WEBVTT 00:00:07.769 --> 00:00:10.150 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:10.150 --> 00:00:18.070 Lifehouse Church. Hey, turn to somebody right 00:00:18.070 --> 00:00:19.989 now, give them a high five, tell them it's good 00:00:19.989 --> 00:00:22.489 to see you on a Sunday. Good to see you on a 00:00:22.489 --> 00:00:30.250 Sunday. Yeah. Excited about what God's doing, 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:33.560 what he's doing. Hey, if you would, sometime 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:36.619 today, if you would just breathe a prayer for 00:00:36.619 --> 00:00:39.520 the youth team, the youth group. They're actually 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:42.399 in Tennessee now at Winterfest. They raised funds 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.920 for that. Some of you supported that just a little 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:47.960 while back, and they are down at that conference. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:50.200 There's about 20 kids from LifeHouse that went. 00:00:50.299 --> 00:00:52.600 There's about 300 from the state of Pennsylvania 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:55.000 out of the Church of Gods that went, and there's 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.340 12 ,000 students together in Tennessee. Come 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:00.020 on, they're down there worshiping God. Yeah, 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.530 it's awesome. I don't know if you've ever been 00:01:02.530 --> 00:01:04.510 where 12 ,000 students are praising God, but 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:06.989 it's an amazing, amazing thing. I've had the 00:01:06.989 --> 00:01:08.510 opportunity to do that. So just be in prayer. 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:10.349 They're going to have service this morning, and 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:13.189 they'll be traveling back in that long drive 00:01:13.189 --> 00:01:16.370 back home, and they'll come home tired, weary, 00:01:16.709 --> 00:01:20.030 hoarse, you name it. But it'll be a great weekend 00:01:20.030 --> 00:01:21.849 for them. So we're excited about what God's doing. 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:25.260 Well, listen, we've been hanging out in the book 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:28.439 of John now for some time, and we've been leading 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:30.480 up to chapter 11, which is where we're going 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:32.640 today. And just to give you a little backstory 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:37.319 leading up to that, in chapters 9 and 10, Jesus 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.319 heals a blind man. We've heard about him several 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:42.640 times over the last few weeks. And when that 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.219 takes place, there are many people in that area 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:47.599 that believe in Jesus. They believe he's the 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:49.920 Messiah. They believe that he's the son of God. 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:52.420 But there's a group of people who don't. believe. 00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:55.379 There's Pharisees and some of the Jews who begin 00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:58.319 to argue with Jesus, and they publicly get into 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:01.200 these discussions and arguments, one after the 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.260 other, with this same group of people. And as 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:08.379 Jesus interacts with these group of unbelievers, 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:12.159 they just simply refuse to believe the indisputable 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:15.560 proof that Jesus is Lord, that He is Savior, 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:18.780 and that He's the Son of God. And this particular 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:23.419 group gets so angry They get so frustrated as 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.780 they talk with Jesus that they want to take him 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.319 out. They want to kill him. They want to stone 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.120 him to death. That's what they did back then. 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:32.919 They'd either stone you to death or take you 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:34.719 up on a cliff and throw you off. They were super 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:37.159 gentle about the whole thing, right? They were 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.919 angry. And when Jesus finally gets to the last 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:43.219 discussion with them, and it's about to end, 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:47.060 something happened, and I call it the Holy Ghost 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:49.900 whammy. How many of you ever heard of the Holy 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:55.009 Ghost whammy? Good. I just made that up. But 00:02:55.009 --> 00:02:57.050 he did, he put the Holy Ghost by me. And this 00:02:57.050 --> 00:02:59.729 happened a lot because at different times Jesus 00:02:59.729 --> 00:03:01.889 would be speaking, people would get angry, people 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:03.810 would get saved. Some people were following God, 00:03:03.870 --> 00:03:06.370 others were getting angry with them and they 00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:08.150 wanted to stone them or throw them off a cliff 00:03:08.150 --> 00:03:10.490 or do something crazy like that. And all of a 00:03:10.490 --> 00:03:12.930 sudden the Holy Spirit would move and they wouldn't 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:14.949 be able to see Jesus. He'd be right in front 00:03:14.949 --> 00:03:17.009 of them and he would just walk right out of the 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:19.250 crowd. He walks through the crowd. I call it 00:03:19.250 --> 00:03:21.310 the Holy Ghost whammy. And that's what took place. 00:03:21.490 --> 00:03:24.150 Jesus walks away and him and his disciples, meet 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:26.210 up again and they decide they're done all together 00:03:26.210 --> 00:03:28.509 ministering in this place with this group of 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:30.689 people. And they finally make the decision to 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:33.509 move on to minister somewhere else. And they 00:03:33.509 --> 00:03:36.389 head to the area where John the Baptist was originally 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.789 seen in scripture. When Jesus actually came to 00:03:39.789 --> 00:03:42.330 John the Baptist to be water baptized, they go 00:03:42.330 --> 00:03:45.840 to this area that's called Beth Tadbarah. I probably 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.819 pronounced that wrong. For all of you that are 00:03:47.819 --> 00:03:49.800 about pronunciation, you can look it up and correct 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.620 me later. Send me an email. But this was located 00:03:52.620 --> 00:03:54.900 just on the other side of the Jordan River, and 00:03:54.900 --> 00:03:57.400 it was likely on the eastern bank opposite Jericho. 