WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.640 Good morning. 00:00:02.359 --> 00:00:04.259 Fok Wai Ji Phi Lok. 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:05.879 Is that sort of right? 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:07.200 Okay, great. 00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:11.000 Happy Easter for those of you who like me, 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:12.300 aren't very good at Cantonese. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.500 And welcome, welcome to our Easter service. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:18.900 If you are a guest of ours this morning, 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:21.260 please make yourself right at home. 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:23.640 It's so wonderful to have you with us 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.240 as we celebrate what is the most wonderful 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:30.779 and significant day in the Christian calendar. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:34.140 This morning, across the globe, 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:39.839 from Tokyo to Texas, from Canberra to Canada, 00:00:40.339 --> 00:00:42.560 from the southernmost tip of Africa 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:45.140 all the way to the northernmost tip of Asia, 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:48.320 followers of Jesus from every culture, 00:00:48.820 --> 00:00:51.299 every background, every language, 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:55.060 every socioeconomic group are celebrating 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:57.359 not just that Jesus died 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:59.840 and he took our sin upon himself, 00:01:00.260 --> 00:01:04.219 not just the fact that God came to earth for us, 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:07.060 but the fact that Jesus rose again 00:01:07.060 --> 00:01:09.340 physically in bodily form. 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:11.320 This morning, we celebrate 00:01:11.320 --> 00:01:13.400 that the grave couldn't hold him. 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:15.260 This morning, we celebrate 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:17.599 that the tomb couldn't contain him. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:20.700 This morning, we join with the angels who say, 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.120 why look for the living amongst the dead? 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:24.060 He is not here. 00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:25.460 He has risen. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.640 And so this morning, we celebrate 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.880 the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:35.100 But the question is, what does that mean for us? 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:40.000 How does this historic and most important day 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.020 affect our lives tomorrow 00:01:42.020 --> 00:01:44.300 or on Tuesdays, you go to work? 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.540 How does this day affect us 00:01:47.540 --> 00:01:49.320 when you're sitting in the doctor's room 00:01:49.320 --> 00:01:52.300 and you have got a medical report in front of you? 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:55.219 How does the resurrection of Jesus affect 00:01:55.219 --> 00:01:58.019 not just your eternity, but your career, 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:01.340 your approach to money, your marriage? 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:03.379 How does it affect you 00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:05.120 when you get paid a nice bonus? 00:02:06.259 --> 00:02:07.859 How does the resurrection of Jesus 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:11.240 affect your successes and your failures, 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.180 your ambitions and your disappointments? 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:16.379 This morning, we're gonna just, 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:17.919 for 15 minutes, 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:19.699 we're gonna look at this passage of scripture 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:20.699 that was read to us. 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:22.560 And the scripture tells us 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:24.799 two profound implications 00:02:24.799 --> 00:02:26.500 of the resurrection of Jesus. 00:02:27.119 --> 00:02:28.759 Two implications that speak 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:30.979 to our deepest existential need, 00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:33.560 but two implications that also speak 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.639 to the nitty-gritty days of life, 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:38.299 the days when we're in the trenches, 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:40.919 the realities of life. 00:02:41.339 --> 00:02:42.759 And so if you've got the bulletin, 00:02:43.079 --> 00:02:44.979 look at the bulletin scripture with me. 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:47.739 In verse 15, Paul is writing, 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.199 and the apostle Paul writes to these Christians 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:53.639 in this very superstitious city of Ephesus. 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:55.959 And he writes that he's praying for them. 00:02:56.399 --> 00:02:57.719 And he's praying this prayer, 00:02:57.780 --> 00:02:59.280 and this is the prayer that he prays. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:02:59.599 He says, 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:02.079 I pray that the eyes of your heart 00:03:02.079 --> 00:03:03.419 may be enlightened, 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:04.560 may be opened, 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:06.500 that you may know, 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:08.879 so not just theoretically know, 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:10.719 not just know in your head. 00:03:11.079 --> 00:03:13.019 I pray that deep down in your heart, 00:03:13.099 --> 00:03:14.359 you will know something. 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:15.620 And what does he want them to know? 00:03:15.939 --> 00:03:17.379 He wants them to know two things. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.459 He wants them to know the hope 00:03:19.459 --> 00:03:20.659 to which God has called them, 00:03:20.959 --> 00:03:23.120 and he wants them to know the great power 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:24.759 that is promised to those 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:25.879 that are followers of Jesus. 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:27.039 Okay? 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:28.959 So look at what he says, verse 18. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:31.259 I pray that the eyes of your heart 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:32.000 may be enlightened, 00:03:32.419 --> 00:03:34.139 in order that you may know 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:36.399 what is the hope to which God has called you. 00:03:36.859 --> 00:03:38.239 Friends, the resurrection of Jesus 00:03:38.239 --> 00:03:40.319 gives hope to the hopeless. 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:43.120 All of us know 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.359 that hope has the ability 00:03:46.359 --> 00:03:47.879 to both stir you up 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:50.079 and to crush you, right? 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:52.719 You know, the Proverbs writes 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.719 that the hope deferred 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:57.280 or hope unrealized 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:58.500 makes the heart sick. 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:00.659 Can anyone recognize that feeling? 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:02.280 You hope for something 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:03.680 only for it not to happen, 00:04:03.879 --> 00:04:06.020 and your heart feels sick, right? 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:08.639 But why is that? 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:10.740 Why does hope have this ability 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:12.039 to both encourage us 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:13.139 and to crush us? 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:14.599 Well, the reason is 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:16.259 because when we talk about hope, 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:17.420 we talk about hope 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:19.639 as something like a desired outcome 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:21.399 that we hope is going to happen, 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.560 but the outcome is very uncertain, right? 00:04:24.599 --> 00:04:26.120 You hope to have good grades 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:27.339 to get into university. 00:04:28.039 --> 00:04:29.639 You hope that your mother's cancer 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.279 will go into remission, right? 00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:35.519 You hope that you will be made MD this year. 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.339 You hope that your child 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:39.399 will get into med school 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:40.339 and become a doctor. 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:42.239 It's these things that are, 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:43.939 it's the desired outcome, 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:45.759 but the outcome 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:47.399 is not necessarily certain. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:48.579 Every year, 00:04:48.719 --> 00:04:50.099 I hope that my football team 00:04:50.099 --> 00:04:50.779 will win the league, 00:04:51.019 --> 00:04:51.819 and in my case, 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:53.539 it's very uncertain, right, 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:54.599 that that's going to happen. 