[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here, and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Let's listen in. Oh, thank you so much.
Come on, one time for Jesus, our risen king this morning. Come on, everybody. Happy Easter. He's alive. He's not dead. He has.
Come on, somebody. That is awesome and good, good news. I want to say a very special welcome to all of our friends who are watching online from Cameroon to Colorado. We love you all and wish you could be here in person because I'm telling you, it's amazing here. It is not humid outside at all.
We're all growing Afros. I'm just telling you, the higher the hair, closer to Jesus. It's extremely muggy here today, but God's presence is in this place, and it is Easter, y'all. It's a beautiful thing. Grab your bibles. Matthew, chapter 28. So we're going to spend all of our time together today as we celebrate Easter. Our risen Savior right here together today. It's a beautiful moment. Isn't it a beautiful moment? Now, it's interesting to think that we're not just celebrating Easter here at this church. We're not just celebrating Easter in this city, but we are joining together with millions upon millions of believers all around the world at the same time worshiping our risen Savior. That's a beautiful thought. It's a beautiful moment. And life. Life really happens in moments, doesn't it? Life happens in moments. It seems like there's seasons of our life that moments come and kind of. Kind of just help us to stop for a moment and recognize, like, this is a special, special moment, even if it is on 4:20. Come on, somebody. There's some of you that are giggling and that. That lets us know you've got a past, and there's some that have no idea what we're talking about. And that's okay. We love you, too. I'm just telling you.
We had to be very careful when we were planning an easter service on 4 20. And the worship team came to me several weeks ago and said, pastor, we want to open up the service with a great old standard song. Lord, I lift your name on high. And I'm like, eesh, no, man, it's 4:20. We can't be blazing and praising in God's house. This is Easter. Come on, somebody, it's Easter.
Life happens in moments. And this is a beautiful moment. Here I was thinking about the moments of my life, and there's some moments that I wish I could repeat them. And there's some moments I wish I could delete them. Anybody been there? There are moments in my life where I wish I could repeat it. The moment that I. That I held my son in that operating room the first time that they handed me that little shriveled up, gray looking old man and said, this is your son. That's the moment that it changed the season of my life from just being a kid to being a dad. It's a defining moment where everything changed one season gave way to the next. There was a season of my life that helped me to know a very valuable lesson that, that I was mortal. And that season was the very first time my shin found a trailer hitch.
There is the season pre trailer hitch and there's the post trailer hitch life. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. There's seasons of our life that are defined by incredible moments. So I was digging into God's word and looking at the moments that defined this resurrection story. And there's so many powerful, powerful truths that help us to kind of see how God changed one season to the next. You know, we understand the powerful, defining divine moments. We understand those because we were raised in the South. And for those of you that were raised in the south, understand that there is a. There's a noise that every parent makes and it goes from generation to generation that helps us learn as infants that it's time to change course. We change course with a noise. It's kind of hardwired in all of us because when our kids are crawling or they're starting to take their first steps, we all have that noise to tell them. This is time to change course. And the noise is the same. The noise is, come on, somebody, you know what I'm talking about. So it's hardwired in us to have these defining moments where we were going one way and it's time to go another way. And that really is the story of the resurrection of Jesus. What happens when he gets up out of a grave. It was one thing, and then it becomes another with a defining moment. Him getting up changed everything. One divine moment. One divine moment completely changed the course and can still completely change the course of any life. One divine moment. I was this way and now I'm this way.
So as we zoom into the story in Matthew 28, we find a group of ladies that are going to the tomb to anoint Jesus's body for burial early Sunday morning. Going to pay their respects, if you will. Going to spend their last final few moments with their friend.
Now, we know from this side of Easter that it's a beautiful story because he wasn't there. He had risen. That's a beautiful thing. But they didn't know that. They did not have the ability to look like we look back at the story. So as they're walking there, you can imagine the conversations. The scripture says that they're talking amongst themselves, who's going to roll the stone away for us? How's this going to work? You can imagine that they're in their disappointment season. They're in their grief season. They're in their doubting season. We thought he was the Messiah. We thought nothing could. Nothing could hurt him. And yet we saw that that wasn't. That wasn't true. They killed him.
