Fellowship Notes ~ Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2020

Introduction “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Psalms 14:1; 53:1

“The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully. He

will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24:4-5

“The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.” Psalm 51:17

“Happy are those who keep his decrees and seek him with all their heart.” Psalm 119:2

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the

everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23

The Bible says a lot about our heart. The word “heart” in the Scriptures speaks of the seat of our

emotions, the core of our thoughts and reasoning, that part of us that makes decisions and exercises our

free will. It is the essence of our being as individuals.

In a spiritual sense every person’s heart has a throne that controls it. Whoever or whatever we allow

to sit on the throne of our heart controls our entire being as the king of our life and is what we worship.

For many people its self. For others it’s a parent, a child, a spouse, a career, money, lust, the world, or

anything else that either by an act of our will or simply by default through complacency we allow to rule

over our life. But the greatest person that could ever be the king of our heart is Jesus.

Why Should You Make Jesus Your King?

1. Because He is the King who ___________ you and has proven it – Matthew 27:22 –

28:37; Matt. 28:1-10; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 8:37-39; Ephesians 2:4-8.

2. Because He is the ________________ who will reign forever– Revelation 19:11-16;

20:4-6.

3. Because He is the King you will _____________ and worship and be judged by even

if you refuse to make Him your king now – Philippians 2:7-11; Revelation 20:11-15.

225 North Ave. Norwalk, IA. 981-0699 ~ www.fellowshipnorwalk.org The video as well as a printable manuscript of the message and this handout are available online.

Study Guide for Growth Groups, Personal or Family Use

Opening Discussion/Thought Questions 1. On Sunday morning we saw from the Scriptures that one reason we should make Jesus the King

of our heart and life is because of His great love for us. Why are you glad that Jesus loves you and is your King?

2. Why is it a pleasant thought to you that as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus is going to vanquish all foes, establish an everlasting kingdom and make all things new? (See the Scriptures above)

Why is Jesus Called the King of Kings? Read the verse in each statement and fill in the blank.

1. Because a king must have a ________________ and Jesus does. READ Romans 3:21.

2. Because a king must have a ________________ and Jesus does. READ Revelation 6:2.

3. Because a king must have a ________________ and Jesus does. READ Hebrews 1:8 What kind is it? ___________________

4. Because a king must have __________________ and Jesus does. READ Ecclesiastes 8:4; Matthew 28:18.

5. Because as the King of Kings nothing can stand in the way of His reign and authority. READ Revelation 1:5; Ephesians 1:20-21.

How Did Jesus Earn His Title? 1. By the decree of ______________. READ Psalm 2:6.

2. By His __________________ on the cross over hell, death and Satan. READ Philippians 2:9-11.

What is the Timing of His Reign? 1. He reigns currently. READ Matthew 28:18-20.

In what sense is this true now and in what sense is it not yet complete?

2. He will reign for ________________ years. READ Revelation 20:1-6.

3. He will reign _______________. READ Revelation 21:1-8.

What is Our Role in Christ’s Reign as Believers? 1. We will serve Him forever as rewarded servants. READ 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Note: The emphasis here is not judgment for sin. Our sin was forgiven completely by Christ at the moment of salvation. The issue is reward for faithfulness or the lack thereof.

2. We will return with Him at the end of the Tribulation when Christ vanquishes all His enemies. READ Revelation 19:11-14. What is our role in the event and what is Christ’s role? READ vs. 15.

3. We will reign with Him during His thousand-year reign on earth called the Millennium. SEE Revelation 20:1-6 again.

4. We will forever live in perfect fellowship with Him. READ Revelation 21:1-7.

What Does Christ Want Us to Do Until He Returns?

1. READ Revelation 22:6-21 then write out what you believe God is saying in the last chapter of the Bible in regards to this question: ____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Questions:

1. What makes you excited about our future as believers living under the reign of our King, the Lord

Jesus?

2. What has the Lord taught you or challenged you with through this study?

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- NEW SERIES STARTING NEXT SUNDAY…

(Slide)

- Turn to Matthew chapter 27 or open it up on your device.

- I read this week about 2 little boys who were sitting on the front row

at church on Easter Sunday. The service included a drama depicting

the events of Christ from Palm Sunday through the resurrection.

As the man playing Jesus entered the back of the auditorium one of

the other characters in the play shouted, “The King is Coming. The

King is Coming.”

Just then one of the little boys on the front row jumped up on his

seat, looked toward the back and said, “So that’s Elvis.”

