WEBVTT 00:00:07.690 --> 00:00:10.169 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:19.969 Lifehouse Church. My name is Jason. I've been 00:00:19.969 --> 00:00:23.329 asked to give my testimony today. 26 years ago, 00:00:23.429 --> 00:00:27.510 I accepted the Lord, put my trust in Him. I was 00:00:27.510 --> 00:00:29.710 a Marine, and I lived a life that wasn't quite 00:00:29.710 --> 00:00:35.030 so well. My walk with God wasn't a straight path. 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:39.070 There's a lot of turns, a lot of twists. Through 00:00:39.070 --> 00:00:43.530 that pass, I found myself drifting away from 00:00:43.530 --> 00:00:47.609 God and to God. But what I know is that God would 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:52.030 stay with me. He was faithful to me, showing 00:00:52.030 --> 00:00:57.609 me his love and his grace and mercy. I was an 00:00:57.609 --> 00:01:01.369 angry person, and God worked on my heart and 00:01:01.369 --> 00:01:05.890 changed me, continually never giving up. changing 00:01:05.890 --> 00:01:09.629 me to a better person, those that are closest 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:14.409 to me, seeing the change, recognizing it. And 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:17.549 I know that God is closer to me today than he 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:23.769 was 26 years ago. His love, his grace, his mercy 00:01:23.769 --> 00:01:31.569 is extended. I'm Missy, and this is part of my 00:01:31.569 --> 00:01:35.799 testimony. I struggled with... depression and 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:40.099 anxiety a lot um and i started coming here in 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:44.680 2017 to lifehouse my husband was in idaho at 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:50.040 the time and um i had too much anxiety to go 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:52.819 out there and be with him so we were apart seven 00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:57.680 years and until kip finally got through to me 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.560 that i needed to be with my husband so i went 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:04.120 out there with a one -way ticket and it was a 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.099 lot of anxiety and i struggled a lot but the 00:02:07.099 --> 00:02:10.800 lord got me through it and he just showed me 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:17.199 different things that um like fear is actually 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:21.460 false evidence appearing real and that it's okay 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:23.379 to make a wrong decision because god's gonna 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:25.979 get me if i and put me back in the straight and 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:32.460 narrow if i'm wrong Hi, my name's Sean. I'm relatively 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:36.939 new here to the Lifehouse family. The people 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:40.780 here are just amazing, the staff and just everybody. 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:49.460 I'm a two -time recovering alcoholic, and God 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:52.780 has twice brought me from the darkness of alcoholism. 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:58.879 He has saved my relationship with my 33 -year... 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:04.159 bride, Katrina Wieser, and he saved my relationship 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:09.080 with my daughters, Kayla and Carrie. And it just 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.979 goes on and on from there, especially over the 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:15.979 last year to six months. The things that he's 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:21.379 done for me is just unbelievable. And I can be 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:24.919 the first one to attest that you will not be 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:31.789 forsaken. My name is Nikki and this is my testimony. 00:03:32.330 --> 00:03:34.849 My father, Mark Sunderland, was diagnosed with 00:03:34.849 --> 00:03:37.409 a rare kidney disease only about six people nationwide 00:03:37.409 --> 00:03:40.509 had and the doctors didn't know what to do. An 00:03:40.509 --> 00:03:44.789 over 200 plus pound, over six foot muscular baseball 00:03:44.789 --> 00:03:47.770 basketball star became skin and bones very quickly. 00:03:47.949 --> 00:03:50.689 My world was rocked. It didn't become real until 00:03:50.689 --> 00:03:53.750 the dialysis machines came to the house and tubes 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:55.879 were coming out of his stomach every night. My 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:58.319 mom ended up being a perfect kidney match, and 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.460 they had to go under some pretty intense surgery 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:03.020 my junior year of high school. I thought that 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:06.020 even though the kidney worked, we did think that 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:09.539 it was an answer to prayers. Unfortunately, my 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:11.860 senior year of high school, I was told that he 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:14.000 was gone and he had passed away while I was leading 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.759 worship at a youth group event. I had lived through 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.660 tragedy, grief, loss. and I continued to work 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:22.980 to heal, forgive, and sometimes I did search 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:25.600 for love and affection in wrong places. Even 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:27.759 though years have passed, people have come and 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:29.579 gone in my life. They have always taught and 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.019 shaped me to be the person that I am today. I 00:04:32.019 --> 00:04:33.779 have been able to find my voice through worship 00:04:33.779 --> 00:04:36.139 again, and I am able to picture my dad and Jesus 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:38.180 sitting in the pews while I am doing that, while 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:40.819 they are smiling. My mom was able to remarry 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:43.439 a man who had lost their spouse as well, and 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:45.800 we had gained more family. I continue to strive 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:51.899 to be grateful each and every day. My name is 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.759 