Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Good morning.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Will you join us as we worship together?
[00:00:26] Speaker C: Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin.
Lost without hope, with no place to begin.
Your love made a way to let mercy come in.
When death was arrested and my life began.
Ash was redeemed, only beauty remains.
My orphan heart was given a day.
My morning grew quiet, my feet rose to dance.
When death was arrested, when my life began.
[00:01:33] Speaker A: Oh, your grace so free washes over me.
[00:01:42] Speaker C: You have made me new.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Now life begins with you.
Release from my chains, I'm a prisoner no more.
My shame was a ransom he faithfully bore.
He cancelled my death and he called me his friend.
Oh, when death was arrested and my life began.
Oh, your grace so free washes over me.
You have made me new. Now life begins with you.
It's your endless love pouring down on us.
You have made us new. Now life begins with you.
Oh, yes, it does.
Our Savior, displayed on a criminal's cross.
In darkness, rejoiced as though heaven had lost.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Now, after the Sabbath, towards the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, his clothing white as snow.
And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek. Jesus was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: But then Jesus arose without freedom in him.
That's when death was arrested and my life began.
Hallelujah.
That's when death was arrested. My life began.
Oh, your grace so free washes over me.
You have made me new. Now life begins with you.
It's your endless love pouring down on us.
You have made just new. Now life begins with you.
Oh, we're free.
Free forever. We're free.
Come join the song of all the redeemed. Yes, we're free.
Free forever end.
When death was arrested, my life began. Oh, we're free.
Free forever we come join the song of all the redeemed. Yes, we're free. Yes, we're free forever. Amen.
When death was arrested and my life began.
When death was arrested and my life began. Yes, when death was arrested and my life began.
Thank you, God.
Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because he lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living.
Just because he lives,
[00:06:51] Speaker B: he is risen.
[00:06:59] Speaker A: God sent his son.
They called him Jesus he came to love, healing, forgive he lived and died true by my pardon an empty grave is there to prove My Savior lives Because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living Just because He lives.
The END in one day I'll cross that river that I'll find I find O with me ending as death
[00:08:28] Speaker B: gives
[00:08:28] Speaker A: way to victory I see the light to glory and I'll know He lives because he lives I can face tomorrow Because he he lives all fear is gone Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living Just because He lives.
Sing it out together. Come on.
Because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living Just because He lives because he lives I can face tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone Because I know
[00:10:21] Speaker C: he
[00:10:21] Speaker A: holds the future and life is worth living Just because He lives because he lives I confess tomorrow because he lives all fear is gone Because I know oh he holds the future and life is worth living Just because He lives Because I know he holds the future and life is worth the living Just because He lives.
[00:11:25] Speaker C: Amen. Amen.
[00:11:26] Speaker D: You can have a seat. Good morning. I am so glad that you are here this morning. What a joy it is that we get to come together on this Resurrection Sunday and celebrate what we really should celebrate every day, all year long. The gift that Jesus gave us when he died on the cross to reconcile us to God. What a gift. I am so glad that each of you chose to join us us this morning. Whether you are a regular here, a familiar face or whether you are here with family or friends or this is your new time. I know we also probably have some people here on the live stream. I just want to say welcome.
This is a great church community. I hope that you join us again if this is your first time or even if you've been here a few times and you're ready to connect with us. There's a connect card in the pew in front of you. We would love it if you have would fill that out and take it to our guest services center just outside this door. They would love to say hello to you and even give you a gift.
Hopefully you grab the sermon notes on your way in there at each of the entrances. But we also have a fantastic Westgate Chapel app that would have those in there along with all the other wonderful things coming up in the next few weeks and months.
I want to bring Your attention to one quick reminder. This morning, we have, in a couple of weeks, on April 25, we have a women's conference.
I know it seems like the end of April is going to take forever to get here, but you know, it's going to be here before we know it. So, ladies, if you have not registered yet, I would encourage you to do that. You can do that through the app. There's even a QR code on the back of the sermon notes this morning or up on the screen, you can register. I recommend you do it early. There's some breakout sessions, and you want to be able to get your choice which one you want.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: But.
[00:13:18] Speaker D: But it's going to be a really beautiful time of fellowship together. We're going to be focused on the peace of God, peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with others. So I hope that you choose to join us that morning.
Now, before we go on in our worship, I would love it if I could just invite you to stand up and maybe look for a face you don't recognize and say hello to somebody new this morning.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: All right.
[00:13:45] Speaker B: If I can bring us back together, I'm going to pray over us.
Apologize. These Easter lilies are getting to me.
Sneeze on the front row here.
Father God, we thank you. Thank you that you have made us
[00:14:02] Speaker A: and you have loved us so well.
[00:14:12] Speaker B: Father God, you are so good to us. Even when we. We don't earn it, we don't deserve it.
And you came and you were faithful to do the restoration that you promised so long ago.
And that we get to be here today to celebrate who you are, not just what you do.
You are a God that is good and faithful and kind and loving and compassionate and full of. Full of mercy and grace.
May we glorify you today as we celebrate your rising Lord, as we celebrate your sovereign kingship over this universe, may we glorify you wholly and completely in your name.
