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What The Resurrection of Jesus Gives Us | Rev Elisha Satvinder
March 31, 2024
Summary And Key Points
Ps. Elisha transitions to a sermon about the meaning of Easter and the unprecedented love of Jesus. He emphasizes that Easter invites everyone into a space of reverence and anticipation to witness Jesus' resurrection, reflecting on His love and transformative power. Jesus' journey to the cross, His suffering, and resurrection are acts of profound love aimed at reconciling humanity with God.
Addressing three groups—those who haven't put their faith in Jesus, those disappointed with or who have drifted away from God, and believers needing to deepen their appreciation for Jesus' sacrifice—Ps. Elisha discusses human longings. He explains how people seek fulfillment through wealth, success, education, relationships, and status but find these pursuits ultimately unfulfilling. True identity, love, and acceptance are found only in Christ, who offers forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life through His death and resurrection.
Ps. Elisha highlights the challenges of modern life, noting how distractions and pressures exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. He explains that the cross offers the ultimate remedy, meeting our deepest needs. Concluding the sermon, he invites the congregation to lay down their burdens and experience the transformative power of Jesus' love and forgiveness, emphasizing that true happiness and peace are found only in a relationship with God through Jesus.
Show Transcript
Good morning everybody, morning morning. So today, as the youth culture has presented a little drama for you, I am your narrator. Today you’re not going to be looking at me, although I dressed very fancily today, but we’re going to look at Zion, a star student with exemplary and inspirational qualities, the kind of student that you say, “I want that A+ grade.” But under all of these A+s and good grades, there is something that he has to also overcome. We also have the bully Benjamin, who puts his leg up and has a cap on his head and dresses very so-called appropriately as well. Then we also have Austina, the type of friend that you actually need in life where you want to have that emotional support. Last but not least, we have teacher Chelsea as well, who wants to get the job done and gives at least 2% of an effort in school. So please do enjoy the show that we’re going to give.
[Applause] [Music]
“Okay guys, so the total angle of an equilateral triangle is 40°.”
“Wait, what? No, it’s not.”
“Oh yeah, it is. It is 40°.”
“Yeah, um teacher?”
“Yes, yes, Zion?”
“Should the angle be 60° since the total sum of a triangle is 180°?”
“Oh yeah, yeah, it is 60°. I definitely knew that. I was just testing you guys. Well done, Zion. I didn’t know you were that smart, but of course I’m smarter, right?”
“Right.”
“Yeah, okay good. Okay guys, class is dismissed.”
“Ring ring, come come come.”
“I like this angle more.”
“You know how bad teacher is, right?”
“Oh yes, the homework, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have it finished? It’s due tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I want it today.”
“Due tomorrow?”
“No, I must hand it today. It doesn’t make sense if I hand it tomorrow and it’s due tomorrow.”
“Shoot, I haven’t done it yet.”
“You haven’t done it?”
“Talk tomorrow?”
“No, I wanted to. I said already, I messaged you WhatsApp, didn’t see?”
“Yeah, okay, never mind, it’s okay. You take your time during lunch break. Don’t eat, don’t eat, don’t eat, do my work, do my work. Okay?”
“You can, right?”
“Okay.”
“Of course you can, of course you can. Come, let’s go.”
“You know if I could, right, I’d like to invite you to our lunch table, you know, but then I feel like if you join us… Okay, nice nice nice. D me up bro, D me up. Okay, see you next class.”
[Music]
“Hi Zion.”
“Austina.”
“So long since I’ve seen you. How have you been?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m doing good. So I have so many things to tell you but the most important one is this Saturday, my church is having Christ Fellowship. Got that right? So I was thinking maybe you would like to join us.”
“You know I would, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have exams coming up, so I need to study.”
“It’s only for an hour though.”
“I can try.”
“Okay then, get back to me on that. I’ll see you then.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Now as we look into just imagine this is a house, although we don’t have a house, this is Faith, mother of Zion as she is the house, as she handles most of the things in the house when it comes to chores, clothes washing, dishes, cleaning white shirts that have stains on it, and even burn marks. Every single thing to the last bit of detail, even swimming classes as well. She is the head of the house. But we also have Kei, who is the father, who is not the head of the house as he comes back home. Although having a great job, he also comes back home and about 3 seconds later he has unbearable news.”
“Hey Jessica, how are you doing? Oh, oh that’s nice to hear. Oh, how’s your son? I heard he got his test results back. Oh, he got a fail like a fail as in it’s not an ale or a fail like it’s below 40 like it’s below 40 you’re not kidding right that is outrageous I’m so sorry to hear that oh but I didn’t even know that was possible though cuz when I look at my son Zion he’s like a straight A student and I thought it was like very easy to do that since he does it all the time but I guess that’s not the case for your son um oh by the way how’s your husband oh he’s still at the minimum wage job that’s kind of disgusting um oh my husband yeah yeah he got a promotion too and his salary right now oh it’s a six figure salary I don’t think it’s actually that much but it’s enough for us to live on with oh he’s back I’ll talk to you later bye.”
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
“How was work?”
“Not good.”
“What do you mean not good?”
“I got some bad news to tell you I may have lost my job.”
“You may have lost your job?”
“Yes.”
“Like you actually did or like I did?”
“Yes I did.”
“This is your first month at the job how could you lose it so it’s my third month it’s the same thing this is so short why did you get fired like today la I mean I literally just told Jessica that you got a promotion tell Jessica something else the face of our family what do you want me to do going to be the laughing stock of the town let them laugh that what do you want me to do embarrassing way hey all you do is just wash dishes you know why are you so useless hey you’re only at home all the time you know eating my money somewhere I’m going out every night well now you’re jobless you’re doing nothing literally this is too much man the husband is supposed to have the job since when since forever this is so disappointing stop lying Zion come here what’s
your test results I got a 98.5 98.5 you embarrass what happened to the remaining 1.5 working problems working problems what subject is this maths maths you’re supposed to get full marks out of math it’s supposed to be 100 out of 100 if you tell me it’s English at least I understand because sometimes teacher grade it the way they want but you got 98.5 out of 100 for maths so disappointing can you shut up this is so disappointing Zion I told you to check your paper again and again and you lost points based on what KLA mistake you didn’t check your paper I’m sorry because of this stupid mistake of yours this Saturday I’m going to schedule you from 10:00 to 12:00 you’re going to have maths classes to fix whatever is going on here and from 12:00 to three swimming classes and from three to 5 K lessons do you get it but I already have plans you better listen to your mother man can you please shut up I’m talking here I already have plans on Saturday you already have plans what do you mean you have plans I told you if you have plans you need to tell me 2 weeks in advance uh I did I think you forgot if I forgot that means it didn’t happen get it don’t talk back to me I am your mother go to your room you’re grounded for the rest of the year okay Mom.”
“Oh my God.”
“Right after the little drama yesterday as the next day as Zion goes to school he is going to meet his teacher and Benjamin as well but other than that he’ll be meeting someone unexpected as well not just Benjamin and the teacher.”
