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565 | Raised to Live · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman.
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At the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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Tonight, as we begin to look at this message called Raised to Live,
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I'm certain that all of you, if not just almost all of you, are extremely familiar
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with the account in John chapter 11.
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In fact, we usually think about this raising of Lazarus from the dead as something
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that is miraculous, that his resurrection is almost unbelievable.
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And I believe all of us should deem his resurrection from the dead as miraculous.
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I do understand it's hard to believe. But I want you to think about tonight
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something that you may have never contemplated.
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And that is this.
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He resurrects each of us when he saves us.
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He changes us from a life that is bound for hell, that is death.
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A life filled with sin and he
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resurrects us to a new life in
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christ jesus and tonight as we
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begin to look at this passage of scripture i want you to really think about
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the resurrection of jesus christ in your life i want you to understand who he
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is and what he's done and why he has given you this resurrected life.
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And then I want to ask you this question.
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What have you, a born-again believer.
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A new creation in Christ Jesus. What have you done as a result of the resurrection
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from death to life found only in Jesus?
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Tonight, as we begin to study and look at John chapter 11, the lens at which
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I want you to read this entire chapter through is this.
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It's found in John chapter 11 and verse 25, and it goes like this.
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Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.
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He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
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In John chapter 11, verse 25, we find the nugget, the seed, the crux of this
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entire message, and that is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
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And when you believe in him, you are no longer dead, but you are raised to life.
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Jesus has resurrected every single believer, and we need to live as we are resurrected.
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Unfortunately, in so many of our lives, we are still living in our old ways.
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We are still looking back like Lot's wife.
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We are still got one hand in our sin and another hand seeking for Jesus,
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but he says, I am a jealous God.
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You'll have no other gods before me. He said, I have to be number one. I have to be primary.
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And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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And no man cometh into the father, but by me. And when he resurrected us to
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a new life, he made us zealous of good works, peculiar people seeking a city
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whose builder and maker is God.
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And he says that seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and
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all these things shall be added unto you. We are resurrected beings.
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But I often wonder if those around us have witnessed the resurrection like all
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of those saw when Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth.
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I submit to you tonight that each and every one of us should have a witness
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that those around us know we have the resurrected life living in us.
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Tonight, we're going to read in your hearing John 11, verses 1 through 44.
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Those of you that are normally in the church are probably excited because I
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asked you to stand for God's reading, and that would have been a long stand tonight.
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But I still encourage you to stand for God's reading tonight.
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In John 11, beginning in verse 1, it goes like this.
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Now, a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany. the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
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It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with
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her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
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Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
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When Jesus heard that he said, this sickness is not unto death,
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but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
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Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he had heard,
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therefore, that he was sick,
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He abode two days still in the same place where he was.
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Then after that he saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.
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His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee,
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and goest thou thither again?
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Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?
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If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of
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the world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
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These things said he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus
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sleepeth, but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
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Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
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Even the disciples knew how good a good rest was.
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Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
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Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
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And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent you may believe.
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Nevertheless, let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus,
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unto his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.
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Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
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Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem about fifteen furlongs off,
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and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
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Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him.
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But Mary sat still in the house.
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Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not
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died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou would ask of God, God will give it thee.
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Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
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Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day.
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Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth
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in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
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And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
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Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art
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Christ, the Son of God, which should come to the world.
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When she had so said, she went her way and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying,
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The master is come and calleth for thee.
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As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came unto him.
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Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
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The Jews then, which were with her in the house and comforted her,
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when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her,
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saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
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Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet,
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saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
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When Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping,
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which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled and said, Where have you laid him?
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They said unto him, Lord, come see.
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Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved them.
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And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind,
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and caused even this man, should not have died?
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Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave,
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and it was a cave and a stone lay upon it.
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Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead,
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saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh. for he hath been dead four days.
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Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou
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should see the glory of God?
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Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
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Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
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Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always.
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But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
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And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
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And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes,
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and his face was bound about with a napkin.
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And Jesus saith unto him, Loose him, and let him go.
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Tonight, as we begin to look at this passage of Scripture and we tease it out
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from verse to verse and thought to thought,
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I implore you to continue to remember that you are looking at it through the
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lens of he is the resurrection and the life,
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and he that believeth in him, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
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I want you to see in John chapter 11 a few things.
