Easter Sunday

Jesus, we thank you.

As we open up your word this morning, we thank you.

Whoever said anything about the end.

And so we thank you that it is not the end.

And in fact, the story continues.

And so we transition now into opening up your word

and seeing what it is that you have in store for us.

We thank you, Lord.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Can I invite us to stand for the word of the Lord?

Amen.

Reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians, chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Colossians, chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Verse 13.

Colossians, chapter 1, verse 13 says this.

Colossians 1:13

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness

and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

Thanks, kids, for joining us as well.

We thought it would be really nice for Easter Sunday to get together.

So I appreciate you guys for being here.

In case you are aboard, there is some.

One, I promise you I'll keep this short.

And two, if you're really kind of like struggling because of the darkness and all those things,

there are word searches at the back.

Actually, I also like a good word search.

So if you want, I've found a few and I've distributed them already.

And if you're an adult and want to do a word search,

then just pretend you're going for a toilet break and grab one.

They're really fun to do.

So first question I want to ask is, has anyone spent any time in the UK here, in England?

Doesn't this morning feel like that?

Doesn't it?

As I was walking, I was like, this feels familiar.

What is this feeling?

This doom and gloom that just goes,

I was a secondary school teacher when I was in England

and you'd get to school for 7.30, 8 and it's dark.

And then you finish around three or four and it's dark.

And then you walk out, you're like, oh, that's it.

And as I was walking, I was like, well, Hong Kong has the most glorious weather

from what, October to March, April.

And then the humidity comes and punches you in the face.

And then it's this for a bit.

And then it gets excruciatingly hot.

But as I was walking, I was like, I don't remember this feeling of walking.

I was like, what is it like to just go from day to day,

having this gray around you?

And you realize actually you just get used to it.

There's so many of our friends growing up in England had,

it's called SAD, right?

Where we just need the sunshine.

We need vitamin D and we have friends who buy lights to kind of help,

kind of like, I don't know, just trick their bodies into thinking

that there's joy and there's hope in the world.

But yeah, it just reminds me of that.

And I wonder whether we actually often get used to living that kind of way.

And on Friday, we talked a little bit about us becoming so desensitized to the cross,

so desensitized to sin, so desensitized to the darkness that we live in,

that we actually end up getting very used to it.

Having lived here for a while now, I was like, whoa, I'm not used to this darkness in the day.

But I realized, but I grew up like this.

Why was it okay then?

And I'm looking now at the scriptures that we're going to go through.

It's only two simple verses and you can follow along.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness

and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The theme that I want to quickly share about today is this idea that God is trying to rescue us.

God is rescuing, that's the story of Easter.

Easter.

The question that I have though is, what is he rescuing us from?

And what is he rescuing us for?

It's all right saying that Jesus comes and dies on the cross and lives again and he rescued us.

But well, do we really feel that?

Do we really truly appreciate and understand that?

Because if we do, then we must understand what he rescued us from

and what he is rescuing us for.

Because when we get rescued, then we need to know where we're going.

Otherwise, we're stuck in this abyss.

We're stuck in this middle ground where we're actually neither here nor there.

So we look at the scripture and all I'm going to do is simply break down the scripture very quickly,

which is what is he rescuing us from and what is he rescuing us for?

And it says this, he has delivered us.

Another translation is rescued there.

So he delivered us from the domain of darkness.

When did this domain of darkness begin?

It was the moment, the moment we started to believe that God doesn't really love us.

The moment we decided to actually, we can't really trust him.

When that serpent ends up in the garden and says, did God really say that?

Oh, really?

He said that to you?

That means he's hiding something from you.

That means he doesn't actually love you.

That means he doesn't actually want what's best for you.

And that's the moment, that mistrust of God.

That is the moment that causes us to go down this slippery slope.

The fellowship have been going through the Genesis actually these last few months.

And we're going to be going into that next week.

And Gabe's going to start us off on Genesis.

And you just see time and time again, whether it's Abraham, whether it's Jacob,

whether it's just humanity, just constantly just mistrusting God.

Think about your sin.

