The Power Of The Risen King

Let's begin this morning by asking God by his spirit to meet with us and to open his word to us. Let's pray. Lord God of heaven and earth, we thank you for your great redemption plan. Not only Jesus would die for our sins, but we would be raised in victory over death and sin. In order that we might have hope in the world in which we live. would you minister your hope to us by your spirit today as we look at the word as we look at the word that tells us of this risen Savior King oh open our ears we pray give us hope Lord the people sitting before me right now all need hope they all need this message give them the ears to hear we pray in Jesus name Amen He was called Savior of the world and Son of God He was the great Caesar ruling from Rome and those were the titles that he was known by ever since Julius Caesar the emperors were worshipped as divine a son of God and did he not rule over an empire that for decades had known decades after decades had known peace was he not a savior bringing peace and prosperity and so the worship of Caesar spread over the empire where all its citizens and all its subjects had to declare Caesar is Lord and as Lord he would not welcome any rivals to his titles.

Happily for Caesar, the one whom the Christians talked about as the world's savior, as the son of God, had already been dealt with in far off Palestine. Pilate, the procurator of Judea, had crucified him, so there were no problems there. Dead pretenders to the throne posed no threats. His name had been Jesus. But a strange thing was going on. Being dead didn't seem to bother his people.

The people who followed him, the ones called his disciples, who had learned from him, they claimed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. They claimed that the resurrection declared that Jesus was the Son of God with power. They said that because he was raised from the dead, Jesus was the Savior of the world. and that's a dangerous message in a world where the most powerful man would not like anyone challenging his claims to the same titles and yet Christians preach that this rival king Jesus demanded faith and obedience and in the process they turned the world upside down well first of all let's see how that all began let's see how it all began turn to acts chapter two frankly if you've been here for any number of years it's you're going to say to yourself pastor can you ever come to easter without looking at acts chapter two i don't know i mean here's where it starts incredible claims made about this jesus unbelievable claims made On the first sermon in the age of the church, the first sermon preached by these disciples.

Acts chapter 2. Now we're not going to read the whole sermon of Peter, but we'll dip in at verse 22. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, the man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced, my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your Holy One see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would act that he would set one of his descendants on his throne he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ that he was not abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh see corruption this Jesus God raised up and of that we all are witnesses being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing for David did not ascend into the heavens but he himself says the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles brothers what shall we do and Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself and with many other words he bore witness and continue to exhort them saying save yourselves from this crooked generation So those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about 3000 souls.

Peter addresses Jesus' killers by first relating to them a crucial theological fact and that was this God was behind everything that happened in Jesus' life and in his death God attested to his claims by giving him miracles he performed all kinds of miracles all of which they knew and he tells them Jesus did not die by accident God's plan and predetermined purpose was behind it all. He says to them, all your hatred and false accusations culminating in the crucifixion of this man fulfilled God's plan. Now he says, you're still responsible.

You did a wicked thing. You nailed him to the cross. You and all the lawless men that, your wicked hands and those of the lawless men that were with you, You nailed them to the cross. You're responsible. But know this. Know this.

That you did what God had predetermined should happen. You accomplished what God wanted done. And then to top it all off, God raised Jesus from the dead, he tells them. Your own scriptures tell you that death could not possibly hold Jesus in the grave. Look at Psalm 16, says Peter, and he quotes it in verses 25 through 28. Here David says that his holy one, his king, would not see corruption.

But that presents a problem. Because if David was talking about himself or of any of the other kings, they're all dead. And they did see corruption. And as Peter points to David's tomb, just south of Jerusalem, he tells them, David's bones still lie over there. so he couldn't be talking about himself who was he talking about says he was talking about jesus he was looking ahead and he saw how god would raise jesus from the dead and that the resurrection fulfills that promise that there would be one who would sit on the throne forever and he would not see corruption and to boot on top of that he sits at the right hand of god in heaven just like psalm 110 says, which he quotes in verses 34 and 35.

Again, David didn't ascend into heaven, did he? No, no, he did not. But Jesus did. You see, he fulfills all the promises. And so there's only one conclusion we can draw from these events, he says. In verse 36, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and King, Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

God declares to all men that this Jesus is the Lord, is God, and that he is the promised Christ, the promised Messiah. The Caesars may be called God by the declaration of the Senate, and he may be called Savior because he keeps the empire's enemies at bay. but by the resurrection God himself declared Jesus to be the Lord and Jesus to be the promised king who has the authority to forgive sins. And by the resurrection God declares Jesus to be the king, but a king with universal authority.

How do you respond to that? How did they respond to that? Their reaction was, if what you say is true, that he is both God and king, then God will punish us. What are we to do? You see that? He tells them about this king and they cry out, what are we to do in light of that?

