THERE IS LIFE AFTER DEATH IN THIS LIFE
TEXT – John 11:25-26 – Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
There is life after this life. 1 Corinthians 15:19 tells us that if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. We should have a faith that takes us beyond the grave. However, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not limited to a “pie in the sky, wait until you die, in the sweet by and by” message. There is a message of life after death that applies to this life. There is life after the death of a marriage in this life. There is life after the death of a job in this life. There is life after the death of your finances in bankruptcy in this life. Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life and, no matter what dies in our lives, as long as we still have Jesus we have enough to start again. The life, death, and life after death of Lazarus is our blueprint of how to start again and move into life after death in this life.
The eleventh chapter of the gospel according to John starts with a description of the demise of Lazarus’ life. It says that Lazarus, whom Jesus Christ loved, was sick. It also says that the same Jesus that opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, and healed the lame and the withered in the past allowed Lazarus to die. Mary and Martha were right in saying that if Jesus would have come earlier, then their brother would not have died. However, if Jesus had come earlier, then all Lazarus could have been is what he was before he was sick. Sometimes we need more than just a Band-Aid. Sometimes death is a part of the resurrection process. Sometimes death has to occur for new life to begin. Sometimes, in order to move beyond just “well” to “well done though good and faithful servant, some things have to die. In order for a seed to become a tree, the seed has to die. Sometimes that marriage or that job are not worth saving to just become what they were again. Sometimes they need to be resurrected. Sometimes, if it ain’t broke, you have to break it. If it’s just surviving instead of thriving let God resurrect it. If it’s not productive, let God resurrect it. The bible said nothing about God using Lazarus for miracles or ministry until Lazarus died. Sometimes something has to die for there to be life after death in this life for the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. The life, death, and life after death of Lazarus shows us that going from death to life after death in this life is a six step process:
1. Receive the word of the Lord – Jn 11:23 – Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. I say by the Spirit of prophecy, you shall rise again. There is nothing too hard for the Lord. Receive the word of the Lord concerning your situation. You shall rise again!
2. Face your problem – Jn 11:34 – And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. You have to look at the remains. Something happened to cause our situation to reach this condition. How did it get so sick? How did it die? You have to face your problem, trace your problem, and let God erase your problem or you’ll end up in the same situation again.
3. Get rid of the excuses – Jn 11:39 – Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Take away the stone. The stone is the excuse “It’s too hard.” Get rid of the excuses because the excuse is not the real issue. The reason for the stone was to cover up the stink. The reason for the excuse is to justify the stinking thinking “I can’t.” Get “I can’t” out of your vocabulary and get rid of the excuses!
4. Pray – Jn 11:41-42 – And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father I thank thee that thou hast heard me… I believe Jesus prayed before he got there. That’s why he said, “ I thank thee that thou hast heard me”. I believe Jesus was always in the attitude of prayer and that’s why he knew when Lazarus was dead. I believe Jesus prayed in the Spirit in Jn 11:33 and Jn 11:38. Jesus also prayed in Jn 11:41-42. I don’t believe you can pray too much. As we get past the death of the marriage, or the death of the job, the death of our finances to enter a new and living way, we are entering into new and uncertain territory. I believe the way we learn how to live this new and living way is by prayer.
5. Speak to your situation – Jn 11:43 – And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. It’s not a strange thing to talk to your problem. Jesus spoke to fig trees and told them no one would eat from them from that day forward and they dried up from the root. Jesus spoke to dead bodies and they rose from the dead. Jesus said you can say to the mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and the mountain has to move and get out of your way. It’s not a strange thing to talk to your problems. Your problems have been talking to you for years. Tell your situation what thus saith the Lord. Speak to your situation.
6. Release yourself from the past – Jn 11:44 – And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. You have loose yourself from past failures. Too many of us still identify ourselves by the dead issues that we had. We’re still bound by the hand. We won’t do anything because we don’t think we are fit to be used by God. We’re still bound by the foot. We won’t step out on faith because we think we’ll fail at this too. We still have the napkin over our face. We still hide our face for the shame of the past. You have to loose you and let you go! God can’t be glorified for bringing us back to life if we are still bound as though we are still dead. It was after Lazarus was loosed that many of the people that didn’t believe, did believe. It was after Lazarus was loosed that the multitudes came to see Jesus and Lazarus. Even if others haven’t released you from the dead issues of your past, you have to release yourself from that low self-image. Loose yourself and let you go so you can enter into life after death in this life.
Pastor Jerry L. Gatson Sr.
Ornament of Grace Christian Center
1700 Wood Ave
Kansas City, Ks 66104
