Finding Jesus

Can you think of a time in your life when you expected someone or something to be in a specific place, but it wasn’t? Remember the intense feeling of chaos that arose within you when you realized that this particular person or thing was missing. During the message, Finding Jesus, I shared an event that took place in my life that I will never forget. A time when my wife, Mandy, and I felt an overwhelming sense of chaos. It came as the result of realizing people we greatly loved and valued were not where we expected them to be! They were gone... Missing... Completely disappeared! (You can listen to that story here.)

One Sunday morning, 2,000 years ago, similar chaos was taking place at a tomb in Jerusalem because something… someone… was MISSING!

Matthew 28:6 NKJV (The angel said), “Jesus is not here; for He is risen”

Jesus was not there! The tomb was empty!

While we celebrate this truth today, the initial reality created intense turmoil for Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John as they tried to investigate where Jesus' body was and who had taken it. At that moment, they couldn’t fully understand the happenings (Ref. John 20:9). Amidst the chaos, angelic beings became manifest and spoke directly to the disciple shedding tears and possessing the most significant brokenness; Mary Magdalene. With point-blank directness, the angel informed her, Jesus wasn’t in the tomb because he had RISEN.

Matthew 28:6 NKJV (The angel said), “Jesus is not here; for He is risen”

Shortly after this moment, on the first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene discovers she will not find Jesus. Instead, He found her (Ref. John 20). And, the same will be true for each of us! Consider then, all along... despite the disciples’ chaos... Jesus had been there -- not in the grave, but the adjacent garden! Jesus overcame death, Hell, and the grave! Then, he hung out in a garden to bring man's journey from Genesis full circle. And, as best relayed theologically by Len Sweet and Frank Viola (in a recap of their mutual study of Jesus’ life), “Jesus was not a ghost or a delusion of the disciples’ minds. He was a resurrected human being.”

For 40 days following his exit from the tomb, Jesus stayed on earth with his disciples; allowing them to test and prove his Resurrection. This period set in motion radical transformation in his followers. Next, born out of resurrected power, this richly diverse group would go on to be known as the early Church and turn the world upside down! The Gospel-recorded change from who they were to who they became, thus proving the effect of Jesus’ Resurrection upon their lives was incomprehensible. They grew bold and on fire with a passion for sharing about Jesus. To them, death had lost its sting!

Likewise, we serve a resurrected Jesus today!

The Jesus that conquered and took the keys to death, Hell, and the grave!

He is not THERE. He is RISEN. He is HERE!

And… if invited, Jesus can be IN you.

All you have to do is decide that you believe in Jesus' Cross & Resurrection, and allow him ownership of your heart. Despite any level of chaos or personal loss, call on his name one time, and discover you’re not searching for Him... Jesus has been with you all along. He’s just awaiting the invitation to step into your life fully with His resurrection power!

Romans 8:11 NCV God raised Jesus from the dead, and if God’s Spirit is living in you, he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the One who raised Christ from the dead, and he will give life through his Spirit that lives IN you.

Check out this message by Pastor Eric as he walks us through the events that took place on Easter Sunday thousands of years ago and why these events are just as relevant to us today!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION and GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

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How Personal Loss can Position You for Spiritual Gain

Have you ever experienced loss? Has personal loss left you feeling empty? Is there a void in your life as a result of loss? Let me encourage you, there is something profound about internal voids -- emptiness attracts God’s attention.

In Isaiah chapter 6, we learn that Isaiah was having a bad year. It was the year that King Uzziah died. He had a close relationship with Uzziah. Isaiah greatly valued his relationship with his friend and relative, as well as his monarch, Uzziah. The loss was real. And, undoubtedly, the year that ensued was a season of pain, hurt, and grief. But even though Isaiah was grieving a significant loss, he had a powerful moment with God. Despite his pain, he returned to the temple. Doing so, positioned him to experience God in a way he had never previously encountered Him. The result: he was completely undone before the Lord. All the bondage of his flesh was released. He was finally able to answer the call of God with, "Here am I. Send me."

Like Isaiah, we, too can, experience powerful moments with God in the midst of a bad situation or a difficult season. Check out this message from Pastor Eric as he reveals, through Isaiah’s story, how personal loss can position us for spiritual gain.

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” Isaiah 6:8

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WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES | TRANSCRIPT

How To Receive & Respond To The Blessing of God

Abraham was a righteous man and the father of our Faith (Ref. Romans 4:16 NKJV). He is Biblically acknowledged for his close relationship with God which went to the next level during one memorable journey home from a battle. Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God… met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him (Hebrews 7:1-3 NKJV).

A broader biographical sketch of the moment is recorded in Genesis, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” (chapter 14:18-20 NKJV)

Notice some specifics about this encounter and the blessing that transpired. It takes place as the High Priest, Melchizedek, has bread and wine in his hands. The items Melchizedek is holding point to Jesus as the coming High Priest. And, Paul tells us as much, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us… that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:13-14 NKJV).

We are entitled to the blessing of Abraham because we have Jesus with us! And, when we partake of the Lord’s Supper (bread representative of His body and wine representative of his blood), it is within the order of God for us to declare the blessing of Abraham over our life.

The Blessing of Abraham is three-fold:

• You are a child of the Most High God. Believe God for elevation! He is above everything, and he can enhance your influence for a more significant impact to accomplish His purposes on the Earth.
  

• You can possess heaven and earth. God owns it all -- everything! Believe God to bless you with possessions so that you can bless others by providing for their needs.
  

• You can have enemies delivered into your hands. Dominion over the attack of the enemy is possible!

In summary:

1. Elevation

2. Possession

3. Dominion

Notice, the blessing is progressive. It is three levels -- so, believe God to bless you in all three dimensions!

I encourage you, with reverence in your heart, to gather some unleavened bread and wine (or improvise with crackers and juice), and partake of Communion while speaking this blessing over your life. Then, don’t hesitate to mimic Abraham’s response further, “And (Melchizedek) blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all (Genesis 14:19-20 NKJV).

Lay your tithes check (1/10 of your income; Hebrews 7:2 NKJV) in front of you. While you partake of Communion, speak the Abrahamic blessing over your life, giving God your treasure symbolically. We make this movement in worship, communicating to God that he has our heart -- and, thereby we are ready for any oncoming blessing! (For symbolism's sake, if you give through online portals, maybe you could lay your phone in front of you.) This is the point, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21 NKJV).

You’ve never given tithes before? Abraham had to start at some point as well! And, what better time to start than during the season when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday? The Christmas season’s first gift exchange transpired when “wise men” brought gifts to Jesus two thousand years ago.

In this vein, amazingly, the Bible teaches us that Jesus receives tithes personally (in a spiritual sense) when we give them to our storehouse (the local church), “Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he (Jesus) receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives” (Hebrews 7:4, 8 NKJV). “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:8-10 NKJV)

It’s such an incredible thing to consider, and it is so encouraging to know that our Savior -- God with us -- is still personally involved in receiving our gifts and seeing to it that blessing makes its way to those who are willing to believe for it.

The bottom-line: Because Jesus saved us, He is with us, and as we remember Him through Communion, we have the opportunity to believe for blessing and respond in generous worship.

Declare it: Elevation. Possession. Dominion. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Watch Pastor Eric's Message on this subject: The Blessing of Abraham