1 00:00:02,635 --> 00:00:05,638 John 11:17–27 2 00:00:07,190 --> 00:00:09,059 Now when Jesus came, he found 3 00:00:09,059 --> 00:00:12,228 that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 4 00:00:12,896 --> 00:00:17,851 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews 5 00:00:17,851 --> 00:00:21,955 had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 6 00:00:22,706 --> 00:00:26,810 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,346 But Mary remained seated in the house. 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:32,899 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, 9 00:00:32,899 --> 00:00:35,902 if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 10 00:00:36,302 --> 00:00:38,788 But even now I know that whatever you ask 11 00:00:38,788 --> 00:00:41,791 from God, God will give you." 12 00:00:41,791 --> 00:00:45,111 Jesus said to her, "your brother will rise again." 13 00:00:45,745 --> 00:00:48,231 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise 14 00:00:48,231 --> 00:00:51,234 again in the resurrection on the last day." 15 00:00:51,568 --> 00:00:55,922 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. 16 00:00:56,389 --> 00:01:00,376 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. 17 00:01:00,810 --> 00:01:04,914 And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 18 00:01:05,515 --> 00:01:07,517 Do you believe this?" 19 00:01:07,517 --> 00:01:10,520 She said to him, "yes, Lord, I believe that 20 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,457 you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." 21 00:01:19,863 --> 00:01:20,180 Well, good 22 00:01:20,180 --> 00:01:23,900 morning and welcome to the weekend here at Christ Community Chapel. 23 00:01:23,933 --> 00:01:24,868 My name is Zach. 24 00:01:24,868 --> 00:01:29,489 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm so glad we get to be part of your weekend. 25 00:01:29,672 --> 00:01:32,842 You know, 2026, we have a theme for the year 26 00:01:32,842 --> 00:01:35,845 as a church, it is more life. 27 00:01:36,029 --> 00:01:39,265 We are asking God for and believing God 28 00:01:39,265 --> 00:01:42,869 for more life in every area of our lives. 29 00:01:43,103 --> 00:01:46,623 And we're doing that in response to the Gospel of John 30 00:01:46,623 --> 00:01:50,310 chapter ten, verse ten, where Jesus says, I have come 31 00:01:50,610 --> 00:01:54,197 so that they may have life and life more abundantly. 32 00:01:54,214 --> 00:01:58,284 Jesus says his mission is to bring life even more life. 33 00:01:58,284 --> 00:02:00,353 And so we're leaning in to that mission. 34 00:02:00,353 --> 00:02:04,040 If that's what Jesus has for us, that's what we want for ourselves. 35 00:02:04,374 --> 00:02:08,244 And this spring, in our series, we're calling I Am More, 36 00:02:08,261 --> 00:02:12,799 we're seeing seven times in the Gospel of John where Jesus tells us 37 00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:17,120 that the pathway to more life is not trying harder or doing more, 38 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:18,171 it's him. 39 00:02:18,171 --> 00:02:24,294 Seven times he says, I am something, and he's inviting us to come to him 40 00:02:24,744 --> 00:02:26,579 to experience relationship 41 00:02:26,579 --> 00:02:30,817 with him and promising that that is what will lead to more life. 42 00:02:30,834 --> 00:02:33,469 That's we're going to see again this weekend. 43 00:02:33,469 --> 00:02:37,106 So if you have a Bible, you can open it up to John chapter 11. 44 00:02:37,824 --> 00:02:41,211 Follow along on the screen behind me if that's your preference or if you want, 45 00:02:41,211 --> 00:02:44,981 there's a Bible in the pew in front of you or in the back of East Hall. 46 00:02:44,998 --> 00:02:46,549 Same one I use. So I can tell you, 47 00:02:46,549 --> 00:02:50,153 today's reading is on page 855. 48 00:02:50,420 --> 00:02:53,423 You know, if you're like me, when you think of more life, 49 00:02:53,423 --> 00:02:56,426 what you probably assume Jesus is meaning 50 00:02:56,693 --> 00:03:00,480 is that there are areas of my life where I'm experiencing very little life, 51 00:03:01,431 --> 00:03:03,566 and then if I give those to him, 52 00:03:03,566 --> 00:03:06,569 I'll go from a little bit of life to more life. 53 00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:09,589 And certainly that is one thing that he means. 54 00:03:09,772 --> 00:03:11,457 But it's not the only thing he means. 55 00:03:11,457 --> 00:03:16,045 What we're going to find this weekend is that he also means areas where we have 56 00:03:16,045 --> 00:03:19,832 no life that he will take us from no life 57 00:03:20,133 --> 00:03:23,152 to more life in 2026. 58 00:03:23,152 --> 00:03:25,488 In fact, to show you that, I'm going to use a three point outline 59 00:03:25,488 --> 00:03:28,892 that'll be on the screen behind me, three points, a very simple. 