# It Can't End Like This...

An episode of [Elevation with Steven Furtick](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/216015753), 10 Apr 2026, 35 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/cbb40a38-726f-4243-a86e-b0ed01477640/6402d7af-415e-4bb5-bf78-b42600d994c2/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=ff9164b2-aa64-410d-9ee1-b0ed0147765c

Fear and failure don’t have to control the way we live our lives. Learn how Jesus uses these frustrations to meet us where we are. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
[0:02] Speaker 2: I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our
[0:05] Speaker 2: podcast and I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
[0:08] Speaker 1: Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
[0:10] Speaker 2: Hope it gives you perspective to see God has moving
[0:13] Speaker 2: in your life.
[0:13] Speaker 1: Enjoy the message. Mark chapter sixteen, verse one.
[0:18] Speaker 2: When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and married, the
[0:21] Speaker 2: mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they
[0:25] Speaker 2: might go and anoint him. And very early on the
[0:28] Speaker 2: first day of the week, when the sun had risen,
[0:30] Speaker 2: they went to the tomb, and they were saying to
[0:32] Speaker 2: one another, who will roll the stone for us? From
[0:35] Speaker 2: the entrance of the tomb, Who's going to do it?
[0:38] Speaker 2: And looking up, they saw that the stone had been
[0:41] Speaker 2: rolled back.
[0:42] Speaker 1: It was very large.
[0:44] Speaker 2: Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on
[0:47] Speaker 2: the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they
[0:49] Speaker 2: were alarmed.
[0:50] Speaker 1: And he said to them, don't freak out.
[0:52] Speaker 2: You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
[0:55] Speaker 1: He has risen.
[0:56] Speaker 2: He is not here see the place where they laid him,
[1:00] Speaker 2: But go and tell his disciples.
[1:02] Speaker 1: In other words, you.
[1:02] Speaker 2: Can look, but don't stay long, because.
[1:05] Speaker 1: He is not here in this dead place. He is
[1:09] Speaker 1: not here. He has arisen.
[1:12] Speaker 2: So go tell his disciples and Peter that he is
[1:15] Speaker 2: going before you to Galilee.
[1:17] Speaker 1: There you will see him just as he told you.
[1:19] Speaker 1: And they went out and fled from.
[1:26] Speaker 2: I wonder what you're running from today, because sometimes when
[1:30] Speaker 2: life disappoints our expectations, we find ourselves hiding from the
[1:37] Speaker 2: very places that we came to looking for God.
[1:40] Speaker 1: They fled from the tomb for trembling.
[1:42] Speaker 2: And astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone,
[1:47] Speaker 2: for they were afraid. And on that note, Mark's Gospel ends.
[1:55] Speaker 2: It's an anti clomactic ending. It's not how we would
[1:58] Speaker 2: expect it to end, but that's how it ends. And
[2:02] Speaker 2: there is an announcement for this Easter that I want
[2:05] Speaker 2: to give to you.
[2:05] Speaker 1: In fact, I want you to give it to your neighbor.
[2:07] Speaker 2: So pick one, look them in the eyes, and give
[2:10] Speaker 2: them my sermon title for Easter twenty eighteen.
[2:12] Speaker 1: Tell them, neighbor, it can't end like this.
[2:17] Speaker 2: Look at your other neighbor, the one you were secretly
[2:19] Speaker 2: hoping you'd get to talk to. Tell them, it can't
[2:23] Speaker 2: end like this Father, anoint your word and open our hearts.
[2:27] Speaker 1: To hear it. In Jesus' name. Amen, you may be seated.
[2:36] Speaker 2: I'm certainly no parenting expert, but from what I can tell,
[2:41] Speaker 2: a large percentage of successful parenting revolves around timing and
[2:48] Speaker 2: understanding when your kids are ready for certain things, certain
[2:52] Speaker 2: forms of discipline, certain conversations. The other day, it became
[2:58] Speaker 2: a parent to me that my oldest son, Elijah, was
[3:01] Speaker 2: ready to watch the movie Rudy for the first time.
[3:05] Speaker 1: How many have never seen the movie Rudy.
[3:07] Speaker 2: We want to give an altar call right now that
[3:09] Speaker 2: your soul might be spared from the flames of hell.
[3:11] Speaker 1: You are in danger. I was saving Rudy for him
[3:16] Speaker 1: for the moment.
[3:16] Speaker 2: That I thought he could he could fully appreciate the
[3:19] Speaker 2: beauty of the story of triumph of Dan Rudy Rudiger.
[3:25] Speaker 2: It's based on a true story. What does that mean?
[3:27] Speaker 2: Absolutely nothing? But the Hollywood version is great because this
[3:32] Speaker 2: kid who wanted to play for Notre Dame.
[3:33] Speaker 1: Hands up again.
[3:34] Speaker 2: If you've never seen the movie, I should cancel this sermon.
[3:36] Speaker 1: And just show the show the movie. I feel so
[3:39] Speaker 1: bad for you.
[3:40] Speaker 2: It's a beautiful movie, especially the ending, it's the last
[3:43] Speaker 2: five minutes that's going to get you. I'm just warning
[3:44] Speaker 2: you don't watch it around anybody that you don't want
[3:46] Speaker 2: to seem soft in front of, because the last five
[3:49] Speaker 2: if you have a soul, the last five minutes, after
[3:53] Speaker 2: Rudy has applied and reapplied to Notre Dame and sacrificed
[3:56] Speaker 2: everything in the face of people who said he could never.
