Believe and LIVE!
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John 11: 17-27
John 11: 17-27
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
LETS PRAY ( Short and Simple)
Intro:
Over the past two weeks, Brother James and Dane have preached to awesome sermons leading up to our Scripture this morning.
Last week Brother James preached from the end of John 10. The Jews are seeking to Kill Jesus and he is trying to show them that he and the father are one… ANd even if they don’t believe him.. believe the works he is doing!
Two weeks ago Brother Dane preached from John 11:1-16. This is the introduction to our text this morning… I want to remind you of two of the four takeaways from Brother Dane’s sermon that really help set up our passage today…
The first is that God’s timing for victory is different than ours… Pray and listen to God! LET HIM BE GOD..
The Second is no matter the circumstance… There’s always hope in JESUS!…
Dane also said something profound in his sermon.. I was sitting on the beach listening to him preach and this is what he said… God’s eternal purpose is the restoration of man’s relationship with God, reflecting his glory in the world, and bringing all things under the headship of Christ!!!
THIS IS SO TRUE… and so powerful… and leads us staright into our passage this morning…
My purpose this morning is simple and comes straight from the title… I want us all to believe and Live.
if you are taking notes this morning.. i have 3 points…
Look beyond the physical
2. Focus on more than the future
3. Embrace and enjoy the life God has given you
Look beyond the Physical
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
This is a real, human response
Trials and suffering will come… We can mourn and we can grieve. We can even pour out hearts out to Jesus just like martha did…
Don’t Miss this.. HE IS HERE.
We get so caught up in the physical… Just like martha. She runs to meet him, LORD if you had been here..
this is us… Lord, if only I had this, or could do this… Lord why did my family member have to die? Why did my parents have to split up? Why did all those young girls at Camp Mystic have to drown?
We pour our hearts out, and this is okay, we see it with martha, king david, and so many other places… God wants us to pour our hearts out to him…
the problem is that we often stay focused on the Physical.
HE IS WITH US ALL THE TIME… Our has to shift away from the physical circumstance and towards how God is working through the circumstance…
Don’t forget brother Dane’s sermon… the passage just before this one…
John 11:14–15 “Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.””
Think about that for a second… imagine your doctor saying this… Im glad i was not there to heal you…
We would not be happy with that… that sure doesnt sound very loving does it… i can already see the news headlines from all the lawsuits…
But this is exactly what Jesus was saying… FOR YOUR SAKE.. i am glad i was not there to keep lazarus from dying… SO THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE!!!
(One pastor said it like this) - “God’s love is not him sparing us from pain, its him showing us more of himself, no matter the costs…
If you are a believer in this room, every trial, every ounce of suffering, every tear, every heartbreak, ALL of it has purpose and is meant to show you how great Jesus is, how powerful he is, how loving he is, and how far he is willing to go to show you WHO HE IS.
Arden and I can attest to this… in just a few of the painful circumstances we have faced over the past few years…
Did we understand our Miscarriage? No.. did we enjoy it? No… But did God use it to show us more of who he is? ABSOLUTELY..
With our son Brooks… DId we enjoy signing a sheet of paper and watching our two day old son taken onto a helicopter? No way.. was it painful to see him completely covered with cables, oxygen tubes, and stickers…. yes it was horribe… but the presence and power of Jesus never left us… Everyday he was comforting us, reminding us of his control, his power, and his purpose… We would not have made it through that season if we would have remained focused on the physical…
JESUS Could have healed Lazarus the second he got the news that he was sick. And it would have been great. The messenger gets back and Mary and Martha run out to the messenger! HE’S Healed!!! And they trace it back to the exact moment Jesus said the word… BOOM lazarus healed…
YET THAT WASNT HIS PLAN… He was willing to let Martha and Mary suffer pain and heartache in order to show them something greater…
Remember Lazarus… the one whom Jesus loved… HE LET HIM DIE… like death, wrapped up, put in a tomb for 4 days… DEAD … in order to show the whole world who he truly is!
LOOK BEYOND THE PHYSICAL! JESUS IS ALWAYS WORKING. Some of you are experiencing trials right now…. deep pain, intense fear, anxious thoughts… Stop for just a second and think about how Christ is using this to reveal more of himself to you. To mold you into his image.. yes its hard, yes it hurts… but it will be more than worth it.
I have had student after student over the past 10 years… IN THIS CHURCH… come to me.. I just wish I could have had a relationship with my mom, i wish my mom had not died before i knew her, i wish my parents were christians, i wish my dad would love me, i wish i was more outgoing, i wish i was more beautiful, i wish i my family had more money.. i wish i didnt struggle with anxiety, i wish i wasnt depressed all of the time, if GOD WOULD JUST….
