Out Of The Grave | Associate Pastor Chad Erickson

Stand to your feet if you're not already standing and praise the Lord everyone. What a day we've had today. I feel joy in the house. I feel victory in the house. I feel hope in the house. I just feel like preaching a little bit. Is that all right, man? Choir done sang. Wow. We just already lifted up the name of Jesus. And I believe somebody can get delivered on Easter Sunday. Amen. Somebody can get delivered on Easter Sunday. Hey, if you're going to be set free, what a better day to get set free than on Easter resurrection Sunday. Hallelujah. Woo! I feel the Holy Ghost already. It's It's going to be a It's going to be a good time preaching tonight. Listen, I I first want to just say as you're turning your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 27, I want to say thank you. Uh last Sunday I was showered uh with love and with gifts on my on my 50th birthday and I cannot tell you how unworthy I feel the love that I feel from this congregation. Thank you so much for doing that. Uh to all those who who put on uh such a beautiful celebration for for Lauren and and uh the team. She had such an amazing team, my wife. And uh thank you all so much. I appreciate that. All the gifts. Oh my goodness. The cards. Uh, still getting gifts. I got this right here tonight. Uh, Sister Relle just making fun of my age. Felt like I needed a magnifying glass. I might actually use that tonight if my if my eye drops wear out. I uh I got eye drops I put in my eyes to help me see for a few hours. And sometimes if church goes a little long, they start wearing down. So, uh, sometimes when I when I when I preach shorter, it's mainly because I can't see anything anymore. And so I appreciate Sister Relle. I could probably preach for hours with this thing, son. I can see those words, man. They look good. Magnified right there. Amen. But thank you. Honestly, thank you so much. Um I I I truly I'm unworthy. And I Wow. I told I said I I could turn 50 again next year, too. That's fine. That That'll work. Turning 50 was fun. Turning 50 was fun. Well, I come to preach tonight a a profound event that's hard to believe, but it's in the Bible, so it's true. It took place on Resurrection Sunday. And and Pastor Carpenter, I don't know. I don't believe I've ever heard this preached before. I don't know this story. I've never heard this this preached, this account, this event preached before. But in a generation that's infatuated with zombies and dead men walking. I figured this is going to be a popular topic to preach. So Matthew 27:50 says this. Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost. And behold the veil of the temple was rent and twain from the top to the bottom. And the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Here we go. And the graves were opened. And many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. And let me just preface this right here and give you a little backstory. John 19:30, Jesus cries out, "It is finished." He yielded up the ghost. And at that very moment, you know the story, the earth quakes, the rock split, the veil tears in two in the temple, and graves of the saints are opened. Sin was defeated. The debt was paid in full. I feel the Holy Ghost. Death began to lose its grip. But I want you to pay close attention to the fact that the saints did not come out of the grave until after Jesus came out of the grave. Again, the graves were open on Good Friday when Jesus said, "It is finished." The graves were opened. But the Bible says in verse 53, "And they came out of the grave after his resurrection." I've come to this Easter Sunday church service tonight to declare that the very same power that raised up Jesus from the grave is still raising up people out of graves that are trying to keep them contained. Graves called addictions. graves called sinful lifestyle. He's still raising people out of the grave. Now listen, I can't get too excited and preach my message too quickly, but my title is simply this. Out of the grave. If you walked out of the grave, I'm walking to Oh, choir. Just sing about it. If he walked out of the grave, I'm walking too. If he can do it, I can do it. If he was set free from bondage of the grave, I can be set free. I need more microphone. Just turn it up loud. I feel the Holy Ghost, but I need a little mic. It's not turning up. I don't know what's happening, but it's not turning up. It's not turning up. It's still not turning up. Come on. There it is. Thank you. There it was. Right there. Sometimes you just got to push it till it rings and then pull it back a little bit. Come on, somebody. I need your help tonight. You going to help me preach tonight? Thank you, brother Sharp. That's perfect. Woo. My God, that's perfect. That's like a preaching mic right there. Come on, let's pray. Father, in Jesus name, I just believe, Lord God, that somebody came to church tonight feeling a little hopeless, but I believe your word