EASTER: The Implications of a Living Jesus

This podcast is the Ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

For more information in our church, please visit Grandparkway.org.

Let me just say if you're our guest today, thanks for being a part of our service.

I'm in John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, there's one on your row.

I'm on page 906, or it'll come up on the screen right here.

I want to talk to you this morning about the implications of a living Jesus.

The implications of a living Jesus, what do you mean?

Well, what I mean is, what does it mean for us that Jesus rose from the dead?

I mean, somewhere in the midst of all this, like you did things this week you've never done before.

Like some of you went and bought a dress.

You hadn't bought a dress in a long time.

Some of you came home and your mom said, Oh, by the way, we're getting the pictures taken this week.

And you're like, oh man, why we gotta get pictures taken?

Because your mom said, that's why.

That's all you need to know.

So we do different things around Easter because, like, okay, I'm kind of good.

Some of you are like the CEO, you're Christmas and Easter only church-going people.

And that's okay.

I'm not hating on you for that.

I'm just saying this: that there's something about Easter that everybody universally kind of recognized.

Hey, something's different about this.

I want to talk to you about what that means.

See, because we would prefer a sleepy, historical figure, Jesus, it was a good teacher, moral example, prophet, helped a lot of people, hacked the Romans off, got killed.

Fun while it lasted.

We would kind of prefer that.

But if he really did rise from the dead, like the Bible says, changes everything.

The Bible says in John chapter 20, verse 1, it says, Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

John 20:1

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.

And so Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in.

And then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.

He saw the linen cloth lying there, and the face cloth which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.

And then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must be he must rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Now, there's a couple things I want to just point out that we just read in the Bible.

Like number one, the disciples, despite the fact that they lived with Jesus, hung out with Jesus, walked, talked, ate with Jesus, saw him heal people, perform these miraculous signs, they did not expect him to rise from the dead.

And I'll demonstrate why in just a minute, how we can know that.

As he's spending time with them, as he's getting like in the last six months of his life and getting closer.

In the last couple of weeks, he's like the Son of Man.

Must go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of sinful men, be crucified, buried, and I'll rise again on the third day.

And you would think, after saying this over and over and over, that people would go, okay, we got it.

But they didn't get it.

Matter of fact, you say, How do you know that?

Because they ran.

You say, What do you mean?

The Bible says when the women reported, hey, he's not there.

Someone's taking him away.

The disciples sprinted to the When's the last time you ran?

Some of you are like, Well, what year is this?

I mean, when's the last time you heard something that was so kind of surprised you took you off guard that you're like, You just don't do that.

Can you picture Peter running?

I read people in the Bible like Peter.

I picture Peter like host caught right on bonanza.

Big fat guy likes bacon and beer.

Got a big hairy chest where the Mr.

T-Starter said about eight gold chains, no front teeth, though he's always looking.

Oh, I'll tell you what, I'll knock you out, let's go.

He likes to fight guy that goes to the bar.

You want some of this?

That's Peter.

Peter's running.

The Bible says the other guy was so excited, he outran Peter.

Peter's.

And the other brother just smooth stroking it right on by him.

Gets there, and he's like, he looked in, it was empty.

And the Bible says when he looked and saw, he believed.

You should ask yourself the question today: what is it going to take for you to believe in Jesus?

The Bible says that they ran, they looked, they said, He's not here.

Other gospel writers account and they said, Hey, one of the angels appeared to them and said, Hey, why do you seek the living among the dead?

What does it matter to us?

What does it mean to us?

That, hey, and by the way, notice one other thing, and then I'll and then we'll get into the sermon.

Notice one other thing.

The Bible says that the gravecloths were lying there.

It's like you say, we don't understand that because we bury people differently than they did back then.

Back then, what they would do is like Nicodemus, a man that came to Jesus at night, uh, back in John chapter 3, he came with Joseph of Arimathea to take Jesus' body off the cross.

John 3 · chapter mention

They would take, and the Bible says he brought 75 pounds of spices.

That's a lot of spice right there.

And what they do is like a big linen cloth and they would wrap the body from the shoulders down.

