Resurrection Is a Person, and He Lives in You - Bill Johnson Sermon | Bethel Church

0:00 But Jesus actually is giving us an invitation to learn what this means. Abide in me. Live conscious of the Spirit of God, of the presence of God. Let my words abide in you. Treasure what I say to you. Hold it dear to your heart. Then you will be positioned to co-labor with me to bring about your influence in the course of history. Happy Easter. He is risen. He's risen indeed. Oh, so good to see you. Happy, happy days. How many of you were able to make it to the Good Friday service on Sunday? I mean, Good Friday service on Sunday. Yeah, yeah. That only happens here. Yeah, Good Friday service on Sunday. Anybody else have a challenging time getting out of the parking lot?

0:56 I just drove in now from the parking lot. Not quite. I was thinking back one year ago when we first started needing to do multiple services. And you have to end one at a certain time or you cause a problem for the next one. And we learned that one day when we had gone over like 10 minutes over the allotted time. and a friend of mine was in the parking lot, stuck there for 45 minutes, trying to get out of the parking lot because of who was coming in and the previous service was over. And so I reminded myself of that while I sat in the parking lot at the Civic for about 45 minutes, actually. Yeah, so now I fully understand. I should call him and say, I feel your pain, I feel your pain. It was such a wonderful event. I don't know how many churches were involved this year I know in years past, I was told there was 80 plus churches involved in Reading in this event.

1:58 So it was just so much fun. And I was at the four o'clock and it was, you know, you could hear the crying babies and the children and all this stuff, which was perfect because it's important that we establish righteous traditions in our households. and it just means we endure some things because it's worth it. And so all of you that were a part of that, thanks for being there. It was so good. And next year, see if we can have a traffic flow gift of wisdom that comes before. Actually, not having road work done on the day might help. So those of you that were there, you experienced the pain. All right, I have something I've read before, but it's appropriate today. A man, his wife, and his mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away. The undertaker told them, you can have her shipped home for $5,000 or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150. The man thought about it, told him he'd just soon have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, why? Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home when it It would be wonderful to have her buried here and only spend $150.

3:20 The man replied, a man died here 2,000 years ago. He was buried here. Three days later, he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance. It's the only Easter one I have, so anyway. Grab your Bibles. We're going to read several portions of Scripture today. Some of them I'll just read for you, but there's at least two that I want you to be there with me. And the first one is 1 Corinthians 5.

3:52 But let me start with somewhat of an unrelated, but related story out of the Gospel of John. Jesus had close friendships with a number of people, specifically Mary, Martha, Lazarus, two sisters and a brother. And they sent notice to Jesus that Lazarus was very, very sick. And the scripture says when he received the news, he waited a couple more days. He delayed intentionally. And God does not work for us. We work for him. and there are times where his timing in fact usually his timing is different than mine my timing is always right now sometimes his is later but he delayed two more days and in God's wisdom he will delay something for greater glory greater promise, greater breakthrough greater strength for us and greater glory for him if that's what wisdom is and that's what he did here he delayed and by the time Jesus showed up a few days later, Mary and Martha both greeted Jesus independently and said, if you would have been here, our brother wouldn't have died.

5:07 Jesus said, he's going to rise in the resurrection. The resurrection is coming. Martha says, I know the resurrection is coming. And then Jesus makes the statement. He says, I am the resurrection and the life. Now, just think with me now. Jesus hasn't died. he hasn't been raised from the dead he hasn't ascended he hasn't been glorified he's in earthly body yet to die probably three years or so away from this moment and yet he announces or introduces himself as the resurrection and the life which tells us then that the resurrection was more than an event it was a person Thank you. in the same way that he is the person of resurrection my personal conviction is he is the person of heaven itself as there's nothing in heaven that is separate from his presence there isn't a presence part a blessing part, an angel part, a saint's part it's all of it's connected to the actual manifested presence of the Spirit of God to emphasize that Jesus is the center of everything is the most logical thing we can do because everything actually comes from him.

6:28 In him we live and move and have our being. Jesus declares over and over again and illustrates what an ascended or a resurrected life looks like before he ever died. Of course, after that moment, he raises Lazarus from the dead and illustrated what resurrection looks like. But what fascinates me is that Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead, but he's not the first one to be raised from the dead. Lazarus he raised. The child he raised. The army of dry bones. I won't see the video on that one. A whole army literally raised from the dead. Others, the prophet laid on the child that had died and was raised alive. So many were raised from the dead in scripture, but they all died again. Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead because he as a birth was resurrected never to die again.

