Steven Furtick - No More Nails
Where would you expect to find Jesus on Resurrection Sunday? He's 40 days away from ascending into heaven and the Holy Spirit is coming to Jerusalem, so perhaps you would expect to find him in a place with stained glass windows. Would it surprise you to know that he went on the road? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, resurrected from the grave, who certainly, risen from the dead, has the power to call for any means of transportation… I mean, if I'm up from the dead, I'm getting an angel to give me a ride. Forget Uber. I don't need Lyft. I would want to ride in style. But Jesus sets out on this road.
Touch somebody and say, "Walk with me". That's really the invitation of the series. It has been turning my world upside down and revolutionizing my walk with God to see Jesus walking backward on the day he got up from the dead. To see that he's not in Jerusalem where the Holy Spirit is coming. The place where he was crucified was the place where the promise is going to be released. The place where he suffered is going to be the place where the glory of God is revealed. While waiting for that to happen, Jesus goes for a walk. Last week, we met an interesting character. Does anyone remember his name? We called him Cleo. The Bible calls him Cleopas, but we're friendly with Cleo, so we gave him a nickname. We were surprised that we have never met him before, and he's the first one Jesus appears to.
Well, I should give you a little bit more context than that. The women went that morning, because sometimes women have more faith than men do. They have the ability to feel God in ways… When you get men to worship, it's like a miracle. Women will lift their hands. They don't really have a problem coming into the presence of God. Sometimes a woman will have the kind of persistence and patience with a child… They went to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body, but his body wasn't there. In some ways, I guess, it was an indictment that they thought he would still be there when he told them, "I'm getting up on the third day". They didn't really believe that. Even though they were sentimental, they had not yet experienced that kind of supernatural resurrection power that enables you to know that even if it seems dead, was dead, is dead, it doesn't have to stay dead.
That's what resurrection tells me. That's why our logo as a church is a neon arrow pointing upward, to let you know that wherever your life is today, love can lift you. Whatever pit you've fallen into, love can lift you. Whatever time you've lost, whatever years you've wasted, love can lift you. Whatever fear has held you down up until this point, the grave is empty. He is risen, and we're going somewhere. So the women come to anoint his body, but his body isn't there. Oh, I feel excited today. God is going to set somebody free. I feel it in every fiber of my being. God is going to set somebody free today. His body wasn't there. He's up out of the grave. Where is he? Well, he kind of appears throughout the day, but I want to go back to where… Can I pick up where I left off last week?
Don't worry about it if you weren't here. I'll bring you in. He walks with Cleo and this unnamed companion. Some scholars speculate it could have been his wife. The text doesn't say that. The text doesn't give us the other name, because sometimes it's not about you. It wasn't about revealing who the other person was. It wasn't even about Cleo. Jesus is sneaking up behind two travelers who are disappointed and discouraged, because God doesn't need for you to be happy to do a work in your heart. He doesn't just hang out with people who pretend like they have it all together. Cleo is not only concerned, but in many ways he is crushed, because his expectation of who Jesus would be, what he would do, wasn't met. When he died on the cross, it crushed Cleo. Jesus comes alongside the one who was crushed and his unnamed companion and walks with them away from the place where the promise will fall toward an unknown place.
Well, it's unknown today. They knew where it was at the time, but it was so insignificant in that day… God doesn't just show up in big places and appear to important people. He might show up and speak to somebody in the back of the room, somebody in overflow, somebody who isn't even in the church building; they're in a hospital bed. He goes to this village called Emmaus, and along the way… Wouldn't it be awesome if Jesus himself preached to you? I know I'm pretty good, but imagine you're walking, and Jesus comes up and doesn't ask if he can walk with you; he just starts talking. He asked them a question. Before God gives you the answers, sometimes he'll change your questions. He goes for a walk. "Hey, what are you talking about"? They tell him about their disappointment, and he can handle it. It doesn't chase him away. They tell him about their doubt, and he can handle it.
That's revolutionizing me, because I thought I had to have faith for God to meet with me, but I'm growing to understand that maybe God's presence is most powerful when I get honest about my doubt, get honest about my pain, and seek him even still. Maybe that's where I learn the most: when it doesn't go the way I want it to. The detours, the details, the dead ends. Remember we said we want to see him in 3D. So here's the Son of God, walking with two travelers, away from the destination. I'm supposed to be on that stage right now, but we're walking the wrong way. As we're walking, he's talking, and he explains to them all about himself.
