Because He Lives

Introduction

Here we are - Easter Sunday!

Easter Sunday is one of the most popular holidays in our country as nearly 80% of people plan on celebrating Easter this year. What exactly do we celebrate on Easter, though? Some holidays like the 4th of July or Mother’s Day (which for every husband and son in the room is coming up quickly!) we know what we celebrate because its a secular holiday. But what about Easter? People celebrate lots of different things on this day.

I’ve heard some say that they celebrate this holiday because the weather is starting to get nicer and warmer outside - not this Easter, though!

Others celebrate this day because they’re going to fire up the grill possibly for the first time all year this afternoon!

Others celebrate this day because of family traditions and get togethers that are about to happen

Others, though, celebrate today mainly because it’s the day that we remember that Jesus Christ rose from the grave and defeated sin and death!

In a room this size, there are people going through all different types of seasons right now and as you think of Easter, and the claim that Christianity makes, there are different thoughts. Some of you believe in what Scripture says with all your heart. Some of you are on the fence. Others are highly skeptical. And maybe you’re here this morning and this is the first time you’ve heard this message and you’re confused… because in our world whenever someone dies, they stay dead!

This morning we see the fundamental belief upon which Christianity hinges: Jesus rose from the grave - alive. Which, if true, means that everything changes. Let’s read from God’s Word this morning in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 10:19-25, as we see the good news of Easter isn’t just an empty tomb, but open access to God!

Hebrews 10:19–25 CSB

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— 20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.

What a passage! Jesus provides us with a new and living way - the only way - to come to God and we can do this today with boldness because of what HE has done. Let’s do that right now - let’s pray

Because He Lives: The Way is Open (19-21)

Our passage this morning begins with some incredible news - therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus. When you see the word therefore in Scripture, you have to go back and see what therefore is there for. Hebrews 10 is an awesome chapter that outlines what Jesus did as He died on the cross in order to forgive sinners like you and me. If all you had was Hebrews 10, you’d have more than enough to be saved and to share the Easter message with someone else. But there is a word in verse 19 that should stop us in our tracks: Boldness. See, that’s a strong word. Whenever I think of all my sins and God’s perfection, boldness doesn’t exactly make much sense.

Think about this, imagine you and your family fly to Washington DC over the summer - I’ve been and if you’re a history person, it’s incredible! You get to DC and you’re on a bus tour and you get off by the White House. Everyone is taking pictures… but you decide that you don’t just want to take a picture of the outside, you want to go inside. You think through what to do: jump over the gate, walk across the grass, open the door, go up the stairs, walk down the hallway, and enter the Oval office. What’s going to happen? If you so much as climb the gate, you’re getting tackled and arrested, because you lack the access to enter in. Clearance matters. You can’t just walk into a place like that because you really want to… take that and multiply it by infinity. We’re not just talking about walking into a building and seeing a person, we’re talking about having access to a Holy God. Friends, this isn’t a comforting thought, but it is the truth… We don’t belong there. See, Genesis 3 reminds us that there is a consequence of our sin. That we all have drifted away from God. That we’re separated from Him. So when Hebrews 10 says that we have boldness to enter His presence, that’s otherworldly because of our sins and failures. Some people believe that they can enter the presence of God through their goodness and their hard works and by being a good person, but Hebrews 10:19 tells us that this isn’t the case - it’s through the blood of Jesus. Some people wonder why Jesus died on the cross. Why did He suffer so much?