7:31 So a whole new race, a whole new type of person was Jesus illustrated and had the breakthrough and modeled for the rest of us. If I put it this way, he obtained something in the resurrection so that you and I would know resurrection. The Christian life is the life of resurrection. in 1 Corinthians 15 let's just get into this and this will help us. 1 Corinthians 15 it says, verse 14 it says, if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Verse 16, if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen. That's interesting. If the dead don't rise then Christ is not risen. What is the implication?

8:25 If Jesus was raised from the dead, that's the assurance that people will be raised from the dead. In other words, if Jesus is raised from the dead, that's the assurance that resurrection life will introduce you to eternity. verse 17 if christ is not risen then your faith is futile you are still in your sins if Jesus isn't raised from the dead then you're still stuck in sin but I thought it was the blood that wiped away sin if he died and wasn't raised doesn't the blood still deal with sin? to me the death and resurrection of Christ are two sides of the same coin the death of Christ was proven valid because of the resurrection it was the resurrection that put the stamp of approval if you will on the power of the blood of Jesus so we never get to separate those two realities the death and resurrection of Christ because they work in tandem.

9:36 The death of Christ, the blood of Jesus, pulls us out of the red. The resurrection puts us into the black. It was never meant for us just to be sin free. We were meant, designed to be the righteousness of Christ. And it's the resurrection that makes that possible. So he says in verse 18, excuse me, 19, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most to be pitied. That's a bizarre statement to me. If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then we are pitiful. here's what I want you to see the resurrection of Christ is the assurance of eternity living aware of the power, the beauty, the wonder of resurrection is what helps us to understand heaven is home.

10:37 it's just too easy to live with the awareness of an inferior reality it's too easy to fill my heart and my mind with the reports or the news or the whatever of problems that are going on in the earth that need our attention they don't need my affection Living from Christ towards the problems is my assignment. When I fill my heart and mind with the troubles and the difficulties and I lose sight of eternity, I lose sight, more specifically, of the power of resurrection.

11:32 Then I live with a religious burden to strive to see things fixed. we only live where we die The Christian life is not about determination. It's about surrender.

11:53 It's about yielding. Paul said, it's no longer I who live, but it's Christ who lives in me. The only thing you and I will ever do in this life that is worthwhile will be when Jesus expresses himself in and through us. Everything else is a copy. Romans chapter 6.

12:25 Please turn to Romans chapter 6. in Romans 6 the apostle Paul uses water baptism to illustrate death and resurrection and he does it with water, a person being immersed in baptism, that's the grave, that's their burial, when they are brought up out of the water that's resurrection so it's a visual, it's a picture, it's real it's substantial. Physical obedience brings spiritual release. So anytime we obey the Lord in external things it releases the presence and power of God. We took up communion earlier, the bread and the body and the blood of Jesus. It's a powerful event. Water baptism. Tithing. So many things that we do.

13:20 Raising our hands. Kneeling. All this physical obedience brings, it's spiritual release. And so in this particular storyline or this lesson, we start with verse 4. It says, therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. Just think with me as we read these. To me this is a this is a chapter that's a continuous electric shock chapter. It just kind of is there to make sure my heart is beating in tune with his. So look at this again. He says, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.

14:12 Our walk should be consistent with the reality of the resurrection. the resurrection defines the reality of the Christian life. All right, that went over well. Let's move on to verse five. For we have been united together in the likeness, if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man, the old nature, was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. Think right now, historically, the worst sinner you've ever read about. Maybe a murder of 50 people. Maybe it was Hitler or whoever. That person is dead, and they're not sinning anymore.

15:08 Because dead people don't sin. And according to Scripture, you're dead. Verse 7, for he who has died has been freed from sin. If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon or consider yourself to be dead to sin. Okay, ponder that verse with me for a minute. Likewise, in the same way, what has he done?

16:03 He's just established the death, the resurrection of Christ. and then he says consistent with your faith that this is true believe you are dead to sin the same faith that you have for the death and resurrection of Christ let that be the standard for your faith that you are dead to sin Now, there are so many self-help books. In fact, if you want to write a bestseller, just write a self-help book. Because people want help. And there's a lot of stuff on the power of positive thinking. You don't even have to know Jesus.

16:56 If you think positive, your life will be better. Not eternally, but here and now. It does help. I wish more people were just positive. You know, just stop being stupid. Be positive. Yeah, I don't believe in that. Yeah, I can tell. I know. I know. It's something you never had to tell me. By the way, I bless our online community. Bless you. We love you. We're thankful for you. All right. So the power of positive thinking is real. If a couple is having difficulty in marriage, if they adjust their thinking, they can improve their marriage. It can improve your business. The way you service people, maybe in a restaurant, you start thinking more positive. you're going to have a greater appeal for customers, etc. So there is a measure of improvement through power of positive thinking. This isn't that. This isn't imagine yourself dead to sin. This is thinking from the revelation of the Almighty God as to what actually took place when Jesus was raised from the dead.

