Easter 2017

Father we just thank you for your presence here today and Lord, you know, every every issue that we walked in with today all of us, you know it father and the Beautiful miraculous thing that we're going to talk about today was done so that every burden every issue every lost. Hope Every broken issue can be redeemed through Jesus. So father we thank you for your presents today. Amen. You know the Quakers used to get together and they would just sit and it wouldn't say anything until someone started to the quake and I think God was moving and then they take something rather interesting way to to have church. Usually we have to quiet people down, but there's actually a Quaker Church in in Cuba that we went by there still around but

the resurrection

Genesis 2 and 7 says the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the Man became a living being in. The reason I wanted to say that is because the Hebrew word for living being is Nate fetish which is often translated soul. And the point of which atom became a living being an a fetish is when God joined his body when she made out of dust and his spirits which he breathed into him. When those came together. Then he was a fool living being at a human being until his Spirit and the physical with put together. And so it the reason I say that is because we live in a time where we think so physically we think that the world and our life and everything is just about the flashing about what the body and mind once in those kinds of things, but we are actually body and spirit. And your spirit or than a fish is what goes to God when we die. Something will go to God. We just don't die. And then the party's over there is something that carries on after us Jesus, of course proved that by coming back but it was for this spirit that we have that Jesus came died and rose again. That is the real purpose of it all this in spirit. And what's happened is that we have forgotten the spirit side of it or just put it away because it demand so much of us, but it is what gives proper borders to everything else. It gives this is how we should handle our sexuality. This is how we should handle our money. This is how we should handle our talent. This is how we should handle our marriage. It gives us all kind of a a proper setting for it. But when you need date that the spirit exist and the gate any teaching on the spirit that it's kind of like a free-for-all do whatever you want and that's kind of what we have going on around us. But anyway, the resurrection is is the very heart of Christianity. Are you guys many of you have been Christians for quite a long time? You've had a lot of Easter's in but it's still worth going over the reality of the Resurrection because it is the very heart of Christianity in 1st Corinthians. Paul said this if Christ has not been raised are preaching is useless and so is your face from the dead it was a fundamental part of it in the same chapter. He says if Christ is not been raised your faith is futile. You were still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep meaning died in Christ are lost. It's just like it was for nothing all of the sacrifice all of the giving all of the the, you know, crucifying up. The flesh was for nothing. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead and it says you're still in your sins. One of us. I think it's often said it's not what we know that will hurt us that will hurt us and one of the great misgivings in our society. Now one of the most important missing factors is the reality of human sin. We do not accept that Concept in our secular society. And so when you have no concept that there is sin and that there is a consequence force and then you know that believes everything pretty wide open and it's causing us to miss a very very important aspect of Christianity, which is that Jesus came to take away our sin, but people are still convicted there still people. There's a Remnant in the world. There's a remnant of people that still know something's not right. My marriage is a right. My job isn't right. My life isn't right. My conscience isn't right. I have guilt there's something not finished yet. There's something not right. It's like the U2 song I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For like there's something missing in my life. And I would say that that is the presence of God through the Holy Spirit.

