Am I Too Far Gone? - Ben Stuart

Well, when I was in middle school, I used to go to a summer camp in Mississippi. And they would rent these college campuses on Mississippi where we would do our summer camp, which if you ask what do you do on a college campus for a summer camp, not much. Just sort of walk around and look at buildings. But the highlight of the week every year was called the Sadie Hawkins Race. And what they would do is they would gather us kids in the middle of this field, and they would line the boys up on a line at the edge of a field. And they would blow a whistle, and all the boys would run out into the field. And then they would line the girls up and blow a second whistle. And the girls had to run out, chase the guy of their own choosing, tag him, and then take him to dinner later that night. Sort of how we did it in the 80s. And in hindsight, I realized, man, that was a really awkward situation to put these girls in. But I would also say it was an awkward situation for the boys because it created that possibility of you running and then realizing no one's chasing you, which happened. But I remember when I was in middle school, do we have any middle school kids in here, by the way?

Just go ahead and shout. It's okay to shout at church if I ask you to. Any middle schoolers here? Seven, okay, there they are, all right. Little children and babies, it's okay for you to yell too, but I know you might do it involuntarily. I'm just letting your parents know, I'm okay with it if you're okay. We'll keep rolling together. But I remember middle school, at camp, I got reliable information that one of the cutest high school girls was gonna chase me. And it was a mercy thing, and I knew it, but I didn't care because she was cute. Now question, if you get reliable intel that one of the nicest, cutest high school girls is gonna chase you, what do you do when it comes time to run out into that field? You get as close to her as you can, and you fake an injury, pull a hammy, lay on the ground, right? You just let it happen. I just, for some reason, took off in a sprint, and then as she caught me, I began to dodge and juke until finally she had to clothesline me in the neck to get me to stop. And then we went to dinner and had a lovely evening. Now, why do I mention that? It was my insanity to run from her. And it was her kindness to chase me, right?

And that kindness is called grace. It's called grace. Now, why do I mention that? Well, when you think about Easter, you think about Easter egg hunts, you know what I mean, that I am out on a search for Easter eggs, you know, that sort of thing. And I know when we got here, all of us, if we're honest, are searching for something, right? And I don't know what's motivating you or driving you in life, a search for meaning, significance, purpose, love, all of us are being driven to search for something to make life worthwhile. But I'm here to tell you this Easter, something fascinating that we just saw in our text, that the verbs that are driving the story along are not what we do on our search for meaning and significance. In our passage, God is on the move, seeking and grabbing you. That Easter, he is the one procuring people for his name and for his glory. And that's actually an encouraging thought. It's insanity to run for him, but it's his kindness to chase. What we're looking at today is grace, right? And we're looking at it in the book of Acts, which I know some of you, when I said that, you might go like, hey man, it's Easter. Shouldn't you be in the Gospels?

Stone rolled away, tomb empty, soldiers shocked, women confused. I know the passage, you're supposed to study on Easter. Why are we here? Well, the Gospels in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, tell the story of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. The book of Acts is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Luke performed well in the box office, they greenlit the sequel. And Acts is the story of the continued movement of Jesus' Holy Spirit as he builds his church. And so Jesus died, rose from the grave, and then in the book of Acts, this message that forgiveness is now preached in Jesus' name, life is available in Jesus' name, begins to go out through his disciples. Jesus' followers were called disciples, learners. And then he told the 12, you're actually my apostles, my emissaries, to go out and let the world know peace with God is available. He wants a relationship with you. And so they move out, and what you see in the book of Acts is the birth of the Christian church, from a little movement in Jerusalem to the global movement it is today. And in our passage, Acts chapter nine, we're in it because as a church, we've been studying the book of Acts, and so this is the next chapter we're in,

