Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Hey, guys, this is Naim, and you've reached the Mosaic Church Podcast. So excited that you're part of our listening community and love for you to be even more connected. So check out our website. There's more content there and there's more opportunities for you get connected in our ministries and events as well. Also, love for you to share this content. If this is blessed to you. I know that God wants to use you to bless other people with it. So share this podcast you will. Lastly, would you consider supporting this ministry? This is made possible by other people's generosity, and I'd love for you to pay it forward. Join us to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus together. So would you consider giving to this ministry? I know that God is able to do immeasurably more through us when we come together. Thank you so much. God bless you. Enjoy.
[00:00:56] Hey, friends. Happy Easter. I just want to say I am so proud of the fact that you are here watching this because it says something about you. You know, recently I was at a podcast, and while I'm on this podcast, they're asking me all kinds of questions. And most of the time, you kind of know what they're going to ask. But this particular time, the guy asked me this question of the blue. He was like, what shows are you watching? And that's an interesting question because, I mean, you know, among friends, you're like, oh, yeah, I've been watching this show, that show. But when you're on a podcast and you don't know who's gonna listen to this podcast, you're kind of wondering, maybe I don't wanna tell people what show I'm watching. Because you know this and I know this. We all know this. People judge you based on what you watch. I mean, it is what you're looking at. What you're watching says so much about you and so much about what's going on in your life.
[00:01:51] It's not like I was watching anything inappropriate. I was just watching. I don't know. I just didn't want him to know. I'm like, well, so I'm just watching reruns. And I do. I'm watching a rerun of old shows as well. I kind of get into that. See, what's interesting about that is that it's so true that what we end up looking at, watching all the time, it affects us more than we know. And that's why it's. Like I said, I'm proud that you're choosing to watch this, to looking at something. So today What I want to do is I want to remind you that what you watch and what you're looking for or looking at it shapes so much about who you are and what God wants to do in your life. And this Easter Sunday, God wants to communicate that he wants you to look at something and look to him about some things, that maybe you're looking somewhere else. So let's jump in. Can we do that? Let's jump in. So the message, right, the big idea for Easter is found in Luke 24. So Luke 24, that's where we're going to be. I'm going to read the story to you. It says, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. They did not find his body. While they were wondering, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. And in their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground. But the men said to them, and here's what's really important. They said, why do you look. Why do you look for the living among the dead? I think that's a really great question. Not just in that moment, obviously, because they were scared to death, but that question in life, like, could it be possible, though you and I are looking, looking for some things that are necessary. You know, they were looking for the body of Jesus, and we're looking for some things, not necessarily the body of Jesus, but we're looking for some things. But could it be possible that we're looking at some things that might not be good? In one sense, they're just kind of dead spaces, dead places. Like, they asked, why do you look for the living among the dead? And then they said this.
[00:04:14] He is not here. He is risen, right? He is risen. And then he said, remember. They said, remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee, the Son of man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again. And they remembered his words. It says, I feel like sometimes we forget the message of Jesus. And Easter is a great reminder of why this resurrection is so important. Why not just what Jesus did in terms of, you know, being. Being born, living a life like us, but also dying for us and making a way for us to encounter God. That's beyond religion. In fact, I believe that the resurrection destroys religious restrictions when it comes to God. Like the Resurrection did that. It opened up something for us that you and I have access to. And so it all is connected to why whatever we're watching, whatever we're looking for in life, we have to look to God for it. So let's continue with that thought. What are you looking for right now? Like, what are you looking for? I think for some of us, we're looking for security. I mean, in light of everything that's going on in the world and maybe even your world, I think we're all looking for some sense of. Of security. It's natural, it's very human to look for security, to find comfort in the fact that we are safe. I mean, it's a very healthy thing to be in safe relationships with safe people. I mean, safety is a really good thing. Security is a big thing. It really truly, truly is. We need that. I think for some of us, we're looking for some kind of safety. I mean, you know this.
