WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:24.879 Okay, let's try that again. 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:26.399 I caught you off guard. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.160 You weren't sure what day it was. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:29.760 Happy Easter. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:31.359 There we go. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:32.159 There we go. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:45.280 You know, down through the centuries, uh, Christians have had a call and response to one another, especially on Easter, but at other times as well, where one person would say, He's risen, and then the responders would say, He's oh, you've heard of it. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:46.320 Wonderful. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:48.399 Hey, why don't we go ahead and do that? 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:49.679 He is risen. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:52.560 Absolutely. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:54.960 What a joy to get to be with you today. 00:00:55.039 --> 00:00:56.560 If you're new, my name's Ryan. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.719 We're absolutely thrilled to have you join us today. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:06.239 Uh 1995 was, I think, an especially good year for music. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.840 I was a freshman in high school at that time. 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:14.879 Uh, number one on the top billboard charts was Gangster Paradise by Cool. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:16.560 Um, yeah. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:21.760 Followed by that was TLC's Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.640 Now, now I happen to be more in the rock grunge scene myself as a drummer. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:35.040 Uh loved um, you know, like Nirvana and U2 and Weezer and Green Day and all those types of bands. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:42.640 But there was one song that captured uh my attention that year, and it just kind of stuck with me. 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:48.719 It was this not pop and not rock, it was that singer-songwriter, you know, um genre. 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:54.319 It was eerie but beautiful, spiritual but irreligious at the same time. 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:59.920 It was Joan Osborne's one of us, and you're like, what one of who? 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:02.079 It was it was you'll know it. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.519 What if God was one of us? 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:18.000 Just a slab like one of us, just a stranger one of us trying to make his way home. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.319 Hey, we kind of had a little sing along there, too. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:21.599 That was kind of fun. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:23.360 The question. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:29.120 Even though that's kind of a sad, sarcastic tone, but what if God was one of us? 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.319 Or better yet, maybe a better question, what if God became one of us? 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:41.039 And if God did become one of us, what does that mean for all of us? 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:48.400 You know what's fascinating and amazing about Christianity is at the center of Christianity isn't a philosophy. 00:02:49.039 --> 00:03:00.960 It's not a uh a dogma to adhere to, it's not just simply a sacred text or uh some, you know, how these lists of rules to obey. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:04.800 At the very core of Christianity is a person. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.719 It's centered on a person to follow. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:10.800 It's centered on Jesus. 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:18.080 You know, Jesus actually never asked us to believe in his teachings, he called us to believe in him. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.639 In fact, one day he was driving this point home with his disciples. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.039 They were on their way to Caesarea Philippi. 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.840 That's about 25 miles north of Galilee. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.159 Uh, and so uh he was incredibly popular at the time. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:37.360 Thousands upon thousands of people were coming to hear him teach, coming to be healed by him. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:40.240 Uh, this irked the religious leaders in that day. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:54.080 Uh they actually wanted to take him out, and so he's actually on a little bit of an impromptu staff retreat with his disciples, getting away from the epicenter Jerusalem of religious epicenter where the religious leaders are. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:04:01.360 And on his way to Caesarea Philippi, he turns and asks him this question: Who do people say that I am? 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:07.199 You know, we have thousands and thousands of people every day following us wherever we go. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:13.439 And they said, Well, some people think, you know, you're John the Baptist come back to life, something miraculous is happening. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:19.839 Others say you're like one of the prophets of old, you know, like uh Elijah or Jeremiah. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.519 And then he turns and he looks at them and he says, But who do you say that I am? 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:31.519 And then Peter, the unofficial spokesperson, steps up. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:38.879 I imagine that he clears his throat, and what he's about to say he hasn't uttered out loud before. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:46.240 And he looks at Jesus and says, You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:48.319 You're the Christ. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:51.600 Now, by the way, Christ isn't Jesus' last name. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:54.560 Uh, you know, we kind of think Jesus Christ, that's his last name. 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:55.120 No, no, no. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.360 It's a title, it's like president or king. 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:04.319 You're the Christ, you're the anointed one, you're the Messiah, you are the king that we've been waiting for. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.399 Son of the living God. 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:17.279 Hey, we we've been walking with you, we've watched you calm storms, we've seen blind receive sight, we've seen lame heel, we've even seen dead come back to life. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:22.720 You are not just a person, you're the Christ. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.720 At the center of Christianity is not a philosophy, but a person. 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:30.160 Who? 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.680 Who do you say Jesus is? 