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.
Read John 11
In our last message, I further highlighted the differences between the two sisters. We saw that even after Mary had touched Jesus and even after He had traveled to the gravesite ready to resurrect Lazarus, Martha stepped in and mentioned that the body was stinking. She was not helping, but it was because she was not believing. Her faith switch was clearly in the “OFF” position. She had no clue what Jesus was about to do, and it was hard to receive what she could not perceive. This led Jesus to say, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?“
Martha’s problem was that she had stopped believing. Now, I am convinced she was believing while Lazarus was still alive. She was confident that Jesus would show up and heal Lazarus while he was still breathing. She had faith in Jesus, His power to heal, and that her brother would get better while her brother was still with her. But once Lazarus died, her belief died with him.
Once she stopped believing, she released the grip she had on her faith. Once she gave up her faith, she lost all hope. Once she lost her hope, her mind and her heart closed the door to the situation. As far as she was concerned, Lazarus was in her rear-view mirror; Lazarus was past tense to her, with no possibility of crossing back into her present. In the case of Lazarus, Martha was no longer a believer. She might have believed God for other things, but not for this. This was “case closed,” “end of story,” and “game over.”
Jesus came. He was ready, willing, and able to bring Lazarus back to life. Jesus said, “…if you believed,” but that was the problem. Martha was no longer believing. Belief is a powerful thing. Belief is not faith, but without belief, you will never get to faith. Belief opens the door to the possibility of it. Faith exercises confidence in God for it. Belief says, “It can happen.” Faith says, “It will.”
We are called “believers” for a reason. Jesus said, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes” (Mark 9:23). There are no impossibilities for the people who believe in God, but there are countless impossibilities for those who don’t believe. For example, if a Christian is sick and God wants to heal them, but they don’t believe in healing, then healing becomes an impossibility for them. Healing is not impossible; it just becomes impossible for them. Why? Because they have closed the door to it through unbelief. This is what Martha had done. She closed the door to it. She could no longer “see” it. She no longer believed. Please don’t make the same mistake.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God wants you to believe in Him.
— We are called “believers” for a reason. We are supposed to believe in a God we cannot see and believe that the God we cannot see will manifest Himself in our lives in ways we can see.
— When you believe in God and open your heart to the limitless possibilities of His power, He is pleased with you and free to do what He planned to do in your life from the foundations of the world.
— While God is God, and He could theoretically do whatever He wants, He seeks your cooperation. For Him to fully OPERATE in your life, He wants you to CO-OPERATE with Him. When you do, He works through you, He is glorified in you, and you are glorified in the earth. God can glorify you so that He can be glorified through you when your heart is open to believing whatever He wants to do.
2. When you don’t believe in God, you hinder Him from moving in your life.
— God is a God of no limits, but we put limits on Him when we fail to believe. This is what Martha did. She stopped believing when Lazarus stopped breathing. Because of it, the door of possibility was CLOSED in her heart and mind. This is a dangerous place to be.
— If you can’t believe it, chances are, you won’t have it. I will use Jesus’ hometown as an example. One day after Jesus started His ministry, He went back to His hometown, He ministered in the synagogue, and He basically revealed to them that He was the Messiah. The people there rejected Him because they could not believe that Mary’s son or Joseph’s boy was the Messiah. They could not believe that the carpenter from ‘down the street’ was the Son of God. This caused Jesus to say, “A prophet is without honor in his own town, among his relatives, and in his own home.” Then the Bible says something terrible. It says, “Jesus could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them, because of their unbelief.” Since they could not believe, Jesus COULD NOT perform miracles. The Bible does not say Jesus “did not want to.” It says He “COULD NOT” perform the impossible because the people failed to believe. Do you see how important believing God is?
— No matter how painful your situation has been, don’t make the mistake Martha made. Never put your faith on pause. Continue to believe in God. If God still wants to do it, you should still keep believing for it! It’s never too late, and it’s never too hard for God.
3. You have to get past the belief stage.
You will never exercise faith for something you don’t believe.
— God’s plans and promises for your life will be SO BIG that you may question why He wants to do something SO BIG through you.
— What God wants to do is sometimes SO BIG that we cannot wrap our minds or hearts around it, which is what happened with Martha.
— But while Jesus was looking for FAITH, Martha could not even get past BELIEF because she had paused her faith already.
— You have to get to the belief stage before you can get to the faith stage.
— Belief says, “It is possible.” Faith says, “God promised it and I receive it. It is only a matter of time before it happens.”
— There was a moment in the story of Lazarus when Martha had belief and faith. But since she had paused her faith, she was no longer believing. Jesus could not even get to her OPEN her heart to believe again. When she brought up the fact that her brother’s body was stinking, Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” The problem is that she no longer believed.
— Don’t allow any situation to get you to the point where you no longer believe God. Belief keeps the door of possibility OPEN.
— While you may not be in FAITH because you are not sure if it is God’s will yet, you should still be in BELIEF because you know God can do anything!
— Never allow yourself to stop believing!
— Once you believe, you are in a position to exercise faith.
4. Believing God keeps your heart OPEN to His endless power!
— When you choose to believe in God, despite the circumstances, you are opening up the door to the supernatural. This belief allows God to move mightily in your life, unlocking miracles and breakthroughs that you may have never thought possible.
— Believing in God is not just about acknowledging His existence. It is about trusting in His power, love, and wisdom to intervene in your life. When you place your confidence in God, you are positioning yourself to experience His best in any given situation!
— Even in the face of impossibilities, you must never stop believing!
In closing, belief is the key that unlocks God’s limitless possibilities in your life. By choosing to believe in Him, despite the challenges and impossibilities you may face, you remain OPEN to whatever God wants to do; however, He wants to do it. Faith comes when you know what He wants to do. But belief needs to be there first. Belief says, “Lord, I don’t know what you want to do, but I know you can do anything and my heart is OPEN to you!” Never stop believing!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I am a believer, not a doubter. I refuse to give up on believing You!
I will not allow my situation to cross over into the realm of the past tense in my mind or heart.
I will not allow unbelief to stifle my belief and faith.
Belief is a choice, faith is a choice, doubt is a choice, and unbelief is a choice. I choose to believe. I choose to operate in faith.
I choose to continue to believe until I see Your glory manifested in my life.
I add patience to my faith, and I maintain joy and peace while I wait in expectation.
I am a believer, and I believe in the God of NO LIMITS! This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
