It Changes Everything

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:09] Welcome to Friday's edition of the Weekday Podcast. I want to encourage you if you missed any of the episodes this week to use today or maybe even this weekend as a chance to catch up, because they all fit together and they all drive home a powerful message. And it's sort of a recap and an application guide to what Pastor Jordan preached last Sunday at Sugar Hill Church. Well, here's what the Bible Sundays. In John 11, 25 and 26, it said, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? And so all week long, we've really been building towards this. And so I want to take a minute before I land this plane just to name what we've actually been talking about. We started on Monday with the locked room, a Jesus who walked through the door and he led with the word peace. We talked about the disciples who went from terrified to willing to die, all because of what they saw with their own eyes. We looked at a Psalm written 800 years before the crucifixion that described it with precision that no one can explain away. And yesterday we sat with the reality that you and I, we're the people the psalm said would one day hear about it. And so here's the place that this all lands. If Jesus was just a good teacher, his words are inspiring. If Jesus was just a great leader, his example is worth following. [00:01:25] But if he actually rose from the dead, if all of this is true, then it changes everything. [00:01:31] Not just in a theological, abstract sort of way. I mean, it changes how you face what you're walking through right now, today, when you're starting down something that feels impossible, a diagnosis that blindsided you, a relationship that feels beyond repair, a season of life that just will not let up. You do not face it in the same way when God has already conquered the worst thing that exists. Death. He conquered death. And if that's true, then your situation is not too far gone, not even close. So I love the way Jesus phrases this question. He asked Martha in John 11, right before he raises Lazarus. He doesn't ask her to understand the theology. He doesn't ask her for doctrinal statement. He just looks at her and says, do you believe this? [00:02:15] I think that's still the question. Not do you have it all figured out. Not do you have zero doubts. Just do you believe? [00:02:22] Because here's what I've learned. You don't have to have the whole faith sorted out to take the next step. You just have to believe enough to keep walking. The rest, it tends to get clear as you go. Resurrection is what God does with dead things. Whatever in your life feels dead right now. The hope that ran out, the dreams you stopped dreaming, the version of yourself you thought was gone for good. Resurrection is still his specialty. He has done it. He's still doing it. And he is not done with you. If he walked out of the tomb, he can walk with you through whatever you're facing. Have a great day. I hope to see you back next week for the weekday podcast. And if you're in the Atlanta, Georgia area, join us on Sunday at 9:15 or 11 for a powerful service here at Sugar Hill Church. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon. [00:03:18] Sam.