Matthew 28:1,5-6 (NKJV) Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb… .But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Our lives have been turned topsy- turvy since the Covid 19 pandemic began. We used to boast about tomorrow. We had the entire week, month and year schedule planned out. There was no room for adjustments to the schedule unless something dramatic happened in our lives. Unfortunately, that dramatic thing called COVID-19 brought a huge, curve ball into our lives, upsetting our meeting schedules and traveling plans. We used to be a jet setter and woke up not knowing which hotel or country we were in. Nowadays, we wake up to the same usual routine because we have either been locked down for a prolonged period with no visible light at the end of the tunnel or the new regulations and policies change constantly that we can no longer plan ahead. We cannot even plan a week ahead because we have no certainty of what the policy might be tomorrow. It can be very depressing to have all these thoughts going through our mind.
We have one certainty as a reminder for every believer today. Jesus has risen from the dead! He is alive! PTL! That’s a wonderful reminder. One of the greatest blessings of being a believer living in the 21st century with all the current difficulties and challenges is the conviction that He holds the future. There are many unknowns of the future, but we can rest in His love because He knows the future. Our future. It is a good future and an expected end. We need to trust His heart and be convinced that He is a good God.
God has promised us in the Book of Romans 8 that His love will never leave us nor forsake us, and nothing shall be able to separate us from His love. This is made possible because Jesus is alive! We have the body of Christ to love and support one another. All His promises are Yes and Amen in Christ.
We need to make a choice to meditate on this truth and stand on His promises by faith. There will be suffering, pain, adversities, and tribulations during this time on earth but we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. We have been given the ability to make choices in life. We can either make the choice to live our lives based on God’s word which is the bread of life, or we can choose to feed on the negativity of the world.
Sermon Series: Resurrection Sunday – Live by Faith
祂掌管未来
马太福音28:1,5-6 安息日将尽，七日的第一日天快亮的时候，抹大拉的马利亚和那个马利亚来看坟墓。天使对妇女说，不要害怕，我知道你们是寻找那钉十字架的耶稣。祂不在这里，照祂所说的， 已经复活了，你们来看安放主的地方。
自从新冠肺炎开始，我们的生活变得一团乱麻。我们过去常常憧憬明天。所以我们计划好了整个一周、一个月和一年的日程。除非发生重大变故，不然这日程简直就是紧凑到毫无回旋余地。不幸的是，那个“重大变故”叫做COVID19，它将一个巨大的曲线球砸进我们的生活，打乱了我们的会议日程和旅行计划。我们曾经是一个坐飞机到处飞的人，醒来后甚至不知道我们在哪个酒店或哪个国家。如今我们睁眼看到的是重复的日常，因为我们要么被一纸封城令关在家里，解封遥遥无期如同在黑暗的隧道中行走看不到出口的亮光，要么因为朝令夕改的的措施或政策而无法再作任何的计划。因为不确定明天会是什么政策，我们甚至不能为接下来的一周作计划。如果我们满脑子都是这些念头，就会变得相当消沉。
今天，我们有一件确定的事提醒每一位信徒。耶稣从死里复活了！祂还活着！赞美神！这是一个多么及时的提醒。作为一名正在面对当前所有困境和挑战的21世纪的信徒，最好的祝福就是坚信祂掌管未来。未来有许多未知，但我们可以在祂的爱里得安息，因为祂知道明天，我们的明天。这是一个美好的未来，也是一个预期的结局。我们要相信祂的心，相信祂是位良善的神。
神在罗马书8章中应许我们，祂的爱永不会离开我们，也不会丢弃我们，没有什么能把我们与祂的爱隔绝。这一切之所以成为可能，是因为耶稣活着！我们有基督的肢体来彼此相爱和扶持。在基督里，祂所有的应许都是“是”和“阿们”。
我们需要刻意选择默想这个真理，凭信心站立在祂的应许之上。在地上的日子将会有苦难、痛苦、逆境和磨难，但靠着爱我们的主，我们得胜有余。我们被赋予了在生命中做出选择的能力。我们可以选择依靠神的话语—生命的粮而活，也可以选择以世界的消极为食。
讲章系列:复活主日-凭信心而活
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