His word gives life

Pentecost (B)
Ezekiel 37:1-14
May 20, 2018

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The text that I have chosen for this morning’s sermon is the Old Testament reading from Ezekiel, which was read a few minutes ago.

In 1954, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow wrote a book in which he detailed a list of needs that everyone requires. He drew the hierarchy of needs as a pyramid with needs like food, water, and air as the foundation and morality, creativity, and problem solving at the top.  By using a pyramid, he showed what we all know; our basic needs must be met if we’re to obtain other needs like positive self-esteem.  Maslow rejected religion, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Christianity isn’t anywhere on his pyramid, and yet he neglected a need more basic than food or water.  Without food and water, we will physically die, but without God we will spiritually die.  We need the life that God gives, we need it more than anything else, and that life comes to us in His Word.

Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones coming to life is meant to serve as a vivid reminder of the power of God’s Word.  Ezekiel had his vision around 590 BC, when the people of God had pretty much given up hope.  Their captivity appeared to have no end in sight and they cried, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.”  They were enslaved because they stupidly and sinfully rejected God and they thought it was the end.  But God had promised them that they wouldn’t remain slaves forever and Ezekiel’s vision shows that what God says will be done will be done.  The Word spoken over the bones gave them tissue, muscle, and skin.  The Word spoken over them filled them with the breath of life.  The resurrected bones told the people that they could trust God’s Word that they would return home and live again.  God said, “Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people.  And I will bring you into the land of Israel.”  And He did, because He said He would.

Books typically entertain or convey information.  A book may tell you how to fix your washing machine or how to be a better person, but it can’t actually do the work for you.  Books can also be wrong!  One book will tell you that the only way to get ahead in life is to put yourself first and to heck with everyone else, while another tells you that the only way to be successful is to treat others well.  In the end, you’re forced to determine for yourself what the best course of action is.  God’s Word though doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves or come up with our own strategies, it gives us what we need.

The Bible is unlike any other printed book.  It’s not dictated like an autobiography or letter could be and its source isn’t someone’s imagination.  Paul says that the Scriptures were “God breathed”, what we call inspired.  He put His Word into the writers and the prophets so they would give His Word exactly as He gave it to them.  His Word is without error, without contradiction, without mixed messages.  It’s as relevant and as useful as it was when it was first written.  The words written by men can be flawed, God’s Word is perfect.

God’s Word isn’t just perfect, it does what it says it does.  God told the Israelites that He would give them their lives and their nation back, and He did.  So also when God tells us He’ll do something He’ll do it.  The Word which created the world out of nothing is the Word that comes to us and creates faith out of nothing.  As at creation He spoke and it was, so now He speaks to us and we who were dead in sin are made alive.  Our sinful dead bones are given life.  His Word give life because Jesus is the Word of Life.  When God calls a sin a sin, it’s a sin.  And when He proclaims forgiveness, there is forgiveness.  Where He gives life, there is life.  Where He gives hope, there is hope.  The Lord told Ezekiel several times to prophesy which is sharing the Word of God.  This is what I do every Sunday and it’s what happens every time you read the Bible.  The Bible isn’t like some book that’s has information that may or may not apply to you.  Every word is for you, to give you life, to give you forgiveness.  You are forgiven!  Right now, you are forgiven because God says you are.  Right now, you have God’s presence in your life because He says you do.  He gives us the Word so that we would know that He is the Lord.  And these words are written that you would know God’s truth for you.

Pentecost was fifty days after Easter and the appearance of the Holy Spirit reminds us that the Word of God is His as well.  The dry bones were given muscle and skin, but they didn’t live until the Spirit filled them.  The Lord said, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”  In both the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek the word for breath is the same as wind and the same as Spirit.  The Holy Spirit was in the winds which filled the bones with the breath of life.  The Spirit filled them through the Word.  This is why we see the disciples changed so drastically when the Spirit, who came with the sound of the wind, filled the upper room.  No longer where they frightened disciples, they were now loud and proud of their Lord and Savior.  The Spirit directed them just as Jesus said He would.  Jesus says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit, and He did.