And as they're discussing amongst themselves what season that they're all in, the Bible says they come upon the tomb.
They've been talking about who's going to roll that stone away for. For. For us. And they find that the stone was already rolled away. Now, for us, that's a big deal. It's a huge, joyous moment. But for them not knowing that he wasn't dead, that he had risen, for them, it must have been pretty disappointing, thinking to themselves, well, that's just one more thing we got to deal with. What did they do to him? They already killed him. Did they steal him? Did they abuse him some more?
And they come upon this tomb with the stone rolled away, and they find. This is crazy. They find an angel sitting on the stone.
Sitting on the stone. The guards that were there to guard the body of Jesus, the Bible says that they are laid out completely paralyzed with fear. They can't move. And here's an angel just sitting down, waiting on the ladies to show up. Hey, how's it going? Been waiting for you for a while. Yeah, these guys, don't worry about them. They'll be fine. They'll be fine.
Scripture records it this way in verse five. The angel then said to the women, do not be afraid.
It's saying, you're in one season. You're in the fear season.
That moment's about to end. There's a divine moment happening right here. Do not be afraid, he says, for I know that you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified. And here's the greatest words ever written in the history of written words. He is not here. Say it with me. He is risen. I love that he is not here. He is risen, just as he told you he was gonna do.
Jesus is still someone that we can take. At their word. Jesus means what he says and says what he means.
He is not here. He is risen, just as he said. The angel then invites them. Come and see the place where they laid him. And then go quickly and tell his disciples. Another gospel says this. Go quickly and tell the disciples, especially Peter. I love that. He doesn't say, except for Peter. He says, especially Peter. Go and tell the disciples everything that you've seen here today. Now, notice they don't see Jesus at this moment. They. They just see an angel, and an angel tells them what to do. Go tell the disciples he has risen from the dead and he's going ahead of you into Galilee. He says there, you're going to see him. You're going to meet Jesus in Galilee. That's where you're supposed to go next.
And then it says this some interesting words. I want you to notice how powerful these next words are.
So the women hurried away from the tomb. Look at this. Afraid, yet filled with joy. Afraid, yet. Yet filled with joy. And in those two words, afraid and joy, we see two different seasons.
Two different seasons that are coming together in a divine moment. They come to the tomb in doubt and discouragement, in fear. And they leave, afraid, but yet filled with joy.
The scripture goes on to say that as they were going, remember, the angel had told these ladies, jesus is going to meet you in Galilee. But guess what? Jesus could not wait to meet them in Galilee. Jesus shows up as they take a few steps.
What does it show us today? It shows us very clearly that when people believe and obey, guess what? Jesus shows up. The same is still true for me, and the same is still true for you. When I believe and take God at his word, when I obey what he's telling me to do, in spite of my fears and worries, my doubts, whatever season I might be in, if I can respond to the divine moment and do what God is telling me to do, Jesus shows up. It goes on to say it this way, that when Jesus shows up, suddenly, Jesus met them, and he says the words greetings. Now, I have a problem with this word because in English it doesn't translate to greetings. And in English, it better translate as the word surprise, surprise, surprise. Jesus could not wait to encounter these ladies in the midst of their fear. But yet they're still doing what the angel had told them to Do. Jesus shows up and says, surprise, it's me. I did it.
Greetings, he says. And they came to him. They fall at his feet. They worship him. And then Jesus tells them this. Hey, don't be afraid.
That joy that you're feeling, let's stick with that. Why? Because there was a divine moment when I got up out of that grave. It takes that fear and turns it into joy. So let's take that fear that you're feeling. Let's leave that at that empty grave, and let's go forward and do what I've asked you to do with much joy. And then in one divine moment, one moment changed a season of fear into a story of faith. One moment they were full of fear. The next moment, they're full of fear, but with joy. And then it says, they leave full of joy. They go and tell the other disciples. The disciples take off running. I love how John records it. John was the first one to come to the tomb. I beat Peter. Not saying it's a competition, but it needs to be in there.
