WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:08.689 Kia ora and welcome to the St. Francis Church 00:00:08.689 --> 00:00:11.490 Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.490 --> 00:00:14.789 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:17.690 encounter God's presence, be refreshed in your 00:00:17.690 --> 00:00:20.429 faith and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.070 --> 00:00:24.129 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.129 --> 00:00:27.780 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:30.760 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:36.500 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:44.380 peace. Well family, we made it to Sunday. Palm 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:46.820 Sunday seems so long ago and it's not just any 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:51.159 Sunday, it's the Sunday. The one that changes 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:56.179 everything for us. If you were with us through 00:00:56.179 --> 00:00:58.979 Holy Week at the different services across Hillcrest 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:03.979 churches, thank you for walking that road. It 00:01:03.979 --> 00:01:06.640 matters that we just don't skip the good part. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:10.000 It matters that we sat with the weight of Thursday 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:16.719 and with the grief of Friday because you cannot 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.219 fully feel the explosion this morning without 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:23.879 having stood at the tomb first. The silence of 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.000 Saturday makes the earthquake of Sunday hit differently. 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.459 And this morning it is supposed to hit us. What 00:01:30.459 --> 00:01:33.540 the resurrection is for our lives. So here we 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:36.920 are, Easter Sunday. We're all together, different 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.840 ages, different stories, different places in 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:44.459 life. The same news for every single one of us. 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:49.900 He is not on the tomb. He is risen. And what 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:52.650 I want to do... this morning is make sure that 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:55.810 we actually don't say those words and move on. 00:01:55.849 --> 00:01:58.670 I want us to actually land on what that means. 00:02:00.150 --> 00:02:02.790 Not just historically or theologically, but what 00:02:02.790 --> 00:02:05.890 it is personally for each one of us. For your 00:02:05.890 --> 00:02:09.569 actual life and for the weeks for the rest of 00:02:09.569 --> 00:02:14.050 the year. Because the resurrection of Jesus isn't 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:16.949 something that happened way back then that we 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:22.300 commemorate in our minds only today. It is alive. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:25.860 You know, it's moving. And there's something 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:28.699 to say to every single person in this room today. 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:36.979 So let's get into it. Question, big question 00:02:36.979 --> 00:02:39.819 for today. This is just one that I've chosen. 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:46.780 Is Jesus risen or is he just remembered? Is he 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:51.219 risen for you or is he just remembered? And three 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:53.460 things that I want to unwrap through here is, 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:57.319 is he present? He is personal. He is powerful. 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:03.159 So picture this, because this is what kind of 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.039 happened earlier this morning and you weren't 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:07.740 there in the dark. So I want to kind of put us 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:09.879 into the picture. And maybe as we go through, 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:15.000 pick out who you are. Two women walking toward 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.539 a tomb. It's barely light, carrying spices for 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:22.099 a dead body, carrying grief that hasn't fully 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:25.219 landed yet for them. They're not going to see 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:27.780 if Jesus is alive as they walk there. They're 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:29.900 going to do the last kind thing that they can 00:03:29.900 --> 00:03:33.659 do for someone who is gone. That they expect 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:38.039 not to see ever again. And as they're walking, 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:44.689 the earth shakes. It says in Matthew 28, There 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:46.710 was a violent earthquake for an angel of the 00:03:46.710 --> 00:03:49.490 Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:55.169 rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance 00:03:55.169 --> 00:03:57.889 was like lightning and his clothes were white 00:03:57.889 --> 00:04:05.590 as snow. Notice what the angel does first. He 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:09.770 doesn't announce the resurrection. The angel 00:04:09.770 --> 00:04:13.490 sits on the stone like someone who has absolutely 00:04:13.490 --> 00:04:17.990 nowhere else to be. Like someone who knows the 00:04:17.990 --> 00:04:20.370 worst has already happened and has already been 00:04:20.370 --> 00:04:25.250 dealt with. That detail alone should slow us 00:04:25.250 --> 00:04:30.529 down today. After all what has gone before in 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:33.670 that week. And here's what I want us to wrestle 00:04:33.670 --> 00:04:38.069 with this morning. Is Jesus risen for you? Or 00:04:38.069 --> 00:04:43.300 just remembered by you? Is this just a memorial 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:46.600 service and that we have when we gather at the 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:50.240 table? Or is it the presence of Christ with us? 