How to Choose the Right Spouse (101)

Step 1: Know what to Look For.

Step 2: Know what’s at Stake.

Step 3: Choose Prayerfully.

The 3 C's of Spouse Selection

1. Christ

   Proverbs 19:14 - House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.



2. Character

   Proverbs 31:10 - An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.



3. Counsel

   Proverbs 15:22 - Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

Appendix A: Am I a Wise Choice?

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
Sermon Audio: (no recording)

Small Group Questions ­(Whole Group):
Read Proverbs 12:4

1. How would you instruct a teenager/young adult to look for character when it comes time for them to consider a spouse?
    
2. Suppose a friend of yours (a Christian) is in a serious relationship with a non­-Christian. 
   Would you say something to your friend, or just let him/her be?
   If you did have opportunity to speak to him/her about this situation, what would you say?
    
3. Suppose another Christian friend of yours is married, but comes to you and says they are considering divorce and want your opinion. What would you say?

Breakout Questions:

1. What is your weakest area as a spouse? (for the unmarried, what do you foresee as a weak area for you when you do get married?)
    
2. Pray for one another.

Be Who You Are in Christ

Who am I?

1. I am United with Christ. (Rom 6:1-5)


2. I am Free from the power of sin. (Rom 6:6-7)


3. I am Alive to God's purposes. (Rom 6:8-11)


4. I am God's Instrument. (Rom 6:12-14)

Guest Speaker - Taylor Brown

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  00:00-00:03

  Well, I just wanted to take a little bit of time just to thank everyone for letting me speak again.

  00:03-00:06

  This has been one of the biggest highlights of my life, being able to preach at this church.

  00:06-00:09

  And it's just so encouraging to get texts from different people in the church.

  00:09-00:12

  They tell me they're praying for me and they can't wait to hear my message.

  00:12-00:14

  And you don't know how much that's meant to me.

  00:14-00:15

  So I thank you very much.

  00:16-00:20

  So when I was a little kid, I used to share a room with my older brother, Ryan.

  00:21-00:24

  And like most brothers, our favorite thing to do was what?

  00:25-00:25

  Wrestle, right?

  00:26-00:31

  So, sometimes it just started out as fun, but every single time it ended the same exact way.

  00:32-00:34

  Us trying to murder each other in anger.

  00:34-00:38

  And now my brother's four years older than me, so I literally had no chance of winning.

  00:38-00:45

  He would always be able to pin me with this move called the scissors, where he'd get me between his legs and squeeze as hard as he possibly could, and I wouldn't be able to breathe.

  00:46-00:48

  I had to tap out and beg for mercy.

  00:49-00:52

  And I remember this feeling like completely powerless against my brother in those moments.

  00:52-00:56

  I felt like no matter how hard I fought against him, I'd never be able to beat him.

  00:57-01:02

  And I think if we're honest with ourselves today, a lot of times this is how we feel about our sin, right?

  01:03-01:08

  No matter how much we struggle and fight against it, it always seems to constantly get the best of us.

  01:09-01:14

  It can feel like it's our boss and it's our bully telling us what to do, and we have no hope for change.

  01:15-01:17

  At least this is how I feel sometimes. I don't know about the rest of you.

  01:18-01:30

  But Romans 6 speaks powerfully to this idea that in Christ we are free from the power of sin and we no longer have to be victims any longer.

  01:32-01:45

  I've heard a lot of messages, I've heard a lot of sermons where the pastor yells at you and tells you to obey and tells you to follow the rules, but they're missing the key ingredient to true obedience, which is living out of your new identity in Christ.

  01:46-01:56

  See, I firmly believe that every single time We struggle with sin, we fall to sin, we're going through an identity crisis and we're forgetting who we truly are in Christ.

  01:57-02:10

  So I've simply entitled this message, "Be Who You Are in Christ." So you may be asking, "Who am I?" Well, I'm going to be showing you from Romans 6, 1-14, who you are because of Jesus.

  02:11-02:15

  And I believe the answer to this question has the power to change our lives.

  02:17-02:22

  As I read Romans 6, 1 through 14, will you please just bow your heads and close your eyes and just meditate upon these words?

  02:23-02:28

  And I know a lot of you have probably read this a lot, but just try to think on these words and it's like the first time you've ever heard them.

  02:31-02:32

  What shall we say then?

  02:32-02:35

  Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

  02:35-02:36

  By no means.

  02:37-02:40

  How can we who died to sin still live in it?

  02:40-02:46

  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?

  02:47-02:58

  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

  02:58-03:05

  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

  03:06-03:22

  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, "So that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, for one who has died has been set free from sin." Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

  03:23-03:27

  We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.

  03:28-03:30

  Death no longer has any dominion over him.

  03:31-03:33

  For the death he died, he died to sin.

  03:34-03:38

  Once for all, with the life he lives, he lives to God.

  03:38-03:43

  So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

  03:45-03:49

  Let not therefore sin reign in your immortal body to make you obey its passions.

  03:49-04:02

  Do not present your members of sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

  04:02-05:01

  For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace God, I thank you so much for this word that you've given us through the Apostle Paul in Romans 6 Lord, I pray in this time you'd hide me behind your cross and your spirit would speak in and through me Lord I pray that any selfish motives are in my heart Lord You would just purge me of that Lord and my only motive would be to glorify you and to serve this church God, I thank you in advance for what you are going to do today In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, amen Well, I have a monumental task ahead of me if you've heard from this passage, it's a very long passage It's a very difficult passage I don't know, for some reason I keep picking very challenging and lengthy passages to preach I can spend three to four weeks on this one passage alone And I know this isn't the easiest text to understand I had to study a lot and I had to work on this a lot But I believe that it has the power to change our daily struggle with sin See, there's a lot of rich theology in this text.

  05:01-05:05

  I think a lot of times we're afraid to go into theology because we believe we can't really understand it.

  05:06-05:12

  But I pray you wouldn't check out during the next half hour because theology is vital to living the life God has called you to live.

  05:12-05:15

  Because right thinking leads to right doing.

  05:16-05:19

  So I'm not talking about dead and boring truths here.

  05:19-05:24

  I'm talking about life-giving realities which can give you the power to live in victory over your sin.

  05:26-05:29

  As you probably heard, Paul repeats himself a lot.

  05:29-05:34

  He says death 15 times, life 9 times, and sin 10 times.

  05:35-05:37

  See, Paul's repeating himself a lot in this text.

  05:37-05:40

  He's not trying to be annoying, he's trying to get a point across.

  05:40-05:44

  Because, I don't know about you, but I need to hear things a lot in order to get it through my stupid head.

  05:44-05:47

  I need to hear things a lot in order to finally understand it.

  05:47-05:50

  So Paul's trying to get a very important message across right now.

  05:51-05:55

  So he starts out by saying, "What shall we say then?" Okay, let's stop there.

  05:55-05:56

  What shall we say to what?

  05:57-06:01

  So in order to understand that, I had to quickly sum up Romans 5.

  06:02-06:11

  And in Romans 5, Paul lays out the gospel, which is simply that we're all sinners in desperate need of a Savior to make us right, but for a holy and just God.

  06:12-06:20

  And Paul writes in Romans 5, 8, God shows his love for us, and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

  06:21-06:25

  So out of pure love and grace, Jesus came to this earth and died.

  06:25-06:29

  So the penalty and power of our sin, the penalty of our sin could be laid on Him.

  06:30-06:33

  So we could stand right before God and be in relationship with Him.

  06:34-06:37

  Because while our sins were great, God's grace was greater.

  06:38-06:41

  And Christ was glorified in forgiving us.

  06:42-06:46

  See on the cross, all my sins, all the things I've ever done were placed on Christ.

  06:46-06:49

  And He was treated as if He lived the sinful life that I have led.

  06:50-06:58

  and his perfect righteousness was given to me, and I'm treated as if I live the perfect and sinless life that he did.

  06:59-07:03

  It'd be like if you had a debt you can never even begin to pay.

  07:04-07:08

  No matter how much you work, no matter how long you work, you can never even begin to chip away at it.

  07:08-07:21

  But then out of nowhere, a wealthy benefactor comes into your life and says, "You know what? I'm going to take your debt upon myself to pay, And not only that, I'm going to deposit all of my vast resources into your bank account.

  07:23-07:25

  This is love and grace to the uttermost.

  07:25-07:27

  It is scandalous by its very nature.

  07:28-07:41

  And people in Paul's day took this grace as an opportunity to keep on sinning because in their mind, they could keep on sinning and experience the grace of Christ at the same exact time.

  07:43-07:46

  They get the best of both worlds. They can enjoy all this world has to offer.

  07:46-07:50

  And God is simply bound to forgive them, and he will just forget about it.

  07:52-07:55

  See, for them, grace was simply as a free path to do whatever they wanted.

  07:57-08:12

  And Paul speaks to this and says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means?" Other translations say, "God forbid, may it never be." How can we, who have died to sin, still live in it?

  08:12-08:24

  Paul is saying that those who hold this view of grace as a free path to do whatever you want don't truly even understand what grace is because grace not only forgives us of our sins, it also delivers us from living in our sins.

  08:26-08:46

  See, why would we want to go back to, why we want to live in what brought us unbelievable shame and condemnation? Why would we want to go back to what our Christ, what our God Had to die for because our sin was so serious and deadly that Jesus had to die for it So, why do we want to enjoy living in that?

  08:48-09:01

  Paul goes on in verse 3 and says, "Do you not know?" He's speaking to these people who have this idea "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

  09:02-09:38

  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father We too might walk in newness of life Where if we have been united with him and a death like his We shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his See, there's no better example of a Christian's relationship with Jesus than baptism See baptism isn't a source of salvation, but it is a symbol of our salvation Baptism is us identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

  09:39-09:45

  See, being immersed in the water symbolizes us being dead to sin, being buried alongside of Jesus.

  09:45-09:49

  It's simply our funeral. Our old self is dead and gone.

  09:49-09:56

  And then being taken out of the water is us being raised to new life alongside Jesus Christ.

  09:57-10:02

  This text discusses a very vital and important truth that we all need to understand.

  10:02-10:07

  It's one that's very ignored today in the church because it is complex and it is difficult to wrap your mind around.

  10:08-10:09

  But it is so important.

  10:09-10:18

  And this doctrine is called "Union with Christ." That when we become saved, we become united, we become joined to Jesus Christ.

  10:18-10:22

  Which means we share in His benefits and His blessings.

  10:22-10:27

  His death to sin becomes our death to the penalty and power of sin.

  10:28-10:32

  His resurrection to new life becomes our resurrection to new life.

  10:32-10:37

  His holiness and righteousness becomes our own so we can stand blameless before God.

  10:38-10:43

  I was trying to think of the best way to illustrate this and the best way I could think was the union of marriage.

  10:44-11:16

  So whenever you walk down that aisle, you stand across from that person you love the most and you vow to them that no matter what you will be faithful you will love them and you will never leave them or forsake them and then you put on that ring as a symbol of that union. See when that happens you're sharing your life together you're joined to that person. The Bible says the two become one flesh. You become one person. What's in your bank account goes into their bank account what's in their bank account becomes yours. Their problems become yours and vice versa You are tied together.

  11:17-11:25

  So, in the same way, if you are saved, then you are bound to Christ in an unbreakable bond, which has unbelievable benefits and blessings.

  11:26-11:33

  So please remember, baptism isn't a source of salvation, but it is a symbol of our salvation.

  11:35-11:43

  So I would just encourage you today, if you haven't taken the step of obedience to be baptized, I encourage you to please do that.

  11:44-11:51

  Because if you are ignoring this call, you are ignoring a vital blessing and encouragement in your life.

  11:53-11:58

  So I would pray that many of you would speak to Pastor Jeff and get signed up for our next baptism.

  11:58-12:02

  We would love to see you take the step of obedience.

  12:04-12:05

  I'm sorry, I actually skipped my first point.

  12:05-12:06

  I didn't even tell you what it was.

  12:07-12:11

  So I'm gonna go back and say, my first point was, okay, who are we?

  12:11-12:13

  I am united with Christ.

  12:13-12:16

  Sorry about that. You're gonna see that slide for like two seconds.

  12:17-12:21

  Number two, I am free from the power of sin.

  12:22-12:50

  Paul goes on in verse six and says, "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin for one who has died has been set free from sin." See, through Christ, who we used to be has been put to death, as well as the sin which used to have dominion over us, which means it actually used to own us.

  12:52-12:59

  Paul is saying our old selves, who we used to be, along with its sins and desires, were crucified with Christ on the cross.

  13:00-13:04

  So we don't have to be who we used to be and do what we used to do.

  13:05-13:05

  Amen?

  13:06-13:06

  Amen.

  13:08-13:16

  He goes on and says, "The body of sin might be brought to nothing." The body of sin, the rule of sin on our lives has been broken in Jesus Christ.

  13:16-13:23

  Sin used to be our boss and used to bully us and tell us what to do, but in Jesus Christ, our shackles to the enslavement of sin are broken.

  13:25-13:28

  I want to be clear here, Paul's not talking about sinless perfectionism here.

  13:29-13:33

  He's not saying once you become a Christian, you're perfect, you never struggle ever again.

  13:33-13:36

  Because that's just doesn't, that's not even realistic.

  13:36-13:38

  We all struggle, we all fail.

  13:38-13:43

  And Paul will even say later that we need to fight the remaining sin in our lives.

  13:43-13:58

  But what he is saying is the tyranny, the domination, and the rulership of sin in our lives has been broken, and we now have the ability by the grace of Christ to say no to our sin and choose maturity, and to choose to walk in Christ-likeness.

  14:01-14:18

  If I can just be honest and transparent with you, and to share my own struggles, In high school, I used to be heavily involved with pornography, and I lived in unbelievable shame and condemnation over my sin, and I hated what I was doing, but I felt like I was powerless against it.

  14:19-14:29

  I felt like the Apostle Paul later in the next chapter when he says, "For I do not understand my own actions, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.

  14:30-14:34

  I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

  14:36-14:38

  Every single time I would do it, I would say, "Never again.

  14:38-14:39

  That's never going to happen ever again.

  14:39-14:46

  God, I promise you, no, it's never going to happen." Be it a week, be it a month, be it a day later, there it would be again.

  14:47-14:48

  And that went on for years.

  14:51-14:58

  And I'll never forget the day when I just, I literally heard God speak to my heart and He said, "Taylor, why are you doing this?

  14:58-15:02

  This isn't who you are. I created you for so much more than this.

  15:05-15:10

  He changed my life that day. I'll never forget when God changed my life and freed me from that addiction.

  15:12-15:18

  So please don't believe your situation is hopeless. You may have struggled with this sin for months, years, maybe even decades.

  15:19-15:23

  But I believe that in Christ there is hope for freedom and for change.

  15:24-15:28

  I was enslaved to pornography for years, but God set me free. He can set you free as well.

  15:28-15:33

  So please don't leave this place and defeat over your struggle and your sin.

  15:34-15:38

  Please talk to Pastor Jeff, talk to myself or ladies, find a woman volunteer you can talk to.

  15:39-15:46

  Or if that's not comfortable for you, please find someone in your life you can share your struggles with and talk to and be 100% open with.

  15:46-15:50

  Because hear me, being unknown is very dangerous.

