Good morning. He is risen. Oh man, it’s good to come together. Welcome to Big Valley Grace Community Church. If it’s your first time, we’re so glad you’re here. You picked a great day. We’re celebrating the living Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate that every day; this day, we celebrate the historical date of the living Lord Jesus Christ being resurrected from the grave. And we’re so glad that you’re here. I want you to know: every person who was just baptized — that is a picture of how God is answering prayer, because every one of those people have been prayed for. And God is at work and he’s answering the prayers of his people. If you’re here and your loved one, your family member, your friend was just baptized, I say congratulations to you. That is awesome. And we celebrate with you and your family. Let’s give it up. Yeah.

I believe that God is going to answer more prayers right now. I want to invite you to take your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 24. If you don’t have a Bible, the verses will be on the screen — but after the gathering, we’d love to give you a Bible. There’s a room over here, the prayer room; if you need prayer, come to that room. But we have Bibles in there, and we’d love to give one to you at no cost to you. We want to make sure everyone has a copy of God’s Word.

As we get into Luke chapter 24, I want to ask you a question. And the reason I want to ask you this question is so that you can think deeply about your own life and consider your own life for a moment — so that when we look at this text, you might have the opportunity to connect what has happened in your own life with what we’re about to read in this text. And the question that I want to ask you is this: What happened on the most important day of your life? If you think about the most important day of your life, what took place on that day? If I were to ask you to sit down with me and I said, “Tell me the story. Tell me the story of the most important day of your life” — what would you want to make sure that I knew the details of, and what you had experienced on the most important day of your life? What would you want to make sure that I understood about what happened to you? I want you to consider that, to help us connect with what we’re going to read. Let me pray for us.

Father God, Lord, as we come to your Word, this is a great day to celebrate. Lord, thank you for those who have been baptized. Lord, thank you for family and friends that are celebrating years of answered prayer. God, I believe you’re going to answer some more prayers right now. I’m asking you to do that. God, show your people your answer to their prayer as we get into your Word. Lord, would it come alive in us? And would we be different because Jesus is alive? Lord, we need you. We pray this in Jesus’ name. And all God’s family said, “Amen.”

The Women at the Tomb (Luke 24:1–12)

Our text says this in Luke 24:1: “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb.” And the “they” is a group of women. And the tomb is the tomb where Jesus of Nazareth was put after he was crucified. And it says they were taking the spices that they had prepared. And if you are like me and you know the loss of someone that you love, and you know the difficulty in making preparations regarding the loss of someone you love, then we can relate to what they’re experiencing — because those preparations were made in grief, and those preparations had the weight of grief attached to them. And those spices on any other day would have weighed less. But on this day, those spices they brought to the tomb weighed extra heavy, because they were made in pain, in loss, in suffering. And I know many of us in this room know what it’s like to have to make those preparations — that weight, that grief, that pain.

In verse two it says they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. In our present-day context that doesn’t make a lot of sense, because we don’t have a lot of tombs with stones in front of them. But if you went down to Lakewood Memorial, to the plot of ground where my loved one is buried, and I showed up to the plot of ground and the dirt had all been removed and the casket was gone — that would be what they were experiencing. They showed up to the plot of ground where their loved one was, and it had been dug up and the casket was gone. Clearly not what they were expecting to find. Verse three: “But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Consider what they were coming to do. They were coming to prepare the body, honor the body, of their loved one. Many people in this room know what that is like. That is a sacred moment — to prepare the body, to honor the body of a loved one. Consider that it may feel like failure, that they show up to honor the body of their loved one and they can’t even find the body. Consider what that might have done in them as they came to do a job. It was a hard job. Many people in this room know what that job’s like. It’s a hard job to do — and they’re not able to do it.

Verse four: “While they were perplexed about this…” Perplexed is a great word. I don’t use it a lot; you probably don’t either. But we have our own words. And when you don’t know what’s going on in your life, there are words that come in your mind and then they come out of your mouth. And the people sitting next to you know exactly what your favorite words are when things aren’t quite going how you think they’re supposed to go. You’ve got your own favorite word, and every other person has their own favorite word. But we know what it is to be perplexed. And we know what it is to respond and react out of a place of going, “What is going on? What is happening right now?” Not understanding. So behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. Two angels show up.

