Religion Does'nt Like Ressurection

Introduction

Good Morning Today we are going to finish our series on Lessons From the death and life of Lazarus

Recap

So far we have covered a lot of ground in the story of Lazarus.

We have seen how Jesus had great purpose in this event.

How he was strategic in its unfolding.

How he brought about hope, purpose, and faith in the midst of it as he brought a man who was dead for four days back to life.

Grave Cloths

Two weeks ago we saw how lazarus was raised to life but still had the grave clothes on..

and how he needed to be set free from them so he could live as he was ment to live.

We talked about the grave clothes we wear when christ calls us back to life in him..

and how we need to shed those, or else they have the propensity to do signifigant harm to our walk with christ

or even send us back to the grave.

Last Week

last week, though short, we talked about how Jesus brings dead things back to life..

and the miraculous event that took place in lazarus and how life is avalible to us all..

Today

Today I want us to look at the aftermath of the story if you will.

The reactions of two different groups of people when they saw, or learned of what Jesus did.

Both groups of jews who claimed to love and follow YHWH

And i want us to read two different passages for our context.

begining where we left off last week.

John 11:45–48

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

And then let go to chapter 12 verse 9 - 11

John 12:9–11

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Pray

The Story

Jesus has just raised lazarus from the dead..

He was dead for four days..

They had a funeral, they burried him, they closed the tomb and they mourned his lose.

BUT NOW

He is alive again..

He has been cut free from the grave clothes and is not walking about freely ressurected.

This thing was witnessed by a large group of people, both believers and un believers alike..

and now we read thier responses..

My initial reation

and if it were me, I would think there would only be one reaction to this event..

Jaw dropping wonder

Wow.. did you see that?

No ones ever done that!

How did that happen!

There has to be something about this JESUS!

And we do see this response in some..

but as we read, this was not the response fo everyone

Two different reactions

Believed

We actually find conflicting responses to this event..

Two different reactions

The first was those that did believe..

look as John 11:45

John 11:45

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

Many of them saw the miracle..

or later they saw lazarus multiple times as chapter twelve tells us..

he because a walking billboard for Jesus if youo will

and because of it they believed that Jesus was who he said he was..

They saw what Jesus did..

And they said..

Man.. this really is the son of God..

THEY WERE OPEN, AND ACCEPTED THE WORK AS THE WILL AND WORK OF GOD IN THEIR MIDST..

BUT

UnBelievers

many saw what he did..

and instead of seeing the signs and believing in him,

Instead of coming to the conclusion that Jesus was who he said he was..

This group..

they got upset..

and they ran to the pharisees..

the religous leaders..

and they told them what happened..

and the pharisees become irate by what Jesus has done..

And instead of choosing to believe in him..

instead of choosing to celebrate and embrace the miracle..

They choose to plan to kill both him and lazarus..

WOW

wow..

can you imagine that line of thought?

wanting to kill somone who has just come back to life.

And the one who just prooved his power as the mesiah..

Why

I want us to notice the bible tells us why they want to kill them both..

The bible says it was because they were worried about rome taking thier freedoms away,

they were worried they would lose what they had..

and worried about poeple leaving them to believe in him…

They dont care that a dead man now has his life.

they dont care that two sisters now have thier brother..

They dont care that miracle has taken place..

They dont care that Jesus does signs and wonders and fulfills the scripture..

Frankyly they miss much of the reality in fron of them..

no

RATHER

What their concern is about is how will this affect them.....

How will it affect everything they love and hold dear..

How it will effect thier traditions, their establishments, their structure, their following.. i

they were More concerned about their organization, structure and traditions than they were about Gods will..

And because of it, ironcially, they missed the very messiah they said they were pointing people too and waiting for..

They cared more about their religion than they did God himself..

and their religious hearts prevented them from seeing, believing, receiving, and rejoicing about Jesus..

Those that did not believe, chose to stand on religion instead of on their potential relationship with Christ..

They put religion at the center of everything imortant instead of Jesus..

What is religion?

So what is religion?

Religion is A set of beliefs, a form of worship, ritual, prayer and a code of moral behaviour.

Relgion is our beliefs, our traditions, and our regular practice of worship in relationship to God

and our regular practice of these things is the act of being religous…

Secular

We also use the term in a sexular context for somone who does something on a clockwork like basis..

“We he goes to the gym every morning, religously.. “

So to be religous can also be to do something regularly as well..

Bible

Our sunday morning routine is part of our religion..

Our nightly prayer is part of our religion..

Our doctrine and beliefs is part of our religion

so regligion is not all bad..

We are religous

were all religous to some degree.

We have a set of beliefs..

We have a form of worship..

We have a ritual, (SUnday morning, Daily Prayer)

We have a moral code..

So religion isnt all bad..

In some ways its the basic struture of our very worship..

Religion does not save us..

BUT what we need to understnad is that TO BE RELIGIOUS DOES NOT NESCESARILY MEAN TO BE IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with god..

It is possible to be religous and not even be saved..

After all, going to church wont save you..

knowing the bible wont save you..

singing the songs wont save you.

ITS ONLY A RELATIOONSHIP WITH JESUS THAT WILL SAVE YOU!

