[0:00] Amen. You know, every week Tread comes up and prays and he leaves palmy sweat marks on the pulpit. He prays so hard. I appreciate that, brother. Our passage this morning is John 11 verses 1 through 44.
[0:20] So if you would find that in your Bibles. If you didn't bring a Bible, we have Bibles in the seats in front of you. And you can find this on page 843 of those Bibles. So no excuses. Have your Bibles open and let's read together God's Word.
[0:35] When you found it, let's stand together for the reading of God's Word as I read John 11, 1 through 44. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
[0:54] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill.
[1:06] But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
[1:16] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
[1:29] Then after this, he said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you. And are you going to go there again?
[1:39] Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.
[1:54] After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he's fallen asleep, he will recover.
[2:05] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he had meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I'm glad that I was not there so that you may believe.
[2:19] But let us go to him. So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
[2:32] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
[2:47] Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
[3:00] Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
[3:12] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.
[3:28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
[3:43] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
[4:02] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, where have you laid him?
[4:14] They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have also kept this man from dying?
[4:29] Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.
[4:46] Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
[4:59] I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.
[5:13] But the man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. And Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go.
[5:26] This is the word of God. Will you please be seated and let's pray once more. Lord, what an unbelievable display of your power and glory.
[5:37] We pray that you would give us eyes to see it in a heart that would worship you in light of what we're about to explore in your word. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. On June 1st, 1897, the New York Herald published an article on the sickness and imminent death of Samuel Clemens, who you probably better know by his pen name Mark Twain.
[6:02] The article caused quite a stir. The New York Herald was one of the most reputable publications in the world at this time. The only problem was that Mark Twain was alive and well.
[6:14] He was on a writing assignment in London working for another publication, the New York Journal. So on the very next day, June 2nd, 1897, the New York Journal published an article featuring Mark Twain's own comments on his reported death, which produced the now famous quote, The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.
[6:40] Our passage today, John chapter 11, involves the report of someone's death. Although, sadly, the report of this death of Lazarus is not exaggerated.
[6:53] This is not false information. Lazarus is really, truly, completely dead. But, not for long. This is an incredible story, and it's so applicable for each one of us, because every single one of us has to deal with the problem of death.
[7:14] And we all have this in common, don't we? Every single one of us has to face the problem of death. And we've seen throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus has come face to face with so many of our struggles.
[7:25] And he's come out on top of every single one so far. He's faced issues of social exclusion and isolation and rejection. He's solved problems of hunger and thirst.
[7:37] He's solved problems of physical suffering and blindness. But now, he's face to face with a much greater enemy. This is the final boss of sin's devastating consequences.
[7:50] Jesus is face to face with death. But the lesson that we learn here in John chapter 11 is that even death is no match for Jesus.
[8:03] Jesus is Lord over the grave. Jesus conquers death in the grave, which means we can trust him even in the face of death.
[8:17] What I want to do this morning is give us two reasons to trust him this morning. This will be our outline. If you're taking notes, if you're a note taker, it'll help you follow along. Two reasons to trust Jesus in the face of death.
[8:31] And I'll go ahead and warn you right now, we're going to spend most of our time in the first point. So hang in there with me. The first reason to trust him is that Jesus cares.
[8:42] Jesus cares. We can trust Jesus because he genuinely cares. Jesus cares about our sickness. Jesus cares about our weakness.
[8:54] Jesus cares about our struggle. Jesus cares especially about the issues we face involving sin and death. You know, one of the worst lies Satan can whisper into your ear during times of trial, God doesn't care.
[9:09] God doesn't care about me. God doesn't care about my struggle. If God cared about me, he would remove this from me immediately the way I want, the way I ask him.
[9:22] And if he doesn't, well, God doesn't care about me. This passage I want us to see is a rebuke to that lie. I want you to see as we walk through this together how Jesus shows us his deep heart concern, his care for our weakness, his care for sinners like us here in this passage.
