WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.359 Thank you for listening to the Kelowna Christian Center podcast. 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:08.080 Our desire is that today's message will be fresh and encouraging to you. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:13.679 For more information on KT and how to connect, visit us at KCC.net. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:16.800 Wow, wow, wow. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.199 Well, I'm Pastor Brody. 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.000 I'm one of the pastors here at Kelowna Christian Center. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:26.239 And we are so thankful to have everyone with us this morning. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:27.839 Let's give them all a hand. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.240 Easter morning. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.840 You know, in my heart, I feel like spring is here. 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:38.079 It's good. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.359 It's a good time to be at church. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:49.280 The world was forever changed 2,000 years ago. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:54.960 And because of that, our lives were changed 2,000 years ago. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.159 2,000 years ago because of this resurrection Sunday. 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:10.799 And there are times in our life where we can attest to where things happened in our life when we go back that changed your modus operandi. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.040 It changed the way you operated. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:24.480 For me, it was about uh 10 years ago, or actually, I should go beyond that, 13 years ago when I got married, and it was the happiest day of my wife's life. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:26.239 It was amazing. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:31.200 That was a great time. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:45.359 But 10 years ago, we had a son, and uh Caden and all my kids were born on special events like Caden was born on Easter, my daughter Evangeline was born on Mother's Day, and my son was born on Father's Day. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.439 So it really stinks for them. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:53.760 Every now and then we just kind of double up Mother's Day birthday, Father's Day birthday, Easter birthday. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:59.359 And uh 10 years ago, we sell uh we he became double digits this year. 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:00.879 So he went from nine to ten. 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:02.319 This is a big deal. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.879 Um, the next one will be three digits, which will be an even bigger deal. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:12.400 But we celebrated his birthday this weekend, and uh our family grew. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:28.400 We started off first, it was my wife and I, moved from my wife and I to my wife and I and a daughter, there were three, and then there were four, and then there were five, and then we became we got our sanity back, and we're like, that's it. 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:30.800 Okay, five is where it's at. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:40.240 But that was nothing exponentially, that was nothing cons uh like what happened 2,000 years ago. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:43.280 2,000 years ago there were 12. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:49.439 These 12 were peasant fishermen, they were tax collectors, farmers. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:52.960 How in the world did they multiply? 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:11.599 This 12, look around you today, twelve today, followers of Jesus, to now there are this twelve followers of Jesus is now two point five billion Christ followers around the world. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:20.479 Twelve turned into two point five billion Christ followers. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:28.319 One out of every three people are Christ's followers today in the world. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:32.159 And the answer to why this happened is the resurrection. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.599 It's what we're celebrating today. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.960 The resurrection of Jesus changed everything. 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:51.039 For each one of us, for each one of those 2.5 billion people that I happen to be a part of, our lives were changed because of the resurrection. 00:03:51.280 --> 00:04:00.800 Everyone in this room, that your life, no matter if you've received this gift of salvation or not, your life has been changed. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:06.000 Your opportunities have changed, your hope has changed. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:10.159 Where before there was nothing, now there is something. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:15.759 Where before it was a nobody, now it's a somebody. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.399 It's a someone who made me myself today. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:31.439 It split our calendar, 80 to BC, and no other event in history impacted the world so much as resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.480 It literally shifted time. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:42.000 Now, the fact that Christ is risen is a different fact. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:46.079 Uh, we have a little uh image here from uh BBC. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.040 They reported today that Chris is risen. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.920 There's a difference in that. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:58.879 It was a printing error, and so they didn't quite get it right, but we forgive BBC. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:11.199 But Chris is risen and Christ is risen are two totally separate, totally very different, totally different in impact scenarios. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:17.040 Because Chris is risen or Christ is risen. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.959 It's amazing to think of this fact that Jesus is different. 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:22.560 Christ is different. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:29.360 Jesus never wrote a book, and yet he never wrote anything down that we can attest. 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.040 Uh, there are more books, however, written about him. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:43.439 Jesus, more than any other subject in the world, he's taught, he's leading, he's establishing codes for life. 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:45.680 Christ is risen. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:53.519 Jesus never composed a song, and yet there's music written about Jesus Christ more than any other subject bar none. 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.519 He's literally affected the narrative of history. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.759 Hymns, songs throughout time have been written for Christ. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:11.519 Jesus never drew any pictures and did any sculptures, he never performed any work, great works of art. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:16.800 Yet more art has been made about Jesus Christ than any other person in history. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:23.360 Jesus never traveled more than a hundred miles from where he was born. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:29.439 And yet you can find followers of Jesus literally in every nook and cranny around the world. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:37.439 His message, his story has literally gone to the ends of the earth, reaching into every space. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:48.319 And the scripture says every language, every tribe, every tongue will one day know that story that Jesus saves, that hope has come. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:54.079 And today we celebrate that fact that hope is here with us today. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:07:04.639 The reason why Christianity has spread the way it has and why it's been embraced by so many people is because it's really good news. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:08.160 It's really good news. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:13.519 And this word gospel literally means, in essence, good news. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:18.879 Turn to your neighbor and just tell them it's good news Sunday, it's good news today. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:22.000 It's good news. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:45.120 It may give you some understanding as to why we're so expressive, because in our world that is literally laced with chaos, laced with bad news, laced with negativity, we can come and we can literally be joyful and hopeful for our future because of Christ. 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:50.480 We literally have this good news available to us today. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:08:04.560 This is why we're singing, because our sins have been forgiven, because the old has been made new, because once we were alone and now we're part of a family. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:11.199 The news of the gospel is good news to those who receive it, to those who accept it. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:13.040 The message is good. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:30.160 So not only is Easter intensely personal, and I think that's why there's such a challenge on an Easter Sunday to share this message is because to each person, your impact with the cross means something different. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:46.240 Personally, you've you and I have each been impacted by this cross, by Jesus, by his life, through his suffering, we've made has made an impact on our own hearts and our own life. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.480 But it's good news. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:56.320 It announces a point of history where divine order interrupted and disrupted chaos. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.039 At Easter, we celebrate this happy day. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.840 The storm in our life stops. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:14.000 The swirling and twirling stops, and we fix our eyes on the one who's the beginning and the end. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:22.240 The scripture calls them the Alpha and the Omega, the one who's there at the start and the one who will be there at the end. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.480 The whole world is in his hands. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:31.440 And he came from heaven to earth to literally save us. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:39.519 So in the moments before the death of Christ, there were a lot of observers, a lot of people who were just watching. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:44.559 There were a lot of people who were calculating and trying to understand what was going on. 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:49.919 And there were only a few that actually dug in for the experience. 00:09:50.080 --> 00:10:01.360 Those who like stepped into the experience whose lives were in ultimate chaos, but decided to actually take that step and actually receive Christ. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:10.240 And there was one person who realized that there was something different about Jesus, that he would take a step closer to him. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:25.600 So we can look back now at with 2020 vision and we can say, you know, if I could go back in time 2,000 years ago, I would just engage, I would interact, I would be by Jesus' side. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:28.320 But history would disagree with you. 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:47.279 The majority of people, despite the chaos of their own lives, despite being alone and lost and searching, despite being uh in that place of uh swirling and chaos, they desired they disregarded him on the cross that day. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:55.039 Even his disciples leaned away from him, watching from afar. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:04.879 Some, the strongest of Jesus' friends, the most loyal of Jesus' friends, even denied him throughout the more the morning. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:11.919 They denied him three times, watching from afar, distancing themselves from him. 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:29.279 Even today, having experienced your own betrayals, your own isolation, your own injustice, living in your own chaos, many of us even at the same time tend to lean away from Jesus instead of leaning into him. 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:38.080 Resurrection Sunday is a reminder to the church to not lean away, but to lean in. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:54.960 Because by leaning in we find salvation, by leaning in, we find hope, by leaning in we find love, by leaning in, we find grace, by leaning in we find mercy when we lean in to Him. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.039 Even today. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:16.399 To really understand the full context of this story, I think we should just step back just a few scripture verses and just look at um the life of one of these individuals who actually stepped in during the Jesus during this time in Jesus' life. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:29.840 So starting in Luke chapter 23, verse 32, it says this two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:39.600 When they came to the place called the skull, they crucified him there along with these criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.360 At this point in history, Jesus had been arrested. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:13:00.240 There had been charges drummed up against him, uh, false charges, he had been tortured, he had been abandoned by his friends, even his loved ones, and he had now had to carry his cross on his own to a hill named Golgotha, the place of the skull. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:07.039 And there he was nailed to the cross and hanging and suspended between heaven and earth. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:15.919 On his one side there was a criminal, and on the other side of his uh, while he was hanging, there was another criminal. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:17.840 The stage was set. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:25.759 And I just want to take a step back and just acknowledge and consider this moment of humility in Jesus' life. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:32.559 He was born, and the only onlookers upon Jesus during his birth were animals and shepherds. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:46.960 They weren't kings and queens, and at his death, the crowds or his immediate companions were thieves on each side, and soldiers who were out to guard him so that they that he might die. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:14:06.960 Incredible humility is what kind of God, who's superior in all senses of the word, is and sovereign in all senses of the word, would empty himself and take on the form of a human to identify with mankind. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.480 Well, I'll tell you today that that was our God. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:26.559 Our God was the one who desperately wanted relationship with us, so much so that he was willing to lay down his deity to pick to allow us to have uh a better humanity. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.000 It was our God who gave up heaven for humans. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:34.960 He gave it up for us. 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:40.960 So these thieves that he was hanging besides beside were not small crooks. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:49.039 They weren't uh they they didn't give crucifixions for just small time criminals. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.799 These crooks were notorious for what they had done. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:15:05.279 Crucifixion wasn't a small time ordeal, it was invented by the Persians, but it was mastered by the Romans, and it actually cost a great deal to per to crucify someone. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:10.480 So you'd be paying guards for them full time, observing, watching. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:19.759 It was gruesome, it wasn't comfortable, and it was specifically designed to bring pain and humiliation to the one being crucified. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:29.440 The average death would involve someone being on the cross for as many as three to four days before they would pass. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:36.480 Now it's one thing to experience pain, I get it, we've all experienced it before. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:40.320 We all can somehow identify with it. 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:44.639 We don't like it, we work at doing whatever we can to avoid it. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:16:04.480 But pain that is compounded, pain that is continual, pain that uh takes you to a threshold and then takes you to another threshold and does it time and time again, that is no longer pain, that's what the what we call suffering. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.840 And it's pain that continues. 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:21.120 And there have been perhaps more painful ways to die, but this cross was not just painful, it was a moment where there was there was continual suffering. 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:27.279 It was one of the greatest places where suffering would occur. 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:42.240 You'd be hanging in the Middle Eastern sun, birds would be coming at you to uh to peck it the skin and the flesh away from your body, your body would be stretched, and you wouldn't be allowed to die. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:48.879 From the thieves' perspective, actually, life had actually caught up with them. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.559 What they had done had actually caught up with them. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:56.000 They were getting the justice they deserved. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:03.360 But they were hanging there with Jesus in intense suffering, Jesus in the middle. 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:06.240 So we look good today. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:20.559 We dress up, we do our hair, hopefully, we do our best, but we can assume that in this room this morning, that even though the outward appearance looks fine, that not everyone is okay. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.720 That some of you in this room are dealing with pain as well. 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:29.440 Some of you in this room have experienced deep heartache. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:35.039 Perhaps that pain has been compounded year after year. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:40.880 You've gone through seasons and seasons you're just wondering when the season will end. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:55.119 I want you to know today that this cross represents the fact that Jesus is familiar with pain, that Jesus is familiar with suffering, and that he suffered so that he could identify with you today. 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:57.200 You're not alone. 00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:08.160 Jesus was familiar and experienced this pain and this physical chaos in his body for you and for me. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:14.480 So, one of the first places he experiences pain, of course, is physically. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:20.480 It makes uh physical pain makes us do crazy things. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:31.839 We try and avoid it whatever however we can, but everything becomes internal when we deal with physical pain, and and people around us know that we're in pain. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:33.920 We like to actually show it. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:43.680 Like, oh the groan, the gasp, the communication, we show that pain. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:50.240 It puts pressure on our mental state, and a chaos that isn't easily identifiable. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.720 Jesus experienced physical pain. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:19:07.039 It was a mental pain, a chaos in the mind, a chaos in our emotions, where everyone who Jesus was close to had walked away, everyone he had lived with left him. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.880 The thousand of people would have followed him had walked away. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:13.519 Those who had greeted him had left. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:20.480 And now those who had seen his miracles had experienced wonderful healings, where were they? 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:22.640 They left him alone. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:30.480 Mental pain, emotional pain, physical pain, even relational chaos. 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:34.720 Jesus had family, he had friends. 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:38.720 Some at times were outside talking about them while he was doing good. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:43.440 No, we all have family, and we all have crazy people in our family. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:49.359 And if you're like, uh, I don't, that you might be the one that everyone else is talking about. 00:19:49.680 --> 00:20:04.240 But the chaos in relationships where you have expectations on people who are close to you, the desire to be loved and to be cared for by the people who are there for you. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.119 Um, they weren't there for Jesus. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.839 They had walked away. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.960 Jesus knew what relational pain was like. 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:22.559 He knew what it was like to be single, he knew what it was like to experience unfaithfulness and disloyalty, betrayal. 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:32.319 He knows what it was like to be to be manipulated or the attempt at manipulation from people who he come to help and to save. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:40.720 Now the thieves, they knew what it was like to have outrun the consequences of their actions, but now they're e they're caught. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:50.720 They're out of luck, they're out of hope, they're out of options, there's no way that they can make amends, and there was nowhere for them to turn, with nowhere to go. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:55.920 So they wake up that day, and eternity is on their mind, it's imminent. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.279 Today is gonna be my last day. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:10.000 Many of us in life, we don't know what our day is gonna be look like, but to the thieves that day, they knew what that day was gonna be like. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:24.160 They had heard about the crucifixion, they knew the judgment had been passed upon them, they knew the crowds were gathering, the cross was prepared, their time was imminent, death was looming. 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:29.440 So, what would it like to be waking up that day as one of those thieves? 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:45.359 Today is my last day, there's no more tomorrow, there's no more hope, there's no more opportunity to amend my wrongs, there's no uh there's no hope for me. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:50.480 Everything is dark, everything's bad, it's not looking good. 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:53.039 And then something happens. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:59.759 They get led out to the place of the skull to be crucified, and they look to their side and they see someone. 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:05.359 The fact that Jesus was there in the middle was unexpected. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:07.920 In fact, he wasn't supposed to be there. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:24.000 If you read the Easter narrative, the Easter story, you'll know that the people were given an opportunity to either let Jesus go or to replace one of the hardened criminals with Jesus. 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:28.400 And the people were given the option to choose as they might. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:34.240 And they chose to put Jesus on the cross in between these two criminals. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:35.599 Chosen. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:40.319 And I believe that that choice has something to do with the sovereignty of God. 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:46.480 At that point in time, it was God's plan to put Jesus in the middle. 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:49.599 It was God's design to put Jesus there. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:59.759 A lesson for us today that in the worst moment of these criminals' lives, God is their neighbor. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:02.480 God is beside them. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:03.839 That is convenient. 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:11.599 It couldn't get any worse for these two individuals, but now Jesus is there in that space, in that time. 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:20.319 You see, Jesus' heart for people, God's heart for people was close, was desiring that close relationship. 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:29.440 And as a pastor, I've spent time with families who have uh had a member dying, had someone on their deathbed. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:36.960 And what you want with you at your deathbed is you want your family, you want the people who are closest to you to be near you. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:42.480 And Jesus' deathbed companions were two criminal. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:24:00.880 The ones who he cared for, the lost, the marginalized, the confused, the ones who don't have, don't see a second chance, Jesus was there, providing them an opportunity for another chance. 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:14.960 They were broken, they were lost, they were mixed up, messed up, confused, they were swimming in a chaos of their own life, and Jesus came to bring hope during the chaos. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:26.480 He brought these sleeves, flanked on both sides by the people who he came to save, sinners, the sick in need of a doctor. 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:35.920 Right there, the reality is that life caught up with them, but when life catches up to you, you'll soon realize that grace is already there. 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:45.359 You'll soon realize that when things you can't get anymore chaotic, you'll look to your side and you'll find that Jesus is there. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.839 Jesus is in the middle. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:54.799 Jesus is not there after the chaos, but you need Jesus when you're in that moment of chaos. 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:03.359 When you're in the moment of pain, when you're in the moment of confusion, when you are lost, that's when you need Jesus. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:10.640 And today the resurrection reminds us that in that place of chaos, Jesus is there in the middle. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:12.400 He's there for us. 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:15.839 In the middle of the chaos, he's there. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:18.720 He reminds you that there's hope. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:22.480 He'll be there for you to give you courage. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.759 He's your strength, he'll bring clarity. 00:25:26.640 --> 00:25:31.359 In this moment between two thieves, only one actually believed in him. 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:36.240 Jesus positioned himself accessible to them both. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.039 Without showing favorites, he calculated, he's calculated. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:47.039 Jesus went to the cross to be in position for when you need him the most, and he's ready for you. 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:57.200 So Jesus said this during the moment of his crucifixion, he he looked to heaven, he said, Father, forgive them. 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:02.000 Forgive those who are crucifying someone who's innocent. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:15.039 Forgive them for crucifying someone and with the anger and with enity in their heart, they're that they're enemies with with you, Father, for what they're doing. 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:19.119 And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:23.039 The people stood there watching, the rulers even sneered at him. 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:25.759 They said, He saved others, let him save himself. 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:31.359 If he's God's Messiah, the chosen one, he'll know what to do. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:44.319 Interestingly, though, it wasn't just Romans, it wasn't just the guards, it wasn't just the religious people of Jesus' day, who he was always in contention with. 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:56.000 But in the same way, the scripture says the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on Jesus. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:58.400 Imagine that. 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:15.440 Hanging on a cross, thieves on the side, able to get the energy, whatever energy they have left, to look over to their side and actually make fun of the one that's in the middle, that's in their own situation. 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:22.880 Where the abused are hurling insults at someone who's already in the same trouble. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:28.240 It's like being in quicksand with someone else and laughing at that person drowning. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:36.559 When you're drowning in the same way, the whole world turned against Jesus. 