Okay, like women put on a towel.

You know, women put on a towel one way, men put on a towel another way.

If you're a dude and you put a towel up here, you're jacked up, dude.

You need some help, okay?

See me after the service.

That's a whole nother sermon.

But they would wrap the body from the shoulders down.

They would wrap them, put in some spices, wrap them, put in some spices.

If you're thinking, spices like what?

Uh not like nutmeg and cinnamon, but spices would keep the body from decaying and stinking.

And so they'd wrap them from the shoulders down, and then it took a napkin and they put it over the face, and sometimes they would wrap it around the head.

The Bible says the gravecloths were there, just like the body just disappeared and they just settled in.

But the napkin, interesting phrase.

The napkin, they said, was taken and somebody folded it and put it in another place.

You say, What do you mean?

If you've there's a steakhouse here in town called Taste of Texas over off I-10 and Gessner.

If you've never been there, I'll be your personal guide.

As long as you're paying.

And so, but if you go to Taste of Texas, you go in and this is not the scissor, okay?

This is the real deal.

You go in and you order, they don't put your steak in to start cooking until you get up and go to the salad bar.

Now all you guys are like, dude, salad bar?

Oh, yeah, yeah, salad bar.

This is not no regular salad bar.

They got stuff on there that they ain't got anywhere else.

And so you go to the salad bar, and when you come back, somebody has come along and taken your napkin and folded it and put it in a certain place.

See, what you do with a napkin indicates where you are in relation to why you came.

When you're done with your meal, you take the napkin and you just put it there on the table.

You're like, I'm done with it.

I'm finished.

Jesus is doing, they sprint in, they see the grove the gravecloths closed, and then they see the napkin folded in a different place, and they're like, uh-oh.

Who takes a body and takes the time to fold the napkin and put it a certain way?

See, here's the things I want you to think about.

The implications of a living Jesus said differently, okay, so what?

Big deal.

What does it mean for us that Jesus rose from the dead?

It means five things.

I want to talk about briefly this morning.

It means number one, that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus is the Son of God.

What do you mean?

We talked about it, and I alluded to it earlier that we had a Good Friday service, and we began the Good Friday service by I read from John chapter 2, and we read about how Jesus cleansed the temple.

John 2 · chapter mention

Jesus, first thing he does in John's gospel, he comes and people are in church and the temple, and they're exchanging money and they're ripping people off.

Let me tell you something.

God hates it when people rip people off, steal money in the name of God.

God hates it more than anybody in this room does, okay?

So you ain't got to worry about the late-night phony TV preachers.

God's gonna lay the wood to them on judgment day, as sure as the sun came up this morning.

So Jesus comes, he flips over the thing, and the Bible says he makes a whip.

And I was like an eagle scout.

He whips out a project and he begins to just beat people and drive them out of the temple.

And there's he grabs their money and he throws the coins out in the street, and poor people are like, oh, let me help you with that.

It's Bedlam.

And here's the question that they ask him.

John chapter 2, verse 18, the religious leaders come up to him and they said, What sign do you show us for doing these things?

John 2:18

Now that's jacked up.

You're like, What do you mean?

Picture tomorrow if you go to work and somebody shows up with a bull whip and starts just beating Bob in the cubicle next to you.

You're not gonna lean over and go, What sign do you show us by doing these things?

You're gonna be under your desk on the phone to 911, 911 operator is your mercy.

Yes, emergency.

This guy's crazy.

He's going postal in here, send the SWAT team.

Here's what was happening.

The Jews believed that when the Messiah would come, that he would demonstrate it with signs and wonders.

Jesus takes a whip and drives and changes the way everybody does things in the temple.

And the religious leaders of the day run up and go, hey, hey, uh, what sign can you give us to show us?

You know, what sign are you showing us?

Basically, what they're saying is, are you really the Messiah?

Because this is something like only the Messiah would do.

And if you're the Messiah, this is, and Jesus said, You want a sign?

I'll give you a sign.

He says, Destroy this temple and I'll raise it up in three days.

