Jesus, Our King, Is Alive

Morning. I have to tell you something. I have been accused of being blunt, so I will just stay with that and just let you know what you need to hear this morning. Three things. First of all, we are all dying. We're all dying. We're all going to die. Life ends. That's the difficult news. We're all one more hour closer to death, one more minute. It is appointed each man to die because we have sinned and the penalty for sin is death. The consequence of sin is death. It's certain and it's frightening if we leave it there. That's why we gather this morning to tell you the second thing. Jesus Christ has risen from the grave. He is risen. He is risen. You need to be more enthusiastic about this because we're all going to die. He is risen. God sent His Son to save sinners. Death. is looming for us all. Death is the consequence for our sin. So, God sent His Son to die for us. He conquered the grave. He rose again. He's alive and He's standing in the right hand of the Father, ready to come back to renew us. So, the first thing is we're all going to die. The second thing is Jesus has risen from the grave. The third thing is we must believe in Him. We have to trust Him. These facts, this data, it seems not sufficient. Unless we believe in Him, we will die and we will suffer forever for our sin. But, He is risen. We can trust Him. Last time we were in the Gospel of John, we are about to finish the Gospel of John. If you're using a Pew Bible, this can be found on page 906 this morning. We're in John right at the end of 19 and then 20. Last time we were with John, Christ was tried, mocked, beaten, crucified. Jesus died. He handed over his life to sinners to be mocked to be beaten. He handed his life over to sinners so that he could die in the place of sinners. John's Gospel is full of foreshadowing. We saw this foreshadowing throughout the Gospel of John. He kept saying, the hour had not yet come. The hour had not yet come. There was a specific hour when Jesus was going to die. All of the Gospels headed towards that hour. The hour of his death, when he would be lifted up There's also another foreshadowing we see in the Gospel of John. In John chapter 2, Jesus says, they will tear down this temple and I will raise it back up. He spoke of His resurrection. In John chapter 10, He says, I have authority to lay down my life and to take it back up again. In John chapter 11, Remember, chapter 12 is a key transition. You're moving towards Jerusalem at that point. Chapter 11, I am the resurrection. Jesus says, I am the resurrection. He speaks. Lazarus comes out of the grave. This morning we're going to hear about the resurrection. Jesus has died. We're going to hear that he's buried. Most importantly, that he is risen again. As you look at the end of the bulletin, we're going to have two songs of response. That's because I'd rather sing about this than talk about it. The resurrection is better sung than spoken, so I... very important language... I tried to shorten the sermon so we can sing about it more than I will speak about it, and we'll see how that goes. As we look at chapter 19 of John and the beginning of chapter 20, we're going to see that Jesus is buried. Mary, she comes and she sees the stone is rolled away early in the morning on the first day of the week. John and Peter then see the burial clothes left in the tomb. Mary then sees the two angels. Jesus reveals himself to Mary, as we've already sung. There's more to the story that we will wait for next week, but this is the unit here because it's the morning of the first day. Hear the story, and I want you to hear there's repeated words. This is important when we're reading God's Word. Repetition draws our attention to what's being spoken of. One word that's repeated is tomb. Now, it may just be that that's a setting word, this is all centered around the empty tomb. So, here, the repetition. Here, the repetition of tomb over and over again. I think more importantly, something John is trying to draw our attention to is the word for sight. See. They saw. I have seen. Notice how he continues to use the word sight. Here, The account of the good news of Jesus Christ, that he is risen. Chapter 19, beginning in verse 38. After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloth with spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to summon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have laid him. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Those of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloth lying there, the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloth, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciples who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed. For as they did not understand the scripture, yet he must rise from the dead. And the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she stood to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. But she did not know that it was Jesus. Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary, She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Abanai, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your God, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. And that He had said these things to her. Will you pray with me? Father, we praise You that You have sent Your Son. We praise You that He died for our sins. We praise You that He is risen. That He descended to Your right hand. We come in His name now. And I ask boldly for you to give us eyes to see the glorious truth that in Christ we have new life. In Christ we have a victory. Help us, Lord, to know how to live in that victory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. First thing we want to see is Jesus is buried. Joseph of Arimathea, he was a secret disciple? He was fearful of the Jews? This would pretty much make him not a disciple. If he's fearful and he's not willing to claim Christ publicly, being a disciple is public. And really, by going and asking for the body, he's outing himself as a disciple. Secondly, we see Nicodemus. We haven't seen him since John chapter 3, when he came to Jesus at night. He's a secret seeker at the time. And I wonder if there's something here where Nicodemus now is no longer coming to Jesus at night, but he's coming out of the darkness and into the light. I'm not certain of that, but I wonder if there's some hint here in John that Nicodemus stopped being a secret seeker at night, but is coming here to anoint and bury Jesus Christ. It was the day of preparation, Friday, the day before the Passover, the day before the Sabbath. Jesus is dead and He has been buried. Chapter 20, verse 1. Something very important. We lose a day. John has been very meticulous. This whole week has taken chapters to write about. that's very meticulous of what has happened on each day, we skip a day. The most important day in the Jewish calendar is skipped completely. The Passover. When one priest will go into the Holy of Holies that one time a year and offer that one lamb to cover all the sins of Israel, he doesn't even mention it. Because the real lamb who takes away the sins of the world, he's already died. Now, that happened on Friday, Saturday, the custom and the tradition that God ordained, that God set up to point to Christ. All those things take place on the first day of the week, Sunday. Today, we see Mary going out to see the tomb. Now, on the first day of the week, Mary came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. That's probably dangerous. She's probably putting herself in danger to go in the dark to the tomb, but she must go. She saw the stone had been taken away. So, we don't know how close she got. We just know that she came close enough to see the stones gone. So, she runs to get the others. Now, I want to pause here because let's look ahead. She's also the first person to see the Risen Lord. She's the first person to see the tomb has been tampered with. She's the first person to see that Jesus is alive. This is actually pretty startling. This is very startling because Mary is the first witness that Jesus is alive. The most important news in all the world, she is the first witness. The reason this is startling is that A woman's testimony would usually not even be allowed in court in this culture. A woman's testimony has no value or place in the culture in which this is taking place. The woman's testimony is really admissible in court. Women were deemed foolish by this culture. What we see here is that God chose what the world deems foolish to shame the wise. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despise the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. God designed for a woman whose testimony couldn't be heard in court. She's the first witness. It's remarkable and astounding. It challenges us as Christians. We need to put women in their proper place. Christianity is being challenged here by the way God... the way He created in Genesis 1 and 2 and the way He organized the resurrection account to put women in their proper place and it's a place of dignity and honor equal with men. Let's go back to Genesis 2. God gave men, men. God gave us women because we needed them. It doesn't say it the other way around. A better translation would be, it was not good for the dude to be alone. It doesn't say it the other way around. God made her in His own image. And the lie that has corrupted culture after culture after culture is that women are less valuable. Women don't have the same kind of honor and dignity. We have to make sure we are putting women in their proper place and it is a place of honor and dignity. Genesis 2 ends with man praising God for women. This is the proper way we should look at women. Let me give you something. If you're a Christian, married to a Christian, your wife's primary identity is not being your wife. It's being a child of God. Your wife's primary identity is one who has been purchased by the precious blood of Christ. She's been handed over to you as your responsibility. She's your responsibility. Being your wife isn't her primary responsibility, but yet I want you to hear, men, she is your primary responsibility. Her well-being is your responsibility. And here's the best way you can love and take responsibility for your wife. Constantly point her back to Christ, the true husband, the true bridegroom. See, if we're really going to be faithful husbands and love our wives as Christ loved the church, we're going to have to realize we're under-husbands. He's