WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.279 So I'm gonna kind of give you a spoiler alert on the front end. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:06.160 We're gonna talk about Jesus raising from the dead. 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:06.719 Okay? 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:07.679 I know. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:08.800 It's like Easter Sunday. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:10.640 You thought maybe we go in a different direction. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.320 Maybe we've been here for like the last 10 Easters, and every Easter we talk about Jesus and how he died and then he got back up. 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.480 And the the thing about Easter, it's like Christmas, is the topic is always chosen for us. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:23.839 It'd be very odd if we chose to go in a totally different direction. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:26.800 But the cool thing about it is that it never gets old. 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:36.079 I actually, I think this is my 10th Easter on this stage here at His Hands, like 10th year in a row talking about Easter, and it never gets old for me because Easter is so amazing. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:44.960 What happened that that first Easter morning, so unbelievable, so incredible, that you can look at it over and over and over again, and you always see some new angle. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:52.000 You always see something that maybe you've never noticed before or you've forgotten about that has major implications for your life. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:58.240 We'll never get tired of examining Easter, and today we're going to examine it from this perspective. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.359 Easter Sunday is the day that fear died. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:08.560 Easter Sunday, it's the day that fear died. 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:19.840 Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15 says, Because God's children are human beings, made of flesh and blood, the Son also became flesh and blood. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:29.280 For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil who had, past tense, the power of death. 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:38.159 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:46.719 Through what happened at Easter, Jesus' death and resurrection, he has set us free from the fear of death. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:52.079 Now, fear is something all of us are well acquainted with, all of us understand fear. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:02:00.480 Doesn't matter what age, what stage of life, we all get fear, we experience it at a very young age, and it tends to define a lot of things for us in our lives. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:07.280 I actually spent a lot of time this week thinking about what are my fears, what are some of the fears of the people around me, and so I'll just be honest, I'll share this. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:13.120 We've all got like surface-level fears, those things that if someone asks you, hey, are you afraid of anything you'd feel comfortable sharing? 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.759 I've shared this many times before, I'm fine with it being out there. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:17.199 I'm afraid of sharks. 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:22.719 And and really like all ocean monsters, because how many of you are beach people? 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.560 You're like, I love the beach, I love going to the ocean. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:26.240 See, I think you guys are nuts. 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:31.599 Because like I look at it and I think God could not be more clear that we don't belong in the ocean. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:35.840 We don't breathe underwater, like it tastes horrible, it's filled with salt, right? 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:40.719 You get sunburns, and by the way, he stocked the entire ocean with giant monsters. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:41.360 They're everywhere. 00:02:41.520 --> 00:02:42.639 So, like, just don't go in there. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:44.560 So I'm I'm like a little bit afraid of that. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:46.000 I asked all my kids. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:48.960 I've got four kids, because even young children understand fear. 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:51.360 I asked each of my kids this week, what are you afraid of? 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.599 And it was amazing because some of the answers surprised me. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:55.680 My oldest, I knew what his was, he said heights. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.240 He's like, I don't like being really, really up high. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:02:59.840 It's more falling from heights. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.240 I blame my father-in-law for that one because he's 6'5. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:06.960 And when my son was really little, he used to throw him in the air and put him on his shoulders, and I think it was just it was too high. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:07.840 It was just too high. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.240 And so at a young age, he's like, I don't like this. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.840 I asked my daughter, who's nine, what are you afraid of? 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:15.520 And her answer surprised me. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:16.319 I did not know this. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:17.439 I've never heard her say this. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:22.560 She said, being alone in really large open spaces. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:24.800 And I paused because I was like, really? 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.719 She said, Yeah, I know a lot of people are afraid of being like in tight spaces. 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.759 I don't like the idea of being alone in a really large space. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:33.919 And I actually think that one's my fault. 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:41.360 Because when she was three, I was here at the building with her one day, and it was just us, and I left and I forgot about her for like two hours. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:43.039 I'm just joking, I never did that. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:43.599 I never did it. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:44.719 I'm just joking. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:51.520 No, I never did that. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:56.400 I have I have no idea where, I have no idea where that that fear comes from. 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:58.240 It comes from somewhere, I don't know. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.360 I asked my my seven-year-old Judah, what are you afraid of? 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:02.639 And he was the most bold of my kids. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:04.479 He said, I'm not afraid of anything. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:12.479 And he said it like definitively, and honestly, for a moment, I believed him because like this is Judah, and does this look like someone who's afraid of anything? 