JOY COMES IN THE MORNING

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• Jesus is alive!

Psalm 30:1-5 NLT

1 I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me.

    You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,

    and you restored my health.

3 You brought me up from the grave,[a] O LORD.

    You kept me from falling into the pit of death.

4 Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones!

    Praise his holy name.

5 For his anger lasts only a moment,

    but his favor lasts a lifetime!

Weeping may last through the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• After Jesus was crucified…

John 19:40-42 CSB

40 They took Jesus’s body and wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant spices, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it. 

42 They placed Jesus there because of the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.

Matthew 27:60-61 ESV

60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And [they] rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• Easter is not about religion.

• Easter is about REALITY.

• Easter is about a person…His name is Jesus.

• Jesus did not come so that we might have a better religion.

• Jesus came so that we might have life.

• Eternal life.

• Abundant life.

• Life that can only be found in Him.

• Life with Jesus.

• Jesus was a real man.

Matthew 28:1-6 ESV

28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he[a] lay.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• He was resurrected!

• Then his disciples watched as He ascended into heaven.

• Peter was there.

• Peter saw it.

• Peter later wrote in a letter to some of the first Christians:

1 Peter 3:22 ESV

22 [Jesus Christ] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

• Easter is not about religion.

• Easter is about a person.

• His name is Jesus.

• Easter is about what is real.

• Ever since that first Easter Sunday the world has never been the same.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• Jesus found me.

• Jesus chose me.

• Jesus became my Lord.

• Jesus made it possible for me to have a relationship with my Heavenly Father.

• A real, active, mutual relationship.

• He said,

• “I love you, my son.”

• “I love you…because it’s who I am.”

• Receive it.

• Believe it.

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

• Easter is about the unveiling of who Jesus REALLY is.

• Easter is the culmination of the entire storyline of the Bible.

• Do you see the beauty of the gospel?

Titus 3:3 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

Titus 3:4-7 ESV

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, [not because we met Him halfway], but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to [with] the hope of eternal life.

• Jesus loves you. This I know. For the Bible tells me so.

• Let Jesus give you JOY.

• Let Jesus give you rest.

Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at [gentle and lowly in] heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

• Easter is a day to celebrate.

• But for some of us…this Easter is bittersweet.

• Because for some of us life is currently filled with SORROW.

• It feels like the dark night of the soul will never end.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• Jesus knows the dark night of the soul

John 16:20 ESV

20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. 

You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

• Jesus knew the sorrow that was coming for His disciples.

• Jesus knew the sorrow that was coming for him!

• Jesus didn’t pretend that life was not going to be hard.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

• Jesus is with us in our SORROW.

• Jesus knows.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• Jesus had Psalm 22 in mind as He was dying on the cross.

Psalm 22:1-2 ESV

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

    and by night, but I find no rest.

• Have you ever felt like this?

• Is this where you’re at today?

• Jesus knows.

SORROW may last through the night, 

but JOY comes in the morning.

• Just like Jesus felt SORROW…

• Jesus also had JOY.

• HOPE.

• Because Jesus knew how Psalm 22 would end.

Psalm 22:24 ESV

24 For he has not despised or abhorred [detested]

    the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

    but has heard, when he cried to him.

Psalm 22:26 ESV

26 The afflicted[d] shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the LORD!

    May your hearts live forever!

Psalm 22:27-31 CSB

27 All the ends of the earth will remember

and turn to the LORD.

All the families of the nations

will bow down before you,

28 for kingship belongs to the LORD;

he rules the nations.

29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down;

all those who go down to the dust

will kneel before him—

even the one who cannot preserve his life.

30 Their descendants will serve him;

the next generation will be told about the Lord.

31 They will come and declare his righteousness;

to a people yet to be born

they will declare what he has done.

• It is finished.