Easter at United City

I cast my mind to Jesus Christ, to the day he set me free. I once was lost, in him I'm found, was blind, but now I see. Who is this man to declare the spirit of the Lord is upon me? How profound a king who carries sorrows, who chooses to mourn our grief, who was willingly crushed for our iniquities, whose ridicule rendered to us peace, whose public display of affection being pierced for our transgressions has turned the tide for the diseased heart. There is now an answer, death is no longer the end for the sinner, the captive, the slave, for hope has welcomed a new day because the stone was rolled away and in his name and by his stripes the redeemed of the Lord are healed. But not only does he roll stones, but he calls storms to be stilled and today you can be healed because the kingdom of God is near and if you call on the name, his promises that your slate is cleared, you don't have to look for life where dead things used to be. If you call on the name, who the son sets free, is free indeed. So regardless of the grave you laid in, his aim is to set you free. Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen indeed. See the nails in his hands, see the wounds in his side, see the crown meant to mock that instead prophesied that out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. So wipe the tears from your eyes because our God is rolling stones and still bringing dead things back to life. If you're looking for the old me, no, I'm not the same. If you're looking for the strong, where is it? It was thrown away. See, I'm not the same. If you're looking for the strong, it was thrown away. If you're looking for the old me, I'm not the same. Another stone is rolling in the road right now. Is it you right now? Is it you right now?

Another stone is rolling in the road. Is it you right now? Another stone is rolling in the road. Is it you right now? Another stone is rolling in the road. The stone. Church family, this morning we celebrate a king that is seated high. He is not in the tomb. He is seated and slain above. And because of that, we can sing with confidence. Are you ready? The grave is still empty. Anybody grateful? The Savior lives in me. Yeah. The grave is still empty. Come on, tell them choir. The Savior lives in me. The grave is still empty. Come on, tell them choir, keep trying. The Savior. The Savior lives in me. The grave is still empty. The grave is still empty. The Savior lives in me. The Savior lives in me. The grave is still empty. The grave is still empty. Oh, I'm looking at a room that knows that Jesus

got up from the grave. I'm looking at a room that knows that those that call on the name of the Lord are saved. Yeah. The Lord is free. Anybody grateful they're free this morning? Can you give them a hand clap of praise? Come on, we're grateful for Jesus this morning. Come on and sing. Come on, we're grateful for Jesus this morning. Come on, we're grateful for Jesus. And we're grateful, we're grateful, we're grateful. Come on. Sing it out. How can it be, I'm free, I'm free. Say nothing but the Lord has done. Come on. I'm never going back to the way I was. I'll sing, I'll dance, cause I'm free. I'm free, I'm free. Thank God I'm free. You took the cross and you broke it by. You shed your blood, now the sinner can't see. My debt is paid and my record is clean. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. You took the cross and you broke it by. You shed your blood, now the sinner can't see. My debt is paid and my record is clean. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me.

I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. I couldn't do it, so you did it for me. Come on! Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. I'm never going back to the way I was. Look at what the Lord has done. I'm never going back to the way I was. Thank you, Jesus. Where are those chains that once held me? I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. My sin is gone, how can it be? I'm free, thank God I'm free. I'm free, I'm free. Thank you, Jesus. You give us hope. How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation, I turned to heaven. And spoke your name into the night. And through the darkness, your loving kindness Tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. Jesus Christ, my living Lord. Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? The God of ages stepped down from the throne. ♪ From glory to wear my sin and bear my shame ♪

♪ The cross has spoken, I am forgiven ♪ ♪ The King of Kings calls me His own ♪ ♪ Beautiful Savior, I'm yours forever ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ There's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ And hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ ♪ Your buried body began to breathe out of the silence ♪ ♪ Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave ♪ ♪ Has no claim on me ♪ ♪ Then came the morning that sealed the promise ♪ ♪ Your buried body began to breathe out of the silence ♪ ♪ Out of the silence, the roaring lion declared the grave ♪ ♪ Has no claim on me ♪ ♪ Jesus, Yours is the victory, we sing hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪

♪ Jesus Christ, my living hope ♪ ♪ Oh God, You are our living hope, hallelujah ♪ Hope has a name and His name is Jesus, y'all. The one we worship this morning, please grab a seat. And welcome to this wonderful, beautiful Resurrection Sunday here at United City. We are so grateful that you are worshiping with us today. My name is Jason Mick. I serve here as our executive pastor, and I hope and pray that I am one of many people who are welcoming you, greeting you here today as a part of this fantastic week. And this is one of six Easter services, and we've seen God do incredible things last night and this morning. And we're certainly expecting for all that He'll continue to do in the days to come. Whether this is your 1,000th time here at United City or this is your very first time, just know we are grateful for every single one of you. Now, 10 o'clock, I do wanna say this. You have shown up and showed out, but those of us in the room need to give a special shout out because we have people joining us in our overflow service and through the overflow to the overflow. Can we just extend this room to all of our guests? For all of you who are in our overflow. and the overflow, thank you for being here today. We are so grateful that you're worshiping with us. I know it looks a little bit different,

but we're so grateful for you. And for all of you who are tuning in online, whether you're out of town, or you might be one of our friends in one of the prisons. And we just so grateful that through the power of technology and through the Pando app, that you could tune in and hear the gospel message preached today, wherever you might be. Okay, 10 o'clock, you've shown up. Now I wanna see how well you can do this. 8.30, crush this. Now they did a whole lot better than last night. So we gotta keep a good streak going. Earlier before our service, I came up and gave a little precursor, but every single one of you have this card and a pen. Would you guys just take two seconds to locate this card, every single person to have this card. Pastor Chris will come up later and you'll see how this is a very important part of his message in time of response. But if you would all locate this, if you're a first time guest, you'll actually see that there's a place at the very top. Just check that box that says, this is my very first time at United City. Give us some information as we wanna follow up with you and pray for you, check on you. And later on in our service, Pastor Chris will talk about all the information

about next steps, topics, and even the back. Right now, you can just get a head start on all the information. Now, 10 o'clock, 8.30, did it. No one put this in the offertory plates when they came by. So I'm trusting that in a moment when the plates come by, that you're not gonna put them in there, right? You with me? Can we do that? Perfect, all five of you, praise God. Now, he will give instructions, Pastor Chris will give instructions on how and when to turn these in at the very end. There is so much taking place here at United City. And we certainly want all of you to be informed and aware. You'll notice on the chair in front of you, or perhaps the QR code on the screen, a little tap tag. You can simply take your phone or scan the QR code. It'll pull up some information about how to get plugged into a life group and find biblical community. We're not meant to do this alone. We're better together, family. You may have questions about how could I serve here at United City Church? How can I become a member of United City Church? Pastor Jason, how could I set up a reoccurring gift? Well, as a matter of fact, if you, if you use the tap tag, all that information is there. So we certainly want you to be informed and equipped with again, all that God is doing here at United City.

I'm gonna go ahead and ask our serve team and ushers to come forward as we continue to worship through the giving of our tithes and offerings. And church, we always wanna take a moment to just say thank you, thank you, thank you, for your faithful, consistent, and bold generosity that allows this church body to advance the kingdom of God. When you give, you're not simply giving to United City Church, you're giving through United City Church so that we can proclaim the gospel here in Northeast Houston to the ends of the earth for God's glory. Would you pray with me as we continue to worship through our tithes and offerings? Father, we thank you, Lord, that the tomb is empty. Father, we come with hope and praise in our souls and in our voice today because we know, Lord, that you have conquered death and the grave Father, you have risen and you reign and you are going to return. And so, Father, it is with that anticipation that we joyfully give back to you so that more people can experience the hope of Jesus and come to faith in you. So God, use these tithes and bless these offerings for the furthering of your kingdom, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪ He has the sweetest name I know ♪

♪ And he's just the same as he is as his lovely name, oh ♪ ♪ And that's the reason why I love him so ♪ ♪ For Jesus is the sweetest name, Jesus is the sweetest name, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus is the sweetest name I know ♪ ♪ I could sing your name for all my life ♪ ♪ And still find more to love each time ♪ ♪ Jesus be the name ever on my lips ♪ ♪ It's sweeter every time I see you ♪ ♪ Every time that I call on it ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name ♪ ♪ There is no other name, oh Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ You have been the friend who never left ♪ ♪ And I won't forget your faithfulness ♪ ♪ So Jesus be the name ever on my lips, yeah ♪ ♪ He's sweeter every time that I call on it ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ There's just something about your name ♪ ♪ That makes me cry holy ♪ ♪ There is no other name, oh ♪ ♪ There is no other name, oh ♪ ♪ There is no other name, oh Jesus you're worthy ♪ ♪ You are worthy, you are holy, you are matchless ♪ ♪ You are mighty to be praised ♪ ♪ Because Jesus your name is like the morning light ♪

