WEBVTT 00:00:00.700 --> 00:00:06.960 Well, happy Easter everyone. My name is Steve Jeffrey. I'm the senior pastor here at St. Paul's 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:15.519 and what a fantastic day for you to be tuning in to St. Paul's and to be engaging with the 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:22.859 wonderful news of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This is a day that marks all days. This 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:29.679 is the day that celebrates, that remembers the most significant historical event ever. 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:35.439 This is the one that changes the course of history. And yet I acknowledge that for some, 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:43.299 that is not the case. In fact, a Sydney newspaper printed an article in its Easter edition a number 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:50.760 of years ago now. And the author, a social commentator made this comment about Easter and 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:56.000 about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, you know, it is a positive comment. It says 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:05.079 Christians celebrate new life at Easter, but in a religious sense. The focus of their festival 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:14.079 is the belief that tragedy and grief symbolized by the crucifixion can give way to new life, 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:23.000 which is symbolized by the resurrection. And that pain and loss are essential steps on the journey 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:32.900 towards enlightenment. And so the author suggests there that Easter is a festival of hope, a celebration 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:40.980 of faith in the future, a reminder that despite our failures and our frailties and our flaws, 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:49.500 personal resurrection is a possibility for any of us. And so for the author of that article, 00:01:49.740 --> 00:01:57.820 a positive article, the resurrection of Jesus is in fact symbolic. Whether it happened or not 00:01:57.820 --> 00:02:06.080 is irrelevant for him. It's an example. It's a metaphor for life, for new life and growth 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:14.280 through suffering. And so for some, a day like today is a great day, a metaphor for hope beyond 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:21.900 potentially things like coronavirus. The author represents the view of many in our society when 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:29.659 it comes to the resurrection. And it appears to be an intelligent, conciliatory and a rational view 00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:39.759 for them. The resurrection is a myth that it's okay to believe if it happens to work for you. 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:44.079 If it helps you in life, then believe the resurrection. 00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:50.439 Now, if you've tuned into us today, I want you to know from me right from the start, 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:57.139 that as I look at the Bible and as I speak about the resurrection of Jesus this morning, 00:02:57.139 --> 00:03:04.460 I'm not merely putting another alternative in front of you. I'm not putting in front of you a 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:12.000 support system for life. The resurrection of Jesus is not for me a satisfying myth that helps me 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:19.819 interpret life and helps me live life so that it becomes livable and even enjoyable. 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:25.139 When I look at the Bible, when I speak about the resurrection this morning, 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:34.039 Easter is about real persons, historical events and divine intentions that actually happened. 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:42.960 The resurrection is more real and it's more exciting and more terrifying and more life-changing 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:49.379 than any myth or any other truth claim in the history of the world. 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:52.039 That's my starting point. 00:03:53.780 --> 00:04:02.780 This Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, he's alive. 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:06.639 He's not a memory. 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:16.019 A mere historical figure like Caesar or Shakespeare or Abraham Lincoln. 00:04:17.599 --> 00:04:22.699 He is back from the dead with a glorious eternal body. 00:04:22.979 --> 00:04:30.979 He's alive and he's reigning right now as the king of the universe and he's making this offer 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:39.620 of real, genuine, eternal life and hope to everyone who hears me speak these words today. 00:04:40.900 --> 00:04:41.340 You. 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:47.239 So, I've got three things in mind this morning. 00:04:47.719 --> 00:04:48.459 This is my introduction. 00:04:48.579 --> 00:04:52.459 Three things in mind and if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you and if you haven't, 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:53.500 I'd encourage you to get there. 00:04:53.859 --> 00:04:59.659 Go to St. Paul's app and open it up and you'll find some outline there for my message today. 00:04:59.739 --> 00:05:00.799 I've got three things in mind. 00:05:01.620 --> 00:05:06.120 Three things that the resurrection does for us from Mark that just read out to us. 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.160 It changes our minds. 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:10.420 It challenges our minds and reshapes our worldview. 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:18.600 It changes our hearts and it gives us hope and it changes the whole course of our lives. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:22.280 So, first of all, challenging minds and reshaping worldviews. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:33.379 Now, the challenge to our mind about the resurrection is there in Mark chapter 16 verse 6. 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:34.680 Right there. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:38.540 Don't be alarmed, he said. 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:42.579 You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene. 00:05:42.900 --> 00:05:44.600 He was crucified. 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:46.600 He has risen. 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:50.040 He's not here and see the place where they laid him. 00:05:50.899 --> 00:05:59.160 And so, the challenge for our minds is that Jesus, who was dead, came back to life after he was dead. 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:05.600 Now, the fact that he was dead, the fact that Jesus was crucified, that's not unusual. 00:06:06.280 --> 00:06:19.740 You know, around Jesus' time in first century Palestine, there were dozens of these little movements where there was a leader who gathered a bunch of people behind him and they declared that they were the savior of the world. 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:29.860 And, you know, it sort of worked for a bit until in every other case, including the case with Jesus, the leader was killed. 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:31.360 They were executed. 