Easter (What Does Easter Mean To You) | Pr Gloria Paul

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

We hope this message will light up your day.

The fodest message is about understanding what is Easter to us, like,

the true meaning of Easter, especially if we've been a

believer for many years. You know, sometimes the day can

just pass through, right, thinking that it's just another day

that we do in church, right, But I hope it's

not just another day, and we never take it for granted.

But we are.

Always grateful for his grace. Yeah, We're always grateful for

his love in our lives.

Yeah.

So I'd just like to start off with this story

or something that I've read in a book in some

years back, actually, and it has left an impact on me. Right,

And this famous theologian Zacharias he shed And he's a

theologian who actually has a lot of debates with different faith,

different group of people, you know. And the common question

that people often ask when they're debating on which region

is you know the true one?

Right? There?

People who often have such conversation, the common question is

always back to the cross, right. The common question is

always back to how do you know this really happened?

Right?

So I'm just going to read this portion here, which

I found quite impactful. Him. So this guy is this

teologian Zacharias. Okay, he was having a conversation with a

couple of you know, Muslims in Damascus, right, and so

they were just having a friendly conversation, you know, talking

about their fate, sharing about it. And so this group

of people in Demascus, Yeah, they say it to Zacharias.

I think instead of us asking you to prove the crucifixion,

which is the story of the cross, could you tell

us why Jesus were to the cross? Yeah, could you

tell us why Jesus went to the cross? And so

this was Zacharias's respond to him, Right, he said to them,

because they were in Damascus, it was not too far

from where this incident happened. Yeah, he said, a heill

not far away from here. Many many years ago, Abraham

took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. And when Abraham

was obedient to do that, God stopped him. God stopped

him and told him that I will provide. And in

the cavalry he did provide.

Yeah.

And when Zacharias gave this respond to the group of

you know, of this different fate, there. They were just

in silence because you're just trying to prove a point here.

But you are telling me exactly what God did. He

did not fail when he said he provided, he did provide.

Yeah.

And for some of you who may not be familiar

with this story about Abraham and Isaac, right, Abraham was

someone who waited for a son for many years and

you only got a son at this old age, one

and only son, Isaac, and you can you could imagine

how precious he could have been to Abraham. And this

very one son God told him to take and sacrifice,

and Abraham did it because he was a father of

faith and obedient.

Right.

And yet when he was doing it, God stopped him.

And some of us might think that the story just

ended there. When God stopped him, he provided a ram

two to be sacrificed.

Right.

But it was not just that, but many years down

the road, God still provided by sending his one and

only son. Not just he didn't allow Abraham to take

his own son, right, But God was so willing to

give his one and only son for you and me, right,

take some time to think about it. Who would ever

do that for us? As parents who are here I'm

sure it's not something you can't even think of doing. Right,

But God, God did that for us. His sent is

one and only son, so that we can leave again. Yeah.

And that, my friends, is the true meaning of Easter.

It's the God who provides.

Yeah.

And we are seated here today because God provided Jesus

for us, and that we have this personal relationship with

him that we don't just call him God. We call

him our friend. Right, we call him our greatest counselor

our provider. Right, He's our everything. Yeah. You can read

this story from Genesis twenty two. Yeah, if you're not

familiar with Abraham's story, but for today, Okay. And in fact,

when Abraham had that encounter of God providing, you actually

called that whole mount God provides. Till today it is

known as that.

Yeah.

In Hebrew, God provides. That's how he remembers God.

Yeah.

So today we're going to focus on the story of

the resurrection and three points on how can we remember

what is Easter? Okay, how can we remember the gift

of what God has given to us?

Yeah.

So if you have your Bible, so you can turn

with me to Matthew chapter twenty eight, Right, Matthew twenty eight.

I mean you can see this story of the resurrection

all the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Yeah, and

each of this encounter can be written and it's it's

it's same, but it's written a different encounter.

Yeah.

So we're gonna draw it from Matthew twenty eight, the

very last portion, yeah, where it talks about the gift

of resurrection.

Right, are you all there? Yeah?

Okay, let's just read a couple of scriptures together, Okay,

and we'll just learn from this. Yeah. So Matthew twenty

eight was one, okay, says Yeah. Now, after the Sabbath,

as the first day of the week began to dawn,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

This is after he was resurrected, sorry, after he was

even to the cross. Yeah, and he was brought to

the tomb, and behold, there was a great earthquake, for

an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came

and rolled back the stone from the door and set

on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing

as why snow, and the gods shook for fear of him,

and became like dead men. But the Angel answered and

said to the woman, do not be afraid, for I

know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is

not here, For he is reason. Can happen?

