The Power of the Resurrection

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
I want to welcome you to Healing Begins today, and
my name is Pastor Gail and I have Stephanie with us.
Say hello, Stephanie.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Hey, everybody, how you doing today? Go to see you,
Pastor gal By.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now you know, Stephanie is a regular person on the show,
and we're really glad she's joining us. But the first
thing I want to do today is just say hi
to all the listeners.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Yeah, how you doing out there, guys, Go to see you, ladies.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
I know that when we're talking together it may seem
like we're just talking to each other, but every topic
that we choose is a topic for you, and we're
trying to think about relevant topics today that would really
help the listener and help you guys that are out there.
So I don't know what you're doing. Maybe you're driving
the car down the road, working, maybe out for one

(01:02):
am run. I hope not. I don't like running at
one am.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
If you are, kudos, we need you lay hands on us.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Protection protection if you're running at one am. But the
topic I've chose for this morning is the power of
the resurrection. As you know, we are in the Easter season,
and you know I've seen it advertised. It's not about
the bunny, but the lamb. I like that. So for me,

(01:34):
Easter is never about the Easter egg hunt. It's never
about chocolate, although I like chocolate, But it's about Jesus.
It's about the Resurrection. And the reason the reason I
wanted to focus on this is because when I see
the apostles and the disciples preaching in the New Testament,

(01:55):
they're always focused right on the Resurrection. They're always focused.
That's where their focus is. Because let's talk about the
resurrection for a moment, and what is your focus on Easter, Sephanie.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, great question. So for us, in our particular gathering,
we celebrate Passover, right, that's the meal that Jesus celebrated
in the Upper Room with the disciples before he went
to the cross. So we actually participate in that particular
Hebrew supper and celebration because it's a prophetic picture of
the death, resurrection and coming of the Lord.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Correct. And now I've never celebrated a Passover, but it
sounds like it would be very interesting. And so the
power of the resurrection, why is it so powerful? Well,
one of the things the resurrection does it it's just
a proof that Jesus was God who came in the

(02:56):
flesh the way, the truth in life. It's that proof.
That's why Jesus said, if you destroy this temple and
three days, I'll rebuild it. He wasn't talking about the
earthly temple. He was talking about his body. Now, Hey,
I've been watching The Chosen. Yeah, man, I love The Chosen.
I was watching. I was nine am showing in Battle

(03:19):
Creek watching part two, and there was three of us
in the theater. I felt like we were having a
private showing of the Chosen. It was really good, really good.
So the resurrection proved that Jesus wasn't just a man.
He wasn't just a good prophet. He wasn't just a
good teacher, but he was God who came in the flesh,
the way, the truth and the life.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
Right, Stephanie, Absolutely, And I love the part that talks
about when he went down. Okay, so we know we
paid persons on the cross, right. Then it says he
went down into hell and he took back the keys
of the kingdom, our authority, and then he was raised
up and seated in the heavenly places.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Right.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
That resurrection component is so important because then he said,
I will send the Holy Spirit, who is our helper
and our power to help us get through things. So
the resurrection portion of Easter is the most important piece.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
It's totally If you don't understand that, you're going to
really miss what Easter is all about. And you know
the other thing you talk about taking the keys. When
Jesus went down, he defeated sin and death. And so
when he died on that cross and he went into
the grave, the grave wasn't it. Grave was just just

(04:32):
the beginning.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Though.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
When he rolls from the dead is when he shook
the gates of health come on, you know, when he
rolls from the dead, that that's when it topped it
all off. I mean, the Romans knew that Jesus was
saying that he was going to raise from the dead.
The reason they knew is they posted guards at the tomb. Yeah, yeah,

(04:54):
you don't. You don't post guards at a tomb unless
you know something might happen. And so when he when
he raised from the dead, there was so much power
that came out of that tomb. The soldiers fell like
dead man. Mm hmm, yeah, I mean, can you.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Imagine, can you imagine what they said after that.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Well, then I had a word come to my mind,
but I think I won't say.

Speaker 4 (05:22):
Did you know my seriously, like, think about being there,
like if you're listening, Like, what would you do if
you were posted as one of the guards to stand
there thinking that this was all a farce and all
of a sudden, you know, here comes this great light
and angels sitting there, and you know, the grave.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Omens back up and here comes Jesus. How would you respond?

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Right, well, I'm thinking about that two thousand pound rock
that was in front of the opening. Okay, yeah, right now,
when you look into the original language, that rock was
like flipped up up the hill like it was nothing.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
So when he came out of that tomb, the two
thousand pound rock with a seal over it was removed
like it was nothing. And the Roman guards were like
the equivalent of our Navy seals. So they were like
freaking out. They're on the ground like dead men. And
Jesus walks out of the tomb and the angels are there,

(06:16):
and wow, what power? What hope that gives for us
as believers? I mean, he's not dead, he's surely alive,
he's living. On the inside 'ar like a lion. I
love that. So the other thing it does, the resurrection

(06:40):
gives us power for daily living.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
So because right that power lives in.