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.240 And it identified as the place of crossing. And 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:03.500 this is where the disciples in Jesus end up. 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:05.539 And the scriptures say that they begin to minister 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:09.000 there, and many people believe. Many people believe 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:10.960 that he's the Messiah. Many people believe in 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.300 Jesus. He does miracles. And while they're ministering 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:16.759 in this place, in this particular place where 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.319 John the Baptist had been baptizing, word comes 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.800 to Jesus from a town that's nearby called Bethany. 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:27.240 It's about a day's journey away. And the news 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:32.540 is this, your friend Lazarus is sick. He is ill. 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.069 He's very sick. And that's what we're going to 00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:36.889 pick up in John chapter 11. So if you've got 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:39.089 your Bibles, turn to John chapter 11. While you're 00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:40.350 turning there, we're going to start at verse 00:04:40.350 --> 00:04:42.449 1. I'm going to pray over the reading of God's 00:04:42.449 --> 00:04:44.389 word. And actually, I'm going to pray over your 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:46.610 hearing, your listening, and our hearts. Amen. 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:48.629 Father, thank you for this day. I thank you for 00:04:48.629 --> 00:04:50.649 the opportunity, Lord, to come into your word. 00:04:50.829 --> 00:04:53.889 God, to read and to learn. And God, most of all, 00:04:53.889 --> 00:04:56.209 to see you. So Lord, as we go into your word, 00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:58.509 write it on our hearts, speak it into our minds 00:04:58.509 --> 00:05:00.569 and our spirit. Holy Spirit, we ask right now, 00:05:00.629 --> 00:05:02.990 you just stir it up within us. And Lord, we just 00:05:02.990 --> 00:05:05.660 give you praise. and glory in Jesus' name. Everybody 00:05:05.660 --> 00:05:08.899 say it together. Amen. Amen. John chapter 11 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.399 verse 1 says this, Now that a certain man was 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:15.439 sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.040 her sister Martha, it was that Mary who anointed 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.120 the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.839 with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:27.600 Therefore the sisters sent to him. Right? They 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.879 send word to Jesus. This is a family. It's Lazarus. 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.139 It's Mary. It's Martha. They live in the same 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:36.139 household. They're siblings. And Laz gets sick, 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:39.199 and they send word to Jesus, who's about a day's 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:41.639 journey away. And it's saying, Lord, behold, 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:45.439 he whom you love is sick. Your friend, your good 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.220 friend is sick. They send a message to Jesus. 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:51.160 And when Mary and Martha send this message to 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.639 Jesus, it isn't just informational in nature. 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:57.089 It's an invitation for Jesus to come because 00:05:57.089 --> 00:05:58.810 they know that the power of God works through 00:05:58.810 --> 00:06:01.750 him. They know that if Jesus comes, Lazarus is 00:06:01.750 --> 00:06:03.490 going to get better because Jesus can heal him. 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:06.430 Verse 4 says, then when Jesus heard that, he 00:06:06.430 --> 00:06:10.389 said, this sickness is not unto death, but for 00:06:10.389 --> 00:06:15.149 the glory. Say glory. Glory. Now, I grew up in 00:06:15.149 --> 00:06:17.709 a Pentecostal church. We are a Pentecostal denomination. 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:20.129 And we used to have these individuals when you 00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:22.149 were preaching, they'd say amen. And there was 00:06:22.149 --> 00:06:24.629 this one guy in particular, he would say glory. 00:06:25.050 --> 00:06:26.689 But he wouldn't just say glory. He had one of 00:06:26.689 --> 00:06:29.730 those nice, deep, bass voices. And he'd go, glory. 00:06:31.410 --> 00:06:33.189 Turn to your neighbor and do that one time. Come 00:06:33.189 --> 00:06:35.050 on, just give it a shot. Just give them a glory. 00:06:35.750 --> 00:06:38.490 All right? If it was something he liked in Scripture, 00:06:38.750 --> 00:06:41.529 he'd just go, glory, right? Well, this sickness 00:06:41.529 --> 00:06:44.930 is not unto death, but it is for the glory of 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:47.949 God, that the Son of God might be glorified through 00:06:47.949 --> 00:06:51.310 it. And when Jesus heard this, right, when Jesus 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:55.199 hears the news, He tells his disciples, this 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.620 sickness isn't for death. It doesn't have the 00:06:57.620 --> 00:06:59.379 purpose of death. This is not a sickness that's 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:02.300 going to lead to death. And he just says this 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.839 specifically to them. Now, this is an interesting 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:06.980 statement to make because how many know death 00:07:06.980 --> 00:07:09.980 is kind of a final thing, right? If you know 00:07:09.980 --> 00:07:12.319 anything about death, when death comes, it kind 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.500 of means that you're done. You're finished. I 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.639 say it finito, right? You could be humorous and 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.079 say you're headed for the dirt nap. Okay, some 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:22.819 of you will catch up with that later. All right, 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:26.560 when you die, it's a final thing. And it's interesting 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:30.120 that Jesus says this isn't unto death because 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:31.660 I'm going to give you a little spoiler alert. 