The Church of Eleven22 - He Is Risen Indeed - Easter 2025

Episode Date: April 20, 2025

Why do you look for the living among the dead? - The Church of Eleven22® is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Eleven22 is led by Pastor Joby Martin and based in Jacksonville, Florida, with multiple campuses throughout Jacksonville and the surrounding areas. To find out more about how God is moving at Eleven22, go to CoE22.com

Amen and amen and amen. How many have you know if the tomb is empty, anything is possible? Amen? And that is not a question. That is a propositional statement. If you have put your faith in the resurrected Christ, then anything is possible. If God has already pulled off the greatest miracle of all time, breathing life into his stead son, then he could breathe new life into you.

He could reconcile us with a holy God. There is hope for your marriage. There's hope for you. There's hope for your healing. There's hope for your prodigal to come home. If the tomb is empty, anything is possible. and you have walked into a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ.

No matter who you are or what you've done or where you've been, you could go from the club to the front row. Lauren is right here on the front row. Would you please welcome her as we celebrate the resurrected Christ? Thank you. Thank you. Hey, if you got your Bibles, I hope you do. You're going to need it.

Luke chapter 24 is where we're going to be. If you're new with us, that's what we do. Every single week, we just walk through the Bible. If you didn't bring a Bible, there's one right in front of you. We would encourage you to grab that, and you can use that. feel free to take it home. If you want your very own Bible, just go by our lost and found, and you can get a nice leatherbound Bible with somebody else's name engraved on it on your way out. That'd be great. And so whether you're here all the time or you're brand new here,

I hesitate to call you a guest. I say this every single year. And the reason I don't want to call you a guest is like when Gretchen and I have guests at our house, we love guests and we would welcome you to our home. We would feed you. We would roll out the red carpet for you. But we have an expectation that you're not going to stay. You're not going to move into my house. but I want you to stay. I would like for you to join this faith family. We do this every single week. So maybe you're not a guest.

Maybe you're just like pre-family and you don't know it yet. So we hope that you'll meet Jesus here, you'll meet friends here, and that you will get plugged into this family. So we are here to celebrate the greatest event of all events. Let me ask you this question. Have you ever experienced a moment and you knew that moment was going to change everything? I don't know if you realize this, but 250 years ago yesterday was a moment in time that changed all of human history from that moment to this moment.

It was known as the shot heard around the world. It was the first shot that led to the Revolutionary War in the battle between Lexington and Concord. And that led to the Revolutionary War, which led to America. And this is part of the reason we can be here to worship God freely today. Or if you're old enough, you remember when the planes flew into the World Trade Centers on 9-11, and you watched that and you knew this is going to change everything. Or that moment when Keeley Ringo of the Georgia Bulldogs intercepted Alabama and ran it all the way back for a national championship first time in 40 years, and you know God is good all the time, you know?

Have you ever been part of a movement or a moment? Sometimes it's not some big worldwide national league. Sometimes it's a very personal thing. Like I remember 25 years ago when I'm looking at that girl right there, and we are, We are exchanging vows, and she's changing her name from nicely to Martin, and I knew this moment's going to change everything. Or a few years later, the first time I held our first babies, and I know this moment is going to change everything. What we remember and what we celebrate and what we point to at Easter is not just an event. It is the event that is the greatest event in all of human history, and that event changes everything.

And the event is that Jesus came out of the grave. Jesus was dead and now he is alive. And this is the biggest thing that has ever happened. And some of you go, even bigger than Christmas, it's way bigger than Christmas. Now Christmas is a big deal to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But let me ask you, do you have a birthday? Uh-huh. Do you have a resurrection day?

Uh-uh. This is a big event. And this event, if you experience, this changes everything about everything about everything. If the tomb is empty, anything is possible, including sinners like you and me being reconciled to a holy God. This is what we celebrate. Christians don't have faith than faith. We have faith in an actual event that Jesus conquered sin and death. And because he walked out of the tomb, you and I can walk out of the grave tomb.

Luke chapter 24, it starts out this way. It starts out with a conjunction. But, so you've got to know what's happening before the butt. So I've got to do 23 chapters of Luke real quick. Okay, just hanging here. We'll skip a few parts. But Luke lets us know that God so loves the world that he gives, his only begotten son, and the second person of the Trinity is born as a baby in a manger

through a miraculous birth through the Virgin Mary. And then he grows up, he kind of lives in utter obscurity for about 30 years. And when he's about 30 years old, he shows up on the scene. And his cousin, John the baptizer, is baptizing people in the Jordan. And he's yelling at him saying, repent. and be baptized. And then when Jesus of Nazareth shows up on the scene, John the Baptist says, hey, behold, that means pay attention. There he is, the Lamb of God, who's come to take away the sin of the entire world. And Jesus walks into the Jordan and he's baptized. The heavens open up. God

the Father speaks out loud and says, behold, my son, in whom I am well pleased. And then Jesus goes about his mission. And the reason that Jesus came was to save sinners like you and me. He begins to teach, He begins to preach. He begins to do signs and wonders, miracles. But he was not primarily a teacher or a preacher or even a miracle worker. The reason that he came was to be about what his cousin John said. He was going to be the Lamb of God who would shed his blood for the forgiveness of anyone who would believe. And every time he'd preach and every time he would teach and every time he would do a miracle,

he was always pointing to God's redemptive plan to reconcile sinful people like me and you with a holy and a just God. And while he was teaching, he had the audacity to make some crazy claims. He claimed that he was the son of God. He claimed that he and God the Father were won. He said that he was the only way that you could have a relationship with God. He said things like, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. And then he backed it up with miracles. People started to follow him, big, big crowds, which got him in trouble.

