Speaker 1: The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May.
Speaker 2: Matthew 27,.
Speaker 2: We're going to begin in verse 57.
Speaker 2: In verse 57.
Speaker 2: I'm going to preach through chapter 28, verse 10.
Speaker 2: The word of the Lord says this when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
Speaker 2: He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, and then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
Speaker 2: And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.
Speaker 2: And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Speaker 2: And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite of the tomb, and went away.
Speaker 2: And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite of the tomb.
Speaker 2: And the next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said sir, we remember how that imposter said while he was still alive after three days, I will rise and therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people he is risen from the dead and the last fraud will be worse than the first.
Speaker 2: And Pilate said to them you have a guard of soldiers, go, make it as secure as you can.
Speaker 2: And so they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Speaker 2: Now, after the Sabbath, toward the end, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
Speaker 2: And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
Speaker 2: His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow, and for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
Speaker 2: But the angel said to the women do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
Speaker 2: He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.
Speaker 2: Said come see this place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the, from the dead.
Speaker 2: And behold, he is going before you to galilee and there you will see him.
Speaker 2: See, I have told you.
Speaker 2: So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.
Speaker 2: And behold, jesus met them and said greetings.
Speaker 2: And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
Speaker 2: And then Jesus said to them do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.
Speaker 2: It's the word of God for the people of God and you may be seated.
Speaker 2: Well, as you heard earlier, we have been in a verse-by-verse study through the book of Matthew.
Speaker 2: The theme I hope you know by now of the entire book is about Jesus coming to earth as Israel's divine messianic king to inaugurate the kingdom of God and to save his people from their sins.
Speaker 2: And so today we come to the crescendo of the story, namely the resurrection of our great Lord and Savior.
Speaker 2: And I want you to know the day that Christianity hinges on what we celebrate this day.
Speaker 2: Our faith does not hinge on unanswered prayers.
Speaker 2: I want you to know that Our faith does not hinge on the behavior of some Christians.
Speaker 2: Our faith does not hinge on unanswered prayers about God or the universe Beloved.
Speaker 2: Our faith hinges on one historical fact that Jesus Christ is risen, hallelujah.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 17, paul writes these words.
Speaker 2: He says if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
Speaker 2: In other words, if Christ is not raised, we should not be here today.
Speaker 2: We should be at the park hunting Easter eggs right now.
Speaker 2: Right now.
Speaker 2: Hear this very clearly Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity.
Speaker 2: But I've got great news Christ is risen.
Speaker 2: He is risen indeed, hallelujah.
Speaker 2: Here's what I want you to see today.
Speaker 2: I want to encourage you in the fact that the resurrection changed the world and it can change your life.
Speaker 2: The resurrection changed history and it can change your history.
Speaker 2: I've broken down the text into three points Number one, what happened.
Speaker 2: Number two, what it means.
Speaker 2: And number three, how to respond.
Speaker 2: So, number one, what happened.
Speaker 2: Now I'm going to give you a defense for the historicity of the resurrection.
Speaker 2: In other words, I'm going to show you why it's logical to believe in the resurrection.
Speaker 2: It's rational and I'm looking in here, I think it mostly Christians, and so you may say well, we believe.
Speaker 2: Why do you need to spend time on this?
Speaker 2: Well, if you're here and you're a skeptic, you need this, but if you're here and you're a believer, you need to know how to defend your faith.
Speaker 2: You need to know why you believe what you believe.
Speaker 2: To be a Christian doesn't mean you have to throw away your intellect, amen.
Speaker 2: So what happened in this text?
Speaker 2: Well, number one Jesus died bodily and he was buried.
Speaker 2: If you go back up in Matthew 27 to verse 50, it says that Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Speaker 2: He cried with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Speaker 2: At that moment on the cross, jesus relinquished his life.
Speaker 2: By the way he relinquished it.
Speaker 2: It was not taken from him At any time.
Speaker 2: He could have called legions of angels, but he hung there for us, for the glory of God, and he relinquished his life.
Speaker 2: Now there are theories aimed at disproving the resurrection.
Speaker 2: Are theories aimed at disproving the resurrection.
