The King is Coming! The Results of the Resurrection

Introduction: Can I just ask you, by a show of hands, how many of you have had someone close to you die? Death… is a hard reality isn’t it?

Recently our church has suffered several deaths- people we really loved who will be greatly missed. I recently lost my grandfather to death. He lived a long time, he was 93 years old, but he could not escape death. None of us can. Death is an awful reality that touches every one of us. The statistics say that 1 out of every 1 person still dies; death has a 100% success rate, with only one exception- Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the central doctrine of the Christian faith.Without the resurrection, we have a religion like every other- a moral code, an ethic, a way to live our life on earth, but nothing that lasts beyond the grave. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is what separates Christianity from every other religion on earth, & what separates Jesus from every other religious figure that has ever lived. Those people are still dead, but Jesus is alive!

Jesus Christ is the only person who ever lived, died by His own choice, & was resurrected by His own power. Our text will help us see that Jesus’ resurrection is not just a past event, but it has power that reaches far into the future, it affects us right now, and even beyond.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.- What does this text teach us?

Kids- draw a line across the middle of your art box, & in the top half, draw a picture of Jesus coming out of His grave, the empty tomb.

Jesus’s Resurrection is REAL to us. Vs. 20

Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. I understand the skepticism that people- We’ve all attested to the fact that we have lost someone to death, but none of us are claiming that we’ve seen any of those people rise from the dead. I don’t mean someone who dies suddenly from a heart attack or something & is brought back quickly by a medical staff.

When we talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we are talking about a man who lived a perfectly righteous life, who was betrayed by a follower, arrested by religious leaders, tried by their court, denied by a close friend, & delivered into the hands of evil men who beat Him, mocked Him, flogged Him, & crucified Him. He really died, then 3 days later, He really rose from the dead!

There are several theories that Jesus didn’t really die & rise again:

It was a hoax; the disciples made it up. (& died for it?) Jesus did not die, he fainted (or was drugged) & awoke later. (the Romans were expert executioners, Jesus was dead) The disciples had dreams or hallucinations of the risen Jesus. (500 people saw Him at one time, all of them hallucinated?) The grave was not really empty- the women went to the wrong tomb, or the body was stolen (Matt 28:11-15).

The chief priests & elders paid off the guards to say “(13) His disciples… came & stole him away while we were asleep... (promised protection) 15 this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.”

Jesus’ resurrection is real. Every one of us who confesses Jesus as Lord & Savior can testify to the truth of Jesus Christ being alive. We know He is living because He lives in us! It is a profound miracle, with a purpose.

Jesus’ Resurrection is to REDEEM us. Vss. 21-22

There are two realities we are dealing with here: death & sin. We know death is real, it is a certainty (along with taxes, because of government).

Death is certain because of sin.Just as each of us can testify to the effects of death in our lives, we can attest to sin’s impact in our lives.

Sin is the reason that death even exists. Romans 5:12 “...through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Our text names the man- Adam. He is responsible for the sin & death that came into the world, & we are responsible because we perpetuate the sin & death that is in the world. Sin is not merely something we do, it is something in our nature.

After sin came into the world, so did death, & now we know to expect death as the natural course of life. Romans 6:23 “...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Eternal life is the purpose of Jesus’ death & resurrection. Adam brought sin & death; Jesus brings salvation & life. Jesus died in our place to pay for our sins- this is what REDEEM means. ILL: Granny’s coke bottles

Romans 3:23–24, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus bought us back from sin & death to give us life & peace. To be saved we must put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for the gift of eternal life. Everyone who believes has the promise of resurrection. Jesus will return to raise His people from the dead.

Kids- in the bottom, draw a picture of Jesus coming back from heaven. After the service be sure to show me your pictures.

Jesus’ Resurrection is to RECEIVE us. Vss. 23-24

Jesus Christ will RETURN and RECEIVE His people who have died.

1st, there is an ORDER:Christ is the firstfruits; an OT harvesting term. It means the first sheaf of the harvest was given to show that all of the harvest belonged to Him. It was waved before the Lord as an offering. Christ was raised first, as a sign that all of God’s people will be raised.

2nd, there is an IDENTITY: the ones who are raised are those who are Christ’s when He returns, & it could happen at any moment- imminent. The imminence of Christ’s return necessitates that we be ready for it. You can only be ready by turning from your sins & trusting in Jesus.

3rd, there is an END:when Christ returns, He will deliver the kingdom to God & put an end to all rulers, authorities, & powers. That means even you.

The power you think you have to control your circumstances, the authority that you think you have over your own life, your own rule of yourself, it will come to an end in the presence of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9–11, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You either confess Christ as Lord here & now; or you will confess Him as Lord then & there, but it will be too late. Either way, there is coming a day when Christ will return & receive His own people unto Himself. Are you one of His? He must come back to put an end to death & make everything right again.

Jesus’ Resurrection is to REIGN over us. Vss. 25-28

Jesus Christ must REIGN as the King to destroy death. The resurrection:

1) A Past reality: the crucifixion & resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead really happened, & it had a purpose- to redeem all people who put their faith & trust in Him for eternal life.

2) A Powerful reality: demonstrating both His humanity & His deity, vindicating Him as the LORD, & saving all those who believe in & confess Him as their Lord.

3) A Prospective reality: there’s an aspect of it that hasn’t happened yet, but it will- the 2nd Coming of Christ in which He will return & receive all those people who are His.

We live in the tension between two worlds that are at odds with one another. It is a world in which Christ has already been resurrected & to which He will return, & we live in the tension between those two points.

We can sense it, sometimes we can see it, & everyone who is saved can attest to it because we have experienced it. We know something has changed, something is different, things are not as they were, but they are also not as they are going to be. We live in this tension.

Christ reigns as King right now in Heaven, He will continue to reign right now in the Hearts of His people (the Church); indeed, He must reign, until all of God’s enemies are destroyed, the last enemy is death.

Have you ever been afraid of death? ILL: I know I have. As a 10-year-old boy, I fell under conviction of sin. I prayed, walked the aisle at my church, & was baptized. I made a public profession of faith, but I wasn’t saved. I felt it almost immediately. I knew I was a sinner, but I also knew I wasn’t saved, so I was afraid of dying. I lived that way for 3 years, until the age of 13 when I really received the gift of God’s grace & believed in Jesus Christ to save me from my sins. Now I’m no longer afraid of death.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (death showing humanity) vindicated His Lordship as God’s Son (resurrection showing deity).

Romans 1:3–4, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Christ’s resurrection means that He is both Savior & LORD, but the question of the day is- Is He your Savior & LORD? The Father has put everything under the Lordship of Jesus Christ except for Himself. There is coming a day when all things will be subject to God who gave everything to Jesus Christ, and that includes you!

Today we celebrate Jesus as King! A man who dies, even if he is a good man, is still dead. Jesus proves that He is more than a mere good man, He is the Lord. His resurrection from the dead is the proof!

Jesus is the One & Only Son of God who took on flesh, became a man, lived a perfect life, died a righteous death, & rose from the dead. The death He died was in your place to pay for your sins, His resurrection from the dead is so you will live- really live! Jesus is King & one day; He is coming back to receive His people to Himself.

Is Jesus your King? Have you bowed to Him? Have you turned from your sins & trusted in Christ to save you? Have you declared Jesus your King?

We’re going to have a time of response- we call it an invitation. During this next song, if you want to talk to somebody about being saved or joining the church, there will be counselors here for you to talk with.

If you have not, you can by 1) Agreeing with God that you are a sinner, 2) Believing that Christ is who He says He is- the Son of God & Savior of the world, & 3) Confessing Him as your Lord. You will be saved.