Easter Sunday - Jesus, Our Redeemer | Pastors Pablo Morales & Phil Holcomb

Today we celebrate, we celebrate. Jesus who comes

and he encounters us wherever we are, but he

never leaves us there. He always invites us into

resurrection transformation. And he prepared

us with this in John 10, 10, where he says that

there's an opponent, there's an adversary, there's

somebody that is out there, an evil one, that

comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And

we know this. We've all experienced his impact

on our lives. But Jesus responds right after

that and he says, but I have come to give life

and to give it to the full. Nearly a hundred

years ago, there's a well -often told story of

a group of people that had gathered in Soviet

era in the area of Ukraine. And there was a atheist

lecturer who was... Took his time, two hours

worth, to try to undo and debunk the impossible,

the resurrection. After all, he couldn't make

sense of it and he was trying to convince people

at the core of what the Christian faith is, this

could not be true. Confident on what he said,

he finally invited anybody to counter him and

he took a seat. And a man from the back of the

room slowly made his way up to the front. And

we got up to the front. He turned around and

he looked at the group that was gathered there

that had just sat through this two -hour lecture.

And he said three words. Christ is risen. And

out of their own stories of resurrection transformation,

the group that was gathered there responded,

he is risen indeed, undoing all of what had just

been so thoughtfully, carefully put together

by this lecturer. These stories of transformation

have been going on for 2000 years. And what I

want to invite us to is to think back to some

of the first people that experienced this resurrection

transformation. Then our worship team is going

to follow this with two songs that match these

two individuals. So the first one is a lady named

Mary Magdalene. What we know of Mary is that

she was oppressed by seven. Seven monsters that

were there to kill, steal, and destroy who God

had created her to be. Why seven? Possibly because

this is a complete picture. This is a complete

destruction of this person. She had no option

going forward and lived in such complete shame.

And Jesus encounters her. And he releases her

from this power that is over her life. And so

Mary begins to follow Jesus over the next couple

of years and experience for the first time what

it is to be loved in the way that Jesus loves.

But then on that Friday, she looks at the cross

and she sees the hope that she had placed into

seemingly defeated by that same thief that came

to take her own life. And you can imagine the

anguish that she's feeling as she looks up there

and says, what is going on in this situation?

But Sunday comes. Sunday comes and the resurrected

Savior encounters her. You see, she comes to

the tomb expecting to be grieving and crying

over the death of the one that she had placed

her hope in. But it's not so. The tomb was empty.

And a man she doesn't recognize comes up to her

and says, who are you looking for? She doesn't

recognize him until Jesus looks her in the face

and says, Mary. At that moment, she recognizes

and she calls out Rabboni. Not rabbi, like they

had been calling Jesus from a long time past.

The common name of the one that you follow as

a disciple. But this is a name that elevates

it even more to the significance as well as the

intimacy. It's though Mary is saying, you are

my savior. I know you personally. You've called

me by name. And then from there, Mary becomes

the very first human being, a woman who lived

in complete bondage, the very first human being

to be a witness to the resurrection power of

Jesus Christ. And you and I are sitting here

today talking about that lady from 2000 years

ago. Well, let's put Mary on the side and let's

look at another individual. There's a man named

Simon, also known as Peter. Simon was your average

guy. He was a fisherman and he actually used

the word toil to describe his efforts to make

life work. And so he's just kind of living moment

by moment, trying to get through the day, hoping

that something will change. And it does. Jesus

encounters him. And when Jesus encounters him,

he calls this man Simon to something new. To

repurpose his life into something far greater

than just the daily toil and striving that this

guy Simon knew about. And then later, Jesus pulls

Simon aside and he says, hey, I'm going to give

you a new name. Your name will be Peter. Meaning

rock. Why? Because on you, on the rock of your

leadership, the church is going to be built.

And Peter, thinking about that, continues forward.

But in the climactic, most important moment.

For this man to stand up and do what was right.

When Jesus is going to the cross to be crucified.

Peter falls asleep rather than praying for his

friends. Then when danger comes, Peter eventually

runs away. And then Peter comes back, joins Jesus

at this fire as Jesus is on trial there. And

Peter denies him three times. I don't even know

this man. Out of this fear. But then Sunday comes.

And Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, encounters

Peter in a number of different ways. But one

of them is particularly special. He comes to

a lake and Peter is there around another fire

with the rest of the disciples. And Jesus looks

at him, calling him by his old name, Simon. And

he says, Simon, do you love me? Yes, Lord. Simon,

do you love me? Yes, Lord. Simon, do you love

me? Yes, Lord. Three times he gives the chance

to redeem what had been taken away, what Peter

had failed in in his leadership in front of the

other disciples there. Simon being restored by

the resurrected Lord in this situation. And then

Jesus gives him a taste of what is going to happen.

He said, you know, as a young person, you got

to do whatever you use your own effort. But as

an old person, you're going to be led away and

your arms are going to be spread. Foretelling

the fact that in complete courage, Peter would

end up dying on the cross like his master in

order to encourage you and I in the resurrection

story and transformation going forward. So what

is your story? How has the resurrected Savior

connected with you? And I want us to go back

to that group at the very beginning. And I'm

going to say he is risen and I want you to respond

in the way that they did in a posture of receiving.

Okay, you ready? He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Wow, Lord. There's no words. There's no melody

that can capture the fullness of what you've

done and yet we are here proclaiming to the world.

I'm proclaiming to the kingdom of darkness that

our king is alive. Death has been defeated. Satan

has been defeated. There's no other power and

no other authority in our lives but Jesus and

Jesus alone. So we stand in your presence with

hope, with joy, with excitement, with expectation.

Thank you for what you have done. And I ask you,

Lord, that as we look into your word, you will

meet us in our hearts, in the deepest parts of

our being where the power of your resurrection

is not yet touching. We need you, Lord. Everything

that you envision for us, we want it. But let

your power encounter us today here in your presence.

Use me, Lord, in your power and in your strength

and in your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. You

may be seated. If you happen to be visiting us

for the first time today, we are so glad that

you are here and that you will be able to hear

more about Jesus because Jesus is the reason

why we exist. And later, after the service, we

will have a time of celebration. There will be

food and other things I will tell you later at

the end. But at this moment, what we would like

to do is to think about the power that Jesus

has for your life and for my life today. And

that's why this study is called Jesus, Our Redeemer.

Because Jesus paid the price so that we could

go free. That's what a Redeemer does. A Redeemer

pays the price for your freedom. And Jesus paid

with His life, with His power. The price. So

that you and I can walk in his freedom. And live

freely for him. Now on Friday we got to experience

the celebration of Good Friday. Where we focused

on the death of Jesus. The things that he suffered.

You got to experience the stations of the cross.

A room downstairs where you could walk in quietness.

To explore the different parts of the narrative

of what Jesus experienced. I have time along

with the Lord in prayer. But today, today is

good news. Today is the resurrection of Jesus.

He is alive and we have heard it. We have seen

it in the dance. We have heard it in the song.

We have heard it from Pastor Phil. seen it, we'll

get to touch it. Everything that is about today

is to celebrate the truth that Jesus is our Redeemer

who is alive and therefore He is the one that

makes the entire difference in our lives that

we can follow Him. Now I know that for many people

the idea that Jesus is resurrected is nonsense.

It's myth. Some people have a hard time even

believing that Jesus was a historical figure.

But there's a moment in which one of the followers

of Jesus, one of the apostles, his name was Paul.

There's a moment in which he is engaging with

this idea and he says, okay, let's think for

a second that Jesus did not resurrect. That resurrection

is a myth. It's just man -made stuff. If that

were the case, then we are wasting our time.

And not only that, he says, we Christians should

be pitied by the entire world because we are

following a lie. And not only that, we are still

in our sins. Nothing has changed. But then at

the end of his reflection, he says, but the truth

is, Jesus did resurrect. And he is alive. And

because this is fact. This is truth. Then we

can follow him. And follow him with the confidence

that he is worth following. And his authority

is worth submitting to. There is something that

Jesus told the apostles after he resurrected.

Before he ascended to heaven. before the promise

of his return. There's a moment between his resurrection

and his ascension where Jesus meets with his

disciples and tells them something that becomes

the foundation of our understanding of anyone

that follows Jesus. What did he tell them? We'll

read it together. It's found in the book of Matthew.

And in Matthew, at the end of the book, When

Jesus is engaging with the apostles, he is going

to tell them these words. Let's read it together.

Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been

given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore,

go and make disciples of all the nations. And

then he continues and he says to them, this is

what you are going to do with them as you make

these disciples of all the nations. baptizing

them in the name of the Father and the Son and

of the Holy Spirit, and teach these new disciples

to obey all the commands I have given you. And

be sure of this, I am with you always, even to

the end of the age. As I'm inviting you to follow

me, and as I'm inviting you to serve me, there's

one thing that you can know for sure. That I

will be with you until the very end of the age.

I will never leave you. I will never forsake

you. I'm not inviting you to go ahead in front

of me. I'm inviting you to follow me. And you

can do that because of something he said at the

very beginning. Now, if you are a Christian,

and you've been a Christian for a long time,

you already know what we just read. This passage

is commonly known as the... Great commission,

right? The great commission, because this is

the foundation of all the churches around the

world that are following Jesus. This is their

mission, is to make disciples of Jesus, followers

of Jesus. But at the beginning of this section,

there's something that Jesus said that is the

foundation of everything. And in case you missed

it, let me read it for you. I have been given

all authority in heaven and on earth. And because

I have all authority in heaven and on earth,

now you can follow me and you can serve me. You

can follow me confidently. Because I have a unique

and matched authority that no one else has. Because

he's the only one that died and resurrected.

He's the only one that overcame the power of

Satan and the kingdom of darkness. And therefore,

as Jesus calls us to follow him, is to follow

him but with this understanding that he's indeed

the one that has all authority in heaven and

on earth. But authority for what? One of the

first things that we learn from Jesus is that

he has the authority to forgive sins. We heard

about the story of Peter, the one that betrayed

Jesus, how Jesus forgave him. And that song that

you got to hear about the story of Peter and

how he doubted the resurrection and then finally

he meets the resurrected Christ. And the powerful

song, by the way, was so powerful. Beautiful

song. He is alive. But Peter had to experience

what it was like to be forgiven before he could

follow Jesus. And it's hard. Because when you're

following Jesus and you engage in things that

you shouldn't, shame kicks in. And when you know

that there are things you have done in your past

that are so shameful, the doubt that Jesus can

really erase that by His grace is almost unfathomable.

And that idea escapes your experience. The Apostle

Peter wrote about this in his own words later.

At the end of 1 Peter, he told us these words.

My purpose in writing is to encourage you and

assure you that what you're experiencing is truly

part of God's grace for you. He really has the

authority to forgive everything, even my betrayal.

And there's something you need to understand.

You need to stand firm in this grace. If you

are struggling with shame, if you feel that you

are beyond God's reach, Jesus has all authority

on heaven and on earth, and he has authority

to forgive everything. And he's asking you to

follow him, but follow him as someone who has

been forgiven. The problem is not, Whether Jesus

has the authority to forgive your sins. The problem

is, will you trust his authority to forgive your

sins? I will never forget the time I was having

this conversation and time of focused prayer

with a friend. And as we got to this part, he

loved Jesus. He was following Jesus, but he was

being held back by this deep sense of regret

and shame of something that he had engaged many

years ago. Before he started even following Jesus.

And as I was praying for him. And I said do you

receive God's grace. And his forgiveness. For

this. And he paused in silence. And then he says.

I can't. I can't. Because it was. Too shameful.

And at that moment, we realized he was under

the power of a stronghold of the enemy. Making

him believe that following Jesus meant that you

believe in him, but you also have to help him

a little bit. Because what you have done is so

bad that it's beyond the power of Jesus to forgive.

And for the first time in his life, he was able

to say, yes, Jesus, I trust your forgiveness

for my shame. And that trust comes with tears,

emotions. Are you trusting Jesus' authority to

forgive your sins? Or are you walking in shame?

Jesus is risen. He wants you to walk in freedom.

He is our Redeemer. He paid the price. It is

done. But Jesus also has the authority to restore.

We heard the story of Mary Magdalene. Who was

not only engaged in prostitution. But she herself

was one who was under deep spiritual oppression.

Demonic oppression. That it could be even counted.

Seven demons that were oppressing her. She was

engaging in the kingdom of darkness. With everything

she was. And Jesus met her in that place. Called

her to follow him. And then her life was completely

transformed after that time. And when the resurrection

comes. She's one of the first people in the history

of humanity to see the resurrected Christ. For

some reason Jesus chose. To appear to her first.

And to let her know. Go and tell the apostles.

That I'm alive. But she did. But it didn't work

so much. Because they were not believing her.