“Is everything okay so I checked your homework submission yesterday and apparently in Ben’s homework you wrote this world is being affected by global warming meanwhile in Zion’s homework you wrote the exact same thing except you changed the word world to Planet I mean like come on guys at least try to make it less obvious like why is it so easy to tell something is going on here do you guys think I’m stupid or something don’t answer that please I would like to humbly apologize on behalf of Zion CU I had to lie in my homework cuz I’m afraid he couldn’t finish his homework in time so it’s just me helping a friend in need you know no no that’s not true it it is I give you my homework no you copied my homework okay you know there was once a great man said to me before you know confession is good for the soul you know then why are you lying no I’m not lying you lying I’m this school student there’s no way I’m smarter than you okay so you see yeah we see what the teacher has to say so apparently Zion Ben submitted his homework before you so yeah no that’s that’s un possible no it’s facts you you can’t change facts no I’m this no it’s facts I’m school top student there’s no way you can possibly believe that I copied someone else homework you know so moving on Zion you’ll be failing this class and we’ll be meeting your parents I just contacted them not my parents hab oh hab hab no no no no
no what you mean no the teacher told me everything about it doesn’t mistake no I didn’t copy any once more there’s a mistake are you telling me that the teacher is lying it’s the system it’s what the system the system it’s the system bro it’s someone’s homework you can’t just mess up with the system do you think I’m dumb is that what’s happening here I’m so disappointed in you Zion I put in my time and effort into raising you up and this is how you treat me can you please not interfere sorry what do you have to say for yourself I um you um you um CU you have nothing to say all the lies are just coming out of your mouth and now you have nothing to say to me you don’t even care to lie to me anymore at this point I’ve been giving you too much freedom and I guess you’re taking it for granted so from now on I’m going to surveil you for 24 hours a day until you back up your attitude do you get it no Zion get back here ma’am can you get that again stop stop stop please please sorry sorry sorry sorry [Music] oh my go after what happened just now imagine if something happens to you something like that like Zion now he feels so lonely the weight of his loneliness fear he can’t even breathe the amount of pressure that he’s feeling you cannot even comprehend.”
“Hi Zion.”
“Keep go away.”
“You don’t look very well.”
“Hey thank you for noticing.”
“So I want you to know that whatever you’re going through it will work out you will be fine.”
“So you just come here all a sudden and tell me everything will be okay I mean people face problems every day and they get through it so can you well I’m not you just so you know you’re pretty annoying keep this going I’m sorry you feel that way but I’ve been in your shoes and I know exactly how you feel and I’m just telling you things will work out so what now you know my shoes we in the same shoes so there was this one day when I was feeling so down to the point where there was I had nothing left in me I was sitting by the train tracks I wanted to end everything then and there because life had no meaning to me anymore I had no one to help me and I just felt so empty inside and then this stranger walked up to me and he said Matthews 11:28 and that was all he said and I thought he was crazy cuz I didn’t know his him he doesn’t know me and I was curious at the same time so I went home I looked it up and it said come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest and things started to make sense and that was when I came to know Jesus but I’m not you why would your God do that for me for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life and this is not earned or received just by the grace of God that you receive his love and no one can take credit from it because it’s a gift from God all you have to do is believe tear off the roof me toes don’t I don’t have to wait to get the healing I’ve got F me out ofing so tear off the roof the king in the house there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood power in the name of Jesus there is power in the presence Power in the Blood power in the name of Jesus and he has more in the of His Garment than the camp of the enemy there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood there power in the name of Jesus you just have to believe I didn’t come the I’m pressing true to you I don’t care how reaching out my hand to get the healing I got a baby on on the bleeding cuz I didn’t come here to hide in the ground there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood In The Name of Jesus there’s power in the presence in the blood in the name of Jesus and he has more in the hand of his gar than the camp of the enemy there’s power In The Presence Power in the Blood there power in the name of Jesus so what now what happen Just sh dead raising power in the room heart healing stealing no stealing power so tear up the roof life changing grave shaking dead breing power in the room heart healing he steing noing power so te the shaking shaking deing power in the room heart healing noing ter changing great shaking de raising power in the room heart healing noing power there’s in the in the power in the name of Jesus there’s power in the power in the in the name of Jesus and he has more in the of his the of the enemy there’s power in the Pres power in the power in the name of Jesus again in the name of Jesus one more time in the of Jesus [Applause] [Music] Jesus [Music] you all can go back to your Sunday school thank you am I on is this on yeah okay let me do this okay good morning everyone good morning wonderful wow uh again I think let’s hear it for the young people I think they did so well [Applause] yeah how many F how many of parents felt a bit of a prick I mean and how many young people say yeah yeah yeah you know yeah so in in light of that I I you know we we think of uh Good Friday we think of Easter uh but what what is Easter what is we we talked about Good Friday we did it on Friday but Easter today I’m going to try some different uh Strokes to this uh but at the end of the day is for us to have a peak into the Amazing Heart Of God for us I’m going to begin with this scripture John 3:16 we we’ve all heard it says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in in him shall not perish but have eternal life now I would say first Easter invites us into a Sacred Space I would say that very uh clearly a Sacred Space of reverence and anticipation and anticipation is a key word here to what to witness the resurrections of Jesus the resurrection of Jesus we have many thoughts on it there are many arguments there the ones will deny it but the issue is let us examine the depth of his love and his transformative power that comes through the resurrection I would call it love Beyond Comprehension uh uh when we think of love we think of love in so many different ways and we may think of Romeo and Juliet but this is more than Romeo and Juliet this is more than the love that you see in your Bollywood movies or Hollywood it’s more than the Love sometimes that we uh SoCal anticipate or or communicate and talk about whether it is a love of a a man and a woman or whatever it may be or a child and a parent uh whatever that may be but the whole tapestry of human history there is no narrative that surpasses the story of Jesus a tale filled with what of Love Beyond Comprehension and it stretches Beyond Time across time and space I want you to picture the scene we’ve seen it a lot we see it more during again Easter Jesus hanging on a wooden cross on a beam if you may say but the what was he doing there bearing our sins his his sacrifice did something it sealed by nails and a thorn of crown or a crown of thorns I’m sorry but it reverberates through eternity but what does it do it invites every heart to examine it and look at it we cannot not just look at it we cannot call Jesus a good teacher because it’s more than that so we are confronted with this harsh reality of his journey the Journey To The Cross where he willingly endured The Suffering The beatings the mockery the agonizing pain of the crucifixion all because of what because of his amazing love for God so loved the world and he took upon himself the sins of the world bearing the weight of our sins that what might happen that we may be reconciled to God so it never stops at his death because 3 days later and that’s what we’re celebrating Easter that stone that that kept him in the Tomb is rolled away he rises from the dead he conquers sins and sin and death and this is the highest point of the greatest love story ever told is the highest point the resurrection of Jesus our Cornerstone of faith our Assurance of Salvation and the promise of eternal life so let us look into this what this unprecedented love of Jesus why why is the love this love above every other love why is the invitation of Easter why is this invitation of his Grace and love so amazing that it changes everything now it sounds like an absolute but I will say this this invitation changes everything and has the ability to change every life now you may agree with me that uh many people are plagued with what we are plagued with emptiness and our emptiness is filled up in many different ways okay so we are plagued with emptiness and even Believers can be plagued with emptiness okay we are plagued with this illusion of identity we are consistently trying this different images we’re trying to get a better image of ourselves we’re trying to look better or we’re trying to look simple we are always trying we’re always struggling with