The Empty Tomb: Why Easter Changes Everything

Welcome to the Lone Star Church podcast.

Pastors CF and Nicole Rady are here to share the Word of God with you each week, helping you grasp the fullness of God's plan for your life.

We hope you'll be blessed by this week's message.

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Well, I was thinking this morning.

I got up early and it was raining you may have got up, it was raining too and I was thinking about Jesus.

Today, you ever wake up thinking about Jesus, amen.

And I was thinking about what it would have been like, you know, over 2,000 years ago, after His resurrection, right after His death on the cross and His resurrection, right after his death on the cross and his resurrection.

And so we talked last week about the triumphant entry, palm Sunday, when Jesus came back into Jerusalem just before the Passover, just before going to the cross, and we know all the things that happened.

He came, and he came riding on a donkey and they celebrated him, and they're shouting Hosanna and waving palm leaves, and they're throwing him down on the ground, throwing their coats on.

And yet, just a few days later, a lot of those same people were yelling crucify him.

You ever notice people are fickle.

Spend a little time on Facebook.

If you're not sure that people are fickle.

They'll like one of your things one time and say something nasty about you the next.

And so Jesus, during that time, from the time he came back into Jerusalem until we know he has the Last Supper with his disciples, where he spends that night with them.

He predicts a few things at the Last Supper.

He predicts that Judas will be the one that betrays him.

He doesn't say Judas' name, but he says the one who dips the bread into the wine that'll be the one.

And then Jesus does it, but none of them really seem to pick up on it.

He predicts that Peter will deny him three times.

Nicole and I have had some great discussions about that over the years, that when he predicts Peter will deny him, peter says, oh no, not me, jesus, I'd never do that.

And Nicole asked me this question one time.

She said what would it have been like if Peter had said Jesus, help me not to do that, instead of being full of pride saying I'd never do that, if he just would have said Jesus, help me not to do that?

I think that may have turned out completely different.

Then we know Jesus went to pray.

He goes into the garden, the garden of Gethsemane, and he's in prayer.

And he's in such intense prayer because he knows what's about to happen, not just what they're going to do to his body or the cross.

He knows for the first time in eternity he's going to be separated from his father.

And yet he prays what he gets to that point of prayer he says, god, if you can take this cup from me, but if not, not my will, but yours, be done A prayer of dedication.

He prays so hard in Luke, I believe it says blood came out of his pores.

Pray so hard in Luke, I believe it says blood came out of his pores.

Such anguish.

They come to arrest him.

Right, jesus, lets them know, I'm going with you, you're not taking me.

When he says who are you looking for?

And they said Jesus of Nazareth, he says I am he.

And when he says his name, that great I am, everyone falls out.

All the Roman soldiers fell out.

What was Jesus saying?

He goes, I'm going with you, you're not taking my life, I'm giving my life.

He goes before the Sanhedrin, the Jews, right, and as they bring him in, they're hitting him, they're spitting at him, they're cursing him.

He gets kicked between the Jews to the Romans and back and forth between Herod and Pilate.

They find no faults in him, but they turn back to the Jews and the people that were Hosanna, hosanna, are yelling, crucify him.

So we know.

Jesus then gets beaten beyond recognition.

The Bible says he's beaten.

He's whipped.

They have that whip that has the leather straps, that has pieces of bone fragment and glass in it and it rips the flesh from his back that was prophesied by his stripes we would be healed.

He carries the cross.

They hang him on the cross, they mock him, make fun of him.

If you're truly the king of kings, the Lord, save yourself.

Have angels come and save you.

They pierce his side.

His blood starts to spill and as his blood starts to hit the ground, miraculous things start happening.

Tombs open up and people get resurrected out of tombs.

The earthquakes, the veil in the temple that had been placed there to separate man from God in relationship because of sin.

The veil in the temple that had been placed there to separate man from God in relationship because of sin.

The veil in the temple is rent in two.

The sun becomes dark in the middle of the day and Jesus lets out these words because of our sin.

The Bible says our sin was placed on him.

God put it on him and Jesus says these words.

He says my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Then he breathes his last breath.

They take him down from the cross.

They go to bury him in a buried tomb from Joseph of Arimathea, and because Jesus had said that he'd be raised from the dead, the Romans and Jews are concerned.

So the Romans decide to not only put a stone in front of the tomb but to seal it to know if anyone had been in there or not, and then they put guards at either side to watch it.

