The Resurrection

Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church

Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our

podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast

you can have an encounter with Jesus that will

change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring

message from our preaching team. I didn't want

to be outdone by Tim, is the truth. I too love

a quiz night. I, too, have chocolate. Mine should

not cause concussions, however. Although not

guaranteed, because I am doing the throwing.

And for those of you that are familiar with my

sporting prowess, prepare to be dazzled. Or the

other thing. Watch out. OK, so this is not a

promo for our upcoming Quiz Night, but it's also

not not a promo for our upcoming Quiz Night.

Tim has set the standard well. We're going to

raise our hands, and then I'm going to call on

you, and then if you are correct, I will throw

you a chocolate. First question. True or false?

Of the 100 plus pyramids in Egypt, Cleopatra

only oversaw the building of two of them. True

or false? This is literally, it's 50 -50. Somebody

just have a guess. Yes. No, that's not a hand.

That's Josh shaking. Yes, Josh. False. False

is correct, sir. Cleopatra actually did not oversee

any building of any pyramids, because Cleopatra

was born closer to the invention of the iPhone

than she was to the construction of the pyramids.

Yeah, that's right. True or false? The Polish

army during World War II contained a corporal

named Wojciech, who was in fact a brown bear.

I didn't see no hand. Anybody else? It is true.

Wojciech the brown bear, the rest is history

listeners, well done to you. Okay, we're going

to change tact a little bit here. Can anyone

tell me the year, if you've already answered,

do not put up your hand again. Can anyone tell

me the year that Star Wars A New Hope was released?

I see a hand at the back. I see two actually.

Yes. Yeah. Incorrect. Amy. Oh, we're so close.

Yes? 77. I did, oh. If it hits someone else,

it might be theirs. All right, last one. Last

one, last one, last chance for a free. What do

we got here? This is like a choc -mint -bubbly

-bunny -bilby thing. Can anyone tell me what

year France held its last execution by guillotine?

Or guillotine, if you want me to be fancy. Last

execution by guillotine in France. Incorrect.

I'm not saying. You already answered. Cara. 1977.

In fact, France held the premiere of Star Wars

A New Hope. and held their last execution by

guillotine less than 24 hours apart. In Marseille

was the premiere of a futuristic space epic,

which featured a young farm boy, the force, some

kind of growly dog thing that walks on two legs.

And on the other side of the country in Devereux,

someone is executed by a method that screams

powdered wigs and let them eat cake. The made

-up future and the very very real past colliding

in such a way that if it wasn't true you wouldn't

believe it Now Mark Twain once said truth is

stranger than fiction Because fiction is obliged

to stick to possibility and the truth isn't So

what are we meant to do with that truth? How

are we meant to begin to reconcile something

when it's so out of frame of context that it

seems downright unbelievable? How are we meant

to respond when something that seems so unbelievable

is true and as a result changes everything? Now

on Maundy Thursday, if you were here, Pastor

Tim shared with us the types of people that were

present at Jesus' crucifixion. What they would

have each felt looking upon the body of the sacrificed

Jesus, limply hanging to a cross. Now the women

featured in today's passage were there. These

women would have believed that this story and

that theirs with it was finished. That the prophet

they had been following had died, and that the

cross was the end of their story. So these women

travel to the site of Jesus' tomb as one last

act of love. They arrive with spices to anoint

and prepare his body for burial, to offer an

act of humility and grace to an executed friend

and teacher. They had absolutely no way of predicting

what they would find, because how could they?

These women travel to Jesus' tomb expecting to

have to implore the soldiers present to roll

the stone away, to permit them access to the,

from the entrance to this, sorry, to permit them

access so that they can take on this one last

act of grace, this one last act of love for a

fallen friend. But what they find is that the

stone has already been rolled away So they go

inside to investigate and find if you hear the

odds are you know this one that the tomb is empty

They are confused they are lost how could this

be? So two men in dazzling white robes Depending

on your translation likely angels appear and

tell them 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

in Galilee, and if you don't don't worry We can

go through the magic of scripture back and he

said the son of man must suffer many things and

be rejected by the elders the chief priests and

the teachers of the law and he must be killed

and on the third day be raised to life and In

that moment these women remembered what their

teacher had said And in that moment, not only

do they remember, but they believe. Why else

would they run back to the disciples? Why else

would they run back? Not just to the gathered

disciples, but the scripture is very clear. They

run back to tell everyone else. Because they

know that this knowledge isn't for a select few.

This knowledge isn't for an inner circle. That

this knowledge and that this truth is for everyone.