If you told me that two angels were going to show up right now in dazzling apparel — and then they did — I still would not be prepared for two angels showing up in dazzling apparel. There’s nothing that will prepare us for that moment, even if we knew it was coming. And they have no idea it’s coming. And it says that they are frightened. They’re thinking, “What is happening? Are we really seeing this? Is this real — what we’re seeing, is this real?” And they’re frightened. And it says they bowed their faces to the ground. I know what it’s like to be so full of fear that it physically pushed me towards the ground. I know what that’s like. Do you know that level of fear — to be so afraid that it leveled you? They go down low to the ground.

The men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” I don’t think they thought they were seeking the living among the dead. I don’t think that’s what they thought they were doing. But that’s the question that comes. “He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” I’m going to repeat that. This is really important information. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” This information is so important — it’s so important that we’re going to come back really, really quick to it.

Verse eight: “And they remembered his words.” Now they’re having a playback of the previous conversations that they have experienced with Jesus. I don’t know about you — sometimes I have a way better forgettery than I do a memory. I don’t know how it’s possible that I can go from not remembering at all something to all of a sudden I’m remembering it again. That happens to me. Does that happen to you? I don’t know how that works. But they don’t remember. They don’t remember the things that Jesus has told them. And now they’re remembering. Now they’re remembering.

And it says, “And returning from the tomb” — in verse nine — “they told all these things to the eleven and the rest.” So they go to the tomb in mourning, in grief, carrying spices that are extra heavy. They don’t find the body. They see these two angels. They receive this message. Now they’re coming back to the eleven disciples. I wonder if they still have the spices in their hand. I wonder if the spices didn’t weigh so heavy anymore. Because now it’s effortless what they’re doing, because they’re fueled by hope. And our communication to others is effortless when we’re fueled by hope, because they came and they told. Here’s how I know that’s true: when you’re full of hope, I can’t get you to shut up. And neither can the people next to you. Because when we’re full of hope, it’s got to come out. We can’t keep it in. Hope is going to erupt out of our life. There is no way to contain it. It fills and it overflows. And they are now coming back to the eleven disciples and they’re telling them — telling them everything that they’ve experienced.

Verse ten, we get some names: “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.” These are real women in history that experienced this. In verse eleven it says, “But these words seemed to them” — the eleven disciples, the apostles — “these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” Idle: pointless, purposeless, without effect. I want to give you a warning. And my warning to you is this: beware of people who will call the work of God in your life idle, pointless, purposeless, or without effect. Be very careful when God is working in you, about listening to people who are going to say to you, “That’s just idle. That’s just pointless. What God’s actually doing in your life right now — that’s no big deal.” Don’t listen to them. Don’t listen to people like that, because when God’s at work, it’s always significant. It’s always significant when God is at work in our life.

Verse twelve: “But Peter” — we find a little bit of information about him. “He ran and rose to the tomb. He stooped and looked in.” So, like the tomb — he doesn’t cross the line. He’s leaning in to look, you know, to look at what’s happening. He’s too afraid to come in. He wants to see what’s going on. “And he saw the linen cloths by themselves.” So the cloths that wrapped the body of Jesus — he sees them all set aside. It says “he went home marveling at what happened.” What is going on right now? What is taking place? What does this mean?

I don’t know about all the days of these women’s lives. I don’t know what all their highlights are, and I don’t know what their low lights are. But I have great confidence in this: that the historical events that we just read are about the most important day of their life. What happened on the most important day of your life?

The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–32)

We find out there’s more characters in verse thirteen. “That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened” — like an investigative report, unfolding throughout the day as more facts are gathered. Seven miles they’re hiking, walking a dirt road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.” To me, this is such a clear picture about how we do not find God; God finds us. We do not draw near to God; God draws near to us. Jesus identifies these two guys on this road, and he comes to them to be with them. This is such a clear picture of the desire of God to be with us. God wants us to be with him, and he is the initiator, to come near to us so that we might be with him.

