COG 105: Loving Resurrection Sunday!

If this really is the greatest Christian celebration of the year, then why doesn’t it feel that way? Join AMBrewster for an introspective look into how we can retrain our emotions to love Resurrection Sunday the way we should.

The Year Long Celebration of God is part of the Evermind Ministries Family.

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Discover the following episodes by clicking the titles or navigating to the episode in your app:
What is Worship? Series
Grow Your Worship Series
COG 81: Grow Your Worship, Part 2 | Change What You Feel
Celebrating God at Church Series

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Transcript

Introduction

Today’s show is going to be a little different from the norm because today we’re talking about how to retrain our emotions in light of Resurrection Sunday.

I’ve mentioned a number of times on this show that Resurrection Sunday (or Easter) is the greatest Christian holiday of the year, but . . . let’s be honest, many of us just don’t feel the same way about Easter as we do Christmas.

Why is that, and what can we do about it?

Well, I’m glad you asked. So, let’s talk about that right now, and then you can check out our free episode notes, transcript, and Resurrection resources at CelebrationOfGod.com.

Topic

If you’ve listened to the show for any amount of time, then you’ve probably heard me say that I did not used to celebrate the holidays in a Christ-honoring manner. And — due to that most unfortunate reality — I found it hard to really love Easter.

But all of that started changing a couple years ago as the Lord started teaching a bunch of powerful lessons about Him, me, and my relationship with Him.

I won’t recap all of those right now, but I will say that the entire Year Long Celebration of God was born out of this time of personal discipleship.

But I did struggle early on with an interesting problem. 

Growing up Christmas was always my favorite holiday. But — let’s be honest — it didn’t really have anything to do with God. Sure, the baby in the manger was part of it, but — for me — it was the snow and lights and presents and cookies and parties and movies and music and family and fun. And — sure — the fact that Jesus was incarnated was great too.

I’m not saying that I wasn’t born again or that I didn’t care about God, but I’m trying to be transparent enough to admit that I loved those others things more.

And, from my experiences, research, and conversations with others, I would have to say that many (if not most) American Christians struggle with the same issue. America has done an amazing job of transforming Christmas into the most wonderful time of the year.

But, as I continue my confession, I also have to admit that I really loved Thanksgiving more than Easter too. Other than the times when we had to sit around listening to everyone be thankful, Thanksgiving was all about food and family and friends and fun.

So, yes, for decades my heart would race just thinking about those holidays. But Resurrection Sunday . . . ? Not so much.

Again, yes, as a believer, the reality of Christ’s defeating death and hell were definitely significant for me. But the “feels” just weren’t really there. And it probably had a lot to do with the fact that my family didn’t regularly paint eggs, do easter baskets or egg hunts, or much else except celebrate Easter by going to church.

So, as a kid, it was pretty much like any other Sunday — which, if I’m still being honest — was either a nuisance, or it was a time to see my friends in-between teaching times.

Now, after all of that, you’re either thinking, “Wow, this Aaron guy was so superficial and carnal.” Or, you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, I really understand this Aaron guy.”

So, for those of you who — like I — recognize that Easter needs to be more important in your life, and you really think it would be cool to be as excited about Resurrection Sunday as you are for Christmas Day, then I hope what is to follow will help you.

But — fair warning — it is going to take work.

So, I want to answer two main questions: 

1. What are emotions?

And . . .

2. How do I get excited about Easter?

1. What are emotions?

First, let me say that emotions aren’t as important as many people make them out to be. In fact, biblically speaking, emotions aren’t something for which we should be living.

I encourage you to check out our Grow Your Worship Series. Part 2 talks about how to “Change What You Feel.” I’ll include a link in the description for your ease of access.

In that episode I lay out a biblical doctrine of emotions, which is something I can’t take the time to do today. But I do want to reiterate that as special as emotions are, and despite the fact that God designed them for important reasons, emotions are not nearly as important as our world says they are.

So, please understand, I am not suggesting that any of us need to feel a certain way about Easter. I’m not suggesting that we have to feel something. I’m not suggesting that if we don’t feel a certain way, we can’t glorify God on Resurrection Sunday.

I’m simply trying to encourage those of you who have a genuine desire to align your feelings with the reality of God’s Word.

If the Bible teaches us that the Resurrection was the most glorious event in history, then shouldn’t we be more excited about celebrating that day than a less significant day? Of course we should.

