EASTER SERVICE

Good morning, Antioch! Happy Easter, everyone! Hey, I want to say a warm welcome on behalf of Antioch, everybody watching online, all our brothers and sisters behind the walls on Pando watching online. Hey, it's going to be an amazing day today. My name is Jason Ramos. I get the privilege to serve as one of our pastors and elders here at Antioch, and again, just want to welcome you today. At Antioch, we love to share that we're a people who have a passion for Jesus and His purposes in the earth, and so today is Easter Sunday. Some would say it's like the Super Bowl, but it's better because we know who already won. Amen? Hey, it's going to be a sweet time. We're going to worship the Lord together. We're going to hear the Word of God. I believe it. We're believing for miracles to happen in this place, for people to be healed today, for families to be restored, and for the Kingdom of God to be advanced right here in this room and throughout this city. Hey, I want to invite you as you're coming in, keep squeezing in because this is the day we do get a lot of visitors, and a lot of people come, so I want to make sure that we have room for everyone. So if you're sitting on the edge, take a couple seats down and scoot on down, but I also want to invite right outside this room, there's a room called Nursing Moms, as well as in the lobby, so if you have children and they get a little restless, but you still want to keep up with the service, we got some TVs out there, as well as the rooms specifically set up for you to be able to sit and enjoy the service. Hey, right outside this room, there's another place called Connect, and Connect is a place, if you're like, I'm new here, or I've heard about life groups, I've heard about life groups, or I want to get connected, I want to get involved, this is a place where you can go and connect with a pastor, get prayed for, and find out about more what's going on here at Antioch. Hey, so over the last couple weeks, you guys had all delivered and brought 13,000 Easter eggs here today, and we had an event planned for yesterday, but it got postponed, it got rescheduled to today at 4 p.m., so we're going to be at Seeley Park, we're going to have a massive egg hunt, we're going to have face painting, we're going to have food for the family, so I want to invite you, a drama, so if you're here today and you're like, oh, we'd love to go be a part of it, I'd say bring your kids, bring the whole family, it's a place for us to connect as the people of God, but enjoy the Risen King. Hey, I want to invite you, stand at your feet right now, and turn to the person next to you, introduce yourself, and then ask them, what's your plans today, are you going to the park at four? As one of the pastors here, just want to say, happy Easter to you, and ask you a question,

what's the big deal about Easter? Like, why do we do this? Why do we get all dressed up and cram into these chairs and make sure we get here early and get a seat? In order to experience why it's a big deal, we want to read a passage of scripture all together. Can you read with me from Jeremiah chapter 31? At that time declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. And what that says to me is that there's some good news, and that there's some bad news. The good news is, is that you are unconditionally loved by God, without qualification or restriction. He loves you in a way that you can't lose. The bad news is that it's really hard to believe the good news, and sometimes even harder to experience it. And what that means is, you might have possibly spent some portion of this last week trying to drum up your own lovable-ness, trying to become lovable in a way that you could define or measure or control. In other words, subconsciously you might have tried to become in your eyes what you already are in God's. Let me say that again. You may have spent time this week trying to become in your own eyes what you already are in God's eyes. You see, the good news is called grace. The bad news is called sin. But there's some more good news. Because Jesus routinely interacted with people who were in sin. He just... Rarely reacted the way everybody thought he would because he would say things like neither do I condemn you and friends That's good news Because when he interacted with all of our imperfections, he could have just lowered the standards of holiness But instead he found a way to make you holy that did not depend on your performance but on his Sacrifice and that's why Easter is such a big deal So as we're going into worship, I want you just to gaze at this cross for a moment just stare at it That cross says grace wins That cross says you're loved that cross says his word is the final word So today as we go into worship, I have a challenge for you Don't clean yourself up and don't try to make yourself more lovable Just stand in that promise that his love is everlasting and his kindness is unfailing So we want to make that into a prayer It's gonna come up on the screen and I just ask that we all pray this prayer together right now Lord

You have loved me with an everlasting love you have drawn me with unfailing kindness Let's just say that again Lord. You have loved me with an everlasting love You have drawn me with unfailing kindness. So let's just keep our eyes on that cross Let's celebrate his victory. Let's remember He is risen. He is risen indeed There was a moment when the lights went out When death acclaimed its victory The king of love had given up his life The darkest day is through There on a cross they made for sinners For every curse his blood atoned One final breath and it was finished But not the end we could have hoped Not the end we could have hoped For the earth began to shake And the veil was torn What sacrifice was made As the heavens rolled As the heavens rolled All Hail Jesus All Hail the Lord of Heaven and Earth All Hail Jesus All Hail the Saviour of the world There was a moment when the sky lit up Flash of light breaking through When all was lost across eternity The king of life adorned In a dark cold tomb Where our Lord was slain One miraculous breath