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:53.939 Because those are two completely different Easters 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:59.220 and where you can be in one or the other. And 00:04:59.220 --> 00:05:01.240 Matthew 28 won't let us stay in the comfortable 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:05.519 middle. So let me show you three things about 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:07.720 the risen Jesus in this passage. The first one 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:12.189 is that he is present. The resurrection is not 00:05:12.189 --> 00:05:16.410 a past event, it's a present reality. It's right 00:05:16.410 --> 00:05:19.870 here. The angel says something that should stop 00:05:19.870 --> 00:05:22.350 us in our tracks. He is not here, he has risen. 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:29.990 He has risen. Present, perfect tense, not he 00:05:29.990 --> 00:05:35.490 rose, as though it's over and done with. He has 00:05:35.490 --> 00:05:39.620 risen. The resurrection has happened. and its 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:45.579 effects are still running today. He is not here. 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:48.160 He has risen, just as he said, come and see the 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.040 place where he lay. So there's an invitation 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:58.379 here. Come and see with your own eyes. The angel 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:01.660 invites him to look at the empty space, not to 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:05.019 mourn what's missing, but to be confronted by 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:10.519 what it means. The tomb isn't evidence of absence. 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:17.180 It's the evidence of presence. He was here. Now 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:20.779 he is somewhere else. Alive, active, he's on 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:23.699 the move. At the moment you just don't know where 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:27.980 he is. And this matters enormously for how you 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:31.939 and I actually live. We can't treat Jesus like 00:06:31.939 --> 00:06:35.639 a historical figure. Someone we study, admire. 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:41.980 or even love in a past tense kind of way. Well, 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.120 we can take Matthew's account seriously. The 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.199 one who walked out of the tomb is present right 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:54.300 now in this room. In your week, in your Monday 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:58.220 morning, your Tuesday, every day, he's present 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:03.579 there. Alistair McGrath said this. Christianity 00:07:03.579 --> 00:07:05.759 is not the memory of a dead teacher, but the 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:11.899 presence of a living Lord. See, the disciples' 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:16.060 whole problem after the crucifixion was that 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:18.800 they thought Jesus was past tense. They locked 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.100 the doors. Just the verse after where we ended 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:25.879 there, it tells of them being in this room. They 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:28.620 went back to fishing. They talked about him in 00:07:28.620 --> 00:07:33.019 the past. Easter's a moment. Jesus stops being 00:07:33.019 --> 00:07:39.079 past tense for them and for us. Hebrews 13, verse 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.560 8, it tells us that Jesus Christ is the same 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:49.759 yesterday, today, and forever. So what is it 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:55.399 like for us as his disciples today as we live 00:07:55.399 --> 00:08:00.879 our faith? Some things here for us. Where in 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.360 your life are you treating Jesus' past tense? 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.560 He's always asking us that. Where am I in the 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:10.540 past? A faith that used to feel alive, a prayer 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:13.680 life that's gone quiet, a hope that's calcified 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:20.439 into religion. The empty tomb announces to us 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:26.910 he is not in there. He is here, present. And 00:08:26.910 --> 00:08:29.629 that's not a platitude. It's the most destabilising 00:08:29.629 --> 00:08:33.830 claim in human history. And it has your name 00:08:33.830 --> 00:08:42.870 on it. He is present. And when he is present, 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:46.750 he is personal. The resurrection seeks people 00:08:46.750 --> 00:08:51.570 out by name. And here's where Matthew gets specific. 00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:57.379 In a way that's easy to just skip over. The angel 00:08:57.379 --> 00:09:02.899 doesn't just say, tell everyone. The angel says, 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:07.620 go quickly and tell his disciples. And then barely 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:11.480 a verse later, Jesus himself shows up. Not at 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.360 the temple, not to the religious authorities, 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:20.440 to two women on a road in the dark. Suddenly 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:23.799 Jesus meets them. Greetings, he said. And they 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.610 came to him, clasped his feet. And they worshipped 00:09:26.610 --> 00:09:33.549 him. He didn't wait for them to find him. He 00:09:33.549 --> 00:09:37.070 went to find them. And that's not incidental. 