R1369 What The Resurrection Means

We all could use some encouragement, and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilson, here on The Encouraging Word. In just a moment, Dr. Don Wilson, well-known author, evangelist, seminary professor, and pastor is going to take us to 1 Corinthians 15 for today's message, What the Resurrection Means. You know, we've been celebrating Easter all week.

Last Sunday, what a glorious celebration. Many, many people giving their lives to Jesus Christ, and many of us who have been walking with Christ, perhaps that's you, like me, have been empowered with a fresh new perspective of what it is to live out a resurrected life. Know that we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you and for you anytime on our prayer line at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673 or online at www.tewonline.org. Now, today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilson. You know, Jesus, before I even open our Bibles today, you know, Jesus asked one of the most incredible questions. The disciples were together, and he said, Well, who do you, who do people out there say that I am?

What do they think about me? And one of them looked at him and said, Oh, they all say you John the Baptist. You know, Jesus might have looked at him and said, Well, why do they do that? Well, you know, you're fearless, and you know, you're a powerful preacher, and Jesus would have said, Yep, that's right.

I am. And then someone said, No, no, no, no, no, no. No, they don't say you John the Baptist. They say you're Elijah. Well, why would they say I'm Elijah? Well, you know, just like Elijah called on God and defied the prophets of Baal and look what God did, and you just remind them of Elijah, and Jesus would have most likely said, You're right. I am like Elijah.

I do come against the pagan gods of the world. And then somebody else said something, and Jesus then turned to them. And he said, But who do you say that I am? And, you know, that's that great statement where one of the disciples said, You, you the Messiah. You're the Son of God. You are God. You're the only one. You're the only Jesus one. So, you know, while it's wonderful to be here together today, I want you to know that I'm just so praying for you.

I love you so much. Just thank God for you. And I'm really asking the Lord that God would speak to you in your world. That's why I want to speak to you today about what the resurrection means. This is the most incredible news. You know, it is just mind-boggling.

It's wow backwards and frontwards. You cannot describe this, that Jesus is alive. And I want to show you something in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles and look there with me. You might want to get out your iPad or your phone, your cell phone, whatever means you've got today. Go to that little app that says Bible and click on Bible. Go to 1 Corinthians. Go to chapter 15. And just take a look at this passage with me for just a few moments. This is incredible.

This is what happened. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 3. This is what Paul said to a group of people just like you and me. For I delivered to you as of first importance this which I have also received. What do you suppose must have been so important that it occupied first place? You know, when I read that I said to myself, if I had only one thing that I could say to you all today that I could share with you, what would be so important it would occupy first place? I just have to say this.

This is what he was saying here. This is first, this is it. That Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. That he was buried. That he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. That he appeared to Cephas. Then he appeared to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time. That was over a period of 40 days. We know according to Acts chapter 1 and verse 3.

Spent 40 days. Did you get this after he came alive? He appeared to them and then he appeared to 500 most of whom are still alive.

Many of them Paul said have died. Then he appeared to James. And then he appeared to all the apostles. And Jesus hung around after he came out of the grave. And evidently Paul knew that this account of Jesus death and his burial and his glorious resurrection was so important that it was more important than anything else. And it was the meaning of the resurrection. Jesus had completed his assignment to God in complete fulfillment of all that was necessary for you and for me. And yet he waited after he came out of the grave for 40 days. And he appeared to all these people.

We know it was well over 500 people. We know he walked down the road to Emmaus. He went to the Sea of Galilee. He had breakfast with the disciples. He talked. He did all kinds of things after he came out of the grave. What is the meaning of the resurrection? I think when Jesus gathered his disciples together, long before he went to the cross, Jesus knew everything because he's God. He gathered them. They, in a sense, they had like a mini church service to talk about Easter Sunday. And Jesus said, tell me about the world out there.

What's going on? Well, if he was to ask me today, I've got a lot to talk to him about. I'd talk about Brussels for one. I'd talk about ISIS. I think I'd talk to him about politics, about the President of the United States, who's going to be in the White House. I'd talk to him about the global market. I'd talk to him about refugees who are suffering, thousands of them coming ashore in places like Greece. Many of them are perishing at sea. I'd talk to him about Cuba.

I think I'd talk to him about Cuba. There's a couple of things about the resurrection, what it means. It means that we can know God.

See, everybody's trying to find God today. God is being defined and redefined by every culture, every person, every nationality, every country, every religion. The resurrection means that we can find God again. See, our sin has separated us from him because Jesus was born, went to a cross, and then was raised. It means that through him, we find him. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.

No man can come to the Father but by me. That's the meaning of the resurrection. It means you can find God. It means you can be forgiven.

Amazing. People everywhere are looking for forgiveness. I'll lead the way today.

