Easter at Engedi

Amen, go ahead and grab a seat if you would Well, happy Easter church fam is so good to see all of you today and I've been looking forward to this day for a Long time again. My name is Brian. And so if you're new with us, we're so great that and so grateful to have you with us today and It's funny because with spring break for the public schools and and and for hope and college and all this we don't know what to Expect but I see you guys are figuring out seats all the way to the very back of the walls. Let's go. All right And I do want to welcome some really special groups of people today And so the first thing we need to do is we need to say good morning to and get a Espanol and everybody joining us At and Getty Grand Rapids location. Can we make some noise for them? So cool be in one church and a whole bunch of different locations and The other group that I really want to show some love to and say happy Easter to is all of those Who are joining us from either the Kent County Jail or the Ottawa County Jail? We just want you to know it's an honor to celebrate the risen Jesus with you today We love you. I Know we already have welcomed those who are with us for the first time But you really do need to know that that it's just a privilege that you hang out with us on Easter Easter Sunday of all days and man, we're gonna we're gonna start a new series It's actually kind of starting today called resurrection saves And so like this is this today is just like a down payment on the next three weeks after this All right It's gonna be four weeks of just talking about what the resurrection of Jesus means and I just pray if you're new to our church That you'll come back and continue to grow with us over these coming weeks We believe God wants to do something special in your life. That is not limited to one Sunday and Actually, I'll just I'll just throw this out to you Listen, here's here's a promise I make if you were willing to commit one year of your life to be embedded in this church family I like to be all in to participate to attend to get to know people to serve I promise you give us one year of like give me one year of your life I promise you God will change your life in Jesus name. You'll be a different person at the end of the 12 months That's the promise that many of us have experienced in reality

Now I really I asked myself do you talk about basketball on Easter I asked myself that all right, it's a big day It's Easter But I feel like I still need to say Congratulations to Michigan. I still need to name that. All right, so Go blue. All right, we're rooting for you in the championship And all I can say to all of my Michigan fans right now is may your excitement for Michigan basketball Pale in comparison to your excitement for the resurrected Christ, amen Resurrection Sunday has literally transformed all of world history The day when Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death Began a spiritual Revolution That began 2,000 years ago and continues even right now all around the world This revolution began with Jesus own disciples After having denied they even knew him after fleeing when he was arrested After going into hiding watching him be executed These same disciples and countered the resurrected Jesus and from that point forward could not stop Testifying to the fact that they had seen and been with Jesus again In fact their commitment to their testimony was so great that these disciples who had once been in hiding Proclaimed the resurrected Jesus so boldly that each of them were ultimately martyred for their testimony And so today we begin looking at a miracle of God in history that is like no other and Today, I pray that you would realize There is no more powerful event that you can consider or you can contemplate than the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Therefore my prayer for you today my prayer for me today is not simply that we would come to church Have a nice church service Maybe some of you got some ham that you're gonna have after church nice little ham lunch

Some of you dudes got sport coats on never seen you look that good in the last three years. I've known you You're actually looking good for once today. All right But listen my prayer for us is not that we'd have just a nice little church service today I pray that today we would meet the resurrected Jesus and our lives would be transformed Because of it whether you've not known Jesus or Your time are along, and listen, you may not be a believer in Jesus. And can I just tell you on behalf of our church, we're so glad you're hanging out with us today, all right? If you're just asking questions, you're skeptical, you're not sure what you think about this whole Jesus thing, man, just know there's a place for you here at En Gedi. And as much as I'm just gonna say you're loved and you're welcomed, can I say, I've been praying that today would be the day you meet Jesus. I've been praying that today that Jesus would meet you, you would submit your life to him, you would confess your sin to him, and you might have walked in here not knowing him, but I pray you're gonna have a relationship with him by the end of this Sunday. And that's our hope. So let's pray, and then we'll open up God's word. Father, thank you that we get to join the long lineage of those who celebrate the life-transforming power, the world-transforming power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, I pray that for those of us who know and love Jesus, this news would be not old news,

