A Holy Disruption | Jake Vayda

This week, we celebrated Easter and the truth that Jesus didn’t stay in the grave—He rose. In Mark 16, the women came expecting death, but found the stone already rolled away and heard the words that changed everything: “He has risen.” 

We saw that the resurrection isn’t just information—it’s a holy disruption. If Jesus really rose, then nothing stays the same—your past isn’t final, and your story isn’t over.

The invitation is simple: what will you do with the risen Jesus? You can doubt it, delay it, or let it change everything. So don’t let this be just another Easter—because if this is real, it changes everything.

Transcript

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Baby boy. Seven pounds, ten ounces, and pretty soon afterwards they let us leave. I'm like, there's no permit or license or test to take here. So we're leaving the hospital, and then we have to put this baby in a car seat. Now we practiced. We practiced this, but it took 15 minutes and like a major in engineering. And we finally got him in this baby seat. And then I do what any father does. I open up Spotify and look up a baby boy playlist. And I'm playing it as we're driving home. And the song by John Lennon that says Baby Boy. You might know the song. It's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. And we're listening to the song, and I'm bawling my ass out. Thank God I had a cap on. My wife's in the back. I'm like super low. This is her first time hearing it. I'm like crying. Why? Because everything changed, right? This is a moment that was a holy disruption. In fact, every lane changed feeled like life or death. And I was praying for traffic so that I could go very slow under the speed limit. And if you know me, that is not me. Everything changed. My question for you today is when was the last time you had a holy disruption? Was it when you said I do? And everything changed? Was it when you got accepted into the college or got that job? Was it when you hopped in the car or jumped on the plane to start a brand new life? When was the last time there was a holy disruption? Do you remember the emotions that you had? The anxiety, maybe the anticipation of what could be your old life is gone and the new life is here. What you previously stood for is very different. It's an identity shift. When was the last time you had one of those moments that just changed everything? In this story, we find three women. These three women have experienced what they thought was a Messiah, the Holy One. And now he's dead. It's early in the morning, the roads are empty, the sun is rising, and they're walking towards the grave of their dead friend, carrying spices to embalm him. And in the midst of walking towards this grave, they realize something. They look at each other and say, Oh, what are we gonna do with the big boulder that's in between Jesus and us? See, there was a three-ton boulder that rolled over the tomb. It's kind of one of those moments, like we probably should have thought about this. Have you had a I thought, I like I probably should. One time I forgot all my shirts on vacation. My wife was excited about this, but I value modesty. Probably should have thought about this. In their grief, in their loss, in the disruption of their life, there is a three-ton stone in between them and their dead friend. Here's what the Bible says. Looking up, they saw the stone had been rolled back. It was very large. I think Mark highlights the fact that it was very large to the point that maybe a human couldn't have done this. The stone they were worried about. The thing they stood in between them and their Messiah wasn't even there anymore. They worried about something that was already dealt with from the past. God already moved that stone. And there's no trespassing sign. So the women look at each other. Well, let's go in. And they go into the tomb. And the story says this. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen. He is not here. At the center of our faith is an announcement. It's not inspiration. It's not a uh a law, a rule, it is a notification. He is risen. In fact, on Easter Sunday, I grew up in a tradition that was very much cheesy to me. And it's a bunch of people looking at each other and saying, He is risen. And the response, the person says, He is risen indeed. Like who has said who says indeed anymore? I don't know. But we're gonna do it just for my childhood, okay? Alright, he is risen. All right, one more time, he is risen.

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He is risen.

