Death: Defied, Defeated and Destroyed by Christ

Jesus was not merely revived, but He was ressurected. Jesus went through death and has gone out the other side alive, victorious, and in a new existence.

I. Jesus defied death
-He did not run from death or cheat death
-He went through death, faced it, and came out of it

II. Jesus defeated death
-Defeat is to render the enemy powerless in himself
-Jesus freed us from being enslaved by the fear of death
-Those who die in Christ will be raised up again in our future hope because of what He did on the cross--therefore we do not need to fear the second death
-Because of what Jesus has done, He has shown the power of ressurection over death

III. Jesus destroyed death
-During the great white throne judgment, death itself will be thrown to the lake

*based on Heb.2:14,15
by Dr. David Dean

The true and only door

Functions of a door: entrance, exit, protection

There are 2 kinds of "gate" in their time--a physical wooden gate in a rented kural or the shepherd himself at the entrance of a cave.

Three important lessons from Jesus, the gate:
1. Jesus us the gate of salvation
-There is no other way to get to heaven. not all roads lead there. Christianity is an exclusive belief.
-Only by faith in Jesus can we get to heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1Tim2:5)
-His death was all inclusive, open to all tribes and tongue (Matt11:28)

2. Jesus is the gate of protection
-Satan is the predator (1Pet5:8)
-We are commanded to resist the devil (James 4:7)
-Jesus enables us to flee from temptation (1Cor10:13)
-We must be conscious to keep ourselves in God's will and not just tolerate attacks.

3. Jesus is the gate of satisfaction
-Life with Jesus leads to greener pastures (Ez34:14, Ps23:1, Jn10:10)
- Abundance does not necessarily mean material wealth, but that life becomes meaningful.

*based on John 10:10
by Rev. Alex Uy

Hand it Over

There are many reasons why we must commit our lives to Jesus. We should hand our life completely to Him because:
1. He loves you and always has your best in mind
-He set Himself apart from other shepherds at that time since He was willing to sacrifice everything for His sheep.
-From the Old Testament, God has been described as a Good Shepherd by David, Ezekiel, Isaiah.

2. He never intends to dominate, deceive, or destroy you.
-He takes care of His sheep, entering through the gate with the plan to care and fend for the sheep.

3. He will not desert you in times of crisis and dangers.
-Though with legitimate access to the sheep, the hired hands only work for the money.
-However, Jesus' attitude differs from the others because He willingly will be with us through and through.

4. He seeks to lead you to favorable places and opportunities.
-He knows our needs and leads us to the right direction, exactly the place that they need.

5. He will guard you with His life, at all cost.
-He provides what we need at the end of the da.
-When the day is over and sheep are placed in the pen, He is willing to die for our sake.

*based on John 10:1-20
by Rev. Dr. David Go

Pursuing a personal Jesus

Jesus is a personal God. This Jesus is worth pursuing.

Three main characters of the event:
1. John, the Beloved
PAST: Last we see him was from the foot of the cross
PRESENT: He ran faster, bent down and looked. He has heard Jesus personally and has gone with Him. As he saw the empty tomb, he believed.
FUTURE: John sees the future glory of Jesus in a vision

2. Peter, zealous and passionate, impulsive and direct
PAST: Before this scene, he denied Jesus thrice, then wept bitterly
PRESENT: When he got to the tomb, he went inside to see the situation for himself, and he believed.
FUTURE: Peter speaks to thousands and many believed.

3. Mary Magdalene
PAST: Prior to this, Mary was with the dead body.
PRESENT: Jesus spoke to her as she was cring, and comforted her.
FUTURE: She was the first to see the ressurected Jesus.

It is clear that blood was necessary so there will be forgiveness of sin. However, why did Jesus have to die?
-Jesus had to rise from the dead to prove His deity (Rom1:4). This sets him apart from all other prophets.
-Jesus rose from the dead to show that He had power over death (Rom6:9)
-His ressurection demonstrated that our sins have been personally forgiven (1Cor3:13)

*based on John 20:1-18
by Ptr. Andrew Jorgensen

Christ prevails over sin and death

1. Sin and death is Adam's race's biggest problem, giving people evil, untold pain and suffering. It is not just society, but an internal struggle of every individual.

Sin is contagious and powerfully propagates itself. Sin brings guilt. "Guilt is the cornerstone of all neurosis." The world offers wrong analysis of sin and thereby wrong solutions for it. Sin's inevitable consequence is death.

2. God's law gives us the right understanding of sin.

Sin is the deadly disease that w can properly diagnose through God's law. The result is death for sin, but Jesus is the vaccine or cure that can bring healing in the form of eternal life.

3. God's gift, Jesus Christ, overcomes man's problem of sin and death.

Romans10:14 confirms that Jesus completes the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.

4. God's grace overwhelms the domain of sin and death.

Jesus brings grace and eternal life, not death. Jesus brings healing, not condemnation.

*based on Romans 5:12-21
by Elder Andrew Chua

Seeing the Light at the end of the Tunnel

Jesus brought Peter, James and John with Him becasude they were the three who were:
-most ready to receive the truth
-acknowledged as leaders in the pack
They witnessed three life-changing events in this experience:

Transfiguration: "I (Jesus) am the Messiah!"
-All through His life, Jesus is the Messiah, only that the world does not know it yet
-Jesus presented Himself to them, declaring this as truth

Appearance of Moses and Elijah: "Jesus must fo through suffering and death to accomplish His mission."
-Luke 9 records them talking of Jesus' exodus--His journey to the cross and death
-Israel's great heroes were talking to Jesus--an act that must have convinced the disciples about Christ's accepted/claimed fate
-These characters were representatives of the Law and Prophets.
-Moses and Elijah spoke within earshot of the disciples, but in their fear, the latter did not listen to what was being discussed.

God speaks audibly: "This is My Son, whom I love, listen to Him!"
-The cloud symbolized God's presence
-Jesus, as an obedient Son, lived out John 14:31
-God's audible voice should've crushed any inkling of doubt from the disciples, leavin gthem to accept His word and live it out.

Jesus' ressurection marks the light at the end of the tunnel

*based on Mark 9:2-8
by Rev. Alex Uy