FBCPS
Sermons, teachings, and podcasts from First Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.
FBCPS
How the Resurrection Changes Your Life's Direction | Matthew 28:1-15
Well, happy Easter. First Baptist Church, powder Springs. Everybody, put your hands together. If you're excited to be in church this morning, it is good to see everybody here. We're thankful for everybody online. Go ahead and turn to somebody next to you and tell them happy Easter right now. Go ahead and tell them happy Easter Now. Turn to the person on the other side of you that you don't like as much because you didn't choose them first, and go ahead and tell them just make it up to them. Say it looks like you've lost weight. Go and tell them that right now, it looks like you've lost weight. So it is great to have everybody here, everybody tuning in line.
Speaker 1:Easter is my favorite Sunday. It's my favorite time of the year. Man, god is so good. We get to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus together. I want to remind you that calories don't count on Easter. Amen, calories don't count. So you make sure and go all in today, man, we love having fun here, we love laughing, we love having a good time. We think people ought to have more fun going to heaven than the world going to hell, and so I just want you to relax, I want you to have a good time together, and I want to encourage everybody to grab one, everybody. If you're a first-time guest or a long-time member. Everybody grab a Next Step card if you can during this service, and I want everybody to get one so that we're all just a shared experience together. I want you to be filling it out during the service as you're able, and it might be a great way for us just to make sure we have all the correct information. But I'm going to walk through that next step card with you. I've got some questions for you this morning. I need some feedback from you.
Speaker 1:But first, I heard a story this week of a redneck by the name of Bubba. Everybody say Bubba, redneck by the name of Bubba and Bubba. He went to a funeral one day and he walked up to the casket of his good friend with two of his other good friends. They looked at their good friend and Bubba looked over at friend number one. And Bubba said you know, one day you're going to be in that casket. What would you like for us to say about you? And Bubba's friend number one said well, I just want y'all to tell everybody that man, I love my family, I love my wife, I love my kids and they love me and Bubba said that's real nice, that's real nice. And he turned to friend number two and he said well, what do you want us to say about you? Friend number two said you just tell them I love Jesus, I love my church. Man, I love going to Sunday school and man I love giving and all that man I just love to say look, he's moving. Right, I like that, I like that he's moving, he's moving, he's alive. And aren't you thankful that Jesus is alive today? Jesus is moving. Can I get an amen? Jesus is moving. I pray he's moving in our church.
Speaker 1:Do you realize how Jesus is moving around the world? Have you been watching the news right? Sometimes you got to read reports because the news won't even tell you. Did you know that today, on Easter Sunday, there's going to be some 2.6 billion people gathered together to worship Jesus for his resurrection? Can I get an amen? 2.6 billion?
Speaker 1:Did you know that the church of Jesus Christ, all the Christians put together, that we are the largest organization of people in the entire earth? Did you know that we are larger? All the Christians put together, we are larger than China plus Europe, plus all of America 2.6 billion Christians. Did you know that God is moving so much right now across our planet that in the United Kingdom in England, of all places that has been so atheist for so long that it has grown the church attendance has grown by more than 50% in the last six years. In the last five years, bible sales have grown hear me, 87%. Did you know that here in America, commitment to Jesus is on a 10 year high, higher than it's ever been in the last 10 years? There are 30 million more adult Americans claiming to follow Jesus today than just back in 2021. And, hear me, the majority of those that are experiencing revival right now across our country and across our planet are in their teens and in their 20s. Put your hands together right now for what God is doing. God is so good.
Speaker 1:I remember when I was 20 years old right, I remember actually going through a Bible study and I remember I came to the Bible study about the resurrection of Jesus and I really remember thinking to myself like I get his birth and I get his life and I get his suffering and I get his death and I get his burial. But I remember thinking to myself at 20, I don't really even understand the resurrection Like why did he have to be raised from the dead and what difference does that have to make in my life? Well, I'm here to tell you this morning, as we're in this series together, the passion of Jesus. Everybody say passion, the passion of Jesus. You understand that Jesus is passionate about you. Look at somebody and tell them right now, jesus loves you. Go and tell them that right now, tell them Jesus loves you, jesus is passionate about you. So what I want you to see today, I want you to see today how Jesus's resurrection actually changes your life's direction.