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This is at the center of our faith. An announcement that changed everything and might change something for you today. Really, the last passage I want to look at is this. And then we're done with the passages. It says, But go. This is the angel. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. These three women we see in this passage and the other books of the Bible, they had an evolution to their faith. You see that they first had some type of a denial. Now, they might have not denied Jesus, but what we know is they had fear. They were fearful. It's always so funny in the Bible. It's like the angel, an angel comes and says, Don't be afraid. That wouldn't work, bro. Like, I'm afraid. You're an angel. It's like, oh, don't be afraid. Like, well, this is not working. They were afraid, they were fearful. Their old world cracked wide open. You might say, Jake, these three women, they were fearful. I wouldn't be fearful. You know, I would have trusted the promises of God. Really? You sure about that? I mean, you can't trust God when the Wi-Fi slow and the page doesn't load. You're like, why God, why have you forsaken me? Your response would have been the exact same as these women. You were fearful, trepidatious. What is happening? They went into this tomb expecting a dead Jesus, and instead there was an angel of the Lord dressed in white. They couldn't explain this, they couldn't control this, they did not see this coming. If Jesus isn't here, what does this mean? I mean, I watched this guy die and now he's alive. The future that I thought it was over now is open again. The world I understood is no longer stable. And if this is true about Jesus, what is true for me? Wait, this means that death didn't win. This means that sin didn't have the final say. This means that my past doesn't have to dictate my future. All of a sudden they were fearful. Their old world was cracked wide open. You can all say, cool, calm, and collected when an angel of the Lord appeared. Do not be afraid. Yeah, right. So they were fearful. I can imagine in the midst of some grief and loss, oftentimes the response is denial. Maybe there even was some denial. We don't know. But this is a natural response to the risen Jesus. Not only do we find denial, but then we find a little bit of a delay. They went away from the tomb and they're leaving from the tomb. And then what does it say? They didn't tell anybody. But the angel said to tell somebody. I mean, isn't that a little bit of a disobedience? They delayed saying yes to the risen Jesus. They were nervous. I can imagine they were going home watching Netflix. What just happened? Trying to wrap their brains about the new reality of their life. So you have doubt. You have delay. But then what we know about these ladies is they often had a holy disruption. Because they ultimately did go tell the disciples, and they met Jesus in Galilee just like the angel asked. There was some doubt. There was some delay. And you might say, I'm not like these women, but can I just be very honest and say these women weren't just fearful, they were very courageous because where were the men? There were thousands of people following Jesus, and we find only three women going to the tomb. These women were courageous and yet also fearful, also delayed, and then ultimately allowed Jesus. There is in Jesus to be a holy disruption. But that's it. Mark 16, this chapter, that's how it ends. There are eight verses. Many chapters are 30 to 50 verses. This is how Mark ends the whole story of Jesus. Later manuscripts added on to it, but these manuscripts didn't say anything new about Jesus that we didn't already know. What we know is Mark ended it here. We don't see the risen Jesus. All we know is that women left and didn't tell anybody, and that was it. On to the next book of the Bible. Talk about a cliffhanger, talk about a confrontation, not closure. What happened here? Anyone watch Love is Blind? Love is Blind. You can raise your hand in church to say you can watch normal shows. That's okay. The whole premise of the show is I can't find love in the outside world, and I'm gonna try to find love here, and uh, you know, I'm gonna try to find it without even seeing them face to face so I can have a heart connection with the person. They're out here getting on one knee, getting engaged to someone they've never met in person yet, right? They're saying, I love you, and crying their eyes out 24 hours after they met them. Like this is a crazy show, y'all. It's a roller coaster of emotion. And then this is always what happens at the if you know this, you know this is true. This is what happens at the end of the TV show. They hype up, finally revealing what they look like. And you're wondering how are they gonna react, right? Are is one gonna be super short, the other one super tall, is one gonna like realize that they don't really match, or are they gonna smell bad? Are they gonna I like what's what's their response going to be? You're trying to look at their faces when the reveal happens to see if they have a micro expression of disgust. You're like, well, how are they gonna respond to the person that they said they're going to marry? And then you're excited, and then the scene cuts to black. Next episode in 10 seconds. You're like, oh, what are you gonna do? You're gonna click on the next