If Things Were Different- John 11:1-44

Well, good morning. Hello, I am Michael Aubrey.

I'm Leadership Development Director for the Illinois

Baptist State Association, and it's a privilege

to be with you here this morning. My role as

Leadership Development Director has me working

with churches and our association to help in

training and development of leaders, training

and development of those who work in churches,

volunteers as well, and it's my privilege. Today,

here a little bit later, I'll be doing a training

here after this service, and I hope you'll stick

around. Now, the title of the training is on

being able to lead a child to Christ. And you

may be thinking, well, I don't work in the kids'

ministry, and I don't feel God calls me into

that area. And I want to let you know, this training

is still for you, for a couple of reasons. One

of those reasons is because... you may have children

in your life. Maybe it's grandchildren in your

life that you may have the opportunity to share

the good news of Jesus with. And this training

will help equip you for that. The other reason

is because the way that you lead a child to Christ

is the same way you lead anyone to Christ. An

adult, a senior adult, or everyone in between.

So I hope you'll stick around for the training

that we'll have. And really we're talking about

how to lead someone else to Christ. I'll give

you some practical tools, answer some questions,

and I'll even give you some practice doing that

very thing. I think we're having pizza today,

so I hope you'll stick around for that. That's

my sales pitch, okay? And we'll move on from

the sales pitch after that. The other thing I

get to work with with Illinois Baptist State

Association is in the area of next gen, kids

and students. And that's my heart. That's my

passion. It's a wonderful privilege that I have.

Right now, we're getting ready for a camp to

kick off next week. We have nine weeks of camp

that are associated with our association that

I get to work with. And so we're on the backside,

we're on the downhill slope of those nine weeks.

Most of those happened in June. We only have

three that happened in July. But we have seen

boys and girls, over 35 boys and girls, trust

in Jesus Christ at those camps. Many others have

been led to realize that they've already trusted

in Christ, but maybe they haven't been taking

the step of baptism yet. Others still have been

called out and feel like God is calling them

to mission or ministry. And I want to let you

know that through your partnership in the choir,

program, your church is a part of what's happening

at those camps here this week and throughout

the weeks of this summer. Your partnership allows

us to have two camp facilities, one in the north,

Streeter Baptist Camp, and one in the south at

Lake Salatiska Baptist Camp. But your partnership

with the cooperative program allows you to do

even more than just camps. You're a part of churches

that are being planted and established in our

state. Across our nation. Throughout North America.

And honestly throughout the world. Through your

partnership. We send over 3 ,000 missionaries

to foreign fields internationally. And they go

not having to come back every other year to beg

for funding. They go fully funded. They go fully

supported. That is an incredible thing. No other

agency. No other group. has that many missionaries

fully funded on the field and you are a part

of that work you get to be a part of disaster

recovery when disaster strikes for example the

flooding that took place in texas this week Already

we have, through disaster relief, people on the

ground in that area who are helping to minister

through chaplaincy, minister to those who are

hurting and grieving. They're helping to provide

meals. They're going to help on the backside

after the floodwaters recede, help to clear out

floodwater damage in buildings and those kinds

of things. Your partnership in the cooperative

program makes you a part of that. There's so

much else I could go on. I could talk to you

about education, through our seminaries, and

through public championing of things that are

moral and good and righteous and holy in the

public sphere through the ERLC and so many other

things. But I want to say thank you, thank you,

thank you. It's because of churches like you

that those things are able to happen and go forth.

And by the way, because you partner with it,

if you're a young person, you felt led toward

mission and ministry or a calling toward a vocational

role or other leadership role in the church,

you have opportunities. We've planned for you.

We've made things ready for you. And we're prepared

to equip you and help you in that journey. I'm

married. I have three children, Samuel, Rachel,

and Anna. I'm married to Victoria. And we are

very much in the preteen and teenage years of

life, which is a whole new adventure for me.

because as the kids are little, it's fun to be

dad, and the kids are excited, and I get to be

the fun and jovial one, and sometimes the disciplinarian,

yes. But in the teenage years, I am an idiot.

