1 00:00:09,420 --> 00:00:12,540 If you have your Bible and make your way to Isaiah chapter 52, 2 00:00:12,860 --> 00:00:18,300 Isaiah 52, we break from our series answering the call of God 3 00:00:18,300 --> 00:00:22,060 out of the book of Genesis for a couple weeks as we walk through 4 00:00:22,060 --> 00:00:25,100 Palm Sunday leading up to Easter Sunday. 5 00:00:25,580 --> 00:00:29,100 And I think that'll become clear why we're turning to Isaiah 52 6 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:34,280 and 53 in a moment. I want to ask you this question. 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:39,480 What if I would have only shown you the last few seconds of the 8 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:43,680 race? Would you have celebrated the 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:50,200 win seeing the last few seconds of the race in the same way you 10 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,920 celebrated the last few seconds of the race after seeing the 11 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,320 whole race? Of course you could celebrate 12 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,160 someone winning by a fraction of a second. 13 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,360 That's wonderful, right? But no doubt there's no way 14 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,640 you'd celebrate the win in the same way you'd celebrate that 15 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,720 win unless you knew the full story. 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,480 Unless you knew that she actually would fall flat on her 17 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,440 face before getting back up and experiencing victory. 18 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,200 That changes everything. I don't I don't know about you, 19 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,440 but I know for me, often times we walk into we come up to we 20 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:32,160 lead into Easter Sunday and often times it can feel like 21 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,200 that Sunday comes and we celebrate the last few seconds 22 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:39,800 of the race without realizing and walking through all that led 23 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,120 up to the days prior to that day. 24 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,360 What Jesus experienced then the story of this week leading up to 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,120 Easter Sunday that would allow us to see the full picture and 26 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,520 celebrate the last few seconds. If you have the highlight of the 27 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,520 resurrection in a that we would not celebrate unless we had kept 28 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,320 in mind and walked the path that Jesus walked leading up to that 29 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:05,120 day, that he walked out of the grave alive. 30 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,280 So often we celebrate that as we rightly should. 31 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:13,680 But I want us through Isaiah 52 and 53 to walk, if you will, 32 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:18,160 hundreds written hundreds of years before Jesus would walk as 33 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,640 was prophesied here. We're going to see things 34 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:21,960 perhaps from a different perspective. 35 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,400 They're going to allow us to see the whole race. 36 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,720 Today is Palm Sunday. This is the day that we mark in 37 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,760 history that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, 38 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:37,360 fulfilling the prophecy out of Zechariah. 9/9 This is, behold, 39 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:42,040 your king is coming to you, humble and righteous. 40 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:47,160 Is he riding on a donkey as he rode in, just like our 41 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,200 preschoolers demonstrated this morning, The people waved palm 42 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,880 branches. Those are symbols of victory. 43 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,840 They're symbols of triumph. They're symbols of peace. 44 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,840 And as they wave these symbols of victory and of triumph, of 45 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,760 peace, they cried out, Hosanna, save us, we pray. 46 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:13,120 This was the day that set into motion the events that would 47 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,760 culminate in the cross, this moment when Jesus rides into the 48 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,320 capital city, hailed as the Messiah, worshipped and called 49 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,160 out to in prayer, save us, we pray. 50 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,720 From which this day when it started and this act occurred, 51 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,600 there was no turning back. He would have, he would have 52 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:38,440 either have to overthrow Rome as king or he was going to die on a 53 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,160 criminal's cross. And this day we mark in history 54 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,000 leading up to the events of the last week, often referred to as 55 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:49,360 Holy Week, that will lead up to the day when Jesus will go to 56 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,360 the cross for you and for me. Of course, we can read the story 57 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,120 of the resurrection as historical fact in the New 58 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,040 Testament, primarily in the four books, the four gospels that 59 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,480 tell the story of Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 60 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:08,040 But what's also fascinating and when you might not realize and 61 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:13,080 how remarkable it is, is you can also read the story of the life, 62 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:15,280 death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. 63 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,120 An incredible down to minute details as it was prophesied and 64 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:25,440 written over 700 years before Jesus ever took on human flesh 65 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,120 and lived out exactly what Isaiah said would happen. 66 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:33,560 And Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53. It's one of the most majestic, 67 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:37,080 all inspiring, magnificent passages in all the Bible. 68 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,040 I've actually wanted to preach this text for quite a while. 69 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,360 I just felt like I needed the right occasion to do it. 70 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,960 And certainly Palm Sunday and leading up to Easter Sunday is 71 00:04:45,960 --> 00:04:50,400 that it's from from here that I want us to see the story of the 72 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,880 resurrection from the Old Testament this Palm Sunday and 73 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,560 Easter Sunday, this text if you need some orientation. 74 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:58,320 All right, I don't have time to do much of that, but let me just 75 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,920 tell you this, It is all about Jesus. 76 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,840 This text captures and communicates the heart of our 77 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:09,840 faith, the gospel. This text will take us to 78 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,320 Calvary where Jesus died. It will take us there. 