60 00:03:28,892 --> 00:03:32,579 And they go like this I want to show you that death is real, 61 00:03:33,563 --> 00:03:38,067 resignation is real, and resurrection is real. 62 00:03:38,301 --> 00:03:39,953 Death is real. 63 00:03:39,953 --> 00:03:41,604 Resignation is real. 64 00:03:41,604 --> 00:03:44,240 And resurrection is real. I start with the first one. 65 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:45,892 Death is real. 66 00:03:45,892 --> 00:03:47,176 You probably noticed this 67 00:03:47,176 --> 00:03:51,447 when the story was being read, but this is a story about a death. 68 00:03:51,898 --> 00:03:54,117 But Jesus has a close personal friend. 69 00:03:54,117 --> 00:03:56,903 His name is Lazarus. Lazarus has died. 70 00:03:56,903 --> 00:04:00,473 In fact, by the time Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been dead. 71 00:04:00,473 --> 00:04:02,041 A couple of days. 72 00:04:02,041 --> 00:04:04,127 Jesus is not just close to Lazarus. 73 00:04:04,127 --> 00:04:07,280 He's close to Lazarus, his sisters Mary and Martha. 74 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:10,049 And so it's not just about the death of Lazarus. 75 00:04:10,049 --> 00:04:13,970 It's about the grief of a family, a family that Jesus is close to. 76 00:04:14,237 --> 00:04:15,121 Let me read it to you. 77 00:04:15,121 --> 00:04:18,591 Here's how it begins John chapter 11, verse 17. 78 00:04:19,158 --> 00:04:21,811 Now when Jesus came, he found that 79 00:04:21,811 --> 00:04:25,131 Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 80 00:04:25,915 --> 00:04:30,503 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews 81 00:04:30,503 --> 00:04:34,857 had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 82 00:04:35,308 --> 00:04:39,028 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. 83 00:04:39,329 --> 00:04:42,348 But Mary remain seated in the house. 84 00:04:42,498 --> 00:04:46,052 There is something evocative about these verses 85 00:04:46,052 --> 00:04:50,490 that you can feel the grief like even even when Jesus shows up 86 00:04:50,490 --> 00:04:54,560 and Mary, one of the sisters, you know, someone tells her Jesus is here 87 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,915 and Mary is so stricken by grief, she she just can't even leave the house. 88 00:04:59,632 --> 00:05:01,584 She just says, I can't do it. 89 00:05:01,584 --> 00:05:04,037 And Martha, probably more out of duty than that. 90 00:05:04,037 --> 00:05:06,172 Anything says, you know what, I'll I'll go. 91 00:05:06,172 --> 00:05:07,890 I will go say hello to them. 92 00:05:07,890 --> 00:05:11,060 You can feel their grief, especially if you've lost someone. 93 00:05:11,060 --> 00:05:12,528 You know what this feels like? 94 00:05:12,528 --> 00:05:14,213 You can feel it. 95 00:05:14,213 --> 00:05:17,216 It makes me think of a particular song that, for whatever reason, has 96 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,018 stuck out to me over the years. 97 00:05:19,018 --> 00:05:23,373 There's, an artist who, in his early 30s, lost his wife to cancer. 98 00:05:23,990 --> 00:05:28,261 They had a one year old daughter very early, very unexpected, very sudden. 99 00:05:28,561 --> 00:05:30,630 And he wrote an album about it. 100 00:05:30,630 --> 00:05:33,416 It's an interesting album because it's kind of lo fi. 101 00:05:33,416 --> 00:05:35,935 It's. It's him in the living room with the guitar. 102 00:05:35,935 --> 00:05:40,523 It's it is not artistic quality, but it is visceral. 103 00:05:40,990 --> 00:05:44,243 And he has a song, the opening song of the album, where he says this, 104 00:05:44,777 --> 00:05:46,412 he says, I can memorize it. 105 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:47,397 It's just stuck out to me. 106 00:05:47,397 --> 00:05:50,066 He says, death is real. 107 00:05:50,066 --> 00:05:51,768 Someone's there. 108 00:05:51,768 --> 00:05:53,569 And then they're not. 109 00:05:53,569 --> 00:05:58,007 And it's not for singing about, and it's not for making into art. 110 00:05:58,608 --> 00:06:03,930 When real death enters the room, all poetry is dumb. 111 00:06:05,448 --> 00:06:07,500 It's always stuck out to me, I think in part 112 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:10,503 because you can feel his grief, 113 00:06:10,586 --> 00:06:13,589 but also because his grief is multi-dimensional. 114 00:06:13,723 --> 00:06:14,006 Do you know? 115 00:06:14,006 --> 00:06:18,211 I mean, he's not just mourning the loss of his wife that that's bad enough. 116 00:06:18,494 --> 00:06:21,864 He's mourning the death of other things associated 117 00:06:22,131 --> 00:06:25,168 with his wife, the life they will not have together, 118 00:06:26,185 --> 00:06:28,337 the childhood his daughter will not have, 119 00:06:28,337 --> 00:06:31,557 the dreams they had that are now gone. 120 00:06:32,008 --> 00:06:35,011 He's he's describing death as something not just 121 00:06:35,278 --> 00:06:39,082 physiological and biological, but something bigger than that. 122 00:06:39,348 --> 00:06:41,551 And you know, that is true. 123 00:06:41,551 --> 00:06:44,454 But obviously when we lose someone, when someone physically, 124 00:06:44,454 --> 00:06:47,457 biologically dies, that is devastating. 