[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. Happy Mother's Day, moms.
Happy Mother's Day. We're so very thankful for all of you. We're thankful for the moms that may be watching online. We're also thankful for bonus moms for stepmoms. We're thankful for spiritual mothers. We are thankful for you. You are amazing in all that you do. And today we celebrate you big moms. We have a very special gift for those of you that are with us in service today as you exit. We have a special gift for you also. If you have kids in kids ministry, they're making some wonderful stuff for you. Pretend that you like it. It's fine.
My baby, like, put it up on the refrigerator. We have some gifts that we have them making for you. And I think it's important that we teach our young people to honor their parents. Come on, that's scriptural. That's biblical. And so we're teaching them how to do that today. And so we have a gift for you as you exit today. Also, if when I said the words like Happy Mother's Day and moms, if, that brought you a lot of anxiety and panic because you forgot it was Mother's Day at some point during the service, get up and go to the bathroom. We have a little kiosk in there that says, in case you forgot, there are Happy Mother's Day cards in there just for you. They're all free, just in case you forgot. We want there to be peace in your home. We want there to be peace in your marriage. We want you to enjoy this weekend. No one has to know. That's between you and Jesus. Your generosity bought it anyway. It belongs to you. So we have some Mother's Day cards in there just in case you forgot. So go grab one of those, assign it, and it's our gift to you to say, peace be with you. Right?
We also wanna welcome all of you who are watching online. So High Ridge family, come on, give a big warm round of applause to all of our friends watching on their phones, on their iPads, on their TVs.
We're so glad that you're here. So grab your Bibles and follow along with us, if you wouldn't mind. John Chapter 20 is where we're going to spend all of our time today. John, chapter 20. As you turn there, I want to say thank you for your generosity. Many of you are standing behind us faithfully and financially. We could not do what God has called us to do without people just like you standing behind us. I want to just say thank you for tithing, thank you for giving, thank you for being so generous. One of the, one of the things we want to spotlight this week is a ministry that we're supporting that's special. This is called Young Life. I want to show you some video. We have some volunteers. We also provide meals for them. This is an after school mentoring program that also takes care of some, some, some, some teenage pregnancy people. We, we send them to camps, we serve them the Lord's chicken, we serve them some pizza, and we love what Jolaine is doing. Several of you guys are volunteering and serving, but some of your tithe dollars, some of your generosity goes to support, I mean, dozens of ministries just like this. And so on behalf of some teenagers, on some, some teenage moms that you may never meet this side of heaven, I just want to say thank you for giving. They, they depend on people like us. And so I appreciate it very, very much. Thank you for being so generous. We're going to continue on with our series called First Watch. We're going to end the series today in case you're, in case you're coming here for the first time or you, you, you haven't been able to catch up with the series. Let me just give you a quick synopsis. This is an after Easter series, and we're literally going in the timeline of what was happening after Jesus gets up from the grave. And in the process of looking at these stories in the Gospels, we find that Jesus's disciples. How do we say this delicately? They're not okay, right?
They're not well. And I think we have this picture in our mind of the apostles and the disciples and these wonderful friends of Jesus and how they were these incredible human beings.
Absolutely not at this time in scripture. They're not doing well. Why? Because they've had severe trauma. They've watched who they thought could be the Messiah, who they put all their hopes in, be executed. They've watched him be illegally tried. They've watched them the crown of thorns on his head. They've watched them torture him. And they're thinking at any moment Jesus is going to call down angels and surely this can't be happening. I know he's the son of God. He has to be. And then for Jesus to take his final breath and for them to wrap his body up and put it in a tomb. Like, can you imagine the trauma of having to experience that and see it in person? His friends are not okay. And so now we find ourselves after Jesus has gotten up out of the grave. They still don't know that all of this has taken place, and they're processing as humans do when they've been traumatized.
And so we see that in each of these cases, Jesus shows up. And Jesus.
Jesus does things that I can't help but marvel at because they're hilarious and awesome.
Jesus has a way of making fun of death and having so much fun with things that we would consider very dark humor. I mean, Jesus is walking in, walking through walls, into locked rooms where people are afraid of being hunted down. He's like, peace be with you. And they're freaking out. You know, like, Jesus is showing up and disguised as one person and reveals himself as another. He starts walking on water. And every time, Jesus is in a great mood. Why? Because he's conquered sin and death and hell in the grave. But they're still traumatized. And Jesus like, well, I'm not. What happened to y'? All? Did you die?
No, you did not. Like, things are fine. And Jesus is having a lot of fun with. With. With his disciples, and he's encouraging them. And it shows us a. A. A powerful part of Jesus personality that no matter where we might find ourselves, Jesus loves you too much to leave you there.
He. He meets us where we are. In our brokenness, in our sorrow, in our sin and our humanity and our anxiety and our depression and our worries. He meets us where we are.
