Easter at One Church - At The Cross pt. 3

I believe the song was for someone here today who just needs to be reminded that we serve a God who is a way maker, and that we serve a God who is a miracle worker. I don't know but I know a few people who needs a miracle to take place today. Um. And so maybe your hallelujah. Maybe your thank you.

Jesus is not for you. Maybe for your neighbor. And so we going to praise him. Even in the midst of our circumstance, even in the midst of our sickness, even in the midst of our struggle. We're going to praise him anyhow.

As the Apostle John writes in John chapter 17, he says that my prayer, my phrase is not for alone. Father. I pray that for those who will believe in me through their message that all of them, maybe one father, just as you are in me and I am in, you may also be in us so that the world may believe me.

I'm so excited. You know, I'm a go a little Baptist. See you just for a quick 10 seconds. And so what I want you to do is just give guys 10 seconds what they call an undignified phrase. You know what I'm talking about? And so for those who are not Baptist. Look at your neighbor to the right. And whatever they do with this. Kind of copy, what they doing.

Because I believe. Come on now, guys. This is. Resurrection Sunday.

He got up. He is no longer in the grave. Church he bled on that cross, but he got up off that cross with the power and authority. He gave it to you and he gave it to me. Come on, church. You got five more seconds. Five more seconds? Yes, yes. Come on, now. Yes, you're worthy, God. You're worthy, God.

Oh, now the rocks cry out for praise. I have a holy, undignified place. Because you brought me out. You took me out of the dirt. God, you gave me purpose. You gave me a calling. You got him a walk. Did it today. God. God. Because you're worthy. So worthy. God. Good good.

Those who may not know I'm a hybrid of a Protestant believer. So let me just break that down for you. When I say I'm a hybrid I means I have a little bit of Baptist in me. I have a little bit of Pentecostal with me and a touch of Methodists and Catholics and a whole lot of Wesley Bell.

Sometimes the Baptist that's in me or the Pentecostal, they see me. They just get out and especially in a day like today, where's Resurrection Sunday? I don't call it Easter Sunday. I'm not going to give the bunny no credit That's right.

No, no. It is Resurrection Sunday. That's right. We may celebrate Christmas, but without the cross, there's nothing else to it.

So please forgive me if I got a shout and a praise, because I know what he did for me. And I know what he can do for you. That's right. Yes. I'm a praise him to my circumstance. I got some. We got stuff going on. Truth be told, all of us got stuff going on.

But don't allow your situation to cripple your praise, man. Don't allow your circumstance to hijack your praise and allow the enemy far too long to take my praise. Not in a more, because I serve a risen king. A risen savior.

And all day Sunday. All day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 365 days out. The year three it's a struggle. It's a father. We know that you're here. You don't need an invitation. We got we we invite you right now for those who may not know what this may be, Father, we have a specific invitation for you to dwell in this place. Father, this is holy ground.

And, God, we give you a holy praise. A praise that is set aside from anything else. The Father. In the next few minutes, Father, I pray that I would decrease and your Holy Spirit will increase.

Give me nothing more, nothing less to say. Prepare the hearts and minds of your children. And Father, pray for those who have already checked out because this is unconventional. This is this. This is not what may be unfamiliar for them, God. But I pray right now, God, that they will check back in because you bore the cross for all of us to Father.

Have you wait today we give you all the glory, the honor in Jesus name. Let the church say, man one more time. Let's say a man, a man, a man I'm trying to figure out where I want to go. The struggle is real because we've been in a series called At the Cross, and the series was kind of inspired by, of course, the hymn. There's so many of us. No, not see a few young bucks in here. You may not know what at the cross is a him that I grew up with. I'm not going to sing, but it goes something like this after cross after cross OK, come on, work with me now. There you go. But it starts off by saying, Alas, did my savior bleed yes.

And did my sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred heart for such a war? As I and as I begin to really look at the the song itself, it reminded me that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, died on a cross, a wooden, rugged cross for you. And I for such a warm and I but then, of course, it says that the cross after cross where I first saw the light there may be some individuals here today who may not know what that light is.

Let me rephrase it, who may not know who the light is, because the light is not a what is a who is Jesus Christ and so that was my inspiration. So during the services, we begin to talk about, you know, standing at a crossroad. And many of us, we find ourselves standing at a cross. Well, we have to begin to choose.

Do I go left or go right? Like, what do I what decisions that God wants me to make? Is it going to line up with what God has called me to do, who God is calling me to become and will God begin to reveal to me in this sermon is this we talked about why you're standing at the cross.