At the very beginning, Jesus has the resurrection in mind.

The resurrection is the ultimate proof that Jesus really is the Son of God.

The Bible says it also in Romans chapter 1, verse 4.

Romans 1:4

He says he was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.

Let me say it again.

The resurrection is the most tangible demonstration of Jesus' deity.

It didn't make him the Son of God, it proved once and for all that he really was the Son of God.

Because when people would ask him, Who are you?

or do you he was on trial because he professed to be the Son of God?

And when he finally told them, I am the Son of God, they got so angry they pulled their beards out.

They were like, Oh no, you didn't.

And they accused him of blasphemy.

Because you, a man, claim to be God.

Why do I tell you that on Easter Sunday?

Because if Jesus is not the Son of God, his death on the cross has no purpose for you and me.

It's just a guy getting killed.

But if he is the Son of God, then your ultimate purpose is affected by what Jesus did on the cross.

The second thing, the implication of a living Jesus, his death has a purpose.

His death has a purpose.

All through his life, Jesus talked about his death.

He would say, My hour is not yet come.

My hour is not yet come.

My time is not yet come.

Last Sunday we were in John chapter 12.

John 12 · chapter mention

Remember, we talked about how when the people came and said, Sir, we want to see Jesus.

Jesus' response was kind of crazy.

He said, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

After saying for almost three years, My time is not now, my time is not now.

And now he's like, ding.

Now is the time for the Son of Man to be glorified.

He's his death had a purpose.

What do you mean?

In Luke chapter 9, don't turn there, but Jesus is talking to these guys, and he spoke of going to Jerusalem to accomplish his death.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Who talks about their death in those terms?

I mean, who's going to go to lunch today after you commit heinous gluttony with ham and potato salad?

And then you're sitting around, and some of you are going to fire up a small log and you're going to go, like, man, there's nothing better after a meal than a cigarette.

Yes, there is.

It's called a nap.

I got one programmed into my iPhone for as soon as this next service is over with.

Don't call me unless it's an emergency.

In that case, call Wade, okay?

But you're sitting around, and no one's gonna say, What are you doing this week?

Well, Monday I'm playing golf with somebody from work.

Tuesday, I'm taking the old lady out to dinner, and Wednesday, I hope to accomplish my death.

What the what?

Everybody just backs up like, okay, there's Uncle Harold.

He's drunk again.

Imagine that at a family gathering.

Crazy old fool, shut up.

And yet, that's the way Jesus spoke.

He always spoke of his term, his death in terms of what it would accomplish.

You say, What do you mean?

Look up John chapter 19, just one one chapter up.

John 19 · chapter mention

John chapter 19, verse 28.

John 19:28

Jesus is on the cross.

He's dying.

He's getting ready to breathe his last.

Look at what he says in verse 28.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished.

Now stop just for a second.

You're smart people.

Ask yourself this question.

Have you ever had a day in your life where you feel like everything you were in this world to do was completed?

Some of y'all are like, oh, that's depressing.

Yesterday morning I woke up and just for a brief moment I thought, oh, this is awesome.

My wife brings me some coffee in bed.

I'm just like, this is great.

I'm just gonna lay around and do nothing all day.

And then my iPhone, reminder, reminder.

You have an appointment in one hour.

If I had a gun, I'd have shot that thing right there.

Because none of us have had a day where we just thought, man, this is it.

I got nothing to do for the rest of my life.

Jesus gets to the end of his life, and what does he say?

He says, At this Jesus, knowing that all it was now finished, he said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst.

A jar full of sour wine stood there, and so he put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch on a tree limb, and they held it out to his mouth.

And when he had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Even on the cross, Jesus says, It is finished, which begs the question, what is this it that he's referring to?

What is the mission that God sent Jesus here to accomplish that only on the cross he could say, It's done, it's now finished.

See, the the resurrection tells us that the death of Jesus had a purpose.

Third thing, uh implication of a living Jesus is that you can be changed.

You can be changed.

You say, What do you mean?

If you got a Bible and you don't have to turn, but if you want to turn to the right to 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 5, what do you mean?