  15:51-16:04

  King David says in Psalm 32, "When I kept silent, when I kept silent about my sins, "My bones wasted away." See, if you keep silent about your sin, it'll literally eat away at you.

  16:04-16:13

  I remember those years where I was living in so much guilt and shame, and all I wanted to do was just hide it from everyone and not have anyone know, and it literally ate away at me.

  16:13-16:19

  I feel this text, "My bones were wasting away." See, I know it's uncomfortable.

  16:19-16:31

  I know it's awkward to share sins with other people, but even the book of James says that we are to share our sins with one another, to confess our sins and to pray for each other so we may be healed.

  16:32-16:37

  So I pray today you would find someone you can be 100% open and honest with.

  16:39-16:40

  Okay, so who are we?

  16:41-16:43

  We are united with Christ.

  16:43-16:45

  We are free from the power of sin.

  16:45-16:48

  And thirdly, we are alive to God's purposes.

  16:52-17:01

  As you've seen before in this text, Paul isn't just saying that we just die to the penalty and power of sin, but we also share in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

  17:02-17:06

  Paul says in verse eight, "Now if we have died with Christ, "we believe that we will also live with him.

  17:07-17:12

  "We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, "will never die again.

  17:12-17:14

  "Death no longer has dominion over him.

  17:15-17:35

  "For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, "but the life he lives, he lives to God." So what Paul is saying here is that Jesus Christ died to break the power of sin in our lives, not that so we could just focus on not sinning, but so we could live for God's glory and His purposes.

  17:35-17:39

  So please understand this, it isn't just enough to not sin.

  17:40-17:46

  God's calling us to live for His purposes, live for His glory, and to be His witnesses for the gospel.

  17:48-17:55

  So if your Christian life is just focused upon not sinning by what you're not doing, you're missing the entire point.

  17:57-18:04

  'Cause you're not living in true freedom unless you live for what God set you free to live for in the first place.

  18:04-18:05

  Let me repeat that.

  18:06-18:12

  You're not truly free from your sin until you live for what God set you free to live for in the first place.

  18:13-18:19

  So please don't just, don't gauge your spiritual maturity by how you're not sinning and by what you're not doing.

  18:20-18:23

  God created you so much more than just a sidestep big sins.

  18:24-18:32

  I think it's one of the biggest lies that Satan tries to throw our way, that all God wants for us is to focus on ourselves and be introspective and just focus on our own lives.

  18:33-18:39

  See, that pulls us away from seeing this world and its brokenness and going out and being restorers for the kingdom.

  18:40-18:45

  So I pray that we would rest in the fullness of this resurrection and new life.

  18:46-18:48

  We would live for God in that way.

  18:50-18:55

  Paul goes from an impersonal we to a very personal you.

  18:55-19:15

  In verse 11, he says, "So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." See, Paul is calling each and every one of us in this room to live and to walk in this reality, that we are dead to our sin and we are alive to God in new life.

  19:16-19:21

  See, Paul's not calling us to make ourselves believe this, to trick our minds into following this.

  19:22-19:26

  He's saying to once again, remember and regain the truth of who we are in Christ.

  19:27-19:29

  See, God has given us an amazing new life.

  19:30-19:32

  Why would we wanna go back to what we used to do?

  19:33-19:34

  Why would we wanna go back to our sin?

  19:35-19:40

  It's like a married man or woman desiring to go back to their singleness.

  19:40-19:45

  I know this is something that all of us probably think about if you're married, that, "Oh man, I miss being single.

  19:45-19:54

  "I miss hanging out with the guys." But overall, you realize you found something so much deeper and you don't want to go back to your singleness.

  19:55-20:03

  And yet when you have these temptations to, maybe to not be as faithful to your spouse and to not be as responsible, you can remember the vows that you made.

  20:04-20:12

  You can remember the promise you made to your spouse and you feel the weight of your wedding ring, which is a symbol of your union with that person.

  20:13-20:21

  And you realize that you are taken and you don't want to live the life you used to live because you found something so much deeper.

  20:22-20:28

  In the same way, it's not impossible for a Christian to live as if they are still in sin, but why would you want to?

  20:30-20:44

  Famous pastor and theologian John Stott once wrote, "Christians should no more contemplate a return "to sinful living than adults to their childhood, "married people to their singleness, "or release sinners to their prison cell.

  20:45-20:59

  "For our union with Christ has severed us from the old life "and committed us to the new." So like a married person considering their wedding ring and the vows that you made, consider your baptism and all that symbolizes for you.

  21:00-21:07

  So I pray that this week we would all live in the reality that we are free from the power of sin and we are called to live for God.

  21:07-21:35

  Instead of reverting back to our old ways, going back to our old life, we would seek out ways to advance the gospel communities and to serve our church. If you're a member of this church, if you call Harvest your home, and if you're not involved already, get connected. Jeff, I'm not sure, do we need people? Right? Yes, okay. Yeah, we need people. Okay. So if you're not involved at this church, get connected. Or if you go to a different church, get connected there. You cannot be disjoined from a local body of Christ.

  21:37-21:40

  Seek out ways in your community to advance the gospel and to serve others.

  21:40-21:46

  So please don't think it's enough to just avoid sinning, 'cause God has so much more in store from you.

  21:48-21:50

  Okay, so I am united with Christ.

  21:51-21:53

  I am free from the power of sin.

  21:54-21:59

  I am alive to God's purposes, and I am God's instrument.

  22:00-22:05

  So even though we've been free from the power of sin, sin still remains in our lives.

  22:07-22:13

  And in verse 12, Paul says to us, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.

  22:14-22:36

  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness." See, Paul is calling us to make war against our sin in our lives, to fight it with everything that we have.

  22:37-23:20

  This word instruments can actually be translated in the Greek as weapons That our bodies and what makes them up, our mind, our hearts Even our different body parts are literally a weapon which can be used for great evil and destruction Or for great good and uplifting So Paul is saying don't offer your body, don't offer yourself up as a weapon for evil To be used by Satan, but instead offer yourself up as a weapon to God's purposes fight your sin, he could advance the gospel. See, every day we have the choice to offer ourselves to God and his purposes or to sin and for its purposes.

  23:21-23:43

  This is a daily choice and battle that we all must face. God has set us free from the power of sin, but before when we were a slave to our sin, we had no choice but to do what he told us to do. But now we have the ability in Christ to choose we're going to do? Are we going to choose to serve sin or are we going to choose to serve God?

  23:45-23:53

  So in verse 13, Paul commands us to not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness.

  23:53-23:56

  See, Paul is saying, don't give sin the opportunity to get the best of you.

  23:56-23:59

  Don't put yourself in situations where sin could trip you up.

  23:59-24:02

  See, if you struggle with pornography, don't count the computer late at night by yourself.

  24:03-24:06

  Don't search the web with a bad content filter.

  24:06-24:10

  If you struggle with alcoholism, don't go to places where drinking is gonna be an option.

  24:10-24:15

  If you struggle with gossip, don't hang out with those people who live to put other people down.

  24:17-24:26

  To illustrate this point, I go to Geneva College and I share a room with five other guys and men in the room, what do guys love to do to each other?

  24:27-24:27

  Yell it out.

  24:29-24:31

  Pranks, right, prank.

  24:32-24:35

  I can't even list the number of pranks that have been pulled on me specifically.

  24:36-24:38

  I'm always the one who receives the pranks for some reason.

  24:39-24:41

  See, I used to not have a password block on my computer.

  24:42-24:44

  Bad idea. Bad idea.

  24:45-24:47

  And my friends took advantage of me in this way.

  24:48-24:52

  And they were somehow able to get into my computer and find some kind of number information.

  24:53-24:55

  My friend Robert helps, so you can talk to him after this.

  24:56-24:59

  But they were able to get some kind of information.

  25:00-25:05

  And they plugged it into my friend Seth's iPhone, and they were able to control my computer from his iPhone.

  25:07-25:10

  So I'd be at my desk working on a paper, watching YouTube or something.

  25:10-25:13

  All of a sudden the cursor would just go crazy, like all over the page.

  25:13-25:16

  And I'd try to grab the mouse, and it wouldn't obey me.

  25:16-25:18

  It would just like go all over the place.

  25:21-25:28

  And then one time I was working on something, then I see the cursor start moving over to Word, and it clicks it open, and it starts typing stuff out to me.

  25:29-25:31

  And it was like, I know your name is Taylor Brown.

  25:31-25:32

  I know that your sister's a nurse.

  25:33-25:34

  I know that this is your major.

  25:34-25:36

  And I was like, why are you doing this to me?

  25:36-25:36

  And they're like.

  25:41-25:44

  Okay, well, so eventually I realized this is my friends doing this to me.

  25:46-25:46

  And I was pretty mad.

  25:48-25:49

  But, 'cause it went off like four or five days.

  25:49-25:51

  It wasn't even like a one day prank.

  25:51-25:52

  It was like for like a week.

  25:54-25:58

  I was pretty mad, but then I realized I couldn't be that mad because I kind of asked for it, right?

  25:58-26:04

  but not having a passport protection on my computer in the room of immature, prank happy college students.

  26:04-26:07

  I pretty much offered up myself to be taken advantage of, right?

  26:08-26:10

  But on a more serious note, we do that every day.

  26:11-26:14

  We offer up ourselves to sin to be taken advantage of.

  26:15-26:19

  So please be discerning about what situations you put yourself in.

  26:20-26:26

  'Cause even though we are free from the power of sin, we can still fall sway to temptation and we can still cave in to evil desires.

  26:27-26:31

  So don't think too highly of yourself regarding what temptations you think you can handle.

  26:32-26:48

  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10-12, "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." So let anyone who thinks that they can handle a lot of temptation, thinks that they're good people, be careful because sin will trip you up and you will fall.

  26:49-27:01

  So instead of offering up yourselves to sin as instruments for unrighteousness by surrounding yourself with people who will only tear you down and putting yourself in bad situations.

  27:01-27:12

  Offer yourself as a weapon to God by surrounding yourself with godly friends, diving into the scriptures, being part of a local body of Christ, and by being devoted to prayer.

  27:12-27:15

  This is the only way you can wage war against your sin.

  27:17-27:32

  Paul ends this whole section by saying, "For sin will have no dominion over you "since you were not under law, but under grace." See, Paul isn't commanding us here in this verse.

  27:33-27:40

  He is simply promising us that if you are in Christ, sin will not triumph over you.

  27:41-27:56

  He's trying to comfort us by reminding us that we're no longer condemned by the law of God by how we fall short, by how we fail, and by how we sin, but we are instead covered by the grace of Jesus Christ, which is the only way we can really obey the law of God.

  27:57-28:05

  Because if you try to obey the rules and the law by yourself and your own power, trust me, trust me, you will fail and you will be frustrated.

  28:06-28:12

  If you try to white knuckle obedience without the grace of Christ, your life is going to be very difficult.

  28:14-28:25

  But if you rest in the grace of Jesus Christ and you trust in a new identity that has been given to you, you will finally be able to live in victory over your sin and fight your sin.

  28:26-28:32

  Because a true understanding of grace does not lead to an acceptance of sin, but a rebellion against sin.

  28:32-28:38

  This grace enables us to fight our sin and to set up barriers against it in our daily life.

  28:39-28:47

  So please, unless you have a true understanding of grace, you will never live in victory and you will be living in condemnation and guilt the rest of your life.

  28:50-28:58

  See, I love this passage in Romans because it reminds me of the reality that in Christ I am no longer a victim to my sin.

  28:59-29:09

  And studying for this message, just to be honest with you, has been so life-giving and so encouraging to myself because there are a lot of days where I feel hopeless, where I feel like no matter what I do, I can't beat this sin.

  29:10-29:11

  I'm just going to deal with it forever.

  29:12-29:15

  But that's a total lie, that in Jesus Christ we've already been set free.

  29:16-29:23

  The shackles have been unloosed, the prison cell door has been opened, but so many of us choose to stay in our prison cell, we're not bound to it anymore.

  29:24-29:29

  The shackles are unloosed, the prison cell is opened, and we still stay in.

  29:31-29:37

  God has given us the choice to either walk out and live in freedom or to go back and stay in bondage.

  29:38-29:41

  So I know in a room this size, many of you feel the same way I do, hopeless.

  29:43-29:50

  I am telling you, based on the authority of the Word of God, that there is hope and change in Jesus Christ.

  29:53-29:55

  But no matter what you've done, Christ can free you.

  29:57-30:00

  So please leave this place remembering who you truly are in Jesus Christ.

  30:01-30:05

  Remember that you are united to Christ through His death and resurrection.

  30:06-30:08

  You are free from the power of your sin.

  30:09-30:24

  You are allied to God's purposes and you are God's instrument. You are God's weapon So we have a decision today, you have a decision today Are you gonna be walking in condemnation and guilt over your sin?

  30:25-30:29

  Or are you going to embrace the new identity that has been given to you in Christ?

  30:30-30:34

  Are you gonna keep hiding your sin and sweeping it under the rug?

  30:34-30:37

  Are you gonna expose it to the light of Jesus Christ?

  30:38-31:06

  Are you gonna believe what your sin says about you or what your Savior says about you? Let's pray God, I thank you so much for what you were able to do today I thank you that we serve a mighty and awesome God who has the power to deliver us from the power of sin God, I feel the words of Paul when he says I don't understand my own actions for I do not do the good that I want but the evil I hate is what I keep on doing.

  31:07-31:12

  Lord, sometimes no matter what we seem like, we're failures and we'll never triumph over our sin.

  31:13-31:17

  But God, through this passage, you're trying to tell us that you've already set us free.

  31:18-31:21

  Lord, we're saying your word that for freedom's sake, you have set us free.

  31:22-31:33

  So God, I pray for every single person in this room that you would convict their hearts, you would encourage them, Lord, that if they're living and struggle and living in defeat, Lord, you would free them.

  31:34-31:45

  And if there are people here who are taking a step of obedience towards baptism, God, that you would lead them towards that, God, because it leads to such encouragement and blessing.

  31:47-31:50

  God, I thank you so much for what you've done in this place today.

  31:51-31:58

  I pray that this message and its effects just wouldn't be left in this room, but would go out with us and follow us all the rest of our lives.

  31:59-32:06

  And the next time we struggle with temptation and sin, we would tell ourselves who we truly are in Christ and we would live in freedom.

Small Group Questions ­(Whole Group):
Read Romans 6:1-14

1. Romans 6:3-5 talks a lot about baptism and its role in the Christian life. Why is baptism so vitally important to the Christian life? Share your baptism story with your group and how it has impacted you.
    

2. Why is being transparent and open about our struggles and sins with close Christian friends so important to living in freedom from sin on a daily basis? Why are we so afraid of being known by others and how can we combat against this?
    

3. Romans 6:11 declares, “So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” What does this look like on a daily basis and how can we pursue taking advantage of the new life God has given us everyday?
    

4. Romans 6:13 commands us to “not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and you members to God as instruments for righteousness.” How can we obey this verse and instead of giving ourselves over to our sin, give ourselves over to the purposes of God? What does living this verse out on a daily basis look like?

Breakout Questions:

Pray for one another.