And so it's a whole new way of relating, and

you have to use mental tricks sometimes to help

your kids get on the right path and that kind

of thing. But it's a fun time. I moved from Texas

over 12 years ago. I grew up in Texas. That's

my home state. And in 2011, I'm not a big sports

fan, not a big baseball fan, but in 2011, everybody

in Texas was a baseball fan because the Texas

Rangers were in it to go in the World Series.

And they were doing really well. They were ahead

against, and I'm sorry to admit it if you're

a Cardinals fan, but they were playing the St.

Louis Cardinals. And they were ahead, and it

looked like they were going to win. They were

ahead in games, and they got to the point where

they were one strike away from winning it all.

One strike away. Man, I remember watching that

game, and I'm just in my mind like, pitcher,

throw your arm out, throw the fastest fastball

you've ever thrown right across the plate. If

it's injured, it doesn't matter, but you win.

Glory and victory are yours. But as it was, the

Cardinals got the hit. They got on base. They

were able to score. And from being two runs down,

they were able to tie it up. And they had forced

to go into the 10th inning. And you know what

happened in the 10th inning? They were one strike

away again. And the same thing happens. The Cardinals

get the hit. They get on base. They're able to

score. They're able to tie it up. Forced an 11th

inning. And in the 11th inning, the Cardinals

win. But that was okay. We had another game.

We go to game seven. And in game seven, the Cardinals

won. There were so many defeated and dejected

Texas Rangers fans that week who were disheartened.

And so many were asking, what if? What if things

had been different? What if we had gotten that

strike? What if we had... held a score later

at another point in the game. Lots of people

were doing Monday morning quarterbacking, and

they were saying, what if we had put in a different

relief pitcher? What if we had done this? What

if we had done that? What if something had been

different? The glory of the World Series could

have been ours. They tasted it. They were so

close. But it wasn't to be. And so many were

left yearning and asking, what if it had been

different? I want to let you know, you in your

life have probably asked that question many times

about a great number of matters, haven't you?

What if something had been different? You go

out to eat and you come home and you have a tummy

ache later and you ask, man, what if I had ordered

something different on the menu, right? Maybe

you paint a room in your house and you come into

it and you look at it after it's painted and

you go, you know, what if I had picked a different

color? You ever done that? What if I had done

something different? But it's not only simple

things, the trivial things of life that we ask

that question about. It's about weightier matters

too, isn't it? What if I had chosen that different

career? What if I had gone after that different

degree? What if I had married her? What if I

had been confident enough? To ask, to do, to

seek after that thing that I always dreamed of.

What if? What if things were different? That

question also comes up in the hardest moments

of life. The tragedies of life, doesn't it? If

you've ever known someone who died in an accident,

you know that question. is right at the front

of your mind. What if they had not gotten in

the car at that day at that time? What if we

had done something different that day? So they

weren't at that place at that time, at that moment

that tragedy struck. What if I had said something

different? What if I had been... bold enough

to speak up that one time to say and to do. The

what ifs of life, what if it were different,

are a powerful question that looms over so many

situations of our life. I want to look today

with you at a passage in John 11 in which we

see people coming to Jesus saying, if only this

Jesus, it would have been all different. tragedy

has struck and they cry out to jesus if only

it had been different and here's the reality

jesus himself will show us if only it had been

different here's the wonderful glorious news

though jesus has the power to make it different

and this story he does and he does it as a signpost

to point to glorious things for our lives today

Okay, so I hope you're hungry to hear God's word

today. I want to jump into it with you. We're

going to be looking in John chapter 11. It's

John 11 · chapter mention

going to be a little bit of a more lengthy reading,

but let me tell you, it is worth it. It is a

marvelous story, and it's a story you've probably

heard many times, but as we read through the

story, I want you to listen for the moments where

two ladies cry out to Jesus, if only this Jesus,

it would have been different. Watch out for those

moments, okay? As we read through God's scripture.

The grass withers. The flowers fall. But the

word of our God stands forever. This is the word

of the Lord. Now a man was sick. Lazarus from

Bethany. The village of Mary and her sister Martha.

Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume.

And wiped his feet with her hair. And it was

her brother Lazarus who was sick. So the sister

sent a message to him, Lord, the one you love

is sick. When Jesus heard it, he said, this sickness

will not end in death, but it is for the glory

of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified

through it. Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister,

and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick,

he stayed two more days in the place where he

was. Then after that, he said to his disciples,

let's go to Judea again. Rabbi, the disciples

told him, just now the Jews tried to stone you

and you're going there again? Aren't there 12

hours in a day, Jesus answered. If anyone walks

during the day, he doesn't stumble because he

sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks

during the night, he does stumble because the

light is not in him. He said this. And then he

told them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,

but I'm on my way to wake him up. Then the disciples

said to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, he

will get well. Jesus, however, was speaking about

his death. And they thought he was speaking about

natural sleep. So Jesus then told them plainly,

Lazarus has died. I'm glad for you that I wasn't

there. so that you may believe. But let's go

to him. Then Thomas, called twins, said to his

fellow disciples, let's go too, so that we may

die with him. When Jesus arrived, he found that

Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

Bethany was near Jerusalem, less than two miles

away. Many of the Jews had come to Martha and

Mary to comfort them about their brother. As

soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she

went to meet him. But Mary remained seated in

the house. Then Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if

you had been here, my brother would not have

died. Yet even now I know that whatever you ask

from God, God will give you. Your brother will

rise again, Jesus told her. Martha said to him,

I know that he will rise again in the resurrection

at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the

resurrection and the life. The one who believes

in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who

lives and believes in me will never die. Do you

believe this? Yes, Lord, she told him. I believe

you are the Messiah, the Son of God. who comes

into the world. Having said this, she went back

and called her sister, saying in private, the

teacher is here and is calling for you. As soon

as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went

to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village,

but was still in the place where Martha had met

him. The Jews who were with her in the house,

consoling her, saw that Mary got up quickly and

went out. They followed her, supposing that she

was going to the tomb to cry there. As soon as

Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she

fell down at his feet and told him, Lord, if

you had been here, my brother would not have

died. And Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews

had come with her crying. He was deeply moved

in his spirit and troubled. Where have you put

him, he asked. Lord, they told him, come and

see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how you

loved him. But some of them said, Couldn't he

who opened the blind man's eyes also have kept

this man from dying? Then Jesus, deeply moved

again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a

stone was lying against it. Remove the stone,

Jesus said. Martha, the dead man's sister, told

him, Lord, there is already a stench because

he has been dead four days. Jesus said to her,

Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would

see the glory of God? So they removed the stone.

Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, Father,

I thank you that you heard me. I know that you

always hear me. But because of the crowd standing

here, I said this, so that they may believe you

sent me. After he said this, he shouted with

a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. The dead man

came out bound hand and foot with linen strips

and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said

to them, unwrap him and let him go. Let's pray.

Lord, what a glorious miracle your son worked

in the life of Lazarus and the lives of those

around him. Lord, speak to us today the truths

of your word. Convict us of sin and our own heart

and life. Show us the way in which we ought to

go and help us to walk in it. Give us clarity

of mind today to evaluate ourselves in light

of your word. And Lord, today, may the proclamation

of your word help us to believe. Help us to trust,

to hold fast to who you are. Lord, I pray that

you help me to speak plainly and clearly today,

to make your truths known for your name's sake

and for your glory. It's in Christ's name. Amen.

So tragedy had struck. Lazarus would stand. Mary

and Martha, his sisters. were brokenhearted.

They were crushed and grieving. Jesus comes to

them. We hear that refrain from them, didn't

we? In verse 21, we hear it from Martha. Lord,

if you had been here, my brother would not have

died. And then from Mary's lips in verse 32,

we hear, Lord, if you had been here, my brother

would not have died. Hey, by the way, in scripture,

when you hear things repeated, God's trying to

get your attention about a truth that's there.

And so we have both Mary and Martha repeating

this refrain. Lord, if only things had been different.