Speaker 1:I heard it said one time that if you ever are come to a fork in the road and you don't know which way to go and there's two men that are there and one is dead and one is alive, you ask the guy who's alive. You know what I'm saying. So, in other words, jesus is alive. Do you know that Jesus is the only one who has come from heaven? Jesus is the only one who has lived life on earth. Jesus is the only one who has died. Jesus is the only one who has raised from the dead. Jesus is the only one that has gone back to heaven. Jesus is the only one that is coming back again. Jesus is the only one that has lived eternal life, that has done all those things. In other words, if you get confused about life, like I do, the person we should always ask is Jesus. If you believe that, say amen, here we go. Here's what I want you to see. We're gonna talk very quickly together.
Speaker 1:You can open up in your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 28. Matthew 28,. How does Jesus change your life's direction? I believe that he changes your expectation, your ambition, your affections and your questions. So let's check that out together if you're ready and say let's go, let's go, here we go, let's go. Number one. Number one is this Jesus's resurrection changes your expectation.
Speaker 1:What is your expectation in life? You know, some people are really positive. Some people are really negative. It's funny. I've never met a person that has ever said man, they are so negative. I just love spending time with them, I just love being around them. I just love negative. Nancy, nobody ever says that right.
Speaker 1:But did you know? The Bible neither tells us to be positive or negative. Rather, the Bible tells us to be hopeful. Did you know that the word hope in English means to wish? Like man, I hope that's going to happen. We typically say that, meaning I wish that's going to happen. But did you know that the Bible uses the word hopeful to mean a confident expectation of the future? Meaning because we have hope in Jesus, we are confident that God is going to work everything out according to his will. We see that in Matthew, chapter 28, verse 1. It says now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb, the tomb of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Notice that this happens on a Sunday, the first day of the week, and that's why we have Easter Sunday together every year. That's why we come together and we worship Jesus and we worship his resurrection. But I want you to know that we don't just do this on Easter Sunday. We worship Jesus for his resurrection every Sunday, because he died, he rose from the dead and he can save you. And guess what? If you die and rise from the dead, we're going to give you your own day of the week too. Right, jesus gets his own day. We call it the Lord's Day. Every Sunday we get to come together and worship Jesus. So I want to encourage you, if you don't have a church, that you to encourage you if you don't have a church that you call your home, if you don't have a church that you call your family. We don't want to just be a church in your life, we want to be a church for your life. We want to be here and help you navigate life in all that it is to have direction in life following Jesus. We see here that there were two Marys at that time. Mary and Mary went to the tomb.
Speaker 1:I just asked our little girl. We've got a little six-year-old girl. Her name's Brooklyn. We got a two-year-old son. His name's Cruz. We got an 11-month little baby girl, eliana, and our little girl, brooklyn, brooklyn. We adopted her out of the delivery room. We were actually there when she was born and, man, what an honor it is to be her daddy and for Michelle to be her mommy. And just around the one year mark she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, so you can tell her real easy. She's the one just whipping around in a wheelchair everywhere, right? So watch your toes. And, man, she is awesome, she's just a light. And I asked her the other day she's as smart as all get out. And I asked her. I said Brooklyn.
Speaker 1:Who was the first person to see Jesus after he rose from the dead. She said Mary it was a popular name back then and I didn't even know that. Right, I have a doctrine. I didn't even know that and I was like how do you know these things? And so you've got Mary and Mary, and the gospel of Mark actually tells us that they were taking spices to the tomb to give Jesus a proper burial because he had not been properly buried yet. I heard one pastor say Mary and Mary were the first spice girls. They were the first spice girls right there on the scene. If you're not 40 years old, you don't know what I'm talking about, you know. And so Mary and Mary says in verse two it says and behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel's appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. So here you got Mary and Mary, and they're taking the spices to the tomb, and Mark also tells us that they don't even have a plan, right? I mean, these are tough women, these are fearless women. It says that this earthquake happens and they still go.
