John, chapter 11

LORD God of heaven and earth and to you all things belong, we give you all the glory and praise this morning and say may Your name forever be magnified over all the ends of the earth in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

John 11:43-44 (NKJV)

43. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"

44. And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him and let him go."

Amen, thank you LORD.

When Jesus Christ came to the world, He had a mandate which was to loose the lawful captives from every bondage of the enemy and to let them go into God's deliverance and redemption that was purchased with His precious blood when He died on the cross and was raised from the dead by God's power.

In John 8:32 Jesus says, for you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free and every grave cloth in your life that does not represent Jesus, I command it to loose you and let you go in the name of Jesus.

In this chapter is a story of a man called Lazarus who had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus is informed that Lazarus, the One whom He loves is sick. John 11:6 says when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed an extra two days where He was. Earlier on Jesus had said to His disciples, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4).

So when you read the chapter, you will see that by the time Jesus got to Lazarus, He had been dead for four days. However, we see that the delay was so that the name of the Son of God would be glorified. Child of God, be comforted, not everything that looks like a delay is of the enemy. It is God causing all things to work out for your good (Romans 8:28) according to His plans and purposes concerning your life. So Jesus arrives in Judea to where Lazarus and his sisters lived and the first person he meets is Martha and she says, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You." Martha spoke the Word out of her heart, the Word she had been listening to while spending time with Jesus. In John 11:23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Now what she heard Jesus speaking in that moment and what the facts looked like in the natural with her brother dead in the tomb. Martha in that moment could not reconcile her faith with who she knew Jesus to be causing unbelief so she said, "I know that He will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." All this is true but except Jesus meant that Lazarus was raising from the dead in that moment, now. Jesus is well able to come into that situation where you may have lost hope and turn it around now, not later but now. Believe again child of God. Hebrews 11:1 (NASB) speaks of faith and says, "Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen."

God is faithful and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the proof that gives us hope today, AMEN.

For instance, we see Abraham our father of faith who had a baby with his wife past child bearing against all odds without considering the deadness of Sarah's womb. Their baby, Isaac, was birthed by the power of God through their faith and belief in God. Romans 4:20 (NKJV) says, He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also bale to perform.

We also see Mary, the mother of Jesus who through faith believed in God's Word that she could have a baby without knowing a man for she said to the Angel of the LORD, "Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38). Mary, a virgin, became the mother of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35).

In this chapter 11, we see the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. All these resurrections were in a way laying a foundation for our faith in the ultimate resurrection of Christ who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. Romans 8:32 reminds us that if God was able to give His beloved Son, how would He not freely give us all things?

I'll end with this Word found in Hebrews 6:9-10 (NASB)

9. But, beloved, we are convinced of better things regarding you, and things that accompany salvation, even though we are speaking in this way.

10. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints.

    
    

Amen, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to receive eternal life and be born again into God's Kingdom, that is saved and have a personal relationship with God as Your Father and you as His child by receiving His Beloved Son, Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, I invite you to say this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

GLORY TO GOD, You are now a new creation in Christ Jesus! In case you have not already, please prayerfully consider becoming a member of a church and get WATER BAPTIZED!

If you have not already, I encourage you to read chapters 1-11 of John's Gospel! GOD BLESS YOU