♪ The one the darkness can't deny ♪ ♪ The resurrection and the life, Jesus, Jesus your name ♪ ♪ Can save, your name can heal, your name can make the storm be still ♪ ♪ You never fail, you never will, Jesus, Jesus the bread of life broken for us ♪ ♪ The wounded and the worthy one, the first, the last, and still to come, Jesus, Jesus the king ♪ ♪ The world, the great, the Lord will forever reign, the name above all other names, Jesus be the name ♪ ♪ The world, the great, the Lord will forever reign, the name above all other names, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that can solve the glory. ♪ Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name, Jesus be the name that can solve the glory, all the glory is yours, all the glory is yours, all the glory is yours, Jesus. Jesus, Emmanuel, Son of God, Son of Man, Great I Am, Roaring Lion, Precious Lamb, Consider Him, Jehovah-Jireh, The One Who Provides, Jehovah-Rode, The God Who Guides, The One Come To Set The Captives Free, The One Who Gives Sight To The Blind, For In Him All Things Were Created, Things In Heaven And On Earth, Visible And Invisible, Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Positions, He Is The Alpha And The Omega, He Is The Last And He Is The First, And All Things Have Been Created Through Him And For Him, And He Is Before All Things And In Him, All Things Are Held Together, For Though He Was In The Form Of God, He Did Not Consider Equality With God A Thing To Be Grasped, But He Emptied Himself By Taking On The Form Of Certainty, And The Likeness Of Men, And The Likeness Of You, And The Likeness Of Us, He Humbled Himself By Becoming Obedient, Obedient To The Point Of Death, Even Death, Whose Crimson Stains Have Thrown Our Sin As Far As, East Is From The West, For The Grave Could Not Keep Him, Death Could Not Hold Him, Hell Could Not Defy Him, History Could Not Deny Him, Therefore God Has Highly Exalted Him And Bestowed Upon Him, The Name That Is Above Every Other Name, So At The Name Of Jesus, Every Knee Will Bow, Every Knee Will Bow, tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord that Jesus Christ is Lord Jesus Christ is Lord that Jesus Christ is Lord that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of our Father forever and ever, Amen. Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name Jesus be the name that gives all the glory All hail Jesus We behold you now All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus When you lift your voice, when you lift your hands in this place and declare the taker of the world All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail King Jesus All hail the Savior of the world Nobody like you, Jesus

Nobody like you, Jesus We sing let every knee, so let every knee Come bow before the King of kings Come on, we'll confess Lift up your voice now Let us join with all of heaven singing Oh, your holy God Oh, your holy God Oh, your holy God All hail King Jesus All hail the Lord of heaven and earth All hail All hail the Savior of the world Savior of the world We behold you now Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Come on lift your voice Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Oh, Lord I love you, say Lord I love you I love you, Lord Lord, I love you Lord, I love you Lord, I love you

Lord, I love you If you're comfortable, lift your hands and sing that with us Say Lord, I love you, Lord, I love you We lift our hands surrender to you, Jesus. Lord, I love you. Lord, I love you. Because you first loved me, Lord. Lord, I love you. Say hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We give our all to you, Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. ♪♪ Happy Easter! How you guys doing? It is so good to see you. Thank you so much for being here. I want you to turn to your neighbor and I want you to say He is risen. I want you to turn to your other neighbor, the one you are trying to avoid, and say He is risen indeed. Man, it is so good to see you. This is so exciting. This is our fourth Easter service of six. We're so grateful to have not only all of you here in the room, but all of you in our overflow, and all of you in our overflow of the overflow, and all of you in the overflow of the overflow of the overflow. We are so grateful that you are here. Hopefully, you have an opportunity to have that card. I do want to ask you to pull this out for me. Everybody, do this with me if you would, please. We do a little tradition here at United City that we want to continue. We've been doing this the last few years, and so we're asking for everybody to please fill this out. This isn't one per couple or one per family. We're asking every single person to be able to participate in this. There are two things — Jason already mentioned to you your information at the top — but there are two specific things that I want to mention to you at the beginning of this message that we're asking from you. One, on the back of the card, you see there that we've got an opportunity for you to write a prayer request. Would you please let us know how we can pray for you? We know that the Bible is powerful and it speaks about the power of prayer, and we want to make sure that every single time you list one of these prayer requests

