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Our scripture today is Matthew 
chapter 28 verses one through 

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10. 
After the Sabbath, at dawn on 

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the first day of the week, Mary 
Magdalene and the other Mary 

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went to look at the tomb. 
There was a violent earthquake, 

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for an Angel of the Lord came 
down from heaven and going to 

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the tomb, rolled back the stone 
and sat on it. 

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His appearance was like 
lightning, and his clothes were 

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white as snow. 
The guards were so afraid of him

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that they shook and became like 
dead men. 

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The Angel said to the women, Do 
not be afraid, for I know that 

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you are looking for Jesus, who 
was crucified. 

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He is not here. 
He has risen just as he said. 

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Come and see the place where he 
lay. 

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Then go quickly and tell his 
disciples, He has risen from the

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dead, and is going ahead of you 
into Galilee. 

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There you will see him now I 
have told you so. 

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The women hurried away from the 
tomb, afraid yet filled with 

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joy, and ran to tell his 
disciples. 

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Suddenly Jesus met them. 
Greetings, He said. 

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They came to him, clasped his 
feet, and worshipped him. 

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Then Jesus said to them, Do not 
be afraid. 

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Go and tell my brothers to go to
Galilee. 

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There they will see me. 
May the Lord add his blessing to

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the reading and hearing of his 
Word. 

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Boy, the resurrection in green 
is a very different vibe than 

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the resurrection in the bright 
yellow of a sunrise. 

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Yeah, it's, it's, is what it is.
We're talking today about the 

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resurrection. 
And at the resurrection, God did

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an extraordinary thing. 
He turned the world upside down.

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And and we're going to look at 
that in a lot of different ways 

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as as we go along this morning. 
But I want to begin with with a 

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story that's one of my favorite 
stories, and I don't think I've 

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told it here before. 
And I'm going to tell you a 

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shortened version of it, because
the full version is much too 

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long to do as part of a sermon. 
Has anyone ever heard the story 

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of the greatest cornflake? 
Anyone ever heard that? 

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Oh, good, good. 
Nobody's heard the story of the 

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greatest cornflake. 
The the greatest corn flake also

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happened to be the first corn 
flake. 

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And, and as the corn flake was 
coming down the chute after 

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having been made to be put 
inside the very first box of 

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corn flakes, he, that corn 
flake, found himself on the 

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bottom of the box and all the 
corn flakes piled on top. 

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And so he pushed and he shoved 
and he shoved and he pushed and 

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he pushed and he shoved and he 
pushed until he got to the top 

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of the box. 
Being the great little cornflake

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that he was. 
That box went down the conveyor 

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belt and it got to the end of 
the conveyor belt and there was 

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a big bin there at the end of 
the conveyor belt that would 

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take the box to the place where 
it would be crated. 

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And that box went off the end of
the conveyor belt down into that

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bin and landed upside down. 
And so the cornflake found 

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himself back on the bottom of 
the box. 

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So he pushed and he shoved and 
he shoved and he pushed and he 

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pushed and he pushed till he got
to the top of the box, being the

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great little corn flake that he 
was. 

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Well, that bin was wheeled 
around through the through the 

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factory until he got to place 
where it was put in the crate to

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be put on the truck. 
And as that was lifted out of 

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the bin and put onto the crate, 
they turn the box right side up.

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And so the corn flake found 
himself back on the bottom of 

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the box. 
So we pushed and he shoved and 

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he shoved and he pushed and he 
pushed and he pushed till he got

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to the top of the box, being the
great little corn flake that he 

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was. 
Now, when they when they the 

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forklift picked up that set of 
crates to carry it to the truck,

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you know, it was late Friday 
afternoon and the forklift 

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driver was a little tired. 
He was paying attention and, and

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he, he, he dumped it and, and 
everything spilled down on the 

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ground and that big, the box 
ended up upside down again. 