[00:06:11] We're looking for some kind of security because right now life is, you know, it's just. You don't. You don't know. You just don't know. Maybe it's in your job, maybe it's in relationships. Maybe it's even in your spirituality. Maybe it's in your relationship with God. You're like, I'm not quite sure. Things have happened and I'm not maybe in a secure place with God. And so, yes, I'm looking for security. We are all looking for security. And guess what? It's not just the season you're in that you're looking for security. We, we all will continue to look for security. But the question is, where are we looking for security?
[00:06:48] What happens there? See, I think when it comes to security, here's what we end up looking at. Here's where we're tempted, maybe even taught to look at. We're taught to look at wealth or money as security. I mean, the truth is, is that money brings a sense of security like no other, right? Like things can happen in your life, but as long as you got money in the bank, you're like, I'm good. You might lose a job, but you know what? I'm good. Why? There's money in the bank. You know what? This relationship's not going to work. My roommate's going to leave. You know, I think we might have to pay for a roof, which recently we learned that we had to pay for a roof. You know, money. It's all connected, right? It's connected. It gives us security if you have it. If don't have it. It makes a difference. But have you noticed something about money? Even though it gives you a sense of security, it also can give you a huge dose of insecurity. Like, have you ever given a card, your credit card, and it got denied? Have you had a moment? And I have. This person comes up and she goes, hey, the wait staff, they're like, I'm so sorry.
[00:07:59] Do you have another card? And I'm like, why? Because they don't want to say it. They don't want to say it, that your card got denied. And guess what? In that moment, I feel insecure. Embarrassed, even. I mean, all my insecurities come up. I'm like, oh, no, no, no. I think I got money. I mean, I'm not trying to get a freebie here. I can pay for this. Isn't it interesting that the things we look for for security can make us highly insecure? So could it be possible? You're like, maybe, maybe I'm not looking for money, I'm looking at money. But you're looking at something for security. And if, you know. You know, if you think about it, it actually makes you a little bit more insecure. It really does. So are you looking for security? And then what are you looking like? What are you looking at for it? You know, what are you. What about something else? What are you looking at? When it comes to fulfillment, I think we're all looking for fulfillment. We are looking to be fulfilled in life, to feel like a sense of, like, you know, I just. I feel like. I feel full in life. Could you.
[00:09:05] Could you relate to that? You know, fulfillment is. It's like. It's like an itch you have to scratch. It's like. It's like. It's something that always happens. Like, you could be going through life and you're like, I just don't know if I'm fulfilled. My life is full.
[00:09:21] I got a lot of things going on, but I'm not quite sure if I'm fulfilled. Have you ever paid for food? Because you had the money, right? But you paid for food and you're like, yeah, it filled me up, but it just wasn't fulfilling, you know, I'm saying. Then you're like, I don't know if it's worth that money. I don't know if it was. That's the same thing. When you look at some things for fulfillment. They fill you up. They fill up the moments, they fill up the weekend, they fill up the loneliness, but they just don't fulfill. They always leave you just a little empty, a little like something is missing. So we're all looking for security. We're all looking for fulfillment. Where are we looking for it? Like, where are we? And again, how does Easter remind us? How does it remind us where we're supposed to be looking? Well, we're going to get to that. We're going to get to that because we have to fundamentally move from looking in dead spaces for living things. So if security and fulfillment. Is there anything else that we might be looking for? I think there is. I think there's. That's a bigger, a deeper thing, but that some of us can relate to. And that is significance. Significance. I think we're all looking for significance. You might go, I don't know, you might be like, I'm timid. I'm not a people person. Or, you know, I'm not an extrovert, I'm an introvert. Yes. Regardless of your personality, I think you're looking for fulfillment. You know what fulfillment is? I'm sorry, you're looking for significance. You know what significance is?
[00:11:03] I looked it up just, just because I kind of know, like, I get significance and being significant, you know, insignificant, I get that. But this definition was pretty interesting. And it said, it says it's being, being worthy of attention.
