When the Son Rises

He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Yes, He is.

If you didn't know the answer to that, that's all right.

You could just be glad He is risen.

But that comes from an old Christian tradition.

Man, back in the old days,

if you believed that Jesus really did rise from the dead,

you were a radical.

People would look at you like you're crazy.

Now, the followers of Jesus span the entire globe,

all around the world.

And this morning, in all continents across this entire earth,

people are gathered together,

and they're celebrating the fact

that death could not conquer Jesus Christ.

So we're excited about that.

My name is Sam Benal.

I'm the pastor here.

If I haven't gotten to meet you yet, I'd love to do that.

I will be sticking around.

I would say my wife and I, she's home with our sick kid.

The devil was already fighting.

He wanted to keep one of us home.

But listen, I'd love to meet you after the service.

If I haven't gotten to do that yet.

But there's a little thing in each of your pews,

a little paper here that shows you what we have coming up this spring,

as well as our weekly worship schedule.

We'd love for you to take that home,

or if you know someone that could use that and pass it along.

How many of you can imagine waking up in the morning at your usual time?

I'm not going to ask what time you get up.

We've probably got anything from early, early morning hours to a little bit later,

depending on the stage of life and your circumstances.

But whatever time you usually get up,

you wake up,

and it stays dark outside.

How many of you would enjoy that?

How many of you depend on the sun coming at you?

Yeah, Clayton raised his hand.

I would love that.

It means you can go back to sleep, right?

Look, summer break's coming, man.

You'll be able to sleep in a little bit, probably.

Look, we depend sometimes on the sun coming in.

Maybe some of you depend on the sun coming in to get up.

I've got kids in school, so, you know, we wake up before the sun comes up.

But that's all right.

How many of you have been in a part of the world

where there is a period of polar darkness?

Anybody?

Anybody?

Yeah.

There's one, two, just a few of you.

Not a whole lot.

How many of you are aware that there are certain parts

of the far northern part of our globe

where the darkness, for a period of time,

is either 24 hours a day or nearly 24 hours a day?

You're aware of that?

It's depressing.

It's depressing.

We don't realize how much we need the sun

and how perfectly God made it to where we depend on the sun.

Our world depends on the sun.

Be weird.

You woke up, the clock says it's 7 o'clock in the morning,

it's still dark outside.

9 o'clock in the morning, it's still dark outside.

Noon, 2 o'clock, 3.30, kids get out of school,

it's still dark outside.

How many of you kids would love having recess in the dark?

You might have fun at first, but eventually you'd get pretty old.

The teachers would not love the liability and the injuries

that would happen with recess in the dark.

Being in the darkness is not fun.

Can be for a little bit.

Can be here and there.

But man, would that get old quickly.

We need that sunlight.

Back when I was a youth pastor, we live in northern Nevada

and I'd led a missions trip up to Alaska

and we visited during a time of year

when it was almost all sunlight all the time.

I took a picture, it was midnight outside

and it was broad daylight.

Midnight and broad daylight outside.

Just the weirdest thing.

Of course, you gotta take advantage of blackout curtains

in those times when you're trying to go to sleep.

But then there is the other time of year

and they said, listen, you enjoy it right now.

It's fun.

But it's not fun when the darkness comes

and it stays.

And sometimes in the far northern reaches of Alaska,

they'll go more than two months in a row

without any sunlight

or very, very little sunlight at all.

So just imagine that.

Put your head there a little bit on Easter morning.

Can you imagine living day after day in darkness?

You'd have to adjust your life to it.

You'd have to rely on manufactured light

as you see here

just to be able to get around.

Into that kind of darkness,

that level of darkness,

Jesus came.

That was the level of spiritual darkness

the world had been trapped in

since the fall of man.

If you've been around church for any length of time,

you've probably heard about the Garden of Eden,

Adam and Eve,

the first man and the first woman

and how Satan seduced them

with the promise of power

and knowledge equal to God

and they believed his lies

and they sinned against God.

And from then on,

the world was plunged into darkness,

spiritual darkness.

They could not see

beyond their own understanding.

So limited.

They couldn't understand.

And God would promise

little bits and pieces of the future.

