WEBVTT 00:00:00.970 --> 00:00:07.570 He is risen! Welcome to our sunrise service, 00:00:07.610 --> 00:00:10.230 everybody. It's a blessing to see you here at 00:00:10.230 --> 00:00:13.830 the crack of dawn, but this is a wonderful, wonderful 00:00:13.830 --> 00:00:16.350 opportunity to get together and to celebrate 00:00:16.350 --> 00:00:19.809 our risen Lord as the sun is rising on this morning, 00:00:19.910 --> 00:00:22.989 that we remember what he did in defeating death. 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:25.949 I want to ask you a question. Have you ever had 00:00:25.949 --> 00:00:28.890 the breath knocked out of you? That way where 00:00:28.890 --> 00:00:31.269 you can't breathe, you feel like you're going 00:00:31.269 --> 00:00:33.789 to die in a moment. That happened to me once 00:00:33.789 --> 00:00:36.149 when I was a kid. I was a skater and I was skateboarding 00:00:36.149 --> 00:00:39.450 down the sidewalk, hit something and then flew 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:41.609 forward onto the ground. And it was one of those 00:00:41.609 --> 00:00:44.250 moments where the sidewalk squares were pushed 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:47.390 up and I fell on my ribs right on the edge of 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:50.369 that sidewalk square and knocked the breath out 00:00:50.369 --> 00:00:52.850 of me. You know, the pain was... So incredible. 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:56.689 It shot through my whole body. I thought I was 00:00:56.689 --> 00:01:00.369 going to explode from the shock of the pain, 00:01:00.450 --> 00:01:03.450 and I couldn't breathe. I was trying to catch 00:01:03.450 --> 00:01:05.950 my breath, and it just wouldn't come. And then 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:08.129 I started to freak out a little bit because I 00:01:08.129 --> 00:01:10.129 thought, well, if I can't breathe, I'm going 00:01:10.129 --> 00:01:13.349 to die. Now, eventually, after a few moments, 00:01:13.530 --> 00:01:16.489 my breath came back. I was able to take a breath, 00:01:16.590 --> 00:01:19.209 but I found out right away I couldn't take a 00:01:19.209 --> 00:01:22.189 full breath. Because it was incredibly painful 00:01:22.189 --> 00:01:25.370 for I had cracked my ribs and simply the pain 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:28.189 of taking a breath and expanding my rib cage 00:01:28.189 --> 00:01:32.969 was excruciating. And so for weeks, I had to 00:01:32.969 --> 00:01:37.310 breathe very shallowly to allow my ribs to heal 00:01:37.310 --> 00:01:40.269 under a lot of pain medication. And, you know, 00:01:40.290 --> 00:01:42.209 it was at that point I learned that there's nothing 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:45.090 like not being able to breathe to put the fear 00:01:45.090 --> 00:01:48.510 of death into you. Now, many of us may take... 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:51.629 breath and breathing for granted because our 00:01:51.629 --> 00:01:54.430 body just does it. We don't have to think about 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:56.909 breathing. We don't have to think about taking 00:01:56.909 --> 00:01:59.909 breath in. And so it just happens. It happens 00:01:59.909 --> 00:02:02.890 when we sleep. It happens when we're doing whatever 00:02:02.890 --> 00:02:06.049 we're doing. Now, not being able to breathe, 00:02:06.349 --> 00:02:09.050 well, if there's no breath, there's no life. 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:13.310 And numerous times throughout Scripture, we read 00:02:13.310 --> 00:02:16.550 that as the moment of death is described, it 00:02:16.550 --> 00:02:21.840 says they took their last breath. In fact, when 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:24.699 Jesus died on the cross in the Gospels of Mark 00:02:24.699 --> 00:02:27.939 and Luke, it tells us at the moment his death, 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:32.939 quote, Jesus breathed his last. So consequently, 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:36.360 the return of breath would equal the return of 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:39.939 life. Revelation 11, 11, speaking of the two 00:02:39.939 --> 00:02:41.960 witnesses who are going to be on the scene during 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:44.740 those times after they are killed by the beast 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:48.870 and left on the sidewalk to rot, it says, but 00:02:48.870 --> 00:02:52.090 after three and a half days, the breath of life 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:54.069 from God entered them, and they stood on their 00:02:54.069 --> 00:02:57.550 feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:01.069 You see, the breath of life is something the 00:03:01.069 --> 00:03:03.629 Bible talks about. It is the thing, the very 00:03:03.629 --> 00:03:07.879 thing that gave us life. As God in Genesis 2 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.340 -7, it says, He formed man out of the dust from 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:13.000 the ground and breathed the breath of life into 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:16.199 his nostrils, and man became a living being. 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:20.800 You know, it's that breath of God that brought 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.419 life to us originally. It's that breath of God 00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:25.740 that gives life to us now, and it's that breath 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:29.919 of God, the Spirit of God, the life of God that 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:33.569 rose Jesus Christ from the dead. after he suffered 00:03:33.569 --> 00:03:36.770 and died a horrific death on the cross and went 00:03:36.770 --> 00:03:39.770 into the grave buried for three days, buried 00:03:39.770 --> 00:03:42.530 in that place that represents everything the 00:03:42.530 --> 00:03:46.050 darkness of our lives is, the grave that represented 00:03:46.050 --> 00:03:49.310 the whole death has on us. Because we know that 00:03:49.310 --> 00:03:50.750 every