Texts: Acts 2:14, 22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31


The Sad Truth About Sunday Christians Let me ask you a hard question. A painful question.

Why are you here today?

Did you come because everybody is coming? Did you come because you don't want people to question you? Did you come out of habit—because it's Sunday, and this is what you do?

Or did you come to meet the Risen Lord?

There is one sad thing in this Christian journey that breaks my heart. It is this: Coming to church and living the same.

We sing "He is Risen!" with loud voices. We wave our hands. We shout "Hallelujah!" But then we go back home—back to the same fear, the same sin, the same anxiety, the same doubt. Nothing changes.

We keep celebrating Easter, but our lives are always the same.

And honestly? Sometimes it feels like those who don't come to church are better off than us. At least they are honest about their brokenness. At least they don't pretend.

It starts to feel like our God is powerless.

Look around. Many people in church today are living in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of death. Fear of the future. Fear of what people think. Fear of that medical report. Fear of that marriage collapsing.

You have heard the Gospel for years. You know the tomb is empty. You know Jesus rose. But your heart is still a locked room.

This morning, I came to provoke somebody. I came to shake you awake.

Because if you can change your mentality—if you can stop being Thomas and start having faith in the Lord—you will do exploits in the Kingdom of God.

Point One: The Problem – Fear is a Prison Look at John 20:19.

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders..."

Let that sink in.

These are the men who walked with Jesus for three years. They saw the miracles. They heard the sermons. They watched Him raise Lazarus from the dead.

Mary came and told them, "I have seen the Lord!" Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it empty. They had the reports. They had the evidence.

Yet they still locked the doors.

Why? Because information does not cure fear. Evidence does not automatically produce faith.

Fear is a prison. And these disciples—the future pillars of the Church—were sitting in that prison, hiding, trembling, defeated.

That is exactly where many of you are sitting today.

You know Jesus rose. You believe it in your head. But your heart is still locked. You are afraid to trust God with your finances. You are afraid to surrender that relationship. You are afraid to step out in ministry. You are afraid of dying. You are afraid of living.

And so you come to church week after week, but you leave the same.

This is not what Jesus died for.

He did not rise from the grave so you could spend your life hiding in a locked room.

Point Two: The Solution – Three Ways to Encounter the Risen Lord But thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God for the resurrection from the dead!

Because the resurrection is not just a historical event to celebrate once a year. The resurrection is a present power that can change your life today.

The same Jesus who walked through that locked door can walk through the locked door of your heart.

Today, I want to show you three ways you can encounter the Risen Lord. And when you encounter Him, you will not leave the same.

Way #1: Coming to Church (The Assembly of Believers) Look back at John 20:19. Where were the disciples? They were assembled together.

They were afraid. Yes. They were confused. Yes. But they were together. They had not abandoned the gathering.

And because they were gathered in His name, Jesus came and stood among them.

There is a special promise for God's people when we come together. Jesus said, "Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20).

Now listen to me carefully: Coming to church does not automatically change you. Many people sit in these pews every Sunday and leave exactly the same. But that is not the fault of the church. That is the fault of your mentality.

If you come to church just to check a box, you will leave empty. If you come to church to be seen by people, you will leave empty. If you come to church because you don't want to be questioned, you will leave empty.

But if you come to church expecting to meet the Risen Lord—if you come hungry, desperate, believing that Jesus will show up—then you will not leave the same.

Today, change your mentality. From now on, when you come to church, say to yourself: "I am going to meet Jesus face to face. And I will not meet Him and leave the same."

Way #2: Through the Word of God The second way we encounter the Risen Lord is through His Word.

The Word of God is Jesus Himself. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

When you read the Bible, you are not reading an ancient textbook. You are encountering the living Christ. When you hear the Word preached, Jesus is speaking to you.

Look at Acts 2:14-32. Peter stood up and preached the Word. He quoted Scripture (Psalm 16). He explained the resurrection. And what happened? The people were cut to the heart. Three thousand souls were saved that day. Why? Because they encountered the Risen Lord through the Word.

When you open your Bible at home, do it with expectation. Say, "Lord, speak to me. I am here to encounter You."