Well then we get to Luke, chapter 24.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

Look at Luke 24, verse 1.

Luke 24:1

I was thinking about this this morning.

What would it have been like to wake up on that third morning?

Here's the amazing thing Jesus had told them he'd be raised from the dead, but guess what?

They weren't there waiting for him.

All the disciples, all the people weren't there.

Even though he said what was going to happen, they weren't there.

And we see it now, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning.

We have the women here, right, mary, mary Magdalene, joanna, and it says the women were going early in the morning.

They came to the tomb bringing spices which they prepared to prepare the body.

So they weren't even right.

The men weren't there, but the women weren't even going, thinking they're going to see him resurrected, they're going to take care of the body, but they found the stone rolled away.

They went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold two men, right, angels, stood by them in shining garments.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to earth, listen to what the angel said to them.

They said why do you seek the living amongst the dead man?

That is a great statement made.

Where were they?

They were in a cemetery.

They were in a graveyard.

Right, they're looking at tombs.

They said why are you seeking the living amongst the dead?

And then what did they say?

Right, these great words.

He is not here, but he is risen.

Then he says remember how he spoke of those things to you.

And the women go right and they run and they tell all the men the first preachers of the gospel were the group of women telling all the men that Jesus was alive.

Then Peter, right, and they all run to see the empty tomb.

Can you imagine showing up and seeing that empty tomb?

It's so amazing.

Right, the cross, and we wear the cross as a symbol.

And the cross is an amazing symbol of our faith, right, but the cross, ultimately, was a place of defeat.

It's a place of sacrifice, where Jesus sacrificed himself, but it's a place of defeat.

How much better maybe would it be that to our necklaces or our pennants that we add not just the cross but we add an empty tomb, because the empty tomb is a place of victory, amen.

If you've ever seen the movie the Passion of the Christ and again it's very biblical, it's very scriptural so much that happens is identical to what we see in the gospel accounts of what happened to Jesus.

But there's some places Mel Gibson took a little liberty in what he did and he has this being in it.

That is Satan.

That's like Satan, right, bald and with a robe and a hood up over it, and just think about Satan watching everything that occurred.

Right, satan?

He tried to tempt Jesus, to get Jesus to come to his side, but it didn't work because Jesus came back with the word.

Every time, how many know, the word overcomes temptation and he couldn't get Jesus to join him.

He thought, boy, I'm gonna kill him.

Right when Jesus was born, he tried to kill him.

Remember, when Jesus was born?

And and they?

They tried to get the government to send and kill all the young kids that were born at that time trying to snuff Jesus life out before he could do anything.

And so now he's he's.

He's Satan's watching all this unfold.

He watches Jesus get arrested.

He's like, oh yeah, there we go, I got.

He.

Watches Jesus get arrested.

He's like, oh yeah, there we go, I got him.

He watches Jesus get beaten and he's just relishing in it.

Then he watches Jesus be put on the cross and he hears them mock him and say call angels down and save yourself.

And he thinks, oh boy, he could still do that, but Jesus doesn't do that.

And then he hears Jesus say that he's God forsaken.

He hears Jesus breathe his last breath and he watches him die.

And don't you know, satan was watching as they carried him to the tomb and he's watching as they sealed that tomb and he's watching as they put guards.

He goes good, because I don't want him ever getting out of there.

And he thinks that on the end of that day Satan thinks I have defeated God himself.

He sent his only begotten son on this earth and I killed him.

I stirred up dissension, I stirred up hate, I stirred up all these things and now he's dead.

And then Satan goes home for the night.

Acts, chapter two, tells us where Jesus went, says he went to hell, but the Bible says that God did not leave him there.

So Satan goes home and guess who?

Shows up, jesus, and he says hey, everything that Adam gave to you, those keys, that authority, all that stuff that Adam lost when he sinned, I want it all back.

I remember I've heard Pastor Mark talking about Jesus.

He said so many people think about when Jesus went to hell and defeated the kingdom of darkness, defeated the enemy, right, they somehow think like Jesus came back and imagine Jesus is being interviewed after he comes back from hell.

They're like Jesus.

How was it?

Jesus is all bruised and black eye and he's got, you know, bandages on his head and he's on crutches.

He goes, boy, it was rough, boy, it was a hard fight, the devil and all those demons down there.

But, boy, it went into overtime.

But I finally beat him by one point.

It was nothing like that.

Jesus came back and he looked perfect, amen.

And he said it was a million to nothing.

