“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said…” Mathew 28:6 NIV

Greeting! Grace and Peace to you from Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ on this wonderful resurrection Sunday!

Although we cannot meet as yet nor broadcast as we recover from surgery, I wanted to share an Resurrection Sunday/Easter Message with you. So stay with me and I promise you will be blessed!

This message begins one Friday… almost 2,000 years ago…

“Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed His head and released His spirit.” – John 19:28 – 30 NLT

“All is lost!!!.... We thought He was the One… Could we have been wrong??? He performed miracles like no one in all of Israel’s history had ever seen… When He rode in last week… Oh my… Our hearts leapt!

There He was: The Son of David come to take David’s throne! To free us from the oppressive Roman rule! But… [tears swell up; a broken heart rent further] Now there He is… unrecognizable… bloody and beaten… broken and bruised…

What happened?!?!?? Here, on the eve of Passover, the evening sacrifice to begin The Passover already been offered… We stand and see the One we had put all our hopes and dreams on… Slaughtered… Killed by the very people we thought He came to free us from! [confusion… despair… more weeping and sobbing…]”

Can you picture the scene? Can you see the once mighty throng that followed Him closely now watching the spectacle unfold from afar?... Perhaps the little boy that gave Him his lunch that multiplied to feed thousands… Can you imagine what he was thinking?

Or better yet, someone who He healed from blindness… Who when he received his sight saw His beautiful face, only to now look upon the One who healed him to see His face was no longer recognizable…?

Oh, the heartache… The pain… The sorrow… “LORD WHY?!?”

Have you been there? When everything was going well, and you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel… Only to have the ground beneath you fall away…

The 3 interviews for that job you REALLY wanted… To be given the impression everything was going great… EVERYONE in your church was praying… assuring you it was yours only to be told they chose someone else…

Or your dream job… The job that made you get up in the morning with a spring in your step… The job you said you’d remain until you retired… Until they decided to go in a different direction leaving you confused, upset, and jobless…

Or the negative test results you dreaded… the child who, although raised in the church, is now living a lifestyle that you are embarrassed to tell anyone about or ask for prayer for…

We’ve all been there… when things didn’t go the way, we expected… When the news we got is NOT the news we prayed for… waited for…

I’ve been there… “Lord, if only you would have (fill in the blank) …” Have you been there too? But you see… What no one realized… What no one understood or comprehended was:

THAT HE HAD TO DIE IN ORDER FOR US TO LIVE!!!

It was Friday… BUT SUNDAY WAS COMING!!! SUNDAY!!!! The Day He would rise from the dead!!! The Day He would forever seal our redemption and freedom from the tyranny of Satan!

There was a greater enemy than Rome that needed to be defeated… There is a greater enemy than the obstacles we are facing… than the news we weren’t expecting… than the broken dreams and broken hearts we are nursing…

HE HAD TO DIE TO FREE US!!!

So, child of God: YOUR BEST DAYS ARE AHEAD NOT BEHIND YOU!

HE HAS RISEN!!! AS HE SAID!

The Sanhedrin couldn’t stop Him; Satan couldn’t defeat Him; the grave couldn’t hold Him!

His beauty is indescribable, His majesty is incomprehensible, His power undefeatable… His Love unending…

THAT’S OUR JESUS!

So, child of God: Don’t be afraid… Trust Him… It may seem dark now… the way isn’t clear… the waves are boisterous, and the wind is howling, but…

SUNDAY’S COMING!!!

Oh yes… those bones may be dry now lying in that valley of lost hopes and broken dreams. But I’m here to tell you: OUR SAVIOR LIVES!!! LIFE CONQUERED DEATH!!!

SUNDAY’S COMING!!!

So watch out… Resurrection IS coming... It may be Friday now, but you just stand still and keep looking up… Darkness MUST give away to LIGHT! Life MUST come forth from death because SUNDAY’S COMING!

That’s what Martha and Mary didn’t understand. You see all they could think about is “Lord if you had been there my brother wouldn’t have died.”

But God was about to demonstrate that His Son has power over death. He told them to roll away the stone (sound familiar?) but Martha said, “Lord, he’s been dead 4 days he must stink by now.”

“But Lord, I’m too old to have a child… the doctors say there’s no cure… those dreams are long dead… My marriage is dead…“

You know what Jesus’ response was to Martha? Do you know what He said?

“Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" – John 11:40 NIV

Do you believe??? Meaning… Can you TRUST HIM? Will you trust His Heart even if you don’t see His Hands at work? Will you rest in His love for you?

Can you see that love poured out so profusely for you on The Cross?

You want to know how much you mean to God? Look at The Cross…

But I’ve been waiting so long! Look at The Cross…

I’m scared! Look at The Cross…

I’ve given up hope that things will change. LOOK AT THE CROSS!!!

If you didn’t matter to God… If He didn’t care about your feelings… your wounds… your brokenness… THERE WOULD BE NO CROSS!

The Cross is the greatest demonstration of love EVER, period!

I don’t care what the enemy tells us, The Cross is the Final Answer to the questions we all ask ourselves:

Do I Matter?... Does anyone care about me?... Am I Loved? Will Things ever change? YES, YES, YES, AND YES!!!!!

He is risen…. He lives… and He always KEEPS HIS PROMISES…

“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said...” – Matthew 28:6 NIV

Amen...