To the Powerless: I am the Vine

1. The cast of this passage: (Jn 15:1-6)


1. Vine = Jesus Christ = The Source of Life.


2. Vinedresser = God the Father = The Active Worker.


3. Branches = Man = The Fruit Bearers.


2. How do I know I'm abiding? (Jn 15:7-11)


1. I experience a powerful Prayer life. (Jn 15:7)


2. I experience a fruitful Ministry. (Jn 15:8)


3. I experience a loving Obedience. (Jn 15:9-10)


4. I experience a supernatural Joy. (Jn 15:11)

So what do I need as a Christian?

• I need money
• I need happiness
• I need more time
• I need to get things done
• I need to be the best
• I need to be perfect
• I need to abide!

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  00:00-00:07

  This is our last message from the "I Am" series, looking at the incomparable claims of Jesus Christ.

  00:10-00:12

  And as we turn to John 15, do you want to hear a funny story?

  00:14-00:14

  Do you want to hear a funny story?

  00:16-00:19

  This is one of the funniest stories to me.

  00:19-00:23

  And, like, how many of you have met my wife?

  00:24-00:27

  You know Erin, right? Okay, that's what makes this story so great.

  00:30-00:36

  We were, this was what last fall I believe it was, we were getting ready to go somewhere.

  00:36-00:42

  So we were, I think we were going to a doctor appointment or something, but we all went out into the driveway.

  00:43-00:56

  And if you've been to our house, you know, we live in downtown Prospect, downtown, like in the heart of the city, like three houses away from the blinker lights, downtown.

  00:58-01:12

  So we're, I just remember, I just remember we were like dressed up. I don't mean like we were going to the prom, but you know what I mean. Like we weren't in our sweatpants. We were dressed up like we were going like out. No offense if you're wearing sweatpants today, I'm sorry.

  01:14-01:24

  But we were going out and I opened the door to let the kids in the car and I saw something I couldn't even believe what I saw.

  01:26-01:32

  I walking from around the shed was a chicken.

  01:33-01:38

  Yeah, a chicken was walking around the side of the shed.

  01:40-01:43

  It had a tomato in its beak.

  01:45-01:45

  I'm not even joking.

  01:47-01:50

  And I'm just looking at this chicken.

  01:51-01:52

  And oh, quick flashback.

  01:53-01:57

  My wife is so into gardening, and we have this little, you've been to our house.

  01:57-02:00

  You know how much property we have, right?

  02:00-02:02

  Like, what is it like?

  02:02-02:05

  One hundredth of an acre or something.

  02:05-02:14

  Well, she has cherry trees and apple trees and blueberry bushes or trees, whatever blueberries grow.

  02:14-02:15

  I don't even know.

  02:15-02:18

  And she's got tomatoes and she's got all these things.

  02:18-02:24

  And she's got like hanging on the fence, these big like trough things with things growing.

  02:24-02:29

  and I never know where to mow because I'm always afraid I'm going to mow one of her bushes or whatever.

  02:29-02:34

  And she spends so much time and energy into this.

  02:35-02:41

  And she's so excited, she goes out every day to see how things are growing and she comes in to report, okay?

  02:42-02:47

  So with that backstory, there's a chicken with a tomato in its beak.

  02:49-02:52

  And I'm just like, oh, this is about to get real interesting.

  02:53-02:53

  (congregation laughing)

  02:56-02:58

  Where did the chicken come from?

  02:58-03:00

  I mean, I couldn't even wrap my brain around that.

  03:00-03:01

  There's a chicken in my yard.

  03:02-03:09

  Well, I said, "Aaron, look, "that chicken has one of your tomatoes." How do you think she reacted?

  03:11-03:12

  Like the incredible Hulk.

  03:14-03:22

  And this is what's so funny if you know my wife, because you know, cute little pretty dainty Aaron, turned into a volcano.

  03:22-03:27

  She grabbed, the nearest thing she could grab was a shovel.

  03:28-03:30

  And she grabbed the shovel.

  03:30-03:33

  She's like, "Get back here!" She starts chasing this chicken with the shovel.

  03:35-03:40

  Well, the chicken is running from her, like any smart chicken would.

  03:43-03:47

  Well, she chases it, and it runs into the fenced part of our yard.

  03:48-03:57

  And she's like, "Oh, great!" So now she's in the yard chasing this chicken around the fence line and around the trampoline with the shovel.

  03:59-04:02

  Well, I was laughing so hard I could barely stand.

  04:03-04:09

  So finally I went and opened up the back wooden gate and the chicken got away.

  04:10-04:13

  And they're like, why are you telling us this story?

  04:13-04:14

  Because it's hilarious.

  04:14-04:18

  That's why it was one of the times in my life.

  04:18-04:22

  I think back, the hardest times I've ever laughed in my life.

  04:22-04:30

  But there is actually another reason I'm telling you that story, because today we're going to get all botanical up here.

  04:31-04:31

  Okay?

  04:32-04:40

  We're going to be looking at an analogy, a metaphor that Jesus gives that comes straight from gardening.

  04:41-04:41

  All right?

  04:42-04:45

  I thought that was just a good excuse to tell the chicken story.

  04:48-04:50

  Well, this is a very profound lesson.

  04:52-05:06

  And actually at the end of John 14, we see that Jesus and the disciples were leaving the upper room.

  05:09-05:19

  Actually, the very last sentence, Jesus said, "Rise, let us go from here." So best understanding when you get to chapter 15, is this is something that Jesus was saying on the way.

  05:19-05:24

  And it makes a lot of sense because Jesus and the disciples would have passed some vineyards.

  05:28-05:34

  And if you recall what we discussed last week, Jesus told his disciples, "I'm leaving.

  05:37-05:40

  But the reason I'm going is I'm going to prepare a place for you.

  05:40-06:01

  And then I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you so that you can be with me." So I'm sure at this point the disciples were thinking, "Okay, I saw that our Lord had this thing happening, you know, he was doing this ministry and now he's leaving.

  06:01-06:17

  So does that mean that the work of Christ on earth is done?" Right? I mean, that's what I would think. He's leaving, so what do we do? Go back to fishing, go back to the tax booth. Jesus' work on earth is done because he's leaving, right?

  06:18-08:00

  Wrong. Actually, Jesus uses this to illustrate how the work's going to continue. And you can see them walking past a vineyard and Jesus stopping to give an object lesson. Look at the first six verses, then we'll go back in on your outline. This is the cast of this passage. Jesus said, "I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I've spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers. And the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned." So let's look at the cast of this passage. On your outline, the The vine is Jesus Christ.

  08:01-08:05

  And in this picture he's giving, he is the source of life.

  08:09-08:12

  The life of the branch is found in the vine.

  08:12-08:17

  The power and the nourishment come from the vine into the branch.

  08:17-08:23

  Actually, just yesterday we were out in our yard and right beside our house, we have a giant weeping willow tree.

  08:24-08:29

  And Aaron pointed out, he said, Did you see that that huge branch has broken off?

  08:29-08:34

  And I didn't see it before just a couple of months ago when I was out.

  08:35-08:41

  But one of the biggest branches, where it meets the tree, it just like broke off.

  08:42-08:50

  So what are the chances that that branch is going to sprout and thrive and have leaves and grow this summer?

  08:50-08:52

  What are the chances that branch is going to grow anything?

  08:54-08:54

  None.

  08:55-09:24

  it's not. But it's still like on the tree, kind of. I mean it's broke off, but it's still being supported by other branches. But there's no life to it. So it's dead and it's not going to produce anything. So that's the vine. Jesus said He's the vine, he's the source of life.

  09:25-09:29

  The vine dresser is God the Father, jot this down, he's the active worker.

  09:32-09:37

  He says, "My father is the vine dresser." What that tells me is personal care.

  09:39-09:41

  He's actively involved.

  09:41-09:42

  Isn't that awesome?

  09:42-09:51

  That God's not like, yeah, next thing on the calendar is like the return of Christ, and I'm just gonna be up here in heaven sort of minding my own business, you guys fend for yourselves.

  09:51-09:54

  And that's not the picture of God.

  09:54-09:58

  We see him actively involved in his garden.

  10:04-10:07

  Then thirdly, the branches, that's you and I.

  10:12-10:14

  Jot down fruit bearers.

  10:15-10:16

  We are the fruit bearers.

  10:20-10:32

  Look again at verse two, Jesus said, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away." Now, some people have used this passage to teach that you can lose your salvation.

  10:36-10:38

  But I want us to be crystal clear.

  10:38-10:47

  Scripture teaches that if you are truly saved, if you have truly been born again, you cannot lose your salvation, okay? You cannot.

  10:49-10:51

  Jesus said that he has you in his hand.

  10:51-10:59

  So if you're going to lose your salvation, that would require somebody more powerful than Jesus Christ to come and take you from his hand.

  10:59-11:01

  So who's more powerful than Christ?

  11:02-11:03

  Like who's doing that job?

  11:05-11:06

  Absolutely not.

  11:07-11:09

  This is not teaching that you can lose your salvation.

  11:10-11:11

  So what's he talking about?

  11:12-11:14

  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit.

  11:14-11:17

  I believe what he's teaching here in light of the immediate context.

  11:19-11:22

  Recall, Judas was with them at the Last Supper for a while, remember?

  11:23-11:26

  And then he went to betray him.

  11:28-11:38

  And I really believe that's what Jesus is teaching here, that there are people like Judas that are hanging around, but they aren't really attached to the life of the vine.

  11:40-11:43

  And sadly, there isn't just one Judas.

  11:44-11:47

  Sadly, there are millions of Judas's.

  11:48-12:00

  There are people that sit in churches, there are people that hang around Jesus, they hang around Christ's people, but they're not really attached.

  12:03-12:05

  That's what Jesus is talking about here.

  12:08-12:10

  Or you could say like that branch on our weeping willow tree.

  12:12-12:16

  If you drove by, you would say, well, that that branch is on the tree.

  12:18-12:22

  And I would say, yes and no, it's hanging there.

  12:23-12:27

  But it's basically being supported by the other branches, it's not attached to the life.

  12:30-12:39

  And there are people like that in this church and in every church across the globe, people hanging around but not attached.

  12:39-12:52

  And you're like, "Well, why do people go to church "if they're not interested in life-changing faith "in Jesus Christ?" Well, we surveyed 100 people, top five answers on the board.

  12:54-13:01

  Name a reason people go to church if they're really not interested in life-changing, life-giving, life-saving faith in Jesus Christ.

  13:03-13:04

  Start with number one here.

  13:06-13:08

  People say this, "Well, it's my duty.

  13:09-13:11

  God will give me a good week if I go to church.

  13:12-13:14

  For some people, it's about the religious experience.

  13:14-13:23

  They think that God's up in heaven, Sunday morning, he's looking down on the Naur household.

  13:25-13:27

  He's like, "Oh, Jay's going to church.

  13:28-13:34

  You know what? I'm going to make sure he has a good week this week." Some people think like that. Is that true?

  13:38-13:47

  It's true that people think that way, but that's not a true statement. God's not going to give you a cookie because you went to church. That's superstition, okay?

  13:48-14:07

  Like, "Okay God, I did something for you, now you owe me one." Yeah, God owes us something, right? Laughable. Well, that's number one. Number two, that's like the positive side. Here's the negative side. If I don't go to church, God's going to hit me with the whammy this week.

  14:08-14:09

  Some people believe that.

  14:09-14:25

  I gotta go to church because if I don't go, my car's gonna break down, my roof's gonna leak, I'm gonna get fired from my job, I'm gonna get lice, something.

  14:27-14:29

  Something bad's gonna happen to me because I didn't go to church.

  14:30-14:32

  And that too is, that's superstition.

  14:32-14:40

  And both of those really are just different sides coin. It's sort of a...

  14:40-15:11

  it's sort of being afraid of God. And I want you to understand that Scripture speaks of the fear of the Lord. That's reverence, and that's how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There's a difference between having a fear of the Lord and being afraid of God. Some people go to church because they're afraid of God. "I better do it so he's good to me. If I I'm gonna miss, he's gonna like, you know, do something bad, put some sugar in my gas tank or something, maybe send a chicken to eat my tomatoes.

  15:14-15:19

  Okay, number three, you know, that's a true story.

  15:19-15:20

  I know a girl that that happened to.

  15:23-15:31

  She disrespected her husband and God was like, I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

  15:33-15:38

  Number three, for some people, I like being around those good quality people.

  15:40-15:41

  That's the third reason.

  15:41-15:42

  I just, I like those church people.

  15:42-15:46

  I go to this church because my neighbor goes there and she invited me.

  15:46-15:47

  And you know what, I like those people.

  15:47-15:49

  I mean, have you met Paul Fields?

  15:49-15:50

  I mean, I just love this guy.

  15:51-15:52

  And I just like being around them.

  15:52-15:55

  And they're just nice people.

  15:55-16:12

  For some people, it's, "I want my kids raised in the church." I've met so many parents whose shadow has never darkened a church in their lives, but they send their kids to church because they're like, "I want my kids to be around good people and to learn some good morals." Well, what about you?

  16:12-16:14

  And that's been like free babysitting time for me.

  16:15-16:20

  And for some, it's just about, "We're nice people." I mean, you are, you're nice people.

  16:20-16:21

  You're very nice people.

  16:22-16:23

  Shooks came over to our house the other day.

  16:24-16:25

  You guys are great people.

  16:25-16:26

  We had a lot of laughs, didn't we?

  16:27-16:32

  Nice people, for some people, that's all the further they get with going to church.

  16:36-16:37

  Okay, reason number four.

  16:40-16:44

  People say this, "I'm just here for him or her.

  16:45-16:53

  "I just go because my wife is going to get on my case "if I don't go." I've said that.

  16:54-16:57

  I'm like, "I don't wanna go to church." And Aaron's like, "You're preaching today."

  16:57-16:58

  (congregation laughing)

  16:59-17:02

  But for some people, that's their motivation for going.

  17:03-17:08

  It'll keep her from nagging me, it'll keep her off my back, so I'll go.

  17:08-17:09

  Or him.

  17:09-17:20

  You know, "Well, my husband's really into it, "and it's not really my cup of tea, but whatever, I'll go." That's why some people, hanging out, but not attached.

  17:21-17:22

  And for other people, it's this.

  17:22-17:24

  Number five, I was raised in the church.

  17:25-17:27

  I was raised in the church.

  17:27-17:30

  And at that point, it sort of becomes a family tradition.

  17:31-17:34

  You know, I talked to people, "Well, where do you worship?

  17:34-17:40

  Why go to such and such church?" "Oh, okay, why do you go there?" That's just where we've always gone.

  17:42-17:49

  It's just sort of the family custom, you know, every Saturday night or every Sunday morning, that's just what we did.

  17:49-17:55

  And I'm not like really into like being religious and I'm not really into all that stuff, but that's just kind of what our family does.

  17:58-18:01

  Well, some people hang out, but they're not attached.

  18:02-18:04

  We'll talk more about them in a second.

  18:04-18:09

  You're like, "Well, what about the attached branches?" Well, look at what Jesus said again about them.

  18:11-18:24

  "Every branch that does bear fruit, "he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." And there are a thousand other things I wish this passage said, honestly.

  18:26-18:34

  You know, the ones that bear fruit, he rewards, he gives some sort of a tangible blessing of some kind.

  18:35-18:42

  If you're bearing fruit, God's going to prune you.

  18:44-18:45

  What do you mean by that?

  18:45-18:50

  Well, even as Christians sometimes, we get these things that are called sucker shoots.