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And so the corn flake was back 
on the bottom of the box and he 

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pushed and he shoved it. 
He shoved and he pushed, he 

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pushed and he shoved and he 
pushed till he got to the top of

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the box, being the great little 
corn flake that he was. 

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Of course, they gathered 
everything back up and righted 

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it and got it right side back up
and put it back on the forklift.

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And so the corn flake was back 
on the bottom of the box. 

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So he pushed and he shoved and 
he shoved it. 

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He pushed and he pushed and he 
shoved and he pushed till he got

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to the top of the box being the 
great little corn flake that he 

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was. 
Now I'm going to stop the story 

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here because this story, the way
this story works is I keep 

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telling it and telling it and 
telling it and telling it until,

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you know, my longest, I had a 
very polite couple of friends 

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that we were on a road trip 
together, 3 1/2 hours. 

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I told this story. 
So I've got to find out. 

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Think of a lot of different ways
for a box to get turned upside 

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down in 3 1/2 hours. 
They were way too polite, very 

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nice people. 
But I keep telling the story 

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until someone says something 
like, is this story ever going 

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to end? 
And then I say no, it never 

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ends. 
It's a serial. 

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Thank you, thank you very much. 
That's how the story goes. 

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It's a silly story. 
One of my favorite stories. 

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I love telling that story, 
particularly to polite people. 

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The shortest I've ever had. 
I got like 3 times in and a kid 

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said is this story ever going to
be done? 

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As I go get that was quick, that
little stork cornflake. 

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And that story reminds me a lot 
of of the message that we have 

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for Easter here today, which is 
that at Easter God turned the 

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world upside down and the things
that were on top are now on the 

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bottom and the things that were 
on the bottom are now on the 

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top. 
That is what Easter was, God 

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turning the world upside down. 
And if we're going to live the 

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Easter life as Easter people, we
need to we need to wrap our 

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brains around that and live like
we are in a world that is turned

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upside down. 
Systems of this world might be 

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stacked against you. 
You know, we're not wealthy, 

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powerful, political, industrial 
people in this room. 

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We're just folks. 
The systems of the world might 

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at times feel and seem and 
really be stacked against us. 

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But at Easter, God has turned 
the world on its head and it no 

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longer ultimately matters to us 
if the systems of this world are

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stacked against us. 
We see this in the story of 

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Easter. 
He is not. 

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He is not here. 
He has risen just as he said. 

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The message that the Angel gave 
to those women that came to 

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visit the tomb where Jesus been 
buried, He's not here. 

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They expected one thing. 
They expected to find the dead 

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body of the person they had 
thought was their savior. 

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And instead they found an empty 
tomb. 

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Their world was turned upside 
down. 

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And that was part of the plan 
from the beginning, all the way 

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back at the beginning when Mary 
was pregnant with Jesus and she 

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went to a visit her relative 
Elizabeth and and by the 

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inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 
she spoke these words. 

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He that is God has brought down 
rulers from their Thrones, but 

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he has lifted up the humble in 
the birth of Jesus, in the 

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incarnation of Jesus, in his 
life, death and resurrection, 

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God was was taking those that 
were up high and putting them 

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down low and those who were down
low and putting them up high, 

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turning the world upside down. 
After Jesus's birth, when they 

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took him to the temple to be 
circumcised, they met a couple 

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of prophets there and one of 
them, Simeon said this of Jesus.

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This child is destined to cause 
the right, the falling and 

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rising of many. 
Jesus will turn the world upside

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down. 
That those are on the bottom 

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will be on the top. 
We need to remember, because 

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this is just as true and just as
important, though not just as 

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pleasant to think about 
sometimes, that those on the top

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will be on the bottom. 
God's not right raising everyone

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to the top. 
God is raising those who were on

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the bottom to the top, and those
who are on the top are now going

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to be on the bottom. 
That's the work that God is 

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doing in this world. 
We see this at Easter in a 

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number of different ways. 
First of all, the crucified 

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slave triumphs over the Roman 
Empire, the local authorities 

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and the religious elite. 
The Roman Empire crucified lots 

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of people. 
They crucified thousands and 

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thousands of people. 
They almost exclusively 

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crucified slaves. 
Now, occasionally there was 

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someone who was a Roman citizen,
maybe even a powerful person in 

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the Roman Empire, a senator or 
someone else of a person of 

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importance that that they 
decided needed to be crucified. 