but that's not the only reason we're doing it here. We're doing it because I don't know if you caught this, Acts chapter nine is the final resurrection appearance of Jesus before we see him come again in the book of Revelation. That you see in the Bible that Jesus died for our sin, and he didn't stay dead, he rose. And then he began to appear and to meet with his people. And then here, what we looked at is his final one. The Apostle Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15. I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures. And he was buried and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. And then he appeared to Cephas, then to the 12. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me, for I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. Where we are today is Jesus' last Easter resurrection appearance, and it's to the last guy you would expect. And he says it, I was the last of all and the least of these,

the most unlikely person Jesus showed up. And so we're gonna see what Jesus did, and then we're gonna see why he did it, because it has an impact on you and on me. So Acts chapter nine begins in verse one, but Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. It says still breathing threats and murder because we met Saul earlier in the book of Acts, and he was persecuting the people who believed in Jesus. At this point, they're called the followers of the way, because the word Christians hadn't been invented yet, comes later in this chapter. And yet here, we moved on to talk about somebody else, but when we're back, we see not only is he still persecuting the Christians, he's leveled up, breathing out threats and murder. This dude is activated, and he is expanding his operation. The church at this point in history was kind of localized in the city of Jerusalem where Jesus died, was buried, and rose, but the message of Jesus started to go out, and so Saul asked for permission from the religious authorities to go out into other cities like Damascus, over 100 miles away, kick in doors,

and to take men and women, I don't know if you noticed that, he's an equal opportunity oppressor, I wanna go get these people, drag them in, and see if I can get the death penalty for them, okay? This guy is very upset. Now, what's driving him? The passage doesn't say, but this Saul here, you might know as the Apostle Paul, he actually wrote a good percentage of the New Testament. Saul, Paul, his name was spoken in various ways as he crossed ethnic barriers. But he said this about his experience in the letter of Galatians. He says, you've heard in my former life in Judaism how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my father. He said I had zeal, I was driven because I had found a thing that gave me meaning and significance. And for some people, religious accomplishment is that. If I can accomplish these things religiously, I feel good about me. For others of us, religion's not your chosen ladder to climb but for many, we are looking for a thing to cling to and we're zealous in our pursuit of something that'll make us feel good about us. I remember when I first moved to D.C.,

I was trying to learn the city about nine years ago and I met with a guy who works in the media here in the city. And I just met with him because someone said, hey, you should get to know this guy, he knows D.C. really well. And so I sat down and just asked the blanket question, tell me about Washington, D.C. And I'll never forget his answer. First conversation, right out of his mouth he said, it's a bunch of men with deep father wounds trying desperately to fill that void with significance and so they chase it through money and power and when they can't accomplish that, they have some really broken addictions and they're desperately in need of help and don't know how to date. And I was like, okay, I thought you were gonna recommend some coffee shops or a pizza place but let's go ahead and go here. That some vacancy in me I want to fill with significance through achievement. And religion might be your particular one or it may be I want status, I want power, I want money, I want fame, I want something. And when you get that thing, you feel good but when that thing's threatened, you feel bad. Some of you know that. Some of you, you want to be the funny one and that's great until someone funnier

joins your little group, right? And they tell a joke and you go, ha, ha, ha, I want him to die, right? Or you're the smart one and then someone else makes an observation and you're like, well, listen here, smarty pants, right? We don't like someone threatening what gives us meaning and here this movement of Jesus is threatening his climbing the religious ladder and he doesn't like it and he wants to shut it down, right? Incidentally, we were singing earlier about being saved by the grace of Jesus. The hardest people to get saved are the ones who think they're self-sufficient. And that's Saul, I got this. They're the hardest. people to rescue, ask anyone in the Coast Guard, who's the hardest person to rescue who's drowning, the person who says, I got it, I got it. They become a danger to themselves and others, right? And so here Saul is dangerous. And so to break through to this guy, God has to get dramatic. And he does in verse three. So as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him, literally flashed around him. Paul will say later about the experience, it was brighter than the sun. It's the only time that word's used.