But how. Could God not only love someone. That

is so far out there. And not only that. But turn

their life around. If he could do that for her.

Could you do that for me? Often, when we come

from places that have been so dysfunctional,

so toxic, because not only you did not know Jesus,

but you did not know morality, you did not know

stability, your home was broken. Some were involved

in witchcraft themselves, worshipping demons.

Could Jesus have authority to restore that life

and rewrite it completely? There's something

that the Apostle Paul wrote about this as he

was reflecting on the experience of following

Jesus and leading people to follow Jesus. And

he wrote it in these words. He says, you know

what I realize? God showed things despised by

the world. Things counted as nothing at all.

And use them to bring to nothing what the world

considers important. Yes, you may feel like damaged

goods. Granted, you may feel like you're not

good enough. Common. But you know in reality,

It doesn't matter what you have believed until

this day. Because the resurrected king is telling

you. That following him means that he has the

power to restore your life. To transform it.

To restore your calling. And he has the power

to now call you from where you left. Into a future

that you have not yet experienced. But you will

by the grace and power of Jesus Christ. So the

problem is not whether Jesus has the authority

to restore your life. The problem is whether

you will trust him and submit to his authority

to redeem your life, redeem your marriage, everything

that you regret. He doesn't want you to look

at the past. He wants you to walk into the future,

but this time with him. Would you let him? Would

you follow him? Will you trust his authority?

At the core of the resurrection and the power

that Jesus has and his authority, there's one

more thing that he talked about and the Bible

mentions. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

And he has already conquered death. So Jesus

has the authority now to bring life into our

lives, even beyond the grave. And this authority

to give life means that one day, even if our

body has to be turned to the grave, that is not

the end. Of our story. Not for those of us. Who

follow Jesus. Because the Bible says. That the

same. Miraculous experience. Of overcoming death.

And being resurrected. Is the experience. That

those of us. Who follow Jesus. Will have. When

Jesus comes back. We. Will also. Resurrect. And

if I already lost you. At the beginning. With

saying that Jesus resurrection was. True, not

myth. Now you may be thinking, Pastor Pablo,

now you sound like crazy. What? You're going

to resurrect after you die? How would that work?

I mean, that's pretty hard, wouldn't it? Welcome

to following Jesus. Jesus has authority over

death. And this is the power of the gospel. In

fact the apostle Paul wrote this to us. So that

we will not forget. When Jesus comes back. There

is something that is going to happen to us. And

this is our living hope. Will you read what the

apostle Paul wrote? Will you read it with me

out loud? We know that God. Who raised the Lord

Jesus. Will also raise us with Jesus. And present

us to himself. Together with you. God. Not only

resurrected Jesus his son. But he will resurrect

us as well. And we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore for those of us. Who are following

Jesus. Trusting his authority over death. Death

is not the end of our story. If you are experiencing

anxiety attacks. Fear about death. Then I pray

that today you encounter the resurrected king.

Because this Jesus has power to destroy that

fear from your life. Once you understand that

he has authority over death. And the day that

we are told that we have a few days left to live

on this earth. That is not a day for us to fear.

It's a day for us to welcome what is next. In

experiencing the authority and power of Jesus.

Death has been defeated. Praise Jesus. He is

alive. The problem. It's not whether Jesus has

authority over death. The problem is will you

trust him with that authority so that you can

let go of the fear and follow him freely. He's

inviting you to experience eternal life and that

is what he wants to give you. Jesus has authority

to forgive. You don't need to walk in shame anymore.

Jesus has the authority to restore your life.

You don't need to walk in regret anymore. And

Jesus has authority to bring life even beyond

the grave. You don't need to walk in fear anymore.

So Lord, as we stand in your presence, We desperately

need, right now, I'm here to meet you, Lord,

our resurrected King. That those who are here

still enslaved to shame and to regret and to

fear, today they find the freedom that their

heart and soul has been hungering for. Lord,

as we worship you, Will you break through our

darkness? Will you break through the chains?

Will you bring the freedom that the authority

of Jesus only can bring? And it is in the power

and authority of Jesus that I proclaim to the

world and to the kingdom of darkness. Jesus is

our king. And it is in his authority that the

power of darkness is broken. That the lie is

defeated. And today in the power and grace of

Jesus, freedom is taking place. In the powerful

name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Thank you for tuning

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you.