Resurrection & Life (There's Your Sign pt. 7)

Amen. You know, every week Tread comes up and prays and he leaves palmy sweat marks on the pulpit.

He prays so hard. I appreciate that, brother. Our passage this morning is John 11 verses 1 through 44.

John 11:1–44

So if you would find that in your Bibles. If you didn't bring a Bible, we have Bibles in the seats in front of you.

And you can find this on page 843 of those Bibles. So no excuses. Have your Bibles open and let's read together God's Word.

When you found it, let's stand together for the reading of God's Word as I read John 11, 1 through 44.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill.

But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death.

It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again.

The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you.

And are you going to go there again?

Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.

But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.

The disciples said to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, he will recover.

Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he had meant taking rest in sleep.

Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died.

And for your sake, I'm glad that I was not there so that you may believe.

But let us go to him.

So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.

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.

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you.

And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

And he said, where have you laid him?

They said to him, Lord, come and see.

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, see how he loved him.

But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have also kept this man from dying?

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.

It was a cave and a stone lay against it.

Jesus said, take away the stone.

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.

Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?

So they took away the stone.

And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.

When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.

But the man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth.

And Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go.

This is the word of God.

Will you please be seated and let's pray once more.

Lord, what an unbelievable display of your power and glory.

We pray that you would give us eyes to see it in a heart that would worship you in light of what we're about to explore in your word.

We pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

On June 1st, 1897, the New York Herald published an article on the sickness and imminent death of Samuel Clemens,

who you probably better know by his pen name Mark Twain.

The article caused quite a stir.

The New York Herald was one of the most reputable publications in the world at this time.

The only problem was that Mark Twain was alive and well.

He was on a writing assignment in London working for another publication, the New York Journal.

So on the very next day, June 2nd, 1897, the New York Journal published an article featuring Mark Twain's own comments on his reported death,

which produced the now famous quote,

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.

Our passage today, John chapter 11, involves the report of someone's death.

John 11 · chapter mention

Although, sadly, the report of this death of Lazarus is not exaggerated.

This is not false information.

Lazarus is really, truly, completely dead.

But, not for long.

This is an incredible story, and it's so applicable for each one of us,

because every single one of us has to deal with the problem of death.

And we all have this in common, don't we?

Every single one of us has to face the problem of death.

And we've seen throughout the Gospel of John,

Jesus has come face to face with so many of our struggles.

And he's come out on top of every single one so far.

He's faced issues of social exclusion and isolation and rejection.

He's solved problems of hunger and thirst.

He's solved problems of physical suffering and blindness.

But now, he's face to face with a much greater enemy.

This is the final boss of sin's devastating consequences.

Jesus is face to face with death.

But the lesson that we learn here in John chapter 11 is that even death is no match for Jesus.

John 11 · chapter mention

Jesus is Lord over the grave.

Jesus conquers death in the grave, which means we can trust him even in the face of death.

What I want to do this morning is give us two reasons to trust him this morning.

This will be our outline.

If you're taking notes, if you're a note taker, it'll help you follow along.

Two reasons to trust Jesus in the face of death.

And I'll go ahead and warn you right now, we're going to spend most of our time in the first point.

So hang in there with me.

The first reason to trust him is that Jesus cares.

Jesus cares.

We can trust Jesus because he genuinely cares.

Jesus cares about our sickness.

Jesus cares about our weakness.

Jesus cares about our struggle.

Jesus cares especially about the issues we face involving sin and death.

You know, one of the worst lies Satan can whisper into your ear during times of trial,

God doesn't care.

God doesn't care about me.

God doesn't care about my struggle.

If God cared about me, he would remove this from me immediately the way I want, the way I ask him.

And if he doesn't, well, God doesn't care about me.

This passage I want us to see is a rebuke to that lie.

I want you to see as we walk through this together how Jesus shows us his deep heart concern,

his care for our weakness, his care for sinners like us here in this passage.

