The Weight of the Cross: From Unlikely to Undeniable

• Spiritual Endurance and Quitting [00:07:48 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the tendency of believers to give up on important things and uses the cross as the antidote to quitting.
• Theology of the Cross and Salvation [00:06:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > He contrasts the Old Testament high priest's repetitive sacrifices with Jesus' single, sufficient sacrifice, emphasizing that salvation is complete and secure.
• Removing Spiritual Weights and Sin [00:03:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Based on Hebrews 12, he explains the need to cast off burdens and sin that entangle believers, encouraging community support over 'Lone Ranger' Christianity.
• Testimony and Witness [00:02:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > He discusses the importance of every believer having a 'God story' or testimony to inspire others and hold them accountable.
• The Cross and Endurance [00:21:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the fishing story to Hebrews 12:2, explaining that Jesus endured the cross for the joy of saving humanity.
• Salvation and Redemption [00:22:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor applies the story to the congregation, stating that Jesus came to save the lost, free captives, and give vision to the blind, just as he saved the fish.
• Unlikely to Undeniable [00:23:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the fishing catch as a metaphor for conversion, describing how a situation can go from 'unlikely' to 'undeniable' through surrender to Jesus.
• The Unlikelihood of the Cross [00:25:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that from a statistical and human perspective, Jesus being the sole savior among billions and enduring humiliation makes the story seem 'unlikely' and nonsensical.
• Divine Perspective vs. Human Perspective [00:32:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the world's view of greatness (power, recognition) with God's view (humility, service), citing Philippians 2 to show Jesus emptied Himself to endure the cross.
• Surrender and Response [00:35:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor concludes that the only proper response to considering the cross is surrender, framing it as an 'Easter opportunity' and a daily choice to follow Jesus.
• Transcendence and Worldly Success [00:38:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the cultural expectation of transcendence (large crowds, fame) with a spiritual reality, using the anecdote of a musician who found greater meaning in a small church gathering than in a massive concert.
• Sufficiency of Christ [00:40:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that after finding Jesus, believers no longer need money, titles, or large crowds, as these things do not define identity or provide true fulfillment.
• Evangelism and Sacrifice [00:40:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor applies the story to the congregation's family life, urging them to view saving their family as a 'trophy' worth the risk, culminating in an altar call for those yet to accept Christ.

• Sermon Illustration [00:08:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about a fishing tournament with a new partner. He describes the awkwardness of a new partnership, the technical details of catching fish, and a specific moment where he hooked a large bass ('unicorn') and his partner fumbled the net, leading to a humorous tension comparable to a 'silent time of your marriage'.
• Sermon Illustration [00:11:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a fishing tournament story where he and his partner, Dave, hooked a large 9-pound fish that got stuck in underwater brush. Despite the pastor's herniated disc and the cold 60-degree water, Dave jumped into the water to retrieve the fish. After a tense struggle involving a telescoping pole and a large stump, Dave managed to grab the fish's lip. The pastor connects this 'unlikely' but 'undeniable' victory to Jesus enduring the cross for the joy of saving humanity.
• Sermon Illustration [00:36:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about traveling to Napa with a driver named Clint, a musician who toured with One Republic and Demi Lovato. He recounts asking Clint about his most 'transcendent moment,' leading into a story about Clint's experience playing with U2 in Zurich, which serves as an analogy for the overwhelming nature of God's grace.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a story about a musician (implied to be The Edge from U2) who, when asked about his most transcendent moment, rejected the idea of performing for 100,000 fans in Zurich. Instead, he described a moment in a small church with only 30 people where he was worshiping, the guitar spoke where words couldn't, and everyone was weeping. The musician concluded that Jesus in the midst of those 30 people was greater than the massive concert.

• Pastoral Charge [00:35:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > Surrender one's life to Jesus
• Pastoral Charge [00:41:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > Call upon the name of Jesus to be saved from sins and make a decision for Christ.

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:07] Welcome to Easter at Genesis Metro Church. We are super excited to be able to share this first of five services with you. I hope tonight you've already been inspired by the worship, that mashup at the end, that got me.
[00:00:24] I hope that if we understand we're all in different places as we come to this service, but I hope that we can all end up at the same place by the end.
[00:00:35] And so I hope that I can share some stories with you tonight, obviously the greatest story that has ever been told.
[00:00:43] And that's the thing is that there's glory in a great story.
[00:00:46] And when we think about all the things that God has done for us, that we get to come and celebrate what our Savior did for us, man, I hope that that resonates with your heart.