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:40.340 And in every other case, except for the one with Jesus as its head, they just collapsed and went home. 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:41.780 The movement's finished. 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:48.919 With the leader dead, everyone just simply went back to life. 00:06:50.119 --> 00:06:52.079 Except this one led by Jesus. 00:06:53.179 --> 00:06:57.859 Only one movement didn't collapse with the death of its leader. 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:02.439 In fact, it exploded with the death of its leader. 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:07.139 Within 200 years, Christianity was dominant in the Roman Empire. 00:07:07.460 --> 00:07:20.439 And to this day, right now, it is the largest and the most widely spread culturally and geographically of all religious faiths. 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:21.939 So what's the difference? 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:38.120 The Bible says the Christian church has maintained and claimed for 2000 years that after Jesus was killed, he came back to life and he appeared to his followers and many others. 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:44.279 That is, the resurrection of Jesus is what changes everything. 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:49.740 The Bible says that's why Jesus' followers didn't go home. 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:55.579 That's why Christianity exploded and continues to do so. 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:58.800 But this is the year 2020. 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:01.500 You know, I live in Chatswood. 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:05.000 It's one of the major centers of the secular city of Sydney. 00:08:05.420 --> 00:08:09.160 And most people around me don't believe what I've just said. 00:08:09.340 --> 00:08:10.920 And, you know, I get that. 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:11.939 I understand that. 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:17.720 You know, this is a challenge to our mind and challenge to our worldviews after all. 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:21.160 And so, let me just say, I want to say this gently. 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:25.300 It's really important not to be intellectually lazy at this point. 00:08:27.640 --> 00:08:32.000 Dismiss the resurrection as implausible. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:53.080 And you have to come up with an alternative explanation as to how this one little movement exploded like it did and penetrated globally into all different kinds of socioeconomic groups and cultures and languages. 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:56.080 But the others didn't. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:06.660 Many want to dismiss the resurrection without coming up with a historically plausible alternative explanations for it. 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:20.219 So, one historical tactic is to accuse the original texts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which we've read from a couple of them this morning, as being unreliable. 00:09:21.339 --> 00:09:24.799 Some prefer to call the historical documents legends. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:33.279 And our Bible reading, which is read out to us from Mark 15 and into 16, challenges that too. 00:09:33.359 --> 00:09:35.359 So, if you've got that open, that would be fantastic. 00:09:36.439 --> 00:09:39.839 Three times in eight verses, I want you to see this. 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:42.419 Mark 15 verse 40. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.259 Mark 15 verse 47. 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:48.139 Mark 16 verse 47. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:55.620 Mark writes down the names of the eyewitnesses to the resurrection. 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:01.500 Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. 00:10:02.220 --> 00:10:03.039 Why? 00:10:03.439 --> 00:10:05.100 Why three times? 00:10:05.100 --> 00:10:21.360 Well, the answer of one New Testament scholar is that this has all the marks of the way that historians did history in the first century. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.420 These women are clearly described here as eyewitnesses. 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:27.659 Have a look at the text with me. 00:10:27.659 --> 00:10:32.620 At Mark 15 verse 40, some women were watching. 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:35.139 And again, 15 verse 47. 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:41.539 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph's saw where he was laid. 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:43.279 16 verse 4. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:48.940 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 00:10:49.060 --> 00:10:50.019 Then in verse 5. 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:53.620 As they entered the tomb, they saw. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:54.759 And then in verse 6. 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:57.340 See the place where they laid him. 00:10:57.340 --> 00:11:10.360 It's pretty obvious that Mark sees these women as clear eyewitnesses to not just the death and the burial, but also the resurrection of Jesus. 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:17.100 But let's not forget this is first century Palestine. 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:20.300 Really crucial for us to keep it in its context. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.240 And this itself creates a problem. 00:11:24.200 --> 00:11:36.580 You see, one of the early arguments against the truth of Christianity and the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus is that it's based on the eyewitness testimony of women. 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:46.660 A first century Greek philosopher named Celsus was one of the early and probably fiercest opponents of Christianity. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:53.960 And he wrote that the resurrection was clearly a lie because women were the eyewitnesses. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:12:00.820 And women, according to him and the culture of that time, were regarded as hysterical and unreliable. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:20.540 And so the question is, if Mark is making all this up, and Matthew, Luke, John as well, if they're making it up, why would they have put women down? 00:12:20.900 --> 00:12:26.680 Why would they have recorded women as the only eyewitnesses to Jesus' empty tomb? 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:37.939 The only way to account for the women being recorded as the eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection is that they were. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.579 And that they were writing history, not legend. 00:12:43.699 --> 00:12:49.259 Mark has written this as an historical record of actual events. 00:12:50.659 --> 00:12:54.699 Events that challenge the way we see the world. 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.219 Now, at this point, it's easy to go, well, okay. 00:13:01.959 --> 00:13:03.979 It may have happened in their mind. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.279 You know, ancient people, a little bit gullible when it came to miracles. 