The Beauty of Scars

[Music] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hallelujah.

Who knew no sin? We might be his righteousness. His body was broken for our transgressions. But I'm so glad that's not where the story is. The lamb that was made that day rose in victory.

[Music] Since that day, sin has lost its grip on me. [Music] Hallelujah. He's alive. Hallelujah. Come on, say he's alive. He's alive. Oh, Jesus. Give me a reason to dance. Hallelujah. Give me a reason. Give me a reason. Hallelujah.

Say you know that we might become that we might become his righteousness. His body was broken for our trans. But I'm so glad with the glory. Since the day that sin has lost his victory. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I'm just out of my free spir for the single Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Jesus. Hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music]

Oh God, so love of the world that he gave his only son. With love he gave his life for me. When He died on Calvary. There is no greater love. No greater love than a man will lay down his life for a friend.

[Music] There is no greater love, no greater love than a man would lay down his life for a friend. There is no [Music] love. There is no greater love. No greater love. There is no gater. There is no gater. There is no love. There is no greater love. There is no greater greater love. There is no love. The man lay down his life lay down his life for a friend. Oh, we love the man for a friend. No great love. Jesus went to Calvary like you. That's the love of God. Jesus. Jesus. Savior like me. You sus [Music] like I'm so glad. I'm so glad he loves me. [Music] Stretch his hand for me. You might stretch you might be young Jesus Christ. Yeah. story again. Heat. Heat. [Music] America. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Know a name that can silence roaring waves. I know a name that can empty out a grave. I know a name [Music] is the only name that saves and is worthy of all praise. I call you Jesus. I call you I call you healer. risen and reigning in power. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call you Jesus, I call you. I call you savior. Worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of pray every time I call your name. I am a king [Music] with dominion over death. He holds the key in his holy nail head. He is the heal. Yeah. That is crushed the serpent's head. resurrecting great I am. I call you Jesus. I call you. I call you. Something comes out of the grave. Every time I call you Jesus, I call you. I call you savior. worthy of glory forever. Something comes out of grave. Every time I call your name, chase, break, shine, hold. Every time I call your name, the gates are shake. Every time I go to shake I awake every time I go to the sh Oh death [Music] is Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat up here. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

With your mouth. Put your hands together, but with your mouth, begin to say, "Hallelujah, Jesus." Hallelujah. Jesus. Hallelujah. Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive. We believe that Jesus took power over death, hell, and the grave. We believe that. We believe that God robed and wrapped himself in flesh and he dwelt among us. We believe that those nails guard hands put him in the grave. But we believe today is the day that we celebrate the fact that he raised himself from the grave. Somebody ought to be super excited about the fact that he is the only one that can do that. He's the only God that is capable of raising himself from the grave before he went to hell and took the keys and power over that grave. [Applause] Somebody ought to begin to celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is walking among us right now because he lives. Because he lives. Hallelujah. [Music]

In this church, yes, you may be wondering what's getting them so riled up and excited. Well, I just said it, but I feel compelled to reiterate the fact that we believe that he raised again. That he raised again with a purpose. He raised again with us in mind. And our sin is no longer, amen, a consequence that seals our fate in some gloomy grave, but in fact by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we find out by his outpouring later on, hallelujah, that we will be with him in eternity. And so this moment is a celebratory fact. It's a celebration service. It's a moment of celebration. Hallelujah. In adoration. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Today's the day. I said today is the day that the Lord hath made and we are to rejoice and be glad in it. Can we put our hands together and just rejoice together? Father, we worship you in this house. We magnify and love you. We honor you and we give you praise. Hallelujah. Amen. You can return to your seats for a brief moment. I feel God in the house. Amen. God is here and I believe that he has something for each of us. And I firstly want to welcome every guest to the sanctuary. Thank you so much for choosing to celebrate and worship God with us today, this Sunday, resurrection day. And we simply love you so very much. And we are thankful that you're here immediately following service. You would see out here our cafe. We would invite you to come. We would invite all new guests to come. If you've not had a chance to just connect and and and shake our hands, we'd love to meet you. members of this church, if you brought somebody today, even family members from out of state, we'd love to just smile and say hello. We have a free gift for you and free refreshments uh immediately following service. Amen.

