March 31, 2024 - How to Transform an Ever-Diminishing Life to an Eternal One - Pastor Paul Vallee

Easter Sunday On February 27th, 1991, Ruth Dillow was at her home in Kansas when the phone rang. It was terrible news from the Pentagon. Her son, Private First-Class Clayton Carpenter, had stepped on a landmine in the Persian Gulf War and was dead. It was an awful, sickening reality to learn that her son would never come home again. Three days later, Ruth received another phone call. The voice on the other end said, ‘Mom, I’m alive!’ Ruth said that at first, she could not believe it was the voice of her twenty-three-year-old son, over whom she had mourned for nearly three days. She said, ‘I jumped up and down. I was overjoyed! You just don’t know how much.’ Imagine the joy! The thrill of having gone from the depths of despair to overwhelming elation, from grief and loss to news of great joy! That’s the scene we find in the Scriptures. The early followers of Jesus had witnessed His betrayal, the hastily assembled verdict that was a sham to justice, and watched as He was crucified. During the next two days, they grieved, struggling with shame for not standing with Him in His last hours. Their dreams and hopes were crushed. But like Ruth Dillow, the moment came when they heard incredible, seemingly unbelievable news. Women from their company came breathlessly into the upper room, declaring He was alive! Jesus is alive! Jesus continued to appear to them for forty days until they finally watched as He ascended into heaven. That’s the message of Easter! It is a message of hope in a world of despair. It is the message that our society desperately needs. It was the message that the first disciples preached. It was the message that Peter preached to a crowd of people in Jerusalem fifty days after the death of Jesus. It was during the feast of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit, true to His nature, empowered the disciples to be witnesses to the person and work of Jesus Christ.  After explaining the miracle of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from the book of Joel, Peter begins to explain the essence of Christianity. It is the message of the resurrection. The resurrection is the most significant event of the church. Today, we celebrate the reason why death is defeated for those who put their trust in Christ. Sin no longer has authority and dominion over our lives. Easter Sunday is our declaration of freedom.  Jesus is alive, currently interceding for us, and lives in us. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, states four life-changing truths: when we embrace them, an ever-diminishing life transforms into an eternal one.