Finding True Life Through Christ's Resurrection

Jesus will be present with you in the midst of the broken stuff and he will bring healing in a way that you never saw coming. This is really a byproduct of the hope of the resurrection. God's in the resurrection business. Jesus wants to resurrect you again and again. I don't mean just for, you know, eternity someday. Of course, we mean that. But I mean in the thousands of many resurrections that you're waiting for, the thousands of places where you want Jesus to show up. [00:01:15]

Here's the good news about the resurrection is that the resurrection proves that God has the power to do something about it. In other words, Jesus isn't just a great idea that we wrote a book about Jesus rose from the dead. And that changes everything about today. Now, maybe you walked in here and you felt like at one time in your life you were good with God and now you're not so sure. [00:03:00]

If you're hiking, imagine you're hiking right next to somebody and you're walking along the trail and you're together, but then let's say at some point you both turn your direction so you're one degree apart, just one degree off from perfectly parallel. Now, for a while that won't really look like much. It just means like after a while you'll be on kind of opposite sides of the path, but you'll still be on the same path. [00:03:31]

What happens over miles and miles and miles is that you'll become so far apart you won't even see each other anymore. And you'll wonder what happened. Hey, we used to be close. Hey, we were on the same trail. Hey, what happened? This happens with us and God all the time. It's usually this subtle thing that happens. We just kind of turn a little bit and we wake up one day and we can't see God in our lives. [00:04:00]

The where we get into trouble is when those things own us. Is then we're just kind of living our life for the sake of the next thing that we think is going to satisfy. Or we're chasing status. We talked about this for a couple weeks. Status. If I just get enough likes, if I just get enough followers, if I just get that promotion at work, if I just get that status, then finally I will be happy. I will be satisfied. [00:05:11]

And what happens? No matter what achievement you hit, you're never satisfied. Okay, on to the next thing I think I'm missing. And it's this cycle just on repeat. And you wonder, why do I feel so empty when I have everything? because you don't have everything. We read this last week. It's a a translation from the message of Jesus's words in Matthew 18. Are you tired, worn out? [00:05:38]

Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. That's exactly what God wants to give you. That's exactly what a relationship with Jesus is meant to give you, life. He says it this way in John's gospel, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." Jesus wants nothing less for you than to have absolutely the fullest version of life you could possibly have. [00:06:32]

Life in the hereafter and life in the here and now. Life to the full. The very thing that all these other things we're chasing are robbing away from us, killing in us. How many times has God planted something in you only to be destroyed by fear, by chasing things that aren't God, by all the things that get in the way? And it's like that whole joy of that is robbed from us. Life itself is robbed from us because we just get distracted. [00:06:58]

Jesus wants you to have the fullest life possible. So where does that life come from? This is why the resurrection matters. Listen, there are a lot of things in life that we think are going to bring us life. I mentioned stuff and status. I also think we have a lot of trust in science that we're going to like science our way to some better health and we're going to live longer. Science can do some amazing things. [00:07:31]

This idea of the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the world. That there's these two kingdoms that are at war with each other. The kingdom that we're born into, the kingdom of this world, which is on full display in its brokenness and sin and depravity. And then there's the kingdom of God. The kingdom that Jesus himself brings when he makes us new. When we come to faith and we come to new life in him, we become citizens of this kingdom. [00:10:32]

And this kingdom is the one that God well all of God's virtues are at play. All the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, all of it is lifted up. That's where we find real life. And yet, it's sort of like the invisible kingdom amidst the physical kingdom. And in order to see it, you come to faith in Jesus. And it's like you put on Jesus colored glasses and you can see the world as it really is. [00:10:52]

And I feel like this is what happens when we live a life of faith. We put on these Jesus colored glasses, if you will. They're like readers for the soul. And we can see the kingdom of heaven amongst us in our midst. Every time somebody does something in the name of Jesus, every time we pray and worship together, every time somebody self-sacrifices for the sake of their love in Jesus Christ, we see with the glass now, we see the works of the kingdom of heaven. [00:11:57]

And it's this kingdom that Jesus says he's going to bring fully and finally when he returns. And there will be no more kingdom of this world. No more tears, no more sin, nothing. And that's what the world is heading for. And you and I are called to live in this kingdom and tell others about it. What were Jesus's first words in the Gospel of Matthew were this? Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near. [00:12:20]

Turn away from sin. Turn away from the kingdom of this world. Turn towards Jesus and you will find life. But he didn't just leave us without any proof. I mean, there are signs, right? There are signs that the kingdom of God is near. That's one of my favorite series of memes, by the way, is the if I won the lottery, I wouldn't tell anybody, but there would be signs. I find these hilarious. [00:12:48]

