Resurrection Power
“All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of His resurrection, to share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death”
(Philippians 3:10)
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand at last on the earth”
(Job 19:25)
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?...Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
(1 Corinth 15:55,57)
Welcome to April! It’s a new month, a new quarter! Glory to God!
I believe we all had a glorious March, and an amazing first quarter. God has been faithful. It is my prayer that we will all continue to walk in our new positions, experiencing greater glory in every area of our lives in Jesus name. Hallelujah!
As we know, this month, we would be celebrating the climax of our faith - the singular event that changed the course of humanity forever, and also restored our relationship with God. Like the Apostle Paul, our prayer as believers should be to know Jesus in a deep, personal and intimate way, and to know by experience, the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Therefore, our prophetic focus for the month of April is RESURRECTION POWER.
The prayer of Paul to know the power of Christ’s resurrection can be understood in various ways. For instance, it could mean that he desired to experience in his own body and life the very power that raised Christ from the dead. Remember that everyone Jesus raised from the dead experienced resurrection as an external force; He either touched them or spoke a word to bring them back to life; it was external to them. However, when Jesus was raised from the dead, His body was quickened from within. This is why Paul said in Romans 8:11 that if that same Spirit [power] that raised Jesus from the dead dwells IN us, He will also quicken us, strengthening our mortal bodies from within. So, among the many roles the Spirit of God has in the life of the believer, He is the power at work in us through which God is able to do exceedingly above and abundantly beyond our natural abilities. He is the quickening force, the resurrection power and the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinth 15:45; John 7:38-39).
Also, Paul’s prayer in Philippians 3:10 reveals his desire to fully grasp the significance and implication—the power—of Jesus’ resurrection. It is a prayer not to underestimate or trivialize the weightiness of Christ’s resurrection through ignorance but to come into the fullness of its meaning for us as Christians. The enemy would prefer that we remain in a place of ignorance, depriving us from living in the fullness and reality of the victory that Christ has won for us. If we do not understand that because Jesus defeated death, we are free from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15), or that by His resurrection, we have been raised together with Him to sit in heavenly places, we seriously shortchange ourselves—fighting a defeated foe, and living a defeated life when we are already more than conquerors. No wonder Paul prayed that we would understand the riches of our inheritance through Christ’s resurrection (Ephesians 1:18-20).
What really is in the resurrection of Jesus? Why is it so important? Just imagine for a moment that Jesus never came back to life; imagine that the grave conquered Him. Like Paul said, if Christ had not been raised, our faith as Christians would be useless, and we would be the most miserable of all men (1 Corinth 15:14-19). But thanks be to God—Jesus conquered the grave; our Redeemer lives! The Scriptures tell us that if only the princes of the world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinth 2:8). This mistake became their undoing; we get to have the last laugh. Glory to God! Jesus publicly humiliated the devil, making an open spectacle of his defeat (Colossians 2:15). So, the next time the enemy comes with his woes and lies, remind him of his forever defeat, and do not do it quietly. Glory to God!
It is my prayer that as we step into the new month and a new quarter, the essence of Easter will be our reality. We walk in victory, in renewed hope, with new strength. We walk in liberty of spirit, in freedom of our souls, in wholeness of our bodies. We step into new seasons, new experiences, new possibilities; we walk in the newness of life in every way by the reason of His resurrection power at work in us (Romans 6:4). May we know by experience and with an enlightened understanding the power of His resurrection. Nothing in our lives will mock or trivialize the victory of His resurrection in Jesus name.
Join us this month as we look at the following series:
Resurrection Hope, The Empty Tomb, With a grateful heart, and New Beginnings.
Also, mFH will be celebrating her 8th anniversary this month. Join us to raise a sound of gratitude to our God. Have a blessed April!