:41 | |
the same choice that is yielded for believers | 37:47 | |
to the whole world. | 37:53 | |
The same option it yielded to the whole world. | 37:55 | |
You see Christ is the first fruits of the harvest. | 38:01 | |
Those who believe in him the next, | 38:04 | |
but if we follow the apostle on down | 38:07 | |
he says and just behind those of you who believe | 38:09 | |
is the whole world, the whole universe | 38:13 | |
is waiting to be delivered from its grave. | 38:16 | |
Ready to be delivered from the bondage into which its had. | 38:20 | |
He said even now, the risen lord is ruling and reigning | 38:25 | |
and putting all things into subjection under his feet. | 38:29 | |
After he has put every enemy, every dominion, | 38:34 | |
and every principality under his feet | 38:37 | |
then he's going to deliver the kingdom up to the father. | 38:39 | |
Father I finished the work. | 38:43 | |
Father I stamped out every enemy against your name. | 38:45 | |
Fruits of resurrection is possibilities for the whole world. | 38:51 | |
We're given the option and the choice to choose life, | 38:58 | |
even where those before us chose death. | 39:03 | |
Before we came on the scene, there are choices for death | 39:08 | |
that keep us bound even in our day. | 39:12 | |
The choices for death that were structured | 39:16 | |
into the systems of life, into the systems of government, | 39:19 | |
seemingly hold us so that we cannot move | 39:23 | |
out of the confines and limits | 39:27 | |
wherein we've been placed. | 39:29 | |
Very often we hear people say the institutions | 39:30 | |
you're challenging are centuries old in their life. | 39:34 | |
Rome wasn't built in a day. | 39:38 | |
You can't change this thing overnight. | 39:40 | |
You can't reverse through your own being | 39:42 | |
all that this nation has stood for. | 39:45 | |
All that has been building up over the years. | 39:48 | |
Understand this morning that we are given the option | 39:52 | |
to choose life even where those before us chose death. | 39:55 | |
Yes the fathers have eaten sour grapes. | 40:00 | |
The children's teeth are set on edge, | 40:04 | |
but we are not bound to the same sourness, | 40:06 | |
we are not bound to the same death | 40:09 | |
for we can choose life. | 40:11 | |
Even for those around us. | 40:14 | |
For if the living Christ lives within us, | 40:17 | |
our witness will be fit. | 40:21 | |
The power in our life will radiate, it will move, | 40:23 | |
it will touch someone else. | 40:28 | |
It will lead us to plead the cause of the helpless. | 40:30 | |
It will lead us to lift up the bowed down head | 40:33 | |
and to strengthen the feeble knee, | 40:35 | |
but choice of life is a choice that we can make | 40:38 | |
even for others for whom death has been chosen. | 40:45 | |
The fruits of resurrection. | 40:51 | |
The fruits of resurrection | 40:57 | |
yield a right | 41:00 | |
to return once again to the tree of life. | 41:04 | |
As in Adam die, even in Christ we should all | 41:09 | |
be made alive and given a right to the tree of life. | 41:12 | |
We can approach that tree, once again, | 41:17 | |
the revelator caught a glimpse of the tree | 41:22 | |
stranded in the city who said the tree | 41:25 | |
was planted beside the river of life | 41:28 | |
that flowed through the streets of the city, | 41:30 | |
and on the tree were all manner of fruit | 41:33 | |
and the leaves of the tree were for | 41:36 | |
the healing of the nation. | 41:38 | |
The leaves on the tree of life are for | 41:40 | |
the healing of our bodies and our sin sick soul. | 41:42 | |
The leaves on the tree of life | 41:45 | |
can heal and mend broken relationships. | 41:47 | |
The leaves on the tree of life | 41:51 | |
can heal the searing scars that have been | 41:54 | |
scorched on us by the burning heat | 41:57 | |
of oppression and injustice. | 41:59 | |
The leaves on the tree of life | 42:01 | |
hallelujah, can heal a struggling nation | 42:05 | |
that's teetering and tottering and about to fall. | 42:09 | |
We have been given once again the right | 42:12 | |
to the tree of life. | 42:15 | |
This is the fruit of resurrection. | 42:18 | |
Christ is raised from the dead. | 42:22 | |
He is the first fruit. | 42:27 | |
But following the first fruit | 42:30 | |
come those who believe, | 42:32 | |
and then the whole world. | 42:35 | |
We are allowed to choose life, | 42:39 | |
even after a prior choice for death. | 42:43 | |
We are given power to sustain the choice for life, | 42:48 | |
and the option to even choose life | 42:54 | |
over death for others | 42:57 | |
and for our world. | 43:00 | |
Have you chosen death this morning? | 43:06 | |
Are you in a grave of sin? | 43:12 | |
A grave of emptiness, meaninglessness? | 43:16 | |
Are you in a grave of weakness and timidity? | 43:20 | |
Partake of the fruits of resurrection this morning. | 43:25 | |
Christ, the first fruit, | 43:30 | |
yields the same fruit in us. | 43:34 | |
All hail the power of Jesus name. | 43:38 | |
Let us stand and sing. | 43:41 | |
Let angels pass before. | 43:43 | |
Bring forth the royal diadem | 43:46 | |
and crown him your lord. | 43:50 | |
(organ music) | 43:56 | |
(choral music) | 44:32 | |
Now the God of peace who brought again from the dead | 47:58 | |
our lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, | 48:01 | |
through the blood of the everlasting covenant | 48:06 | |
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, | 48:07 | |
working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight | 48:11 | |
through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and forever, | 48:13 | |
amen. | 48:21 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:24 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:31 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:35 | |
(people murmuring) | 49:08 |
Item Info
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