The disciples see that one divine moment changed their season from doubt and skepticism. One moment changed their season of hurt and bitterness into joy, into faith, into courage. And I think for us today, it's easy for us because we. We tend to believe that a single moment can't turn a season around. Here's the good news. But it can. It absolutely can. And we get stuck in these seasons of our life thinking, oh, if God would just do something for me, I believe that he probably did something for them. But. But could he ever do that for me? You don't understand the season that I'm in. I've gotten stuck here, stuck here with a diagnosis, stuck here in this mood, stuck here in this mindset, stuck here in this marriage, stuck here in this job. It's been a long season, and we foolishly believe that God can't change that season with a moment. But he can. He can. And as the disciples hear the news of the risen Savior, in one moment, it changed a season from in mourning to on mission. I've got a job to do. How does that happen? How do those two seasons meet? Because in one single divine moment, Jesus proved that death is not the end, the grave is not the end. So here's their thinking. What else are you going to threaten me with?
What have I to be afraid of?
Jesus has given us a job to do, and even death can't stop him. So when he tells me to do something, I'm going to do it. Believing it doesn't matter what I feel. What matters is what he says. One moment changed the disciples from cowards to. To courageous. One moment.
I wonder, what season are you in? I wonder what divine moment could this Sunday be for you?
So I don't want you to just take my word for it, but we had some friends over the past couple weeks that wanted to share their story with you that. And we put together a video that I think helps to illustrate the point as we're looking back on our lives and as these people that. I'm going to show you their story. They were struggling in one way or another. There was these divine moments where God began to radically change the season that they were in and bring deliverance and bring hope, bring answers to prayer. Long seasons of things like poor mental health, things like depression and anxiety. Those are serious things.
But God began to intervene. God began to speak. Seasons like long bouts with infertility and doubt, seasons of family dysfunction and anger and rage and alcoholism. All of those things met divine moments as God supernaturally began to change the narrative, began to change the season. So take a moment, if you would. Let's turn our attention to the screen and enjoy this.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: I was born and raised in Pennsylvania to a wonderful Christian family. I was always around church, always had a love and a desire for music. As I grew up, I wanted to be a worship pastor.
[00:13:28] Speaker D: I was introduced to the Lord at a high school, like a revival situation. But it was a lot of real emotionality behind it. I knew God, but I didn't really take him in. I didn't really try to learn who God was. I knew about him.
[00:13:41] Speaker C: Even though I grew up in a wonderful Christian family where my parents loved Jesus and I knew that they loved me, there were still some insecurities and some fears that I was dealing with. And so there was just a lot of things that developed in me that I can look back now and see insecurity and fear and levels of anxiety and even at times, depression that I felt.
[00:14:10] Speaker E: After Paul and I got married, we were really excited to start a family.
But after a few years, we began to realize that it wasn't going to happen the way we hoped. And so I was referred to a specialist. And whenever we had the money, I would go and, you know, have more tests done, more procedures and things like that and try to figure out what the problem was, try to fix it. We were praying about it, but mostly keeping all that to ourselves. We didn't really want to burden people with our problems or, I don't know, I guess we felt A little bit of embarrassment about it. So we didn't really share about it a whole lot with people around us.
[00:14:50] Speaker D: Our son was born about a week before the COVID lockdowns in 2020. And so we were really disconnected from our friends and our family.
And I was dealing with some family problems, which led to an explosive argument I had with one of my family members. During that time. I started to drink a little more heavily than I had always done because I was so mad, and I didn't have a better way to.
I guess I could say I just didn't have a good way of channeling that, or I didn't have a good place to let that out. So I started to kind of numb my rage with alcohol. And it eventually came to a head.
[00:15:34] Speaker C: In 2022, I started to recognize that I was dealing with some heavy anxiety and feelings of depression. Felt like I was feeling focused on doing things for the Lord. And really I was missing the being in relationship with the Lord. Comparing myself to others, to my fellow co workers. I was like, man, they're doing things perfect. And I'm just over here failing and just looking at all the ways that I felt like I was failing. I felt like I had nothing left to give.
