Steps to Victory – Part 3 Lawson and Barbara Perdue

  Welcome friends to the broadcast. I’m so glad that you’re with us today. Barbara is with me. We are gonna be sharing today about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and what that means to us. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus changed everything and now Christ lives in us. When you understand that Jesus lives in you, it transforms the way that you live your life, blessings. Friends, I’m so glad that you’re here with us today and it’s just amazing to have Barbara with us. And we’re talking all of this week about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. And we’re talking specifically about what that means to us. You know, a lot of people say that they believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, but there’s a lot of people in the church that really don’t know what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus actually means to us as a living reality. And it’s really transformed our life. You know, we talked about this scripture earlier, but in Romans 4:25, the scripture says “He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.” So Jesus went to the cross for our sin, but he was raised again for our justification so we can live just like we never sinned. And when you understand that it will transform your life, you can’t stay the same when you get a real revelation of what that means. Paul says this in Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Praise God, he’s living in us and it’s a result of what he did in his death and resurrection.

 

  We have a lot of exciting scriptures to get to, but as you mentioned, you know, the word changed our life and really having an understanding of what Jesus did for us at the cross, how he literally has already paved the road for our victory and success in every era of life. He died on that cross for our sins. He became the curse. He exchanged places, they beat him and gave him stripes on his back. He was beaten so badly you couldn’t even recognize that he was a man. That’s how much he was beaten for us and for our healing. And so we’ve been really enjoying ministering together this week to give you the revelation of what Jesus has already paid for, redeemed you from. I love how the Bible says when Jesus says, “I have all authority and I’m giving it to you.” I like that we can take the authority and pray for our families, pray for our marriages, pray for our children, pray for our grandchildren, pray for our communities. And hallelujah, there is power in the mighty name of Jesus. And so there was something that you wanted to get started off here in this session. And did you wanna start with 1 Corinthians?

 

  Yeah, you know, the Bible actually talks about this and it’s, most Christians around the world believe this, at least in a mental way. And it says this, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “I delivered unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and how that he was buried, and that how he rose again the third day according to scriptures.” So most people believe as Christians, you know, no matter what part of the church they’re in, in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But a lot of people don’t really understand what that means to them in a living reality. So we’re trying to take this from a doctrine that we believe in our mind to how does that affect me when I walk my life?

 

  And I like it, we were talking about this right before we got started, and we can see even in the scriptures, and I’m gonna read this, this is in Matthew 27, and I know you have so many more things to share, but I find this so interesting because Jesus said what was going to happen. He said, “I’m gonna die, but I will raise again. I will rise up in three days.” So honey, it’s amazing to me that after they crucified him, they actually set guards over the tomb. So there was power in his words. They’re like, “You know what? Just to cover ourselves and be safe to make sure this doesn’t happen.” And do you think that could have changed the outcome whether there was guards or not? You know, a lot of times we get so up uptight about what’s going on in the world. I tell you the word is the word and Jesus is powerful and his word is powerful and there is no guards that we’re gonna keep him from raising from the dead in three days. And so this is in Matthew 27, and we’re gonna look at…

 

  Verse 62-66.

 

  Yeah, I’m gonna start in 62 and it says “On the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priest and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate.” Verse 63, “Saying, ‘Sir, we remember while he was still alive how that deceiver.” And it’s funny, if they thought he was a deceiver, they’re sure worried about what he said that “After three days, I will rise. therefore commanded that the tomb be made secure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead’: so the last deception will be worse than the first.” In verse 65 it says, “Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard, go your way. Make it secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure sealing the stone and setting the guard”

 

  Yeah, and so, you know, think about they’re living in the Roman Empire, so this is the greatest empire in the world at that time and they’re ruling that area. So there were not a bunch of Jewish followers of Jesus that are gonna really be able to do anything about that or stop, you know, that. But there’s something that can, and that’s the living God who reigns in eternity. You know, there’s a scripture in Psalm 2:4 and it’s talking about men and their plans and it says this, “He that sits in the heaven will laugh.” I could just see God laughing. You know, they’re gonna try to stop what’s gonna happen by man’s power, by the governments of man, so on and so forth. But you’re not gonna stop what God’s gonna do.