79 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:15,360 It will take us to the grave, to the tomb. 80 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,280 It will take us to the resurrection. 81 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,000 This chapter of all chapters in the Old Testament, this one, 82 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:26,080 Isaiah 53 in the end of 52, is either alluded to or quoted more 83 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,840 in the New Testament than any other Old Testament text. 84 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,720 You need to know this text, the next of your Bible, as 85 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,440 magnificent as it is. We're going to walk through it 86 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,400 in two parts, just a small portion today and a greater part 87 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:45,320 next week on Easter Sunday. Because like a good storyteller, 88 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:49,280 Isaiah, before he tells us the whole story, is going to tell us 89 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,920 the story in part or in miniature at the end of chapter 90 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,360 52 before we see the whole or the rest of the story. 91 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,600 And Isaiah 53 next week. So listen to the word of God, 92 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,520 Isaiah 52 beginning and verse verse 13. 93 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:11,560 Behold, Isaiah writes, my servant, that's Jesus shall act 94 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,840 wisely. He shall be high and lifted up. 95 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:22,160 He shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you. 96 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:27,600 His appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and is 97 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:32,560 formed beyond that of the children of mankind, so shall He 98 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:38,520 sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths 99 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,440 because of Him. For that which has not been told 100 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:47,440 them they see, and that which they have not heard they 101 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,800 understand. Father, I pray that you would 102 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,480 open our eyes to behold wonderful things from Your word. 103 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:58,040 God give us a clear picture of Jesus and what he's done for us, 104 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,560 perhaps like we've never seen it before. 105 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,600 Father, I pray that if anyone is here and never heard and 106 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,000 believed and received the good news of the gospel, today would 107 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,040 be the day I pray in Jesus name and all God's people said the 108 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,680 first thing in your notes there, if you're following along, is 109 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,200 this the resurrection story is the greatest success story in 110 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:22,800 all of history. It is this story is the greatest 111 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,520 success story in all of history. You can say it like this. 112 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:32,640 Isaiah begins with spoiler alert like over 700 years before it 113 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,880 happens. Spoiler alert verse 13. 114 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,320 God says riot at the gate before he says anything else about 115 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:41,360 what's going to happen, how it's going to go, go down. 116 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,400 He says, behold, my servant God the Father says through Isaiah 117 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,440 shall act wisely. You say, Kyle, I don't really 118 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:51,920 know what that's spoiling. What is that saying? 119 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,000 What that means is when it says he shall act wisely, it means he 120 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,120 shall prosper. This means Jesus will be 121 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,040 successful. The servant here is none other 122 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,680 than the Messiah. That's just a word that means 123 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,880 anointed 1 And this servant here often referred to as the 124 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:15,000 suffering servant in Isaiah 53, is the one promised as an 125 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,120 offspring of Abram. That we've been walking through 126 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,720 the 1st beginning book of the Bible where God said He was 127 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,920 going to unfold His plan of salvation by sending one an 128 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,240 offspring of Abram. That would be a blessing to how 129 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,360 many families of the earth. So all the families of the 130 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,440 earth, including yours and including mine. 131 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,520 Hallelujah, This is him. If you want to go back even 132 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,280 further, this is the new and better Adam. 133 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,159 The first Adam kind of messed up. 134 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,919 Amen. Right fell flat on his face in 135 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:45,360 his race. The curse of sin entered all 136 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,880 creation but God had said guess what, the promise goes all the 137 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,600 way back to the end. Genesis 315 One of that would be 138 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,440 a seed of the woman is going to come and it's going to win. 139 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,080 It's going to crush the head of the serpent. 140 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,320 This is the new and better Adam. This is humanity. 141 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,640 Ladies and gentlemen, 2 point O who came this time to get it 142 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,680 right so that he could get it right for you and get it right 143 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:07,240 for me. This is Jesus, this is the one 144 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,840 that was prophesied that would be the better prophet than 145 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:12,800 Moses. Moses LED to physical freedom 146 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,840 out of Egypt. This prophet and priest and king 147 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,760 is going to lead to spiritual freedom out of the bondage to 148 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:20,120 sin. Do you see who this is? 149 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,840 This is Jesus, this is the Christ, this is the promised 150 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:28,440 One, this is the Anointed 1 and it says he shall act wisely. 151 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,520 That is, He shall prosper. He's going to be successful. 152 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:33,200 Kyle, I need specifics. Here's what I mean. 153 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,200 He's going to embody the very wisdom of God. 154 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,920 He's going to live sinlessly, fulfilling all righteousness. 