All right, today, kids got to be very excited about those eggs that I was talking about. We're about to have kids Sunday service today and an Easter egg. Honey, are we excited? So, I just want to let you know that Kids Sunday, um it's it's preK through sixth grade and then the Easter egg hunt is going to be open to all ages and there will be different sections that we'll talk about later on for different ages and so you won't have the older kids pummeling the younger kids. Amen. Some mothers just like wait. Okay. Yeah. And so we're excited about that and that will be um just after service. Two other quick announcements specials. If you'd come, why don't we go ahead and stand? Have we been enjoying the wisdom of the cross Wednesday night sermon series? I hope that you have. I have been enjoying it. It's so fun to dive into the word of God. We will continue that this Wednesday night. We will bleed into uh we will have prayer the the following Wednesday night as we do and celebrate in this service and then we will go into May with that series. I also uh last reminder uh everybody say church planting day. So everybody likes that their homes to to to have beautiful flowers and all the plants and and and and vegetation all the things we need to keep this campus up tiptop shape as well. And so we would invite um everyone who is able to come May 3rd May 3rd for church planting day. Amen.

Aren't you thankful to be in the house of God on an Easter Sunday? I am. I mean, just look at all the smiling faces here. Everybody has dressed up so well. I was looking at Now, I have two sons back here, mind you. And so, Judah, I'm not saying anything about you, but Asher right here put on a tie today. And as he was worshiping God, I thought, man, doesn't he just look super handsome in his tie? Everybody looks so good today in your best dress. I love that. Why don't you look across the ais, you know, wear appropriate? Wear approp. Why don't you look at somebody and say, "You look good today. You just dressed up so fine today. You're looking good today. Man, everybody, we took showers today. We brushed our teeth. I might have drank a little coffee after that, so I apologize." Amen.

All right, ushers, would you come? We're going to celebrate today by our giving. Amen. Let's pray over this offering. Lord, we thank you so much for this opportunity to give, for what you are doing in this kingdom, for what I feel in this house. Father, I pray that you would bless and multiply this offering for its intended use and purpose. It is to give hope, Lord Jesus. It is to bring hope in the blood of Jesus Christ. Lord, we honor you and we ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Come and give as the Lord has blessed. We're going to take five minutes. We like to take this time just to smile across the aisle and say hello. And then we'll come back in a time of worship. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Let's do it.

Spoke to him as he died. I saw him in his struggle. I watched as he breathed his last breath. And when he stopped breathing, I lost my breath, too. The one who walked on water is no more. The one who fed 5,000 is now food for the worms. And if he has been defeated, what does that mean for me? I thought that he would be the king who would rise up and rule our nation. I thought that we were the ones to bring truth and revelation, but it turns out we were wrong. I mean, maybe we imagine this all along. As I watched his body taken down from the cross, I saw my friend was gone. And he was the one who found me. How could this be? He must have gone before his time. It must have been too soon. It must have been an illusion or a dream. He can't be in a tomb. I can't come to grips with the thought that the man who claimed to be I am was slain by the hands of men. And then she burst through the door. Our friend Mary, she said someone had taken the body of the Lord. So we ran to the tomb only to find an empty room and the stone was rolled away. I looked on the floor and I saw his clothes and that's when I knew he rose. Jesus is a line. He did walk on water. He did feed the 5,000. He did raise Lazarus from the dead and heal thousands. He did make the wine. He did talk to God. He did pray for those who put him on the cross. And he raised back to life. Just like Lazarus, except for he would never die again. Jesus took death. Nails in his hands, nails in his feet, a crown of thorns on his head for you. He laid his life down and he took it back again. Jesus is alive.

[Music] [Music] The moon and stars they left. The morning sun is dead. The savior of the world was fallen. His body on the cross. His love poured out for us. The weight of every curse upon him. [Music] One final breath he gave as heaven looked away. The son of God was laid in darkness. A battle in a grave. The war on death was waged. The power fell forever broken. The ground began to shake. The stone was rolled away. His perfect love could not be over. Now death, where is your seat? However, [Music] The ground began to shake. The stone was rolled away. His perfect love could not be overcome. Where is your resurrection? Heat. Heat. [Applause] Hallelujah Jesus. We thank you that you have already overcome the weight and the power of our sin, of our shame, of our dirty wrath. He has overcome death. He has overcome death. [Music] Our glorified Jesus. Oh, our resurrected king, we worship you. And so we're going to sing Lord the highest praise, our highest hallelujah, because you deserve it all, Lord. You deserve it all, Jesus. We sing hallelu. We sing hallelujah. We sing halleluah. The lamb is overcome. We sing halleluah. We sing hallelujah. We sing halleluah. The lamb is over. We sing halleluah. We sing hallelujah. We sing halleluah. [Music] is over. We sing hallelujah. We sing hallelujah. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. [Music]

