SUNDAYS COMING

This morning we are worshipping the Living One! We are not here worshipping a dead guy, a phony prophet or a false god. We are worshipping the one who has conquered the grave. aND LISTEN TODAY AS WE WILL LEARN ITS NOT ABOUT THE BYE AND BYE, ONE DAY EVERYTHING MAKING SENSE. the RESURRECTION OF Jesus IS about the nasty now and now.

You see it is just my suspicion this morning, that there is someone in here that doesn’t need a ressurection one day, uou need one right now.

There are so may people that are drowning in darkness, suffocating with hopelessness, DRINKING AND DRUGGING to drown out stress and believing that the best days are already behind you. That maybe decisions you have made, or circumstances you could not control have forever doomed you to heavy sighs, and now you are just awaiting the coffin.

THE STORIES YOU JUST SEEN WERE VERY MUCH END-GAME TYPE SITUATIONS. THE DEVIL MADE HIS FINAL MOVE AND SAID CHECK MATE! I WANT YOU TO KNOW THERE’S A MOVE THE ENEMY CAN NEVER DEFEAT, AND THAT IS YOU TAKE THE KING PIECE HE THOUGHT HE HAS OUTMANUVERED, AND REPLACE THAT KING WITH THE king of kings, You turn the chess board and switch the game from chess to checkers and say King Him!!!

Release Children Church

CELEBRATE THE CHILDREN MINISTRY and THE NEW CHILDRENS FACILITY

We need construction workers who are willing to donate their time.

We need creative specialists that have an eye for design to help with the decor

This Summer we will be reaching the kids in our community with backyard bible studies and other outreaches

This morning I want to help you see another side of the resurrection story. Because it is not just a story, it is history, His-Story, that can be your story and today we can make resurrected life a part of your history.

Good morning Church and happy Ressurection day!

Let me ask you a question this morning? Have you ever felt misunderstood?

I know I have the things that I often want to say and the message I want to relay to others often gets twisted up and confused.

· I misunderstand others all the time as well. Especially in my marriage.

· Stacey and I are always miscommunicating.

· I find myself constantly making wrong assumptions about why she is doing something or responding in a certain way.

· A lot of the time my pride blinds me of my ignorance.

· I think I know more than what I actually do, (I know I know for some of you that’s hard to believe) I am having confession time with you this morning: There it is I don’t know everything) and

· If i don’t watch it that conflict will lead to division, but when I can humble myself and see things from a different perspective it can lead to great relationship, greater intimacy.

If there was ever a person that was misunderstood it was Jesus. More broadly, if this helps God. God is misunderstood. Especially when then is incredible pain, He is misunderstood.

· I was talking to a couple the other day at one of our church kids birthday party, and they began to share some of their painful experiences in life and they shared about the loss of a little baby, and Stacey and I have felt that pain and we shared our experiences with that type of pain.

· They were real authentic and talked about a season where they were really mad with God

· When you or your loved ones are in the throws of death, God can be easily misunderstood.

· It can go quickly from God “where are you?” to where “were you?”, to God “why did you take this person from me.” And the Lord is certainly big enough to handle those things

· But if we don’t watch it our pain can turn to confusion, or confusion to disillusionment, and our disillusionment can turn to anger very easily.

But what I want to relay to you today, that just like with my wife; I have two choices:

I can fool myself and think I know whats fully what is going on, make assumptions that will lead to further division

Or I can humble myself and hear things from a different perspective

1. Jesus was very misunderstood. People kept asking the question, wha tis this guy all about. The Pharisees certainly didn’t understand him. They thought he was a false prophet, a real danger to the people

2. The Crowds that followed him certainly didn’t understand Him, they just thought that he was a great attraction. You know this type of illusionist or magician

3. Herod certainly didn’t understand Him, He wanted Jesus to perform some tricks for him, and then concluded that he was a mad man

4. The disciples were certainly always misunderstanding them, they thought that he was going to immediately usher in a new Kingdom, Defeat the Roman Empire, set Israel on the map as the dominant force in the world!

5. They Thought that He was about to set up his Kingdom and be King over Israel

But then something tragic happened…. He was betrayed by one of his own disciples

· Sold out for thirty pieces of silver and betrayed with a kiss… deceitful are the kisses of an enemy

· And then when Peter finely gets some courage built up, and strikes one of the soilders with a sword, Jesus commands him to stop and then heals the guy

In fact Jesus was always doing things that people just simply could not understand.

But people didn’t misunderstand Jesus because He was not a clear communicator, they misunderstand jesus because they could not comprehend the ways of God.

· As God told the Prophet Isaiah almost 3 K years agoFor as high as the heavens are about the earth so are my ways above yours.