18:02 This is thinking consistent with the greatest reality in the universe. and that is that Jesus died and was raised again. So what happens, if you can imagine hoisting a sail in your mind, in your thinking, and you're moving with the thought patterns of God himself, you're being directed, empowered, because God says these things are true, now your thoughts mirror that reality. Your experience starts to be shaped by this incredible reality that what used to be appealing is no longer appealing. And as you read Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 13, there's this overwhelming sense that our thought life has a whole bunch to do with the outcome. And it's much bigger than the power of positive thinking. It is literally embracing the mind of Christ and letting that grace that is illustrated through his thoughts be the very thing that drives us from victory to victory.

18:59 This is the normal Christian life. So when he says likewise reckon or consider yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ our Lord. The very next phrase, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies. Do not let sin. So in other words this resurrection has made things available to us that we have to apprehend and put into use. He does not do it for us.

19:34 Does that make sense? When he says you're dead to sin. Now don't let sin reign in your mortal body. He's announcing the fact sin is still a possibility. But you have to leave your nature in Christ to do it. You have to change your identity.

19:55 You have to think inconsistent with what Christ has done. How many of you have been, you used to live with a lot of depression and discouragement. All right. How many of you remember when you got free from that? And it's not the same anymore. did you figure out that you could still be depressed if you wanted to i i i don't do that anymore but i know how i know how just leave me with certain people or no no no that's not that just just hold hold hold hold hold on All I have to do is entertain certain thoughts, certain ways of thinking. And I don't mean immoral things.

20:51 I mean things that are inconsistent with him. It's not our biggest challenge for me. My biggest challenge is not porn and immorality and all these things. It's thinking that I'm the answer. or if I try hard I can fix this it's living from a different place than the resurrection of Christ it's that if I work hard maybe I can turn this situation around when actually the only thing that will turn around is the resurrected Christ it's somehow believing in human skill and talent when in fact I need the invasion of the almighty God does that make sense? These inferior ways of thinking that maybe this depends on me. And so then I step in and work really hard and get real sweaty and determined.

21:50 And nothing changes. Nothing changes until there's surrender. Surrender is the invitation that brings Christ into a broken situation. I want you to look with me, if you would, to Colossians chapter 3. Actually, no, go to John chapter 3. They're not the same. It's a coincidence they're the same number. John chapter 3. I've been wanting to. I've been working on something in my own personal life for about 10 years exploring a thought that's introduced in Jesus' life that I personally think is often ignored. I've tried to address it briefly here and there I'm trying to learn myself and some people have referred to it as the ascended lifestyle. And it's it seems so impractical for most believers and yet it is actually the normal Christian life.

23:17 And Jesus in this one verse illustrates His way of life unlike any other. And revelation in Scripture always carries with it the invitation to come to know him experientially. Let me illustrate it this way. In fact, I'll give you two illustrations. One, Abraham. Abraham, as many of you would know, was put into the ultimate test to offer his son as an offering to the Lord. The Lord stopped him and said, now I know you'll do anything I say. And he still needed, he had an altar built. He still needed a sacrifice to give to the Lord. So the Lord said, revealed himself to him as Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah Jireh means the God who provides. So God reveals himself to Abraham. I am the God who provides for you.

24:10 And then he had him look up in a bush and there was a ram caught in a thicket, in a piece, in a brush. And so Abraham, who just discovered the name of God, he's Jehovah Jireh, saw God provide for him in that bush. He went and took the ram and sacrificed it to the Lord. The point I'm trying to make is that when God revealed himself as the provider, it wasn't so that Abraham would have a better theological understanding of the nature of God. It was so that he'd be introduced to provision. He wanted him to experience the provision. It wasn't good enough that he went down the mountain having offered no sacrifice. Are you alive? Does this make sense? So God's interest wasn't in making Abraham a theologian.

25:08 He was trying to reveal his nature to his friend through provision. So when the Lord reveals himself in a specific way, it's so that we can come to know him experientially in that way. One of my favorite portions of Scripture is Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, where it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. He'll make your path straight. He'll make you successful in your journey. The word acknowledge there, in all your ways, acknowledge Him, it's the same word as in Genesis and Adam knew Eve and she conceived and bore a son. It's an experiential knowledge.

26:05 In all your ways experientially come to know God in that way. So I have different ways in my life. I'm a dad, I'm a grandfather, I'm a pastor, I'm a writer, I'm a friend, I'm different things. I can come to know God as a pastor and not come to know him as a father.