If only you had not been detained and not able

to get here sooner. Because in their minds, they're

thinking of Jesus and they know the miracles

he's worked previously. We heard the reference

to opening the eyes of the blind. We've heard

and know how Jesus healed the mother -in -law

of Peter who was on her sickbed with a fever.

We know of those who are lame and unable to walk.

And they had seen Jesus make those people be

able who have never had to strengthen their legs

to stand up. And completely without rehab or

someone to help hold them, they're able to stand

on their two legs and able to go away walking

and leaping and praising God. Jesus had done

those things. And so in their mind, they know

Jesus has the power to heal. And so as Mary and

Martha consider the sickness of their friend,

their brother Lazarus, they long and wish that

something had been different, that Jesus had

been able to get there sooner, to be able to

heal him, to prevent him from dying. Here's the

stunning thing we find out, though. Jesus could

have been there sooner, couldn't he? We hear

that when Jesus hears word of Lazarus' condition,

That Jesus chooses to stay where he was. He stays

two additional days. And so, as we hear that

truth, we go, why couldn't things not have been

different? Why did Jesus choose to stay those

additional days? Why did Jesus not go sooner?

You see, Jesus had something greater in store

for Lazarus and for Mary and Martha and for everyone

around them. Jesus had something more grand and

more glorious than some other sick person healed.

Jesus wanted to point a signpost to the reality

of the power that he had to change the circumstances

that Lazarus and Mary and Martha were in. He

wanted to point to the truth that he could, in

fact, Make things different. My friends, sometimes

in life, when you are asking those questions,

what if something had been different? You're

going to feel the tug in your heart to say, God,

you could have made this situation different.

You could have done something and you could have

intervened. But here's the profound truth. Sometimes

God does not intervene because he wants to draw

us closer to him. He wants us to believe and

trust him. That's what Jesus was about here with

the disciples. The reason he delayed was so that

they would believe. And as painful and as hard

as the circumstances that lie ahead of them were

going to be, Jesus in his infinite wisdom allowed

them to endure the hard things of life, the pain

and the suffering, the loss and the grief of

Lazarus' death, but he had something more glorious

on the backside to work. Here's what we need

to hear. In our moments where we're asking those

questions, God, what if something had been different?

What if I'd done something different? What if

they had done something? What if I said something

different? What if things had been different?

We have to trust him through whatever the circumstances

is. Whatever he brings and his good providence

and gives over to us, we must trust him. Knowing

that he is working for our eternal good. You

see, God doesn't work for our comfort. He doesn't

work so that we can have an easy life. He's not

working so that we can have the situations turn

out always how we hope they would. God is at

work in your life to make you like Jesus. And

here's the thing. If you're going to be like

Jesus, you're going to have to endure some of

the hardship like Jesus endured. My friends,

we're not very good at growing when things are

easy and comfortable, are we? In fact, the truth

is we're not really good at depending on the

Father when things are good and easy and comfortable.

We can easily become distracted. We can easily

become complacent. Sometimes God uses those holy

and wonderful hardships in our life to draw us

to Him. To sift away from us the things in our

life and in our heart that are more of this world

and less like Him. As hard and as painful as

those moments are. God desires our greater good.

We hear that passage that says, God works all

things together for good for those who are in

him. That's what that passage is talking about.

It's not saying he works it together for good

in the sense of my enjoyment and pleasure and

happiness and ease and comfort. No, he works

it together for our greater glorious good, our

eternal good. And so in this moment, Jesus waits.

He lingers two days so that by the time he arrives,

Lazarus has been good and dead for four days.

