Passion - Week 3 Unstoppable Love

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Scripture Reading by Lady Pepper (Show Slide)

(Show Slide) Thank you Lady Pepper for the announcements and the reading of God’s Word.

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Jesus is Resurrected

Passion Series

Big Idea: The soldiers could not stop him. The crowds could not stop him. The nails could not stop him. Even the grave could not hold him. Jesus overcame it all and was resurrected from the dead. As followers of Christ, we identify with his death, as we give up our old lives and identify with his resurrection as we embrace his Spirit living in us.

Prayer: “Sovereign and gracious Lord, thank you for sending Jesus to us. Thank you for looking upon our lowly circumstance and choosing to lift us up through Jesus, so that we may experience eternal life with you. Today we commit to honoring you and celebrating what you have done for us. With hearts filled with gratitude we say thank you… You are so so good to us.”

Scripture: Luke 24:6-7; Romans 8:38-39; Romans 8:12-15; James 1:22; John 10:10

Introduction

Good morning church, and may I say, Happy Easter. He is risen…He is risen indeed!

We are here today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How many of you know that Jesus is not dead, that the tomb is empty, and that Christ is alive?

We are finishing a series we started a few weeks ago called Passion. Throughout this series, we learned that loving others is tough business. So often, our love is tied to how we feel or how our wants/needs are being met.

And when our feelings change or our wants/needs are no longer being met, then our love changes as well. This is called conditional love,

Sometimes we don't have vision

Example: Sometimes your spouse could be a diamond in the rough (On the outside you could be a little rusty, corrosion have set in) (somebody say vision!)

You may not say it, but you be thinking, How come you can’t be like Roy Roy, how come you can be like Nay Nay?

The Bible says that man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart. (And sees that diamond in the rough) (somebody say Vision!)

Thankfully, God has Unconditional Love for His creation.

God loves even when it’s unreciprocated.

God loves when you’re nasty, rude, and mean.

God loves even when He’s not getting anything out of the relationship.

God’s love is evident in the sacrifice He made by sending His only Son, Jesus, so that through Him all who believe may have eternal life.

But Jesus had to willingly come, He humbled himself and became obedient to the will of the Father. This obedience led Jesus to His eventual death on a cross.

And today, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate that the death of Jesus wasn’t the end of the story. I’m here to let you know that not even the grave could hold Him!

Let’s get started

If you have a Bible with you, please turn with me to Luke 24.

But first, a little background. All four of the gospel accounts in the Bible include the story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

So today, I want to read for you the words that were spoken just after He had been resurrected.

Some of the women, who had followed Jesus when He was alive, went to His tomb on that first Easter morning.

They did not find His body. Instead, two men in white robes appeared and said these profound words…

Read Luke 24:6-7

Luke 24:6–7 (KJV 1900)

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

This is good news, amen? Not even the grave, death itself, could stop Jesus. In fact, nothing could stop Him.

So what am I talking about this morning?

I. Unstoppable Love

Think back to all the things that tried to stop Him.

The devil tried to stop Him. The religious leaders who turned Him in tried to stop Him. The soldiers who crucified Him tried to stop Him. The crowds tried to stop Him.

Even the nails in His hands and feet on the cross tried to stop Him.

But, they could not stop Him. Because upon His resurrection, Jesus had overcome death itself!

In the words of the apostle Paul,

1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV

55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Chances are, there is something in your life right now that, if you allow it to, will attempt to stop you from following Jesus.

Maybe it is something that has, for some time now, acted as a distraction.

Maybe it is some repetitive sin, or as one Bible verse calls it, “the little foxes that come to spoil the vine.” (Song of Songs 2:14)

Either way, distractions are normal for all of us. The world is full of them.

But just like we talked about last week, we must keep our eyes focused on the cross. And although numerous things may have acted as temporary setbacks, the truth is that nothing can negate God’s love for us.

Read Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38–39 NIV

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What a passage! Paul says that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from God’s love for us.

This should allow us to live a free life, not having to worry or stress about how we will pay the high price for our sin to once again be reconciled to God.

Instead, He has already paid that price for us.

So, now what?

II. Die to Sin

First, I believe we must take after Christ’s model and die to sin.

We must repent and push our sin as far from our lives as the East is from the West.

But the trouble is, and some of you here today are wondering this very thing;

what does dying to sin actually look like?

ILLUSTRATION:

Bring a phone that is not charged at all and a charger on stage with you.

Make the point that the phone only has power when it is charged. But also, when I give my attention to it.

However, when it dies, I cannot go on Instagram or Facebook or any other distracting app. Therefore, it doesn’t have any power over me, whether literal or figurative.

In a similar way, we are called to die to our sin. The sin itself will probably continue to be a temptation. And there may still be moments in your life when you give into that temptation.