He would say,

I'm going to send a rescuer.

I'm going to help you.

There's going to be a way out.

But you have to believe.

You have to have this thing

we call faith.

That's what the people

who lived before the coming of Jesus,

all they had to hold on to

was this little thing called faith.

Just little points of light

that would appear.

God might appear to his people

just for a moment.

God might speak through his prophets

in the Old Testament

in increasingly obscure ways

and it was hard to always understand

exactly what they were talking about.

It didn't all line up

until God himself came down.

We talk about it at Christmastime.

I think Christmas and Easter

are inextricably linked.

You can't separate them.

My mom always likes to talk about Easter

and sing Easter songs at Christmastime

and then she likes to talk about Christmas

and sing Christmas songs at Easter time.

But I get it

because they're very connected.

It's all part of the story.

So you go back

to how it began

then you go back

to not how it ended

but how our hope

then began.

And you've been hearing this story read

in little bits and pieces

from the young

all the way up to adults

from the word of God

about how Jesus came

and what he endured

at the hands of mankind.

So, number one,

before we get there,

if you'd like to take any notes

there's a spot in your bulletin

to do that.

If not, if you just want to listen

that's absolutely fine.

But I want to share this quote with you.

We're all stumbling in the dark

and that makes for some pretty

interesting collisions.

Think about that.

You and I are all stumbling around

in the darkness.

Spiritually speaking,

we're all stumbling around.

Except for the light

of the Holy Spirit of God,

we can't see clearly.

So God's Holy Spirit

has to give us that light.

He has to pull the veil

away from our eyes.

And until he does that,

we stumble around

and we smack into each other.

And then you've got wars

and you've got strivings

and you've got fightings

and you've got disagreements

and you've got greed

and jealousy and anger

and all these things

that come from people

stumbling around in the dark.

So this was the world,

get that in your head,

this picture,

this was the world

that Jesus came into.

It was utter darkness.

We could turn the lights off

in this room,

but we've got this stained glass

and we've got the windows

where natural light

would come in.

But can you imagine

if it was the dead of night

and then we turned off

all the lights?

It would be hard

to get around.

It would be hard

to get out of your pew probably.

It would be stumbling

all over each other.

It would be mass chaos

in here

and the fire marshal

would take us to court

or something.

Wouldn't be good.

But this is Jesus'

solution.

Jesus brings the light.

So number one,

Jesus is God's light

in darkness.

This is not anything profound,

but I hope that you can

wrap your head around it

and begin to have faith

in this statement

that Jesus is God's light

in the darkness.

John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

we read about exactly

how he triumphed over death.

You've heard little bits

and pieces,

but in John chapter 20,

John 20 · chapter mention

actually, you know what?

I'm going to go to Luke 24.

So if you were in John 20,

that's okay.

Flip over,

flip back one book

and let's go to Luke 24.

Very early on Sunday morning,

the women went to the tomb

taking the spices

they had prepared.

If you just want to listen,

that's fine as well.

They found that the stone

had been rolled away

from the entrance,

so they went in.

But they didn't find

the body of the Lord Jesus.

Can you imagine

how shocked they were

to get to the tomb

and see this stone

rolled away?

They'd watched him die.

They'd heard he was buried

in this garden tomb

that belonged to

Joseph of Arimathea,

a prominent member

of the Sanhedrin,

and he had graciously,

as a follower of Jesus,

offered up his tomb

for Jesus' burial.

So they go here

to try to honor

Jesus' memory,

brought spices

in lieu of flowers,

and they go in,

seeing the stone

is rolled away.

Who rolled the stone away?

The stone is massive.

Nobody could have done it

on their own.

Who did this?

And his body's not there.

And they're standing there

trying to wrap

their heads around it.

What's going on?

Did somebody break in here

and steal Jesus' body away?

And then two men

appeared to them,

clothed in dazzling robes,

and the women were terrified,

and they bowed

with their faces

to the ground,

and the men asked,

Why are you looking

among the dead

for someone who is alive?

He isn't here.

He is risen from the dead.

Remember what he told you

back in Galilee?

The Son of Man

must be betrayed

into the hands

of sinful men,

and he must be crucified,

but he would rise again

on the third day.