Paul goes on to say that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead and 1st Corinthians Paul when he says and he was shown to be the Son of God and he gives us why we believe that Jesus was the son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ Our Lord. It was the resurrection that made them believe that Jesus was who he said, he wasn't even Jesus said in John. Alright, Jesus replied destroy this Temple. And in three days, I will write it up. And of course for those who are familiar with that piece of scripture in those days Solomon's Temple was there and that's where everybody went to offer sacrifice and to really have a relationship with God. What Jesus said? I'm going to destroy the temple and but I will raise it up in three days. Meaning him being the temple. It will be through Christ that we have a relationship with God now not the temple and I was there I was in Jerusalem and you can stand beside the temple and you can look up where that original Solomon's Temple was and you can see where the Roman soldiers and a d70 pushed the huge blocks over and they came crashing down and broke through the road, which was Stone went right through and deep down into the ground. They're all still laying there. It's an amazing thing to see you just that they uncovered it about 25 years ago. So the sole reason that we believe Jesus is who he said he is is because of the Resurrection not because of the Miracles. There's people that are doing Miracles. There's Devils there doing miracles. Pray, I can remember as I said you before which said to me keep don't put your faith in Miracles and I knew exactly what he was saying. It wasn't because of Jesus is great wisdom that we believe he was the son of God. There's a lot of wisdom out there. If you read Confucius a Confucianism or some of the some of the ancient Buddhist for whatever there's a lot of wisdom of there. It's not all wrong. There's some good wisdom and Truth out. There won't save you might make your life a little better but it won't save you the difference is the resurrection it is only because of the Resurrection that we believe that Jesus is who he said he is so that's the wrong with this thing. They called the way After Jesus died, they called it the way and it was causing a lot of problems. I mean just not long after Jesus died something like three or four thousand people got saved and one day in Jerusalem and they're all looking at the Jews and saying you kill them. It was causing a problem. They were upset and the Romans at the time we got to remember Judy at that time was a little Outpost of the Roman Empire all of Europe a big chunk of what is now Iraq Syria in Asia down into Africa. This little chunk of land was very important because it was the transit between Europe and Africa and Asia. So it was very much in the Roman mindset. We got to keep peace here. We got to keep the peace here. And here's these guys going around Jerusalem talking about the king of the Jews you can imagine what the Roman soldiers are saying. Oh, no, we've got another people here. We've got enough. Problem here. So it was very much in the Roman desire to keep this quiet and shut it down as fast as they could because pilot the Caiaphas said why should a whole nation die just kill Jesus and we won't have a problem because he was saying if we start getting the Romans upset they're going to come and they're going to close down the temple and they're going to cause a lot of problems. So we know there is that issue going on. So if the Romans wanted to solve the problem all they had to do was hang Jesus's body over Pilots deck. That's all they had to do and the whole Messiah thing would have died the whole thing would have ended and they tried to find the body and they couldn't find the body but that tells you right there that if the Romans couldn't find the body that's because there wasn't nobody that's why the there wasn't one there. But they could have solved all of the problems and the Jewish in the Sanhedrin and all those guys. They wanted a body to because if they could show a body then the whole thing is over and they go back to having power. The other thing is that if you and I will e follow this guy around Halifax for you know, 3 years and then he says he's God and we believe it and we're going telling everyone that he's God and then he dies on a cross. He's killed. And you know all we got a problem here. If this guy did not actually raised from the dead would you and I still go out saying oh, no, he raised from the dead with the threat of being killed.