I often wonder… why did God allow me to have two amazing parents, they love Jesus, they taught me about Jesus, the loved me, they still care for me, why did he allow me to grow up in a stable home, get a great education, provide ways for me to go to college, play sports, and hardly suffer at all… YET the majority of students that I have done ministry with come from broken homes, 1 or neither parent, no money, no stability, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, bullying, and it goes on and on…
MAYBE BECAUSE I can look them in the eyes and tell them PERFECT PARENTS, PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS, PERFECT CIRCUMSTANCES, ALL THE STUFF IN THE WORLD, PERFECT MENTAL STABILITY CANT SATISFY YOU.
ONLY JESUS CAN. I grew up with all the things that these kids desire. Parents who love them. A restful mind, a house to live in, food to eat… friends that cared about me… YET every time i tried to turn to something or someone other than Jesus to satisfy me…… I WAS MISERASBLE…
WE HAVE TO LOOK BEYOND THE PHYSICAL… God has you exactly where he wants you… You may not think its fair.. and thats exactly where mary and martha might have been… watching jesus heal other people who he barely even knew… yet couldnt even come and heal lazarus, their brother, the one who he knew so well…
Yet Jesus knew exactly what he was doing… he had something even greater for them… just like he has something greater for you… Just look beyond the physical and trust that he is with you, every moment.
TRANSITION
Some of you sitting here may be thinking… YES.. i know he’s with me and i know that one day he is coming back and all this suffering will make sense, i can see my old loved ones again.. When i get to heaven… no more pain, no more shame, no more cancer, disease, suffering..… AND THAT IS AWESOME..
Our hope is in jesus and he has promised christians many great things for us in the future…
However, we often dwell so much on what is to come that we miss what Jesus is doing right now.
our second point this morning…
2. FOCUS on more than the future
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Martha is mourning… Her brother has died… She shows a small sign of faith here… She says “but even now i know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Thats great right.. showing her faith in God… Yet He is standing right in front of her.. but she doesnt see it yet. She is thinking that Jesus is operating in the physical worldly realm.. he must go pray and ask God to fix this problem…
Some have even argued that this is martha showing that she believes jesus can raise lazarus from the dead.. the problem is that down later in the chapter, jesus tells them to move the stone away.. and martha starts telling him how bad the odor is going to be… what are you doing jesus.. his body is going to stink… why are you rolling away the stone…
So i do not think verse 22 is martha asking Jesus to raise lazarus from the dead.. Jesus responds… John 11:23 “Your brother will rise again.””
I wonder how many times martha had heard something similar to what jesus said in the previous four days… “YOur brother will rise again”.
I am sure there were close friends telling her similar things.. one day you will see him again.. trying to comfort her..
so now Jesus, the one who actually had the power to save her brother from dying… says the same thing to her.
i dont want to speculate her feelings, or her emotions, we dont know her tone, her facial expressions any of that. But i can imagine that wasn’t good enough..
Look how she responds… “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
THis really is an appropriate response. A close family member dies and we try to comfort one another.. we will see him or her again one day…
My grandfather was the first person to die that was close to me… very close… And i remember after the funeral someone came up to me and told me that it was okay… i would see him again in heaven…
That was great… and slightly comforting… i thought about heaven for a little bit and what it may be like…but then i returned to reality and the pain was still there… that wasnt good enough..
OUR HUMAN HEARTS are not designed to long for something in the future, our hearts crave satisfaction in this very moment.
I mean if you think about your favorite food… and i tell you hey next year on this day at lunch time.. im going to give you that food to eat…
okay cool…thats great.. but now compare that to me handing you that food right this second..
Sometimes when we are going through tough times or circumstances we focus way to much on the future…
Jesus has given us himself. His spirit is dwelling inside of every believer. We have him at ALL Times.. not for a second does he leave us or forsake us. He can satisfy us right now, no matter what we are going through!
Transition: Yes the thought of the future can bring slight satisfaction… but it is not fulfilling… We need something NOW… Martha didn’t need another assurance that Lazarus would rise on the last day… she needed something in that moment.. and JESUS was about say some of the most powerful words ever spoken.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
our third point this morning…
3. Embrace and Enjoy the LIFE he has given you
STAY WITH Me! Its easy for us to begin to start thinking about our earthly life here.. gratitude for our kids, our health, our job, house, posessions, etc…. this IS NOT THE POINT!
Jesus looks at martha and says.. I am the resurrection and the life!
The word used here for Life is the Greek word Zoe’
This word is so important. In order to understand it we have to start all the way back in Genesis.
God creates adam and eve perfect, no sin in the world…everything is exactly as it should be… perfect relationship between creator and creation… boom sin enters the world… relationship severed, death enters in, all of creation is cursed…
yet even in Genesis.. The gospel is already evident.
after the curses are given…. this is what God says in Genesis 3:22
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
Because of Sin, all of hummanity has been cut off from the tree of life…
yet despite our sin… God has made a way through his son Jesus..
And here in John 11 we have Jesus looking at martha and telling her… I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way for you to eat of that tree..
