WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.839 Well, good morning and uh happy Easter to you all and um welcome uh to the online service today. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:17.120 Man, today is one of the greatest days in the life of Christians because today is the day that we once again set aside just this moment to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:28.239 Uh you know, but what's so cool about today is we recognize something today that sets us apart from every other religion in the world, and that is the fact that we serve a risen Savior. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:42.240 Not only was he born into this perfect birth, uh the perfect conception before that, he lived a perfect life and then died the sacrificial death for us, but then resurrected on the third day, and that is definitely something for us to get excited about. 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:47.840 And I'm I'm telling you today, he is just as alive today as he was the moment that he was born. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:51.759 In fact, he was just alive today before the foundations of the earth. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.000 I mean, we're gonna get into that in just a little bit. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:01:02.399 But before we rejoice so much about this resurrection, we've got to be real about something, and that's about what came before it. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:08.159 Because what I know, and maybe what you know, is that you can't have a resurrection without a crucifixion. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:15.200 And then Jesus, when he was crucified, we know that he was laid in a tomb, and that tomb was just a dark place. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.480 He was sealed in this darkness for just a moment. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.239 A lot of that darkness that we still experience today. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:28.799 I mean, if you think about that, it really doesn't take long for us to realize what a dark and broken world we live in. 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:32.799 Man, you can see it on your phone, you can you can turn on the news and see it. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:53.760 There's broken families, there's broken nations, and and folks are hurting, people are divided, and it's just because we live in such a dark and a broken world, and if we're real honest about it, sometimes what we realize is that while there's a lot of darkness that's going on out there, sometimes there's darkness in here as well. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.480 In the midst of the Christian life, let's just be real. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:03.840 There's lots of times that we have to face the reality of fear, stress, uh, loss, and disappointment. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:07.599 Things that literally leave scars on your soul. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:12.479 And we have questions oftentimes like, God, why did you let that happen? 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:16.159 And I don't believe there's anyone listening today that's not asked that question. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:20.319 God, just very simply, my three-letter word, why? 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:28.080 Well, that brings us to the tension that I want you to feel this resurrection morning, because we know that Jesus overcame death, hell, and the grave. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:37.360 Uh we know that he rose victorious, and through that resurrection, we have a hope, specifically a hope in our future, a hope in our eternity. 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.560 But here's the divide, here's the tension in everyone's mind. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:52.639 If Jesus, who we know is the light of the world, really did rise from the dead, if if light really won, then why does everything still feel so dark? 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.039 Because the reality is we do live in a broken, in a very dark world. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:02.080 It's those thoughts that cause us to think deep and maybe even wake up at 2 a.m. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:06.479 in the morning and sit on the side of your bed and just ponder those deep questions of life. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:07.439 Why? 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:17.599 Well, the answer to that question and many other questions that we may have about this life and the darkness in which we live, the answer is why Easter matters. 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:21.680 You see, to really understand that question, we've got to go all the way back to the beginning. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:23.599 In fact, to the creation account. 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:29.520 And because Easter and the story of Easter didn't start at the tomb, it actually started in Genesis 1. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.120 In fact, Genesis 1, the Bible says this, that the earth was formless, it was empty, and darkness covered everything. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:42.400 No structure, no life, uh, no hope, just darkness in that moment. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:44.479 And what's the very first thing that God does? 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.360 He doesn't create people, he doesn't create all the animals or the trees or the oceans. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:54.800 He simply is a God of order and he speaks life into existence. 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:55.680 Why? 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.560 Because nothing works without light. 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:06.960 Light brings order to confusion, light brings clarity, light brings truth, and light is actually what makes life possible. 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:10.800 Without light, everything else just stays chaotic. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:15.039 And what I'll also tell you is without light, everything dies. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:21.040 Now, if we fast forward into the New Testament, I love how John opens up his gospel in John 1.1. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:27.680 He takes us right back to Genesis, but this time he shows us something that we really didn't see before. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.959 He says, In the beginning was the Word. 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:33.040 Wait a minute, in the beginning was the Word? 