Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Happy Easter.
I am Sarah Berger. For those of you who don't know me, I am the campus director here. And last month, we started a new series at our CC midweek. And it's called the story I'll tell.
And there's a truth that every single one of us plays in our mind. A story.
A story about the way people treat us. A story about the people you work with. A story about your life.
And we started talking about fear. And today I want to talk about some of the things that hold us back.
Some of the things like shame.
Some of the stories that we tell ourselves and we put on repeat over and over and over again.
Years ago, I read a book, and it was called winning the war in your mind.
And my gorgeous granddaughter is standing in the front, and she's just smiling, looking like an angel straight from heaven. How is sunny supposed to preach with that baby?
I'm just going to look over here.
Listen, I read this book, and inside of it, what they were talking about is, in the very beginning, when you start really paying attention to your life, when you really start paying attention, you've got to take some time and devour what is going on in your mind.
You got to take some time. And the book, they said, they called it log it. And you had to log your thoughts for a couple of days.
And I thought, I'm relatively healthy. I'm going to do this experiment. And I just pulled the notes open on my phone and I logged my thoughts from the first minute I woke up to the time I went to bed.
And I was so appalled.
Your girl needs some help.
Most of my thoughts were negative.
And listen, I am an optimistic person. I really believe the best is going to happen. I wake up, I normally feel joy. I am an optimistic girl. But when I really paid attention to the story I was telling myself, I saw that I hadn't forgiven myself for some things.
I saw that I didn't always like the girl I was.
And I started doing some research, and it turns out part of the human condition is something called a negativity, negativity bias. And here's how it works. Do you remember being in school? And I would get report cards and they'd be like, all a's and one b. Just joking. I never got all a's.
Felt good to say it, but I was a C D student at best. Okay. So for my children, they'd bring home report cards and they'd be mainly as. And there would be like, one b or c. And what's the grade? You notice the b or the c, and you ignore all the a's. Maybe you are in a performance review, and they tell you all the good things that happen, and they give you one piece of negative feedback.
I hear this happens, and it's all you can think about. In one of my performance reviews, my dad had brought something to my attention, and I literally said, you will never have to bring this up again. And I stewed on it because I'm like, we're going to make this better. We're going to make this better. We're going to make this better.
And then you're kind of tending towards a life that feels like you have to prove it.
And so the story you tell yourself becomes, work harder, be more. You're not enough. Keep going.
And this negativity bias, it pops up all on its own.
I'll be having a relatively good day. And let's just say you're working at the church and someone sends you a gift in the mail, and they don't sign who it is. It was just a special, thoughtful gift, and you're just like, wow, that feels so special. And let's just say that very same week, you get a nasty email about something you said while you were preaching. Let's just say this happened, okay?
And I go home, and what do you think I told my family about the nice gift or the negative email?
And what happens is, we tell ourselves, and we'll play the shame on repeat, the way you didn't measure up.
You'll play the hurtful stories over and over and over again.
We're left feeling empty.
A lot of us will put the brave face on. We'll have good days. And sometimes it'll kind of feel like the Saturday of Easter, where it's not quite good Friday, but it's not Sunday yet.
And you're always waiting for something or trying for something more.
I was getting dressed today.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This vest is not for everybody. But do you know who got me this vest? My dad.
It was his.
I think at one point it had sleeves.
I think at one point it was dark navy Jean.
But when he gave it to me, I loved it.
Might not be for everybody, but it was for me.
And I was putting it on this morning, and I was just thinking, man, no matter what, there's something beautiful in knowing that I have a dad who believes in me, that I have a dad who loves me. And as I was putting this on, I thought, no matter how bad I do or how good I do, no matter what, nothing, I can do will take my dad's love away.
My negativity bias wants to say, you have to prove it. My negativity bias wants to say, you're not enough. You'll never be enough.
But as I put this vest on today, I was just reminded of my dad's love.
And this Easter, I think your heavenly father wants to remind you that you are the one he loves. That no matter what or who has said anything to you, that your heavenly father loves you so much that he fights for you.
He wants to remind you that you are loved, that he is for you, and that the God of the universe cared so much he could not stay separated because of his great love for us.
I read these Easter stories, and I don't know if you're like me. Maybe you grew up reading them and you can kind of take them for granted.
Maybe they're fresh to you because you've never really heard them.
But when I was reading these stories, the story of Jesus resurrection, I wanted to slow down.
I wanted to read it line by line, and I wanted to experience as if I was in the moment.
And I read all four accounts from the gospels.
Where's my students? What does the gospels mean?
Let's go, baby. The good news. I read all four accounts of the good news of Jesus Christ.
And as I put myself in the story, I thought about the heartache.
I thought about how these women who had spent these years with Jesus, they believed, with everything inside of them, that he was the one.
They gave their life. They followed. They supported him financially, and they loved him.
And to watch him die.
The Bible tells us they were at the foot of the cross with him. They were there, and they watched it.