 

  I’m gonna read just a little bit in Matthew 28, I’m gonna start in verse two. But it said, and behold there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.” In verse four it said, “And the guard shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the woman, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.'” And in verse six, I love what this says, He is not here; for he has risen, as he said, ‘Come and see the place where the Lord lay.'” You know, we pioneered a church years ago out east of Colorado in agriculture area. And for a number of years I actually did children’s church and I loved it. But one time what we did to help teach this, I had some people dress up as angels. We had the puppet stage and we had the angel behind there and we did, you know, different things. We were telling the story. And so then as we, you know, part of the curtains back there was someone there and we had lights illuminating them. And we said, “Let’s see what happened. Did Jesus raise from the dead?” And the, you know, kids are all excited. And we had someone like I said, dress up as an angel. And he said, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” You know, the kids loved it. And I can just see what happened here. I love how the angel came and sat on that rock. And so yes, nothing could keep our savior from rising on the third day. Being raised from the dead, amen.

 

  Praise God, Jesus is alive. And his resurrection changes everything. And when you begin to understand that is a believer and understand that Jesus is living in us. Paul says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

  I like what you just said, living. Jesus is living and he lives in us. The God we serve in love is alive. He is not dead, he is alive.

 

  Praise God, you know, we see so many testimonies and different things that really are showing us that Jesus is alive. You know, in Acts, Luke wrote “Theophilus, I’ve written his former treaty of all that Jesus began to do and teach.” Well he’s still doing it. And the Bible says that he showed himself alive by many infallible proofs. But he is still showing himself alive. And you know, when the believers in the early church were threatened and when they were beaten and jailed and then released and told, “Don’t share anymore in his name, whatever you do”, they went to their own company and they prayed in to God in the name of Jesus. In Acts 4, you can read about this. And they said, “God grants signs and wonders and miracles in the name of your holy Son Jesus, that people may know that he’s alive.” And the Bible says that “God gave witness to what they preached with great power. He gave witness to what they preached when they preached the grace of God.” And so they were preaching about Jesus, who is the grace of God. They were preaching about God has raised him from the dead and made him Lord. And then Jesus was revealing himself by the power of the Holy Spirit through signs, wonders, and miracles. And it’s still happening today.

 

  I love how the Bible tells us that he demonstrates his love for us. And it happens for me on a daily basis. And, we have just seen so many amazing miracles on a regular basis. There was a time, this is a number of years ago, we were asked to minister in Florida and you are ministering away. And I’ve never done this before, never had done it before or since. But as you were ministering, the Lord gave me a word for someone about their finger, their pinky, and it just wouldn’t go away. And it was just like, you know this word about someone and their pinky and we are at a meeting where people brought in their friends, people who weren’t saved, they brought different, you know, friends and neighbors and family in. And so I finally just said, you know, “Honey, I hate to interrupt you, but you know, God wants to minister to someone.” And so this gentleman who was a guest came up and as soon as you grabbed his hand and began to pray for him, his eyes got big and he’s like, “This is amazing. This is amazing.” You know, that pain, whatever would cripple him, whether it was pain in his joints, went away immediately. And he was just like, “This is amazing.” So we see Jesus demonstrating his love on a regular basis.

 

  Amen, and I thank God, you know. I just had a man come and testify and tell me, you know, how God healed him from cancer two years ago when he came to the church on the third Sunday that he came here, I had another woman came and she had been diagnosed with crippling arthritis in her neck and God completely delivered her from that. And we’re constantly receiving testimonies. And you know, Jesus is Lord and Jesus is alive, but he’s living in us. And we’re gonna come back in the second half of this broadcast and we’re gonna talk more about what that means. So stay tuned. Friends, I’m so glad that you’re with us today. And I’ve been sharing with my wife Barbara, and you can’t get everything that we’re actually sharing about in these broadcasts. But you can go to our website and you can receive the teaching we’re sharing about in Barbara’s teaching, Steps to Victory and my teaching, Complete in Christ, plus hundreds of other teachings, blessings.

 

  What I was always longing for? Raised in a Pentecostal church, when you are coming here and you’re seen, there is no drama. Jesus showed us here how a healthy church is really working. God wants to show us like how church really worked. So that was wonderful to see you here.

