Passage

John 6:53- 55
"So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink."



[Introduction]

Dear brothers and sisters,

About 2,000 years ago, there was a woman who was making her way toward a tomb at dawn. In the tomb was the one who was the most beloved to that woman. She no longer had any hope because that person who was most precious to her, who was her whole world and hope of living was not in the world any longer. She no longer had a reason to live and the only thing she could do was go to his tomb. But then, when she arrived at the tomb with such a broken heart, she witnessed something unimaginable. The person who had died came back to life and appeared before her eyes. As you might have guessed, this woman is Mary Magdalene.

The joy of Mary, who met the resurrected Lord, was not just about meeting Him. She not only received the Lord back, but also gained the hope of Heaven and the hope that she could also resurrect in the future and be with Him forever. And this joy of resurrection, as you've heard in the morning service, has been also given for us to enjoy today.

Now, let me talk about the meaning of resurrection in three aspects. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will enjoy the joy of resurrection more abundantly through this message.



[Main]

Dear brothers and sisters,
First of all, as for us, resurrection is the love of the Father.

Since the beginning of human cultivation, the Father God has suffered many kinds of pains. The reason why He is carrying out this cultivation is to gain true children and share His love with them forever. But the people did not realize this love of the Father. But rather, they went astray. They wentin the way of darkness and sins, which is the way of death.

God laments in Malachi 1:2 which says, ""I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?""For such people, God planned something great to show them His love in front of their eyes. It was in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."What would a father feel if he had to watch his child die?The Father had to bear the moment when His only begotten Son was covered with blood and dying. However, at the end of that pain was the resurrection of Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, the fact that Jesus resurrected proves that Jesus was truly sinless. The enemy devil and Satan killed Jesus through the hands of the unrighteous people. They had tried to confine Jesus under the authority of death. But according to the rules of the spiritual realm, death only comes upon sinners. But because Jesus was sinless, death could not exert its power over Him. Therefore, Jesus overcame death and resurrected.

In this way, the resurrection of the Lord clearly proves that He died because of our sins while He was completely sinless. He died to forgive you and me who were sinners and to redeem us from the punishments of death. I urge you to more deeply remember the love of the Lord who died for us and the love of the Father who gave up His only begotten Son for us.

Dear brothers and sisters,
Secondly the meaning of resurrection is the hope given to us.

When Mary met the resurrected Lord, He looked very different from when He was living on this earth. He was covered with shining glory, and at first she couldn't even recognize Him. And we will also change that way at resurrection. We will have the spiritual, resurrected body and wear shining linen. We will go into the best dwelling place that the Lord prepared for us, and enjoy eternal happiness in Heaven where there is no pain or sorrow.

This is the promise of the Father given to all of us who believe in the resurrection of the Lord. On this earth, we might have to give up something we earnestly desire or sacrifice ourselves for our family or a variety of other circumstances. Sometimes, we are not even able to have a dream because of poverty, lack of education, or weak body. But for those who live for the Lord on this earth longing for the day of resurrection, the Lord will fulfill their dreams.

As I introduced to you in the sermon series on Heaven, when a person who loves exercise has given up exercising to work for the Lord, orwhen he has offered all his time for the Lord that he could have had with his loved ones, God remembers each of all his acts and pays him back in Heaven. What kind of house do you want? What kind of life would you like to live in Heaven? In Heaven, you can have and enjoy what is better than the best you can imagine, and you can have as much as you want.

1 John 3:2-3 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."To the extent that we purify ourselves, we can enjoy in Heaven the kind of happiness that we wish to enjoy, and enjoy as much as want.

Dear Brothers and sisters,
The meaning of resurrection, thirdly, is the power to lead a joyous life in faith.

God's children can be healthy and all things will go well with them even as their souls prosper. Also, if we live in the truth, we will be blessed when we come in and go out. We will not be the tail but the head. This is a promise of God. However, until we become perfect, we might go through various kinds of trials so we can change. Sometimes, we might have to face unreasonable sufferings in the name of the Lord.

As God said to Adam that he would eat only through the toil and sweat of his brows,we will face hardshipsand suffering in this life during human cultivation. Also, in the view of the fleshly people, we might look like we are living a hard life. When others take a rest and invest their free time for self-improvement, you come to church and do voluntary services. You pray with all your strength for a couple of hours every day. You make a hard living, and rather than spending it on yourself, you enjoy giving it to God. You might even suffer a hardship because you do not compromise with the world but only stick to the truth. 1 Corinthians 15:19 says, "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied."

But those who have the hope of resurrection do not say that the life on this earth is hard or difficult. As in Romans 8:18, they know "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."I look forward to that glory every moment of every day. I wait for the day the Lord will come back to take us with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. Then, all the efforts and sacrifices we made for the Lord on this earth will be paid back as comfort and reward, and we will live with the Lord forever in glory as bright as the sun.

This hope is well-expressed in the lyrics of the song 'Waiting'.

There's hope I have here in my heart, the hope of seeing my Lord.
I long for the day I'll see the Lord, that day is etched deep on my heart.

My heart awaits the coming of my Lord, the Lord who comes again to take me home.
I live each day thinking of that day when He will come to take me home.

Nobody can take away the joy of waiting for His true love.
I live each day of my life with the love the Lord is giving me.
My yearning heart will not have to wait too long.
The hope I have will never change at all.
The longing for my Lord that He's given me is all my reason to live.

This is the profession of you and me. And, because our Lord resurrected, we can lead a joyful life in Christian faith while we are waiting.



[Conclusion]

Dear brothers and sisters,

Resurrection to us is first, love of the Father, and second, hope given to us, and third, the strength to lead a joyous life in faith. Since we have this hope of resurrection, we have something to do. It is to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man. Today's reading passage John 6:53 says, "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.'" Verse 54 says, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

To eat the flesh of the Son of Man is to make the spiritual bread of the 66 books of the Bible. To drink His blood is to practice the words and make them yours. When we eat food, we have to consume liquid together so the nutrients will be absorbed and the bodily waste will pass. In the same way, when we learn the Word of God and practice what we've learned, the untruth will go out and the truth will fill us. Temper will go out and be replaced by gentleness. Hatred will go out and be replaced by love. Arrogance will go out and be replaced by humbleness and service.

Only when we learn the Word and practice it, can we say we are born of the Holy Spirit and have life. Also, only such people can participate in the resurrection at the end time. So that we could remember this fact, Holy Communion was established by the Lord. When you eat the bread and drink wine today, I hope you will remember the message you heard in Friday all-night service about the sufferings of the Lord.

I urge you to make up your mind once again deep in your heart to pay back the grace of the Lord by recovering the image of true child of God. In so doing, may all of you participate in the resurrection, having the glory as bright as the sun, I pray this in the name of the Lord.