WEBVTT 00:00:03.950 --> 00:00:06.480 Hello! and welcome to this week's episode of 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.019 Trinity Sermons. This week we are celebrating 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.939 Easter Sunday. And in most places in Canada, 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:15.740 Easter Sunday is the last day in a long weekend. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:19.300 And Rob is gonna talk to us about the original 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:23.379 long weekend, that time when Jesus is crucified 00:00:23.379 --> 00:00:26.039 on a Friday, there's that waiting and confusion 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.039 on Saturday, and then we experience the joy of 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:31.440 Sunday morning. And so tune in as Rob shares 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:38.270 how those seasons also parallel. lives. Earlier 00:00:38.270 --> 00:00:41.250 on the first day of the week, while it was still 00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:44.770 dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw 00:00:44.770 --> 00:00:48.130 that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 00:00:48.689 --> 00:00:51.950 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other 00:00:51.950 --> 00:00:55.729 disciple, the one Jesus loved and said, they 00:00:55.729 --> 00:00:59.049 have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:02.280 know where they have put him. So Peter and the 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.099 other disciples started for the tomb. Both were 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:09.920 running, but the other disciple outran Peter 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.060 and reached the tomb first. He bent over and 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:17.420 looked in at the strips of linen lying there 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:21.900 but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along 00:01:21.900 --> 00:01:25.709 behind him and went straight into the tomb. He 00:01:25.709 --> 00:01:28.870 saw the strips of linen lying there as well as 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:31.769 the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' 00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:35.010 head. The cloth was still lying in its place 00:01:35.010 --> 00:01:39.030 separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple 00:01:39.030 --> 00:01:43.030 who had reached the tomb first also went inside. 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:47.689 He saw and believed. They still did not understand 00:01:47.689 --> 00:01:51.390 from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the 00:01:51.390 --> 00:01:55.400 dead. Then the disciples went back to where they 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:59.519 were staying. Now, Mary stood outside the tomb 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:03.640 crying. As she wept, she went over to look into 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:07.959 the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:12.039 where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.280 the other at the foot. They asked her, woman, 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.319 why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.099 she said. and I don't know where they have put 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:26.099 him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:29.039 standing there, but she did not realize that 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:33.939 it was Jesus. He asked her, Ubin, why are you 00:02:33.939 --> 00:02:37.939 crying? Who is it you are looking for? Thinking 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.539 he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:44.099 carried him away, tell me where you have put 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:47.900 him and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary. 00:02:48.189 --> 00:02:52.169 She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:56.610 Reboni, which means teacher. Jesus said, do not 00:02:56.610 --> 00:03:00.310 hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:03.889 the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell 00:03:03.889 --> 00:03:07.710 them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:12.289 to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to 00:03:12.289 --> 00:03:15.289 the disciples with the news. I have seen the 00:03:15.289 --> 00:03:18.830 Lord. and she told them that he had said these 00:03:18.830 --> 00:03:22.689 things to her. The word of the Lord. Well, happy 00:03:22.689 --> 00:03:26.430 Easter, everyone. And happy long weekend. Of 00:03:26.430 --> 00:03:30.490 course, the Easter weekend is always a long weekend 00:03:30.490 --> 00:03:33.509 here in Ontario. Anyways, we get the Friday and 00:03:33.509 --> 00:03:36.389 we get the Saturday and we get the Sunday off. 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:38.530 I was looking and I think that that's true for 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:41.210 most places except for perhaps in Quebec. In 00:03:41.210 --> 00:03:43.050 Quebec, I don't think you necessarily get the 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:45.530 Friday off. I think you might get the Monday 00:03:45.530 --> 00:03:48.669 off. You might get neither off. C 'est dommage. 00:03:49.150 --> 00:03:52.349 Or you might get both off, which would be sans 00:03:52.349 --> 00:03:54.990 sas. You'd have a four -day weekend, but we get 00:03:54.990 --> 00:03:58.449 a three -day weekend. And I don't know, what 00:03:58.449 --> 00:04:00.590 do we like to do on those three -day weekends? 00:04:00.650 --> 00:04:02.710 Maybe you just like to sleep in. That sounds 00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:04.949 good. Maybe you like to spend a couple hours 00:04:04.949 --> 00:04:07.990 making the perfect cup of coffee on a three -day 00:04:07.990 --> 00:04:09.870 weekend. That sounds pretty good. Maybe the three 00:04:09.870 --> 00:04:11.889 -day weekend is when you decide to finally get 00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:14.849 around to doing that job you promised you would 00:04:14.849 --> 00:04:17.800 do back in 2021. and you're like, okay, this 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.899 is the weekend to do it. Or maybe the three day 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:23.180 weekend is the weekend that you just sit around 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:27.360 and you binge a new TV series like Severance. 