00:13:07.739 --> 00:13:10.819 They don't have our modern, developed mind. 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:14.199 And we've learned a thing or two in the past 2,000 years. 00:13:15.319 --> 00:13:20.899 See, it's easy to assume that their worldview was different than our worldview. 00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:24.899 Like, in the first century, they were gullible. 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:30.959 And they were open to the idea of a resurrection where we're clearly not in our modern, developed mind. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:39.079 And again, if you look at Mark, got that text in front of you, you see that Mark challenges us not to be too quick here, 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.980 to jump in and conclude that they were ignorant and gullible. 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:51.800 One thing you'll notice as you read through Mark is that Jesus himself tells his disciples quite earlier on, quite clearly, 00:13:52.300 --> 00:13:56.340 that he will die and that he will rise again on the third day. 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:59.159 He does it in chapter 8 and he does it in chapter 10. 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:04.560 And the weird thing is the third day comes after his death. 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:05.879 It arrives. 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:06.980 It's the third day. 00:14:06.980 --> 00:14:10.340 And it seems that no one is expecting the resurrection. 00:14:11.580 --> 00:14:13.500 The men are sleeping in or something. 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:17.420 And the women have bought spices in their Woolworths home delivery. 00:14:18.019 --> 00:14:19.720 And it's a traditional thing that you did. 00:14:19.920 --> 00:14:23.560 You went and anointed a dead body with spices. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:24.960 And so they've got the spices. 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:30.480 And even the disciples of Jesus aren't sitting around at breakfast time, 00:14:30.800 --> 00:14:32.300 eating their Weet-Bix and going, 00:14:32.300 --> 00:14:34.720 Hey guys, you know, it's the third day. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:36.779 Do you think we should just go and have a look? 00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:39.200 Just check it out. 00:14:39.300 --> 00:14:40.300 Just in case. 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:47.820 Even as these women are going to their tomb, 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.379 they're wondering who's going to open the stone. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.300 Who's going to roll it away from them. 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:56.920 They've prepared everything except how to get in. 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:01.259 The resurrection, the point is, 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:04.460 the resurrection took everyone by surprise. 00:15:06.980 --> 00:15:11.420 The resurrection was just as impossible for them to believe as it is for us today. 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:19.519 Even their first thought at seeing the empty tomb was not that Jesus had resurrected from, 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:21.539 had been risen and come back to life. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:24.680 But that someone had stolen the body. 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:29.120 So I just want to say to you, 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:30.219 wherever you're sitting now, 00:15:30.819 --> 00:15:33.759 is that if you doubt the resurrection of Jesus, 00:15:34.859 --> 00:15:35.519 I want to say, 00:15:35.599 --> 00:15:36.259 so did they. 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:38.339 So did they. 00:15:39.839 --> 00:15:43.539 But they did allow the evidence to challenge their worldview. 00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:52.639 We need to be careful of what the Oxford Don C.S. Lewis called chronological snobbery. 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:56.379 It's where we think that those have gone before us, 00:15:56.439 --> 00:15:59.419 especially those who have gone a long time before us, 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:01.419 were just naive and gullible and stupid. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.019 They just believe anything. 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:14.079 We need to be careful that our chronological snobbery isn't an excuse for intellectual laziness 00:16:14.079 --> 00:16:18.500 and narrow worldview assumptions ourselves. 00:16:20.379 --> 00:16:23.039 Doubting the validity of the resurrection is okay. 00:16:23.819 --> 00:16:26.699 But at least have an open mind to the evidence. 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:32.640 But also, if you want to write it off as implausible, 00:16:34.060 --> 00:16:36.280 then at least for integrity's sake, 00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:42.900 come up with an alternative, historically plausible reason 00:16:42.900 --> 00:16:50.700 why this little group exploded to all corners of the globe 00:16:50.700 --> 00:16:54.680 and changed the world for over 20 centuries. 00:16:56.700 --> 00:17:01.580 It did not die with the crucifixion of Jesus. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:09.059 The Christians, the Romans, and the Jews all agreed 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:14.200 that the tomb where they laid the dead body of Jesus 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.200 was empty after three days. 00:17:19.100 --> 00:17:21.039 So what happened to the body? 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:27.399 Why did hundreds of people claim to have seen him resurrection 00:17:27.399 --> 00:17:29.420 at the risk of their own life? 00:17:29.899 --> 00:17:33.779 Why couldn't the opponents of Christianity produce the body? 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.659 Why did these early Christians joyfully give their lives 00:17:38.659 --> 00:17:41.319 to see this message of the resurrected Jesus 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:44.059 spread to the ends of the earth? 00:17:44.059 --> 00:17:52.039 So allow your worldview to be challenged. 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:56.859 If you do allow your worldview to be challenged, 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:03.480 then there's a word of mercy here. 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.220 Changing hearts and receiving hope. 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:10.379 There's a word of mercy and grace to your heart. 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:16.080 This is why looking at the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus 00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:17.780 is so essential for us. 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:19.300 It's crucial for us. 00:18:19.580 --> 00:18:22.880 This historical event is not just an intellectual exercise 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:25.600 of historical evidence that shapes our worldview. 00:18:25.860 --> 00:18:26.820 It's about mercy. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:27.980 It's about grace. 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:31.880 And it's about hope for your lives right now in 2020. 00:18:33.340 --> 00:18:35.460 Look at this wonderful word of grace and mercy. 