identity and we always no matter who we are where we are uh we have a desire to be loved there’s nobody who wakes up in the morning and says I wonder how many people can hate me today and make me be happy nobody in his right mind would do that and if you do that you know something fundamentally is wrong in the emotions and in the mind and yet if we we are plagued this emptiness this illusion of identity this dire desire to be loved what happens here we have failed to understand that we cannot experience any of this fully please please hear this fully without understanding the grace of God without understanding the Forgiveness of God and being accepted by Christ the way we are we may have a temporal fulfillment but not one that is complete there is a search for significance in no matter who we are and I thought the young people demonstrated it so way so so amazingly isn’t it everybody is in search of significance none of us here in all honesty and sincerity can say you do not want some form of significance in life because if you’re not if you don’t want that then you know what you stop living then you shouldn’t go to work then you shouldn’t worry about anything else but that’s not true so there’s a search for significance there’s a search for meaning that eludes us because I say this boldly it is only found in the Cross of Christ The Emptiness the illusion of identity the unfulfilled desire of Love experience without God’s grace comes from what this inherent longing with from every human soul for connection for purpose for unconditional acceptance even when we want to date we have to look for somebody who is compatible somebody who will accept you we always looking for acceptance without understanding forgiveness and being embraced as we are by Christ we find ourselves caught in this Perpetual cycle of seeking validation significance through what through other Pursuits and what are these Pursuits wealth it try we try to fill our hearts that emptiness with wealth more wealth more money a better car a better job I want more bonus if you say that doesn’t matter tell me what happens to you if you’ve just got a promotion and in one year’s time you lose that promotion or like Keith lost his job and tell me if you feel the same way tell me if you feel the same way so now what happens it’s wealth that we are trying to fill ourself why we find significance we find identity with that wealth why with that wealth I can go and get better clothes I can eat in better places I can hang around with people I can take out my wallet and show I’ve got money in it but today credit card so that’s one that once that’s other person then success and I thought they displayed it so well anyway I I didn’t write that Gabel actually wrote that whole script not from experience right I mean moving along success we all strive for Success come on we all strive for Success none of us wake up in the morning I want to fail today we want our spouse to succeed we want our kids to succeed we want our parents to succeed we all strive for some form of success education education can become a demigod for both parent and child nobody is saying don’t study no sex drugs relationships recognition we all try to fill that within us and it’s always temporal and then we try different things meditate you know we contemplate on our naval or we try different kinds of meditations why we always trying to fill up that emptiness however these temporal sources of validation ultimately leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled why because they fail to address our deepest needs in our heart we may face all this what we call fleeting experiences fleeting Pleasures accolades only to find that they cannot satisfy us they cannot satisfy this profound longing within us for lasting meaning or belonging now you’re going to find me repeating a few things before I dive into my thought that I want to conclude with see the illusion of identity comes when we tend to Define ourselves through what external factors achievements you realize the more certificates you have the more your wall is filled with the certificates if you’ve got no certificates you dare not show anybody your wall we like to boast of our achievements or we have this false identity no I’m very stupid I’m very simple no need to Drama We Asians overdo it either way there’s an emptiness so external figures uh factors sorry achievements possessions societal expectations rather than our basic worth on how God looks at us as his children huh yes God looks at you as his child but whether it’s whether I want to recognize him that way or not so we constantly when you see a child completely comfortable secure with the love of a parent you find a confident child not arrogantly confident not cocky confidence but a very simple deep in the heart confidence secure why because the recognition is that my dad accepts me as I am loves me and is there so the performance value is removed from the child so we always in this red of performance no matter where we are in life I think we always doing it without understanding the unconditional love and acceptance that God offers us Christ offers us at the cross we will all fall in this trap of measuring our value based on all this fleeting standards and pleasures and they are always subject to change and comparison our desire to be loved and accepted is a fundamental aspect of our Humanity we always want it and yet if we don’t experience the transformative power of God’s grace and forgiveness we seek for validation and affirmation from where from others why it’s our futile attempt to fill that void in our hearts we can engage in unhealthy relationships we can engage in all forms of comparison comparison of values in pursuit of love acceptance and only we find ourselves to be disappointed and disillusioned and then we’ll say where is God God doesn’t exist I’m My Own man my future is in my own hand hands the search for significance and meaning apart from the Cross of Christ ultimately leads to disillusionment and despair because it fails to address the root of our deepest needs the need to be reconciled back with God restored to his intended purpose for our lives only in Christ do we find true forgiveness acceptance and unconditional love it is through his sacrifice on the cross we are offered what Redemption restoration and Assurance of Eternal significance not temporal in Christ we discover our true identity look at the fractured identity we have today look at how social media does do that uh you know you have to have an avatar because then you don’t have to really look the way you are just pause and think on how we talk about fake news but how about fake identities so we we struggle only in Christ his cross we discover our true identity as the children of God created with a purpose destined for Eternal fellowship with him in Christ and it’s only in him that we find fulfillment of our deepest longings and the true source and meaning of significance Colossians 2:10 says this and in Christ you have been brought to fullness in Christ you have been brought to fullness therefore this whole search of significance and meaning Finds Its ultimate fulfillment where in the person and in the work of Jesus where do we see it we see it on the cross and he said it is finished we see it in the resurrection and he offers us what Abundant Life and please don’t equate Abundant Life To Riches you know you you can have the least money but be the richest person in your heart and you can have the most money and the most disgusting human being ever lived and often you can have those who really have the money are the most arrogant isn’t it so there’s no richness in their hearts he offers us abundant life eternal hope through his death and Resurrection so what are the Deeds of the human heart what are the Deep needs within each of our hearts there lies this if I may say it this way a profound longing for connection for purpose for acceptance and love we yearn to be seen we all want to be seen look at the teenage problems look at the young adult problems look at the kids in college and university they all want to be seen but they feel they need to do something else to be seen we all yearn to be understood and to be loved why this is the word again unconditionally for God so loved the world that he gave while we were yet sinners Christ died for us you know you can maybe a drug addict or or some an adulterer whoever comes and say I need to clean up my life to respond to God to me that statement is completely wrong because I can never get good enough to respond to him but when I come with my Brokenness and all my checked life and my insecurities then it is with him then and when I encounter his love daily then he and I together work on those issues of my life see God doesn’t demand hey you got to get really good to come to me no he knows while we were yet sinners Christ died for us while we were yet sinners while I’m somebody will say I never murdered anybody you don’t need to but there’s a lot of things that goes into your heart and your mind that’s not the most Pleasant Pride can be lurking in so many corners self-confidence and yet when we come and then it is there that at the cross we say God change my heart renew my mind restore my life let me look at me you know Friday I was asking the question and I don’t know how many thought about it we we make fun of Judas is Sca but all of us are a Judas in some way way or the other so we cry out we have this need we yearn and yet our world is marked with Brokenness imperfection and these fundamental needs go unmet leaving us feeling Alone lost and disillusioned and we look for it in so many places his old song He said I’m looking for love in all the wrong places you remember the song okay good we cry out for meaning we yearn for meaning Victor Frankle wrote a brilliant book called The search of significance make that a reading for this year so we