[00:00:56] I hope that it's not just another Easter.
[00:00:59] I hope this is the greatest Easter of all time.
[00:01:01] If you came in here tonight with some heaviness in your heart, I have a solution set for you.
[00:01:07] If you came in here and you're trying to find your fit in a place, I hope that you'll hear the vision of Genesis Metro and how aligned it is with God's word. And then I hope that if anyone
[00:01:16] in here is hurting, that they will find that the church is a place to find healing and to find hope. And so we're going to get into it tonight, but we're going to read our theme verses, our
[00:01:27] theme verses for our series that we've been in that has crescendoed here tonight is Hebrews chapter 12 verses one through three. And if you, if you're a first time guest and you haven't been, don't, don't feel like this is a movie and you missed all the first scenes. Okay. If you know
[00:01:44] the story of Jesus, you know, you know how it is. So it says, therefore, since we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses, he's saying that there's all of these people that have come
[00:01:55] before us. And he lists them all in the previous chapter. And he says, when we look at their testimony, they have witnessed, they have seen something incredible. They've experienced something incredible. And we said at the outset of this series that we wanted everyone that walks
[00:02:12] through our doors to have a God story that they can tell for the rest of their lives. And what we found is that some people are in our church. They're coming in as either fresh believers or
[00:02:25] believers that have been on the sidelines for so long. And when they think about the last God story in their life, sometimes it's years, sometimes it might be decades. And then for some it's never.
[00:02:36] And we believe that when you encounter the almighty, it creates a God story and that all of us are supposed to have a testimony. And it says that the testimony of others is there for
[00:02:47] a reason to inspire us. When we are surrounded by all of these witnesses, it pushes us. It inspires us. It even holds us accountable because it says there's some things that you do in response to
[00:03:01] the testimony. Number one, you have to get rid of the weights that are holding you down. And he separates out the sin that so easily entangles. He said, so on one hand, there are weights that
[00:03:13] we are carrying that we were never supposed to. Some of you in here, you are proud of the amount of weight that is crushing you. And you're like, look at how much weight I can carry. And God is
[00:03:25] saying, yeah, but there's going to come a moment where you need to run, that you need to be able to endure. And because you have so much weight on you, you're going to fail the test. He said,
[00:03:35] so if you'll allow me, I'll take that weight off of your shoulders. Do you think it's possible that you came in here tonight with some weight on your shoulders that you're unwilling to let God help
[00:03:46] you with. You're unwilling to let other believers help you with. You're a Christian, but you say, I'm a Lone Ranger Christian. I can be just as good a Christian at my house as I can be down
[00:03:56] there in community, even though that's not biblical at all. And so tonight I would encourage you, if you're carrying some weight, if you're carrying some loneliness, if you're carrying burdens where you feel like it's all on you, I promise you the proper way to live in light of
[00:04:11] the cross is that it's all on God. And the more that it's all on God, the more I want to give him my effort. Yes. It's not saying sit on the sidelines. It's saying that God is my strength.
[00:04:22] God is my rock. So I cast off the weight and then I, I remove the sin that easily entangles me.
[00:04:28] I don't have time to get into that tonight, but I don't think it's a stretch that you would agree that sin just has a way of sticking to us, right? We find ourselves caught up in situations.
[00:04:40] he says after you get rid of the weight and you remove the sin the web of sin he said that you run with endurance the race that is marked out for you and man we want you to be able to run the race
[00:04:55] that God has marked out for you we're going to find that the eastern message is intertwined so symbiotically that it is impossible to separate out the cross with your race.
[00:05:11] And if you have found a way to do Christianity without a cross, then my friend, I am going to challenge you tonight that you can't have Christianity without the cross. And the church said, amen. Oh man, we're going to preach a sermon tonight. All right. I'm not saving the
[00:05:30] best for Sunday. Trust me. I saved the best for first service on Saturday night. I've been, I've been, I've been waiting. I've been patiently waiting to preach this sermon. Okay. So when it comes to the next verse, it says, keeping our eyes on Jesus, we've worked for about six weeks to get
[00:05:51] to verse two. And so we need to enjoy this. Okay. Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith for the joy that lay before him. He endured the cross, despising the shame,
[00:06:07] and has sat down at the right hand of God. Another Easter egg for all of our people that have been here since January. We know how important it is that the high priest of the
[00:06:18] Old Testament never was able to settle, was never able to sit. Every year he had to get up and come back and do it again, come back and do it again, because the sacrifices of a religious system could
[00:06:28] never satisfy what God had in order to save us. It took a better priest. It took a better sacrifice.
