WEBVTT

00:00:00.321 --> 00:00:07.450
<v Speaker 1>One of my favorite times to preach is on Easter Sunday, so if I get a little animated up here, it's because I'm a little bit excited.

00:00:07.450 --> 00:00:24.393
<v Speaker 1>You've got to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and so today, those of you who were here when I did a series in the Gospel of Mark, I saved one message from Mark's Gospel for today, easter Sunday.

00:00:24.393 --> 00:00:31.231
<v Speaker 1>If you'd like a sermon outline, you don't have to have one, but if you'd like one or borrow a Bible, just raise your hand.

00:00:31.231 --> 00:00:38.167
<v Speaker 1>Our usher's happy to get you what you need, so long as it's not food or drink.

00:00:38.167 --> 00:00:44.735
<v Speaker 1>Some of you may know this story.

00:00:44.735 --> 00:00:55.060
<v Speaker 1>In 1897, mark Twain opened the newspaper, saw his own obituary in the paper.

00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:59.164
<v Speaker 1>He responded by saying reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

00:00:59.164 --> 00:01:03.472
<v Speaker 1>You know, how would you prove to people that you are not dead?

00:01:03.472 --> 00:01:13.010
<v Speaker 1>I actually read a story about a guy who was struggling with the social security because they pronounced him dead and he was very much alive.

00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:15.400
<v Speaker 1>How would you prove that you're not dead?

00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:17.323
<v Speaker 1>Well, you show up alive.

00:01:17.323 --> 00:01:28.947
<v Speaker 1>That's how Jesus was certified dead by the authorities, but three days later after he died, he showed up alive.

00:01:28.947 --> 00:01:35.587
<v Speaker 1>So I want to read the passage today from the Gospel of Mark and then talk about it for a few minutes.

00:01:36.281 --> 00:01:38.849
<v Speaker 1>In Mark, chapter 16, beginning in verse 1.

00:01:38.849 --> 00:01:49.750
<v Speaker 1>When the Sabbath was over, mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, bought sprices so they might come and anoint him.

00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:54.311
<v Speaker 1>Very early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

00:01:54.311 --> 00:02:00.911
<v Speaker 1>They were saying to one another who will roll the stone for us, the entrance to the tomb?

00:02:00.911 --> 00:02:06.942
<v Speaker 1>Looking up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled away, though it was extremely large.

00:02:06.942 --> 00:02:13.804
<v Speaker 1>Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe, and they were amazed.

00:02:13.804 --> 00:02:20.963
<v Speaker 1>And he said to them don't be amazed, you're looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who's been crucified.

00:02:20.963 --> 00:02:22.426
<v Speaker 1>He has risen.

00:02:22.426 --> 00:02:23.709
<v Speaker 1>He's not here.

00:02:23.709 --> 00:02:32.131
<v Speaker 1>Behold, here's the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter, he's going ahead of you to Galilee.

00:02:32.131 --> 00:02:35.304
<v Speaker 1>There you will see him, just as he told you.

00:02:35.304 --> 00:02:44.467
<v Speaker 1>They went out, fled from the tomb, trembling and astonished had gripped them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

00:02:45.550 --> 00:02:56.823
<v Speaker 1>We'll look at three things today why the resurrection really happened, how the resurrection reveals God's grace and how the resurrection resets our life.

00:02:56.823 --> 00:02:59.548
<v Speaker 1>First, the resurrection really happened.

00:02:59.548 --> 00:03:10.550
<v Speaker 1>All four Gospels include the account of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, each one giving their account of the eyewitness testimony from those who were there.

00:03:10.550 --> 00:03:14.475
<v Speaker 1>The four accounts of the Gospel have a lot in common.

00:03:14.475 --> 00:03:22.492
<v Speaker 1>For one thing, all four Gospels tell us that the women who followed Jesus rose early in the morning to go to Jesus' tomb to anoint his body.

00:03:22.492 --> 00:03:34.253
<v Speaker 1>All tell us that the two-ton stone was already rolled away from the entrance and when they looked in, the tomb of Jesus was empty.

00:03:34.253 --> 00:03:42.524
<v Speaker 1>And the gospel tells us that the women were given a message from Jesus through the angel who was there waiting for them at the tomb.

00:03:42.524 --> 00:03:47.929
<v Speaker 1>And the first thing the angel said to them was don't be amazed or alarmed.

00:03:47.929 --> 00:03:51.058
<v Speaker 1>You are looking for Jesus of Nazarene, who's been crucified.

00:03:51.058 --> 00:03:52.241
<v Speaker 1>He has risen.

00:03:52.241 --> 00:03:53.905
<v Speaker 1>He's not here.

00:03:53.905 --> 00:03:56.629
<v Speaker 1>Behold, here's the place where they laid him.

00:03:56.629 --> 00:03:59.361
<v Speaker 1>How do we know that the resurrection really happened?