[9:43] Look with me again to verse 1. John tells us that a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister Martha. Apparently by this time, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had developed a relationship with Jesus because they sent word to him saying in verse 3, Lord, he whom you love is ill.
[10:06] In other words, come do something about this. He whom you love is ill. We've done all that we can. The doctors have tried everything that they can.
[10:17] He's not getting any better, but we know you. We trust you. We've seen you do these wonderful things for other people. Come do it for us. Don't you love him? Don't you care about him?
[10:29] But when Jesus heard it, look what he said. He said, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
[10:43] His condition, much like the blind man in John chapter 9, if you remember that story, you remember his illness, his sickness, his suffering. It's not accidental.
[10:55] It's not meaningless. It's not purposeless. It's not empty. It is for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified through it.
[11:08] That's the purpose of what's going on here in Lazarus, which is important for us to understand, because without that piece of information, without that divine perspective on this event, we simply cannot understand what he does next.
[11:21] Look there to verse 5. It says, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
[11:39] Read that again. Because he loved them, he didn't go solve their problem. Because he loved them, he didn't answer their request.
[11:52] Because he loved them, he stayed and he waited. How is this love? How could this possibly be loving for Jesus to hear the message, to hear the report on this issue, and yet choose willingly to wait two more days?
[12:12] How do we make sense of this? Well, I want us to see that Jesus is motivated primarily by two things. He is motivated by love and by glory.
[12:24] Love for this grieving family and the glory of God. And we know, don't we, that God's glory, that's the primary motivation for everything God does.
[12:37] Every event in the world, everything that we walk through in our own lives, at the very bottom of it, the Sunday school answer is always Jesus and it's always the glory of God.
[12:48] But the good news for us, that we learn in the gospel, is that God has, out of an abundance of grace, bound up his glory with love for sinners like us.
[13:04] He has tied up the magnification of his glory with the extension of love towards sinners like us.
[13:15] But we have to get these things in order, don't we? We have to understand this, that love, that extension of love towards sinners like us, it does not orbit around us.
[13:29] We are not primary. This is what we struggle to understand, isn't it? We think, wrongly, we think that, well, in order for me to be loved, my needs must be met.
[13:42] In order for me to be cared for, in order for me to be loved, my immediate request must be met the way that I ask, or God doesn't care about me.
[13:54] But that's not love, isn't it? True love is to give someone what will make them eternally happy.
[14:05] To give someone what will make them eternally satisfied, truly satisfied. And that is only found in God himself. Jesus loves us most and he loves us best when he helps us to see his glory that we might understand it and see it and love him and worship him as he deserves.
[14:29] That's exactly what's going on here, isn't it? Jesus cares for them by not meeting their immediate request. He waits so that they might see his glory more clearly than if he had just answered their needs immediately.
[14:51] Well, after two days passed, Jesus told his disciples, hey, it's time to go back to Judea. And as usual, the disciples don't understand what in the world is going on.
[15:02] They had just left Judea because you remember the Jews were seeking to stone Jesus. Jesus claimed to be one with God the Father. The Jews didn't like that. They wanted to stone him.
[15:13] Why would we go back there, they ask? And the answer, again, Jesus says, is glory. There are God-appointed works to do that will love sinners and will glorify God.
[15:29] Jesus says, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.
[15:41] In other words, there's still work to be done. It's daytime. The night is coming. When my work here will be finished, my time to die is coming.
[15:52] Then my work here on earth will be done. But until that time, the Jews can do whatever they want. But I'm invincible until the works that the Father has appointed for me are complete.
[16:04] I have work to do that you might see my glory. He says, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep and I go to awaken him. And this is just so funny to me. Their response, listen to this.
[16:17] They said, Lord, if he's asleep, he will recover. Why do we have to go to Judea to wake him up? Let the man sleep.
