Been there, Done that

Welcome

Worship

Weekly Highlights

Opening Prayer

Father, we come before you and ask you for Wisdom, we ask Holy Spirit that you would open our hearts and fill us. In Jesus Name

Kavanah

I am going to teach you some Hebrew. This is the word for Intent or Concentration. If you really want to hear what God is saying to you, you have to focus on what we are saying about Him. Okay?

Are you ready?

Introduction

We all have five senses. They are; taste, touch, smell, sound and sight. Let’s test and see how good your five senses really are.

Taste

Touch

Smell

Sound

Sight

Jesus had the same five senses as we do. He walked the earth in human form, just like you and I. He tasted the loaves and fish that He multiplied and passed around to the crowd of 5,000. Jesus really felt the pull on His coat from the woman who reached out to Him to be healed. Jesus smelled the fragrant perfume that Mary poured out on His feet as an offering. Jesus heard the cries of His beloved friends when Lazarus had died and heard their joyous celebration when he came alive again. Jesus saw the crowds that followed Him, He saw the people that others would often overlook. John 1:14 (NLT) “So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” Jesus experienced life as a human being, just like us. He understands our whole world.

Big Story

John 11:4–7 NIV

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

Remember how last week we talked about how the Apostle Paul did really nice things to people who were really mean to him?

Jesus is doing the same thing here, the people in Judea just tried to kill Him, but He is going back to help His friend and in doing so is going to help everyone else believe in Him.

John 11:14–15 NIV

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

John 11:21–26 NIV

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

He then goes up to the tomb and weeps, Jesus is sad because lazarus was His friend and because this world has been corrupted by sin, His friend died.

Have you ever been sad?

Jesus had lots of emotions just like you and I.

Object Lesson

Sad

Compassionate

Angry

Joyous

Love

1. Just Like Me

You might see famous people on social media or YouTube and think, “Wow, their life is amazing, it’s nothing like mine.” It looks like they live in a different world to you and me. Every picture is perfect, they’re always happy and nothing ever seems to go wrong. The truth is, we’re seeing just the highlights, we’re just seeing what they want the world to see. Just out of the frame, things might be messy and falling apart - Just like a normal person! When we look at Jesus in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; The Gospels, we’re seeing the highlights too, but we also see Jesus experiencing the ups and downs of normal life, just like you and just like me. We see Jesus sad, angry, hungry, tired, happy, joyful and everything in between. Jesus understands my whole world, Hebrews 4:15-16 (CEV) says, “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.”

2. In Every Situation

The longest verse in the Bible is in the book of Esther and is 90 words long. The shortest verse in the Bible is two words. It’s John 11:35 (NIV), “Jesus wept.” Those infamous two words remind me that Jesus can relate to me in every situation, no matter what I’m going through, Jesus understands how I feel. Though He is Holy, Jesus was also human and felt all the same emotions we feel. Jesus had compassion; Matthew 9:36 (NIV), “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.” Sometimes He was amazed; Mark 6:6 (NIV), “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Jesus understands when we are grieving and deeply sad; Matthew 26:38 (NIV), “Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow.” He even got angry! Mark 3:5 (NIV), “He looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.” Jesus felt Joy! John 15:11 (NIV), “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” And He felt love and friendship; John 15:13-14 (NIV), “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” No matter what you’re feeling, in every situation Jesus can relate to you. You can talk to Him about anything and He understands.

3. A Dear Friend

Jesus was close friends with Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. They were so special and dear to Him. You may remember Mary and Martha from another bible story when Jesus had spent time visiting at their home in Bethany. Mary had sat at Jesus feet listening to His teaching, hanging on His every word, while her sister Martha was preparing food and cleaning the house. It was sometime later that Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick and had died. John 11:5 (CEV), “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother.” It had been four days after Lazarus died before Jesus made it to be with his grieving friends. John 11:33 (CEV), “When Jesus saw that Mary and the people with her were crying, he was terribly upset.” They showed Jesus to the tomb where Lazarus had been placed. They rolled the stone away and Jesus prayed aloud, then shouted into the tomb for Lazarus to come out. Lazarus had come back to life again! In this one story we see Jesus’ love and friendship with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, we also see Jesus’ sadness, His empathy for His friends and we see the great joy that everyone would have had to see Lazarus alive again! No matter what we go through, even something as sad as the loss of someone we love, Jesus understands. Jesus understands my whole world.

Response

Because Jesus knows everything that we are going through, even the really sad things:

Is there anyone in here who is sad right now?

Closing Prayer

Father we ask that you would write everything that we have learned on our Hearts so that we would come to truly know and understand what you are saying to us.