Good morning, Rhema Community Church family. Happy Resurrection Sunday. Happy Easter. Again, we are having to meet in a little bit different manner than normally.

We are not able to gather together as family here face to face. But I want to say good morning to you. I know that many of you are watching online.

Many of you will be viewing this and sharing it with your friends and really excited about that. But he is risen. He is risen indeed.

This is a monumental day in the life of Christian church, obviously, for many, many reasons.

I know these days are really odd and they're really hard for a lot of us in many, many different ways.

Just so you know, we are continuing to pause on our, obviously, our live gatherings here at the church.

We are going to continue to adhere to the direction of our leadership.

And we will not be meeting for the next few weeks, at least, to see what's going on.

We'll continue to send out encouragements to you over GroupMe, our Facebook page as well.

And we will try to keep you informed as best we can.

If you're not part of GroupMe, it's easy to find someone in the church to be a part of that can help you get connected in that way.

Thank you for remaining faithful in your giving as well, too.

We are still continuing to do ministry here in our community.

We are still continuing to support ministries that are reaching out in this community as well, too.

And your faithfulness is needed to make that happen.

We're all having to be confined in our homes and spending a lot more time together, which is a good thing in many, many ways.

And for me, I've gotten to discover just some really cool things with my wife and my children right now and be able to spend some time with them that I haven't been able to in months past, really years past.

And so just a matter of fact, just the other day, Caroline had her watermelon pool and she wanted me to fill up.

Caroline's three and a half years old.

And so we filled up her her watermelon pool and took the hose, filled it up with water.

And it is ice cold.

And she's she's dead set on getting in that pool.

Of course, Daddy has to get in the pool with her.

And I get in the pool with her.

Caroline's heart is being real sensitive to the Lord these days.

And she's she's asking a lot of questions about Jesus.

She's asking those those those connected questions.

And so it's really a blessing to be able to be there with her and to minister and ask her to answer those questions for your for your child.

But anyway, I'm getting out of the pool and I'm trying to get out because it's freezing cold and that bottom of the pool.

Some of you may relate to this is so slippery.

I slip and my leg goes underneath me and I fall and I put my hand down and I bend my hand back so severely and I'm writhing in pain.

I get up and I'm writhing in pain and I'm holding my hand.

And Caroline asked me, she says, Daddy, are you OK?

And I was like, no, baby, but I'll be OK in a minute.

Just give me a minute.

My hand is hurting really bad and I'm holding it.

And she just gently reaches up, grabs my hand and holds my hand.

She says, dear Jesus, please help Daddy's hand feel better right now.

Amen.

And she was so serious.

And I'm like, yes, Lord, you are connecting the dots.

And I pray that as we're having to spend time at home like like like we are, that you're having those moments as well, too.

You're having those times where God is doing some special things in your life and in your family's life.

And you're not missing it.

You're not missing it.

Today we have a message that I'm really excited about.

I know I say that every week, but I really am excited about this message this week.

We'll be in Luke chapter 24 and in Luke chapter 24.

The title of today's message is seeking the living among the dead, seeking the living among the dead.

And it makes me think, have you ever had those situations where you embrace yourself for some awful or unpleasant reality only to discover that that wasn't your reality at all?

I mean, you're you're in those moments.

You're you're bracing yourself for this reality.

You're you're afraid.

You're frightened and it grabs you.

OK, and then it wasn't your reality at all.

And that's the situation in Luke chapter 24.

This is the situation of these women have come to the grave and they've come to the tomb where Jesus is buried.

And they have accepted the reality that he is dead.

He's dead.

And so they come to the tomb to finish the embalming process.

They're going to put the spices on his body.

And I can imagine as they're traveling to the tomb.

It was just this almost probably a silent vigil that's taking place as not a lot being spoken.

They're walking to the tomb and in their minds and their hearts.

They feel the loss.

They feel the emotion and they know he's dead.

They know he's gone.

And so they are coming.