There's some nice people around but there ain't that nice people around. There's no one that's going to die for a lie, when they know it's a lie. I mean if they're getting some kind of reward for it, they might go along with it for a while, but the disciples never get any rewards if you look at the way the disciples died being torn asunder. I mean like a rope there rope here rope hero rope here and two horses. And go in opposite directions boiled in oil and killed and crucified upside down and all the stuff that happened to them these boys knew something happens. They knew something happened and they're willing to die for it. There's also another interesting aspect David. Jesus did not do What Messiahs were supposed to do and that's what everybody was looking for their looking for a messiah? Even the disciples were looking for a messiah and what's really interesting when you think about it. He did not he never wanted decisive victory over Israel's political enemies. He stayed away from the political scene as I think a lot of Christians should in some ways. He did not restore the temple to Jewish control and and bring it back to the the great time of its history. You never brought peace or Justice to the world didn't do that and the Wolf was not lying down with the lamb. And these are all things the Messiah was supposed to do yet very early within a d 40 50 and 60. We're seeing writings. We're worse. The church is very very convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. He never did anything that the Messiah was supposed to do in their thinking right what they were expecting to do they kept on saying when are you going to restore the Kingdom of Israel meaning putting the Jews back in control of their country and having all of that Glory back with David Wright? Never he never did any of that, but for some reason they still thought he was the Messiah others actually were more. Like what the Jews expected the Messiah to do. There were three other uprisings Judas the Galilean had a Revolt in a D6 and everyone thought he was the Messiah. And his dad and nobody followed him thinking he still was he just died. Oh everyone dispersed. Then there was Simon Berg giora in Ada 70. He did another Uprising again trying to establish Israel and do all the things the Messiah was supposed to do. You got killed. Nobody said after him that he's the Messiah and finally bar catch fire. Weird name he died in 1:35, one of the final things before the Jews were completely dispersed in the great the Explorer which stopped in 1948. All these guys died, but nobody said, oh no there if he was the Messiah. what they did with Jesus Jesus. I never did anything the Messiah was supposed to do politically and all those things but yet they still said he was the Messiah why because he rose from the dead. That's why there was something distinctly different after Jesus's death. He didn't he died and came back and there was even a great people like his brother James and Peter and all these boys who could have going on and been, you know carried on the Traditions. They had other options. They didn't choose them. They knew Jesus was the Messiah and it really demands an explanation as to why this happened and the reason is the resurrection reality that happened that made them go. She is really the Messiah and we're going to die for this. We believe it. We've seen it so the idea of Jesus I did not have sinned. So he fulfilled the law for you and I so he was able to be raised from the dead. It's very important that Jesus was sinless because of Jesus had thin. He would have died and he would have had to stay in the grave because each person has to pay for their sin with death. I don't know why God said it. He said it in Genesis. He said the penalty for sin is death. Don't know what to tell you. Some people think it's a little harsh but God's God and he will have his way you could have given them an apple pie or something and not would have done. It said no, that's not what I want. I want death. And what's really interesting about that is that you see so many religions through the history of the world all trying to appease a God in whatever shape that they see that God. All the religions most of them have this concept that something was done something wrong with Don and you have to go and take sacrifices to this God to appease him. I wonder where that concept came from it came from the Garden of Eden. That's where it came from and it was just in the DNA of everybody in the world and it just manifested itself through all kinds of different ways. But Jesus was perfect. So therefore the great had no right to hold them. Remember the grave and hell was only created for the devil and his angels. It was never created for you and I wasn't created for you and I but as we decide Willfully to follow the wrong things to follow the Flash and the desires of sin. If we willfully choose to do that when our conscience is a while. I didn't know God, but you had a conscience everyone's got a conscience everybody around the world as host and stealing his furniture is wrong. We just going over and taking his fridge and lifting it up and taking it over to your place is just not cool. There is something inside of all of us that tells us right from wrong. There's something that says being married and then going out and having an affair with your coworker. There's something wrong about that. It might feel good. But we know there's something wrong about it. Why because it's done secretly and sin is always done in secret as best as can be that's why it always happens at night. Jesus said night is the time of the enemy, right? That's where sin comes out when you see someone staggering down Spring Garden Road drunk at 12 noon in the afternoon. You're gone. What is going on? Like get your life together buddy? You see that 2 in the morning and you go

That's all you say, right because nighttime is when that stuff happens. There's a time for sin. We all have a conscience speaking of that. I mean, this is the most disgusting talk like a drop down at the bar at the at the pool by 10, but the thing is we all have a conscience all over the world. They may not know but they have a conscience. And the beautiful thing about where you and I find ourselves is that for some miraculous reason God chose to come down and to convey to you. And I know that he loves us and to give us the power to follow our conscience. He gave us the holy spirit that can defeat sin. You're not by yourself anymore before people me Christ most the time their life is in a mess and it's unfortunate but we're stupid people. We are a stupid dumb down creature were shoving exhaust from our cars into the air that we breathe. We're pouring our sewer into the water that we drink. I mean, we're putting pesticides on our fields and that's causing the food we eat to be poison. We put fertilizer on our Lawns to make the grass grow and then we cut it.