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The first thing I want you to know is that he was friends with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
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That gives us this confidence of knowing that Jesus Christ, who is fully man
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and fully God, was very much like we are.
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And in Hebrews 4, verses 14 through 16, we are told that he is tempted like
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as we are, yet without sin.
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And he invites us to boldly come to the throne of grace.
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The importance of that is this. We see evidence all through Scripture that Jesus
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can understand where we are.
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That Jesus understands who we are, and Jesus understands the thoughts of our
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minds, the intents of our hearts, and he gets what it takes to be human.
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And because of that, he loved us so much that he paid the price for me and you to go to heaven.
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But in verse 4, we read this. When Jesus heard that, he said,
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this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God
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might be glorified thereby.
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Now, this brings up point number one about what we need to see.
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In John chapter 11, sometimes God has a plan that calls for your suffering.
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And you say, well, I didn't sign up for that. Yes, you did.
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Because you believed in who he was. You received his free gift of salvation brought to us by grace.
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And he said that you have to take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow him.
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Sometimes following Jesus can be difficult.
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He always gives us what we need to get it done, but we sometimes have to war
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and fight against the flesh.
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The flesh doesn't want to do holy things.
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Yet Jesus said, be ye holy, for I am holy.
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Jesus said, come out from among them.
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Jesus said, show the way, be the light, I'm the light, and I'm the light in you.
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And sometimes Jesus requires us to suffer.
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Lazarus, he was dying, and then he was dead.
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Mary and Martha had to watch something grueling for them, something that terribly
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upset them, and something that jostled against what they knew who God to be.
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They knew that if God had been there, their brother wouldn't have died, yet he wasn't there.
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And they had to think about that. So often in our lives, we try to figure out God's plan.
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So often in our lives, we pass judgment on God's plan for our life.
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I think that tonight, before we go further, it would behoove each of us to remember
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that we are bought with a price.
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We are not our own, but we belong to Jesus Christ who shed his blood,
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his sinless perfect blood, to redeem us from all sin.
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Jesus loves me, this I know. And he said, in this world you'll have trouble,
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but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.
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So, friends, it's not a time for us to be in despair. It's not a time for us to be bewildered.
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It's not a time for us to wonder what's going on when we find ourselves suffering
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for the name of Jesus Christ.
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When we find ourselves in our life doing things that we don't like, but God says do.
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When we find ourselves in a place where we're not comfortable, but God gives us grace.
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Because when we know who he is, when we believe who he is, and when we follow
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him, we understand that in Jeremiah 29, 11, when he said, For I know the thoughts
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that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
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thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
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Other translation says, I know the plans.
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For me, I'm super glad he knows me and he thinks about me.
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His plan is a good plan, and His plan is the best plan.
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See, Jesus can see in front the future, behind the past, and anything that's
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coming at us, left or right.
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Tonight, I think it's important that we understand that when He said in Romans 8,
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28, and we know that all things work together for
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the good to them that love the lord who are called according
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to his purpose those things in your life are meant for your good and his glory
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you know it's hard to purify any kind of metal and to do it you run it through intense heat.
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Heats a lot of suffering, and I believe that walking through this sinful,
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wicked world, sometimes we get run through the heat so that we can be purified.
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Sometimes that's what it takes for God to get our attention.
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Sometimes that's what it takes
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for God to purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.
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So the first lesson we learn in John chapter 11 is sometimes God has a plan
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that calls for your suffering.
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But don't be discouraged. He won't keep you in the suffering.
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Sometimes, point number two, God has a plan that calls for delay.
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In john chapter 11 verse 6 it says
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when he had heard therefore that he was sick he
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abode two days still in the same place where
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he was now i don't know about you but
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that would give me great angst in my soul if my friend knew that i was in need
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that if my friend knew that i was hurting if my friend knew that i needed help
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and they just hung out for two more days before they came i I would begin to wonder, do they love me?
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How is it that they could watch me suffer? How is it that they couldn't reach
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out a hand if they have it?
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Because I would be wondering why. And in this case, I would be doubting the
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greatest friend you'll ever have.
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He sticks closer than a brother.
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He is a friend who loves you like no other.
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Greater love hath no man than this, and a man would lay down his life for his friends.
