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595 | The Greater Blessing - Part 5 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast
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  with Kimberly Miller, where we believe that every man, woman,
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  boy, and girl must come to Jesus just like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is helping you experience the reality of God in your everyday life.
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  Whether you're listening in our app, on your favorite podcast platform,
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  are on our website at watwm.org.
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  We invite you to sit down with us as we open the scriptures to learn more about
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  who God is and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Those who wait upon the Lord receive the greater blessing.
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  Isaiah 40 and verse 31 says, But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
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  They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
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  They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
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  Life's circumstances will try to push you ahead of God, and perhaps even your
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  own tendencies will try to move you in front of the plans God has for you.
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  But join us in this program of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim continues
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  to take us on a journey through the scriptures to discover the reward for waiting
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  on God and allowing Him to have His perfect way in your life.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us for this fifth lesson in the series out
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  of John chapter 11, The Greater Blessing.
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  What an absolute thrill it is to know that the Word of God is still so relevant to us today.
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  What a shame it is.
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  That there are those out there who believe that the Word of God is nothing more
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  than a history book. I've got news for you, my friends.
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  It is alive and well, and it has the answer for the very problem you have right now.
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  I've got news for you, my friends.
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  It is the celebratory words for the very joy that you feel right now.
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  Friends, I have great news for you. It is the joy that will fill the void in your heart right now.
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  The Word of God is the words that will speak peace to your troubled life.
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  It is the fun that we have as we walk in the ways that He would have us to walk.
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  It is the hope we have that wakes us up in the morning with the spring in our step.
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  And joy in our speech. It is the words to say when we have nothing else to say.
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  It is the answer to all of life's events.
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  It is the answer to every question you'll ever face, whether it be good or whether it be bad.
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  And I can say that unequivocally because
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  my Bible says that the word was made flesh and
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  dwelt among us and jesus is
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  the answer shall we pray
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  our kind and most gracious your heavenly father lord
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  i just thank you that you speak to our hearts every day i thank
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  you dear heavenly father that you come and you dwell in us and
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  you could have lived anywhere you wanted to because you created
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  all things and all things are under your feet but you chose to
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  live in our hearts i thank you dear heavenly father
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  though that the world may not see it and the world
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  may not understand i am perfectly made because
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  i was made in your image i thank you to heavenly father
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  that i have a hope and you are that hope and i
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  thank you to heavenly father that as we begin to read your
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  scriptures i know that they will come alive and they will paint
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  for us a beautiful picture of the words and the love
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  and the mercy and the grace that you have for each of us and i
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  thank you to heavenly father that the time spent with you is
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  well spent that it's an investment we make for
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  eternity and that the return is not just out of this world but it's in this
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  world moment by moment as we speak and hear your voice as we love on you and
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  you love on us as the truth of how you intended for us to live this life unfolds
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  with each and every step we take.
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  Lord, I love you, and I am so thankful that I know that you are in this room,
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  that you are in this lesson, that your presence surrounds each of us.
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  And I just ask that you would just reach out with your loving arms of mercy
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  and grace, that you would just tap the hearts of all those that are listening to this lesson.
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  And Lord, help us to see that waiting upon you is just simply standing in your
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  presence and just simply being
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  where you would have us to be and walking in the center of your will.
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  And that the blessings that awaits those
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  who do that eye hath not seen and
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  ear hath not heard and we can barely comprehend and lord
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  we know that there is abundant great above all that we ask or think power in
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  us according to your power that we allow to work through us lord watch over
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  us and protect us help us to enjoy these times that we have together as we look at your word.
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  And Lord, I invite you to speak to me like you've never spoke to me before.
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  All these things we ask in thy most precious and holy name we pray.
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  And all of God's people said, Amen.
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  We are in the fifth lesson that we are talking about out of John chapter 11.
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  And the chapter opens up with Mary and Martha and Lazarus.
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  And Mary and Martha have a situation under hands that's very troublesome.
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  Them their brother Lazarus is sick and
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  they know exactly what to do as this
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  event begins to unfold in their life because
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  the sisters they're sending for Jesus and we
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  see as we walk through those verses that there's a personal relationship
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  between Mary and Jesus between Martha
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  and Jesus and between Lazarus and
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  Jesus and we see that that relationship is
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  personal and they speak about lazarus as being
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  one whom jesus loves and we
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  see as we go a little bit further that jesus takes time to
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  be with the disciples and he's doing his
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  work and he doesn't rush back off to go be
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  where lazarus is and he explains to the disciples that lazarus isn't asleep
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  but he's dead and the disciples had been a little confused about the word sleep
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  and jesus wanted to make it abundantly clear to them exactly what was going on.
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  And as we look at that, we gain great comfort in knowing that Jesus doesn't want us to be confused.
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  The mysteries of God are mysteries because we're not.
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  In the will of God, strong enough to fully comprehend all that happens around us.
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  And our minds are finite, but he is not the author of confusion.
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  And he doesn't want us to be in chaos and trouble and confusion.