He doesn't say, well, when you. When you determine you're going to come back and get all things right, then I'll. Then I'll meet you where you are. Like, no, no, no. He meets them where. Where they are, but he loves them too much to leave them there. And he puts each of them on mission.
And I want you to see that, because we have this foolish belief that if I'm processing through something, I need a lot of time, maybe.
But when Jesus shows up, everything can change in a single instant.
Jesus is the God of miracles, and he still turns situations around. I need you to believe that today he can choose to say one word, and everything changes.
The mood changes, the vibe changes, the aura changes. When Jesus speaks, when he shows up, he moves and things change.
And so we're going to zoom in today on Mother's Day. At an appropriate example in scripture, John chapter 20 finds a woman named Mary Magdalene. If you don't know much about her, she's one of the early disciples she had bought into the ministry of Jesus. And we find her doing incredible things that end up changing the world later on in her life. But at this point when we zoom in on her in scripture, she is not okay.
She's processing, she's hurt, she's broken.
She's at the lowest point in her relationship with Jesus.
And for those of us that have never had a low point, if you've never experienced rough days, keep on living or keep on lying, do whatever. For the rest of us that we can be honest in God's house today. We've all been here at these moments where we needed Jesus to show up.
And Jesus, of course, he does show up, but he comes as a Mexican.
Why are you laughing?
It says she mistakes him for the gardener. That is absolute puro mexicano right there, baby.
Bunch of racist people. No, let's read the story together. And I want you to recognize the situation that we find her in as we zoom in on her life.
She's not okay.
Verse 11 says, Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. And as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white seated where Jesus body had been.
One at the head, the other at the foot.
And they asked her, woman, why are you crying?
That question speaks to me because it's the question that's been in most of my relationships with high school and college. I remember asking that same question.
Sorry, let's move on.
Woman, why are you crying?
She says, they have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they've put him. She's like, this is so. What is this, a morbid game of hide and seek? Do you guys think this is funny? You're gonna hide him for. Like, I'm traumatized here. How much worse could it get?
Where have you. Where have you laid him? Where have you put them?
And at this, she turned and she saw Jesus standing there. But she did not realize it was Jesus. And he asked her the same question. Look at this. The same question, woman, why are you crying? And I love this. Who is it you're looking for?
You know, when Jesus asks questions, when the Father asks questions, it's not because they don't know the answer. It's because they're revealing something to you in a way that you can understand.
Who is it you're really looking for?
The other disciples had the same question in a different way. They said, why do you seek the living among the dead?
Who is it you're looking for?
He's not here.
He's risen. Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you're looking for? Thinking he was the gardener.
Sorry.
She said, sir, if you've carried him away, just tell me where you've put him.
I'll go get him.
And then Jesus said to her, look at this one word. He calls her by name. This is where everything changes. He meets her right where she is. In her frustration, in her anger and her hopelessness and her doubt, in her pain, he simply speaks her name, Mary.
And she turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, rabboni, which means teacher.
And then Jesus says, do not hold on to me. Proof, by the way, Jesus was not a hugger like me. I love it.
Read it for yourself. I don't care.
Do not hold on to me, he says, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. And then he gives her a mission. Look, go instead to my brothers and tell them I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God, and to your God. And Mary went to the disciples with the news, and I have seen the Lord. And she told them the things that he had said to her. I love that story. We zoom in on her life and we find her walking into the tomb, weeping. But she leaves, witnessing. She walks in full of sorrow and doubt and pain. But that's not the way that she leaves. One moment with Jesus can change everything.
He gives her a mission. He gives her something that's going to change the history of the world. He entrusts the greatest words that have ever been spoken to mankind. The news of the resurrection of Jesus. Death, hell, the grave has all been overcome. He entrusts the first message to a female.
And he tells her, you go tell the apostles. Go tell the disciples what I told you to tell them. He gives her a mission. By the way, early Church history calls Mary Magdalene the apostle to the apostles. She is the one that is sent to those that are sent. She carries the message, the Gospel, to those that are going to change the world.
And when we find her, we don't find her perfect and great, and her life is at its peak. We find her broken.
And that's exactly where Jesus does his best work.
That's good news for people like me and you, isn't it? That's good news.
There are three things that I feel like are so important that the Holy Spirit is highlighting through this story. There's some things that you may not have thought about as you're. As you've. As you've read this, no doubt maybe in Sunday school or in your own quiet devotional time.
Things that it shows us about the personality of Christ and things that it shows us about how he speaks to us still today.
If you're a note taker, you might want to write this down. This will help you.
Number one, Jesus only uses people with a past.
So let him use you.
Every person that Jesus interacts with, that he gives him a mission, every person that he brings along in his ministry, We like to lie.