that are here on the back of this card, we will personally pray for those things. So please make sure to do that. I also want to bring your attention to the front of the card at the very bottom, the bottom portion there. One of our core values here at United City Church is that we say the Bible speaks. And in just a moment, I'm going to do what I do at the beginning of every single message that we do here at United City Church. I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles, too. So we're not asking you whether you think we should preach the Bible. That's not going to be a thing we're going to talk about, OK? But we do want to know what topics you want to hear the Bible taught on. And so what we're asking you to do, we've got a bunch of different topics that are listed there. You can choose from any of those. You can choose as many as you want that you want to hear about. Or there's also — maybe there's something that you're thinking about that's not on the list. Would you just let us know in that other category? Or we also have a spot where you could write out a book of the Bible that you would like to hear preached on here at United City. I want you to know we listen to you. Like we follow your guidance on this Easter survey. And the reason we do it on Easter is because the one time everybody shows up at the same time. So we figured it would be the easiest way to get this information. And it shapes what we do. In fact, the last two years, the number one topic that has been requested has been end times and spiritual warfare. And we did a sermon series last year on that very topic. Earlier, Jason mentioned the tap tags. You can use that to be able to access that message series if you weren't here to be able to hear that. We also know the number two topic that has been listed has been the topic of forgiveness, which we've been in a series the last few weeks. And we'd love for you to join us. Join us again, you can find that on the tap tag that is there in front of you, or the QR code that has been on the screen. So thank you so much for filling this out and letting us know how we can serve you best in our preaching and teaching ministry. Grab your Bibles and open them up with me

to 1 John 1, 1 John 1. It's towards the back and the end of my Bible and yours as well, and we'd love for you to follow along with us as we're gonna key in today on two specific verses. As I mentioned, that Easter survey, one of the top things that have been listed has been the topic of forgiveness. And that's what I wanna talk to you about today. Because I believe that there are some of you that are carrying something that maybe you can't seem to put down. Maybe you have some guilt over what it is that you have done. Maybe you've got some bitterness that has been building up towards somebody that has hurt you. Maybe you're not even really sure why you're here today. Maybe this is a tradition in your family, and so therefore you're just going along with everybody else trying to make mom happy. Maybe there's a girl who you're really into and she said you need to come to church. So you know what you did? You got dressed and came to church, all right? And I don't know what your story is, but I know this. God has a desire to speak to you today. God has a desire to meet with you today. And what I wanna tell you about is a God who doesn't just tolerate your past,

but he paid for it. And I wanna give you a chance to receive something today that can change the rest of your life. What I wanna tell you about is three things that you need to know. The problem, the solution, and the result. Number one, the problem. Number two, the solution. Number three, the result. Let's look at 1 John 1 in verse eight. It reads, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. First thing I want you to see today is this. It's the problem, it's the problem. Notice what this verse doesn't say. It doesn't say if you've done really bad things. It instead says, if we claim to have no sin. Our problem isn't just what we've done, it's the story we tell ourselves about what we've done. We are a culture from the very beginning of blame shifters. Adam blamed Eve in the garden when he messed up and took eight of the fruit he wasn't supposed to. Eve blamed the snake. The snake didn't have a leg to stand on. It's a bad joke, I know, I know. Here's the thing, folks, nothing has changed. Like people will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid taking ownership of their mistakes. We minimize, we rationalize, we redirect. Let me get a little more personal.

I minimize, I rationalize, I redirect. When my wife Hilary has something that she wants to tell me about that I'm not doing right, I'm not quick to say, oh yeah, I totally did that. I'm quick to say, well, no, it's because of this. I just passed the blame and I'm guessing I'm not the only one. Here's the truth, at some level, every person in this room, every person watching me, every person, wherever it is that you are listening to these words, knows this is true. That you have done some things that you should not have done. And there are some things that have been left undone that you know you should have done. The Bible has a word for this gap that exists between where, if we're honest, we know that we really are and what we also know where we should be. The Bible calls that gap sin. The word literally means to miss the mark and every one of us has missed it. Look at what it says in the next verse in 1 John 1 verse nine. He says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I want you to notice it's a condition at the beginning of this verse. If we confess our sins, the condition is confession, not perfection. Not fix yourself first, not get your life together.