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  So he explains to us if we ask, he says, ask and ye shall receive.
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  Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you in Matthew 7, 7.
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  And he shows us how important it is to him
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  that we understand and he gives us the
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  rules to go by because he tells us in
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  second timothy 2 15 to study to show thyself approved unto
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  god a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth
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  and he tells us that his word is a light into our path and a lamp into our feet
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  in the book of psalms and then he tells us through the story of david and the
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  Goliath. The battle's not yours.
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  It belongs to the Lord.
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  And he wants us to understand that he has a plan for us.
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  So much he wants us to know that he tells us that in Jeremiah 29, 11.
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  And it's not just any plan. It's a plan to prosper us, to give us a hope and a future.
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  He knows the way, and he's leading the way. And he tells the disciples this.
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  They move a little bit further. We see that Mary and Martha respond to the call
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  of God very differently.
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  And Martha runs out, and she meets Jesus. She has a full conversation with him.
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  She explains to him her confidence in him, and they speak, and he talks to her.
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  And then he bids, and he calls Mary to come, and Mary comes out to where he
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  is, and she immediately obeys.
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  And then we see, as we talked about so strongly and intensely in the last lesson,
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  that there's a crowd of witnesses that are watching, and then they follow.
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  And that brings us to where we are in verse
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  33 when jesus therefore saw her
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  weeping and the jews also weeping which came with her
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  he groaned in the spirit and was troubled now i
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  want you to really see the significance that i
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  feel in this verse we saw in the
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  verse ahead that she come to jesus and
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  she fell at his feet and she worshiped him and she said to him if you'd have
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  been here my brother wouldn't have died and she explains the confidence she
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  has in his power but it does not change the fact that she's not happy with the
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  circumstances you see you can have full.
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  Belief and power in god and still
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  be stressed or upset about
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  the outcome not worried whether or not god's going to take care of her whether
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  he's in control because he says but without faith it is impossible to please
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  him and you must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
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  seek him and he says that all things are working together for the good to them that love the lord.
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  And you have to believe this. But there are so many people out there that will
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  look at you and say, if you believe in him, you'll love everything he does.
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  There's a difference between believing in him and still living in the flesh
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  and wishing it was different because you just can't quite see how great it is in a minute.
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  There's a difference between believing that he's right and still living in the
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  flesh and saying, I don't understand, but I know you're right, God.
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  I don't understand, but I know you're right.
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  And this is exactly where Mary's sitting.
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  She knows he's right. She knows he's God. She knows he has the power,
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  but she also knows her brother whom she loves is dead.
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  And she also knows that she has to go through tomorrow without her brother and
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  that life as she once knew it is no longer going to be the same because her
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  brother's dead and she doesn't want that to be.
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  She can mourn in the spirit and mourn in the flesh and mourn in her body the
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  loss of what she thinks is going on and still have full confidence in God.
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  But if she only knew what God had in store, she wouldn't be crying.
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  But I believe he places this piece of scripture in here to show us he loves
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  us even though we're human.
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  And he loves us even though we don't fully understand his plans.
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  But if we place our trust in him and we believe that he's able,
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  despite the fact that we don't like the circumstances, that he's going to reward us.
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  And I believe he lays it in there just so he lets you know, Kim,
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  I don't expect perfection.
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  I expect obedience.
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  Kim, I don't expect perfection. And I don't expect you to always understand.
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  But I want you to trust me even when you don't.
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  And I believe this verse beautifully explains Mary didn't get at why it was happening.
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  She didn't particularly care for the outcome, but she was satisfied that it was the right thing.
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  And her faith in God wasn't shaken, but she was crying because it's okay to be human.
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  And he says unto her, Where have you laid him?
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  They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
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  Jesus wept.
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  In the book of Hebrews, in the fourth chapter, long about the 14th through the
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  16th verse, closing that chapter,
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  it says, and we have a high priest who was tempted as we are, yet without sin.
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  Jesus wept. The shortest verse in the entire Bible, John 11, 35.
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  And perhaps the most powerful. because in that verse, all of his heart is completely revealed.
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  Jesus has a relationship with Mary, and he sees her weeping,
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  and he doesn't want her to feel bad.
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  He doesn't want this person he loves to be hurting.
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  Jesus has a relationship with Lazarus, and he knows what's about to happen he
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  knows that he's getting ready to raise lazarus from the dead,
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  that he's getting ready to bring him to life he realizes the enormous glory of that moment,
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  that his power and the power of god is going to be completely revealed,
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  our bible tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the
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  lord and Lazarus is getting ready to come back to a sinful, wicked world.
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  And I believe in my heart of hearts that Jesus, as he's weeping there,
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  is looking down through time and realizing what Lazarus is getting ready to have to go through.
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  And he's getting ready to see what he's bringing him from.
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  And then I believe Jesus, as he's sitting there in this moment of time,
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  is feeling the glory of God upon him.
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  I believe he feels the power resting upon him.
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  I believe in this moment of time packed in John 11, 35, as Jesus weeps,
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  he feels the love of Mary and Martha.