with the religious leaders, they didn't like it because they began to lose control. It also got him in trouble with Rome because they began to lose control. So they conspired against him, and little did they know they were but pawns in the hand of an almighty God, playing the plan that God had planned out

before the beginning of time. When Jesus knew that his time had come to be the sacrificial, atoning sacrifice for you and me, he gathers his disciples together in what we know as the last supper. They sit around the table, they're celebrating the Passover,

he breaks the bread, and offers the wine as a picture of his broken body and shed blood on the cross. Then that night, he takes his disciples to this place called the Garden of Gassimini. It's at the bottom of the Mount of Olives. It's just over the Kidron Valley from the city of Jerusalem. It was one of his favorite places to go and pray.

He tells to the disciples, hey boys, we all stay up and pray for me. And then he picks three of them, Peter, James, and John, and says, hey, come a little farther, and will you stay up all night? And I need you to pray for me. Jesus is filling the weight of the sins. of the sin of the world on his shoulders.

And what he says he needs is some brothers to pray for him. Which, by the way, if you were the kind of person that claims to be a Christian, but you don't think you need anybody for your walk with Jesus, I would lovingly tell you who the heck do you think you are. I mean, you don't have to join this church, but you need somebody. If the almighty son of God, second person of the Trinity, who spoke all things into existence, and by his power holds all things together, if he found a point in his life where he had to have some brothers praying for him, then don't you think you might need some brothers and

sisters around you to be praying for you? Well, they fell asleep because that's what church people do. And Jesus prays. And he prays with such intensity that he is sweating like drops of blood. And here's his prayer in the Garden of Gassimony, knowing that the cross is before him. And he says, Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. Here's what Jesus is pray. God, if there's any other way for sinful man to be reconciled to a holy God, can we go with that? I mean, like if Oprah and Deepak and Rob Bell are right and all roads just lead to heaven, then it seems like an awful waste of my blood on the cross tomorrow, does it not? I mean, if I could just be good enough, if you could just obey the law, if good people go to heaven, if you can align

your chakra, if the Buddha was right and you may start out as a grasshopper, but you get enough laps around the merry, go around and eventually, Nirvana, then why don't we go with one of those? Father, if there be any other way for sin to be paid for, and for your children to be adopted into your family and be made right with you, let's go with that. But not my will, but your will be done. And the next day, he is crucified. And on the cross, Jesus drinks of the cup of God. That cup represented a full wrath of God that had been stored up against sin and sinners. And the reason, the reason is because God is just and all sin must be paid for. For God to just overlook sin or to discount skin would make him an unjust judge. It would make him unholy. And he cannot do that.

And so because God is just, all sin must be paid for. But because God is merciful, he delays the payment. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. Anybody a sinner in here? Just the person sitting in your seat, okay? Well, then what are we doing here if we deserve death? Because of God's mercy, he delayed the payment that we might hear the gospel. And because of God's grace, he made the payment on our behalf. He is the just and the justifier. At the cross of Jesus Christ, Jesus endures the full wrath of God. He drinks down the cup of God's wrath to the very last drop, slams it down, and declares it is finished. And because he drank of the cup of wrath, you and I are invited to drink of the cup of grace that we would have our

sins forgiven and be adopted into his family. That's what he's praying in the garden. Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me, not why I will, but your will be done. And then he's arrested and he's taken before several different courts. There's actually three different courts. There's about six different trials that he goes through. It seems to me that nobody wants to be the person to slam down the gavel and pronounce him guilty because they know he's not guilty. So he starts at Caiaphas's house. Caiaphas lives just right around the corner for the Mount of Olives. His house is still there today. He had a pit in the bottom of his house. They put him in the pit. Caiaphas is the high priest. He's got religious power, but not political power. And so they

kind of beat him up. They put a sack over his head. They punch Jesus in the face. They say, you say you're a prophet who hit you. They pluck out his beard, but he does not have the power to have Jesus crucified. So Caiaphas sends him to Herod. Herod's the big boss. Herod doesn't know what's going on. Herod has heard rumors that this Jesus of Nazareth may do miracles. And he says, are you the king of the Jews? And Jesus just doesn't answer. And so he sends him to Pilate. Pilots like the governor of Jerusalem.

He works for Rome. And Pilate interviews Jesus. And Pilate gets to the place where he realizes this man has done nothing wrong. You can tell it. It doesn't seem that Pilate wants to have him crucified. He brings Jesus out in front of the whole crowd and says, what shall I do with this man named Jesus? By the way, that's the most important question that you will ever deal with in all of your life.

What will you do with this man named Jesus? There's only two options on the table. You can accept him, receive him for who he says he is, or you can reject him, and to ignore him is too rejected. And the crowd yells, crucify him, kill him. You see, your answer to that question, what will you do with this man named Jesus will determine your destiny forever and ever and ever? Pilots still not sure what you do. He pulls Jesus aside. He has him beaten and flogged.