00:03:59.361 --> 00:04:01.847
<v Speaker 1>First, the tomb was empty.

00:04:01.847 --> 00:04:04.633
<v Speaker 1>The angel said you're looking for Jesus.

00:04:04.633 --> 00:04:05.253
<v Speaker 1>He's not here.

00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:20.471
<v Speaker 1>What's interesting is, historically, there were dozens of Messianic leaders and movements before and after Jesus, and in almost every case the Messianic leader was killed.

00:04:20.471 --> 00:04:27.872
<v Speaker 1>The followers went home and not too long after that, the movement collapsed.

00:04:27.872 --> 00:04:31.622
<v Speaker 1>All except this one.

00:04:31.622 --> 00:04:40.622
<v Speaker 1>The Christian movement, didn't collapse after Jesus' death, it exploded and it keeps growing.

00:04:40.622 --> 00:04:43.468
<v Speaker 1>What made the Christian movement different?

00:04:43.468 --> 00:04:47.300
<v Speaker 1>Why did it explode and the others didn't?

00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:56.081
<v Speaker 1>The main answer is because our leader, jesus, rose from the dead and appeared alive to his followers.

00:04:56.081 --> 00:05:10.274
<v Speaker 1>But still most people don't believe it and they have to come up with another way to account for why the Christian movement has really exploded in the first century.

00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:16.689
<v Speaker 1>Not long after this event, come up with all kinds of things to try to explain it.

00:05:16.689 --> 00:05:23.512
<v Speaker 1>First, they would say the gospel accounts were written many years after the events.

00:05:23.512 --> 00:05:27.487
<v Speaker 1>They aren't giving us history, they're giving us stories and legends.

00:05:27.487 --> 00:05:34.249
<v Speaker 1>We don't know what happened, but you see, mark challenges that.

00:05:34.249 --> 00:05:36.882
<v Speaker 1>He tells us.

00:05:36.882 --> 00:05:50.528
<v Speaker 1>And here's the second reason we know the resurrection of Jesus really happened is not only because the tomb was empty, but also because there were actually eyewitnesses who saw Jesus alive after he died.

00:05:50.528 --> 00:05:53.454
<v Speaker 1>This is a powerful account.

00:05:54.196 --> 00:05:59.946
<v Speaker 1>Three times in eight verses in Mark's gospel chapter 15 and 16,.

00:05:59.946 --> 00:06:06.074
<v Speaker 1>Three times in eight verses the names of three women were told were at the tomb.

00:06:06.074 --> 00:06:09.867
<v Speaker 1>Chapter 15, verse 40.

00:06:09.867 --> 00:06:12.187
<v Speaker 1>Chapter 15, verse 47.

00:06:12.187 --> 00:06:13.646
<v Speaker 1>Chapter 16, verse 1.

00:06:13.646 --> 00:06:24.651
<v Speaker 1>Three times they're mentioned by name Mary Magdalene, married the mother of James and Joses, and Salome.

00:06:24.651 --> 00:06:27.670
<v Speaker 1>Why the repetition Three times in eight verses.

00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:37.612
<v Speaker 1>Richard Baucom in his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses says that this has all the marks of how history was written in ancient times.

00:06:37.612 --> 00:06:41.428
<v Speaker 1>Multiple people were named who were there.

00:06:41.428 --> 00:06:49.365
<v Speaker 1>Ancient historians gave more credence to the oral histories of living eyewitnesses because they could be verified.

00:06:49.365 --> 00:06:58.572
<v Speaker 1>What Mark is doing when he puts the names of these three women three different times who are testifying?

00:06:58.572 --> 00:06:59.516
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is alive?

00:06:59.516 --> 00:06:59.857
<v Speaker 1>He's saying.

00:06:59.857 --> 00:07:02.242
<v Speaker 1>Anyone can check this out.

00:07:02.242 --> 00:07:03.504
<v Speaker 1>Go talk to these women.

00:07:03.504 --> 00:07:10.033
<v Speaker 1>This is right after the crucifixion, three days later.

00:07:10.033 --> 00:07:17.038
<v Speaker 1>That's not how legends and myths are written.

00:07:17.038 --> 00:07:19.004
<v Speaker 1>That's how history is written.

00:07:19.004 --> 00:07:37.432
<v Speaker 1>But the third reason we know the resurrection really happened, causing an explosion of Christianity through the centuries.

00:07:37.432 --> 00:07:39.317
<v Speaker 1>Ironically, it's because these women are the first recorded eyewitnesses.

00:07:44.819 --> 00:07:48.185
<v Speaker 1>In ancient times, and many of you know this the testimony of a woman was not accepted in a court of law.

00:07:48.185 --> 00:07:50.730
<v Speaker 1>One pagan Greek philosopher by the name of Celsus.

00:07:50.730 --> 00:07:53.814
<v Speaker 1>He lived about 80 years after Jesus.

