We welcome you to the We Are Zion sermon podcast.
We are a church based out of Chennai, India.
We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will
be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear.
Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of
purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus.
A rolled stone, doubtful and worried disciples, a new
beginning, all mark that very first Easter morning.
It is vital that for every follower of Jesus to know that
their faith rests and grows from the fact of Christ's
resurrection. This Easter, we look at the two
hinges on which all of our faith rests and hope that you are
strengthened and established in your faith while being filled
and overflowing with the resurrection power within you.
Just day before yesterday we were here and you're listening
to the Good Friday's service and we heard about 3 different life,
new life, eternal life and abundant life.
And even today, as we look into the Resurrection Sunday, the
fact remains that Jesus is alive.
How many of you agree? How many of you know it's a
fact? And so this tomb, the stone was
rolled and the grave is empty. And even as I was thinking
about, you know, one of the hard things to preach is I feel Good
Friday also, you can preach, but Easter is even more harder
because Easter, Christmas, all of these things because more or
less all of us know the story. And then it becomes even more
harder because what is he going to say is what the next big
question is? And as I was preparing, I was
just looking through the news. Amidst all the chaos that's
happening in the world, they sent a rocket up to the moon.
How many of you are following the Artemis 2?
Yeah. One thing that was unique about
that entire expedition was it's happening after a long time is
what they claim. You know, each country claims it
differently. We've sent the we've sent our
own tundra and all there all the way to the moon.
But that didn't make as big a splash as this one did.
But one of the things which they posted immediately after the
moon, after the rocket left, was the astronaut started looking
onto the Earth. And there was an entire article
about it. But NASA put out an image, and I
wanted us to see that image, not the the previous one.
Yeah, this is the image. This is Earth today, just couple
of days back, I mean just a day back.
So this is Earth which they took and doesn't it look beautiful?
But we've and the pre the next image if you go was taken in
1972, fifty years and they say 2026 more or less.
It's the same as this. Probably a better camera.
You can see more finer details, the highlights, you know, it
looks there probably even more pollution.
So that's why a lot of grey air quality index is probably very
bad. But as I was looking through
this image, I realized we are worshipping a God for him.
This is just the word of God says it's a footstool.
It says a footstool. If you can turn with me to
Isaiah chapter 66 verses one to two, it says this is what the
Lord says. Heaven is my throne and the
earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will
build for me? Where will my resting place be?
How many of you actually use a footstool at home?
For those of you who have children, the one thing you ask
them to go get is move that chair closer or move that
whatever Ottoman or whatever you guys have, we'll tell it to move
closer so we can raise our legs. But there's an interesting thing
for a God who's sees the earth as a footstool.
He has a command for us which says has not my hand made all
these things? And so they came into being
declares a lot. These are the ones I look on
with favour, those who are humble and contrite in spirit
and who tremble at my world. So this Easter and we are seated
here, this is our world. To the creator it doesn't look
like it's changed, but when we look zoom into all those, all
the humans that he's created, so much of change.
Just imagine those two images, 197222026, how much has changed,
how many wars, how many cyclones and sicknesses we've all gone
through. And so today you might be
thinking, God, this resurrection message is, yes, you are alive,
but do you really care about me? Do you really care about me?
I'm going through this thing right here.
And then to top it all, we are living in a social media world,
which is more or less like just it's, it's a gossip media for
us. Before, we used to go to page 9
to find out what celebrities are doing.
Up to today, we just go into Instagram to see what my friends
are up to. How many of you do that?
You get your daily dose of irritation from that.
Oh wow, they got that dress, huh?
And then immediately you take it, you put it into Google and
you find out what the dress cost is.
And you're like, man, how could they afford that?
And then you, you start spiraling down on their behalf.
And we have taken his resurrection power and we're not
living it out to what he wants us to live out today.
A scientist says this. At this point the skeptic may
ask, how can I, scientist, believe in such a grandiose,
incredible, apparently unscientific claim of Jesus
being alive? How can someone who works with
quantum mechanics, molecules and lasers also believe in the truth
of a 2000 year old religion having a personal relationship
with the spiritual being? This was a scientist interview.
The dead of who's a Christian, and he just said this one
statement. He's a top scientist and he says
for me, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is a litmus test for
the fruitfulness of Christianity.
If Jesus genuinely died and rose again, it makes extremely likely
that he was who he claimed to be, the physical incarnation of
the Son of Man. If it did not happen, the
Christianity would be a false religion.
And in Matthew 1616, we hear Simon Peter says saying this,
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And so today, even as you go out from here, I want us to make
that declaration saying Jesus, you are the Son of the living
God. He rose up, yes, but he's coming
back as a king. He rose up, yes.
He's coming for a generation who's ready to accept and walk
in holiness to what he's called us to walk.
And so today I want to ask you, what is your response and what
is my response? Are we just going to go through
another Easter and not respond at all?
Because today when we respond, we are intentionally saying,
God, I want to have a course change.
A lot of us were seated here who are listening.
We worship a risen Saviour, which is true, which a lot of us
will take. Yes, I believe in that.
But do you really believe in the resurrection power that makes
that statement true? Do you believe in the
resurrection power that makes that that statement true, that
Jesus is alive? Because otherwise we are just
like every other person on the face of the earth, looking for a
spiritual experience. Only Jesus rose again.
