Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Jesus does not just make claims, he proves them. Jesus does not merely say, I am the bread of life, he feeds a multitude with five loaves and two fish. Jesus does not merely say, I am the resurrection and the life, he raises a man from the dead, and in so doing, demonstrates that he. The resurrection and the life. is greater than death itself.
Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, it wasn't just a fantastic miracle. It was the power of Almighty God defeating sin and darkness. the same power offered to you and me. Today, we're learning how the resurrection of Jesus can change every aspect of our lives.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with part two of his message titled Raising the Dead. As we follow various encounters of Jesus, as recorded in John's Gospel, we've seen many of his miracles. But last time, most dramatic of all, we saw Jesus raising someone from the dead. Lazarus, who was a friend of Jesus, had been dead for four days.
Sometimes it's difficult for us to face the reality of our own death. But we must face our own mortality. Death is a fact of life.
So, this message on raising the dead is very important for all of us. Central to the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. You cannot be an authentic follower of Jesus if you don't believe that He was raised bodily from the dead. His life becomes our life as we trust in Him.
So let's encounter Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus finally arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead For four. There is.
So we asked the question, why didn't Jesus Immediately go to Bethany. when he was told that Lazarus was sick? And why did he allow Lazarus to die? Why did he allow Mary and Martha to go through such deep grief and mourning? Why?
Isn't that the most common question that we hear? Why? Which one of us has not asked? That question? In deep distress.
Why? Why? Why does God sometimes delay?
Well, from this passage we can learn four important truths. about God's delays. First, God's delays bring glory to God. Look at verse four. John 11, verse 4.
When Jesus heard it, he said, The sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Verse 40, Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you, if you believe, You will see the glory of God. And so these signs, these seven signs that we're learning about in John's Gospel, this being the last and the greatest of the seven signs, these signs display the glory of God. Secondly, God's delays deepen Our faith Look at verses fourteen and fifteen. And Jesus said to the disciples, Lazarus is dead.
And I'm glad for your sakes. That I wasn't there. What a strange thing to say. If you're not God.
So that you may believe. But let us go. to him. What happens in your life and mine when God seems to delay? Don't you just pray more often?
Doesn't it drive you? To your knees. Don't these difficult times when you're waiting on God bring you closer to the Lord? Hudson Taylor wrote, Trials afford God a platform for his working in our lives. Without them, I would never know how kind, how powerful, how gracious he is.
They bring glory to God, they deepen our faith. Thirdly, God's delays do not contradict. His love. Look at verse 3. The sisters therefore said to him, Lord, behold he whom you love.
is sick. Verse 5 now Jesus loved Martha and her sister And Lazarus. Verse 36.
So the Jews were saying, Behold, how he loved him. There was no question. that this man Lazarus was greatly loved. by Jesus. Here's the fourth one.
God's delays are not final. Look at verse 11. This he said. And after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go. that I may awaken him out of his sleep.
Yes, Lazarus did die. And is there anything more final than death itself? But for Jesus, even death is not final. Death is never final for those who receive Christ's resurrection life. This new life.
This eternal life. Why? Because Jesus is going to show that He is the only one who can conquer death. It is only the living word of God that can give us new life. And just as Jesus spoke personally to Lazarus, he is personally speaking to you this morning.
He loves you. He knows who you are. He knows your name? And you can say your name. He's calling you, he's speaking to you.
He sees you if you're spiritually dead. And you need new life, you need to be born again. And so Jesus says: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
He is the resurrection? Yes, He is the resurrection.
So that those who believe in Jesus Christ Although they physically die, they shall live. They shall be resurrected. For the Christian, for the follower of Jesus Christ, there is no spiritual death. I am the resurrection. He who believes shall live, even if he dies.
John on 1. The great, probably the most outstanding of the English Puritans lay dying. And his secretary began to write to a friend, I'm still in the land of the living. Owen says, stop. Change that to say, I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.
