The Promise of the Resurrection

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Promise of the Resurrection. He will be in John 11:37-44

It’s not that somehow God has initiated our suffering in our life but as we walk in this flawed world that is full of sinfulness and we encounter suffering that we have a Savior who has not only suffered for us but we have a Savior who suffers with us.

Welcome to Hope Worth Having. This is Pastor Mike Sanders and we are delighted to be able to share God’s Word with you today. Today we’re going to be in the Gospel of John chapter 11 verse 37 through 44 and we’re starting a new study on the promise of the resurrection.

It’s exciting to be able to study about the resurrection because we know that one day the Bible says all in Christ are going to be resurrected. We’re looking forward to that moment. I want you to join me as we learn more about this great promise that God has given to each one of us.

Jesus used his miracles as evidence to support that he truly was the Savior. Jesus was not ashamed to claim that he was sent from the Father and that he was here to bring forgiveness and grace and salvation to all who would believe in him.

For the last few months we’ve been studying the Gospel of John and as we walk through the journey of Jesus’s life in this Gospel, John has helped us to see that Jesus truly is the Messiah. John has unveiled for us the seven signs that Jesus performed to validate that he truly was sent from the Father.

In chapter 2 you remember that Jesus turned water into wine. In chapter 4 Jesus healed the official son. In chapter 5 we see that Jesus healed an man who was by the pool of Bethsaida and then we come to chapter 6 and Jesus feeds over 5 ,000 people simply from a little boy’s lunch and then Jesus amazingly in the midst of a storm on the Sea of Galilee walks on the water and reminds his disciples not to be afraid and then in chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man and then we come to chapter 11 where we’re at today the climax of all that Jesus would perform as a sign to validate that he truly is the Savior it is the resurrection of Lazarus we pick up in verse 37 the scripture says some of them said could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that even this man should not have died.

Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, take ye away the stone, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he has been dead for four days.

Jesus said unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me, and I know that thou hearest me always.

But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou has sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth! And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about him with a napkin.

Jesus said unto him, loose him and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Because the miracles pointed to the message, and the message was that God sent his son to bring salvation and forgiveness to all who would believe in him.

This morning I want us to reflect on the promise of the resurrection and what it means to our life. When we back up in John chapter 11, Jesus gave that promise when he said in verse 25, I am the resurrection and the life, and he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Believeth. Thou this, the promise of the resurrection, what does it mean to me? Number one, it gives me purpose when I suffer. It gives me purpose when I suffer in this life. Again, verse 37, there were those who were there.

They saw the weeping and the grieving of the family. And just like Jesus, they were overwhelmed with the sorrow and the sadness that was present at the death of Lazarus that was upon this family. And verse 37 says, they said, could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died.

It is the question, why God? Why didn’t you do this or why didn’t you do that? Why would you allow this into my life? Question of suffering is the most difficult for us to handle. It is even an obstacle for many to believe in Jesus Christ.

I remind you that we live in this world that is flawed, in this world where there is so much suffering and pain. And even yesterday, you and I heard the news of a senseless tragedy, a such a difficult and sad situation of someone invading into a worship house where people were gathered to practice and exercise their faith in freedom and expressing their faith to their God.

And yet someone out of hate and anger came in there and recklessly took lives out of this world. And all of us, even as followers of Christ in our hearts, if we’re honest, we wonder why. Why does this have to happen?

There are no good answers to suffering. There are no good answers to why people act out the totality of their sinfulness and depravity in their life. There are no good answers relating to why this may take place.

And in the moment and the experience of suffering, it is difficult for us to see with clarity. And so we understand the question that these individuals brought forth in this time of suffering. But I want you to know that the promise of the resurrection reminds each and every one of us that even as we suffer, as we walk through the journey of sorrow in our life, that there is an opportunity for God’s work to be manifested within us.

Jump back to verse 4 of chapter 11. And again, Jesus speaks to the people. He heard about Lazarus’ sickness. The Bible says that when Jesus heard that, He said, sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified thereby then we come down to verse 40 and Jesus said said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest see the glory of God that even in our sufferings there is purpose it’s not that God has caused our suffering it’s not that somehow God has initiated our suffering in our life but as we walk in this flawed world that is full of sinfulness and it is full of sinners and we encounter suffering that we have a Savior who has not only suffered for us that we might have forgiveness and grace and salvation but we have a Savior who suffers with us for he does not leave us alone and that in the midst of our sorrow he brings purpose out of the tragedy He brings significance out of the pain.

Ephesians 1, 11 reminds us that in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him, who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. God is working everything in our life after the things of the counsel of His own will.

He is accomplishing His purpose in the tragic and the triumphant. He is up to something in our life. And that no matter what we face, that there is purpose in that suffering. And Jesus is using this miracle to show each and every person that is watching our life, that He is the source of life.

And that is what He’s trying to communicate to the family of Lazarus, that He is the source of life. And that even though He has allowed this death to take place, He wants to manifest the glory of God.