Pharisees

AS we see here with the pharisees..

We can be religious and still be wrong..

There was a difference between the pharisees

and those who believed

Both Groups

after all both grooups were jews..

They were people from the same background, scriptures, foundations, and belief structures..

They had the same practices and worship..

So what was the difference?

Jesus

Simple, The anwser is Jesus..

The ones who chose to believe, saw Jesus and embraced him as the messiah..

IN SPITE OF THEIR TRADITIONS.. IN SPITE OF THEIR practices

They entered into a relationship with him..

Where he became the object of their affection and the center of thier world..

They followed him..

He was more important than it all..

BUT

But for the phariseess Religion was more important

Keeping traditions, preventing change, holding onto what they knew.. that was more important..

Not all biblical

And I want to point out that not all of their religion was scriptural..

Some of their religion and practice was made by their elders, not torah..

But still they cling to it..

IT didnt matter that it didnt truely save them..

Their religion was more than anything else, including relationship with the messiah and belief in him...

THEY WERE SO UNWILLING TO LET GO OF WHAT THEY KNEW, LOVED, AND WANTED.. THAT THEY MISSED GOD HIMSELF...

Religion was more important than anything..

Us

We have to be careful that we dont become like the pharisees..

that we dont get so attached to the practice and traditions of the church and its culture that they become more important thant our very relationship with Jesus and what he wants to do in our lives..

Because the same thing can happen to us..

Where our style of worship is more important than our actual worship..

Where the colors and cleanliness of the carpet are more important than the salvation of souls..

Our comfort is more important than our sacrifice..

Our time is more important thant the message..

Were we fight for our rituals, our traditions, our sets of belief, our comfort zone, our preferences..,

AND AT TIMES WE MAKE THEM MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT GOD IS DOING OR WANTS TO DO..

THIS IS A RELIGOUS ATTITUDE..

AND ITS NO DIFFERENT THAN THAT OF THE PHARISEES..

Kill Lazarus

If were not careful we can even have problems just like lazarus raised from the dead..

When Jesus brings people we dont think deserve new life back to life..

and begins to use them..

and we refuse to accept them, or encourage them..

because they dont fit our montra or idea of christianity..

We get religous and cling to our traditions..

and miss what God is doing..

The difference between the two groups

The difference between those that believed..

and those that refused was Jesus being the center intead of religion..

Believers

For those that believed, they put Jesus at the center of it all..

THEY CHOSE TO FOLLOW HIM

Regardless of what the religious leader said..

They didnt care if it affected tradition..

They didnt care if it affect the religion of the day..

what was most important was Jesus and his will..

NO MATTER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE, NO MATTER WHAT IT SOUNDED LIKE..

THEY WANTED HIM AND HIS WILL AND WERE WILLING TO LOSE EVERYTHING TO GAIN IT..

Unbelievers

For those that did not..

Thier traditions and religion were most important..

Jesus was a threat to that..

And if were going to be honest with our selves..

the same is true in many churches and christian circles today. .

because we dont really like change..

Even when its god that changes everything us..

BUT I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND..

WE SERVE A GOD OF CHANGE..

God is Always Doing Somthing New

Dont get me wrong..

God himself does not change..

But he is a god of change..

he is continually int he changing process in this world..

And The bible is a story of continual change.

Bible story

if you go back to the begining it all started in a garden..

and then humanity messed up and had to leave..

and the next thing we see if God telling abram.. change your home land..

go to a new land..

Then we move to issaac and jacob..

and eventualy the people are enslaved

AND THEN FREED! THANK GOD FOR THAT CHANGE..

Then worship begins in a tent..

and then in the temple..

And the Jesus comes along and says no no.. worship will now be where ever spirit and truth is..

GOD IS A GOD OF CHANGE..

yourself

If you dont believe me look in the mirror..

over the years your face has changed..

but THANK GOD THAT YOUR HEART HAS ALSO CHANGED..

YOU WERE DEAD AND NOW YOUR ALIVE.

THATS CHANGE..

HE IS A GOD THAT IS CONTINUALLY CHANGING US..

AND CHANGING MEATHODS..

AND ADJUSTING TO WIN PEOPLE AND DRAW THEM CLOSE..

BUT WE DONT LIKE CHANGE…

WE WOULD RATHER CLING TO OUR RELIGOUS WAYS AND THOUGHTS.. THAN MORE FORWARD..

New thing

but ive come to declare this morning god is doing a new thing in this earth..

He is changing and shifting things so that all who would call on him will be saved..

AND HE IS SHAKING UP RELIGION AND DRAWING PEOPEL BACK TO JESUS AS THE CENTER!

HE is preparing his bride for the coming marriage supper of the lamb..

And we have to be willing to go and walk where he does..

or were going to be left behind..

or worse..

find ourselves trying to kill the very miraculous thing God is doing because we dont like it..

We have to be willing to lay down our religous mindset..

and says god you do what you want to do and im going to be on board..

I want to talk breifly about three problems we see in this passage with having a religous mindset..

Why is a religion mindset without relationship a problem?

