HOPE OF GLORYSpeaker: Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran Gist: He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. Beloved! I greet you in the resurrected name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
It is a joyous occasion for us to celebrate because He defeated death on the cross and has given us a great hope to live.
He arose from the dead and “ the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19).
Look at Job in the Bible, he was a devout man who shunned evil. But when he went through sufferings, he says, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me” (Job 3:25).
According to this verse, sufferings came seeking Job. He lost his ten children and his property. He became hopeless and wept bitterly saying, “Where is now my hope? As for my hope who shall see it? (Job 17:15). We also face such hopeless circumstances in life.
Many years ago, a pastor shared an incident to me saying, “Dear brother I have been a pastor for 52 years and I have conducted many funeral services. However, one particular incident really touched my heart and I have never seen such a service in my life. There were two children to that particular parents. The parents were dependent on their son for financial support and were very happy that he had settled in a good job. But their joy was short lived when one day their son died in a horrific car accident. His body was brought to his village.
When the funeral service was over, and the time had come to bury him, his father suddenly got up and said “Please wait! Let me speak a few words and then you can bury my son’s body.” He continued to speak saying, “When I heard my son’s unfortunate death I cried and wept bitterly saying, where is my hope? But I am comforted for now and I have a great hope as I know my son is taking comfort in the bosom of Lord Jesus Christ. When I go to heaven, I will see him face to face". These words brought great peace to the bereaving family members and their faces reflected a strange joy by these words".
The pastor ended by saying, how those moving words changed the entire atmosphere of that funeral service!
Yes! The hope that came out of his heart was because of the hope that was given to humanity as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection! In order to give us this precious hope, our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross.
Today you may also be troubled saying, “Where is my hope? I have lost my husband, wife, son or daughter, what is the use of living in this earth? Our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to you saying, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live (John 11:25). Therefore let us not be worried about what we have lost but praise and thank Him for the hope in Him.
Prayer:
Loving Father,
Lord, I thank you for defeating satan and his hosts on the cross. I thank and praise You for the hope I have in You. I praise You for I will spend eternity with You. Fill me with Your grace and guide me to do Your will. In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
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