Let's lift up the name of Jesus right now all across this place. Come on, stand to your feet and lift up the name of Jesus. Someone speak the name of Jesus right now. Come on, over your situation, over your mind, over your family. I thank you, Jesus. I praise your holy name. I worship you, Lord. We are so blessed to be in your presence today, Lord. We are so humbled to be here one more time and just to lift our hands and to thank you. You've done so much for us, God. You've been so good to us, Lord. When we didn't deserve it, you picked us up, Lord. When we were in a a bad place and depression, anxiety, you picked us up and made us your child. I thank you today. You're so good. Come on, someone lift up your voice to him. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

As you make your way back to your seats, just remain standing, but shake someone's hand and say, "We're so glad you're at the sanctuary today." Praise God. All of our guests, we're so glad that you're here. Welcome home to the sanctuary. God bless you. [Music] And let me prepare you. Something very special is going to happen at the end of our service today because several people are being baptized in Jesus' name. Their lives will never be the same ever again. [Music]

Now, I realize that I'm only the only thing keeping you from your roast or your barbecue or your your Peep's cake or whatever that is or your egg hunt. Now, I did notice Pastor Mullen said that the Easter egg hunt is open to all ages. I think I think you said that and uh you didn't clarify and so if I exit early today, you'll understand why. I thought it was funny. A couple weeks ago, my wife texts my kids and said, "Do you guys want an an Easter egg basket this year?" Immediately, "Nope, don't want it." It's like, "They're finally at that age." But about a week later, Abria, where's Abria? Good to see you, sweetheart. She says, "Maybe a little one." Yeah, a little one with an envelope instead of an egg. I know what that means. I I know your tricks. I know your tricks. John 20 20- 29. Then we're going to be turning to Matthew 28 and 6. John 20 and 24. I know we have a lot of children in here, but thank God for all of our children. God bless them. And if they cry, you know what? You've been around kids. We can still pay attention, can't we? It'll be all right. As my friend in Canada says, "You be all right." That's what they say in Canada.

Now Thomas, also known as Ditimus, one of the 12, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." A week later, his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Though the though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. Do you realize that Jesus literally went right through the walls? That's pretty awesome, isn't it? And he said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here. See my hands. Reach out your hand and put them into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God." Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." That means that we have a greater blessing. We have not touched those handprints, have we? But we believe today, don't we? [Applause] Matthew 28:6, he is not here. He has risen just as he said, come and see the place where he lay. Are you thankful for the resurrection?

For just a few moments, I want to speak on the beauty of scars. I'd like everyone just to put your phones, your Bibles down if you have them in your hand. I'd like you just to close your eyes, lift your hands, and I'd ask you to speak to the Lord directly for whatever you came needing today. Let it be personal right now. If you came here cuz someone forced you to come, I still want you to pray. Jesus, right now, you brought me here and now you're going to give me a word. I ask you, Lord, let this word go deep into every heart. Let there be no distractions or anything that would keep the listener from receiving the word. Give me the words to speak and we thank you for it in advance in Jesus' name. Let's clap to the Lord. [Music] [Applause] Give someone a high five and you may be seated.

Most of us have them. They aren't something that we show off, however. They're not necessarily something we're proud of. They're called scars. How many of you had to get stitches as a kid? All right, brother Rice. I had to get stitches that night when I was on the top bunk bed. We were playing King of the Mountain. There was four boys. And let's just say I wasn't king that night. I got knocked over. My head hit the radiator. You remember those little radiators? That's how the heist used to be. Hit it right in the corner and my head was bleeding everywhere and I got stitches. Some scars are visible, but none of you knew that I had stitches on my head probably until that moment. Some are in uh are invisible. Last year, and I got permission from these two individuals to mention them, but last year, Sister Kathy, wave your hand, Sister Kathy. Sister Kathy got two new niece, and she did them both within a couple of months. You are a trooper, lady. And how many love sister Kathy? And if you watched her walk before surgery and after surgery, you know she can walk a whole lot better and without as much pain as she had before. I'm sure you have some pain from getting old like we're getting, sister. We're we're I am getting Hey, I'm in this gang too, sister. But what was left? She has two scars. There's another man in this church. His name is Brad. Where you at, Brad? Brad's back there in the AVL booth. He could tell you about scars all over his body. And when I was asking permission to share this, he began to send me pictures from his car accident. I didn't ask for all of those, young man. I would And we also don't need you to show off your scars right now. This not not necessarily right now, but he was in a terrible car accident and he shouldn't have walked away, but he did. He's a walking miracle. How many remember when that happened? If you look at him, just know that he's like half made of duct tape. He's alive, but he's left with scars.

