RAISED AND RELEASED TO A BETTER LIFE John 11
INTRODUCTION: This morning, we are about to examine the greatest miracle of all time which is marked by another of the “I AM” statements made by Jesus to declare his deity.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.” John 11:25-26
I want to share three things from Lazarus’s real death to life experience.
1. GOD’S ARE OFTEN FOR A GOOD. V.1-32
Reading the chapter, you will discover that Jesus intentionally allowed Lazarus to die.
Review the event:
Martha is first to meet Jesus as he approaches the outskirts of town and shares her frustration with Jesus for his delay.
- In God’s providence He is always working behind the scenes to accomplish God’s redemptive plans that will most glorify his Son and stimulate faith in others.
ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE GOD AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSES. Romans 8:28
2. BELIEVERS ARE NOT FROM .
John records that everyone is mourning in the story including Jesus. The two sisters are mourning, their friends and family are mourning, and yes, Jesus is weeping too.
However, Jesus is not grieving over the death of Laz, he knows what he’s about to do in regard to his condition. No, his grief comes from a deeper place.
I believe he is grieving the spiritual condition of the Human Race that all will die because of the first Adam’s curse.
The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
Death is rough on us isn’t it. Losing a loved one is the toughest assignment known to man. We struggle to comprehend life without the one we love. A great sadness settles over us like morning fog when a loved one dies.
- Believers grieve like unbelievers except we have a hope grounded in the fact that Jesus is the life giver! He is the resurrection and the life! Whosoever believes in Him will live even though he dies.
3. JESUS HAS OVER AND ALL WHOSE IS IN HIM WILL LIVE AND .
After praying Jesus cries out loud, LAZARUS COME FORTH! And everyone must have been so startled when the mummy stands to his feet all wrapped in burial clothes.
- Listen to the Apostle John in Revelation 1
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17-18
“But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” Isa. 26:19
- What Jesus says next is the awesome: v.43-44
Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
If you look closer at the text Martha was not surprised about Jesus claiming to raise up Lazarus at the “last day.” But Jesus doesn’t wait until just the last day! He raises us to life when we believe!!!!!
- The Apostle Paul’s words to the Church in Ephesus are appropriate here:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, MADE US ALIVE WITH CHRIST even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:1-7
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor. 15:54-57
CONCLUSION: If you’re struggling this morning, because God appears to be a bit late in your life, don’t give up hope! You just can’t see what He’s got up His sleeve. If you’re grieving a loss this morning, know that you’re not alone. Christ is a sympathetic priest who grieves with you and will help you get through this period in your life. Finally, never forget that death does not have the final word in our lives and the lives of our loved ones in Christ.