Peter responds that they needed to repent. They needed to believe the promise. And they needed to be baptized in order to show that. And the king would forgive their sins. Listen, that wasn't a sermon just long ago. It's right here in front of us, and it's saying the same thing to you that it said to them.

What are you going to conclude from the resurrection? Some of you here may not be convinced of it. Jesus was raised from the dead. You know what that means? That means he is both God and king. And if he's raised from the dead, you cannot escape that fact.

If you're a Christian here, you ought to be rejoicing at this moment because Jesus, by his resurrection, has been declared for all men to be God and king. Well, if that's true, then it changes everything. See how it does change everything. Now let's look, and man, you know, I wrestle with this every year. I think, I ask this question, what difference does it make?

Maybe I ought to make it a five-year series. I don't know. What difference does that make, right? What difference does it make? And when you read the New Testament, I was telling Pastor Andrew the other day, you know, it's always kind of hard to figure out what to preach on Easter because, frankly, and maybe it shouldn't be, because the whole New Testament is about the resurrection.

Everything hinges on that. Every word of the New Testament hinges on the resurrection. Well, let's see how it changes everything. And I only picked out four things. I mean, there's all kinds of things. This makes the most difference in the world.

But let's just look at four. Here's one. Because Jesus is alive you have courage in the face of suffering in the face of persecution In our case at this point in this country you can have courage in the face of ostracism as we're pushed out to the margins, right? As people continue to misunderstand us, and there's a social price to pay for saying that Jesus is Lord.

You can have courage in the midst of that. Look at Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1. Revelation 1 verse 4. John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead. and the ruler of kings on earth.

Jesus writes to churches who are suffering persecution partly because they will not say Caesar is Lord. And because of that, they suffer under his hand and they suffer under the power of the empire. And John says to these churches who are going through that kind of experience that Jesus is alive and he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He rules the kings of the earth.

I remember going to Azerbaijan. I went there, I think, three times. And we always were in a church, a particular church in the capital city of Baku. And that church was pastored by Pastor Sari. pardon me, Pastor Sari and Pastor Sari knew what it was to live under the Soviets when Azerbaijan was part of the the Soviet Union because Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union he lived during that time and then when Azerbaijan gained its independence it became a rather Muslim it's a Muslim country, it is it's officially a Muslim country And so he had to live under the rule of the Muslims.

And it was more than once that he was taken to jail. And one time, I think it was the time where he suffered the most, he and another pastor were taken to jail. And he said to his friend, Brother, remember, remember, Jesus is the king. Jesus is the ruler of all kings. Right? Take courage.

Jesus is king. What is the source of your courage? It isn't the resurrected Christ. It'll evaporate under particular conditions. Where is your courage? What is the source of it?

Here's another thing that's changed Because Jesus is alive, you can have authority in a world of competing authorities. How do you determine what's right and what's wrong? How do you determine that? Is homosexuality acceptable or not? What does our culture say? It's just the way people are.

You can't help who you love. You hear it all, all over the time, all over the place, right? And if I say no, it's a sin, you may disagree. Who's right? Who's right? Must you stay married to your wife or can you divorce her if you found someone who actually does make you happy?

Someone you found is finally your soulmate and she never has been. Is it okay to divorce her? some would say happiness that's what you need happiness no one can exist without that and others would say happiness that's unfaithfulness who's right is it okay to accumulate wealth and just keep accumulating and buying bigger houses and buying better cars and doing all the things you wanted to do and you couldn't but now you can and you've got money to blow and you're just accumulating more and you go for the gusto is that right or is that immoral how do you know how do you know is there any right or wrong in a world that says you're free to do what you want to do as long as it makes you happy you be you you be true to yourself. No one else can tell you that.

You be true to yourself. Whatever makes you happy, you pursue it. Follow your dreams. Follow your heart. No one can tell you what you can and cannot be. No one has the right.

Although I am struck by the irony of the fact that someone tells me I have no right to tell people what's right or wrong. Jesus gives you authority to declare what is right or wrong, what is moral or immoral. He does give you that authority. Look at Matthew chapter 7 with me. Matthew chapter 7. Now again, here's one of those texts that is absolutely tied to the resurrection.

Matthew chapter 7 we'll begin reading in verse 21 here we are coming to the end of the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus is now giving us the conclusion of what he's just said verse 21 not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven On that day many will say to me Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name And then I will declare to them I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. By the way, what's the rock? The words of Jesus. Practicing the words of Jesus. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell.

And great was the fall of it. And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes. So here we are at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, which even atheists will say to you, what a wonderful picture of the way life should be led. Even atheists say that.

You read all kinds of people say, oh, if we'd only live by what Jesus said on the Sermon on the mount. What a wonderful way to live. But I want you to notice carefully what Jesus says. I wonder what those folks would say if they paid any closer attention. Verse 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. You're talking about final judgment day, right, Jesus? That's right. And what you're saying is you're going to be the one sitting on the throne determining who will enter the kingdom and who will not? Who do you think you are? God?

