How to live in Empty Tomb Victory – Part 2
It’s now after Easter and we’ve celebrated Jesus’ resurrection and victory over sin, death, and the grave. So, what’s next? In this After Easter series Part 1, I shared two things that we must do to live in that victory that Jesus won for us on the cross.
- Embrace the beautiful Truth from Lamentations 3:21-26: We have HOPE this very moment because the Lord’s mercies toward us are new every. single. morning. Today is a fresh new day in the Lord! What we did yesterday, or a year or 50 ago, or how we acted, or who we were… once repented of and given over to Jesus… It DOES NOT CONSUME who we are today.
Of course, every single one of us will battle with the flesh… it’s the nature of living in this sin-sick world. But we CAN have VICTORY because of Jesus’ victory over our enemy and death itself. When the Spirit of God lives within us, He promises to give us life… abundant life (John 10:10) and helps us live in victory while we are on this earth.
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:11
This is God’s Resurrection Power living within us! However, we must access that Power… and we do that through the second point in Part 1.
- “Seek Me and Live.” Amos 5:4. A direct command with a fabulous promise. We MUST be about seeking the Lord through His Word. It’s our only way to live the abundant life He has designed for us. Part 1 explains how to begin this process.
God’s Word must be our Ground Zero of living. We must base every decision, every belief, and everything on it, even when we don’t understand or agree. God’s Word is the final say. Check out these verses in this document I found… Every verse listed, plus many many more, supports the truth that God’s Word is our final, irrefutable authority. We must seek Him through His Word, and obey it.
- The third thing we must do if we want to walk with the Lord is get connected to a local body of believers. Jesus knew we could not navigate this world on our own and that we would NEED a like-minded group of people on whom to lean and with whom to walk. The church is the local body of Christ on this earth – where His light and love is lived out in this ever-darkening world.
We see from scripture that Jesus made church a priority, as did the disciples.
So He {Jesus} came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. Luke 4:16 (AMP)
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NASB)
The writer to the Christians dispersed throughout the Roman Empire (who were living in horribly tough circumstances) tells them the importance of meeting together in “church”:
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)
They were also encouraged to “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.” Heb. 13:7 (NLT)This is what happens in church. However, simply attending a church service now and then is not effective if the goal is a vibrant walk with the Lord. Which leads us to our last point:
- We must also invest ourselves and the gifts God has given us into the local Church body. Why?
Every believer in whom the Holy Spirit dwells has a unique God-given gift NEEDED by the local church body. God pieces and builds the church together for His purposes in this world. Yet our gifts are not for ourselves. They are for the benefit of others within the church. When we aren’t serving in our place within the body, the body is missing something vital.
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” Heb. 12:4-6 (NLT)“Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God.” 1 Pet 4:10 (HCSB)
Another major reason to invest ourselves in a local church body is because church people become family people. And all of us will need family people one of these days. Whether it’s in sorrow or in joy, church family will surround us in love, support, and comradery. Fellow brothers and sisters share in our lives as we get to share in theirs. I can’t imagine settling into a new place or going through a hard time without the love of a church family.
“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” 1 Cor. 12:36 (NLT)
It’s after Easter. Now what?
By embrasing the new mercies of the Lord, spending time soaking in His Word each day, finding a local church body, and investing ourselves in it, we are on the path of walking in Empty-Tomb-Resurrection Victory!