He's in the tomb and when he asked to open the

tomb up, they protest and go, hey, it's been

a while. It's going to be rough when we open

that up. Maybe we don't do that. Because Jesus

wanted to show them something more profound,

something more glorious. Martha and Mary longed

for something to be different. But here's the

truth you need to see. Jesus, too, longed for

something to be different in this moment. Jesus

also longed for something to be different. How

do we know this? We know this because of what

we see in verses 33, 35, and 38. If you look

there in verse 33, we see that when Jesus saw

her crying and the Jews who had come with her

crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and

troubled. That same phrase shows up in verse

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

tomb. And in fact... Depending on the translation

you have, I'm preaching from the CSB this morning,

but if you have an NIV or some other translation,

you may be looking at that verse and noticing

something odd because it says he was angry. And

you're going, why is Jesus angry? I was reading

this passage with my middle daughter a couple

of months ago, and we were reading a translation

that uses that word angry. And she goes, Dad,

why was Jesus angry at them for crying about

Lazarus dying? And I'm like, oh, no, no. He's

not angry about them crying for Lazarus dying.

You know how I know that? Because of verse 35.

The first verse that every kid learns when they're

memorizing verses to get a piece of candy, right?

Say it with me. Jesus wept. There's a good reason

you should memorize that. Because in those moments

of grief, that will give you comfort. Because

Jesus, too, was moved to weeping and grieving.

That word is sometimes translated angry there.

Because it shows the deep tension that is going

on in Jesus' soul. He's not just sad. He's conflicted

in his soul. He's wrought around. If you've ever

lost a loved one, you know some of that angst

you feel in your deepest, innermost being. Yes,

you're profoundly grieving and sorrowful. But

if you're honest and you take a self -assessment

and you realize it, you'll find there's a portion

of you that's a little bit angry too. There's

a portion inside of you going, this is not how

it's supposed to be. My mother, my friend, my

sister, they're not supposed to die. And in this

moment, this is the exact feeling that Jesus

feels. This is not how it's supposed to be. Jesus

knows. Because it was not how it was supposed

to be. In the paradise that God had made, there

was no death. There was no loss. There was no

grieving. But death came through sin. When we,

mankind, rebelled. against God and said, God,

we got this. We're going to go life in our own

way. We're going to do our own thing and work

to our own ends because we feel like you're holding

out on us. There's something we're missing out

on. And so we're going to do it ourselves, God.

And we each individually have made that very

self -same choice to live life on our own apart

from God. The scriptural word for it is sin.

When we sin against God, we bring about the natural

fruit. consequences of sin, which is death. And

mankind throughout all of its history has been

plagued by death. Jesus loved Lazarus. Jesus

loved Martha and Mary. He was very close to them.

And so when his good friend Lazarus dies, Jesus

feels that pain, that sorrow of this is not the

way. God intended this world to be in the beginning.

God intended us to live with him forever. And

death is a breaking of that. Jesus desired something

different. But I told you at the beginning, Jesus

is the one who has the power to make something

different, doesn't he? And that's what he does

at the grave of Lazarus, at the tomb of Lazarus.

He goes there and he does something different.

He works a miracle, a miracle like no other.

They go to the tomb, they roll the stone away,

and Jesus prays to the Father. And he even tells

us in the prayer, God, I know you always hear

me, but I am praying out loud so that these people

standing around would what? They believe. So

that they would know what's going on. Jesus speaks

into the tomb to a dead, rotting corpse. Lazarus,

come out. Something has never happened. Lazarus

comes out. People are stunned and amazed. And

it's really funny, if you keep on reading, the

best thing that the people who opposed Jesus

could figure to do was to like, maybe we should

kill Lazarus again to stop him. That was the

best thing that they could come up with. Do you

realize how silly and crazy that is? If the man

has the power to raise the dead, killing him

again won't stop him. That's crazy. Jesus raised

the dead. What a glorious miracle. Can you imagine

being Mary and Martha in that moment, seeing

the glory of Jesus raised from the tomb? What

a profound miracle. Well, my friends, I want

you to know that miracle was a signpost that

was meant to point us forward to a far greater

miracle. For something far more glorious, far

more wonderful than just one man being raised.

