WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.660 Happy Easter to you all. It's good to be with you all this morning. 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:06.780 You know, as I was thinking about it this week, it's pretty incredible 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:13.220 that we're here today, isn't it? Now, maybe you always come to church on Sunday, 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:16.399 so you might not think it's all that incredible that you're here. It is Easter after all, right? 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:21.260 But on the other hand, maybe you don't actually come to church all that often. 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:25.379 So maybe you're thinking to yourself, actually, you know what? It is a little incredible that 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:32.939 I'm here after all, especially on a day like today. But actually, I don't mean that it's 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:38.039 incredible personally, so much as I mean it's a bit incredible historically that we're here. 00:00:39.780 --> 00:00:44.620 Why is that? Well, you know, the first followers of Jesus were all devout Jews, 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:50.719 you know? And for thousands of years, the day of worship for the Jewish people, 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:53.739 the Sabbath, was what? It was the seventh day of the week, Saturday. 00:00:55.380 --> 00:00:59.080 But a few decades into the first century, something incredible happened. 00:01:00.020 --> 00:01:05.200 A whole group of utterly devout Jews in the blink of an eye started meeting on a totally 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.700 different day of the week. The first day of the week, Sunday. 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:17.260 Now, you have to realize how strange that is. Sociologists, anthropologists, they will all tell 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:22.560 us that the hardest and slowest things to change in any culture, in any people group, are the 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.920 long-standing communal practices that mark out their religious and cultural identity. 00:01:27.579 --> 00:01:33.960 It's those identity-marking, community-shaping practices that are the last and the slowest 00:01:33.960 --> 00:01:39.900 things to change. And that's exactly what the Sabbath was. You know, there were Jews in the 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:45.219 first century who would literally rather die than break the Sabbath. That's how important it was. 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:51.260 That's how central it was. But then a few decades into the first century, a whole group of devout 00:01:51.260 --> 00:02:00.039 Jews suddenly, immediately changed, practically overnight. Now, what in the world could have 00:02:00.039 --> 00:02:07.359 happened so great, so monumental, to make a group of people do something that all the sociological, 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:18.139 all the anthropological experts tell us is practically impossible? What happened? How do you explain it? 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:26.460 What reason would you give? Well, you know, the interesting thing is the answer that they 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:33.199 themselves gave again and again and again, all the way down to the very beginning, 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:40.859 the answer that they gave was that on the first day of the week, the one true God of Israel, the God 00:02:40.859 --> 00:02:47.879 that they and their ancestors worshipped, had raised to crucify Jesus bodily from the dead, 00:02:48.979 --> 00:02:56.659 proving Him to be their long-awaited Messiah and launching God's new creation right in the middle of 00:02:56.659 --> 00:03:02.599 history, right in the middle of time, starting it on the first day of the week. 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:11.079 These first Christians said that they saw Him and ate with Him and touched Him and talked with Him. 00:03:11.119 --> 00:03:14.519 What was it that changed them so radically? Why are we sitting here on a Sunday morning? 00:03:16.799 --> 00:03:22.259 Because on this day of the week, almost 2,000 years ago, God raised Jesus from the dead. 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:25.159 That's what Easter is all about, friends. 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:33.560 And the passage that we're going to look at this morning shows us why that seemingly incredible 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:38.680 fact, that culture, community, life-changing event, we're going to see why that incredible 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.659 fact that Jesus is the Lord of life is such good news for us today. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.539 For the past few months here at Trinity, if you've been with us, we've been walking through 00:03:46.539 --> 00:03:50.479 the gospel of Luke, which is one of the earliest accounts of the life of Jesus. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:55.219 And this morning, where we've come up to in our sort of series, walking straight through, 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:57.939 is Luke chapter 8, verses 40 through 56. 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:01.919 So if you're visiting this morning, we're just sort of jumping right into the middle of 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:02.359 the action. 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:09.319 Now, this is a story that actually happens before Jesus' death and resurrection, but it's 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:13.620 a story that shows us very clearly what Jesus came to do. 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:18.360 It's like a window into what his eventual death and resurrection would achieve. 00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:24.300 So let's read Luke 8, verses 40 through 56. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.500 It's page 866 in the Pew Bible. 00:04:26.840 --> 00:04:28.879 Let me invite you to turn there so you can follow along. 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:33.180 Luke chapter 8, verses 40 through 56. 00:04:33.300 --> 00:04:37.300 If you're new to the Bible, the big numbers are the chapters, the small numbers are the verses, 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.379 or you can just go to page 866. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:40.840 That's the easiest way to find it. 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:48.679 And we're asking this, if Jesus really is who those earliest Christians said he is, 00:04:48.739 --> 00:04:52.099 the risen Lord of life, then what difference does it make? 00:04:54.179 --> 00:04:55.479 Well, let's read and find out. 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:57.399 Luke chapter 8. 00:04:59.819 --> 00:05:04.039 Now, when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 00:05:05.479 --> 00:05:08.379 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:12.180 And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:16.480 for he had an only daughter, about 12 years of age, and she was dying. 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:20.279 As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 00:05:20.579 --> 00:05:23.420 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years. 