I'm going to sing.

And I'm going to sing to the two of these young people prayer go out.

And it begins in verse one by saying, but on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

And when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, let's just hang on right there. While they were perplexed about this, listen, we know the rest of the story.

I want you to suspend what you know about the rest of the story just for a few moments and put yourself honestly in the drama of what's taking place, okay?

They have come with spices to finish the embalming process. The body is starting to decompose in their minds, okay?

And when they get there, they see that the stone is rolled away. And these ladies weren't born last night.

They are fully aware that this stone had the Roman seal on it. This stone had been guarded by soldiers all night.

And when we say stone, we're not talking about a large rock that they moved a little bit. No, this is a massive, massive boulder that would take almost an army of men to move, okay?

This is something very significant. But the seal is broken. The Roman seal is broken. The tomb is open. The body is gone.

And they're thinking, how could this get any worse for us?

How could this get any worse? Because Jesus has been crucified. They have buried him. They sealed the tomb.

And now somebody has taken the body of Jesus. How cruel is this? How cruel can this be?

And in the midst of their agony that they are experiencing, this remarkable thing happens.

And initially, as it happens, it scares them to death. It scares them to death.

Verse 4.

This account is given in all four Gospels.

And what takes place here is that the angels are basically saying, why are you here?

What are you really looking for, okay?

And by the way, this is just a little bit of a rebuke from the angels.

Because the angels are saying, you guys must have some very poor memories.

You know, why are you surprised that he's not here?

It's not like he didn't tell you.

It's not like he only said it one time.

He repeatedly told you, I am going to be crucified.

I am going to be buried.

They are going to bury me.

And on the third day, I will rise.

On the third day, I will rise.

On the third day, I will rise.

And I don't want to chase too much of a bunny trail here this morning.

But listen to me.

The whole credibility of Christianity rests upon the resurrection.

Because if the resurrection didn't take place, then Jesus is a liar.

He's a liar because he said that he would rise again.

That he would rise on the third day.

And we're not talking metaphorically here either, okay?

You know, in logic, he said that he would die.

And he literally died on the cross.

He said that he was going to be buried.

And literally, he was buried in the tomb.

And so, why would he say, metaphorically, I'm going to rise again on the third day?

So, it was no metaphor that he was using.

So, don't give me this patronizing nonsense that it doesn't really make a difference if it was a literal resurrection or not.

If it literally happened.

It's just the spirit of Christianity.

Like the tulips spring up every spring.

It's just the newness of life and all that stuff.

It's all new beginnings.

I mean, seriously, that's what some people will put in place.

But he said he would rise again.

He would rise again.

And the angels are saying, help me understand, ladies, you know, why you are surprised that he kept his word.

Has he ever lied to you before?

Had he ever told you any falsehoods before?

Why is it that you have forgotten about this?

And we all understand and we know because we would have forgotten as well too.

We know because of the overwhelming, shocking experience of crucifixion.

All that they went through.

But notice that these angels say that the message is consistent.

The message is consistent.

It is interesting.

It is interesting.

the cross was real, was real. And that is that he said he is who he said he was. The validation

takes place. Jesus' mission will never change. Jesus' mission has never changed. His mission is

this, to forgive our sins and to give us new life. To forgive our sins and to give us new life. To

forgive our sins and to give us new life. That's what Jesus' mission is all about. And that's what

the resurrection is all about. It's about the forgiveness of your sins. The forgiveness

of my sins. And it's not only the forgiveness of the sins, but it's about, it's about a

literal, literal, literally he is giving us new life. We are not a different creation.