And that truth, that profound truth, shows up

in verse 25. Verse 25 is the heart of this entire

passage. In verse 25, Jesus says, I... and the

resurrection, and the life. The one who believes

in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who

lives and believes in me will never die. And

then he asks, do you believe this? You see, the

one thing that Jesus wanted different was the

reality and the finality of death. And Jesus

did it. He put an end to death. He pointed through

the resurrection of Lazarus to the reality of

what Jesus would do on the cross, the reality

of his coming resurrection, and the reality of

our future resurrection. You see, Jesus was pointing

to the truth that one day death will no more

be real. Death itself will be undone. Death itself

is not the final word. We see that in Jesus,

don't we? Jesus is nailed to the cross and laid

in the tomb. And three days later on that Sunday

morning, he is resurrected. He walks out of the

tomb like Lazarus, but he's resurrected with

a new and glorified body. You see, the fact of

the matter is Lazarus was resuscitated. He was

brought back to this type of physical life. Jesus

was resurrected with a new and glorified, yes,

physical body, but a glorified body. The body

who is now in heaven, ruling and reigning. Jesus,

our Lord, has been resurrected. And in the picture

of Lazarus, he points to what's going to happen

in a short time later with him. And he's saying

to his disciples, to Mary and to Martha and to

us today, Jesus has power over death. And he's

pointing to the fact of the reality of our own

resurrection as well. Our resurrection has two

parts. We have a spiritual resurrection and a

physical resurrection. Spiritual resurrection

happens at the moment when we trust in Jesus

Christ. Our eyes are opened and we have new birth,

new life within us. The Spirit indwells us and

we go from being dead in our sins to alive in

Jesus Christ. We are resurrected spiritually.

We're given new life. In that moment, God goes

to work in us, changing us and making us new

through His Spirit, drawing us close to Him,

making us like Jesus like we talked about a moment

ago. But there's a second resurrection. Physical

resurrection. Because I told you a moment ago,

the mortality rate among human beings stands

at 100%. And one day, each one of us will die.

But did you hear what Jesus said about those

who die in him? It's profound. Read it again.

Look at the verse again, verse 25. The one who

believes in me, even if he dies, will live. And

then he says it even more profoundly, everyone

who lives and believes in me will never die.

And you go, well, I know a lot of Christians

who've died. There's another man named Lazarus,

interestingly enough, that shows up in the book

of Luke. It helps us to see this truth. You see,

Lazarus was a poor man, and he died outside of

a rich man's home. And we're told, Jesus gives

us a glimpse behind the curtain of what happens

at the moment of Lazarus' death. Not this Lazarus

that we're dealing here, but the poor man Lazarus.

He peeks the curtain back and he shows us that

the moment of his death, the angels came and

carried him to the glory of the Father. You see,

at that moment, at that last breath, He didn't

experience death as we perceive it. He didn't

experience an endless void of nothingness for

all of eternity. He didn't experience an eternal

separation from the Father in agony and suffering.

He experienced the trip of a lifetime with the

angels to God. That is awesome. That's why Paul

would say, for the believer, absent from the

body when we die and our body is no longer functioning

and is dead and deceased and everyone around

thinks our life is wholly gone, our spirit is

with the Father. To be absent from the body is

to be at home with the Lord, for the believer.

That's what Jesus is speaking of in this verse.

That's why he's able to say, whoever believes

in me, even though he dies, will live. Even though

that poor man Lazarus died, he immediately lived

at his final breath. My friends, take comfort

for your loved ones who have died in the Lord,

who may have gone through agony and pain and

suffering in those last days or weeks or months

or just agonizingly hard. You can take hope in

the moment of their death. That pain, those labored

breaths, the difficulty, the cancer, the disease,

the immobility was gone. And they were with the

Father. What a glorious and profound truth Jesus

points us to today. To be absent from the body

is to be at home with the Lord. But here's what

Jesus asks. Do you believe this? He asks it of

Mary and Martha, but he asks it of us today as

well. And I ask it of you. Do you believe this?

Do you believe in the hope of the gospel, the

profound reality of Christ's resurrection? And

of your sure resurrection. If your hope is in

him. Oh my friends. I forgot to tell you. Our

second resurrection. I told you of our first

resurrection. Of our spirit being raised. Of

us being trained and transformed. But our second

resurrection is when. One day when Christ returns.

