And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11
Even though we live in unprecedented times of crisis, let us be sure this Easter Day to CELEBRATE the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Christ is risen from the dead! Jesus is alive! This is an amazing fact and the very message of hope that our world needs to hear at this time when it is sinking in so much despair. Death does not have the final say because Jesus through His death and resurrection has defeated this great enemy of humanity!
The Christian has hope beyond the grave and so whether we live or die we will live with Christ forever! What a promise! I do hope this hope is your hope? But the Christian hope not only goes beyond the grave but it is experienced before the grave. Paul said ‘the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead IS living in you’ – wow! In Ephesians 1:19-20 Paul prays that as Christians we would perceive ‘the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe in Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms’ (NLT). The eternal power of Almighty God that raised Christ from the dead is alive inside of you right now! – Mind-blowing!
So, let me tell you a story. John G Lake (1870-1935) was a healing evangelist from Canada. He had a powerful ministry in South Africa. In 1910 he found himself right in the midst of a deadly plague. During this busy time of ministering to the sick and dying, a doctor who was visiting his mission asked Lake how he was able to protect himself from the deadly virus. Lake replied that it was the ‘law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus…I believe that just as long as I keep my soul in contact with the living God so that His Spirit is flowing into my soul and body, that no germ will ever attach itself to me, for the Spirit of God will kill it.’ Then he did something extreme to prove this point to the doctor. He became a human experiment he said, ‘If you will go over to one of these dead people and take the foam that comes out of their lungs after death, then put it under the microscope you will see masses of living germs. You will find they are alive until a reasonable time after a man is dead. You can fill my hand with them and I will keep it under the microscope, and instead of these germs remaining alive, they will die instantly.’ When they did this experiment, they saw that what Lake had communicated before was right. He explained that when he kept his spirit and body filled with the presence of God, it oozed out of the pores of his flesh and killed the germs. He continued on that if his ‘soul had been under the law of death or he was in fear and darkness then there would have been an opposite result’.
You might say, ‘Ah but men like John G Lake are exceptional. There’s no doubt he was a mighty man of God but on this Resurrection Sunday in the midst of plague and disaster, let us declare that “Greater is He that is in (us) than He that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Let us focus not on disease and death around us but the resurrection life of Jesus that dwells within us!
Thank You, Father, that You raised Jesus from the dead after He had paid the penalty for my sins on the cross. Now because He lives I shall live also! Because He lives I can face tomorrow! Now Jesus lives in me by the same power of Your Holy Spirit that raised Him from the tomb! Lord, I pray that His resurrection life will now quicken my mortal body and will set me free from the law of sin and death. May many on this Resurrection Sunday, all across our land and over the whole world discover the eternal life of Jesus in their lives too. Amen.