Easter Sunday

Opening Story - I ain’t as good as I once was...

I was a pretty good High School Basketball Player -

19 pts and 9 rebounds per game my senior season - All conference, All tournament

I got even better when I graduated - PICTURE OF DUNK AT IMPACT

___________

I was invited to participate in a three on three basketball tournament a couple of weeks ago.

In my mind nothing has changed since I was a dominant high school player

I go out with the mindset of 175 pound Tyler…but the quickness of 215 pound Tyler...

My intentions were limited by my reality...

____________

I’m not a church person…but I’m a good person

Maybe you’re here today and you feel like “I’m not really “a church person.”

You are here because someone invited you and you didn’t want to be rude...

So you came to church.

Sometimes we don’t see church as a necessity because “after all, I’m a good person.”

You have sponsored the dogs on the Sarah Mcclauflan commercial.

You give money to the people at the stoplight

You round up your transaction at the store to the next dollar to support the children.

You provide for your family and do your best to be true to your word.

You think to yourself; “I may not be an every Sunday kind of person and I might not really talk to God all that much…but I’m a good person...”

____________

I’m a good person but I do bad things

Many of us define our “goodness” by those facts that I listed above.

I wouldn’t disagree with you on any of those points…and I even use many of the same points as a means of self justification myself.

We look at the specifics of those moments (that are real) and we think that we exist as those things.

But many of us, who are the same people that give to the poor, love our families, and do the things that are considered good...

Lie consistently - See your tax returns, Listen to your fishing stories, or for the women ask if they’re going to buy anything at target...

Drink too much occasionally - “I’m not a bad person..I’ve just had a bad week.”

Lust Frequently - We’re married but don’t see any harm in simply window shopping…(internet, movies, coworkers, neighbors)

Lose it on our kids - I might have missed you with the last ones but if that doesn’t hit you…the wrong person is up here today.

We have good intentions…we all want to be a “good person.”

but our reality testifies of an inherent badness within us.

_____________

The struggle isn’t exclusive to us.

Our answer to this dichotomy is just not to think about it…We try and focus on the good stuff.

But when we lay down to go to bed at night…our ability to deflect our unfulfilled goodness goes away.

We all have a measure of “imposter syndrome”

We want to be good but live out a consistent pattern of bad.

This isn’t exclusive to us...

The apostle Paul writes about this in a letter he wrote to a group of Christians living in Rome.

Romans 7:15 NLT

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.

The question that I arrive at when I come to understand this universal problem…is why?

Why can’t I do better when I set my mind to do so?

_____________

I do what I am…I’m not what I do

The key word in this consideration is “do”

We have been conditioned to define our identity by our doing...

We ask people “what do you do?”....and they respond with “I am a...”

The natural inclination of humanity is to find our identity in our actions.

The gospel creates a paradigm wherein our actions are known as indicators instead of identifiers.

In other words…my actions do not define me but rather they reveal me.

You are not the outcome of your actions…Your actions are the outcome of who you are...

What many of us need, is not a change in behavior…but rather a change of being.

The message today is not that you need to behave differently..it’s that you are invited to become something different.

Herein lies the beauty of resurrection Sunday…He became…so that we could become...

TR - LET’S MAKE THIS ABOUT EASTER

_______________

What do you think of when you think of the tomb?

From the christian perspective...We look at the tomb as a place of victory

The tomb is the symbol of the finished work of our savior!

From the disciples perspective… during those three days...they looked at the tomb as a monument of defeat...

I want to shift our perspective today from seeing the tomb as the place of victory or defeat…today I want to see the tomb as a place of transformation...

He went into the tomb one way…and came out another.

More specifically he went into the tomb carrying some things and came out carrying something else.

Today I want to spend a few moments looking at what went into the tomb and what came out.

_______________

1. Sin Went in the Tomb

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

made: poieomai = to cause something to be...

Jesus allowed himself to be punished for things he had never done...

Every lie, every lustful thought, every profanity laden tirade, every wrong motivation…sins both big and small...

Jesus became those things without having behaved in those ways.

He never lied but allowed himself to be “caused to be” your lies

He never lusted but took on the punishment of our addictions

He never got drunk but took on our alcoholism.

Which is why we can become something different when we have behaved in those ways.

Understand Jesus wasn’t the only one who allowed this to happen.

“He made Him...”

Who is He? - The Father - The Father allowed His son to carry the punishment for the wrongs that you and I commited.

Jesus gave Himself…but the Father allowed the son to be made out to be every wrong you have ever commited.

________________

We are defensive of our kids...

I am adamant about making sure my son doesn’t get wrongly accused for something He didn’t do.

I come to his defense…but the Father allowed His son to take the punishment for wrongs He most definitely didn’t commit...

Why would he do that? FOR YOU! Because He was willing to do whatever it took to restore relationship with man.