155 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,160 This one is going to fully accomplish the will of the 156 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,040 Father. This one is going to fulfill 157 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,440 perfectly the purpose for which he was sent. 158 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,680 This one is going to be prosperous. 159 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:54,720 And in fact, the way to think about it would be like this. 160 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,400 There's never been and never will be greater prosperity from 161 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,280 anyone who's taken on human flesh than the prosperity that 162 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,720 Jesus will accomplish here as a fully and finally in the 163 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,640 fullness of time, fulfilled the will of God the Father who so 164 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,840 loved the world that He sent his Son who came willingly to 165 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:15,960 voluntarily give his life to redeem sinful man. 166 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,640 There's been no greater success story in all of history than 167 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:23,120 Jesus. Spoiler alert over 700 years in 168 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,960 advance. This is what God is saying is is 169 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,320 going to happen. God is calling the win for his 170 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,000 son. What he's saying, ladies and 171 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,840 gentlemen, is Jesus is not going to lose. 172 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,120 He's going to win. And guess what, If you're with 173 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,640 and been joined to Jesus by faith in him, guess who's going 174 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,800 to win too? You and me. 175 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,280 But you might say, Pastor Kyle, I don't feel like I'm winning 176 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:50,920 right now. They've told me I have two to 177 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,120 six months to live with cancer. There's somebody in our church 178 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:55,760 that's heard that very word, those very words. 179 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,080 That man who's a believer in Jesus wins. 180 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,160 The parents that I talked to recently who are having some 181 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:06,120 severe behavioral problems with their children, they've placed 182 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:07,760 their faith in Jesus. Guess who wins? 183 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,480 Those parents? that Lady who suffered an 184 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,840 injustice at her job and has lost her job in a way that was 185 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,360 unrighteous. Guess who wins? 186 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,480 Because she's placed her faith in Jesus, she wins. 187 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,360 It matters what we go through in life. 188 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,480 But no matter what we go through in life, no one can take the win 189 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,520 for our from us. That is ours in Jesus. 190 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,040 The salvation, the eternal life, the hope and the joy. 191 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,920 We all win because of our faith in Jesus. 192 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:47,800 If we've been joined to Him, God is calling the win for His Son. 193 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,360 You say, what do we mean by when? 194 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:52,320 I want you to listen to what Isaiah says here, and I want you 195 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,480 to listen to it and hear it through the lens of what you 196 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,080 know in the New Testament. He says he shall be high and 197 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:05,000 lifted up and shall be exalted. The lowliness, the humiliation, 198 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,840 the despair and of death and the grave is not Jesus is in that he 199 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,840 shall prosper to eternal life despite going through all of 200 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,120 that. Listen to what this how this we 201 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:22,560 could we could say high Jesus shall rise high from the what Oh 202 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:25,560 come on y'all wait with me from the dead. 203 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:29,200 Jesus shall be lifted up. He's going to ascend to be 204 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:33,360 lifted up back to heaven. Jesus will be exalted to where 205 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:36,560 the right hand of the the Father. 206 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,680 Before I tell you how the resurrection story begins, 207 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,160 Isaiah says, let me tell you how it ends. 208 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:54,520 Jesus wins #2 The resurrection story is the greatest comeback 209 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,640 story of all history. Not just the greatest success 210 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,480 story, but the greatest comeback story in all of history. 211 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:07,200 You see, Jesus is when will be the greatest comeback the world 212 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,120 has ever seen. Listen to verse 14 again. 213 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:14,400 It says as many were astonished at you. 214 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,240 And here's what he means. His appearance was so marred 215 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,840 beyond human semblance in this form, beyond that of the 216 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,760 children of mankind. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, 217 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:35,280 if you thought Rocky Balboa was battered, beaten and bruised in 218 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:41,720 the ring, what he experienced was a day at the spa compared to 219 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:47,520 what Jesus, the Son of God would suffer for you and for me. 220 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:52,600 Say, Kyle, what do you mean? Isaiah prophecies over 700 years 221 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:57,000 in advance that Jesus physical features that his body would be 222 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:02,400 so mangled and so marred he'll barely appear human. 223 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,080 You say, Kyle, what does it say in the New Testament? 224 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,760 It says they will beat him the rod that they put in his hand 225 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,840 after a purple cloak that they put on him. 226 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,720 They will beat him with a stick over the head. 227 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,160 They are going to spit upon him, covering him with their they're 228 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,920 going to pluck out his beard. They're going to lash his back 229 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,000 to it's laid open. They're going to they're going 230 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,200 to force a crown of thorns on his head. 231 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,840 They're going to Pierce him to a tree. 232 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:35,320 They're going to split his side for you and for me. 233 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,720 He will not bear the semblance of even looking like a human. 