And it would be hard enough if it was just somebody they loved, if it was just somebody that they knew and cared about, and they died. But they had the hope, savior. They had a hope that something bigger was going to come from Jesus Christ.
And when they watched him die, that is nothing they expected.
But even in death, they were with him. Even in being unsure and broken and not knowing what to expect. They got up early Sunday morning, and they brought the oils and the herbs to care for his body.
And I think about what they must have said. I think about how they must have felt. And sometimes I feel like we may feel the same way. Where we're this in between, where we really thought something was going to happen for us, we really thought that good would come from it.
In the scripture in Matthew 28 that David read for us, it says there was an earthquake.
You see, when the women were on their way to the tomb, they were wondering how were they going to roll the stone away because it was heavy and they had put it there to protect Jesus body from getting out. The roman soldiers.
And they were wondering, and the same time they were wondering, an earthquake happens and an angel of the Lord shows up and he sits on the stone.
It says, his face shone like lightning.
Last night, I couldn't sleep because I knew how to preach, so I can't sleep. And I was thinking, and a long time ago, dad had said, if you are up at night, think your way through the Bible as one does, you know?
So I was thinking about the life of Moses. And I was thinking about this odd time in Moses life when he would go up the mountain, he would have conversation with God. And the Bible told us that his faith face was bright.
It shined when he came down from the mountain. And people were freaked out.
And I was thinking about Moses face shining. And then I was thinking about this angel sitting on the rock and his face showing like lightning.
In my image, the angel looks like Brad Pitt.
I'm not sure why, but that's just what he looks like. Muscular Brad Pitt shining bright with a snake.
In your imagination, you put whoever you want in there, okay? But I see this angel's face shining bright in my mind, and I think about Moses, and I think to myself, man, something powerful happens when you are in the presence of God almighty. Something beautiful and transformative happens when you sit in the presence of a God who loves you, when you believe with all your heart that God is not against you, but he is for you and you have conversation with him, transformation starts to happen, and something more beautiful starts to shine through.
Angel sitting on the rock.
And for years, I always believed that the. The rock was rolled away, and that's how Jesus walked out.
I just assumed the rock was rolled away. Jesus walked out. But then, as I was kind of studying in these gospels, nowhere do you really see that.
You see, here's one thing I know, that death could not hold Jesus when God the father initiated the breath of life inside of him.
And then, you see, that space could not contain him, because after he rose again, he. He would pop in places and then be gone. The disciples would be in a locked room, and all of a sudden, Jesus would appear.
So I was thinking, surely the stone meant nothing for a God whose space cannot contain him.
So then I started asking myself, why was the stone rolled away? What was the purpose of it?
And in this text, you see the angel of the Lord saying, I know you have come to see Jesus, but he is not here. He is risen.
Come and see where he had lain.
I believe the stone was rolled away so the women could look in and they could see that Jesus was not there, that he had risen.
And I think sometimes we need to pray the prayer of, will you roll the stone away, Father, so I can see the dead spaces in my life.
There are no places that are. That God is going to be when it's dead.
Let me explain this. There is an idea that our shame, dead and gone.
Jesus Christ took it upon him and he left it in the grave.
There's the idea of our negativity by us bringing up the old and us ruminating on it. But it is dead spaces.
The things that someone said about me in junior high, I can recall it. But something someone nice said to me two weeks ago can't remember.
That's a dead space.
And Jesus left it in the grave for us. But the problem is we hang out in the graveyard.
Do you know what I'm saying? We're hanging out in dead spaces. That Jesus says, I took it upon me.
I stood in for you.
When shame wants to haunt me and tell me what a bad mom I am, I have to think about a God who loved me personally.
Not just the world, but loved me personally.
I am the one that Jesus loves. I want everyone to take a breath, just a deep breath.
And in your heart, I want you to say, I am the one that Jesus loves.
It is a personal love.
Because he isn't just a God that loves. He is the embodiment of love.
He is love.
And I think to myself, if it was what I knew to be my last supper, I would never invite the one who would betray me.
But love did.
If I knew I would be sold out for 30 pieces of silver, I would never call you friend.
But love did.
If I knew that I'd be denied over and over and over again, surely I wouldn't be so forgiving.
But love was.
If I knew I had the sources of armies from heaven that could rescue me at any minute, surely I would not take on the shame, the pain, the sickness, spit the beating. So why? Why would Jesus Christ do it?
Because his deep love for you and I, you are the one that Jesus loves. He is in it with you.
And I love this scripture. Because there's a point where the angel says, he's not here. He's risen, just as he said he. He would. Because our God, he is faithful.
Our God, he is trustworthy. And if he says it, he will do it. See, I think sometimes we get the promises of God a little bit confused with, like, pinterest. You know what I'm saying? Like, it sounds like good. Sounds like it's probably in the Bible. And we think about it. So we hear stuff like, follow your heart.