With a river chained He is risen He is risen indeed He is risen He is risen He is risen indeed [♪ Music begins playing ♪‍ [♪ Music continues playing ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪ Heavy stone, Messiah still in all of us ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For in this day we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Then on the third at break of dawn ♪ ♪ The Son of Heaven rose again ♪ ♪ Oh trampled day, where is your sting ♪ ♪ The angels roar for Christ the King ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For in this day we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ You shall return in robes of white ♪ ♪ The blazing sun shall pierce the night ♪ ♪ And I will rise among the saints ♪ ♪ My gaze transfixed on Jesus' face ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For in this day we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ For in this day we will sing Your praise ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, oh Lord our God ♪ ♪ Thank You Lord, thank You Lord, thank You Lord ♪ ♪ Oh praise the name of the Lord our God ♪

♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ ♪ Oh praise His name forevermore ♪ Thank You Lord for everything. We've searched the world and we found that nothing compares to You Jesus. Lord we place You at the center of this service this morning, at the center of our lives. You deserve all our worship. Everything that we have to offer You, we give it to You this morning. I love You Jesus. Lord we love You. Lord we love You. Knowing Jesus is my great reward. My joy, my treasure, my delight. I've searched and found that I want nothing more. You're all I need for all my life. And my history with You Lord will always be that You love and You love me. ♪ Is better than this life to me ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we love you ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we honor you ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ We praise you Lord ♪ ♪ When Jesus is my great reward ♪ ♪ My joy, my treasure, my love ♪ ♪ I've searched and found and I want nothing more ♪ ♪ You're all I need for all my life ♪ ♪ And my history with you will always be ♪

♪ That your love is better than this life to me ♪ ♪ To me ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we love you ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we honor you ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ We praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪ Sing again, it's always. ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we love you ♪ ♪ It's always been you Jesus, we honor you ♪ ♪ We honor you, it's always been you Jesus ♪ ♪ We praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ It's only you, it's only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus, only you deserve our praise ♪ ♪ And there is no one like you, beside you ♪ ♪ Jesus you're all I need, my God my everything ♪ ♪ And there is no one like you, beside you Lord ♪ ♪ There is no one, no one like you Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one, no one like you Jesus ♪ ♪ I found that there is only one, only one ♪ ♪ Only one worthy, see there is no one ♪ ♪ See there is no one, there is no one like you, beside you ♪ ♪ Jesus you're all I need, my God my everything ♪ ♪ And there is no one like you, beside you Lord ♪ ♪ No one, no one, there is no one like you, beside you ♪ ♪ Jesus you're all I need, my God my everything ♪ ♪ There is no one like you, beside you Lord, beside you Lord ♪ ♪ Lord we praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ We praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Lord we praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪ ♪ We praise you Lord, we praise you Lord ♪

♪ We praise You Lord, we praise You Lord, we praise You Lord ♪ ♪ We praise You Lord, we praise You Lord, we praise You Lord, we praise You Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, thank You Lord, how we praise You Lord ♪ ♪ I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made and it's all about You, yes it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh it's all about You, oh it's all about You Jesus, it's all about You, oh it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ Yes it is, this is all about You, I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made and it's all about You, it's all about You Jesus ♪ ♪ Just feel comfortable, close your eyes. In this place Lord just take us back today to where it's all about You. And Lord we do, we repent here today to say God we're sorry for what we've made it about other than You. But Lord we ask for Your help today to take us back to a true heart of worship. Jesus, Jesus You're worthy of it all Jesus. Lord we want You Lord, we love You Jesus. Lord we ask today that You would be lifted high. in this room, in our hearts, in our families, in our businesses, God, in our community, Lord. Most of all, Lord, in our praise, God, would you be the one lifted high. We worship you this morning, Lord, not just with words but in spirit and in truth, Lord, taking us back to his heart of worship, Lord. When the tomb was rolled open, they were looking for him and they didn't know where he was at and they got scared and they ran and then others ran and then they seen that it was empty. Then Jesus appeared to them and they were afraid. He said, peace be with you. Then he appeared to him again, he said, peace be with you.