 

  Friends, I’m so glad that you stayed with us and Barbara, it’s so good to have you again. But you know, right here we’ve been talking about how Jesus was crucified and then buried and then raised from the dead on the third day. And we’re really talking about what that means to us. But I love this scripture in John 11:25 and 26, and Jesus makes a statement and this is before he was ever crucified, but he says, “I am the resurrection in the life.” He says, “He who believes in me, though he were dead,” That’s spiritually speaking he’s talking about, “yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” When you really identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus, it changes how you live your life. And number one, you’re given eternal life. And you’re gonna be sharing your scripture in just a little bit from Ephesians 2. And what we’re sharing this week is specifically what the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus means to us. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus changed everything. And when you understand it, it transforms how we live our life. I cannot be the same when I get this understanding and this revelation, it has liberated me. It has changed me. So Jesus said, he says, “This is who I am. I’m the resurrection in the life. He who believes in me, though he were dead,” spiritually dead, yet will he live. And he who’s made a life now a believer, who’s received the life of God and you continue to believe in him, he says, “He shall never die.” We have the promise of life in eternity with God and with Christ. He says, “Do you believe this?” And believe me, it changes everything. So we talked about in the first half of the broadcast how the Jewish leaders came together and said, “Hey, Jesus talked about that on the third day, he’s gonna rise again. So make sure that we secure the tomb.” Not only the Jewish leaders, but the Roman leaders, we’re talking about the greatest empire in the world. But that wasn’t gonna stop God. And then in Matthew 28, we talked about how Jesus was raised from the dead, but now we’re talking about what that means to us. And Jesus lives in us, praise God. So go ahead and read there in Ephesians 2.

 

  Well, I like how you just said that nothing was gonna stop God’s plan, nothing was gonna stop Jesus and the plan for his life. And I just feel like I have a word for someone watching. God has a plan for your life and you don’t need to allow the devil to stop it. You can receive Jesus and you can run with this message that we’re talking about, that Jesus is alive and I love how in Ephesians 2:1, it says, “And you he made alive, who are dead in trespasses and sin.” He has made us alive, that is good news.

 

  Praise God, and he talks about after that who we were, that we were walking according to the just living like the world. And he says, “According to the prince of the power of the heir,” the devil, the spirit that was working. We were spiritually dead in the children of disobedience. And we had our behavior in the lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind. “And we were by nature children of wrath.” We were headed for hell. You know, he says “Even as others.” But then he begins in verse four, go ahead, and read verse four, and then we’ll read on down through here. You can read as much as you want through verse 10.

 

  So I’m really excited about this. So again, I hope you have a pen and paper or have your Bible and write this down or turn with us to Ephesians 2:4-10. And it says, “But God, who is rich in mercy,” say that rich in mercy, “because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we are dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ, by grace have you been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works as anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That is good news.

 

  Wow, there is so much. You know, the gospels record what Jesus did when he walked on the earth. But the epistles, Paul’s letters, they record the thoughts, you know, of God after Jesus was raised from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit. So the epistles are really showing us what Jesus did when he walked on the earth, when he was crucified, when he was buried, when he was resurrected. And when you get a revelation of it, listen, it will transform your life. My good friend, Mark Hankins wrote a book, “Revolutionary Revelation”. Well, praise God, you need to get some revolutionary revelation. Now, as we begin to look at this, it says, “Even though we were spiritually dead”, and you know, the devil was really, Jesus told the religious leaders, their father was the devil. And we were just living in lust. We were living like, whatever feels good, do it, so on and so forth. He says, “Even,” in verse five, “when we were dead in sins, he made us live together with Christ” and he saved us. Of course, when we study the Greek word for salvation, soteria, and save sozo, we begin to understand that that’s an inclusive word. And it’s talking about wellbeing, spirit, soul, and body. We begin to understand that in this word, sozo, save and soteria, salvation, they’re, you know, really forgiveness, healing, peace, provision, protection, it’s all in the name of Jesus and it’s all part of salvation. And so he says “He saved us even though we were in sin.” And it says, “He made us live together.” Jesus is living his life in us. Paul says this in Colossians 1. He says, “I’ve been preaching the mystery that was hidden from ages and generations. That is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” You have Christ in you, the hope of the manifested presence, power and purpose of God in your life. And he says, “He made us live together by grace.” We’re not saved by our works. We’re not saved by our performance. We’re not saved by our good deeds. We’re not saved by what we do or what we don’t do. We’re saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. We’re saved when we hear Jesus died for my sins. God raised him from the dead and made him more. And when you believe it, God places his spirit on the inside of you and you become a new creation in Christ. So he says, “He made us live together with Christ, he saved us.” And then it says in verse six that “He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Verse six of Ephesians 2 is the key verse in the first three chapters of Ephesians. And in Ephesians, Paul’s talking about the victories church. And he starts with, you’re seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You begin from a position of victory because you’re seated in chapters four, chapter five. He says, “This is how you walk.” And then finally in chapter six, he says, “Now stand against the devil.” Do you know most of the church has that backwards. Most of the church says it this way. You stand against the devil so you can walk the walk of victory and get, you know, walk this life out in the world and gain a position of victory. But that’s not how it is. You were given a position of victory by the grace of Jesus. You are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That’s the first three chapters of Ephesians. Because you’re seated now because you’ve been given this victory in Christ. You walk it out in this world. And Ephesians 4 and 5 talk about how we walk. And then you stand against the devil.