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:36.680 Lazarus dies. He says this very thing. And the 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:39.199 statement that Jesus make is super interesting 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:42.160 because we know the rest of the story. If you're 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:43.819 familiar with the scripture, I know the rest 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:47.699 of the story. You may not, but four days, Lazarus 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:50.199 dies and he's four days dead before Jesus even 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:54.300 gets there. And Jesus says, this sickness isn't 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:57.720 unto death. Even though Jesus knows that Lazarus 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:01.740 is going to die. Why did he say that? I mean, 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.160 did Jesus lie here? I don't think so. Jesus never 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:07.980 sinned. Was he just trying to think positive 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:10.360 and wanted his 12 disciples not to get worried, 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:13.139 so he just said something positive, right? Did 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:15.439 he not just want to be a downer in the whole 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:19.740 discussion? Why would Jesus say this? It's because 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:24.560 of this. Death is a chronic condition. Death 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:28.180 is a final thing. When you're dead, it's over. 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:32.019 It's done. It's finito. Say finito. Yeah, you're 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:34.080 done. It's like done, done. You don't recover 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:36.779 from death. You don't die and then you go to 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:39.080 the doctor or somebody goes to the doctor for 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:41.279 you because you can't and they get you a prescription. 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:43.039 They come in and dump it into your mouth and 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:44.580 all of a sudden you come back alive. That's not 00:08:44.580 --> 00:08:47.240 how it works. We all know that. You don't bounce 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:49.620 back. You don't recuperate from death. It's a 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:52.679 final thing. And death had to this point in time 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.100 from the beginning of time when sin first got 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:57.799 introduced and death came on the scene. Up until 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:00.960 this time, death was a chronic condition. It 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.299 was irreversible condition until Jesus, until 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:07.340 Jesus came. That would have been a great place 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:09.919 for you to go like glory, all right? Seriously, 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:13.000 until Jesus. When Jesus showed up on the earth, 00:09:13.100 --> 00:09:17.259 death shifted from chronic to acute. It is not 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.879 chronic with Jesus. When death is around and 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.980 Jesus shows up, death has to flee. Life begins 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:25.419 to take over. We're heading into Easter season. 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.340 It's what it's all about. Jesus came out of the 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:31.080 grave, and Jesus knew this. He knew this about 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:33.940 himself. So he said, this sickness is not unto 00:09:33.940 --> 00:09:36.500 death, but for the glory of God, that the Son 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:39.940 of God might be glorified through it. The disciples 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:42.299 didn't know that Lazarus was dead. They're thinking 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:44.259 he's just sick and he's going to recover. But 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:46.679 Jesus is thinking, I'm about to reverse the curse. 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:50.000 I'm about to change what took place in the garden. 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.899 I'm about to overcome death in the grave. It 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:55.480 is no longer going to be an acute, a chronic 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:57.360 thing. It's going to be acute thing. And when 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:02.080 I show up, right, there's going to be life. Going 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:03.480 to be life. That's another great spot. You can 00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:05.000 say glory. I'm going to get you in this yet. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:08.000 All right. There it is. All right. Verse 5 says 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.620 this. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:13.299 Mary and Lazarus. They were close friends. They 00:10:13.299 --> 00:10:16.019 were family friends. So when he heard that Laz, 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.419 right, he was sick, he, Jesus, stayed two more 00:10:19.419 --> 00:10:23.100 days in the place where he was. Jesus is a day's 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:26.000 journey from where Lazarus is. Jesus gets the 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:29.340 news. with the disciples that Lazarus is sick, 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.100 and Jesus doesn't rush off to see Lazarus. He 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:34.740 doesn't head that direction, even though he got 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:38.580 word. He stays where he's at two days longer 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:42.980 on purpose. He and the Father have a plan. He, 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.299 the Father, and the Holy Spirit are about to 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:47.659 show the world that Jesus not only has the power 00:10:47.659 --> 00:10:50.379 over nature, he does not only have power over 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:53.620 the demonic, he doesn't only have power to speak 00:10:53.620 --> 00:10:57.039 things into existence, but he has power Over 00:10:57.039 --> 00:11:00.419 death as well. Death, hell, and the grave. Verse 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:02.860 7 said this. Then after this, he said to his 00:11:02.860 --> 00:11:06.279 disciples, let's go to Judea again. That's where 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.519 Bethany's at. Let's head there. Two days go by. 