Opening
-what are some Easter traditions…favorite candies…(show pic of me in an Easter outfit…and then show one from prom just for fun)
-We laugh at this pic but the reality is, too many of us get stuck spiritually, on the inside…so many other areas of our live progress, our careers, our families, our interests, our relationships, our style…but spiritually we are stuck in the same place we were decades before!
Introduction
-I want to explore three simple phrases tonight together: He came, He rose, and He comes…and I believe that as we journey through each of them, all of us are going to find ourselves moving forward into new places spiritually in our lives…leaving mullets, white tuxedos, and cheesy mustaches behind!
He Came
-(tell story of beach ball in pool)
-Luke 4:14-21…He Came to rescue us…you might be here tonight and you’ve reached for a life, you’ve reached for a relationship, you’ve reached for a dream that was never God’s plan for your life…Jesus came then so He could rescue you now! He came to not just to reconcile us to The Divine but also to a destiny that was born in the heart of Divinity!
Oh Jesus, give me courage to confront this day?
To see these intersections of grace?
Spirit come over me and fill this place
Your victory is all I need, your victory is all I need, your victory is all I need to be
Oh Jesus, give me rest in my unrest?
I love you Lord, but I confess?
Sometimes I may sink?
But You were there to rescue me
(Josh White, Absolution)
-Colossians 1:13
-Jeremiah 29:11…He came to rescue us…He came to save us for the plans He created for us…you have a destiny, you have a divine purpose
-even if we live the rest of our lives in earthly obscurity, the fame we seek is the fame of heaven…(Hebrews 12:1-2a)
He Rose
-(tell the story of the pastor and the neighbors rabbit)
-I’m telling you that story tonight because this is your story, this is my story, we’ve been disappointed in life, some of you are dealing with disappointment now, I know I am…and sometimes it seems like the good people suffer and the dishonest ones gain!
-Psalm 73:1-14…anyone else ever felt this way?
-One of the reasons why the Easter narrative is so powerful is because of how long it was dark and desperate between Friday and Sunday! Jesus could have raised himself from the dead moments after, minutes after…but I believe He wanted His followers to feel the depths of despair, to face disappointment!!! (Romans 5:3-5…the magnitude of their destiny necessitated a depth of character that only deep disappointment could create)
-Psalm 73:2…He rose to remind us…He rose to remind us to endure the disappointment for the breakthrough that will surely come…
-as we pursue our divine destiny and it seems that He is doing the least in our circumstances it is because He is doing the most in us!!!! (Psalm 27:13-14)
He Comes
-1 Thessalonians 4:16-18…Acts 1:10-11…Luke 12:35-47 (the sun for The Son…HeComes)
-If He had come back yesterday, last week, last month…what would He have found you doing? It’s a sobering question isn’t it? (Luke 14:16-18)
• Spending money you were supposed to give
• Harboring resentment you were supposed to forgive
• On a business trip in inappropriate places
• In your basement looking at inappropriate things
• Gossiping about people instead of praying for people
• Unmarried yet sexually active
• Addicted to controlled substances
• Chasing a relationship God never intended
• Pursuing a dream that God never created
• Building a career that God never consented
-Two of the biggest life altering decisions I have ever made were in entering vocational ministry in 1999 and coming to City Life in 2007… I remember one of the questions I asked myself was if Jesus comes back in my lifetime, how do I want Him to find me? (Matthew 24:44/Titus 2:13)
-Revelation 22:20…He comes to reclaim us…don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying if you are found doing what you shouldn’t, if you are found where you shouldn’t be that He will reject you…NO!!!...once you are His you ARE His…I’m just telling you tonight that when He comes for me, I don’t want there to be a look of disappointment on His face…the first two, Coming and Rising, He did that for me…this last one, I DO FOR HIM!!!!!!
Band
-The seven last sayings of people to and about Jesus on the cross are a fascinating study…and for many of you here tonight, even though they happened 2,000 years ago, they describe you perfectly tonight…
• The quote camp (people who pull out one quote from Scripture)
• The terms camp (people who come to God on their terms)
• The proof camp (people that still demand a sign)
-But of all the things that were said in His final hours, I hope you will be able to make this same declaration… “This man truly was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54)
Close
-Luke 9:51…be resolute! You have a destiny that Jesus paid the ultimate price for you to possess…yes, there will be disappointments along they but those moments of greatest resistance will be your opportunities for the greatest breakthroughs…and always remember, when He comes, how will He find you? (Number 6:24-26)
