WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 I gotta let you all know today, He is risen! 00:00:05.900 --> 00:00:09.720 Ah, you were ready for me, okay, good. Whenever 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:11.619 coming to Easter and you're always wondering 00:00:11.619 --> 00:00:14.839 how in the world are you gonna start off an Easter 00:00:14.839 --> 00:00:17.300 sermon? Well, I figured hey, let's just make 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:19.480 sure we cover cover everything So I figured we're 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:21.239 gonna go ahead and just read through the whole 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:24.160 Bible Okay, it's only 72 hours to read from cover 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.339 to cover So we should probably get started in 00:00:26.339 --> 00:00:28.739 the beginning God. Oh, I think somebody might 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:31.679 need a bathroom break. Okay, did you know? that 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.520 a Lutheran pastor actually had the record for 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:38.100 the longest speech in Guinness for about a year. 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:41.520 Zach Zender out in Florida. He actually made 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:47.479 a 53 -hour sermon to raise $90 ,000 for his church. 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:50.380 He was in the records for about a year. He actually 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:52.920 took it from a guy who had it at 48 hours, and 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:55.100 then that guy a year later took it back with 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:58.600 60 hours. And then neither of them have it now. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.060 Apparently some guy in Nepal got it with a 90 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:04.219 -hour speech. So, if I go over by a minute or 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:07.200 two, I'm sure you can forgive me. But one of 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.120 the things that we see here is that today, as 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:13.540 we recognize the resurrection, it is more than 00:01:13.540 --> 00:01:18.040 just one person coming back to life. It is the 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:22.540 culmination of a gigantic story. What story is 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:28.109 that? The story of humanity. It is meant to be 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:31.629 the core focus of who we are and what we say 00:01:31.629 --> 00:01:35.030 and do, because it is the core event of so many 00:01:35.030 --> 00:01:38.549 things that have led up to that. So, all jokes 00:01:38.549 --> 00:01:42.150 aside, I do want to bring up Adam and Eve. You 00:01:42.150 --> 00:01:45.549 see, Adam and Eve, they were put into this perfect, 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:49.469 beautiful place, and they were given all of this 00:01:49.469 --> 00:01:53.269 place to not only care for, but also to eat almost 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:55.670 anything that they wanted. And one of the things 00:01:55.670 --> 00:01:57.810 that's interesting about what is described here 00:01:57.810 --> 00:02:01.290 is to realize that this is so different. from 00:02:01.290 --> 00:02:05.450 what people oftentimes see as all of the earliest 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:08.689 religions that we would see. Instead of having 00:02:08.689 --> 00:02:12.069 a belief where they would worship the earth around 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:14.449 us, instead they were the ones who were meant 00:02:14.449 --> 00:02:18.129 to care for and give oversight over the earth. 00:02:18.469 --> 00:02:21.449 Instead of being ones who were meant to worship 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.050 the animal kingdom, they were meant to have oversight 00:02:24.050 --> 00:02:27.550 and to care for the animals. It was only later 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:30.069 down the line that we end up seeing people go 00:02:30.069 --> 00:02:33.740 into in such an odd, different direction. But 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:36.419 as we see this, is that this oversight, this 00:02:36.419 --> 00:02:39.159 understanding of what's happening, is that they 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.280 still lost sight of who they were. Now, we're 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.740 not talking about how maybe they were like, five 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:48.219 trees in the garden and then there's like one 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:50.360 that they're like you can't have this one it's 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.960 like Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday well it's 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:55.759 Friday we might as well have this forbidden tree 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.520 we're talking about the whole land the whole 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.719 area however many trees and bushes and crops 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:03.780 and everything else that they can have anything 00:03:03.780 --> 00:03:07.599 they want and there's just this one one tree 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:12.419 the whole place you know how that is The one 00:03:12.419 --> 00:03:15.060 thing that you really, really want and that you 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:17.080 know you're not supposed to have it, you're on 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:19.560 the cholesterol meds and you're like, yeah, but 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:22.759 that steak looks amazing. And you're struggling 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:24.840 with your blood sugar, but you're like, they 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.580 brought chocolate from Germany, oh my word, what 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:29.639 am I going to do? It's always the one thing that 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:32.639 you can't have, and yet that becomes the thing 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.520 that we want. And what's funny with this is that 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.340 then as the serpent comes along and is saying, 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:44.139 Are you sure God said not to eat of this tree? 