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:12.200 The disciples said to him, Rabbi, lately the 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.240 Jews, now they just think Lazarus is still sick, 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:17.000 lately the Jews sought to stone you, and you're 00:11:17.000 --> 00:11:20.840 going there again? Jesus answered, are there 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.220 not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the 00:11:24.220 --> 00:11:27.159 day, he does not stumble, because he sees the 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.139 light of this world. But if one walks in the 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:32.820 night, he stumbles, because the light is not 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.639 in him. These things he said, and after this 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.720 he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:43.039 I go that I may wake him up. The disciples still 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.100 don't know, right? Lazarus is dead at this point, 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:49.179 long dead. And they just think he's sick. And 00:11:49.179 --> 00:11:51.779 Jesus doesn't, he doesn't fill him in on everything. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.299 In fact, at this point, he's just kind of underplaying 00:11:54.299 --> 00:11:57.440 the whole thing. Lazarus is sleeping, and I'm 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.259 going to go wake him up. And I can see the disciples, 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.919 they're probably confused. They're probably thinking, 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:04.299 well, Jesus, you know, he's got two sisters. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.860 If he's taking a nap, I'm pretty sure they could 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:09.820 shake him, right? They can wake him up. Why do 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.039 we got to go there? What's that got to do with 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:14.419 anything? So the disciples, I can see them in 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:16.720 their confusion. They give their best response 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:19.759 in verse 12. Then his disciples said, Lord, if 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.340 he sleeps, he'll get well, right? How many know 00:12:21.340 --> 00:12:23.940 if you sleep, you get better, right? First thing 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:26.379 you do, go sleep. However, Jesus spoke of his 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:28.360 death, but they thought that he was speaking 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.019 about taking rest in his sleep. And then Jesus 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:33.830 drops the bomb on the disciples. He just tells 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:36.289 them plainly. Verse 14 says, then Jesus said 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:40.509 to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I'm glad 00:12:40.509 --> 00:12:42.629 for your sakes that I was not there that you 00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:45.850 might believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:49.279 They're stunned. They're confused. They're thinking 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:52.080 Lazarus is just sick and sleeping. Jesus said 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:55.799 this isn't unto death. Lazarus is now dead. Jesus 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:57.659 just told them they're dead. They're thinking 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:00.519 in their minds, wait a minute. You said he was 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:02.720 sleeping. You said he wasn't going to die. Now 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.480 he's dead. You're telling us he's dead. How many 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:06.980 know sometimes you don't even know what to say, 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:09.440 right, in a conversation? I can see the disciples 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:11.350 just standing there like. I don't even know what 00:13:11.350 --> 00:13:13.710 to say. Have you ever been in a conversation, 00:13:13.889 --> 00:13:15.250 and it went somewhere, and you're just like, 00:13:15.330 --> 00:13:17.350 you don't even know what to say next? Anybody 00:13:17.350 --> 00:13:18.990 else other than me just stand there with this 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:21.049 confused look on your face in a conversation, 00:13:21.210 --> 00:13:24.990 right? And then Thomas, and when you have that, 00:13:25.070 --> 00:13:27.730 sometimes you say whatever comes to your mind. 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:29.389 And I think that's what happens with Thomas here, 00:13:29.429 --> 00:13:31.490 because in verse 16 it says, then Thomas, who's 00:13:31.490 --> 00:13:33.649 one of the 12 disciples, who's called the twins, 00:13:33.730 --> 00:13:36.389 said to the fellow disciples, let us go, that 00:13:36.389 --> 00:13:43.019 we may die with them. What? Right? What? I can 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:46.220 see the other 11 like, huh? You know, he says 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:48.340 this thing. And maybe, I don't know, maybe Thomas 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:50.720 was like, you know, this must be a whole Jesus 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:54.179 metaphor. You know, maybe there's some deep spiritual 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:55.840 thing that we're going to learn. So let's just 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.019 go. Let's go die with them. You know, maybe he 00:13:58.019 --> 00:13:59.919 thought it was a metaphor of some kind. Maybe 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.799 he thought it was like a parable kind of thing. 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:03.659 I'm not sure what was happening. But let's go 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:07.740 die. Woo -hoo! That's what happened. And I wonder, 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:09.539 I think these things, I'm reading the shares, 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:12.379 I'm thinking, did the other 11 just stand there 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:14.320 with this weird, awkward silence for a long period 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.779 of time after this whole interaction? I don't 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:20.259 know. Maybe they just stood there and shook their 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:23.500 heads. They were confused. More than likely. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:28.700 17 says this. So when Jesus came, came to Bethany, 00:14:28.740 --> 00:14:31.940 he found that he had already been, Lazarus had 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.360 already been in the tomb four days. Say four 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:38.500 days. That's dead, all right? Now, Bethany was 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:40.779 near Jerusalem, about two miles away, and many 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:43.179 of the Jews had joined the women around Martha 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:46.659 and Mary to comfort them and their brother. Now, 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.820 Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, 00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:53.519 went and met him, but Mary was still sitting 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.370 in the house. Jesus gets close to where they 00:14:56.370 --> 00:14:59.629 live. He's late. He missed the funeral. Lazarus 00:14:59.629 --> 00:15:02.690 is already in the grave, and Martha comes out 00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:06.690 to meet Jesus, and Mary stays in the house. And 00:15:06.690 --> 00:15:08.889 I feel like you need a little backstory here 00:15:08.889 --> 00:15:12.210 to truly understand the family dynamic with Mary, 00:15:12.330 --> 00:15:14.549 Martha, and Lazarus, because they're mentioned 00:15:14.549 --> 00:15:17.210 in another place in Scripture. At another point 00:15:17.210 --> 00:15:20.889 in time, Jesus was actually at their house ministering, 00:15:20.889 --> 00:15:24.250 and the house was full of people as Jesus ministered. 