- My Celebrate family,
happy Easter.
Like wow, I can't believe we're already here
and who would ever thought we'd be sharing this day
this way?
But here we are, and He's still alive.
He's on his throne, high and lifted up.
My friends, He has risen.
Amen?
Now, for all of you who are guests, welcome.
I'm so grateful you're joining us.
You know, I hope that you would take time
to check out or webpage.
You see, if you're looking for a church home,
we'd love to be that home.
And you could learn a lot about who we are
and why we love this church by simply going there.
If you're looking for a personal word of encouragement,
I'd love for you to join me on my personal Twitter,
Facebook, or Instagram accounts.
Now, for those Celebrate, listen,
we've updated our webpage with God's latest work in Liberia.
I hope you'll check it out as well as pray for them,
especially during this unprecedented time in history.
Well, my friends, here we are.
Easter, the greatest life-changing event in all of history
and I have to tell you, I'm so passionate
about this weekend's message and I'm trusting
that God is gonna speak, touch lives
in the most amazing of ways.
So let's get into it.
I've asked several of my friends to greet you this weekend
and my hope is that in light of this pandemic,
and the way we are celebrating his resurrection this year,
they're gonna add to making it special for you,
as well as meaningful.
- Hey, Celebrate, it's Joseph Clarke
and we have a reason to celebrate.
Christ has risen.
Hallelujah!
- Hey, Celebrate, this is Eric Alexander
in Vale, Colorado.
It's been a little while since I've been with you
but I wanted to take this opportunity
and just wish you a very happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate, it's Rodney McGruder
of the Los Angeles Clippers wish you all a happy Easter.
- Hey, Celebrate, Phil Joel here
wish you a happy and safe Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate, this is Coach Jim Caldwell,
happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Josh McDowell wishing you a happy, fulfilled Easter.
He is risen.
- Hey, Celebrate.
This is Marcus Lee wishing you guys a happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is John Elefante from Nashville, Tennessee
wishing you all a very happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Jessica Obilom wishing you a happy, happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Mary D'Argenis wishing all of you
a very happy Easter.
- Hello everyone at Celebrate, this is Randy Hartley.
I wanna wish you a very happy Easter.
- Hey, what's going on Pastor Keith and Celebrate Church?
This is Bryan Schwartz, former NFL middle linebacker
for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Come on, man, we are coming up
on one of the most important days in all of human history,
the celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Jim Garlow from San Diego,
wishing you a most blessed resurrection day.
- Hey, Celebrate, it's Jessica from Resound
and I'm wishing you a happy Easter.
- Hey, what's going on, Celebrate?
This is Brian Ivie wishing you all a very happy Easter.
- This is Coach Ron Brown wishing you a happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Greg Vail wishing you guys a amazing Easter.
Happy Easter!
- Hello to all the saints at Celebrate.
This is Joe Battaglia wishing you all a very happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is John and Stephanie Lawry.
- Wishing you.
- [Both] A happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Tom Holladay from Saddleback Church
wishing you happy Easter.
- Good morning, Celebrate.
It's Tremaine Jackson.
I just want to wish you guys a very, very happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Jaime Barnes down in Celebration, Florida,
wishing you a very happy Easter.
- Hi, Celebrate, my family.
This is John Schlitt and I wanna wish you a happy Easter.
- Hello, Celebrate.
This is Roddy Chong wishing you all a happy Easter.
- Hey, Celebrate Church.
Happy Easter from Mayor Paul Tenhaken
and from. - Nora Tenhaken.
- Hi, this is Bob Hartman from Petra
and this is my wife Kim.
We wanna wish Celebrate a very happy and safe Easter.
- Hey, Celebrate Church.
It's Mack Brock here.
I am in Charlotte, North Carolina.
But just wanted to hop on here really quick
and wish you guys, your whole church,
Pastor Keith, the whole team a happy Easter.
- Happy Easter, Celebrate Church.
So excited to rejoice with you
on the resurrection of Jesus
and we're all doing Easter from home
so this is a welcome from 12Stone Church
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Love your Pastor Keith and Kay,
what a great family, what a great church.
Hope this is a great day for you.
