Meet me in Galilee | Jake Vayda

This week, we asked: what happens after Easter? In Matthew 28, the risen Jesus invites His followers into something more: “Meet me in Galilee.”

We saw that Galilee is where faith becomes personal—where you encounter Jesus, experience His restoration, and step into purpose. The disciples didn’t have perfect faith; they had both worship and doubt, and Jesus met them there.

The invitation is simple: don’t stop at Easter. Take a step. Find your Galilee—because Jesus is still meeting people and changing lives.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

I was wrong. Last week I got up here and I said uh it's been almost perfect having a new baby boy three weeks old. It's kind of true. I mean, uh it's true in the hospital, right? I mean you got 24-7 access, systems, nurses at your beck and call. And then when you get home, it's kind of like when you start on a roller coaster and they say to strap in. That's a little bit how it feels. Schedule gone. Uh the cleanliness of the house, that looks like a tiny human staged and aggressive takeover. I mean, it's it does not look good. Our sleep also gone. Actually, in fact, uh our baby boy Maverick, he had the audacity to be so relaxed. Actually, we have a video or just a picture of him. Uh he's like, I'm like, dude, and he's he's basically like, you know, great job. You know, we're doing a great job. I'm like, you're not doing you're doing nothing. You're pooping, you're peeing, you're crying, and then relaxing. That's what he gets to do at home. It's it's great. Uh and it's kind of it's kind of like how it might feel when Easter happens, right? Like, it's great. You dress really nicely, uh, there's powerful worship. Maybe even you made a decision to follow Jesus. In fact, you might have said, He is risen, and everyone says, He is risen indeed. And last week we had almost 100 people that said yes or uh recommitted their life to Jesus. Just last week. Over the entire weekend, we had almost 500 people. We are less than an 18th month-old church. We're still uh, let's speak about babies, we're still a baby church, and to see what God has done in the past 18 months, and last week it might have been a spiritual high for you. And then it's then like Monday comes, you know? And Jesus still rose from the grave, but also your inbox rose from the grave. And the 805 is still the 805, and your toddler still refuses to put on pants. Right? After Easter, it's like what what happens after you make that decision? In fact, that's the question that I want to answer today. So if you're taking notes, that's the question. What happens after Easter? Here's what's at stake if we don't know how to answer this question. We risk a decision not turning into direction. We risk a moment not turning into a movement. We risk something that sounded inspirational, but it doesn't turn into transformational. And then here's what's what's the worst part. You start asking, what's wrong with me? Man, I had this connection with Jesus when I was 12. I had this connection with Jesus at April 5th last week. And where do I go from here? Other people seem excited about this Jesus guy, but it hasn't really worked out for me. All of a sudden, that decision really did just turn into a one-time thing that doesn't really affect my everyday life. This is where we find ourselves in the story of these 11 disciples. These three women go tell these disciples that the angel says that Jesus wants them to meet me in Galilee. They decided yes to the risen Jesus. They left the grave with Jesus, but now Jesus has a new invitation for them. They were saved, they have salvation. It's great. But what's next? Jesus says, meet me in Galilee. Can you just repeat that for me? Ready? One, two, three. Meet me in Galilee. This is the invitation that Jesus has for you today. And if you say yes to this invitation, there's three things that happen in your relationship with Jesus. First, you get to see the face of God. Second, he gets to save you time and time again. And then third, he sends you to your best life. But you have to say yes to meet me in Galilee. Hey, if you're here for the first time, I met a couple of you before service. So glad you're here. We would love to give you a free gift at Create Corner. And if you're here for the 100th time, which I don't even think is possible because we're an 18th-month-old church. Maybe 70th time would be the max. How many times you've been, God has something for you today. We are a Bible-believing, Bible preaching church. And today we'll be in the last chapter of the book of Matthew. As we jump in, you might be wondering what is so special about Galilee? Why did Jesus want everyone to meet him in Galilee? Well, there's three specific reasons. First, this is the origin story in Marvel. My favorite moment is when they go back in time, so you can just figure out what the beginnings of how they got their powers, right? This is where it all began. Jesus told his disciples to follow me here. This is where the disciples cast their nets for the fish. This is where they collected taxes. This is where it really was back to the start. The second reason is Galilee was pretty ordinary. Jerusalem. I mean, that was the place to be. Like that was New York City. I mean, downtown, right? The Big Apple. That's where Jerusalem was. That's where he was crucified. You'd think if this guy kind of rose from the grave, you want as many witnesses as possible. Why wouldn't you go back to where you were crucified? But no, Jesus goes to the place where people have accents and people make fun of those