00:15:24.309 --> 00:15:27.570 And when this particular scenario took place, 00:15:27.789 --> 00:15:30.950 Martha, who I think is the firstborn, I can't 00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:33.149 confirm that, but I'm thinking she has to be 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:35.250 the firstborn. She's running around the house, 00:15:35.350 --> 00:15:37.730 and she's getting everybody iced tea. She's making 00:15:37.730 --> 00:15:39.870 sure everybody's got water. She's making sure 00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:42.629 the ice bucket's completely full. She's got snacks 00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:45.230 on the table. She's running here. She's running 00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:48.110 there. taking care of everybody. Mary has to 00:15:48.110 --> 00:15:51.029 be the baby of the family, right? She's sitting 00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:54.370 at Jesus' feet just listening. And Martha keeps 00:15:54.370 --> 00:15:56.929 running around and running around, and Mary just 00:15:56.929 --> 00:15:59.370 keeps listening to Jesus teach. And finally, 00:15:59.429 --> 00:16:02.470 Martha gets so frustrated with her sister that 00:16:02.470 --> 00:16:05.509 she tells Jesus, now I'm paraphrasing, Jesus, 00:16:05.610 --> 00:16:08.009 please tell my sister to get some enthusiasm 00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:11.250 and get up and help me. Help me take care of 00:16:11.250 --> 00:16:13.750 all these people. And Jesus looks at Martha and 00:16:13.750 --> 00:16:16.450 says, Martha, you are busy about many things, 00:16:16.529 --> 00:16:19.389 but you're missing the one thing, the one important 00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:22.990 thing, and that's listening to me. That's what 00:16:22.990 --> 00:16:27.909 happens in this story. And if you read that story, 00:16:28.049 --> 00:16:31.009 Martha kind of gets a bad rap, right? She seems 00:16:31.009 --> 00:16:33.669 like the spiritually shallow one. And Mary's 00:16:33.669 --> 00:16:36.509 the one who's sitting at Jesus' feet, just listening. 00:16:36.690 --> 00:16:39.210 And Martha's just concerned about all this stuff. 00:16:39.529 --> 00:16:42.149 But as you read these different scenarios, and 00:16:42.149 --> 00:16:43.970 as I read about Martha, I realize something about 00:16:43.970 --> 00:16:46.490 Martha. Martha's kind of large and in charge. 00:16:46.649 --> 00:16:48.870 I think she was the firstborn. I think she took 00:16:48.870 --> 00:16:51.149 care of business. And even at this particular 00:16:51.149 --> 00:16:53.529 scenario, when Jesus is coming near Bethany, 00:16:53.669 --> 00:16:56.360 she's the first one out. of the house, and she 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.539 comes to meet Jesus one -on -one, right? Mary's 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.779 just in there with the mourners. She's sad. She's 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:03.700 in there, and she comes out of the house. I think 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:05.759 she was taking up business. Her brother has died. 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:08.539 You know, somebody has to be in charge. Somebody's 00:17:08.539 --> 00:17:10.460 got to take care. And she comes out and meets 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:14.039 Jesus, who's their good friend, and is four days 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:19.299 late. Funeral was over. Lazarus is already sealed 00:17:19.299 --> 00:17:22.779 up in the grave. And verse 21 says, now Martha 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:24.920 said, and I think this is a great scripture, 00:17:25.059 --> 00:17:27.220 one of the most amazing verses in the Bible. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.559 Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you would 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:33.019 have been here, my brother would not have died. 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:36.799 But even now, I know that whatever you ask of 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:40.579 God, God will give it to you. This is Martha 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:42.539 talking. I think it's one of the most amazing 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:44.680 verses because I think it's one of the most authentic 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.299 verses of how somebody feels. I think Martha, 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:51.279 I don't know, again, I wasn't there, but I think 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.019 Martha was half mad at Jesus. I think she was 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:56.380 half ticked off that he didn't get there, right? 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.539 He didn't get there to heal her brother. Her 00:17:58.539 --> 00:18:01.299 brother's in the grave because Jesus didn't show 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:03.859 up in time and he didn't come right away at their 00:18:03.859 --> 00:18:07.079 word. And I think she's half mad at Jesus and 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:09.519 in her grief and in her pain and her frustration 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:13.559 and in Jesus' tardiness, right? She feels the 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:18.150 cost of her brother passing away. But she follows 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:21.630 up that statement with a complete statement of 00:18:21.630 --> 00:18:25.950 faith in Jesus. She says, but even now, I know 00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:30.069 whatever you ask of God, God will give it to 00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:34.329 you. Right? Even now, whatever you ask of God 00:18:34.329 --> 00:18:37.109 the Father, God will give it. I don't know what 00:18:37.109 --> 00:18:38.869 you're going to do, Jesus. I don't know what 00:18:38.869 --> 00:18:40.470 it's going to look like at this point because 00:18:40.470 --> 00:18:43.109 it all seems too late. But whatever you ask, 00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:46.450 whatever you say, it's going to happen. This 00:18:46.450 --> 00:18:52.269 is deep, deep faith. She had faith that if Jesus 00:18:52.269 --> 00:18:55.630 would have showed up before Lazarus died, that 00:18:55.630 --> 00:18:58.789 Lazarus would still be alive. She also had faith 00:18:58.789 --> 00:19:01.890 that after Lazarus did die and it's four days 00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:05.109 late, that whatever Jesus says is going to happen 00:19:05.109 --> 00:19:08.680 is going to happen. She's talking faith. All 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.940 the way in her hurt, in her frustration, right? 