00:07:53.814 --> 00:08:03.639
<v Speaker 1>He was very, very, very down on Christianity.

00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:11.194
<v Speaker 1>One of his strongest arguments at the time was that the account of Jesus' resurrection were based on the testimony of women.

00:08:11.194 --> 00:08:16.105
<v Speaker 1>This is what he wrote.

00:08:16.105 --> 00:08:19.589
<v Speaker 1>We all know that women are hysterical.

00:08:19.589 --> 00:08:23.781
<v Speaker 1>Their testimony can't be relied on Again.

00:08:23.781 --> 00:08:26.990
<v Speaker 1>This is the first century, not here.

00:08:26.990 --> 00:08:39.408
<v Speaker 1>Everybody listen to me everybody in the ancient world at this time agreed this was a problem for Christianity.

00:08:39.408 --> 00:08:43.240
<v Speaker 1>A testimony of a woman, three women Are you kidding?

00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:46.205
<v Speaker 1>A testimony of a woman, three women Are you kidding?

00:08:46.205 --> 00:08:48.568
<v Speaker 1>Why did Celsus know that?

00:08:48.568 --> 00:08:51.474
<v Speaker 1>This was an incredibly strong argument at the time?

00:08:51.474 --> 00:09:02.100
<v Speaker 1>Because in the ancient culture, women were marginalized, had little power, few rights and it was very difficult to accept their testimony.

00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:06.549
<v Speaker 1>Celsus told us Do you know what that means?

00:09:09.379 --> 00:09:11.404
<v Speaker 1>The Gospels are credible.

00:09:11.404 --> 00:09:12.226
<v Speaker 1>They're credible.

00:09:12.226 --> 00:09:21.552
<v Speaker 1>If Mark and the other Gospel writers and they all say this were making this up in these ancient times.

00:09:21.552 --> 00:09:33.807
<v Speaker 1>If Christians were making this up to get people to believe it, they would never have put women as the primary eyewitnesses to his resurrection, never in these times.

00:09:33.807 --> 00:09:38.149
<v Speaker 1>Big mistake if they wanted to convince people.

00:09:38.149 --> 00:09:38.951
<v Speaker 1>This was true.

00:09:38.951 --> 00:09:46.893
<v Speaker 1>The only possible explanation for including women in these accounts is that it is true.

00:09:46.893 --> 00:09:53.993
<v Speaker 1>They actually saw Jesus alive after he died.

00:09:56.361 --> 00:10:04.927
<v Speaker 1>The only reason for telling us that the first eyewitnesses were these three women was because it really happened.

00:10:04.927 --> 00:10:09.374
<v Speaker 1>It's historical.

00:10:09.374 --> 00:10:22.289
<v Speaker 1>They're giving us the facts, but still some people today just reject it, saying things like oh, those people believe anything.

00:10:22.289 --> 00:10:24.134
<v Speaker 1>They're primitive, superstitious.

00:10:24.134 --> 00:10:31.825
<v Speaker 1>Those ancient people were gullible, whereas we enlightened people.

00:10:31.825 --> 00:10:41.393
<v Speaker 1>We know miracles don't happen and our naturalistic worldview makes it impossible to believe in Jesus' resurrection.

00:10:41.393 --> 00:10:44.174
<v Speaker 1>Well, mark addresses that too.

00:10:44.174 --> 00:10:49.158
<v Speaker 1>Believe in Jesus' resurrection?

00:10:49.158 --> 00:10:49.765
<v Speaker 1>Well, mark addresses that too.

00:10:49.765 --> 00:10:51.059
<v Speaker 1>Fourth reason we know the resurrection of Jesus really happened.

00:10:51.059 --> 00:10:57.471
<v Speaker 1>Listen carefully, it's a powerful witness.

00:10:57.471 --> 00:11:03.590
<v Speaker 1>The fourth reason we know the resurrection really happened is because nobody expected it.

00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:05.073
<v Speaker 1>Nobody.

00:11:05.073 --> 00:11:10.206
<v Speaker 1>Let's see, let's write something up here.

00:11:10.206 --> 00:11:12.845
<v Speaker 1>No, no, no, nobody expected it.

00:11:15.841 --> 00:11:27.227
<v Speaker 1>Mark is the shortest of the Gospels, but the disciples hear Jesus say repeatedly, repeatedly say I'm going to rise again on the third day.

00:11:27.227 --> 00:11:39.666
<v Speaker 1>Notice something weird On the third day there were no male disciples at the tomb waiting, none, zero.

00:11:39.666 --> 00:11:40.802
<v Speaker 1>They all went home.

00:11:40.802 --> 00:11:41.746
<v Speaker 1>They went fishing.

00:11:41.746 --> 00:11:44.988
<v Speaker 1>It's over, he's over, he's dead.

00:11:44.988 --> 00:11:52.772
<v Speaker 1>But the women were bringing spices to anoint Jesus' dead body.

