Round Trip Resurrection

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:10.680 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.840 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:13.520 in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:17.880 Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:20.640 I really value the Word of God and the effect 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:22.480 that it could have in my life when I embrace it, 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:26.439 receive it, and apply it. And these seven last sayings 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:30.680 of Jesus from the Cross have had particular significance to 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:34.279 us in these last seven weeks. And I guess we're 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:38.360 coming to quote boys to men the end of the road. 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:43.400 I thought about singing it, but. 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:46.519 Date me. 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.320 When we look at Luke twenty three forty four, we 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.040 see the very last thing that Jesus said, and we're 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.840 going to read the context of it. Luke tells us 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:01.280 Luke twenty three, verse forty four. It was now about noon, 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:04.240 and darkness came over the whole land until three in 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:07.319 the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining, and the curtain 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.640 of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.080 with a loud voice, Father, into your hands, I commit 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:18.880 my spirit and when he had said this, when the 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:23.919 word of God had spoken his final word, he breathed 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:24.840 his lass. 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:27.160 And he gave up his life. 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:31.679 Now look at Luke twenty four, because this passage for 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:36.319 us has been a picture of this idea of spiritual 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:41.840 journey where we've been following these two travelers, one of 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:43.040 them called Cleo. 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:45.319 At least we've been calling him Cleo. 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:49.040 His full name is Cleophus, but we gave him a 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:53.000 nickname as we got to know him. He was disappointed, 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:59.040 and he was traveling in the wrong direction, and Jesus 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.760 decided to catch up with him, even though he was 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:06.120 headed in the wrong direction, and he revealed himself to 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:09.600 him along the road, the seven mile road. And I 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.400 want to catch him because I feel like the best 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:13.799 place to end this journey that we've been on will 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.799 be back on the same road where we started out, 0:02:17.120 --> 0:02:21.320 only now we're on the return trip. And the Bible 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.600 says that after they had walked seven miles with Jesus, 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.880 at first they didn't recognize him, because usually we don't 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:31.440 see how God is at work in our lives. While 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:34.840 he's working in our lives. It's usually in looking back 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.399 that we recognize the hand of God, especially when things 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.320 don't feel good or when things don't make sense to 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:45.400 us logically. It is when we process things sometimes that 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:47.440 we get perspective once it's. 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.880 In the past, to know that, hey, you know. 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:57.400 What that was God, That breakup was God. Amen doesn't 0:02:57.680 --> 0:02:59.840 feel like it's God when your heart is broken. 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:02.320 But Cleopus goes all the. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:07.239 Way to the destination where he thought he would bury 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.120 his hope because he's watched Jesus die on the cross, 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.720 and all of a sudden, when he gets there, he 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:14.040 recognizes Jesus. 0:03:14.280 --> 0:03:16.519 And so he and his companion look at verse thirty three. 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.280 What a great Easter verse, by the way, it says, 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:24.399 they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, where 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:26.880 the Holy Spirit was promised to be given not many 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:31.360 days from then. There they found the eleven and those 0:03:31.400 --> 0:03:35.120 with them assembled together and saying, it's true the Lord 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:38.720 has risen and appeared to Simon. And then the two 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:42.080 told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus 0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:46.320 was recognized by them when he broke the bread verse 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:49.360 thirty six. And then I'll preach a little bit, and 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.920 then I'll let you go eat ham and hide eggs 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.960 and whatever else, But how many of you could use 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.000 some spiritual food first before. 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:01.640 You go home and look at bunnies. 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.440 While they were still talking about this, Notice how many 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:13.360 things are happening just in the process of common conversation, 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:20.919 common activity. Notice how God is revealing himself in unexpected ways. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.560 And while they were talking about. 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:28.400 This, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:30.880 peace be with you. And they were afraid, and he 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:35.520 spoke peace, and he did it. He revealed himself in 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.400 an unusual way. So turn to your neighbor. And this 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.039 is an interactive sermon, and so you need to turn 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:42.400 to them. In fact, it's not a sermon at all. 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:43.839 Look at your neighbor and say, this is not a 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.919 sermon at all. You better look at your other neighbor, 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:52.440 because that neighbor look confused. Tell him this is not 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:56.440 a sermon at all. Tell him this is a ticket. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:01.479 Tell him it's a round trip ticket. That's what I 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:03.320 want to talk about today. I want to talk about 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:11.159 round trip resurrection, a round trip ticket to resurrection. And 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.880 it just so happens that I came back this week 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:19.520 from Sydney, Australia, which is like five billion, nine hundred 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:23.080 and seventy three hours on an airplane and I did 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.520 not fly United. Praise God, bleeped that out of the podcast. 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.320 When I flew over there. I got there on Friday. 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.440 I left on Wednesday. And one thing about Australia is 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:45.200 so far away that when you get there, it's tomorrow, 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.240 not that it's tomorrow's So the first time I went 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.160 over there, I FaceTime my kids. I've been over there 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:55.440 seven times now, and when I get over there usually 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.200 I get there in the morning. And I called my 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:00.240 kids the first time I went, and I was showing 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:03.680 them out my window Sydney, Australia, and the sun was 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:07.400 up in Sydney, Australia, but at Charlotte. Back in Charlotte, 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.960 it was Thursday night, and they were so confused and 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:15.680 they were like, how is it nighttime here and it's 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.520 daytime there? Because and I started explaining to them that 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:25.320 Australia is across the International date line, like fourteen hours ahead. 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.000 So I told my kids, I said, I'm actually calling 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:32.120 you from tomorrow. 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:36.320 And I kind of thought that was clever. 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:38.400 And at the end of the call, right before we 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:41.520 hung up, my oldest son, Elijah goes. 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:45.880 Hey, Daddy. Before you go, can you tell us what 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.440 happens tomorrow? 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:55.800 Which I thought was so cool and so appropriate for 0:06:55.880 --> 0:07:02.160 an illustration about the perspective that resurrection gives us. And 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.680 maybe that's why we come to church deep down even 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:08.000 though we don't know it, because we want to report 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:14.040 for our tomorrow from someone who's already been there. And 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.400 that's what I love about God is that He is 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.040 an ever present help in my trouble. But He does 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:24.520 not speak to my today from my situation, but outside 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:28.040 of time, God who has already been in my tomorrow 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:32.640 and is not anxious about the economy or my health, 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.880 or is not anxious about the political system of the. 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:37.240 Country where I reside. 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:40.920 God from tomorrow, the one who is and was and 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.680 is to come, speaks back to my today, increases my 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.360 faith and gives me the ability to face forward into 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.480 my future with companist. 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:56.880 Why talk lapping about happen today? Stuffy Eastern people. 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:00.360 Y'all come to church with your mom, and you all 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:03.920 like crazy and weird looking at me with your arms crossed. 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:07.400 I hated, I hated. If you really believe God had 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:13.440 been in your tomorrow, you'd get some sleep. If you 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:17.360 really believed in resurrection. When stuff died, you would look 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.320 at it and expect what was next to come from 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:21.200 what was buried. 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:23.200 You would not cry. 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.280 Over anything that had left your life, because. 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:32.320 You would know if God is already in your tomorrow. 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:33.760 How about that? 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:38.439 So it's been helpful for me really along this road, 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:42.000 the seven mile road, where Jesus on Sunday morning gets 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.439 up from the grave, chases down two unnamed people. Well 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.960 their name one's name Kleio, but we've never seen them before. 0:08:48.320 --> 0:08:51.920 They're headed in the wrong direction. He goes after them. 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.560 He brings them to a place of understanding about who 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.760 he is, and he goes after them even though their 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.840 backs are turned on the promise, the place of the promise, 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:05.960 even though they're discouraged. Let's look at the scripture together 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.000 real quick, because this part's crazy. They're walking away from Jerusalem. 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.320 They're going away from the promise. Their hearts are broken, 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:20.760 they're going home is over. They watched him die on Friday. 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:25.640 There is no future. Therefore they have no faith. And 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:30.520 as they're walking away, he walks up. He doesn't identify himself. 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:34.480 He just asks them a question, which in itself is 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:38.160 crazy because I've always heard that Jesus is the answer. 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.559 So is strange for me to see that the one 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.400 who is the answer asks a question. 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:46.120 And let me tell you a secret. 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:51.320 He didn't ask a question because he needed information. He 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:55.160 asked them a question because sometimes before God can give 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:59.959 you the answer, he has to correct your questions. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:01.200 Before God can give. 