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:14.380 In her pain. And you can hear it. You can hear 00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:17.299 it in her. If we want to witness the glory of 00:19:17.299 --> 00:19:19.960 God in our lives, we got to start making great 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:26.019 statements of faith in Jesus. Can I say it again? 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:27.319 That would have been another good place for glory. 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:30.500 All right? I got glory myself. All right? If 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:33.019 we want to witness the glory of God in our lives, 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:36.859 start making great statements of faith in Jesus. 00:19:37.869 --> 00:19:41.109 I've already given you the spoiler alert. Lazarus' 00:19:41.109 --> 00:19:44.589 death, right, is not chronic. It's not. He's 00:19:44.589 --> 00:19:47.210 about to come out of the grave. Martha doesn't 00:19:47.210 --> 00:19:51.009 know it yet, but she's believing Jesus that anything 00:19:51.009 --> 00:19:55.170 is possible. If we want the glory of God to show 00:19:55.170 --> 00:19:57.970 up in our lives, in the difficult situation, 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:00.470 if we want the hand of God, the purpose of God, 00:20:00.589 --> 00:20:03.029 the plan of God to unfold, I've got to start 00:20:03.029 --> 00:20:05.680 making great statements of faith. I got to start 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.519 speaking it before I ever see it. I got to start 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.420 making statements of faith and releasing them 00:20:10.420 --> 00:20:12.700 into the atmosphere around me. I got to make 00:20:12.700 --> 00:20:15.079 statements of faith when it doesn't make any 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.700 sense, right? When it's already dead and gone, 00:20:17.819 --> 00:20:20.500 right? When it seems like it's all over. I got 00:20:20.500 --> 00:20:23.079 to make statements of faith that Jesus can do 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:25.299 anything. I got to make statements of faith when 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:27.680 I'm hurting and when I'm frustrated. I got to 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.799 make statements of faith when I feel it and when 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.049 I don't feel it. I got to make those statements 00:20:34.049 --> 00:20:39.269 of faith. When I can't see my way forward, when 00:20:39.269 --> 00:20:42.609 it's hard, when the pain of whatever you're walking 00:20:42.609 --> 00:20:45.609 through is almost more than you can bear. And 00:20:45.609 --> 00:20:50.609 even if I'm half mad at Jesus, like Martha was, 00:20:50.849 --> 00:20:56.289 even if I'm half mad, she's making declarations 00:20:56.289 --> 00:21:00.309 of faith in Jesus. Whatever you say, Jesus, is 00:21:00.309 --> 00:21:04.680 going to happen. It's already done. It's already 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:08.319 done. She doesn't ask Jesus to raise her brother 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:10.960 from the dead. She just says, Jesus, whatever 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:13.839 your will and purpose is, I'm trusting in that. 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.720 I believe whatever you do, whatever you say. 00:21:17.390 --> 00:21:22.309 There is no deeper faith in God than to make 00:21:22.309 --> 00:21:24.650 this statement, I don't know what's happening, 00:21:24.750 --> 00:21:26.690 Jesus. I don't know how this is all going to 00:21:26.690 --> 00:21:28.470 work out. I don't know how this is all going 00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:30.349 to go, but I trust you with everything that's 00:21:30.349 --> 00:21:33.630 in me. And I lay it in your hands, and I know 00:21:33.630 --> 00:21:36.470 that you can do whatever. Whether it seems impossible 00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:39.710 or not, you can do it. That is the greatest statement 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:45.109 of faith. And Martha has faith in Jesus. Amen? 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:51.140 And this faith continues, continues. Listen, 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:55.319 John 11, 23, Jesus said to her. Your brother 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.619 will rise again. Martha said to him, I know he 00:21:57.619 --> 00:21:59.579 will rise again in the resurrection at the last 00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:01.960 day. Right? She's still wrestling. I know, Jesus. 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:03.839 I know. I'm sure I can believe it for now. But 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:05.420 I know one day he's going to rise, right? One 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:07.380 day we're all going to go to heaven. If you're 00:22:07.380 --> 00:22:09.519 redeemed, I know my brother will rise. I know 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:11.599 he'll get there. You can hear it again. And it 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:16.420 reminds me of a story in Mark 9, verse 23, about 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:18.980 a guy who was in the same kind of position. Because 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:21.640 in Mark chapter 9, 23, there's a man who has 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:25.819 a son who has a condition where this son has 00:22:25.819 --> 00:22:30.079 actually got a spirit that's plaguing him. A 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:34.359 spirit that begins to... urged this son to act 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.900 out. And this boy, he gnashes his teeth. He falls 00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:40.380 on the ground. He throws himself in the fire 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:42.940 at times. He throws himself down on the ground 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:46.079 at times. He even, and this dad doesn't know 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.859 what to do. The word of God says that this boy 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:50.920 even, the demon that plagues him tries to throw 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:52.380 him in the fire and tries to throw him in the 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:54.960 water both. And they bring him to Jesus' disciples 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.680 and the disciples can't do anything. And this 00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.799 desperate father comes to the disciples so that 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:03.519 this boy is healed. and it doesn't happen. So 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:06.019 they bring him to Jesus and look what Jesus says. 00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:08.720 And Jesus said to him, if you can believe all 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.500 things are possible to him who believes. And 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:13.779 immediately the father of the child cried