Pilate's wife comes to him. Says, I don't think you should do this. Husbands, you ever got an advice from your wife that you didn't listen to? It's been happening for 2,000 years. That's what Pilate did. By the way, this isn't in the Bible. I'm just going to give you this for free because I see a bunch of dumb husbands out here. Listen, when you have a decision to make, here's why you should take advice from your wife.

You ready? Here's three reasons. One, nobody loves you like she loves you. Nobody knows you like she knows. you and nobody is less impressed by you than your wife. So she's going to give you good advice. Well, Pilots a dummy. He's like, I'll do what I want. And so he ignores his wife's advice. And so he comes up with a scheme. He still doesn't want to declare Jesus guilty. And so there was a custom in Jerusalem once a year they would let one criminal go free.

And so Pilate brings out Barabbas. Barabbas is a known murderer. Barabbas is an insurrectionist. Barabbas ran a gang in Jerusalem of trying to overthrow the government. And he brings out this man that everybody knows is guilty, and he brings out a man that he can find no guilt in Jesus. And he says, what should I do? And the crowd says, crucified Jesus, give us Barabbas. And Barabbas, the guilty one, goes free, and Jesus, the innocent one, pays the price. By the way, if you're a Christian, we are Barabbas. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, he went to the cross on your behalf, and you and I go free.

And so they jammed a crown of thorns on Jesus's head. After he is flogged, they put a cross beam on his back. He carries it through Jerusalem and outside of the city gate. And in a place called Galgotha, the place of the skull, Jesus, the son of God, is crucified. Nine-inch nails are driven through his hands and through his feet. It's the most painful way a human being can be killed. In fact, the English word excruciating comes from this word.

It means from the cross. And most people from the cross when they were crucified, they died of asphyxiation. They would drown on their own lung fluid. And on that cross, Jesus is who John the Baptist says that he is. Behold, the lamb is being slain for the forgiveness of our sins. Seven times while Christ is on the cross, he pushes up on his nail-pierced feet, and he says things. And the very first thing that he says is, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Why? Because this is why Jesus primarily came. He did not come as a good moral example or just a good teacher or even a religious leader. He came so that we could be forgiven of our sin, that he would be the payment for our sin because God made him who was without sin to be sin for us, that we could be made the righteousness of God. Next, the thieves on either side of him began to speak. One of them looks at him and it's like, if you are who you say you are, then why don't

you save yourself and save us with you. Then the thief on the other side talks back. He's like, bro, do you even know who you're talking to? It's a very loose translation. That's kind of what he says. Bro, what do you doing? We are here because we deserve to be here. We are criminals. This man has done nothing wrong. By the way, a whole bunch of people come to church the way that first criminal does. God, if you are who you say you are, then here's what you better do for me. And the other criminal knows that his only hope is grace. And so he asked Jesus for a favor. A favor is when you ask somebody to do for you what you can't do for you and you have not earned it. And he says, Jesus, will you do me a favor?

Will you remember me when you go before your father in heaven? This man could not pass a theology exam. He had not done anything good in his life. And from that day forward, he could not do anything good in his life. What he was simply believing is that somehow Jesus died on the cross could count for him. And then Jesus says, truly, truly, I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise. If anybody in the New Testament ever made it to heaven, this brother on the cross did, which means this, I don't care how far gone you think you are, that there is more grace in Jesus than sin in you.

And if you will cry out, Jesus, will you do me a favor? Will you save me? His answer to that is yes. He says, truly, truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Then after some time, he pushes up and he quotes Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Psalm 22 is a messianic prophecy about the coming Messiah that would be pure. for our transgressions. Then he sees his mom in the crowd. And Jesus says, woman, behold your son, son, behold your mother. Listen, some of you think God is distant. He's not distant. From the cross,

Jesus saw somebody that he loved and he had time to take care of her. He sees you. He knows you. You're important to him. Then he says, I thirst. And the last things that he said, two things, are kind of jammed together. He pushed up on his nail pierce feet and he says, it is finished. into that hands I commit my spirit. That Greek word for it is finished is to tell us I. It can also be translated paid in full. But he didn't say he was finished because he wasn't finished. And what was finished is the sacrificial system has been fully and finally satisfied.

What is finished is the days of religious rights to try to clean yourself up or over because Christ shed blood is what washes us clean. What is finished is the lies of the enemy telling you that you were unfit for use. And now Jesus is declaring, therefore now there is no way. condemnation for those who were in Christ Jesus, that all of that is finished and you and I can be made right before God. That in the first century, if you had a loan, when you paid it off, the bankers would take your loan and they would stamp the word to tell us die on it. And it meant paid in full. And for anybody who would believe when Jesus Christ died on the cross, that counted

for me. He takes your sin debt and he stamps the phrase, it is paid in full on it. And then he gives up his life. And the religious leaders come to the Romans and say, hey, we got to get the bodies down. The Sabbath is about to begin. And so they break the legs of the two thieves on the side. Jesus appears to be dead because he already is. He has given up his spirit. And so the Roman soldier takes a spear and jabs it up under the ribcage of Jesus. It pierces his heart. They take the dead body of the son of God down and they bury him in a rich man's tomb. And Joseph of Arimathea's tomb. And if you and I were standing there that day, we would think, God, have you lost control? Have you completely lost control?