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

You you you you you can be changed.

I'm just gonna read what the Bible says.

I'm not gonna tell you what I think, because what I think doesn't matter.

What matters supremely is what does the Bible say?

Here's what the Bible says 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

I'll start reading verse 13.

Paul says this, for and for if we are beside ourselves, it is for God.

If we're in our right mind, it is for you.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we've concluded this that one has died for all, and therefore all have died, and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

Now let me stop right there.

That's one of those verses in the Bible you read and you're kind of like, I just got confused.

What just happened?

Here's what Paul says.

He says, So from now on, therefore, from now on, we no longer regard anyone according to the flesh.

You ever heard this phrase?

Don't jug up, don't judge a book by its cover.

That's what the Bible's saying.

Paul says, Hey, we used to regard everyone from a worldly point of view, but we no longer regard Christ this way.

Why?

Because of the resurrection.

That's what he's saying on there.

It's based on that.

We'll come back to that in just a minute, but let me just let me just keep reading.

He says, uh, from now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

Translation, we used to think Jesus was a good man, was a moral teacher, was a prophet, but now we can't look at him that way anymore.

The resurrection has changed everything.

Verse 17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation.

The old is passed away.

Behold, the new is come.

And all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That means in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I'm gonna give you four questions to think about on this Easter Sunday, all that come out of this little section of the Bible.

And the first question is simply this what controls you?

What controls you?

That's what he says in verse 14.

He says, The love of God controls us.

The love of God.

Have you ever thought about your life in terms of being controlled by the love of God and wonder what that would look like?

For some of you, you say, Well, I don't know, I can't talk about what controls me here in church.

Sure you can.

This room right now is not filled with perfect people.

This room is filled with flawed and forgiven people.

Okay?

So if you haven't been in church in a long time, don't walk in and kind of think, great, I got a little bean plant.

All these people are A-plus Christians.

No, they're not.

Not at all.

No, I'm not.

But I want to be controlled by the love of God.

Some of you are not controlled by the love of God.

Some of you are controlled by food, some of you are controlled by prescription drugs, some of you are controlled by alcohol.

If you've been in this church any length of time, we say what the Bible says about alcohol.

We don't say, oh, it's a sin to drink.

The Bible says it's a sin to get drunk.

So don't get drunk.

And y'all don't believe me.

I gotta keep saying that because I walked in a restaurant not long ago.

Some guy comes running over to me and goes, Hey, hey, uh, you know me.

I go to your church.

Yeah, I recognize you.

Come to the second service, kind of sit towards the back.

I see you.

What's up?

Well, my wife, I mean, you said one time that, you know, drinking is not a sin, but drunkenness is a sin.

Right, right.

It's what you believe.

Better than that, it's what the Bible teaches.

Why are you asking me this?

Because my wife's back there under the table trying to hurry up and drink her margarita, and she's gonna get brain freeze.

Those things are best enjoyed slow, okay?

Tell your wife, just get out from under the table and just relax.

Now, why do I tell you that?

Because religion will do that to you.

You start looking around thinking, who knows who I really am?

Let me tell you who knows who you really are.

The person that matters most, God.

You ain't gotta be some phony poser.

Oh, there's the preacher.

Dunk.

You really think it's what Christ died for you to live?

He says, What controls you?

Let me just let me just confess my own sin.

Sometimes I'm controlled in my relationship with my wife, I'm controlled by my need to be right.

Like, I know y'all can't relate to this.

Like yesterday morning, got up, having a good day.

My wife and I were just sitting on the couch having a conversation.

I was looking at her, listening to her, because you can't look at the TV and listen to her, because that doesn't count.

You got to listen with your face.

Ain't no man in the world ever said that, you crazy old woman.

So I look at her with my face, and the dog jumps up on me.

See, this is it doesn't take much for me to get off the love of God controlling me.

The dog jumps up on me, and she's talking about it.

Man, you smell like a dead bird.

Get off of me.

I look back and she's like, would you mind not talking when I'm talking?

And it was off right there.

It was off.