but it would be news that remakes us yet once again, because your resurrection, Father, is working its way into our lives even right now. I pray, Father, for those who do not yet know you, that they would know at the very core of their being, they are not here by accident, they are not in the sound of my voice by accident, but you are drawing them into a relationship with yourself, the God who made them and loves them. We welcome you now to teach us in Jesus' name and all God's people said, amen. If you have a Bible, I wanna ask you to turn to Matthew chapter 28. And Matthew is one of the four gospels or historical accounts we have of Jesus' life, so we'll be studying out of Matthew 28 today. As you're turning there, though, I wanna give you some context from the previous chapter, Matthew chapter 27, because it is in Matthew chapter 27 that we read about when Jesus was falsely accused before the Roman leader Pilate. It's in Matthew chapter 27 that we read about when the soldiers, Pilate's soldiers, stripped Jesus of his robes, crowned him with a crown of thorns, beat him, mocked him, and spit upon him. It is in Matthew chapter 27 that we read about Jesus' crucifixion where spikes were driven through his wrists,

spikes were driven through his heels, and what is still considered to be one of the most gruesome and painful ways a human being can be executed. It is in Matthew chapter 27 that we read about this Jesus being taken down from the cross after he died, being buried in a sealed tomb that is guarded by somewhere between four and 16 trained Roman soldiers. That is Matthew chapter 27, and that leads us to where we start today, Matthew chapter 28 and verse one. It says, after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb, the tomb of Jesus. I actually like this detail that it's these two Marys. Mary Magdalene, if you don't know her story, was a woman who faced incredible difficulty. She had been influenced by demons. She was in the occult. It was a very dark situation, and Jesus saved her from it. The other Mary did not have nearly so much a dramatic story, but she was a sinner, and Jesus also saved her. Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that no matter what your background is, Jesus wants to save you. It tells me whether you got all kinds of skeletons

in your closet and all kinds of darkness in your present. It tells me where you're just living a kind of a nice, ordinary, West Michigan kind of life. Can I tell you, Jesus is coming for you today, and he loves you. And so these two Marys, they go to the tomb. It says, verse two, there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone, and sat on it. I like that. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. And so Matthew begins his gospel saying these two women, Mary and Mary, they go to Jesus' tomb. They show up, and suddenly this angel appears who rolls back the very stone of the guarded tomb that Jesus' body was in. Now we need to ask ourselves what may seem like in this moment a very obvious question, and that is why did the angel roll back the stone? What's the story with him coming? and immediately needing to roll back the stone. Was it like that, maybe Jesus was on the other side of the door, you know, other side of the rock, and he's like, hey everybody, back to life again. Somebody let me out of this joint? Is that what happened? Was Jesus, did he come back to life again?

He's like, y'all, it's getting creepy and dark in here, all right, hey, somebody help me out, I need somebody, send somebody. No, we know from the story, we know from the historical account, friends, the tomb is already empty when the angel rolls away the stone. Jesus has already been raised up, which tells us something very important, friends, watch this, the angel did not roll back the stone for Jesus, he rolled back the stone for us. He rolled back the stone so we could see evidence of the empty tomb, and we would be forced to ask, how is this possible? Can I tell you, friends, the most important question you can ask, not just today, but in your life is, how was Jesus' heavily guarded tomb empty on Easter Sunday? That's the question we're sitting with today. Now, here's what I've discovered. When it comes to wrestling with that question, how do you explain the empty tomb? There are two very different heart postures that people come at that question with. And these two postures are represented by the women at the tomb, and the other posture is represented by the guards at the tomb. Look at the text, Matthew 28, verse four. It says this, the guards were so afraid of the angel

that they shook and they became like dead men. Somebody shout out dead men. That's the guards, but watch this. Verse five, the angel says to the women, don't be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. Two different postures towards the empty tomb. The Roman guards, watch this, have no interest in the spiritual or religious significance of Jesus' life and death. They are literally standing outside the very tomb that was holding Jesus' body, the very tomb that Jesus resurrected from, and they could care less what is going, for them, they're just there because it's another day at work. Most likely, those Roman guards believed in the Roman gods, Roman gods like Jupiter and Mars. The Roman religion at that time held that if you just do the right kinds of rituals and if you offer the right kinds of sacrifices, then hopefully, God will not be mad with you or the gods will be kind to you. Some of us have accidentally turned Christianity into Roman religion. If I just go to church on Easter, if I just go into church on Christmas, if I just throw a few bucks in the offering plate, oh, then maybe, maybe God will be good with me. Can I tell you, friends, that's religion,