Only Jesus came back, witnessed and cities coming back again.
Only Jesus has done that, no one else.
And so today, as you and I are here, I want to ask you, because
a lot of us who are here, for those of you who have, who
haven't, who don't know Jesus, I would, I, my hope is that at the
end of this, you'll be able to accept him, accept his accept
the life giving word that he has for you.
But for those of us who've already gone through life,
we've, we've somehow built a wall around us making that our
understanding could be your family name, your position,
yourself, how you've become self-made, wanting to be
relevant in the culture. You know, ideally I wouldn't be
wearing the shirt. You know, today when I woke up
on my on the side of my bed, there were three shirts kept.
OK, One was a brand new shirt which I should wear sometime.
The other was a brand new shirt. Again, I I don't like, I don't
know why all these shirt guys are complicating it.
You know, the same 44 size, but it says tailored fit.
And I wore it and it was like, you know, I couldn't, it didn't
even come close. It was more like a just like a
jacket for me, you know, I had to and I felt that wasn't good.
And then this shirt, which I had to go with her and I came back
and I'm seeing like everyone is vibing in that same same kind of
outfit from David to, you know, Alan and Josh.
And we want to be relevant to the culture.
Or some of us are probably open to all things of the world.
Because you found that being neutral is safe.
Being neutral is safe. But if you're seated here on
Easter Sunday, you'll realize that you're only a select few
who are not called to be safe. What we heard in the narration
happened between Nicodemus and Mary.
They were not called to be safe. The revelation of his, of him
resurrecting was not for us to be in safety.
So don't look for a safety net. Don't look for a safety net.
You, you, you. The news will always be bad here
on this earth. The only good news is Jesus.
And so, and some of us have really built this wall because
of the hurt that we've gone through.
And one of the things that as I was preparing, God reminded me
about hinges. How many of you have seen a
hinge, but we don't actually pay attention to a hinge.
How many of you know that we pay attention to the door now with
the age of Pinterest, we are so, so particular that we need to
color coordinate even our door. You know, it has to go with the
entire theme. What is the new green that
they're talking about? It's called sage green.
Yes. That couple of weeks back we had
all the three girls who are the babies all in that sage green.
The beautiful thing about a hinge is it's hidden.
The beautiful thing about a hinge is that it's needed
without which the door can't open.
And as I mentioned those points, a lot of us have replaced and I
have two points which I wanted even as I was getting the hinge
from the hardware store. I asked him how many will come
in and said he said two. But in my head, I knew most.
So those have three and we have two.
We have a couple of architects here.
They might have a reason for that, probably because of the
weight of the wood, but probably he thought mine was compressed
wood, not solid wood. So, so that when and I have two
points and I'm glad that I have two hinges here because I
believe a lot of us, as I mentioned earlier, the
resurrection par is not evident because the hinges are something
else from what he wants. And the first hinge, which I
would like for us to look. And the reason why this hinge is
important is because in Revelation 3 was 20 to 22.
He says, behold, I stand at the door of the church and
continually lock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him.
And in brackets it says that restore him, restore him.
A lot of us think of eating like how we are usually eating.
We go and we sit, we eat, we leave.
No, but when he says he's restored means what?
He's a long term guest in our house.
He's wanting to be that long term guest.
Restoration takes time. How many of you know fixing
takes time? And he with me, he who overcomes
the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God, I will
grant to him the privilege to sit beside me on my throne as I
also overcame and sat down beside my Father on his throne.
He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to
the churches. And so today I want to ask you,
Church, would you be willing to replace the hinge?
The belief of Jesus resurrection is one thing, but I want to
believe in the power that lives inside of us.
It'll be like a hinge. This hinge opens all our world
to the spiritual. This hinge opens all our world
to the miraculous. This hinge opens all our world
to the hope that is assured to the certainty of to eternal life
after death because a lot of us are knocking at so many doors,
but God is like I'm resurrected. I am living.
Would you appropriate that into your life and walk in that bar
and walk into the door that I'm calling you to walk into?
We open and shut our hearts with these hinges many at times.
And Paul talks and I want to spend some time here from the
book of First Corinthians, chapter 15.
This is the basis for what we all do.
When Paul's talking to the Corinthians, there are a couple
of things that he talks and he argues about the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. And that's a concern that's been
brought to him even after establishing the church.
And So what? What are some of the concerns
that have come out? Because in Corinth, when they
were there, they were in the center of culture.
How many of you know we are in the centre of culture?
If you have a phone, we are in the centre of culture.
You don't have to be. Particularly in a city.
COVID taught us that everything could come.
So we are in the centre of culture.
Wisdom. You don't have to necessarily
travel to go and spend time for wisdom.
You can obtain it. You know, last year we got to go
to Bihar and we were there in that university.
It's called Nalanda University. And it was interesting as you
were there, we were walking. It's a national architecture
thing. There were rooms that were
created for each of these monks to have students and to teach
them. So you had to travel here.
But today we are in the epicenter of wisdom.
We are in the epicenter of commerce.
You don't. For those of you who are already
doing businesses, you don't have to go out.
