The Resurrection

It’s so good to be together again. It feels like it's been forever, yeah? Some of you kids in the room last time I saw you were “this big.” Now you're like “this big.” You're driving, you got facial hair, right? I'm just kidding, but really good to see your faces. I can't even begin to tell you guys how much I have been looking forward to this day and to being able to share in it with all of you. 

So welcome to The Edge Church everybody. My name is Steve Van Denend; I'm one of the pastors here. To all of you in the room, to all of you joining us online, to all of you in our overflow room: so glad to have you guys here today to share in and celebrate the single greatest and most important event in all of human history — the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death to life. Right? So can we just take a minute real quick and just thank the Lord for today? Give God some praise. Yeah. Hey, you guys in the overflow room, can someone shout from the overflow room and see if we can hear you? We hear you. We hear you.

Man, this is such a special day though. Do you remember a couple of weeks ago — I was sharing about the spiritual discipline of fellowship? And I was sharing about how Scripture teaches us that we, as the people of God, are now the temple. We are the dwelling place for the Spirit of God. And so all that to say that God, the Spirit of God, the presence of God, no longer dwells in a building or in a place, but amidst his people and in the company of God's people. And so this moment right now, I say that because of how precious and sacred this time we have together really is. Like, it's not just a good day because it's Easter, and it's not just a good day because we get to be together. It's a great day because God is here. The presence of God is here in the midst of us. 

Now, I know that for a number of you, you've grown up in church and you've heard the resurrection story probably hundreds of times, but you know something that can happen when we become familiar with something, is that then this good news, right, kind of becomes old news to us. And it's like then we start showing up and it's like, “I'm looking for something else. I'm looking for something. It’s like, tell me something new.” Right? Can I just suggest today to you though that when the good news becomes old news to us that it's an inclination that something is off in our own heart. That we actually need the Spirit of God to do in us, what King David prayed for in Psalm 51:12, when he said:

God, restore to me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit, within me (paraphrased).

So today, by the grace of God, I want to just help direct and point your heart and your mind and your attention and your affection off of all the nonsense and distractions and the overload of information that tends to just wash over us every single day, and just get us focused again, point us back to the good news of Jesus Christ, to set our heart and our focus upon him. As that video said, I love it, like things in our world have changed but our God has not. Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and today we join with millions of brothers and sisters all over the world in the celebration of him. 

Where's all my kids in the room? Wave at me kids. Hey, so kids, it's a celebration, and because it's a  celebration, we got a little something for you. Okay? So there's going to be people that are coming around to pass something out to you, and it's really just because we want you to know we're really glad you're here. Okay? Like, we're really excited to see you. Okay? Like we love you, we missed you, and God loves you, and God wants to speak to you. And so thank you for being here. It's so good to see you guys. 

We're gonna pray. I'm gonna invite my daughter, Olivia, to come up. I'm gonna have her pray for us this morning, and everybody say hi to Livi. So would you guys just join me as we pray? Here Liv, use this one right here. Just stand right here. Yeah, let’s pray.

Livi: Dear Jesus. I thank you for this day and that we all get to be together in person for the first time in a very long time. I thank you that we get these wonderful people who come and set this all up, that we get to be in person. And I pray for our service today that every single person will take something away from today's message and learn something new even though this is a story that we've all probably heard. I pray that we all will be reminded of God's unending love for every single person, and we love you, God. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Steve: Yeah. Thank you. Can we just take a minute right where you are? I like to do this. Can you just take a minute, just to invite the Lord yourself? Just say, Lord, come and speak to me today. God wants to hear — not just from me — but God loves to hear from you. Okay? So would you just invite him? 

Just say, Lord, come speak to my heart today. God help my heart, my eyes, my attention to be on you. Jesus, just have your way in our time. In your name we pray. Amen. 

If you have your Bible, open it up to Mark 16, that's where we find our story for today. Mark chapter 16, this'll be the first seven verses in Mark's gospel here. Here's what it says. It says:

1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you’” (NIV).