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:36.040 Have a look. 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:37.780 Mark chapter 16, verse 7. 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:42.799 Go tell his disciples and Peter, 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.119 he is going ahead of you into Galilee. 00:18:46.879 --> 00:18:49.599 There you will see him just as he told you. 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:54.139 Notice what the women were not told. 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:56.579 They were not told, you go back there 00:18:56.579 --> 00:19:00.200 and you tell those faithless, backstabbing, 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:02.720 cowardly disciples of Jesus 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:05.000 that if they pull their socks up, 00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:06.399 they may well see him. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.759 If they come back to him and they groveled to him 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.540 and they had better grovel, 00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:15.640 if they have any hope of Jesus reinstating the movement, 00:19:16.700 --> 00:19:18.720 then they better come back and grovel. 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:20.480 That's not what was said here at all. 00:19:21.860 --> 00:19:23.300 Of course, that would have been warranted 00:19:23.300 --> 00:19:26.580 given what they had done to Jesus in abandoning him. 00:19:27.320 --> 00:19:30.240 But Jesus doesn't work the way you and I work. 00:19:31.300 --> 00:19:32.259 He's forgiving them. 00:19:32.259 --> 00:19:34.059 He's calling them back to himself 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:37.519 even before they had even taken any steps to repent. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:42.140 You see, this is a word of mercy and grace and forgiveness. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.519 But notice the biggest word of grace here 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:47.420 is simply the name Peter. 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:51.160 You see, there's a whole bunch of disciples. 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:55.640 But Peter gets a special mention. 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:57.700 And this is so incredible. 00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:00.500 Peter, he's the one who said, 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:02.140 I will never disown you, Jesus. 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:03.740 I will die before I disown you. 00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:09.400 And yet he denies Jesus three times in his hour of need. 00:20:11.500 --> 00:20:12.620 Jesus is arrested. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.580 And Peter, one of his keenest supporters, 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:17.420 abandons him. 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:21.200 It's a terrible betrayal by Peter. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.360 He turns his back on God 00:20:23.360 --> 00:20:25.500 and he runs to save his skin. 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:28.360 And so if the word to these women 00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:30.240 was simply go and tell the disciples 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.220 and they had relayed that message to the disciples, 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:35.680 Peter may well have sat in the corner and gone, 00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:37.400 this is not for me. 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:39.940 This is not for me. 00:20:41.080 --> 00:20:42.660 My betrayal is too great. 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:47.200 And yet the word of Jesus 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.660 through these angels to these women, 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:53.840 to Peter is that I have plans for you, Peter, as well. 00:20:55.820 --> 00:20:58.120 He was the biggest screw up. 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:01.240 And he becomes the biggest of the leaders 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:02.940 in the early days of the church. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:05.220 His screw up the biggest, 00:21:05.560 --> 00:21:06.860 his repentance the deepest, 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.460 and his grasp of God's mercy and grace to him 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:11.500 in Jesus the greatest. 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:16.040 And that is the good news of Christianity. 00:21:16.040 --> 00:21:18.840 This is why it's mercy and grace to us. 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:21.880 This is the good news of Easter Day, 00:21:22.060 --> 00:21:24.000 that salvation is by grace. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:25.200 It's not by our works. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:26.180 It's not by our effort. 00:21:26.320 --> 00:21:27.180 It's not by our strength. 00:21:27.580 --> 00:21:28.980 Salvation comes to us 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:33.000 by the witness of Jesus Christ dying on the cross. 00:21:33.540 --> 00:21:36.180 Salvation comes to us by Jesus 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:38.640 when we admit our inability 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:40.880 and our weakness and our failure, 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.440 when we admit that we need a savior. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:49.960 Jesus, the resurrected king, 00:21:50.100 --> 00:21:51.799 is the savior that we need. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.740 Forgiveness is offered to Peter. 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:54.759 It's offered to us 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.299 with the resurrection of Jesus. 00:21:56.860 --> 00:22:00.279 You see, when a criminal completes a jail sentence, 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:03.920 they fully, completely, totally satisfy the sentence. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:06.440 And when they walk out of prison, 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:09.420 what the law has no more claim on them. 00:22:09.420 --> 00:22:11.200 They've paid the penalty. 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:12.660 They've paid the debt. 00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:13.779 They are now free. 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:17.960 And Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:20.000 for our crimes against God 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.680 because all of us are Peters. 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:28.700 We have all denied him explicitly 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:30.860 by rejecting him. 00:22:31.800 --> 00:22:35.560 His right for his to rule over our life as our creator 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:39.639 or implicitly by going about our daily life 00:22:39.639 --> 00:22:40.859 as if he doesn't exist 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:42.839 or doesn't in fact matter. 