Think about that.

At some point you should kind of think that's stupid.

But we are we have been so dumbed down and so but what God has mercifully done for those who have come into relationship with Christ. He is cost us to be awoken. We come out of a stupor. It's almost as if and I remember when I was 17 my friend of mine got pregnant with somebody else's child, but she was going to get an abortion. She's going to go to you had to go to New York then and I am I gave her some money to go help, you know. So I gave her some money early. She gave it back to me. I don't have blood on my hands. Bottom but two years after I came to my face. Oh I did have abortion is like what and it wasn't because somebody hammered me with it and was hammering me over the head with a placard outside of a hospital it was because the Holy Spirit had changed my whole perception of what is sacred head change my whole perception of right and wrong and it happened like quickly. And then on top of that he gave me the power to live up and above those things that were trying previously to leave me to destruction and my perfect while you guys know.

All right, there's some people in this car gation that would tell you very plainly that I am not perfect. They would do it with briefly. I think even but the fact is we are all moving towards better things. And I can seriously say that most of the world is moving towards worse things. Watch the news. There's two directions in life. There is the right way and there is the wrong way and you will know them by their fruit. If you do not have fundamentally if you do not have peace in your life, if you do not get up in the morning with a sense of hope. And a sense of no matter what's coming at me? I know the God in Me is going to allow me to somehow go through it over it around it or under it, but we're going forward. If you don't know how have a piece of knowing what's going to happen when you shut your eyes for the last time that to me is a very very sad place to be. And God offers us the opportunity to be in that place. Jesus said follow me. That's all he said he didn't say be perfect. He did in some cases. He gave some directions to people the Rich Young Ruler. He said go sell everything you have God's not telling you to sell everything you have he's saying be willing to sell everything you have there's a big difference. That's all he wanted to see if that guy would do if he was willing and he wasn't willing because he of course value that more than what Christ was offering him. This morning Christ is offering us something that money can't buy. You can't buy any ternity you can buy victory over the things that are plaguing you in the things that are keeping you down in the things that are causing you to live a lesser life than what God put you here to live doesn't matter your age doesn't matter Hebrews 10 the old system. Do understand what Jesus did in the resurrection. We have to take a quick look back at the the system that the Jews were living under at the time and I won't take long with this the old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow a damn preview of the good things to come not the good things themselves. And of course there was a whole process in the temple at that time every year they would, they would bring some kind of a sacrifice that make the journey to Jerusalem. They would offer this sacrifice for the sins of their the past year. It would be an atoning sacrifice. But it would not cause their sin to disappear because I had to come back again next year and they had to come back again the next year and what it was was a reminder. You are a sinner you are broken. You need God in your life. It wasn't you're a sinner. You're broken. I hate you. That's not what it was saying some of you grew up in that faith. I did where you're always expecting judgment from God. Is it going to get me today is today the day it's going to happen. God was saying your your sinner your broken, but I have a tone for you and I am going to help you be everything you can be. Try to come back every year. It's an interesting thing. The sacrifices hundred that system where repeated again and again year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship if they could have provided perfect cleansing. The sacrifices would have stopped. You would have done it one year and that would have been the end of her. For the worshippers would have been purified once and for all and they're and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. If you have feelings of guilt check what you're believing because there is absolutely nothing that should make you feel guilty convicted is another thing. Guilty guilty is a negative destructive pushing down emotion conviction makes us run to Christ. It makes us run to a solution. Gilt pushes us down and makes us stay in bed for 3 Days. That's what guilt does and because the sacrifice of Christ is coming said there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus one of the most miraculous things about the whole darn thing is that the atoning sacrifice of Christ will take away the sins you did doing and we'll do the world that they think it's a they think that it's you get out of jail card from Monopoly or you go past go and get to watch come get $200. It's not that because you have to live it. Yeah Wocket. And trust me as I've said many times Christianity is not for the the week or the Cowardly or those who are not about to put their all into something because it does require that but the holy spirit is with you. so

