Be Loosed Series

Title: Be Loosed

Theme: A message about how God can loose us from our doubt, our impatience, and our issues.

Text: John 11:1 – 44

Note: I used the commentary on John from Jon Courson as a reference.

Opening Text

Miracles of Jesus

Joh 11:34-44 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." (35) Jesus wept. (36) Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" (37) And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" (38) Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. (39) Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." (40) Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (41) Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. [66] And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. (42) And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." (43) Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" (44) And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

We jump to the end of the story. We see the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. At the very end we see a man coming out of the tomb wrapped in “dead man’s clothes” and Jesus says loose him. Set him free to no longer be bound.

This is the theme of this whole story. It is a powerful story of God loosing some people from stuff in their lives. Let us review these scriptures.

Introduction

John 11:1-44 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (2) It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. (3) Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

Like Martha and Mary, I don't approach the Lord on the basis of my love for Him. You know why? Because my love for the Lord is fickle and feeble. But His love for me, however, is fixed and firm. He's never surprised by what I say, never taken aback by what I do. Therefore, wise is the man or woman who approaches the Lord based on His love. – Courson Commentary

It is interesting how the sisters make this personal. It was just a normal request. Truthfully it wasn’t that big of a deal. I mean by now Jesus had: healed the blind, caused the lame to walk, even raised a child from the dead.

Be Loosed from not seeing the glory of God

(4) When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Later on in this passage Jesus tells us that, “Lazarus is dead” (verses 11 - 13. So is there a contradiction here. No! Jesus views death differently than we do. For us it is a big event for Him He has the power to resurrect or it is a transition. Just a small part in life.

We get too focused on the process of death and not the proximity (heaven).

Be Loosed from missing God’s love

(5) Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

This explains a lot about the relationship. He loved them. This is the key to the whole passage, things may happen to us but it does not mean that God’s love has failed. He still loves us. He loves us enough to guide us through the hurt.

Be Loosed from Impatience

(6) So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

Two more days. Have you ever felt this way. You are praying and Jesus is delaying. But God will teach of patience in His timing. There is a purpose.

(7) Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." (8) The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" (9) Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. (10) But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."