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.879 Maybe that's what you can do this weekend, right? 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:35.120 But if you ask me, each of the days of the long 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.779 weekend, they kind of have their own kind of 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:41.540 theme, right? So Friday is the day that you crash, 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:43.519 right? You're worn out, boom, you just crash 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.639 on Friday. Saturday, I think, is the day when 00:04:46.639 --> 00:04:48.860 you do the odd jobs, you run the errands, you 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:51.420 try to get things done. And then Sunday is the 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:53.800 day where now you're good and rested and you 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:56.860 can just totally like veg out and relax and really 00:04:56.860 --> 00:04:58.339 milk that day for all that it's worth because 00:04:58.339 --> 00:05:00.060 you know You gotta go back to work the next day. 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.620 Unless, of course, you're a minister. How many 00:05:02.620 --> 00:05:06.459 ministers are here? In which case, Sunday is 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:08.899 the busiest day, but anyways, who cares? Enough 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.540 about me. I wanna ask you the question here. 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:13.160 Now here's the, we're gonna do a little survey. 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:15.899 We're gonna do a show of hands. Which of the 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:18.639 three days of a three -day weekend, like Friday, 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:21.680 Saturday, Sunday, do you find to be your favorite 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.579 day, the best day? So let's start. Hands up if 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:26.480 Friday is the best day of a three -day weekend. 00:05:27.590 --> 00:05:30.730 Oh, no. Hands up if Saturday is the best day 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:34.370 of a three -day weekend. And hands up if Sunday 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:36.949 is the best day of a three -day weekend. And 00:05:36.949 --> 00:05:39.870 hands up if you didn't put your hand up. Yep, 00:05:40.110 --> 00:05:42.050 there you are. Okay, I think it's a tie between 00:05:42.050 --> 00:05:44.329 the Saturday and the Sunday and maybe the people 00:05:44.329 --> 00:05:46.930 who are like, I don't want to put my hand up. 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:50.120 Guys, today, though, I want to take you back 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.839 to the very first three -day weekend, the original 00:05:55.839 --> 00:06:01.600 long weekend, which happened 2 ,000 years ago. 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:05.639 2 ,000 years ago, there was a Friday, a Saturday, 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:11.000 and a Sunday that changed the world as we know 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:15.279 it. 2 ,000 years ago, there was a long weekend, 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:19.740 and the world has never been the same ever since. 00:06:20.740 --> 00:06:24.079 Now that Friday of that long weekend was what 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:27.839 you might call the day of pain. On that Friday 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.540 it was the day that Jesus was arrested, beaten 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:35.879 up, tortured, and ultimately crucified to death. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.720 It was the day of pain. The Saturday was the 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:43.899 day of doubt and confusion. That was the day 00:06:43.899 --> 00:06:46.670 his disciples said, what? What do we do now? 00:06:47.610 --> 00:06:50.889 And the Sunday was the day of joy. That was the 00:06:50.889 --> 00:06:53.569 day when Jesus rose from the dead. There was 00:06:53.569 --> 00:06:56.949 great victory, there was great celebration. So 00:06:56.949 --> 00:06:59.750 you had the Friday of pain, you have the Saturday 00:06:59.750 --> 00:07:02.629 of doubt, and you have the Sunday of joy. Now 00:07:02.629 --> 00:07:08.000 friends, listen. Life is this long weekend. In 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.819 your life, that pattern, the Friday, the Saturday, 00:07:10.980 --> 00:07:13.259 the Sunday, the pain, the doubt, the joy will 00:07:13.259 --> 00:07:16.720 repeat itself over and over and over and over 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.160 again in your life. For example, some of you 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:22.819 right now, you are going through the Friday of 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:26.220 pain. You're going through some tragedy or some 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:27.899 real difficult thing that is happening in your 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:30.879 life right now. It's a Friday for you. Others 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:33.759 of you, you're in the Saturday of doubt. I don't 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.519 know what happened, but right now, you are doubting 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.180 everything. You are uncertain about everything. 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.699 You are wondering, what am I gonna do right now? 