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In this particular instance, we have to trust the process.
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And how can you trust the process of who Jesus is if you don't know it?
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So often in our life, as God is getting ready to resurrect us into some miraculous
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plateau of blessing and joy and peace,
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we miss it because we haven't learned who
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he is we are looking at him
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like our friends that are here on earth we're looking
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at him like the people who would not be there if we asked him to be there but
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jesus can see the future and jesus can see the past and jesus knows everything
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all around so i'm telling you you might be suffering right now but you're not
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suffering alone because he He said he'd never leave you,
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and he would never forsake you.
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You're in a delay, and I'm trying to tell you, you've got to trust the process.
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And the only way that you can trust the process is to trust Jesus himself and
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to believe he is who he says he is, and he'll do what he says he'll do,
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and to know the promises of God, which says that he will come again,
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and receive you unto himself, that every good and perfect gift cometh down from
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the Father of lights, that he'll never leave you or forsake you,
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that he's your deliverer, your high tower.
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He's the fourth man in the fire. He shuts the mouths of lions.
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Jesus is your stronghold and the anchor in your time of trouble.
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But too often we get ahead of him. In Genesis chapter 16,
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Sarah and Abraham had been promised that they were going to have a son and that
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his son was going to just multiply the entire world and it didn't happen on.
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Sarah's timeline it wasn't happening fast enough for her so instead of waiting
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on god to allow god to align and do what he needed to do and what should be
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done in order to fulfill this promise Sarah jumps out ahead,
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and she goes to the handmaiden of Hagar,
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and she asks Abraham to conceive a child with Hagar.
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This was not God's promise.
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This was not God's plan, and Sarah had to have known it because God didn't tell Sarah to go to Hagar.
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She devised that plan in
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doing so hagar becomes pregnant and sarah regrets what she's done she begins
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to mistreat hagar she causes hagar all kinds of trouble and she runs hagar off
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hagar has a son his name is ishmael,
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And the scripture says he's a wild one. And you probably know the story.
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Forever him and his descendants are fighting in turmoil and chaos because Sarah
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did not wait upon the Lord and allow him to renew her strength and to raise her up like eagles.
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Sarah went her own way, doing her own thing. and in doing so, she got ahead of God.
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You can't take matters into your own hands.
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No doubt, everybody who wanted Lazarus to be healed wanted Jesus to be in Bethany, but he wasn't.
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See, Jesus had a plan.
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Remember the Jeremiah 29? Jesus has a plan.
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To prosper you, to give you a hope, to give you an expected end.
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If you get ahead of the Lord, if you take matters in your own hands,
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it's not going to end well.
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And it didn't end well for Sarah and Abraham where Ishmael was concerned.
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You've got to trust the process. In Proverbs 3, 5, 6, and 7,
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he says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not into thine own understanding.
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In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
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And then he says, Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
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We are all, when faced with delay, tempted with every fiber of our body, to get ahead of him.
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And what that means is our faith becomes weak.
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Our faith has crumbled. We have stepped away from trusting in him.
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We have leaning now on our understanding and our plans, and we've stepped away
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from the providential care and plan of Jesus Christ because we've literally
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put ourselves above him, and we have created our own plan.
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And in all essence, that is saying i'm god and i know more than you are god
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and we all know how silly that sounds,
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we all know how ridiculous that turns out but unfortunately i have to think that we also all know.
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It's easy to do. No one likes the suffering. I hate to wait.
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Psalms 46.10 says to be still and know that thou art God.
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Be still. That means actively and purposely sit in the place of wait while Jesus
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works out every good thing to put you where he wants you.
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I don't think that means we grumble and complain. I don't think that means we
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vent and we yell I don't think that means we just keep pushing against the pricks
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As they say in King James I think it means we trust,
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we believe And we patiently wait Because we know we have a loving Savior Who
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met the greatest need of our life Before we even knew it And he paid the price
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for our salvation Because he loved us And he didn't save us to drop us,
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He saved us to lead us.
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Psalms chapter 23, he says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
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In John chapter 10, he says he's the good shepherd, and we are the sheep,
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and the sheep know my voice, and they follow me.
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So often in our lives, when struggles come our way, we take the reins from the
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hands of the master, and we become the ones steering the ship.