all cry out for meaning in the midst of a chaotic life searching for significance and where do we we look for it in our achievements in the way we look the way we dress what we eat where we eat where we live what we drive you can have three times the bonus that you got before but when the bonus is taken away is your heart lost we long for identity you don’t believe that just go on social media not now not now here hear me speak first we long just look at social media look at your postings we long for identity we struggle to find ourself in the midst of all the noise of expectations whether it be home in Society at work at school we there are expectations screaming at us and then we have to deal with our personal insecurities we ache for love and even in marriage we can come to a place where the love is gone and and let’s be honest you don’t say I love you when you’re having sexual intimacy because you know it’s just for that moment and that’s where Jesus comes completely at the reverse and says I love you with an unconditional love I love you with an everlasting love I love you with the love that sets you free Easter Whispers that into our Lonely Hearts our fractured Hearts our confused Hearts our challenged Hearts our arrogant Hearts our failing Hearts our insecure hearts we want acceptance we wanton affirmation and the world con consistently offers what speaks what rejection hurt comparison and it divides race divides religion divides people say yeah isn’t Christianity the same sorry that’s not what scripture says we always weaponize race and religion and yet Jesus says we are all equal at the cross no matter who you are slave or free Rich poor black white blue yellow green whatever it is you see it is us in our insecurity demonstrate arrogance and it says for God so love the world it didn’t say for God so love the Jew the Chinese no for God so of the world not the American the Caucasian no the world everyone and the cross speaks of that acceptance unconditionally we are divided by borders and race and what and and social status God says no I demolish all that I accept you as you are for God so loved the world our modern world the pleasures the distractions of Life they exacerbate this deep-seated neat isn’t it they exacerbate it they increase it and they increase the Christ of our heart sometimes you don’t even realize you are crying out because you’ve got so numb to it that you’re lost in it social media Fosters all sorts of comparisons and yet people are addicted to it and when you turn it off your sense of security is lost and what does it do it leads to this pervasive sense of inadequacy and unworthiness materialism consumerism promises fulfillment what through possession and status think about it if you drive a smaller car how do you feel when you drive a bigger car tell me how do you feel you are after status that seems to Define you if you wear simple shoes or you wear uh what what are the brands Adidas and you really not from jet Road Adas you went what 4 500 how do you walk oh you walk like you’re floating you feel hey wh why something now gives you value the office all this around seems to give you value but dear friends ladies and gentlemen our value comes from the one who created us and yet we constantly run away from him like Adam where are you and yet the cross comes and says come and this is where you will find your healing and it’s so profoundly put in the last song that they sang it materialism consumerism this whole issue of possession status and yet we are un dissatisfied why house do more Renovations make it bigger make it look we are consumed we cannot find that peace from God it’s elusive but actually it’s always been there it is I who think I will find acceptance through this and it defines my value and person and yet the cross see the cross is very jarring very demanding and and it solicits a response from us I can ignore it but one day I will come back to it again I can make fun of Jesus I can ridicule him I can just make him my good friend my but I have to answer those hard questions if not I live a lifee breakdown in family family structures communities what happens it leaves people isolated fractured disconnected longing for genuine connections and belongings we’re all looking for it what is the remedy ladies and gentlemen the remedy is found in the Cross of Christ is in the midst of our deeper struggles and our longings that the Cross of Christ shines across as the ultimate remedy the ultimate remedy through his sacrificial death the death on the cross that amazing resurrection that we celebrate today and we call Easter morning Jesus offers what first forgiveness he offers forgiveness for our sins reconciliation with God and the promise of eternal life restoring value and sense of security in our own Hearts his love knows no bounds and it’s very hard for us to comprehend sometimes isn’t it his love knows no bounds his grace is sufficient to meet us at every point of our life in our Brokenness and restores us to wholeness satisfaction is In Christ Alone we find satisfaction that eludes us everywhere else oh now I’m satisfied I’ve got into this University now I’m satisfied I’ve got this job now I’m satisfied I’ve got this business deal now I’m satisfied I’ve got the dream person to marry now but when you lose this what happens it’s temporal his love feels The Emptiness of our hearts the voids his grace covers my shame his presence brings me true peace that eludes me true peace Psalms 107 says and verse says verse 9 says for he satisfies the Thirsty and fills the Hungry with good things I say I quote this to say this no earthly pleasure or Pursuit can compare to the joy and fulfillment found in knowing and walking with Jesus in Christ we find true wholeness where which areas spiritually emotionally materially whatever it may be relationally he heals our Brokenness he restores our identity he renews our purpose 2 Corinthians 5:17 says therefore if anyone is in Christ if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come the old has gone the new is here through his death on the cross Jesus offers us the opportunity for New Life a life marked by Freedom joy and purpose think of these three words Freedom Joy purpose ultimately where is it it is at the fruit of the cross that means I come and surrender my life we find the answers to our deepest longings the solutions to our greatest struggles it is here that we encounter the Limitless the infinite love of God it cannot be measured my love can be measured my love is Tainted my love is compromised but not his not his I think sometimes we afraid to respond because we have to admit we were wrong we afraid to respond so that I think we afraid to change sometimes any even as Believers we afraid to respond God more because deep inside we don’t want to change we we we just don’t want to change we we want to look for our identity in other things it is there at the cross that we encounter this amazing love he offers us hope forgiveness and eternal life so what’s the invitation invitation is simple the love of God the love of Christ demonstrated on the cross is not a distant concept or an abstract idea no it’s not a clever philosophy it is a reality it’s available to each and everyone and his invitation is profound come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest the invitation is this I lay down my burdens I lay down my doubts and my fears at his feet and I experienced this transformative power it’s not some magical wand it is the transformative power of his love his acceptance and his forgiveness will will you consider this this morning one is to think of this unprecedented love of Jesus the greatest love story even Romey and Juliet both died here but he died so that we could have life I challenge you to consider his invitation and it’s to all three categories I mentioned earlier those never responded those who have rejected walked away for one reason or the other and the third one for all of us who say we are believers what if the love and peace and acceptance you have been searching for has been waiting for you all along wrong in the person of Jesus what if true fulfillment and purpose are found not in all the Pursuits that we engaged in but in a relationship with Jesus who loves you unconditionally let me quote CS Lewis some of you may know that huh some of you may know the movies Narnia he says God cannot give us happiness and peace apart of himself God cannot give you happiness and peace apart from him it cannot be outside him because it is not there there is no such thing why we are looking for happiness peace for all these things outside and we say God you are Santa Claus you are ATM God says no a part of me you don’t have it you can have it but it’ll be temporal because when you don’t have it the greatest treasure is having me what a paradox for the times we live in so these words what do they do they remind us that true fulfillment and peace can only be found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and that is the invitation I leave with you this morning I’m going to ask us to just for a moment to just quiet our hearts and our minds and I want you to ponder on this invitation this unprecedented invitation
this unprecedented love and why this invitation changes everything all of us desire some change this morning I challenge you to embrace that love and embrace true change and receive true peace and true acceptance only found in the cross of Jesus take a few moments and consider that.
About New Covenant Community
New Covenant Community Church is a non-denominational church based in Sentul, Malaysia. Our church family strives to love Jesus more, connect people to God and to reconnect the disconnected. Whether you are looking for a church, want to know some new friends or get connected with people, we are the place to be. Drop us a message or visit us on Sunday at Sentul Boulevard, Kuala Lumpur.