Now, many of us have heard this story before, right? Like, it's not unfamiliar. Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross, was dead and was buried. Right? And then on this day, these three women show up to his tomb where they want to anoint his body. And when they get there, this 2,000–3,000-pound rock that had blocked its entrance had been rolled away, and as they go in the tomb, there's an angel of the Lord sitting there, right? In verse six, it says to us what he tells them, he says, “Listen, do not be afraid,” right? Because when you walk into a tomb and the body's not there and there's an angel there, you're probably afraid. Right? So the angel says, “Listen, do not be afraid,” and then he gives them the best news that has ever been given. He says, “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, but he is not here. He is risen. Come and see the place where they laid him.” The angel is like, look, I know you've come here to look for Jesus, but Jesus isn’t in this tomb because Jesus isn’t dead. Jesus is alive. Jesus has risen. And then the angel gives them this amazing invitation. He says, “Come and see the place where they laid him.” 

I love this because this invitation is really to all of us. This is the invitation. This is the reason that stone had been rolled away. The stone in front of Jesus' tomb wasn't rolled away so Jesus could get out. Like, this is the same Jesus who, later we’ll see, Jesus is going to walk through the wall of a house to be in a meeting amongst his disciples. The stone wasn't rolled away so that Jesus could get out. The stone was rolled away so that we could come in. That by seeing, we might believe and receive the resurrected Christ — the centerpiece of our faith. Right? It's not a practice. It's not a place. It is the person, Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross for the sin of all mankind, but who also rose from death to life in victory over that sin that separated us from God. Over that sin that was the barrier between us and God and over death’s finalities, so that by believing and receiving in him, we could walk with God and have eternal life. And every claim of Jesus and of Christianity hangs upon this event being true. In fact, the apostle Paul says it like this in 1 Corinthians 15:17–19. It says:

17 And if Christ has not been raised, 

Listen to this,

your faith is futile; and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied (ESV).

Paul's like, “Listen, if Jesus only died on a cross and that was it, then our faith, your faith — it's useless. It is worthless, right? Because you're still just a slave to sin. You're still separated from God, and death is just the end for everyone. But if Jesus rose from death to life then he is God, as he said, and that changes everything. The resurrection is the dividing line for every single person on the planet, and the good news of Easter today is the same declaration that was made by the angel more than 2,000 years ago — that Jesus has risen, that he is not dead but that he lives. And because he does, everything changes. 

Now, the reality is, we could spend the entire rest of this morning just going over the stunning amount of evidence for the resurrection, not as a matter of faith, but as a matter of historical fact. And if that's something that you're really into, you like all of that kind of research and evidence, then I'd like to suggest two books to you, to check out. One is called Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. The other is a book by N.T. Wright called The Resurrection of the Son of God. If that's you, I really encourage you to check those out. It'll give you a whole lot of historical evidence for the resurrection. 

For the sake of our time together this morning, I want to simply agree with the angel and the Scriptures. Okay? I just want to say the resurrection happened, and in light of this truth, I want to share with you this morning just four things that the good news of Jesus’ resurrection means for you and for me. Okay, can I do that? And so, guys, one of the things that I'd like to say too is I'm so happy to be here with you, and please feel free. Give me some feedback. Okay? So feel free to laugh, clap, shout. You know what I'm saying? Cry, whatever. Yeah. Okay. So yeah. That's good. 

Okay. So here's the first one: The good news of Jesus' resurrection means that you can trust him. It means you can trust him. Three different times before Jesus goes to the cross, he says that he will die but that he will be raised back to life in three days. And guess what? He did. Right? The reason we hear the angel tell them, “Hey, go and tell the disciples that to go to Galilee and I'll meet them there,” is because before his death, in Mark 14:28, Jesus says to them, he says:

28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (ESV).

And guess what? He does. You can trust Jesus because Jesus makes good on his word. Every single one of his promises are true and reliable. Okay? You can trust them. They will come to pass, all of them, no matter what. So when Jesus says in Mark 13:31, he says, listen:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away (NIV).

What's he saying? He's saying, “Listen, everything else is going to fade, but what I say will stand forever. It will always be true. It will always come to pass. Every promise I've made, you can trust it. You can bank on it. You can believe it because it will happen.” And so, when Jesus says in John 3:16, listen:

For God so loved the world, that he sent me, his only son, to die on a cross, for the sin of mankind, right? For all sin, everywhere and to be raised back to life, that whoever would believe in and put their trust in me, they will not perish, they will not die, but have everlasting life (paraphrased).

