The Resurrection Changes Us.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Alright, go ahead and have a seat once again. [0:03] Welcome to Village Church. [0:04] You know on Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. [0:09] There are a lot of other fun things about Easter from gathering with family to finding [0:15] eggs which are strewn about. [0:17] I still don’t know why that’s so much fun.

[0:20] There is an eating candy part. [0:22] I think that’s why it’s probably so much fun with hopes that there’s candy in those [0:26] eggs. [0:26] But this is the day that we reflect specifically on the most incredible event in the history [0:34] of mankind and that is specifically that someone, namely Jesus, rose from the dead. [0:42] It doesn’t take much thought to realize that if that happened, if Jesus actually rose from

[0:47] the dead, that it is a very significant event. [0:50] And when you search the Bible, which is the book that’s basically about the resurrection [0:56] of Jesus, it is even bigger than that. [0:59] The record shows us that God actually became a human being. [1:04] This creator God, the one who speaks and the world exists, he became part of his creation. [1:10] And then in that, he lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death for you and me, and

[1:16] then he rose from the dead. [1:19] So this was no ordinary man that we’re dealing with. [1:22] This was God who became man and the person of Jesus. [1:27] The question that really does need to be asked if all of that is true is why would God do [1:33] such a thing? [1:34] And if he did, then what are the ramifications of that for you and me?

[1:42] Because if God stepped into his creation, became one of us to reveal himself to us, [1:50] then goes through this death, the immortal God dying a human death, just to rise from [1:56] the dead. [1:57] If all of that is true, if this is not just some myth, if it’s not just some story and [2:03] this actually happened, then we have to be clear. [2:06] There are ramifications for you and for me.

[2:09] God would not just arbitrarily do these things. [2:14] We have to ask those questions because if the record is true, then that reason has [2:20] to be there. [2:21] Something like this had never happened before and hasn’t happened since. [2:26] So this is a significant event that impacts all people everywhere. [2:33] And for our purpose specifically, it impacts you right here.

[2:37] It impacts me right here, right now. [2:40] And it was a miracle that if true, actually does change everything about life. [2:47] It’s one of those phrases that’s making its way around social media. [2:50] Click here and you’ll see it changes everything. [2:54] Rarely does it actually come to be that. [2:56] You’re just annoyed that you clicked 17 different links to read a whole story and you find

[3:01] that it actually changes nothing. [3:03] But the reality when we’re dealing with the resurrection of Jesus Christ is it is one [3:08] of these singular events that is so catalytic to how everything else in the world functions [3:14] and how everything else in the world is seen. [3:17] If this event, if this actually happened, then it does change your life. [3:24] It does change everything.

[3:26] Because if Jesus rose from the dead, then he is more than merely an inspirational person [3:32] with an important philosophy for a movement of love for us to apply to our lives. [3:37] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is God. [3:42] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he can command you in any way that he pleases.

[3:49] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he came to do more than give us a truth. [3:56] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is the foundation of all truth. [4:01] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he doesn’t just offer a good life. [4:07] He is the authority of life. [4:10] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is the way, he is the truth, and he is life. [4:16] No one has any hope then apart from wholly submitting to the Lord God, Jesus Christ,

[4:26] if he rose from the dead. [4:30] I don’t think the fact that Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead is new to most [4:35] people. [4:36] What is often not understood though is why it is absolutely life changing that we need [4:43] to really talk about today here on this Easter Sunday. [4:46] And I want to take a look at what happened in someone’s life in the Scriptures.

[4:51] His name is the Apostle Paul, and he writes in a letter to a church in a place called [4:55] Corinth. [4:56] So if you have your Bibles, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. [4:59] If you don’t have your Bible, that’s fine. [5:01] It’s going to be on the screen right behind me. [5:03] But I’m going to start reading in verse 1.

[5:06] Here’s what Paul writes. [5:08] He says, now I would remind you, brothers. [5:11] And so he’s talking to them about something that they already must have heard about, something [5:17] that they already know about, but he wants to remind them so that they don’t miss the [5:22] significance of this. [5:24] So he’s talking about a truth that is a greater truth than just believing a fact.