Just entertain me here for a second on Easter Sunday.

Think about your sin.

If you keep peeling back or pulling on that thread, what is that sin really?

That sin really is just this mistrust of God.

You do what you do because you're like, God, actually, I know better.

God, I know that you kind of want me to do this, but actually, I think I trust myself more.

And what happens then is we keep going down that line and we make those decisions for ourselves.

And where do we end up?

We end up in the dominion of darkness.

What does the word dominion mean?

Apart from being the fourth Jurassic World movie.

What does the word dominion mean to you?

Kalo, when I say dominion, what do you say?

You just shake your head.

Dominion.

A realm.

A realm.

Correct.

A realm.

A kingdom.

A rule.

Control.

Right.

That's what it really means.

Ironically, if you go all the way back to the beginning of our story in Genesis 1, God creates man.

And what does he say?

You have dominion over creation.

And what do you need to do?

You need to cultivate this.

You need to rearrange these raw materials so that they would then glorify me.

They would worship me.

They would look like me.

That's what he's saying.

And yet what happens is we were supposed to have dominion over creation.

Yet what happens?

We end up in the dominion in the realm of darkness ourselves.

Think about what that actually means for you.

When you say dominion of darkness, well, this is a nice backdrop that we have right now.

But we're also not saying that evil villain.

We're also not saying Bane from Batman.

We're also not saying these evil villains that are here to destroy.

Often the dominion of darkness that we live in is just things that we are now under the control of and we are kept in the dark with.

Those things that we actually have.

What are those things in Hong Kong?

What are those things in Hong Kong that actually force us to always live in that dominion of darkness?

I think one of just meritocracy.

Wanting to work as hard as we can to get where?

Well, we don't know.

We just need to keep going to get as far up the ladder as we possibly can.

But people have told us there's nothing at the top of the ladder.

It doesn't matter.

We have to keep going up.

We are conditioned to keep going up this ladder further and further and deeper and deeper into what?

The dominion of darkness.

Money.

The love of money is the root of all evil, right?

It's that dominion.

We need more.

We constantly need more.

If we don't have it, we won't survive.

But what about our children?

What about our offspring?

What about the generations to come?

No, no, no.

That is a place that we go where we go, actually, God, we don't really trust you.

We don't really trust you.

And we're going to make those decisions ourselves.

The dominion of just this polished exterior that we live in, that we need to present to

ourselves, that we need to come to every arena that we're in, every friendship group that we're in,

every church, every workplace, presenting ourselves in the best possible light.

And then we're trapped in that.

We're trapped in a world of filters that we apply to ourselves.

That remains to be the dominion of darkness that we live in.

Or maybe it's just this functional atheism that we have.

You come to church on Sundays because that's what you were conditioned and brought up to do.

Why?

Because you don't want to anger this God.

And you want to stay on his good side so that your Monday to Saturday will be blessed and will be pleasing.

And your work will go well with you.

And your career will go well with you.

And your bank account will go well with you.

Here's the problem.

God says all of those things that are not of me, they will end up controlling you.

You start off saying that you're in control.

But very, very quickly, they end up being the things that control us.

What is the thing that controls Hong Kong people?

Yes, money.

It's our calendars.

They control us.

It's our bank accounts.

They control us.

It's our friendship circles.

It's our social circles.

They control us.

This dominion, this realm of darkness that we live in.

And yet that is exactly how and where Jesus comes to rescue us.

But when he rescues us, he rescues us in a way that actually we don't expect.

Scripture tells us he's not just standing there saying, hey, you work your way up to me.

Imagine a lifeguard standing by the side of the pool and seeing someone who's drowning under the dominion of darkness, not able to get themselves out.

And the lifeguard stands there on the side and say, well, this is where you went wrong.

You just didn't pay attention during your swimming lessons or you went deeper than you should have.

So what you need to do is you need to start doing your friend crawl to climb back out.

That is not what a rescue mission means.

But so often, actually, we chuckle.

But then actually, I wonder whether we sometimes see God like that.

We know that we are trapped in this darkness.

And yet we have this picture of God standing by the poolside with his arms crossed saying, come on, then work your way back to me.