Speaker 3 (06:46):
Us, The same power that raised Christ from the dead
dwells on the inside of you.

Speaker 2 (06:50):
That is the greatest gift that we've received.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yes, yeah, And then you know, you think about the
promise of the resurrection. What is first of when he
died for us, He died for our justification and for
our new life in Christ. Wow, that is amazing. You know.
When he died and rose again, he gave us his
righteousness to be clothed with. He bought and paid for

(07:16):
it all.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah. And that's right out of Romans four twenty five.
If you've never heard that verse, it just says he
was delivered over to death for our sins and raised
to life for our justification.

Speaker 2 (07:28):
That's why he was resurrected.

Speaker 3 (07:30):
So we had to die for the payment of our sins,
but he was raised to life so we could be.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Justified just as if we never sinned.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
That's exactly raise God.

Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah. So when God looks at you and God looks
at me, he's not thinking, oh what a mess. Oh
look at this, look at that. If you're a believer
and you've accepted Jesus Christ, your Lord and savior, he's
literally paid the price. When God looks at you, he
literally sees the finished work of Christ. He sees he
was clean, he sees he was pure, he sees.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
He was justified.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Because that price has been paid on your behalf. He's like, oh,
they're covered, they're clean, they're righteous.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
And then the other thing, the resurrection does it gives
us an assurance of our resurrection. You want to read
those scriptures.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Yeah, So that's.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
First Corinthians fifteen twenty through twenty two, which talks about
Christ's resurrection being the first fruits of what's come for
all who believe.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Just as he rose, we too will rise.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
The promise gives believers hope that death is not the
m but a passage into eternal life. So I have
to look those up. You have to give me a
second to pull my biblelogs.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
Y Ah, quote it here.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
You know what I'm hoping people will do. I'm hoping
people will pull their Bible out at home. So the
second thing about the promise, that's an assurance, says, it's
an assurance of our resurrection. Just as he raised from
the dead, so shall we. And it says that in
First Corinthians fifteen twenty through twenty two and one Thessalonians

(09:03):
four fourteen. Those are important scriptures. And if you're listening
to me at home, if you're listening to us, I
pray that you would pull out your Bible, look up
these scriptures and read them for yourself, right, because we
often will reference a lot of scriptures, and you ought
to be checking us. You ought to be getting in

(09:26):
the word yourself, looking it up and checking it out.
And the other thing is that the resurrection. Without the resurrection,
the Gospel would be incomplete. It is the foundation of
our faith. Without the resurrection, we would have no foundation.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
It's the culminating moments.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
You entire your purpose so that we can be empowered
to live here on earth.

Speaker 2 (09:52):
Is Christ died right as he was?

Speaker 3 (09:55):
So will you be here on earth? And without the
Holy Spirit can't do that.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
That's what the resurrection did.

Speaker 3 (10:01):
He said, remember when he met Mary in the right afterwards,
and she was the one there and she's weeping, and
she's talking to him, thinking he's a gardener, right, Well,
he's like, listen, Mary, it's me. I've got to go
back to my father. Go tell your brothers that I've risen. Basically,
and he had told them earlier, said if I don't go,
a holy spirit will not come to you. But I

(10:23):
go so that I can send you a counselor so
that you're not alone, So that the very same power
that raised Christ from the dead can dwell on the
inside of us. And every day we have access to
who He is right on the inside of us. One
of the names of God is Jehovah Shamah, the one
who comes and abides within, abides with And you have

(10:43):
immedia access. If you've accepted Christ as your savior, you
have a media access to Christ in you. At any time,
he is closer than a brother. The Kingdom of God
is literally near you. And if you haven't accepted Christ,
it's as simple as saying, I agree that I need
a savior. I agree that I need to know you personally.
Please save me from my sins. Come you know forgive me.