the chief husband, the chief bridegroom. We're merely under-husbands who have that responsibility until the Lord returns. Let's get back to our story of the resurrection. Mary comes. She sees a stone has rolled away. She rushes back to the others. Peter and the other disciples are told they run. It's interesting that John, I believe the beloved disciple is John the Evangelist or author. It's interesting that John feels the need to record that he outran old man Peter. To kind of give us some context, that'd be like Ben writing something to say, I outran Ron. Now in Ron's day, I think he could outrun Ben. I had to say that because your family's here. But why, John? Why do you feel the need to tell us you outran Peter? But here we are. She ran. She tells the disciples and Jesus' love, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb. We don't know where they've laid him. So Peter went out with the other disciple. They're going towards the tomb. They're both running. John reaches first. And notice what is very clear. He stoops in. He looks in and he sees the grave closed. He sees the clothes, he sees the linens that were there that once wrapped Jesus. And then classic Peter. Here's John looking in, here's Peter, he just goes right in. He goes in. He enters into the tomb and there they see the clothes, they see the head cloth handed, separated and folded. Notice verse 8. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, went in. He saw and he believed. Now, I don't think John is trying to construct himself a Peter. We do know that Peter in Luke 24, verse 24, Luke records that he went away wondering, Peter that is. John records himself going in, seeing in believing. He goes in and he sees what's taking place. It all comes together for him. For as yet they did not understand the scripture. He must rise from the dead. Jesus has been teaching them he's going to die, he's going to rise, he's going to ascend. He's been teaching them over and over and over again these truths. But this is when the Holy Spirit brought it all together. This is when he saw evidence that said He's alive. This is when the Holy Spirit brought together the illumination of all the things he has taught that helped him see he was always supposed to rise. Death had no victory. Now, if you looked and asked what scripture is he talking about that's been fulfilled, it could be Psalm 16 that's recorded in Acts 2. It could be Hosea 6-2 on the third day he rose him up. It could be all scripture. All the scripture is pointing to this one event, these three days where all this takes place. What I want us to see is the amazing detail of what the account gives. Where the clothes were, how they were separated, who's there first, what's taking place. I remember a couple of weeks ago, Pilate asked, what is truth? A nice provocative question. What is truth? How do we know truth? What is your truth? What is the real truth? Jesus responds in the midst of the discussion. He's made it very clear. He's the king of truth. He's the one who's come down to say, this is who God is. This is who you are, according to what God says. Christians, we have to realize something. It must be true. that either Jesus rose from the grave or He did not. Did He truly rise from the grave? Is Jesus alive? If that is not true, Paul says we are to be pitied. If Jesus is not alive, we are to be pitied above all else, above everyone else. I asked you this morning, Is the truth that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again so important to you that your faith is invested in that truth? That if it isn't true, you would be pitied. Think about it. Have you really invested in that truth to the point that your life is now based upon that truth? The way you think, the way you desire, what you do with your time and your energy. Have you by faith invested in that truth? Or is it a casual fact that you might acknowledge? Or is it the truth that shapes your life in such a way that if it were not true, people would look at you and say, that's pitiful. People who don't believe in the resurrection, they will look at you and say, why do you prioritize your life this way? Why do you give your money to these causes? Why do you give your time to this man who you say is alive? It's true. It can't be true for us and not for them. It's true. Or we are to be pitied. The good news this morning is that Jesus is alive. If you're not a Christian, And you're here. We're so thankful you're here. Now, the bad news for you this morning is you can't go in the tomb and you can't see these things. There's a tomb. You really can't go in it anymore. But that kind of seeing that John experiences, that's not how you're going to come to faith. You have to look to God's Word. You need to look to God's Word and ask God, will you let me see if Jesus was a son of God? He died on the cross for sinners and then He's alive again. Will you let me see that? Take up His Word and read. Start with the Gospel of John. I would love to read it with you. If you want to know if this is the truth that should divine your life, you need to take up His Word and read. Because if He's alive, and reject him, you will stand in judgment. Notice what happens next. The disciples, they go back to their homes. Really, the better translation of this would be they go back to their own place. I think they all go back to the home where they're staying in Jerusalem. Verse 11. Notice the strong contrast. They go home. They go back to their place. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. So, the two disciples, they've come, and they've looked in. She's been far off. She's seen that the sun had gone away, but she's much more hesitant to approach. She looks in, and she gets to see something different. There's two angels in white. Luke describes them as looking like lightning. There's two angels. Sitting where the body of Jesus is laying. One at the head, one at the feet. Here's what they say to her. Woman, which is a polite greeting. It doesn't just say woman. It's a polite greeting in this culture. Woman, why are you weeping? Now, on one level, I think it's a challenge. What has you so sad? There's a care, and I want you to know why are you weeping, but I think there actually may be a confrontation. Why are you weeping? What has caused you such sorrow at this time and this place with this man? She responds, they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him. Having said this, she turned and saw Jesus. I don't know if she felt the presence of somebody else coming, but as she's sitting here wondering, weeping, Where have they taken my Jesus? He shows up. When we wonder where Jesus is, He's always very close. She turns and she sees someone. She senses someone's around Him, but she doesn't recognize who He is. This happened in Luke 24 as well, in the Emmaus Road. They walked and talked with Jesus for hours and they didn't know who He was. There's something different about His physical body. It's still Jesus, but there's something different about the resurrected, glorious body. Jesus says to her. She sees Him. She doesn't recognize Him. He says to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? So, here's Jesus. I believe it is a comforting correction. You shouldn't be crying. You shouldn't be crying right now because the greatest thing that could ever happen to this world has happened. This isn't a time of weeping. So, first, there's a comforting correction, but secondly, there's an invitation. Who are you seeking? He knows she's looking for Him. He knows He's right there in front of her. He's wanting her to acknowledge this. She needs to see her Savior. Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you've laid him, and I will take him away. He says to her, Mary. And she knows who it is. This is very sweet. I fear I like the words that really capture the power of this woman weeping, wailing for, where is the one who I heard God speak to me through? Where is the one who I've entrusted myself to? I need to know. Even though she doesn't quite understand, he's risen, she has to know where he is. He calls her by name, and she recognizes his voice. He calls her by name, and she recognizes His voice. This is what the Good Shepherd has already told us will take place. He calls His sheep by name, and they follow Him because they hear His voice. He calls His children by name, specifically loving, an intentional loving of His people. She responds, my teacher, the most robust confession of Christ, but it's how she knows Him. Notice Jesus' response. Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father, and to your Father, and to my God, and to your God. Listen to this verse. This is quite amazing. Mary, she's turned to this man. He calls her name and apparently, in the midst of him calling her name, she's reached out and clung on to him. Because this is who she's been wanting to know, where is he? So, she's clinging. That's assumed. Do not cling to me. For I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers, and say to them, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father, and my God, and your God." This is one of the most difficult verses in John. One of the most difficult sayings. And if you're in my class as a high school student, how to read a book, you'll know that when you come to the hardest sentence, this is one of the most important sentences. This is one of the most important declarations of Jesus and we need to come to terms with what he's saying here. Why would he say do not cling to me? Why would he say that? She's longing for her Savior and he's saying do not cling to me. The best understanding of what this cling would look like is when I walk in the door after being gone all day I've got two little girls this high and this high that say daddy and they grab on to me. Daddy was gone. Now he's home. Most important event of the day. It's precious. It's fantastic. Here, she's clinging to the most important person she knows. And he responds, do not cling to me. By clinging, she is embracing him with such energy and excitement. She's grabbing on to him because she can't let him go. Let's just back up a little bit. He tells Thomas to touch him, right? Doubting Thomas, just a few, well, seven days we'll hear about this. He says, put your finger in my side. See, touch the holes. He invites him to touch him, but Mary, he says, do not cling to me. And I think what's wrong with Mary clinging is that she doesn't get that he's not risen to walk and talk and eat and fellowship