single one of us are going to physically 00:03:50.750 --> 00:03:53.629 die one day, but the truth of Scripture is that 00:03:53.629 --> 00:03:56.150 our souls will go on. And if our souls are not 00:03:56.150 --> 00:03:58.830 saved, if we do not know Jesus Christ as our 00:03:58.830 --> 00:04:01.629 Lord and Savior, His resurrection is not applied 00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:03.669 to our lives, and we will suffer what the Bible 00:04:03.669 --> 00:04:06.840 calls the second death. But there's a lot the 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.539 Bible has to say about God's animating power, 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.419 and I want to read kind of an unusual scripture 00:04:12.419 --> 00:04:16.420 for this morning out of Ezekiel chapter 37, because 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:19.500 it is a great picture of what God did this resurrection 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:22.920 morning when he brought Jesus Christ back to 00:04:22.920 --> 00:04:26.500 life. It says in Ezekiel 37 verse 1, the hand 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:29.259 of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out 00:04:29.259 --> 00:04:31.459 by his spirit and set me down in the middle of 00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:34.980 the valley. It was full of bones. He led me all 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:37.699 around them. There were a great many of them 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:39.420 on the surface of the valley, and they were very 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:43.240 dry. Then he said to me, Son of man, can these 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:49.199 bones live? And I replied, Lord God, only you 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:54.360 know. Let's pray. Father, we're so glad to be 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.360 here to celebrate your resurrection this morning, 00:04:56.420 --> 00:05:01.139 Lord. God, your death on the cross did did so 00:05:01.139 --> 00:05:03.800 much, Lord. It did more than we could even possibly 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.980 imagine, Lord, that you paid the price for our 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:11.319 sin. But God, you didn't just die and pay our 00:05:11.319 --> 00:05:14.899 price and leave us in bondage. But Lord, you 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:18.639 defeated death by coming back to life. And Lord, 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:20.800 this Easter morning, we celebrate that moment 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.560 when the women went to the tomb and they found 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:27.319 that tomb empty. Lord, and they ran and told 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.379 the disciples what they had seen, and the disciples 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:33.160 couldn't believe it. And Peter and John ran to 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:36.019 the tomb themselves to see that the tomb was 00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:41.939 indeed empty. God, the power you have to bring 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:46.899 life to death means everything. It is the hope 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:50.879 we have, God, because, Lord, in our sin, we are 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:55.379 dead, dry bones. And God, you are the only one 00:05:55.379 --> 00:05:59.579 that can bring life where there is death. And 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:01.420 so, Lord, we celebrate you this morning, God. 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:04.699 We want to just celebrate everything that this 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:08.459 day means, Lord, and to celebrate you, God Almighty, 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.920 the bringer of life, the Savior of our souls. 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:13.839 We love you so much, and we thank you. It's in 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:18.060 Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, obviously, the 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:20.379 book of Ezekiel, it was written by the prophet 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:22.779 Ezekiel, and it was his story. You know, here 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:26.220 in Ezekiel 37, it says that he was led by the 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.399 Spirit of the Lord to a valley of death. This 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:32.439 valley that had the remains of humanity scattered 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:36.220 about, a picture that is just reflective of mankind 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:40.160 outside of Christ. Mankind due to the curse of 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:42.600 sin that death is upon us, and it's just a place 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:46.769 full of bones. It says dead dry bones. And in 00:06:46.769 --> 00:06:48.949 Scripture, throughout Scripture, as you study, 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:52.389 you might see that bare bones, bones, dry bones, 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:54.970 anything like this, are often used to express 00:06:54.970 --> 00:06:59.329 a physical weakness, a spiritual weakness, a 00:06:59.329 --> 00:07:01.129 death, if you will. And we find these things 00:07:01.129 --> 00:07:04.449 in Isaiah and Job and other places. But in ancient 00:07:04.449 --> 00:07:07.839 Israel, in the law, it was considered... against 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:10.199 the law to come in contact with any type of dead 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:13.000 body because the fear was is that it would contaminate 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.779 you. That which has caused those bones to die 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.540 would then contaminate you and cause you to die 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.560 as well. And so the scene here that Ezekiel is 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.899 being shown by God is one of lifelessness, one 00:07:25.899 --> 00:07:29.160 of breathlessness, one of hopelessness. Much 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:31.279 like the places we talked about on Good Friday, 00:07:31.399 --> 00:07:35.899 caves, tombs, graves. When we think of places 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:39.259 like this, We think of death. We think of the 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:42.040 end. We think of finality. We think it's over. 