April 21, 2025 • 45 mins
What makes Christianity different from every other belief system in the world? In this powerful Easter message, Pastor Ryan Sutton unpacks the single most transformative event in human history—the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The empty tomb isn't just a nice religious symbol or a feel-good story; it fundamentally changes everything about how we understand life, death, and what happens beyond the grave. Pastor Ryan shares the touching story of Philip, a third-grade boy with Down syndrome who taught his classmates the profound truth that "the tomb was empty" through a simple Easter project. Through Philip's innocent wisdom, we glimpse how resurrection truth can be both elegantly simple yet eternally profound.
Moving beyond sentimentality, Pastor Ryan presents six compelling reasons why the resurrection demands our belief: Jesus predicted it, the Old Testament prophesied it, the tomb was demonstrably empty, hundreds witnessed the risen Christ, the disciples were radically transformed, and lives continue to be changed by resurrection power today. While other religious leaders remain in their graves, Christianity alone offers a Savior who conquered death.
The implications are staggering. As Pastor Ryan powerfully states, "Christians don't die—they just relocate." The resurrection isn't merely about what happened to Jesus; it's about what happens to us when we place our faith in him. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in believers, bringing resurrection power to our mortal bodies and transforming our perspective on both life and death.
This message culminates in the powerful "That's My King" declaration, celebrating Jesus as the incomparable, invincible King of Kings who death could not handle and the grave could not hold. If you're seeking hope that extends beyond this life or power for transformation in your current circumstances, discover why the resurrection matters—not just on Easter Sunday, but every day of your life.
Thank you for joining us in this episode of In the Field Audio Bible, where we explore the richness of God’s Word, one chapter at a time. We hope today’s reading brought insight, comfort, or inspiration to your journey of faith.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions! Feel free to send us a text to let us know how In the Field Audio Bible is impacting your faith journey. Until next time, may God’s Word guide and bless you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pastor Ryan Sutton (00:01):
Welcome and thank you for joining us for
Ryan Sutton Ministries.
Pastor Ryan Sutton is thesenior pastor of the Grace
Center located in Festus,Missouri.
Ryan has conducted crusades andpreached in churches in Latin
America, europe, africa and Asiaand all across the world.
We hope you enjoy this messagetoday.
(00:24):
Let's join Pastor Ryan now.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me all over the house, if
you would, today for the readingof God's Word.
We're going to go to John 11.
We're going to read verses 20-27.
I want to say welcome to ourlive stream audience today,
wherever you're watching from inthe world.
God bless you.
We're so glad that you're withus and do us a big favor and
(00:46):
click the share button and sharethis on your timeline today.
I also want to say it's greatto have so many visitors and
special guests with us and, yeah, amen, we appreciate everybody
that's come to worship with ustoday.
I want to say it's very greatto have Miss Denise with us all
the way from Poplar Bluff today.
We love Miss Denise.
She was a faithful member herefor almost 20 years and she
(01:10):
moved to Poplar Bluff, but shecame back to be with us today on
Easter and we're so glad thatshe's here.
And I'm also so happy to havemy sister, Brianna here, all the
way from Los Angeles,California.
And to all of our visitors, Godbless you, we're so glad you're
here today.
This is what it says John 11: 20. (01:24):
undefined
And don't be nervous, I don'thave a long word, just a strong
word, today.
Okay.
Then Martha, as soon as sheheard that Jesus was coming,
went and met him.
But Mary sat still in the houseJohn 11: 21.
Then said Martha unto JesusLord, if you would have been
(01:46):
here, my brother would not havedied.
But I know that even now,whatsoever you will ask of God,
God will give it to you.
Jesus said in John 11 (01:55):
23, your brother shall rise again.
And Martha said unto him I knowthat he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
But Jesus said unto her listento this verse 25.
Jesus said unto her I am theresurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me thoughthey were dead yet shall they
(02:20):
live, and whosoever lives andbelieves in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?
And she said unto him yes, lord, I believe that you are the
Christ, the son of the livingGod which should come into the
world.
Amen.
Before you're seated, I wantyou to pray with me today and
this is our thought just for thenext few minutes why I believe
(02:43):
in the resurrection and youshould too.
Amen, why I believe in theresurrection and why you should
too.
Let's pray right now, father, inthe mighty name of Jesus.
Thank you so much, lord, forour awesome time of worship
today.
We've worshiped you in singing,we've worshiped you in giving
Lord.
Thank you for the photos thatwe were able to show of some of
the ministries, lord, that wesupport in different parts of
(03:05):
the world.
And now, as we turn our heartsto the teaching and preaching of
your word, I pray that youwould speak to us in an
undeniable way.
Lord, don't let anybody walkoutside the doors of 36 East
Main Street the same way thatthey came in Touch us, change us
, transform us from the insideout.
Thank you, Jesus, that becauseyou rose from the grave with all
(03:26):
power and authority, andbecause you've given that power
and authority unto us, we havethe same spirit that raised you
from the dead living on theinside of us.
It's a spirit of resurrection,life and power, and I pray, when
we leave this place today, thatwe would go forth as witnesses
of your resurrection, life andpower, and that you would use us
(03:46):
as your hands and feet in ourworld, that you would use us,
lord, to shine your light intothe darkness.
We love you and we say thankyou in advance for the eternal
difference that your word isgoing to make in every single
one of us, not just in this room, but all who are watching
online.
In Jesus' name, Amen, God blessyou.
Use your seat one more time inhis presence.
(04:10):
Now I want to read today, justbefore we get into my opening
illustration.
I really like Jimmy Swaggart'snotes about John: 11, and
particularly verses 25 andverses 26.
He said unto her I am theresurrection and the life, my
man, jimmy Swaggarton.
You may love him or you mayhate him, but it doesn't matter,
(04:32):
because you don't have themicrophone.
Come on somebody.
I got the mic and so I love theswag, so let me just slip a
little swag in on you here.
Okay, this is what he says.
He said in his notes.
In effect, Jesus is sayingMartha, look at me, you are
looking at the resurrection andthe life.
Jimmy says this shows thatresurrection and the life is not
(04:55):
a mere doctrine but, in reality, a person, the person of the
Lord, Jesus Christ.
And then he said whoever livesand believes in me, though they
were dead yet, shall they live.
This speaks of the comingresurrection of life, when all
the sainted dead will rise, andthat's found in 1 Thessalonians
4 (05:16):
13- 18.
But then he says this whoeverlives and believes in me shall
never die.
Talking about, they will liveeternally.
And he said do you believe this?
And this is what I really wantyou to get today.
Jimmy Swaggart says theresurrection is the end of death
.
Consequently, death has no moreto do with the redeemed
(05:38):
Somebody shout that to me.
Consequently, death has no moreto do with the redeemed.
It has done all that it can do.
It is finished, amen.
It is finished.
The redeemed live in theimparted life that put an end to
death.
For them, the old life, itsdeath and judgment, no longer
(06:03):
exists.
And I want you to think aboutthat today.
I want you to think about whatthe resurrection means for you
and for me.
That because Jesus rose fromthe dead and because he said all
power in heaven and earth isgiven unto me and I give that
same power to you, paul theapostle said in Romans 8, and
I'm getting ahead of myself buthe said in Romans 8 that if the
(06:23):
same spirit that raised Jesusfrom the dead lives on the
inside of you, it will evenquicken your mortal body.
I want you to think about thattoday.
Jesus led captivity captive.
That's what the great apostlesaid in another place and he
gave gifts unto mankind.
And today, you and I would haveno reason to be here, we would
have no reason to celebrate.
(06:44):
We would have no reason to behere, we would have no reason to
celebrate, we would have noreason to rejoice if Jesus had
stayed in the grave.
But because he rose on thethird day, you and I know that
we don't just have hope fortoday.
As I said earlier in ourservice, in our prayer this
morning at the end of worship,we don't just have hope for
today and hope for tomorrow andhope for our future on earth.
We have the hope of eternallife with him.
(07:06):
Come on, somebody, because ofwhat he did when he conquered
death, hell and the grave and Iwant you to think about that
today, what that really meansthat the same spirit that raised
Jesus from the dead lives onthe inside of you and me.
He said I am the resurrectionand the life, and we have that
(07:27):
resurrection, life and power.
If you've received him as yourpersonal Lord and savior, now
look if you're here today oryou're watching me online and
you haven't received Jesus.
Today's the day of salvation.
Come on, somebody, today isyour day to be saved.
All right, this is your day toopen your heart and open your
life and receive him as yourpersonal Savior and Lord,
because when you receive him bythe Holy Spirit, he comes to
(07:50):
live on the inside of us, andit's not a different spirit or a
different anointing, it's thatsame resurrection, life and
power that takes up residence inus.
Somebody say amen.
Today I want you to listen tothis True story, bro.
True story, all right.
(08:14):
Little Phillip, born with Down'sSyndrome, attended a third
grade Sunday school class withseveral eight-year-old boys and
girls.
Typical of that age.
The children did not readilyaccept Phillip with his
differences.
According to an article inLeadership Magazine, they had
trouble allowing him to fit inand belong to the group.
But because of a creativeteacher, they began to care
(08:36):
about Philip more and more andaccept him as part of their
little group, though they didn'taccept him fully.
The Sunday after Easter theteacher brought legs pantyhose
containers.
Any of y'all know anythingabout legs pantyhose containers?
I used to love playing withthose when I was a kid.
I'd be like, hey, Mom, don'tthrow that in the trash, I want
(08:56):
to play with that silver egg.
Come on somebody.
Y'all ain't saying nothing tome today up here.
I'm like let's make this thegolden egg and you can put a
hundred dollar bill in here.
Mom and dad, they're like yeah,right, that can be the golden
egg and you can have fourquarters.
Come on somebody, I go, you canhave a hundred, all right, a
hundred cents, right?
So anyway, I love playing withthose.
I'm telling on myself, butthat's all right.
She brought in one of those biglegs pantyhose containers, the
(09:21):
kind that look like large silvereggs, each receiving one.
The children.
Apparently the Sunday schoolteacher had a lot of pantyhose.
Come on somebody, each of thesechildren receiving one.
They were told to go outside onthat lovely spring day to find
a symbol for new life and put itin the egg-like container.
Back in the classroom theywould share their new life
(09:43):
symbols, opening the containersone by one in surprise fashion.