But, and again, I'm going to quote. The story

sounded like nonsense to the men. Truth is stranger

than fiction, remember? And it says, the truth

sounded like nonsense to the men who did not

believe them. Peter, the only one who jumps up.

And not to declare, don't worry you gathered

women. I believe you. No, he runs off to check

for himself. I know there are women in this room

that can relate to this so heartily right now.

I think, yeah, why don't you go and look, mate?

These women were witnesses of Jesus's death.

They have seen his empty tomb. They have been

told by angels what has happened. They remember

the words that Jesus himself had told them about

his death and resurrection. They believe they

understand the gravity of what this means and

they rush back to tell the others. But this truth

is so unbelievable that even those who were closest

to Jesus, even those who had sat under his teaching,

even those who had seen him perform miracles

here on earth, who had told them exactly what

was going to happen. did not believe. Because

hearing something or being told something and

bearing witness to it and believing it are very,

very different things. And only Peter goes to

check. And when he sees for himself, does he

have the same huzzah moment that the women have

just had? No. No, it very clearly tells us Peter

goes home. wondering what has happened. Now in

his heart, you think Peter has to know. The women

have told him, these trusted women, these people

that have been in his circle as well. Jesus himself

had told him what was going to happen. But the

truth still remains that this truth is stranger

than fiction. This truth is hard to get your

head around. Comprehending this specific truth

was darn near inconceivable. There was no context

before for a man bringing himself back to life.

But what if he wasn't just a man? What if Jesus

was exactly who he said he was? One with God

the Father, both Son of Man and Saviour of Man.

What if the most unbelievable moment and event

in human history was so strange that it had to

be true? And if it wasn't true then you wouldn't

believe it either. And for me it's in the details

that the truth of this story actually starts

kind of reveal its own truth. The deliverers

of this earth -shattering news is a group of

women. In ancient Rome, women were barred from

giving formal testimony. And under rabbinic law

under the Talmud, they were disqualified from

giving testimony. Women denoted as being as unreliable

as gamblers, usurers, and robbers. Women were

not seen as trustworthy witnesses. Sorry. Which

makes this one of the passages of the Bible.

Hear me out. All of that reasoning combined.

makes this to me, one of the passages of the

Bible reassures me of its validity. This is one

of the passages of the Bible that actually speaks

to the truth of the Bible. Because if you were

looking to fabricate a story for control, selfish

ends, political gain, money, fame, whatever it

might be, in a time such as this, where women

are seen as unreliable, as robbers, and gamblers,

and just weren't even to hold testimony, and

you had a story that you thought might change

the course of human history or shape the world,

our very souls, wouldn't you just leave that

part of the story out? Or wouldn't you change

it, like, just a little bit so that Peter was

the first one on the scene? Like, it'd just be

leaving out a little piece of information, right?

Wouldn't you remove every angle that people can

have to pick holes in your story? You might but

Luke doesn't none of the Gospels do There is

some we have a team I'm sorry they will let us

know if we need to add help Luke's gospel doesn't

change the story None of the gospels change the

story. Why? Because the truth doesn't make concessions

for your comfort. As Charles Spurgeon once said,

let the pure gospel go forth in all its line

like majesty and it will soon clear its own way

and ease itself of its adversaries. The Bible

is the ordained word of God. There is not a word

that's in here by accident. Why are we left with

a story of women finding an empty tomb and reporting

the news? Why are we told that even Peter, the

man whom Jesus would eventually use to build

his church, went to an empty tomb, saw nobody,

just the remnants of Jesus robes, and then left

confused rather than assured? Probably because

it's true. But friends, I would argue that we

as people, much like the Pharisees, Much like

initially these women, much like Peter, much

like the disciples, we have a truth problem.

And the problem is not that we struggle to tell

the truth. For most of us, we actually want to

tell the truth. That is something we want to

do and we choose to do. I think that for many

of us, we sometimes struggle to believe the truth.

Even when it's placed directly in front of us.

And I think it's because the truth can make us

really uncomfortable. I think it's because the

truth challenges our preferences. The truth,

when believed and applied, can literally change

our entire perspective on life and the thereafter.

Especially if it's on its face, it seems unbelievable.

We live in a world in which anything our political

leaders don't agree with is deemed fake news.

Well, we can't believe what we see with our own

eyes, thanks to my best -made AI. But we can't

even believe what we tell ourselves at time So

we keep accepting convenient and comfortable

lies rather than inconvenient and uncomfortable

truths For so many of us in this room myself

included far too often We have not just learned

to accept the lies, but we have chosen to accept

them or to adopt them as our own The lie that

reconciliation is impossible the lie that we

are unloved The lie that we are irredeemable,

the lie that our sin disqualifies us, the lie

that the pains of our past cannot be erased,

and the lie that our story has already been written.