You can trust that. It's true. 

When Jesus hung on a cross and he said, “It is finished,” talking about his payment for the sin, you can trust that. It's true. When Jesus says that he loves you and nothing could ever separate you from the love of God in Christ, you can trust that. When Jesus says that he’ll always be with you, that he will never leave you or forsake you. When he says that you're forgiven. When he says that you're his son or you're his daughter, that you were created on purpose and with purpose, that he will fill you with his Spirit and empower you to live the life you were created to live, to fulfill the destiny that you've been given in his name and for his glory, you can trust that. It's true. 

The resurrection of Jesus means you can trust him. Every word about who he is, about what he's done, about what he will do and every word that he says about who you are and what you can do in and through him, you can trust him. The resurrection proves he's trustworthy. 

Here's the second thing: The good news of Jesus' resurrection means there's hope for us in him. When Jesus' followers watched him die on that cross, hope died with him. This was the guy that they had staked their entire life upon. They gave up every single thing to follow Jesus. Okay? They believed him. They trusted his words to them. They saw his miracles. They witnessed his love and his grace and his mercy and his compassion and his power. Right? They were confident. This is the Messiah. This is the promised one of God. This is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Deliverer. Right? And then they watched him crucified on a cross as a criminal. They watched him die and be buried. He was gone, and so was all their hope. Hope was buried in the tomb of Jesus. 

It's been said that we, as people, that we can live for 40 days without food, that we can live for three days without water, that we can live for about four minutes without air but only a few seconds without hope. Hope is essential for our lives because it tells us that better is yet to come. It keeps us from giving into despair and giving up. Right? With all the things that have happened over this past year, all the things we've witnessed, every time it seems that you turn on the news it's just like a constant barrage of hopelessness. Isn't it? It's like despair all over the place. It's just easy for our hearts to get inclined in that direction, but when Jesus was raised from death to life, hope was resurrected with him. 

It's a hope that says to us, “This is not all there is. That your pain or your suffering or you're hurt or rejection or loss or even death itself does not get to have the final say in your life.” This is not the end for us. 1 Peter 1:3–5 says it like this — Kayla read this earlier: 

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (NIV).

God, in his mercy, has given hope to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Kept for us, right, this an eternal inheritance. Kept for us by the power of God. Church, can I tell you how thankful I have been over this past month for the hope of eternity we have in Jesus?

Just this last month we lost our dear sister in the Lord, Carrie. Just this week our brother in the Lord, Jeremy. Yeah, to these tragic accidents. And I can tell you that, like, though my heart grieves and my heart breaks, my soul rejoices in the hope of eternity.  And it's in these moments of grief, of loss that the resurrection of Jesus Christ declares to us that death is not our end. And the resurrected Christ comforts us with his words from John 11:25–26, where he says:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (NIV, paraphrased).

Hebrews then affirms this, in Hebrews 6:19. It says:  

We have this hope then as an anchor for our soul (NIV, paraphrased).

This hope that we have in Christ — not only in this life, but in the life to come — is a hope then that grounds us. It tethers us when the storms of life and the waves just seem to crash upon us over and over and over again. Hope is our anchor, right? It keeps us from giving in. It keeps us from giving up, from drifting into some kind of destructive hopelessness because it shouts to our soul that more is yet to come, that things will be different and God is not done yet. So whatever you're going through today, wherever you find yourself, whatever you're enduring, whatever has been coming against you, it's not the end. It doesn't get to have the final say in your life. There is hope for you. Hope in this day and hope for an eternity with God forever. 

Here's the third thing: The good news of Jesus' resurrection means there is new life for you in him. Romans 6:4 says it like this, it says:

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (ESV).