Longview is built on this false pretense that my life is perfect, my family is perfect. We put up this false, false image of perfection that no one really believes, but we all hope that they're just dumb enough to believe that we've got it all together.
The good news is Jesus loves you, too.
He can still use you even if you're lying.
I think if we can approach Jesus with some humility, with some honesty, with some transparency, you'd be shocked at what he can do in your family.
You are not perfect. I am not perfect.
We needed a perfect, sinless Savior to be good enough for us because we couldn't earn it with our best works. I've got a past. You've got a past. Ask my mother. I've got a past. She has stories about me that I would not tell from the pulpit, but are absolutely true.
She thinks they're hilarious. I think they're embarrassing.
I will say this one because your second service and I love you guys.
My mother is a saint, but she decided to homeschool me and my brothers and sisters. And we proved that some things Jesus didn't redeem instantly in my mother.
My mother's an absolute saint. But we could, me and my brother, by the time we hit the age 12 and 13 and 14, we could just. I mean, just go at it and get so hateful and so rude and fighting and bickering and going back and forth, just trying to dominate one another. And we made my mother cuss one time. I've heard her do it. Mother, you're watching right now. Don't lie.
I've heard my mother cuss. What made her cuss, your boy?
We know how to push people's buttons, especially my mother.
I've got a past. Here's the thing. You've got a past, too. And the people that Jesus surrounds himself with, the people that he uses to change the course of the world, are all had a past.
And Mary Magdalene is not somebody that's on the peripheral.
She's part of the inner circle. And look what Jesus says about her and, and what he ministers to her and through her and where she's come from. And it shows us this. In Luke chapter 8 it says some women who had been cured of. Look at this, evil spirits and diseases.
Mary, there she is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out. That's six more than your ex husband.
That is, That's a lot of demons.
Jesus cast out seven demons of this woman. And it says, look at these women who Jesus surrounded himself with. They all had past, they all had sicknesses, they had things they had worked through, they had deep sin issues until Jesus.
And then it says this. They, these women help to support them out of their own means. Don't just breeze past that.
That's a powerful scripture showing where Jesus's ministry got their financial support. You ever thought about that?
Where did Jesus get his financial support for ministry?
I think for some of us we've never thought about it or we believe it's kind of like five loaves and two fishes. Jesus just kind of, it just magically appeared. That's not true.
There's people that worked hard at a normal job so that they could support what Christ has done. Why? Because they had been redeemed. Their life had been changed. They were grateful for what Jesus had done for them. In the same way that Jesus ministry was supported and funded is the same way the church is supposed to be supported and funded today. That's why we don't have some corporate sponsor.
We have a group of people that are grateful for what Jesus did for us.
Grateful for what he's done in my life. Grateful for where he's brought me from.
Anybody here grateful for where Jesus brought you from.
I'm grateful.
And Jesus has a wonderful way of taking people with God awful past, horrible past and turning them into people that he can trust with beautiful things that will affect the next generation. And people far off that you could not imagine on your, on your craziest, wild, imaginative process what he could do with your life.
Jesus has a way of doing that. It shows us that Jesus doesn't just redeem our past by the way he changes what we value.
I want you to think about that for just a moment.
If you believe Jesus has changed your past, you're going to recognize that your values are going to change what you think is important, going to change what you think has to happen, what you need to have those things will change. Your value system will change. When Jesus has truly redeemed your life, if you can be honest enough, humble enough to recognize that Jesus has changed your life, you'll watch him start changing your values. So these were people that weren't just healed and sent on their way. These are people that were healed and stayed and resourced. The mission of Jesus because they're grateful.
I say it this way, gratitude to God overflows into generosity. And we see this as the story of somebody like Mary Magdalene who is generous. She comes bringing spices to anoint the body of Jesus. She works hard Monday through Friday to not just support herself, but to support the ministry of the Messiah. She believes in what he's doing. Why? Because she had seven demons cast out of her. She's got a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to go to work.
And Jesus only uses people with a past.
So let him use you.
That's good news for people like me and you, I'm still usable.
Here's the second key that we see in this powerful story through the eyes of Mary Magdalene. Number two. Jesus rewards those that are committed.
So commit.
I love the deep commitment that we see in her life, the commitment that she has to Jesus. And as we see this In John chapter 20, she's at the tomb and she's crying and she's still trying to do something for Christ. Tell me where you've laid the body. I'll go get him. Where is he at? She's. She's fighting for Jesus. He.
Think about this. Even though she knows he's already dead, what can Jesus do for you if he's not here, if he's dead, if this was all some big scam, she still loves him. She still believes in him, even though her hope was gone. That's commitment.
When we zoom in on her at the crucifixion of Jesus, as they're putting the spear into his side, as they're putting the crown of thorns on his head, it says, all the disciples scattered, but she stayed. She stayed right there next to Jesus Mother.
