1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,700 Welcome to the Harvest Centre! We are glad you're here today! 2 00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:34,060 Happy Easter everyone. It's nice to see you all here. You know this is the most important day of our 3 00:00:34,060 --> 00:00:41,380 calendar, Christian calendar if you want to like to call it this way. The day when Jesus resurrected 4 00:00:41,380 --> 00:00:48,900 it was the final word, the last chapter of the story that we started looking into last Friday. 5 00:00:48,900 --> 00:00:56,500 By the way, all those who were here on Friday night we spoke about how costly was the sacrifice 6 00:00:56,500 --> 00:01:03,380 of Jesus on the cross for each one of us, but today we are going to celebrate together because 7 00:01:03,380 --> 00:01:10,020 He has risen. Amen? Shall we give a round of applause to our Jesus because He has risen. 8 00:01:10,020 --> 00:01:20,260 He is among us today. He wants to bless our life. He wants to touch your life. If it is your first 9 00:01:20,260 --> 00:01:25,860 time here at the Harvest Center please feel welcome. I hope you will feel welcome. You will enjoy the 10 00:01:25,860 --> 00:01:31,300 service. I hope that God is going to speak to your life. He's going to touch your life because we 11 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:35,460 believe that He has risen for a reason. He's standing at the right hand of the Father, 12 00:01:35,460 --> 00:01:42,340 interceding for us, and in the meantime He has sent His Holy Spirit, you know, to work in us, 13 00:01:42,340 --> 00:01:47,940 through us, among us, and the Bible says that when two or three are gathered, when you gather in my 14 00:01:47,940 --> 00:01:52,260 name and two or three are gathered in my name, I'm going to be there with you. So we believe that the 15 00:01:52,260 --> 00:02:00,100 Holy Spirit is here among us. He wants to do good things in our life because He loves us and He wants 16 00:02:00,100 --> 00:02:06,740 to touch your life and my life today. Amen? So as we now start and we're just gonna, you know, 17 00:02:06,740 --> 00:02:13,860 spend some time in worship, I just want to invite you to open your heart today because Christ has 18 00:02:13,860 --> 00:02:20,900 reason from the dead because of you, because of the love that He had for you. He has a good plan, 19 00:02:20,900 --> 00:02:28,180 a good purpose for your life, and I want to invite you, I want to invite you today to receive what 20 00:02:28,180 --> 00:02:33,940 Jesus wants to do for you in your lives. So just before I go forward, just a couple of prayer 21 00:02:33,940 --> 00:02:39,540 points. Just keep in mind, you know, when you pray, mission trip to Uganda coming up on the 22 00:02:39,540 --> 00:02:44,020 19th of June. So as we now, you know, March, April is already gone, you know, in my mind. You're 23 00:02:44,020 --> 00:02:48,980 already May, June, so I really feel that this mission trip is coming up very quickly. So there's 24 00:02:48,980 --> 00:02:52,580 a team from the church who's gonna go in Uganda and we just keep them, you know, let's keep them 25 00:02:52,580 --> 00:02:57,540 in our prayers as they're gonna, you know, go and do the work of God there. If you want to know more, 26 00:02:57,540 --> 00:03:03,220 if you're new here and you're wondering what Uganda has to do with England, we support various 27 00:03:03,220 --> 00:03:07,780 projects abroad and Uganda is one of these projects. So if you want to know more information, 28 00:03:07,780 --> 00:03:11,620 you know, you can come and approach us. We will be able to give you all the information on this. 29 00:03:12,260 --> 00:03:18,580 As well, a massive thank you to all the people who came last Sunday to help out with the outreach. 30 00:03:18,580 --> 00:03:23,620 And let me tell you that people loved it. You know, we posted something on Facebook and just 31 00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:28,900 people, you know, they said thank you, you know, it was a great event and their kids enjoyed it. 32 00:03:28,900 --> 00:03:34,340 So yeah, thank you so much for, you know, for being available. It's like all what we do, we do it for 33 00:03:34,340 --> 00:03:41,140 the Lord. We do it for God. Never forget that. And the reward that is waiting for us, we cannot even 34 00:03:41,140 --> 00:03:48,900 imagine and quantify what that reward is gonna be. Now, of course, today is Easter. And as I said at 35 00:03:48,900 --> 00:03:55,460 the beginning, it's the most important day of the Christian calendar. If Christ would have not 36 00:03:55,460 --> 00:04:01,060 resurrected from the dead, it would have been pointless for us to be here today. The Christian 37 00:04:01,060 --> 00:04:06,740 faith would be pointless without Jesus resurrecting from the dead. And this is something that we 38 00:04:06,740 --> 00:04:11,460 posted, something on Facebook. We've got so many hundreds of thousands of religions in the world, 39 00:04:11,460 --> 00:04:16,340 but we have only one person who actually managed to defeat that, the death itself. And this person 40 00:04:16,340 --> 00:04:22,740 is Jesus Christ. And this is why we are here, because Easter, the message of Easter, the 41 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:27,780 resurrection is something that has changed everything. The way how we think, imagine, 42 00:04:27,780 --> 00:04:35,460 the way how, you know, our life was supposed to go. This, the resurrection of Christ has changed 43 00:04:35,460 --> 00:04:40,660 completely everything. But before, you know, going into details why it changed everything, 44 00:04:40,660 --> 00:04:46,500 I want to, you know, start by saying this. How many of you, you ever find yourself saying, life is 45 00:04:46,500 --> 00:04:52,420 not fair? Is it only me? No, our life or the situation is not fair, or like, oh, come on. 46 00:04:52,420 --> 00:04:56,980 You know, we go through these moments where, you know, we think that situation is getting a bit 47 00:04:56,980 --> 00:05:01,060 tough, and we come out with these sentences. We usually got different flavor. We say, our life 48 00:05:01,060 --> 00:05:04,820 is not fair. The situation is not fair. They've not been fair with me. My friends have not been 49 00:05:04,820 --> 00:05:09,460 fair with me. The colleagues have not been fair with me. Oh, nothing is fair to me. And, you know, 50 00:05:09,460 --> 00:05:14,180 different flavors. But if we're honest with ourselves, at some point, we all, you know, 51 00:05:15,220 --> 00:05:19,300 in our life, we all came up with these words. You know, we were facing a situation, and we 52 00:05:19,300 --> 00:05:23,540 thought that we didn't deserve that. We thought that, you know, after all what I've done. 53 00:05:24,740 --> 00:05:30,820 And we go and we say, I don't deserve that. And usually when you speak to people that are going 54 00:05:30,820 --> 00:05:36,180 through this moment where they say, you know, life is not fair, for example, when you talk to them, 55 00:05:36,180 --> 00:05:41,540 it's like usually the explanation that it gives you, it comes in these different words, you know, 56 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:46,740 different flavors. They say, well, you know, after all, I'm a good person. You know, I always try to 57 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:52,500 be good. I always try to help the poor, to help the needy. And I, you know, all what I want is a bit 58 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:57,780 of fairness towards me. But instead of receiving anything good, all what I receive is difficulties, 59 00:05:57,780 --> 00:06:02,660 problems, you know. And this is maybe not exactly the wording that people use, but it is, you know, 60 00:06:02,660 --> 00:06:08,740 different flavors with different structures. The sentence looks pretty much like that. But here, 61 00:06:08,740 --> 00:06:13,860 I'm here today because I want to challenge this way of thinking. I want to challenge this way of 62 00:06:13,860 --> 00:06:18,420 thinking. You know, we think that, you know, we are good. You know, I'm too good. You know, 63 00:06:18,420 --> 00:06:23,860 life is not fair. I don't deserve that. I want to challenge this way, this way of thinking. 