But if you confess, that means you stop pretending and you start owning. Some of you are not able to hear the good news of Easter Sunday because you aren't yet willing to admit first the bad. news. The invitation today is to move from I may have a problem to I have a problem to I am the problem. I want you to think about the last time something went wrong in your house or your marriage or your workplace or your school. Was your first instinct to say what did I do wrong or was your first instinct to say who else is responsible for this? We have a hard wiring that keeps us from owning the things that could actually set us free. We instead just deflect. We distribute blame everywhere except in our hearts. First John 1 9 look at what it says again. If we confess our sins there's the problem. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That middle phrase there he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins tells us about the story of Easter. It tells us about the solution. We know what our problem is. Now the Bible tells us what our the solution is. It says that God is faithful and that God is also just. The Bible at times and plays other places calls him merciful and gracious abounding in steadfast love. We also know that he is holy. He is right. He upholds justice. All of these things leads to it says there the forgiveness of our sins. What does this mean? Psalm chapter 103 verse 12 says as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Let's do a little geography lesson. I want you to think if I was to get into an airplane and I was to fly due north and I was to fly all the way up to the North Pole and I was to cross the boundary lines of the North Pole I would be going I'm heading north I crossed the North Pole and now I'm going what? South. If I was to then fly all the way south and go down to the South Pole and I crossed the South Pole I'm now no longer going south I'm going what? North. I want you to know the psalmist here says that when God forgives us he throws our transgressions not as far as the

north is from the south which would be a really long way. He says that he throws your sins as far as the east is from the west in the same way if I was to get into an airplane and I was to begin to fly east you know what I would never hit? West. West and east never converge. What I want you to see forgiveness means is this it's not like God just keeps your sins in a vault to pull them out if you need to be reminded of them but instead God throws them away to where they are no longer able to be found because east and west never come together that's how far he removes our transgressions from us. How? If sin is real if it's a genuine debt then how can a just God simply waive it away? A judge who lets guilty people walk free isn't merciful he's corrupt and the Bible is very clear it says that the wages of sin is death so here's the tension. How can I have a God who is loving who wants to forgive but also have a God who is just and can't pretend that debt doesn't exist? How do you satisfy both at the same time? Every other religion in the world answers that question the same way. You work it off. You do enough good things. You follow enough rules. You perform enough rituals and eventually the scales might tip in your favor. You pay your own debt over time. Some of you that may be your story you're trying to do more good than you've done bad and what you realize is how exhausting that is because it never works. But Christianity answers it completely different and that's what makes Easter unlike anything else in human history because God didn't lower the standard. He didn't pretend the debt didn't exist. He didn't give you a payment plan. Instead he did something that no one else in human history has ever done. He paid the debt himself. Jesus who was fully God and fully man which means that he was the only sacrifice sufficient to cover the weight of what we owe but he also is the only sacrifice close enough to us to be able to stand in our place. He absorbed it. The debt didn't just disappear it was paid for. I want you to visualize like you have some maybe medical debt or some legal judgment and legal debt that you are having to deal with. Maybe for some of you, you're not having to imagine this.

This is your life. This is what you're dealing with personally at home. You've tried everything. A payment plan, negotiations, just avoiding it and acting like it's not real. Nothing seems to work. Then one day you receive a letter, you're expecting it to be another demand, expecting it to be another fine, expecting it to be another penalty to mount to the growing debt that you have. And you're shocked to open up that letter and you see what you thought was gonna be judgment instead says your account has been paid in full. Can you imagine what that would feel like? Not reduced, not deferred, paid. You didn't earn it, you couldn't afford it. Someone else paid it for you. That's what Jesus did for you, which now means you don't have to spend another day trying to balance a scale that Jesus has already tipped in your favor. You don't have to be good enough or clean enough or far enough along. The payment has already been made. The question now is, are you gonna continue to make payments on a debt that no longer exists? And then folks, I want you to think about the resurrection. The resurrection isn't just the cherry on top of a good story.