The Bible says he started with Moses and the prophets. I don't know exactly what he said. The Bible just summarizes, but maybe he talks about the Passover lamb that Moses had the people prepare to celebrate and commemorate their coming out of Egypt and their forgiveness of sin. They're hearing about the Passover lamb, but they don't know they're standing with the Passover Lamb. They won't recognize that right now, because usually you only recognize the full extent of what God was doing in reverse. While you're on the road you might not see it. They keep walking, and Jesus is just talking. They like his teaching, and they're interested in what he's saying.
Do you know how I know? Because when they got to where they were going… The Bible says it was a seven-mile journey, and that's why we're calling it Seven-Mile Miracle. We're using it to look at the seven last statements Jesus made on the cross that are recorded in the Gospels. He went with them all seven miles. He went with them all the way to Emmaus, and when they got to the place where they thought they were going, because they weren't going to stay there long… God will meet you where you are, but he won't leave you there. As they walk, his words interested them, but when they got to the place where they were going, this village called Emmaus, the Bible says Jesus acted like he was going to keep going. The journey starts where you are, but where it ends depends on you. You decide whether you want your relationship with God to just be some superstitious thing or whether you want it to be something so real that you fully surrender.
he cross is my operating system. It is not an addition. It is not an accessory. It is not an app. It is the new way that I do what I do, whatever I do. It doesn't just change what I do on Sunday morning. It matriculates into my Monday. It transforms my Tuesday. It works on Wednesday. It comes through on Thursday. I follow him on Friday, and I'm still saved on Saturday, because he's the God of all seven miles. How many have decided, "I'm going all the way with Jesus. He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. I'm not stopping where I started". They were like, "Hey, you want to eat something"? Cleo said, "We didn't really plan on a guest, but come on in".
Where we left last week is that while… Look at verse 30 of Luke 24. I love this. It's Resurrection Sunday. Every day is Resurrection Sunday. Every day is Easter at Elevation. A miracle can break out in any heart at any time in any circumstance in any grave. So he sits down, and in a common experience of a shared meal… The Bible says while he was at the table… Remember, they're interested in who he is, but they don't yet recognize who he is. Like some of y'all who come here who don't really believe this stuff yet, but you like the way it makes you feel. That's cool. You're not committed yet, but you're curious. You're like, "That was kind of weird, that one thing". "Want to go back"? "Yep". He meets you where you are. He sits down with them.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has time for a meal break on Resurrection Sunday. The Bible says he just starts taking over. You've heard before that God is a gentleman and won't come in if he's not invited. That's partially true, but once you let him in he takes over. Be ready for that. He takes over. He sits down. He took bread. He just took it. Cleo is just watching, and this visitor, this traveling companion, becomes the host in somebody else's house. That's what happens when he comes into your heart. "When he took the bread, he gave thanks".
So Mary taught him manners. Say the blessing before you eat. "He broke it and began to give it to them". We postulated last week that when verse 31 says it was then that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, that perhaps the reason they saw his presence when he sat down with them and gave them the bread was not only that he broke the bread, like they broke his body, but that when he gave it to them… In Jewish custom, the bread was broken like this and given like this, and they saw where he was wounded. They saw where the nails were. When they saw where the nails were, they realized who he was, which lets me know that sometimes the power of an example is greater than the power of an explanation. He walked with them seven miles. He walked with them for the entirety of their journey, and what his words could not show them they saw in his wounds.
Graham was listening to this sermon, and you know how kids will just say what they think? He goes, "How do you know"? He was pointing out to me that it doesn't say they saw his scars in the text. The more we got to talking about it, I realized the way he was thinking about it was like this. "Well, if Jesus got up from the grave and he has the power to overcome death, he wouldn't leave scars where the nails had been". If God has resurrection power, surely he'd do a little cosmetic surgery so Jesus isn't having to walk around with some big holes in his hands or marks in the places where they had nailed him, where the Roman guard that was led by the Jewish leaders had crucified him, sentenced him to death, executed him for the sins of all mankind. Surely he wouldn't leave the scars.
I had to show Graham, and I'm going to show you today how I know they saw his scars. The Bible says, "Their eyes were opened and they recognized him". They saw the one who was with them all along, but they saw him not in his words but in his wounds. They saw him not because they heard the stone was rolled away but because they were up close and personal with the one who had suffered. When they saw where he suffered, they realized who he was. "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and then he disappeared from their sight". Because that was never their destination. Look at verse 32. The Scripture says, "They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning while he talked?'" His words made their hearts burn, but it was his wounds that opened their eyes. There are some things that cannot be explained; they can only be experienced.
