We have seven great proofs of the fact that our living Saviour the Lord Jesus
Christ rose again from the dead. If anyone questions us how we know that He is a
living Savior, we can give the following seven proofs.

1. The first proof of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the prophecies made
in the Old Testament about His resurrection. "He will swallow up death in victory"
(lsa.25:8). "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise"
(Isa. 26:19). "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them
from death: O death, 1 will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction"
(Hosea 13:14). "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption" (Psa. 16:10). That is our first great proof that our Lord is
the living Saviour. No one ever dreamt of conquering death. His is the only case in
the whole world history.

2) The second proof is the prophecy made by the Lord Himself to His disciples
before He was crucified. "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must
suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and
scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8: 31. See also Mark 9:
31; 10:34; John 10:18). The Lord Jesus Christ very clearly, plainly and repeatedly
told His disciples how He would suffer, be mocked, be reviled for our sakes, die and
then rise again.

3) The third proof is the testimony borne by the angels on the early Easter
morning. It is found in Luke 24:4-6. "And ...behold, two men stood by them in
shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth,
they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is
risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee".

4) The empty sepulcher of the Lord Jesus Christ is the fourth proof. "And they
found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not
the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:2,3). The empty sepulcher can be seen even to
day in Jerusalem. Every day people come from many parts of the world to see it.
There is no other sepulcher like that in the who1e world. Other sepulchers are full of
dead people's bones, but see this empty sepulcher of the risen living Saviour.

5) The fifth proof is the appearance of the Lord Jesus to His disciples after His
resurrection. Our, Lord appeared ten times in different ways to the disciples for forty
days after He rose again-five times on the Easter day, and another five times from
the second day to the day of ascension:-

• He first appeared to Mary at the sepulcher.
• Then to other women who were returning from the sepulcher.
• Then He appeared to Simon Peter.
• Then to the two disciples going to Emmaus.
• And the same evening to the disciples as they were gathered in the room, the door being shut.
• He appeared to the 500 disciples in Jerusalem as we see in 1Cor.5:6.
• Then He appeared to James the Apostle.
• For the sake of Thomas He appeared the eighth time on the eighth day.
• At the Lake of Tiberius. He appeared for the ninth time.
• Then He appeared in Bethany before He ascended into heaven.

6) The sixth proof of His resurrection is His appearances to men like Stephen
and Paul. He appeared to Stephen when he was about to be stoned reviled and
mocked. "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they
gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up
steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right
hand of God" (Acts 7:54,55). He appeared to Saul who became Paul on the way to
Damascus. "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom
thou persecutors: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:5).

7) There is one more proof of His resurrection which is much more important
than the other six proofs. It is much more convincing to those to whom you speak.
He lives in every believer. He comes to live in those who believe in Him, in any part
of the world. All such people can say, " He lives in me, He lives in me". That is the
living testimony. Now we put the same question to you. Does the living Lord Jesus
live in you? We do not want to know about your Bible knowledge or how much
money you have. This is a simple question, which you must answer before God. You
can deceive man but not God. Does the Lord Jesus Christ Who rose again for me and
for you, live in you? What is the proof that He lives in you? There must be some
proof that He has come into you. The proof is, new life will come into you and lift you
up. That is called THE POWER OF RESURRECTION. It is the death conquering power.
It is the highest power in the whole universe. That power will enable you to
overcome death. That power can make mortal men immortal. That power can make
the worst sinner a child of God. It is the gift of God.

If you say, "1 believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins", then you
have to believe that the same Lord Who died for you, rose again for your sake. That
is what we read in Rom. 6:5; "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of
his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection". Do not think that just
by confessing your sins and saying, " I am sorry for my sins", you will receive
salvation. Do not just say, "He died for me"; also say, " I know He rose again". That
will save you. It is only by His coming into you by faith that you will be saved. We
have to welcome Him and receive Him, and believe that He has come in.

Because He died, we die to our old nature. It is the old nature, which is
responsible for all our troubles. There are some skin diseases, which have deep inner
roots. Unless the root cause of the disease is dealt with, the disease will not be
healed. The same thing is true of our sinful nature. Every human being is born with a
sinful nature. That nature cannot be changed by fasting, prayer, Bible knowledge,
visions and dreams. You have to take into you by faith the power of the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other remedy. It is only by that power that you can die
to all sinful things. That is why you need the Holy Spirit to come into you by faith.

In the same way to live anew life you need His divine nature. You cannot call
yourself an Englishman by putting on a suit and a tie; you must be born in England
to be an Englishman. Similarly, you have to receive divine life, which gives you new
longing, and new desires. That life will lift you up day by day and more and more.
That is why our Lord rose again to live in us, work in us, work through us, and make
us completely new and eventually to make us immortal priests and kings. He is
calling you for that high purpose. He invites you to an everlasting Kingdom. That is
why in Rev. 4:2 John is made to see His throne and His heavenly Kingdom. All our
sufferings and trials are for a purpose. For a true believer every suffering is a
blessing; it is not a punishment. For sinners it is a punishment; for the rebellious it is
a punishment, but for a believer any suffering of any kind is a blessing. By that you
are being prepared for your heavenly calling or heavenly vocation, and you have a
full appreciation of the things of eternity.

There is a flower called Jasmine, which gives strong fragrance in the darkest
night. On a moonlit night, it does not give that fragrance, but in the darkest night its
fragrance is strongest. In the same way, you find that the life of the Lord Jesus is
stronger, more inspiring and sweeter, in your trials and sufferings. At that time you
are being taught many hidden mysteries. I can thank God for every trial, for every
suffering and hardship in my past life. I would never have learnt these truths from
books or in colleges. The Lord Himself has become unto me more precious and
nearer in these sufferings. I could prove His power in anew, way. It is wonderful to
know that that power is given to us when we ask for it. We ask for knowledge, but
not for this power.

Are you conscious of the living Lord Jesus, living in you? Does He speak to
you when you pray? Does He answer your questions? When you walk with Him, do
you feel happy, strong and better? Do you love to go to Him? Does He teach you
something every day? Does He help you to conquer sin and temptations every day?
Has anyone found the same joy and peace through you? If not, He has not come into
you. You have to receive a definite, personal experience of the living Lord Jesus.
Then you do not have to go about with a sad face.

On Easter morning, when our Lord appeared to Mary, she was weeping. Our
Lord said to her, "Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? "She did not
know who was speaking to her. She thought He was a gardener. When our Lord
called her by her name, straightway every tear, disappeared. Her joy was so great.
We find weeping believers everywhere. They weep for every small thing. They weep
so loudly, that their voice can be heard in America. They weep before their wealthy
uncles, they weep before relations, they weep in Delhi, they weep in Hyderabad.
Wherever they go, they start weeping. They look so miserable. They walk with long
faces to show others that they are sorrowful. They are constantly weeping for
something or the other. They do not know their Savior. They do not know His
power. They do not know His love and grace. He rose again to be with us. He has
said, "Lo, I am with you always" (Matt. 28:20). You will find all your questions
answered by the living Lord Jesus.

First of all, He must forgive you of your sins. Then and only then, He can
come into you. Did you ever hear these words, "My son, my daughter, my child, thy
sins be forgiven thee"? Then day by day He will say, " I am with thee, fear not". The
very same words our Lord spoke to Apostle John in the isle of Patmos, "Fear not
John. Don't look at the situation. Fear not, I am alive forever more. I am alive to
carry you triumphantly." That will be your daily experience. Now receive Him as your
living Savior.