And I was like, You ain't talking, you pause to take a breath, and the dog smelled like something died in him, and I didn't want him on me.

Well, it just really invalidates me.

And inside I'm like, oh, for the love of God, are you kidding me?

And my wife was in a bad mood.

She got kind of surly, and I was like, I'm thinking, man, if I had a husband as great as me, I would never do this.

That thought went through my head.

And so we just kind of agreed to disagree, went on doing something else.

I went and ran one of my errands.

I came back and I was like, hey, if she doesn't talk to me all day, that's fine.

There's a golf tournament on, there's two basketball games, that's seven hours right there.

If you don't know, you better act somebody, is all I'm saying, woman.

Don't threaten me with silence.

I'll take you up on that.

I come back in front of my errands, my wife walks in, I walk in the kitchen, and my wife walks over to me with her arms, and I was like, uh, and she grabs my arms and she goes, I just want to apologize.

I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier.

And in my mind, I was like, No, now we're talking.

And she looked at me.

After she apologized, she said, I just I don't want to speak to you that way, and I'm sorry.

And she went, This is what a sinner I am.

I thought the thought went through my head, oh, you want to make up now?

No.

Men, memo to you, that's not what that look means.

When your wife says, I'm sorry, and looks at you like this, what she's saying is, your turn.

And in that moment, I wasn't controlled by the love of God.

I was like, I ain't got nothing to apologize for.

I ain't got just because you're talking, I ain't gonna let the dog get upon me with a dead bird smell on him, alright?

This is jacked up.

So did I apologize?

No.

Oh yeah, thanks, ladies.

I'm not bragging about that because I went and rode my bike later on yesterday afternoon, rode around, and that little voice, the Spirit of God that lives inside of me since I became a Christian, said, Hey, by the way, I don't I don't think the way you related to your wife back then was really very loving.

That was kind of jerkish.

But God, did you say, shut up?

Alright, that's cool.

That's cool.

And I thought, why am I saying to God that's cool?

Like He not go, Oh, okay, never mind, God, just don't kill me.

See, the resurrection asks the question what controls you?

Second question asks what are you living for?

What are you living for?

That's what he says there.

He says the love of God controls us because we've concluded that one died for all, and therefore all died, and he died.

For all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

There's the resurrection in the middle of it all.

The resurrection asks us this question today.

What are you living for?

Third question: What is the purpose of Jesus' death?

The Bible says that, hey, he was not counting men's sins against them.

He's not looking around watching you, kind of going, Hey, what are you doing?

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

The Bible says we've all sinned.

Me at the top of the list and fallen short of the glory of God.

The Bible says if you if you if you break one of God's laws, you're guilty of breaking them all.

And that doesn't mean, well, well, what's the use?

We've already broken the law.

Let's just go.

No, that means, hey, stop and think about this for just a little bit.

What is the purpose?

What did God accomplish by sending Jesus to the cross?

And the Bible says that He was, that in Christ, God, verse 19, that is in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and trusting to us a message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we're ambassadors for Christ.

God making his appeal through us.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

That's what he's doing.

That's the per because he says in the next verse, verse 21, He made Him, He God, made Him Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin for us.

Now think about that for a minute.

If you're here in this room and you think, I have screwed up so much, there is no way I could ever fit in a church.

No way God would ever accept me.

That's a lie from the devil.

That's not God.

The Bible says He, God, made Jesus to become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

See, one of the things in the purpose of Jesus' death that God accomplished is simply this.

God doesn't look down and see what you're doing, He looks down and sees what you can become.

Because someone is now paid for your sin.

Last question I want you to think about on Easter is simply this have you ever been changed?

Have you ever been changed?

Verse 17 that we read says that if any man's in Christ, he's a new creation, old things have passed away.

Behold, everything becomes new.

Everything becomes new.

Has that ever happened for you?

Happened for me in July of 1982.

Wasn't a religious kid, didn't go to church.

It was hard.

It was a little thug.

But I heard the gospel.

And something got set off in me.

And the and the possibility of being forgiven.

I never got over that.

