Psalms 2:6-7 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Acts 13:33-34 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
Romans 1:4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
The central fact of the gospel message is the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus), declared in Psalm 2, the begotten Son of God. In 1952, Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in Cave 4 called the “Messianic Apocalypse”. The Messiah’s ministry of resurrection is reiterated in these ancient documents with an obvious reference to Isaiah 61:1-3. The scroll identifies someone who “… will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring good news to the poor.” It is clear that at least some of the authors of these documents clearly understood the central nature and ministry of the coming Messiah, most certainly based on their intimate knowledge of the prophetic writings in the Tenach (OT)…that ministry, the resurrection of the dead.
This reality of the resurrection of Yeshua and His power to raise the dead cannot be overestimated. Death is the inevitable result of sin. Yeshua became sin, bearing all of it in His body, and then was raised from death to eternal immortal glory. This wonderful fact has proliferated throughout the world, the most important and powerful message ever delivered to mankind.
An illustration from our own time reveals the pervasive hope of Messiah’s resurrection and victory over death. D.L. Moody the great 19th-century revivalist was called on early in his ministry to deliver a funeral message. Searching the Gospels to find a funeral sermon given by Yeshua, he quickly discovered his search was in vain. Instead of ministering at funerals, Yeshua broke up every funeral he ever attended! Death could not exist where He was. And when the dead heard His voice they sprang to life, for He truly is “the resurrection and the life.”
Are you feeling dead and worn out today? Then be reminded that your Savior is Life and that He brings it abundantly wherever He is, and that death is overcome in His Presence. So GET IN HIS PRESENCE! Repent, pray, worship, read, dance, delight, intercede, seek Him with all your heart and soul. His Life is waiting to refresh, restore, and revive you.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is — who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”
It never ceases to amaze me, the way the devil uses our offenses and our “offendedness” to divide and conquer marriages, relationships, churches — even entire nations!
There’s an old adage, “Have the heart of a lion!” Hearing it, we think, “courage”. This recalls a quote I once heard; “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened”. I doubt there’s a single hero story in which the fearless leader fails to inspire the righteous determination of his army or people. The voice of the captain resounds through the ranks evoking the fierce cry of every warrior ready to face death or worse, for the cause. Courage truly is contagious.
The Hebrew word for “face” is “panim”, (the Hebrew letters, peh-nun-yud-mem), literally “faces”, a plural word. Normally, when we think about God, we focus only upon one of His “faces” at a time. God is “love” – or He is “holy”– or He is “just”— or He’s a God of “wrath”. Yet, of course, ALL these “faces” are His at once; and so the word “panim” accurately reflects the truth of God’s multifaceted being. As we get to know Him better we begin to appreciate the complexity of His nature and the fact that our focus on one “face” is a very limited view, since there’s so much more going on in His amazing “Personality”.