64 00:06:24,420 --> 00:06:29,700 Because you see, if we look at the message of Easter, Easter actually, the resurrection of 65 00:06:29,700 --> 00:06:34,340 Jesus, that's really something that is not fair. And that's why, you know, there's a graphic coming 66 00:06:34,340 --> 00:06:40,900 up. That's what I call it today, a speech. It's like Easter is not fair. And, you know, I'm going 67 00:06:40,900 --> 00:06:44,420 to explain a little bit better what I mean by that. Because you might read a sentence, you might 68 00:06:44,420 --> 00:06:49,060 think, oh, that's a bit strange as a title for Easter Sunday. Easter is not fair. What do you mean? 69 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:53,300 Easter is beautiful, it's joyful. But, you know, believe it or not, the message of Easter, 70 00:06:53,300 --> 00:07:01,940 the resurrection of Jesus is not fair. And I'm going to say something more, praise God, 71 00:07:01,940 --> 00:07:07,300 because the resurrection of Jesus, the message of Easter is not fair to us. Praise God for that. 72 00:07:07,300 --> 00:07:13,300 Because, you know, it's like, as I said, we think we deserve things, but when it comes from God's 73 00:07:13,300 --> 00:07:21,380 perspective, it's like, what do we deserve? Yeah? What do we, so how do you assess in your life? 74 00:07:21,380 --> 00:07:25,060 How do you come to the conclusion that you are good and you deserve good things? 75 00:07:26,580 --> 00:07:31,380 You know, when we look into the Bible, the Bible speaks about man, the condition of man, 76 00:07:31,380 --> 00:07:36,980 and it actually very clearly says that we don't deserve nothing. We don't deserve anything. 77 00:07:38,660 --> 00:07:44,100 That really, you know, we are not good enough by any chance to deserve anything good from God 78 00:07:44,820 --> 00:07:49,780 on our own. And I just want to read, just to make it a point, Isaiah 64, verse 6, is a very known 79 00:07:49,780 --> 00:07:57,140 verse. It says, we are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, 80 00:07:57,700 --> 00:08:06,900 they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep 81 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:14,580 us away like the wind. Listen to this, when we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but 82 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:19,780 filthy rags. When we think, this is my righteous deeds, I'm good enough, I've done these, I've given, 83 00:08:19,780 --> 00:08:26,980 I've helped, I smile to people, I never acted, you know, in a way that I think is not proper. 84 00:08:28,180 --> 00:08:33,060 These are all my good deeds, the way why we think, but yet before God, before the perfection of God, 85 00:08:33,060 --> 00:08:38,500 all these things are like filthy rags. How strong is the language in the Bible here? But really, 86 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:40,980 God wants to make sure, look, you need to understand. 87 00:08:40,980 --> 00:08:46,660 Really, you don't deserve anything. There is no goodness in you that you couldn't deserve 88 00:08:46,660 --> 00:08:50,340 anything from me. There is no righteousness in your life that you can deserve anything. 89 00:08:51,300 --> 00:08:58,420 Romans 3, 23, for everyone who has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standards. 90 00:08:59,860 --> 00:09:03,380 God has some standards, isn't that, you know, have you ever thought about that? 91 00:09:03,380 --> 00:09:07,460 And somehow, we all fall short of God's glorious standards. 92 00:09:07,460 --> 00:09:13,540 And somehow, we all fall short of God's glorious standards. Yet God, in His grace, 93 00:09:14,420 --> 00:09:20,420 freely make us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus, when He freed us from the 94 00:09:20,420 --> 00:09:27,140 penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin, and that's the message of 95 00:09:27,140 --> 00:09:33,060 Easter, right? People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, 96 00:09:33,060 --> 00:09:39,540 shedding his blood. Again, everyone has sinned. Everyone means everyone, nobody's excluded. 97 00:09:39,540 --> 00:09:47,860 We all fall short of God's glorious standards. Think about that word. God does not only have 98 00:09:47,860 --> 00:09:54,980 standards, but His standards are glorious. Sometimes we think God is like, I don't know, 99 00:09:54,980 --> 00:09:59,220 our imagination, but actually, God has some glorious standards, whatever that means, 100 00:09:59,220 --> 00:10:04,180 the perfection, the level of perfection that we cannot even start to imagine, and we all 101 00:10:04,820 --> 00:10:14,260 fall short of these. So what do we deserve, really? What do we deserve with our life if we all fall 102 00:10:14,260 --> 00:10:20,100 short of God's glorious standards? What do we deserve if even our best righteous acts that we 103 00:10:20,100 --> 00:10:28,660 can ever do in our life, you know, to the eyes of God are like filthy rags? And this is the message 104 00:10:28,660 --> 00:10:34,740 of grace. Really, we receive something different than what we deserve, and this is why Easter is 105 00:10:34,740 --> 00:10:39,700 not fair, because through Easter, through the resurrection of Christ, you're actually 106 00:10:39,700 --> 00:10:45,620 receiving something that you don't deserve. Easter is not fair, because you know, if it was not for 107 00:10:45,620 --> 00:10:52,660 Christ, what we would deserve, it was to be lost forever, far away from God, in a place that we 108 00:10:52,660 --> 00:10:57,140 call, and the Bible calls hell and different names, but that would have been our destiny, 109 00:10:57,140 --> 00:11:02,260 but as we read in Romans, Jesus, you know, His plan was to save us through the person of Jesus, 110 00:11:02,260 --> 00:11:09,060 He came, He died, He was resurrected, so that through Him, we could actually experience the, 111 00:11:09,060 --> 00:11:17,540 you know, the presence of God. So really, the resurrection of Jesus takes away from us 112 00:11:17,540 --> 00:11:24,260 what we deserve, and He's giving us in exchange something that we don't deserve. He takes away 113 00:11:24,260 --> 00:11:30,340 the penalty of sin, and He gives away grace, love, something that surely we don't deserve, 114 00:11:30,340 --> 00:11:35,300 because of what we do in our life. He gives us salvation instead of wrath. 