00:11:52.772 --> 00:11:55.428
<v Speaker 1>They weren't expecting a resurrection either.

00:11:55.428 --> 00:11:58.163
<v Speaker 1>Where have you laid him?

00:11:58.163 --> 00:11:59.048
<v Speaker 1>Where have you taken him?

00:11:59.048 --> 00:12:01.625
<v Speaker 1>They said they weren't expecting it.

00:12:04.682 --> 00:12:16.167
<v Speaker 1>If you're trying to make up a credible story and you have Jesus saying over and over again I'm going to rise on the third day, wouldn't you expect at least one of his disciples to be standing there that morning?

00:12:16.167 --> 00:12:20.307
<v Speaker 1>One Did anybody believe it?

00:12:20.307 --> 00:12:33.682
<v Speaker 1>Why didn't the disciples say hey, hey, hey, hey.

00:12:33.682 --> 00:12:41.272
<v Speaker 1>Remember what Jesus said it's the third day.

00:12:41.272 --> 00:12:42.472
<v Speaker 1>Let's go to the tomb.

00:12:42.472 --> 00:12:44.134
<v Speaker 1>What could it hurt?

00:12:44.134 --> 00:12:45.417
<v Speaker 1>They don't connect the dots.

00:12:47.201 --> 00:12:51.652
<v Speaker 1>Notice the very last line the angel said to the women.

00:12:51.652 --> 00:12:54.187
<v Speaker 1>I think it's kind of funny.

00:12:54.187 --> 00:13:00.047
<v Speaker 1>He said you know you'll see him, just as he said he did tell you about this.

00:13:00.047 --> 00:13:03.623
<v Speaker 1>You know why?

00:13:03.623 --> 00:13:08.990
<v Speaker 1>Would Mark write that he wouldn't if he was just making it up?

00:13:08.990 --> 00:13:11.565
<v Speaker 1>Here's the point.

00:13:11.565 --> 00:13:25.100
<v Speaker 1>Just as it was inconceivable for the disciples at that time to believe Jesus rose from the dead, it's the same for everybody here today or in the world.

00:13:25.755 --> 00:13:34.039
<v Speaker 1>It's hard to believe that If you have doubts about the resurrection, so did they, but they believed it.

00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:34.722
<v Speaker 1>Why?

00:13:34.722 --> 00:13:47.581
<v Speaker 1>They let the evidence challenge their doubts, which is what we need to do If we have doubts.

00:13:47.581 --> 00:13:51.083
<v Speaker 1>Look at the evidence.

00:13:51.083 --> 00:14:01.586
<v Speaker 1>Now, to help you with that, we're providing this little book for you outside for free if you want to take one.

00:14:01.586 --> 00:14:05.063
<v Speaker 1>It's the Case for Easter by Lee Strobel.

00:14:05.063 --> 00:14:11.405
<v Speaker 1>Popular book and a journalist investigates evidence for the resurrection.

00:14:11.405 --> 00:14:14.302
<v Speaker 1>Have you ever seriously considered it?

00:14:14.302 --> 00:14:16.903
<v Speaker 1>Have you ever looked at the evidence?

00:14:22.316 --> 00:14:26.707
<v Speaker 1>Now we come to the second dramatic reality of Jesus' resurrection.

00:14:26.707 --> 00:14:41.866
<v Speaker 1>Jesus' resurrection not only really happened, it reveals God's grace to us If you look at the next part of the angel's message from Jesus to the women, he says but go tell his disciples and Peter, he's going ahead of you to Galilee.

00:14:41.866 --> 00:14:45.219
<v Speaker 1>There you'll see him, just as he told you First.

00:14:45.219 --> 00:14:53.410
<v Speaker 1>Notice what Jesus didn't say to tell the disciples, even though it might be perhaps warranted.

00:14:53.410 --> 00:15:05.150
<v Speaker 1>He didn't say go tell those faithless, backsliding cowards that I might see them if they cower in repentance first.

00:15:05.150 --> 00:15:11.687
<v Speaker 1>He didn't say that, although it probably was warranted.

00:15:11.687 --> 00:15:14.341
<v Speaker 1>What was he doing?

00:15:14.341 --> 00:15:16.120
<v Speaker 1>He was giving them grace.

00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:19.140
<v Speaker 1>He didn't condemn them.

00:15:19.140 --> 00:15:26.048
<v Speaker 1>Like you and I would place conditions on our love and acceptance.

00:15:26.048 --> 00:15:30.381
<v Speaker 1>You stab me in the back.

00:15:30.381 --> 00:15:31.780
<v Speaker 1>Hey, I'm no longer your friend.

00:15:31.780 --> 00:15:34.041
<v Speaker 1>Jesus didn't do that.

00:15:35.235 --> 00:15:43.063
<v Speaker 1>In essence, jesus is telling the disciples he wants to see them, he knows what they did and he loves and forgives them.

00:15:43.063 --> 00:15:45.134
<v Speaker 1>This is powerful.

00:15:45.134 --> 00:15:53.341
<v Speaker 1>This is really the essence of the gospel itself Right here that he wants to see them On no conditions.

00:15:53.341 --> 00:15:55.086
<v Speaker 1>No conditions.

00:15:55.086 --> 00:15:57.761
<v Speaker 1>I'm waiting for you to repent.

00:15:57.761 --> 00:16:02.480
<v Speaker 1>He's already forgiven them, regardless of whether they.

00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:08.748
<v Speaker 1>He's forgiving them even before they repent.

00:16:08.748 --> 00:16:12.706
<v Speaker 1>He's forgiving them so they can and will repent.

00:16:14.437 --> 00:16:15.562
<v Speaker 1>We don't think that way.

00:16:15.562 --> 00:16:21.682
<v Speaker 1>First you do this and that and then maybe we can have a relationship.

00:16:21.682 --> 00:16:23.299
<v Speaker 1>Jesus isn't like that.

00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:28.323
<v Speaker 1>We shouldn't be sharing the gospel like that either.

00:16:28.323 --> 00:16:34.638
<v Speaker 1>This is the gospel, this word of grace.

00:16:34.638 --> 00:16:52.404
<v Speaker 1>You see, the reason he says this is because his word of grace here is following his tremendous act of grace when he died for our sins on the cross, and we can be forgiven because he paid it all.

00:16:54.037 --> 00:16:57.840
<v Speaker 1>But there's an even bigger revelation of God's grace in what Jesus said here.

00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:05.987
<v Speaker 1>I love this because he says the angel says but go tell his disciples and Peter.

00:17:05.987 --> 00:17:10.722
<v Speaker 1>Why did he add Peter?

00:17:10.722 --> 00:17:12.166
<v Speaker 1>He's one of the disciples.

00:17:12.166 --> 00:17:13.981
<v Speaker 1>Why did he make a point?

00:17:13.981 --> 00:17:17.763
<v Speaker 1>Make sure Peter knows I want to see him.

00:17:17.763 --> 00:17:23.141
<v Speaker 1>Well, I think it's obvious, but it's very profound.

00:17:23.141 --> 00:17:27.240
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is showing us his heart when we fail.

00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:36.605
<v Speaker 1>You know the story Peter failed miserably More than all the other ones, all the other disciples.

00:17:36.605 --> 00:17:43.699
<v Speaker 1>He swore never to deny Jesus first and then to save his own skin when questioned.

00:17:43.699 --> 00:17:50.606
<v Speaker 1>He actually curses Jesus to distance himself from him Three times.

00:17:50.606 --> 00:18:03.724
<v Speaker 1>Now if Jesus had just said go tell the disciples to meet me in Galilee, peter might have just said well, you guys go.

00:18:03.724 --> 00:18:08.484
<v Speaker 1>He can't possibly mean me after what I did.

00:18:08.484 --> 00:18:20.567
<v Speaker 1>But Jesus mentions Peter specifically to make sure he knows that Jesus loves him and wants to see him.

00:18:20.567 --> 00:18:24.775
<v Speaker 1>And what he says here is very profound.

00:18:24.775 --> 00:18:29.506
<v Speaker 1>Again we see the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ, peter.

00:18:29.506 --> 00:18:32.518
<v Speaker 1>Listen to me, here's the gospel.

00:18:32.538 --> 00:18:35.179
<v Speaker 1>Peter did not deserve Jesus' acceptance and love.

00:18:35.179 --> 00:18:40.242
<v Speaker 1>He did not deserve to be forgiven, but he got it.

00:18:40.242 --> 00:18:50.655
<v Speaker 1>Peter was not required to demonstrate and cower in Jesus' presence saying, oh please, I blew it, I repent.

00:18:50.655 --> 00:18:53.402
<v Speaker 1>He didn't say that, no, all taken care of.

00:18:53.402 --> 00:19:01.700
<v Speaker 1>He got Jesus' grace not because he earned it.

00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:04.357
<v Speaker 1>Jesus made it possible.

00:19:04.357 --> 00:19:15.631
<v Speaker 1>Jesus once told us a powerful story or had an incident in his life that really demonstrates the powerful effect of the gospel that can happen in an individual's life.

00:19:15.631 --> 00:19:38.452
<v Speaker 1>This grace that's available In the gospel of Luke, chapter 7, verse 47, in response to a Pharisee, when a woman anointed Jesus' feet who was kind of questioning what is happening, and she spent like a year's worth of ointment on Jesus' feet.

00:19:39.913 --> 00:19:54.574
<v Speaker 1>And in answer to this questioning, jesus says For this reason I say to you her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much.

00:19:54.574 --> 00:20:00.964
<v Speaker 1>But he who is forgiven little loves little.