that's not Christianity. But this is the mentality of the guards. They're disinterested in what is happening in Jesus. They're disinterested in the tomb, and watch this, because of their disinterest, their reaction when the angel comes is to fall on the ground like dead men. This is one of those great places in the Bible where someone's physical position is an exact replica of their spiritual condition. They have no interest in Jesus. They have no interest in what he did on the cross. They have no expectation or care for the resurrection, and watch that, because of that, they are absolutely cut off from the life of God. They are cut off from the possibility of being forgiven in their sin in Christ, and they are headed towards spiritual death. Their physical position, laying like dead on the ground, was an exact replica of their spiritual condition. Do you see it, church? Do you see it? Now, listen, I just need to be honest. Some of us are in the same place spiritually that the guards were in this story. Romans 3, verse 23 says, all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So just for the sake of getting on the same page, are there any sinners in the room? Anybody fall short of the glory of God, all right?

If they don't have their hands raised, friends, we need to have a special conversation after church, all right, if you're like, nope, not me, I'm good. The word of God says. Every one of us has sinned and fall short of His glory. And watch this, Romans 6, 23 says, the wages of sin is death. Some of you today, as it pertains to Jesus and the empty tomb and the resurrection, you are disinterested and you could care less. And right now you are living in a place of spiritual death, cut off from the forgiveness offered on the cross, cut off from the grace offered through Jesus Christ, friends. But what I am praying is that for all those who might be spiritually dead today, today would be the day you come alive and you are raised in Christ Jesus and you become a new man or a new woman as you would put your trust in Him. That's what I'm praying for. These guards were disinterested in Jesus. They're standing this close to a miracle, they don't even realize it. Women though, they have a whole different posture here. So fascinating to me when I look at verse five. Guards, it's disinterest. The women, man, the angel says to the women, do not be afraid. Why shouldn't they be afraid? The guards are trembling on the ground.

Do not be afraid, why? He says, I know that you are looking for Jesus. The difference between the guards and these women could not be more stark. The guards were disinterested in Jesus. The women are looking for Him. The guards are just doing their job. The women are seeking Jesus. The guards, it's just another day on the grind, but the women are searching. They say, I want to get closer to Jesus. I need to say something really important. I need you all to look right up here right now. You need to hear this, all right? There is a massive difference between someone who is just around the work of God and someone who is actually seeking the person of Jesus. Do you hear? There's a massive difference. The guards were close to the work of God. A miracle was right on the other side of that rock. They could care less. They were disinterested, and watch this. They were spiritually dead because of it, but can I tell you, the women were searching for Jesus. The women were on the lookout for Jesus, and not only does it change how the angel responds to them in this moment, it goes on, as I'm gonna show you, to change the rest of their lives. There are two people in church today,

two kinds of people in church today. There are those of us who are just attending church on Easter. There are those of us, maybe it's a tradition, maybe somebody invited you, but you're just kinda here taking it all in. You're not real interested in Jesus. You're not real captivated by an empty tomb, and I just need to tell you, I can't promise you are gonna get anything out of this gathering, but then there are others in the room today who are not here just to attend church. You're here to seek the person of Jesus, and can I tell you, for all who are here who are actually trying to seek Jesus, who, like the women, are looking for Jesus, then God has given me a word to speak over you. Jeremiah 29, and verse 13, God says this. You will seek me, and you will find me. Somebody shout out find me. God says you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart. Can I tell you, if you are looking for Jesus today, you're gonna find Jesus in the house today. I wonder if we got anybody here who's not about playing church today, not just going through the motions of church, but you're saying today, I wanna meet Jesus. I wanna pursue Christ today. I wanna have an encounter with God today.

I'm not just going through Easter church motions. No, I wanna have a spiritual experience with the God who made me and loves me, because I got news for you. On the promise of the word of God, it's the person who seeks Jesus, guess what? Who's gonna find Jesus today. And man, we see this play out in these ladies' lives. The guards, again, we just gotta remember the guards. I actually thought about having somebody play the guards up here on stage. I was gonna ask him, could you just lay down and play dead the entire service? I was gonna walk over. I should have made you do it, Ripley. I should have made, still dead, still dead, all right? And then I thought that'd be a very boring job to do. And I said, no, I'm not gonna do that. But I want you to keep in mind, the guards are still just sitting there. Angel comes by, they're disinterested. And because of it, they're dead. The women are devoted. And watch what happens in their lives, verse six. The angel says to these women, he is not here. He has risen, just as he said. And then he says, come and see the place where he lay. Remember, he didn't move the rock for Jesus, he moved it for us. First thing we see is that somebody