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:47.019 It's an enormous crime, 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:48.720 a huge crime against our maker 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.740 for which he holds us accountable 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:53.679 and the penalty is huge. 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:56.399 The sentence is death, 00:22:56.519 --> 00:22:57.799 in fact, eternal death, 00:22:57.980 --> 00:22:59.779 separation from our creator forever. 00:22:59.779 --> 00:23:06.279 And Jesus stepped in for us on Good Friday. 00:23:09.099 --> 00:23:11.639 He went to the cross for our sin 00:23:11.639 --> 00:23:14.420 and he cried out from the cross, 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:15.079 it's finished. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:16.599 The job's done. 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:22.460 He must have satisfied the penalty to its fullest 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:25.500 because on Easter day, 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:28.539 he walked out of the tomb free. 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:33.359 Death could not hold him down. 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.420 In Jesus, God has stamped paid in full 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:39.379 right across history 00:23:39.379 --> 00:23:41.519 so that no one can miss it. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.399 And because Jesus was raised from the dead, 00:23:44.879 --> 00:23:46.480 God can come to us 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:52.059 with a word of mercy and grace and hope. 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.299 And so, 00:23:55.879 --> 00:23:56.859 if you allow 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.139 the challenge to your minds 00:23:59.139 --> 00:24:00.419 to change your worldview 00:24:00.419 --> 00:24:01.980 and the word of grace 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:03.200 and mercy and forgiveness 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.740 to fill up your heart, 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:06.200 then finally, 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:08.279 the resurrection changes 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:10.039 the whole course of your life. 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:12.099 Easter day 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:14.119 does not just change our thinking 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:15.299 and fill our hearts, 00:24:15.659 --> 00:24:18.359 it changes the way we live our lives. 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:20.439 The whole course of our lives 00:24:20.439 --> 00:24:22.039 is reorientated 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:23.959 by that little word there, 00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:24.599 go. 00:24:26.539 --> 00:24:27.819 The resurrected Jesus, 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:30.139 the one who conquered death, 00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:31.899 sin and evil 00:24:31.899 --> 00:24:34.159 and is enthroned as ruler 00:24:34.159 --> 00:24:35.199 of the universe, 00:24:35.419 --> 00:24:37.839 now directs the course of your life 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:38.899 as your creator 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:40.519 and as your redeemer. 00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:43.220 Live 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:44.620 with Jesus 00:24:44.620 --> 00:24:45.560 as the gracious, 00:24:45.860 --> 00:24:46.220 merciful, 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:47.280 loving master 00:24:47.280 --> 00:24:48.400 of your life. 00:24:49.080 --> 00:24:50.400 He sets the agenda. 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:52.240 He calls the shots 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.800 and he calls them 00:24:53.800 --> 00:24:54.480 to go 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:55.660 and tell people 00:24:55.660 --> 00:24:57.019 about the life 00:24:57.019 --> 00:24:57.780 and the hope 00:24:57.780 --> 00:24:59.500 that is available to them 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:01.220 in Jesus Christ. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:03.700 And I think that's why 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.200 verse 8 of Mark, 00:25:06.360 --> 00:25:07.820 it's the last verse, 00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:10.460 it's such a shocking way 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:11.259 for Mark, 00:25:11.700 --> 00:25:13.220 his account of the life 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:14.039 and the resurrection 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:14.639 of Jesus, 00:25:15.679 --> 00:25:17.200 it's just such a shocking way 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:17.679 to end. 00:25:18.639 --> 00:25:20.379 Trembling and bewildered, 00:25:20.879 --> 00:25:22.119 the women went out 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:23.659 and fled from the tomb. 00:25:24.439 --> 00:25:25.879 They said nothing to anyone 00:25:25.879 --> 00:25:27.879 because they were afraid. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:33.200 They were trembling 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.139 and bewildered on Saturday 00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:37.240 as their hopes 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:38.100 were dashed 00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:39.320 with his crucifixion. 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:41.360 They can't 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:43.000 now 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.920 be trembling 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:44.759 and bewildered 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:45.340 that death 00:25:45.340 --> 00:25:46.360 is now being conquered. 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:47.900 The resurrection 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:49.160 changes everything. 00:25:49.320 --> 00:25:50.080 It changes the whole 00:25:50.080 --> 00:25:51.020 course of your life. 00:25:51.300 --> 00:25:51.920 The resurrection 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.140 is the answer 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:55.960 to every single 00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:57.020 human being's 00:25:57.020 --> 00:25:57.780 deepest longing 00:25:57.780 --> 00:25:58.900 and that is 00:25:58.900 --> 00:25:59.640 to live. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.480 to live 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:03.240 life 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:03.920 well 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:04.580 forever. 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:07.100 That's why 00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:07.620 the beauty 00:26:07.620 --> 00:26:08.400 in the fitness 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:09.020 industry 00:26:09.020 --> 00:26:09.420 booms. 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:09.980 It's why you 00:26:09.980 --> 00:26:10.880 the baby boomers 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:12.120 are still wearing jeans 00:26:12.120 --> 00:26:12.720 because you still 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:13.800 want to be in your 20s. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:16.360 We want to be young 00:26:16.360 --> 00:26:17.080 and vibrant 00:26:17.080 --> 00:26:17.700 and healthy 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:18.140 because 00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:19.900 those were the days 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:21.520 before the emotional pain, 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:22.340 the responsibility 00:26:22.340 --> 00:26:23.380 and the frailty. 00:26:23.840 --> 00:26:24.620 We want to live 00:26:24.620 --> 00:26:25.500 and we want to live 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:26.020 well. 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:28.420 One of the reasons 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:29.039 why it's just 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:29.960 so hard 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:30.839 for us to suffer 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:32.099 in this world 00:26:32.099 --> 00:26:33.279 is that we think 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:33.900 that this physical 00:26:33.900 --> 00:26:34.579 world is it 00:26:34.579 --> 00:26:36.599 and when you lose 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:36.980 it, 00:26:37.180 --> 00:26:38.400 you lose the best 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:38.839 and the most 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:39.740 precious thing. 00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:42.879 The resurrection 00:26:42.879 --> 00:26:43.639 gives us hope 00:26:43.639 --> 00:26:44.240 beyond that. 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.000 This is not just it. 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.059 There is more 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:47.579 to come. 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:48.299 The resurrection 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:49.599 means that everything 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:50.480 Jesus promised 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:51.240 is true. 00:26:51.619 --> 00:26:52.279 God is going 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:53.160 to perfectly 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:53.500 rebuild 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:54.220 the world. 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:55.379 The resurrection 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:57.680 changes everything. 00:27:00.860 --> 00:27:02.040 There is hope 00:27:02.040 --> 00:27:03.880 for the wheelchair 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:04.320 bound, 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:06.680 for the person 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:08.140 with crippling 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:09.380 emotional pain. 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:12.940 No religion 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:14.240 in the world 00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:15.760 except 00:27:15.760 --> 00:27:16.780 biblical 00:27:16.780 --> 00:27:18.260 Christianity 00:27:18.260 --> 00:27:20.440 promises us 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:21.220 new 00:27:21.220 --> 00:27:22.700 and perfect 00:27:22.700 --> 00:27:23.440 minds, 00:27:24.060 --> 00:27:24.480 hearts 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:25.900 and bodies 00:27:25.900 --> 00:27:26.920 forever. 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:30.079 Only in Jesus 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:30.720 Christ 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:31.640 can people 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:32.880 find such 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:33.779 hope 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:34.900 for life 00:27:34.900 --> 00:27:35.380 now 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:36.440 and for life 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:36.839 forever. 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:40.779 And so 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:43.240 when I read 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:43.920 of people 00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:45.620 in an attempt 00:27:45.620 --> 00:27:46.839 to being helpful 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:47.940 and positive, 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:50.059 turn the resurrection 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:51.819 into a metaphor 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:53.759 for new life 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:54.720 and growth 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.720 through suffering, 00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:58.659 you empty 00:27:58.659 --> 00:27:59.279 Easter of its 00:27:59.279 --> 00:27:59.579 hope. 00:28:01.619 --> 00:28:02.099 Can you 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:02.799 imagine 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:03.899 the first 00:28:03.899 --> 00:28:04.559 responders 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:04.980 to the 00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:05.579 resurrection 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:06.339 in the first 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:06.859 century 00:28:06.859 --> 00:28:08.159 going to the 00:28:08.159 --> 00:28:08.559 poor, 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:09.139 to the 00:28:09.139 --> 00:28:09.639 slaves, 00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:09.939 to the 00:28:09.939 --> 00:28:10.639 outcasts, 00:28:10.639 --> 00:28:10.879 to the 00:28:10.879 --> 00:28:11.460 diseased 00:28:11.460 --> 00:28:12.399 in society 00:28:12.399 --> 00:28:13.240 and saying 00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:13.639 to them, 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:15.339 let me tell you 00:28:15.339 --> 00:28:15.659 about the 00:28:15.659 --> 00:28:16.119 resurrection. 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.279 Jesus 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:18.420 is a 00:28:18.420 --> 00:28:19.180 great symbol 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:19.460 of our 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:19.720 good 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:20.279 triumphs 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:20.839 through evil 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:22.139 and so 00:28:22.139 --> 00:28:22.639 go and be 00:28:22.639 --> 00:28:23.139 nice to 00:28:23.139 --> 00:28:23.619 one another. 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:25.359 Can you 00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:26.059 imagine the 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:26.559 crippled and 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:27.259 the diseased 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:27.759 and the 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:28.059 poverty 00:28:28.059 --> 00:28:28.399 stricken, 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:28.619 the 00:28:28.619 --> 00:28:29.059 tormented, 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:29.279 the 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:30.240 outcasts 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:31.059 in their 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:32.619 state of 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:33.359 despair? 