Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.
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Thanks for listening.
Well, good morning.
Glad that all of you are here with us today.
If you've got your Bibles, open them up to Luke chapter 24.
As you turn there, I want to go ahead and say, I know Berger said something at the very
beginning of the service, but we will be taking the Lord's Supper today.
And so right now is a wonderful opportunity.
If you didn't grab one of the cups of elements as you came in, please go and do that right
now.
There is no judgment.
I'm delaying so that you can go and that you can get some, and we want to be able to partake
in this together.
Also, this week, I want to encourage you to be in prayer for our high school missions
team that is going to be leaving next Saturday to go to Salt Lake City, where they're going
to work alongside the Stockmans to help share the gospel and talk about Hope Valley Church
to so many different of the individuals at the parks that they're going to have the opportunity
to interact with, but then also in the neighborhoods that they're going to have the opportunity to
pray for.
You know, one of the things we've been able to share with these students and adults that
are going on this trip is very rarely, I think, in our lives, we have the opportunity to be
a part of something historical.
And you're thinking, like, there's mission trips happening all over the place.
Like, what makes this one special?
Well, with talking with Pastor Dustin about the different families and the individuals that
they'll interact with, right?
Salt Lake City, Utah is not like Lexington, South Carolina, all right?
And here in our context, right, like you guys know this, like we can, you are in walking
distance in a brief period of time away from a lot of wonderful Bible-believing churches
that are right here in our community.
And that's just not the case in Salt Lake City and specifically in the area of West Jordan
where they're going to be.
So more than likely as our students and as our adults interact with the groups of people
that they're going to have the opportunity to interact with, to share with, and to invite,
there could be numerous times where the offer to invite someone to come to church or maybe
even a gospel conversation is the first time that that has ever happened in the life of
that individual.
And I think that's historical.
And I think that's something that we should celebrate.
And I think that's something we should pray for.
And so as these students and parents and leaders are preparing to go onto this trip next week,
I want us to be bathing them and the individuals that they're going to interact with in prayer
for the conversations and the work that God is creating for them to do during that week.
And then next week, we're just going to continue on in praying for them each and every day
as God opens doors to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, to invite people to come to church
where they can hear about how much Jesus loves them and what Jesus has done for them.
So I want to encourage you to be in prayer for them.
Also, before we get into our passage of scripture this morning,
and before we read in Luke 24 and really wrap up this series,
I wanted to just kind of share with you guys and update you on some tragic information
that we got this past week.
And I hope that most of you were able to see the email that came out from me that Pastor Dave sent out
concerning the passing of a 10-year-old Chloe Doby,
who called Willow Ridge Church home and Willow Ridge Church people her church family.
This past Tuesday, Chloe passed in a house fire.
And this has definitely rocked her family and so many of us who know this little girl
and who loved her and had the opportunity to serve her.
Chloe loved being at our church on both Sunday mornings and on Sunday nights
and had the opportunity to hear and even to respond to the gospel.
And so we'll talk about that.
As we go in our passage of scripture, though, this morning, before we get there,
I want to kind of point out some ways that right now that you can really step into
as the family of Willow Ridge Church to minister to this family.
The service will be held here at Willow Ridge Church on Tuesday at 3 o'clock.
And I know for a lot of us, if you didn't work in or volunteer in children's ministry,
you may not have the opportunity to interact with or even to know who Chloe was.
But I do want to say by family, church family, being able to come and surround them,
that it would be a great testimony and would minister to their hearts.
And so this Tuesday, if you can make a way, if you've got margin in your schedule,
I want to encourage you to be here as we celebrate her life,
but more importantly, Jesus who saved her.
And we have an account of that as well.
Also this week and in the coming weeks,
there's an opportunity for you as a family or as an individual to serve them with a meal.
Pastor Dave also sent out an email this week for the meal train for individuals
to be able to sign up to bring a meal to that family.
If you didn't get that email, if you could let us know,
we'll make sure that we get that information to you,
but it would be another opportunity to you to serve them and minister to them during this time.
And then lastly, just a reminder and an encouragement to you is to pray for this family.
You know, they desperately, desperately need it.
You know, most of us have experienced loss.
We've lost someone close to us.
We've lost someone that we love.
But very few of us have walked down the path that this family has walked down over the last several days.
And so as I sat at their house yesterday evening and just talked with them,
one of the things that I just promised them was,
I don't understand the pain.