[3:58] Speaker 1: Do it, it's just the end. The movie's kind of slow,
[4:01] Speaker 1: but if you can make it to the end.
[4:03] Speaker 2: And I wanted Elijah to see Rudy because he's playing
[4:05] Speaker 2: football and he's starting to understand that his genetics aren't
[4:10] Speaker 2: necessarily on his side putting some things together.
[4:13] Speaker 1: So I say, you're ready for Rudy, and we watched Rudy.
[4:16] Speaker 2: Now, my wife and I, if you're new to the church,
[4:19] Speaker 2: I share a lot from our personal life, maybe too much.
[4:22] Speaker 1: Sometimes we don't.
[4:23] Speaker 2: Fight a lot. We don't fight that much over money.
[4:26] Speaker 2: We have fought over money, but we don't fight much
[4:28] Speaker 2: over money. There was that one time with them, yeah,
[4:32] Speaker 2: but usually she tells me she got it on sale
[4:35] Speaker 2: and I go with it, and that's kept our marriage happy.
[4:39] Speaker 2: So we don't fight over money and I have more
[4:41] Speaker 2: shoes in my closet than she does, let's be honest.
[4:43] Speaker 2: So we don't fight over money, but we don't fight
[4:47] Speaker 2: over parenting. One thing we do fight over, though. We
[4:49] Speaker 2: sometimes fight over movies because we like different.
[4:53] Speaker 1: Kinds of dings.
[4:55] Speaker 2: She likes the ending where they end up together on
[4:58] Speaker 2: a beach. I like the movie where everybody's dead in
[5:03] Speaker 2: the end. I don't know what that says about me.
[5:05] Speaker 2: But no, But before you think she's the angel my wife,
[5:10] Speaker 2: this is one time I only questioned whether I should
[5:13] Speaker 2: have married her.
[5:13] Speaker 1: One time.
[5:15] Speaker 2: It was too late by this point for me to reevaluate.
[5:18] Speaker 2: But it was the first time we watched Rudy together.
[5:21] Speaker 2: And you know, Rudy wants to play for Notre Dame
[5:23] Speaker 2: and they start him in the last game and Rudy
[5:26] Speaker 2: runs out of the tunnel and it's such a beautiful moment.
[5:28] Speaker 2: And the first time we watched Rudy together. Of course,
[5:30] Speaker 2: I've seen it multiple times by this point, with tears
[5:33] Speaker 2: in my eyes because I.
[5:34] Speaker 1: Have a heart. I looked over at Holly to find
[5:39] Speaker 1: her rolling her eyes.
[5:43] Speaker 2: And she said, quote, that's the stupidest story I've ever seen.
[5:51] Speaker 1: If you're clapping right, now we got security, I will
[5:53] Speaker 1: take you out of the church.
[5:54] Speaker 2: There's a lot of people want you to see that now.
[5:57] Speaker 2: She said to me, Rudy, he was a story of
[6:01] Speaker 2: triumph of the human spirit. To her, it was a
[6:04] Speaker 2: story of a kid who lacks self awareness. Somebody needed
[6:09] Speaker 2: to tell him and he needed to believe. You were
[6:11] Speaker 2: not You're not a football player, Rudy. You need to
[6:15] Speaker 2: practice piano, Rudy. Holly's ideal ending of Rudy would be
[6:19] Speaker 2: him playing the piano, because he was better at that
[6:21] Speaker 2: all along and gave up on his dreams. Because she
[6:24] Speaker 2: is a soul crusher. So I was looking over at Elijah,
[6:30] Speaker 2: you know, the last five minutes of Rudy, and I
[6:33] Speaker 2: wanted to see I didn't want him to see that
[6:34] Speaker 2: I was looking at him because I was hoping he
[6:36] Speaker 2: had a soul. Hoping he took after me and he
[6:41] Speaker 2: looks at me and goes, you know, it would be awesome.
[6:44] Speaker 2: Rudy's running out on the field. He's about to get
[6:46] Speaker 2: carried off on the shoulders after he goes in for
[6:48] Speaker 2: one play. And Elija said, if they did a different
[6:52] Speaker 2: ending for Rudy where he goes in the game and
[6:55] Speaker 2: screws up and the ruins the whole season, for the
[6:59] Speaker 2: whole team.
[7:02] Speaker 1: And I said, go sit with your mom.
[7:05] Speaker 2: You but a different ending, a different ending. I know
[7:17] Speaker 2: you thought I forgot about Mark sixteen.
[7:18] Speaker 1: I didn't.
[7:19] Speaker 2: We've been in a series called savage Jesus in our church.
[7:25] Speaker 2: Don't be shot, don't be frightened. When we say savage,
[7:28] Speaker 2: we certainly don't have in mind the Dictionary definition of
[7:31] Speaker 2: savage in reference to the Son of God.
[7:33] Speaker 1: We just mean that he did whatever it.