[00:06:35] And the Bible says that Jesus offered himself one time and that his payment was sufficient.
[00:06:40] And then he sat down at the right hand of God, letting you know that your salvation was purchased.
[00:06:46] It was complete. And if you put your faith in Jesus, you can know that it is secure in Christ.
[00:06:52] Man, that's good. Okay. I'm just getting excited. All right. Okay. That's not the sermon. That's just fun. Verse three, and this is as far as we'll go. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself. Sinners. Who in here has ever sinned? The Bible says if you don't think
[00:07:16] you're a sinner, you're a liar. And guess what lying is? See that? So when it says hostility from sinners, who is that? Us. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from people like us. When you consider him, it says you won't grow weary and you won't give up.
[00:07:48] Now I've preached since I was 16 years old. I'm 51 years old. What I have come to know with absolute certainty is that there are people in here that are ready to quit, that are ready to give up on something that's important to God. And I hope tonight that you'll
[00:08:12] listen to this story. And if you reflect, if you embrace the cross, the cross won't let you quit.
[00:08:20] The cross won't let you go. The cross won't settle for less than your absolute best.
[00:08:28] So with that in mind, I'd like to tell you a story. We're going to call it unlikely.
[00:08:36] A couple of weeks ago, I got to fish my first tournament of the season. Me and a fellow church member are starting a new season. We've never fished together before in a tournament sense.
[00:08:49] And so it's very much like a new marriage is the way I would describe it, right? You're going to fuss, you're going to fight, you got to figure out, you know, how the other guy operates. You
[00:09:00] got to know like who's going to be the net man and who's going to put the fish in the live well, who's going to cull the fish when you catch more. And so we were out there and so we're both like
[00:09:11] doing the overly nice thing because we're just getting started you know like oh no it's okay oh yes you go ahead you know and so you know we're fishing along and it's first two hours of the day
[00:09:20] and we've caught our limit and we've got five in the box and so that goes in the live well if you don't know how tournament fishing goes and there are anybody in here that's worried about the fish
[00:09:30] I know how our culture is today they are just fine they're oxygenated they're everything we let them go and they just swim off at the end no fish were harmed in the making of this sermon okay
[00:09:39] Okay, so we're going down this stretch and we're trying to put the pieces together.
[00:09:49] And that's the thing I love about fishing.
[00:09:50] It's like a chess match, right?
[00:09:52] And ended up that another church member fishes in this club and we got to having a talk and I had given him some information because he didn't have time to practice.
[00:10:01] And so I asked him how many he had.
[00:10:03] He had five.
[00:10:04] We just happened to fortuitously meet up.
[00:10:05] And I said, what'd you catch him on?
[00:10:07] And he said, this specific lure.
[00:10:08] And I'll show it to you at this point.
[00:10:09] It's a chatterbait.
[00:10:10] this is a blue herring this is a jackhammer made by z-man and that is a lake fork magic trophy lures magic shad in a five and a half okay that's what you were wanting to know okay so that's a
[00:10:26] chatterbait and um so we were we were going back out of the stretch and we had caught some fish and i repositioned the boat and this older dude that was out on a dock he started telling us that
[00:10:36] He had sunk some brush out here and he said, some guys caught an 11 right out there.
[00:10:40] And now 11 is like, uh, it's a five pound bass is a giant bass.
[00:10:45] Okay.
[00:10:45] Eight is a trophy.
[00:10:46] 11 is you caught a unicorn.
[00:10:49] Okay.
[00:10:49] And so, so we were, we were going down that same stretch and I said, yeah, on the graph, I saw those brush piles and I was like, you know what?
[00:10:57] I just, the other guy just told me about this, this, you know, a chatterbait bite.
[00:11:01] And so I was like, you know what?
[00:11:02] I'll just make a long cast.
[00:11:03] So I bomb cast parallel to a bank on a bluff wall and it was in the spawning season so the fish are up there and so usually the females are off the bank just a little bit, three to four foot of water
[00:11:13] and they have to sun for their eggs and that's how the spawn happens.
[00:11:15] Anyway, and so I make this long cast, I start reeling it in, right?