1. A religous mindset will prevent us from truely believing the things of god.

Notice the reaction of the those that went to the pharasees..

Instead of beleiving that Jesus is who he says he is, the pharasees are so focused on their own tradition and beliefs that they refuse to believe Jesus is who he says he is..

They even declare he does signs and wonders..

but they refuse to allow the signs to lead to their belief..

Us

If we hold too tightly to our traditions and way of doing things, they might end up becoming the very barrier that prevents us from sincerely believing in what God is doing.

What happens when god starts to do things in ways you have never seen before?

what happens when God starts to save people youve never thought could be saved before?

If our traditions and set ways are the center of what we want and know.

We will end up rejecting what God does and refusing to believe..

Story

I was reading a book by Jim symbala

he is the pastor ofthe brooklyn tabernacle..

and their church was built on miracle after miracle..

He was telling the story of a certain man in him congregation..

who had struggled with homosexuality..

and the man had come to jesus..

and been set free..

and even gotten married to a woman..

and was serving in the church..

So this man began going with his wife and preaching throughout the states..

and telling his testimoy..

and he came to one particular church

and told of what god had done..

and after church a man walked up to him..

greeted him..

and told him..

You know.. thats a good story…

but its not true..

Because even god cants save homosexuals..

and then left..

Thats a religous attitude..

thats afriad to embrace what God can do..

Let me tell you something..

If god cant save homosexauls..

then you better find a better god..

BEcause if one sin it too big for him..

then our sin is too big for him..

BUT I THANK GOD THAT THEIR IS NO MOUNTAIN TOO HIGH..

OR VALLEY TO LOW FOR HIM TO COME AND SAVE..

WHATEVER WE WALK THROUGH

HE CAN CONQUER..

THERE IS NO GIANT TO BIG..

But

but if religion is the center of everything we want and hold dear..

We will never believe in the new and miraculous things god is doing.

and even more..

we may be afriad of them..

because were afraid they will change our ways..

Jesus

when JEsus is the center though..

anything is possible..

and he can do whatever he wants..

because we are fully submited to him and HIS WILL.. Now ours..

2. A Religious mindset will prevent us from receiving.

look at what john 1:11-13 says

John 1:11–13

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Notice that receiving is tied to believing..

Paul tells us something simalar in romans 10

Romans 10:9–11

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

If we are not willing to believe..

we will never receive..

For you cannot receive what you dont believe in the first place when it comes to god..

Jesus tells the man with the demon poosessed son in mark 9

Mark 9:23

And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

and earlier he chastizes the disciples because they could not cast the demon out because they had no faith..

HERE IS THE PROBLEM..

IF OUR RELGOUS ATTITUDES PREVENT US FROM BELIEVING..

THEY WILL PREVENT US FROM RECEIVING..

BECAUSE RECEIVING IS FOUNDED ON BELIEVING..

The pharisees

The pharisees would not believe..

and so they did not receive..

receive what?

anything..

salvation..

healing..

provision..

joy

ANYTHING WE NEED TO RECEIVE FROM JESUS IS FOUNDED ON BELIEVING HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS AND ALLOWING HIM TO BE THE CENTER..

But if we are so caught up in our religion and tradition that we wont even believe..

we most defintily wont be able to receive..

3. A Religous mindset will prevent us from Freely rejoicing.

notice the pharisees response to the ressurection of lazarus..

it wasnt joy..

It was “ Lets kill him.”

Religion, refuses to celebrate anything that doesnt look the way it always has, or desired..

If we refuse to let go of our religous ways and submit them to christ..

We will never celebrate and rejoice the news things god is doing..

We will never celebrate and rejoice the people he is saving..

We will never celebrate and rejoice the expansion of the kingdom..

Because it doesnt fit what we know, want, or believe…

Change

some of the biggest fights in churches are over some of the sillest things..

A few years ago we put these speakers up..

The old ones had been hanging there since 79…

they were crackling.. and fuzzy..

Someone came and paid over $5000 in one check to put these in..

it was a miracle..

and the day we put them in..

we had a family leave the church because we took the old ones down and put the new ones in..

They couldnt celebrate what god was doing..

because they were so tied to an od set of speakers..

if there is something in the church that is so important that you would leave because it changed..

im not talking about doctrine or scriptural authority issues..

I mean structures, systems, sounds, colors, ways of doing things..

Then you ight have a religous attitude..

BECAUSE OT BE HONEST..

the bible says one day Jesus is going to come..

and its all going to burn..

Hes going to make a new earth..

and heaven will be completely different..

And if you cant rejoice in the changes he makes here..

how will you rejoice when EVERYTHING changes?

Are you open to what God wants to do?

We have to be willing to let go of our religous holdings and let god be god..

we have to be willing to say no matter what it looks like,

no matter what is sounds like..

COME LORD JESUS..

New

God is doing a new thing..

My question to you this morning is what side are you going to find yourself on when does..

Will you be one who has Jesus at the center and believes, receives, and rejoices what god does?

Or will you be part of the faction thats tryin to put it back to death..

Today

I want us to respond to God this morning

tell him..

GOD IM OPEN TO YOU..

Give me a heart of flesh..

YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO..