“Arms Wide Open” by Joakim Lundqvist

Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

To everyone in this auditorium, to everyone is gathered in our campuses, throughout our prison campuses, anyone watching online at home, happy Easter, y'all.

Oh.

Easter is the best weekend of the year.

Now, you might prefer Christmas because of the presents, but if you ask me, Easter eats Christmas for breakfast.

The spiritual impact of this weekend is absolutely amazing.

This is the weekend where God transformed darkness into light, where he changed night into day, where he released salvation throughout all the world in a never-ceasing well of hope and joy.

If you believe that, can we make some Easter noise all over gateway?

Praise God for Easter.

Praise God for the cross and the resurrection.

Father, we thank you so much that you send your Son, Jesus Christ, to die and rise again so that we know that we can come to you boldly today.

Holy Spirit, we now ask that you will open our hearts and open our eyes to make us see deeper into the mystery of Easter and the mystery of our own salvation.

This we pray in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen.

I want to welcome you, especially if you uh if this is your first time in church or you haven't been in a while.

Maybe you're wondering who's that guy with a weird accent?

Uh well, my name is Joachim.

I know that doesn't help.

This is a hard name to pronounce, but you can just call me your welcome, and we'll we'll take it from there.

That's fine.

The accent, by the way, is Swedish.

My homeland is uh Sweden, which is a frozen country in the north of Europe.

We're governed by two princesses called Elsa and Anna.

They reside in the castle of IKEA.

And Sweden is a beautiful nation.

You should visit it.

Just don't come in the winter because you would die.

And we we can't have a lot of dead Texans around in Sweden.

That would just be a tragedy.

Speaking about Sweden, friends, uh, let me share a little allegory about Sweden.

Now, Sweden is a monarchy.

That means we have a king, and that also means that we want to put the king's face on our money, on our bills and our coins.

That also means that when our present king dies and a new king ascends the throne, we're changing the money.

We're changing the money all the time.

Now, you guys were smart because you just put the founding fathers on your money, and then that lasts forever.

But we keep changing our money all the time.

Let me tell you, when our previous king passed away many years ago now, uh, the National Bank of Sweden decided that they're gonna take this opportunity to uh let go of the 10 krona bill.

10 kronors is about the value of one dollar.

So this bill will be the equivalent of your one dollar bill.

And they told all of us Swedes in the Kingdom of Sweden that, okay, we're we're getting rid of the 10 corona bill and we're gonna turn it into a 10 corona coin, a gold-shaped coin with a new king's face on it.

So I think they told us in like January or something, and they said, okay, make sure that throughout this, the rest of this year, you're spending and losing, get rid of all your 10 corona bills because they will lose their entire value on December.

Oh, sorry, on January 1st.

By New Year's, they will be worth absolutely nothing, and you can only purchase by using the 10 corona coins.

So we heard and we obliged, and we lost, got rid of all of our 10 corona bills, and new year came and went, and now we're only dealing with the 10 corona coins.

But then after a few weeks, I read an article in the Swedish paper about an 80-year-old man in the south of Sweden.

Now, this guy was super rich, he was a multimillionaire, but he was also deep into conspiracy theory.

I don't think you have those people over here in the US, but in Sweden we have one or two.

And because he because of that, he didn't trust anyone, he didn't trust the government, he sure didn't trust the banks, so he kept his entire fortune in cash at his house.

He had a whole room devoted to this, he had boxes from the floor to the ceiling with piles of 10 corona bills inside of them.

And because he kept all his cash in his house, he didn't get out much.

He felt the need of guarding his riches with his handgun.

So he completely missed the information that all the 10 Corona bills will expire as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.

So that night this poor guy went to sleep as the richest guy around, and the next morning he woke up the poorest dude you could find.

Yeah, that was my reaction to oh, but then I started to think about that, and I realized hey, you know what?

In in a way or two, we're all gonna make that transition, every single one of us.

There will come a day when we will close our eyes to this reality for the last time, and we're gonna open our eyes to a brand new reality.

And the big question that day is gonna be: are the riches you have gathered in this reality in a currency that is valid in the next reality?

Or will you wake up to the new reality only to find that all that you counted as riches in your previous reality have all expired?

Let me tell you, we're gonna leave a whole lot of stuff behind, but let me tell you about one treasure that will never ever lose its value, that will never ever lose its power.

I'm talking about the blood of Jesus.

I'm talking about the saving grace of our God.

I'm talking about the work on the cross and the power, the resurrection power of the empty grave.

Let's make sure that those are the things we rely on as we're trading realities.

Can we say amen in church?

What is the purpose of Easter?

What is the plan of Easter?

Why Easter?