Some of us go out to work, but most of us are working from
home. Commerce is happening right
where we are at. We are right at the Center for
religion. Corinth was known for having 12
temples there. They even had a Jewish
synagogue. So religion was we are here in
the diversity of what all people believe.
And there was also they were at the center of immorality.
The intersection of trade bought lot of immoral things in and So
what Paul was addressing to the Corinthian church, he's also
addressing it. And it's very relevant today to
us. And I pray and ask that today,
when we know that the resurrection has happened 2000
years back, we sometimes can deny the outworking of his power
in our lives. But I want to ask you today, can
we say God, I'm ready for you to do what you have to do through
us. Two aspects of the hinge which
are very pivotal for us to walk is one, our response.
How is our response? We can either walk out of here
knowing that Jesus is alive. He resurrected, so that's his
power and walk out of here and go back to ground 0 of what
we've been doing continuously. And so this is what Paul starts
the argument in one Corinthians 15 verses 1 to 8.
It goes on to say, Now brothers and sisters, I want to remind
you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received, on
which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved.
If you hold firmly to the Word. I preach to you, otherwise you
have believed in vain for what I received.
I passed on to you as the first importance that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried,
and that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the 12.
After that He appeared to more than 500 of his brothers and
sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though
some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also as to
1 abnormally born. Why was he saying abon me born?
Because he started as a Pharisee and then went on to kill people
and then he was saved. And one of the things that he's
asking us is what is our response?
Is our response just yes, Jesus is alive?
Or are we living that out that Jesus is alive?
Because when we start to live it out, every promise that we claim
from the word will be true, we will hold on to it like life.
We will hold on to it like that is our ventilator.
That is our oxygen. That's how we'll hold on to.
And he's telling them, don't ever allow that dissuasion to
come. It just requires you to have a
slight doubt whether he rose again.
You're having a bad day in just how you feel you are.
You will doubt whether he's alive.
If someone is behaving badly and they say they're following
Christ, you will doubt his resurrection.
You won't doubt anything else because you're saying, God, are
you really alive? Are you listening to me?
If you've been mistreated, you will move to the point of
realizing, is God really alive? And why was it even important
for the Corinthians? Because they were backed by
Greek mythology. And even as Tina spoke last
time, I, I have no, you know, I'm not, I'm not really been
fascinated by that. I mean my fascination only.
I mean not fascination. I got my understanding only
through my wife and Caleb. And they started reading quite a
few of those books. The Greeks believed in the God
of death who guided spirits into the gloomy underworld of Hades
while their bodies decayed in the ground.
And so they thought that if there was any kind of spiritual
power that has to be brought to life, it had to go down to
Hades. And and we saw in good fighting
that the the spirit of death is dealt with with resurrection.
Life came again after that. Anything about evil is dead.
That means whatever, whatever Satan and any power of Satan has
an end objective that is death. It's only Jesus who's
resurrected. So today when you and I have to
hold on to that, we will realize that Jesus death on the cross
brought death to all spiritual powers.
So which means you walk under an understanding, knowing that no
spiritual power outside of Jesus can actually overcome you will
overcome you if you know that Jesus is alive.
And if you allowed that to work in your lives, you will walk.
And so suddenly everything that is elevated in your body, in
your spirit man, in your soul, you will pull it out in Jesus
name because you won't allow that to overcome.
You won't allow that to overcome.
The second thing is they didn't like the fact that our dead
body, our, our human spirit, which is dead, will go back into
the same dead body again. The Greeks didn't like that.
But our Christian understanding is we will be given a body which
is glorious when we rise again. So today death is not something
we're scared about. Death is just the doorway to
eternity. To be with him, where there'll
be no pain, where there'll be no sorrow, where there'll be no
shame, we get to spend time with him.
A lot of us today is, can we have the fear of death?
A lot of us are crippled by it, crippled by it.
And the reality is, are people dying?
Yes. Is sickness real?
Yes. But if you and I are walking
this resurrected life, we need to walk in the in the power of
knowing what that is. And so today I want to ask you,
how strong is your grip on the fact that Jesus is alive?
How strong is that grip? Today I'll be on shaky ground
because of what is happening around us.
You know, just take for example, the whole war started, our
country was only concerned about oil 3-4 days later they were
concerned about LPG. If look at we are all for it in
ourselves, you, you look at geopolitics, you'll see every
country is in it for itself. And I'm not here to debate about
it because each of us can have our opinions and we're entitled
to have our opinions. But I want to ask you because
what happens around us kind of informs us and we move towards
that. And so suddenly we know, OK,
here in the last days, there'll be wars and rumors of wars and
suddenly everything else we hear suddenly the news says of
layoffs happening. Suddenly the news says of things
that are coming out in terms of diseases and things that and get
shaken and we forget the fact that Jesus is alive because
Jesus is alive. Nothing positive was actually
promised here on this earth. You can read the Bible.
Anything about the New Testament church had nothing they didn't
have. It wasn't a bond to say in one
year you'll get 10% return. It wasn't a guaranteed way of
life, but it was 1 where it was where our internal system is
built to trust Jesus alone. In John 16 verses 31 to 33 in
the Passion he says this. Jesus replied, Now you finally
believe in me, and the time has come when you all will be
scattered and each one of you will go your own way, leaving me
alone. Yet I am never alone, for the
Father is always with me, and everything I've taught you is so
that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you
great confidence as you rest in me.