[16:29] So Jesus, I can only imagine his exasperation, told them plainly, guys, Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I'm glad I was not there so that you may believe.
[16:42] Do you hear his care for them? It seems so foolish to them walking back into danger, walking back into the hands of the Jews. But Jesus knows that what they need most is not to be safe.
[16:56] It's to see him for who he is and to believe. He says, let's go. Follow me. By the time they arrive, verse 17 tells us that Lazarus has already been in the tomb for days.
[17:11] Listen to this. This was fascinating to me. Now, apparently, there's a rabbinical teaching, not a biblical teaching, but extra-biblical, traditional, rabbinical teaching in Jesus' day that said that after someone died, their spirit hovered over their body for a period of time.
[17:29] And within that period of time, there was a window of opportunity where if that person was going to be brought back to life, if it was possible for them to be resuscitated, then their spirit would reenter their body and they would come back to life.
[17:45] Do you know what that window of time was? Three days. Three days. After three days, the teaching was that that person was completely, totally, truly, hopelessly dead and there was no hope, no possibility, no way to bring them back.
[18:05] Jesus waited four days until Lazarus was undeniably, completely, totally dead without any hope for revival.
[18:17] Why? Why does he do this? So that he could demonstrate the undeniable power of God. Now, this wouldn't be explained away.
[18:29] This wouldn't be laughed off. It would be a powerful sign that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ. That Jesus is God in the flesh, the author of life.
[18:41] Of course, skeptics still come up with something, don't they? If you've worked in the medical community at all, you may have heard of something called the Lazarus phenomenon.
[18:55] Anybody heard of the Lazarus phenomenon? It's named after Lazarus here in John chapter 11. The Lazarus phenomenon is when a patient who has been pronounced dead after a cardiac event, cardiac arrest, unexpectedly experienced a return in cardiac activity.
[19:13] Most of these events happen within 10 minutes. But I read a story this week of one woman, 91 years old, whose heart stopped beating. She stopped breathing.
[19:23] The doctors pronounced her dead. Eleven hours later, she woke up in the mortuary asking for tea and pancakes.
[19:37] What's the point? Well, for one, if I'm pronounced dead, wait like 11 minutes, please, before you put me away. But we should understand, these medical events happen, and skeptics, critics, they look at that, and they say, well, see?
[19:53] Well, this couldn't possibly be a miracle. There's got to be some scientific explanation for this. They don't have a category in their mind for the work of God, the miraculous work of God.
[20:04] So they say, there has to be some scientific explanation for this. But that's not what happened here to Lazarus at all, is it? None of these individuals, as incredible as their stories are, were four days dead.
[20:21] And none of these doctors, as far as I know, called their shot, predicted the resurrection of these individuals. And none of the doctors, I'm confident, commanded the resurrection.
[20:35] In fact, all of these Lazarus phenomenons, they happened after the doctors tried everything they could, and they got it wrong. Jesus, here, he calls his shot.
[20:47] And for good measure, he wanted to make sure everyone knew Lazarus was truly, totally, actually, completely dead. Four days dead. Why? The purpose of waiting, the purpose of delaying, the purpose of not meeting this immediate need, was to meet a much greater, eternal need.
[21:10] Namely, the glory of God, and the glory of the Son, for our faith. Now, how often do we struggle with some sort of sickness, some sort of suffering, some loss, some lack?
[21:29] Maybe some of you are in the middle of some difficult scenario right now. And we just cry out to God, God, take this away from me. God, God, don't you care? Won't you lift this off my back?
[21:40] Please, would you do something about this? Don't you love me, God? Could it be that God loves you enough to wait? To show you his care and his glory in a way that you wouldn't see otherwise if he just immediately answered your prayer the way you think it should be answered?
[22:00] Jesus waited. But we see he did eventually come, didn't he? And we see his heart on display here in his conversations with Mary and with Martha.
