And I'm going to invite you to take your Bible to the story of the resurrection in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24. And as we turn there this morning, I want to make two observations. I want to observe, number one, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest promise ever kept. It's the greatest promise ever kept. Think about the promises that God has made to us in the Word. Think about all the things that We go to the Scriptures and we depend on as believers. The Bible is full of promises that God has made to us. But the greatest promise ever made, the greatest promise ever kept is the promise of the resurrection. And the second observation I want to make as we think about that fact is that the resurrection is the central belief the cardinal belief, the core belief of the Christian faith. It's the whole reason we're here. And if that isn't true, if the resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't true, then everything that we're doing this morning is just a cultural thing that people who happen to think a certain way get together and do on a weekly basis. If the resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't actually true. In fact, the Apostle Paul felt so strongly about this that he put it this way. Listen to what he said in three Power Pack verses that he wrote to the Corinthians. You're looking at Luke chapter 24, so just keep your Bible open there, but listen as I read what the Apostle Paul said. He said this, and if Christ, that's Jesus, and if Messiah, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. And your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If the resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't true, then there are three horrific things that are true. In other words, if what we are gathered here together to celebrate didn't really happen, then there are three awful things that have happened. And the three awful things that have happened if the resurrection didn't happen is this, that all of the preaching from God's word that we listen to and that we embrace and that we enjoy is absolutely powerless. It is empty. There is no truth to it. And our personal faith in Jesus Christ is useless. It's not just that the preaching is empty, it's powerless, our faith in Christ is useless. There is absolutely no worth to putting faith in a dead Jesus, is what the Apostle Paul would say, and then he says this, it's not just that the preaching of God's word to us is powerless and our personal faith in Jesus is useless, our eternal destiny is hopeless because we are still in our sins. That's an amazing statement that the Apostle Paul makes, which is why more than ever it is important for us to have an unshakable confidence. that the event that is so central to the preaching of God's word, to our personal faith in Jesus Christ, and to the eternal destiny of our soul, that central event, the resurrection, it is absolutely essential this morning that each one of us, individually, you and me, on a personal basis, become convinced in an unshakable way that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And so that brings me to a question this morning. How do we come to believe something that is so essential, but it is so unbelievable? I mean, just think about the sheer thing we are being asked to believe, that somebody physically died, that their body was physically killed, and that they were placed in a tomb, and that they were really dead. It wasn't like we just thought he was dead or maybe we mistook the fact that he had been so badly beaten and bruised that he just sort of passed out and we sort of left him for dead. No, the Scriptures are very, very clear that what happened to Jesus Christ on the Friday before resurrection Sunday was that his body was killed and placed in a tube. And by resurrection morning, early at the breaking of the first hour of dawn on Sunday morning, there are people who come to that tomb to anoint that body and they discover that Jesus Christ has raised from the dead. That is stunning news. I mean, just think about that for a minute. I mean, we are so accustomed to hearing that because We hear it all the time. We know the facts about Jesus. He came and was born of a virgin. He lived a perfect life. He died on the cross. He was buried and he rose again on the third day. And so if you want to sum up what the Christian religion is all about and what it believes, its central sort of ideas, those are them. And almost everybody who is familiar with Christianity could say that to you. And I think if somebody came up to you and say, well, do you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead? Most of us would say, well, yeah, of course he did. But have you really thought about the sheer stunning belief that is required to believe something like that? Because you wouldn't believe that about any other person. I mean, imagine what would happen, imagine the difficulty that you would have if somebody that you knew had died, and somebody else came to you and said, I've got some wonderful news about our friend, and mentioned that person's name, and said that person has risen from the dead. As much as you would want to believe that, and as hopeful as your heart might be in that news, it would be very, very difficult for you to believe that. And so the question is, how did you come to believe that about Jesus? How did you come to believe something so unbelievable? And that's the story that Luke is telling us. He is going to tell us how belief grew in