Amen.
We're going to continue on our worship, and as we do, we're going to start this song. And I invite you to pass the tithe buckets here as we continue in just another form of worship, obviously in our giving and right down the center aisles. If you guys would just take that and pass it.
[00:15:30] Speaker C: You weary, come all you thirsty Come to the well that never runs dry Drink of the water come and thirst no more.
Come all you sinners come find his mercy Come to the table he will set Satisfy taste of his goodness Find what you're looking for.
[00:16:07] Speaker A: For God so loved the world that
[00:16:11] Speaker C: he Gave us his one and only son to save us. Whoever believes in him will live forever.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: Bring all your failures Bring your addictions Come lay them down at the foot
[00:16:44] Speaker C: of the cross Jesus is waiting there with open arms Coming to his open
[00:16:54] Speaker A: arms Us for God so love the world that he gave us Is one
[00:17:01] Speaker C: and only Son to save us. Whoever believes in him will live forever.
The power of hell forever defeated now it is well I'm walking in freedom for God so love God so love the world.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: Praise God, Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him.
Praise him for the wonders of his love.
Praise God.
Praise God from whom all blessings from.
Praise Him.
Praise him for the wonders of his love.
His amazing love for God so love the world that he gave us his one and only Son to save. For God so loved the world that he gave us Is one and and only Son to save us. Whoever believes in him will live forever.
The power of hell forever defeated now it is well I walking in freedom for God so love God so love the world.
Bring all your failures Bring your addictions Come lay them down at the foot of the cross.
Jesus is waiting.
God so love the world.
Amen. Right. You believe that.
There's a name higher than any other name. Amen.
I know a name that can silence roaring waves.
I know a name that can empty out a grave.
I know a name.
It's the only name that saves and it's worthy of all praise.
I call you Jesus.
I call you. I call you Healer Risen and reigning in power.
Something comes out of the grave
[00:20:19] Speaker B: every
[00:20:19] Speaker A: time I call you Jesus.
I call you. I call you Savior Worthy of glory forever.
Something comes out of the grave
[00:20:35] Speaker B: every
[00:20:36] Speaker A: time I call your name.
Yes, I have a key with dominion over death.
He holds the keys.
Yes he does.
In his holy nail scarred hands.
[00:20:57] Speaker C: He is he
[00:21:02] Speaker A: that has crushed the serpent's head.
How? Resurrected. Great I am.
I call you Jesus.
I call you. I call you Healer Risen and reigning in power.
Something comes out of the grave every time I call you Jesus.
I call you. I call you Savior worthy of glory forever.
Something comes out of the grave every time I call your name.
Change.
Break dry bones awake every time I call your name. The gates of hell shake every time I call your name.
Chains break down every time I call your name.
The case of hell shake every time I call your name.
You believe in the power in the name of Jesus.
Let me.
Where
[00:22:39] Speaker C: now your sting and where oh great your victory?
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Where?
Where old death is now your name
[00:22:59] Speaker C: and where O great your victory
[00:23:08] Speaker A: where
[00:23:09] Speaker C: all death is now your strength and
[00:23:17] Speaker A: where o grave, your victory.
Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive I call you Jesus I call you I call you healer Risen and reigning in power Something comes out of the grave every time I call you Jesus I call you I call you Savior worthy of glory forever.
Something comes out of the grave every time I call your name Chains break tribals way Every time I call your name the gates of hell shame Every time I call your name Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus Dead things come alive Dead things come alive Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus Christ.
Hallelujah.
I call you Jesus I call you, I call you he
[00:25:26] Speaker C: raining in power
[00:25:29] Speaker A: Something comes out of the grave Sing it. Every time I call you Jesus I call you I call you Sa.
Something comes out of the grave
[00:25:52] Speaker C: every
[00:25:52] Speaker A: time I call your name.
Yes, yes, yes.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Jesus, our risen Savior, we sing to you. We declare to you you are worthy
[00:26:09] Speaker A: of all of the glory.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: God, I pray for everyone in this room, God. Everyone in this building, everyone going to church across this world, God, today. Lord, I pray you would speak truth into our lives.
You would prepare the hearts of those that are here. God. And if there's someone here who has never received your gospel, God, who has never received the truth of your gospel, that you were the only way to heaven, God, I pray that you would begin speaking and working on their hearts right now.
Maybe there are people here far from you as well. God.
[00:26:44] Speaker A: Working.
[00:26:44] Speaker B: Work on them. Work on them. Draw that draw us all close to you this morning. God, we love you.
You are worthy. It's in your name we pray. Amen.
You can go ahead and have a seat.
Good morning. Oh, go ahead if you enjoyed it. He is risen.
He is. It is so great to be here worshiping with you this morning. I want to thank you for coming to worship with us if we haven't had the opportunity to meet. My name is Rob Zimmerman. I'm pastor here at Westgate. And I am thankful that you have chosen to worship with us today.
