The King has Come - Easter Sunday

Intro:

I look forward to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus every year! There is always a buzz and anticipation in the room. This morning, I would remind you that we celebrate a risen king!

Over the past few weeks, we have looked at the message of John the Baptist to declare and make way for the coming king.

He declared in Luke 3:4–6 “as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

The world at this time was looking for the Messiah and the salvation of God. They were anticipating His arrival. As John see’s Jesus approaching to be baptized, he declares, John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

It is this same Jesus that I declare to you today! He is the messiah and the savior of the world. He is king, master, and Lord. He is the mystery of the ages declared in Colossians 1:26-27, which says, “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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Submit:

This morning, we pause to reflect on the significance of Christ death and resurrection. Let’s take a moment to frame our understanding.

Man was created in the beginning in the image of God immortal, eternal, and without sin. Through the serpents deception in Genesis 3 man rebelled against the instruction of God, resulting in sin and separation between God and man, and they were driven from garden of Eden.

Eden was more than a garden where they lived. It was a place of access. Dr. Myles Monroe in his study of the Hebrew word Eden shared that the word Eden is composed of five strokes in the Hebrew language.

The five strokes each have specific meaning, one meant spot, another moment, open door, access, and presence. Eden was the spot for the moment where there was open door access to the presence of God.

Man lost access and ended up under the curse. The Old Testament from that moment records God’s plan of salvation. When God confronts the serpent in Genesis 3:15 he hints at the plan of salvation.

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

God’s desire for a relationship with man never changed. God through covenant connects himself with man Noah to preserve him (Gen 6.), to Abraham that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12).

God revealed himself to the Israelites through signs and wonders through Moses and the great Exodus from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 1-20).

At Mount Sinai (Ex. 19-35), God reinforces his desire for relationship by giving the law, and instituting temple worship and the sacrificial system. Though these instructions provided a measure of covering they did not restore access.

The tabernacle and the temple had a place called the Holy of Holies where God would come down, but there was a large curtain that separated the people from the presence of God (Ex. 26:33-34). Once a year the high priest would enter under very specific conditions to offer sacrifice, but no one else could enter.

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Apply:

Tabernacle worship was a type and shadow of what was to come.

Hebrews 8:4–5 “For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.””

The law and temple worship revealed two things:

God’s desire to be near to us. From the beginning his desire was relationship with us. After the fall He consistently engages in the affairs of mankind. He provided ways for connection.

The tough reality that man on their own could not keep the righteous requirements of God.

We needed a savior. We needed deliverance, and without it we would be hopeless. Insert the Good News of the Gospel here.

What I love most is that God had a plan. Throughout the Old Covenant were prophetic declarations that God would provide for himself a spotless lamb that would take away the sin of the world, and restore access.

This plan was considered a mystery because the fullness of the plan was hidden from their understanding.

There were hundreds of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. It was recorded that Jesus fulfilled more than 300. The likelihood of Jesus fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies was 1 in 10x28th power. That is a one with twenty-eight zero’s after.

To put that number in perspective, if you took silver dollar coins and placed them in the state of Texas. The coins covering the whole state would be two feet deep. Then take and mark one of the coins and ask a person to find it blindfolded.

The improbability of fulfillment has the handwriting of God on it. Only God could make that type of impossibility possible.

The power of the Gospel is that Jesus born of the Spirit, born of a virgin, was tempted tested and tried yet lived a sinless life, and he became the spotless lamb of God.

He gave his life as a sacrifice for sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

He paid the ransom for our lives. 1 Timothy 2:5–6 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”

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Closing:

Wicked men plotted, falsely accused, mocked, and crucified Jesus. What seemed like evils victory in Jesus’s death became heavens greatest triumph.

Matthew 27:50–51 records the moment, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,”

Through repentance of our sin, and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus we receive many things:

Redemption: Ephesians 1:7–9 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,”

Access: We regain access to the presence of God. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hope: Through Christ we receive wisdom and can know the hope of His calling. Ephesians 1:17–18 “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”

Reconciliation: We have been reconciled (restoration) to the Father through Christ. Colossians 1:19–23 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

The beauty of the message today is that God’s plan of salvation was created for you. Redemption and hope are within your grasp. Access to the transformation of your life is waiting for you. It’s simply on the other side of your surrender.

Altar:

Father open our eyes to see you.

Salvation.