I'll lead the way. I will tell you that I'm a sinful man. I was born in sin. I need forgiveness. I need forgiveness in order to be saved, to come to know Christ, to have peace with God.

And I did that. I confessed my sin to him and I gave my life to him. But as a believer, I need forgiveness because I'm a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice. This is what the Bible says. The Bible says if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.

What is the meaning of the resurrection? It means that you can be forgiven. Is there anyone listening? Excuse me.

How is your world? Anyone needing forgiveness today? If you're not forgiven, you cannot have peace with God. Only Jesus can do that.

What is the meaning of the resurrection? It means that you can have peace. See, when you find God and you are forgiven, you have peace.

But what about you? Do you have peace? Are there bombs going off in your own heart?

How's your marriage doing? Anger, the search, the conflict. What triggers you?

How quickly does it take for you to go ballistic? I didn't say that you were... I'm just... Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? It's all very well for the world out there to say that I'm this and I'm that, but what about you? This is the meaning of the resurrection.

You can have peace. The resurrection means that you can live meaningfully. Meaningfully. That was my life, you know. When I was growing up, I had an adventurous life, no doubt about it.

I understand motorbikes and surfboards and beautiful places and wonderful beaches. I married the love of my life. But I'll tell you, even in my mid-twenties, it was the meaningfulness of life that was missing. See, I was one of those many of us. If Jesus had said that to me, well, Don, who do you say? See, if I was there, man, I could have popped it out there because my daddy was a preacher. I could have said, well, Lord, seeing you're asking that question, you know, out there. And some people think that you...

Some people, you know, they say you're a good man. But, man, I got to that point in my life when Jesus looked at me and said, who do you say that I am? And when I said yes to Jesus, meaningfulness came into my life.

Yeah, I wish that I had some very special way to describe that to you. It's an inner sense of purpose. Do you wake up every day without meaning? You know, maybe you can even look at your own life today and say, you know what? I'm blessed. You can be blessed but not have meaning.

You can have a fantastic motorbike and you can have surfboards and you can have grandkids and a wonderful spouse and a home and live in a beautiful place. Do you know you can live in a place as beautiful as this and still not have meaning? That's why the resurrection is unbelievable, folks.

I think this is why perhaps Paul said this is of first importance. You can have a meaningful life. You can live meaningfully.

What does the resurrection mean? It means you can know God and you can be forgiven. You can have peace. You can live meaningfully. You can begin again. Please forgive the interruption but that truth of knowing you can begin again, no matter what the enemy has told you, no matter what even some family and friends have told you, no matter what you have done, no matter how far you have run, even turning your back on God, God is ready to receive you.

Right now, oh, just last Sunday as we were thinking about the resurrection, thinking about what Jesus did on that cross, Jesus has always come, always come with arms wide open, ready to receive you. I pray that you realize that. Again, you'll have more opportunities throughout the broadcast to maybe pray with one of our teams at 866-899-WORD about where you are in your path of knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord. Just know that we're available for you anytime for any questions and we'd love to pray with you at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to meet you on our website as well at www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. How's your world? You can begin again. Is there anyone today that needs to come back home? You need to come back home? You know, most of us, most of us stray. We get off track. I'd love to stand here and say, you know, I've always just been right there, exactly where I need to be for the Lord, but you know something I haven't, folks. You and I stray, we go our own way. Sin gets in our life.

We begin to look in different places and we get pulled aside. What's been pulling you aside? How's your church life doing? Are you in church? Are you involved?

Are you getting fed? Are you being inspired by God's word, this magnificent singing today? Can you give two hours a week to the Lord Jesus in a way like this that will give you so much fuel that you'll know that every moment you're living for Him? You see, the resurrection means that we can begin again. I want to say something to somebody, whoever you are, somebody today that you're so far from God that you really believe in your heart that it's over.

It's not. When you look at Jesus, when He came out of the grave, He conquered sin and death in the grave. You can come back again. And I'm gonna tell you something, you are welcome in this place. Do you know what this does to us? I'm a pastor, folks. I see people all the time move from the front seat to the middle seat to the back seat to the outer seat. I watch it all the times like just a movement.

You know what it is? As people begin to become affected by the things of this world, things that are not good, things that are okay but not good, as they begin to move away from God, one of the first casualties is they stop coming to church. Listen, if you are living out of harmony with your wife, you are going to do everything you can to stay away from home as long as you can. You'll make up meetings, you'll extend your work hours, you'll go to work earlier. That's what you'll do.

If you're not in harmony with the person that you love, you don't want to spend time with her. So you'll keep making. Then you'll come home and you'll throw up road barriers. You'll walk into the house, put on the television set.