who's actually seeking Jesus on Easter Sunday, watch this, receives divine revelation from God. The person who is here, not just going through motions, but they say Jesus. I'm here because I want more of you. That's the person who even today is gonna receive supernatural insight on their situation. Man, I'm not talking about this just in theory, like this has been my experience. I can't even help but preach this message without thinking of an Easter service Christina and I attended when we were newlyweds. We were newlyweds back in the 1900s. I know some of you are like, wow, so people are like still alive who were born in the 1900s. Yeah, it's true. 1998, been married one year. And we're going to church on Easter Sunday. And it's a difficult season because Christina had a job that was not a good fit for her. And it was tearing her apart on the inside. I don't know if you've ever had a job like this, but every single day she got up for work and she felt like a catastrophic failure. And it was beginning to mess her up emotionally. And she was starting to get paralyzed emotionally. And I'm this new husband and she's mostly putting bread on the table because I'm in graduate school at the time.

And we don't know what to do. And I don't know how to help. And I just am watching my wife wither from the person she normally is. And we go into church, watch this, 1998, we're in Chicago, we go to church for Easter. And we're not just going to play games and just kind of be around church people and be festive. We're going because we want to seek Jesus on Easter. And can I tell you, in the middle of being in that Easter service, God spoke to us very clearly about the problem that we were facing. And he said, you just need to take a step of faith, walk away from that job, first opportunity you can. Trust me, I'm going to provide for you. Now, let me just give a quick disclaimer. If you're ever thinking about quitting your job, make sure it was from God, all right? Just so we're all clear on that. I just had this mind, like 20 people going, I'm quitting, Lord, that's done, right? No, you got to hear, we heard from the Lord, though, that day. We were seeking Jesus and we got revelation. Christina walks in Monday, she quits her job. Can I tell you, two weeks later, she had a brand new job that would go on to pay great, to provide everything we need is one of the best jobs she's ever had.

And that's what happens when you're seeking Jesus. God will speak to you. Do you believe it, church? God will speak to you. He'll give you revelation. And man, I know some of you are coming in today and you're just in tremendous place of pain. And I believe God is going to speak a word of comfort and maybe even healing over your life today. And somebody's coming in here today and your place of fear, you're anxious about your money, you're anxious about your health, you're anxious about your marriage, and you don't know what to do with all of that anxiety. And you're going to seek Jesus today and God is going to speak a word of calm. He's going to speak a word of peace over your life. And some of y'all coming in today, you're just confused. You're facing problems you can't solve and questions you can't answer. And you're like, I don't even know what my next move is. And can I tell you, if you're seeking Jesus today, I believe he's going to speak a word of clarity and wisdom into what step is to take next. But can I tell you that revelation only comes to the one, watch this, who's seeking Jesus. Because what's the dead man doing over here? Still laying on the floor while these women are hearing from God. And that's not all that happens in the text.

This is crazy. Verse seven, the angel tells these ladies, listen, go quickly. I want you to tell his disciples, Jesus has risen from the dead. He's going to go ahead of you into Galilee. There you're going to see him. Now I've told you. And so the women, so good. The women hurried away from the tomb. Now watch this. It says, they are afraid yet filled with joy. And they ran to tell the disciples. Again, I got Chris Hemsworth over here on the ground, dead, all right? My guy can't get up. Meanwhile, I got these women who are having a conversation with an angel who've got this heart that is filled with awestruck joy at what God is telling them, awestruck joy. Awestruck joy. This isn't terror. This isn't terror like the soldiers had. This is a sense of reverent joy. Why are they so happy? Because they realize if Jesus has raised from the dead, that changes everything. The reason why these women are so excited is because they realized if Jesus has raised from the dead, then death does not have the last word.

If Jesus has been raised from the dead, then sin does not have the last word. If Jesus had been raised from the dead, then suffering does not have the last word. If Jesus had been raised from the dead, then there is no obstacle that can come into your life that can keep God away from the good plan that he's got for your life. How many of you know there is nothing bigger than the resurrection of Jesus Christ? That's why these women are so happy. Not because God said you're gonna have a perfectly smooth road from here on out, but because they knew no matter what journey they took, the living God had won victory on their behalf. Man, I talked to a guy the other day, and he's a friend, and he was getting a new job. The owner of a company had said, hey, I wanna hire you for this position, and they talked, and he's like, yeah, perfect, I'll do it. He said, all right, here's the thing. Job is yours, but I still need you to walk through the normal process with the team and do the interviews and all that. And so he's doing all these interviews. The interview team doesn't know he's already got the job. So they're asking him all the questions. Man, they're grilling him hard. They're pushing on all the places. Have you done this?