Amen? Yeah?

Amen, God is his reason. And he said, come see

the place where the Lord lay in verse seven, and

go quickly and tell his disciples. And he is reason

from the dead. And indeed he is going before you

into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have

told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb

with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his

disciples word right, and you read God's word. I think

it's just good sometimes to imagine being there. Imagine if

you're one of those disciples. You know, you entered in

the tomb thinking you're feeling all said, right, like, where

is Jesus? What has happened?

You know?

Mary? And they went to to find Jesus. But then

again when they entered, he's not there. How would you

be feeling. I'm sure you had maybe question mark, what

is going on? I mean when you read different different gospels,

you can see that some of them found it hard

to believe. Yeah, but they were filled with such joy right.

They were filled with such gladness that they felt it

was so good that you had to go and tell

it to others in the street. Right, That's exactly what

they did. Now, let's move on to verse nine. It

says yr and as they went to tell his disciples, behold,

Jesus met them, saying rejoice. So they came and held

him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said

to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my

brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.

What a beautiful encounter. Right, you see Jesus right in

front of you, say, do not be afraid. I'm reason yeah,

and I'm just thinking about those people who were in unbelief, right,

or those who were we were all out of wanting

to crucify Jesus. And when they saw this happen, well,

how do you think they would have been feeling regret

or doubt, like, you know, shameful. Yeah, they just missed

the point, right, they missed the point. And you read

certain scriptures, you will see that some of them actually

saw Jesus performing miracles. They saw it with their eyes.

But yet when it came to the crucifixion. They just

chose not to be part of it, right, They chose

to be part of the bigger crowd that was all

out of wanting to crucify Jesus. Yeah. And so the

story of Eastern we always focus on the ones who

believed and you know, enjoy the goodness of seeing Jesus

being reason. But sometimes, I if you think about, there

was a bigger group of people who missed the point

as well. Yeah, and I pray that none of us

would ever miss the point in this faith.

Yeah.

Sometimes we can hear God's word so often, but sometimes

we miss or we forget to have the faith right,

or we forget to know that God is still in control. Yeah.

Let's be the group of people who is always filled

with enjoy because we're encountering God afresh. Yeah, because we

are walking in faith and not by sight.

Amen. Yeah.

And so when we speak about the power of resurrection,

the first thing we have to believe and remember is

that Satan was defeated. Amen. Satan was defeated, conquered under

Jesus' fath. He had a different plan, but of course

it did not work. Yeah, Jesus was the one who won.

He triumphed in Collisions two fifteen, it says in this

way he disharmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed

them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Yea.

And when you read the remaining scriptures in the Book

of Matthew, you will see that some of them, some

of the soldiers, were bribed to not go and tell

others about this.

Yeah.

They were so worried that if more people got to

know about this, meaning more are going to believe in Jesus.

You know, they knew that they made a mistake about it.

Yeah.

And in fact, if you look at some faith, this

is the portion of scripture that they don't have it

in their in their holy books. Right, the very fact

that Jesus resurrected it ends with the part that he

just went to the cross and he died. Yeah, this

is the fate of our cousins that they don't they

don't see that portion where he was resurrected.

Yeah.

But we know the truth here. So my question for

all of us today is has God truly reason in

your life?

Right?

It's God truly reason in your life? Is it just

something we hear or do we truly believe it in

our hearts that He is a life in us. Yeah.

Do we leave our lives that when someone sees us

they can tell God is a life in you. Right.

It reflects from the way you see them living. When

you saw our dancers in the front, I think it's

so obvious that Christ is reason in them right, the

way they are, They're just worshiping freely and you know,

dancing it out. How are we living it?

Yeah?

How are we living it? There is no Christianity without

the Cross and the Resurrection, Okay. And the core of

everything we believe, receive and experience is resurrection itself. If

you think about it, the core of it all is

the Cross is the gift of the resurrection.

Yeah.

And when we speak about the resurrection of power does

not just come down from heaven, but it lives in you.

It lives in you and I, right, And we've just

got to activate it. We've just got to believe in

it and declare that God leaves a man.

Right.

And I'm going going to share with you three points.

And when someone asks you what's the meaning of Easter?

I pray that you can tell them this.

Yeah.

The first thing is that through the gift of resurrection.

