Resurrect With Me

RESURRECT WITH ME - EASTER - WEEK1

PRAY

WELCOME

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DECLARATION

God, you are for me!

Your favor is upon me!

My family, my children and their children will be blessed

Your presence is all around me

In my coming and my going

In my weeping and rejoicing

YOU ARE FOR ME!!

INTRO:

Easter Sunday - Celebrating our RESURRECTED KING all round the world!

Can you imagine the look on Mary’s face when they went to the tomb that Sunday morning?

Wow!

He is Risen!

I thank God Jesus died for us

I thank God Jesus got up for us

But today, unlike any other Easter Sunday in our church’s history, we won’t be talking about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus today.

You won’t see clips of The Passion of Christ

Images of a bloody and beaten Jesus

Images of Him dying on the cross

We won’t even see an empty tomb today

But it’s Easter! That’s what’s supposed to happen today, right?

Maybe, but that’s exactly why we won’t be seeing these things today.

Today I want to ask a very taboo question.

This question is meant to bother you and hopefully make you uncomfortable enough to really dig deep before you answer it.

Because so many haven’t gotten an answer, they’re dying without experiencing the fullness of life that Christ provided for us.

Here’s the question: SO WHAT?

HOW DOES JESUS DYING CHANGE MY SITUATION TODAY?

HE GOT OUT OF THE TOMB, COOL STORY, BUT WHAT DOES THAT DO FOR ME...TODAY?

There are many answers to that question, but today I want to mention only a few of them.

BODY:

Philippians 1:18-19 “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.”

This is a letter written by Paul while he was in prison!

Give background on Paul… loved God but hated Christians

How in the world could a man be locked up and bound write something like this?

How could he rejoice while in jail?

BECAUSE HE WAS FREE!

1. FREEDOM

Grab your phones and post this on social media:

GOD IS MORE INTERESTED ABOUT FREEING YOU IN YOUR SPIRIT THAN HE IS FREEING YOU FROM YOUR SITUATION!

God’s desire is to FREE YOU!

internally,

mentally,

emotionally and

spiritually

He’s more concerned about that than the situations we may be in.

God wants to change our internal condition and not our external affairs!

Paul is teaching us such a dynamic lesson: He says, I’m not out yet but I’m free!

I’m here to let you know today that God wants to free even though you may be bound by your situation

ELECTRIC CHAIR

Although you’re bound, you can still be free!

Paul said, “WHAT DOES IT MATTER?” AKA: “ION CARE!”

I may be on death row, but I CHOOSE TO BE free!

Free from what:

Pain? No, it still hurts

Uncertainty? No, I don’t know what’s gonna

happen to me

Let me say it like this:

God, look at this house! I hate it here!

Let’s clean it up and light some scented candles!

It’s possible to live like the Jeffersons in the hood!

But God, I’m bound by debt. Why don’t you give me some money?

Ok, open your Bible to Proverbs and I’ll show you how to be the lender and not the borrower!

But God, he raped me!

Baby, who I set free will be free indeed.

I placed you in this church so you can meet brother or sister ??. I set them free from the same thing. They can point you to me

FREEDOM, IN SPITE OF MY SITUATION!!

2. Exodus 33:7-11 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Moses’ background:

Sinful, murdering and very fearful man

He was able to enter into a tent and meet God “face to face” AND talk to him “as a man speaks to his friend”

Can you imagine this?

Close your eyes and picture God’s presence descending from heaven in a way that everyone could see it.

Place yourself in the tent and hearing Moses talk with God

Picture them looking into each other’s eyes just hanging out and talking with each other as friends do

How did he do that?

Better yet, how does that help me today?

Grab your phones, post on social media: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW!

Moses knew God because he had a RELATIONSHIP!

2. RELATIONSHIP

Anybody have a friend or group of friends that you can totally trust and air out all of your dirty laundry?

A friend that won’t judge you or talk about you behind your back.

Someone’s who’s there in spite of your mess?

That’s who Jesus wants to be for you today!

Whether it was Moses or Paul, relationship with God will get us through any situation and allow us to have a friend that will stick closer than a brother.

Here’s how we get what Moses had:

have a place where you can make consistent time with your friends

I.e. Church and small groups. Starbucks or Top Golf

We must believe that God longs to have this deep relationship with us like he did with Moses.

We can’t ever forget that God sent Jesus here for each and every one of us.

We celebrate this very special day because of what He did for us!

Know that as we enter this RELATIONSHIP, others will want to enter the relationship too!

Joshua never left the tent even after Moses had left it!

Invite your friends and family along for the ride!

Break from for the religious rules and let's develop a relationship with God himself!

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT'S WHO YOU KNOW

3. LIFE!!

JOHN 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have LIFE, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Take a deep breath… hold it… exhale…

That’s life!

Grab your phones: WE CAN ONLY INHALE IF GOD EXHALES FIRST!

This is something we’ve all seen too much of lately

I’d be happy if I never see one again, but I know that’s not realistic.

In fact, we’ll all end up in something like this or an urn.

Because He got up, although our bodies will enter this casket, we will still have LIFE with Him in Heaven.

Life abundantly is a life with Christ!

Christ is the only person in history to have lived a life, lost a life and rose to life and can offer life!

It’s the sole reason He came...to offer LIFE!

Our lives are made so hard because of the sin in this world.

As a father, I want nothing more than my kids to live a long and happy life

But I know, I can’t offer them an abundant life

That can only come from the Man who gives life.

How does Jesus’ resurrection have to do with me today?

Because HE wants to resurrect some things that you’ve crucified.

Things like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Things like:

FREEDOM from condemnation

A RELATIONSHIP with our Dad

LIFE! He wants to resurrect YOU from YOU!

We can be our own judge, jury and executor when we ignore the LIFE that Jesus wants us to live

CLOSING:

My dear friend Roy Beard has a wife that is losing her fight with cancer.

She may very well take her last breath today.

Roy is dying with her on the inside

I can tell you that although he’s in an emotional prison, he’s FREE knowing that in spite of his situation, on the day Jesus got up, his wife may lay down.

He can only experience this FREEDOM because he enters his tent and has a RELATIONSHIP with God.

And he knows that even though he’ll see her there (IN CASKET) she’ll be there (IN HEAVEN) living an eternally abundant LIFE

LET’S PRAY!