Essentially saying, I don't care what you do to me. I'm sticking with him.
I'm staying till the end. She watches him take his last breath. She watches the bitter torture of Jesus. And she doesn't leave. She's committed. There's something powerful about that.
I want to read you that scripture. Look at this.
John 19:25. He captures it this way. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother. What's his mother's name?
Come on, you Remember, what's his mother's name? Mary Magdalene. And his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. That's at least three committed Marys right there. All staying. I don't know why. I think that's important.
When everybody else scatters, she stays.
She's committed. She's not afraid.
And I love that about her life. It shows her perseverance.
And then when we find her at the tomb, she says to the angels that are there, that she doesn't realize they're necessarily angels when they ask her, why are you crying?
And Jesus the gardener says, who are you looking for? She says, just tell me where you laid him. And I didn't notice this until I was reading it this week. She says, tell me where you hid his body and I'll go get him myself.
That's a woman saying, I will carry something dead by myself because I'm deeply committed to him.
She's alone and she's still willing to carry Jesus when there's no hope.
Isn't that powerful? Doesn't that tell you something about her life?
And because she's deeply committed to Christ, she gets to see and experience things that no one else gets to see.
Things that other people dream about, hope about. Those that truly commit to Christ will see the things that others only dream about. You know this. If you've been walking for Jesus, walking with Jesus, for more than about five or 10 minutes, you're going to start experiencing things that other people would say, how in the world did that happen? How did you do that? What are you talking about? You get to experience things. But why? Because you're committed. Because I'm all in.
I'm continually amazed by the Americanized version of Christianity that thinks that I can just give Jesus whatever I have left over whenever I have time for this, and then call myself committed to Christ. That's not a thing.
Those that are deeply, those that are all in, those that are serious about their relationship with Jesus, get to see things other people only dream about. Now, you may not understand how important it is, how deep it is until much later on. This is what I know to be true. There are things that the Lord showed me at different points of my life when I fully committed to him, that I didn't realize until 20 or 30 years later how impactful that was to me at the time. It was just another day. Or I could think to myself, well, that was kind of weird. Thirty years later, I'm like, whoa, that was.
That was God.
That. That changed My life. That was just an innocent conversation that I thought, hmm, I wonder if this is serious. 30 years later, I'm like, thank God I listened. You ever had those moments?
We find a couple of those in this story that you. You might not understand at the time what she's experiencing, but there's some deeper theological, deep, deeper revelation. There's some deeper insights that are hidden within this story that many of us don't see. It says that she sees angels first of all. That's a big deal. Dressed in white. But notice how John captures exactly where they were seated at the head and at the feet. It's an interesting detail that John makes sure that we see. He might not have understood how important it was to write that down, but when he captures it later on, we see that, that, that is symbolic, if you understand where.
Where the story begins all the way back with a group of people being led out of slavery.
And God says, I want you to make something special for me.
I want you to make something. We're going to call it the Ark of the Covenant.
And at the head we put an angel. And at the opposite side we put another angel. And in the middle is the mercy seat.
This is where the mercy of God this is gonna be kept, by the way, in the holy of holies, the most holy place. This is the presence of God right here to dwell with the people.
It's a very special thing. We're put a curtain around it to make sure that not just anybody can come in there.
So when Mary walks into a tomb, she says, there was an angel, and one was on the head, and the other one was at the feet of where Jesus body lay. And John's essentially capturing a deep theological truth that this is the new holy of holies, this is the manifest presence of God. This is the new mercy seat. This is the place where everything has changed. The old Ark of the Covenant has now transitioned to Jesus Christ himself. This is a powerful truth that Mary sees in all of her grief. She doesn't understand how important this is, but it's a big deal. There's not some curtain ripped down the middle that makes a lot of sense. Until you understand it, that's not where the manifest presence of God is anymore. It's right here.
Things have changed.
You don't get it now. You'll understand later. She gets to see things nobody else gets to see. Why? Because she's willing to stay even when she believes all hope is gone.
And then it says, she turns and begins to have a conversation with Jesus who She sees as the gardener. And I can't help but think of him as the Mexican because that's funny to me. I can laugh at it. You can't, but you're racist.
But honestly, it's something way deeper than that that she's referring to him. John is capturing this story. In case you don't know, John and Mary Magdalene become part of the church at Ephesus later on when Paul is writing to this church in Ephesians. Like she could have been part of the conversation and the congregation if she's still alive. And this is a big deal. And so John is capturing her stories of what it was like at the tomb that morning. He's writing it down and he says, so you're seeing angels at the beginning and at the end at his head and at his feet. And then you mistook him for what? She goes, I thought he was the gardener.
The gardener.