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:43.759 You see, that's Jesus, because if you go a few verses later in verse 14 of John 1, he says it like this the word became flesh and dwelt among us, the glory of the only begotten, full of grace and truth. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:45.600 Wait a minute, the word became flesh? 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:48.000 He's talking about the birth of Jesus Christ. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:50.480 He says, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.079 So in the beginning was the Word. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:53.360 In the beginning was Jesus. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.480 The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:03.759 And he says, in him was life, and that life, get this, was the light of men. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:06.240 And the light shines in the darkness. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:10.000 And I love this part, and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:05:10.240 --> 00:05:12.240 Here's what John was telling us. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:18.879 Before there was a cross, before there was a tomb, even before there was darkness, Jesus was. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:23.920 And the same Jesus who was is the same Jesus who is still alive today. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:31.120 And whenever he shows up, what I know and what I pray that you get out of this is that darkness doesn't stand a chance. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:37.040 You see, it didn't come in creation in the very beginning, and it didn't come in the empty tomb. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.600 And I'm here to tell you that it still doesn't today. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:44.079 So when you look at your life and you look at this world and you say, man, where's all this darkness coming from? 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:45.360 Things just feel dark. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:46.639 Hey, you're not wrong. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:49.120 Because there is still a darkness. 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:58.639 But even in that darkness that we perceive in this broken world, we're not without hope because of those initial words in Genesis, let there be light. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:06.079 You see, that's the same Savior who walked out of that grave and out of that darkness, and he proved once and for all that light always wins. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.199 So from a bird's eye view, what does this mean for you and me? 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:19.120 What is the significance as we take this very first passage that we see in Genesis, and then it's linked together under the reign of Jesus, the resurrected Christ in the New Testament? 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:20.800 What does that mean for us? 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:29.279 Well, here's the big idea I want you to grasp today is that Jesus came to bring light for us, so his light can change the world through us. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.879 You see, because Easter isn't something that we just celebrate. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:45.680 My challenge for you today is that Easter is something, maybe for the first time, that you really step into and embrace the responsibility and the stewardship that is upon us to use this light for his glory. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:53.759 So the Bible says in John 20, verse 1, early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:59.920 So this is after the crucifixion and before the realization of the resurrected Christ. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:05.120 But what's so amazing in this verse is these few words, it was still dark. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:10.800 And John doesn't just mean it was dark outside because the sun, as we know, the sun hasn't risen yet. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.399 You see, when he talks about darkness, he's talking about the soul. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:22.399 He's talking about the moment that was taking place because all of the hope that all the apostles had, it just seemed to turn dark. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:27.439 That morning, yes, it was physically dark, but it was also dark with grief. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:38.480 It was dark with the unknowns, it was dark with confusion and darkness with the shattered of dreams, and they were feeling a little bit hopeless and maybe even a little bit lost in that moment. 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:42.879 You see, these people of Jerusalem in that moment, they thought that Jesus was gone. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:49.040 They thought that he, the one that they thought was going to take on this throne, was dead. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.439 But instead, he took on a cross. 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:55.759 They watched him die, and now they're thinking, were we wrong about him? 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:07.759 You see, that's where Mary Magdalene was, and she shows up at the tomb while it is still dark, physically, and in the moment of their heart, carrying a truckload of grief and a heart that's filled with confusion. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.040 Let me tell you what this tells me because there's a huge lesson in this. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:16.480 Point number one, the light of Christ shows up in your darkest moments. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:18.240 I'm so thankful for that truth. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.000 I mean, have you ever been there where life didn't turn out the way that you thought it would? 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:30.639 Where your prayers didn't get answered the way that you hoped, and maybe you had some dreams that were just turned upside down and you feel like your hope just got buried. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:34.559 You know, I'm not talking about church life, I'm talking about real life. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:39.919 You know, when you go to that doctor's appointment and the report says something different than what you were thinking. 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:47.279 Or maybe about the marriage that was good for so many years, and then all of a sudden it seems to be in a sense of darkness and confusion. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:54.639 Or maybe you're raising your kids and now you're questioning the way that you raise them because they're making decisions that are just breaking your heart. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:01.759 Maybe you're that person that's just worked hard your whole life to do everything right, to try to live a righteous life, but you still feel like you're falling behind. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.399 You see, it's in those intense moments of life. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:06.480 It's when the questions start coming in. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:08.000 God, where are you? 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:10.080 Why all of this darkness? 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:11.759 Why would you let this happen? 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:19.360 And that tension is that we we know Jesus, we love Jesus, we believe in Jesus, we know that he's resurrected, we know that he is alive. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:24.080 But the reality is there's still a very dark and broken world in which we live. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:30.799 And sometimes I think it it's like this it's what we believe on Sunday doesn't match what we live out on Monday. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.919 Well, that's exactly where Mary Magdalene was. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:40.240 She was showing up to that tomb, carrying a lot of hurt and pain and grief and confusion and unknown. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:41.600 She was disappointed. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:47.600 The one that she trusted, the one that she followed, the one that she believed in seemed to be gone. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.240 I believe Mary Magdalene was experiencing exactly what many of us experience today. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:10:02.559 But here's the good news of Easter is that when she went to that tomb in this darkest moment is proof and great encouragement to us that we too can go to Jesus in our dark moments. 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:07.919 And I love the fact that she made a decision internally, even in her darkness, to go to Jesus. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:12.720 And the result was she she showed that purpose externally. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:17.200 And Jesus had already done his greatest work, even in that dark moment. 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:22.159 You see, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty, and death had been defeated. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.480 And here's what that means for you and I. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.960 Is it just because things feel dark, it doesn't mean that God stopped working. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:33.200 Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that light hasn't already won. 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:38.480 Because light won in Genesis, and light also won on Resurrection Sunday. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:42.159 You see, before the sun ever came up, the light was already shining. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.480 Before the sun ever came up, light had already won. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:49.840 I think the problem was is those just didn't realize it. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:55.200 Please hear this light always shines brightest in your darkest moments. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.519 And today you may feel surrounded by darkness. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:05.360 You may be living in a place of hopelessness, and you have more questions as you have answers because of the extreme uncertainty that's surrounding your life. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:10.480 Easter reminds us that darkness does not get the final say, Jesus does. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:20.960 So this leads us a little bit further in this understanding of the power of this light that we see in Genesis, and then we see it reflected here in the Gospel of John and all through the New Testament. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:25.679 Number two is this the real darkness isn't around us. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:28.879 What we're gonna see is that it's actually in us. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.440 Now here's where it gets real because we like to blame darkness on everything. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:44.080 I mean, we want to find circumstances that we can we can point that blame on, whether it's culture or politics or social media, or maybe we just want to blame it on other people. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:46.000 I think that's what we do most often. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:52.080 But Jesus is gonna bring it closer to home here because in John 3.19, he says something so profound. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.919 He says, this is the verdict. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:56.240 In other words, the gavel has been stamped. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:57.360 We're done. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.919 He says, light has come into the world. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:01.279 But here's the truth. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.799 He says, but people love darkness instead of light. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.879 Because their deeds were evil. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:08.240 Man, that's strong. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:12.399 And it's extremely blunt, but it's absolutely true. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:21.759 The biggest problem in your life and the biggest problem in my life, it isn't what's always happening around us, it's actually what's happening inside of us. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:27.120 Light is coming to the world, but scripture tells us that people loved darkness. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:29.519 It's talking about our sin. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:36.159 It's talking about our pride, it's talking about our the brokenness, the result of these things in our heart. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:40.879 It's all in here, and it's a part of that old sin nature that still seems to linger on. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.279 And we try so hard to clean things up, we try harder, we try to do better. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:48.720 Uh but here's the thing is that we don't need self-improvement. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:51.360 What we really need is rescue. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.600 And that's exactly what Jesus came to do. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:56.240 He said, I am the light of the world. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:03.039 Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, and I love this part, but will have the light of life. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:07.120 I hope you can embrace this today is that you don't need a better version of you. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.559 All you need is a savior to rescue you. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.799 But here's what we don't do is that we don't surrender. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:22.000 Instead, what we do is we try and we strain to just simply to do better, to be a better version of me. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:33.039 We try harder, we we do better, we make promises, we get in the mix of our fallness and we sin and we make cries out to God and promises that we'll do better, I'll fix this. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.159 We try to sort of white knuckle our way through the sin. 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:48.320 And we think if I can just get strong enough, if I can just be disciplined, if I can just be better, and then I'll finally step into the light and get to experience the light. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:53.759 I'm gonna tell you something that I know and I've experienced, and you've probably experienced it too. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.080 You'll never outwork your darkness. 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.679 It's going to always be there. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:02.240 You're going to never outdiscipline your sin nature because the problem isn't our effort. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.399 The problem is always within our heart. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:14.080 You see, the Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, he even said in Romans chapter 7, he says, wherever I turn, evil is right there with me. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:18.159 He talked about it warring inside the spirit against the flesh. 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:21.759 That's the same exact struggle that we're dealing with today. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:28.720 When I was a kid, you got to remember I grew up with two brothers, and we had this game that we always liked to play when mom wasn't watching. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:29.679 It was called Mercy. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:30.559 Maybe you remember that. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:34.399 We would take our fingers and all you had to do was hold your hands up, and it was a challenge. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:41.919 And my brothers, we would interlock fingers, and then all of a sudden we would try to make the other person surrender and just scream mercy. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.919 And your knuckles are popping and you're grimacing because everything is hurting so bad. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.799 But even in all that pain, man, our pride is just not gonna let us say mercy. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:56.480 We're not going to give in, even when it looks so bad on your face and things look so bad in your life. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.600 That game has taught us a problem, and that's just to not give in. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:03.919 But you know what I've learned is that's exactly how we live spiritually so often. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.759 God's pressing on our lives. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:11.919 It's as if He has us locked knuckle for knuckle, and He is convicting us and He is dealing with us and He's calling us. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:18.879 But instead of surrendering and just saying mercy, we resist and we try to fight back and we try to get the upper hand. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.039 We try to just try harder. 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:27.600 But something in us, ingrained deep within in our humanness, says, Don't say mercy, don't give in. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:28.960 Please hear me today. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.639 God's not trying to break you, he's trying to save you. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:37.600 And he's inviting you to step into the light of what mercy really, really means. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.799 Because his mercy is not something that we have to earn. 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:43.919 His mercy is something that we simply have to surrender to. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.039 You see, you don't always have to try harder. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:50.960 You just need to learn to surrender and just cry out mercy to him. 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:55.679 Because the real darkness isn't the darkness that seems to surround us. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:59.360 The real darkness that we see is that darkness that we harbor within. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:13.919 So maybe today, right here, right now, instead of just trying harder and trying to do better, to be the best version of you that you can be, maybe it's time to just call out and just say mercy to God when we feel Him just retching down on our soul. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:21.600 And what I know is the moment that we say mercy, the moment that that time of surrender comes, that's the moment that his light shines the brightest. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:23.440 Because that's what light does. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:26.000 It brings light in dark circumstances. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:35.600 You know, my wife's a science teacher, and when you're married to a science teacher, you learn some amazing physical truths, and we know some things about light is that light always reveals. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:38.720 In John 8.12, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:43.840 When Jesus steps in, he doesn't just come to make you better, he shows you what is real. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.799 And we also learned that light sustains life. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:51.120 If you don't believe it, take a plant that's alive and healthy, put it in a closet and close the door. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:52.480 It's gonna die. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:59.840 In John 1.4, he says, I uh in him was life, and that life was the light of men. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.279 That's what sustains men. 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:08.880 That means everything you're searching for, everything your soul is craving, all of the nutrients in life comes through Jesus, is found as we stay in him. 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:10.400 He sustains us. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.160 But I'll tell you what else I know is that light is what guides our path. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.160 Can you imagine living a life in total physical darkness? 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:24.160 The first thing we would do is reach for our cell phones to hit that little light, that flashlight, so we can begin to see. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:32.319 I love what Psalm 119 tells us that your word, remember Jesus' the word, is a lamp unto our feet and what a light under our path. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:33.359 Please hear this. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.079 You don't have to figure out all of the road ahead of you. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:41.599 That lamp just lights step by step, moment by moment, that Christ can work in our lives. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.759 I'm going to tell you what else light does. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:45.599 And this is the hard part. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:48.240 Light exposes what is hidden. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:52.079 And it's not to shame you, but it's to save you. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.839 In John chapter 3, verses 20 through 21, I love this. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:18:00.400 This is people avoid the light because it exposes their deeds. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:06.160 But those who live by the light, those who live by the truth, they come into the light. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:06.799 Why? 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.559 Well, what's brought into the light, it can be transformed. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:15.920 And here's the beauty of it all the same light that exposes you is the same light that saves you. 00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:22.640 And that's hard for us to grasp because we think when something is trying to expose us, that it's trying to condemn us. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:30.000 But if you remember in John 3.17, Jesus Himself said, I did not come into this world to condemn the world, but through me that the world would be what? 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:31.119 Saved. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:32.640 That's Easter. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:34.640 Jesus didn't come to beat us down. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:36.559 He didn't come to destroy us. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.720 He didn't come to make bad people better. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.119 He came to bring dead people back to life. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:42.880 That leads to point number three. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.000 So where does this take us? 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:44.880 What do we do? 00:18:45.359 --> 00:18:46.400 We receive the light. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:47.920 We know that the light lives in us. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.839 What does he want you to do with this light? 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:55.440 Number three, when the light of Jesus is in you, you must let it shine through you. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.359 Now here's where it gets powerful. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.920 Here's where it gets convicting, because here's where your story begins to be written. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:05.279 You see, your story doesn't stop just with you getting saved. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:11.680 I think that's a big problem that we have is that we think salvation is just a check a box, but it's actually the very beginning. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:16.880 You see, it doesn't stop just when you step into the light, it's when you receive the light. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:22.079 I love what Scripture says, the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus in chapter 5, verse 8. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.799 He says, For you were once darkness. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:29.839 Not necessarily that we lived in darkness, but we were once darkness. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:33.920 But now you are the light in the Lord. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:35.039 So what do we do? 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:37.119 He says, Live as children of light. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:38.319 I hope you call that. 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.400 It doesn't say that you have light. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.599 He says that you are the light because we are one with Christ. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:48.559 The same light that has shined on you should now be shining through you as we are one with him. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:55.200 That means when Jesus changes you, man, he puts something in you that the world desperately needs. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:05.359 He leads you and me to make a choice that we can let his light so shine before us that they will see our good works, which will glorify our Father in heaven. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:08.319 Don't take your light and hide it under a basket. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.359 We are a shining city set upon a hill. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:20.960 But yeah, the problem we have is that we live in darkness and we we know that darkness is here, but so many times we complain about darkness, we fear darkness. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:26.160 Uh sometimes we even blend into darkness, and I believe it's because we begin to embrace darkness. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.000 Maybe it's because we've taken light and we have hid it under that basket. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:34.319 Man, when light comes into you, it begins to shine through you. 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:36.960 So you weren't saved to just sit. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:39.839 You were saved to shine for Jesus. 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:41.839 So here's the big question this Easter. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.519 It's not, did the light win or will the light win? 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:46.960 Because it already has one. 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:56.160 The question I want you to take away is this Will I allow Jesus Christ and this light of life to shine in me and then shine through me? 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.240 Well, before you can shine it, you've got to surrender to it. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:03.839 Because listen, you can't reflect light that you never received. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.359 You can't give away hope if you're still holding on to darkness. 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:12.480 And you can't shine Jesus out there if you're still resisting him in here. 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:21.759 And that's where everything we talked about, everything that we should do today comes together because the mission to shine always starts with a decision of mercy. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:27.039 Receiving the mercy that's been afforded to you by proclaiming, God, show me your mercy. 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:30.079 And listen, God never called you to produce light. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:31.279 We can't do that. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.119 He just called you to reflect the light that he has shined upon you. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:42.640 You can't reflect what you won't receive, and you won't receive it until you say mercy and just let go. 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:52.559 It starts right here, it starts right now with surrender, receiving his mercy and letting the light in so then it can do its work and shine out. 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.480 I want to show you what this looks like. 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:58.799 In our collaboration meeting on Tuesday, there was a powerful story that Pastor Chip shared. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:08.160 It's a story about a Professor named Alexander Papadeiros, and uh one day he was speaking with a student, and the student said, Sir, can you tell me what is the meaning of life? 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.519 And the professor paused for just a moment and he began to think about that. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:13.440 He didn't answer it right away. 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:20.000 Instead, he just simply reached into his pocket and he pulled out a little small round mirror. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:25.359 It had almost been sanded in his pocket for taking it with him over the years. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:26.559 And he said these words. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:38.720 He said, When I was a little boy living through World War II, he said, I saw a German motorcycle that had been wrecked, and thereby that German motorcycle, the little mirror on the side had been broken, and there was pieces all over the ground. 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:49.279 But he found the biggest piece and he took it with him, and over time he began to shape it by rubbing it on a stone, making it a perfect round mirror that he could carry in his pocket. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:23:06.559 And after making it into a circle, he began to play a game as he would he would take this and he would take and reflect light and shine it into dark places, places that the sun couldn't reach, down into holes, into cracks and crevices, into the darkest places of life. 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:09.359 And as he grew older, he realized something. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:14.400 He said, I'm not the light, but I can reflect it. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:17.759 You see, maybe that's the meaning of life. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:20.240 It's definitely something for us to think about. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.240 You see, church, because that's it. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:23.759 That's Easter. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:27.039 That's the greatest gift that we have through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:36.079 Not only is our eternity secure forever, but the picture that we have a responsibility to take that light and reflect that light. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:39.839 And that's how the world will know that we serve a resurrected Savior. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:46.319 You see, because there's people out there all around you who will never see Jesus until maybe they can see Jesus through you. 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:50.160 So go out there this Easter and don't just celebrate light. 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:55.039 My challenge for you is to receive the light and then be the light. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:56.079 Let me pray with you. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:24:01.279 Father, I thank you so much, God, for such a simple word that you've given us by the power of light. 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:03.440 God, for everyone that's listening today. 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:08.079 God, I pray that they will truly examine their heart and God, are they receiving this light? 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:10.000 And what are they doing with this light? 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:16.960 Father, for the person who could be lost today, and maybe for the first time ever, they're hearing about the power of light that was even in the beginning. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:24.960 It's my prayer that they can see the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, who was, who is, he's present today, and he is seeking, but yet who is to come. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.119 Father, thank you for your words. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.000 Thank you for truth. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:30.559 And I pray that you would guide us through this Easter season. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:32.240 God, through the rest of this day. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:35.279 Be with my folks that are listening and bless them in a powerful way. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:36.880 We love you and we praise you. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:40.480 And it's in Christ's name, the resurrected King, that we proclaim these things. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:41.440 Amen.