RESURRECTION SUNDAY (2022) - Coronation of King Jesus
RESURRECTION SUNDAY – April 17, 2022
“ARISE AND SHINE”
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
“Resurrection Sunday is the coronation of King Jesus. On the cross, Jesus was crowned by mother earth with a crown of thorns. He earned the crown of power by wearing on His brow the crown of thorns. He earned the crown of oil, because He loved righteousness and hated iniquity. He received the scepter of righteousness because He took from the Roman soldier the flimsy reed that was placed in His hand, and suffered the ignominy of a mock coronation. All this became the first chapter in His coronation as King.
The second chapter took place at His ascension. It was there that God “set” His King on Zion, and made him to be KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. He was “set” there to be a Priest on the throne. His ministry on earth was finished. Now He would begin His Messianic ministry in the heavens.
The Kingdom of God was not postponed because they slew OUR King. It was the slaying of the King that became the first chapter of His coronation in the heavens. The long, expected Messiah reigns upon a throne far superior to the one His people had planned for Him. It is far above any earthly throne.” (Warnock – Crowned with Oil).
It is because Jesus is enthroned as the King that He is able to pour forth unto His people the blessings of His Messianic ministry in the earth. Salvation from sin and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon His people is the first and foremost of the blessings bestowed by the exalted Messiah.
Like Abraham, we now look for the City that has foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring forth in the earth this holy City, this heavenly Jerusalem, this Mount Zion, this Church of the living God---and to bring her to fullness, to completion, to perfection (Heb. 12: 22-23, Eph. 4: 8-16).
The Lord opened the understanding of the scriptures to the disciples so they were able to understand why it was expedient for Jesus to go to the heavenly throne. His going away would not mean they would lack anything, or that His promises concerning the Kingdom would fail. It was only in going away, that He would come to them again in an indwelling of His presence that He who was with them would be in them.
It would be there from the heavenly throne that He would have all power and authority to rule over all nations, as well as over all the heavens.
There exalted and crowned by the heavenly Father with glory and honor as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
That power has been given to the Church! We are the only power on earth which has the authority to destroy the darkness and overcome evil in the world.
Eph. 1: 19-22: What is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly places; far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also that which is to come. He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Isa. 60: 1-2: Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you (Isa. 60: 1-2).
Church, we can say that deep darkness is covering the earth and the people. We can truthfully say that we have seen the government of the United States crumble to shambles in 2022. But there is a power greater than the government of the United States and greater than all the governments of the earth. That power is in Jesus Christ to whom has been given “all power in heaven and in earth” (Mt. 28:18).
Christian, we must not order our lives according to inflation, high gas prices, stock-market volatility, government collapse, schools disintegrating, wars, and rumors of wars. I know it is hard to watch, but we don’t live there. We have been given another Kingdom.
The message of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is one that produces a people in the earth who are heavenly in culture (Phil. 1:27). We have a culture war going on in the United States of America between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The church is the only power on earth who has the authority over this darkness.
There are two Kingdoms in the universe. We are those who know the risen Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, as our Lord and Savior; who have been brought out of darkness into His marvelous Light; who have passed from death into life. We have exchanged our spirits of heaviness for garments of praise. We understand that the night is far spent and the Day is at hand. We serve God and not mammon.
I believe we are now being tested and proven for our heart toward money. If you are fearful, anxious, worried, greedy, hoarding; all you talk about is money; put pressure on others for money; then you are serving mammon with your heart.
If we as Christians have our hearts and lives in Christ, we will always flourish and be fruitful in times of famine. We are to be the light of the world. There is a famine on the land; but there is also a famine for the Word of God. Only the faithful have their roots deep in God.
Ps. 1:2-3: His delight is in the law of the Lord;
In his law does he meditate day and night;
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth his fruit in his season;
His leaf shall not wither;
Whatsoever he does shall prosper.
The Lord will have a fruitful bough in the land in the time of famine. This Joseph company will have bread to share with a world in need, and with the famishing people of God.
Gen. 49:22-24: Joseph is fruitful bought, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hand were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.
A true disciple of the Lord Jesus is not a survivalist. God’s agenda for a disciple is not to survive, but to lay down his life. He wants to bless us simply and only to make us a blessing. We become prisoners of the Lord that others may go free, that we might be broken as bread, that others might eat, poured out as wine, that others might drink and be blessed.
The kingdom of darkness is ignorance, death, unrighteousness, iniquity, lawlessness, turmoil, unrest, anxiety, sorrow and mourning. The Kingdom of God is Light, Understanding, Life, Righteousness, Peace and Joy.