It’s not about the emotions, but our emotions should grow from our beliefs and desires just like our actions and words do.

Again, if you haven’t worked through our Grow Your Worship Series, you’re really missing out.

So, with that foundation laid. What are emotions?

Well, they’re a gift, a sacrifice, and an alarm.

Emotions are a gift to be enjoyed by the individual, the church, and spiritual authorities. I won’t explain all of that now; check out the link below to learn more.

But like everything else in our lives, God expects us to glorify Him with our emotions just like our words and deeds. We don’t have the right to consume our emotions for our own pleasure. That’s the world talking. The world says we exist simply to be happy and that we should follow our hearts and do what feels good.

But God says that our emotions need to be an act of worship to Him.

And, lastly, our emotions are an alarm. 

Have you ever been hooked up to a heart monitor? As annoying as those beeps can be after hours of monitoring, we’re all glad they’re there. But when the flat line draws across the screen, there’s trouble.

In the same way, the emotions are not the most important thing, they’re the thing that gives us very important information about the most important thing.

As we learned in our Grow Your Worship Series, everything we do, say, feel, want, and think reveals the most important thing about us . . . what we believe.

Therefore, if I’m happy about something God says should sadden me, my emotions are sending off an alarm — warning me that something is wrong.

If I’m depressed when God says I should be joyful, then — again — my emotions are warning me that there’s a real problem.

So, when it comes to Easter, if you’re annoyed, bothered, angry, depressed, or put-out about having to go to church and hear about Jesus . . . there is a huge problem, and it’s not your emotions. It’s the fact that no genuine child of God is going to consistently hate the things of God. We may have a bad attitude for a time, but the Holy Spirit will convict us, and we will confess that, apologize, and repent.

Therefore, if I believe that Easter is the most important and glorious celebration of the year, it must follow that my thoughts, desires, feelings, words, and actions are going to mirror my beliefs.

So, now let’s answer the next question.

2. How do I get excited about Easter?

In short, we change our emotions by changing our beliefs.

I didn’t love Easter because I didn’t really know, understand, and believe how important Easter is.

Now, I’m going to share 5 very practical and helpful ways to increase your excitement for and during Easter, but I want to start by looking at Psalm 16:8-11. This Psalm not only talks about the Resurrection, it also teaches our first point.

"I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Yes, verse 10 is referenced in Acts 13:35 in regard to the Resurrection. But pay close attention to verses 9 and 11: “Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. . . . In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” 

And why are those things true? Because verse 8 said, “I have set the Lord continually before me.”

So, how can I train my emotions to be glad and rejoice and have joy and experience pleasure during Easter?  

1. You need to study the truth about the Resurrection, and you need to believe it.

According to Jesus, ignorance and unbelief are the defining characteristics of a hard heart. But when a true follower of Christ really knows, understands, and believes God’s Word, their heart is tuned to sing His praise. They truly begin rejoicing in the Lord.

You will never truly revel in Easter if you don’t really understand what it is.

You will never truly joy in Easter if your desires are more important than God’s defeat of sin and death and hell. 

You need to study the truth about the Resurrection, and you need to believe it. And that needs to be your first step, because it will fuel everything that comes next.

2. You need to ask God to help you love Him and His mighty deeds of love.

Psalm 69: 30 and 31 say, “I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.”

And verses 32-34 read, “The humble have seen it and are glad; You who seek God, let your heart revive. 33 For the Lord hears the needy And does not despise His who are prisoners. 34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, The seas and everything that moves in them.”

The Lord hears the needy, and He revives those who seek Him. Talk to God about your desire. Let Him know that you love Him, but that you want to love Him more. Ask Him to help you increase your faith. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you humbly acknowledge the majesty and awe of the Savior so that your heart is bursting with gladness.

And that leads to . . .

3. You need to make a big deal out of Easter.

If you want to genuinely anticipate and get excited about Easter, then — along with better understanding it and asking God to help you — you need to plan to really celebrate it!

We don’t get excited about things that aren’t exciting to us. Now, I’m not saying that we can’t get excited about Easter without candy and egg rolls. In fact, I’m going to argue the fact opposite.

I’m not encouraging you to hype up your carnal emotional responses by doing a bunch of fluffy stuff that will simply make your flesh feel good — you know, the egg painting and easter egg hunts and bunnies and baskets that really don’t have anything to do with Easter, but will excite our fleshly passions.