When I tell you that God is near to the brokenhearted, I can tell you that all day long, but it is not until your heart is broken, it is not until you are at the end of yourself, it is not until those who walked with you have turned their backs on you but God stood by your side that you can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper. What can man do to me"? "I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Let no man trouble me. I walked through the valley. I went through the shadow". It wasn't with his words. It was where he was wounded. That's where they saw him. "On the road he opened the Scriptures to us". Now they're excited. They leave Emmaus. They got up and went back. God told me to tell somebody, "Get up, and go back". I know Jesus got up, but the reason he got up is not so you could stand around with sacramental spices and sing some sacramental songs to a stationary God. He got up so I could get up. The same power… I see you getting up and going back.
The Prodigal Son said, "This is ridiculous for me to be down here with the pigs when my father owns the palace". Get up and go back. You don't need a speech. This is your second chance. "They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem". They retread the seven miles. This is the second seven miles, when they turned around, rerouted by the resurrection power of God revealed in the scars of the Savior. Thank you, Lord. I feel his presence today. They got up and went back. This is your comeback. Come back, Cleo. The Spirit is coming. Come back, Cleo. God is not done with you yet. They got up and came back. When they got there, they found the Eleven… These are the disciples minus Judas. It didn't go so well for him. He didn't come back. They were all assembled together, and when Cleo got there… They were starting to get the picture, because Jesus had been appearing to them too, and now it all comes together.
Now the ones who went away come back, and the ones who stayed all get together and say, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon". Cleo is like, "Yeah, me too! We saw him too. It's amazing". Look at verse 35. They were like, "Hey, we were on this road, and he was talking about Moses and all the prophets, and we didn't know who he was. He came and took the bread, and when he took the bread and gave us the bread we saw his scars. It was him"! When he broke the bread, he was recognized in the scars. "How do you know he still had his scars"? Graham said. Okay, here's how I know. What Luke doesn't tell us John does tell us. I want to go there for a minute. It's Resurrection Sunday. Now it's evening. It has been a long day for Jesus. He started off with a little exercise, pushed that stone out of the way, a little CrossFit. (They take me for granted. That humor was epic. That is elite-level preacher humor, whether you recognize it or not. The Lord liked that joke.)
I never realized how funny the Bible is. It's hilarious. It really is. That's something I didn't get, because I always thought God was so serious. Hey, I know it's serious. It's a matter of life and death. Trust me. Nobody takes it more seriously than me. But Jesus is just messing around with people sometimes. Watch this. It says in John 20:19, "On the evening of that first day of the week…" Same evening now. So Cleo is coming back. "…the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear…" That's what fear will always do. It will always lock you in from the inside. They weren't locked out; they were locked in. We lock ourselves in because of fear. Remember that. That's important. They were locked in for fear of the Jewish leaders. "Hey, they might kill us. Hey, there's a rumor circulating that we stole the body. We'd better stay up here".
Now remember, Cleo and his companion went the wrong way, but is it any better to stay in Jerusalem with the doors locked? Some people go away from God. Some people stay in church, but their heart is so locked they might as well not even be there. It's about your heart. Jesus is so funny. Watch this. The doors are locked for fear of the Jewish leaders. "Jesus came and stood among them". How did he do it? He picked the lock. See, grace will break in the back door, kick the door down. Grace is a G. Grace will come on in, take on over, take your bread, break your bread, change your life. Jesus showed up and said, "Peace"! Grace is a G. Just any way in. "Peace be with you"! Watch this. "After he said this, he showed them his hands and side". Five wounds. Five is the number of grace.
Just remember that. Five wounds in his side, in his hands, in his feet. Five wounds. He showed them his hands. Five fingers. He showed them his hands where the nails were. I wonder, did they have a flashback? The first word… There are seven. We're going to get them all. This is the first word Jesus spoke from the cross. It's a statement. He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". What a generous interpretation. When people insult me, I tell God, "They know exactly what they're doing". If I do forgive somebody, it takes me time, but while they were driving the nails… I'm flashing back now from the cross. I wonder, when they saw his hands, did they remember his words? I wonder, when they saw where he was wounded, did they remember the words he spoke? "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do".