Verse sixteen: “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” So they had physical sight. They could physically see that Jesus came near, but they didn’t have spiritual sight. They couldn’t even tell that it was Jesus. They didn’t even know that it was the resurrected Jesus. They could physically see him, but they could not spiritually see him. And there’s a difference between physical sight and spiritual sight.

Verse seventeen: “He said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you’re holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, and they’re looking sad.” For those of us who have lost a loved one, we know that sadness. We know that grief. We know that empty feeling. We know that place of depression where you don’t feel anything and you don’t want to do anything, because the weight of it has been so crushing that it has immobilized us, and it has made us numb, and it has made us stand still. Just like these two guys — they lost their leader who they loved and looked up to.

Verse eighteen: “Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’” Hey man, don’t you have a clue what’s going on? Do you really not have a clue? Everybody in town knows what’s going on. Do you not know what’s going on? Are you, like, the only person on the face of the planet who doesn’t know what’s happening right now? You ever said things like that to somebody? You can relate, then.

And Jesus said to them, “What things?” I want to make an argument that the resurrected Jesus Christ has a playful side. What things? What things? Like Jesus doesn’t know “what things” about when he was betrayed with a kiss. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he was taken by armed guards. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he was spat on, when he was beaten, when they shoved thorns into his skull. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he went through trial after trial that were illegal. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he had to carry his own cross. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when his left hand had a nail put in it, and his right hand had a nail put in it, and his feet had a nail put through them. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when three hours of darkness hit the land. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he had to say his last words. Like he doesn’t know “what things” when he breathed his last breath and gave up his spirit and bowed his head and died. Like he doesn’t know “what things.” And he shows up to these guys: “What are you guys talking about? What things?”

You know, some of you are way too serious. You need to lighten up. You need to relax. If the resurrected Jesus Christ can show up to these guys on the road and say, “What things? What are you guys talking about?” — why don’t you just relax a little bit and smile, okay? Smile. Take it easy. Relax a little bit. Because if the resurrected Jesus can do this and be like, “What things, guys? What things?” — what’s he saying to you in your frown? What things? What’s going on? What things? Come on. It’s amazing.

And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty indeed and in word before God and all the people.” They used the word “was.” They see Jesus as a was. He was mighty. He was a prophet. He was mighty indeed. He was mighty in word. He was before God — but he’s no longer. He’s no longer mighty. He’s no longer a prophet. He’s dead. He is now a “was.” Verse twenty: “And how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death.” Listen to that language: condemned to death. They are saying he has been permanently eliminated. He is no longer. He is a “was.” The thing that I find really ironic is they’re saying all this to Jesus. I just have a really hard time thinking — if I was in that position, I don’t think I would be able to not crack a smile in this moment. Like if Jesus is keeping a straight face throughout this whole thing — I mean, he’s God. Because I know I would not be able to do that.

Verse twenty-one — we get to the real issue, and it’s the real issue for all of us: “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” And for every one of us, it’s when we lose hope that we’ve lost it all, because the place of hopelessness is the end. And they’re at that place, and they’re like, “We don’t have it. We don’t have any more hope. We thought he was the one who was going to make it right, and we’ve lost our hope.” And then they say, “Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things have happened.” I want you to take note: three days after the crucifixion of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus was already a historical time marker. Thousands of years later, the crucifixion of Jesus is still a historical time marker. And it already was — three days in, to these two guys. They’re already using it as a historical time marker.

Verse twenty-two: “Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.” I mean, what are we supposed to do with what the women said? What are we supposed to do with what they were talking about? They were at the tomb early this morning. They didn’t find his body. They came back saying that they had seen a vision — the women said they saw a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But him — Jesus — they didn’t see him. And this is another picture of how physical sight is actually still keeping them blind spiritually, because they’re so focused on what they can see with their own eyes.

Verse twenty-five: “And Jesus said to them, ‘O foolish ones…’” Never good when God starts his conversation with you and those are the first three words he says. “O foolish ones” — you know it’s going to be a rough conversation when it starts out that way. “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’” I’m going to repeat that. It’s so important. “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” We’re going to come back to this information very, very soon.