[5:29] Believing 2 plus 2 equals 4. [5:31] That is a fact that you believe, but you can carry it through your life, and you don’t [5:35] necessarily have it impact every part of you. [5:38] And Paul’s going to them with something that’s deeper than that. [5:41] He says, I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you, which you received, [5:47] in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast the word I preach

[5:53] to you, unless you believed in vain. [5:56] For I delivered to you as of first importance, this is the primary thing, what I also received, [6:03] that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that [6:08] he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared [6:12] to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6:15] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still

[6:22] alive. [6:23] Though some have fallen asleep. [6:26] And see, Apostle Paul is writing here to us as followers of Jesus to remind us of how [6:33] we are to view this event in line with our lives, and he wants to drive into us the primary [6:40] fact that this is history. [6:43] This is not a story that we tell.

[6:45] This is not a myth that he has. [6:48] This is something that he’s giving, actually has evidence for, so that people will live [6:54] their lives in light of it. [6:56] And so number one this morning, I want us to understand that what he’s talking about [6:59] is so important to him, that he wants us to realize that if Jesus rose from the dead, [7:03] everything he said is true.

[7:06] Every single thing that Jesus ever said is true if he rose from the dead. [7:10] He talks to them and he says that this is of first importance. [7:14] This is a primary reason for which they are followers of Jesus. [7:20] And if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead, they wouldn’t be followers of Jesus. [7:24] And so the Apostle Paul wrote this and he was a man that had experienced the greatest [7:29] successes at what he had done in life.

[7:32] He was the best at what he did. [7:34] He’d experienced great success, great fame, great material gain from it, and he writes [7:39] or other places in scripture that compared to knowing the truth of the resurrection [7:44] of Jesus, all of the fame, all of the wealth, all of the power, everything that he has [7:49] apart from Jesus is rubbish compared to how great it is to know and have knowledge of [7:57] the resurrection of Jesus.

[7:59] Then he writes this, that the death and resurrection is the gospel or good news of what Jesus [8:07] did to give us life.

[8:12] We need to glean something from the fact that he’s elevating this above all other truths [8:17] that he’s going to preach about. [8:19] He’s saying this is the primary thing. [8:21] Do not move past this too quickly, nor should you go to any other thing to devalue this. [8:27] This is the first thing. [8:28] This is the foundational issue.

[8:31] It’s the death and resurrection of Jesus. [8:35] The truth is that you must realize that you need to be saved from the life you are living [8:40] in order to ever experience the real life that Jesus desires to give you. [8:45] Paul writes here that the thing that is the most important in life is a gift to be received. [8:53] He writes in the text, he says, which you received. [8:57] This points to something outside of you, something that you are not in control of, but something

[9:04] that Jesus has done himself. [9:07] In verse 3, he points out that Jesus has died and he did so to save us from our sin. [9:15] Everything that we do by our own power to build a real and meaningful life is less than [9:21] what God can do and wants to do for you. [9:25] God does not want us to build a life of our own. [9:28] That’s how we got into the situation that we’re in apart from God in the first place

[9:32] is that we’ve been seeking to build lives apart from God, filling ourselves, seeking [9:38] satisfaction and God does not find that acceptable. [9:43] God desires to be the foundation of our lives. [9:48] Everything else is destructive because God is the author of life. [9:52] He’s also a holy God who cannot tolerate anything less than perfection. [9:58] He’s so perfect and he’s so holy that he demands the very thing that he is the essence

[10:04] of from his creation. [10:07] And we all know that we’re not. [10:10] But the reality is because of who God is, my life is unacceptable because of sin. [10:18] You’ve probably heard that term a lot if you don’t know what that is. [10:21] Sin is anything that you build apart from God. [10:25] It’s less than perfection.

[10:28] You can place your hope in so many things that this real world has to offer you for [10:34] a real life. [10:35] But in the end we all find hopelessness because life fades away toward death no matter what [10:43] we do.

[10:47] As we grow in this world we experience pain, disappointment, the reality that our bodies [10:53] age and weaken with time. [10:55] This is all the effect of sin. [10:59] This is all the effect of what life apart from God is like. [11:02] We look at the world all around us, there’s turmoil, there’s pain, there’s tragedy. [11:08] It’s a sign for us that something is wrong, that there’s something more than we can build

[11:13] ourselves. [11:14] There’s something going on in this world that we cannot fix no matter how hard we try. [11:20] No matter what we do everything points to the truth that life is going to fade away [11:25] for death and that’s obviously a problem. [11:29] And it’s a problem that people have been trying to deal with and people have been trying [11:32] to solve for generations.