[22:14] I love these interactions. Look there with me to verse 21. It says, Mary stayed inside, Martha came out first to talk to Jesus, and Martha said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
[22:26] But even now I know whatever you ask from God, God will give you. How does Jesus comfort her here? Look what Jesus does. Look to verse 23.
[22:38] Jesus shows he cares for her by extending to her the promises of God. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again.
[22:51] So Martha says to him, I know, Jesus, I know, I believe, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. When Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no, no.
[23:03] You don't understand. I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
[23:15] And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this, Martha? Do you believe this? This is yet another I am statement.
[23:27] We've seen them throughout the gospel of John. Jesus is saying, I am the resurrection and the life. What's he saying? He's saying, I am the I am. I am God in the flesh.
[23:38] I am the one who gives life, the one who takes life away. I am the one, the only one who has life in himself and can give life to whomever he pleases. And then he issues this promise from the mouth of God.
[23:52] Did you hear it? Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
[24:05] I know he looks dead. He is dead. But look to me. Trust me. Believe me. I am the resurrection and the life. There is hope in me. Now, I want you to place yourself in Martha's shoes here for a minute.
[24:20] Okay? Because again, I know all of us at various levels and various times and places and ways, all of us are faced with the enemy of death.
[24:33] Maybe loss of a loved one. Maybe your own health concerns. I want you to place yourself in Martha's shoes here for a minute because that glorious promise, that security, that assurance, that confidence, that comfort is available to any who would put their faith in Christ Jesus.
[24:53] Any who trust in him to save them from the curse of sin and death will never die. Sure, you'll die physically, but what do we lose in that?
[25:04] And all that does to us is bring us to him. Those who are spiritually made alive, we may look dead to the eyes of the world, but those who belong to Christ live with him forever.
[25:18] Do you believe this? Martha did. She said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who is coming into the world.
[25:33] Why? Why did he come? Jesus came into the world because he cares about your suffering. He cares about your sickness, your struggle, your pain.
[25:46] He came into the world for resurrection and life for all who believe, for the glory of God in the resurrection of dead sinners like us.
[26:02] Jesus cared for Martha with words and with truth, with the promises of God. Now look how he cares for Mary. He cares for Mary with feeling and with emotion.
[26:13] He cares for Mary with a sensitive presence. Look there, starting in verse 28. And Mary came out and fell at his feet and said, she said the exact same thing that Martha said, almost like they had been talking about this at home, right?
[26:28] Lord, if you had been there, my brother would not have died. But in place of Martha's confidence, here, Mary's response was weakness, grief, sorrow.
[26:43] And when Jesus saw her weeping and saw the Jews who had come with her also weeping, verse 33 says, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
[26:55] You know, I'm not convinced by the translation here. That word there, you might even have a footnote in your Bible if you look there.
[27:08] That word where it says he was deeply moved in his spirit, it usually doesn't communicate tenderness. Usually it communicates anger, sternness, fierceness.
[27:23] There's a fire in Jesus' spirit. Jesus looks around at the devastating effects of sin. He sees the death of a loved one, the grief of a family, the grief of a community, the heartache of it all and he is greatly disturbed and angry, troubled by what he sees.
[27:44] He's angry at the presence of sin in the world. But he's also tender towards those who bear the effects of sin in the world, isn't he?
[27:55] Look there, verse 35 here in the shortest verse in the Bible. You scripture memory people, this is an easy one. Come on. One of the most beautiful pictures of Jesus' heart and his care for sinners like us.
[28:12] Jesus, God himself, wrapped up in human flesh. He saw the effects of sin and he wept. Do you think he cares for Martha?
[28:26] For Mary? For Lazarus? Do you think he cares for you? You know, I think we could learn a thing or two from Jesus' response here.
[28:39] In our church covenant, it's the commitment that we make to one another as members of this church family. we make a commitment that says this. It says, we will put each other's needs above our own, rejoicing in each other's happiness and helping carry each other's burdens and sorrows.