26:30 So my fatherhood will be short-sighted because I don't intimately know him as father. Maybe a business person. He's the ultimate business person. Come to know him in that part of his nature and in that intimate connection with God in that part of your life, that's where he helps to enable and empower you, me, to be successful in what he's assigned us to do and to become. Does that make any sense? In all your ways, acknowledge him. So you're a mom. You sit at the feet of the one who knows motherhood better than anyone and in that experience, a grace is given to be able to be successful practically with wisdom in how you do life. An artist, a musician, doesn't matter what it is, a pilot, doesn't matter.

27:29 He flies well. He's high and lifted up. That was bad. That was bad. John chapter 3. I'm just going to take one verse out of half this chapter is Jesus teaching Nicodemus and his disciples. So you've got a picture of this. In this portion of scripture, Jesus is introducing mind-boggling ideas. Sometimes he explains things that everybody understands and they have clarity of heart and mind. Other times he introduces things that are completely outside of their experience. This chapter is one of those. He says you have to be born again. Nicodemus says do I have to go back into my mother's womb and be born? So their mind's boggled by what Jesus is introducing.

28:25 And then he caps it all off with verse 13. He says no one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven that is the son of man who is in heaven. no one has ascended. Remember, this Jesus before he died and was raised from the dead introduced himself as the resurrection and the life. And now before he has died, ascended, resurrected, ascended, glorified, before he's done any of that, he is now expressing his lifestyle. And he says no one has ascended to heaven with one exception. That's the son of man who came from heaven, who is now in heaven. that's the normal Christian life we all know Jesus only said what what his father said he only did what he only did what he saw his father do how did he have that perspective how did he have that view Thank you.

29:41 Are you with me? How did he know? now I understand that this seems so abstract and and it is from the way most of us do alive but Jesus actually is giving us understanding and therefore an invitation to learn what this means if you abide in me, my words abide in you. You ask anything you want, it'll be done for you. Abide in me, live conscious of the Spirit of God, of the presence of God, of heaven itself.

30:27 And my words abide in you. Treasure what I say to you. Hold it dear to your heart. Then you will be positioned to co-labor with me to bring about your influence in the course of history. And I will do what you ask for. It's that role of co-laboring is completely dependent upon us embracing, living conscious of Him right now, sitting where you are. You can just very simply turn your affection towards the Holy Spirit. And suddenly we become aware of Him, presence. It's eternity. It's the promise of eternity.

31:07 it's that place as we learn to live from the place of the presence of God we are much more capable and qualified to bring heavenly solutions to earthly problems. It's living in this place where there's no sweat to see a miracle. We were just in James River a week and a half ago and one of our students was there and the prayer line praying for people at the end. They said it felt like cheating. It was so easy. It was just so easy to see miracles happen. They prayed for this when they were healed. prayed for that when they were healed, prayed for that when they were healed. The point was, it was just so it was without effort, which is how the miraculous works. Effort messes up the miraculous.

31:48 If I sweat to get it, I'll take credit for it. So Jesus says, no one has ascended except he who descended. This is before his death, his resurrection, before his ascension. He says, nobody's ascended except for me, and I am now in heaven. You can imagine the disciples going, I'm pretty sure I can see you. but it was actually illustrating something that's available to us Paul later would find language for it when he said we are seated in Christ in heavenly places every time you do something different than your old nature every time you stop to give attention to that one person to express your love for them every time you stop to pray for that person with great need every time you share your faith every time you do anything outside of the ordinary, you are actually demonstrating the resurrection of Christ.

33:05 All these things are expressions of the one who conquered death. And for me, it appears to me that the entire Christian life is living in a place where we express He is alive. Miracles actually testify of His resurrection. They are actually part of the living witnesses, if you will, that He conquered death. We owe it to the people around us. We owe it to ourselves. there's something about hunger that brings that brings about transactions from heaven there's something about hunger for him that changes what's possible we've said through the years you know what you need in life will be brought to you but much of what you want you'll have to pursue because what you were born for he put in you as desire that has to be stirred and provoked so that we pursue, we cry out, we pray, we fast, we do all these different things because we're saying, I know I'm alive for more than what I've experienced. And you're here because of that. Many of you moved here from the other side of the planet. You left family, friends, jobs, everything, just to be a part of, not just a company of people that could watch a miracle and give applause, to be a part of a company of people that knew what resurrection life was about.