The motive of the Kingdom of God is love (2 Co. 5:14). Just as the human heart receives and releases blood, so the heart-beat of the Kingdom is to receive and then release the life of Jesus Christ (Lev. 17:11).
I shared with you recently the powerful word given to me by Pastor Roxanne Alexander. She said a spirit of truth and government is over this church. Truth will bring them in. However, as a Pastor, I also know that truth will cause people to leave.
Truth is a River of Life. Truth will make you beautiful, with the beauty of the Lord, with the beauty of holiness. The living truth is a garland of grace about our neck, and beautiful ornament upon our heart. Let the truth be our food and drink, for it is sweet as honey from the honeycomb…as water out of the rock. It is bread to him that is hungry, healing to those who are sick…health to those who will embrace her.
However, it will cause contention among the contentious and the disobedient. But God’s living truth will unite and edify the saints, and strengthen those who embrace it.
When he comes again, it will be in kingly power and dominion, but it is not to begin His Kingdom. He came the first time to do that and He went away to continue doing that. He remains there until the precious fruit of the earth is to be harvested. Then He comes to cut down the fruitless trees, to root out the tares, to burn up the chaff, to consume the stubble, to bring to total devastation all the works of man; and to gather the wheat into His storehouse. (Matt. 13: 24-31).
He comes to consume all that is corrupt---socially, politically, economically, religiously, and environmentally. He comes to gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth---then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13: 41-43).
The heavenly ministry of the Messiah is more excellent than any earthly ministry could ever be. The blood of bulls and goats merely covered sin for a season---they could never take them away. In the New Covenant, sins are done away, never to be remembered in Heaven, and never again to defile the conscience of a people that have been purged from dead works to serve the living God.
The application of the Blood of Christ to our hearts and minds so erases sin and its scars that we see them no more, even as God sees them no more.
Everything about the ministration of the New Covenant from Messiah’s heavenly throne is better, better, better.
This is the Kingdom that Christ has established in the hearts of men in the earth. Our prayer continues to be, Thy Kingdom come, your will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. He has all power in Heaven and earth to make it happen.
Rev. 19:16: He has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
God’s first son was manifested in weakness, rejection and suffering---long before He was manifested as the Son of God in resurrection glory. So will it be with His younger brethren, they will not be manifested as the sons of God with power and glory until they have been manifested in the earth as followers of the Lamb, showing forth love, mercy and virtues of their Master in the midst of weakness and mortality. How foolish to think they are above their Master!
The Husbandman continues to wait for the precious fruit of the earth. God’s precious Covenant, ratified by the Blood of Jesus must yet come to ultimate fullness in His people. The Son must yet receive the reward of His Sacrifice at the Cross. The Father will continue to prepare a Holy Bride for His Son who is worthy of the very best that God’s grace and the power of the Creator can bring forth. The Holy Spirit will be faithful in His work in the hearts of men to bring forth a Bride that is worthy of His Son, through the merits of precious Blood. When he presents this spotless Virgin to Christ, He will not have to apologize something like this: “here is the Bride, you wanted Me to procure for your Son---still full of faults and blemishes I know, ---but it’s the best I could do.”
A reed shaken in the wind struck fear into the heart of the wicked, powerful Herod. Jesus manacled with fetters caused a governor to tremble. At his trial the soldiers entwine the briars into a crown of thorns and place it on His head. They put a flimsy reed in His hand, and in mockery hail Him King of the Jews. But in the wisdom of God and in the wisdom of the Cross that reed became His royal scepter of dominion over all creation. The crown He wore became the crown of the anointed King who reigns eternally on Zion’s hill.
We are His sanctuary; and God’s holy presence is the place where we sit before Him, to inquire in His Temple. We must become totally heavenly minded, wearing the holy mitre upon our head, and the crown of holiness to the Lord ---if we are going to be of any earthly good here in the midst of men. We must ‘arise and shine” for “gross darkness is covering the earth.” Jesus Christ gave the power to the Church; you are the only power that can bring down the darkness.
True ministry is to ensure that the people to whom we minister are totally devoted to Christ, and not to us or to any world government or religious system. God will not give Christ’s authority to carnality.
Isa. 28:5: In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people.
Christ died for our sins and our salvation. But He also died to establish His Kingdom on earth. He wants a priestly people who will “reign in life” ---a people who are “vessels of mercy” ---who will have kingly authority to minister life to others, because of His ministration from the throne of Heaven.
We have many volunteers for the throne---men/women who are looking for opportunities to take over earth’s resources and earth’s governments. But God’s crowns are for those who are meek and humble.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from K.J.V. – I entered into the labors of George H. Warnock (1917-2016) – Crowned With Oil. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of Brother Warnock.