And then there was some that were doubting and he said, peace be with you. Lord, this morning in this room, Lord, we ask that if people are here today, God, if there's fear, Lord, we're asking that if there's doubt, that we hear your voice again this morning saying, peace be with you. We want to trust in you in Jesus name. Amen. You can be seated. I'm going to invite our ushers forward. As you're seated, squeeze in. We still got people needing space. So if you're on, if you see an empty seat, go ahead and squeeze on down. As our ushers are coming forward, you can see on the screen, there's different ways that you can give. We, again, we, we offer to the Lord. We trust in him. The Bible says in Psalms 20 verse 7, it says some trust in chariots, some trust in horses, but we shall remember the name of the Lord, our God, and our trust is in him. And he invites us to, to grow in that trust, but then also partner with him through our giving. So you see there's a QR code. There's also some texts to give in a basket that comes around. Again, it's just, we're being, we're disciples of Jesus, partnering with him for the advancement of his kingdom, but also just learning to trust and depend wholeheartedly on him. So I'm gonna pray over this offering. Lord, we just thank you, God, for your faithfulness to us, Lord. Every week, God, you said you provide bread. Lord, you said give us this day our daily bread. And so Lord, we ask for the daily bread, Lord, but teach us to trust in you, God. Lord, ask as well for seed to sow and bread to eat. Lord, we're asking God that we offer this tithe and offerings. And as we do, Lord, our hearts, our minds, our lives grow in great dependence and trust that you will meet all our needs and not our greeds. Lord, that you meet us, you take care of us, you go before us and behind us, Lord. And so we trust in you. And so we, we give freely today and not grudgingly. We say thank you for what you're doing in our heart through the whole process of giving, Lord. Helping us to grow as cheerful givers in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, as these buckets are going around, it was a, it was a great week. It was a hard week. It was, it was amazing. There was some things that took place this week, but, you know, we, we had our, our Stations of the Cross that took place this week, and we had, people had the opportunity to really step into and experience and go on

the journey with the Lord through each station and seeing his extravagant love of the work on the cross. And so it was beautiful in here. But then also the night before we, you know, I shared with some people earlier that we had the opportunity to go to some prisons down in Abilene area, but about a thousand men we got to witness, getting engaged with. But we came back, and I remember it was Wednesday night, and I was tired, and I told my wife, I got in about eight, and my plan was to go in, get to bed, and I was wiped out. And she said, when I got in, she said, hey, we're, I'm going to FM 72, do you want to go? She had shared that there was a young man getting baptized by the name of Aidan, and so we, I said, sure, I'll go. So I went out there, and there was about 3,000 college students on the lawn worshiping Jesus Wednesday night. And then about 60, over 60 people got baptized, and I was like, wow, this is amazing. Like, I was tired, and many other people were tired, but just getting to witness the power of God that was taking place from our people here, many people in this crowd right here were a part of FM 72, but seeing the unity of the Spirit between, with, with the believers across Waco and college campuses coming together to worship the Lord and exalt his name together. We also had Good Friday. You know a time again for us to pause and reflect and make Murray help take us through a chance to just really not just Observe but really step into and walk with the Lord through his journey of the work on the cross on Good Friday Powerful time powerful week. I know there was ups and downs in our in our worlds and in our lives as well But getting to experience the love of Jesus what took him to the cross But the love that kept them up there was for you and I to experience his goodness I'm gonna share one last little testimony, but we took another group of people here went into a prison on Friday and About 50 ladies responded to the Lord It was 20, you know 20 of them that gave their life to him for the first time and 30 recommitted their lives Again, all of this is happening and here we are today this Easter Sunday of just getting to encounter the risen Lord and experience his faithfulness to us as a people and so I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna pray because it isn't stopped and I want to invite you again. If you if you're free today and this afternoon We want you to come be a part of the park event at the Easter Egg Hind

We're gonna have a great time as a church family. It's gonna be right here at Seeley Park at 4 o'clock So join me as I pray for the Word of God Lord. We just thank you for your faithfulness God Thank you God that you have risen Lord that you set the captives free Lord that you walk with us God that you lead and guide us God that you nurture us every step of the way Lord today, I pray that our ears are open Lord that we hear your word. We hear your truth God Lord Give us courage today to respond to your word as well Lord God We come as men and women we come humble humbly asking Lord have your way Do whatever you want to do in here today, and so we bless you in Jesus name. We pray Amen Hey, I want to invite our senior pastor Jimmy Syverts out on sabbatical right now But we have the privilege of having one of our pastors and elders Carl Gulley come and bring in the Word of God to us today Man I'm so glad Jason shared a little bit about what happened this past Wednesday and Friday in the units he went to Because last week if you were here I just casually mentioned that it had been a historic week of prison ministry and didn't get to unpack what that looked like I'm glad he did and Just forgive me if you've already heard this story before but if you're new with us this kind of impact We're talking about it started for me about four years ago I was invited to come to a unit in Gatesville, Texas shout out to all of our friends there at the Lane Murray unit Was I scared to death truthfully I was Was it a women's unit yes it was But I guess I just seen too much TV. You know the day that people go visit prisons on TV There's a full riot and absolute lockdown my ninja skills are not what they used to be and I was Prepared for the worst on that day But instead I walked in and just started hearing The stories of the ladies there and they just brought tears to my eyes because these ladies were powerless over addiction over sin and over their permanent record and Now they're forever known and labeled by the worst thing. They've ever done and That was a heavy thing except the ladies. I had been meeting had experienced a resurrection

