Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd
like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward
slash connect. If you feel called to give, go
to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at
any time you feel called to make a change in
your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the
message. Now, I'm out of breath. Are you guys
ready to hear an Easter message? You guys ready
to do this? So, without further ado, I give you
our lead pastor. Rudy. Rudy, what did you do?
Easter is ruined. I needed those flowers, dude.
I needed that pot. You know, friends, here's
the reality. At some point in life, we're all
going to break. And when this happens, humanity's
initial reaction is one of frustration, anger,
and judgment. But God, God doesn't run away from
broken pieces. He comes near. And not only does
he come near, our God humbly and gently kneels
down and begins to pick up each piece. Not one
forgotten. Not one ignored. And the beauty of
this is summed up in one word, and it's called
mercy. Mercy is God giving us what we don't deserve
in our brokenness. And he doesn't stop there.
He doesn't glue us back together so that we're
the same person that we were before. Because
of Easter, he takes it a step further. And he
creates something brand new. A masterpiece. Good
morning and welcome to HTV. Happy Easter. And
if you're joining us from home, thank you for
welcoming us into your space. There is a word
at the very heart of the gospel, a word we often
use but very rarely grasp. And that word is mercy.
We sing about it. We pray for it. We hope for
it. Yet when it meets us face to face, it can
almost feel too good to be true. Mercy is not
getting what we deserve. It is love when we have
failed. It is compassion when we wandered. It
is God looking at us, making eye contact in our
worst moments, in our deepest regrets with eyes
full of grace. And nowhere is that mercy more
visible than in the story of Easter. Because
see, at the very moment humanity had done its
worst, because of Easter, God responded with
his best. At the cross, we see the judgment that
we all deserve. But at the empty tomb, we see
mercy that we could never earn. Today, we stand
in that tension between who we have been and
who God is calling us to become. And the good
news is this. Mercy has the final word. See,
because of Easter, there's no person God can't
reach. There's no life he can't change. There's
no situation he can't handle. There's no miracle
he can't do. And that church is good news. And
that's why we gather to celebrate every single
Easter. Let's open in prayer. Holy Spirit come.
God, we are grateful that we can gather together.
I just pray, God, that you would open every ear,
mind, heart to receive your truth this morning,
God. I silence distractions in Jesus' name. And
I just pray, God, that we would all leave here
differently than when we came. In Jesus' name,
amen. That prayer leads us to our first thought
this morning. See, life can be messy. Life can
be messy, Luke chapter 24 verse 1. But very early
on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb
taking the spices they had prepared. And see,
quite often what happens when we know a story
from the Bible is we quickly read past verses
that are important to the narrative. Just like
the one I read to you. Early in the morning.
Ladies were walking to the empty tomb. In our
mind, it's Easter. Praise God, Jesus has risen.
And typically when it comes to Easter Sunday,
we dress up a little nicer. We put on a big smile.
We take family photos. We gather for a meal.
We celebrate. So when we read about the first
Easter, we immediately think it was a celebration.
In fact, it had to be the best celebration that
ever was. Right? So when reading that first verse,
we quite often picture these ladies, not in pain,
not suffering, not fearful, but in Sunday's best,
going to celebrate the risen Savior because we
know the end of the story. However, today, I
want us all to put ourselves in their shoes for
just a moment. See, they don't know the ending.
They don't know it's Easter. They're just living
in the mess. Because see, that first Easter morning,
it wasn't a celebration. It was a disaster. For
starters, these women were walking to a tomb
for someone that they loved to put burial spices
on a dead body. They didn't know Jesus had risen.
They were heartbroken. They had loved Jesus.
But at the same time, in their grief, they were
also a little mad, a little confused, a little
scared. Because remember what Jesus told them.
I am the Son of God. I am going to build a kingdom
that will never end. I am the Chosen One. I am
the Messiah. So we find these women totally confused.
and feeling a little betrayed. Maybe Jesus didn't
lie to us. It could be that he thought he was
the Messiah, but he can't be because we saw them
die. We saw them buried. A dead person can't
build a kingdom that will never end. So you see,
we have all these emotions. We have this tension
that the first Easter would bring. And remember,
these women, they were all alone. The disciples,
they had scattered. They were now in hiding.
