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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jesus is Lord over the grave.
Jesus conquers death in the grave, which means we can trust him even in the face of death.
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.
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.
Jesus cares.
We can trust Jesus because he genuinely cares.
Jesus cares about our sickness.
Jesus cares about our weakness.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Read that again.
Because he loved them, he didn't go solve their problem.
Because he loved them, he didn't answer their request.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
He has tied up the magnification of his glory with the extension of love towards sinners like us.
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.
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.
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.
But that's not love, isn't it?
True love is to give someone what will make them eternally happy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Do you know what that window of time was?
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.
Jesus waited four days until Lazarus was undeniably, completely, totally dead
without any hope for revival.
Why?
Why does he do this?
So that he could demonstrate the undeniable power of God.
Now, this wouldn't be explained away.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The doctors pronounced her dead.
Eleven hours later, she woke up in the mortuary
asking for tea and pancakes.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
Jesus shows he cares for her
by extending to her
the promises of God.
Jesus said to her,
your brother will rise again.
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.
You don't understand.
I am the resurrection
and the life.
Whoever believes in me,
though he die,
yet shall he live.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
That word where it says
he was deeply moved
in his spirit,
it usually doesn't communicate
tenderness.
Usually it communicates
anger,
sternness,
fierceness.
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.
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?
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.
Jesus,
God himself,
wrapped up in human flesh.
He saw the effects
of sin
and he wept.
Do you think
he cares for Martha?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
pride
no
anger
no
lust
no
greed
no
achy
knees
or
sore
back
a
resurrected
body
and a
resurrected
renewed
soul
that are
freed
to
love
God
completely
without
hindrance
without
weakness
without
any
distraction
or
inhibition
freed
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
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.
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
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