Risen: Step Into the Battle with the Living Jesus

Introduction

Christ is risen. This isn't an Easter slogan, it's a reality that changes your week, your prayers, your battles. The Risen One didn't stay in the tomb, and he isn't far off in heaven either: he comes to join you in your battle, he shepherds with majesty and with peace, and he invites you to enter into his.

This message, preached at CCNV Marseille for Easter 2025, revisits the prophetic word for the second quarter ("With Jesus in the Battle"), through several passages: Jeremiah 31, Daniel 7, 1 Kings 19, Matthew 28, Luke 22, Luke 18, Micah 5, and Jeremiah 1. The thread running through it all is simple: God wants to rebuild your life, he speaks to you in peace, he comes himself to shepherd you, and he draws you into the only battle that matters, the battle of the Risen One who sets free.

If you're tired, discouraged, or feel far from God this morning, let the Risen One come to you. He is coming. And he is making room in you to rebuild.

Outline of the Message

1. God Speaks to You in Peace, Not in Commotion

This year's prophetic word speaks of a rebuilding of life. The key verse is Jeremiah 31:25-26: "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me." Jeremiah was living through something dreadful (sent to prophesy the deportation to Babylon, alone against everyone), and yet God speaks to him at night, in a sweet dream, because during the day his circumstances left him no room to listen.

Daniel experiences the same thing: "I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man" (Daniel 7:13). God speaks to him at night. The prophet Elijah, for his part, hears God after the victory on Carmel in "a still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12), not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire.

The message is clear: the Lord wants to speak to you in stillness. Stop running for a moment. Stop the commotion. Stand before him and listen. It's there, in peace, that his voice becomes audible and your rebuilding begins.

2. Rebuilding Requires Tearing Down First

To build, you first have to make room. This is the very principle of the word given to Jeremiah at his calling: "Behold, I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10). Four verbs of demolition before two verbs of building. God begins by removing what is in the way.

In your life, there may be lies, habits, clutter, strongholds of thought that keep the Lord from drawing near. The image from the sermon says it well: a clean apartment, but filled with boxes everywhere up to the ceiling. You have to empty it, sort it, throw things out, before you can live in it again. Jesus does come, and he shepherds with peace and majesty, but he needs room.

When Jeremiah said, "I don't know how to speak, for I am a child" (Jeremiah 1:6), God dismantled his excuses. Your weaknesses aren't obstacles for God: that's exactly where his strength shows up.

3. Jesus's Battle Is to Set Free and to Raise Up

To understand where to step in, first look at what Jesus's own battle is. Jesus's first recorded words in Matthew are: "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). His last words are the great commission: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

Between these two extremes, Jesus's battle is the cross and the resurrection: victory over sin, freedom for captives, the rebuilding of broken lives. That's what it means to be "risen": to enter into the victory of the living Christ, to announce around you that the power of the resurrection is real. On a Marseille sidewalk, to a young Muslim man listening in, to a man on the street who needs to be set loose, you carry this good news: Jesus is alive, and nothing and no one can stand against the testimony of a miracle you've lived through.

4. Jesus Comes to Shepherd You with Majesty and Peace

Micah 5:3-4 (WEB) declares: "Therefore he will abandon them until the time that she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel. He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God." Jesus comes himself. He comes to shepherd those who have no shepherd, those who are too far away, those living on the margins.

The word "mercy" (compassion) is about bringing your own heart down to the level of another's misery. This shepherd's heart isn't only for ordained pastors: it's for you. Caring for people, praying for them, encouraging, comforting, seeing the needs around you, seeing the souls that society forgets. The Lord turned toward the weak, the poor, the unemployed, the elderly, the orphans, the abandoned. That's where he sends you.

5. Resist the Devil, Pray Without Ceasing, Stand Firm

The battle meets real resistance. Luke 22:3-6 reminds us that "Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, who was numbered with the twelve." Judas was looking for a political liberation, an earthly king; when he realized Jesus wasn't that kind of king, ambition, the hunger for power, and money brought him down. It's a warning for you too: guard your heart from those very traps.

The response is twofold. First, pray without ceasing (Luke 18:1-8), like the widow who keeps coming back to the judge without giving up, until justice is granted her. Second, resist: "Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). And finally, humble yourself and cast your burdens: "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7).

The fight isn't only about casting out a demon. It's also about tearing down strongholds of lies, doubt, and unbelief that settle into your thinking. As you keep praying and tearing them down, light comes in, you begin to see clearly, and the Lord acts with power.

Key Takeaways

• The Risen One speaks to you in peace, not in commotion: make room for him in your day.
• Every rebuilding starts with a tearing down: let God remove before he builds.
• Jesus's battle is to free captives and make disciples of all nations.
• Jesus himself comes to shepherd you with majesty and peace, and he entrusts you with a shepherd's heart for others.
• Resist the devil, tear down strongholds of lies, pray without ceasing, cast your burdens on him.

Personal Application

• What space of silence can you carve out this week to let God speak to you in peace?
• What is the Lord trying to tear down in you right now so he can rebuild?
• Who in your everyday life is Jesus sending you to tell that he is alive?
• What strongholds of thought (doubt, guilt, unbelief) do you need to tear down in the name of Jesus?
• What concrete worry can you cast, right now in prayer, on the one who cares for you?

Verses Cited

• Jeremiah 31:25-26 · God satisfies and replenishes the weary soul.
• Daniel 7:13-14 · The Son of Man receives everlasting dominion.
• 1 Kings 19:11-13 · God speaks to Elijah in a still, small voice.
• Matthew 4:17 · "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
• Matthew 28:18-20 · The great commission of the Risen One.
• Micah 5:3-4 · The shepherd who rules with majesty.
• Luke 22:3-6 · Satan enters the heart of Judas.
• Luke 18:1-8 · The parable of the widow and the judge: pray without ceasing.
• Jeremiah 1:4-10 · The calling of Jeremiah: pluck up, break down, build, plant.
• James 4:7 · Resist the devil, and he will flee.
• 1 Peter 5:6-10 · Humble yourselves, cast your burdens, resist.
• John 15:4-5 · Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does saying Christ is "risen" change anything about my week?

Because it isn't just an Easter memory: it's a power at work today. The Risen One steps into your Monday morning battle. The power that emptied the tomb is available to break your chains, change your priorities, and give you a new heart for others.

How do I know if God is speaking to me "in peace" and not just hearing my own thoughts?

A word from God is consistent with Scripture, it produces peace (not commotion or panic), it aligns you with his character, and it calls you to concrete obedience. Take time in silence, open your Bible, and let the Holy Spirit confirm it to you. Like Elijah, learn to discern the still, small voice beneath all the noise.

How do I enter Jesus's battle without wandering off into my own fights?

Jesus's battle is clear: announce the kingdom, make disciples, care for souls, break what holds captives back. Before you throw yourself into a fight, ask yourself: is Jesus already in this fight? Does what I'm doing serve his mission, or only my own ambitions? Step into his battle (not just yours), and you will see the victory.