When you hear the word empty, what comes to mind, I can't be sure. But I'm guessing that when you hear the word empty, a negative memory pops into your head, my kids get irritated with each other. When one of them returns their favorite box of cereal to the pantry empty. Right now in our house, that favorite cereal is a toss up between lucky charms and cinnamon toast crunch. Anyway, when the unsuspecting child reaches up to grab that box of cereal with the outside of the box looking the same as the day before. He then begins to have a sad suspicion that something is off when he picks up the box and realizes that it's a little bit lighter than it should be. And then his frustrations reach its peak when he opens the top of the cereal box to see that there's nothing in the side except a crumpled piece of plastic wrapper and the remains of his once precious and delicious sugary breakfast treat. Now again, I ask you what comes to mind when you hear the word empty? Maybe you thought of a time when your wallet was empty or the gas tank in your car was empty. I remember driving my sweet sports car. A slick charcoal gray 2002 Ford Taurus. Ok. So maybe it was just a car, but I did drive the car to sports practices, which in my mind makes it a sports car. So to all you soccer moms out there, just remember that your minivan, it's really a sports car. It's all about perspective. Anyway, as I was driving my Ford Taurus, I discovered an issue with the fuel gauge where when the gas got below half a tank, the dial would immediately drop to the bottom. And I had no way of telling how much gas I actually had left in the tank. Now, the smart thing to do would have been to always keep my tank more than half full. But the reality was that there would be times where I would drive my car around the town for days having no idea how much gas I actually had left in the tank. Really? I was just hoping that I had enough to get through the day. There was one time where I was especially lucky because I decided to pull into the gas station. When I turned off my car, the tank was so low that the dial actually had to go up to reach E as it turns out. I was literally running my car on fumes. I had no idea that I was on empty. Why do I share this I share because over the past year, I believe there are people who have been running on fumes and some had no idea that they were on empty. This past year has been challenging for many reasons. A health pandemic, political unrest, social unrest, financial uncertainty, educational difficulties, and so much of the world as we know it changed in an instant. So in a time filled with chaos, I wanna offer you a little bit of clarity. This Easter by sharing with you three truths that could change your life again. Here are three truths that could radically transform your life. This Easter the first truth I wanna share with you might sound a little bit depressing, but it's an honest reflection of our current reality. It's this an empty life leads to a full grave. You see this past year has taught us that life is precious, short and fragile. There's no one watching or listening to this message right now whose life cannot radically be changed in a moment's notice. Life has no dress rehearsal. You only get one shot at this no matter how you choose to spend it. You don't get to take anything with you into the next life. So whether you're Jeff Bezos, the richest man on earth or the homeless person on the side of the street begging for change, we all eventually end up losing the same battle with time. A life lived for yourself is an empty life. And ultimately leads to a full grave. But thankfully, Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago to change all of that. Well, Jesus is a part of the Holy Trinity God, the Father Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit, meaning that Jesus has always existed. 2000 years ago, Jesus came down to earth to reverse the curse and to defeat death as we know it, you see, God is perfect and we are not. We miss the mark every day which the Bible describes and calls it as sin. And as a group of imperfect people, we cannot coexist with a perfect and holy God without a payment or justification for our sin. And what's the only possible payment for eternal separation from God except an eternal sinless sacrifice? This is Jesus. Well, we could not reach up to God. God reached down to man and word became flesh. Jesus lived amongst his people experiencing all the difficulties and temptations that humanity has to offer all while not losing his divinity. He was crucified for our sins as the scriptures predicted and even as he predicted, but thankfully, the grave could not hold him. He rose again on the third day, which means that our sins are forgiven death is defeated and eternal life is available to you. And to me, now, this leads me to my second truth of Easter that I wanna share with you. Jesus empty grave leads to a full life here. We actually celebrate the idea of empty, emptiness is seen as a good thing in this case. In fact, it's the greatest thing. An empty grave is proof that Jesus is alive today. And while not everyone believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior. For those watching, I wanna share with you seven undisputed facts around the Easter story. Number one, Jesus lived. No historian worth his salt argues against the physical existence of Jesus, the worldly yearly calendar