We are a new creation. He is giving us new life. It is the resurrected living Christ who

gives us life. Not inspiration. Not a metaphor. Not ideas out there. It is the living Christ

who gives new life. And I love this line that he says in verse 5. He says, why do you seek

the living among the dead? And again, I don't want to make too much of this, but I think it's

interesting application for us today as I read this, that the way we live our lives, too

many of us, too many of us are looking for life from dead sources. We continue to try

to find life in so many dead sources. And what we are doing is we are, we are avoiding the

issue between me and Jesus. And we are looking for life in the forms of relationships, in the

form of money, in the form of job, in the form of a different career, in the form of

an education. And ultimately, all you're doing is rearranging furniture. Ultimately, all you're

doing is putting spackle on the wall and the cracks of the walls. And it doesn't mean that

you have dealt with the substance of stuff, okay? And you know, we can talk ourselves into

being momentarily happy or momentarily joyful. And when we are doing that, we are seeking

the living among the dead. The resurrection validates the fact that he did what he did

on the cross, and he really accomplished these things. And so basically, angels, ladies, ladies,

you've got two issues working against you right now, and neither one of them are very good.

First of all, your memory is not so good. Your memory is not so good. He said he was going

to do it, and he said it a lot. He said it a lot. And secondly, don't stick around here,

ladies. Don't just sit here because Jesus is not some dead hero. He's not a dead hero.

You will not find Jesus buried in this place. If you go to Israel and you take a tour, they

will show you, we think he was buried here. We think the tomb was here. There's a church

that's built on the place where they believe it's the burial place of Jesus Christ. And

they will say, we think that this is where he was buried. But it doesn't matter because

he ain't there. He ain't there. The issue is not the burial place. The issue is the living

Savior, that he is alive. And you can feel the drama in these women as they come to finish

this burial process, the embalming process. And sadness is washing all over them. They

can't find the body of Jesus. And racing in their mind is, who rolled the stone away and

where is Jesus? Where have they taken Jesus? But now their hearts are filled with life-changing

confirmation. This is huge. And the emotion of this passage is absolutely astonishing. And I

would say that verses 8 through 10, if you look at verses 8 through 10, is really the

essence of what the gospel is all about. I'll show that to you in a second. Verse 80 says,

and they remembered his words. They remembered his words. This is not cognitive memory that

they're referring to. This is that whole experience memory. You mean he's not dead? You mean he's

alive? I remembered he said that. I remembered he said that a lot. I remember now. He did

a lot worse. He didn't you doubt it.

he

He

Thank you.

You can't keep this good news to yourself. And by the way, you have to understand, the apostles are hiding out. They're hiding out. They're scared to death. I mean, the reason is obvious. Jesus died and he was killed because he ran up against the religious leaders and all these trumped up charges that they had on him that he was going to overthrow the Roman Empire, which was not exactly the truth. But his disciples identified with him.

And if they killed Jesus, what do you think they're going to do to us? And so they're hiding out. They're hiding out. I think these women were tremendously courageous as they go to carry out this labor of love. Verse 10. Now it was Mary, Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. You know, I wish I could say as I read this that the apostles were elated and they

remembered too, you know, I mean, and they received what the women had to say that would make this story so wonderful and so rich. But by the way, that's why, one of the reasons why I love the gospels. You know, people, people who say that the apostles made up this story about the resurrection, um, they have no idea about the culture and, and the history of this time. You see,

if you're going to tell a lie, you're going to make sure that that lie is super credible, aren't you? I mean, if you're going to tell a lie, make it a good one, right? I mean, make sure that it's, it seems, it seems valid. Okay.

But now you would not get this when you first read the, when you first read this, but the very first thing, if they are making this story up about the resurrection and it's just the lie, first of all, you would not choose women to be the people who go to the grave and come back with this story. That would not be, I know it's a terrible thing to say and I know it's very sexist. Okay. But, but back then women had no authority and they had no right to testify.

Whatsoever. So you absolutely wouldn't do that if you were making this story up. Secondly, if you're making this story up, you wouldn't have, you would, you would have had the apostles, okay, uh, elated and completely accepting of the story that was told to them, reported to them by these ladies. But we see that Luke gives us the brutal, the brutal, uh, truth in verse 11.