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  I believe that in this moment of time, in John 11,
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  35, and jesus wept that jesus
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  begins to feel the enormous task he is getting ready to raise lazarus from the
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  dead he's getting ready to defeat death not quite like he's going to just a
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  few chapters away but he's gonna wrestle.
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  Lazarus from the grip of death. I believe he realizes the enormity.
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  I don't think he's at all concerned about whether he can pull it off or not,
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  but I think he sees the enormity of that task.
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  And I want you to park right here in John 11 35 with me for just a moment.
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  And I don't know what God has called you to do.
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  I don't know what work for the Lord you have. before
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  you but i do know as a minister of
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  god as a teacher of his word that
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  sometimes the task that lays before me seems extremely
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  overwhelming and i know that sometimes the task that lays before me seems like
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  it's an enormous burden and sometimes it causes me to cry but just as the tears begin to flow.
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  It causes me to cry out to God, Lord, help me.
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  If you would please let your mind and your heart just move back to that stormy
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  night on the sea when Peter and the boys are in the boat.
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  And the wind begins to come. And the waves begin to rise.
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  And fear is all about.
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  And Peter looks out across the water and he sees a figure coming towards him.
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  And he says, Lord, if it be you, bid me come.
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  The Lord says, come, Peter. And Peter walks on the water.
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  Suddenly, the circumstances of him walking on the water, the reality of how
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  that shouldn't be, the knowledge of the world that's inside of him,
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  the lack of faith that God can do anything with him and in him and through him,
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  overtakes him and he falls.
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  And Peter says, save me. And the scripture says immediately,
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  he reaches down and pulls him up.
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  Where you're at right now, with that task or that burden,
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  with that enormous work that God has privileged you to be called to do,
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  with that mission of service that he's enabling you to perform,
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  the winds of this world may be blowing.
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  The enormity of the task may begin to make you think that you're unworthy,
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  that you're incapable, that you don't have what it takes, and logic may begin to lodge in your head.
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  And block your heart.
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  I have good news. Reach those hands up high and say, save me.
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  Lord, help me. And suddenly, those tears of frustration.
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  Those tears of worry, says be anxious for nothing, but with everything in thanksgiving,
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  let your supplications be made known unto God.
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  And the peace of God that passeth all understanding will keep your hearts and
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  minds through Christ Jesus. suddenly there's a peace that flows.
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  I believe that Jesus in that moment in time who was a hundred percent man and
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  a hundred percent God I believe he wrote John 11 35 for every minister that
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  ever lived for every person who's ever been called by God to give.
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  You see ministers are servants of God they don't wear two-piece suits and ties.
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  Many ministers do, but that's not what makes them that. What makes a minister
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  a minister is a willing heart that's sold over to God that says, here I am, use me.
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  And for every one of us who has allowed the seed of doubt to crawl into our
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  hearts, he gave us 1 John 1.9.
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  If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
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  cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  But for every one of us who saw the task in front of us as enormous.
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  He gave us John 11, 35.
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  Jesus never doubted, but he wept.
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  And he said, with that verse, you couldn't do it, Kimmy.
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  Because when I was 100% man, I saw the task.
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  And I caught upon God. And I followed.
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  When Jesus weeps, the Jews recognized how much he loved him.
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  The Jews see the relationship.
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  Remember back in verses 31 and 32, people were watching and people were following.
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  And Jesus tells us in the scriptures that if I be lifted up,
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  I'll draw all the men unto me.
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  And his entire ministry, he's lifting up God.
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  And his entire ministry he is
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  showing the people the love of
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  god the mercy of god he is
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  showing him he is the lamb of god who's come
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  to take away the sin of the world he's pointing everybody to his heavenly father
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  and he leaves us here on earth to do the same to point everyone to our heavenly
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  father and everybody sees it and he said where have you laid him he wept.
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  The Jews began to look, and some of them said, Could not this man,
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  which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not
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  have died, begin to have skeptics in doubt?
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  As you begin to work for the Lord, you'll see a lot of that.
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  Perhaps in your own life you're seeing that.
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  Jesus, therefore again, groaning in himself, cometh to the grave.
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  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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  As we bring this part of the lesson to a close, Jesus is still very much aware
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  of how much he loved Lazarus.
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  He's still very much aware of what he's getting ready to call Lazarus back into.
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  And everyone is still seeing the love between Lazarus and Jesus.
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  Friends you call yourself a child of God does the world see the love you have
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  for Jesus and the love he has for you as it flows through your everyday life
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  where are you pointing others to.
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  And welcome back to the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast with Kimberly Miller,
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  where we believe that every man, woman, boy, and girl must come to Jesus just
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
• 22:43
  Our highest priority is helping you experience the reality of God in your everyday life.
• 22:49
  Whether you're listening in our app, on your favorite podcast platform,
• 22:53
  or on our website at watwm.org,
• 22:57
  we invite you to sit down with us as we open the scriptures to learn more about
• 23:02
  who God is and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.