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:57.399 But we're all familiar 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.519 with the uncertainty of hope. 00:05:00.159 --> 00:05:01.039 Hope has the ability 00:05:01.039 --> 00:05:02.199 to disappoint us. 00:05:02.859 --> 00:05:03.139 But you know, 00:05:03.179 --> 00:05:04.759 when the Bible speaks about hope, 00:05:04.819 --> 00:05:05.819 it actually uses it 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:07.019 in a very different way. 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:08.979 The Bible talks about hope 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:10.040 as something which is, 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:11.640 the outcome is guaranteed. 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.280 It's absolutely rock solid certain, 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.000 but the path towards that outcome 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:18.180 is very uncertain. 00:05:18.700 --> 00:05:19.500 Or the route, 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:20.240 or if you're American, 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.340 the route towards that outcome 00:05:22.340 --> 00:05:24.100 is very uncertain, right? 00:05:24.379 --> 00:05:26.060 So think about it in this way. 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:27.500 In our culture, 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:28.980 we think about hope 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:30.540 as like driving a car 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:32.420 without a GPS system. 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:34.319 You hope that you're going to get 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:35.819 to the destination, 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:37.720 but whether you get there or not 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:38.819 is not very certain. 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:39.460 Okay? 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:42.100 But when the Bible talks about hope, 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:43.420 it talks about hope 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:44.500 as being like somebody 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:45.480 that's blind, 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:47.100 but taking the hand 00:05:47.100 --> 00:05:48.460 of somebody trustworthy. 00:05:49.140 --> 00:05:50.480 The path in front of you 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:51.040 is unknown. 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:53.040 It's going to require faith. 00:05:53.259 --> 00:05:54.620 It's going to require trust. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:57.020 It's going to require courage. 00:05:57.560 --> 00:05:59.220 But you can be guaranteed 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:00.100 that the person 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:00.920 is going to get you 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:01.879 to your destination. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:02.640 Okay? 00:06:02.700 --> 00:06:03.540 Does that make sense? 00:06:04.340 --> 00:06:04.780 Now, 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:06.800 look at what Paul says here. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.000 He says, 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:08.560 I pray 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:10.639 that the eyes of your heart 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:11.860 will be opened, 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:13.420 that you may know, 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:14.460 not just intellectually, 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:15.939 that you may know 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:16.759 in your heart 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:19.319 what is the rock-solid hope 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:20.960 to which God has called you 00:06:20.960 --> 00:06:22.520 because Jesus has risen 00:06:22.520 --> 00:06:23.639 from the dead. 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:25.459 Now, 00:06:26.419 --> 00:06:29.419 why does Christ's resurrection 00:06:29.419 --> 00:06:30.439 give us this hope? 00:06:31.099 --> 00:06:32.800 Why can we bank our lives 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:34.259 this rock-solid hope 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:36.000 because Christ has risen from the dead? 00:06:36.060 --> 00:06:38.120 How does Jesus rising from the dead 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:39.680 give us this hope? 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:42.379 In the book of 1 Corinthians, 00:06:43.039 --> 00:06:44.099 the apostle Paul writes, 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:44.879 and he says this. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:45.219 He says, 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:47.040 if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:47.800 well, 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:48.680 our faith 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:50.180 is actually in vain. 00:06:50.900 --> 00:06:51.940 Our hope 00:06:51.940 --> 00:06:53.040 is worthless. 00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:54.520 We've got nothing to hope for 00:06:54.520 --> 00:06:56.680 because all we've got to live on 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:58.300 is that which is around us, 00:06:58.380 --> 00:06:59.480 the circumstances, 00:06:59.760 --> 00:07:00.540 the situations. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:02.660 We hope that things will go well 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:04.240 or maybe things won't go well. 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:06.060 Our faith is worthless 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:06.760 and hopeless. 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:07.680 It's all in vain. 00:07:08.340 --> 00:07:09.100 But then he says, 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:09.960 but, 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:11.180 says Paul, 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:12.000 in fact, 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:13.800 Christ did rise from the dead 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:15.300 and is the first fruits 00:07:15.300 --> 00:07:16.959 of those who have died. 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:17.480 In other words, 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:17.879 he's saying, 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:19.199 Jesus died 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:20.420 and he's gone to heaven, 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:22.560 but he hasn't just gone to heaven. 00:07:22.900 --> 00:07:23.939 He's opened the way. 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:25.139 He's paved the way 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:26.960 for all those who trust in him 00:07:26.960 --> 00:07:28.160 and to hope in him 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.819 that we will follow him 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:31.160 to glory one day. 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:32.100 In other words, 00:07:32.460 --> 00:07:33.899 Jesus didn't just die 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:35.439 to save us from judgment 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:36.660 from God one day. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:38.680 Jesus rose from the dead 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:40.899 and his resurrection life 00:07:40.899 --> 00:07:42.060 is now available 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:43.239 for you and I 00:07:43.239 --> 00:07:44.959 right here today, 00:07:45.219 --> 00:07:46.019 right now. 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:48.099 As you go to work this week, 00:07:48.359 --> 00:07:50.039 as you work on your marriage, 00:07:50.259 --> 00:07:52.199 as you worry about your children, 00:07:52.719 --> 00:07:55.120 something of Jesus' resurrection life 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:55.899 and power 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:58.739 is available to us today. 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:03.139 It's no secret that in Hong Kong 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:05.319 there's a real sense of hopelessness. 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:06.439 That right? 00:08:07.219 --> 00:08:09.199 People feel like the system 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:10.099 is against them. 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:11.859 The housing market, 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:13.879 rental is so expensive, 00:08:14.659 --> 00:08:15.339 education, 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.459 the pressures of work, 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:18.519 these long hours 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:19.659 that you have to work, 00:08:20.159 --> 00:08:21.879 the expectation of your bosses, 00:08:22.739 --> 00:08:24.239 the pressure to provide 00:08:24.239 --> 00:08:25.060 for your children 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:26.479 everything that they need 00:08:26.479 --> 00:08:27.599 to succeed. 00:08:28.599 --> 00:08:30.479 For many people in Hong Kong, 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:31.219 the system, 00:08:31.539 --> 00:08:32.919 the sense that the system 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:33.899 is against you 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:35.720 renders so many people 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:37.579 with a sense of hopelessness. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:38.799 Friends, 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:40.059 I want to tell you this morning 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:42.379 that the gospel gives us a hope. 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:44.679 It guarantees that there's an outcome. 00:08:44.819 --> 00:08:46.579 It guarantees that if you take the hand 00:08:46.579 --> 00:08:47.819 of the living God, 00:08:48.219 --> 00:08:49.419 you may have to trust Him. 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:51.620 It doesn't guarantee that your life 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:53.059 will be comfortable or easy. 00:08:53.439 --> 00:08:54.859 As you take His hand 00:08:54.859 --> 00:08:55.339 and He says, 00:08:55.579 --> 00:08:56.299 walk with me, 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:57.459 there will be times 00:08:57.459 --> 00:08:58.819 where the route between here 00:08:58.819 --> 00:08:59.819 and glory 00:08:59.819 --> 00:09:01.299 is not comfortable or convenient. 