After running all over thechurch property in wild
confusion, the students returnedto the classroom and placed the
containers on the table,surrounded by the children.
The teacher began to open themone by one, and after each one,
whether a flower.
Open them one by one, and aftereach one, whether a flower, a
(10:04):
butterfly or a leaf, the classwould ooh and ah, I love
eight-year-old kids.
Then one was opened, revealingnothing inside.
The children exclaimed that'sstupid, that's not fair.
Somebody didn't do theassignment right.
But then Philip spoke up.
That's mine, that's mine,philip, you don't ever do things
(10:27):
right.
One student yelled out there'snothing in there.
Philip insisted I did so, do it.
I did do it.
It's empty.
And the tomb was empty.
Silence followed.
From then on, philip became afull member of that class and
they all accepted himwholeheartedly.
Tragically, philip died not longafterward from an infection
(10:50):
that most normal children wouldhave shrugged off.
But at the funeral, this classof eight-year-olds marched up to
the altar not with flowers, butwith their Sunday school
teacher, each one of them layingan empty pantyhose egg on the
altar at his funeral.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wantyou to think about this.
(11:10):
Today, philip is not dead.
Little Philip, as precious ashe was, is very much alive and
well today, because of theresurrection I'm gonna say it
again because he lives.
Come on somebody we can't justface tomorrow.
We have hope of eternal life.
I tell people all the timeChristians don't die.
(11:32):
I think I've done like 12 or 14funerals since the beginning of
this year because my buddy,todd Mann, his people keep
calling me saying we've got somepeople without a pastor.
Will you come do their funeral?
And I'm like are you kidding me?
Does a six-year-old kid likeDisney World?
Come on in here.
Yeah, I'll come speak at theirfuneral because I love to share
(11:55):
Jesus with people.
You know what I tell peopleevery time I'm there.
I say listen, if you put yourfaith and trust in Jesus,
Christians don't die, they justrelocate.
Come on somebody.
Christians don't die because ofthe resurrection.
They graduate from life onearth to life forever with Jesus
, which is far better than lifeon earth.
Come on.
There's no pain, there's nosuffering, there's no sickness,
there's no infections.
For little Phillip, come onsomebody.
(12:16):
When Micah and I went to hergranny's funeral this week and
y'all pray for me, I'm taking itharder than Micah is Come on.
Micah was just sitting there atthe funeral.
I'm over there crying like man.
I'm going to miss granny.
You know Mike is like Ryan,could you get it together?
I'm like, no, this stinks man.
You know I love granny.
But when I went up by thecasket man, she looked good
laying in there.
(12:36):
She would have turned 104 onJune 1st and one of the most
incredible people I've ever metin my life, and I mean that I'm
walking and I've been all overthe place.
All right, I'm walking by hercasket and I stop and lean down
and I smile and I didn't saygoodbye, I said, granny, I'll
see you later.
Amen, you beat me there, buthold on, I'm coming, amen.
(12:57):
I'm on my way because we havehope beyond the grave.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothersand sisters, because of the
resurrection, and that's what Iwant you to wrap your spirit
around today.
And I've got to hurry, put onyour Air Jordans and come fly
with me.
Okay, I want you to wrap yourspirit around this the
resurrection is what separatesChristianity from all the other
religions of the world.
(13:17):
There are religions.
I mean, come on, I've been toIndia many times.
Last time I was there, theyarrested me, locked me up and
then deported me.
Come on, somebody.
I ain't tried to go back since.
Glory to God, but when I was inIndia preaching, I remember
they worship millions andmillions of God's friends.
They worship everything.
They worship rats, they worshipelephants, they worship cows,
(13:38):
amen.
There are religions all over theworld.
You know something that a lotof people are getting into.
Jeremiah and I were talkingabout this.
Recently the New Age movementhas like resurged in a crazy way
.
You know, back in the 70s and80s and early 90s it was a big
thing.
Some people were worshipingrocks and stuff Come on somebody
.
But it's totally surging again.
(13:59):
There are religions, peoplebelieve all kinds of crazy stuff
, but you know what separatesChristianity from all the other
religions of the world?
It's that Jesus is not deadtoday.
Jesus is alive.
Ladies and gentlemen, I saidJesus is alive and well.
Today.
He lives on the inside of us bythe Holy Spirit.
(14:20):
He's seated at the right handof the Father and when you go to
his tomb, there's nothing there.
I've said this a million timesover the years here at the Great
Center.
I've said this all over theworld, wherever I've gone to
preach.
If you go to the grave ofMuhammad, you find a pile of
dead dry bones.
Come on somebody.
If you go to the grave ofBuddha, you find a big, fat pile
(14:41):
of dead dry bones.
Are y'all with me today?
If you go to the grave of Jesus, there's nothing there because
he isn't in the tomb.
Amen, that's why.
That's why I don't like.
I'm just going to unbutton one.
Don't get nervous, come onsomeone, I'm just, it's just one
.
I was somewhere recently.
This, this guy was, this guywas preaching.
(15:02):
I went to hear this guy preachrecently.
He was a good preacher.
He unbuttoned his top button.
He's like is this okay?
I'm like no, it's not okay, putthat away.
No, I didn't do that.
I was like come on, man, youknow what I'm saying.
If you unbutton and one buttonis causing somebody to lust, you
need to cast the devil out ofthem.
Praise the Lord.
All right, listen, I'm notgoing to pull Elvis on like,
unbutton it down to here, don'tbe worried.
(15:22):
Okay, no, seriously though, I'dyou think about this with me
today.
I love, I love the worship wedid today.
Didn't our worship team do agreat job?
Give them a great big hand clap.
They did a great job.
I really appreciate them andyou know what I love about them.
They have talent, but it's notabout talent.
They have an anointing on theirlives and they have a heart to
worship.
They're not here to perform foryou, they're not here to put on
(15:45):
a show.
They're here to lead us inworship.
Amen, to usher us into thethrone room, and they did a
beautiful job of that.
You know one of the things Ilove about worship today, though
.
I love that we sang old songsand new songs, amen, and
everything in between we did.
Lord, I Lift your Name on High,come on 1993.
Praise God.
I mean, we took it way back.
We took it to the 90s, we tookit to the 2000s.
(16:05):
Okay, I love it, but you knowone of the things I love about
old gospel hymns there's amessage in those songs.
Y'all, I'm getting ready to getold hymnals and redback hymnals
and just put them in all thechairs around here.
Some of y'all are like what arethese frames on the bottom of
chairs?
Well, you can put your Biblethere if you want to, but we put
those on there because we'reabout to put some redback
(16:25):
hymnals.
Pastor Ryan, are you old schoollike that?
Yeah, can't you tell by mylight green jacket?
Come on somebody.
No, look.
I love old gospel hymns, andsome of my favorites are ones
about the resurrection.
I was thinking this morning whenI woke up about that old hymn
Up from the grave, he arose witha mighty triumph over his foes.
He arose the victor of the darkdomain, and he lives forever
(16:51):
with his saints to reign.
He arose.
He arose, hallelujah, Christarose.
I was thinking about that oldsong the other day and I jotted
it down in my notes so I'dremember.
He lives, he lives.
Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks withme along life's narrow way.
He lives, he lives salvation toimpart.
(17:14):
You ask me how I know he lives.
He lives within my heart.
Somebody give God praise.
If you believe that today, Ineed an organ and a black choir
up here, deacon Harrington, tohelp me preach this, all right,
look, I love what Miss Sandysang today.
Man, I love that song.
My man, bill Gaither, wrote it.
Bill Gaither's bad to the boneman, bad to the bone.
(17:36):
Jimmy Swagger posted the otherday Bill Gaither came by to have
coffee with him.
They were sitting there.
Somebody took a picture and Iwas like man, I'd give a million
dollars to sit at that tablewith two living legends and just
have both of them lay hands onme at the same time.
I love Bill Gaither Because helives.
I can face tomorrow.
Because he lives, all fear isgone, because I know who holds
(17:59):
my future and life is worth theliving.
Just because he lives.
I believe that today.
I believe that today, in one ofhis lighter moments, benjamin
Franklin pinned his own epitaph.
I love Ben Franklin, and notjust because he's on the $100
bill.
Come on somebody.
(18:21):
Ben did not profess.
Y'all aren't ready for me today.
I've got two little babies andI'm running on like zero sleep
okay, it could be dangerous andI've had four cups of coffee.
I might just start doingbackflips down this side aisle.
Praise the Lord.
Mike was like I hope you restwell.
Last night.
I said I hope you rest well.
I said it's okay if I don't,I'm just going to drink like
(18:42):
five cups of coffee before we goto church.
Praise the Lord.
Listen to this.
In one of his lighter moments,benjamin Franklin penned his own
epitaph.
He didn't profess to be aborn-again Christian, but it
seems that he must have beeninfluenced by Paul's teaching of
the resurrection of the body,because this is what Ben
Franklin wrote the body of BFranklin printer.
Like the cover of an old book.
(19:03):
I love this.
Its contents, torn out andstripped of its lettering and
gilding, lies here, food forworms.
But the work shall not bewholly lost, for it will be as
he believed, to appear once morein a new and perfect edition,
(19:26):
corrected and amended by theauthor.
I like that, amen.
It shall appear once more in anew and more perfect edition,
corrected and amended by theauthor, friends.
This is why I believe Jesus rosefrom the dead, and I'm gonna
close quickly today.
This is why I believe Jesusrose from the dead and you
(19:47):
should believe it too.
If Jesus did not rise from thedead, the Christian faith is a
foolish fantasy.
How many of y'all know that?
If Jesus did not rise from thedead, the Christian faith is a
foolish fantasy?
However, if the resurrection ofChrist did occur, it confirms
his life, his message and hisatoning work.
(20:08):
It is the basis of our hope oflife beyond the grave.
As I've already said here today, Christ is alive and the
evidence is overwhelming.
Here are just some of thereasons that we can be so sure.
And I don't have time.
I got scripture to back allthis up and I might just post
this on Facebook because I don'thave time.
Come on, somebody.
Some of y'all got to go hunteggs.
(20:29):
Come on in here.
What's up with a bunny thatlays eggs?
I don't know.
Help me somebody.
Look, some of y'all got to goto egg hunts and family
barbecues.
So I don't have time.