Summary And Key Points
Ps. Elisha transitions to a sermon about the meaning of Easter and the unprecedented love of Jesus. He emphasizes that Easter invites everyone into a space of reverence and anticipation to witness Jesus' resurrection, reflecting on His love and transformative power. Jesus' journey to the cross, His suffering, and resurrection are acts of profound love aimed at reconciling humanity with God.
Addressing three groups—those who haven't put their faith in Jesus, those disappointed with or who have drifted away from God, and believers needing to deepen their appreciation for Jesus' sacrifice—Ps. Elisha discusses human longings. He explains how people seek fulfillment through wealth, success, education, relationships, and status but find these pursuits ultimately unfulfilling. True identity, love, and acceptance are found only in Christ, who offers forgiveness, reconciliation, and eternal life through His death and resurrection.
Ps. Elisha highlights the challenges of modern life, noting how distractions and pressures exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. He explains that the cross offers the ultimate remedy, meeting our deepest needs. Concluding the sermon, he invites the congregation to lay down their burdens and experience the transformative power of Jesus' love and forgiveness, emphasizing that true happiness and peace are found only in a relationship with God through Jesus.
Show Transcript
Good morning everybody, morning morning. So today, as the youth culture has presented a little drama for you, I am your narrator. Today you’re not going to be looking at me, although I dressed very fancily today, but we’re going to look at Zion, a star student with exemplary and inspirational qualities, the kind of student that you say, “I want that A+ grade.” But under all of these A+s and good grades, there is something that he has to also overcome. We also have the bully Benjamin, who puts his leg up and has a cap on his head and dresses very so-called appropriately as well. Then we also have Austina, the type of friend that you actually need in life where you want to have that emotional support. Last but not least, we have teacher Chelsea as well, who wants to get the job done and gives at least 2% of an effort in school. So please do enjoy the show that we’re going to give.
[Applause] [Music]
“Okay guys, so the total angle of an equilateral triangle is 40°.”
“Wait, what? No, it’s not.”
“Oh yeah, it is. It is 40°.”
“Yeah, um teacher?”
“Yes, yes, Zion?”
“Should the angle be 60° since the total sum of a triangle is 180°?”
“Oh yeah, yeah, it is 60°. I definitely knew that. I was just testing you guys. Well done, Zion. I didn’t know you were that smart, but of course I’m smarter, right?”
“Right.”
“Yeah, okay good. Okay guys, class is dismissed.”
“Ring ring, come come come.”
“I like this angle more.”
“You know how bad teacher is, right?”
“Oh yes, the homework, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have it finished? It’s due tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I want it today.”
“Due tomorrow?”
“No, I must hand it today. It doesn’t make sense if I hand it tomorrow and it’s due tomorrow.”
“Shoot, I haven’t done it yet.”
“You haven’t done it?”
“Talk tomorrow?”
“No, I wanted to. I said already, I messaged you WhatsApp, didn’t see?”
“Yeah, okay, never mind, it’s okay. You take your time during lunch break. Don’t eat, don’t eat, don’t eat, do my work, do my work. Okay?”
“You can, right?”
“Okay.”
“Of course you can, of course you can. Come, let’s go.”
“You know if I could, right, I’d like to invite you to our lunch table, you know, but then I feel like if you join us… Okay, nice nice nice. D me up bro, D me up. Okay, see you next class.”
[Music]
“Hi Zion.”
“Austina.”
“So long since I’ve seen you. How have you been?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m doing good. So I have so many things to tell you but the most important one is this Saturday, my church is having Christ Fellowship. Got that right? So I was thinking maybe you would like to join us.”
“You know I would, but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I have exams coming up, so I need to study.”
“It’s only for an hour though.”
“I can try.”
“Okay then, get back to me on that. I’ll see you then.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
“Now as we look into just imagine this is a house, although we don’t have a house, this is Faith, mother of Zion as she is the house, as she handles most of the things in the house when it comes to chores, clothes washing, dishes, cleaning white shirts that have stains on it, and even burn marks. Every single thing to the last bit of detail, even swimming classes as well. She is the head of the house. But we also have Kei, who is the father, who is not the head of the house as he comes back home. Although having a great job, he also comes back home and about 3 seconds later he has unbearable news.”
“Hey Jessica, how are you doing? Oh, oh that’s nice to hear. Oh, how’s your son? I heard he got his test results back. Oh, he got a fail like a fail as in it’s not an ale or a fail like it’s below 40 like it’s below 40 you’re not kidding right that is outrageous I’m so sorry to hear that oh but I didn’t even know that was possible though cuz when I look at my son Zion he’s like a straight A student and I thought it was like very easy to do that since he does it all the time but I guess that’s not the case for your son um oh by the way how’s your husband oh he’s still at the minimum wage job that’s kind of disgusting um oh my husband yeah yeah he got a promotion too and his salary right now oh it’s a six figure salary I don’t think it’s actually that much but it’s enough for us to live on with oh he’s back I’ll talk to you later bye.”
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
“How was work?”
“Not good.”
“What do you mean not good?”
“I got some bad news to tell you I may have lost my job.”
“You may have lost your job?”
“Yes.”
“Like you actually did or like I did?”
“Yes I did.”
“This is your first month at the job how could you lose it so it’s my third month it’s the same thing this is so short why did you get fired like today la I mean I literally just told Jessica that you got a promotion tell Jessica something else the face of our family what do you want me to do going to be the laughing stock of the town let them laugh that what do you want me to do embarrassing way hey all you do is just wash dishes you know why are you so useless hey you’re only at home all the time you know eating my money somewhere I’m going out every night well now you’re jobless you’re doing nothing literally this is too much man the husband is supposed to have the job since when since forever this is so disappointing stop lying Zion come here what’s
your test results I got a 98.5 98.5 you embarrass what happened to the remaining 1.5 working problems working problems what subject is this maths maths you’re supposed to get full marks out of math it’s supposed to be 100 out of 100 if you tell me it’s English at least I understand because sometimes teacher grade it the way they want but you got 98.5 out of 100 for maths so disappointing can you shut up this is so disappointing Zion I told you to check your paper again and again and you lost points based on what KLA mistake you didn’t check your paper I’m sorry because of this stupid mistake of yours this Saturday I’m going to schedule you from 10:00 to 12:00 you’re going to have maths classes to fix whatever is going on here and from 12:00 to three swimming classes and from three to 5 K lessons do you get it but I already have plans you better listen to your mother man can you please shut up I’m talking here I already have plans on Saturday you already have plans what do you mean you have plans I told you if you have plans you need to tell me 2 weeks in advance uh I did I think you forgot if I forgot that means it didn’t happen get it don’t talk back to me I am your mother go to your room you’re grounded for the rest of the year okay Mom.”
“Oh my God.”
“Right after the little drama yesterday as the next day as Zion goes to school he is going to meet his teacher and Benjamin as well but other than that he’ll be meeting someone unexpected as well not just Benjamin and the teacher.”
