April 05 2026

Sunday April 05

The Resurrection Changes Everything

Psalm 118:24“This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

My friend, I am convinced that this is the day that Psalm 118:24 prophetically points to—that day, the first day of the week when Jesus Christ came out of the grave victorious over death, sin, the devil, and hell itself. Jesus rose from the dead, alive, never to die again, eternally living because He is the eternal God.

This is the day that the Lord has made. That very special day 2,000 years ago, when Jesus came out of the grave, changed everything. If Jesus had only died and we had been told that He died for our sins, we could say that is good. But what brings authenticity, effectiveness, and justification to that truth is the fact that He rose from the dead. Romans 4:23-25: “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”

The early disciples, when they preached, referred to the resurrection of Jesus Christ again and again in every message. My friend, until the disciples experienced the resurrection of Christ, they did not have the courage they displayed afterward. Before that, they were fearful. They were hiding. They were in fear for their lives. But when they encountered the resurrected Savior during those 40 days before He ascended into heaven, something changed.

What changed was that, after waiting those 10 days in the upper room, the Holy Spirit of God came upon them. The Holy Spirit is the One who made the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ personal. He made that truth come alive in their souls, and they were willing to be martyred for the cause of Christ. All but one of those disciples were martyred. John is the only one who survived martyrdom and died a natural death. My friend, that is the difference the resurrection makes.

That is, in a sense, what Paul is speaking of in Philippians 1:7 when he tells the church at Philippi, “Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel”—remember the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ ( Corinthians 15:1-11)—And Paul concludes these verses with: “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”  

Paul informed the Philippian church that “you all are partakers with me of grace.” Paul is in chains. He is suffering. He has been through much. He does not know exactly what the future holds while he is in those chains. But he has grace in the midst of his struggles and his problems. He is talking about grace—grace that gives him everything he needs to be all that he should be, with the peace of God, the joy of God, and the completeness of Jesus Christ living in him and through him. That is the grace of God.

John 1:1-14 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is grace personified. When you have Jesus, and you enter into the fellowship of His sufferings, you recognize that He suffers alongside you.

Remember when Paul was saved on the road to Damascus and he said, “Lord, who are You?” Jesus said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Jesus goes through our suffering with us. He weeps with us. He cares for us. We are partakers of His grace. This is not just grace that helps us get through a tough time—it is Jesus Himself who is present with us, helping us through every difficulty.

Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the psalmist said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Why? “For Thou art with me.” Oh, my friend, through the ministry, work, and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can experience the grace of Jesus every moment of our lives if we will simply believe and trust Him. We are partakers of His grace, and I trust you will know that today. Hallelujah—He is risen! He is risen indeed! We can face whatever comes our way with His grace and for His glory.

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!