He goes.

I defeated him completely and now I've got the victory.

But here's the great thing about Jesus getting the victory.

Jesus didn't just get the victory.

He said I've got the victory, but now I'm going to give it to you.

He gave us that victory, amen.

And so you think about that Every day we wake up.

We should celebrate the fact that we serve a living God, that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, that he is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Right when he left hell, when he defeated the enemy, the Bible says he went up to heaven.

He put his blood, the precious blood of the Lamb.

He put it on the mercy seat in heaven.

He paid the price for our sin and now he made a right relationship between man and God.

We couldn't have that relationship because of sin, but Jesus took care of it for us.

What's that mean?

That means there's no one in this room that your sin is greater than the blood of Jesus.

If we add all of our sin together, that is not greater than the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus conquers all.

Amen, praise the Lord.

Let's look at a couple of verses, because I want you to see a truth here in the Word.

Thank you, lord.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

I want you to see something about the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15,.

We're going to go down to verse 12.

We're going to look at some writings from Paul today.

You know Paul was not a nice man at one point in his life when he was called Saul.

In fact he was there holding people's coats when they killed Stephen in the book of Acts, cheering them on.

And then we know he later was going out arresting Christians, dragging them from their homes to be put in jail and many of them put to death.

And then what happened with Paul is he had an experience with Jesus and it changed his life.

Can I tell you something?

You know what changed my life?

Had an experience with Jesus Right here.

It's the amazing thing.

I love the fact that I preach here Because I think about when I had an experience with Jesus that changed my life.

I was sitting right back in this corner and I sat back there a number of Sundays because that's where the youth would sit.

And I'd sit back there and I'd hear the gospel that Jesus died for my sin and that if I believed in my heart and confessed in my mouth, I shall be saved.

Old things will pass away.

Behold, all things will become new.

And I'd hear that and I'd be like, hmm, I should probably do that someday.

And I'd be like, hmm, not today.

I was scared, I didn't want to come down.

I was the shy one in the family.

Isn't it interesting how God chooses.

In fact, the Bible says God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise right.

I wasn't the loudest or best public speaker when I was a kid, but yet I'm the one that God chose to be a preacher.

And I'd sit and I'd hear that, and almost every Sunday, because this is the way we used to do church here.

There was a piano that would sit right here and the piano player would get up and we would sing the first, second and last verse of Just as I Am, just as I am, I come to you.

And I'd hear that song and, boy, something on the inside of me would be like you need to go up and get Jesus in your life.

And I'd grab the back of that pew tighter and tighter.

I didn't want to do it.

I wasn't ready to surrender.

Then, one Sunday, 16 years old, I let go and I walked that aisle the same aisle my wife walked almost 30 years ago and came and met me.

I walked that aisle and I stood right in this spot and I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.

I confessed him as my Lord and Savior, gave my life to him, and you know what it did?

It changed everything.

It changed my future.

It didn't just change me in that moment, it changed my entire future.

Whether my kids know it or not, that moment changed their lives.

Whether you know it or not, that moment changed your life.

If you've ever been here and heard me preach, that moment changed your life.

Paul says now right, if Christ has preached that he's been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Right, but if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

Paul says look, either Christ was raised from the dead or none of this is worth anything.

Look at the next verse right, if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

If Jesus isn't alive today, then we should just all go home right now and get early lunch, right?

Let's beat everyone else to the restaurants, let's just go home, because if Jesus is still in that tomb, then this is all for naught.

That's what Paul said.

That is pretty powerful preaching right there to say, hey, I've been preaching you for weeks.

And if Jesus isn't alive, if he's not resurrected, then forget everything I ever told you.

I stood on this stage, I stood right over here A few days after my mom passed away and I said the exact same thing.

I said either I believe what I've been preaching or I don't, because if Jesus isn't alive, if Jesus isn't resurrected, then my mom has no life after her death.

But guess what?

Jesus is resurrected, jesus is alive and everyone you know that was born again.

That was a believer that went on before you.

They're alive, amen, they're alive, he says.

But if it's not true, then our faith is empty.

Verse 15.

Yes, and we're found false witnesses of God, because we've testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up if, in fact, the dead did not rise.

Amen, let's keep going, for if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

So what's he saying?

Paul is saying look, if Christ didn't rise, then we got no chance for us to rise.

You know, there are a lot of people I heard it's so funny who was saying this.

It was Tom Schneider, luke Duke, or no, bo Duke.

