WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE - RESURRECTION SUNDAY
WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE
RESURRECTION SUNDAY, April 4, 2021
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
1 John 4:10: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:9: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him
1 John 4:11: Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, hanging on the Cross of Calvary is what love looks like.
Jhn. 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The love of God is known to us by His goodness and the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Yet it is only received by faith. To experience that love is a reality, we must believe that Christ died for our sins and through His love, we receive love and become vessels of love. God loves us when there is nothing in us to deserve his love or to cause him to love us. When we accept and receive this love, then we live in Divine Love and commune with God. Love then becomes a reality, just as Faith is a Fact, and Hope is a certainty because we live in Love.
Love is a high calling. It is reserved for Him that is prepared to lay down his life, in order that he may find the life of Christ that proceeds from a walk of total obedience to his will. Peter do you love me more than these? Feed my sheep. Carolyn do you love me as much as you loved Don that you will leave everything and follow me?
John 14: 14-17: Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Carnal Christian or we can say, hypocrites commune with the world and with their own lusts. They listen to what their lusts have to say and make provision for them. The saints are sweetly wrapped up in the love of their Father. People we are carrying the love of God. Christians have this feast in the Father’s banqueting house in which hypocrites have no share. Shall sin and lust dwell in those thoughts which receive from and give out love to the Father? An unclean spirit cannot draw near to God. Will a man with vain and foolish thoughts have communion and dwell with the most Holy God? The love of the world and of the Father cannot dwell together. Those Christians who hold communion with their lusts and the world have no new name and no white stone of reality. May the Lord open the eyes of Christians around the world to experience the love of God as a reality in Christ Jesus. May they see the love of Christ in the Church. Our government leaders and some Christians are as hypocritical as the Jewish Sanhedrin was in the days of Jesus’ ministry on earth.
The Jews had a lot of expectation concerning the Kingdom of God. They were looking for a political King to deliver them from the occupation of the Roman Empire. Just as it was then, the Kingdom of God is still greatly distorted and misunderstood by God’s people. Jesus made it clear that His Kingdom did not relate to eating and drinking, to the economy or to political movements. (However, he did speak judgment on Israel and the Roman Empire-Mt. 24.) The Jews tried to force Him to be their King. But when they fully understood that He came to change their hearts rather than their government, they were quick to crucify him. The Jewish Sanhedrin understood the nature of Christ’s mission much more than many of our Christian leaders do today. For that reason, their motive for killing Jesus was purely political.
“BE PREPARED FOR THE DAY WHEN MEN WILL TAKE DOWN YOUR BANNER OF HONOR, AND NAIL IT ABOVE YOUR HEAD ON YOUR CROSS.” (George H. Warnock, C.R.I. T.R.S.)
Then there was a very remarkable prophecy by Caiaphas, a High Priest in which He not only prophesied the death of Jesus, but went on to say things that he himself did not understand; that this One would not only gather together the people of God there in their own nation, but would reach out and gather together the people of God wherever they were in all nations.
THIS PROPHECY BECAME THE MOTIVE FOR THE CRUCIFIXION, for we are told: Then from that day forth they took counsel together to put him to death (John 11:48-53).
What was the sentence, and what was the accusation of the Lord Jesus? THAT WHICH JESUS CLAIMED TO BE, THAT WHICH HE ACTUALLY WAS—THIS BECAME THE ACCUSATION AGAINST HIM. Pilate wrote it out in bold letters for all men and nations to read, for it was written ‘in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin’ (Jn. 19:20). “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” I believe the Lord wanted it in the language of all men, for His Cross released salvation for the whole world. Pilate would not change the reading of it, even though the Jews pressed him to revise it to read: ‘This is Jesus who claimed to be the King of the Jews.’
For here was One crucified for an apostate but very religious people (Jews), for the intellectual and the wise (Greek), and for the strong and mighty (Rome).
The Romans had become that powerful empire that Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his vision—strong as iron; and by the Words of Christ their kingdom would be crushed and scattered like the dust of the threshing floor.
I emphasize these things, because once again there is great expectation for the Kingdom of God, and rightly so. The truth of God is beginning to shine afresh in the hearts of men—but once again it is shining forth in the darkness. God knows how to sort it all out. He still knows how to divide the light from the darkness, as He did in the beginning. It looks like a polluted mixture—and it is. Nevertheless, God is preparing a people for His Glory.
He is preparing:
A Glorious Church; A Holy and Cleansed Bride; A Godly Remnant; A First fruits People; Sons of God; Kings and Priests; Overcomers; etc.
This is our calling— but how we attain to this high calling are two different things.
For this high ‘calling’ is according to God’s plan and purpose…But the attainment of it is according as we love him and learn obedience to walk in His ways.