(slow soft music)
("God of Revival")
♪ We've seen what You can do ♪
♪ Oh, God of wonders ♪
♪ Your power has no end ♪
♪ The things You've done before ♪
♪ In greater measure ♪
♪ You will do again ♪
♪ 'Cause there's no prison wall You can't break through ♪
♪ No mountain You can't move ♪
♪ All things are possible ♪
♪ There's no broken body You can't raise ♪
♪ No soul that You can't save ♪
♪ All things are possible ♪
♪ The darkest night ♪
♪ You can light it up ♪
♪ The God of revival ♪
♪ Let hope arise ♪
♪ Death is overcome ♪
♪ You've already won ♪
♪ God of revival ♪
♪ You rose in victory ♪
♪ And now You're seated ♪
♪ Forever on the throne ♪
♪ So why should my heart fear ♪
♪ What You've defeated ♪
♪ I will trust You alone ♪
♪ 'Cause there's no prison wall You can't break through ♪
♪ No mountain You can't move ♪
♪ All things are possible ♪
♪ There's no broken body you can't raise ♪
♪ No soul that You can't save ♪
♪ All things are possible ♪
♪ The darkest night ♪
♪ You can light it up ♪
♪ God of revival ♪
♪ Let hope arise ♪
♪ Death is overcome ♪
♪ You've already won ♪
♪ God of revival ♪
- Lord, let this be our prayer,
let this be our praise.
It seems that we are in the darkest times,
the darkest of days, but You,
but You came.
When all seemed lost, You came.
When all seemed broken, You overcame.
You took it to the cross and broke every chain.
So what do we have to fear?
Because if You conquered death,
then You can conquer everything that is here.
So we pray for an awakening,
the time has come for a revival.
So we call out to Your name.
We pray and seek Your face.
We turn from all wicked ways.
We ask for forgiveness.
So God, will You forgive?
Will You restore?
Will You awaken?
Will You renew?
Will You heal?
Will You protect?
Will You conquer?
Will You light us up to be a light unto Your world?
Because without You, without You we are nothing.
So come, Lord, come.
Come awaken Your people.
Come awaken Your cities.
Come awaken the nation.
Come awaken the world.
♪ Come awaken Your people ♪
♪ Come awaken the city ♪
♪ Oh God of revival, pour it out, pour it out ♪
♪ Every stronghold will crumble ♪
♪ Hear the chains hit the ground ♪
♪ Oh God of revival, pour it out, pour it out ♪
♪ The darkest night ♪
♪ You can light it up ♪
♪ Oh, God of revival ♪
♪ Let hope arise ♪
♪ Death is overcome ♪
♪ You've already won ♪
♪ God of revival ♪
♪ Come awaken Your people ♪
♪ Come awaken the city ♪
♪ Oh God of revival, pour it out, pour it out ♪
♪ Every stronghold will crumble ♪
♪ Hear the chains hit the ground ♪
♪ Oh God of revival, pour it out, pour it out ♪
- I'm excited about this message
because the message of Easter is a game-changer.
You see, as we face these challenging events,
it's a great time to fully understand Easter
and what it's all about.
You see, Jesus took the greatest of tragedy
and He turned it into the greatest of triumph
and that victory changed everything.
And so take our your notes along with your Bible
and let's get into it.
Our worship team is gonna set this up.
♪ If you've been walking the same old road ♪
♪ For miles and miles ♪
♪ If you've been hearing the same old voice ♪
♪ Tell the same old lies ♪
♪ If you're trying to fill the same old holes inside ♪
♪ There's a better life ♪
♪ If you've got pain ♪
♪ He's a pain taker ♪
♪ If you feel lost ♪
♪ He's a way maker ♪
♪ If you need freedom or saving ♪
♪ He's a prison-shaking Savior ♪
♪ If you've got chains ♪
♪ He's a chain breaker ♪
♪ Now we've all searched for the light of day ♪
♪ In the dead of night ♪
♪ We've all found ourselves worn out from the same old fight ♪
♪ We've all run to things we know just ain't right ♪
♪ And there's a better life ♪
♪ There's a better life ♪
♪ If you've got pain ♪
♪ He's a pain taker ♪
♪ If you feel lost ♪
♪ He's a way maker ♪
♪ If you need freedom or saving ♪
♪ He's a prison-shaking Savior ♪
♪ If you've got chains ♪
♪ He's a chain breaker ♪
♪ If you believe it ♪
♪ If you receive it ♪
♪ If you can feel it ♪
♪ Somebody testify ♪
♪ If you believe it ♪
♪ If you receive it ♪
♪ If you can feel it ♪
♪ Somebody testify, testify ♪
♪ If you believe it ♪
♪ If you receive it ♪
♪ If you can feel it ♪
♪ Somebody testify ♪
♪ If you've got pain ♪
♪ He's a pain taker ♪
♪ If you feel lost ♪
♪ He's a way maker ♪
♪ If you need freedom or saving ♪
♪ He's a prison-shaking Savior ♪
♪ If you've got chains ♪
♪ He's a chain breaker ♪
♪ Oh, if you need freedom or saving ♪
♪ He's a prison-shaking Savior ♪
♪ If you've got chains ♪
♪ He's a chain breaker ♪
- Happy Easter everyone.