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And so before they crucified 
them, they stripped them of 

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their titles, they stripped them
of their position, they stripped

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them of their citizenship, and 
they made them a slave. 

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And then they crucified them. 
The point being, before Rome, 

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you are a slave. 
You belong to us. 

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You live at our pleasure and at 
our will, and we can take your 

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life whenever we want to. 
The message of the crucifixion 

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of Jesus, when Pontius Pilate 
wrote the King of the Jews over 

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the at the top of the cross 
where Jesus was being crucified 

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was that this is what Rome 
thinks of your king. 

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You call him a king, we call him
a slave. 

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You say he's powerful, We kill 
him on a cross. 

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The purpose of crucifixion was 
to put and keep people in their 

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place, and that place was at the
bottom. 

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But on Easter Sunday, the 
crucified slave rose again. 

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The crucified slave triumphed 
over the Roman Empire. 

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All the power of Rome could not 
keep Jesus dead. 

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All the power of the of the 
religious elite in Israel could 

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not keep Jesus dead. 
He rose again and the world was 

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turned on its head. 
We see it in the fact that 

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instead of life ending in death,
death ends in life after the 

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resurrection. 
Anyone here like clowns? 

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Raise your hand if you like 
clowns. 

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We you like clowns. 
Raise your hand if you're afraid

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of clowns. 
We got people that are people. 

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Clowns have a bad reputation 
these days. 

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So I got some news for you about
clowns. 

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You can take it as good news or 
bad news however you like, but 

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you might not know that clowns 
started in the church. 

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Did you know that the very first
clowns were in the church way 

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back in the Middle Ages? 
Now, shockingly, and I know this

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is shocking, there were times 
when pastors were boring during 

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the sermon. 
Now it's true. 

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It it, it happened, it happened.
They would preach really long, 

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really boring sermons and the 
job of the clown was to come out

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of a door behind the pastor, 
come out in front of everyone 

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through mime. 
They didn't do any speaking 

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through mime. 
They would do something, wake 

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people up and get their 
attention back on what the 

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pastor was saying. 
They weren't just a distract. 

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They're they're to refocus, get 
people back paying attention 

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again to the message because the
pastor gotten too boring and, 

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and the makeup they wore was 
part of their identity, their 

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Christian identity. 
They put white makeup on their 

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face and then brightly colored 
makeup on top of the white 

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makeup. 
In ancient traditions, many, 

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many, many, many ancient 
traditions, death was symbolized

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as white, that when someone 
died, people would wear white as

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part of their mourning. 
When they wanted to represent or

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symbolize death, they would wear
a white face. 

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White symbolize death. 
And so when the cloud, so you 

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put, you know, we all have color
pigment in our skin and to talk 

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about death, we would color the 
pigment, the coloring of our 

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skin. 
We would color with cover with 

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white, but the clowns covered 
with white and then put color on

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top of the color covers, put 
color. 

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Oh my goodness, this was not 
that hard when I was doing it in

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my head, put color on top of the
white cover and they were saying

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we're not going from death to 
life. 

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We are going from said it 
backwards, boy, I am really 

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messing myself. 
We are not going from life to 

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death. 
We are going from death to life.

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That's the whole reason why 
clowns look the way they look. 

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So the next time you're watching
it, think of Jesus. 

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Bit of a stretch sometimes with 
some of the clowns that we have 

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today, but but that's the idea 
of clowns to remind us the color

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goes on top of the white that 
life doesn't end to death. 

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Death ends in life. 
I got a thought on this whole 

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thing too. 
I had a professor in, in 

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seminary that I argued with him 
about this when I was in 

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seminary because I was younger 
and Dumber than and, and I'm 

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still not like smart, but I'm 
not as dumb as I was. 

