This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.” Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(John 11:41-44 NKJV)
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. When you live by faith, the Father can use you to do amazing things that defy logic and reason, so He can be glorified on this planet.
After all the talking, after all the tears, and after all the delays (due to Martha’s interruptions), they finally took away the stone. They granted Jesus access to their place of pain. Jesus was now free to do what He was there to do. The sisters had done their part, and Jesus was ready to do His.
Jesus had already prayed. He already knew what would happen, but He spoke out loud with the Father to benefit those standing there. He was already a believer. He already believed that Lazarus was coming back from the dead. He already trusted the Father. But Jesus wanted this act of God’s power to be a witness to all present. Jesus knew that this miracle would cause them to expand their capacity to believe God. He knew that this would stretch them and their faith. He said, “Lazarus, come forth!” That was it. He spoke just three words, but these were three words spoken in faith. These were three words declared in complete confidence in the power of God. And just like that, the spirit of Lazarus rushed back into his four-day-dead body. His heart started pumping again. His lungs filled up with air again. His veins started distributing blood again. The synapses in his brain started firing again. He was outside of his body for four long days, and his spirit brought life to his body AGAIN!
2. You can live by faith the way Jesus did.
— This will require you to come to God with a pure heart, a heart that is OPEN to all He plans to do in, with, and through you.
— God loves all His children, but He is pleased with those who live by faith and produce fruit. His love and His pleasure are not the same thing.
— Jesus is our ultimate example, and He walked and lived by faith. Faith pleases God.
3. Continue to believe, no matter how dead the situation seems.
We serve a God who can give life to dead situations! Nothing you face is ever beyond God’s power. As a believer, you must open your heart to the supernatural and believe the impossible is possible for you.
4. Don’t allow frustration to blind you from possibilities.
Once you lose your joy and peace, frustration will set in. Once frustration sets in, you are no longer in faith. Once you are no longer in faith, you have closed to the door to God and His power.
5. You can be Born-Again, alive in Christ, and still wrapped-up in dead stuff.
When Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth,” Lazarus struggled his way out of the cave, covered from head to toe with strips of linen. I am sure he looked like a mummy from an old movie. He was alive, but he was still wrapped up in grave clothes. He was alive, but he was still covered in ‘dead stuff.’
Like Lazarus when he first came out of the tomb, you can be alive in Christ and still be bound. Your spiritual heart can be pumping blood, and your body can still be tangled in dead matters. When you are Born-Again, your spirit is alive, but your soul does not know how to match your conduct to your condition. Salvation is instantaneous; sanctification is a process. You were saved in a moment, and after that moment, you begin a lifelong journey to learn to become like Jesus in this world.
Remember, when you were Born-Again, the only part of you that changed was your spirit. Your soul did not change. So if you got Born-Again on a Wednesday night, but you went into your salvation experience with addictions, anger, hatred, and a root of bitterness in your heart, then the moment you got Born-Again, you may have a new spirit, but you need a new mind. Your soul did not change. If you hated someone before you got Born-Again, the next time you see them, you may still hate them. You still may want to lash out at them. This is why your soul needs to be renewed.
Lazarus was alive, but he was still bound. And that’s the picture that I want to paint for you today. There are many people who are in Christ; they are alive in the spirit, and they are going to heaven, but they are still bound and dead stuff. They are bound by the things of this world. You can be alive but bound! And that is not the will of God.
6. You can’t do it by yourself.
After Lazarus came back to life and he popped up like a mummy, Jesus said to the others who were there, “Loose him, and let him go.”
— Lazarus was alive but bound. He had life, but he did not have freedom. And what I like about it was that he could not get free all by himself.
— Jesus sent others to help him get free from the ‘dead-stuff’ that was keeping him bound. That’s how it is with us when we get Born-Again. Are we alive in Christ? Yes! Do we have eternal life in Him? Absolutely. But we come out of the cave of our old lives wrapped up in ‘dead stuff.’ As much as we try, we cannot free ourselves of all the dead stuff that keeps us bound.
— We need the help of others, co-laborers in God, and the power of God Himself, to walk in the freedom God desires for us to have.
— It’s time-out for lone rangers in Christ. Lazarus could not get free by himself, and Jesus did not expect him to. Jesus sent people to help him, and He will do the same with you. There is strength in numbers. There is safety in a multitude of counselors. Allow others to help you in your Christian journey. There are people who want to help, receive their help, and grow in Christ!
— Resist the urge to isolate yourself in times of struggle. When you face challenges, it’s tempting to withdraw and try to handle things on your own. However, this can lead to feelings of frustration and hopelessness. Instead, lean into your faith community, draw strength from their support, and trust that God is working through them to help you overcome your challenges. Surround yourself with people of like-precious-faith.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I am growing in You because I am dying to me! Loving You is killing me; my old man is dying as I yield more and more to You!
Thank You for giving me real-life examples in scripture that I can identify with. I can connect with the pain of Mary and Martha. I can relate to their frustration, and I can learn from what they did (both good and bad).
I will add patience to my faith and never give up on You!
I thank You for surrounding me with great brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t have to walk this walk by myself, and I am glad about it.
You send people to help me, and I will receive their help. Together, we grow into the people You have called, destined, designed, and desire for us to be.
I don’t want to be alive but bound. I want to be alive. and FREE! And I declare that I will! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
