THE KING HAS COME

“He is risen!” Imagine the joy that Mary, Joanna, and Mary would have experienced at those words from the angels! What joy and hope they must have displayed at this most exciting news!

As we gather this morning, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a privilege it is, though we are meeting in our cars, to worship the resurrected Lord together. We worship on Sunday because Jesus rose on Sunday.

We begin this morning with the resurrection account from the Gospel of Luke. Luke’s account mentions three women who came to know of Jesus’ resurrection

I. THE KING HAS COME INTO UNBELIEF AND DOUBT- ,

Our time this morning will focus on the ramifications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nothing we discuss this morning will be new, but it is such a good reminder of us.

The first point we see about the resurrection account is the mention of unbelief and doubt. Here Christ has repeatedly warned the disciples of His coming death. Consider the fact that Jesus warned His disciples in and 9:43-45 that the Son of Man must die and be raised. Then in Jesus describes the sign of Jonah, and as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so too must the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the belly of the earth and be raised again. And then again in Jesus clearly tells the disciples that He must suffer and die. In fact, it is graphic. He describes the torture He will endure.

Though the disciples, including these ladies, knew what Jesus said, they either doubted it or failed to believe it. The King has come into unbelief and doubt.

Are we not often in the same state as the disciples? Do we not doubt the Word of the Lord?

To give you an example, we are all facing uncertain times. Never have I ever experienced such a trying time in life. Yet, in God’s Word we are told that God reigns, He sovereignly reigns over all of creation.

Summarizing the teachings of the Scriptures, the London Baptist Confession of Faith states, “God the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will; to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.”

This is what the Scriptures teach, and yet how many of us have given into anxious thoughts, doubtful fears, and soul-crushing unbelief? We question whether God is truly in control in the midst of this pandemic. But as the disciples realized, Jesus is alive! He won. He openly defeated the forces of darkness. In the midst of their assumed victory, Jesus destroyed the forces of darkness. states, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

We must follow the example before us in and return to the Word of God. Because, it turns out that the antidote to unbelief and doubt is the sacred Word of God. We reorient our thinking from a perspective of the earth to a perspective of the Almighty God of heaven. Or, to put it another way, we have a God-centered perspective rather than a man-centered perspective. Let us be like the disciples, who in the midst of doubt and unbelief pray, “Increase our faith!” (, ESV)

We could continue our study in Luke, but I want to transition to the first epistle of Corinthians chapter 15 and examine the King has come in transforming power.

II. THE KING HAS COME IN TRANSFORMING POWER-

In a chapter focusing primarily on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul provides an incredible description of how the King’s coming brought with it transforming power.

One of the beautiful glories of the resurrection of Christ is that it points to our resurrection. We will be changed, says Paul in . John says that we will see Jesus as He is and become like Him in . The King has come in transforming power to make us more like Jesus Christ! It is resurrection, transforming power!

Easter reminds us that Jesus came to change us. Like the barren branches of trees budding and having beautiful leaves, Jesus came to change us and give us life! As we face our own mortality, as we age and parts of our bodies do not work quite the same, as our minds begin to slip, we remember that these frail bodies will put on new bodies, and we learn this from the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Even in the midst of the uncertainty of the coronavirus, we can rejoice and look forward to our resurrection as founded in and brought to fruition by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, this transformation Paul speaks of in both and , leads us to an extremely practical and life-changing benefit in the present.

III. THE KING HAS COME TO ENCOURAGE US-

Finally, Paul gives us encouragement in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This verse comes at the heels of that discussion on transformation, and from that truth, that faith-inspiring, life-infusing hope of our resurrections based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now Paul offers encouragement. He tells the Corinthian believers, and us by extension, to take courage. Don’t give up! Don’t quit! We have work to do, Paul says.

Like a good gym partner telling his friend to push out one more rep, Paul tells believers to keep going! He commands believers to be four things, which we shall look at briefly:

Be steadfast- stand firm! Be ready, like a Clemson offensive lineman waiting for the ball to be hiked, be ready to engage (because of the that faith-inspiring, life-infusing hope of our resurrections based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ)

Be immovable- like a mighty oak that is not destroyed by strong winds, be immovable! Do not be knocked over by the false teachings and beliefs assailing the Christians, nor by the physical and psychological blows thrown at us (because of the that faith-inspiring, life-infusing hope of our resurrections based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ)

Abound in the work of the Lord- like a cup running over with water, let your life be breaming with the work of God, be busy with the work of God (because of the that faith-inspiring, life-infusing hope of our resurrections based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ)

Knowing your labor is not in vain- it is a fact, that if you work of the Lord your labor is not in vain—we work for a purpose (because of the that faith-inspiring, life-infusing hope of our resurrections based in the resurrection of Jesus Christ)

Brothers and sisters, we have before us a time in which the work of the LORD will be in front of us like never before. Will we, through the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, abound? Or, will we cave into pressure, weariness, and pointlessness?

He is not here, but He has risen. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.