accents. That's Galilee. It's the ordinary dusty hillsides and the fishing boats and a beautiful lake called the Sea of Galilee. It's ordinary. Jesus met them in their ordinary moments. Third reason is this was a promise that Jesus had. In fact, he said, I will meet you in Galilee when I resurrect. And uh the disciples, they deserted him. Jesus keeps his promises, even if you don't. He says, I will still meet you in Galilee, whether you're there or you're not. That's my promise to you. So why Galilee was ordinary? It was the origin story, and it was a promise that Jesus had. It's interesting. Basically, Jesus is saying, Come hang out with me. That's what he's saying. I mean, you might have made a decision to leave the grave with Jesus, but now he's saying, if you want a life-giving relationship, you need to come hang out with me in Galilee. Maybe you have a relationship, but it's not life-giving. You know, there's a marriage where people make a decision and then the first kid comes, and maybe the career is stressful, and all of a sudden they skip a date night, and then you become housemates. It was a decision, but it's it's a relationship, but it's not life-giving. Jesus is saying if you stop at just leaving the grave, uh, it's not really going to be a life-giving relationship. Here's my ask: will you meet me in Galilee? Here are the three things that happen in Galilee. As we jump in, you can write this first way down. We get to see the face of Jesus. This is pretty exciting. So if you're taking notes, this is the first thing that happens when you say yes to meeting Jesus in Galilee. We get to see the face of Jesus. Just days earlier, they saw him die, they saw the tomb, and they left. And now they get to see Jesus face to face. They were in the presence of Jesus. They weren't satisfied with, I think Jesus rose from the grave. They weren't satisfied with a second-hand relationship. They wanted a face-to-face relationship with Jesus. Did you know? All communication, TikTok, Instagram, email, it's all trying to emulate a face-to-face interaction because it's the pinnacle of relationship. And if you say yes to meeting Jesus, you get to be in the very presence of God. And do you know what happens when you're in the presence of God? All of your doubt leaves. All of your problems get solved, and your life actually becomes perfect. Wait, is that what scripture says? No. Uh sorry. Wait, it says, uh, now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some wait, this is this can't be right. It says some doubted? Wait, I thought as soon as I'm with Jesus, everything kind of gets solved. And this definitely can't be right because Jesus didn't even shut down the meeting. I mean, he must have known that people were doubting. You'd think he'd just say, uh, come back to church when you have all your answers. Come back to church when you, you know, you finally buy that button-down shirt. This is this is weird because it says they worshiped him, but some doubted. It's almost like you can worship God and still have an unfinished faith. It's almost like you can worship and you can wrestle. I don't know. This isn't the Bible. Like, this is you can have questions and still with shaky legs say yes to Jesus. I mean, that's an interesting reality. They worshiped him, but some doubted. Maybe for you, you rose your hand last week. You're one of the 100 people. And you're like, I believe, but help my unbelief. That's actually a scripture that says in the Bible, I believe, but there's a part of me that still unbelieves. In fact, maybe your doubt is not a dead end, maybe it's a doorway for what God wants to do next. They worshiped, but some doubted. So, my question for you in the midst of your doubt, in the midst of your wrestling while you're worshiped, because you're here today, where do you need to meet Jesus face to face? Is it in the career? It's stressful, and you need to meet with Jesus so he reminds you that your worth is found in him and not the deadline that you need to meet? Is it in your relationship? It's broken and you are overcompensating, and you need to meet with Jesus so you realize He you don't have to settle for less than your worth? Is it with your money? Your debt is racked up and you don't know where to go, and you need to go to Jesus because He says, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. I will relieve your burdens, work with me, walk with me, talk with me, learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Where do you need to meet Jesus face to face? Because when you're in his presence, it gets personal. I don't know about you, but I want a personal life change in my life, in the area that I need it the most. If you say yes to meet me in Galilee, you get to see the face of Jesus. But here's the second one. If you want to take notes, the second one says this that we also get to be saved time and time again. Now you might be wondering, save. You only saved once. I mean, salvation, come on, like I made a decision once and I'm good to go. I mean, the answer is yes. That is what salvation is. You say yes, and here and forever you are saved. But Jesus wants to do more than just save you once, he wants to save you time and time again. Peter, do you remember Peter? Dude, this dude rejecting Jesus three times. Right? I mean, three times. That's pretty bad. I mean, Vivian, it's Jesus' darkest hour, and that's when he rejects Jesus. And by the way, Jesus had a lot of hope in him. He says, on you and me, like we'll build a church. Like, I mean, that's a and he's the guy that rejected Jesus. And so Peter's with