When you sit under preaching, don't just listen with your ears. Listen with your heart. Expect Jesus to walk through the door of your mind and change you.

Way #3: Through Prayer and Worship The third way we encounter the Risen Lord is through prayer and worship.

Prayer is not just saying words. Prayer is conversation with the living God. Worship is not just singing songs. Worship is entering into the presence of the One who conquered death.

In John 20, when Jesus appeared, what did Thomas do? He fell down and worshiped. He said, "My Lord and my God!"

That is the response of encounter. Not casual nodding. Not distracted singing. But desperate, surrendered worship.

When you pray this week, don't just ask for things. Sit in His presence. Tell Him you love Him. Tell Him you need Him. Tell Him you want to encounter Him.

When you sing on Sunday morning, don't just move your lips. Lift your heart. Close your eyes. Raise your hands. Say, "Jesus, I am here to meet You."

Point Three: The Result – What Happens When You Encounter Jesus Now, why does this matter? What actually happens when you encounter the Risen Lord?

Let me give you three things from our Scriptures today.

Result #1: Deliverance from Sin, Fear, Pain, and Death When Jesus walked into that locked room, the first word He spoke was "Peace be with you."

Not "Fear be with you." Not "Anxiety be with you." Peace.

Because the resurrection means that sin is defeated. The resurrection means that death is destroyed. The resurrection means that fear has lost its power.

1 Peter 1:3 says: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

You have been given a living hope. Not a dead religion. Not a empty tradition. A living hope that can cast out fear.

When you truly encounter the Risen Lord, fear cannot stay. Sin cannot stay. The pain of your past loses its grip. Death becomes a doorway, not a dead end.

Result #2: Transformation (You Don't Leave the Same) Second, when you encounter Jesus, He transforms you.

Look at Peter. In John 20, Peter is hiding in a locked room. Just weeks earlier, he denied Jesus three times. He was a coward.

But in Acts 2, that same Peter stands before thousands of people and preaches with boldness. What happened? He encountered the Risen Lord. And he was transformed.

1 Peter 1:6-7 says that your faith—tested by fire—results in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus is revealed.

The trials you are going through right now? The fears you are carrying? God wants to use your encounter with Jesus to transform those trials into testimony.

You don't have to stay the same. The same Jesus who changed Peter can change you.

Result #3: Empowerment and Assignment (Witness to the World) Finally, when you encounter the Risen Lord, He does not leave you sitting in the room. He sends you out.

Look at John 20:21-22:

"Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

And look at Acts 2:32: "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it."

When you encounter Jesus, you receive power. You receive an assignment. You are sent into the world to tell others what you have seen and heard.

You cannot meet the Risen Lord and keep it to yourself. It is impossible. The joy is too great. The peace is too real. The transformation is too obvious.

Some of you have been sitting in this church for years, and you have never told anyone about Jesus. Why? Because you have never truly encountered Him. You have religion, but not relationship. You have habits, but not heart-change.

Today, that can end.

Conclusion: Stop Dying in Your Sin Jesus came to this earth to give us eternal life. He said in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Not a half-life. Not a fearful life. Not a stagnant life. Full life.

One sad thing that can happen to a person who goes to church every Sunday is to die in their sin. To sit in the pews week after week, year after year, and never actually surrender to Jesus. To hear about the resurrection but never let it change you.

I don't want that for you. God doesn't want that for you.

Today, Jesus is standing in the middle of your locked room. He is not outside shouting at you. He is inside, right where you are, right in the middle of your fear.

He is showing you His hands. He is showing you His side. He is saying, "Look. I died for this fear. I rose for this doubt. Peace be with you."

Will you stop being Thomas? Will you stop demanding signs and just believe?

Change your mentality. From now on, don't come to church to perform. Come to church to encounter. Don't read your Bible as a duty. Read it as a date with Jesus. Don't pray empty words. Pray like you are speaking to the King who conquered the grave.

And when you encounter Him, you will not leave the same.

You will leave delivered. You will leave transformed. You will leave empowered to tell somebody else.