I got scripture to back allthis up.
I don't have time to get in allthe scripture, but I'm going to
just give you these pointsright.
(20:51):
Here are just some of thereasons that we can be so sure.
Number one Jesus predicted hisresurrection.
You can read about that in theGospels Matthew 16: 21, Mark 9:
9- 10.
John 2 (20:55):
18- 22.
Number two the Old Testamentprophesied the resurrection of
Jesus.
My man, David, said in Psalm16: 10, that you will not leave
my soul in hell.
Come on in here.
Acts 2 (21:08):
25- 31, and Acts 13.
I'll speak of this.
The Old Testament prophesiedthe resurrection.
Number three the tomb was emptyand the grave clothes were
vacant.
If those who oppose Christwished to silence his disciples,
all they had to see John 20:3-9.
(21:36):
Let me do this.
This is my shameless plug rightnow.
If you've never read the bookCase for Christ by Lee Strobel,
or if you've never, they turnedit into a movie, come on, some
of us still go to the movies.
Help me somebody, pray for me.
All right, I still watch movies.
Glory to God.
The Case for Christ is aphenomenal book.
They turned it into a movie andit's an awesome movie.
You need to check that out.
(21:57):
All they had to do was producethe body, but they couldn't do
it.
Number four many people saw theresurrected Christ.
I want you to think about that.
They looked on Jesus' face,they touched him, they heard his
voice, they saw him eat.
Come on.
The angel said to Mary he isnot here, he is risen.
Look at the place where theylaid him.
(22:18):
Come on.
I like what one of the gospelssays the angel said he is not
here, he is risen.
Just like he said he would.
Amen.
Many people saw the resurrectedChrist.
They looked on his face, theytouched him, they heard his
voice.
They saw him eat.
You see it all throughout thegospels in Matthew 28 and Luke
24, in John 20, in Acts and 1Corinthians.
It talks about it.
(22:38):
Many people saw the resurrectedChrist.
Number five the lives of thedisciples.
Why I believe in theresurrection and you should too.
The lives of the disciples wererevolutionized.
Think about the apostle Peter.
When Jesus was about to die onthe cross, I said last Sunday,
on Palm Sunday, the late greatDr.
BH Clendenin.
(22:59):
He mentored me.
He's in Heaven now.
He always used to tell me hewould say Ryan, the closer that
Jesus got to the cross, thefewer there were who followed
him.
And he said, son, the closeryou get to the cross, sometimes,
the fewer there will be thatwill follow you.
And I thought, man, I wish youwouldn't have said that.
(23:20):
Come on, no, seriously, it'sthe truth.
The closer Jesus got to thecross, the fewer there were that
followed him.
Peter, I want you to thinkabout this.
Peter was scared of a littleservant girl.
She said you're one of thoseGalileans, you're with Jesus.
He said you blankety, blank andblank no, I'm not Jesus.
He said you blankety, blank andblank no, I'm not.
Come on in here.
I don't know the man, I don'tknow what you're talking about.
(23:45):
What are you saying?
Whenever Jesus rose again fromthe dead, amen.
And he led captivity captive,and he gave gifts to men and he
said all power in heaven andearth is given unto me and I
give that power unto you thelives of the disciples were
revolutionized.
Peter went from cussing out alittle servant girl, because he
was scared, to standing up infront of a lot of the people
that were responsible for Jesusbeing crucified.
And Peter said y'all did this.
(24:06):
But he said God raised him fromthe dead on the third day.
Why?
The resurrection revolutionizedthe early disciples, and the
resurrection will revolutionizeyour life, your home, your
family and your world, if youlet it.
The lives of the disciples wererevolutionized.
Though they fled and evendenied Christ at the time of his
(24:27):
arrest, they later feared noone in their proclamation of the
risen Christ.
The resurrection was thecentral message of the early
church, and the church grew withan unwavering conviction that
Christ had risen and that he wasthe Lord of the church.
Finally, today, men and womentoday testify that the power of
(24:51):
the risen Christ has transformedtheir lives.
We know that Jesus is alive,not only because of the
historical and biblical evidence, but also because he has
miraculously touched so manylives throughout the entirety of
the world.
Why do I believe in theresurrection and why should you
believe in it too?
Number 1 (25:08):
Jesus predicted his resurrection.
The angel said it happened,just like he said.
Number 2 (25:12):
the Old Testament prophesied it.
Number 3 (25:13):
the tomb was empty and the grave clothes were
vacant.
Number 4 (25:16):
many people, hundreds and hundreds of people, saw the
resurrected Christ.
Number 5 (25:22):
the lives of the disciples were revolutionized.
And Number 6 (25:25):
men and women all over the world today are still
having their livesrevolutionized by the most
incredible person in the historyof mankind.
Well over, come on, just fastenyour seatbelts and keep your
arms and legs inside the chairat all times.
We're going to bring this badboy in for a crash landing, okay
(25:47):
?
Well, over 300 verses areconcerned with the subject of
Jesus' resurrection.
In the New Testament I didn'tstutter, preacher, did I hear
you right?
You heard me right?
Over 300 verses are concernedwith the subject of Jesus'
resurrection.
In the New Testament, we aretold that this event is a sign
(26:09):
for unbelievers as well as theanswer for the believer's doubt.
God, I wish I had time to preachtoday.
It serves as the guarantee thatJesus' teachings are true, and
it is the center of the gospelitself.
Further, the resurrection isthe impetus for evangelism, the
(26:29):
key indication of the believer'sdaily power to live the
Christian life, and it's thereason for the total commitment
of our lives to Christ.
The resurrection even addressesthe fear of death.
Come on, I love what the Biblesays in 1 Thessalonians 4, when
(26:50):
it says the trump will sound andthe dead in Christ will rise.
First and then we which who arealive and remain, shall be
caught up in the air to meet theLord, and so shall we ever be
with the Lord.
It deals, it deals.
It deals with the issue of thefear of death and it is related
to the second coming of Jesus.
(27:11):
Lastly, this event is a modelof the Christian's resurrection
from the dead and provides aforetaste of heaven for the
believer.
Now I was like you're ready toend with my king?
Any of y'all that have everbeen at the Grace Center for
like more than a year know thatevery Easter, you know I don't
like vain, meaninglesstraditions.
(27:31):
Come on somebody, but I do Not.
All traditions are bad.
Help me somebody.
Not all traditions are bad.
Today, somebody.
Not all traditions are bad.
Today I'm going to close withmy king.
Every year on Easter, I alwaysclose with a powerful, just a
portion of the powerful messagepreached by the late, great Dr.
SM Lockridge, and I will not beable to do it justice, but I'm
(27:55):
going to share it with youanyway.
And Dr.
Lockridge always had an organ,betty, and so that's part of the
reason that I can't do itjustice.
But that's all right, we'regoing to do our best.
Okay, listen, this is what Iwant you to wrap your speed
around today.
If you forget everything else,the crazy white boy says
remember this number one if youhave surrendered your life to
Christ, I'm gonna say this againif you have not surrendered
your life to Christ, today's aday for you to do it.
Heaven was not created forperfect people.
(28:15):
Heaven was made for people whoput their faith and trust in
Jesus and receive God's freegift of salvation through him.
I'm a good person, I'm going toheaven.
No, you're not, sweetheart.
Heaven wasn't made for goodpeople.
Heaven was made for people whoreceive God's free gift of
salvation through Jesus.
Jesus said in John 14 (28:36):
6, I am the way, I am the truth, I am
the life.
Nobody gets to heaven, nobodygets to the Father, except
through me.
That's so exclusive, pastor.
That's so exclusive?
No, it's not.
Christianity is the mostinclusive religion in the whole
wide world, because Jesus says Idon't care who you are, I don't
care where you've been, I don'tcare what you've done done, I
(28:59):
don't care how messed up youmight be.
Just come to me as you are andI'll change your life forever
when you open the door of yourheart to me and receive me.
It's not exclusive, it'sinclusive.
I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'mthe life.
Nobody gets to the Fatherexcept in me.
Today is the day, friend, foryou to surrender your all and
surrender everything to him.
And when you do that, theapostle Paul said, the same
spirit Romans 8, that raisedJesus up from the dead comes to
(29:22):
live on the inside of you.
And it doesn't just quickenyour spirit, it doesn't just
make your spirit, man, feelbetter, it will even quicken
your mortal body, because it'sthat same Holy Ghost, it's that
same anointing, it's that samepower, it's that same
resurrection life that takes upresidence in our souls.
Come on.
(29:43):
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians15, I wish I had time to read it
and I don't.
But it says death is swallowedup in victory.
Oh grave, where is your victory?
Oh death, where is your sting?
Come on.
And then it says that thestrength of sin is the law, but
thanks be to God, which hasgiven us the victory through our
(30:03):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul said in Romans 8, what thelaw could not do, and that it
was weak, God did by sending hisown son Jesus.
The law of the spirit of lifethat's in Christ Jesus has made
us free from the law of sin anddeath.
Thanks be to God, which givesus the victory through our Lord
(30:25):
Jesus Christ.
Why?
Because resurrection, life andpower swallowed up death.
And I'm going to say it again,on purpose.
I love first y'all to read firstThessalonians.
Read first Thessalonians man.
Read 1 Thessalonians man.
Read it.
Chapter 4 (30:38):
13- 18.
Read it.
I don't have time to read rightnow.
Read it on your own.
When the trumpet sound, the deadin Christ will rise first and
we which are alive and remainshall be caught up in the air
with them to meet the Lord.
And so shall we ever be withthe Lord.
That's because of theresurrection.
We have that hope today.
We have that assurance today,because of the resurrection of
(31:01):
Jesus from the dead.
He said I am the resurrectionand the life.
Whoever lives and believes inme shall never die, and that's
why I'm grateful today as Iclose with.
That's my king.
That's why I'm grateful todayas I close with.
That's my king.
That's why I'm grateful today.
Oh, I'm grateful today.
(31:21):
They don't have to be afraid ofdeath, and neither do you.
The Bible says it's appointedunto mankind once to die, and
after this the judgment.
Hebrews 9 (31:27):
27.
You know why I'm not afraid ofthat?
Because the same spirit thatraised Jesus from the dead lives
on the inside of me.
I've already got eternal lifeliving within me.