He was talking yesterday about two babies in the womb, twins.

He said imagine these two babies in the womb.

And one of the babies says do you believe there's life after the womb?

Dylan's like no, I don't believe it because I think this is it, this is all we got.

The other baby's like yeah, but what if there's life?

Where you, there's light and there's life, and we eat food and we do things?

Everybody's like no, I don't believe in that.

I believe in this darkness, I believe in this womb.

I believe we get everything we need through our umbilical cord.

I don't believe in life after the womb.

I know there are a lot of people that don't believe that there's life after this life.

They think this is it.

They think this is it.

This is it.

Hey, I've had a pretty good life.

I'm believing for more years on this earth.

I've had a pretty good life.

I've had some good times.

I've had some bad times.

It's been pretty good.

But if this is it, if this is good as it gets, then what are we doing?

Amen.

Now he says look, if Jesus isn't risen, then we're in trouble, right?

He says your faith is fuel and you're still in your sin.

Then guess what?

You've got a sin problem.

If Jesus didn't pay the price for your sin.

How many know?

He had to pay it fully.

He couldn't just pay it halfway, he had to pay it fully.

What's that?

He had to take your sin upon him.

He had to die the death you were supposed to die.

Isn't that great?

We don't die the death we were supposed to die.

We die the death as believers.

When we die, we die the death that Jesus deserved, which was to automatically right.

Paul says things like this for me to die is gain, for me to die is gain.

And then he says things like this he says to be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord.

In fact, we know on the cross, what did Jesus say to the one thief right that said that Jesus was who he said.

Jesus said buddy, I'm going to tell you right now, today, you'll surely be with me in paradise.

No, jesus is risen.

That we still have to deal with our sin problem.

No, but Jesus did raise Amen so we could be raised with him.

Let's go over to Galatians, chapter 2 and verse 20.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We're going to look at just a couple more verses.

I want to tell you when we get done with this message, we are going to take communion together and we'll talk about that before we do that.

But we're going to take communion, the Lord's Supper, together.

Galatians 2, verse 20.

Galatians 2:20

Again, another writing of Paul.

I'm going to flip over here in the New Living, because I've got a couple of these in the New Living Just give you a little different perspective on the verse.

You look at it in whatever you have.

Listen to what Paul says in Galatians 2.20 in the New Living translation.

He says my old self has been crucified with Christ.

Guess what?

You didn't know it and you weren't even there.

Paul wasn't there.

None of us in this room were there when Jesus was crucified.

Paul wasn't there when Jesus was crucified.

Paul wasn't there when Jesus was crucified.

But you know what he says.

He said you know what?

My old self was crucified.

My old self was up on that cross with Jesus.

My old self was crucified with Christ.

And then he says this it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

So I live in this earthly body.

By what?

By trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So here's the amazing thing.

We're going to look at a couple more verses.

So guess what?

Your old self died on that cross.

I don't think most of the time we truly grasp the spiritual fullness of that truth that my old self died on that cross.

Paul says look that guy, the one who was cheering on when Stephen got stoned, the one who was arresting believers, that guy, he's gone.

He died on that cross with Jesus, he says.

But the one who lives now, he lives in Christ, right?

Paul's the same one that wrote to the Corinthian church.

He said old things have passed away.

Behold, all things have become new.

I'm a new creature in Christ Jesus.

How do you know?

You get born again.

You become a new creature.

You're not an old sinner.

Well, you know, I'm just an old sinner, pastor.

No, if you're born again, you're a new creature.

Why do some believers still talk that way?

Because they've allowed the enemy to convince them that they're still that old person.

I'm not still that old person.

I'm not still that old person.

Amen, that man died.

Well, where did that man die?

Did he die up here at the altar?

No, he died all the way back on the cross with Jesus.

That's when Jesus took care of that problem.

Amen.

Romans 6, verse 4.

Romans 6:4

I'm going to stay in the New Living here, romans 6, 4.

Paul continuing to write now to the church at Rome.

So he talked about, he was crucified.

Now, look, he says, for we died and were buried with christ by baptism.

So baptism is that outward sign of an inward witness.

Baptism does not get you, uh, to heaven in itself.

Right, we go dunk you all after service, uh, but just get going in water doesn't get you to heaven.

It's an ordinance set forth by God and Jesus and the church, right, but it's that outward sign of what's already happened inwardly.

So here Paul says we died, right, and baptism is that symbol.

