Dear God, our Father in heaven, we are so, so thankful that we can come together this evening to worship you in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we can worship you in the presence of your Holy Spirit.
And as we come to you, our God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, we pray that you would still our hearts and we pray that we would come in a posture of worship, of joy, of thanksgiving, and of hunger.
Because as we come to you this evening, we come knowing that we need you so, so much.
And so we want to come before you and bow before you.
And as we've been singing, recognizing that you are our maker, our saviour, our God, our King.
And we want to come and bow before you.
We want to lift our hearts and our eyes to you in praise and thanksgiving.
And we want to hear your voice speaking to us through your word.
Because, Father, we need you more than anything else.
And we need you more than we even realize ourselves.
And so we pray that as we come here together, that we would meet with you, that you would bless us, and that we would all be drawn closer to you.
So, Father, we pray that you would help us as we come to you just now.
We're so conscious that we can do nothing on our own.
But we thank you for all the promises that you give us, for your promise to be with us, to help us, to speak to us, to teach us, and to build us up.
And we pray that as we come together this evening, that we would be renewed and refreshed in our faith, that we would be taught and built up in our minds and our understanding,
that we would be strengthened with greater courage and determination to obey you and follow you in our lives.
And we pray that our hearts would just burn with ever deeper love for you and for one another.
So we pray that you would bless us as we gather here this evening.
And we thank you for everybody who is here tonight.
And as we come together, we come with so many different needs and with so many different burdens that we carry.
And we just want to pray, especially for any who are here tonight who have had a really tough week.
We pray for any who are here just feeling tired or anxious or bruised.
We pray for those who are maybe feeling that their faith is hanging by a thread.
We pray for those who feel discouraged.
We pray for those who are anxious about people that they love and who are coming to you this evening with sore hearts and anxious minds.
We pray, Father, that whatever our circumstances, that you would meet with us all.
And we pray that we would hear your voice speaking to us in your word.
We thank you so, so much for the gospel, for the words of eternal life spoken and demonstrated in our Savior Jesus.
And in all that you have woven together across the pages of Scripture as you've accomplished your purposes.
And we just pray that we would hear your voice more tonight.
And that for all of us, you would meet with us and build us up, binding us closer to one another and leading us on so that we can serve you in all of our lives.
And we want to especially pray for anyone here or anyone in our families or in our workplaces or around us where we live who do not yet know you.
We pray, Father, that you would be working in people's hearts.
And we pray that for those who've got no word of you, that you would just press eternity into their hearts and that you'd unsettle them and that you would get their minds questioning and get their hearts seeking so that they would look to you and realize how much they need you.
And we pray for those who are seeking you and for those who maybe know how much they need you but who are struggling to come to any sense of assurance or certainty.
We pray that they would just see the simplicity of the gospel, that they'd hear your voice calling their name tonight and that they would just be able to receive and rest on Jesus Christ for their salvation.
And we pray that for those of us who are following you, we pray that we would be built up and encouraged in our faith as we seek to live out our lives for you.
As we do that, we are conscious, Father, that so often we fail and we come tonight confessing our sin before you.
And we do that with sorrow and with frustration, aware that very often it's not just new sins that we fall into, but often it's the same old ones that we keep slipping back into.
We confess that before you and we come to you tonight in repentance and we want to turn away from sin.
And as a new week begins, we want to go into that week obeying you and following you and listening to your voice speaking to us in your word.
And we thank you so much that as we confess our sin before you, we do so knowing that the promise of the gospel is that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
And how we thank you for that promise.
And may the reality of that cleansing in the gospel just energize us as we seek to serve you in the days ahead in our lives.
We want to pray for anyone who's in particular need in our communities or connected to this congregation.
We pray for those who grieve, asking that you'd comfort and sustain and help them.
We pray for those who are unwell just now.
We pray for those who are under pressure at work or with other responsibilities in their lives.
We pray for those who struggle with addiction, asking that you would help them to turn to you and that you would break the grip of addiction in their lives.
And we pray for any others for whom these may be difficult days.
And we know that for people around the world, these are very difficult days in some areas.
We pray for war-torn regions.
We pray for areas of conflict.
We pray for areas of disease and shortage and famine.
And we just pray for all those, Lord, who are just suffering so much just now.
And we pray for those who are in authority and able to make decisions or that they would make decisions that make for peace and for justice and for healing and for hope.
And more than anything else, we pray that people all across the world would hear the good news of Jesus and turn to him and find the peace that only you can give.
And so we pray that your blessing would be upon each one of us.
Bless this congregation, bless all the work that they are doing and guide them in the days ahead.