If you know him, you've alreadygot that eternal life living in
you, and when I see him beforehim someday, all I have to say
the devil's going to be therereading off a long list.
(31:49):
Some of y'all are holy and youknow it.
God bless you.
There's a long list of stuffthat I've done.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothersand sisters, and you know what
I'm going to say when the devilreads off that long list.
It's all true, your honor,every last thing he may, oh,
slew foot.
May have even missed a few, andI'm not going to bring them up,
but I do want to say one thingthe blood of your son, Jesus
Christ, cleanses me from all mysin and unrighteousness.
(32:13):
I plead the blood.
How do you plead?
I plead the blood.
Amen.
I have hope beyond the grave.
You have hope beyond the gravethat we don't have to fear death
.
For Christians, death is a fact, not a fear.
Ron Sutton always used to tellme when I was a little boy.
He would say Ryan, Christiansare death's victors, not death's
victims.
Come on in here as much as I wasbeing a big baby about granny
(32:40):
going home to be with the Lordand I'm like is anybody else is
upset about this?
I am Everybody's just likechill, I'm not okay with this.
I wanted her to live, to belike 110.
You know what I mean?
I was all excited.
I was like granny's man.
She's looking good and feelinggood and doing good.
She was like this, tall andweighed 87 pounds, soaking wet,
with rocks in her pockets, butshe was bad to the bone y'all.
That means she was good Whitepeople, come on.
But I'm telling you I'm thankfultoday.
(33:02):
I mean this.
I'm thankful today as much as Imiss Granny.
I wouldn't bring her back if Icould, because she wouldn't want
to come back if she could.
To be absent from the body is tobe present with the Lord.
Listen, friend, if you have aloved one that you've lost, that
knew Christ and you're havingtrouble getting over it, come on
, you need to just turn it overto the Lord and say thank you,
(33:22):
that this isn't goodbye, I'llsee you later because they're in
a place that's beautiful.
No more sorrow, no more tears,no more suffering, no more
heartache.
To be absent from the body isto be present with the Lord.
We have hope beyond the grave.
I'm thankful for that.
For Christians, death is a fact, not a fear.
Christians are death's victors,not death's victims.
(33:43):
Amen.
I might feel sorry for myselftoday because Granny's gone.
Come on somebody.
I might feel sorry for Micah'sfamily because Granny's gone.
You know who.
I don't feel sorry for Grannybecause she's in the presence of
the Lord because ofresurrection, life and power.
I got to shut up.
I got to shut up.
I got to shut up.
Here we go.
(34:04):
Several years ago I had theprivilege of sharing that's my
King on the stage with KJ52.
Now a lot of y'all don't knowwho KJ 5-2 is, but I'm going to
tell you KJ 5-2 was like my heroin the 90s when I was growing
up and they called me and saidhey, we wanted to know if you
wanted to come preach asalvation message and we also
(34:26):
need you to recite that's myKing.
I'm like by Dr.
SM Lockridge.
We're like, oh, you know what?
I2 is one of the headlines.
I'm like the KJ 5-2?
What's it going to cost for youto come do this?
Pastor, son, if you let me hangout with KJ 5-2 in the green
room, I'll do it for free.
Come on somebody.
(34:46):
And Johnny Osmond, I went toUnion, Missouri, and I did it
for free.
I'm like taking selfies andstuff.
He's like Ryan, bro, I'll signit for you.
I was like all right, man, andthen I had to go out and do this
.
I love this.
This is so powerful.
Dr Esselstyn Lockridge, this iswhat he said.
Y'all stay with me.
I'm done with this.
The Bible says Jesus is the kingof the Jews, he's the king of
(35:07):
Israel, he's the king ofrighteousness, he's the king of
glory, he's the king of kingsand the Lord of lords.
That's my king.
David says the heavens declarethe glory of God and the
firmament show with hishandiwork.
No means of measure can definehis limitless love.
(35:29):
No far-seeing telescope canbring into visibility the
coastline of his shorelesssupply.
No barriers can hinder him frompouring out his blessing.
I love this.
He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
(35:50):
That's my king.
He's God's son.
He's the center savior.
He's the centerpiece ofcivilization.
He stands alone in himself.
He's August, he's unique, he'sunparalleled, he's unprecedented
.
He's supreme, he's preeminent.
He's the loftiest idea inliterature.
(36:10):
He's the highest personality inphilosophy.
He's the supreme problem inhigher criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine intrue theology.
He's the cardinal necessity ofspiritual religion.
That's my king, I wonder.
Do you know him?
He's the miracle of the age.
He's the superlative ofeverything good that you choose
(36:31):
to call him.
He's the only one able tosupply all of our needs
simultaneously.
He supplies strength for theweak, he's available for the
tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and he saves, heguards and he guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
(36:53):
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent.
He beautifies the meek.
Do you know him today?
My King is the key of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
(37:13):
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway ofrighteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
He's the master of the mighty.
He's the captain of theconquerors.
He's the head of the heroes.
He's the leader of thelegislators.
He's the overseer of theovercomers.
He's the governor of governors.
He's the prince of princes.
(37:34):
He's the king of kings and he'sthe Lord of lords.
Princes, he's the king of kingsand he's the Lord of lords.
That's my king.
That's my king.
His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His life is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His word is enough, his graceis sufficient, his reign is
(38:00):
righteous, his yoke is easy andhis burden is light.
I wish I could describe him toyou, but he's indescribable,
he's incomprehensible, he'sinvincible, he's irresistible.
I'm trying to tell you theheaven of heavens cannot contain
him, let alone a man or woman.
Explain him.
You can't get him out of yourmind, you can't get him off of
your hands.
You can't outlive him and youcan't live without him.
(38:23):
The Pharisees couldn't standhim, but they found out.
They couldn't stop him.
Pilate couldn't find any faultin him, the witnesses couldn't
get their testimonies to agreeand Herod couldn't kill him.
Death could not handle him.
The grave could not hold him.
That's my King.
That's my king.
I wonder, do you know him today?
(38:44):
He always has been and healways will be.
I'm talking about he had nopredecessor and he'll have no
successor.
There was nobody before him andthere'll be nobody after him.
You can't impeach him and he'snot going to resign.
That's my King.
That's my King.
Praise the Lord.
That's my King.
(39:07):
I want you to stand with me allover this house and give the
King of Kings and the Lord ofLords, the risen Christ Jesus,
all the praise, all the honorand all the glory, because he
got up on the third day.
He is the resurrection and thelife.
Whoever lives and believes inhim shall never die.
But the question is do youbelieve this?
(39:34):
I want you to bow your headswith me.
I'm out of time All over thisroom.
I want you to bow your headswith me and everybody watching
online.
If you're watching me today andyou said Pastor Ryan, I need to
surrender my life to Christ.
Maybe you've never prayed tomake Jesus your personal Lord
and Savior.
Or maybe you prayed a prayer atone time in your life, but you
know that you walked away fromhim.
He didn't walk away from you,but you walked away from him to
(39:56):
pursue your own desires, topursue your own wishes.
And today you say you know what.
I know.
There's no better day thanEaster Resurrection Sunday to
recommit myself and rededicatemyself, and I want the worship
team to come back and just playsoftly.
And this is what I want to dotoday.
I'm out of time and I'm goingto do this differently.
Some people won't like the wayI do this, but that's all right.
(40:16):
I don't do altar calls the sameway every time, with everybody
bowing your head, nobody lookingaround, bow your head, close
your eyes.
If you're here today and you sayPastor Ryan, I heard what you
said about the resurrection, Iheard what you said about Jesus,
about who he is, and I know Ineed to commit myself, maybe for
the first time, maybe you needto rededicate yourself to the
Lord.
I want to say to you today heloves you with all of his heart.
(40:45):
God loved the world so muchthat he gave his only begotten
son that whoever believes inJesus should not perish but have
everlasting life, for God didnot send his son into the world
to condemn the world, but thatthe world, through Jesus, might
be saved.
What I want to ask you to dotoday you know in America we
make a big emphasis on people'sdecision for Christ.
Oh, we had 38 people raisetheir hands and come forward
today on Easter.
Hey, that's awesome.
(41:06):
Praise God for that.
But it's not about our decision.
Yes, it requires a decision onour part, but praying with
people, leading people in aprayer, is just the first step.
The choice is yours, friend.
You can choose to just be heretoday, celebrate Jesus because
it's Easter.
You can choose to pray a prayerwith me if you want to, but
(41:26):
that's all it'll ever be, unlessyou make the commitment that,
hey, I'm really yielding myselfand surrendering my all, and so
I'm going to do something alittle different today.
I don't do altar calls the sameway all the time, but I want
everybody in this room to repeatthis after me and to pray with
me, and I want you to mean itwith all of your heart and I
know many of you that are heretoday know the Lord, but I want
(41:49):
you to pray it so we can pray itwith one voice.
For those that need to praythis and those of you watching
online, we've had many, manypeople over the years come to
Christ through our live streambroadcast and I'm thankful for
that.
And if you're watching and yousay, pastor Ryan, I need Jesus
today, he loves you, friend, andI want you to pray this prayer
that we're getting ready to pray, I want you to mean it with all
of your heart and I want you toknow that today is the first
(42:10):
day of the rest of your life.
This can be a brand newbeginning for you.
This can be a fresh start.
This can be brand new beginningand a fresh start for you, and
this is what I want us to do Allover this house.
I want you to say this out loud, repeat it after me, mean it
with all of your heart.
Dear Heavenly Father, I come toyou in Jesus' name, lord, I'm
sorry for all of my sins and Irepent.
(42:34):
Today I open my heart.
I invite you to come in, washme and cleanse me.
Be my heart.
I invite you to come in, washme and cleanse me.
Be my Savior, be my Lord.
I turn from my old ways.
I choose to follow you, dearJesus.
(42:56):
I believe with my heart and Iconfess with my mouth.
You are the son of God.
You died on the cross.
God raised you from the dead onthe third day.
I surrender all to you.
I give you my life.
(43:18):
Devil, come on, say it like you,really mean it.
Devil, you are not my God.
I will not serve you.
I renounce you and all thepowers of darkness go from me
now, in Jesus' mighty name.
Jesus, thank you for loving me,thank you for saving me, thank
(43:43):
you for writing my name in yourbook of life.
From this day forward, give megrace, give me strength to
follow you for all of my days.
