Read John 11:1-16
This morning we continue our series entitled, “The Year of Supernatural Manifestation”, with our mini-series on “The Miracles of Jesus.” Let’s continue with the story of Lazarus.
In yesterday’s message we closed out with Martha expressing her frustration to Jesus, saying, “Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died.” Most of us can identify with her. Her pain is obvious and understandable. But what Jesus said should have caused her faith to leap. When Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again,” she should have started praising God. The problem is what her heart would not allow her to hope for her brother. Lazarus’ situation was beyond her capacity to believe God. Since he had been dead for four days her belief system was closed to any possibility of a resurrection. Maybe if it had been four hours she might have thought that Jesus could still do something about it. But four days? Four long days? After four nights of crying herself to sleep, she was not open to believe God. Her mind and her heart had already moved on from any possibility of the supernatural. This is why it is critical that we expand our capacity to believe God.
God is often looking to bless us, but we miss out on His best because we fail to even fathom the possibility of what He wants to do. Jesus plainly told her that her brother was going to rise again, but she missed it altogether. She said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” In other words she was saying, “Oh, I believe he will be part of the end time resurrection.” But Jesus was not talking about some distant thing. He was ready to MOVE right then and there in their lives. But Martha could not believe it. It’s hard to receive what you cannot perceive. She had lost her joy and peace in believing God. She was no longer believing God for Lazarus. To her, Lazarus was part of the past.
Jesus gave her another try. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” That was a powerful statement. That should have shocked her faith back into place. That should have awakened her belief. That should have resurrected her hope. And I like the way that Jesus offered the statement to her. After He said it He asked, “Do you believe this?” In other words Jesus was saying, “If you can believe this, if you can believe that I can do anything, if you can believe that I have resurrection power, if you can believe that I can bring the dead back to life, then I can turn your dead and seemingly hopeless situation around.” But we will see tomorrow that she was not ready for it. What Jesus said went right over her head.
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things:
- In 2008 I spent the entire year teaching a series based on Romans 15:13 entitled. “Joy and Peace in Believing”. While you are believing God to do something in your life, it is critical to maintain both the excitement of joy and the serenity of peace. If you maintain joy and peace, you will be able to continue to believe God until He does what you are believing Him for. But if you lose your joy and peace along the way, like Martha did, you will stop believing and run the risk of missing out on God’s best.
- Once you stop believing God and your heart closes the door to the possibility of it, you are no longer in-faith. Once you release the grip you had on your faith, you have closed to door to God. He will try to get you to open it again, but it is hard to reignite faith in the believer, once it is gone.
- It is often hard for humans to fathom the enormity of God’s blessing. He loves us so much and He planned to do so much in our lives, that we sometimes have a hard time ‘wrapping our minds’ around His plans. But it is critical that we do. This is why God goes to great lengths to grow our faith.
- Once your belief system is closed to the possibility of something in your life, you are no longer open to God for it. Even if God speaks to you about it, it will be hard for you to receive.
- It is hard to receive what you do not perceive. This is why the Holy Spirit goes to great lengths to help you develop spiritual perception. He wants you to know all God planned for you!
*** I will close with somewhat of a personal testimony. I am currently dealing with a situation where God wants to do something in my life is that so beyond what I thought that I almost missed out on it. Like Martha in the text, God was trying to tell me, but I was thinking too small and it took Him several attempts to get me to expand my capacity to believe to the point where my heart and His heart were in alignment. I can recall several “big things” in my life that God has done and in each case, I can look back and realize how much God had to work on me, to get me to the point where I could believe what He wanted to do. We often think we are waiting on God, but most of the time He is waiting on us to get on the same page with Him. If He gave us what we wanted, He would have to do so begrudgingly, because it would be several levels beneath His best. This is why He works with us, over and over and over again, until we can get to the point where we actually believe Him for His best. When we are in position to believe on His level, God allows us to receive on His level!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. I am finally getting to the point where I truly know You to be the God of no limits. There is nothing You can’t do! So no matter what things look like in the natural, I will maintain my joy and peace in believing, I will operate in faith and patience, and I will continue to believe that You can and will move in my life. I will keep my faith switch in the “ON” position and keep on believing until You tell me to stop. I remove every artificial limit I have ever placed on You. My belief system is open to the impossible and the supernatural. I refuse to close the door to any possibility. I am open, I am ready, and I am receptive to whatever You want to do in my life today and any day! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
