Sunday Sermonettes #084
A Living Hope Through the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead brings great joy and hope to you and me.
For he, as the first to rise from the dead to the glory of heaven above, has conquered death for ever.
It is amazing that the immortal God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took on human nature and truly experienced death for us. He bled on the cross and died for you and me.
And it is a great encouragement that he as man and our elder brother has opened the door of hope for us through his resurrection from the dead.
When Hope Feels Lost
When you think life is all over; remember the vision that God showed Prophet Ezekiel. The Spirit of God in a vision led him to a valley of dry bones. God asked him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” He replied, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
Then God commanded him to prophesy to the dry bones to hear the word of the LORD! And with a loud rattling sound bone to bone joined. And flesh appeared on the skeletons and skin covered them. But there was no life.
And God again commanded him to prophesy to the breath: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” And the breath from the LORD came into these lifeless bodies and gave them life. And they came to life and stood upon their feet—a vast army.
Hope for Today Through the Spirit of God
The message then was, and still is, God had heard their cry that their hope as a nation and people is gone for they were then living in exile and captivity.
The complaint was that God had forgotten them. This is almost a modern day complaint we raise in our difficulties and troubles.
Yes, there might be no hope looking at circumstances and situations in life. Yet the God who is the resurrection and the life calls you to hope in him.
In Jesus, doubt and despair do not have the final word. God has not only promised you eternal life, but his power in all your weakness when doubt seems to overwhelm you.
Just as that breath from God transformed those dry bones, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you today as the Comforter, breathing new strength into you every time you simply cry out to him in your weariness.
He is the God who gives strength to the weary and will carry you through, even when you seem to crumble down.
Jesus Christ Will Fill You with Hope
What God showed in that vision, can happen in a greater way through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to fix your life before coming to him; Jesus meets you right in the middle of your mess, offering his grace which is sufficient for everything you are going through.
Jesus is God, and also man who tasted death for everyone. Through his resurrection he has brought hope. That there is life beyond the grave to all who repent of their sins and believe in him.
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus Christ (John 11:25, 26).
Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is found in the Book of Ezekiel 37:1 to 14.
Featured image courtesy: JESUS_is_our_only_HOPE | Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay
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