God Has Given Us Resurrection Life

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

November 10, 2019

in Spritual Growth

No Comments

1191

WATCH

Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time
Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines
November 10, 2019

Readngs: Job 19: 23 – 27a
2 Thessalonians 2:13- 3:5
Luke 20: 27-28

God gave us the gift of life. That life cannot die. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is eternal. Whatever He created is eternal. A church calendar has been set for us to know His ways. God is the One who sets out the direction and course for our lives. It’s only God’s gifts for us that are bringing these into existence. Through Him all things were made.

We begin our reading with the account of Job. Job was a very wealthy man, very prosperous and was able to conquer whatever came in his way. But God put him to the test, and he acquired boils which covered his body which were very painful. He also lost everything- his flocks, crops, his family. And his so-called “friends” began to mock and told him to curse God. But Job held on to God. He did not waver in his faith. He said in Job 19: 26 – “Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”

Job gives us a picture of the resurrection. In Job 19:25 – he says, “I know my Redeemer lives, and He will stand on the earth.” This gives us so much hope, because even if the situation is dark, even if everything is taken away from us, we shouldn’t give up. God will overcome. God will help us conquer. The battle is not over until you win.

During the time of Christ, there were rulers who were there to govern the religious affairs of men. There were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They had different sets of ideas. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. There was no hope of a future life for them. The Pharisees on the other hand, believed in the resurrection, but were overly strict with the laws. In fact it is said that they even added 600 more laws when in reality, Christ gave us only two laws to follow; to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In Mark, chapter 12, there is an account of the seven brothers. One gets married and subsequently dies. So his wife marries the second brother, then he dies. She marries he next brother and he dies too. It tells us that this pattern goes on down the line until she has managed to marry all seven brothers. Some Sadducees came to Jesus with the question; At the resurrection, when all will rise from the dead, whose wife will she be? Jesus’ reply was, “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is different from the kingdom on earth. 1 Corinthians 2:9 – What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love Him.

The concept of the beauty of heaven has been described to us in Revelation 21 regarding the New Jerusalem. How that the gates are made of one solid pearl and the streets are paved with gold. A river flows with pure water in the center, and there are fruit-bearing trees all around. We will see Christ face to face and sit at His banquet and drink of the finest aged wine.

Romans 8:23 – Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

Ecclesiastes 12: 7 – And the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

God gave us the breath of life. He will fulfill that which was given to us. What God has prepared for us is far greater then what we could ever imagine. Resurrection therefore, is not just being taken out of the grave but it’s a restoration of all things. God is a God of resurrection, of restoration. We should not fear death because it is the entrance to eternal life.

The assurance we have with Christ is that God has redeemed us. Even if things aren’t going right, we know that all things work together for good. We should rejoice because something good is about to happen. This is His love and commitment for us. Are we ready to make Him King of our lives?