the heart of Jesus' followers so that by the end of the chapter, they are not just personally convinced of this, they are actually going to take this belief to the world. So how did it happen? And more importantly, how can it happen in us? How can you and I get to this place in our own heart with regard to our own belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? And so Luke is going to tell you the story in five parts. And so I want you to listen in to Luke as he describes this. And the first thing that Luke does, is this, he describes a group of women who come to the tomb and we could sum up this part of the story this way, it is act one in the story, the resurrection announced. Because at this point in Luke chapter 24 verse one, nobody is thinking that Jesus is alive. There's not a person on the planet who thinks he's alive. And so by the time we get really to verse 12, to the end of verse 12, everything is going to be different. And so how does it happen? Well, the journey from unbelief and sorrow to joyful belief begins with an enigma. It begins with a reality that defies human explanation. And so, here's what happens, and Luke's going to want you to pick up on this. The reality of the resurrection is uncomfortable. As the resurrection is announced, the first thing that happens is a group of women get up early as the dawn is just beginning to break, and they make their way back to the tomb where a day and a half earlier, on Friday, they had placed the body of their dear friend and their master, Jesus of Nazareth. They had taken him down from the cross, they had hastily anointed his body, and they had quickly put him in a borrowed tomb. And then the Sabbath day came, and soon as the Sabbath day was over, on the very, very early breaking of the dawn of the first day of the week, these women were ready, and they went back to that tomb to finish anointing the body of their dear friend and master Jesus properly. And when they got there, Their world was rocked. The stone had been rolled away. And they looked inside the tomb and all they could see was the linen cloth that had covered the master that they had quickly put on him just so that he would have some covering in the tomb. But his body was missing. You can imagine the confusion and just really almost the anger at this. That's the idea behind the word perplexed. Luke says, as they discovered this, they were perplexed by this. And the idea there is it isn't just like they were just calmly going, oh, this is strange, this is odd, this is unusual. There is this deep angst that is going on. What has happened to the body of our friend? Wasn't it enough that they beat him and made him so marred they could hardly recognize him? Wasn't that enough? Wasn't it enough that they put him on a cross? Wasn't that enough? Wasn't it enough that the Jewish leaders finally got their way? Wasn't that enough? And now this, they couldn't leave his body, they had to come and take his body away and do this one last act of indignity on him? That's the idea that is going on here. Nobody is thinking resurrection. And all of a sudden, in that tomb are two angelic beings, and the ladies immediately, I mean, they immediately recognize that these men are angels, and they fear and they fall down in adoration and in worship. Now, it's interesting that Luke began the gospel this way when he introduced you to the birth of Jesus, because at the birth of Jesus, there were angels that announced that, and specifically, there was one angel, and this angel came, and he announced it to Mary, and he announced it to Joseph, and he announced it to a priest named Zachariah. And who believed? And who didn't? It's interesting that in Luke, the women believe before the men do. This is an interesting fact that Luke is gonna point out. And so the angels say, they have a question, they say, why are you doing what you're doing? In other words, why are you here? It's almost an unthinkable question. Here are these women at their mourning, and they have come to anoint the body of their friend. They have the spices in their hands, and here are two angels, and they're basically saying, so why are you here? Why are you seeking the one who is living among those who are dead? That is the question of the day. And the angels say to them, he is not here and it's not because somebody stole his body. He is not here and the reason he is not here is he is risen and then I want you to look down and I want you to see at the end of verse six what they say. They look at these women and they say to them, remember. The two angels called them to remember what Jesus told them when he was with them. What had Jesus told them? The angels said, let me remind you what Jesus told you, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. So here's the scene in Act 1. You have these women, they're at the tomb, they're mourning. The body is missing, they're perplexed, and two angelic beings come to make an announcement of Jesus, just like an angelic being came to make an announcement about Jesus at his birth. And the angels are saying to them, he is risen and this should not be a surprise to you because this is exactly what he told you when he was with you. He told you with his own words exactly what would happen. And notice what the women do in verse eight. And they remembered his words. And it changed everything. And so what happens, these women, return from the tomb, and they tell all these things to the 11 and to all the rest, and then the women are named in verse 10. And