We have hope in Christ. If someone believes this, say amen,

a man, right, we have hope in Christ. You know,

if you know in between the Good Friday and today Easter,

there was that Saturday just yesterday, right, and some of

us might be in that kind of a position in

our spiritual lives as well or in the in the

different things that we may be going through that in between, Yeah,

while you're waiting for something to happen. And if you

can just imagine a bit with the disciples at that

time they knew Jesus was when you went to the

cross on Friday. What would have been doing on Saturday?

They could have been waiting Either they will be waiting

with anticipation because they remembered that this is what Jesus

told them, right that okay, I am going to be resurrected.

Or they would have given hope on that Saturday thinking

what was it a ways that we believed to name

all this while what's going to happen tomorrow?

Right?

That Saturday? And some of us here could be in

that Saturday of our lives. We are waiting for something

to happen, right, whether it's a breakthrough. You're believing for

something to to just happen, a healing or a testimony.

You've been praying for so many years, and you're saying, God,

when is this going to happen. I just want to

encourage all of us today that He is reason, and

that is why we have hope.

Man.

Thing happens in our lives without a reason. You know,

I've God created you. He must have had a beautiful plan, right,

He must have had a beautiful purpose for each one

of us. And so this is the encounter that Mary

Magdalene had. Okay, when it says here when when she

went in the Angel of the Lord told her in

verse six, right, in verse chapter twenty eight, verse six,

he is not here, for it is reason. As he said,

Come see the place where the Lord lay. Right, Come

see the place where the Lord lay. It's empty, it's empty.

And I believe that God is telling each of you

here today to come and see right. Come and see

that God is reason. Come and see that God is alife. Right,

he is alivee and he is moving amen.

Right.

In tough times, everything changes when you encounter the living God.

It just takes one encounter, right, one encounter one moment,

everything changes. Yeah, everything changes, and the resurrected Jesus will

keep you going no matter what you are going. True.

In Romans eight eleven, it says the spirit of God,

who raised Jesus from the dad, lives in you. And

just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he

will give life to your mortal bodies by the same

spirit living within you. Amen.

Right.

And so as just as Jesus overcame the grave, you

too can overcome your challenges and your fear.

Amen. Yeah.

So do we have hope church? Yeah? Do we have

hope for the tomorrow? Do we have hope for the

future that's ahead of us? Yeah? Let's let's leave. Let's

be the people of hope. Yeah, the people of change.

You know, because God gives us hope, not because we

can do it, but because Jesus enables us to do it. Amen. Amen.

Right.

You know. And in fact, this word hope is a

very simple word. But often if I have through my

different encounters, I would see that it's not the easiest

for some people to comprehend or to even accept the

fact that, how do you know there is hope?

Yeah?

And you know this this encountered I had this week

is still it's still in my heart. And I was

feeling a little bit down about this, you know, and

and this just got me thinking about how important it

is to have a sense of hope. Right, I mean,

some of you know that that I was teaching before this,

right in one of our private universities around And so

I'm still keeping in touch with some of my colleagues.

And so one of this Colliaque reached out to me,

my ex colleague, and she told me, you know what, Gloria,

we just had a student who took his life, you know.

And and so it's the campus, or the at least

the university, they're not at a very good place. Of course,

teachers are feeling very affected. Some of them taught him,

some of them were, you know, actively mentoring and counseling him. Right,

I mean, I know it's not a good good story

to to to talk about. But what I'm what I'm

telling us today this is that there are people out

there struggling. Yeah, there are people out there struggling. And

so after that that conversation I had with that collegue,

I reached out to a few other colleagues who are

my close friends. Because one of the role that I

used to play in my previous office is to be

a support for my for teachers, right, And so as

I was talking to them, they were troubled, Right, they

were feeling very distressed, Like what else could I have

done as a teacher. Yeah, of course there's no one

to blame. But look at one life that's just gone,

if only that person had a sense of hope. Right,

And sometimes encounters like this or stories like this, I

pray that you'll remind us to not just take hope

for granted. Yeah, we are sitting here today because we

know that God makes things possible. You know what could

be the worst. But some people out there might be

reaching the final thing and they feel what else is there?

Right?

What else is there? But can I encourage all of

us today to speak hope. You'll never know what someone

goes through. Students, when you're in your campus, when you're

in your classrooms with your friends, declare the word of hope. Yeah,

speak over your campus, speak over the young lives, right

in your workplaces, so that people can look so good

in the front. They're completely fine carrying themselves. But you'll

never know what people are going through until you can

share your story and you'll never know that. If you

can share the story of Easter to someone who might

be losing hope, do you know what kind of a

change you would bring? Right, someone who thinks that no

one loves me, no one has done anything good for me,

But there's someone Jesus who has died on the cross

for me, Right, and it gives me a sense of hope.

