Easter Changes Everything (2)

Easter Changes EVERYTHING

If I could sum up what I have felt coming into these Easter services in one word it would be GRATITUDE….

You see Easter isn’t a holiday we celebrate, it isn’t the beginning of spring.. it isn’t a reason to wear bright colors…

Easter is the something that HAPPENED with YOU in mind

-Its not just HISTORY

-It’s not just tradition

-It’s not just a church service….

TODAY…. IS PERSONAL

You may have a variety of reasons you showed up today… a variety of thoughts consuming your mind… just like the video, all the fears and concerns in the world, and while you may not have heard your voice on the stage… you heard it in your head…

I don’t know what brought you into this room, but I DO KNOW the events we are celebrating are PERSONAL for every one of us in this room

At the cross… JESUS didn’t just see a crowd…. HE SAW YOU and HE SAW ME…

1.) The Sacrifice was PERSONAL

If it’s not personal….its not powerful…

Isaiah 53:5

“5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

This word OUR…. It’s not a distant group… its not a generalization…its not abstract…

It’s a personal collective, like you would say OUR FAMILY… its a connection and you are included

-it’s OUR SIN

-OUR BROKENNESS

-OUR FAILURE

You aren’t excluded and you aren’t left out.

Hebrews 12:2

“2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Your focus today on JESUS is PERSONAL… your gratitude is PERSONAL…. Your praise is PERSONAL… because HIS PAIN was personal… and HIS JOY was personal

He endured the cross because HE could see the other side of your story…

-HE saw YOU forgiven

-HE saw YOU free

-HE saw you WHOLE

He didn’t stay on the cross because of the nails… HE stayed on the cross because of YOU and ME… ITS PERSONAL

2.) The Victory is PERSONAL

If the cross is personal… so is the empty tomb

Everyone of those fears… everyone of those concerns.. everyone of those voices… and your voice, your fears, your failures… its the same victory for each of us PERSONALLY

If HE had you on his mind in death… He has your victory in HIS hands in the resurrection….

Romans 8:11

“11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

Don’t believe that today is a day for others… for “church people”… for some one else… the victory is for you.. the spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead is available to you

Because HE LIVES…

-You’re going to overcome what life throws at you

-You’re not bound to the fear of this world

-You have hope even in seemingly hopeless situations

Because HE conquered death… you are MORE THAN A CONQUEROR

Romans 8:37

“37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

-He didn’t just die for sin…. HE DEFEATED YOUR SIN

-He didn’t just enter your situation…. HE REWROTE YOUR STORY

This is PERSONAL…

3.) The RESPONSE is PERSONAL

“I grew up in church… I’ve been around this my whole life…”

-I know what it is to attend Easter

I know what it is to hear the story

“And I also know the difference between going to church on Easter… and having a personal response to the resurrection.”

“If the sacrifice is personal…

and the victory is personal…

then the response has to be personal.”

It will never be powerful in your story until the response is PERSONAL

John 1:12

“12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—”

to those WHO received- PERSONAL

To those who believe - PERSONAL

BECOME- PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

Easter isn’t about turning over a new leaf or buying a new outfit…. It’s about becoming a NEW PERSON… with a new story…

Walking in with fear, failure and uncertainty… walking out with VICTORY

In fact that is how I want to wrap up this Easter… with a story of a woman, who was full of fear and uncertainty… until Easter became personal… I can only imagine everything going through her mind as her entire life seemed to be in chaos…. John 20:11–16

“11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ 14 At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).”

I still serve a JESUS that calls people by name…. And I believe HE IS CALLING YOU BY NAME… and it is time to TURN TOWARDS HIM… the response is personal.

SALVATION!!!!