Then they remembered

that he had said this.

So then they rushed back

to tell his disciples.

What Jesus said

came true.

Now it started

to make sense.

Now the scales

started to fall

from their eyes.

Now the veils

started to be lifted.

Because even before,

when Jesus was predicting

his own resurrection

from the dead,

they thought maybe

he was talking

allegorically.

Maybe he was

not being literal.

Like, what?

What does he mean?

Tear the temple down

and in three days

I'll build it back up again.

What's he talking about?

And then he does it.

And he triumphs

over death.

And he triumphs

over darkness.

So Jesus' resurrection

is not an isolated miracle.

It's the culmination

of all the law

and the prophets

that came before.

So when you read

through the Old Testament,

you've got all the law.

You know,

the most famous

illustration of that

is the Ten Commandments.

And we look at that,

that Moses gave

to the people

that God gave to him.

And we say,

this is the law.

But that was not

the only part of the law.

The law went much

beyond that.

It was a very expansive law.

And God's point

with all that

was to point

at how mankind

could never free itself

from bondage

to failure.

failure.

You're never going

to be able

to live up

to this standard

of perfection.

God created

this world perfectly.

This is all

how it's supposed to go.

And you're never

going to be able

to meet that standard.

So this was the law.

And then you had

the prophets.

And you read

through the Old Testament book

and they've got

the prophets

talking about

little bits

and pieces about God.

Revealing a little bit more.

Pointing ahead

to Jesus.

But nobody exactly knew

what that meant

or what it looked like

until Jesus

came.

And then Jesus

was the perfect

picture of God.

The law

and the prophets

was an imperfect

picture of God.

It was

not fully clear.

It was not

fully realized.

But then Jesus

came

and he

was the perfect

clear picture

of who God is,

what he's about.

So if you want

to know

who God is

and what he's about,

you can read

the law,

you can read

the prophets,

they're going to give you

an imperfect picture.

When you look at Jesus,

it all comes

into focus.

That was the difference.

Before,

they couldn't see

clearly.

But then Jesus

came.

He said,

this is who God is.

Now he's with you.

Now you get to hear

him speak

to you

directly.

Now you get to see

how he lives.

Now you get to see

what he cares about.

Jesus is

God's

light.

Without

Jesus,

you're living

in the dark.

And you're

stumbling around.

And you're

bumping into each

other.

And that's what we do.

But Jesus

turns the light on.

And you get to see

God clearly.

You get to see

what he's about.

So,

let's go to Malachi

Malachi 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse 2.

Malachi 4

and verse 2.

But for you

who revere

my name,

the son

of righteousness

will rise

with healing

in its rays.

and you will

go out

and you'll

frolic

like well-fed

calves.

Does anybody

raise cattle

in here?

There are

people who

raise cattle

who are not

raising their

hand.

Raise your

hand if you

raise cattle.

There we go.

I'm looking at it.

I know you

raise cattle.

All right.

Or you have

maybe at some

point.

We're in

Clay County,

y'all.

Y'all know

cattle,

all right?

If we go down

in Dallas,

they don't know

cattle as well.

But y'all know

cattle.

When you've

got a young

well-fed

calf,

it wants to

go out

and have

some fun,

right?

But for you

who revere

my name,

the sun

will rise

in the

darkness.

And it'll

be healing

in its

warmth.

And you'll

be like a

young calf

who's getting

enough to

eat.

And it's

got no

worries.

And it

can go

out and

enjoy that

warmth of

the sun.

In a

green

pasture

when the

sun

rises.

Now,

would you

take that

U and

turn it

into an

O?

Because that's

the title

of my

talk today.

Is the

sun

has

risen.

The

S-O-N.

But Malachi

imperfectly

prophesied and

gave us a

little clue.

someday the

sun will

rise.

But we're

not talking

about the

sun that

hangs in

the sky.

We're

talking about

the sun

of

righteousness

or the

S-O-N,

the sun

of God.

And when

he rises,

then healing

will come.

And then joy

will come.

And then

happiness

will come.

And you'll

get to

fully experience

this life

that God

intended for

you.

until then

were still

in the

dark.

The only

thing they

had was

faith.

