Be Amazed Series

Spring Life

Part 3- Be Amazed

Pastor Ryan Akers

Video- Are you amazed? (Sermon Spice)

Luke 24:1-12- How many of you have ever asked yourself, “Is this real?” The world really wants to believe it’s not. They really want to believe that this moment in time never happened. Because if this moment in time happened then life as we know it would have to change. We would have to admit there is a God. We’d have to admit that we are not our own. We belong to him. And nobody wants that. If this moment happened that means that I need to learn to give up everything for God. My life, my thoughts, my abilities are his.

I’ve questioned many times- is this real? I have to believe its real because this moment is the only event in all of the world of all time that gives us any shred or inkling that there is some hope in life, there is some purpose to life. That the world we live in right now isn’t just about working 9-5 and getting married and raising some kids saving for retirement and then we die. It gives me hope that there is something bigger than me out there. There is something bigger than the job market and the government and the president and the economy and the oil companies. This one moment tells me that I no longer have to worry about that other stuff because it doesn’t matter. Because of this moment I have hope that there is life beyond this earth. When you grasp onto that hope which many will not believe in you will be free. You will feel more free in life than you ever have felt freedom. The freedom given to us in America holds no candle to the grace and freedom given to us by Jesus Christ.

I have to believe this event happened by faith. I wasn’t there, I didn’t see it happen but I believe it did. I don’t know why I believe so strongly but I just have to believe it. There is no scientific proof for me to bring out or experts to interview. All I have is faith. I don’t think it would matter if I was there or not anyways. Many saw Jesus after he rose and they still didn’t believe. Many saw Jesus perform miracles and they still didn’t believe they just asked for more miracles. Humans are natural skeptics. We love to prove people wrong. We love to win, we love to be right. (Fox’s computer monitor) But you know what sometimes you just have to have faith. God isn’t going to force you to believe anything. He wants you to choose to love him. Its never love when your forced to love. And I can’t explain why, but I just have to believe in Him, because somehow, someway I just know deep in my soul that Jesus really is the answer to life’s greatest question, What is my purpose?

Hebrews 11:1- Faith is all about believing in something you can’t see but you have hope that it happened or will happen. (Evolution, Revolutionary War) We all have faith in something; every single person in this room is looking for answers right now to your problems. You don’t want to admit you need help, but you know you need help. Your marriage is falling apart. You are struggling with depression, you are physically or verbally or sexually abused. You are constantly arguing, you can’t quit drinking. You can’t quit looking at pornography; you are trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment in life by sleeping around or partying. Every single person in here right now has a problem. We desperately want that problem fixed. And we make these attempts on our strength to fix that problem. We turn to junk that we think will fix it but it never does. It always just hurts us more and then we are in denial that we even have a problem. We don’t just want to admit that I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore, I can’t live like this anymore, what I think is going to fix my problems is only making it worse. I need something more. You’re not alone in feeling like this. It has been this way since the creation of the world. What you are looking for in life is exactly what I was looking for in, its exactly what Pastor Eric was looking for in life its exactly what Billy Graham was looking for in life and (church names) without even knowing it right now today you are looking for Jesus. If you let him enter your heart you, like the people of his day, will be amazed.

2000 years ago, the world was a much different place. Before the age of computers, television, radio, magazines, newspapers and the internet; before fast food, Wal-Mart, gas stations and bass pro; before the time of potlucks and fundraisers, mission trips, small groups, children’s ministry, youth ministry, young adult ministry, senior adult ministry, praise team and choir’s, nursery and angel food, committees and board meetings; before the time of welfare and necac, before health care and oil companies, before democrats and republicans there was just Jesus. And the people were amazed.