We don't thank God for scars. In fact, some of you have scars, and you've tried every vitamin E oil that you can to get rid of them, and they're still there. I have a scar on my face. So, young people, if you've watched The Lion King, I guess you can call me Scar. Hopefully, I'm nicer than Scar. I have the scar in my face when a razor blade got somehow in with the laundry and it went through the wash. It went through the dryer. I went down to dry my face and when I did, it was just the right angle to cut my face open. And I was wondering why. Wow. Why is there blood all over this towel? It's cuz dummy, you just cut your face open. And so what my mom did, I think I have one in my pocket, is she just took a band-aid, put it on my face, and sent me to school. You'd be all right. I'm convinced we were tougher 30 years ago. Some of these kids right now, they'd take a whole week off from emotional pain. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. That that was uncalled for students. I'm sorry. I I think back to that. I'm like, you just you didn't even think I need stitches or anything. And I'm left with this scar in my face. That was over three decades ago. It's kind of hard to hide this scar. It's there and it'll be there permanently. I'm scarred.

What is a scar? A scar is a result of a wound that is healed over. Here's a picture. That's not too graphic. Scars form when the body goes to the rescue and it sends collagen to rebuild the damaged tissue and it begins the healing process. What you're left with is fibrous tissue that goes in its place. The skin looks differently. It's usually permanent to our bodies. Scars really get a bad rap. We don't like them. We want them to go away. But a scar does represent something good. A scar represents healing.

There's another kind of scar that we don't talk about very much. Scars that can't be seen. And those are internal scars. Scars of deep pain, betrayal, scars from those abusive words. Someone said to you, "Scars of rejection, broken relationship, addiction, depression, condemnation, and grief. These are internal." And you came today to this Easter service and all of us smile. Everyone, everyone smile. Yeah, we all came with a great Easter smile. But let me tell you in prayer, God showed me that some of you have come in and you may be smiling, but there are some internal things going on in your life. Scars that affect you from the inside out. It was October 1997. There was a man from Point, Texas named Kevin Mard. He experienced something that very few people in the world ever have to experience. He was going to his car. He put the key into his car and when he did, he was in the middle of a storm and it struck him in the middle. That lightning struck him. It went through the top of his head. It went through his body. Went out the bottom of his foot. And for a moment, his wife would later say, "I didn't even realize that anything was wrong with him." Because he was just standing there. And after it came down, we knew something happened, but it just happened so quick. We just watched and then he fell over and started convulsing and then he blacked out. When he woke up, he had been in the hospital for over a week because although you could not see the signs from the electricity going through his body other than a spot on his head and his foot, his insides were burned up. And in that week, he was in the burn unit and they began to nurse him back to health. Reminds me today a lot of all of us and some of the things we've been through. We come, we shake our each other's hands. How are you doing? What do we say? I'm good. And how many times do you lie about that? I'm okay. But inside there's some deep things going on that no one else can see. But I've got good news for you today. God knows how to heal on the outside and on the inside. And he's here today for every person who is in this place. No matter the pain that you've gone through, the abuse you've gone through, no matter if you've gone through a difficult divorce, the Lord is here today in this place to bring healing. You have not come to a perfect church today. All of our guests, you've not come to a perfect church. You've come to a church filled with people who are all scarred up. But guess what? Our scars as of today are known as our beauty marks because you know what? We've been through some stuff. But my scars tell the story. I have overcome by the blood of the lamb and I am healed by his name.

