Transcription
Would you bow and be in prayer with me?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. That word holy simply means to be utterly different. And God, how grateful we are that you are different. Different than our fickle friends, different than our petulant politicians. Different, oh God, than our jealous co-workers. You are holy. You are faithful. The same yesterday, today, and forever more. And God, since you don't change, we won't stop worshiping you. Speak now, Lord, for your servants are listening. In the name of Jesus, who always and alone is our Christ, we do pray. Amen.
I'm going to invite you on this resurrection Sunday morning to hear a passage of scripture that may be a tad bit unfamiliar to you. It comes to us from the back of the Bible in the first letter of Peter the apostle, the disciple of Jesus Christ. In first Peter chapter 1, it will appear on the screens and it is our custom to ask those who are physically able to stand with us as together we reverence the reading and the hearing of God's holy word. Peter chapter 1, beginning in verse number three. Listen for the word of the Lord.
Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, never spoil, and never fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressable and glorious joy. For you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
This is the word of God for the people of God. You may be seated in this space.
This resurrection Sunday, we gather here rather than the corner of Duke and Alfred Street because Easter is no ordinary day. We gather in this space and ask God to tabernacle with us and transform this arena into a sanctuary because Easter is no ordinary day. We worship 7,000 strong, welcoming family and friends from near and far to make glorious the good news of the resurrection of Jesus. Because Easter is no ordinary day.
Today, you've put on your Sunday best, driven all the way out to Fairfax, Virginia. We've grabbed these white robes that we only wear one time a year. We've amassed the music and worship arts. We've rehearsed and practiced for months on end that in this space we might proclaim the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ because Easter is no ordinary day.
Today we come to the end of our Lenten journey standing on the other side of the cross with grateful hearts and uplifted hands to thank God for the good news we heard from the women who got up early in the morning to run to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus only to come back and to tell the disciples the good news that I came to tell you. Christ is risen as he said he would do. And we've come to give thanks to God that we serve a risen savior.
I would argue with you my brother and my sister without doubt and without debate that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest single event in the history of all humanity. The greatest thing that has ever happened in the world was not the discovery of the Titanic on the Atlantic floor. It was not the discovery of King Tut's treasures in Egypt. It was not the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran. But rather it was what was not discovered in that tomb on that early Sunday morning, that the body of Jesus has never been found, will never be found, will never be discovered dead because he is not dead. He has risen as he said.
Greater than the mystery of the location of the lost city of Atlantis, greater than the unsolved murders of Tupac and Biggie, the unknown fate of Jimmy Hoffa. The unknown whereabouts of the ark of the covenant, the holy grail, and the fountain of youth is the mystery that was solved when the women asked, "Where is the body of Jesus?" only to turn around and see the living savior right there. And for them to discover there is no mystery, there is no curiosity. There is no question. We serve a risen savior.
Greater than the surrender of Japan in 1945, which ended World War II. Greater than the signing of the Declaration of Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which ended slavery. Greater than the election of Barack Obama in 2008 that ended the lack of color in the White House. Greater than the victory of Brown versus Board of Education in '54, which began the end of segregation, was the victory of Jesus over death, which ended the dominion of Satan and sin over all of humanity.
More celebrated than the first black quarterback Doug Williams, winning the Super Bowl in 1988, more celebrated than Jordan's repeat three-peat. More celebrated than Simone Biles's 30 world championships. More celebrated than Serena's 23 Grand Slams. More celebrated than Beyonce's 35 Grammys. More celebrated than Bill Russell's 11 NBA rings is Jesus' single victory over death on the day that he rose from the grave. More surprising than Buster Douglas's defeat of Mike Tyson. More shocking than Will Smith's slapping of Chris Rock, more unforeseen than Kanye's demise and downfall, and more pleasing than Trump's low approval rating, is the pleasure and surprise of finding out that he who was dead is no longer dead, that he has risen from the dead just as he said.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest single event that has more impact than anything else that has ever happened in the history of humanity. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it combines some more than four billion people under one banner of faith called Christianity. We may worship on different days. You may shout. She may be quiet. You may wear doily on your head. You all may sing with no instruments behind you. But the one thing that binds us all together around the world is the belief that we serve a savior who died on Friday, but on the third day, he rose again.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it changed the day of worshiping God. You know that the Jews worshiped on the Sabbath, which began on Friday sundown and went till Saturday sundown. And after the resurrection of Jesus, his first followers, who were Jews who would worship on the Sabbath day, decided that they would no longer worship on the Sabbath, but they would worship on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. They worshiped on the first day of the week 'cause that is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. And they decided that every week we want to remind ourselves that Jesus is alive as he said he would be.