I gotta tell you a story I think you're gonna love.
It's about little Johnny and his mother,
they were out shopping and they ran into their preacher,
they ran into their pastor.
You ready for this?
The pastor smiled and got down at Johnny's level
and looked at him and smiled and said,
"So, what are you up to today, Johnny?"
"Oh, Mom and I, we're just getting ready for Easter."
The pastor thought for a moment, what an opportunity.
So he looked Johnny in the eye and he said, "Really?
"Really, Johnny?
"So what is Easter really all about anyway?
"I mean, do you know what happened?"
Little Johnny looked at the pastor
and he was somewhat offended.
"Well of course I do," he said.
"Easter is when they nailed Jesus to a cross
"and He died for our sins.
"Then they put Him in a grave
"and put a big rock in front of it.
"But three days after, Jesus got out of that grave
"and He rose from the dead."
The pastor was impressed.
But then Johnny added one more thing.
"And when Jesus stepped out of that grave that day,
"He looked around, because if He sees his shadow,
"there'll be six more weeks of winter."
(group laughing)
(laughs) I love that story.
You know, U.S. News & World Report began in 1933.
It's an America media company that publishes news,
consumer advice, analysis of global economy, and of health.
Well today, it's primarily a web-based program,
but when it was a magazine,
it had a section entitled "News You Can Use",
which obviously implies that there's some news
of which we do not wanna use,
and may I add, some news we need to leave alone.
Now why do I say this?
Because in the wave of this fear that's going on right now,
I think there's a lot of Johnny's out there.
I think there is.
People giving a lot of analysis,
a lot of advice and opinion.
But you know what I think?
I think some of it's not recommended.
In fact, I think some of it needs to be completely ignored.
But I think it's adding, if you will,
I think it's adding to people's fears.
And so I thought being that it's Easter,
and taking page out of U.S. News & World Report,
I thought I'd give you some news you can use,
some news that I believe will transform your life.
Amen to that?
- [Group] Amen.
- So if you've got your Bibles,
I want to invite you to Matthew 28.
Matthew 28, we're gonna look at the first 10 verses
and we're gonna look at some news
that you and I can use.
Now church, don't miss this
because this is so important what I'm about to say.
When you get Easter, you really get Easter,
and you understand this news that you can use,
this factual truths, I'm here to tell you,
you don't need to be afraid.
You will not be afraid.
And so we are in Matthew 28,
Matthew 28 and I'm gonna begin in the very first verse.
Look what it says.
"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,
"Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
"There was a violent earthquake," that's interesting,
"a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord
"came down from heaven and going to the tomb,
"rolled back the stone and sat on it."
Love it.
On this rock I will stand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
I mean, we thought that hymn was written by man.
Talk about an angel with confidence,
you know what I mean?
"His appearance was like lightning,
"and his clothes were white as snow.
"The guards were so afraid of him
"that they shook and became like dead men."
Now watch this.
"Then the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid.'"
Do not be afraid.
"For I know that you're looking for Jesus."
I think right now there's a lot of people looking for Jesus.
But do not be afraid, "This Jesus who was crucified,
"He is not here."
Here's some good news.
"He has risen just as He said.
"Come and see the place where He lay."
I love that stuff, nothing hidden by the angel.
"Then go quickly and tell his disciples,"
go quickly, "He has risen from the dead
"and He is going ahead of you into Galilee.
"There you will see Him.
"Now I have told you."
I told you the news you can use.
Now watch this, I love this part of the story.
"So the women hurried away from the tomb,
"afraid yet filled with joy,
"and ran to tell His disciples."
Now watch this, "Suddenly Jesus met them."
The dude in the grave. (laughs)
He's now alive and well.
He meets them.
They haven't even gotten to the disciples yet.
"Suddenly Jesus met them.
"'Greeting,' He said.
"They came to him clasped his feet and worshiped Him."
Shouldn't we all?
Now watch what Jesus says.
"Then Jesus said to them,' Do not be afraid.
"Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
"there they will see Me.'"
Wow, those are powerful words.
If you got your notes, I wanna give you the first piece
of news that you can use.
You ready for this?
I don't need to be afraid, my past is forgiven.
If you're watching, I want you to look at me right now.
I wanna ask you some questions.
You ever spoken a word you wish you could get back?
(laughs)
Make a decision you wish you could do over?
Ever react carelessly?
Unbecomingly?
See some things you shouldn't have seen?
Done some things you shouldn't have done?
This is why I want you to look at me right now.
Me, too.
I've been there, I've done that.
I've said that.
Those regrets.
Church listen to this, listen to the words
of a 31 year old man who was recently divorced.
Listen to what he says.
"I'm recently divorced.
"I feel bad.