And this side of the resurrection, we know that God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are called according to his purpose. And I'm telling you, I have walked with some of you when we have looked at God and be like, God, what are you doing? And I am here to tell you that God is good and he is good at being God. Our friend Lisa Turker has taught us that. And that he is in charge. And I'm here to tell you is that if the situation isn't good yet, it's because he's not done. done because God works in all things for the good of those that love Him and are called according to his purpose.

And though it seemed hopeless on Friday, I got good news, Sunday's coming. So by the time we get to, the first word of Luke chapter 24, I just covered the first 23 chapters. I skip some of the stories, but basically that's what's happened up to this point. So but on the first day of the week, at early dawn, by the way, this is why the church gathers on Sunday morning, because we celebrate the resurrection of Christ every time we get gather. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they, and the they here is a group of women. They went to the tomb taking the spices that they had prepared. Well, there's a bunch going

on here. I don't want you to miss it. Okay. So in the first century, it's very different than like in America today. In the first century, the women, they weren't citizens. They couldn't give testimony in a court of law. So if you were making up a story, then there's no way in the world that you would attribute the very first witnesses of the empty tomb to a group of women. They couldn't even testify about it. So why does the Bible say that the women were the first there? Because this is a fact. This is not fiction. Because the first group to ever show up at the empty tomb, the first eyewitnesses, was a group of women. And the reason that they've got the spices to go prepared, to go find dead Jesus is because if you read at the end of chapter 23,

they saw a group of men that prepared the body. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus' body down and prepared it. And so wives, have you ever had to clean up after the cleanup? You know what I'm about? Like you do a cookout and your husband's like, hey, I'll clean the kitchen. And you're like, that's adorable. And then you have to clean up afterwards. It's been going on for 2,000 years. All right. So they've got to clean up to clean up. So they go to the tomb with the spices that they had prepared. And when they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. By the way, a few Bible nerds, this is the first time in the Bible the phrase Lord Jesus has been used. Now notice what were the ladies expecting to find?

They were expecting to find dead Jesus. They were so caught up in the circumstances that they missed Jesus. Now let me tell you why this worries me to death as the lead pastor of the church of 1122. Because man, I'm going to tell you, you look great today. You look great. You look way better than you did last week. And you get all, we all get dressed up and our Easter best. You know, some of you just tuck your shirt in. Thank you very much for even doing that, all right? And you do all the things, man. You do all the things. You're going to take pictures and you're going to go to Easter dinner and the families together.

And you do all the things. Listen, I'm not anti any of the things. I hope you win the Easter egg hunt, okay? I hope you've got a good Christian chocolate rabbit. Not one of those worldly ones. It's all empty in the middle. That'll preach. But I hope you get one full of the abundant life, chocolate, head to toe.

All right? I'm not anti any of those things. But one of the things that often happens is we get all caught up in our circumstances and we can miss Jesus. Please, whatever you do, as we sing and preach and experience this moment together, please don't miss Jesus. These women missed the whole point.

They're looking for dead Jesus. Look at verse four. But while they were perplexed about this, the women showed up and were, where'd you go? Behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. Some people say they're angels. I think they were in the band, but whatever. And as they were frightened, the women bowed down their faces to the ground, and the men said to them,

why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. And I think the angels are perplexed, that the women are perplexed. They say, remember how he told you? Did nobody write this down? It was the whole point of it was coming. He talked about it over and over and over, and it just went right over your head. Remember how he told you while he was still in Gallagher? that the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise and they remembered his words. Oh yeah. And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the 11 until all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and the mother of and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. There's so much here

that I love. First of them foremost, it makes me feel so much better as a preacher because Jesus is the greatest preacher who has ever lived. And his audience couldn't remember what he said. So it makes me feel like it's not my fault when you guys don't remember what I say. In fact, if you would just do what I said and remember, then we could move on to the next stuff. That's why I got to do the same thing over and over and over and over. And it's not like he was being tricky about it. He said it over and over In fact, in Luke chapter 9, verse 22, here's what Jesus said. Jesus saying, the son of man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. If I was a part of that group, I think I'd be like, somebody want to jot that down?

That sounds important, but they didn't. Luke 18, nine chapters later, here it is again, and taking the 12, that's the disciples, Jesus said to them, see, we are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written about the son of man by the prophets, will be accomplished. For he, me, will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon and after flogging him, they will kill him and on the third day he will rise. But they understood none of these things. Bless their heart. This saying was hidden from them and they did not grasp what was said. Well, that's really good news for us. You know why? If you're a little slow on the uptake when it comes to the Bible study stuff, if there's some stuff you just don't understand, if you've got some doubts, if you've got

some unanswered questions, then I got really good news. You can make a great disciple because the original disciples missed the whole point of everything. And I think the angels were the ones that were blown away. I think the angels are like, do you not remember? We have been looking forward to this day from eternity past now. I was just in heaven seven minutes ago, and they are partying like rock stars up there. In fact, when we got here for Easter Sunday, we fully expected all of you to be standing outside of the tomb with a countdown going, here he comes. five, four, three, two, move that bus. And you guys weren't even here.

What are you doing? Man, aren't you glad that the Lord does not wait for us to figure it out before he comes and gets us? I hope you know that to be true. And so these women show up and they're looking for life in a place where there is no life. They're looking for dead Jesus and he is not there. He is risen. And so here's what the angels ask that I want to ask us. Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here. He is risen. And every single one of us are on this kind of life quest, are we not? Every single one of us. I mean, we live in a country where we pursue life and liberty. Praise God for those. And the pursuit of happiness. Oh, help us.