Beloved and my brother and my sister, I came by to tell you that the resurrection of Jesus is so powerful that those Jews decided they wanted to remember it every week. They celebrated the Passover once a year, but when they thought about the resurrection of Jesus, they said, "We won't do that once a year. We going to do that every week." That's a word for y'all who only come once a year. That you can't get too far from the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it transformed the image of the cross. The cross, y'all, was a Roman symbol of torture and execution and pain and death. When you saw a cross, you were supposed to be reminded that Rome can never be defeated. When you saw a cross, you were supposed to be reminded that if you mess with the wrong people, you will wind up in the wrong place. When you saw a cross, you were supposed to be afraid and knew that death was coming. But after the resurrection of Jesus, that cross, which used to mean death, became the enduring symbol of our faith. We wear it on chains around our neck. We tattoo it on various places on our bodies. We sing hymns about the old rugged cross 'cause there's something about the resurrection of Jesus Christ that transformed what was a symbol of death into a symbol of life.
As a matter of fact, let me pause and pull the car over and tell you that that is part of the difference between a Catholic cross and a Baptist cross. Can I teach for just a moment? If ever you go to a Catholic church, you will find our Catholic brothers and sisters have a cross and Jesus is always nailed on that cross. Because in the Catholic tradition, they want you to never forget that he died for your sins. But when you walk in a doctrinally sound Baptist church, you will never find Jesus still nailed to a cross. Because the message of the Baptist church is not just that he died, but we declare that he who was dead on the third day by the power of God was resurrected from the dead and the cross is still vacant, the tomb is still empty, and our savior is still alive.
I can always test your Baptist with three words. Early Sunday morning. If that don't do nothing to you, if that don't move in your spirit, if that don't make your hands clap, if that don't put joy in your heart, you might not be as Baptist as I thought you were. Because when we hear those words early Sunday morning, we remind ourselves that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ who rose again from the dead. [Applause]
It is the single most powerful moment in the history of humanity. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ not only ushers in a new time period, but it's the beginning of your new life with God. Hear me, beloved. It is not your belief that he was born of a virgin in a manger that saves you. It is not your belief that he worked miracles that set you right with God. It's not your obedience to his teaching and understanding of his parables that secures your eternal salvation. It's not even your belief that he died for you that brings you into right relationship with God. Hear me beloved. The death of Jesus Christ opens the door of salvation. But it's your belief in his resurrection that calls you to walk through it. His death is God's gracious offering of salvation to us. But it is only as you believe that he lives that you can unwrap that gift.
Give you a side order scripture. Romans chapter 10:9 says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead then you shall be saved. He died makes me want to repent. He lives makes me want to rejoice. He died makes me want to tell the Lord I'm sorry. He lives makes me want to tell God thank you. He died makes tears run down my eyes. He lives makes me want to put my hands together. He died makes me want to let go of my past. But he lives makes me want to run on into my tomorrow. That there's something about believing that Jesus rose from the dead.
We celebrate the resurrection 'cause Easter is no ordinary day. The irony, however, is that is not the scene and the setting of the first Easter. That first morning on that Sunday, no one rented an arena. They were in an upper room. There weren't 7,000 of them. They're barely 120. Nobody spent Saturday getting their outfit together. They spent Saturday in silence, sorrow, and in sadness.
