- Hi, this is Joel and Victoria.
Thanks for listening to our podcast
and thanks for supporting the ministry. - If you enjoy today's message,
“why don't you be a blessing and share it with a friend?”
- We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life. - Joel and I were at a restaurant having a lovely dinner one evening. We had been sitting there for a while chatting, but we were ready to go.
So we called the waiter over to ask him for our check. And he said, oh, I'm sorry. I should have been over here earlier. He said, there was a man in the corner booth right there and he already paid your bill.
He paid the tip and all. He said, you guys are free to go. Joel and I looked at each other and we thought, man, that's awesome. That's good news.
Somebody paid our bill.
But can I tell you today, there's a man who has already paid your bill?
He's already canceled your debt. It is paid in full and his name is Jesus Christ. See, we've been talking about it all day. It's the Easter message. It is finished.
It is done. He has already created you in his righteousness when you are found in him. He has given you the power of the resurrection. Joel quoted it earlier.
The same power that raised him from the dead is alive in you. You see, you've got resurrection power. God has given you mercy and grace so that you can go in this resurrected life. You are free to go.
How do we live this resurrected life? We don't want to just talk about it. We don't want to just come in here on Easter and say, yes, Jesus is alive. We want to live the life that he died to give us.
We want everything that Jesus died to give us. Can you imagine if you did something for someone, you labored for someone, you gave it, you're all. And they weren't interested. You see, Jesus gave it his all because he wanted me and you.
He wanted us to be interested. He wanted us to walk in power. So we have to take hold of everything that he took hold for us. The Apostle Paul's and the Libions. He said, I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold for me. He said, I have to press. You see, sometimes it's hard to take hold of the things that are right there in front of you because there are some things that are trying to distract you.
There are some things that are trying to act more powerful
than what is right there in front of you.
“Have you ever known what to do but you didn't do it?”
You just didn't do it. Aren't you glad you're forgiven? Aren't you glad that Jesus gives us second chances? See, there's a pressing. There's a fight of good fight of faith that's involved.
Paul said, I'm not looking back. He says, I'm pressing forward. You know, Paul killed Christians before he gave his heart to Christ, before he had that Damascus moment when he was blinded and shown the resurrection of Jesus.
Can you imagine the guilt that he had to face when he was coming to these Christian believers and trying to speak the gospel to them? Can you imagine what that felt like? Have you ever heard like in your mind
like something to say that you can't tell somebody about this because you've made mistakes. You can't share the gospel. You're not good enough. Who says you can do that?
Can you imagine that Paul had to press? And he had to say, I'm not settling. I'm not stopping. I'm not looking back. I got a call on my life.
I'm going to take hold of everything Christ took hold for me and I'm moving forward.
“You see, that's what you and I are going to have to do.”
We're going to have to do some pressing. We're going to have to say there's some things out there that Jesus did for me and I'm not letting anything stop me. Paul, he didn't let a shipwreck stop him. He didn't let prison stop him.
He let nothing stop him. In fact, when he was in prison, can you imagine he said, I'm right in this down. So the generations to come can read it. They can hear what the Lord Jesus did for them.
They can hear how to live. They can protect of this. See, in prison, he pressed on because he had resurrection power on the inside of him. You see, he left a legacy on this earth. And when you and I take hold of the things
Christ has taken hold for us, it is our turn.
We, too, can leave a legacy to our families.
We can make this earth a better place.
Hey, don't let the hard stuff stop you. Press on. Jesus is there to help you. His blood is full of power. He's taken away the shame.
He's taken away the guilt.
“If you don't lock your past, hey, you can rewrite your future.”
Don't worry about it. He has set you free to go and live this resurrected life. When Jesus walked the earth, it wasn't easy for him. He didn't stop short. He didn't say I'm not interested anymore.
He didn't say this is too hard. Listen, he was beaten. He was bruised. He was spit on. It wasn't good.
He was denied. He was hung on a cross to die. It wasn't good. It was hard.
But on that third day, when he came out of that grave,
just like he said he would, hey, he turned that whole thing around. And guess what, it was good. Can I tell you his plan worked?
“And his plan is still working in your life.”
He can turn around what's not good and make it work for your good. You see it says in Jeremiah 29/11, this is what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah. He said, I know the plans I have for you. Declares the Lord, they're plans to prosper you, not to harm you. They're plans to give you a future and a hope.
And he went on to say, call upon me. If you seek me, you will find me. You see, his plan was to reconcile our life to his. His plan was to break down that dividing wall between us and God, so that we could call upon him,
so that he would answer us and show us great and mighty things. But sometimes we stop short, because it's difficult. But can I tell you God can change those difficult things in your life if you'll press on and take hold of all Jesus did for you? You know, sometimes we think we have to pay God back.
But can I tell you there's nothing that you can do to pay God back for giving his only begotten son for you? He exchanged death. Your death for his death. Now you can live an eternity forever and ever with the Father.
See, he didn't come just for eternal purposes. He came down to empower you right here on earth. (applause)
We think we can pay God back, but we could never pay him back
for what he's done for us. You know, he didn't die to make us religious. He didn't die so that we could have religious ceremonies that we could do this, that we could keep the strict rule. He died because he wanted a relationship with us.
“That's what this death, burial and resurrection is about today.”
That's why he said, "My plans are good for you. They're depressed for you not to harm you. Call upon me." It's an invitation to say, "My plan worked on the cross." And it's still working in your life today.
I love what the Psalmist David said in Psalm 1 16. He said, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits that He has given me?" He was saying, "What can I give back to God? For everything that He's done for me."
He was prophesying the resurrection. And what Jesus would do, and this was his answer, "I will take up the cup of my salvation and call upon His name. What can I give? What I can give is to take what He's done for me and call upon His name."
See, we think we have the price to pay. But Jesus has already paid the price. All we have to do is take hold of it. Listen, when guilt, when condemnation comes knocking at your door, when failure says you can't go on, you've made a mess.
When things don't look good, I want you to know. His plan is still working in your life. And He can take what does it look good and turn it around and use it for your good, amen. Call upon His name.
Live this resurrected life. Praise God. He is awesome in this place today, amen. We love you so much. We all go through disappointments and things that are not fair.
But God sees every hurt, every injustice,
He's promised to pay you back for the unfair things.
Now, I love to send you my new resource, double for your trouble. It's filled with inspiration, dampness, stay in faith, and not get bitter and think, "Why me?"
“No, that setback may have been painful, but the fact is, it sets you up for double.”
God will make the enemy pay and bring you out better than you were before. This ministry is reaching people around the world with a message of hope. And as our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount, we would like to send you a copy of Double for your trouble, a daily guide for restoration.
This 31-day spiral-bound resource is an invitation into healing, restoration, and the abundant life God has promised. Whether you're walking through a season of loss,
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“this guide is designed to help you reflect,”
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None of us like difficulties, but if you'll stay in faith, you won't come out the same, you'll come out with Double. Bitcoin, I pray for you and your family every day. Thank you for your prayers and support.
“Your donations are bringing hope to people around the world.”
Special thank you to our champion of hope partners for all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we see you again next week, May the Lord bless you and keep you. Be sure to request your copy of Double for your trouble, available this month by simply visiting us at jolosteen.com
or call 888-567-jol. You can also receive God's Got You Restoration Duo. This book is a powerful reminder that no matter what you face, you are not alone.
God's Got You, and He will never let you go.
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If you've never been to Lakewood, we have a great opportunity to come.
We call it Homecoming Weekend. We'd love to meet you and your family. You can see the building at 10-1 of the services. It's a great time to be a part of the Lakewood family. Looking forward to seeing you at Homecoming Weekend.
