Goodbye Yesterday | Pr Steven Soon

You're listening to a message to go from axt church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

All right. I'm gonna start off with a little story. Okay.

So there was this family, a husband and wife and

a wife's mom, which is the husband's mother in law.

They went on this trip to the Holy Land, all right.

So they went on this trip to get to experience

the Holy Land. But when they were there, something unfortunate happened.

The mother in law passed on at that time, all right.

So the paston that it was complicated, is overseas. So

at the time the man was like, okay, I gotta

figure something out how to do this, right, So he

went and met with a local undertaker to go and

ask about details. Hey, you know, how how do we

go around with this? So the under undertaker share, they Hey,

if you would like to, you know, send your late

mother in law back to your country, back to Malaysia,

It'll be five thousand ring.

Git all right for the whole procedure.

All right, But if you were to you know, uh,

you know, run a barry or late mom here mother

in law, then you'll just be one hundred and fifty

ringgit and you get to do it here in the

Holy Land model.

It's quite significant.

So the men thought about it, and then after that,

very quickly he went to the local undertaker and said,

I will, I will pay the five thousand ringgit. And

then the local the taker was quite taken back. Hey, wow,

you're in the Holy Land. You have this opportunity, and

it's so much cheaper. Right, So why why why?

Is he asked.

He was curious, why, why why would you want to

choose this option. And then there was when the man said,

you know, some two thousand years ago someone was buried

here and raised again.

I can't take that chance.

More big joke, but hey, sister, Jesus is a lie. Yeah,

just a little, little, little fun, little joke to start

us off. But hey, there is that is what we

are celebrating in Isa, right, is the reason King.

Christ, who is reason maybe for a lot of us

Christians here. This is something that we hear a lot about,

we know about for many years. But the reality is

this that Jesus, who is crucified two thousand years ago,

is alive and with us today. Just let that reality

sink in for a moment.

He is with us today.

He his story did not end at the cross. His

story did not end at being buried. His story is

still happening. His reason he was raised up from the dead.

The whole is shared about this at our last homes.

If Jesus did not resurrect, there will be no Christianity.

He will be a matter of the faith.

That's it. Oh, he died for what he believed in.

Great men, man with really uh integrity all the way

believed for what he believed in. But that would be it.

But the very crucial foundation of our faith is this

that he overcame death. And because he overcame death, everything

that was prophesied in the Bible either has already come

to pass or will come to pass. If he did

not resurrect, if he did not defeat death and come alive,

basically all the promises would be nullified.

That means, actually we won't have hope already.

But yet, because he overcame and he is alive today

and today he and he said this, he went back

to be God the Father's right hand side, to prepare

a place for us. And there is a hope we

have in Jesus and eternity with God.

Right.

I shared this before last year I believe it was

last year. I shared this in one of my messages.

When we talk about hell, right, oh, like, talk about hell,

don't lie.

We're in church.

It's resurrection Sunday. Permit me a little bit a moment

to share a little.

Bit about hell.

Right when I talk about Hell, maybe in the impression

in your hair is like, oh, fire, the devil is

with a fork.

It's Man United. Sorry, sorry, Man United fans.

Sorry sorry, But yeah, you know, fire, torture, pain, and

maybe that will be a little bit hard for us

to grasp, but let me share it in a way.

They will help you be able to imag just a

bid an eternity without God, all right, because that is us.

Where we are at now is temporary, right, One day

we will go to either one of two places. One

is eternity with Christ and one is eternity.

Without So what is eternity without Christ? Like right?

And it is as simple as this, the goodness that

you experience in life, love, joy, peace, hope, all things good.

We recognize that it comes from God. Right, He is

the source of all goodness. Now, eternity without God is

simply an eternity without all these things.

Yeah, So that is how.

I imagine and eternity without God, how it's like right

and praise.

Me to God today.

He extends the invitation to say, hey, you get to

have an eternity with me with all things good. And

that is really what they is about. It's not just

a historical event that we celebrate. You know, a historical

event that happened two thousand years ago and we celebrate,

but it's really a reality we're living in today.

Amen. All right, I want to.