episode, right? It's a big reveal, but that's how the episode ends. Mark. He ends the whole book with look at the next episode in 10 seconds, but there's not a next episode. This is how it ends. There's no episode two to this. Why does Mark end this book with a half-finished story? I believe Mark ended the story here because he wants to hand the pen to you. What is your response to the risen Jesus? How are you going to leave the tomb like these women did? In fact, I believe today, just like these three women had three responses to the risen Jesus, I'm convinced in this room right now we have the exact same responses to the risen Jesus. In fact, the first response that you might have right now in this room is denial. Maybe for you, uh, you're not like these women that maybe just had fear. You're like, I just don't, I don't believe this stuff. I don't really like it's it's a nice story uh for somebody else, but I'm not sure if this is true. Maybe you were contrived, conjoled to be here right now. It's a holiday, it's nice to take a picture right next to the He is Risen photo booth after service, but this is for somebody else and not me. You doubt. I mean, how can you believe something if you don't see something, right? Like that's a regular argument that we have. I wonder if Love is Blind is attempting with this idea of can you believe something before you see it? And we know this is true in reality. Wind, Wi-Fi, gravity. You can't see it, but I bet you believe in it. And here we are, Jesus. You don't see the risen Jesus, but what does the angel say? Just as he told you. In other words, the word of Jesus, he predicted it, is enough before the sight of Jesus ever arrives. The word of Jesus calms storms, the word of Jesus reversed death, the word of Jesus turned water into wine. Somebody, that's a good word for me. This is Jesus. The words changed reality before we even see the sight of Jesus. In a lot of ways, we're here right now, not yet seeing the person of Jesus, but can we believe these words that he has said? And if he did predict his own death, I think it might be a worthy investment of our time to see what Jesus said about us. Because if that was true, what if the words he said about us is true? So let's just do a little studying here, because what I see here is Jesus says, We're chosen. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life for many, okay? He's called us to be changed. He said, I came to give life and life to its fullest. And he's called us. He says, Come to me all who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest. Not a test, he'll give you rest. In other words, God has called you, he has claimed you, and he desires for you to live your best life. If this is true about his own resurrection, could this be true for me? So, my challenge for all of those who are doubting, I gotta see it before I believe it. My invitation for you is this would you investigate the claims of Jesus for yourself? Don't let someone else's opinions about what he said affect your own faith. See it for yourself. See if you could believe these words and see what God could do with that. So you're standing at the foot of the tomb. You're ready to embalm your dead friend with these three women, and you don't see the body there. The angel says, He is risen just as I told you. His words are enough before the sight of Jesus arrives, and you have doubt, or maybe today you have a little bit of a delay. Maybe that's you, you have a little bit of a delay. Because the women had a little bit of a delay, overwhelmed, confused, trepidatious, go home and turn on Netflix because they're so shocked about what just happened. And oftentimes, this is a word for somebody, the delay that you have right now is also a decision. It's a decision to wait. And every time that you wait, you don't get access to the things that Jesus has said is yours to claim. Every time you wait, it is a season that you're in. It's okay to wait. It's not good to wait forever. Somebody knows this in this room that oftentimes faith starts not with a delay, but it starts with a it starts with a maybe. Faith doesn't start with a certainty, it starts with a maybe. That's why we call it a leap of. I don't know everything. I doubt some things. I'm delaying on things, but I'm taking a leap of. This is what the women did. They delayed their response, but they turned the fear into faith. Waiting is good. Don't stay in the waiting room forever. Because here's what's happening if you stay in the waiting room forever. No one likes waiting rooms. Not a lot of things could happen in the waiting room. And if you stay in the waiting room, what happens is you're delaying the power that Jesus wants to give you right now. Jesus says, I, the same power that rose me from the grave, could live in you. He's saying, I could show you how to follow me so you can become perfectly love, joy, peace, patience. He says we could become perfectly holy as we follow him. He is saying that we could be rescued. Someone knows in here, you need to be rescued. The ways that you've worked, it's not enough, it's not doing it. You're delaying all of those things by saying, I don't know. What if your maybe is not an invitation to wait, but it's an invitation to take a leap of. So we doubt. We delay. But then we see a third option today, and that is a holy disruption. Because these women did go out and tell the