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:35.720 That's 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:36.240 just what I 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:36.660 needed to 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:36.879 hear. 00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:40.240 I just 00:28:40.240 --> 00:28:40.759 needed a 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:41.519 positive message 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:42.039 like that to 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:42.740 help me cope 00:28:42.740 --> 00:28:43.559 day by day 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:44.279 with my 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:44.740 crippling 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:45.599 pain and 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:46.359 loneliness and 00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:46.700 hunger. 00:28:47.279 --> 00:28:49.660 you see, 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:49.839 the 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:50.359 resurrection 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:51.019 as a 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:51.399 nice 00:28:51.399 --> 00:28:52.039 symbol 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:54.039 has no 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:55.059 power to 00:28:55.059 --> 00:28:55.579 change 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:56.440 anything. 00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:58.039 It offers 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:58.599 us no 00:28:58.599 --> 00:28:59.019 hope at 00:28:59.019 --> 00:28:59.359 all. 00:29:00.899 --> 00:29:01.519 The 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:02.319 message of 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:02.839 Easter 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.160 is not 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:05.559 we are 00:29:05.559 --> 00:29:06.259 all in 00:29:06.259 --> 00:29:06.500 this 00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:06.980 together 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:07.700 and 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:08.139 together 00:29:08.139 --> 00:29:08.579 we will 00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:09.059 all get 00:29:09.059 --> 00:29:09.339 through 00:29:09.339 --> 00:29:09.799 this. 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:11.819 It's 00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:12.579 not even 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:13.539 that Jesus 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:14.259 will support 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:14.599 us and 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:15.079 encourage 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:15.960 us to 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:16.279 get 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:16.920 through 00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:17.220 this 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:17.700 together. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:19.800 Even if 00:29:19.800 --> 00:29:20.240 it is a 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:20.660 worldwide 00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:21.720 crisis, 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:23.580 the hope 00:29:23.580 --> 00:29:24.019 of Easter 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.460 is that 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:24.720 Jesus 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:25.200 Christ 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.120 himself 00:29:26.120 --> 00:29:28.220 is the 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:28.720 answer. 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:32.600 He is 00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:33.300 our hope. 00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:34.779 He is 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:35.420 the one 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:36.120 who conquered 00:29:36.120 --> 00:29:36.580 death. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:37.660 He is 00:29:37.660 --> 00:29:38.039 risen. 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:39.519 He sits 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:40.500 as conqueror 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:41.140 and Lord 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:41.940 and King 00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:42.580 of Kings 00:29:42.580 --> 00:29:43.400 of all 00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:43.800 things. 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:44.919 He reigns 00:29:44.919 --> 00:29:45.460 supreme 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:46.299 over life 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:46.899 and death 00:29:46.899 --> 00:29:47.519 and every 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.099 circumstance. 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:49.079 He is 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:50.000 risen and 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:50.740 promises us 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:51.480 the same 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:52.039 if we 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:52.579 trust in 00:29:52.579 --> 00:29:52.859 him. 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:54.240 He calls 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:54.960 us to 00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:55.639 give our 00:29:55.639 --> 00:29:56.220 lives to 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:57.299 him and 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:57.960 to experience 00:29:57.960 --> 00:29:59.019 true joy, 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:00.319 true freedom 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.180 and true 00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:01.579 hope. 00:30:03.919 --> 00:30:04.220 You see, 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:04.899 the resurrection 00:30:04.899 --> 00:30:07.539 makes you 00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:08.740 free from 00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:09.660 this life 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:11.559 enough to 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:12.299 be brave 00:30:12.299 --> 00:30:13.299 and 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:13.859 courageous 00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:14.519 and 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:15.220 sacrificial 00:30:15.220 --> 00:30:15.779 and 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:17.299 patient 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:18.359 and joyful 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:19.740 no matter 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:20.259 what the 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:21.019 circumstances. 