LIFE IN THE SON!
Introduction: Last year, on
March 9th, I had the scare of my life, as a regular doctor’s visit
ended up in an emergency room. My doctor found out I had an irregular
heartbeat. It was a terrifying couple of days for our family in a country where
we don’t have an extended family network. As the doctors were putting me
through various tests, the Lord gave me a very assuring and comforting verse
from Psalm 118:17, “I will not die; instead, I will tell what the Lord has
done.” I realized how fragile life is, and it can be gone at any moment.
I am grateful to be alive today to testify
what God has done for me. A year later, on March 9th, I was fully
vaccinated for COVID-19, which has taken so many untimely lives in the USA and
worldwide. Having the vaccination doesn’t make us invincible. It is only an
extra measure of protection. Our ultimate trust is not in vaccinations,
doctors, and science but God.
Here is a short Poem on life: “The clock of life is
wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop.
At late or early hour. To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed. To lose one’s health
is more; to lose one’s soul is such a loss that no man can restore.”
The English Cricketer turned missionary C.T Studd once
said, “Only one life, it will be soon past, Only What is done for Christ will
last.” We all have only one short life to live. How are we living our lives
today? What are our values and priorities in life?
On the Redemption Road, we discovered what contributes
to a life of no regrets and how repentance leads us to salvation. This morning
I want to talk about life, in particular the life after death. How do you view
your life? The biblical view is that life is sacred and a gift from God. It is to
be respected and protected. People are precious, and all lives matter to God
and us. In the passage, we read Jesus drew his audience’s attention from
temporal things of life to things that truly matter. He gradually leads them to
a place where they can find eternal life. John 6:22-40
I.
LIFE COMES FROM GOD
The Genesis narrative tells us that God spoke the
words “let there be” and everything we see in this beautiful world came
into existence. However, he did not say “let there be” when it comes to
humans instead, He said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.”
He got to work in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust
of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the
man became a living person.”
Have you ever considered how you were made and how
much your true worth is? The Psalmist wondered of the intricacies that went into
creating him and every other human being. Psalm 139:13-16, “You made all the
delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched
me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the
dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was
recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had
passed.” The same craftsmanship goes into creating every child that is born.
The Psalmist exclaimed about his privileged position
among God’s creation. Psalm 8:4-6, “what are mere mortals that you should think
about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only
a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.”
These scriptures tell us that all life comes from God
and has immense value. We must cherish it and protect it. The sixth commandment
tells us, “You shall not murder, “Any violation of this commandment is sin. Don’t
believe the whisper of the devil that says you are an accident and have no
significance. You are precious to God, and God has kept you on earth for a
purpose. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They
are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” How
can we know his plans for our lives?
II.
GOD SUSTAINS LIFE
Our lives not only come from God but are also
sustained by God. Before creating man, God created an environment that would
sustain life. God placed man in the garden to tend and to watch over it. Our
responsibility is to take care of the environment, protect and cultivate the
land.
Let us admit that we haven’t been good stewards of
God-given resources. I want us to see how God sustains life. Psalm 104:13-15, “You
send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with
the fruit of your labor. You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants
for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth wine to make
them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength.”
Could you imagine a world where God holds back the
rain and grass from growing? How could anyone possibly think that they can even
survive a minute without God? The one who breathed his life into us is capable
of taking it out from us. Let us be grateful for our lives today.
Give glory to God if you have the wisdom, a set of
skills, and strength to work and provide food for you and your family. If, for
some reason, you get sick, are unable to work, or lose your job, don’t you
worry; even then, your heavenly Father knows how to take care of you.
Our God is not only the giver of life but also the
sustainer. On the redemption Road, we will meet the Son traveling to Jerusalem
to accomplish his redemption mission. On the way, he heals a lame man, feeds
five thousand, and walks on water, demonstrating His divine power.
After seeing how Jesus multiplied five loaves and two
fish, a crowd of people followed Jesus to the other side of the lake. When they
found Jesus said, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus knew why they were indeed
there. Vs. 27, “Do not work for the
food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you.” There is nothing wrong with working for food, but
we miss out on eternal life if that is all that we live for.
III.
LIFE IN THE SON
After turning their focus from the
temporal to the eternal, he debunks some long-held Jewish believers’ popular
views on who provided food for their ancestors in the wilderness. They thought
it was Moses who gave them bread from heaven to eat. But Jesus told them that
it was God, our heavenly Father, who took care of them and fed them from heaven
for forty years.
The crowd was excited with the
perspective of the true bread from heaven, so they said, “Sir, give us that
bread every day.” Vs. 35, “Jesus replied, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes
to me will never be hungry again.” He went on to say, Vs. 40 “For it is my
Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal
life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
No matter who you are, life on this
earth is not permanent. It may last for a hundred or more years. One day it will
come to an end. No one knows when our end might come. After we die, we get to
live forever. The question we must ask ourselves is that where would I spend in
eternity? You might spend your eternity with God in heaven or without God in Hell.
It all depends on the choice we make
while we still have our breath in us. As a loving father, God would want all
people to choose the eternal life found in His Son. For that very purpose,
Jesus came into this world to give us eternal life. Hear the words of the Son
Himself.
John 5:24, “I tell you the truth, those who listen to
my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be
condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”
Today if you hear his voice and believe in God, you have already received
eternal life. While you remain on this earth, you get to enjoy the abundant
life in Christ.
You might think you are enjoying the pleasures of sin,
but in the end, they will lead you to Christless eternity in Hell. But if you
repent of your sins and ask the Son to forgive and give your eternal life, you
will live with Him forever in heaven.
There is life in the Son. Amen!