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:48.640 All of the pain, all of the sin, all of the anger, all of the strife in the world was poured out on Jesus on the cross. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:59.359 It's ridiculous to think that they overlook their own situation to make fun of someone else in a similar exact situation. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:05.200 When you think of the simple energy it would have taken to put someone down in that place. 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:15.920 Soldiers mocked him, the thieves mocked him, the people mocked him, they they gave him and even offered him something drink to drink to dull the pain. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:22.559 And it's just so that they could extend and and the trauma to his body. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:24.559 But Jesus refused it. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:49.920 Everyone would be able to be restored and reconciled back to him. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.680 So Jesus refused this, but then there was an unexpected shift. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:03.440 The written notice above Jesus' head, perhaps gave it away, they say he's the king of the Jews. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:09.119 They were mocking him with a sign written in all sorts of languages so everyone could understand. 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:16.000 King of the Jews, King of the Jews, King of the Jews, mocking him in that place in the middle. 00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:24.559 Then one of the criminals who hung there hurtling insults at him said, Aren't you the Messiah? 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:27.440 Save yourself and us. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:31.759 Bring us along with you. 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.160 Don't you see we're in trouble too? 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:40.000 But the other criminal actually rebuked him and says, Don't you fear God? 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:47.599 He says, Since you are under the same sentence, we are punished justly, for we're getting what our deeds deserve. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:51.440 But this man has done nothing wrong. 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:53.599 I don't know what gave it away. 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:55.200 I don't know what the shift was. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:30:02.559 Perhaps it was the fact that he was willing to forgive those in front of him who were causing him pain. 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:07.440 But up until that moment, everything was very similar. 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:14.400 They were proven guilty in a court of law, sentenced to death, hanging on a cross, but something shifted. 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:19.759 And we don't know what it was, but the words that had been said against him were an honoring. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:26.720 They weren't, they weren't, they were hurling insults at him, and yet Jesus stopped and decided to forgive. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:37.839 And let me tell you today that there's nothing that you can do that can push you so far away that you can't receive the forgiveness that Jesus has for you. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:31:04.960 That you think that this is at the pinnacle of Jesus' pain, the pinnacle of Jesus' suffering, the place where someone should have had some compassion and some empathy for the man hanging on the cross, Jesus still stopped and made sure that the world knew that they were forgiven, that their lives could be made well. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:15.599 Forgiveness at this point was just like mind-blowing, especially in this culture of the Jews where everything was about atonement. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:20.559 It was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a leg for a leg. 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.119 Everything was about atonement. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:25.839 You killed someone, you needed to die. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:28.000 It was one for one. 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:35.680 Forgiveness was an absurd idea because forgiveness meant you don't need to do anything except repent. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:39.119 You need to say you're sorry. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:45.119 You need to put it out there that I am wrong and I need help. 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.799 And Jesus said, I forgive them. 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:52.880 But the same moment he was atoning for their sin. 00:31:54.079 --> 00:32:02.559 That the perfect would die, so the the perfect would would die to take care of anyone else who had been in heir. 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:06.400 Righteousness would rule over sin. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:09.119 Grace would overcome sin. 00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:12.720 So there was hope. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:17.759 Jesus made forgiveness that was so scarce he made it sacred. 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:21.200 He took our wrong from us. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:28.720 And instead of our our leaning has to be in trading our chaos for a greater hope. 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:34.079 What Jesus did is he gave us an opportunity for exchange. 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.720 Take your isolation and I'll bring you community. 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:43.680 Take your pain and I'll give you joy. 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:48.880 Take your suffering and I'll give you hope. 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:51.599 This is what Jesus did. 00:32:51.759 --> 00:33:03.839 And without saying a word, without preaching a message, uh this Jesus led someone to make a shift in their life. 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:07.839 There's a chance for us. 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:10.160 There's a hope for us. 