Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the Chroma Church podcast.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Amazing. Okay. Have you got your Bibles?
[00:00:11] Speaker C: You don't sound sure.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: Phones count for some of you. Go and find Matthew 28.
Why don't you stand as we read, if you were here on Tuesday night, a revival prayer.
We read the whole Easter story. It was so much fun. But we stopped at this point, so we're going to pick up Matthew, chapter 28, verse 1.
Now, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here, for he is risen.
Yes, he is. And he said, come, seek. See the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And indeed he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you so they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples Word.
Amen. Take a seat.
Okay.
[00:01:55] Speaker C: You know the message.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: The story of Easter is not just a nice story.
[00:02:01] Speaker C: It's the only story.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: It's a story, the narrative of God
[00:02:07] Speaker C: to a world that's lost his way,
[00:02:10] Speaker B: to a world that's turned against its Creator and was building in its own
[00:02:15] Speaker C: image instead of His.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: A world that worships the things that are made with our hands instead of
[00:02:21] Speaker C: worshipping the hands that have lovingly made us.
But why the resurrection?
[00:02:27] Speaker B: Why must Jesus rise?
[00:02:29] Speaker C: Why can this not just be a nice story?
On Good Friday, everything is finished. Jesus says at the cross, the sin of the world was placed on the Lord Jesus.
God, who became man, the perfect man because of our rebellion, became sin. The apostle Paul writes this. For he made him, who knew no
[00:03:01] Speaker B: sin to be sin for us, that
[00:03:03] Speaker C: we might become the righteousness of God in him. Let me read that again.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: For he made him who knew no
[00:03:11] Speaker C: sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Everything I've ever done, everything I'll ever do, was placed upon the person who knew no sin.
And it marred his body beyond recognition. Isaiah 53.
[00:03:38] Speaker B: Jesus didn't just have our blood on his hands.
[00:03:42] Speaker C: His Body was broken beyond recognition because of the sin of the world.
And at the cross Jesus proclaims, it is finished.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Say it after me.
[00:03:56] Speaker C: It is finished.
[00:03:59] Speaker B: The debt of my sin, of your sin has been paid in.
[00:04:05] Speaker C: In full.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: There wasn't a tiny bit he missed. Nothing has been left out. He has paid it all by the shedding of his blood. Nothing is left, Owen.
[00:04:18] Speaker C: It is finished.
But without the resurrection,
[00:04:26] Speaker B: everything is still lost.
Remember the first morning and the women are looking. And they are.
Where have you taken my.
My Lord?
You see, you can be forgiven, but without Jesus, it doesn't mean anything.
You see, they had taken the Lord. What is the point in forgiveness if he isn't in your life?
What is the point of all of the cross if our debt is paid?
But there is no Jesus in our life.
I've walked with Jesus for many, many years. In fact, Juliet reminded me. I think it was last week or the week before almost. I think it's next year. 50 years I've had the privilege of
[00:05:12] Speaker C: walking with the Lord Jesus.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: I gave my life to Jesus when
[00:05:15] Speaker C: I was 13 years old. And I've never looked back since.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: I know lots of people go on little detours. And you know God, his mercy brings us back.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: I still remember that day. It's as clear as anything when I knelt on the floor and I invited the Lord Jesus into my life.
You see, I've walked with Jesus not because I'm forgiven, but because my forgiveness means I can know Him. He's my friend.
He's my best friend.
He leads me.
He fights for me.
He intercedes for me. He lifts me up when I fall down. He's my help in times of trouble.
He is my Savior.
So he is my Savior.
He has absolutely saved you. That's why we're here today.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: And you know what?
[00:06:14] Speaker C: Until you know him, you are alone.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: There's a lovely story in Luke's Gospel.
[00:06:24] Speaker C: And two of the disciples are walking along the Emmaus, or they're heading to Emmaus. It's called the Emmaus Road.
And they're alone and they're in despair.
[00:06:35] Speaker B: And as they're walking, Jesus comes and joins them. And he asks them, why are you looking so sad? And they say, are you the only
[00:06:47] Speaker C: one that doesn't know what's happened?
They've crucified Jesus.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: And we were hoping it was a hope that it would be he who redeems Israel.
And he walks along with them. And as they get to where they're going to stay, he looks like he's going to be going on. They say, hey, no, come in. Come and eat with us. Come in.
And he eats. And as they're sitting around the table, he takes the bread and he breaks
[00:07:16] Speaker C: it, just like we do at communion.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: And he breaks the bread.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: And at that moment, their eyes are opened and he vanishes out of sight. Luke says, but the thing is, they're no longer alone because he was with them. This is what they write. Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the Scriptures up to us?