Hebrews 9:22 CSB

22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Hebrews 10:4 CSB

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. If you lose the blood, you lose the Gospel. See, on the cross, Jesus took your place. He took my place. He bore our sins as Isaiah 53 tells us

Isaiah 53:5–6 CSB

5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

This is our situation. Each one of us have gone astray and rebelled against God… and sin requires a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, we read a lot about these sacrifices. The Israelites built something called the Tabernacle, and eventually the Temple in Jerusalem. Each year, the people would enter the Temple - and the Temple represented the dwelling place of God - but there was a problem: Sin. So God told the people that a massive curtain had to be in the Temple to act as a barrier. The veil wasn’t just a black out curtain that you’d put in your room to cover the window - this was 60 feet tall, 30 feet wide, and about 4 inches thick! This veil reminded people each and every year of a simple message:

Because of your sin, you can’t come in

Just like darkness represents a barrier for us, this veil represented a barrier for God’s people. They knew God was on the other side - just like we know that there is light ahead - but the people were separated from the presence of God. They couldn’t come in, not because God was being mean, but because God is holy and the people were not. Each year, they’d arrive to the Temple and be reminded of their sin and the fact that their access is restricted. Once a year, the high priest could go behind the veil with blood and make atonement for the sins of the people - but even the high priest went in with a rope attached to him in case he was died due to the holiness of God behind the veil. Think about the weight of this - you know God is real. You read about Him in the Scriptures. You know what He did for your ancestors. You know that He is with your people - but you can’t approach Him. This was the reality for the Jewish people for thousands of years… until Jesus, the Son of God, was born. See, Jesus never sinned. Jesus came to die for sinners. Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and on Good Friday, Jesus walked to Calvary and sacrificed Himself in our place as our substitute, and whenever He did this, something incredible happened

That veil was torn - Matthew 27:51 tells us that it was torn from top to bottom.

This is so significant! This veil was 60 feet tall, if it was torn from bottom to top, that could mean that a human started this process… but it was torn from top to bottom, meaning that God removed the barrier that separated His presence from His people - it was a message from heaven saying this: Because of your sin, you can’t come in, but my Son died to take away your sin, so that you may be brought in! Friends, there is a way today that used to not be there and it’s all because of Jesus. Just as the veil was torn, His body was torn - and just as the veil opened a way into God’s presence, Jesus’ body provides this way for you and I to enter God’s presence today.

John 14:6 CSB

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is why Easter is such good news! See, some wrestle with this. It sounds intolerant. Exclusive. Narrow-minded. Only one way? This doesn’t sound nice. When you deserve no ways, do you know what you’re thankful for? 1 way that you didn’t deserve in the first place! Friends, this is grace. Today, we can have boldness to come before the Father because of the finished work of Jesus. There’s a hymn that many of you know, “Jesus Paid it All” - it doesn’t say that He paid most, or 99% - no, He paid it all! That’s why He said “it is finished” before giving up His spirit. This means that once you’re a Christian, once you repent of your sins and trust alone in Christ as Lord and Savior, you have unrivaled, unlimited access to your heavenly Father.

Notice what verse 20 tells us, not only is this a new way, but it’s a living way. At Easter, we celebrate that Jesus is alive. He didn’t stay in the grave - on the 3rd day, He rose. See, Christianity rises and falls with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. CS Lewis famously said this, if the Resurrection is true, Christianity is of utmost importance. If the Resurrection is false, Christianity is of no importance. The only thing that it logically cannot be is moderately important. So, we have to ask ourselves this question: Did Jesus really come back to life?

Maybe you’re a true Missourian - “Show Me” - I’ll only believe if I can see the proof myself. Many are skeptical

Some say that He didn’t. They argue that the disciples stole His body.

That would require the disciples to bribe the Roman guards, who could be killed for failing to do their job, or to fight them for it, and we don’t know much about their fighting skills other than Peter accidentally slicing someone’s ear off, so that’s not looking too probable.

Others say that it was a lie.

All you need to do to prove that the resurrection was a lie is to show the body of Jesus - but they couldn’t.

What we find in Scripture is people who one minute are afraid for their very lives are suddenly boldly preaching that Jesus rose from the dead and are willing to die for this message. We find that Jesus’ closest friends were hiding for their lives, and it was a group of women who saw the empty tomb first. We see that Jesus appeared to hundreds of witnesses at one time. Between a dozen appearances and appearing to over 515 people, the Resurrection has many sources and eye witnesses. If they were lying, they would have told a better lie that would’ve been more believable and they certainly wouldn’t have suffered exile, sleeplessness, prison, and especially death for a lie.