Speaker 2: There is one theory in particular that claims that Jesus was not really dead on the cross, that he did not really die, that he only lost consciousness.
Speaker 2: It's called the swoon theory and it was popularized by a book written in the 1960s by Hugh Schoenfeld, which argues that Jesus only appeared to die and that he was nursed back to health in the tomb.
Speaker 2: And he thinks he's the smart one.
Speaker 2: This author, schoenfeld, insists that Jesus had faked his own death and resurrection.
Speaker 2: So I love this.
Speaker 2: Pastor Greg Laurie shared a story about the quote-unquote swoon theory from a local newspaper on the topic.
Speaker 2: So someone wrote into the newspaper posing this question.
Speaker 2: Quote our preacher on Easter said that Jesus just swooned on the cross, in other words lost consciousness, and that his disciples nursed him back to health.
Speaker 2: What do you think?
Speaker 2: Sincerely, signed bewildered, somebody at the newspaper wrote back something like this Dear bewildered, beat your preacher with a cat on nine tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him out in the sun for six hours, pierce him with the spear and put him in an airless tomb for three days.
Speaker 2: And just see what happens.
Speaker 2: Beloved Christ really died on the cross.
Speaker 2: Verses 57 through 60 tells us that Pilate handed over Jesus' body to be buried to Joseph of Arimathea, who was a follower of Jesus.
Speaker 2: This shows well enough that Jesus was really dead.
Speaker 2: Roman officials were not known for going in for half measures when it came to carrying out a capital sentence.
Speaker 2: Historian theologian NT Wright insists that any possibility that they had let a condemned rebel leader escape death can be left out of the question.
Speaker 2: It's not logical, it's not plausible, it's a little ignorant to think that Jesus did not die on the cross.
Speaker 2: It's absurd.
Speaker 2: Matthew 27 tells us that Jesus died bodily.
Speaker 2: Matthew 28 records that he was raised bodily.
Speaker 2: The resurrection narrative begins with Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, going to the tomb with the intention of anointing the body with oil, with these appropriate spices.
Speaker 2: When they arrived at the tomb, they got a great surprise.
Speaker 2: They got a great surprise.
Speaker 2: They got a great surprise the earthquake.
Speaker 2: This majestic angel sat upon the rock and said oh, by the way, jesus is not here, he is risen.
Speaker 2: They, these women, bear witness to the empty tomb.
Speaker 2: The angel commanded them to go quickly, then and to proclaim the great news to the disciples.
Speaker 2: And so then the question is what happened to the body?
Speaker 2: Because skeptics would say that the disciples stole the body.
Speaker 2: You're going to hear these arguments from time to time, so let's just consider that theory in light of the text.
Speaker 2: So, after Joseph put the body in the tomb, the chief priest urged Pilate to secure it, because they said, listen, he predicted his resurrection.
Speaker 2: These disciples are going to try to fake that.
Speaker 2: So you better seal that tomb, you better have it guarded.
Speaker 2: And so chapter 27, verses 65 and 66 state that Pilate sent a guard of soldiers to the tomb, commanded them to seal it and make it as secure as they could.
Speaker 2: The stone would have been extremely heavy, impossible to move from the inside, but very difficult even from the outside.
Speaker 2: The seal would have made any tampering very evident.
Speaker 2: The theory that the disciples stole the body is extremely unconvincing for many reasons.
Speaker 2: Let me just give you quickly three.
Speaker 2: Number one the disciples would have had to get by the guarded tomb.
Speaker 2: Now, if you read through the gospels, these are not warriors.
Speaker 2: All right, now the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 2: After Jesus ascends to the Father, they're filled with the Holy Spirit and they're actually quite brave, but still not physical warriors.
Speaker 2: They're not men of war, though.
Speaker 2: Peter did, I guess, cut off somebody's ear, but in this theory the guard members conveniently just slept and they apparently didn't wake up when the disciples were trying to roll this massive stone away.
Speaker 2: If you didn't hear the stone, you would hear their grunts.
Speaker 2: If you try to pick something really heavy up, some of you just bend down and you ah, you know it hurts just to bring them.
Speaker 2: Come on.