[7:35] Speaker 2: Took, whether it's flipping tables in a temple or as
[7:38] Speaker 2: you heard in that beautiful Easter open or spinning in
[7:41] Speaker 2: blind eyes to get them open. Whatever he had to do,
[7:45] Speaker 2: even if he had to make a mess, he always
[7:47] Speaker 2: got the message across. And so this study from Mark's
[7:53] Speaker 2: Gospel has brought us all the way to chapter sixteen.
[7:56] Speaker 2: Last week we were in chapter two. I had to
[7:58] Speaker 2: skip to the end for this occasion called Easter, and
[8:02] Speaker 2: it's kind of shocking, is kind of an alternate ending,
[8:05] Speaker 2: is kind of what Elijah always wanted from Rudy, because
[8:10] Speaker 2: we don't see Jesus at all. We don't see the
[8:14] Speaker 2: appearance of the risen Christ. We see that in Matthew's Gospel.
[8:19] Speaker 2: We see that in Luke's Gospel. Because there are four
[8:22] Speaker 2: different gospel accounts. It's the same story, but just told
[8:25] Speaker 2: four different ways, from four different perspectives, for four different audiences,
[8:29] Speaker 2: with four different major themes, but one main character. And
[8:33] Speaker 2: when Mark gets ready to end his gospel, there is
[8:37] Speaker 2: no appearance of Jesus.
[8:38] Speaker 1: There is only an announcement.
[8:40] Speaker 2: Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, and
[8:44] Speaker 2: the evidence of things not seen. Faith comes by hearing,
[8:49] Speaker 2: hearing the word of God. We walk by faith and
[8:52] Speaker 2: not by sight. And so Mark's Gospel ends in a
[8:56] Speaker 2: most unsatisfactory manner. If you're reading along in your own
[9:00] Speaker 2: copy of the Bible, you may see verse nine, ten, eleven,
[9:04] Speaker 2: and twelve. But those were put there much later by
[9:07] Speaker 2: second century scribes. The oldest manuscripts of the Greek New Testament,
[9:12] Speaker 2: after they had been transcribed for centuries, took on some additions.
[9:17] Speaker 1: It was almost as if the ending.
[9:19] Speaker 2: And they went out and fled from the tomb, for
[9:21] Speaker 2: trembling in astonishment had seized them. And they said nothing
[9:24] Speaker 2: to anyone, for they were afraid. Whoever was copying it thought, well,
[9:29] Speaker 2: it can't end like this come on. We got to
[9:34] Speaker 2: get Rudy out of the tunnel, and we got to
[9:36] Speaker 2: get Jesus appear into Mary Magdalene, and we got to
[9:38] Speaker 2: get the Amais road that Luke writes about, and we
[9:41] Speaker 2: got to talk about how he appeared to the eleven
[9:43] Speaker 2: and they didn't believe at first, And we got to
[9:45] Speaker 2: get the part where he told him they would have
[9:47] Speaker 2: authority over demons, and we got to get verse twenty,
[9:49] Speaker 2: and they went out and.
[9:50] Speaker 1: Preached everywhere while the Lord worked.
[9:52] Speaker 2: With them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. That
[9:56] Speaker 2: is the Rudy Resurrection, with the eleven DECI diiples carrying
[10:00] Speaker 2: Jesus off on their shoulders to the mountain galilee, where
[10:04] Speaker 2: he proclaimed and professed his authority. But it ends in
[10:09] Speaker 2: the original manuscript on a note of uncertainty. It ends
[10:15] Speaker 2: right there, right there. There's a tendency for us sometimes
[10:21] Speaker 2: to want to make faith something that it's not. I wonder,
[10:24] Speaker 2: can I appreach to you today like we're real people.
[10:27] Speaker 2: It may be that people outside of the faith sometimes
[10:30] Speaker 2: get the wrong idea about the nature of faith, and
[10:33] Speaker 2: they think that faith is chiefly a matter of imagination.
[10:36] Speaker 2: So people who have faith have really good ability to
[10:40] Speaker 2: suspend their disbelief and think about this world that doesn't
[10:43] Speaker 2: really exist. But faith, for me is not a matter
[10:46] Speaker 2: of imagination. It's a matter of interpretation. What I mean
[10:50] Speaker 2: by that is, for me, faith is not a denial
[10:52] Speaker 2: of reality, but it is a deeper reality than the
[10:55] Speaker 2: reality that I see, that governs the way that I live.
[11:00] Speaker 2: This is the essence of faith in Mark's Gospel. It
[11:03] Speaker 2: is always a demonstration. It is not always visible, But
[11:06] Speaker 2: just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't real.
[11:10] Speaker 2: It isn't it powerful and profound that the greatest demonstration
[11:14] Speaker 2: of God's power came in the moment when Jesus wasn't there.
[11:19] Speaker 2: The greatest demonstration of God's power was his absence in
[11:25] Speaker 2: the place where the women looked for him. Touch the
[11:29] Speaker 2: person next to you and say, it can't end like this.
[11:33] Speaker 2: It can't end like this. And sometimes our faith leaves
[11:37] Speaker 2: us at a place of frustration.
[11:40] Speaker 1: The atmosphere of this text in Mark.
[11:42] Speaker 2: Chapter sixteen is an atmosphere of frustration, specifically for these women.
[11:49] Speaker 1: And I wanted to call this message hidden.