"I often go home and cry but there's no one there,
"it seems nobody cares.
"I'm stressed emotionally.
"And I feel like I'm on the verge of a collapse,
"something is so very wrong.
"I feel hurt, embittered,
"that I can scarcely react or even relate to anyone.
"I feel as if I'm gonna have to sit the rest of my life,"
are you ready for this,
"in the penalty box."
Referring to the sport of hockey.
Maybe you don't know what I'm talking about.
But it's a box, it's a place, it's a space
where you have to sit when you've made a mistake on the ice,
when you've blown it,
when you've been called out, if you will.
Isn't that interesting?
It's a place that you have to sit out in the game.
You have to wait until a clock of time runs out
and tells you you can get out of the box.
Someone else doing that for you.
Now I think about this, and I think about wow,
these are professionals, these are the best of the best.
And all they can do is watch the game.
They sit, anxiously, helplessly.
Everything out of their control.
You ever feel that way?
I think a lot of people do.
Think about it.
They can't get out, they can't get back in,
they can't get up, thus they can't live in the present
because they can't get over their past.
The penalty box.
But look what the Bible says because of Easter.
Look at this, look at this passage.
"When we were stuck in our old sin-dead life,"
penalty box, "Jesus took it and destroyed it
"by nailing it to the cross."
Isn't that incredible?
"Think of that."
Easter.
"All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean."
I don't know about you, that's news I can use.
Amen to that?
I don't need to be afraid.
My past has been forgiven.
I don't know if you've ever seen one of these,
it's called an Etch-A-Sketch.
Y'all remember these?
You can still buy them, this is brand new.
This is crazy, you know what I mean?
But, I don't know if a lot of people play them today.
But when I was a kid, like, this was a big deal.
Big deal.
And you've got these two little controls
and you can move and it creates a picture.
But here's the Good News because of Easter,
'cause I think this is what Jesus does.
When I make a mistake, because of the cross,
because of Easter, all I have to do is go,
and it's clean.
I can start all over.
I love that.
That's an Etch-A-Sketch.
That's what Easter's all about.
Jesus was nailed for our sin
so we can stop nailing ourselves with that sin.
Isn't that awesome?
He got hung up for our hang ups.
I love that stuff.
The past is gone, it's no more.
Look what the Bible says in Colossians three,
"He has forgiven all our sins
"and canceled every record of the debt we owed.
"Christ has done away with it all,
"by nailing it to the cross."
I'm telling you, woo! (group laughing)
That's Easter!
This is why we have nothing to fear.
Amen? - Amen.
- Every single thing we've ever done
is completely, fully, erratically, totally forgiven.
My past is forgiven, let's talk about that.
What's that say to you?
- When you talk about the penalty box,
and it's so easy for me to fall into that,
especially it seems like the times
when you really just wanna relax, like time to go to sleep,
you start to think about those regrets
and those things that just keep you awake at night.
And you get into that penalty box
and it's those times where I find myself turning to God
and just starting to pray,
and then next thing I know it's morning.
- What an amazing thought for me is not only
that my sin's been forgiven but God forgets 'em.
And that's an amazing thought for me,
'cause obviously coming from an addiction,
the multiple times I said, "I'll never do it again,"
did it again, and to say,
well God couldn't forgive all of that,
and to realize that He has.
In fact, if I come back to Him and say,
"Oh, that's right, I've asked for forgiveness,
"but would You forgive me again?"
You know you sometimes repeat that?
God goes like, "What's he talkin' about?"
God's forgiven it and forgotten it.
That gives me encouragement I need to move on as well.
- You know, I find that so interesting
because if you wanna play that out, what you just said,
when someone's given their testimony,
and of course the power of it, of our testimony
is not where we've been, it's what Jesus did in that moment
and where we're going now.
But every time we give a testimony,
we start talking about our past.
Can you imagine?
God's listening in going, "What are they talking about?"
- I think it's an opportunity for growth, too,
you know, really just relating to what you were saying.
If we dwell on that past,
it doesn't give us that opportunity to move forward.
So it's an opportunity for us to grow in Christ,
for us to grown in our relationship with Him,
and just be the better us that He has created us to be.
- Yeah.
We hold our past against us and sometimes
that holds us back.
We think about it so much that it holds us back
and we use that as a crutch for not moving forward.
And so, if God can wipe that away, that is our release.
And we have to pray for forgiveness
because if He can forgive, then why dwell on the past?
Our future is guaranteed, if we're working with God.
- Here's the second piece of the news you can use.
Are you ready for this?
I don't need to be afraid.
Because of Easter, my future is secure.
My future is secure.
I love what John says in 1 John.
"This is the promise of what Jesus himself made to us."
You ready for it?