You know, as I was preparing for this morning, I was thinking about a time back when I was young, just a young kid growing up in my home church in Long Beach, California. Years ago, one of the things that I loved about my church as a young kid is that, you know, being in close proximity to the beach. There are a number of times a year where our church family, on a Sunday afternoon and evening, would head out on out to the beach together.
We would hold, like, a mini worship service around bonfires and have teaching. But it was a great time to just have fun, to play with my friends, to get in all sorts of trouble.
It was great. But I remember one specific Sunday in particular that is kind of ingrained in my memory from when I was young. I was playing with my friends, and I noticed that there was this older gentleman from our church that actually, when he came and came out onto the sand, he came with a metal detector, and he had these big old earphones and, you know, a box with a long pole and was kind of going around the sand, listening and looking for things. And at that time, I had no idea what was going on, but I was so intrigued. And so I remember running up to him and asking him, what are you doing? And he said, I'm hunting for buried treasure. And I thought, oh, that's so cool, right? And so I left all my friends behind, and I kind of followed him around for at least a couple of hours, watching and wanting to see what he would find. And he pulled all sorts of things out of the sand. There was money and coins that people had left behind that he had this little basket he would dip up, and as the sand came out, he would pull out those treasures. He would find jewelry and watches. And I was like, man, look at this. You could make a killing. I was like, can I give it a try? So he put the big old headphones on my head, and I'm walking around. I hear something. I get down, and I got a bottle cap.
So not a very valuable treasure, but, you know, it was still fun. And what happened that day is it. I remember that it just piqued an interest that was already in me. I had this, like, joy as a young kid. Think about things like buried treasure. I used to, like, make little maps of my backyard and pretend that there was a treasure hidden somewhere in the backyard, kind of like the map you'll see on the screen. Although mine were more rustic, that's not one that I made. But I would follow it around, and I wanted to hunt for that buried treasure, believing that somehow I would find something digging holes in the garden that would find something that would be of great value.
And sometimes I wonder if, you know, even our hope or desire for things like that comes because I wonder if that's also why we love things like Easter egg hunts or movies like Pirates of the Caribbean or National Treasure, because there is this idea or thing inside of our minds that maybe there's something valuable that we could find. I mean, who doesn't like finding treasure?
There's a hope that we have that we'll find something that is so valuable that our lives will be completely changed by it. You know, we've been in a series together over the past weeks leading up to Easter entitled the King.
And as we've been going through this series together, we've been looking at Jesus Journey to the Cross in the Book of Luke, looking at the final weeks leading up to the cross. And we've been inspecting and thinking about, like, what are the things that Jesus was teaching that were most important to him for his disciples and for his followers to know and believe about him. And one of the themes that comes up consistently is the theme of the kingdom of heaven and the king who has come, the king being Jesus.
And this morning, I want us to kind of maybe take a little bit step back even from where we have been to look at one of Jesus specific teachings about the kingdom of heaven. Specifically a very small parable that is found in the book of Matthew. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there to Matthew, chapter 13.
But as we look at this parable, Jesus speaks of the value and worth of the kingdom of heaven. Heaven. And even more, we'll see as we kind of look into this and have an understanding of the kingdom of heaven, that Jesus is talking not only about the kingdom of heaven, but he is talking about the value and the worth of the king who resides with that kingdom.
And so this morning, again, if you have your Bibles, Matthew chapter 13, beginning in verse 44, it'll be up here on the screen in the NIV this morning.
And here it is, one very short verse.
The kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, is like treasure hidden in a field.
And when a man found it, he hid it again. And then in his joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
What's interesting is that as Jesus tells this parable to his disciples and the people that are following along, he talks about the kingdom of heaven as a treasure, a treasure that's hidden in a field.
In other words, this man goes and finds this very valuable treasure hidden in a field. And what Jesus does is he plays off of the fact that all of us would love to find treasure that would radically change or alter our lives for the better. Because the Truth is that Jesus understands, if you're following along in your sermon notes this morning, letter A, that everybody in the this life is searching for something. All of us.
There are many things that we're searching for and treasures that we would like to have. But for each of them, at their root, there are some very foundational things that I believe we're all searching for, and Jesus knows this. We're searching for satisfaction. We're searching for security.
We're searching for fulfillment and peace or joy.
We want something that will change our lives for the better and truly something that will have a lasting quality in a world that seems to take that from us.
We are all searching for something that will mitigate the things that steal our joy and steal our pleasure and steal our security within this world. Jesus knows this.
But not only are we searching for something, that we're all searching for something. But letter B, there are also many treasures to be found, and Jesus knows this is true.
It's why we try desperately in this world to find our greatest fulfillment and our greatest pleasure in treasure, treasures, things like success or wealth or material gain.
We seek treasures of relationships and status or power and control because we think to ourselves, if I can just find these things, somehow I'll find greater contentment, greater fulfillment, more security. I will have everything that I need.