Our bodies will be raised. We will be given new

and glorified bodies. No longer with pain and

suffering. We will live forever in the new heavens.

and the new earth with God. And friends, that's

a glorious, glorious truth. Jesus asked, do we

believe this? Mary and Martha were asking, Lord,

if only you'd been here, something could have

been different. And Jesus himself grieved the

moment of Lazarus dead. He felt the wrenching

of the sorrow and suffering of death itself.

He desired something to be different. He did

something different. And that's all I want you

to know today. Your future is made different

if your hope is in Jesus. Your future is made

different if your hope is in Jesus Christ. Your

eternal future is made different. You have the

hope of eternity with our Lord. You have the

hope that death does not get its final say over

you. Your future is made different. if your hope

is in Jesus. But your future in this life is

made different as well because the things of

death, the things that lead to death, that sin

that holds us, if the power of sin is death and

death has been undone, the power of sin is no

more. Sin no longer has power over you. My friends,

this is why we can hear testimonies of those

who have been caught in years of addiction, being

set free when their hope turns to Jesus Christ.

This is why we can hear of those who have been

captured by anger, being set free to joy when

their hope is in Jesus Christ. And the truth

is, every one of us is held captive by sin. It

takes on myriad forms. It's unique and customized.

Satan likes to customize the sin in your life

to fit you and your personality. And he's really,

really good at it. And he's customized it for

each of us. And sin would hold us tight, whether

it's anger or bitterness, envy and jealousy,

whether it's lust or greed. Whether it's a vice,

an addiction that holds us. So many other things.

Whatever it is, that is made different because

of the power of Jesus Christ. If your hope is

in Jesus Christ, that power of sin no longer

has its hold on you. And yes, we've got to work

it out. Yes, we've got to do the hard work of

turning back to God, to Christ, time and time

again. As the Holy Spirit does its work of pulling

apart that cancerous sin in our heart and life.

And helping us to desire the superior glories

of Jesus Christ in our life. But he does it.

And your future, even in this life, is made different

because of your hope in Jesus Christ. My friends,

today I ask, as Jesus asked, do you believe this?

I want you to know a church... filled with people

whose hope is in Jesus Christ, and they know

the power of how Jesus can make things different.

That is a powerful force in a community. A force

that looks out at the community around them and

doesn't see those sinners stuck out there making

bad decisions. We might not want to let them

get too close to them, but instead says, our

Father can change them. Let us go to them. If

God can change me, He can change the worst of

sinners. So let us go. Let us proclaim the profound

truth of Christ resurrected. Let us share with

them the wondrous truths that we have found and

has been shared with us. Let us go and tell the

great story of Christ to a lost and dying world.

My friends, a church that takes hold of that

will transform the community around them. So

my heart's longing and prayer for you today is,

first of all, if you don't believe these things,

that you would come to believe these things.

You could cry out to God right now and say, Lord,

I want to believe. Help my unbelief. That's a

Bible prayer, by the way. Lord, I believe. Help

my unbelief. Number two, I pray over you. The

cornerstone would be that community of believers.

transformed by the hope of the gospel, who goes

out into the community around here in Savoy and

Champaign and beyond, wherever you find yourself,

and proclaims the profound truth, hope in Jesus

Christ, to set free the captives, to bring the

lost to our Lord. Let me pray over you now. Holy

Father, I pray for this church. I pray for each

person here. I ask of you that their hope would

be in Jesus Christ, that they would hear the

glorious truths of the hope of the resurrection,

of what Lazarus saw only in a small foretaste,

we one day will taste fully. And so, Lord, I

pray that our hope would no longer be held captive

to the feebleness of this world, but would exceed

beyond our capacities. It would fill us to overflowing

and that this church would be a church that is

overjoyed with excitement to share with its community

the hope of Jesus Christ. Give them opportunities.

Give them boldness. This church would be a lighthouse

of change here and beyond. Lord, thank you for

the hope of the resurrection. Thank you for your

word today. It's in Christ's name we pray.