WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.959 Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:22.879 My wife Dean Lynn and I continue to count it a high and holy privilege to be a part of this season at Gateway. 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:25.839 We love you. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:38.799 And we love what God has promised to do in protecting and providing for his church. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:43.119 We're watching the Lord keep all his promises. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:52.079 He directed Lisa Harper to call the church to a time of lament. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:00.880 He brought the perfect person here in the form of Pastor Joachim. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:11.040 Between the two of us, you have one West Texas accent and one Swedish accent. 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.000 I don't know which is harder to understand. 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:29.840 I love that man, and he is uniquely, uniquely qualified to be your pastor, and especially to pastor the staff during a season of struggle. 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:44.000 I've met your elders, I've heard their prayers, I've seen their tears, I love their hearts, and I'm praying for them. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:15.439 A new season, a time in which the church will be better because of it, and stronger on the other side of it. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:29.840 In one of my meetings with your elders, I asked them what they thought I should be teaching on, as I will be one of your teachers for the remainder of the year, spilling over into 2025. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:33.759 And I shared several ideas with them, and we landed on this one. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:35.120 It was a consensus. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:41.759 We felt the Holy Spirit was directing us to focus on the topic just Jesus. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:44.319 Just Jesus. 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:51.599 I never get tired of talking about the Jesus who saved me. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:03:01.599 And I never get tired of saying, though sometimes the church struggles, Jesus is still building his church and he's still on the throne. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:13.280 And especially this time of year, when everybody's concerned about who occupies the White House, we're celebrating who occupies the throne of thrones. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:14.159 Amen. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:23.599 And so my messages to you over the next few months will be exactly that. 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.400 And toward that end, I thought we could today visit the empty tomb. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:32.960 I know it's not Easter. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:39.199 But for the believer, every day is Easter Sunday. 00:03:39.439 --> 00:03:47.360 And I'd luck for us to find that hope again was given to us to the empty tomb. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:49.039 My wife sends her love. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.560 She was unable to make it on this trip. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:54.960 She will be on most of the trips. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:05.439 I send my love to all of you who are watching online, or those of you at different campuses or in different services. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.520 I'm a little bit old school. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.919 I wish I could visit every campus. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:13.280 I wish I could be a part of every service. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:17.360 I don't think that's going to happen because there's so many of you. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:22.560 I have signed up for that campus in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:30.560 However, out of a servant's heart, just out of no motive other than to get out of this Texas. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.879 I mean, to go love those people. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:52.560 Can I introduce you to him? 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.439 Travis Eades, would you stand up, please? 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:04.879 Bramag on Travis, everywhere I go. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.160 Every church needs a Travis Eades. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:12.000 Let's pray together and then we'll get to work. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:19.360 How easy it is to sing your praises, O King of Kings. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:23.040 You have never not been. 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:35.839 You have never heard a prayer that stumped you or been given a problem you could not solve. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:40.399 You live outside of time. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.120 You're never weary. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.759 You are never discouraged. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.959 You are never confused. 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:12.000 You have a plan for eternity that will never be disrupted. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:22.639 And I stand before you, precious Lord, on behalf of the beautiful Gateway people. 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:34.720 And they have felt one wave after another of disappointments and discouragements. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.040 But I am I am begging you. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:50.079 I am begging you to pour your spirit out afresh upon this wonderful church. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:54.399 Make us stronger because of this. 00:06:54.959 --> 00:06:58.879 Do not allow the evil one to lead anyone away. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:12.480 But make this an opportunity in which our hearts are softened, in which our tears are abundant, but our knees are bent and our hope is heavenward. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:14.240 Please. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:33.519 Hold them up. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.519 Grant them the privilege of turning to you. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:49.680 I beg you, dear Father, to protect that precious heart that is already fragile from the ways and the turns of the world, and now there are more. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.959 I beg you, Lord, I beg you. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:08:02.240 Strengthen them, call upon them, visit them, speak to them in dreams, grant them new spiritual gifts. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.519 Allow them to sense your abiding love. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:15.759 I beg you to protect these young people, like the ones who worship in this church and the ones who are struggling. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:18.319 I beg you to strengthen them. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:30.079 I beg you, Heavenly Father, to protect those precious souls who feel triggered, whose memories have been stirred, that you would heal them, Father. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:42.080 And as you revisit those moments with them, they would hear your presence as you're saying, I am with you, I am with you, I am with you to the end of the age. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:45.759 Do not hold back, Lord. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:57.759 You have spoken and you have promised that at the right time and the right way there would be a second wind to blow over this wonderful church family. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:08:59.759 May it be so. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:01.440 May it be so. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:06.480 And dearest Father, I beg your blessing upon the Metroplex. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:13.279 It seems to have taken some knocks to the chin in several churches lately. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:25.440 And we beg you that you would speak against the principalities and powers that have set themselves up as dark and foreboding clouds over this region. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.200 They must be gone in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:35.440 They have no place, they have no position, they have no authority. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:39.039 All authority has been given to you, Lord Jesus. 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:42.080 And now forgive our speaker. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:43.679 You know his sins are many. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.399 And help us to see Christ, just Christ. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:49.279 Through Christ we pray. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.440 And all God's people said. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.960 One of my favorite passages is found in the book of Psalms. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:08.000 Weeping may last for the night. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:13.679 But joy comes with the morning. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:18.080 Can we read that verse together out loud as a church, wherever you are? 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:27.200 Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:32.320 This passage promises that despair will not rule the day. 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:36.799 Clouds may eclipse the sun, but they never eliminate it. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:42.879 Night may prolong the dawn, but the dawn always comes. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:51.919 Morning comes not as quickly as we may want, not as dramatically as we may desire, but morning comes. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.519 And with morning comes joy. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.120 Joy comes with the morning. 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:00.720 Do you need this promise? 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:07.039 You sense an absence of joy in your own heart. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.120 Have you wept a river? 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:12.559 Have you forsaken hope? 00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:19.519 Do you wonder if a morning will ever come to bring your night to an end? 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:22.159 Mary Magdalene did. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:28.080 In the forest of the New Testament, she was the weeping willow. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:37.120 She is the one upon whom tragedy had cast its coldest winter. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:46.960 And she appears in Scripture as the woman with seven demons or seven evil spirits. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.840 What might these afflictions have included? 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:53.759 Depression? 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:57.600 Loneliness? 00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:58.559 Shame? 00:11:58.960 --> 00:11:59.679 Fear? 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.320 Was she a recluse? 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:03.919 Was she a prostitute? 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:05.600 Maybe she had been abused. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.159 And maybe she had been neglected or abandoned. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:15.759 The number seven is often used in Scripture to represent the sense of completion. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:19.600 Maybe her life was a complete wreck. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:24.480 She was surrounded with troubles. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:30.960 But then something happened, better said, then someone happened. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:34.559 Jesus stepped into her world. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:36.159 And he spoke. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:38.000 And demons fled. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:39.919 He spoke. 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:44.399 And for the first time in a long time, she could smile. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:46.879 She could hold her head up. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:49.840 She laughed. 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:51.519 She could eat. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:53.120 She could sleep. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:58.639 And the face in the mirror was no longer anguished. 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.080 And Jesus spoke life with just a word. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.759 He spoke life into her life. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:09.120 And she reciprocated. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.240 She was among the first female followers of Jesus. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:22.399 They were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.200 Wherever Jesus went, Mary Magdalene followed. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:29.759 She saw him perform miracles. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.240 She heard him preach sermons. 00:13:32.480 --> 00:13:34.720 Maybe she prepared meals. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:38.720 She was always near Christ wherever he went. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:42.960 Even at his crucifixion. 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:48.240 The scripture says she stood near the cross. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:55.360 Close enough to hear the pounding of the hammers. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:05.279 Close enough to see the blood fall upon the dirt. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:09.440 And when they lowered his body from the cross, she was close enough. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.919 She was there to help prepare it for burial. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:20.320 And she observed a tragic Friday. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:26.000 And then she weathered a sad, silent Sabbath. 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:40.080 And then when Sunday came, Mary Magdalene went to finish on Sunday the work that she had begun on Friday. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:52.240 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.720 It's something else entirely to go to Jesus while it is still dark. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:12.320 And for all she knew, he was a cold, lifeless cadaver. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:14.639 She was all alone. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:22.320 There are those times in our spiritual journey when we seek Jesus in the dark. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:32.159 When everyone else is going, and we're all dressed up in our finest Easter dress. 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:43.279 But on those times when it's just you standing in the cemetery, you in the icy you. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.639 Left alone with your broken heart. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:58.639 There are those times in which we're called to seek Jesus while it is still dark. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.519 And so she did. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.840 She knew nothing of the empty tomb. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:16.559 She came with no motivation than to wash the remaining clots of blood from his beard and say goodbye. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:18.879 It was a dark morning. 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.559 When she arrived at the tomb, the bad news became worse. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:28.399 Mary Magdalene saw that the stone had been taken away. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:33.519 She assumed that grave robbers had come and stolen the body of Jesus. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:38.320 She hurried back down the trail until she found Peter and John. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:43.200 She told them, they've taken the Lord away outside of the tomb. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.480 Peter and John ran to the gravesite. 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.000 John was faster, but Peter was bolder. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:53.679 He went in first and he saw and he stared. 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.759 John went in second, but he saw and he believed. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:06.640 They hurried to tell the others, and we expect the camera of the gospel story to follow them. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.640 After all, they're apostles. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.240 They're the authors of epistles. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:16.319 They are two-thirds of the inner circle. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:23.279 We expect John to describe what the apostles did next, but he doesn't. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:28.400 He chooses instead to tell us the story of the one who stayed behind. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:36.559 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:40.559 Her face awash with tears. 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.279 Her shoulders heaved with sobs. 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:44.799 She felt alone. 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:52.000 It was just Mary, her despair. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:56.559 And a vacant tomb. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.839 As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:10.880 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.839 And they said to her, Why are you weeping? 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.279 Mary Magdalene mistook the angels for men. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.000 She told them, They've taken away my Lord. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.039 I don't know where they have laid him. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:32.799 At this moment, Mary's world officially hit rock bottom. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:40.880 Her master has been humiliated and executed. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:49.839 The first man, maybe the only man, to treat her with respect and kindness. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:19:01.920 And now his body was buried in a borrowed grave, and now his tomb has been violated, his body is stolen and two strangers she can't recognize. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:08.640 They're sitting on the slab where his body had been laid and her sorrow intermingled with anger. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:12.079 I'm wondering, have you ever had a moment like this? 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:19.200 Have you ever had a moment in which bad news became worse? 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:32.160 In which sadness just seemed to wrap around you like a fog and suck you down into the quick sand of despair. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:39.759 Have you ever had a moment in which you came looking for God but you could not find it? 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:45.920 If so, you're gonna love what happened next. 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:57.759 Now, when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus in that grave. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.480 She in her darkest moment. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.759 Do you think she expected this to happen? 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:10.480 She turned around and she saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know it was Jesus. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:14.559 And Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.200 Whom are you seeking? 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:21.759 She, supposing him to be the gardener. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.519 That's such a great line, isn't it? 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:28.799 It takes me back to the Garden of Eden. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:34.240 Jesus still tending the garden. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:36.559 She thinks he's the gardener. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:45.519 She said, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.720 What loyalty on the part of this daughter of God. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:53.440 Tell me where he is, I'll go get him. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:55.839 How did she expect to get him? 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.400 I don't know how strong she was. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:03.599 But she just thought, I'll figure out a way to get him. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.119 She would do whatever. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:07.599 Again, as far as she knows, he's dead. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.000 And he was dead and buried. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:14.799 And so she's willing to go take him, carry him. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:18.240 She did not recognize her Lord. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.079 Do you know what happens next? 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:27.440 Jesus did something about it. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:31.839 He called her by name. 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:39.200 Jesus said to her, Mary. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.880 Oh, to have been there and heard that. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:45.359 What was it? 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:53.440 When she heard the voice, she knew the source. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:54.880 What was it? 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:57.279 Maybe it was the tone. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:21:59.039 Maybe. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.319 It was the Galilean accent. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.599 Maybe it was the memory. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:08.880 That moment she first heard him say it. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:16.559 And say her name in a way that was unburdened with perversion or hidden agenda. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:24.240 Whatever it was, when she heard Jesus say her name, she turned. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.920 She turned and said to him, Raboni. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.160 Which is to say, teacher. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:44.079 In a moment, in a second, in a pivot of the next. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:45.200 She turned. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:53.839 As long as it takes to turn from here to here, her world went from despair to hope. 