Resurrection Hope

Read Acts 20:3-21:16
 
Acts 20:9 As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. 10 Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!” 11 Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left.
 
THIS almost seems humorous. Paul talked so long into the night, a man named Eutychus fell asleep, fell out a window and died. But what happened? Paul spoke resurrection into the man’s life. And quickly he was alive and well. Then the group returned to upstairs room for the Lord’s Supper, to eat a meal and hear more from Paul. What a night!
   Were such miracles so common that Luke, the writer, made this resurrection story only a brief comment? Perhaps God did show himself often through such miracles among the early church. We know from Acts 19:11 God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. Surely, then, we can understand resurrections of the dead was an expected miracle among the Paul and the other apostles.
   The LORD may not have gifted us in the same way. But let’s always remember that God is life. If you consider someone’s faith life has fallen asleep and he is without hope, keep praying for and believing in the hope of Jesus’ resurrection. Faithfully seek Jesus’ power to resurrect lives from sin’s death.
 
You’ll Know
 
Acts 20:22-24 “And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus, the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
 
THIS is a beautiful Scripture of love and commitment to God. All of us should remember these words and use them as a life purpose statement. Paul was, indeed, passionate to go where the Lord Jesus called. As the Spirit made him aware of impending imprisonment and suffering, he remained dedicated to God’s work.
   Have you ever considered that completing God’s work will extend beyond preserving your own life? We often consider Jesus’ words to, “take up your cross and follow me.” as discipleship hardship. But the depth of its meaning means to serve God in a way that leads to the fullness of life in Jesus. If the Son of God had to die, so he could reign with the Father forever, doesn’t this seem the way for us, too?
   Can any of us reach the level of obedience as Paul and the other apostles? We can when we faithfully and meekly listen to the Holy Spirit. The Church then needed sacrificial Jesus followers, and the church needs the same followers today. Why pay any attention at all to the Spirit’s revelations if we have no desire to do as he says?