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My friend, it won't end well.
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So when suffering comes, count it all glory and joy.
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In fact, if you remember the Apostle Paul, he said his grace is sufficient.
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He had a thorn in his side, something he prayed. The Apostle Paul couldn't get
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it taken away. I have to believe it was because Paul needed the reminder.
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I'm not God. I can't answer why you're going through what you're going through.
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I don't know why there's a delay in the answer.
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I just know you got to trust the process. And you can trust the process because
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you have to trust the processor.
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Jesus loves me. This I know.
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As we continue through John chapter 11, we find ourselves in verse 9 and 10.
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Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the
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day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
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But if a man walk in night, he stumbleth because there is no light in him.
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This particular passage of scripture is him responding to the disciples because
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they're scared senseless.
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Why in the world do you want to go where they tried to stone and kill us? It's not fun there.
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It's not safe there. It's a bad idea.
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And you stop for a second and you chuggle on your soul. Who would tell Jesus
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it's a bad idea? We do it every time. We don't do what he asks.
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We do it every time when we offer a counteroffer, when he's asked us to do something.
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See, Jesus in his wisdom is trying to tell them in darkness,
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you're going to stumble and fall.
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But in the light, and I am the light, you're going to be able to see.
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Listen, boys, I'm with you.
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I'm the light. I will get you safely to the other side.
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So often in our lives, we forget that he's the light of the world.
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Sometimes he only shines a light just enough for you to put half of your foot
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down in front of you, because without faith, it's impossible to please him.
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And so he's asking us to follow in faith, but he's telling us to walk in the light.
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Too many of us, we just piddle around in darkness. In James chapter 4,
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and I believe it's verse 8, he tells us to be friends with the world is to be the enemy of God.
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In John chapter 1 and verse 7, he says this, But if we walk in the light as
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he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
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And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin.
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Have you thought about this verse in John chapter 1, 7? He's telling us here
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that he's the light in John chapter 11 and that we're to follow him and he's
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going to get us safely through.
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And woe unto him that there's no light in him. But in John 1,
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verse 7, he says that when you have the light of him in you,
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you're going to have fellowship one with another.
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Now, there's always going to be somebody who's not walking in step with Jesus.
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But if everybody around you is not getting along with you, you might want to
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consider you're the one out of step.
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Jesus shines the way. and if we're all walking in one accord,
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following the ways that he's lighting, there'll be fellowship and joy and peace.
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In fact, in the book of Romans, he says that we are to live peaceably with all men as much as possible.
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Hey, look, I can get rubbed the wrong way as easy as anybody else can,
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but I have the balm of Gilead to ease that salve.
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He says in 1 John 1.9 that if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to
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forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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What he's telling us in John chapter 11 is when you're going into a situation
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and if I could see you, I think I could get a unanimous vote here.
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You would raise your hands. Is Lazarus not in a situation?
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Is Mary and Martha not in a dreadful situation watching their father, their brother die?
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And then suddenly he does die. And there they are thinking they know the answer,
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but he didn't come. It's a situation.
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It's a situation that's going to test our faith because we don't want to suffer for our faith.
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We don't want to suffer for God to be glorified.
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We don't like the delay. And now he's saying, okay, look, things in your life
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would be a little straighter.
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You'd have a lot more joy. You'd have a lot more goodness.
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You'd get that expected end I have for you if you would just walk in the light.
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I think the little Kimmyism here would be if you just do the right thing.
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If you just do the right thing, then you won't stumble.
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So here we are. We now find ourselves in what I find to be one of the most comforting verses,
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and just work with me here, in scripture
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john chapter 11 verses 13
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and 14 he says how be it jesus spake of his death but they thought that he had
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spoken of taking of rest and sleep so often jesus tells us something and we
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take it kind of casually we haven't read the word we don't really understand
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what he's saying and we make up our own conclusions questions.
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And Jesus doesn't have any part of that. This verse I love so much in John 11,
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14 says this, Then said Jesus unto them, Plainly, plainly.
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Listen, boys, he's not asleep.
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Get off your little theories and your high horses. Here's the deal.
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Lazarus is dead. Why do I love this passage of Scripture so much?
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Because it lets me know that Jesus really wants me to know the way.
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Jesus really wants me to know the correct assessment of my situation.
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Jesus says, little children, these things I have written unto you that you may know and believe.
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Jesus isn't out there trying to keep you dazed and confused,
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circling you around and trying to get you to not understand what he has for you.
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No, because he was pretty plain. He said, deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow me.
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He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
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Jesus has a plan, and it's a good one.
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And he's plenty happy with you
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to understand what it is he wants you to do and what he expects of you.
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Now, he may not tell you all the details at once.
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He may not tell you where those steps are going to lead. But Jesus is not going
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to speak to you and confuse you.
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If you have confusion in your life, which many times I do over certain situations,
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it's because I've got this one speaking in this ear, this one speaking in that ear.
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I've got a desire and a heart of what I want it to be.
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And I'm watching people and I'm not in the word. I'm not on my knees.
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I'm not focused solely upon him. I'm not trusting for who he is. And I'm all confused.
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But the disciples made a statement and Jesus answered.
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And he answered plainly. So if the information you're getting is confusing,
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look at John 11, verses 13 and 14, and you'll know it's not coming from God.
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Because Jesus said unto them plainly. And that's how he speaks.
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He wants you to know the situation. He wants you to understand.
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And so he's clear. Now I want to read in your hearing to make sure you're clear.
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This miracle that we read about earlier in the later parts of this chapter that
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we're waltzing our way to right now, it's imperative that you know he was not asleep.
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Lazarus was dead. And you say, well, why did that happen?
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Mary and Martha knew that if he'd been there, it would have not happened.
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Why is it? Well, I'm glad you asked.
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Because in John 11, verse 15, we read these words. and I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there.
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To the intent you may believe, nevertheless, let us go unto him.
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I'm glad for your sakes. I have read that all my life.
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I have looked, I have studied. I'm like, what in the world? I'll tell you what,
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there is blessing in the waiting.
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There's a greater blessing to be had when you follow instead of lead.
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When you are patiently sitting and soaking in the goodness of God,
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in the peace of God, in the joy of God, in the manna of God,
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in the power of God, in the protection of God, preparing for the next move God
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has for you, there is joy unspeakable and full of glory and a peace that passes understanding.
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It's easy to trust what you can see. You're not trusting anything.
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It's when you can't see When you don't know it God is going to plainly tell
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you What you need to do next But he may not tell you What the next eight steps are,
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So as we begin to look in this, we begin to see some things about Thomas,
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and we see some things about Martha, and the thing we see the most is that they are tested.
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So turn in your Bibles to John 11, beginning in verse 16.
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He says, Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples,
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let us also go, that we may die with him.
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Thomas knew Jesus.
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Thomas knew about Jesus. Thomas had seen a lot, and Thomas wanted to be around him.
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Thomas wanted to go with him. But I want you to notice he says,
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hey, let's go with him that we could die with him.
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Because remember, just a few verses earlier, there were questions,
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why are you taking us there? They tried to stone us. They tried to kill us.
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Thomas loved Jesus.
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But Thomas didn't believe Jesus for who he said he was.
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Thomas didn't understand. he was the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
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Thomas didn't understand that nothing on earth could bind him.
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Thomas loved him. But there was a lot about Jesus Thomas didn't know.
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And those gaps in what he knew caused him not to believe in what he could do.
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I believe with all of my heart that as we read this passage of scripture,
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If we are brutally honest with ourselves, we know there are gaps in our belief.
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There are weak spots in our faith. There are those real thin things so that
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when something happens, if they hit that thin spot of faith,
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they'll go right through it.
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And we'll have a hole in our faith and we'll find ourselves in despair.
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It's because we don't know the word. In 2 Timothy 2.15, he says,
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Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
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rightly dividing the word of truth.
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Yes, it means we need to be able to read it and know what it says,
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but that rightly dividing the truth also means we need to know how to apply it.
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We need to know that when the enemy comes our way, we can say,
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1 John 4.4, Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.
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We need to know that we are lonely in the middle of the night and no one can
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be seen and no one can be found, that he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
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We need to know that he's the fourth man in the fire.
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We need to understand that if we can go through the fire, we won't even get burned.
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And when we walk through the rivers, we won't flood.
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We need to know that he is our provider. He'll supply all of our needs according
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to his riches. He'll give us the strength to do what he's asked us to do.