But what Jesus wants us to understand and wanted his disciples to understand about the kingdom of heaven, specifically, specifically, let her see, is that the value of this treasure of the kingdom of heaven was beyond comparison. There was nothing like it that could be offered in this world. What does he say? Jesus says that when this man who is going through a field finds the treasure, it says that he hid it again. Now that's kind of an intriguing statement. Why would he hide the treasure? Why wouldn't he just take it, turn and run with that treasure? Well, let's think about Jesus Day for just a minute and a little bit of the history behind that. You see, in Jesus Day, people didn't have the luxury that we have of safes that we might keep in our closet at home or safes that we can have in the bank or safety deposit boxes. If somebody had things that were valuable, what would they do? They would often take them and they would bury them deep in the the ground. If somebody was going to go on a long journey and they knew that they weren't going to come back for a long time, they would take and they would dig a hole to place their valuables in it, cover it over so that nobody could steal it while they were gone. Or if you think about during that time, if there was a war that would take place and soldiers were going to be coming through, they would dig a deep hole to bury their valuables and put them over so that their valuables wouldn't be raided or looted and taken from them.
But at the same time, in that culture, if somebody had done that and they didn't make it back from that long journey, or maybe they were killed in that war, those valuable treasures would be left buried underground for a very long time.
And as you think about the history behind that, what we need to understand then is that when a person would find a treasure like, like this, the person that found it would largely be legally entitled to keep it. It was theirs. But the problem is, if the land was owned by someone else, that person could put a legal claim on it and fight them in court for it. Thus, as Jesus tells this parable, it makes perfect sense that the value is so high of this treasure that has been found that this man digs a hole and buries it and puts it back in the ground because he wants to make sure that it will be his and no one else can lay claim to it. It has that much value. And then Jesus says, this man goes, and he sells everything that he has. I want you to think about the depth of the word everything in that the clear implication is that this man is poor. He doesn't have the resources to. To buy this field.
So he will sell everything. He will sell his home, his possessions, his livestock, his clothing, everything. Everything that sustains his life, he sells to gain this field. What does that tell you? That the worth and the value of what is there, he has such faith in its ability to give him the life that he has always dreamed of, that will completely satisfy and find, fulfill his every need, is far greater in value than anything that he currently has. And he is so positive of that that he will sell it all just to buy that field and to gain that treasure. What Jesus says, letter D, is this, then, that the Kingdom of Heaven is a treasure that is so valuable it is worth giving everything for.
In other words, Jesus isn't saying that he's not intimating to us that the kingdom of Heaven can be purchased or that it can be bartered or negotiated.
Read into it. What he wants us to understand is the immense value of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the immense value in comparison to everything else in this world.
So if we're going to understand the value of the Kingdom of Heaven, it makes most sense then that we would understand what Jesus meant when he was talking about the kingdom of heaven. So what is the kingdom of heaven? If you're following along in your notes, the first thing is this. It's not just a location. It's not just a location. Often when we think or hear about the kingdom of heaven in the Bible, in our minds, we might have a picture of a place, heaven itself. You'll see some pictures here on the screen. But oftentimes when we think of heaven, we think of, like, white, fluffy clouds, angels floating around a big gate or an entrance that we will walk through into this glorious place. We think of what the Bible depicts, which is streets that are made of gold, places that lead to mansions that God has prepared for us. Maybe we have a picture in our mind, like we read about in the book of Revelation, of God sitting on his throne with angels worshiping him day and night.
Oftentimes, culturally, what happens is that when we hear kingdom of heaven, we think of a location or, or we think of a place where God resides. Yet what I want you to understand is this, is that anytime that Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, he isn't just speaking of a location or a place, but he is speaking of letter B, God's perfect rule and reign over all things.
Let me give you an example of what I mean by that. Oftentimes our experience of kings and kingdoms in this world don't really help us to understand this truth. Like, if I said, what is a king or a kingdom that you know of in this world? What might you say? You would say the kingdom of England, right? You might think of Buckingham palace and this beautiful palace and the royal family that resides there. You might think of King Charles who likes to play dress up and wear his kingly outfit, right? Or when my. My context from a number of years ago, I took three trips where I took students to Cambodia. Officially, Cambodia is called the Kingdom of Cambodia. And when you're there, you can go where I went to the royal palace. The royal palace is beautiful. And when you go inside, you will see this throne room that is incredible. Everything made of gold with this throne. And here's the king of Cambodia sitting on his throne. But here's why this doesn't totally work when we're understanding king.
Because the king of England and the king of Cambodia, while they are declared as kings, they actually don't have ruling and governing power. They're figureheads. They get to go to special signings and take pictures with people. They do some good humanitarian work. But when it comes to Ruling the country. Their power is incredibly limited.
If I were to think of one place in this world that might be a close example for, for us, I might speak about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. You see, in Saudi Arabia, when you speak of the kingdom and look at that palace, that is a palace. That's where the royal family lives. But when you speak of the kingdom in Saudi Arabia, what you're speaking of is not only the country, the palace, but you're also speaking of the king. And not only are you speaking of the king, you are especially speaking of the authority, authority of the king. You see, in Saudi Arabia, the kingship is an absolute monarchy. In other words, absolute power as head of state and head of government resides with the king.