[00:11:19] I start reeling it in and all of a sudden, dude, I mean, boom, like a fish hit it and it went out straight from the bank and that's what they always do, always go out to deeper water
[00:11:29] and when you start to horse, So you start to pull up on that fish, they'll come to the surface and then you're going to find out, you know, where you're at. And like, dude, this fish broke the water and it, oh my gosh,
[00:11:42] it was like a, you know, it was like slow motion. And so I'm like, net, net, net. And it gets intense at this moment. Okay. Because if the net man fumbles the net here, we're going to have like
[00:11:52] that silent time of your marriage where it's understood that everyone is not happy right now.
[00:12:01] so he he came up there with the net and he stuck it in the water and and i have a specific way that i like to do it i don't i don't want the net in the water because if you're not careful what you'll
[00:12:13] do is you the person will jab for the fish before and they'll knock it off and so you don't want that you want to wait till you bring that that head up right at the boat then you go under okay
[00:12:23] and so he had the net in the water now i did i probably got a little i probably yelled because i was like no no get the net get the net out of the water and i'm like you know that's a rodeo
[00:12:32] and so when he comes to the boat he starts she's well it's a she but what it doesn't matter she's right there and and when i went to lift her she said you're not in charge of this rodeo sir and
[00:12:42] she dug down and she went under the boat okay this is this is the worst this is when it's 15 pound test this this fish is going to break off all right and so like now i'm trying to get over
[00:12:51] here on this trolling motor and back it off so i can get on the right side of the fish and all of a sudden it was like and also it was stuck it was stuck and now i'm trying to lift it and there's
[00:13:01] a distinct feeling when a fish gets into some brush that's beneath the service that you can't get it out and so what you have to do is you have to sit there just put pressure on them and then
[00:13:09] you hope that they swim back out the way that they came oftentimes they'll do that and so so as i'm sitting there and i'm like oh okay at some point you have to let off a little line to see if they'll
[00:13:20] still on there because like this fish might not even be on right now and so like i left a little line is like i was like okay still on he's still on he's still on so we're sitting there looking
[00:13:31] each other. And I finally look at my partner. I said, one of us is going to have to get in the water. Now, if you don't know, I have a herniated disc right now and I'm having surgery is impending
[00:13:47] and I definitely shouldn't be out here even doing this activity that I'm doing. And when I said one of us, I did not mean me. Okay. It was 60 degree water, which after long periods of exposure,
[00:14:01] you can have hypothermia and die anyway. And so, so I, I think the first one kind of just went by the wayside, you know, like, like, is he, is he being serious about that? I don't know. Cause
[00:14:13] again, it's the first time. And I was like, okay, listen, one of us is going to have to get in this water. And he just looked at me and I was like, he sat down, started taking his, you gotta take
[00:14:28] your shirt off. All you don't want it, you know, anyway, I'm not gonna get X-rated, but anyway, you gotta get down. And again, this is our first time together. I'm asking this man to get in 60
[00:14:36] degrees. You understand, like, you know, it's, it's fairly intense. So he slides into the water and I will tell you, he, he manned up at this moment because everyone, this is the water that makes you go, you know, like, have you ever gotten cold? And he didn't even do anything. And so I was
[00:14:53] like, well, maybe it's not that bad. I looked at him, I said, is it cold? He goes, yeah, it's cold.
[00:14:56] And so, so he's got one hand holding onto the gunwale of the boat. Okay. And I still got the rod in my hand and every now and then i'm letting it go and it's like he's still on there i'm like
[00:15:08] i'm like do you feel anything he goes no i was like just feel around with your feet and it's about 10 foot of water and i don't know how high the brush is in the water and he's like feeling
[00:15:17] around he goes i can't feel anything and so i'm panicking i'm like oh what do i do what do i do and i remember i have this tool that's like a telescoping uh tool that whenever you get hung
[00:15:25] up it allows you to pull your lure up and i'm like maybe that'll work and so i was like here hold this. So now he's got the gunwale of the boat with one hand. He's got the rod in his other hand
[00:15:35] and his three quarters of his body is submerged in the water. And I am high. It's, it's intense.
[00:15:40] And so I, I get, I get this pole and I extend it out 15 feet and I hand it to him. He hands me back the rod and he starts pulling. And I'm thinking like, I'm thinking you're going to have to dive
[00:15:50] down is what, you know, I'm thinking, but I'm unwilling to say that at this point. And so, so he's like lifting this pole and he says he said it's coming up it's coming up and i was like what
[00:16:00] and so so now i'm just waiting and he's like lifting this pole and i see and this is not a stick okay this is a good 30 to 40 pound stump that is in the water and this fish is attached
[00:16:13] to it and all of a sudden behind the boat there is this or out to the right i guess of the boat was a splash and i thought he was kicking his feet trying to stay up because the brand you know was
[00:16:23] pulling him down. And I said, was that you? He goes, that's the fish. And I was like, oh my gosh.