out 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:17.619 and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Then he 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:21.140 said, help my unbelief. Anybody ever feel that 00:23:21.140 --> 00:23:26.619 way? Lord, I believe. Oh, help my unbelief. Do 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:29.119 you hear the struggle? That's what Martha was 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:33.369 in. This is us sometimes. It was Martha in the 00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:35.069 middle of the emotion. It was this desperate 00:23:35.069 --> 00:23:37.109 father. And sometimes it's us. I want to keep 00:23:37.109 --> 00:23:39.789 making statements of faith, but man, I struggle 00:23:39.789 --> 00:23:42.170 sometimes. The thought comes into my head. The 00:23:42.170 --> 00:23:44.569 doubt starts to creep in there, right? Lord, 00:23:44.609 --> 00:23:47.829 I believe, but help my own belief. And Jesus 00:23:47.829 --> 00:23:51.930 says to Martha in 25, 11, 25, I am the resurrection 00:23:51.930 --> 00:23:54.210 of life. He who believes in me, though he may 00:23:54.210 --> 00:23:56.849 die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes 00:23:56.849 --> 00:24:00.109 in me shall never die. Do you believe this? He's 00:24:00.109 --> 00:24:02.349 challenging her again. He sees the faith in her. 00:24:02.450 --> 00:24:04.509 She said, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the 00:24:04.509 --> 00:24:07.150 Christ, the Son of God who has come into the 00:24:07.150 --> 00:24:09.269 world. She just keeps making statement of faith 00:24:09.269 --> 00:24:11.970 after statement of faith after statement of faith. 00:24:12.150 --> 00:24:14.849 She's one after the other. You are the Christ. 00:24:15.049 --> 00:24:18.609 You are the one. She keeps speaking it. She hasn't 00:24:18.609 --> 00:24:21.670 seen it yet, but she's believing it. How many 00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.069 know we tend to complain instead of making a 00:24:24.069 --> 00:24:25.789 statement of faith when things are going crazy, 00:24:26.009 --> 00:24:30.069 right? I don't know about you, but it is easy 00:24:30.069 --> 00:24:32.630 for a complaint to roll off my mouth when things 00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:35.549 aren't going well. I wish, and I'm going to start 00:24:35.549 --> 00:24:38.069 checking myself, I need to stop and make a statement 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:40.349 of faith. When things are sideways, when things 00:24:40.349 --> 00:24:42.670 are going awry, when things are a mess, you got 00:24:42.670 --> 00:24:45.769 to stop and make a statement of faith. And you 00:24:45.769 --> 00:24:50.930 hear it in her words. You hear it. And I know 00:24:50.930 --> 00:24:52.789 whatever God's going to do, it's going to be 00:24:52.789 --> 00:24:54.809 right. It's going to be good. It's going to be 00:24:54.809 --> 00:24:58.130 God. Dixie said it this morning. She didn't look 00:24:58.130 --> 00:25:01.210 at my message notes, by the way. Expecting God's 00:25:01.210 --> 00:25:04.089 glory to show up in the middle of the mess is 00:25:04.089 --> 00:25:08.750 faith in Jesus. Expectation. What is your expectation? 00:25:09.390 --> 00:25:12.329 If you're not sure of the outcome, what are you 00:25:12.329 --> 00:25:15.109 expecting God to do? Did you come in the house 00:25:15.109 --> 00:25:18.140 this morning expecting God to do anything? Or 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:20.240 did you just walk in here and figure, ah, it's 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:22.599 Sunday. This is what I do on a Sunday. I get 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:24.319 up. I go to church. I hopefully hear something 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:26.599 that perks me up a little bit. I'm going to go 00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:29.380 home, have a good lunch, take a nap, and get 00:25:29.380 --> 00:25:31.220 back up Monday and start all over again. Right? 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:33.599 That's what we do. Or did you come in expecting 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.799 God to do something? Did you expect God to shake 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.039 heaven and earth, right? And I'm not telling 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:42.200 you it's your words are the only thing that moves 00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:44.960 God. God's sovereign, man. He can move and do 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:47.460 anything He pleases anytime He wants. He is supreme. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:50.039 That's what sovereign means. He is supreme. He 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:52.299 is all -powerful. He can move anytime He chooses. 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:55.559 But I can tell you that it is more likely that 00:25:55.559 --> 00:25:57.960 God's glory is going to show up, that God's going 00:25:57.960 --> 00:25:59.759 to move, that He's going to shake heaven and 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:02.500 earth when you're speaking statements of faith. 00:26:02.819 --> 00:26:05.789 It is all through God's Word. You can go into 00:26:05.789 --> 00:26:09.630 Matthew 13, 53, and it'll describe a scenario 00:26:09.630 --> 00:26:12.730 where Jesus travels into his own country, to 00:26:12.730 --> 00:26:15.250 his hometown, right? This isn't my hometown. 00:26:16.049 --> 00:26:18.730 I could go back to my hometown of Wimber. Jesus 00:26:18.730 --> 00:26:22.250 does that in Matthew 12, 53. He goes back to 00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:24.269 his hometown. And do you know what happens when 00:26:24.269 --> 00:26:27.069 he goes there? He preaches the word. He heals 00:26:27.069 --> 00:26:29.170 a couple people. But the word of God says that 00:26:29.170 --> 00:26:31.109 the people that are there, that know him, they're 00:26:31.109 --> 00:26:35.009 like, Jesus, Jesus, I remember Jesus. I know 00:26:35.009 --> 00:26:38.549 his brothers, right? His brothers. I know James 00:26:38.549 --> 00:26:41.269 and Joseph and Simon and Judas. And his sisters 00:26:41.269 --> 00:26:43.390 are actually right here with us right now. And 00:26:43.390 --> 00:26:46.069 I remember this guy. His dad was a carpenter, 00:26:46.069 --> 00:26:49.170 Joseph. And, oh, his mom. I remember his mom. 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:52.109 He was the one that doesn't look like all the 00:26:52.109 --> 00:26:58.369 other kids because, well, yeah. Jesus goes to 00:26:58.369 --> 00:27:01.750 his hometown, and they start talking. And the 00:27:01.750 --> 00:27:05.349 word of God says that he did a few, only a few 00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:08.549 miracles there because they were offended at 00:27:08.549 --> 00:27:11.710 him. They weren't speaking statements of faith. 00:27:12.170 --> 00:27:15.150 They were speaking doubt. They were complaining. 