When we speak of the kingdom of heaven, this is what we are talking about. But no earthly kingdom can even come close to the power and authority of the kingdom of Heaven. When we speak of the kingdom of heaven and, and Jesus speaks of it in the New Testament, what he's talking about is the place where God resides, the glorious perfection of heaven that we have in our minds the throne where he is worshiped day and night. But he is also speaking, when he speaks of the kingdom, about God our king, speaking of his sovereign authority, his power over all things in this world. When we speak of the kingdom, we speak of the character of God. We speak of, of the gospel and his mission advancing in this world. When we speak of the kingdom of heaven, we are speaking of the king and his rule and his reign over all things.
Thus, when you bring it all together, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven, not just the location, but God himself and his authority and a power over all things. His character and his mission. The kingdom of heaven. Heaven has incomparable value.
So what is it that makes the kingdom of heaven so valuable?
To understand that you have to compare it with the kingdom of this world, the thing that we find ourselves often striving for. To find our greatest peace and satisfaction and security and all the things that we desire. How do we know that the kingdom of heaven is so much more valuable? Well, what we see is this. What makes it valuable. Letter A.
The kingdom of heaven is the restoration of all things in this world that are broken.
The Bible tells us that when God created everything in this world, he created it perfect. And when sin entered the world, it broke it. It broke its perfection. And nothing in this world seems to work the way that it was meant to be when it was created. Have you ever noticed that no matter what treasure or thing you go after in the this life and in this world, you seek some type of satisfaction or security or fulfillment from it, but it never quite offers enough or always fails you or breaks in some way, shape or form. The thing is, is that things break, economies shift, stock markets drop, jobs get lost. Years ago, when I was working as a very new youth pastor in a small church plant in Huntington beach, California, Short life church. I can remember being in the office one morning, I think I had only been there a couple of months, and there was a gentleman that was in our church, he had made millions and millions and millions of dollars in what was called the dot com boom. Do you guys remember this season? He had made tons of money. And I remember the day very inherently where this man came walking into the office and he was sobbing, he was broken. I've never seen him look more disheveled in my life. And he came in because that was at the time of the huge stock market crash and the dot com boom kind of came crashing down. And he came in weeping because he had lost everything.
He said, everything is gone. I have nothing, all of my retirement, all of my reserves, everything is gone.
You see, we live in a world where we can search after treasure after treasure and thing to give us fulfillment. But the truth is, things break, economy shift, stock markets drop, jobs get lost, relationships hurt, you, marriages struggle, your health fails.
That's the world that we live in. But listen to the world that is to come. The kingdom of heaven. In the book of Revelation, chapter 21, John actually speaks about this in Revelation 21. Beginning in verse one, he says these words, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heavens. And the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling place is now among his people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death. Amen. There will be no mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
And he who was seated on the throne said, behold, I am making everything new.
What we read here is the prophecy where John sees into the future of the time, where Jesus himself will come again and restore all things to the way that it was meant to be. Where we reside with God in a perfect kingdom, in a perfect place where not only things don't break and economies don't ruin us and relationships don't hurt us, but even more letter B, it will fulfill. The kingdom of heaven will fill the deepest of human desires.
All sorrow, all sadness, all loneliness, anxiety and fear will be replaced with complete joy, perfect fulfillment, perfect relationship with God, security and the peace that we cannot find in this life.
And the best part of that is that we read in Scripture letter C that this is an eternal reality. You know, it's the worst part of living in this world is that everything has an expiration date. Everything, especially our lives. But God promises that in his kingdom we will live and reign with him forever. In other words, there will be no end to what God has restored.
And the best part of that letter D is it's a gift. It's a gift free gift for you. It is a gift, not something that you have to earn.
Everything that we strive after in this life, every treasure that we long for is something that we have to work for. But the word worst part is we work long and hard to gain these treasures and they can be so quickly ripped from us. I think of how Jesus spoke in the New Testament and said, store up for yourself treasure. Don't store up for yourself treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. He acknowledged the fact that everything we have in this life can be taken from us or broken. But he says, store up for yourself treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves cannot break in and steal. And the best part of this is that the gift of the kingdom of heaven, the eternal life that we receive, it's not something we have to earn.
It is something that is given to us.
And it is given to us this way. Letter E. And I've extended the answer, but the fill in the blank is the same.
God and his love. What makes the kingdom of heaven so valuable? God and his love and expressed through the gift of Jesus.
That is what makes the kingdom of heaven so valuable in comparison to the kingdoms of this world and the riches that we strive for within it.
And so I would ask us this question this morning then.
How does this connect to the resurrection? You might say, rob, great, you've told us this parable, but how does this connect to Easter morning and the Resurrection? Well, letter A, the first thing we need to remember is that the kingdom of heaven is received only through Jesus Christ.
You see, the Apostle Paul throughout the New Testament speak of this. In Romans 10, verse 9, he says these words, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.
In Philippians, chapter 3, verses 7 through 8 and all, also verse 10, Paul says these words. But whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish. That I may gain Christ and be found in him.