What is so important about this line of thinking
is if you walked into this place to celebrate
Easter and your life feels a little messy, you're
not alone. If you gathered here with us this
morning or you're watching online and you're
trying to put on a smile, you're trying to celebrate,
you're trying to engage in worship, but mentally
you're just checked out, you're not alone. If
you're currently walking through challenges in
this life, you're experiencing some turmoil,
let me say it again, you're not alone. Truth
is, we are all broken people living in a broken
world. And I can almost guarantee there's not
one person in this place that isn't struggling
with something in their life. And maybe it's
not personal. It could be that a loved one is
struggling or sick. It could be in today's economic
climate, you're struggling with the pressure
to just pay the bills. Maybe for you it's a relationship
that's broken or a marriage that you're fighting
for. Maybe you're dealing with a diagnosis. Maybe
you lost a loved one and are walking through
a season of grief. Maybe for you it's mental.
It's anxiety or depression or fear or, dare I
say, suicidal thoughts that no one knows the
pain you're feeling inside. Let me tell you again,
you are not alone. And John... Chapter 16, verse
33, Jesus told us, I have told you all this so
that you may have peace in me. Here on this earth,
you have many trials and sorrows. In other words,
life is messy. But take heart, church, because
I have overcome the world. See, because of Easter,
everything has changed. Jesus overcame death
and the power of this world. And I want to encourage
you this morning. It's okay to not be okay. Because
see, there's good news today. And there's good
news for your life. Let's continue reading Luke
24, two through six. They found that the stone
had been rolled away from the entrance. And notice,
no high fives, no celebrating, no hallelujahs.
In fact, in all four gospel accounts, we find
these women completely confused, believing the
body had been stolen. Continuing on. So they
went in, but they, They still didn't find the
body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled,
two men suddenly appeared to them, closed in
dazzling robes. And again, we fast forward to
the end of the story. Oh, the angels are here.
Now they'll understand. Two men in white clothes,
dazzling white clothes. Like if I was them, I'd
be feeling the same way. A little freaked out.
Like, what is going on? And you may be sitting
there thinking, oh, there's no way, Chris. They
wouldn't feel that way. Okay. If two shiny dudes
appeared in your kitchen this afternoon after
Easter service, how are you going to feel? How
are you going to feel? Let's continue. The women
were terrified, just like you would feel. and
bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the
men asked, why are you looking among the dead
for someone who is alive? He isn't here. He is
risen from the dead. Remember what he told you
back in Galilee. See, we know that that is good
news. They didn't. And while this conversation
is happening with the angels, look at Mary's
posture, John chapter 20, verse 11. Mary was
standing outside of the tomb crying, weeping.
Then she stopped and looked in. See, Mary was
broken in pieces because her life was messy.
Which leads us to discover three important Easter
truths today that I believe you can take from
today and live with for the rest of your life.
And the first is this. Because of Easter, Jesus
still shows up. See, Mary is outside of the tomb,
crying and confused. She stops, looks in, sees
that it's empty, then turning to leave with all
of these emotions in her mind, all this negativity,
all this doubt, her broken heart. We read this
in John chapter 20. She turned to leave and saw
someone standing there. It was Jesus. But she
didn't recognize him. Dear woman, why are you
crying? Jesus asked her. Who are you looking
for? She thought he was the gardener. Sir, she
said, if you have taken him away, tell me where
you have put him and I will go and get him. See,
in her brokenness, Jesus showed up. In her doubt,
Jesus showed up. In her confusion, Jesus showed
up. And it wasn't just to Mary. Let's continue
in verse 19. That Sunday evening, notice we're
now in the evening. That was the morning. The
disciples were meeting behind locked doors because
they were afraid. They were terrified of the
Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing
there among them. Peace be with you, he said.
See, the disciples hadn't read the story yet.
They didn't know Jesus had risen. They were full
of fear and doubt. Jesus. Still showed up. Look
at Luke 24. That same day, two of Jesus' followers
were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven
miles from Jerusalem. In other words, they had
given up. They thought it was over. Jesus had
died. He was buried. As they walked along, they
were talking about everything that had happened.
They stopped short, sadness written across their
faces. Guess who showed up in their sadness?
Jesus. And he would walk all the way to Emmaus.
There's this guy named Peter. He leaves the group
full of guilt, shame. He had denied Jesus, ever
existed three times. So he goes fishing. He takes
a few friends with him, and we read this in John
21. At dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach,
but the disciples couldn't see who he was. He
called out, fellows, have you caught any fish?
No, they replied. And Jesus keeps showing up.
And see, I think this is one of the most beautiful
parts of the resurrection that we need to remember.