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:04.440 Us what we're asking for, he has to He has 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:07.920 to clarify what we're really searching for. Because see, will 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:09.960 ask God to bless us, but we won't even know 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:13.440 what blessing really is. We'll think blessing is a thing, 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.240 when really blessing is a state of your heart that 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.000 enables you to be content, whatever your circumstances. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.959 And so Jesus walks up on them, doesn't say who he. 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:28.199 Is, doesn't identify himself as the risen, reigning, ruling son 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:30.559 of God with all power in his hand, just ask 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.679 them a question. Look at verse seventeen. He asked them, 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:39.400 what y'all talking about? What are you discussing together as 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:43.920 you walk along? And they stopped in their tracks and 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:51.760 stood still, their faces downcast, their hearts disappointed, their dreams 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.400 dashed on the rocks of the reality of the death 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.160 of the one they thought might be the Messiah, and 0:10:59.200 --> 0:11:02.720 they are standing next to hope, but they have no hope, 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:06.559 and they are standing next to power, but they feel weak. 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.839 And they are headed home, returning back to what's familiar 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.080 because their faith has been hung on a cross and 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.880 sentenced to die. And so they're headed home. So they're 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:22.679 returning home. If you're taking notes, right down return return, 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:27.959 they're returning to a village call a Maaas. And all 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.720 of a sudden, on the road, the seven mile road 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.320 where they're returning back home, here comes Jesus. But he 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:37.960 doesn't fully reveal himself. He just asks a question, what 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:42.240 y'all talking about? And they stop with their backs toward Jerusalem, 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.400 headed toward a Maaeis, and they say, well, we're talking 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.320 about this guy named Jesus, y'all. 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:50.960 That's funny. 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:57.120 They start to tell Jesus about Jesus. They start to 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:04.560 explain to the author about the book up, but he 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.360 keeps walking with them because once they start walking again, 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.839 they start explaining how Jesus was a man who they 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:15.680 thought was sent by God, but something happened on Friday 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:18.160 that stripped. 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:19.160 The hope right out of their hearts. 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:22.559 Something happened in front of their eyes in Jerusalem, when 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:26.840 he hung on the cross and died, their hope hung 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.480 there with him. And they say something in verse twenty. 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.560 I want to show you this, they say, in verse twenty, 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:37.360 the chief priests and our rulers handed him over. The 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:41.960 Greek word is paradidamie. Everybody say Paradomi, Paradiomi. I say 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.480 it again, parademia. I want you to practice it so 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.680 you can impress your friends with your newfound knowledge of 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:51.160 Greek today. So when they say you go to that 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:55.720 shallow church, that rock and roll church, that evolution church, 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.000 you could just put some Greek up in their face. Paradiamie. 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:02.599 You don't even have to know what it means, just 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:05.200 say it. They don't know what it means either. But 0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:08.320 what it means is handed over. And so Luke says 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.280 in the Greek language what the travelers say along the road. 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:17.640 They handed him over. They handed him over, and of 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.880 course Judas was the one who handed him over to 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:25.760 the Sanhedrin. Paradidamie. The Sanhedrin handed him over to Caiaphas, 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:30.960 their high priest. Paradiamie. Their high priest, Caiaphas handed him 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:35.520 over to Pilot, the Roman governor, Paradidomie, and then Pilot 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:37.760 handed him over to Herod, who, after he mocked him 0:13:37.760 --> 0:13:41.280 and made sport of him, handed him over Paradiomi to 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:44.480 be crucified, and they hung him on the cross. 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.120 And when they hung him on. 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.360 The cross, these disciples said, when he was handed over 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:53.720 and sentenced to death and crucified, our hope was handed 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:58.160 over with him, Verse twenty one. We had hoped that 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:02.960 he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:08.080 We had hoped, But now we're headed home. We had 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.640 hoped that it was going to be different this time. 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.480 We had hoped that he was going to break our chains. 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.880 We had hope that God was going to heal our disease. 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.520 We had hoped that God was going to take the 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.760 addiction away. We had hoped that if we prayed, we 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.560 would get the peace that corresponded with the prayer. But 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:31.280 it's over now. We had hoped. We went there, we 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.560 expected it, we looked forward to it. But we're headed 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:37.680 home now because he hung on the cross, and we 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:39.520 hung our hope on the cross. 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:40.600 And now we. 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.440 Don't know anything else to do but to head home. 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.600 And we're headed home because we don't have any hope left, 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:50.080 and as they're headed home with no hope, hope shows up. 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:53.880 And as they're headed home with no hope, hope shows up. 