It changes a person's decision. Yeah, it changes a person's

destiny to choose hope instead. Yeah, to choose hope instead. Right,

So let's speak that over this week, as should we

heard the testimony earlier. Right, you turn good Friday. You

know all this doesn't just end here. It is what

we do after this. Yeah, that is so important. So

let's continue to speak the message of hope. Amen.

Right now.

The second thing that we need to understand about what

Easter is is that there's freedom. Yeah, there is freedom.

With hope comes freedom. In John eight thirty six, it says,

so if the sun sets you free? You are truly free?

Are you free?

Church?

Yeah, You're not in the process of being free. Okay,

you're not going to be free. You are free. It's

a past tense Yeah, each one of you have freedom

in your hearts. Each of you are called to leave

a free life. How would a free person look like

to you? What can you see in that person?

Happy? Joy?

When a person is not free, how do they look like? Tired? Stress?

Yeah?

So what kind of lives are we choosing to leave?

And to show people? You know, and again, of course

you're not doing it for men, but we want to

show that true action. Yeah, that I am a free person.

I'm no longer holding on to the past, mistakes or regrets.

We're all humans. We make mistakes, but our God forgives.

That is why you went to the cross to save us. Yeah,

and today we are called to be free. Amen. Yeah,

So resurrection power frees you from the bondage of sin

and from your past. You must forget those things that

are behind you and reash forward to what's the hete

of you. Yeah, let's not hold on to the past.

If you keep holding on to the past, If a

driver keeps looking at his front mirror, what's going to happen?

You're gonna crash?

Right.

That's sometimes yeah, you look, but in most times that

is why you're you're you know, the glass at the

front is bigger. Right, You've got to look forward. Okay,

you've got to look forward. In Philippians street aer tein

what that's called? Remind us? Yeah? No, oh, dear brothers

and sisters, I have not achieved it, But I focus

on this one thing forgetting the past and looking forward

to what lies a hit. I press on to reach

the end of the race and receive the heavenly price

for which God to Christ Jesus is calling us. Amen,

and I pray that all of us are aiming for

that price. Yeah, for aiming towards running of what's a

hit of us?

Men?

When he shed this blood, he did it because he

wanted to get rid of yesterday. Yeah, and I pray

that none of us will be holding on to yesterday,

but to move forward, amen, right. Second Corinthians five seventeen,

he says, this means that anyone who belongs to Christ

has become a new person. The old life is gone,

a new life has begun. Turn to the person next

to you and tell them you are a new person

in Christ. Yeah, you are a new person in Christ. Okay,

they all has no place in your life. Romans six

's four, For we died and were buried with Christ

by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the

date by the glorious power of the Father, now we

also may leave new lives. Amen. We live new lives.

And if you're talking about wanting a restart, it doesn't

just happen on the jet first January. It can start

on Easter as well. Okay, this can be your restart.

You're saying, Okay, I want to activate my my walk

with God once again. I want to, you know, be

be more disciplined. I want to encounter God. I want

to keep my past behind and move forward. Today is

the day to start, Amen. Today is the day to

set start, and He gives you grace to do that.

Yeah.

You don't overcome sin by trying to stop sinning. We

can all keep trying. Yeah, but you overcome it by

walking after the new life God has put within you.

And how do you do it? By spending time with

Him through his word, through prayer, and the spirit of

God strengthens you. Amen. Yeah, So let's be let's live

a life that is free, free from fear.

Yeah.

The resurrection power living in you means you don't have

to be afraid about anything. Okay, if you're seated here today,

and if you have fear, fear of your future, what

am I going to be? Am I going to be graduating?

What am I going to be working? As you know,

people say that the world, the working life out there,

is becoming more challenging. Right, How am I going to

make it? How am I going to stand out against

everyone else?

Right?

People always say I have to step up? How We

have a lot of these kind of questions, right, fear

Can I safe enough money until I before I retire?

Right?

And then people say the economy is that it's never ending, right,

And I guess that is why we are filled with fear.

And it's only human to feel that way. But we

find renewal through God's word. We find the truth through

God's word. Yeah, the world can have all these things

going on, you know, and and yes that's reality, But

how many of you know that God doesn't work with reality. Yeah,

it doesn't work with reality. It takes faith. Remember we

learned last week that we walk in faith and not

by sight. If you just keep walking because we want

to only take the next step if we see it,

then you won't be able to feel experienced faith. But

if you can take that step of faith before even

seeing what's a hit. That is faith, right, That is

when God works. Yeah, we Hadlenu Shad a testimony on Friday. Okay,

when we talk about the light of God, when you

talk about his guidance, sometimes we think that it's about

figuring out everything that's ahead of us. But you and

I know it doesn't work that way. Yeah, But it's

about taking the first step, first step, and the second step.