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:56.079 It can happen that way, friend. 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:58.720 Sometimes God takes his time. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:02.880 But then sometimes He just steps in. 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:08.480 He just shows up and He just lifts the sadness in a moment. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:14.000 Her world went from a dead Jesus to a living one. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:17.680 Weeping may last through the night. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:20.640 You want to say it? 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:22.559 But joy. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:24.319 But joy. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:27.039 Weeping may last through the night. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:28.480 But joy. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.319 Now look what happens. 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:33.839 Jesus said, Don't hold on to me. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:41.279 But I have not, because I have not yet gone up to the Father. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:46.319 She took a hold of him. 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.680 We know that because he said, Don't hold on to me. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:57.599 Maybe she fell at his ankles and wrapped her arms around his legs. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:01.839 Maybe she just put her arms around his shoulders. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:08.079 And we don't know how she held him, but we know she did, and Jesus let her let her do so. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:25.920 How wonderful that the resurrected Lord was not too divine, too otherworldly, too untouchable, too supernatural to be hugged. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.519 Somebody should paint this thing. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:33.279 Somebody should paint it. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:40.559 Somebody should capture it on oil and frame the canvas. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:55.599 If that person is you, be sure and capture that brilliant sunrise as the sun rises over the cemetery. 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:12.960 And if that person is you, be sure and capture the image of Jesus white robed and Mary Magdalene joy-filled, and the angels, surely white-eyed. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:22.960 And if that moment is you, go ahead and paint the tears on her cheek before they dry. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:32.640 But make sure there's a glint of sunlight reflecting in her tears. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.240 But joy. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.680 Weeping may last through the night, but joy. 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:58.960 Then Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:00.880 To her. 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:08.240 He had just ripped the hinges off the gates of hell. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:12.319 He had just defanged the devil. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:21.039 He had just turned B C to A D for Christ's sake. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:33.279 And yet, what is his first act as the risen Lord? 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:35.279 What is his first act? 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:47.119 But to find a woman who had had seven demons, marginalized and discarded by society. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:51.920 He came to her. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:56.640 Why her? 00:27:00.079 --> 00:27:02.880 As far as we know, she never became a missionary. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:07.279 If she wrote an epistle, it didn't make the canon. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:12.160 Maybe she performed some miracles, but they're not recorded. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:16.240 Why did he appear to her? 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.039 Might it be for you? 00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:32.319 Might it be so that you would believe that weeping may last through the night. 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:34.480 You say it again. 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:35.920 But joy. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:39.440 But joy comes with the morning. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:42.960 Friend, joy comes. 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:45.039 It does. 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:49.039 I'm sorry you've buried someone you love more than life. 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:52.000 And I would never hurry your grief. 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:54.000 But joy will come. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:28:00.880 I'm sorry that someone who made a promise to be with you throughout your life did not keep that promise. 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:07.599 And I do pray that you will receive help and encouragement from those who can help you. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.079 But I do want to tell you, joy will come. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.960 Right now you're abandoned. 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:15.279 You feel like your parents don't care about you. 00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:16.799 Nobody listens to you. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:18.160 Don't give up. 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:20.960 And joy seems like a foreign language. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:22.319 It's coming. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:27.359 Because with Jesus, joy always comes. 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:29.279 It comes. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:37.359 And if we don't recognize his face when he comes, he will do with us what he did with Mary. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.359 He will call our names. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:48.000 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, he inspired the prophet to say. 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:51.920 Your name is not buried in some heavenly file. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:56.640 God doesn't need you to wear a name tag when you pray. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:06.640 Your name is tattooed, engraved on the palm of his hand. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:18.559 I once read a story about a priest from Detroit who traveled to Ireland to visit his family. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:29.119 One morning, he and his uncle Seemus walked around Lake Killarney as the sun was coming up. 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:39.599 And the morning was so beautiful that the two stood there and scarcely saying a word for 20 minutes. 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:49.039 And finally, when it was time to return, the priest looked over at his uncle, and his uncle was smiling. 00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:54.400 And the priest said, Uncle Sheemus, you're smiling. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:56.000 And he said, I am. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:59.440 And he said, Why are you smiling? 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:06.720 He said, Because the father of my Savior is very fond of me. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:11.839 He's very fond of you too, my friend. 00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.279 He's very fond of you. 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:21.039 And he loves you with an everlasting love. 