I've never experienced the grief that you're experiencing right now.
But I can just cry out for you as you cry out.
And so I committed to doing that.
And I just want to encourage all of you to pray for Chloe's family
as they walk through these days, weeks, months, and honestly, years ahead.
And as we go into our message this morning, let's just go ahead and go to the Lord and pray for them.
God, I thank you so much for this opportunity that we have to be here
and to worship you on this 4th of July.
Lord, this day is marked by so many and rightfully so as a time and opportunity to celebrate our independence and our freedom.
Lord, I pray that for those of us who are Christians, as we celebrate a day at the lake,
as we celebrate having a cookout, hanging out by a pool, eating hot dogs and hamburgers,
and we celebrate the freedom that we have as we live in this country,
Lord, that we would also be reminded of the freedom that we have that is found in Christ and Christ alone.
Lord, that as we think about our independence that we have as a nation,
Lord, that we could think about our dependence that we have on you as our Savior
who works in us and through us to complete the work that you began.
And Lord, we thank you so much for who you are.
Lord, I lift up Chloe's family to you.
Lord, as they desperately seek to process and to understand,
Lord, as they grieve and as they mourn,
Lord, I pray that they would feel the arms of their Heavenly Father wrapped around them.
Lord, I pray that while happiness may be hard to find right now,
Lord, joy that comes from you and you alone would be abundant to them
and they would understand in spite of their circumstances, Lord,
that they are deeply loved by you.
Lord, I thank you for Chloe.
Lord, while we would have chosen for her to have more time here on this earth,
Lord, we celebrate the time that she had
and the many people that she had the opportunity to interact with.
Lord, we thank you that she was able to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ
and was able to respond and surrender her life to Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
And so for us today, Lord, in the middle of our grieving and our mourning and our ministering to this family,
Lord, we are reminded of hope, but hope that is found in Christ and Christ alone.
So Jesus, we thank you for who you are and for what you've done.
In this your name we pray. Amen.
So if you'll join me this morning, we're going to read in Luke 24, starting in verse 1.
Scripture says,
But on the first day of the week at early dawn, they went to the tomb,
taking the spices they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
And as they were frightened, they bowed their faces to the ground, and the men said to them,
Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but He is 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.
And they remembered His words.
In returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
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.
But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in.
He saw the linen cloths by themselves, and he went home marveling at what had happened.
And as we read this passage of Scripture that we're going to focus in this morning,
it's commonly a passage of Scripture that we think about and maybe oftentimes reserve for Easter morning.
The point in time where we celebrate the culmination of the season that we're leading to.
But the truth is that the power of the resurrection, the truth of the resurrection,
the life change that comes from the resurrection,
is not something that is just to be isolated and celebrated on Easter,
but on a July 4th and on every other day of our life.
Of the culminating principle of what we see, of what is coming,
the fact that Jesus is not dead, but Jesus is alive.
And there are so many truths that we can draw from this.
But this morning, what I want us to do is to look at three things that I believe that God has for us
that we can draw from the resurrection that should help us as we learn and as we strive to live every day
for His name, for His glory, and for His renown.
And the first one that I want us to begin with this morning is this.
Because of the resurrection, we can trust God's Word as true.
Because of the resurrection, you and I can take every word from the beginning of Genesis
to the end of Revelation and hold it as true.
Because of the power and because the tomb is empty,
because of the resurrection, you and I can know that every word of God
is authoritative, is true, and is useful in our lives.
That you and I can take and rest on this to know who God is
and the power that He has and what He is calling us to in our life.
Because of the resurrection, you and I, we can trust God's Word is true.
The Apostle Paul wanted this to be confirmed at the Church of Corinth
when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, he says,
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
But verse 14, and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain
and your faith is in vain.
You can't doubt the resurrection and claim Jesus is Lord.
And with this, with everything and with every fiber of hope of our faith,
of every word that we proclaim,
because of the resurrection, we can trust God's Word as true.
If you watch a movie or read a book,
you know, when you begin, you may have heard stories about what is going to happen
and what is going to take place.
But at the end of the book, at the end of the movie,
you know that one scene, you know that one interaction,
you know the one point in the plot that the entire movie is dependent on.
And if you remove that scene, if you remove those few lines from the whole narrative of the movie
or the whole narrative of the book, then it ceases to make sense.