[11:52] Speaker 2: Figures, but I figured only one movie reference per Easter sermon,
[11:57] Speaker 2: and so I had remarkable restraint not to call this
[12:00] Speaker 2: sermon hidden figures about Mary Magdalen and Mary and Salome
[12:06] Speaker 2: looking for a baby name considered Salome. They bought spices. Now,
[12:12] Speaker 2: remember Peter in the garden drew a sword because he
[12:17] Speaker 2: had strength as long as he was in control of
[12:21] Speaker 2: the outcome.
[12:23] Speaker 1: But if you look on Sunday morning, Jesus has been dead.
[12:26] Speaker 2: Now for three days according to the Jewish way of
[12:29] Speaker 2: counting days. And these women, they didn't draw swords in
[12:33] Speaker 2: the garden.
[12:34] Speaker 1: They had a different kind of strength.
[12:37] Speaker 2: These spice girls watch Out, had the kind of quiet
[12:42] Speaker 2: strength that would enable them, even in the midst of disappointment,
[12:47] Speaker 2: to still go to the place where their dream died
[12:50] Speaker 2: and do the best they could with what they had.
[12:54] Speaker 2: Notice who is missing in the text. It's not only
[12:56] Speaker 2: Jesus who's missing in the text. He was expected to
[12:59] Speaker 2: be in the grave and he wasn't there.
[13:02] Speaker 1: But where is Peter?
[13:04] Speaker 2: Where is Peter waving his sword and talking so loud?
[13:07] Speaker 2: Have you ever noticed how sometimes the loudest people aren't
[13:10] Speaker 2: the most loyal. I noticed it at a panther's game.
[13:14] Speaker 2: There was a lady in front of me. She was
[13:16] Speaker 2: so loud she was gone in the third quarter two
[13:18] Speaker 2: because sometimes the people who are the loudest are not
[13:22] Speaker 2: the most loyal. That's a dating seminar, and it's Easter.
[13:25] Speaker 2: I'm giving you bonus material.
[13:29] Speaker 1: Where's Peter.
[13:30] Speaker 2: This is what the women are trying to figure out,
[13:32] Speaker 2: because the men who should have been with them to
[13:36] Speaker 2: help them move the stone away. Remember, it's much easier
[13:41] Speaker 2: to roll the stone that is at the mouth of
[13:43] Speaker 2: this cave, which we call a tomb, but it was
[13:45] Speaker 2: more like a cave. And Mark points out of detail.
[13:47] Speaker 2: He says, it was a very heavy stone. So we
[13:50] Speaker 2: can't do this by ourselves. And upon realizing that we've
[13:55] Speaker 2: got the spices, watch this, but we don't have the
[13:58] Speaker 2: strength to roll the stone. Oh a way, I think
[14:01] Speaker 2: it's an indictment on the men. I think it is
[14:05] Speaker 2: an indictment on the eleven disciples. I thought there were twelve.
[14:08] Speaker 2: Judas is dead. It's already a different thing for him.
[14:11] Speaker 2: He's already gone. He couldn't hang on, he couldn't face
[14:15] Speaker 2: himself after it.
[14:16] Speaker 1: And Peter, well, well, Peter, who's.
[14:19] Speaker 2: Going to preach in fifty days on the day of Pentecost,
[14:23] Speaker 2: is so disappointed.
[14:25] Speaker 1: That he can't.
[14:29] Speaker 2: Potentially show his face, or maybe he doesn't want to
[14:33] Speaker 2: venture out into the darkness and risk greater disappointment.
[14:38] Speaker 1: I found out that.
[14:39] Speaker 2: The greater the faith, the deeper the disappointment when you
[14:46] Speaker 2: really believe in something, And this is why some of
[14:48] Speaker 2: you don't expect much out of life anymore. It is
[14:51] Speaker 2: your defense mechanism against disappointment, because if you don't venture out,
[14:56] Speaker 2: you don't have to be vulnerable. Hope is very vulnerable.
[15:00] Speaker 2: Faith is very fragile. It puts you in a place
[15:02] Speaker 2: where you're actually expecting something. And as Peter stood there
[15:07] Speaker 2: considering the cost of discipleship in the shadow of the Cross,
[15:14] Speaker 2: it shot through his central nervous system that this was
[15:19] Speaker 2: the end. And he's not with the women. Neither is James.
[15:23] Speaker 2: Neither is John for that matter, or Bartholomew. There were
[15:27] Speaker 2: plenty of people who could have been with them, but
[15:29] Speaker 2: they weren't.
[15:30] Speaker 1: And so now the women they got their spices. They're
[15:33] Speaker 1: not talking much.
[15:34] Speaker 2: It's not a happy processional, but they're on their way,
[15:38] Speaker 2: and on their way they realize, hey, wait a minute,
[15:42] Speaker 2: when we get there, we can't do what we need
[15:47] Speaker 2: to do, to do what we came to do, because
[15:52] Speaker 2: we have spices, but we're not strong enough.
[15:56] Speaker 1: Have you ever felt like there was something in your way? Now?
[15:59] Speaker 2: It could be depression, it could be addiction, It could
[16:03] Speaker 2: be genetics, it could be your history, it could be
[16:06] Speaker 2: your mental conditioning.