For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and
sorrow. But you must be courageous, for
I have conquered the world. You will be assured of trouble
and sorrows, but you must be courageous.
How many of you lack courage today?
I like I can honestly say like even as Tina was talking during
Good Friday and was telling about, you know, the struggle
that we we like that one day we had like we were just head
butting on some of the breakthroughs that have not
come. And it's like you're in a tight
place and you're not you're pretty.
And we were just praying and we realized for the last one year,
it's been a struggle in this one area.
And we're saying, God, why are we struggling in this area?
But when we look into that entire scenario, that didn't
make us be still. It was 1 where there was trials,
where there was troubles, but we were able to still have courage
and we were able to still take the next step.
And so we were thanking God for that.
We were thanking God for that. And so today I want to encourage
you, you and I, as we walk in this life here on after this
resurrection Sunday. Would you be courageous?
You and I have no overcoming to do.
That's the beautiful thing he says I have overcome, I have
overcome. We all have to just call on his
name. And so today I wanted to ask, is
your grip form? We can overcome.
We can be overcome by the world, but if you're firm in the truth
of Jesus and who he is, we will not be moved.
We will not be moved because honestly speaking, a lot of us
will want answers from others. How many of you have actually
sometimes tried talking some issue to your parents and they
don't have the answer you? I'm I'm sure our kids also feel
that they come and they ask and we're giving like a grandparents
answer to them. They might be feeling like that
or sometimes you ask a trusted friend and they don't have that
answer. Or probably you might sometimes,
OK, this week I'll go to church and I'll ask Geshum and Tina to
pray and they'll give me an answer and they'll be like, no,
you just need to go back into your word.
And that I could have done it at home.
Why did I come that Sunday? You'll be thinking how firm is
your belief Today. As I was thinking, I was
reminded of this animal called a sloth.
So if you look at the slot if. You can get an image up.
It's positioned. In life like this it's always to
be upside down, nails around 4-5 inches and has a firm grip and
says even a Jaguar or a cheetah struggle to take a sloth out of
its position. It fights the grip is so strong.
So I was just researching and finding what are the some of the
animals which are firm against predators and the first name
that came up was Sloth and I was reading about his interesting.
This is a position that they are there.
They look nice like this, but when a predator comes, they're
menacing their teeth come out. And God was asking me, Geshom,
is your grip as firm as that? Cause predators will come.
Why? Because God would have given you
a promise. The enemy will come to steal,
kill and destroy as he saw on Good Friday.
He's not out there to be like, oh, Tina's got this promise.
I'll just go sit with her and just try giving her a good vibe.
No. He'll come in to steal, he'll
come in to destroy. He'll kill you, and then he'll
move on to his next target. How will he kill you?
He'll put doubt, and then you believe the doubt.
You establish the doubt, and you're living on the doubt.
That's it. He's done his job and he's gone.
You can't claim the promise. So today, your first hinge is
how firm is what you're believing?
How firm is it? Because if you're not firm, the
second hinge doesn't work. You don't get to participate.
How many of you really struggle to open a door that's expanded?
You know we have a door in the. Top this one, which gets rain
and during summers it's difficult to open because the
wood is expanded and you have to really, you know, hit on it
hard. And if you're not firm, we won't
be able to participate in what he's called.
And Paul beautifully tells here in one Corinthians 15 as we
continue to read it says, for I am the least of the apostles to
not even deserve to be called an apostle because I perceive you
to the Church of God. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. And his grace to me was not
without effect. No, I worked harder than all of
them, yet not I, but the grace of God was with me, whether then
it is I or they. This is what we preach and this
is what you believe. So even as you hold on to the
truth that Jesus is alive, my second thing is, would you
participate by his grace? Participate by his grace, which
means today God will tell you, you know what I'm ready to
redeem you of all that past and then the minute you have that
promise your doubt next out is but God can I be used?
Would you use me. He's saying yes, I'm ready to
use you walk in that authority, but you're like God.
How can I that's why he says here Paul tells no, I worked
harder than all of them. When you look in that what is he
talking. He's gone through so much for
the sake of what he's believed in that Jesus Christ is God and
Savior of all that his mission was to the Gentiles.
He had worked harder. When you actually read, there's
a passage where he talks about all that he's gone through.
I've been stoned like this. I've been spat on, I've been
killed. I've been I've all this has
happened to me and today you and I, if you're not firm a
participation is the first thing that will get hit.
He'll hit you where you can participate.
In the message version it says. It beautifully it says, but
because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am as you
read for it says it was God giving me the work to do, God
giving me the energy to do it. You didn't even have to get the
energy. He's saying I'll put the energy
in you. He just it's a will issue.
God, am I willing? Yes, God, I'm willing he'll and
he'll inject that energy into you.
So Jesus is a resurrection for us today, and the power is for
an invitation to participate in the grace he's giving us.
We receive an aspect. Of grace but when we have to
work harder to sustain this graceful life, we tend to give
way because this graceful life requires all of us and not just
part of us so this. New life that you're.
Called with resurrection life and resurrection power has to be
put to practice. What is a participation?
Being like is a participation where we're saying no to sin.