How important it is that we recognize God’s Way. Certainly, God wants us to know the ‘hope of His calling.” But He also wants us to know the way into that calling. Our Lord Jesus is KING, but he took the position of bond slave, and discovered in this pathway of obedience THE HIGHWAY TO THE THRONE. ‘Wherefore God has highly exalted Him, and gave Him a Name which is above every name— Why? Because He emptied himself…made Himself of no reputation…and came in the form of a BOND SLAVE (Phil. 2:8-9).
Jesus Christ, KING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUTH, became His accusation at the hands of a world He came to reprove. It was a perverted charge—but it was because of who He was, and who He claimed to be, that He was crucified.
Who are you? Who am I? Part of a glorious and triumphant Church? Members of the Holy Bride of Christ? Overcomers? Sons of God being prepared and groomed for manifestation? Kings and Priests unto God?
But if you and I are any of these, it is because we have come into vital union with Christ. Then these titles of the high calling will be the cause of our accusation. And if we walk in the pathway of obedience to the will of God, these titles of honor will be nailed above our head on our cross by men who seek to pervert the truth in order to bring about our destruction. It is not because we live in a ‘democracy’ that we are free from persecution. It is because we are bringing no vital reproof to the world of darkness about us.
I am hearing reports from multiple people who are experiencing persecution because of their choice to not take the vaccine and/or their choice to continue to support President Donald J. Trump. This persecution will accelerate in the last days. We the church in the U.S.A. have never suffered persecution unto death.
2 Cor. 1:9: But we (Paul) had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raised the dead. Paul was sentenced to death. He was on death-row. Not by the Roman Government—not yet. But right there in His walk with God—the word he preached, the word he lived, brought him into collision with the world about him; and his brethren in Judaism, and with false brethren in the Church. He was ‘crucified unto the world.’ The world was ‘crucified unto him” (Gal. 6:14).
FOR MEN OF TRUTH, WHO NOT ONLY KNOW THE TRUTH BUT WALK IN IT, ARE ALWAYS NAILED TO THE VERY CROSS THEY ARE CONSTRAINED TO DECLARE. Paul carried his cross around with him wherever he went—not because he ministered death, but because he ministered life…He didn’t try to make a cross so he could boast he was like Jesus. The world made it for him, and nailed him to it, because he walked as Jesus walked.
Paul knew the One who is the Resurrection and the Life. Calvary is not a mere historic event, or to take place in the distant future. The Resurrection and the Life is a Person, even the Lord Jesus Christ who dwells in our hearts. We are to be carriers of that Resurrection Life, Light and Love. Yes, we need love to be shown to us, but if we are actively depositing love in those around us, Jesus will see to it that love returns to us. Whatever goodness of Christ that we sow on one river will return to us on another river.
We can miss God if we expect or demand that love come back to us from the same person where we deposited it. I am not saying that we are to continue to allow people to take advantage of us. No! I am saying whatever I give as unto the Lord, whether time, love, or resources, all will be returned to me good measure and pressed down by the Lord on the river of His choice.
As we are being prepared for the next move of God, we have much to learn about Jesus. There is much dying around us. There is a death of the Bible Social Culture which has been our way of life all of my life. However, this is not the death of the church. The gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church. Just as death and Hell did not prevail against Christ.
Before dawn of the third day, “Behold there was another great earthquake” (Mt. 28:2)! The Roman soldiers who were stationed to guard the tomb shook and became like dead men. The stone at the mouth of the tomb snapped the seals. An Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and rolled back the stone from the door. He seats Himself upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow.
As daybreak is beginning to dawn upon the first day of the week, three figures are seen approaching the garden. They were carrying sweet spices, ointments and rolls of linen cloth. These are the women of Galilee who stood at the foot of the cross. They are now the first to His tomb.
To their astonishment, they found the stone rolled away. They entered in and to their perplexity, the body of Jesus was not there. The gospel of John tells us that Mary Magdalene rushed back to the City to find Peter and John. In her fear she assumes his body has been stolen. “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
In Luke, we see the other women enter into the tomb and behold two men stood by them in the tomb in shining garments. The women were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth. The angel spoke to them saying, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen; remember how He spoke to you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
The angel further bids them to go as fast as they can and tell the joyful news to the disciples (Mt. 28:7) that Jesus is risen from the dead and behold, He goes before you into Galilee. There you shall see Him; lo I have told you. They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy.
The Glory of the church is destined to become more brilliant, and to shine even more and more unto the Perfect Day. Let us therefore go forth ministering the Resurrection Life of Christ with all boldness, prepared even to die the death of the Cross in this hour of betrayal, and knowing that as surely as God raised Christ from the dead in the power of an endless life, so surely shall we rise also with Him to walk in newness of life. EVEN RESURRECTION GLORY.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
The text of this message was quoted from Chain Reaction in Realms of the Spirit by George H. Warnock. Behold Thy King 11/26/12 sermon by Carolyn Sissom; Resurrection Glory sermon by Carolyn Sissom, Easter 2006.
Scripture from K.J.V.