That they would just be a beacon of hope and light and joy to Stornoway.
And that you would build them up and that you would immensely bless the work of the gospel here and across our island in all the days that lie ahead.
We pray that in it all, your majestic name would be glorified.
And it's in that name that we pray.
Amen.
We're going to sing again, this time from Psalm 119 in the Sing Psalms version on page 159.
So Psalm 119, we're singing the fifth part, verse 33 to 40.
Psalm 119 on page 159.
I love Psalm 119.
It's a psalm that speaks so powerfully of just recognizing the beauty of God's word.
And as we're singing to God's praise in these words, we're also committing ourselves to follow the teaching of God's word.
Praying that it would shape every part of our lives.
And that's one of the amazing things about the Psalms.
They're songs of praise and they're beautiful prayers.
And so we praise and pray to the Lord together as we rise to sing these words.
We'll sing to Rockingham, Psalm 119.
Teach me to follow your decrees.
Amen.
Teach me to follow your decrees.
And I will keep them to the end.
In this I come, I'll keep your love.
With all my heart to it attend.
Lead me in your forgiveness, God.
For there, O Lord, delight I find.
In the Lord, delight I find.
From selfish gain, please stand my mind.
O time, my eyes from worthless things.
Get life according to your word.
To be, O Lord, delight I find.
To be, O Lord, who will be, O Lord.
You look on me, O Lord.
You're lost and self in uprightness.
O Lord, O Lord, who will be, O Lord.
Please send me in your righteousness.
Amen.
We're going to read God's word together in the Gospel of John and Chapter 11.
John Chapter 11.
And we'll read from the beginning.
It's on page 108.1 of this Bible, but it might be different in the Bibles that you're using.
John Chapter 11, verses 1 to 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 sister 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 there again?
Jesus answered, are there not twelve 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 he meant taking rest and 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 twin, 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'd 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'll 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'd 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 also have 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'll be an odour,
for he's been dead four days.
Jesus said to her, did I not tell you that if you believed you'd 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've 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'd said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.
The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face
wrapped with the cloth.
Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go.
Amen.
This is God's word.
May he add his blessing to it.
We're going to sing again together, this time from Psalm 37 on page 252.
So that's in the Scottish Psalter version.
Psalm 37 on page 252, singing from verse 3 to verse 7.
Set thou thy trust upon the Lord and be thou doing good.
And so thou in the land shalt dwell and verily have food.
This little section that we're going to read, verses 3 to 7, has three wonderful commands.
It says, set thou thy trust upon the Lord.
It says in verse 4, delight thyself in the Lord.
It says in verse 7, rest in the Lord.
And these are three wonderful things for us to do as we sing together.
So Psalm 37, verse 3 to 7, stand and sing to the tune Evan.
And so thou in the land shalt dwell and verily have food.
Feel like thyself in what you give.
Thy heart's beside to thee.
Thy way to go, go with him trust.
Good thing God.
For like noontide of the day.
Praise Him, the Lord, and patiently
Wait for Him, do not pray
For Him who prospered in His way
The sustenance in the day.
As we turn to God's Word, let's just pray for a wee moment.
Father, as Your Word is opened before us,
please may we be open before You.
Give us ears that can hear, minds that understand,
and hearts that burn with love for You.
Amen.
I'd like us to turn back to John 11,
and let me read again at verse 25.
Jesus said to her,
I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live.
And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?
The Bible is full of amazing promises that God gives to His people
and that God continues to give to us today.
Promises that run right through from Genesis all the way through to Revelation.
And in so many ways, the Gospel rests on these promises of God.
And one of the wonderful privileges that we have when we come to study God's Word together each week
is that we can come and hear these promises from God anew.
We can unpack them.
We can think about them more.
Because life is so often full of broken promises.
So often things don't go the way we want them to go.
So often we are hurt and let down by other people.
So often things turn out the way that we wish they hadn't.
So often life can be difficult.
And in all those difficulties and challenges that life can bring,
the promises of the Gospel are what give us hope and comfort and strength.
And one of the most amazing promises that God gives
is found in these verses that we're going to look at tonight.
So we're going to think a little bit more about the words of John 11, 25 and 26.
And as we do that, we're going to ask four questions.
What does this promise tell us about God?
What does this promise tell us about ourselves?
What is God promising?
And what does God require of us?
So first of all, we're asking the question,
what does this promise tell us about God?
As we read, the context around these verses
is the illness and death of Jesus' friend, Lazarus.
And as we read, Jesus had heard reports that Lazarus was ill.
He had waited a little longer before he travelled to Bethany.