is going to give hope. I believe your word is going to give instruction. Your word is going to give faith to somebody to believe that they can step out of the grave they've been in way too long. I believe the grave is already open. We just got to make a decision to walk up out of it. Yes, you got to walk up out of the grave. Somebody clap your hands if you know God is going to do great things in this place. Uh hear our prayer tonight. Jesus, let us out of the grave in Jesus name. You may be seated in the house. >> When Jesus cried out and yielded up the ghost, when the man Christ Jesus took his last breath, heaven and earth responded and could not contain themselves when the son of man when the son of God died on the cross. Matter of fact, Matthew 27:54 says, "Now when the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus saw the earthquake, and those things which were done, they feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God." >> All the doubters, all those that have been crying, "Crucify him!" All those who had no faith and believe that he was truly the son of God. All of the sudden began to say this must have been he who they had written about. This must have been he who the Old Testament prophesied would come and would die upon a cross. Uh but I want you to know then came Saturday. And the Bible tells us almost nothing about Saturday except that the tomb was sealed and the guards stood watch and the disciples hid in fear and in grief in quiet painful oh painfully quiet they waited because Jesus said uh you can tear this temple down you can destroy this temple but in three days I'm going to raise it back up again. You see, p Friday was loud with power, with thunder, and with earthquake, but Saturday was loud with silence. I don't know if you've ever been in a Saturday moment, uh, when everything was silent, and all you needed to hear was the word of God, but you could not hear the word of God. But oh, I want you to know if we could just wait long enough for Sunday, uh, if we could just wait long enough, I promise you, uh, things are going to happen and there's going to be a resurrection, but you got to wait long enough for Sunday to come. >> This is reminds me of my childhood because Oh, I remember going to Carmen concerts. Anybody remember the Carmen concerts? I see you, brother Wely. Oh, Carmen. Carmen was man like my generation is like woo. I remember going to Carmen concerts. Listen, they're the only concerts I was allowed to go to. But Carmen was so far ahead of his time because he didn't need 20 artists like Winter Jam to fill up an arena. Carmen could fill up a a basketball arena with 20,000 people all by himself. I don't even know if Carmen had a last name. You just hear Carmen in the place. It was like Elvis Presley had walked into the house screaming and yelling and cheering. But he had a he had a concert he did and a tour he went on that was called Sundays on the Way. Anybody remember that one? >> That was my favorite one. Oh. Oh, Carmen, Sunday's on the way. And he had an opening song, and it was a conversation between the devil and the grave. >> It went something like this. Verse one, the demons were planning on having a party one night. They got beer, Jack Daniels, and pretzels, a little red wine, and some white. They were celebrating how they crucified Christ on that tree. But Satan the snake himself wasn't so at ease. Well, he took his crooked finger and he dialed the phone by his bed to call an old faithful friend who'd know for sure if he was dead. He said, "Grave, Grave, tell me, did my plan fail?" Old Grave just laughed and said, "Oh man, the dude is dead as nails." Verse two said, "A tranquilizer and a horror flick couldn't calm Satan's fear. So Saturday night he called old Grave, scared of what he'd hear." He said, "Hey, Grave, what's going on?" Grave said, "Man, you called me twice." And I'll tell you one more time, boss, the Jews on ice. The devil said, "Man, Grave, do you remember when old Lazarus was in his grave? Everything was cool. Then 4 days later, boom, old Lazarus was raised. Now this Jesus, he's much more trouble than anyone has been to me. It looked grave. The old devil said he's got me shook cuz he said he'll only be there three. >> So verse three goes, "Sunday morning, Satan woke with a jump, ready to blow a fuse. He was shaking from the tips of his pointy ears to the toes of his pointy shoes. He said, "Grave, tell me, is he alive? I don't want to lose my neck." Grave said, "You're evilness. Maintain your cool. Devil, you're a wreck." Grave said, "Cool your jets, Big D. My sting is still intact. Jesus is dead forever. He ain't never coming back. So mellow out, man. Just go drink up or shoot up. Look, devil, just leave old grave alone. I'll catch a I'll catch a He said, "Oh no." He said, "Oh no, he's on the Oh no, somebody's messing with the stone." Verse four said, "Well, the stone was rolled away and it bounced a time or two and an angel stepped