WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.000 The date was Saturday 14th November 1992. It's one of the most memorable afternoons of my life. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:28.000 ! I was 16 years old. It was an incredibly memorable afternoon. I was at Stradi Park in Llelley, about 5 miles from where I grew up. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:35.000 I was at Stradi Park, which is a rugby stadium, to watch the world champions Australia versus Llelley. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:41.000 Less than a year earlier, Australia had beaten England in the Rugby World Cup final. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:49.000 Australia were the best rugby team in the world. Probably the most gifted player of his generation, David Campesi. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:57.000 Llelley were playing well, but they were a club side. Llelley is a town that's got a population of about 35,000. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:08.000 Australia has a population of 25 million. At half-time, the score was Llelley 7, Australia 6. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:20.000 The final score was Llelley 13, Australia 9. You can watch the whole game on YouTube or the edited highlights. Take your pick. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.000 You can also watch it in Welsh or in English. It depends. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:27.000 There was a pitch invasion at the full-time whistle. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:33.000 All of us rushed onto the pitch, and we carried the players shoulder high. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.000 There it is. It hangs in my study. I think that might be my hand. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.000 I thought you don't know. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:42.000 I love live sport. I don't know about you. I love it. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:45.000 There's something about it. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:52.000 But there was something particularly about that day, the 14th of November 1992, that makes it too tantalising for words. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 The crowd erupted, including me. We raced onto the pitch. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:03.000 People hoisted onto their shoulders. There was singing. We were soaked by beer being sprayed everywhere. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:05.000 The whole community together. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:10.000 I don't think I've ever been in an atmosphere like it. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.000 To say it was exhilarating was an understatement. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:19.000 And that night, when I finally got home to my mum and dad, I said to them, you'll never believe what happened. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.000 And I told them the story, and they said, we know we watched it on telly. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:29.000 And in the days that followed, I told everyone that would listen, people in church, the following day. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:35.000 But by that time, there was no point in saying you'll never believe what happened. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.000 Because everybody alive in my village and in that town knew what had happened. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:45.000 Instead, my story changed to say to people, I was there. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:47.000 I was there. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:49.000 I saw it with my own eyes. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.000 It was amazing. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:56.000 And I love telling the story to this very day. Maybe you can tell. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:03.000 Now, what I want to say to you this morning is, when we come to Acts chapter 2, that is the kind of thing that we're dealing with. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.000 We're dealing with something very similar in Acts chapter 2. 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:13.000 Because what we read there is a record of what the apostle Peter said on the day of Pentecost. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.000 By this time, Jesus has ascended into heaven. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.000 And the Holy Spirit has fallen onto the disciples in Jerusalem. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.000 It's enabled them to speak in various languages. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:28.000 And as a result of that, a great crowd has gathered around the apostles. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.000 And it gives Peter the apostle the perfect opportunity for a sermon. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:37.000 I don't know what you think about when you hear the word sermon. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:47.000 But in this instance, it's not the kind of dry, droning oration of a kind of dusty old clergyman. 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:54.000 It's much more like my conversation when I got home from the rugby on the 14th of November, 1992. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Peter's sermon is the excited testimony of somebody who was an eyewitness. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.000 It's the testimony of someone saying, you'll never believe what happened. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:09.000 I was there. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:14.000 It's a testimony of the most astounding and thrilling things. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.000 And the story is helpfully summarized. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.000 Can you see it in verses 22 to 24? 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.000 If you've got a Bible, do look down there. 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:24.000 It's the paragraph at the start of the passage we read. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.000 And Peter's really got three key points. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:34.000 He says to you, first of all, that Jesus lived a life that was accredited by God. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:36.000 That's verse 22. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.000 You got it? 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.000 Men of Israel, hear these words. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.000 People of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.000 That's where he came from. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:52.000 A man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.000 And so Peter here summarizes the amazing life of Jesus Christ. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.000 A man who loved everyone he met. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.000 A man who spoke with rare authority. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.000 A man who could heal the sick. 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.000 A man who forgave sinners. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.000 Who fed the hungry. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.000 Who calmed the storms. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:16.000 Who raised the life to dead. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:17.000 Who touched the untouchable. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.000 And made clean the unclean. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:23.000 His life was full of miracles and wonders. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.000 And all these are signs, says Peter. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.000 Signs of who Jesus really was. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 Signs of where he came from. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:36.000 These were God's way of accrediting Jesus. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:43.000 Every miracle he performed was another stamp on Jesus' life saying he's the real deal. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:50.000 Every miracle assuring people that he really did come from God. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:53.000 And Peter had seen these miracles with his own eyes. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:58.000 And he says, some of you listening to me today, you've seen it too. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.000 But Peter's second point is this. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Jesus died a death planned by God. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.000 Look at verse 23. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:11.000 This Jesus delivered up and according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:15.000 You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:25.000 Again, we're reminded, aren't we, that the people listening to Peter's sermon were intimately involved in Jesus' death. 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:32.000 In fact, he says, you were responsible for Jesus on the cross. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:42.000 But not only that, Peter reminds them that Jesus' death, it occurred, didn't it, by the deliberate plan, the definite plan, and the foreknowledge of God. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:49.000 And so given the plan of God, can you see it was impossible for Jesus not to die? 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:54.000 I'm working through Mark's gospel with a number of people in the minute. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.000 And again and again, you see that Jesus says the Son of Man must be killed. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:02.000 There's a definite plan that Jesus is working to. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:06.000 And so given the plan of God, it was impossible for Jesus not to die. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.000 And that brings us to the third point of Peter's sermon. 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:13.000 That Jesus experienced a resurrection accomplished by God. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000 Can you see that verse 24? 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.000 You crucified him. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:19.000 You killed him by the hands of lawless men. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.000 23 verse 24. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.000 God raised him up. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:24.000 Loosing the pangs of death. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:29.000 Because it's not, it was not possible for him to be held by it. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Peter said God did this. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.000 God raised Jesus from the dead that first Easter Sunday. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 God freed Jesus from death's agony. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:51.000 And those who saw him after he came back from the dead, those like Peter, went around to anyone who would listen and was saying, 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.000 You'll never believe what happened. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.000 You'll never believe what's happened. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.000 We've seen it with our own eyes. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.000 I was there. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:05.000 And this morning what I want to do in the rest of this time is I want to hone in on one particular phrase that I've not really seen before. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.000 And it's the last line of verse 24. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.000 Can you see it? 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:17.000 It was not possible for him to be held by it. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.000 That it is death. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:21.000 Another way of putting it. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:26.000 It was impossible for him to be held by death. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.000 Let me just say it again. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:30.000 It's so shocking, isn't it? 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.000 It was impossible for him to be held by death. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:36.000 It's a really striking thing to say, isn't it? 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:43.000 Peter could have said that the resurrection was surprising from his perspective. 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:45.000 It certainly was. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:50.000 Peter could have said because he'd lived with Jesus for three years, the resurrection was predictable. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.000 Because Jesus said it would happen again and again. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:57.000 He could have just said the resurrection, it was amazing. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.000 But Peter chooses his words very, very carefully. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:02.000 And I from one find that striking. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:08.000 He says it was actually impossible for the resurrection not to happen. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:15.000 If you read the Gospels, as I've just said, you'll find that it was impossible for Jesus not to die. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:19.000 But now you read it was impossible for Jesus not to rise. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:27.000 And Peter's stunning claim is that this story about Jesus couldn't have finished in any other way. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.000 What do you think he means by that? 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:38.000 What do you think Peter means that it was impossible for Jesus not to rise from the dead? 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.000 Well, I've been trying to think about that this week. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.000 And I want to give you three reasons why Peter makes this claim. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.000 Number one, it's because of what God had promised. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 It was impossible for Jesus not to rise from the dead because of what God had promised. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:10:00.000 For hundreds and hundreds of years, God had been saying that the Messiah would die, yes, but he'd rise again. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.000 Isaiah 53, really famous passage. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:06.000 We read it on Friday. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:11.000 It says that the death of God's servant, that Jesus would be pierced for our transgressions. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.000 And by his wounds, others would be healed. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.000 And a little bit later in that chapter, the prophet says, after he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied. 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:29.000 And here in Acts chapter 2, Peter refers back to several other Old Testament passages which say something similar. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:31.000 In particular, he quotes in Psalm 16. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:38.000 And David speaks in Psalm 16 of not being abandoned to the realm of the dead, but being shown the path of life. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:45.000 And as Peter points out here, that can't be about King David because King David died. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:46.000 He was buried in a tomb. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:49.000 He's in Jerusalem. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.000 David couldn't have been speaking about himself. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.000 But he spoke about another king, another king who would come after him. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.000 God's anointed Messiah. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:05.000 God who'd foretold the resurrection of the Christ he promised. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:08.000 And that's one of the reasons why it had to happen. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:14.000 Why was it impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus? 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.000 Because God always keeps his promises. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:19.000 The second reason is this. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:26.000 Why Peter said that it is impossible for death to keep hold of Jesus because of what God sought to accomplish. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:27.000 Look at verse 23. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.000 There's a definite plan there, isn't there? 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:34.000 And the foreknowledge of God. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:41.000 And so when Jesus died, when Jesus was crucified, nailed to the cross. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:43.000 That is according to the plan of God. 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.000 But that plan was for the resurrection as well. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:57.000 And the reason for that plan of God, of a death and a resurrection, is the great good that God wants to do for humankind. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:20.240 As Peter will go on to say, that God's purpose is that men and women and boys and girls like you and I, that we might know and be given the gift of God's spirit. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:29.639 That men and women and boys and girls like us, who are far away from God naturally, might be brought near to God. 00:12:31.639 --> 00:12:37.159 And none of those things, not one of those things would have been possible if God's king had stayed dead. 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:40.100 Not one of those things. 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:45.259 Forgiveness, forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit, being brought near to God, entering into his family. 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:50.460 None of that would have been possible without a living saviour. 00:12:52.379 --> 00:12:59.600 And so the resurrection of Jesus plays just as an essential part of the good news as his death. 00:13:01.379 --> 00:13:06.940 Jesus died and rose again because God loves the world. 00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:17.920 Jesus died and rose again because human sin, which we all share with, has got to be dealt with. 00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:26.280 Jesus died and rose again because God wanted to draw a people who are far away from him, back towards him. 00:13:27.680 --> 00:13:29.360 And that's the heart of the Easter story. 00:13:30.920 --> 00:13:33.320 And that was the story that Peter told on this occasion. 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:39.560 He didn't just want people to know that Jesus lived and died and rose again. 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:41.080 He wanted them to know why. 