In other words, just as Jesus was raised to new life, so we too are meant to be raised up into new life in him, filled and empowered by his Spirit. Jesus lives so that you and I also might live — not just like someday in the future after we died, but today and every day. See, we as Christians, like, we often grab hold of what we've been saved from, but we don't fully embrace what we've been saved to. And when you only see what you've been saved from, it's really easy to just become a spectator and get bored, but when you realize, when you grab hold of not only what you've been saved from, but what Christ has saved you to, then you come alive, and you start to live with purpose and intentionality every single day. 

See, our greatest need, church, is not just to hear about the resurrection, it is to have the resurrection happen to us, and the good news of Easter is that resurrection can happen for you and for me. That we too can be raised up with Christ into the life that God has for us — a full life, a whole life, a purposeful life, an eternal life, a life lived with him and to him and for him forever. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says it like this, it says:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. And the new has come (NIV, paraphrased).

Think about this for just a second. Why do you suppose that the angel, when he tells the women to go and tell the disciples to meet with Jesus, he specifically mentions Peter? Did you notice that? Like, “Tell the disciples. Oh, and Peter.” Right? Like, isn't he one of the disciples? I mean, wouldn't we naturally ... Why does the angel specifically mention Peter? Because, if you remember, Peter had just failed Jesus miserably. Peter had just had this moment where, before Jesus was taken, he's like, “Jesus, I'll die for you. I'll do anything for you.” And Jesus is like, “Peter, you're going to deny me.” And when that got hard, Peter denied Christ. He rejected him. He renounced him. He denied him. He was like, “I don't even know who he is.” Right? But Jesus wasn't finished with Peter, and heaven wanted him to know that. 

Because the resurrection of Jesus means that we can have new life, a redeemed life, a new beginning of life that is no longer defined by our sins and our failures but by the mercy and grace and goodness of God. As Romans 8:1 says to us, it says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (NIV).

There's no more shame. There's no more bondage. There's no more being a slave to your sin or to your past. There's no more bitterness or anger or pride or suffering or despair. None of that other stuff is on you. Just as Jesus walked out of that tomb, right? Leaving his grave closed behind, completely unbound and free, so we also — by the grace of God — can turn from sin, receive the full life that God has for us in Christ, walk in his freedom and power by his Spirit. Jesus' death and resurrection are the evidence that you are saved fully and freely and forever.

Fully and freely and forever. Fully, in the sense, right? that every single sin — every one of your past, every one of the present, every one in the future — they've all been paid for in full. Just think about that for a second. Right? All my sin. Right? All of it. All my past, every single moment of guilt and shame and hurt for things I have said and done all paid for. Every single current struggle, everything I'm wrestling with in my day today paid for. And not even just those, but the ones that I haven't even come to yet — the sin that hasn't happened, not because I'm aiming for it, right? But because in our imperfection, how we stumble along the way, even those things yet to come Christ has already made provision for. And not only fully, but freely. Right? 

Fully meaning that Jesus' sacrifice and God's gift of grace to you is not something you can ever pay him back for. In fact, he doesn't want you to.

One of my favorite scenes of Easter is when Jesus is on the cross between the two thieves who deserved their punishment. Right? Like, they were guilty and then the one though recognizes Jesus and his own sin, and he simply says to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me.” “Remember me.” And Jesus says to him “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” I love that because I just think like, what did that guy do? Right? To earn that gift. Like, we don't have any evidence of his transformed life. Like this guy wasn't baptized. He wasn't like part of a church. He didn't pay all the people back that he had wronged. Right? Like, there's not some period of time where we could evaluate his life and be like, no, clearly he's changed, he's different. Right? Like, no he's clearly he's saved. Right? No, he was just freely given grace.

We don't earn God's grace, we just receive it. It is a gift. It is freely given and not just freely, but it is forever. And I love that about God. That this eternal life, it starts right now and it never ends. It's here, right? A life forever with God and our confidence in this salvation that is full and free and forever is the resurrection of Christ. 

Here's the last one — number four: The good news of Jesus’ resurrection commissions us to go and tell. The good news of Jesus’ resurrection gives us our own mission to go and tell of this good news. Right? The angel of the Lord sees the women, and right after he's like, “Hey, he is risen. He’s not here. Now go and tell the disciples.” Right? And have them meet with Jesus, right? Instantly, in the moment that they found out about his resurrection, they were commissioned to go and tell him this good news, and you and I have been given that same mission. See, Jesus' mission was completed at the cross, and our mission began with his resurrection. 2 Corinthians 5:20, it says it like this. It says:

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (ESV).