And by the time he arrives there,
Lazarus has died and he's been in the tomb for four days.
As Jesus approaches Bethany,
Martha, one of Lazarus' sisters and a close friend of Jesus,
comes to meet him.
And John records their conversation.
Martha said to Jesus,
Lord, if you'd been here, this is verse 21,
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.
Then Martha said to him,
I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
And it's in response to these words
that Jesus gives the magnificent promise of 11, 25 and 26.
And that, of course, is one of the great I am sayings
that we find in John's gospel.
But what does it teach us about God?
Well, what I want us to think about tonight in this section
is that here we are being reminded of the connection
between God and life.
And so it's so crucial that we maintain that connection.
And if you look at the conversation,
Martha has been confronted by death.
Her brother has died.
And her response to that is to look to Jesus.
And Jesus responds by telling her,
your brother will rise again.
Martha replies by saying, well, yes, that's true.
He's going to rise again on the last day.
And what Martha says is true,
but it's not the whole truth.
Because Martha believes in the resurrection,
but when she thinks of it,
she thinks of the resurrection as a thing
that's going to happen then.
In other words, it's an event that lies in the future.
That's not wrong.
But it's not the whole truth.
Jesus responds to that by saying,
I am the resurrection and the life.
Now, I want to just unpack that statement a little bit more.
First of all, Martha was thinking of resurrection
as a thing that's happening then.
It's an event sometime in the future.
Jesus directs her to himself.
And he says, I am.
And this, as we said,
is one of the seven I am sayings
that we have in John's gospel,
along with I am the light of the world,
I am the way, the truth, and the life, etc.
These are crucial descriptions of Jesus.
And in all of them,
there's a very deliberate link
to the nature and character of God himself.
I love the fact that the two smallest words in the Bible,
I am,
are probably the two most important words in the whole Bible.
Because if you think back to the Old Testament,
particularly when Moses met Jesus,
when God met Moses at the burning bush,
God reveals his name.
And his name is these words,
I am who I am.
And so when Jesus says,
I am,
it's actually a really loaded phrase
because it's making a direct connection to God.
All of this is teaching us
about who Jesus really is
as God the Son.
It's teaching us about God.
And so Jesus says,
I am the resurrection.
And he says,
I am the life.
And these two words,
resurrection and life,
these two words are pointing us
to what we could call,
we could call them meta realities.
Now that's just a fancy way of saying big stuff.
It's making us think about the big stuff,
the big questions,
the big realities of life.
And in many ways,
if you think about it,
the resurrection is pointing us
to the very end of history.
It's pointing us to the last day,
the end point
in the history of the universe.
It's the big moment
that everything is heading towards.
And if you think about the word life,
and if you kind of stretch
what lies behind that word,
we're thinking about the big reality
that makes the universe
more than just existence.
When you look at the universe,
it doesn't just exist.
It's not just a lump of stuff.
The universe contains life.
Earth is not just a bare planet.
It supports life.
And so if you think about it in those terms,
we start to realize that
resurrection is pointing us
to the very last day,
the climax of everything.
Life is actually pointing us back
to the very first day,
thinking about where that came from,
thinking about the source of everything.
And that's why we're saying
that this is talking about meta realities.
We're talking about the source,
where everything has come from,
and the destiny to which everything is going.
And you think to yourself,
okay, that's the big stuff,
the big meta realities.
And we ask the question,
what lies behind those?
And that's a question
that the whole world
has spent centuries trying to answer.
What lies behind everything?
And some people might think,
well, nothing.
And there are many people
who would hold that view today.
Others might think more
in terms of like a force,
maybe a force of physics,
like gravity,
maybe something to do with biology,
like DNA,
maybe more something like fate
or chance
or something like that.
Other people think
that behind those realities
is just a machine
that keeps going round
and round and round in circles,
that life just keeps on going round
and round and round.
Lots of people have different ideas
as to what lies behind
these big meta realities.
The Bible tells us something different.
The Bible tells us
that behind these meta realities
is a person.
And that means
that according to the Bible's worldview,
the absolute
that underlies all reality
is a person.
Now, that person has life.
So he thinks and speaks
and acts and wills and relates.
And that person gives life.
He's the source
from which all other life comes.
And all of this means
that the foundation of life,
the foundation of all meta realities
is not something,
it's someone.
A true, real, living someone.
And that person
is Jesus Christ.
He is the one who lies
behind it all.
If you imagine it
a wee bit like this,
if any of you
like listening to music,
imagine maybe you like
listening to Ed Sheeran
on Spotify.
If anyone's not heard
of Ed Sheeran,
he's just,
he's like a not quite
as good version of Costello.