And for us as Christians, when it comes to the power and to the story of the resurrection
that Jesus died and raised, was raised from the dead,
if we remove that, then everything else ceases to be true.
That you and I, we have to know that the resurrection is true.
And I want to be honest with you, for some people this is very hard.
To be able to trust something that they weren't there for,
something that they're not sure if they can trust the account that they've seen.
And so what I want to do this morning, as authoritative as I know God's word is,
I want to press in to two areas this morning,
which should help us begin to understand,
and more so if you're struggling with doubt,
believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
And so if you're walking in those lines, there are multiple ones,
but for time's sake, I want to focus on two.
Number one, it is this.
The resurrection of Christ is not only supported by scripture,
but it is supported by historians and historical accounts of the day.
And here's why.
Because the resurrected Jesus was seen by a whole lot of people.
And so just as you and I can read the historical accounts that George Washington lived and walked and did these things,
you and I can read equal, if not more, historical accounts written from people outside of the faith
that testify to the truth that after the crucifixion, they saw Jesus.
And the historical account of Christ.
The second thing that can help us understand and remove the doubt of the resurrection is this.
Everything that then happened after it.
Here's what I mean.
There are a lot of people who would call themselves intellectuals.
Who would say that everything that happened after the crucifixion was a cover-up and a lie that was formed by the apostles,
the disciples, those closest to Jesus.
And what I would argue is that makes absolutely no sense.
When you understand the historical accounts of those men especially,
who were there with Jesus,
who saw him as resurrected and then carried on to imply that they would create a cover-up makes no sense.
And here's the reason why.
From the moment they continued to walk in the faith of who Jesus was after he ascended into heaven,
what awaited them was not fame.
What awaited them was not wealth.
What awaited them was not earthly prosperity.
But what awaited them on every step in every journey of their life was persecution and then for most death because of the gospel.
When from the very beginning, at the crucifixion of Christ,
what they could have done is released it and walked away.
But they didn't.
Why?
Because Jesus lived.
He died and he was resurrected.
So the resurrection, not only does scripture point to it,
but history points to it.
And even the understanding of human behavior points to it.
And so what you and I can begin to see is this beautiful way in which God works when the logic of history and science begins to point to that this is correct.
And faith collides with us.
We know the resurrection to be true.
And then within that, we can believe that God's word is true.
2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17.
It says that all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So because of the resurrection is true, then we can know that the Bible is true.
The event and the narrative of what God is continually pointing to, the life that will be found in Christ and in Christ alone.
Now for us, when we agree that the resurrection is true, for us, when we then believe that the Bible is true,
there are certain trajectories that that takes us on in our life that is going to come oftentimes into conflict within us sinfully on our behalf.
So because the Bible is true, then what you and I can do is we can hold on to the promises of God and have something called faith.
Faith, you see, you and you and I, the hard part that we want to battle with in this life is the things that we experience and the things that we are told from God,
we want to process through and say that I want the ability to understand them.
But what we have in Christ, what we have in Christianity, oftentimes is understanding, oftentimes is not.
And when we don't understand, when we are confused, what God says is, this is when we step into faith and grow and see what the power of God is going to do in our lives.
Why?
Because we trust, because we believe, and so we can show faith.
And so I can understand.
I can't come to a reason.
But I can believe and I can trust.
Why?
Because God said.
But then also, because the Bible is true, I can obey the commandments of God.
If I believe God's word to be true, then I have to move beyond what I believe a practical Christianity is for so many of us,
where we view the standard that God sets before us as simply suggestions and not the commands.
But it's what God's called us to.
You see, this book within here, it tells us about marriage and God's plan and God's purpose for it.
It tells us about raising kids and God's plan and God's purpose for it.
It tells us about our jobs and God's plan and God's purpose for it.
It tells us about our bodies and God's plan and God's purpose for it.
It tells us about our finances and God's purposes for it.
I'd be willing to bet that there's not a single thing within our lives that this book doesn't deal with and said in truth.
What you and I have to battle with, what you and I oftentimes fail at, is not understanding what the commandments are, but then applying them to our life.
But because of the resurrection, we can know that God's word is true.
But what are we going to do with it?
The second thing, because of the resurrection, I want to say this morning, is this.
Because of the resurrection, we can overcome death.
We can overcome death.
It's a very important aspect of understanding the resurrection.
And so I want to say this and make sure that we're all on the same page, because still within those, some of those who call themselves believers, there can oftentimes be doubt about this.