But these words seem to be an idle tale and they did not believe them straight up. They, they didn't believe them. Okay. These dudes spent three and a half years with Jesus. They saw him walk on water. They saw him turn water into wine. They saw him producing all you can eat seafood buffet for the multitudes. Right. They saw that. They saw that.

And, and, and basically they are, they are saying your imagination has gotten the best of you ladies. You have lost your mind. He died from a distance. We saw the spikes go in his hands from a distance. We saw the spikes go in his feet. He didn't pass out.

He didn't just pass out. They drove a spear into his side. We know how crucifixion works. You die from asphyxiation. Joseph of Arimathea. He came and got his body, put him in the tomb. He was dead. They put a boulder over him. He was dead. The Romans placed the seal over it. It was guarded by the Romans. He was dead. Ladies, come on. Seriously. He's dead. He's dead.

I'll come back to that in just a second because this is a remarkable deal here. But you have to understand that these women were not hallucinating either. They came to embalm his body realizing that he was dead. But in the story, there is also the dawning of hope. The dawning of hope.

Before I read verse 12, and I don't want to be overly dramatic here, but you know what Peter had done. We all know. We all know. Peter denied him. And not only did Peter deny him, but read the denial of Peter.

Peter, okay? When Peter cursed.

But something tells me that Peter was probably maybe edged back a little bit from the group, okay? He wasn't quite so out front and bold as he was before. And hearing this report, he's probably maybe looking down at his sandals and he's feeling this sense of what he has done. But as they speak, something stirs in Peter because verse 12 starts off, but Peter, but Peter, but Peter, they denounce the ladies. You ladies are crazy.

You get this wild imagination. We know about crucifixion. We know he's dead, but Peter, but Peter. And probably in Peter's mind, he's thinking, I do remember him saying that. I do remember, I recall him saying that. And listening to what the verse is going to say, listen at verse 12, because it starts off and it says, but Peter ran to the tomb. I love that. He ran.

I really believe that. I really believe that that is the dawning of hope in Peter's heart. I think the grief and the pain and the agony and the shame and the guilt of denying him, that the news of the empty tomb triggered the remembrance of memory, that he did say that on the third day he was going to rise again. So Peter runs. He runs. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stopping and looking in.

And he saw the linen cloths by themselves. And he went home marveling at what had happened. I truly do believe that this is the dawning of hope.

This ain't no joke. This resurrection thing is real. It's for real. He's alive.

And you know, finishing the story, what you have to consider here is, what in the world happened to these disciples who categorically wrote these women off?

What happened to them, okay? And said that these women had lost their minds, this didn't really take place, and the resurrection didn't really happen.

Listen, what in the world happened over the next five to six days that categorically changed everything?

I mean, think on that, friends. This is the reason why you have to come to grips with the resurrection.

There is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ than you might think.

And I don't have time to go through all of this, but I would recommend to you, in all honesty,

if you are seriously struggling with whether or not the resurrection is true,

I would encourage you to go read Lee Strobel's Case for Christ.

I would encourage you to read Josh McDowell's work, Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

Those are great books, but you read those, it takes more faith to believe that there was never a resurrection

than when you look at the evidence presented that there actually was a resurrection.

And I'm just going to give you four quick things as we draw this to an end this morning.

I want to give you four things about the evidence.

The very first evidence that there was a resurrection, and what we're talking about here is,

the first thing is that, the empty tomb.

The tomb is empty.

The truth of the matter is, I mean, where is his body?

Seriously, where is his body?

That's no light consideration, family.

That's no light consideration.

When you consider the prominence of Jesus, his notoriety, the visibility that he had at the time,

and the links, the great links that they went to to seal the tomb, to roll the boulder,

to put the guards in front of it, where is he?

Where is he?

The tomb is empty.

It shows that he is the victorious Savior.

The victorious Savior.

I mean, listen, Satan couldn't seduce him,

death could not destroy him,

and the grave couldn't hold him.

He is the victorious Savior.