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:12.640 And there will always be. 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:21.279 What looks like a mess will turn into a message that will fuel you forward in your history in your future. 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:25.440 He can take pain and make something beautiful out of it. 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:35.920 And maybe we've heard about grace and mercy and salvation, but it's almost impossible for us to realize how great these things are without realizing how unworthy we are. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:47.440 We don't consider that there's someone in the gap who's formed a bridge between God, the Father, and mankind, and Jesus is there. 00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:54.079 We don't deserve it, but Christ is there and makes us deserving. 00:33:55.279 --> 00:34:04.480 We don't we can't receive it on our own works, but Jesus paid it all for us, and now we can receive it. 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:23.360 So that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.480 Jesus became sin. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:29.440 He became it. 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:37.119 Everything evil, nasty, dirty, he carried it on the cross that day. 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:44.239 No sin you could think of, he could be, he could become he took it on himself that day. 00:34:44.480 --> 00:35:00.639 The scripture says, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, to carry it on himself, in himself, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:03.119 That's a powerful verse. 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:21.920 That he became gossip, he became our depression, our emotion, he carried our grief, he carried our sorrow, he became our anxiety, our worry, our stress, he became our fear, he carried it all on the cross. 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:24.800 And that's what's great. 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:27.519 What he became, he died on the cross. 00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:35.039 Adultery died on the cross, loneliness died on the cross, depression died on the cross that day. 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:40.880 When we align and familiarize ourselves with him, we experience the benefits. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:47.119 When we embrace his suffering, we embrace the same victory. 00:35:47.599 --> 00:35:53.519 So today, if whatever you're carrying, you can put it on Christ and it will die. 00:35:54.960 --> 00:35:59.039 It'll die to you because he carried it for us. 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:01.760 And that's the power of the resurrection. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:07.199 Because he didn't just carry it for us, but he destroyed it for us. 00:36:07.440 --> 00:36:14.400 And he was resurrected into a new life, a new opportunity, a new hope for us. 00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:17.199 It's not what we're created to be. 00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:28.320 A lot of the things we say about ourselves, I'm just a bit of a loner, I'm just a little crazy, I'm just a little a little mixed up, you know, I'm just different. 00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:36.559 No, God has made you and carried everything that sometimes we identify ourselves with that's negative. 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:42.639 He carried it for us at the cross so that we could have that freedom. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:54.639 So we don't need to take guilt, condemnation, shame anywhere past today, anywhere past now, because Christ has carried it for us. 00:36:54.880 --> 00:36:57.519 We can leave it at the cross. 00:36:58.559 --> 00:37:01.840 The thief looked at Jesus and he stopped. 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:05.440 And his words were something unique. 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:10.400 He said this, he says, Jesus, will you remember me? 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:13.039 Remember me. 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:20.960 So as one is throwing insults at him, another one is saying, Jesus, remember me. 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:23.840 And Jesus affirmed him. 00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:26.159 He says, This, I'll remember you. 00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:30.639 He says, Tonight, today, you'll see paradise. 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:34.400 And that's why he didn't take the sedative. 00:37:35.280 --> 00:37:42.239 He didn't take it because he wanted to be alert, he wanted to be thinking, he wanted to be remembering each one of you. 00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:46.239 I don't want you to numb the pain, he would say. 00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:47.519 I don't want you to numb. 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.679 I want to remember, I want to stay focused on my mission. 00:37:51.920 --> 00:38:01.760 And now when Jesus looks right now, he doesn't see a sinner, he sees a son, he doesn't see uh disappointment, he sees a daughter. 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:05.199 He doesn't see a failure, he sees a future. 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:11.360 He doesn't see uh failure in your in your future, he sees potential and hope. 00:38:12.159 --> 00:38:18.239 Truly confident, he says this, truly, I tell you today, you'll be with me in paradise. 00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:22.639 So the same model applies to us today. 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:35.119 If you're in this uh in this place today and you've never received Christ, the same model applies to you as applies to the criminal on the cross with Jesus. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:44.800 All we do is we do this, we to give your life to Christ, we must first we must admit that we're a sinner in need of a savior. 00:38:45.840 --> 00:39:06.719 We had must first admit that we need help, that we're a sinner, we need forgiveness, and sometimes that's requires a humbling of our own heart, a humbling of our own spirit that says, you know what, I've tried to do it on my own, but I can't do it on my own anymore. 