Living Unbound

Introduction

Today I wanted to share with you a message that the LORD gave me from my devotions this week. It’s a familiar passage of Scripture, one that is much beloved.

I want to speak to you today on the topic ‘Living Unbound’

Church, know this: There is a difference between Living and Living Unbound. Jesus said John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

This is one of the main topics we’ll explore today, but before then, we must lay some groundwork first. For that, we’re going to go back to the beginning of the chapter.

We see first, the Messengers

I. The Messengers

(v3) Before one can live unbound, they first must live.

They Called upon Jesus (v3b)

These women had a problem. But what we see here in their reaction is wisdom - for when they had a problem, they sought Jesus!

In this life, we are assured of troubles. Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman Is of few days, and full of trouble.”

Oftentimes though, we try to fix it ourselves. We try to work through our problems ourselves. Then when we have exhausted our efforts and dug our hole even deeper - we call upon Jesus.

Let me say this church - no matter what you’re going through, no matter what your situation is - it would behoove you to make your FIRST action calling out to Jesus!

Listen, there are problems in this life, you simply cannot solve on your own. BUT THANK GOD I DON’T HAVE TO! This just happened to be one of those situations beyond their control - so they called upon Jesus.

They called upon Jesus, because they Cared for the Dying

They Cared for the Dying (v3a)

The only names we’re given for the messengers are those that sent it, Mary and Martha.

Mary and Martha were the sisters of Lazarus. They had close relation to this man. It’s obvious that they loved him - and he was dying.

Church, what we have here is a picture of intercessory prayer for the lost. Lazarus being a picture of one who is without Christ - Paul used the language Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” Lazarus is a picture of one who (as we’ll see in a moment) is dead Spiritually.

It’s assured that Mary and Martha have done all they can for Lazarus, and they needed Jesus to intervene.

Because Mary & Martha loved Lazarus, they were doing all they could. And the evidence of their love is their labour to get Jesus to him.

(Ill.) As you know I’ve been teaching at a Christian school. Christian school is like church - some are there that are saved and they want to be, there are others who are there because of expectations from family. That being said, they are like many church members, in that they would rather assume that someone is saved rather than ask them.

But the fact of the matter is, if we care for the dying - we’ll be like Mary and Martha - we’ll do all we can for them (by witnessing) but we’ll make sure and call upon Jesus for them! That God would touch their heart & give them understanding!

They called on Jesus, because they cared for the dying

We see the Messengers. Next let’s look at the Master

II. The Master

We’re speaking of Jesus of course

He Loved the Dead (v3; 34-36)

We see this mentioned directly a couple times in the text: (v3; 34-36)

Jesus loved Lazarus - even though he was dead.

Do you know that Jesus loved the dead even today? (I’m not speaking of the physically dead, though He does) I’m speaking of what Lazarus represents - the Spiritually dead. Do you know how much? - THIS MUCH -

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

I want you to know something today - if you’re lost today, it’s not because God doesn’t love you. It’s not because it’s because you don’t love Him. Jesus loved you enough to die for you, and He wants to take you to Heaven when you die! 1 Timothy 2:4 “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Jesus loves the Dead - but He also loves the Living

He Loved the Living

His Disciples - they were confused. Mary & Martha - they were hurting. These are examples of those who are Alive in Christ.

But you know what? Jesus cared!

We see a variety of ways that this was expressed.

He Gave Ear to their Cry (v6-7)

When Mary & Martha sent for Jesus, Jesus answered their cry. He went unto them.

Now the negative Nancy will say ‘Well, He did, but not till it was 4 days too late.”

Church, the old adage is true ‘When He’s 4 days late, He’s still on time’.

Oftentimes God doesn’t work when WE THINK He should - but God certainly works WHEN He should. Jesus gave reason as to why He tarried the same place for two days in v15 which we’ll get to in a second!

Listen Christian - God loves you. He loves you enough not only to send His Son to die for you, but also to listen to your prayers!