I trust you, Jesus, for all ofmy days I trust you, Jesus, and
I thank you that because yourose again, I can have a fresh
(44:06):
start, I can have a brand newbeginning.
I declare today Come on, say itlike you mean it I declare
today this is the first day ofthe rest of my life In Jesus'
name.
Amen and Amen.
Come on, give God praise allover this room.
(44:27):
Come on, give him praise.
Give him praise give him praise.
Thank you again for joining ustoday.
For Ryan Sutton Ministries, wetruly hope this message has been
a blessing to you.
If you'd like to contact PastorRyan Sutton at the Grace Center
, you may do so by writing, POBox 21, Crystal City, Missouri,
(44:50):
63019.
Or you can call the office at314-960-8308.
Or you can reach out to PastorRyan Sutton on the web by
visiting wwwthegracecentercom.
Thank you again for joining us.
God bless and we'll see younext time.
Welcome and thank you for joining us for
Ryan Sutton Ministries.
Pastor Ryan Sutton is thesenior pastor of the Grace
Center located in Festus,Missouri.
Ryan has conducted crusades andpreached in churches in Latin
America, europe, africa and Asiaand all across the world.
We hope you enjoy this messagetoday.
(00:24):
Let's join Pastor Ryan now.
I'm going to ask you to standwith me all over the house, if
you would, today for the readingof God's Word.
We're going to go to John 11.
We're going to read verses 20-27.
I want to say welcome to ourlive stream audience today,
wherever you're watching from inthe world.
God bless you.
We're so glad that you're withus and do us a big favor and
(00:46):
click the share button and sharethis on your timeline today.
I also want to say it's greatto have so many visitors and
special guests with us and, yeah, amen, we appreciate everybody
that's come to worship with ustoday.
I want to say it's very greatto have Miss Denise with us all
the way from Poplar Bluff today.
We love Miss Denise.
She was a faithful member herefor almost 20 years and she
(01:10):
moved to Poplar Bluff, but shecame back to be with us today on
Easter and we're so glad thatshe's here.
And I'm also so happy to havemy sister, Brianna here, all the
way from Los Angeles,California.
And to all of our visitors, Godbless you, we're so glad you're
here today.
This is what it says John 11: 20. (01:24):
undefined
And don't be nervous, I don'thave a long word, just a strong
word, today.
Okay.
Then Martha, as soon as sheheard that Jesus was coming,
went and met him.
But Mary sat still in the houseJohn 11: 21.
Then said Martha unto JesusLord, if you would have been
(01:46):
here, my brother would not havedied.
But I know that even now,whatsoever you will ask of God,
God will give it to you.
Jesus said in John 11 (01:55):
23, your brother shall rise again.
And Martha said unto him I knowthat he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
But Jesus said unto her listento this verse 25.
Jesus said unto her I am theresurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me thoughthey were dead yet shall they
(02:20):
live, and whosoever lives andbelieves in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?
And she said unto him yes, lord, I believe that you are the
Christ, the son of the livingGod which should come into the
world.
Amen.
Before you're seated, I wantyou to pray with me today and
this is our thought just for thenext few minutes why I believe
(02:43):
in the resurrection and youshould too.
Amen, why I believe in theresurrection and why you should
too.
Let's pray right now, father, inthe mighty name of Jesus.
Thank you so much, lord, forour awesome time of worship
today.
We've worshiped you in singing,we've worshiped you in giving
Lord.
Thank you for the photos thatwe were able to show of some of
the ministries, lord, that wesupport in different parts of
(03:05):
the world.
And now, as we turn our heartsto the teaching and preaching of
your word, I pray that youwould speak to us in an
undeniable way.
Lord, don't let anybody walkoutside the doors of 36 East
Main Street the same way thatthey came in Touch us, change us
, transform us from the insideout.
Thank you, Jesus, that becauseyou rose from the grave with all
(03:26):
power and authority, andbecause you've given that power
and authority unto us, we havethe same spirit that raised you
from the dead living on theinside of us.
It's a spirit of resurrection,life and power, and I pray, when
we leave this place today, thatwe would go forth as witnesses
of your resurrection, life andpower, and that you would use us
(03:46):
as your hands and feet in ourworld, that you would use us,
lord, to shine your light intothe darkness.
We love you and we say thankyou in advance for the eternal
difference that your word isgoing to make in every single
one of us, not just in this room, but all who are watching
online.
In Jesus' name, Amen, God blessyou.
Use your seat one more time inhis presence.
(04:10):
Now I want to read today, justbefore we get into my opening
illustration.
I really like Jimmy Swaggart'snotes about John: 11, and
particularly verses 25 andverses 26.
He said unto her I am theresurrection and the life, my
man, jimmy Swaggarton.
You may love him or you mayhate him, but it doesn't matter,
(04:32):
because you don't have themicrophone.
Come on somebody.
I got the mic and so I love theswag, so let me just slip a
little swag in on you here.
Okay, this is what he says.
He said in his notes.
In effect, Jesus is sayingMartha, look at me, you are
looking at the resurrection andthe life.
Jimmy says this shows thatresurrection and the life is not
(04:55):
a mere doctrine but, in reality, a person, the person of the
Lord, Jesus Christ.
And then he said whoever livesand believes in me, though they
were dead yet, shall they live.
This speaks of the comingresurrection of life, when all
the sainted dead will rise, andthat's found in 1 Thessalonians
4 (05:16):
13- 18.
But then he says this whoeverlives and believes in me shall
never die.
Talking about, they will liveeternally.
And he said do you believe this?
And this is what I really wantyou to get today.
Jimmy Swaggart says theresurrection is the end of death
.
Consequently, death has no moreto do with the redeemed
(05:38):
Somebody shout that to me.
Consequently, death has no moreto do with the redeemed.
It has done all that it can do.
It is finished, amen.
It is finished.
The redeemed live in theimparted life that put an end to
death.
For them, the old life, itsdeath and judgment, no longer
(06:03):
exists.
And I want you to think aboutthat today.
I want you to think about whatthe resurrection means for you
and for me.
That because Jesus rose fromthe dead and because he said all
power in heaven and earth isgiven unto me and I give that
same power to you, paul theapostle said in Romans 8, and
I'm getting ahead of myself buthe said in Romans 8 that if the
(06:23):
same spirit that raised Jesusfrom the dead lives on the
inside of you, it will evenquicken your mortal body.
I want you to think about thattoday.
Jesus led captivity captive.
That's what the great apostlesaid in another place and he
gave gifts unto mankind.
And today, you and I would haveno reason to be here, we would
have no reason to celebrate.
(06:44):
We would have no reason to behere, we would have no reason to
celebrate, we would have noreason to rejoice if Jesus had
stayed in the grave.
But because he rose on thethird day, you and I know that
we don't just have hope fortoday.
As I said earlier in ourservice, in our prayer this
morning at the end of worship,we don't just have hope for
today and hope for tomorrow andhope for our future on earth.
We have the hope of eternallife with him.
(07:06):
Come on, somebody, because ofwhat he did when he conquered
death, hell and the grave and Iwant you to think about that
today, what that really meansthat the same spirit that raised
Jesus from the dead lives onthe inside of you and me.
He said I am the resurrectionand the life, and we have that
(07:27):
resurrection, life and power.
If you've received him as yourpersonal Lord and savior, now
look if you're here today oryou're watching me online and
you haven't received Jesus.
Today's the day of salvation.
Come on, somebody, today isyour day to be saved.
All right, this is your day toopen your heart and open your
life and receive him as yourpersonal Savior and Lord,
because when you receive him bythe Holy Spirit, he comes to
(07:50):
live on the inside of us, andit's not a different spirit or a
different anointing, it's thatsame resurrection, life and
power that takes up residence inus.
Somebody say amen.
Today I want you to listen tothis True story, bro.
True story, all right.
(08:14):
Little Phillip, born with Down'sSyndrome, attended a third
grade Sunday school class withseveral eight-year-old boys and
girls.
Typical of that age.
The children did not readilyaccept Phillip with his
differences.
According to an article inLeadership Magazine, they had
trouble allowing him to fit inand belong to the group.
But because of a creativeteacher, they began to care
(08:36):
about Philip more and more andaccept him as part of their
little group, though they didn'taccept him fully.
The Sunday after Easter theteacher brought legs pantyhose
containers.
Any of y'all know anythingabout legs pantyhose containers?
I used to love playing withthose when I was a kid.
I'd be like, hey, Mom, don'tthrow that in the trash, I want
(08:56):
to play with that silver egg.
Come on somebody.
Y'all ain't saying nothing tome today up here.
I'm like let's make this thegolden egg and you can put a
hundred dollar bill in here.
Mom and dad, they're like yeah,right, that can be the golden
egg and you can have fourquarters.
Come on somebody, I go, you canhave a hundred, all right, a
hundred cents, right?
So anyway, I love playing withthose.
I'm telling on myself, butthat's all right.
She brought in one of those biglegs pantyhose containers, the
(09:21):
kind that look like large silvereggs, each receiving one.
The children.
Apparently the Sunday schoolteacher had a lot of pantyhose.
Come on somebody, each of thesechildren receiving one.
They were told to go outside onthat lovely spring day to find
a symbol for new life and put itin the egg-like container.
Back in the classroom theywould share their new life
(09:43):
symbols, opening the containersone by one in surprise fashion.
After running all over thechurch property in wild
confusion, the students returnedto the classroom and placed the
containers on the table,surrounded by the children.
The teacher began to open themone by one, and after each one,
whether a flower.
Open them one by one, and aftereach one, whether a flower, a
(10:04):
butterfly or a leaf, the classwould ooh and ah, I love
eight-year-old kids.
Then one was opened, revealingnothing inside.
The children exclaimed that'sstupid, that's not fair.
Somebody didn't do theassignment right.
But then Philip spoke up.
That's mine, that's mine,philip, you don't ever do things
(10:27):
right.
One student yelled out there'snothing in there.
Philip insisted I did so, do it.
I did do it.
It's empty.
And the tomb was empty.
Silence followed.
From then on, philip became afull member of that class and
they all accepted himwholeheartedly.
Tragically, philip died not longafterward from an infection
(10:50):
that most normal children wouldhave shrugged off.