125 00:06:47,940 --> 00:06:50,877 But it's also devastating when, for example, 126 00:06:50,877 --> 00:06:53,880 a marriage dies. 127 00:06:54,497 --> 00:06:55,915 Or a friendship 128 00:06:55,915 --> 00:06:59,068 dies or a family relationship, 129 00:07:00,319 --> 00:07:02,155 a career, 130 00:07:02,155 --> 00:07:05,158 a dream, your reputation. 131 00:07:05,458 --> 00:07:06,843 But you get my point. 132 00:07:06,843 --> 00:07:10,913 We experience death when we lose someone, but we experience 133 00:07:10,913 --> 00:07:13,916 death in all kinds of forms, 134 00:07:14,851 --> 00:07:18,654 and it's just as painful, just as powerful. 135 00:07:19,205 --> 00:07:21,340 I wonder when I put death in those terms. 136 00:07:21,340 --> 00:07:24,777 If we say death is not just who you lose, but what you lose. 137 00:07:24,777 --> 00:07:28,831 It's not just someone who dies, but something that dies. 138 00:07:28,831 --> 00:07:31,818 I wonder what comes to mind for you. 139 00:07:32,034 --> 00:07:35,338 Like what is dead in your life 140 00:07:35,788 --> 00:07:38,574 and in your story? 141 00:07:38,574 --> 00:07:41,093 Well, I think that's what this is about. 142 00:07:41,093 --> 00:07:45,047 Death in all kinds of forms is real. 143 00:07:45,898 --> 00:07:48,901 And that's painful enough. 144 00:07:49,402 --> 00:07:51,687 But if you don't mind, I'll push a little further 145 00:07:51,687 --> 00:07:54,440 and say there's a second thing that maybe is even more painful. 146 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,277 And that's not only that death is real, but that resignation is real. 147 00:07:58,945 --> 00:08:03,633 What I mean by that is we live in a world where people die biologically, 148 00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:08,838 physically, where relationships die, careers die, dreams die. 149 00:08:08,838 --> 00:08:12,258 And we've had to learn to make our peace with it. 150 00:08:13,259 --> 00:08:14,177 We've resigned 151 00:08:14,177 --> 00:08:17,430 ourselves to death being normal. 152 00:08:18,197 --> 00:08:20,783 You're going to see that in this passage, particularly in Martha. 153 00:08:20,783 --> 00:08:23,002 There's a resignation in her. 154 00:08:23,002 --> 00:08:25,221 And in fact, I want to put it into two categories 155 00:08:25,221 --> 00:08:30,476 what I'm going to call irreligious resignation and religious resignation. 156 00:08:30,476 --> 00:08:31,794 And I don't know your story, 157 00:08:31,794 --> 00:08:36,148 but maybe you'll identify with one or the other or even both. 158 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:40,169 Let me show you first, the irreligious form of resignation. 159 00:08:40,169 --> 00:08:42,238 You can find it the very next verse. 160 00:08:42,238 --> 00:08:42,588 Pick it up. 161 00:08:42,588 --> 00:08:48,961 In verse 21, Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, 162 00:08:49,912 --> 00:08:52,915 my brother would not have died. 163 00:08:53,282 --> 00:08:56,068 Or if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 164 00:08:56,068 --> 00:08:59,422 Now Mary will say the same thing later on in the passage, both sisters 165 00:08:59,605 --> 00:09:02,491 saying to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. 166 00:09:02,491 --> 00:09:04,076 I think they're saying two things. 167 00:09:04,076 --> 00:09:06,445 The first thing is that they're they're frustrated with Jesus. 168 00:09:07,547 --> 00:09:08,247 It took him a lot of 169 00:09:08,247 --> 00:09:12,051 time to get there, and by the time he gets there, Lazarus has been done. 170 00:09:12,268 --> 00:09:13,920 Been dead for days there. 171 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,073 They're mad at Jesus for not hurrying, not coming faster. 172 00:09:17,506 --> 00:09:18,958 Let's leave that for another day. 173 00:09:18,958 --> 00:09:20,793 Here's the second thing that's going on. 174 00:09:20,793 --> 00:09:25,081 What Mary is saying is, is Jesus, if you had just gotten here earlier, 175 00:09:25,197 --> 00:09:28,100 maybe you could have done something. 176 00:09:28,100 --> 00:09:30,169 Maybe you could have prayed a prayer. 177 00:09:30,169 --> 00:09:32,271 Maybe you could have worked a miracle. 178 00:09:32,271 --> 00:09:37,043 I mean, if you had just been here earlier, maybe we could have done something. 179 00:09:37,043 --> 00:09:38,911 But now he's dead. 180 00:09:38,911 --> 00:09:40,012 And here's what she's saying. 181 00:09:40,012 --> 00:09:43,015 Once something or someone dies, 182 00:09:43,883 --> 00:09:46,802 it's too late. 183 00:09:46,802 --> 00:09:49,071 That's what she's saying. 184 00:09:49,071 --> 00:09:52,041 If he had gotten here before he was dead, maybe you could help. 185 00:09:52,041 --> 00:09:54,477 Now he's dead. 186 00:09:54,477 --> 00:09:57,480 There's nothing to do if you're not religious. 187 00:09:57,480 --> 00:09:57,747 This. 188 00:09:57,747 --> 00:10:00,750 This might be how you feel when you think about death. 