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by Dr. Rev. David R. Mains
Text: Luke 24:1-8
Subject: Our King’s ultimate triumph. 
Desired Response: Make His triumph your watchword.
How To: Figure out what your specific watchword will be.
How Long: Start working on this now.
Sermon in a Sentence: The truth is that the world goes not well, so make your watchword our King’s ultimate triumph.
It took me a while to find the exact word I wanted. “Disheartening” is what I settled on.
It means to take the very heart out of someone. It’s to weaken their spirit, to remove any element of courage.
“Dis-” as a prefix makes a word its opposite. So “courage” becomes “discourage.” “Hearten,” which is a really neat word, ends up as “dishearten.”
That’s what the crucifixion of our Lord did to His followers. It was the ultimate disheartening  situation.
The next day was all black for His friends. Scripture records almost nothing about what went on in their lives, while the enemies of our Lord kept busy. The end of Matthew 27 reads:
The next day … the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
I have a feeling that stealing the body was the last thing in the world the disciples had in mind. What good would that do? Their world had just been shattered. They had no desire to prop it up by false means. Without their leader, they were a scattered group of former disciples who just had their hearts ripped out.
Three words were to change everything. Three short words. They were spoken by “two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning.” That’s right from the Bible (Luke 24:4). The text doesn’t say so, but it’s obvious that they were angels. They didn’t speak these words to the disciples, but rather to the women who came early on Sunday morning with spices to care for Jesus’ dead body. Those three powerful words were “He is risen!”
“Dear ladies, Jesus isn’t here. Why look for the living among the dead? He is risen!”
They were three words that would quickly change the ultimate disheartening situation into an occasion for great joy and excitement. Remove the “dis-” prefix. Let “disheartening” once again be that delightful word “heartening.” “Discouragement” reverts to “encouragement,” or the infusing of courage. How wonderful!
Potent words have the ability to totally change the way people think!
Disheartening situations were to be a hallmark of Christian life during the early years of the church. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.” He didn’t mean that someone in the congregation might hurt your feelings. He was referring to terrible times of testing many Christians would have to undergo.
You see, the Romans worshipped their emperor, and his people were expected to burn incense at his altars. Naturally, Christians had a problem with this.
Roman men served as soldiers and defended the Empire against the barbarian hordes. Basic to Christian teaching was to love your enemy. Therefore, converts often refused to serve in the Roman legions. Numerous other basic matters, common in Roman society, were points of tension with believers.
Christians wouldn’t go to the gladiatorial bouts where prisoners of war and slaves fought to the death. The theatre was avoided because the plays were usually crude. Those in the church were taught to settle their differences among themselves and avoid the Roman courts. When believers had babies with physical problems of some sort, they kept them instead of following the long-established pattern of abandoning them in the woods. Converts of Christ began treating their slaves more kindly.
From a Roman point of view, these Christians had become a growing threat to their way of life. So lies were told about them. They were said to be cannibals who ate flesh and drank blood at their secret meetings.
The Roman gods would certainly be angered by such pagan practices. When natural calamities occurred the Christians therefore became the ones to blame. Intimidation began, then organized governmental persecutions, torture and mass killings. They were thrown to wild animals, slain with the sword and burned at the stake. It wasn’t easy. One of the things I’m proud of in terms of these early believers is that it was often said of them, “They die well.” It was true. They were brave, courageous, even in the face of death.
It’s one thing to allow yourself to be martyred for your belief in Christ. That difficulty is compounded when you don’t know who will then care for your family. So you need to hear me say that these were truly disheartening situations. They were extremely difficult times that ever so many in the early church went through.
Some capitulated. They didn’t want to, but the pressures on them were too great. Their spirits were weakened. The torture took its toll. Having given in, such believers now felt defeated on every side. Again, it was like their hearts were ripped right out of their bodies.
One of the choice words that sustained the church during those early centuries was “maranatha.” It’s Aramaic and means “Come, O Lord.” In other words, “Jesus, wouldn’t this be a good time for you to return in all your power?”
Paul uses the expression in 1 Corinthians 16:22. “If anyone does not love the Lord—a curse be on him. Come, O Lord!” (or “Maranatha!”)
“Maranatha” gave courage. It was an expression that heartened the people of God going through incredibly troublesome and disturbing experiences.
“He is risen!” “Maranatha.” “Come, O Lord.” Potent words that stirred people and gave them strength.
End of Short Preview for Sermon #8 | 