[00:11:22] Significance is wanting to be worthy of attention. Now think about it. I think for some of us, you're like, that's. That's exactly it. See, some of us, we're living our life and you're like, I know I'm doing all the things, but doesn't anybody notice me? Do I matter in some way? Like, am I important? Am I going to be left behind? Am I. I don't know. I'm just. Am I going to be considered?
[00:11:50] Is God doing that? God, am I significant in your plan to, you know, rescue the world?
[00:11:58] Am I a part of this? It's a good thing. Wanting to feel significant is a very, very good thing. Wanting to feel worthy of attention is a very good thing. Which, by the way, I just want you to know, if you don't hear anything else, you, you are worthy of attention. The God of heaven has declare that you are worthy of attention. Because guess what? The resurrection reminds us that Jesus died for us, was raised to life for us. Guess what?
[00:12:31] God loves us so much. You're worthy of attention. In fact, that's why I believe that even now you're watching this. Yes, you chose to watch this. But I think it's even possible that God said, hey, I want you to listen to This. I want you to know that if you relate to this, I am speaking to you. Guess what? Because I am paying attention to your prayers, your needs, your heartbreak, your concerns, your anxiousness. I'm paying attention. So what are we looking for? Is it significance, fulfillment, Security? All right, then how do we find it? Like, I think fulfillment, we might look for it in accomplishments. We might just go, you know what? I feel like if I just accomplish things, I feel fulfilled.
[00:13:19] Accomplishments are great.
[00:13:21] Now, I don't know about you, but, you know, I've never had this moment, but I recently did. I was mowing my lawn. I know, I know. I was mowing my lawn. I didn't grow up with grass people, but now I'm growing it. I'm not growing grass. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Okay. But I was done mowing my grass, and I just was like, huh? I feel fulfilled now. I feel accomplished. But fulfillment in accomplishments is like. You just gotta go back to it. Like, I've gotta do it again. Like, accomplishments and goals are great, you know, but you gotta just keep on going back and back and back to those things. So. Or do you feel like you gotta. You gotta do that? Like success?
[00:14:06] Well, you're not successful. Every time you hit a.
[00:14:11] You'll all of a sudden become successful because you were successful. Success is kind of. I don't know, it's hard to kind of chase, right? You gotta be like, you gotta see successful at this, that and the other thing, not just one thing. That's why it's tough. It's tough to find a sense of. A sense of fulfillment in success or accomplishments. And then what do we do when it comes to significance? How do we. What do we look for? I think some. Some of us, this idea of being worthy of attention, some of us, we looked for power or popularity. Let's talk about popularity right now.
[00:14:49] I mean, you know, you're on social media, we're on social media. The whole world is on social media. And social media started with where it was, where people who did not live in the same city could connect to one another. But now social media has become a place where you show the world what you're doing and how popular you are. It's really a place for people to get attention. That's what it is. It's a place where people feel significant. Why? Because guess what? How many likes did you get, right?
[00:15:23] How. How many people watch the video? So if you are living in the social media world, the reason why you're glued to it, the Reason why you're like, how popular am I? How popular is she? It's connected to your need for significance. And then for others of us who are not on social media, we look to power for significance. We want to be. We want to demand other people's attention. So we do it with, not necessarily content, social media content. We do it with control. Like, we're controlling relationships, we're controlling things, we're controlling ideas, we're controlling our kids. We're just controlling. Why? Because deep down, we want to feel significant.
[00:16:10] So we can either keep on doing these things or we can allow the story of the resurrection to change us. So I say let's do that. So what does that mean? See, the resurrection changed the game. It changed the game. It opened up heaven for us. Before. Before we had to keep on dabbling in different religions. Even Jewish people, they dabbled in their own religion to fit, figure out and please God and please the gods and all that. And there was always a sense of, like, even religious fulfillment, significance. There was also this idea of religious security. Like you had to do all these things. You had to be this kind of person.