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And, and, and he talked about in
in Genesis, when, when God told 

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Adam and Eve don't eat from the 
fruit of the tree of the 

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knowledge of good and evil. 
If you do, you will surely die. 

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And then they ate from it. 
And then the way I've always 

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heard it taught, and I've taught
it myself. 

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I've taught it myself and, and 
still say this way sometimes is 

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they ate, but they didn't die. 
And my professor said that's 

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really a very arrogant way to 
read that scripture because it 

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assumes that we know what death 
is and that we know what life 

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is. 
What if they really did die? 

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And what if everything that we 
have called life since is really

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death? 
And we don't even really know 

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what true life is until the 
resurrection of Jesus and his 

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00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,880
disciples encountered someone 
for the first time, truly and 

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completely and fully alive. 
And that's the life that awaits 

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us, the same life that Jesus has
now, a life that we don't even 

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00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,280
have the right words to 
describe, Paul said. 

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We just know we're going to be 
like Jesus because we're going 

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to see him as he is. 
Beyond that, it's really hard to

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say, but the world has been 
turned upside down. 

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Our life doesn't end in death. 
Death ends in life. 

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The other thing here, turning 
the world upside down. 

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Women are made the first 
apostles and evangelists of the 

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good news of Jesus Christ. 
Rick talked about this for 

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00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:17,800
several weeks with the kids in 
the children's message. 

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I hope you were listening along 
too. 

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It was good stuff, important 
stuff. 

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It's children's messages, always
are, but the women if, if, if 

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00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,240
this whole resurrection of Jesus
thing is a made-up lie so that 

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the people that made it up could
be important religious leaders 

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or something like that. 
It's a really bad lie for a 

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number of different reasons. 
And one of the reasons it was a 

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really bad lie was in that day, 
women were not considered 

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credible witnesses. 
Their testimony didn't count or 

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count as much in court. 
They were not considered 

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00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,120
reliable, credible witnesses. 
And so if you're making up a 

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00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,760
story, you wouldn't make up a 
story in which women were the 

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first witnesses of the 
resurrection. 

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It would have been men. 
Jesus knew that. 

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Jesus sent his Angel to the 
women. 

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Jesus himself appeared to the 
women, and he made them 

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apostles. 
That word apostle in the New 

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Testament just means one who is 
sent out. 

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00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,680
Jesus sent them out, and he sent
them out with the good news of 

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Jesus's resurrection, which also
made them evangelists. 

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00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,600
The very first apostles. 
The very first evangelists were 

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00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,720
women. 
God, Jesus turning the world on 

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00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:31,400
its head, elevating those who 
have been at the bottom and 

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placing them at the top, sending
them out. 

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00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:36,880
We see that. 
We see that there in Matthew the

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00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,880
Angel said to the women, go 
quickly and tell his disciples, 

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00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,400
he has risen from the dead and 
is going ahead of you into 

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00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,440
Galilee. 
There you will see him. 

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00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,800
And then Jesus himself 
commissioned them. 

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Jesus said to them, do not be 
afraid. 

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00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:51,480
Go, tell my brothers to go to 
Galilee. 

283
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,760
There you will. 
There they will see me. 

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00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,000
Finally, we see at Easter that 
the strategies of the powerful 

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00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,359
are powerless to stop the 
tactics of the crucified slave. 

286
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,599
Rome did not do crucifixions by 
accident. 

287
00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:13,560
Rome did not do crucifixions in 
a reactionary way. 

288
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,440
Rome did crucifixions as part of
their strategic plan for 

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00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:21,200
governing a very large empire of
very diverse peoples. 

290
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:25,599
And, and they knew that the poor
people and the powerless people 

291
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,720
vastly outnumbered the rich and 
the powerful people. 

292
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,560
And so part of the strategy is 
we need to do things to make 

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00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,640
sure that large majority of 
people knows their place and 

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00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,440
they're afraid of us. 
And so we crucify people. 