then in verse 11, these words, the words that they are now reporting back about the resurrection of Christ, these words seem to those 11 men as an idle tale, and they did not believe them. So here's what you have. You have the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have people who are bearing that news, and the closest people to Jesus don't believe it. I mean, these are the people who have been with Jesus for three years. By the way, these are the people who knew full well that he had the ability to do amazing miracles. In fact, he could feed hungry people, he could walk on water, he could open the eyes of blind people, he could make blind people walk again. Luke has all of these stories in his gospel. A week earlier, he had been on the way to Jerusalem, and on the way, he walked by the gate of Jericho, and he opened the eyes of a blind man, and he spent the night at the home of a man that he had raised from the dead, named Lazarus. So they knew that Jesus could raise the dead. In fact, they had seen him do it twice. He raised the little boy, the widow's son from Nain, and then he raised his friend Lazarus. And so here are these 11 men with all of this information about Jesus and all of this experience, and the women come to say he is risen, and they think that they are talking out of the delirium of their grief. That is what idol, tail means. It's like you guys are just, you're overcome with grief. This is coming out of just senselessness. This makes no sense. So how are these 11 men going to come to believe? We saw how the women believed, they remembered Jesus' words, but how are these 11 men, who by the end of the chapter are the men who are gonna take this announcement to the world, how are they going to believe? And so the next thing Luke does is he takes two of those people and he puts them on the road to Emmaus. And so there are two travelers, and so this is act number two now, act number two. is not just the resurrection announced, it's now confirmed in the heart of people. And that's the next little section in the chapter, verses 13 through 35. And there are two men who are friends of the 11, and they're walking on the Emmaus road, and they're walking away from Jerusalem. This is interesting, because in Luke's gospel, everything has been going to Jerusalem. Jerusalem has been the center of everything. And now, their hopes are done. Their friend, Jesus of Nazareth, who they hoped would have rescued Israel, is dead. And so where everything was going to Jerusalem and Luke, now they're sort of dejectedly going back home with their shattered dreams in tow. and they're talking about the things that have happened. They're talking about the unjustness of this. They are talking about the broken dreams. They're talking about all of it, and as they're walking along, a third traveler catches up to them. It's almost like you kind of see they're walking along, and here's this third traveler trying to catch them, and he catches up, and he starts asking them, so hey guys, what are you talking about? What is it that you're talking about so adamantly? And this question stops these two guys in their tracks. And they look at Jesus and they say to him, are you the only one in all of Jerusalem who doesn't know what's going on? Are you the only person in the entire city who hasn't heard what has happened? And you know there's a little bit of irony there because you know something that they don't know. You know that he's the one person who knows what's really going on in all of Jerusalem, right? So it's like these guys are talking and they're like, are you the only one that doesn't know? And you're like, you guys better watch out. You guys better calm down because actually he does know and he's about to tell you. And so Jesus keeps, you know, he just keeps talking. He says, well, what, what things, what things are you talking about? And so they start saying, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, look at verse 19. Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, these are the things. A man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped, we were so sure that he was the one who would redeem Israel. And it is now the third day since all of this has happened. And if that wasn't bad enough, some of our women amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they didn't find his body, they came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who had said that he was alive. And some of us went to the tomb and found it just like the women said, but him they did not see. And so obviously, it's not true, Jesus has a very gentle rebuke for them. He says to them, O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. You know what Jesus does here? He does an amazing thing. He reveals something. These people couldn't see the truth about Jesus, and it wasn't because they had a head problem, it was because they had a heart problem. They were slow to believe, but what was it they were struggling to believe. It wasn't what the women said, it was what the prophets said. Do you see how Jesus turns this to them, verse 25? Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the women told you this morning. That's not what he said. You are slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. So what was it that the prophets said about Jesus? Now, just think about this for a moment. Here are two of Jesus' friends, and they are standing in the physical presence of Jesus, and by the end of the chapter, you're gonna see that they recognize him, and it's not that he changes his appearance. They're just not able to see, and there's a reason for this. The text says that their eyes were kept from seeing. What was it that kept their eyes from seeing? And the answer is their failure to believe what the prophets had said, their failure to believe the Bible. What had the prophets said? Well, the prophets had told them this. it was necessary that Christ, the Messiah, should suffer these things. The prophets told you guys this. I mean, you've been reading the prophets your entire life. You've been listening to the prophets being read every Sabbath day in the synagogue, and the prophets told you that Messiah was gonna have to suffer these things. And he says, let me prove it to you. So beginning with Moses, verse 27, and the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. You know, Jesus could have magically opened their eyes and said, no, no, it's me, but that's not what he did. He said, the reason you are struggling to believe or to see is because you aren't believing what the prophet said. And the prophet said that Jesus would have to suffer in this way. Messiah would have to suffer in this way. I would suggest to you that one of the things that got in the way were their expectations of what Jesus was going to come to do. They were all about Jesus getting his kingdom going so they could rule with him. They were all about Jesus healing people and providing food for people, but this suffering part, this going to the cross part, didn't make any sense. And so when it happened, it just destroyed all of their dreams. Can I stop here for a minute and ask you about your own personal life and your own personal thoughts about Jesus? What happens when Jesus doesn't meet your expectations? What happens when what you think Jesus should do or when you have certain expectations and they don't come to pass, what happens to your personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Because many, many people basically have a relationship with Jesus Christ because of what they believe he can do for them. He is the most powerful person in the universe. And you know, every once in a while, you'll meet people, and they wanna have this unusual relationship with the most powerful person in the room. You ever notice this about certain people? They immediately identify who the most powerful person or the most significant person or the key person is, and that's who they wanna hang with. And the reason they wanna do that is because of what they think they can get from that. And when that person doesn't deliver, then all of a sudden, what happens to their expectations? And that's exactly what happens to people with Jesus. When people are basically looking at Jesus and realizing, this guy is gonna be the king. This guy is gonna set up a kingdom. This guy can feed hungry people. This guy can actually heal sick people. I wanna hang with this guy because if I hang with this guy, it's gonna be good for me. And all of a sudden, what you thought was gonna happen, didn't. How do you feel about Jesus then? When he doesn't heal your disease, or he doesn't fix your problem, or he doesn't do what you think he should do. And so what Jesus is doing here is he is slowly removing all of the things that are in the way, and he is taking these two friends, to the Old Testament, and he is saying, Jesus did not come to make life better for you in this world. He came to fulfill the scriptures. He came to do what God sent him to do. And you know the rest of that story. They get to the place where they're gonna have dinner that night, and it looks like Jesus is gonna keep walking, and they beseech him, hey, why don't you stick around? Why don't you have dinner with us? And so they get in the room, and he takes the bread, and he offers grace, and immediately their eyes are opened, and they see him, and they disappear, or he disappears. And they say, we've gotta go back. We've gotta go back to Jerusalem. And so they get back on the road, and they run to Jerusalem, and by the time they get to the room where the other disciples are, Peter has also had a personal revelation from Jesus, and he's telling them. And that's the third act in the story, and it begins in verse 36. So we got women who believe, and they go and tell the 11 who don't believe, and Jesus said, I'm gonna show you how these people are gonna believe. I'm gonna create belief in the heart of two people. And on the road to Emmaus, two people are taken to the Bible, and they are shown, and they believe. and now these people come to the 11, all right? So you got the women, you have these two, and you have Peter, and they are all telling the 11 that Jesus is risen. So notice what happens. in verse 34, they gathered together saying, the Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. Then they told what had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. And as they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you, shalom. So what do we have here? We have the resurrection affirmed. but they were startled and frightened. In other words, they are not yet believing. They've heard the women, they have heard these two men, and now they've heard Peter, and now Jesus is physically in their presence, and they are terrified because they think they have seen his spirit. The way we would say it today, they think they've seen a ghost. And so Jesus, begins to ask them questions. He says, why are you troubled? And why are you doubting in your heart? See my hands and my feet. Look at the evidence of the crucifixion. It's really me. And then touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And he showed them his hands and his feet and they were still disbelieving. While they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, have you anything here to eat? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and he ate before them. And then in verse 44, he says, now I want to help you because what we need now is an explanation. And that's the fourth thing in the story. There's an announcement that Jesus makes to the women through the angels. There is an affirmation of this, and then there is a confirmation of it, and now there is going to be an explanation. Jesus said, I'm going to explain to you. In verse 44, these are my words that I spoke to you when I was still with you. Jesus said, this should not be a surprise to you. The fact that I'm standing here resurrected in my physical body should not be hard for you to believe because it is exactly what I said to you when I was with you. This is exactly what I was talking about. When I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And notice verse 45, then he opened their minds. He opened their minds. And when he opened their minds, they understood the scriptures when he said to them, thus it is written that Christ the Messiah should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Two women, or rather a group of women, remembering Jesus' words, two disciples on the road hearing Jesus' words, 11 men in a room seeing Jesus and being enlightened to His words. This is how belief happens. Belief is not based on an empty tomb. Belief is not based on linen cloths that are laying there in the tomb, as wonderful as those realities are. Beliefs are not even based on the fact that Jesus physically showed up and ate bread, or broke bread and ate fish with his disciples. The reality of the resurrection is based on a promise that God made in the scriptures and that Jesus articulated before he ever died. The resurrection is the greatest promise ever kept. And Jesus said, I'm going to help you understand that. And he opened up the Bible to these 11 men. You say, well, what in the world does all of that have to do? Well, let me give you the application to all of this as we close this morning. Here's the application. You have women who receive this amazing news, and initially they don't believe. And they come to belief because the angels say, I want you to remember His words that He said to you. And they remembered His words and they believed. Then you have two people walking on a road and they're trying to figure out what happened, how could this have happened to our friend? We were so convinced that he was going to be the king. That's why we were hanging with him. That's why we were with him. That's why we were so looking forward to what he could do for us. And Jesus shows up and very gently says, that isn't why I came. That's not why I was here. you need to remember what the law and the prophets and what Moses said about me. That's why I'm here. And they believed. And then there are 11 who are hearing all of this news, the women are bringing it, Peter's bringing it, the two are bringing it, and they are still struggling. And Jesus himself shows up, and he shows them his hands, and he allows them to touch his body, and he eats food in their presence, and they are still struggling. They are overjoyed at what they are seeing, but they are still doubting. Until something happens. Until Jesus opens their minds. That's what has to happen. If you're gonna really believe the truth of what happened on Easter morning, you're going to believe it because God opened your mind and he helped you to believe it. You say, well, why is that important? Well, because of what Jesus does at the very end. He says to them in verse 48, you are witnesses of these things. He looked at these 11 men, and he said, now, if you've been listening to what the Old Testament prophets said about me, I am supposed to be the Messiah, not just for Israel, but for all the nations. In other words, you are supposed to take the news about my resurrection, and you are supposed to take that news to the whole world, and you are supposed to announce it so that people will hear it and believe it. And there's the problem. How in the world do these 11 men have any hope of taking this message to the world and the world believing that message if they themselves didn't believe it? I mean, these were the closest of Jesus' friends. They had been with him night and day for three years. They saw His miracles, they heard His teaching, they were with Him, they spent the three years listening to Jesus, and when it came time to believe the central message of the resurrection, they couldn't. They were so overjoyed to see Him, even if it was just His ghost, they couldn't believe. And now, at the end, when Jesus is saying to them, now that you do believe, your mission is to go and tell the world this news, how in the world is their words going to have any greater impact on the world than the original words of the women had on them? The world is gonna do to them what they did to those women, and the world is gonna say, this is just a fantastical story. This is just a tale. And maybe Jesus was a good teacher, and maybe he was a great rabbi, and maybe he was able to do some good things. I don't know, that was a long time ago. That was 2,000 years ago, and a lot of stuff gets invented or twisted over 2,000 years. So I'm really not sure I buy what you say when