 

  Well, and you mentioned something that we have victory. And I wanna read something in Colossians that again, a lot of people aren’t taught this. And how exciting that you’re watching this broadcast this week because it talks about how the enemy has been disarmed. And I’m gonna read in Colossians 2, and I’m gonna look at 13 through 15 and it said, “And you, being dead in your trespasses, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he hath made alive together with him, having forgiving you all trespasses.” Everyone say all trespasses. “Having wiped out,” I like that, verse 14, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” How powerful is that? And then verse 15, I love this. It says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” In other words, made an open shame of them. A lot of people don’t teach this, that the enemy has been disarmed.

 

  Satan is not who he used to be. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus changed everything. And if you begin to understand this, what really gave Satan power in humanity’s life is sin. In Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve transgressed in the garden. But Jesus came as a perfect man. We talked about that earlier in the broadcast this week. And he came and he died for our sins. And what happened, the only sin Jesus really ever had was our sin. And he became a sin offering for us on the cross. And then he gave us his righteousness. So we are in right standing with God today because of what Jesus did. And because we are forgiven, because God no longer remembers our sin, we have authority over the devil. Jesus had authority over the devil because he never sinned. But when you understand that you’re forgiven and you’ve been given the righteousness of Jesus, you’ve been given the righteousness of God as a gift, then you begin to understand that you have authority over the devil. And the only power Satan really has over the believer is deception.

 

  I have one more scripture. We have just enough time because I know you’re gonna wanna elaborate on this because being a child, a middle child of five, I love it whenever the Bible says I have an edge because of Jesus Christ for victory. But Romans 8:11 tells us that “If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your moral bodies through His spirit who dwells in you.”

 

  Amen, so our life has been changed and we have been changed spiritually. Jesus has taken up his life on the inside of us and we’ve been given, we’ve been made heirs of the riches of His grace. And when you begin to understand that you can’t help, but begin to live in victory. If you need to pray, just give us a call today. We’re so glad that you’re with us and I’ll be back to pray for you at the end of the broadcast, blessings. Friends, our broadcast can now be seen by over two thirds of the world’s population and it’s our partners that have made this available. I wanna invite you today to become part of this blessing by becoming a partner of Charis Christian Center and Grace for Today. So we would love to hear from you. And thank you so much for prayerfully considering this today, blessings,

 

  Jesus has already paved the road to victory for us. The Bible gives us clear direction on how to walk down this road and live a super victorious abundant life. Now is the time to take the steps to victory. We’d like to bless you with the digital copy of Pastor Barbara’s three part teaching Steps to Victory and Pastor Lawson’s three part teaching Complete in Christ. A $27 value, free of charge. Download your copy today at charischristiancenter.com.

 

  Hi friends, I don’t wanna leave this broadcast without inviting you to pray with me to the Heavenly Father to receive Jesus as your Lord. So pray with me right now. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your son. I believe that he died on the cross for my sins and you raised him from the dead on the third day and made him Lord. And right now I surrender my life to you in Jesus’ name.

 

  Thanks for watching Grace for Today. This broadcast has been made possible by our faithful partners. If you would like to become a partner, need prayer, or have a question, please call us at 719-418-4000 or to partner online, go to CharisChristianCenter.com/give. You can write us at PO Box 63733, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80962. See you next time on Grace for Today.