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.139 And you maybe are even wondering, where is God 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:45.759 in the middle of all of this? And some of you, 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:49.399 yes, hopefully, you are living in the joy of 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:52.660 Sunday. But over and over and over again, you 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:55.699 are gonna have to go through these three days. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:59.019 What do you do when you find yourself in the 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:03.430 Friday? or in the Saturday or in the Sunday of 00:08:03.430 --> 00:08:08.170 life. Well, the best thing that you can do is 00:08:08.170 --> 00:08:12.189 follow the pattern that Jesus gave us. That's 00:08:12.189 --> 00:08:14.709 right, the Bible says that God has called you 00:08:14.709 --> 00:08:18.050 to endure suffering because Christ suffered for 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:21.870 you. And then get this, he also left an example 00:08:21.870 --> 00:08:25.149 so that you could follow in his footsteps. In 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:28.029 other words, stay with me here, through Jesus' 00:08:28.329 --> 00:08:31.779 death, And burial and resurrection, he left a 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:34.419 model that you could follow in the very worst 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:37.240 days of your life, in the days of doubt, in the 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.879 days of defeat, in the days of despair, in the 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.519 days of depression. He left you a model for the 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:46.580 Fridays and for the Saturdays and for the Sundays. 00:08:46.820 --> 00:08:50.500 And so what we're going to do, Today, on this 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:53.740 long weekend, we are gonna look back 2 ,000 years 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:57.820 to that long weekend to figure out how to handle 00:08:57.820 --> 00:09:02.860 whatever long weekend the world throws at us. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.220 So we're gonna ask three questions. We're gonna 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:09.360 make three statements. What do you do in the 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:14.460 day of pain, Friday? How do you get through the 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:17.370 day of doubt, that's the Saturday? And how do 00:09:17.370 --> 00:09:21.330 you get to the day of joy? That's the Sunday. 00:09:21.750 --> 00:09:24.750 What do you do? How do you get through? And how 00:09:24.750 --> 00:09:28.649 do you get to, right? You've all got some notes 00:09:28.649 --> 00:09:31.289 there. I would invite you to fill this out as 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:33.889 we go through. And here's why. And I hate to 00:09:33.889 --> 00:09:36.129 tell you this, but you are definitely gonna need 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:38.789 this at some point. I don't know if life's going 00:09:38.789 --> 00:09:41.250 along great for you, but I guarantee you, tragedy 00:09:41.250 --> 00:09:45.490 will come. Pain will come. Suffering will come. 00:09:46.019 --> 00:09:48.559 And you're gonna have loss. It'll just happen. 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:51.379 So what are you gonna do? How are you gonna get 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:52.940 through the Fridays? How are you gonna get through 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:55.340 the Saturdays? And how are you gonna get through 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:58.500 the Sundays? Well, let's ask the first question. 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:02.059 What do you do on the Fridays of life? What do 00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:04.519 you do in the days of pain? I'll tell you this. 00:10:04.539 --> 00:10:08.039 For Jesus, the Friday was a day of pain. All 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.919 sorts of pain. Physical pain. Jesus was beaten 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.940 up. He was whipped. He was scourged. He was denied 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:17.750 sleep. He was denied food. Ultimately, he was 00:10:17.750 --> 00:10:20.009 crucified on the cross. He knew physical pain. 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.429 He also knew emotional pain. On that day, Jesus 00:10:23.429 --> 00:10:26.870 was abandoned by his friends. He was rejected 00:10:26.870 --> 00:10:30.769 by his people. He was emotionally, he was humiliated. 00:10:30.809 --> 00:10:34.570 He was stripped naked. and hung on a cross. Emotionally 00:10:34.570 --> 00:10:37.029 he knew pain and spiritually Jesus knew pain 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:40.669 as well because on that day Jesus bore the weight 00:10:40.669 --> 00:10:43.450 of all the sins of the world on his shoulders 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:48.029 and was separated from God his father spiritually 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:52.950 speaking. No one has ever experienced pain like 00:10:52.950 --> 00:10:56.409 Jesus experienced pain on that Friday of that 00:10:56.409 --> 00:11:00.649 long weekend 2 ,000 years ago and that means 00:11:00.649 --> 00:11:04.000 a couple things. One is that that means he knows 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:06.899 what it's like when you're going through pain. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.759 He understands your pain. Jesus understands our 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:13.320 weaknesses for he faced all the same trials and 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.860 all the same temptations as you do. But secondly, 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:19.120 and this is where we're going, not just does 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.860 Jesus understand your pain, but he can show you 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:24.399 a way through your pain. He gave us a pattern. 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:26.759 He showed us how to get through the pain in life. 