00:05:23.659 --> 00:05:27.159 And though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 00:05:28.219 --> 00:05:31.120 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.139 And immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 00:05:35.340 --> 00:05:37.920 And Jesus said, who was it that touched me? 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.240 When all denied it, Peter said, master, the crowd surround you and are pressing in on you. 00:05:44.259 --> 00:05:47.899 But Jesus said, someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:52.540 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:57.360 And falling down before him, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, 00:05:57.360 --> 00:05:59.400 and how she had been immediately healed. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:03.740 And he said to her daughter, your faith has made you well. 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:05.100 Go in peace. 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:09.540 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:11.259 your daughter is dead. 00:06:12.020 --> 00:06:13.540 Do not trouble the teacher anymore. 00:06:14.699 --> 00:06:16.800 But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him, 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:18.100 do not fear. 00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:19.560 Only believe. 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:21.139 And she will be well. 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:26.919 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and John and James 00:06:26.919 --> 00:06:28.599 and the father and mother of the child. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:30.579 And all were weeping and mourning for her. 00:06:30.659 --> 00:06:33.120 But he said, do not weep, for she is not dead, but sleeping. 00:06:33.659 --> 00:06:35.539 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:40.000 But taking her by the hand, he called, saying, child, arise. 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:42.079 And her spirit returned. 00:06:42.740 --> 00:06:43.959 And she got up at once. 00:06:44.979 --> 00:06:47.300 And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 00:06:47.939 --> 00:06:49.199 And her parents were amazed. 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:53.360 But he charged them to tell no one what had happened. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.120 So if Jesus is the risen Lord of life, we see here that it means at least three things for us. 00:07:03.599 --> 00:07:08.439 First, it means that Jesus heals the sickness that we could not cure. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.680 The woman in this story had been suffering for 12 long years, Luke tells us. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:20.879 She had spent everything she had on doctors, and nothing worked. 00:07:20.900 --> 00:07:27.900 One of the other gospel writers actually says that she exhausted herself and wore herself out trying to find a cure. 00:07:28.840 --> 00:07:29.860 But nothing worked. 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:35.939 If you've ever been sick for a long time, maybe you know what it's like to go from doctor to doctor, 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:37.259 to go from treatment to treatment. 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:38.779 It's expensive. 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:38.800 It's tiring. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.639 It's tiring. 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:44.500 And when nothing works, you feel hopeless. 00:07:47.219 --> 00:07:48.539 But here's the thing, you see. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:54.560 This woman's condition physically is actually all of our condition spiritually. 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:59.720 We sort of know that something's not quite right. 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:01.879 There's a little ache. 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:04.720 There's a little bleeding inside, as it were. 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:08.740 And at first, maybe we think the problem is our work, our job. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:11.660 Maybe we just need to find some meaning or purpose in our vocation. 00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:13.319 Find something that we really love to do. 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:18.560 And so we spend so much of our time and energy to get the job that we always wanted. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:23.399 But then, it doesn't quite do the trick. 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:26.079 Something's still not quite right. 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:30.259 So, we change our strategy. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.120 We think the problem must be a relationship. 00:08:32.740 --> 00:08:34.480 So we spend even more. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:38.100 And if we get the relationship, it helps for a little while. 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:42.460 But still, the bleeding doesn't stop. 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:46.080 So we chase something else. 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:48.480 Maybe money or fame or even doing good. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:49.279 Giving money away. 00:08:49.439 --> 00:08:50.000 Helping the poor. 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:56.279 And yet, the more we spend, the more we try, even the more we succeed, it still doesn't 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:57.459 seem to cure our soul sickness. 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:03.619 I recently ran across a quote by the actress Helen Mirren. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:04.139 Do you know her? 00:09:05.479 --> 00:09:06.259 She said this. 00:09:06.319 --> 00:09:10.779 She said, I wake up in the morning sometimes wanting to retire from my own ambition. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:13.819 Let me go, I say. 00:09:13.859 --> 00:09:14.359 Let me go. 00:09:14.439 --> 00:09:15.319 Please, let me go. 00:09:15.319 --> 00:09:16.139 Haven't I done enough? 00:09:16.359 --> 00:09:17.759 Prove myself enough to myself. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:19.539 Can't I be left in peace now? 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:22.939 Why am I still eaten up with envy at what everyone else is doing? 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:28.080 Why always the continuous anxiety, the worry, the one eye over the shoulder, wondering what's 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:29.840 around, wondering who's being offered what? 00:09:30.100 --> 00:09:31.720 God, I wish I wasn't like that. 00:09:32.860 --> 00:09:36.299 I'd give anything to know what satisfaction feels like. 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:43.919 Friends, how is it that someone at the very top of their career, Helen Mirren has won every 00:09:43.919 --> 00:09:45.859 major acting award you can think of? 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:52.399 How is it that someone with everything one could ask for, humanly speaking, how is it 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.599 that for all that, we could still be so spiritually spent? 00:09:56.600 --> 00:10:02.159 And how is it that Jesus makes any difference? 00:10:04.740 --> 00:10:08.460 Well, you have to see something about this woman's condition that would have been very 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:11.519 clear to first century readers but isn't so clear to us today. 