Speaker 1:God often used earthquakes back in that day, not to hurt people, but to announce that he was doing something that would shake the earth. God would often send angels to show people that what I'm doing is eternal, that as these angels come down from heaven, he says this one his appearance is like lightning and his clothes are white as snow, just like we are in the presence of God. When you really get in the presence of God, he makes you different. Can I get an amen? You can't get in the presence of God, you can't know Jesus, you can't believe in him, you can't spend time with him, you can't be worshiping him and not be different from other people around you. In the same way, this angel was different like lightning and like white as snow because he had come from heaven and he had been in the visible presence of God.
Speaker 1:It says in verse four. It says in fear of him, fear of the angel, these Roman guards, so the Romans they would send. They sent the guards to Jesus's tomb because his death and his crucifixion was such a big deal. Historians tell us that there would be somewhere around 12 to 16 different guards. I mean, these are big, armed, trained, massive, strong, fearsome guards, and the Bible says that these guards when the angel came down from heaven, the earthquake.
Speaker 1:The angel rolls the stone away, sits on the stone. Why does the angel sit on the stone? Because he wanted a front row seat to the resurrection. Gotta get him in right. So I love it, by the way, when our worshipers come and sit on the front row. If you are a part of our church and you love to worship and you love to sing and you love to raise your hands, I want you on the front rows, I want you to lead the way.
Speaker 1:And so here's what we see these men strong, trained, massive, fearsome. It says that they trembled and they became like dead men. They played like possum. Right, they're laying there because they are experiencing, they're encountering something finally greater than them. They're encountering the glory of God. And there is something about your life that you need to encounter, someone, something greater than you, so that you can know, first of all, who you are, but also, most importantly, so you can know who he is, and his name is Jesus. And when you encounter Jesus, you can't help but know that he is far greater than you and that your life is worth living for him. These ladies are so tough. Are you kidding me right now. They just killed Jesus.
Speaker 1:The disciples are all hiding together behind locked doors in an upper room at this time. These ladies go to this tomb, where it is guarded by all these Roman guards. They are literally risking their lives. These are fearsome, fearless ladies. This is like Sporty Spice and Scary Spice. You know what I'm saying. And so they're coming to the tomb. If you're not 40, you don't get it, it's fine. They're coming to the tomb and they are. They come to see Jesus. Why? Because they love him. I wanna give them a proper burial.
Speaker 1:I just wanna give a shout out this morning to all the ladies, because, as a pastor, I meet so many people and they often tell me the same story. If it wasn't for my mom, who was always praying for me, if it wasn't for my grandmama, who was always praying for me and who was always witnessing me, if it wasn't for whoever in my life that was always inviting me to church, I have so many people say I would not be saved. Today there are so many moms in this room, grandmoms in this room, aunts in this room, sisters in this room, ladies in this room, that you are holding down the fort spiritually and we just want to honor you this morning. Put your hands together for all the ladies in this room. We're so thankful for what you do. And we have Mother's Day. Coming up and hear me, we're gonna give a free rose to every single female, if it's a baby girl up to a grandma, because we want to honor womanhood, because we believe the world won't honor womanhood but the church should. Can I get an amen? So we want you to come back for Mother's Day and every female gets a rose because we honor you. But also I wanna give a shout out to the men up in this room here today as well, and here's what I want the men to know Men, all those revivals that I've been telling you about typically revivals in the past we could see like women leading the way.