Jesus has given this mandate and this mission to every single follower of his to go and tell. And wherever God has placed you, that is your sphere. That is your mission field. Your school, your neighborhood, your family, your friends, your workplace — whatever that is, that's your mission field. God has put you there on purpose. Jesus didn't die on a cross and be raised back to life simply so that you would have eternal life but so that, through you, others might have him too. And the world, guys, the world, people in your family, friends of yours, neighbors of yours, they are waiting on Jesus through you. 

We have been given this good news, and like I said earlier, if we find ourselves disconnected, if we find that this good news has become old news to us, then let us come back to the Lord and say, “God, restore to me, restore to me the joy of your salvation. God, renew your spirit in me again. Let me come alive in you. The hope of your resurrection, my calling and purpose.”

I'm going to have Kayla and the band come back up as I close us, but here's the invitation, right? That the resurrection has happened, the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. But at the end of the day, if all that we do, all that happens with our Easter messages, is we say “He has risen”, but don't also say “I have risen in him too, “ then we've missed Easter. Easter was not only about what Jesus did. It's about what God has for us through Jesus, and so the invitation for us is to receive the resurrected Christ. If you're here today, right? If you've never received him, if you've never received his finished work for you on the cross. If you're listening to this right now and that's you, then that's why you're a part of today. It's for you to receive that invitation to turn from sin and put your hope, your trust in Christ. And if you're here this morning and you have, then the invitation of God to you is to go and tell it, to go and share it, to go and share this good news. 

The good news of the resurrection of Jesus today means for us that he is trustworthy and we can trust him, every word, every promise. It means we can hope in him, not just today but for eternal life. It means there's new life for us, in him — a full life, a whole life, a life of purpose and destiny and calling — and it means that we have been given a mission to go and tell.
Would you guys stand with me? I'm going to close us in prayer and we're going to respond with our worship and our praise. 

God, thank you so much for today. Jesus, we celebrate you. God, what a gift, what a blessing it is Lord, in so many ways, God, this day that we can be together. Lord, it's been so long. God, what a gift brothers and sisters in the faith are, Lord, what an amazing gift. God, even bigger than that, Lord, is the gift that you gave of yourself for us. Lord, so today we honor you, we celebrate you, your death and your resurrection. God, I pray that for every single person here, for every person watching online, God, that they would know your salvation. God, that every person would experience their own resurrection in you from death to life. Holy Spirit, would you just move in every single heart? God, I pray that you would remind us, Lord, not only of who you are, but you've called us to be. And God, I pray that the good news of your resurrection, the good news of your life, Lord, would stir our hearts. God, that we would be your ambassadors in every single place you've placed us. God, for the sake of the world and the glory of your name, God, have your way in us. God, I pray that today would just be a great day of rejoicing. Lord, let us be a blessing to the people around us today. Thank you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

Celebration

Good morning Edge Church. My name is Neil Schori, and I’m one of the pastors here at The Edge, and we are so glad to have you join us today. We are at our very last Sunday of our series called The Blueprint: Spiritual Disciplines For a God-Filled Life. We really hope that this series has been encouraging to you in your pursuit of God instead of adding things to your life that you technically should do that ultimately will just weigh you down. Disciplines that aren’t driven by love turn into jobs that really do nothing but add to the busyness of our lives and schedules, and I don’t know about you, but there’s not a whole lot that is very life-giving to me when I just add one more thing to my schedule. 

At the start of this year, I decided to do what many Christians do throughout their lives — I selected a Bible reading plan that goes all year long; and I was super motivated in January, and I got even really motivated into February, but, the truth is, by mid-February, I started having a really hard time engaging my heart to the passages, and I had a decision to make. I could force myself to mindlessly read, or I could show myself a little bit of grace, the same grace that God shows me and he shows you and just relax, trusting that God’s love for me actually really is not about my Bible reading schedule, but that he just loves me. So I hope that you’ve been as gracious to yourself as God is to you too. 