189 00:10:01,284 --> 00:10:06,022 Might be even your chief objection against Christianity or religions like it. 190 00:10:06,022 --> 00:10:08,357 You know, kind of saying, look, we're all going to die. 191 00:10:08,357 --> 00:10:10,076 And when we die, there's no point 192 00:10:10,076 --> 00:10:13,613 in believing a fairy tale about what happens after that. 193 00:10:13,613 --> 00:10:16,349 I'll say some more about that at the end. 194 00:10:16,349 --> 00:10:21,020 But that is what Martha is saying right up until the moment of death, 195 00:10:21,020 --> 00:10:24,690 something can happen, but once it's dead, it stays dead. 196 00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:28,010 And she's talking, of course, about the physical death of her brother. 197 00:10:28,010 --> 00:10:30,746 And we get that because you and I have been to funerals, 198 00:10:30,746 --> 00:10:32,898 and we've never been to one where the person got up. 199 00:10:34,917 --> 00:10:37,436 Once you're dead, it's over. 200 00:10:37,436 --> 00:10:40,906 But if we're honest that we feel the same thing 201 00:10:41,157 --> 00:10:45,261 about things that are dead, like, for example, I have friendships 202 00:10:45,261 --> 00:10:48,898 or family relationships that I would call dead. 203 00:10:49,999 --> 00:10:54,837 And if I'm honest about them, I have as much optimism about them 204 00:10:55,821 --> 00:10:58,107 as I would at going to a funeral and thinking 205 00:10:58,107 --> 00:11:01,110 the person will get up. 206 00:11:01,193 --> 00:11:02,812 I mean, you know this, right? 207 00:11:02,812 --> 00:11:07,233 When a marriage is dead, when a friendship is dead, when a family relationship, 208 00:11:07,233 --> 00:11:12,271 when a dream, when your reputation, when things die, they stay dead. 209 00:11:12,655 --> 00:11:14,357 We don't hold out hope for them. 210 00:11:14,357 --> 00:11:18,227 We just resign ourselves to saying that relationship, that dream, 211 00:11:18,527 --> 00:11:22,098 that opportunity, that part of myself is dead. 212 00:11:23,099 --> 00:11:23,733 So were you. 213 00:11:23,733 --> 00:11:25,968 Find yourself. 214 00:11:25,968 --> 00:11:27,353 Maybe when you think about it, you think about it. 215 00:11:27,353 --> 00:11:29,755 Maybe if I had said this, or maybe if I had done that, 216 00:11:29,755 --> 00:11:32,942 maybe if they had said this, maybe if they had done that, maybe. 217 00:11:33,142 --> 00:11:34,410 But it's too late now. 218 00:11:34,410 --> 00:11:37,380 When something's dead, it stays dead. 219 00:11:37,380 --> 00:11:40,383 That's the irreligious form of resignation. 220 00:11:40,616 --> 00:11:42,651 Let me show you another kind, though, 221 00:11:42,651 --> 00:11:44,787 because if you're here and you call yourself a Christian, 222 00:11:44,787 --> 00:11:47,840 you think of yourself as religious, as spiritual. 223 00:11:47,873 --> 00:11:50,543 You're probably more likely to fall into this bucket. 224 00:11:50,543 --> 00:11:52,011 Let me show you. 225 00:11:52,011 --> 00:11:54,497 Look at what Jesus says in verse 23. 226 00:11:54,497 --> 00:11:59,118 Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. 227 00:12:00,152 --> 00:12:02,004 Verse 24, Martha said to 228 00:12:02,004 --> 00:12:05,574 him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection. 229 00:12:05,958 --> 00:12:11,097 On the last day, Jesus says to her, Lazarus is going to rise again. 230 00:12:11,097 --> 00:12:14,300 And Martha says to Jesus, oh, thank you, Jesus. 231 00:12:14,300 --> 00:12:17,303 Yes, I know, I know the Bible. 232 00:12:17,420 --> 00:12:21,991 I know we're going to die, and eventually we're going to raised from the dead. 233 00:12:21,991 --> 00:12:25,561 We're going to stand before God, and he's going to welcome some of us into heaven. 234 00:12:25,561 --> 00:12:28,697 I know one day I'll see Lazarus again. 235 00:12:28,831 --> 00:12:30,449 Thank you for the Bible story. 236 00:12:30,449 --> 00:12:32,301 Thank you for Jesus joking me. 237 00:12:32,301 --> 00:12:35,871 Jesus, I believe in future hope. 238 00:12:36,288 --> 00:12:38,457 But here's what she's really saying. 239 00:12:38,457 --> 00:12:41,460 That has nothing to do with today. 240 00:12:42,711 --> 00:12:46,248 I wonder how many of us resonate with this. 241 00:12:47,099 --> 00:12:50,336 Martha believes in a powerful God. 242 00:12:51,003 --> 00:12:54,273 She believes in a resurrecting God. 243 00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:57,860 She just believes that all the power and the resurrecting 244 00:12:58,878 --> 00:13:01,881 is for the afterlife. 245 00:13:02,882 --> 00:13:05,751 She doesn't believe it's available today. 246 00:13:05,751 --> 00:13:08,187 Now, if you're reading the passage, you might say, well, hold on, Zack, 247 00:13:08,187 --> 00:13:09,588 I don't know if that's fair. 248 00:13:09,588 --> 00:13:12,591 Look at what she says in verse 22. 249 00:13:13,409 --> 00:13:15,594 And I want to look at that, because if you're like me 250 00:13:15,594 --> 00:13:18,414 and you are religious, this is going to hit pretty hard. 251 00:13:18,414 --> 00:13:21,317 Look at what she says in verse 22 right after she says, if you had been here, 252 00:13:21,317 --> 00:13:22,017 he wouldn't have died. 253 00:13:22,017 --> 00:13:25,020 Verse 22 she says this, but even now 254 00:13:25,104 --> 00:13:28,440 I know that whatever you ask from God, 255 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:32,278 God will give you and you say, hey, that's faith. 