Think of some of the bold things Jesus has said about himself…
John 6:53–54 “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 10:7–9 “So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Bread of Life
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Jesus is the Bread of life… Think about what Jesus is saying here…
God rescued his people out of egypt and was leading them to the promised land… and like humans they began to grumble and complain, they were focused on the physical things and the future promised land..
so God sent manna down to heaven… provided them exactly what they needed… he sustained them in the wilderness with bread…
And Here in John 6, we have jesus saying he is the bread of LIFE….
Our egypt was being enslaved in sin… born with a sin nature… we were dead in our trespasses in sin…
YET GOD beign rich in mercy, sent his own son to die on a shameful cross, he called us to himself, gave us eyes to see and a new heart to believe!
He set us free… and he promised us one day he would take us to the new promised land.. . a new heaven and a new earth…. perfect relationship with between creator and creation, no sin, no suffering…
but we arent there yet… we are in the wilderness… trapped between our enslavment to sin and our future glory…
and Jesus is telling us he is the bread that comes down from heaven.. he satisfies us even now,
TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD
HE IS THE BREAD OF LIFE… HE IS OUR MANNA.. HE IS how we get through the wilderness.. he will sustain you NOW. HE is the tree of life… take hold of him, eat, and live forever!!!
So what is this life that he is offering.. he is telling martha clearly that it is more than just a resurrection on the last day…
C. THIS Life starts at the moment you believe!
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Though he die.. yet shall he live…
this old flesh.. the old walker had to die… and i was Born again to new life.
this is the story of every believer in here… this is what we celebrate in baptism.. the old self going into the water and dying and the new life that will go on and live forever with Jesus is coming up out of the water brand new!
How do we know this? How can we trust this? how can we live with peace and joy even though we are carrying around this sinful flesh that still causes us to sin and stumble at times…
Because we have been Justified.. two of my favorite things.. .baptism and justification.. i know the youth are tired of hearing me talk about these two things.. but they are so important for us…
The very moment Jesus saves us and we believe, we are justified… God the father declares us RIGHTEOUS. ALL OF OUR SINS, PAID FOR… ETERNAL LIFE BEGINS in that very moment… Eternal life is not just a future promise… it is a present possession!!
Listen to the Word of GOd!
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Romans 8:10–11 “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
-WE Were enemies with God… Alienated from him… yet the moment we are justified by his grace… we are at peace with him forever!
Embrace this life he has given you and ENJOY IT!
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
HE has given you life, and not only that he can satisfy you right now…in every moment! you dont have to wait until the last day, you don’t have to wait until the new heaven and the new earth.. that is coming and will be greater than anything than we can ever imagine..
but we can have him right now...
One pastor said it like this… “To martha, and to every mourner, comes this incomparable promise of our lord: “ i am the resurrection and the life.” He does not need to ask that life shall be restored; he does not bid martha to wait for some future day; He is himself the source of life-giving power. It is our relation to a present, divine LORD which gives us comfort.”
Conclusion: I want to conclude this morning with the final 3 verses…
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Look at martha’s transformation of faith… John wants us to see this… He wants us to see how Martha’s faith changes … From “i know” to “you are”..
She says in verse 22… But even now i know….
then she says in verse 24 .. I know that he will rise again…
Jesus tells her… Jesus tells her.. I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!
Her response? YES LORD I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, WHO IS COMING INTO THE WORLD…
Its remarkable…
do you BELIEVE.. FAITH MAKES ALL OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN THROUGH CHRIST!
The same power that brought Jesus out of the grave, is the same power that resurrected your dead mortal body into spiritual eternal life, and is the same power that we rely on day in and day out to overcome evil, kill sin in our life, and find our complete satisfaction in Christ!
Jesus’ question to martha is his question to all of us… DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
I MEAN REALLY BELIEVE IT!… Not just and idea or a verse thats in your head… but believe it… it affects your heart and your will.. it affects your actions and your feelings…
Do you believe this morning? Not believe for him to help you, or make you happy…do you believe that he is the Christ, the son of GOD?
One commentator said it like this.. “ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT A PROPOSITION, but A PERSON”…
We turned eternal life into two places.. heaven in hell… two options… what happens when you die? you go to heaven or hell… Even today i bet there are some in here who’s hope is in heaven… People ask you.. WHy do you go to church, why don’t you do this or do that… why do you talk like that? why do you give your money away…
and your answer is… well i want to go to heaven one day.. i dont want to go to hell…
We even share the gospel like this… You better repent or you’re going to hell.. I am not saying that is a completely wrong statement… what i am saying is that its missing the whole point…
“ETERNAL LIFE IS NOT A PROPOSITION between two places… , eternal life is A PERSON”…
WHEN YOU DIE YOU EITHER GET JESUS OR YOU DONT GET JESUS.
John 11:25–27 ““I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Believe and Live!
As the praise band comes up.. I want to ask one of the pastors to come up and pray…
as they are praying… think about Jesus’ prayer in John 17… and respond however the spirit is leading.
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