00:27:16.089 --> 00:27:20.349 And he leaves his hometown and he's in very little 00:27:20.349 --> 00:27:22.990 ministry there because the word of God says in 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:30.309 57, because of their unbelief. Unbelief. We don't 00:27:30.309 --> 00:27:33.210 give Martha near enough credit, do we? We always 00:27:33.210 --> 00:27:34.849 look at her as the busy bee that was running 00:27:34.849 --> 00:27:39.309 around the house. She was a woman of faith. She 00:27:39.309 --> 00:27:41.930 was a woman of great faith. I used to say I wanted 00:27:41.930 --> 00:27:44.849 to be married. Not anymore. If I was going to 00:27:44.849 --> 00:27:46.230 be somebody like somebody, I'd want to be more 00:27:46.230 --> 00:27:49.470 like Martha. Martha was a woman of faith. She 00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:52.789 spoke faith when it was hard. She spoke faith 00:27:52.789 --> 00:27:55.069 when she needed to. Praise him if you'd come. 00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:57.859 And as they're coming, I got to read you the 00:27:57.859 --> 00:28:01.059 rest of the story because I know I already told 00:28:01.059 --> 00:28:02.559 you what's going to happen, but I got to read 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:06.299 it anyway. John 11, 28 says this. When she had 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:08.539 said these things, she went her way and secretly 00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:11.819 called Mary, her sister, saying, the teacher 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:14.900 has come and he's calling for you. Jesus comes 00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:17.079 and now he's calling for Mary. As soon as she 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:19.359 heard that, she arose quickly and came to him. 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:22.220 Now Jesus had not yet come into town, but was 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:24.730 in the place where Martha met him. And when the 00:28:24.730 --> 00:28:27.950 Jews who were with her in the house and comforting 00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:30.769 her, and when they saw that Mary rose up quickly 00:28:30.769 --> 00:28:32.869 and went out of the house, followed her saying, 00:28:33.130 --> 00:28:35.910 she's going to the tomb to weep there. And when 00:28:35.910 --> 00:28:39.089 Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, now 00:28:39.089 --> 00:28:41.309 this is younger sister, right? Well, at least 00:28:41.309 --> 00:28:42.990 I think she was younger. The one that was in 00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:45.549 the house, she fell down at his feet saying to 00:28:45.549 --> 00:28:47.789 him, Lord, if you'd have been here, my brother 00:28:47.789 --> 00:28:51.049 would have not died. She says the exact same 00:28:51.049 --> 00:28:54.440 thing Martha said to Jesus. Lord, if you'd have 00:28:54.440 --> 00:28:57.180 been here, he wouldn't have died. She's half 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:59.420 ticked off too. They probably had a talk, right? 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:03.400 Now listen to 33. Therefore, when Jesus saw her 00:29:03.400 --> 00:29:06.160 weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:10.339 he groaned in his spirit and was troubled. Do 00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:12.559 you know the difference between Mary and Martha? 00:29:14.419 --> 00:29:16.960 Martha came, said the exact same thing. Lord, 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:18.240 if you'd have been here, my brother would be 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:21.160 alive. Martha, Mary says the same thing, but 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:23.099 Martha followed up with a statement of faith 00:29:23.099 --> 00:29:26.200 right after it. Lord, I know that you can do 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:28.119 anything, and if you say the word, it's going 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:30.960 to happen. Mary shows up, says the exact same 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.339 phrase, but no statement of faith afterward, 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:37.339 and Jesus groans in his spirit. Mary comes with 00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:39.480 a bunch of mourners, and people are weeping, 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:43.779 and Jesus groans. And verse 34 says, and he, 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:46.339 Jesus said, where have you laid him? And they 00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:49.059 said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. 00:29:49.259 --> 00:29:51.380 When the Jews said, now listen, Jesus did not 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:55.400 weep because of Lazarus' death. He was weeping 00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:57.480 because of the lack of faith of those who were 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:00.480 following along. And then Jews said, see how 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:02.819 he loved him. And some of them said, could not 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:05.420 this man who opened his eyes to the blind also 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:07.880 kept this man from dying? Do you hear a statement 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:10.450 of faith there? That's doubt, right? Well, there 00:30:10.450 --> 00:30:12.349 he is, that guy, if he'd have been here, right? 00:30:12.569 --> 00:30:16.430 It would have happened. Then Jesus, again, groaning 00:30:16.430 --> 00:30:20.549 in himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, 00:30:20.549 --> 00:30:23.069 and the stone lay against it. Jesus said, take 00:30:23.069 --> 00:30:25.329 away the stone, Martha. And Martha and sister 00:30:25.329 --> 00:30:28.170 of him who was dead said to him, Lord, by this 00:30:28.170 --> 00:30:30.829 time, there's a stench, for he's been dead for 00:30:30.829 --> 00:30:33.109 four days. Martha can't help herself. She's always 00:30:33.109 --> 00:30:35.789 about the details. Jesus says, roll the stone 00:30:35.789 --> 00:30:37.950 away. Martha's like, Lord, it's going to stink. 00:30:38.449 --> 00:30:40.789 He's been dead for four days in there, funeral's 00:30:40.789 --> 00:30:45.150 over, right? But Jesus said to her, next verse, 00:30:45.289 --> 00:30:47.690 Jesus said to her, did I not say to you that 00:30:47.690 --> 00:30:49.569 if you would believe, you would see the glory 00:30:49.569 --> 00:30:53.029 of God, right? And they took away the stone from 00:30:53.029 --> 00:30:55.529 that place where the dead man was lying, and 00:30:55.529 --> 00:30:58.210 Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I 00:30:58.210 --> 00:31:00.650 thank you that you have heard me. I know that 00:31:00.650 --> 00:31:03.069 you always hear me, but because of the people 00:31:03.069 --> 00:31:05.410 who were standing by, I said this, that they 00:31:05.410 --> 00:31:08.990 may believe that you sent me. Now, when he had 00:31:08.990 --> 00:31:11.730 said these things, he cried with a loud voice, 00:31:11.890 --> 00:31:17.289 Lazarus, come forth. And he who died came out 00:31:17.289 --> 00:31:21.809 bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his 00:31:21.809 --> 00:31:23.789 faith was wrapped in cloth. And Jesus said, lose 00:31:23.789 --> 00:31:27.109 them and let them go. Come on, can I get you 00:31:27.109 --> 00:31:39.359 to stand? to this message from Lifehouse Church. 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:42.700 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:45.539 this message. If you have been personally affected 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:48.079 by our ministry and you would like to partner 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:51.339 with us as we love God, love people every day, 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:53.000 visit our website at