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And we need to know he's the great I am.
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When we know these kind of things, when we've read his word and we've watched
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how he delivered the Hebrew children, we saw how he protected Noah in the ark,
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and he shut the door of the ark, and he had to only look up.
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We understand that when Jacob was meant for harm, that God wrestled him till he knew.
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When Joseph was thrown into the pit, Jesus had a plan.
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When Hagar was in the desert, she called him Elroy.
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My God sees me.
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Friends, that's what Thomas didn't have.
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We call him Doubting Thomas. He couldn't recognize him as being Jesus until
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he put his hand in his side.
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Thomas had holes in his faith because he loved him. He knew him.
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He just didn't know enough about him to trust him fully.
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Thomas, his faith is completely fails when he says, I love him and I want to be with him.
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I'm willing to die. They didn't know him.
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Hebrews 11.6 says, but without
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faith it is impossible to please
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him and you must believe that he is and
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that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
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what is it you need to do to move from a thomas-like love to a martha and mary
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kind of faith what do you need to do because see as we read in 17 through 22
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too. Here's how Mary and Martha behave.
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Then when Jesus came and he found that he had been laying in the grave four
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days already, now Bethany was nigh in Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off,
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and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother,
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then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming,
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went and met him, but Mary stayed still in the house.
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Be still and know that I am God before you judge Mary.
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Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not
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died. Here's Martha. Listen, buddy.
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I know. I know who you are. I love you. I know what you can do.
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If you'd have been here, Lazarus would be alive.
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But I really know who you are. He might be dead now.
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But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
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Martha had a face that knew who God was and could trust the process.
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And even though he had been gone four days, even though Jesus tarried and didn't
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come, Martha still knew who God was and what God could do.
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How many of us in our deepest, darkest situations, in our loneliest moments,
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in our times of trial and trouble, how many of us forget who God is?
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If he's not doing it my way, that can't be God. He can't love me.
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How many of us are guilty of praying and saying, I'm not sure God's going to do it.
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I know he can, but I'm not sure he's going to.
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That's not Martha's face That's Thomas' face That's gaping holes,
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Martha said, look You delayed, you weren't here If you were here,
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he would have been alive But hey, all's not lost You're here now, I know what you can do,
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There's a love there. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
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Martha saith unto him, I know that he's going to rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
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In other words, I know that. I want him to rise now.
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I think Jesus lets us be persistent. He says the effectual fervent prayer of
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a righteous man availeth much.
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Jesus said unto her, our filter verse, I am the resurrection and the life.
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He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he
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live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die
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then he says this believest thou this the question i have for you tonight is
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simple do you believe or do you just love him thomas loved him thomas knew about him,
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But do you have the kind of belief we read about in Luke 1.37 that says,
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for with God, nothing shall be impossible?
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And then we come to John 11.23-26 that I've read, and we begin to see that Jesus is the resurrection.
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We've talked all this time to get you to the miracle, because I want you to
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know there's preparation for a miracle.
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There's preparation for the power of God. There's preparation for the resurrection.
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Jesus says that he's the resurrection and the life. If you believe in him, you will live.
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But I want you to see what happens. Resurrection requires something of you.
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Salvation requires no works on your part, but you have to believe in the only
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name of the only begotten Son of God.
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You have to receive His grace, and you have to fully trust Him.
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So let's look solely at resurrection as we're coming to a close.
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The first thing I want you to know is that obedience proceeds.
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Resurrection in john chapter 11 verse 29
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it says as soon as she heard that this is mary
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she arose quickly and came unto him she didn't delay she didn't mess around
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she didn't go find her shoes she didn't try to ask why did god want her to do
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whatever no she obeyed scripture tells us In 1 Samuel,
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verse 15-22, he says, And Samuel said.
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Hath not the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
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as in baying the voice of the Lord?
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And then he gives us this mic drop.
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Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
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God requires your obedience. It's not a negotiable point. It's not a suggestion.
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It's not a nice thing. It is simply the truth.
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I want you to see in John 11, verses 31 through 32,
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that when Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet,
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saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
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That is a showing of faith.
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But it also shows us that resurrection produces worship.
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She was worshiping him when she was declaring who he was.