The Word of God is also the source of the Spirit for us, the life-giving Spirit who energizes and encourages us.  The Spirit comes to us through our baptism and then repeatedly through the Word.  We don’t find the Spirit, or get the Spirit, sitting on a boat or the golf course or anywhere else that is cut off from the Word.  He is received when the Word is heard.  And it’s not enough to hear it once or twice or even ten times.  We hear it again and again because while the story may be familiar, God is still working through it for our benefit.  God has given the Word which gives the Holy Spirit as He breathes into us.  His Word isn’t something to be heard just for hearing sake.  It’s to be received, for when we do, we receive the Holy Spirit who encourages us for this life, who speaks the Word of forgiveness that first came at our baptism, and who empowers us for Godly living.

We hear God’s Word and mediate on it because it it’s also the Word of Resurrection. It’s the Word about Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised for our justification.  He died and rose again that we would die to our sins and rise to a new life in Him.  No matter where the disciples went they took the unbelievable news of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  In the face of rejection, torture, and death they never recanted the truth of Jesus Christ.  They saw Him alive and nothing would change their confession that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. His resurrection changed them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit who kept Jesus always in their hearts and minds.  We haven’t yet seen the risen Christ, and yet we know Jesus really did rise from the dead.  The Holy Spirit has filled us with faith and we know that the resurrection is the truth which we believe.  The Holy Spirit has changed us just has He changed the disciples.  You too have a renewed joy and confidence in the promises of Jesus as they’re recorded in the Bible, for these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

We need a lot of things to survive in this world and Maslow’s pyramid did a good job of showing how they’re related.  But life isn’t life without faith and without the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word. Without the life-giving Word we would remain dead in our sins and face a depressing future.  Praise God that He has given us His Word which forgives us, renews us, and gives us life.  You should read a variety of things, reading is good, but if you really want to live, read and study and mediate on the for it is the Word of eternal life.

Amen

Now the peace which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen

Presentation on theme: «All the Bible in its Context Let’s read the whole text… John 11 This is the last chapter of John 4-11 “I trust Jesus because… His Word… is life giving.»— Presentation transcript:

1

All the Bible in its Context Let’s read the whole text… John 11 This is the last chapter of John 4-11 “I trust Jesus because… His Word… is life giving ! ”

2

There is no greater promise ! “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life ; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.’ John 11v25 NASB He said it ! Do I believe it ?

3

This is no pie in the sky promise. “So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ John 11v14 NASB Jesus is talking about real physical death.

4

We will all die some day.

5

“Death” or “die” is mentioned in this short story 12x. A word repeated so many times shows us what a text is about. Here death is the context into which Jesus brings His Word. Jesus Word brings hope.

6

What other words are repeated ? Vs 1-6 Sick is repeated 5x Vs 7-16 Go is repeated 5x Vs 17-38 Come is repeated 10x Vs 29-44 Said is repeated 6x Vs 45-57 Chief priests and Pharisees are mentioned 7x These are five key words.

7

Jesus has a Word for those who are sick.

8

John 11v1-6 is about being sick. “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.’ ” John 11v1-3 NASB Jesus’ love never changes.

9

Why does He allow suffering ? “But when Jesus heard this, He said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” John 11v4-6 NASB He wants us to trust Him.

10

Jesus has a Word about going to the needy.

11

John 11v7-16 is about going. “Then after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to Him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?’ » John 11v7-8 NASB He goes despite the cost.

12

He is going to end death. “…after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.’ The disciples then said to Him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ …So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ ”John 11v11-14 NASB His Word is clear.

13

When He decides to go is always the right time. “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe ; but let us go to him.” John 11v15 NASB He has an ultimate goal.

14

Jesus has a Word for those who come to Him.

15

Jesus waits for us to come. “Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him,… Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, «Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.» John 11v20 & 32 NASB Remember He took the first step.

16

His Word is an offer of life. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’ ” Jn11v25-26 He wants us to trust Him.

17

John 11v39-44 “Jesus said” 6x “Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me ; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.» John 11v41-42 NASB What could clearer ?

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Jesus even has a Word for the dead.