but instead it says I'm verse 3 but instead those sacrifices actually remind them of their sins year after year for does not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why when Christ came into the world. He said to God you did not want animal sacrifices our sin offerings, but you have given me a body to offer you were pleased. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sale crazy thing. I saw the other day, they believe they found a bone from John the Baptist. I don't know. It was in some church they dug up and there was they used to carry. I just forgot the word of those things that the Catholic Church used to send around a little piece of relics. That's it. And it was in a relic box and they believe is the bone of John the Baptist and they said we might be able to find out the DNA of Jesus because he was a Jesus and I'm going well you just keep on looking there buddy because there was no relationship between John the Baptist other than family relationship. There was no blood relationship took a little embryo. In heaven somehow and placed it into Mary it was made from no human. This was purely Divine and he put it in to marry. There is no DNA from John the Baptist in Jesus. So Jesus and God gave him a body so that he could talk and be and be tempted in every way you and I are tempted Sean and I were talking about this the other day in every way that you have been tempted. I don't care the vial to have it. I don't care the anger of it. I don't care the weird dementedness of it. You are guaranteed that the devil through to Jesus. He threw it at him somehow every sexual Temptation every anger Temptation every run get out of this temptation every got even in the end Jesus's father father. Why have you forsaken me even that was thrown at him? And Jesus said in the end? I commit my spirit to you. I can Mend my spiritual father, even though I can't feel you hanging on this cross. I am trusting you what faith goes on to say for God's will was for us to be made Holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Done deal and God has decided that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for you. And I in the world. It says under the old Covenant the priests and ministers before the altar day after day offering the same sacrifices again, and again, which can never take away sins. Can you imagine what that was like killing things all day? The blood in the mess in the godson delivers in the intestines and it it was a morbid ugly thing because that's what sin is in God's eyes. It's ugly. It's disgusting and he won't have it in his presence and you and I can go in front of them and we will one day we sit on our lives. We need the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, but our high priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand says for by that one offering he forever made perfect.

This is what's crazy. He made you and I in the eyes of God, perfect you and I know we're not perfect. But in God's eyes, you are everything you needed to be everything you needed to do, right everything. You did wrong. Jesus came and did right every thought that was wrong. Jesus came and thought the right thought for you and I every bit of the law that you and I could not fulfill of being. I mean we can't I mean, I mean look at us but we do we were jealous for hateful why God put us all together in a church. It's not like the Buddhist thing we can go to a cave and just connect with something but God said no no, no. No, you're not going to get away that easy. I want y'all to come together. And I want you to rub up against each other.

Right, if you push dull right you're getting the arrows, right? And you're needing it and you're messing in all the substances. That's what the church is. We come together and we're rubbing up against each other and I'm saying no man, right because it just brings right to the surface our sinfulness. Say why don't like that sister. We're not supposed to that's the human nature by God is going to come through the Holy Spirit and he's going to give you the love you need because he says love is shed abroad in my heart through Christ Jesus and all we have to do is use it. I had a situation recently. I'll tell you guys it works this these this person. It's something said something really nasty under their breath while I was in the company was aimed at me another Christian, right?

So now I know what you're saying. I know what you're trying to say. Is it a little dark from the devil right and didn't look at me look down and I'm so I'm up all night, right? I'm just and you go, you know how you go with those thoughts you think of how you would argue with them? I'm going to go and talk to them and then they're going to say this and then I'm going to say this but somehow and that you always end up winning never noticed that in your mind. You're the one who always wins that argument. So and I'm just like the next morning. I'm really upset and I'm going along and I meet them again the next day. And I mean like at a table with them right now. I'm just sitting there.

Right, and I could feel it coming off me, right? And got the keys. Love does not keep a record of wrongs.