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:02.799 But there is a hope 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:04.639 that the resurrected Jesus gives us 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:05.819 that you can take His hand 00:09:05.819 --> 00:09:07.039 and He will not let you go. 00:09:07.479 --> 00:09:08.339 There is a hope that 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:10.659 in your heart of hearts, 00:09:10.740 --> 00:09:12.099 you can face the obstacles. 00:09:12.579 --> 00:09:14.479 You can face the storms in life. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:16.359 You may have storms around you. 00:09:16.599 --> 00:09:17.879 You can get up in the morning 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:18.919 with hope in your heart 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.339 because Jesus is alive 00:09:20.339 --> 00:09:22.799 and has risen from the grave. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:24.759 And I want to ask us 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:25.519 to think about 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:27.279 the implications of this. 00:09:27.719 --> 00:09:28.879 Think about the implications 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:29.820 in two ways. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:30.759 Firstly, 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:32.659 think about the implications 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:34.980 for hardship and trials, 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:37.679 difficulty and suffering. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:39.700 This week, 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:42.860 I was listening to a podcast 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:45.100 of a man called 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:46.419 Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:48.460 The podcast was about 00:09:48.460 --> 00:09:49.360 this man's life. 00:09:50.419 --> 00:09:52.879 And Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:53.720 was a, 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:56.179 he grew up in the United Kingdom 00:09:56.179 --> 00:09:58.120 and at 10 years old, 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:00.200 his father had a shop front, right? 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:01.700 So you know how in Hong Kong, 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:02.679 the old shop front, 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:03.759 there's a shop on the bottom 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:05.379 and a house up on top. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.060 And so his father 00:10:07.060 --> 00:10:07.919 was a shopkeeper 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.580 and they lived above the shop. 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:11.840 And at 10 years old, 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:12.539 one night, 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:14.639 the family's all fast asleep 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:15.279 in the house 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.179 and something in the shop 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:18.159 catches a light 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:19.740 and the shop 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:21.480 bursts into flame. 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:23.720 The flames engulf the shop 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:25.000 and soon they engulf 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:25.740 the whole house. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:27.580 And so the family 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:29.399 realized what's going on 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:30.639 and they escape. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:32.740 And they get out alive, 00:10:32.860 --> 00:10:34.620 but they've lost everything. 00:10:35.220 --> 00:10:36.320 Absolutely everything. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.200 This was in the early 1900s. 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:39.600 They didn't have insurance, 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:41.299 good policies in those days. 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:42.320 And so the family 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:43.779 loses completely everything. 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:45.500 And they try and trade 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:46.220 their way out, 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:47.600 but things just get worse. 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:48.840 And so after a few years, 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:50.580 the family is declared bankrupt. 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:52.419 And the shame, 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:54.179 they've got to sell everything 00:10:54.179 --> 00:10:56.399 and they've got nothing. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:57.979 But listen to what 00:10:57.979 --> 00:10:59.759 the podcaster wrote about this. 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:00.159 He said, 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:01.899 these financial troubles, 00:11:02.579 --> 00:11:04.299 this frowning providence 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:06.479 was actually hiding behind it all 00:11:06.479 --> 00:11:07.919 a smiling face 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:10.199 because the financial losses 00:11:10.199 --> 00:11:11.799 would become the impetus 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:13.819 to push Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:11:13.819 --> 00:11:15.159 into becoming the man 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:16.620 that he had later become. 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:17.679 You see what he's saying? 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:18.939 Even in the midst 00:11:18.939 --> 00:11:20.419 of great hopelessness, 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:22.199 in the midst of great despair, 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:24.780 as this family lost everything, 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.460 behind all that hardship 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:29.360 was the smiling face 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:30.600 of the sovereign God 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:31.940 that knew what he was doing 00:11:31.940 --> 00:11:33.759 and was using that moment 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.259 to forge this person 00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:35.840 to becoming 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.400 one of the greatest leaders 00:11:37.400 --> 00:11:38.500 in the last century. 00:11:38.900 --> 00:11:39.879 I'll tell you more about him 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:40.440 in a second. 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:43.280 Well, consider the apostle Paul. 00:11:44.060 --> 00:11:45.120 Paul is in prison 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.920 and things aren't going well. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.400 He's getting beaten in jail. 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:50.879 And what does he do? 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:52.259 He rejoices. 00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:54.320 He rejoices at the trials 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:55.080 that he's facing 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:56.019 because in the midst 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:56.860 of the trials, 00:11:56.980 --> 00:11:58.000 he sees the fingerprints 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:58.799 of God. 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:00.360 He knows that God 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:01.960 is in the trials 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:03.200 and God is there with him 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:04.259 even in the prison. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:06.399 He says that the prison 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:07.240 has allowed him 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:08.539 to know God deeper, 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:09.740 to find out something 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:10.580 about the nature 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:11.679 and the character of God. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:13.419 Even as he's being beaten 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:13.980 and mocked, 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:15.299 Paul finds reason 00:12:15.299 --> 00:12:16.019 to rejoice. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:17.440 And he writes this. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:17.940 He says, 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:19.520 even though my body 00:12:19.520 --> 00:12:21.060 is wasting away, 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:23.440 my body is becoming frail, 00:12:23.680 --> 00:12:25.020 even in my old age, 00:12:25.060 --> 00:12:25.780 I'm not as strong 00:12:25.780 --> 00:12:26.700 as I used to be. 00:12:27.020 --> 00:12:27.420 He says, 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:28.500 my inner self 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:29.420 is being renewed, 00:12:29.560 --> 00:12:30.680 made new every day. 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:32.440 These light 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:34.380 and momentary troubles 00:12:34.380 --> 00:12:35.200 that I face 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.980 are preparing for me 00:12:36.980 --> 00:12:38.800 an eternal weight of glory 00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:40.600 beyond all comparison. 00:12:41.300 --> 00:12:41.600 You see, 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:42.480 others might have looked 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:42.960 at Paul 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:44.940 as this defeated preacher, 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:46.220 this man who's 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:47.100 in the misery 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.120 of a Roman dungeon jail, 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:50.259 being beaten, 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:51.639 left for dead. 