[11:33] I mean there are ancient tales of seeking to find the fountain of youth. [11:37] On January 1st many of you even went to a gym, signed up for a membership to fight [11:42] old age and you haven’t been back since.

[11:47] But the thought is there. [11:49] You’re fighting your mortality. [11:52] But the reason that you’re doing it is because you know it’s coming. [11:55] How to deal with the problem of sin is what Jesus came to accomplish. [12:01] That’s why he came, lived, that’s why he died. [12:05] We need hope in a world that fades into death no matter what we do to stop it.

[12:12] You know 400 years or so before the death of Jesus the prophet Isaiah wrote of God’s [12:18] plan to give life that death could not take away. [12:22] In Isaiah 25, 8 it says that God will swallow up death forever. [12:28] The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the reproach of his people he will [12:34] take away from all the earth for the Lord has spoken. [12:39] Then one chapter later in Isaiah 26 verse 19 he writes,

[12:56] You see Jesus fulfilled these promises that were given 400 years before he came to this [13:04] earth. [13:05] He came to be the fulfillment of every promise of salvation, every hope of having life and [13:12] he can be trusted. [13:14] Jesus came to solve the problem of sin and death because God knew we couldn’t do it. [13:21] So he came, lived a perfect life so that Jesus wouldn’t have any sin of his own to die for.

[13:30] Then he died a substitutionary death by taking the place that you and I deserve and paid [13:36] the penalty for sin which is death. [13:40] You see friends the reality is that someone had to take that penalty away. [13:46] In order for there to be justice for sin the penalty was still needed. [13:49] See he writes there he says in accordance with the scriptures and so he was referring [13:53] to the scriptures that speak of the penalty that God must have for death because of his

[13:58] holiness. [13:59] But logically only someone without their own sin to pay for could pay the penalty for [14:06] someone else. [14:08] Enter Jesus. [14:09] Jesus is perfect. [14:11] He’s God.

[14:13] Even more so he is the judge of all humanity and he paid the price through his death on [14:20] the cross because of his perfection. [14:23] He had no sin of his own to pay for. [14:25] That’s why I can’t pay for anyone else’s sins. [14:28] I’ve got to pay for mine. [14:31] But Jesus having no sin to pay for could offer himself as a substitute for your sin

[14:36] for my sin because he didn’t have any of his own. [14:40] But death friends was only part of it. [14:43] For hope to be real there must be new life. [14:46] If Jesus had stayed dead it wouldn’t have defeated sin and death it would have just [14:51] been another casualty. [14:53] C.S. Lewis the philosopher stated that if Jesus had simply died he wouldn’t even be

[14:59] a good teacher. [15:00] He couldn’t even be an inspirational figure to respect because if all he had done is [15:05] died and he didn’t rise from the dead he was either a liar for saying that he was God [15:11] the Son for he offers resurrection from the dead or he was a lunatic for believing such [15:17] nonsense. [15:18] But if the resurrection is truth though then everything Jesus said is true.

[15:24] And everything he pointed to is true. [15:28] He’s God. [15:30] Now all the words about him are true. [15:32] And that resurrection stands as a catalyst for your life and for my life. [15:37] It’s the hinge upon which we must view all of life through. [15:42] And that is why verse 4 in 1 Corinthians 15 is the ultimate importance.

[15:48] In order to give new life Jesus had to kill the old one. [15:52] And in order to give new life Jesus had to live again. [15:57] You see friends number 2 this morning if Jesus excuse me if the resurrection is true [16:03] it changes everything. [16:05] If the resurrection is true it changes absolutely everything. [16:10] Because when Jesus rose from the dead it defeated sin and death.

[16:15] He is alive. [16:16] That means that there is hope on the other side of the grave. [16:21] But if he stayed dead then there is no hope. [16:27] That’s all that we’re facing is the best that we can get out of this life then nothing. [16:34] But if resurrection is true if there is a God who came and showed us that there is [16:40] something on the other side of the grave then we have something to believe in.

[16:45] We have something to hope in. [16:47] Not something that’s by my hands because everything by my hands seems to fall apart. [16:51] But rather something by someone’s hands who can be trusted. [16:57] But to talk about that I want to talk about the change that happens. [17:00] The lives of people in history who actually believed it who actually saw the resurrected [17:06] Jesus.