with him as he used to. She hasn't gotten the point that there's a connection between the resurrection and the ascension. She has not yet gotten that Jesus didn't just rise from the dead like Lazarus. Right? Chapter 11, Lazarus, he rose from the dead. Jesus is different. Lazarus went about Life as she had before. Walking, talking, eating. Jesus rose to be restored to His glory. Jesus rose to go to the right hand of the Father. Jesus rose to bring about a whole new way of life for us. She has not yet gotten that Him being risen doesn't mean things are going to go back to the way they were. It means there's a whole new life and He must ascend to the Father so that she can have true communion with Him. See, he's not yet ascended to the Father. I want you to notice something, because people have asked this question from a previous sermon. Look at verse 17. He also says, he says two things. I have not yet ascended to the Father. Then he says, I am ascending to the Father. I have not yet ascended to the Father. I am ascending to the Father. One is pointing to the I have not yet. That's pointing to that final ascension. The final ascension where He will not come back. The other declaration, I am ascending, that's not future tense. It's present active, ongoing. He is in the process of ascending to His Father. The resurrection and the ascension are so tied to one another that when Jesus rises from the grave, when He is risen, He has a new identity. He has a restored identity. He's back with His Father in glory. His life is no longer permanently on this world. He was the world that became flesh. He was tied to an earthly walking. But now, His proper place, after the resurrection, is next to His Father. In 40 days He will ascend permanently. But in this time being, He's going back and forth, it appears. This is important because we see that He's still teaching His disciples who He is. They have not yet received it. See, salvation isn't complete until Jesus is at the right hand of the Father. The salvation isn't final until He can come and He can declare, Peace be with you, because He is actually at the right hand of the Father and He's reconciled us to the Father. Salvation isn't done until he's at the right hand of the Father, and he says, this was mine. I purchased them with my blood. Let's look at these final declarations. Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended. This isn't harsh. It's just simply saying, I'm still... life is not going to go back the way it was. It's going to be better. Notice what he says. We can't read this too quickly. Go to my brothers. Everybody flip back in John to the other time he mentions he calls the disciples brothers. It's not there. This is new. This is new. Go to my brothers. They're still his disciples. He's still God. But he says, go to my brothers. Say to them, I'm ascending to my Father and your Father. The entire Gospel of John has been making the point Jesus is the one unique Son of God. He is the one true Son of God who's come down to save sinners. How can He call us brothers? How can He say our Father? Because He came down to share with us His inheritance as a son so that we can be his brothers. So that God would be our Father. This is amazing. It's a new identity the disciples get. It's a new identity we now have because Christ has come down as a son so that we can all be sons. It's synonymous. The fact that we're brothers with the Son. We're sons of the Father. We've been adopted into the household of God. We have received, in this adoption, an indestructible life. We received His indestructible life. Death is going to happen. But because Jesus Christ is risen and we believe in Him, death is not our end. We will live forever. God created us for life. God created us to live. Our sin brought death so He created a way through His Son for us to live again. We have an indestructible life. We also have an indescribable love. An indescribable love. We know God loves us because we look to the cross and we see what He did for us. We have to remember something. He loves us not because He deserved it. He loves us because He desires us. He chose to put His love on us. Read the prayer from Ephesians 3 this afternoon, that we might know the height, breadth, and width of the love of God. Our college study, if you're a college student, that is what the study is on this afternoon. Please attend. We have to receive something here. There's a way in which God loves all of creation. There's a way in which God loves the world. He even loves the rebellion against Him. He loves those who are rebelling against Him. When we talk about this love, Jesus said, I want to share the perfect eternal love that I have received from my Father with you. perfect, absolute love that He deserved because He's truly the Son. That we do not deserve because we're really sinners. He said, I'm going to come so I can share this perfect love with you. That's the love we get to enjoy. Because Jesus has said, I want you to be my brother, my sister, I want you to share the love with my Father. Now, this next part, to my God and your God. To be very quick, there's a way in which we could say, alright, Jesus was fully God, fully man. Out of His divinity, He's saying to my Father, your Father. Out