THE RISEN CHRIST: HIS POWER AND HIS PRESENCE!

Scripture Passage: John 20: 24-31; 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

Vs. 24 Thomas was absent when the risen Christ came. He missed four 4 cardinal blessings that the resurrected Jesus came with:

1. Shalom! Peace –something that liberated their fears
2. Evidence of His death and resurrection
3. Commissioning of the disciples – “As His Father sent Him, He also sent them”
4. Gift of the Holy Spirit – “Receive the Holy Spirit”
5. Empowerment – “Whosoever you forgive is forgiven….”

• He missed in the fellowship of believers
• He was still angered, furious and pondering he had wasted his time for the past three years. What a fool he was? He was still going through pains and hurting for the Jews who crucified a Man whom he served for three years; a miracle worker that had no comparism or equal.
• He saw from his hiding (a distance) when He was crucified on the cross and known to have been buried. How then do you say he has risen and came?
• Thomas was living in sight and not in faith. He said, unless I see, touch, and feel, I will not believe. He wanted physical evidence before He could believe.

Vs. 25 Other disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord; He visited us here” He responded, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, put my finger where the nails were  and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.”

• Do you blame Thomas? I don’t…
• The disciples said to him, the Master is no longer in the tomb. Thomas do you hear us?
• All that rang in his ears were loud voices of disbelief
• This can’t be possible; it must be a gimmick – could it be a trick?
• Some people must have stolen Him, he pondered
• No one ever killed by the Roman soldiers came back to life.

Vs 26 Eight days after, the God of second chance showed up/appeared; come in again through closed doors, stood in their midst and still observed fears and insecurities in the disciples. He said, “Shalom!! “Peace be unto you.” This time Thomas was with them.

Three things happened here:

1. The doors were still locked, yet Jesus came in
2. The disciples were still afraid and doubtful
3. Jesus came in and stood in their midst.

A). The doors were locked: Jesus did not have a key to the doors. He is the Key and door. By Him any man can enter into God’s kingdom. He did not attempt to open neither the doors nor windows. He didn’t even attempt to knock, that could have put more fears in them or caused commotion. If you begin to wonder, was He a spirit or how can a man in flesh and blood enter through closed doors into the house?   He showed them His hands and side. He had a physical body, however it is not exactly like ours and was different from the body He had by his death. He wore a different and new body (1 Corinthians 15:35-44; (35-44). When He rose from death, He was able to pass through the grave and rose. The angel only came to roll aside the stone at the tomb so that people could see that He has already resurrected.  The body was no longer there and the tomb was empty. He was there through the closed door. Today, Jesus is still omnipresence. He’s present in every place at every time. Whether you are in the house, in the pit or prison, the risen Jesus can pass through and meet you at your point of need. He is unique in this quality and no one else is like Him. He’s God and alive and healing wonders of the world.

B). They were still afraid: The risen Christ did not have to knock to be present in the midst of our worship service/fellowship meetings or in private worship or prayer. If He had knocked the disciples would have been more afraid thinking the Jewish leaders and soldiers had come to arrest them. He simply came in through closed doors and met His disciples panicking, and frightening. He greeted them again, Shalom! Brethren, we have all kinds of fears:

1. Fears of the past and future,
2. fears of success and failure – “I may not make it.”
3. fears of passing examination;
4. fears of heights and valleys,
5. fears of water and thunder and lightning;
6. fears that our relationship may not go/end well or our children may not do well., etc
7. fears that our prayers may not be answered or we may not be healed, etc

But the risen Christ comes to us when we are fearful or frightened. He does not wait for us to have faith, get our acts together but comes to help us develop enough faith as we hear the word and by faith, we reach out to possess our possession.

C). The Risen Christ came in and stood in their midst:  He came through closed doors and stood in their midst; not at the edge or patch on the walls or deal with them from a distance. He stood in the middle, in their front for them to see, feel Him; they could touch and know Him and believe He is who He says He is. He is the one who died and now risen. Today, wherever we gather, He’s there; closed to our hearts and situations. He wants us to know He’s present and we can feel His presence in faith and trust His word. He is presence to touch, and refresh us and renew us in the power of the Holy Spirit. “The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances” -. Robert Flatt

In his write up, John Piper wrote, that the Risen Christ, came to give: His peace, His power and Purpose (3 gift):

a).The gift of Peace: Twice, Jesus said to His disciples, Shalom! “Peace be with you.” Peace comes to calm us down from fears, insecurities and hostilities. The peace Jesus offered His disciples is the peace that He accomplished when He died for us on the cross and paid for our sins. From the time Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, His disciples scattered; they became more frightened when He was crucified on the cross in such a shameful and disgraceful death accompanied with hostility of the worst type. They all stood afar watching His crucifixion. In their mind, they were still guilty and in fears. He came in His risen body and saw how they were harassed and terrified and said to them, Shalom! My Peace, I give to you. See Me, My hand and side; I am your Master, the one, the very one that was crucified when you ran away and watch from a distance. I am the very one who died and was pieced for your transgression (Isaiah 53:5).