Today, friend, what do you think about the Resurrection? Scripture could not be more clear. The historical evidence could not be more clear. Jesus really lived. He really died. But we don’t have a dead Savior - we have a living one. The evidence tells us that He rose - and this changes everything!

The Father planned it

The OT prophesied it

Jesus promised it

The empty tomb proved it

The Angels proclaimed it

Jesus is Risen!

This means that there is a way that is open, a barrier that is removed. Jesus is alive and He provides life and hope today as our great high priest who prays on our behalf before the Father! We can approach our God with boldness because of the work of Jesus. Let’s see how Jesus calls us to respond to this reality with confidence not in ourselves, but in our Christ who opened up this new way!

Because He Lives: We Draw Near (22)

Hebrews 10:22-25 has 3 “Let us” statements. These are called subjunctives in the Greek which is a fancy word for an instruction. These aren’t helpful ideas. These aren’t kind suggestions. These are instructions that God gives to His people. The first one is simple: Let us draw near. Because Jesus is alive, and because we have access to God, we are instructed to draw near to Him - upwardly. In other words the command is this: COME HOME. That’s pretty straightforward stuff! But there’s a problem: We don’t always listen very well.

Last Sunday we looked briefly at the story Jesus tells of a shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to find the 1 that is lost. See, each one of us have been that one lost sheep. We all have been there. And message of Easter is this: there is hope, life, and family - but we must come home. We must draw near to God. And in a world full of distractions, it can be hard to draw near. Even today, we’re at church, but there can be a temptation to not draw near. We listen to God’s Word, but we may not want to be changed by God’s Word. See, God’s arms are open wide - ready to receive those who draw near, but so many times we think that we can’t. We’ve dropped the ball. We’ve fallen short. Or that we’ll do it later after we do some other important things. Hebrews 10:22 says to draw near with a true heart. Our world says to follow our heart. Our world says that we’re good people with good hearts. But God’s Word reminds us that we all fall short here. That our heart isn’t as trustworthy as we might first think.

Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

Left to ourselves, we don’t have this true and cleansed heart. This is why we need Jesus! This is why Easter is such good news. Easter reminds us that the same God who sent His Son to save us is the same God who sends His Spirit to change us! One of the first things that God changes is our heart. King David in the book of Psalms prayed this prayer

Psalm 51:10 CSB

10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

This is what Jesus does when He saves you. He changes your heart. Today, if you feel this tug to draw near to God maybe for the first time, understand that this is what Jesus does. He gives you this desire and we draw near to God not only with a true heart but also in full assurance of faith. Whenever you are saved, you are saved by grace through faith in Christ. If your basis of assurance today is based on your feelings or your works, you will have no assurance. Notice this text: assurance of faith. Get this: You aren’t saved because of your faithfulness, but because of His! This provides you with security. Whenever we draw near to God, whenever we have our sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we are a changed person. And whenever your head hits your pillow at night, and you close your eyes, you don’t have to have that anxiety and worry of “I hope that I’ve done enough to be saved!” No. You can rest with certainty that your faith is in Jesus. He has cleansed you of your sins. You are a new person. And because of Easter, because God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, because He rose from the grave, you can draw near to God with confidence. You can be certain about where you’re going. Ask yourself this: Do I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came to die because of and in the place of sinners like me? Do I believe that He rose from the grave? Do I believe that He is preparing a place for people like me and that He will come again? Am I following Him as both my Savior and my Lord? Do I see changes in my life that align with His Word? If your answer is yes, rest assured… if your answer is no, today, this is what God wants you to do!