Chrisanna, and before Jesus changed my life, 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:57.199 I thought I knew him. But honestly, it wasn't 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.220 until I walked through a really hard season that 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:02.180 I understood how much I needed a Savior. About 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:05.060 five years ago, I walked through a time of loss, 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:07.399 and one of the things I lost was a marriage I 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:10.660 had that ended abruptly due to betrayal and heartbreak, 00:05:10.740 --> 00:05:13.300 and it was a really hard time. And I learned 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:16.220 how much I needed to lean on Jesus every single 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:18.920 day to get through that season. And honestly, 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:21.600 Jesus got me through it. He was my grace. He 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.980 was my peace. He never left my side. And I understood 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:28.800 how much I needed a savior in that season. And 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:31.420 now looking back on all the things I lost, I 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:33.779 really see how much I gained because of Jesus. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:36.600 He has blessed me in a double portion. I have 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.839 this wonderful husband, Zach, who's about to 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:41.040 leave worship, who's the father of our kids. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:43.579 And he's just one of many blessings that God 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:46.160 gave me. He restored so much that was broken 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:48.759 and healed me. And I'm standing here today knowing 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:50.899 that I wouldn't be here without him. my Savior, 00:05:50.959 --> 00:06:00.660 and that's Jesus. What if the worst thing in 00:06:00.660 --> 00:06:03.420 life that's happened to you isn't the end of 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:07.899 your story? What if the worst thing in your life 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:12.279 isn't the end of the story? What if the worst 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.500 sin that you've committed is not the end? What 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:17.980 if the biggest mistake that I've committed isn't 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.959 the end? What if the greatest loss that I have 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.560 suffered does not mean it's all over? What if 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:28.240 the abuse that you suffered will not define you? 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:32.079 What if the toughest moment in time that you 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:36.079 have had to endure will only lead to a fuller 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:39.660 life? What if becoming new in Jesus It means 00:06:39.660 --> 00:06:41.459 that the worst thing that has ever happened to 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.199 you or in your life will not become your life, 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.439 it will not be the end, and it will not contain 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:50.819 you in any kind of way. What if the worst thing 00:06:50.819 --> 00:06:55.699 in my life is only a stepping stone to an abundant 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:59.740 life in Jesus Christ? Jesus stepped out of the 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.379 grave over 2 ,000 years ago so that the worst 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:06.060 thing in our lives would not be the end of our 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:09.959 story. Maybe, just maybe, the very beginning 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:13.600 of it. Can we stand and give Him praise one more 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.459 time, especially if He has changed your life? 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:27.220 Come on. Give Him glory. Give Him glory. Amen. 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:29.639 Amen. Before you sit down, turn to somebody and 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.160 give them a high five. Say, He's alive. High 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.300 five and He's alive. Amen. High five and He's 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:39.379 alive. Took me all week to come up with that. 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:42.860 Come on. If you got your Bibles this morning, 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.800 I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 27. And 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.180 we're going to go to verse 45. And while you're 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:50.019 going there in Scripture, and they're going to 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:51.339 bring it up on the screens for you, if you don't 00:07:51.339 --> 00:07:53.480 have a Bible with you, I'm going to pray. And 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:54.899 I'm going to pray that God touches our ears, 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:57.319 our hearts, and our mind as we get ready to receive 00:07:57.319 --> 00:07:59.649 the Word. You ready to pray? Father, we come 00:07:59.649 --> 00:08:01.189 to you right now in the matchless name of Jesus 00:08:01.189 --> 00:08:03.490 Christ. God, we ask that you would prepare our 00:08:03.490 --> 00:08:05.610 hearts, that you would prepare our minds. God, 00:08:05.730 --> 00:08:07.930 that you would prepare our ears. God, that we 00:08:07.930 --> 00:08:09.509 might hear your word. And God, that it might 00:08:09.509 --> 00:08:12.470 be an overflow this morning in our spirit. We 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:15.430 give you praise. We give you glory. In Jesus' 00:08:15.610 --> 00:08:18.629 name. And everybody said together. Amen, amen. 00:08:18.949 --> 00:08:22.009 Listen, I want to give you just a few details 00:08:22.009 --> 00:08:25.230 as we lead up to this portion of scripture, a 00:08:25.230 --> 00:08:28.129 few details that lead up to the crucifixion and 00:08:28.129 --> 00:08:30.930 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And in the 00:08:30.930 --> 00:08:34.210 course, in the course of one night, one night 00:08:34.210 --> 00:08:37.269 before Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus is brought before 00:08:37.269 --> 00:08:40.149 at least four religious slash political leaders 00:08:40.149 --> 00:08:43.590 following his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane 00:08:43.590 --> 00:08:46.169 while he's there praying and before the time 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:49.269 of his passion. He first ends up at Ananias, 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:51.870 the former high priest who holds an informal 00:08:51.870 --> 00:08:55.750 inquiry. Then they move him to see Caiaphas and 00:08:55.750 --> 00:08:59.009 the Sanhedrin. Well, Caiaphas is the high sitting 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:02.269 high priest at that time. All of them quite corrupt. 