Come back to that upper room with me, if you will, to that first Easter Sunday morning. And when you enter that room with those disciples, I want you to feel the deprivation. Nobody slept on Saturday. They're still traumatized by the sound of the nails going in his hands. They can still hear the terror in his voice as he cried out, "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" Feel the deprivation. See the disappointment. We gave up everything to follow him. It was not supposed to end like this. He was not supposed to end on a cross but on a throne. The disappointment is palatable. Hear the doubts being whispered around the room. Those who saw him die on the cross are now wondering, did he lie to us? Was he really who he said he was? Is he really what we thought he was? Feel the defeat in the room. Seeing Jesus die on the cross was a sign that he failed. And some were wondering, was he just another false prophet? And some in that room felt foolish for giving up everything to follow a man who would end up dying on a cross. Relate to the dread in the room. They're locked up in the upper room. You know why they're locked in the upper room? They're afraid that the same folk who killed Jesus will now set their sights on them. Acknowledge the despair in the room. Everybody woke up that Sunday morning and some of them were in the back packing up their stuff, ready to leave Jerusalem and go back to Galilee where they had come from now that it was all over said and done. See the disgrace in the room. Disciples wondering, "Was there more we could have done to stop this?" And sitting in the back is a brother named Peter. Nobody's talking to him and he don't want to talk to nobody 'cause Peter knows I denied him. Not once, not twice, but three times I was too cowardly to even stand up and let the world know that I was one of his disciples. Y'all, that first Sunday, that Easter morning, was not celebration. It was deprivation, disappointment, doubt, defeat, dread, despair, and disgrace. That's how the morning began.
But oh, what a difference a day can make. I came by just to tell you that you ought to be careful how quickly you give up on God early in the morning. God has a way of changing things in a day. You better be careful of thinking how bad the evening is going to be when you wake up in the morning. You ought to be careful of giving up on Thursday on Tuesday night. You you ought to be careful of walking away from God, predicting what Friday will look like when you get up on Monday because you never know what God is able to do if you just give God one day. I wish I had about five believers and I'll make number six who can declare that if you just hold on and trust God and give God one day, God is able to turn some things around. Is there anybody here who's seen God shift your situation and change your circumstance and work things out for you if you just give him one day? In one day, things changed.
They woke up in despair and dread and disgust. And then some of the women who were there got up that morning and they gathered their oils together because they wanted to go anoint the body to to somehow slow down the decay. And they got there only to find out that the stone had been rolled away. An angel was sitting on it and the angel asked them a question. Why are you looking for the living among the dead? You're in the wrong place looking for the right thing. He is not dead. He is risen as he said he would. They got so excited they ran back and they told the other disciples in that room that Christ has risen from the dead and the good news of his resurrection changed everything. Knowing that Christ had risen turned their lives around. Knowing that he was dead but now he was alive made all the difference in their life and that's what that same Peter wrote about in the scripture that I read in your hearing. This letter that Peter writes is written around AD60. It is a survival strategy to Christians who are now beginning to suffer persecution for their faith in Jesus and Peter writes to them to encourage them with some good news.
Listen at the words of Peter. He said, "Through the resurrection of Jesus, God has given us new birth. God has given us a living hope. God has given us an inheritance that is imperishable. And we are shielded by the power of God." Well, I'm going say that again because that just made me feel good. In the resurrection, we've been given new life. We've been given a living hope. We've been given an inheritance that is imperishable. And we are now shielded by the power of God.
Peter declares that the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ will change your life in some amazing ways. Is that when you believe that Christ is risen, when you believe that he is no longer dead, when you accept that he is a living savior, there are some changes that will happen in your life. Let me share you those three changes as we see them in Peter's life and then I'll let you go home for brunch.
Peter declares that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the very first thing it does for me is give me the confidence that my sins have been forgiven. That the resurrection gives me the confidence that my sins have been forgiven. He says that in the resurrection, we've been given new life. That through the resurrection of Jesus, there's a new you waiting on the other side of what Jesus did for you when he rose from the dead. Let me pause and tell someone in this place today, that's some good news. If you've ever tried to make a change in your life, if you ever wanted a new beginning, if you ever wanted to let go of something from your past, if you ever wanted to turn your life around, if you ever wanted to walk out of a situation and walk into something new, if you ever want to be delivered from something that's had a hold on you, Peter says, "All you got to do is believe that Christ has risen from the dead."