There are signs that the kingdom of God is around us. There were signs that Jesus was who he said he was. What kind of signs am I talking about? Well, there were signs of miracles. There were signs of healings. There were you couldn't go anywhere with Jesus and not see the signs that the that he was the king who brought the kingdom. But signs are not. It all hinges on Easter. The only way you and I get out alive is if Easter is real. [00:13:29]

After the Sabbath, at dawn, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. [00:14:03]

The angels said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you." So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy. [00:14:32]

Isn't that just sort of like our experience of faith in life? It's not easy. We may be a little afraid, but filled with joy when we're walking with Jesus because we trust he is with us no matter what. It doesn't mean living your life of faith doesn't mean you never experience fear again. I've actually there are some Christians who think that because Jesus says, right, to not be afraid that perfect love drives out fear. [00:14:57]

Oh, well then, I'll never be afraid if I'm doing it right. Nonsense. But you won't let that fear stop you from doing what God wants you to do. Afraid yet filled with joy and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus met them. "Greetings, he said." I can't even get my head around. I love the translation from the Greek into the English because it sounds so lame. You know what I mean? [00:15:23]

Do not be afraid. Go and you will see me. Do not be afraid. Go and you will see me. Do not be afraid. Go and they will see me. Do not be afraid. Go. Go. I feel like for us, we get so stuck in our own heads. It's the go part we struggle with. It's like, okay, I came to faith and now I need all the road mapped out for me by Jesus and then I'll take a step. That ain't how it works. [00:16:23]

I'm a Christian because of the resurrection. Because if he really died and rose again, it changes everything. And that's why I believe in his teachings. And that's why I care about his miracles, not the other way around. I'm a Christian because of the empty tomb. If if he didn't rise, none of it matters. And if he did, it matters to the highest degree it possibly could. It changes everything. [00:17:23]

Because God doesn't just care about your life's problems. He has the power to do something about it. He has the power to show up. And again, he's not just going to erase your problems, but he's going to show up in the midst of them in a way that you didn't see coming. In a way that trends toward life, and that to the full, that very thing you've been chasing the whole time. Do not be afraid. Go and you will see me. [00:20:31]

He died and rose again for you so you can have life in its fullness. I I love how Jesus talked about this in chapter 18. It sort of reveals his heart here. He says, "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?" And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 that did not wander off. [00:21:01]

This is the amazing thing about the good news is that all this time we've been chasing after life only to discover life has been chasing after us. Some of you today, you know, Jesus has been chasing after you because he wants more for you. And there are things that have happened to you that you explain away and it's God talking to you but you're like no it couldn't be that it's my imagination. No, you feel it. [00:21:37]

Again, what Matthew tells us, you prioritize God and everything else falls into place. It's like everything's right size the way that it should be. We stop chasing. We start resting. because life finds us. Jesus has been there the whole time. We just turn and he's there. And maybe that's for you this morning. Maybe others of you, you feel like, "Yeah, I feel like my priorities have gotten a little out of whack." [00:22:33]

We put on the Jesus colored glasses and we say, "All right, Lord, show me where to follow your kingdom work today." And that's the thing. This is all for a reason. And I love in Matthew's gospel, this is how chapter 28 ends. He ends with the purpose for us. It's like, yes, we receive life, life to the full. Why? Here's what he says. The 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. [00:23:16]

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go." There it is again. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. [00:23:50]

I extend my hands to receive life and life is just what comes pouring out of me and there's plenty to go around. So what about you this morning? What does it look like to follow to join God's mission to the world to go in order to see? Listen, it's all true. And maybe you're not there yet. It's okay. I think it's okay to be where you are. But I don't think God wants to leave you there because I think he's got something more for you. [00:24:55]

What needs to be brought back to life in you today? Where do you need the power of the gospel, the risen Jesus in your life? Is there a fear that's driving you? Maybe a fear of going to college, a fear of leaving college? a fear that maybe the job that you're in, you feel stuck in. You feel like you can't move and it's not doing it for you anymore. Maybe you feel that way about a relationship. [00:25:39]

But listen, Jesus shows up in the middle of it all if you let him. He will bring you back to life. He's not just fixing everything in your life. He's fixing you in the midst of everything in your life. What do you need in order to go and see of his goodness? I'll give you this. You may not know what to do with Jesus. That's okay. But I'll give you a challenge. Live the next 30 days as if it's all true. [00:26:17]