[00:16:10] Speaker E: We believed that God had given us some promises, and so we tried to hold on to those and not give up hope.
But as things kind of dragged on, we started feeling a lot of bitterness. It felt like everyone around us, all of our friends were having families and we weren't. And we just felt it just made it hard to kind of be around people sometimes. And Mother's Day and Father's Day were very hard for both of us. And, um. And so that's kind of where we. We got to this place where it was just hard. And we felt very like we were on our own journey and everyone else was going a different direction.
[00:16:47] Speaker D: After this big argument I had, I think there was about almost a year span where I don't remember a night I went to bed sober.
[00:16:56] Speaker F: So there were a few times in 2021 when Hunter would get so drunk that I realized, oh, okay, I think Hunter has a serious problem. And it was out of his control, out of my control.
And there was one night he got so drunk that he was. He was very angry and very belligerent, saying some out of pocket things.
So the next morning he was pretty hungover. But we sat up, we talked. I said, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I love my son and I'm not going to allow you to take us down on this sinking ship.
[00:17:46] Speaker C: I was also feeling numb, just emotionless. Nothing, nothing. And this kind of led into where I started to have a hard time sleeping. Would wake up in the middle of the night, full of dread, facing the next day. And one night I took a walk with my wife and just expressed some of the things that I was dealing with, the thoughts of taking my own life, and called my counselor and they helped me by forcing me to go to the ER because it was serious enough. After I spent the night there, I went to a facility for a week to get my emotions and my myself stable in a stable place.
[00:18:34] Speaker E: On Monday nights, some friends from church and I would get together and hang out and it was really great. But most of my friends had kids and so they would talk about, you know, the conversation would turn to kids or would turn to like someone's pregnancy or their birth story, which was great. But it got to where it was kind of hard for me to hear that stuff because my experience was very different at the time. You know, instead of going and, you know, looking at an ultrasound and seeing a baby, I was going and seeing an empty womb. And I wasn't really sharing a whole lot about this with anyone. And so they didn't know. But it got really hard to be there and listen to all the joy filled conversation around kids. And so I started to kind of back away from that and not go every Monday, started going less and less because I didn't feel like I could handle it. I didn't want to share because I didn't want to like take their joy away or make them feel like they had to walk on eggshells around me about that topic. And so I just, I had to take a step back and it wasn't really a good thing.
[00:19:36] Speaker C: So after I got back from the mental health facility, I took a step back from ministry at the church to rest and to get back into real life. And I needed to at that time ask myself the questions of am I supposed to be a pastor?
Who really am I? And what has God called me to do in this season? Through that time, I really felt the love and support of our staff, our pastors, our leaders, our elders, felt accepted and able to not have to be perfect.
[00:20:18] Speaker D: So she asked me the next morning, what are you going to do? And the first thing I thought of was I'm actually going to stop drinking and I'm going to start getting into meetings.
[00:20:27] Speaker F: One day after another. He was staying sober and it felt like it was like, our marriage was reborn and our mental health was reborn, and we were doing life completely differently than we were before.
[00:20:43] Speaker E: So there was this one Monday night when it had been a while, and I decided to go to coffee with friends again.
And that night, there was a small group of ladies, only four of us at Starbucks, sitting around talking. And I don't remember if someone asked me about how I was doing or if I brought it up, but I decided to be brave and to be vulnerable about what was going on with us. So I shared, you know, and I was honest. And I kind of expected them to not really understand. Instead, my friends kind of rallied around me and they showed a lot of empathy, and they were.
You know, they started praying for me. And we realized that we didn't need to be doing this alone, that we really needed to start letting people in on what we were walking through so they could encourage us, so they could be praying for us.
It wasn't just our journey. It needed to be shared. And once we had shared with, you know, a lot of trusted people, we had an army of people praying for us for this and cheering us on and being there for us on the bad days. And that was really crucial and really important.
[00:21:55] Speaker C: The healing process for me was imperfect. It was slow. But through that, the Lord really showed me his love for me and that it wasn't based on my performance, on how well I could do, how perfect I could be.
