Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (18:56)

because to

Steven Furtick (18:56)

them, the stone means risen. But to her, the stone rolled means robbed. I came to say they were looking at the same stone. They were looking at the exact same stone. The angel said risen, and Mary said rising. Do you know there are people in here today who are looking at their life and feeling like they're robbed, that God has left them, that my joy is gone, my peace is gone, my life is over. It's all done for me. It's gone. I'm here at church and I'm dressed up in church, but I feel like I'm robbed down on the inside. And there's somebody else sitting in this same church with a worse situation. And because he has risen, they have a perspective. Perspective to know sometimes it is not what you are looking at. It is what you believe about what you are looking at that determines how you feel when you see it. Look at it different. If you look at the stone Being rolled as the evidence that someone came and stole the body. You will weep. If you look at the stone being rolled away as the evidence that his people presence could not be contained in a borrowed grave, it will cause you to rejoice. So I came to say today, change your angle. Change the angle. You are looking at your life. The resurrection is more than just a cute cliche. When we say the stone is rolled, we are not simply saying God can do a miracle. We are not simply saying God can do great things. We are not simply saying God can do the impossible. We are saying that. But we are also saying there is no situation in your life, no heartbreak in your life, no disease in your life, no devil in your life, no possession, no power, no scheme, no curse. There is nothing too big for our God. I want the whole church to praise him right now. I mean every single person in this church to praise him right now. The angel said risen, Mary said, rob, I want you to look at the problem that's in your life right now. Is it really a problem or is it a platform? Is it really a problem or is it an opportunity for God to show you what he alone can do? All right, sit down. Let me teach you a little bit. Mary is at the tomb and she is staring at the stone. The thing we wonder about Mary at this point is how could somebody drive seven devils out of you and you not recognize them when you saw them? How could somebody do something so profound for you and you be blind to be holding them? At first I thought that it was because of Mary's tears that she could not see Jesus, which may have contributed to the fact that she couldn't see him. You know, sometimes our pain has a way of blocking our perspective. Sometimes you can't see the truth through your tears. See, if the enemy gets you so discouraged that you believe this is all it's ever going to be. You'll never see what God is doing because you can't see the truth through your tears. I thought that when the scripture said that she did not recognize Jesus, she did not know it was him, that maybe she was blinded by her own tears. I thought, how many of us are. How many of us cannot see him through our sorrow, even though he is designated by Isaiah as the man of Sorrows. I thought about how sometimes in our life we trust our tears more than we trust what God tells us. We will allow the enemy to get us in a position, whether through depression or isolation or our sin or our addiction, that we cannot see the truth of who God is through our tears. That was a contributing factor, for sure. I also noticed in verse one, it said Mary went to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark. That helped me to realize a second reason she couldn't see him exactly. She was in transition. It's difficult to see God through tears. And it's difficult to see God in transition. It's easy to see God when everything in your life looks like you expected it to look. It was easy for her to receive Jesus as a teacher as long as she could see the one that was teaching. But now he's risen. While him being risen will later be a reason for her to praise Him. Right now it's a problem because she can't see him through her tears. She can't see him in the transition. The way Jewish people marked time was very different than the way we mark time. See, we typically take a clock and tell the calendar when to begin a new day. The Jewish people mark the day not by a clock, but from sundown to sundown. Now you have to think about Jesus death. He died on Friday. He stayed dead until Sunday. But he was only there 36 hours. How do we say it's three days when it was only 36 hours. There were a few hours between when Jesus was crucified and when the sun went down. That counted as a full day. There was silent Saturday when the women prepared the spices and made their plans. We're going to the tomb even though we're sad. We're going to the tomb even though we don't know what comes next. We're going to the tomb. Then, of course, there was Sunday when Jesus got up. But notice what he did. He got up while it was still dark. What that speaks to me is God is moving before I know that he is. God does stuff in the dark. God does stuff in places that are unseen by you. God does things in places that are unrecognized by you. God does things in transition. How many are going through a transition right now in your life and you feel like it's hard for you to recognize God? Come on, nod at me. Wave a pinky, throw a shoe. Do something. Going through a transition right now. It's not exactly night. It's not exactly day. It's the third day, but it's still early. I'm in progress in this place in my life. And I have tears. And I have transition. And I have transition. The Bible says while she was looking into the tomb not for Jesus, but for a corpse. See, Mary was not looking for What Jesus was. She was looking for what Jesus had been. Yeah, she was looking for what he had been. She watched him die on the cross. She watched him buried in the grave. Some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because of our tears. Some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because of our transition. Some of the reason we don't see Jesus is because we are trapped. We are trapped in the last way we saw him. We are trapped. We don't think he's moving because he's not moving like he used to. We don't think he's present because we don't feel him like we used to. We don't think he's guiding us because we're not going where we thought we would go. So Mary, while stooping to look into the tomb, sees two angels where the body of Jesus had been. One at the feet, one at the head, and nothing in between. I love it because it's a reversal of the cross. Jesus died between two thieves. When he was raised, his body had been between two angels. He's changing places. He's not gone, but he has changed places. God has not left your life. God has not left your family. God has not left your situation. God has not left you alone. God has not left you helpless.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (27:22)

God has not left you without a comforter.