You know

what the

only thing

that we

have today

is?

Faith.

It's the

same faith.

It's after

the fact

looking back

instead of

before the

fact when

this was

written looking

ahead.

During

Jesus'

time he

was there,

he was

present,

but they

still had

to have

faith that

he was

from God,

that he

was God

himself,

that he

was the

perfect

revelation

of the

father in

the son.

So Malachi

4.2

teaches us

that Jesus

wasn't just

a little

pinpoint of

light.

Jesus was

not just

another prophet

coming to

talk about

God.

Jesus was

God present

with us.

The son

of righteousness

had risen

and it was

shining down

into the

dark world,

the spiritually

dark world.

Now you

don't have

to stumble

around anymore.

Now there's

something,

a physical

perfect being

to place

your faith

in.

It wasn't

just the

imperfect

lives and

words of

the prophets,

it was

the perfect

revelation of

Jesus Christ.

Now we

get the

complete

picture,

not just

a partial

picture.

Jesus is

God's light

in the

darkness.

We see

this

mentioned

in

Matthew.

Let's go

to Matthew

17.

This is

the perfect

picture.

Jesus backs

up what I'm

talking about

here.

The Father

backs it up.

You ready?

Matthew 17,

we call it

the

transfiguration.

Everybody say

transfiguration.

Just making

sure y'all

are with me.

You are.

That's great.

Let's go.

We're nearing

the conclusion

here.

So let's

dive into

Matthew 17.

After six

days,

Jesus took

with him

Peter,

James,

and John,

the brother

of James,

and he led

them up a

high mountain

by themselves.

There he

was transfigured

before them.

What does

that mean?

His face

shone like

the sun.

His clothes

became as

white as

the light.

We get

to see

this divine

light of

Jesus.

Like how

you would

think God

looks,

he shows

that to

them.

Yeah,

this is the

good stuff

right here.

This is what

you've been

waiting on.

I've been

telling you,

I've been

giving you

little clues

that I

am sent

from God

and I

am the

Father

one.

I am

God

himself,

but now

I'm

showing you

this divine

light.

I can't

imagine

what that

was like.

And then

just right

then,

there appeared

before them

Moses and

Elijah.

What did

Moses and

Elijah

represent?

The law

and the

prophets.

This is who

they had

hope in

before.

This is

whose word

they believed.

Moses and

Elijah for

centuries,

if you were

going to

trust in

the one

true God,

you were

going to

believe the

words and

the teachings,

the law

of Moses

and Elijah

because they

spoke on

behalf of

God.

They were

imperfect men.

They didn't

do always

everything right.

They didn't

make all the

right decisions

all the time.

Sometimes they

get angry.

Sometimes they

would lead

imperfectly.

This is the

law and the

prophets

represented

by Moses

and Elijah

appearing with

Jesus,

talking with

him.

And in

verse 4,

Peter said

to Jesus,

God, this

is amazing.

Lord, it's

good for us

to be here.

Look at

this.

It's you.

It's Moses.

It's Elijah.

This validates

you, Jesus.

I mean, I

believed in

you.

I had faith

in you.

But look,

you're right

here with

Moses and

Elijah.

Like they're

appearing from

the dead and

they're giving

validation to

you.

God, I tell

you what, I

got a great

idea.

I'm going to

build a little

shelter, one

for you, one

for Moses, one

for Elijah,

Elijah.

Peter was a

guy who liked

to kind of

dive in and

mix it up a

little bit.

I got this.

I got this,

Jesus.

Brilliant idea.

Let us just

stay here for a

while.

While he was

speaking, while

Peter was

talking, the

father interrupts

him.

And he says,

a bright cloud

covered them,

and a voice from

the cloud said,

this is my son,

whom I love,

with him I

am well

pleased, listen

to him.

Peter, it's

not about

Moses and

Elijah anymore,

buddy.

The law and

the prophets,

that was

partial.

Now you have

the full

picture.

You don't

need Moses

and Elijah

to validate

Jesus.

And then

what happens?

The disciples

heard this,

they freaked

out.

They fell

face down to

the ground

terrified,

but Jesus

came over and

touched them

and said,

get up,

don't be

afraid.