He Gave Ear unto their Cry - He also encouraged them

He Encouraged Them (v23-25)

In these verses, Martha is distraught. She’s not only:

Hurting from losing her brother, she’s

Haunted by ‘what could have been’

What is Jesus doing for her? He’s encouraging her.

She’s down & Jesus is saying ‘Hey, brighter days are coming!’

How many of us go through struggles? Hard times? Do you know what will help you in those times? Letting Jesus - THE WORD - encourage you! (Joh. 1:14 - “…the Word was made flesh…”)

Jesus encouraged them

He Empathized with Them (v33; 35; 38)

Here we see that as Mary was weeping - and the others were weeping - it caused Jesus to begin weeping as well. Their hurt, was in Jesus’ heart.

The Bible tells us: Hebrews 4:14–16 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Listen, Jesus has been where you’re at! You think that you’ve experienced heartache? Troubles? Trials? Hurt? Jesus knows what it’s like! He’s experienced more than we have 1,000x over! When you’re hurting Christian, so is Jesus! He empathizes with us!

He Empathized with them

He Empowered Them (v14-15)

I’m speaking now of Jesus’ disciples.

The delay for the healing of Lazarus was for the betterment of the disciples - and others (v45).

So as we analyze the chain of events, we’d see that Jesus tarried, not to hurt Lazarus, but the help the disciples and others in the process. God was working Lazarus’ situation to be a blessings to many.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

God was using this instance as a teaching moment for His disciples.

Church, the Christian life is not one of reaching a destination, but embracing the journey. And what God will do for us is exactly what he did for His disciples here - He gives us teaching moments throughout our path. Instances of ‘Faith-building’ to grow us and help us.

Yes Jesus loves the Living - He loves the Lost, and the Saved alike - and works to save the lost and help the Christian.

He Empowered them

We see the Messengers, the Master, next the Message

III. The Message

Let’s look at what He said to Lazarus.

It was Steadfast Despite the Stink (v39-41)

Notice something here - the stink might have bothered others, but it didn’t bother Jesus.

Do you know what? Sin stinks. It’s a stench in the nostrils of God. And Lazarus - being dead 4 days stunk - but Jesus wasn’t deterred.

(Ill.) You and me, we might go to the downtown of Parkersburg, or travel up to the prisons and look at the drug addict, the incarcerated and they may stink unto us. Surely they do to many. Many would allow the stink to drive them away and say ‘They are too far gone’.

But not Jesus! There’s no one that’s too far gone that Jesus can’t save!

If you’re lost today, you might think ‘Would God really forgive my sin? If He knows all I’ve done, surely He’d pass me by’ - but the truth is, as bad as the stink of your sin is, it will not cause Jesus to turn away from you! HE’LL STAND THERE OUTSIDE THE GRAVE CALLING OUT YOUR NAME TO SEE IF YOU’LL COME FORTH!

The Message was Steadfast despite the Stink

It was Simple (v43)

Jesus said far more words to those around Him than He did to Lazarus.

This tells us a few things:

First - the call of Salvation is simple

It’s so simple - We see the brief interaction between Paul, Silas & the Philippian jailor in Acts 16:30–31 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Jesus has done the work of salvation for you! The work is done, all that’s required of the dead is to trust in the work of Christ!

Secondly - you can’t expect to hear anything else from God until you’ve answered the call of Salvation from God

God’s not going to answer your cries unto you answer His of Salvation.

The message was simple

It was Sufficient (v44a)

Though it was a simple cry, it was powerful! It did the job! All Lazarus had to do was respond to the call.

At the close of service today, I’m going to issue that call unto you. If you’re lost today, be thinking about what you’re response is going to be. Are you going to come forth, or stay in the tomb?

It was Sufficient

We see the Messengers, the Master, the Message, next the Mess

IV. The Mess

Notice that this is not the end of the story. There’s things that come afterwards. There’s the remainder of v44 that we need to address.

At this point, Lazarus was alive. He’d been resurrected - or as we consider for the message today ‘born again’. But Lazarus still needed help.

