April 20, AD 30

April 20th is an important date for some people. There are some famous people connected to that date. For example:

1. This guy (Adolph Hitler) born April 20, 1889 – 136 years ago
2. Another familiar face born April 20th, 1937 – 88 years ago – George Takei – Mr. Sulu from "Star Trek"
3. Then we get to the lesser known but people important to my mother, for example, Born April 20th, 1947 – 78 years ago – Me (My mom's favorite pic of me) rest her soul.
4. Then, and all kidding aside, there's the most famous and most important person who ever lived who was resurrected from the dead on this day, April 20th, 1996 years ago today, and that is Jesus Christ.

Now we know and believe the info about Adolph, and George and me because there are records, birth certificates, witnesses and information recorded that date our births, lives and deaths when that eventually happens.

In the same way we know about Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection because there are witnesses, recorded information that attest to His birth, death and, most importantly, His glorious resurrection from the dead.

Now, as closely as we can tell from the records we have, this event happened. I mean, if we were using today's calendar, it happened on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th, and between the year A.D. 30 and A.D. 33. That's the historical window when the resurrection took place.

Now, here's the point about all of this. We know and believe the information you know about Mr. Adolf here and George and me, because there are records. There are birth certificates, there are witnesses. There's information that's recorded that dates our births and our lives and our deaths—when that will eventually happen to Mr. Takei and myself. We know, not because somebody invented us. We know because, hey, these people who are alive today saw me, and they told somebody else, and it was recorded. It's on the radio. It's on the internet. We have information to confirm that these people lived.

My point is, in the very same way, we know about Jesus' birth and life and death and resurrection. Because there were witnesses, and there is recorded information that attests to his birth, his death, and most importantly, his glorious resurrection from the dead. I'm saying to you that it did happen.

We don't have the exact moment, but we do have a sure time frame. As I said, not before March 22nd, not after April 25th. That's why Easter Sunday kind of rolls back and forth there. It's a calendar thing. And not before A.D. 30, not after A.D. 33. That's the window that we have.

My opinion—and it's only my opinion—as the sermon title suggests, is that he was crucified on the 18th and rose from the dead on the 20th, A.D. 30. That was 1,995 years ago. 1,995 years ago, Jesus rose from the dead. The Lord himself will settle the matter one day. I'm sure of that.

And so we have His resurrection. We have a sure time frame. We have witnesses. We have a written record, as well as an unbroken line of disciples who believe—who have even been martyred—to confirm that this was the truth: that his resurrection was historical, and that his resurrection is the glorious reality of our faith in Jesus Christ. And we are today's witnesses, are we not? And the next generation will receive our witness, and they will bear witness to the next generation—until Jesus returns.

Question:

Why do we celebrate this historical fact? Why is it Important? Why Resurrection Sunday Service?

Oh, we can talk about prophecy, miracles, Apostles, the gospel and the rest of the topics that we talk about all year round from the pulpit and in Bible class.

But the long and the short of it is this: If Jesus rose from the dead on April 20th AD 30, then we, who are His followers will also rise from the dead on the last day of the calendar during the final year of this earth's existence….. Simply put, He rose and because He did, will also will rise.

²⁰But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ²¹For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
- I Corinthians 15:20-22

Question:
Now that we know this, what must we do?

1. Worship Like You Mean it!

In other words, when you pray, pray like you mean it: open your heart, be honest with God, don't be afraid, go to Him with everything, acknowledge your worst thoughts and behavior, praise Him till you're out of breath, tell Him you'll hold on no matter what, ask Him to do what it takes to make you ready for when Jesus comes so you don't miss your own resurrection.

When you sing, sing like you mean it: Actually sing the songs, actually say the words if you can't sing, actually direct what's coming out of your mouth and heart to the mighty God of the universe who is the object of our praise, sing out, sing loud, sing with joy and meaning and sincerity and with power and with fellowship and with the intention to fill this place with the joyful, confident sound of people who are only waiting to go to heaven because their resurrection is coming soon.

When you give, give like you mean it: I know, I know, you're check's already been filled out or you've already made you're direct deposit to the church or slipped a crisp twenty into your shirt pocket, we all prepare that way. But think, are you giving like you mean it, like you want God to know that you're serious about giving to Him, that's it's important, vital, part of your worship, not a duty, habit or burden but an opportunity to say in no uncertain terms, I love you, I believe, really, I believe, I thank you for what you've done for me.