This is not a normal way for God to reach somebody. And yet he knocks him over, and in verse four, it says, falling to the ground, he heard a voice, saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? This was written at a time where there was no bold, or underline, or italics. If you wanted to emphasize something, you repeated it. That's the intensification. Saul, Saul. He's getting his attention. We don't know his tone. We don't know if he yelled it, Saul, Saul! Or if it was more tender, Saul, Saul. I kind of think it was that one. Because when Paul tells the story later, he says he added, it's hard to kick against the goads, isn't it? Goads are what you use to drove an animal, or you can kick an animal to get it moving. But if you kick the goads, the animal doesn't move, you just get hurt. And he's like, Saul, the way you're trying to move in life, it's not really working, is it? Your pursuit of satisfaction is coming up short. It's hard, isn't it? And he asked him a question, why are you persecuting me? Why are you driven like this? What are you up to? He's not really looking for an answer. He just wants Saul to evaluate what's driving him.

It's interesting, I watched an interview several years ago by a man named George Palmer. George Palmer's dad died when he was young, and he said about the experience, the loss of his father was so jarring to him and such a shock that as a little boy, he remembered going on a cliff and looking up in the heavens and telling God, I hate you. And he said for the next seven years, he just grew up on the streets in Melbourne, and he became a rough kid. And he said about his experience, he said, my hatred is like a cancer. Cancer's not content to stay in one place, it grows. And so I became an angry kid. He joined a gang and then became the leader of that gang that perpetrated incredible violence against human beings, taking out his revenge on the world. And then he heard about a guy named Billy Graham, who came to do a series of revivals, big meetings in stadiums where he was talking about Jesus. And George Palmer said, I hated God, I hated Christianity, so I detested everything Billy Graham was about. The problem with Billy Graham was he wouldn't go away. For 15 weeks, this guy kept doing these stadium events in Melbourne. And so finally he looked at his gang and he said, we're gonna kill that man. And he took 10 of them and they showed up and they said, we're going to one

of these Billy Graham revivals. We're gonna be down on the field and when he calls for an altar call, we're gonna walk forward and shoot him. And so he's down on the field and as he watches the stadium fill, he says at one moment he looked around and thought, what are all these people doing here? And he said as soon as he thought that, he heard a voice next to his ear say, what are you doing here, George? And he turned around and there was no one there. And it freaked him out. And he realized, I think I'm having a conversation with God. And in that moment he realized what's driving me is my anger and my hurt. And I'm mad at you God for taking my dad. And he said he felt like God was ministering to him in that moment saying, hey, I didn't take your dad to hurt you, I gave my son to save you. Death is a problem and I've brought the solution. And as this man came with his hurt, he realized God's not my enemy, God's trying to help me. And as he heard Billy Graham talk about grace, he took out his gun and set it on the ground. Which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, right? I'm just telling you the story. And he walked forward and instead of shooting Billy Graham, he gave his life to Christ.

And so did nine of his other guys, right? Now why do I mention that? It was a contemplation, what's driving you? How's it working for you? That led him to surrender. And here Saul's got that invitation. What are you doing here? He realizes he's having a spiritual experience, but he doesn't understand it. Did you see that in verse five? Who are you, Lord? Why are you persecuting me? Well, who are you, Lord? Why does he call him Lord? Because he just shone brighter than the sun. So Paul's like, whoever I'm talking to clearly has the upper hand in this whole conversation, right? But I don't know who this is. And then he gets the answer. I am Jesus who you are persecuting. Interesting thing is he was persecuting the church, but Jesus has such solidarity with the people he saves, he says to hurt them is to hurt me. So friend, if you're a believer in Jesus, you need to hear that. When you hurt, he hurts. He's close. And so he says, you're persecuting me. And then he tells him, and enter the city, and you'll be told what you are to do.