[00:16:27] And so I look over there and, and I, and I started, I didn't know what to do at this point.
[00:16:31] I have the rod. He has this stump and there's a pole and there's a sea. And I was like, okay, I got to just grab this, this tree because the rod is no longer even important because the line
[00:16:40] is all wrapped up inside of the street. So I grabbed the tree and I pull the tree back toward us that pulls the fish back. And he's got the pole now on his lap, holding onto the boat with
[00:16:51] a stump in this hand and he reaches and dude snatches the lip of this fish. Now you say to yourself, you say to yourself, right? Is this one of those fishing tales? And I'm going to tell you,
[00:17:08] I meant to tell this story two weeks ago, but once I started thinking about it, I was like, no, that's Easter. That's Easter. Seeing as we're surrounded, right? By this great cloud of witnesses wouldn't it just be god good if some old boy across the way started seeing all this
[00:17:26] and videoed it and then sent it to me oh let's watch it this guy is in the water getting his giant fat he got it and it's a it's a it's a 10 pounder yeah i mean it is a it is a monster
[00:17:50] oh my gosh i've never seen anything like it i've got you on film bubba all right by the way i pretty much blacked out at this point i didn't even know how dave got back in the boat right
[00:18:22] i'm sitting there talking to this guy i'm yelling yelling my phone number across this cove so he could text it to me i'm thinking about the fish i'm thinking about what just happened and dave scrambles in the boat somehow next thing i know he just he's in the boat with me
[00:18:36] man, I thought how many points in this story was it unlikely, right? I mean, if you did this, I sat down in my, my seat and I just started laughing. I just, that's all the only response
[00:18:51] I had was like how ridiculous we must've looked to the guy, first of all. And yet how amazing it was. I said, I just, I told him, I said, we just experienced the greatest fishing story of our
[00:19:03] lives. We will never have a moment greater than this moment for the rest of our lives. And when he reached out and snatched it, I was like, dude, we went from unlikely to undeniable in just a
[00:19:15] moment. We won big fish and we won the belt. Bring me the belt. Bring me the belt. That's right.
[00:19:25] That's right. I waited weeks to tell this story. When that guy said I had never seen anything like what was he saying? He was saying, man, to get into 60 degree water, right? Man, the trouble
[00:19:49] had to be worth the trophy, right? The reward had to be worth the risk. The prize had to be worth the pain. And there's glory in every great story. And every now and then for a three pounder,
[00:20:04] we wouldn't have gotten the water. But for a nine pounder, I think we got, I think we got the photos of the actual fish. Did you put those up there? That was our best five. And then here is the big
[00:20:15] old girl. It's a nine pound, two, four, nine and a quarter fish. So that is an amazing, amazing catch. Once in a lifetime in a tournament setting too. Biggest fish I've ever caught in a tournament.
[00:20:30] And so you can take it off. People will get fixated. So there are some trophies, right, that are worth getting in the water for. And I hope that I can preach the rest of this sermon
[00:20:43] because, here, take this belt. This is ridiculous. I want us to think about some similitudes.
[00:20:53] It said there in verse two, for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, right?
[00:21:01] For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. That guy said, I've never seen anything like it. Paul says, consider him, consider him. For the rest of this sermon, we're going to consider
[00:21:18] him. We're going to look at what he said about what he was going to do and then what he did.
[00:21:25] Look at these verses with me. It says in Luke 19, 10, Jesus said this, for the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. It says in Luke 4, 18, that he came to set
[00:21:38] the captives free and that the blind would be able to see and the oppressed would have liberty.