Just get our attention on do We're going to go

through some scripture and if I get you to, just

open your bible to John the Gospel of John chapter

twenty verse one to fifteen.

John twenty verse one to fifteen. Oh yeah, I forgot

to share.

For those writing notes, the title of this message is

goodbye Yesterday.

All right.

That's the message. That's the message, man, if you're taking notes,

all right. So John twenty verse one to fifteen, let's

do this. If you're there, say I'm there, all right, okay.

So I'm gonna read from the NLT translation on my Bible,

So just follow along with me, all right, John chapter

twenty verse one to fifteen. Early on Sunday morning, while

it was still dark. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb

and found that the stone had been rolled away from

the entrance. She read and found Simon Peter and the

other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.

I find this very interesting because John is talking about himself.

She said, they have taken the lord's body out of

the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him.

Peter and the other disciples started out for the tomb.

I find this part very funny as well. Just read this.

They were above running, but the other disciple outran Peter

and outreached the tomb first.

John the game was talking about himself.

He stooped and looked in and saw the linen rappings

lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter

arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen rappings

lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus. Jesus's

head was folded up and lying apart from the other rappings.

Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first John

again talking about himself, also and he saw and believed.

For until then they still hadn't understood the scriptures that

said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Verse eleven to fifteen. Mary was standing outside the tomb crying,

and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She

saw two white robed angels. This I want you to

ail mark.

Okay.

She saw two white robed angels, one sitting at the

head and the other at the foot of the place

where the body of Jesus had been lying.

Dear woman, why are you crying, the angels asked her.

Because they have taken away my lord, she replied, and

I don't know where they have put him. She turned

to lay and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus,

but she didn't recognize him. Okay, I want you to

ear my that as well. Verse fifteen. Dear woman, why

are you crying? Echoing what the angels have said, Jesus

asked her, who.

Are you looking for?

And I just want you to keep the scriptures there

I keep keep your your finger in that part of

the Bible.

Just hold it there. You see what has just happened.

Prior to this, Mary Magdalene saw someone precious to her,

her savior, brutally murdered. Okay, the kids are all there,

so I can see it. Yeah, brutally murdered in front

of her eyes. And then not only that, she's so ah,

this person whom she so loved, not even given the

dignity of a burrial, because in her head, not even

a barrier. People still want to take his body away.

She was very distraught, broken in a lot of sorrow.

She was so distraught that she didn't even realize a

very supernatural thing happening in front of hers. The first

one angels sitting in the tomb. Just visualize that for

a bit, right, there was an empty tobe. She went in,

and then there was just two angels wearing white, or

two persons wearing white sitting there. I think that would

have if any of us are, you'll be like, why

are what's going on?

Right? That would probably be our reaction.

But Mary was so distraught that the only thing that

she can say is where have you taken my Lord?

Where have you taken my Lord? She was in that moment,

drowned in anguish. And then right after that, when she

was about to leave, Jesus himself walked in and she

still couldn't recognize him. One would think, for someone who

has spent so much time with the Lord so close

would immediately recognize. But I believe she was in that

moment really blinded by sorrow, hopelessness, anguish.

Pain.

That even when Jesus repeated the question why are you crying,

it still hasn't clicked to her. She was completely blinded

by discouragement, hopelessness. In spite of the living Hope standing

right in front of her, she wasn't able to recognize him.

That's what these kind of things do to us, right,

how many of us have experienced disappointment before hopelessness in a.

Position or a place where that's just sorrow, you.

Can't really see the light at the end of the tunnel, right,

And so much so that we are in so much

pain that even when a solution is offered to us,

we still couldn't recognize it. We are still caged in

by our anguish. That was where Mary was at. One

would think when God himself stands in front of you,

you would recognize, you would realize.

But even for Mary, she wasn't able.

To pain and discouragement can really drain the life out

of us to a point we cannot recognize hope even

when hope is offered.

When something painful happens to us. This is what happens.