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.560 And with their heads hung down, with no hope in 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:58.560 their hearts, here comes home. 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:05.240 But they can't see it. They're headed home with no hope. 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:08.520 And I don't really blame them for going home, because 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:09.520 what else are you going to do? 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:12.880 What else are you going to do but go home? 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:15.320 If the one who was supposed to be the king 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.760 hung on a cross and wore a crown of thorns? 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.600 I mean, life can hit you that hard. It can. 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:25.480 And for those of you who aren't nodding or anything 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:26.640 right now, what are you four? 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:29.000 Really? 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.720 You never had life hit you that hard, that took 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.680 the breath out of you, just knock the breath out 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:37.840 of you, just where you felt like, I don't know 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.320 what to do, So you go back to familiar ways, 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.240 You give up on this whole thing, and you kind 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.200 of turn your back on the promise and you head 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.040 back to amis now. 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:48.720 What they say next? 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.480 This is the part I don't understand, because I understand 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:53.600 that they're headed home because what else are you going 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:57.320 to do but head home? I understand they're disappointed. I 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.600 understand that they're in a state of dispace. I understand 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:05.479 that they're downcast about what's happened. What I don't understand 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:10.680 is the timing of their return trip. Because you know, 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:14.440 when Jesus was on earth, he told everybody who would listen, 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:18.320 over and over again, especially his disciples, he said, I'm 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:23.360 gonna die, but on the third day, I'll be raised 0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:26.920 to life. They're going to destroy this temple. He was 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:29.960 speaking about his body. But on the third day, everybody say, 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.560 third day it will be raised back to life. I'll 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:36.280 build it again. I'm going to go down in the 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:40.400 ground for a minute. But on the third day I'm 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.680 getting up. So Cleapus and his companion are headed home. 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:47.680 And I get it because they watched him hand it 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:51.080 over on the cross. What I don't understand is when 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:54.000 they chose to do it, because they said, our chief 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:58.080 priests handed him over to be crucified. We had hoped 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.880 he was the one who would redeem Israel. And what 0:17:01.080 --> 0:17:06.040 is more, it is the third day since all this 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:07.440 took place. 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:08.399 Here's my question. 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.359 Wouldn't you at least want to stick around until the 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:12.800 end of Sunday. 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:15.520 To see if something was gonna. 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:20.160 Happen, wouldn't you at least want to wait until Monday. 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.639 I mean, really, you can't wait until the end of 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:24.400 the day. 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:27.119 To see if this might be real. 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:32.639 And that's our problem. We quit, so quit so quick. 0:17:32.960 --> 0:17:35.560 We quit when we are so close. 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:36.520 We quit. 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:39.119 Now here's what happened on Resurrection Sunday. Jesus gets up 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.720 out of the grave early one Sunday morning. He goes 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:43.919 and appears to some women. The women come back to 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:46.679 the men, They say, Jesus isn't there. He rolls just 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:49.520 like he said. The men, who are usually a little 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:52.240 bit more hard headed and hardhearted than the women, tend 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.760 to be. Somebody, give me an estrogen praise right here. 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:57.160 Don't believe the women. 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.679 And then Cleopus and his companion, upon hearing the report 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:04.080 that Jesus' body is not in. 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:08.639 The tomb, decide we're going home now. 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.200 Like you don't want to get a room like one 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:16.879 more night, you don't want to extend your stage, just like, 0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:20.920 just give it a little bit of time. But they 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:26.520 they leave, and they almost miss it. They almost miss it, 0:18:28.200 --> 0:18:29.800 like some of the people who leave church when I 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.040 start giving the invitation. They're in such a hurry to 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.520 get to the car that they miss the most meaningful 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:40.520 part of the whole worship experience when someone if you're 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:46.920 not clapping, I might be talking about you. Really, where 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:50.760 do you have to be? That's that important? That important? 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:57.800 And they head out like that woman at the Panthers game, Jody, 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.120 you'll remember we were down. I say we because that's 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:03.440 what you do when you're a fan of a team, 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:07.520 You associate yourself with them when they win, especially if 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.760 you're a Charlotte Panthers, So Carolina Panthers fan. The city 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:14.280 of Charlotte is known for that. That this woman listens. 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:18.320 She was real loud until they started losing, and she 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:24.040 left during halftime, and then the Panthers came back and won, 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.679 and I was glad that she missed it, because it 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:31.119 serves you right. 