I want to know Christ, he says in verse 10, yes, to know the power of his resurrection. Resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. You see, what Paul understood is this truth that Jesus was teaching in the parable, that the worth of the kingdom of heaven, the worth of the king, the worth of the gift that is received, everything in this world pales in comparison to the value of the kingdom of heaven. There is nothing, nothing that is greater.
Letter B.
Because of the resurrection, Paul says these words, number one, sin is paid for.
Because of the resurrection, sin is paid for.
We like to think that we are pretty good people in this life. When you think about it, how many people here think they're a pretty decent person? Anybody? Come on, be honest, right? We think to ourselves, I'm good, right? Well, the reason we think that is because largely we compare ourselves to other people who are maybe a little bit worse and have bigger failures, and we go see, not that bad, right?
However, we refuse to set the standard and the bar as God's holiness, which is what Scripture does.
There is an evangelist who said these words one time, and I want to add, ask you these questions.
How many of you, be honest in this room have ever told a lie? Raise your hand.
Those of you not raising your hand are lying. Let's just be clear, okay? All right. Everybody's told a lie at some point, right? What do you call a person who's told a lie? You call them a liar. Very good.
Who has ever taken something that didn't belong to them? Raise your hand. Anybody here? Anybody here? Come on. Cookie from the cookie jar. Parents told you not to take something you weren't supposed to take. It's a toy from your sibling, right? What do you call a person that does that? You call them a thief or a robber, right?
Have you ever used the Lord's name in vain?
What do we call that? And what does the Bible call that? It calls it blasphemy.
Have you ever looked at another person lustfully? Don't answer that with raising your hand.
I don't want to make your Easter awkward with whoever you came with. All right?
But if you ever looked at another person lustfully, what does Jesus say about that in Scripture, he says that doing that, looking at another person lustfully is the same as committing adultery in your heart. Well, what do you call a person who's committed adultery? A fornicator. That's what the Bible calls it. So here's the summary. If you've ever done one of those four things, breaking four of the Ten Commandments, likely many have done all. All four, then according to the Bible, you're a lying, thieving, blasphemous fornicator. That doesn't sound too good, right?
It doesn't.
And yet you might still sit here and say, yeah, but it's really not that bad in the big picture, right? There's people have been killing people and doing way worse than me.
But the truth of the Gospel is this. And I want you to hear this truth this morning.
It takes one sin to separate us from a perfect and holy God. Just one.
Because God's holiness, also because of God's holiness, sin cannot go unpunished.
And yet that is the beauty of Jesus death and his resurrection.
When Jesus died and rose again, he paid your penalty for your sin.
The Bible teaches that when you place your faith and trust in Jesus and choose to follow him, that when God sees you, he doesn't see your failure.
He doesn't see your rebellion against Him. He doesn't see the worst parts of you that you just want to hide away and hope that nobody will ever see. Because in truth, God does see it all. But what the Bible teaches us is that when we place our faith in Jesus, us, when God looks at us, he sees not our greatest failures, but he sees His Son's sacrifice on a cross for your sin.
And it satisfies his wrath against you and your sin.
In other words, the resurrection declares that the penalty for your sin is penalty paid in full.
That what Jesus did when he died on the cross and rose to new life is that he paid the penalty for your sin. So that when God sees you, he sees His Son stamped, paid in full.
And he sees you not with eyes of hatred or disappointment or disgust, but he sees you with eyes of love because of what His Son did for you.
Not only is the resurrection because of the rection, though, is sin paid for. But the Bible tells us, number two, that also death is defeated.
I was looking this last week at a list of, like, the greatest fears that Americans have. And on this List. There were a number of things towards the top. These were a lot of the major things. Bio warfare, pollution of drinking water, diseases, disease, world war, nuclear weapons dying, or family members dying.
What's interesting is I think about all of those things. We're at the very top of this list. All of them relate to what the loss of our lives.
One of the greatest fears that we have in this life is death.
It is the thing most feared by humanity because death is certain for all people.
We will all one day have an expiration date. But the beauty of the cross and the resurrection is that death was defeated. And what does that mean? It means that as those who place our faith in Jesus, we are spiritually brought from death to life. In other words, our existence does not end in death and then separation from God. But when we place our faith and trust in Jesus, we receive the gift of eternal life where we are physical death is not the end of everything we enjoy, but we will live and reign with God forever in perfection, living in the relationship with him that was designed from the very beginning. And this is what we call eternal life number three. That gift is eternal life in heaven. And it is guaranteed.
When this life comes to an end, or Jesus, or when he returns, as he he has promised to do, this broken, sinful world will pass away. But the Bible says that all those who have placed their faith in Jesus and his death and his resurrection, that they will live forever under his perfect provision and with the perfect fulfillment our hearts in this world have always longed for. I would invite you to come back and join us in the next couple weeks because we're going to dive deeper into this very topic. Going to begin a series next week entitled Eternity and spend three weeks together talking about the truth about what the Bible teaches concerning heaven and hell. I would invite you to come because one of the greatest gifts that we have been given is eternity. But the truth is, and the Bible makes it clear, is that the choice that we make now of receiving the gift of the kingdom of heaven or not will determine our eternity and where we spend that eternity. I would invite you to come back, but the greatest thing I want us to wrestle with this morning is this. What does the resurrection then reveal to us about the kingdom of heaven and its worth and its value?