So does our decisions line up with God's desires. Come on church. Those are decisions that you make your life line up with. God desires for your life. Let me just keep it real. The decisions that you make on Wednesday and Friday night OK, come on clubbing. How about the decisions you make on a Saturday? Does it line up with what God desires for you?

How about your dreams come on. You know what I'm talking about. Young adults don't fake it.

Your Instagrams, your Snapchat does all of that line up with what God desires for you.

And we talked about our alignment with God is determined by your actions with God. Like how we are so uniquely aligned with God is determined by everything that I do, everything that I say, and how I walk out my life. It goes, you know, I've been there before us, drove us astray out of this place. You know, I'm right here.

Like, God, do I go over. But I like this side of the fence over here. I want to party one day, but don't be behold the next day you know what I'm talking about. I want to turn up one night and then sing a hallelujah the next night.

Is tight, but is right we going to talk about how following Jesus is greater than our comfort. We talked about following Jesus is greater than our desires. And even to the point where we place our desires for our excuse me, our we place our family before what God has called us to do. So Jesus is greater than your comfort, our desires in our family.

In the last week, I took it back. I took it old school because I talked about my hybrid, you know, Protestant believer where, you know, the Baptist and all of that. I mean, so we talked about going to church. I grew up in I'm a peaky, which is pastors getting in, and I grew up in how God began to kind of shape me in fashion.

And we believe that there should be some common denominators. If you're a Protestant believer, you know, we kind of talk through how there should be certain things that how we how we respond and what we believe that even to the point where how Christians should look and act and talk and I'm talking about looking like the outer appearance, looking at our hearts, the desires that we have.

Because I know even in Scripture says out of your mouth, your heart speaks. And I learned very early on that as a Christian, a young Christian, my mentor told me this. He said, right, you never get too far from the cross.

Because growing up, the bishop of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, don't judge me. I grew up in Waco, Texas. The bishop told me. He said, Brian I remember you saying never get too far from the cross. And every time he would preach, it doesn't matter if he was preaching from Genesis to Revelation, he found his way somehow, some way back to the cross of Calvary and so today we're going to talk and talk about being nailed to the cross.

So if you have your Bibles, we'll turn to Matthew Chapter 28 excuse me, 27 and chapter 28 as well. But the first few scriptures that we'll be lifting up is verses 62 through 66 out of Matthew, chapter 27. Then we're going to jump on over to Matthew 28, verse one, if you have it and say a man, if not it's going to be on the screen.

I'll give you a few seconds. I'll be reading out of the Navy version of Matthew Chapter 27th verses 62 and 66 the next day the one after preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to pilot sir. They said We remember that while he was still alive, that the deceiver said, After three days I will rise again.

To give the order for the tomb to be made secure. And so the third day, otherwise the disciples may come. It's still the body until the people that he has been raised from the dead, the last deception will be worse than the first this says Take a guard pilot answer. Go make the tomb as secure as you know how.

So they won't. So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Chapter 28 after the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and go into the to roll back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were as white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and they became like dead men.

The angel said to the woman, Do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified He is not here. He has risen just as he said. Isn't it good to know that we serve a God who would not lie like the things that He tells us that will it would not return void, that would go out and accomplish the things that He said that will take place. We serve a God that would not lie, that he cannot lie He is not there. He is risen, just as he said, Come and see for yourself the place where he lay then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him now I have told you so.

The woman heard to wait for the tomb and afraid, yet filled with joy and ready to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them greetings, he said. They came to him classes B and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me you guys can read verses 12, 13 or 14 on your own, but I will kind of give a paraphrase about that later on.

You know, Easter is my favorite holiday of the year. You know, this this passage kind of remind me of the flatlands of Texas when I was growing up and just going to church, you know, I love my grandmother. I tell you, my grandmother used to have these sayings, you know, that only a grandmother can say that we hear what we call church language, right?

You guys know what I'm saying when we say God is good and all the time, hey, man, another one of my grandmother's sayings is, was that he may not come when you want him may be there right on time. And one of my favorite ones that she used to say all the time, if it had not been for the Lord on my side, I don't know where would I be see them saints.

You know, we we don't we don't hear that anymore. She also used to say, you have to do things decent and then come on church and then last Sunday, we talked about early, early Sunday morning and I know he died surely he died didn't he die that's just a recap from last week.