I said so you're telling me I'm supposed to just forget this. Yep. He said what about done with your sin? As far as the East is from the West I have put your sins from me. I said, okay. Okay. I got you. See this is what it means but walking with Christ. You got to be made of something to do this. The holy you got to let the Holy Spirit working I said, so what do I do should be nice to them.

I said, okay. Well, I'll start by talking to them because they weren't talking to me. And it was all very quiet at the table. It's just the three of us rice. God knows how to put you in it. Hey, since you're going to say something keeps going to say something. You got to say something. So fine. Like I said, so, how's it going with you guys and I start to talk and I just being as nice as I could and they said something back instantly instantly. It was gone. My whole mood changed. I was able to eat. I was able to forget about the whole thing. Love always wins. Love always wins.

I mean I could have what I wanted to do in the flesh with say so let's have a conversation about what you said last night and you know, what you would have had on your hands because God would have been with me say well, you're going to have your going to take this one by yourself buddy. So go in there and give her your best one cuz you're going to come out with a pie in your face. Like that's what's going to happen. So God has perfected everything in you, but we are still in the process. It says those who are being made. Holy you and I are being made. Holy and what that means is we are being made separate. That's what that word. Holy mean separated unto God and as we crucify and sanctify those parts of our life that want to kill people and then you go know I am going to love that is sanctifying your life and it is the process of being made holy and it gets easier as you do it. I know people who can walk and and they're just not there just not affected by anything. It's an amazing thing to see because they know God loves them and they're able to return with the soft. It says a soft reply turns away wrath Proverbs, right Mama Matilda's with us from Mozambique or from Zimbabwe Kim's mom.

We were really concerned. She just getting yesterday and we're really concerned about her going through Toronto. If any you've ever gone through Toronto and a transfer in a plane. It's like everyone's running a hundred miles an hour with stuff falling out of their luggage and it's just pandemonium and Liz was saying her mom while I was kind of worried about you getting through and she said, why do you worry I walk in Grace.

And she's here on time. I've been there where I'm looking at the clock and you're getting crazy and have to remind yourself. God is walking with me. You just calm down.

Goes on to say then he God says I will never again remember their sins and Lawless Deeds. There's something you can take home and lay down and go to sleep with. And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. So that's why it was finished. Ad70 everything finished. The Jews have never done another sacrifice for sin since 8070 when it was fine be broken down 1st Peter and I'll finish with this it was the precious blood of Christ the sinless Spotless Lamb of God God chose him as your Ransom long before the world began. It's amazing. I don't understand all that. I don't understand why it all went the way it did but God had a plan so that you and I would be sitting here in 2017 being offered the greatest gift that the world will ever ever receive and that is the power to live a Godly life as best we can and I promise of Eternity This is powerful stuff. But now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake. So today is about the resurrection of Jesus rose to be that perfect sacrifice for you. And I there's absolutely no reason that you have to walk out of here today with anything. But Stellar hope in your heart. There is no reason you need to walk out of here fearful of any challenge that's coming your way. And there's and there's no reason you have to walk out of this place giving up your dreams. Because God came so that you could be everything you were supposed to be doesn't matter. What age you start in. It doesn't matter what your circumstances God's able to make your life be the fullest that it was supposed to be. We thank you for what you're saying to his today Father God. And if anybody in this place today Father God has a hunger in their heart has some kind of a assents going on that they want what is being talked about today this salvation. This new life is power over send this promise of Eternity right now father God. I just pray that you would speak to their heart. And cause them to say yes to you to say come into my life Christ come into my situation. And take it over I give you my life. And father for those of us who have done this and are walking this I pray today that we would make a new commitment that we would make a new determination to walk with a greater faith and a greater Proclamation that our God is alive and greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world and because of that father God we can go and bless people we can go and be loving two people we can go and share what we have with people we can go and bring this good news to them. We pray all of this in The Wonderful Name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. God is good.

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How late is able to help anyone needs prayer? You can come up either during the song or at the end of the song and we'll have people praying for you right here. So come on out.

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