They had just completed a discipleship class and they were gonna be graduating in just a few days So I was invited to come and the leader apologized to me. He's like bro. This is not what we normally do I'm so sorry you chose tonight. This is like going to your high school Graduation rehearsal I mean like it just couldn't be more emotionless and boring and I'm like it's okay It's okay, and so I just kind of sat on the on the second row very emotionless Unbeknownst to me the ladies who would be graduating were given a poster board and they were just given a simple assignment on one side right words that described your life before you met Jesus and For many of those people it was once they came to the inside they met him So what would words would you use to describe your life on the other side of that resurrection? One of those ladies that's now a friend named Megan stepped forward And she held this and it just said tainted broken lost alone shattered innocence taken But then she turned it over It said alive in God's healing hand one by one Ladies began to come forward. Here's a few of the others. Someone said lost runaway child mentally abused drugs clubs and prison but she flipped it to the other side, found, redeemed, loved, unconditional, prayer warrior, true to self, focused, mighty women of God. She had a brand new story. She was trying to write a book on the backside of her poster. Someone else broken and lost and lonely, scared and hopeless. But I'm God's now. I mean, pretty beautiful way of describing her life.

One more, said self-harm, hated, unloved, depressed, ugly and sad. But now loved and beautiful and cherished and happy. I mean, by the end of this, emotionless was not the word we would use to describe what was going on. It was powerful. A lot of us started standing up and clapping, but then we heard from the back, one more, one more. And we looked back there, someone was scribbling furiously. It was the security officer who was in charge of order. She was right. She runs, stands shoulder to shoulder with all of the ladies in white and she holds up hers and it said this, I was lost, turned it over. Now I'm found. Friends, I was undone. Partly because I love seeing when heaven wins and hell loses. But also because I just kept thinking, what if I was forever marked and remembered and penalized by the worst thing I've ever done and remembered by my worst day on planet earth. That's a suffocating fight. I could never win. Neither could you, neither could they.

And I just sat there speechless, just thankful that they did not know I was a preacher. So I didn't have to say anything. But I'm sitting like right here so when the leader gets up, he looks over me and goes, wow, I can tell Carl's really visibly affected. Carl, why don't you come up here and say a few words? And I was like, oh man, I'm fighting back tears. I'm stammering and I finally got out one sentence. Ladies, that is the most powerful sermon I've ever heard. And it's true, there were no words spoken but a very clear message had rung out. The resurrection changes everything. And last week, if you were with us, we talked about March Madness and how the final 13.5 seconds of a game can feel like an emotional gauntlet. Y'all remember that? I mean, we talked about how in many ways, Holy Week was like that. It was an absolute whiplash for Jesus and his disciples. And we said that moments like that don't leave you unchanged. They either deepen you or they destroy you. And I must have been very prophetic because a few hours later, UConn was gonna play Duke. And for those of you who watched that game, UConn's down big and in the final second, they come back and they stun the basketball world,

proving 13.5 seconds, a lot can happen in that time. Now that's not really the point of today though. What really matters is that what occurred on that first Palm Sunday, remember the crowd was singing a song. Here's what the song is they were singing, Hosanna to the Son of David. You find this in Matthew chapter 21, but we noted they were singing a quote directly from Psalm 118. And they were declaring, Jesus, you're the Son of David, which meant they were declaring he's the Son of God, but not everybody believed that was true. And then some controversy erupts. So Jesus goes back to that same Psalm and he's like, you guys know like when you're building a building so you start with like the stone that can hold it all. Well, then you take a stone, you're like, no, that'll never work. And you toss it. I'm kind of like that stone, the discarded stone that nobody thought could make it because I didn't look like what they thought I should look like. I didn't come with the perfect cornerstone looking to appeal. You thought I would come in military power, so you discarded me. But instead, I'm gonna be a stone that everything else is going to build up upon.