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:26.240 Do you find this hard to believe? 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:31.680 You think I'm talking to someone else? 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:35.759 Someone who is holier. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:38.880 Who's better? 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:42.000 Who's nicer? 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:45.680 Who never loses their temper, never loses their way. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:53.839 You think I'm talking to someone else, someone who didn't screw up a marriage or screw up a career or screw up a savings account. 00:30:54.880 --> 00:31:01.920 Someone who didn't get hooked on pills or someone who didn't get hooked on porn or someone who didn't hook on popularity. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:03.920 You think I'm talking to somebody else. 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:05.119 I am not. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:08.559 I'm talking straight to you. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:16.960 And I'm saying that the greatest news in the world is not that God made the world, but that God loves the world. 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:21.759 And He loves you. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:28.000 And you did not earn this love, so you cannot lose this love. 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:32.720 You did not earn this love. 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:37.519 You cannot lose this love. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:43.039 He does not love you because of the good choices you've made. 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:50.559 He will not stop loving you because of some bad choices you may have made. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:55.680 His love for you will not end if you lose your temper. 00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.559 His love for you will not fade if you lose your way. 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:04.400 His love for you will not diminish if your discipline does. 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:15.519 Some years ago, we had the opportunity to introduce our grandchildren to the Pacific Ocean. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:20.640 Rosie is, well, she's a fourth grader now. 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:24.319 But then she was barely four years old. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:33.039 And as is the case with many of us in Texas, she had lived her life having never been to the ocean. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.279 She'd been to Lake LBJ. 00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:42.240 But never the Pacific Ocean. 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:49.279 And we all wondered what her reaction would be upon seeing it. 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:56.559 Because of the time change, she awoke early, and then she awoke her dad. 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:08.240 And then we all heard them and climbed out of bed and followed them as Rosie went to see the ocean for the first time. 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:14.799 She just stood there. 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:19.680 The sun was coming up and the waves were crashing. 00:33:19.839 --> 00:33:21.359 And you could hear that roar. 00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:24.880 You know what I'm talking about, that surf, that roar. 00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:27.680 And Rosie didn't say anything. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:30.960 For the longest time, she didn't say a word. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:40.559 And finally, she turned to her daddy and she said, Daddy, when do they turn it off? 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:47.519 Never, sweetie. 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:49.920 Never. 00:33:51.680 --> 00:34:00.640 Every person who has ever taken a breath has looked at the love of God and wondered, when is it going to get turned off? 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:04.400 When will I have done too much? 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:07.680 When will I have gone too far? 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:12.639 When will he turn away from me? 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:20.559 And my privilege is to tell you, dear child of God, you have never lived an unloved day. 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:21.679 Never. 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:23.119 Never. 00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:24.800 And you never will. 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:30.079 Someone told you that God loves good people. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:30.800 Wrong. 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:32.559 There are no good people. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:37.199 Someone told you that God loves you if you love him first. 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:37.920 Wrong. 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:38.559 Right now. 00:34:38.719 --> 00:34:44.000 He loves people all over the world who have never given him the time of day. 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:51.280 Somebody told you that God is ticked off, that he is cranky, that he is vindictive, wrong. 00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:52.559 That's us. 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:58.800 We tend to be cranky, ticked off and vindictive. 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:06.639 But God, God is sure mercy and grace, not easily angered. 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:09.599 He's rich in love. 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:15.360 He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. 00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:23.039 And he doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. 00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:33.360 As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:41.119 And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:50.880 As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:56.000 Would you build your life on this promise? 00:35:57.920 --> 00:35:59.440 Would you please? 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:09.920 When you're disappointed by people or disappointed by yourself, would you just let God love you? 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:15.599 And would you reflect often on this great and precious promise? 00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:25.280 Weeping, it comes with the night, but joy comes with the morning. 00:36:26.719 --> 00:36:27.360 Amen. 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:47.679 But I sense that there may be some who really needed this today. 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:53.440 And if so, could I offer a prayer on your behalf? 00:36:53.840 --> 00:37:02.400 And could I ask you if you would benefit from a prayer to receive a deeper sense of God's love? 00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:03.760 Could I be so bold? 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:09.679 If that describes you, would you please stand as your way of saying, look at me, Lord. 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:12.239 I'm doing what Mary Magdalene did. 00:37:12.400 --> 00:37:15.280 I'm coming to you and asking for prayer. 00:37:26.480 --> 00:37:30.159 Look upon these, your sons and your daughters, precious Lord. 00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:32.239 Look upon them with kindness and grace. 00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:33.519 Look upon them. 00:37:33.920 --> 00:37:44.400 Look upon them and grant that they, Heavenly Father, could receive, maybe for the first time, an overflow of your love. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:47.679