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His Word can raise the dead. “When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ ” John 11v43-44 NASB His Word gives life.

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Review, react and remember: You can take Him at His Word.  Why can we trust Jesus ?  His Word gives life.  His Word gives hope.  His Word surpasses death.  His Word is unlimited power.

I will never forget your commandments, for by them you give me life.

Psalm 119:93

Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 5: God’s Word Gives Life.  We are going to close out the week by looking at something David said in the Old Testament and something Jesus said in the New Testament.  Both statements are connected to the LIFE we can receive from the Word of God.  I am providing you each scripture from two translations.  Here they are:

(Psalm 119:50 NJKV)

This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.

(Psalm 119:50 NASB)

This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me.

(John 6:63 NIV)

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you–they are full of the Spirit and life.

(John 6:63 ERV)

It is the Spirit that gives life. The body is of no value for that. But the things I have told you are from the Spirit, so they give life.

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things.

1.  David endured many challenges in this world.  Some were self-inflicted, others came as attacks on his divine assignment.  Either way, he had to overcome many challenges to become the man he was called to be.  Looking back, David said that when he was afflicted, when he was challenged, when he was at his low points ready to give up, it was God’s words to him that kept him going.  It was the Word of God that gave him LIFE.  When he was down, he meditated on the Word of God and God’s Word literally REVIVED him!  Guess what?  The Word of God still has that same power today!n  If you are down this morning, meditate God’s Word.  The Word of God will LIFT YOU UP!

1.  Jesus lived as an example of what it looks like for a human to be completed submitted to the divine.  As a foreshadow of what it would look like to be Born-Again, Jesus lived as a human with God living on the inside of Him.  So He often made comparisons between the flesh and the spirit.  In John 6, while making one of those comparisons, Jesus made it clear that our flesh (or body, or the part of us that is natural to this world), is of no value in the spirit realm.  He then made it clear that the words He was speaking were words that did not find their origin in this world.  These words were birthed in the heart of God.  These words originated in heaven.  These were were full of God’s spirit.  Therefore, these words GAVE LIFE to all those who received them.  What was true back then, is still true today.  Every Word that has come from God is full of SPIRIT and LIFE.  When when you receive God’s Word in your heart and you apply it to your life, it changes you from the inside-out.  You are then empowered to live supernaturally!  

1. We all face challenges on the road to our destiny.  No one is exempt.  But if you ever get down, like David got down, do what David did.  Meditate and medicate on God’s Word.  God’s Word will give you LIFE.  When you feel low, God’s Word will REVIVE you!  There is power in the Word of God.

1.  Jesus told us that God’s Word is full of God’s Spirit and as a result, the Word of God literally gives LIFE to all those to receive it.  This is why God wants us to meditate and medicate on His Word day and night.  If we nurse and rehearse God’s Word all the time, we are literally being equipped, empowered and emboldened throughout the day.  The Word of God gives LIFE!  These words are not like any other words.  This book (the Bible) is not like any other book.  When you meditate these words, when you fully embrace the teachings of this book, you position yourself to have a constant supply of what you need to grow, develop and deploy into your assignment.  Not only will you BECOME the man/women God called you to be, but you will ENJOY the process.  You will make it heaven and you will enjoy the ride.  Why?  Because you are meditating God’s Word and God’s Word is giving you LIFE every day.  This is the way we are supposed to live.        

Closing Confession:  

Father, this is a season of expectation for me.  My expectation is tied to Your Word.  Your Words are full of Spirit and life.  When I am down, Your Word lifts me up.  When I am depleted, Your Word revives me.  I meditate and medicate on Your Word day and night.  As a result, I have a constant supply of what I need to grow, develop and deploy into my assignment.  Your Word gives instructs me, inspires me, and emboldens me to live the life I was born to live.  I live by every Word that proceeds from out of Your mouth!  Living this way, I receive LIFE from Your Word daily!  I declare this by faith.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

This is Today’s Word.  Apply it and prosper!