256 00:13:32,845 --> 00:13:34,680 She's believing. 257 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,683 But can I tell you, I don't think she is. 258 00:13:38,868 --> 00:13:41,370 I think she's doing something that you and I know how to do really well. 259 00:13:41,370 --> 00:13:44,657 She's saying the right things, but she doesn't mean them. 260 00:13:45,958 --> 00:13:46,976 Let me show you why I think that. 261 00:13:46,976 --> 00:13:48,777 Look at verse 38. 262 00:13:48,777 --> 00:13:50,095 Verse 38 says this. 263 00:13:50,095 --> 00:13:53,299 Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. 264 00:13:54,416 --> 00:13:57,386 It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 265 00:13:57,386 --> 00:14:00,389 And Jesus said, take away the stone. 266 00:14:00,956 --> 00:14:04,009 And Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, 267 00:14:04,193 --> 00:14:09,081 by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead for days. 268 00:14:09,081 --> 00:14:11,450 Jesus says, 269 00:14:11,450 --> 00:14:15,437 do you believe she says, I know whatever you ask, God will do. 270 00:14:15,504 --> 00:14:17,189 Jesus goes to the tomb. 271 00:14:17,189 --> 00:14:20,092 He moves the stone and she doesn't say it's 272 00:14:20,092 --> 00:14:23,095 happening. 273 00:14:23,095 --> 00:14:24,113 She says, hey, Jesus. 274 00:14:24,113 --> 00:14:26,098 I miss him too. 275 00:14:26,098 --> 00:14:28,617 But by now he's going to stink. 276 00:14:28,617 --> 00:14:29,935 Do you see my point? 277 00:14:29,935 --> 00:14:32,605 She doesn't believe 278 00:14:32,605 --> 00:14:33,873 she's just saying what you say. 279 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,409 How many of us 280 00:14:37,409 --> 00:14:39,678 who would call ourselves Christians believe in a God 281 00:14:39,678 --> 00:14:43,098 who's powerful, believe in a future of resurrection power, 282 00:14:43,098 --> 00:14:47,486 but believe all the power and all the resurrection is on layaway? 283 00:14:50,122 --> 00:14:51,440 I mean, we'll pray, right? 284 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,726 We'll pray. And we say all the things you're supposed to say. 285 00:14:53,726 --> 00:14:56,729 God, we believe you can do anything we're asking, 286 00:14:56,879 --> 00:14:59,882 but we don't really mean it. 287 00:15:00,382 --> 00:15:02,668 It's because we're religiously 288 00:15:02,668 --> 00:15:05,671 resigned, believing in future hope 289 00:15:06,205 --> 00:15:08,457 that really makes no difference 290 00:15:08,457 --> 00:15:11,460 to what is presently dead. 291 00:15:12,745 --> 00:15:15,798 And if that's where you find yourself, you're going to love. 292 00:15:15,798 --> 00:15:18,417 My third point, 293 00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:21,153 because not only is death real, 294 00:15:21,153 --> 00:15:24,123 not only is resignation real, 295 00:15:24,123 --> 00:15:26,659 but resurrection is real. 296 00:15:26,659 --> 00:15:29,278 Look at what Jesus says to Martha. 297 00:15:29,278 --> 00:15:32,965 Pick it up in verse 25, Jesus said to her, 298 00:15:33,933 --> 00:15:37,586 I am the resurrection and the life. 299 00:15:38,721 --> 00:15:42,141 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. 300 00:15:42,141 --> 00:15:45,561 And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 301 00:15:45,594 --> 00:15:48,263 Do you believe this? 302 00:15:48,263 --> 00:15:51,116 Jesus is saying something powerful. Here's what he's saying. 303 00:15:51,116 --> 00:15:53,268 He's saying, Martha, Martha, listen to me. 304 00:15:53,268 --> 00:15:57,289 Resurrection is not a moment on a calendar, 305 00:15:58,907 --> 00:15:59,208 is it? 306 00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:00,859 That that seems to be what you're thinking. 307 00:16:00,859 --> 00:16:04,380 You're thinking that resurrection is a calendar event. 308 00:16:04,496 --> 00:16:05,814 It's a moment in time. 309 00:16:05,814 --> 00:16:10,285 Like there's a resurrection day and we're all moving towards it. 310 00:16:10,285 --> 00:16:12,921 And sometime between today and that day, we'll die. 311 00:16:12,921 --> 00:16:16,542 And then we'll get to that day, and that day will raise from the dead, 312 00:16:16,558 --> 00:16:19,979 he says, Martha, resurrection is not a calendar event. 313 00:16:20,129 --> 00:16:22,581 It's a power that I have. 314 00:16:24,199 --> 00:16:26,452 In other words, he's saying things don't raised 315 00:16:26,452 --> 00:16:30,205 from the dead because it's time for them to raise from the dead, things 316 00:16:30,205 --> 00:16:33,242 raised from the dead, because I tell them to, 317 00:16:34,343 --> 00:16:37,563 I am the resurrection and the life. 318 00:16:38,147 --> 00:16:40,532 Well, let me use a metaphor. 319 00:16:40,532 --> 00:16:41,266 I have a jar here. 320 00:16:41,266 --> 00:16:42,901 I meant to bring one from home, but I. 321 00:16:42,901 --> 00:16:44,453 I didn't, so I took this from our kitchen. 322 00:16:44,453 --> 00:16:47,456 I'll put it back. 323 00:16:47,456 --> 00:16:51,143 You know, my wife, Amy, does all the cooking in our family. 