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
When Jesus received word that Lazarus was sick, He remained where he was for two more days before taking off for Bethany. As they left, Jesus let his team know that Lazarus was dead. Lazarus was dead, the sisters were in mourning, the disciples were afraid of going back to Judea, and Jesus made three statements about the situation. Jesus said:
(1) “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.“
(2) “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
(3) “For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”
Those statements don’t seem to line up with the deadness of the situation, but we know that Jesus was no liar. So no matter how dead the situation seemed, it was not too dead for God. Jesus and the Father were obviously up to something. The hard part is that the sisters were unaware of Jesus’ declarations, and they had given up hope. When Lazarus stopped breathing, they stopped believing.
When Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Think about that for a moment. The average believer can maintain their hope while the situation looks hopeful, but what happens when your situation shifts from the hopeful category to the hopeless category? Most people stop believing when their situation seems hopeless. Most believers throw in the towel on their faith when their breakthrough does not come when they expected. Some say things like, “Well, I guess God did not want me to have it.” But what if He did? What if He was not through with the situation? What if He was still working? What if He had a plan, but His timing did not align with your timing? What if you give up on God BEFORE He had given up on you?
Some of you are thinking, “But Rick, it was four days. The body was already decomposing.” I know that, you know that, the sisters knew that, and Jesus knew it too, but what is TOO HARD for God? How dead does a situation need to be for it to be PAST God’s power? Is there anything that God cannot do? Is there any dream He can’t resurrect? Is there a problem He can’t solve? Is there any enemy He can’t defeat?
Lazarus had been dead for four days. Many family members and friends had come to comfort the sisters in losing their brother. Many tears had been shed. Many soul-searching questions had been asked. I am sure questions were still flowing through their heads when Jesus arrived. Even while Martha went out to meet Him, I am sure she was thinking, “Why are you here now? Why had you not come earlier? You have healed so many people, why did you not heal my brother? I thought you loved us. I thought you cared.” We will stop here for today.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
Setting the stage.
As humans, we have the ability to frame any given situation in our hearts and minds. The ability to “frame” is a blessing. Because we live by faith, we can learn how to “reframe” things. When the Holy Spirit reveals to us that our thinking is too small or that we are limiting God in some way, we can REFRAME the situation and EXPAND our capacity to believe God. While that sounds good, ultimately, when it comes to God’s power, He wants us to get rid of the FRAME altogether. We have to stop putting Him in a box.
The ability to frame our thinking and our believing is a blessing, but it can also become a burden if we limit our framing to human possibilities. If we limit our framing, we are actually limiting God because God will never override our hearts. In other words, if you’re not careful, your mind and your heart can put God in the box. And when God doesn’t move the way that you expected Him to move, or within the timeframe you expected Him to show up in, move on to the next thing because the possibility of “that thing,” as far as you are concerned, is closed.
Today I will talk to you about two things: not putting God in a box and not moving on until God tells you to do so.
1. Stop putting God in a box (do not limit God’s operation in your life in any way).
We have all put God in a box without even realizing it. The box I’m talking about is the “frame” in which we perceive who He is and His ability to perform in our lives. In John 11, When Jesus finally showed up and met Mary and Martha face to face, both sisters made this statement: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This statement reveals a few things:
— Their faith was limited to an expectation that Jesus was going to show up within their perceived timeline.
— Their faith was limited to their perception of God’s power and how it could only work while the situation was “somewhat” manageable.
— It’s obvious that, in their minds and hearts, they believed the situation was beyond repair.
— When Lazarus stopped breathing, they stopped believing!
— This reveals something about their perception of God. They had “framed” God to only be able to move while Lazarus was alive.
— They believed in Jesus’s ability to perform miracles, but their perception of the power that Jesus operated with was limited. To be clear, God was not limited. Jesus could do anything. But their ability to believe in God was limited.
— How bad does a situation have to get in order for you to stop believing?
— At what point (while you’re waiting on God, while you’re operating in faith) will you stop believing? How bad does it have to get? What is the breaking point of your faith?
— Jesus said, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.” (Mark 9:23). Jesus said “everything,” and He meant it. There are no impossibilities for the person who has the capacity to believe in a God of no limits.
— There is absolutely nothing too hard for God. There is nothing that God can’t do. No situation exceeds God’s ability. There is no problem that can outrun the length of His arms.
— You say you are a man or a woman of God. You say you are a man or a woman of faith. You say you are actively believing God to do this with that, but what are the limits to your faith? What have you framed your faith around? At what point does your situation no longer meet the parameters of your expectation?
— Have you put God in a box? Have you framed God in your limited understanding, or have you truly grown to the point where you believe God can do anything?
— I’ve been teaching on the miracles for months. My desire (and God’s desire) is that you expand your capacity to believe He can do anything. But we all frame our thinking. We have to be careful because sometimes our framing limits our faith. Our expectation may be tied to certain parameters, and if those parameters or exceeded, then our expectation is halted. But God doesn’t have to meet our parameters. We have to get to the point where we extend our faith beyond a frame! The frame should be: God can do anything, at any time, anywhere, by any means. We say that, but do we truly believe it? That sounds good, but it’s easier said than done. My prayer is that you EXPAND your capacity to believe God!
2. When you actively believe God for something, never MOVE ON until God tells you to.
If you ever believe God for something and you believe it is the will of God, then here are several things to consider:
— Stand in faith until God’s will is done.
— Never give up on what you believe God said.
— If you get to the point where you want to move on, it must be because you believe you MISSED God. If it was not God in the first place, then okay, move on because God never spoke. That happens. We all miss God from time to time. But if God spoke, and you believed it, then you can NEVER STOP BELIEVING until God tells you something else.
— To be clear, if you missed God, then your belief was never based on a promise from God. It was more a figment of your imagination than a promise. In that case, you should move on because it was never God in the first place. But if God is moving, and it is His will, then you should never move on until God tells you that he is either: a) He is not going to do it, or b) He has other plans.
— God never spoke to Mary and Martha about giving up. They just gave up on their own.
— There was a point when Mary and Martha fully believed Jesus would heal Lazarus. But they stopped believing when he stopped breathing. They gave up! They quit. They threw in the towel on their faith.
— How dead does your situation need to be before you stop believing? You should never give up unless God tells you, “It’s over!”
— Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. Surely He can deal with your situation this morning. No matter how bad your situation seems, don’t give up! DON’T STOP BELIEVING!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I know You are the God of No Limits. There is nothing too hard for You.
As big as my issues seemingly get to me, they are small to You! So I ask You, in faith, to move in my life in every situation.
I ask You to get involved. I know one Word from You can turn it around in an instant.
So no matter how long it takes, and no matter how hard it gets, I will not stop believing!
My eyes are on You! My trust is in You! I know You can, and I believe You will!
I believe in a God who can do all things, and I never STOP BELIEVING unless my God tells me to. Living this way, 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!
