In our reading in John tomorrow we see Jesus explain HIS death, burial and resurrection to the disciples in John 12:24-26 "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. 25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. 26 Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.
We have discussed concern over those who will enter hell deceived, believing themselves to be Christians. I believe that verse 25 gives us an excellent test to apply to OURSELVES! Verse25 tells us that, Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. IS THERE ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE...OR ANYONE THAT IF GOD CHOSE TO TAKE THEM OR IT AWAY YOU WOULD CALL GOD INTO QUESTION? WHAT I AM TRYING TO ASK IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU LOVE, SERVE, FEAR, DESIRE MORE THAN GOD. DO YOU LOVE ANYONE MORE THAN JESUS?
WHY DID THE JEWS WHAT TO KILL JESUS? THEY WANTED TO KILL HIM BECAUSE THEY LOVED THEIR LIFE IN THIS WORLD! How do you know that Mark? John 11:48 tells us that, "If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
Some will want to stone me, but the American dream is from the pit of hell...it is not of God! You are not your own you were bought with a price, purchased with the precious blood of Jesus...you belong to HIM...live like it! Just in case you are wondering...I am saying this to myself!
In light of this, I do find it somewhat humorous that the Jews wanted to kill Lazarus as we see in John 12:9-11, When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. 10 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, 11 for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.
Christian apologist and philosopher, Ravi Zacharias posed this question: “What would you do to frighten Lazarus after he had been raised from the dead?” Do you think that reality might impact his daily life? Ravi went on to explain that Eugene O’Neal wrote a play entitled “Lazarus Laughed.”
"Being that Lazarus was the first man to return from dead, a realm whose boundary is never to be crossed back over, the crowd listens intently to his words. He says to them that there is no death – only God’s eternal laughter.
This is the basis of the play. The subsequent scenes portray a series of tests (perhaps similar to those trials of Job) by the Jews, Romans and Greeks to try the faith of Lazarus. Consequently, members of his family are taken from him, but Lazarus continues always to laugh, even to the very end, when the Roman Emperor Tiberius burns him at the stake (Wikipedia).
In the play, the Roman Emperor is rounding up and persecuting Christians. One day, Lazarus is brought before the Emperor. Lazarus is told he must denounce Christ or he would be tortured and killed. And Lazarus laughed. This, of course, infuriated the man who believed himself to be a god and the most powerful man on earth. He said “one more laugh out of you, Lazarus, and you’re dead.” Lazarus doubled over with laughter. When he caught his breath he said, “have you not heard death is dead…DEATH is DEAD.” It is hard to threaten one who has already been there and knows the One who let him out.
Do you remember Paul's words in I Corinthians 15:56-58: "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Death has no power, sting, no ability to threaten us. Jesus gave His life so that you and I do not have to be afraid. In reality death is a friend, a good friend, death is the only way to enter the presence of our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. Death is simply the door we must walk through to get to Jesus!
Death is not death if it kills no part of us,
Save that which hindered us from perfect life.
Death is not death if it raises us in a moment
From darkness into light
From weakness into strength
From sinfulness into holiness
Death is not death if it perfects our faith by sight,
And lets us behold Him in whom we have believed and loved.
Death is not death if it gives us to those whom we have loved and lost,
For whom we have lived,
For whom we long to live again.
Death is not death if it rids us of doubt and fear,
Of chance and change,
of space and time,
And all which space and time bring forth
and then destroy.
Death is not death,
For Christ has conquered death for himself,
And for those who trust, believe and obey Him.
Author Unknown
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20 Death has no claim on our future and our present days are guarded by the Lion of the Tribe Judah. Jesus defeated sin, death and Satan! Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:16-18
Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Proverbs 2:4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Proverbs 2:5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
John 7:37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
You might think that I am crazy, but I believe that you and I can live with the same passion, power and intensity that Lazarus had following his resurrection. I believe that our heavenly Father has equipped us with everything we need to walk, live, labor and love in the same way. I DID NOT SAY IT WAS EASY! We must diligently see HIM, search for HIM, fear HIM, know HIM, love HIM with all our heart, soul, mind and strength!
OH God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,
please enable me, enable us to pursue YOU, to love YOU, to go hard after YOU in a manner that is worthy of who YOU are! I confess that I am not able in my own power...I am not able! What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord’s name for saving me Psalm 116:12-13 . LORD as I lift the cup of salvation and praise YOUR Holy name...I cry out for more grace, more grace! Lord, grant more grace to love YOU, more grace to know YOU, grace to walk in a manner that is pleasing to YOU and YOU alone! Grant the grace to love YOU, to love the people YOU put in my path, grace to share YOU, grace to witness to what YOU have done for me and grace to call others to follow YOU. Father, work this for YOUR glory and my JOY in YOU.
LORD please complete the good work YOU began. If someone is reading this and they are not sure, bring them under heavy conviction by YOUR Holy Spirit, do not let them rest, keep them in a state of turmoil and panic UNTIL THEY COME TO YOU TO DRINK OF THE LIVING WATERS.
If you are in turmoil what should you do to find peace? You need to take a journey, a journey on a road, the Roman Road...
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” We must all realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness. We are not worthy of God’s grace.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Through Jesus, God gave us a way to be saved from our sins. God showed us His love by giving us the potential for life through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and repent of our sins, we will have eternal life.
Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Just confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved!
Romans 10:13 “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” There are no religious formulas or rituals -- Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved!
Romans 11:36: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today.
Roman Road: Are You Ready to Accept God’s Gift of Salvation?
If you truly believe the message of the Roman Road, and want to accept God’s gift of salvation right now, it's a matter of repenting of your sins and turning the rest of your life over to Jesus Christ. Again, this is not a ritual based on any specific words or prayers, but rather, a willful decision and a sincere step of faith.
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
If you decided to receive Jesus today, welcome to God's family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.
- Get baptized as commanded by Christ.
- Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
- Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
- Seek fellowship with other followers of Jesus. Develop a group of believing friends to answer your questions and support you.
- Find a local church where you can worship God.