If Jesus Did Not Raise Himself From The Dead We Would Have No Guarantee To Conquer The First And Second Death And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. (Luke 18:33 & Mark16:9) I’ll Rise Again - https://youtube/watch?v=QYc2HyFR3uQ What a powerful lesson. We are guaranteed victory over the first death and the second death because of the resurrection of Jesus. This statement is supported by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 15:17-20. Paul said, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Our hope is built on nothing less than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Satan now understands this very important truth and this is why he has produced so many lies regarding the state of the death. You see my friend, if he can get people to believe that nothing exists after the first death; then they will have no reason to believe in the everlasting gospel. Jesus has called us out of this darkness into the marvelous light of the truth regarding life after death. Jesus wants us to lift Him high in the eyes of men. Jesus wants us to let the world know that He has the keys to unlock the gates to Heaven. He wants us to let them know that through His resurrection they can enter in through the gates into the City of God. While all of this is true, unless we surrender every single area of our lives to the total control of the Holy Spirit, we will never benefit from the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus has secured the victory over the first and second death for us. All we have to do is surrender daily to the control of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us into the path of righteousness. It is so simple that some of us cannot believe it. I guess we have difficult believing the simplicity of salvation because we spend so much time as school studying to become a professional. We sometimes don’t even realize that its not the hard work that we have put in which results in our success. It is the mercy of God why we are successful all the time. Somehow we still believe that we must do some major work in order to gain eternal life. This morning God is reminding to lean on His everlasting arms. He is reminding us to depend totally on His resurrection as guarantee that we will gain the victory over death. I pray that we will continue to surrender every single area of our lives to the control of the Holy Spirit so that He can continue to lead us into the path for righteousness. The death of Lazarus was permitted that, through his resurrection, the last and crowning evidence might be given to the Jews that Jesus was the Son of God. Christ was strong to save the whole world. He wanted all. He could not endure the thought that one should be lost. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, that he could not save every one whom Satans power had laid low in death. He had given himself a ransom for many, even all who would avail themselves of the privilege of coming back to their loyalty to God. John, pointing to him, had said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. And in all this conflict with the powers of evil, there was ever before Christ the darkened shadow into which he himself must enter. Ever before him was the price which he must pay for the ransom of these souls. As he witnessed the sufferings of the human race, he knew that he must bear a greater pain, mingled with mockery; that he must suffer the greatest humiliation. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he knew that for that life he must pay the ransom on the cross of Calvary. Every rescue made was to cause him the deepest humiliation. He was to taste death for every man. (The Youth’s Instructor, December 29, 1898 – Ellen G. White) Christ delayed, that by raising Lazarus from the dead, he might give to his stubborn, unbelieving people an evidence that he was indeed the resurrection, and the life. He was loath to give up all hope of the Jewish people. They were to him as the poor, wandering sheep of the house of Israel. His heart was breaking because of their impenitence. He knew that by their course of action they would bring upon themselves swift destruction. God would not avert the terrible retribution that was to come upon the Jewish nation because of the treatment of his Son. They were loading the cloud of indignation that was soon to burst upon them with uncontrollable fury, leaving them a scattered people, and a curse in the whole earth. But in his mercy, Christ purposed to give his deceived, deluded countrymen one more evidence that he was the Restorer, the One who alone could bring life and immortality to light through the gospel. This was to be an evidence that the priests could not misinterpret to destroy the faith of all whom they could influence. This was why Christ deferred going to Bethany. . (The Youth’s Instructor, April 13, 1899 – Ellen G. White) The resurrection of Christ from the dead was the Fathers seal to the mission of Christ. It was a public expression of his entire satisfaction in the atoning work. He accepted the sacrifice that Jesus had made on our behalf. It was everything that God required, perfect and complete. No human being by any work of his own could piece out the work of Christ. When on the cross Jesus uttered the cry, It is finished! glory and joy thrilled heaven, and discomfiture fell upon the confederacy of evil. After that triumphant cry, the worlds Redeemer bowed his head and died and to all appearance the Captain of our salvation was conquered; but by his death he was a conqueror, and he has opened the gates of eternal glory so that all who believe in him may not perish, but have everlasting life. (Review and Herald, January 29, 1895 – Ellen G. White) I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. The resurrection of Christ from the dead makes it certain that all who believe in Christ as their personal Saviour, because He lives, they shall live also. His continual living agency on high ensures the fact that His death and resurrection brings to them life and immortality. (Manuscript Releases, vol. 7, pg. 76, 77 – Ellen G. White) The resurrection and ascension of our Lord is a sure evidence of the triumph of the saints of God over death and the grave, and a pledge that heaven is open to those who wash their robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus ascended to the Father as a representative of the human race, and God will bring those who reflect His image to behold and share with Him His glory. (Testimonies, vol. 9, pg. 286 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:35:16 +0000
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