disciples, he did turn the fear into faith. They didn't stay stuck, they took a next step. And some of you have been disrupted by God. Your life is changed forever. Back in middle school, four years ago when you got baptized, two years ago when you said yes to Jesus. And all of a sudden, that disruption turned into routine. And now the faith that you have isn't really doing anything for you anymore. You've allowed disruption, but you stopped disruption at some point because it's a little more comfortable to stay in your routine than allow Jesus to disrupt you. Hear me when I say this. The risen Jesus, the disruption that God wants to do in your life, it's not a one-time invitation. It's an ongoing daily process to allow Jesus into your life, into your finances, into your relationship, into your career, into your mental health. What are you going through? Have you invited Jesus into that? See how he wants to disrupt you and make you more like him? Love, joy, peace, patience. God wants to disrupt you right now in this room. When was the last time that you allowed him to disrupt you? Or have you allowed Jesus to help give you faith for the future, but not really anymore? Or did you once hear the voice of God, but you stopped hearing the voice of God because you decided to stop reading your Bible and praying? The thing that once convicted you is something that you don't allow anymore because you just explained it away. Have you allowed Jesus to disrupt you recently for all those Christians in the room? So you doubt, you delay, and then we have an opportunity to be disrupted by Jesus. And my hope for somebody in the room is that you would be disrupted by the raisin Jesus. Yesterday I was at Ocean Beach, and eight, it was great. It's hot. Right. I mean March was so hot. And Little Island, April, what's happening here? We're going to the beach. We go to the beach. And I jump in the water, and the water was cool, refreshing, so much so. I decide to swim out a little bit. I feel pretty good. I'm a good swimmer. I have a long torso. That's good for swimming. Right, Nate? I think so. Are you a swimmer, Nate? Okay, so he doesn't know. But someone else would know. I grew up swimming. So I just start swimming and swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. And then I see a seal right next to me. I'm pretty far out. I didn't feel like I swam that much. And I look back, and Nate, I promise you, Kaylia was far away. I'm like, how do I get this? I'm a good swimmer. Like, maybe I should call Michael Phelps. I'm feeling pretty good about myself at this point. And I start swimming back. And I'm treading water, dude. Like, I am not getting anywhere. I'm getting a little nervous at this point. And then a guy on a surfboard comes up. Chris, it was a lifeguard. It was a lifeguard. Hey, dude, you're you're caught in a in a in a riptide. It's a little channel of water that goes insanely fast back into the ocean. So that's why I could swim out real fast. That's why I cannot swim back at all. And he he was so nice. He's like, it's gonna take you just a couple more minutes to swim back. I'm here if you need me. He was being nice because I started trying, and I guarantee you I did not get anywhere. It's impossible to swim in the middle of a rip current, back riptide, right back to the shore. And he's just there, all gracious, all calm. You know what I mean? And I I uh I say, okay, it's time. So I jump on the surfboard and we're going back. And dude, my ego is like on the ground here. You know what I mean? My wife is seeing me come back with a lifeguard. Are you kidding me here? You know what I mean? Like, I'm feeling just like a kid, and now I'm like being saved by a lifeguard. Like, I'm thinking I was a man, right? And I'm coming back, I'm like, oh, this is just a disaster. And you know, I'm I want to hop off the surfboard, and he's like, not yet. I'm like, no, I really want to hop off right now as we're getting closer, and everyone is looking at me at this point. Uh and then I get back to the shore, no joke. I sit back in my chair, and Keely's like, she's like, God used you to tell me uh, you know, that I shouldn't just rely on myself anymore. Uh oh great, I get I I'm glad I could be a testimony of helplessness. Anyways, I'm just going off on a on a tangent, but some of you, you're you're not you're not worried about Jesus. He's done it all, he rolled away the stone. You're worried about you. You ram, you you swam way too far from the shore. The things you said to your spouse, the the financial uh terrible decisions that you made, uh, the words you can't undo, the things you've looked at, the things you said. You can't you can't undo those things. You're caught in a riptide all the way out into the ocean with the seals, and you're trying to get back to the shore, but you can't swim. God's right here. He's got the surfboard. I got this. I got this. But the surfboard, it won't work because you're too far, right? There's a little Easter egg that this angel put in the thing that he said to these three women. And I just want to pick it up real quick because the Easter egg that the angel said, he says, Go tell the disciples and Peter. That's what what the it's like saying a canine dog. It means the same thing. Peter was a disciple. Why would he say, go tell the disciples and Peter? Well, it's because Peter swam a little too far out into the ocean. In