115 00:11:37,380 --> 00:11:45,220 We were destined to wrath. The wrath of God was upon us, but God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on 116 00:11:45,220 --> 00:11:49,860 the cross. He resurrected Him so that through Him, you know, He could give us in exchange 117 00:11:49,860 --> 00:11:58,980 something that we don't deserve, but it was good for us. Jesus, He didn't get what He deserved. 118 00:11:58,980 --> 00:12:05,060 If there was one person ever existed on earth that really deserved something good from God, 119 00:12:05,060 --> 00:12:10,180 that was the person, Godfather, that was the person of Jesus. He was the Son of God, the King of Kings, 120 00:12:10,180 --> 00:12:15,220 He relived the perfect life, never sinned, never messed up, always blessed people, always helped 121 00:12:15,220 --> 00:12:22,820 people. Sin was not present in His life. He was a good King, the King of Kings, and yet He didn't get 122 00:12:22,820 --> 00:12:27,140 what really, really what He deserved. You think about, you know, you think about a King, and a 123 00:12:27,140 --> 00:12:33,540 King has a golden crown on His head, but we know what Jesus had is that. He had a crown of thorns. 124 00:12:34,580 --> 00:12:40,100 A good King, you know, sits on the throne, in the throne room. Have you ever seen this movie? It's a 125 00:12:40,100 --> 00:12:45,460 throne room, massive thrones, bigger the thrones, bigger the King, but yet Jesus didn't sit on the 126 00:12:45,460 --> 00:12:53,220 throne. He was hanging on a cross. A good King surely should be surrounded by servants, 127 00:12:55,380 --> 00:13:00,980 but yet, you know, Jesus, when He gave His life on the cross, He was surrounded by thieves. So 128 00:13:00,980 --> 00:13:06,260 really, He was the good King, that He deserved something, and yet He decided to leave all these 129 00:13:06,260 --> 00:13:15,060 things, because His mission was to save as Jesus deserved, a King deserved an honorable death. 130 00:13:15,860 --> 00:13:20,900 A good King, you know, again, you know, is, if you go back in history and you see when Kings were 131 00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:25,940 important and famous, you know, when there was a funeral, it was a massive thing happening 132 00:13:26,580 --> 00:13:31,060 in different cultures, with different flavors, but it was always a massive event, but yet Jesus 133 00:13:31,060 --> 00:13:37,220 didn't get a good, an honorable death, but He got a death that was very shameful. He died on the cross 134 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:42,500 for us, and you know, Friday night, we went through all these, the steps that Christ had to go through. 135 00:13:43,060 --> 00:13:47,780 Surely all the things that He had to go through was not fair to Him, but yet, because He loved 136 00:13:47,780 --> 00:13:52,740 us, He decided, you know what, I'm going to go through this, so that you can deserve today, 137 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:58,740 so that you can receive today what you don't deserve. The message of Easter isn't fair, 138 00:13:58,740 --> 00:14:04,420 the message of Easter isn't fair. Jesus died on the cross, and I just, you know, wrote a few 139 00:14:04,420 --> 00:14:08,900 pointers here, you know, we spoke very in depth on Friday night, so I'm not going to say much 140 00:14:08,900 --> 00:14:14,980 about this, but I just want to, you know, say a few things about the cross. It was the worst, 141 00:14:15,700 --> 00:14:20,340 you know, when you had to die, when they were telling you, you're going to go hang up on the 142 00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:25,140 cross, it was the worst things that could have happened to you, when it were under the Roman, 143 00:14:25,140 --> 00:14:32,100 a Roman, sorry, a ruling system, the death on the cross was something that was reserved to the most 144 00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:39,300 dangerous, the most despicable criminals. It was terrible, you know, there was a process leading up 145 00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:47,860 on the cross, and Christ went through this process, He was whipped, with His whip, it was like, 146 00:14:47,860 --> 00:14:52,740 it was made with the metals bit and glasses, you know, this is actually, if you Google it, 147 00:14:52,740 --> 00:14:57,300 Romans whip, how they were doing it, prisoners, you know, who were going to die, it was something 148 00:14:57,300 --> 00:15:02,500 terrible, it was, you know, and they would hit you so strong that literally the flesh would come off 149 00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:07,540 the back of the person because of these sharp metals and glass, so they would rip apart the 150 00:15:07,540 --> 00:15:13,460 flesh, so you can even imagine, you can imagine, you can have an idea of how painful that was, 151 00:15:14,660 --> 00:15:20,180 loss of blood, the state of shock that Christ had to go through, and then He was stripped naked, 152 00:15:20,180 --> 00:15:27,540 and He was putting a cross, and maybe this is not something that is like, is that, you know, like 153 00:15:27,540 --> 00:15:30,820 it's not so important for us, right, you know, we live in a world where people go around naked, 154 00:15:30,820 --> 00:15:37,620 so it's not a big deal, but actually in that culture, it was something extremely shameful, 155 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:44,420 extremely shameful, and Jesus was stripped naked, it was just the other, like something to cover 156 00:15:44,420 --> 00:15:51,860 His private, but still there was like a shameful, shameful death, there was no honor when He was 157 00:15:51,860 --> 00:15:57,620 hanging on the cross, the Son of God, the King of Kings, the One who deserved only good things, and 158 00:15:57,620 --> 00:16:04,260 yet after being, He was beaten, and after He was whipped in His back, and blood was going everywhere, 159 00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:08,660 He was, you know, stripped naked, and was hanging in the cross, He was nailed on the cross, 160 00:16:08,660 --> 00:16:15,220 seven inches, you know, the length of the nails, and usually on the cross, you know, the goal in 161 00:16:15,220 --> 00:16:19,220 the cross was to cause a slow death, you would actually die by 162 00:16:20,740 --> 00:16:26,260 asphyxiation most of the times, it was because, you know, sorry for the descriptions, but when you 163 00:16:26,260 --> 00:16:31,220 were hanging on the cross, you know, all your weight was on your chest, and you couldn't breathe 164 00:16:31,220 --> 00:16:36,020 properly, and the only way for you if you wanted to breathe was to push on your feet, so that you 165 00:16:36,020 --> 00:16:40,740 could, you know, release your chest and start breathing properly, but the problem is of course 166 00:16:40,740 --> 00:16:45,860 there were nails in the feet of the people, so it was very painful, they couldn't do this move, 167 00:16:45,860 --> 00:16:51,460 so they were slowly and in pain, you know, either died because of the blood loss, or because they 168 00:16:51,460 --> 00:16:56,660 couldn't breathe anymore, and in fact when the Romans were actually moved to compassion, 169 00:16:56,660 --> 00:17:01,620 what they would do, they would go and break the legs of the people who were hanging on the cross, 170 00:17:01,620 --> 00:17:07,780 because by doing that with the broken legs, they couldn't lift themselves up anymore, and death was 171 00:17:07,780 --> 00:17:12,180 quickened a little bit, you know, that was not the case of Jesus, but this is, you know, what they 172 00:17:12,180 --> 00:17:16,980 used to do, so cross, the cross of Jesus was something painful, the cross of Jesus was something 173 00:17:16,980 --> 00:17:23,220 shameful, because He wanted to give something to you and me that we didn't deserve in the first place. 