And you like listening to him.
And you think to yourself,
well, I love listening to him
on my Spotify,
so I'm going to go and see him.
And so you book a concert
in Glasgow at the Ovo
or whatever location it might be.
And you think,
oh, I'm listening to this music.
I've got my tickets.
I'm going to go.
And I'm finally going to get
to see Ed Sheeran.
And if you got there
and all you saw on stage
was a guitar and a stand
and a chair
and a voice recorder,
you'd be thinking,
that's not what I came to see.
And it would make no sense.
The whole thing only works
if Ed Sheeran is there himself.
In other words,
from the first moment
when you've listened
to an Ed Sheeran song
to the day when you finally get
to an Ed Sheeran concert,
behind all of that music
is a person.
And the Bible is saying
that exactly the same
is true of the universe.
Behind it all lies Jesus.
Now, that tells us
two incredibly important things.
It tells us, first of all,
how massive this statement is.
When Jesus says,
I am the resurrection and the life,
he is saying something massive.
He is saying that he
is the foundation of all reality.
He is the end point of all reality.
You cannot have a first day
or a last day without Jesus.
He is the center of all existence.
He is the ultimate meta-reality.
And so we're discovering
how massive this statement
Jesus makes is.
But even more so,
this is showing us,
this whole passage is showing us,
that the someone
who lies behind all existence,
the absolute
from which everything else comes,
is someone
who is utterly lovely.
He's kind
and wise
and patient
and fair
and true
and compassionate.
And this is one of the amazing things
about what the Bible teaches us.
If you peel back the universe
to find its ultimate source,
you find loveliness.
you find all the beauty
and goodness
and grace
of Jesus.
And perhaps most importantly of all,
what you discover
is that this person is a son.
He is a son
who has a father.
This means that he's not solitary,
he's not isolated.
Instead,
he is relational.
From all existence,
he has existed
in this beautiful relationship
between God the Father,
God the Son,
where the love,
the infinite,
eternal love
between them
is carried forth
by the Holy Spirit.
He is loved,
he loves,
he is dependent,
he is dependent upon,
he is precious to his Father,
his Father is precious to him.
All of this is pointing us back
to the Bible's absolute of all reality,
the living God,
the persons of the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
Now,
I hope all that makes sense.
A lot of that's very big stuff
to think about.
I hope that that's not too complicated.
Put simply,
Jesus is telling us
that the absolute
that lies behind reality
is not a dead thing.
It's a living person.
It's him.
And that means
that the norm
for reality
is not deadness.
The norm for reality
is life.
And that's an incredibly important thing
for us to remember.
And I hope we'll see that in a moment.
We need to go on to question two.
What does this promise
tell us
about ourselves?
Well,
the big thing that I want to highlight here
is that
this passage is telling us
that your life is precious.
Now,
you might be thinking,
well,
I know that.
And we all spend a lot of our time
trying to preserve and protect
our lives.
But
what I want us to see
is that your life
actually matters
way,
way more
than we tend
to realize.
we tend to think
that life is precious
because it's short
and fragile.
And that's true
in so many ways.
And we want
to protect ourselves
because
we know that actually
our lives
sometimes
we're confronted
by the fact
that we realize
our lives
are actually
hanging by
not very much
and it's far more fragile
than we sometimes realize.
And so we think
when your life is short,
life goes by
so quickly
and so we think
we need to make
the most of it.
We need to protect it.
Life is precious.
So we tend to think
life is precious.
Be careful with it.
Life is precious.
Make the most of it
because it's short.
God doesn't think like that.
God thinks
in a way
that is far better.
God thinks
life is precious.
Make it last forever.
So when we read
of Lazarus
being ill
when we read
of two sisters
losing their brother
we think
well that's a shame
but it's normal.
And Thomas
sums it up
really well
in verse 16
when he said
to the other disciples
well let's go to Bethany
so that we can die
with them.
Because to Thomas
to the disciples
to all of these people
death just seems
inevitable
and we think
like that as well.
So though we try
to push it away
though we try
to protect ourselves
from it
when it does come
we kind of resign
to it and think
well death is going
to come.
It's inevitable.
We just have
to accept it.
Jesus does not
think like that.
Jesus does not
think like that.
Because from
Jesus' perspective
death is not normal.
Death is not
inevitable.
Death is not
acceptable.
death is
fundamentally wrong.
And that's brought
out very very
powerfully in this
passage but we
don't actually see
it very clearly
in the English
translation that
we have before us.