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:29.860 In fact, Jesus did two things and we can do them 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:33.539 too. on our day of pain. Here's the first thing 00:11:33.539 --> 00:11:38.039 Jesus did on his day of pain. He gathered with 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:41.940 friends. On the night that Jesus knew he was 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:46.059 gonna be arrested, betrayed, beaten up, and ultimately 00:11:46.059 --> 00:11:48.720 crucified, do you know what he did? The first 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.620 thing he did was gathered together with his friends. 00:11:52.269 --> 00:11:55.110 He said, guys, I need to just be with you. I 00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:57.330 need to get together with you. I need to hang 00:11:57.330 --> 00:11:59.289 out with you. I don't need you to preach to me. 00:11:59.450 --> 00:12:01.370 I don't need you to lecture me. I don't need 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:03.370 you to tell me how it's all gonna be all right. 00:12:03.549 --> 00:12:08.629 I just want to be with you, my friends. This 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:12.309 is what we sometimes call the ministry of presence. 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:15.070 So what he does is he gets his closest friends, 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:18.389 these 11 guys who had followed him around for 00:12:18.389 --> 00:12:21.210 the last three and a half years, and he just 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:25.549 wants to hang out with them. Jesus took his disciples 00:12:25.549 --> 00:12:28.149 with him to Gethsemane and he said, stay here 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:32.330 with me, be with me while I pray. And then he 00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:34.470 took maybe his three closer friends of that group, 00:12:34.649 --> 00:12:36.690 Peter, James, and John, he went a little further, 00:12:37.129 --> 00:12:40.970 and he said, just sit here with me. Just watch 00:12:40.970 --> 00:12:45.009 and wait with me. Isn't it just amazing that 00:12:45.009 --> 00:12:48.129 even the Son of God needed his friends around 00:12:48.129 --> 00:12:51.610 him in his day of pain. This, by the way, is 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:54.679 exactly the opposite of what we usually do. When 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:56.980 we are in pain what we usually do is we try to 00:12:56.980 --> 00:12:58.960 isolate ourselves from others We don't want to 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.779 be with others But that is a huge mistake because 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:04.039 we were never meant to go through the day of 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.299 pain alone God meant for us to share our pain 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:12.889 with each other And not only did Jesus gather 00:13:12.889 --> 00:13:14.590 with his friends, but when he gathered with them, 00:13:14.590 --> 00:13:17.269 he was really honest and real with them. He didn't 00:13:17.269 --> 00:13:19.490 say, oh guys, it's okay, everything's fine. I'm 00:13:19.490 --> 00:13:21.250 sure this will blow over, no big deal. I don't 00:13:21.250 --> 00:13:23.370 want to burden you. No, no, no. He pours out 00:13:23.370 --> 00:13:26.289 his heart. He says, my heart is overwhelmed. 00:13:26.509 --> 00:13:31.669 I feel crushed. I feel like I'm dying here. Now 00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:33.169 I don't know about you, but do you have friends 00:13:33.169 --> 00:13:36.970 in your life where you can say this kind of stuff 00:13:36.970 --> 00:13:42.710 to them? The Bible says carry each other's burdens 00:13:42.710 --> 00:13:46.529 and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ. 00:13:46.610 --> 00:13:48.990 You were never meant to go through the Friday 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:52.090 of pain on your own. Now listen, here at Trinity. 00:13:52.509 --> 00:13:54.450 We have these little groups of people that meet 00:13:54.450 --> 00:13:56.669 all over our city. We call them life groups. 00:13:56.929 --> 00:14:00.409 10 or 15 people in each group. And yes, these 00:14:00.409 --> 00:14:01.990 groups get together and they read the Bible. 00:14:02.210 --> 00:14:04.590 And yes, they get together and they pray. But 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:07.190 you know what else they do? They support each 00:14:07.190 --> 00:14:09.889 other when they're going through the Friday of 00:14:09.889 --> 00:14:12.509 pain. And I can give you example after example 00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:15.710 after example of how these groups, when one of 00:14:15.710 --> 00:14:17.470 their members was going through the Friday of 00:14:17.470 --> 00:14:19.750 pain, do you know what they did? They all rallied 00:14:19.750 --> 00:14:23.049 together and baked food for them. Or they said, 00:14:23.169 --> 00:14:25.350 hey, let us watch the kids for you. You guys 00:14:25.350 --> 00:14:27.970 need a break. Or they kept calling and texting 00:14:27.970 --> 00:14:31.409 and checking in on them to see how they were 00:14:31.409 --> 00:14:35.509 doing. And I have to tell you, if I'm honest, 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:39.490 if you are not part of a life group at this church, 00:14:39.710 --> 00:14:44.830 I worry about you as your pastor a little bit, 00:14:45.009 --> 00:14:47.429 actually a lot, because where's your safety net? 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:50.220 Where are you gonna get the care you need when 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:53.799 you need it? I can't do it, obviously. Who's 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:58.120 gonna help you in the Fridays of pain? Who's 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.679 gonna be there with you? I just gotta tell you, 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:03.379 Trinity right now, we got 20 or 25 of these life 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:05.539 groups meeting all over the place from Port Credit 00:15:05.539 --> 00:15:09.419 to Brampton to Caledon online here in Streetsville. 