you talk about the resurrection. So why is it that the resurrection is so important to believe again? Because of what Paul said, if the resurrection didn't happen, then we are still in our sins. If the resurrection didn't happen and you go out and you tell people about a risen Lord, then you are establishing a belief system that's based on a lie. How's that going to help anybody? If you're gonna take the message that Jesus can change your life and Jesus can give you eternal life and he's still dead, how does a dead Jesus change anybody? Your message is not just false, it's useless. And if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, how in the world was his death a satisfaction of the atonement for your sins? And that's why Paul said if he's still dead, you're still in your sins." In other words, he could say it this way, if he's still dead, then you're still dead, and I'm still dead. So how in the world are these 11 men who have now come to believe because God opened their minds so they could see what the Scriptures were really saying, how are they going to take this message with any credibility to the rest of the world? And Jesus had an amazing answer. Jesus said, "'Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.'" Verse 49, "'Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.'" So here's the point. Luke is telling you the story of how belief began to rise up in the heart of these early Christians. It started with women. It moved to two men traveling on a road who had a conversation with Jesus. Then it came to 11 men, and those 11 men were commissioned as the authorized official witnesses of this, and they were to announce that glorious resurrection to the entire world, and the way that the world would believe their message is the very same way that they would believe, because God would open their eyes. Now, how did God open their eyes? He opened their eyes. through the words of the second member of the Trinity, and he's going to open their eyes through the illumination of the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. What do you have when you take the message of the resurrection of the world? You have the Holy Spirit who accompanies that word. and causes people's eyes to be open so that they will see the truth of what we have and what we celebrate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So Pastor Sam, that's great. How does it impact me? So I want to ask you a question. This is probably the most important question you have to answer in your life. Do you have an unshakable belief in your own soul that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and forgave your sins? Because that's the implication of the resurrection. It's not just that he rose from the dead, it's that he rose from the dead to forgive your sins. Do you know that? Or are you just hoping that? Are you at a place where you're like, you know what, I'm not sure. I think that if I add a lot of church to the equation, and I put some religious ritual on top of that, and I mix in some good stuff that I'm trying to do, maybe it will sort of counter all of the stuff that I'm not doing, or the bad stuff I'm doing, and maybe it'll be enough. Then you really don't understand the resurrection. You might believe it, but you don't get it. Because the resurrection was not about God making a way for you to partner with him so that the two of you could work it out so you could get to heaven. The resurrection was about something very different. The resurrection was about Jesus Christ doing exactly what God the Father sent him to do, and that was to pay for the sins of the world by himself. and to offer the forgiveness of those sins to you with one condition. There's one condition. You say, well, it's faith. Yeah, of course, but there's one condition that marks true faith. You know what it is? Repentance. You see it in the text? I mean, when Jesus is talking to you about why he died and why he rose again, he said, This was all done so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations beginning in Jerusalem. So, I'm gonna come back to my question. Do you believe? that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to forgive your sins. Have you received that? Or are you trying to sort of do it on your own? Are you and God trying to work a deal out where you do enough, and he does some, and you get in? Or have you really understood the resurrection message? I am the only one who is authorized to forgive sins, and in order for me to forgive your sins, you have to repent and believe. You say, what does repentance look like? It looks like this. It looks like heartfelt sorrow. It looks like you're coming to God, you're saying to God, God, I am so sorry. I am the reason you went to that cross on Friday. I am so sorry. I don't have words. I am just so sorry. My heart is so grieved over my sin, and I've tried to clean it up, and I can't clean it up. And God says, I don't want you to clean it up. That's the point. You're not supposed to clean it up. You're supposed to let me clean it up, and I'll clean it up when you repent and ask for forgiveness. And Jesus said to his 11 men, that's the reason I rose from the dead. I rose from the dead so that never again on this planet will people ever think they have to earn their own salvation. I rose from the dead so people would never again ever have to live under the guilt of unforgiven sin. I rose from the dead so that never again anybody on this planet would ever have to spend eternity apart from me. I rose from