And so I want to say this.
Jesus died.
All right?
Jesus died.
On the cross of Calvary, he died.
And in fact, Jesus died by suffocation.
So I want to explain to you what crucifixion on the cross was going to lead to, not to Jesus, but to every individual who was ever put on a cross,
so that we can understand the medical process of what happened.
Because there are some who believe, who call themselves believers, who would say, no, no, no, no, no.
He didn't die.
He passed out.
No, no, he didn't die.
He just went into a coma.
And so we want to deal with that this morning.
Because in our faith, what we need to know, in order for Jesus to be resurrected, Jesus must die, which is what Scripture says that he would do.
So here's the process of what would happen to a body who was nailed to a cross.
Due to the stress of the body of being put onto the cross, a person who was being crucified would begin to experience almost immediately shallowness of breath.
It would become harder and harder for them to breathe.
I mean, if you think about it, you're attached to a piece of wood through about three seven-inch, seven-to-nine-inch nails that are ran through spots on your wrist
And somewhere located beneath your knees, between your feet and your knees, onto a piece of wood and left there to hang.
And so the battle that you would constantly have is pulling yourself up to breathe, and in doing that, putting pressure on all of the entry points of the nails or releasing yourself and then not being able to breathe.
And the pain in both of those is different pains, but both of them excruciating.
And as a result, a person, as their body wears down, would begin to form small areas in their lungs that would get infected and begin to collapse
because of the shallowness of their breathing.
As more and more areas of their lungs would begin to collapse, there would be a decreased level of oxygen found in the body
and an increased level of carbon dioxide, which would cause, over time, acid to be found in and produced by the body,
particularly found in the tissue of your lungs.
And this is what happened to every individual who was nailed to a cross.
Now, as the fluid would build up more and more in your lungs, you would begin to suffocate.
They are hanging on the cross.
And as the stress would be put on your body, as suffocation begins to take over, then your heart would fail.
Here's what I'll tell you this.
There's biblical critics who would say that Jesus just passed out.
There are biblical critics who would say that Jesus just slipped into a coma.
But nothing in science would point to that.
The history narrative of Rome, every civilization is known for a lot of different things.
I love being a history major and studying the Roman civilization.
The Roman civilization, we're great at architecture.
You can go and see things that are standing today.
And I want to be honest with you, I could build something last week, and it doesn't survive a rainstorm in South Carolina, right?
But the Romans, they built stuff, and thousands of years later, it is still standing, right?
That's the level of ingenuity that they had.
Scientifically, they were laying out things that today we are still using in our times.
There are things to look at within the Roman civilization and to be marveled by the ingenuity that they had.
But there was also one thing that the Romans, above every other civilization, were better than anybody else in the past and anybody else in the present.
And it is this.
Romans were really good at killing people.
They prided themselves on that.
It was how, relatively speaking, a small country could conquer most of the known world.
Because you stepped out of line, and it was death.
And they were really, really good at it.
And as we read through the gospel narrative, you know, they would not have taken Jesus' body off without insuring.
So the Roman soldier picks up the spear and sticks it in.
Jesus did not come off of the cross in a coma.
Jesus came off of the cross dead.
And because of the resurrection, you and I, we can overcome death.
1 Thessalonians 4.14 says this.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
The verse that we first learned at a VBS, the verse that we first learned when we saw a guy in the 1980s holding up a sign in the middle of a baseball game right out in the outfield.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Because of the resurrection of Christ, because Christ died and was dead and was in the tomb but was raised to life, you and I can overcome death but only through Christ and Christ alone.
And in the power of the resurrection of what we can obtain through him and through him alone.
And it's why you and I in this world filled with brokenness, suffering, death, what we can cling to is the hope because we are found in Christ.
And this is what can bring joy even in the midst of the greatest sorrow.
This past week was a week unlike of any other week that I've ever experienced.
To be able to talk with and walk through the journey of, walk with the family and the passing of Chloe.
I was talking to one of our children's ministry, our children ministry workers this week and sharing with them what had happened with Chloe and talking with them.
They said, Bill, can I tell you, can I tell you something?
And I said, yeah, sure.
And they said, you know, I want you to know, you know, Chloe came to Sunday morning and came on Sunday night.
And I had a conversation with Chloe on a Sunday night that I think is important for you to be able to hear and for you to be able to know.