The resurrection is the entire reason why we are sitting in this room on this particular Sunday morning. Here's why it matters. If Jesus died on the cross and he stayed dead, he'd be just another martyr, a good teacher who made the ultimate sacrifice. He'd be inspiring, no doubt, but he wouldn't be saving because a dead savior can't help you. A dead savior has no power over your guilt or over your shame or over your grave. But three days later, something happened that changed everything. The tomb was empty. The resurrection is God the Father saying that what Jesus the Son did worked. The payment was sufficient. The sacrifice was accepted. The debt is gone. The empty tomb is the receipt. It's proof that the transaction has cleared. You ever look at your bank account and sometimes after you've charged something that you're not quite sure was the best thing you should have been doing and you see that it says there pending transaction, you know what I'm talking about? And you're just kind of hoping that somehow that pending transaction will just go away

and not show up on the actual transaction statement. It never does. It never does. And I want you to know that every single sin that you've ever committed will eventually show up on your statement. But also I need you to know that if you were to pay your bill, there also has a time period where that payment says pending transaction. And if you don't get that cleared and the credit card statement is not paid, then you will not able to use that credit card or it's just gonna keep racking up debt. I want you to know this. Because of Jesus and ultimately because of His resurrection, that pending transaction of the payment has cleared. And there is nothing that can remove it. Because of the cross your sin has been paid for, because of the resurrection, that payment holds forever. He didn't just die for you. He also lives for you right now. Folks, let's just talk about it. If that's all we got, that would be enough right there. Like forgiveness alone would be extraordinary. But we didn't just get forgiveness. We got something more.

Look at what 1 John 1 says. If we confess our sins, there's the problem. If He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, there's the solution. And then here He gives us the result. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What I want you to see is that when God forgives us, He erases your past and He gives you a new future. Here's the result. I want you to take a look at the screens and just see a little picture of what God does when He forgives you. Going into foster care, the first home, they were nice. You know, they fed me and I went to school, but still very disconnected. And then the second family actually, then I went to, they wanted to adopt me, but they gave up on me. I was rebellious and just doing drugs in a way, like it numbed everything. So I was just. I just kept going and running. I kind of wanted to be out of this world, you know, not alive. That led me to prison where I found out that I was pregnant. After I had her, I went back to prison and I got released May 5th of 2022. And I was like, oh wait, like, I don't,

I don't have anywhere to go. Didn't have anybody that cared for me. I don't have a birth certificate, social security card. All that was like lost before I went to prison. And so the one person that I had was a lady that I went through with the adoption agency. And so the chaplain got ahold of her and she's like, okay, we'll figure something out. So she called me on a Saturday morning and she's telling me all of these things that are going on with Bailey. She's still healing from having a baby. She's going through postpartum depression. I got off the phone and I looked at my assistant and I said, we should not do this. There's so much more that, that I feel like that this, this girl needs. And I said, but God's just punching me in the gut. Like we have to be there for her. And we called the chaplain back and she got on the phone and I said, you're coming home to Oaks of Righteousness. Oaks of Righteousness is a discipleship program for women coming out of prison to help them heal from past trauma and focus on being transformed in Christ to be the woman that God created you to be. I remember just feeling like I was home, like I was safe, pulled out of darkness, for sure. Charity, she was the one that whenever I got out, I was able to open up to her about basically my whole past

and everything. And so that opened the door for me to let her know, like, I didn't have any family. My mom passed away, so, and then I never met my real dad, but like, it just welcomed me like, like a mom and dad would and open their hearts. Dude, family stuff, you know, watch movies, go out to eat. Woke up Christmas morning, super early. Yeah. And unwrapped presents. I felt like my, my inner kid was being healed for sure. You know, I was like, this is what family's about. I don't know, I mean, in my head, I'm like, I don't ever want this to end. Somebody made a joke about, I don't know why you guys don't just adopt her. What started our relationship from an adoption finishes with her being adopted by us. I'm her daughter now. Like, even whenever I get married, I'm still holding that last name. Like, when I get married, it's just going to be my husband's last name. I applaud to that. You know, like, that's how much it means to me. We were adopted by God, you know, and even though he's placed an earthly family in my life, like, ultimately the old me is gone. God has literally, like, restored my life

from death to life, you know. My name is Charity Fyke. My name's Bailey Breanne Fyke. And I'm Jeff Fyke. Jeff and Charity, and I think Bailey may be here too, as well, it's just amazing to see you guys in the life of our church, in the story. You know, it's interesting, technically, after Bailey served her time, like, her record was clear. Like, her debt was paid. But she had no family, no birth certificate, no one willing to claim her. And by all accounts, she was walking into nothing but a shameful and hurtful past with very little hope of having a different future. What she wanted was to be wanted. 1 John 1, 9 says that Jesus not only forgives you, Jesus not only forgives you, but he wants to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. The word cleanse isn't just legal language, it's restoration relational language. It means that he wants to make you new, not just pardon you. He wants to claim you. He wants to put his name on you. The Bible calls this adoption. Romans 8, verse 15 says so. We call him Abba Father. You don't receive a spirit of obligation.