And the men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. And Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight. He neither ate nor drank. God makes him sit in silence. And I gotta tell you something, that's a hard thing to do. Especially if you're a driven person. It's difficult to have a problem that you realize you can't solve. I remember for me, years ago, my wife and I were at a Starbucks in Dallas, Texas, and a young man stole her iPhone from off the table, right in front of us, ripped her earbuds out, ran out the door, which was an interesting thing, because as a man, you always wonder what would you do in a moment like that? Like, what would my instinctual response be? My wife's was to yell. And she yelled, get him, babe! I was like, all right, what am I saying, no? So I just kicked my flip-flops off and ran out after this guy. Turned a corner, saw a security vehicle, started calling for help for the security guy, till I realized it was his buddy driving it, it was their getaway car. How they procured that, I do not know.

But all in a moment, he jumped in the car, I grabbed the window, his buddy hit the gas, and we went down the road together. The two of them in the car, me hanging from the window. Which was interesting, because they were high school kids, and I'd been preaching at a high school camp all week. And so as I looked at their faces, I couldn't even be mad at them. So I just started talking to them in a voice like this. I was like, hey guys, just give me the phone back. And one of them said sorry, the other one was calling me sir. It was all a little surreal, because we were still going down the road. And so after a while, I was like, you know what? This needs to stop, I'm just gonna let it go. And I let go of the car, and they drove off, ended up seeing him getting arrested down the way, which was kind of a mix of feelings. But regardless, my wife caught up to me at that moment, and I remember looking over at her and saying, my back hurts. And then it hurt more the next day. And then the next day, I was in such excruciating pain, I couldn't walk or sit. And I had a herniated disc in my lower back, sticking out about three centimeters, just sitting on my nerves, sending waves of pain down my legs, right? And so we went to a doctor at that point, and I was telling him, hey, you need to hurry up

and fix this, my ministry's about to launch in about a month, I got a lot of stuff to do, I got a team to lead. Let's solve this, solve this, give me a pill, give me a drug, cut something, let's get this solved. And I remember in that moment, I'm just trying to find the thing to do to get me to the thing I need to do, and that moment he goes, hey, I need to acclimate you to your new reality. He said, I can't fix you. He said, you've got bulging discs on either side of that one, I cut that one, those give way. He's like, I can't fix your spine. He says, and if that foot drops, you don't walk again. And then he pointed at my pregnant wife, and he said, that baby, I don't think you'll be able to hold her. And I said, what am I supposed to do? And he said, go home and hope your back heals itself. That was his answer. And so I went home and did that very thing. And by the grace of God, a month later, was able to stand up, was able to walk. And I remember walking into his room, and him saying, somebody up there must like you, because I can't believe you're walking in here. But I got to tell you, when I was on my face, I was so mad at God for limiting my experience, but then as I was laying there and just had to sit in the silence,

I realized so much of what I cared about was stuff that I was driven for to give me a feeling of success. And I had to be put on my face to really evaluate what ultimately matters. And there was one night in particular where just to deal with the pain, I was taking a lot of steroids, different drugs that made me awake at night, and so I would just watch movies, hundreds of movies. And so finally one night about 3 a.m., I was watching Teen Wolf 2, starring Justin Bateman, and I realized, this is about as pathetic, this is about as low as I can go. And so I turned it off and I thought, what, am I just gonna sit here in the silence? And as I sat there in the silence, I felt like the Lord was like, are you ready to deal with me now? And I was angry with him about the limitations, angry with him about the pain, and as I started talking to him about the pain, he's like, keep talking about it. And I was like, yeah, God, how come I'm still in pain? How come the world's in pain? There's so much brokenness in the world. Why aren't you doing anything about it? And I felt like the Lord pressed on me, hey, I have, and I will. And here Saul has to sit in the silence.