I mean, we are all on this pursuit of meaning and purpose and fulfillment and life. And the reality is the things of this world cannot give us what we're looking for. And I didn't make this up. John, one of the apostles, he writes a bunch of letters in the Bible. And in 1 John, chapter 2, verse 15, the apostle John says this, do not love the world or the things in the world. Now that might be confusing if you've been around Bible study because John 316 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

So which one is it? Well, in John 316, what the Bible means is God loves the people of this world. So he sent Jesus on a rescue mission. But in 1 John 2.15, it says we are not to love the world. That means we are not to adopt the systems in the bow. of the world. So we are supposed to reject the systems and values of this world and love the people of this world. And so many people, including church people, get those two things reversed. And we adopt the systems and values of this world and begin to reject people that Jesus came to

die for. So John says, do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves this world, the love of the father is not in him. And if you're honest, I know this is the church, no place for honesty. But if you're honest in your Bible, you should write down, Oh, because aren't there some things about this world that you kind of into? Verse 16, for all that is in the world. And then the Bible is going to tell us everything that this world has to offer us.

And it's three things. Now, the ESV that you have in your lap there says the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. But I like the way the old King James translated. Anybody grew up with the Old King James? I know some of you. Some of you went to Sunday school with him, so I got it.

So it uses the word lust. lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. And you know that word lust me. Say lust. Say it one more time, lust. It's a little aggressive over here, but you know what I'm saying. That's that desire deep within, right? You have these appetites that lead you to do things that you know you shouldn't do,

but they just kind of take over. We have these appetites and they have a very short vocabulary. Our appetites, our desires, our lust, just say more and now, more and now. and they're never fully finally satisfied. So John says the enemy has been tempting us with these three things, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

And these things are not from the Father, but it's from the world. And the world is passing away along with its lust or desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. And here's the reality. We live in a world that spends billions of dollars a day to try to find life,

try to find our identity in one of these three things, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And I'm just here to tell you, life is not in those things. Let me explain what I mean. When you hear lust of the flesh, you probably think sex. And sex is a part of it, but it's like a subcategory of a greater idea. The lust of the flesh is this idea that we think we deserve to feel a certain way. You ever negotiate with yourself about how you should feel?

Do you ever notice when you negotiate with yourself, you do a really good job? job. You always tend to win that, right? And let me ask you this. Have you ever, have you ever been led astray by your feelings? Yeah, this is how Taco Bell stays open. Tell me I'm lying. Does anybody have Taco Bell on their calendar right now? No, nobody's like, you know what we should do next Thursday Taco Bell. No, no, no, that's not how it works. What happens is the only reason that place stays open is because you're driving home late, probably doing something we shouldn't have been doing, and then you see that sign open late, and you hear French horns. If you're an old, you're an old head, you hear dream we're like, we got to get some Taco Bell.

This sounds like a great idea. That's exactly what I need. And then what happens? You pull in the drive-through and you see that sign and you see a picture of a chalupa. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your entire life than a chalupa at 2 o'clock in the morning? I'm telling you, you're like, that looks delicious. Dude, it's amazing what the photographers of the Taco Bell can do, is it not? I mean, so if you're engaged, you know, if you're looking for a wedding photographer,

I would check into the Taco Bell people. Because if they can do that with the Chalupa, imagine what they could do with you all gussied up in your white dress, man, they'd probably make you look good. So, anyway, and so you order this thing, and it tastes so good. And then the next morning, you think, I have done something horribly wrong. See, this is lust of the flesh. And it could be food.

Or it could be sex, or it could be a vacation, or you could be self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. You know, that one drink turns into three, turns in the four, and you think I deserve to feel this way because you don't know what I've been through. Or it could be some relationship and you were looking for that other person to somehow make you feel a way.

Or in our culture right now that is obsessed with therapy, this is non-biblical therapy. I'm pro-therapy as long as the person that you're getting help from. Your counselor has a biblical worldview that's going to tell you who you are because of who God is. But a lot of times what people get wrapped around now

is just self-actualization, bathed in self-indulgence, and you're just circling the drain of your own feelings. But feelings are a gift from God, but they make a terrible God. Or people say, you know what? No, we worship freedom. Like, you can't tell me what to do. I do what I want.

One of the biggest lies from the enemy that is lust of the flesh is you do, you, boo. That ain't good, man. This is lust of the flesh. And what's crazy about it is it could be, you could try to self-medicate with cookies or crack. Now, listen, given the choice, I would suggest cookies. I'm not super familiar with crack, but it doesn't go good. But it also doesn't go good when you try to self-medicate because you're looking for a feeling. This is what lust of the flesh is.

There's no life there. Then there's lust of the eyes. This is about stuff. Lust of the eyes is a desire to have. And we all have a tendency to do this, okay? I mean, we try to, we were like, well, I just like nice things. Everybody thinks they like nice things. You ever be like scrolling Amazon and you're like, I didn't even know I needed that until I've seen this.