174 00:17:24,260 --> 00:17:30,820 Easter is not fair, right, thank God for that, in a sense, you know, because we are saved through 175 00:17:30,820 --> 00:17:39,060 a message that is not fair, and then we know the story, in a, in a, sorry actually before we carry 176 00:17:39,060 --> 00:17:44,980 on, dying on the cross, it was also, we spoke about this on Friday, there was the spiritual 177 00:17:44,980 --> 00:17:50,420 element, it was not just the physical, it was not just the shame, so the mental, you know, stress, 178 00:17:50,420 --> 00:17:55,380 but there was a spiritual element, because God, Jesus was separated from His Father, plus as well 179 00:17:55,380 --> 00:18:00,340 according to God's law in the Old Testament, the person who was hanging on the pole on a cross, 180 00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:06,740 it was, it was like someone who was cursed. Galatians 3, chapter 3, verse 13, that was 181 00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:13,140 quoting from Deuteronomy 21, 23, we read the following, Christ redeems us from the curse 182 00:18:13,140 --> 00:18:19,540 of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. 183 00:18:20,340 --> 00:18:25,940 So you see that when Christ died on the cross, it was the physical pain, it was the mental pain, 184 00:18:25,940 --> 00:18:31,700 emotional pain, the shame, but as well there was the spiritual pain, separated from God, 185 00:18:31,700 --> 00:18:37,300 taking the curse of sin upon Himself. So you think that life is not fair to you. 186 00:18:39,380 --> 00:18:43,220 So you think, next time when you, when you say, oh life is not fair to me, 187 00:18:44,420 --> 00:18:48,420 I haven't done anything wrong, I want to invite you to think about the person of Jesus, 188 00:18:48,420 --> 00:18:56,260 because if life is not fair to you and me, how about Jesus? What would Jesus had to say? Yet He 189 00:18:56,260 --> 00:19:04,820 endured everything because He loved us. And then we left here on Friday, but then we know that, 190 00:19:05,380 --> 00:19:12,020 of course after three days something miraculous happened, the resurrection of Jesus. And I 191 00:19:12,020 --> 00:19:16,740 really said a number of times that the resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing that 192 00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:23,300 we have as Christians. If the resurrection of Jesus wasn't there, then our faith would be 193 00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:26,900 pointless. And maybe you don't know the Bible very well, you think, well these are a bit of strong 194 00:19:26,900 --> 00:19:30,660 words, but actually these words come from the Bible, and I just want to read them to you. 195 00:19:30,660 --> 00:19:38,980 1 Corinthians 15, 14, chapter 15 verse 14, Paul writes, and if Christ has not been raised, 196 00:19:38,980 --> 00:19:44,660 our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. So this is the Bible. 197 00:19:44,660 --> 00:19:50,180 You know, if Christ was not risen, why am I speaking here today? What's the point of your faith? 198 00:19:50,820 --> 00:19:57,780 It would be something just like anybody, anything else that you can come across in life. But what 199 00:19:57,780 --> 00:20:03,940 makes Christianity unique, what makes the person of Jesus unique, that He actually, you know, 200 00:20:03,940 --> 00:20:10,820 He came back, He was resurrected from the dead. He died so that we could leave. In Romans 3 verses 201 00:20:10,820 --> 00:20:16,580 23 to 25, again it says, for everyone has seen, we all for short of God's glorious standard, 202 00:20:16,580 --> 00:20:22,580 what we read before, and I'm going to read again. Yet God in His grace freely make us right in His 203 00:20:22,580 --> 00:20:29,140 sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God 204 00:20:29,140 --> 00:20:35,940 presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus 205 00:20:35,940 --> 00:20:42,740 sacrificed His life shedding His blood. Do you believe in Jesus today? Do you believe in what 206 00:20:42,740 --> 00:20:47,300 He has done on the cross? Because you see that's for you, is that, you know, if you want to really 207 00:20:47,300 --> 00:20:52,100 to make this resurrection, if you want really to make the Easter message something relevant in your 208 00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:57,220 life, the way, the only way for you to do that is to believe in the person of Jesus, what He has done 209 00:20:57,220 --> 00:21:02,100 on the cross, that He has died for you, for your sins, and therefore because of Him, you are 210 00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:08,660 forgiven. Because of what Christ has done, the guilt and the wrath of God, it was a point of life has 211 00:21:08,660 --> 00:21:14,740 been taken away and was put upon Himself. And you know, you keep on looking at the picture of Jesus, 212 00:21:14,740 --> 00:21:18,980 you know, dying on the cross, and there are so many details that we can go through, and I don't 213 00:21:18,980 --> 00:21:23,540 know if you ever paid attention to that, that there were three people actually on the Golgotha. 214 00:21:23,540 --> 00:21:28,500 It was Jesus, and there were two, and then there was Jesus, and then there was Jesus, and then there 215 00:21:28,500 --> 00:21:33,300 were three people actually on the Golgotha. It was Jesus, and there were two other men next to Him, 216 00:21:33,300 --> 00:21:39,460 and two other crosses, the two thieves. And I want to just say a few words here, 217 00:21:42,020 --> 00:21:47,220 because you see numbers are very significant in the Bible, and for example, you know, I've 218 00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:52,900 wrote a few down, so you can have an idea where I'm going. There is number one in the Bible, 219 00:21:52,900 --> 00:21:56,900 there's actually all, you know, a subject, you know, when you study theology, you can actually 220 00:21:56,900 --> 00:22:04,340 study Bible numerology. Number one is the number of unity. God is represented in unity between, 221 00:22:04,340 --> 00:22:08,740 you know, the God, the Father, the Son, you know, the person of God unique. It cannot, number one, 222 00:22:08,740 --> 00:22:12,980 it cannot be divided, you know that mathematically. It can only be divided by itself. 