Speaker 1:Did you know that revivals that are happening today around the world, in our country and others, that's happening in the lives of teenagers, the lives of 20s and those who are older? Did you know that today that men are leading the way, spiritually, in those revivals, that God is awakening the hearts of men and we have a bunch of godly leading men here who lead their church, who love their families, who lead their families. Can we put our hands together for the men this morning, for godly men that God is raising up? Did you know that if a kid gets saved, there's a 3.5 statistical chance that the whole family's gonna get saved? Did you know, if a mom gets saved, there's a 17% chance that the whole family's gonna get saved? Did you know, if a dad gets saved, there's a 93% chance that the whole family's going to get saved?
Speaker 1:Man, we're praying for men to believe. We're praying for men to lead. We're praying for men to step up. We're praying for men to follow Jesus. Amen. That's why, on Father's Day, we're going to give every male a slice of bacon. Amen, we're going to give everybody a slice of bacon. That's what we did last year. Everybody loved it. We're gonna do it again this year, right? And we're gonna give every boy, all the way to every granddad, a piece of bacon. Why? Because there's something true of all of us guys we all love bacon and all God's men said Amen, let's go. We gotta keep moving. Man, y'all ain't listening fast enough. Here we go Mother's Day together, and I want you to know that Jesus's resurrection changes your life's expectation into hope. Everybody say hope. Take that next step card right now On the back, pastor James already told you. The large box at the bottom write down your greatest prayer request. It is our honor as your staff to pray over that prayer request for you this week. On your behalf. We want to take your prayer request to God's throne. Here's why Because we want you to turn that expectation you have into hope that God is going to work it out.
Speaker 1:I just recently heard one of my favorite pastors who's dead. I heard a video. Someone videoed him right before he died. His name is Tim Keller. They said Pastor Tim. They said tell us about the resurrection of Jesus. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to you? You have a terminal illness. You're about to go see him. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to you? And here's what Tim Keller said. One of the smartest men alive. Tim Keller said this If Jesus rose from the dead and I believe he did Tim Keller said If Jesus rose from the dead and I believe he did Tim Keller said then I believe that everything's going to be okay. If you believe that Jesus rose from the dead, then no matter what is happening in your life, everything is ultimately going to be okay.
Speaker 1:Number two Jesus' resurrection changes your ambition. Everybody say ambition. What is the ambition of your life? What do you define as successful? What do you really want to happen in your life?
Speaker 1:Verse five says but the angel said to the women do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. Do you know? The word seek means to crave. These women craved to see Jesus. Why were they seeking him? Why were they craving to see him? Here's why Because they've never been loved like that, because Jesus' love for them was pure. Jesus' love for them was selfless. Jesus' love for them was safe. And Jesus' love for them, hear me, was unconditional. They didn't have to earn his love, jesus just loved him. And so people just wanted to be around him. They even just wanted to go and be around his dead body to give him this proper burial. And so the angel said why are you searching for the living among the dead?
Speaker 1:In verse six, the first part of verse six, he says he is not here, for he has risen. Just as he said Heard a story about a little boy who was in an Easter pageant, a little Easter play. He only had one line he's not here, he has risen. He practiced it for months. He practiced it with his parents, he practiced it with his drama team, he practiced it with his teachers.
Speaker 1:Sure enough, sunday Easter Sunday came around. He's on stage, the play's happening. It's his time to shine the spotlight's on him. He stands there and he freezes and he forgets his line. The little teacher in the front row mouths it to him. He's not here, he's risen.
Speaker 1:The kid looked back at the teacher like he'd never heard the line before. She said say it. The kid said he's not here, he's in prison. Right, messed it up right there. Well, aren't you thankful that Jesus wasn't there? Because Jesus wasn't there at the tomb. Jesus is here with us today. Can I get an amen? Aren't you thankful that Jesus is with you? Whether you're online, if you're at home, if you're in the car, if you're in prison, right now, jesus is with you. Whether you're online, if you're at home, if you're in the car, if you're in prison right now, jesus is with you. Why? Because he wasn't there. So Jesus is here, or Jesus is with you wherever it is that you are.
