This Sunday, billions of people worldwide will celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By the way, we worship on Sunday rather than on Saturday because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Every Sunday is an Easter Sunday!

This past year has been a year many of us have felt alone and powerless. Easter reminds us of the hope and power God brings to those who believe in Him. The Apostle Paul prayed that we would “…begin to understand how incredibly great His power is to help those who believe Him, the same mighty power who raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19-20).

LET’S TALK

God wants us to know and experience His resurrection power. The Greek word translated “power” is dunamis, from which we get our English word dynamite. Here are three areas God’s explosive power is revealed through Easter.

His power to save us!

The message of Easter is a message of salvation. Jesus said that he didn’t come into the world to condemn it, but to save it (see John 3:17).

All of us have failed. We have all sinned and messed up. None of us are perfect. That’s why we need a Savior! Yes, the penalty and consequences of sin are death, but Jesus took our place and died and rose again for us.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he cried out, “It is finished.” In Greek, it is one word. It means “Paid in full.” “Canceled.” The Bible says, “the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s Cross” (Colossians 2:14). Someone said that the phrase “wiped clean” or “canceled” is like the old Etch-A-Sketch. When we sin, God flips things over and wipes everything clean!

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Elvina M Hall, 1865

His power to strengthen us!

Easter reminds us that we must rely on God’s power, not our own. As we have struggled through this past year, many of us are tired. Some of us may want to give up. The good news is that at our weakest, God is strongest!

Look at what Paul wrote: “(Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Here’s the point: The first step to knowing God’s power is to admit our weakness. We must acknowledge that God is God and we are not! 

Think about this — Romans 8:11says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” It’s only through His resurrection power we can have victory in our lives.

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

The power to sustain us!

Easter shows us the faithfulness of God! His power keeps and sustains us! He never gives up on us! The Bible promises that He will “sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Corinthians 1:8). The word sustain means “To keep from falling; to uphold; to support; as, to keep from sinking.”

Our relationship with God is not based on what we do but on what Jesus did at Easter. As we trust in Him, we can be confident that what God has started in our lives, He will complete (See Philippians 1:6).

And when, before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall still repeat.

BEFORE YOU GO

Easter is central to our faith. Like the Apostle Paul, we should long to know “Christ and experience the power of His resurrection and share his sufferings…”  (Philippians 3:10). This Sunday may people see the risen Lord!