Jesus, and Jesus comes. We get to see him face to face. He meets him in Galilee. Jesus takes Peter to the side. It's kind of like in the principal's office, you know, like, oh, you know, you need to meet the principal. Everyone's like, oh, but it's like, oh Jesus gets with Peter, and Jesus says, Do you love me? Yes. Do you love me? Yes, do you love me? Yes, he says, Do you love me three times? Wait, didn't Jesus reject Peter reject him three times? Jesus is forgiving Peter in that very moment. Peter was already saved. He had salvation. But you know what he wasn't saved from? The sleepless nights, thinking, what good could come from this? I rejected Jesus in his darkest moments. He needed saving from his own mental health. I mean, Jesus saved him in that moment. Jesus wants to save you. Can I give you? I want to give you three letters. And if you add these letters to the end of a couple of your sentences, I believe it'll change your life forever. It did for me. The three letters combine to make the word yet. Everyone say yet. Our baby boy was born, and we're overjoyed about it. And it also reminded us of the loss of our first baby boy. We were 35 weeks pregnant, five pounds, 10 ounces, perfect in every way, yet he didn't have a heartbeat. And I'm crying in the shower as my my wife is delivering this baby in. And I I'm I'm I'm asking on my hands and my knees, God, what I can't see how any good could come from this. That was two years ago. And I think back at what God has done in the last two years, and my wife and I, we share a grief and a pain that no one else in the world shares. It's just ours. I'm a better husband because of that grief. And then we launched a church two months later. And we had no capacity. I mean, I remember telling my board, like, I feel like I'm at 10% here. How is God? And yet, we had one of the largest launches ever in urban San Diego's history. Wait, it must have been not my gifts, but God working through us. I feel like I'm a better pastor. I'm more dependent on God than I ever was before. And then we have baby Maverick, and he has a heartbeat. And that will never take that for granted. I'm a better father. Now, I am not saying that this makes it all fine that we lost our first baby boy, Kai. In fact, it will be a hurt until we see him in heaven, and it'll be a pain that will never go away. And at the same time, what the enemy meant for evil, God does want to turn it for good. And the question is, do you want to be a part of it? Maybe not perfect good. We're still on earth. One day we'll be perfect good, but he wants to resurrect what feels completely dead, and it felt like our birth story, I mean everything just felt completely gone. So the question is a better question when you're on your knees and hands in the hospital shower, ask for God a great heartbeat, and you ask the questions. I don't see what any good could come from this. Dot dot dot yet. Yet. If you add those three letters in the middle of your divorce, if you add it in the middle of the addiction, if you add it in the sleepless nights and your own mental health issues, if you add it in the darkest moments of your career, in the midst of the unknown, in the midst of the step, I don't see how God could resurrect this relationship. I don't see how God could heal me from this addiction yet. Jesus, I mean, he's the comeback kid, right? And he loves to create comeback stories in your life. And what the enemy meant for evil, God wants to turn it for good. And will you be a part? Will you participate in what God wants to do? Would you leave the door open just a little bit with the word yet? Because he wants to save you more than just on resurrection Sunday. He wants to save you in the thing that keeps you up at night right now. Would you allow Jesus to do that? So he saves you. You get to see his face. And here's the third one if you want to write it down. We get to be sent into a life of purpose. We get to be sent into a life of purpose. Anyone been to Disneyland? A couple people? Okay, wow. I love you been to Disneyland. Walt Disney, you know, he has this vision. It's not just roller coasters, right? He has this vision for families coming and having a uh like imagination like they did as kids. Uh coming and having a joy with their relate with their relationships, uh having a creativity that they didn't have before in their own workplaces. It wasn't just roller coasters and he with the with the eyes that he has here. You can just see he has a vision in his eyes. With those eyes, he leans over and asks the investors, will you invest? And they say no. It was empty farmland. There's nothing there. They're like, we don't see what you see. Like, this cannot be a possibility. They said no. Do you know how many no's Walt Disney had? A lot. And I feel like sometimes Jesus has this vision for your life, and we're the ones saying no. He's like, if you actually walk with me and talk with me and allow me to save you, I can save you into a life that is your best life. It's you in the best version. That's what I he's the great architect. He's the ultimate Walt Disney. This is what Jesus is. Are you allowing the great architect to do his work in your life? He wants to architect a very specific type of world, this Jesus guy. In fact, this is one of the last things that he said. Any healthy church in America, Bible-believing, Bible preaching church, this is the passage that is completely based on. Same is true with Create Church. It's called the Great Commission, which is in this passage. After they worshiped, after they doubted, Jesus