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The King Has Risen: An Easter Message of Hope and Resurrection · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. And you guys
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  know that I could not let this Easter season
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  go without just maybe doing a special episode.
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  And the reason we're here, the cross, the tomb,
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  and the risen king. And if you are a Christian,
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  we are really excited about Easter because without
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  Easter, we would not be Christians. We would
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  just be people following another guy who died.
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  but we have the risen king and there are moments
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  in history that change everything wars ended
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  nations forming discoveries being made but none
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  of them not a single one of them compares to
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  what happened on easter because easter is not
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  just a holiday easter is just is not just a date
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  on the calendar easter is the day the story changed
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  for the entire world easter is the moment heaven
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  erupted hell and easter is the moment that death
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  lost its claim. Easter is the moment that God
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  rewrote human history with three simple words.
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  He is risen. And this is why This is the why
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  behind every sermon behind every preacher. This
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  is the why behind every prayer that's ever been
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  prayed This is the reason why we have baptism
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  This is the reasons why we have worship songs
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  the reason why we have Bible stories the why
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  the reason why we have Transformed lies without
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  that resurrection. We would have nothing and
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  because of the resurrection we have everything
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  the entire gospel the whole thing hangs on this
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  moment and paul said plainly in first corinthians
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  15 if christ had not been risen our faith would
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  be useless not weak not incomplete but useless
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  but he was raised and because of that our story
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  is not over our sins are not counted against
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  us. Our past is not our identity. Our future
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  is not hopeless. Our chains are not final. Our
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  death is not the end. Our life is not meaningless.
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  Easter changes everything. The cross written
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  a love story in blood. And so let's start with
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  the cross. The greatest act of love. coincided
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  with the greatest display of injustice. Jesus
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  didn't die because he was overpowered. He died
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  because he was obedient. He didn't die because
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  Romans took him. He died because he was willing
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  to give himself. He didn't die because he was
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  a victim. He died because he is our savior. And
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  Isaiah 53 says that he was pierced for our transgressions,
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  not his, ours. Every nail was for us. Every stripe
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  was for us. Every insult was for us. Every drop
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  of blood was for us. It wasn't random. It wasn't
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  accidental. It wasn't a tragedy. This was a rescue
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  when God says it is finished. He wasn't declaring
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  defeat. He was announcing victory. Sin's power
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  finished. Hell's claim finished. Death's sting
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  finished. The enemy's authority finished. Your
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  guilt finished. Your shame finished. The cross
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  was the end. And it was the beginning of the
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  end for everything that you held in captive.
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  But the cross alone wasn't enough. If the story
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  ended on Friday, we wouldn't be here. If this
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  tomb stayed sealed, Christianity would be a memory.
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  If Jesus stayed dead, He would be another historical
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  figure but the tomb where death lost its power
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  and so let's go to the tomb silent cold guarded
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  and sealed Hell celebrated that night. The enemy
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  thought he had won Death thought he had the final
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  word But early Sunday morning before the Sun
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  rose before anyone else was awake before the
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  world realized what had happened Heaven was moving.
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  The angel rolled away the stone, not to let Jesus
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  out, but to let the witnesses in. Jesus didn't
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  let the stone be removed, he was already gone.
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  And when Mary ran to the disciples and said,
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  he's not there, he's risen, everything shifted.
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  Every prophecy fulfilled, every promise validated,
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  every chain broken, every demon defeated, every
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  believer empowered, and every knee to bow. And
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  the world has never been the same. The resurrection
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  is not a metaphor. It's not symbolic. It's not
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  spiritual language. It is a historical fact,
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  recorded, witnessed, and documented, even confirmed
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  by those who wanted to deny it, over 500 witnesses,
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  transformed disciples, a movement that exploded
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  out of fear into boldness. Why? Because you don't
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  give your life for a lie. People don't die for
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  a story they made up. They die for what they
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  saw, and they saw a risen king. In the risen
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  king, why we live different. Tell me something,
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  the resurrection isn't just a reason we believe,
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  it's a reason we live. Because of Easter, we
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  are forgiven. We are free. We are loved, redeemed,
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  restored, made new, called, chosen, alive in
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  Christ, not who you used to be. We have a future,
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  we have a hope, we have an authority, and we
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  have victory. Resurrection power didn't stay
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  in the tomb. It stepped into us in a Romans 8
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  11 says the same spirit that raised Jesus from
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  the dead lives in you, not a lesser spirit, not
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  a diluted version. Not a Holy Spirit light, the
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  same spirit that means you can overcome. You
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  can break addictions. You can walk in purpose.
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  You can forgive the unforgivable and you can
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  heal from the impossible. You can live with confidence
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  and you can face the storms unshaken. You can
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  raise against your failures and you can walk
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  in identity because resurrection power is not
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  about you. It's in you. And Easter is an invitation.
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  Easter is not a behavior modification. It's not
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  about being a better person. It's not about religion.
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  Easter is about a resuscitation. a resurrection.
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  Dead things come alive again. Easter invites
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  you to lay down your shame, lay down your labels,
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  lay down your sin, lay down your guilt, your
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  regret, your fear, your striving, your fake strength,
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  your old identity and pick up forgiveness and
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  grace and identity, peace and purpose, newness,
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  power and eternal life and hope. Easter is the
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  day the gospel became personal. In a moment,
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  We have an invitation if you have never surrendered
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  your life to Jesus or if you feel far from him
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  Or if you feel like you're carrying shame or
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  if you're carrying doubt Doubting that you're
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  worthy if you feel like you are spiritually numb
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  Take this moment Easter is for you And just pray
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  with me Jesus Thank you for this cross Thank
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  you for an empty tomb. Thank you for raising
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  again forgive my sins and make me new come into
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  my life i surrender everything i give you my
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  heart my story my future you are my lord you
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  are my savior you are alive and i choose to follow
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  you from this moment forward amen and if you
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  honestly believe that god sent his son to die
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  for our sins and he is the lord of your life
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  Heaven just shifted for you. And we hope that
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  this message encouraged you as you start your
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  Easter Sunday. And we are just so excited to
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  go and worship publicly and just renounce and
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  worship that the King is risen, that we have
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  Easter, that we have a reason to be so excited,
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  that we get to live for eternity, that we are
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  just here for a vapor of time, that we are children
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  of God and our King is alive. And so we hope
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  that this message encouraged you. Maybe this
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  is the first time that you heard an Easter story.
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  Turn into the Gospels. Turn into scripture. That
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  is what that love story is about. And it is for
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  us just to walk through what happened on that
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  Sunday. Thank you so much for tuning in. We hope
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  that this message encouraged you. Like it. Share
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  it. Send it to somebody that you know needs an
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  Easter miracle. And I would love to pray over
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  you. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much
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  for these listeners. Thank you so much for Easter.
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  Thank you for the cross. Thank you for the resurrection.
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  Thank you for the hope. Thank you for the new
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  life. Thank you for saving us, loving us and
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  calling us and giving us a victory that we never
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  earned. Thank you for every listener that feels
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  like they are empowered in their life. Thank
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  you for a new mind. Thank you for a new heart.
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  Thank you for their home. Thank you for their
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  purpose. We love you. We honor you. We worship
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  you as our risen King. Thank you for all that
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  you do. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen and amen.
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  We hope you guys have an amazing Easter. Stay
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  tuned for the Thursday episode as this was just
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  a bonus episode. We hope that you guys have an
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  amazing day. We love you. Bye.