Work your way back.

Come back to me.

Earn the right to be with me again.

Don't we sometimes have that?

Because we know that we're wallowing in this place and we think we have to get there ourselves.

And that's not the gospel message.

The gospel message isn't God crossing his arms saying, you made some mistakes.

You had one too many fractions, infractions this week.

What he's saying is I'm going to jump into the pool to bring you out.

So the rescue mission begins.

And what happens?

The light enters into the world.

The book of John talks about this, loves the imagery of light entering into the darkness.

The word becomes flesh and says, hey, you can't rescue yourself.

I am jumping in.

That is Jesus.

That is the gospel message.

What does he rescue us from?

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son.

So first thing, we need to recognize where we are being rescued from.

We're being rescued from being under control of these things.

We're being rescued from the need to feel as though we're in control of our own lives.

The weight of that.

Society tells us, hey, everyone is their own God.

Everyone has to make their own decisions to climb wherever they need to climb.

But the weight of that was never ours to bear.

When what God is saying is you're not God.

I am God.

But now you're in this place where you can't get out and I am jumping in to rescue you.

But where am I going to rescue you?

Not just to leave you on the side of the pool and just let you stay there.

Though often I think a lot of us do stay there.

Because we aren't recognizing that we're actually, we were drowning and that we needed saving.

So then we sit by the pool and we don't really know where else we're going to go.

But then he's transferring us to something.

He's rescuing us from sin and death and being lost.

And rescuing us for a place where there is life.

Where we can see where we are found.

We're taken to a new place.

And what is that new place?

This kingdom of his beloved son.

So we're going from a domain of darkness into a new kingdom, a new realm.

That is beloved.

Imagine if we truly understood what that meant.

That we were rescued when we were drowning.

Why?

Because we were deeply loved.

And then we were brought out of the pool.

We're not just kept there.

We are now transferred into another place.

Romans 8 talks about this where we are no longer slaves.

But we are now children of God.

And nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

This place where we are loved.

Truly loved.

And so we go from being slaves of sin.

Being people who are trapped in this domain of darkness.

And now we enter into a kingdom where we are truly loved.

Where we are a co-heir with Christ.

We go from rags to riches in one moment.

And that moment, that day, is today.

Why?

Because this is the day where Jesus raises from the dead.

And we realize now that we are not defined by our mistakes.

We are not defined by the things that we've done wrong in the past.

I think I've shared before my favorite movie.

My favorite Disney movie, sorry.

Is The Lion King.

Who's watched the movie?

The Lion King.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Who's watched the theater show?

The one in Hong Kong?

Did you watch the one in Hong Kong?

We watched the one in the West End.

Oh my goodness.

It's actually interesting.

C.S. Lewis talks a lot about this.

A lot of the stories that we love in contemporary society are really just reflections of the story of Jesus.

We can't help ourselves.

We can't help ourselves.

It's always about this.

It's always about this one main character who doesn't know who they truly are.

Or has made a mistake.

Simba makes a mistake that defines his future.

What is that mistake that he believes a lie?

He believes that it was his fault.

That Mufasa died because of him.

And so then he goes and he heads into the wilderness, into the jungle, into slash the domain of darkness.

And he stays in this place.

And he starts to forget really truly who he is because he makes two friends.

And his diet changes massively.

And then he likes to just stay there.

And sometimes we like to stay there.

Let's be honest.

Sometimes we like to sulk and stay in that domain of darkness because it's just easier.

Because sometimes hiding in the darkness means that what is inside us isn't exposed into the light.

So we stay there.

But that wasn't what Jesus came to do.

He didn't just come to rescue us from the darkness and leave us in a gray area.

He came to rescue us from darkness and move us into the kingdom of his beloved son where we find out who we are again.

And so there's this beautiful moment where Simba's never heading back to the pride lands by himself.

There's a rescue mission that goes to find him.

The rescue mission in the form of Nala, who comically is stronger than him.

I know that existence very well.

Why are you laughing so hard, Kim?

That laugh was inappropriately loud.

But it's so true.

So it wasn't even a joke.

