Easter 2022

This is from

Luke 23:44–24:10 NLT

By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.” And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching. Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin. As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law. But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

(NLT)

Northside Church

Easter Sunday “Perfectly Hidden”

4/17/22

Jamey Mills

Good morning Northside…

It is so good to be with you this Easter morning…

What an important morning it is… today as we gather… millions upon millions of people will gather around the world doing very similar things for the exact same reason…

Today… the world will likely see the single largest church attendance of 2022…

Probably the largest church attendance in several years.

Why do we do that… Why today?

The truth is…what we celebrate on Easter is huge… It's one of the most significant and life changing events and truths the world has and will ever know.

If I were to ask you what Easter is really about, what would you say? Why are we here?

This last week I read a post of a friend of mine put up on facebook… I can’t remember who it is, so if it's you… thanks for helping me out… and sorry for what's about to happen. The dangers of having pastors as friends on FB.

He said that under significant “pressure” he walked into the bathroom he noticed there was a female janitor cleaning… and he thought… well… this is awkward… he was super comfortable… but nature was calling in a way that wouldn't be denied, and so he hustled into one of the stalls… I just realized how far this probably is from what you expected to hear today…

As he was there, he began to wonder how the other people coming in would handle this…he could hear people coming and going… but no one seemed to care at all… he was in disbelief and then it happened… the stall door next to his swung open… someone walked in… and as he looked down he noticed they were wearing heels… and in that moment he realized something…

He allowed the urgency of the moment to distract him from looking at the signs… and he ended up in one of the scariest places known to humanity… a place he didn't belong.

That led to several minutes of stealth thinking… that turned into an hour… as he considered what his next move would be… he began to think about how Tom Hanks actually lived at the airport for a long time… but that would never work here. He couldn't move in, He couldn't swim away… there was no fire alarm to pull.

I mean, for a while he could stay hidden and no one would know… but at some point there was no way around it, this whole situation would come to light… somehow… he was going to have to get out of there…

And so he waited… until it sounded like everyone was out… he flung open the door, put his head down… and moved as fast and as quietly as he could to the exit and on the way out he glanced and sure enough… in all of the business… and in all the “urgency” of life he missed the sign and led him to a place he did not belong.

It reminds me of this passage in

Romans 1:20–25 NLT

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

(NLT)

20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

The signs of the reality of God are everywhere… the sun rise, your beating heart, your lungs at work, the majesty of our mountains and the consistency of the sea…

But for all kinds of reasons we miss them. The pressure of the day… the demands of the day… the desires of the day…

If we ignore the signs, we end up in places we were never intended to be.

And what Romans is saying is… is that if we ignore the signs… if we refuse to see the reality of God all around us… we will end up in places we were never intended to be… our lives end up becoming about things they were never intended to become… and our hearts become hard… we begin to set up life away from God…

God becomes an afterthought… if any thought at all. Allowing things, attention, money, other people, or our desires… to rule in our hearts and to motivate our days…

with God as an afterthought… allowing things… and desires to rule in our hearts and motivate our days… and even calling it “wisdom”... when truthfully… what it is… is empty and broken.

And this morning… I hope we can slow down enough to look around… to see the signs… and maybe even get real with ourselves a little…

Do you see the emptiness and brokenness happening all around us in our world?

Have we ever really stopped and considered… how it might be different if we didn't ignore the signs?

That sin really leads to brokenness… Lies, hate, lust, idolatry…

and that what God desires from us is actually for us and leads us to real life?

Honesty… generosity… kindness… that stems from loving God and people well…

I don't know how anyone can honestly look at that… and not realize there was something to it.

Here is another question…

It’s an unpopular thought these days… but it’s something I think we need to reconsider…

If it’s true… and God really does have something in mind for you…

Are you interested, would you care?

If he had something that was wiser and greater than what you think and feel…

Where real freedom… lives… not to do whatever you want, but freedom from the things that lead to brokenness and captivity in our life…

And where real fullness lives… no full things we “want” or that just make us “happy” but full of what really makes life meaningful and that God has desired for you all along.

If it’s true… who wouldn't want that? Who wouldn’t want those things to be the things that mark your life… that other people see in you…

There are a lot of hard things that the Bible teaches… It’s okay to admit it’s hard…

One is this…

Romans 3:23 NLT

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

(ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Not fun but true… there isn’t a single one of us… that this is’t true of.

If we were to use the earlier Rome 1 passage to define sin… it would be something like… looking past, ignoring or denying the realities of God in the pursuit of or preferring my own way of thinking and desires.

And

Romans 6:23 NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

(NLT) talks about what sin does in our life…

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The wages of sin… what sin earns… is death… denying God leads dying spiritually… it leads to distance and hardheartedness before the Lord…

Romans is basically saying… to one degree or another… that is the truth about our own “bathroom stall situation”… ending up in places… physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, relationally… we were never intended to be.

That’s what sin is and does…

But if that's all you ever heard… how hopeless would it be. That we all sin… and it leads to spiritual death and separation from God…

There is no hope. Let’s pray.