Here's the promise, "Eternal life."
News that we can use.
Amen?
My friends, the greatest miracle of God
is not a physical healing, it's the spiritual one.
It's when we get to spend eternity with Jesus.
That's the greatest of all miracles.
Isn't that great news?
It's great news.
Because of Jesus, not only has my burden been lifted,
but my bed has been made.
I love it.
It's like a Motel 6 moment,
"And we'll leave the light on for you."
(laughs) You know what I mean?
I love that stuff.
Look what Jesus said in John 14.
"If I go and prepare a place for you,
"I will come back and take you there to be with Me."
Don't you love it?
"For where I am, you will be also."
Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians, "He died for us."
And why?
"In order that we might live together with Him forever."
My future, your future, it's secure.
Amen?
- [Group] Amen.
- In the book of Isaiah, let me tell you what it reads.
"Why would we ever fear?"
The prophet Isaiah actually asks the question.
It's a great question.
Why would we fear?
He goes on to say, "For God is with us."
God is in us.
Look what Isaiah goes on to say.
"I am your God.
"I will strengthen you.
"I will help you.
"I will uphold you with my righteous hand."
What a promise of God.
In Psalm 23, we read those amazing words,
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
"I have all that I need," isn't that great news?
"Even when I walk through the darkest of valley,"
and we're in a valley right now.
We're in a valley right now.
Let me help you with it.
How about the valley of loss?
A loss of job.
Let's just talk about the loss
of our daily freedoms right now.
And of course, then there's the fear
of a physical loss of life, right?
But how about the valley of questions and uncertainties?
The unknown.
How about the valley of isolation right now and loneliness?
And yet David writes, "We will not be afraid,
"for our God is right here, right now, beside us."
Isn't that great news?
I mean that is incredible news.
Don't you just love David's imagery here?
I love it.
We never have to worry when we follow Jesus
because our Good Shepherd will protect us,
He will provide for us.
This is the power of Easter, right?
But now watch this.
For even though we go through these darkest of times,
and that our God is right here, right now beside us,
but not just in the here and now.
Here's what David says, "Beyond this valley,
"is guaranteed a house of rest."
That's what he says in Psalm 23.
"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
That's the great.
That's the grand.
That's the awesome news of Easter.
Look what Titus three says.
"He has declared us not guilty," our past is forgiven.
But then he goes on to write, "But now,
"we can know that we will inherit eternal life."
These two amazing truths, that our past is forgiven
and that our future is secure,
are the most important truths in all our lives.
When you think about that, that your future's secure,
what does that say to you?
- God has me in every situation.
No matter what, I'm secure.
He holds me in his hands every day of my life.
- [Keith] Every situation, I love that.
- I hear the language of people as they get older,
not that I'm in that generation, but it is,
'cause everybody around me is talking about security,
only they talk about Social Security.
They talk about retirement security,
which is obviously tied to financial security,
health security.
They talk about that and it's all that kind of stuff.
You go, "No, no."
That's not the security, 'cause all that will go.
It's heavenly security, that's what it's all about.
And that's why I don't have to be afraid
of any of that other stuff.
- Yeah, that's definitely security.
If our lives are in his hands,
that's more security than anything else
because the world that we live in,
we're only in it for a moment.
And, so as sometimes people get older,
they start reflecting on how much time that they have left
and they're like, "Okay, I need to make more
"of the little time that I have left."
We should've done that from the beginning,
and God can help us capitalize on that time
as long as we follow his instructions, so.
- Here's the third piece of news that we can use.
You ready for this?
Write it down.
We will not be afraid, for we can live right now,
today, life to the full.
Past forgiven,
future secured, but because of those two truths,
we can now live a life to the full.
Don't you love those words?
Say them with me.
- [Group] Life to the full.
- In 1 Peter, look what it says.
"He carried our sin to the cross
"so we could be rid of it,"
there it is, past forgiven, "free to live the right way."
I love that.
Past forgiven, future's secure,
now let's get on in living.
Every day matters.
My friends, when you know that your past,
are you ready for this?
Is not hanging over your head,
when you know that your future is locked up
and solidified, oh my goodness,
it makes the day a different day, doesn't it?
When you really get that.
Look what Major Ian Thomas writes.
"Eternal life is not a particular feeling.
"It is not an ultimate destination, to which we go.
"If you're born again, and you have eternal life,
"it is the quality of life that we can possess,
"right now, today."
Don't you love those words?
It'd be like Warren Buffet,
let's say he and I were on the phone
and earlier today and I get to share this good news.
Warren calls me up and says, "Hey, first of all,
"let everybody in your church know
"that I called all their banks,
"I called all of their creditors,
"and I paid off every debt they have."