  18:50-18:51

  You know what a sucker shoot is?

  18:52-18:53

  You know what that is?

  18:53-18:55

  I had to do a little reading up on that this week.

  18:56-19:06

  It's when the branch gets these little shoots on them that aren't going to produce anything, but what they do instead is they suck the nourishment that's meant for the branch.

  19:07-19:11

  And many times these sucker shoots will bear leaves, but they won't bear fruits.

  19:13-19:15

  And what is that in the life of the Christian?

  19:16-19:18

  I believe he's talking about sin.

  19:20-19:48

  that sin, you know, we're branches, we're a task, but even as Christians sometimes we get involved in sin that saps our energy, it diverts us, it sidetracks us, it gets us off task, and the vine dresser comes and says, "We're gonna have to do some pruning here." Now, we surveyed 100 trees.

  19:50-20:01

  And a hundred trees said this, "Pruning hurts." Pruning hurts, what is pruning?

  20:03-20:04

  Well, it's hardship.

  20:04-20:12

  It could be loss of stuff or persecution or discouragement or sickness or whatever it is.

  20:12-20:16

  Here's the over-encompassing heading on pruning.

  20:17-20:25

  Trials and troubles that God allows in your life to uncover the problem that he wants to prune.

  20:26-20:34

  Okay, God's going to allow some things to happen in your life to show you and to show me that we have some areas that need pruned.

  20:37-20:40

  Scripture speaks so much the purpose of trials.

  20:45-20:48

  But what I want you to see today, this process is like surgery.

  20:48-20:49

  Look at verse three.

  20:49-21:00

  Jesus said, "Already you are clean "because of the word that I have spoken to you." It's like surgery.

  21:02-21:06

  The knife is the trouble that God allows into your life.

  21:07-21:11

  The needle that stitches to heal is the word of God.

  21:12-21:14

  Okay, so do you have this picture of what pruning is?

  21:15-21:16

  God's going to allow hardship in your life.

  21:17-21:27

  And you're going to come to this realization that God is using that to show an area of your life that he needs to do some healing.

  21:30-21:32

  And the way that he heals it is with his word.

  21:37-21:39

  It's a painful process.

  21:42-21:49

  But scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines loves. Right, parents? The Lord disciplines those whom he loves.

  21:52-21:54

  Then verse four, here it is.

  21:56-22:01

  Abide in me. And I in you.

  22:02-22:05

  Actually, in verse four, he says abide three times.

  22:05-22:09

  In this passage, you're going to see it nine times.

  22:11-22:14

  He says that our job is to abide.

  22:14-22:15

  And how do we do that?

  22:15-22:20

  Well, notice that it's active and passive at the same time.

  22:21-22:22

  Do you see that, verse 4?

  22:23-22:25

  Abide in me and I in you.

  22:25-22:26

  It's active and it's passive.

  22:27-22:31

  The passive part is Jesus promised that he will abide in you.

  22:34-22:35

  What's the active part?

  22:36-22:37

  Here's the active part.

  22:38-22:44

  we make decisions to abide, right?

  22:44-22:45

  Otherwise, he wouldn't have said this.

  22:46-22:56

  If it was sort of a natural thing that happens on autopilot that we kind of stumble into or we kind of do in our sleep, Jesus wouldn't have given us an imperative command.

  22:58-23:00

  But that's exactly what this is here.

  23:00-23:19

  Jesus is telling his disciples in his day and in our day, He's saying, "Abide in me." You need to make some decisions to abide in him.

  23:24-23:26

  You're responsible for the decision.

  23:26-23:28

  He is responsible for the power.

  23:29-23:40

  This is so important that you get this because you know, Taylor's preaching next week and then we're gonna be starting this series on relationships, on marriage, and on parenting, and on friendship.

  23:41-23:51

  And here's the biggest danger for the church, thinking that we can hear a command from God and think that we can fulfill it in the flesh.

  23:53-23:55

  And that's the American way, we'll just try harder.

  23:55-23:56

  Right, we'll just try.

  23:57-23:58

  Oh, I see what it says.

  23:58-24:02

  I'll try to fulfill that in the flesh, But look at what Jesus said about that.

  24:03-24:11

  "A branch cannot bear fruit by itself "unless it abides in the vine." Just like on my weeping willow tree.

  24:12-24:15

  Jesus said, "Neither can you unless you abide in me.

  24:17-24:19

  "I am the vine, you are the branches.

  24:19-24:24

  "Whoever abides in me and I in him, "he it is that bears much fruit." Look at the end of verse five.

  24:24-24:27

  This should be underlined in every single Bible in this room.

  24:28-24:33

  We will have ushers at the door checking to make sure this is underlined in your Bible.

  24:39-24:49

  Jesus said, "For apart from me, you can do nothing." Apart from me, you can do nothing.

  24:52-24:56

  Jesus didn't say, "Apart from me, "it's gonna be a little harder.

  24:56-24:58

  "Apart from me, it's going to be mediocre.

  24:59-25:04

  "Apart from me, you can probably put out "grade C or D work." What did he say?

  25:05-25:08

  "Apart from him, we can do what?" Hold up the universal symbol.

  25:10-25:10

  "Nothing.

  25:14-25:25

  "Nothing." The hard thing with this is sometimes it looks like things are happening apart from him, right?

  25:25-25:27

  There are people trying to do things in the flesh.

  25:28-25:36

  There are people that in the flesh are pastoring churches, or working in churches, or doing this ministry, or doing that ministry.

  25:37-25:38

  And it looks like things are happening.

  25:41-25:44

  Jesus, once again, made an exclusive claim.

  25:44-25:46

  It's black and white.

  25:47-25:49

  In Him, there's power.

  25:51-25:53

  Apart from Him, you can do what?

  25:54-25:54

  Nothing.

  25:56-25:57

  Like, okay, we get it, we get it.

  25:57-25:58

  No, we don't get it.

  26:00-26:00

  Because you know why?

  26:00-26:08

  In a couple of weeks, we're gonna be starting this series on Proverbs and people are going to be leaving here thinking, yeah, there are some things that I need to do to be a better husband.

  26:08-26:11

  There are some things that I need to do to be a better wife.

  26:14-26:16

  You can't do it on your own.

  26:16-26:17

  You can't.

  26:17-26:18

  You can't.

  26:21-26:22

  And you're like, says who?

  26:22-26:23

  And I say, says Jesus.

  26:24-26:38

  Apart from me, you can do nothing." You're like, "What about those branches that are taken away?" Well, look at verse 6.

  26:39-26:43

  Jesus said, "If anyone does not abide in me, he's thrown away like a branch and withers.

  26:44-27:02

  The branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned." So if you're a branch that's just hanging around, but will not allow yourself to be attached to Christ by the authority of God's Word, your future is not good for you.

  27:05-27:06

  I want you to understand something.

  27:07-27:11

  There's only one unforgivable sin. Did you know that?

  27:11-27:21

  There's only one sin that you can commit that you can't be forgiven for.

  27:21-27:22

  Do you know what that sin is?

  27:23-27:27

  It's rejecting God's cure for your sin.

  27:31-27:34

  That's the only unforgivable sin.

  27:34-27:39

  Whether you've murdered, whether you've committed adultery, whether you're a liar, whether you're a thief.

  27:40-27:51

  whether you're a gossip, whatever your favorite sin is, maybe things that you've done that nobody knows but you and God, all of those things can be forgiven.

  27:53-27:56

  That's how powerful the blood of Jesus Christ is.

  27:59-28:08

  But to reject Jesus Christ, there's no forgiveness for that because there's no plan B.

  28:09-28:12

  Jesus came and laid down his life and rose from the dead.

  28:12-28:14

  Wasn't that an awesome celebration last week?

  28:15-28:17

  Why were we so celebrating?

  28:17-28:19

  Why were we so excited?

  28:19-28:21

  Why were we so jubilant?

  28:23-28:24

  Because sin is forgiven.

  28:28-28:31

  The only sin that can't be forgiven is rejection of Jesus Christ.

  28:31-28:32

  There's nothing else that can be done.

  28:33-28:41

  God says, "Here's a cure for your sin." And you're like, "I don't need Jesus." God's not going to extend something else to you.

  28:41-28:42

  Well, how about this?

  28:42-28:45

  Would this, can I tickle your fancy with this?

  28:47-28:50

  It's Jesus, because he's the source of life.

  28:53-28:59

  So I'm sure some of us now are thinking, well, I'd like to be sure, right?

  29:00-29:03

  Do you wanna be sure that you're abiding in Christ?

  29:03-29:04

  Do you wanna be sure?

  29:06-29:14

  Or would you rather, I don't know, stand before God someday and then discover that you were a fruitless branch, just hanging around?

  29:16-29:18

  The most sobering words that anyone will ever hear.

  29:19-29:22

  Jesus said in John chapter seven, some people are gonna stand before him.

  29:22-29:27

  And you know, we did all these miracles and we cast out demons and we did all these things in your name.

  29:27-29:30

  And Jesus said, I will say, depart from me, I never knew you.

  29:31-29:32

  It wasn't about the stuff that you did.

  29:35-29:37

  You didn't know Jesus Christ.

  29:39-29:40

  Do you wanna find out then?

  29:42-29:43

  Or would you like to find out now?

  29:45-29:47

  All in favor of finding out now?

  29:48-29:51

  All right, good, because Jesus covered that.

  29:52-29:53

  That was the introduction, here's the sermon.

  29:53-29:54

  How do I know I'm abiding?

  29:56-29:57

  How do I know I'm abiding?

  30:00-30:02

  Jesus gives us, these are four proofs.

  30:04-30:06

  This is what abiding Christians do, okay?

  30:10-30:17

  You need to bookmark this in your Bible and you need to go back this week and keep revisiting these things.

  30:17-30:21

  Look, I can't take this test for you and you can't take this test for me.

  30:22-30:24

  You have to take this test for yourself.

  30:25-30:30

  And you just have to ask yourself honestly, get before God and say, "God, am I the real deal?

  30:31-30:33

  "Have I genuinely accepted Jesus Christ?

  30:33-30:34

  "Have I been born again?

  30:35-30:44

  "Do I see these things that Jesus is talking about "in this passage, do I see it in my life?" If you're abiding, these are four things that you'll see in your life.

  30:44-30:49

  If you're not abiding, you're not going to see these things in your life, it's that simple, okay?

  30:50-30:51

  So how do I know I'm abiding?

  30:51-30:54

  Number one, I experience a powerful prayer life.

  30:56-30:58

  I experience a powerful prayer life.

  30:58-31:13

  Look at verse seven, Jesus said, But if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

  31:15-31:18

  First evidence of abiding, powerful prayer life.

  31:19-31:21

  People that abide in Christ get this.

  31:22-31:25

  They see God move and they see prayers answered.

  31:26-31:30

  But understand this isn't a free pass to get whatever your flesh wants.

  31:31-31:36

  Okay? This isn't the free pass. Jesus is like, "I'm gonna give you a little secret.

  31:36-32:26

  Here's a little magic formula that if you do this, God will make all your wildest dreams come true and give you every single thing your flesh wants." That's not what he's saying. What is he saying? Well, did you know I'm amazingly consistent about being inconsistent in my diet? Did you know that? You would be and how consistent I am about being inconsistent in my diet. And if you're like me, is there anybody else like me that way? That you like get on the health food kick and that lasts a couple weeks and then you're eating Oreos like Tic Tacs and that lasts a couple weeks and then it's like water and spinach for for me for a couple weeks.

  32:28-32:31

  Then you have your own parking place at Krispy Kreme.

  32:33-32:35

  Anybody else like that or just me?

  32:36-32:37

  Okay, a couple of you, all right.

  32:37-32:39

  The rest of you are gonna have to pretend that you understand what I'm saying.

  32:41-32:44

  But here's the thing, when I'm eating junk, I crave junk.

  32:45-32:46

  Isn't that true?

  32:47-32:50

  When I'm eating that garbage, I crave that garbage.

  32:51-32:57

  cookies and pop and all the stuff that I know I shouldn't be eating, but I'm craving it.

  32:59-33:05

  But when I'm eating healthy, interestingly, I crave healthy food.

  33:07-33:11

  The other interesting thing about this is when I'm eating junk, I don't crave healthy food.

  33:13-33:23

  You know, I'm in the middle of one of my like junk binges, "And me and my boys just ate an entire package "of triple double Oreos, which has happened.

  33:24-33:26

  "I confess to my wife now in front of all of you."

  33:28-33:28

  (congregation laughing)

  33:29-33:31

  This is a place of grace.

  33:32-33:33

  (congregation laughing)

  33:36-33:38

  I don't finish that and think, you know what I could go for?

  33:38-33:39

  A salad.

  33:42-33:43

  But the opposite is true too.

  33:43-33:48

  When I'm like eating healthy, and then like I'm out somewhere I have like a glass of pop.

  33:48-33:55

  I'm like, "Oh, I like this stuff." Well, here's the point.

  33:57-34:00

  Abiding changes your appetites.

  34:01-34:02

  That's the point here.

  34:02-34:06

  When you abide in Christ, He changes your appetites.

  34:09-34:12

  So how do I feed the godly appetite?

  34:13-34:23

  Well, Jesus said right here in verse seven, "My words abide in you." That's how you feed the godly appetite.

  34:23-34:29

  You've gotta let the Lord's words abide in you, getting in this book.

  34:30-34:40

  And you're gonna find that the more you're in this book, the more you're going to be interested about being on God's agenda, and the more that's going to affect the way you pray and what you pray about.

  34:45-34:50

  You know, I've had to check myself this past month because it can be so easy.

  34:52-34:53

  And I've had to make some changes.

  34:54-35:04

  It can be so easy to get caught up in Twitter feeds and Facebook and what else is there, Pinterest and what...

  35:05-35:06

  The list is endless.

  35:09-35:29

  A few weeks ago I was just looking through a Facebook news feed and I'm just like, "This is such a waste of time." And how much time and energy do we put in, you know, being nosy at what everybody else is doing or political opinions or...

  35:29-36:19

  How much time and energy do we put into getting into God's Word that we would put into the internet or television or sports or video games. So let God's Word abide in you and you're going to find a growing appetite for his agenda. So let me ask you first question, can you point to specific ways you're seeing him answering your prayers right now? Right now in your life can you say, "I've been praying about this and I can see how God has been moving and answering my prayers. Can you see that in your life right now? If you can, that's evidence that you're abiding. And if you're sitting here going, "I have no idea what he's talking about.

  36:20-36:29

  I haven't had a prayer answered since like the Carter administration. What is he even talking about?" Then you might want to check yourself. All right?

  36:33-36:36

  You Abiders experience a powerful prayer life.

  36:36-36:40

  Secondly, number two, I experience a fruitful ministry.

  36:42-36:44

  I experience a fruitful ministry.

  36:44-36:45

  Look at verse eight.

  36:49-36:57

  By this, my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

  36:59-37:03

  As the father has loved me, So have I loved you abide in my love.

  37:03-37:04

  Oops, I read ahead.

  37:05-37:07

  Verse 8, I experienced a fruitful ministry.

  37:07-37:08

  What is fruit?

  37:10-37:12

  Well, biblically, fruit is two things.

  37:12-37:14

  There's attitude fruit and there's action fruit.