[00:07:43] Speaker B: And you see, that's the part of
[00:07:45] Speaker C: knowing Jesus, that we walk with him and he comes alongside us and walks with us.
[00:07:52] Speaker B: And as he walks with us, our heart burns.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: He comes into our life, but he
[00:07:57] Speaker B: also walks with us.
[00:07:58] Speaker C: This is the risen Jesus.
You see, at the cross, I'm forgiven all my sin, but at the resurrection, I'm no longer lost or alone. My heart starts to burn because of the call of Jesus.
You see, he didn't give his life for me so I could just die with him.
You know, we're going to baptize some people later and we're going to put them down under the water and they're going to die to their old life.
But he rose so that we could live with him and have a brand new life.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: You know, I've been listening. I sometimes go online and listen to some old style preachers. I know a lot of you listen
[00:08:39] Speaker C: to the young trendy preachers, but they're just too clever for me.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: I like some of the old preachers. And this guy was, he was preaching about hell and he said, you know what, there are two types of people in hell. There's the weepers and there's the gnashers.
And you know what? So many people say to me, why could a loving God send people to hell? And of course we know he doesn't
[00:08:58] Speaker C: send anyone to hell.
[00:09:00] Speaker B: And Jesus, you know, Jesus said that there's people that will be weeping.
How did we get here?
Why did we go our own way? Why did we not choose him? Why did we keep putting it off? But the interesting ones are the Nashus.
[00:09:15] Speaker C: They're angry, they're snarling at God.
He didn't send them. They wanted to go.
They hate him even in hell. They despise him. They hated him on earth, they hated him on the cross and now eternally in hell. And this preacher said, you know what he said? I know which one I'd be.
I'd be the weeper, fully realizing that hell is what I deserve.
I remember as a 13 year old kid, I wasn't a great sinner. I hadn't murdered anyone, done anything like that. But I remember realizing that it was
[00:09:59] Speaker B: a supernatural thing because no one explained
[00:10:01] Speaker C: it, that my sin somehow had separated me from God.
And I'd be the weeper. Lord, I deserve everything that's coming to me every time I turn to go my own way, every time I was spiteful, every time I stole or I lied so I looked good.
This is what I deserve.
[00:10:31] Speaker B: And the old star preacher said I
[00:10:34] Speaker C: wouldn't be cross with God.
I deserve to be there eternally separated.
But God.
And so often in the Bible as you're reading those words come but God.
And I don't know how he did it, but he saw me and he called me and he forgave me and he made me brand new by the power and the blood of Jesus Christ. And I haven't looked back since. And you know the story of the rich man and Lazarus? And the rich man says to Jesus,
[00:11:13] Speaker B: no, Father Abraham, but if one goes
[00:11:16] Speaker C: from, if one goes from the dead,
[00:11:19] Speaker B: they will all repent.
[00:11:21] Speaker C: But this is what he says. He said to them, if they did not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded through one who is raised from the dead.
You see what we're celebrating today, the resurrection of the dead isn't so much to do with belief, but it's more of a choice to receive him into our lives.
The story of Easter is not really for those who don't believe because they don't care, but for those who do believe.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: The resurrection doesn't bring faith to those who do not believe, but rather to those who believe. John says this for all who received Him.
[00:12:09] Speaker C: He gave the right to become children of God.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: You see, the resurrection is about inviting
[00:12:15] Speaker C: Jesus into our life.
That 13 year old kid who said, jesus, I want you to come in. I had no idea what I was doing, but he came in and he changed my life forever.
And I guess my simple question, as we've worshiped and as we've told the story and as we've seen him lovingly heal the sick, will you receive him today?
Will you walk with him along the road that he has opened for you?
Will you let him set your hearts on fire?
[00:12:52] Speaker B: And you might have been a Christian
[00:12:53] Speaker C: for years and years, and I say, will you receive him again today, this Easter Sunday? Will you let him set your heart on fire once again?
Will you receive him in for all he has done for you?
Or this might be your first time and somebody just brought you along and said, hey, you need to come to my church.
Jesus said, do you know what? I'm standing at the door of people's lives and I'm knocking and I'm saying, invite me in.
And you know, there is a sense of belief and putting our trust in Him. I understand that. But there's a big deal of just opening up our lives and saying, Jesus, would you come in?
Would you come in? Would you come and change me? Would you come and set me on a new direction? Would you forgive me?
Would you make me into a new. A new person?
You see, Easter Sunday, we're celebrating together. It is finished.
I am no longer lost or alone because he is alive.
He has given me a purpose to live. And now we get to run together the eternal race into glory.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying for me. But even more, thank you for living for me, for you, for you, for all of us. And Lord, we receive you into our lives this morning and and the church said, why don't you stand up?
[00:14:37] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship, and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church.
[00:14:58] Speaker C: It.