[00:16:56] But then Jesus changed it. The resurrection says it tore the veil. And that passage exists in the scriptures where it says that when Jesus died, when. When there was a veil that was torn between us and in heaven and opened up a relationship. And so the resurrection, Jesus said, hey, I'm going to resurrect to show you that you and I will be resurrected, that there is going to be a new kind of relationship that God has for us. And guess what? It starts right here. Not after we die, but it starts right here. So the resurrection, friends, is a revolution of some kind. It's a revolution of what humanity could look like. Why? Because God knows what you and I look at, what we're looking at and what we're looking for. He knows we're looking for security. He knows we're looking for fulfillment. He knows we want to be significant. So what is God saying to us? Well, I feel the scriptures are telling us that God's given us three areas, three people in fact, or three parts of himself to look at. So when it comes to security, God wants us to look at the Father. The Father. Who is the Father? The Father, the creator of the world. When it comes to security, God the Father is the one who's going to give us security. He is the one who's going to give us this love that doesn't have to prove to other people that, hey, am I good? Am I not Good am I secure. He loves us. You know, John 3:16, it says, what? For God so loved the world that he gave his son that whoever would believe in him, in him will not perish but have everlasting life. And God not sent his Son to condemn the world, but what, to save it? That is.
[00:18:52] That is what we need to do. We need to look at the love of the Father. You know, Jesus, when he was talking to people about everyday life, he was talking about worry and concern because people were like, I'm so insecure about, like, I don't know if I'll have enough to eat or what I'm gonna wear or whatever. We're gonna live where we're gonna do this. And in Matthew 6, it's recorded where Jesus is like, hey, if you looked up and looked at the birds, do you know what they do to take care of themselves? Pretty much nothing. God takes care of them. Guess what? You're more valuable than that. Have you seen the lilies of the fields? Have you seen nature? Have you seen the beauty? God provides for them? God provides for all these people. And you're so much more valuable. And then Jesus says this. When he ends that thought, he says, here's what you need to do.
[00:19:48] He says, seek first the kingdom, God's kingdom, and what God wants. And then all your needs will be met. And so don't worry. Don't worry. Don't be insecure about tomorrow. God loves you. And I know some of us are like, I don't know, man, because there's so many things happening in my life. I just don't feel secure anymore because there is difficulties, there's pain in my life, there's sorrow in my life, and there's. There's just some. I don't know, just some storms in my Life.
[00:20:21] Well, Romans 8 says this. Check this out, okay? Now we know about looking. We're going to look at God's love for security, right? God the Father. And here, what is what Paul writes, and it's the message. Translation, it says this. It says, if God didn't hesitate, he didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own son.
[00:20:49] Is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?
[00:20:55] Man, that's a great question. But then Paul continues. He says, do you think. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way. Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not Hunger, not loneliness, not homelessness, not bullying thoughts, not backstabbing, not even. Check this out. Not even the worst sins listed in scripture. I mean, talk about security when it comes to God the Father, his love for you. So you might be finding yourself in a place where you're like, ah, I just don't think, man, I've just done some things, I've fallen into some things. I'm addicted to some things. And here he's saying, let me just tell you, there's no way. There is no way. And then he actually continues after he says, like, there's not even all the sins listed, the worst sins in Scripture. He says, let me just tell you. He ends his thought. He says. He says, I'm absolutely. He said, I'm absolutely convinced that nothing, nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, which I don't know what that means. Thinkable or unthinkable.
[00:22:17] Absolutely.
[00:22:20] Yeah. Nothing can get between us and God's love.
[00:22:27] So what if the things that you feel insecure about, what if you trusted and looked to God the Father? All right, let's talk about fulfillment. For fulfillment, if you're finding yourself going, I just want to feel like I have a deep purpose in my life. I want to feel like I'm not living just life. I want to feel a life that's fully alive and intentional. If you want to live that kind of life, the scriptures tell us, the resurrection tells us, look to God the Son, not God the Father, but God the Son, the God the Son. Jesus Christ lived a life that was not just, you know, mediocre. He lived a fully alive life. So he knows. He knows that you and I desire fulfillment. Not just living. No, not just surviving, thriving in life. And that's why Jesus spent time, guess what? Living right in front of us. Like he grew up in front of us. And what did he say? He said, here's how you're supposed to live. You want eternal life. Here's how you need to live. So, friends, if you want to live a life that's fulfilling, we have to look to Jesus. The way he lived, the way he loved, the way he interacted with people, the way he processed things, the way he viewed politics, the way he viewed all these things. If you want to find fulfillment, you have to look at how Jesus handled relationships, how he. What he taught about. See, I think part of us, we don't have fulfillment is because we just fill ourselves with different ideas.
