By Larry Stover | Stover lives in Valley Grande and is pastor at Praise Park Ministries Church of the Nazarene

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!” His ultimate goal in life, as a Christian, was to know and experience the power associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In our Lord’s last appearance with His disciples, He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were filled with His Holy Spirit. Now, waiting does not come easy for most of us. We want instant power and instant spiritual victory. We like “microwave success.” Though Jesus had promised power for every believer, they had to wait ten days to receive it.

We will do anything to save time. When checking out at the store, we look for the shortest lane. When driving, we look for the shortest route. Instead of waiting for the power of the Holy Spirit to help us as a Christian, we tend to grit our teeth and live our lives under our own power and generally fail. We become miserable and void of any joy in our relationship with Jesus.

What difference does “Resurrection Power” make in our lives?

It is through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we experience the forgiveness of sins. In His death, He became the sacrifice for our sins and took upon Himself our deserved punishment. When Jesus rose from the grave He demonstrated once and for all that His sacrifice is all that is necessary to pay the penalty of sin.

Whenever the Devil tempts you saying, “God could never forgive you for what you have done; or, you are a terrible person,” tell Satan that “Since Jesus rose from the grave, He proves He has power to forgive my sin. Furthermore, I have put my faith in Jesus Christ and I’m a child of God!” The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross gives assurance of my salvation.”

Resurrection power doesn’t end with the forgiveness of sins. It also empowers us to conquer sin and temptation in our lives. Born Again believers know that “If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation; the old is passed away, and everything has become new. Along with that new relationship with Christ comes the power to live for Him daily.

We have this promise in First Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” In Christ, we are a new creation. His Spirit lives within us. We have been renewed. We have a new self.

Our new purpose is to become like Him in righteousness and holiness, to become what God intended for His creation to be!

Why are so many believers failing as a Christian?  They have not experienced the Power of the Resurrection. Too many Christians continue to act as though they are still slaves to sin.

Satan tries to deceive them into believing that they have no hope. He uses habits ingrained in them over the years to defeat them. The Devil is a deceiver!  Don’t believe him!

God wants to give you power to break addictions and habits that are destroying your life. But, you must yield to His power, the power of His resurrection. We are equipped for life by putting on the “Armor of God.” We defeat Satan and sin because of resurrection power.

Biblical truth rings true. Because of the resurrection, you can be forgiven of your sins; you can have victory over sin, and you can become conformed to the image of Christ.

Have you imagined what it means to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ? Think about everything about yourself that you don’t like; all the habits, negative characteristics, and things you have wanted to change and tried to change.  Jesus Christ can help you deal with every one of them as you become more and more like Him. By the way, that is your spiritual destiny as a Christian.

More than anything else, we need to experience a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the power associated with His resurrection. What do you want more than anything? Money? Power? Fame? Thrills and excitement? Compared to the power of the resurrection, these things are worthless.  If you are seeking a happy life, a good marriage, a satisfying job, and inner peace, you need to understand that Jesus Christ can meet these needs and so much more.

If your relationship with Jesus Christ is not what you want it to be, you may be lacking the power that transformed individuals experience when they become a new creation in Christ. By experiencing the power of the resurrection it will make your life “Simply Beautiful.”