324 00:16:51,143 --> 00:16:53,579 I don't know how to cook anything. 325 00:16:53,579 --> 00:16:55,998 And if you've been coming for a month, I realize I'm making it sound like 326 00:16:55,998 --> 00:16:59,001 I'm useless at home. 327 00:16:59,518 --> 00:17:02,371 I guess that is what it is. 328 00:17:02,371 --> 00:17:03,956 My. But my wife, Amy does all the cooking. 329 00:17:03,956 --> 00:17:05,941 She's an amazing, amazing cook. 330 00:17:05,941 --> 00:17:08,093 And we great things. 331 00:17:08,093 --> 00:17:09,361 And every now and then 332 00:17:09,361 --> 00:17:13,382 when she's in the kitchen cooking, she comes across a jar she can't open. 333 00:17:13,916 --> 00:17:16,051 Okay, now it doesn't happen very often. She's tough. 334 00:17:16,051 --> 00:17:16,919 She's strong. Right. 335 00:17:16,919 --> 00:17:20,339 But every now and then and when that happens, we have five kids. 336 00:17:20,339 --> 00:17:24,059 So she'll call the oldest kid in the house down and give them a crack at it. 337 00:17:24,059 --> 00:17:26,962 So she'll call my 18 year old son down to open the jar. 338 00:17:26,962 --> 00:17:27,663 But he's weak. 339 00:17:31,366 --> 00:17:34,670 Then she'll let my 16 year old daughter try my 14 year old daughter. 340 00:17:34,670 --> 00:17:36,271 Try my nine year old son. 341 00:17:36,271 --> 00:17:38,991 Weak, weak. 342 00:17:38,991 --> 00:17:40,075 My seven year old daughter. 343 00:17:40,075 --> 00:17:43,078 Eventually, she realized nobody in the house can open the jar. 344 00:17:43,345 --> 00:17:46,348 And she'll say, well, when your dad gets home, I'll having him 345 00:17:46,381 --> 00:17:49,318 open it now, most days I get home at five, 530. 346 00:17:49,318 --> 00:17:50,552 I'm like, you write up working. 347 00:17:50,552 --> 00:17:51,887 I get home at five, 530 348 00:17:51,887 --> 00:17:55,340 and I'll walk in and Amy will say, hey, can you open the jar every now and then? 349 00:17:56,041 --> 00:17:58,560 My schedule will clear up, a meeting will get canceled. 350 00:17:58,560 --> 00:17:59,878 My assistant will say to me, 351 00:17:59,878 --> 00:18:02,815 hey, if you leave right now, you can get home early, right? 352 00:18:02,815 --> 00:18:04,299 So I'll sneak out to get home. 353 00:18:04,299 --> 00:18:06,535 And so sometimes I get home at 334. 354 00:18:06,535 --> 00:18:09,621 Now when I walk in, how do you think Amy responds 355 00:18:10,923 --> 00:18:11,757 when I walk in? 356 00:18:11,757 --> 00:18:15,177 Do you think she says, hey, welcome home. 357 00:18:15,177 --> 00:18:16,495 Go relax for an hour. 358 00:18:16,495 --> 00:18:21,717 But if you could come back down at 5:00, it's jar opening time now. 359 00:18:22,067 --> 00:18:24,570 As soon as I walk in, what does she do? 360 00:18:24,570 --> 00:18:27,439 She hands me the jar and she says, Will you open this? 361 00:18:27,439 --> 00:18:30,442 That's because the jar opening is not a moment in time. 362 00:18:30,776 --> 00:18:31,760 I don't want to brag. 363 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,763 It's a power that I have. 364 00:18:40,219 --> 00:18:42,838 Brothers and sisters in Christ, 365 00:18:42,838 --> 00:18:45,924 resurrection is not a moment in time. 366 00:18:48,177 --> 00:18:51,029 It's a power that Jesus Christ, 367 00:18:51,029 --> 00:18:54,032 the Son of God, has. 368 00:18:55,350 --> 00:18:58,737 We don't wait for a calendar event. 369 00:19:00,572 --> 00:19:03,325 We bring him the jar. 370 00:19:03,325 --> 00:19:05,627 Can you open this? 371 00:19:05,627 --> 00:19:06,962 And you raise this? 372 00:19:06,962 --> 00:19:09,414 And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, wait a second. 373 00:19:09,414 --> 00:19:12,267 Are you saying that everything that dies 374 00:19:12,267 --> 00:19:16,071 from people to marriages to relationships to dreams, 375 00:19:16,221 --> 00:19:20,042 that we can give them to Jesus and he will raise them from the dead? 376 00:19:20,042 --> 00:19:24,213 I'm not saying that I can't write you a blank check of promises from God. 377 00:19:24,663 --> 00:19:28,133 You know that because I told you I have relationships that are dead. 378 00:19:28,584 --> 00:19:31,170 So if I could write you that check, I'd write it for myself. 379 00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:32,087 You know that. 380 00:19:32,087 --> 00:19:35,340 Because if God raised everything from the dead 381 00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:38,777 all the time, Lazarus would be the one preaching the sermon. 382 00:19:40,412 --> 00:19:41,730 He gets up this time. 383 00:19:41,730 --> 00:19:43,615 Next time he doesn't. 384 00:19:43,615 --> 00:19:45,868 One way of dishonoring God is 385 00:19:45,868 --> 00:19:50,539 to is to expect him, to demand him to raise everything 386 00:19:50,539 --> 00:19:54,693 from the dead, to demand him to open every jar we give him. 387 00:19:54,693 --> 00:19:56,011 He's God, he has a plan. 388 00:19:56,011 --> 00:19:58,547 He has purposes we couldn't possibly understand. 389 00:19:58,547 --> 00:19:59,898 I cannot make you that promise. 390 00:19:59,898 --> 00:20:02,034 I would never dishonor God in that way. 391 00:20:02,034 --> 00:20:03,118 But can I tell you something? 