Another Resurrection Story

April 8, 2026

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Grateful to God. Our meditation text comes from Acts chapter 26, verses 12 through 15. And I ask you to encourage you to read all of really chapter 25 and 26. Really 24 through 26 that forms the context of what we'll talk about today. But I want to give you this meditation verse and then I'll give you this our main text. Amen. Let us read together. One day I was in Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. And the Lord replied, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Amen, amen. Paul recounting his testimony for others. And our main text is one chapter behind that. Acts 25. Verses 18 and 19. And these are the words of two rulers in the region at the time that Paul was on trial. One by the name of Fesus. And the other by the name of King Agrippa. And here's what Fessus says to Agrippa. But the accusations made against him weren't any of the crimes I expected. Instead, it was something about their religion. And a dead man. Name Jesus. That's where I want to part this at. Amen. I want to talk about another resurrection story. Another resurrection story. Anybody here today love a great story? I I have to admit, I just love a great story. I confess that. Matter of fact, my favorite news program. I try to watch it every day. ABC News with David Lewis. That's pretty much all the news I watch right there. All that other stuff will upset you, amen. But ABC News with David Lewis. The reason why I watch him, I watch it because I just he gets to the point. But most importantly, at the end of every broadcast, he's gonna close it with a great story. I love that about it. Last week, he shared a story about a man by the name of Arthur. Arthur Green is 109 years old, y'all. He's a military veteran from World War II. And you know why he was featured? He threw out the first pitch at opening day for the Baltimore Orioles. Walked out on that field on his own, threw the pitch on his own, waved to the crowd, and walked back to his seat all on his own. Tell your neighbor, let me see what you do when you become 109 years old. That's a great story. I saw another story. This story was about a PGA golfer by the name of Gary Woodland. In September of 2023, Gary had a brain surgery to remove a brain lesion. Lesion was causing extreme anxiety and fear. And even after the surgery, he continued to struggle mightily with PTSD. And yet last week, not only did he win the 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open, but he also qualified for the PGA flagship tournament, The Masters. Tell your neighbor, that's a pretty good story. But this last story is the one that really did me in. It's the story of an eight-year-old little boy by the name of Bowden. He's at three years old, he developed a rare aggressive staph infection that led to septic shock. He spent months in intensive care. He also went through some 20-plus surgeries, but unfortunately, they had to amputate both legs. At three years old, you're old, y'all. But that didn't stop him. He plays little league baseball today. The Arizona Diamondbacks, a Major League Baseball franchise, got wind of the story and invited him to throw out the first pitch of one of their home games. He ran out there on the field, threw out the first pitch as if it was nothing. Tell your neighbor, you think you got problems. That's a great story. And all I'm trying to share this morning is that I just really am a sucker for good stories. And those were some wonderful stories I had to share. And really, what I believe is that on this Resurrection Sunday, it really speaks to about a God who himself loves a great story. Our God is a God that loves stories. And he loves a great story in real life. This past Friday, we had a powerful prayer time here at Christ Community, our 12-hour prayer chain. And it was really, really something special. But what really moved me is that during the prayer time, they started playing one of the songs, No Greater Love. And if you know the song, it's the story about the cross. And there's a line that says, They hung him high, they stretched him wide, he hung his head, for me he died. That's love. That's a great line. That's a great story. But the one that gets me is that next line. But that's not how the story is. Y'all don't hear me today. Because in three days he rose again. That's love. I'm simply trying to tell you, God loves a great story. And I don't know who I'm talking to today. Maybe 2026 has been a rough year for you. But God is here to tell. I believe God is here to tell you on this resurrection Sunday. That's not how your story has to end. The power of the resurrection can transform our story. Matter of fact, I'm ready to give you my thesis right now. The hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that God loves to craft our story. No matter where you are, no matter what chapter you're in, no matter what volume you're in, the story is never over. God can take the resurrection story and intertwine it with your story and produce an entire new ending. God loves to craft our story. And that's what we have here today. He's crafting the story of Paul into another resurrection story. That's what's going on in this text. Luke shares with us how God was crafting Paul's story. And let me just kind of preface my remarks here today. When I talk about another resurrection story, I'm not talking about another resurrection event. No, when we talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is a unique event that happened in human history. No other religion, no other faith can claim someone who died and came back to life to testify that they have conquered death. That's why we're Christians today. Paul said it like this if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain. The