Believers Who Entrust Control to God [Easter]

This passage deals with the reality of the risen Jesus Christ and the new identity it gives believers. Though Satan threatens people with death and sin, it shows that through the evidence of the resurrection believers can overcome the power of death. It also proclaims that, beyond the limits of the flesh that came through Adam, believers have been restored to the image of God as spiritual people who belong to heaven.

The sermon points out that the anxiety and worry people experience today are in fact a scheme of Satan, rooted in a failure to acknowledge God's sovereignty. Instead of fearing situations beyond our control, it urges us to carry out faithfully the duties we have been given and to entrust control of our lives to God. The reason Paul could rejoice even in suffering was that he had entrusted his life completely to God, and this is the attitude to life that believers should follow.

In this light, the sermon leads the reader to reflect on the purpose of their life and their standard of values. It stresses that a life centred not on wealth or honour but on the risen Christ will not be in vain, and asks how believers who have given control to God can live a life of peace.