I'm here to tell you today in Jesus' name that

those are lies. That you have been told, or that

you have told yourself, or that the world has

tried to convince you is truth. They are lies.

Jesus himself tells us, I am the way, the truth,

and the life. Jesus is the truth that clears

the slate. Jesus is the truth that leads to a

life eternal. And without the truth of the resurrection,

the women who went to check on Jesus, Peter,

the other disciples, their story ends with a

mercilessly beaten prophet lifelessly hanging

from a gnarled wooden cross. Without the resurrection,

they would have returned to their former lives,

to their fishing boats, to their trades, to what

it was they were doing before. Without the resurrection,

we have the teachings of a wise prophet. But

with the resurrection, with the truth of the

resurrection, returning to who we once were before

we knew that his truth is no longer an option.

Because Jesus resurrection is not the continuation

of a story Jesus resurrection is the beginning

of a new one One in which everything we thought

we knew as truth is now replaced by a new truth

The revealing of an empty tomb the physical sign

of a promise that had been made and a truth that

has now been born out The truth that Jesus was

who he said he was the son of God sent down to

earth to bear the weight of our sins and to reconcile

us with God the Father and as a result everything

has changed. We cannot go back. Leslie Newbiggan

tells us that the resurrection is the revelation

to chosen witnesses of the fact that Jesus who

died on the cross is indeed King, conqueror of

death and sin. Lord and Saviour of all, the resurrection

is not the reversal of a defeat, but the proclamation

of a victory. The King reigns from the tree.

The reign of God has indeed come upon us, and

its sign is not a golden throne, but a wooden

cross." Banda, I'd love it if you could come

back up for me. Prior to the resurrection, belief

required trust. In its wake, only acceptance

of truth. Jesus' resurrection played out the

ultimate reversal of status, the ultimate in

the conquering of death itself. and the living

out of his key teachings in real time. The resurrection

transforms this into a truth, to the event being

a historical reality, not a fictional metaphor,

it changes everything. Things we assumed impossible,

replaced by the very possible, but only through

God. A truth in which Jesus didn't only bring

a vision of hope, Jesus came and said, I am hope.

But more importantly, I am victory. And I am

truth. Prior to the resurrection, if people had

believed his truth, Jesus wouldn't have had to

be executed to begin with. But he did. Jesus

didn't come here to protect comfortable lies.

Jesus came to reveal heavenly, world -changing,

soul -altering truth. Sometimes those truths

are subtle and sometimes they burst through the

window like you've just pulled back the curtains

on a dark room. My prayer today is that for some

of you in this room, maybe for the first time,

that this seemingly incredulously story rings

true. That you can see the truth that Jesus is

real. He came to earth to bear the weight of

our sin, to be executed for our sin, to be resurrected,

to ensure that we had a connection to God the

Father for all of time. Jesus is real. Jesus

loves you. He went to the cross for you and He

rose three days later, the single greatest act

of love of all time, followed by the single greatest

act of heavenly power of all time. An act that

ensures you are reconciled with a loving Father.

An act that has the ability to erase any lies

or untruths we have allowed to take hold in our

hearts. Replacing each and every one of them

with the truth of a love poured out for us, a

grace we don't deserve, and a salvation that

we cannot earn, merely accept. Because you cannot

take anything from God that He's not willing

to give. And for those of you that already believe,

I ask you to take the time as we respond in worship

and prayer to remind yourself of this truth,

to cry out to God for His intervention, to wipe

away any of the lies you have allowed to settle

within yourself, for a fresh revelation of Him

today, the most holy of days. Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we come to You once more to

thank You for Your willing sacrifice. To thank

You for Your desire and willingness to take on

the weight of our sins, Father, only as an act

of grace. To ensure that we had a relationship

with God the Father from here into the thereafter,

Father. that you overcame time and space, you

overcame death itself, Father, to give us new

life. To ensure that you were not a God who was

distant, but that you were a God that was so

close you can hear our inner thoughts. So Father,

I pray as we enter into this time, that we reveal

ourselves to you anew, as you reveal yourselves

anew to us every morning. Father, any lies that

we have allowed to sit in us, Father, I pray

that You will reveal to us again once more that

they are not of You, that they are not Your words,

they are not Your truths, because Your truths

say that we are loved. Your truth says that we

are saved. Your truth says that we have been

set free. Thanks so much for tuning into this

week's message. If you felt challenged or need

prayer, we'd love to hear from you on Instagram

at encounterhenley. Or if you're interested in

how you can support this ministry, please go

to our website encounteradelaide .com .au Thanks

again for listening. God bless you.