I know you still feel guilty but My blood has covered all your sins and the wrath of God is turned away from you. All the hostility between God and mankind was absorbed on the cross. Here justice was satisfied. I have arisen and come to assure you of the peace between you and your Maker. You have been forgiven; God makes peace with us by substituting His sons’ suffering for our penalty (Heb 9:14). Jesus said, “Peace – to mean now I bring you my peace because God sent His son to die on our behalf. We can now have peace with ourselves; giving the assurance that the penalty is taken away through Christ death and we have been forgiven and that makes healing possible. We can now forgive one another and become one in Christ (Gal 3:28). Peace with Jesus, means peace with God, the Father. Peace with others in Christ and peace with the world. Jesus offers of peace is free, once we accept and believe in Him (John 1:12; Rom 5:1).

b). The gift of Power: Jesus had said I shall pour out My Spirit when I ascended into heaven (Acts 2:33); “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1: 8).  The work of the Holy Spirit is the power to do what we cannot do ordinarily or with human strength. He also said in John14:18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” It means the living Jesus (risen) will come upon us in the Power of the Holy Spirit.  In Matt 28:19, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”In John 20:22 Jesus somehow demonstrated or acted out His parable. “He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” What He just did means that His word, His breathe and His life will be in and through the Holy Spirit. Through Him you will do exploit in His name.  His power in the Holy Spirit is our hope to accomplishing the task Jesus has given us to do. Jesus said as my Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you. By this, Jesus said, I want you to become My representative, My ambassadors and My worthy disciples who would do what I had been doing. “I am sending you to extend my peace and my light and my truth and my life in the world.” I am going to My Father but receive my Spirit and go and glorify God in the world as I did.

c) The gift of Purpose: He gave them power to do extra-ordinary things that no human being or strength could do – defeating our selfishness, loving other people as Christ would love them and being sent out to act like Christ in all they would do. The Holy Spirit is the power that releases the strength for living the life and doing what God intents us to do. I give you my peace and power and send you to extend my peace, my power and my truth into the world just as my Father sent me. And by so doing you glorify my Father as I have done.

Jesus then empowered them, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain forgiveness from any, it is retained.” It means go into the world, if you hear and believe in the word, that I have forgiven you, you will forgive yourself. If you believe my word, that you are blessed, I have blessed you. You can bless other people and they will be blessed. You no longer need to see or feel or touch to believe. You now need to hear/read and believe. You have faith and are saved. By my word, you will tremble, called me Lord and God.

Vs. 27. When He came the second time, Jesus immediately directed His attention on Thomas. You may ask how He knew what Thomas said 8 days ago. It should surprise you that Jesus heard what Thomas said and knows what was in his mind. Jesus commanded Thomas, “Reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe”

People say seeing is believing. Once you see the thing hoped foralready existing in the natural order, you don’t need faith. Faith is the ability to believe without seeing. Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes. Through faith we can know we have the answer to our prayers before we see anything change in the natural order (1 John 5:14; Mark 11:24).  God expect us, even commands us to believe that our petitions are answered by God at the moment we make them. We must believe the response is obtained the moment we ask.  Philip Yancy describes faith as, “Believing in advance in something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse.” Faith is believing in what is true…. Faith …makes us certain of realities we do not see. “The Church has its existence by virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was the first to emerge from death’s dark dominions, as the One on Whom death had no claim, and over whom the grave had no power”.- W.H. Rogers

Christianity is awesome and wonderful!!! We worship and serve an unseen God (1 Peter 1:8). Everywhere Jesus went, He declared the Father – invisible God (John 5:37-38). Jesus was the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). We do not see the air we breathe but we believe we breathe life. Show me the holes of His hands and the holes of His feet? Thomas wanted what he could hold in his hands, feel against the flesh of his skins, see, and behold with his own eyes. He wanted a life without a mystery. He wanted a proof; we all want proofs, don’t we?

• This day, right here now, Jesus challenges someone, “stop doubting and start believing.” Jesus wants to change your perspective; He wants to change your unbelief
• He wants to give you evidence to belief; He wants to give you evidence of your faith
• Blessed are those who do not see but believe (John20:29). You don’t have to see or touch to believe; for all who can trust Jesus’ own words that He would rise after 3 days, they would be blessed.
• Inside this arena today, Jesus want to assure you that He’s real; He still heals and there is in here the risen Savior. He is present in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Where two or three gather in His name, He’s there, touching, healing changing and refreshing lives who believes.
• Stop doubting, unbelieving and start believing; You see what you believe (faith).
• Thomas came face to face with the risen Christ/Savior, he did not only belief but became convinced, convicted and broken.
• When Thomas saw the risen Christ, he no longer feel or touch but bow in worship and total surrender. He came face to face with reality.
• Thomas could not look at Jesus in His face; he bowed down and called Him my Lord and my God. (in worship and trembling)
• My Lord: meaning: I am your servant; You have authority and power over my life, my situation and circumstances. You have been my Teacher, Master and friend of 3 years.
• My God: meaning; my Dad, my Creator and Maker. He understood His beloved Rabbi was none other than God himself.

1. In you I live and move and have my being (Acts 17:28);
2. I surrender and tremble;
3. You are whom you say you are and you can do what you say you can do.
4. I cannot hide anymore; you know me better than I know myself;
5. Lord, I can feel your presence;
6. I now believe.

Live in the awareness that Christ lives and that He lives in His people.” –  Julien B. Well

Chorus: Jesus is already here,

              Can you feel His presence?

             He’s already here;

             All you have to do is to open up your heart;

             Jesus is already here!!!