Now, today, we're just gonna step into a different story, but it's a familiar one. It also involves a stone, a very unlikely stone, and it's gonna do the unimaginable. I'm just gonna thrust us right into the middle of this story. I bet you'll know where we're going. First Samuel 17 says, and Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks. And he went and he greeted his brothers. As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him. Now, just to take you into this story, I'm sure most of you have heard David and Goliath at some level, but a little deeper into this story, the Israelites are like a rural farming people, very under-resourced, under-equipped. The Philistines are a military. powerhouse, they're an iron working people, they own trade routes, they have a lot of power technologically as well. The scriptures tell us a few chapters earlier, the Philistines had made it so that there were no blacksmiths in Israel.

So if you wanted your tools or weapon sharpened, you had to go to your enemy to do it. So they would just take your weapon. So they are not just, the Israelites are not just outmatched, they're outclassed by these people. So when Goliath steps out there, he's not just a big man, he is representing a system of oppression and intimidation. So it makes sense that chapter 17 verse 24 says those very simple words. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. And the problem is, he doesn't just threaten them, he's going to define them. And he's going to do it repeatedly. Look at verse 16 says, for 40 days, the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. That's like from right now till May 15th, you don't get out of that chair. And the worst thing you've ever done comes and stands out here and taunts you and doesn't let you up from underneath its grip. Imagine what that would have felt like, where Goliath is just reminding them, you can't win. And eventually they believe it. Church, that's what sin does. It doesn't just fight you, it forms you. And it is trying to get you to believe this is who I am. This is how my story ends.

I can never change. In their case, Goliath is intimidating. He is nine foot nine inches tall, 125 pounds of armor he's wearing. The average spear that day would have been like two to five pounds. His is 30 to 35 pounds. So they're probably already like picturing their death. Like they are mismatched in a way that is laughable. You've ever been there? I mean, the best that we can usually come up with are usually like sporting analogies, right? I mean, I had the privilege of coaching all my kids. My daughter Mackenzie has so many great strengths. Height is not one of them. So she's third grade, maybe fourth grade. And she goes out to play our man-to-man defense and this is what she saw. So we double teamed her and this is what it looked like. Now, I don't know if you can see this, the disdain on her face is like, what are y'all doing? Like she's not thinking, oh wow, number two, your dad must be the coach. Actually, number four's dad was a Baylor basketball coach. So she wasn't like, that's concerning. She just lifted her arms, they threw it high. She turned around and she scored, we got killed. There was no David and Goliath ending. We just lost miserably. And every time Mackenzie would go out there,

fans would just laugh. And I was kind of like, I get it. Again, very laughable on a basketball court, but the mismatch in this case would cost the Israelites their lives. And then David shows up and he doesn't come with better weapons. He just comes with a different perspective because he does not believe this fight is about military power. Let me say that again. He doesn't believe it's a fight of military power. David is going to just show up in this place while everybody else is stepping back in fear. And then he is going to ask a very strange question. Here it is. He says, David asked the man standing near him, what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? You see his shepherd heart, don't you? I wonder if this is why God called him a man after God's own heart. He's like, disgrace is abounding on God's people. That's got to stop. So here's where it gets strange. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? This was always so weird to me for so many years. I was like, David's going into an anatomy lesson right in the middle of war.

Like, why is he bringing up circumcision? To answer that, we have to say, what is circumcision? So if you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. But Jason will be here at the end of the service and he'll answer all of your questions about circumcision following the time. But you need to know, circumcision is just so normal for our world today. It was not normal in their day. The Israelites would circumcise their children on the eighth day after they were born. No other nation did this. So David is not talking about anatomy. He's talking about identity. And he's not just insulting Goliath, he's exposing him. He's going, this man stands outside the covenant of God. Circumcision occurred because it was symbolizing a cutting away of their old life. It was a mark that stated, you belong to God. You are part of his people. You are under his protection. So David's like, y'all all see a giant. I just see a guy with no covenant. He's making a claim to the living God, daring to defy a people who do have that mark on them. So the entire army is intimidated by what's standing in front of them, but David is anchored in something completely different. So he volunteers himself and he accepts the challenge of a man to man fight to the death campaign.

The loser will be possessed by the other kingdom. So David better get ready, which makes what he does next just really strange. Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a bronze helmet on his head and he clothed them with a coat of mail, like his bulletproof vest. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor and he tried in vain to walk for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, I cannot walk with these for I am not used to them. So David removed them. Friends, he just removed what would have been human's greatest defense system available and he takes it off. Why? Because it's going to be inadequate. It's going to possibly protect David from death, but it doesn't allow him to run towards the battle and to defeat Goliath. His objective was not to come and play defense. He's coming to win. Now, every professional soldier though is watching going, this is ridiculous. This is looking very, very weak. This is foolish. But he's gonna shed that armor because he didn't come to survive. He came to attack and what's he gonna do? He's going to choose a very unlikely alternative.