00:09:37.070 --> 00:09:40.870 That's the whole shape of the gospel. God moves 00:09:40.870 --> 00:09:45.250 toward people always. Even people running in 00:09:45.250 --> 00:09:48.389 the wrong direction. Even people who scattered 00:09:48.389 --> 00:09:53.110 when it got hard. And look at who he chooses. 00:09:53.740 --> 00:09:58.120 as his first resurrection witnesses. Woman. Sorry, 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:03.299 guys. In a first century world where women's 00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:06.460 testimony wasn't even admissible in court, God 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:09.799 made them the first people to carry the most 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:15.220 important news in history. Easter has always 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:18.559 been quietly revolutionary about who matters. 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:25.679 And it's going on today. N .T. Wright says this, 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.840 that the risen Christ does not appear to his 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:31.120 enemies to vindicate himself. He appears to his 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.659 friends to restore them. He knows that they were 00:10:35.659 --> 00:10:38.440 terrified and locked in a room of what they had 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:42.100 said, where they were, and thinking that they 00:10:42.100 --> 00:10:46.259 would never see him again. They clasped his feet. 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:51.899 Not a polite nod. Not a theological discussion. 00:10:52.730 --> 00:10:56.470 They grabbed hold of him because this is what 00:10:56.470 --> 00:10:59.309 encounter with the risen Jesus does. It makes 00:10:59.309 --> 00:11:07.669 you want to hold on. There is something incredibly 00:11:07.669 --> 00:11:12.289 telling us about this physical encounter, this 00:11:12.289 --> 00:11:16.070 bodily personal moment about not a vision, not 00:11:16.070 --> 00:11:21.250 a symbol about who Christ is, but feet. A voice 00:11:21.250 --> 00:11:25.190 saying greetings. A Jesus who knows exactly who 00:11:25.190 --> 00:11:32.289 he's looking for. Because it says in John 10, 00:11:32.289 --> 00:11:36.570 these words, I am the good shepherd. I know my 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:44.110 sheep and my sheep know me. Isn't that line wonderful? 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:48.889 To hear that, that he knows us and we know him. 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:55.460 So for us today as his disciples, there is a 00:11:55.460 --> 00:11:58.659 version of Easter faith that stays safely general. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:02.840 Because many people would think and live this 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:06.779 way, Jesus rose for humanity. That's very general, 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:09.940 isn't it? But the risen Jesus is relentlessly 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:15.240 specific. He came for these women on this road 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:20.480 at this hour and he comes for you. Not the general 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:23.779 idea of you. I kind of know who you are, Tony. 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:29.340 But the specific, complicated, still figuring 00:12:29.340 --> 00:12:32.840 out you in different parts of your life. The 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:36.200 question isn't whether he knows you, it's whether 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:42.580 you've let him meet you yet. Have you allowed 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:47.440 him to get close? That close that you will reveal 00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:53.659 yourself to him. So he is present, he is personal, 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:58.840 but he is also powerful. And the resurrection 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:03.539 changes what we're capable of. It's not just 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.639 Jesus, it's what we're capable of in the power 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.539 of his Holy Spirit. This is a part we can miss, 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:16.220 even if we're not careful. The women don't leave 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:19.820 the tomb the same as they arrive. They came... 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:23.750 that morning in the dark, carrying grief and 00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:27.090 arrived carrying grief to the one who they thought 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:32.370 was dead. And they left running. And Matthew 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:35.669 tells us something fascinating about what they 00:13:35.669 --> 00:13:39.990 were feeling as they ran. So the woman hurried 00:13:39.990 --> 00:13:43.330 away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, 00:13:43.610 --> 00:13:48.529 and ran to tell his disciples. Afraid yet filled 00:13:48.529 --> 00:13:53.610 with joy. Have you been able to hold those two 00:13:53.610 --> 00:13:58.110 together at times in your life? Matthew doesn't 00:13:58.110 --> 00:14:01.870 resolve the tension. He leaves it there because 00:14:01.870 --> 00:14:06.289 really that's what encountering the risen Jesus 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:10.549 actually feels like. The fear doesn't disappear, 00:14:10.850 --> 00:14:15.529 but it doesn't win. Joy gets in alongside and 00:14:15.529 --> 00:14:19.769 says, we're going to go together. It gets alongside 00:14:19.769 --> 00:14:24.600 it and then they run. Anyway, that's not courage 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:27.340 as the absence of fear. That's courage as fear 00:14:27.340 --> 00:14:33.240 that moves. And then Jesus, he echoes the angel. 