Well, to understand this fully and even deeper than we might have.

The first key is actually found in the very first chapter of the very first book in the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, verse 27.

Genesis 1:27

So God created mankind in his own image.

God created mankind in his own image.

This is the first thing we need to understand that we were not created because God needed slaves to build his kingdom.

We were not created even to be servants of God, even though we are.

We were not created as soulless minions in despicable me.

We were created in the image of God for fellowship and friendship, for fellowship and friendship with our creator.

And this is obvious from God's reaction when the horrible news strikes him that man has broken the fellowship.

Man has broken the bond of friendship.

Isaiah 53, verse 6 says, We all like sheep has gone as have gone astray.

Isaiah 53:6

Each of us has turned to our own way, and that's what happened in the Garden of Eden.

The first man, the first woman disobeyed, broke the bond of fellowship and friendship, and walked their own way.

And right after that, what that had happened, we read in Genesis 3, verse 8.

Genesis 3:8

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called out to the man, and this moves my heart.

Where are you?

Where are you?

Because man was supposed to be right there by his side.

Man was supposed to walk with the Lord God in the garden at the cool of the day.

Man was supposed to live in friendship and fellowship, deep, true, intimate friendship and fellowship with the Lord God Himself.

All of a sudden, man is not there.

And you know, God still calls out those words.

Maybe he calls them out to you here in this church or in any one of our campuses.

Where are you?

Where are you?

You were created for fellowship, you were created for friendship.

Deep in your heart, you know that you're not gonna find joy elsewhere.

Deep in your heart, you know you're not gonna find love or peace anywhere else.

Where are you?

Maybe you used to walk with him, maybe he used to be your first love, but then life happened and you lost track and you lost the friendship, you lost the intimacy, you lost the fellowship.

Maybe he calls out to you, Where are you?

Where are you?

You used to be so close, you used to run to me every single day.

You used to love me from the bottom of your heart.

Now you spend all this time.

Seemingly that money and friends and social media are more important.

Where are you?

And let me tell you, I don't hear condemnation in his voice, I don't hear anger in his voice, I hear heartbreak in his voice, calling you back to your original purpose, friendship and fellowship with the most high.

This is why he sent his son, so that anyone who comes to him, who believes in him, should have everlasting life, eternal life.

And Jesus Himself defines eternal life in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

He says, This is eternal life, that they know you, the one true God, and the one you have sent, Christ Jesus.

Again, it's about knowing, it's about friendship, it's about fellowship, it's about walking with him in the garden at the cool of the day.

This is why God sent his son.

This is why God became a man.

And after 42 years of walking with the Lord, it still amazes me that he loved me so much that Jesus became a man to die for my sins.

And you can study any other religion, any other religious framework, you won't find anything like this.

Because when you look into other religions, when you seek in other religions, you will see that the Godheads, the deities, will always relate to man from above, they will speak to man from above, they will discipline man from above.

But God, my God, our God, became a man, He became one of us.

Why?

Well, if you ask me, Gateway, I say the reason is this because you can rule and reign from above, but you can only embrace from the side, and God was not content with just ruining and rail and reigning over your life, he wanted to meet you in a warm embrace of friendship and fellowship, invite you back to walk in the garden by his side at the cool of the day that you were created for initially.

And that's why the shape of our faith is a cross, not just as a method of execution, but the shape of the cross is really two arms wide open, really open, ready to receive anyone who comes, anyone who wants to believe.

I love how Paul summarizes the message of Easter in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13.

Ephesians 2:13

He writes, but now, okay, wait, can we just say those two words?

But now, okay, my bad.

But now, there we go.

But now, meaning post the cross, post the open grave, post the perfect sacrifice, but now, yeah, we can go all day, but now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

You and I who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

He would later preach the gospel in the city of Athens, Greece.

I know there is an Athens, Texas, also, but come on.

This is the OG Athens, okay?

This capital of Greece.

Paul is preaching on a certain rock right in the center of the city, a rock called the Areopagus.

And Maria and I was actually right there a few weeks ago in Greece, and we climbed the rock of the Areopagos, and it's not a big rock, it's not about the size of this stage.

And we read out Acts chapter 17 when Paul preaches the gospel of Christ in Athens for the first time, and it all centers around one sentence that is the key of his entire message.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

He is not far away from any of us.

So in Christ, you who are far away have become close, and he is no longer far away from any of us.

Please note Paul was preaching this to Athenian idol worshipers.

He was walking around the city of Athens and he was grieved by the fact that there were temples and altars raised to idols all over the place.

You could see from a human point of view that these people might must be far away from God, and he says the opposite.

No, you're not far away.