fact, Peter was the guy that God was gonna build an entire church with, and yet the church that we stand in is in part because of Peter. But this dude denied Jesus once. Oh, sorry, no, no, no, no. Was it twice? No, three times. This dude denied Jesus three times. This angel says, Go tell the disciples and go tell the guy who feels too far gone. Go tell the guy who feels he said too much, he did too much, he thought too much, I am too far from the shore. The riptide is taking me out, and I cannot be rescued. He is saying, Go tell him Jesus wants to meet you. So today, the question is: do you want to meet the risen Jesus? What is your response to the risen Jesus? I hope these women are a testimony to you because they follow Jesus. And yet they doubted, they delayed. I don't think this is an evolution of faith. As much as this is a nonlinear journey of up and down with our relationship with Jesus, can I just say that's okay? I turned 30 today and I'm journaling this morning, and I'm looking back to the amount of times God rescued me. The person I was, to the person I am, and here's what's exciting. I know I have a future that even the person I am right now will not be the person that my wife will be married to because I'll be a better man. I'll be a better father. Oh, because I'm following Jesus. I'm going after the risen Jesus. I'm not staying in the tomb, y'all. I'm going with these women straight out. I'm not letting fear, I'm not letting denial or delay stop me. I want a holy disruption for Jesus and not just once. I want it every day to follow Jesus all the way back to the shore. Do you want that? Do you want to make a decision today, whether for the first time or for the first time in a long time, to say yes to following these women out of the tomb and into the life that Jesus has for you? That's the question that we have to answer today. I'm gonna ask if you can rise to your feet in this moment. I'm on the surfboard and uh I was in denial. All right, I can make it. And the first step for me was uh admitting I need help. I can't swim back on my own. My own mechanisms and my own tools will not get me back to the shore, though the stone is too big for me to roll myself. And then at some point I just needed to trust that the lifeguard would actually take me back. Like, hey, can I trust you to do it? And then after I trusted, I had to take a leap of and to get on that surfboard to ride back to the shore. The same is true for you today. Are you willing to admit that you need help? Are you willing to trust that Jesus is enough? He rose from the grave, he can raise you from your circumstance today. This is not the end of the story, this is the beginning. There's no bad ending in the kingdom of God. God always makes new things new in this life or the next. And then the third is to take a leap of faith and get on the surfboard and arride to the shore. We all have a chance to go to the shore of the Sea of Galilee today with the person of Jesus. We will meet him there, it says. Are you willing to meet him there? Admit, trust, and take a leap of faith. So I'm just gonna count on the on three, and you can just raise your hand. If you've been a Christian for a long time, you need a new disruption in your life to say yes to Jesus right now, or if for the first time ever you want to say yes to this life. On three, you can admit, yeah, I need help. On two, you can trust that Jesus will take you all the way home. And one, you can take a leap of faith. If that's you, would you just raise your hand in this room saying, yes, I'm taking a leap of faith right now in this room? Yes, I see all the hands all over. Yes, can I just uh can we just clap it up for all the people who are making a leap of faith today? Your past doesn't dictate your future. You don't have to stay in the grave. God rolled away the stone, he brought the serpent to you. You can now meet Jesus like those three women did, and the disciples. Hey, would you just lift your hands? This is a posture of receiving. I met a man a couple of weeks ago, hardcore Navy guy, does a lot of hardcore stuff uh that's secret, and he brought his hands open like this, and immediately he felt the presence of God. Because when we open ourselves up to be disrupted by Jesus, he meets us here. Open your hands, see what God might have to say to you. You want to encounter God, that's why you're here. So, Lord, we thank you for the great rescue. God, these 30 years of my life is a marker of 30 years of faithfulness. And God, you didn't just rescue me once. You've rescued me time and time again for myself, from addictions, from feelings, from emotions, from situations, from relationships. And God, I believe you'll do it again. So I'm saying yes to you. I'm admitting, I'm trusting, and I'm taking a leap of faith every single day because you want to meet me here, God. I refuse to say in the tomb today, yesterday, or forever. I'm coming out with you and with your women to see a whole new life. And God, we thank you for all those who said yes, and it's nothing but your blood that's allowed this to happen, nothing but your sacrifice. So we're here, and we want to say yes to you in these next five minutes. Allow us to encounter you in a new and a fresh way. We don't want yesterday's provision, we don't want five years ago provision, we want provision for today, daily mana. So we're here saying yes, yes, and amen.