of His humanity, He's saying to my God, your God. That makes sense, but I think it really misses the main point. When we align ourselves with Jesus, everything changes. Our primary relationship is now God, our Father. Our primary focus and commitment is Almighty God. It changes our alignment. We're no longer orphans who are starving outside of the city walls. We're children brought in to the table of the king, given the choice of foods from his garden. We're no longer rebels who are fighting angry against God. We're worshippers. bowing down before Him because we see He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory. It changes everything. Apart from Christ, we have nothing but death and judgment and despair and being far off from God. In Christ, our alignments changed. We now know God as Father who loves us. I have seen the Lord. That's my prayer for many of you. Young children who don't know Christ. That you would be able to say, I have seen the Lord. If you're not a Christian, this is our prayer for you. That you would say, I have seen the Lord. In Acts chapter 17, Paul gives this message to the Greeks that was educated on Mars Hill. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. All people everywhere. That includes us. He calls us all to repent. To stop running away from Him. To stop running against Him. To repent. Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." This is Paul's message. He's calling us to repent, because there will be a judgment. And that man who rose from the grave to give you new life, if you continue to reject him, you will be judged by him. And he is just. All people You are being called to repent. You are being invited. Who are you looking for? Look for Jesus. The Risen Savior. If you're a Christian, let that be your assurance. He is alive. Two applications. It's the first of the week. Today is the first day of the week. That's why we're here right now. We're called to serve one another up, to good works and to love. We're here to remind one another. Every message you hear out in the world is a lie. We're here to remember the one truth that unites us and gathers us and commits us to God's way. It's the first day of the week. That's why we gather. To remind one another. Jesus is alive! We can live in Him. We can live together in Him. We can enjoy and delight in one another with Him. The Sabbath, which is completely ignored by John, it's pretty amazing. It was the old holy day. And that day, the goal was to not do something. It was to avoid work out of reverence for God. When Christ rose, worship changed because it's not just one group of people. By the way, women weren't worshiping like men in the Old Covenant. Now everybody is invited not to stand off, not to be fearful, but to draw near with confidence. It's a day we're supposed to set apart to be with the people of God under the headship of Jesus Christ, stirring up one another. It's a day to commit to say, I'm going to be with the people of God. Not just in the morning, not just for an hour. It's a day to have fellowship with the children of God to remember the Resurrection. Parents, prioritize Christ by prioritizing worshiping with His body. Children, this is why we do not want you outside of the service. We want you here, hearing of the Resurrection. If you're a senior, wise and seasoned, come prepared to teach us and remind us of the Jesus is returning. It's our second application. He's ascended. He's returning. He will wipe away every tear. We are now called to live in Christ. Romans 6, verse 3, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried, therefore, with Him by baptism into His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of loss. That's one of the beautiful truths. One of the many beautiful truths of the Resurrection. It's a new way to live. When we're entangled and ensnared in sin, we're not walking in the newness of loss. We're not walking in the power of the Resurrection. Listen to Cautions 3. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is. Stay in the right hand. Set your mind on these things. Set your mind on the things where Christ is. Have your assurance in your identity and what He has accomplished. Friends, the resurrection is the most important event in human history. It must change the way we think of Christ. Either we reject Him and we think He's dead. We go on about our business. He will return and He will judge. But if you believe, does it change the way you live? Does it change the way you commit your time and energy? Are you walking in the newness of Christ? No longer committing yourself to sin. No longer allowing yourself to be entangled in sin. Seeking the freedom and the new life and the love He's given to you. Let's pray. Father, we pray to You that we can hear of how You have given us. Eyes to see your truth that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. We pray for anyone here who does not know this to be true. Do not let them leave. Do not let them go to sleep tonight without being burdened and convicted and converted, Lord, by the truth that they're a sinner. They need Jesus who's died for them and that he is risen. Help us, Lord, to gather in this truth and rejoice in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.