Look at this next scripture here. It says, then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in his shepherd's bag in the pouch. His sling was in his hand and he drew near to the Philistine. What is that? The wadi is like this valley that possesses a riverbed. It would have been positioned between the two kingdoms. So you have Israel on this side, you have Philistines on this side, there's this valley and he's going to go down into the wadi in between these two kingdoms to this riverbed where there would have been some stones and he's gonna take some that have been smoothed down by the flash floods that have occurred down there and he's gonna prepare for war, which is great, but it just seems really foolish to anybody watching. But 1,000 years later, Jesus would do the same thing. He would go down into the gap between God and between us and he would pick out a very unlikely weapon he would utilize to stun the world. Now all the while, Goliath is sharpening his sword, his spear and getting his armor all ready to go for this battle that's gonna determine which kingdom owns the other kingdom. And this is why I love the Bible because David's about to show all of us what our mindset needs to be when we're going up against an enemy

that it just takes your breath away. His enemy is named Goliath, but you need to pause right here, insert yourself into the story because you have a giant too. I don't know its name, but you do. Maybe it's called shame. Maybe it's called freedom. Maybe it's called cancer. Maybe it's called impurity that you can't beat. Maybe it's just chaos and you're just desperate for peace. Whatever your giant is, whatever your giant is, notice what David says to his. But David said to the Philistine, you come to me with sword and spear and javelin. You come to me with military power. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. So part of that 40 day taunt, Goliath was like, I defy you, I defy your God, and I dare you to send somebody out there. And David's like, you've defied the armies of Israel. What armies? Israel just brought one. It's them. And you get the feeling that potentially what David is saying is, oh, you called this a spiritual battle earlier when you defied my gods and talked about yours. Well, you're right, it is.

I don't just have this army of Israel behind me. I have the God of the angel armies that are fighting me. with me and for me which explains potentially why this teenager does something kind of crazy next which is he doesn't hesitate he just runs right towards the giant says when the Philistine drew nearer to meet David David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine David put his hand in his bag took out a stone he slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead the stone stank and sank into his forehead and he fell face down on the ground what a great ending to this story David using a lowly weapon that bypasses the defenses of the giant but the stone doesn't just drop a giant it's declaring that the enemies of God don't fall by strength of a human but by surrender to the will of God David's victory is beautiful it's inspiring it's also temporary there's more enemies to come and there's another enemy another giant still standing sin death and the devil and in case what you were wondering what this sermon has to do with Easter David who was from the tribe of Judah would have a son and he would have a son and he would have a son and a thousand years later he would have a son named Joseph he would marry a woman named Mary they were of the tribe of Judah and they would call him Jesus the son of David and Jesus who was born in Bethlehem the city of David would live a sinless life and as impossible as that sounds we needed it because you and I were just like the Israelites powerless by this enemy of sin and it started back there in Genesis chapter 3 sin enters the picture and it just wrecks mankind with isolation depravity and shame from that day forward I'm not preaching you something you don't already know we've all felt it we all instinctively know we've all sinned we've all fallen short of God's glory so a system was put in place that says that payment could be made for sin but it would require death because shame and disgrace cannot be beaten by human willpower alone a sacrifice would need to be made to pay the price of your unholiness in mind and so those taunts bully us day and night trying to cripple us with fear then Jesus the son of David volunteers himself and he doesn't just sign up he

accepts the challenge of a fight to the death campaign where one kingdom will possess the other and just like David's battle the outcome of this one is already decided back there in Genesis 3 a battle was being waged in that garden and in chapter 3 verse 15 we see that God foretold Mary's birth of Jesus and that the cross and he tells Satan I am sending the seed of a woman and he will crush the head of the serpent but it will only strike his heel so when the time came Jesus doesn't just play defense he's not just protecting himself at our expense but instead he's protecting us at his expense and that's why Easter is such a huge deal because Jesus was given the chance one time to get up and preach a sermon he can choose from any topic any scroll he goes and gets one he stands up and he reads from the scroll of Isaiah and he says I have come to set the captives free and then he sat down shortest sermon ever preached but he makes a statement I did not just randomly show up on earth many years ago I invaded it first John 3 says he came to destroy the works of the devil and he came with a plan that confused everybody except the father because just as David was stripped of Saul's armor Jesus is going to be stripped of all of his garments yet the son of David is going to step into a greater Valley now with the stone but with the cross to the world a naked man on a cross looked like a failure of power yet this is his chosen weapon making himself vulnerable in the eyes of the world this is strange because a bloody cross is a symbol of execution in shame and would have been a very unlikely way to destroy sin and death but just like that stone struck the head of the giant the cross would strike the head of sin and death and hell itself and it would begin to liberate all of us I'm gonna turn just for a moment here because this week as most of you know we lost a legend in this house 88-year-old Margie Atwood finally went to meet Jesus and saw him face to face. If you never got a chance to meet Margie, I am so sorry for you.