Speaker 2: So that's one reason they would have to get past the guards.
Speaker 2: And then here's another reason what was left in the grave?
Speaker 2: The clothes, the cloths, right?
Speaker 2: Why in the world they get past the guards?
Speaker 2: Hey guys, let's just take a little bit of time and let's undress Jesus and fold his garments, right?
Speaker 2: No man, it's like we made it past the guards.
Speaker 2: Get in, get out, boom, boom.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 2: That's another reason.
Speaker 2: Number three the stolen body theory would have made the disciples out to be liars.
Speaker 2: Okay, that does not add up.
Speaker 2: Doesn't add up.
Speaker 2: It does not explain why the disciples literally dedicated the rest of their lives to this cause.
Speaker 2: Dedicated the rest of their lives to this cause.
Speaker 2: They gave up everything because they claimed to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, they even gave their lives for that cause.
Speaker 2: They became martyrs, all except John, who was exiled.
Speaker 2: Peter was crucified upside down and at that point, if it was a lie, you would think he would go wait, wait, wait.
Speaker 2: I was just kidding.
Speaker 2: No, what's the only plausible reason that they would?
Speaker 2: These disciples would preach the gospel to the end that he's really risen jesus.
Speaker 2: Then next he appears to these women, mary, magdalene and and mary, the mother of james and joseph.
Speaker 2: When he spoke to them, what did they do?
Speaker 2: They, they fell down at his feet.
Speaker 2: They, they touched him.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is a bodily resurrection, not just a spiritual resurrection.
Speaker 2: They touched his body and they began to worship him.
Speaker 2: And then he instructed them go on your way.
Speaker 2: I want you to be the ones, mary and Mary, I want you to be the ones to deliver the news, proclaim the news to the rest of my disciples.
Speaker 2: And so there's this other theory that people use in their attempt to discredit the resurrection.
Speaker 2: They say listen, the gospel stories are just fabricated.
Speaker 2: Matthew, mark, luke, john, they just made them up.
Speaker 2: Okay, there's an issue with that.
Speaker 2: If the church fabricated the story in the first century, if the church fabricated the story in the first century, they would not, no way would they have put the women as the first witnesses.
Speaker 2: And here's why In the first century and this is horrible, but it's the way it was women had essentially no rights.
Speaker 2: They weren't looked at as equals with men.
Speaker 2: They weren't looked at as equals with men and their testimonies were not considered worthy.
Speaker 2: They could not bear witness and that be counted for anything.
Speaker 2: Why, if Matthew was making up this story and the rest of the gospel writers, why would Matthew fabricate a story that says, oh, by the way, that the people to first see Jesus were two women?
Speaker 2: It doesn't add up.
Speaker 2: I'll tell you why.
Speaker 2: Matthew wrote that, because it's really what happened.
Speaker 2: Aren't you grateful that Jesus elevates the wonder and the glory of women, the value of women?
Speaker 2: I mean, how awesome is Jesus.
Speaker 2: How awesome is Jesus?
Speaker 2: You add to all of that at least 10 other recorded appearances by Jesus to different groups of people over a 40-day period.
Speaker 2: One of them over 500 people at once witnessed the risen Christ day period.
Speaker 2: One of them over 500 people at once witnessed the risen Christ.
Speaker 2: Now, you might have a hallucination and see one thing, but 500 people aren't going to have the same hallucination.
Speaker 2: Paul, when he writes in 1 Corinthians, he says listen, he says Christ is risen and he says that Christ appeared to this group of over 500 and other people he said, by the way, he said go talk to them.
Speaker 2: Many of them are still alive.
Speaker 2: This was not written so far into history, so much forward from the resurrection, that people could not talk to the witnesses when these books were written, many of the witnesses that saw the risen Christ were still alive.
Speaker 2: That's what happened Jesus died, jesus was buried, jesus arose, and Mary and the other Mary like Daryl and my brother, daryl, you remember that Mary and the other Mary were the first witnesses.
Speaker 2: So, though, all of that are historical events.
Speaker 2: All of those things are historical events.
Speaker 2: The death and resurrection of Jesus, those are not just naked facts Okay, it's an event.