But you know what the Bible tells us? It tells us your heart is deceitful above all else. You know what mama wants to do when someone cuts her off? Ram them any amens.
I cannot follow my heart. Okay? I can't follow my heart in that moment. It's deceitful.
So what are the promises that Jesus Christ said when he was here? What are the things that he said? Because if he said it, we know it will come true.
You know what he said? He said, come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Our negativity bias wants to say, you are alone. You've got to prove it. You got to strive. No one's there for you. Loner, you're not good enough. But Jesus Christ says, no, no, no, come to me.
You're weary.
You got a safe place in Jesus Christ.
You have a burden and problems you do not know how to solve.
Your heavenly father loves you and he gave you a gift in Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ says, come to me.
You know what else he says? He says, the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. But I came so that you may have life and you might have it abundantly.
Your negativity bias wants to pull up your shame and wants to keep you stuck in the past. But your heavenly father says, I did not come for that. That is not me. I came so that you might have life. And here's what I know. This life is too short and too precious and the gift too powerful to just ignore it and let our mind run negative.
God is too good and he's invited us on too much of an adventure to stay stuck.
The research shows that the answer to negativity biased is to linger and savor the beauty.
All too often, our negative thoughts, they have more space in our mind because we think about them more.
But the beautiful things, we let them pass by.
And this Easter, I want to linger.
I want to linger in a God who called us.
I want to linger in a God who says, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Our ways aren't working, but Jesus Christ's way always does.
I want to linger and I want to invite you to come and see a God who is worthy.
Come and see the one who took all our shame come and see a God who he left it in the grave he took it upon himself I want to invite you to come and see a mighty God who saves our band wrote a song for Easter weekend, and it's called come and see, and they're going to play it right now.
First time ever, guys. First time. Big debut.
But I want you to savor, to think about, to sit in the beauty of Jesus Christ.
I want you to sit in and I want you to come and see and experience. Experience.
A God who loves you.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: See the one who's worthy worthy of it all come see the one who saved me see the one who changed me the one who took the fall he took all my shame left it in the grave he took all my faith forever I am saved he is my strength he's my soul he is my savior. Every knee will bow to the Lord of it all.
Be the one who's worthy worthy of it all.
See the one who saved see the one he took all my saint.
He left it in the grave.
He took all my pain.
Forever I stay he's my savior, he's my soul.
Yes he is. He is my savior. Every knee will bow to the lord of it all.
He's my strength.
He's my soul.
I fall down to my knee.
You are worthy, you are worthy.
You're my God.
I confess.
You are worthy, you are worthy. King of the Lord, Lord of lords.
You are worthy, you are worthy. Praise of peace, son of God.
You are worthy, you are worthy. One who saves, one who saves.
You are worthy, you are worthy. If you name, see your grace.
You are worthy, you are my everyone.
You are my faith, you my soul.
You are my savior. Every knee will bow to the Lord of it all.
You are my strength, you are my soul.
You are my savior. Every knee will bow to the lord of it all.
[00:27:50] Speaker A: That's a worship song, eh?
I was interested that the way Matthew starts this gospel is by an angel saying that Jesus is coming and he will be called Emmanuel, that God is with you.
And then the very last thing we hear said in Matthew's gospel is Jesus saying, and be sure of this, I am with you always.
Not when we're good, not when we have it figured out, not when we've cleaned up our act. But God, Jesus says he will be with us always, even to the end.
When your brain starts to go dark. I want you to sit in the beauty that Jesus Christ offers.
I want you to sit in his goodness and his faithfulness. And I want your starting point to be not a God who is against you, but a God who is for you.
When you start to go back to the graveyard of things that are taken care of because Jesus Christ stepped in for you, I want you to remember he is in the fight with you, that you're good.
Good savior is with you to the end.
I am going to pray right now. And so I just ask that you bow your head. And I just. I want to give you a moment to just sit with Jesus, to sit with him and to thank him.
[00:29:41] Speaker B: For.
[00:29:41] Speaker A: The great gift of his love for you.
I want to give you a minute to just roll the stone away.
And whatever darkness that you see, I want you to give it to Jesus Christ.
I want you to acknowledge that he has stepped in for you, that you no longer have to carry it, that he's already taken care of it.
I want to give you a minute to sit with a savior.
Just recommit, or maybe for the first time, just give your life to him.
It can be simple. It can just say, I am yours.
I am yours. Father.
Father, I thank you that you loved us so much that you gave us the gift of Jesus Christ.
I pray where we are haunted by the pain of the past, by the shame of regret, that your goodness will flow in our dead spots, Father.
That your great love will be so consuming, so captivating that we fall to our knees and we say, you are worthy of it all. Father, I pray that you do what only you can do and reach the heart, the mind and the soul of every man. Woman listening right now.
Will your name be glorified in them? Will there be something of who you are that can shine in a kind of way that people can say there's something different?
And will you let your name be glorified in us and through us, in your son's mighty and powerful and loving name?
Amen.
