Risen Hope: Our Shepherd Guides, Finds, and Heals

Do you know if you don't know my Jesus? That sounds like a warning, doesn't it? If you don't know my Jesus, you think, hey, Pete. Listen, he tried he tried to tell you, but you went ahead and did it anyway. So go ahead get on out of town. If you I mean, you can't run from Jesus, but you can try. I mean, go just just do do your best, man. Do your best. Just just go. We'll we'll we'll we'll go over here and we'll kinda like we'll we'll kinda run interference for you. That's if you don't know my Jesus, that's what you think because he's vengeful. But if you know my Jesus, it wasn't because he didn't want Peter to show up. It's because he wanted Peter to show up so that he could restore him. [00:53:47] (29 seconds)

God restored all the stuff. This lady who felt like she was lost and alone and broken, actually, god was doing more than she could realize. And what was amazing is it wasn't just any grandson, but they named him Obed, who became the father of Jesse, and Obed was the grandfather of David, which means Naomi got to be the great great grandmother of David. If you don't know who that is, it's the second king of Israel and the great great great great great grandfather of Jesus, which means miss lost, forgotten, miss bitter, miss weary was the great great mini great grandmother of Jesus Christ. She wasn't a nobody. She's just going through a season. [00:47:37] (41 seconds)

That's the lie of the enemy. And so many times, god is doing more than we realize. Because as a matter of fact, God had not forgotten her. He was already working. And just a few days after they got back, you know, Ruth went to go work in the field, started trying to get some money. And a guy named Boaz came up to her, and the first thing he said to Ruth was, I know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law. I have heard how you left your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the lord, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done. In other words, what he was saying is, you're not alone. [00:46:24] (40 seconds)

You're gonna need to remember that one. Alright? He's my hope. It kinda hurt just a little bit. Alright? Just it's fine. I don't if it hurts you guys. But here's the thing. He said, I'm gonna find them, and then I'm I am going to work in their life, and I'm gonna give them, guidance. And then I love this final one. He says this, I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. Man, I love that. Because isn't it enough that Jesus came to this Earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose again for our salvation? That's enough. He doesn't have to do anything else. But then what's amazing is is he saves us, and then he goes to work on us. [00:50:20] (36 seconds)

We've heard about what you've done. We've heard about your faithfulness, and God is gonna do something in your life. As a matter of fact, we're not the only ones who have heard. God has heard about what's going on in your life and he's doing more than you can realize and you know what happened? That of a crazy set of circumstances that only god could do. Ruth ends up marrying Boaz And because of that connection, Naomi, had lost everything. The Bible said that by the end of that book, that the neighbor women, instead of calling her Mara, said, now at last, Naomi has a grandson again. [00:47:04]

They had religious issues. What does it mean to serve god? Which way is right? They have financial issues because of just the taxes and the things that the Roman government was putting on them and then beyond that, we just got folks' issues. You know what I'm saying? Just like just like things with family and the things and stuff that are always going on. And what's amazing about that is in this just season of confusion and anxiety, Jesus says, I've come on a mission. And my mission is that I'm gonna die, but I'm gonna rise up again. [00:29:53]

And can I tell you? The honest truth is, is no matter who you are, you might feel lost, but you are never forgotten. I'm gonna say that again. I don't care who you are. I don't care what has happened. No matter. You might feel lost, but you are never forgotten. Jesus died on a cross for your sins. Do think he's gonna turn his back on you now? He had his chance. He could. Remember, said voluntarily, he went all the way to the cross because of the joy set before him, which was me and was you. And if he had the opportunity, he he had the opportunity and he didn't take it. And if you think he didn't give up on you then, do you think he's gonna give up on you now? [00:48:18]

He's saying, that's what I'm gonna do. That's why the gospel is such good news, is I'm gonna die, I'm gonna rise again, and then I'm gonna go to work. And I'm gonna be that good shepherd. And I'm a tell you, if you don't have any other reason to celebrate Easter, if you're a Christ follower, that is that he gives us hope that because Jesus is alive, we have hope for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Look at your neighbor and testify to him and say, he's my hope. He's my hope. That's the wrong person to talk to. Okay? Listen. Find somebody else. Look at the look at your second choice. The person you've been trying to ignore the whole service and say, now he's my hope. [00:35:53]

So, however you are, that's just what it is And the thing is is that during the time of Ezekiel, there was so many bad things happening. It would have been an anxious generation. So many bad things. But right in the middle of just destruction and dismay, god kinda pauses all of that. And it's like he parts the waters, and he says, but let me tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm going to be that good shepherd. And these people would have remembered that and said, that's what Jesus said he's gonna do. [00:34:43]

And the last person to deny him was the first person he wanted to talk to. Say, man, I love you. And the Bible says in John that since he denied him three times, three times, Jesus said, you love me? I know you do. Of course, I love you. I guess, still got a plan for your life. Can I tell you what I love about Jesus? He didn't just rise from the dead, but he heals every broken thing in our life. God's word says, God did not go through all the trouble of sending his son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help and to put the world right again. You know what I love about Jesus? Is that we celebrate Easter because our king helps us. Because our king helps us. He doesn't just save us, and wouldn't that be enough? [00:54:35]