Speaker 2: Those are events that will radically change your life.
Speaker 2: So they're not just historical, let's say they're personal.
Speaker 2: Are you with me?
Speaker 2: Nod at me, smile at me.
Speaker 2: It's Easter, come on.
Speaker 2: The resurrection offers us, every one of us, unprecedented hope, and I could talk about this forever, but I won't.
Speaker 2: Let me just point out a couple facets of that hope.
Speaker 2: Number one gloriously, wonderfully, we have the hope of forgiveness.
Speaker 2: We have the hope of forgiveness.
Speaker 2: Before you understand why that's important, you've got to understand one thing it's something that we in the contemporary world don't like to talk much about, but the Bible teaches that we are all sinners Romans 3.23,.
Speaker 2: We've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Speaker 2: We all are born with an inherent sinful nature.
Speaker 2: So we are born into an inherent sinful nature.
Speaker 2: So we are born into sin and we choose to sin.
Speaker 2: We're born into sin and we choose to sin.
Speaker 2: And if you have kids, you know this to be true, right, like you don't have to teach your children to sin, right?
Speaker 2: So I just have a newsflash for you this morning you are not good, apart from Christ.
Speaker 2: You are not good.
Speaker 2: And if you think you are beloved, you are deceiving yourself.
Speaker 2: And I can prove that.
Speaker 2: Everybody knows this, because there's a phrase that almost everybody has said at some point in their life, and it goes like this nobody's what, nobody's perfect.
Speaker 2: You know what that?
Speaker 2: I could say it.
Speaker 2: This is the let's say, the same coin, the other side.
Speaker 2: What we're saying when we say nobody's perfect is we've all sinned, we know it, the Bible is clear.
Speaker 2: We've all sinned and it's clear that that sin has separated us from a holy God.
Speaker 2: There's a great chasm between sinful man and a holy God.
Speaker 2: So because of the Lord Jesus Christ, his death, burial and resurrection, we can be saved.
Speaker 2: And that begs the question say from what?
Speaker 2: Say from what?
Speaker 2: Well, I'm glad you asked.
Speaker 2: Romans 5 teaches that none of us are born a friend of god.
Speaker 2: Not one of you was born a friend of God.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, you know what?
Speaker 2: You may not know this, but Romans 5 teaches that if we are not in Christ, we are enemies of God.
Speaker 2: We are at enmity with him.
Speaker 2: We are due the wrath of God.
Speaker 2: I know that this culture likes the cute and cuddly Jesus.
Speaker 2: Right, the cute and cuddly God who is, you know, just so welcoming, and he is a loving God.
Speaker 2: But, oh, beloved, he is a God of wrath as well, and because of our sin, we are all due the wrath of God.
Speaker 2: Not only is he loving, he's just, and so we are due the wrath of God.
Speaker 2: We are due separation from him, death, hell and the grave.
Speaker 2: That's what we deserve because of our sin.
Speaker 2: But Jesus, in the last moments of his life, jesus cried out it is finished, which in the original language, is an accounting term.
Speaker 2: That means this paid in full.
Speaker 2: That phrase means paid in full, and Jesus was speaking of our sin debt.
Speaker 2: He encountered the death due to us, and here's what he did at the cross, he didn't just suffer physically, he bore the wrath of God on our behalf.
Speaker 2: He cried out my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Speaker 2: Jesus was forsaken so that we don't have to be Come on somebody, so that we don't have to be come on somebody.
Speaker 2: And here's what we know Christ's death was a sufficient payment for our sins.
Speaker 2: How do we know that?
Speaker 2: You want to guess the resurrection?
Speaker 2: Anybody could claim that their death is.
Speaker 2: You know, hey, this is substitutionary for you.
Speaker 2: I'm going to die in your place.
Speaker 2: But when Jesus was raised from the dead, when God raised him from the dead, it was a sign, filled and delivered, saying oh, that cross.
Speaker 2: When you died on that cross, it is truly finished.
Speaker 2: Debt paid in full, debt paid in full.
Speaker 2: That's why, in 1 Corinthians 15, paul says if Christ is not raised, then we are still in our sins.