Look with me again to verse 1.

John tells us that a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister Martha.

Apparently by this time, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had developed a relationship with Jesus

because they sent word to him saying in verse 3,

Lord, he whom you love is ill.

In other words, come do something about this.

He whom you love is ill.

We've done all that we can.

The doctors have tried everything that they can.

He's not getting any better, but we know you.

We trust you.

We've seen you do these wonderful things for other people.

Come do it for us.

Don't you love him?

Don't you care about him?

But when Jesus heard it, look what he said.

He said, this illness does not lead to death.

It is for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

His condition, much like the blind man in John chapter 9, if you remember that story, you remember his illness, his sickness, his suffering.

John 9 · chapter mention

It's not accidental.

It's not meaningless.

It's not purposeless.

It's not empty.

It is for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified through it.

That's the purpose of what's going on here in Lazarus, which is important for us to understand, because without that piece of information, without that divine perspective on this event, we simply cannot understand what he does next.

Look there to verse 5.

It says,

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Read that again.

Because he loved them, he didn't go solve their problem.

Because he loved them, he didn't answer their request.

Because he loved them, he stayed and he waited.

How is this love?

How could this possibly be loving for Jesus to hear the message, to hear the report on this issue, and yet choose willingly to wait two more days?

How do we make sense of this?

Well, I want us to see that Jesus is motivated primarily by two things.

He is motivated by love and by glory.

Love for this grieving family and the glory of God.

And we know, don't we, that God's glory, that's the primary motivation for everything God does.

Every event in the world, everything that we walk through in our own lives, at the very bottom of it, the Sunday school answer is always Jesus and it's always the glory of God.

But the good news for us, that we learn in the gospel, is that God has, out of an abundance of grace, bound up his glory with love for sinners like us.

He has tied up the magnification of his glory with the extension of love towards sinners like us.

But we have to get these things in order, don't we?

We have to understand this, that love, that extension of love towards sinners like us, it does not orbit around us.

We are not primary.

This is what we struggle to understand, isn't it?

We think, wrongly, we think that, well, in order for me to be loved, my needs must be met.

In order for me to be cared for, in order for me to be loved, my immediate request must be met the way that I ask, or God doesn't care about me.

But that's not love, isn't it?

True love is to give someone what will make them eternally happy.

To give someone what will make them eternally satisfied, truly satisfied.

And that is only found in God himself.

Jesus loves us most and he loves us best when he helps us to see his glory that we might understand it and see it and love him and worship him as he deserves.

That's exactly what's going on here, isn't it?

Jesus cares for them by not meeting their immediate request.

He waits so that they might see his glory more clearly than if he had just answered their needs immediately.

Well, after two days passed, Jesus told his disciples, hey, it's time to go back to Judea.

And as usual, the disciples don't understand what in the world is going on.

They had just left Judea because you remember the Jews were seeking to stone Jesus.

Jesus claimed to be one with God the Father.

The Jews didn't like that.

They wanted to stone him.

Why would we go back there, they ask?

And the answer, again, Jesus says, is glory.

There are God-appointed works to do that will love sinners and will glorify God.

Jesus says, are there not 12 hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.

But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

In other words, there's still work to be done.

It's daytime.

The night is coming.

When my work here will be finished, my time to die is coming.

Then my work here on earth will be done.

But until that time, the Jews can do whatever they want.

But I'm invincible until the works that the Father has appointed for me are complete.

I have work to do that you might see my glory.

He says, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep and I go to awaken him.

And this is just so funny to me.

Their response, listen to this.

They said, Lord, if he's asleep, he will recover.

Why do we have to go to Judea to wake him up?

Let the man sleep.

So Jesus, I can only imagine his exasperation, told them plainly, guys, Lazarus is dead.

And for your sake, I'm glad I was not there so that you may believe.

Do you hear his care for them?

It seems so foolish to them walking back into danger, walking back into the hands of the Jews.