entire apparatus of Christianity rests on the resurrection. It is not a cute fable, it is not a cute little nursery rhyme, it's not a little story. No, 2,000 years ago, the stone was rolled away. Jesus came out of the grave and he lives forever. And the old folk would say, How do you know he lives? Because he lives in me. The resurrection is an event alone, all by itself. But God has a way of using the resurrection in our lives, in which it echoes through the resurrection story he's crafting in our lives. And that's what Paul is going through right here. And that's what Luke is trying to suggest to us in this story. And Paul here, he has returned to Jerusalem after his third missionary journey. And while in Jerusalem, he's arrested, he's indicted, and put on trial for the testimony of the resurrection. And these two men in this text, Festus and King Agrippa, they've been charged to decide the fate of Paul. And I like how Luke describes it. Luke describes it a way that that great scholar, Walter Brugeman, talked about that God has this subversive paradigm. That is, from a human perspective, it may look like one thing, but in a divine perspective, God is behind the scenes, redirecting and moving that thing in a different direction. So from a human perspective, it looks like Festus and King Agrippa is in charge. It looks like God has allowed Festus and Agrippa to decide the fate of Paul. But from a divine perspective, God was using even their dastardly, devious plans to bring about his purpose in the life of Paul. How do you know that, Pastor? Because in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus said, You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth. And Paul was tasked to carry the gospel all the way to Rome. And the night before he was arrested the first time in Acts chapter 23, the Lord spoke to him while he was in custody, down in prison, and said, Paul, you will make it to Rome. And here are these two rulers. They think they can stop what God has for his life. But how many of y'all know when God has a destiny for your life, Satan and all the imps in hell can't stop what God has for you? And in this text, Luke is reminding us of who's already in charge. And in a word, what I'm trying to say is when you trust God and you give your life to Jesus, God has already written your conclusion. It's already written. Just like Paul's, it was already written. I don't care what your haters may be up to, I don't care what your opposition may be up to. When God makes a point that this is gonna happen in your life, all the forces of evil can come against you, and they cannot stop what God is doing in your life. So let me run through this very quickly. How does God craft our story? Three things very quickly, and I'll be out your way. Number one, God has a way of giving us an undeniable encounter. An undeniable encounter. That's why I love that text in verse 19 where he says instead it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive. I'm in that Paul group. I insist that he's alive. It's not up for debate. I don't need to have a conversation. No, I don't need to hear the other side of the no, I insist that he is alive. In other words, Paul said, I know for myself. I know what God did in my life. Mama didn't have to teach me this, no deacon had to teach me this. God spoke to me directly. I had my own experience with God. And in a word, what it says is, God knows we all need to know the Lord for ourselves. We don't want to get it secondhand, we don't want to get it through the rumor meal. We want to know it for ourselves. Old folk used to say it by way of Billy Holiday, mama may have, Papa may have, but what? God bless the child, it's got its own. We want our own face, and we don't need anybody else to tell us what God is doing. But sometimes if we're not careful, we can miss the undeniable encounter. Why is it that Paul sees it, but so many other people miss what God is doing in their lives? And I argue that this text tells us that in every divine encounter, there's a call to transformation. In other words, we can't confuse restoration with transformation. See, restoration is a good thing. Restoration is a biblical idea. Matter of fact, the word says that Job, when he lost everything, everything was restored back to him. And sometimes God can be so good when you go through loss. Does anybody know God has a way of restoring what was lost? But when God is trying to move us to a place to faith and trust in him, he's not really interested in restoration, he's interested in transformation. And when Paul met Jesus on that Damascus road, it was not a reformation emo, a restoration moment. It was a transforming experience. Let me say it like this. If I had a 69 Chevy and it's old and beat up, and it looked like it was in 59, even though it was a 69 Chevy, and I decided to put it in mint condition, I can spend all kinds of money restoring it back to its original condition. Spending all the money on the paint job, spending all the money on the metal and the and the outside, spending all the money on the covering, doing everything I possibly could. Put a new steering wheel on it, a new driving panel, doing everything possible to restore it to mint condition. But understand any work of restoration is more concerned about what's going on on the outside and not necessarily on the inside. Restoration is about impressing folk on the outside. Transformation is about impressing the one who is high and sees what's on the inside. But if true transformation is gonna happen to my 69 Chevy, I'd have to put a 2026 engine into a 1969 Chevy. And guess what? It won't drive the way it used to drive, it won't even go places it used to go. You don't hear me, because something has been changed on the inside.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