That’s not what scripture teaches… and that is not what Easter celebrates.

God’s word fully embraces and illustrates the brokenness and lostness of humanity…

It's often followed by two powerful words that preach the awesomeness of God’s life changing intervention… BUT GOD…

Two powerful words that preach the awesomeness of God’s life changing intervention… BUT GOD!

It’s everywhere in scripture…

But God’s gift is real and eternal life (Rom 6:23)

But God… is faithful when we’re faced with temptation (1 Cor 10:13)

But God… makes all things possible (Matt 19:26

But God… is my strength (Ps 73:26)

But God… intends it for good (Gen 50:20)

But God… brought me up from the pit (Jonah 2:6)

But God… was with me (Acts 7:9)

BUT GOD… demonstrated his love for you in this… while I was still trapped in the nastiness of my own bathroom stall… while I was still a sinner… Christ died for me.

And… you killed the author of life… BUT GOD raised Him back to life… Happy Easter..

The bible constantly talks about the brokenness and losteness of humanity apart from God. … and then sort of contrasts that with the perfect intervention of a perfectly loving God… that we have in Jesus… who calls you out of the shame, the hiding, the nastiness of the stall we’ve made for ourselves… and into HIS wonderful light…

I love this passage…

Ephesians 2:3–8 NLT

All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

(NLT)

3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

What He’s saying is… without intentionally… willfully… putting Jesus in the right place in our lives… we’ll never experience what He has for us.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

And that is what Easter is all about.

If anyone asks… you can say… I was once trapped in a ladies bathroom…

Wait… that's not it…

That we, like everyone else… missed the signs… and found ourselves in a place we didn't belong in life… BUT God… who is rich in mercy and abundant in grace… gave us life; Just like Jesus rose from the dead, God gives us New life, real life, a full life in the face of the spiritual death and brokenness our sin creates in us (we all have it, the question is… are we courageous enough to call it what it is)…

And it says that it happens because we are united with… Christ… because we are in right relationship with Christ.

And so the real question then becomes how do we get there and what does it look like.

Tons of people have a lot of false expectations here…

It’s not about being good enough… or doing enough… or not doing enough…

It doesn't matter where you are… or where you’ve been. It doesn’t matter what station you are in life…

But it starts by accepting the free gift of God’s grace that comes through the life and death of Jesus… and stepping into the new life that is envisioned through and empowered by the same God that shook the earth and rose from the dead…

It means coming to this place of repentance… admitting that we’ve missed the signs and ended up in places we were never intended to be… and bringing that before the Lord with the sort of remorse that leads to us more and more giving God the and His Word the sort of authority that He was always intended to have in our life. And allowing that to become our true hope…

Don’t take my word for it… try it and see.

In Colossians 3

Colossians 3:1–3 NLT

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

(NLT) says…

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Your life is hidden… has two meanings…

It looks back to suggest that it is perfectly pardoned by God. It’s as if that whole bathroom situation never happened… you are completely… totally forgiven.

And it also means… our new life is found in… and perfectly hidden… wrapped up in… secured in… the reality of who He is. When God looks at us… He sees the righteousness of Christ.

It goes on to talk about what this looks like… the difference an authentic relationship with Jesus makes in our lives…

It says be done with/have nothing to do with sexual imorality, impurity, lust, evil deisres, greed (which is idolatry)... Get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander and dirty language… don’t lie. Those things used to be a part of our life… but we’ve died to that.

And then it says to put on our new nature in Christ…

Colossians 3:10–11 NLT

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

It looks like coming to know God personally… and becoming more and more like Christ which happens as we submit to His authority and leadership in our life. ALLOWING the message of Christ to RULE in our heart… filling our life.

Teaching it, sharing it… allowing the wisdom it has reap the benefits it brings into our life.

It’s why the cross matters… It’s why His resurrection matters It’s why God’s truth matters…

Inside of it we find new life… new purpose… a new way of thinking… we find wisdom and understanding… and we find HOPE.

And it's found in Christ alone. The Bible says… and I believe I have experienced the reality that He is the only Way, the only truth, and the only place real life is found.

When we say that Jesus has risen… we are saying Jesus lives… we are saying Hope lives… we are saying forgiveness is real and that New life is possible…

That is why… today is a day of JOY.

That is what we celebrate. Is that what you celebrate. Have you ever stepped into that kind of life giving relationship with God? If that’s something you’re interested in, I’ll be in the back… our you can fill out the connection card and write that on it… I’d really like to talk to you.

It would be wrong for us… to celebrate Easter… without reading its History…

44 By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

47 When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.” 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. 49 But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

50 Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, 51 but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. 54 This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin.

55 As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.

Chapter 24

But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.

If I can save a guy like that… I can save you. If I can change a guy like that, I can change you. If I can bring hope to a guy like that, I can bring hope to you… If I can plant a church with a guy like that… JUST THINK of what I can do with you.