Resurrection Truth: Breaking Our Faulty Algorithms of Belief

Jesus comes to set our minds free from the broken limited algorithms that we use that we use and that feed us. He comes that we might know that with God, things are possible. Here's the new algorithm that he gives, the new mind that he gives us, that because of his life, death, and resurrection listen. The devil has been defeated. At the name of Jesus, every power will bend and bow. The power of sin is overwhelmed by the gift of forgiveness. The power of death is over. The eternal and abundant life is freely given. The dead are raised in Christ. [00:50:39] (39 seconds)  #NewMindInChrist

Just like those scared disciples on that first Easter morning long ago, we need to be saved from ourselves and our broken understanding and the algorithms that we feed ourselves lies. We need a savior, a god that can and will go beyond all that we think possible. And so Jesus, the risen Lord, comes today for you and me to save us from ourselves, to offer us salvation that's found in him. He is the truth, the ultimate truth. [00:53:21] (29 seconds)  #RisenSavior

The first truth we need to come to terms with is this, our algorithm is off. The things we feed ourself or believe about god that we are fed are simply on the basis of what we can know through our experience or our knowledge, and that is incomplete, people. We are not God. In fact, we are infected with a brokenness and a sin, and we can't see or know the fullness of what God can do or comprehend the totality of what is possible with God. The truth is that if we base our understanding on of God on what we can know or what we can perceive, if that is the algorithm that we use and feed ourself, then we will doubt God's power, God's goodness, and God's intentions. Are you with me? [00:47:56] (45 seconds)  #AlgorithmIsOff

There are two truths that the resurrection confronts us with. One is about who we are, and the other is about who God is. Throughout scripture, God is continually trying to open up our hearts and minds, our very lives to these two truths, who we are and who he is. Throughout scripture, we're told God is totally different than us. He's beyond what we could even perceive. And because of this, he can do far more than we could ever imagine. [00:46:36] (29 seconds)  #GodBeyondUnderstanding

So we feed ourselves the algorithm that makes us feel good, that we can tolerate and deal with. Plus, when we see what we wanna see and believe what we wanna believe, we can keep God in a comfortable box that fits our experience and our limited understanding. But the problem in this is this, if God likes everything you like, if God agrees with all of your thoughts and opinions, you haven't found God. You found yourself. And you and I are not God. On our own, we are broken, mortal, weak, and lost. I'm talking about myself and all of us. [00:45:47] (50 seconds)  #GodIsNotYourMirror

Not allowing god to be the all in all, the alpha, the omega, the beginning, and the end, the creator, redeemer, and sustainer who is so far beyond our comprehension that we cannot fathom the depths of God, the knowledge of God, the goodness of God. We can't fathom it, the works of his hand. So when the apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter three, God can do far more than we could ask or imagine, far more than we could ask or think, it breaks our brains. It makes us uncomfortable. A god that big is too much. It takes us out of the control seat, and we like control. [00:45:06] (41 seconds)  #GodCanDoMore

We need someone to save us, someone to break through and give us the truth, speak a word of truth to us, be the truth for us. On our own without Jesus, we can't know the truth that God is so big, so beyond, so filled with love, so all powerful that nothing will stop him from pursuing you. Nothing will keep him from us. No power of hell, no sin, no grave. Nothing will keep God from us. He we will never see or know this truth unless Jesus opens our hearts and our minds, unless he rises from the dead, conquers the algorithms and the broken thoughts and our sin and our brokenness, and renews our mind. [00:49:30] (36 seconds)  #JesusRevealsTruth

They'd gone there expecting to find the only thing possible, a dead body. They expected that they would find silence, death, and grief. But what they found was an empty tomb, words of life, and utter joy. Instead of an empty silence, they found men or angels who spoke to them saying, why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not here, but he's risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified on the third day, and rise? [00:41:18] (34 seconds)  #HeIsRisen

But the problem in this is this, if God likes everything you like, if God agrees with all of your thoughts and opinions, you haven't found God. You found yourself. And you and I are not God. On our own, we are broken, mortal, weak, and lost. I'm talking about myself and all of us. There are two truths that the resurrection confronts us with. One is about who we are, and the other is about who God is. Throughout scripture, God is continually trying to open up our hearts and minds, our very lives to these two truths, who we are and who he is. Throughout scripture, we're told God is totally different than us. He's beyond what we could even perceive. And because of this, he can do far more than we could ever imagine. [00:46:05] (59 seconds)