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:12.899 And that's this. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:17.180 Because of the nature of this woman's illness, some sort of hemorrhage, some sort of bleeding 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:25.299 issue, she would have been considered ritually unclean by the Jewish law, which means that 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.000 she couldn't go to the temple, she couldn't enter the worshiping assembly. 00:10:28.439 --> 00:10:32.599 In fact, she wasn't even supposed to touch anyone else or else they'd become unclean too. 00:10:34.439 --> 00:10:39.799 She lived a life of isolation and exclusion because of her sickness. 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:44.699 That's why she's sneaking through the crowd, because she's not supposed to be there. 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:49.560 That's why she tries to get into contact with Jesus anonymously, because she's unclean. 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.320 But what happens, friends, when she takes hold of Jesus? 00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:59.300 It's the opposite of what was supposed to happen. 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:03.040 The unclean becomes clean. 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:07.720 And it happens, Luke says, immediately. 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:18.200 And to understand how that radical event can be the case, how Jesus can make her clean 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:24.460 right away, you actually have to go all the way to the end of Luke's gospel. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:30.560 You have to follow the story of Jesus all the way to the end where he enters Jerusalem, 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:31.920 hailed as the king. 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:37.919 But before the week is over, this one everyone hailed as the one we've been waiting for is 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:42.500 betrayed and arrested and condemned and then crucified. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:51.139 And you have to see that in that moment, what's happening is not merely just a sad miscarriage 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:51.620 of justice. 00:11:51.819 --> 00:11:54.279 It's not merely a martyr dying for a good cause. 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:54.719 No, friends. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:00.940 It's the very Lord of life taking our uncleanness upon himself. 00:12:02.139 --> 00:12:08.480 All of our hatred, all of our selfishness and pride, all of our envy and jealousy, Jesus took 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:14.360 our unclean record upon himself on the cross, taking the penalty of death and God's judgment 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:21.899 that it deserved so that he could then give us in return his totally clean record in exchange. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.580 Why are we so spent spiritually? 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:35.259 Because deep down we have this heart sickness called sin and nothing that we do can get rid 00:12:35.259 --> 00:12:35.560 of it. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.460 But if Jesus is the risen Lord of life, then what happened to him on the cross was for our 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:40.800 healing. 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:44.519 He took our sin to reconcile us to God. 00:12:44.660 --> 00:12:47.200 He bled so that we could stop bleeding. 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.120 After all, friends, what are you looking for in all those things that never satisfy? 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.940 All those things that you've spent so much of your life to pursue? 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:04.540 Deep down, what you're really looking for is the one who created you. 00:13:06.180 --> 00:13:08.240 Deep down, you're looking for peace with God. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.740 And if Jesus is the Lord of life, then he does just that. 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:20.080 He actually heals the sickness that we could not cure and brings us peace with God. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:25.680 But the story continues. 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:29.100 In the second half of the passage, tragedy strikes. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.980 While Jesus is engaging with the healed woman in the midst of the crowd, messengers come from 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:34.800 Jairus' house. 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:36.740 Your daughter is dead, they say. 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:38.520 Don't trouble the teacher anymore. 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:44.220 But it's here, in the face of this tragedy, that we see something else about Jesus. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:51.360 We see that if Jesus is the Lord of life, then he defeats the enemy that we could not conquer. 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:57.180 It seems that time has run out for Jairus, doesn't it? 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:03.340 This man who came to Jesus in desperation, falling at his feet. 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:06.680 Jairus, we're told, is the ruler of the synagogue. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:12.419 He was sort of the administrator, the head of what was going on. 00:14:12.419 --> 00:14:13.519 He was very respectable. 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:17.899 And yet here he is, falling down, begging. 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:21.779 Begging Jesus to come heal his daughter. 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:28.179 But now, here at the end of the story, it's too late. 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:34.639 The time that Jesus spent healing the woman in the crowd, stopping to engage with her, 00:14:35.299 --> 00:14:39.559 the time that Jesus had for that woman has meant that Jairus' time has run out. 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:43.819 You imagine the bitter irony for Jairus? 00:14:44.179 --> 00:14:46.659 His only daughter, 12 years old, we're told. 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:49.479 And this woman, sick for 12 years. 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:55.059 This woman had been sick for as long as his daughter had been alive. 00:14:55.500 --> 00:15:00.399 Surely Jesus could have let that woman wait a few more hours to save time 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:03.419 and come heal his only daughter before it was too late, right? 00:15:05.959 --> 00:15:07.239 But now it was too late. 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:09.720 Death had come. 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:15.720 Death, that great last word. 00:15:16.899 --> 00:15:20.340 The veil, the curtain that hangs ready to fall 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:23.980 when the time for our short play here on earth has run out. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:28.200 And for Jairus' daughter, the curtain had fell. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:30.620 And the last word had been spoken. 00:15:31.820 --> 00:15:33.379 So why trouble the teacher anymore? 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:42.860 After all, what good can a mere teacher do in the face of death's thick curtain when it falls, 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:44.820 when time runs out? 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:49.259 But then something strange happens. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.019 Jesus looks straight at Jairus and says, 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:56.340 trust me. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:06.000 And then to the house, past the mourners, into the room with father and mother and his closest disciples, 00:16:06.179 --> 00:16:07.799 and he takes the girl by the hand. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:12.319 And he actually says the words that Jairus would have said nearly every morning for the past 12 years. 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:14.319 Child, it's time to get up. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:19.700 And as easily as you or I would wake someone from a light afternoon rest, 00:16:19.780 --> 00:16:26.460 Jesus reaches down into death itself and with a word calls Jairus' only daughter up from the grave and back to life. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.560 Do you see now why Jesus said to the mourners at the door, 00:16:30.640 --> 00:16:31.840 she's not dead but sleeping? 00:16:33.020 --> 00:16:37.320 Because for Jesus, death has no more power than a bit of fitful sleep. 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:41.320 Child, arise. 00:16:42.520 --> 00:16:43.379 It's time to get up. 00:16:46.940 --> 00:16:48.660 Friends, if Jesus is the living Lord, 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:54.040 if in his own resurrection he's not merely come back from death but gone through death 00:16:54.040 --> 00:16:57.260 and out the other side into indestructible life, 00:16:57.560 --> 00:16:59.240 then that curtain's been torn 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.880 and death no longer gets the last word. 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:05.720 And time. 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:10.519 The time that Jairus thought he had lost. 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:15.720 Friends, time is something that God has for us 00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:19.059 in unending supply. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.099 In the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:26.279 God conquered death and made time for us. 00:17:28.059 --> 00:17:29.700 The time of the new creation. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:31.960 Time that will not grow old. 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:33.519 Time that will not grow short. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.559 Time that began on that first Sunday over 2,000 years ago 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.980 and will continue into the new heavens and new earth 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:40.700 when God makes all things new. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.660 And our fallen time will finally be swallowed up 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:47.480 in his time. 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:53.700 Can you imagine if your life wasn't a constant battle against the clock, 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:55.720 against the ticking of time? 00:17:55.720 --> 00:18:01.720 How many of us are riddled with the anxiety that our time is short? 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:04.860 And so, what do we need? 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:06.759 We need to live life to the fullest, right? 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:08.120 We need to capture every moment. 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:09.579 We need to savor every second. 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:11.900 We need to get the best experiences 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:13.420 and find what makes our hearts sing. 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:15.759 And on top of that, we also have to capture it on Instagram 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.480 and send it to all of our friends. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:24.539 And we've got to get it in all now 00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:28.140 because sooner or later, your time is going to come up 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:30.980 and the curtain will fall. 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:37.160 But friends, is that a weight that any of us can bear? 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:42.640 As long as death is the final word, 00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:46.519 time is always our enemy and never our friend. 00:18:48.580 --> 00:18:51.580 But if Jesus has been raised, all that changes. 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:54.400 Death isn't the last word. 00:18:55.340 --> 00:18:59.380 And so now, time isn't working against us. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.740 Maybe you won't get to see the pyramids before you die. 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:07.319 Maybe you won't write the great American novel. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.720 Maybe you won't ever get married and have a family. 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:16.259 Maybe life won't look at all like you expected it. 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:19.799 But you see, that can't crush you anymore. 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:22.839 It can't end you anymore. 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:26.539 Because in Jesus Christ, we see where God 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:28.079 is taking all of creation. 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:33.359 God isn't going to abandon his good creation or us. 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:36.339 He's going to heal it and restore it 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:38.660 and transfigure it and glorify it. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.019 In time, God will make all things new. 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:45.759 And one day, the glory of God will cover the earth 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.920 like the waters cover the sea. 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.539 If Jesus is the Lord of life, then that's what's in store. 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:50.819 That's where you're headed. 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:54.359 And he's defeated that enemy 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:56.240 that we could not conquer. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:01.099 But there's one last thing to see. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:05.099 The resurrection of Jesus doesn't just deal with the sickness 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:08.180 that we couldn't heal or the enemy that we could not conquer. 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.819 The resurrection of Jesus actually meets 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:14.940 the deep longing 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:17.599 that we couldn't even dare to voice. 