She was one of our founders, a mother to many of us in this room. And my family loved her deeply. She came to my 50th birthday party back in April and was just there to honor us and has loved my family. And this woman lost her husband years ago, and yet in the ache of that loss, she just kept serving us and loving us and caring for us no matter what. And many of us have been going to see her over these last few weeks because it was looking like she might go to heaven. And so my wife and I went to go visit her at the place where she was. And when I walked in, the first thing I noticed was that her hair was mashed down. And I thought, I've known Margie since I was a little kid. I've never seen her. I just assumed it stayed perfect 24-7. I didn't know it could be not perfect. And we talked back and forth. Conversation was not easy for her. But so we pulled out the book of Proverbs. We just started reading Proverbs to Margie, would stop and encourage her about these Proverbs, how they lined up with her life. And just so classic to her, she would pivot. Everyone would be like, but Carl, you know, like those scriptures, they define your mom. She poured into you, she was a great woman

and you're a great man. And she just kept like turning it to us. Yet, sometimes she would kind of go in and out of clarity a little bit. So I ended up pulling out a YouTube video on my phone of Bill Gaither singing an old hymn. And I just showed it to her. And when I did, she took it out of my hands and she was right there. And those old Margie tears just started streaming. And she just drifted into a place of union and communion with God. It might've been awkward if she had been fully herself. Like, I don't know that I would have just take someone's YouTube video and while y'all are all watching, just sing the whole song like she did. But it was obvious that she was already leaning into eternity. And if you knew Margie, she was not this strong, crossfit warrior, but she had something greater. She had confidence in the resurrection. So she could lay on that bed in peace because she knew something. She knew this is not her home. Death doesn't get the final word. The cross already settled that. Scripture says that since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood

in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the devil's hold on death and freed all who cower through life, all who are scared to death of death. And that describes Margie, someone who was not scared of death. But friends, all of us one day, we will face that moment. And like Margie, we will either face it in fear or we will go right at it with a song. Because the resurrection makes a declaration. This is not the end. And that's what David proved as I left out a moment earlier, but I wanna read it right now. Right out of verse 50, it says that David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone without a sword in his hand. He struck down the Philistine and he killed him. David ran and stood over him. He stood taking hold of the Philistine's sword. He drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and they ran. I bet they did. Because David didn't just knock him down. There's no rebound from this. He cuts off his head.

The scriptures tell us that the head represents authority, rule and dominion. So when the head fell, the fight changed for the people of Israel. This stone did not just drop a giant, it declared our enemies don't fall by human strength. That's why he went in swordless, I believe. At the cross, Jesus does the same. No sword, yet he's going to crush the head of sin, death and hell. And this changed everything for you and for me. Here's why. Because if Jesus stays dead, he would have been like every other Messiah who is proclaiming themselves to be the one back in that day. But when the Lamb of God did the impossible and he came back from the dead, he authoritatively defeated the most powerful force on earth, which is death. And I'm not just saying physical death, though I am very thankful for what the resurrection promises us in heaven. I'm talking about the eternal and the earthly effects of being separated. from God, those were decapitated at the cross. The weight of sin and shame was crushed. So we go to the end of our story from Genesis, now we go to Revelation. Read this with me because this is our ending.