[17:08] You see first the disciples were completely changed by the hope of resurrection. [17:13] The text says that after Jesus rose he appeared to the disciples there in verse 5 of 1 Corinthians [17:18] 15 and that changed everything for them. [17:23] John 2 22 records that the disciples remembered that he had said he would destroy the temple [17:29] and raise it back in three days. [17:31] When therefore he was raised from the dead the disciples remembered that he had said

[17:36] this. [17:37] They believed the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. [17:42] So why are the promises true? [17:44] Why are the scriptures true? [17:47] Because it’s the book of Jesus. [17:49] Because it’s the book that points to his resurrection.

[17:51] It’s the book that records his resurrection. [17:53] It’s the book that he inspired. [17:56] They now understood what he meant. [17:59] They remembered what Jesus had said in Luke 9 22 that he had to die so that he could [18:04] bring them new life. [18:05] He said the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief

[18:10] priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. [18:16] You see these men had been with Jesus for three years. [18:19] They saw every part of what he did on earth during his ministry. [18:23] They saw his perfect life and even understood that he was God. [18:29] But it wasn’t until he rose from the dead that they knew and comprehended what his mission [18:35] had actually been.

[18:37] Because if Jesus rose from the dead it meant that there was a life to be had that could [18:43] save you from death. [18:45] That’s what the apostle Paul means here in 1 Corinthians 15 when he says that this is [18:50] the truth in which you stand. [18:52] You see they had received the truth but then they were living in it. [18:56] That’s what it meant when it says to stand in something.

[19:00] It is what life is now based on. [19:03] It is the foundation. [19:05] The Bible does not paint a courageous picture of the disciples while Jesus was with them. [19:10] They almost always said the wrong things. [19:13] They almost always put their hopes in the wrong things. [19:16] And they didn’t understand what life was actually about.

[19:21] They sound a lot like me.

[19:26] Then when Jesus was arrested, when Jesus needed his friends the most, they abandoned him [19:36] in fear. [19:37] They were cowards that feared humiliation. [19:41] They feared death. [19:44] But you see friends the change in the lives of the disciples after the resurrection is [19:49] evidence that the resurrection is true.

[19:52] Because you see after the resurrection they changed. [19:55] Their lives are recorded in the book of Acts. [19:57] They were courageous. [19:59] Created a new word there.

[20:03] They did not fear being arrested. [20:05] They did not fear being beaten. [20:07] They told everyone about the resurrection of Jesus even when their lives were threatened. [20:14] Ultimately every single one of them would be arrested and most of them killed because [20:20] they no longer feared death. [20:23] They had something to trust in and live for that was more powerful than any government

[20:29] authority. [20:30] More powerful than any threat of violence that could be put towards them. [20:34] More powerful than any threat of execution. [20:37] And then ultimately we see them go to executions continuing to proclaim the message that they [20:47] were threatened.

[20:50] If they didn’t stop. [20:52] They trusted that Jesus would raise them to new life again. [20:58] Because you see the disciples understood what Paul means further down in 1 Corinthians [21:03] verse 17 where he writes,

[21:10] That word feudal means pointless.

[21:15] Paul writes that if Jesus hadn’t risen from the dead that he among all people was to [21:20] be just pitied. [21:22] Because everything he believed would have been a lie. [21:24] It was a sham. [21:25] It wasn’t true. [21:27] But if Jesus rose from the dead you see in 1 Corinthians 15, 20 they understood.

[21:32] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. [21:36] The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

[21:42] You see you look at the disciples. [21:44] You have to understand where they were in the time that they were in. [21:48] You see when Jesus was taken to the cross they fled, they hid. [21:52] When Jesus rises from the dead in the very same place, in the very same town just miles [21:59] from the empty tomb. [22:01] The disciples then come out courageous proclaiming Christ has been raised from the dead.

[22:06] You may say well it could have been a great con. [22:09] Well they could have been lying. [22:10] They could have just been trying to create a story to get themselves out of being embarrassed [22:13] by the fact that Jesus was dead. [22:15] How many cons do you know of that a whole slew almost a dozen men then more that we [22:21] don’t know about.

[22:23] They took that message to their deaths. [22:27] Not a single one of them recanting it. [22:33] Their life change stands as a testament. [22:35] They went from cowards to the most courageous men you could ever see.

[22:42] You see friends what is it that you fear?