234 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:49,160 When sinners are done with the Savior, Isaiah says, people will 235 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:55,160 be so appalled they will turn their faces away. 236 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:02,320 If you would have recognized him before, after his death, you'd 237 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,960 be able to recognize him no longer. 238 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:13,160 If it ever looked like someone had lost, Jesus is going to 239 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:20,640 appear to have lost in the worst kind of way possible. 240 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:28,160 By giving his life, by taking the sting of death, by suffering 241 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:35,120 unspeakably at the hands of men. And yet looking as if he had 242 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:41,120 lost, Jesus is going to save sinners and shock the world. 243 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:45,160 You see, what looked to men like the most humiliating of defeats 244 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:50,920 is actually the greatest of victories in all the universe. 245 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,800 The New Testament in Colossians chapter 2, Paul puts it like 246 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,280 this in verses 14 and 15 when he basically describes the victory 247 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,480 that looked like a loss like this. 248 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:05,400 God was canceling the record of our sin. 249 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:09,280 That's your sin and mine. God was canceling your debt on 250 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,720 him and through his Son that stood against us with its legal 251 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:14,200 demands. That's our death. 252 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,880 That's our punishment. That's what it legally demanded. 253 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:22,800 But this he, God the Father, set aside by nailing him, Jesus to 254 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,120 the cross. He disarmed by doing so. 255 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:28,080 He took out the ammunition from the enemy. 256 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,960 He disarmed the rulers and authorities of the spiritual 257 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,440 realm, Satan himself, and put them to open shame. 258 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,280 But Jesus suffering the worst of the worst defeat possible with 259 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,240 the darkness, thinking they had won, God the Father was 260 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,800 overcoming it all and making the greatest win possible for 261 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,280 mankind who had sinned against Him by nailing his Son to the 262 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:51,920 cross, disarming the rulers and authorities, putting them to 263 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,200 open shame by triumphing over them. 264 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:59,760 In him, Him is Jesus. This story is not just the 265 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,120 greatest success story, it's the greatest. 266 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,200 Look like it was a lost story, and yet it was winning it all. 267 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,040 It was winning salvation for you. 268 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,400 It was winning salvation for me. To all who would call on the 269 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:18,119 name of the Lord to be saved. What an astonishment to those 270 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,119 who esteemed Him the lowest of the low. 271 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,319 The resurrection story is the greatest comeback story in all 272 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:32,440 of history #3 The resurrection story is the most astonishing 273 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,440 story in all of history. It's not just the greatest 274 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:36,840 success. It's not just the greatest 275 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:39,480 comeback. It is truly the most astonishing 276 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:43,560 story in all of history. Look at verse 15 again. 277 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:48,880 So shall he sprinkle many nations that word for sprinkle. 278 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:53,160 There is Old Testament language and imagery for salvation or for 279 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:58,680 purification, for cleansing, for redeeming, for purifying. 280 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,680 Because what they would do is, is they would take that Old 281 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,720 Testament animal sacrifice and the priest would take the blood 282 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,560 of that animal and often sprinkle it on the altar and 283 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:14,800 sometimes even sprinkle it on the people, representing the 284 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:19,960 contact they were coming into of the cleansing power of the 285 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,360 blood, if you will. And yet the animal blood could 286 00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,360 never fully cleanse from sin. It could make ceremonially clean 287 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:29,400 for their worship in the old covenant, but can never fully 288 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:33,080 take away sin that was only in the power of the blood of the 289 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,440 one who sang about His name. Is Jesus, the Lamb of God who 290 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:42,400 takes away the sin of the world. Hebrews 12/24 says it like this, 291 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,520 but you have come. That's you and me to Jesus, the 292 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,960 mediator of a new covenant, and to the watch this this language 293 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:57,200 to the to be sprinkled the sprinkled blood that speaks a 294 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,880 better word than the blood of Abel. 295 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,880 By his suffering, by his shed blood, by his death, Jesus would 296 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,640 win and save sinners from every tribe, tongue, language, and 297 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,560 nation. If you've been saved, here's 298 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,960 what I want you to think about in Old Testament language. 299 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,800 It's because you've been sprinkled, you've been washed, 300 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,120 you've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. 301 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,640 There's no salvation, there's no forgiveness of sin without 302 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,760 contact by faith with the blood of Jesus. 303 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,160 If you've called on Jesus to save you, you've called on him 304 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:34,280 because of his shed blood for you. 305 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,120 If you need to call on Him to save you, it's because you've 306 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:39,120 realized He has shed His blood for you. 307 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,480 The only thing that has the power to cleanse you from your 308 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,320 sin sets you free from what you deserve and give you life in 309 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:49,920 Jesus forever. Have you called on the name of 310 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,520 the Lord because of the power of the blood? 