[00:21:43] In Romans 5, 6, it says, for while we were still helpless, at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. In John 13, 1, it says, having loved them to the end. I want you to think about
[00:22:03] that for a moment because you can't consider the cross without understanding what Jesus wanted to accomplish. You can't understand what he was trying to do. He said all of these things. So tonight, if you are in here and you are lost, Jesus came to save you. If tonight you are in
[00:22:23] here and you're a prisoner to something, to someone, he wants to set you free. If you don't have vision for your life, he wants to give vision to the blind. Whenever we think about it,
[00:22:35] we are just like that fish you see we were wrapped up and we were about to be lost and it looked so unlikely until Jesus stepped in and he said the same thing right that the trophy is worth the
[00:22:54] trouble right that the prize is worth the pain that the reward of you accepting him was worth the risk. And so Jesus waded into the waters of this world because he saw you. He saw you
[00:23:09] about to be lost. He saw you about to go under. He saw that without him, you had no hope. And so he said, I'm willing. I'm willing because they're worth it. I'm willing to endure the cross because
[00:23:23] I'll take what they deserve because I find them to be worth it. So tonight when you're considering him, I hope that you would say to yourself, man, were there any times in your life that it looked
[00:23:38] unlikely? Has there ever been a moment where you needed Jesus? And man, if he didn't step in and do what he did, you wouldn't be here right now. Isn't it amazing how it can go from unlikely to
[00:23:56] undeniable in just a moment, in just a prayer, in just a surrender, in just an acknowledgement?
[00:24:04] I want that so bad for every person sitting in this room tonight. When it says for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. That's you. That's you. He said, I can endure this
[00:24:26] because I see something that is worth everything. How does that make you feel tonight that Jesus said, their salvation is my joy. And that joy can cause me to endure pain for a season, to endure
[00:24:46] suffering for a season, to endure a sacrifice for a season, because I see something that's worth everything. So tonight, as you're considering him, I hope that that would fill your cup up to the point of overflowing. The only response to that has to be gratitude, right? You have to say thank
[00:25:06] you to God for doing all that you have done. Whenever we think about the cross, he says, consider him that endured this cross. I wanted us to think for a moment how the cross confounds
[00:25:22] people. It just does. Have you ever tried to talk to an unbeliever about the cross? It really, it really doesn't make sense would you guys would you guys agree with me like if you think okay
[00:25:36] what are the odds that Jesus could do what he did if you just take simple math probability and you say well how many people if you believe in creation you believe in a relatively young earth
[00:25:46] then how many people have ever lived it's around 45 to 50 billion so Jesus is the only Jesus that has ever lived so you'd have to say that if you took all people of all time that have ever lived
[00:25:57] there was a one in 50 billion shot that Jesus would be the guy that he was. So that in and of itself makes it unlikely. Would you say that that sounds unlikely? If I said you got a one in 50
[00:26:06] billion chance of living the rest of the day, would you like those odds? No, you'd like a little bit better odds. So whenever we think about considering him, we have to consider what happened that day. You see, the disciples, and there was this large crowd that when Jesus walked
[00:26:26] in on Palm Sunday, they hailed him as a king. They were literally putting these palm branches down and they were acknowledging him. He's the king. He's the king. He's the king. And the crowd was
[00:26:39] loving him because it looked like what they wanted Jesus to be. And then a few short days later, they were out in a garden and Jesus was praying, not just for the people that were with him,
[00:26:53] but he was praying for you. And they came and they arrested him. And then the moment that they arrested him, it started taking on a different tone, didn't it? It started looking unlikely.
[00:27:08] Like if some people walked in right now and arrested me, it would look kind of unlikely that this was the church you should put your faith and trust. Would you guys agree? That would be a
[00:27:17] moment, right? We would be viral. Anyway, it says that they led him away and then the mockery began.
[00:27:29] And the more they mocked him, the less he looked like the guy that was going to save us.
[00:27:36] They put a robe on him and they put a crown on his head and they began to bow down to him as they were punching him.
[00:27:46] And the more that they punched and the more that they mocked, as the people were looking on, if anyone had thought that he was going to be that and now he's this, it just seemed like it was unlikely.
[00:27:57] as he was before Pilate and he was before Herod and he was through these six court trials that they had in a matter of hours, oftentimes Jesus was silent.
[00:28:12] He was saying nothing.
[00:28:14] And you could almost hear the people around him saying, like, say something, do something.
[00:28:22] I mean, if you are who we thought you were and you're going to do what you said you were going to do, say something, and yet it says like a lamb before the slaughter, he was silent.
[00:28:34] It looked so unlikely. And then Pilate, not wanting to have him crucified, has him flogged.
[00:28:40] And they took this cat of nine tails, and they would bend them over on a post, and they would tie their hands with a chain, and then they would take this whip with bone and pottery, and they
[00:28:50] would whip them, and then they would twist, and then they would rip the flesh off of the bone.
[00:28:54] and every piece of flesh that fell to the ground, it seemed like hope was further away.
[00:29:04] It seemed the likelihood of this man being what we wanted him to be was so minuscule.
[00:29:13] Then they put a cross on him and as he's walking up this hill, it says that he fell beneath the weight.