Dead guys don't show up anywhere. But when Jesus
stepped out of the tomb and proved that he was
the King of kings and the Lord of lords, he can
show up in people's lives for the rest of eternity.
And friends, dare I say that is still happening
today. See, we are experiencing this abundance,
these interactions every single week here at
HCV. And you don't have to have it all together
before Jesus shows up. I mean, we just read about
all these people. They were hurting. They were
depressed. They were broken. They were grieving.
They were anxious. They were regretful, shameful,
scared. And Jesus showed up. See, God is not
waiting for us to fix ourselves. He's not waiting
for us to get more spiritual before he shows
up. You just heard Rudy say, on Good Friday,
we baptized nearly 90 people who declared they
were publicly following Jesus. And an amazing
move of God. And it was interesting, one of the
gentlemen that had gotten baptized, he wanted
to share his story with me. And I was right over
there in the baptismal, still in the water, cold,
shaking. And he comes up to me, Chris, you got
to hear my story. I said, okay, tell me. I promise
I'm listening. And he began to say, you know,
my sister goes to HCV. She comes here. And she
invited me to church last Christmas. She said,
why don't you come to Christmas Eve with me?
And my response to her was, no, I don't need
church. I don't need your church. I'm good right
where I'm at. And just that week, that week after
she invited me, I was hunting and I was in my
tree stand 30 feet above the ground in a tree.
And I don't remember much from that day, but
I do remember falling out of that tree stand.
I fell 30 feet and bounced off the ground. And
when I came to, I heard my name being spoken
audibly in my ears. And as I woke up and looked
around, not being able to move, I recognized
that voice as God's voice inviting me back home
and getting my attention that I needed to get
back into church. And he said to me, he said,
Chris, I walked away from that accident unscathed.
But I haven't missed a Sunday since. And not
only have I not missed a Sunday since, I'm now
getting baptized because all I want to do is
go all in for Jesus. And you say to me, well,
Chris, why is that important? Well, it's important
because Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11 says, God made
everything beautiful for its own time. He planted
eternity in the human heart. In other words,
it doesn't matter where you are, what you're
going through, you have eternity in your heart.
And if you have eternity in your heart, then
God can speak to you, whisper to you, audibly
invite you home. And listen, when we are experiencing
troubles in this world, when it feels like you're
drowning, we need to start to expect that Jesus
is going to show up because he does. And I want
to challenge you today. Let's make this Easter
a little different and take it a step further.
And my challenge to you is not to expect Jesus
to show up, but ask for him to show up. That
we would all start to ask. For Jesus to show
up in our lives. Because when Jesus shows up
in our lives, look what happens. Jeremiah 29
verses 12 through 14. In those days when you
pray. In other words, today when you pray. And
you say, Chris, that's not what it says. Yeah,
but Jeremiah was a prophet. And that prophet
was speaking to our times. In those days when
you pray, I will listen. And if you look for
me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be
found by you, says the Lord. I will end your
captivity and restore your fortune. In other
words, if we seek him, we'll find him. If we
knock, he will open that door. And if we ask,
he will listen. See, Jesus has risen from the
dead so he can show up in our life. And let's
start to expect those encounters to happen every
single day, which leads us to our second truth.
Not only does Jesus still show up, because of
Easter, we need to remember. Now you say, Chris,
is that really a truth? Well, notice the very
first thing the angel says to these women who
were sad, brokenhearted, downcast, Luke 24. He
isn't here. He is risen from the dead. Remember,
church, What he told you back in Galilee, that
the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands
of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would
rise again on the third day. Then they remembered
that he said this. And see, I find it interesting,
and I've actually skipped over that verse before,
not even recognizing the word remember. It's
interesting that God told people, a group of
people, that were struggling, brokenhearted,
downcast, to remember what Jesus did. Why? Well,
because of Easter, we have something to remember.
See, Jesus told them he would be crucified. Jesus
told them that he would rise again. And one of
the best things we can do when we're really struggling
is to take all of our negativity and fears and
doubts and unanswered questions, all those difficult
situations that seem impossible, and we need
to begin to run them through the God filter.
And you say, well, what is the God filter? How
do you make coffee? You grind up your grounds
and you pour it into the filter. And then you
have a beautiful, delicious cup of joe that comes
out. Well, we all have the God filter. And that
God filter is remembering what Jesus did for
us. Remembering that he went to the cross. Remembering
that Jesus is now alive. Remembering that he
still shows up. Remembering that he can do the
impossible. See, when you're struggling, I want
to challenge you to remember two important truths.