(11:07):
I believe that you are the Son of God, that
you died and rose again for me, that you were
born of a virgin. Save me from my sins.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
I need you right, and.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
You can have that same exact power that raised Christ
from the dead living on the inside of you, because
it says you immediately your spirit's made new and you're
sealed with the Holy Spirit, and you become a new
creation in Christ Jesus, and you will have that same
access as well well.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
And also because of the resurrection, this is a great part.
When we accept Christ as our Lord and savior. That
is the moment eternal life begins ye for us, because yes,
our bodies will die, but we will not die. Our
soul and our spirit it will go to be with
Jesus in heaven, and one day we'll get a new

(11:52):
body and we'll live forever for him. So because of
the resurrection, because of what Jesus did, I don't grieve
like men that have no hope. We believe that Jesus
died and rose again. So we believe that Jesus will
bring with him those who have died in him. And
so it says that in Corinthians that it's really the

(12:15):
hope of the resurrection. And because of this we can
live our life with boldness telling people about the good news.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
Let me read that verse out, because I do have that,
it says, But the truth is Christ is risen from
the dead as the first fruit of a great resurrection
harvest of those who have died. For since death came
through a man Adam, it is fitting that the resurrection
of the dead has also come through a man Christ.

(12:45):
And then Verse twenty two in the Passion translation says,
even as all who are in Adam dies, so also
all who are in Christ will be made alive. But
each one in his proper order Christ the first ruts
than those who belong to Christ.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
And his present. So what Pastor's saying is so true.
We get to follow up after him.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
He goes first, and then when he returns, it says,
we'll meet him in the air, and we get to
go as well.

Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yeah, the hope it takes all the fear of death away. Now,
I think people fear maybe the way they will die
or the process of dying. But when it comes to dying,
you know, the scripture says, where old death is thy victory,
where old death is thy sting. Because when Jesus rolls
from the dead, he took the sting away from death.

(13:35):
Because when we are our bodies die, we do not die.
And I even believe at the transition point where our
bodies are failing, I believe a lot of times the
Lord comes and takes people to Heaven. The shells alive,
but the person, the soul or the spirit is gone.

(13:55):
And then you know how it is when people are
on life support. Sometimes the minute that's with drawn, the body,
most of the time stops to exist or live. And
so because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he

(14:15):
lives off fear is gone, and I know that he
holds the future.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, that's a beautiful song.

Speaker 3 (14:26):
Yeah. I just thinking of a couple opportunities I had
to be with individuals as they were transitioning, and so
often their body does begin to fail, but they're medicated.
Of course, we do that. There's a very compassionate approach
we have here in the United States, and they're oftentimes medicated,
but the crossover into eternity begins to happen right away.

(14:48):
I'm remembering a friend's father and he's saying, I'm seeing
my mom, who we know.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
Is saved and is in heaven. He said, I'm seeing angels.

Speaker 3 (14:56):
He goes, I'm seeing the Lord, And you know, he
would share with us things that it was kind of
going back and forth between the eternal and the now,
and I think it's a different experience, for sure for
believers than it is for those who don't know the Lord.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Oh. I totally agree with that, because I have seen
people getting near death who didn't know the Lord and
they were very restless. Yeah, very restless, very uncertain, very fearful.
And then I've been with people that I had a
chance to pray with and they got their heart right
with God and then they got immediately peace. Will know.

(15:31):
Speaking of that, maybe you're listening and you're saying, well,
past or, my heart isn't right with God. Well I
got good news. It can't be right with God. Just pray,
say Jesus, Yeah, Jesus, I asked you to come into
my heart.

Speaker 3 (15:45):
Yeah, come on, I ask you to come into my heart.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
Forgive me of my sins, forgive me of my sins.
Be my savior, and be my savior. Fill me with
the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 3 (15:55):
Fill me with your Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
And resurrection power and direction power. In the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus, I confess you are my Lord.

Speaker 3 (16:05):
I confess you are now my Lord, in the name
of Jesus.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
In the name of Jesus.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
Amen. Amen, you know, if you've prayed that prayer, we
would actually like to hear from you. My email is
share at Healing Begins Radio dot com. Share at Healing
Begins Radio dot com. Please reach out to us, contact
with us with any topics you'd like us to talk about.
I would love to hear from you. So because of

(16:32):
the resurrection, I can live a pure life. I can
have a life of purpose, and I can have a
life with hope.

Speaker 3 (16:39):
Man, that's so true. And hope is the key, right.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
I mean, it's all about hope.

Speaker 3 (16:45):
It's all about hope. There is hope for your future.
There is hope for tomorrow. There is hope that things
will turn around.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
God is a god.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Of hope, and Jesus has good plans to prosper you
and give you hope in a future. And he says
you will seek him and you will find him when
you seek him with all of your heart's on mind
and strength. So you're seeking of him doesn't have to
look like anybody else. It just has to be with
all the strength and all the might that you have,
whatever that looks like.

Speaker 1 (17:14):
Right now now as you're talking, I'm reminded of being
out on a hillside at six am in the morning,
or maybe it was five and we were doing a
sunrise service and singing the old hymn Up from the
Grave he arose. I love that song and it just
speaks of the hope that we have in the resurrection.