Are we saying OK to sin because our participation has to be
saying no to sin? What is God awakening you to say
no to today? What are some of the things that
you've just dragged along all this while?
Because if you've just completed this entire series of
resurrected life that as I was preparing, we cannot drag our
sin any further in the resurrected path that we're
called to. James Ford, verse 17.
Says if anyone then knows the good they ought to do and
doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
What does he mean? He's saying that many a times
we'll be in this place where we will know that this is what
God's calling me to do. Me not responding to.
It not participating in it will become is as equivalent as a
sin. A lot of us are called to.
Shine a torch to what? Because that's what God did in
US. So I pray that what is our
response saying? Because a lot of us have certain
responses. When we look in the Easter
story, there are a lot of these characters, when they heard that
Jesus is alive, their response couldn't, they couldn't overcome
certain things that they're feeling.
And I want to talk about 3 different feelings that can pull
us back from actually responding to this.
The first one was shame when you look at Mary Magdalene and it
says in John 20 was 11 to 18. Now Mary stood outside the tomb
carrying crying as she wept. She went to look into the tomb
and saw 2 angels while seated where Jesus body had been in and
the head and I mean Jesus body had been one at the head the
other at the foot. They asked a woman, Why are you
crying? Then they have taken my Lord
away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him.
At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but
she did not realize that it was Jesus.
She asked a woman, Why are you crying?
Who is it that you're looking for?
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have
carried him away, tell me where you have put him.
Then I and I will get him, Jesus said to her, Mary.
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic Rabbani, which
means teacher Jesus said do not hold on to me for I have not yet
ascended to the Father. Go and sit to my brothers and
tell them I am ascending to my father and your father to my God
and your God. Mary Bank didn't went to the
disciples with the news. I have seen the Lord and she
told them what that he had said these things to her.
In fact, they didn't believe her when she went and said John 20
verse 11 to 18 when we read about Mary Magdalene, why
thought of shame is a lot of us. Mary Magdalene was one was
delivered from the from the demons that were inside her.
And so she started accompanying Jesus, and as she's standing
there, when she saw the tomb, she'd have realized.
Was her healing even real? Was her healing.
Even real and many a times it's in this hardness of times that
we go through hard times that we go through, we will realize is
my miracle real Is the deliverance that I've relieved
received from God. Real is the truth that God's
telling me about my life. He saved me from certain things.
So I want us to come to a place and realize is shame holding us
back from responding to what God's called us?
Because our participation could we know the truth, but in our
participation is shame holding us back?
Because remember here she sees Jesus, she goes back to tell the
disciples and they say, I think she's blabbering.
She's not telling us till one of them comes and they see and they
find the tomb empty. And so today you can't allow
shame to really captivate you. How many of us actually feel
shame? All of us, all of us.
And Satan beautifully disguises shame to stop the resurrection
power working in and through us. Stop working in and through US.
Mary was delivered from the demoniac that she was plagued
by. So I want to ask you today, what
are you plagued by with regard to shame?
What? What is that one?
Thing that is plaguing you, one of the postures that we can
learn from Mary is to linger more at the tomb.
Linger more in Jesus. Linger more in in the tomb where
Jesus rose again, because that is a fact.
Because the tomb is empty. He's risen, which means what he
says is true. You might feel like people.
Around you are dismissing it, dismissing your testimony.
But remember, as the more you linger around the truth of what
Jesus is saying, you will be delivered you.
Will be there will be a time. When people start listening to
your side of what God has actually done through your life
with regard to the you overcoming that shame.
You know a. Week back, I was listening to a
podcast and I follow this couples podcast.
They are John Bevier and Lisa Bevier and they've raised up
four sons and as parents, many a times we we, we, we would like
to learn from those who walked before us, you know, and so they
had these four sons. They sit with them and they talk
everything possible under the sun from raising up to, you
know, do you lust after girls to, you know, with regard to
masturbation and all that. And they're having that
conversation as parents and kids.
And then some of them got married.
They involved their daughter-in-law in that
conversation. But then this interesting thing
this week, the conversation that they posted was the
daughter-in-law was talking to the mother-in-law about sex in
marriage, after marriage, after being married.
And. As I started the conversation,
they said this is a big shameful topic for many.
And as I was listening to that whole.
Thing I realized, we are called to live in the fullness, this
resurrection life, live in the fullness of all that God's
called for us to do. For those of us who are married
to our kids, we can easily revolve everything, everything
around our kids that we forget the purpose God brought us
together. The kids will get 18, they'll
turn 18, they'll get their wings, and they'll fly like Red
Bull says. But if we haven't found a.
Purpose the resurrection power won't be active in us.
We will know, but the. Door that God's called.
Us to operate will be sounding creaky, will be loud, and sooner
or later we won't walk in it together.
So, and it's interesting. That there's a part in which
John and Lisa say that as travelling speakers we travel to
different places, but we long to come back.
This is around 6065 and we were telling Tina.
I was telling Tina was telling to me this.
Imagine at 65 we still want each other like that.
That is. What?
He wants you. To build, that is the marriage
he wants you to build. And as a daughter-in-law was.
Talking, she was talking. She says, you know what,
sometimes after having kids, it's just, oh man, here he comes
again. You know, that's that's and
she's talking to the mother-in-law.