And the first is this. Remember Jesus loves us.
1 John 4 .10, this is real love. Not that we
love God, but that he loved us and sent his son
as a sacrifice to take away our sins. And I say
this often, and I mean it, church. This isn't
about you. It's not about how well we love him.
It's not about how much we pray. It's not about
how much we serve. It's not about how well we
play the guitar or how much Bible we read. It's
about Jesus loving us. And you say, really, Chris,
is that scriptural? Sure is. Won't you ask the
thief on the right? Last time I checked, he never
went to church. Didn't read the Bible, didn't
pray. But he is now in eternity. And see, Jesus
doesn't love a future version of you. He loves
you right here, right now, just as you are. And
I believe someone needs to hear this this morning.
God loves you. And you're here for a purpose.
And the second thing we need to remember is that
Jesus died for us, Romans 5, 8. But God showed
his great love for us by sending Christ to die
for us while we were still sinners. The women
were hurting. And God reminds them to remember
what Jesus did for them. See, Jesus knew in the
garden as he was sweating profusely blood droplets
from his forehead. He knew the pain and suffering
that he was going to go through for us. He knew
he would be beaten beyond recognition. He knew
he would hang on a cross where he would be spit
on and mocked. And see, we forget sometimes when
we see pictures of the crosses that they're wrong.
See, in Roman crucifixion, the Romans, when they
killed someone, they would put the crosses at
eye level so that person could be spit on, mocked.
made fun of, and Jesus did that for us. Jesus
knew he would die for you and me. And the next
time you're struggling through life and you feel
like you're drowning, take a minute and remember
what Jesus did for you. See, he loves us so much
that he died for us so that we can walk free
from anxiety and regret into a life of abundance
so that we can be masterpieces. There's no situation
in life that Jesus can't handle. He has been
through it all. And why is this so important?
Well, John 3, 16 reminds us. For this is how
God loved the world. He gave his one and only
son so that everyone who believes in him will
not perish but have eternal life. God says, let
me be clear. There's a reason Jesus suffered,
died, and rose from the dead. It was so you and
I can avoid eternal separation from God. And
we can spend eternity with Jesus in God's kingdom.
And God reminds us whoever believes it experiences
eternal life and lives in abundance right now.
Not tomorrow, right now. Which leads to our final
Easter truth. Jesus still shows up. We need to
remember. And church, there was purpose in our
pain. Now we're going to zero in on this lady
named Mary Magdalene. She was one of the women
who were first to go to the tomb. And she was
experiencing the pain of Jesus' death. But she
also experienced a lot of pain in her personal
life. We read in Luke chapter 8. Soon afterward,
Jesus began a tour of nearby towns and villages,
preaching and announcing the good news about
the kingdom of God. He took his 12 disciples
with him, along with some women who had been
cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them
were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out
seven demons. Now, I don't know about you, but
if I knew a person that had one demon cast out
of them, I think we can all agree that person
had some issues. Can we all agree on that? But
if God has to cast out... Seven demons? That
person was a mess. But at the same time, I can't
even picture the pain that Mary experienced throughout
her life. I can't imagine the dysfunction she
lived in. I can't imagine how many people wanted
to totally avoid her when she came near, wanting
nothing to do with her. See, she had a painful
past. And she experienced freedom from her pain
when she met Jesus. So when Jesus died and was
buried, Mary once again found her place in a
place of brokenness. She goes to the tomb. It's
empty. She thinks someone stole the body. She's
totally confused, hurting. But notice what Jesus
says to her. John 20. Mary, Jesus said, she turned
to him and cried out, Rabbani, which is Hebrew
for teacher. She recognized his voice. Notice
she didn't recognize him and his resurrected
body. She heard his voice. Don't cling to me,
Jesus said, for I haven't yet ascended to the
Father. But go find my brothers and tell them
I am ascended to the Father and your Father and
my God and your God. Mary Magdalene found the
disciples and told them, I have seen the Lord.
Then she gave them his message. See, Mary was
experiencing grief and pain. What did Jesus do?
He took her pain and turned it into purpose.
Notice what Jesus said. Go and tell the disciples
everything you have seen and heard. Mary was
the very first person to ever share a testimony
about the resurrected Jesus. And see, that started
a movement. The disciples believed. Peter got
up and preached 3 ,000 would be saved. Then it
went to 5 ,000. Then it went to 10 ,000. Then
100 ,000. Today, there is over 3 .2 billion people
in the world who believe that Jesus is the Son
of God and was risen from the dead. And see,
this whole movement did not begin in a living
room at a Super Bowl party. This whole movement
began with Mary's testimony. Mary had a purpose
on her life that more than she could ever think
or imagine. She had so much purpose on her life.