00:20:00.964 --> 00:20:19.191
<v Speaker 1>You see, because Peter's failure was the the biggest, his repentance will be the deepest and his grasp of god's grace will be the greatest, and it will make him the most qualified to lead going forward.

00:20:19.191 --> 00:20:31.172
<v Speaker 1>You got to understand the depths of god's grace to lead, you've got to understand how big of a sinner you really are in God's eyes.

00:20:31.172 --> 00:20:37.000
<v Speaker 1>You see, that's not the way the world works.

00:20:38.502 --> 00:20:51.833
<v Speaker 1>It's the way God's kingdom works, just like the former persecutor, the apostle Paul, realized eventually, in 1 Corinthians, 15, 9 and 10, he said you know what I am?

00:20:51.833 --> 00:20:57.219
<v Speaker 1>The very least of all the apostles, I'm not fit to be called an apostle.

00:20:57.219 --> 00:21:11.960
<v Speaker 1>I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me didn't prove in vain.

00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:15.179
<v Speaker 1>But I labored even more than all of them.

00:21:15.179 --> 00:21:16.092
<v Speaker 1>Yet not I.

00:21:16.092 --> 00:21:21.096
<v Speaker 1>The grace of God within me, how deep does your love go?

00:21:21.096 --> 00:21:27.181
<v Speaker 1>He who has been forgiven little loves little.

00:21:27.181 --> 00:21:30.998
<v Speaker 1>Do you need his forgiveness today?

00:21:34.791 --> 00:21:41.584
<v Speaker 1>See, admitting failure, admitting we're perhaps the worst possible sinner.

00:21:41.584 --> 00:21:44.317
<v Speaker 1>Admitting failure feels like a death.

00:21:44.317 --> 00:21:53.557
<v Speaker 1>But if you let that failure drive you deep to the gospel of grace, you'll experience a kind of resurrection.

00:21:53.557 --> 00:22:02.838
<v Speaker 1>What You're receiving me unconditionally, you love me, yeah, nothing like it.

00:22:02.838 --> 00:22:16.317
<v Speaker 1>You see, the biggest receivers of God's grace are the biggest repenters and make the best leaders and the best parents and the best grace-filled people on earth.

00:22:16.317 --> 00:22:17.820
<v Speaker 1>They get it.

00:22:17.820 --> 00:22:36.919
<v Speaker 1>Just ask John Newton, amazing grace, who was a slave, whatever you call it, jesus' word of grace listen to me comes with his resurrection, if you listen to what's happening here.

00:22:38.451 --> 00:22:42.670
<v Speaker 1>With that we come to the last reality of Jesus' resurrection.

00:22:42.670 --> 00:22:46.300
<v Speaker 1>The resurrection of Jesus resets our life.

00:22:46.300 --> 00:23:02.621
<v Speaker 1>The angel gives the women two commands which really are relevant for us as we take in the fact that he's not in the tomb.

00:23:02.621 --> 00:23:05.134
<v Speaker 1>He's very much alive.

00:23:05.134 --> 00:23:10.739
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is very much alive, and here's what he wants to say Take this word to the disciples.

00:23:10.739 --> 00:23:18.454
<v Speaker 1>Don't be alarmed, no need to fear.

00:23:18.454 --> 00:23:29.785
<v Speaker 1>I want you to go and tell the disciples and Peter Go and tell, starting with Jesus' disciples.

00:23:29.785 --> 00:23:38.670
<v Speaker 1>Go tell people.

00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:39.592
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is alive, he rose from the dead.

00:23:39.612 --> 00:23:47.305
<v Speaker 1>What that means for us is, if you understand and believe the resurrection of Jesus, it gives you a freedom from the world, and a freedom for the world.

00:23:47.305 --> 00:23:54.943
<v Speaker 1>First, it gives you freedom from the world, which we desperately need, even in these days.

00:23:54.943 --> 00:24:06.664
<v Speaker 1>What I mean by that is, if we're being honest, why is it so hard for us to face suffering and death?

00:24:06.664 --> 00:24:15.403
<v Speaker 1>Why is it so hard for us to do the right thing when we know it's going to cost us to do that.

00:24:15.403 --> 00:24:17.531
<v Speaker 1>Why is that so hard?

00:24:17.531 --> 00:24:23.500
<v Speaker 1>Why is it so hard to share the gospel with people in our life?

00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:28.650
<v Speaker 1>Why the gospel with people in our life?

00:24:28.650 --> 00:24:29.490
<v Speaker 1>Why it's so hard?

00:24:29.490 --> 00:24:32.760
<v Speaker 1>Because we think this broken world is the only world we've got.

00:24:32.760 --> 00:24:41.438
<v Speaker 1>So we must protect things, our reputation, what we have.

00:24:41.438 --> 00:24:45.217
<v Speaker 1>It's sourced right there.

