And Life

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.

John 11:25

Life.  So precious.  So fragile.  Every day that we wake up is another chance to get it right.  To do it over again.  When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, we’re given new life.  A do-over.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Walk with me through the sermon recap.

In John 11:25, Jesus is talking to Martha.  Her brother Lazarus died four days ago.  She sent for Jesus while Lazarus was ill.  She believed in the Lord’s saving power.  She sent for Jesus while her brother still had breath in his body.  She believed that Jesus could heal Lazarus.  And yet, Jesus did not show up until four days after Lazarus’s death.

Martha breaks tradition.  She breaks the standard routines and meets Jesus as he is coming to her home.  She doesn’t have time for protocol.  She is hurt and wants answers.  Why didn’t the Lord show up for her in her hour of need?  See Jesus had waited until there was absolutely no hope.  Well at least as far as Martha was concerned.  Jews felt that the spirit of the deceased lingered for three days.  As long as the spirit was there, hope remained.  On day four, Martha’s expectations were slim to none.  Martha’s pain is valid and expected.  Her response is natural.  And Jesus responds to her in a supernatural way.

He brings Lazarus back to life.  But before he brought Lazarus back to life, he asked Martha if she believed.  He wanted to know if she trusted Him.  He wanted to know if she believed that everything that He said was true.  Her situation did not just look dead.  It was dead.  Martha had to make the decision to believe Jesus when the circumstances screamed the opposite.  She chose faith.  She chose hope.  She believed before she saw it.

Jesus took her hopeless situation and restored her hope.  He interrupted her grieving process and gave her the opportunity to believe Him for more.  But He was not finished.  Lazarus came forth from the grave.  He was alive.  Breath had returned to his body.  But he was still bound in grave clothes.  His face was wrapped with a cloth.  What kind of life would that be?  Jesus commanded them to loose Lazarus and let him go.  Jesus desired more for Lazarus than life.  He desired that Lazarus would be free and not bound in this life.

I’m convinced that many of us are like Lazarus when he first emerges from the tomb.  We have received new life when we accepted Jesus into our hearts.  We go to church.  We do the things that look right to the world.  But we’re still bound.  We may be bound by attempting to live up to others expectations.  We may be bound by guilt, fear, or depression.  We may be bound because God is not doing the things that we want.  We may be bound by limited expectations of a limitless God.  Whatever the binding is, we’re not living the free life that Jesus desires for us.

Jesus did not die for us to just have new life.  He wants us to experience that life more abundantly.  He wants to add to our joy.  I’m compelled to trust God with all my dead situations.  Every hopeless circumstance is cast at His feet.  A supernatural God orchestrates supernatural experiences.  And life.  #wepreach

Let’s sit outside the tomb and chat awhile:

• What are the hopeless situations in your life (finances, family, health)?
• Do you believe that God performs miracles today as He did for Lazarus?
• Have you personally had a supernatural experience with God?
  • If yes, do you think back on that experience when you encounter new obstacles?
  • If no, does that weaken your expectation that God will EVER move supernaturally for you?
• Do you know others that have had a supernatural experience with God?