Listen to the testimony of Peter. He's sitting in that upper room. He knows he has denied Jesus. But he also knows that Judas had betrayed Jesus. Judas betrayed. Peter denied. Judas betrayed. Peter denied. Judas betrayed. Peter denied. Which one was worse? And maybe Peter is sitting there like somebody sitting in this space today saying, "Well, what I did ain't as bad as what he did." That that that my denial ain't as bad as his betrayal. 'Cause life is filled with folk who think their sins are not as bad as your sins. Life is filled with folk who think that what they keep doing is not as bad as what you used to do. Life is filled with folk who spell sin with a little 's' and take the 'i' out the middle 'cause their sin ain't as bad as your sin. Life is filled with folk that are good at pointing the finger but bad at looking in the mirror.
Or maybe Peter was sitting there recognizing that my denial was equally as bad as Judas's betrayal. Because watch this, there's no hierarchy of sin. There's no little sin and big sin. There's no better sin and worse sin. There there's no mine ain't as bad as yours. Here's what the Bible says. That all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We don't all sin the same, but the end result is always the same. That everybody in here continues to fall short of the will of God. Okay, you too holy. Let me just tell you about yourself. At your best, your righteousness is ratchet in the eyes of God. Even when you get dressed up and come to church and act holy, you ain't fooling God. You ain't lying to nobody but yourself. I wish I had some folk that could just be honest and admit that even when I try my best, I still fall short of the will of God.
Peter recognizes, "I have fallen short, but he knows Jesus forgives sin. He's seen him do it over and over and over again." So watch it. Peter sitting there like we sit here today knows he's a sinner. He knows he can be forgiven, but he doesn't know he has been forgiven. Come here. He knows forgiveness is possible, but he doesn't know he's been the recipient of it yet. He knows Jesus can forgive. He just doesn't know that he has been forgiven. So watch it. Watch it. Here's the good news. When those women went to the tomb and they encountered the resurrected Jesus, watch what Jesus tells them. He says, "Go back and tell my disciples and Peter that I'll meet them in Galilee." You missed it. Uh go back and tell the disciples and Peter, why put Peter separate if Peter was a disciple? 'Cause Jesus knew Peter was sitting in that upper room wrestling with the guilt of the sin that he had committed. And Jesus says, "Let Peter know that I died for him. And in my resurrection, I have forgiven him of everything he did to me."
I came by to shout myself this Sunday morning that in the resurrection of Jesus, our sins are [Music] forgiven. So, the resurrection is the assurance that we've been forgiven. How do you know God forgave you? 'Cause Christ rose. How do you know if you're a new if you're in Christ, you're a new creature? Because Christ rose. How do you know your sins have been washed away? Because Christ rose. The resurrection, Siobhan, is the receipt of my forgiveness. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Okay, y'all y'all act like you don't want to have church. I'm I'm I'mma preach and I'm going to finish when I'm done. [Applause] Uh I'm I'm I'm I'm at the house the other day and recognize that uh we've run out of toilet paper and paper towels and laundry detergent. We ain't got toilet paper, don't have paper towels, don't have laundry detergent. We in a problem 'cause we don't have toilet paper, we don't have paper towels, and we don't have laundry detergent. So, I got I got to make a run. But but I don't shop at Target no more 'cause I ain't spending money on institutions that oppress my people. So since I can't go to Target, I go to Costco. I go to Costco 'cause I'm out of toilet paper. I don't have paper towels and I don't have laundry detergent. So So I go to Costco and you know they they got they got they got they got big toilet paper. They got rolls of paper towels. They They got the jumbo laundry detergent. Now, I'm feeling good about myself 'cause I got me my toilet paper. I I got my paper towels and I I got my laundry detergent. I put it in my basket. I go to the cashier and whip out my debit card because, you know, they only take Visa and Mastercard, they don't take Amex. So, I I I I'm checking out because I got I got my toilet paper. I got my paper towels and I got my laundry detergent. I paid for my paper towels. I paid for my toilet paper and I paid for my laundry detergent. I'm walking out of Costco and there's a lady at the gate had the audacity to stop me. I said, "Ma'am, please let me go. I got my toilet paper. I got my paper towels and I got my laundry detergent. I'm trying to get home." She says, "Sir, I I need to see proof that you have paid for your laundry detergent and your paper towels and your toilet paper. I know you've just paid for it, but I need to see a receipt to know that it's been taken care of." Can I tell you what that empty tomb is? That empty tomb is the receipt that God has given to you. That your sins have been forgiven. That you are a new creature in Christ Jesus. That God has wiped away everything that is old and all things have become new. [Music] Somebody holler, "I'm forgiven."