34:34 and that's the invitation that is actually the invitation is that I hunger for the more that he makes available so he says nobody has ascended into heaven except he that descended that is the son of man who is in heaven so he was illustrating how he knew what the father was doing he was illustrating how he could hear what the father was saying he was illustrating what the value system of heaven is like Thank you. one more passage I'll read to you it's out of Colossians chapter 3 and then we'll wrap this up Colossians 3 I don't know do you guys do you ever have chapters that just they stand out to you by themselves and you just like to read them occasionally all by itself and this is one that that I read whenever I want to get punched in the face this is I don't mean that in a violent sense I mean this more in a confrontive sense honestly it's such an incredible chapter but I'm just going to read the first few verses verse 1 says if then you were raised with Christ how many of you were raised with Christ? If then you were raised with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God Thank you.

35:57 equal to the reality of you being born again because of the resurrection of Christ, in that same manner, pursue things that are unseen. Verse 2, set your mind on things above, not on things on earth. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

36:23 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Wow, wow, wow. Verse 2, look at it again. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. All right. I don't know how to do that.

36:45 I'm trying. I don't want to be in a car. The taxi or Uber driver is imagining angels surrounding the throne singing holy, holy, holy. I want to be in a car with a driver who's thinking about the road that we're on and the destination that we're going to. I don't want to have surgery from a doctor who's praying in tongues and is seeing Jesus at the right hand of the Father when he's supposed to be cutting something out of me. Are you catching my point? I don't want to have my car repaired by someone who doesn't know what a wrench is, but they do know their Bible. I'm thankful they know their Bible, but I want my car fixed. so somehow this reality of having my mindset on things above has to be able to fit into the lifestyles that we live do you understand the dilemma so here's what I think I think it all begins if I can go back to the verse I quote maybe more than any other John 15 7 abide in me so what's the point living conscious of the presence of God and carrying a word puts eternity in my heart.

38:02 it does something. It does something to satisfy my soul in a way that another car or another nice meal or whatever won't satisfy. There's something so intensely satisfying by living in the manifest presence of the Spirit of God that nothing else can equal.

38:28 And from my experience, which is limited from my experience it's that cultivation of presence that helps me to live with the awareness that there's more. There's more. There's more than this. I'm thankful, but I'm also hungry. There's something about the hunger for more that brings the more. He's a covenant, O God, who says, you pray, and I respond. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. There's something about the hunger and the pursuit that affects dramatically how things happen in this life. I think sometimes we've been taught, I'm opening a can of worms now, which is a brilliant thing to do right at the end of a message.

39:31 It's just absolutely brilliant. But I think sometimes we become so intensely committed to denying ourself, which we must do, that we actually deny the resurrected part of ourselves. In other words, it's the Christ in us. Some of the desires we have are actually the offspring of our relationship with God. And we continue to crucify the resurrected Christ in us to prove our devotion instead of proving devotion through obedience. I probably should end it right there just before I hurt anyone else. The Lord's put stuff in us. He's put dreams in us. They have to play out in His way.

40:27 It's not me determining my future. It's me surrendering knowing I have a future. And then He requires me to act. He requires me to pursue. He requires me to ask. He requires me to take risk. All these things are a part of how I live in the realization that I'm actually living in eternity towards time. I'm living from heaven towards the afflictions and stuff of this earth.

40:58 So, all right. It's over. Let me ask you a question. The most important thing that could happen today, absolutely more important than any other. would be that people in this room would leave knowing what it is to be forgiven of God, what it is to be adopted, brought into his family, to experience what the Bible calls be born again. And so I want to give that opportunity to everybody in the room, our online community. If you are watching online and you want to receive Jesus as your Lord, your Savior, I'm going to ask you to put it in the chat box. One of our pastors will come and help you. But for those of you in this room, I want you to do one simple thing. I want you to put a hand up. And by putting a hand up, you're saying, Bill, I don't want to leave the building until I know what it is to have peace with God, until I know what it is to be forgiven.

41:51 Put your hand up real quickly if that's you. Right over here? All right. Wonderful. Amen. I'm making a good amount with you. Amen. Anyone else? Real quick. I'll scan the crowd one last time. If there's anybody way back over here, another one. Wonderful. Amen. Anyone else? Anyone else on this side? All right. I want all of you to stand if you would. This is what I'm going to ask the two of you, or there could have been some I missed, but the two of you that raised your hand, if you guys hold your places, really, this is like the most holy moment of all, and not having distractions is really important right now. For the two of you that raised your hands, I'm going to ask you to come right over here to this, right over here to this banner. It's people that we know and trust and they will talk with you and pray with you. I'm going to ask ministry team if you also would come to the front.

42:47 And Rory, are you going to help me out? I'm going to rescue you.