I dare you to look at somebody and say, "Your angel is already on the way."
So don't stress out about it, and don't you dare turn around and go back home,
because while you're worrying, God is working. God does some of his best work
in the dark. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not in progress.
It can't end like this. Do you think God would let these women get all the way to the tomb and let a
stone stand in their way? God says, "When you do what you can do, I will do what you cannot do."
"I'll help you raise those kids. I'll help you stay married to that man.
I'll help you make it through another week. I'll help you." Help is on the way. That's Easter.
It can't end in my frustration. It can't end in failure either.
It can't end in frustration. It can't end in failure. Rudy can't lose. It can't end like this.
When you know the director, you have a pretty good sense of how the film is going to end.
When you know who made the movie, when you know how it ends…
When Jesus sat down with Peter he said, "You're going to fail. You're going to deny me not once,
not twice, but (check out this King James English) thrice by the time the rooster crows."
"But don't worry about it, Peter. I have a job for you to do on the other side of failure."
When the angel said, "I'm going to meet you in Galilee," it was more than a geographical
arrangement. It was a statement of mission. Many of you remember that Galilee was the
place where Jesus did most of his miracles. It was the place where he first called Peter.
It was the Sea of Galilee where Peter took Jesus all around to preach and heal and deliver. So when
the angel said, "Your story can't end here; turn around and go tell the disciples I will meet them
in Galilee," he was saying, in effect, "This can't end in a grave, because
there's something more I want to do. Meet me in Galilee." Now that's good news all on its own.
For you to know that God is not through with you; for you to know that if the Devil could
have killed you he would have by now; for you to know that the testimony of your purpose
is the very fact of your survival, the fact that you're still here.
That's a reason to celebrate.
I think this is my favorite Easter message I've ever studied
because of two words. Verse 7: "Go tell his disciples and Peter…" That hit me hard, that the
one who disappointed Jesus the most deeply was the one he singled out by name for redemption.
It gives me this hope that maybe my name can go there too.
I'm going back to Galilee, because I don't believe this story ends at a grave. It can't end like
this. "Go tell Peter to start practicing." Practicing what? Practicing his preaching.
"Tell him to get all of his fishing out of his system, because I need him in 50 days.
I need him on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit comes. I want the one who failed the greatest
to be the trophy of my triumph and transformation."
There is someone here who is standing over a grave of your own failure today,
not realizing that resurrection is an expectation that allows you
to experience life not through the lens of your failure but through the lens of grace.
That's a really beautiful truth for Peter,
but until it is personal for you, you will stay stuck in what God has called you out of.
I know it can't end like this. I know my story can't end in failure, because God has already
promised me his grace for every failure I would face in this life. "And Peter."
"P.S. Tell Peter." I want to put that in an Easter message one year. "P.S. Tell Peter." Tell the one
who snuck into church who really doesn't even want to be here, "I'll meet you in Galilee."
Failure is not the end; it's the hinge. It's the hinge on which the doors of God's grace
swing wide open for you to experience his forgiveness at a greater level. Don't you see it,
Peter? He called you by name. The women responded in a surprising way.
I never could get over this. I understand why they were so disappointed when he died,
but I never got why they were so surprised. He told them this three times. "I'm going to die.
They're going to mock me. They're going to scourge me.
They're going to spit on me. But after three days…"
I view resurrection a little differently now. I used to think
resurrection was God's exclamation point. You know, "It is finished! He is risen!"
Now I see it more like three dots. Now I see Easter as the ellipsis of heaven. Now I see
Easter, those three days, as three dots. To see whether or not your story is going to end here
in your fear… Because the final note of Mark's gospel is fear. "They were
afraid." It's such a strange note to end on. It's such a crazy way to end your gospel. Maybe
there was more to the manuscript and it got lost. That's one theory. Or maybe verse 9 is up to us.
Maybe fear is not the end; maybe it's an invitation.
In Mark's gospel, usually when it talks about fear something comes after it. In Mark's gospel,
there's a pattern that emerges. It's over and over again in Mark's gospel. Like in chapter 5, there's
a woman who has an issue of blood, and nobody can make her better. The Bible says she spent
all she had, but instead of getting better she got worse. She shoved more stuff into her life. She
got busier and just got more broke. She spent more time trying to be liked and only felt lonelier.
Then she comes up and touches Jesus, and everybody wants to know who did it,
because there was a big crowd around. They didn't know, but she did. The Bible says that trembling,
she fell down in fear on her face before Jesus. But it wasn't the end of the story, because when
Mark says fear, something follows. It's not the end; it's a new beginning. After her fear,
Jesus looked at her and said, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Now go in peace."
Fear is not the end; fear is the beginning.
Right after this, a man named Jairus has a little daughter who has died while Jesus is on his way
to heal her. The crowd says, "Don't worry about it. She's already dead." Jesus said,
"No, she's just asleep. Don't be afraid, Jairus, because when I get there
something is going to happen that is going to overrule and overturn the verdict of earthly
principles. She's going to get up." And the little girl got up, because fear is not the end.
One night, the disciples were in a great storm. The wind was blowing so hard they thought,
"Surely we're going down this time." No, you can't die
here. There's something left for you to do. The Bible says they were greatly afraid,
but fear was not the end. The moment they felt the fear, Jesus spoke the word, "Peace, be still."
I feel him speaking peace to somebody today. Fear is not the end. It can't end like this.
God has more for you to do. He said, "Meet me in Galilee…" Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The stone is
already rolled. God has already done what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened
by the sinful nature. I know you're weak. I know you're frustrated, but frustration is not the end.
Frustration is the hinge on which the door to surrender swings wide open. Just say, "I need you
to do for me, God, what I can't do for myself." It's not the end. Your failure is not the end.
God is going to use the one who knows their need for grace to show others what his grace is capable
of. It can't end like this. Your story can't end in this grave. You are needed in Galilee,
Peter. There's more for you to do. It can't end like this.
It can't end in fear. What if those women would have stayed silent? We know they didn't.
We know they went and told the disciples, and we know the disciples' first instinct was fear,
because the starting point of faith is always fear. It's always scary to step out and trust God.
It's always risky to make yourself vulnerable. "What if I come to God and it doesn't work?
What if it ends on a cross?" Even if it ends on a cross, it doesn't end on the cross.
This is your third day.