That's funny because in Genesis, the story starts in a garden and God creates first man and he gives him dominion over the garden.
This is your responsibility. But first man sins, first man falls short. He disobeys.
And when she mistakes Jesus as the gardener, it's not just a coincidence. He says, I'm the new Adam. I'm the new gardener. I am the gardener, but in a whole different way, on a whole different level.
The apostle Paul captures it this way when he's writing to the Corinthian Church. In First Corinthians 14, he says, the first man, Adam, became a living being, but the last Adam was a life giving spirit. The spiritual didn't come first, but the natural. And after that, the spiritual. The first man was from the dust of the earth, but the second man, he's from heaven. He's speaking about Jesus. And by the way, look at me. He's speaking about you.
You were born human, but there's a second birth.
The Bible says you must be born again, born of the spirit.
There's a second birth for each of us. And if you've never had a relationship with Jesus, if you've never trusted in the story of what is happening here, you don't understand what it means to be born again.
We find ourselves struggling with these things. Why can't I have victory? And the answer is, you're not born again.
We have to do it his way.
Adam wasn't good enough.
Jesus was.
Jesus is the new gardener. Mary doesn't understand that at the time, but she does later on. Like, I thought he was the gardener. That is weird.
And John's like, I gotta write that down because there's some people in Longview, Texas, about 2,000 years from now, they're gonna really need that.
She sees things nobody else gets to see because she's committed. I wonder what could God show you if you went all in with him? What could God show to. What could God show you for your family, for your future, for your business, for your children, for your grandchildren? What could God reveal in your life if you would stop sitting on the sidelines and make a commitment?
There are things that God wants to show you.
The scripture says he's looking for hearts that are completely his.
He wants us to worship him in spirit and in truth, not with words, but with our hearts.
He wants us to make a commitment. Why? Because he was willing to make a blood commitment to you.
For God so loved the world that he. That he gave. He gave. Before you even were born. He gave.
And he's hoping that you'll give in return.
Give your life, give your talents, give your treasures. You make a commitment. There are things he wants to show you.
Here's the third and final thing I believe is so important about the personality of Christ and what we're seeing in the life of Mary. Number three. Jesus redefines what we think is true, so trust him.
There are things that we see in our world every day that we would say are facts.
And this has always been since the history of time began. Things that mankind says is absolutely true until it's not, right.
Well, the sun revolves around the earth and the earth revolves around the sun. Those things have changed depending on which era you were born in.
There are lots of things that we would say is absolute true until it's not.
Things that you'd be called a fool to believe until the facts change.
And in this particular story, we find things that Mary knows to be true that she's been taught her whole life that are absolutely not true. Why? Because Jesus is alive.
True in our mind. Death is the end, except it's not.
The grave is final, except it's not.
I've lost my hope.
Things have changed.
I expect to find a dead body. About that he's come back to life. That can't happen. Except it can.
Because Jesus redefines what what she thinks is an absolute fact.
I wonder what things you have in your mind. That's an absolute fact. That's simply not true.
What things has Jesus not gotten the last word on?
Food for thought.
Here we see in the story the angels and the D and Jesus himself both ask her the the exact same Question, woman. Why are you crying?
Why are you crying? By the way, do they know why she's crying?
Yes.
We're at a tomb. She can't find the one that she's looking for. They understand. They get the situation. They're not asking some strange rhetorical question.
She needs to ask herself that question.
I'm glad that she doesn't say what I would have said at that moment, because I probably would have lost it.
That's the stupidest question I've ever heard in my life. Look where we are.
People cry at cemeteries. It's a thing.
I've lost my friend. This is a fresh grave and you've stolen the body. Kind of shocked here, kind of freaked out. What do you mean, why am I crying? Do you not understand the situation?
Why are you crying? It's not that they don't know.
She doesn't know. The facts have changed.
There's no reason to cry.
Circumstances have changed, and her emotions are absolutely normal for the situation.
Except the facts have changed and Jesus is alive.
You ever been in a situation that you can be honest about and say yes, where your emotions have lied to you?
Have you ever been in a sit. No, never.
My feelings are fact. Cool.
Cool.
Good luck with that. If I feel it, it must be true.
Okay.
I heard somebody say one time, how do you know that your husband is cheating on you? Lady says, because I feel it. Well, if you feel it, it's true.
I need to have a conversation with your husband.
If you think he is. He is like, wow.
I just feel. I just feel. Emotions will lie to you even if you consider them fact.
Even if all the circumstances, all the emotions point to one obvious truth. If that truth is outside of God's word of what Jesus said would happen, you're still wrong. Here's what we know is that sometimes our emotions interpret moments before Jesus has a chance to speak.
And her emotions are interpreting the moment you've hidden his body.
You're playing some weird game of hide and seek. I'm going to have to carry him myself.