You should just shed a tear for me.

It's actually very rare that my beloved wife is stood at the back of the service because she's usually traveling around.

Yeah, she's stronger than me.

Where did we get to?

You just completely made me lose my train of thought.

Just the stronger wife.

Nala.

Nala.

Simba is needed in the pride lands.

He's forgotten who he is.

But a rescue mission happens.

Rescues him from the jungle.

Nala herself goes to find and then brings him back to the pride.

Nala.

Did he ever stop being the prince of the land?

Did he ever stop being Mufasa's son?

Gen Z, Eli.

I've never watched the Lion King.

Don't know what it's about.

So who cares?

He never stops being Mufasa's son.

He's just hiding from it.

But once he returns, once he's transformed back into the kingdom of the sun, he realizes who he is.

And when he goes back there, he sees someone else in control.

Scar.

Though, of course, the Mufasa movie paints a wonderful story of just how he got to where he was.

But you see, it's just the picturing is just dark.

There's no light.

There's no life.

But when Simba steps back in, fights the battle that was only his to fight, wins, and suddenly light comes back into the kingdom.

He steps back in to his identity as a child of God, as a child of Mufasa in that case.

But for us, isn't that the same for us?

When we recognize that we were in the jungle, we were wallowing in the jungle, we couldn't really find our ways to get back.

We didn't really want to get back sometimes, but we know we needed to because this life wasn't what we were created for.

But then Jesus comes and rescues us and brings us back out.

And then now we know who we are.

We find out our calling.

And what happens when you step back in?

You suddenly see that the Easter story is right here for us.

That the Easter story shows that we are transferred from death back into life.

A one of hopelessness now back into hope.

The one of meaninglessness now into purpose.

That is the Easter story.

And this is where we jump in.

Why is it so powerful?

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son.

What does it mean to be in that kingdom?

In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When you are a child of God, two things that you receive.

First of all is redemption.

Redemption and then the forgiveness.

What does the word redemption mean?

It means to buy back.

It means to suddenly you reown whatever it is that you had before in the past.

Or for those of us who are in the church car parking WhatsApp group for Pacific Place.

What one of the best things about Hong Kong is parking redemption in malls.

It is such a good deal.

You can get free parking so long as you buy a pair of shoes.

It's just the best thing.

So every time I go, well, this is what a great deal.

I can't not.

But have a think for a second what it means when you drove into it.

Those of you who drove.

Drove into a car park.

What happens?

When you drive in.

It happened, of course, as we drove into.

Let's say we drove in.

Did you drive into Pacific Place today, Darren?

Okay.

You drive in and you go into a basement.

The dominion of darkness is what I call it.

And the moment you get a ticket, what is that?

That is the debt that you now have as you made the choice to enter into that dominion of darkness.

Yeah?

Following me?

And then, that's why parking is evil.

But there is hope.

Paying for parking is evil.

But there is hope.

You got to go buy a pair of shoes.

Because what happens when you go buy a pair of shoes?

You get a receipt.

Now, it doesn't mean parking is free, of course.

Someone does have to pay.

But once you get that receipt, or once there are those of us who collect enough receipts

across lunch that we have, you can take it to the counter with your just head held high

and say, I do not need to pay this debt as I drove into this domain of darkness,

Miss Receptionist.

Because I now have some receipts.

Because my friends, Darren and Paul, spent a lot of money at Shake Shack.

And now I have their receipts.

And now I get to drive out of this car park for free.

Brothers and sisters, that is redemption.

That, there is nothing more appropriate to share about the gospel than the free parking that comes.

The freedom that comes as we drive out of that car park, out of the domain of darkness,

into the glorious light, knowing that we paid nothing to do it.

That is what it means by being redeemed.

Or another example, for those of you who are basketball fans,

there is this nation on the other side of the world called the United States of America.

America.

And for the longest time, and sometimes still now,

humility isn't the word that I would use for that group of people.

Right, Alex?

And so they would send out this basketball team for a few years.

And it didn't really go well.

And they didn't really try hard because they thought they were the best in the world,

completely ignorant of the progress that the rest of the world had made in every front.