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Friends, if tonight you're struggling to figure out who Jesus is,
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if you're trying to see him in the suffering, if you're trying to figure out
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where he is in the delay, if you're uncertain of how to follow him in the light,
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now is the time to start worshiping him in faith.
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You got to faith your way through. There's a whole lot of things in this life
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that requires us to faith our way through.
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I want you to see in John chapter 11, verses 33 through 36, a truth.
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Resurrection creates a witness. In verse 36, after he comes and he sees how
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he's crying and the crowd has gathered around because of who Mary and Martha and Lazarus were,
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because of the life they lived, now here comes Jesus on the scene and they watch him cry.
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I believe Jesus weeps over my ignorance.
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I believe Jesus weeps over my arrogant pride.
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I believe that Jesus weeps when I defiantly move where he doesn't say go.
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I believe he weeps when in the suffering and in the delay, I am venting and
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I am upset and I am crying and I'm trying, not crying for his help,
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not crying out to him, but simply saying, what do you think you're doing?
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Who do you think you are to do that to me? I've never made that phrase in my life with my lips.
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I've tried to never think it, but I've lived it.
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I'm pretty certain all of us can say that.
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But how can that be? The resurrected Christ is living in me.
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I once was lost, but now I'm found. I once was blind, but now I see.
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I once was hell bound, and now I'm not.
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Jesus loves me, this I know, and by his precious blood and belief through him
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who died for me, I've been created a new creature in Christ Jesus.
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He has resurrected the dead in me.
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He has resurrected my dead soul, my death ways, my wages of sin,
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and he has created a new creature in me, in Christ Jesus.
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Old things have passed away. All things have become new.
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The resurrected Christ, he didn't save me to sit on a bench.
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He didn't save me to mock his grace.
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He didn't save me to not do what he asked. He saved me to live for him.
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He raised me to live.
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That witness that they saw is
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the same witness they need to see in me and the bible
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says that you are the light of the world a city that is set on the heel cannot
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be hid and then this question has always been interesting to me he continues
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with neither do men light a candle and put it under a candle under a bushel
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but on a candlestick and it giveth light and to all that are in the house,
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he uses the simple things to confound the wise.
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Nobody covers a light, I mean, you put a shade on it, but you don't like drown it out.
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And he says that you need to let your light so shine before men that they may
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see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.
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Lazarus has laid dead for four days.
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And he says, take away the stone, said I night unto thee, that if thou wouldest
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believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.
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And Jesus proceeds to give thanks, to give thanks to God.
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Everybody saw it. Everybody heard it.
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I heard my friend Kenny Bright today say he was grateful for God as we laid his wife in the ground.
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Do you know what a resurrected life does?
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It believes. It believes, regardless
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of the circumstances, regardless of what's happening around them.
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Whether they can see or they can't see, they walk in the light of Jesus Christ, and they believe.
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They're obedient. They worship.
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They're a witness. But when it comes down to it, they believe.
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That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same resurrection power
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that raised Lazarus when he said, Lazarus, come forth.
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He called Mary by name, and she obeyed.
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He called Lazarus by name, and he obeyed.
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He's calling your name.
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He sees you, according to Genesis 16, 13.
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He hears you according to genesis 16 11 and he loves you according to john 3 16,
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you've been raised to live for jesus the resurrection power raised lazarus to
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live the resurrection power to save that's what raises us.
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If you know Jesus Christ as Savior, you've been resurrected.
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Are you a Thomas who loves him, knows him, but doesn't believe in who he is and what he can do?
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I'm not saying that Thomas wasn't saved. I'm saying that Thomas lived below his privileges.
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But then there's Mary and Martha. If you'd have been here, circumstance,
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their brother's dead, then did not detour their faith.
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His delay didn't shoot a hole in their face. No, I believe they worshiped.
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The crowd was watching. The crowd is watching you.
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And if you're resurrected in Christ Jesus and through him, it's time you lived the resurrected life.
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So I challenge you.
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Take a close look at John chapter 11.
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Reflect on the resurrection of
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Jesus Christ in your own life And answer
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this question To those who are witnessing You live your life from day to day
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Feel and see The resurrection power of Jesus Christ Believest thou this?
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Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
52:38
quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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52:49
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52:56
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53:01
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Remember that God loves you. You are loved.