Словосочетания

Автоматический перевод

давать жизнь, подарить жизнь

Перевод по словам

give  — давать, придать, отдавать, предоставлять, податливость, эластичность
life  — жизнь, срок службы, образ жизни, пожизненный, длящийся всю жизнь

Примеры

We have four accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus: the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels, of course, have much in common since they are concerned with the same subject, but each one also has its own peculiarities. One of the peculiarities of John’s gospel is the way in which he wrote about the miracles of Jesus. John is unique in consistently referring to the miracles of Jesus as signs. Like road-signs that guide you to the destination of your journey, John uses the miracles of Jesus to direct us toward faith in Jesus. He explains his purpose near the end of his gospel, in John 20:30-31. This is what it says: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This means that the sign I’m about to bring to your attention, in John 4, was written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name. Take a moment to read John 4:46-54 (ESV included here):

⁴⁶ So he [Jesus] came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. ⁴⁷ When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”⁴⁹ The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. ⁵¹ As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. ⁵² So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. ⁵⁴ This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

So what are we to know from this sign? This sign points us to faith in Jesus by showing us that Jesus is the one who gives life. Here is a man whose son is dying, and Jesus speaks the word and gives him life. Jesus can bring someone from physical death to physical life. But don’t stop there! At the surface of the sign we see Jesus giving physical life, but the sign is pointing to the fact that Jesus gives spiritual life, eternal life. What this story implies is said explicitly in John 5:24, where Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

You see, the natural human state is one of spiritual death. We are not right with God, we are dead in our sins. This has been the case right from the first humans, Adam and Eve, and into the present time. We are sinners and spiritually dead. In a very real sense we are like the dying boy in the story; his death was certain and imminent, and so is our eternal death. Because of our sin against God we are under the judgment of God, which is eternal death.

But have you, like the man in the story, heard the reports about Jesus? The most widespread report about Jesus today comes just a chapter before this, in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” There’s a lot wrapped up in that word “gave”. “He gave his only Son.” It refers to the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ. The Son of God became a man and lived among us, lived a life free from sin, was unjustly put to death on a cross, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, and is now seated at the right hand of God. God gave his Son to live among us; God gave his Son to die on the cross for our sins, so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus is alive right now in heaven, and he is ready to give life to all those who put their trust in him. He didn’t need to come down to Capernaum to give life to the boy, and he doesn’t need to come down from heaven to give eternal life to you. He is ready to speak the word and give you eternal life.

So this is what I want you to know, and this is what John wanted everyone to know when he included this sign in his gospel: Jesus has the power and authority to give life. Jesus gives life. He can give physical life, and even more importantly, he gives eternal life.

That’s what you need to know; let me turn now to what you need to do. This is in our story as well. The man comes to Jesus and asks him to heal his son. Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Jesus was referring to a common human attitude. He was saying, in other words, “You are the kind of people who are always looking for more evidence before you will believe. You don’t have any real faith at all. You will only believe in what’s proven and concrete and in your hand; you don’t trust me to give you what you can’t yet see.” And when the man persists in asking Jesus to come down, he responds, “Go; your son will live.” No signs and wonders here. No proof that what he says is true. The man must simply take Jesus at his word.

As an ambassador for Christ I appeal to you, take Jesus at his word! When Jesus says that he can give you life, take him at his word. Ask him to give you that life, eternal life. He is ready right now to give you life. I advise against delay, because the time is short. As the man said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” While this message is still running through your head, and while the Spirit of God is granting you the opportunity to leave your sin and death, turn to Jesus and ask him for life!

If you’ve already received life from Jesus, continue to take him at his word. Rest in his promises. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5); he knows and will provide for all your needs (Matthew 6); he is able to strengthen you in any circumstance (Philippians 4:13); he is coming soon, bringing his reward for each person according to what they have done (Revelation 22:12), and he is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 24). We don’t see all of that right now; we hope for what we do not see, and wait for it with patience (Romans 8:25). We continue to take Jesus at his word.

When Jesus was in Cana he gave life to a dying boy in Capernaum, twenty miles distant. When he spoke, the boy’s father took Jesus at his word. The result was that this man and his entire household believed in Jesus and received eternal life. This is a sign for us, and the sign reads: “Jesus gives life; take him at his word.”