Her emotions are going nuts until Jesus.
Why are you crying? She probably. If it was me, or if it was my mother, she'd have slapped him.
True story. Maybe.
But Jesus brings one word, one word.
He calls her by name, Mary. And that's when the fog lifts.
That's when her emotions switch in the presence of Jesus.
Everything changes when Jesus calls her name. I love Jesus.
John, chapter 10.
My sheep hear my voice. They know me. I know them. I know them by name. I call them she belongs to Jesus. He speaks one word and everything changed. Everything that she knows to be true about that moment shifts. It's not true. Why Jesus is alive.
I wonder what things have you thought are absolute truth? Things that you think you can never change about yourself? I am this way.
I will never change. He will never change. This will never change.
About that. Let me introduce you to Jesus.
I can't be helped.
I can't be fixed. There's no hope for me. Let me introduce you to Jesus.
He speaks one word and everything changes.
And so she throws herself on Jesus. We know the story. He says, don't cling to me. Not a hugger.
I always thought it was. I always thought it was strange because it doesn't jive with the Jesus that I, that I know and understand. How could he, how could he tell her, hey, get off me.
How could he do that? Because it seems like he's rejecting her.
Because she's obviously clinging to him and in her and in her emotions she's communicating. I can't lose you again. That makes obvious sense, does it not?
Why would Jesus say, don't cling to me, I've not yet ascended to the Father? Here's what I understand.
When Jesus finishes out his sentence, he's not rejecting her, he's redirecting her emotions.
Catch this.
Jesus still does that today. He's not rejecting you, but he will redirect your emotions to what is true.
What is true is she's got a job to do and her processing is over.
She wants to stay in the moment. He said, oh, no, no, no. The moment's bigger than this. Get up, let's go.
She could have been like many of us. But I'm processing right now. I'm in a season right now where I'm just trying to process what has happened.
That's not what happens. He says, hey, get up. Don't cling to me.
I got a job for you. It's time to go.
She comes into the grave one way, but she leaves another way.
Jesus doesn't reject her. He redirects her emotions to a healthy outlet.
He takes her from being inward focused of what I need Jesus to be, to what Jesus needs her to be.
And that's a brilliant way of Jesus taking her mindset and flipping it on itself and giving her something bigger than just to sit in her emotions.
It gives her a job to do. And if you can understand how powerful that is, you will recognize that no matter how you may have walked into this place, that this morning you don't have to leave the same way.
And there's something bigger than you just getting what you need about your life. God has a purpose for you and it's bigger than you. It's not all about you, but what God can do through you to somebody else. He gives her a mission and that's where grief has a healthy, healthy outlet. He redirects our emotions from a inward focus to a mission focused.
What's your mission? Do you know? Are you busy, lost in your feelings?
You busy, lost in your doubts?
Are you busy, lost in your thoughts about what church should be? What ministry should be? What Jesus is supposed to do for you? Or could it be that it's time to redirect those emotions to what he can do through you, how he can use you to make a difference?
There's something special that happens when believers start taking their walk with God seriously. When they allow him to speak into their emotional well being and tell them what he knows to be true about the situation.
I love how Jesus does that.
So he tells her, don't cling on to me. Instead, I've got a mission for you.
It's time to get busy, Mary. It's time to commit. It's time to go all in. The job is not finished.
Go tell them what I said. She becomes apostle to the apostles.
God uses her in a fantastic way to bring hope to those that were also broken and confused and lost and hurt.
She carries the message. It is true. The Lord's alive. See, Mary had to release that version of Jesus that she could physically cling to to receive a Christ that could never be taken away.
The same is true for you. Jesus said, it's better that I should go. I've got the Holy Spirit and you're going to need a relationship with Him. You're going to enjoy it.
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'm going to be right with you every step of the way.
There's some wonderful truths that we see from the story of Mary Magdalene. How she was deeply committed. Even with the past, she stayed committed to Christ. She went all in with Christ and she trusted him.
He spoke into her emotional well being and gave her a mission out of it. I think if I've done my job correctly today, God is speaking the exact same thing to every single person in this room.
You've walked in one way, but the good news is Jesus is here and he's the risen Savior. He has a mission for you. And if you're still breathing, God is Not done with you. You're not finished. There is no finished if you're still kicking.
So whether you came to church today because you're hoping to make your mom happy and then you're hoping in about three or four minutes from now I'll dismiss and you get to go to Golden Corral and everything will be great, or whether you're here because somebody invited you, maybe you're here because you've always been here.
It doesn't matter how you came in here. What matters is how you leave.
Did today make a difference for you? Are you thinking about the Lord in a new way? Are you thinking about your relationship with him in a new way? Are you processing through Scripture a new way? Because the greatest honor of my life is to help people know Jesus, to help them fall deeper in love with him so that hopefully, hopefully, you'll take a step of faith, you'll trust him this week to step into what he has for you next.
