Introduction
Are you trying to celebrate Easter while still carrying real trouble, guilt, anxiety, broken relationships, disappointment, and questions that won’t go away? The central truth I want to disciple you into today is this: because Jesus has overcome sin and death through the cross and the empty tomb, you can worship with peace and take heart in the middle of a troubled world.
Two thousand years ago, God revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus laid down His life to pay for our sins, taking away guilt and shame and offering free forgiveness through the sacrifice of the cross. Then He proclaimed His authority to forgive and His power to overcome death by rising again on Easter morning: an empty tomb and a living body. So how do we celebrate that in the state of the world, the state of the church, and the state of your own life right now? Here’s where I want to guide you: if Jesus is truly risen, then by His Spirit He is here, and if He is here, then our worship is not just memory or tradition; it is real-time praise offered to a living King.
Main Points
Are you trying to celebrate Easter while still carrying real trouble, guilt, anxiety, broken relationships, disappointment, and questions that won’t go away? The central truth I want to disciple you into today is this: because Jesus has overcome sin and death through the cross and the empty tomb, you can worship with peace and take heart in the middle of a troubled world.
Two thousand years ago, God revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus laid down His life to pay for our sins, taking away guilt and shame and offering free forgiveness through the sacrifice of the cross. Then He proclaimed His authority to forgive and His power to overcome death by rising again on Easter morning: an empty tomb and a living body.
So how do we celebrate that in the state of the world, the state of the church, and the state of your own life right now? Here’s where I want to guide you: if Jesus is truly risen, then by His Spirit He is here, and if He is here, then our worship is not just memory or tradition; it is real-time praise offered to a living King.
Peace In Jesus, Not In Circumstances
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace” (John 16:33). Notice where the peace is located: in Him, not in a calm week, not in a stable economy, not in a problem-free home, and not in the absence of bad news.
This matters because I want you to stop measuring God’s goodness by your ease. If you belong to Christ, you can experience an undeniable peace, not because life is simple, but because Jesus is present and faithful.
Trouble Is Real, And We Share The Blame
Jesus immediately adds the other half: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). I want you to be honest about that. Easter joy doesn’t erase the fact that you live in a hard world.
And we should be honest in a deeper way: we don’t live in a troubled world only because of “those people” or “that party” or “their decisions.” Scripture says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are not just victims of the world’s trouble; we also contribute to it through our sin. That’s why Easter must include both humility and hope: humility about our guilt, and hope in Christ’s forgiveness.
Take Heart: The Overcoming Is Certain
Jesus doesn’t just diagnose the pain; He commands courage: “But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And I want you to feel how strong that is, He spoke it before the resurrection happened in history. It was so certain in the plan of God that Jesus could say, essentially, “It’s as good as done.”
That means when you’re still on the “earthly side” of your own empty-tomb moments, when you haven’t seen the breakthrough yet, you can still “cash in” His promise by faith. We sing and worship not only because we remember the empty tomb, but because we trust the living Christ who has already secured the ending.
Sorrow Precedes Joy Like Childbirth
Jesus gave a picture so we wouldn’t misread our suffering: “You will weep and lament… you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20). He compares it to labor and childbirth (John 16:21–22). The pain is real, intense, and consuming, but it is not pointless. The joy that follows can be so great it changes how you even remember the anguish.
Disciple this into your instincts: don’t trust the scoreboard mid-game. Sometimes it looks like the world is rejoicing and God’s people are losing, division, heartbreak, sin’s damage, even spiritual failure. But Jesus teaches you to interpret the present through the certainty of the ending. In God’s design, sorrow can be a doorway to deeper joy.
The Empty Tomb: “Just Like He Said”
When Mary came to the tomb, she came to anoint a dead body. She wasn’t expecting victory. Most had scattered, just as Jesus predicted (cf. John 16:32). That detail matters: the first Easter morning didn’t begin with triumphant worship, it began with dashed hopes and fear.
Then the angel said the line I want you to hold onto: “Do not be afraid… He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:5–6).
“As He said” means Jesus is trustworthy. When your faith is shaken, when you’re discouraged, when you wonder if this will really hold, come back to this: He keeps His word. He told the truth about trouble. He told the truth about peace. And He told the truth about resurrection.
Open The Eyes Of Your Heart To Know Him
I can’t disciple you into thinking Easter is only a historical fact you agree with. God wants more than mental agreement, He wants living faith. That’s why I want to pray Paul’s prayer over you from Ephesians 1:15–20: that God would give you “a spirit of wisdom and revelation,” and that “the eyes of your heart” would be enlightened.
Paul names three realities I want you to know deeply:
- The hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18): you were made for more than 70–80 years and a comfortable life. Eternity is written on your heart.
- The riches of His glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18): your ultimate treasure is not money, status, or the “dream life.” Your inheritance is to be with Christ, sharing in His kingdom.
- The immeasurable greatness of His power (Ephesians 1:19–20): the power we celebrate is the power God worked “when He raised Him from the dead.” The final enemy isn’t just cultural chaos or personal conflict, it is death, and Jesus defeated it.
Hail King Jesus With Your Whole Life
If Jesus is risen and seated “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Ephesians 1:21), then He isn’t only Savior; He is King. He is above every name, every age, every earthly ruler, every cultural hero, every temporary authority.
So I’m not only calling you to praise Him for saving you, I’m urging you to submit your life to Him as Lord and Shepherd. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess (cf. Philippians 2:10–11). Our worship now is a preview of heaven and a practice of surrender while we wait.
Conclusion
Easter meets us in a troubled world with a living Savior. Jesus did not promise you a trouble-free life; He promised you peace in Him and courage through Him. The cross deals with sin and guilt. The empty tomb deals with death and despair. And because He is risen “just like He said,” you can worship with hope, even before you see every promise fulfilled in your circumstances.
So I want you to draw near to Him today. Don’t settle for observing a service or admiring an idea. By faith, acknowledge the risen King, let Him be not only your Savior but the Lord of your life.
Father of glory, God of our Lord Jesus Christ, I ask that You would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we would know the hope of Your calling, the riches of Your inheritance for Your people, and the immeasurable greatness of Your power, the same power You worked when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we live in a troubled world, and we also confess our own sin and our need for forgiveness. Thank You for the cross that removes our guilt and shame. Thank You for the empty tomb that declares death defeated. Teach us to take heart, because You have overcome the world.
Help us worship You in spirit and truth today. Draw near to each person reading, especially those who are weary, grieving, doubting, or far from You. Make faith real in our hearts, and lead us to surrender joyfully to You as King. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Easter meets us in a troubled world with a living Savior. Jesus did not promise you a trouble-free life; He promised you peace in Him and courage through Him. The cross deals with sin and guilt. The empty tomb deals with death and despair. And because He is risen “just like He said,” you can worship with hope, even before you see every promise fulfilled in your circumstances.
So I want you to draw near to Him today. Don’t settle for observing a service or admiring an idea. By faith, acknowledge the risen King, let Him be not only your Savior but the Lord of your life.
Closing Prayer
Father of glory, God of our Lord Jesus Christ, I ask that You would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we would know the hope of Your calling, the riches of Your inheritance for Your people, and the immeasurable greatness of Your power, the same power You worked when You raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we live in a troubled world, and we also confess our own sin and our need for forgiveness. Thank You for the cross that removes our guilt and shame. Thank You for the empty tomb that declares death defeated. Teach us to take heart, because You have overcome the world.
Help us worship You in spirit and truth today. Draw near to each person reading, especially those who are weary, grieving, doubting, or far from You. Make faith real in our hearts, and lead us to surrender joyfully to You as King. In Jesus’ name, amen.