Now I don't know about you,
we can just stop like right there.
That'd be like a good day, wouldn't it?
But then he says, "Oh, by the way,
"but tell every one of 'em
"I then deposited a million dollars
"into their bank account.
"They don't have to pay it back."
Paid all of their debt, they have no debt anymore,
and they now have a million dollars in their bank account.
Now you ready for this?
I guarantee you that would make today a different day.
You would just think differently,
you would just see differently,
you would act differently.
How much greater is Easter?
And you know what I fear?
I fear that people would rather have
that call from Warren Buffet
than they would from Jesus Christ.
I fear that.
You know, I saw this cartoon.
Jesus was talking to some children,
and so get the picture.
He's telling them about a time He was with his disciples.
The kids are wide-eyed, they're listening,
and the caption reads, Jesus speaking,
"So I was like, 'I'm the Son of God',
"and they were like, 'No way,'
"and I was like, 'Yahweh.'" (group laughing)
(laughs) I love that.
I just love that.
I want you to picture that this is your life.
This is your life.
Here's what I get concerned about
that most people don't get Easter.
This being the Son of God and representing his blood.
And I think what we end up doing is,
we put a little Jesus in our lives
'cause we don't understand Easter.
And we go to church and we try to do a few things
that look good and yet, if you look at the glass,
and this being our life, you see the blood of Jesus.
The only problem is there's a whole bunch
in the glass still not covered in the blood.
Now, I want you to catch this.
Jesus said, "I came that you might have life,"
but then He describes the life, life to the full.
That's what Jesus said our lives were to be.
Nowhere in scripture did He say
that you take your life and put a little Jesus in it.
Now, I wanna tell you why this is a problem
and why I struggle because so many people
are full of fear right now,
and I'm not just talking about those who don't know Jesus.
I'm hearing a lot of doubt and fear
and anxiousness from people who love Jesus, so to speak.
But I wanna help you what Easter is about.
Jesus said, "I come that your life would be full."
But if you put just a little Jesus in your life,
you leave all this other room
for the devil to get in and put the fear.
Now, to personalize this,
am I experiencing any fear right now?
No.
People say, "But what if you die?"
(laughs) I get to go be with Jesus?
That's what it's all about, people.
Jesus didn't come to fix my life here,
He came to be with me here and take me there,
to be with Him in glory.
This isn't my home.
But Jesus said fill up your life,
let your life be full of Me because when it's full of Jesus,
there's no room for the devil,
there's no room for fear,
"Because perfect love," the Bible says,
"casts out all fear."
You see how that works?
But then Paul says this, not only do you fill your life up,
that's why we don't make the weekend an option,
we read books and we read the Bible and we pray,
and we're in a life group and we're communing
and doing life with other brothers
and sisters in the Lord.
Our lives are full of Jesus,
so full of Jesus, there's no room
for anything of the world.
There's no place, no space for the devil.
But Paul says but then our lives are to overflow
'cause that's what being a witness is.
When God keeps pouring into your life,
it then overflows your life into others.
Isn't that a beautiful picture?
I love that stuff.
Listen to the words of E. Stanley Jones.
"Anything less than God will let you down."
Those are great words.
Anything less than God.
You know, there's an old hymn that says,
"My hope is built on nothing less
"than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
"I dare not trust the sweetest frame."
I dare not trust anything in this world.
"But I wholly lean on Jesus' name.
"On Christ the solid rock I stand."
All other ground is what?
- [Group] Sinking sand.
- All other ground is sinking sand.
Wow.
My past forgiven, my future secure,
and because of those two truths,
I can now live life to the full.
Woo.
Come on, what's that say to you?
- Totally.
Last night, it's funny, we were just talking last night
about where we're currently at
and just how it just seems that life is easy right now
when you recognize that when you are full,
that these worries that are out there,
that they dissipate, and we have so much more to live for
and it's just--
- Circumstances don't dictate our joy.
- That's exactly right.
- I like the-- - Those are great words.
Circumstances, talk about read a message.
Circumstances.
They do not, if you will, interpret,
they do not determine our joy.
Christ determines our joy
because that's who Christ is, is joy.
So in Christ, we have joy.
Which only solidify those words, "Greater is He
"that is within me than anything that's in the world."
- You said many times the fact that Jesus always said
come to heaven as a child, and you think of a little child,
I don't know of a three year old that today is going,
"Man, I just blew it yesterday.
"I just blew that."
Or today is going, "Man, what am I gonna do for college?
"What am I gonna do for college?
"What's gonna happen?"
No.
Because the past, the future, they don't,
they're so full of joy today and it overflows
in everything that they do.
And you see it and that's why Jesus says, "Okay,
"that's how I want you to live."
Just what you said.