We are in danger of losing sight of not just hope,

but a promise. Now, I want us to just go

back a little bit in history, before the crucifixion happened,

before the resurrection happened. Jesus actually had already prophesied his

death three times in fact. But you see, he did

not just prophesy his death. He actually prophesied his victory

over death. But yet in that moment, Mary lost sight

of this promise that he's going to come back again.

When all the sorrow came, they not only lost sight

of the promise, but a promise fulfilled. Let's take a

moment to digest that it wasn't just a promise, but

it was a fulfilled promise.

Jesus came back, he overcame.

But yet even when all this happened right in front

of her eyes, she wasn't able to recognize it. And

Francis is the first thing I want to share with

us today. We have the living hope in the midst

of us, We have the promised Holy Spirit residing inside

of us. But yet many times when we experience difficult seasons, disappointments, discouragements, failures,

we will block out promise us of the Lord. We

will block out the living hope that's right in the

midst of us. We will block out the Holy spirit

that's living within us. Even when God has promised victory.

We chose to stay in anguish. That was what was

happening with Mary. But you see in John twenteen, verse sixteen,

something beautiful happens. Jesus said Mary, She called out her name, Mary.

She turned to him and cried out RABBITI, which is

Hebrew for teacher.

I can imagine in that moment.

Okay, for example, let's say let's say let's say I'm marry,

I'm going to sit here.

I'm in anguish. Where have they taken my savior? My Lord?

To the angels already say why are you crying? But

they've taken my Lord away? And then she was about

to leave, and then Jesus walk in, Mary, why are

you crying? I've taken my Lord away? Drowning in anguish sorrow,

so more hope. What do I do now? What do

we do now? What is my life about?

Now?

And I remember, up to that moment, Jesus has spoken

a law of truth, right but maybe upon the death

of Jesus, they may have thought that means what will

become of my faith? What will become of what I

believe in? Is it all going to be empty? If

I lost my identity? What has happened? In that moment

of being drowned out by sorrow, Jesus calls out, Marry, Marry,

it's me. I can imagine Mary looking up rap one night,

my savior, my Lord.

You are alive.

And this is what I sense from the Lord when

I was preparing this message. Some of us are in

that place, maybe disappointment, maybe sorrow, discouragement, maybe just jaded

by this whole thing about faith. And we're just even

with the living hope in the midst of us, with

the Holy Spirit residing within us, we are still blinded.

By the hope that God has offered.

And this is Jesus calling out Mary. It's me, Friends,

Jesus is calling out to us today. Will you answer

where you answer?

Now?

After that, this is not the only person, Okay, Mary

wasn't the only person going through this. We're gonna look

at the disciples, all right, So John twenty one, verse

one to three. I'm gonna encourage us to turn to that.

John Towny one, verse one to three. I have it

also on my slide, if you know that would be

more helpful for you. John twenty one, verse one to three.

I'm gonna read this. I want us to pay attention

to this. Later, Jesus appealed again to the disciples. Beside

the Sea of Galilee. Okay, this is how it happened.

Several of the disciples were there. Simon Peter Thomas nicknamed

the twin Nathaniel from Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zabadee,

and two other disciples.

Simon Peter said.

I'm going fishing. We will come to They all said.

So they went out in the boat, but they caught

nothing all night. I'm going fishing is Peter's way of saying,

what's the pointer?

Go back to my old liver. The past three years

has been quite a crazy journey, but my Savior died.

All that I believed in. What's the point. Okay, I'm

going fishing. And Bitter together with the other disciples, they

were fishermen. Some of the disciples right interesting and Bitter

said I'll go back to fishing. And the rest also

say come if you I want to also point to

one thing, that Jesus has already appeared to them. You know,

if you look back, Jesus has appeared to them a

few times. How come Peter would still say, I'm just

gonna go back to fishing.

Jesus the resurrector.

Jesus has appeared by this point, probably at least two

times already. Okay, see, this is what I imagine that.

Okay, this is what I imagine.

Peter and the disciples were still very much discouraged and

in guilt. Peter especially, What did Peter do to Jesus?