Well, what do you think Jesus would say to that? He is claiming that he is the final arbiter on the final day of judgment. It is him that they will face. Now I don't know about you, but if you were listening carefully to Jesus at that point, you probably would go, whoa, what in the world is he saying here? And then he goes on to talk about, you've got to build your house on doing what I say.

And I believe that the rains and everything he's talking about here, he's illustrating this whole idea of judgment. When the rains of judgment fall, your house will stand if you've done what I say. Now already, if you're sitting there in the Sermon on the Mount, you ought to be reeling by this point. What will be the basis of acquittal or condemnation on Judgment Day?

Whether you put the words of Jesus into practice. Jesus claims that his words then carry the authority of God. Everyone noticed that. They say, boy, he doesn't teach like anybody else. he teaches with authority you know what if Jesus never came out of the grave then he died like anyone else and he's no different than anyone else he died a sinner it means listen carefully if Jesus did not come out of the grave it means that the Pharisees were right and that Jesus is indeed a blasphemer these very words accuse him of blasphemy unless he was raised from the dead you see the pharisees would have been right let's be done with all this stuff about jesus and you've heard me say this i know but it strikes me let's be done with all this stuff about jesus being a good teacher, but not God.

If he's not God, then he's a blasphemer. Let's be clear about that. If he isn't God, then he is a blasphemer. But here's the point. Because Jesus came from that grave, he is who he says he is. He is God, and so he gives the very commands that everyone must submit to.

How do you have the authority to say that's wrong? Because Jesus says so. He's God. You're just telling people what he said. Right? He's the way out of all these competing authorities.

He is the way out of all these competing authorities. Here's the third way he changes everything. Because Jesus is alive, you can have hope in this world's darkness. Does the world to you seem dark with the clouds of injustice, the powerful always getting their way? You look on the world stage today and we look at this country, Ukraine. And we see a man who has sent his forces in to just take the government out and make it part of Russia.

And you see, and if you haven't been keeping up with any of this, you're seeing the horrors of what's going on. The absolute destruction of cities that have no military value. The rape, unbelievable amounts of rape, the mass graves that are being uncovered now. And it seems like the weak have no way, they are overcome with all of this. There is no justice.

You know, it's almost beyond our imagination. We're safe over here and we can read these things. Can you imagine what it's like to be a child, to have your mother raped and your father thrown into a grave? Shot in the street and thrown into a grave and there's nothing you can do about it. The powerful get their way. Maybe you're sitting here this morning wrestling with the terror you felt when you were abused as a child.

And that powerful man got what he wanted. And no one will believe you. No one will believe you. All those sins remain hidden in the darkness with no justice. What do you do with that? Let's look at Acts 17.

Acts 17 the apostle Paul is in Athens he's debating he's telling these philosophical these philosophy professors and the academia of his world about Jesus and in verse 29 we read this being then God's offspring we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone an image formed by the art and imagination of man now note the times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. What is he saying there? He's saying everyone everywhere is commanded to repent because a judge is going to show up someday.

And this is not an impersonal system that can be manipulated. No. This is a judge, a personal judge, who knows everything, and he will not let any injustice go unpunished. the resurrection of Jesus means that injustice will prevail that little guy in Ukraine those of you who may be terror still dealing with the terror of the abuse that you suffered as a child know this there's coming a day when none of that will be overlooked not one not one thing will be overlooked but keep this in mind if perfect justice will prevail then do you think do you think Jesus will punish only the sins of others and overlook your sins?

Never forget that. We're always ready to look at the other person and say, justice there! What about here? Right? Resurrection of Jesus means there's a Savior who can save. Save you from His judgment.

Here's the fourth thing. Because Jesus is alive, you can have confidence in the face of death. What do you think of when you think of your death? Do you ever think of your death? Do you ever think of your death? Some of you here, you 20 and 30 somethings, that just get to be 67, you're thinking a whole lot more about it.

Right? You're thinking a whole lot more about it. I got my funeral service all planned out. In fact, my daughter Emma tells me, Dad, because I'm always saying, oh, let's put this hymn in. She says, Dad, you and your funeral is like a bride and her wedding. You know?

Well, do you ever think about your death? Maybe you don't. You should. Most people have the attitude I just don want to talk about that You ever notice that I challenge you bring up to somebody just a friend probably not a believer say do you ever think about dying? Watch what happens. People are afraid of death.