And I started to receive that free gift of love that he had for me, where I started to understand that it was more about the being his child than it was doing for him.
[00:22:30] Speaker D: It was about six weeks after I had gotten sober. So I gotten sober in late November of 21, and we started going here to High Ridge in January of 22. And I just. I think I really, more than anything, wanted to check a box off and say, I'm going to church. I'm trying. It was part of our recovery process.
And I just couldn't shake this feeling of hope. For the first time, I. I walked in with a dark cloud and wanted to be left alone. And the church wouldn't let that. They kept showing hope and they kept showing peace, and I kept feeling connection that I thought was gone forever.
[00:23:13] Speaker E: During this time, God gave my husband a scripture to hold onto. And it is in this really obscure book of the Bible called Habakkuk. But it says even if there aren't any buds on the fig tree or cattle in the stall, like, if everything is bare and we have no answers, it says, yet I will Rejoice in the Lord. He was almost asking us, can you find joy in me alone? Am I enough? Can you trust me? And so I feel like we didn't do it perfectly, but we got to that place where we were healing from the hurt, and we were not isolating anymore. We had community around us, and we were finding purpose in the pain. And I think that's a place where God wanted to lead us.
[00:23:59] Speaker D: I think the way that God showed himself the most was all of this really started out of a place of dysfunction in my family, and God began to redeem those relationships. The family that God entrusted me with actually loved seeing me come home. There was so much joy in that for me.
[00:24:19] Speaker C: Through this experience, I've realized that I don't have to have it all figured out.
I can get better at what I do, but also at the same time, have grace when I don't get it perfect.
[00:24:32] Speaker E: Even though I had completely given this over to the Lord and kind of like, we're moving on, I had this moment of like, I'm gonna say one last prayer about this. And I just kind of said, lord, this is still a desire of my heart. And so if it's your will, do a miracle. And not long after that, I had several days of pregnancy symptoms. I told myself, okay, if I wake up the next day and I'm still having these symptoms, then I'm going to take a test.
And that day was Black Friday, 2016, and Paul had gone out early to hunt. And so I was at home by myself, and I had one last pregnancy test. And I decided to take a step of faith and take the pregnancy test.
And there was a positive line. And then I started thinking, well, maybe this test didn't work right, and I need to go and get a new one. And just to make sure, because it's probably messed up. So I drove really fast to Waldgreens and grabbed two very expensive legit pregnancy tests, brought them home, and they were both positive. And then I was like, thank you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord. I can't believe. Oh, my goodness. Thank you, God.
And I couldn't wait for Paul to get home so I could tell him.
And, you know, of course, he hunted really long that day and came home really late. But I wrapped up the test and handed it to him when he got home, finally.
And then I recorded him opening the box. And then we started sharing our story with other people, with the people who had been praying for us, and their reactions and everything made us realize that this isn't just our story. And this isn't just our win. This is like. This is also their joy and their victory, too. And it was just the most incredible experience to be able to say, hey, this is what's done. And to be able to celebrate with all these people who had been praying and rooting for us. And so it was just. It was the best. Trusting God in the dark is really hard, but he sees the full picture when we can't.
[00:26:44] Speaker D: And for anyone who's going through the same things, I just want you to feel assured that when I found Jesus and I found community, I found my joy again.
[00:26:56] Speaker C: It's okay to be broken because God meets us in our brokenness. He's right there with you. You don't have to try to do it alone, but let the Lord help you figure things out. Quit, don't give up.
And also find your security and your joy in Him.
[00:27:19] Speaker B: Come on, somebody. How incredible is that?
Wow.
Let me bring you some encouragement today. Let me bring you a little bit of hope. Let me remind you that no matter what season that you may be in, there are four incredible words that you need to take away from this service today. God still does miracles. Come on, you've got to believe that God still does miracles. And the story that we celebrate today was not just some random story 2000 years ago, but it proves. It proves that Jesus conquered death. He conquered hell, he conquered sin, he conquered disease, he conquered the grave. Our God still does miracles. And we can have hope today that death is not the end. God still steps into seasons and changes the narrative with divine moments. And I want you to know, for those of us that have accepted Christ into our heart to pay the penalty for our sin and for our shame, I want you to know that there's a divine moment coming for you. That no matter what the world may throw at us, even if they put us in the grave, Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, it tells us very clearly that in a moment, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, it says, we're going to get up at that last trumpet. We're going to be raised. This whole body is going to be raised incorruptible. I get a new body.