inside and said, I'm Gabriel. Who are you?" If you're wondering where the Lord is at this very hour, I tell you, he's alive and well with resurrection power. The chorus goes on Friday night. They crucify the Lord at Calvary, but they said, "Don't dread. In three days, I'm going to live again. You'll see." So when problems try to bury you and make it hard to pray, it may seem like Friday night, but Sunday's on the way. But Sunday's on the way. Come on. Can you feel the message of the song that simply said, "Don't give up on Friday. Don't give up on Saturday because Sunday's coming." You may be seated. Sunday's on the way. And right as Jesus died, the graves opened up of these saints. The tomb of these saints. Uh they crack, the Bible says they cracked open on Friday, not Sunday. The power that emptied the tombs. Uh oh, it was released on Friday, not Sunday. It was all about the very moment that the cross said it is finished. >> Your grave, whatever has held you, was already cracked open on Friday when Jesus finished the work. The stone may look sealed. The situation may seem locked down, but the grave lost its final grip on Friday. If you can just hold on just a little bit longer, your grave is about to open and it's ready for you to come out. >> 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. For the old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new." through that very same resurrection power that raised Jesus out of the grave. Uh, it lifts us up today out of depression and out of shame and out of failure and out of sin. Your old man can stay in the grave, but Jesus is offering us a newness of life. >> I wonder if there's anybody just wants to testify in this place and say, "I'm so glad I'm free. I'm so glad I've been liberated. I'm so glad I'm not in the grave any longer. If he walked out of the grave choir I'm walking to. But I like this right here because 8 Romans 8 and2 says, "For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." We can testify tonight and say we're free from the Old Testament law. the law that required it required death for sin. And if you sinned, it required your death. But I thank God for a spotless lamb in the New Testament that brought us into the New Testament that shed his very own blood. The Bible says God shed his blood for you and for me. I'm thankful that he cared enough and loved us enough not to leave us where we were, but he said, "I will give you liberty and freedom, and I will pay the price." Oh, he did not owe it. I owe it, but he paid a debt he did not owe. And I'm so thankful for it. Somebody clap your hands if you're thankful for the debt that was paid. I could not pay it, but I thank God he paid it. Revelations 12:10 says, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God in the power of his Christ." Watch this right here. "For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Here we go. Verse 11 says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their >> testimony." Listen, everybody's got a testimony. Some of you, some of you may not know it, but I've got a personal testimony. Is it okay if I share it with you? >> You're looking at a crack addict that's never touched a crackpipe. You're you're looking at a drunk that's never touched liquor. You're looking at a a heroin junkie that's never shot up heroin. >> Oh, yeah. You you you're looking at a meth head who's never swallowed or snorted or inhaled or injected any meth into my body. I've got a testimony tonight of being delivered from stuff. Now, I know a lot of you got a a testimony of a being delivered of stuff, but I've been delivered from stuff. >> I grew up on a church pew and I I pastor, I used to think, man, I wish I had a testimony. I wish I had a testimony I could share with people. And oh, I didn't even realize that I've got one of the greatest testimonies to have never experienced any of these things right here. To never ever go down these roads. God has kept me from so many things. Uh so many things that would trip me up. Uh so many things would send me into an early grave. But I thank God for my testimony that I can say that God delivered me from stuff. Woo. Now listen, I know everybody's got a testimony. And there's people here tonight, you've been you have a testimony of a bar stool and drug houses or or abusive behaviors or or sexual immorality that you've been delivered out of those lifestyles. And and we celebrate you tonight. I I thank God that you're here tonight. I I thank God you no longer live those lifestyles. But I will guarantee you still in a crowd this size, there are people here tonight that still struggle with addiction. >> In a crowd this size, you cannot convince me that there's not somebody that's fighting and somebody that's saying, "Uh, I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm so sick and tired of being in this grave." But I want you to know you're not alone. I've come to give you hope tonight. The Bible itself is full of people