311 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,680 If not, you can now. You can right now. 312 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,480 The resurrection story is the most astonishing story. 313 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,920 It says here sprinkle in verse 15. 314 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,000 But that word can also mean to startle. 315 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:14,040 As in to astonish, like to shock, to call someone great 316 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:19,880 surprise, which is exactly what Jesus will do to the peoples and 317 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:21,160 leaders and nations of the world. 318 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,040 Notice that's what Isaiah says right after that. 319 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:27,640 Kings are going to shut their mouths because of Jesus, because 320 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,800 of him. That's a nice Old Testament 321 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:32,000 prophet way of saying what you parents told your kids not to 322 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,120 say, right? Their jaws are going to go up. 323 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,960 Their mouths are going to close. They're going to get speechless. 324 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,320 They're going to go mute in shock at what Jesus is going to 325 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,120 accomplish. Kings of the earth are going to 326 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,080 go silent because of him. Don't you remember when Anas and 327 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,040 Caiaphas, Jewish high priest and leaders, right we're opening 328 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,640 their mouths to falsely accused and questioned Jesus, and 329 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,120 ultimately they open their mouths to falsely accused Jesus 330 00:21:00,120 --> 00:21:02,320 of blasphemy. They open their mouths, but 331 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:06,440 they're going to be shut. Pilate opened his mouth to 332 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:08,680 Jesus. Remember the Roman governor that 333 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,280 Jesus was brought before? Pilate opened his mouth to 334 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,560 question Jesus. Are you the king of the Jews? 335 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:18,960 Right. And therefore Pilate didn't get 336 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,240 the response that he was after Jesus didn't. 337 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,320 He did not refuse the false charges. 338 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,400 He simply said you said it. You've said I'm the the king of 339 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:28,800 the Jews. He was affirming the pilot. 340 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,760 What he said was right. But Pilate then opened his mouth 341 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:34,680 to try to recuse himself and wash his hands and be innocent 342 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,200 of the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the Son of God. 343 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,680 And then furthermore, he'd go before Herod. 344 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,480 Jesus would another ruler. And again Herod would open his 345 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:49,240 mouth mocking Jesus, this time sending him on to the cross. 346 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,400 Yet these same leaders and kings who open their mouths against 347 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:59,480 the Son of the living God, whose jaws dropped open in 348 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,960 astonishment at his suffering and humiliation and death. 349 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:08,000 These kings and countless, countless, countless more would 350 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:16,200 have their jaws shut in absolute silence and shock that what they 351 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,320 thought they were witnessing was actually something completely 352 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,880 different and would astonish them in such a way that Jesus, 353 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:29,240 who was considered the lowest of the low, would actually be, was 354 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,880 the highest of the high. It says here Isaiah writes for 355 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:37,000 that which has not been told them they see, and for that 356 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,440 which they have not heard, they understand. 357 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,400 What they had not been told, what they had not seen or 358 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,720 understood, was the message of the gospel. 359 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,360 Listen closely to me if you're here and you don't exactly know 360 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:51,200 or think you don't know. What is it that we Christians 361 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:52,760 believe? What is the good news? 362 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,280 What is it that you must understand in order to have 363 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,600 eternal life? It is this message that they 364 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:01,040 didn't fully see or comprehend, that is now so clear that they 365 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:04,720 have seen, that they have heard. It's that Jesus, the Son of God, 366 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,120 took on human flesh, that he lived a sinless life in your 367 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,560 place. Because you and I have sinned 368 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:13,320 and fallen short of the glory of God. 369 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,720 What we deserve is death. We've fallen short of the 370 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,080 holiness and the righteous standard of God our Creator. 371 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,400 And yet God so loved us that despite the fact that we deserve 372 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,080 death and separation from Him forever, God sent his Son after 373 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,080 us to live for us, to die for us, to be buried for us, and to 374 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:35,360 walk out of the grave defeating death for us so that all who 375 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:39,400 call on the name of the Lord will be saved, rescued from what 376 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,320 we deserve, set free from sin, given eternal life and the hope 377 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,000 of heaven. That's what a Christian 378 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:46,680 believes. That's who a Christian is. 379 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,040 There's been a moment in time that became clear in their heart 380 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,040 and soul. They gave their life to Jesus 381 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,960 and called on Him to save them. That's the action you must take 382 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:03,160 if you are to be saved. Have you taken that action by 383 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,400 faith? You too can call on Jesus as we 384 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,840 speak. How is it that these would see 385 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:13,720 what they missed? How is it that these would 386 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,000 understand what they didn't understand? 387 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,600 Well, I want you to think about it like this. 388 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:24,080 They would see the empty tomb. They would see the lives of the 389 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,920 apostles transformed and turned upside down. 390 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:29,520 They're going to hear the rumor around town. 391 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,720 He's alive. He's alive. 