[00:29:21] And obviously at the moment that he falls, it's like, well, if he's, get up, Jesus.
[00:29:28] aren't you can't you I mean you've done so many other things can't you they get to the top of this hill and it's a place reserved for the worst and surely if he's God why would he be
[00:29:47] out here where only criminals and the worst of criminals are placed it seemed unlikely if he's God he would ever be in this place and then the hammer rang out and they put nails in his
[00:30:05] hands and his feet and then they lifted him and there was a pre-dug hole for the cross member and it fell into place often times jolting their body pulling their shoulders out of socket that sound
[00:30:25] can you hear it can you hear that sound today can you see him there seems so unlikely. How could this be the man who's going to save us all? Then he began to speak and
[00:30:48] it got worse. It was like he was reading his own obituary. John, when I'm gone, take care of my mom. Well, that doesn't sound like a guy who's planning on staying. Father, forgive them for
[00:31:03] they know not what they do. To tell us that it's paid in full. And then he gave up his last breath and now he's dead, how unlikely is this story to ever end in a way that is good?
[00:31:35] How oftentimes do we want God to be the king riding in triumphantly? And when he doesn't do what we want him to do, when we want him to do it, when he's something other than what we expect,
[00:31:52] We cast him aside.
[00:31:58] Paul says, consider him.
[00:32:01] Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners.
[00:32:08] You see, it looks so unlikely when they put him in the grave.
[00:32:14] From man's point of view, we understand things.
[00:32:20] The world's point of view is different than God's point of view.
[00:32:24] I want to show you this.
[00:32:26] Here's the point.
[00:32:27] If he is a king, why would he ever be on a cross?
[00:32:32] We look at, from a world's perspective, greatness lifts me. It doesn't lower me. Power provides recognition and prevents humiliation. Riches, wealth, keep pain away and provide limitless options. So when we see a king on a cross, it does not compute. But what if we look at the same story
[00:32:58] from God's perspective. Paul said in the Hebrews chapter 12 that we read at the beginning, consider him. And then in Philippians chapter two, he read it from God's perspective. Can I read it for you? Would you guys allow me to read it for, say amen if you're with me, right? Okay. Okay.
[00:33:12] Okay. He says, adopt, Paul says, adopt the same attitude that was in Christ over in Hebrews. He says, consider him. How are you going to adopt the attitude of the cross? If you don't consider
[00:33:26] him from God's point of view, not your point of view, not those people's point, not the crowd that yelled crucify his point of view. What is God's point of view? Who existing in the form of
[00:33:37] God did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a
[00:33:49] man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
[00:33:57] And what happens next? For this reason, what? The cross. For this reason, God has highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow
[00:34:15] in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It looked unlikely, but on the third day when he got up out of the
[00:34:31] grave, man, it became undeniable. Are you hearing what I'm saying tonight? That if you walked in here and you had an image of what God should be, and then you see what he is, he's the opposite
[00:34:43] every single time. He existed as God, but he did not hold on to the things that were God. He emptied himself. He did not exalt himself above. He humbled himself. At every turn, instead of saying,
[00:34:58] I'm up here and I have regality and I have strength and I have power, he becomes weak and he gives himself a place where he has no way out. He chooses the path of the cross. He chooses to
[00:35:09] be crucified. And I think how many of us, when we see that cross, what is our response? This is your Easter opportunity. The only proper response when we consider the cross is surrender. Tonight, simple question, have you surrendered? Are you surrendered to Jesus? He took up his cross
[00:35:40] and now the cross calls for us.
[00:35:45] You see, the world can't imagine a king ever on a cross and God can't imagine a king without a cross.
[00:35:57] If you're gonna follow after Jesus, the cross calls you.
[00:36:02] You can't get out of it.
[00:36:05] A fully surrendered life to God is a daily choice.
[00:36:10] You need God in your life.
[00:36:12] You need God to save you.
[00:36:14] You need a church to surround you.
[00:36:18] I got to go to Napa this week with some friends.
[00:36:24] It was the only time that was gonna work out with our schedule, and I would usually never travel on Easter week, but it was just one of those things where it was like now or never.
[00:36:34] And I was thinking I'm getting ready to have surgery and all that stuff anyway.
[00:36:38] I was like, I guess I'll go.
[00:36:40] And as we're going out there, you know, it's beautiful.
[00:36:44] We were having some fun with some friends, and we had a driver and his name was Clint.
[00:36:51] And if you hang out with me very long, you'll understand like I always wanna hear people's story.