Let me paint a picture Friday night. Jesus is day Saturday rolls around in life as you know it for the disciples changed forever Jesus said it was finished in the cross and when he was saying it is finished, he said the Greek term, which is to tell us die and in the Greek it talks about that all your sins, past, present and future is taking care of this.

That's what he meant and so the disciples are walking around still yet in disbelief what has taken place. They're shocked. That means no more dinners, no more foot washing, no more evangelism, no more going to the mountaintop with their Jesus like they were walking around or like, Man, what do we do? Like this guy that we've been walking around with for three years is gone.

Like we've been doing life with Jesus for three years. And there were done like, where do you go? Where do you go from there?

And I'll say this when your pain is deep, go deeper in prayer, come church church when your pain is so deep, it immobilizes you, it cripples you, go deeper into prayer. And I believe this. I don't believe the disciples was praying on a Saturday because there was there was all stroke. They did not know what to do but the prompting that God wants us to do when we are faced with the situation that we have, no we don't know what to do or how to respond go deeper in prayer. That means get on your knees, get on your face. If you have to Saturday comes around, the Pharisees go. They go to pilot and says this. Jesus said he's going to rise in three days. And the only way that this can happen if Jesus disciples go to the tomb itself, is still his body.

So, so piety. This is, this is what we're going to have. We this is what we need you to do. Because if they steal this body, they're going to start having a rumor to go around and say that he has risen so poorly. The only way that we can make sure that this does not happen is put a guard by the tomb and a stone in front of the wall.

The pilot is sitting there wondering, Houston we have a problem. A pilot is sitting there wondering like, what do we do? Because he knew that the problem that Jesus was taking place in all the chaos that Jesus was really going down, making happen the crowds and the mobs, just imagine what would take place if Jesus did rise. So this was stone.

This is a pile of dust. Pilots, as we read in the scriptures, he said this. I want you to do I want you guys to go lock it down. I want you to lock the tomb down. I want you to lock it down. Put a stone in front of the door, put a seal on the stone and put some guards at the door.

So we have a stone, a seal and a soldier we have a stone where nobody can get in. We have a seal that represents the Roman government the Roman authority and soldiers there to make sure that nobody gets in so Mare realizes that they're faced with obstacles, right? Very beginning to realize that they're faced with three obstacles the stone, the seal and the soldier see, the stone is the problem that has to be controlled, right?

The seal is the power. There has to be change in the soldier is the person that has to be confronted you're missing it. There's a stone, a seal and a soldier that presents a problem a power in a person we don't know how are we going to go and deal with this? There's a stone that has to be control, a seal that has to be changed, a soldier that has to be confronted.

How do we begin to address the problems in our life that's been controlled, the power that has to be changed and the person that needs to be confronted so people, powers and problems. What are you going to do many of us today are faced with an individual, a person that's causing you a problem. That has taken power from you.

So let's let's look at this. The problem or the substance could be drinking drugs eating, lying or gossiping. The power are the systems that are set in place, even in politics and even, yes, in religion there are systems that we have to begin to break down to begin to glorify God through the scriptures then there's subjects or persons that we have to confront right all of us have some type of conflict in our lives that we have to begin to address mom's or dad's husbands or wives, brothers or sisters, family friends, friends with benefits our psychics our sugar daddies.

Boy, I'm a preacher at 2:00 at a different crowd because they don't get it you go to church stuff for me. Come on, church so Mary realizes this. She has three obstacles and she decides to go anyways. Do you see that Mary is faced with three obstacles, but she decides to go to the tomb anyways.

Many of us would tap out and see that the problem is bigger than our God. Many of us would now begin to face the obstacles that we have before us and said, You know what? Is too big, it's too much. You know what? We serve a small God. But I'm here to remind you today our God is greater than any problem.

Our God is greater than any person. Our God is greater than any power have you ever had a problem where you don't know what to do he said, God, if you don't fix it, I don't know what's going to happen. Have you been? I've been here before. Like I've been in situations like if you don't if you don't show up and show out, if you don't make a way out of no way a promise keeper miracle worker, come on.

That's who he is. Where Mary arrives to the tomb. Guess what she saw that her problem, the power in the person was already taken care of by God. Oh, come on with your I believe as long as Mary was walking to the tomb, she was praying. My God, my Jesus, make yourself available. Guys. Show up and show.

Once we get to the tomb, you said that you're going to rise in three days. God, let me get to the tomb. And you would not be there because your word would not come back void so what we need to do in this day and age is that we need to begin to walk towards the tomb of Jesus and begin to resurrect those things that God, those problems, those persons and those powers God can work out for us Mary saw that the stone was rolled away that the seal was removed and the soldier was restrained.