- READ Matthew 27:27-54; 28:1-10

- PRAY

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You know the Bible says a lot about our heart. For example, it says in…

(Slide)

“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Psalms 14:1; 53:1

“The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a

broken and humbled heart, God.” Psalm 51:17

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See

if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”

Psalm 139:23

The word “heart” in these and many other Scriptures in the Bible isn’t

referring to the muscle that pumps blood throughout our bodies. No, it’s

referring to our heart as the seat of our emotions.

Our heart is the core of our thoughts and reasoning. It’s that part of us

that makes decisions and exercises our free will. It is the essence of our

being as individuals.

Frankly, it’s what makes us like God. It’s what separates us from the

animals. God didn’t create people and animals the same. He created

mankind with an eternal soul and He made US, Genesis chapter 1 says, in

His image. Like God, we have a heart.

And in a spiritual sense every person’s heart has a throne that controls it.

Whoever or whatever we allow to sit on the throne of our heart controls

our entire being as the king of our life and is what we worship.

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For many people its self. For others it’s a parent, a child, a spouse, a

career, money, lust, the world, or anything else that either by an act of our

will or simply by default through complacency we allow to rule over our

life.

And I can tell you this, there’s lots of things or people vying to sit on the

throne of your heart and be your king. But here’s the thing, there’s only

room for one King on the throne of your heart.

My goal this Easter morning is to appeal to you to consider this all-

important truth: the greatest person that could sit on the throne of your

heart and be your King is Jesus Christ.

I want to implore each and everyone one of you who are watching this

service wherever you are and whenever you’re watching – don’t turn this

off. Give me the chance, give God the chance through His Word and by His

Spirit to speak directly to your heart this morning.

Don’t let anything distract you for the next few minutes. Your eternal

destiny in heaven or hell hangs on what we’re going to consider in our

brief time together.

This morning I want to give you 3 biblical reasons why you should make

Jesus your King and let him sit on the throne of your heart.

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Why Should You Make Jesus Your King?

(Slide)

1. Because He is the King who loves you and has proven it – Matthew

27:22 – 28:37; Matt. 28:1-10; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 8:37-39;

Ephesians 2:4-8.

“For God loves the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so

that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

God has both told you He loves you, and He’s also proven it. It’s one thing

for someone to say they love you. It’s quite another to prove that love in

actions and deeds – especially those that require your very own life.

But that’s what Jesus did. The Bible says He literally laid down His life for

us. Why? Because the Bible says that we’re all sinners – Romans 3:23. We

all have a sin nature. We’re all guilty of sin and our sin offends God who is

holy and righteous and pure and just in every way.

The justice of God demands that sin be punished. He wouldn’t be a perfect

God if He wasn’t perfect in His righteousness and justice as well. So sin

invites the judgment of God on every human being.

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And judgment, that punishment is death – eternal separation from God in

hell – Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death…”

But the rest of the verse says, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus

Christ our Lord.” God’s love for you and for me is so great, so

immeasurable, and so extravagant, that He sent His own Son down to this

earth.

Jesus came down and lived a perfect life here for 33 years – feeding

people, healing the sick, raising the dead, delivering the demon-

possessed, teaching people how to have eternal life and forgiving people

of their sin.

Then He willingly laid His life down in death on a cross to forever pay for

the sins of the world by shedding His own blood as the payment for our

sin.

And after they buried Him in a borrowed tomb, He rose to life and today

He extends the offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven to all

who will humble themselves, admit their sin, and by faith ask Jesus to

forgive them of their sin and be saved. (Saved – one of best terms found in

the Bible)

By giving His life, He became our substitute so that we don’t have to pay

for our sins in death. He took our place, so that we can have eternal life in

heaven, not in hell.

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We just read Matthew’s account of the crucifixion. Jesus endured the

savage cruelty of the Romans who took pleasure in dishing out as much

pain as they could on their victims before their bodies would give out and

die.

Illustrate: Flogging – the Whip

Crown of Thorns

Crucifixion – Hammer/Nails

Jesus did this so that you and I could be saved. He allowed sinful people to

do this to HIM, because He loves YOU.

This is the one, Jesus, the Son of God, who loves you so much and wants

to be your King and direct your life now and into His presence in heaven

when your life is over. No one will ever love you like He does!!!

And when we place our faith in Him as the forgiver of our sins and the

savior of our soul, the Bible calls this transaction salvation. And there is no

greater miracle in all the universe than when a person is saved.

And when someone experiences salvation Jesus wants them to publicly

proclaim their salvation through being baptized. Baptism is what Jesus

commanded His followers to do to express our faith in Him to the world.