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:52.740 They could have thought, 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:54.420 what a waste of a life. 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:55.879 But Paul knew 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:56.860 that because Jesus 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:57.600 is alive 00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:58.539 and is on the throne, 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:00.360 that even his dying 00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:01.000 in the dungeon 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:01.680 is not the end 00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:02.340 of the story. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:04.039 That Christ is preparing 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:04.480 for him 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:05.960 an eternal glorious home. 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:07.120 And Paul knows 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:07.759 that the route 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:08.720 between here and there 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:09.659 may not be easy. 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:11.139 It may be challenging. 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:12.539 There may be obstacles, 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:13.779 but he knows 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:14.600 that the dungeon 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:15.879 is not the final word 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:16.539 on his life. 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:17.980 He knows that there is 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:18.860 a word that speaks 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:19.740 a better word 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:20.600 than even what 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:21.620 the Roman prisoners 00:13:21.620 --> 00:13:22.659 and authorities 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:23.360 can throw at him. 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:24.500 There is a word 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:24.919 that says, 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:25.960 Jesus was dead 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:27.419 and now he is alive 00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:28.519 and I'm preparing 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:29.919 a home for you. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:31.360 Friends, 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:31.860 I'm not sure 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:33.100 what challenges 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:33.939 you face. 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:35.860 There might be 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:37.419 some really tough situations. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:38.639 I'm not minimizing 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:39.620 the pain of that. 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:40.919 Friends, 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:41.519 I want to tell you 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:42.019 this morning 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:42.699 that in spite 00:13:42.699 --> 00:13:43.559 of the challenges 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:44.219 you face, 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.039 in spite of the hardships, 00:13:46.939 --> 00:13:48.019 in spite of the trials, 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:49.879 the final word 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:50.439 in your life 00:13:50.439 --> 00:13:51.799 is not what is happening now. 00:13:52.579 --> 00:13:53.899 If you are a Christ follower, 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:55.079 if you are in Jesus 00:13:55.079 --> 00:13:56.339 and Jesus is in you, 00:13:56.659 --> 00:13:57.519 the final word 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:57.939 of your life 00:13:57.939 --> 00:13:58.539 is that Christ 00:13:58.539 --> 00:13:59.000 has died 00:13:59.000 --> 00:13:59.919 and has risen again 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.099 and he's pouring 00:14:01.099 --> 00:14:02.199 his resurrection life 00:14:02.199 --> 00:14:02.679 into you 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:03.419 and therefore 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:05.779 there is hope. 00:14:06.579 --> 00:14:07.179 The resurrection 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:08.240 promises us 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:09.199 hope 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:10.240 in the midst 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:10.840 of trials 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:11.520 and hardships. 00:14:12.520 --> 00:14:13.420 But think about 00:14:13.420 --> 00:14:14.240 how the resurrection 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:16.200 also not only defines 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:16.860 our trials 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:17.700 and our hardships, 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:19.740 the resurrection hope 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:20.900 also redefines 00:14:20.900 --> 00:14:21.980 our successes 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:23.000 and what's important 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:23.560 in life. 00:14:24.560 --> 00:14:25.680 In our city, 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:26.800 success 00:14:26.800 --> 00:14:28.220 is measured 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:29.280 or defined 00:14:29.280 --> 00:14:30.379 by accolades, 00:14:30.900 --> 00:14:32.000 by applause, 00:14:32.660 --> 00:14:33.640 by affirmation, 00:14:33.800 --> 00:14:35.320 and by financial reward. 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.140 But for the Christian, 00:14:37.540 --> 00:14:38.360 our hope 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:39.820 is not found 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:40.600 in the applause 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:41.540 or the affirmation 00:14:41.540 --> 00:14:42.820 of people around us. 00:14:43.340 --> 00:14:44.080 For the Christian, 00:14:44.260 --> 00:14:45.160 our hope is found 00:14:45.160 --> 00:14:46.100 in the affirmation 00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:47.500 of the one true God 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:49.180 for whom we were made 00:14:49.180 --> 00:14:50.160 and with whom 00:14:50.160 --> 00:14:50.800 we will live 00:14:50.800 --> 00:14:51.940 for all eternity. 00:14:53.640 --> 00:14:53.920 You know, 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:54.780 Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:14:54.900 --> 00:14:55.760 this man I was telling you 00:14:55.760 --> 00:14:57.320 about who at 10 years old, 00:14:57.379 --> 00:14:58.240 his family home 00:14:58.240 --> 00:14:59.060 was burnt down. 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:02.520 When the family 00:15:02.520 --> 00:15:03.420 lost everything, 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:04.860 he realized 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:05.479 his parents 00:15:05.479 --> 00:15:06.159 couldn't afford 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:07.219 to send him to school 00:15:07.219 --> 00:15:08.299 and so he studied 00:15:08.299 --> 00:15:09.519 extra hard 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:10.519 and he won a scholarship 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:12.139 to a very good school 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:13.439 and at the school 00:15:13.439 --> 00:15:14.439 he did very well. 00:15:15.179 --> 00:15:17.019 And so at 16 years old, 00:15:17.139 --> 00:15:18.000 he got admitted, 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:19.479 which was a very young age, 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:20.039 he got admitted 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.279 to the top medical school 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:22.759 in London, 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:24.299 St. Bartholomew's Hospital. 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:26.360 So at 16 years old, 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:27.480 he goes to medical school 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:29.419 and there he just excels. 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:30.759 He does exceptionally well 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:31.899 and in fact, 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:33.039 in his final years 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:33.620 of study, 00:15:34.439 --> 00:15:35.879 the doctor by the name 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:37.099 of Sir Thomas Horder, 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:38.899 who was the king's physician, 00:15:39.599 --> 00:15:41.439 noticed Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:15:41.439 --> 00:15:43.980 and actually in his final exam, 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:45.740 Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:47.519 diagnosed a patient 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:48.740 with something 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:50.159 that this Dr. Horder 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:50.779 had missed. 00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:52.360 And so Dr. Horder, 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.459 before the results 00:15:53.459 --> 00:15:54.620 of his exams are out, 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:56.019 Dr. Horder approaches him 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:56.360 and says, 00:15:56.699 --> 00:15:57.419 I want you to be 00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:58.559 my clinical assistant. 00:15:59.439 --> 00:16:00.399 And so here at the age 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:01.219 of 22, 00:16:01.819 --> 00:16:02.539 Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:03.480 is the clinical assistant 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:04.539 to the king's physician. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.120 And over the next few years, 00:16:07.179 --> 00:16:08.099 he wins some more 00:16:08.099 --> 00:16:09.599 research scholarships. 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:11.699 And eventually at 25, 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:13.559 Martin Lloyd-Jones opens 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:14.639 his own practice 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.719 on Harley Street. 00:16:15.839 --> 00:16:16.539 And Harley Street 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:17.519 is in London 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:19.199 where all the top physicians are, 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:20.839 the cream of the crop. 00:16:21.480 --> 00:16:22.899 And so 25 years old, 00:16:23.219 --> 00:16:23.939 he is tipped 00:16:23.939 --> 00:16:25.480 to become the next physician 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.480 to the king of England. 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:28.759 He's got a private practice 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:29.599 on Harley Street. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.519 Dr. Horder has introduced him 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:32.920 to the wealthiest 00:16:32.920 --> 00:16:34.019 and the most upper class 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:35.120 of London society. 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:37.560 He is being a doctor 00:16:37.560 --> 00:16:38.240 to members 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:39.259 of the royal family, 00:16:39.540 --> 00:16:40.560 parliamentarians, 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:42.040 the upper class of society. 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:42.860 He's made it, 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:44.500 he's absolutely had it made. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:46.019 25 years old, 00:16:46.060 --> 00:16:46.879 he's got everything 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:47.379 that he wants 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:47.980 in front of him. 00:16:49.300 --> 00:16:50.580 And 18 months later, 00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:52.080 the age of 26, 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:52.879 he walks away 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:53.600 from it all 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.080 and he decides 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:56.100 to become a minister 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:58.600 in a small farming community 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:00.700 in the south of Wales. 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:02.100 Here was a man 00:17:02.100 --> 00:17:02.860 who had it all. 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:04.339 In the eyes of society, 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:05.880 his hope and therefore, 00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:08.539 his life was completely set. 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:09.720 He had the money, 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:10.620 he had the career, 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:11.819 he had the reputation, 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:13.400 he had everything going for him. 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:15.480 But because of the hope 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:16.299 of the gospel, 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:17.220 because of the hope 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:17.940 of the resurrection, 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:19.779 he knew that his hope 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:20.599 wasn't defined 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:21.140 in the things 00:17:21.140 --> 00:17:22.140 that society said 00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:22.980 gave him hope. 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:24.920 He knew that his success 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:26.160 wasn't in the eyes 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:26.820 of society. 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:28.120 He knew that his hope 00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:28.759 was in something 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:29.620 far deeper, 00:17:29.860 --> 00:17:31.300 something far more profound. 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:32.840 And so he gave up 00:17:32.840 --> 00:17:34.060 this high-flying career 00:17:34.060 --> 00:17:35.560 with parliamentarians 00:17:35.560 --> 00:17:36.640 and royal family 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:37.920 to go and minister 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:39.820 to a bunch of farming folk 00:17:39.820 --> 00:17:41.539 in the south of Wales. 00:17:42.340 --> 00:17:42.640 Friends, 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:43.200 the good news 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:43.820 of the gospel 00:17:43.820 --> 00:17:44.980 is that because Jesus 00:17:44.980 --> 00:17:45.720 is alive 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:46.480 and he's real, 00:17:46.580 --> 00:17:47.720 he's making himself known 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:48.560 to those who love 00:17:48.560 --> 00:17:49.240 and trust him, 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:51.259 this redefines our success 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:52.660 and what's important 00:17:52.660 --> 00:17:53.200 in life. 00:17:53.840 --> 00:17:54.080 You know, 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.720 in one of Paul's 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:56.519 prison letters, 00:17:56.859 --> 00:17:57.699 Paul wrote lots 00:17:57.699 --> 00:17:58.599 of letters in prison. 00:17:59.679 --> 00:18:01.159 In one of his prison letters, 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:02.019 he writes this. 00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:03.019 He says, 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:03.779 as a young man, 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:04.980 I had it all going for me. 00:18:05.439 --> 00:18:06.259 I had the career, 00:18:06.919 --> 00:18:07.679 I had the money, 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:10.019 I had society's approval, 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:11.220 I had the wife 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:12.179 and three kids, 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:13.500 I had the car, 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:15.819 I had everything going for me. 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:17.720 And then he writes this. 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:18.740 He says, 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:19.639 but what I had, 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:21.419 I've now written off 00:18:21.419 --> 00:18:22.379 as rubbish. 00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:23.880 All these things 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:25.160 are now considered rubbish 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:26.900 compared to the surpassing 00:18:26.900 --> 00:18:27.980 worth of knowing 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:30.100 the resurrected Jesus Christ 00:18:30.100 --> 00:18:32.180 in order that I may gain him 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:33.580 and know him 00:18:33.580 --> 00:18:34.960 and know the power 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:36.260 of his resurrection. 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:37.260 Friends, 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:37.980 what the resurrection 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:39.740 of Jesus declares to us 00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:41.060 is that this life 00:18:41.060 --> 00:18:41.900 is not your final 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:42.700 resting place 00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:43.660 and therefore 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:45.040 the most important things 00:18:45.040 --> 00:18:45.500 in life 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:46.960 are not gained 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:47.800 or found 00:18:47.800 --> 00:18:48.980 by hard work. 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:50.220 They're not secured 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:51.279 by being the brightest 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:52.319 or the smartest. 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:53.779 They're not given to you 00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:54.759 by opportunities 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:55.500 or money 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:56.360 or connections. 00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:58.160 What the resurrection 00:18:58.160 --> 00:18:58.940 tells us 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:00.039 is that the most important 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:00.819 things in life 00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:02.019 are found 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:02.559 by following 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:03.500 the path of Jesus, 00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:05.480 of dying to ourselves, 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:07.440 of picking up our cross, 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:08.940 following Christ 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:09.599 to Calgary 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.299 and there we find 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:12.400 resurrection life. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:13.480 Friends, 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.319 this is the hope 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:14.960 of the gospel 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:16.680 that Jesus has risen 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:17.940 and if you trust him, 00:19:18.500 --> 00:19:19.480 Christ is in you 00:19:19.480 --> 00:19:20.279 and you are in him. 00:19:20.860 --> 00:19:21.220 Christ, 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:22.400 your hope of glory. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:24.900 Second thing is this. 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:25.600 So two things 00:19:25.600 --> 00:19:26.660 the resurrection gives us. 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:27.740 The resurrection gives us 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:28.240 a hope. 00:19:29.600 --> 00:19:29.840 Friends, 00:19:29.860 --> 00:19:31.100 as you go to work this week, 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:32.720 the resurrection gives you hope. 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:34.140 Maybe your boss 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:35.019 is moaning at you. 00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:36.759 Maybe you make a mistake. 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:38.000 Maybe you think 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.000 you're about to get fired. 00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:40.680 Maybe your marriage 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:41.320 is difficult. 00:19:42.080 --> 00:19:42.940 Maybe parenting 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:43.620 is difficult. 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:45.080 Maybe you've hit 00:19:45.080 --> 00:19:45.700 a roadblock 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:46.400 in your career 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:46.980 and you don't know 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:47.759 which way to turn. 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:48.640 Friends, 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:49.660 this world does not have 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:50.400 the final word 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:50.960 in your life. 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:52.280 The resurrected 00:19:52.280 --> 00:19:53.600 Lord Jesus Christ 00:19:53.600 --> 00:19:54.480 has the final word 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:54.860 in your life 00:19:54.860 --> 00:19:55.860 and you can hope in him. 00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:57.240 You can bank your life 00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:57.500 in him. 00:19:57.900 --> 00:19:58.860 Second thing is this. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:19:59.720 The resurrection 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:01.080 gives us a power. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:02.240 Look at what 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.720 Paul writes here. 00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:04.840 He says, 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:05.860 I pray that the eyes 00:20:05.860 --> 00:20:06.360 of your heart 00:20:06.360 --> 00:20:07.040 will be opened 00:20:07.040 --> 00:20:08.680 that you may know 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:09.500 what is the hope 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:10.519 to which he's called you. 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:10.800 Okay, 00:20:10.820 --> 00:20:11.740 we spoke about that. 00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:12.740 Verse 19, 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:14.240 and what is the 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:16.160 immeasurable greatness 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:17.880 of his power 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:19.360 towards those 00:20:19.360 --> 00:20:19.980 who believe. 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:21.660 The same power 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:22.600 that God worked 00:20:22.600 --> 00:20:23.460 in Christ Jesus 00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:24.460 when he raised him 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:25.080 from the dead 00:20:25.080 --> 00:20:26.200 and seated him 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:27.400 in the right hand 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:28.800 in the heavenly places. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.599 One of the reasons 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:33.399 why in Hong Kong 00:20:33.399 --> 00:20:34.859 people feel so hopeless 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:37.240 is because we feel powerless, 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:37.879 right? 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:39.419 We feel like the system 00:20:39.419 --> 00:20:40.279 is against us. 00:20:40.619 --> 00:20:41.500 We feel like the rent 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:42.440 is just so high. 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:43.720 We feel like things 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.559 are so expensive 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:45.559 and you just can't 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:46.440 beat the system. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:48.019 But some of us 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:49.259 also feel powerless 00:20:49.259 --> 00:20:50.259 because we can't 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:51.399 change our own lives. 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:53.079 The patterns of behavior, 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:53.859 the addictions 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:54.740 that we feel, 00:20:55.139 --> 00:20:55.839 it's like we try 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:56.980 everything to become 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:57.500 the people 00:20:57.500 --> 00:20:58.360 we so desperately 00:20:58.360 --> 00:20:59.259 want to become 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:00.640 and we just can't 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:01.599 change our lives. 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:04.099 But here in this passage, 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:05.180 Paul tells us 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.680 that the Christian, 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.140 the life that God 00:21:08.140 --> 00:21:08.880 calls us to 00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.759 is not by summoning up 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:12.200 or working extra hard 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:13.839 or trying extra hard. 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:14.720 That actually, 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:15.620 there's a power 00:21:15.620 --> 00:21:16.299 in the resurrection 00:21:16.299 --> 00:21:17.039 of Jesus 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.380 that changes your life 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:21.579 beyond what you are able 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:22.120 to do 00:21:22.120 --> 00:21:23.120 through the power 00:21:23.120 --> 00:21:24.039 of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:31.079 I don't know 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:32.059 if you're hearing anything 00:21:32.059 --> 00:21:33.700 but I'm trying my best, 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:33.940 right? 00:21:36.940 --> 00:21:37.899 We're almost done, 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:38.119 okay? 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:38.779 We're almost done. 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:40.000 You know, 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:42.740 Martin Lloyd-Jones, 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:44.099 that medical doctor, 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:44.440 right? 00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:46.539 He becomes a medical doctor. 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:47.700 He's tipped to become 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:48.740 the next king's physician. 00:21:49.379 --> 00:21:50.579 At 26 years old, 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:51.920 he packs it all up 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:52.799 to become a minister 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:53.879 to a farming community 00:21:53.879 --> 00:21:54.799 in the south of Wales. 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:56.159 Do you know why 00:21:56.159 --> 00:21:56.819 he did that? 00:21:57.799 --> 00:21:58.819 The reason he did it 00:21:58.819 --> 00:21:59.319 was because 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:00.639 as a medical student, 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:02.039 he had to often work 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:03.419 with the poorest 00:22:03.419 --> 00:22:05.079 and the most uneducated 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.539 in London society. 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.200 And he found out 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:09.019 that there was 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:10.099 this powerlessness 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:12.180 to overcome 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:13.500 the patterns of behavior 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:14.180 in their life. 00:22:14.579 --> 00:22:15.220 These people 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:16.180 that as a med student 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:17.159 he had to work with, 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:18.619 they just couldn't break 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:19.819 the patterns of behavior 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:20.399 in their life. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:21.640 And he assumed 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:22.600 that the reason was 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:24.200 because they were uneducated, 00:22:24.420 --> 00:22:25.519 they didn't have access 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:26.460 to opportunities, 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:27.660 their poverty 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:28.640 had trapped them 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.380 in a lifestyle 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:30.240 and they were powerless 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:31.220 to overcome it. 00:22:32.120 --> 00:22:33.460 But then a few years later, 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:34.940 he becomes doctor 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:36.040 to members 00:22:36.040 --> 00:22:36.920 of the royal family, 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:38.860 to parliamentarians, 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:40.519 to the most powerful, 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:41.180 wealthy, 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:41.980 and the elites 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:43.040 of London society. 