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.759 Let's come back to the woman in the crowd for a minute. 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:25.819 She's just grabbed Jesus' robe. 00:20:26.459 --> 00:20:27.859 She's immediately been healed. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.439 And then Jesus stops. 00:20:31.719 --> 00:20:33.639 Who was it that touched me? 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:34.619 He says. 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:38.719 Now, that's an odd question 00:20:38.719 --> 00:20:40.259 for Jesus to ask, isn't it? 00:20:41.939 --> 00:20:42.899 And the disciples, 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:44.079 Peter, of course, 00:20:44.879 --> 00:20:45.859 looks at Jesus and says, 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:47.039 Ah, Jesus. 00:20:47.639 --> 00:20:49.119 There's like a million people 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:50.879 touching you right now. 00:20:51.179 --> 00:20:52.639 They're pressing in on us. 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:58.079 But it's an odd question, 00:20:58.199 --> 00:20:59.139 not just because of the setting, 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:01.579 but because of who Jesus is. 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:04.539 All of the New Testament gospels 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:06.759 in their own way unfold for us 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.779 the unsettling and breathtaking reality 00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:10.619 that in Jesus, 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:12.639 God has come in human flesh 00:21:12.639 --> 00:21:14.220 to rescue his lost world. 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:16.939 And if that's true, 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:19.439 if Jesus is fully human and fully God, 00:21:19.639 --> 00:21:20.480 then presumably, 00:21:21.139 --> 00:21:24.259 he knows who it was that touched him. 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:24.879 Right? 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:29.199 So what's Jesus up to? 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:35.039 Well, like a good counselor, 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:37.439 Jesus isn't asking the question 00:21:37.439 --> 00:21:39.319 because he doesn't know the answer. 00:21:40.759 --> 00:21:42.119 He's asking the question 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:44.639 so the woman has the chance 00:21:44.639 --> 00:21:46.519 to answer it for herself. 00:21:48.299 --> 00:21:50.559 This is Jesus' way of calling her 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:51.539 out of hiding. 00:21:52.359 --> 00:21:53.799 This is Jesus' way of saying, 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.599 I want you to be known. 00:21:56.599 --> 00:22:00.699 On the one hand, 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:02.379 this passage is putting before us 00:22:02.379 --> 00:22:04.779 the necessity of believing in Jesus, 00:22:04.899 --> 00:22:05.279 isn't it? 00:22:06.659 --> 00:22:07.879 Jesus says to Jairus, 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:08.899 trust me, 00:22:09.139 --> 00:22:09.959 believe me. 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:11.980 And he's saying the same thing 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:13.439 to all of us here this morning. 00:22:13.899 --> 00:22:14.599 Trust me. 00:22:16.899 --> 00:22:18.399 And if he is the Lord of life, 00:22:18.459 --> 00:22:19.799 then each of us must make 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:21.099 a very personal decision 00:22:21.099 --> 00:22:22.059 to trust him, 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:23.419 to reach out and take hold of him 00:22:23.419 --> 00:22:23.939 for ourselves. 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:25.399 We can't actually stay neutral. 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:26.940 We have to decide. 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.780 But on the other hand, 00:22:31.600 --> 00:22:34.780 believing doesn't just end there. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:37.360 The woman in the crowd 00:22:37.360 --> 00:22:38.360 took hold of Jesus. 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:39.720 She was made well, 00:22:39.820 --> 00:22:40.400 but Jesus stops 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:43.540 and wants her to be known. 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:47.700 In other words, 00:22:47.780 --> 00:22:49.400 the call to believe 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.080 is the call to belong. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:57.019 And isn't that the deep longing 00:22:57.019 --> 00:23:00.960 that we often don't even dare to voice? 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.399 That we want to be known. 00:23:05.399 --> 00:23:06.859 That we want to belong. 00:23:07.639 --> 00:23:09.199 That we want to be a part of something 00:23:09.199 --> 00:23:09.939 that's bigger 00:23:09.939 --> 00:23:12.039 and more beautiful than ourselves. 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:15.720 And when the risen Jesus 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:16.940 calls us to himself, 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.299 that's what he does. 00:23:20.139 --> 00:23:22.779 He calls us into his people, 00:23:23.159 --> 00:23:24.039 into his body, 00:23:24.139 --> 00:23:26.059 so that at last we can truly belong, 00:23:26.159 --> 00:23:28.399 so that we can finally find out 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:29.980 who we were truly meant to be. 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:33.240 Notice Jesus calls this woman 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:34.119 daughter. 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:38.559 which is to say, 00:23:38.899 --> 00:23:40.639 you're not an outcast anymore. 00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:42.679 You're not a forgotten 00:23:42.679 --> 00:23:44.699 or unwanted face in the crowd. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:45.799 You're known. 00:23:46.219 --> 00:23:47.019 You belong. 00:23:47.739 --> 00:23:49.179 This is who you were meant to be. 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:55.619 You know, in many ways, 00:23:55.659 --> 00:23:56.459 I confess this hasn't been 00:23:56.459 --> 00:23:57.739 a very conventional Easter sermon. 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:00.479 We haven't talked much 00:24:00.479 --> 00:24:01.699 about the historical credibility 00:24:01.699 --> 00:24:02.819 of the resurrection, have we? 00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:06.279 Of course, the reasons are there. 00:24:06.819 --> 00:24:07.759 Lots of them, in fact. 00:24:08.919 --> 00:24:09.859 There's really no better way 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:10.839 to explain why Christianity 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:11.959 began in the first place. 00:24:13.979 --> 00:24:15.299 After all, there were quite a few people 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:15.939 in the first century 00:24:15.939 --> 00:24:16.759 who made claims 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:17.979 of being the Messiah, 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:19.859 Israel's long-awaited king. 