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:48.780 Death could not keep its hold on Jesus because God was seeking to accomplish something. 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:53.480 And God always does what he sets out to do. 00:13:53.480 --> 00:14:03.220 The third reason I want to suggest to you that Peter might want to say it was impossible for death to keep a hold on Jesus is because of who Jesus is. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:09.940 You see, Jesus is not like King David. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:11.960 As Peter says here. 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:16.920 He's not like all those other people whose bodies have been laid to rest. 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:22.799 Given who Jesus is, he could never have stayed in the grave. 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:26.699 Because Jesus is God's Messiah. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:30.099 God's anointed King. 00:14:31.339 --> 00:14:32.879 He is God himself. 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.860 He is the one who made the world and everything in it. 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:42.039 He is the one who spoke this world into existence. 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:46.799 Jesus claims to be the source of all life. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:50.759 And so, of course, death could not keep hold of him. 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:57.039 Frankly, death just isn't powerful enough. 00:15:00.699 --> 00:15:05.000 Now, we, of course, and you may well have experienced death as something very, very powerful. 00:15:07.339 --> 00:15:10.379 It certainly felt like that in our country, hasn't it, in this last year? 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:16.679 We've been a nation for the last year that have lived in fear of death for very good reason. 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:19.579 Death is the great enemy. 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:20.740 We mustn't pretend otherwise. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:27.319 And try as we might, when your time comes, you will have no power to resist it. 00:15:29.659 --> 00:15:31.319 But not so with Jesus. 00:15:34.579 --> 00:15:38.179 Death is a weakling compared to Jesus. 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:43.659 Death is a puny and laughable opponent. 00:15:46.819 --> 00:15:49.419 The walls of Jesus are like sandbags. 00:15:49.579 --> 00:15:50.179 You know sandbags? 00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:51.739 That they put up in the floor. 00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:53.199 Let's say they put sandbags on the beach. 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:56.219 And they build a wall of sandbags. 00:15:57.439 --> 00:16:01.279 And they build it up on the beach, this big six-foot wall of sandbags, 00:16:01.379 --> 00:16:03.839 to try and keep the sea from coming in. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.920 It's impossible, isn't it? 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:16.740 Death to Jesus is like a piece of string trying to hold an 800-pound gorilla. 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:27.320 Death can no more hold Jesus in a tomb than a pregnant woman can hold in her child when the moment for birth comes. 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:37.400 Because the Bible teaches that the creator cannot be confined by creation. 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:43.260 The author of life can never be conquered by death. 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:51.380 Death could not keep its hold on Jesus because of who it was that death was trying to hold on to. 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:55.840 It was never going to work because of who Jesus is. 00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:57.700 And is is the operative word. 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:02.240 Because he is alive, even as I speak to you this morning. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:09.240 He's alive this very day because the Easter story couldn't possibly have finished in any other way. 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:15.460 And so you can understand, can't you, why Peter was so excited to share this story. 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:17.519 You'll never believe what happened, he said. 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:23.259 Jesus was raised from the dead and I saw him with my very own eyes. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:28.819 And of course we say, you'll never believe it. 00:17:30.220 --> 00:17:32.259 You'll never believe what happened, but people do. 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:35.680 People do believe it even now. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:44.160 People believe this message because there were eyewitnesses to Jesus' resurrection who told the story and then it was written down. 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:46.440 People like Peter. 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:49.880 But people today believe. 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:53.220 They believe this because it makes sense. 00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:58.620 It makes sense because God had promised it would happen and he always keeps his promises. 00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:07.339 It makes sense because God had a plan to save people from their sins and to bring people who were back who were distant from him. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:09.419 And God always does what he sets out to do. 00:18:10.939 --> 00:18:15.819 And it makes sense because it is ridiculous to think that death can keep hold of God. 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:23.419 It's ridiculous to think that death could keep hold of the one who gives life. 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:26.960 To everything and everyone in the world. 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:31.539 And so the question for us is really obvious, isn't it? 00:18:31.580 --> 00:18:32.240 This is the Sunday. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:32.620 It's this. 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:33.860 It's do you believe it? 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:38.180 Do you believe it? 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:43.640 Will you believe what happened that first Easter Sunday? 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:50.360 Not everyone who heard Peter share his story on the day of Pentecost believed. 