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:34.000 Come on, it serves you right. 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:38.840 I know that's not a very loving thing to say, 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.359 and it's not very christ Like because Jesus didn't treat 0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:44.160 Cleo like that. 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:47.679 He leaves just. 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.879 At the time that the resurrection is being proven, and 0:19:51.000 --> 0:19:52.399 Jesus goes to get Cleo. 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:56.399 He goes to get him, and he begins to speak. 0:19:56.160 --> 0:20:00.200 With him and talk with him and he reveals himself 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:04.920 to him. That's my second point is the reveal. The reveal, 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:10.760 the resurrection reveals the power of God to all who believe. 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:15.600 But not like you think. See, usually when I hear 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:19.639 Easter sermons, it's about the power of God. 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:21.040 And that's appropriate. 0:20:22.000 --> 0:20:24.640 When you get up from the grave and walk into 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:29.520 the octagon with death and choke death out and death 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:32.600 taps three times, I mean, that's strong. 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:36.040 When you roll your own stone away, that's strong. 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:40.199 So I've heard that about the strength of Jesus Christ 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:43.000 to overcome the grave. I've heard about the strength of Jesus. 0:20:43.160 --> 0:20:46.280 I've heard about the sovereignty of Jesus. Well, there's a 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:49.520 good Church word for you, the sovereignty of Jesus. He 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:53.480 is sovereign over death and hell and the grave. And 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:56.000 I heard about that. You know what nobody ever told 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.800 me about, and I want to tell you about it 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:00.359 is how sneaky Jesus was. 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:07.240 You're looking at me strange. 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:13.359 You're looking at me like you've never heard that. Jesus, Well, 0:21:13.520 --> 0:21:15.359 when he got up from the grave. I'll prove this 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:17.119 to you that he was sneaking. When he got up 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:19.800 from the grave. He left while it was still dark. 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:24.520 He left before the sun came up, and he had 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:26.800 to knock over a few room in guards to get out. 0:21:27.160 --> 0:21:28.359 But after he knocked them. 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.440 Over, he slipped out and found the women and appeared 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:33.920 to the women. But he didn't appear to a whole 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:36.320 crowd when he got up from the grave. Why because 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:42.560 he's sneaky. Sneaky, that's why he was born like a 0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:47.360 baby in a town like Bethlehem. Because he's sneaky. He 0:21:47.480 --> 0:21:50.280 wasn't born in a political capital. He was born in 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:54.119 a backwoods town because he's sneaky. I never heard a 0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:57.240 sermon about sneaky Jesus. Maybe I should preach a whole 0:21:57.280 --> 0:22:00.840 series one time called Sneaky Jesus, because watch him. 0:22:00.880 --> 0:22:03.040 He walks up to Cleo and he's like, what you 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:06.359 talking about? Never mind the fact that you are God, 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:07.920 never mind the. 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:11.320 Fact that you are resurrected. Just what you're talking about? 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:15.760 What's he doing? He's creeping on Cleo. You never heard this. 0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:16.840 Kind of preaching before him. 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:20.399 You think when God shows up, he's always going to 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:24.000 be spectacular, that he's gonna show up in something BIG's 0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:26.280 gonna happen. No, No, he's very sneaky. 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:28.800 He's very sneaky. 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:32.080 He'll just sneak in to ordinary situations. 0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:35.640 He'll just seek in in ordinary moments, He'll. 0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:36.040 Just seek in. 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:37.679 He won't give you any advance notice. 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:39.840 He won't ask you to sign a waiver, he won't 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:42.240 put a sign in the clouds, none of that, because 0:22:42.240 --> 0:22:45.919 he's sneaky. One time, Peter was in a storm and 0:22:46.040 --> 0:22:48.760 Jesus came walking on on the water and everybody say, ah, 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:50.240 the dogs know is Jesus. 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:53.919 But he's sneaking. He sneaks up on him. 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:56.600 He snuck up in the locked doors when they were 0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:59.520 waiting for him. He snuck up on Cleo. What makes 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:03.800 you think he's not sneaking up on you today? Just 0:23:03.840 --> 0:23:06.720 because he can't feel it doesn't mean he's not with you. 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:10.760 He's sneaky. He's sneaky. 0:23:14.760 --> 0:23:18.440 He sneaks out of the tomb and he sneaks up 0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:21.000 on Cleo. Let me tell you what he was doing 0:23:21.080 --> 0:23:24.240 up on the cross. This is what they didn't understand, 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:27.000 and this is why they fled, and this is why 0:23:27.040 --> 0:23:30.080 they lost their hope because all they saw was death. 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:34.040 But Jesus didn't die so that death could reign. He 0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:37.359 died to bring victory into the earth. But he couldn't 0:23:37.400 --> 0:23:40.760 bring victory into the earth looking like victory. He had 0:23:40.800 --> 0:23:43.520 to dress it up like death and hang it on 0:23:43.600 --> 0:23:44.240 a cross. 0:23:44.280 --> 0:23:46.640 Because he's sneaking. 0:23:49.200 --> 0:23:52.840 He's sneaky. He's sneaky, and here's what he does. 0:23:55.359 --> 0:23:57.760 He'll send glory into your life, but it won't look 0:23:57.840 --> 0:24:03.280 like glory. He'll send blessing into your life, but it 0:24:03.280 --> 0:24:08.159 won't look like blessing. Right, He'll send patience into your 0:24:08.200 --> 0:24:16.480 life dressed like your teenager. Think about it, cause he's sneaky, 0:24:17.560 --> 0:24:19.720 and he'll send some of the best times in your 0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:23.120 life dressed like some of the hardest times. You don't 0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:26.880 see it while you're in it. I'm'a stay right here 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:28.800 on this point, cause y'all are so quiet. I know 0:24:28.840 --> 0:24:32.000 I'm preaching right to your guts. I'm preaching to your 0:24:32.040 --> 0:24:34.240 small intestine. 