00:24:45.217 --> 00:24:49.441
<v Speaker 1>We start entertaining this is it, this is all we got.

00:24:49.441 --> 00:24:51.010
<v Speaker 1>No, it's not.

00:24:51.010 --> 00:24:59.073
<v Speaker 1>We think this money is the only money I'm ever going to have, here and now.

00:24:59.073 --> 00:25:03.578
<v Speaker 1>We think that this body, this physical body, is the.

00:25:03.578 --> 00:25:07.484
<v Speaker 1>This body, this physical body, is the only one we're going to have.

00:25:07.484 --> 00:25:16.289
<v Speaker 1>We think this is the only life we're only going to live.

00:25:16.289 --> 00:25:21.688
<v Speaker 1>But not if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

00:25:21.688 --> 00:25:26.959
<v Speaker 1>The doctrine of the resurrection isn't just about being resurrected and going to heaven someday.

00:25:26.959 --> 00:25:29.246
<v Speaker 1>It's about God's entire renewal of the material world.

00:25:29.246 --> 00:25:38.323
<v Speaker 1>If you read the scripture, which means we're going to get back all the things we lost in a greater way in the resurrection.

00:25:38.323 --> 00:25:43.501
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is the first fruits of that resurrection we're to follow.

00:25:43.501 --> 00:25:50.943
<v Speaker 1>Our hope in the resurrection is life-transforming.

00:25:50.943 --> 00:25:53.037
<v Speaker 1>I'll give you one example.

00:25:53.309 --> 00:25:55.699
<v Speaker 1>Many of you know Johnny Erickson Tata.

00:25:55.699 --> 00:26:01.816
<v Speaker 1>Many of you know that she was paralyzed as a teenager in a diving accident.

00:26:01.816 --> 00:26:14.550
<v Speaker 1>At the time she was an Episcopalian going to Episcopal Church and she was in a wheelchair.

00:26:14.550 --> 00:26:24.134
<v Speaker 1>The problem with being an Episcopalian in a wheelchair was that at a certain point in the service every week the priest would call on everybody to kneel.

00:26:24.134 --> 00:26:37.971
<v Speaker 1>She'd burst into tears, reminded her she's in a wheelchair, made her stand out and the thinking is this is the only world I've got.

00:26:37.971 --> 00:26:48.526
<v Speaker 1>But one Easter Sunday service, when the priest asked everybody to kneel.

00:26:48.526 --> 00:26:53.233
<v Speaker 1>She was about to burst into tears again, but she started to pray the prayer.

00:26:53.233 --> 00:27:03.820
<v Speaker 1>The congregation was praying about the resurrection of Jesus and suddenly her life was literally transformed by it.

00:27:03.820 --> 00:27:05.304
<v Speaker 1>Here's what she said.

00:27:05.304 --> 00:27:17.961
<v Speaker 1>I suddenly realized that when I got to the wedding feast of the Lamb, the first thing I'll be able to do on my resurrection legs is drop down on a grateful, glorified knees quietly before the feet of Jesus.

00:27:17.961 --> 00:27:19.556
<v Speaker 1>Then I'm going to get up and dance.

00:27:19.556 --> 00:27:22.357
<v Speaker 1>This isn't all there is.

00:27:22.357 --> 00:27:27.815
<v Speaker 1>This is the hope of the resurrection.

00:27:27.815 --> 00:27:28.855
<v Speaker 1>It can be life transforming isn't all there is.

00:27:28.855 --> 00:27:33.439
<v Speaker 1>The hope of the resurrection can be life transforming If you understand and believe in Jesus' resurrection.

00:27:33.439 --> 00:27:39.845
<v Speaker 1>It not only gives you freedom from the world, it gives you freedom for the world, as Paul tells us.

00:27:39.865 --> 00:27:41.526
<v Speaker 1>Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5,.

00:27:41.526 --> 00:27:53.060
<v Speaker 1>He says God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he committed to us that word of reconciliation.

00:27:53.060 --> 00:28:01.375
<v Speaker 1>Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God himself were making an appeal through us.

00:28:01.375 --> 00:28:06.059
<v Speaker 1>We beg you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:17.773
<v Speaker 1>And the message that he has obviously to bring about that reconciliation is the message of the gospel, and Paul kind of goes through that here in Romans, chapter 10.

00:28:17.773 --> 00:28:22.242
<v Speaker 1>He says everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

00:28:22.242 --> 00:28:27.136
<v Speaker 1>Have you ever called on the name of the Lord Jesus to save you?

00:28:27.136 --> 00:28:32.558
<v Speaker 1>And then he says but how will they call on him?

00:28:32.558 --> 00:28:35.336
<v Speaker 1>They've not believed?

00:28:35.336 --> 00:28:38.038
<v Speaker 1>How will they believe if they've never heard?

00:28:38.038 --> 00:28:42.358
<v Speaker 1>How will they hear without someone preaching or telling them?