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.909 And Caiaphas brings them before the Sanhedrin, 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:09.409 which is, again, a group of leaders of Pharisees. 00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:12.850 They convene in the middle of the night to bring 00:09:12.850 --> 00:09:15.409 these false charges against Jesus to accuse him 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:18.870 of blasphemy. Because they don't want to do the 00:09:18.870 --> 00:09:21.789 dirty work of taking Jesus out, they then send 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:24.350 him to Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor for the 00:09:24.350 --> 00:09:29.549 area, who initially finds Jesus guiltless, but 00:09:29.549 --> 00:09:32.250 Pilate doesn't know what to do with him. So he 00:09:32.250 --> 00:09:35.470 sends him along to Herod Antipas, who is a local 00:09:35.470 --> 00:09:39.190 ruler who questions Jesus, finds out that he's 00:09:39.190 --> 00:09:40.950 not guilty and not sure what to do with him, 00:09:40.970 --> 00:09:44.460 sends him back. to Pontius Pilate. And Pontius 00:09:44.460 --> 00:09:49.000 Pilate reluctantly scourges Jesus. He has a Roman 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.340 scourging take place. And then because of the 00:09:51.340 --> 00:09:53.899 pressure from the scribes and the Pharisees and 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:56.960 the high priest, he condemns them. He condemns 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:01.179 Jesus to death by crucifixion. As they pass Jesus 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:04.179 around from religious political leader to religious 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.899 political leader, back and forth over the night, 00:10:06.980 --> 00:10:10.590 Jesus would suffer many beatings. He would be 00:10:10.590 --> 00:10:13.789 punched without mercy. He would be spit on. His 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.129 beard would be pulled out. He would be beaten 00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:18.549 down. He would be stripped naked. He would be 00:10:18.549 --> 00:10:21.250 mocked. He would be slapped. And the soldiers 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:24.509 that were there would wear themselves out beating 00:10:24.509 --> 00:10:26.570 on Jesus, literally would wear themselves out. 00:10:26.690 --> 00:10:30.850 And if that wasn't enough, being punished in 00:10:30.850 --> 00:10:34.450 this way for not being guilty, Pilate would order 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:38.049 Jesus to be scourged in an attempt to appease 00:10:38.049 --> 00:10:41.450 these Jewish leaders. Many died during a Roman 00:10:41.450 --> 00:10:44.429 scourging. A Roman scourging, what they would 00:10:44.429 --> 00:10:46.769 do is they would take whoever was accused. They 00:10:46.769 --> 00:10:49.940 would chain them to a cement column. Soldiers 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:53.379 who were skilled at what they would do in inflicting 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:55.940 pain, in the maximum amount of pain, they would 00:10:55.940 --> 00:10:58.779 take a whip who had long thongs or long strings 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:01.120 attached to them, and those strings would be 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.940 embedded in the end with either lead balls, glass, 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:07.679 bone, shards of metal. And what these soldiers 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.200 would do in a scourging, they would whip the 00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:13.419 person, and once it landed in the flesh, they 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:16.000 would tear backwards, ripping the flesh from 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.529 the bones, from the body. sinew and blood and 00:11:20.529 --> 00:11:24.389 tissue would be torn away many times till there 00:11:24.389 --> 00:11:27.190 was bone that was literally exposed from the 00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:30.389 individual. The person who suffered a scourging 00:11:30.389 --> 00:11:33.009 would have massive blood loss and their body 00:11:33.009 --> 00:11:35.509 would go into shock. And the Bible says that 00:11:35.509 --> 00:11:38.110 Jesus was so badly beaten that night that he 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:41.690 was unrecognizable as a man or a human. Once 00:11:41.690 --> 00:11:45.440 the beating stopped, Jesus would be forced. to 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:48.919 carry his cross down the Via Dolorosa to a hill 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.759 called Golgotha, the place of the skull. So weary 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.500 from blood loss and shocked to his body, they 00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:58.059 would pull a man named Simon out of the crowd 00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:01.019 to help Jesus carry the cross to the place where 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:03.639 he would die. They would lay him on the cross. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.779 They would pin him through his hands, typically 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:08.700 right at the wrist, at the base of the hand, 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:11.980 and through his feet. to the cross and would 00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:14.899 raise that cross into the air, suspending him 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:17.320 between heaven and earth. He would literally 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:21.600 die from slow blood loss and asphyxiation as 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:24.320 his body weight pulled down upon his arms and 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:28.039 squeezed on his lungs. The only way a person 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:30.179 who was in a crucifixion could get air was to 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:33.720 draw themselves up on those nails, pull themselves 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:37.850 up. But it did not take long. For those who were 00:12:37.850 --> 00:12:41.389 standing by and watching this gruesome torture 00:12:41.389 --> 00:12:44.730 take place to begin to realize that the man on 00:12:44.730 --> 00:12:48.049 the middle cross hanging between two actual criminals 00:12:48.049 --> 00:12:52.929 was no ordinary man at all. Those standing by, 00:12:53.049 --> 00:12:56.049 those who are witnessing this horror begin to 00:12:56.049 --> 00:12:59.970 realize that Jesus really is someone else. He's 00:12:59.970 --> 00:13:02.610 not just a man. He's the son of the living God. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:07.100 And in Matthew 27, 45, it says this. Now from 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:09.980 the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:12.539 darkness over all the land. Jesus is on the cross. 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:16.440 From noon till 3 p .m., there is no sunlight 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.480 that shines. God eclipses the sun and darkness 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:23.440 falls in the middle of the day. And about the 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.799 ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:29.480 saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabathnai. That is my 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:32.100 God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.080 those who stood there, when they heard what he 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.320 had said, this man is calling, they said, this 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.919 man is calling out for Elijah. Immediately, one 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.100 of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:43.740 sour wine and put it up on a reed and offered 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:46.340 it to him to drink. The rest said, let him alone. 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:48.940 Let us see if Elijah will come and save him. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:52.200 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:56.139 he yielded up his spirit. Jesus dies on the cross. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:58.899 From the torture, from the beating, from the 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:01.639 bleeding, from the shock to his body, he draws 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:06.159 his last. And then it begins to happen. Verse 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:17.899 51 says, Jesus dies on the cross. The sun is 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:20.759 covered over for three hours. The earth begins 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:23.320 to shake as he draws his last breath. It begins 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:26.379 to quake. And in the veil, in the temple in that 00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:29.580 area was a veil that was four inches thick and 00:14:29.580 --> 00:14:33.820 was almost 60 feet long. That veil stood between 00:14:33.820 --> 00:14:36.200 the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.980 dwelt and out into the outer part of the sanctuary 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:42.519 or the temple area. And nobody went behind that 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:44.879 veil. As a matter of fact, only one time a year, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:46.899 the high priest would go in to make atonement 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.299 for the people and behind that veil into the 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:51.559 Holy of Holies because God's presence dwelt there. 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:54.409 And God's presence was so stronger that the priest 00:14:54.409 --> 00:14:57.289 would have to atone for himself before he would 00:14:57.289 --> 00:14:59.210 go in and atone for the people. They would tie 00:14:59.210 --> 00:15:02.629 a rope to his legs, to his foot, and he would 00:15:02.629 --> 00:15:05.110 wear bells on the bottom of his robe. Because 00:15:05.110 --> 00:15:07.450 if he went in there in an unworthy manner, the 00:15:07.450 --> 00:15:09.769 presence of God would kill him. And they would 00:15:09.769 --> 00:15:14.169 just drag him out of that place. When Jesus died, 00:15:14.509 --> 00:15:17.889 the earth shook, and that veil was supernaturally 00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:22.210 split into representing... the presence of God, 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:26.629 representing access for anyone to the presence 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:29.289 of God. Until that time, only the high priest. 00:15:29.490 --> 00:15:32.710 Until that point, no one else could go in. Now, 00:15:32.710 --> 00:15:36.330 Jesus pays the way. This was no ordinary man. 00:15:36.830 --> 00:15:40.590 Look at what he's done. And it gets even crazier. 00:15:40.789 --> 00:15:44.090 Matthew 27, 52 says this, and the graves were 00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:46.250 open and many of the bodies of the saints. Now 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:48.789 this particular verse is looking forward just 00:15:48.789 --> 00:15:50.750 about three days when Jesus steps out of the 00:15:50.750 --> 00:15:53.110 tomb and says the graves were open and many bodies 00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:56.029 of the saints who had fallen asleep, died previously, 00:15:56.190 --> 00:15:58.649 were raised. And coming out of the graves after 00:15:58.649 --> 00:16:00.929 his resurrection, they went into the holiest 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:05.850 city and appeared to many. Man, look what he's 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:08.659 done. The saints who died previously to this 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:11.379 point, the word of God says that when Jesus came 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:14.899 out of the tomb, they came out of the tomb. See, 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:16.679 those who had died previously to this point, 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.620 they went to a place that was called paradise. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:20.899 They did not go right to heaven. There was a 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:23.919 holding place that was called paradise. And Jesus 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:27.120 goes in death and releases them. And when he 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:31.539 rises from the grave, they rise with him. And 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:33.639 they're walking around in the city. Now, I need 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:35.679 you to picture this just a little bit. Could 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:39.000 you imagine being in Jerusalem, right? The crucifixion's 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.019 taking place. Jesus has rose from the grave. 