April 5th "Because He Lives!" Matt 28

Now, just have to pause there for a minute. They went to see the tomb. They didn't go to see Jesus. They had expectations that morning, and their expectations, praise God, were not met. They went to see a dead man. Let's keep reading. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled [00:15:48] (43 seconds)  #ResurrectionSurprise

Faith in Jesus is not merely intellectual assent. Friends, the fact that Jesus lived, that he died, that he rose from the dead, these are historically verifiable facts. The question is not whether or not you believe history to be true. The scripture tells us that even Satan believes, and yet he's going to be condemned. Simply giving intellectual assent to the reality that this happened doesn't give you salvation. What saves us is entrusting our souls to this savior. Entrusting ourselves to this risen Lord. And so let's press in to these realities that can become yours when you trust Jesus. [00:24:25] (43 seconds)

These guards were eyewitnesses of the empty tomb, the very resurrection moment, and they refuse to worship Jesus. Why? Well, there are probably a lot of reasons for that. I can think of at least two. They would prefer to worship their honor, their name, their job, their role in the Roman world more than worship God. They don't wanna lose their jobs. They didn't wanna lose their lives. Their lives were on the line here. They had a choice to say Jesus is alive and be killed or to tell a lie. They would rather gain this life and lose the next. [00:48:20] (55 seconds)

Pass down how to start a fire. Pass down how to pop a tent. Pass down how to fix a car. Those things are important. But if your kid doesn't know how to start a fire and pop a tent and fix a truck, but he loves Jesus, you've won. Amen. That's the win. Jesus tells us this is the mission that matters because he lives, but if he is not alive, then it doesn't matter. Give your life to something that passes away, but because he is alive, you can give your life to the thing that you've always desired. A mission that matters for eternity. He reigns and rules. His command is to go, and our response is obedience. [00:56:06] (52 seconds)

And if you're that one who walked in this morning thinking I don't belong here, let me tell you a little secret. None of us do. Amen. A Christian is someone who recognizes that our relationship with God is all of grace, and our standing in the church as one more redeemed person is all of grace. Will you believe the gospel today? Will you allow Jesus to take your place on the cross? Your past is forgiven. Your future is secure. [00:32:00] (49 seconds)

So if you're here today and you're struggling with your past, you're wondering if Jesus will forgive the sins of your future, look to the cross of Christ by faith. Your past, Christian is forgiven. If you're not yet in Jesus, friend, your past, your present, and your future can be forgiven as well. Jesus has given what we all need. Jesus has paid the price that we all deserve. We can have real hope because we no longer have to carry around the baggage of our past. [00:31:19] (41 seconds)

The religious leaders make a plan. What an evil council we see right here. They make a plan. They know what the truth is. We sealed that tomb. We've been standing at the tomb. These men aren't believing a lie. No. People later will believe the lie they told. These men are living an outright blatant rebellion to the truth. These men saw the angel. They heard what he had to say. They experienced the earthquake. They saw the empty tomb. They know nobody came and got Jesus out of this place. We were there the whole time. The only explanation is that he is risen indeed, and that is it. And yet, they agree to tell a different story. [00:47:23] (56 seconds)

As I look at this story, as we step into the text a little more fully, something sticks out to me so clearly. It's that you could have experienced the very same thing and have heard the very same thing and walk away in a very different way. As we press into the text, we see that the resurrection changes everything, but to experience the realities that we're going to talk about this morning, don't miss it. You must entrust yourself to this risen savior. [00:23:38] (47 seconds)

Friend, the good news is that you could not save yourself and God did. The good news is also that you cannot keep yourself in the faith, but God does. And so if you're in Christ today, you don't have to fear whether or not you'll wake up ten years from now and go, you know what? I don't know. No. The Holy Spirit has sealed you. Now, I'm not talking about whether or not you're growing in your faith, whether or not you're maturing in your faith. That requires some work. [00:44:46] (31 seconds)