Speaker 2: But then he goes on to say in fact, christ is raised.
Speaker 2: This means you and I can have the blessing of forgiveness.
Speaker 2: Not only do we have that hope, but we also have the hope of transformation.
Speaker 2: Here's what's beautiful.
Speaker 2: The Lord doesn't save us and leave us like we are.
Speaker 2: Has he transformed anybody's life in here?
Speaker 2: He transforms us.
Speaker 2: Think about this.
Speaker 2: One of the first people to see the risen Jesus was Mary Magdalene.
Speaker 2: Hunter talked about this in our sunrise service, if you know anything about her life, you know that before she met Jesus, she was possessed with seven demons.
Speaker 2: Possessed with seven demons, she lived in an immense darkness.
Speaker 2: She was an outcast.
Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, scholars believe that she was likely even cast out of her family.
Speaker 2: Society did not know what to do with her.
Speaker 2: But then she met Jesus.
Speaker 2: Jesus delivered her.
Speaker 2: Every demon cast out, jesus gave her purpose.
Speaker 2: She was cast out.
Speaker 2: Jesus gave her purpose.
Speaker 2: You know, she was cast out perhaps of family and of society, but he brought her in to his innermost circle and he transformed her life, brought her out of darkness into light, from death into life.
Speaker 2: We have the hope of transformation in Jesus.
Speaker 2: That's what happened to Mary.
Speaker 2: But then something happened after that, jesus died on the cross and Mary again was despondent and felt as if she had no hope.
Speaker 2: Because here's what I want you to hear A dead God can't help you.
Speaker 2: And every other religion listen, I don't see one that was raised from the dead.
Speaker 2: A dead Savior cannot help you.
Speaker 2: And so, mary, when she witnessed Jesus taking his last breath and she heard that he was buried in this tomb and she was on her way, she was despondent because Jesus had rescued her.
Speaker 2: And now is she going to have to go back to that old way?
Speaker 2: Is she going to fall back into those old things?
Speaker 2: Who's going to receive her?
Speaker 2: But then?
Speaker 2: But then verse 8 tells us that after she receives the news of jesus resurrection, that she was filled again with fear and great joy.
Speaker 2: Because of the resurrection, our sorrow can be turned to gladness, our hopelessness can be turned to hope.
Speaker 2: Jesus transforms us.
Speaker 2: 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation.
Speaker 2: The old is past, the new has come.
Speaker 2: We serve a risen king who still transforms lives.
Speaker 2: So the resurrection offers us many hopes in this life, but I want you to know it also offers us hope in the life to come.
Speaker 2: Tim Keller, one of my favorite authors and pastors, passed away last year, unfortunately.
Speaker 2: He wrote an article for Christianity Today in which he argued for the uniqueness of the Christian future hope.
Speaker 2: The uniqueness of the Christian future hope.
Speaker 2: He wrote that other religions offer.
Speaker 2: There are other religions who say, oh well, there's an afterlife and there's a heaven or some kind of afterlife, but what they offer is merely a spiritual existence.
Speaker 2: So this idea of like you become one with the universe.
Speaker 2: Or you, you know, or you just float around on clouds somewhere.
Speaker 2: And then you have the.
Speaker 2: By the way, let me say about that, those claims are not rooted in any kind of historical fact.
Speaker 2: No, that's just teachings that have come up right, but they're not grounded in any historical truth.
Speaker 2: Let's say and then, on the other hand, you have the secular world who tells its members that both individuals and world history will end in oblivion.
Speaker 2: Boy, that's a little bleak, isn't it?
Speaker 2: Christianity differs from both of those views.
Speaker 2: It doesn't just offer us a future spiritual existence in the life to come, but, hear me, it offers.
Speaker 2: It tells us we will be raised bodily.
Speaker 2: And listen to this.
Speaker 2: We're not going to be floating on clouds.
Speaker 2: God himself is renewing the earth.
Speaker 2: You go to the end of your Bible.
Speaker 2: It's not about us going to heaven.
Speaker 2: Though heaven is a real place, it's a temporary place.
Speaker 2: You go to the end of your Bible.
Speaker 2: It's not us going to heaven.