[00:24:16] And we have. Because we have ideas all day long coming at us. What Happens. We're filled with ideas, but we're not living a fulfilled life. We just have a lot of things that we're like, oh, I know this and I know that, but no talking about fulfillment, right? That's when it comes to Jesus. Comes to Jesus.
[00:24:38] Check this out. Hebrews 12 says this, okay, I love it. Okay, this is Paul. He says this. He says, hey, we are surrounded, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. He says, so let's do this. Let's throw off everything that hinders. And the sin that easily entangles, I would say, and the sin that easily fills us up temporarily. He says, let's throw off all those things. He says. And then he says, let's run a race with perseverance, the race marked out for us. And then he says, how to do it? He says, fixing our what? Eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, the perfecter of our faith. Then he says, for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. So Jesus way is number one, is for him to set his eyes on a joy, to set his eyes on what God had for him laid out for him. So Jesus is telling us, here's how you run a race. Here's how Paul's telling us, run a race by fixing our eyes on Jesus. The life. The life of Jesus. So what, what would it look like? What would it look like for you to go, okay, I want to live that kind of life. I do. I want to live that kind of life. For some of us, we're like, okay, what does that mean? That means you got to practice the way of Jesus in everyday living.
[00:26:10] And when have you ever done something like, you know, in traffic, like, you know, you're not having a good day, you're not having a bad day, but then you just drive in and you get to a point where you're like, you can let someone in traffic or choose not to, right? You know what I'm talking about. And there are some days you're like, I'm not looking at the person. I'm just going. Because you're like, I gotta get somewhere. I'm not letting them in. And then there are days you just stop and you go, you know what? I feel generous. I feel great. And you let them in and it kind of fulfills you, doesn't it? You're like, I feel amazing because I am such a nice person. Let me just tell you, the life of Jesus, the way of Jesus is designed, is designed to truly fulfill you. But you have to start acting like it. We have to start acting like it and doesn't mean that we have to be perfect because God knows our weaknesses. In fact. In fact, Hebrews 4 tells us this. He says, we don't have a priest talking about Jesus who is out in touch, who's out of touch with our reality. Says, we don't have that kind of priest. We don't have that kind of person. He says here, says he's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all, but not sinned. So then he says this. So let's.
[00:27:32] Let's walk right, right up to him. I love this because this is message. Translation says, so let's walk right up and get what he is so ready to give. Another translation says, let's boldly go to the throne. But I love this. He says, hey, let's go up and get what he really wants to give us.
[00:27:54] Take mercy. And it says, accept the help and find fulfillment. So, friends, I think you have to look to God the Father, God the Son, and then lastly God the Holy Spirit. And that's where you find significance. That's where you find the sense of being used by the Holy Spirit in such a way that reminds us, hey, yes, you are worthy of attention. You know what's amazing about the Holy Spirit? What's amazing about it is he doesn't get offended. Because I'll tell you, he is the most ignored part of God.
[00:28:37] We don't talk about it. A lot of people just. It's always. It's all about Jesus or God. But the Holy Spirit, who I think does most of the heavy lifting, if you ask me, gets ignored. Why? Because he's the Holy Spirit. Or some people call him the Holy Ghost. You know, you're like, I don't know, like he's supposed to live inside of me. Some people think, oh, he's just kind of this piece, this warm feeling. I feel he's more than that. He's more than that. And if you read the scriptures you study, you, you realize that he does so much more. And there's a sense of us missing out on why he makes us significant.