But at the funeral, this classof eight-year-olds marched up to
the altar not with flowers, butwith their Sunday school
teacher, each one of them layingan empty pantyhose egg on the
altar at his funeral.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wantyou to think about this.
(11:10):
Today, philip is not dead.
Little Philip, as precious ashe was, is very much alive and
well today, because of theresurrection I'm gonna say it
again because he lives.
Come on somebody we can't justface tomorrow.
We have hope of eternal life.
I tell people all the timeChristians don't die.
(11:32):
I think I've done like 12 or 14funerals since the beginning of
this year because my buddy,todd Mann, his people keep
calling me saying we've got somepeople without a pastor.
Will you come do their funeral?
And I'm like are you kidding me?
Does a six-year-old kid likeDisney World?
Come on in here.
Yeah, I'll come speak at theirfuneral because I love to share
(11:55):
Jesus with people.
You know what I tell peopleevery time I'm there.
I say listen, if you put yourfaith and trust in Jesus,
Christians don't die, they justrelocate.
Come on somebody.
Christians don't die because ofthe resurrection.
They graduate from life onearth to life forever with Jesus
, which is far better than lifeon earth.
Come on.
There's no pain, there's nosuffering, there's no sickness,
there's no infections.
For little Phillip, come onsomebody.
(12:16):
When Micah and I went to hergranny's funeral this week and
y'all pray for me, I'm taking itharder than Micah is Come on.
Micah was just sitting there atthe funeral.
I'm over there crying like man.
I'm going to miss granny.
You know Mike is like Ryan,could you get it together?
I'm like, no, this stinks man.
You know I love granny.
But when I went up by thecasket man, she looked good
laying in there.
(12:36):
She would have turned 104 onJune 1st and one of the most
incredible people I've ever metin my life, and I mean that I'm
walking and I've been all overthe place.
All right, I'm walking by hercasket and I stop and lean down
and I smile and I didn't saygoodbye, I said, granny, I'll
see you later.
Amen, you beat me there, buthold on, I'm coming, amen.
(12:57):
I'm on my way because we havehope beyond the grave.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothersand sisters, because of the
resurrection, and that's what Iwant you to wrap your spirit
around today.
And I've got to hurry, put onyour Air Jordans and come fly
with me.
Okay, I want you to wrap yourspirit around this the
resurrection is what separatesChristianity from all the other
religions of the world.
(13:17):
There are religions.
I mean, come on, I've been toIndia many times.
Last time I was there, theyarrested me, locked me up and
then deported me.
Come on, somebody.
I ain't tried to go back since.
Glory to God, but when I was inIndia preaching, I remember
they worship millions andmillions of God's friends.
They worship everything.
They worship rats, they worshipelephants, they worship cows,
(13:38):
amen.
There are religions all over theworld.
You know something that a lotof people are getting into.
Jeremiah and I were talkingabout this.
Recently the New Age movementhas like resurged in a crazy way
.
You know, back in the 70s and80s and early 90s it was a big
thing.
Some people were worshipingrocks and stuff Come on somebody
.
But it's totally surging again.
(13:59):
There are religions, peoplebelieve all kinds of crazy stuff
, but you know what separatesChristianity from all the other
religions of the world?
It's that Jesus is not deadtoday.
Jesus is alive.
Ladies and gentlemen, I saidJesus is alive and well.
Today.
He lives on the inside of us bythe Holy Spirit.
(14:20):
He's seated at the right handof the Father and when you go to
his tomb, there's nothing there.
I've said this a million timesover the years here at the Great
Center.
I've said this all over theworld, wherever I've gone to
preach.
If you go to the grave ofMuhammad, you find a pile of
dead dry bones.
Come on somebody.
If you go to the grave ofBuddha, you find a big, fat pile
(14:41):
of dead dry bones.
Are y'all with me today?
If you go to the grave of Jesus, there's nothing there because
he isn't in the tomb.
Amen, that's why.
That's why I don't like.
I'm just going to unbutton one.
Don't get nervous, come onsomeone, I'm just, it's just one
.
I was somewhere recently.
This, this guy was, this guywas preaching.
(15:02):
I went to hear this guy preachrecently.
He was a good preacher.
He unbuttoned his top button.
He's like is this okay?
I'm like no, it's not okay, putthat away.
No, I didn't do that.
I was like come on, man, youknow what I'm saying.
If you unbutton and one buttonis causing somebody to lust, you
need to cast the devil out ofthem.
Praise the Lord.
All right, listen, I'm notgoing to pull Elvis on like,
unbutton it down to here, don'tbe worried.
(15:22):
Okay, no, seriously though, I'dyou think about this with me
today.
I love, I love the worship wedid today.
Didn't our worship team do agreat job?
Give them a great big hand clap.
They did a great job.
I really appreciate them andyou know what I love about them.
They have talent, but it's notabout talent.
They have an anointing on theirlives and they have a heart to
worship.
They're not here to perform foryou, they're not here to put on
(15:45):
a show.
They're here to lead us inworship.
Amen, to usher us into thethrone room, and they did a
beautiful job of that.
You know one of the things Ilove about worship today, though
.
I love that we sang old songsand new songs, amen, and
everything in between we did.
Lord, I Lift your Name on High,come on 1993.
Praise God.
I mean, we took it way back.
We took it to the 90s, we tookit to the 2000s.
(16:05):
Okay, I love it, but you knowone of the things I love about
old gospel hymns there's amessage in those songs.
Y'all, I'm getting ready to getold hymnals and redback hymnals
and just put them in all thechairs around here.
Some of y'all are like what arethese frames on the bottom of
chairs?
Well, you can put your Biblethere if you want to, but we put
those on there because we'reabout to put some redback
(16:25):
hymnals.
Pastor Ryan, are you old schoollike that?
Yeah, can't you tell by mylight green jacket?
Come on somebody.
No, look.
I love old gospel hymns, andsome of my favorites are ones
about the resurrection.
I was thinking this morning whenI woke up about that old hymn
Up from the grave, he arose witha mighty triumph over his foes.
He arose the victor of the darkdomain, and he lives forever
(16:51):
with his saints to reign.
He arose.
He arose, hallelujah, Christarose.
I was thinking about that oldsong the other day and I jotted
it down in my notes so I'dremember.
He lives, he lives.
Christ Jesus lives today.
He walks with me and talks withme along life's narrow way.
He lives, he lives salvation toimpart.
(17:14):
You ask me how I know he lives.
He lives within my heart.
Somebody give God praise.
If you believe that today, Ineed an organ and a black choir
up here, deacon Harrington, tohelp me preach this, all right,
look, I love what Miss Sandysang today.
Man, I love that song.
My man, bill Gaither, wrote it.
Bill Gaither's bad to the boneman, bad to the bone.
(17:36):
Jimmy Swagger posted the otherday Bill Gaither came by to have
coffee with him.
They were sitting there.
Somebody took a picture and Iwas like man, I'd give a million
dollars to sit at that tablewith two living legends and just
have both of them lay hands onme at the same time.
I love Bill Gaither Because helives.
I can face tomorrow.
Because he lives, all fear isgone, because I know who holds
(17:59):
my future and life is worth theliving.
Just because he lives.
I believe that today.
I believe that today, in one ofhis lighter moments, benjamin
Franklin pinned his own epitaph.
I love Ben Franklin, and notjust because he's on the $100
bill.
Come on somebody.
(18:21):
Ben did not profess.
Y'all aren't ready for me today.
I've got two little babies andI'm running on like zero sleep
okay, it could be dangerous andI've had four cups of coffee.
I might just start doingbackflips down this side aisle.
Praise the Lord.
Mike was like I hope you restwell.
Last night.
I said I hope you rest well.
I said it's okay if I don't,I'm just going to drink like
(18:42):
five cups of coffee before we goto church.
Praise the Lord.
Listen to this.
In one of his lighter moments,benjamin Franklin penned his own
epitaph.
He didn't profess to be aborn-again Christian, but it
seems that he must have beeninfluenced by Paul's teaching of
the resurrection of the body,because this is what Ben
Franklin wrote the body of BFranklin printer.
Like the cover of an old book.
(19:03):
I love this.
Its contents, torn out andstripped of its lettering and
gilding, lies here, food forworms.
But the work shall not bewholly lost, for it will be as
he believed, to appear once morein a new and perfect edition,
(19:26):
corrected and amended by theauthor.
I like that, amen.
It shall appear once more in anew and more perfect edition,
corrected and amended by theauthor, friends.
This is why I believe Jesus rosefrom the dead, and I'm gonna
close quickly today.
This is why I believe Jesusrose from the dead and you
(19:47):
should believe it too.
If Jesus did not rise from thedead, the Christian faith is a
foolish fantasy.
How many of y'all know that?
If Jesus did not rise from thedead, the Christian faith is a
foolish fantasy?
However, if the resurrection ofChrist did occur, it confirms
his life, his message and hisatoning work.
(20:08):
It is the basis of our hope oflife beyond the grave.
As I've already said here today, Christ is alive and the
evidence is overwhelming.
Here are just some of thereasons that we can be so sure.
And I don't have time.
I got scripture to back allthis up and I might just post
this on Facebook because I don'thave time.
Come on, somebody.
Some of y'all got to go hunteggs.
(20:29):
Come on in here.
What's up with a bunny thatlays eggs?
I don't know.
Help me somebody.
Look, some of y'all got to goto egg hunts and family
barbecues.
So I don't have time.
I got scripture to back allthis up.
I don't have time to get in allthe scripture, but I'm going to
just give you these pointsright.
(20:51):
Here are just some of thereasons that we can be so sure.
Number one Jesus predicted hisresurrection.
You can read about that in theGospels Matthew 16: 21, Mark 9:
9- 10.
John 2 (20:55):
18- 22.
Number two the Old Testamentprophesied the resurrection of
Jesus.
My man, David, said in Psalm16: 10, that you will not leave
my soul in hell.
Come on in here.
Acts 2 (21:08):
25- 31, and Acts 13.
I'll speak of this.
The Old Testament prophesiedthe resurrection.
Number three the tomb was emptyand the grave clothes were
vacant.
If those who oppose Christwished to silence his disciples,
all they had to see John 20:3-9.
(21:36):
Let me do this.
This is my shameless plug rightnow.
If you've never read the bookCase for Christ by Lee Strobel,
or if you've never, they turnedit into a movie, come on, some
of us still go to the movies.