[00:36:56] I just wanna know the story, you know?
[00:36:58] So as Clint, we got to hang out with him for three days, slowly got to know his story.
[00:37:05] And it turned out that he's a musician and that he had toured with One Republic and had played with Demi Lovato, Nelly Furtado, and I don't know, all the autos.
[00:37:16] and uh and was not like you know like oh i'll check on my resume you know we are we are pulling this information out of him and i firmly believe by the way uh i went to napa just to get this
[00:37:29] story for you guys so uh so we're on our last trip back to our place and and i was like you know i'm like i'm kind of fanboying you know honestly i'm just like tell me more you know because i
[00:37:43] toured with you too on the 360 tour. And, and I was like, so now I got to like, I was like, what?
[00:37:50] Okay. Okay. Okay. Tell me this. Here's my question. What is the most transcendent moment that you're like, I should not be here. Have you guys ever had one of those moments? Like you, you go off on a
[00:38:04] vacation or you're hanging out with some friends and there's something beautiful. It could be in the mountains or the Rockies. It could be out on a beach somewhere where you just like, you, just feel like, you know, you're having this out of body experience. And I can't imagine
[00:38:15] touring with all of these legends. Like, I was like, what, what is it? You know? And I'm not going to tell you the order that he gave it. I'm going to reverse it because it's a better
[00:38:25] preaching sermon. But his second, his second was, was this. I think we have an image of it. I found it online. This is Zurich in 2010, I believe. And they played two shows with U2 and it was
[00:38:39] a hundred thousand people, uh, over both nights. And he said, uh, that they played an encore song and they, they played where the streets have no name. And I was like, Oh my gosh. Like, you know,
[00:38:51] it's like, well, look at all this, take it off. But how he answered the question, he goes about two months ago, I was at church on a Sunday night and we were playing this song and it came time
[00:39:11] from my part and he was playing lead and, and he goes, and I had my eyes closed and I was just worshiping. And he said, the guitar began to say what words couldn't. And he said, and I opened my
[00:39:26] eyes and I played a little longer than I was supposed to. But when I looked up all the 30 people that were in the room, they were all weeping. And he said, that was my most transcendent
[00:39:38] moment, Jesus and 30 people on a Sunday night was greater than 100,000 screaming fans.
[00:39:52] And I thought, wow, why is that so undeniable to me? Because it's so opposite of the world.
[00:39:59] You see, once we find Jesus, all we need is just Jesus. We don't need a bigger crowd.
[00:40:08] We don't need more money.
[00:40:09] We don't need more stuff.
[00:40:11] We don't need more titles.
[00:40:13] Those are all good things, but they don't define us.
[00:40:17] And here is this man who had been to the top of the mountain and been around the greatest of the greats.
[00:40:22] And yet when I asked him his most transcendent moment, he did not hesitate.
[00:40:26] He said, just 30 people on a Sunday night playing a guitar in the background and Jesus being in the midst.
[00:40:33] Do you see what I'm saying?
[00:40:34] Everyone in here needs to decide for their family that you just need Jesus and he'll make everything else work. There is glory in great stories and Jesus is the greatest story of all time. We want to adopt his attitude towards this world
[00:40:59] and for the next family, we say that's our trophy. That trophy is worth all the trouble.
[00:41:07] man that reward is worth all the risk that prize that one day we get to hold up and say like Paul I did all that I could by every possible means to save some tonight maybe you've yet to accept
[00:41:27] Christ maybe tonight you would hear that story and say man you walked in here unlikely and you're one decision away from being undeniable. If you would call upon the name of Jesus, he would save you from your sins. Tonight, I hope you'd make that decision. We're going to have one
[00:41:47] last song that we sing as a congregation. And I hope that this worship fills your cup up. I told you we weren't all at the same place when we started, but I think we can all end at the same
[00:41:57] place that we can worship and say that Jesus is the name above all names. Would you pray with me?
[00:42:03] Father, we ask in the name of Jesus for every family, we ask a blessing. We ask God that you pour out your favor on them. We ask God that you would touch hearts. God, if a family in here feels
[00:42:16] isolated and alone, like they don't have a church family that they can rally around or they haven't found that place that they can invest in, God, that you would lead them in those decisions.
[00:42:27] God, we pray that on this day that you gave your life and rose again, that we would give you the same name that God gave you, a name that is above every name. We ask these things in the name of
[00:42:38] Jesus. And the church said, amen. Would you stand and worship with us?