You don't receive a spirit of probation like you're on trial and still proving yourself. You receive a spirit of adoption. I don't know if you realize this, but when Jeff and Charity adopted Bailey, she was an adult and there's not a lot of legal benefits to do that. Like nobody required them to do that. Like their taxes didn't get better when they adopted Bailey. It didn't even make their lives more simple. They did it because they wanted her to have a new name. They wanted her to know that somebody chose her, not because they had to, not because she was perfect, but because they wanted her. Folks, do you realize that that's a picture of what God does for you? He adopts you not because He needs you. He adopts you because He wants you. Bailey's birth certificate that she didn't even have used to tell one story, a story of abandonment, a story of brokenness. Now the birth certificate that she proudly waved in the midst of that video tells a very different story. Not because the past was erased, but because somebody with authority stepped in and wrote a new name on that birth certificate. And that new name allows her past to have a very promising, hopeful future. I need you to know today that your history does not get the last word. I want you to know this, that your past doesn't define your identity. But the one who made you has stepped in and has written His name over your story and He wants to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. I'm gonna ask if you would, everybody here today, to go ahead and take that card back out again for me. If you would, go ahead and grab the card. Part of our annual tradition is not only to take our Easter survey asking you for feedback on what to preach about and what to speak to you about what God's Word says, but if you'll turn it to the back, we also are inviting you to take a spiritual survey.

I need you to know this is the most important thing we're gonna do today. And for some of you, many of you, it could be the most important thing that you do in your life. What I'm gonna ask you to do is to allow me to explain all four options and then I'm asking you to evaluate which one of these options represent where you are right now. I need you to know there's only one per person. Don't check three boxes or two boxes, just check the one that most resonates with where you are today. The first one, A, represents this, you are already a Christian. You are already a Christian. Whenever people adopt a child, or an adult in this case, many times what they'll do is they'll recognize that day by calling it their gotcha day. You ever heard of this before? You've seen people that celebrate their gotcha day? The gotcha day is the day when everything changed in that person's life. Somebody's gotcha day is July 31st of 2025, last year. And what that means is on that day, she went from this is who I was to now this is who I am. It's a clear, defining moment where a transition has taken place. My question for you is this, do you have a gotcha day with Jesus? I'm not asking if you go to church, I'm not asking if you go to Easter every year, I'm not asking if your family is religious, I'm not even asking if you could pass a basic Bible knowledge quiz if we were to give you one. I'm asking has there ever been a moment when you confessed your sins, you've received the forgiveness of Jesus, and you've experienced the cleansing that comes when he cleanses you from all unrighteousness? Have you had a day, a moment, when you moved from death to life? Maybe some of you are saying, well, I'm not really, really sure, then I would tell you don't pick A. Let A be the one when you know this was my gotcha day and moment. If that's you, in just a moment I'm going to ask you to check the box A and praise God

for you. B represents I want to begin a relationship with Christ. Some of you might say, you know, there's something to this Jesus guy, like if he legitimately did all the stuff that you just said. that he did, like I kind of want in on that. I know that I've got a debt that I cannot pay and I want his payment and his cleansing in my life. And I've been thinking about this, or maybe even today I felt it, and I want to do that. In just a moment, would you check B. Others need to check C. C stands for consider it more first. Like you know this is important. Like you know this is something that you're gonna need to address, but maybe you're not quite sure yet. You're not quite ready. You have more questions. I want you to know United City Church is a place that it's okay to have questions. We will allow you to belong before you believe. We believe we're gonna take God's word and we're gonna open it up and we're gonna tell you what it says and allow your questions to have a safe place to be answered. If that's you, thank you for your honesty. Would you in just a moment check C. Others of you might need to check D, which stands for I don't ever intend to.