Do you know that? Trying to back him into a corner, trying to see where his limits are, all this. Man, they're interviewing him hard. And so the interviews get all done, watch this, and the guy who owns the company says to the interview team, so what'd you think of the candidate? And they're like, man, this dude is so confident. He just, no, we tried to give everything. We threw everything we had at him. He just had such peace during the whole interview. Friends, why do you think that was? He already had the job. He knew how the story ended. Can I tell you the same principle is true for Christians? Listen, we might go through hardship. We might go through setback. You might have people do, people might do you wrong, but can I tell you what? Jesus won on your behalf, and as long as Jesus won, Romans chapter eight says, you are more than a conqueror who him who loves through him who loves you. That's the good news. And that's why they're filled with awestruck joy. They're like, no matter what y'all can do to me, my Jesus has already beat it. And so watch this. Not only have they received revelation from God, not only have they received supernatural insight and input into their specific situation,

but now their hearts are just filled with joy because they're like, man, there's nothing this world can do me. Man, the resurrection is bigger than all of it. Watch this, verse nine. Women are on their way to find Jesus, or the disciples rather, excuse me. They're on their way, and then it says, suddenly. Everybody shout out suddenly. Suddenly Jesus met them. I was like, I'm so surprised, wasn't it? Last time these ladies saw Jesus, he was dead on a cross. Now they're having a chat with him on the sidewalk. Oh, hey, Jesus. Good weather out today. Yeah, good weather. Sunny, yeah, sunny, right? What in the world? They're having a chat with the risen Jesus. Here's what that tells me. It tells me that the person who is truly seeking Jesus Christ, watch this, encounter with him. Jesus will not just be an idea. Jesus will not just be a creed. Jesus will not just be a hero from history to be revered. Jesus will be someone you know personally. I can't tell you how important this point is. There are far too many people who think they are Christians just because they know some things about God.

There are far too many people who think just because they were maybe raised by Christian parents or they were baptized when they were a baby, or they can quote John chapter three in verse 16. They think just because I know some stuff about God, that must mean I'm a Christian. But can I tell you, friends, Christians are not people who just know things about God. Christians are people who have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Christians are people who say I realize I am a sinner and I've fallen short of the glory of God. I need the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for my sin to wash me clean. I'm gonna give my life to following him that the one who was crucified on the cross and the one who conquered the cross in the resurrection would be the savior and leader of my life. That is what a Christian is, everybody. Do you see the difference, church? One says I'm a Christian because I know stuff. The other says I'm a Christian because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. And you might be thinking like, how do I know if that's me? I always thought I was a Christian. I mean, I went to church when I was little and stuff like that. I mean, what else would I be, right? Here's how you know if you're actually a follower of Jesus.

If you're one of God's children. You know you've had a personal encounter with Jesus when you can't help but worship Jesus, when you can't help but love him with all of your heart and your soul. and your mind, and your strength. Look what happens in verse nine. I love this. It says, suddenly, Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. And watch this, they came to him, and they clasped his feet. They fell on the ground, and they clasped his feet, and they worshiped him. They were encountering the risen Jesus Christ, and all they could do is express their gratitude for his glory. How do you know if you have a personal encounter, if you've had a personal encounter, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? You worship Jesus Christ. You give him all your heart's affection, all of your praise. Can I tell you something that bugs me in church sometimes? Does that be okay, a little complaint moment? I got the mic, so I don't really care if you're gonna say no. I was like, oh, I'm still gonna say it, all right. So sometimes, I'll be in the lobby after church, and I'll be talking to people,

and I always love meeting new people. So if you're new, man, say hello. I love talking to new people. But when you're talking to me, don't say this. This is the complaint part. Sometimes I'll have people come up to me, and they'll say, man, pastor, I can tell your people really like to sing around here. Or sometimes I'll get it a different way. Sometimes I'll say, man, you know, I see people like waving their arm, raising their arms, all of a sudden, your people really like the music around here. And every time I hear someone say that, I'll say this. I'll say, yes, I appreciate we've got the music that we do, but can I tell you, friends, the reason why this church worships the way this church worships is not because our songs are so good, but because our Savior is so glorious. The reason why we worship the way we do is because when we look at a cross that Jesus died on, when we look at a risen King who conquered death on our behalf, we can't help but lift our arms in worship. We can't help but give God a good clap. We can't help but give God a good shout. That's all you do with the risen King. How else are you gonna respond to a crucified Savior? How else are you gonna respond to a risen King?