· People are consumed with the temporary, God is consumed with the eternal

Instead of letting his disciples who were ready to be solders to fight, Jesus tells them to lower their weapons and says in Luke 22:53

Luke 22:53 ESV

53 When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

Then He was taken in and tried before a corrupted court. A fixed court with crooked judges and false witnesses….

He was blindfolded and beat by the soldiers, who mocked him saying, prophecy who hit you

· They brought forward false witnesses how accused him of being a false witness,

· Accused him of blasphemy

And as Isaiah prophesied 750 years before

Isaiah 53:7 ESV

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Every human on the face of the planet would have started crawfishing. They would have started apologizing or doing whatever they had to do to escape death… But not Jesus

He was misunderstood…

1. In fact the only defense he gave was in Luke 22:69

Luke 22:69 ESV

69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

· Then He was beaten to a bloody pulp, stripped of his clothing,

· endowed with a razor sharp crown of thorns that was slammed on his head, and led down the Via Delarosa with a rugged cross on his shoulders.

· On the cross, completely humiliated, being mocked by the crowds, being mocked even by another thief that was being crucified alongside him, mocked by the leaders of Israel and mocked by the soldiers

· And while he is on the cross, instead of pleading with the people that they have it all wrong,

· instead of calling down a legion of angels to destroy his foes…. He cries out Father forgive them they don’t understand what they are doing….

· And to really throw everyone off, to really cause his followers to sink into a deep depression, confusion and every other dark thing of the soul… he breathed his last and died…..

PLAY VIDEO OF SM LOCKRIDGE

ITS FRIDAY BUT Sunday IS coming

It’s Friday Jesus is praying Peter’s a sleeping Judas is betraying But Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday Pilate’s struggling The council is conspiring The crowd is vilifying They don’t even know That Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday The disciples are running Like sheep without a shepherd Mary’s crying Peter is denying But they don’t know That Sunday’s a comin’

· It’s Friday The Romans beat my Jesus They robe him in scarlet They crown him with thorns But they don’t know That Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday See Jesus walking to Calvary His blood dripping His body stumbling And his spirit’s burdened But you see, it’s only Friday Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday The world’s winning People are sinning And evil’s grinning

· It’s Friday The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands To the cross They nail my Savior’s feet To the cross And then they raise him up Next to criminals It’s Friday But let me tell you something Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday The disciples are questioning What has happened to their King And the Pharisees are celebrating That their scheming Has been achieved But they don’t know It’s only Friday Sunday’s comin’

· It’s Friday He’s hanging on the cross Feeling forsaken by his Father Left alone and dying Can nobody save him? Ooooh

· It’s Friday But Sunday’s comin’ It’s Friday The earth trembles The sky grows dark My King yields his spirit

· It’s Friday Hope is lost Death has won Sin has conquered and Satan’s just a laughin’

· It’s Friday Jesus is buried A soldier stands guard And a rock is rolled into place But it’s Friday It is only Friday Sunday is a comin’

For three long days, it seemed like everything was lost, that everything in the world was wrong

· For three long days the earth and its inhabitants experienced the three darkest days of history, as the son of God WENT INTO THE PORTALS OF DEATH

· FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY THE WORLD SEEMED TO BE WITHOUT HOPE

· YOU SEE GOD HAD PROMISED REDEMPTION, THROUGH A MAN, THROUGH ANOTHER Adam type figure… but all seemed hopeless…. But Sunday was a coming

1.But you see Jesus was misunderstood

· They thought he was coming to deal with the Romans, But he came to deal with their sin

· They thought that he was coming to a Throne, but He first had to Rob death of the grave

· They thought he was coming to a coronation, but He first had to come to a cross

· They thought Their Greatest Enemy was Ceasar, But Jesus came to give a death blow to Satan

He was Misunderstood, But As High as the Heavens are above the Earth so are His ways above ours

1. At one time or another ever life will be touched with the sting of death. Every eye in here will at one time or another be touched by the slimy fingers of death…

2. At one time or another, everyone will wither lose a grandparents, a mom or a dad, an aunt or an uncle, a brother or a sister, a son or a daughter

3. It used to be that death represented finality

But you see Sunday has come, The King has risen from the Grave, the the rocj was rolled from the Tomb, a new day dawned fro Humanity!!

Oh death where is your victory, death where is your sting

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 ESV

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:17–18 ESV

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Now it is Sunday, its later in the evening on Sunday

Luke 24:13–24 ESV

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

Luke 24:25–32 ESV

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

v

1 Their eyes were Kept from seeing himn

Mans confsuision to Gods ways, what to do when things don’t makes sense

1. They are like we needed a seven but all we have are these 2 threes and a one!

2. Hearts burned

3. Eyes were opened

4. He brought the scriptures to them