The Resurrection Of The Dead

When we look at someone with no life in them, we seem to lose all hope.

But I want to tell some stories from the Bible of the resurrection of the dead.

I want us to understand that God’s promises are sealed by the blood of Jesus and cannot fail, if we can only believe.

Pay close attention to these stories I pray they will help to resurrect some of our dead dreams and give us back our faith and hope in the covenant God has made to those who are willing to say “ Not My will but Thine be Done.”

When something bad happens you have three choices

1. You can let it define you.

2. Let it destroy you.

3. Or you can let it strengthen you.

In the church you can do three things.

1. Help

2. Hinder

3. Or destroy

We need helpers to fulfill the calling of God to fill his house.

So with that in let us look at what looks like impossible situations made possible by the Spirit of God.

Here are the ones raised from the dead according to the bible:

1. Elijah raised the Son of the Zarephath widow (1 Kings 17:17-22)

2. Elisha raised the Son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:30-37)

3. And even the Prophet Elisha’s bones raised up a dead man in

(2 Kings 13:21)

4 Jesus: Lazarus was raised after 4 days in the grave his body already rotting which made it by human reasoning that not even God could do this but it happened in (John 11:38-44)

b. Widow’s son raised during funeral (Luke 7:11-17)

c. Jairus daughter (Matt. 8:28-43,

5. Jesus raised Himself a. (Matt. 28:5-8

6. Many raised (Matt. 27:52) – Many come out of the tombs

7. Paul Raised Eutychus after he fell from the window (Acts 20:7-12)

8. Peter Raised Dorcas (Acts 9:36-42)

People of those days were just like us what looked impossible was impossible to them.

Matt 19:26

But Jesus beheld them and said unto them with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible.

One of the things we need to resurrect in the church is

1. Faithfulness. An Excuse is a cancer that eats the hope of salvation and healing not only for you but also for others who are watching you.

God demands faithfulness.

2. Prayer: Without it you are led into every temptation and excuse the devil can provide. Matt 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:

A. The spirit indeed is willing,

B. But the flesh is weak.

3. The lack of knowledge of the Word Of God:

2 Tim 2:15-16: The Living Bible translation: Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means. 16 Steer clear of foolish discussions that lead people into the sin of anger with each other.

4. We need to be Persistence: it means we won’t stop praying and believing God for the souls of humanity we will fervently and effectually pray because we want GOD to know that we mean business.

5. We need Availability: that means to be Present and ready for use;

Qualified and willing to serve or assist;

What we need to stop is Procrastination: This means to stop putting off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness.

What it actually means in biblical terms is, stop putting the things of God at the bottom of your list to DO’s!

We will never be an affective church until we make the things of God {“Top Priority”}

Excuses may be legitimate but not acceptable; All the excuses we say

A. “God understands I have to take care of my Family.

I believe that if we will obey God he is more than capable to taking care of them better.

Let me give you what he said: Not my interpretation of what he expects but what Jesus says Himself.

We need to resurrect the word of God and abide in it according to John 15

Matt 16:23-24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.” For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

· The Greek “translation for “deny” is to “disown” or “renounce.”

· Which means for us to take up our cross, which is our responsibility to follow Jesus,

· “To denying oneself” it shows the sense of a person disassociating himself from his self-interest to serve a higher purpose.

Everywhere it’s the same, we want God to save our kids, to heal us, to bless us financially but when we are asked to put him first we have excuses.

Some have missed the answers they needed by not being here.

Some of you occasionally have to miss but you hate it.

Some miss but not very often, that is acceptable.

What I am trying to do is save you from self-destruction that is the same thing Jesus was saying to people, come I have made all things ready and they began to make excuses.

1. One used his farm,

2. One used his wife

3. Listen to this one: one of them used a cow.

Was that acceptable? Well let’s see what happened according to the bible.

Rev 19:9: Here is the reward for the faithful; And he said unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, {John made this very clear who the message was coming from.}

These are the true sayings of God.

But listen to what happened at this marriage supper and the results of their excuses:

Luke 14:18-27

18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse.

The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

Second: said “I have bought five yoke of oxen and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.”

Third said: “I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.”

21 So that servant came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the housebeing angry said to his servant,

“Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.

22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded and yet there is room.

23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

24 For I say unto you, “That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” {You may be called, but if you aren’t faithful you won’t make it.”}

25 And there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said unto them,

26 “If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters yea and his own life also

“He cannot be my disciple.”

27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me, {SAY CANNOT} be my disciple.

· “Denying oneself” is a consequence of true faith,

· Jesus uses the cross to represent true discipleship five times (Matt 10:38)

From a theological perspective, the cross was:

1. A place of sacrifice: Jesus’ life for your sins

2. A place of atonement: Jesus’ work on the cross for your freedom from the penalty and power of sin

3. A place of redemption: Jesus’ glory for your forgiveness and restored relationship with God

What does it mean to “take up the cross daily”? This may be a reference to the struggle against the challenges and temptations of personal sins.

So while we may be free of the penalty of sin, the Christian life is discovering God’s holy standard, striving towards making it our own and realizing that we cannot do it by our own efforts.

When you are called out it means you have a work to do, let me ask you, ‘Have you done the work?”

We can get by with excuses with the world, but even that just last for so long, then your excuses are no longer or acceptable