- Yeah, they're in the moment,
those kids are in the moment. - Exactly.
- There's no worry about what I just did
or what I'm going to do, it's what's in front of me.
- [Man] And they're full in that moment.
- Yes.
- It just took me back that yesterday,
with all that, you know, this pandemic that's in our world,
I just thought of that moment where I looked at Kay
and I said, "Where's Jackson?"
She said, "Well, she went upstairs to play."
Isn't that interesting?
Which is really to me a picture of prayer.
She didn't go up to pray, she went up to play.
Why?
God's got it.
(laughs) Everything's good.
So I went up and went into her room
and she's in her little playhouse
and she's talking to her little friends
and creatin' this beautiful little moment,
and it was like wow.
Why can't I do that?
And then Jesus said what?
"Come to heaven.
"You must come like a child."
- I see parallels in this situation
'cause right now, I'm starting to realize
that I have more, we have less,
we have less of a lot of things at this moment,
but one thing that I know everyone can say
is that we have more time.
If anyone says, "Oh, I don't have time,"
you know that that is not true at this moment in time,
for anybody.
So, it's just made me value,
value things more.
It's like getting us back to the basics,
and so we just do the basics.
And in that, we have happiness and we realize well,
this is actually what we were meant to live for
instead of just the dundrum of work
and just structure that we've been built in,
you know, that's been built into us, you know.
So, I just think that we've taken this
and it's helped us realize what the world should be.
- I think we have more time
to be like children, because when you're a child,
you know, what am I gonna do, I'm bored,
you know, and you just go play, like you talked about,
and we can just go and pray and be with God,
because He's given us that gift of time.
- You know, being in healthcare,
you just think about this faith of a child
and what if we all had the faith of a child?
In a moment of sickness?
No matter what it was.
Not just this pandemic that we had,
but what would the world be like?
I always ask myself that being in healthcare
because my daughter has a scratch on her nose
and she's like, "God's gonna heal it, Mommy.
"God's gonna heal it." (laughs)
And it's a scratch on her nose, you know,
but we think about that from an adult's perspective
and what if?
What if we really had that faith of a child?
Where God's gonna heal a scratch?
- There's an old legend.
It's about an ancient village in Spain.
The villagers learned that the king was coming
to pay a visit.
This is a big deal 'cause in 1,000 years,
no king had ever come to their village.
"We must throw the biggest celebration ever,"
the chief declared.
But the village was a poor village,
and they didn't have very many resources.
But one villager had an idea.
"Since our village is known for the finest of wines,
"let's have everyone bring a large cup of their best,
"their finest to the town square,
"and we'll pour it into a large vat
"and offer it to the king when he arrives.
"Thus when the king drinks,
"it will be of our very best."
The day prior to the king's arrival,
hundreds of people lined up to make their offering.
They climbed a small stairway
and poured their gift through a small opening
at the top that collected into the vat below.
The next day, the king arrived
and he was immediately escorted to the village square.
There he was given a silver cup
and told to draw some wine,
which represented the village's absolute best.
He placed the cup under the spigot,
turned the handle, and drank from the cup.
But to his surprise it was nothing more than water.
You see, each villager thought,
"I'll withhold my best, and I'll substitute it with water.
"For with so many cups of wine in the vat,
"who would know, right?"
But here's the problem:
Everyone in the village had the same thought.
And here's the sadness: The king was dishonored.
My friends,
the King is coming back.
The King is gonna be coming to our village.
But you ready for this?
Our best, our wine that we get to offer
would be ourselves.
That's all that God wants.
I love this cartoon, it's of a picture,
and it's a person holding out their heart to Jesus.
And it says, "It's all I have."
To which Jesus responded, "It's all I want.
"It's all I want."
That's our wine.
So here we are, Easter.
It's a moment of decision.
Are you ready for this?
Jesus already made his, and that decision was us.
It was you, it was me,
and because of Easter, we don't have to be afraid
because our past is completely forgiven.
Our future, it's in the Book of Life, if we want it.
And if we get those two, really get it,
then our life then is full
and that's how we get to live today.
So Jesus made his decision.
The question is: Have you made yours?
Have you made that decision
to completely, to fully lay down your wants,
lay down your opinions, lay down your ideas?
Quit leaning on your understanding
and begin to let the Word of God
richly indwell within you.
Are you ready to make that decision?
To completely, of what we like to say, die to yourself,
that you can now have this news
that you need to use?
Are you ready for that?
I wanna pray this prayer,
and I'm gonna reach out to you and I just wanna pray
that God has spoken to you this Easter.
Father, I trust that someone's watching right now
and maybe for the first time,
they've finally got this Good News,
of which You call it.
It is Good News.