Saul, who had worked his whole life to accomplish, accomplish, accomplish, he told the Philippians, if anyone has a reason to boast, I had more. Hebrew of Hebrews, as it relates to law, I was flawless. I did everything I was supposed to do. And yet he told the Romans, as soon as the law said, do not covet, that wasn't an external action, that was a heart thing. That was, I want what you have, and I'm mad that you have it and I don't. And he realized, as he laid in silence. there's something wrong with my heart and I can't fix it. And that's why in Romans 7, Paul writes, a wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death, he realized, hey, there's a saving that I can't accomplish even though I can do much. He says, but thanks be to God, for there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus, because he set me free from the law of sin and death. There's a level of rescue we need that we can't do on our own. It's hard to surrender, but it's the pathway to redemption. The Lord moves on and starts moving pieces on the board and you saw in verses 10 and following, he goes to Ananias, and I love that. The Lord says to him, Ananias, he's like, here I am. He's just letting him know, I'm up, I'm up, what do you need? And the Lord says, go to the street called Straight,

because this is the street's name, but there is some irony there. I want you to go to this road and straighten this guy out. His name's Saul from Tarsus, he can't see, put your hands on him, very specific. I love Ananias' response. Lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much evil he's done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has the authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. A little bit, he's like, huh. He goes from, here I am, Lord, to, um, yeah. I don't know if word's gotten to you yet. We've been talking about this guy, and he is straight up evil. Like, he's evil, evil. And he's got some official authority to keep doing, like, God, I think you got the wrong guy. Literally, he's like, Lord, that's the last guy that would ever want to be a part of what you're doing. I don't know if you have that person in mind. Some of you thought about inviting some friends to church, and maybe someone's came to mind, and you go, that is the last guy that would ever come. Some of you are the last guy, and they're shocked you're here, right? I've got guys like that in my life. I remember growing up, I used to go hunting with my dad and his college buddies in Beeville, Texas, all right? And it was a bunch of frat guys that all had kids,

and they would go out to Beeville. And I remember, as a kid, feeling like the only Christian in Beeville. I felt like God's influence stopped at the borders of Beeville. Like, as soon as we started showing up, God's like, this is where I get out, you know? And it's sort of a godless place. So you can imagine my shock as an adult when I went back to see my dad's friends, and all these wild guys had become Christians. And not just Christians, like deacons, serving in their church, helping children. I remember one of them came up to me, big boy came up to me, and he was like, Ben, you remember what I was like? I should be dead! And I was like, that's actually true. Like, the way you were living your life, we weren't taking bets on who was gonna die young. Like, I would never do that. But I'd be like, I don't wanna, probably him. Probably him. And he started crying, saying, isn't it amazing that God would save someone like me? And my thought was, yes! It is wild. And here, Ananias is like, he is the last guy. And God's like, yeah, and that's who I want you to go after. What, do you think someone deserves grace?

Do you think I can only save those who are close to the surface? What kind of God do you think you're dealing with here? This guy isn't a periphery. This is my job description. This is center of the target. Go get that man. Verse 15, and the Lord said to him, go, for he is my chosen instrument to carry my name. Before the Gentiles and the kings and the children of Israel, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. I want you to go get him, and I've got a purpose for his life. Will it hurt? Yes, but is it worth it? Yes. I love it the way Ananias said it. He has hurt your saints, that is your holy ones. And he's coming after those who call on your name. He says, yeah, but that's the guy I want to carry my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which he came has sent me so you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. I love it, God shut him down. But it wasn't to wreck his life. It wasn't to take from him these things he enjoyed doing.

It was to rescue him to get him on a different kind of path. I'm gonna use your life, except rather than trying to earn approval, I'm gonna give it to you on the front end. So now you will be someone who writes the most influential writings in human history. And yet you won't do it trying to get my approval, you'll do it because you have it. It's a different motivation. We don't do to earn, we do because we have. And so you look at here and he goes, man, I am gonna take this man and make him holy, make him a saint and put within him my Holy Spirit. That's different than just being a good guy. And that's why. Jesus died and rose. Jesus didn't do it to make bad guys good. He did it to make dead guys alive. It's a different kind of message. Paul said it this way to Timothy. He says, the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. He said, I was the worst, but I received mercy for this reason, that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who are to believe in him for eternal life.