295
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:45,760
We do it publicly, we show it 
how painful, humiliating, 

296
00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,320
disgraceful it is. 
Typically when people were 

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00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,040
crucified, Jesus died very 
quickly on the cross. 

298
00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:54,640
Typically people hung on the 
cross for days before they died.

299
00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,040
And, and I won't get into all of
the details of what that was 

300
00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:04,960
like, but it was awful. 
And here was Jesus crucified by 

301
00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,520
the powerful Roman Empire in 
collaboration with the religious

302
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,920
elite in Israel. 
And now the crucified slave has 

303
00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:17,440
risen again. 
The power of the Roman Empire, 

304
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,760
the power of the religious elite
was powerless against Jesus's 

305
00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,680
tactics of love and mercy and 
grace and forgiveness. 

306
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,240
You see what the Roman Empire 
wanted people to think of 

307
00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:33,200
themselves as, as everyone was a
potential victim before the 

308
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,280
Roman Empire. 
And Jesus said, you cannot make 

309
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,360
me a victim. 
I willingly give my life. 

310
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,360
I dare you to crucify me. 
Frankly, that's what I've had in

311
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:48,240
mind the whole time. 
You go ahead, execute your 

312
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,920
strategies. 
I will continue my tactic of 

313
00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:55,920
loving the powerless, of 
touching the lepers, of 

314
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,320
elevating the women, of 
embracing the outcasts. 

315
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:01,600
I will continue to do those 
things. 

316
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,080
You crucify me and let's see how
all of that works out. 

317
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,400
Because Jesus was never a victim
of the Roman Empire. 

318
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:15,560
Jesus willingly and voluntarily 
gave his life so that the people

319
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,520
on the bottom could live and be 
lifted up. 

320
00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,760
The strategies the powerful were
powerless to stop the the 

321
00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:29,160
tactics of the crucified slave. 
See, God brings and restores 

322
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,920
order to what sin has 
disordered. 

323
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,880
As we think about the world 
turning upside down, it's it's 

324
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:38,400
easy to imagine that of God 
taking what has been ordered and

325
00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:41,000
then disordering it. 
God's getting things out of 

326
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,240
order. 
But that's the exact opposite. 

327
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,560
God is taking something that is 
out of order, the systems of 

328
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:50,160
this world, and putting them in 
order, the proper order, the 

329
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,200
right order. 
I'm reminded of a story that 

330
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:57,880
Dallas Willard has told in one 
of his books, True story, tragic

331
00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:01,960
story about Air Force pilots 
that were in training and 

332
00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,840
fighter jets and as part of 
their training, they were flying

333
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,120
on instruments. 
So and it was night. 

334
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:10,880
They couldn't see. 
They were just flying on the 

335
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:14,640
readings of their instruments. 
And I'm not a pilot. 

336
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,840
I got to think that's really, 
really hard to do and to do 

337
00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,440
well. 
And they got a signal and, and, 

338
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,560
and they were told to pull up 
and, and one of those, one of 

339
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,080
those pilots pulled up and flew 
right into the ground. 

340
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,640
She had her plane upside down, 
but she didn't know it. 

341
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,320
And she thought up was down and 
down was up. 

342
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,760
And so when she tried to go up, 
she went down and she died. 

343
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,720
This is how our world has been 
since then, entered the world. 

344
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:56,280
We have been upside down. 
And Jesus at the resurrection is

345
00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,920
finally putting things right 
side up, putting things in the 

346
00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:06,480
right order with the right 
people on the top and the right 

347
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,440
people on the bottom. 
Not the powerful people, not the

348
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:13,480
wealthy, the humble, the poor. 
Those are the ones that God says

349
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:16,440
are on the top. 
Those are the ones that I am 

350
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,600
elevating now. 
Even death, even death I should 

351
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:22,840
have gotten. 
I'm realizing now I should have 

352
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:26,440
put these two slides in 
different order because anyone 

353
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:28,560
here a fan of the Marvel 
Cinematic Universe? 