Speaker 1:And the angel said come see the place where he lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. I want you to see four words very quickly Come. Everybody say come. There are some people here today that all you did today was come. Somebody asked you to come. Maybe you didn't wanna come, but you're here and I want you to know that God brought you here for a reason to hear something that is the most important thing that you could hear in your life.
Speaker 1:And then the angel said see. Everybody say see. That you could hear in your life. And then the angel said see. Everybody say see. The angel wanted them to see for themselves. Why do we want you to be here? Because it's so important that you see for yourself. You see with your own spiritual eyes. May God take the blinders off of everybody's eyes so that they can see Jesus for who he is, that he's your Lord, that he's your savior, that he's died for your sin, that he's risen from the dead and he can give you life. If you believe that, say amen. And everyone say go. The angel said go. The angel said go. What does go mean? Go doesn't just mean to leave. It means to leave with a purpose. It means to go and to do ministry and to love other people. And the angel said to tell Everybody. Say tell. Tell means to go and tell people what Jesus has done for you so that he can do the same for them. I want you to take that next step card and there on that first blank at the top, that first box on the back at the top, I want you to write down is there somewhere that we can go and be a ministry to? Is there some place? Is there some agency? Is there some people? Is there some location? Is there someone in need or a business in need, or whatever it might be, that we can go and be a ministry to? Because First Baptist Church Powder Springs wants to minister to Powder Springs and all of our surrounding communities. You write that down so that we can read that and we can know opportunities that we have.
Speaker 1:But did you know, did you know, that Christians have told researchers for a long time now that we are all, as Christians, a little scared to share their faith? How many of y'all admit you're a little scared to share your faith? Raise your hand. My hand's up, my hand's up. You're scared to raise your hand right now is what you're doing. I get it. Every single Christian is a little scared to share their faith. Did you know, though? The same Christians say but if someone would just teach me what to say and how to share my faith, just how to share Jesus with others, I would love for someone to teach me so I could do it more Next Sunday. Everybody say next Sunday, next Sunday, we're gonna be man, it's strong up here. We're gonna be starting a new series called Made for More, and you're gonna learn about how you can share Jesus with other people, because God has made you for the mission, it says.
Speaker 1:They departed quickly. The women left the tomb with fear. That means with worship. With great joy, they ran to tell the disciples why? Because Jesus's resurrection changes your life ambition. To his mission, to his mission. Jesus has a way of saying look, your mission, your ambition, as long as it's not sinful, it's fine, but it should never be greater than mine. My mission that I want to do in you and my mission that I want to do through you.
Speaker 1:Number three, quickly, jesus's resurrection changes your affection. Who do you love most in life? What do you love most in life? He says in verse nine. And behold, jesus met them. He met the ladies, mary and Mary, and he said to them greetings, which means hey, everybody and the ladies came up and they took hold of his feet and they worshiped him. I love how Jesus came to them and they came to him. That's what that relationship looks like that Jesus comes to them and they came to him. That's what that relationship looks like, that Jesus comes to you and he says I love you, believe in me, give your life to me. And when we go to him and say, jesus, I believe in you, I will live my life for you, that's what starts a salvation relationship together. That word worship the Greek word there in the text is proskuneo. Proskuneo literally means to worship, to fall on our knees and to be in submission of the one who is Lord. And that's what they did. When they saw Jesus for who he is, the resurrected Lord and Savior they fell on their knees, they grabbed his feet and they worshiped him.