[29:00] Now, Jesus shows us what that looks like here, doesn't he? I wonder how angry are you at the presence of sin? Not other people's sin.
[29:13] sin. Your sin. Sin in your heart. Lingering sin in your life. How angry are you at the presence of sin in the world? When we turn on the news and see what we see, the devastating effects of sin and death in the world.
[29:30] Are you bothered by it? We shouldn't get so used to the effects of sin that we just think this is normal. It's not normal. Things ought not be this way.
[29:41] We should be moved. This isn't right. But not only this, we should weep. We should grieve at the presence and the effects of sin.
[29:56] Our posture towards one another and our grief, it ought to be, I may not understand what you're going through. I may have never dealt with what you're dealing with. But I love you.
[30:07] I know things ought not be this way. I want to listen to you. I want to be with you. I want to stand by your side. I want to bear your burdens and grief.
[30:18] Let me remind you of the promises of God and if not, let me just weep with you and be there with you because I love you. Things ought not to be this way.
[30:32] Now the presence of death is a constant, unignorable reminder. that things are not right here. Do you feel it? Something must be done and we are powerless to do it.
[30:49] No politician in Washington has the power to set this right. No nation, no army, but there is one. One who is Lord over life and death.
[31:02] His name is Jesus. This is our second reason reason to trust him this morning. Trust Jesus even in the face of death because second, Jesus conquers sin and death.
[31:17] Jesus conquers sin and death. You know, as much as he cares for us, if he can't conquer it, none of his care matters. we need someone who can actually deal with this problem, put it away for good.
[31:33] And this is exactly what happens here in verses 38 through 44. Look there with me. And Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it and Jesus said, take away the stone.
[31:47] Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor. He's been there for four days. Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?
[32:00] So they took away the stone. And at this point Jesus lifts up a prayer. He lifted up his eyes and he said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me.
[32:16] That's the point of the signs. That's the point of these demonstrations of power. You remember the point of this suffering of Lazarus is that they might see and believe that Jesus is the Christ sent from God into the world to deal with this problem of sin.
[32:34] And then when he said these things he cried out with a loud voice. Now I'm looking, I'm watching my boys because at home we read a book about Jesus raising Lazarus and when we get to this point the boys know what to expect and they start to cover their ears because they know dad's about to use his loudest voice to raise the dead.
[32:57] But Randy in the sound booth wasn't expecting that and I'm not sure the speakers could handle it so I'll spare you. But Jesus didn't whisper. He cried out with a loud authoritative powerful life-giving voice Lazarus come out.
[33:17] and amazingly this dead man truly completely totally four days old stinky dead he came out his hands and his feet bound with linen strips and he commanded them unbind him and let him go on my authority at the sound of my voice he lives.
[33:43] this is an incredible miracle is it not? An undeniable sign of Jesus' perfect divinity there should be no doubt that's the point there should be no doubt to anybody who is a witness to these things that this is God in the flesh.