Help me somebody, pray for me.
All right, I still watch movies.
Glory to God.
The Case for Christ is aphenomenal book.
They turned it into a movie andit's an awesome movie.
You need to check that out.
(21:57):
All they had to do was producethe body, but they couldn't do
it.
Number four many people saw theresurrected Christ.
I want you to think about that.
They looked on Jesus' face,they touched him, they heard his
voice, they saw him eat.
Come on.
The angel said to Mary he isnot here, he is risen.
Look at the place where theylaid him.
(22:18):
Come on.
I like what one of the gospelssays the angel said he is not
here, he is risen.
Just like he said he would.
Amen.
Many people saw the resurrectedChrist.
They looked on his face, theytouched him, they heard his
voice.
They saw him eat.
You see it all throughout thegospels in Matthew 28 and Luke
24, in John 20, in Acts and 1Corinthians.
It talks about it.
(22:38):
Many people saw the resurrectedChrist.
Number five the lives of thedisciples.
Why I believe in theresurrection and you should too.
The lives of the disciples wererevolutionized.
Think about the apostle Peter.
When Jesus was about to die onthe cross, I said last Sunday,
on Palm Sunday, the late greatDr.
BH Clendenin.
(22:59):
He mentored me.
He's in Heaven now.
He always used to tell me hewould say Ryan, the closer that
Jesus got to the cross, thefewer there were who followed
him.
And he said, son, the closeryou get to the cross, sometimes,
the fewer there will be thatwill follow you.
And I thought, man, I wish youwouldn't have said that.
(23:20):
Come on, no, seriously, it'sthe truth.
The closer Jesus got to thecross, the fewer there were that
followed him.
Peter, I want you to thinkabout this.
Peter was scared of a littleservant girl.
She said you're one of thoseGalileans, you're with Jesus.
He said you blankety, blank andblank no, I'm not Jesus.
He said you blankety, blank andblank no, I'm not.
Come on in here.
I don't know the man, I don'tknow what you're talking about.
(23:45):
What are you saying?
Whenever Jesus rose again fromthe dead, amen.
And he led captivity captive,and he gave gifts to men and he
said all power in heaven andearth is given unto me and I
give that power unto you thelives of the disciples were
revolutionized.
Peter went from cussing out alittle servant girl, because he
was scared, to standing up infront of a lot of the people
that were responsible for Jesusbeing crucified.
And Peter said y'all did this.
(24:06):
But he said God raised him fromthe dead on the third day.
Why?
The resurrection revolutionizedthe early disciples, and the
resurrection will revolutionizeyour life, your home, your
family and your world, if youlet it.
The lives of the disciples wererevolutionized.
Though they fled and evendenied Christ at the time of his
(24:27):
arrest, they later feared noone in their proclamation of the
risen Christ.
The resurrection was thecentral message of the early
church, and the church grew withan unwavering conviction that
Christ had risen and that he wasthe Lord of the church.
Finally, today, men and womentoday testify that the power of
(24:51):
the risen Christ has transformedtheir lives.
We know that Jesus is alive,not only because of the
historical and biblical evidence, but also because he has
miraculously touched so manylives throughout the entirety of
the world.
Why do I believe in theresurrection and why should you
believe in it too?
Number 1 (25:08):
Jesus predicted his resurrection.
The angel said it happened,just like he said.
Number 2 (25:12):
the Old Testament prophesied it.
Number 3 (25:13):
the tomb was empty and the grave clothes were
vacant.
Number 4 (25:16):
many people, hundreds and hundreds of people, saw the
resurrected Christ.
Number 5 (25:22):
the lives of the disciples were revolutionized.
And Number 6 (25:25):
men and women all over the world today are still
having their livesrevolutionized by the most
incredible person in the historyof mankind.
Well over, come on, just fastenyour seatbelts and keep your
arms and legs inside the chairat all times.
We're going to bring this badboy in for a crash landing, okay
(25:47):
?
Well, over 300 verses areconcerned with the subject of
Jesus' resurrection.
In the New Testament I didn'tstutter, preacher, did I hear
you right?
You heard me right?
Over 300 verses are concernedwith the subject of Jesus'
resurrection.
In the New Testament, we aretold that this event is a sign
(26:09):
for unbelievers as well as theanswer for the believer's doubt.
God, I wish I had time to preachtoday.
It serves as the guarantee thatJesus' teachings are true, and
it is the center of the gospelitself.
Further, the resurrection isthe impetus for evangelism, the
(26:29):
key indication of the believer'sdaily power to live the
Christian life, and it's thereason for the total commitment
of our lives to Christ.
The resurrection even addressesthe fear of death.
Come on, I love what the Biblesays in 1 Thessalonians 4, when
(26:50):
it says the trump will sound andthe dead in Christ will rise.
First and then we which who arealive and remain, shall be
caught up in the air to meet theLord, and so shall we ever be
with the Lord.
It deals, it deals.
It deals with the issue of thefear of death and it is related
to the second coming of Jesus.
(27:11):
Lastly, this event is a modelof the Christian's resurrection
from the dead and provides aforetaste of heaven for the
believer.
Now I was like you're ready toend with my king?
Any of y'all that have everbeen at the Grace Center for
like more than a year know thatevery Easter, you know I don't
like vain, meaninglesstraditions.
(27:31):
Come on somebody, but I do Not.
All traditions are bad.
Help me somebody.
Not all traditions are bad.
Today, somebody.
Not all traditions are bad.
Today I'm going to close withmy king.
Every year on Easter, I alwaysclose with a powerful, just a
portion of the powerful messagepreached by the late, great Dr.
SM Lockridge, and I will not beable to do it justice, but I'm
(27:55):
going to share it with youanyway.
And Dr.
Lockridge always had an organ,betty, and so that's part of the
reason that I can't do itjustice.
But that's all right, we'regoing to do our best.
Okay, listen, this is what Iwant you to wrap your speed
around today.
If you forget everything else,the crazy white boy says
remember this number one if youhave surrendered your life to
Christ, I'm gonna say this againif you have not surrendered
your life to Christ, today's aday for you to do it.
Heaven was not created forperfect people.
(28:15):
Heaven was made for people whoput their faith and trust in
Jesus and receive God's freegift of salvation through him.
I'm a good person, I'm going toheaven.
No, you're not, sweetheart.
Heaven wasn't made for goodpeople.
Heaven was made for people whoreceive God's free gift of
salvation through Jesus.
Jesus said in John 14 (28:36):
6, I am the way, I am the truth, I am
the life.
Nobody gets to heaven, nobodygets to the Father, except
through me.
That's so exclusive, pastor.
That's so exclusive?
No, it's not.
Christianity is the mostinclusive religion in the whole
wide world, because Jesus says Idon't care who you are, I don't
care where you've been, I don'tcare what you've done done, I
(28:59):
don't care how messed up youmight be.
Just come to me as you are andI'll change your life forever
when you open the door of yourheart to me and receive me.
It's not exclusive, it'sinclusive.
I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'mthe life.
Nobody gets to the Fatherexcept in me.
Today is the day, friend, foryou to surrender your all and
surrender everything to him.
And when you do that, theapostle Paul said, the same
spirit Romans 8, that raisedJesus up from the dead comes to
(29:22):
live on the inside of you.
And it doesn't just quickenyour spirit, it doesn't just
make your spirit, man, feelbetter, it will even quicken
your mortal body, because it'sthat same Holy Ghost, it's that
same anointing, it's that samepower, it's that same
resurrection life that takes upresidence in our souls.
Come on.
(29:43):
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians15, I wish I had time to read it
and I don't.
But it says death is swallowedup in victory.
Oh grave, where is your victory?
Oh death, where is your sting?
Come on.
And then it says that thestrength of sin is the law, but
thanks be to God, which hasgiven us the victory through our
(30:03):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul said in Romans 8, what thelaw could not do, and that it
was weak, God did by sending hisown son Jesus.
The law of the spirit of lifethat's in Christ Jesus has made
us free from the law of sin anddeath.
Thanks be to God, which givesus the victory through our Lord
(30:25):
Jesus Christ.
Why?
Because resurrection, life andpower swallowed up death.
And I'm going to say it again,on purpose.
I love first y'all to read firstThessalonians.
Read first Thessalonians man.
Read 1 Thessalonians man.
Read it.
Chapter 4 (30:38):
13- 18.
Read it.
I don't have time to read rightnow.
Read it on your own.
When the trumpet sound, the deadin Christ will rise first and
we which are alive and remainshall be caught up in the air
with them to meet the Lord.
And so shall we ever be withthe Lord.
That's because of theresurrection.
We have that hope today.
We have that assurance today,because of the resurrection of
(31:01):
Jesus from the dead.
He said I am the resurrectionand the life.
Whoever lives and believes inme shall never die, and that's
why I'm grateful today as Iclose with.
That's my king.
That's why I'm grateful todayas I close with.
That's my king.
That's why I'm grateful today.
Oh, I'm grateful today.
(31:21):
They don't have to be afraid ofdeath, and neither do you.
The Bible says it's appointedunto mankind once to die, and
after this the judgment.
Hebrews 9 (31:27):
27.
You know why I'm not afraid ofthat?
Because the same spirit thatraised Jesus from the dead lives
on the inside of me.
I've already got eternal lifeliving within me.
If you know him, you've alreadygot that eternal life living in
you, and when I see him beforehim someday, all I have to say
the devil's going to be therereading off a long list.
(31:49):
Some of y'all are holy and youknow it.
God bless you.
There's a long list of stuffthat I've done.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothersand sisters, and you know what
I'm going to say when the devilreads off that long list.
It's all true, your honor,every last thing he may, oh,
slew foot.
May have even missed a few, andI'm not going to bring them up,
but I do want to say one thingthe blood of your son, Jesus
Christ, cleanses me from all mysin and unrighteousness.
(32:13):
I plead the blood.
How do you plead?
I plead the blood.
Amen.
I have hope beyond the grave.
You have hope beyond the gravethat we don't have to fear death
.
For Christians, death is a fact, not a fear.
Ron Sutton always used to tellme when I was a little boy.
He would say Ryan, Christiansare death's victors, not death's
victims.
Come on in here as much as I wasbeing a big baby about granny
(32:40):
going home to be with the Lordand I'm like is anybody else is
upset about this?