That's cat, man. That that is not gonna happen. Fake news. No way you're gonna do that. You know why? Because of me. Okay? Because I'm me. You're gonna be fine. And he even said, he's like, if I have to die right beside you, no way they're gonna crucify you, which, by the way, means that you would be crucified, you would be too. But, anyway, enough of that. He's like, it's not gonna happen. You're not gonna be crucified. And Jesus is only Jesus could do. He said, Peter, I love you. But before dawn tomorrow, you're gonna deny you even know me three times. No. It's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen. Well, the Bible said, they arrested Jesus and took him into a place, and Peter started denying Jesus. The book of Luke says, somehow or another, they were situated so that on the third time he denied knowing Jesus, Jesus was able to turn around and find him in the crowd, and the Bible said that Jesus looked at him. What do think that look was? Told you. No. Yeah. It's fine, Peter, but I did tell you. I promise it's okay. I mean, you imagine denying Jesus, but then him looking at you with those eyes. Whoo. That's a bad day. Alright? And the Bible said when he realized what he had done, he went out and he wept bitterly. [00:53:10]

Yeah. That's the one. Talk to them. Talk to them the rest of the service. Just just remind them. And, you know, as you're reminding them, you're reminding yourself that I may not have hope anywhere else. I may have 99 problems, but Jesus ain't one of them. And because Jesus rose from the dead, we have hope. And I wanna give you three reasons why we have hopes. If you're taking notes, here's the three reasons why Easter brings us hope. The first one is that Jesus is alive and he's able to guide us. He's my hope. [00:36:26]

And that is that Jesus did die but he didn't stay dead. He got up again. And because he got up again, we have the opportunity to live with freedom and with purpose and knowing that our sins can be washed away. And I love that he said, this the thief comes to steal, but I've come to give life. And one of the ways I wanna show you I'm going to give life is by being that good shepherd. And that's kinda lost on us now because of just, you know, two thousand years and most of us here are not sheepherders. [00:28:53]

Maybe maybe you're not a, maybe you're not b, maybe you're c. And that is this, today, I would like to ask questions before committing my life to Jesus Christ. Can I tell you if that's you? I'm so proud you're here. I always dreamed of a church where people could come in and just try to figure it out. Just try to sit and just sift through. Because I know the enemy has got so many things. There's so many so many opinions out there. I always dreamed of a church we could come in and go, listen, I don't have it figured out. Is there place for me? Absolutely. And if you would honor us by marking c, we would love to get you in touch with some information so that you can have an informed decision about who Jesus is. It'll be our honor to resource you in that way. [01:02:47]

And the reason why is no matter what you're going through, no matter what's happening in your life, Jesus is going nowhere. And if he's got the power to rise from the dead, guess what he can do with every one of your issues and how he can walk with you. That's why we have hope. Now, look at your neighbor testify to him and say, he's my hope. He's my hope. He's my hope. You know why he's my hope? He's my hope because he guides me but then he's also my hope because king Jesus is alive and he also finds us because we get lost like a lot. Like, sheep need a shepherd because they need to be kind of go corralled and kind of move in the right direction, but sheep also just wander off. [00:42:38]

Me me give you an example of just someone who just felt lost and had no idea what God was doing. It's a lady by the name of Naomi. You ever heard of Naomi? Most people haven't. She probably felt like a nobody from nowhere with nothing going on. Like, most people don't know who she is, which is actually why starting next week, we're gonna begin a series going through the book of Ruth, and Naomi is one of the people because she's got an amazing story. But just because it was amazing didn't mean that it always looked good. As a matter of fact, the story of Naomi is is when she was younger, she had this she she was married and she had two sons, and they moved away from Israel for various reasons. [00:44:31]

Because we don't know what that means. But the reality is is the people there would have known their old testament. It's mostly Jewish people, and they would have known that that's not the first time that god used the analogy of being a shepherd to talk about what he was going to do. As a matter of fact, it was one of the ways Jesus was saying, I am the Messiah because he's saying, I'm going to fulfill what god said back in the Old Testament. I I was gonna do as a good shepherd. As a matter of fact, the place you can find it is in the book of Ezekiel. [00:33:43]

And what was amazing is she thought she had lost everything. As a matter of fact, when she got home, people would say, hi, Naomi. She said, don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara, which means bitterness because she said, god's forgot me. And if he does remember me, he's just out to destroy me. You ever felt that way? You ever felt like everything was supposed to be going the right way, but things go so wrong, you just wanna change your name and just call yourself what you're feeling at the time, lost, confused, disappointed, discouraged. And then if god does remember you, he's actively working against you. Can I tell you, that's not true? [00:45:06]

Yeah. That's you. And and it's the family dog because everybody knows cats wake up mad and it goes downhill from there. Right? It's Easter. I had to get at least one cat joke in. I'm done for now. Okay. Yes. But the thing is is that it doesn't matter who you are. Everybody except Fido here has got an issue, and most of us have got all the issues. Our issues have issues. Alright? That's that's just the thing. It's what it is. But here's the amazing thing, is that Jesus knows and he has no intention of letting us stay in that anxious place. [00:32:20]