[34:04] There should be no doubt for us as we read this story this account that only God can do this only God can raise the dead only God his voice can give life to the dead it's a powerful sign that Jesus has authority even over death but what I want us to see what I hope you realize is that as incredible as this sign is it's just a pointer it's just a picture it's just a foretaste of an even greater work to come very soon Jesus will make his way into Jerusalem he will be crucified and he will die and he will be truly really completely dead but not for long he will rise if his death is the end of the story none of this would matter nothing
[35:11] Jesus has said or done none of these signs would matter up to this point even raising Lazarus from the dead none of that would matter if Jesus' death were the end of the story he would be beaten by death and we would have no hope in the face of sin and death we would be hopeless in the face of this great enemy as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 he says if Christ has not been raised our preaching is in vain your faith is in vain we are misrepresenting God because we've said that God raised Christ from the dead if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile you're still in your sins everyone who's ever died has truly perished and we Christians sitting here in a church service worshiping the Lord of all people are most to be pitied because we stake everything on the resurrection of Jesus but we praise God for the gospel church the gospel is the good news that
[36:12] Jesus Christ cared so deeply for you for your sin for your suffering for your inability to conquer the grave that he came for you and he lived for you and he died for you and he rose never to die again he conquered sin and death it's the good news that his resurrection is ours by faith do you cherish that hope do you cling to that message the resurrection of Christ is everything to us it's our hope both now and forever would you would you just think about this with me for a minute if you are in Christ meaning if you have personally trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation forsaking all others clinging to him loving him with a renewed heart do you know what's happened to you
[37:17] Christian you have been reborn you have been resurrected to newness of life if anyone is in Christ he is a what help me he's a new creation behold the old is gone behold the new has come Paul says in Galatians I I've been crucified with Christ therefore that guy I no longer live Jesus Christ now lives in me the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me do you realize this is what our baptism signifies Christian we were buried with him in baptism dead and what raised to walk in newness of life we are Lazarus this story is our story as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 we we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked dead truly completely totally smelly dead and we couldn't walk our way to
[38:29] Jesus if we wanted to and we didn't want to we were spiritually dead but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead and our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus if if you are a Christian it's because the life giving word of God has called you out of death and into life in Jesus Christ and now we live together resurrected lives amen and now we we in him we share his victory over sin because he conquered it we couldn't we share his victory over the grave we have newness of life we couldn't earn that he did it he conquered it now why should we fear the grave and our certain hope ultimately is that at the last day when he returns we will be raised up to be with him forever is this your hope
[39:58] I love Jesus interaction with Martha I just look there one last time as we close how did he comfort her your brother will rise again that was his comfort for her she didn't know that he met in like five minutes did she but she agreed she said Lord I know yes on the last day yes thank you he will rise again yeah in our day the comfort we tend to give to the grieving and to those who have lost loved ones when there's a death of a believer the comfort that we tend to give is focused more on heaven isn't it and when a believer dies we say well he's he's with the Lord she's with the Lord she's in heaven those are wonderful good true worthy comforts true for those who are that there's an even greater hope than that as glorious as it is heaven is not our ultimate hope heaven is not our final destination
[41:14] Christian our future certain hope for any who are in Christ is the new heavens and the new earth with a resurrected glorified body equipped and enabled and empowered to enjoy the beauty of God for the rest of eternity can you imagine a body free from the grip of sin no no pride no anger no no lust no no greed no achy knees or sore back a resurrected body and a resurrected renewed soul that are freed to to love God completely without hindrance without weakness without any distraction or inhibition freed to to live in abundance of life with no threat of danger no threat or death can you imagine it no sickness no pain no sorrow no grief no loss no lack a resurrected people in a resurrected creation made possible only and perfect by the resurrected
[42:28] Christ never to be spoiled again that is our hope Christian and it's certain for you in Christ if you trust him though you die yet you shall live the great evangelist D.L.
[42:48] Moody you may know that name he famously once said someday you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield is dead don't you believe a word of it at that moment I shall be more alive than I am now I shall have gone up higher that is all out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal a body that death cannot touch that sin cannot taint a body fashioned like unto his glorious body I was born of the flesh in 1837 I was born of the spirit in 1856 that which is born of the flesh may die but that which is born of the spirit will live forever how about you do you trust him with your suffering do you trust him with your soul do you trust him even with the grave do you trust him with your future let's pray
[43:54] Lord we praise you that Jesus you reign over life and death what is our hope in life and death it's Christ alone we thank you father that you sent Jesus out of an abundance of grace because you love sinners and are glorified in the resurrection of undeserving sinners like us we pray if there are any here Lord who don't know you don't yet believe these promises Lord would you would you do what only you can do and by the power of and for us who have been raised to newness of life help us to walk in that newness of life as we trust you we pray this in Jesus name amen