But Jesus knows that what they need most is not to be safe.

It's to see him for who he is and to believe.

He says, let's go.

Follow me.

By the time they arrive, verse 17 tells us that Lazarus has already been in the tomb for days.

Listen to this.

This was fascinating to me.

Now, apparently, there's a rabbinical teaching, not a biblical teaching,

but extra-biblical, traditional, rabbinical teaching in Jesus' day

that said that after someone died, their spirit hovered over their body for a period of time.

And within that period of time, there was a window of opportunity

where if that person was going to be brought back to life,

if it was possible for them to be resuscitated,

then their spirit would reenter their body and they would come back to life.

Do you know what that window of time was?

Three days.

Three days.

After three days, the teaching was that that person was completely, totally, truly, hopelessly dead

and there was no hope, no possibility, no way to bring them back.

Jesus waited four days until Lazarus was undeniably, completely, totally dead

without any hope for revival.

Why?

Why does he do this?

So that he could demonstrate the undeniable power of God.

Now, this wouldn't be explained away.

This wouldn't be laughed off.

It would be a powerful sign that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ.

That Jesus is God in the flesh, the author of life.

Of course, skeptics still come up with something, don't they?

If you've worked in the medical community at all,

you may have heard of something called the Lazarus phenomenon.

Anybody heard of the Lazarus phenomenon?

It's named after Lazarus here in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

The Lazarus phenomenon is when a patient who has been pronounced dead

after a cardiac event, cardiac arrest,

unexpectedly experienced a return in cardiac activity.

Most of these events happen within 10 minutes.

But I read a story this week of one woman, 91 years old,

whose heart stopped beating.

She stopped breathing.

The doctors pronounced her dead.

Eleven hours later, she woke up in the mortuary

asking for tea and pancakes.

What's the point?

Well, for one, if I'm pronounced dead,

wait like 11 minutes, please,

before you put me away.

But we should understand,

these medical events happen,

and skeptics, critics, they look at that,

and they say, well, see?

Well, this couldn't possibly be a miracle.

There's got to be some scientific explanation for this.

They don't have a category in their mind

for the work of God,

the miraculous work of God.

So they say, there has to be

some scientific explanation for this.

But that's not what happened here to Lazarus at all, is it?

None of these individuals,

as incredible as their stories are,

were four days dead.

And none of these doctors, as far as I know,

called their shot,

predicted the resurrection of these individuals.

And none of the doctors, I'm confident,

commanded the resurrection.

In fact, all of these Lazarus phenomenons,

they happened after the doctors tried everything they could,

and they got it wrong.

Jesus, here, he calls his shot.

And for good measure,

he wanted to make sure everyone knew

Lazarus was truly, totally, actually,

completely dead.

Four days dead.

Why?

The purpose of waiting,

the purpose of delaying,

the purpose of not meeting this immediate need,

was to meet a much greater,

eternal need.

Namely,

the glory of God,

and the glory of the Son,

for our faith.

Now, how often

do we struggle with some sort of sickness,

some sort of suffering,

some loss,

some lack?

Maybe some of you are in the middle of some difficult scenario right now.

And we just cry out to God,

God, take this away from me.

God,

God, don't you care?

Won't you lift this off my back?

Please, would you do something about this?

Don't you love me, God?

Could it be that God loves you enough

to wait?

To show you his care and his glory

in a way that you wouldn't see otherwise

if he just immediately answered your prayer

the way you think it should be answered?

Jesus waited.

But we see he did eventually come, didn't he?

And we see his heart on display here

in his conversations with Mary and with Martha.

I love these interactions.

Look there with me to verse 21.

It says,

Mary stayed inside,

Martha came out first to talk to Jesus,

and Martha said,

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know

whatever you ask from God,

God will give you.

How does Jesus comfort her here?

Look what Jesus does.

Look to verse 23.

Jesus shows he cares for her

by extending to her

the promises of God.