Today I want to leave you with three quick points about scars. Some things maybe you haven't thought about before. You're going to leave this place thinking differently about your scars, whether they're visible or not. Point number one, Jesus chose to keep his scars. We know the story, Brother Steven. Jesus was on the cross. Blood flowed from that cross. He was so beaten. He was unrecognizable. They had put the crown of thorns on his head. The torture he went through, none of us even want to think about it. But it's good for us to think about it every once in a while. He went through all of that and he died. It was over. The reason why we celebrate Easter is because he didn't stay dead because three days later we know the rest of the story. And we know that he could now walk through a building. That'd be pretty awesome just to walk. You don't even have to knock on the door. Just come back. Now, let me ask Kathy and Greg a question. If God said, Kathy Brad, please stand, both of you. I mean, God's trying to talk to you. Kathy Bradley, I'm going to give you a brand new body. He doesn't talk like that. I was just That's special effects. Do you want to keep your scars? Don't lie. You don't want to keep them, do you, Bradley? You want to keep them? No, you don't want them. Thank you. I wouldn't either. You may be seated. So, Pastor Johnson, I'm going to give you a brand new body. Do you want your scars? Nope. And while you're at it, I would appreciate a bicep augmentation, a six-pack. I'd like to take 10 lbs of fat off. I mean, if we're going to do this, let's do this right. Come on, somebody. Let's do this right. If I'm going to get a brand new body, but the last thing I'm going to say, I'm not going to say, "Do all of that. Give me a brand new body, but just put that scar back on my face." None of us would want that. Why did Jesus choose to keep his scars? Because there is a testimony with those scars. [Applause] If you could go back in life and say, "I wish I didn't have to go through that." Many of us would. But it's what made you who you are today. I don't like that I went through that. But guess what? I'm a better person today because I went through that. And I'm thankful for the scars that I have. Yesterday, I was finishing up my notes and uh I turned to my wife and I said, "Honey, if God were to give me a brand new body, I should have asked her a lot of questions, but I said, "Would you still want this scar on my face?" And she didn't hesitate. She says, "Of course. That's who you are. I married you with that scar." It's like, "Oh, that's so sweet. So, why do you want me to lose 10 pounds? I mean, let's let's [Applause] I mean, I was a string bean. I think I was in size 29 pants back in the day, honey. I mean, thank you for loving me as I am. I want to eat cake and ice cream for lunch today in Jesus name. Jesus could have taken all those scars away, but he kept them for a reason. And I believe it's for all of us to know today. You're going to be okay. Even though you have scars, you can be victorious. Even though you have scars, if he chose to keep them, even though we have scars today, we can be victorious. It was also to fulfill the promise of Isaiah 53 and5. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. and by his wounds we are healed. The fact that there are scars means I can be healed by his power. There's no disgrace in those scars. There's power in those scars. Brother Dave, the Hebrew word for healed is rafa. It's a verb which means more than just physical healing. It means emotional, spiritual wholeness inside. He works. God is Jehovah Rafa, the God who heals us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So in spite of your scars today, know that the healer is in the house so that you can leave stronger.