Can I push it? Uh, let me show you how forgiven Peter is. Oh, I feel like preaching, Marcia. Uh, you got to remember that Peter was not his birth name. If you've been at Alpha Street, you already know this. His mama and them named him Simon Barjonah. Barjonah simply means son of Jonah. His mama named him Simon. Jesus called him Peter. Simon was who he used to be. Peter was what he could be. Y'all stay with me. So, so whenever he's about to mess up, he's Simon. Yeah. Yeah. When when when Jesus predicts that he would betray him in Luke 22, he keeps calling him Simon. Simon, Satan wants to sift you like wheat. What you mean, Jesus? Simon, you're going to betray me. I would never do that. Simon, before the sun rises, you going to do it three times. Lord, you got the wrong one, Simon. [Applause] But when Jesus wants to establish the church in Matthew 16, he doesn't call him Simon. He calls him Peter. Simon is who he was. Peter is who he could be. Now watch this. In the Gospel of John, written by Peter's best friend, he's always called Simon Peter. 15 times in the Gospel of John, he's called Simon Peter because John wants him to know, no matter how much Peter you think you are, you still got some Simon attached to you that I need to remind you of. Oo, let me talk to you pretending to be Peter in this place. You got some Simon you walked up in here with today that is still attached to who you are. Simon Peter. Simon Peter. Simon Peter. But after the resurrection, he is never called Simon Peter again. After the resurrection in the Bible, he's only called Peter. Don't you miss this. Before the death, he was Simon Peter. But after the resurrection, he's only Peter. You missed it. Simon was who he used to be. Peter is who he could be. And after the resurrection, he's never called Simon Peter again. Why? 'Cause he never let anybody call him Simon on the other side of the resurrection. Because when you know that Christ died for your sins and rose again as the receipt of your forgiveness, don't you ever let anybody hold you hostage to who you used to be. You claim who God said you would be in the name of Jesus. I wish I had some folk that could declare, "My name is redeemed. My name is forgiven. My name is washed in the blood. I got a new name."
Okay. Uh uh sir uh I y'all some of y'all may not know that the name Howard John uh was deliberately and prayerfully discerned by my mom and dad. It is the combination of both my grandfathers. Howard was my mom's dad. John was my father's dad. And they put them together and hyphenated it because they didn't want either one to feel slighted. And therefore, I went to school with no middle name, feeling awkward because I was the only person who had a hyphenated first name, Howard John. That's what my mom and daddy named me. I remember my dad when I was young as a child told me, "Don't ever let someone call you by a nickname because a nickname is really a way of disrespecting your full Christian name. You are not Howie. You are not Hojo. Don't call me any of that. My name is Howard John Wesley. Not John Howard Wesley, not Wesley Howard John. Dr. Judy, I was I was at a professional conference, Academy of Homalytics. I was introduced to a professor who was going to introduce me when I got up to preach. He introduced himself. He said, "My name is Professor Such and Such. What is your name?" I said, "My name is Reverend Dr. Howard John Wesley." He then said to me, "What name do you want me to call you? Okay, maybe you didn't hear this. My name is Reverend Dr. Howard John Wesley. What do you want me to call you? I want you to call me what my mama and my daddy name me. Don't call me outside of what my father said I am. Don't use a name for me that is not given to me by my father. I need someone who understands that God said I am forgiven by the resurrection and the death of Jesus Christ. And I will not allow anybody to treat me like I am not a new creature in Christ. I have been forgiven. Nice. Your neighbor say, "I'm forgiven." The resurrection is the receipt of our forgiveness.