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:21.819 And one by one, 00:24:22.219 --> 00:24:23.759 nearly all of them were killed 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.579 by the governing Roman authorities. 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:27.599 You can't have people running around 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:28.479 saying they're the king 00:24:28.479 --> 00:24:30.099 when you're the empire, can you? 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.500 And the reason why you've never heard 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:34.779 of any of those other 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:36.039 messianic first century movements 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:37.880 is because as soon as that would-be Messiah 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:39.279 was executed by the Romans, 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:41.420 the movement disbanded 00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:43.099 and dissolved immediately. 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:47.079 After all, everybody knew 00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:48.460 that a dead Messiah 00:24:48.460 --> 00:24:49.960 wasn't the Messiah. 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:54.440 Especially a Messiah crucified 00:24:54.440 --> 00:24:56.619 by the very Roman oppressors 00:24:56.619 --> 00:24:57.819 he was meant to overthrow. 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:01.579 What made Jesus any different? 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:03.740 Why didn't his followers 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:05.039 just dissolve and disband 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:05.939 like all the others? 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:09.399 It's hard to explain. 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:13.779 Was it because a few of his followers 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:15.259 had a warm, fuzzy feeling 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:16.139 that his teachings 00:25:16.139 --> 00:25:17.599 and his spirit lived on 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:18.259 in their hearts 00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:19.539 even after he was gone? 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:22.939 Some would try to say 00:25:22.939 --> 00:25:23.659 something like that. 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:24.679 That's an explanation 00:25:24.679 --> 00:25:25.339 some would give. 00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:28.619 But even if that had been the case, 00:25:29.639 --> 00:25:29.799 you know, 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:30.559 that wouldn't have led 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:32.159 devout first century Jews 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:33.959 to call their crucified failure 00:25:33.959 --> 00:25:35.799 the long-awaited king of Israel. 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:39.099 And they wouldn't have used 00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:39.919 the word resurrection 00:25:39.919 --> 00:25:41.679 to describe that sort 00:25:41.679 --> 00:25:42.980 of spiritual experience. 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:46.819 So what happened? 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:50.779 You know, I think we often 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:52.159 misunderstand faith. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.640 We think it's this leap 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:55.400 into the dark. 00:25:57.960 --> 00:25:59.060 Sometimes I think faith 00:25:59.060 --> 00:26:00.120 is more like being backed 00:26:00.120 --> 00:26:00.779 into a corner. 00:26:02.620 --> 00:26:03.840 There's always a side door 00:26:03.840 --> 00:26:04.600 to slip out of. 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:05.580 There's always some way 00:26:05.580 --> 00:26:06.560 to suspend judgment 00:26:06.560 --> 00:26:07.740 or construe things differently. 00:26:08.120 --> 00:26:09.000 But once you start 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:10.140 searching it out for yourself, 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.220 the reasons are hard 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:12.019 to get away from. 00:26:14.320 --> 00:26:14.900 And friends, 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:15.660 you need to do that. 00:26:16.940 --> 00:26:18.180 You need to search this out 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:18.720 for yourself. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:21.220 The stakes are too high 00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:22.140 not to. 00:26:23.100 --> 00:26:23.740 Think about it. 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:25.720 If your wife came home one day 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:26.579 and told you 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:27.360 that she was pregnant, 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:30.980 you'd probably get a pregnancy test 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:31.960 and figure that one out. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:32.600 Right? 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.120 Because if it's true, 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:38.720 your life is about to change 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:39.299 big time. 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:43.120 The resurrection of Jesus 00:26:43.120 --> 00:26:43.920 is the same way. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:47.279 You can't just let his call 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:48.100 to believe 00:26:48.100 --> 00:26:49.340 and to belong 00:26:49.340 --> 00:26:50.779 just slip by. 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:52.640 There's too much at stake. 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:54.920 At the end of the day, 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:57.759 this is about you 00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:59.519 finally knowing 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:01.080 why you're here 00:27:01.080 --> 00:27:04.880 and who you really are. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:08.740 This is about being known 00:27:08.740 --> 00:27:10.820 by the God who made you. 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:16.000 And it means for those of us 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:17.139 who have come to believe 00:27:17.139 --> 00:27:18.720 and who do now belong 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:21.419 that there's a whole new task 00:27:21.419 --> 00:27:22.319 before us. 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:25.359 If believing is belonging, 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:26.480 then membership, 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:27.319 this belonging, 00:27:27.879 --> 00:27:28.419 is mission. 00:27:30.419 --> 00:27:30.939 Of course, 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:31.559 our passage ends 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:32.720 with a bit of an anti-climax, 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:33.039 doesn't it? 00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:33.619 Jesus says, 00:27:34.139 --> 00:27:36.240 don't tell anyone. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.859 Imagine if that was 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:40.400 my ending application 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:41.079 of this sermon. 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:44.279 Don't tell anybody. 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:48.180 A strange bit of reverse psychology, 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:48.519 maybe. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:49.920 No. 00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:51.859 What's Jesus doing here? 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:52.900 Well, you have to see 00:27:52.900 --> 00:27:54.460 that in the historical moment, 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:56.480 this is a bit of a provisional measure, 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:56.900 you see. 00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:58.319 There's a crowd 00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.180 on the other side 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:00.599 of Jairus' front door 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:01.740 ready to make him 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:02.740 a military king 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:03.579 and go marching 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:04.359 against the Romans. 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.459 But that's not 00:28:06.459 --> 00:28:07.339 what he came to do. 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:10.339 He came to inaugurate 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.059 God's kingdom, 00:28:11.659 --> 00:28:13.319 God's new creation. 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:15.219 That's the program. 00:28:16.439 --> 00:28:17.979 And the whole new task 00:28:17.979 --> 00:28:19.399 before us is, 00:28:19.859 --> 00:28:21.899 how are we as a church 00:28:21.899 --> 00:28:23.119 going to live 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:25.299 in light of his resurrection? 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:30.879 Maybe for some of us 00:28:30.879 --> 00:28:32.339 it will mean a renewed trust 00:28:32.339 --> 00:28:34.119 in God's timing. 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:35.639 Like Jairus. 00:28:37.479 --> 00:28:39.419 A resilient hope 00:28:39.419 --> 00:28:40.859 that Jesus' timing 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:42.099 is always good. 00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:44.179 That even if we can't quite see 00:28:44.179 --> 00:28:46.019 how it will all come together, 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:47.319 we can trust 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:48.740 this Lord of life 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:50.539 who has made time for us. 00:28:53.959 --> 00:28:54.859 Or two, 00:28:54.939 --> 00:28:55.439 maybe it will mean 00:28:55.439 --> 00:28:56.599 a renewed courage 00:28:56.599 --> 00:28:58.839 to come out of hiding 00:28:58.839 --> 00:29:00.559 like the woman in the crowd 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.539 and let others know 00:29:02.539 --> 00:29:04.119 what Jesus has done for us. 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:07.799 She was so afraid 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.980 of their rejection 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:10.319 that she didn't want people 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:10.839 to know 00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:11.919 that she had taken hold 00:29:11.919 --> 00:29:12.419 of Jesus. 00:29:12.919 --> 00:29:13.700 And yet what happens? 00:29:13.819 --> 00:29:14.879 Jesus stands up 00:29:14.879 --> 00:29:16.000 as her defense 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.480 and he vindicates her. 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:21.059 And in publicly professing 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:21.799 all that Jesus 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:22.480 had done for her, 00:29:22.579 --> 00:29:23.279 she finds 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.819 not less acceptance, 00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:26.200 not less peace, 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:27.319 but more. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:31.920 Third, 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:32.440 maybe living 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:33.340 in light of the resurrection 00:29:33.340 --> 00:29:34.220 will mean for us 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:35.920 a renewed compassion 00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:37.779 to meet people 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:38.519 in their need 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:40.279 and to minister to them. 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:42.980 Jesus is greeted 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:43.680 by a hurting 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:44.819 and desperate father 00:29:44.819 --> 00:29:45.580 and he goes. 00:29:46.100 --> 00:29:46.880 He's grabbed 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:47.519 by a hurting 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.360 and desperate woman 00:29:48.360 --> 00:29:49.180 and he stops. 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:50.860 Living in light 00:29:50.860 --> 00:29:51.380 of the resurrection 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:52.660 means seeing the world 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:54.340 not as a place 00:29:54.340 --> 00:29:56.100 for us to use up 00:29:56.100 --> 00:29:57.200 as a means 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:58.060 to our own ends 00:29:58.060 --> 00:29:58.920 and our own purposes, 00:29:59.220 --> 00:30:00.060 but to see it 00:30:00.060 --> 00:30:01.200 as God's world 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:02.760 that he loves, 00:30:03.100 --> 00:30:04.260 that he's entered into, 00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:05.620 and that he's promised 00:30:05.620 --> 00:30:06.860 to make new. 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:11.700 Just this week 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:12.600 I was in my backyard 00:30:12.600 --> 00:30:14.600 and something caught me 00:30:14.600 --> 00:30:15.600 totally by surprise. 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:18.060 Now if you know me, 00:30:18.100 --> 00:30:18.620 you know that I'm 00:30:18.620 --> 00:30:19.600 a terrible gardener. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.219 The previous owners 00:30:22.219 --> 00:30:22.799 of our home 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:23.759 made these wonderful 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:24.399 flower beds, 00:30:24.639 --> 00:30:26.039 but I think I've actually 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.119 killed more plants 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:27.799 than I've managed 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.579 to keep alive 00:30:28.579 --> 00:30:29.779 in the last two years 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:30.679 of our owning the place. 