When you baptize people, I love it, I always remember.

Honestly, the one I remember, one of the most I remember, is Virgil, and Laura was here and had an amazing picture when Virgil came up out of that water.

That water, right, was just the same old cistern water that we have here, that we tell you not to drink.

But when Virgil came up out of that water, I've told Virgil this.

I said Virgil, the look on your face, what was it?

It was him telling the whole world man, I am a new creature in Christ Jesus, and baptism is a sign of a death to ourselves and a symbol of being resurrected back with God.

So he says we were died and buried with Christ, by baptism, and, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

So what's Paul saying?

What's he getting at?

We're going to see it here a little clearer.

In Colossians, what Paul's saying is guess what?

You died with Christ on the cross, but you also.

You were resurrected with him.

So when we celebrate the resurrection, it's not just the resurrection of Jesus you should celebrate you were also resurrected.

None of y'all, I'm telling you.

I don't think we understand it.

If someone told you hey, man, you died, but we brought you back to life, you would probably be a little more happy than this.

Appreciate that Right.

Imagine one of your family members.

There's an accident.

They call you to the hospital.

You go to the emergency room and you're like what happened?

You're like they died and you're like, oh my gosh, they died.

I can't believe they died.

We brought them back.

Woo, you're not going to be like.

You brought them back.

I appreciate that.

You're going to be excited, I know.

Can I tell you something?

You, before you got born again, you were dead.

You didn't know it.

You didn't know you were dead.

I mentioned this first service.

I'll mention it again If you've ever seen the movie the Matrix.

The Matrix is not a Christian movie.

It is not a gospel movie.

It was not made by Christians.

But here's the amazing thing the truth of the gospel makes its way into Hollywood.

That's why a lot of movies have the hero, the, someone saving other people.

Why?

Because it's Jesus saving us.

So in the Matrix, let me just explain it to you.

You don't have to go home and watch it.

But here's what happens.

The main character, neo, is played by Keanu Reeves and in the movie it starts.

You know what he does.

He's living in an apartment.

He goes out and hangs with friends, he goes to work.

He's just living life and he thinks he's really alive, until a guy shows up and knocks on his door.

Wasn't a Jehovah's Witness, right?

But it was someone knocking on his door.

And he says I got some news for you.

You're not really alive.

And he says if you really want to be alive, I've got two pills right Blue, red.

He said if you take this pill, you take this red pill.

You'll see what life is really about.

The whole time he thought he was alive.

He went to work, he went out with friends right, he ate dinner.

He went back, he slept, he watched TV.

He did all these things.

He played games.

He thought he was alive.

But then he takes something, right, he receives something that shows him hey, this whole time you weren't alive.

His body was in this tube being used for food for the computers that had taken over control.

But he thought he was alive.

But really, what was he?

He was dead.

You see, that's not a Christian movie, but what does it show?

It shows you the picture of the gospel that you thought you were alive before you got born again.

Right, anyone in here that was born again, especially if you got born again older in life right, you weren't five or six, you were older in life.

You're like man, I really thought I was alive.

I thought I was alive, I was going to work, I got married, we had a family.

We did this, we did all these things.

I wasn't alive at all, I was dead.

But the whole time I thought I was alive.

And that's what Paul said.

He said look, you thought you were alive.

You weren't really alive until Now.

You see things differently.

Now, all of a sudden you start to grow and mature and you see things through the light of the gospel.

You start to see things the way God sees things.

The Bible says this.

It says God's ways are not our ways.

His thoughts are not our thoughts.

His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.

That means, guess what?

When you have a problem and I've been there recently you get a problem and you start woe is me and all this other stuff.

How many of you know a problem never comes up to the throne of God and God's like oh my gosh, I don't know what we're going to do.

I mean, this one has me, jesus, I don't know, I don't know.

God never panics, god never cries, god never complains.

God just says I've got this covered, amen.

Well, guess what If I'm resurrected, if I'm in Christ?

In fact, the Bible says greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world, if the living God saved me, and he did.

And then guess what the living God did?

He said I'm going to put part of me in you, in the Holy Spirit, so that you know you're alive.

I'm telling you once you get a revelation.

It's why Paul prays so much for people to have revelation, knowledge, right, not just a head.

Okay, yeah, step one, two and three, I get it.

I can be born again, praise the Lord.

You get the steps, but when you get real revelation of what that means to be in Christ in him, in whom I double dog, dare you go home and look up all the in Christ in him in whom scriptures?