He has a plan, not to heal a sick man, but a plan to raise a dead man. He has a plan for people to see the greatness of the glory of God. And that this seeing the glory of God would draw people to true salvation and faith.

You did catch that at the end of the text in verse 45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, what did they do? They believed on Him. And what may be the hardest thing for us to accept this morning is that God would use suffering in my life to help others believe in Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul put it this way in the midst of his suffering. He said in 2 Corinthians 1 .6 that if we are afflicted… It is for your comfort and salvation. And if we are comforted, it is for your comfort which you experience when you patiently endure the same suffering that we suffer.

We live in the midst of a watching world, a world that is watching how we handle suffering. And in our response to suffering, it is a message to their hearts. For anyone can believe in a God when their bank account is full, when they’re working overtime and there’s plenty of work to do.

But how is it that we can trust God when things seem so hopeless, when we have lost our job, when our health is not doing as good as it used to be, when we are enduring loneliness and betrayal in our life?

It is your response to suffering. that sends out the message of God to the watching hearts of your family and your friends. How is it that you can send out that message that even in your affliction there is comfort, in your affliction there is salvation.

It must be rooted in the promise of the resurrection. And in that promise you find that there is purpose even when you suffer. Too often we worry when we should wait on the Lord. We resist His will when we should rest in His promises.

Often God delays in our life are simply explained in that God is teaching us and others about His glory and His grace. Hebrews 10 36 says you have need of patience that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise.

There is purpose in what you’re walking through today and my encouragement to you this morning is to allow the Lord to refine your heart through the suffering and that as you respond in faith and trust God would use your suffering to reach out to others who are watching.

The promise of the resurrection gives me hope when I struggle. We see the struggle and the emotions of this event of the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus and I guess what amazes me is the emotions of our Savior.

We back up to verse 33 and John chapter 11 when Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping which came with her he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Verse 35 Jesus wept. Verse 38 Jesus therefore again groaning Himself cometh to the grave and it was a cave and a stone lay upon it, and Jesus said, take away the stone.

Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinks, for he has been dead for four days. The emotions of even our Savior, I want you to see that this morning. It’s not that just that Jesus was sympathizing and empathizing with a grieving family, but there is even a touch of anger in Jesus’s heart.

In the words that are used in our English translation of groaning, there is the idea of anger and irritation in this word. And Jesus is angry not at the mourners. He is not angry at anyone that is present.

He is angry at death. He is angry at what death is communicating to the people who are round. For Jesus knows that there is hope when we struggle, and he is upset that death would try to rob that hope out of the heart of God’s people.

He is upset that even as we struggle and we grieve, that there is sometimes a sense of hopelessness in our hearts, and Jesus hurriedly and bluntly gets to the grave, and he just commands that the stone be rolled away, and then when he yells, and literally the idea is that he raised his voice in verse 43, Lazarus come forth.

There’s no gentleness in Jesus’s voice. He is irritated at death, and he is ready now to show the people that there is hope in the resurrection and the power of Jesus Christ. In Martha’s mind, it was too late.

She had come to the conclusion that there was no way that there could be life, and therefore she was worried that Jesus would embarrass himself and embarrass the family by rolling away the stone, and that the smell would be overwhelming, and that it would only compound the hurt and the grief and the absence of Lazarus.

It is no wonder that Jesus just cuts to the chase and says, roll that stone away, Lazarus come forth, because immediately he wants them to experience the hope. I remind you that we have a savior who offers hope to every one of us as we struggle through trials in life.

He senses our emotions, he is not angry. with his people but rather is irritated that death would try to rob our joy and the psalmist said it so well referring to God the Father you number my wanderings you put my tears into your bottle are they not in your book every tear that you have shed every prayer that you have prayed every groaning that you have expressed you have a Savior who cares and he is ready immediately to intervene and to show you that there is hope even in grief even when we struggle the promise of the resurrection gives me focus when I’m distracted verse 40 Jesus said unto her said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe thou shouldest See the glory of God.

I want you to underscore that, highlight that, see the glory of God. Because I want you to know something. Lazarus family got distracted. They lost focus. And that’s what happens when we suffer. When we struggle in life, we get distracted.

Our eyes get on the problem and not the person who can solve it. Our eyes are on the circumstances and not the solution of what God is about to bring about in your heart and in your life. On that day, there were many who saw the miracle, but not everybody saw the glory.

Again, I remind you in verse 45, that many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him, but, verse 46 says, some of them went their way through the Pharisees.

A lot of people see God’s work. Unfortunately, not everybody sees the glory of God. What does it take to see the glory of God? It is to get your eyes off of whatever is distracting you and get it back on Christ because Jesus said unto the family, said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest what believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God.

Faith helps me see. And when we lack faith and we are not expressing that faith and we’re not focused on that faith, we will not see the glory of God. We will only see the mountain of problems in our life.

And I want to call you back to him this morning to get your eyes off that irritating person and get your eyes on Jesus. this morning and see the glory of God in your life and see how he is working and how he is shaping and molding your life into the image of Jesus.