What I'm offering you is the very Holy Spirit in you and life that is eternal. Giving a couple bucks and doing some community service doesn't get you there. It's a different kind of issue we're dealing with. When I was a kid, I used to go to Beaverville, Texas. My grandma had a pool there. Years ago, it had been emptied of water, of pool water, that is. Over the years, it had filled up with rainwater and sticks and grass and there were snakes in there. When you're a little kid with a vivid imagination, all evil in the universe. If your grandma has a pool of evil in the backyard, what do you do with it as a kid? For my brother and I, we play on the edge of it. Just stand there like, oh, it's so evil. I remember one day, I slipped and I fell in. Now, when you land in a pool of evil, there's really only one thought in your mind. I got to get out of here. I ran as hard as my little four-year-old legs could take me and I went to jump out of the shallow end of that pool. I didn't even get close. I don't know who was digging pools in Beaverville back in the 80s, but they were motivated. Then I looked at my brother, who's just a year older than me, like, help me get out. He's like, mm, I'm like, ah, and we realized he can't help me.

And so I was in a situation where all my formidable four-year-old strengths could not solve it. So I did the only thing a four-year-old could do at that moment. I started crying. And I'll never forget looking up through the slats of the fence into my neighbor's yard and there was a college-age guy. And I saw him right as he saw me crying. And I saw him drop his little gardening tool and begin to run. And when he got to that fence, he just left it all in one move. And I remember going, ah, okay, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. And he dove in that pool with me and he drew me out. And as I stood on the edge, I remember looking up at his face. I'll never forget, this guy looking at me, and he's like, are you okay, son? And I was speechless before the face of the one who rescued me. We are capable, all of us are made in the image of God, we're capable of so many amazing things, yet there's a sickness to death and we can't fix it. There's a depth to which humanity has fallen and we can't get ourselves out on our own. And so here, the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life. That's what Paul said, I needed eternal life

and I can't ascend to that. We're not talking about good and bad, we are talking about dead and alive. So Jesus Christ stepped into our story, why? To live the perfect life we could not. And then to die the death we deserved. He wasn't a rabbi that was accidentally a martyr because he got sideways from the wrong people. Paul said to the Corinthians, he died for our sins. And he was buried and he rose again. If our sin was the barrier between us and God, Jesus took the payment of our sin, he took our death, he beat death and he opened a way back home. And so he can look at a Paul and say, and I'm offering life to you. Why did he do it to Paul? Is it because Paul would be the person to take the gospel to the entire Roman world? That's what Paul will do. No one changed human history like that man. That's not Paul's answer to Timothy. He said he did it as an example of his patience for those who would believe. He says, you know why he picked me? Because I was the last guy. There's a spectrum. Over here is, I love Jesus and couldn't worship today. Over here is, yeah, I'll come. Over here is, I don't know, we're visiting the religious relatives this weekend.

This is the payment for brunch. Okay, let's just get it done. This is, I hate your Jesus and everything he stands for. God goes to get this guy, right? Why? He says an example to all of you. You are not too far gone. Any religious terrorists in here breathing out threats and murder? Seriously, raise your hand. We'd love to know where you are, if that's the case. Nope. Look, I don't know what you've done. I don't know what your hands have touched, your eyes have seen. I don't know what you've done. But some of you in here may say, you know, that religion's great for y'all, but you don't know what I've done. God says, I went and got. the last guy, so you might be right here, and go, I'm too far gone. No, you're not, no, you're not. Don't accuse Jesus' arm of being too short. His death was sufficient to save, and if he can get Paul, he can get you. And what do you do? What was the answer he gave? You believe, you believe. Does that mean you won't work a productive life,