And what happens is they took this team out to the Olympics and they played there in 2004.

And it didn't end well for them.

They lost to teams that they should not lose to.

Countries that were much smaller than them.

And of course, in true American fashion, they turned that story into one of glory afterwards.

Why?

Because in four years' time, they send out what is the team called?

The Redeemed Team.

The Redeemed Team.

Which is to take back what they lost through arrogance and incompetence.

But you see, that is what it is.

We're rescued from this domain of darkness and we're put into this kingdom of the beloved son,

where we now have redemption.

Where we are completely free to walk out of here.

Not because we paid the price.

This is the key thing here.

Because until we realize that actually someone did something for us to be here,

that these two guys went to collect receipts for me so that I could drive out of this car park,

that Jesus actually came from heaven down to earth to pay the price.

You see, sometimes when we come to think about we're just getting out of this sin,

we're getting out of this darkness and we didn't do anything to do it.

Sometimes, you know what that means?

We don't really, we're not really grateful for it.

We don't really truly understand the cost that was paid.

We're not really, it's not really worth anything to us.

But when we realize the lengths of what this beloved son did for us,

the redemption that comes from him.

Now, why do we believe this?

Why is this Easter story even important?

Why is it special?

Well, I would say it's important and special for only really one reason,

and that is because it really happened.

Because it's real.

That is it.

Because someone really did, 2,000 years ago, die and then rise again.

That he really did defeat death.

Imagine if you and I approached death in a different way now.

So often we don't.

So often we're still filled with fear and anxiety.

But yet, if we truly took what the Easter story is saying here,

that really, there was someone who said that they would die

and that they would rise again.

And then it actually happened.

That changes everything.

That changes everything.

Maybe the key passage in Scripture that we must go back to every Easter Sunday

is 1 Corinthians 15,

where the great Apostle Paul says,

actually, forget everything else.

It all hinges on whether he rose again.

Not that he was a nice guy.

Not that he was a good teacher.

Not that he was a prophet.

But because he actually walked out of that tomb

and that the grave is truly empty.

Because that changes everything.

And now if that didn't happen, what Paul says,

is actually, James, you preaching here is useless.

Just because Jesus was a nice guy that died for us and that was it,

that's not enough.

He says, your preaching is useless.

Your faith is futile.

So either the,

John Mark Homer put this in a really nice way.

He says,

either the Easter story is true

or there are other things that are true.

And what are those other things?

That, well,

the followers of Jesus were liars.

That there's actually no hope after death.

That death is all there is.

So just eat, drink, be merry,

for tomorrow we die and that's it.

That actually we're still stuck in our sins.

We're still stuck in that basement car park.

We're still stuck in that domain of darkness

and we're just staying there.

So the alternatives are really not that appealing.

But if Jesus really did rise from the dead,

and you say, well,

what if it was just wishful thinking?

What if it was just a group of people

who really missed the guy that they were following for three years

and now they just decided to make up stuff

just to keep going?

Well, here's the problem with that one.

First of all,

now people are willing to die

for something that they don't really know is true.

But you see what happens is

when that comes under threat,

when your life comes under threat,

then are you willing to keep to that lie?

The Watergate scandal that happened many years ago

from 12 powerful men that tried to keep a lie.

It did not last long.

Yet what you see here is a small group of fishermen

and working class people, Jews,

who encountered something

to the point where their lives were completely transformed.

Cowards were transformed into the most courageous people.

Murderers like Paul were transformed completely.

And then you wonder,

okay, there's something true about this.

If you look at the historical account of the resurrection,

there's something else that's,

well, if you were making this story up,

you would not put in there.

And what would that be?

You would not have the witnesses be women.

Why?

Because in the ancient world,

they wouldn't be recognized.

They wouldn't be actually allowed in court to testify.

So if you were making up a story,

you don't put them in there.

Yet in the scripture, in the gospel accounts,

what you see here is the truth.

You see different angles of the same story.

And so what you see here is that

the author is simply just keeping a record of accounts.

Well, then you say, well, maybe,

well, maybe he did die.

He did not rise again.