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:42.639 See, I believe actually, the most important question you will ever ask and answer in your lifetime is that question. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:46.399 Who exactly is Jesus? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:50.480 In fact, at Easter, isn't it true, we're confronted with that reality? 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.240 You just have to ask that question afresh. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:52.879 Think about this. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:54.079 I mean, this is insane. 00:05:54.240 --> 00:06:03.360 Uh, roughly a third of the population around the world is gathering globally to celebrate this Jesus. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:26.399 Billions of people are gathered around the globe to celebrate this carpenter-turned rabbi who lived in an obscure part of the Roman Empire, who was executed by Rome at the behest of his own people, and yet today we're still gathering singing his name. 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.079 Who exactly is Jesus? 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.639 What if God really did become one of us, and what does it mean for all of us? 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:40.800 You know, the ancient church had a song. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:43.920 It probably could be titled One of Us as well. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:57.120 Not so eerie as Joan Osborne's version of it, but it was precisely about who Jesus is and what he came to do and why it matters for all of us. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:03.759 And the Apostle Paul, when he's talking to the church in Philippi, he he quotes this song and he's setting it up. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.160 Listen to how he sets up this song of what this means for us. 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:10.319 He says it this way. 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:19.680 He says, in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:25.279 Okay, so so he's about to share this song, but he's saying, what does this mean for all of us? 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:34.079 That the the very person of how you answer who Jesus is should shape every single relationship you have. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:42.959 Have the same mindset, have the same attitude, have the same perspective of Jesus, that we are to take on his posture. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:43.920 Well, what is this? 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:45.439 And he begins the song. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:53.519 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:57.920 And so, right from the get-go, who exactly is Jesus? 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.279 Paul is letting us know the same answer that Peter had. 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:04.720 Jesus is not an ordinary person, he is fully God. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:14.160 Who, in very nature God, Jesus was not just a person, a great person, not just a godly person, not just a good teacher. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:18.879 He wasn't even God like, or just merely sent from God. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:20.959 He was God in flesh. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:28.639 In fact, that Greek word morphée for um in very nature is like this emphatic, the essential form that never alters. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:29.680 Who is Jesus? 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:34.559 Fully God, the essential God that never changes. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.120 And what does it mean for the rest of us? 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:39.200 Here's what's incredible. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:44.399 In Jesus, we get to see exactly what God is like. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.120 Have you ever wondered what God is like? 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:53.759 In the person of Jesus, you get to see what breaks God's heart. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.159 You get to see what God responds to and how he responds to people. 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:17.039 You get to see the God who, when a woman who's caught in adultery thrust before him, doesn't stand over condemning, but bends low to take the shame off of her who's stuck in the front of condemning men. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:28.399 You get to see a God who who touches the untouchable, who moves with mercy and grace. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:39.360 You get to see a God who's very angry or upset at hypocritical religion, and those who are self-righteous. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:51.919 See, in the person of Jesus, we get a perfect picture of exactly what God is like, what he cares about, how he'd respond. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:10:03.440 And what's amazing is people who were nothing like Jesus, nothing like God, actually liked Jesus and were wanted to be around him. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.360 And here's what's incredible: what is God's posture? 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:13.039 It says he didn't consider equality with God, something to use to his own advantage. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:27.200 That Jesus willingly disadvantaged himself for your advantage, willingly leverage all of his power for those of us who are powerless on our behalf. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:29.840 The song continues. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.000 How did Jesus disadvantage himself? 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:39.200 Well, rather, he made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.200 How did he disadvantage himself? 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.000 Well, he made himself nothing. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:45.360 Who exactly is Jesus? 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:49.679 He's fully God, and then he's also at the same time fully man. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:52.159 He became one of us. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:55.919 The creator stepped into his creation. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:03.600 And Paul here uses the most vivid image that he can come up with to express this reality. 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:06.720 Circle that word nothing in your notes there. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:13.120 It literally means this idea of pouring something out until there's nothing left. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:16.480 Now, this isn't saying that he somehow became less God. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:27.679 No, he's a hundred percent God, a hundred percent man, but the act of becoming human was the act of God pouring himself out on our behalf. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:38.080 Taking the very nature of a servant, taking the very nature, being found in human likeness. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:54.240 The way the Apostle Paul would say it in 2 Corinthians 8, he'd say it this way, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:59.519 He leveraged all that he had for your good and your gain. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:12.159 And remember, the Apostle Paul's talking about this and telling us as followers of Jesus, our mindset, our attitude, our response is to be the same in every relationship. 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:14.720 Well, what does this mean for the rest of us? 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:16.399 This is amazing. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:21.840 In Jesus, we have a God who understands us. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:30.480 You have a God who literally has walked in your shoes. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:37.440 He doesn't just intellectually understand things and go, I could see why that would be hard. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:44.000 You ever talk to somebody and you're like sharing your struggle, and they go, I could see how that could be hard for you. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.799 And you're you did not feel heard, right? 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:48.559 You're like, thank you very much. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:52.960 I want to, I want to I want to talk to someone who can empathize and sympathize with me. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:56.559 Well, the author of Hebrews writes this. 00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:05.360 He says, For we do not have a high priest who's unable to empathize with our weakness, but we have one who's been tempted in every way. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.960 He's been tempted in every way possible. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:16.639 And it's even more than anything you've ever experienced because he's never sinned, so he's felt the full weight of it. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.559 Yet did not sin. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:26.399 Let us then, I love this, approach God's throne of grace with confidence. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.639 God's throne, a place of ruling and reigning. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:32.879 Think about this. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:38.480 When the author wants to define the throne, it's grace. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:54.159 I don't know what you think of when you think of God, how you think God thinks of you, but he says, when you come to the king, we come to the king eternal, he sits on a throne which is fundamentally called grace. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.960 His undeserved favor poured out to all of humanity. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:00.960 It's not the throne of judgment. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:07.840 There is that later on in life, uh, at the end of all days, but it's not like I'm the throne of condemning, it's the throne of grace. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:18.480 His eager attitudes towards every single person is to extend his grace that we might receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.720 In Jesus, we had a God who truly understands us. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:34.480 This holy week, we're reminded he had people sing his praises, and then we he had people shout, crucify him. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:44.639 He's been betrayed, he's lost loved ones, he's gone through excruciating physical pain, rejection, humiliation. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:48.799 He's been falsely accused, stabbed in the back. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.279 Jesus, fully God. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.279 We get to see what God's like. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:55.120 Jesus, fully man. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:56.960 We have a God who understands us. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:15:02.399 And the song continues in how he disadvantaged himself for our advantage. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:06.799 And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.600 God humbled himself. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:16.320 And becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross in Jesus. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:17.519 Who is he? 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:22.320 Well, Jesus died by Roman crucifixion. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:26.799 And you're like, Ryan, that is the oddest thing that you just said. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.120 It had this kind of flow to it. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:29.840 You know what I mean? 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:32.159 You're kind of fully man, fully God. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.320 Why were you so specific? 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.480 Come on, couldn't you just say he died? 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.440 You know, isn't it amazing? 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:42.320 Just think about this. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.120 The crucifixion has become so central. 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.879 Many of you are wearing crosses right now as jewelry, right? 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:52.320 Or earrings, necklaces. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:16:02.480 And we have this instrument, and because of that, it's an instrument of death, but because it's been so central and now it's jewelry and it looks now beautiful. 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:04.960 It's the most grotesque picture. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:13.120 We fail to miss the scandal, the shame of the crucifixion. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:19.039 Did you know that the Romans didn't come up with uh crucifixion? 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:21.679 That's been around for thousands, at least a thousand years. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:23.840 They perfected it, however. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:34.320 It was an incredibly painful, torturous, and in a culture uh that is a shame-honor culture, it was the most shameful way to die. 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:40.080 In fact, no Roman citizen was even allowed to be executed this way. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.279 It was reserved only for rebels and slaves. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.480 And to be hung on a cross was to be considered cursed. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.919 You weren't even allowed to be given a grave. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:54.000 You had to get special permission. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.879 You were thrown in a heap afterwards. 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.600 People would ridicule you publicly. 00:17:00.559 --> 00:17:06.799 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself to death, even death on a cross. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:15.119 You know, if we were singing this song today, the word cross would be one of the words that would be bleeped out in the ancient day. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.480 Because it was, it was that kind of stigma. 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:20.240 You wouldn't even mention it in polite company. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:22.559 It would be, you know, becoming obedient to death. 