00:30:22.740 --> 00:30:23.019 The 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:23.400 resurrection 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:24.140 means you 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:24.559 can face 00:30:24.559 --> 00:30:25.220 the worst 00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:26.259 things in 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:27.519 life with 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:28.319 hope and 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:29.019 with joy. 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:30.299 The 00:30:30.299 --> 00:30:30.599 resurrection 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:31.359 means you 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:31.740 can give 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:32.660 yourself to 00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.400 serving God 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:33.720 in this 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:34.620 world that 00:30:34.620 --> 00:30:35.339 he loves 00:30:35.339 --> 00:30:35.900 and is 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:36.539 redeeming 00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:37.940 and remaking 00:30:37.940 --> 00:30:38.779 through 00:30:38.779 --> 00:30:39.480 Jesus 00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:40.059 Christ. 00:30:43.220 --> 00:30:43.980 So 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:44.420 friends, 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:47.400 if Jesus 00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:47.900 did not 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:48.480 rise from 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:48.980 the dead, 00:30:50.140 --> 00:30:50.920 he would 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:52.120 hardly even 00:30:52.120 --> 00:30:52.620 get a 00:30:52.620 --> 00:30:53.380 mention in 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:53.900 the history 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:54.320 books. 00:30:55.940 --> 00:30:56.700 The 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:57.160 resurrection 00:30:57.160 --> 00:30:57.700 of Jesus 00:30:57.700 --> 00:30:58.460 changes 00:30:58.460 --> 00:30:59.500 everything 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:01.500 in life. 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.440 It's 00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:02.860 because 00:31:02.860 --> 00:31:03.660 Jesus is 00:31:03.660 --> 00:31:04.340 risen and 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:04.759 reigning 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:05.559 that we 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:06.440 have plastered 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:06.860 everywhere 00:31:06.860 --> 00:31:07.299 at this 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:07.580 church 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:07.859 St. 00:31:07.859 --> 00:31:08.179 Paul's 00:31:08.179 --> 00:31:08.720 Chatswood 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:09.779 that we 00:31:09.779 --> 00:31:10.259 treasure 00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:10.699 Jesus 00:31:10.699 --> 00:31:11.359 for God's 00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:11.799 glory 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:12.319 and the 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:12.919 joy of 00:31:12.919 --> 00:31:13.519 all people. 00:31:13.899 --> 00:31:14.539 He is 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:15.159 our greatest 00:31:15.159 --> 00:31:15.599 treasure. 00:31:16.539 --> 00:31:16.759 And so 00:31:16.759 --> 00:31:17.559 wherever you 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:18.259 are watching 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:19.079 this stream 00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:19.639 from, 00:31:20.139 --> 00:31:20.659 whether it 00:31:20.659 --> 00:31:21.740 be in 00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:23.559 North America, 00:31:23.879 --> 00:31:24.619 somewhere around 00:31:24.619 --> 00:31:25.119 in the suburbs 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:25.779 of Chatswood, 00:31:25.859 --> 00:31:26.220 out in 00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:26.899 regional New 00:31:26.899 --> 00:31:27.539 South Wales, 00:31:27.699 --> 00:31:28.339 in parks 00:31:28.339 --> 00:31:28.679 or the 00:31:28.679 --> 00:31:29.439 Central Coast 00:31:29.439 --> 00:31:30.179 or Singapore, 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:30.980 wherever you 00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:31.439 are, 00:31:31.779 --> 00:31:33.039 this message 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:33.919 is for 00:31:33.919 --> 00:31:34.659 all people. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:35.279 Whatever 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:36.139 culture you're 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:36.660 sitting in, 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:37.380 whatever your 00:31:37.380 --> 00:31:38.160 cultural heritage, 00:31:38.320 --> 00:31:38.980 whatever your 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:39.380 worldview, 00:31:39.560 --> 00:31:40.040 whatever your 00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:40.880 belief system, 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:41.920 whatever your 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:42.340 upbringing, 00:31:42.560 --> 00:31:43.080 whatever your 00:31:43.080 --> 00:31:44.259 current circumstances 00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:45.040 in life, 00:31:45.500 --> 00:31:46.620 Jesus is risen 00:31:46.620 --> 00:31:48.060 and he reigns 00:31:48.060 --> 00:31:49.100 supreme over 00:31:49.100 --> 00:31:49.600 all. 00:31:50.820 --> 00:31:52.600 This is a 00:31:52.600 --> 00:31:53.640 life-changing 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:54.580 message. 00:31:56.680 --> 00:31:57.700 And if you 00:31:57.700 --> 00:31:58.140 are not 00:31:58.140 --> 00:31:59.460 someone who 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:00.100 is currently 00:32:00.100 --> 00:32:01.000 a believer, 00:32:01.360 --> 00:32:02.180 a truster in 00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:02.900 the Lord Jesus 00:32:02.900 --> 00:32:03.560 Christ, 00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:04.740 can I call 00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:05.060 you, 00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:06.500 implore you 00:32:06.500 --> 00:32:07.200 to come to 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:07.820 life in 00:32:07.820 --> 00:32:08.600 Jesus this 00:32:08.600 --> 00:32:09.400 Easter. 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:10.880 Let the 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:11.640 evidence change 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:12.180 your mind, 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.560 let his 00:32:14.560 --> 00:32:15.440 word of 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:16.400 mercy and 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.400 grace fill 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:17.860 up your 00:32:17.860 --> 00:32:18.259 heart, 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:19.800 and let his 00:32:19.800 --> 00:32:20.500 call on your 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:21.259 life change 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:21.880 the priorities 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:22.680 of your life. 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:24.320 Happy Easter.