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.500 That whatever hopes and dreams existed prior 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:50.019 to that are done. They cannot come to be. Now 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.879 in this particular instance for Ezekiel, it tells 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:55.959 us later that these dry bones, this valley was 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:58.399 representative of the whole house of Israel, 00:07:58.540 --> 00:08:01.879 God's chosen people at that time who had the 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:06.500 internal idea that there's no hope. They had 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:09.199 no hope, and the reason was very stark. It's 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.420 because they had defied the temple. They had 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:15.560 ignored the holiness of God's sanctuary. And 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:17.420 so thus, in their history, at that point, the 00:08:17.420 --> 00:08:19.740 glory of God had been removed from Jerusalem, 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:24.060 the holy city of God. And we know that in the 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:26.680 New Testament, we are told that our bodies, our 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:29.819 lives, are the temple of the Holy Spirit, are 00:08:29.819 --> 00:08:32.360 meant to be the place where God's Spirit dwells, 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:36.509 bringing life and hope. But because of sin, we're 00:08:36.509 --> 00:08:41.269 separated from him. So this place that Ezekiel 00:08:41.269 --> 00:08:45.710 was standing in was dead. The people felt like 00:08:45.710 --> 00:08:48.889 they were dead. The people felt separated from 00:08:48.889 --> 00:08:52.149 God, completely disconnected from him. And for 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:54.129 them, it was like having the breath knocked out 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:58.669 of their lives, that they were breathless. Dry, 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:02.029 dead, hopeless. But this is exactly where the 00:09:02.029 --> 00:09:04.970 Spirit of God wants to do its work. This is exactly 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:07.409 where God likes to come in and do what only God 00:09:07.409 --> 00:09:09.610 can do. Those times when we think there's no 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.669 hope. Those times where we're like, it's done. 00:09:13.090 --> 00:09:16.110 It's over. Nothing else could happen. This is 00:09:16.110 --> 00:09:18.029 what the women thought when they went to the 00:09:18.029 --> 00:09:21.990 tomb Easter Sunday morning. That's what the disciples 00:09:21.990 --> 00:09:25.679 were up in their room thinking. It's done. There 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:28.440 is no hope. This man we had put our faith in, 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:33.539 our trust in, our hope in, he's dead. And death 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:38.539 is final. Everybody knows that. I mean, sure, 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:40.379 maybe there was a glimmer of hope because this 00:09:40.379 --> 00:09:42.399 dude Lazarus had just come back from the dead 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:45.559 a number of days earlier, but the guy who did 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:51.120 it is dead. What can happen if the bringer of 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:57.820 life has himself died? But it's those times where 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:00.679 there's no possibility. We look around, we see 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:03.860 no breath, no life. We look around and wonder, 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:07.240 can life exist in this place of death? Can life 00:10:07.240 --> 00:10:10.480 be here? We look at ourselves at times, and especially 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:13.019 before we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, 00:10:13.100 --> 00:10:16.100 and the question is, can these dry bones live? 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:20.120 Because there is so much death involved with 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.889 sin. Many of us have found ourselves in these 00:10:22.889 --> 00:10:25.210 breathless situations in our lives, and we think 00:10:25.210 --> 00:10:29.070 a solution is absolutely impossible. There is 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:33.610 no way. Maybe it's reconciliation in relationships 00:10:33.610 --> 00:10:37.690 is impossible. Maybe it is a heart that is no 00:10:37.690 --> 00:10:40.870 longer selfish and wicked, and to see that change, 00:10:40.889 --> 00:10:43.090 it feels like it's impossible. Maybe it's healing 00:10:43.090 --> 00:10:45.230 in our lives, and we feel like it's impossible, 00:10:45.429 --> 00:10:51.620 but that is exactly when God loves to work. You 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:53.679 see, physically, we as humans, we need breath 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:59.059 to live. Easter is about breath. Easter is about 00:10:59.059 --> 00:11:03.500 God's breath, his spirit, his