Walk in, where's the remote control? I just got to see this. And you walk in, just got to do this. I just got to do this. And what you do is you psychologically, you throw up barriers in order to prevent yourself from that beautiful close communication with this person that really you do love.

And you know sometimes you feel that love. You'll make all that and it's like you want to but you just can't. The resurrection, the living the Lord Jesus, enables you to begin again. I want to, in his name, invite you, make that decision with him, the living Lord Jesus. What does the resurrection mean? The resurrection means that you can go to heaven. You can go to heaven. You don't have to go and kill someone in order to do that. That's not what Christianity is because someone was already killed in order to enable us to do that. He took our place. False religions turn everything back to front.

False religion says I have to do something to somebody else in order to justify my acceptance into this place called paradise by whatever definition. The empty tomb, the resurrection, tells me that Jesus took my place. He gave his life so that I am set free. It's not about me. It's all about him and it's his gift for me to receive. I receive that gift. The Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any of us should boast or brag or think that we deserve. We don't.

It's all about him. That's what the resurrection means. I wish that I could go to this Cuban friend of mine whom I don't know. I'd love to go and say, man, I hope you enjoyed the stones.

I'm sure they did. But I've got something of first importance. Jesus is alive. He is risen from the dead. And that means because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Oh, what powerful teaching from Dr. Wilton. That truth of knowing because of Jesus, you and I can face tomorrow.

And we can face it without fear and without shame. Oh, I pray that as you've heard Dr. Wilton teaching and preaching from the pulpit, you would know that we're here for you. Love to pray with you anytime at 866-899-WORD.

You've got questions. Maybe God stirred up your heart for some questions. Let's talk about it, pray about it right now at 866-899-9673. Or perhaps the conversation you need to have is one between you and the Lord.

I pray that you'd open your heart as Dr. Don steps into the studio with this particular challenge of yours in my life. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin, and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. Perhaps you just gave your life. As Dr. Don was leading in that prayer, gave your life to Jesus Christ, or rededicated your life to Christ. If so, welcome. Welcome to the family of God. Welcome home. If you're coming back and restarting with a fresh commitment, you need to know Dr. Don Wilton would love to pray with you and for you.

You can connect with us at 866-899-WORD and tell us about your decision. Let us send you those free resources. If you gave your life to Christ or are rededicating your life today, call 866-899-9673, or we can communicate on our website as well, www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org, the place you'll find great resources like this. Hello, everybody. You know, my friends know me as Don Wilton, pastor, friend, neighbor, dad, husband, grandpa. But I'm going to tell you, in the world just like you, know and identify Dr. Billy Graham as that man that God used to reach so many people around the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Graham in a very personal and intimate way, both as his friend and as his pastor. In fact, for many years, I drove up to his home in Montreat, North Carolina and visited with him every Saturday. Just like friends do everywhere, we sat together and ate together, walked, talked. We discussed politics, friends, places, people. We laughed our heads off. We did everything one could possibly imagine. That's why I wrote this wonderful book, Saturdays with Billy.

It's all about a personal relationship. And I hope and pray that Saturdays with Billy will be a blessing to you, will inspire you, and will encourage your heart, just as Mr. Graham encouraged my heart and changed my life. God bless you, my friends. That's just one of many great resources on our website at www.tewonline.org. Many books from Dr. Wilton, that one about Dr. Graham, the other one that many are giving away, especially at this time of year to students graduating high school or college called See You at the Finish Line, a powerful book.

Again, it's on our website at www.tewonline.org. And before we get away, closing thoughts from Dr. Don. You know, these are such special times together. I'm so grateful, my friends, that we can worship together like this through the encouraging word broadcast ministry and use such a vital part of all that God's doing.

And I just love you, and I want you to know that. You know, this ministry goes on 24 hours round the clock all the time. We want to be involved in your life, and we want to continue to pray for you.

You can call us at any time. You can partner with us all the time through prayer and through your giving. We know that you are 100% engaged as we are in sharing God's truth with our searching world.

That's what this is all about. We need Jesus, don't we? And God is doing a great work, and I love you today. Thank God for you. Pray for you.

God bless you. It's been a powerful week of teaching. Hear from Dr. Don Wilton on the encouraging word. If you missed any of these broadcasts, drop by our website, www.tewonline.org.

You can not only hear these in a podcast form. If you'd like to watch the video clips, they're available as well all on our website at www.tewonline.org. And one of Dr. Don's personal great joys in life is hearing how God is using this ministry to influence you, to change you, to bring you to Jesus Christ. If you have a story you'd like to share with Dr. Wilton, email him. He would love to hear from you. His email is Don, D-O-N, at www.tewonline.org. That's just his first name, Don, D-O-N, at www.tewonline.org. We would love to hear from you.