https://youtu.be/AmJDxe8QLzY

Today is Easter (and Pastor Aubrey Birthday) Do you know himThe day we gather as Christians, all over the globe to celebrate the resurrection of our SaviorThousands of years we’ve been celebrating. I would say millions if not billions of people who make it a point to come to church on Easter and never let it get past the dayI welcome you- I welcome you to celebrate with us the resurrection of our lord. Great dayBut this wasn’t just a day for celebration- This was the beginning of the changing of the worldChristians have influenced society in many ways, education, healthcare, slavery, civil rights, medicine, science, orphans. Christians have been the greatest source of good planet earth has ever seenNone of that would have happened if Jesus didn’t resurrect from the dead. None of it. So today we celebrate it. We get excited about it. It’s the source of our hope. The reason for our strength. The passion in our lungs.  Our hope for eternal lifeSo people come to church on Easter- They sing the songs. Maybe see a play or something. They understand they should be here, but they don’t understand why they should be hereAnd so you listen, maybe half heartedly, maybe a funny joke or story. A warm fuzzy to satisfyBut then you just leave- go back to your life and continue to live the way that you have been living. You come to church on Easter and it doesn’t leave the parking lotWe use the Bible here. Its what we do. Its what guides us. We go through it every week1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.If Jesus didn’t raise from the dead- our own bible says to pity us- but he did! No need to pity us!And so today we find ourselves here on Easter- In the book of Matthew. Going through itIf you’re here wondering who we are- we worship God, we learn the Bible, fellowship, serveMatt 7:21-29READHow is this an Easter scripture?Because none of it makes sense or matters if Jesus didn’t raise from the deadBut your eternity rests on this- this is a very important thing to grasp. If Jesus is raised from the dead-  and if he didn’t you cant know him, and you shouldn’t follow him- but he DID

You need to know him - Easter

Like I said, we go through the Bible here and this is where we’re at in the scriptures today, so we’re going to go with it- it says-21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’What is Jesus saying here? Just because you call Jesus Lord, but don’t do what God wants, Jesus says you’re a law breaker and he is going to tell you that he doesn’t know you and send you away from him- and you don’t want to be sent away from him. Its not goodNow some would say that this is harsh- but its not really- its just honest- Its Jesus saying- I don’t want you to give me lip service- I want you to actually know me and do what I say. Who actually likes lip service? Does it work in marriage? Parenting? Careers? Friendship?No one likes lip service- “come visit- we’ll take care of ya’ll- ‘yalll wanna get dinner stuff”No- it doesn’t. and it doesn’t work in a spiritual sense either- God doesn’t want lip serviceWhy would God want followers that didn’t follow him that he didn’t know? He wouldntJeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.