223 00:22:14,580 --> 00:22:18,260 The oldness of God. Number four, for example, it represents the earth, 224 00:22:19,780 --> 00:22:23,860 the creation week, and on the fourth day, all the earth was created, you know, and then, 225 00:22:23,860 --> 00:22:28,660 you know, we start with life, and the universe was created. Number seven is the number of 226 00:22:28,660 --> 00:22:34,500 perfection. Number six is the weakness, represents man, the weakness of man, the evilness of man. 227 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:41,140 Man was created in the sixth day. Number eight represents new beginning. Number 40, for example, 228 00:22:41,140 --> 00:22:45,620 represents testing and trials. We've got 40 years in the wilderness, the people of Israel. We've 229 00:22:45,620 --> 00:22:53,060 got 40 days in the desert when Jesus was tempted. And of course, in the Old Testament, the flood, 230 00:22:53,060 --> 00:22:59,540 you know, Noah's, it was raining for 40 days. But then we go to number three, and I want to stop 231 00:22:59,540 --> 00:23:04,260 here a little bit because there were three people in that Golgotha. Three is the number of wholeness, 232 00:23:04,260 --> 00:23:13,380 is the number of completion. And so, when you look at Golgotha, there was the complete picture 233 00:23:14,260 --> 00:23:19,460 of the relationship between God and man, what he had done for humanity, and what people do with 234 00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:24,900 what he has done for humanity, the different choices they can make. It was the complete message. 235 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:28,820 But before, you know, going into that, I just want to, you know, very quickly again, 236 00:23:28,820 --> 00:23:34,420 going through a list here. You know, Google is wonderful. You can just, you know, write number 237 00:23:34,420 --> 00:23:38,660 three in the Bible, and bam, comes up with a list. You maybe never done it yourself. I'm going to 238 00:23:38,660 --> 00:23:44,740 give you some details here. Number three in the Bible, remember, number of completion, wholeness, 239 00:23:44,740 --> 00:23:50,420 and now we go with the number three in the Bible. God is the Trinity, three in one, God is the Father, 240 00:23:50,420 --> 00:23:55,620 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Man, we are three in nature, we've got body, soul, and spirit. 241 00:23:56,500 --> 00:24:02,180 God's nature is made of three main elements. He is omnipresent, you know, presence everywhere, 242 00:24:02,180 --> 00:24:07,940 omniscient, you know, all-knowing God, and omnipotent, all-powerful God. Revelation 1, 243 00:24:07,940 --> 00:24:13,460 8, God says of himself that he is the God who was, who is, and who is to come. 244 00:24:13,460 --> 00:24:17,460 God's grace was manifest, is manifested through justification, sanctification, 245 00:24:17,460 --> 00:24:23,140 and then one day will be glorified, you know, with God in heaven. Old Testament, the number three 246 00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:30,980 in the Old Testament, there were three patriarchs, or fathers of the faith, Old Testament, Hebrew 247 00:24:30,980 --> 00:24:36,180 people, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The tabernacle, there were three sections, outer court, inner 248 00:24:36,180 --> 00:24:42,420 court, and the holy of holies. The angels cried out to God three times, holy, holy, holy. 249 00:24:42,420 --> 00:24:46,580 Daniel prayed three times a day. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days. 250 00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:51,300 New Testament, there's 27 books about, which is, by the way, three multiplied by three, 251 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:57,460 multiplied by three is 27. The Apostle Paul was blinded for three days when he had an encounter 252 00:24:57,460 --> 00:25:02,660 with Jesus on his way to Damascus. Paul prayed three times for his thorn to be removed from his 253 00:25:02,660 --> 00:25:11,060 flesh. And on his journey to Rome, Paul was stranded on Malta Island for three months after 254 00:25:11,060 --> 00:25:15,940 being shipwrecked. About the person of Jesus, at his birth he was visited by the wise men who 255 00:25:15,940 --> 00:25:22,740 brought three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When he was 12 years old, he was separated from 256 00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:29,700 his parents for three days. His public ministry lasted for three years, started when he was 30, 257 00:25:29,700 --> 00:25:36,020 ended up when he was 33. Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert. There were 12 258 00:25:36,020 --> 00:25:41,780 disciples, but actually three of them were part of the inner circle of Jesus. And it was Peter, 259 00:25:41,780 --> 00:25:45,780 James, and John, there were those who were present at the transfiguration, for example. 260 00:25:47,780 --> 00:25:52,740 Jesus predicted Peter that he would have denied him three times. Three times Jesus told Peter, 261 00:25:52,740 --> 00:25:55,700 you're going to betray me, you're going to betray me, you're going to betray me for three times. 262 00:25:55,700 --> 00:26:02,820 And guess what? This is exactly what happened. Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus expressed 263 00:26:02,820 --> 00:26:07,540 love and grace by asking Simon Peter if he loved him. Do you love me? Do you remember when he was 264 00:26:07,540 --> 00:26:14,020 asking to Simon Peter? He asked him three times. God spoke audibly to Jesus three times, when Jesus 265 00:26:14,020 --> 00:26:20,580 was baptized at the transfiguration and before his crucifixion in John 12. Jesus was raised, 266 00:26:21,380 --> 00:26:25,780 sorry, Jesus raised three people from the dead that we know in the Bible. There is Lazarus, 267 00:26:25,780 --> 00:26:30,580 the widow's son, and Jairus' daughter. And then we come to Jesus in the cross. 268 00:26:30,580 --> 00:26:39,940 Jesus prayed three times in the garden of Gethsemane before dying on the cross. And then 269 00:26:39,940 --> 00:26:45,220 tradition, this is not the Bible, but tradition says that while he was carrying the cross to the 270 00:26:46,100 --> 00:26:51,060 mountain of Golgotha, he actually fell three times while carrying his cross. 271 00:26:52,340 --> 00:26:56,420 The sign that he had above his head was King of the Jews, was written in three languages. 272 00:26:56,420 --> 00:27:03,460 It was Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Was one of the three men who actually hung on the cross. 273 00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:09,220 We said, Jesus, you were only three people on the Golgotha. And then he was placed on the cross. 274 00:27:09,220 --> 00:27:14,020 And at the third hour, actually, on the third hour of the day, and at the ninth hour, which would be 275 00:27:14,020 --> 00:27:20,820 the 3 p.m. in the Western kind of system, declared the three words of victory, he is finished. 276 00:27:20,820 --> 00:27:27,780 The earth trembled, darkness fell on the land for three hours. The world waited. Day one, 277 00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:31,940 nothing happened. Day two, nothing happened. Day three, of course, something wonderful happened. 