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:39.620 Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers. He 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:44.980 calls them brothers. These brothers that he's 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:47.840 talking about, they're the same disciples who 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:51.360 abandoned him. who denied him and then who vanished. 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:57.419 He calls them brothers. The resurrection doesn't 00:14:57.419 --> 00:15:00.600 just deal with death, it deals with shame. It 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:04.740 restores also what was broken and recommissions 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:09.100 the people who actually failed. See, Easter means 00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:11.879 you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:17.750 there. And the power isn't just emotional. Here 00:15:17.750 --> 00:15:19.610 in this account in our lives, it's directional. 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:23.769 Every person in this passage that you heard gets 00:15:23.769 --> 00:15:28.509 a job. The angel says, go and tell. Jesus says, 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:30.970 go and tell. The resurrection is not a destination 00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:33.389 to rest in. It's actually the starting line. 00:15:35.149 --> 00:15:37.730 The same power that raised Jesus from the dead 00:15:37.730 --> 00:15:42.389 is, as Paul says, at work in everyone who believes. 00:15:44.210 --> 00:15:47.879 And that's not metaphor. That's the raw claim 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:53.159 of the New Testament, of the good news. For in 00:15:53.159 --> 00:16:08.299 Romans 8 it says this, Now, you might be feeling 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:10.799 tired. We've been up early since this morning. 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:13.720 Clocks have changed and really played havoc with 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:17.940 our body systems. But we have the power of the 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:25.759 living Christ in us. So what does it mean for 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:30.919 us as his disciples today? What would you attempt 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.559 if you actually believed that resurrection power 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:38.620 was in you? What conversation would you have 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:42.019 with another person? What step of obedience would 00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:45.659 you take? If you really believe that the power 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:48.279 of the Holy Spirit and the risen Christ is in 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:53.539 you, what broken thing would you try to restore? 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:58.919 Now, when we look at those questions in the light 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:03.940 that the risen Christ is in us, we do not need 00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:08.599 to fear. See, the woman ran. They were afraid 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.160 and they ran anyway. The risen Jesus doesn't 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:14.680 wait till you and I are ready. He sends you now 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:20.220 with exactly the faith that you have into situations 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.640 where you feel you're not ready, but you have 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:26.079 the power of the risen Christ in you as you go. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:30.819 So as we land this message, I want to come back 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:34.799 to that question at the beginning. Is Jesus risen 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:39.700 for you or just remembered by you? The guards 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:41.779 who were there saw everything the woman saw. 00:17:42.410 --> 00:17:44.690 The same earthquake they experienced, the same 00:17:44.690 --> 00:17:47.990 angel, the same empty tomb, and they shook and 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:51.890 became like dead men. Then they went and made 00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:56.430 up a cover story. Same evidence, completely different 00:17:56.430 --> 00:18:03.230 response. Easter doesn't force anything, but 00:18:03.230 --> 00:18:09.269 it demands a response. Now, you came here this 00:18:09.269 --> 00:18:12.359 morning. to be with Christ, to praise him. But 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.720 you can walk out of here today and file this 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:19.200 under nice annual tradition. Easter Sunday ticked 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:23.779 off. Or you can let three things land for you. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:28.259 The first one that he is present. That he goes 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:31.940 before you into everything that's coming. And 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:35.319 that he is personal. That he meets you exactly 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:38.619 where you are with fear and great joy and everything 00:18:38.619 --> 00:18:44.990 that's in between. And that he is powerful. He 00:18:44.990 --> 00:18:48.490 takes broken, frightened people. He sends them 00:18:48.490 --> 00:18:50.549 out with the most important news the world has 00:18:50.549 --> 00:18:54.690 ever heard. And the power that is him, that power 00:18:54.690 --> 00:18:59.970 is available to you and I right now. He is not 00:18:59.970 --> 00:19:03.769 in the tomb. He never will be again. And that 00:19:03.769 --> 00:19:07.589 means for you, for me, for this church, the story 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:12.410 is not over. It is not finished. We are not managing 00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:17.910 a memorial. We are following a living king. He 00:19:17.910 --> 00:19:21.150 is risen and he is already out ahead of you today 00:19:21.150 --> 00:19:28.230 in your Galilee waiting to meet you there. He 00:19:28.230 --> 00:19:31.410 is risen. He is risen indeed. Hallelujah.