They are terrified by death. why why unknown in their view it's unknown it's almost as if you work all your life you make all your decisions you raise a family you see your grandchildren and all of a sudden death swallows you up and none of it means a thing it's all meaningless you ever walked in those shoes think about that death swallows you what's to be made of your life nothing more but here's the point because jesus rose from the dead we can face death with confidence i'm saying to you this morning you can face your death with confidence look at first corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul is writing the Corinthian church some teaching had come and said you know what scientifically it's impossible for people who are dead to be raised again there was a philosophy it was the rationalistic philosophy of the age dead people don't come back from the dead dead people are not alive and they can never become alive it is impossible it's just plain impossible no one can be raised from the dead the apostle Paul's argument in this chapter is if no one is raised from the dead then Jesus isn't raised from the dead if Jesus is not raised from the dead then what? we have no hope we of all people must be pitied because we are so gullible alright so let's look at what he says in verses 20-26 but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep for as by a man came death by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead for as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive but each in his own order Christ the firstfruits then at his coming those who belong to Christ then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death is gone.

Death is gone. Someday death itself is going to be eliminated. Why? Because Jesus has conquered death and has been raised with a body. With a body that will never die again. And that is the first proof.

That's what's going to happen to those who are in him. some of you have, most of you have not ever been in the presence of someone who's dying. I can remember the first death I ever witnessed. I was thinking about that this morning. I remember the very first death I ever witnessed, sitting with someone as they went from this life to the next. And you have family and friends who are dying.

They have cancer. They have months. Right? What do you do when you go visit them What do you talk about What do you talk about Do you talk about the pretty birds that are outside the window as they look at the bird feeder that someone set up for them so they have something to look at Do you talk to them about how nice the hospice nurse is Do you talk to them about all kinds of things, how the grandkids are and what they're doing?

Do you ever talk about death with that person? More to the point, do you ever talk about resurrection? I've sat with people who are dying. and have looked at the hope that there is in the resurrection to sit with someone you know, and all of you, I'm sure, have been there. You know they're dying. They know they're dying. What in the world do you talk about?

You know what you talk about? You talk about the fact that they will one day be raised in a body that will not even experience the ravages that they're experiencing right then. You will see hope in their eyes when you talk about the fact that this is not the final word, that they will one day experience a kind of life where the body will no longer degenerate, where there will be nothing but joy and gladness.

You can talk about the resurrection. because that's where the hope is. That's where the hope is. Listen, can I challenge you today? When you're in that position, and that's a brother or sister who is leaving this life soon, don't be afraid. In fact, I would say to you, open your Bible and read 1 Corinthians 15 and talk about the hope of the resurrection.

And watch what happens. The point is, what confidence will you have when you face death? Now the last thing I want to say is this. Those are four ways that the resurrection changes everything. The last thing I just want to say to you is this. see how foolish you are to ignore the resurrection of Jesus. Now I'm going to talk to some of you this morning who do not believe that Jesus came out of the grave.

You're here for some reason and I'm glad you're here, but I want to talk to you about the fact that you don't believe that Jesus came out of the grave. You know, I was struck by a poem written in the 1800s. No, it was early 1900s by William Ernest Herndley, an English poet. He wrote a poem called Invictus. Here's what he wrote. Out of the night that covers me black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstances, I have not winced nor cried aloud. under the bludgeonings of chance. My head is bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade. And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul Wow If you truly believe that Jesus never came out of the tomb, then that's where you have to land.

It's all up to me. I'm the captain of my fate. I'm the master of my soul. When the waves of darkness, injustice, and heartache overtake you, how much comfort will you find there? When you're no longer the captain of your soul, as someone more powerful than you comes along and sweeps away all your dreams. And while you're confident in you, stop making moral judgments about everybody else.

If you're the captain of your fate, if you're the master of your soul, well, so am I then. and this captain says I'm going to do what I want to do stop telling me you be a captain in your kingdom or in your army I'll be a captain in mine quit telling me what to do right and while you're confident in you stop making those moral judgments and when the when the jaws of death are yawning and ready to swallow you up do you really want to put your confidence in the fact that you're the captain right at that moment you're going to know for sure you are not the master of your fate because there is nothing you can do to keep that shade from suddenly overtaking you and you're gone god has raised jesus from the grave so that by putting your confidence in him you would find forgiveness and life the gospel writer Luke declared thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem Jesus is alive so that you can be delivered from death so where is your hope? where is it? is it in a risen savior? is it in a risen king? Or have you put it somewhere else? By raising Jesus from the dead, you can know forgiveness, hope, confidence, certainty.

Everything stands or falls on this. And if you do believe, oh, then you ought to praise the living God for doing such a thing for you. that you can have all those things in this world and a wonderful life in the next. Father, thank you that Jesus has been raised from the dead, the first fruits, that we too will experience that. We thank you, Father, that because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we can live in a world of darkness with hope.

We can live in a world of darkness with confidence. we can live in a world of darkness with certainty we can live in this world in a way that no one else can and then Father we have the hope of a world that is yet to come a transformed, renewed world in which we will live forever we thank you for the risen Lord Jesus Christ now help us to live in that faith. Help us to live in him. And we'll thank you.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.