In just a few moments, we're going to dismiss and many people are going to walk towards the door.
But before we dismiss, I'm going to have our elders and their wives come and stand right in front of this platform.
And when everyone else starts walking towards the door, for those of you that have walked into this place needing prayer, needing hope, needing a word, needing a touch from Jesus, you're going to make your way forward. And you don't have to give them details.
You can just say, would you pray for me?
We're going to watch miracles happen.
They will stay here as long as you need.
And then when the 12 o' clock service starts, just be quiet.
But you can stay here, too.
But if you walk out of here the same way that you came in, that's on you, because he's here.
For some of you, it's time to make a commitment.
You may have been visiting from church to church to church to church, picking up a little bit here, a little bit there. Let me just tell you, God did not call you to be a consumer for the rest of your life. You're called to contribute. You're called to plug in. You're called to be a part of a family. You need to be a part of family and make a commitment to them. Let them count on you.
Become a part, make a commitment. Or as we say, put a ring on it.
If this is your home church, commit here, serve here, tithe here, be generous here, be a part of the solution, help people, make a commitment to it. If this is not your home church, hey, find a great One and plug in and serve. Enjoy your season of rest here. But plug in. Don't just hop from church to church. That's East Texas, by the way. They all do that. Just go to where the best message is. Go to where the best worship is for the week. Who's preaching over there this week? Okay, I'll go see that one.
Don't do that.
Commit.
For some of you, it's time for the Lord to be the Lord of your finances. You've never given, you've never supported the church. You've never supported faithfully. You've never tithed, never been generous, never given a single dollar. Let me just challenge you. Give God one year where you honor him with your finances. Give him one year where you go all in and say, let me test this. Like your word says in Malachi, chapter three, test me. God says, I dare you to test me in that area. I want to challenge you. I want to push you.
Let him be the Lord of your finances.
Let him prove that he is still Jehovah Jireh, the God that provides everything that you need. Step out of this idea that you have to provide for yourself. No, you don't. He's your provider. He's the good shepherd. He will take care of his people. Honor him on the front end. Honor him with the first. Honor him with the best. That's your step of faith. Please hear me. Don't just be a consumer. Contribute. Stand behind it.
It's a beautiful step of faith that most believers will never take.
And they wonder why they say things at the end of their life like, yeah, I tried that one time. I tried Jesus one time. Didn't quite work for me. No, you didn't try.
You were interested in it. Make a commitment, take a step, honor the Lord. For some of you, you need to be baptized.
Let's tell you, we would love to baptize you. We set a record. There's been several records that we've set in baptism of people getting baptized.
You'd be shocked. In Longview, Texas, we are the buckle of the Bible belt. How many people have been in church their whole life? Never been baptized. I was just too embarrassed to do it. Like, you're on staff here. How does that happen?
It's time for you to take a step of faith. You need to do that. You need to go public with your faith.
It's time for you make a commitment in our 12 o' clock service. By the way, we have our growth track, our version of membership class every single week.
This is a two part class and during the 12 o' clock service in our youth building, we have people that join our church. As a matter of fact, we set a record. The most amount of people that have ever come into our growth track class were in there last week.
Let me just tell you, you might have to make some more room. Some of you are going to have to start trying to fourth service. I'm not coming, but you can try it.
But it's understand the Lord is calling us to get serious about your faith. And that's my challenge. That's my heart for you.
Take your walk with God seriously.
Some of you, it's time to commit to spending quiet time with him every day, reading your word every day, praying every day. Just start by praying for a meal. Just start there.
Lord, bless this cc's pizza to the nourishment of my body.
If you can do anything, Lord, start somewhere.
But that's my hope for you, that you stop playing games with God and get serious about your relationship with him.
That's what every mother wants to see their children become who God's called them to be. Whether they know it in this life or the next, that's what they want.
Great way to honor your parents is to honor the Lord. Amen.
I want to finish up right there today as we go ahead and put away our bibles and put away your phones, I'm going to pray for us and ask that the Lord begin to speak to you about your step of faith. All of us have a step to take. Some of you are going to need some prayer. Some of you need to take some steps. Some of you, it's time to give. Some of you, it's time to start serving.
Some of you, it's time to become a member. Some of you, it's time to get baptized. What's your step of faith? You need to take one.
Some of you, it's time to forgive yourself.
And I feel that so strongly in my spirit today.
For some of us, time to forgive somebody else.
Just coming into church brings up some old feelings and some old emotions.
It's not a fact, that's a feeling.
And Jesus is here redefining what you think is true.
For others, Jesus is saying, come to me, you're weary and heavy laden. I'm going to give you some rest, but take a step towards me.
Rest, rest.