so you're like, is this going to risk my job, the thing I did to get significance? No, he tells me he's going to suffer for his name. Well, that doesn't sound like fun. But Paul told the Philippians, I did all these things, but whatever I thought was to my gain, I count as rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And he says that I am running in the path he put me on, because he set my heart free. That you're going to have an even more purposeful life, because you're not trying to get the approval that you couldn't get on your own, you're running in the love of God for the purpose he gave you before the world began. It's a bigger story here. The most significant Easter of my life was 2015. Pretty typical Easter egg hunt, but I remember we were there and we had a nurse with us. She was one of the moms at this event we were at, and she looked over at me and she said, I don't like the way your wife is carrying that baby. She was pregnant at the time. And she said, I think you need to go take her to get checked out. And my wife wasn't like sweating or fainting, she was walking around, but she was like, I just don't like the way her tummy looks, I don't like the way she's carrying that baby. And then she was kind of forceful with me,

she was like, actually, you need to take her to the hospital right now, and you need to get it checked on, you need to take care of her, take care of that baby. And as a man, I was like, you don't need to tell me what to, I'm kind of offended you're telling me what to do, but I also don't know anything about babies, or women, or biology, so I'm probably going to do it, but I'd love it if you'd change your tone, right? I took my wife to the hospital, doctor said, bed rest, full bed rest, don't get out of bed at all for the sake of that kid. Friends from the church came around, helped take care of us while we waited, and I remember the day we went to the hospital, my son was born, C-section, he's healthy, she's healthy, but then the nurse came to me afterwards and was like, hey, this is kind of wild, and I won't get too graphic, but she was like, your wife had what's called a uterine window, she said, that's where the line of her womb was so thin, we could actually see the baby through it, and she said, we've never seen that in this hospital, I've only read about it in books, she said, you were the thinnest layer away from losing her and the boy on the table, you would have died that quick, and I remember she told me that, closest I ever came to passing out from someone saying something, you know what I mean?

I was like, that's interesting information, no, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, but I realized in that moment, I know how to be a good guy, I know how to prepare, I know how to take care of my family, but life and death was beyond my control, and I needed someone else to step in and change the order of events to save my family's life, and that's what Jesus did here, that's what the cross is about, that he came to Saul, who was in accordance with the law, blameless, but this is about life and death, and so God moves the pieces on the board to save him and draw him home, and friend, that's what he's done for you, I don't know what all got you into this room, but I know the one who did, and I know his nature is to call you home, that whoever believes would not perish, but have everlasting life, why did Jesus go to the cross? To pay for your sin, why did he bury? To bury your condemnation, why did he rise? So that we might rise with him and have life, this is about life, where is it? In those who believe have eternal life. I went to Italy years ago with my sister, I was a college student, and I remember when I arrived in Italy,

she was already there with a friend of hers, we were gonna tour Italy together, but as soon as I got there, she said, hey, my friend has a debilitating disease that affects her joints, and she said, I don't think I realized how bad it is, she's essentially bone on bone, to walk is painful, and this is Italy, everything's cobblestones, and she said, but she won't get in a wheelchair, she won't even use a cane, she just wants to grit her teeth and do it, but we're having to move really slow, and so we did that, we visited Rome and Florence and these cities, and I would just watch this girl refuse all help, I got this, and just grit it, and you could just tell, she was in an enormous amount of physical pain. And then we got to Cinque Terre, these little cities along the coastline that are kind of along these cliffs that go into the ocean, and we got there, and it was around Easter, which it turns out is very popular in Italy, and so there were no available hotel rooms, and so I spent the entire day in a cafe, calling one hostel after another, just trying to find some place for us to stay that night,