“Is everything okay so I checked your homework submission yesterday and apparently in Ben’s homework you wrote this world is being affected by global warming meanwhile in Zion’s homework you wrote the exact same thing except you changed the word world to Planet I mean like come on guys at least try to make it less obvious like why is it so easy to tell something is going on here do you guys think I’m stupid or something don’t answer that please I would like to humbly apologize on behalf of Zion CU I had to lie in my homework cuz I’m afraid he couldn’t finish his homework in time so it’s just me helping a friend in need you know no no that’s not true it it is I give you my homework no you copied my homework okay you know there was once a great man said to me before you know confession is good for the soul you know then why are you lying no I’m not lying you lying I’m this school student there’s no way I’m smarter than you okay so you see yeah we see what the teacher has to say so apparently Zion Ben submitted his homework before you so yeah no that’s that’s un possible no it’s facts you you can’t change facts no I’m this no it’s facts I’m school top student there’s no way you can possibly believe that I copied someone else homework you know so moving on Zion you’ll be failing this class and we’ll be meeting your parents I just contacted them not my parents hab oh hab hab no no no no
no what you mean no the teacher told me everything about it doesn’t mistake no I didn’t copy any once more there’s a mistake are you telling me that the teacher is lying it’s the system it’s what the system the system it’s the system bro it’s someone’s homework you can’t just mess up with the system do you think I’m dumb is that what’s happening here I’m so disappointed in you Zion I put in my time and effort into raising you up and this is how you treat me can you please not interfere sorry what do you have to say for yourself I um you um you um CU you have nothing to say all the lies are just coming out of your mouth and now you have nothing to say to me you don’t even care to lie to me anymore at this point I’ve been giving you too much freedom and I guess you’re taking it for granted so from now on I’m going to surveil you for 24 hours a day until you back up your attitude do you get it no Zion get back here ma’am can you get that again stop stop stop please please sorry sorry sorry sorry [Music] oh my go after what happened just now imagine if something happens to you something like that like Zion now he feels so lonely the weight of his loneliness fear he can’t even breathe the amount of pressure that he’s feeling you cannot even comprehend.”
“Hi Zion.”
“Keep go away.”
“You don’t look very well.”
“Hey thank you for noticing.”
“So I want you to know that whatever you’re going through it will work out you will be fine.”
“So you just come here all a sudden and tell me everything will be okay I mean people face problems every day and they get through it so can you well I’m not you just so you know you’re pretty annoying keep this going I’m sorry you feel that way but I’ve been in your shoes and I know exactly how you feel and I’m just telling you things will work out so what now you know my shoes we in the same shoes so there was this one day when I was feeling so down to the point where there was I had nothing left in me I was sitting by the train tracks I wanted to end everything then and there because life had no meaning to me anymore I had no one to help me and I just felt so empty inside and then this stranger walked up to me and he said Matthews 11:28 and that was all he said and I thought he was crazy cuz I didn’t know his him he doesn’t know me and I was curious at the same time so I went home I looked it up and it said come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest and things started to make sense and that was when I came to know Jesus but I’m not you why would your God do that for me for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life and this is not earned or received just by the grace of God that you receive his love and no one can take credit from it because it’s a gift from God all you have to do is believe tear off the roof me toes don’t I don’t have to wait to get the healing I’ve got F me out ofing so tear off the roof the king in the house there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood power in the name of Jesus there is power in the presence Power in the Blood power in the name of Jesus and he has more in the of His Garment than the camp of the enemy there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood there power in the name of Jesus you just have to believe I didn’t come the I’m pressing true to you I don’t care how reaching out my hand to get the healing I got a baby on on the bleeding cuz I didn’t come here to hide in the ground there’s power in The Presence Power in the Blood In The Name of Jesus there’s power in the presence in the blood in the name of Jesus and he has more in the hand of his gar than the camp of the enemy there’s power In The Presence Power in the Blood there power in the name of Jesus so what now what happen Just sh dead raising power in the room heart healing stealing no stealing power so tear up the roof life changing grave shaking dead breing power in the room heart healing he steing noing power so te the shaking shaking deing power in the room heart healing noing ter changing great shaking de raising power in the room heart healing noing power there’s in the in the power in the name of Jesus there’s power in the power in the in the name of Jesus and he has more in the of his the of the enemy there’s power in the Pres power in the power in the name of Jesus again in the name of Jesus one more time in the of Jesus [Applause] [Music] Jesus [Music] you all can go back to your Sunday school thank you am I on is this on yeah okay let me do this okay good morning everyone good morning wonderful wow uh again I think let’s hear it for the young people I think they did so well [Applause] yeah how many F how many of parents felt a bit of a prick I mean and how many young people say yeah yeah yeah you know yeah so in in light of that I I you know we we think of uh Good Friday we think of Easter uh but what what is Easter what is we we talked about Good Friday we did it on Friday but Easter today I’m going to try some different uh Strokes to this uh but at the end of the day is for us to have a peak into the Amazing Heart Of God for us I’m going to begin with this scripture John 3:16 we we’ve all heard it says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in in him shall not perish but have eternal life now I would say first Easter invites us into a Sacred Space I would say that very uh clearly a Sacred Space of reverence and anticipation and anticipation is a key word here to what to witness the resurrections of Jesus the resurrection of Jesus we have many thoughts on it there are many arguments there the ones will deny it but the issue is let us examine the depth of his love and his transformative power that comes through the resurrection I would call it love Beyond Comprehension uh uh when we think of love we think of love in so many different ways and we may think of Romeo and Juliet but this is more than Romeo and Juliet this is more than the love that you see in your Bollywood movies or Hollywood it’s more than the Love sometimes that we uh SoCal anticipate or or communicate and talk about whether it is a love of a a man and a woman or whatever it may be or a child and a parent uh whatever that may be but the whole tapestry of human history there is no narrative that surpasses the story of Jesus a tale filled with what of Love Beyond Comprehension and it stretches Beyond Time across time and space I want you to picture the scene we’ve seen it a lot we see it more during again Easter Jesus hanging on a wooden cross on a beam if you may say but the what was he doing there bearing our sins his his sacrifice did something it sealed by nails and a thorn of crown or a crown of thorns I’m sorry but it reverberates through eternity but what does it do it invites every heart to examine it and look at it we cannot not just look at it we cannot call Jesus a good teacher because it’s more than that so we are confronted with this harsh reality of his journey the Journey To The Cross where he willingly endured The Suffering The beatings the mockery the agonizing pain of the crucifixion all because of what because of his amazing love for God so loved the world and he took upon himself the sins of the world bearing the weight of our sins that what might happen that we may be reconciled to God so it never stops at his death because 3 days later and that’s what we’re celebrating Easter that stone that that kept him in the Tomb is rolled away he rises from the dead he conquers sins and sin and death and this is the highest point of the greatest love story ever told is the highest point the resurrection of Jesus our Cornerstone of faith our Assurance of Salvation and the promise of eternal life so let us look into this what this unprecedented love of Jesus why why is the love this love above every other love why is the invitation of Easter why is this invitation of his Grace and love so amazing that it changes everything now it sounds like an absolute but I will say this this invitation changes everything and has the ability to change every life now you may agree with me that uh many people are plagued with what we are plagued with emptiness and our emptiness is filled up in many different ways okay so we are plagued with emptiness and even Believers can be plagued with emptiness okay we are plagued with this illusion of identity we are consistently trying this different images we’re trying to get a better image of ourselves we’re trying to look better or we’re trying to look simple we are always trying we’re always struggling with identity and we