Jesus said to her,

your brother will rise again.

So Martha says to him,

I know,

Jesus,

I know,

I believe,

I know that he will rise again

in the resurrection

at the last day.

When Jesus says,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no.

You don't understand.

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And whoever lives and believes in me

shall never die.

Do you believe this,

Martha?

Do you believe this?

This is yet another I am statement.

We've seen them throughout

the gospel of John.

Jesus is saying,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

What's he saying?

He's saying,

I am the I am.

I am God in the flesh.

I am the one who gives life,

the one who takes life away.

I am the one,

the only one who has life in himself

and can give life to whomever he pleases.

And then he issues this promise

from the mouth of God.

Did you hear it?

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And whoever lives and believes in me

shall never die.

I know he looks dead.

He is dead.

But look to me.

Trust me.

Believe me.

I am the resurrection and the life.

There is hope in me.

Now,

I want you to place yourself

in Martha's shoes here

for a minute.

Okay?

Because again,

I know all of us

at various levels

and various times

and places and ways,

all of us are faced

with the enemy of death.

Maybe loss of a loved one.

Maybe your own health concerns.

I want you to place yourself

in Martha's shoes here

for a minute

because that glorious promise,

that security,

that assurance,

that confidence,

that comfort

is available to any

who would put their faith

in Christ Jesus.

Any who trust in him

to save them

from the curse of sin and death

will never die.

Sure,

you'll die physically,

but what do we lose in that?

And all that does to us

is bring us to him.

Those who are spiritually

made alive,

we may look dead

to the eyes of the world,

but those who belong to Christ

live with him forever.

Do you believe this?

Martha did.

She said to him,

Yes, Lord,

I believe that you are the Christ,

the Son of God

who is coming into the world.

Why?

Why did he come?

Jesus came into the world

because he cares

about your suffering.

He cares about your sickness,

your struggle,

your pain.

He came into the world

for resurrection

and life

for all who believe,

for the glory of God

in the resurrection

of dead sinners

like us.

Jesus cared for Martha

with words

and with truth,

with the promises of God.

Now look how he cares for Mary.

He cares for Mary

with feeling

and with emotion.

He cares for Mary

with a sensitive presence.

Look there,

starting in verse 28.

And Mary came out

and fell at his feet

and said,

she said the exact same thing

that Martha said,

almost like they had been

talking about this at home,

right?

Lord, if you had been there,

my brother would not have died.

But in place of Martha's confidence,

here,

Mary's response was weakness,

grief,

sorrow.

And when Jesus saw her weeping

and saw the Jews

who had come with her

also weeping,

verse 33 says,

he was deeply moved

in his spirit

and greatly troubled.

You know,

I'm not convinced

by the translation here.

That word there,

you might even have a footnote

in your Bible

if you look there.

That word where it says

he was deeply moved

in his spirit,

it usually doesn't communicate

tenderness.

Usually it communicates

anger,

sternness,

fierceness.

There's a fire

in Jesus' spirit.

Jesus looks around

at the devastating effects

of sin.

He sees the death

of a loved one,

the grief of a family,

the grief of a community,

the heartache of it all

and he is greatly disturbed

and angry,

troubled

by what he sees.

He's angry

at the presence of sin

in the world.

But he's also tender

towards those

who bear the effects

of sin

in the world,

isn't he?

Look there,

verse 35 here

in the shortest verse

in the Bible.

You scripture memory people,

this is an easy one.

Come on.

One of the most beautiful pictures

of Jesus' heart

and his care

for sinners like us.

Jesus,

God himself,

wrapped up in human flesh.

He saw the effects

of sin

and he wept.

Do you think

he cares for Martha?

For Mary?

For Lazarus?

Do you think

he cares for you?

You know,

I think we could learn

a thing or two

from Jesus' response

here.

In our church covenant,

it's the commitment

that we make

to one another

as members

of this church family.

we make a commitment

that says this.