  37:16-37:18

  Attitude fruit, that's Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit.

  37:20-37:23

  The way that the Holy Spirit manifests himself in you and through you.

  37:25-37:30

  He produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

  37:31-37:33

  That's the Holy Spirit working those things through you.

  37:34-37:42

  I've heard people say things like, "You know, since I became a Christian, you know, I've been so much more patient." That's because the Holy Spirit's working in you.

  37:42-37:49

  Like, "Since I became a Christian, I've learned self-control." That's because the Holy Spirit's working self-control in you.

  37:49-37:55

  So that's attitude fruit, but there's also, biblically, there's action fruit.

  37:55-37:57

  What's action fruit? Good works.

  38:00-38:02

  Praise is considered an action fruit.

  38:03-38:07

  You know, when the worship team's up here leading worship, where's your heart?

  38:09-38:10

  That's a fruit.

  38:11-38:12

  Evangelism.

  38:14-38:16

  The Bible would teach that that's a fruit.

  38:17-38:20

  That you're eager to share your faith with others.

  38:20-38:22

  You're eager to invite people to come to church with you.

  38:23-38:26

  And another fruit, biblically, New Testament is giving.

  38:27-38:28

  That's a fruit.

  38:31-38:34

  It's all God's, he's entrusted me with this, I'm gonna give it back to God.

  38:36-38:37

  That's an action fruit.

  38:39-38:42

  But understand this, the fruit is not about the activity.

  38:45-38:50

  The fruit that God wants to produce in you is about character.

  38:51-38:53

  because that is what glorifies God.

  38:53-38:57

  And that is the platform from which he manifests the activity through you.

  39:00-39:02

  This is where we get everything so backwards in the church.

  39:03-39:11

  Like, well, maybe I'll give, and maybe I'll get involved, and through that, maybe I'll grow closer to God, and maybe my life will get better.

  39:11-39:12

  That is backwards.

  39:14-39:15

  Here's how it goes.

  39:15-39:17

  I abide in Jesus Christ.

  39:18-39:22

  I allow him to be at work in me, changing me.

  39:23-39:27

  And as he's working in me, he's going to do things through me.

  39:28-39:30

  That's how it works.

  39:33-39:38

  Your ministry should be an overflow of what God's doing in your life.

  39:41-39:41

  Okay?

  39:42-39:53

  God should be pouring into you so much that everything is like splashing out of the bucket of your heart, everything is overflowing that God's doing in you, that's your ministry.

  39:54-39:56

  That's just him working through you.

  40:01-40:05

  So look at your life right now, what kingdom purposes is God doing through you?

  40:07-40:10

  What kingdom purposes is God doing through you?

  40:10-40:12

  Like, I'm not really sure this is that big of a deal.

  40:13-40:22

  Well, notice Jesus said, "And so prove to be my disciples." Jesus said, "This is proof." Like I'm a disciple of Christ.

  40:22-40:23

  Jesus says, "Really?

  40:24-40:26

  Here's how it's proven.

  40:27-40:33

  It's when you bear much fruit." Examination questions, are you ready?

  40:34-40:36

  What ministry would not be getting done if you moved?

  40:38-40:44

  If you found out that you had to move to Sacramento, California tomorrow?

  40:46-40:51

  What ministry would not be getting done when you move?

  40:52-40:54

  What would change if you weren't here?

  40:54-40:55

  What would change in this church?

  40:56-40:57

  What would change in your workplace?

  40:59-41:00

  Would it be any different?

  41:07-41:09

  There's plenty of ministry to be done here.

  41:10-41:13

  and we need you to step up and be fruitful here.

  41:16-41:19

  You're like, well, yeah, I really would like to get plugged in here, but I'm not sure how.

  41:20-41:20

  Come and see me.

  41:21-41:28

  I got a list of things that I literally, I have a 16 page list of things that we are working on as a church.

  41:33-41:37

  So another proof of abiding in Christ is experiencing a fruitful ministry.

  41:38-41:43

  Thirdly, I experience a loving obedience.

  41:44-41:46

  Look at verses nine and 10.

  41:46-41:49

  I experience a loving obedience.

  41:49-42:00

  Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, "so have I loved you." Question, how much did God the Father love Jesus Christ?

  42:00-42:00

  How much?

  42:02-42:03

  Go ahead, shout it out.

  42:04-42:04

  How much?

  42:07-42:09

  Don't be shy, don't be like, oh, I'm gonna mumble something.

  42:09-42:10

  No, come on, shout it out.

  42:10-42:13

  How much do you think God the Father loved God the Son?

  42:15-42:17

  A lot, okay, we're getting there.

  42:18-42:19

  What's that?

  42:20-42:21

  Infinitely, right?

  42:21-42:25

  Like, can you put a measurement on it?

  42:25-42:30

  It's beyond anything that we can think about.

  42:32-42:37

  Jesus said, So have I loved you.

  42:38-42:39

  Isn't that awesome?

  42:39-42:45

  He loves you with the same amount that his father loves him.

  42:49-42:55

  And then he says it again, abide in my love.

  42:59-43:03

  Then verse 10, he says, if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.

  43:04-43:09

  just as I've kept my father's commandments and abide in his love." There's that analogy again.

  43:10-43:20

  Jesus said, "I abide in the father's love because my whole life is just dedicated to honoring him and pleasing him and obeying him." And Jesus was so focused.

  43:22-43:24

  He said, "That's how I abide in my father's love.

  43:24-43:25

  And I'm telling you the same thing.

  43:26-43:31

  Obey my commandments and abide in my love." So I experienced a loving obedience.

  43:32-43:36

  And for many people hearing the word obedience, just immediately it sounds like slavery.

  43:37-43:38

  Like obedience, here we go.

  43:39-43:42

  It's based on a loving relationship.

  43:43-43:44

  Did you catch that?

  43:45-43:48

  It's obedience based on a loving relationship.

  43:52-43:57

  Like to remind you, you know, we live in a day where there's no lack of Bible information.

  44:00-44:06

  We live in a day rather where we lack application of what we do know.

  44:08-44:16

  You know, we live in a day where we can listen to John Piper's, we can read a John Piper book and listen to the latest John MacArthur sermon on podcast.

  44:16-44:21

  And we're, you know, listening to Word FM and we are constantly bombarded with information.

  44:23-44:26

  Our problem is we don't apply what we do know.

  44:29-44:42

  And the way that Harvest Bible Chapel makes disciples is this, you come to worship and you get plugged into a small group, and your small group time is about digging deeper into applying the passage.

  44:44-44:47

  Getting the word of God from your head to your heart.

  44:48-44:51

  That's why we want everybody involved in a small group.

  44:53-44:54

  Everybody needs to be involved in a small group.

  45:00-45:08

  It's in that context that we learn and that we grow in experiencing this loving obedience that comes from abiding in Christ.

  45:09-45:14

  So, checkpoint question, do you delight to obey because you have a loving relationship with Jesus?

  45:15-45:18

  Do you delight to obey because you have a loving relationship with Jesus?

  45:19-45:26

  If it's fists clenched, teeth clenched, "Well, I'll do this because I guess it's the Christian thing to do," you've missed it.

  45:28-45:39

  But if you're like, "You know what? I love doing what Christ has called me to do because I love Him." And it's just a manifestation of the relationship that we have.

  45:39-45:44

  Jesus said, "If you love me, you'll keep my commandments." I do love you. I want to keep your commandments.

  45:46-45:52

  And finally, number four, I experience a supernatural joy.

  45:56-46:00

  You're like, oh, I knew he was gonna sneak that in somewhere because we're talking about joy this year.

  46:01-46:02

  Well, I didn't sneak it in.

  46:02-46:03

  Look at your Bibles.

  46:04-46:17

  Jesus said, "These things I've spoken to you "that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full." And this is what we set out this year going after.

  46:17-46:19

  We're going to continue to go after this year.

  46:20-46:22

  We're going after joy.

  46:23-46:24

  How are you doing in that?

  46:25-46:26

  Some of you have been with us through this journey.

  46:27-46:28

  How are you doing in that?

  46:29-46:31

  Do you find yourself growing in joy this year?

  46:33-46:34

  Like, well, I guess I'm kind of happy.

  46:34-46:36

  No, I'm not talking about kind of happy.

  46:43-46:47

  We're not looking for joy, actually. I keep saying we're going after joy.

  46:48-46:50

  That's not really what I mean. You get that, right?

  46:50-46:52

  You don't look for joy, you look for Jesus.

  46:54-46:55

  Because Jesus wants to give you His joy.

  46:57-46:58

  Checkpoint question.

  46:59-47:08

  Do you have a settled, contented, restful joy in the Lord in the midst of whatever storm is around you?

  47:12-47:16

  These are four things of Jesus that are true about people that abide in Him.

  47:16-47:17

  Are you abiding in Christ?

  47:18-47:20

  Are you hanging around the vine?

  47:20-47:25

  Or are you a branch that's attached to the life-giving source of the vine?

  47:25-47:26

  Which one are you?

  47:26-48:02

  Jesus said if you're attached to him, you'll experience a powerful prayer life, you'll experience a fruitful ministry, you'll experience a loving obedience, and you'll experience supernatural joy. Sometimes I think we make things really complicated and really stressful. So the question is, as a Christian, what do I need as a Christian? What do I need as a Christian? Well, I need money, right?

  48:03-48:05

  I need money, is that right? Is that what I need as a Christian?

  48:09-48:26

  Survey said, right? Yeah, we surveyed one Lord and Savior. Top one answer on the board. Tell me something you need as a Christian, it's not money. I need I need happiness, that's what I need.

  48:26-48:29

  That's what I really need out of life, survey said?

  48:31-48:31

  (buzzer buzzing)

  48:46-48:46

  (audience laughing)

  48:49-48:49

  (buzzer buzzing)

  48:50-48:51

  Go ahead, it's fun.

  48:54-48:55

  What do you need, moms?

  48:56-48:58

  What do you need, busy dads?

  48:58-49:00

  I just need to get things done.

  49:00-49:03

  I just got so much stuff to do and I just need to get things done.

  49:03-49:04

  Is that what you need?

  49:07-49:08

  (buzzer buzzing)

  49:08-49:09

  That's not what you need.

  49:11-49:12

  Oh, you know what I need?

  49:13-49:14

  I need to be the best.

  49:14-49:21

  I have this competitive drive in me and I just feel this need that I have to, I just have to be the best.

  49:23-49:30

  Survey said, some people are like, I need to be perfect.

  49:31-49:32

  I need to be perfect.

  49:34-49:39

  I just, I just see all these areas in my life where I'm not perfect and I need to try harder.

  49:39-49:48

  And what I need to do is to get my act together and I need to try harder and I'm gonna be perfect.

  49:48-49:50

  Is that what you need as a Christian?

  49:53-49:54

  So here's the question.

  49:57-49:58

  What do you need as a Christian?

  50:00-50:01

  The answer is one thing.

  50:03-50:04

  One thing, what do you need?

  50:10-50:11

  There it is.

  50:13-50:14

  You need to wait for it.

  50:15-50:17

  That was a dramatic, thank you Aaron, that was dramatic.

  50:19-50:27

  One thing you need as a Christian, I need to abide.

  50:30-50:31

  Let's pray.

Small Group Questions ­(Whole Group):
Read John 15:1-11

1. What does it mean to abide in Christ? (Jn 15:4-7, 9-10) Describe specifically what that looks like in the life of an “abider”.
    

2. Tell of a way God has “pruned” you with hard circumstances, and how that has resulted in fruitfulness in your life.

Breakout Questions:

Take the Test! Evaluate the proofs of abiding from John 15:7-11
Rate the following from 1­-10 (1 = poor, 10 = strong).
Go around the group for each question, then everybody answer the last one.

1. I am experiencing a powerful prayer life. (Jn 15:7)

2. I am experiencing a fruitful ministry. (Jn 15:8)

3. I am experiencing loving obedience. (Jn 15:9-10)

4. I am experiencing supernatural joy. (Jn 15:11)

5. In the area I am weakest, what choices can I make to abide in Christ?

To the Troubled: I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,"

1. There is a PEACE that Jesus PROVIDES (Jn 14:1)


2. There is a PLACE that Jesus PREPARES (Jn 14:2-3)


3. There is a PATH that Jesus PRESCRIBES (Jn 14:4-6, Jn 3:16)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  00:00-01:14

  There's some things to be stressed out about, isn't there? Well here, Jesus, look at this. This is an imperative. Jesus actually gives a command here by saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled." Jesus is saying that you need to take charge of your heart, of your mind, and of your emotions. And the question is, "Well, how do I do that?" Well, he tells you, very next sentence, "Believe in God, believe also in me." So how do I let not my heart be troubled? Well, I do that by doing this. I trust God with the things that I don't understand. I trust God with the things that I have no control over, and I trust God even with the things that could drive me to despair. I trust God with them. Honestly, of that list that I just read you, how many of those things are you capable of even fixing? How many of those things?

  01:14-01:49

  Hold up the universal sign. How many of those things can you fix? The answer is none. Right? So if your heart is troubled, let me ask you, how much have you been trusting? And I mean, I mean really trusting Christ. I don't mean, well yeah, I trust Christ. I go to church on Sunday. I mean, there's a settled rest in your heart that says, I know no matter how bad things look, no matter how hard things get.

  01:52-01:53

  It doesn't have to trouble me.

  01:56-02:02

  Because my faith isn't in myself, my faith isn't in my ability to try to fix this.

  02:03-02:06

  Jesus said, believe in God, believe also in me.

  02:08-02:26

  Actually, that sentence could be better read, Jesus was saying, "You believe in God, you must also believe in me." Not some generic, "I believe that the big man upstairs is looking out for us." It's about Jesus Christ, okay?

  02:30-02:32

  So how much have you been really trusting?

  02:32-02:37

  How much have you, whatever's stressing you out, Let me ask you, how much have you been praying about that?

  02:40-02:47

  How much have you been in God's word and resting in God's promises concerning whatever's troubling you?

  02:49-03:08

  Or as I heard a friend of mine say recently, do you say, "Oh God, I got big problems." Or do you say, "Problems, I got a big God." So first of all, Jesus tells his disciples and he tells us there's a peace that he provides.

  03:10-03:14

  But secondly, there's a place that he's preparing.

  03:14-03:15

  Look at verses two and three.

  03:18-03:23

  Jesus said, "In my father's house are many rooms.

  03:25-03:29

  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

  03:30-03:43

  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself that where I am, you may be also." Wait, wait, wait, you're leaving Jesus?

  03:44-03:45

  Where are you going?

  03:46-03:48

  But see, Jesus is saying, "I'm not just leaving.

  03:49-04:00

  It's not just adios." Jesus is saying, "I'm going somewhere to prepare a place for you." And what does he call this place?

  04:01-04:09

  Actually, he says in verse two, "In my father's house." You know, there's a lot of words in the Bible that describe heaven.

  04:11-04:11

  This is my favorite.

  04:13-04:17

  He describes heaven as his father's house.

  04:20-04:21

  Why house?

  04:24-04:30

  Because home is not a place that is weird or unfamiliar.

  04:31-04:36

  Home is the place where you can sit back and say, this is where I belong, right?

  04:37-04:39

  Home is a place where your children feel safe.

  04:40-04:45

  And even as an adult now, my mom still lives in the house that I grew up in.