They just hid the body.

They've had 2000 years to bring that body back out.

But the Jews who were against the Christians

could have brought it out if they were the ones that hid it.

But they didn't.

The Romans, they, if they hid it,

they could have brought it out at any point to say,

hey, all of this, everyone calm down, stop.

Here's the body.

Everyone go back to their own lives.

And yet they couldn't find the body.

And so you look at all these different pieces of evidence

and you're like, hmm, something happened here

that changed the course of mankind

that leads us now to be living in 2026,

counting the years that that man lived.

This is bigger than just someone dying.

This is so big that it's someone who rises again.

And we have the forgiveness of sins.

Can you imagine that every wrong thing

that you and I have done,

we can now just let go and say,

it's gone.

I'm preaching to the choir here,

which is a term that we use,

which is actually, you guys are Christians here,

most of you.

But let me tell you a danger of this.

As you're a follower of Christ,

this is a gift.

This is what we call grace.

There's nothing you can do to earn this.

Some of you are sat here,

well, maybe I deserve to be transferred

from the dominion of darkness

over to the kingdom of the beloved son.

What do I need to do to get there?

The moment you say, what do I need to do?

You've actually missed the point.

Because some of us are in the mall,

scrounging around, looking for receipts,

going, I need to collect as many receipts as I can

in order to get out of this car park.

And that isn't the gospel, my friends.

The gospel is when someone comes up to you,

just like Wes came up to me this morning

after his breakfast,

and just gives me the receipt for free.

Some of us go around thinking,

I can't get out of here unless I work

and pay the price myself,

collect as many receipts as I can.

But the truth is,

there is only one who could afford it.

Only one who didn't have debt.

And that's how we get the forgiveness of sins.

Because the one who did no wrong,

the one who had a new,

no sin,

died for us so that we would become

the righteousness of God.

We would have those receipts

that we needed to get out.

So when you are transferred

into the kingdom of the beloved son,

you have the redemption

and you have the forgiveness of sins.

And the moment you step out

and you receive that,

what do you become?

You become a child of God.

You realize who you are.

The great theologian,

that is Rafiki,

in the Lion King,

says,

remember who you are.

My son laughed at that joke.

That's good.

That means that's a good joke.

Unless he's laughing at something else,

which is also true.

Remember who you are.

What if this Easter Sunday,

we stepped out of here

from the darkness,

back into the light,

and now you know

that you are a child of God,

that you are beloved.

Chinese people,

for whatever reason,

actually for a number of reasons,

we struggle with this idea

deeply of acknowledging

that we are loved,

that we are beloved.

Maybe it's the love languages

that culturally we just

decide to ignore all of,

apart from acts of service

and financial provision.

So we all struggle

with this idea

of being loved.

What if I told you

that you are beloved?

You know what that requires?

Francis Chan says this,

that the word beloved,

if you break it up,

it means you have to be willing

to be loved.

What if

today

we receive the gift of Easter?

Arms open wide and says,

God,

I will let you love me.

I will let you rescue me

from my drowning,

from my dominion of darkness

that I have been under

the control of.

And I can be transferred

into the kingdom

of the beloved son.

Oh,

the joyous moment

that can happen

when we have access now,

not as an outsider.

Christina and I,

we enjoy

traveling around Hong Kong,

but we more recently,

we have enjoyed

exploring the north.

The north being

the mainland

that

some of us

also like to go to.

But for the longest time,

she goes in with

her British passport

as a foreigner.

Oh my goodness,

and the queue.

The queue to get

through immigration

is a painful one

because it really

is just a gamble

as who's in front of you

in the line

and what potential

criminals are there.

And of course,

as I'm waiting in the queue,

I'm just judging

every person in front of me.

Why are you trying to get it?

Why are you stopping me

from accessing

the promised land?

Because we were foreigners.

Of course,

we've now qualified

in the time

that we've had here

in Hong Kong.

We now get that special card.

Oh,

the liberation.

Oh,

the freedom.

Oh,

the efficiency

when you don't need

to speak to a single officer

and you just get to walk

through the E channel

and you just get to go in

free.