Because through Christ you have come near, and God is not far away from any of you.

The only challenge, my friend, that remains is that you can technically live close to God.

You can technically have God not far from you your entire life without ever surrendering into his arms, without ever committing your life truly into his hands.

And that would be the greatest tragedy of God being close and God being brought having brought you close, and Jesus standing at the door of your heart and knocking, but you never really truly opening the door to allow him in.

And what did he say he would do if you would allow him?

I can come in and I will eat with him and him with me again.

It's about fellowship, it's about friendship, not just going to church, even though you should, not just about paying your tithes, even though that's biblical.

But the true point, the true reason of Easter is that once again you have an offer to walk with the Lord in the garden at the cool of the day.

But still, you can live close all your life without ever truly accepting.

And this actually plays out in the scene of Calvary, and I just want to paint a picture for you about this special scene, this special moment when our Lord Jesus hung on a cross.

Because the Bible makes it clear to us, especially in the Gospel of Luke, that on that hill, on the hill of Calvary, where we know that Jesus hung on the cross and paid the price for our sins, took our separation from God upon Himself.

There were also two other crosses where two other people hung.

One on the left side of Jesus, one on the right side.

We know they would have committed crimes that would grant them an execution according to Roman law, but that's about it.

That's all we know.

What we do know though is that no other two men in history have been closer to the perfect sacrifice.

No other two men in history were ever closer to the Son of God paying the price for our sins.

No other two men were closer to the blood shed for their sins, my sins, your sins, but still they respond in a completely different way.

One of them would have looked to Jesus just a few yards away, and he could see physically the wounds by which we are healed.

He could see physically the nails that pierce the hands and feet of Jesus for our iniquities and our transgressions.

He could see physically the blood that poured out of his body for the redemption and salvation and forgiveness of our sins.

And still, even though he's so close, and even though God is not far, he rejects, he turns away, and he misses his God-given chance to alter his future, his eternal life.

Still to this day, many people reject, very few actually actively reject by saying no to Jesus, but sadly, millions are passively rejecting by not saying yes.

And the tragedy is that both these options lead to the same outcome: a separation, eternal separation that should never ever have happened.

But then on the other cross, there is another man.

And I plan to meet him in heaven because I can identify.

So are you.

Romans 3 says, We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 6 says the wages of sin is death.

I should have been on that cross, so should you.

But still, here he is, aware of his sin, not trying to cover up his mistakes, but he sees the wounds, he sees the nails, and he sees the blood that pours out of the perfect lamb of God.

And he says a few words, a few simple words as the life pours out of his body.

Jesus, remember me.

Jesus, remember me.

And Jesus immediately responds.

And he doesn't say, Well, let's go through all of your sins now and make sure that you're really repentant of each one.

He doesn't say, Well, let's just make sure that you are aware of the doctrine of just of justification through faith.

By the way, are your denomination in in the believing in the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

There are no such questions.

Immediately as he hears this man call out, Remember me, he responds by saying, Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.

Again, here we are, you will be with me.

He doesn't even say you will serve me, you will be with me.

Again, it's about fellowship, it's about friendship, it's about walking with the Lord in the garden at the cool of the day.

And I can't believe that these two men were so close, closer than any other.

Still, one chooses to reject and one chooses to receive.

And as we walk out of our churches and campuses today, we're gonna be in the position of one of these two men.

Because there wasn't a third guy who ended up like in the middle.

You can only receive or reject.

And I want to give you the opportunity to receive or come back to a faith that you once had.

But let me just close with this, first of all.

Uh a little more than a year ago, on January 2024, I was preaching here at Gateway on first conference.

And I remember I shared a message about standing up for truth, even if you stand alone.

I shared the story of young Sophie Scholl who stood up for Jesus and stood against Hitler and Nazi Germany in the 40s, and we dropped copies of her letter from the ceiling and everything.

And I remember after that service, Maria and I, we got in our car and we drove back to the hotel.

That's like a five-minute drive, and something happened to me that's never happened before.

I was pulled over by the police.

I've seen it in American movies.

So I knew basically what to do.

I should stop my car and just sit there.

So, and I can't I didn't know what was wrong.

I hadn't been speeding.

I thought maybe I've broken some kind of American traffic law that I was unaware of.

So I just stopped the car and and the police officer came up to me and and he said, Sir, do you know why I stopped you tonight?

And I said, Uh no, Mr.

Police Officer.

You see, I am from Sweden.

And and and and I don't know many of the uh United States traffic rules at all.

It's so pathetic, but Maria was there, she can verify.

I just said, Please God, I pray that he wasn't there in the meeting at Gateway this week this night.

So he said, Yeah, well, I pulled you over because your headlights are not on.