Not only could death not hold Jesus, it's not going to hold me. And for those of us that believe, it's not going to hold you either. It says, we're all going to be changed. We get to meet him. We get to spend eternity with him. See, Jesus proved once and for all that death is not the end.
And Once you have that at the center of who you are and your relationship with Jesus, what in the world, what could this world threaten you with?
I've had a divine moment.
Who I used to be is not who I am because of what Jesus did in that moment.
Let me just remind you of a simple fact. God led you here today for this moment. Let me ask you, what season are you in?
What season are you in?
And what could God do in one divine moment? Could Easter 2025 be a divine moment for your family where dysfunction begins to break off, where depression begins to break off, where you begin to step out? You might still be afraid, but filled with joy because of a divine moment of what happened right here? I want to encourage you. I want to challenge you. I want to push you. Whatever it takes. I want to dare you. Don't miss your moment.
Don't miss your moment.
Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me?
Perhaps you're listening to this or watching online, or maybe you're even right here today and you would say, pastor, I need a relationship with Jesus.
I've been in a season that needs to change.
Maybe you even were raised in church, but you know, you've gotten away from God. That season needs to change, and it begins to change right here, today in this moment. I believe if you could see it right now, God himself is reaching down his hand to you.
The question is, will you respond? You may say, how do I do that, Pastor? How do I do that? Let me help you the same way that somebody helped me one time. It starts with a prayer, my friend. It starts with talking to God and with heads bowed and eyes closed. If you want a relationship with Jesus, if you've been running from Jesus and need to come home, I want you to pray this prayer right here and right now with me. I'll tell you the words to say. Pray this prayer with me right where you are. Just say, jesus, I believe you're the Son of God.
I believe that you came and died.
And I believe you rose from the grave so that I could have life and forgiveness for my sins. Jesus, I ask you to forgive me, save me.
Now say this, my friend. Jesus, I give you my life right now. I'm all in.
Thank you for loving me with heads bowed and eyes closed all across this place. Just those of you, if you honestly, if you just prayed that prayer, do me a favor. Just us, nobody else looking around. If you prayed that prayer, would you slip up your hand all across this place, say, that was me, I did it. I Prayed that prayer. Yes, I prayed that prayer with you, Pastor. That was me. I did it. Good for you.
If you're watching online or even if you're here in the room, I want you to know that there is a phone number appearing on a screen. And if you prayed that prayer with me, I want to invite you to text me. Text the words I prayed to that number on the screen. And what's going to happen is as soon as you do that, I will send you back the link to some things that will help you understand what just happened inside of your heart and what to do next. It's the greatest joy of my life to help people meet Jesus, and this is your moment.
I'm proud of you, High Ridge family. Go ahead and look up at me if you would. Then let's stand to our feet together today as our elders and their wives come. These guys will stand right here in front of this platform as this service ends to make sure that they are available to pray for you, no matter what season you might be walking through. I think it would be a shame to come to church and say, man, I wish that. That I had someone, that they would pray for me. Well, let me just tell you, this is your moment, and these people will stay right here as the service ends to be available to pray for you and then for everybody else. Hey, I want to tell you he's risen.
He's risen. And God still does miracles. Let me pray for you, and bless you as we go. Father, would you bless my friends with the most incredible week that they've ever had? Taking the story of Easter into their world, Lord, pronouncing that we serve a risen king who is not dead, but he is alive. Thank you, Father, for what you've done on the cross for us. We carry this message for you in Jesus name and all of us said together, Amen. God bless you as you go. Happy Easter.
[00:33:07] Speaker A: Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. If you want to be a part of our online community, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv. Or you can check out our
[email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give. We appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week, and we will see you next time.