You no longer have to queue

as a foreigner,

as an outsider.

But we are transferred,

not because of us,

but because of what Jesus

did for us.

Because someone came out

to rescue us

and bring us

into the kingdom

so that we can live

who we are supposed to be

just like Simba.

Wouldn't it be nice

if this Easter Sunday

we did that,

all of us today,

as loved children

of God?

We're going to spend

a final moment now

as we ponder over

this power

that comes

from the cross,

but also that

just permeates through,

reverberates through

the empty grave,

the empty tomb.

The ripple effects

that are still in play

right now.

What if we lived

like that?

Not as slaves to sin,

not as those trapped

in the domain of darkness

in the basement,

but we stepped

into the marvelous light.

We stepped

into who we truly

are,

to live

as we truly

should,

to experience

the freedom

that we truly

have access to

right now.

We're going to finish

with some

morcing,

some response

to this.

Often words

from the songs

give us the words

that we deeply need

to be able to respond

to this glorious gift

that has been

gifted to us.

Let us live

today

remembering that

it still may be

dark,

but that the kingdom

of God is

already here.

not yet

in full

manifestation,

but we know

that day

is coming.

Why?

Because the man

who said that he

would die

and rise again

told us so.

And that man

still lives

and then he

says he will

be with us

till the end

of the age.

So go,

go and live

as my children.

Go,

be filled

with my spirit

and you will

be my witnesses

to Jerusalem,

to Judea

and to the ends

of the earth

and I will

be with you

because he

lives in us.

Wouldn't it

just be great

if we lived

in that way

today,

if we all

came out

of the basement

today,

recognizing what

we were rescued

from and what

we were rescued

for.

We're surrounded

by a world

that is still

drowning,

that is still

dark.

Let us live

as children

of light.

Jesus,

thank you.

thank you

for rescuing

us.

Lord,

we got

ourselves

into the

mess that

we're in

and yet

you,

rich in

mercy

because of

the great

love that

you left

us,

the kindness

that you

showed us,

remind us

what we

were rescued

from,

that we

were separated

from you

without hope,

without you,

but then

you sought

after us,

you pursued

us,

you drew

us closer

back to

you.

And so

today,

we now

look to

that day

when we

see in

full

clarity

what we

were rescued

for,

flourishing

with you

in eternity,

in a place

where there

is no

night,

and I

hopefully

think no

rain and

no doom

and gloom.

so we

lean into

that

today.

We

commit to

be followers

who hold

that tension

that your

kingdom is

already here

but not

quite yet,

but it

matters not

because you

are here

with us.

Thank you,

Jesus.

Thank you,

all glory

to God.

So church,

we go

in freedom,

the freedom

that Christ

bought for

us.

You know,

in our home

this week,

we were

rehearsing

with our

daughter

that Jesus

is alive

and I

would just

pray,

we'll just

love to

pray that

over each

and every

one of us

as we

just meditate

and reflect

on the

life that

Jesus

has breathed

into us.

So in

your hearts

now,

would you

just rehearse

that in

the silence

that Jesus

is alive,

that he

has given

his life

for us,

the fallen

people out

of love

for us,

but because

he has

risen,

because Jesus,

you are

alive,

we can go

in freedom,

we can grow

full of

life.

From this

place,

even to

places we

may feel

are lacking

life,

Jesus,

we know

you're still

present,

that you

desire to

breathe life

into those

places.

So Jesus,

we surrender

our hearts

to you and

we surrender

those places,

those dominions

of darkness.

We just ask

your spirit

would free

us from

these dominions

of darkness

that we'd have

true freedom

in Christ

as we go

to these

places.

We just

ask,

Lord,

because we

know that

we can't do

it by our

own strength,

that we

would go

here from

here as

your people

to bring

your kingdom

on heaven

here on

earth until

you return

again.

So Jesus,

we love

you,

we adore

you.

Thank you

for loving

us first,

for going

to the

cross for

us.

Jesus,

we proclaim

as your

church that

you are

risen,

that you

are alive,

and that

you are

with us.

I pray

this all

in your

name,

Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.