0:24:36.240 --> 0:24:41.640 Sneaky. He's sneaky. So he's up there on the cross 0:24:42.400 --> 0:24:44.440 and he says it's finished cause he was speaking in 0:24:44.520 --> 0:24:47.960 code cause he's sneaky to tell us stuff. 0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:51.120 Cause to them that sounded like it's over. We got him, misdone. 0:24:51.200 --> 0:24:55.520 He's dead cause he's sneaky. So when he wanted to 0:24:55.520 --> 0:24:58.840 bring life into the earth. He snuck it in through death. 0:25:00.359 --> 0:25:02.919 When he wanted to bring peace to the earth, he 0:25:03.000 --> 0:25:08.800 snuck it in through chaos. Because he's sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, 0:25:09.080 --> 0:25:11.920 sneaky Jesus. I'm thankful that he's strong, but I will 0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:15.120 never understand his strength if I don't learn to see 0:25:15.160 --> 0:25:19.160 it in sorrow, because sometimes God will sneak the strength 0:25:19.200 --> 0:25:25.639 that you've been praying for in your life through the sorrow. 0:25:26.119 --> 0:25:28.400 Talk to me, y'all, don't have to be quiet. Don't 0:25:28.440 --> 0:25:31.440 let these people make you quiet. Talk to me. Don't 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:32.480 let them intimidate you. 0:25:37.480 --> 0:25:40.760 But usually we understand that more on the return trip, 0:25:42.840 --> 0:25:46.000 so they walked all seven miles, but they didn't recognize Jesus. 0:25:46.040 --> 0:25:49.880 They were kept from recognizing him. They were kept from 0:25:49.880 --> 0:25:52.320 recognizing him until he sits down at the table. Watch 0:25:52.359 --> 0:25:58.280 how sneaky he is, takes the bread, blesses it, and 0:25:58.480 --> 0:25:59.000 breaks it. 0:25:59.600 --> 0:26:02.800 You see what he's doing, because that's what had happened 0:26:02.800 --> 0:26:03.080 to his. 0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:07.800 Body, because that's what had happened to their hope, because 0:26:07.840 --> 0:26:09.960 that's what always has to happen in your life before 0:26:10.000 --> 0:26:11.639 you really see the glory of God. 0:26:17.760 --> 0:26:21.840 And he told them on the road, he said don't 0:26:21.840 --> 0:26:23.280 you understand. 0:26:24.400 --> 0:26:26.199 Did not the Messiah. 0:26:25.760 --> 0:26:30.919 Verse twenty six have to suffer these things? Did he 0:26:30.960 --> 0:26:35.960 not have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? See, 0:26:36.680 --> 0:26:41.440 glory never looks like glory when it's coming. It never 0:26:41.480 --> 0:26:45.560 looks like glory when you see it come in. But 0:26:45.600 --> 0:26:48.040 when he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and 0:26:48.119 --> 0:26:50.880 gave it to them. When he gave it to them, 0:26:50.920 --> 0:26:53.439 they saw not only the broken bread, but they saw 0:26:53.640 --> 0:26:55.880 the place where the nails had been. And then they 0:26:55.920 --> 0:27:02.760 recognized them when he did that, Because he's sneaky and 0:27:02.800 --> 0:27:04.160 he did not describe it. 0:27:04.440 --> 0:27:08.359 He demonstrated it. So he goes, hey, let's. 0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:14.560 Eat boom bit bang, and they saw it and they're like, 0:27:14.640 --> 0:27:15.320 oh yeah. 0:27:15.359 --> 0:27:16.280 And that's how it is. 0:27:16.600 --> 0:27:19.919 It is after I've walked the whole walk, and after 0:27:20.000 --> 0:27:23.600 I've run, and after I've tried, and after I've cried, 0:27:23.760 --> 0:27:25.240 and after I've heart. 0:27:25.240 --> 0:27:26.720 And then I see it. 0:27:26.720 --> 0:27:34.720 It was him all along. You had to suffer it, 0:27:39.359 --> 0:27:42.600 but you don't get it while you're in it. I mean, 0:27:42.680 --> 0:27:48.160 let's be real. Sometimes sometimes our memory is much more 0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:49.720 enjoyable than our experience. 0:27:50.560 --> 0:27:57.119 I'm talking about family vacation. Now it's hilarious. 0:27:57.359 --> 0:28:01.200 You look at the pictures and talk about what a. 0:28:01.119 --> 0:28:04.240 Great time it was. No, it wasn't. You've edited the 0:28:04.280 --> 0:28:08.919 family vacation in your memory. You've clipped it together. 0:28:09.200 --> 0:28:11.280 You took out the part where you threatened to give 0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:12.520 the kids up for adoption. 0:28:19.280 --> 0:28:23.119 When you're in it, you don't see it. But resurrection 0:28:23.320 --> 0:28:24.080 is a round trip. 0:28:24.160 --> 0:28:28.800 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and 0:28:28.840 --> 0:28:30.119 then enter into his glory? 0:28:30.280 --> 0:28:33.119 And when they saw that, they got up. Look at 0:28:33.200 --> 0:28:37.680 verse thirty three. They got up, and they turned around 0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:41.280 and they went back. Now watch this. I called this 0:28:41.400 --> 0:28:43.480 series seven mile miracle. I shouldn't have. 0:28:44.280 --> 0:28:48.240 It's really a fourteen mile miracle because the first seven 0:28:48.560 --> 0:28:53.240 they walked without the light. The second seven they walked back, 0:28:53.560 --> 0:28:59.880 and now they knew. God said, today is somebody's second 0:29:00.560 --> 0:29:06.080 seven miles. Now you see it, Now you did it. 0:29:06.520 --> 0:29:11.000 This is your turning point. This is that moment where 0:29:11.080 --> 0:29:15.040 you see he was with me all along. 0:29:17.160 --> 0:29:22.680 It's turnaround time. It's turnaround time. It's turnaround time. 0:29:23.120 --> 0:29:27.840 I walked seven miles in shame, but now I'm walking. 0:29:27.520 --> 0:29:35.400 This second seven in freedom. My turning point. I'm not 0:29:35.560 --> 0:29:36.760 staying in amais. 0:29:39.760 --> 0:29:43.000 And so they walked back to Jerusalem and they got 0:29:43.040 --> 0:29:46.600 together with Peter and the disciples, and she's a snuck 0:29:46.680 --> 0:29:49.360 into the room and he revealed himself and he said 0:29:49.440 --> 0:29:50.440 peace Peace. 0:29:50.640 --> 0:29:51.240 He released. 0:29:51.280 --> 0:29:54.000 That's my third letter, and I'm done because there's only three, 0:29:54.280 --> 0:29:56.840 because you can't have more than three points on Easter Sunday. 0:29:57.120 --> 0:30:01.200 It's just not scriptural. My third point is release. Now, 0:30:01.280 --> 0:30:04.040 let me point out something to you that every sneaker 0:30:04.080 --> 0:30:08.120 head in here will understand. There is a difference between 0:30:08.160 --> 0:30:15.120 the reveal and the release. Why do they show you 0:30:15.160 --> 0:30:19.520 the shoe three months before they will sell it to you. 0:30:22.440 --> 0:30:23.760 Let me break it down another way. 0:30:24.520 --> 0:30:29.240 You remember when the iPad first came out, No, well, 0:30:29.280 --> 0:30:31.240 let me remind you. For me, it was a big 0:30:31.280 --> 0:30:33.640 deal because I thought, well, I'm gonna get I'm gonna 0:30:33.960 --> 0:30:35.680 I'm gonna get one of those, and I'm gonna preach 0:30:35.720 --> 0:30:40.920 from it, and I'll be cutting edge preaching from my iPad. 0:30:41.920 --> 0:30:44.120 I looked so cool preaching from my iPad. 0:30:45.000 --> 0:30:48.920 And Steve Jobs did a reveal where he went through 0:30:48.920 --> 0:30:51.680 the iPad and all the features of the iPad, and 0:30:52.040 --> 0:30:54.200 I saw it. I was so excited to get an iPad. 0:30:54.240 --> 0:30:56.120 And I told one of our staff members. I said, 0:30:56.120 --> 0:30:58.960 I'm gonna go get one of those tomorrow, and they said, no, 0:30:59.040 --> 0:30:59.320 you're not. 0:31:00.360 --> 0:31:03.640 I say, yes, I am. I said, I'm gonna get one. 0:31:03.640 --> 0:31:05.840 I'm gonna be one of the first preachers in America. 0:31:05.920 --> 0:31:08.440 I might not be the smartest preacher in America, but 0:31:08.760 --> 0:31:10.880 I might not be of I might not be the 0:31:10.960 --> 0:31:13.160 one of the best either, but I will be one 0:31:13.200 --> 0:31:15.440 of the first to preach from an iPad. I'm going 0:31:15.480 --> 0:31:17.680 to get an iPad. They said, you can't go get 0:31:17.720 --> 0:31:20.320 an iPad. It's not going to be out for several 0:31:20.360 --> 0:31:26.640 months because there is a space between the reveal and 0:31:26.720 --> 0:31:39.600 the release. That's where hope gets lost. In that space 0:31:39.720 --> 0:31:48.120 between the reveal and the release. It's called Saturday. It's 0:31:48.160 --> 0:31:51.280 when you're sitting around and you thought God was gonna 0:31:52.080 --> 0:31:55.720 and you just knew God was gonna and you were 0:31:55.840 --> 0:31:57.680 sure that they would never and. 0:31:57.640 --> 0:31:59.880 Then they did. It's called space. 