00:16:41.179 --> 00:16:43.480 You hear about that. You're walking down to get 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:45.960 yourself a Dunkin' Donuts, right? You need a 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:48.980 coffee in the morning. And a guy you saw die 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:51.539 last year, you attended his funeral, is walking 00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:54.100 down the street right towards you. How many know 00:16:54.100 --> 00:16:56.480 that'd freak you out just a little bit? Come 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:59.720 on, amen? It would me, right? I know I saw him, 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:02.039 right? You think you saw a vision. You thought 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:05.720 you'd see something. But the earth shook. Verse 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:08.960 54 says, let's go back to the cross. So when 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.599 the centurion and those with him who were guarding 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:14.079 Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:17.859 happened, they feared greatly, saying, truly, 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:23.359 this is the Son of God. A heathen Roman guard 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.160 who knows nothing of the God of the universe, 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:28.480 knows nothing of the God of Abraham and Isaac 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.970 and of Jacob. looks at Jesus on the cross when 00:17:31.970 --> 00:17:35.190 he dies and the earth shakes and the sun is blacked 00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:37.289 out for three hours. And he doesn't say, hmm, 00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:40.509 I wonder if that's the son of God, right? Or 00:17:40.509 --> 00:17:42.109 he doesn't say, hmm, I wonder if that's a king. 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:44.470 Because right above Jesus' head, they put a sign 00:17:44.470 --> 00:17:46.369 that said king of the Jews. He doesn't go, man, 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:48.849 maybe he was king of the Jews. He doesn't go, 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:50.730 well, I don't know, maybe he was just a great 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:53.750 man. Maybe he was a wizard. Maybe this, maybe 00:17:53.750 --> 00:17:57.700 that. A Roman soldier who knows nothing of God 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.720 looks at him and says, this is the son of God. 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.259 He probably has a bigger realization at that 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:07.099 moment that he just killed the son of God, right? 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.720 They're already starting to say, look what he's 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:14.420 done. Look what he's done. And if you go on in 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:18.599 verses 55 to 65, they take Jesus' body down from 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:21.980 the cross. They put it in a borrowed tomb. And 00:18:21.980 --> 00:18:24.859 the chief priests and the Pharisees who put Jesus 00:18:24.859 --> 00:18:27.559 on the cross in the first place with the accusations, 00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:30.099 they're worried. They're still worried. Jesus 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:32.779 is dead. He's in the grave. And they're still 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:35.119 going to Pilate and saying, you know, this guy, 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.900 we remember him saying something about rising 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:39.400 up three days later. Hey, Pilate, how about you 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:41.140 give us a couple guards? We're going to set a 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:43.609 couple guards outside the door. Of the tomb or 00:18:43.609 --> 00:18:45.809 outside the tomb. And by the way, can we seal 00:18:45.809 --> 00:18:48.849 that puppy up? Can we seal the rock that's there? 00:18:49.009 --> 00:18:52.269 And they're trying to super glue Jesus in, right? 00:18:52.349 --> 00:18:54.730 With death and hell. They're trying to super 00:18:54.730 --> 00:18:58.009 glue him in. And they know he's no ordinary man 00:18:58.009 --> 00:19:00.869 themselves, right? Pilate gives the okay and 00:19:00.869 --> 00:19:04.410 they seal Jesus in the tomb and they place soldiers 00:19:04.410 --> 00:19:08.420 outside of the tomb. Verse 28 and 1 says, now 00:19:08.420 --> 00:19:10.579 after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week 00:19:10.579 --> 00:19:13.579 began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:17.859 came to the tomb. And behold, man, God was into 00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:19.519 earthquakes right back at that moment, right? 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:22.900 And the earth, right? Great earthquake for an 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:25.619 angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came 00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:28.380 and rolled back the stone from the door and sat 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:31.019 on it. God only had to send one angel back. That's 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:33.720 all he needed. His countenance was like lightning 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:36.000 and his clothes as white as snow. And the guards 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.460 shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:40.720 They passed out. They are out on the ground. 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:43.220 You do not stand in God's presence. You do not 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:46.019 stand in the presence of God's messenger. If 00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:47.740 you don't know the Lord, he can put you on the 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:49.980 ground. Amen. If you do know the Lord, he can 00:19:49.980 --> 00:19:52.259 put you on the ground. But the angel answered 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:54.299 and said to the women, do not be afraid, for 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:56.400 I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 00:19:56.599 --> 00:20:00.359 He is not here, for he is risen. As he said, 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:03.200 come and see the place where the Lord lay. And 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.579 then go quickly and tell his disciples that he 00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:08.539 is risen from the dead, and indeed he is going 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:11.140 before you into Galilee. There you will see him. 