Today, we’re going to talk about the discipline of celebration, and when you hear that, you might think that this is a great oxymoron. There’s stunning contrast in those two words because when we think of celebration, we think of parties, we think of excitement; and when we think of discipline, we think of ... not those things. At least people of my personality type don’t.  But throughout the whole of Scripture, we see the celebrations that are built into the rhythm of life. They were designed to remind all of the people that God is for them and that he is their provider and he is their rescuer. These built-in moments that God has designed for us to commemorate his goodness to us so that every single generation will remember that he is good and that, for generations to come, people will recognize the precedent of God’s goodness, which makes them more likely to choose to follow Jesus on their own. 

When God instituted the celebration of Passover in the Old Testament book of Exodus, he reminded his people of the importance of celebrating it annually so that people of every generation would know what he had done, and here’s an account of that. Exodus 12:24–27, it says:

24 “Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ’What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ’It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians’” (NIV).

So, today is Palm Sunday, and for Christians all over the world, we are recognizing the very last week in the earthly life of Jesus — as Jesus was starting to make his way into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, but actually, more importantly, to become the eternal sacrifice for the sins of all people. Here is one account of the start of that sacred day. It’s Luke 19:28–42.

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ’Why are you untying it?’ say, ’The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the ground.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes (NIV).

I want to ask you this. Have you ever really stopped to think about why you started following Jesus? Maybe you’re watching this today and you aren’t a Christian but you’ve considered being one. What would make Jesus appealing to you today? 

It makes me think back to college when a friend of mine showed up at the campus ministry that I had just recently started attending, and that night he made the choice to follow Jesus with his life. And it was amazing because some people, it seems like, take forever to change, but he was one of those people that really just started changing radically, and he seemed to make his whole life about God. He literally would tell anybody that he encountered about this God who had saved him and had done so much in his life. His passion for sharing the Lord was infectious to all of us that he was hanging out with. It was weird though, a year or two later, he started having some serious health issues, but he entered into that struggle with this great confidence that God was going to heal him of his illness. But what happened was different. God actually didn’t do that, and my friend was so disappointed that he walked away from God, and he announced to all of us — really in the same way, like with this huge amount of energy — he said to all of us that he wasn’t just disappointed in God; he actually wasn’t sure if there really was a God. He didn’t even believe that God was real any longer. 

That might sound extreme to some of us, but it really does happen, and the question that we may need to ask ourselves is: Why do I celebrate Jesus? The reality is harsh, but we need to face it because the Jesus that some of us want to celebrate might not exist in the form that we want to celebrate him. 

2,000 years ago on that Palm Sunday, Jesus cried. Jesus wept over the condition of the people who were just celebrating him. But the people were celebrating a version of Jesus that wasn’t actually true. They imagined that they were welcoming Jesus in as this conquering king. They imagined that he was going to rule as this great military leader and he was going to punish all of the oppressors of the Jews. But Jesus wasn’t like that at all. Jesus came to take on the sins of the world. That means he came to rescue the Jews from their sins, and he came to rescue their oppressors from their sins so that everyone, everyone around would have a chance to come home to God. 

We have to ask questions that are tough for us. We have to ask things like, “Is God still good when he lets bad things happen to really great people? Is God still good when he doesn’t will your preferred candidate into office? Is God still good when he doesn’t heal you of your illness?” There are all sorts of questions that we could ask, and you might want to ask yourself questions that are real to you because we need to make sure that we are celebrating the God who spoke the universe into existence rather than celebrating the one that we wish he would be. 

So what should we celebrate about Jesus? What can we take our stand on? In other words, what is it about God that should inspire our spiritual discipline of celebration? I think that, in order for us to accurately answer that question, we need to see what it is that God himself celebrates and then walk in those steps. How can we apply that to our lives? Let’s never forget that our goal on earth was set for us by heaven. We need to walk in this. 1 John 2:3–6. It says: 

3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did (NIV).

So for us, as followers of Jesus or for us as people who are thinking about becoming followers of Jesus, our goal is to become imitators of God even in how he celebrates. We want his heart to come into our heart so we can be directed by the Lord. 