It says,

we will put each other's needs

above our own,

rejoicing in each other's happiness

and helping carry

each other's burdens

and sorrows.

Now,

Jesus shows us

what that looks like

here,

doesn't he?

I wonder

how angry

are you

at the presence

of sin?

Not other people's

sin.

sin.

Your sin.

Sin in your heart.

Lingering sin

in your life.

How angry

are you

at the presence

of sin

in the world?

When we turn

on the news

and see what we see,

the devastating

effects of sin

and death

in the world.

Are you

bothered by it?

We shouldn't get

so used

to the effects

of sin

that we just think

this is normal.

It's not normal.

Things ought not

be this way.

We should be moved.

This isn't right.

But not only this,

we should weep.

We should grieve

at the presence

and the effects

of sin.

Our posture

towards one another

and our grief,

it ought to be,

I may not understand

what you're going through.

I may have never

dealt with what

you're dealing with.

But I love you.

I know things

ought not be this way.

I want to listen to you.

I want to be with you.

I want to stand

by your side.

I want to bear

your burdens

and grief.

Let me remind you

of the promises

of God

and if not,

let me just weep

with you

and be there with you

because I love you.

Things ought not

to be this way.

Now the presence

of death

is a constant,

unignorable reminder.

that things

are not right here.

Do you feel it?

Something must be done

and we are powerless

to do it.

No politician

in Washington

has the power

to set this right.

No nation,

no army,

but there is one.

One who is Lord

over life and death.

His name is Jesus.

This is our second reason

reason to trust him

this morning.

Trust Jesus

even in the face

of death

because second,

Jesus conquers

sin

and death.

Jesus conquers

sin

and death.

You know,

as much as he cares

for us,

if he can't conquer it,

none of his care matters.

we need someone

who can actually

deal with this problem,

put it away for good.

And this is exactly

what happens here

in verses 38

through 44.

Look there with me.

And Jesus

deeply moved again,

came to the tomb.

It was a cave

and a stone

lay against it

and Jesus said,

take away the stone.

Martha,

the sister of the dead man,

said to him,

Lord,

by this time

there will be an odor.

He's been there

for four days.

Jesus said to her,

did I not tell you

that if you believed

you would see

the glory of God?

So they took away

the stone.

And at this point

Jesus lifts up a prayer.

He lifted up his eyes

and he said,

Father,

I thank you

that you have heard me.

I knew that you

always hear me

but I said this

on account of the people

standing around

that they may believe

that you sent me.

That's the point

of the signs.

That's the point

of these demonstrations

of power.

You remember

the point

of this suffering

of Lazarus

is that they might

see and believe

that Jesus is the Christ

sent from God

into the world

to deal with

this problem

of sin.

And then when he said

these things

he cried out

with a loud voice.

Now I'm looking,

I'm watching my boys

because at home

we read a book

about Jesus

raising Lazarus

and when we get

to this point

the boys know

what to expect

and they start

to cover their ears

because they know

dad's about to use

his loudest voice

to raise the dead.

But Randy

in the sound booth

wasn't expecting that

and I'm not sure

the speakers

could handle it

so I'll spare you.

But Jesus

didn't whisper.

He cried out

with a loud

authoritative

powerful

life-giving voice

Lazarus

come out.

and amazingly

this dead man

truly

completely

totally

four days old

stinky dead

he came out

his hands

and his feet

bound with linen strips

and he

commanded them

unbind him

and let him

go

on my authority

at the sound

of my voice

he

lives.

this is an

incredible miracle

is it not?

An undeniable sign

of Jesus'

perfect divinity

there should be

no doubt

that's the point

there should be

no doubt

to anybody

who is a witness

to these things

that this is

God in the flesh.