And now I have to have it, right? Well, listen, if you're new to 11, 20, to, we lovingly call the pursuit of things. There's nothing wrong with things, but when you put your hope in these things is bad. We lovingly call this the cul-de-sac of stupidity. Not because stuff is stupid, because you're stupid. Me too. You ever get you some new clothes? And it actually makes you feel like a good person. I mean, get you a suit with your name in here. You feel like 007 out here preaching, man. But think about it when you try on some new clothes. What do you do? You take the clothes that used to make you feel that way, but somehow they've lost that loving feeling.

And now you're standing in the dressing room, you take those things off. You throw them in a pile and you say, you should go to hell, you bad clothes. And then you put on new pants and you're like, oh my gosh, look at me. Well, then what happens? Here's the dumb part. They don't do for you what you hope they'll do for you, whether it's a house or a car or a vacation house or whatever it is. It's just stuff. And when that stuff lets you down, you go, I have an idea.

I need more and different stuff. Take another lap, dummy. That's what that is. Is there anything wrong with stuff? No, as long as it's a means to an end, and you're not worshipping it. You see, the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Ain't nothing wrong with money until you love it. Because your money lies to you, and here's the lie your money tells you.

You never thought about this. Your money says, come here, come here. If you love me, I'll love you back. You will money? Mm-hmm. I'll take care of you. I'll give you satisfaction and security. And it can't do that for you.

This is lust of the eyes. And then the third one is the pride of life. If lust of the flesh is the desire to feel and the lust of the eyes is the desire to have, the pride of life is the desire to be. Like, I'm going to be somebody. This is about status and fame and lights and blue checks and followers. I mean, we are the first people in human history

that desire to have anything to do with viral. You understand this. This is not good. This is the applause of man. this is chasing after the degree or the job title and you spend all of your time climbing up this corporate ladder and then you realize that it's leaning against the wrong wall. Now that doesn't mean what you're doing is wrong only if you worship what you're doing. I fully believe God has placed you in the place for his glory so that you can love him and love people.

But when you begin to love you and use people to try to get there, this is the pride of life. You see, this is self-improvement. This is all you hustle bros. They listen to about 15 podcasts and cold plunge and you do all that. That's fine, man. That's fine. But the thing is, if all you ever do is work on the exterior and you neglect your soul, then you are going to be lost.

I mean, cool, man. You can work out and get you some abs. That's neat. That's neat. But have you ever met any person with abs living the abundant life? They can't even eat cake at a birthday party. You fool? And I'm telling you, if you get you some abs, you should take a picture of them.

You ain't going to have them forever. So let me say your abs. It's like, all right, there they are. Six years ago, I had one, all right? This could be chasing after degrees. What's crazy, here's how tricky the enemy is. You realize that religion is just self-improvement with a quiet robe and a set of rules.

When you're trying to be the best version of you to try to earn your relationship with God, it is an empty pursuit. You see, the problem with all three of these is even if you achieve all of your goals, if this time next year you come walking in here with abs and cash falling out of your pockets and you've been voted man of the year

is still just you. And you will lay your head down on the pillow and you will begin to think, is this it? And this isn't it, man. You see, the reality is the only way that we're going to find life is in the one that came out of the grave. Here's Exhibit A.

See Hollywood. These are the best-looking, richest, most famous people in the world. And does anybody want their personal life? I mean, by and large, their lives are like a dumpster fire and no offense to any dumpsters. It is the worst because they have bought in to this. Now, if you're honest, all of us have a tendency to get tricked by one of these and we go looking for life in one of these three areas. And if you've been tricked, if you've been down that road, here's what I need you to know, the enemy has tried to bait you down that road so he can laugh at your demise when you get to the end of it.

He's been doing this from the very beginning. If you go all the way back to Genesis chapter 3, it's how it started. The Bible says this in Genesis 3-1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? By the way, that's not what he said. He actually said, you are free to eat from all the trees of the garden except that one will kill you. And I love you enough to tell you don't eat from that one.

God is a God of freedom, not restraint. and the enemy always wants us to think that God is about rules and not relationships. That is not true. Then when God created the very first man, he created him face to face. He created his wife from his ribs so that they would be side by side in a perfect relationship with God. God wasn't into rules. Do you realize that before sin entered the world, there was only one thou shalt not. Do not eat from that tree.

There was a bunch of thou shouts like subdue and cultivate. You're going to join me and working. One of my favorite thou shouts in the body. I don't know if you know this one. It was be fruitful and multiply. In case you don't know Hebrew, that's Hebrew for bow, chikin' wow, wow. That's how we're going to make babies in the covenant of marriage. God came up with that. That was God's idea. He's a good God. Amen. Let's go. But the enemy comes, and everything that God creates, the enemy tries to corrupt and twists. And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, you shall I eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. neither shall you touch it lest you die.

God never said that part. But the servant said to the woman, you will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God. See, every time the enemy comes slithering up into our life, he always tries to get us to doubt at least three things about God, the word of God, the work of God, and the worth of God.

Then look what he does. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that's called lust of the flesh, that will make me feel good. And that it was a delight to the eyes. That's the lust of the eyes. I didn't even know I wanted that till I saw it. And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

That's the pride of life. You can't tell me. And she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were open and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin claws. And they rejected God both with rebellion. forget you, I do what I want, and religion. We don't need you.

We will make a covering for ourselves. And from that moment, every single thing God creates, the enemy tries to corrupt. Is there anything wrong with food and fitness and finances? No. They're actually avenues by which we can worship the God who has given them to us. But when we begin to worship ourselves through those things, then we are like these women that are milling around in a cemetery looking for life and there's just not life to be found there. You see, but God had a plan from the very beginning for us to live life.