Point number two, your scars share a testimony. Doubting Thomas didn't believe and we like to call him doubting Thomas but most of us wouldn't have believed either. Before you judge him, think about for yourself. Would you have believed that he was alive? I'm going to tell you what, it sure helps to see him there and to see the scars that were there. We all want to see proof that he's alive. And that's when the story came together for Thomas. He understood. Yes, he's gone through this. Yes, there are scars. Yes, that spear went into his side. But now he's alive. And guess what? It's not bleeding anymore because he's healed. There is a big difference between an open wound and a scar. Now, I have a scar that I'm not going to share with you that's in my belly. Everyone say, "Praise God." He's not showing us that. I was in a board meeting several years ago with some surgeons. And in the board meeting, I started not to feel so good. And here's a room full of surgeons. They said, "Matt, you just you don't look well. Are you doing okay?" "Yeah, I just my my stomach is not feeling good. Maybe the dinner we just had or something." And they said, "Well, you know, get some rest." And I went to the medical facility where I worked the next morning to see the surgeons again. And and honestly, that was the day I was passing out their distribution check. So, they wanted their money that day, which I I get it. I was able to get the distribution checks to them, but I suddenly began to feel really sick. So, the doctor's office was upstairs. I went upstairs, and when I did, um, they said, "We think we have problems here. Can you drink this dye? And we're going to take a test. And by this time, I couldn't even walk. I was so weak. I was sweating profusely. If you ever had to drink that stuff, it is the nastiest stuff in the world. And they said, "We are in trouble. Your intestine has burst. And if we don't do surgery, you're going to have 24 hours to live." By this time, I I you could have done anything to me. I mean, I felt close to death. I'll never forget that hospital visit because that's the hospital visit where my wife got me a handheld gaming system because she knew I was going to be there for 10 days. I still have it in my collection. But that day, the surgeon told me, "I'm sorry, your scar is going to be bad because I didn't have time to make it look pretty. I had to get in and get that infection out." He literally had to cut me open and put his hand in to take care of this. And so, yeah, my scar is ugly, but I'm alive. My scar shares the testimony that I could have been dead, but I'm still standing. I'm still here. But after that surgery, and there's some of you who can relate to this, the wound would not heal for some reason. In fact, later on, brother Brody, they said that my body was rejecting the stitches in my body. It didn't like them for some reason. It was trying to spit them out. And so, what happened is I had an open wound for a very long time. Now, folks, you think scars are bad. You try to have an open wound for months at a time. You'll be praising God for scars. And I would go and they would put this acid or whatever. I don't know what it was. They were trying to kill me, I think. I mean, my boss is trying to get rid of me and they put it in and it hurts so bad. But let me tell you, when it finally healed, and this scar is ugly and you'll never see it, but guess what? I'm here for some of you today. If you have an open wound, let me tell you the risks of an open wound. If you're holding bitterness and pain against someone else, it is an open wound. And the problem with an open wound is any toxins can come up to you and get into your system and kill you instantly. Brother Tyler, you're here. You have a brand new heart. Will you stand, Tyler? I'm so glad to see you in the house of God. You're a walking miracle. I You stay standing there for a second. I got to tell you a cool story. I came into my neighborhood. My neighbors were there with their two kids and they stopped me and I'm like, "Okay, what's up, neighbor?" He's like, he's bouncing the ball. He says, "I met this guy today. His name was Tyler." He said, "He goes to your church and he invited me to church and I just want to let you know I'm coming to your church sometime." He's one cool guy. He did a great job on my hair, too. That's your little plug right there. Right there. Let me tell you, Tyler, God has done so much for you. You are a walking miracle, and you keep telling others about Jesus Christ. Come on, let's thank God for touching. But Tyler, before you're seated, let me ask you, do you have scars? Pretty big scar, isn't it? Cuz I had to put that new heart in. But as of today, it's called your beauty mark. You turn to your wife and say, "That's my beauty mark right there." You may be seated. Thank you, Tyler. It's part of your testimony. If you have an open wound today, let me tell you, if you have a gaping wound in your body spiritually, what that means is if you don't resolve that, you're open up to any spirit that would come around and get into your system. Today is the day. If you have that in your life, God can heal it. I received a phone call around 10:00 last night and the member of this church said, "Pastor, I know it's late. Are you Are you busy?" Well, Saturday night at 10:00, I'm usually working on my message, but this was an important I could tell it was important. I called this member back. I said, "What's going on? It's not like this member to call me at 10 p.m. Said, "Pastor, I I just did something." I said, "Okay." He said, "I remember I talked to you a couple weeks ago about having some unforgiveness in my heart." I said, "Yeah." And he says, "Last week, was that last week I preached about forgiveness?" Is that last week? Was that a couple weeks ago? I think it was last week. He said, "You you preached recently about forgiveness." And he said, "There's someone who abused me as a child, and I've held on to it for all these years. It's just been this open wound." He didn't say it that way, but that's basically what it's been in his life, an open wound in his life. He says, "I I I had to get rid of it." And he's on his deathbed right now. Last night, this happened. And I don't know if he can hear me. He's going to die anytime soon. But he said, "Pastor, this is all I knew what to do." I went to his bedside and said, "I I forgive you for abusing me. I forgive you for everything you've done, and I want to bless you in the name of Jesus right now." Let me tell you, that may not be a big deal to you. But if you've had an open wound for decades and you decide to put it in the hands of Jesus, let me tell that friend today, you're in this audience. Let me tell you, you may have a scar, but at least it's not an open wound. Your scar is part of your testimony. Now you can put it behind you. Now you can come to the house of God and worship the way you want. Now you can come to communion and I have that in the back of your mind because guess what? You've brought it to him and you've asked God to take away this pain in Jesus name. Last night we had a beautiful prayer meeting here and and thank you for all those who could make it out. In that prayer meeting I talked to a couple who's here. They haven't been here very long. And I I talked to him this man and woman boyfriend and girlfriend. And I asked this question. Do you have any scars? I specifically did not say physical or internal. The man said, I have some deep scars because when I was the troublemaker that I became, when I got into all those things, I was in prison. And when that happened, my father died and I was not able to be there for his funeral. And I'm left with this internal scar. I didn't know that. You wouldn't able to tell because it's an internal scar. And I turned to her and both of these were former users. And I turned to her and when I did, I felt bad for even asking her because of her reaction. She began to just cry and and I didn't know what it meant. I was what what's going on right there? She says, "Pastor, I have track marks on my body from the times when I turned to the things of this world." And I looked at her and I said, "Don't you be ashamed of those track marks. That's your old you and you have a testimony to share because guess what? You're going to be able to tell someone else. You don't have to turn to drugs. You can come to Jesus Christ. It's part of your testimony. You may have gone through a lot, but let me tell you, she's here right now. Let me encourage you. Don't be ashamed of those track marks because it's part of your story. And God is going to use it for decades to come. Revelations 12:11. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. Those are not just scars. Those are beauty marks for what God has done in your life.