You know

Jesus always

did that.

This is a

little rabbit

trail, but

anytime you see

something amazing

happening and

people are just

freaking out,

you know,

and Jesus

told Peter,

hey, let's go

out and let's go

fishing again.

You've been

fishing all night

and the fish

weren't biting,

but I tell you

what, let's go

one more time.

And Peter goes

out there and

Peter's like,

God, let me tell

you that the fish

aren't biting.

I'm an experienced

fisherman, been

doing it a long

time, I know.

Okay, if you

want to go fishing

sometime, I'll

take you out when

it's a better

time.

But okay, fine,

since you're

Jesus, we'll go,

but I'm warning

you, it's not

going to work.

And then he gets

out there and

Jesus says, put the

nets down one

more time.

And all the fish

in the entire sea

came in and

pulled him in.

And what did

Peter do?

He fell down to

his knees and

said, oh God, I

messed up.

Depart from me.

I don't even

deserve to be

around you.

I'm a sinful

man.

And Jesus said,

get up, fear

not, don't worry

about it.

Jesus' response was

always compassion.

It was never, I

told you so.

It was never, why

didn't you have

faith the first

time?

It was never, when

are you going to

learn?

That's our

responses.

Jesus' response

was, don't be

afraid.

It's okay.

I have compassion

for you.

So if there's

somebody who

speaks for

Jesus, and

that's not their

demeanor, that's

not their

response, then

maybe they're not

speaking for

Jesus like they

present themselves

to be.

Because we see

who God is in

the person of

Jesus.

We see the full

picture.

This is who

Jesus is.

So if you're not

perfect and

somebody's shaking

their finger at

you for it, that's

not coming from

Jesus.

Jesus says, don't

be afraid.

Fear not.

I have compassion

on you.

I have a plan for

you.

Come on, let's

walk together.

That's Jesus.

That is the

Father.

That is God.

And that's what

Jesus said,

this is my

son.

Hear him.

Listen to

him.

The resurrection

of Jesus would

confirm that that

moment back on

Mount Tabor, when

the transfiguration

happened and Jesus

was shown to be

God early.

They got a little

picture.

Peter, James, and

John, that was a

decisive moment.

That was an

integral moment,

especially if you

were a Jew,

especially if you've

been following the

law and the

prophets your whole

life, and the

Torah was what

your life completely

revolved around.

The teachings of the

Old Testament.

That was your

world.

That was your God

almost.

And now God

himself is saying,

this is what it's

about now.

It's about Jesus

Christ.

He's not one voice

among many.

He's the final

revelation of me

that you'll ever

need.

I want to share this

quote with you.

It's going to be hard

to read, so I'll read

it for you.

The resurrection is

not only God's

vindication of his

son, where he

showed and justified

and proved that

Jesus is who he says

he is.

It is the vindication

of all that Jesus

taught.

Easter Sunday,

today, ready?

It's nothing less

than the triumph,

the victory of the

peaceable kingdom of

Christ.

The peaceable kingdom

of Christ.

Jesus' kingdom came

to bring peace, not

war.

So if somebody is

trying to act like

Jesus' kingdom brings

war and conquest,

that's what the Jews

wanted it to bring.

That's why they

turned on him after

they weighed the

palm branches and

said, yes, Hosanna,

Jesus our king is

coming to give us

victory and conquest.

And then, fast

forward, and they're

yelling, crucify him.

He's not who he

thought he was.

The peaceable kingdom

of Christ.

Easter changes

everything.

Easter is the hope

of the world.

Easter is the dawn

of a new age.

It is the rising of

the new Jerusalem

that someday we read

in Revelation is

going to come down

to this earth.

God is bringing

the new.

He said, I saw

the holy city,

the new Jerusalem

coming down out

of the heavens.

That's what Easter

is about.

And it's on the

horizon of humanity's

burned out landscape.

Easter is God

saying, once again,

because this has been

his theme from the

beginning, this is my

beloved son with whom

I am well pleased.

Listen to him.

him.

Jesus is the fulfillment

of all of it.

Jesus is built

on the father.

He's the impersonation.

He's the personification,

not impersonation.

He's the personification

of the father.