Verse twenty-seven: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” That’s like saying the entire Old Testament. He said, “This is what it means, guys. The entire law — hey guys, this is what the law means. The prophets — this is what the prophets mean. The history books — this is what it means, guys. The entire Old Testament is about me. That’s what it’s about. It’s about the Messiah, the Christ, who is going to come.” Have you ever thought, “Would God just explain to me what’s going on right now?” These guys actually got that. God showed up and explained it to them. It’s pretty cool.

Verse twenty-eight: “So they drew near to the village to which they were going, and he acted as if he was going further.” No, no, Jesus — well, they don’t know it’s Jesus. Don’t go. They urge him to stay with them. So he stays. They say, “It’s evening, and the day is far spent.” And that word “spent” is such a good word, because we can all relate to it, because we know what it’s like to be spent. We know what it’s like to be tired and worn out and beaten down and discouraged. They were exhausted. So Jesus went in to stay with them. And when he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. And it says, “And their eyes were opened.” Not their physical eyes — their spiritual eyes are now opened, and they recognized him. And then he vanished from their sight. So they finally have spiritual sight. They see Jesus, and then he’s gone.

They remained spiritually blind until God opened their spiritual eyes. And every one of us remains spiritually blind until God opens up our spiritual eyes. They did not open their spiritual eyes themselves. Jesus opened their eyes. And the same thing has to be true for us. God has to show up into our life and peel back our spiritual blindness so that we have the opportunity to see spiritually Jesus Christ, who is alive.

Verse thirty-two: “So they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” Now, we can get heartburn a lot of different ways — your favorite joint down the street probably gives it to you, all right? But this is not about a bad burrito, okay? This is not about food. This is about the Word of God burning a hole in their heart. God’s Word is burning inside them. A flame of fire of God’s Word is burning them from the inside out. And they’re saying, “Hey, when he was talking about the Scriptures — did you feel it? Because I felt it. I felt it burning. The Word of God was burning.”

Verse thirty-three: “And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.” They were exhausted. They did seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They’re spent. All of a sudden, the Word of God has lit a flame within them. They went seven miles back to Jerusalem, all fired up, because the resurrected Lord Jesus showed up in their life. So for these two men — I don’t know about all their days. I don’t know what their highlights are, and I don’t know about their low lights. But I am absolutely confident about this: for these two men, the historical events that we just read from the Scripture describe the most important day of their entire life, because it is the day that they saw the resurrected Lord Jesus. What has happened on the most important day of your life?

The Eleven in the Room (Luke 24:33–49)

We find more people. “They found the eleven and those who were gathered together.” They’re huddled up, working together, gathered together, and they’re saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon.” This is actually why we have this tradition where we say, “He is risen. He is risen indeed.” “He is risen” is the message that came from the angels in the morning. “He has risen indeed” is the message that came from the disciples as they proved that what the angels said was true when they saw the resurrected Lord Jesus. So: He is risen. He is risen indeed. It’s like saying it has been fact-checked, and it is a fact, and this is true. It is real. “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon.” Then they told what happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. And Jesus is the one who makes himself known to us. We don’t make ourselves known to Jesus. Jesus makes himself known to us.

“And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them.” Jesus shows up into the room, and he said to them, “Peace to you.” He speaks peace into their life. And the peace of Jesus Christ is not like the peace that the world gives. The peace that the world gives is very expensive — have you noticed? You’re probably still trying to pay the debt off from the peace you thought you bought. The peace that the world gives is empty, and it accomplishes nothing in our life. But the peace of Jesus Christ was paid for by Jesus, and he offers it to us, and it is powerful and it is effective and it fills our lives and it changes us.

Verse thirty-seven: “But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” I think we’d all be startled too. So much to take in. It’s overwhelming. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your heart?” It is normal for all of us to doubt. It is normal for us to have fear. It’s normal for all of us to have unbelief. That is common to the human condition. Every one of us has experienced all of those things. He says, “See my hands and my feet, that it is myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” So the resurrected Jesus has a real body. A real body. And he’s saying, “You can touch me.” Incredible. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy — and “disbelieved for joy” is like when something happens in your life and it’s too good to be true, and you’re like, “I don’t believe this is actually happening, but I can’t stop smiling. This is so great and I’m so excited. Did this really happen? Somebody pinch me. Nope, that didn’t work. Somebody slap me. Okay, it’s real. What? This is too good to be true. Is this really happening?” — they’re disbelieving because they’re so joyful, and they’re marveling.