There should be

no doubt

for us

as we read

this story

this account

that only God

can do this

only God

can raise

the dead

only God

his voice

can give life

to the dead

it's a powerful sign

that Jesus

has authority

even over

death

but what I want us

to see

what I hope

you realize

is that as incredible

as this sign

is

it's just a pointer

it's just a

picture

it's just a

foretaste

of an even

greater work

to come

very soon

Jesus

will make

his way

into Jerusalem

he will be

crucified

and he will

die

and he will

be truly

really

completely

dead

but not

for long

he will

rise

if his

death

is the end

of the story

none

of this

would matter

nothing

Jesus

has said

or done

none

of these

signs

would matter

up to this

point

even

raising

Lazarus

from the

dead

none

of that

would

matter

if

Jesus'

death

were the

end

of the

story

he would

be

beaten

by death

and we

would have

no hope

in the face

of sin

and death

we would be

hopeless

in the face

of this

great

enemy

as Paul

tells us

in 1 Corinthians

15

he says

if Christ

has not

been raised

our preaching

is in vain

your faith

is in vain

we are

misrepresenting

God

because we've

said that

God raised

Christ

from the

dead

if Christ

has not

been raised

your faith

is futile

you're still

in your sins

everyone who's

ever died

has truly

perished

and we

Christians

sitting here

in a church

service

worshiping

the Lord

of all

people

are most

to be

pitied

because we

stake

everything

on the

resurrection

of Jesus

but we

praise God

for the

gospel

church

the gospel

is the good

news

that

Jesus

Christ

cared

so

deeply

for

you

for

your

sin

for

your

suffering

for

your

inability

to

conquer

the

grave

that

he

came

for

you

and

he

lived

for

you

and

he

died

for

you

and

he

rose

never

to

die

again

he

conquered

sin

and

death

it's

the good

news

that

his

resurrection

is ours

by

faith

do you

cherish

that hope

do you

cling

to that

message

the

resurrection

of Christ

is

everything

to us

it's our

hope

both now

and

forever

would you

would you

just think

about this

with me

for a

minute

if you

are

in

Christ

meaning

if you

have

personally

trusted

in

Jesus

Christ

alone

for

your

salvation

forsaking

all

others

clinging

to him

loving

him

with a

renewed

heart

do you

know

what's

happened

to you

Christian

you

have

been

reborn

you

have

been

resurrected

to

newness

of

life

if

anyone

is in

Christ

he is

a

what

help

me

he's

a

new

creation

behold

the

old

is

gone

behold

the

new

has

come

Paul

says

in

Galatians

I

I've

been

crucified

with

Christ

therefore

that

guy

I

no

longer

live

Jesus

Christ

now

lives

in

me

the

life

I

live

in

the

flesh

I

live

by

faith

in

the

son

of

God

who

loved

me

and

gave

himself

for

me

do you

realize

this is

what

our

baptism

signifies

Christian

we were

buried

with him

in

baptism

dead

and

what

raised

to

walk

in

newness

of

life

we

are

Lazarus

this

story

is

our

story

as

Paul

says

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

we

we

were

dead

in

the

trespasses

and

sins

in

which

we

once

walked

dead

truly

completely

totally

smelly

dead

and

we

couldn't

walk

our

way

to

Jesus

if

we

wanted

to

and

we

didn't

want

to

we

were

spiritually

dead

but

God

being

rich

in

mercy

because

of

the

great

love

with

which

he

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

and

our

trespasses

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

by

grace

you have

been

saved

and

raised

us

up

with

him

and

seated

us

with

him

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

so that

in the

coming

ages

he might

show

the

immeasurable

riches

of his

grace

and kindness

toward us

in

Christ

Jesus

if

if you

are a

Christian

it's

because

the

life

giving

word

of

God

has

called