Do not weep. See, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. Isn't that beautiful? It means that Jesus has satisfied the justice of God through his death and just like the Philistines fled in fear, now the demons are sent scurrying because now your generational curses, your wounds, your sins, your lies, they now have an enemy that's been decapitated though they don't have the upper hand on you, you have the power to struggle and win. So those women in that prison four years ago, they were not just telling stories, they were holding proof. The giant doesn't win. The cross does. The resurrection does. Jesus does. And now through Jesus, we all can have a resurrection of our own. So here's the question. What giant has been standing over you, telling you you can't win this? What's been defining you by your worst moment, your deepest shame, your worst regret or failure? Listen, friends, before Jesus, we were all stuck. We were all in a spiritual prison marked by the worst thing we had ever done. And as a result, our unholy lives deserved punishment

that could only be saved through someone's death. And the Holy One had the right to dish out your punishment. But on the cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. Which means you're not defined by your worst day. You're defined by what He did on that day. You're not held hostage by your past. You're not under the authority of that voice anymore because the head of that giant's been crushed. So today, what we wanna do is give you some more proof. Not theory, this is not theology. This is lives that were once defined by their own giant of sin or isolation, physical sickness or brokenness. But now they've been transformed because the resurrection changes everything. Thank You, Father. I want to talk about Jesus Christ. He was the one who truly brought peace and Ведьma. One can make me whole again Nothing but the blood of Jesus And all precious is the flow That makes me white as snow No one found, I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus No one found, I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus No one found, I know Nothing but the blood of Jesus StSq2 2.60 (-0.50)" LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") StSq2 2.60 (-0.50")

StSq2 2.60 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") StSq2 2.60 (-0.50") StSq2 2.60 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") LSp4 2.70 (-0.50") painful and they're not always easy but we don't grieve as those without hope and we don't face those armies as those who are hopeless we stand under the God of the angel armies who is saying I am with you I have loved you with an everlasting love I have drawn you with unfailing kindness that's the beauty of the gospel it's not if you pray a prayer one day you go to heaven it's that heaven gets into you on this side of heaven and you live with a king and a friend forever that's the beauty of the gospel and so right now our ministry teams are going to come forward because during this service it may be that something just started like banging on your heart a little bit and you were thinking man I need prayer for this or I need prayer for that maybe there's a Goliath a giant that's just like I need someone to agree with me in prayer but it could also be that you're there here today and you're like man I've heard all this God stuff heard of Saul you know David and and Goliath but I've never had a personal relationship with Jesus where I have proof in my hands that this was my story and the gospel has changed the story if so then it doesn't have to be the end of your story today could be the day where you stop using all of your strength and human power to make yourself a good person but you surrender to his will and his cleansing and let him come and lead your life I'm not talking about a brief prayer of forgiveness that makes you feel better on Easter I'm talking about an invasion of your heart where he takes the hard

places of stone he turns them to flesh and he redeems and begins to transform you as you walk with him and through the power of the Holy Spirit you look back on your life and you don't even recognize the person that you once were if you don't know Jesus and you want to know him in that way then just let's all just close our eyes and if you need prayer to ask Jesus into your life just start asking him right now and if you don't know what to pray you can say something like Jesus I need you in my life I've stiff-armed you long enough I'm sorry for my sin I'm sorry for my resistance today I invite you into my life I believe you're the Son of God and I will live for you the rest of my life Lord I pray for anyone who just prayed that prayer that they would really sense the forgiveness of their sins but also be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit it would give them the grace to walk out of here and take the next hard step to get into your word to get into community and to rely on the cross and the days ahead and if anybody needs prayer for anything this is that moment if you just prayed that prayer come ask our friends to pray with you if you have anything going on our friends will pray and if not then let's just sing this song as our prayer on this Easter Sunday reminding us he is risen he's risen indeed then a between I could in desperation my turn to and smoke the I sure I you Ismael is a

I so I I I I I I I I I I I I I ♪ I am forgiven, the King of kings called me His own ♪ I I I I I ♪ I believe, Lord Savior, I'm Yours forever ♪ I I I I ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ Sing 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 ♪ ♪ The King of glory, let's hear the glory of His name ♪ ♪ The Lord, let's heal the cross ♪ ♪ Your buried body, begin to breathe ♪ ♪ And out of the silence, the roaring lion ♪ ♪ Declare the grave, as no grave on earth will kneel ♪ ♪ We lift Him up, the King of glory ♪ ♪ Let's hear the promise, Your buried body begins to breathe ♪ ♪ And out of the silence, the roaring lion ♪ ♪ Declare the grave, as no grave on earth will kneel ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Yours is the victory, yeah ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, raise the world and set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, our living hope ♪ ♪ Sing hallelujah, raise the world and set me free ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me ♪ ♪ You have broken every chain, there's salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Salvation in Your name ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, our living hope ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, our living hope ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus Christ, our living hope ♪ Hallelujah, give a shout, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, praise the one who has set us free.

Man, giants have fallen. You saw on these cardboard, those were giants of addiction and divorce and prison and pain and hurt. But the Lord overcomes. Jesus, He restores and He renews and He redeems. Today's a day that we're reminded of that, that giants fall in Jesus' name, amen.