Easter Special.mp3

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Easter Special.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Daniel King and welcome to our Easter Sunday special. He has risen. He has risen indeed.

And because it is Easter Sunday, I felt that it was only proper that we go over why Jesus death and resurrection is very significant. And very important not just to us as Christians, but what it means for every tongue and every race around the world. We are living in chaotic times, but there is one thing that remains consistent no matter what. And that is the grace and mercy of God, something that he is offering out to us until the day he returns home because he wants a better life for us, a life in his presence. And Jesus paid the price for that so that we could live with him throughout all eternity. With that, I am going to read Isaiah 53. I am reading this entire chapter because it is solely dedicated to the prophecy of the Messiah. And much of it has already been fulfilled. And personally, this is my favorite out of all of them because it sums up what Christ did for us. What his mission and his calling was to this world.

Isaiah, 53, says. Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a route out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness. And when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised. And we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. Yet he open, not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before it, shear's is silent. So he opened, not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment and who declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people, he was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich at his death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. And yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him degree when you make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he has poured out his soul into death. And was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Now, this prophecy was given at a time not unlike ours. A time when the children of Israel were divided between their true god and the gods, they worshiped the gods of stone. And the gods of self-interest and lust. Yet it was God's plan from the very beginning that his son would come to this earth to take on the iniquity of not just the people of Israel, but of all people around the world. And that message still rings true to this day. John 3:16 through 18 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life, for God did not send his son to the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he is not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. It's kind of interesting to think that a lot of people dislike the idea of God because they feel that God's going to condemn them. But the thing is, we've already made that decision on our own. We've been on that path since the beginning of creation, since the fall of Adam and Eve in the very first. Yet God did not intend that to be so. Hell was not made for us yet, we chose to walk that way, and sadly, most of us continue to. But God made a plan that would put his son between our sins and him. And all guilt and punishment that is due to us will be put on him. As it says in Second Corinthians, 5:21, he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And if any of us really think that we are beyond that, none of us are. For the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. ROMANS 6 23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3 verse twenty five. If we're honest with ourselves, none of us deserve grace of any kind. There are some people I have met who are like, well, I'm a good enough person. He should give me grace on that. And then there are those who think that they can earn that salvation, but the price for that is too much.

Sadly, it takes a high, high price for us to be able to be face to face with the Lord. And the Lord knew that and put his son out there for us and his son went willingly. Now, this is not something that we can earn by any means, Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace. You've been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. This isn't something we can earn. The brutal punishment, none of us would want to take it, and if we think we can work our lives to salvation. That's not how it works. This is a gift from God to us. We don't deserve it. Yet he gives it. And God does not offer this gift to salvation while we are perfect, but because we're imperfect, and He wants to bring us into his fold with him. Romans 5 10 says, for if we, while we were enemies, were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life? Something that needs to be pointed out. Jesus lived a life unlike any other. God sent him to be a servant to us and to teach us and to remind us of how God wanted us to live and what he wanted us to live for. And yet all his time on Earth, he never faltered from his calling. He never fell into the trap of sin that we have. Which is why on the day he was crucified, it was terrible to behold because he did not sin once against the Lord at all.

And that perfection is what made him the perfect sacrifice for us. First Peter three verse 18, says, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the spirit. So what does that exactly mean for us?

So what this basically did for us is not just redeemer us to God like we're property per say. But it gives us something more. It gives us a new life, a new meaning, a new purpose. The price that was paid on the cross for our sins not just forgives our sin, but takes it away from us. The curse of it, the burden of it, the trouble that it brings and gives us new life, not just on this earth, not just on this temporary earth, but in the kingdom to come. Romans 6 5-6 says, For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. You know, whether we see it or not, we are slaves to sin. We may argue that we like it, but if you're addicted to something, you're a slave to it. Whatever that sin is in your life, whatever that is, that keeps you coming back for more and yet leaves you empty when you walk out and you still come back. Your slave to that. Because the master of a slave takes and takes and takes and only gives enough to keep the slaves satisfied for only a short period of time.