00:15:10.149 --> 00:15:13.070 If you want to get connected with a group, a 00:15:13.070 --> 00:15:16.610 life group, then visit our website or visit the 00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:18.990 welcome desk after the service, right? Because 00:15:18.990 --> 00:15:22.309 here's the thing, the day is coming, the Friday 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:26.570 is coming, the day of pain is coming, and the 00:15:26.570 --> 00:15:28.149 first thing we need to do, and that happens, 00:15:28.289 --> 00:15:32.090 is gather with friends. But here's the thing, 00:15:32.210 --> 00:15:34.669 even friends can't be there for you all the time. 00:15:34.769 --> 00:15:36.919 I mean, friends get busy. Friends have things 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.740 to do. Friends have families of their own. Maybe 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:42.080 if friends get tired. That is why the next thing 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.740 Jesus does on his day of pain is so important. 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:48.320 You know what he did? He reached out to God through 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:50.360 prayer. And you know what? God is never busy. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:55.320 God is never tired. God always has time for us. 00:15:55.539 --> 00:15:59.480 And the way we reach out to God is through prayer. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:01.980 And that's exactly the other thing that Jesus 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:05.120 did on his night of pain, on that Friday of pain. 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:07.919 He went and he prayed. Read this. It says that 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:11.279 Jesus, he fell down on his face on the ground 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:15.059 and he prayed, Abba, Father, I know you can do 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:16.820 all things and I don't want to have to drink 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:20.980 this cup of suffering, but nevertheless, I want 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:23.919 your will to be done and not mine. Now listen, 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:27.039 that word Abba, that is not just a Swedish rock 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:32.620 group. Abba is a word that a child would use 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:34.799 to talk to their father. In fact, Abba is one 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:38.240 of the first words that every little boy in the 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.159 Middle Eastern world or every little girl learns 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.080 when they're first learning to talk, right? And 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:45.539 so what we learn from this is that in your day 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:47.379 of pain and you wanna go and talk to God, you 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:50.679 don't have to use real fancy language. You do 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:53.460 not have to go to God and say, oh blessed be 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:56.220 thou Lord God of Israel forever and ever. All 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:57.740 that is in the heavens and the earth is thine. 00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:00.460 All things come of thee and from thine own have 00:17:00.460 --> 00:17:02.940 we given thee. No, no, no, no. You just say, 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:09.960 Abba, Father, help. I need help here. And notice 00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:11.680 when Jesus prays this prayer. Notice there's 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.259 these three key parts. He prays with faith. He 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:17.819 says, I know you can do all things. He also prays 00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:19.980 really honestly, I don't want this to happen 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:23.519 to me. But he also prays with a lot of trust. 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:26.859 He says, but I trust you. I know you're able, 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:29.440 even if I don't want this. Now if you're able 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:33.119 to pray a prayer like that, Father, I know that 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.660 you're able. I don't want this, but I trust you. 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:38.440 Then you are doing exactly what Jesus did in 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:42.440 his day of pain. What did he do? He reached out 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:45.000 and gathered with friends, and he reached out 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.240 to God in prayer. That's the Friday pattern for 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:52.619 us. But now we come to the second day of the 00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:55.240 long weekend. Fridays are a day of pain, but 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:57.900 Saturdays, what are they? They are days of doubt 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:01.980 and confusion. Can you imagine how much confusion 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:05.400 and doubt the disciples felt that day, right? 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.720 Jesus is now dead. He is sealed in a tomb. Just 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:11.700 days before, they were certain he was the one. 00:18:11.700 --> 00:18:13.759 He was the one to deliver Israel. He was the 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:16.400 Messiah. They had seen with their own eyes. They 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.740 had seen him walk on water. They had seen him 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.599 heal the sick. They had seen him raise the dead. 00:18:23.059 --> 00:18:26.960 Now he was dead. What are they gonna do now? 