So if you look
at verse 33
of John chapter 11
it says that
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 so when you
read that verse
you tend to think
of Jesus
sees Mary
coming and
sees her weeping
sees the Jews
with her also
weeping
and you see
his heart
I don't know
how you describe it
but you see him
feeling sorrowful
and moved
and sympathetic
and sad
to see them
suffering.
but deeply
moved isn't
really what the
word in Greek
means.
The word in
Greek that
describes how
Jesus felt
in this moment
actually means
outraged.
It's a word
that means
angry
means very
angry.
Jesus is
outraged
at what he
sees
and that's
so important
for us to
recognize
because to
Jesus
the illness
and the
death of
this man
was wrong
and the
pain
that these
sisters
felt
was wrong
and the
agony
of separation
that many
of you
have experienced
is wrong
because to
Jesus
death is not
just this
inevitable part
of life
that we hate
that we have
to accept
to Jesus
death is
an utter
outrage
and if you
think about it
no wonder
it's an outrage
because he is
the source
of life
he is the
one from
whom
life has
come
and here
it's as though
Jesus is
standing
before the
tomb of
his friend
and his
arch enemy
is mocking
him
as though
to say
look at
this
you didn't
get it
in time
look at
this
your friend's
gone
look at
this
there's
another one
in the
tomb
and there's
many many
more
coming
look at
all these
precious
people dying
Lazarus
is just
one of
the many
many lives
that you
can't
save
no wonder
Jesus was
outraged
and no
wonder
he says
take that
stone away
and no
wonder
he says
Lazarus
come out
and in
doing that
Jesus is
giving us
a glimpse
of what
his mission
is all
about
he has
come
to give
life
he has
come
to defeat
death
and all
of that
tells you
that your
life matters
and I want
you to
recognize that
whether you
are young
and hoping
for a lot
of life
ahead of you
whether you're
in the middle
like me
and you're
like well
I don't
know if
I've got
as much
ahead of
me
as I do
behind me
or whether
you're
further on
and you're
absolutely
aware
that
most of
your life
story lies
behind you
I want you
all to
recognize that
your life
matters
and so
if you are
ill
and your
body is
suffering
because of
the fact
that sin
has left
us decaying
if you are
hurt
where life
has bruised
you and
battered you
and knocked
you
and if
you are
confronted
with death
either the
fear of
death
yourself
or the
agony of
death
in losing
somebody
you love
I want
you to
realize
that the
absolute
of the
universe
is
outraged
and why
is he
outraged
because
your life
is precious
because
you
matter
to him
so
what is
God
promising
that's
our
third
question
go back
to verse
25
Jesus said
to her
I am
the
resurrection
and the
life
whoever
believes
in me
though
he die
yet he
shall
live
and
everyone
who
lives
and
believes
in me
shall
never
die
do
you
believe
this
as
we
said
a
minute
ago
in
this
passage
and
for
all
of
us
in
our
experience
there's
just
a
kind
of
inevitability
about
death
you see
it
in
Thomas
you see
it
in
Martha
and
Mary
and
they
kind
of
come
saying
if
only
you'd
been
here
as if
to say
well
obviously
otherwise
it's
just
completely
inevitable
and we
all face
the same
reality
so no
matter
what
our
lives
are
the
final
clause
in our
life
story
is
always
going
to
be
yet
he
will
die
yet
she
will
die
and
so
you
might
get
a
brilliant
job
and
you
might
have
a
really
successful
career
and
everything
might
go
every
way
you
dreamt
of
in
terms
of
what
you
achieve
in
your
work
yet
you'll
die
you
might
be
able
to
build
the
house
of
your
dreams
and
you
think
everything
that
you
dreamed
of
and
you
build
the
house
and
it's
there
and
you
make
a
nice
garden
and
it's
just
everything
that
you
wanted
it
to
be
yet
you'll
die
and
you
might
think
well I
really
want
to
make
a
name
for
myself
and
many
people
have
made
a
massive
name
for
themselves
and
even
the
people
who
are
the
most
famous
in
the
world
have
the
same
final
clause
in
their
life
story
yet
she'll
die
yet
he
will
die
it's
inevitable
and
all
the
other
stuff
just
kind
of
shrinks
in
terms
of
its
significance
the
house
the
job
the
success
the
fame
the
whatever
because
our
death
is
inevitable
and
it
takes
all
of
that
away
and
the
key
point
I
want
you
to
see
in
these
verses
is
that
Jesus
is
promising
us
a
new
inevitable
Jesus
is
promising
a
new
inevitable
so
if
you
look
at
verse
25
you
can
see
that
the
clause
where
it
says
though
he
die
so
you
see
it
just
towards
the
end
Jesus
said
though
he
die
I
was
useless
at
English
in
school
so
I
don't
really
know
the
grammatical
term
for
this
but
basically
those
three
words
have
what we
could
call
it
actually
doesn't
matter
statement
because
that's
what's
being
conveyed
here
the
fact
that
those
three
words
actually
don't
matter
they're
not
the
final
story
those
words
don't
have
the
final
say
what
has
the
final
say
is
the
words
that
come
after
in
other
words
the
though
she
may
die
though
he
may
die
but
in
the
sentence
is
not
the
inevitable
but