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:28.400 And if it was on, you know, pop radio right now, it'd be even death on a, it'd just be blanked out. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:39.920 Because it was the unmentionable shame that you didn't ever want anyone to experience that was close to you, and you certainly thought whoever got it deserved it. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.359 And what does this mean for us? 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:45.119 And Jesus. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.319 He took on our greatest problem. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.440 He took on our greatest problem. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.319 He took on death itself. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:07.119 The very thing that we cannot control, the very thing we cannot escape, it's the great equalizer because we're all gonna experience it. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.240 He took on our greatest problem. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:12.079 I like how Charles Spurgeon said it. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:17.279 He said, Without the death of Jesus, nothing remains for us but death. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:21.119 He took on our greatest problem. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:37.599 The way the Apostle Paul would say it in Romans chapter 5, verse 6, he says, You see, at just the right time, when we're still powerless, and we are, friends, powerless to do anything to effect change over our certain destiny. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:38.400 We're all gonna die. 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:39.759 You're like, it's Easter Sunday. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:41.759 Well, welcome to church. 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:47.200 Christ died for the ungodly. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:53.359 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:57.519 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:06.799 While we're still sinners, while we're still enemies of God, Christ died for us. 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:11.119 You know, it wasn't the nails that kept Jesus on the cross. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:12.000 You know this. 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.599 He's God. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.319 At any point, he could have gotten up. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.839 It was love that kept him on the cross. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:23.279 It was love for you and for me. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:43.359 See, in Jesus, he took on our greatest problem, the problem that we were powerless to do anything about, the sin that is a cancer of our soul that brings death to relationships, the things in our lives that that bring so much brokenness and ultimately devastation. 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:45.920 He says, I came for all of that. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:49.599 Now we hate the idea of being powerless, don't we? 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.240 That's not a very American idea. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:53.599 Powerless. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:55.119 That's kind of offensive, even. 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:56.720 I'm powerless? 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:57.599 Yeah. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:02.799 There's actually things that you can do that you cannot undo. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:06.160 That you have no power to change. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:19.519 There are things for us that we've done that no matter how good we've been afterwards, we can't kind of somehow recoup or repay what's been done. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:36.000 See, we've fallen into this idea that, you know, God kind of grades on a scale, uh, you know, and so if we can just be a generally good person, I'm not really sure what's gonna happen when I die, but if I'm generally a good person, then yeah, I'd be I'll be okay. 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.279 And the gospel says, no, you're you're not okay. 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:42.960 Good people don't go to heaven, forgiven people do. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:48.240 He came to take care of what we could not take care of. 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:58.799 The the best illustration, I love to tell this story, and uh my son just left, so he uh I owe him a couple dollars anytime I tell a story of my kids. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:11.519 When he was, he's now 12, he's the youngest, when he was about four, my wife was dropping off um my kids at school. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:18.160 He wasn't yet in school, and she's out in the parking lot, and she's talking with some other moms, and they're just kind of hanging out. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:23.200 And Miles, I mean, we call him Miles' smiles, he's the most fun, joy-filled kid. 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.839 He's looking around, doing what any boy would do, and he finds a big rock. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:32.880 And he takes this big rock and he just hurls it up to the sky. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.000 And what goes up must come down. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:45.039 And oh, did it come down right in the center of a brand new Audi's hood? 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:47.359 Yeah. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:53.359 My wife, the amazing woman that she is, she goes and writes a note and leaves a note. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.200 I certainly hope I would do that. 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.279 Um, she put my phone number. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:07.200 A little bit later, the guy calls me and he's so kind. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:08.240 He was so sweet. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:18.240 He's like, um, you know, Ryan, if it was my old car, it was so beat up it wouldn't matter, but I literally got it last week. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.480 I'm like, no, I understand. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:24.240 It's our fault, no worries, we'll pay for it. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:34.400 And so he goes and gets the um the, you know, the whatever the price, the bill, the to the auto-body shop, and it's$722.42. 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:42.160 I remember it this all yes, all these years later,$722.42. 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:54.559 I remember asking Miles and going, Miles, this is not probably the best like parenting question, but I was like, what were you thinking? 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:59.440 And he's like, Dad, I was trying to hit the moon. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:07.359 Well, you missed. 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:11.200 No. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:15.599 Now just imagine with me, if you would. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:16.799 He feels awful. 