00:28:42.358 --> 00:28:43.781
<v Speaker 1>Go and tell.

00:28:43.781 --> 00:28:48.660
<v Speaker 1>And how are they to preach unless they're sent?

00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:52.856
<v Speaker 1>Oh, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.

00:28:52.856 --> 00:28:55.702
<v Speaker 1>Grace, grace, grace.

00:28:55.702 --> 00:29:03.844
<v Speaker 1>God sends us into the world with the good news of the gospel of grace because God loves the world.

00:29:03.844 --> 00:29:14.563
<v Speaker 1>He wants the world to hear that Jesus died for their sins, rose from the dead, so that now anyone who believes in him wouldn't perish but have everlasting life.

00:29:14.563 --> 00:29:21.324
<v Speaker 1>So we who know what the death and resurrection means must go and tell.

00:29:21.324 --> 00:29:33.700
<v Speaker 1>And that is why Christianity exploded in the first century and beyond.

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:36.249
<v Speaker 1>Even to this day it's exploded.

00:29:39.917 --> 00:29:42.502
<v Speaker 1>Do you believe that the resurrection of Jesus really happened?

00:29:42.502 --> 00:30:02.194
<v Speaker 1>You know, I chuckle a little bit because if you think about this, can you imagine if the disciples and the first preachers of the gospel went out with today's modern, liberal message of Jesus' resurrection?

00:30:02.194 --> 00:30:10.819
<v Speaker 1>Can you imagine this To the poor and oppressed of that day, saying things like you know, jesus didn't really rise from the dead.

00:30:10.819 --> 00:30:15.221
<v Speaker 1>It's just a symbol of good triumphing over evil.

00:30:15.221 --> 00:30:23.115
<v Speaker 1>It's just a symbol of, you know, springtime renewing our lives, doing good, make the world a better place.

00:30:23.115 --> 00:30:25.616
<v Speaker 1>So go and be nice to everybody.

00:30:25.616 --> 00:30:27.301
<v Speaker 1>Can you imagine that?

00:30:27.301 --> 00:30:32.459
<v Speaker 1>Is that the reason Christianity exploded?

00:30:33.300 --> 00:30:39.157
<v Speaker 1>No, here's what actually happened when they preached to the poor and oppressed.

00:30:39.157 --> 00:30:42.436
<v Speaker 1>Here's what they said Jesus is alive.

00:30:42.436 --> 00:30:45.596
<v Speaker 1>He rose from the dead.

00:30:45.596 --> 00:30:47.126
<v Speaker 1>We saw him.

00:30:47.126 --> 00:30:49.135
<v Speaker 1>We saw him, we touched him.

00:30:49.135 --> 00:30:51.237
<v Speaker 1>Our sins are forgiven.

00:30:51.237 --> 00:30:54.420
<v Speaker 1>We urge you to believe in him for the gift of eternal life.

00:30:54.420 --> 00:31:06.298
<v Speaker 1>Here's what I preach to you Jesus rose from the dead.

00:31:06.298 --> 00:31:14.401
<v Speaker 1>Believe in him for the forgiveness of your sins and receive from him, by grace, the gift of eternal life.

00:31:14.401 --> 00:31:29.829
<v Speaker 1>One last thing If Jesus did in fact rise from the dead, then everything is going to be alright.

00:31:32.439 --> 00:31:35.417
<v Speaker 1>Let's pray, father, thank you, thank you.

00:31:35.417 --> 00:31:40.221
<v Speaker 1>Thank you that you raised Jesus from the dead.

00:31:40.221 --> 00:31:43.470
<v Speaker 1>You didn't leave him in the tomb to decay.

00:31:43.470 --> 00:31:45.592
<v Speaker 1>You accepted his sacrifice for our sin on our behalf.

00:31:45.592 --> 00:31:46.712
<v Speaker 1>You didn't leave him in the tomb to decay.

00:31:46.712 --> 00:31:51.037
<v Speaker 1>You accepted his sacrifice for our sin on our behalf.

00:31:51.037 --> 00:31:55.240
<v Speaker 1>Thank you that he finished the work of redemption you sent him to do.

00:31:55.240 --> 00:32:06.894
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, lord, that because of him, the guilt of our sins can be removed forever and we can be reconciled to you for eternity.

00:32:06.894 --> 00:32:19.659
<v Speaker 1>Please, lord, we ask you, let the resurrection of Jesus penetrate our lives deeply and actually transform us to think differently, to live differently, to act differently.

00:32:19.659 --> 00:32:23.311
<v Speaker 1>Help us to stop thinking this world is all there is.

00:32:23.311 --> 00:32:34.713
<v Speaker 1>Begin to live in the reality of Jesus' resurrection, resetting our lives by it and, in all we do, becoming heralds of the gospel, because Jesus is alive.

00:32:34.713 --> 00:32:37.561
<v Speaker 1>Thank you in Jesus' name, amen.