there's
a
new
inevitable
the
new
inevitable
is
that
we
shall
live
and
there
is
no
comeback
on
that
everyone
who
believes
in
Jesus
shall
live
and
that
means
that
for
everyone
if
you
put
your
trust
in
Jesus
if
you
are
a
Christian
or
if
you
become
a
Christian
the
final
word
for
you
is
not
yet
you
will
die
the
final
word
for
you
is
yet
you
will
live
yet
you
will
live
forever
with
Jesus
so
you
might
have
an
absolutely
awful
week
this
week
yet
you
will
live
you
might
get a
terrible
diagnosis
this
year
and
maybe
some
of
you
are
living
with
those
diagnoses
yet
you
will
live
you
might
not
get
the
job
or the
house
or the
marriage
that you
dreamed
of
yet
you
will
live
you
might
have
your
heart
broken
many
times
in this
life
yet
you
will
live
that's
the new
inevitable
that the
gospel
promises
and it
all
makes
perfect
sense
because
the
reason
your
new
inevitable
as a
person
can be
life
is because
the
absolute
of the
universe
is a
living
person
who
gives
life
and
that's
so
crucial
for us
to
recognize
this is
how we
need
to
understand
reality
and
this
is
where
what
the
bible
teaches
and
what
everybody
around
us
thinks
are
completely
opposite
because
the
world
tends
to
view
reality
a little
bit
like
this
I
don't
nothing
and then
there's
this
wee blip
of life
for a
few
billion
years
where
the
universe
comes
into
existence
and
there's
life
and
everything
and
all
that
stuff
and
slowly
it
all
starts
to
burn
up
and
disappear
until
the
end
it
all
collapses
and
we
go
back
to
deadness
so
it's
a
little
bit
like
you
start
with
death
there's
start
with
deadness
there's
this
anomaly
in the
middle
called
life
and
then
there's
a
death
erection
at
the
end
but
everything
just
becomes
dead
again
and
that's
actually
how most
people would
view reality
in Britain
today
the Bible
says
the opposite
the exact
opposite
in the Bible's
worldview
the norm
is life
life is
what everything
came from
the life
of the living
God
father son
and holy
spirit
the anomaly
in the middle
is death
that's the
intrusion
sin has
brought in
something
that was
never meant
to be
there
something
that has
ruined
what God
has
created
and
that's
why
it's
all going
to end
with a
resurrection
everybody
restored
to life
everyone
appearing
before the
judgment
seat
of the
living
God
and the
whole
point
of Jesus
mission
is to
break
the power
of death
to undo
that anomaly
to put
right the
wrong
and to
give
you
life
and at the
heart of that
life is two
things that we
see in this
chapter
there's
individual
preciousness
and precious
togetherness
individual
preciousness
and precious
togetherness
so Jesus
restores
your life
for everyone
here who's a
Christian
for everyone
who becomes a
Christian
Jesus
restores
your life
because you
as an
individual
are precious
and so he
died to take
your sin
he died in
your place
and you are
united to him
in the power
of his
resurrection
because you
as an
individual
are precious
but Jesus
also restores
your life
so that other
people can enjoy
your company
and so that you
can enjoy theirs
so that there's
this beautiful
togetherness
in the new
humanity
that Jesus
is restoring
through his
death and
resurrection
and you see
this so
clearly
in Lazarus
Jesus
wept at
the grave
of this
individual
this dear
friend
who Jesus
knew and
loved
Lazarus
the individual
mattered
to Jesus
and you
as an
individual
matter to
him as
well
but the
amazing
thing
about
Lazarus
is that
you never
hear him
talk
when you
look at
all
he's like a
key figure
in the
gospel
but you
never
hear him
talk
instead
he's
always
described
in terms
of his
relationship
with other
people
so he's
described
as a
friend
as a
brother
and in
chapter 11
his death
is mourned
but in
chapter 12
you find
Lazarus
again
and he's
having a
meal
with his
friends
everyone
is enjoying
being
together
and so
Jesus
promises
you
life
because
you
are
precious
to him
and because
you are
precious
to others
that there's
this collective
preciousness
this beautiful
togetherness
that lies
at the heart
of the gospel
and the result
is that for all
of us who
trust in Jesus
we can enjoy
this amazing
togetherness
and I think
that the meal
that Lazarus
shares
is a glimpse
of this
I think it's a
beautiful picture
that Lazarus
has died
Lazarus
is restored
to life
through Jesus
the very next
thing we see
him doing
is having a
meal with his
friends
with his
fellow believers
and I think
that that's
a beautiful
picture of how
the gospel
works because
you as an
individual are
saved and
then you're
brought into
this beautiful
family called
the church
where precious
individuals enjoy
beautiful
togetherness
side by
side
and it's
all reminding
us that the
new life
that the gospel
gives starts
now and the
church is always
meant to be a
glimpse that the
world can see of
all the beauty
and joy and
goodness of the
life to come in
the new creation
and that's why
as we come to
faith in Jesus
we leave sin
and deadness
behind and
again you see
that reality in
Lazarus because
when Jesus calls