says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the very end of the age. It's interesting because Jesus has this vision for this life, and he's talking to these 11 dudes who deserted him a couple days before. I mean, that doesn't sound like a good recipe for a complete restoration of planet Earth. I mean, they were chumps. I mean, they were chumps, right? Like, let's just can we just be honest? Like, that's who they who they were. And Jesus says, Through you, I will completely make all things new through the world and through the generations that come after you, and one day heaven will be on earth. And he's talking to these people who I mean, they just they were fishermen, they were tax collectors. It's interesting because if this was going to be true, then it was gonna have to transform them, right? Because you can't give what you don't possess. They had to have peace so they could give peace to someone else. They had to have joy so they could give joy to someone else. They had to have a clear idea of what Jesus has done in their lives so they could ask others to be participating in the same journey. And what happens with these disciples? Well, they allowed themselves to be transformed, and a couple weeks later, three, 40 days later, 3,000 people were saved in one day. 30 years later, there were hundreds of groups all across Europe. 300 years later, Christianity was the main religion and in the biggest, most powerful part of the world through these 11 people. In other words, if you want to be a part of this crazy architect Walt Disney idea of what God has, you first have to be changed. And I think that was Jesus' idea all along. In fact, Jesus wants to architect your life in five specific areas. In fact, it's our logo. God wants to change your life first, your soul. He wants you to have a divine connection with Him where you can have the peace. He wants you to be formed in your own self, mentally, physically, emotionally. He wants you to be known and to know others, social uh belonging, supplying good. He wants you to uh how you make how you spend your money, he wants to help transform your life in this. Sent living, the ways that you give your time, your talent, your treasure. So out of these five spaces, which one feels gone? Which one feels dead? Which one needs saving in your life? Is it your relationship with Jesus, soul connection? Is it supplying good, your broken career, your bad budgets? Is it sent living? You want to give back, but you don't know where to start? Jesus wants to be the great architect of your life. Are you allowing him in to each of these five spaces? This is what our logo means. So, what does this mean for you today? As we end today, what does this mean for you? Jesus meets them in Galilee. The part that I skipped is a part that he shows him them, the holes in his hands. And you wonder, why didn't he do that? Maybe proof, right? Because some were doubting, uh, and they will continue to doubt. But I wonder if he showed them the holes in his hands, because he wanted to say, hey, these that were gaping wounds that are now that are now uh scars, I want to do the same for you. Because really, if you see Jesus' face, if you allow him to save you and he sends you, we're talking about healing. That's really what we're talking about. Jesus wants to heal you, just his own, like his own body showed what healing looks like. Do you want healing today? In the area that's so broken? If you say yes, meet me in Galilee. I had a moment uh in a group. Because I was wondering, looking at what happened in Galilee, uh, it was it was multiple people, right? Like it was a group of people that went together and were transformed together by Jesus. In fact, that's why we have groups. I was in a group, we're about five sessions in, and we were eating lunch, and then we we uh started talking, and someone shared something like a bombshell. You ever had that? Where you're like, well, what happens next? There water works, I mean just sharing something very vulnerable. And the response wasn't advice, it wasn't uh a verse, in fact. It was I'm here with you, Jesus loves you, you're forgiven. And then something magical happened. But Dharma, I don't think we call it magical, we call it spiritual. That the next 20 seconds it was just silence. Have you ever had a moment of silence with a best friend or a spouse? You don't need to feel it. It's just like there, and it was 20 seconds of healing. And all three S's were there. I mean, we met Jesus face to face. We felt like we were being saved, and he was sending us to be our best versions of those 20 seconds. That connection. Man, I think Jesus wants that for you. For whatever reason, God has decided to use wounded hands to delegate the kingdom of God. I was in Azola. Uh Sam, I love baked goods. Uh, people know that of me. In fact, for my birthday last Sunday, people gave me an away array of pastries, and that's my greatest gift you can give me. Uh I I was there a couple days ago, and I ate probably 3,000 calories. And right next to me, this is a bakery in downtown San Diego. Uh I need to get like uh like they need to pay me to because I market them all the time. Uh we have a picture, something cool, creative that they were trying to do. Uh it says community table, make new friends. So nice. No one's there. It's hard making friends, right? I mean, you're like, Jake, this is great. That moment of connection, that 20 seconds of healing silence. But what does it take for me to make a friend like that? There's a risk of rejection. And then how many sessions does it take to actually get to that moment of healing where we feel so close? Uh, someone says it takes 50 hours to even make a casual friend. I mean, there's a lot of barriers to make a new friend. I'm not sitting at that table. Actually, instead, I'm gonna try to heal myself. Have you ever done that? I'm gonna, in fact, uh, this is maybe what healing by yourself looks like. I don't know why you're laughing. I mean, this is what we try to do, right? I mean, uh, instead of risking rejection, I'm just gonna do my faith in isolation. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna laugh at myself. I'm gonna cry with myself, I'm gonna give myself advice, and at the end, I'm gonna feel fully healed. And y'all, it doesn't work. It doesn't work like this. Here's the bold thing. I'm gonna say it. Jesus, if you follow Jesus, you can't follow him long enough before you you decide to be in community. In fact, doing a life of Jesus will never end in isolation. It will never end in isolation. In fact, Jesus spent most of his three years with people. Galilee is a group. That's what Galilee is. A group of people that are learning how to read the Bible, that are learning how to pray, and are learning how to love each other. And if you do those things once a week, what if a group could be your Galilee? Jesus didn't invite you to make a one-time decision. He wants to change your direction. And the direction is not isolation. The direction is community. So if you're tired of laughing at yourself and giving yourself advice and it just not working, what if a group could be your galley? I'm gonna invite the band to come up. Uh Friends Day. Friends Day. Why are we doing Friends Day? Uh we love live music. It's gonna be great. You're maybe gonna hear a song called Billy Jean afterwards. It's gonna be fun on the patio. Uh, we have bougie popsicles that are very bougie and face painting. I mean, it's so fun. It's it's gonna be great. And I'm not doing this to have fun. Like we want to have fun at church. Uh, but we are committed to not being a friendly church. I don't want to be a friendly church. I want to be a church where you can actually make a friend. That's the whole point. I want you to be able at your own pace to make a friend. So that's why we're calling it Friends Sunday. In fact, we're having a group central. What if your group could be your galley to see the face of God, to be saved in the presence of community, and to be sent out to be your best self. I'm telling you, it happens in the context of community. Would you take 15 seconds? Check out Group Central, check out the different groups we have. We only have, Alexa, we only have five weeks left. That's it. So if you're like, hey, I don't know if I want to do this forever, try it for a month before summer and just see my what might happen in your own relationship with Jesus. I'm gonna ask, can you can you stand to your feet? We're gonna sing a song called Make Room. And the idea of this song is that would you consider making a little space over the next five minutes for Jesus? Maybe in the area that feels like an open wound. Jesus had his wounds healed and there were scars left. What if Jesus wants to take the open wound and turn it into a scar? What if he wants to heal you? Maybe just even a part today in the next five minutes. I mean, my prayer for you and my prayer for me, like, don't make faith just one-time decision. Like, don't make it something that's so dead and boring. Jesus wants to save you now. Every single day he wants to save you. I mean, I hope that you don't have a relationship with Jesus. I want you to have a life-giving relationship with Jesus. Every person deserves a life-giving relationship with Jesus. But Jesus can only do a part. You have to say yes and open the door and say, I want to see your face. I want to be saved. I want to be sent to live my best life. I am saying yes to meeting you in Galilee today. That's what I'm saying yes to. Because I want a life-giving relationship. We do this very often at our church because sometimes doing something physical can remind you of what you want emotionally. So I'm going to ask you just to dance. Just kidding. Not dance. Just put out your hands like this. I freaked something out there for a second. You're like, ugh, I have to dance. No, just put out your hands. Just a little sign that says I'm open to receiving what you might have to say. What if Jesus has a word for you in the midst of your divorce right now? I mean, what if? What if Jesus has very specific words for you to remember at 2 a.m. tonight when you can't sleep? What if, what if Jesus has advice to give you when it comes to money management? What if Jesus has something to say over the next five minutes? Would you put out your hands as a posture of saying, I will make room for you to do whatever you want? Because I'm saying yes to meet me in Galilee. Lord, we thank you. We thank you that you didn't just save us once, but you want to save us because I need it, Lord. The things that uh you've walked me and my wife through the last two years. God, we've needed saving so many times. And God, I'm thinking about my friends in this room, the weight that they're carrying. No one sees it, but it feels like a thousand pounds on their shoulders. Lord, I pray for that thousand pounds right now. God, would you save us from ourselves? Would you save us from our own hurts, our own hangups, our own habits, maybe grief and loss, things not we did, but things done to us, things that happened. Lord, we just want to make room for your healing power now. God, so we say yes, we're making space for you to do whatever you want.