392 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,600 They're going to hear it. They're going to see the church 393 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,520 explode. They're going to see the Gospel 394 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,520 go forth. They're going to see the word of 395 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,760 God go forth with such fire and rapidness. 396 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,480 Despite the blood they would spill of all the martyrs trying 397 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,640 to stop the witness to the fact that Jesus was alive. 398 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,040 They would see. They would be in shock because 399 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:59,040 something started that though they didn't understand it, they 400 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,520 couldn't stop. And the world, the world will 401 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,160 stand in awe. Kyle, how do you know it's the 402 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,320 gospel message Isaiah is prophesying? 403 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:11,920 Well, if you want a New Testament connection, Romans 404 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,000 chapter 15 verse 20 through 21. Paul puts it like this. 405 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:20,400 He says I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where 406 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,920 Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's 407 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:28,720 foundation, but as it is written and he quotes Isaiah 5215 as it 408 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:33,000 is written there, those who have not been told will see and those 409 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,240 who've never heard will understand. 410 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,120 Isn't that amazing that he's quoting there The Old Testament, 411 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:41,760 the gospel prophesied over 700 years before Jesus ever walked 412 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,720 the earth. Listen, if if you're here this 413 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:47,600 morning and you're a little skeptical of all of this, you're 414 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:48,880 like Kyle, I'm just not sure, man. 415 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,600 You know, being raised from the dead, that sounds a little 416 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,520 beyond rationality to me. Listen, you know when they 417 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,280 discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls? You should check this out if 418 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,680 you've not investigated. The Dead Sea Scrolls were 419 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,080 fragments and whole scrolls of Old Testament text. 420 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,720 And beyond that, a shepherd boy in the desert in the Middle East 421 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:16,240 shepherding his sheep through a rock randomly heard a clunk in a 422 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:18,200 clink that he didn't think he should have heard. 423 00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:22,120 Investigated, and sure enough, the rock went in a cave full of 424 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:26,080 many Old Testament manuscripts. One of the ones they found was 425 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:32,000 the entire scroll of the prophet Isaiah that predated any 426 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,040 complete scroll that we had in existence by 1000 years. 427 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,400 And you know what it said The exact thing your Bible says 428 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,360 today that was written, that this particular one they found 429 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,760 was in existence and came into writing 100 to 125 years before 430 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,400 Jesus walked the earth. And Isaiah writes in this. 431 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,400 If you read in your homework this week, Isaiah 53, you'll 432 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,720 read it as if Isaiah was standing by the cross almost 433 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,320 1000 years in advance watching what God said would happen, 434 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,640 unfold. You can't tell me faith is not 435 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:04,960 rational. They've yet to be able to 436 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:07,240 explain the empty tomb to this day. 437 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,680 You look at creation and see that one must have the design 438 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,120 mind and spoken it into existence, that this didn't come 439 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:16,520 out of a random dryer of the universe and all fit together 440 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,360 and work right. It's unbelievable how clear the 441 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:23,080 word of God is pointing us to the truth of reality, of a God 442 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,440 who made us, who loves us and sent his Son for us. 443 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:32,600 Have you looked to the cross by faith and believed you All the 444 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:38,400 shock, this humiliating death would be just a tiny tremor on 445 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:43,200 the seismic scale of the shock of his resurrection and the 446 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:47,960 proclamation of his gospel. The gospel message is not just 447 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,800 that Christ died, but it's that Christ died for our sins. 448 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:57,400 This is the part that shocks. If you've never been shocked by 449 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,680 this, you're missing it because Jesus did not die. 450 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:06,800 He was not mangled beyond recognition because he was 451 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,440 guilty. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, I 452 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,200 want you to hear this clearly. Jesus. 453 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:18,040 Jesus suffered to the point that you would not have recognized 454 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:23,640 him had you known what he looked like, because you and I were 455 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:29,960 guilty. That's the shock of the love of 456 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,160 God. That's the shock of the gospel. 