I was six years old when my grandpa died, and my grandma told me years later about one of their final conversations that she had with him as he started to slip away in the hospital. She was worried about how he was doing with God because he ultimately was turned off by organized church because of some significant financial improprieties committed by the pastor of their church at that time. And she was worried about how he was, and he smiled at her, and he just said to her, he said, “Honey, God is an old softie.” My grandpa knew that God sent Jesus to redeem him from his sin, and that doesn’t mean that God is soft on sin, but he has a soft heart for all of his kids. I believe particularly the ones that have been hurt.

When Jesus was walking on the earth, he consistently demonstrated his love by his actions and by his words, and just like we never run out of the need to hear that we’re loved by our friends and family, we certainly never run out of our need to hear that we are loved by our Father in heaven. I can’t think of a better picture of the love of God for us then this parable that Jesus shared in Luke 15:1–7. It says:

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (NIV).

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ’Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (NIV).

Life is weird today, and it was weird in the time of Jesus as well, because people often today, just like they did in his time, they can look really good when we just look at the externals of their lives, or of our lives. Because we can give a lot to charity or we can give a lot to the church. We can serve tirelessly. We can preach just like I am right now. So we can appear to be doing good and actually be doing good things, but here’s the problem: It’s when we look at those good things and we think that that is the measuring stick for who gets into heaven and who is kept out; that’s where we have an issue.  That may be the standard that exists in the world’s economy, but it’s not the measuring stick that God uses for us to determine who makes it into heaven. 

Heaven’s economy echoes the apostle Paul’s words to the church at Rome. Romans 3:23. It says:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (NIV).

The question that I want to ask you is: Do you find yourself in the story of the 99 people? Maybe you feel pretty good about yourself — maybe you think that you’re okay where you are — or do you know that you’re lost or you once were lost and then you were found by the grace and the love and the pursuit of this loving God. We see in this story that when even one of God’s children — and that even means you — when even one of us has a humble estimation of our goodness, and we are willing to turn away from our own way and turn to Jesus, that that triggers a celebration in heaven. 

I want you to think about this. The maker of heaven and earth celebrates when one person turns to Jesus in repentance. Nothing makes the Father happier than when one of his children turns to him. And they don’t have to grovel. They literally just have to turn, and we get this picture that he runs to meet us when we turn to him so that he can escort us all the way safely home. 

One of my lifelong best friends, his name is Eric, he drew an image that reminds him of how Jesus pursued him when he was lost, and then he had that image tattooed on his forearm. The Greek words in that image, it just simply says, “He leaves the 99.” This was Eric’s reminder to himself and to anyone who will listen that Jesus left the people who are safe, or thought they were, and he went for Eric. God is that personal. But this message isn’t just for the one; it’s actually for all of the people. It’s not just for a select few. It’s not for those to know a secret handshake, or they give a certain amount in church, or they’re from the right families, or they were raised on the right side of the tracks. No, this message, this message of Jesus, this message of the gospel is the most inclusive message that’s ever been. Why do I say that? Because there is not one person that God wants to exclude from the kingdom of heaven. Every single person that was born, or is here today, or will be born — God wants all of those people to join him in the kingdom. 2 Peter 3:9. It says:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (NIV).

Let me say this again. This is for you. It is for you, that person who’s watching this that feels like you have done one too many things that have separated you from the heart of God. God wants you no matter what you’ve done. Here’s how you can make heaven explode in celebration today; you can do that. You have that choice. Acts 2:38–41, the apostle:

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (NIV).

If you would like to take some next steps or talk about the next steps that you might take on your spiritual journey, just email me — neil@edgeaurora.com — and I would absolutely be honored to walk with you in that. 

I want to leave you with some questions to consider today. We love to have you consider these because sermons are only as good as your application of them. 

1. What spoke to you the most from this message? 

2. What have you gotten wrong about God on your journey, and how did you change your thinking over time? 

3. What is it about God that you are celebrating today? I don’t want you to try to give a right religious answer. I just really want you to share from your heart.

Stick with us because, in just a moment, we are going to make heaven celebrate as we baptized three of our very own children — Noel, Phoenix, and Sophia. God bless you.