Sin is like that. It gives us a luxury, it gives us something that we want or hold onto. And yet it withholds from us a true joy. A true satisfaction. And worst of all, it separate us from God, because if we're distracted by empty things. We don't take the time to go to the things that truly fills up the gifts of God, the things that he gives us. If Christ's death forgave us of our sins and paid the price. The resurrection proves that not only is that forgiven, but is replaced with something new, something wonderful, something full of grace and mercy and full of abundant life that can't be taken away. Galatians 2:20 says, I have been crucified with Christ is no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Surrendering my life to the Lord has been one of the best decisions of my life. There's still a lot I struggle and fight with, but I do know this. That the Lord has never forsaken me. Not that you need it because you already have the promises of God. But I can give you my personal promise. That the Lord does not forsake his people.

He never has. Times have been hard. There are times that are quiet. But for those of us who have exchanged our lives. And our desires for God's life, in his desire for us. I can't say I've met anybody who's truly dedicated to the Lord who ever regrets it. If you're walking through life right now and you're looking at the world fall apart around you or even ignore that. If you just see your own life falling apart around you and there's no constant and you don't see any end to the road, you walk. Maybe you need to change your path. Maybe it's time to make a change and turn your perspective away from the world and to the heart of God. What I would say to anybody right now who really wants to know what a walk with God is like. Go ahead and take it. He's offering it to you as we speak. It's not just what I say, it's what the Lord says he wants to have you with him on this adventure. He doesn't want you to walk this world alone. And believe me, you can be surrounded by people and still be alone, but with God in your heart and his spirit at your side. No one will ever be truly alone. Not in their sins and not in their greatest struggles. Revelation 21 4 says he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. A day is coming when the Lord will return to this earth. And literally bring his kingdom down. And on that day in paradise, most of us call it heaven. There will be no more pain. There will be no more sorrow. There will be nothing but the joy of the Lord. And if you follow Christ right now, you can get a feeling of what that's going to be like. Because if you can have the joy of the Lord right now in the chaos of a world we have. How much greater will that joy be when there's nothing to conflict with it? When there's nothing but his spirit around us. If you haven't made Jesus Christ the center of your life, if you haven't asked him to come into your heart, I highly, highly encourage you to do so. ROMANS 10 versus nine to 10 says because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised it from the dead, you shall be saved for with the heart, one believes, and is justified. And with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. Also first, John, 1 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, our sins and the cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This extension of salvation that he offers us. Can't be stopped by anyone or anything. If you feel that there's something that keeps you from coming to the Lord, come to him any way. He's waiting for you. The spirit of God knows no boundaries. He knows no borders. If there are any walls worthy of being torn down or doors that need to be kicked in. It is the door to your heart that the Lord may come in. Revelation three twenty says, behold, I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me. Your heart and home often have something in common. They house everything that's important to you. Your belongings, your family, your wealth. And oftentimes that house is a mess. And oftentimes we don't want people coming in because we don't want them to see the messes we make. But Jesus wants to do more than just come into your house. He wants to help you fix your house and get your heart on the right path. And that path starts with accepting the gift to salvation and mercy that he paid so dearly for. And was raised from the dead to prove that his authority in that matter is true.

The Book of John recounts the story of Lazarus. I'm sure many of us know of this story. He was a friend of Jesus, somebody who he visited so many times. At one point, Lazarus became very ill and died of his ailment and was buried four days. And Jesus at one point talking to one of Lazarus's sisters. Said this to her. In John, 11 twenty five to six.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me. Though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?

It was shortly after he said those words to her. That he went to the to where Lazarus was buried. And call them out from the grave. And he came out resurrected alive and well. To whoever is listening to this. Let it be understood that there is no limit to what God can do. And there is no extent to where he won't reach to bring you close to him and close to his heart, that you may be able to live with him throughout all eternity. That the grave will be of no consequence. And the words that Jesus said to Martha Lazarus's brother that day still ring out to us today.

Do you believe this?

If you do. Do not hesitate to ask the Lord into your life. Do not hesitate to soak in the grace and mercy that the Lord offers. There is no sin that the Lord will not forgive.

And there is no heart that he cannot change. And I hope all of you will take that step today. And let him be the center of your life. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all so much for joining me today. Thank you all so much for taking the time to remember what the Lord has done for us.

And again, if you have not received him yet, please, please do so. And with that, we will conclude today's episode. Everyone, please have a safe and happy Easter. And may God bless.

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