But even if that were to happen, that is when we ask for forgiveness from God. Ultimately, we are no longer living to gratify the desires of our flesh, we are new creations in Christ Jesus, learning to conform to His good and perfect will for our lives. (2 Cor. 5:17,

Romans 12:1-2)

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Read Romans 8:12-15 - Later

Maybe this Easter is the first time you resist the urge to sin against God in a certain way.

Even if the temptation is extremely strong and constantly present, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit living within you always provides a way out!

1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

So, if dying to our sin and trusting the work of the Holy Spirit is step one, what about step two?

We already know that Christ did not stay dead, the grave was unable to hold Him.

So what does it mean for us that He is alive today?

III. Live for Christ

The challenge for us as believers and followers of Christ is to learn how to live for Him each and every day.

In the gospel of Luke we are reminded,

Luke 9:23 NKJV

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

This may seem like a simple statement, but it doesn’t involve just words. Living for Christ takes very real action, as indicated by this passage

Read James 1:22

James 1:22 NKJV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

The Bible is meant to act as our guide concerning how we are to live for Christ.

It tells us the sins to watch out for. It lets us know the type of fruit that should be born out of our lives. It tells us what kind of community to seek out. T

There is great and powerful instruction all throughout the Bible. But the scriptures aren’t just meant to stop at divine instruction, they are meant to inspire us onto abundant and faithful living.

Read John 10:10

John 10:10 NKJV

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.

God’s desire is that we experience abundant life now through the powerful sacrifice, the unstoppable and perfect love of His Son Jesus. In stark contrast to this stands the devil, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy our lives.

The experience of this dichotomy; death to life, is one I can personally attest to.

STORY:

I remember a time after I received Jesus as my savior as a young person, I chose to go back into the world. It was during those times that the enemy tried to destroy my life.

As a professional wedding photographer, I finished taking photos at a wedding location. I was involved in a serious traffic accident on my way to the reception. My pelvic was damaged, and as a result, I had to learn how to walk all over again.

The devil was tempting me with a sophisticated lifestyle, unlike the one I had with the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Bible says that the devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, he was trying to take away everything God had given me,

including my health and faith and the love I had for the Lord Jesus Christ. Fortunately, I had a praying stepfather that knew how to get a prayer through to God.

As I mentioned before, Jesus sacrificed on the cross enabled me to begin living an abundant life. The Bible says God came to give us life and give it to us more abundantly. Just as God was watching over me, He can watch over you also.

In my life, I have witnessed what Jesus Christ can do with someone that was very far away from Him.

I wanted to do things my way. I wanted to call the shots in my life, and I wanted nothing to get in my way.

But here’s the good news: even amidst all the things I tried to put in God’s way, He still found me and loves me.

His love is unstoppable, unconquerable, and unyielding.

Today, my story is just one of many stories that this out there which display our God's goodness.

Conclusion

Easter Sunday is such a special time for us to celebrate our collective freedom. It’s a day to remember our individual testimonies… A day to celebrate and commemorate all that God has brought us through as individuals and as a community.

As we’ve learned throughout this series, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross was fueled first and foremost by unconditional agape love.

Christ was humble, He was obedient, and His love for us was perfected 2,000 years ago when He died on a cross only to be raised to life again three days later.

As believers, the empty tomb is where we find fullness of life.

As we close up our time today and wrap up this series, let’s commit to looking, sounding, and acting a bit more like Christ. Consider His humility and obedience and pray about areas in your life where you need more of the same.

Just as Christ walked out of the grave, today, He is calling you to move from death to life as well.

Remember he came to give us life, and to give us life more abundantly

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

PastorDoc@FaithVision.org

Church Office: 909-922-8090

And I will send you a Bible & a Free Book on how to begin your first 21 steps with Jesus (show the book)

(Show Slide)

***Leave slide up until Pepper gets in position***

Lady Pepper Please Join Me

Let us pray (P/P)

Lord we believe that you are Jehovah Rapha “The God that heals”

Matthew 9:35

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.

I pray for - Trina - Family/peace & comfort

Sharon (Coop girl) Healing from eye surgery

Lee - Healing

Our niece Vadrea- Healing

Ray - Healing

Tanya & Marietta - Healing

Ariel - In hospital - Pray for healing

Please continue to pray for the Ministry of Faith Vision

Please invite your family and friends to join us as we continue “A Study in the Book of Revelation”

Faith Vision Christian Ministries

10950 Arrow Rte - P.O. Box 3662

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729

Office: 909-922-8090

PastorDoc@FaithVision.org

www.FaithVision.org

Proverbs 4:7

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.

2 Corinthians 5:7

7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Signing off:

This is Pastor Doc & 1st Lady Pepper

With Faith Vision Christian Ministries

We are: Loving God, Loving People, and Living by Faith

See you next Sunday @ 10:55 on Facebook Live!!

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