You guys, remember Peter denied Jesus three times, right. Actually,

the amazing thing, if you do a little bit of

historical study, when Jesus was brought through the sixth Trials,

Peter was very near. Actually, even though it sounded like

he was far away, he was actually very near. He

was actually in uh, Jesus can see him. That's how

near they are. Jesus can actually see Peter. So every

time that Peter denied Jesus, Jesus actually heard or saw.

That's what you saw in the lie part when Peter denied, right,

you see that Jesus turned and looked at bitter and Peter,

in anguish and sorrow, ran away after the rooster crawled

and all that he realized.

So all this is you can imagine if you were bitter.

Man, if I were Peter, I will probably be drowning

in guilt. I nailed my savior to the cross. I

denied him in the moment that he needed me the most.

I turned away. Even after Jesus had already appeared to

him resurrected, Peter still couldn't overcome his guilt. See, when

we go through difficult times, and on days when you

have done wrong, or we feel that we're straight from

the Lord, it's very.

Easy for us to stay there and go, Okay, God,

this is it. I messed up.

Then I go back. No pointer God, but John thirty one,

verse four to seven. At dawn, this is when they

were fishing all night and caught nothing. At dawn, Jesus

was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see

who he was.

He called out, fellows, have you caught any fish?

No?

They replied that.

He said, throw out your net on the right hand

side of the boat and you'll get some familiar.

Where has this happened before? I wonder.

So they did it, and they couldn't haul in the

net because there was so many fish in it. In

that moment, John the disciple realize it is the Lord.

When did this happen the last time? Their first encounter

with Jesus. Remember if you go back earlier in scripture

in the Gospel, that was Jesus's first interaction with them.

Hey, throw a net on the other side.

Lord, we have twelve all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless,

at your word, I will, and they did. And in

that moment, John shouted, it is the Lord, and Peter,

in classic Peter fashion, very emotional, caught in a moment,

put on his ropes and jumped into the water and

rush towards Jesus. Why did Jesus choose that moment and

chose to do that miracle contacts again? Remember, Jesus has

already appear to the disciples, but yet they were still

so discouraged. They still went back to fishing. But Jesus,

in his divine wisdom, did something very beautiful to remind

or to wake the disciples up. When Jesus did that,

they reminded the disciples of their first encounter with him.

And why they chose to follow him. They are reminded

of their first love. They reminded of their savior king

that did not end, that did not end in death,

but has reasoned up again.

They woke up.

The reality of God in that very moment fell upon them.

Some of us here, maybe we'll need that reminder again. Yeah,

you come to church. We come to church. We pray.

We just did fasting together for twenty one days. We

did all these things. But yet sometimes we may still

be caught up in disappointment, discouragement. God already revealed, Yet

we can still say, let me go back to fishing,

and maybe people encourage yourself. I'll go with you, like

the other disciples go with you, We'll come also. And

what Jesus did was this, He reminded them of what

he did for them, and not just that who he

was to them?

Who is Jesus to you? My friends?

You see just an historical figure that we are celebrating today,

commemorating or I see a living God that we worship,

a living God that we walk with, a living.

God that tells us I've made you more than conquerors

in me. You can overcome. Friends, Remember your first encounter

with the Lord. Don't lose sight of that. Don't lose

sight of that.

You know. The amazing thing that also happened here was

after Bitter denied Jesus three times, after Jesus again, Hath

appeared to the disciples.

Again.

That was the last thing Bitter did to Jesus there

the denial. Jesus's first response to.

Peter was forgiveness.

He did not even raise up about Peter denying him

three times. The first thing he asks Peter was, Simon, Peter,

do you love me? He did not bring up his past.

He did not bring up probably the loneliness that he

has felt for being denied by one of his closest

He did not bring up any of that. But what

came out of Jesus in that moment was forgiveness. That's

something so beautiful that Jesus said, And Jesus does the

same for all of us.

Yes, we all have messed up before.

Yes we have done things that we're constantly doing, things

that bring us heartler always right, that's our sinful nature,

that's us wrestling with the flesh and with the world.

But yet every time God draws near to say, hey,

do you love me? Feed my sheep. Keep going, be faithful.

I'm with you always. Don't worry. Don't worry, keep going.