He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” Sorry — I think it’s awesome that he’s hungry. Every guy in the room appreciates that Jesus is hungry, all right? It’s been days since he’s eaten, and he’s like, “I need to eat some food. Do you have anything to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it before them. He shows them his real body still eats food. That’s amazing.

And he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Everything in the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. They remained spiritually blind until God opened their spiritual eyes. And for every one of us it’s true: we will stay spiritually blind until God opens our minds to be able to understand the truth of the Word of God.

Verse forty-six: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” I’m going to repeat what I just said. It is absolutely important. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” We’re going to come back to that information very, very soon.

He then says, “You are witnesses of these things.” They did not choose to be a witness. God made them a witness. They took no action that created them to be a witness. God did all of the action that made them a witness. God showed up in their life. He did something incredible in their life, and he made them a witness of what his work was.

Verse forty-nine: “Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” So Jesus is talking about the promise — the promise of the Holy Spirit of God — for these eleven men. I actually have quite a bit of information about these eleven men, because I have the four Gospels in my Bible, and it tells me a lot about these eleven guys. But I don’t know about all their days, and I don’t know what their highlights are, and I don’t know what their low lights are. But I know this: I am absolutely confident that the historical events, the facts that we just read from Scripture, describe the most important day of these eleven disciples’ lives, because it is the day that they came in contact with the alive Jesus. What happened on the most important day of your life?

The Resurrected Life (Luke 24:50–53)

Verse fifty: “And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” These guys actually see Jesus go to heaven. What did they do in return? “And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” This is a description of what the resurrected life in Jesus Christ looks like for all of us to enter into. We worship Jesus who is alive. We are filled with joy, and we do it every day. We worship Jesus who is alive. We are filled with joy, and we do it every single day. Which is why we’re here right now. We still gather today to worship Jesus Christ with joy. It’s why we’re here. We’re still doing it. For the church, this describes the events on the most important day for the church, because it is the day that Jesus Christ was resurrected to new life.

What is the narrative of your most important day? I want to come back to the central message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was shared three times in the text we just read. It’s very short in the verses. I’m going to read them to you so that you can hear them again. In verses five through seven: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” That came to the women. Verses twenty-five and twenty-six: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” That came to the two men on the road. Verses forty-six and forty-seven: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” That came to the eleven who were gathered together in the room.

Each of those three accounts has four parts. One: they all talk about the life. They all talk about Jesus of Nazareth, that he had a life, and that he was the foretold Messiah, the Christ of God. To the women, this is the message: “Remember, the Son of Man.” To the two on the road: the prophets, the Christ. To the eleven in the room: “It is written, the Christ.” They all talk about that Jesus had a life — Jesus of Nazareth — and he is the foretold Messiah, the Christ of God. The second thing is that all three of those talk about the death of Jesus. They talk about the Messiah, the Christ of God, suffering and dying by crucifixion. To the women: “He must be delivered and be crucified.” To the two men on the road: “He should suffer these things.” And to the eleven in the room: “He should suffer.” All three accounts talk about the death of Jesus — the Messiah, the Christ of God, suffered and died by crucifixion. The third is the resurrection: that Jesus Christ rose from the dead in new life. To the women: “On the third day rise.” To the two men on the road: “Enter into his glory.” To the eleven in the upper room: “On the third day rise from the dead.” All three accounts talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ rose from the dead in new life.