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.119 Behold, I have told you. So they went out quickly 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:16.740 from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran 00:20:16.740 --> 00:20:20.849 to bring his disciples word. Two ladies. How 00:20:20.849 --> 00:20:23.450 many ladies? Jesus first appeared to the ladies. 00:20:23.589 --> 00:20:26.089 Amen? Come on. Amen. And the ladies in the house 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:30.269 said? Come on. Come on. There we go. Yeah, you're 00:20:30.269 --> 00:20:32.150 going to applaud. And as they went to tell his 00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:35.170 disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice. 00:20:35.450 --> 00:20:38.089 So they came and held him by his feet and worshiped 00:20:38.089 --> 00:20:41.329 him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. 00:20:41.650 --> 00:20:44.950 Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and 00:20:44.950 --> 00:20:49.049 there they will see me. Jesus steps out of the 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:53.960 grave. An angel shakes things loose. He breaks 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:57.480 the seal. Jesus is already out of there. He does 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.339 it so the rest of the world can see. He shakes 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:03.500 it. He quakes it. He breaks the seal. He rolls 00:21:03.500 --> 00:21:07.980 the stone away. And because Jesus goes in and 00:21:07.980 --> 00:21:10.900 conquers death, hell, and the grave, because 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:13.440 he pays the price to do that, how many know we 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:17.140 can too? And can I tell you something? This is 00:21:17.140 --> 00:21:21.039 only the tip. of the spiritual iceberg that begins 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:23.519 to break open at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:26.740 It is only a small portion. If you've ever seen 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:28.420 an iceberg, and they put a picture up there of 00:21:28.420 --> 00:21:31.420 one, right? An iceberg is a massive piece of 00:21:31.420 --> 00:21:33.900 ice that's underneath the water, and typically 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:37.619 all you see is the tip. All you see is what's 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:39.839 sticking out of the top, this little portion. 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:42.200 And ships know this because they won't go too 00:21:42.200 --> 00:21:44.000 close because they know they'll crash because 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.599 there's a massive piece of ice underneath. That's 00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:48.759 what the resurrection of Jesus Christ is. We 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.279 read it here, but Jesus steps out of the grave 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.740 and there is so much more happening. There's 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.220 so much more to all of what Jesus did. Yes, he 00:21:57.220 --> 00:22:00.039 conquers death, hell, and the grave. And we can 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:03.420 as well, right? Yes, he pays the full price for 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:06.759 God's wrath on sin. And he takes our place in 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:08.839 that. Yes, Jesus is stepping out of the grave 00:22:08.839 --> 00:22:11.640 and offers cleansing from my sin, freedom from 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:14.619 guilt and shame removed right by his broken body 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:17.819 and his spilled blood. Yes, now I'm exonerated 00:22:17.819 --> 00:22:20.619 of all charges as a result of my sin in the course 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:24.240 of a holy God. Now I'm free. Yes, Jesus set me 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:27.640 free through salvation and in him and sends the 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:30.180 Holy Spirit to live within me. These are just 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:33.339 a couple things. Holy Spirit comes and resides 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:36.539 in those who follow Christ. He's a guide. He's 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:39.000 an encourager. He's a coach. He's a convictor. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:42.160 He's a convincer. Yes, he promises me to never 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.900 leave me or never forsake me. Yes, eternal life 00:22:44.900 --> 00:22:48.440 in God's kingdom is now mine. Yes, kingdom citizenships. 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:51.480 My papers are stamped. They're sealed. Amen? 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:54.759 Come on. And they're mine because of the redemptive 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.599 work. One day, I will go to a place. You will 00:22:57.599 --> 00:22:59.769 go to a place in Christ. Where there is no death, 00:22:59.869 --> 00:23:02.250 there's no sickness, there's no godly decay, 00:23:02.410 --> 00:23:05.890 and there is no aging. Praise the God. Roy, if 00:23:05.890 --> 00:23:11.029 you're over 50, say amen. Come on. All you young 00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:12.190 people don't even know what we're talking about 00:23:12.190 --> 00:23:18.230 yet. And the list goes on and on with the iceberg. 00:23:19.109 --> 00:23:21.470 But I want to circle you around back to just 00:23:21.470 --> 00:23:24.349 one scripture that I read earlier. At the very 00:23:24.349 --> 00:23:28.539 end. Matthew 28 .10 says this, and Jesus said 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:33.160 to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren. 00:23:33.619 --> 00:23:38.019 Say my brethren. Go to Galilee, and there they 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:41.059 will see me. Jesus resurrects from the grave, 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:44.420 pierce the two women, right, Mary Magdalene and 00:23:44.420 --> 00:23:46.579 the other Mary, the Mary of James and Joseph, 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.720 and tells the women to go to tell the disciples, 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:55.059 tell my brethren. Brethren, here is not just 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:58.680 a term of endearment. That's not what this is 00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:01.700 just right here. This is not Jesus coming out 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.660 of the grave and