and finally at closing time, late at the night, The shop owner had mercy on me and said, I will give you my house, I'll go stay with a friend, and he handed me the address. So it's around midnight, we walk out of this cafe, I look at the address, we look at the map, and we realize his house is at the top of the cliffs, Cinque Terre. And so middle of the night, we start this ascent, and I look over at this young woman, and for the first time in this whole trip, she just starts to cry, as formidable as she is, as strong as she is, I can't ascend to the heights I meant to go. And so I looked at her in that moment, and I said, you know, I know you don't wanna hear this, but the only way we're getting home is if I carry you. And so I put her on my back and began to carry her up that hill. And about midway up, I felt these sharp jerking motions that were pulling me side to side. Like she's back there just doing different moves, and finally at one point, I just went, what are you doing? And she said, I'm trying to help you. And I said, stop, what you are doing is not helping. You need to let me carry you home. And friend, the gospel is you are beautiful in the image of God, you have dignity, power,

purpose in His image, but sin has marred us all, and it's a sickness unto death, and you don't have the tools to fix you. You don't have what is necessary to lead you to the heights of an intimacy with God you were made for. But God came down. Jesus Christ stepped into our story. He took on our sin and shame and buried it and rose, and when we say yes to Him, He leads us where we're meant to be. And friend, He moves all of history. Paul will say later, this very Saul who became Paul will say later, God has determined the exact times and places we should live if perhaps you will reach out because He's not far from you. And I don't know all the reasons that brought you to DC, but I know one of them is so you could hear that all who call on this name will be saved. Last story, I did a camp years ago out in New Mexico, and there's a camp where churches would bring their youth groups, and I would speak to maybe 50 youth groups, all of their youth pastors, and I shared the simple message of the gospel. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Don't ever believe that He wouldn't perish but have life. And then rather than having them do an altar call like Billy Graham, I said, you know what? Why don't you go with your youth pastors

and you talk to them about what God's doing in your life? And I sent them all away to talk to their own personal youth pastors. And then a high school kid came up to me and said, hey, can I talk to you? And I said, did you not hear what I just said? I told you all to go to your youth pastors. And he said, I don't have one. I said, what do you mean if you don't have one? That's the only way you could have got to this camp. And he said, not true. He said, I was hiking in these mountains earlier today with a buddy of mine who had a medical incident, hit the ground and started convulsing, and I got scared. And some hikers came by and they saw me and my friend and they said, you know what? We're not from here either, but there's a camp down this hill and we think they can help you. He said, so they helped us get down here and you guys have this camp here. And the nurses took care of my friend. You gave us a place to stay. You gave us food to eat. And then they invited me into this moment. And so I come in here and you're talking about the grace of God and you're talking about Jesus. And hey, you know what? I want what you're selling. And I was like, all right. I can't tell if you're just having

like an emotional experience. I wasn't offering like, if you want to turn over a new leaf, do it. Like I promise to do better, God. So that's not what this is. This is sin has led to death, but Jesus took on our death so we could have life. It's about intimacy with God through Jesus. And I explained the whole gospel to him again. And he goes, yeah, yeah, that. I was like, are you sure? So I explained it all again. He's like, yes, the thing you said earlier. That's what I want. I was like, all right, man. Well, I'm not going to lead you in a prayer. Sometimes people lead you in a prayer and they tell you what to pray. I said, I'm not going to tell you what to pray. You pray it. Because I wanted to hear what he was going to say. I wondered if he was going to say like, God, I'm just doing my best over here. I bet, okay, he didn't get it. So I was just like, you pray. And I'll never forget this kid, bowed his head. And he said, God, thank you for coming to get me. Because I don't think this was an accident. And friend, I'm here to tell you the good news of Easter is God came to get you.

That's why Jesus showed up. That's why he lived, that's why he died, that's why he rose. And that's why the Holy Spirit is still knocking people off horses today. It's to come get you. Not to wreck your life, to save it. And if you've never put your faith in Jesus, There's forgiveness, there's life, there's hope, there's purpose in his name. Do you know him? Do you know him? That's where life is found today.