He says, it's time to come home because he has hope for you. He wants to move in your life. But the challenge is is so many times we go through seasons where we feel like God lost us. We're like that one sock that you can't find. You know, you kinda go through the laundry and finally do all the socks. It's just me. And it's like, I know I washed it, but now it's not there. And so I just have this random sock right here. Okay? That's that's what we feel like sometimes. We've just been discarded. You know, we're just like, there's just just lost. And if you ever felt like that, can I tell you, you're in good company? There's been people all over the place who just you love Jesus, but you just feel lost. [00:43:53]

Among many things, god's word is like a spiritual GPS telling us to go this way and to avoid that because not only did he come to this Earth, die on a cross, and rise again, but then he said, and I'm gonna guide you through life. And one of the things I love about Jesus is he never gets tired of guiding us. He never gets upset when he's gotta course correct us back again. And I was trying to think of a way to explain kinda how I have this in my head. And one of the the best ways I can explain this is something I I saw one time. [00:37:59]

And I was just in awe, and it was over with. I was like, how do you do that? And I love her answer. She said, because I love them. They're my babies. I love doing this. And it was amazing to hear how that didn't bother her. That was an opportunity for her to love her kids. Can I tell you? That's what Jesus is to all of us. That's the way he sees all the things. What does he do? He saves us and then he says, go play. Go be free. And immediately, we come back to him. [00:40:34]

But the idea is is that he was gonna care for all of them. And the reason why that would have been such a big deal for these people in the first century is, if you ever took a history class, learned about people during the first century, man, they had all kinds of issues going on in their world. They had they had all these different things. They had government issues they were dealing with. They had the Roman Empire that was just just pressing down hard on them. They had culture issues They were having to deal with not knowing, you know, how to find themselves in this world. [00:29:25]

Notice how the the what he was talking about, the first part of that scripture was he was saying that even though all this bad stuff is happening, I'm gonna step into everything that's going on. And the first thing is he said, I myself will tend my sheep and will give them a place to lie down in peace, says the king of kings, says the lord of lords. And that's so important because sheep need a shepherd. I know we've been walking through this series and realizing that sheep have horrible GPSs in their brains. Like, they don't have them. Like, you're you gotta walk in a straight line and they'll walk in a crooked line. [00:36:58]

Like, they don't have them. Like, you're you gotta walk in a straight line and they'll walk in a crooked line. Just they just just not that's not how god made them. Right? And I know some of you have got a GPS in your brain, but most of us, we are so addicted to Google Maps and Apple Maps that we don't have a GPS in our brain anymore. We need, you know, Google to guide us and the thing is is that spiritually, we need a guide. We need the lord to guide us. That's why at RealLife Church, we love reading god's word and diving into god's word is because god's word is how he guides us. [00:37:29]

Well, that's amazing because two thousand years have passed, and the reality is all of our issues are the same. Like, two thousand years have passed. And can we just still say we still haven't figured out this government thing? Just me. Okay. Alright. Yeah. Then then we got culture. Culture's crazy. Okay? Absolutely. Then you got religious issues. Everybody says their way is right. How about this one? We got financial issues. Because Dave Ramsey's mad at all of us. Right? [00:30:27]

And he starts to untie all the knots that we tie ourselves into. He starts healing all the broken places in our life, and he will systematically go to war with anything that tries to define us other than who he is, and he will continue the process until we're completely free, till we're completely free. And what I love about this is this is nothing new. The first thing that Jesus did, many of us don't realize right after he rose from the dead. The Bible actually says this. The Bible says that when they entered the tomb, the women were shocked. [00:50:56]

And then then we got personal issues. I don't know if you ever heard this before, but everybody's got a private battle that you don't know about. We say that around here a lot. Look at your neighbor and say, he's still talking about you. Like, so we've got all of these different issues. As a matter of fact, I've been doing some research just to kinda think through this, and sociologists and psychologists and and, like, just just anybody's got ologists at the end of their name, they all say this main thing. [00:30:53]

And I just gotta warn you. The book of Ezekiel has been one of the most, like, love it or hate it kind of books. I've had some people say that this is like the forty years in the wilderness for them just getting through it. Why? Because because Ezekiel's mean. Okay. That's just what it is. He he's mean. He don't care. He'll slap you in the mouth and then pray for you. That's just who he is. Right? And the holy spirit inspired him to write this. Then, you got other people who were going, kinda reminds me of me. [00:34:21]

Just to kind of as we would say where I come from, let our hair down just a little bit, and some of us don't have to try very hard. But the idea of just being able to just celebrate our risen savior and celebrate what Jesus did, and we we just kind of just take it up a notch this time of the year, especially on this day. And there's so many places in god's word that talk about the mission that Jesus went on to save all of us. But one of my favorites is in Matthew or excuse me, John 10 when it says, the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. Somebody say that's bad news. [00:27:13]