I said, okay.
It says one night we were, they were either in the room or out in the hallway, kind of in one of the transitions.
And Chloe began to talk to this worker.
And they began to have a dialogue back and forth about who Jesus was, who Jesus is.
And the individual said, Bo, I shared with Chloe the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And she responded and asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior.
You know, I don't understand, I don't try to understand what happens in that moment from a child to an adult.
But I trust in what God says.
And so for in those moments, it is the reminder that when we gather in here on Tuesday
to celebrate a life, but a life that is past, we can have joy because Chloe has overcome death.
Not in her own ability, not in who she is, but in Christ and in Christ alone.
Lastly, because of the resurrection, we can have life now.
We can have life now.
Now, when we look at all the gospel accounts of the resurrection, here's what they all point to.
They all point to the fact that there was a group of ladies who came to the tomb.
Now, I want to be honest with you before, if there's any skeptics in the room or watching with us on the line,
if there's any skeptics, if you read the different gospel narratives of this interaction at the tomb,
you will see different women mentioned by different names.
Here in Luke 24, it gives three names and then says there were other women.
But if you look at other accounts, it gives other women's names.
And certain people want to jump at that and say, see, there's an error in Scripture.
And I would say, no, there's not an error in Scripture at all.
And I would say this to a person who says that this is an error.
I'd say, all right, I want you to do me a favor.
Tell me who was at your 13th birthday party.
And now if I went and talked to your mom and said, hey, do you remember who was at their 13th birthday party?
There's chances are that you may remember some names and they may remember different names.
It doesn't mean that either one of you told an incorrect fact about what happened.
But what it means was you both told different accounts of the same event, both being true.
And this is what we see.
I do think it's important, and I think it's important for us to know that while all the men who were followers of Jesus are out there hiding,
we see the boldness of faith of godly women going out before them.
When men like Peter denied Christ, there was women in the faith who went to the tomb,
but who had also gone to the crucifixion within this.
I think it's important that we see.
But I think as we understand because of the resurrection, we can have life and we can have it now,
that it's important for us to know some of these women who were here.
So I want to share some of these with you.
One of the ladies that is here in this moment at the resurrection is a woman named Joanna.
Now you can read about her in Luke chapter 8, and she's very important.
Even though you don't see her name often in Scripture,
it's not someone that you think about and are pointed to in Scripture.
She's a woman who was very invested in Jesus' ministry.
She was a financial provider for Jesus.
So she was a woman of influence, a woman of means, a woman of wealth,
who very early on in Jesus' ministry, heard his gospel, heard what he was sharing,
responded to him, and put enough value and importance in what he was doing to financially provide for it.
I think it's safe to say that Joanna was invested in the ministry of Jesus.
Another lady who was there was Mary Magdalene.
You can read about her as well in Luke 8, but also in Mark 16.
And Mary Magdalene had experienced Christ in a way that might have been different than those who were with her in that day.
Scripture tells us that Jesus healed her from seven demons in her.
Phenomenal.
She had experienced Christ like many others had not, and some had.
She knew what the power of Jesus was capable of.
She had felt his touch in physical and in spiritual ways and seen what Christ could do
and was one of the ladies who went there that morning.
Another lady, there's multiple Marys who were listed,
but in another gospel we find out that Mary, Jesus' mom, is there.
The Mary, who was a young teenage virgin when she found out that she would bear Christ, the Messiah.
A depth of intimacy of relationship that you and I could not possibly imagine.
Who was chosen because of her faithfulness in God and continued on.
And this is this group of faithful women who journey to the tomb that first Easter morning.
And look at their encounter.
Verse 5 of Luke 24.
As they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men, and by the way, these are angels,
said to them, very important question.
Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but he is risen.
And then the angels say this.
They say, remember how he told you?
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?
And then Scripture continues on to say that they remembered.
And so these ladies who were financially invested,
these ladies who have experienced the saving nature of Christ,
these ladies who have experienced the divine nature of Christ
and know who he is and have been journeying with him
and have known since his days in Galilee
that he will be turned over and crucified
and on the third day still show up to the dead places looking for Jesus
and are blown away when the stone is rolled away
and found out that he is no longer there.
These were three ladies who could not be more invested
into the relationship with Christ
and they still miss it.
Angels look at him and say,
why do you seek the living among the dead?
And I feel like, church, this is for so many of us where we fall into.
