Welcome to another posting of the Weekend Sermon. Thank you for joining me today. I hope that this day finds all of you well.
This has been a very busy week. Work continues to have its frustrations, but overall, the job front isn't going that badly. I was able to get quite a bit of writing done this week, and the book is progressing nicely at this point. I am still having pain in my legs, so please pray that this will improve during the upcoming week.
In prayer, let us continue to pray about the troubles that are in many parts of the world. The fires in the American West are still going, so please pray that these might be extinguished. Please continue to pray for the end of the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Continue to pray for peace in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Libya.
We have been praying for some of the nations in the world where there are few Christians. Please pray this week that the Gospel might reach Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia.
Over the last several weeks now, we have been studying the "I Am" statements of Jesus as recorded in John. Last week, we studied Jesus' saying that He was the Good Shepherd.
Today we turn our attention to John 11 where Jesus says that He is "The Resurrection and the Life." This statement by Jesus is given in the context of the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I am not going to really focus on that account in the message today. After we finish the "I Am" sermon series, I plan to focus on the seven signs that John records that point to the divinity of Jesus. The resurrection of Lazarus is one of those signs, and I will delve more into the depths of the story at that time.
Right now, I want to just focus on the fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. First of all I just want to say that this passage of Scripture is my favorite passage in the entirety of the Bible. It holds great meaning for me, and it fills me with hope for the future.
The Bible makes it very clear that the reason that death has come into the world is that the world is filled with sin. Before Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, death was not a part of this world's experience. However, when Adam fell into disobedience, the Bible says that death entered into the world and death has passed upon all because all have sinned. In addition, because of the sinfulness of humanity, death has passed into the entire created order. All things die.
When Jesus came to this earth He accomplished several things. First of all, He lived a holy and sinless life. He became our perfect example as to how to live and to please God. Second, when Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for sin. Jesus bore our sins in His body as the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His death dealt with the reality of sin itself. However, the consequences of sin had to be dealt with as well.
Sin brought death, so it was necessary for Jesus to deal with this problem. When Jesus rose again on the third day, He conquered death, hell and the grave. He had effectively dealt with the problems of both sin and its ramifications.
Now you may be saying, don't people still die? Yes, at this time they still do. However, those who are in Christ do not experience death as do those who do not believe in what Jesus has accomplished. Those who believe in Jesus, when they die, they are immediately in His presence. At the time of the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age, believers will receive a glorified body like unto Christ's glorified body. This is only possible because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
One day, there will be no more death at all. This will occur when Jesus makes His glorious appearance at His Second Coming. When Jesus comes again, He will restore everything to the way that it existed in the Edenic state before the fall of humanity. This is the culmination of the redemptive process that began at Jesus' first coming.
Those who have not placed their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, will not be granted the same type of existence. They will be eternally separated from God as a consequence of continuing in sin.
The fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life should fill us with great hope. It does this for me for a very important reason. As many of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, I have lost several individuals whom I love very much over the last few years. This was a painful time filled with grief and depression. The one thing that has kept me going through the painful circumstance of losing loved ones is knowing the fact that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
Those whom I have loved and lost in this live each had placed there trust in Jesus and His work of redemption through His death and resurrection. Because of what Jesus Christ has done, they are now eternally in the presence of the Savior. Death did not have the last word in their lives. They are just as much alive now as they were when I knew them on this earth.
I still miss my parents, family members and friends. It hurts to be separated from the one's that we love. But there is one thing that I hold on to with all of my being. One day, because of who Jesus is and because of what He has done, I will be reunited with all of those who have preceded me in death. If the Lord should return in my lifetime, I will see those who have gone on before when they return with Jesus when He come in triumph and great glory.
Because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, we who have placed our trust in Him do not need to fear death. We will be with Him forever and forever.
Jesus could only make the statement, "I Am the resurrection and life" because he was God come in the flesh. Only God has the power to bring life from death. Jesus as God has the power to defeat death and bring triumph over the forces of sin and death and hell.
I hope that if you have not placed your faith in Jesus that you will do so today. Confess your sins and ask Jesus to forgive you. Invite Jesus into your life to be your Savior and to be your Lord. Jesus wants to have a relationship with you and He wants to grant unto you the gift of eternal life.
Jesus is the resurrection and life. Yes, He has promised those who believe life beyond the grave, but He has also promised us an abundant life in the here and now. This means that we can have a relationship with Him. We can cast our cares on Jesus and rely on Him to see us through the ups and downs of life until we stand before Him face to face in eternity.
Thank you for reading the blog this week. Next week, we will continue with our series on the "I Am" statements of Jesus. I will not be posting the verses this Monday because the library is closed for Labor Day. I will post them on Tuesday. There won't be a review this week. They will resume the following week. May God bless you all. Amen.
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