God guides each small step that you take. Yeah, it's

like how a father holds the hand of a little

child who's learning to walk. You may fall, but he

picks you up. Yeah, and you just keep going.

Yeah.

And that is being free.

Men.

So do we live a life in freedom?

Yeah?

And I pray them and someone looks at you, they

know that this guy is free. Yeah, there's nothing that

is holding him back, you know. But he leaves a

life that is free. And what does it mean to

leave a life of freedom is to be able to believe.

That's the first thing when we read the scriptures on

the story of resurrection, Right, the first thing for them

was to believe. Right, they had to believe that Jesus

is reason. Yeah, they had to believe that Jesus is

the Son of God. Yeah, if they didn't, if you

didn't start with belief, how they how could they act?

How could they speak it out right? Only when Mary

and the disciples believed they could actually start acting it

out going and telling to others. Jesus is reason. Yeah,

Jesus is reason. So it all comes with believing. So

let's have a hard check of our lives. If you

go for this week, would you be able to leave

that life that is free? Or who could be that

one person that you can actually share about this good news? Okay,

think about this one name at least the classmate that

you're seeing all the time, or a colleague, a family

someone you have lost touch for a long time.

You know.

But maybe God is giving a nuts and saying, hey,

why didn't you give a call to this person?

Right?

And sometimes it starts with just a desire and God

brings that person to you.

Yeah.

And I remember saying this now in a messurement last week.

Let's not just leave our lives for ourselves. Yeah, let's

leave our lives for this as well.

Amen.

And that leads to my final point, which is Easter,

it's all about self sacrificial. Yeah. If Jesus, or even

if God was not self sacrificial to send is one

and only son, you and I would not have been

here today.

Right.

In John fifteen, verse twelve, it says, this is my commandment.

Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

There is no greater love than to lay down one's

life for one's friend. So living a resurrected life with

Jesus changes everything. In fact, he makes the most difficult

situation and opportunity to bring the Gospel to someone out there.

Right.

And if you notice the Book of Matthew, and you

read this now Matthew chapter twenty eight, what is that

final portion that you see in the scripture? What does

it talk about? The final portion? The Great Commission? Right,

the Great Commission? So do you know how important it is?

God is saying that, yes, I went to the cross.

I have reason. Yeah, the Holy Spirit is with you.

And what's the next thing you're called to do is

to go and make disciples, is to go and learn

of artists.

Yeah.

So, dear friends, right, Christians, our work doesn't just stop here.

Today we celebrate with gladness, but what we do tomorrow

matters yeah, is to bring the gospel out there to someone.

Yeah.

In fact, it takes the perspective of us and puts

the perspective on God working in the world. So I thinks,

sometimes we don't understand what's going on around right, we

wonder why is this person doing it this way? Why

is the nation like this? But when you pray and

when you ask God to see things the way He

wants you to see, it helps you to go beyond

your lens. Right. And the word God tells us. Right,

He gives us wisdom if you ask for it, and

it comes with the relationship that we have with him.

Yeah.

And so just ask God, what is it or who

is it that you're calling me to encourage or to

pray for someone, or to bring the good news or

to even share your story, and God brings that person

to you.

Yeah.

As we read in Matthew twenty eight, verse sixteen, let's

just read the final portion here. It says, then the

eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which

Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they

worshiped him, but some doubted. Yeah. So even until the end,

there are people who doubted, though they saw such a miracle.

He is to reason. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,

all authority has been given to me in heaven and

on earth. Go therefore make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of

the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo,

I am with you always, even to the end of

each Amen. And if you're sitting here and thinking, what

this is my purpose of life, Well, this is your purpose, right,

This is your purpose to bring the good news out there,

to make disciples.

Yeah.

And we make disciples in different capacities. It can be

true friendship. It can be parents discipling your children. Yeah,

these are the next generation. It could be even sometimes

through your family, through your parents, you know, through the

place that God has positioned you to be. This is discipleship.

You know, you just bring God's perspective. Discipleship is bringing

God's perspective into another person's life, modeling it out right,

showing what God's love is like. Yeah, and I pray

that all of us could do that in this spirit

of Easter. You know, to be able to bring that

good news to someone. Amen. Yeah, so again, let's just

take this message this week.

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