For faith will help you see his glory. Number four, the promise of the resurrection gives me affirmation when I’m discouraged. Verse 41 through 42, then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.

Jesus lifted up at his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me and I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it that they may believe, that they may believe that thou has what sent me?

That’s what this chapter’s about. You think it’s about Lazarus, but it’s about seeing Jesus, about seeing the power of God. And the power of this resurrection gives me affirmation when I am discouraged.

What I think is interesting about this verse that Jesus says, I thank you, Father, that you already heard me. Jesus has been praying for the family. They wondered where he was for four days. Jesus was praying.

Why isn’t the Savior here? Why doesn’t he intervene? Jesus is praying. You’re walking and you’re suffering and you’re saying, where are you, God? Why aren’t you present in my life? Why aren’t you parting the waters?

I’m telling you, my friends, that as you and I walk through the storms of life, he is praying. For the Father always hears the Son. Jesus prayed and Jesus prays because I want you to know that in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, he has become our advocate and he is interceding for each and every one of us that believe in him.

He is praying for you. He is praying for you. You are touched that others pray for you. But is there anything greater than to know that you are on the prayer list of the Savior? Is there anything more wonderful to know that when all else others have stopped communicating to you and affirming you, there is a Savior who is praying for you and his affirmation is flowing from the throne of grace into your life and he is praying for you.

Wow. The Bible says in Hebrews 1 .3, who being in the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on earth.

What is Jesus doing? Praying for you. I wanna ask you a question. Is there ever a prayer that the Savior prays to the Father, that the Father does not answer. Do you think the Father ever says to the Son, no?

Absolutely not. Thank God He says no to us. Some of the best answers you ever got from your prayers was no, because God saved all of us from many messes, right? Ruth Graham, the wife of Billy Graham who are now both promoted into heaven, said that she would have married the wrong person had God not said no to her six times.

She had prayed that she would marry the particular guy she was dating at the time, and God said no, praise God. And some of you may be wondering, I wish you would have said that to me. No, just kidding.

The power of the resurrection finally gives me power when I am weak. When he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth! And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with napkins.

Jesus said unto them, loose him and let him go. Jesus called Lazarus from the grave. And God’s voice can raise the dead, and had not, as you have already probably learned, had not Jesus said Lazarus, all who were in the grave would have come out of that grave.

That’s how powerful his voice is. But I want you to know that his voice speaks into your life. And it is his voice that can call you out of the deadness of your sin. It is his voice that can raise you from the shame and the guilt of your sinfulness.

Praise God, there is coming a day, the scriptures teach us in John five, that all will hear his voice, and come forth from the grave, some unto the resurrection of life, and others to the resurrection of death, meaning that there is coming a day that whether you have put your faith in Christ or not, we’re all gonna be resurrected.

The question is, your eternal destination determines whether it’s gonna be unto life with Jesus forever, or unto death separated from Jesus forever. We know that there’s a great reunion coming, right?

We know that the dead in Christ are gonna rise. We don’t know when, though there are many who try to predict it, we don’t know when, but there is coming a day. And when we observe this great miracle, it not only affirms that Jesus is God.

sent from the Father to bring salvation to his people, but it also reminds us that we are witnessing a preview of what is to come for all who believe in Jesus Christ and that we are reminded this morning that death will not have the last word in my life and death will not have the last word in my family’s life because Jesus Christ has given me a promise that we shall live.

Paul said, oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? Death is not final for us as believers. Life with Christ is final for us. And hold on to the promise. that John told us, beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

You’re never gonna look better than when you see Christ face to face. You’re working hard to look good, aren’t you? And some of you are concerned about your spouse, you notice they’re not as good looking as they used to be.

But friends, they’re never gonna look better when our loved ones and ourselves see him as he is, and we shall be like him. Oh church, you have that same power living in you. It is the power of the promise of the resurrection.

Do not walk out of here as dead people. Walk out of here as alive people in Christ. Go out and tell a world that is dying, that there is life in Jesus Christ, and that he will make you alive if you put your faith and trust in him.

He will awaken your heart, and he will draw you to him, and you can experience victory over sin and over death through Jesus Christ. It is with this power that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and it is with this power he can save your soul, and he can help you as a believer live victorious from this day forward.

Jesus used his miracles as evidence to support the claim that he truly was the savior of mankind, and that he was sent to the dead. by the Father. When Jesus did the great miracle of the resurrection, there was no doubt that He was God.

There were many who claimed to be Messiah and many who claimed to do miracles, but nobody was willing and able to raise someone from the dead. And that’s exactly what Jesus did. My friends, you can believe in Christ today because He is a living Savior who not only has risen Himself, but He raises the dead.

And friends, one day all who believe will be risen again, and we will live with God forever and reign with Him. I don’t know about you, but that gets me pretty excited. And I want to encourage you to put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ and to keep your focus upon Him.

I want you to remember that your support, your prayers mean so much to us and it is so helpful to us. We want you to check out our website, see all the resources that are available to you, and we encourage you.

to join us as we continue on this mission of promoting the gospel to every person. This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.