that were trapped in graves of addictions and lifestyles of bondage. >> People that we we celebrate. People like Noah who who was a a drunk. Samson who was filled with lust. He was a heman with a she weakness. King Solomon. Oh, he had pleasure seeking issues. Come on, somebody. Judas a Scariot, he had a grave called greed. Ananas Safirus had a grave called deception. Deus had a grave called worldly pleasures. Simon the sorcerer had a grave called spiritual manipulation. Maybe you personally can't relate to any of these. But maybe somebody here tonight is stuck in a tomb with another addiction, another grave. Uh maybe even more powerful than crack cocaine. It's called the addiction of religion. >> I promise you, religion has sent more people to hell than crack cocaine will ever send to hell. >> People living in false religion and and man's philosophies and and coming up with their own definitions and reading the Bible and and define it the way they want to define it. More people will go to a devil's hell because they believe false truth than will ever go to hell because they've done drugs or alcohol or been promiscuous. But my God, I believe tonight this addiction of religion can be overcome and can be defeated if you'll open up your mind and open up your heart to the word of God and realize that God wants to save you out of so much. And it might not be anything that puts you in jail or prison, but it could very well be something that causes your family to be lost. >> I don't know about you, I don't want my family to be lost. And I sure hope you don't want your family to be lost. I don't want to believe a lie and be damned. But oh God, help us Lord to realize no matter if we feel like we got a spiritual halo and angel wings because we've never done the things other people have done, there's still always something. There's always a grave we can come about. >> You think about Jesus, he was always dealing with Pharisees and Sadducees, with scribes and teachers of the law. people that on the outside they looked like everything oh everything was perfect but God Jesus called them they looked like a bunch of whitening supplers full of death on the inside and Paul before conversion think about Paul Saul of Tarsus think about him he was a major religious zeal a zealot he was addicted to religion he was a persecutor of the early church oh the pharisees the religious leadersh They had an addiction to controversy. >> Come on. They were drama. They're dramatic. Everything about them endless doctrinal fights of rulekeeping for superiority. But Matthew 23 and 27, Jesus says, "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees uh you hypocrites. Uh for ye are like unto whitened supplers, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but are within full of dead men's bones. and all uncleanliness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. In Colossians 2:8, it says, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." >> Do you follow where I'm going here? There could be somebody here tonight uh that you believed one way all your life because maybe grandma believe that way or or your parents believe that way. And I'm not preaching against grandma. I'm not preaching against your parents. But you've got to read this word for yourself and understand it for yourself and rightly divide it for yourself because it's you. It's your salvation that matters. I love grandma. I love my family. But oh God, I've got to be saved. And if I want to be saved, I got to understand what the word of God tells me to do to be saved. >> 1 Timothy, oh, chapter 3, 6 and verse three. And I hope it's okay. Hey, I'm just going to read a bunch of scripture tonight, but the Bible says, "If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholesome words, uh, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing but doing about questions and stripes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil, surmisings, uh, perverse disputing of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposeding to gain in godliness, uh, from such you got to withdraw yourself. That's talking about religion addiction. I'm not talking about the word of God addiction. I'm talking about religion addiction. And such were some of you. Woo. I said, "And such were some of you." Now, I grew up my whole life. This is all I've ever known. But I've seen so many of you come out of world's religion. I've seen oh so many of you come out of the way of thinking and I thank God that you were given liberty maybe not of drugs but you were given liberty of the wrong religion and the wrong philosophies I don't want to follow men's philosophies I want to follow the words of this book right here this holy book oh my god help me Lord God I want to be resurrected out of the tomb of religion I'm rushing because I want to get to conclusion because I know we got people to baptize and oh, God help us. But I got to thinking about poor Judas's Scariot. Come on, think about