One, I just want to thank you for being honest. I would much rather you tell me the honest truth as opposed to telling me what you think I want to hear, but I need to be honest with you. I am praying for you. I am praying that God would reveal himself to you and that even though you don't intend whatsoever to pursue him, you would realize that he already, even right now, is pursuing you. If you would take that card out, I want to ask you to check one of those boxes, A, B, C, or D. Everybody in the room, individually, where are you today? You need to know the most important question that you'll ever be asked is where you are in your relationship with Jesus. Some of you, even while I've been preaching, you've had this feeling kind of welling up inside of you like you need forgiveness, like you need a relationship. And just a moment ago, you checked B, and you realized it's time. Like it's time for me to confess my sins. It's time for me to receive that forgiveness. It's time for me to experience that cleansing, that claiming. It's time for you to receive what God has already offered to you. I want to ask everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes, both Overflow, those in the lobby, all of you that are hearing my voice.

If you're here today and you want to have a relationship with Jesus, you want to know for sure that your salvation is secured. You want to know that that pending transaction has cleared for sure. What I'm gonna ask you to do is to pray this simple prayer with me. If you just checked B, wherever it is that you are, pray these words with me. Say, dear God, I want to have a relationship with you. God, I want to be claimed by you. I believe you died on a cross. I believe you rose from the dead. And right now, on April 5th, 2026, I give my life to you. I ask you to save me. I ask you to adopt me. I ask you to make me new. Thank you for your forgiveness, for the promise of an eternal future with you. It's in the powerful name of Jesus that I pray, amen. Would you look up at me? Here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. If you're there in the overflow room, I want you to do it as well. If you're out in the lobby, I want you to do it as well. If you're here in the room, what I want you to do, all of us, if you just prayed that prayer with me, if you checked the box B, what I'm gonna do

is I'm gonna count down three, two, one, and I'm gonna ask you to lift your hand up. I'm not asking you to do the little side hand. I'm not asking you to do this kind of stuff. I'm saying full out, locked elbows all the way up like you're proud of it. Like you're celebrating because we wanna have an opportunity to celebrate with you. So are you ready? If you prayed that prayer with me, if you checked box B, wherever you are, here's what I wanna do. Ready? Three, God loves you. Two, be bold and courageous. Ready? Three, two, one, lift your hand up. If you prayed that prayer with me. Praise God for you guys. Praise God for you. Man, praise God for you. Praise God for you, man. Praise God for you. I see you guys. I see you. Praise God for you. I see you, ma'am. I see you, ma'am, right here. Come on, who else? Who else?

Over here. Praise God for you guys. Both of you. And praise God for you, bro. In the lobby, in the overflow, let's celebrate all of these who are making decisions for Jesus today. Praise God for you, bro. Yes. All right, here's what I want you to do. No matter where you are, if you're in the room, if you're in the lobby, if you're in — go track wherever you are. I want you to get your cards out. This is the time when I need you to turn them in. I want everybody to pass your cards to the right. Everybody pass your cards to the right, and we're going to have the opportunity to get those from you at this time. Hey, I do want to make sure that you know, no matter where you're hearing me speak today, that some of our staff team is going to be up front. If you've got a prayer need, we want to pray specifically with you. You can come up front and pray with one of our team members. In addition, if you've got questions, you want to talk to somebody, maybe you've got a few more things you want to wrestle through related to your decision, we would love to talk to you about that. Our team members will be up front. Next week, in response to our Easter survey, we're launching a brand new sermon series that I want to invite you back for called The Song of Us. We're going to be going through the book of Song of Solomon and looking at marriage and dating and relationships and all the things that go along with that. And I'm telling you, if you knew what God's Word said about this topic, you'd be reading the Bible a lot sooner than you're — you are right now, right?

I mean, it is crazy what it says in there. It is pro-marriage and pro-relationships and pro-dating, but it all has to be done the way that God desires and we want to walk you through what that looks like by walking through this book. You don't want to miss, starting next week, 8.30, 10, and 11.30. Do we have all the cards, team? Oh, we got them? Sweet. Here's what I want to ask you to do. As we close today, if you're in the lobby, growth track, do the same thing for me. I want to pray a prayer of blessing over you as we dismiss. So what I want to ask you to do, in an act of receiving this blessing from the Lord, would you just put your hands out like this so that you can receive it? And would you bow your heads all over this place? All over this building? Let me pray these words over you and now may the God of peace, who brought the Lord Jesus back again from the dead, equip you with all that you need to do His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to Him. To Him be glory forever and ever, amen. Happy Easter, United City!