him out of the
grave Lazarus
comes out and
his hands and
feet are bound
with linen
strips his face
is wrapped with
a cloth Jesus
said to them
unbind him and
let him go and
I think that
there's an
incredibly important
truth conveyed in
those words unbind
him and let him
go we come to
faith in Jesus
and sin still
kind of has its
grip on us we're
still wrapped with
all the mess of
our mistakes and
all the kind of
bad choices that
we make and all
the attraction that
we have towards
sin and all the
attitudes that
have been just
cultivated in a
life that's not
centered on Jesus
and then as we
come to faith in
Jesus and turn to
him and follow him
Jesus is saying
get all that off
you
unbind him
let him go
live in the
freedom of the
gospel in other
words live life
have the life
that I created you
to have
love and that's
why there is such
an amazing change
now for everybody
who comes to
faith in Jesus
but ultimately it
will be fully
enjoyed then at
the resurrection
when we will be
brought into the
new creation and
when you look at
the Bible's
descriptions of
that new creation
the descriptions
picture just
beautiful togetherness
of God's people
enjoying life you've
got imagery of a
heavenly banquet
you've got imagery
of a marriage
supper of the
lamb nobody has a
banquet on their
own nobody has a
marriage on their
own it's all about
togetherness Jesus
reclaiming us from
the kingdom of
darkness restoring us
to life and bringing
us into his kingdom
where we can enjoy
the fullness of his
life together oh God
is promising us so so
much and you think
of every single way in
which life is rubbish
just now every way in
which friendships are
broken families are
torn apart every time
we're hurt by other
people every time we
feel lonely every time
we feel isolated every
bruise that's hit our
heart then it's going
to be none of that
ever again instead we
will be together every
single believer will be
together with Jesus and
we will see the most
beautiful version of one
another as the power of
sin is broken forever and
the grave clothes are
fully unbound and fully
left behind and together
we will reflect the
beauty and glory of
Jesus together in his
kingdom what is God
promising us he is
promising us an amazing
life that begins now and
that will last forever
last question what does God
require of you for all of
that well the answers in
our verses he wants you to
believe in him everyone who
lives and believes in me shall
never die and the key point
here is that that Jesus is not
asking us to believe things
he's not asking us to believe
information he's not asking us
to believe even in a
particular world view we're not
being asked to believe in things
we're being asked to believe a
person he's asking us to believe
him and that's where it all comes
together perfectly the absolute of
the universe is a person Jesus and
all that's required of us is to
believe in him to trust him and
it's reminding us that the whole
gospel is to be understood in
terms of a relationship no wonder
because the absolute of reality is
the triune God in an eternal
perfect beautiful relationship and
at the heart of any relationship is
trust
and you know that's true in any
family in any work relationship with
friends in any way in a church for a
relationship to function there's got
to be trust and when trust isn't
there you either have enmity where
people fall out or you have
manipulation where somebody might be
trusting somebody but they're
actually not trustworthy and they're
not doing or being what they said
that they would be a true healthy
relationship involves trust and
that's why being a Christian doesn't
mean bargaining with Jesus it doesn't
mean you think you know well okay I
well Jesus if you do this maybe for me
then I will follow you that's not the
basis for the gospel nor does being a
Christian mean impressing Jesus it's
not saying well Jesus look I I think
I can do this I'll try I'll make sure
I don't make that mistake again and
I'll keep it as good as I can be
that's not the gospel and it doesn't
mean using Jesus where we think well
oh yes Jesus I'm in a crisis right
now can you help me and then we go
through the rest of our lives as though
he's not there at all that is not
what the gospel involves the gospel
involves trusting him and that's all
it involves we trust him and follow
him so often we make make two mistakes
when we approach the gospel and we do
this as Christians and we do this as
non-Christians so often we play down or
minimize what we think Jesus will do for
us and we amplify what we must do for
him so we kind of we kind of minimize
what we think Jesus will do for us so
we sometimes think well Jesus is
important but he's probably going to
spoil my life and maybe you know I know
that my sins need to be forgiven but I
kind of don't really want to surrender
my independence and he'll maybe he'll
maybe kind of get in the way of my life
a wee bit or we might think well yes
Jesus he'll give me the ticket to