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:31.619 Right it shattered them This is what doubt is 00:18:31.619 --> 00:18:35.000 all about right, but you guys know that right 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.769 because You know how it feels to be in limbo. 00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:40.750 You know how it feels to start that new job or 00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:43.309 begin that new business or take that chance because 00:18:43.309 --> 00:18:44.769 you thought it was the right thing to do and 00:18:44.769 --> 00:18:46.130 you were sure it was gonna work out but then 00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:48.670 you got fired or then they pulled the plug on 00:18:48.670 --> 00:18:50.710 it or then the money dried up and you had to 00:18:50.710 --> 00:18:53.069 walk away and you were like, how did this happen? 00:18:53.490 --> 00:18:57.640 What am I gonna do now? Or perhaps it was the 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.059 relationship, you met that person, you married 00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:01.920 that person, you were like, this is the person, 00:19:02.099 --> 00:19:04.420 this is the one, I'm certain of it, I'm 100 % 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:05.960 sure we're gonna spend the rest of our lives 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:08.700 together, and then he left, and then she left, 00:19:08.859 --> 00:19:10.660 and everything started to fall apart, and you 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:15.700 were like, what do I do now? We've all had Saturdays 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:18.759 like that, days of grief, days of regret, days 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:22.200 of waiting, days of silence, when nothing makes 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.359 sense. And in the Saturdays of life, you're always 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.940 tempted to think that God is absent. God is never 00:19:29.940 --> 00:19:33.980 absent. Even if he appears to be silent, God 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:37.059 is working. Now Jesus had actually warned his 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:39.380 disciple that this is exactly what was gonna 00:19:39.380 --> 00:19:42.099 happen to them. That very night, Jesus told them, 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:44.160 listen, before this night is over, you're all 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.549 gonna fall to pieces. Because of what's gonna 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:49.230 happen to me and all of you will desert me and 00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:51.650 that is exactly what happened my friends when 00:19:51.650 --> 00:19:54.089 Jesus was arrested the disciples all fell to 00:19:54.089 --> 00:19:56.230 pieces and they all abandoned him and they ran 00:19:56.230 --> 00:19:58.009 away from him and that by the way is one of the 00:19:58.009 --> 00:20:00.569 things we are tempted to do on the Saturdays 00:20:00.569 --> 00:20:03.569 of doubt is to run away from God. Where is God? 00:20:03.750 --> 00:20:06.250 God must not be real. God let me down. God didn't 00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:08.549 come through. God never answered my prayer. I'm 00:20:08.549 --> 00:20:10.730 out of here. I'm walking away from faith. I'm 00:20:10.730 --> 00:20:13.309 walking away from church. I'm walking away from 00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:18.319 it all but that is not the way through the day 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:22.460 of doubt. No, no, no. The way through those Saturdays 00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:25.900 of doubt is to do this, to remember the promises 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:29.799 of God. When you're going through those days, 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:32.079 when you haven't the slightest idea of what is 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.460 going on, when everything seems to have gone 00:20:34.460 --> 00:20:38.339 down the toilet, you need to cling to the promises 00:20:38.339 --> 00:20:41.319 of God, because here's the thing. His promises 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:46.190 are steady. when nothing else is. You might not 00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:47.829 know what's coming next, but He knows what's 00:20:47.829 --> 00:20:49.730 coming next. The disciples didn't know what was 00:20:49.730 --> 00:20:51.430 coming next, but God knew what was coming next, 00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:53.269 right? The disciples, all they could see was 00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:55.789 their Saturday situation. They could not yet 00:20:55.789 --> 00:21:00.069 see the Sunday celebration. In fact, Jesus gave 00:21:00.069 --> 00:21:02.369 them a promise to hold onto, because He knew 00:21:02.369 --> 00:21:04.250 this was gonna happen to them. He said, guys, 00:21:04.289 --> 00:21:06.589 listen, here's what's gonna happen. Soon I'm 00:21:06.589 --> 00:21:08.769 gonna be gone. and you're gonna be without me. 00:21:08.890 --> 00:21:10.490 But after a while, you're gonna see me again, 00:21:10.569 --> 00:21:12.650 I promise. You're gonna weep and you're gonna 00:21:12.650 --> 00:21:14.549 mourn and you're gonna grieve, but don't worry, 00:21:14.809 --> 00:21:18.170 your grief is gonna turn into joy eventually. 00:21:18.329 --> 00:21:20.250 Jesus saying, I know this isn't gonna make any 00:21:20.250 --> 00:21:22.390 sense, I know it's gonna be so confusing, but 00:21:22.390 --> 00:21:25.849 hold on to this promise. And when you are in 00:21:25.849 --> 00:21:28.009 the middle of your Saturday of doubt, when it 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:31.150 is quiet and dark and confusing, You gotta hold 00:21:31.150 --> 00:21:33.230 onto the promises of God. You gotta hold onto 00:21:33.230 --> 00:21:35.890 promises like this. I will never leave you nor 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:38.670 forsake you, God says. Hold onto a promise like 00:21:38.670 --> 00:21:41.690 this. I am working all things together for good. 00:21:41.990 --> 00:21:44.910 Hold onto a promise like this. Though sorrow 00:21:44.910 --> 00:21:49.410 may last for a night, joy comes in the morning. 