The way the gospel of John starts is this way. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God, and He was in the beginning. God, all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. This is all about Jesus. And in Jesus was life, and the life was the light of men. That we were not meant to find life in the temporary things of this world, but Jesus is our source of light in life. And if you begin to think, okay, so then how do I sign up for that? Later in that same chapter, John says, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So let me ask you, I mean, be honest, be serious. Don't

fake it. I know everybody fakes it at church, okay? But the fake you's doing just fine. Leave her on Instagram. But a real Jesus down on the real cross for the real you. And really, where are you looking for life? In the resurrected Savior? Or through some stuff? Or through

some relationships? Or through some status? And Jesus says, no, no, no, you're going to find life in me. You see, because we do have an enemy and he's a thief. And he is trying to bait you down a road to kill, steal, and destroy you. Because he hates you. but Jesus says, but I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly. And so the women hear from the angels, why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here. He is risen. And so they run back to tell the rest of the disciples back to Luke chapter 24. And they're like, you're not going to believe this. And they're right because they didn't believe them. Beginning back in verse 11, but these words seemed to them like an idle tale and they did not believe them. but Peter rose and he ran to the tomb stooping and looking in, and he saw the linen cloths by themselves.

And he went home marveling in what had happened. You see, it wasn't enough for Peter to simply hear it. Peter had to experience it himself. So the greatest moment of all moments, the greatest event in all of human history is that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, and then on the third day, he was resurrected from the dead. And even though that moment happened, it will not matter to you unless it happens to you.

You like Peter have to have to experience it yourself. Have you ever experienced the resurrected Christ on a personal level? You see, here's what's crazy. The actual desire deep in us to want to feel a certain way and to have some things and to be somebody, it's not actually bad at all. It's a part of the fingerprint of God in you. The problem is when we look to somewhere or something that cannot provide it. The only one that can provide us with the feeling and the being and the having that we actually need is Jesus.

Like, you want to feel a certain way? You know what Jesus offers to us? One of his nicknames is the Prince of Peace. And isn't that what we're actually looking for? Like, that's what that vacation is. what that therapy is and that's what that long walk on the beach is. And sometimes those things can be vehicles to know the peace of Jesus. But if you're looking for those feelings in the bottom of a Ben and Jerry's can, it's not going to be there. And Jesus says, come to me all who are

weary and heavy burdened. Anybody worn out? Anybody worn out by their job? Anybody worn out by some broken relationships. Anybody worn out because you're pursuing this deep satisfaction in your life and you just can't seem to find it? Religion's one of the worst, man. If you've been to one of these places they say you've got to clean yourself up to make yourself accessible to God, man, that is exhausting, is it not? And Jesus says, yeah, I'm talking to you. Come to me if you are worn out. And he says this, I will give you rest for your soul. Paul says in Philippians that Jesus can give us a peace that transcends understanding, that Jesus can guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. That's the feeling that we're looking for.

Hey, listen, man, and you want some stuff? Ain't nothing wrong with stuff. Just don't chase after all the temporary stuff of this world and put your hope in it. You know why? Because you're going to leave it all here. It's going to be very, very temporary. Those pants that you just had to have, you realize when you die, then your kids are going to go through your clothes and they're going to hold up these pants that you just had to have.

Look at mom's pants. And they're going to make fun of you for these pants. And then they're going to drop them off to us at Hope's closet. And we're going to sell your pants for $2. And this will really hurt your feelings. And somebody you don't even know is going to look better in your pants while you did. Selah. That's just it, man.

But you know what the Bible says, don't store up for yourselves treasures here on earth. They're going to rust and moth will tear it up. But store up for yourself treasures in heaven, which will be there forever. You know the only thing you're going to be. if you can take to heaven, praise us in people, man. So we need to take as many people to heaven as we can. And there's some stuff in heaven. You realize this?

Jesus says, oh, you want to live in a nice neighborhood? I'm building one for you. He says, I tell you, I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if we're not, so I wouldn't have told you this because I'm coming back to take you home. And where I'm going, you know the way in my father's house are many rooms. Man, they got so much gold in heaven. They used it as asphalt.

You understand? That there's a bank winning table. Man, you want a nice steak dinner? Guess what? In heaven there is a banqueting table, a wedding feast where you get to eat with Jesus and all your loved ones who have gone on before you and there's free refills forever and you're going to party like a rock star with the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. It's okay to have so we are co-ares with the king eternal. And you want to be somebody? You want to make a name for yourself?

How about this? How about the son of the most high God? The Bible says that we will actually rule over the angels in eternity. that angels will see us and be like, oh, you know who that is? That's an adopted son or daughter of the most high king. That's who we will be. So those desires aren't bad. They're just fulfilled in the resurrected Jesus Christ.

Do you know him? Have you ever experienced the living Christ? You see, we keep returning to dead things. We keep going back to pastor grants and broken identities and numbing habits and even lifeless routines. But if the tomb is empty, anything as possible, including you, walking in the abundant life that Christ has for you. And here's the good news of Resurrection Sunday. That Jesus didn't merely walk out of the grave.