278 00:27:31,940 --> 00:27:39,700 The stone was rolled away, and Jesus came back to life. So you see three times, three, three, 279 00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:45,620 three. In the Bible, and there is more, by the way, you know, I'm just taking a few. Number of 280 00:27:45,620 --> 00:27:51,300 completion, of wholeness. And on the Golgotha, there were three people there. And it was like 281 00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:56,980 it was Jesus. You remember how the story was going? There was Jesus there dying for them, 282 00:27:56,980 --> 00:28:01,540 and there were two thieves next to him. We don't know why, the reason why they were there. 283 00:28:01,540 --> 00:28:04,660 You know, for sure, they were guilty of something terrible, otherwise they wouldn't be there. 284 00:28:05,460 --> 00:28:09,700 And one of them, it was actually mocking Jesus, saying, you know, come on, if you are the Son of 285 00:28:09,700 --> 00:28:14,340 God, you know, do something here. You know, you can do like that. And he could, if he wanted to. 286 00:28:14,340 --> 00:28:19,220 Just, you know, bring us down from this cross. But then there was the other man who actually said, 287 00:28:19,220 --> 00:28:25,220 you know, he had a different approach. So in Luke 23 verse 39, we said, we need that one of these 288 00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:32,500 two criminals who hung there, hurled the salt at him, all into the Messiah, save yourself and us. 289 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:38,900 And this is a representative, if you want, you know, the pride of man, the aspect of man where 290 00:28:38,900 --> 00:28:46,820 it's like, you know, I'm not sure if to say that it could be a bit controversial, but it was like, 291 00:28:46,820 --> 00:28:50,260 you know, I came across, because Easter, then the people who don't like Christians, they make a lot 292 00:28:50,260 --> 00:28:55,540 of comments, you know. And let's say they were just so full of pride, if Christ had raised from the 293 00:28:55,540 --> 00:29:03,700 dead, you know, they were speaking, you know, I'm not going to say that, it could be controversial. 294 00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:09,220 But anyway, it's like, you know, people are like, you know, that prideful attitude, that's not Christ, 295 00:29:09,220 --> 00:29:14,660 you know, if Christ was raised from the dead, you know, come on, you know, come out from the cross, 296 00:29:14,660 --> 00:29:18,820 do something here. And this is exactly the attitude of people, you know, Jesus, if you are there, why 297 00:29:18,820 --> 00:29:23,060 don't you solve this? Jesus, if you are there, why, you know, the world is in this place? Jesus, 298 00:29:23,060 --> 00:29:27,220 if you are there, it's Jesus fault for everything, you know, there is that pride coming out. If I was 299 00:29:27,220 --> 00:29:31,220 God, I would do better. If I was you, if I could do anything, I would do this and this and change 300 00:29:31,220 --> 00:29:36,100 that and that. The pride, you know, prideful attitude, that what it does, it just pulls away 301 00:29:36,100 --> 00:29:41,220 people from God. Yeah. But then there was the other man who was hanging on the cross in kind of, 302 00:29:41,220 --> 00:29:47,060 it looks 23, 40, 42, and this is what he said. But the other criminal rebuked him to the other guy, 303 00:29:47,060 --> 00:29:52,820 and he said, don't you fear God, he said, since you're under the same sentence, we are punished 304 00:29:52,820 --> 00:29:58,740 justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve. Then he said, Jesus, remember him when you come 305 00:29:58,740 --> 00:30:02,740 to your kingdom. So the other man was actually the understanding, look, we are here because we 306 00:30:02,740 --> 00:30:08,420 deserve that. Come on, let's not pretend that we are good, that we are good, that we've been unjustly 307 00:30:08,420 --> 00:30:12,180 accused, you know, you know the reason why you're hanging on the cross. How do you even dare 308 00:30:12,740 --> 00:30:18,020 speaking like this to the, you know, to the son of God? And this is, you know, the humble heart, 309 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:22,100 as well as actually people that, you know, and I hope that you will come to an understanding that 310 00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:28,100 you understand that, you know, you don't deserve anything as such. The Christ has done everything 311 00:30:28,100 --> 00:30:33,060 for us, anything, everything comes from, you know, from God, and it's for God because of his, you 312 00:30:33,060 --> 00:30:36,820 know, of the love that he asks for you. But you need to have that understanding first that, you 313 00:30:36,820 --> 00:30:44,980 know, I'm not good enough, I don't deserve anything. Lord, I need you in my life. So do not have a 314 00:30:44,980 --> 00:30:49,780 pride, a prideful heart, but have a humble heart. If you want to seek God with all your heart, 315 00:30:49,780 --> 00:30:54,500 have a humble heart. And then of course it was Jesus to complete the picture in verse 316 00:30:54,500 --> 00:31:00,020 23, or always the same chapter, Luke 23. And Jesus answered to him, to the humble man, 317 00:31:00,020 --> 00:31:04,820 remember when he said, will you please just remember me when you get into your, into the 318 00:31:04,820 --> 00:31:09,940 kingdom, into heaven. And Jesus answered him, truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. 319 00:31:10,980 --> 00:31:16,820 And you see the grace of God, the answers to a humble heart. So when we look at the gold Gotham, 320 00:31:16,820 --> 00:31:21,060 when we look at the three people dying on the cross, it was the son of God who was dying for 321 00:31:21,060 --> 00:31:26,180 the scene of the world. And it was the pride of the prideful thief that, you know, according to 322 00:31:26,180 --> 00:31:31,380 him that everything was, you know, was due to him. Everything was granted, had to be granted for him 323 00:31:31,380 --> 00:31:35,940 for whatever reason. And he was challenging Jesus, just do something about the situation. 324 00:31:35,940 --> 00:31:40,020 And then you had the other one who actually had a humble heart. And he said, come on, shut up. 325 00:31:40,020 --> 00:31:46,980 We are here because you know, we deserve that. And he was like humbling himself, I deserve that. 326 00:31:46,980 --> 00:31:51,380 When is the last time that instead of saying, you know, I don't deserve this from life, 327 00:31:51,380 --> 00:31:58,020 maybe you said, you know what, God, I just need you in my life. Maybe after all, I deserve this. 328 00:31:58,020 --> 00:32:02,260 Because even if you're honest with ourselves, you know, a lot of things in life that we go through is, 329 00:32:02,260 --> 00:32:05,860 we face certain things because of habits that we have. 330 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:13,780 It's like, it's like the man who spent his life with a woman smoking cigarettes and then gets cancer 331 00:32:13,780 --> 00:32:21,380 in his lungs. He said, oh, life is not fair. Why I cannot be that person? Really? 332 00:32:23,220 --> 00:32:29,300 God, will you do something? Will you, will you heal me? Heal my lungs? 