saying, what's up, bro? All 00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:05.460 right? He's not just coming and saying, what's 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:08.079 up, bro? I busted out. That's not what he's doing 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:12.039 here. That's not the kind of term. And even this 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:14.980 terminology he's using, brother or brother, it's 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:17.359 not even in the context of like what you might 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:19.980 see with a group of military people, right? Who 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:21.920 have been through combat together. They've been 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:23.680 through strife and struggle together. They've 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.980 been through war together. And they're brothers, 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:27.779 right? They're a band of brothers. Oh, no, no, 00:24:27.819 --> 00:24:30.440 no. This goes so much deeper than that. This 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:32.759 runs so much wider than this. Because at the 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.539 cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:39.690 purchases. our adoption into the kingdom. Not 00:24:39.690 --> 00:24:43.230 just, hey, what's up, bro? Look what he's done. 00:24:43.390 --> 00:24:46.250 Through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus 00:24:46.250 --> 00:24:50.589 Christ, I can be adopted into the family of God. 00:24:50.690 --> 00:24:57.349 Not metaphorically, literally adopted in. One 00:24:57.349 --> 00:25:00.410 of the most astounding privileges offered to 00:25:00.410 --> 00:25:04.160 you and I. Through Jesus as Lord and Savior is 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:09.000 that the Father adopts us into his family. Brothers 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:13.559 and sisters of Jesus. Following the resurrection. 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:17.980 Jesus says this to his disciples. He's not talking 00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:20.400 to them as students. He's not talking to them 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:23.799 as mentees or trainees or underlings that are 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:26.940 underneath him or not even servants. He calls 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:33.130 them brothers. Tell them. I'm alive. Jesus purchased 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:37.309 my heavenly adoption papers when he stepped out 00:25:37.309 --> 00:25:40.750 of that grave. He paid an enormous price to do 00:25:40.750 --> 00:25:44.750 it. He paid with his blood. I don't know if you 00:25:44.750 --> 00:25:48.549 know this or not, but the average cost of having 00:25:48.549 --> 00:25:50.369 a child in the United States of America right 00:25:50.369 --> 00:25:53.369 now is somewhere between $2 ,500 and $3 ,000. 00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:57.039 The average out -of -pocket cost for a private 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.740 adoption in the U .S. is actually between $40 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:06.599 ,000 to $85 ,000 and more. Jesus paid way more. 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:12.160 He paid all of it. He gave his life for ours 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:16.539 so we could be adopted. The Father adopts us 00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:18.859 as sons and daughters through the finished work 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:21.940 of the cross of Christ, through faith in him. 00:26:22.430 --> 00:26:24.309 One of the most mind -blowing scriptures you're 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:26.329 ever going to read in the Bible is in Romans 00:26:26.329 --> 00:26:29.869 8, verse 15. It says this. So you have not received 00:26:29.869 --> 00:26:33.029 a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, 00:26:33.170 --> 00:26:35.990 you have received God's spirit when he adopted. 00:26:36.170 --> 00:26:39.309 Say adopted. Adopted you as his own children. 00:26:39.569 --> 00:26:43.369 Now we call him Abba Father. That's daddy, by 00:26:43.369 --> 00:26:46.589 the way. All right? Daddy God. For his spirit 00:26:46.589 --> 00:26:50.230 joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's 00:26:50.230 --> 00:26:53.990 children. And since we are his children, we are 00:26:53.990 --> 00:26:57.470 his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we 00:26:57.470 --> 00:27:01.230 are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share 00:27:01.230 --> 00:27:04.089 his glory, we must also share his suffering. 00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:08.329 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to 00:27:08.329 --> 00:27:11.670 the glory we will receive that he will reveal 00:27:11.670 --> 00:27:18.609 in us later. Heirs. Heirs carry the family name. 00:27:19.860 --> 00:27:23.220 Heirs have legal rights to the family's estate. 00:27:23.819 --> 00:27:27.359 Heirs carry the authority, the privilege, right, 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:30.099 and all the rights that the family can impart. 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:33.400 And in our case, we're not just heirs of some 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:36.240 other father figure that's out there somewhere 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.619 in the world that decided to adopt us. In our 00:27:38.619 --> 00:27:42.720 case, we're heirs to a king. And not just a king, 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:47.529 the king, the king of the universe. We share 00:27:47.529 --> 00:27:52.230 in his glory and we share in his suffering. We 00:27:52.230 --> 00:27:54.089 need to get our heads around what Jesus did for 00:27:54.089 --> 00:28:00.210 us. Look what he did. God, Jesus leaves heaven. 00:28:00.410 --> 00:28:03.890 He leaves the throne of heaven and comes to die 00:28:03.890 --> 00:28:08.930 so that I can be adopted. The father sends his 00:28:08.930 --> 00:28:14.549 only son to die so that he could have more sons 00:28:14.549 --> 00:28:19.180 and daughters. Full of privilege, rights, and 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:23.220 benefits. This is incredible on a Resurrection 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:27.299 Sunday. Worship team, if you'd come. Why is this 00:28:27.299 --> 00:28:32.039 so incredible? It is one thing to be invited 00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:35.920 to a home or into a kingdom. It is another thing 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:40.960 entirely to be a son or a daughter of the king 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:46.589 or that home. If after service today, you would 00:28:46.589 --> 00:28:49.029 happen to drive to my house and pull up into 00:28:49.029 --> 00:28:52.369 my driveway and just sit outside my garage door 00:28:52.369 --> 00:28:55.750 and try to hop on your phone and jump on my Wi 00:28:55.750 --> 00:28:58.230 -Fi, if you tried to find that, do you know what 00:28:58.230 --> 00:29:01.549 would pop up on your phone or your device? My 00:29:01.549 --> 00:29:05.970 Wi -Fi is called Kip's Kingdom. Yes, I named 00:29:05.970 --> 00:29:09.240 it. All right? Yeah, if you drive up in my driveway 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:10.740 sometime, you can just try to hop on your phone. 