Yeah, what I said, really, and then he struck me, my car, in my car, the headlights come on automatically whenever needed, you know.

But this was a rental, and I was unaware of the fact that you need to manually switch the headlights on on this car.

So I switched them on and said, Thank you so much, Mr.

Police Officer, for making me aware of this.

And he let me go, and everything was fine.

But then I ended up in my hotel.

I thought to myself, how in the world could I have missed this?

How was I not aware that I was not I was driving without headlights?

And I realized it's because I was surrounded by other cars with their headlights on.

I was driving in the light of other cars, and maybe that's exactly where you find yourself tonight.

Maybe you've been driving in the headlights of your parents' faith for years.

Maybe you've been driving in the headlights of your spouse's relationship to Jesus.

Maybe you've been driving in the headlights of your Christian friends, maybe you've been driving in the headlights of your grandmother's prayers for you.

But tonight it's time to accept the light of the world into your heart and allow him to turn your own headlights on and welcome you into a personal relationship and friendship with the one who made you and the one who died for you.

Can I have every head bowed and every eye closed?

I want to give you the same offer that I was given when I was 16 years old.

And this goes out to you who realize now while I've been speaking that you never really committed your life.

You're not sure what will happen when you close your eyes for the last time.

You're not sure if the currency of your riches will expire or will last.

Arms are wide open for you.

Whoever you are, whatever is your story, God loves you and God is ready to bring you home all over the campuses.

With eyes closed and heads bowed, I want to get a count of three.

And on the count of three, I just want you to lift your hand up if you need Jesus.

Maybe for the first time, maybe you need to come back to Jesus.

And I don't have to convince you anymore.

The Spirit is filling this room and all of the campuses.

I can feel the love of God inside my heart for you right now.

Please take this opportunity that heaven provides to come back into fellowship and friendship with your Maker.

I'm gonna count to three.

And on the count of three, if you need Jesus or want that fellowship, that friendship restored, just lift up your hand and I'll be happy to pray for you.

One two, Lord, I pray that every single one that you seek tonight will be drawn into a fellowship and a friendship with you in Jesus' name.

Three, just lift up your hands all over this church.

Oh, hands are going up all over this auditorium, all over the balcony.

Just lift your hand up and hold it high.

Maybe you're coming back to Christ as a couple, as a family, as a group of friends.

That hand that you are raising, the hand that you're lifting up right now is a holy hand all over the campuses.

Hold your hand up high.

Jesus was not ashamed of you when he died on the cross.

Let's not be ashamed of him.

Praise God, there are so many hands.

Let's stand to our feet in this auditorium right now and all over the campuses.

Let's stand to our feet.

And if you raise your hand, I'll be happy to pray for you.

Would you leave your seat and just come to the front right now?

All over the campuses, just leave your seat and come to the front.

And as you come to come to Jesus for the first time or to have your fellowship with God restored, we want to welcome you.

We want to salute you.

Don't be afraid.

Don't hesitate.

Even on the balconies, just head out to the sides of this auditorium.

Come down the stairs.

We want to pray for you.

Praise God.

Let's keep clapping.

Keep welcoming.

Brothers and sisters, souls coming to Jesus tonight.

Don't hesitate.

Just come if you know you need to be here.

Praise God.

Thank you, Jesus.

All over the campuses.

Just keep coming.

Just keep coming.

Just keep coming to the cross.

Keep falling into the open arms of God right now.

Thank you, Lord.

As they come from the stairs, let's welcome them.

Praise God.

Oh, they're still coming.

Come on, church.

The angels are rejoicing in heaven right now.

It's time to get your own headlights on fire.

It's time to fall into the arms of God.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord.

I want to lead you in a prayer.

If you came in any one of the campuses or in this house right now, or even if you're on your way, please do not hesitate.

People are coming in all the aisles.

Just keep coming.

And as soon as you come, I just want to lead you in a simple prayer of salvation.

And once we prayed, we're going to dismiss the campuses and your campus pastors will take it from there.

But right now, just let's stand in this holy ground, in this holy moment, and let's open our hearts.

Let's pray every single one of us together from the bottom of our hearts right now.

Let's pray after me, dear Jesus.

I thank you for dying for me.

That I who was far away would be brought close.

And here I am, and I receive salvation, new life.

I receive light, I receive love, and I receive a new beginning.

Thank you for loving me, Jesus.

Thank you for taking my hand and leading me on into my future.

I leave my past behind and I run into your arms.

From this moment on, that's where I'll stay.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's give some praise to the Lord Jesus.

Let's praise him and worship him tonight.

Thanks for joining us today.

If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com.

We hope you have a great week.