Judas. He was one of the 12. You, you know, he had to have a good heart at one time. And I know that the Bible talks about that he was he was the treasure of the group. He he was the one that that held the Bible says that held the bag. He he he held the funds. He was the one that that that that they if there was offerings given, he was the treasure. He kept the offerings and and and it got to his head and he got to be greedy and he got to love money more than he loved the God that he was walking the earth with. But here we have poor Judas because he sells his friend, his savior, for 30 measly pieces of silver. But when he realizes what he has done, the Bible says he repented of his sin, >> he goes back to the very ones who paid him to betray Christ and he gave. He said, "I I want to give you this money back." And I don't know if in his mind he thought maybe maybe they've done enough to Jesus. Maybe they'll return if I give him the money back, maybe they'll return him back to me. I don't know what he thought, but you know the story. They threw that silver on the ground and said, "What is this to us? Uh get this out of our get get out of our face. Get get out of this courtroom. We want nothing to do with you." And the Bible says that he went and hung himself. >> If he could have just waited a few more days, oh my God, I feel the Holy Ghost. He could have had hope if he would have just waited and heard Jesus say, "It is finished." Come on, somebody. We can't look down too much at old Judas a Scariot. I know. Oh, it's a bad word in our language today. If somebody calls you a Judas a Scariot, that's a horrible term. That's a horrible thing to say about somebody. But if he could have just stuck around like Peter stuck around, >> the denier of Christ, he didn't deny Christ once. He didn't deny him twice. He denied him three times. And that was after Jesus told him, "You're going to deny me thrice." He was warned. Jesus told him, he he prophesied to him and said, "I'm just going to tell you what's about to happen. You're going to deny me three times." Oh, but brother Ch, I'm so thankful that Peter didn't give up like Judas did. I'm so thankful that Peter, although he was depressed, I'm sure on Saturday, I'm sure he was depressed all throughout Passion Week when he knew that he had denied Christ. I know he felt bad. I know he was disdained in his own mind. But thank you, Peter, for holding on because if you would have held on, who would have preached the day of Pentecost? Because it it was Peter that stepped up with the 12 with the 11 with him and said, "Men and brethren, I'm about to tell you what you need to be doing to be saved." God, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. But it was Peter that denied Christ, but it was also Peter who waited long enough to say to himself, "It is finished. Sin in my life is finished. sin in my life is defeated. I will no longer allow sin to take over my life. But he said, I'm going to repent of my sin. I'm going to say, Jesus, I'm so sorry for denying you. I'm so sorry for forsaking you in your lowest time. But oh Judas, why couldn't have you waited just a few more days? spiritually just like Peter, you could have came out of your grave just like those old saints did. But I begin to think, oh, if we can look over our life at the things that we've got ourselves into, and if we can look at those things and say as Jesus did on the cross, it is finished. Then we can look at Hebrews 9 and 26 because the finished work of the cross secures freedom. >> The Bible says, "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering, one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." I don't know if you're sanctified in this place, but I believe there's a whole lot of people that are sanctified by the blood of Jesus in this place. Uh through the burial of baptism in this place, uh through the resurrection and the newness of life in this place. Uh somebody ought to just cry, "It is finished." can give up those old ways and defeat Satan and sin in your life. >> Death lost its grip. The finished work of the cross secured freedom. Oh, for the people of God. Hebrews 9:26 says, "For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world, but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, he said it is finished." Romans 8:11 says, "But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you." When you cry out, "It is finished. Sin, I'm finished with you. I'm coming out." I believe the same power that raised Christ from the dead gives you power to come up out of the grave. so grave you cannot hold what the resurrection has claimed >> now that Jesus is alive and now that he's risen I thank God you and I can raise up oh most spiritually from the grave >> and if you are in this place addicted filled with shame filled with greed filled with lust or any subtal chains of false religion This could be your day of freedom. I believe somebody in this house just needs to simply