This discredits the idea that the God of the Old Testament was mean and then Jesus came to correct that persona.

The Father is the one who allowed our wrongs to be accredited to His only begotten son.

_________________

When Jesus went into the tomb…He went in having been made every sin you would ever commit.

Every outburst of anger…is who he was

Every lustful thought…is who he was

Every dishonest statement…is who he was

Every shameful action…is who he was

Your sin went into the tomb...

________________

2. Bondage Went In The Tomb

You would love to believe that Jesus took your sin in the tomb…maybe you even did at one point...

But this is different…You don’t simply need forgiveness, you need deliverance!

There is a difference between occasional moments of weakness…and progressive patterns of continual sin.

There are some of us who are not only occasionally sinning…we are habitually doing things that we know are wrong - (destructive)

We want to stop but we can’t.

There are some in this room who are bound by drugs - Legal and Illegal

There are some in this room who have determined they aren’t going to drink as much - But then you do...

There are some in this room who are determined they aren’t going to look at porn anymore - But you find yourself on the same sites...

There are some in this room who are determined not to sleep around anymore…but there is a codependent part of you that needs the validation.

You aren’t simply making mistakes…YOU ARE BOUND BY A PATTERN OF DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR.

Jesus didn’t simply take sin into the tomb…He also took bondage...

Ephesians 4:8 NKJV

Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

While in the tomb…Jesus went and rescued all of those throughout eternity who would face bondage…He led the captive out of captivity!

BECAUSE OF RESURRECTION SUNDAY…THERE IS A DAY WHEREIN YOU CAN REFER TO YOUR BONDAGE IN THE PAST TENSE...

Some of you are going to experience life change through Christ and it will result in you being able to say things like.

I used to be addicted to...

I used to be a drug addict, I used to be an alcoholic, I used to be addicted to porn...

He took your captivity into the tomb!

______________

His answer to bondage was the church

I find it interesting what his answer to bondage was...

“He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men...”

Ephesians 4:11–12 NKJV

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

The answer to bondage was submission to authority within the context of the church...

Jesus is your savior…but the church is his primary tool of seeing men and women walk in freedom! (YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO DO THIS ALONE!)

The gospel is an invitation to a personal decision with relational implication..

Jesus sets us free and then gives us each other to help walk out that freedom.

You need to get plugged in to a church where there are people who are able to call you out on your mess!

When you accept Jesus today…you begin a journey…there are plenty of steps and we will help you find and walk through all of those…but the number one next step for you is that you attend church regularly!

________________

3. Shame Went in The Tomb

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When Jesus was on the cross…before He went into the tomb…He had my shame and your shame placed on himself.

The feelings of inadequacy based on the stupid mistakes that we have made

Every moment of “why did I just do that”

Every wrong word, action, thought, motive…was placed on himself.

The shame that has characterized your life has already been paid for...

Jesus took your shame into the tomb…so why do we dig it back up?

________________

4. Victory Came Out of The Tomb

We know what Jesus took into the tomb....but I want to close by letting you know what He brought out

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 NKJV

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus went into the grave...

He had become our sin

He was leading our captivity

And he was bearing our shame...

Jesus took things from us as he entered the tomb...

But he took something from the enemy coming out of the grave.

Resurrection Sunday is the culmination of the fact that our defeat was only temporary.

The serpent of the garden had bruised the heel of man…but Jesus took the sting away.

(He’s a snake without fangs now.)

(A lion without teeth.)

When the grave lost it’s sting…Hell lost it’s victory.

He took victory from hell and gives it to us through Jesus.

YOU CAN LIVE A VICTORIOUS LIFE...

____________

This resurrection Sunday we can experience resurreciton

But I’ve tried to stop (that thing) for years...

You’ve been focused on behavior....but behavior is an outflow of being.

God is not calling you to training…He’s calling you to transformation.

The only way to experience the outcome of the resurrection…is to go through the transformation of the tomb.

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

The key to live a victorious life is to stop living...

It’s an exchange - His life for mine.

This exchange is not a change in behavior but a process of becoming. (He became so that we could become.)

Philippians 3:10–11 NKJV

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

We can only experience the victory He purchased through the resurrection…by being conformed to his death.

____________

If you are tired of life as you’ve known it.

If you’re tired of sin

If you’re tired of shame

If you’re tired of captivity...

THINGS CAN CHANGE RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW..

You can experience the transformation of the tomb this morning!

Victory is available.

That term victory means to vanquish…or to completely dismantle.

In other words…the moments that have led up to know don’t have to have any bearing on the remainder of your life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

____________

The decision you just made…is not a destination…it’s the beginning of a journey.

We’re starting a series of talks next week called “what now?”

Step by step guide to getting your new life in Christ started.

FOR TODAY - ifoundjesusatawaken.com

BAPTISM - awakenbaptism.com