00:21:50.690 --> 00:21:54.089 In the Saturdays of life, in those days of doubt, 00:21:54.230 --> 00:21:56.779 you gotta be a promise person. If you're not 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:58.400 a promise person, you know what you will be, 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:01.880 you will be a worry person. You will be full 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:05.140 of anxiousness. You'll get upset and you'll panic. 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:11.220 The times of doubt will stress you out. But if 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:16.059 you believe the promises of God, you can make 00:22:16.059 --> 00:22:19.039 it through. You know, in this book, this Bible, 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:21.980 there's something like 7 ,000 promises God makes 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:24.119 to people. It's crazy. God loves to make promises. 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:28.839 God loves to keep promises. And all of God's 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:31.980 promises... we are told find their yes in Jesus 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:33.960 Christ. In fact, I wanna give you one promise 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:35.480 this morning, because I don't know what kind 00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:37.380 of train wreck your life might be, what you're 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:39.960 going through, what major personal setback you're 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:43.380 having, or career, or financial, or health setback, 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.019 or relationship setback. If it looks like everything 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:48.420 in your life has turned to ashes, here's a promise 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:53.259 for you. To all who mourn in Zion, I will give 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:57.539 you beauty for your ashes. I will give you joy 00:22:57.539 --> 00:23:01.099 instead of mourning. and I will give you praise 00:23:01.099 --> 00:23:05.319 instead of despair. I could invite dozens and 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:07.740 dozens and dozens of people from Trinity Streetsville 00:23:07.740 --> 00:23:10.680 up onto the stage right now and they would be 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:14.700 able to tell you how this promise was what they 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:18.359 held onto in the Saturdays of doubt and it got 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:22.140 them through. What do you do in the day of pain? 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:25.299 You gather with friends and you reach out to 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:27.980 God in prayer. What do you do in the Saturday 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:33.099 of doubt? you remember the promises of God. But 00:23:33.099 --> 00:23:39.400 finally, finally, how do we get to the days of 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.079 joy? How do we get to Sunday? In other words, 00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:45.799 where are we gonna get the power to muscle through 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:48.059 the Fridays and push through the Saturdays? I 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:50.319 got news for you. It's not gonna come from yourself. 00:23:50.420 --> 00:23:53.259 You don't have the power. You don't have that 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:55.400 ability. If you had the power and the insight 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.400 and the know -how to solve all of your problems, 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:59.900 you'd already have solved them by now. You probably 00:23:59.900 --> 00:24:02.539 wouldn't be here this morning if you already 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:07.259 had that power. No, the truth is you cannot resurrect 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:11.819 yourself. No matter how much power you have you 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:18.099 cannot save yourself you need a Savior now two 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:22.059 thousand years ago Two women two of the most 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:24.900 powerless people you could ever imagine Came 00:24:24.900 --> 00:24:28.630 to the tomb of Jesus to mourn And what happened 00:24:28.630 --> 00:24:31.849 next was an absolute game changer. They met the 00:24:31.849 --> 00:24:34.829 risen Jesus and Friday's pain and Saturday's 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:37.910 doubt was wiped away and it was replaced with 00:24:37.910 --> 00:24:42.289 this new found power. They had so much new power 00:24:42.289 --> 00:24:44.250 and energy that they ran immediately and they 00:24:44.250 --> 00:24:47.029 told others and then they. received that power 00:24:47.029 --> 00:24:49.529 and they ran and told others. And then over the 00:24:49.529 --> 00:24:51.910 next 40 days, Jesus keeps showing up to people 00:24:51.910 --> 00:24:54.069 after people. He shows up to a group here. He 00:24:54.069 --> 00:24:56.130 goes on a fishing trip here. He has lunch with 00:24:56.130 --> 00:24:58.349 some people here. He spends an hour with 500 00:24:58.349 --> 00:25:00.869 people at once. And every single one of them, 00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:04.029 that resurrection power, is changing their life. 00:25:04.150 --> 00:25:06.049 They're not afraid anymore. They're not worried 00:25:06.049 --> 00:25:08.529 anymore. They're not sad anymore. They just went 00:25:08.529 --> 00:25:10.549 and they told everybody they could about what 00:25:10.549 --> 00:25:12.769 had happened and that the good news is, is that 00:25:12.769 --> 00:25:15.710 your life can be changed through the power. of 00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:18.349 Jesus Christ and you know what guys, their joy 00:25:18.349 --> 00:25:20.869 was so contagious that within like 300 years, 00:25:21.049 --> 00:25:23.569 the entire Roman Empire had essentially become 00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:25.950 Christian. Even the emperor had converted to 00:25:25.950 --> 00:25:28.589 Christianity and why was that? Was it because 00:25:28.589 --> 00:25:31.710 these Christians were especially powerful, smart 00:25:31.710 --> 00:25:36.710 people? No, they had no power of their own. How 00:25:36.710 --> 00:25:39.809 did it happen? It happened because they depended 00:25:39.809 --> 00:25:42.630 on the power of Jesus. It wasn't their own power. 