00:30:32.019 --> 00:30:33.159 But out I was, 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:34.240 out in our backyard, 00:30:35.099 --> 00:30:36.000 and suddenly there, 00:30:37.019 --> 00:30:38.799 this beautiful flower 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:39.579 out of the blue 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:40.779 had come pushing up 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:41.699 through the dirt 00:30:41.699 --> 00:30:42.980 in one of the beds. 00:30:44.459 --> 00:30:45.359 Now I would love 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:46.240 to tell you the name 00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:47.099 of that flower, 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:48.079 but I have absolutely 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:48.639 no idea. 00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:51.799 I wasn't anticipating it. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:52.839 It was just there. 00:30:55.219 --> 00:30:56.159 But here's the thing. 00:30:56.899 --> 00:30:58.079 As these flowers 00:30:58.079 --> 00:30:59.480 come pushing out 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:00.000 of the dirt, 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:02.139 it sort of makes me 00:31:02.139 --> 00:31:03.299 want to get my hands dirty. 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:05.219 It sort of makes me 00:31:05.219 --> 00:31:05.659 want to learn 00:31:05.659 --> 00:31:06.019 how to become 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:06.980 a better gardener. 00:31:09.399 --> 00:31:10.000 And you see, 00:31:10.059 --> 00:31:11.199 the resurrection of Jesus, 00:31:11.399 --> 00:31:12.419 living in light 00:31:12.419 --> 00:31:13.459 of his resurrection, 00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:14.240 is like that. 00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:16.599 in the midst of the old, 00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:18.039 though we had made 00:31:18.039 --> 00:31:19.299 a mess of things, 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:21.400 Jesus, the Lord of life, 00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:22.299 has broken through. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:24.319 God's new creation 00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:25.099 has been launched 00:31:25.099 --> 00:31:25.779 into the world, 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:27.500 and rather than causing us 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:28.400 to pull back, 00:31:29.740 --> 00:31:30.799 if we're united to him 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:31.299 by faith, 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:32.120 the resurrection 00:31:32.120 --> 00:31:34.000 makes us want to get down 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:35.759 and get our hands dirty. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:38.039 because we know 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.019 that if he's come up, 00:31:41.019 --> 00:31:42.299 there's more to come. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.440 God's new creation 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:46.299 has been set loose 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:46.859 in the world, 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:48.000 and one day 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:48.940 it will be all in all. 00:31:49.379 --> 00:31:50.519 And right now, 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:52.180 we want to be a part of it. 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:55.480 So friends, 00:31:55.539 --> 00:31:56.100 right now, 00:31:57.080 --> 00:31:58.279 live in light of it. 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:01.240 Jesus is the Lord of life. 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:04.060 He's conquered sin and death. 00:32:05.120 --> 00:32:06.140 So believe, 00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:07.360 and belong, 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:10.080 and be about the mission. 00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:12.720 Let's pray. 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:21.660 Lord Jesus, 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:22.880 we praise you this morning 00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:24.360 that you have entered 00:32:24.360 --> 00:32:25.960 into our human frailty 00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:28.759 and our finitude 00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:29.460 and our death, 00:32:29.540 --> 00:32:30.840 and you've made time for us, 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:33.080 and you've swallowed sin, 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:35.400 and you've broken death's power, 00:32:35.840 --> 00:32:36.880 and you live forever. 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:40.600 God, I pray for those of us 00:32:40.600 --> 00:32:41.019 here today 00:32:41.019 --> 00:32:41.759 for whom this is 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:42.900 a familiar message. 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:43.900 Would it become new, 00:32:44.040 --> 00:32:44.460 Lord Jesus? 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:45.880 And by your spirit, 00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:47.460 would you call us out 00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:49.540 into the great task 00:32:49.540 --> 00:32:50.740 that you've set before us 00:32:50.740 --> 00:32:52.319 to live in light 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:54.420 of all that you've done 00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:55.259 and all that you are, 00:32:55.339 --> 00:32:56.059 to be about 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.480 your mission in the world 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:00.519 of making things new. 00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:03.639 And Father, 00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:04.559 I pray for those here 00:33:04.559 --> 00:33:06.099 who are searching 00:33:06.099 --> 00:33:07.119 or questioning 00:33:07.119 --> 00:33:08.400 or who are just here 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:08.980 because a friend 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:09.720 invited them. 00:33:10.839 --> 00:33:12.019 God, I pray that they 00:33:12.019 --> 00:33:15.019 would come to see 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:15.960 how good you are 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:18.359 and how good 00:33:18.359 --> 00:33:19.900 of news it is 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:21.299 that Jesus 00:33:21.299 --> 00:33:22.599 is risen. 00:33:24.139 --> 00:33:24.539 Father, 00:33:24.579 --> 00:33:25.099 would you continue 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:25.799 to speak to them 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:26.779 and draw them to yourself, 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:27.819 help them to believe, 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:28.339 we pray, 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:31.059 and help us to live 00:33:31.059 --> 00:33:32.980 the lives of joy 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:33.799 and peace 00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:34.879 and courage 00:33:34.879 --> 00:33:38.019 that your resurrection means. 00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:38.819 We ask this, 00:33:39.220 --> 00:33:39.399 Father, 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:40.099 in Jesus' name. 00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:40.960 Amen.