Speaker 1:I remember being in a church one day and this church they were doing this play, this drama, this production, and we would walk from room to room. And so the first room we walked to it was kind of a room where, like, they were trying to picture a guy who wasn't living for Jesus and so kind of walked from room to room where he was like partying and doing all this sin and all this bad stuff, whatever. And we get to the last room and the last room is all painted black. It was supposed to be hell, right. So the room's black, everything's dark. There's somebody really weird, strangely dressed, like the devil over the corner, like with a creepy laugh, and they had space heaters all plugged in. It was like 93 degrees, like you break a little sweat in hell, no big deal. And so we followed his life. And then we followed another guy's life room to room and we saw this guy was. He wasn't cool, he wasn't popular, right, whatever. But you walk into a room and you experience when he gives his life to Jesus. It was very moving. Go to the last room In the last room of the whole thing was heaven, and I'll never forget the room because it was all painted white.
Speaker 1:This church had pillows hanging down from fishing line. I think it was supposed to be clouds. They had people walking around in like angel Halloween costumes, which was really creepy, right. And then they had us all line up shoulder to shoulder, just right, next to each other, and in come walking through the door was some I lived in Alabama at the time, some redneck in a fake beard and a white bathroom walking. It was supposed to be Jesus, right?
Speaker 1:And so Jesus walks up to the first person and he whispers something to their ear and he gives them a hug. He walks up to the next person, whispers something to their ear and gives them a hug. Next person, next person Getting closer to me. I'm thinking I have a personal rule in my life Rednecks don't whisper in my ear and give me a hug. It's just man code. I got right. So he gets right up in front of me. He looks me square in the eyes Fake redneck Jesus, white bathrobe and he says well done, my good and faithful servant. I love you. I, my good and faithful servant, I love you. I've been waiting for you. Welcome into my kingdom. And I don't know what happened. But I beat fake redneck Jesus to the hug, right. I wrapped my arms around him and I squeezed him in and he was starting to feel awkward. He's pushing away and I just had like a moment of the day that I'm gonna get to see Jesus face to face and eye to eye.
Speaker 1:So let me ask you, how are you going to respond when you see Jesus? Here's what's going to make the difference whether or not you believe in him in your life. When you get to see him, you're either going to worship him, you're going to love him, or you're going to fear him because you never gave your life to him. And today is your opportunity, your life is your opportunity to give your life to him. Jesus' resurrection changes your affection to him. You can love other people, you can love other things, but we should never love other people and love other things more than we love him. And I'm done. Last one Jesus' resurrection changes your questions. Everybody say questions. Stick with me for this last moment. This is so important.
Speaker 1:While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priest everything that had taken place, that Jesus had risen from the dead, the angel, all that. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and they said they said tell people, tell everybody. His disciples came by night and stole him away while they were asleep, time out. If you're asleep, how do you know they came and stole him? Who knows Time in Okay, verse 14. And if this comes to the governor's ears. We will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed, and the story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
Speaker 1:Can I just be honest for a second? Just be transparent. As a pastor, I have a lot of questions in my life for God. I have a lot of questions in my life for God, and I'm sure you do too. We don't understand everything and we won't understand everything, but hear me, maybe you're here today and you have major questions about the resurrection, so much so that you have objections. I want you to know that there are five major objections to the resurrection.
Speaker 1:Number one people say, wait, what if his body was just stolen? Okay, well, let's just think that out for a second. You're telling me 12 fishermen that Jesus called are going to go and fight, 16 armed, trained Roman soldiers. Win the fight, roll a two-ton stone away, grab the body of a dead man, take it out, not show it to anybody, and it's going to result in 2.6 billion people on the planet believing in Jesus. Some people say, well, maybe Jesus really didn't die, maybe he was just passed out, maybe he was just in a coma. Let's chase that down for just one second. These are trained Roman executioners who scourged him, who crucified him, and even history tells us that they thrust a spear into his side which said that water and blood came out, meaning that even the fluid around his heart had ruptured. And you're telling me he went into a coma and he went into a grave for three days with no food, no water, and he is able to move a two-ton stone and by himself, fight 16 Roman soldiers. I still want to believe in that guy. Amen, but he died. He rose from the dead.