Point number three, my last point as musicians come. Scars make you stronger. Okay. So maybe your scar makes you feel ugly, but your scar is a representation that you were put back together again. And now you're even stronger than you were before. But how can you be stronger after you were broken, after you were scarred? The best way I can illustrate this is in a Japanese art form. It's called kinuji. Everyone say kinshuji. And the definition of this is going to be on the screen. It is a Japanese type of art. And here is an example. Now, I have an example of a very rare piece of this art. Would you put it up here? And how much it goes for sale for? Not this one. The picture. There it is right there. It's coming. This is an example of how valuable this broken vase is now worth. It's now worth over $18,000. In contrast, I have this piece that was purchased on Etsy, I think, for around $50. God bless it. This type of art, what it does is it takes a broken piece of pottery and it brings all the pieces together. Let's go to that other slide if we could. It takes all these pieces and it brings them all together. And then the artist begins to figure out how is this going to come back together? Because depending how broken it is, there's small little pieces laying all around. As I begin to bring it together, begins to look like this piece that I have up here. This piece fortunately didn't take that many times. There wasn't that much brokenness. The more brokenness that the art has, the more valuable it is. Let me say that again. The more brokenness, the more valuable it is. And here's why. Instead of just gluing it together with superglue, they take precious metal and instead of just hiding all the breaks, they put it back together again and they highlight it with the precious metal. This is what this art form does. We're not going to hide your scars. We're going to amplify them and make them a piece of beauty. As we all stand today in this place, every one of us carries scars today in this place. I don't know what your scars represent, but God does. I'm speaking to someone who came to this service and there's deep pain in your life. There's stuff going on. I have a promise from Psalms 34:18. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit. The Hebrew word for broken is nishbar, meaning shattered, crushed, or violently broken. So this is what it says. If you are here today and you are broken and in pieces, the Bible promises, I'm close to you. Justin is in this room right here right now getting ready to be baptized in Jesus' name. As I was heading into this service, I said, "Justin, tell me a little bit about your story." In fact, let's see if Justin's Let's see where he's at. I wonder if they're watching me right now. Is Justin here? Hey, Justin's here. He's getting ready to be baptized in Jesus name. [Music] man bare feet and everything. You see the shirt raised to life. He gets to leave with that shirt today. Never never met you before, but today you're getting baptized in Jesus name. And I asked this question, "What scars do you carry?" He said, "Pastor, how old were he? 16, 17." 16 years old, his parents got divorced. And when that happened, he was absolutely broken. And in that next year, him and his brother were homeless. They began to hit the streets. And when they began to do that, they began to get into trouble. He's lived a crazy life. He's got internal scars from those moments. But let me tell you what's going to happen today. Today you're going to go down in the name of Jesus. The Bible says if you repent, you're baptized. You receive his spirit. That is what salvation is made up of. But it's just the beginning. Because Justin, just getting baptized, if you do just that, it doesn't mean anything. And you just go back to your old lifestyle. That's not what this is about. This is completely changing direction in your life. and saying, "Yes, you may see me in all of my brokenness, and you may judge me, but let me tell you, I'm going down in the name of Jesus, and I'm coming up a different person." [Applause] [Music] So, guess what? You may have brokenness like Justin today. Every one of us have it. In fact, I want us to close our eyes right now. Everyone, close your eyes right now. For that first time guest, I don't know your situation, but I know God gave me a message just for you. They called them basket cases in World War I. It was the story of soldiers who were brought home in baskets because they had lost their limbs. And maybe today you feel like that basket case where God, where do I turn to if you come to this altar today, there is no human who can put your life back together again. But if you reach out to Jesus Christ, he is here and he wants to heal you. And although you may leave with scars, it will be a testimony of what you've been through and now you're healed. I'm opening up this altar right now to anyone who'd like to come and say, "Lord, I bring myself. I bring my open wounds and I bring my scars. I bring myself before you on this Easter when I celebrate that you are still alive. I need you to be alive in my life right now. I bring the mess from my life. Come on. If you have that open wound, you can leave with that wound healed today. If you're ashamed of that scar and think that you could never have value. Let me tell you, you are worth more now than ever before because of what you've been through. You have a testimony to share. God isn't done with you. in Jesus name right now. Come on. That's it. Whether it's an open wound or it's a scar, I bring it before you, Lord. I'm asking you to do what no one else can do. I'm asking for your healing power to come down. God, let your blood fill the cracks. I ask you to make me stronger through your power. I ask you, Lord, to cover me with your blood. I'm so thankful that you're alive today and you know me and you're able to heal. And when I get through this, I will be stronger than ever. My story is not over. It's just the beginning in Jesus name. Jesus name. Thank you Jesus for the blood. Thank you Jesus. He has washed me. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Draw me from the darkness into glorious. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus has me. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious. There is nothing stronger than the one working power of the blood. And all the sons and daughters we are by our father through heaven. There is nothing stronger than the one working power of the sons and daughters. We are ransom by through the Thank you Jesus for the blood. Thank you Jesus has washed me. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light. [Music] Thank you Jesus for the blood of life. Thank you Jesus has washed me. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light. There is nothing stronger than the one working power of the lamb. [Music] and calls the sons and daughters. We are father through the Thank you Jesus for the blood. Thank you Jesus has washed me. [Music] Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Draw me from the darkness into glorious in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Yeah. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus life. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious life. [Music] There is nothing stronger than the one working power of the calls and daughters. We are in Jesus name. In Jesus name. [Music] Yes. Come on, Justin. That's it. Wonder worthy power of the call sons and daughters. We are ransom by our father through heaven. [Music] Thank you Jesus for the blood. Thank you Jesus has washed me. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Draw me from the darkness [Music] Jesus for the blood. Thank you Jesus has washed me. [Music] Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Draw me from the darkness into glorious light. There is nothing stronger than the one working power of the lamb. They call the sons and daughters. We are my father through the in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Wash my sins away. Cleanse me Lord. Cleanse me Lord. The calls sons and daughters. We are ransom by our father through the blood. [Music] Thank you Jesus for the Thank you Jesus has washed me white. Thank you Jesus. You have saved my life. Brought me from the darkness into glorious light in Jesus name. Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Woo! Yes. Yeah. Thank you, Jesus. You have brought me from the darkness into glorious [Music]