Speaker 2: What is it?
Speaker 2: It's heaven coming to earth, the new Jerusalem coming down, our future hope.
Speaker 2: It is grounded.
Speaker 2: How do we know all that's going to happen?
Speaker 2: Because of the resurrection, our future resurrection, the renewal of the earth is grounded in historical fact.
Speaker 2: What I want you to know is Christian hope is not pie in the sky.
Speaker 2: I don't want pie in the sky hope.
Speaker 2: I mean, if this is all there is to life, so be it.
Speaker 2: It'd be a bleak existence.
Speaker 2: But I don't want false hope.
Speaker 2: But I am convinced, because of the resurrection, that everything the Bible teaches is true.
Speaker 2: I believe Jesus as he came the first time and as he said he was going to die and rise from the dead as he did.
Speaker 2: I believe his promises that he will return and consummate his kingdom.
Speaker 2: I believe it could happen anytime.
Speaker 2: So I want to close like this, by looking at how different people in this narrative responded to the news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Speaker 2: Very quickly, number one we have Joseph of Arimathea.
Speaker 2: He was a wealthy follower of Jesus, but what Matthew does not tell us, what Matthew doesn't tell us, is this the other gospels.
Speaker 2: One of the other gospels accounts tells us that he was actually part of the Sanhedrin.
Speaker 2: Now, this is stunning Because if you've been here throughout Matthew, you know that the Sanhedrin were in part responsible for Jesus' death.
Speaker 2: They were part of the political and religious leaders of Israel and they were threatened by Jesus and they wanted him dead.
Speaker 2: What does Joseph do of Arimathea, he goes to Pilate, who just gave Jesus the sentence, had him executed, and he says hey, I'd like to have Jesus' body to give him a proper burial.
Speaker 2: You know what Joseph did in that moment?
Speaker 2: He risked his reputation, he ripped, he um, he risked his job, his position and he risked his life.
Speaker 2: If they killed Jesus, they might kill him I mean, they would see him as a betrayer but he did it, he did it, he did it.
Speaker 2: Then you have Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, as we've talked about.
Speaker 2: What did they do when they saw Jesus?
Speaker 2: They fell at his feet and they worshiped him.
Speaker 2: But then, if you go on in the story, jesus commanded them, he instructed them.
Speaker 2: I want you to go proclaim that you've seen me, tell the disciples that I am risen.
Speaker 2: The Bible says that they went and did that very thing.
Speaker 2: So what did Mary and Mary do?
Speaker 2: What did the two Marys do?
Speaker 2: They worshiped and they obeyed.
Speaker 2: But then you have the guards.
Speaker 2: The guards.
Speaker 2: They were afraid when the angel came.
Speaker 2: They were like dead men.
Speaker 2: But you know what?
Speaker 2: Their fear did not lead to repentance.
Speaker 2: When the two Marys went to the tomb, they were scared when they saw the angel.
Speaker 2: But the angel said to them do not fear.
Speaker 2: He did not tell the guards.
Speaker 2: Do not fear, because if you have an unrepentant heart, if you are not living for the Lord Jesus Christ, you should fear.
Speaker 2: A risen Lord, you should fear.
Speaker 2: And then, finally, you have the chief priests, israel's religious leaders, who did everything they could to stop Jesus from getting out of the tomb, but there wasn't a stone heavy enough to thwart God's promises.
Speaker 2: And after Jesus was raised, these leaders still did not repent.
Speaker 2: They paid off the soldiers to lie about the resurrection and the chief priests were left in their sin.
Speaker 2: Listen, the resurrection is the most important event in all of history.
Speaker 2: The most important event in all of history.
Speaker 2: The most important event in all of history and the most important decision that you can make Is to respond To that resurrection, to respond to Jesus In a way that brings you to God and doesn't separate you from him.
Speaker 2: I want to ask you today Are you like Joseph of Arimathea?
Speaker 2: Are you willing to risk your reputation?
Speaker 2: Some of you.
Speaker 2: If you come to Jesus today, it might cost you your family, it might cost you your reputation, it might cost you your job and the way this country is going it eventually might cost you your job and the way this country is going.