Can I tell you what else the resurrection does? It not only gives me the confidence that my sins are forgiven, but it gives me the courage to face my fears. Oh, I feel like killing the devil today. Uh, the resurrection gives me courage. Y'all, I want you to go home when you when you study your Bible next time and compare uh the Peter in the Gospels with the Peter in the book of Acts. Uh, compare the BC Peter with the AD Peter. Uh, the Peter before the crucifixion and the Peter after the death of Jesus. And you will find that they are very different. That Peter before the resurrection uh he's hiding in the upper room and he betrayed he denied that he knew Jesus. Why does he deny that he knows Jesus? Because he's scared of the Pharisees. He is afraid of the religious leaders. Peter on the other side of Calvary is no longer afraid. The Peter you read in the book of Acts is not scared. He ain't hiding. As a matter of fact, that Peter stands in front of the same folk that crucified Jesus and stuck his finger in their face and told them, "Y'all were wrong for what you did." But God overturned what you did. The Peter who was scared is now the Peter who is courageous because the resurrection of Jesus Christ gave him the courage to face the very things he used to be afraid of. Why can I face the things that come my way in life? Because Jesus has risen from the dead. Why can I face cancer? Because he lives. How can I face my enemies? Because he lives. How can I face getting laid off on my job? Because he lives. I ain't never scared now that I know that Christ has risen from the [Music] dead. That his resurrection gives me the courage to face what I used to fear.
Watch it. Watch it. Here's what Peter says. You are shielded by the power of God. Paul put it like this. The same power that brought Jesus out of the grave is the same power that's at work in you. Oh, you missed it. I'mma try it again. The same power that brought Jesus out the grave is the same power God has placed within you. Which means that no matter what I go through, I expect resurrection. I expect God to bring me out of this thing. I expect God to answer my prayer. I expect God to deliver me from my situation. I expect God to turn this thing around. I expect resurrection. Here it is. That's good, sir. If Jesus rose from the dead and the same power that helped him conquer death is at work in you, that means you don't have to be afraid of death. Come here. Come here. That's good, sir. And if you don't have to be afraid of death, what else would you be scared of? Oh, if if I ain't got to worry about death, why would I worry about you not liking me? If I'm not afraid to die, I ain't afraid of you running your mouth on me. If I ain't afraid to die, I ain't afraid of what the diagnosis will be. There's something about knowing that I'm not afraid anymore.
Okay. Y'all going to make me work in here. That's fine. I won't quit till I'm done. Uh, I need to tell you about something that happened to me in third grade. I'm still still talking to my therapist about it. Uh, in third grade, I was bullied by a boy named Gerald. Gerald was in the fifth grade, but he should have been in the eighth grade. But he got held back three times. So I'm in third grade getting bullied by a fifth grader who should be in eighth grade. And Gerald had two twin brothers, Lamont and JJ, that were in third grade. Y'all help me. I'm still working through this. Uh Gerald was in fifth grade. Lamont and JJ were in third grade with me. And Gerald, Lamont, and JJ were bullies. Uh Lamont and JJ would follow their big brother Gerald. And he would push kids in the hallway. He come to you at the lunch table and make you get up so he could have your seat. He would take your lunch and wouldn't trade it for nothing. He just take it from you. Gerald Gerald would send you messages talking about, "I'mma see you in the playground at 3:15 after school is over." Gerald was a bully and he had twin brothers in third grade, Lamont and JJ, that were just as bad. Y'all, I remember in third grade and third grade, we got a new student in the class. Turned out to be one of my best friends. His name was Chris. Now, Chris, we didn't know it back then, but Chris was on the spectrum. He was a special needs child and and Gerald messed up one day and thought he was gonna bully Chris 'cause Chris has special needs. What we didn't know back then is that some kids on the spectrum will whoop your uh don't you sleep on a kid with special needs. Listen, Gerald came by and pushed Chris and something snapped in Chris. That third grade boy on the spectrum turned around, jumped on top of Gerald, and began beating the snot out of that boy. I mean, he was just tearing him up. He beat Gerald so bad, Gerald didn't come to school the next day. So the day after Chris beat up Gerald, we all sitting in the lunchroom and here come Lamont and JJ telling me, "Get up and give me their lunch." I looked at them. I ain't going nowhere. I ain't scared of you 'cause your brother just got beat up. And if you keep messing with me, I'm going to go get Chris. And I'm going to let Chris handle you. Can I give you some good news? If death called Gerald was defeated by Jesus, how dare you be afraid of his little brothers? I ain't afraid of the diagnosis. I'm not afraid of being disliked. I'm not afraid of being rejected. I'm not afraid of being laid off 'cause I know that my big brother has defeated death. And I am not scared. I wish I had some saints in this place who can declare I'm not afraid. Come what may I am more than a conqueror.