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:44.560 And he finds out 00:22:44.560 --> 00:22:45.300 that the elites 00:22:45.300 --> 00:22:46.400 of London society 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:47.320 struggle with 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:48.639 the exact same thing 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:50.339 that the very uneducated 00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:51.000 and the poor did. 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:52.240 He realized 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:53.480 that if you have nothing 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:55.220 or if you have everything, 00:22:55.659 --> 00:22:56.559 both people 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:57.299 are powerless 00:22:57.299 --> 00:22:58.279 to change 00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.639 the patterns of behavior 00:22:59.639 --> 00:23:00.279 in their life. 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:01.619 And so one day 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:02.359 he wakes up 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:02.939 with a sense 00:23:02.939 --> 00:23:03.799 of hopelessness. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:04.579 He says, 00:23:04.679 --> 00:23:05.740 God, what is the point? 00:23:06.179 --> 00:23:07.319 If you've got everything 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:07.919 in the world, 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:09.480 you still are powerless 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.460 to change your life. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:11.779 If you've got nothing, 00:23:11.879 --> 00:23:12.379 you are powerless 00:23:12.379 --> 00:23:13.279 to change your life. 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:14.799 Where is the hope 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:15.519 for these people? 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.319 And he realized 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:18.400 that there was a power. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:19.819 There is a power 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:20.980 that's not found in them. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:21.559 There's a power 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:22.799 that's found outside of them. 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:24.160 And so he decides 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:24.980 to become a doctor, 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:25.700 not of medicine, 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:27.519 but a doctor of souls. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.980 And he leaves it all 00:23:28.980 --> 00:23:29.700 and he packs it up 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:30.960 to go to the south of Wales. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:32.480 And on the south of Wales, 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:34.160 there are people there 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:34.879 that thought 00:23:34.879 --> 00:23:36.139 they could never change. 00:23:36.619 --> 00:23:37.299 There was one man 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:38.460 that was so angry, 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:39.819 it's such an anger problem, 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:40.639 that one day 00:23:40.639 --> 00:23:42.680 his dog irritates him. 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:44.559 He brings out a knife 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.599 and he hacks his dog 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:46.980 to pieces out of anger. 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:48.339 He walks into 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:49.079 Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:49.980 preaching one day 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.019 and he's a changed man. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.519 The power of the gospel 00:23:52.519 --> 00:23:53.319 changed him. 00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:54.460 One day a lady 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:55.659 comes into his services, 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.319 she's a median, 00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.220 a spiritist, 00:23:58.599 --> 00:23:59.519 she helps people 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:01.220 speak to spirits, 00:24:01.659 --> 00:24:02.379 and she comes 00:24:02.379 --> 00:24:03.059 into his meetings 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:03.659 and she says, 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:04.700 I know power, 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:06.220 I work with power. 00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:07.339 There's a power 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:08.000 in that meeting 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:08.599 that I've never 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:09.500 encountered before, 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:10.720 but it's a different 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:11.559 kind of power. 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:13.319 It's a clean power. 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:14.859 I want that power. 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:15.899 And her life 00:24:15.899 --> 00:24:16.740 changes around. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:18.299 After 12 years, 00:24:18.399 --> 00:24:19.099 Martin Lloyd-Jones 00:24:19.099 --> 00:24:19.779 leaves Wales 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:20.440 and he goes back 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:20.940 to London 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:22.519 to work with the high 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:23.879 elites of society. 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:24.899 And there, 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:25.659 men and women 00:24:25.659 --> 00:24:26.399 that were trapped 00:24:26.399 --> 00:24:27.339 in the power of sin 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:27.940 that they couldn't 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:28.399 break free, 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.039 their lives 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:29.659 are turned around 00:24:29.659 --> 00:24:30.279 as they encounter 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:30.980 the power 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:32.099 of the gospel. 00:24:32.099 --> 00:24:40.399 Friends, 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:42.619 as I look 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:44.019 at the holiness 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:45.240 and the beauty 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:46.099 and the majesty 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:46.740 of Jesus, 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:48.559 and I look 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:49.519 at my own life, 00:24:50.699 --> 00:24:51.359 I'm tempted 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:51.919 to become 00:24:51.919 --> 00:24:52.779 overawed 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:53.319 with a sense 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:54.240 of hopelessness. 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:55.619 How is it 00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:56.059 that someone 00:24:56.059 --> 00:24:56.740 like me, 00:24:56.899 --> 00:24:57.740 someone as rotten 00:24:57.740 --> 00:24:58.419 as me, 00:24:59.159 --> 00:25:00.099 could ever please 00:25:00.099 --> 00:25:00.759 my God, 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:01.339 my maker, 00:25:02.159 --> 00:25:02.519 how is it 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:03.119 that I can ever 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:03.740 live up to 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:04.579 what he did 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:05.099 on the cross 00:25:05.099 --> 00:25:05.500 for me? 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.159 Friends, 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:07.819 apart from 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:08.619 the power 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:09.179 of Christ 00:25:09.179 --> 00:25:09.639 and the power 00:25:09.639 --> 00:25:10.279 of the Holy Spirit, 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:11.199 what hope is there? 00:25:12.139 --> 00:25:12.980 But I have hope 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:13.439 when I look 00:25:13.439 --> 00:25:13.879 at the power 00:25:13.879 --> 00:25:14.359 of the gospel 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:15.220 because if Jesus 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:16.139 can change people 00:25:16.139 --> 00:25:16.720 like me, 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:18.819 if Jesus can change 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:19.759 people like Saul 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:20.339 of Tarsus, 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:21.980 if Jesus can change 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.259 millions of people 00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:23.819 around the world, 00:25:23.939 --> 00:25:24.179 friends, 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:24.879 there is a hope 00:25:24.879 --> 00:25:25.319 in the midst 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:26.379 of the most hopelessness 00:25:26.379 --> 00:25:27.199 because Christ 00:25:27.199 --> 00:25:27.939 is powerful. 