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:52.400 But many did. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:58.520 Look at what it says when we get to the end of the sermon. 00:18:58.600 --> 00:18:59.780 Just come with me to verse 38. 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:06.960 And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized every one of you. 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:09.059 In the name of Jesus Christ. 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:11.859 For the forgiveness of your sins. 00:19:12.619 --> 00:19:14.700 And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:17.460 For the promise is for you and for your children. 00:19:19.399 --> 00:19:21.200 And for all who are far off. 00:19:22.339 --> 00:19:25.059 Everyone whom the Lord calls to himself. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.920 And with many others he bore witness. 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:32.539 And he continued to exhort them saying, save yourself from this crooked generation. 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:38.539 Many believed. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.340 Many accepted his message. 00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:50.060 And so today as we hear it again, I want to ask you, do you? 00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:53.940 Do you believe? 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:59.320 Because if you will believe, it will completely change your life. 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:03.740 There are many people here that can testify this is our experience. 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.140 We were once far from God. 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:09.259 But now we've been brought near. 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:14.740 And the resurrection of Jesus has forgiven our sins. 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:15.660 Our guilt. 00:20:15.860 --> 00:20:17.259 Or as guilty as can be. 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:18.519 Has been dealt with. 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:24.720 And he's given us his Holy Spirit so that we can know deep joy. 00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:26.839 Even in the dark times. 00:20:29.299 --> 00:20:33.400 And every day God is making us more like the Lord Jesus. 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:38.720 And that is why Easter is so very, very precious. 00:20:39.080 --> 00:20:41.360 Because this story has become our story. 00:20:43.820 --> 00:20:45.480 And we're excited to tell it this morning. 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:48.800 Because you'll never believe what happened. 00:20:50.900 --> 00:20:53.840 It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:57.000 And so he lives this morning. 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:00.500 And he walks with us. 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:03.079 And he talks with us. 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:07.480 And he shapes our lives and our minds every single day. 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:08.839 No matter what the world throws at us. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.439 And that is the experience of so many of us this very day. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:17.820 But as you sit here and you listen to me. 00:21:17.900 --> 00:21:19.420 You might say that's not my experience. 00:21:21.320 --> 00:21:22.259 And I want to say to you. 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:23.720 It's my joy to tell you it's not too late. 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:28.039 Because you just heard Peter's invitation. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:29.440 That he made to you in this sermon. 00:21:29.500 --> 00:21:31.200 And that invitation still stands today. 00:21:31.660 --> 00:21:33.380 The promise of sins forgiven. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.080 And of a new life. 00:21:36.620 --> 00:21:37.960 With the living Jesus. 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:41.759 And he says that is a promise for all who are afar off. 00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:44.079 And you might feel really far off this morning. 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:47.879 It's for you and your children. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:49.720 For all who are afar off. 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:52.400 For all who on the Lord will call. 00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:55.240 And today he calls out to you. 00:21:57.379 --> 00:21:58.200 And so are you listening. 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.700 The resurrected Jesus speaks to you. 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:04.559 And he says will you come to him. 00:22:07.859 --> 00:22:09.779 And if that's the desire of your heart today. 00:22:09.879 --> 00:22:11.119 And you don't know where to start. 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.019 Speak with me after. 00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:13.559 Email me. 00:22:13.639 --> 00:22:13.919 Ring me. 00:22:14.159 --> 00:22:17.459 We would love nothing more than to help you. 00:22:19.399 --> 00:22:21.099 The resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:22:21.239 --> 00:22:23.119 Is the absolute bedrock. 00:22:24.579 --> 00:22:25.679 Of the Christian faith. 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:28.919 And as you will know. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.119 There are many in our world. 00:22:30.239 --> 00:22:32.500 That are deeply skeptical about it. 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:36.599 But this morning I ask you. 00:22:36.659 --> 00:22:37.679 How could you not believe it? 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:43.000 Because it's not possible for the Easter story to finish any other way. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.060 God raised him from the dead, Peter said. 00:22:48.580 --> 00:22:50.860 Freeing him from the agony of death. 00:22:52.340 --> 00:22:53.420 Because it was impossible. 00:22:55.060 --> 00:22:57.240 It was just not possible. 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.400 The death to keep hold of him. 00:23:03.120 --> 00:23:03.620 Let's pray. 00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:03.640 Let's pray. 00:23:04.080 --> 00:23:04.220 Let's pray. 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:04.220 00:23:04.220 --> 00:23:34.200 Thank you.