I remember listening to that guy talk and thinking, there is no way if you knew everything I had ever done about that time.

I'm thinking this in my head.

And about that time, the preacher says out loud, God knows everything you've ever done.

Because I was sitting like this, kind of having a deep thought, and all of a sudden he said that, and I was like, And that cat was looking right at me.

Everybody in church and think, the preacher was talking right to me today.

Not only was he talking right to me, he was looking right at me.

And I was like, you want to go?

I let my redneck out on you.

He just smiled.

And in that moment, my heart changed.

Does that ever happen for you?

See, the the fourth thing that the resurrection means for us is that living the Christian life is now possible.

You say, What do you mean?

Let me say it like this.

And then I'll explain it to you.

Christianity is not trying to adhere to some external standard or a moral code as much as it is living out this reality that's inside of you.

The Bible says it like this in Romans chapter 8, verse 11.

Romans 8:11

It says, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus, by the way, that's the Trinity for all you all you theologians in the room, that's Father, Son, Holy Spirit right there.

If the Spirit, Holy Spirit of Him God, who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.

If the fullness of who God is, if God comes to live inside of you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you.

Translation, the Spirit of God doesn't come to live inside of us just to watch us screw our life up.

No, he gives life to your mortal body.

You say, Well, what do you mean?

If you've been in this church any length of time, you've heard me talk about well, I was eating here, and I sense God kind of lead me to talk to this person just yesterday.

I'm riding my bike, praying for my wife.

God make my wife a better woman.

She disrespected me this morning.

Truth be told, my wife has never spoken.

I've been married 20 years.

I've been with her.

We dated for about two years.

She's never spoken a disrespectful word to me.

I don't want you, if you're visiting, I want you to think, man, I so outkicked my coverage when it came to women.

If you don't believe in God, listen to me and meet my wife, and you'll believe in God.

Because you'd be like, how could a man like that get a woman like that?

There is a God.

Yesterday I riding my bike and I rode by, and I I live over here in the store in the subdivision, and I rode by, and there's a guy I see him in, I've seen him, this is like the second or third time I've seen him.

He's in his garage and he's always walking back and forth and he's smoking and he's talking to himself.

And I felt a little something in me kind of saying, Hey, go talk to him.

And because I regarded him from a worldly point of view, like the Bible says not to, my first thought was, He looks like an axe murderer.

He probably got some people buried in his backyard.

I better, I pray for him, and I kept riding.

I rode by a couple days later.

I rode by yesterday.

He was out there in this driveway walking back and forth smoking, and that little something in me said, We're gonna talk to him.

I pray for him.

I pray for him.

You said, What is that little something in me?

It's the Spirit of God that lives inside of me, who's gonna give life to my mortal body.

What does that mean?

That God's not gonna come to live inside of me and then just leave me at the mercy of my appetites.

When God comes to live inside of you, he involves you in what he's doing to reconcile the world.

I rode off down the block and I said, Okay, Lord, you ever make deals with God?

Because I missed it.

I missed it.

I think, man, that was God.

That was the Spirit of God going, Hello, I think you hear me knocking.

And I was like, okay, God, I'm gonna ride my bike tomorrow.

And if he's out, I'm gonna go talk to him.

And then my wife said, Oh, we're having Easter for dinner.

Well, maybe I ride my bike on Monday.

He said, What are you gonna say?

I'm just gonna walk up to him, get off my bike and say, Hey man, my name's Neil.

I ride to the neighborhood and I pray as I'm ride.

I keep seeing you.

I think I'm supposed to be praying for you.

And I don't know, by the way, if you have a pastor, not somebody that just beats you down, but somebody that loves you and cares for you and is there for you.

I'd love to be your pastor.

I pastor the church right over here across the highway.

You're welcome anytime.

That's all I'm gonna say.

I'm not gonna whip out the Bible.

The Bible says that you're gonna go to hell on a slipping slide, smoker.

You've been to that church, huh?

Hey, ask yourself this question.

If God really wanted you to go to hell, why would he inspire a book to be written that tells you clearly how you don't have to go there?

It's real simple, folks.