Is my gift intentional, prayed over, ascending, devotional, sacrificial, sacramental, holy, most holy, a sacred offering! Do I give like one who will resurrect?

When you take the Lord's Supper, take it like you mean it. The Lord is among us for this. We are gathered in His name to remember Him, He is literally with us in Spirit (Matthew 18:20). Let us really commune with Him, talk, thank, plead, praise, tell Him what is on our hearts because He is here with us expressly to fellowship with us this very moment, why would we be thinking about work or checking our phones and ignore His very presence?

Let the taking of the bread and fruit of the vine be intentional, purposeful, a realistic moment of fellowship with the one who is risen and drinking it anew with us in the kingdom. Take the elements for what they are spiritually, a foretaste of the kingdom we will enter upon at the time of our own resurrection.

Therefore, let's worship like we mean it, like the people who have a divine destiny as the people God is preserving through His Holy Spirit and the church for the glorious arrival of Jesus Christ who with the trump and a shout will awaken us all from the grave when He comes. Amen church?!

….if April 20th AD 30 is true then we must worship like we mean it, and

2. We Need to Tell the Good News – Jesus Resurrected and You Can Too.

Of course, very briefly, since we're familiar with this part, there's the what and the how. Permit me briefly to speak on this and the lesson will be yours this morning.

A. The "what" of the gospel is the following:

Jesus' death on the cross pays the moral debt each of us owes to God on account of our sins and failures.

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
- I Peter 2:24

Now that the debt is paid, God offers forgiveness and thus salvation from judgement, condemnation and punishment which is salvation.

¹⁵And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
- Mark 16:15-16

Those who are saved receive the Holy Spirit.

Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 2:38

The Holy Spirit will raise all believers from the dead on the last calendar day of the last year which will be the time when Jesus comes to Judge the world and bring the resurrected saints to heaven with Him forever.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
- Romans 8:11

Last Question:
How do we tell the Good News?

1. There are many ways, Marty mentioned a few in his sermon a couple of weeks ago.

• Personal witness – I am a Christian, I have eternal life, you can have it too.
• Invite someone to church, to Bible school, to have a study/discussion.
• Give someone a Bible as a gift.
• Offer someone a BCC. World Bible School has all the resources right here.
• Introduce someone to one of our ministers, Marty or Phil. They are already to study with someone.

2. Then, of course, there's BibleTalk.tv, the Choctaw congregation's Bible teaching website that has all kinds of Bible learning resources, free to view, download, copy and distribute. You can always have the BibleTalk app on your phone and offer to put it on someone else's phone. It's free.

3. Special Announcement time here: At BibleTalk.tv, Hal and I have finished writing and producing a Bible study for every book of the Bible.

In other words, we now has a complete teaching series on every one of the 66 books of the Bible. That's 431 videos that cover the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Of course, we have an additional 1,000 plus video lessons on Bible topics, Devos, small group series, sermons, plus books, audio books, sermons and other types of resources. All for free.

So, think about this for a moment:

• Study the entire Bible
• From anywhere in the world
• With the help of AI Technology, you can have the lessons in any language in the world on demand
• All available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year in and year out, and if God is willing, available until Jesus returns!!
• All created, produced, overseen, broadcasted from the Choctaw Church of Christ right here in Oklahoma, America. Thank you Lord, and thank you brethren not only in Choctaw but the good people from all over who support this work..to God be the Glory.

Finally, upon hearing the gospel in Acts 2:37 the people said to Peter and the Apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

In the same way, after hearing this lesson, you may be asking, "Now that I know these things, what should I do?"

1. Continue telling the story of Jesus' resurrection and the hope of your own blessed resurrection one day by using all the resources that this church provides.

2. When you worship God, do it like you mean it, no half-hearted, loosey goosey, tepid, luke-warm, not quite in or not quite out sort of worship; but a full-throated, generous, absolutely committed worship worthy of the God that did not hold back His only Son from the cross to save our sorry selves from condemnation and ultimate death.

Can we do that from now on? Can we commit to that without embarrassment from here on in whether we're standing here in front leading or sitting out there participating? I ask once again for an Amen church!

3. Finally, If on this, the 1995th anniversary of Jesus' resurrection, you are still not saved, or still not restored, or you still have not committed to be a member of this congregation, then I encourage you to respond to the invitation that speaks to you this morning, and do so like you mean it.

God bless you as we stand and sing the song of encouragement.