It proves he's the victorious Savior.

The second thing, the evidence that takes place,

that proves the resurrection is,

how these men changed.

Look how they changed.

What convinced him?

I mean, there were eyewitness reports that they ate with him.

There were eyewitness reports that they touched him.

Central to the apostles preaching right after the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ was the resurrection. And that has been the central message of the church now and forever will be. The resurrection is the stamp on it all. It's the stamp on it all. The church continues to grow and it has continued to grow. It has not been stamped out. But more specifically, it's the evidence. I'm one.

I'm one. It's the evidence of changed lives. You know, I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box, but I'm also not a nutcase, all right? But there have been brilliant people over the years, brilliant people who have been followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And those people are not idiots and they have not been misguided.

And you don't write off by this time, 2,000 years of billions and billions of people who have been followers of Jesus Christ. You just can't write that off.

How do you explain the radical changes in the hearts and the lives of people? And how do you explain almost overnight how a liar and a dishonest person becomes a person of an integrity because they have had an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ? How do you explain that?

How do you explain someone who is engrossed in life controlling problems and issues and pain and have been struggling their whole lives with these addictions and they come to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ sets them free out of that?

How do you explain that? How do you explain that? How do you explain how hateful people can come to the Lord Jesus Christ and all of a sudden become loving people?

This is not renovation. It's not behavior modification. It's not some new coping mechanism.

This is life transformation. The newness of life that comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ because the resurrected power is alive in each of us who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what Resurrection Sunday screams from the mountaintops to all of us.

How do you explain people who are plagued by guilt and shame and continually beat themselves up and are all of a sudden free for the first time in their whole lives?

How do you explain that?

Friends, this is not motivational speak.

It's a living Savior that brings dead people to life that changes and forgives and heals and turns lives around.

I'm one.

I'm one.

You know, I submit to you that the people that have a problem with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they really don't have a problem with the resurrection.

They have a problem with the pride because they refuse to bow a heart and they refuse to bow a knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the scripture is very clear that one day every knee will bow and everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And you can either do that right here, right now, as Jesus gives you that opportunity.

Because Jesus says, behold, I stand at the door and I knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in.

You can either bow your knee and bow your heart now, this side of glory, or one day you will have to give an answer to your hard heart.

And you will be reminded of time after time after time how he has chased you down the highways and byways of life, trying to get your attention.

That's why Jesus rose again.

He conquered sin.

He conquered death.

That we might experience his life.

And as we experience his life, we experience the newness of life.

A new life.

A new life.

A changed life.

So my plea, not my question, my plea with you this morning is if you are watching, listening to this today,

and you have never truly surrendered

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You do not have to get yourself cleaned up first.

If you wait till you get all these other things in order

before you truly surrender to the Lord,

you may never come

because time has a way of callousing a heart.

Time has a way of callousing a life.

It's simply a prayer.

Remember, believing in the work that Jesus did

on the cross for you and for me,

trusting in that and believing

that he was resurrected from the dead

and believing that at the simple invitation

of Jesus Christ coming to live in your heart,

he will come in and you will be born again.

Born again.

Born of the Spirit.

Born of the Spirit, the Scripture says.

And it's my heart that wherever you are today,

you would embrace that

and you would kneel

and cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ

who will hear you

and will answer that cry.

And for those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ,

no matter if it's been two days or 40 years,

let Resurrection Sunday be a great reminder

of the resurrection power that lives within us.

And we have a story in us

that must be told.

That must be told.

Go.

Tell.

Go and tell.

Let's pray.

Father, we just give you thanks and praise

for your beautiful Son, Jesus Christ.

For there is no other

and by no other name shall man be saved

except by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We bless your name, Lord God.

From wherever we are this morning,

we ask you, Lord,

to just tender our hearts towards you.

Make us susceptible to your Holy Spirit,

to listen to your Holy Spirit

and to go and tell.

Go and tell about our great Savior.

It's in the strong name of Jesus that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.