You've got no option but to fall on your feet and say, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I worship you. I worship you. That's how you know if you've got a relationship with God. You worship him. Somebody's like, oh man, it's just because those women must have been emotional. Man, Peter, my man, Peter. I know some dude's thinking it right now. It's just because the women are emotional. My wife's like that, no. Peter, the most courageous of all disciples, fell on his face and worshiped Jesus. Jairus, the synagogue leader, all kinds of power meets you, falls on his face and worshiped Jesus. How do you know you've got a relationship with God? You worship Jesus. Last thing that God does in these women's lives. Verse 10. Jesus says to them this. Do not be afraid. Go and tell. I need you to shout out, go and tell. You gotta do better than that. Go and tell. He says, do not be afraid. You go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. Not only does Jesus give these women revelation, not only are their hearts filled with awestruck joy,

not only have they had a personal encounter with the risen Jesus, but now watch this. They are given a God-assigned mission that for the rest of their lives, they could declare with their mouths that the Jesus who died on a cross for their sins was raised again. Listen, some of us, man, we're looking for our calling in all the wrong places. We've got this luxury in America. We're like, if I can just get the job where my personality lines up with my gifting, which lines up with my passion, then I'll finally feel fulfilled. I hope you get a great job. I want you to love your work, all that. But can I tell you something? There is no job, I don't care how big and important your job is, and I don't care how much money you make. There is no job, there is no calling that is higher or more significant than the calling that God gives Christ followers to make the name of Jesus known to our neighbors and to the nations. There's no greater calling than that, why? Why? Because the good news that Jesus has risen is the only news that can change someone else's eternity. The good news that Jesus died for sins and was raised again is the only news that can make someone brand new from the inside out. And give them the hope of heaven knowing that when they die, and how many of you know, you're gonna die.

The mortality rate's pretty much 100% last time I checked. And friends, the best news, listen, this makes sense, too. This makes sense. I was thinking about, sometimes I'll talk about, you know, being a go-and-tell kind of Christian, and sometimes people be like, yeah, pastor, you don't understand though. I'm a very private person. That's okay. You can be a private person, but can I tell you there's no such thing as a private Christian. The only Christians we know in the Bible are go-and-tell kind of Christians. Man, it makes sense. Like if you, if you look outside, you're sitting in your house, you look outside, and you see your neighbor's house on fire, what are you gonna do in that moment? Oh, I'm a very private person. I don't want to bother them and knock on their door. Dear God, I hope not. You see your neighbor's house on fire. What are you gonna do, church? You're gonna run over there as fast as you can, and you are gonna pound on that door until they come out so that you might save their lives from that fire. And can I tell you, friends, that pales in comparison to sharing the gospel of Jesus someone with someone that not just shares and saves their lives on this side of the grave, but rescues them from hell for all of eternity, that they might spend their eternity with God. That is what's at stake with being a go-and-tell kind of Christian. Man, I just, I've been praying. I got a crazy prayer I want to share with you. The house is filled on Easter Sunday as it always is. We're gonna spend the next three weeks looking at Easter, and I've just been praying. As we're talking resurrection saves, I've said, would the people of God, not just be internally encouraged by Easter Sunday, would the people of God leave this place and go out on a mission in the name of Jesus? Would the people of God hear this life-changing news that Jesus is risen and no longer be content to work next to somebody, to study next to somebody that doesn't know him and keep their mouth shut, but rather, would we be a community of go-and-tell Christians? And I've been praying in faith that the house would even be more full on the weeks to come than it is even on Easter Sunday in Jesus' name. Could we believe for that? Could we pray for that, that many more would come home to God? And in two weeks, we're gonna celebrate new life and baptism, and that is gonna be a party of all parties. Amen, church? Amen.