So many of us in our journey in life of where we are,
of wanting to live in the power of Christ now,
live in the power of the resurrection now,
but we miss it.
We miss it because every single day,
in spite of what we know,
we wake up and we return to dead places.
We return to dead places.
But I've experienced this,
but we return to dead places.
And so I want to ask you this,
are you returning to dead places and looking for life?
Are you returning to dead places and wondering why it's not there of what you're looking for?
The truth of the gospel is this.
The gospel should impact your today just as much as it impacts your eternity.
Jesus tells a story in John 10.
It says,
So Jesus again said to them,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
I am the door of the sheep.
Now Jesus has just said he's the shepherd.
He's going to come back and say he's the shepherd again.
But now in this moment,
he says to them,
I am the door of the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
Again, Jesus says,
verse nine,
I am the door.
If anyone enters by me,
he will be saved
and will go in and out
and find pasture.
Let's pause here for a second.
So Jesus says that when you're saved,
he is the good shepherd
who saves and who leads
and is what becomes a part of the flock,
but that he is also the door of the sheep.
And when you go in and out of the door,
when this is who he is,
what do you find that you find
in the present tense of what he provides?
Pasture.
And so then he says,
the verse that most of us are common with,
the verse that all of this is pointing to,
the thief comes only to still kill and destroy,
but I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly.
I read a pastor this week
who preached on this.
And here's what he said.
He said,
Jesus is clear.
Jesus is clear
that you and I,
when we are found in him,
are saved
and we are safe.
But none of us want merely to be safe.
In fact,
we were not created to be safe.
While we want to be safe
from all that seeks to destroy us,
the human heart wants more than that
and was created to want more than that.
We want life.
We want abundant life.
We want overflowing life.
We want deep life.
Joy-filled life.
And Jesus says,
with me,
you get this.
And that's why he says,
I am the door.
And when we pass back and forth
and we enter in,
we get this life,
this abundant life now.
Now.
When could those women begin to live
in the joy and the hope
of the resurrected Christ?
When could that have imparted
in every piece of who they were?
When Jesus told them.
But instead,
they got up.
Joanna,
deeply financially invested
in his ministry.
Mary Magdalene,
being transformed
by the power of Christ,
been set free
from all that had enslaved her.
And Mary,
the mother of Christ,
who understood the divinity
of Jesus like no one else,
and they still woke up that morning
returning to dead places.
And in that,
not living in the life
that God has for them.
If you've trusted Christ,
if you've experienced
the power of his salvation,
but yet you see
there are still areas
where you're not living
in the abundant life
that he promises,
that he gives
in the power
of his resurrection,
but still returning to death
over and over again.
Why?
Why are there still areas
of defeat?
Why are there still areas
of sinful struggle?
Why are there still areas
where you say,
well,
I don't know.
I've got this all figured out,
but yet this is still
the battle that we face.
It's because of this.
In those areas,
as you've wanted Jesus
to live through you,
as you've wanted Jesus
to guarantee your eternity,
you still want to live
your now
in your means
and in your power
and in your understanding.
And Jesus says,
no, no, no, no.
It don't work that way.
I'm the door.
You pass through me.
It's who I am.
You don't walk
through your own door.
You don't walk
through your own way.
Yes,
I'm the good shepherd,
but I'm the door
of the sheep as well.
And when you walk
through me
and when you experience me
and when you take
all of what God says
and you apply this
to who you are
and you live in
and trust,
then and in then
you experience
the abundant life now.
So your marriage
is a wreck.
Well,
stop doing it your way
and do it mine.
So your finances
are a wreck,
Jesus says.
Well,
then stop doing it
your way
and do it mine.
Right?
And so you and I
make the choice.
Do we do it our way
or do we do it God's way?
And in that,
we begin to experience
the abundant life
that's there.
The hope that we have
in Christ
and in Christ alone.
Maybe you say
my eternity is set.
My eternity is secure.
I praise God for that.
But could we begin
to live today
in the hope
that we have
for eternity
and that the gospel
impacts them all.
So today,
as we get ready
to partake
in the Lord's Supper,
I want to ask you this.
Maybe Jesus has saved you.
You've experienced
the saving grace
that comes through
Christ and Christ alone.
but you've noticed
all of these other things
that you're still
holding on to
your way,
your power,
your means,
your understanding.
And you wonder
why they're all failing.