Imagine that's a son and no issue.
You can imagine the dynamics. And and.
And the the reality is we need to be overcomers of shame
because the story of overcoming what we tell will be what our
generation needs to hear. A lot of us are having so many
topics taboo of not being able to talk because we've not
overcome. We've not overcome, we have.
And so the resurrection part is calling for us to overcome
shame. What aspect of shame do you have
to overcome personally today? What aspect of shame should I
overcome today? Because I'm, I'm so worried
because when, when, when, when I look at my kids, they are
getting so much of information in this day and age.
That if we don't teach them. What is healthy with regard to a
marriage the world will teach them.
The world will teach them. A movie will teach them.
ATV series will teach them. TV series will teach them we.
All grew up. We are.
We are all the guys who watched, binge watched Friends.
What do they teach? If it doesn't work out, call it
quits. Today overcome.
Shame, whatever that is in your life, would you come to the
truth and find out of finding God?
I want to overcome. This is the resurrection path
that I'll give you because after this, I believe Mary Magdalene's
life would have been entirely different.
She I, I believe that she would have had a big women's study,
women's Bible study, and she was doing it because she would,
she's an overcomer when an overcomer is that she
participates in what God's called us to do and she does
that. The second story we see is hand
holding. There's a story in Luke about
these two guys who walk, you know, hand in hand and then
they're walking and they're going away from all that's
happened, going to a village called Imanus.
Imanus about seminars from Jerusalem.
They were talking with each other, Luke 24 was 13, and about
everything that had happened. As they walked and discussed
these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked
along with them, but they were kept from recognizing Him.
He asked them, What are you discussing together as you walk
along? They stood still, their faces
downcast. One of them, named the office,
asked him, Are you only one visiting Jerusalem who does not
know the things that have happened in these days?
What things? He asked.
And when you read that story, they keep telling about what
happened, who Jesus of Nazareth was, but they missed the entire
crux of the matter. And the problem with handholding
is it requires just another person to handhold you to
discount the resurrection part in your life.
Jesus had visited. Had walk alongside with them to
tell them the reality of what actually Jesus was on the world.
When you read in verse 25, it says he said to them how foolish
you are and how slow to believe that all that the prophets have
spoken. Did not the Messiah have to
suffer these things and then enter his glory?
Imagine Jesus, he's rejected and he's walking with two guys who
probably journeyed with him and they've missed the whole plot.
They're hand holding. And so today, who are you hand
holding? Some of you are waiting for
your. Spouse to actually be Jesus and
speak Jesus into you. Honestly, I fail at that.
Miserably. Couple of days back, Tina.
Woke up like around 1:32 and said Gee I'm itching a lot.
Can you just put some cream and pray over me?
I don't know what I prayed. I honestly, I mean, you can't.
Wake me up. My time sleep time is from 12 to
6 means 12 to 6. I'm out.
And I remember once. Celeste had a bad dream.
She came, I know she and half asleep she went.
She's trying to wake up Calvin to tell Calvin to pray to her
and then Tina goes and then spend and she's coming to tell
me. I just didn't know what
happened. Your hand holding has to be.
The one who's resurrected. Walk hand in hand.
Because somewhere down the line, if you're holding someone else's
hand, what they are going through will be the one that
informs you. And what informs you will.
Be what dictates you, and what dictates you will be what it
directs you towards. You also see the same.
Thing with regard to in Peter's life, hand holding all this.
Well, Peter was the one who was held by Jesus and by the
trailer. And then what happens the minute
afterward? John 21 was 1 to 14.
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples with the Sea of
Galilee. It happened this way.
Simon Peter, Thomas, he already formed, so he got so many people
around him. Nathaniel from Cana and Galilee
and the sons of Zebby and the two other disciples were
together. I'm going out to fish.
Simon Peter told him and they said, well, we'll go with you.
So they went out and got into the boat.
But that night they caught nothing.
Just imagine when you're drowning in your own doubt.
You'll go back to what you're. Comfortable with.
When you're drowning in your. Doubt going back into a sin
pattern like what you were used to earlier will be easier.
When you're drowning in your doubt.
As a single person, installing that app and trying to swipe and
find a person for the night is the easiest thing.
Drowning in your doubt, going back to that alcohol bottle that
was and you know where to go to which place, which is a restore
bar to go and sit and drink. You can easily go into that.
Don't allow yourself to drown and doubt.
Let the resurrected power work in and through you 'cause when
it works, you will realize you don't need a crowd around you.
This Imagine he just said I'm going fishing and a whole bunch
of like, OK, in our Tamil, come, let's go.
And then all of you, you'll have a crowd to come.
But I pray and ask that we'll come to a place.
So remember, who are those voices that are actually?
Speaking into your ear. Think about those voices.
You don't have to immediately go and say you're the wrong voice.
I cut you in Jesus name. No, you don't have to do that.
Or you don't have to put a story up on your WhatsApp status for
them to decipher that it's them, their voice to cut off don't
have to be coded. You don't have to do all that.
Just go back to Jesus and say God, I'm, I'm, I'm restoring my
ears back to you. Lord, your words alone, your
power alone is what has to be fueling me in this journey.
The third thing we see is with doubt.