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:47.199 And this is always interesting. Whenever there's 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:49.680 something we want, and we're not allowed to have, 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.819 don't we turn it into such a bigger deal in our 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:55.879 minds? Because it's not just, oh, we can't eat 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.979 it. You can't even touch it. Come on, it's not 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:02.819 what God said. But that's the thing about this 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:07.900 feeling, and is that this feeling that no matter 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:11.620 what, pushes them to wish that they were the 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:16.699 ones making the decisions. And so they do and 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:19.160 decide that they are the ones who want to be 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:25.100 like God's. So Eve and Adam together end up deciding 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:27.860 to go a different direction. And God says that 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:30.139 you must be cast out of the garden. You are no 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:34.019 longer able to have the eternal life that I had 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:36.180 planned for you in this perfect, beautiful place. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:41.240 But notice... that at the very end, there is 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:45.139 going to be one who will put sin and death underneath 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:49.079 his heel. There is still a promise. God could 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:52.779 have just wiped him out, but he didn't. He still 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:56.319 gave them the opportunity to know him and to 00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:00.379 still have a chance to repent. Now, you would 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:04.029 think that... Adam and Eve already have it figured 00:05:04.029 --> 00:05:06.470 out. They will make sure that all of their kids 00:05:06.470 --> 00:05:09.910 from then on never make the same mistakes that 00:05:09.910 --> 00:05:14.829 they did, right? Wrong. And what we know is that 00:05:14.829 --> 00:05:17.730 while later down the line people did know who 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:20.589 Yahweh was, you end up seeing so many people, 00:05:20.750 --> 00:05:22.689 I mean Cain and all of his descendants and the 00:05:22.689 --> 00:05:24.649 like, that decide they're going to go off in 00:05:24.649 --> 00:05:28.110 all of these other directions. Until eventually, 00:05:28.509 --> 00:05:31.649 there is now, from the line of Seth, Abraham. 00:05:32.009 --> 00:05:35.290 And Abraham's children become the nation of Israel. 00:05:35.569 --> 00:05:38.850 And they end up getting stuck over in Egypt in 00:05:38.850 --> 00:05:41.209 this indentured servitude that they cannot leave. 00:05:41.470 --> 00:05:43.350 And people argue all the time, well was it slavery? 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:45.750 Was it not? Whatever it was, they didn't want 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:48.250 to stay. And they were being forced to do so. 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:52.209 Until God made a way. And they left. And they 00:05:52.209 --> 00:05:54.870 crossed the sea. And they were able to get to 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:58.850 the promised land. Not in two years. but in 40, 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:02.170 because they still didn't want to listen. And 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:06.370 when they're there, what ends up happening? Israel 00:06:06.370 --> 00:06:11.050 cannot help but fall into the same idols that 00:06:11.050 --> 00:06:15.670 all the other nations were into. Israel still 00:06:15.670 --> 00:06:20.449 ended up falling into the same pits. See, they 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:23.389 were meant to push out all the other nations 00:06:23.389 --> 00:06:25.509 that were worshipping the other gods. And why 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:30.009 is that? Because, in so doing, they were trying 00:06:30.009 --> 00:06:33.069 to avoid everything they did. See, it wasn't 00:06:33.069 --> 00:06:35.790 just the fact that these other nations were worshipping 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:39.670 other gods, which is bad enough already, but 00:06:39.670 --> 00:06:42.589 it's all the things that came with it. The fact 00:06:42.589 --> 00:06:45.910 that their sacrifices were not just of animals. 00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:51.470 The fact that they did not only want their spouse, 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:54.990 and they wanted everyone else's as well. The 00:06:54.990 --> 00:06:58.449 fact that they didn't care whether they represented 00:06:58.449 --> 00:07:01.410 anything better other than what they could have 00:07:01.410 --> 00:07:04.209 at that point. And Israel was supposed to push 00:07:04.209 --> 00:07:08.829 them out and instead they acted like them. But 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:12.550 even more than that, they weren't satisfied with 00:07:12.550 --> 00:07:16.569 the way God had made things. They wanted a king. 00:07:17.610 --> 00:07:19.449 They wanted someone like all the other nations 00:07:19.449 --> 00:07:23.029 had. They wanted someone who was tall and loud 00:07:23.029 --> 00:07:25.730 and forceful. They wanted someone that everyone 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:28.870 would just stand up and take notice of because 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:32.949 they were afraid. They were afraid in that land. 00:07:33.870 --> 00:07:36.329 And so even though they had God speaking through 00:07:36.329 --> 00:07:38.509 His prophet and that they could worship Him with 00:07:38.509 --> 00:07:41.629 the priest, they still wanted a king. And what 00:07:41.629 --> 00:07:46.870 ends up happening is that God says, fine, have 00:07:46.870 --> 00:07:50.740 one, but you're going to regret it. And that's 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:54.160 the thing about King Saul, is that King Saul 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.800 ends up going there and he's basically all the 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:00.379 things that they wanted. He is loud, he is tall, 00:08:00.459 --> 00:08:03.639 he is proud, he is forceful, and then he ends 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.779 up taking the prophet and the priest role for 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:10.300 himself, not being satisfied with just being 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:14.579 a king. And that's the funny thing, when we ask 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:18.899 for things, sometimes we get exactly what we 00:08:18.899 --> 00:08:23.839 want. And that's the hard part about this, is 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:28.839 that instead, God has to give them something 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:34.399 better. Saul loses the throne, and David has 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.899 to come and take it. And that's the thing about 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:39.679 David. David was not perfect by any means. David 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:44.240 made some really dumb mistakes. But why was David 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:50.259 different? Because David was humble. before God. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.299 How often do we see when leaders are willing 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:57.200 to apologize or to admit when they did wrong? 00:08:57.860 --> 00:09:00.480 And that was the thing about David. He was different 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.399 from Saul. He was the one who was willing to 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:10.139 repent and to say, I am a sinner. But you see, 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:13.720 the line of David would not stop there. It would 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:16.759 end up continuing forth. and we end up seeing 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.779 an interesting legacy to come. You see, turns 00:09:19.779 --> 00:09:23.299 out that many of David's descendants would end 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:26.059 up going off in their own direction as well. 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:29.179 You see, the kings that would come forth, they 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:32.059 did much of the same. They left up high places. 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.460 They let people worship whatever they wanted 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:36.799 to in their area as long as they just recognized 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:40.360 their authority. They continued to go off and 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:44.139 enslave peoples or take as many wives or concubines 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:46.480 as they wished. They continued to participate 00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:48.559 in all the wars and the battles that everyone 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.799 else had. They acted just like everyone else. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.500 And so God had to teach them a lesson. You know 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:00.340 how it is like whenever you realize that it's 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:03.159 your own kid doing something. You know, if like 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:05.919 this, if somebody else's kid, alright, you know, 00:10:06.019 --> 00:10:07.740 punches somebody in the arm, and it's just sort 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:09.759 of like, oh, you know, kids will be kids. But 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:11.659 then you see your kid do something, you're like, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.159 get over here, I've got to teach you something, 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:16.559 alright. It is okay in your mind somebody else 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:18.299 does it, because that's somebody else's problem. 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:21.080 But when it's your kid, and you're like, you're 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.720 going to be better than this, don't make me look 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:29.350 bad. Could you imagine that in God's eyes? You're 00:10:29.350 --> 00:10:32.690 my people. You're supposed to be different. But 00:10:32.690 --> 00:10:36.730 you're not. So he lets them be pulled out into 00:10:36.730 --> 00:10:40.730 exile. Judah, the last two of the twelve tribes 00:10:40.730 --> 00:10:42.889 remaining, because the other ten went off in 00:10:42.889 --> 00:10:45.850 their own direction for quite some time, they 00:10:45.850 --> 00:10:48.970 ended up going into Babylon and they had two 00:10:48.970 --> 00:10:50.649 things that were in front of them that looked 00:10:50.649 --> 00:10:53.870 really easy. One was that many of them just wanted 00:10:53.870 --> 00:10:56.370 to pretend... This is only going to last for 00:10:56.370 --> 00:10:59.610 a little bit. Just a few years. We'll get through 00:10:59.610 --> 00:11:01.769 it. Okay? And then we'll be right back. It won't 00:11:01.769 --> 00:11:03.669 be that big of a deal. And the prophets like 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:07.429 to be able to say that, the false prophets. But 00:11:07.429 --> 00:11:12.269 God said no. 70 years. And then there were some 00:11:12.269 --> 00:11:14.970 that could find it easy to just be like Babylon. 00:11:15.210 --> 00:11:17.470 Let's just fit in, eat what they eat, do what 00:11:17.470 --> 00:11:20.399 they do, worship what they worship. And God's 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:22.460 saying, no, you're supposed to still be my people 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:25.720 no matter where you are. And even as Ezekiel 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:27.940 is over there having his dream, and God is saying, 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:32.059 you may be away, but I'm here too, and I'm still 00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:38.200 your God. And so after 70 years, God still brings 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:44.179 them home. Each story, we mess up, and God is 00:11:44.179 --> 00:11:47.440 still showing there's a future, there's a hope. 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:52.500 When will it finally be fulfilled? And then we 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:56.620 finally get to see it in Jesus. And we just had 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:59.340 this last week to realize that as much as Jesus 00:11:59.340 --> 00:12:02.480 came into Jerusalem being celebrated as the King, 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:04.960 is that the very people who should have known 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:08.440 Him the best were the ones who sacrificed Him 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.240 to the Romans and let Him be put on a cross. 