Do you have that confidence? We're in the land of the dying. We don't know who's going to be next. But for believers in Jesus Christ, our hope is in the land of the living because our trust is in the resurrection and the life. Jesus Christ.
in his resurrection life conquers Death. That's the first thing I want you to understand. That this resurrection life conquers death. Secondly, this resurrection life conquers bondage to sin. Christ in His resurrection not only conquers death, He conquers the power of sin, He conquers sin itself and our bondage to sin.
Verse 44. Lazarus was released. He who had died came forth bound hand and foot with wrappings. And his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him and let him go.
Incidentally, when Jesus was resurrected, all of the wrappings were left behind in the tomb. Must have been very difficult for Lazarus to walk. He's all bound up with these grave clothes. But in some way he managed to hobble out of the tomb. He has new life.
He is raised from the dead, but he's still not truly free. He is truly not liberated yet. He is still bound by the clothes of death. Jesus says, unbind him, loosen. Take off the grave clothes, let them go free.
And Lazarus is then completely freed from the old grave clothes. Do you see this resurrected life? This resurrected Christ rather. If you follow him. will not only give you new life, He will give you true liberty.
Not only does he conquer death, He conquers our bondage to sin. And one of the great metaphors in the New Testament to encourage the Christian to live a life free from the bondage and the power of sin. is to put off our old clothes, the old grave clothes. and to put on new Clothes. You know what it is.
You wear something that's old, it's very comfortable. People look at it and wonder why you're still wearing it, but you like it. It's comfortable, isn't it, men? Our wives say, Why are you still wearing that old thing? We like it.
It's comfortable. We understand it's a bit out of fashion. It's a bit old. It's a bit dirty. But we like it.
It's comfortable. And so it is. When we follow Jesus Christ, I'm talking to those of you who know Christ.
Some of the old sins. are pretty comfortable, aren't they? We like them. We enjoy them. Our old clothes, our old mindsets, our old habits, our old speech patterns, our old lifestyles.
They belong to the past life before we come to Jesus Christ. And so, in passages such as Ephesians 4, Paul instructs us to put off the old clothes. Anger. Dishonesty, abusive speech. Unforgiveness, bitterness, for example.
They're old grave clothes. They're the clothes you wore before you came to Jesus Christ. Why are you still wearing them? Put on the new clothes. Kindness.
forgiveness generosity Grace. Truth. Love. Holiness, peace. Put on our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul would say.
So I ask you. You who say you're following Jesus Christ. Are you still bound by some of your old sins?
Some of your old habits some of your old lifestyle. Don't you want true freedom? Don't you want true liberty? A man was on the side of the road with a large birdcage. A boy noticed that the cage was full of birds of many kinds.
Where did you get these birds? he asked. All over the place, the man replied. I lure them with crumbs. pretend I'm their friend and when they're close I net them and shove them into my cage.
The boy asked and what are you going to do with them now? the man grinned. I'm going to prod them with sticks. and get them really mad so they fight and kill each other. Those that survive I will kill, none will escape.
The boy looked at the man. What made him do such things? He looked into the cruel hard eyes. Then he looked at the birds, defenceless, without hope. Can I buy those birds?
the boy asked. The man hid a smile, aware that he could be on to a good thing if he played his cards right.
Well, he said hesitantly, the cage is pretty expensive and I spend a lot of time collecting these birds. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll let you have the lot, birds, cage and all, for fifty dollars and the jacket you're wearing. The boy paused. Fifty dollars was all he had.
The jacket was new and very special. In fact, it was his prized possession. Slowly he took out the fifty dollars and handed it over. Then, even more slowly, he took off his jacket, gave it one last look. and then handed that over to.
And then Well, you know what he did. He opened the door and let the birds go free. The enemy of the world, Satan, was on the side of life's road with a very large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it was crammed full of people of every kind, young, old. from every race and nation.
Where did you get these people? The man asked. Oh, from all over the world, Satan replied. I allure them with drugs, lust, alcohol, lies, anger. Hate.
Immorality, love of money, and all manner of things. I pretend I'm their friend, out to give them a good time. Then when I've hooked them into the cage, they go. The man asked, and what are you going to do with them now? Satan grinned.