The very apostle who came to India, Thomas.
He doubted Jesus. That's why I love.
The New Testament, because it talks so much about community.
You want doubt to be dispelled in your life.
Be in community. I know why Tina actually came
and told that right after worship.
All of you should come to church on a Sunday because we have
weekly doubts A. Lot of us have weekly.
Doses of medicine or a a weekly system of having meals.
How many have followed that one week have to eat biryani one
week have to eat pizza. Some of you have that some some
of us have a routine like that. Routines are good but in a
weekly doses of doubt. It's in community God will
answer the spirit of God is just not moving between two of us.
He's moving amongst us and So what will happen is already a
person who's sitting over here like Abhishek will say Anna this
is AI just wanted to encourage you with his one word Anna and
he can come and encourage me. That is what will happen in
community when you have when you bring your doubt into the
community. Now Thomas also known as Delia
as one of the 12 was not with the disciples.
So what happens when you're not with the disciples?
When Jesus came, you miss out on the resurrected Savior, so do
come to church every Sunday. So the other disciples told him,
we have seen the Lord, but he said to them, Boss, unless I see
the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger where the nails
were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe which
is true. In today's age, they said.
Hey, you know something? The word was.
Did you take a video about it? We would have asked.
You can send it by video. No, you need to participate in
something physically here. A week later his disciples were
in were in the house again and Thomas was with them.
Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them
and said, peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your
finger here, see my hands, reach out your hand and put it in my
sight. Stop doubting and believing.
Thomas said to my Lord and my God.
Then Jesus told him, because you have seen me, you have believed.
Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed.
You know, when I read that verse, it's his calling right
there, because his calling was to come to a land where there
are many gods and to proclaim about a God who they can't see,
who they can't touch, who they can't even understand.
And yet faith had to be resurrected.
Faith had to become. And today we are, we are all
participants of that. So.
Today are you? Allowing doubt to reign.
And so today, as you think about these hinges, what is it?
Because this Christian life that you and I are called, This
resurrection life, Jesus is resurrected.
We are called to go walk in this resolution power.
There are three hours. I want you to leave.
I want to leave with you. Three hours.
This resurrection power will cause you to do It will cause
you to run. But I don't like running.
Even I don't like running. My WhatsApp image has.
Been me on the treadmill for the last 15-16 years.
You can if you have my number you can go and see it's the same
WhatsApp image. That's the running that I like.
Doing. But when you have the
resurrected. Power, the Christian life, the
Christ following life will require to run.
A lot of you are thinking. It's all about rest.
No, we have eternity to rest. The early church didn't rest.
Rest is important. But the beautiful thing about
rest is we find rest in Jesus. A lot of us are wanting.
That one vacation you'll realize when you go on a vacation, you
need a vacation from that vacation.
That is the reality a lot. Of us are you're.
You're scrolling through everything.
Oh, and mind you, influences are there everywhere.
Facebook. Is going to come up with this?
Model because of the amount of data they've collected with all
the different from WhatsApp to Instagram to this one, that even
before you decide what has to be what your brain can conceive,
they feel they can predict that. Based on the data uses.
It that they have of yours, they are coming up with a model like
that. And so before.
And just imagine the world wants to know what your thoughts are
so they can direct you to that place.
If you're not caught up with things of the world of of God,
we'll be running with the things of the world.
So today I want to ask you, Are you ready to run?
Are you ready to run called the Holy Spirit will give spring in
your step for those of you single Are you ready to run into
the promises God's calling you to come.
Don't think oh, I didn't get a guy, I didn't get a girl.
It'll happen. But when it happens.
Are you willing to actually live the life he's called you?
Are you already clear with the plan and purpose that you have
with regard to a if you're a couple here are you already
ready to run into the promises he has for you?
Are you ready to run Ephesians 513 to 14.
I want to read it over you. It says, but everything exposed
by the light becomes visible, and everything that's
illuminated becomes a light. Everything that is exposed by
the light becomes visible. Which means the more you allow
God to work that resurrection power to work in and through
you, it becomes visible. And everything that is
illuminated becomes a light for someone else who's going through
the dark thing. So you are required to run.
This is why it says wake. Up sleeper, rise from the dead
and Christ will shine on you. Rise up today you and I are
called to run. Rise up the first R, the second
R that you're called to when we respond to knowing him, when we
hold on to him and when we participate, the second R is
you're called to renewal every step. 2026 God sing Yeshuma, I
still want to renew you. Because pride crept.
In the minute I knew or in 25, this is what he did.
I was so proud of that. But in 2026 God said, hey,
you're too proud. The outcome of that was not for
you to think of that you've become great.
No, I have to increase, you have to decrease and God will keep
renewing you. You're like Geshom.
This is a lifelong process as we heard Good Friday, till we close
our eyes, God will be working in and through US.
John 17 verses 16 to 18 says they are not of the world, just
I am as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth,
which means you're set them apart for your purposes.
Make them holy. Your word is truth.
Just as you commissioned and sent me into the world, I also
have commissioned and I'm sending them as believers into
the world. So today.
Are you ready for? Renewal.
What does God got to renew in you?
He will renew you. He will renew you the other day
as Tina mentioned during Good Friday.
It's nice to say that she already mentioned this story.