333 00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:34,740 Really? You know, sometimes we find ourselves in a situation because we, we fabricate the situation 334 00:32:34,740 --> 00:32:40,500 around us. So we need to have the humbleness of say, look, after all, maybe I deserve this, but God, 335 00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:44,180 have mercy on me. The humble heart. And then there is the answer of God. You know, the, 336 00:32:44,180 --> 00:32:51,220 as I said, completes the picture. Yes, I will remember you. You will be with me in paradise today. 337 00:32:51,220 --> 00:32:57,380 You see this, this all what Jesus displayed there was just grace. History is not fair. I mean, 338 00:32:57,380 --> 00:33:02,500 that was, that man spent his life as a criminal. He was about to die. He didn't have time to prove 339 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:06,420 anything to Jesus. He didn't have time to go to church. He didn't have time to serve God. 340 00:33:06,420 --> 00:33:11,220 He didn't have time to change his life and to, and to kind of show like, you know, I'm following you. 341 00:33:11,220 --> 00:33:15,620 He was there about to die, but just because he was there, he was there, he was there. He was there, 342 00:33:15,620 --> 00:33:20,580 he was there, he was there. He was there, he was there. He was there, he was there. He was there, 343 00:33:20,580 --> 00:33:25,700 but just because his heart was humble and he was calling on God in the last hour of his life, 344 00:33:25,700 --> 00:33:29,140 then Jesus said, you know what, you are going to come with me because you know what, 345 00:33:29,140 --> 00:33:33,140 Easter is not fair. Yes, it's true. You deserve to be there. And you know that because he said, 346 00:33:33,140 --> 00:33:37,460 we deserve to be here. You deserve to be there because you've done that in your life. 347 00:33:38,900 --> 00:33:43,620 But because I love you and because of what I'm doing here right now for you down the cross, 348 00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:49,460 you will be with me in paradise today. And you see, like, if you come back, come back in the 349 00:33:49,460 --> 00:33:55,780 graphic, that, you know, I've done a small cross in yellow because that I hope is going to be you 350 00:33:55,780 --> 00:34:01,300 there today. Or, you know, some of us here to say, you know, the small cross in yellow saying like, 351 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:08,340 I want to be the humble one. I want to be the one who accept the unfairness of the Easter message. 352 00:34:08,340 --> 00:34:13,940 They recognize, you know, that we humble ourselves before God and we say, you know, we need you. 353 00:34:13,940 --> 00:34:18,100 Yes, you know, perhaps I haven't lived the best life. I've done my mistakes and I'm paying the 354 00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:23,620 consequence of certain things. And I understand, you know, I deserve some of these things. But Lord, 355 00:34:23,620 --> 00:34:28,180 would you have mercy of me? And I can tell you that if you're going to cry out to the Lord, 356 00:34:28,180 --> 00:34:32,580 even at the last hour, you know, God is going to say, yes, I'm going to help you. I'm going to do 357 00:34:32,580 --> 00:34:37,620 something for you. I'm going to intervene in your life. I'm going to walk with you and through you 358 00:34:37,620 --> 00:34:44,660 and for you. And usually the test of faith comes because, you know, sometimes when people think 359 00:34:44,660 --> 00:34:48,660 that, okay, I believe in Jesus, and suddenly everything is sorted. No, sometimes we have to 360 00:34:48,660 --> 00:34:53,620 deal with consequences of action that we've done in the past in our life. But God is going to be 361 00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:57,460 with us. He's going to carry through us. But that's the test of faith because, you know, people, 362 00:34:57,460 --> 00:35:02,180 when you approach God by saying, if I'm a Christian, everything has to be happy, clappy. 363 00:35:02,820 --> 00:35:07,220 It doesn't work this way. There are things in life because we live in a sinful world. Our flesh is 364 00:35:07,220 --> 00:35:12,020 sinful. You know, we still deal with certain things in life. But God in Christ is going to be with you. 365 00:35:12,020 --> 00:35:18,900 He's going to work in you and through you in your life. And you may think, well, what is the justice? 366 00:35:18,900 --> 00:35:24,420 What is the justice? This man who was hanging on the cross, on the yellow cross, he deserved that. 367 00:35:24,420 --> 00:35:33,700 He was a thief. He should have died. But if you use the measure, then so you. If you use that, 368 00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:37,620 because, you know, we're not speaking about your standard here. We're speaking about God's standard. 369 00:35:37,620 --> 00:35:42,180 And as we said until now, according to God's standard, even your best righteous act, 370 00:35:43,460 --> 00:35:49,700 you've done in your life is like a filter act. You cannot keep up, not by chance, to God's glorious 371 00:35:49,700 --> 00:35:56,500 standard. So don't be the person who said, you know, oh, this is not fair. You know, we always say, 372 00:35:56,500 --> 00:36:02,180 it's not fair when we see something getting something good. Why did he get that? He should 373 00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:08,980 get something terrible. Don't remember the grace that we receive in Christ as well as taking away 374 00:36:08,980 --> 00:36:16,260 something from us that was terrible and replace it with something good. Ephesians 2 verses 1 to 5 and 375 00:36:16,260 --> 00:36:22,500 8 to 10. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to 376 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:27,140 to live when you follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, 377 00:36:27,140 --> 00:36:33,700 who is Satan, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived 378 00:36:33,700 --> 00:36:41,220 among them at one time, gratifying the craving of our flesh and following its desire and thoughts. 379 00:36:42,420 --> 00:36:49,940 Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his grace, of his great love 380 00:36:49,940 --> 00:36:57,540 for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. 381 00:36:57,540 --> 00:37:04,980 It is by grace you have been saved. And then to verse 8, for it is by grace you have been saved 382 00:37:04,980 --> 00:37:11,700 through faith. And it is not from yourself. It is the gift of God, not by work so that no one can 383 00:37:11,700 --> 00:37:18,980 boast. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared 384 00:37:18,980 --> 00:37:26,900 in advance for us to do. You know, maybe you feel guilty a bit. You feel like you're struggling 385 00:37:27,860 --> 00:37:34,100 because you got to that place where you're saying, yeah, I deserve that. And you feel a bit 386 00:37:34,820 --> 00:37:41,700 down. You feel a bit sad. But what I want to invite you to do today is like, 387 00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:48,740 wherever you are, be like the humble man on that cross. Say, yeah, I recognize my situation. 388 00:37:48,740 --> 00:37:55,380 Perhaps I've got something to do with it. But Lord, would you give me a second chance? 