  04:45-04:49

  And when I go visit mom, it's not weird walking into that house.

  04:49-04:50

  It's not weird.

  04:50-04:51

  Like, you know, what am I allowed to touch?

  04:51-04:52

  What am I allowed to...

  04:52-04:54

  When I walk in, I just flop down.

  04:55-04:57

  I help myself to whatever's in the refrigerator.

  04:59-05:00

  Why do I do that?

  05:01-05:02

  'Cause that's home.

  05:03-05:05

  This is a place of comfort and it's familiar.

  05:05-05:29

  And Jesus said, "I'm going to prepare a place for you in my Father's house." Now, some of you are like, "Oh, question, Pastor Jeff, my Bible says mansion, and I've always been raised to learn that I'm going to get my own mansion in heaven." We have this idea that heaven's like sprawled out, right?

  05:30-05:36

  Like it's so spread out that you're gonna get to heaven someday and like, where's your mansion?

  05:37-05:40

  Well, I actually live 189 blocks from God.

  05:41-05:47

  You're gonna go down East Street there and then you take a right on Broadway and then it's pretty far down there.

  05:48-05:51

  But my mansion, I didn't get a real close one to God.

  05:52-06:03

  Actually, in Jesus' day, when He would have been speaking these words, you see, the father would have built a house.

  06:05-06:13

  And then many times the son would get married and they would come back and actually add a wing onto the father's house.

  06:14-06:17

  And then another son gets married and guess what he does?

  06:17-06:20

  Yeah, we're gonna build a wing on the dad's house.

  06:20-06:51

  And they would build these wings ended up circling a central patio. So they were like all in their own places, but they were all attached, but they all shared a common patio. And Jesus here is saying that's what heaven's like. But instead of a central patio, what's going to be in the center of heaven? Better question, who's going to to be in the center of heaven.

  06:52-06:52

  It's God.

  06:53-06:54

  It's God.

  06:54-07:01

  So understand, it's not gonna be like, I'm going to go visit God today in heaven, in his Father's house.

  07:02-07:04

  You're always going to be in his presence.

  07:04-07:07

  You're always going to be home.

  07:09-07:11

  And you're like, seriously?

  07:13-07:13

  Seriously?

  07:14-07:15

  Seriously?

  07:15-07:16

  Is that really what it's like, seriously?

  07:18-07:19

  I love what Jesus asked here.

  07:21-07:28

  He said, "If it were not so, would I have told you?" Like, I'm not here to blow smoke.

  07:29-07:39

  I'm not here to give you some kind of a fairy tale and spin you some kind of unbelievable yarn, you know, like this boogeyman, you know, tooth fairy thing.

  07:39-07:43

  "In my Father's house are many rooms." Oh, that was so poetic, Jesus.

  07:43-07:45

  He goes, "No, this is for real.

  07:46-07:46

  "This is for real.

  07:47-07:48

  I'm really going somewhere.

  07:48-07:51

  I'm really going to be preparing a place for you.

  07:51-07:54

  And if it wasn't so, I wouldn't have told you that.

  07:56-08:03

  And then verse three, he says, I'm going to come and I'm going to take you that where I am, there you may be also.

  08:04-08:05

  I love that.

  08:06-08:07

  Do you know why I love that?

  08:08-08:09

  Do you know why I love that?

  08:10-08:11

  Because I hate going to Walmart.

  08:13-08:14

  That's why I love that.

  08:14-08:15

  You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, back up.

  08:16-08:24

  "Is there Walmart in heaven, what are you saying?" No, what I'm saying is this, my wife is the shopper in the family for sure.

  08:25-08:34

  And the rare times that I'm out and she's like, "Can you stop at Walmart and pick something up?" It turns into like the next installment of Indiana Jones.

  08:34-08:55

  I'm like, "Where in the world is that?" And then I look for one of the employees and I'm like, "Excuse me, can you tell me "where I can find the Stevia or whatever?" and they're like, "Oh yeah, you need to go back to this aisle and you need to, and then you're gonna see the..." And then I'm just like, I have no idea where I'm going.

  08:57-08:58

  But do you know what I love?

  08:59-08:59

  Do you know what I love?

  08:59-09:08

  Do you know what warms my heart is when that Walmart employee says, "I will take you and show you where it's at." Come on, let's be honest.

  09:09-09:12

  How many people you're like, you're the bomb, employee of the month, right?

  09:18-09:21

  Well, notice this is exactly what Jesus is saying.

  09:23-09:28

  I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you there.

  09:29-09:30

  Yeah, where's heaven at?

  09:30-09:31

  Jesus is somewhere over there.

  09:31-09:35

  Now, Jesus says, I'm going to take you because your place is with me.

  09:39-09:41

  And then thirdly, I want you to see that there's a path.

  09:42-09:44

  that Jesus prescribes.

  09:44-09:47

  Just look at verses four through six with me.

  09:47-09:50

  Jesus, I love this statement.

  09:51-09:58

  Jesus is talking about like, you know, building these rooms in his father's house and I'm gonna take you.

  09:59-10:02

  And then here comes something like completely out of left field.

  10:02-10:12

  Jesus said, "And you know the way where I'm going." And then in verse five, Thomas draws a blank.

  10:13-10:14

  Can you see the picture?

  10:14-10:16

  Jesus is like, "Okay, you know where I'm going, right?

  10:16-10:22

  "You know the way to where I'm going." And Thomas, all right, I'll speak up if nobody else will.

  10:22-10:27

  Thomas said to him, "Lord, "we do not know where you're going.

  10:28-10:30

  "How can we know the way?

  10:33-10:38

  "Can you like help me look it up on MapQuest "or Google Maps or Jesus?

  10:38-10:44

  "Do you have some kind of a supernaturally empowered GPS that you can give me?

  10:46-10:57

  How can we possibly know the way?" And Jesus said to him, verse 6, here it is, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

  10:58-11:12

  No one comes to the Father except through me." You have to notice that Jesus didn't say, "I'm a way." You know, there's a big swing even in evangelical Christianity.

  11:13-11:14

  There's many paths to heaven. Did you know that?

  11:15-11:16

  You're going to be hearing more about that.

  11:17-11:31

  More and more conservative preachers are standing up saying, "Oh yeah, there's many paths to heaven." I don't understand that line of thinking, to be honest with you, because that doesn't work in any other realm, does it?

  11:31-11:40

  If you come up to me and you say, "How do I get to Zillion Opel?" Like, any road will take you there, really.

  11:41-11:41

  Any road.

  11:43-11:44

  Like 279?

  11:45-11:45

  Sure.

  11:47-11:48

  What about 51?

  11:48-11:49

  Will that take me to Zillion Opel?

  11:51-11:54

  If you believe in all your heart that it will, sure.

  11:56-11:56

  Right?

  11:58-12:04

  You're like, "That's crazy." Jesus didn't say I'm one of many ways.

  12:04-12:06

  He said, I'm the way, I'm the way.

  12:07-12:10

  I am the way, I am the only way.

  12:12-12:13

  And then he says, I am the truth.

  12:14-12:17

  You're like, oh, Pastor Jeff, that sounds so intolerant.

  12:17-12:19

  Well, truth is intolerant every time.

  12:19-12:22

  Truth is intolerant, isn't it?

  12:23-12:24

  What's two plus two?

  12:25-12:25

  Four.

  12:28-12:30

  Intolerant, that's not up for debate, is it?

  12:31-12:32

  Is that up for debate?

  12:32-12:34

  Jay, would you like to contest that?

  12:36-12:39

  Well, I got news for you.

  12:39-12:40

  It is not.

  12:41-12:43

  And do you know when it will be three?

  12:43-12:46

  Never, because truth is intolerant.

  12:48-12:57

  And Jesus says, "I am the truth." And it says, "I am the life." We're all dead and dying in our sin.

  12:58-13:02

  Only the author of life can give us his life.

  13:03-13:08

  And then Jesus makes the most controversial statement ever spoken at the end of verse six.

  13:10-13:18

  He said, "No one comes to the Father except through me." And really, when you look at this verse, you have two choices.

  13:19-13:25

  Either Jesus was telling the truth, or Jesus was not telling the truth.

  13:26-13:28

  Those are really the only two choices that you have.

  13:31-13:38

  And as I wrap up, I want us to think about why can Jesus make a statement like this?

  13:39-13:43

  How can Jesus make a statement like this?

  13:47-13:59

  Understand that every single person on this planet, including yourself, was born with a terminal disease, and it's called sin.

  14:01-14:17

  Sin separates you from God and causes your heart to be prideful, self-centered, and rebellious. And sin disqualifies you from heaven. But the good news is this.

  14:19-14:25

  The Bible tells us that despite our rebellion, despite our sin, God loves us.

  14:28-14:55

  In fact, John 3:16, the most well-known verse in the Bible, says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." So from our perspective, it looks like a dilemma for God. I have to punish sin, but I love these sinners. So change my holy and righteous judgment about the sin?

  14:56-15:00

  Or do I abandon my love for my creation?

  15:01-15:03

  To us, that looks like a problem.

  15:03-15:06

  That God's going to have to compromise somewhere.

  15:09-15:14

  But His answer came in the form of Himself, actually.

  15:15-15:17

  He came to this earth as a man.

  15:18-15:36

  Jesus Christ, who laid down His life on the cross, bearing the full wrath of God for your sin and for my sin, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life, and now says to us, "Turn from your sin.

  15:38-15:42

  Turn from your self-centered ways and believe in Me.

  15:42-15:56

  Receive the gift of eternal life that only I can give, because only I took God's punishment for you on myself." So who are you trusting?

  16:00-16:01

  Who is your king?

  16:03-16:04

  Like, what do you mean by that?

  16:05-16:07

  Here's the issue at the end of the day.

  16:10-16:29

  On your heart is a throne. And by nature, who's sitting on that throne? I am. I sit on the throne of my own heart. Nobody tells me what to do. I'm my own king.

  16:32-16:44

  Well, then we run into a crisis because Jesus Christ comes along and he says, "Excuse me, but you're sitting in my chair." So who's ruling your life?

  16:46-16:47

  Who are you trusting?

  16:50-16:51

  Who is your king?

Small Group Questions ­(Whole Group):
Read John 14:1-6

1. How does “believing in God, Believing also in <Jesus>“ keep your heart from being troubled? (Jn 14:1)

2. How does Jesus calling heaven “My Father’s House” make you think about heaven? (Jn 14:23)

3. How would you respond to someone who says, “There are many ways to God.” (Jn 14:6)

Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another.

To those in Despair: I AM the Resurrection

John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,"

1. R.I.P. - My doubts about God's Timing (Jn 11:1-16)


2. R.I.P. - My doubts about God's Ability (Jn 11:17-27)


3. R.I.P. - My doubts about God's Motives (Jn 11:28-38)

Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!

• Audio Transcript

  00:00-00:02

  Open your Bibles to John chapter 11.

  00:08-00:14

  We've been going through this series where Jesus Christ has been making some claims about himself.

  00:19-00:29

  And when he made these claims, there was always something going on to accompany these claims.

  00:29-00:39

  For example, when Jesus said, "I am the bread of life," he had just fed thousands of people from a little boy's lunchbox.

  00:40-00:59

  And when Jesus stood up and said, "I am the light of the world," he was actually standing in the midst of the Feast of the Tabernacles when the lanterns were lit to celebrate God's Shekinah glory from the Exodus.

  01:01-01:22

  And in the face of false shepherds, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd, and I am the door." And we studied that the door is actually the good shepherd laying down across the gateway to protect his sheep.

  01:25-01:40

  And we're going to see in today's passage that Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." What could He possibly do to accompany such a bold statement?

  01:44-01:52

  You know, several years ago, the news was on, and they were talking about a celebrity had passed.

  01:52-02:04

  I can't remember who it was now, but I do remember Aaron, my wife, saying, "Was that expected?" And I said, "Yeah, yeah, it was expected.

  02:04-02:12

  "It was?" And I said, "Well, we knew he was gonna die someday." Pray for my wife.

  02:16-02:18

  But right, we knew it was gonna happen.

  02:20-02:25

  Or in the words of Woody Allen, Woody Allen said, "I'm not afraid of dying.

  02:25-02:44

  "I just don't wanna be there when it happens." But the sad truth is, man does, universally, across the board, in every culture, in every period of history, there's a common denominator.

  02:45-02:46

  Man fears death.

  02:53-02:56

  And part of the fear is tied up in the fact that death is inescapable.

  02:59-03:04

  We just found out last week, actually, Darren got a text during the worship service, I believe, wasn't it?

  03:05-03:13

  A guy that we went to high school with, who was actually between Darren and I, was killed in Katanning.

  03:15-03:17

  You probably saw that on the news.

  03:20-03:21

  Senseless.

  03:25-03:27

  But ultimately death is inescapable.

  03:31-03:36

  I had several people ask me today, why are you dressed like that?

  03:37-03:41

  And my answer has been, because we're having a funeral today.

  03:44-03:51

  And when we get into John chapter 11, we're going to go to a funeral with Jesus, where He gives the greatest news of all time.

  03:52-03:59

  And if you're familiar with this passage, actually, we're not having a funeral for Lazarus.

  04:00-04:01

  Spoiler alert.

  04:05-04:06

  Lazarus doesn't stay dead.

  04:08-04:11

  Which really makes this funeral sort of a rip-off when you think about it.

  04:12-04:15

  Could you imagine showing up with a gift for Mary and Martha?

  04:16-04:19

  Sorry to hear about your brother passing and then Jesus raises him from the dead.

  04:19-04:25

  You're like, "I'm totally taking my gift back." But we are having a funeral.

  04:25-04:26

  Actually, we're having three.

  04:28-04:37

  Today we're having a funeral for the biggest doubts that we face as people.

  04:38-04:39

  Are you ready?

  04:39-05:06

  your outline, write this down. Number one on your outline, RIP. Rest in peace, my doubts about God's timing. Okay? We're having a funeral and the dearly departed that we are going to remember first are these little doubts that we have about God's timing. Look at the passage with me, John chapter 11, picking up in verse 1.

  05:07-05:23

  It says, "Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha." We've met them previously. What is it? Luke chapter 10.

  05:23-05:35

  Mary was sitting and listening to the teachings of Jesus and Martha was acting like Martha Stewart and running around and banging pots and pans and all disgusted that Mary wasn't helping.

  05:38-05:49

  Further explanation, verse 2, "It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

  05:51-06:04

  So the sisters sent to him, saying, 'Lord, he whom you love is ill.'" Now Jesus healed a lot of people, right?

  06:04-06:22

  We see constantly Jesus was healing the blind and the deaf and the lame and Jesus was healing. So it almost sounds like they were sort of turning it up a notch. Like we have somebody else ill Jesus, but this isn't just like any old guy. This is your friend.

  06:28-06:36

  This But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death.

  06:37-06:53

  It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

  06:54-07:05

  "So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, "he stayed two days longer in the place where he was." I'm sorry, wait a minute.

  07:06-07:07

  Does your Bible say that?

  07:09-07:13

  Let's read that again, because I don't think I read this right, hang on.

  07:14-07:19

  "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." You with me so far?

  07:20-07:21

  Does your Bible say that?

  07:25-07:36

  So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

  07:43-07:45

  Yeah, that is what that says.

  07:51-07:52

  Jesus loved these people.