457 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:39,720 That's the scandal of the gospel, that God would love and 458 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:46,040 accept sinners who deserve that, but he would send his Son in our 459 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,240 place to take it for us, that we could be called the 460 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,760 righteousness of God. Do what? 461 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:58,040 Do what? Mouths will be shut. 462 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,680 There's nothing to say. What do you say? 463 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,800 All there is, is to stand in awe of the love of God. 464 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:13,400 How could it be that blood would be shed for you and for me? 465 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,240 Because of the life, death, burial and resurrection of 466 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,440 Christ? We can tell every nation, every 467 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:26,800 tribe, every tongue, every person that God so loved the 468 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,240 world that God sent His one and only Son, that whosoever would 469 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,680 believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 470 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:39,520 This is the most astounding story, the most astounding story 471 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,600 in all of history. There's one more thing I want to 472 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,120 show you and it's really how I want us to end. 473 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,680 And it's a challenge that I want you to leave with today on Palm 474 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:50,760 Sunday. To take this challenge before 475 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:52,800 Easter Sunday. Listen to what the Word of God 476 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:57,800 says in verse 1 of chapter 53. Who has believed what He has 477 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,880 heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the 478 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:07,320 Lord been revealed? When he says there who has 479 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,080 believed what he has heard? Isaiah is implying that you 480 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,320 would think people would immediately be drawn and 481 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:15,760 believe. But that's not what happened. 482 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,240 Israel as a whole did not believe. 483 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,240 Guess what? The world as a whole has not. 484 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:31,240 What #4 The resurrection story is the most rejected story in 485 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:35,200 all of history. This is the most rejected true 486 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:40,920 story in all of history. To whom has the arm of the Lord 487 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:42,920 been revealed? I love what 1 preacher said. 488 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:45,440 He said when God made the universe, according to Psalm 8, 489 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,400 David says he only had to use his fingers. 490 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,480 When he put the billions upon billions among billions of 491 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,320 stars. The universe God only had to use 492 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:54,800 his fingers and he knows them by name. 493 00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:00,120 When God he said set the people free out of slavery in Egypt, 494 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,440 God used his. Well let me look back what he 495 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:07,040 says because I don't remember. He used his strong hand. 496 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:11,160 God went from fingers to creating everything to his hand 497 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,280 and setting his people free. This is what I do remember. 498 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:18,680 But when God went to save the souls of mankind, God flexed and 499 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:24,480 used the might of His almighty arm, sending His one and only 500 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:28,080 Son. I like that right there that God 501 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:33,160 would show His might most clearly and His love most 502 00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:37,520 astonishingly, and sending His one and only Son, Jesus, the 503 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,120 innocent Son of God, dying in the place of sinful human 504 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,680 beings, taking the place of guilty sinners, paying the price 505 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:46,560 of our salvation. It's a message so unbelievable, 506 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,240 who could hardly believe God would say it and do it? 507 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:52,240 It's an announcement so marvelous, right, that unless 508 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,120 the Spirit of God opens the eyes of the heart of a man, woman, 509 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:57,720 boy or girl, who could believe it? 510 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,400 And yet the Bible says this. This is how it's believed that 511 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:07,200 if one turns the eyes of their heart to the cross and you see 512 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:13,200 Jesus hanging there for you, marred beyond recognition, when 513 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:22,200 you get the fact that it was for you when it was for you, because 514 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,440 when Jesus went beyond what people could recognize because 515 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:31,600 God was doing it for you, that's the moment everything changes. 516 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,360 And if by faith you place your faith in that Savior who 517 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:43,040 substituted himself for you, by faith, the Holy Spirit quickens 518 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:47,120 your spirit, makes you alive, brings you from spiritual death 519 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,400 to life, inhabits you by the Holy Spirit, forgives you of 520 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,240 your sin, and destines you for heaven. 521 00:32:54,600 --> 00:33:01,640 Can I ask you, have you realized it was for you, for you and as 522 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:03,600 everything changed, if not today, it can. 523 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,840 This is how the story goes from rejected to received. 524 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,160 Isaiah 53. One, as I was looking at this 525 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,440 again this morning and just praying through, I felt like 526 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:20,120 this would be the best way for us to end with the challenge 527 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,880 this week, in a week that we celebrate the fact that Jesus is 528 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,480 alive. So let me just tell you, when we 529 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:29,600 celebrate something, we talk about it, don't we? 530 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,520 If you're not talking about something, you're not 531 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:38,280 celebrating something. So I just got back from 532 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,480 Columbus, Ms. where my brother-in-law was competing in 533 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:45,200 his hometown in a professional bass tournament. 534 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:48,560 This was a dream of his from a child to be a professional bass 535 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,160 fisherman, he's become one. He was competing in his 536 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:52,840 hometown. It was a dream come true on 537 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,520 water. He had fished 1000 times, had 538 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:58,240 the hometown crowd rooting for the hometown kid. 539 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,800 He was the hero. The crowd was going wild, right? 540 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,400 He desperately, desperately wanted to win this tournament. 541 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,520 What a place to win. Well, he didn't win. 542 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,960 He had to make the top 10 out of 101. 