Even in the midst of Peter's betrayal, Jesus forgave.

I'm coming to an end.

Now I'm going to backtrack to John twenty So I

just I went forward to John twenty one one. Backtrack

to John twenty verse nineteen to twenty three. Now, this

is one of the occasions that Jesus appeared to the

disciples already. Okay, So that Sunday evening, the disciples were

meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the

Jewish leaders.

They were in fear.

Suddenly Jesus was standing there among them. Peace be with you,

he said. As he spoke, he went around. He showed

them the wounds in his hands and his son. They

were filled with joy when they saw the Lord again.

He said, please be with you, as the Father has

sent me, so I'm sending you.

Then he breathed on them and.

Said, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sin,

they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they

are not forgiven. For a long time I read this,

I felt that's a very odd thing. To say in

your appearance to your disciples after your resurrection. I would

have imagined, probably, don't worry, I'm alive, or hey, you know,

carry on the work, bring these good news. But yet

he talked about this, receive the Holy Spirit if you

forgive anyone's sin, since they are forgiven. If you do

not forgive them, they are not forgiven. If you're quite

out of place for me in a conversation, so I

asked the Lord Lord, why did Jesus say this to

the disciples? And I'm reminded of this. What Jesus did

on the cross is the ultimate ministry of reconciliation. He

reconciled us to him, to God, the father ultimate reconciliation.

Nothing can be ever bigger than that kind of reconciliation.

But Jesus, what he did for us on the cross

was the ultimate reconciliation. Ministry of reconciliation, God reconciling us

to him. What he did for us unto him. That's

why Jesus said what he said. He also wants us

to do unto others in ourselves the ministry of reconciliation.

Second Corinthians five seventeen to nineteen. I'm gonna read from

the NIV version. Now, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

the new creation has come, the old has gone. The

new is here, Famous Scripture. We say this, we declare

this when we do baptism.

Right.

The old has gone, the new is here. God does

not account for our old sins passings. As long as

we repent and sick forgiveness. God looks at us with

a clean slate. Every day His mercies are new. Every

morning new creation has come. We are all new creations

in God. The old has gone, The new is here

Verse eighteen. All this is from God who reconciled us

to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

not counting people's sins against them, And He has committed

to us the message of reconciliation. What Jesus did for

us is a ministry of reconciliation, is a receiving of

that ministry. But here Paul is telling us we ought

to do the ministry of reconciliation as well. And to

those around us, the work on the Cross is the

ultimate ministry of reconciliation. Right, and you see this is

where I felt the Lord wanting to minister to some

of us here today. We want to spend a little

bit of time as we close to talk about reconciliation.

And forgiveness.

To fully experience the power that came from what Jesus

did on the cross and his resurrection.

And I'm going to read that again.

To fully experience the power that came from what Jesus

did on the cross and his resurrection, we need to

do a few things if you want.

To act experience all.

That God has done for us, the fullness of it.

That fall things that we need to do, sorry treatings

that we need to do. Number one, repent from our

sinful ways. There is the first ministry of reconciliation. Receive

Jesus into our lives, receive his full forgiveness. Then we

will experience the ultimate reconciliation that one can ever experience,

reconciliation with a holy God. And number two, this is

the second ministry of reconciliation. Stop dwelling in your past

mistakes to leave a life of freedom bought by Christ.

We are to set ourselves free from guilt and shame.

Jesus has already kneeled our sins with him onto the

cross forgiven. But many times for us and I struggle

with this.

It's true.

I find it hard to forgive myself, very hard on myself.

My biggest critic. I judge myself, put judgment on myself.

I don't deserve it. I don't deserve the love of God. Yeah,

partly true. Ah, I condemned myself. But the ministry of

reconciliation is as such that.

God requires us to forgive ourselves.

Because he not because of our own righteousness, but because

He has forgiven us. If not, this is what happens.

When we condemn ourselves. We are chipening God's grace He

already paid in fool. We're basically telling him, no, you

have not. Some of us here need to learn to

put your past behind you and move forward. God is

waiting for you to move forward. God is there saying,

my son, my daughter, I already forgive you, move forward.