I want you to read with me Matthew, chapter 28, verses 1 through 10.
It says these words after the second.
At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb and there was a violent earthquake for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him now I have told you so. The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. And Jesus said, do not be afraid.
Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.
What does the resurrection reveal about the kingdom of heaven?
Let's letter A.
It shows us God's power over all things.
God's power over all things.
When we read here this account that Jesus Christ was crucified but then raised to life, we understand that God has power over all things, over sin and death.
Literally, he took Jesus who died and raised him from the dead.
In other words, he has power over all life, our lives.
Not even death could hold Jesus down because of the power of God.
But on top of that, we also see how incredible God's power is. There were the kingdoms of that world. The strongest kingdom of that world in that day was the kingdom of Rome. And Rome had stationed its best God in front of that tomb to make sure nothing could happen. Nothing's coming out of that grave. It's staying put.
And when God showed up in power, those soldiers who were the toughest men in this world literally fell over like dead men because of the power of God. Showing that there is no earthly authority or no earthly kingdom that is greater than the kingdom of heaven. And God's power, He has power over over all things. He has power over sin and death. And he has power then to transform and use my life for his kingdom purposes.
But also what the the resurrection reveals about the kingdom of heaven is letter B. God's love for you.
God's love for you in spite of your sin.
You would think that when Jesus rose from the grave, that he would have come out with a massive sword of vengeance and been looking for the people that had put him on that cross and looking for the people that had betrayed him, the people he poured his life into because he would get his revenge. Do you know why we would think that?
Because isn't that what we do?
If somebody wounds us or hurts us or betrays us, what do we want? We want revenge. We're going to get them back. We're going to show them who's boss.
What does Jesus do?
He rises from the dead and he sees these women and he says, don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid of what you're seeing.
Don't be afraid of me.
Go and tell my disciples that I have risen and I am alive. And tell them to come.
What Jesus does in this moment is he he shows the depth of God's love for you.
It doesn't matter what you have done.
It doesn't matter how far you have walked away from God in your life.
It doesn't matter how deep or grievous you think your sin may be.
God loved you so much that he sent his son Jesus into this world to die on a cross to pay the penalty for your sin. And this was God's plan so that you could be restored to a right relationship with him and find what your heart has always been longing and searching for, that complete peace and joy and fulfillment and security that is found in God.
He loves you so much. He paid the price for your sin so that you would not be separated from God.
The resurrection reveals God's power over all things.
His love for you in spite of your sin and letter C, his desire to restore you as his child.
I love that Scripture speaks so many times in so many places about how we are considered to be the children of God, because it just continues to show the depth of his love, that it's not just like, okay, you're forgiven, you can take up a servant role in my kingdom. No, he says, you're a child, a full heir of the full riches of the kingdom of heaven.
What value and what worth the kingdom of heaven holds in comparison to the kingdom of this world?
But it leaves us with an important question that faces each of us every single day.
What is most valuable to you?
What's most valuable to you
[01:04:01] Speaker A: is that
[01:04:02] Speaker B: the things of this world and riches that fail you and that can be taken from you and that will pass away.
Or the kingdom of heaven where God has shown as king and rule and reign, who has all authority and power over all things.
That he has provided a way for you to be a part of his kingdom in the forgiveness of your sin through Jesus Christ.
What's most valuable?
I know that there are People here today that have never placed their faith and trust in Jesus. Maybe you come to church occasionally on special holidays, or you pop in sometimes and you've heard about Jesus, but it's just been kind of thing you do. But you've never made that step of committing your life to him.
And I would ask you this morning directly, when confronted with the question of what is most valuable, when you see how this world fails you all the time, or the promise of eternal life that comes from Jesus Christ, what holds the most value? Would you make that decision today to put your faith in Jesus Christ? Or maybe you sit here today and you made that decision years ago, maybe as a young child, maybe 10, 15 years ago, but you've walked away from God.
You've allowed there to be this distance between you and him.
Maybe today, as you understand the worth and value of the kingdom, which means the King himself, maybe today you would say, my desire is to move forward and commit today that I will more fully follow Jesus.
I want us to encounter that question of value and to move to that place of decision of will. I choose to fully follow Jesus.
Would you pray with me? Father, I thank you for the time in your word this morning.
And I ask that you would impress on our hearts through your Holy Spirit just how valuable you are and all that you have done through your death and your resurrection.
As I said, I know that there are people here today that have not put their faith and trust in Jesus. And if you would like to make that decision, decision today, I would ask right where you are.
You don't have to pray this out loud. Pray in the quietness of your heart, just simply to pray this short prayer with me. Heavenly Father, I confess to you today that I'm a sinner.
And I recognize my need for you.
I believe in Jesus.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to pay the penalty for my sin.
And so, God, today I ask you to forgive, forgive me of my sin.
And I choose to commit to following you.
I give you my life.
I give you my heart.
I recognize that all this, the things this world offers, pale in comparison to what you do. And so I give you my all.