[16:08] Speaker 1: Have you ever felt like.
[16:09] Speaker 2: There was something in your way that, no matter how
[16:12] Speaker 2: great or how high your faith would rise or become,
[16:16] Speaker 2: there was something in your way, some stone in your way.
[16:20] Speaker 2: I love what the Bible says, because the women are
[16:22] Speaker 2: walking and they're worried.
[16:24] Speaker 1: Well, you can't do it. Well, you can't do it either. Well, Mary,
[16:27] Speaker 1: you should.
[16:27] Speaker 2: Have Well, don't tell me what I should have done. Salome,
[16:29] Speaker 2: I'm not the one who's mom named her after Delli me.
[16:32] Speaker 1: You should have done it. You should have thought, where's Peter?
[16:35] Speaker 1: But instead of resenting who wasn't with them?
[16:37] Speaker 2: They asked the question, who will.
[16:40] Speaker 1: Roll the stone away?
[16:42] Speaker 2: I got good gospel news this Easter. God is already
[16:46] Speaker 2: working out what you're worried about. God already has your
[16:50] Speaker 2: miracle in motion, if you will take a step in faith.
[16:57] Speaker 2: The Bible says, when they got there, not only was
[17:02] Speaker 2: the stone gone, but there was a young man. Most
[17:06] Speaker 2: theologians believed because of the Synoptic gospel accounts that confirmed
[17:10] Speaker 2: the report that this was an angel who had not
[17:14] Speaker 2: only rolled the stone away but sat down on it. Now,
[17:17] Speaker 2: the reason he sat down is not because he was tired.
[17:22] Speaker 2: This angel did CrossFit and had excellent cardiovascular conditioning. No,
[17:28] Speaker 2: this angel came down, rolled the stone and sat down
[17:31] Speaker 2: because in Jewish custom, when a teacher got ready to teach,
[17:36] Speaker 2: they sat in a seat of authority.
[17:39] Speaker 1: So the message is.
[17:40] Speaker 2: This what you thought you couldn't get through, I'm already over.
[17:46] Speaker 2: What you thought you couldn't do has already been done.
[17:50] Speaker 1: And all power. Are there any Eastern people in this section?
[17:54] Speaker 2: And authority belongs to Jesus? And I believe stones still roll.
[18:06] Speaker 2: I believe God is working on what you're worried about.
[18:10] Speaker 2: Why would you stay up late crying about? See, we
[18:14] Speaker 2: don't understand a lot of times. What's happening as we're walking?
[18:20] Speaker 2: What's happening as we're walking.
[18:23] Speaker 3: Matthew gives us a detail that Mark omitted because he
[18:27] Speaker 3: said that at some point while these women between three
[18:30] Speaker 3: and six am, in the darkness of despair, doubt, and disappointment.
[18:35] Speaker 2: This is the atmosphere of the text, and in their
[18:37] Speaker 2: great frustration because of their lack of strength and ability.
[18:41] Speaker 1: While they were walking, God was working. While they were walking,
[18:47] Speaker 1: God was working.
[18:49] Speaker 2: Watch the second verse of the last chapter of Matthew.
[18:53] Speaker 1: It's a different ending.
[18:54] Speaker 2: It's a little bit of a different detail that we
[18:57] Speaker 2: don't get in Mark's Gospel. It says that behold, there
[19:01] Speaker 2: was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord
[19:04] Speaker 2: descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone
[19:08] Speaker 2: and sat down on it. The angel was already on
[19:14] Speaker 2: the way while the women were walking to the tomb. Now,
[19:19] Speaker 2: dare you to look at somebody and say, your angel
[19:21] Speaker 2: is already on the way. So don't stress out about it,
[19:26] Speaker 2: And don't you dare turn around and go back home,
[19:29] Speaker 2: because while you're worrying, God is working. God does some
[19:35] Speaker 2: of his best work in the tark And just because
[19:38] Speaker 2: you can't see it doesn't mean it's not in progress.
[19:44] Speaker 1: Can't end like this? Do you think God would let
[19:47] Speaker 1: these women.
[19:47] Speaker 2: Get all the way to the tomb and let a.
[19:50] Speaker 1: Stone stand in their way?
[19:52] Speaker 2: God says, when you do what you can do, I
[19:55] Speaker 2: will do what.
[19:56] Speaker 1: You cannot do. I help you raise those kids. I'll
[20:00] Speaker 1: help you stay married to that man. Ah help you
[20:03] Speaker 1: make it through another week. Ah, help help it all
[20:07] Speaker 1: the way that's Eastern.
[20:14] Speaker 2: It can't end in frustration. It can't end in my frustration.
[20:19] Speaker 2: And it can't end in failure either. It can't end
[20:23] Speaker 2: in frustration. It can't end in failure. Rudy can't lose touch.
[20:30] Speaker 2: Somebody say, it can't end like this. See, when you
[20:34] Speaker 2: know the director, you have a pretty good sense of
[20:37] Speaker 2: how the film is going to end. God, I wish
[20:40] Speaker 2: somebody came to help me preach and not just look
[20:42] Speaker 2: at me today. When you know who made the movie,
[20:46] Speaker 2: when you know how it ends. When Jesus sat down
[20:50] Speaker 2: with Peter, he said, you're going to fail. You're gonna
[20:53] Speaker 2: deny me, not once, not twice.