[00:29:16] Let me explain this way. Paul says in First Corinthians, he says, hey, don't you realize. Realize what? Paul, he says, don't you realize your bodies, like your person, your body, your human body is actually a temple?
[00:29:34] Huh? Yeah. Yeah, it's the temple of the Holy Spirit. Did you know that the Holy Spirit lives inside of you? And guess what? He was given to you by God.
[00:29:46] So if you feel like a sense of, like, I'm just insignificant, you're a temple. You're a temple of the Holy Spirit.
[00:29:58] Think about that. You're a. Like, if you're like, ah, I'm not worth anything. I'm. I'm. I'm insignificant. I just. I'm lowly and all that. And listen, it's okay for a minute, for a moment, maybe for a day, to feel like I'm not worthy. I. I'm not.
[00:30:16] I'm just a terrible person. All that. But you can't live in that. Here's why.
[00:30:22] The Holy Spirit lives inside of you. It's. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, it's like walking into someone's house and they're complaining about, oh, I don't have anything good in my house. You know, we just have ragtag things and all that. And they walk in, and it's like the richest of all the riches in there, and they're like, oh, yeah, but I don't have anything. Friends. You have God's spirit living inside of you. I don't know. What more attention can you get when God says, I am giving you so much attention, I'm putting my spirit inside of you. See, I think when we realize that, all of a sudden, we have a healthy view of ourselves, we're not worthy of everything. We are worthy of God's love, and. And guess what? We are worthy of his attention, and we are worthy of his spirit. Why? Because Jesus did that on the cross, then was resurrected to make that happen. In fact, it says the same spirit that raised, you know it, Jesus, from the grave lives inside of you and me. So maybe we just need to look for God's working in our life, inside of us, the spirit moving in our life for significance. Maybe we stop and go, I'm significant because God's doing a work in me. In fact, if you're part of Mosaic, and you've probably heard this before, it's in our benediction. It's the verse we say, right? Part of that. What does it say? It says.
[00:31:57] It says God. Like, with God's power. It says, with God's power working in us, God can do much more. More than we can ask or imagine.
[00:32:11] God's power in us is able to do. Immeasurably. Immeasurably. More man. I think that's the most significant, that we need to feel like God is working inside of me, working through me. And so when you find yourself going, I don't know if I'm making a difference. I don't know if I'm making a difference. What if we tapped into God, to the Holy Spirit and ask him, hey, how can I, how can I be significant in my job with my kids? How can I be significant in this moment? That's my prayer, friends, as we are looking to all kinds of things, how about we look to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Because the resurrection did that. It opened up heaven for us, tore the veil. No longer do we have to look at, you know, for good things, for living things, in dead things.
[00:33:17] So are you looking for the living among the dead? Are you doing that? Are you walking around, in one sense, in a graveyard of fulfillment, a graveyard of security, a graveyard of just feeling significant? Are you or could you be?
[00:33:43] Could you. Could you walk with Jesus? Could you do that? That's my prayer.
[00:33:49] That is my prayer that we would do that. I want to leave you with this verse.
[00:33:54] It's again, Paul writes it in 2nd Corinthians 13. And the message translation says this.
[00:34:02] I pray this. He says, I pray that the amazing grace of Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God and the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. So that's my prayer. Man. Thank you so much for watching this.
[00:34:24] I know that you might not be have been able to join our outside outdoor service, but I'm so glad you're choosing to look at this. You're choosing to look at God. You're choosing to. To watch this. And that is going to change you. Let me pray for you, Lord. God, thank you so much for your grace and mercy in our lives. God, thank you that we are reminded of what the resurrection did. The resurrection opened up heaven for us because you told us. You told us what was going to happen. You told us if you would be crucified, but on the third day, you will rise again, that you would resurrect. You would redeem the world. You would open up heaven for us. So, God, thank you for opening up all of God to us, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
[00:35:18] I pray that, God, that you will allow us to tap into you, to be intentional in choosing you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen.
[00:35:30] Thanks for listening to this message from Mosaic church in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more audio and video content, visit us at MosaicChurch TV.