Come into my heart today, God. I choose to follow you.
I also recognize that there may be some of you here this morning feeling that sense of I have been far from God. I have not been walking as closely as I want to.
Or maybe there's been an area of your life where you've been wrestling with sin or kind of giving God the stiff arm of like you can only come so close. But today you would say, in light of the value of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven and the King himself, that today I want to say yes to following Jesus more fully. I would just ask you to commit to that this morning.
Just pray. Father, thank you for the gift of your son Jesus.
Thank you for all that you have done for me and thank you for the gift of eternal life that you have given to me.
I confess that I've pushed you aside, I've held you at arm's distance, and my desire today is to follow you more fully with my heart and my life, and to return to you. Thank you for the forgiveness of my sin and Jesus. I commit that today.
I will continue to follow you with my whole heart and my whole life.
You know, as we close our service this morning, we're going to close with one last song of worship together. But one of the best things that. One of the things I love about what we do on Easter every year is that we have a commitment and a response time. And today will be no different. You'll see here on the cross, if you look real close, there are some pieces of paper that have been pushed into the cross with pins. If you made a decision today to follow Jesus for the first time, or maybe you say, I've felt far from God or kind of keeping God at arm's length, but I want to. I want to go all in with him and follow him. I would invite you, as we sing the song, there's a table over here on the other side of these stairs with small slips of paper and. And pins and then little pushpins. You can write your name on the piece of paper, indicate that commitment, and then come up on the stage and just pin it into the cross. And the reason we do this is not only do we want to celebrate what God is doing in our hearts and lives, but I believe it is essential for us that when we hear from God, that we take a moment together to mark that moment and say, yes, Lord, I have heard from you and I declare that today I am moving forward with you. And so I invite you, whether you made a first time decision or you just want to fully commit your life to Jesus today, come during this song, place that on the cross as a way to say, lord Jesus, I give you my all. Let's stand and let's worship together.
[01:09:45] Speaker C: In the darkness we were waiting without hope, without light Till from heaven you came running There was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the love and prophets to a Virgin came the word.
From a throne of endless glory to a cradle in the dirt.
Praise the Father.
Praise the Son.
[01:10:26] Speaker A: Praise.
[01:10:27] Speaker C: Praise the Spirit.
Three in one.
God of glory, Majesty.
Praise forever to the King of Kings.
To reveal the kingdom coming and to reconcile the lost to redeem the whole creation. You did not despise the cross.
For even in your suffering you saw to the other side, knowing this was our salvation.
Jesus fall for our sake you die.
Praise the Father.
Praise the Son.
Praise the Spirit.
Three in one.
God of glory, Glory.
Majesty.
Praise forever to the King of Kings.
And the morning that you rose, all of heaven held its breath till that stone was moved. Forego good. For the Lamb had conquered death and the dead rose from their tombs and the angels stood in awe. For the souls of all who come to the Father are restored.
And the church of Christ was born.
Then the Spirit lit the flame.
Now this gospel truth of old shall not heal, shall not faint. By his blood and in his name, in his freedom, I am free.
For the love of Jesus Christ who has resurrected me.
Praise the Father.
Praise the Son.
Praise the Spirit.
Three in one.
God of glory, Majesty.
Praise forever Jesus to the King of Kings. Oh Praise the Father.
We praise the Son.
We praise you, Spirit. Three in one.
God of glory, Majesty.
Praise forever forever to the King of Kings.
Praise forever to the King of Kings.
[01:14:10] Speaker B: Glory this morning. Praise him.
God is good. Amen.
He is good. I want to to thank you so much for choosing to worship with us today.
Just a couple of quick things for you again. I invite you to come back and join us next week as we dive into our new series on Eternity.
We're excited. Yeah, this is so awesome.
I would tell you as well if you've got young kids next week we're having this special thing in our kids ministry on Sunday morning called PJs and Pop Tarts. And if your kids like PJs and Pop Tarts, they're going to want to be here, wear your PJs to church and enjoy Pop Tarts while learning about Jesus. So make sure that they are a part of that as they come back as well. If you're new to Westgate in the last weeks, months or even this morning, next Sunday we're going to have a new people party after the second service where we're having pizza and a time to meet the staff and for us to share a little bit about our church. If you would like to come, you can register for that online or through our church app. We would love for you to to come back and join us as well. A couple of other things as we close our service this morning.
If you have young kids, we encourage you to go pick them up quickly.
Remember that there are no eggs, no egg hunt because of the weather. It's really wet outside. But there are eggs that are sitting out there and every kid can grab a bag on their way home. We've got those bagged up for them and so please be sure to grab those. And then also I just want to say if there are any prayer needs that you have, anything that you would like, prayer for our prayer team is here at the front this morning. If you made a decision to follow Jesus for the first time, if you come, let them know. They will give you a brand new Bible and some discipleship materials that we have. And we would love to just help you as you start this journey with Jesus. So church family, thank you for worshiping with us today. He is risen.
May you go out in that glory truth enjoying the gift that you have in the kingdom of heaven. God bless you. We'll see you guys next week.