[20:55] Speaker 1: But check out this.
[20:56] Speaker 2: King James English thrice by the time the rooster crows.
[21:01] Speaker 2: But don't worry about it, Peter. I've got a job
[21:04] Speaker 2: for you to do on the other side of failure.
[21:08] Speaker 2: When the angel said I I'm going to meet you
[21:10] Speaker 2: in Galilee, it was more than a geographical arrangement.
[21:14] Speaker 1: It was a statement of mission. For many of you.
[21:17] Speaker 2: Remember that Galilee was the place where Jesus did most
[21:20] Speaker 2: of his miracles. It was the place where he first
[21:23] Speaker 2: called Peter. It was the Sea of Galilee where Peter
[21:26] Speaker 2: took Jesus all around to preach and heal and deliver.
[21:30] Speaker 2: So when the Angel said, your story can't end here,
[21:35] Speaker 2: turn around and go tell the disciples that I.
[21:38] Speaker 1: Will meet them in.
[21:40] Speaker 2: Galilee, he was saying, in effect, this can't end in
[21:45] Speaker 2: a grave because there's something more that I want to do.
[21:51] Speaker 2: Meet me in Galilee. Now that's good news all on
[21:56] Speaker 2: its own. For you to know that God is not
[21:58] Speaker 2: through with you, For you to know that if the
[22:01] Speaker 2: devil could have killed you, he would have by now,
[22:05] Speaker 2: for you to know that the testimony of your purpose
[22:08] Speaker 2: is the very fact of your survival. The fact that
[22:12] Speaker 2: you're still here.
[22:18] Speaker 1: Well that's the reason to celebrate.
[22:22] Speaker 2: I think this is my favorite Easter message I've ever
[22:25] Speaker 2: studied because of two words, go tell his disciples verse seven,
[22:30] Speaker 2: please and Peter. That hit me hard that the one
[22:40] Speaker 2: who disappointed Jesus the most deeply was the one he
[22:47] Speaker 2: singled out by name for redemption. And it gives me
[22:55] Speaker 2: this hope that maybe my name can go there too.
[23:08] Speaker 2: I'm going back to Galilee because I don't believe this
[23:12] Speaker 2: story ends at a grave. It can end like this
[23:16] Speaker 2: go tell Peter to start practicing, practicing what practicing his preaching.
[23:26] Speaker 2: Tell him to get all of his fishing out of
[23:28] Speaker 2: his system, because I need him in fifty days. I
[23:33] Speaker 2: need him on the day of Pentecost, when the spirit comes.
[23:37] Speaker 2: I want the one who failed the greatest to be
[23:42] Speaker 2: the trophy of my triumph and transformation. And there is
[23:49] Speaker 2: someone here who is standing over a grave of your
[23:53] Speaker 2: own failure today, not realizing that resurrection is an expectation
[24:00] Speaker 2: that allows you to experience life not through the lens
[24:03] Speaker 2: of your failure, but through the lens of grace.
[24:08] Speaker 1: And that's a really beautiful truth for Peter.
[24:11] Speaker 2: But until it is personal for you, you will stay
[24:16] Speaker 2: stuck in what God has called you out of.
[24:21] Speaker 1: It can end. I know it can end like this.
[24:27] Speaker 2: I know that my story can't end in failure because
[24:32] Speaker 2: God has already promised me his grace for every failure
[24:36] Speaker 2: that I would face in this life.
[24:40] Speaker 1: And Peter, and Peter, make sure you make sure.
[24:45] Speaker 2: PS tell Peter, I want to put that in an
[24:49] Speaker 2: Easter message one you're PS tell Peter, tell the one
[24:55] Speaker 2: that's stuck into church that really doesn't even want to
[24:57] Speaker 2: be here, I'll meet you in God.
[25:02] Speaker 1: Failure is not the end. It's the hinge.
[25:08] Speaker 2: It's the hinge on which the doors of God's grace
[25:12] Speaker 2: swing wide open for you to experience his forgiveness at
[25:16] Speaker 2: a greater level.
[25:17] Speaker 1: Don't you see it? Peter?
[25:20] Speaker 2: He called you by name, and the women responded in
[25:25] Speaker 2: a surprising way.
[25:26] Speaker 1: You know, I never could get over this.
[25:28] Speaker 2: I understand why they were so disappointed when he died,
[25:34] Speaker 2: but I never got why they were so surprised.
[25:38] Speaker 1: He told them this three times, I'm going to die.
[25:42] Speaker 2: They're gonna mock me, they're gonna scourge me, they're gonna
[25:47] Speaker 2: spit on me.
[25:49] Speaker 1: But after three days.
[25:52] Speaker 2: Dot dot dot, I viewed resurrection a little differently.
[25:57] Speaker 1: Now.
[25:58] Speaker 2: I used to think resurrection was God's exclamation point. You know,
[26:02] Speaker 2: it is finished, He has risen. But now I see
[26:08] Speaker 2: it more like three dots. Now I see Easter as
[26:14] Speaker 2: the ellipses of heaven. Now I see Easter those three
[26:19] Speaker 2: days as three dots to see whether or not your
[26:23] Speaker 2: story is going.