Let's pray together. Father, I just want to say today, thank you for the empty tomb. Thank you that the angel rolled away the stone, not for you, Jesus, but for us, so that we could see the evidence of an empty tomb and have to wrestle with what it means. Man, God, I pray just, I pray against anybody having a heart like the guards did, disinterested in the person and the work of Jesus Christ, disinterested in the empty tomb itself. I pray against that kind of heart. I pray we would be like those women Mary and Mary at the tomb, seeking, looking, searching for you, Jesus, even right now, that we might have a personal encounter that we might have a personal encounter with you, that you might forgive our sins, that you might raise us up to new life. In fact, staying in this place of prayer, maybe you're here today and you haven't yet given your life to Jesus. I believe the reason why God brought you to church on Easter Sunday, 2026, is so you could acknowledge before him, I'm a sinner, and you could call out to Jesus as your Savior and as your Lord. And so in just a moment, I'm going to count to three. And when I say three, if you want to give your life to Jesus, I'm going to ask you to boldly just put your hand in the air as a way of saying before God that today is the day you want to submit your life to Christ. You want to ask him to forgive your sins and to be the leader of your life. Now, listen, I'm not going to call you out or embarrass you. But what I am going to ask you to do is have enough boldness to with raised hands say, yes, Jesus, today is the day I want you to forgive my sins. I'm going to call out to you to be the leader of my life. And so one, I want you to know God loves you so much. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Two, that same Jesus who died on the cross for your sins was raised to life three days later.

so that as you would put your trust in him you too could be raised to new life with a new hope of heaven in front of you and three if you want to give your life to Jesus Christ today I'm gonna ask you all over this room and online just put your hand in the air if that's where you're at this is your chance to declare before God with raised hand today is the day I'm giving my life to Jesus today is the day I'm gonna submit myself to him again have some boldness if that's you if you want to take that step just to clear with raised hand yes God today is the day I'm coming home yes God today is the day I want you to forgive my sins that I could follow you you can put your hands down but I just want to say God thank you thank you thank you for all who just took that step thank you for those in Grand Rapids thank you for those in Holland thank you maybe in the Kent County or Ottawa County jails thank you for those who just gave their lives to you I pray father for those who've already known you Jesus for the one who walked into this room confused or in fear or hurting I pray God even now would you speak a word of revelation to that person even now just like the ladies heard divine revel it would you speak that word of peace that word of comfort a word of direction that word of hope I pray for the person who came in today defeated depressed or feeling beat down I pray father even though you may not take away their difficult circumstances I pray that the sure and certain knowledge of the resurrection of Jesus would fill their hearts with joy that they could look their circumstances in the eye and say my Jesus and his resurrection is bigger and walk out of here with hope and optimism for a good future in Jesus Christ and finally father I pray for those of us who are seeking purpose maybe we're looking into our job for purpose or our family or school for purpose and I pray that we would realize there is no greater purpose we have no higher calling than making the name of Jesus known to those around us and so I pray for every saint and the sound of my voice that through the power of the Holy Spirit you would give us compassion for lost people you would give us boldness and courage that

we would make your name known Jesus that we would invite people to church that our brothers and our sisters and our friends would hear the gospel that this house would be filled with all kinds of people coming home coming home to relationship with you we pray it would be so and we believe it in faith that it would in Jesus name and all God's people said amen can we celebrate new life on Easter 2026 can we celebrate resurrection kind of life on Easter 2026 and listen if you just took that step of giving your life to Jesus then I really want to give a gift to you right now all right so we've got a Bible for you with that Bible there is a book on how to get it get started in your relationship with God and so these folks that are standing aisles you see them stand around if you just had your hand up you just wave to him wave to him wave to him they're gonna hand you a Bible and a book there's a card in there I want you to fill that card out okay and make sure you'd put it in the drop spot because this week I'm gonna text you and I just got some special things I want to share with you I want to congratulate you so let's stand to our feet right now you gave your life to Jesus you just wave your hand to those guys that are in the aisles and they'll make sure they get you a Bible and one of these free books just get you started in your journey but here's how we're gonna end today church remember what happened with the ladies they're walking along and says suddenly Jesus met them and what did they do start a worship right and it wasn't like calm chill hands in your pockets worship was it says they fell down and they grabbed his feet and they worshipped him and I just wonder if there's anybody in the house today who knows Jesus died on the cross for you I wonder if there's anybody in the house today who knows Jesus defeated death in the resurrection who wants to worship him the same way those ladies did I wonder if there's anybody here who wants to give Jesus the acclamation and the glory and the honor that a resurrected King is due and if that's you can I say let's worship in church