declare, "It is finished. I'm done. It's over. I won't look back. I won't look back. I won't go back. I won't turn back. It is finished." >> But being finished with sin is not enough. We got to bury the dead man. >> Woo! It's called sin. You got to bury it. Romans 6 and4 says, "Therefore we are buried with him in baptism unto death, that as like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together or buried together in likeness of his death, we shall also be risen in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Death hath no more dominion over him. For that he died, he died under sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Newness of life simply means you get rid of the old nature, the sinful lifestyle. You bury it in a burial that's buried forever and you're no longer controlled by grave. >> But instead, we begin to walk in this fresh resurrection. Free. Come on, somebody. Free, holy, filled with the Holy Ghost. Uh, living with new desires, new victory, new purpose, and new joy as a brand new creation in Christ. And as the apostle Peter said it on the day of Pentecost, uh we find it in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. He tells us how to be buried and he also tells us how to receive the newness of life. Uh he simply says repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for what? >> For remission. That's the removal of sin. And Peter said, uh, once you die out, oh my God, and once you put that old man down in the grave, he said, "Ye shall come up and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Uh, I'm so thankful for the death, the burial, and the resurrection. I'm so thankful for repentance and baptism in Jesus' name, for the remission of sins, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful I've been born of the water and I've been born of the spirit. I'm so thankful that God the spirit of God lives on the inside. And because he lives on my inside is reflecting on the outside. Oh, I want you stand to your feet if you've got the Holy Ghost or if you want the Holy Ghost. Uh I wish you just begin to praise him because he's been good. Uh because he's alive. because he's still resurrecting people today. Uh he's in this househ. He's in this place. >> And I go back I go I go back to my opening story because Matthew never gives a direct explanation why the saints came up out of the grave on Easter Sunday. But I've got a pretty good idea. And you can you can oh look at every commentary. You can search through every Bible. You can search for through translations and you're not going to get a lot of explanation what happened here. But I believe number one, there have been such a yearning by the saints of old for a coming Messiah that death couldn't hold them at the resurrection. >> Number two, the power of the Holy Ghost was so strong that death in the grave had to release every saint in the surrounding tombs of Jesus. I don't know how far out those saints tombs opened up. I don't know if it was within a quarter of mile or a half mile or if it was in a 100 ft. I don't know. But when those tombs opened up and when Jesus came walking out of that grave, the Bible says those bodies came up out of the grave. Come on. I know. I know. I know. Some of y'all been watching too many too many shows about zombies and stuff in this Walking Dead. They didn't come out like this. The Bible says they presented themselves to people in the city of Jerusalem. I want you to imagine what that must have been like. Come on, somebody. It's already been a crazy week and there's already been crucifixions. There's there's already been earthquakes. There there's already been thunderings and there's already been great great catastrophic events going on. But now there's a knock at the door and you open the door. I don't know, maybe your grandmother's standing at the door that died 25 years ago, been buried 25 years, and you're like, "What in the world is happening?" I I wish Matthew would Jordan, I wish Matthew would have told the rest of the story. Did they present themselves, Brother Matt, and then just turn around and go back to the grave? I guess they had they must have just went back and got back in, Jackson. I don't know what happened. All I know is there was a testimony service like no other testimony. If he got out of the grave, if he got out of the grave, if he if the saints of old got out of the grave, I don't know what you're se what you're suffering with today. I don't know what's bothering you and holding you hostage today. But I want you to know that the grave is already open. And if you could just understand, all it's going to take is a decision for you to walk up out of the grave. All it's going to take is a decision for you to say, "God, I declare it is finished. I refuse to sin any longer. Sin is defeated. Death, hell, and the grave is defeated. I refuse to live that lifestyle any longer. But I'm going to come up into an altar and I'm going to say, "Jesus, I give