(17:35):
And I know that we're in a season in America
and in the world where there's a lot of upheaval,
a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety, a lot
of fear, a lot of worries. Stephanie, would you lift
up a prayer for our listeners.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
Yeah. Father, we just asked that you would come alongside
everyone that's listening today, that right where they're at, you
would wrap your arms of comfort and love around on
them and encouragement around them, that you would help them
to feel safe and to know that you are with them,
That you would give them a vision for their future
and an ability to see a way out, and to

(18:12):
feel tangibly how good you are to feel your love
towards them and know that you are going to protect
them in the days to come. We pray for all
of their circumstances and whatever is pressing in against them,
that even today you will begin to move the mountains
that are in their way so they can come more
fully into the place that you desire to bring them.

(18:34):
That is the good and open and spacious place of
blessing in Jesus' name, Amen.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
Amen the Lord. As Stephanie was praying, I was thinking
about the fact that you are so amazing at taking
something that is dead and bringing it back to life.
In this Easter season, I'm thinking about people out there
that has situations that seem impossible, almost like a lad

(19:00):
laying in the tomb, dead five days, no hope. But Jesus,
you came to lazarus tomb, you spoke his name, and
one word from you in his body came back to life.
And I'm reminded of Ezekiel where Ezekiel says, can these
bones live? And you say, yes, Lord, I know they can.

(19:23):
And so Lord, for every situation that it seems to
be dead and lifeless, I pray that you would breathe
your resurrection, power, life and breadth, and to every situation.
I'm reminded of the words that you spoke to Mary
and Martha at the tomb. I am the resurrection and

(19:46):
the life he who believeth in me will live even
though they die. And so I thank you for the
hope that we have in the resurrection, the hope that
we have that one you will return and one day
we will rise and we will go to be with you.
And to be absent from the body is to be

(20:07):
present with the Lord. And so I thank you for
that in the name of Jesus' Lord. I praise you Lord,
Thank you Lord.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
Yes, Amen, Amen.

Speaker 1 (20:18):
That's really the whole point of Easter. And if you're
listening to me out there, maybe you're looking for resources
to help you and your family. Well, I also have
a podcast channel you can find on Spotify, Google, Amazon,
anywhere you get podcasts. If you put in Healing Begins

(20:38):
Spiritual Care, you'll pull up like one hundred and fifty
three something like that podcast on all different subjects. They're
all about encouragement and strengthening your faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so I've also got a lot of books.
So if you go to Amazon dot com and you

(21:00):
put in my name Gail G. A L. E. Kroc
k R A G T. You will come up with
all the books that I have published, and some of
them are also in Spanish and so there's hope on Easter,
and we got a little bit of time left, not
a lot, but I'm just thinking of every listener that's

(21:22):
out there. Often when you hear a show, it's hard
to sometimes connect because you're thinking they're talking to each other,
but we're really talking to you. We hope you haven't
a good Easter, write Stephanie.

Speaker 3 (21:35):
Yeah, as we were praying your prayer earlier to Pastor Gal,
I was it was almost like I could hear somebody saying, well,
why would I want to be in his presence? You know, like,
what's the big deal? How is it different from what
I'm experiencing now? And I was just remembering that verse
that says in his presence is fullness of joy. And

(21:56):
that's why it's so wonderful to be in his presence
because all the comfort, all the encouragement, all the truth,
all the needs that we have are met in his presence.
And there's literally fullness of.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
Joy in a world marked with brokenness and death. The
resurrection of Jesus proclaims a better word life, peace and victory.
It is not just the end of the story, but
it's the beginning of ours. Because he lives, we have
hope for today and a confidence for eternity. I like that.

(22:33):
So as we close off, I just want to say,
made the Lord bless you. May the Lord keep you.
Made the Lord causes face to shine upon you, be
gracious towards you, and give you peace. Right, and remember,
it's not about the bunny, but it's about the lamb.

(22:55):
I like that. Well, hey, listen, you have a right
morning and a good Easter. Bye. Everybody have the Easter.
Everybody bye. Healing Begins is brought to you by Spiritual

(24:03):
Care Consultants, located in Hastings, Michigan. At the Healing Center,
we see children and adults at no costs. We do
virtual and in person sessions. We invite you to learn
more about us by going to www dot Spiritualcareconsultants dot com.
We also value your feedback and would like to hear
from you. You can email me at Gail G. A.

Speaker 3 (24:26):
L E.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
At Spiritualcareconsultants dot com. We would like to invite you
and your family and friends to go and listen to
the past programs by going to wood Radio dot com,
then click on podcasts, then look for Healing Begins and
click on that. Thank you so much for being a

(24:48):
faithful supporter. May God bless you, keep you, cause us
face to shine upon you and give you peace. Thank
you for listening.