Steven Furtick (27:24)

He's just changing places.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (27:29)

High five.

Steven Furtick (27:29)

Somebody say, he's changing places. He's changing places. He's changing places. You're staring at a stone, wondering, where did he go? But you should be staring at a

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (27:42)

stone, asking, where is he at? Because the Bible says,

Steven Furtick (27:50)

I love the word of God. I love the Word of God. I read the Word of God. It speaks to me. The Word of God gets down in my spirit. And it reminds me that sometimes I am looking in the wrong place for the right person. I have the right person, but the wrong place. Because you're looking for Jesus behind a stone. The man says, why are you weeping? She says, I don't know where they. I want to take that apart for a moment. I don't know where they have laid him. Help me to say it like I saw it. Lord. There are two things that are keeping Mary from seeing Jesus that might be keeping you. I don't know if you've felt lately like God isn't with me. I don't know if you've been feeling abandoned by God or if you've been doing pretty good. But there will be a season in your life where you will need Jesus and you will not see him and you will pray, God forgive me. And the enemy will be telling you he can't forgive you for that. There will be a season in your life where you'll be saying, God help me. And the enemy will be telling you you are beyond help. When you get to that season where you cannot see him. Remember these two things about Mary. It wasn't just the tears. It wasn't just the transition. It wasn't just that she was trapped. It was they laid him where they laid him. Two assumptions she's making here that are about to be proven incorrect. One is, they moved him. Jesus said, nobody has the power to take my life from me. I lay it down. There is no they in the world that is stronger than God. There is no they in the world. I speak this word to somebody who's dealing with rejection. I speak this word to somebody who's dealing with shame. I speak this word, I break the power of they off of your life. Because it is not they that moved him. Well, that's the first assumption. She said they. But the second one is a little less evident. She said, I want to see where they. I can't get off of that point. Jesus is the one who got up. And she has given them the credit for moving him. He's the one who Stop giving the enemy credit for stuff God is doing. Is this a good Easter message? Stop giving the enemy credit. Jesus got up. Nobody moved him.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (30:38)

He moved himself. Nobody held him.

Steven Furtick (30:41)

He stayed there as long as he wanted to. So she said, where have they laid him? Look at the next verse. Having said this, she did something so simple. She turned around and saw Jesus standing. But she didn't know it was Jesus. Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Her tears, her transition. Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Was he wearing a disguise? Why didn't she know? Did Jesus change all of a sudden? Did he have an S on his chest for Savior now that he's up from the grave? And he used to look like a carpenter? Why didn't she know it was Jesus? Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. Go back to verse 13. She said, show me where they laid him. But when she saw him, he wasn't lying. He was standing. I came to announce on Easter Sunday he wasn't lying when he said, I'm going to the cross. He wasn't lying when he said, they're going to mock me and put a crown of thorns on my head. He wasn't lying when he told them, I'm going to be in the ground three days. He wasn't lying when he told them, after three days, I will rebuild this temple and rise from the dead. He wasn't lying when he said, I'm going to take the keys of death and hell and the grave. He wasn't lying. Shove your neighbor. Say he wasn't lying when he said, I have all power and authority. He wasn't lying when he said, I'm the King of kings and the Lord of Lords. He wasn't lying when he said, I'll provide all your needs.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (32:32)

He wasn't lying when he said, I am God. I am the way, the truth and the life. He wasn't lying. He was standing and he still standing. And so am I. So I celebrate Easter. Cause I celebrate the king who didn't stay in the grave. An angel at his feet and an angel at his head. But step away from that stone. He didn't stay dead. He got up. He got up. He stayed standing. He's standing. Stand up on your feet and celebrate the king who stands at the center of the throne. I see King Jesus standing at the center of the throne, Looking like a lamb that has been slain. High five everybody you can reach and say, I'm standing with him. I'm standing with him. I'm standing with him. He cast seven devils out of me. I'm standing with him. I've been staring at a stone, but I'm turning to the Savior. God said, stop staring at that stone. It's a turnaround time. It's turnaround time. It's turnaround time. Do a quick 360 right there in your and do what Mary did. And turn around. Turn around. I serve a God who can turn a grave into a. High five your neighbor and say, stop

Steven Furtick (34:50)

staring at that stone. That stone can't save you.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (34:55)

That stone can't stop God. That devil. That divorce can't stop God. That depression can't stop God. That mental illness can't stop God. That chronic fatigue can't stop God. That shame can't stop God.