543 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:09,520 You got to make the top 10 to fish. 544 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:11,760 On Sunday. He was 12th. 545 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:17,600 He missed the cut by 11 oz. Even still, it was the talk of 546 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,120 Columbus, Ms. I was driving back yesterday. 547 00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,120 I had taken my dog, who, by the way, got sprayed by a skunk. 548 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:28,199 That's a different story. And I'm trying to bathe my dog. 549 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:29,440 I'm trying to get ready to preach. 550 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,679 I'm trying to, you know, all the things and my buddies are still 551 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:33,880 calling me wanting to talk about, you know, who. 552 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:36,800 What if he'd have done this? What if he wouldn't have left 553 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:37,880 that area this way? What would? 554 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:40,600 They were still celebrating even though he hadn't won. 555 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:45,360 They were and they were by talking about it, they were all 556 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,080 right. So if we celebrate something, we 557 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:49,159 talk about it. Now listen to this challenge and 558 00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:51,600 I'm going to I'm going to change one word in the sentence. 559 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:55,400 Are you ready? Who has believed what he has 560 00:34:55,400 --> 00:35:02,000 heard from you? From you? 561 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:07,520 Who's going to have a chance to believe the most greatest 562 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:13,160 success story in all of history, the most greatest comeback story 563 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,840 of all of history, the most astonishing story in all of 564 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,680 history, and yes, even to this day, the most rejected one. 565 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:25,480 But who's going to have a chance to hear it and believe it this 566 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:32,040 week because of you talking about it, because you're what? 567 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:37,160 You're celebrating it. I guarantee you this week, 568 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:41,520 Easter, the word Easter is going to come up and go in. 569 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,200 It's going to go into your ear canal this week. 570 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:45,880 It's either going to come out of your mouth, it's going to go 571 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:50,040 into your eardrums. When it does, I just want you to 572 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,000 hear bingo. It's an opportunity for someone 573 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,360 to hear the rest of the of the story. 574 00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:59,080 Because guess what? For those of us who know it, 575 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,720 there's no greater celebration or way to celebrate it than to 576 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,400 see somebody hear it and discover it and believe it for 577 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:09,720 the for the first time. What if this week they heard it 578 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:12,720 from you? What if this week more people 579 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:16,280 got to hear it on Easter Sunday because of your invitation for 580 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,800 them to come hear the rest of the story next week? 581 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,040 And more people heard it, and perhaps more people believed it. 582 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,560 And one day through Carter's will, first fab this than I've 583 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,240 ever heard it and believed it before. 584 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,880 Do you think we'd celebrate? What do you think we talked 585 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:36,080 about the week after the people found out Jesus is alive? 586 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:42,120 Father, I want to ask in these next few moments that if anyone 587 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:45,160 is in the room that has never placed their faith in you, 588 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:49,440 Jesus, that today would be the day, God, I pray, Lord, that you 589 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,400 would open up the eyes of somebody's heart today by faith, 590 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:56,920 realizing that you were marred beyond description for them. 591 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:00,120 Father, I pray they'd be bold enough to step out from where 592 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:03,080 they are to come take me by the hand and say, Pastor Kyle, I 593 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,560 need to, I need to trust Christ. God, I want to pray for those in 594 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,640 the room that we know the story, we've received the story and the 595 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:11,800 truth we've been saved. God, I pray that we would 596 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:15,360 celebrate in the highest of ways this week by taking the 597 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:19,480 challenge to share it with at least one person who has 598 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:23,640 believed somebody to see the arm of the omnipotent Almighty God 599 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,160 flexed for them out of his love for all eternity for them 600 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:30,240 through His Son that they could hear and believe, hear and 601 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:33,520 receive this week. God, I pray that we as a church 602 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,920 would celebrate Easter this year like we've never celebrated it 603 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,280 before. God, I pray if it's your will, I 604 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,320 pray more lost people would be here than saved people would be 605 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,720 here on Easter. I pray, God, we'd be praying for 606 00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:48,000 the person to our right and our left that we'd be willing to go 607 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:49,640 forward with them. We'd be willing to share with 608 00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:53,720 them and pray for them as they see, as they receive. 609 00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:59,360 God help us, God help us celebrate by sharing and you 610 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:02,440 getting all the glory in Jesus name I pray, Amen. 611 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:05,600 Church, would you stand with me? Maybe you need to come because 612 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,000 you've trusted Christ today. Maybe you need to come and ask 613 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:11,000 God to help you be the spokesperson of the story this 614 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,360 week for someone who needs to hear and you just want to commit 615 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:15,800 yourself to that this week. Maybe you got a burden on your 616 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:17,120 heart. You feel like you're losing. 617 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:18,920 If you're in Christ, you're going to win. 618 00:38:19,840 --> 00:38:23,000 Heaven is on its way. We're not citizens of earth, but 619 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000 of heaven. Just come and put your heart 620 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,680 before God this morning as we worship you. 621 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:26,960 Come.