always no matter who we are where we are uh we have a desire to be loved there’s nobody who wakes up in the morning and says I wonder how many people can hate me today and make me be happy nobody in his right mind would do that and if you do that you know something fundamentally is wrong in the emotions and in the mind and yet if we we are plagued this emptiness this illusion of identity this dire desire to be loved what happens here we have failed to understand that we cannot experience any of this fully please please hear this fully without understanding the grace of God without understanding the Forgiveness of God and being accepted by Christ the way we are we may have a temporal fulfillment but not one that is complete there is a search for significance in no matter who we are and I thought the young people demonstrated it so way so so amazingly isn’t it everybody is in search of significance none of us here in all honesty and sincerity can say you do not want some form of significance in life because if you’re not if you don’t want that then you know what you stop living then you shouldn’t go to work then you shouldn’t worry about anything else but that’s not true so there’s a search for significance there’s a search for meaning that eludes us because I say this boldly it is only found in the Cross of Christ The Emptiness the illusion of identity the unfulfilled desire of Love experience without God’s grace comes from what this inherent longing with from every human soul for connection for purpose for unconditional acceptance even when we want to date we have to look for somebody who is compatible somebody who will accept you we always looking for acceptance without understanding forgiveness and being embraced as we are by Christ we find ourselves caught in this Perpetual cycle of seeking validation significance through what through other Pursuits and what are these Pursuits wealth it try we try to fill our hearts that emptiness with wealth more wealth more money a better car a better job I want more bonus if you say that doesn’t matter tell me what happens to you if you’ve just got a promotion and in one year’s time you lose that promotion or like Keith lost his job and tell me if you feel the same way tell me if you feel the same way so now what happens it’s wealth that we are trying to fill ourself why we find significance we find identity with that wealth why with that wealth I can go and get better clothes I can eat in better places I can hang around with people I can take out my wallet and show I’ve got money in it but today credit card so that’s one that once that’s other person then success and I thought they displayed it so well anyway I I didn’t write that Gabel actually wrote that whole script not from experience right I mean moving along success we all strive for Success come on we all strive for Success none of us wake up in the morning I want to fail today we want our spouse to succeed we want our kids to succeed we want our parents to succeed we all strive for some form of success education education can become a demigod for both parent and child nobody is saying don’t study no sex drugs relationships recognition we all try to fill that within us and it’s always temporal and then we try different things meditate you know we contemplate on our naval or we try different kinds of meditations why we always trying to fill up that emptiness however these temporal sources of validation ultimately leave us feeling empty and unfulfilled why because they fail to address our deepest needs in our heart we may face all this what we call fleeting experiences fleeting Pleasures accolades only to find that they cannot satisfy us they cannot satisfy this profound longing within us for lasting meaning or belonging now you’re going to find me repeating a few things before I dive into my thought that I want to conclude with see the illusion of identity comes when we tend to Define ourselves through what external factors achievements you realize the more certificates you have the more your wall is filled with the certificates if you’ve got no certificates you dare not show anybody your wall we like to boast of our achievements or we have this false identity no I’m very stupid I’m very simple no need to Drama We Asians overdo it either way there’s an emptiness so external figures uh factors sorry achievements possessions societal expectations rather than our basic worth on how God looks at us as his children huh yes God looks at you as his child but whether it’s whether I want to recognize him that way or not so we constantly when you see a child completely comfortable secure with the love of a parent you find a confident child not arrogantly confident not cocky confidence but a very simple deep in the heart confidence secure why because the recognition is that my dad accepts me as I am loves me and is there so the performance value is removed from the child so we always in this red of performance no matter where we are in life I think we always doing it without understanding the unconditional love and acceptance that God offers us Christ offers us at the cross we will all fall in this trap of measuring our value based on all this fleeting standards and pleasures and they are always subject to change and comparison our desire to be loved and accepted is a fundamental aspect of our Humanity we always want it and yet if we don’t experience the transformative power of God’s grace and forgiveness we seek for validation and affirmation from where from others why it’s our futile attempt to fill that void in our hearts we can engage in unhealthy relationships we can engage in all forms of comparison comparison of values in pursuit of love acceptance and only we find ourselves to be disappointed and disillusioned and then we’ll say where is God God doesn’t exist I’m My Own man my future is in my own hand hands the search for significance and meaning apart from the Cross of Christ ultimately leads to disillusionment and despair because it fails to address the root of our deepest needs the need to be reconciled back with God restored to his intended purpose for our lives only in Christ do we find true forgiveness acceptance and unconditional love it is through his sacrifice on the cross we are offered what Redemption restoration and Assurance of Eternal significance not temporal in Christ we discover our true identity look at the fractured identity we have today look at how social media does do that uh you know you have to have an avatar because then you don’t have to really look the way you are just pause and think on how we talk about fake news but how about fake identities so we we struggle only in Christ his cross we discover our true identity as the children of God created with a purpose destined for Eternal fellowship with him in Christ and it’s only in him that we find fulfillment of our deepest longings and the true source and meaning of significance Colossians 2:10 says this and in Christ you have been brought to fullness in Christ you have been brought to fullness therefore this whole search of significance and meaning Finds Its ultimate fulfillment where in the person and in the work of Jesus where do we see it we see it on the cross and he said it is finished we see it in the resurrection and he offers us what Abundant Life and please don’t equate Abundant Life To Riches you know you you can have the least money but be the richest person in your heart and you can have the most money and the most disgusting human being ever lived and often you can have those who really have the money are the most arrogant isn’t it so there’s no richness in their hearts he offers us abundant life eternal hope through his death and Resurrection so what are the Deeds of the human heart what are the Deep needs within each of our hearts there lies this if I may say it this way a profound longing for connection for purpose for acceptance and love we yearn to be seen we all want to be seen look at the teenage problems look at the young adult problems look at the kids in college and university they all want to be seen but they feel they need to do something else to be seen we all yearn to be understood and to be loved why this is the word again unconditionally for God so loved the world that he gave while we were yet sinners Christ died for us you know you can maybe a drug addict or or some an adulterer whoever comes and say I need to clean up my life to respond to God to me that statement is completely wrong because I can never get good enough to respond to him but when I come with my Brokenness and all my checked life and my insecurities then it is with him then and when I encounter his love daily then he and I together work on those issues of my life see God doesn’t demand hey you got to get really good to come to me no he knows while we were yet sinners Christ died for us while we were yet sinners while I’m somebody will say I never murdered anybody you don’t need to but there’s a lot of things that goes into your heart and your mind that’s not the most Pleasant Pride can be lurking in so many corners self-confidence and yet when we come and then it is there that at the cross we say God change my heart renew my mind restore my life let me look at me you know Friday I was asking the question and I don’t know how many thought about it we we make fun of Judas is Sca but all of us are a Judas in some way way or the other so we cry out we have this need we yearn and yet our world is marked with Brokenness imperfection and these fundamental needs go unmet leaving us feeling Alone lost and disillusioned and we look for it in so many places his old song He said I’m looking for love in all the wrong places you remember the song okay good we cry out for meaning we yearn for meaning Victor Frankle wrote a brilliant book called The search of significance make that a reading for this year so we all cry out for meaning in the midst of a