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John 11:25 - Jesus is The Resurrection and The Life.

John 11:25 - Jesus is The Resurrection and The Life.

John 11:25 (NIV) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and 
the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  

COMMENTARY PEARLS

Martha's brother, Lazarus, had been in his tomb for four days 
when Jesus arrived to speak these words. Why had Jesus waited so long 
to come to the aid of His dear friend? The answer is clear: to 
demonstrate in no uncertain terms that He is God. The One who gives life can 
be none other than the One who "made from nothing the heavens and 
the earth" (Genesis 1:1). [The 365 Daily Promise Bible By Barbour] 

   Only God can restore life to something that has died. If you 
find that your heart has grown cold to God, that the spiritual life 
of your family or church has waned, call out to God to revive you, 
for only He can give life. It is not your activity but your 
relationship with God that brings life! 
   Spiritual fervor can ebb if left unattended. We all begin our 
walk with the Lord enthusiastically, with an excited sense of 
anticipation. But over time, busyness creeps in. We become distracted and let 
our sin go unchallenged. We may take our relationship with God for 
granted and not notice the gradual decline until we find ourselves 
drained of spiritual vitality. 
   This descent can happen in your church just as it does in 
your personal life. Do you remember a time when the Holy Spirit was 
moving mightily in your church, and the members sensed God leading in 
an exciting direction? Are the services now lifeless and the power 
of God only a memory? 
   At a time like this it is futile to try to bring back life 
yourself. You can organize many activities and exhort those around you, 
but only God can resurrect what is dead. If God has initiated 
something in your life, or family, or church, only He can sustain it or 
revive it. If you sense that the spiritual vigor has gone out of your 
life or the life of your church, this is God's invitation to pray. He 
wants you to intercede with Him so that He might revive His work. 
Jesus said that He is Life. It is unnecessary to remain spiritually 
lifeless when He has promised vibrant, abundant life if you will claim 
it. [Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re 
Hab. 3:2] 

   Jesus demonstrated that His resurrection power was not 
limited to sometime in the future, but that His power to bring life 
knows no limits. .... This event is a demonstration of Jesus' ability to 
make His resurrection power available to His people--now! 
   It is one thing to believe that Jesus has the power to raise 
us up on the last day. He does and He will. But it's something else 
to realize that Jesus' power is unlimited now; that Jesus can bring 
new life to the deadened areas of our own personalities; that 
because of Jesus' power, we can risk taking actions that we might 
otherwise never have the courage to take. We need never draw back from 
anything God asks, for the unlimited power of new life is ours in Him. 
[Victor Teacher's Commentary] 

"If God is at work week by week raising men from the dead, there 
will always be people coming to see how it is done. You cannot find 
an empty church that has conversion for its leading feature. Do you 
want to know how to fill empty chapels? Here is the answer: Get your 
Lazarus." Samuel Chadwick, Methodist evangelist and educator (1860-1932) 
[Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re John 11:25, 
26] 

   Tokichi Ishii had an almost unparalleled criminal record. He 
had murdered men, women and children in the most brutal way. Anyone 
who stood in his way was pitilessly eliminated. Now he was in prison 
awaiting death. While in prison he was visited by two Canadian women who 
tried to talk to him through the bars, but he only glowered at them 
like a caged and savage animal. In the end they abandoned the 
attempt; but they gave him a Bible, hoping that it might succeed where 
they had failed. He began to read it, and, having started, could not 
stop. He read on until he came to the story of the Crucifixion. He 
came to the words: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do" and these words broke him. "I stopped," he said. "I was stabbed 
to the heart, as if pierced by a five-inch nail. Shall I call it 
the love of Christ?  Shall I call it his compassion? I do not know 
what to call it. I only know that I believed, and my hardness of 
heart was changed." Later, when the condemned man went to the 
scaffold, he was no longer the hardened, surly brute he once had been, but 
a smiling radiant man. The murderer had been born again; Christ 
had brought Tokichi Ishii to life.  
   It does not need to be so dramatic as that. A man can become 
so selfish that he is dead to the needs of others. A man can become 
so insensitive that he is dead to the feelings of others. A man can 
become so involved in the petty dishonesties and the petty disloyalties 
of life, that he is dead to honour. A man can become so hopeless 
that he is filled with an inertia, which is spiritual death. Jesus 
Christ can resurrect these men.  The witness of history is that he has 
resurrected millions and millions of people like them and his touch has not 
lost its ancient power. [Barclay Commentary] 

CONCLUDING APPLICATION

I am the resurrection and the life; all lasting Life emanates 
from Me. People search for life in many wrong ways: chasing after 
fleeting pleasures, accumulating possessions and wealth, trying to deny 
the inevitable effects of aging. Meanwhile, I freely offer abundant 
Life to everyone who turns toward Me. As you come to Me and take My 
yoke upon you, I fill you with My very Life. This is how I choose to 
live in the world and accomplish My purposes. This is also how I 
bless you with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory. The Joy is Mine, and 
the Glory is Mine; but I bestow them on you as you live in My 
Presence, inviting Me to live fully in you. (John 11:25; Mat. 11:28, 29; 
1Pe. 1:8, 9) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young] 

LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TEXT:

http://www.abible.com/devotions/2013/20130618-1800.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video] 

Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782

Musical Devotional On Christian Living: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c 

Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/

Amazing Facts Bible Guides: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx 

Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/

Or Send Request for Bible Studies to Fred Gibbs at: 
fggibbs@aBible.com