That's what happened to Paul.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Paul had a change on the inside. Look what Jesus said to him. It is useless for you to fight against my will. Old King James said, You are kicking against the pricks. What does that mean? You're fighting me. Because sometimes when God shows up in my life, He's trying to take me in a direction I really don't want to go. And instead of trusting God, I find myself fighting with God. And some of us, maybe you've never been on a Damascus road, maybe you've never rode on a horse, but you have been fighting what God's trying to do in your life. It's not the first time God has spoken to you. Today is the day of salvation. Don't close your heart to God. Right now is the day of salvation. Don't wait, don't hesitate, don't delay. Give your life to Christ. But we find ourselves fighting and fighting, and the word that God tells us in this text is stop fighting him. And I get it. Because church folk will make you fight. Church show scared me too. But God says, I'm bigger than church folk. I'm bigger than the church. Matter of fact, who's gonna love you like I'm gonna love you? Don't you know I've been watching over you even before you even thought about me? See, that's what his word was to Paul. Paul didn't even realize when he was at his worst, God remained at his best. God was watching over him the whole time. And somebody here can testify that even where you are right now, there's some things you can't explain in your life because God has been watching over you. God's got his eye on you. It's useless to fight him. Stop fighting the Lord. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Number one, he gives us an undeniable, an undeniable encounter. But then number two, he gives us unique experiences. In other words, God has a way of moving in our lives to let us know if it had not been for the Lord on our side, where would I be? That there's some stuff in our history that we can't explain. And somehow God brought us through it. It wasn't our smarts, it wasn't our connections, it surely wasn't the people that we voted for, it was nothing but God on our side. And that's what Paul testifies here. If you go back to chapter 23, verse 12 through 13, the text says this the next morning, a group of Jews got together, bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. And there were more than 40 of them in the conspiracy. Tell your neighbor, no, that's some haters. Might be some church folk too. Made up their mind. They wanted to kill Paul. The crazy thing, the night before in the previous verse, God had already told him, Don't worry, Paul, you're gonna make it to Rome. And the trip part is Paul is making his coffee at the time. They're planning to kill him. They're gonna kill him, and Paul knows nothing about it. And God shows up in an unusual way to protect his life. Text says later on down in that same story, in that same verse, that Paul had a nephew who must have been out at night at that time. What were you doing out at night at that time in the first place? That's where my mind went. But he overheard the plot to kill Paul. He tells Paul, Paul tells the Roman guard and saves his life from these 40 men that wanted to take his life. How do you know God is real? God is able to work both sides of your situation. See, God was working in the situation that Paul could see. But thank God God was working in the situation where Paul could not see. And I don't know who I'm talking to today. Your situation may look big. That's what you can see. But if you hold on and trust God, God's working the side that you can't see. Let me see if I can make this thing plain. It's kind of like kind of like kind of like I heard about this individual that was great at evangelism. And what they would do, uh, he would do that is, uh, he was good at using object lessons to reach people for the gospel. He was really good at it. And so there was a waitress not far from where he lived that worked at a diner in which he loved to frequent for breakfast. And he had been trying to reach this waitress and just could not reach her for the gospel. She'd always sit down and listen to his object lesson. She would understand it, but her heart would turn. She just wouldn't go for it. And so finally, one day he came in and he said, I think I got the object lesson that's gonna get you today. She said, Well, I gotta hear this one. He said, Here's what I want. I want a pancake, but here's my one condition. I only want you to cook one side. She said, What? I want one pancake cooked on one side. Do not cook the other side. She knew it was an object lesson. She couldn't wait to sit down and hear it. She rushed off to the kitchen, had to cook cook a pancake with one side, rushed right back out with the syrup, with a plate, with a pancake. One side cook, sat right in front of her, with her hands under her jaw. I gotta hear this one. And this is what the man said. He said, You just like this pancake. You only see one side of the issue. All I'm simply trying to tell somebody I know it's been difficult this year. I know there's some things you can't explain, and some troubles you've been through. And it may seem like God has forgotten you, but here's my word you only see one side. There's another side to this thing that God is working that you cannot even see. God knows what you're going through, but if you hold on, like Isaiah said, but they that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength, they'll mount up with wings like eagles, they'll run and not be weary, they'll walk and not faith. I dare you to trust God. Is there anybody in here that knows it pays to wait on the Lord? Let me wrap this thing up. Here's my last one. When God writes our story, he's gonna give us an unforgettable expedition, he's gonna give us a wonderful journey in faith. And one of the things why I'm a Christian to this day is that faith is not about perfection, even though we got so many self-righteous Christians. But faith is about a process, and that every single day God is working on my heart. From the first day I trusted him, he's teaching me to trust him a little bit more. And what I love about God, he's so patient with me. Even when I'm down on myself, he won't let me stay down on myself for too long. He said, Don't you know you belong to me? Don't you know I have a purpose for you? He's patient. The old folk were right. He walks with me, he talks with me because my faith is a journey and it's an unforgettable expedition. In a word, you don't know how much value that God has on your life. And I'm gonna go back to Paul's nephew. That's the first and the last time you're gonna hear about Paul's nephew in Acts 23. And he was probably out in the street in a place he had no business being. Because how you gonna overhear the plot of somebody ready to kill your uncle unless you in the vicinity of folk who like to do some killing? That's all I'm saying. What you doing out there at that time of night, bruh? It's a word that you can never fall too low for God to use your life. I know there's some folk who think they gotta be so high for God to use them, but I'm in the crowd that you can never fall too low, that God can use your life. God has a purpose for your life. God will keep you and he'll bless you if you let him write your story. Let me close with this. Oh, I was doing a little researching this week, and I had to share this story. Came across how eagles teach their eaglets how to fly. They had this whole deal about the eagles. Uh, these two eagles on TV hatched a baby, and I was really excited about that, and just did a little research and came across an article. Say, you'd be surprised what an eagle will do to teach their eaglets how to fly. They say after they're born, they'll wait a certain amount of weeks to when they get a little bit of maturity, and then they do something that's crazy. They just kick them out the nest. I said, what kind of parent? You'll catch that on the way home, will kick their child out the house, I mean the nest, and they're not even prepared or trained to handle life. But that's what the eagle will do, will just kick the eaglet out the nest. And here's the little eaglet. He's never flown before, and he's just flapping his wings feverishly, and it's clear he ain't gonna fly. He's dropping like a rock, and he's gonna die. But what the little eaglet doesn't know is that the big eagle can fly faster than he can fall.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