0:32:00.920 --> 0:32:07.920 That's where faith grows in between two points between the 0:32:07.960 --> 0:32:13.720 reveal and the release. And that's what the Cross was. 0:32:14.840 --> 0:32:21.719 It was the reveal and it was the release. And 0:32:21.760 --> 0:32:24.920 so Jesus said several things. He said, today you'll be 0:32:24.960 --> 0:32:27.600 with me in Paradise. The Word of salvation, Father, forgive 0:32:27.640 --> 0:32:30.040 them the word of forgiveness. Behold your mother, the word 0:32:30.040 --> 0:32:32.680 of relationship, My God, why have you forsaken me? The 0:32:32.680 --> 0:32:35.840 word of abandonment, distress. The word of distress was I thirst. 0:32:36.040 --> 0:32:38.720 He said it is finished, which was the word of triumph. 0:32:38.760 --> 0:32:44.640 And then after he said that, Luke says that he said, Father, 0:32:46.160 --> 0:32:52.680 into your hands, I commit my spirit. As the sky 0:32:52.760 --> 0:33:00.480 grew black for three hours into the darkness, he spoke commitment, Father, 0:33:00.520 --> 0:33:02.240 into your hands, I commit my spirit. 0:33:02.880 --> 0:33:05.720 And he breathed his last. 0:33:07.160 --> 0:33:19.480 But his last breath was my first breath, because death 0:33:19.560 --> 0:33:24.640 was not his final destination. I went to Sydney this week, 0:33:25.040 --> 0:33:27.440 but I already had my ticket back to Charlotte before 0:33:27.480 --> 0:33:31.400 I ever left for Sydney. Jesus came to Earth in 0:33:31.440 --> 0:33:33.560 the likeness of sinful men, but he was not a 0:33:33.600 --> 0:33:37.080 sinful man. He went to a cross, but he did 0:33:37.080 --> 0:33:39.320 not belong on that cross. He did not stay on 0:33:39.360 --> 0:33:41.840 that cross. He was in this world, but he was 0:33:41.880 --> 0:33:43.640 not of this world. He went to the grave, he 0:33:43.680 --> 0:33:44.840 did not stay in the grave. 0:33:45.040 --> 0:33:47.080 I'm talking about round trip resurrection. 0:33:47.280 --> 0:33:47.480 Now. 0:33:48.280 --> 0:33:51.640 He suffered that he might be glorified by his wounds. 0:33:52.080 --> 0:33:55.880 You are healed everybody say release. So here's what I 0:33:55.880 --> 0:34:00.560 wanted to show you. Because remember God is very sneaky. 0:34:02.160 --> 0:34:04.600 And Luke says that Jesus on the cross said, Father, 0:34:04.680 --> 0:34:06.360 into your hands, I commit my spirit. 0:34:08.640 --> 0:34:13.440 But Luke wasn't at the cross. Luke is recording what 0:34:13.480 --> 0:34:15.319 he said at the cross. But Luke wasn't at the cross. 0:34:15.400 --> 0:34:19.839 Now, John, who also wrote one of the Gospels, he 0:34:19.920 --> 0:34:20.720 was at the cross. 0:34:21.960 --> 0:34:24.799 He was there. He wasn't loud, he was listening, he 0:34:24.880 --> 0:34:27.239 was watching. John was. 0:34:27.760 --> 0:34:30.759 I would say he's a sneaky disciple because if you 0:34:30.800 --> 0:34:33.440 look at him at the Last Supper, he's got his 0:34:33.560 --> 0:34:34.360 head on Jesus. 0:34:34.400 --> 0:34:35.560 He's kind of sneaky. 0:34:36.719 --> 0:34:39.759 Every one of my kids have different personalities. Elijah is 0:34:39.960 --> 0:34:46.640 very direct and forceful and articulate, logical. If he wants something, 0:34:46.680 --> 0:34:48.640 he's going to give you seventeen reasons you should give 0:34:48.640 --> 0:34:50.720 it to him in thirteen consequences if you don't. 0:34:53.280 --> 0:34:58.040 Abby is very beautiful and charming. And then Graham. Graham 0:34:58.080 --> 0:34:59.120 is sneaky. He is. 0:35:00.280 --> 0:35:04.040 He doesn't I didn't teach him to be this way. 0:35:04.080 --> 0:35:06.680 He just is this way. Graham is my sneaky kid. 0:35:06.920 --> 0:35:09.080 So if he wants something from you, he will come 0:35:09.160 --> 0:35:11.480 up to you, he will hug you like he loves you. 0:35:11.920 --> 0:35:15.920 But he's working on something because he's sneaky. Everybody says sneaky. 0:35:16.440 --> 0:35:19.120 He's very sneaky. He came up to me yesterday and 0:35:19.200 --> 0:35:21.799 started hugging me, and he was hugging me, and he 0:35:21.840 --> 0:35:25.359 started singing this song and I liked it. The song was, uh, 0:35:25.640 --> 0:35:28.880 it was like, listen, I can do it. That's my daddy, 0:35:28.960 --> 0:35:32.800 that's my daddy. That's my daddy, that's my daddy, that's 0:35:32.840 --> 0:35:33.799 my daddy, dass. 0:35:34.080 --> 0:35:36.040 I like the groove of it. I started dancing to it. 0:35:36.120 --> 0:35:39.720 That's my daddy, Dass, my daddy, this is my daddy, Dass, 0:35:39.880 --> 0:35:40.520 my daddy. 0:35:41.239 --> 0:35:44.120 Byt the time I'm dancing, I realized what he's doing. 0:35:44.120 --> 0:35:45.200 The whole song was a setup. 0:35:45.200 --> 0:35:47.080 The last line he goes and he's gonna get me 0:35:47.120 --> 0:35:48.360 a dog, and he walks. 0:35:48.120 --> 0:36:01.320 Off because he's sneaky, because he's sneaky. 0:35:59.840 --> 0:36:00.239 And I. 0:36:02.120 --> 0:36:03.480 Think what John did. 0:36:04.960 --> 0:36:09.120 When he recorded what Jesus did when he died, Because 0:36:09.200 --> 0:36:14.160 remember it looked like the end, it was really the beginning. 0:36:15.640 --> 0:36:20.880 It was Grace dressed like Shane. It was triumph dressed 0:36:20.960 --> 0:36:25.360 like Trouble. And so John says that when Jesus died 0:36:25.400 --> 0:36:28.960 and said it is finished, which was a cry of victory. 0:36:30.560 --> 0:36:35.480 With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 0:36:36.640 --> 0:36:38.880 And gave up his spirit is how we say it 0:36:38.920 --> 0:36:44.040 in English. But the Bible wasn't written in English. In fact, 0:36:44.080 --> 0:36:46.960 this part of the Bible was written in Greek. And 0:36:47.040 --> 0:36:50.680 there is a Greek word that John used in the 0:36:50.680 --> 0:36:53.960 thirtieth verse of the nineteenth chapter of his Gospel that 0:36:54.080 --> 0:36:55.919 we translated gave up. 0:36:56.280 --> 0:36:58.000 That really doesn't mean gave up. 0:36:58.560 --> 0:37:01.640 You know what the Greek word is, paradiami. 0:37:03.040 --> 0:37:03.719 Paradiami. 0:37:03.920 --> 0:37:06.359 Now you thought I was just randomly telling you that, 0:37:06.600 --> 0:37:07.400 but I wasn't. 0:37:07.719 --> 0:37:08.919 I was sneaking it in. 0:37:09.280 --> 0:37:11.520 So when I got to this point in the sermon, 0:37:11.960 --> 0:37:15.600 you would know that when the Bible says that Judas 0:37:16.080 --> 0:37:22.080 handed Jesus over to the Sanhedrin, paradimi, and the Sanhedrin 0:37:22.520 --> 0:37:27.640 handed Jesus over to Pilot, and Pilot handed Jesus over 0:37:27.960 --> 0:37:32.600 to Herod, and Herod handed over Jesus to be crucified. 0:37:32.880 --> 0:37:36.399 When Jesus got ready to die, guess what he did 0:37:36.480 --> 0:37:38.720 with his spirit paradiami. 0:37:39.239 --> 0:37:40.440 He handed it over. 0:37:40.920 --> 0:37:45.239 I'm trying to say, nobody took his life. He gave it. 0:37:47.480 --> 0:37:52.960 He gave it, and. 0:37:53.000 --> 0:37:55.560 He took the bread, and he blessed it, and he 0:37:55.680 --> 0:38:01.880 broke it, and he gave it, and he gives it. 0:38:00.160 --> 0:38:04.919 And he handed it over, and he handed it over. 0:38:05.880 --> 0:38:06.799 Parrotid on mine. 0:38:07.080 --> 0:38:11.000 The same word that says Judas handed Jesus over, I'm done, 0:38:11.160 --> 0:38:14.920 stand up. The same word that says that Judas handed 0:38:15.000 --> 0:38:18.960 Jesus over is used to describe the way that Jesus 0:38:19.200 --> 0:38:22.719 handed himself over. What am I trying to say? He 0:38:22.840 --> 0:38:28.080 had it in hand all along, It was always in 0:38:28.120 --> 0:38:31.880 his hands. It might have looked like Judas's hand. It 0:38:31.960 --> 0:38:34.319 might have looked like Herod's hand. It might have looked 0:38:34.360 --> 0:38:37.440 like Pilot's hand. But the hand on the hand that 0:38:37.480 --> 0:38:41.600 writes the story of your life is the hand of God. 0:38:44.880 --> 0:38:47.759 Somebody shout, hand it over? 0:38:48.040 --> 0:38:49.000 He handed it over? 0:38:52.239 --> 0:38:55.360 And can I tell you something else about paradidomia. It 0:38:55.520 --> 0:39:00.919 means