you my life. Jesus, I'm going to go down into a baptism, a burial of water. I'm going down to the river. I'm going to be buried alive. I'm going to prove. I'm going to show that this old man is dead. I'm rising again into the newness of life. I believe you can be filled with the Holy Ghost tonight. I believe if you're really hungry, you can come out of the grave and be filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost and fire shut up in your mouth. It's going to change. It's going to rearrange. It's going to make everything new. Holy, holy, holy. Yeah. That same power is in the church. That same power is in the church. >> Won't you grab a hold of somebody? >> Some of you can dance on the grave. I don't live there no more. >> I refuse to live here any longer. >> Come on, somebody. the pain that I want. >> Testing on the grave once. >> I don't live here no more. I >> You don't have to live there anymore. Set you free. >> Let the Holy Ghost set you free. >> Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. No. Listen, listen. I get excited because we're just testifying through our worship right now. That's all we're doing. People look at Pentecostals and they say, "Why do you have to do all that dancing, all that shouting, all that commotion? I see your people running. They're doing a two-step dance. What is that all about? If you only knew what I've been through, if you've ever seen what I've come up out of, if you ever experienced what I've experienced, you couldn't help yourself. And I know that's what we're doing tonight. We're just showing God, I can't help myself. But hold on because what if there's somebody here tonight that hasn't experienced what you've experienced, brother Malone? What if they're still in the grave? What? What if they're still there and the power's taking place? Uh the thunder, the earthquake, uh the the rocks have broken open and here they are. They're looking out and it's Sunday morning and they see the sunshining, but all they're doing is looking out of a grave and they just can't make up in their mind. I'm begging you tonight to make up in your mind that you'll do whatever it takes to come out of the grave. Even if it means getting into a pool of water and going down in the name of Jesus and getting your hair all wet and getting your hair all messed up and must I believe he's worthy to go down into a grave, a watery grave. 1 Corinthians 15:13 says, "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen." And brother Hammond quoted this this morning. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching in vain? I'm wasting my time. And your faith is also you. You your faith is in vain. Yay. And we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up. If so be that the dead rise not. People were questioning, I don't know about this resurrection. I I don't know if there's really a newness of life. I don't know if the dead can rise spiritually or physically. But verse 16 says, "For if the dead rise not, there is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain. Ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. They're gone. They're dead. There's no hope for a future. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. Happy Easter. Happy resurrection Sunday. Uh for since by man came death by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all men be made alive. Come on. You ought to look like you're alive today. Uh there'll be something on your face. Uh that shows that you're alive today. Uh there will be something that says I'm testifying that God has been so good to me. Uh Holy Ghost, I wish you would feel somebody. I wish there would be stammering lips in this place. Uh now we're going to sing and that's okay. But I want you to find somebody that needs the Holy Ghost. If you brought somebody tonight with you, if you got somebody standing next to you that you know they need this power inside of them, I wish you begin to pray right now. I wish this whole place would turn into ministers and you and lay hands upon one another and to say in Jesus name, let the Holy Ghost be poured out, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Come on. You got to look around and find somebody. Don't look at me. I've got the Holy Ghost. We got children around here. We got people need to be renewed. We got people that need to be set free. And the Holy Ghost is going to do all of that. That's right. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you. We got somebody right here that he's the Holy Ghost. He's been delivered and set free. Thank you. Come on. Come on. Come on. This is an apostolic church. Come on. We're used to this. Hey. Okay. Maybe you can't find anybody near you cuz I know that the majority of us have the Holy Ghost. Why don't you just put your arm around somebody next to you and just say, "Hey, help me testify through worship right here." We're about to sing and we're about to shout, but help me testify through worship right here