[26:24] Speaker 1: To end here.
[26:27] Speaker 2: In your fear, Because the final note of Mark's Gospel
[26:32] Speaker 2: is fear. They were afraid. It's such a strange note
[26:36] Speaker 2: to end on. It's such a crazy way to end
[26:39] Speaker 2: your Gospel. Maybe there was more to the manuscript. I
[26:43] Speaker 2: don't know, and it got lost. That's one theory. Or
[26:46] Speaker 2: maybe verse nine is up to us. Maybe fear is
[26:54] Speaker 2: not the end. Maybe it's an invitation. See in Mark's Gospel,
[26:59] Speaker 2: usually it talks about fear, something comes after it.
[27:04] Speaker 1: In Marx Gospel.
[27:05] Speaker 2: There's a pattern that emerges is over and over again
[27:09] Speaker 2: in Mark's Gospel.
[27:10] Speaker 1: So like in chapter five, there's a woman who.
[27:12] Speaker 2: Has an issue, and an issue of blood.
[27:15] Speaker 1: And nobody can make her better.
[27:17] Speaker 2: The Bible says that she spent all that she had,
[27:19] Speaker 2: but instead of getting better, she got worse. She shoved
[27:22] Speaker 2: more stuff into her life, she got busier and she
[27:26] Speaker 2: just got brokeer. She spent more time trying to be liked,
[27:29] Speaker 2: and she only felt more lonely. And then she comes
[27:32] Speaker 2: up and touches Jesus, and everybody wants to know who
[27:34] Speaker 2: did it, because there was a big crowd.
[27:36] Speaker 1: Around and they didn't know, but she did.
[27:38] Speaker 2: So the Bible says that trembling, she fell down in
[27:41] Speaker 2: fear on her.
[27:42] Speaker 1: Face before Jesus. But it wasn't the end of the story.
[27:46] Speaker 2: Because when Mark says fear, something follows.
[27:50] Speaker 1: It's not the end. To somebody say it's not the end,
[27:53] Speaker 1: it's a new beginning.
[27:55] Speaker 2: And after her fear, Jesus looked at her and said, daughter,
[27:59] Speaker 2: your eight has healed you. Now go in peace, because
[28:04] Speaker 2: fear is not the end.
[28:06] Speaker 1: Fear is the beginning.
[28:08] Speaker 2: Right after this, a man named Gyros has a little
[28:11] Speaker 2: daughter who has died. While Jesus is on his way
[28:15] Speaker 2: to heal her. The crowd says, don't worry about it,
[28:18] Speaker 2: she's already dead.
[28:19] Speaker 1: Jesus said, no, she's just asleep.
[28:21] Speaker 2: Don't be afraid, Gyros, because when I get there, something
[28:25] Speaker 2: is going to happen that is going.
[28:27] Speaker 1: To overrule and overturn.
[28:29] Speaker 2: The verdict of earthly principles. She's gonna get up, And
[28:33] Speaker 2: the little girl got.
[28:34] Speaker 1: Up, because fear is not the end.
[28:37] Speaker 2: One night, the disciples were in a great storm.
[28:40] Speaker 1: The wind was blowing so hard.
[28:42] Speaker 2: They thought, surely we're going down this time. No, you
[28:46] Speaker 2: can't die here. There's something left for you to do.
[28:49] Speaker 2: The Bible says they were greatly afraid, but fear was
[28:53] Speaker 2: not the end. The moment they felt the fear, Jesus
[28:56] Speaker 2: spoke the word peace, Be still. I feel him speaking
[29:00] Speaker 2: to somebody today.
[29:01] Speaker 1: Fear is not the end. It can't end like this.
[29:12] Speaker 1: It can't end like this.
[29:15] Speaker 2: God's got more for you to do, he said, meet
[29:18] Speaker 2: me in Galilee.
[29:21] Speaker 1: Dot dot dot Friday.
[29:28] Speaker 2: Saturday, Sunday. The stone is already rolled. God has already
[29:35] Speaker 2: done what the law was powerless to do, and that
[29:38] Speaker 2: it was weakened by the sinful nature.
[29:40] Speaker 1: I know you're weak, I know you're frustrated, But frustration
[29:44] Speaker 1: is not the end.
[29:45] Speaker 2: Frustration is the hinge on which the door to surrender
[29:48] Speaker 2: swings wide open, to say, I need you to do
[29:52] Speaker 2: for me God what I can't do for myself.
[29:56] Speaker 1: It's not the end. Your failure is not the end.
[30:00] Speaker 2: God's gonna use the one who knows their need for
[30:04] Speaker 2: grace to show others what his grace is capable of.
[30:09] Speaker 2: It can't end like this. Your story can't end in
[30:13] Speaker 2: this grave. You are needed in Galilee, Peter. There's more
[30:18] Speaker 2: for you to do. It can't end like this. It
[30:23] Speaker 2: can't end in fear. What if those women would have
[30:28] Speaker 2: stayed silent. We know that they didn't. We know that
[30:31] Speaker 2: they went and told the disciples, and we know that
[30:33] Speaker 2: the disciples first instinct was fear. Because the starting point
[30:38] Speaker 2: of faith is always fear. It's always scary to step
[30:42] Speaker 2: out and trust God. It's always risky to make yourself vulnerable.