  07:54-08:00

  And I would expect the Bible to say, because Jesus loved them, "Oh, Lazarus is sick.

  08:00-08:04

  Come on, we've got to get moving now." And instead, what did Jesus do?

  08:05-08:09

  "Oh, Lazarus is sick." Sounds like an emergency, huh?

  08:11-08:12

  Not looking good for Lazarus, huh?

  08:14-08:16

  Let's just hang out here for a couple of days.

  08:18-08:18

  What?

  08:20-08:21

  Hang out here?

  08:26-08:33

  You know, when we're suffering, that's the number one question we ask, isn't it?

  08:34-08:37

  Why hasn't God done something about this yet?

  08:37-08:38

  Have you ever been there?

  08:39-08:39

  Have you ever been there?

  08:40-08:43

  Actually, I started counting in the Psalms.

  08:43-08:45

  You know what the number one question is people ask while they're suffering?

  08:46-08:47

  What's the number one question?

  08:49-08:50

  How long?

  08:51-08:52

  Do a little study on that.

  08:52-08:53

  I actually lost count.

  08:53-08:59

  All through the Psalms, that's the number one question that people who are suffering ask God.

  08:59-09:00

  How long?

  09:00-09:01

  How long is this gonna keep going on?

  09:02-09:02

  God, how long?

  09:03-09:04

  Will you forget me forever?

  09:04-09:05

  How long, oh Lord?

  09:05-09:06

  How long, oh Lord?

  09:06-09:07

  How long?

  09:07-09:07

  How long?

  09:08-09:08

  How long?

  09:09-09:11

  Why aren't you doing something about this?

  09:14-09:21

  You know, God, I've had this health problem and I've been praying about this and I've been praying about this and I get to church praying about this.

  09:22-09:24

  How long am I going to have to deal with this?

  09:28-09:31

  God, you know this issue I'm having.

  09:34-09:45

  God, I have this child whom I love and you know this problem that we've been having and and I've been praying and I've been praying and I've been praying and we're not getting anywhere.

  09:48-09:52

  Doesn't it seem to you oftentimes that God is just always late?

  09:53-09:54

  Doesn't it seem like that to you?

  09:54-09:56

  Come on, show of hands, let's be honest.

  09:57-10:02

  How many of you honestly feel like, you know what, it seems like a lot of times I think God is late.

  10:02-10:03

  Doesn't it feel that way?

  10:05-10:07

  Why aren't you doing something about this?

  10:09-10:11

  God, I need you and I need you now.

  10:13-10:18

  And the response is, we're gonna hang out for a couple of days.

  10:20-10:25

  God, I've been looking for a job and I've needed this and why isn't it happening?

  10:29-10:36

  Verses five and six should say, if you love them, you're gonna go help them now, but that would be incorrect.

  10:39-10:42

  because we don't understand what love is sometimes.

  10:44-10:50

  Love is not about getting what you think you want.

  10:53-11:01

  Love is not about, because God loves me, he should always give me what I want and he should always spare me from suffering.

  11:03-11:05

  Do you know who understands this?

  11:07-11:08

  Parents, right?

  11:10-11:18

  Can I get an amen from the parents in the house that the loving thing to do for your children is not always giving them everything they want, right?

  11:19-11:19

  Right?

  11:20-11:24

  Like Wilson, what would happen in your house if you're like, "That's all I'm doing.

  11:24-11:28

  Everything my daughters want, I'm just going to give them everything they want." Is that good parenting?

  11:30-11:30

  That's not good parenting.

  11:32-11:42

  Or "I'm going to do everything I can to keep them from any kind of a trial or any kind of hardship. I'm always going to shield them and protect them. Is that good parenting?

  11:43-12:00

  That is not good parenting. You're raising a wimp who's going to face the real world and think that everything's always owed to them. And Sometimes I am that wimp.

  12:02-12:03

  We'll jump down to verse 11.

  12:08-12:10

  I think this passage is funny here.

  12:11-12:12

  I'm just gonna be honest with you.

  12:12-12:15

  I don't mean that irreverently, but I think you're going to agree with me.

  12:15-12:16

  I just think this is funny.

  12:18-12:20

  So we skipped a few verses.

  12:20-12:25

  Basically, Jesus is like, okay, now we're gonna go and disciples are like, bad idea, they're trying to kill you.

  12:25-12:29

  And Jesus is like, yeah, I'm on God's schedule, So I'm not really worried about that.

  12:30-12:33

  But verse 11, you can read it for yourself.

  12:33-12:34

  That's what it says.

  12:35-12:43

  Verse 11, after saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.

  12:44-12:48

  The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.

  12:48-12:50

  I just, I think that's funny.

  12:50-12:54

  Jesus is like, Lazarus has fallen asleep and I'm going to wake him up.

  12:54-12:59

  And the disciples are like, "Okay, so it's nappy time.

  13:01-13:14

  And for some reason, do you think it warrants the son of God to go wake Lazarus up from his little nappy time?" They're like, "Jesus, you know, falling asleep really isn't a critical thing.

  13:15-13:17

  People wake up from sleeping all the time, Jesus.

  13:17-13:27

  I don't think they need the hand of God for this one." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he meant taking rest and sleep.

  13:28-13:35

  Then Jesus told them plainly, and thank you God for this, because I'm such a knucklehead, I miss it sometimes.

  13:35-13:38

  So Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died.

  13:39-13:41

  Okay, now do you understand what I'm saying?

  13:44-13:52

  And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him.

  13:58-14:02

  Lazarus has died, and I'm glad I wasn't there.

  14:03-14:03

  Why?

  14:03-14:06

  He says, it's for your sake so that you may believe.

  14:06-14:07

  This is gonna be really important here in a few minutes.

  14:09-14:09

  And he could love Thomas.

  14:09-14:18

  So Thomas called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go that we may die with him." That's the spirit, Thomas.

  14:19-14:22

  Mr. Optimism. All right, let's just go die.

  14:24-14:28

  So why did Jesus wait for two days? That's the burning question here, right?

  14:29-14:36

  Lazarus is sick and I'm not in any hurry. In fact, I'm delaying. Here it is.

  14:37-14:50

  It was more loving to let them go through the death of Lazarus if ultimately it it will show them God's glory.

  14:54-14:57

  And please hear me, 'cause we're bringing this right home.

  14:58-15:05

  The loving thing that God is doing in your life right now, do you know what it is?

  15:06-15:09

  Do you know what the loving thing God is doing in your life right now?

  15:09-15:20

  Is he's allowing trials to take place, which is ultimately going to result in you experiencing His glory.

  15:22-15:24

  That's the most loving thing God can do.

  15:29-15:36

  That's why James chapter 1 tells us to consider it all joy, my brothers, when we go through trials of various kinds.

  15:37-15:39

  Why would we consider it joy?

  15:41-15:44

  because it means God is working and he's going to use it.

  15:46-15:55

  And not just use it to make me a better person or a smarter person or a more, you know, sympathetic person.

  15:55-16:03

  He's going to use it to accomplish the greatest thing that I can accomplish while I walk on this earth.

  16:03-16:04

  And you know what that is?

  16:05-16:06

  Experiencing him.

  16:08-16:10

  That's his purpose for your trial.

  16:11-16:14

  And Jesus made it very clear that that was the purpose for delaying.

  16:16-16:23

  What kind of life would it be if we just coasted from birth to death?

  16:24-16:26

  Our faith was never tested.

  16:26-16:27

  We never needed God.

  16:27-16:30

  We never felt dependent on God for anything.

  16:34-16:40

  If you want to experience God, you're going to have to be put in a position where only He can deliver.

  16:44-16:55

  But here's the thing, you're going to have to wait on His timing, because His timing is always perfect, even though to us, He always seems late.

  16:59-17:01

  We've thrown that phrase around a lot.

  17:04-17:05

  God is never late, but he's seldom early.

  17:07-17:13

  And sometimes even when I say it, I think, you know, sometimes God seems late, but he's not.

  17:15-17:23

  I think back to when this church was planting and people were coming and kicking the tires and asking how this was going to happen.

  17:25-17:27

  I had some people ask me things like this.

  17:27-17:29

  So is James McDonald going to buy us a building?

  17:34-17:39

  Yeah, he's gonna pull out his checkbook and he's going to write a check and buy us a building.

  17:40-17:44

  Oh, is Big Harvest going to give us a million dollars to get us started?

  17:44-17:46

  People would ask all kinds of questions like that.

  17:47-17:49

  But here was the response.

  17:49-17:52

  No, and I'm glad.

  17:53-17:53

  Why?

  17:55-18:00

  Because when this church launches, let's pretend, Let's pretend that that's exactly what happened.

  18:00-18:09

  James got out his checkbook and he, you know, he wrote us out a check for a million dollars and said, "This will get you started." What would we be singing every week?

  18:11-18:13

  "Blessed be the name of James McDonald.

  18:14-18:17

  "Blessed be your name." Right?

  18:19-18:20

  Isn't that what we'd be singing?

  18:21-18:30

  We'd be like, "Eyes off of God." Because we didn't think we needed them.

  18:34-18:41

  You won't know that God is a provider until you have a need.

  18:44-18:50

  You won't know that God is a healer until you are sick.

  18:52-19:00

  And you won't know that God is a comforter until you mourn.

  19:01-19:03

  So the question I have for you, church, is this.

  19:04-19:15

  If whatever trial you're going through right now is ultimately going to bring you closer to God, because He's going to use it to reveal His glory, is it worth it?

  19:17-19:17

  Is it worth it?

  19:24-20:12

  When you look back from eternity, when you're in heaven and you're looking back at your life, do you think there's going to be a point that you're like, "God, you should have shown up sooner at this point in my life. You were too late. Why didn't you do something about it sooner?" Do you think you're going to say that in eternity? Or do you think in eternity you're going to look back and say how glorious it was when you showed up and revealed yourself. God you remember that time in my life I was at the end of my rope and the only thing that I needed was you and you delivered and I and there I even thought maybe for a couple days you forgot about me but you showed up so gloriously. Those are the things you're going to celebrate?

  20:15-20:23

  As I was studying this this week, I thought, what if Jesus would have showed up and healed Lazarus when he found out he was ill?

  20:24-20:26

  Let's talk about that for a second.

  20:26-20:27

  What if Jesus would have done that?

  20:28-20:30

  Okay, so Lazarus is sick.

  20:31-20:35

  Jesus, the one whom you love is sick, and Jesus goes and he puts his hands on him and he heals him.

  20:35-20:39

  And that would have been really exciting, right?

  20:40-20:41

  for like a week.

  20:42-20:45

  And then it would have been, well, maybe Lazarus wasn't really that sick.

  20:47-20:51

  It was nice of Jesus to show up and heal him.

  20:52-20:59

  But what you're going to see is the thing that he actually does, actually does rather, actually did, does.

  21:00-21:13

  The thing that he actually did, we'll go with that one, is so much more glorious than just showing up and doing what people expected him to do.

  21:15-21:17

  So I want you to write this down on your outline.

  21:19-21:22

  Delay doesn't mean late, okay?

  21:22-21:23

  We're gonna write that down.

  21:24-21:25

  Delay doesn't mean late.

  21:31-21:33

  Don't use that as an excuse to be late for church.

  21:35-21:41

  But when it comes to the way God is working in your life, Delay doesn't mean late, delay does mean this.

  21:41-21:51

  I'm going to do something so much better than what I could do now.

  21:54-21:56

  So does God seem to delay in your life?

  21:59-22:01

  Does it seem like God has been delaying?

  22:05-22:11

  Well, let's have a funeral and let's lay to rest our doubts about God's timing.

  22:13-22:31

  Let's lay it to rest and say, "God, your calendar, your timetable to reveal your glory to me is so much better than mine." Rest in peace.

  22:33-22:35

  Second funeral we're having today is this.

  22:36-22:38

  Rest in peace my doubts about God's ability.

  22:41-22:43

  Rest in peace my doubts about God's ability.

  22:48-22:49

  Where did we leave off?

  22:49-22:55

  Verse 17, "Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

  22:58-23:01

  Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off.

  23:02-23:14

  And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother." When John speaks of Jews, oftentimes he's talking about Jewish leaders.

  23:14-23:16

  Lazarus was probably somebody important.

  23:18-23:21

  But did you know also in those days they had professional mourners?

  23:21-23:22

  Did you know that?

  23:23-23:24

  They had people like that was their job.

  23:24-23:27

  There was a funeral and they would show up and just like wail.

  23:28-23:29

  That was their job.

  23:33-23:34

  So you have the scene.

  23:37-23:41

  So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him.

  23:42-23:44

  But Mary remained seated in the house.

  23:47-23:59

  Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Wow.

  24:00-24:01

  Right out of the gate.

  24:03-24:05

  Right out of the gate.

  24:07-24:13

  Martha probably thought one thought for the past four days.

  24:15-24:18

  And when Jesus showed up, she couldn't even wait till he got there.

  24:18-24:20

  She rushed to meet him.

  24:24-24:33

  First thing out of her mouth, If you would have been here, Lazarus wouldn't have died.

  24:38-24:44

  You know, Jesus, you could have done something back when he was sick.

  24:47-24:47

  Now he's dead.

  24:49-24:50

  And he's been dead for four days.

  24:51-24:52

  So what could you possibly do now?

  24:55-24:56

  Well, she offers a little hope in verse 22.

  24:57-25:03

  But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.

  25:06-25:16

  You have to wonder what was going on in Martha's head and in Martha's heart, that on one hand there's despair, but on the other hand, she's still holding on to some hope.

  25:17-25:35

  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Martha had some good theology.

  25:36-25:38

  You know, that was a hotly debated topic in Jesus' day.

  25:38-25:41

  Is there a resurrection or is there not a resurrection?

  25:42-25:44

  The Pharisees held that there was a resurrection.

  25:45-25:47

  The Sadducees said that there was not.

  25:47-25:51

  And you see that argument going on and on and on.

  25:53-25:56

  Well, the Old Testament says that there's ultimately going to be a resurrection.

  25:56-25:59

  In John chapter five, Jesus talked about a resurrection.

  26:00-26:06

  The book of Revelation closes talking about the final resurrection and the new heaven and the new earth.

  26:07-26:11

  So yeah, Martha's theology was right on, except for one little detail.

  26:16-26:25

  She believed that something awesome is going to happen for Lazarus in the future, but not today.

  26:28-26:36

  And before we start picking on Martha, sometimes we are so lame when it comes to believing God in the here and now, right?

  26:37-26:38

  Let's be honest, church.

  26:39-26:50

  We read our Bibles and we think, remember back in like Moses' day, parting in the Red Sea and manna from heaven, and God did some awesome things back then, didn't he?

  26:51-26:53

  Didn't God do some awesome things like way back in the day?

  26:55-27:03

  And then we think, you know, like you read the book of Revelation, someday God is going to do some awesome things.

  27:04-27:06

  And don't we get stuck there sometimes?

  27:06-27:11

  Like God was awesome back then and God will be awesome someday, but what about today?

  27:12-27:17

  Well, God's just kind of like got the cruise control on and he's just kind of kicking back and sitting and watching.

  27:22-27:24

  Someday he's going to do something awesome.

  27:24-27:24

  That's Martha.

  27:25-27:27

  Someday, Jesus said, he'll rise again.