Here it is. Let's get out of here. Um he's given us new birth 'cause my sins have been forgiven. Yeah. Um, he shields me by the power of God so I don't have to be afraid of what I used to be afraid of. Watch this last one. He says to them, "And we have a living hope." The resurrection of Jesus not only gives me the confidence that my sins have been forgiven, the courage to face my fears, but the resurrection of Jesus is literally the confirmation of my faith. Wow. In that upper room on that Sunday, doubts were beginning to fly. Was Jesus who we thought he was. Is he going to do what he said he was going to do? Can we take him at his word? Y'all in that room that doubt began to work on their hope. They were losing their hope. As a matter of fact, when Jesus met some of them on the road to Emmaus, listen what they said to Jesus, not knowing who he was. They said, "We had hoped who Jesus would be because our hope began to die."
Beloved, I came by to tell you, it's a sad thing to live life with no hope. Oh my god. It's a sad thing to wake up on Monday and have no hope that by Friday things will change. It's a sad thing to go through chemotherapy and have no hope that God will bring you through. It's a sad thing to see your child go down a prodigal path and have no hope that your prayers will be answered. It's a sad thing to see the Department of Government Efficiency take your job and not believe that whenever man closes a door, God can open another one. It's a sad thing to have no hope. And the danger of losing your hope is that hope is connected to your faith. That whenever your hope begins to die, it's 'cause your faith has been fractured. The Bible says that they are sitting in that upper room and they ain't got no hope in Jesus anymore. They've lost their faith in what he said. And Peter reminds them that the resurrection of Jesus gives us faith in one thing. That God will always do. Whatever God said, God is going to do. No matter how bad it looks on Monday, we serve a God who is faithful to his word. How do you know God is faithful to his word? Because Jesus rose from the dead. And because he lives, I can take God at his word. Goodbye, Alpha Street Baptist Church. Family and friends, may the Lord bless you mighty good. But I came by to tell you, you can trust God to do what God said he's going to do because Jesus lives. How do I know that all things are going to work together for good? 'Cause Jesus lives. How do I know weeping only endures for a night? Because Jesus lives. How do I know weapon formed against me shall prosper? Because Jesus lives. How do I know that the suffering of the present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us because Jesus lives? How do I know he'll prepare a table in the presence of my enemies because [Music] Jesus? Would you nudge your neighbor and tell him you can trust the promises of God? If God said it, God's going to do it.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Let me close like this. I'm uh I'm driving home the other day into my neighborhood and Denzel, as I'm driving in my neighborhood, I see a strange sight that makes me want to call the police. I'm driving in my neighborhood and there is a young man with a bike on his shoulder running down the street. I I'm a little confused 'cause you don't run with a bike, you ride a bike. And when I see this young man running with a bike, because I'm from the south side of Chicago, I say to myself, "This boy done stole this bike." 'Cause you don't run with a bike, you ride a bike. And so I'm following him, trying to get identification while I get ready to call the police to let them know that there's a boy who stole a bike running with a bike. Then I see that there's a man running behind him. I slowed down and I said, "Did that boy steal your son's bike?" He said, "No, pastor, that's my son." I said, "Why in the world is your son running with a bike?" This what he told me. He said today is his 8th birthday and I've been promising him for two years that I was going to buy him a new bike and today I delivered on my promise and he was so excited that the promise came that he didn't even take time to ride it. He just picked up and began to run with it. Goodbye Alpha Street. But that's how you ought to leave this place today. Grab the promise of God and just run on with it. Run like it's going to work together for your good. Run like the weapon may be born, but it will not prosper. Live your life like greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. Christ is risen indeed. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah.
I thank you, God, that Christ is risen. And because of that, my sins are forgiven. Because of that, I can face my fears and I've got a firm foundation for my faith. Now God, let us run from this place with a confidence of knowing that he is risen indeed. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Hallelujah.