You wonder
why they're surrounded
by death
and destruction
and hope
and lack of hope
and not Christ.
Maybe today
you'd surrender
those to Him.
Maybe you'd understand
as we partake
in the body
and the cup
that for eternity
but for now.
But maybe also today
that you could experience
maybe some of us
in here
who we've been
praying for this week
to experience
the grace of Jesus
for the very first time.
that through Christ
and through Christ alone
of His work
of what He's came to do
can we receive
and live
for the hope
of eternity
found in Him
and Him alone.
Would you pray with me?
Lord,
as we go into this time
of the Lord's Supper
Lord,
I pray that You would
speak to our hearts
or that You would
draw us to You.
Lord,
and if there is anyone
who is not saved
that today
would be the day
that they would know You
and the power
of Your resurrection.
And it's in Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
If you take the bread
from your cup
and the bread
is a representation.
It's a representation
of the sacrifice
of Christ
for His body.
You know,
His body
didn't deserve
to be on the cross.
Your body did
and my body did
but Jesus made
the choice
and He bore
the punishment
that we deserved.
And so as we partake
in this today,
may we thank God
for the sacrifice
of Christ
as He took
our punishment.
Would you pray with me?
God,
we thank You so much
for the sacrifice
of Christ.
Lord,
He bore the punishment
in His perfection
that we deserved
in our sinfulness.
Lord,
may we live
our lives
in gratitude
and in praise
of all that You've done
in spite of,
Lord,
all that we've done.
It's in Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
Scripture says
He took the bread
and when He had given thanks
He broke it
and gave it to them
saying,
this is my body
which is for you.
Do this
in remembrance of me.
Next,
Jesus took the cup
and the cup
would represent
the blood
that would be spilled
so that you
and I
would be made clean
washing away
our sins.
The blood
that would be spilled
making us
white
to be able
to be in a relationship
with God
so that our eternity
and our today
would be set
in Him.
Would you join me
in prayer
as we thank God?
Lord,
we thank You
so much
for what's done
through the power
of the blood.
Lord,
in Your righteousness
and in Your justice
You call
for there to be
a payment for sin
and in those sacrifices,
Lord,
men and women
are made clean.
And Lord,
with the sacrifice
of Christ,
the sacrifice
was completed
and was done
for all
who would be
found in Him.
Lord,
we thank You
that the blood
of Christ
covers everything
past,
everything present,
and everything future.
We thank You
for the new covenant
in Your blood.
And it's in Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
And Scripture says,
and likewise,
after they had eaten,
Jesus took the cup
and said,
this cup that is poured
out for You
is the new covenant
in My blood.
do this in remembrance
of Me.
Let's pray.
Lord,
we thank You so much
for the opportunity
that we have
to pause for a moment
on this 4th of July
where everything,
Lord,
is going to point us
to,
the freedom
and favor
that we have
because of the country
that we live in,
where everything
that we're going
to see today
is going to point us
and remind us
of the freedom
that we have
because men
and women
made a sacrifice.
Lord,
some sacrificed
of their lives,
others' time away
from their families
and in different ways
and means
so that we could experience
an earthly freedom.
And Lord,
I thank You
that we have
this opportunity
on July 4th
to pause
for a few moments here
and to celebrate
a freedom
not just
for a country
but a freedom
found for every
man,
woman,
and child
who's found
in Christ.
A freedom
from our sin,
a freedom
from our punishment,
a freedom
for what we deserve.
and this sacrifice
was found
in the perfect sacrifice,
the Lamb of God
who gave His life
so that we may have life.
today, Lord,
may we live
in the power
and in the authority
of the resurrection.
Lord,
knowing that Your Word
is true,
to knowing that death
because of Christ
has lost its sting,
that Satan
has been defeated
and to know,
Lord,
that we can experience
the power
of the resurrection
not just then,
not just later,
but now.
Lord,
I pray for the power
of the resurrection
to impact our families,
our marriages,
our children,
our relationships,
our jobs,
our finances,
our hobbies,
every aspect of life
that we have,
our conversations,
our homes,
our neighborhoods,
because Jesus is alive.
Lord,
thank You for who You are.
Thank You for what You've done.
We celebrate You today.
Let's hear me pray.
Amen.
Would You join me
as we stand
to celebrate
the resurrected Christ?
Thanks again for listening
to the Willow Ridge Church
weekly podcast.
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listening to this week's message.
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