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:13.759 No, no, put it back, put it proud. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:14.400 There you go. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:18.879 That's not no fear in that face, no fear at all. 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:20.720 No, actually, he is crazy brave. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:27.839 When he was in kindergarten a couple years ago, uh, there was a birthday party he got invited to, and the the feature of this birthday party was that they had like animals. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:34.319 There was a like an animal trainer that was there, and the guy walks out with a giant snake, and he says, Hey, anyone want to hold this snake? 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:36.720 And all the kids pull back, but my son's like, me. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:40.399 And so right away, he's got this snake wrapped around his body. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:42.399 Some of you were like, That's my greatest fear. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:43.439 That is my nightmare. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:44.560 And he was fine with it. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:45.839 He's really brave. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:50.639 But I know him, and I thought about it, and I was like, wait a minute, I know you have a fear somewhere. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:51.759 I said, How about this? 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.360 What about darkness? 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:55.360 He's like, I'm not afraid of the dark. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:05:00.240 I said, Okay, so tonight when I put you to bed, he and his little brother share a room. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:07.360 I said, You're okay if I turn the closet light off, and he's got this cool projector that projects like a space thing on the ceiling and it's kind of bright. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:11.600 I'm like, You're cool if I turn the closet light and that off and just put you guys to bed in the dark. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:15.920 And he kind of paused for a second, looked at me like he's sizing me up to see if I'm being serious. 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:19.360 And he's like, Well, I don't want Eli to be afraid. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.360 I was like, Oh, okay. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:24.800 That's good. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.439 And so about an hour later, I'd forgotten all about it. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:34.000 He just comes up to me and he says, Hey dad, that whole thing about no lights tonight, that's like you're not gonna do that, are you? 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:35.839 I said, No, I'm not gonna do that. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.439 So there's that one. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:39.920 And then there's my youngest, my five-year-old. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:58.079 And he didn't really know how to answer the question, but I I think I actually discovered what his fear is about a week ago, week and a half ago or so, because he had this opportunity to go on a play date with his best friend Abigail, and they were gonna go play at this gymnastics place where you jump on trampolines and just run around and have a lot of fun. 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:03.600 But leading up to that play date, he was in a like a mood, like in a mood that needed to change. 00:06:04.079 --> 00:06:08.639 And so I had this very stern conversation with him right before he got picked up to go. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.519 Uh I said, I said, Eli, you better be good at gymnastics. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:14.639 I said it just like that. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:16.959 You better be good at gymnastics. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:23.040 So in the car, I hear this second hand, he's freaking out on the way to gymnastics, like just losing it. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:25.600 And and someone asks him, Eli, what's wrong? 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:26.399 And he says this. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.199 He says, I'm not gonna be good at gymnastics. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:31.519 I've never done it before. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:40.160 And so when I said you better be good at gymnastics, I meant you better be good and well behaved while you're at gymnastics. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.399 But what he heard was, you better be good at gymnastics. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:50.000 Like I expect him as a five-year-old to be proficient as a gymnast, having never done it before. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:51.279 And he's freaking out. 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:56.480 So I know now I have a son with a fear of failure, specifically not living up to his father's expectations. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.560 So that's great, and I'm sure none of us can relate to that fear, right? 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:08.879 I spent this whole week thinking about fear in this this in the context of this idea that Easter is the day fear died. 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:15.040 In fact, at our table that we all eat at at lunch here on staff, we kind of went around and did the same thing. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:17.600 We all talked about our fears, our surface level stuff. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:18.480 You all have those. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.360 And then Madison, who's our youth pastor, Madison's great. 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:27.199 There's kind of this pause, and he stopped and said, No, no, guys, what are you really afraid of? 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:30.560 And it got silent just like it just did. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:36.720 And someone finally blurted out, dying young and missing all the great moments of my kids' lives. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:38.319 Like stuff like that started to come out. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.480 And all of a sudden it got like, it wasn't funny anymore. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:42.800 It wasn't like, I don't like sharks, I don't like heights, haha. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:45.600 It was like, yeah, there's deep fear here. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:52.879 And the truth of the matter is fear is a pervasive reality for most people's lives. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:08:07.360 Most people, and I'm not saying you, I'm saying most people live lives completely dominated or at the very least heavily influenced by fear, anxiety, insecurity, worry, you name it. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:09.680 Fear is a really powerful thing. 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:24.319 And if you could go back to that very first Easter Sunday and try to get into the minds of the followers of Jesus and the aftermath of his death on the cross and figure out what was going through their minds, what were they feeling, one word would probably sum it up best, and that word would be fear. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.839 The disciples were afraid. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:30.639 And they had good reason to be. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.799 Their last few days and weeks had been a whirlwind. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:44.559 Just a short time before Jesus was arrested and went to the cross, they watched him resurrect a friend of theirs named Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.399 And this was just the latest in a long string of miracles. 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:50.879 They had watched Jesus do miracle after miracle. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:56.320 In fact, one of the very first miracles they ever got to see him do altogether happened when they were on a boat. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:08:58.399 These are experienced fishermen. 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.440 They're not novices on the water, but while they're on this boat, there's this huge storm. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.200 Mark chapter 4 tells us the story. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:09.279 It says, Soon a fierce storm came up, high waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:12.480 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.679 The disciples woke him, shouting, Teacher, don't you care that we're gonna drown? 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:20.240 And Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Silence, be still. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.679 And suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:26.240 And then he asked them, Why are you afraid? 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.159 Do you still have no faith? 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:29.919 Why are you afraid? 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.639 And the answer is like, because we thought we were gonna die. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:34.720 That's why we were afraid. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:36.559 And he says, Do you have no faith? 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:40.080 In other words, do you not realize who is in the boat with you? 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.600 Jesus says, Why, why be afraid? 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:47.840 But that's a that's a big ask, right? 00:09:47.919 --> 00:09:48.559 Don't be afraid. 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:49.679 Oh, just don't be afraid. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:50.399 Oh, okay. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:58.960 There's so many things to be afraid of, and the disciples, I imagine, after a while living alongside Jesus must have felt invincible because Jesus looked invincible. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:06.159 The one thing they had never seen Jesus do was lose, was be defeated, but that's what appeared to happen at the cross. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:15.200 He's arrested, he's beaten, tortured, mocked, he's murdered, and they're left for the first time in years without their leader. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:18.159 And without their fearless leader, they're filled with fear. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:29.919 And so we see in John chapter 20 that Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.840 At first Easter, where are the disciples? 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.480 They're meeting behind locked doors because they're afraid. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:45.120 Now, earlier that morning, there's this crazy report that comes to them that says that Jesus is risen, his body's not there. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:54.720 A few of the disciples actually ran and checked it out for themselves, and sure enough, yeah, there's there's no body, but I mean, rising from the dead, that's that's crazy. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:59.919 But they'd seen Jesus do that to people, but it's hard for Jesus to raise himself from the dead when he's dead. 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:03.120 And so that reality possibility hadn't really sunk in. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:08.559 They are afraid, they are terrified because logically they assume that what happened to Jesus is about to happen to them. 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:15.360 That the same people, the same authorities that had Jesus arrested and killed are going to do the same to them, and they are terrified. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:22.399 But all that changed the moment that they experienced the resurrected Jesus for themselves. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.799 We see it happen in the very next sentence. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:29.519 Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.480 Now, if that was me, I would have said like surprise or something fun. 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.440 But Jesus, this is a serious moment. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.919 And so he actually says this peace be with you, peace being the opposite of fear. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:44.000 Peace be with you. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:50.320 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side, and they were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:55.440 And again he said, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:05.600 And this is a turning point in the lives of these men because Jesus sends them out to teach and to proclaim what's happened, who he is, what he's done. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.519 And they begin to do that. 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.559 And they are they are fearless. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.279 They are fearless. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:20.080 The same Jewish leaders that had Jesus killed and arrested and thought that that took care of the problem don't even really know what to do with these guys. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:24.559 Because they keep telling everyone that Jesus is alive and he's risen, and people are believing it. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:34.240 This movement of Jesus is starting to spread, and so the the leaders, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of their area get together, they try to figure out what to do, and they have these men brought in. 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:44.399 We see in Acts chapter 4, the men are talking and they say, to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus' name again. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.799 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:52.879 But Peter and John replied, Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:57.039 We cannot stop telling about everything that we've seen and heard. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:05.440 So they're threatened, they keep doing it, they get arrested, they get thrown in jail, they're miraculously let out of jail, they go right back to where they were. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:15.039 This whole thing keeps happening, and in Acts chapter 5, it says, Then they, meaning the religious leaders, brought the apostles before the high council or the high priest confronted them. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.159 This is this is the guy. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:21.919 This is the guy who has the same authority to have them crucified, the same guy that made that decision with Jesus. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.080 And he says, We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man's name. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.440 Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death. 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:36.159 But Peter and the apostles replied, We must obey God rather than any human authority. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:40.879 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:45.519 And then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as prince and savior. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:48.879 And he did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:54.879 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:58.639 These are not the words of fearful men. 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:02.159 These are the words of people who are fearless. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:06.159 They're fearless. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.679 And because they're fearless, they're just unhindered. 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:11.759 They're unhindered and unafraid. 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:31.279 And from this moment on, they're able to live these lives that are just powerful and focused, meaningful, and we have so much to thank them for, honestly, if not for these men, if not for the men and women who followed Jesus in these early days, passionately proclaiming the truth about Jesus, unafraid of whatever would happen to them as a result, we wouldn't be here today. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:37.919 Their lives had had genuine impact and power because they lived without fear. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:49.200 What would it be like if we could learn how to live lives unhindered, unencumbered by fear? 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:55.120 If we could truly live fearless lives. 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:01.759 Now, as we get older, we don't tend to talk about fear so much. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:05.279 We don't use that word, but we do talk about insecurities. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:11.679 We think about worries, doubts, uncertainty, anxiety. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:15.840 We live in a world that's so dominated by fear. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:19.519 And it's funny, I really struggled early in this week. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.720 I guess I was afraid that I wasn't gonna focus on the right thing. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:24.000 So I was I was dealing with fear. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.919 And so, like Tuesday, Wednesday, I was like, man, is this the right thing to focus on? 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:30.480 It felt right like a few weeks ago when it hit me. 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:32.399 I was like, yes, this is this is what we're gonna talk about. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:40.080 But then leading up to this week, I was like, I don't know, I don't wanna, I mean, it's Easter, I don't want to mess up Easter, which, you know, because I'm important enough that I could mess Easter up, like, right? 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:41.279 That's not possible. 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:43.759 Jesus is alive, Easter's done. 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:44.240 Okay. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:51.279 But like I was genuinely nervous and worried that I was gonna focus on the wrong thing. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.559 That was awesome. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.759 That kid's gonna be on the worship team in just a few years. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:01.360 Because that's like, hit the note, held it out, I love it. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.600 No, I was genuinely worried that I'd pick the wrong thing. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:14.799 And then Thursday, I'm hanging out with a friend of mine, and uh, we kind of have this Thursday standing meeting, and he has no idea what I'm talking about on Sunday, no idea what the focus is. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.720 We're just talking, and he says, Man, I met with a guy today that had this breakthrough. 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:20.159 And so I'm like, oh, what was it? 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:29.279 He said, This man told me that he's realized that almost every decision he's ever made in his life has been a decision made out of fear. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:32.559 This guy's kind of like a control freak. 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:37.200 And anyone in the room have the guts to admit that you're kind of a control freak sometimes? 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:37.519 Yeah. 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:39.519 Like control is rooted in fear. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:40.080 Right? 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:44.639 Because we we try to control everything because the idea of what would happen if we weren't in control really bothers us. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.279 We're afraid of that, and so we try to control everything. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:51.919 I'm I mean, I've I'm not gonna confirm nor deny whether or not I have been a control freak in my life. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:53.360 You can just guess. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:59.440 So so again, I'm dealing with this fear, uncertainty that maybe I've picked the wrong topic somehow. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:03.039 And he's like, man, I just had this guy talk about how his life's been dominated by fear. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.279 And I lean in, like, oh, I'm I'm listening. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:05.759 Okay. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:10.720 I'm like, hey God, is this like confirmation that this is a real thing that we need to deal with? 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.880 I hope so, because we already made the graphic. 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:14.079 So that'd be great. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:14.720 You know? 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:23.200 Like and then, and then later that very day I have a meeting with someone who I love very much, and we're just kind of talking about random stuff. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:41.599 And in this meeting, he just expresses to me that sometimes he gets so anxious about what other people might think about him, that he freezes up and doesn't even know what to do because he's worried that if he does the wrong thing, other people are gonna think this or think that. 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:47.680 And it's not even things that people actually have said, it's just his assumptions about what they might think. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:53.599 And he's like, I get so nervous, so anxious about what other people think that I freeze up. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:18:05.519 Some people freeze up, some people overcompensate, and they live their entire lives trying to influence the way other people see them, and it's exhausting because all they're doing is trying to control what other people think, and that's fear. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:24.559 And then I end up having this conversation with a friend of mine, and this is all just happening this week, and he just talks about how he's experienced past trauma in a relationship that ended really poorly, and it's creating all this anxiety and fear in a current relationship about what he's supposed to do because he doesn't want to experience that same pain again. 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:32.480 And so he's like, I know that this is great and it's awesome, and this person's awesome, but I'm just so afraid of all that happening again. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.000 And so I'm sitting here on Tuesday going, like, God, I don't even know if this is what we should talk about. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.440 And it's just like fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:48.559 All of us deal with this stuff, all of us deal with genuine fear and anxiety, but none of that comes from God. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:50.400 None of it. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:52.319 There's so many verses about that. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.079 Perfect love casts out all fear. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.920 We have not been given a spirit of fear, but but but of faith and a sound mind. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.160 Like that's the things that God has given us. 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:05.759 And yet we live in a world dominated by anxiety, dominated by worry. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.720 Jesus actually put it this way, talking about worries, Matthew chapter 6. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:13.920 He said, These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.799 But your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:20.960 So seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.000 Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:25.440 Today's trouble is enough for today. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:26.799 Jesus says, Don't worry. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.960 Don't worry, don't be afraid. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:34.400 And that that that's it's one thing to say that, it's another thing to live that out. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:35.759 Like, how do you actually live that out? 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:40.720 And the answer, and I'm not just trying to be cliched because we're in church and it's Easter, but the answer is Jesus. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:44.400 It's Jesus, it's the resurrected Jesus. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.200 I mean, honestly, think about this for just a second. 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:48.799 Jesus died. 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.000 Like he was dead, he was dead dead. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.000 He died, and then he got back up. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.400 He rose to life. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:03.920 Which which gives credibility to every single promise, no matter how outlandish he made. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:05.599 It gives credibility to all of that. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:12.000 Jesus said things like, Whoever believes in me will not perish, but will have everlasting life. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:18.160 That even though we may die physically, we will never die fully because we have a life greater than that waiting for us. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:26.000 Jesus made promises like that, and the fact that he died and rose again, the very thing that we celebrate at Easter means that that stuff is true. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:37.200 And if that's true, like honestly, if that's true, if we don't even have to be afraid of death because Jesus defeated death, then what is there really to be afraid of? 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:46.960 Like most of our fears, just talking with a buddy about this in between our first gathering and this one, most of our fears are ultimately like death. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:48.880 Like my fear of sharks. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:50.880 I'm not afraid of being tickled by a shark. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:54.160 Like I'm not afraid of a shark surprising me. 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.319 I'm afraid of being eaten by a shark. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:57.920 That's that's it's death. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:03.279 So many of our fears are at the end of the day resulting in some form of death. 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:07.359 Death of a relationship, death of a career, physical death. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:09.599 But Jesus defeated death. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.759 So what is there to be worried about? 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:13.519 What is there to be afraid of? 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:24.319 What if we lived our lives, not reflecting and reacting to our fears, not living, responding to our anxieties and our worries and all the what-ifs, what-ifs, what-ifs. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:33.279 What if instead we lived our lives like the disciples, responding every single day to the reality of a resurrected Jesus who loves us and is with us? 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:34.559 What if we lived like that? 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:36.000 How amazing would that be? 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:37.440 It'd be pretty good. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:46.240 I can think of whole times in my life that I lived out of fear and it never worked out. 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:50.079 I mean, like, think about the decisions you've made in your life because you were afraid. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:52.160 How many of those were your best decisions? 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:59.599 Like, if the answer to why did you do that was I was afraid that blah blah blah, and someone's like, well, that was a great decision. 00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:04.480 You know, I had most of my 20s, I was battling an addiction. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:06.240 And no one knew about it. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:08.000 Because I didn't want anyone to know about it. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:12.000 Because my greatest fear was being found out, being exposed. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:18.960 And I thought, man, if people know this, they're gonna reject me, they're gonna look at me, they're gonna look down on me, they're gonna feel ashamed of me. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.319 And so I lived my life responding to that fear, trying to handle everything on my own, and that did not work at all. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.799 It just put me deeper and deeper into the addiction. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.519 And I should have known better because I know Jesus. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:34.640 See, Jesus is actually the appropriate response to every fear you can imagine. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:42.160 Jesus encountered all kinds of people with all kinds of issues and addictions and problems, and not once did he look at one of them and go, ooh, gross. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:44.319 Not one time. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:50.640 We don't have any story like that of someone coming to Jesus and him being like, like, you know, back away. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:56.400 Like there's this woman that Jesus has an interaction with at a well in John chapter 4, if you want to read it. 00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:58.480 And she's got all kinds of stuff. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:02.480 And Jesus lets her know that he knows her and like he knows her. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:04.160 He knows all the stuff. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.319 And he doesn't give her one ounce of shame of guilt. 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:16.640 Instead, he just lifts her up and gives her more dignity than she's ever been given before. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:23.119 And she walks away confident and feeling like she's of value and importance to God. 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:24.960 That's how Jesus responds to it. 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.839 And I should have known that. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:36.480 And if I would have lived in that season of my life, if I would have lived responding to Jesus and not responding to my fear, I would have gotten help much earlier. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:41.599 I would have had the courage to open up much earlier, and I would have started moving forward much earlier than I did. 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:49.519 What are you afraid of? 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:54.319 What are you what are you really afraid of? 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:56.799 Whatever that is. 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:09.519 Mr. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.079 Sunday was the day that everyone died. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:16.000 What would it be like for us to live lives? 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.599 What if we can live lives like a disciples after Jesus? 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:33.039 Unafraid. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:35.119 Fearless. 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:39.200 Go back to Hebrews. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:41.519 Chapter 2 and worship TV. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:42.640 You guys can make your way out. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:44.960 Because God's children are human beings. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:45.759 That's that's us. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:46.319 That's you. 00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.680 Made of flesh and blood. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.240 The Son also became flesh and blood. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:54.240 Jesus has existed long before he became a person. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:55.200 He's God. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:58.160 He became flesh and blood, became one of us. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:03.519 For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil who had the power of death. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:05.279 The devil doesn't have the power of death anymore. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:05.920 God has that. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.519 It's broken, it's done. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:12.160 And only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:18.079 And I just want you to know this morning that whatever anxieties, worries, fears, uncertainties you have, let him go. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:21.200 Drop them, leave them here today. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:25.839 Because Jesus didn't come and defeat death so that we could be afraid of things less than death. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:35.039 Jesus didn't come and go through what he went through and rise again so that we could be, so that we could be encumbered by fear and anxiety and worry. 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:36.319 He set us free. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.079 He set us free. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:38.960 I don't know about you. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.480 I can't speak for all of us, not all of us have made decisions about Jesus. 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:43.519 I hope that you have. 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:45.519 But I've decided that I believe in Jesus. 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:50.319 I believe that he's real, I believe that he's alive because I've experienced the resurrected Jesus. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:54.079 And it's time that I live like I believe that he's defeated death. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:56.240 Not just death for him, but death for me. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:26:02.240 It's time that we live like we actually believe in the power of the one that we say we believe in. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.039 And so what are you afraid of? 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:08.079 And maybe a better question would be what do you have to be afraid of? 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:10.880 Like honestly, what do you have to be afraid of? 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.480 If death can't beat him, what can? 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:20.400 And just like he looked at those disciples in that story earlier, and he said, Why are you afraid? 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:22.559 Like, why are you afraid? 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:23.200 Don't you have faith? 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:27.039 He might look at us and say, Hey, don't you realize that I'm in the boat with you? 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.200 And you don't have to be afraid. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:35.359 Jesus defeated the power of death, and he has set us free from fear. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:42.480 John 16, 33, he says, I told you all this so that you can have peace in me. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:44.000 Peace is the opposite of fear. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:47.359 Here on this earth you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:49.039 In other words, don't be afraid. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:50.240 Take heart. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.160 Because I have overcome the world. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:53.279 He's overcome the world. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:27:00.000 In other words, he has overcome anything and everything the world could throw at him, and he's overcome anything and everything the world can throw at you. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:05.119 He says in John 14, 27, I'm leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:07.039 Peace is the opposite of fear. 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.559 And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.480 The world can give you fear. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.799 The world can hand you anxiety. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:20.799 Just turn on the TV, pull up a website, and the headline will be here's something you ought to be afraid of today. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:23.599 That doesn't come from Jesus. 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:25.200 He gives us a gift the world cannot give it. 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:26.160 It's true peace. 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.240 So don't be troubled or afraid. 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.519 Don't be troubled or afraid because you follow Jesus. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:37.200 And look, if you haven't given your life to Jesus, here's the great thing: you can. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:40.000 You can. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.200 And it's it's it's painless, it's beautiful. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.759