life. And that's 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:06.379 what we're celebrating today. Now, in Ezekiel 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:09.240 37, as much as death is prevalent on the scene, 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:12.559 breath is all over this story. Read with me in 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:16.179 Ezekiel 37 .4. He said to me, prophesy concerning 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:19.799 these bones and say to them, dry bones, hear 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:22.759 the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God 00:11:22.759 --> 00:11:25.779 says to these bones. I will cause breath to enter 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:29.240 you and you will live. I will put tendons on 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.080 you and make flesh grow on you and cover you 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.860 with skin. I will put breath in you so that you 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:37.659 come to life and then you will know that I am 00:11:37.659 --> 00:11:43.700 the Lord. The Hebrew word for breath is the same 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:48.019 word for wind, the wind that blows. It's also 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:51.779 the same word for spirit. It's a Hebrew word 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:57.440 that's pronounced, I think, ruach. Ruach. And 00:11:57.440 --> 00:12:00.919 it refers to the breathing that we have, which 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:04.259 is life. But it also refers to the Spirit of 00:12:04.259 --> 00:12:06.679 God. And so when we read phrases in Scripture 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.539 that say the breath of God, we could also be 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:14.559 saying at the same time the Spirit of God. And 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:16.580 here in Ezekiel, we see this promise from God. 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:23.360 He says, I will cause. I will put breath in you 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:27.779 so that you come to life. Why is that important? 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:31.159 Because only the one with power over death can 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:35.440 cancel death and give life. The creator, the 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.220 one who created life and death, the one who breathed 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:41.100 life into us originally is the only one that 00:12:41.100 --> 00:12:44.039 has the power over life and death. Read with 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:47.740 me again, Ezekiel 37 .7. So I prophesied as I 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:50.500 had been commanded. While I was prophesying, 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:53.179 there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:56.200 bones came together bone to bone. As I looked, 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:58.460 tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin 00:12:58.460 --> 00:13:01.259 covered them, but there was no breath in them. 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.559 You see, a body, a physical body without breath 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:11.600 has no life. It's just a body. That's how it 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.480 was in the beginning when God formed us out of 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:17.279 the dust. We were just a body without life, without 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:21.139 animation. without identity, without a sense 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.799 of self, without emotion. And it wasn't until 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:27.700 God breathed into the nostrils of man that we 00:13:27.700 --> 00:13:31.259 were made alive. But verse 9, he said to me, 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:34.820 prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man, 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:37.539 and say to it, this is what the Lord God says, 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.740 breath. Come from the four winds and breathe 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:43.539 into these slain so that they may live. So I 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:45.860 prophesied as he commanded me. The breath entered 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:47.820 them and they came to life and stood on their 00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:54.379 feet, a vast army. The spirit of God, the breath 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:58.700 of God, the breath of life for these dry bones 00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:01.580 in Ezekiel 37, for the dead body of Jesus Christ, 00:14:01.700 --> 00:14:06.019 for the dead spirits within us. It is everything. 00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:09.809 It is everything. You know, 50 days from Easter 00:14:09.809 --> 00:14:13.509 is the day we celebrate as Pentecost. Pentecost 00:14:13.509 --> 00:14:16.529 is really the culmination of the Easter season, 00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:19.230 and it celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:22.149 upon God's people, all of God's people, as we 00:14:22.149 --> 00:14:24.570 read in the book of Acts. It's the Spirit that 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:28.049 fell upon them, the Holy Spirit. That Spirit 00:14:28.049 --> 00:14:31.730 is the Spirit of resurrection. That spirit is 00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:34.730 the spirit of new life. That spirit is the spirit 00:14:34.730 --> 00:14:38.629 of Easter hope, and that is the spirit, the third 00:14:38.629 --> 00:14:41.690 person of the Trinity, the breath of life that 00:14:41.690 --> 00:14:44.129 entered the tomb where Jesus' body lay and entered 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:47.210 into him as the breath of life, bringing his 00:14:47.210 --> 00:14:52.470 dead body back from death, bringing life back 00:14:52.470 --> 00:14:55.269 to him. It was a reenactment of the very first 00:14:55.269 --> 00:14:58.070 act of creation wherein God gave life to humanity. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:04.559 God restored and returned the life that humanity 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.500 gave up when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.860 It's the life that Jesus gave up when he died 00:15:11.860 --> 00:15:14.200 because we read in the Gospels as well that at 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.580 the point of Jesus' death, it says he bowed his 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:21.360 head and he gave up his spirit. But three days 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:27.120 later, that spirit came back. He was made alive 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.720 again. And throughout Ezekiel 37, each time you 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:33.360 see the word breath, each time you see the word 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.019 spirit mentioned, right after those words, it 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:38.820 says you will live. You may live. You'll come 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:42.700 to life. They came to life. We have to understand 00:15:42.700 --> 00:15:47.340 the connection. That God, the one who gave life, 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:49.919 the one who could take life, is the one who can 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:53.460 restore life. It's only in him and through him. 00:15:54.179 --> 00:15:57.799 Nothing else. Verse 11, Ezekiel 37. Then he said 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:02.299 to me, son of man, these bones are the whole 00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:04.580 house of Israel. Look how they say our bones 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:07.299 are dried up and our hope has perished. We are 00:16:07.299 --> 00:16:11.220 cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:14.799 this is what the Lord God says. I am going to 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.059 open your graves and bring you up from them. 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:19.980 my people, and lead you into the land of Israel. 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:22.120 You will know that I am the Lord, my people, 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:25.059 when I open your graves and bring you up from 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:29.419 them. I will put my spirit in you and you will 00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:32.960 live. And he just said earlier, I will put my 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:37.259 breath in you and you will live. I will settle 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:39.120 you in your own land and then you will know that 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:42.879 I am the Lord. I have spoken. I will do it. This 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:47.850 is the declaration of the Lord. That is our hope, 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:52.870 that God wants to bring new life. God wants to 00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:56.750 save us from the grave, from the power of death, 00:16:56.970 --> 00:16:59.850 the power of sin. He wants to save us from those 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:02.250 things, and that is why this weekend happened 00:17:02.250 --> 00:17:07.509 2 ,000 years ago. He came to die on the cross 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:11.829 to pay the price for our sin, but he didn't leave 00:17:11.829 --> 00:17:14.690 us locked up in the prison. You see, when we 00:17:14.690 --> 00:17:17.349 think of the graves and our tombs and the dark 00:17:17.349 --> 00:17:20.490 caves of death and despair, when we think of 00:17:20.490 --> 00:17:22.630 the grave that our Lord Jesus Christ was laid 00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:25.349 in after he died on the cross, after breathing 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:30.690 his last, those places that also represent our 00:17:30.690 --> 00:17:32.970 spiritual confinement, our imprisonment, our 00:17:32.970 --> 00:17:40.170 judgment, that grave, that place of death, that 00:17:40.170 --> 00:17:43.440 place of restriction, That place of condemnation 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:47.880 and judgment, that place of hopelessness is the 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:52.160 place that the Spirit of God, the breath of God, 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.240 the breath of life went into and returned life 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:58.599 to the dead body of Jesus Christ, the Son of 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:03.380 God. Raising him from the dead, giving him a 00:18:03.380 --> 00:18:07.279 victory over sin and death, conquering its powers, 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:12.369 its controls, its sting. Why? Because the sacrifice 00:18:12.369 --> 00:18:15.910 of Jesus Christ for sin was acceptable to God. 00:18:17.109 --> 00:18:19.690 He was the only sinless one. He was the only 00:18:19.690 --> 00:18:22.150 pure and spotless one. And so his death, his 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:26.390 blood shed, God accepted to pay the price for 00:18:26.390 --> 00:18:32.589 sin. And so new life could begin. It is that 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.650 moment where the breath of God enters into us 00:18:35.650 --> 00:18:39.049 that our lives are forever changed. We are changed. 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:42.599 Because we follow the one who was brought back 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:46.740 to life. We follow the one who suffered our death, 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:51.400 who went and faced death head on and defeated 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:59.819 it. He arose. Jesus is alive. He is alive forevermore. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:05.609 Because he is alive, we can be alive. It's because 00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:08.009 he died our death and was buried in our grave, 00:19:08.109 --> 00:19:11.230 because life came back to him, raising him from 00:19:11.230 --> 00:19:13.490 the dead, because he walked out of the grave, 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:17.049 out of the darkness, alive forevermore. Because 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:21.490 of that, we, through faith in him, get the opportunity 00:19:21.490 --> 00:19:26.069 to be forgiven of our sin, to be set free from 00:19:26.069 --> 00:19:29.849 the chains of sin and death, to be given the 00:19:29.849 --> 00:19:34.529 breath of life, the Spirit of God. born again 00:19:34.529 --> 00:19:37.789 to new life now and forevermore, following after 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:41.730 our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That changed 00:19:41.730 --> 00:19:45.769 everything. That is the very foundation of why 00:19:45.769 --> 00:19:48.230 we are saved, why we are alive, why we get to 00:19:48.230 --> 00:19:51.490 live new life now and to have the hope of eternal 00:19:51.490 --> 00:19:56.650 life later. It's because he died and because 00:19:56.650 --> 00:20:04.019 he was risen from the dead. Jesus is risen. He 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:11.480 is risen. Amen. Know him. Trust him. Rest in 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:18.119 him. And take a breath. For you too are resurrected 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:20.980 through Jesus Christ and what he has done. Let's 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:27.099 pray. Father God, we love you so much. Lord, 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:31.240 the very breath in our lungs is proof that you 00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:36.980 are God. that you are real. Lord, the very breath 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:39.539 we breathe, Lord, but it's not just a physical 00:20:39.539 --> 00:20:44.720 thing, God. It's a spiritual thing. Lord, that 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.660 when you gave breath to our bodies, God, we had 00:20:47.660 --> 00:20:51.359 a soul and we had a spirit, but that spirit died 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:57.079 when we sinned against you. And thus, Lord, we 00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:00.549 found ourselves shackled by sin and death. In 00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:05.029 the chains of darkness, Lord, under a death sentence, 00:21:05.109 --> 00:21:07.329 knowing that our physical bodies would die, but 00:21:07.329 --> 00:21:14.269 Lord, without you, our spirits would die. The 00:21:14.269 --> 00:21:16.789 spirit that you gave us, Lord, died when we sinned, 00:21:16.789 --> 00:21:20.470 but the soul that goes on, Lord, would be separated 00:21:20.470 --> 00:21:24.269 from you forever. And God, you were not okay 00:21:24.269 --> 00:21:29.240 with that. So you did the work. You paid the 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:33.160 price. But God, you did what only you could do, 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:35.700 what only God Almighty could do, come back from 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:40.839 the dead, defeat the power of death forever so 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:45.779 that whosoever would put their faith in you would 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:50.079 not die but have eternal life. God, we're so 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:53.519 grateful for you. This morning we glorify your 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:58.420 name. We lift you up on high. We celebrate as 00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:01.000 those women did that saw the empty tomb and were 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:03.380 so excited, the tomb is not here, why? Or that 00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:06.059 Jesus is not in the tomb. The angels said so. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.299 And God, if some of us are like Peter and John, 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:15.740 doubting, Lord, may we see the risen Christ in 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:23.259 our life. May we see that you are alive, and 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:25.400 therefore we are alive through our faith in you. 00:22:26.759 --> 00:22:32.180 Help us to be people who live alive, to not live 00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:38.019 death, but to live in the reality that that grave 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:41.599 is empty, that tomb is empty, because you walked 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.819 out of it. And we walk in that same strength 00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:47.140 and that same power. God, we love you so much. 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:52.519 We are so thankful for you. Lord, we want to 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.200 conclude today this service, Lord, just by worshiping 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:59.250 your holy name. because, God, Jesus, you are 00:22:59.250 --> 00:23:01.509 worth worship. You are worth our time, our attention. 00:23:01.650 --> 00:23:04.369 You are worth everything, God. You are so worthy 00:23:04.369 --> 00:23:09.390 because of how glorious you are. So, Lord, we 00:23:09.390 --> 00:23:11.829 ask that you be blessed this morning as we praise 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:15.109 your name and celebrate you and what you did 00:23:15.109 --> 00:23:18.809 for us. We love you so much. It's in Jesus' name 00:23:18.809 --> 00:23:21.190 we pray. Amen. Let's worship, church.