You see that the stone was rolled away, the seal was removed, and the soldier was restrained.

We serve a God who can solve your problems. Sit down any powers and shut up any people mm.

Ephesians 320 says this now unto him is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask that's the key part. Many of us don't even ask he says Christ is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even begin to think according to the power that works within us. To him be the glory.

Give God the glory. Don't give yourself the glory when you get a problem resolved. Guy gets the glory that you in the church about Christ Jesus through all generations forevermore Milan is playing. We'll get ready to wrap up. There's a picture that they're going to put up on the screen. And my brother Bryce sent me this, and it's a great way to kind of close out our service today.

This picture is of a painting in the title of it's called Check Me If you look at the picture itself, you begin to see that there's the devil on one side and then there's another individual to the other side. And the individual he's he's perplexed. He's in deep thought, even to the point where he's like, my God, my God, what do I do?

He's looking at the chess board and he's thinking, What is my next move? He's trying to figure it out on himself, like many of you know, where we try to figure out things on ourselves, but give it to God.

And there's an occasion where there was a tour taking place, and the tour guy started with this crowd, and he tells them about this painting. He tells them that the title of this painting is called Check Me and they begin to look at it. He tells them that most people off, to coin a phrase, this painting, this they call it as it's one more move and in that tour, there was this guy who was part of the tour walking along with this group of guys or females.

And in that tour there was this world class chess champion sitting there looking at the picture, thinking and observing and just kind of evaluating the picture itself. The tour continues to move forward but the guy, the chess champion, he's still behind he's still looking at the picture and then he finds out that the tour guy comes back. He's like, what's what's going on?

Why why are you still sitting here? He said, the deal was one but he's he's talking to the tour guy, so he may not know, but I'm a I'm a world class chess champion.

And as I'm looking at this picture, the devil has not won. He said many people think that the guy lost but I'm standing here looking at it and I'm I'm kind of evaluating, observing this picture. And we have a problem because I'm a world class champion. People don't see the things that I see playing chess. And so to the natural person, they would think that, yes, the devil has won.

But because I'm a world class chess champion, did I say that I'm a world class tennis chess champion?

And I spent my entire life playing chess so people don't see what I see and when you walked off, I saw the devil laughing and the man in desperation so this is what we have to do. Either you change the painting or you change the title of the painting, because this is what I see that the young man has one more move and not only just that it's the king who has one more move.

I'm here to tell you today, as our worship team make their way to the stage the king that's in your life is giving you one more move he's giving your family one more move. He's giving your finances one more move. He's giving your marriage one more move. He's giving your sickness one more move. He is not finished because the king is still on the throne.

Come on. Church God wants to take your brokenness to blessings. He wants to take your hurting to be here. He wants to take your leg and to place you. There's one more move in your life. No matter where you are, God is not finished.

Isaiah 54 tells me that there's no weapons formed against me. Shall prosper somebody is here that today Genesis chapter 50 verse 20. But as for me, what evil me against me God is making it for good maybe you need to understand Deuteronomy chapter 20 verse 13 that the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. He will make you above and not beneath.

I need somebody to begin to believe that today come on church the Lord is my strength. He is my rock in my fortress. He is my deliver. Does anybody need to be to deliver today?

Do you need to reclaim the strength that only God can give you? Even walking in weakness week after week, day after day, month after month, but yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us church. I don't know where you're at today. I don't know your circumstance or your situation.

But I'm here to tell you today. That in the life that we're living, the king is still on the throne and he still wants you to make one more move. And I'll say this. We're going to close a song that's called Had Your Way and the move that God is da desiring of you today. If you have not proclaim or profess that Jesus Christ is your Lord and your savior, the very first move that I will encourage you to do today is this tap your neighbor and say, can you go with me to the altar?

Because I want to receive the Christ who died and blessed for me because he has to he did not die in vain. He die for you specifically God desires to have his way in your life today.

And the only way that He can do that is you begin to move with him. Stay in step, stay in tune with him. And so let us stand on this resurrection Sunday I want to tell you and remind you today that we serve our God that could remove any problem that can remove any power and remove any person because he's still a God who sits in a throne and so if you don't know him as your Lord and savior today, let us pray with you.

Let us walk you through the prayer of salvation. Let us celebrate how God is going to do what he's going to do in your life. Because Resurrection Sunday lets us know that we can partake in the authority that he has with all power and all authority.