I'm going to prod them, provoke them, get them to hate and destroy each other. I'll stir up racial hatred, defiance of law and order. I'll make people bored, lonely, dissatisfied, confused, and restless. It's easy. People will always listen to what I offer them, and what's better, blame God for the outcome.
And what then? the man asked. Those who do not destroy themselves, I will destroy. None. will escape.
Me, says Satan. And of course another man steps forward. A man The God Man. who says, I love these people so much. that I will die for them.
I will give my life. to set them. Free. And so our Lord Jesus Christ. The Savior of the world comes into this world.
Do you understand this? To pay for your sins, to pay for your release, so that you can be free from Satan's trap. Free from the old grave clothes. You say, how does he do that? He goes into death itself, dying on the cross, paying the price for your sins.
opens the door As we read last week, I am the door. By me, if any man enters in, he will be saved and will go in and out and find. Pasture. Those who are deceived and caged by Satan can be set free. Today, is there anyone here running back to your old tomb?
Of course there are. To your old grave clothes? To the comfortable but binding habits of the old life. Anyone like that? I know there are.
We're all tempted to do that from time to time, aren't we? Are your hands still bound with the old grave claws? Stopping you from serving the Lord. Is your mouth still bound with your old clothes stopping you from praising the Lord? Perhaps you need to be set free.
today from a dirty, abusive mouth. Perhaps you need to be set free, Christian friend, from a very critical, complaining attitude. Perhaps you need to be set free from a covetous, complaining spirit. Perhaps you need to be set free from sexual lust. Perhaps we need to be set free from addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Perhaps you need to be set free from an unforgiving spirit which is wrecking your relationships, your home, and everything else that you touch. You see this resurrection life. It's not only a life which conquers death. And gives us eternal life. It sets us free from the patterns of the old life, from sin itself.
So Paul says it was for freedom. That Christ set us free. Christian friend, are you living in that freedom? Are you living in that freedom? That's the great message of Romans chapter six, that if you have been saved by God's grace, you have now been freed from the power, the dominion, the bondage of sin.
Christ is saying to you today, you are no longer a slave of sin. Before you came to Christ, you could do nothing else but sin. But now, as a believer in Jesus Christ and dwelled by the Spirit of God, You are no longer a slave to sin. Let it all go. You are set free.
Be unbound and let it go. This resurrection life. conquers Not only death, It conquers the power. That's it.
Now very quickly before we go. This resurrection life also conquers our fear. It conquers death. Conquers the power and the bondage of sin. and it conquers our fear.
The Jews conspire not only to kill Jesus, but conspire to kill Lazarus. They don't want Lazarus around, do you? Would you want them around? For some time the Jews have been seeking to kill Jesus. After the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the Jews planned to kill him.
Chapter 11, verse 53. Anyone associated with Jesus is now suspect. and through The witness of Lazarus Many were believing in Jesus. Look at chapter twelve, verse nine. Have you noticed this before?
John twelve verse nine. The great multitude therefore of the Jews learned that he was there And they came. not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. But the chief priests took counsel that they might put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing. In Jesus.
Lazarus raised from the dead must have been quite an attraction, right? Wouldn't you want to have seen someone who'd been dead for four days? And risen from the dead? This resurrected life which Lazarus received from Jesus Conquered his fear of the chief priests. They are threatening to kill Lazarus.
But how do you scare a man who's been dead for four days and raised from the dead? How do you intimidate a person? Who has experienced personally the power of God in his life? Imagine they say to you, Lazarus, if you continue to witness about Jesus Christ, we're going to put you to death. Oh, okay.
That's fine. I've already been there.
Alright, you know the one who's the resurrection and the life. I know the one who is greater than death. What do you think you can do for to me? And so he is this wonderful, powerful witness. to Jesus Christ.
personally knowing Jesus. the resurrection and the life conquers all. our fears. Christian friend, why are you living in fear? Remember what Jesus said, Matthew 10, verse 28: Do not fear those who kill the body.