Jesus and the father

are one.

Christianity is built

on the person

of the risen Jesus.

It's not built

on principles.

It's not built

on ethics.

It's not built

on tradition.

Christianity

is built

on Jesus.

If your version

of Christianity

doesn't look like

who Jesus was,

then what you have

is not Christianity.

It might be religion,

but you're missing

the resurrection.

You might have religion,

but you're missing

the resurrection.

You don't get

to claim Jesus.

You don't get

to claim the Christ,

so you shouldn't

be calling it Christian

or Christianity

because Christ,

what he taught

is not what you have.

Now, I pray

that the vast majority

of you,

either already have

what Jesus taught

and who he was

or you're ready

to accept it today

because there'd be

no better day

than on Easter Sunday

to say,

I choose Jesus.

I choose the risen one.

And that leads us

to our final thought.

Because Jesus rose,

your world has hope.

Your world,

not just the world,

but your world

has hope.

With all of your hangups,

all of your problems,

all of your circumstances,

maybe all of your pride,

all of your accomplishments,

all of that has hope,

not because of you,

not because of your neighbor,

not because of your family,

not because of your finances,

not because of your status,

not because of anything

that you can do

or anything that you can earn.

Your world has hope

because of one single fact,

Jesus rose from the dead.

Otherwise,

you're still in darkness

like the rest of us.

Otherwise,

we're all still

stumbling around

convincing ourselves

to believe in somebody

that really wasn't

any different

than anybody else.

But he was different

because he did die

and he did rise from the dead.

And that makes it different.

That makes it somebody

to put hope in.

So if your hope

is in anything else

than a risen Jesus,

your hope is unfounded.

So,

people build their lives

around other things.

They build their lives

around control,

success,

comfort,

identity,

even religion.

But not enough people

in politics,

not enough people

on either side of the aisle,

not enough people

in churches,

not enough people

in county government,

not enough people

in school systems,

not enough people

in the workplace

build their lives

around Jesus Christ.

Let that be different

for you and me.

Let us wake up

every morning and say,

today,

I'm going to follow Jesus.

He might lead me places

I'm not expecting.

He might require things

in me I'm not expecting.

He might make me

go against my better judgment

because his judgment

is better than mine.

But because Jesus rose,

your world has hope.

You don't have to be trapped

in your best abilities.

You don't have to be trapped

in your own wisdom.

You have hope beyond that

because Jesus rose from the dead.

2 Peter,

this is the last scripture

we'll read today.

2 Peter 1 and verse 19,

we have this prophetic word

more fully confirmed.

You see what it's saying there?

The prophecies that you read about

in the Old Testament,

all those books of prophecy

and you go through Micah

and Nahum

and you read about Elijah

and Elisha and Samuel

and you read all these

Old Testament prophets

and you see what they had to say

and sometimes it's hard to understand.

You got to really study it out

to try to figure out

what they're talking about.

But Peter,

who walked with Jesus

and was there on Mount Tabor

when the transfiguration happened,

Peter says,

trust me,

we have this prophetic word

more fully confirmed.

I was there

when Moses and Elijah

disappeared from view.

Because you know what happened

back on the transfiguration?

Moses and Elijah appeared

and they're talking with Jesus

and then God speaks,

this is my beloved son,

hear him.

You know what happened then?

Moses and Elijah faded away.

They were left with the only one

they truly needed,

which was Jesus Christ himself.

Peter says,

I was there.

And we have those prophecies

now confirmed.

We have those prophecies

now confirmed.

Fully confirmed.

We've got the full picture now.

And you'll do well

to pay attention to it.

Because it's like a lamp

shining in a dark place.

It's like a sun

rising and shining its light

down into this dark world.

It's like the morning

dawning after a long

and hard night.

until the day dawns

and the morning star

rises in your hearts

like it's risen in mine.

That's what Peter's saying to us.

This is what it's about.

It's about Jesus.

Paul said,

I can't really know anything

among you

except this one thing.

Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

And I can tell you,

I don't know

everything about everything.

You might know more than me

about some things.

We might have different ideas

about some things.

But this one thing I know,

Jesus Christ

and him crucified

and him risen from the dead.