I am Everybody's just likechill, I'm not okay with this.
I wanted her to live, to belike 110.
You know what I mean?
I was all excited.
I was like granny's man.
She's looking good and feelinggood and doing good.
She was like this, tall andweighed 87 pounds, soaking wet,
with rocks in her pockets, butshe was bad to the bone y'all.
That means she was good Whitepeople, come on.
But I'm telling you I'm thankfultoday.
(33:02):
I mean this.
I'm thankful today as much as Imiss Granny.
I wouldn't bring her back if Icould, because she wouldn't want
to come back if she could.
To be absent from the body is tobe present with the Lord.
Listen, friend, if you have aloved one that you've lost, that
knew Christ and you're havingtrouble getting over it, come on
, you need to just turn it overto the Lord and say thank you,
(33:22):
that this isn't goodbye, I'llsee you later because they're in
a place that's beautiful.
No more sorrow, no more tears,no more suffering, no more
heartache.
To be absent from the body isto be present with the Lord.
We have hope beyond the grave.
I'm thankful for that.
For Christians, death is a fact, not a fear.
Christians are death's victors,not death's victims.
(33:43):
Amen.
I might feel sorry for myselftoday because Granny's gone.
Come on somebody.
I might feel sorry for Micah'sfamily because Granny's gone.
You know who.
I don't feel sorry for Grannybecause she's in the presence of
the Lord because ofresurrection, life and power.
I got to shut up.
I got to shut up.
I got to shut up.
Here we go.
(34:04):
Several years ago I had theprivilege of sharing that's my
King on the stage with KJ52.
Now a lot of y'all don't knowwho KJ 5-2 is, but I'm going to
tell you KJ 5-2 was like my heroin the 90s when I was growing
up and they called me and saidhey, we wanted to know if you
wanted to come preach asalvation message and we also
(34:26):
need you to recite that's myKing.
I'm like by Dr.
SM Lockridge.
We're like, oh, you know what?
I2 is one of the headlines.
I'm like the KJ 5-2?
What's it going to cost for youto come do this?
Pastor, son, if you let me hangout with KJ 5-2 in the green
room, I'll do it for free.
Come on somebody.
(34:46):
And Johnny Osmond, I went toUnion, Missouri, and I did it
for free.
I'm like taking selfies andstuff.
He's like Ryan, bro, I'll signit for you.
I was like all right, man, andthen I had to go out and do this
.
I love this.
This is so powerful.
Dr Esselstyn Lockridge, this iswhat he said.
Y'all stay with me.
I'm done with this.
The Bible says Jesus is the kingof the Jews, he's the king of
(35:07):
Israel, he's the king ofrighteousness, he's the king of
glory, he's the king of kingsand the Lord of lords.
That's my king.
David says the heavens declarethe glory of God and the
firmament show with hishandiwork.
No means of measure can definehis limitless love.
(35:29):
No far-seeing telescope canbring into visibility the
coastline of his shorelesssupply.
No barriers can hinder him frompouring out his blessing.
I love this.
He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.
(35:50):
That's my king.
He's God's son.
He's the center savior.
He's the centerpiece ofcivilization.
He stands alone in himself.
He's August, he's unique, he'sunparalleled, he's unprecedented
.
He's supreme, he's preeminent.
He's the loftiest idea inliterature.
(36:10):
He's the highest personality inphilosophy.
He's the supreme problem inhigher criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine intrue theology.
He's the cardinal necessity ofspiritual religion.
That's my king, I wonder.
Do you know him?
He's the miracle of the age.
He's the superlative ofeverything good that you choose
(36:31):
to call him.
He's the only one able tosupply all of our needs
simultaneously.
He supplies strength for theweak, he's available for the
tempted and the tried.
He sympathizes and he saves, heguards and he guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleanses the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
(36:53):
He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent.
He beautifies the meek.
Do you know him today?
My King is the key of knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
(37:13):
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway ofrighteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.
He's the master of the mighty.
He's the captain of theconquerors.
He's the head of the heroes.
He's the leader of thelegislators.
He's the overseer of theovercomers.
He's the governor of governors.
He's the prince of princes.
(37:34):
He's the king of kings and he'sthe Lord of lords.
Princes, he's the king of kingsand he's the Lord of lords.
That's my king.
That's my king.
His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His life is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His word is enough, his graceis sufficient, his reign is
(38:00):
righteous, his yoke is easy andhis burden is light.
I wish I could describe him toyou, but he's indescribable,
he's incomprehensible, he'sinvincible, he's irresistible.
I'm trying to tell you theheaven of heavens cannot contain
him, let alone a man or woman.
Explain him.
You can't get him out of yourmind, you can't get him off of
your hands.
You can't outlive him and youcan't live without him.
(38:23):
The Pharisees couldn't standhim, but they found out.
They couldn't stop him.
Pilate couldn't find any faultin him, the witnesses couldn't
get their testimonies to agreeand Herod couldn't kill him.
Death could not handle him.
The grave could not hold him.
That's my King.
That's my king.
I wonder, do you know him today?
(38:44):
He always has been and healways will be.
I'm talking about he had nopredecessor and he'll have no
successor.
There was nobody before him andthere'll be nobody after him.
You can't impeach him and he'snot going to resign.
That's my King.
That's my King.
Praise the Lord.
That's my King.
(39:07):
I want you to stand with me allover this house and give the
King of Kings and the Lord ofLords, the risen Christ Jesus,
all the praise, all the honorand all the glory, because he
got up on the third day.
He is the resurrection and thelife.
Whoever lives and believes inhim shall never die.
But the question is do youbelieve this?
(39:34):
I want you to bow your headswith me.
I'm out of time All over thisroom.
I want you to bow your headswith me and everybody watching
online.
If you're watching me today andyou said Pastor Ryan, I need to
surrender my life to Christ.
Maybe you've never prayed tomake Jesus your personal Lord
and Savior.
Or maybe you prayed a prayer atone time in your life, but you
know that you walked away fromhim.
He didn't walk away from you,but you walked away from him to
(39:56):
pursue your own desires, topursue your own wishes.
And today you say you know what.
I know.
There's no better day thanEaster Resurrection Sunday to
recommit myself and rededicatemyself, and I want the worship
team to come back and just playsoftly.
And this is what I want to dotoday.
I'm out of time and I'm goingto do this differently.
Some people won't like the wayI do this, but that's all right.
(40:16):
I don't do altar calls the sameway every time, with everybody
bowing your head, nobody lookingaround, bow your head, close
your eyes.
If you're here today and you sayPastor Ryan, I heard what you
said about the resurrection, Iheard what you said about Jesus,
about who he is, and I know Ineed to commit myself, maybe for
the first time, maybe you needto rededicate yourself to the
Lord.
I want to say to you today heloves you with all of his heart.
(40:45):
God loved the world so muchthat he gave his only begotten
son that whoever believes inJesus should not perish but have
everlasting life, for God didnot send his son into the world
to condemn the world, but thatthe world, through Jesus, might
be saved.
What I want to ask you to dotoday you know in America we
make a big emphasis on people'sdecision for Christ.
Oh, we had 38 people raisetheir hands and come forward
today on Easter.
Hey, that's awesome.
(41:06):
Praise God for that.
But it's not about our decision.
Yes, it requires a decision onour part, but praying with
people, leading people in aprayer, is just the first step.
The choice is yours, friend.
You can choose to just be heretoday, celebrate Jesus because
it's Easter.
You can choose to pray a prayerwith me if you want to, but
(41:26):
that's all it'll ever be, unlessyou make the commitment that,
hey, I'm really yielding myselfand surrendering my all, and so
I'm going to do something alittle different today.
I don't do altar calls the sameway all the time, but I want
everybody in this room to repeatthis after me and to pray with
me, and I want you to mean itwith all of your heart and I
know many of you that are heretoday know the Lord, but I want
(41:49):
you to pray it so we can pray itwith one voice.
For those that need to praythis and those of you watching
online, we've had many, manypeople over the years come to
Christ through our live streambroadcast and I'm thankful for
that.
And if you're watching and yousay, pastor Ryan, I need Jesus
today, he loves you, friend, andI want you to pray this prayer
that we're getting ready to pray, I want you to mean it with all
of your heart and I want you toknow that today is the first
(42:10):
day of the rest of your life.
This can be a brand newbeginning for you.
This can be a fresh start.
This can be brand new beginningand a fresh start for you, and
this is what I want us to do Allover this house.
I want you to say this out loud, repeat it after me, mean it
with all of your heart.
Dear Heavenly Father, I come toyou in Jesus' name, lord, I'm
sorry for all of my sins and Irepent.
(42:34):
Today I open my heart.
I invite you to come in, washme and cleanse me.
Be my heart.
I invite you to come in, washme and cleanse me.
Be my Savior, be my Lord.
I turn from my old ways.
I choose to follow you, dearJesus.
(42:56):
I believe with my heart and Iconfess with my mouth.
You are the son of God.
You died on the cross.
God raised you from the dead onthe third day.
I surrender all to you.
I give you my life.
(43:18):
Devil, come on, say it like you,really mean it.
Devil, you are not my God.
I will not serve you.
I renounce you and all thepowers of darkness go from me
now, in Jesus' mighty name.
Jesus, thank you for loving me,thank you for saving me, thank
(43:43):
you for writing my name in yourbook of life.
From this day forward, give megrace, give me strength to
follow you for all of my days.
I trust you, Jesus, for all ofmy days I trust you, Jesus, and
I thank you that because yourose again, I can have a fresh
(44:06):
start, I can have a brand newbeginning.
I declare today Come on, say itlike you mean it I declare
today this is the first day ofthe rest of my life In Jesus'
name.
Amen and Amen.
Come on, give God praise allover this room.
(44:27):
Come on, give him praise.
Give him praise give him praise.
Thank you again for joining ustoday.
For Ryan Sutton Ministries, wetruly hope this message has been
a blessing to you.
If you'd like to contact PastorRyan Sutton at the Grace Center
, you may do so by writing, POBox 21, Crystal City, Missouri,
(44:50):
63019.
Or you can call the office at314-960-8308.
Or you can reach out to PastorRyan Sutton on the web by
visiting wwwthegracecentercom.
Thank you again for joining us.
God bless and we'll see younext time.
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