It ain't hard.

Don't let preachers screw it up for you.

Don't let religious weasels make you think God's some kind of an idiot.

He's not.

See, living the Christian life is possible.

Fifthly and finally, simply, and here's the part I want you to stay with me.

Don't check out on it.

Oh, great, I knew that was coming.

Judgment is real.

I don't apologize for saying that.

Judgment is real.

You say, what in the cat hair has that got to do with the resurrection?

Everything.

Acts chapter 17, verse 30 and 31 say this.

Acts 17:30

He says, the times of ignorance, God is overlooked.

By the way, remember your times of ignorance?

I remember mine.

There are stories I can't tell in here because I got a 15-year-old daughter who sits down here kind of like.

The times of ignorance, God overlooked.

Now he hadn't forgotten about them.

Why did he overlook them?

Because it is the nature of God to have mercy on you.

The times of ignorance, God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he's fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

Hear this last part.

And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

If you believe in the resurrection, you are honor bound to believe in judgment.

You cannot separate the two.

Why?

Because the Bible clearly tells us that, hey, God has given evidence of this by raising, He's given assurance to all of us by raising him from the dead.

Now, what what does the Bible say?

It says that God's fixed a day on which he'll judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

And of this, he's given assurance to everybody by raising Jesus from the dead.

He said, Well, I don't know what that means.

Here's what it means: no one's gonna get a raw deal.

You and I are gonna be evaluated, judged, and I know we hate that word.

It's like, my God's not a God of judgment, my God's a God of love.

Your God's not the God of the Bible.

The love of God, let me say this, and we're about done.

The love of, excuse me, the judgment of God is one of the highest expressions of the love of God.

You're like, man, you just ran the okie doke on me right there.

What does that mean?

The judgment of God is one of the high expressions, highest expressions of the love of God.

What does that mean?

It means this.

How much do you have to hate somebody to know that this is coming and not tell them about it?

So he says, hey, the times of ignorance, God's overlooked.

But he's fixed today when he'll judge the world in righteousness.

No one's gonna get a raw deal.

No one's gonna go, oh man, you don't earn.

Why?

Because you're gonna be judged.

I'm gonna be judged by a perfect risen Jesus.

You say, What's what's the big deal?

Why do you tell us that on Easter?

I was with you.

Go back there talking about your wife, and then you drop that on me.

See, judgment drives you and I to a place of decision.

The Bible says, if any man's in Christ.

I told you earlier that ask you the question, have you ever been changed?

Not don't let that look hear that and judgment and think, oh, fear, not fear, understanding.

We don't do fear here.

We don't do guilt.

I never get up and beat you over the head with it and tell you, rah, rah, rah.

Some of you, the greatest decision you can make today is just to not be a CEO anymore.

Just a Christmas, Easter only person.

Some of you, you're just you, the greatest thing you could do today is just decide, you know what?

Maybe church is not what it used to be when I was a kid.

Maybe this is a place my family can be taught the Bible and be loved and accepted.

Absolutely.

Some of you, there's a bigger decision spinning around in your heart.

Because you know there's never been a time where you've given your life to Christ.

And maybe today that's that for you as well.

We'd love to see that happen.

In just a minute, I'm going to pray, and then after the service, myself and some of our elders will be up, staff and elders will be available.

We can help you process what God's doing in you.

We'd love to do that.

But understand this the resurrection has real practical implications for you and I.

God didn't come to beat you up, he didn't come just to send you to hell.

Oh man, I'm gonna get you.

How do you know that?

Because he inspired the entire Bible, Old and New Testament, to say to us, hey, there's a different way to do this.

One of the first things Jesus said when he comes on the scene is repent.

For the kingdom of God is at hand.

Change the way you think.

Because there's a different way to live.

And it's his intention for you and for me.

Stand to your feet.

I want to speak a blessing over you.

Hold your hands out.

Your God has loved you enough to die for you.

He has not waited on you to get it all together.

He's come to make it right.

He died.

So all you have to do now is live.

Depart now and live the life that he died for.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.

You're dismissed.