So while he's falling, the big eagle has got his eye on the little eaglet, and he swoops down and catches the eaglet, brings him back to the nest until the next day.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

That right there would give me a heart attack, right there. Take me to intensive care. You think it would stop right there. The eagle does something crazy than that.

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The second day, the eagle takes the eaglet to a higher height, lets him go.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Little eaglet trying his best. It's hopeless, y'all. But thank God the big eagle can fly faster than the little eaglet can fall and swoops in in a nick of time, brings him back to the nest. And that eagle will repeat that process over and over and over again until the little eagle learns to fly. So I started thinking about that. I said, when that little eagle grows up and becomes an adult, I wonder what he does when he goes to church. I'm sure the dog got a testimony, I'm sure the cat got a testimony, I'm sure a horse got a testimony, but I bet you somewhere in the service, he says, You ain't heard a story until you heard my story.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

My daddy kicked me out the house. I thought it was over, but guess what? My daddy could fly faster than I could fall, and he caught me every time. And whenever I go, that's gonna be my story. I got a father, that my father was trying to help me, but the whole time he was trying to help me. There's the little woman in here that has the father, that's gonna give you the story. What are they doing? My God! Will craft your story! He walks with me! He talks with me! He tells me God is good! I'm so glad! That even though he died on a dark Friday! He got up with all the power! Even his head! And that's a low! I love it alone! He loves me! He keeps me! He walks with me! He watches over me! And even in the thaw! He catches me! He's alive! He's alive! Anybody know he's alive! He is risen! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus! Thank you so much. That's not how your story has to end. Cause in three days he rose again. That's my story. And I thank God that he's always crafting my story for another resurrection story. If you're here today and you've never trusted Christ, this is your moment. This is your time. I know it's Easter Sunday, and we all dress up and it's a wonderful experience, but the big point is that he lives. He's got his eye on each and every one of us. Come back to the low. Whatever you didn't do. You kind of like how you only had a Damascus role. You can't stand Christians. I get it, I get it, I did it, I really did it. I was trying to kill Christians. Maybe the church did some things to you. I'm not sure if you can trust the God behind the church. But the resurrection is a beckoning to come back to him. At this time, we're gonna do the Lord's Supper. And I want you to pray about this decision because we're gonna present the gospel after the Lord's Supper. Pray about what God is saying to you on this resurrection. Pray about salvation. Pray about your faith if you already know him. Maybe it's time to come out from where you are and be a part of God's people. Pray about the purpose that God has for your life. He has an unforgettable expedition for your life. You know your life was meant for more of what you do than what you're doing right now. Maybe this is your life. Maybe this is your time. We're gonna take the Lord's supper.