Not what they did, but while they were doing it he had the presence of mind to forgive, and he needed help. Even Jesus, perfect as he was, human as he was, knew he could not forgive without the help of his Father. As I think about forgiveness today, I wonder where you've been wounded. For Jesus, it was in his hands. When they saw the hands, they realized, "This is not an impersonator. This is not an imposter". They had to see something that let them know what he went through. You keep trying to prove God's presence by your successes, but when it came time for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to prove his presence, he said, "Look where the nails were". "See my hands? See where they drove the spikes between the bones so they would not break so it would support the weight of my body long enough for me to suffocate? See? It killed me, but I didn't stay dead. It broke me, but I am now whole. I was dead; now I'm alive. See my scars"?
My scars tell a story. I'm not ashamed to show my scars. Christianity is not cosmetic surgery so you can hide what you've been through to try to get people to think you're perfect. Jesus Christ didn't come to conceal the pain. He came to reveal his glory, and he showed it in his scars. But there was one… God is always looking for the one who wasn't there, and the Bible tells us that even though the Eleven minus Judas got to see him, there was one who wasn't there named Thomas. Can I talk about Thomas for one minute? Let me teach you about Thomas. Oh man. Thomas gets a bad rap. In the church they call him "Doubting Thomas". Have you ever heard this before? Because church people will label you by one moment in your journey. "Doubting Thomas". "Adultery Annie".
I'll stop right there. Some things are going through my head that would have to be edited out for YouTube. Life will label you by what you did. The Bible gives us a little… Only John tells us this, because John had this sensitivity to him. When you read his gospel, he tells you things other people don't mention. He said, "Now Thomas (also known as Didymus)…" If we just have to label Thomas a doubter, can we at least call him "Doubting Didymus"? The alliteration works much better. The Bible says that Doubting Didy, one of the Twelve, was not with… He wasn't there.
So now Jesus and Thomas have something in common. When they went to look for Jesus' dead body, he wasn't there. When Jesus showed up alive and resurrected, Thomas wasn't there. The Bible doesn't say why he wasn't there. I've always heard it preached like he wasn't there because he didn't have enough faith to be there, but the boys inside had the doors locked. They weren't any better. If we're going to give out nicknames, let's talk about Simon Peter inside with the doors locked. How about "Scaredy-Cat Simon Peter"? "Scaredy Simon". How about "Locked-Door Levi"? "Lock-'Em-Up Levi" and "Doubting Didy". We all have doubts.
That's what I'm trying to say. We all have scars. We all have dysfunction. You might have long sleeves, but if I could roll up your sleeves, you've been through something. You struggle with something. Your wife may not know it, but God does. "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But Thomas said…" This is why they call him "Doubting Thomas". I call him "Honest Thomas," "Truthful Thomas," because Thomas is like, "I'm not buying it. I'm not buying it off what you said. I need to see for myself. I have to see Jesus for myself. This has to be real to me". "Hey, unless I see the nail marks in his hands, unless I see where he suffered, I will not believe in his glory. Unless I put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I won't believe".
Watch Jesus. I want to point out one thing in verse 26. Seven days later, a week later… Seven. Seven miles, seven days. God will leave you in a space where you don't understand to create faith in your heart. Thomas says, "I need to see the scars". Jesus could have showed up on the spot. He waited seven days. Jesus could have walked up to Cleo and said, "See my scars? It's me". But sometimes he wants to let you walk and wonder and walk and wonder, not because he doesn't love you but because if your faith needs an explanation it cannot sustain the trials of life. So he waits seven days. Have you ever had to wait seven days? Have you ever had to wait through a custody battle? Have you ever had to wait to see if this is ever going to feel better? Have you ever had to wait through pain, wait through depression, wait through anxiety attacks, wait through bad reports, wait through a newscast? Have you ever had to wait? A waiting period.
Then when Jesus shows up a week later… Seven days, seven miles. It's the number of completion. Then Jesus shows up, maybe just at that point where Thomas is tired of waiting. The disciples were in the house again, and Thomas this time was there. Jesus walks in. Look at the next part. "Though the doors were locked…" They still locked the doors, still scared, but they stayed. I still have some addictions, but I'm in church today. God can work with that. I'm still on the road. I don't get it, but I'm still… This time Thomas was there. He's not going to miss it this time. "Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace.'" Watch what comes next. "Yo, Tommy! Hey, Didy! Hey, Honest Thomas! I heard you wanted to see my scars". This is important. "Put your finger here…" Where? Where the nails were. "Isn't that what you needed to see, Thomas? Where the nails were".
Notice something. He didn't say where the nails are. "Yo, Tommy! I'm back from the grave, and I need you to see something. Look, Thomas. No more nails! Look, Thomas. They're not here. Put your finger where the sin was. Put your finger where the shame was. Put your finger where they tried to crucify the Creator of the world". Somebody shout, "No more nails"! In other words, what held me doesn't hold me anymore. I came to declare today is a day of freedom. I've heard so many sermons about forgiveness, because we've all been wounded. Raise your hand if life hasn't wounded you yet. I want to see where the liars are in the church, because I want to have a special prayer for all of the liars who would have the audacity to lie in the presence of God and act like you haven't been wounded. We've all been wounded.
Rock Hill, Gaston County… It doesn't matter. Toronto, Canada. You can't walk the road without being wounded. You can't go to church without being wounded. "He doesn't speak to me. That's why I left; he doesn't speak to me". I was in a church one time, and the preacher got them to sing about wounds. It was so weird, because he was preaching about wounds, and his thing was to try to get everybody to go back and remember all of the ways they've been wounded throughout their whole lives. He had me thinking of stuff in the third grade, just the craziest stuff, like that was going to bring healing. Look at this. Jesus didn't show Thomas his wounds. He showed him his scars. There is a difference between being wounded and being scarred. When I prayed about this first word of forgiveness, the Lord told me to talk to you about the nails.
Whatever has wounded you, whatever you hide, whatever happened… When Jesus shows Thomas his scars… I'm glad he kept his scars. I'm glad he kept that part. I'm glad he didn't stay dead, but I'm also glad he came out scarred, because that gives me hope. That's how I try to preach. I don't want to preach wounded, because if I preach wounded I'm going to inflict my pain on you. I don't want to be a wounded parent. I don't want to be a wounded spouse. God spoke to me a couple of months ago and said, "If I've really healed you like you claim I have, why are you still so touchy"? Thomas said, "I want to see where the wounds were".
When I teach preachers, I tell them, "Don't you get up and tell the church all of the ways you woke up at 5:30 a.m. If I put you in my pulpit, show the church some of your scars. You can show them the stones God has rolled away. That's fine. That's a part of it. He is a God of miracles. He is a God who makes dreams come true, and we all have some stones he has rolled away, but we all have some scars too. So show them your scars. Show them where you didn't get up at 5:30. In fact, show them where you pretended like you didn't hear the baby crying at 5:30 and Anna got up. Tell them that story. Tell them how you almost quit. Tell them how you wanted to throw up the first week you went out to preach after the news media ran a story about you for four days straight, saying things about you. Tell them that. Tell them how you were in the bathroom and you came out smiling".
Show them where the wounds were, and it'll give them hope that what wounded me doesn't have to hold me forever. It's time to be free! It's been long enough. It's been seven days. Forgiveness doesn't mean it didn't happen. The scars show it happened. Jesus didn't show up and say, "What cross? What are you talking about? Cross? I don't remember a cross".
I remember a preacher saying one time… This guy is an idiot. He should have his credentials revoked. He said, "If you've really forgiven someone in your heart, you will not even remember the offense". There is a word that comes to my mind to describe what he said, but I'm going to just say it's inaccurate. It's not denial. When I say forgiveness… I have to be careful, because I'm a pastor. I'm not just passing through preaching one week and leaving. I'm trying to go on a journey with you and to let you know that when you let go of whatever wounded you so that you can be free and go into the future God has for you, it doesn't mean you pretend it never happened.
This is not denial. The nails were there. "My dad walked out on me". Not my dad. I'm saying you can say, "My mom had an impossible standard I could never live up to, and I believe part of my eating disorder today has to do with that". I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I can't let it hold me. I cannot blame her forever, not if I'm a Christian, not if I worship the one who was wounded for my transgression. I need to let you know something. The hardest person you'll ever forgive is not your ex, is not your mom, is not your dad, is not your neighbor who came over your fence and your property line. The hardest person you will ever have to forgive is yourself. Truth be told, it is my self-inflicted nails that I have the hardest time letting go of.
I want the Devil to know when he comes to hammer at me with accusation… I don't know where you go when that starts to happen, how worthless you are. Have you noticed the Devil loves to hammer you? He has a big hammer, but let me tell you a little secret. He ain't got no more nails. Somebody shout, "No more nails"! The next time the Devil hammers you with accusations, shout back in his face, "You ain't got no nails"! All my nails are in that cross. All my shame is on that cross. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death". The Devil might have a hammer, but he doesn't have any nails. "Reach out and touch the place where the nails were". Where they were. It doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. I fell short. It happened. I ruined the relationship. It happened.
