Diety Part Five December 11, 2009

TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 11.

DIETY
PART FIVE

Today is our final devotional on the Deity of Jesus and we will share some thoughts on His power to recreate life. These devotional thoughts will prepare us for the ‘CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS” on Christmas day

Defined by Webster:
A God; Divine nature.

GODS WORD

“Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, LAZARUS, COME FORTH. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” John 11:43

WORDS FROM KEN AND DOTTIE

The miracle as recorded in John 11:38-44 recounts for us the time Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, proving to us His Deity in His power to re-create life. The scripture tells us that Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus that “He whom You love is sick.” But Jesus did not go to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, until he had been dead and in the tomb for four days. But when He came, He came with all power and as our friend Dr. Porter Barrington has written, he gave:

A Divine Command --- “TAKE AWAY THE STONE.” He did not ask the stone to move, He did not ask the angels to come and move the stone but He asked the people to do it. The lesson for us here is that man is to do the possible and then believe that God will do the impossible.

A Divine Message --- “DID I NOT SAY TO YOU THAT IF YOU WOULD BELIEVE YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD?” We often say that “seeing is believing” but God says for us to believe and then see. If we want to see the impossible achieved we must first work and then believe. In this miracle, Jesus first said to take away the stone --- that is work and then He said to believe and see the glory of God --- that is faith.

A Divine Prayer --- In John 11:41-42 Jesus prays to the Father for the benefit of the people. “FATHER, I THANK YOU THAT YOU HAVE HEARD ME, AND I KNOW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME, BUT BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STANDING BY, I SAID THIS, THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME.” He could have raised Lazarus without the prayer but He wanted the people to believe that He was sent from God.

A Divine Call --- “HE CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE, ‘LAZARUS, COME FORTH.’” Lazarus heard the call and came forth. Jesus used this as an illustration for us that when Jesus comes again, with a shout and the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, we will rise and meet Him in the air.

A Divine Deliverance --- Jesus said to the people gathered, “LOOSE HIM AND LET HIM GO.” His grave clothes identified him with death just as our mortal bodies identify us with sin and death. Jesus reminds us that we have, as believers, been loosened from the power and penalty of sin, but not from the presence of sin.

Jesus in His Deity has power over life and death. Not only did He restore Lazarus to life, He restored His own life after His death on the cross. It is only through Jesus that we are restored from death to life. In John 11:25, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

As we prepare for THE CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS on Christmas day, remember that some day soon we will meet Jesus in the air and we will be given our resurrected bodies.

OUR VERSE TO MEMORIZE THIS WEEK.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” John 1:12

TODAYS FAMILY PRAYER

Thank You for the assurance I have in my life of spending an eternity with You in heaven. As our family prepares for this upcoming Christmas season give us a new dedication to serve You without compromise.