00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:13.960 It'll say Kip's Kingdom, all right? And by the 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:15.619 way, it is password protected, so you're not 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:20.539 getting in. And the reason I made it that, because 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:24.039 I'm the king, and Dixie's the queen in our house. 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:26.640 It's our kingdom, right? It's a small kingdom. 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:29.019 It's just a house. It's a little house. But it's 00:29:29.019 --> 00:29:31.829 our kingdom. And it's one thing if I would invite 00:29:31.829 --> 00:29:33.970 you to come in for a meal. And we would do our 00:29:33.970 --> 00:29:35.490 best. If we invited you to come in for a meal, 00:29:35.630 --> 00:29:38.230 well, Dixie would cook the meal because I'm a 00:29:38.230 --> 00:29:40.309 terrible cook. But she would come in. She would 00:29:40.309 --> 00:29:42.289 do her best. She would bring her best meal forward. 00:29:42.390 --> 00:29:44.170 We would do our best to wait on you and serve 00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:46.849 you. We would do our best to entertain you along 00:29:46.849 --> 00:29:49.150 the way. And that's a wonderful thing. But how 00:29:49.150 --> 00:29:51.369 many know that's a very different thing than 00:29:51.369 --> 00:29:55.730 if you're a child of mine? Amen? I'm sorry, you 00:29:55.730 --> 00:29:58.549 get rights. If I know you really well and I invite 00:29:58.549 --> 00:29:59.990 you to my house, I'll even let you root around 00:29:59.990 --> 00:30:02.569 my refrigerator, right? Get in my cabinets. But 00:30:02.569 --> 00:30:05.690 my children and my grandchildren, they got rights. 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:09.019 My children and grandchildren can come into the 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:11.599 house. They can grab anything they want. They 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:13.720 can use anything they want. They can get the 00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:15.839 keys to my car. Not the five -year -old, but 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:18.160 my children can. They're adults. They can get 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:20.740 the keys to my car, take it anywhere they want 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:23.160 to. As a matter of fact, I got official documentation 00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:25.500 at a lawyer that one day when I draw my last 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:28.660 breath, everything I have is theirs. I'm going 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:31.170 to give it all to them. Everything I got, everything 00:30:31.170 --> 00:30:33.190 in my bank accounts, everything sitting in my 00:30:33.190 --> 00:30:35.309 garage, everything sitting in my house, and they 00:30:35.309 --> 00:30:37.710 can do whatever they want with it. It is one 00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:40.869 thing to be invited. It is another thing to be 00:30:40.869 --> 00:30:43.990 a son or daughter of the Most High God. Amen? 00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:48.970 Come on. You got to know that. It's an entirely 00:30:48.970 --> 00:30:50.750 different thing. I'm going to ask you to stand 00:30:50.750 --> 00:30:54.170 this morning. Let me read you one more verse. 00:30:54.269 --> 00:30:57.410 1 John 3 says this. See how very much our Father 00:30:57.410 --> 00:31:00.809 loves us? For he calls us his children, and that 00:31:00.809 --> 00:31:03.569 is what we are. But the people who belong to 00:31:03.569 --> 00:31:05.930 this world don't recognize that we are God's 00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:08.750 children because they don't know him. Dear friends, 00:31:08.890 --> 00:31:11.650 we are already God's children, but he has not 00:31:11.650 --> 00:31:14.569 yet shown us what we will be like when Christ 00:31:14.569 --> 00:31:18.430 appears. But we do not know that we will be like 00:31:18.430 --> 00:31:23.299 him, heirs. For we will really see him as he 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:26.180 really is. And all have this eager expectation 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:30.460 will keep themselves pure just as he is pure. 00:31:31.859 --> 00:31:35.900 One day when Jesus returns for his, those who 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:39.200 are saved, we're going to see who we really are 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:43.839 in Jesus as heirs. We've barely began to scratch 00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:46.660 the surface of the iceberg of what that means 00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:50.599 in our hearts and lives. Jesus paid this. on 00:31:50.599 --> 00:31:53.119 the cross, and when he stepped out of the grave. 00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:56.019 And what if the worst thing in your life is not 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:59.059 only not the end of your story, but is an opportunity 00:31:59.059 --> 00:32:01.559 for the Heavenly Father to pull you into the 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:04.559 family and adopt you into his kingdom and give 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.160 you full rights and privileges that God has for 00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:09.759 you? What if today for you, if you don't know 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:14.480 Jesus, is adoption day? Amen? New birthday. New 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.170 birthday. What if the worst thing that you've 00:32:17.170 --> 00:32:20.150 ever done is only the catalyst, or the worst 00:32:20.150 --> 00:32:23.190 thing that's ever happened to you is only a catalyst 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:26.269 for the Father to come in and restore back to 00:32:26.269 --> 00:32:29.170 you everything that the enemy's stolen? What 00:32:29.170 --> 00:32:32.730 if that's the case? A king who holds endless 00:32:32.730 --> 00:32:36.990 resources for healing in his hands, and he's 00:32:36.990 --> 00:32:41.609 waiting to lavish it on his children. He's waiting 00:32:41.609 --> 00:32:46.009 to do it. Look what he's done. Look what he's 00:32:46.009 --> 00:33:17.480 done. It's incredible. www .lifehousecog .com.