[22:47] What is it that stands in the way of the life that you actually want to live?

[22:53] What is it that stands in the way of the changes that if Jesus did rise from the dead [22:58] it would demand of you?

[23:01] What is it that stands in the way of you proclaiming boldly that yes Jesus is God. [23:07] He rose from the dead to give you life. [23:11] What is it that stands in your way? [23:12] What is it that you fear? [23:14] You see these disciples they had that fear. [23:16] More than that they example that fear for us in the way that they respond to the arrest

[23:21] of Jesus.

[23:25] But then when Jesus rose and he appeared to them resurrected they knew that nothing could [23:32] stand in their way because there was a power even greater than death. [23:38] You see friends ultimately number three this morning since the resurrection is true you [23:43] can have a new life. [23:45] Do you know the author of life wants to give you a real life? [23:51] A real life can only be lived for the God who has power over death.

[23:56] Do you want that kind of life? [23:58] Well friend it can only be found through Jesus. [24:01] You see 1 Corinthians 15 2 says that after you have received the truth and stand in the [24:06] truth you set out on a life of continuing being saved by the truth of Jesus. [24:11] That doesn’t mean you need to come to faith in him over and over and over again. [24:15] That means that as you live in faith in Jesus Christ he strengthens you.

[24:20] You get to know him more so you get more emboldened more strengthened more sure more courageous. [24:26] You live a life actually following Jesus actually viewing your life through the lens of a resurrected [24:34] savior. [24:36] Paul wants us to understand that it isn’t simply something we agree happened and then [24:43] go on with life as usual. [24:45] Say oh yeah Jesus what a great guy.

[24:50] I’m pretty sure he even rose from the dead. [24:53] Well back to regular life as usual. [24:56] That’s not the way this works. [24:58] If this is true then it changes everything. [25:01] It changes every moment of life that comes after it. [25:06] And that change continues and that change grows in your life.

[25:12] But it wasn’t just the disciples Paul tells us. [25:16] So we could look at them and say yeah it’s just a couple of people.

[25:20] Paul doesn’t just point to them and say hey trust those guys. [25:23] No he appeared to more people than it would ever take to record an event as a historical [25:29] fact. [25:30] You see Jesus died on a cross. [25:32] Roman historians and records prove it. [25:34] We don’t question their history.

[25:36] We know that it’s true. [25:37] There was a Jesus of Nazareth. [25:39] Everyone knew who he was. [25:40] Everyone knew where he came from. [25:42] Yes he died on the cross. [25:44] That is fact that history is accepted and it shows us.

[25:47] But we have just as much proof for the resurrection as we have for the crucifixion. [25:53] You see friends there are hundreds that testified that he was up and walking again. [26:02] First Corinthians 15.6 states that he could take you to over 500 witnesses of the risen [26:09] Jesus. [26:10] If you are banking on the fact that those 11 disciples of the risen Jesus were con [26:15] men then that is one thing.

[26:20] But Paul appeals to over 500 that saw him physically. [26:25] Saw Jesus risen from the grave. [26:30] This is not some mystical resurrection. [26:33] This is not some spiritual philosophy that they were embracing. [26:37] They had seen a physical Jesus. [26:41] They had touched him.

[26:42] Somebody shared pancakes with him that the Bible tells us and you know that is a fact. [26:48] Jesus rises from the dead and says give me some pancakes. [26:51] It is my kind of God.

[26:56] Jesus lived again and this isn’t something that became an urban legend that was believed [27:02] hundreds of years later. [27:03] No we see faith in Jesus happening just days after he rose from the dead. [27:09] The disciples see him just a few days. [27:11] Then two months later you have hundreds of people that have seen him have spent time [27:16] with him standing on a mountain testifying.

[27:18] We saw him all of us together. [27:21] This is not just a reserved fact and it is in the very same town that the tomb was in. [27:30] Not only was the tomb empty but there are hundreds saying we saw him. [27:34] That’s crazy.

[27:40] Then 50 days later 3,000 are following him. [27:49] Then within just a few years it is beginning to spread to other parts of the countryside. [27:56] Judea, Samaria, then it goes further to Antioch, then it goes further to Ephesus, Philippi, [28:02] Corinth. [28:02] Then within just a few decades of the resurrection of Jesus, faith in the risen Savior is all [28:11] over the known world at that time.