I’m encouraging you to focus on the most important parts of the holiday. You need to plan to assemble with God’s people, engage in corporate worship, praise Him, learn about Him, pray to Him, and participate in the one-anothers to the glory of God. 

Yes, by all means, have a feast to celebrate the day. Eat some sweets. But make sure that everything you do is motivated by the glory of God and not merely some selfish gratification.

I’ve been fasting for Lent this year, and — as many of you know — you fast from Monday through Saturday, but you don’t fast on Sunday. Well, there have been quite a few times that the eating that I should have been doing as an act of worship to God and foretaste of eternity, was merely a mindless, gluttonous feast for my senses with no thought to God at all.

Let’s not do that with Eater.

Instead, let’s prepare for Resurrection Sunday by reading the Easter Bible Reading at CelebrationOfGod.com. Let’s listen to music that truly exalts Christ. Let’s plan to get together with our brothers and sisters in Christ to celebrate the Resurrection. Let’s go to church.

And if you’re listening right now and have a very bad feeling about the idea of going to church, I encourage you to listen to our Celebrating God at Church Series.

Now, I’m not saying that Easer baskets are sin, but we definitely need to be super intentional when it comes to how we handle it and talk about it — otherwise the bunnies and baskets have the same effect as Santa and the presents . . . it becomes all about me.

But the bigger God-focused deal you make out of the Resurrection, the more excited you will be.

Now, again, I’m not saying that you have to observe Easter the way Christians in the West do. But I am saying that a born again believer is definitely going to praise God and exalt Him for His tremendous gift of salvation that was purchased on the cross and sealed in the Resurrection.

But we shouldn’t just make a big deal out of Easter in what we do. 

4. You need to talk about Easter the way you want feel about it.

In our Grow Your Worship Series, I make mention of the fact that emotions — in a similar way that they are fed by our desires — they also feed our desires. Even though we want what we think about, and we think about what we believe, when we want something, and we get it, and our emotions soar high, that influences our future desires.

But we must never forget that it’s our beliefs and desires that feed our emotional responses in the first place.

Therefore, when I say something like, “I want to really rejoice in the Resurrection this year,” that will help to tune my emotional response when the time comes.

When I say “I’m really looking forward to Easter this year,” that will actually cause me to start looking forward to it even more.

The first few times I said, “Easter is the best holiday of the year,” I can remember not fully feeling it. But since then, as I have grown in my faith, my desires have changed, and my emotions are reflecting the new reality in my heart.

And the more excited I get about what God has done, the more I look forward to decorating for Easter and going to church and celebrating and talking about it.

Easter really is the greatest celebration of the year, so there’s nothing wrong with saying that even if your emotions haven’t quite caught up yet.

And, talking about talking, we will get more excited about our Easter celebration when we do today’s final point.

1. You need to study the truth about the Resurrection, and you need to believe it.
2. You need to ask God to help you love Him and His mighty deeds of love.
3. You need to make a big deal out of Easter.
4. You need to talk about Easter the way you want feel about it.

And all of that will make this last point much easier.

5. You need to invite others to celebrate Resurrection Sunday with you.

On episode 51, we talked about the fact that Eastertide is a 50 day celebration which includes the Seven Sundays of Easter. And last year my family and I invited a different family from our church to celebrate each of the Seven Sundays. It was so much fun, it deepened our relationships, and we strove to glorify God with it.

So, invite other followers of Christ into the celebration. Invite them to study the Resurrection and believe the beauty of it. Pray with them about it. Make a big deal out of it with them. And talk with them about it.

When we truly fellowship with God’s people around God’s truth, it has a massive effect on how we feel.

Conclusion

I believe you all will start enjoying Easter more and more as you strive to worship God with your yearly Easter celebration.

Of course, it’s not about how we feel, it’s about how we worship. But wouldn’t it be great if our emotions deepened as our worship deepens?

Well, that’s how God created it to work. So, yeah, this is less about feeling a certain way, and more about worshipping God as we should.

And when we do that, we will start to feel a different way.

Please share this episode on your favorite social media outlets and join us next time as we seek to better know, love, and worship God and help the people in our lives do the same.

To that end, we’ll be discussing Worshipping God in May.