John 11:25 - 26 I am the Resurrection and The Life....
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11 This is a story about Jesus and HIS friends. Jesus had three friends who were siblings whom HE loved. They were two sisters Mary and Martha, and a brother Lazarus. Now while Jesus was in another part of town ministering the gospel HE got news that HIS very good friend Lazarus was sick and dying. Two days after HE was told Lazarus died. But Jesus deliberately waited for Lazarus to die so that HE could get the publicity as being the person HE was professing to be i.e. the Son of God - the Messiah. God had promised the Israelites through Moses that he would send them a Messiah to finally deliver them from the constant bondage which they fell captive to from different nations. They were living in anticipation of HIM.
It was during the time of 'the Passover' which is a very popular Jewish holiday where all Jews return to Jerusalem to celebrate the history of their exodus as a nation released from slavery in Egypt. A lot of Jewish people had traveled from different parts of the world to partake in the tradition. The Jewish people were once held in slavery in Egypt and God sent Moses 'as it were to the King Pharoh with an order/ warrant for their release. But the King refused to obey God's decree. As a result God sent 10 plagues to Egypt to convince the King to surrender 'HIS PEOPLE'. The King was indignant and stubborn and didn't surrender until the tenth plague where God killed the firstborn of every Egyptian household. The Israelite children only lived if they obeyed God's command to kill a lamb and plaster the blood over their doorposts. The Israelites did what God commanded and their children lived. But all the children in the Egyptian kingdom died, including the Pharoh's son. As a result the King released the Jews and allowed them to leave under the leadership of Moses. 1 Peter 1 The lamb was slain and its blood smeared over the doorpost. This was a foreshadow of Jesus as the lamb of God who's blood would once again save God's people. For the Jews, the blood of the lamb is an acceptable sacrifice to God for the remission of their sins. Hebrews 9 The blood of the lamb signifies sanctification. That miracle in Egypt is what 'broke the camel's back'. It brought conviction of the power and sovereignty of God.
The Jews in Jerusalem were not used to seeing anyone come back to life from the dead. So it was an opportune time for Jesus to reveal HIS Sovereignty and connection to God. Jesus was the revelation of God's power in the flesh when HE decided to raise Lazarus from the dead. This was the perfect introduction - the power to control life and death. In Egypt the Israelite children lived and the Egyptian children died. Now in Bethany, near Jerusalem Lazarus would first die then be brought back to life. Only the true God had that power. Jesus needed to prove that HE represented the true God. The Egyptians had many gods just like the Romans who ruled the Israelites at that time. Jesus' friends had seen HIM do miracles before, but they'd never seen HIM raise the dead. When Martha ran to meet Jesus while HE was on HIS way to their house, she was convinced HE could've healed her brother before he died. When her sister Mary ran to meet HIM she was convinced HE would raise him at the end of time. But they weren't convinced Jesus had power to raise the dead. Who knew that Moses would cross the Red Sea? After Egypt and the Red Sea Moses didn't need to try to convince anyone anymore about his relationship with God and God's power. So too, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead everyone believed in HIM and HIS power; and HIS enemies began to seriously plot to kill HIM, because HE was living proof.
If we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, HE decrees that we have the same power that HE had when HE raised Lazarus. John 14 If we have faith in HIM whatever situation in our lives that seems 'dead' i.e. no longer able to occur; we can do what HE did. We have the power. We can cause it to be restored just like Job's family and wealth. We can face any grave and command the dead to walk out be it a person, position or thing etc... Moses died in the dessert, but he was resurrected - because he was seen speaking to Jesus on the Mount Olivet thousands of years later. Resurrection for the believer is the end game. Death is not final for the believer in God. Moses believed God. He had a real relationship with God, so did Jesus. The question is, do you have a real relationship with God? Moses spent a lot of time with God before he went back to Egypt. He had grown up there, but ran away for awhile. Jesus spent a lot of time with God before HE started HIS ministry on earth. How much time do you spend with God? What do you need to tell "come forth".
Believe God!
TESTIMONY: 11 yr Old Went to Heaven and Back, and Tells What He Saw!
WORSHIP: Breakthrough
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