Because He Lives: We Hold Fast (23)

The second “let us” instruction is to hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful. A confession is kind of like a foundation - something that you believe. You build your life upon. There are lots of foundations and things that people confess. Some confess what they were taught. Some confess whatever is popular. Some confess whatever sounds good. There are a lot of confessions and foundations that end in ism: Marxism, feminism, secularism, atheism, humanism. People confess lots of things. But God’s Word gives us a better option. Our confession is stronger - it’s a confession of hope. Some of you are here this morning, and you might feel like you’re barely hanging on. Like you have no hope. And maybe you’re searching - there is a temptation to search for hope apart from Christ… and you drift. See, you don’t drift closer to Jesus, you drift further away from Him. You search for truth in other things. You disengage from Christian community. You grow spiritually cold. This is a temptation that everyone, even strong Christians, can have from time to time. And Jesus tells us to Hold Fast. To remember the truth of the Gospel. To realize that there is something unique here.

Bertrand Russell once famously said,

“The labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system… only within the scaffolding of the truths,

“only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair can the souls habitation henceforth be safely built.” The firm foundation of “unyielding despair” doesn’t sound very positive, but it is very honest. What are people living for? The secularist and the skeptic, if they are being honest, are hopeless. They might have a subjective feeling of optimism about tomorrow or next year, but in the end, we die. The universe dies. It’s all for nothing… where is the hope in this worldview? It’s absent. I’ve heard people talk about technology being able to solve all our problems. AI will change everything. This medicine will change everything. We live today in the most informed generation ever - and we are also living today in the most isolated and medicated generation in human history. The things that people have placed their “hope” in to provide them with peace and purpose have failed. Maybe today this has been your story. You’ve looked for hope, but you’ve come up empty. You’ve gotten close, but every time something changes and you’re still searching today. Hebrews 10 reminds us that the Christian has genuine hope.

Here’s the awesome truth - you don’t have hope due to your grip on Christ… you have hope because of His grip on you.

John 10:28 CSB

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

He promises to hold His people fast. He is eternally faithful. God has never dropped one of His blood-bought, born-again, glory-bound believers and He will not start with you! The Resurrection impacts us inwardly - Because He Lives, something changes inside of us. Instead of wavering, we hold fast, because He holds us fast. We remember that He is faithful. He won’t fail. So, we build our lives on the rock solid foundation of God’s Word. See, disregarding Scripture is a stance that might lead to celebration from some on earth, but it will lead to separation from God for eternity. That is too great a cost to pay. Scripture secures us. It steadies us. It keeps us upright in an upside down world. It guides us. It protects us. It changes us. Our response is not to change Scripture, it is to be changed by Scripture. We Hold Fast!

Because He Lives: We Have a Family (24-25)

The final “let us” isn’t upward or inward, it is outward. Whenever God created the world in the book of Genesis, over and over He said that it was good. Sky? Good. Water? Good. Trees? Good. People? Good. The first time He said that it wasn’t good was the reality that it wasn’t good for Adam to be alone. So God created Eve. We are created for community. And, sadly, we live in a world that often devalues the importance of community and enjoys tearing community down. Into this world that loves to critique and destroy people, Scripture tells us to consider others. To encourage them. To build them up. This is what we do as a faith family. Maybe you are here and the concept of family is difficult. Maybe you’ve been hurt by so called family. And maybe you’ve bought into the belief of our culture that says that “I can do this by myself” and “I don’t need anyone else!” This is dangerous territory.

In an age of hyper-individualism, committing to a church is a revolutionary act - Matt Smethurst

Just as God created Adam and Eve to have community and family, He did the same for us as Christians. He doesn’t save us to become free agents, no, we are saved to be a part of a family! And the enemy can’t stand this family. John MacArthur once put it like this, “When a person becomes a Christian, that person is then and there declaring war on hell. And hell fights back.” The enemy can’t stand the body of Christ. The enemy can’t stand it whenever Christians gather together and worship Jesus. So the enemy lures us away with isolation.