[28:14] Christianity exploded all over the world and it continues to spread thousands of years [28:24] later. [28:25] This is evidence that demands a verdict.

[28:29] He lived again. [28:32] Why though? [28:34] What is the purpose of this report? [28:37] Why does this need to be substantiated? [28:41] Because, friends, this actually happened. [28:44] As C.S. Lewis tells us further, he says you have to deal with the evidence.

[28:48] You can’t just say Jesus was a good role model. [28:51] You can’t just say Jesus was a good moral teacher. [28:53] He was either a liar for saying he was God, a lunatic for thinking he was God, or he was [28:59] exactly who he claimed to be. [29:02] He was the Son of the living God. [29:05] And if he rose from the dead, then he is God and your entire life depends on what you

[29:13] do with that news.

[29:18] See, I’m not telling you right now to look to all these different parts of what faith [29:23] in Jesus does to some people. [29:26] I’m talking about dealing with the factual proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. [29:31] That it happened. [29:33] When you do that, this is not something that we can look at and say, ah, this is subjective. [29:38] No, this is objective reality that you need to deal with.

[29:42] Don’t deal with the hypocrisy of some Christians right now. [29:45] Don’t deal with the questions that you have with different segments of what the Bible [29:50] means here and what the Bible means there. [29:52] I’m talking about the one event in history where a man who claimed that he was God actually [30:00] died on a cross by professional executioners that if they got the death certificate wrong, [30:06] they themselves would have to face the same execution.

[30:10] They said he was dead. [30:12] They said he was gone. [30:13] They said there was no heartbeat. [30:15] They put him in a tomb. [30:16] And then three days later, people are looking and they’re saying, hey, isn’t that Jesus?

[30:26] What do you do with that?

[30:33] Friend, that is significant enough to change everything.

[30:42] That’s evidence.

[30:44] So what’s the point? [30:47] In John chapter 20 verse 31, one of those close to Jesus, the disciple John wrote that [30:55] he’d written everything that he had about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus [30:59] so that we may believe in Jesus and have life in him. [31:05] This changes our lives.

[31:10] I want you to understand something this morning that you can live your life for something [31:16] that will never fail. [31:19] It is something that is eternal. [31:22] It is a mission of great importance.

[31:25] Even if you die, you will live again.

[31:33] Friends, if you live for Jesus, you do so because Jesus is alive and he is God of all. [31:42] And you can trust him. [31:45] And there is no part of your life that if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, [31:52] that doesn’t fall under the lordship of Jesus Christ. [31:58] It changes the way you view everything. [32:00] It changes the way you live for anything.

[32:03] And it changes the way that you believe about everything. [32:09] If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is God. [32:13] And if he is God, there is hope.

[32:19] Trust him. [32:21] As the band comes up, maybe you’re in here on this Easter Sunday.

[32:29] And after all that, you say, I’ve always looked at Jesus as a good role model. [32:36] I’ve always looked at Jesus as maybe he was God. [32:39] But when we talk about it in that light, then I either need to trust him or not trust him. [32:45] And my prayer for you this morning is that God would draw you to himself. [32:51] That God would give you faith in Jesus. [32:54] Because you need Jesus.

[32:57] He is not a God, he is the only God. [33:01] He is not a Savior, friend. He is the only Savior.

[33:06] The reality that Jesus came and he died and he rose again, [33:10] it shows me something that God is not just looking for justice for sin.

[33:16] God is also looking on us with love. [33:19] And he wants to pay the penalty for my sin himself. [33:24] So that I’ll never have to. [33:26] That’s what Jesus offers me and that’s what Jesus offers you. [33:30] If you’re in here this morning and you want to follow Jesus, [33:34] I want you to know that you can be saved right here, right now.

[33:39] Just trust that Jesus came to die for your sin. [33:44] And he rose from the dead to give you a new life.

[33:50] If you’re in here and you want to talk to somebody, [33:52] there are people in the foyer right now and all through the songs to follow. [33:56] And they would love to answer any questions you might have. [33:58] They would love to just pray with you, to talk to you about the gospel of Jesus Christ. [34:03] During the music, just slip out. Go talk to someone. [34:08] But friend, right now I want all of us to stand.

[34:11] Just for a few moments, I want us to spend this Easter celebrating [34:16] that God is alive. [34:22] His name is Jesus. [34:24] Let’s sing to Jesus.