392 00:20:03,118 --> 00:20:06,288 Another way of dishonoring God is to never bring him 393 00:20:06,288 --> 00:20:09,291 any jars at all. 394 00:20:12,961 --> 00:20:16,014 This is just simply believe the things that are dead. 395 00:20:16,014 --> 00:20:18,917 Stay dead. 396 00:20:18,917 --> 00:20:21,920 Until eternity. 397 00:20:22,738 --> 00:20:25,607 There is no way to read the New Testament. 398 00:20:25,607 --> 00:20:28,610 There's no way to read this story 399 00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:31,697 and not believe you ought to be handing Jesus 400 00:20:31,830 --> 00:20:33,749 some jars. 401 00:20:33,749 --> 00:20:38,604 You know, if I get home at five 530 and I say to Amy, hey, what's for dinner? 402 00:20:38,637 --> 00:20:39,738 And she goes, nothing. 403 00:20:40,739 --> 00:20:41,423 And I say, what? 404 00:20:41,423 --> 00:20:44,426 And she goes, yeah, there's a jar we can't open. 405 00:20:46,194 --> 00:20:48,063 And then she said to me, I don't want to bother you. 406 00:20:48,063 --> 00:20:50,282 You've worked hard all day. 407 00:20:50,282 --> 00:20:52,317 I don't want I don't want to bug you. 408 00:20:52,317 --> 00:20:55,320 Do you think she's honoring me? 409 00:20:57,172 --> 00:21:00,175 No, no, I will say to her. 410 00:21:00,626 --> 00:21:03,445 Give me the jar. 411 00:21:03,445 --> 00:21:05,063 By the way, that's what happens. 412 00:21:05,063 --> 00:21:07,499 Look with me. Verse 43. 413 00:21:07,499 --> 00:21:11,119 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, 414 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,288 Lazarus, come out! 415 00:21:13,288 --> 00:21:14,957 And the man who had died came out. 416 00:21:14,957 --> 00:21:18,744 His hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. 417 00:21:18,827 --> 00:21:22,581 And Jesus said to them, unbind him, and let him go. 418 00:21:22,914 --> 00:21:25,917 And Martha said, and take a shower. 419 00:21:27,719 --> 00:21:28,020 You see, 420 00:21:28,020 --> 00:21:31,757 Jesus looked at a dead man and said, give me that jar. 421 00:21:34,009 --> 00:21:34,343 Friends, 422 00:21:34,343 --> 00:21:37,346 resurrection is not a calendar event. 423 00:21:38,180 --> 00:21:41,333 It's a work that the Son of God can do, 424 00:21:42,617 --> 00:21:45,287 and we do not honor him 425 00:21:45,287 --> 00:21:47,973 when we don't ask him. 426 00:21:47,973 --> 00:21:50,359 In fact, let me give you three things 427 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:53,362 I can tell you Jesus wants to raise from the dead. 428 00:21:53,762 --> 00:21:54,396 Here's the first one. 429 00:21:54,396 --> 00:21:55,580 You ready? 430 00:21:55,580 --> 00:21:58,367 Your relationship with God. 431 00:21:58,367 --> 00:22:02,087 The Bible says the thing that is most dead about all of us is our relationship 432 00:22:02,087 --> 00:22:05,240 with God because of our sin, because of our rebellion. 433 00:22:05,357 --> 00:22:07,609 You've experienced this. You lay in bed at night. You pray. 434 00:22:07,609 --> 00:22:10,312 You feel like your prayers don't go any further than the ceiling. 435 00:22:10,312 --> 00:22:11,997 You feel totally disconnected. 436 00:22:11,997 --> 00:22:14,966 You feel as though your relationship with God is dead. 437 00:22:14,966 --> 00:22:17,252 The Bible says you're right. You're not wrong. You're right. 438 00:22:17,252 --> 00:22:20,238 But what you're wrong about is that he's okay with it. 439 00:22:20,555 --> 00:22:24,710 The story of Lazarus, his resurrection points to a greater one Jesus Christ, 440 00:22:24,710 --> 00:22:28,697 the Son of God, who will live senselessly in our place, die 441 00:22:28,730 --> 00:22:33,352 sacrificially on the cross, coming up under the anger and judgment of God, 442 00:22:33,352 --> 00:22:38,006 exhausting it in his death, so that when he raises from the dead three days later. 443 00:22:38,006 --> 00:22:42,511 By the way, if you're holding on to that irreligious resignation here, this 444 00:22:42,511 --> 00:22:47,149 Jesus Christ proves that life after death is not a fairy tale. 445 00:22:47,249 --> 00:22:52,070 When he historically in the center of the known universe at the time, 446 00:22:52,070 --> 00:22:57,959 Roman Empire lives and dies and historically raises from the dead. 447 00:23:00,529 --> 00:23:03,415 Which means if you feel as though your relationship with God is dead, 448 00:23:03,415 --> 00:23:06,418 it does not have to be for one more second. 449 00:23:08,387 --> 00:23:11,390 You can simply say to God, God, I feel as though you and I are dead, 450 00:23:11,957 --> 00:23:14,960 but I have heard that you sent your son, and he lived in my place, 451 00:23:14,993 --> 00:23:17,963 and he died in my place, and he rose from the dead. 452 00:23:17,963 --> 00:23:21,032 And he promised that on the basis of his life and his death 453 00:23:21,032 --> 00:23:24,236 and his resurrection, you would forgive me, you would accept me. 454 00:23:24,269 --> 00:23:27,889 You would include me, and you would bring us back to life. 455 00:23:29,958 --> 00:23:32,577 Here's the second thing, brother, sister in Christ, 456 00:23:32,577 --> 00:23:36,448 do you know that resurrection will be part of your story? 