Speaker 2: It eventually might cost you your life.
Speaker 2: But Paul said I consider all things but loss.
Speaker 2: According to what I've gained in Christ Jesus, my Lord, it's worth it beloved.
Speaker 2: Will you be like Mary and Mary, mary Magdalene and Mary, the, the mother of Joseph and James?
Speaker 2: Will you worship and obey?
Speaker 2: Listen, there are.
Speaker 2: There are people who who claim to oh yeah, I believe in the resurrection, but how has it changed your life?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I follow Jesus.
Speaker 2: The people who know you well, would they say that same thing?
Speaker 2: I mean, if you really.
Speaker 2: I mean if the people who know you well would they say that same thing?
Speaker 2: I mean, if you really.
Speaker 2: I mean if you were honest and you really considered your life, the way you just lived this last week.
Speaker 2: Does your life declare that you're a follower of Jesus?
Speaker 2: I hope that you're not like the soldiers where you're just in all today and go well, man, it's cool that Jesus died, but you don't repent, you don't turn to him.
Speaker 2: And I certainly hope you're not like the chief priest trying to squelch the gospel message.
Speaker 2: I assume if that was you, you wouldn't be here.
Speaker 2: But I'm not going to leave you with dismal news.
Speaker 2: I don't want you to leave Easter Sunday despondent.
Speaker 2: I've got great news for you.
Speaker 2: No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, jesus bids you to come to him.
Speaker 2: I don't care if you've lived 50 years like the devil.
Speaker 2: Today God will transform you.
Speaker 2: He died for you.
Speaker 2: He paid your debt in full Done.
Speaker 2: Here's what he says.
Speaker 2: Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest for your souls.
Speaker 2: Anybody tired, some of you think that you can step your way to god.
Speaker 2: You can't.
Speaker 2: That's why god came to us.
Speaker 2: He came to us in the lord jesus christ.
Speaker 2: I want you to consider today.
Speaker 2: If you've never made jesus the Lord of your life, I want to ask you today.
Speaker 2: I bid you, don't wait another moment.
Speaker 2: Come.
Speaker 2: Know what it is to be brought to God.
Speaker 2: Know what it is to be in the family of God, in the kingdom of God.
Speaker 2: Know what it is to have true and living hope.
Speaker 2: Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow.
Speaker 2: I love that song.
Speaker 2: Anybody remember there's room at the cross.
Speaker 2: When I did prison ministry, we used to sing this all the time.
Speaker 2: The guys would just sing with all their hearts there's room at the cross for you.
Speaker 2: There's room at the cross for you.
Speaker 2: Though millions have come, there's still at the cross for you.
Speaker 2: Though millions have come, there's still room for one.
Speaker 2: Yes, there's room at the cross for you.
Speaker 2: Let's pray, lord, how we love you.
Speaker 2: Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Speaker 2: If there is one here today that does not know you, thank you for sending Jesus Christ to do for us what we could not do for ourselves, if there is one here today that does not know you.
Speaker 2: Oh God, let this be the day of transformation, the day of salvation, the day of sanctification.
Speaker 2: Change their hearts, oh God.
Speaker 2: Lord, we have prayed all week long, every night.
Speaker 2: This week our church has met and prayed that you would cultivate the hearts of people to receive the gospel.
Speaker 2: So if you're stirring hearts today, I pray you'd give them the boldness to come to repent of their sin, to cry out for salvation and see the beauty, the wonder, the glory, the magnificence of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: For those Christians here today, god, who have just gotten overwhelmed by the darkness of this world, remind them of the hope they have today because of the resurrection.
Speaker 2: Let us keep our eyes on the mark of the high calling.
Speaker 2: Let us be heavenly minded, oh God.
Speaker 2: Let us look again to the cross and to the empty tomb and remember that Jesus is with us always.
Speaker 2: We love you, we praise you and in the mighty name of Jesus we pray.
Speaker 1: Amen.
Speaker 1: Real Life Community Church is located at 335 Glendon Avenue in Richmond, Kentucky.
Speaker 1: We invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 1045 am or Wednesday at 7 pm.
Speaker 1: Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.