354
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,400
OK, I'll forgive you. 
OK, I used to be a fan of the 

355
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,600
Marvel Cinematic Universe. 
I believe that the Marvel 

356
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:42,080
Cinematic Universe has a a real 
problem now, and it has at least

357
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:44,640
at the very least caused me to 
get bored with the Marvel 

358
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,280
Cinematic Universe. 
And the problem with the Marvel 

359
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,360
Cinematic Universe is the 
multiverse. 

360
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,880
If you don't know what the 
multiverse is, the multiverse in

361
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:57,920
in, in the MCU is based on, on, 
loosely based on scientific 

362
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,280
theory, very, very speculative 
that there are an infinite 

363
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,120
number of universes out there in
which everything that can happen

364
00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:09,160
does happen. 
And so anytime someone in a 

365
00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,080
Marvel movie dies, we know 
they're never really dead 

366
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,320
because there's another one out 
there in another universe that 

367
00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,360
will come back and take their 
place. 

368
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,080
And we're getting that there's 
another Avengers movie coming 

369
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:22,640
back. 
Iron Man's going to be back. 

370
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:24,160
Captain America is going to be 
back. 

371
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,960
All these folks that supposedly 
died or coming back. 

372
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,920
And, and to me, that makes for 
boring storytelling because 

373
00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:37,480
there's no tension if, if I grow
to love a character in a movie 

374
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:41,640
and I see them die, that that's,
that that means something. 

375
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,440
You feel that. 
But if you see them die and now,

376
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,520
yeah, 2 movies down the road, 
they'll be back. 

377
00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:48,720
It's like, who cares? 
They died. 

378
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,960
So what makes for, I believe, 
really boring storytelling? 

379
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:54,760
If you still love the MCU, 
that's OK. 

380
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,560
There's a place in heaven for 
you, too. 

381
00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:02,680
There really is Just, you know, 
we'll be watching TV together, 

382
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:07,280
that's all. 
The curse of the MCU is the 

383
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:12,880
blessing of the Easter life 
because we know the end and we 

384
00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:16,280
know everyone who is a follower 
of Jesus gets their life back. 

385
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:21,080
So there's no tension. 
Death has lost its power. 

386
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,800
Death has lost its sting because
there is no more tension. 

387
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,920
When someone dies in Christ, we 
know they will get their life 

388
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:29,680
back. 
Yes, there is still pain, there 

389
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,760
is still heartache. 
That is real and powerful when 

390
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,320
we lose someone that we love. 
But in the end, knowing that 

391
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,880
their life will come back in the
end, as we face death ourselves,

392
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,240
knowing that our life is coming 
back, that we will be like Jesus

393
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,680
because we will see him as he 
is, it removes that, that 

394
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,240
ultimate bite and ultimate sting
of death. 

395
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,840
And, and what makes for boring 
storytelling makes for wonderful

396
00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,600
Easter living, Living with that 
reality, living with that hope 

397
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,040
that our lives do not end in 
death, but that our death will 

398
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,920
end in life and that God has 
turned things around and set the

399
00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,560
world right. 
There's still pain and there's 

400
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:15,320
still death, but there is a 
sequel, a sequel better even 

401
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,760
than Avengers End Game, which 
was a very good movie, I have to

402
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:19,960
confess. 
Very good movie. 

403
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,200
There is a sequel, and that 
sequel is the Kingdom of God and

404
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,120
the Kingdom of heaven. 
And we know the ending when 

405
00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:33,120
Jesus returns and the dead in 
Christ rise and we meet him and 

406
00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:37,800
see him as he is and we become 
like he is in the resurrection 

407
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:43,520
in that life. 
Now I say this and I, I've said 

408
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:49,000
it intentionally and, and, and, 
and I hope clearly that the 

409
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,120
promise we have and the hope 
that we have for resurrection is

410
00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:57,360
for those who die in faith in 
Christ that have given their 

411
00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:02,000
lives to Jesus, that have 
accepted him not just as Savior,

412
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,480
as Savior, but not just a 
Savior, also as Lord, as the 

413
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,240
King, the one in charge of their
life. 