00:25:43.509 --> 00:25:46.849 You can't get to Sunday on your own. It takes 00:25:46.849 --> 00:25:49.369 more than self effort. If you're facing chronic 00:25:49.369 --> 00:25:51.690 problems or chronic sickness or chronic pain 00:25:51.690 --> 00:25:54.109 or chronic conflict or whatever, you can't just 00:25:54.109 --> 00:25:55.730 say, I think I can't, I think I can't, I think 00:25:55.730 --> 00:25:57.309 I can't, I think I can't, and push through it. 00:25:57.309 --> 00:26:00.250 You can't resurrect yourself. You can't save 00:26:00.250 --> 00:26:05.349 yourself. Jesus says, I am the resurrection. 00:26:06.309 --> 00:26:09.569 He doesn't say, I can show you the resurrection. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:12.619 I can point you to the resurrection. I can teach 00:26:12.619 --> 00:26:14.559 you about the resurrection. He says, no, I'm 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:18.059 it. It's me, right? I'm the answer to your problems. 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:20.420 I'm the answer to getting out of Friday's pain. 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:22.220 I'm the answer to getting through Saturday's 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:25.259 doubt. I'm the way you get into Sunday's joy. 00:26:25.819 --> 00:26:28.019 It's not some principle you have to follow. It's 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:31.099 a person. It's not some religion. It's not some 00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:35.019 rule. It's not some ritual. It's a relationship 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:38.099 with Jesus Christ. That's where the power comes 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:41.279 from. That's how you get there. In fact, look 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:44.019 at this. This is a crazy verse. Think about this. 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:48.660 His power to help those who believe in him is 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:52.339 the same power that raised Christ from the dead. 00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:55.079 You get that? The same power that raised Jesus 00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:57.740 Christ from the dead is available to you each 00:26:57.740 --> 00:27:02.059 and every day. If God can raise this dead body 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:04.700 back to life, God can raise a dead marriage back 00:27:04.700 --> 00:27:06.720 to life, a dead relationship back to life, a 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:10.150 dead career back to life. It's a whole new ballgame, 00:27:10.690 --> 00:27:14.470 but it depends on the power of Jesus. Now, I 00:27:14.470 --> 00:27:16.710 don't really want you to get the wrong idea here 00:27:16.710 --> 00:27:19.450 because some of you are gonna say, oh, well, 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:21.089 then why do I still have difficulty in my life? 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:23.009 No, no, you're still gonna go through the Fridays 00:27:23.009 --> 00:27:26.730 and the Saturdays of life over and over again. 00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:29.650 Jesus' power is not a power to avoid the pain 00:27:29.650 --> 00:27:33.210 of Friday or to skip the doubt of Saturday. It 00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:36.809 is a power to get us through the Fridays and 00:27:36.809 --> 00:27:41.210 to get us past the Saturdays to the Sundays. 00:27:42.710 --> 00:27:47.150 So guys, friends, on Fridays we gather with friends 00:27:47.150 --> 00:27:52.569 and we pray to God. And yes, on Saturdays we 00:27:52.569 --> 00:27:55.950 remember the promises, but to get to Sunday we 00:27:55.950 --> 00:28:00.549 gotta depend on the power of Jesus. I wanna close 00:28:00.549 --> 00:28:03.069 and I wanna invite you to pray a very simple 00:28:03.069 --> 00:28:06.250 prayer on this long weekend. No, I didn't come 00:28:06.250 --> 00:28:08.490 up with this prayer. It was written by a guy 00:28:08.490 --> 00:28:11.490 named Paul. It's in the Bible. It's in this book 00:28:11.490 --> 00:28:15.009 called Philippians. And I want you to know, I 00:28:15.009 --> 00:28:19.150 pray this prayer for myself. I want to know Christ 00:28:19.150 --> 00:28:24.089 and the power of his resurrection. I pray this 00:28:24.089 --> 00:28:27.849 prayer for each of you. I want you to know Christ 00:28:27.849 --> 00:28:30.650 and the power of his resurrection. But most of 00:28:30.650 --> 00:28:35.460 all, I want you to leave this place today. and 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:38.599 be ready to pray this prayer for yourself. God, 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:43.559 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.740 This prayer is written at the bottom of your 00:28:46.740 --> 00:28:51.200 notes and I would encourage you even during communion, 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:54.059 you can go out to one of our prayer volunteers 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:56.660 and you can pray this prayer with them. It's 00:28:56.660 --> 00:29:02.059 the simplest prayer because remember, the resurrection 00:29:02.430 --> 00:29:06.829 transformed that long weekend 2 ,000 years ago 00:29:06.829 --> 00:29:10.349 and it can transform every weekend of your life 00:29:10.349 --> 00:29:17.410 even this weekend that we celebrate today. Thanks 00:29:17.410 --> 00:29:22.119 be to God. Thank you for listening to this week's 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:24.859 episode of Trinity Sermons. This sermon was recorded 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:27.680 at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga, 00:29:27.980 --> 00:29:31.019 Ontario on April 20th, 2025.