Speaker 1:Some people say, well, maybe they went to the wrong tomb. Okay, maybe Mary and Mary went to the wrong tomb. Maybe the disciples went to the wrong tomb. Maybe the Roman guards were guarding the wrong tomb. Maybe the disciples went to the wrong tomb. Maybe the Roman guards were guarding the wrong tomb. Maybe Joseph of Arimathea, who owned the tomb, who actually dug it out himself. Maybe he took the body of Jesus to the wrong tomb. Maybe the angel from heaven got the wrong directions and went to the wrong tomb, but still nobody could come up with the body from the right tomb.
Speaker 1:Number four some people say, well, jesus' disciples, maybe they were hallucinating. Jesus appeared to over 500 people, people that were able to talk with him. They were eyewitnesses, they allowed people to come up and question them, people that talked to him, people that touched him, people that saw him, people that ate with him. And even if people have hallucinations, you don't have 500 people all seeing the same hallucination at the same time in all kinds of different places. Number five some people say, well, maybe Jesus's resurrection is just a legend. He appeared to 500 people. They all told their testimonies. Anybody could come and talk to them at any time.
Speaker 1:And here's what I believe is the greatest witness of the gospel that this is true. This is what changes our life's questions into faith. This is where Jesus becomes the fulfillment of our expectations, our ambition, our affection and our questions. Here's what I need you to see. Did you know that every single one of those disciples died for their faith in Jesus? Peter was crucified upside down because he said he was unworthy to die like Jesus. They crucified Andrew on an X-shaped cross. John was the only one of the 12 disciples who didn't die as a martyr, but they boiled him in a vat of oil and he survived. They banned him to an island with nobody there, and he lived. But Philip Bartholomew, matthew, thomas, james, thaddeus, simon and Matthias were all martyred for their faith.
Speaker 1:And hear me, nobody dies for a lie. Every one of them died saying you can take my life, but you can't have my faith, because I saw him with my own eyes, I touched him, I heard him, I believed in him and he rose from the dead. And I'm telling you, when you come and see and you see Jesus for who he is, you can't help but go and tell so that other people can experience him, like you, with every head bowed and every eye closed this morning. I just wanna give you that opportunity. Maybe you're here this morning and I just want to give you that opportunity.
Speaker 1:Maybe you're here this morning and you just came, didn't even want to be here invited, just wanted to be with family, and maybe God has spoken to you in a personal way this morning and God has helped you to see, and maybe this is your day where you just, you just gotta give your life to Jesus. You don't have any other choice. You get it, you see it, you believe it, you want it. So, right here, right now, I wanna encourage you just to pray and you can say dear Jesus, I love you, I need you and I believe in you.
Speaker 1:You can say I believe that, jesus, you died on the cross for my sin and I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. And you can tell him. You say dear Jesus, I believe that you rose from the dead, I believe that you're alive and you're real. And, jesus, I call on you to be the Lord of my life, my master, my savior, my God, my all. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart, then you believe with your heart that he rose from the dead. You will be saved, jesus, we thank you for that promise. Thank you for saving anyone and everyone that prayed that prayer this morning and meant it with all of their heart, giving their life to you. We love you in Jesus' name. And all God's people said would you put your hands together for anybody that prayed that prayer this morning? The Bible says that heaven rejoices every time a sinner repents and gives their life to Jesus. We are so thankful for all that God is doing and I just wanna encourage you right here, right now, that God is moving. Jesus is moving, jesus is alive.
Speaker 1:Look at somebody and tell them Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive and that means that he can be alive in you. That means he's moving in you, that means he's moving among us and that means that we worship him. Can we stand right now and we're gonna worship Jesus, not just because he's alive. We're gonna worship Jesus because he wasn't there at the tomb. We're gonna worship Jesus because he's right there at the tomb. We're gonna worship Jesus because he's right here with us this morning. Can I get an amen church On this Easter Sunday? Jesus is with us and we're gonna worship him like he's in the room, because he is. Let's worship Jesus right now together.