  27:27-27:38

  Martha's like, yeah, I know, someday, someday, someday, someday, you didn't show up when I thought you were going to Jesus, so I guess I'll have to wait for heaven.

  27:39-27:44

  What makes you think that God lacks the power right now?

  27:48-27:51

  Let me ask you, church, what keeps you from praying for a miracle right now?

  27:52-27:53

  What keeps you from praying for a miracle?

  27:56-27:58

  Do you think that the Lord is not able to handle it now?

  28:00-28:00

  Is that it?

  28:06-28:09

  Are you facing a problem that only God can fix?

  28:09-28:11

  When was the last time you prayed for a miracle?

  28:15-28:17

  When was the last time you prayed for a miracle?

  28:18-28:26

  To say, "God, I need you to show up in a big way." Praying, believing that He still has the power.

  28:28-28:30

  Like, "Wow, I'm really tired from all those Old Testament miracles.

  28:30-28:33

  I better rest until the end of the age." Wrong!

  28:36-28:45

  That's why through this whole series, Jesus is saying exactly how God revealed himself.

  28:47-28:48

  And here it is.

  28:53-28:57

  One of the most amazing statements ever.

  28:59-29:09

  Jesus said to her, this was in response to, I know he's going to, you know, rise again in the last day. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.

  29:11-29:20

  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

  29:24-29:25

  Do you believe this?

  29:30-29:34

  Jesus didn't say I was the resurrection back in Elijah's day.

  29:35-29:40

  Jesus didn't say I will be the resurrection at the end of the age.

  29:41-29:42

  What did he say? Tell me.

  29:44-29:46

  Say it loud, I am.

  29:47-29:48

  I am the resurrection.

  29:51-29:52

  Jesus said this to Martha.

  29:54-30:00

  And he's saying it today and he'll say it tomorrow because it doesn't change.

  30:02-30:03

  He is the I am.

  30:07-30:25

  And as Martha was so in despair mode and the window of opportunity is passed and "Oh Jesus, why didn't you do something?" Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." This is the greatest news in the history of mankind.

  30:25-30:26

  You're going to die.

  30:27-30:29

  No, that's not the great news.

  30:29-30:42

  The great news is this, death is not the end. The worst fear humanity faces is forever eliminated by one sentence.

  30:47-31:00

  Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me..." Notice he He says, "Though he die, yet shall he live." Death isn't like the period at the end of a sentence.

  31:00-31:01

  Death is more like a comma.

  31:02-31:03

  The sentence goes on.

  31:03-31:04

  It's not over.

  31:08-31:17

  Just to make it extra clear, Jesus said, "And everyone who lives and believes in me," look at this, "shall never die." Shall never die.

  31:23-31:27

  That's why when a believer dies, I don't even like to say they died.

  31:27-31:28

  You know what I like to say?

  31:29-31:31

  You know what I like to say when a believer dies?

  31:31-31:33

  I like to say they graduated.

  31:34-31:34

  Right?

  31:35-31:36

  They graduated.

  31:37-31:44

  They like went through the school of life and God says, "Okay, you're done." They graduated.

  31:47-31:51

  But then Jesus asked the question, here's the question though.

  31:52-31:56

  Jesus said, "Do you believe this?" Do you?

  31:58-31:59

  Do you believe this?

  32:03-32:05

  You know, I've done a lot of funerals.

  32:05-32:07

  I couldn't even fathom a guess.

  32:08-32:10

  I was talking with Taylor about this before the service.

  32:12-32:33

  But the church that I came from, we were a downtown church and there were a lot of funeral homes around us. And oftentimes one of the funeral home directors would call us if somebody died but didn't have a church. Like this guy had no church affiliation, no church membership, and we want to have a little funeral here.

  32:40-32:48

  Will I've done a lot of funerals for Christians, and I've done a lot of funerals for non-Christians.

  32:50-32:54

  And let me tell you, there is a huge difference.

  32:56-33:02

  There is a huge difference between the Christian's funeral and the non-Christian's funeral.

  33:07-33:39

  I think of Shervil Martin's funeral, friend of mine, Brooke's grandmother. That was a celebration, wasn't it? You know, we knew that she was having the best day of her life, and the funeral service was more of like this big worship service and celebration, and quite frankly, we were all just like a little jealous. Like, "Man, she's in heaven and we're like not there yet." That was glorious. But I've been to a lot of funerals of people that...

  33:39-33:49

  no No spiritual background, never been to a church, never cracked the spine of a Bible, never received the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  33:52-33:57

  And belief in Christ forever changes, forever changes the way that we view life and death.

  34:00-34:03

  So is there a sense of anticipation for your own death?

  34:05-34:09

  Do you have a sense of anticipation for your own death?

  34:09-34:33

  I don't mean like you're suicidal, but isn't there just something in you that says, I'm kind of looking forward to being done in this fallen world and living in this fallen flesh and disease and suffering, and to just eternally be in the presence of my Lord?

  34:35-35:09

  I think it was Joe Stoll who said, "The Bible doesn't tell us any more about heaven than it does because people would be jumping off of the tops of buildings to get there." So the second funeral we're having today is this, "Rest in peace my doubts about God's ability. Let's not fall into the Martha trap. Oh someday, someday, someday, day when Jesus is saying, I have the power to do a miracle today because of who I am.

  35:10-35:13

  And then finally, look at number three, rest in peace.

  35:15-35:17

  My doubts about God's motives.

  35:19-36:28

  Picking up in verse 28, "When she had said this," I'm sorry, verse 27, "Martha said to him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.'" Then verse 28 says, "When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, 'The Teacher is here and is calling for you.' heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Does that sound familiar?

  36:29-36:35

  That's exactly what Martha said. What do you think the conversation was that week?

  36:36-36:55

  What do you think people talked about for the past four days? What do you think Topic of conversation, if only Jesus was here, if only Jesus had showed up in time, if only Jesus had come, if only Jesus had come, and first thing out of Martha's mouth, first thing out of Mary's mouth, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

  36:56-36:57

  Wow.

  36:59-37:00

  That's the big question, isn't it?

  37:03-37:08

  If God is all loving, and God is all powerful, then why is there suffering?

  37:09-37:13

  If God is all loving and God is all powerful, why is there suffering?

  37:14-37:18

  That's a question that has turned evangelists into atheists.

  37:18-37:18

  Did you know that?

  37:19-37:21

  Read a little bit about Charles Templeton.

  37:22-37:28

  That was the question that turned the evangelist who was supposed to be bigger than Billy Graham into an atheist.

  37:29-37:32

  God's all loving and God's all powerful, why is there suffering?

  37:32-37:34

  That was a question that plagued my own father.

  37:36-37:46

  Because we knew that Jesus loved and we knew that Jesus had power, but now we're looking at Lazarus is dead, so something is wrong.

  37:49-37:59

  Verse 33, "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping." Are you in this scene?

  38:00-38:03

  Here comes Mary, here comes all these wailing people.

  38:05-38:18

  It says, "Jesus was deeply moved in His Spirit and greatly troubled." Deeply moved, this phrase is used three times outside of this gospel.

  38:19-38:23

  And every time it refers to a rebuke or a warning.

  38:26-38:32

  We would use the phrase, "Fired up." was fired up in his spirit.

  38:33-38:35

  That says he was troubled.

  38:36-38:43

  That's a word that means agitated, the same as John chapter 14, verse 1, when Jesus said, let not your heart be troubled.

  38:47-38:51

  Here, Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

  38:55-38:58

  And he said, where have you laid him?

  39:01-39:08

  They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept.

  39:12-40:13

  So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" There have been a lot of sermons preached about this passage and a lot of times they go like this, "You know it's okay when we're sad because, you heard this, even Jesus cried at a funeral." There's something a lot deeper than that happening here. A lot of theologians say here's what's happening. Jesus was angry at death. But he sort of planned this, right?

  40:13-40:24

  If Jesus was so angry about death and upset that this happened, he could have just prevented it. You know, he He didn't even have to be there for that to happen.

  40:24-40:25

  He could have just said the word.

  40:29-40:32

  There's something really deep and complex happening here.

  40:32-40:46

  And I do believe that part of the issue, part of the issue, the thing that grieved our Lord was grieving for the destruction and death and despair that sin had brought.

  40:47-40:56

  I believe that's part of the issue, that Jesus stepping back, Here's the fruit of sin, death, mourning, wailing.

  41:00-41:01

  But here's the real issue.

  41:03-41:08

  I read a great article from John Piper about this, and I agree with him.

  41:09-41:14

  That the thing that grieved our Lord was this, his motives were questioned.

  41:15-41:16

  Did you see that in the text?

  41:17-41:19

  His motives were questioned.

  41:19-41:23

  First thing Martha says, Lord, if you'd been here, our brother wouldn't have died.

  41:24-41:29

  So then Jesus goes and Mary meets him, Lord, if you had been here, our brother wouldn't have died.

  41:33-41:34

  And then the mourners.

  41:35-41:37

  Wow, he really loved them.

  41:40-42:07

  Yeah, he could heal blind people, couldn't he have done something about this over and over and over. Jesus delayed to show his love and now the very love that he has is questioned. I thought he was good. I thought Jesus was for us. How could he do this? Jesus could have prevented all this. I believe what really moved Jesus.

  42:11-42:16

  was the unbelief, the suspicion, and the questioning.

  42:21-42:29

  Because those are the things that keep you from seeing Christ in your pain.

  42:31-42:32

  I'm going to say that again.

  42:33-42:42

  Jesus was moved over unbelief, suspicion, and questioning, Because those are the things that keep us from seeing Christ in our pain.

  42:45-42:55

  When God is delaying and He's allowing a trial and He wants to accomplish a purpose, and instead of us crying out and saying, "What's your purpose in allowing this, God?

  42:55-42:57

  What are you trying to do?

  42:58-43:05

  What aspect of your glory are you trying to show me here?" Instead, we turn to Him and say, "I thought God loved me.

  43:06-43:07

  I thought God cared about me.

  43:09-43:11

  I thought God could do something about this.

  43:14-43:15

  His very motives were questioned.

  43:19-43:24

  Watch somebody go through a trial, and one of two paths are always taken.

  43:26-43:28

  People get bitter, or people get better.

  43:30-43:31

  Isn't that the truth?

  43:32-43:41

  The trial you're going through, the path that you're going to take, bitter or better, is going to depend on how you have assessed Jesus' motives.

  43:43-43:44

  That's the determining factor.

  43:44-44:01

  The trial you're in right now, we talked about that at the beginning, health thing, relationship issue, financial issue, whatever happens on the other side of this trial, you're either going to come out better, or you're going to come out bitter.

  44:03-44:08

  And what makes the determination is on how you have assessed God's motives.

  44:14-44:16

  So do you have any doubts about God's motives?

  44:18-44:20

  Today's a good day to lay him to rest.

  44:23-44:24

  Now, I'd like to stop here.

  44:28-44:30

  But let's see how this story ends, shall we?

  44:34-44:40

  If our ushers would bring the communion elements forward, we're going to receive the Lord's Supper here in a couple of moments.

  44:45-44:49

  Look at verse 38, "Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb.

  44:50-45:06

  It was a cave and a stone lay against it." Now, in those days, in the funerals, the people actually came and they stayed for an entire week, and they immediately buried the person.

  45:12-45:18

  And they would mourn and they would comfort each other, but there would not be any food, because they didn't want to turn it into a party.

  45:21-45:25

  Well, here, Scripture tells us about the grave.

  45:25-45:29

  The grave would have been a cave. Imagine like a 6 by 9 by 10 grave.

  45:30-45:31

  It would have had shelves in it.

  45:33-45:38

  And usually there were about 8 shelves per little cave.

  45:39-45:41

  And they would...

  45:41-45:50

  The Jews would actually, not like the Egyptians where they kind of wrap the whole thing, the Jews would actually wrap individual limbs and lay them on that shelf.

  45:51-46:02

  And then they would immediately close it and seal it, and then get right to mourning.

  46:06-46:10

  So Jesus said, you have the scene here, Jesus shows up.

  46:11-46:19

  Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Could you imagine like you're at a funeral and Jesus walks in, he's opened the casket up.

  46:21-46:44

  "What?" "Open it up." Jesus says, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Like, Jesus, you don't wanna do that.

  46:46-46:48

  You roll that stone away.

  46:50-46:51

  it's going to stink.

  46:52-46:56

  I think, you know what I think another issue was going on here was, do you want to see your dead brother?

  46:58-47:03

  Do you want to tear the scab off of that wound and see, roll the stone away?

  47:06-47:08

  He's been dead a while, Jesus. I don't think that's a good idea.

  47:10-47:36

  Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Not, "You'll see a miracle." He said, "You'll see the glory of God." So they took away the stone, and Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me. I know that You always hear me.

  47:36-47:49

  But I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that You sent me." When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice.

  47:49-47:54

  Now, this word loud in Greek, do you know what it means?

  47:55-47:56

  It means loud.

  47:56-47:58

  And I don't just mean loud.

  47:58-47:59

  It's like the loudest of the loud.

  48:00-48:01

  So can you picture this?

  48:01-48:02

  Roll the stone away.

  48:03-48:05

  It's gonna sting, bad idea.

  48:06-48:08

  And they roll the stone away.

  48:08-48:28

  And with a loud voice, Jesus cries out, "Lazarus, come out!" Well, Jesus had to say Lazarus because like if he hadn't specified, probably all of the dead people would have come out.

  48:29-48:35

  "Now Lazarus, I'm talking to you." That is going to happen by the way, spoiler alert.

  48:37-48:54

  But in this case, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and his feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth.

  48:58-48:59

  What do you even say?

  48:59-49:02

  Seriously, Lazarus comes walking out of the grave.

  49:04-49:05

  Everyone's speechless.

  49:07-49:15

  And Jesus as plain as anything said to them, and unbind him and let him go.

  49:21-49:24

  This is the glory of Christ that he wanted to display.

  49:27-49:37

  That not just there's going to be a resurrection, the glory of Christ is this, he is the resurrection.

  49:39-49:43

  And Lazarus is just a preview of your resurrection, by the way.

  49:47-49:49

  And this is the love of God.

  49:52-49:54

  God is saying, I love you.

  49:58-50:09

  I love you sometimes by delaying my answer, but I do love you and I will show you my glory.

  50:12-50:14

  So the trial you're going through, you can wonder.

  50:16-50:17

  You can wonder about the duration.

  50:18-50:20

  I wonder how long this is going to happen.

  50:20-50:21

  You can wonder about the purpose.

  50:22-50:24

  Why is God allowing this?

  50:27-50:30

  But you never have to wonder about God's motive.

  50:32-50:32

  He loves you.

  50:33-50:34

  Let's pray.

Small Group Questions ­(Whole Group):
Read John 11:1-46

1. John 11:5-6 says Jesus loved Lazarus, so He waited 2 days before He went to him! Why does it seem that God is always late?
    

2. Jesus allowed Lazarus to die so Jesus’ glory could be revealed in raising him. Tell of a time God allowed suffering in your life, and you saw how He revealed His glory through it.
    

3. In Jn 11:24, Martha said she believed Lazarus would resurrect in the future, but not now. Why do we sometimes fall into that kind of thinking, hesitating to believe God can do something now?
    

4. Why did Jesus weep (Jn 11:35)? What does this tell you about God?

Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another.