It's a step of faith to rest.
What's your step of faith?
With heads bowed, with eyes closed, I'm going to pray for you.
Father in heaven, we come into your presence saying thank you for your word. Lord, your word is alive. Your word speaks life, it speaks health, it speaks hope, it speaks healing. It speaks. It speaks correction, Lord, and we need it. We need all of those things.
We need to be corrected when we're wrong. We need to be confronted when it's harmful to our future.
Lord, your word is a lamp to our feet. It's a light to our path.
And your word is still being open to us today. It's coming alive. And it helps us to see that you're calling us deeper, you're calling us higher, that you're not finished with us yet.
So, Father, in response to your word, we ask that you would come and show us what to do next.
What's our step of faith? Is it serving? Is it giving? Is it baptism?
Is it forgiveness? Is it rest?
What are you asking me to do?
And Father, I just give you my preemptive yes. Whatever you tell me, my answer is yes.
I trust you.
I trust you.
Now, perhaps you came here today, my friend, and you're saying, pastor, if I'm going to be honest with you, I don't have a relationship with Jesus. This is all new to me.
I don't know what that is, but I'm interested in that.
I want to do that. My friend, you came to the right place. Today I'm going to introduce you to Jesus.
It's going to change your life.
There's others in this place. And maybe you're saying to yourself, I used to walk with God. I used to go to church, but I've gotten so far away from him. My life's so full of sin. It's so messed up. I've known better.
I've gotten so far away from God. I need to come home.
Yes, you do, my friend.
If you could see it right now, God himself is reaching out his hand to you.
He's saying, come home to me.
It's time.
So, with heads bowed and eyes closed, I want you to know I will not embarrass you in any way. I would never do that. But you need to make a choice. You need to take a step.
And your step starts with a prayer.
And if you'll let me, I will help you. The same way somebody helped me one time. It changed my life.
I've never been the same.
If you want a relationship with Jesus, if you need to start over, I'm going to ask you to pray a prayer with me. I'll tell you what to say. And as a matter of fact, all of us are going to pray this Prayer out loud together.
So High Ridge family, let's pray this. 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 can have life, so that I can have grace, forgiveness for my sins.
I've messed up, Lord.
I need your help.
Please forgive me and I'll give you the rest of my life.
Use me for your glory in Jesus name.
Now, with heads bowed and eyes closed, with nobody else looking around, if you prayed that prayer, if you meant that prayer, I just see your hands all across this place. Would you look up at me and lift up your hands? That was me, Pastor. I did that. I prayed that prayer. Yes, yes, yes. Good for you.
You guys can put your hands down. I'm so proud of you in the decision that you just made. I told you, I'm not going to embarrass you in any way. I would never do that. But I'm proud of the decision you just made.
I'm going to ask you to do something for me. If you raise your hand, there's going to be a phone number that appears behind me on a screen. That phone number is just for you.
I want you to text me.
Just send a text. That's all I'm asking. Text the words I prayed to that number.
What I'm going to do is I'm going to send you back the link to some videos that you can watch later on. It'll help you understand what just happened inside of your heart and what to do next. If you're watching online, that number is for you as well. We would love to help you understand Jesus better. It's the greatest honor of my life to help people to get to know Jesus. Good for you.
High rich family, go ahead and look up at me if you would, and let's stand to our feet together. As we end our service today. I want you to know we got nine people in this service responding to the gospel. I think that's a pretty big deal. What do you say?
Come on, somebody.
Now, as promised, at this time in our service, I'm going to ask our elders and their wives to step forward. They're going to come right here to the very front of this platform. They're going to be available to pray for you.
So if you walked into this place carrying a heavy load, if you're worried about things, you've got anxiety, if you're dealing with a diagnosis, if you're worried about your future or your children or your finances, you need Help. This is your moment. You do not have to walk out the same way you came in. We would love to pray for you also, mothers, as you leave today. We got a special gift for you. We've got some stuff that your kids are going to present to you if you're, if they're checked into children's ministry. We love that. And then also we do still have some, some birthday cards or some Mother's Day cards inside the restrooms. Hint, hint.
If this ends up being a rough day because you forgot, that's on you. Don't tell me nothing.
But for everyone else, let me pray for you. Let me bless you as we finish up today. Father, would you bless my friends with an incredible week? I pray that you would bless their marriages. I pray you'd bless their finances. Pray you bless their families, their children, their grandchildren. Pray that you'd bless them.
I pray that they'd hear your voice, they'd be led by your spirit, that they would honor you with the rest of this week. In Jesus name we pray and all of us said together. Amen. God bless you as you go. I hope you have an awesome week.
[00:51:14] 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.
[00:51:26] Speaker B: If you want to be a part
[00:51:27] Speaker A: 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
[00:51:52] Speaker B: see you next time.