We used to have a little book we'll get some more order just a little time book and it had those all written down.

Who you are in Christ in him, in whom right Tells you who you are.

Now you know people, swab their mouth, send it in, and it tells them who they are.

Swab their mouth, send it in, and it tells them who they are.

I thought I was.

I grew up my whole life thinking I was Irish.

No, I'm German.

I mean, we're going to quit celebrating St Patrick's Day and start celebrating whatever day Germans celebrate, right?

We're going to quit eating corned beef and cabbage and eat knockwurst and bratwurst and schnitzel, right, we're going to stop wearing kilts and start wearing whatever you know lederhosen, right?

Start wearing German stuff.

I used to go to the Irish parade.

Now I'm on the German parade because that's who I am.

Now People try to figure out who are they trying to be?

People that are adopted try to figure out who they are.

I need to figure out who I am.

Well, you are who you are.

Well, you are who you are when you get born again.

You need to figure out who you are in Christ.

You're not the same old, dead person you were before.

No, you're a new creature in Christ.

Paul says old things pass, that's all gone.

Who you were before, that is gone.

You're not even that same person anymore.

In fact, paul's like.

I had such a transformation.

I'm changing my name.

Hey, saul, no Paul.

Oh, I thought it was Saul.

Oh, it was.

That guy died.

Oh, I thought that was you.

It was, but he's dead.

Now I'm Paul.

I like go preach the gospel.

Yeah, but I thought you were Saul and you're trying to kill people.

Yeah, saul was trying to kill people, but he died.

When did he die At the cross with Jesus?

I thought Jesus was between two thieves, I didn't know.

A guy named Saul died.

No, I died there with him.

You say how do you talk like that Because you have a grasp of spiritual truth that is beyond what the natural mind can understand.

No, I died there.

Here's the thing.

I was born in 1972.

But you know, when my old self died, way back on the cross over 2,000 years ago?

Colossians 2, verse 12.

Colossians 2:12

We're going to look at a couple of verses real quick so we can get to communion and get you all to Easter dinner.

Praise the Lord, hopefully you fix it.

They can't start without you and if you're going to the restaurant you're not going to beat them from Lone Star anyway, so you might as well just wait until the first group clears their table.

Colossians, chapter 2 and verse 12.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

Look at this Again, paul man.

He just keeps coming back to the same point.

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized and with him you were raised.

So Paul says you're not going to be raised.

He said you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

So because Jesus was resurrected, the Bible says we also were resurrected.

Flip over one chapter to chapter 3 and verse 1.

Again, paul goes back, colossians 3.1.

He says since you have been raised to new life with Christ.

Paul's making a past statement of fact.

He doesn't say you're going to be raised, he goes, since you've already been raised to new life with Christ.

Let me tell you something about that new life.

He goes.

You need to set your sights, your eyes, on the realities of heaven.

So many people are bound on this earth by the fear of death, by the fear of loss.

Paul says quit thinking about that and start thinking about the reality of heaven.

I think about my parents.

I was 16 when my dad passed away.

Just a few years ago, my mom passed away and those are losses and you deal with that loss.

But Paul says we don't mourn as those with no hope.

He goes.

We have a hope in our mourning.

What is it?

There's a reality that heaven exists.

Nicole and I had two miscarriages before we had our first child.

So we've got two babies in heaven.

Amen.

And you know what I know the first thing my mama did when she got to heaven.

She said let me find those babies.

And she rocked those babies and she's loved on those babies and you know what she told them.

She said let me tell you about your parents, let me tell you about your brother and your sisters.

No, heaven's a reality.

Paul could see it.

He could see the reality of heaven.

He goes and Christ sits right there in the place of honor in God's right hand, and the Bible says in Ephesians 2, we're not going to read it, but Ephesians 2, the Bible says we're seated with him.

Ephesians 1, well, let's look at it real quick.

Let's go to Ephesians 1.

Praise the Lord.

Look at it real quick.

Let's go to Ephesians 1.

Praise the Lord.

Ephesians, chapter 1, we're going to go down.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

So there's a great prayer here in Ephesians 1.

Let's go to verse 19 of Ephesians 1.

Paul says so think about this.

The greatest display of power that's ever occurred on this earth wasn't creation, it wasn't the atomic bomb, it was the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It was the display of God's power.

Why?

Because everything in hell, Satan, every demon in hell tried to hold on to him, but it couldn't keep him there.