But are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Or if you don't know Jesus Christ personally as your Saviour, And Lord, you should be afraid to die. But for those of us who know this one who's the resurrection and the life. He dispels our fears, including the fear of death. Because we know the one who has gone into death and who has conquered death, and our life is eternally united with him.
We thought last week that he gives his sheep eternal life and they shall never perish. And we don't select the day when we die. It may be today, it may be tomorrow, it may be years ahead. That's in God's sovereign purposes, and so we trust him. He removes our fears.
Meantime, we witness for Jesus Christ. How is it can those in foreign parts When they're persecuted for their faith, as we think down through the history of the church to today's date. men and women. in places where they've been persecuted have stood firm for Jesus Christ. Why?
Because they know the one Who is the resurrection? And The Life. I want you today. I want you this week. To go to your neighborhoods, to go to your offices, your schools, your hospitals, wherever God in His sovereign purposes have placed you and witness for Jesus Christ.
You say, I'm a bit afraid, be a Lazarus. You know the one who has conquered death and tell people. Of God's love for them. and of how salvation is found. In Jesus Christ, don't be afraid.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pivotal event of all human history. Because Jesus rose from the dead He has conquered death. He conquers sin. And the bondage to sin. He conquers all of our fears.
He still says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live, even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. And as he says that to Martha, he asks the question that I ask you. Do you believe this?
Do you believe this? Do you believe this? What is your personal response? to this one Who dies for your sins and who conquers? Death.
If you don't know the Saviour. I want the fear of what others may think to go from you and come and kneel here. and receive Christ. As your saviour. Others of you are followers of Jesus Christ.
But you've allowed sin to come in and to bind you once again. You've not been freed entirely from these old grave clothes. There's some of these old clothes that you've got to put off. Why are you living that way? Why are you living in bondage?
Why are you allowing that sin to dominate you and get control over you and to rob you? Of joy. Will you come? and confess that sin and ask the Spirit of God. to overwhelm you.
That you will leave here. with the assurance That you are following a person who's not only greater than death, but is greater than the power of sin in your life.
Some of you here with fears, your fear of witnessing. Spiritually speaking, you're a bit of a wimp. You need courage. You need to be a Lazarus. You've got other fears in your life.
Will you come and will you leave them here? And say, I am trusting. in the Jesus who is the resurrection and the life. and that I'm going to trust him with all of my heart. Because he conquers death.
He liberates me. from my sen and he dispels all. Of my fears. Her father. Under God, we thank you.
that our Saviour is alive. Forevermore, never again. Never again. to go into the tomb. Never again.
to be crucified. He is the one who was dead and it's alive. forevermore. May His Spirit now, Father, be evident working in our hearts.
Some of us All of us now must respond and to do business with you. Help us, Father. to respond not tomorrow, not when we go home. But now bless us and work in our hearts. We thank you.
And pray in the name of the One who is the resurrection and the life. Amen. You're listening to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the conclusion of a message titled Raising the Dead. Be sure to keep listening because John will be back in just a moment with his closing remarks for today's program. In our current series called Encountering Jesus, We're learning that life with God is more than just a religion or ritual.
It's an actual relationship. But perhaps you've been going through a tough time. Maybe you're struggling to find hope and to put your trust in God.
Well, to help you navigate through some of life's most difficult issues, John has written a practical and straightforward guide called Trusting God in Tough Times. and we'd love to send you this helpful resource today. Just go to our website at theverdict.org. and request or download your free copy of Trusting God in Tough Times. And if the Verdict Ministry has made a positive impact in your life, we encourage you to consider making your own impact in the lives of other listeners and being a part of this gospel work by supporting our ministry with a financial gift of any amount.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Can I ask you to take a few minutes and reflect if you truly know Jesus Christ? Do you have the assurance of eternal life? This eternal life is so powerful that it conquers death, so that even when we die, we live forever with Jesus Christ. And even now, all of life is transformed with the power of Christ.
So don't ignore death, don't fear death, but rather face it and trust Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. Join me next time as we continue encountering Jesus. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