[30:47] Speaker 2: But what if I come to God? And what if
[30:49] Speaker 2: it doesn't work? And what if it ends on a cross? See,
[30:55] Speaker 2: even if it ends on a cross, it doesn't end
[30:57] Speaker 2: on the cross. This is your third day. Now. I
[31:10] Speaker 2: want you to bow your head and close your eyes,
[31:13] Speaker 2: stand to your feet right where you are. This is
[31:17] Speaker 2: a resurrection moment for somebody, and with no one moving,
[31:25] Speaker 2: I believe that God is calling someone out.
[31:28] Speaker 1: Of your grave today. Our graves look like shame. Our
[31:33] Speaker 1: graves look like religion.
[31:35] Speaker 2: Our graves look like us trying to roll a heavy
[31:37] Speaker 2: stone away that we can't push no matter how hard
[31:40] Speaker 2: we try. But the stone has already been rolled away.
[31:46] Speaker 2: The price has already been paid. And the end game
[31:52] Speaker 2: of Jesus Christ.
[31:55] Speaker 1: Is grace. God has brought you to this moment to
[31:59] Speaker 1: receive his grace.
[32:02] Speaker 2: And right now it's my privilege to pray with you
[32:06] Speaker 2: for every Peter, for every Mary, for every Salomna who
[32:12] Speaker 2: has been in a season of disappointment and you are
[32:13] Speaker 2: realizing now your desperate need for God. We're going to
[32:18] Speaker 2: pray a prayer right now, and it is for those
[32:21] Speaker 2: who need to experience the salvation and resurrection power of God.
[32:28] Speaker 1: So, in this moment, if you will.
[32:30] Speaker 2: Confess with your mouth that Jesus's Lord, and believe in
[32:32] Speaker 2: your heart God raised him from the dead, I've got.
[32:35] Speaker 1: Good news for you. You will be saved.
[32:39] Speaker 2: Even if you have to do it with your hands
[32:41] Speaker 2: shaking like the women did as they went from the tomb.
[32:44] Speaker 1: Even if you're staring at.
[32:45] Speaker 2: A stone or a life situation change you can't break.
[32:49] Speaker 2: It's already been done. Even if you feel like you've
[32:52] Speaker 2: wasted time. God can redeem what's left and turn every
[32:56] Speaker 2: mistake in your life into a miracle. But it begins
[32:59] Speaker 2: with faith. It is by grace. We are saved through faith.
[33:05] Speaker 2: This not of yourself. It is a gift of God,
[33:08] Speaker 2: so that no one can boast. And it starts with
[33:10] Speaker 2: admitting that I am a sinner and I need a savior.
[33:14] Speaker 2: And so right now, in this moment, if you are
[33:15] Speaker 2: ready to come to God, we're going to pray out
[33:17] Speaker 2: loud as a church family for the benefit of those
[33:19] Speaker 2: who are coming to God or coming back to God.
[33:22] Speaker 2: With our heads bowed and our eyes closed. If you
[33:24] Speaker 2: pray this prayer from your heart. God will hear you
[33:26] Speaker 2: from heaven forgive your sins and give you a new heart,
[33:30] Speaker 2: and praying.
[33:31] Speaker 1: Together as a church.
[33:31] Speaker 2: Heavenly Father, I come to you a sinner in need
[33:37] Speaker 2: of a savior, and I thank you today for your son,
[33:42] Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. I believe he died to forgive my sin
[33:48] Speaker 2: and rose again to give me life. I receive this
[33:53] Speaker 2: new life, make me a new creation. This is my
[33:59] Speaker 2: new beginning. I'll follow you all the days of my life.
[34:05] Speaker 2: With your head still bowed and your eyes still closed.
[34:07] Speaker 2: If you just prayed that prayer on the count of three,
[34:09] Speaker 2: I want you to shoot your hand in the air,
[34:11] Speaker 2: signifying this is my third day at every.
[34:13] Speaker 1: Location, one, two, three, New beginnings all over the room,
[34:17] Speaker 1: New beginnings all over.
[34:18] Speaker 4: The room, New beginnings all over the room.
[34:22] Speaker 1: Come on, let's thank God for it.
[34:25] Speaker 4: Let's thank God for resurrection power. Let's thank God for
[34:29] Speaker 4: the blood of Jesus. Let's thank God for his grace.
[34:34] Speaker 4: Let's second for his victory. Let's thank n for his triumph.
[34:39] Speaker 4: Come on, let's thank him for canceling.
[34:41] Speaker 1: The sin that stood against us.
[34:43] Speaker 2: Let's second for Roland to clap those hands, sighns, give
[34:47] Speaker 2: in your best praise, declare his victory in this place.
[34:54] Speaker 2: Let me give that pride, let it ride well. If
[35:02] Speaker 2: you enjoyed today's podcast, there are a couple of things
[35:05] Speaker 2: I'd love for you to do. Make sure to subscribe, rate,
[35:08] Speaker 2: and review this podcast. You can also help us reach
[35:11] Speaker 2: others by investing today at Elevationchurch dot org. Slash GiB
[35:15] Speaker 2: and thanks again for joining us on the Elevation Podcast.

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