The greatest display of God's power, resurrection, power.

Amen.

Put him at the right hand of God Now.

Look at this.

It says put him at the right hand of God Now.

Look at this.

It says next verse, verse 21,.

Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else, not only in this world but also in the world to come.

God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

And the church is his body.

I don't know if you're born again.

You're part of the church.

You're part is his body.

I don't know if you're born again.

You're part of the church.

You're part of the body.

And the Bible says all things have been placed under his feet and the feet are in the body.

So all things have been placed under your feet.

You have authority as a believer.

Right, it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things ever worth himself.

Go over to chapter 2.

Remember the Bible wasn't written in chapter and verse, it's a letter.

These are letters.

So the thoughts flow into chapter 2, verse 1.

Look at what Paul says.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sin.

Again, you didn't even know you were dead, but you were dead.

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil, the commander of the powers in the unseen world.

He's the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.

So if you know people that are unsaved, that are not born again, don't be surprised when they act like heathens.

Don't be surprised when they act like the devil.

I just can't believe they do that.

Jesus Paul just wrote.

He said look, they're under the command of the devil.

The devil's their daddy, right?

You ever taught in school?

You're like man.

I think the devil's that kid's daddy Right, your neighbor?

You're like man.

I think the devil's their daddy.

Well, he probably is.

If they're not born again, don't be surprised at the sin of unborn again people, right?

Verse 3 says all of us used to live that way.

How many know what he's saying?

Used to be heathen, just like that, following the passion and desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.

By our very nature, we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else.

Look at Ephesians 2, 4, though.

But God, who is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much, right?

I was listening to Pastor Mark the other day.

I was mowing and we were having some situation going on in our life with some things, and I told Nicole and Lucy.

I said when I mow the yard, I usually just have earplugs in.

I said I'm going to put my AirPods in, I'm going to listen to some messages about the love of God.

I listened to Pastor Mark, my pastor, talk about God's love and he said this.

He said you know, when I was a kid he goes.

When I was young and sinful, before I got born again, he goes.

You know, my parents sent me to school.

They tried to educate the hell out of me.

He goes.

I went home, my parents tried to beat the hell out of me and he goes.

But when I came to Jesus, he loved the hell out of me.

Amen.

And that's what this verse says His great love, amen.

Why?

Because it's only by God's grace that you've been saved.

Praise the Lord.

Look at verse six.

Go down to verse 6 real quick, for he has raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms, because we are united with Christ Jesus.

So here's the thing when we celebrate Resurrection Sunday and we can celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every single day of our lives it wasn't just Jesus that got resurrected on the third day, you got raised with him.

You got raised with him, man.

That should excite you, man.

I was dead, but God raised me from the dead.

Tell someone that story.

What is that story?

That's your testimony.

You tell someone.

You say people are like I'd like to tell people about Jesus.

I don't really know how to begin to tell someone about Jesus.

Well, just walk up to someone.

You say people are like I'd like to tell people about Jesus.

I don't really know how to begin to tell someone about Jesus.

Well, just walk up to someone and say hey, can I tell you a story?

I was dead one time.

That's going to get their attention.

You think that gets your attention?

Someone's like hey, can I tell you, you died one time?

Yeah, I was dead, I was dead as a doornail.

What happened?

Jesus came and brought life into my body and into my spirit and he raised me from the dead with him.

I know that's your story, that's your testimony.

You were dead.

Now you're alive.

How?

In Christ Jesus.

Why?

Because God didn't just raise Jesus from the dead, he raised you with him.

And not only are you raised from the dead, but you're now seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in that position of authority, amen.

So when we talk about resurrection, sunday, easter, sunday, man, we need to celebrate not just Jesus' resurrection.

The thing we understand in the Bible tells us he was the firstborn from the dead.

So Jesus had to be resurrected before you could be resurrected.

That's why we have to believe Jesus resurrected, because if he wasn't resurrected then none of us can be resurrected.

But the Bible talks about how sin entered through one man, then life entered through one man.

Certain scriptures say Jesus was the second Adam.

Right, just as sin came through the first Adam, life came through the second Adam, jesus Christ, and we're raised with him.

We should celebrate that.

Amen, praise the Lord.

Thank you for tuning in to the Lone Star Church podcast.

We hope this week's message strengthened your faith in God's word.

Remember, if you live in Northwest Missouri or Southern Iowa, we invite you to join us in person on a Sunday morning.

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