chaotic life searching for significance and where do we we look for it in our achievements in the way we look the way we dress what we eat where we eat where we live what we drive you can have three times the bonus that you got before but when the bonus is taken away is your heart lost we long for identity you don’t believe that just go on social media not now not now here hear me speak first we long just look at social media look at your postings we long for identity we struggle to find ourself in the midst of all the noise of expectations whether it be home in Society at work at school we there are expectations screaming at us and then we have to deal with our personal insecurities we ache for love and even in marriage we can come to a place where the love is gone and and let’s be honest you don’t say I love you when you’re having sexual intimacy because you know it’s just for that moment and that’s where Jesus comes completely at the reverse and says I love you with an unconditional love I love you with an everlasting love I love you with the love that sets you free Easter Whispers that into our Lonely Hearts our fractured Hearts our confused Hearts our challenged Hearts our arrogant Hearts our failing Hearts our insecure hearts we want acceptance we wanton affirmation and the world con consistently offers what speaks what rejection hurt comparison and it divides race divides religion divides people say yeah isn’t Christianity the same sorry that’s not what scripture says we always weaponize race and religion and yet Jesus says we are all equal at the cross no matter who you are slave or free Rich poor black white blue yellow green whatever it is you see it is us in our insecurity demonstrate arrogance and it says for God so love the world it didn’t say for God so love the Jew the Chinese no for God so of the world not the American the Caucasian no the world everyone and the cross speaks of that acceptance unconditionally we are divided by borders and race and what and and social status God says no I demolish all that I accept you as you are for God so loved the world our modern world the pleasures the distractions of Life they exacerbate this deep-seated neat isn’t it they exacerbate it they increase it and they increase the Christ of our heart sometimes you don’t even realize you are crying out because you’ve got so numb to it that you’re lost in it social media Fosters all sorts of comparisons and yet people are addicted to it and when you turn it off your sense of security is lost and what does it do it leads to this pervasive sense of inadequacy and unworthiness materialism consumerism promises fulfillment what through possession and status think about it if you drive a smaller car how do you feel when you drive a bigger car tell me how do you feel you are after status that seems to Define you if you wear simple shoes or you wear uh what what are the brands Adidas and you really not from jet Road Adas you went what 4 500 how do you walk oh you walk like you’re floating you feel hey wh why something now gives you value the office all this around seems to give you value but dear friends ladies and gentlemen our value comes from the one who created us and yet we constantly run away from him like Adam where are you and yet the cross comes and says come and this is where you will find your healing and it’s so profoundly put in the last song that they sang it materialism consumerism this whole issue of possession status and yet we are un dissatisfied why house do more Renovations make it bigger make it look we are consumed we cannot find that peace from God it’s elusive but actually it’s always been there it is I who think I will find acceptance through this and it defines my value and person and yet the cross see the cross is very jarring very demanding and and it solicits a response from us I can ignore it but one day I will come back to it again I can make fun of Jesus I can ridicule him I can just make him my good friend my but I have to answer those hard questions if not I live a lifee breakdown in family family structures communities what happens it leaves people isolated fractured disconnected longing for genuine connections and belongings we’re all looking for it what is the remedy ladies and gentlemen the remedy is found in the Cross of Christ is in the midst of our deeper struggles and our longings that the Cross of Christ shines across as the ultimate remedy the ultimate remedy through his sacrificial death the death on the cross that amazing resurrection that we celebrate today and we call Easter morning Jesus offers what first forgiveness he offers forgiveness for our sins reconciliation with God and the promise of eternal life restoring value and sense of security in our own Hearts his love knows no bounds and it’s very hard for us to comprehend sometimes isn’t it his love knows no bounds his grace is sufficient to meet us at every point of our life in our Brokenness and restores us to wholeness satisfaction is In Christ Alone we find satisfaction that eludes us everywhere else oh now I’m satisfied I’ve got into this University now I’m satisfied I’ve got this job now I’m satisfied I’ve got this business deal now I’m satisfied I’ve got the dream person to marry now but when you lose this what happens it’s temporal his love feels The Emptiness of our hearts the voids his grace covers my shame his presence brings me true peace that eludes me true peace Psalms 107 says and verse says verse 9 says for he satisfies the Thirsty and fills the Hungry with good things I say I quote this to say this no earthly pleasure or Pursuit can compare to the joy and fulfillment found in knowing and walking with Jesus in Christ we find true wholeness where which areas spiritually emotionally materially whatever it may be relationally he heals our Brokenness he restores our identity he renews our purpose 2 Corinthians 5:17 says therefore if anyone is in Christ if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come the old has gone the new is here through his death on the cross Jesus offers us the opportunity for New Life a life marked by Freedom joy and purpose think of these three words Freedom Joy purpose ultimately where is it it is at the fruit of the cross that means I come and surrender my life we find the answers to our deepest longings the solutions to our greatest struggles it is here that we encounter the Limitless the infinite love of God it cannot be measured my love can be measured my love is Tainted my love is compromised but not his not his I think sometimes we afraid to respond because we have to admit we were wrong we afraid to respond so that I think we afraid to change sometimes any even as Believers we afraid to respond God more because deep inside we don’t want to change we we we just don’t want to change we we want to look for our identity in other things it is there at the cross that we encounter this amazing love he offers us hope forgiveness and eternal life so what’s the invitation invitation is simple the love of God the love of Christ demonstrated on the cross is not a distant concept or an abstract idea no it’s not a clever philosophy it is a reality it’s available to each and everyone and his invitation is profound come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest the invitation is this I lay down my burdens I lay down my doubts and my fears at his feet and I experienced this transformative power it’s not some magical wand it is the transformative power of his love his acceptance and his forgiveness will will you consider this this morning one is to think of this unprecedented love of Jesus the greatest love story even Romey and Juliet both died here but he died so that we could have life I challenge you to consider his invitation and it’s to all three categories I mentioned earlier those never responded those who have rejected walked away for one reason or the other and the third one for all of us who say we are believers what if the love and peace and acceptance you have been searching for has been waiting for you all along wrong in the person of Jesus what if true fulfillment and purpose are found not in all the Pursuits that we engaged in but in a relationship with Jesus who loves you unconditionally let me quote CS Lewis some of you may know that huh some of you may know the movies Narnia he says God cannot give us happiness and peace apart of himself God cannot give you happiness and peace apart from him it cannot be outside him because it is not there there is no such thing why we are looking for happiness peace for all these things outside and we say God you are Santa Claus you are ATM God says no a part of me you don’t have it you can have it but it’ll be temporal because when you don’t have it the greatest treasure is having me what a paradox for the times we live in so these words what do they do they remind us that true fulfillment and peace can only be found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and that is the invitation I leave with you this morning I’m going to ask us to just for a moment to just quiet our hearts and our minds and I want you to ponder on this invitation this unprecedented invitation
this unprecedented love and why this invitation changes everything all of us desire some change this morning I challenge you to embrace that love and embrace true change and receive true peace and true acceptance only found in the cross of Jesus take a few moments and consider that.
About New Covenant Community
New Covenant Community Church is a non-denominational church based in Sentul, Malaysia. Our church family strives to love Jesus more, connect people to God and to reconnect the disconnected. Whether you are looking for a church, want to know some new friends or get connected with people, we are the place to be. Drop us a message or visit us on Sunday at Sentul Boulevard, Kuala Lumpur.
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