So I can you know, it's not like me leaking some story out.
But as she told that we were fighting the the because in
those as a couple, I know if you notice we say unkind things.
No, when we fight, we say the. Truth, in fact.
You know, we don't, we don't, we don't butter it up anymore.
We say the truth. And so as you're fighting, the
whole idea was for us to have lunch together, but she had
lunch and she came up and then she, I said we had lunch and she
said, yeah, I already had. So then I went down and had
lunch. And then, you know, that typical
six hour, 8 hour standoff, you know, you want to talk, look at
each other, you're like, you know, all that kind of thing.
And then she sends a text saying if you're disagreeing like this.
I don't think. God can work anything through
us. And then I had to come down and
see God. I mean this.
The problem still is there, but we bring it back to your feet
because the purpose is that you have a far greater, far greater.
Now this might seem lighthearted to you.
It, it, it is lighthearted, but the reality is the not all of
these, this will just be probably what, 7% of your
overall issues that will come in life.
There'll be so many other things that come.
And when all those come, you will need to go back to renewal.
How many of you have, for those of you who are working, have
people issues, all constant renewal, constant renewal
because that's where you can shine your light.
But some of us our. Home needs renewal because
you're unable to see that person again.
We're unable to handle our kids when they're making choices
which are completely different from what they what I want to
make. But God, I renew them because I
know you're the one who gave them to me.
I know they're better in your hands than in my hands.
Your plans are greater. Your plans are mightier.
The third thing, when a hinge is ready, when you're willing to
run, when you're ready to run, when you're open for renewal.
The third thing is he'll send us out to be repairers and
rebuilders. Repairers and rebuilders.
He won't want you to go and start something again.
He'll. Say, go back into society.
And do what is needed for that. What is God called you to repair
today? Let me put it this way, what is
healthy in you? OK, between our marriage, I can
say we have a good enough we have a good marriage.
If I have to be a repairer, what will I go?
I'll find those who are hurting in their marriage and start
helping them. Hey what is it that I can do to
help you not? That you need to come back to
me. But can I?
Can I? Even if I can't go, I'll start
praying for them. That's what a repairer does.
What does a rebuilder does? Rebuilders like you stand.
You build it to what God's calling you to build in that
particular place today. What are we called?
Like? As much as we pull down the
strongholds, we pull. We bind the strongman.
We ask him to break the powers. We are also called into those
places to rebuild. We are also called into those
places to restore. James.
Actually recalls this in Acts 15 verses 15 to 18 where the word
of God now has started going to the Gentiles and then they have
this huge debate. And then he recalls one of these
scriptures where he goes on to say from the Old Testament for
the prophets that return. It says in Acts 15 verses 15
this goes on say the words of the prophets are in agreement
with this as it is assistant. After this, I will return and
rebuild David's fallen tent. It's ruins and I will rebuild
and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the
Lord, even all the gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord who
does these things, things known from long ago.
So I want to. Ask you today.
You and I are called to restore and rebuild.
Which part of society is he calling us to restore and
rebuild? Which part of society Ask what?
When you open the paper, what is your heartbreaking?
What section of society is it breaking for?
Or when you look at your neighborhood.
What is it breaking for? When this week?
When we were talking to a cook, her mum is going through cancer
and she was talking about this place where she had gone and she
saw like an entire big. Hall of 100.
Patients receiving their chemo medicines and all that every
day. And she was narrating about how
she looked after her mother-in-law and she was just
19 or 20 years old. She was suffering from cancer.
And she was there for a couple of months and she was looking
after. So she was saying to look after
them. And I just realized as Tina was
hearing this and he was just talking with her, Tina was
saying, I'd so desire the miracle of healing, but I can
pray over them and healings will happen.
That is what restorer and rebuilders look like.
What is your heart aching for today what is your heart aching
for to the people around you what is your heart aching for so
I want. To ask you as we.
Close. This hinge is very important.
If your belief is not firm and if you're stop participating, it
remains a door shut. You know Jesus is alive, but
you're not walking in that resurrection park.
That door remains shut. And because that door remains
shut, you're not running. You're not open to renewal,
you're not a restorer and you're not a rebuilder.
So I pray and ask that today it. Won't just be a.
Fact that Jesus is alive. Satan also knows he's.
Alive but he should know that you and I are walking that
resurrection park. Nothing can stop us.
You and I are willing to say yes God, let's overcome shame.
You're. Saying I have a mental.
Illness. His resurrection Park can
overcome that. You're saying God, I was abused
when I was young. His resurrection park can
overcome that. You're saying God, I've been
stuck in this place. We feel so dysfunctional.
Yes, His resurrection park and restore you back.
He is the restorer of everything.
You feel like you're going back to bad patterns, Ask him God, I
want to get rid of it. Teach me what to do.
He is willing to listen and give us the resurrection part to work
and come through it today. And if you and I are responding
is because all the three people that I mentioned, the one who
had shame, the one who had doubt, the one who was holding
hands and having someone just company for misery, all went out
to actually be responders to the Great Commission.
They started building, teaching, being there where God called
them to dance. So today you and I are called to
respond not just to the fact that Jesus is alive, but respond
to His resurrection power. We hope you enjoyed.
Today's message and we're blessed.
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