You see - when someone is first born again, they have been transformed from dead to life, but they aren’t automatically transformed into the image of Christ

We see that Lazarus was Alive, but was still Bound

He was Alive, but Bound

Lazarus walked forth from the tomb - that’s a pretty good indication that he’s now alive.

(He WAS dead, he DID stink - but now he’s walking). But the problem is, is that Lazarus doesn’t look like, nor can act like those others that are living about him.

The problem was obvious - He was arrested by death clothes

He was Arrested by Death Clothes

Arrested (def) Seized; apprehended; stopped; hindered; restrained

While everyone else was dressed in accordance to their status, Lazarus was not. He was wearing the same bindings that he had on when he was dead.

Let me take this opportunity to say that one who is alive has no business dressing like one who is dead.

Christians - those who are alive in Christ Jesus - should be freed from the bondage of sin and death!

Let’s look at what bound him.

His Head

His head was bound with a napkin - what does this signify?

His mind

His mind was still covered in the deadness of sin & despair.

Paul said: Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

His eyes

His eyes still sought out the pleasures of this world.

Don’t forget, this is what got Eve in trouble: ‘Genesis 3:6a “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes…”

His ears

His ears were still being polluted by the pleasures of the flesh

His mouth

His mouth was still speaking foolishness instead of life

When one is born again, they are often a mess in these categories - but that’s not all. We also see his hands were bound

His Hands

Lazarus in that state signifies that the things he did were still like unto a dead man.

Babes in Christ will oftentimes continue doing many of the things that they did when they were dead.

His Feet

His feet were bound also

This signifies that he often went to the same places the dead go.

You see why I called this a Mess? Because Christians when they are first born again oftentimes they have that inward change, but they’ve not experienced an outward change.

For many this is where it’s left - yet just as the Scripture didn’t end there, we cannot either.

We see the Messengers, the Master, the Message, the Mess, lastly the Mission

V. The Mission

The Directed

Now here’s the interesting thing that we must consider. The directed. In other words - who was Jesus now talking to? This man was bound with graves clothes, so who did Jesus speak to when He said “Loose him and let him go.”? THOSE THAT WERE ALIVE BY HIM!

He didn’t say “Lazarus, loose yourself” He told those alive nearby to loose him!

We see the Directed

The Direction

What was Jesus instructing? To get Lazarus loose from the graves clothes he was still wearing.

You see, Jesus knew that Lazarus shouldn’t go on this way. He wanted him freed. BUT LAZARUS NEEDED HELP!

I believe in Sanctification. (Because the Bible teaches it). I believe that a Christian should be different than the world. Not a small difference, but one that radiates - as the difference between the dead and those alive! However, oftentimes I’d get aggravated about the worldliness and indifference to Christians who were bound by sin. But here’s what I’ve learned:

There’s a lot of worldly Christians who are that way because they are ignorant of God’s expectations. They are that way because no one ever tells them there’s a better way!

(Ill.) You’ve got all these worldly churches today with their ‘come as you are, leave as you were’ mentality. The preachers in their skinny jeans preaching ‘Jesus-lite’.

They talk about Salvation and never mention Sanctification

They speak on the love of God but not the Righteousness of God

They talk about all God gives you, but never what you should be giving God (unless it’s money)

They speak on Healing, but not Holiness

The result is you have a large section of the church today just plain ignorant - because those that are alive nearby are fine with them being alive and don’t give two spits that they are walking around the world with their grave clothes on!

Those of us that are alive, are to help our brothers realize that grave clothes are not freedom, but they are BINDING! The hinder us from accomplishing what God wants us to accomplish!

The Direction is to the saved around them

The Division (v45-46)

Lastly we see division once again.

Jesus - what He does, and what He instructs brings division. (Joh. 9:16; 10:19)

Let me ask you this: Who’s side are you on?

Are you going to believe on Jesus?

Are you going to follow His instruction?

Whatever you choose, now is the time.

Conclusion

Church, there’s a difference between living, and living unbound.

Unbound by the stress and strain sin adds to our lives as Christians.

You might be the one who needs help with your bindings.

You might know others who are Christians, but are bound. Do you want to help them become freed? Will you follow the instruction of the LORD?