457 00:23:37,582 --> 00:23:39,601 You will die. 458 00:23:39,601 --> 00:23:42,838 One of us will more than likely attend the other's funeral. 459 00:23:42,838 --> 00:23:44,156 We're going to die. 460 00:23:44,156 --> 00:23:47,092 And when we die, we will raise from the dead. 461 00:23:47,092 --> 00:23:51,229 But we won't raise from the dead because of some kind of natural reflex 462 00:23:51,229 --> 00:23:54,182 we won't raise from the dead because of a calendar event. 463 00:23:54,182 --> 00:24:00,922 When you die, the Son of God from the throne of heaven will say, give me that jar. 464 00:24:02,841 --> 00:24:05,844 He will raise you himself. 465 00:24:07,796 --> 00:24:09,414 And then here's the third thing. 466 00:24:09,414 --> 00:24:12,417 Between today and that day, 467 00:24:13,819 --> 00:24:16,822 he wants to open a lot of jars 468 00:24:17,606 --> 00:24:18,924 to drive this metaphor home. 469 00:24:18,924 --> 00:24:20,425 I was going to open jars 470 00:24:20,425 --> 00:24:23,428 because, you know, you get that satisfying pop sound when you open it. 471 00:24:24,262 --> 00:24:26,331 But then I realize you only get that sound once. 472 00:24:26,331 --> 00:24:29,868 And there are six services, and that's a lot of apricot 473 00:24:29,868 --> 00:24:32,871 preserves to waste. 474 00:24:33,138 --> 00:24:34,789 But here's what I want you to know. 475 00:24:34,789 --> 00:24:37,526 The local church is meant to be a place 476 00:24:37,526 --> 00:24:40,762 where jars are popping all the time, 477 00:24:42,230 --> 00:24:43,982 where marriages that were dead 478 00:24:43,982 --> 00:24:47,936 are brought back to life, friendships that were dead are reconciled. 479 00:24:47,936 --> 00:24:51,857 Dreams that are dead, careers that are dead are revived. 480 00:24:51,857 --> 00:24:55,377 Reputations that are dead are restored. 481 00:24:55,494 --> 00:24:58,547 We are meant to hear jars popping. 482 00:24:58,547 --> 00:25:00,599 I can't promise you every jar will pop. 483 00:25:00,599 --> 00:25:04,769 But I can promise you, between this day and the day of your resurrection, 484 00:25:04,886 --> 00:25:07,255 God wants to open jars. 485 00:25:07,255 --> 00:25:13,345 He wants his church to come to him and pray, God, can you do what we can't do? 486 00:25:13,378 --> 00:25:14,613 Here's the jar. 487 00:25:14,613 --> 00:25:16,648 Can you bring dead things back to life? 488 00:25:16,648 --> 00:25:19,367 He wants us to pray for the cancer diagnosis. 489 00:25:19,367 --> 00:25:22,487 He wants us to pray for the marriage, that his family wants us to pray 490 00:25:22,487 --> 00:25:26,458 for the rebellious teenager and he doesn't want, verse 22 kind of prayers. 491 00:25:26,908 --> 00:25:29,060 God, I'm saying you can do anything but I don't mean it. 492 00:25:29,060 --> 00:25:33,832 He wants his people to come to him and say, Will you do what only you can do? 493 00:25:33,865 --> 00:25:38,370 We are looking forward to the day of resurrection, but Jesus, 494 00:25:38,370 --> 00:25:42,741 you said, and we believe you are the resurrection. 495 00:25:42,774 --> 00:25:45,410 Here's a dead thing will you open this jar? 496 00:25:49,681 --> 00:25:52,250 Are you ready for that? 497 00:25:52,250 --> 00:25:55,487 2026 as a year of more life 498 00:25:56,304 --> 00:25:59,307 means things that we thought were dead. 499 00:26:01,376 --> 00:26:02,344 To the grace of God 500 00:26:02,344 --> 00:26:05,347 and the power of Jesus Christ, His Son 501 00:26:05,363 --> 00:26:08,366 will be brought to life. 502 00:26:08,433 --> 00:26:11,419 So pick up your jar. 503 00:26:11,987 --> 00:26:14,072 And take it to him. 504 00:26:14,072 --> 00:26:14,823 Let me pray for us. 505 00:26:14,823 --> 00:26:18,059 Father God, thank you so much for the story of Lazarus. 506 00:26:18,526 --> 00:26:20,478 Thank you. I mean, there's so much more we could say. 507 00:26:20,478 --> 00:26:23,932 Thank you for the empathy Jesus that you show in the story. 508 00:26:23,932 --> 00:26:26,935 You weep because we weep. 509 00:26:27,002 --> 00:26:29,988 You're moved because we are moved. 510 00:26:30,288 --> 00:26:33,291 So great is your empathy, so great is your kindness. 511 00:26:33,658 --> 00:26:34,859 And you raise the dead. 512 00:26:34,859 --> 00:26:36,811 So great is your power. 513 00:26:36,811 --> 00:26:37,162 And God. 514 00:26:37,162 --> 00:26:41,633 We're all sitting in here holding a jar or an armful of jars. 515 00:26:41,633 --> 00:26:46,671 Relationships, dreams, careers, reputations, marriages that are dead. 516 00:26:46,821 --> 00:26:48,890 And we're praying with the guy in the gospel 517 00:26:48,890 --> 00:26:51,476 said to you, Jesus, Lord, I believe. 518 00:26:51,476 --> 00:26:52,978 Help my unbelief. 519 00:26:55,046 --> 00:26:57,799 But God, we're asking for your glory, 520 00:26:57,799 --> 00:27:01,102 for our joy, and for the good of a watching world. 521 00:27:01,102 --> 00:27:04,623 Will you open jars in this church? 522 00:27:06,057 --> 00:27:08,510 We ask that in the name of Jesus, 523 00:27:08,510 --> 00:27:11,513 the resurrection and the life. 524 00:27:11,513 --> 00:27:11,896 Amen.