Prince of Life, Man of Sorrows

I stood at the top of the Skillion at Terrigal yesterday and looked back at houses with million dollar 180 degree views of the ocean. Are the owners of those houses triumphing at life?

I walked past a family of four sitting at the beach, enjoying the sun, laughing together and munching on some healthy sandwiches. Are they triumphing at life?

I walked past an old man, smiling as the sun rose over Macmasters Beach, enjoying his coffee. Is he triumphing at life? 

What would triumphing in life look like for you?

We all have our own vision of what it might look like to really live life well, to real win at life. But the ultimate victory in life actually has nothing to do with things.

The ultimate victory in life has everything to do with you and Jesus.

Paul explains in Colossians 2 that Jesus triumphed at the cross for you!

He writes, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us;

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

For Jesus, triumph in life came through his obedience to the will of God, his subsequent suffering on the cross for us and work of defeating the enemy of his friends through that same death.

Triumph came not through gaining what life has to offer but by providing life to the full to those who would trust in him. For people like you.

We gather at Easter to celebrate this triumph. That at the cross, Jesus bore our sins in his body that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; that we might give away the constant pursuit of triumph in this life, realising that ultimate triumph is found in the next.

There is so much that can disappoint in this life. There is nothing that will disappoint about the next when you trust in Jesus. Moreover, triumphing without Jesus in this life excludes you from triumphing with Jesus in the next.

Easter is the best time of the year to invite friends to hear this message. Who are you praying might come to know Jesus; who are you wanting to Share Life with? Would that person be ready for an invite to an Easter service? I’ll be praying you have courage to give it a go.