to hand over for keeping until the appropriate time. Wow. 0:39:02.200 --> 0:39:05.759 So the Sanhedrin held him when he was handed over, 0:39:06.160 --> 0:39:07.960 until it was time to hand him over to the 0:39:08.040 --> 0:39:11.239 Roman government. And they held him until it was time 0:39:11.280 --> 0:39:13.840 to hand him over to the centurion so that he 0:39:13.880 --> 0:39:17.880 could die. And so when Jesus died his last word, 0:39:18.640 --> 0:39:22.399 his last mile, before he would do what he came 0:39:22.440 --> 0:39:26.080 to do and fulfill his purpose on the earth. He said, Father, 0:39:26.160 --> 0:39:33.560 into your hands, I hand over my spirit. Keep it 0:39:33.600 --> 0:39:44.680 for me till Sunday. Because when Sunday comes, Yo, you'll 0:39:44.680 --> 0:39:46.839 better clap to give me off this stage, because if 0:39:46.840 --> 0:39:58.600 I start preaching about that, Oh, oh God. Because when 0:39:58.600 --> 0:40:02.800 he got up on Sunday with all power in his hand, 0:40:05.160 --> 0:40:07.400 you see, he had a little meeting with the devil 0:40:08.760 --> 0:40:12.000 and he said, hey, devil, what's that in your hand? 0:40:13.200 --> 0:40:16.520 And the devil said, that's the key And Jesus said, 0:40:16.560 --> 0:40:19.600 the key to what? And the devil said, this is 0:40:19.640 --> 0:40:22.440 Revelation onein eighteen. It doesn't record the whole conversation, but 0:40:22.480 --> 0:40:23.040 it lets me. 0:40:22.960 --> 0:40:23.680 Know the outcome. 0:40:23.920 --> 0:40:28.400 The devil said, it's the key to death. And Jesus said, 0:40:29.120 --> 0:40:33.320 paradiami in other words, come. 0:40:33.120 --> 0:40:41.120 On, come on, drum hey, then over my paid i'm 0:40:41.280 --> 0:40:53.040 ron my laptad im. 0:40:53.080 --> 0:40:55.040 What else you got there, devil, Oh, this is the 0:40:55.120 --> 0:40:56.960 key to hell. This is the key to judgment. 0:40:57.360 --> 0:40:59.440 This is this is the key that will punish them 0:40:59.440 --> 0:41:02.480 according to their transgressions. And Jesus say, yeah, but I 0:41:02.560 --> 0:41:06.800 dealt with that. Now, hand it over, Hand it over. 0:41:08.520 --> 0:41:09.959 Somebody shout, hand it over. 0:41:11.520 --> 0:41:18.359 That's the invitation. That's the invitation, the release. Hand it over, 0:41:18.640 --> 0:41:23.640 Hand it over. Hey, what are you carrying? Clio disappointment? 0:41:24.920 --> 0:41:25.640 I dealt with that. 0:41:26.040 --> 0:41:30.360 Now hand it over, because you got seven more miles 0:41:30.440 --> 0:41:34.720 to go. Now hand it over. You see these hands 0:41:34.719 --> 0:41:35.520 that bled for you. 0:41:35.920 --> 0:41:38.760 They were holding your hands the whole time, and nothing 0:41:38.840 --> 0:41:39.680 has happened to you. 0:41:39.800 --> 0:41:40.840 That will be wasted. 0:41:41.200 --> 0:41:43.320 Why don't you do what he did with that bread 0:41:43.600 --> 0:41:47.480 and hand it over. How long are you going to 0:41:47.560 --> 0:41:50.960 carry the burden when he died to take it away? 0:41:52.600 --> 0:41:55.000 How long are you going to carry the shame that 0:41:55.080 --> 0:42:01.560 he already carried up a hill? Hand it over, Hand 0:42:01.600 --> 0:42:04.760 it over. I hear the spirit of God saying that, 0:42:05.680 --> 0:42:08.719 just over and over. In my mind, I just hear 0:42:08.880 --> 0:42:12.200 inserting whatever it is that you're carrying that Jesus already 0:42:12.280 --> 0:42:15.600 died to roll away, and I hear him saying, hand 0:42:15.600 --> 0:42:19.040 it over. What are you discussing as you walk along 0:42:19.080 --> 0:42:24.399 the road. Let's leave that in a miais. Let's leave 0:42:24.440 --> 0:42:28.040 that at the cross, Let's leave that in his grave. 0:42:29.160 --> 0:42:30.000 You got to regret. 0:42:30.680 --> 0:42:36.239 Hand it over. You got a defeat. Hand it over. 0:42:37.760 --> 0:42:40.400 You got an excuse, hand it over. 0:42:41.719 --> 0:42:45.360 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things to 0:42:45.560 --> 0:42:49.880 enter into his glory? Now hand it over so that 0:42:49.960 --> 0:42:54.680 you can experience what Paul described. He said, I reckon 0:42:54.719 --> 0:42:59.560 that the sufferings of this present time, everything that you've 0:42:59.600 --> 0:43:02.400 been through, everything that you will go through, are not 0:43:03.600 --> 0:43:09.840 worthy to be compared with the glory that will be 0:43:09.960 --> 0:43:14.479 revealed if you hand it over. But if you stay 0:43:14.480 --> 0:43:18.040 at Amais and you keep your back turned to Jerusalem, 0:43:18.200 --> 0:43:21.360 you will never know what was waiting for you in 0:43:21.440 --> 0:43:23.759 his hands for you to receive it. 0:43:24.080 --> 0:43:28.200 And this is the promise of God. The spirit of 0:43:28.239 --> 0:43:33.960 God is in this place. Now. 0:43:33.960 --> 0:43:36.880 I want you to bow your head, and no one moving, 0:43:38.520 --> 0:43:43.920 because this is the moment of the handover. This is 0:43:43.960 --> 0:43:47.880 the moment where you trust Him with your life. You've 0:43:47.920 --> 0:43:50.160 been doing it your own way for seven miles now, 0:43:51.600 --> 0:43:53.480 and it's gotten you nowhere but a Mais. And it's 0:43:53.480 --> 0:43:56.840 gotten you nowhere but confusion. And it's gotten you nowhere 0:43:56.880 --> 0:44:03.240 but despair. It's gotten you nowhere. But today here stands 0:44:03.239 --> 0:44:07.040 one who offers to you the bread of life. Healing 0:44:07.160 --> 0:44:11.680 is in his hands, life is in his hands, Freedom 0:44:11.719 --> 0:44:14.520 is in his hands. So I want to pray with 0:44:14.560 --> 0:44:17.719 you right now to the end that you would hand 0:44:17.719 --> 0:44:20.880 it over, to the end, that you would get up 0:44:20.920 --> 0:44:25.439 and come back like Cleopus did, like Peter did after 0:44:25.480 --> 0:44:29.040 he had gone fishing, like we all must do to repent, 0:44:29.960 --> 0:44:35.759 to believe that resurrection is here. But your heads about 0:44:35.800 --> 0:44:37.480 and your eyes closed at every location, We're going to 0:44:37.480 --> 0:44:39.640 pray a prayer right now. This prayer is for those 0:44:39.680 --> 0:44:44.919 who are handing it over, for those who are ready 0:44:44.920 --> 0:44:46.960 to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, to 0:44:47.000 --> 0:44:49.359 come back to him. And I want us to pray 0:44:49.400 --> 0:44:51.800 together out loud as a church family for the benefit 0:44:51.840 --> 0:44:54.279 of those who are coming back to God. Pray with me, 0:44:54.320 --> 0:44:57.280 Heavenly Father, into your hands. 0:44:58.960 --> 0:45:04.839 I commit my life. I belong to you today. I 0:45:04.880 --> 0:45:05.400 trust you. 0:45:06.840 --> 0:45:12.880 I believe that Jesus Christ is your son, and today 0:45:13.920 --> 0:45:17.680 I make him my savior and I call him Lord. 0:45:19.360 --> 0:45:23.959 This is my new beginning. Forgive me of my sin, 0:45:25.840 --> 0:45:32.640 change my heart, make me a brand new creation. From 0:45:32.640 --> 0:45:37.760 this state forward, I will follow you all the days 0:45:37.800 --> 0:45:41.280 of my life, heads bowed, eyes closed. 0:45:41.320 --> 0:45:42.120 On account of three. 0:45:42.120 --> 0:45:44.680 If you just prayed that prayer, shoot your hand in 0:45:44.719 --> 0:45:47.479 the air boldly. This is your moment on three one, 0:45:47.800 --> 0:45:48.920 two three. 0:45:48.680 --> 0:45:52.719 Shoot him up all over these campuses, hands going up, 0:45:53.760 --> 0:46:00.520 new right beginning. Come him back home to the place belong. 0:46:01.360 --> 0:46:05.840 Come on church, let's welcome them home like the eleven. 0:46:06.440 --> 0:46:15.080 It is true, this resende. If you know he's please 0:46:15.160 --> 0:46:20.879 your lies, blead God. 0:46:24.000 --> 0:46:25.120 Thank you for joining us. 0:46:25.400 --> 0:46:27.840 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:46:27.920 --> 0:46:31.400 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:46:31.880 --> 0:46:34.040 You can click the link in the description to give 0:46:34.160 --> 0:46:38.080 now or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for 0:46:38.160 --> 0:46:41.920 more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:46:42.400 --> 0:46:43.720 You can share it with your friends. 0:46:44.000 --> 0:46:46.319 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:46:46.360 --> 0:46:48.480 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:46:48.480 --> 0:46:49.319 Elevation Church. 0:46:49.400 --> 0:46:51.040 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.