Steven Furtick (35:20)

I'm doing what Mary did. I'm turning away from the stone and I'm turning to the Savior because I've been staring at the wrong stone. Matthew 21 says this. Jesus said to them, have you not read in the Scriptures? The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. Jesus said, they didn't move my body.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (36:02)

I did.

Steven Furtick (36:03)

They didn't roll that stone.

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (36:05)

I did. They didn't do it. I did. God did that.

Steven Furtick (36:13)

This was the Lord's. Doing, and it is marvelous. You have a stone and a savior. A stone and a savior. A stone and a savior. I see you doing what Mary did today. Stop staring at that stone. When she turned to face Jesus, the stone was behind. I came to tell you, put it behind you, what you did, what they said, what you didn't get, what it was, what it could have been. Put it behind you, like Mary. Today there's somebody who's saying, bye, bye, stone. Hello, Jesus. What blew my mind. And I. I studied all week. You think I'm not going to show you this? I don't even like to read. And I studied all week. Do you think I'm not going to show you this? She did not know it was Jesus. But verse 15. Jesus said to her, same thing the angel said. Woman, why are you weeping? The same thing Graham's face said in the picture. Woman, why are you weeping? The same thing God is asking you today. Why are you weeping when he won? God can still be winning while you're weeping. The two are not mutually exclusive. Through her tears, she looks at someone she doesn't even recognize. She thought he was a gardener. And she was kind of right. John 19:41 says this now. In the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. But he wasn't lying there anymore, was he? The focus is always either the grave or the garden, the stone or the Savior. The impossible situation you're facing or the one who does the impossible. Does a rolled stone mean you got robbed? Or does it mean he has risen so she still can't see him? It takes time sometimes. Sometimes even people who God has really touched say, I just don't see you right now. That's all right, because watch this. Jesus said, whom are you seeking? We know the irony of this. She is seeking Jesus, but Jesus is seeking her. She doesn't know where to look, but he knows where to find her. God knows where to find you. God knows what you've been into. God knows what you've been up to. God knows what you've been on about. God knows where. You've been off track. God knows where. You've wasted time. God knows where. You said it wrong, did it wrong, got it wrong and keep going back. But watch this. She says, sir, is some gardener messing with me? I'm trying to grieve and this gardener is bothering me. Was it you? Did you move him? If you carried him away, just tell me where you laid him, I'll take him away. Of course she can't really, really do that, but she's just trying anything. Then Jesus said, mary. Then she turned and said, rabboni. When she turned from the tomb, she saw the teacher. But I thought she already turned. In verse 14 the first time. Go back. She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she didn't know it was Jesus. She turned back to the tomb

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (40:26)

and

Steven Furtick (40:26)

Jesus was close enough for her to touch. I want to tell you today he's close enough for you to touch, but you have to turn around and stop staring at that stone. Your tears are not telling you the truth. When she said Rabbona, she clinged to his feet for a minute and he said, you can't cling to me. I have a job for you to do. I need you to go tell those boys. And by the way, because Jesus is trolling, he's like, call them my brothers. You have to really let them know how graceful I am. Even though I could call them something else right about now. Make sure you let them know I called them my bros. And she takes off running. But in order for her to carry out her assignment, she had to stop staring at the stone. She had to watch this. She had to pivot from her past. She had to turn around and put the past behind her. All seven devils are gone now. There are two angels in this tomb and there is a Savior who loves you. So let's take a minute on this resurrection Sunday and let the enemy know

Audience Member/Assistant or Co-speaker (41:46)

I'm coming out of this tomb. I'm stepping away from this stone. My tomorrow is not in this tomb. My tomorrow can't fit in this tomb. Come on, throw up your hand like this and wave real quick and say bye bye stone. Come on, say bye bye shame. Say goodbye fear. Goodbye grief. Goodbye bondage. Can we take four minutes and say together as a church? Goodbye yesterday?

Steven Furtick (42:33)

Thank you for joining us. Special thanks to those of you who give generously to this ministry. It's because of you that this ministry is possible. You can click the link in the description to Give now or visit elevationchurch.orgpodcast for more information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. You can click the share button, take a screenshot and share it on your social media stories and tag us evationchurch. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.

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