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The salvation of a sinner into eternal life is so precious to God that with

each and every person who comes to faith in Christ for salvation, the Bible

says the angels in heaven rejoice.

So here at Fellowship we figure since the angels in heaven rejoice, we

ought to be rejoicing too. Let’s watch this.

BAPTISM VIDEO

Let’s praise the Lord for those who were saved this week and those who

were baptized this morning! (APPLAUSE)

Why Should You Make Jesus Your King?

(SLIDE)

2. Because He is the King of Kings who will reign forever– Revelation

19:11-16; 20:4-6.

Jesus isn’t a just king among other kings. He’s THE King. All other so-called

“kings” don’t even come close to who He is.

He’s so far above all other kings that the Bible says in the future when the

world will be taring itself apart in global wars and experiencing the

judgments of God, Jesus is going to fulfill the promise He made after His

resurrection, and He’s going to return to earth.

But not as a humble baby in an animal’s feeding trough. He’s coming back

as the judge of all peoples and all nation. READ Revelation 19:11-16.

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The king who loves you and wants to be your king is THE KING OF KINGS

AND LORD OF LORDS. Every earthly kingdom that will still be existing in

rebellion against God at the end of this time in the future that the Bible

calls the tribulation will be wiped out by Him in an instant when Jesus

returns to earth.

And after He has judged the nations and the people of the earth with His

righteous judgment, He will establish a new kingdom on earth, a

worldwide kingdom with Jesus Himself presiding as King of Kings and Lord

of Lords.

And Revelation chapter 20 says that all those who know Jesus as Lord and

Savior will rule and reign with Jesus over the kingdoms of the world, under

His authority. So if Jesus is your King this morning, that will include you.

In other words friends, to know Christ as your Savior and Lord with Him as

your king means you’re on the winning team, you’re on the side of the

victors as Christ once and for all judges Satan and all those who reject

Jesus and His offer of eternal life.

Why Should You Make Jesus Your King?

(Slide)

3. Because He is the King you will bow down and worship and be

judged by even if you refuse to make Him your king now –

Philippians 2:7-11; Revelation 20:11-15.

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The world is full of people who either by choice, or simply by

procrastination have put off receiving God’s free gift of eternal life by faith

in Jesus Christ and allowing Him to be King of their life.

And when anyone allows this to continue all the way through the end of

their life, they will die in their sin, and forever miss the opportunity to

avail themselves of salvation. Death makes their indecision final. Which

means they have forever rejected Jesus.

The Bible says “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that to face

judgment.”

Listen to what the Bible says about people who either hate God and reject

His salvation or simply off the decision to receive forgiveness of sin and

salvation until it is too late and forever lose that opportunity afforded to

them by God’s love…

(Slide)

“And when he (Jesus) had come as a man, he humbled himself by

becoming obedient to the point of death – even to death on a cross. For

this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above

every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven

and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue will confess that

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:7b-11

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Everyone who has ever lived will eventually bow in worship and recognize

Jesus as the Son of God, who died for the sins of all and who rose again as

Savior of the world, if not in this life through salvation, then after they

have died and face God as their judge – and that will be a frightful day.

We don’t have to imagine what that day will be like – because God has

already told us in Revelation chapter 20…

(Slide)

“Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it…I also saw the

dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were

opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead

were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was

thrown into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 20:11-12, 15

This is the future for anyone who refuses to make Jesus their King. As you

can see, rejection of His Son King Jesus whom He lovingly sent to this

world to pay for our sins, and who Himself willingly died so we could have

our sin forgiven and receive eternal life, is a serious thing to Almighty God.

Today, as we celebrate Easter – the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

dead – we are also celebrating Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

who loves us so much that He died a criminal’s death for our sin.

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And He loves you and wants to be your King. He doesn’t want to be ONE

of your kings. He will NOT share the throne of your heart with anyone or

anything else. There’s only room for one king in your heart and life. Who

or what is it going to be?

The greatest evangelist in modern times, Billy Graham, said this…

(Slide)

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah prophesied

the kind of suffering Jesus the Messiah would have to go through. And it

happened exactly as He predicted…

(Slide)

“But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, And He has carried our

sorrows and pains; Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,

struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. But He was

wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our

sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our

well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his

own way; But the LORD has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our

injustice, our wrongdoing] To fall on Him [instead of us].

Isaiah 53:4-6

Youtube Clip: "THAT'S MY KING!! (by S. M. Lockridge)"