389 00:37:55,380 --> 00:38:03,620 Will you remember of me? Because remember, Easter is not fair. You know, God is not going to give 390 00:38:03,620 --> 00:38:08,740 you. When you believe in him, he's not going to give you what you deserve. But he's going to 391 00:38:08,740 --> 00:38:15,220 make you alive. He will make you alive in him. Why don't we all stand and we just, you know, 392 00:38:15,220 --> 00:38:23,620 close the service. You see, we are not here because we are good. We are here because he is good. 393 00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:33,700 And thank God because God, you know, God has, thank God, thank God because he's not fair with us. 394 00:38:33,700 --> 00:38:40,580 Thank God for that. He's not fair with us. He's not giving us what we deserve, but he's giving us 395 00:38:40,580 --> 00:38:46,900 something much, much better. And through the resurrection of Jesus that we are remembering 396 00:38:46,900 --> 00:38:54,260 today, we know that we have the victory in him. We know that we can actually take something that, 397 00:38:54,260 --> 00:39:05,540 yes, we don't deserve, but all his love for us. He was full of delight in giving this gift to us. 398 00:39:05,540 --> 00:39:09,460 We just read in Ephesians, a gift that comes from God. 399 00:39:12,980 --> 00:39:19,540 It's not by works. Nobody can boast about this. It's a gift straight from the hand of God. 400 00:39:19,540 --> 00:39:27,140 His son who came, he died on the cross. He was resurrected for us. Hallelujah. We thank you, Jesus. 401 00:39:29,140 --> 00:39:33,940 The last scripture I want to read, Psalm 103, verse 10 to 12. 402 00:39:35,380 --> 00:39:40,020 I just want to close your eyes while you stand and while I read these words. 403 00:39:40,020 --> 00:39:48,180 While I read these words, and these words are for you today, for you and me. He does not treat us as 404 00:39:48,180 --> 00:39:56,180 our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above 405 00:39:56,180 --> 00:40:03,620 the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, 406 00:40:03,620 --> 00:40:13,540 so far as he removed our transgressions from us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. 407 00:40:14,420 --> 00:40:24,340 Hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. Jesus, we praise your name. Jesus, we worship you, God. Hallelujah. 408 00:40:25,780 --> 00:40:31,220 Hallelujah. I want to invite you, if you are resisting the work of God, as you're listening 409 00:40:31,220 --> 00:40:39,060 to this, allow God, allow God to enter your life, just like the man on the cross. 410 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:50,580 Recognize where you are and cry out to him. The response that he will have is love, 411 00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:57,460 just like Christ responded with love to this humble man who humbled himself, 412 00:40:57,460 --> 00:41:01,460 you know, even in the last hour of his life. 413 00:41:06,420 --> 00:41:11,860 Notice that Jesus didn't even say a word to the proud man. He didn't say, 414 00:41:11,860 --> 00:41:17,460 come on, what you're saying. He didn't say a word, but he answered to the humble heart. 415 00:41:18,740 --> 00:41:23,220 So if you want to hear from God, if you want to experience God in your life, 416 00:41:23,220 --> 00:41:29,780 you need to humble yourself. You need to humble your life. You need to cry out to the Lord. 417 00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:36,980 You need to accept what he has done for you. This is the only way, if you want to have an 418 00:41:36,980 --> 00:41:43,460 answer from God, this is the only way that you need to take. And God will answer. God will love 419 00:41:43,460 --> 00:41:49,940 you. God will come in your life. He will start changing your life. He will start changing the 420 00:41:49,940 --> 00:41:56,260 situations around you. He's going to start, you know, helping you as you go through the situations. 421 00:41:59,060 --> 00:42:03,860 But he needs to see a humble heart. Hallelujah. We thank you, Lord God. 422 00:42:05,940 --> 00:42:08,980 I want to humble myself before you, Lord, today. 423 00:42:10,740 --> 00:42:16,580 Hallelujah. We thank you, Lord God. We thank you because when you came to die on the cross for me, 424 00:42:16,580 --> 00:42:24,100 it costed you so much. I thank you because you are not giving me what I deserve, 425 00:42:25,700 --> 00:42:31,300 but you are giving me something wonderful in exchange. And I thank you because what you are 426 00:42:31,300 --> 00:42:36,260 giving me is not because of anything good that I have made, but it's a gift that comes from you. 427 00:42:37,300 --> 00:42:42,820 I thank you, Lord God. I praise you. I thank you because, you know, when you died on the cross 428 00:42:42,820 --> 00:42:48,500 for us, you had each one of us in your mind. We thank you, Lord, because when you came back to 429 00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:55,140 life after three days, you know, we can stand today and we can say, yes, we won the world. You see, 430 00:42:55,140 --> 00:42:59,940 there is no any other battle that needs to be fought. Everything is over. Everything is finished. 431 00:42:59,940 --> 00:43:05,300 Christ has won everything. And now it's just up to you. You know, He died for us. All what He could 432 00:43:05,300 --> 00:43:10,260 do for us has been already done. Everything has been done. Everything has been prepared. 433 00:43:10,260 --> 00:43:14,980 There is nothing else if you are expecting Christ to do something else to save your life. He is not 434 00:43:14,980 --> 00:43:20,500 going to do anything else. He has already died on the cross for you. But then you have a choice 435 00:43:20,500 --> 00:43:25,140 today, you know, which one of the two you want to be. You want to be the prideful thief who said, 436 00:43:25,140 --> 00:43:30,660 you know, you know, I want to see something more, do something about this. If you are the Son of 437 00:43:30,660 --> 00:43:35,940 God, or you want to be the other one who say, you know what, doesn't matter. Even if I'm dying, 438 00:43:35,940 --> 00:43:41,220 even if I'm going through the most painful moment in my life, you know, He humbled Himself and said, 439 00:43:41,220 --> 00:43:47,700 would you remember me? He said, this is the Son of God. He recognized that He was the Son of God, 440 00:43:47,700 --> 00:43:55,220 a sign that He believed in God. So which one of the two you want to be? Which one of the two you 441 00:43:55,220 --> 00:44:06,740 want to be? Hallelujah. You know, I want to be the humble one. Because even as Christians, as we go 442 00:44:06,740 --> 00:44:14,100 in our everyday life, it is important that we humble ourselves always before Him. That somehow 443 00:44:14,100 --> 00:44:26,980 we manage to pack away our pride and just humbly follow Him. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord Jesus. 444 00:44:26,980 --> 00:44:35,700 Hallelujah. We thank you, God. We thank you, Jesus. You are the risen King. Hallelujah. You were 445 00:44:35,700 --> 00:44:45,860 treated as a criminal so that we could be treated as kings by you. Oh, what a love for us. We thank 446 00:44:45,860 --> 00:45:06,900 you, Jesus. Hallelujah. We thank you, God.