heaven that I know I'm going to need
when I die but just now I'd kind of
quite like to just keep him to one
side in my life because we kind of
think that you know what Jesus is
probably going to just interfere with
my life or spoil it or do something to
me that I don't want him to do so we
kind of play down what we think Jesus
will do for us and at the very same
time we amplify what we need to do for
him so we think well okay I need to
learn more I need to understand more
I need to be better at attending
church I need to become more diligent
in my my my my personal study time and
devotions I need to make sure that I
don't make these mistakes and I need
to kind of actually just get my life
in order and then I'll be able to
follow Jesus so we have these two
views where we kind of minimize what
Jesus has done or we reduce it we
kind of amplify what we have to do
both of them are completely wrong
the gospel is the opposite
what Jesus will do for you is beyond
anything that I can describe
Jesus's love for you is deeper and
stronger than anything that I can
convey and Jesus's promises for you are
bigger and better than anything that I
could set before you with my words
tonight and what Jesus will promise
what Jesus is promising us in the
future when we we will step into the
new creation and we will be there for
one second and we will think wow this
is beyond anything that I imagined and
so what Jesus will really do for you is
just way way way bigger than what we
imagine and what Jesus requires of you in
in comparison to that is never bigger
than one word
believe
you don't need to add any extra
requirements to that
you don't need to bring any impressive
knowledge
you don't need to you don't need to know
this that and the next thing
all you need to do
is believe in him
and that's what makes the gospel so
amazing that's the astounding truth of
the gospel Jesus is saying I am the
resurrection and the life I am the
absolute of the universe I am the
source of all life I am the beginning
and the end you are precious to me your
life matters I've come to save you from
death I am outraged by the fact that
death is threatening you I have come to
save you in fact I have come to die
instead of you
and though you may suffer and though you
may get ill and though you will die
physically yet you will never die because
I'll never forget you and I will delight
over you and I will delight in you being
with me for all eternity along with all
your brothers and sisters that is the
promise of the gospel that is what
Jesus wants and Jesus is saying for all
of that to happen for you to receive all
these promises I will do everything I'll
do absolutely everything you don't have
to do anything just trust me and that's
when we see that the question at the end of
verse 26 becomes the most important
question you'll ever ask
do you believe this
amen let's pray
Lord Jesus we just thank you so much for who you
are you are the resurrection and the life and
thank you for everything that you've done
for us and help us all just to live out this
week and every week of our lives and with our
minds and our attitudes and our whole lives
shaped by the gospel by the reality of who you
are and of everything that you've done and if
there's anyone here who's maybe not yet come to
faith or not sure I'll help them just to hear that
beautifully simple command to believe
amen
we're going to conclude with I think the greatest
resurrection song that was ever written
psalm 16 and we're going to sing the sing psalms
version on page 17
and we're singing from verse 7
I'll praise the Lord my God whose counsel guides my
choice and even in the night my heart recalls
instructions voice this is and the words we're going
to sing are quoted in the New Testament all
directly referencing the resurrection of Jesus
Jesus and we can sing with joy down to the words of
eleven you have made known to me the path of life
divine bliss shall I know at your right hand joy from
your face will shine we'll sing to the tune Golden Hill
and we'll stand together
amen
I'll praise the Lord my God whose counsel guides my
choice and even in the night my heart recalls my
heart recalls my instructions voice before me constantly I
said the Lord alone before me constantly I said the Lord alone he
voice and I'll king the bell the Lordden home my heart
clearly knows his favorite the man who died by 신
a lot of choices and and and for the more mie
heard the Lord soisten to the Lord through me Fed can however he
heard my heart tell them life
With glory we'll sing
My holy tomb
Will be secure
In war of me
For you will
What I love
My soul
In death to stay
How will you
In your holy heart
To see
Aogenic day
You are
I know that you I can
For in hope your face will shine
As you go into a new week together
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
The love of God
And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
Be with you all
Amen