I got things for you. Move forward. I think I

deserve this. I'll stay here.

And can you imagine the frustration God might may maybe

feeling they I do all this? Sorry, I don't know

why I love Indian food. Maybe that's why I've already

done it for you. Can you not stay here?

Can you imagine those of you are parents here, Just

imagine you have this conversation with your child or they

forgive Really all I want to bring your child go play?

Don't wanna I deserve punishment?

I forgive you can we can? I can you go

have fun? Because the parents are I love you, And well,

let's move forward.

Let's move on. And some of us here needs to

move on. Some of the USA need to stop condemning

ourselves for the mistakes of the past. Happen ready, okay, happened,

but hey, seek forgiveness from the Lord. Say sorry, Lord,

reconciund with people. You need to say sorry to people.

You need to then after that, forgive yourself.

Move forward.

God has already said you free. Why are you still

holding onto the chains like you're slave?

Still?

Go already, pait it ready a lot ready, But sometimes

we just kept holding on still to the chains that

you used to bineness, and we lie to ourselves or

allow the enemy to tell.

Us that we are still in chains.

But we've been said free, friends, So stop leaving like

a prisoner. If anything, you're a prisoner to the Lord.

Pause it that right?

Because God has brought us, has redeemed us, has paid

for us, and God has given us a freedom in Him.

Amen.

First, reconscoliation ministry of reconsolation. Yes, the reconsolation with God

received Jesus, receive ful forgiveness. We can never pay for

our sins. Only Christ can, and He has. And what

is required of us to experience full forgiveness from the

Lord to be reconciled if him is to receive him.

Second one, as I shaid, just now, you got to

forgive yourself. If not, you're chipening God's grace. And here's

the third one again, verse twenty three. Say this right

in John chapter twenty. If you forgive anyone's sins, they

are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are

not forgiven. This is not Jesus giving them an optional.

It may sound like it, but this is Jesus actually

instructing them. Please go and forgive telp people to forgive,

because the whole act of Jesus on the cross, the

full message is as such is this ministry of reconciliation, and.

We ought to follow.

Forgive others is the third point. And be quick about it.

Forgive others and be quick about it it's not easy

by something that we are called to do. Only in

and through this third one, where Christ finished work be

displayed through you. It's true your forgiveness towards people, Why

do you forgive me? I did so much to you.

No, I forgive you because I love you. I'm called

to love you. God loves you.

I have received forgiveness. Therefore I release forgiveness only in

and through this where crisis work finish. What will be

displayed through you? As long as that's unforgiveness. And I'm

preaching this to myself as well, crisis finish work will

never be fully displayed through our lives Ministry of reconciliation.

Only through these three things, or you fully experience the

power of what Christ state on the cross and his resurrection.

And this is my encouragement to us all. And we're

gonna close. The title of this message is Goodbye Yesterday.

You guys probably heard this song before. This song came

to mind when I was preparing this message, particularly the verse.

And we're gonna sing this for a little bit. We're

gonna sing a version that I can't find elsewhere, a

slowed down version. But I prayed, I want us to

do this. You can remain seated, but a lot of

words bring truth in your heart, Bring truth to your heart.

And the lyrics go like this, Goodbye Yesterday. I'm leaving

in the light of a new day. I won't waste

another minute in my old ways.

Praise the Lord.

I've been born again. Goodbye Yesterday. The spirit of the

Lord is upon me. I've got resurrection in my veins.

Praise the Lord. I've been born again.

Good Bye Yesterday. I'm leaving in the line of a

new day.

I won't waste another minute in my old ways.

Praise the Lord. I've been born again. Goodbye Yesterday. The

spirit of the Lord is upon me. I've got raziraction

in my veins.

Praise the Lord.

Slow it down a little bit more, Bye Yesterday.

I'm leaving in the light of a new day.

I won't waste another minute in my own ways.

Praise the Lord. I've been born again. Goodbye Yesterday. The

spirit of the Lord is upon me.

I've got raziraction in my veins.

Praise the Lord. I've been born again.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week, a

hit for you. God bless