the dead, I did all of that because my father sent me to restore and redeem broken, fallen, sinful people, and to rescue them from the bondage of their fear of death, which Satan has held them in for their entire life. That's why I rose from the dead. And you are the authorized witnesses of this, so go everywhere and tell everyone that I'm alive. And off you go, and you go tell your friends, and they just look at you like, huh? And you're like, what do I do? And you remember Luke 24. Okay, the Holy Spirit's gonna have to open their eyes, right? The Holy Spirit, I can't tell a good enough story to get them to believe the Holy Spirit is gonna have to open their eyes. And you know what's happening this morning? I think there's a room full of people here whose eyes have been opened by that very same Holy Spirit. And that's why when I said to you, He is risen, you said what? Do you believe that? Do you know why you believe that? You didn't believe that because you were smarter than all the rest of the people in the world. You didn't believe that because somehow you were more righteous than all the rest of the people in the world. You believe that because the Holy Spirit of God opened your eyes. And that's why you could say, He is risen indeed. You know what else I believe? I believe that God wants you to take that news to the world around you. I think he wants you to tell your friends about that. I think he wants you to tell your co-workers about that. I think he wants you to tell your neighbor about that. You say, well, I don't know what to do. Just tell the story of what happened to you. And the Holy Spirit will open their eyes, and they will believe. And there's one final thing I believe is happening this morning. I think in a crowd this size, there are a few of us, and maybe the Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder. And there's this little inner voice saying, you know this thing that you're hearing about? That's for you. I'm helping you believe today. that all of the brokenness of your life, all of the sins that have ruined your life, all of the bondage that you're in, all of this mess that you're in. And by the way, we're just sinners, all of us, that have got our own mess. We just brought that mess to Jesus. And maybe you're here and the Spirit of God is saying, you know what, everything you're hearing that seems so strange is actually true. And it's true for you. And this morning, the Holy Spirit is saying to you, you need to ask for forgiveness. You need to just bow your head and say to the Lord, God, I believe I believe all of it. I don't know how I believe it, but I know I do believe it. And I repent of my sins and I am asking for forgiveness. Would you bow your head with me this morning? This morning Jesus Christ is alive and he rose again so that you could be alive. And I don't mean just physically alive, I mean alive in every way. Maybe you're here this morning and the Spirit of God has just arrested your heart, and you just have this sense in your heart, God, I need to do this. Maybe you've been going to church your whole life, and the Spirit of God is saying, that's not enough. Or maybe you haven't been to church, maybe this is the very first time you've ever been to church, or it's the first time you've been to church in a long time, and the Spirit of God is saying, it's okay, that's not what gets you in. I want to give you life today. And somehow you are starting to believe this. It's like you can't explain why you're starting to believe it, but you're starting to believe it. It's the Holy Spirit opening your eyes, and you just need to say, God, I'm so sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. Please save me. Would you just say that in your own heart? I'm not going to ask you to stand up or come down front or raise your hand. This is between you and God. And you would just say, God, I believe. He is risen indeed. And if you will put your faith and trust in Him and repent of your sins, He will keep His promise. The resurrection is the greatest promise ever kept. Lord, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for its power. Lord, a chapter like this seems so far removed from where we live. Thousands of years ago, women at a tomb, two men walking on a road, 11 men hiding out in a room behind closed doors, grieving over the loss of a friend and a master, somebody they thought would deliver Israel, somebody who they thought would start a kingdom, someone whose expectations were so high in their minds of what he was going to do for them. And all of that shattered. And then you showed up and exchanged all of those little broken dreams for unimaginable ones. that are still going on today all over the world as these 11 men became the founders of the Christian faith and the Christian church. And one day those men are going to sit and rule, but first they had to serve and they had to suffer. So Lord, thank you for removing our little dreams so that you can give us your big dream Thank you for taking away our little brokennesses so that you could break us in ways that would allow us to be used greatly for your kingdom. Lord, I pray that we would have the boldness to go to tell this unbelievable news to people we know aren't able to believe. And to do so prayerfully and confidently knowing that your Holy Spirit will open their eyes just like that same Holy Spirit opened ours. And we'll thank you and praise you for your resurrection. And we'll thank you for the truth that we celebrate you today. In Jesus' name, amen.