We're still talking about her more than 2 ,000
years later. See, Mary experienced the God of
more. And God is inviting us to experience more
today. How do I know that? Ephesians chapter
three, verse 20. Now, all glory to God, who is
able through his mighty power at work within
you, within me, to accomplish infinitely more
than we might ask or think. See, God had a purpose
for Mary that she never thought she could do
for herself. And I have no idea what you're going
through today. I have no idea what you brought
into this room. But can I remind you? There is
no person that God can't reach. You're not too
far gone. You're not at a point in life where
you're so broken that God won't come and pick
up the pieces. You're not at a point where God
doesn't see your hand coming up out of the water.
God is in the business of changing lives in this
community of faith. And not only does he change
lives, he turns our pain into our This week I
was reflecting on one of our leaders within our
community of faith and just kind of began to
weep. It was right around this time. It was late
spring. Easter had passed. We all decided as
a staff to go out for lunch. We went to a local
bar, restaurant, sat on the outside patio deck,
if you will. Just so we could spend time together
and reflect on all that God was doing and have
fun. And we ran into a bartender there. And this
bartender was broken. He was tired. He was worn
out. He had seen the pain and heartache of the
church and judgment and hypocrisy. He was a youth
leader as a youth. But walked away from God.
And this church staff was having fun and having
lunch. And, oh, the pastor ordered a Long Island
iced tea. If you don't know what that is, you
can look it up. Don't judge me. Don't judge me.
And as we were sitting there interacting and
having fun and talking about Jesus and God with
this young man, he became interested and listened
and we invited him to summer jams and he came
to summer jams and heard one of his favorite
songs, non -Christian. And that Sunday recommitted
his life to Jesus. And now, fast forward, that
young man is now a leader in our community of
faith. He's leading young people and youth and
giving back to them and speaking into their life.
He's the coach of a softball team, not in the
church league, in the tavern league, because
he wants to see people meet Jesus. See, God shows
up not just in a church building. God shows up
in bars. God changes lives. And desires to continue
to do so. So I want to challenge you today. To
remember. That because of Easter. Jesus loves
us. Jesus died for us. Gave us his spirit. We
are can be forgiven. And are forgiven. And there's
nothing in this world he can't handle. And no
matter what life throws at you. Because of Easter.
No matter how great the pain, God turns our pain
into purpose. Leading us to impact and change
the lives of others so that our masterpiece that
he created us to be shines for all men to see.
Will you stand with me? I want to close today
with two simple questions. And the first is this.
And the first is a challenging one because I'm
going to ask you to be honest. If you're here
today and you've walked into this place and you're
struggling, maybe you feel like you're drowning.
You're overwhelmed. Can I encourage you and say
that Jesus still shows up? And how do I know
that? Well, last night at our first ever Saturday
evening gathering, I had a young lady come up
and share with me. She came right up front and
said, Chris, do you remember me? I said, no,
I don't remember you. I'm sorry. She goes, about
eight months ago, you reached out to me. I was
on a camping trip with my family and was struggling
with suicidal thoughts. I was contemplating ending
my life and you called and you encouraged me
and prayed for me and broke off a spirit of death
over the phone. That was one of the most difficult
weekends I had ever spent. But God began to move.
And she looked at me and she goes, can you believe
that I'm now at a point eight months later that
my husband and I have just... booked a trip to
Africa this summer because we're going to serve
in an orphanage. And she goes, I needed to share
that with you so you could share it with other
people so that they can be encouraged that even
in the contemplating of suicide, God still shows
up. So if you're here this morning and you're
struggling, I want you to be honest. I want you
to put your hand up. I want you to put it up
real high so I can see them. It could be anything,
church. Put it up. Now here's what I want you
to do. I want you to look up to heaven. I want
you to keep your hand up. Don't put it down because
if you put it down, then you're saying you're
lying. I want you to look up to heaven. I want
you to say these words. Jesus, I need you to
show up. Change my circumstances. Meet me where
I'm at. Holy Spirit, empower me today. In Jesus'
name, amen. Now you walk that out and you believe
Jesus is walking with you. For life or mine Either
one Turn water into wine Please fix my heart
And the things inside Yo