00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:17.440 He did. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:21.279 He wanted to repay me for the Audi. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:26.480 He goes, Dad, at four years of age, I'll I'll clean my room every single day. 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:27.359 That's wonderful. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.799 You probably should. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.200 But it doesn't. 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:34.960 It doesn't pay for the Audi. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:36.960 Hey, what if I wash your car? 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:50.480 What if I see at four years of age, he was able to do something, and what he did, he unfortunately is powerless to undo it and to pay for it. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:53.359 He is has no capacity. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:58.160 He can work and he can do good things, and those are good. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.279 They just don't pay for deity. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:11.039 And that is where we stand, and why Christ came and he took on our greatest problem. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:12.960 Not because you're not doing good things. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:14.559 That is wonderful and awesome. 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:16.720 And clean your room, please. 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:24.480 But we can't pay for the Audi. 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.480 We can wreck the Audi, but we just can't pay for it. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:37.519 We need the Heavenly Father that'll write out a check and say, I'll cover the cost. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:47.519 And the cross is God covering the cost on your behalf, and all who will receive him. 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:50.319 He says, I'll gladly pay. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.160 I'll gladly cover it. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:55.200 I'll take on your greatest problem. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.519 You know, even Jesus said it uh in this way. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.359 He said that he's the resurrection and the life. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:13.519 That whoever believes in him experience life forevermore. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:14.799 Oh, who is Jesus? 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:23.200 Fully God, fully man, died by Roman crucifixion to take on our greatest problem. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.720 But thanks be to God, that is not the end of the story. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.759 It's not the end of the song. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:35.759 Therefore, God exalted. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:37.920 God raised him up. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:39.599 He is risen. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:40.880 Let me hear it, church. 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:43.920 He is risen. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:51.279 And God exalted him to the highest place. 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:56.559 Death could not hold the author of life. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:58.880 He defeated the grave. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:14.720 And he gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, who is Jesus. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:16.319 Jesus is alive. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:21.279 You do not worship a dead crucified Savior. 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:26.559 You worship a risen alive Lord of all kings. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:32.319 He's alive and he's reigning and he's present with us now. 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:37.359 The defining moment of Christianity is the resurrection, by the way. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:43.279 If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then this is a waste of time. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:46.720 Drop Christianity like a bad habit. 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:56.559 Seriously, because if he didn't rise from the dead, he made too many claims to just be a good moral teacher. 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:04.880 In fact, I believe every single person should examine the historicity of the resurrection. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:19.119 Did you know that every major historian, whether theist or atheist, believes not only Jesus was a real person who lived in ancient Palestine, who was executed on a cross, was buried in a tomb, the tomb was empty? 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.319 How and why? 00:27:20.640 --> 00:27:22.160 Well, you discern. 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:30.799 And that is followers genuinely believed that they saw the risen Savior to the point that they died for it. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:35.279 A group that was scared and deserted him, now became bold and courageous. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:36.960 That's incredible. 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:39.359 I like how C.S. 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:40.400 Lewis said it. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:45.200 Christianity, if false, is of no importance. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:48.960 If it's true, it's of infinite importance. 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:54.640 What it cannot be is of modest importance. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:59.920 It cannot be of just simply this moderately important. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:02.079 And friends, can I just say something? 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:11.200 I think a lot of us who would call ourselves Jesus followers, we would say it's it's kind of moderately important in the grand scheme of things. 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:13.839 What does this mean for us? 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:20.000 It means in Jesus we find our one true king. 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:26.720 And I know we don't really like think about the whole idea of kingness. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:30.000 I mean, maybe if we're in England, this would resonate. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:36.319 This point would be like, yes, we have royalty, you know, but we're American, we rebelled from the crown. 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:44.000 But in Jesus we find our one true king. 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:46.960 That he is Lord over all. 00:28:48.559 --> 00:29:00.640 He's not just, you know, kind of like Jesus is our buddy, and that's one of the things that we've kind of made him to be because Jesus was inaccessible and the time passed, and so he's my homeboy. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:05.839 No, he's a sacred friend and he's the king eternal reigning. 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:08.960 We find our one true king. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:21.039 You know, when the early followers said Jesus Christ is Lord, that phrase there in the song, that was actually an act of treason. 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:29.920 That word Lord kurias became known, uh, it literally meant master, and it moved from that. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:40.799 It's what the uh Jewish scholars, when they're translating the Hebrew text into Greek, they use that word to for Yahweh, for Lord, Master God, his covenant name. 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:46.319 And then Caesar adopted this name for his own divinity and lordship. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:57.440 And so, as a Roman citizen, what you would declare is Caesar is Lord, and what the early followers would say is no, no, no, Jesus Christ is Lord, he is the one true king. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:07.680 You might be sitting on a throne in Rome, but Jesus Christ is Lord, and I will give him alone my allegiance. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:17.759 We don't like the whole idea of king because we like autonomy, not autocracy, right? 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:21.039 We're this individualistic society. 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:25.440 It's all about me and my thing, and I want to be the king of my life. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:33.599 But here's the interesting part: in your autonomy, you bow your knee to whatever you think will bring you life. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.279 We've all come to bended knees to something. 00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:40.799 Whatever's gonna bring you life, maybe it is success. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:56.400 Maybe it's, you know, your career path, maybe it's your education, maybe it's the experiences, but we all begin to bow the knee and we begin to discern and figure out what kind of master we've bowed our knee to. 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.640 In Jesus, we find our one true king. 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:17.519 Think about the king who disadvantaged himself for your advantage, who leveraged all of his power when you were powerless, who sacrificed himself to give you life. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:25.359 Isn't that a king you can bend the knee to and trust that his ways are good? 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:29.279 He's the author of life. 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:41.039 We've all been bending the knee, searching for life, and he's been here ever since, inviting us, calling us. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:42.960 Who exactly is Jesus? 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:49.200 Well, Peter said, You're the Christ, the Messiah, the King, the Son of the living God. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:53.440 At the center of Christianity is not a philosophy, it's a person. 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:57.759 So today, as we close, what if God is one of us? 00:31:58.400 --> 00:31:59.920 What if he became one of us? 00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:05.359 What does it mean for you and for me? 00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:12.240 I think there's two kind of responses as we close out our time. 00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:18.160 First, first is for those of us in this room who've never said yes to Jesus. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:35.279 Maybe you've been around uh church, or maybe this is the first time ever coming to a church, and you realize you have a God who loves you, who came for you, who died for you, who didn't say work your way, clean your way up to me, but I'm coming towards you, and you say yes to him. 00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:36.960 Jesus, would you be my savior? 00:32:37.119 --> 00:32:40.720 He'll come into your life and give you brand new life. 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:45.759 I think the second response is Jesus as King. 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:53.920 There's a lot of followers of Jesus who want Jesus to save them. 00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:57.839 But have you made him king of your life? 00:32:58.400 --> 00:32:59.680 Or it's your way. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:03.039 You're the Lord, you're the master. 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:05.920 I don't want to be the king. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:07.440 I don't want to sit on my throne. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:10.640 I've actually not been doing a very good job. 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:13.839 I'm gonna give that over to you. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:17.359 Jesus, would you be king of my life? 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:19.279 Would you pray with me? 00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:29.359 No, and invite those here that you've never said yes to Jesus, you've never started a relationship with him. 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:36.319 Would you invite him into your life to be your savior for the very first time? 00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.440 You just simply pray with me. 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.559 It's just a conversation with God in your hearts. 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:44.720 Lord Jesus, I need you. 00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:48.720 Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:56.400 I open the door of my life and receive you as Savior and as my King. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:34:03.920 Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me true life now and forevermore. 00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:08.559 Take control of the throne of my life. 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:12.159 Make me the kind of person you want me to be. 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:21.039 And if you've never prayed that prayer, and if you've never stepped into a relationship with Jesus, would you just keep your everyone keep their heads bowed? 00:34:21.119 --> 00:34:23.039 And just would you raise your hand just so I could see? 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:26.480 I'd love to know who stepped into a relationship. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:28.079 Go ahead and raise them up high. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:29.199 Amen. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:30.320 Amen. 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:31.760 Go ahead. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:40.480 Jesus, I thank you for those who stepped and said yes to you today. 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:44.000 It says heaven is celebrating. 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:51.679 Today we worship the risen Savior of the world, the King Eternal. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:58.000 And today our heart's response is simply to say we're in all of you. 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:00.639 In Jesus' name, Amen. 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:04.639 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:09.199 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:11.519 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:17.440 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.comslash card.