Some of you know their story. Come here, guys. Some of you know their story. Other others of you don't, but they said, "It's okay if I share it." When they first came to our church, this couple, they came together, but they were divorced. People thought you were married, but God began to bring things together. And it was Christmas time when I married you in those Christmas sweaters. And in that ceremony was that man you just saw. This is an illustration of what scars can do. [Music] [Applause] We made it through. Dad, you can be baptized in Jesus' name. And today, Dad was baptized in Jesus' name. Let me tell you, your testimony makes a difference. Come on, let's take Jesus. What can my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can they behold again? The name of the blood of Jesus. Oh preious is that white [Applause] nothing but the blood of Jesus. Jesus in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Thank you Jesus. Oh thank you Jesus for your promise. Thank you Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. How preious is the world? How I know nothing but the blood of Jesus.

I want us to do something before we're dismissed. I want you to grab the hand of the shoulder of someone close to you right now. I want us to pray together as a church body. Maybe there's someone next to you you've never met before, but let me tell you, you're here at the sanctuary and we're family and this is how we do life. And you may have not come to this altar today, but maybe there's things that are going on in your life right now. I want to pray for every person who's here today that God would bless them and heal them. Can you join with me in Jesus name right now? God, I ask you, Lord, to touch every person who heard this message today. Those who are online right now, God, I thank you, Lord, that you redeem our scars. I thank you that you chose to keep your scars. We are so blessed to be in your presence once again. And God, I want you to encourage every person here that although they've been through that mess, you've made them stronger than ever before. And I am victorious in the name of Jesus. God, you see the broken places in the open wounds. And you are able to heal right now in Jesus name. I thank you for it. Let's clap to the Lord and thank him. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. They're going to continue to sing. You are dismissed in Jesus name. God bless you this Easter. Remember the kids have an Easter egg hunt. Why [Music] I nothing but the blood of Jesus. [Music] was the blood. I know it was the blood that save me. One day at lost, he died upon that cross. I know it was the blood. I know. I know it was the blood. I know.