00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:14.559 I've tried everything and every way that the world has to offer, but today I need to try Jesus. 00:39:14.880 --> 00:39:19.199 I need to embrace him, and you need to admit that you're a sinner. 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:23.280 Confess it, speak it out of your mouth. 00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:25.199 I am a sinner. 00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:31.199 I need you, God, I need your forgiveness, I am sorry. 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:38.320 And number two, you believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. 00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:46.719 When you believe that Jesus Christ died and that rose from the grave, the scripture says, that's how you make him your Lord. 00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:55.119 When you confess with your mouth that he died and he rose from the grave, that's where we find our salvation. 00:39:55.280 --> 00:40:01.920 And number three, through prayer, we speak it out, we confess it out today. 00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:03.840 So, would you do something with me? 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:20.320 Would you just all bow your heads together and just make this opportunity just a personal opportunity for those who may be here for the first time and may have never experienced the life-changing effect of Jesus Christ. 00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:25.840 Today, Father, we just thank you for your message. 00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:32.400 We thank you, Father, for the cross of Christ. 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:44.400 We thank you, Lord, that all of our sin, all of our pain, all of our grief, all of our sorrow, Lord, has been taken at that place at the cross. 00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:50.400 And we don't have to work anymore on our own effort to Lord receive salvation. 00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:56.079 Lord, what has been done 2,000 years ago applies to me today. 00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:01.039 So, Father, today I open up my heart to you. 00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:21.840 And Lord, I open my heart to the spirit of resurrection, to the spirit of Jesus, that the one who destroyed sin and death is now alive and living and looking for me. 00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:35.280 And Father, today I just I tear down any barrier, I tear down any wall, Lord, that that would be keeping me from receiving that free gift of salvation. 00:41:35.519 --> 00:41:38.159 So today, Father, I just accept you. 00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:40.559 I accept you with my whole heart. 00:41:40.800 --> 00:41:44.000 I accept you, mind, body, soul, spirit. 00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:45.679 I accept you. 00:41:46.239 --> 00:42:05.119 I accept you, Lord, in uh in the way that, Lord, you have chased me down and been desiring me for so long, and my back has been turned to you, today, Father, I turn and I receive you. 00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:10.639 So I'm just gonna walk through this with you as a church. 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:25.360 If you've never prayed this prayer before, if you've never made an acknowledgement towards Jesus Christ before, I want to give you an opportunity to do that today with us as a congregation. 00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:27.840 You may have been coming to church for a long time. 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:30.480 This may be your first time at church. 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:47.760 You might have heard this message a thousand times, or this may be the first time you've heard this message, but today I want you to receive, to know that you can receive Christ on this Easter Resurrection Sunday 2018. 00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:50.719 Would you pray this prayer with me? 00:42:51.440 --> 00:42:59.199 Father God, I know that I'm a sinner and that I'm in need of forgiveness. 00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:12.000 I believe that you died on the cross for my sin and you rose from the grave to give me life. 00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:16.719 I know that you are the only way to God. 00:43:18.719 --> 00:43:25.519 So now I want to quit disobeying you and start living for you. 00:43:27.119 --> 00:43:28.880 Please forgive me. 00:43:29.840 --> 00:43:34.719 Change my life and show me how to know you. 00:43:36.159 --> 00:43:38.079 I receive you today. 00:43:38.960 --> 00:43:41.519 I receive salvation today. 00:43:42.320 --> 00:43:44.239 In Jesus' name. 00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:45.760 Amen. 00:43:46.880 --> 00:43:47.440 Amen. 00:43:47.599 --> 00:43:49.360 Let's give the Lord a hand. 00:43:56.639 --> 00:44:00.639 There's so many opportunities in someone's life. 00:44:00.800 --> 00:44:26.480 I know in the testimonies I've heard, people have acknowledged Christ in church, made the decision, some of them at home, some of them in bed, some of them over at a Starbucks, some of them in the backyard of a friend's home, where this message just continues to permeate so that we can know that Christ is for us. 00:44:26.719 --> 00:44:32.480 He's not against us, he's for you, he's for you, he's for you. 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:33.519 Amen. 00:44:33.920 --> 00:44:37.039 We have a connection center out in the lobby. 00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:40.000 There's a table out in the middle of our lobby there. 00:44:40.159 --> 00:44:54.320 If you made a decision today to follow Christ, we'd like to invite you just to stop by that counter, uh, connect with some of our people that are there from the church, they're wearing lanyards, they're very easily identifiable. 00:44:54.480 --> 00:44:57.039 Uh, we want to just show you some next steps. 00:44:57.119 --> 00:45:01.440 We're not going to be chasing you down, calling you, selling you anything. 00:45:01.679 --> 00:45:06.320 We want you to know that we're behind you and we're with you. 00:45:06.480 --> 00:45:11.360 And we want to provide you the next steps to take this life walk with Christ. 00:45:11.599 --> 00:45:13.280 God bless you this morning.