414
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,120
And then we have that hope of 
resurrection. 

415
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,040
I'm just going to say today, if 
you have not taken care of that 

416
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:16,120
part of your relationship with 
God, today is a good day to do 

417
00:25:16,120 --> 00:25:17,600
that. 
I'm not going to do. 

418
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:19,360
And every head bowed, every eye 
closed. 

419
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,480
I got a lot of that kind of 
preaching when I was growing up.

420
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,560
It aggravated me. 
I got saved like 14 times 

421
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:32,120
growing up. 
But it matters our standing with

422
00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,760
Jesus and our relationship with 
Jesus. 

423
00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,640
And if you have not accepted 
Jesus's invitation to be part of

424
00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:43,280
his Kingdom and be part of his 
family, this is the best day to 

425
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,680
do that. 
Now, the best day was, you know,

426
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:49,600
a few years ago, but you can't 
go back in time. 

427
00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,880
So today is the second best day.
So if you haven't done that, 

428
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,040
take care of that today. 
Now I got. 

429
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:56,120
Let's see that. 
Look at that. 

430
00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:58,080
Look at that. 
Look at that. 

431
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,680
Yeah. 
All right, it doesn't take much 

432
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,600
for me to impress myself. 
My very first gift I've ever 

433
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:06,520
made. 
Right there. 

434
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:08,320
First one. 
Thank you. 

435
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:13,880
Thank you. 
Very, very first one. 

436
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:16,840
Made a cornflake box turn upside
down. 

437
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:19,840
All right, it's all right. 
Now, here's the thing. 

438
00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:22,600
I love the cornflake story. 
One of my favorite stories. 

439
00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:27,080
But we are not the greatest 
little cornflake because the 

440
00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,600
greatest little corn flake. 
He had to push and shove and 

441
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,800
shove and push to get to the top
of the box. 

442
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:38,680
He had to get himself to the top
of the box and to get to the top

443
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:42,760
of the box he had to push others
down and stand on their 

444
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,160
shoulders. 
We have it so much better. 

445
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:52,840
Jesus just turns the box over. 
He just turns the box over so 

446
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,400
that those were on the bottom 
are now on the top. 

447
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,240
Now here's the thing. 
That means the Easter life, the 

448
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,600
Christian life, is not a race to
the top. 

449
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,160
It's not a race for power. 
It's not a race for prestige. 

450
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,120
It's not a struggle for glory. 
It's not a struggle for wealth. 

451
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,760
It's a race to the bottom. 
How low can I go to serve others

452
00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,280
and minister to them and care 
for them and lift them up and 

453
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,080
build them up? 
Because I know that if I die at 

454
00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,520
the bottom of the box, that box 
gets turned over and I'll be on 

455
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,920
the top. 
And that's the calling that we 

456
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:30,560
have not to struggle and strive 
our whole lives to become the 

457
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,360
greatest and the best and to be 
over and above other people. 

458
00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:38,720
But the struggle to get down on 
our knees and serve and love and

459
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,360
compassion and mercy and grace 
and trust that Jesus will turn 

460
00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:47,320
the box over in the end because 
he already did it in a real 

461
00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,920
sense, in the resurrection. 
We might not see it all yet, but

462
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,520
it's happened. 
It's happened. 

463
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,840
And that's the Easter life. 
That's the Easter life in a 

464
00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,920
world turned upside down as we 
can be. 

465
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,840
We can be happy on the bottom 
with the world stacked against 

466
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:08,440
us, just loving and serving like
Jesus, loved and served until 

467
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,360
the day we die and our death 
ends in life and we live with 

468
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:18,320
Jesus forever, as the scripture 
says, reigning with Jesus 

469
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,080
forever and the Kingdom of God. 
Amen. 

470
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:21,880
Amen.