you

out

of

death

and

into

life

in

Jesus

Christ

and

now

we

live

together

resurrected

lives

amen

and

now

we

we

in

him

we

share

his

victory

over

sin

because

he

conquered

it

we

couldn't

we

share

his

victory

over

the

grave

we

have

newness

of

life

we

couldn't

earn

that

he

did

it

he

conquered

it

now

why

should

we

fear

the

grave

and

our

certain

hope

ultimately

is that

at the

last

day

when

he

returns

we

will

be

raised

up

to

be

with

him

forever

is this

your

hope

I

love

Jesus

interaction

with

Martha

I

just

look

there

one

last

time

as

we

close

how

did

he

comfort

her

your

brother

will

rise

again

that

was

his

comfort

for

her

she

didn't

know

that

he

met

in

like

five

minutes

did

she

but

she

agreed

she

said

Lord

I

know

yes

on

the

last

day

yes

thank

you

he

will

rise

again

yeah

in

our

day

the

comfort

we

tend

to

give

to

the

grieving

and

to

those

who

have

lost

loved

ones

when

there's

a

death

of

a

believer

the

comfort

that

we

tend

to

give

is

focused

more

on

heaven

isn't

it

and

when

a

believer

dies

we

say

well

he's

he's

with

the

Lord

she's

with

the

Lord

she's

in

heaven

those

are

wonderful

good

true

worthy

comforts

true

for those

who are

that

there's

an

even

greater

hope

than

that

as

glorious

as

it

is

heaven

is

not

our

ultimate

hope

heaven

is

not

our

final

destination

Christian

our

future

certain

hope

for any

who are

in

Christ

is

the

new

heavens

and

the

new

earth

with

a

resurrected

glorified

body

equipped

and

enabled

and

empowered

to

enjoy

the

beauty

of

God

for

the

rest

of

eternity

can

you

imagine

a

body

free

from

the

grip

of

sin

no

no

pride

no

anger

no

no

lust

no

no

greed

no

achy

knees

or

sore

back

a

resurrected

body

and a

resurrected

renewed

soul

that are

freed

to

to

love

God

completely

without

hindrance

without

weakness

without

any

distraction

or

inhibition

freed

to

to

live

in

abundance

of

life

with

no

threat

of

danger

no

threat

or

death

can

you

imagine

it

no

sickness

no

pain

no

sorrow

no

grief

no

loss

no

lack

a

resurrected

people

in a

resurrected

creation

made

possible

only

and

perfect

by the

resurrected

Christ

never to be

spoiled

again

that

is our

hope

Christian

and it's

certain

for you

in Christ

if you

trust him

though you

die

yet you

shall live

the great

evangelist

D.L.

Moody

you may

know that

name

he famously

once said

someday

you will

read in

the papers

that D.L.

Moody

of East

Northfield

is dead

don't

you

believe

a

word

of

it

at

that

moment

I

shall

be

more

alive

than

I

am

now

I

shall

have

gone

up

higher

that

is

all

out

of

this

old

clay

tenement

into

a

house

that

is

immortal

a

body

that

death

cannot

touch

that

sin

cannot

taint

a

body

fashioned

like

unto

his

glorious

body

I

was

born

of

the

flesh

in

1837

I

was

born

of

the

spirit

in

1856

that

which

is

born

of

the

flesh

may

die

but

that

which

is

born

of

the

spirit

will

live

forever

how

about

you

do

you

trust

him

with

your

suffering

do

you

trust

him

with

your

soul

do

you

trust

him

even

with

the

grave

do

you

trust

him

with

your

future

let's

pray

Lord

we

praise

you

that

Jesus

you

reign

over

life

and

death

what

is

our

hope

in

life

and

death

it's

Christ

alone

we

thank

you

father

that

you

sent

Jesus

out

of

an

abundance

of

grace

because

you

love

sinners

and

are

glorified

in the

resurrection

of

undeserving

sinners

like

us

we

pray

if

there

are

any

here

Lord

who

don't

know

you

don't

yet

believe

these

promises

Lord

would

you

would

you

do

what

only

you

can

do

and

by

the

power

of

and

for

us

who

have

been

raised

to

newness

of

life

help

us

to

walk

in

that

newness