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:29.339 Friends, 00:25:29.419 --> 00:25:30.959 when I get 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:31.559 overwhelmed 00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:32.559 by the expectations 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:33.340 and the pressures 00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:33.920 of life 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:35.319 and what people 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:35.840 expect, 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:36.819 it can be exhausting 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:38.819 until I recognize 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:39.860 that my identity 00:25:39.860 --> 00:25:41.340 and my hope 00:25:41.340 --> 00:25:42.539 and my security 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:43.400 is not what people 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:44.039 think of me. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.380 It's not what I can do 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:47.920 or what I can achieve. 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:49.000 My hope 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:49.700 and my identity 00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:50.539 is in the power 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:51.400 of the living God 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:52.519 who was once contained 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:53.259 in the grave 00:25:53.259 --> 00:25:54.600 but is no longer there. 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:55.680 Who was once nailed 00:25:55.680 --> 00:25:56.279 to the cross 00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:57.259 but he's no longer there. 00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:58.339 My hope 00:25:58.339 --> 00:25:59.000 is in the power 00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:59.819 of the risen, 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:01.420 resurrected Christ 00:26:01.420 --> 00:26:02.220 who is seated 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:03.420 in the heavens. 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:04.420 Friends, 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:05.200 this Easter, 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:06.720 I pray, 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:08.339 I pray that we will 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:08.980 lift our eyes 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:09.740 off of ourselves. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:11.619 I pray that this Easter 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:12.599 we will lift our eyes 00:26:12.599 --> 00:26:13.059 to the heavens 00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:14.240 where Christ is seated. 00:26:14.379 --> 00:26:15.640 We'll find our hope there. 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:17.359 I pray that this Easter 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:18.519 we will know 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:19.619 that if you're in Christ, 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.579 Christ is in you 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:21.539 by the power 00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:22.039 of the Spirit 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:22.599 and the power 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:23.000 of God 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:24.019 that raised Jesus 00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:24.660 from the dead 00:26:24.660 --> 00:26:25.700 is alive 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:26.380 and is in you. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:27.279 Friends, 00:26:27.360 --> 00:26:27.860 if you've come 00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:28.819 to place your hope 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:29.440 and your faith 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.039 in Christ, 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:31.519 Christ's death 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:32.180 and resurrection 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:33.039 is not just 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:34.039 a fact of history. 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.299 It's not just 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:36.480 a story from the Bible. 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:37.960 It's a power 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:38.840 that gives you hope 00:26:38.840 --> 00:26:39.279 in the midst 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:40.059 of the most hopeless 00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:40.920 of situations 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:42.100 because Christ's word 00:26:42.100 --> 00:26:43.140 speaks a better word 00:26:43.140 --> 00:26:44.539 than everything else 00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:45.740 around you. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:47.620 Romans 15, 13 00:26:47.620 --> 00:26:48.440 says this, 00:26:48.840 --> 00:26:49.779 May the God 00:26:49.779 --> 00:26:50.559 of all hope 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:52.620 fill you with joy 00:26:52.620 --> 00:26:54.039 and peace 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:55.119 in believing 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:56.940 so that by the power 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:57.960 of the Holy Spirit 00:26:57.960 --> 00:26:59.659 you may abound 00:26:59.659 --> 00:27:00.420 in hope. 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:02.359 Let's pray together. 00:27:05.659 --> 00:27:06.799 Jesus Christ, 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:08.879 this morning 00:27:08.879 --> 00:27:09.960 we celebrate 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:11.480 the most glorious 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:12.599 good news 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:14.659 that has come 00:27:14.659 --> 00:27:15.159 to mankind. 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:17.819 Not only did you die 00:27:17.819 --> 00:27:18.879 in the cross for us, 00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:20.500 not only did you take 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:21.200 our shame 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.420 and our guilt, 00:27:22.420 --> 00:27:23.800 not only did you 00:27:23.800 --> 00:27:24.720 take our sin 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.800 that separates us 00:27:25.800 --> 00:27:26.240 from you, 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:27.400 but Jesus, 00:27:27.560 --> 00:27:28.320 you rose again. 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:29.279 Jesus, 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:29.960 today you are 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:31.160 seated in the heavens 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:32.259 above all rule 00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:33.320 and all authority. 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:34.440 Jesus, 00:27:34.580 --> 00:27:35.720 today your power 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.060 is at work 00:27:37.060 --> 00:27:37.660 in those that have 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:38.580 come to know you 00:27:38.580 --> 00:27:39.759 by the power 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:40.320 of the Holy Spirit. 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:40.940 Oh God, 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:41.360 I pray, 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:42.600 won't you infuse 00:27:42.600 --> 00:27:43.259 our hearts 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:43.960 with a hope 00:27:43.960 --> 00:27:44.500 in the midst 00:27:44.500 --> 00:27:45.700 of great hopelessness? 00:27:46.340 --> 00:27:46.640 God, 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:47.060 I pray, 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:48.800 today may the power 00:27:48.800 --> 00:27:49.420 of the Holy Spirit 00:27:49.420 --> 00:27:50.360 come upon us, 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:50.640 God. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:52.300 may you change us, 00:27:52.620 --> 00:27:53.200 may you give us 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:53.860 fresh hope, 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:54.220 God. 00:27:54.780 --> 00:27:55.200 God, 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:56.080 I pray for those 00:27:56.080 --> 00:27:56.680 of us that 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:58.380 feel hopeless. 00:27:59.080 --> 00:27:59.340 Jesus, 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:00.060 won't you open 00:28:00.060 --> 00:28:01.180 the eyes of our hearts 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:02.120 to see you 00:28:02.120 --> 00:28:03.520 and to know the hope 00:28:03.520 --> 00:28:04.620 to which you've called us. 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:05.480 God, 00:28:05.540 --> 00:28:06.200 may you give us 00:28:06.200 --> 00:28:07.020 a new identity 00:28:07.020 --> 00:28:07.780 this morning. 00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:09.020 And God, 00:28:09.080 --> 00:28:10.420 I pray that your Holy Spirit 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:11.520 will be at work in us. 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:13.100 God, 00:28:13.160 --> 00:28:14.220 I pray this morning, 00:28:14.840 --> 00:28:16.220 may we take your hand 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:18.320 knowing that for certain 00:28:18.320 --> 00:28:19.100 you'll get us 00:28:19.100 --> 00:28:19.880 to our destiny. 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:21.300 knowing that we can 00:28:21.300 --> 00:28:22.300 bank our lives 00:28:22.300 --> 00:28:22.700 on you. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:23.740 God, 00:28:23.800 --> 00:28:24.840 we know it'll require 00:28:24.840 --> 00:28:25.740 trust, 00:28:26.460 --> 00:28:27.840 it'll require great faith, 00:28:28.600 --> 00:28:30.040 may require some courage. 00:28:31.020 --> 00:28:31.300 Jesus, 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:31.840 this morning 00:28:31.840 --> 00:28:32.840 we take your hand 00:28:32.840 --> 00:28:34.480 and we walk with you 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.620 banking our lives 00:28:35.620 --> 00:28:36.120 on you, 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:37.420 our resurrected 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:38.920 and living King. 00:28:39.500 --> 00:28:40.460 We pray these things 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:41.260 in your wonderful 00:28:41.260 --> 00:28:43.020 and powerful name. 00:28:43.020 --> 00:28:45.020 Amen.