And it's the news that we really can use,
especially right now in our world around us,
that the story of Easter, it's not a moment of celebration
of us, but it's really a celebration of You
and the Gift you gave to us, this news that we can use.
That Lord, we can truly let our past be forgiven,
that You took care of it on the cross,
and that now our future is secure.
And when we really get those,
we can now live life to the full,
the way You want our lives to be,
but it requires us to make a decision,
a decision right now
that we can't serve to gods,
we can't have Yahweh and then our way.
There's just Yahweh, there's Your way.
And so, God, I pray that if someone is ready
to just grab that news and say,
"I get it, I get Easter now,"
just pray these words, right where you're at right now.
Father, this is the news that I can use.
I need not be afraid.
My past is gone.
The slate has been wiped clean.
And when the devil tries to remind me
of my past,
I'm gonna tell him of his future.
My past is forgiven, but my future is secure.
You're right now writing my name in the Book of Life.
And because of that, I need not be afraid.
I can live right now, life to the full.
Thank You for the gift of Jesus.
Thank You for the gift of Easter.
In Jesus' name, amen.
And amen.
God bless you.
Talk about news we can use, right?
I mean, wasn't that awesome?
We don't have to be afraid
because our past has been forgiven.
And just as true that crap can happen in our lives,
well so does grace.
And because of Easter, we don't have to live
in that crap of our past.
You know, as I said, "He was hung up for our hang ups."
And on the cross He took care of everything.
I mean, weren't Paul's words beautiful?
He has forgiven all our sins
and canceled every record of the debt we owed.
Christ has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.
But just as true, we don't have to be afraid
because our future has been secured.
The Bible assures us that there is an eternal life
which God, who never lies, promised us.
If we'll just surrender our life to it, right?
Well, this is the greatest of all God's miracles,
that the amazing promise that we can spend forever with Him,
and what a gift.
With all the fear that is plaguing our world right now,
what a blessed gift to know that our future is secure.
But now, because of these two promises,
that our past is forgiven and our future is secure,
well guess what?
Now we don't have to be afraid of anything.
We can live our life right now, today, to the full.
The Bible says He carried our sin to the cross
so we could be rid of it and now be free
to live our life the right way, right now, God's way.
Amen.
So what's the next step you need to take?
Did you pray that prayer with me?
If so, I cannot express enough
just how huge this decision is,
that your name was written in the Book of Life
by the very hand of Jesus, Himself.
Think of that.
Which means, if your life should end today,
you'll be home with Jesus forever.
Now that's news I can use,
and I believe you can, too.
So please, click on the below link.
Let our amazing team reach out
and resource you with some amazing tools
to grow you in this decision.
If you're not in a life group,
this is the time to start.
I recognize with all the social distancing,
this ask might seem strange.
Unrealistic, right?
But with technology, you can still experience community
without ever putting yourself in harm's way.
So please, check out our webpage or give us a call.
We'll help you find that perfect group.
Now next week, we're gonna start a brand new series
entitled "Closer".
One of the promises I made to you
in the beginning of this new normal
was to keep you spiritually fed.
Well, this series is gonna do just that.
We're gonna give you tools that will help you be closer
than you've ever been before.
I love being your pastor,
and I'm believing in the wave of this pandemic,
God is gonna show up in miraculous ways.
And guess what?
He already has.
Happy Easter everyone.
♪ It's so unusual it's frightening ♪
♪ You see right through the mess inside me ♪
♪ And you call me out to pull me in ♪
♪ You tell me I can start again ♪
♪ And I don't need to keep on hiding ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ You won't let go ♪
♪ No matter what I do ♪
♪ And it's not one or the other ♪
♪ It's hard truth and ridiculous grace ♪
♪ To be known, fully known and loved by You ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ It's so like You to keep pursuing ♪
♪ It's so like me to go astray ♪
♪ But You guard my heart with Your truth ♪
♪ The kind of love that's bulletproof ♪
♪ And I surrender to Your kindness ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ You won't let go ♪
♪ No matter what I do ♪
♪ And it's not one or the other ♪
♪ It's hard truth and ridiculous grace ♪
♪ To be known, fully known and loved by You ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ How real, how wide, how rich, how high is Your heart ♪
♪ I cannot find the reasons why You give me so much ♪
♪ How real, how wide, how rich, how high is Your heart ♪
♪ I cannot find the reasons why You give me so much ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ You won't let go ♪
♪ No matter what I do ♪
♪ And it's not one or the other ♪
♪ It's hard truth and ridiculous grace ♪
♪ To be known, fully known and loved by You ♪
♪ I'm fully known ♪
♪ And loved by You ♪
♪ It's so unusual it's frightening ♪
♪ I'm fully known and loved by You ♪