You can do this by yourself

You don’t need others

But whenever you’re isolated, it’s easy to spiral and drift. Encouragement cannot take place in isolation - we need one another! I’m eternally grateful for the team that we have here at South Gate. I’m thankful to get to work alongside friends each day. I look forward to each Sunday as we get to worship Jesus as a family. We need this! This gathering encourages us. Pushes us. Helps us grow. And keeps us on the right track. We live in a world with so much noise and full of distractions. It’s easy to consume lots of things. Social media, tv, podcasts, we can consume so much content, but we aren’t created just to consume, we’re primarily created to contribute. See, God’s purpose of this gathering that Hebrews 10:24-25 talks about is to contribute. To work together. To love one another. The literal word here means to incite one another to love and good works. We provoke one another, positively, when we worship. We have a family that we belong to. Friends, this changes everything! Whenever I have been at my lowest points, God has encouraged me the most through my church family. We have some people in our body who are struggling with health situations - guess what? We’re a family. We encourage one another. We’re there for one another. We have one another’s back. This is what we have at this church! The Christian life is personal, but it is not private - we need one another!

Because Jesus is Alive, His body gathers together to praise His name and to share His Gospel message. At the first Easter, they came and saw that Jesus was alive, and then they left to tell others. This is our response to Easter today - Come and See, and then Go and Tell. Come to God’s Word. See what Jesus has done. And then Go and Tell others about the greatest news of all: Jesus is Alive! And as our passage reminds us, He is coming back.

So here’s what we have to realize: What you do between this day and THAT day will determine how THAT day goes for you. We all will stand before God one day and He will either say “Depart” or “Well Done!” Today, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus? Have you entered the living way that He opened up? If your answer is no - respond today! There is hope, access to God, life, and a forever family that Jesus provides us with. This is the great news of Easter - our God didn’t leave us where we were at. No, the One who made all things, came into this world to redeem all things. The God who made you and loves you, sent His Son to seek and save you. But this required Jesus to leave heaven, and come to the earth, and to suffer. To be spat upon. To sacrifice Himself in our place as the sinless substitute. So that there could be a way for us to have a relationship with God. Easter is the good news that when we stood separated from God, He pursued us. When we had no hope, He provided Himself. Easter reminds us that the devil doesn’t get the last word and that death isn’t the end. That Jesus has WON! Easter reminds us about God’s love as we have a Father who adopts us into His forever family not on the basis of our achievements, but on the basis of His grace. Easter reminds us that there is 1 way to be saved and that is not by working hard and being good - it is by turning from our sins and trusting in the finished work of Jesus by placing our faith in Him and living as a new creation.

Because He Lives, We Respond

Have I Come to God Through Christ?

Am I Holding Fast, or Am I Drifting?

Am I Walking with God’s People, or Alone?

Today, have you done this? If you haven’t - today can be the first day of the rest of your life. Today can be the day where you enter this new and living way and you experience a fulfillment that this world can’t provide. Who do you say that Jesus is today? The tomb is empty - the throne is occupied - this glorious story must become your story! Trust in Jesus. This is the message we proclaim each and every Sunday at South Gate and it always will be this Gospel message because it alone has the power to change lives! If you know Christ, but you don’t have this family, we’d love for you to join us here at South Gate. We aren’t a perfect church and this church doesn’t have a perfect pastor, but we are a changed people. We are a people who want to stand on God’s Word, do things His way, and tell the world that our God Wins! We’d love for you to be a part of our family either by joining us, or by first trusting in Christ.

We’re going to pray and then we’re going to sing a song of response - and as we do that, I’m going to ask you to do something uncomfortable! I’m going to ask you to pray and to respond. If you need this living way to become your way today, I’m going to ask you to come forward and I’d love to pray with you. If you’re a Believer but you’re struggling with these “Let Us” things, you’re not alone! Come forward and ask the Lord to help you be the Believer who looks upward, inward, and outward as you live a changed life.

Because He Lives, you don’t have to stay distant, you don’t have to lose hope, and you don’t have to walk alone. Come to Jesus today, let’s pray!