as we know it is based off of his life BC, meaning before Christ and ad coming from a Latin phrase that means in the year of our Lord. Number two, Jesus died. The Roman government was threatened by the message of Jesus. And the best way to kill a movement is to kill its leaders. Roman soldiers were professional executioners and they wanted to keep their power by killing Jesus. So they would know if in fact, he was dead on the cross, what they didn't realize however, was that killing Jesus didn't end the movement. It actually started it. Fact number three, Jesus was buried. It is well documented that Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of a Maia, a guy who wasn't one of the original disciples, meaning that he didn't have a secret agenda for offering up that specific site for a graveyard. Also, his tomb was guarded by a legion of Roman soldiers. So you would think that the Roman guards would know where Jesus was in fact, buried. Fact, number four, Jesus tomb was found empty while people can debate what this meant or how the empty tomb came to be. The fact remains that nobody was ever found even from the earliest moments after the resurrection. Fact, number five, there were over 500 witness accounts of people who interacted with Jesus in different locations over a period of 40 days just following his resurrection. Fact, number six, the movement of Christianity started with the belief centered on the resurrection of Jesus. Christianity is the largest movement in world history. And the original disciples went from ordinary scared men who locked themselves in a room afraid for their lives because their leader Jesus had just been killed and they became bold proclaimers of the resurrection of Jesus even dying for that very belief. Why would anyone die for a lie that they came up with jesus' own half brother James declared that he was God think for a moment. What would it take for you to claim that your sibling actually was a savior? Then you have Paul, an educated pharisee who is completely opposed to Christianity. He becomes the mouthpiece for the movement and the writer of the most of the New Testament after his interaction with the resurrected Jesus, how do you explain this movement apart from the resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit? You can choose to reject these facts. But what other explanation is there? Finally fact number seven that I wanna share with you is that Christianity has withstood the test of time. Here we are 2000 years later, not memorializing a fallen leader but celebrating a risen savior who is the basis of our life and the foundation of our faith. Because Jesus, our sins are forgiven. Eternal life is possible and abundant life is available to all who believe in his name. There was a cute Easter pageant for little kiddos at a church happening when little five year old Brian had the pivotal verse to recite in the program. A verse comes from Luke chapter 24 verse six, which says he is not here. He is risen now. Unfortunately, he could not remember that line. And so the director had to quietly whisper and remind him of the line. And once the director did that little Brian then confidently grabbed the microphone and triumphantly shouted. He is not here. He is in prison. Now, thankfully, our God is not in prison. He is in fact alive and well seated at the right hand of God, the Father interceding on our behalf and providing for us the way of salvation. This is what Easter is all about. Truth. Number one is that an empty life leads us or leads to a full grave living for yourself, will not get you to heaven. No self help will help you book for eternity. But thankfully, we also have truth number two, which is just the opposite of that, of what the world offers. Jesus empty grave actually leads to our having a full life when your sins are forgiven and your life is wrapped in God's love that frees you to live from your identity and not for it. Truth, one and two deal with the what of Easter but the final truth I wanna share with you actually deals with the why. In other words, why did Jesus die on the cross and rise again on the third day. The final truth is this Jesus rose from the dead to reign in your life. Let me say that again, Jesus rose from the dead to reign in your life. Colossians, 113 and 14 says He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins as Children of God. We know we live now in God's kingdom. He reigns over all things including our hearts instead of living our lives according to money or for fame or for selfish pursuits, we live to love and bless others. The way that Jesus has loved and blessed us our prayer as believers of and followers of Jesus. It's not only that our, it's not that our will will be done in heaven, but that God's will will be done here on earth. Do you know Jesus? Do you know Him as savior? Do you know Him as king in your life. In closing, I wanna share with you a portion of a powerful prayer in Poland delivered by Doctor Sm Lockridge in 1976 entitled That's my king. He wrote these words, the Bible says that he's the king of the Jews. He's the king of Israel, the king of righteousness. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of heaven. He's the king of glory. He is the king of kings and he is the Lord of Lords. Now, that's my king. I wonder, do you know him? He is e enduringly strong. He is entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's entirely powerful. He is impartially merciful. Do you know him? Because that's my key. He's God's son. He's the sinner's savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He is unparalleled. He is unprecedented. He is supreme. He is pre eminent. He is the grandest idea in all of literature. He is the highest personality in all of philosophy. He is the fundamental doctrine in historic theology. That's my key. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried, he sympathizes and he saves, he heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers, he forgives sinners. He has discharged debtors and he delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged, he rewards the diligent and he beautifies the meek. I wonder if you know him because that's my king. He's the king of knowledge, the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway to deliverance. He's the pathway to peace. He's the roadway to righteousness. He is the highway of holiness. He is the gateway of glory. He is the prince of peace and the king of kings. He is the Lord of Lords. That's my king. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless his mercy. Everlasting his love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Oh, I wish you could describe him, but in fact, he's indescribable because that's my king. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. Well, you can't get him out of your mind. You can't get him off of your hands. You can't outlive him and you can't live without him. The Pharisees couldn't stand him but they found out that they couldn't stop him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in him. Herod couldn't kill him, death couldn't handle him and the grave couldn't hold him. That's my king. In response to this powerful poem I wanna ask you, do you know this Jesus? Do you want to know him? Because Jesus rose from the dead so that he could reign in your life. Jesus Christ is Savior and king that we've all been longing for? You can know him today. You can receive him right now. This is what matters most. This is why we celebrate Easter. I want everyone who's watching this right now to bow your head and to close your eyes for just a moment. If you want to receive Jesus into your life, I want you to pray with me and don't be afraid of prayer. Prayer is simply talking honestly to God and listening to his response. And so for those that want to receive Him, for those who want eternal life, I want you to pray along with me right now. Dear Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner. I know that my empty life leads to a full grave. But God thankfully, the empty grave gives me a full life through your name, Jesus. I believe that you are Lord, I receive you as savior. That when you died on a cross, you died for my sins. But when you rose again, you gave me new life. God forgive me of my sins, give me this life, give me your holy spirit, enter and transform everything that is, that is me, God. I believe in you. I receive you today and I commit my life to you. God. I believe that you rose from the dead to reign in my life. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me now, help me live for you and to live in the love that you've given me. It's only through you that we can celebrate Easter and live for all eternity. We love you God in your son's name. We pray. Amen. If you prayed that prayer with me right now, I want you to take your next step. I know it's scary. I know you might be by yourself watching this or maybe in a house watching on TV with a family. So however you need to do it, just, just do it. Don't, don't, don't wait. I want you to go visit Mission grove.info, go to Mission grove.info and there you're gonna see a form that says your next step. And when you fill out that form, I want you to check that box that I am committing my life to Jesus today. And if you're not ready to commit, but you wanna talk to someone, let us know if you've already received Jesus in your life. But you've never made that faith statement public and you wanna get baptized, let us know if you receive Jesus into your life many years ago, you walked away from your faith, but you wanna recommit, you wanna grow in your faith. You wanna take that next step. Let us know so we can come alongside and help you in your spiritual journey. Whatever step you need to take. Don't wait. Don't make this an Easter for to forget. Instead, make this an Easter that you will always remember and put your faith in Jesus. Take that next step and fill out that form at Mission grove.info. And then I'm gonna reach out to you directly. This week so that we can follow up and help you take that next step and to grow in your faith, we love you. God loves you. We celebrate because the tomb is empty. And in this case, emptiness is a great thing. So now from wherever you're watching this will you sing with me? And the fact that Jesus reigns over everything. God bless the rain of darkness. Now is K bye in and you are the king. You are the king. You ready hearts and all. Oh, on the cross just got you pouring five just to give from the lips of the here and there. Yes. Oh, don't the, the Singha. Ok. Is above you a you sent the darkness around them. The sea highest praise you sent the darkness. The I is. Yeah, I is. You sent the darkness. Ah. Mhm. Ok. It's, and you r and you ready it, you ready over. No, every hour there is no high in at all.