They abused me in ways I don't even want to tell my own spouse. It happened. I deal with the traumatic… It's not that it didn't happen, and it's not that it doesn't hurt. That's not what forgiveness is. Forgiveness doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. The nails might be gone, but the memory is still there. It's really easy to forgive sometimes when the person you're forgiving is gone, but when you still have to work out shared custody, when you still have to live with the memory, when you still can't be touched without recalling the shame of when you were touched the wrong way, and now you're trying to learn how to love the right way… When you're trying to learn how to trust, it doesn't mean it won't hurt. Away with the preaching that will teach you that the pain will go away when you forgive the offense.
It's not that the pain goes away. I'm helping somebody. I'm setting somebody free. You keep waiting for the feeling of forgiveness to come. It's not a feeling. It takes faith. I said it takes faith. It takes faith to believe that the same place where the nails were is the same place where the healing is. They saw it in his scars. Jesus needed those nails. If they hadn't nailed him to that cross, if the blood didn't flow from that place, the power wouldn't be released. I'm saying not that God is going to take the scar away but that he is going to release the greatest strength in your life from the place where the nails were. Shout, "No more nails"! It's a declaration. It doesn't mean it didn't happen. It happened. They bullied you. It happened. They lied about you.
By the way, not only have you suffered some wounds but you've inflicted a few too. It's kind of crazy how we can be comfortable putting all of our nails in Jesus' cross but then walk around with a pocketful of our own to put in other people. If all my nails are in his cross, that means all of yours are too. I cannot demand to receive a grace from God for me that I will not give to you. What it means isn't that it didn't happen. What it means isn't that it didn't hurt. What it means is not that I won't handle it. I might not be able to be friends with you in the same way anymore, because I might not be able to trust you. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. Don't go message your ex on Facebook when you're married now for 12 years, talking about, "Will you forgive me"? with "In the Still of the Night" and "End of the Road" flashbacks to prom.
It's not that things won't be different. It's not that I won't handle it. "Thomas, I want you to put your finger in the place where I was held to the cross, and I want you to know that what held me doesn't hold me anymore". That's what forgiveness is, friends. It's not that it didn't happen. It happened and it was horrible. It's not that it doesn't hurt. It's just that I'm not going to live in the offense any longer. I've been wounded long enough. Why would I choose to stay wounded when healing is in his hands? Why would I keep nailing you to a cross when it's only hurting me? Somebody say, "No more nails".
The Spirit of God is in this place. No more nails. It's all in the cross. All my past. All my shame. It's all in the cross. No more nails. To be free, I have to let go. I declare over your life today not that it won't ever hurt again, not that some things won't need to change, not that it won't be a process. Remember, this is only mile one of our journey. But if you will put your nails in that cross and trust what Jesus proved, that all things, even the nails, even Judas, even that… I talked to a woman who went through the most traumatic childhood experience you could describe. I wouldn't put it in this sermon, because there are kids who came in.
What she went through was so horrible, yet she was able to look at me in the eye and say, "Although I wouldn't choose it, and although I'm not saying it was okay or that it was right or that God did it… I'm not trying to justify it. When I see how God has used even the things I wouldn't choose…" It's not that I wanted it to happen. It's not that it doesn't hurt. I'm not going to fake. I'm not going to live in denial. I'm not going to stay in dysfunction, but I wouldn't trade my scars for anything, because my scars are the proof of his power. Yeah, I have scars. Yeah, I went through it. Yeah, it hurt like hell. Yes, they drove the nails. Yes, it was offensive. Yes, it was wrong, but, no, I won't stay here. No, I won't sacrifice my future on the altar of my past. No more nails! I'm coming out!
Shout like you're free! How long do you want to stay wounded? How long do you want to stay stuck? It happened. I'm not living in denial. It hurts. I'm not going to live defensive, pretending like it doesn't hurt. I have to handle it. I'm not going to live in dysfunction, enabling dysfunctional situations and calling it forgiveness, but I'm not going to stay here dead when he is risen. No more nails. It's going on the cross today. All of it. The sin you did, the sin that was done to you…it's all going on the same cross today, and all things, even the scars, not just the stone but the scars… All things will work together for the good.
"Look, Thomas. It doesn't hold me anymore. Look, Thomas. Your doubt doesn't have to hold you anymore. Look, Thomas. Touch it. See my scars? I know you have some wounds. They've been open long enough. It's time. It's time, Thomas. I know you're not over it yet. You may never feel completely over it, but you have to move on. You can't stay like this forever. You can't stay angry about it forever. You have to get going. Lift your hands".