Let’s stand together… How many of you are glad Jesus is alive today?

This is Easter weekend! Please turn to the person next to you and say, “Jesus is alive!”

Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!

I want you to open your hearts even though you will hear things happening on stage and going on in the speakers. I want you to open your hearts to the Heavenly voice of the Father who is speaking to you about His eternal purposes for your life because of Easter.

Well, of all of the weekends, but especially His, I want you to throw your hearts to the skies and throw your voices up until this roof [at the Neal Blaisdell Center] blows off!

And let us and all of Honolulu know that Jesus is alive!

Welcome the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Can we extend a word of worship to him who is worthy?

Hallelujah! Forever You will reign.

In John Chapter 18, Jesus shows us His great power. Betrayers come and they ask if He, Jesus, is the one they are to arrest. Jesus says “My name is Jesus. You are looking for me.”

And you know what the Bible says? Then, the whole Roman legion just falls back with a big crash. It’s a Pentecostal way of saying they got slain in the spirit.

Now, I’m just thinking that the name of Jesus has that power, which is an awesome thing.

And right after that, Peter gets very confident and he pulls out a sword and he cuts off a guy’s ear. He wasn’t aiming for the ear - he was just a bad shot – he was going for the throat.

Now why do you think – with a whole legion of Roman troops in front of him – why did Peter have such confidence?

I'll tell you why - because Peter saw that just the name of Jesus had the power to take control.

There’s going to be times when you’re going to be down and out so I encourage you to speak the name of Jesus. Can I encourage you to speak His name?

There was a time when I was down and so filled with depression and anxiety that I kept saying Jesus… Jesus … Jesus.

You need the power of His name because you don’t know how much of what you’re feeling is a spiritual thing or a sign that the enemy is trying to do something evil.

Always remember, the name of Jesus is powerful. The name of Jesus is powerful!

And so, let’s thank God for the name of Jesus.

Would you say thank you for the name of Jesus?

Thank you Jesus.

This is a time when we can give everyone a new slate.

Do you know why? Because when Jesus died and was risen – He gave us a new slate.

Our sins were washed on the cross, which reminds us of a church of His glorious forgiveness and that He’s given us a new slate.

And this is our assignment for this new year that begins at Easter- let’s give everyone a new slate – let’s swap out the one that might be eroded from last year – it may have gotten messed up and smudged and there may be someone who needs the board wiped clean.

And then the slate may also contain bad history between you and that person. You know that we’re cordial in church, you know how it is, but when that person drives by – do some of us go “Oh, how I hate his guts”?

So give them a new slate – and take one for yourself.

Can I get an amen to that?

That’s probably the best gift you can give this Easter – and you can’t find it at Macy’s.

You can’t get that at Sears – and it’s going to get closed down at Ala Moana [Center] anyway.

But, you can get that gift… at the cross.

And we have the power to give everyone a new slate.

We’re going to talk about that today.

Sometimes we think our lives are over because of some dumb decisions we make like a divorce or an abortion. It could be a molestation – or being the victim of the same.

And you think that “I’m done,” but I want you to know that the Bible says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and you can run into it and be safe in His arms.

He holds you, and even if it takes some time to heal – He’ll hold you.

How many of you would admit that you just need to be held for some time?

So pray, “Just hold me, Lord. Just hold me.”

And that’s exactly what He’ll do.

Lord, I know that in this place there are many of us who’ve made the wrong choices, and we wonder if we’re still in your graces.

We wonder if there is still a chance.

We wonder if there’s maybe a probability of a chance that you may still use us. Is there still something wonderful waiting for us or are we just committed to spinning our wheels?

Though we’ve done horrible things, and are struggling … even though we are processing others ways and want to come to grips with it, it seems we are waiting so long for You to save us. We hate waiting.

But, I think that all the while, inside of us, you are changing our soul, aren’t you Lord?

You’re changing our hearts.

So we thank you today, that you are holding onto a lot of us.

I know that we have to make a decision, but thank you for loving us just enough to hold us, and for letting us know that though you love us just as we are - you love us too much to let us stay the same. Thank you for that.

Meanwhile, there is grace.

Grace. A word that is often poorly defined.

Even in Bible College it can have misperceived definitions.

We can misdefine things because of the way we perceive them.

Sometimes we look at God’s grace and perceive it to be a way to continue in sin. At times we look for forgiveness but afterwards we just go back to the way we were before.

But I say, “No!” - not if you understand God grace, as it is meant to be understood.

Ephesians 2: 8-9 says this: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

It is by God’s grace that you will be made whole through faith. It is not through your good works. It will be a gift from God.

To understand God’s grace, it’s sort of like this: If you understand God’s grace, it will change you for the rest of your life.

Grace is going to change you. It is not just the realization that we did something stupid – it is that grace will change your future.

But everyone reading this deserves Hell because the wages of sin is death.

But God gave us Grace, and if you understand grace, you understand how it changed you. You understand that you deserve to be falling into an ever-tightening vortex – into a dark pit… but no, it’s by the Lord’s grace that He will make you whole – if you understand grace.

And the Lord has hopes – hope for you – please don’t forget that.

If you think about it during this Easter weekend, the Lord exchanged His one and only son for you and me, and our sins took His life.

If we understand the grace of God as we walk out of this place, we’d say, “Lord Jesus, live your dreams through me. Live your hopes and goals through me.”

Galatians 2:20 says: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Grace. When you understand it – it will change you forever.

And that’s what I want to challenge each and every Christian reading this today.

I want you to understand the grace of God and that we should live differently here in Hawaii.

We should say, “Lord Jesus, would you live your dreams through me? Come live your dreams through me.”

When you understand grace – it will change you forever.

So that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, and here are my questions on this Easter weekend:

· Would you be a people of grace?

· Would you understand the importance of grace?