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:16.700 But that's not where He stays. Rumor has it, 00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:20.490 that he is alive. And what do Peter and John 00:12:20.490 --> 00:12:23.710 do? And they end up racing off. And this is how 00:12:23.710 --> 00:12:26.190 you know that John is the one who wrote this 00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:28.850 one. Because it's not Peter and John went. It's 00:12:28.850 --> 00:12:33.309 Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved. And, 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:35.450 you know, which, you know, I mean, hey, if I 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:38.509 were there too, I'd say the same thing. But more 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:41.590 than that is, don't you just love the fact that 00:12:41.590 --> 00:12:44.409 John gets there first? And it's like, well, Peter 00:12:44.409 --> 00:12:47.480 did go in there, but... the disciple Jesus loved 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.600 the one who got there first said blah blah blah 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.480 and I'm like John you are so petty I love it 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:57.299 it's hilarious but the thing about this though 00:12:57.299 --> 00:13:00.899 is that we rush over those parts because the 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:04.980 good news is what they found what they didn't 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:08.720 find was Jesus in that tomb what they did find 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:13.259 is what Mary saw and isn't it amazing Mary doesn't 00:13:13.259 --> 00:13:16.879 recognize him at first Was it because He was 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:21.940 perfectly healed? Was it because He was displaying 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:24.740 a glory that He hadn't before? Or was it because 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:27.620 she wasn't expecting to see Him alive? Whatever 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:30.799 it may have been, He says, Mary, and then she 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:36.379 sees it. Time and time again in these stories, 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:40.360 there is something else that God has in mind 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.820 that He wants to provide for each and every person. 00:13:44.169 --> 00:13:47.570 And that as He has risen, His Spirit is now with 00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:50.909 us. Because that's the thing, it's now a different 00:13:50.909 --> 00:13:56.350 story. It's a story where God is with us at all 00:13:56.350 --> 00:14:00.629 times. Do you realize what a big deal that is? 00:14:02.230 --> 00:14:05.909 It doesn't matter where you go. It doesn't matter 00:14:05.909 --> 00:14:08.769 where you've been. It doesn't matter what your 00:14:08.769 --> 00:14:12.429 struggle may be. It doesn't matter what others 00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:19.289 may do to you. You always have God right there 00:14:19.289 --> 00:14:25.330 with you to lead and to guide. And that really 00:14:25.330 --> 00:14:29.490 does come down to the core of today, is to ask 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:36.409 you, which path do you choose? Which path to 00:14:36.409 --> 00:14:38.669 choose in so many different options that are 00:14:38.669 --> 00:14:42.600 there in the world? The world continues to want 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.759 to try to paint things as this or that. These 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:48.059 are your only two. This is all that you have 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:51.740 in front of you. Either ignore God and live however 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:54.779 way you wish, or be completely domineering and 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:57.840 judgmental. Either go back to what everybody 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:01.559 else has said makes the most sense, or ignore 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:03.899 everything that God is trying to say to you because 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:07.919 it's just too hard. The choices that are there 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:12.950 are not God's choices. because the only choice 00:15:12.950 --> 00:15:16.769 that God has ever provided is through His Son. 00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:22.309 The only choice comes from sacrifice. The only 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:26.190 choice comes from grace and mercy. The only choice 00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:32.970 comes from the love of God for sinful human beings 00:15:32.970 --> 00:15:37.669 like us. The choice is not something we can come 00:15:37.669 --> 00:15:40.250 up with. And if you've got a great idea in your 00:15:40.250 --> 00:15:45.470 head, I promise you it's wrong. Because the one 00:15:45.470 --> 00:15:49.590 idea is the one didn't come from us. It's the 00:15:49.590 --> 00:15:51.990 one that only God could have seen since the time 00:15:51.990 --> 00:15:54.470 before Adam and Eve, throughout all the times 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:57.429 of Israel, and into the time when His Son came 00:15:57.429 --> 00:15:59.750 and gave His life. And He knew that as much as 00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:03.210 the people had hurt His Son and killed Him, that 00:16:03.210 --> 00:16:06.730 there was life on the other side. And that with 00:16:06.730 --> 00:16:10.500 that life would come forgiveness. And so that 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:15.240 is what I offer to you today. My hope and prayer 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:20.299 is that today, your only hope and trust is in 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:23.700 the resurrection of Jesus. Because as much as 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:26.679 people might want to say it's a story, the reality 00:16:26.679 --> 00:16:30.279 of it is the only place where we have life everlasting. 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:35.159 And with that, each and every day that God's 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.200 Spirit is there to lead and to guide you. So 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:40.870 wherever you may have been, Whatever your story 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:44.029 may have been up to this point, the story now 00:16:44.029 --> 00:16:48.769 belongs to Jesus and you get to be the character 00:16:48.769 --> 00:16:52.549 that Jesus loves. Thanks be to God.