He rolled away the stone to show us that death has been defeated. And the same power that resurrected Jesus from the grave lives inside the believer, which means if Jesus walked out of the grave, then you and I can walk away from death and we can walk in life. Here's what I love. In all of the resurrection accounts of Jesus, Like if you were to keep going in Luke chapter 24, you know what Jesus doesn't do? He doesn't go and hang out in the temple, the holy place, and wait for everybody to figure it out and clean themselves up and make themselves right and then come and find him.

He pursues his people. At the end of Luke chapter 24, he chases these two guys down on the road to Emmaus and he reveals himself to them. His disciples, a bunch of sclerty cats, he finds them hiding away in the upper room and he goes and he just walks through the walls and he appears. His peace be with you because they were all scared. And he goes, I'm here. He goes, the doubting Thomas. He goes, hey, man, you said, do you need a seat to believe? What's up?

Put your fingers in the holes in my hands and put your hand in my side. Thomas is like, I'm all set. My Lord, my God, all right? Peter, he's kind of the worst and the best. He abandons it all, and he goes fishing. He returns to his old lifestyle. And guess what he's doing? He's fishing in the Sea of Galilee.

That's exactly where Jesus met him the very first time. And what does Jesus do? Wait for him to get his act together? No, no, no, no. He continuously, relentlessly pursues his rebellious kids. And he goes chasing after Peter. And he says to him, the thing he said to him at the very beginning, follow me. And I believe the reason that you are here now is because he has chased you down to this very moment.

If you've been a believer, man, you've just got to be reminded. Got to be reminded. Me too. I can go looking for living things among the dead and it's not there. He's not here. He is risen. But some of you've never met him. And you know somehow in a way that, I mean, it's almost, it's indescribable, but it's

undeniable. You know that somehow the resurrected Christ is calling you to believe in him right now. The Bible says, for all who would believe receive the right to become a child of God. So how do you experience the resurrected Christ? Well, it's as simple as ABC. Being a Christian isn't easy, but it's simple. to get saved. It's as simple. It's A, B, C. The A is, you've got to admit it. I'm a sinner in need of a savior. You're just like that thief on the cross. We're like, Jesus, will you do me a favor? I haven't done

anything to deserve this, and I can't do anything to earn it. But I admit it. My way's not working. I need you. And the B is to believe or to trust that when Jesus died on the cross, somehow that counted for me, that when Jesus pushed up on his nail pierce feet and said, paid in full, somehow that counted for me and my slate has been wiped clean and I can be adopted as a child of God. And the Bible says if you do that, if you believe, then there is a prayer that if you pray, God will answer it 100% of the time. And that's a great bet. In Romans 1013, the Bible says, for all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. No matter your background, no matter what you're ashamed of, no matter what you've done. Even if you grew up in

church and you think you're good. You can be saved to. It's usually harder for you, but you can be saved too. If you say, Lord Jesus, save me. And what it means to call in the name of the Lord, it means I surrender. My way's not working. I call you Lord. So I turn over the reins of my life to you because of your life, death and resurrection, you are now the boss of me. I'm not the boss of me anymore. And when you do that, in that very moment, you were justified. It's just as if you've never sin before. Your sins are washed away. The righteousness of Christness of Christ. The righteousness of Christ is imputed or counted to you, that you are adopted as a son or a daughter of God. And one day when you breathe your laughs here on earth, you will breathe your necks in the presence of God.

And you, no matter who you are, what you've done. If you put your faith in Jesus, we'll hear these words. Well done. Good and faithful, sir. I want to give you the opportunity to experience that moment now that will change your forever. Would you bow your heads? Would you close your eyes? And if you would say, that's me today, I am ready.

ready to surrender my life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and I want to invite you right now for the very first time to call on the name of the Lord. The way I want to invite you to do that is if you would just lift your hand as high as you can, if you were ready for the first time to put your faith in Jesus as high as you can, and you just say, Lord Jesus save me, and I promise you that in this very moment, just like the angels celebrated the day he was resurrecting, they are celebrating right now because you were lost and now you were found, you were dead, now you were alive, you were blind, and now you see. You have been adopted into the family of God. and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we love you more than anything because you first loved us.

And Jesus, I thank you. Did you not come to simply set for us a moral example or teach us some lessons, but you paid the full price for our sin at the cross. And when you walked out of that tomb, you put death to death. And if we believe in you, just like you were resurrected from the grave, we too can be resurrected to a newness of life. God, I thank you that this resurrection day, you have resurrected some more people unto yourself. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. Church, would you please stand as we respond? We've got a lot to celebrate. If you're new here, this is the time. If you notice, we didn't like take up an offering. And you're like, Martha, this is my new favorite church. We don't take up anything here, okay? You can bring your first and best, your tithes and your offerings.

Most of us do that online. You can go to the website. You can download the app or there's giving boxes on the way out. We hope that you would do that as an act of worship. We also pray. And when Jesus died on the cross, it tore the curtain in the temple in two. and we get invited into the very presence of God because he's our Heavenly Father

and we can cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. No matter who you are, what's going on. He sees you. We would love to invite you to come here and kneel at one of these kneelers are down on the carpets and pray. He hears your prayers.

And we're going to sing like saved people. Like Lauren quoted a bunch of those lyrics. All sufficient merit. That is what we are going to sing because it's not what we do to make ourselves right before God. It's what Christ has done. on our behalf. So let's sing, let's bring, let's pray. Let's respond.