Because of that,

I was spiritually blind.

I was in darkness.

I was stumbling around.

Like all of you were.

Until the morning star,

Jesus,

the light of the world.

Can we say that together?

Jesus,

the light of the world

rose in my heart

and I pray

he's risen in yours.

Would you bow your head with me?

Jesus does not fit

into your life.

Your life depends on him.

Jesus is the answer.

Jesus is the light of the world.

You've heard it

from the moment

you walked into this building

this morning.

You've heard it

in every song,

every scripture reading,

every prayer

that's been lifted up.

Jesus is the way.

Jesus is the truth.

Jesus is the life.

Jesus is the full picture

of God revealed

to you and me.

don't build your life

around control,

success,

comfort,

identity,

even religion.

Build your life

around Jesus

and who he is,

what he said,

how he lived.

You read something

in the Old Testament

that doesn't seem

to line up with Jesus.

Compare it to Jesus.

Say,

is this something

in the Old Testament

that I need to

let define me

or do I need to

let Jesus Christ

define me

and whatever I read

in the Old Testament

or the New Testament

point me to Jesus?

Whatever I experienced

in church,

that might have been

like Jesus,

it might not have been

like Jesus.

I need to let it

point me

to Jesus.

That's who God is.

A lot of people

will talk about God.

A lot of people

will claim God.

A lot of people

will call themselves

Christians.

Say,

this is Christian.

The Bible told me

to do this.

Here's what I want

to know.

How like Jesus

are you?

How like Jesus

am I?

That's how I know

if I'm right with God.

If I'm like his son.

Because he said,

hear my son.

Listen to him.

Hear what he has

to say.

See how he lives.

See who he cares about.

See what he does

with his time.

I pray right now

while our heads are bowed

and our eyes are closed

and we're just

in communion

with the Holy Spirit

of God,

I pray that you would

open your heart to him

and say,

God,

change me.

Take over my life.

Make me like you.

Jared's going to lead us

in a song

in just a moment.

you can listen to him sing.

We won't stand.

You can remain in your seats.

You can sing along

if you'd like,

quietly.

But during these next

couple of minutes

before we all leave,

would you open your heart

to Jesus today?

I'm not asking you

to think I'm the best preacher

you've ever heard

because that's not going

to be true.

I'm not asking you

to think that this is

the greatest church

you've ever been in,

but you know what?

It is if this is

where you find Jesus,

the real Jesus.

So would you open

your heart to him today?

Jared,

go ahead and lead us.

It was my cross

you bore

so I could live

in the freedom

you died for.

If you need to pray down here,

this is open for that.

If you need somebody

to talk to,

I'd be happy to meet you

down here and pray with you.

Forevermore.

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

You deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name.

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

You deserve the praise.

Give him the praise.

Worthy is your name.

If you need to turn

to Jesus today,

don't walk out these doors

without making that decision.

Most important decision

you'll ever make

in your life

because he changes everything.

He's not a dead man.

He's alive.

He's there for you.

He's ready to listen.

He's ready to work.

His spirit wants to take up

residence in you today.

And now my shame is gone

and I stand amazed

in your love undeniable.

Your grace goes on and on.

I will sing of your goodness

forevermore.

If you're able to stand,

would you join us in standing

and sing this to Jesus?

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

You deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name.

He is worthy.

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

Yes.

You deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name.

One more time.

Just the voices.

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

You deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name.

Worthy is your name,

Jesus.

You deserve the praise.

Worthy is your name.

Amen.

God, that's our prayer to you today

is you do deserve all our praise.

You deserve all our faith.

You deserve complete control

over our spirit,

over how we conduct ourselves,

over how we think,

how we make decisions.

It must line up with the person

of the risen Christ.

I pray that you would change us today,

make us more like you.

Let us truly be Christian.

living like Christ in this world,

showing people the darkness

can have full, complete light

shown into it,

just like you've shown in our hearts.

We'll thank you for it.

We'll give you for it.

All the praise for it.

All the glory.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Church, thank you so much

for being with us

for Easter Sunday worship.

You are dismissed.

No activities tonight,

but we'll see you back here Wednesday

at six o'clock and next Sunday.

God bless.

Thank you.