And these first three parts — that’s all about Jesus. That’s what happened to Jesus. Jesus had a life. Jesus had a death. And Jesus had a resurrection. It’s the fourth part that impacts us, because the fourth part is salvation. The fourth part is salvation. It is believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. To the women: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” — which means, for us, that we cannot find life among dead things. But we can find life among someone who is living, and Jesus Christ is living — which means we can find life in Jesus who is alive. To the two men: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe.” We can be very, very foolish. We can lack a lot of wisdom. We can be very stubborn. We can be very resistant to believe. But the wisdom of God is in Jesus who is alive, and our heart should be placed in him, to believe in him, because he is alive. To the eleven in the upper room: “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.” We have sinned. I have sinned. You have sinned. And to repent of our sin is to turn away from our sin and to turn towards Jesus, who forgives us of our sins. And I need to do that, and you need to do that — and that’s a story worth telling. The fourth part is the part that hits us. It hits our story, and that is salvation: believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

The Invitation

Does the narrative of your most important day include these events? Does the narrative of the most important day of your entire life include these events? I want you to know something: I am unashamed to invite you to salvation. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And it might be that today is the day that the power of God, the message of the gospel, is going to radically change your life, and you are going to come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And I am not ashamed to tell you about it.

Is God opening your eyes today to see the resurrected Jesus Christ? Is God opening your mind today to understand the truth of God’s Word? Seeking life among death does not work. I want to challenge you to seek life among Jesus, who is alive. Foolish living and an unwillingness to believe is not helping you at all — and it didn’t help me either. The wisdom of God is found in Jesus Christ, who is calling you to have faith in him. The penalty for sin is eternal death. The penalty of my sin is eternal death, and the penalty of your sin is eternal death. I want to challenge you to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus, who is alive and can forgive you of your sin. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. It is only in Jesus Christ, who is alive, who is our Lord and Savior. Today — today could be the most important day of your entire life. Today could be the day that you receive salvation and the hope of an eternity with Jesus Christ in heaven. I want to encourage you. I want to challenge you to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

Let’s try that again. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.” Jesus is Lord. There you go. I’m going to ask you to do something. You’re going to think I’m crazy. Maybe I am. I’m going to ask you to do something — and when you hear what I’m going to ask you to do, your first thought is going to be, “There’s no way I’m going to do that.” We’ll see about that. I am unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe. And if you are here and you are believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, I am going to challenge you to stand up where you are. And as you stand, we are going to celebrate with you. If you are here and you are believing in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your sins, I want to challenge you to stand, because we are going to celebrate with you.

Is your heart burning? Do you have spiritual heartburn right now? It’s not your breakfast burrito, okay? God’s burning a hole in you, all right? And you’re not going to be able to ignore it. Is God opening your eyes and your mind to Jesus? I want to challenge you to stand up, because we’re going to celebrate that you are giving your life to Jesus Christ. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

Is the resurrected Jesus Christ speaking the peace of God into your life right now? If the resurrected Jesus Christ is speaking the peace of God into your life right now, and you are accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want to challenge you to stand up, because we are going to celebrate with you. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

Is your doubt and fear being overcome by the joy of Jesus Christ? You didn’t even think it was possible to have joy again — but God is bringing joy into your life today. If God’s doing that, he’s bringing his joy into your life today, I want to challenge you to stand up, because we’re going to celebrate with you. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

Is your future destination changing, and your future destination is now an eternity with God in heaven? Then I want to challenge you to stand up, because we are going to celebrate with you. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

Is your repentance genuine? You really mean it? You are sorry for your sin. You are asking God to forgive you for your sin, and it’s real. You mean it, and you mean it right now. I want to challenge you to stand up, because we are going to celebrate with you. Everyone say, “Jesus is Lord.”

I’m not going to keep saying stand up for the rest of the day. If you are here and you are believing in Jesus Christ as Lord God for your salvation today, stand up right now, because we are going to celebrate with you. Awesome. Awesome. I’m going to pray for those who are standing.

Father God, Lord, a bunch of people stood up because they’re believing in Jesus Christ today for their salvation. And God, I pray for those who stood today, because you are stirring in them and you are working in them. God, I pray that you’d meet them right where they are. The hole you’re burning in their heart, God — that you would keep that flame lit, God, as you open their eyes and their minds to what the truth is in Jesus Christ. Lord, I’m praying for those who stood. And God, would you help them take the next step and continue to walk with you? And so, Lord, we worship you, and we praise you, because right now we just saw you answer our prayer. God is alive and God is at work, and we worship Jesus Christ who is alive. And all God’s family said, “Amen.”