By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church.
Revival
Preparation. How can I be
strengthened through going out to bring them in?
Strategic Evangelism: Go
out and get them, storm the gates of hell.
Growing through intentional steps to go forward in reaching the lost.
“Untie him and let him go.” This
is the story of the raising of Lazarus.
When you were growing up, were you ever asked by your Dad or Mom to
help you out with some project? Have
you as a parent ever had the opportunity to ask for assistance from your
child. God chooses enlist us in
his work. He could have chosen
any way he wanted to tell the world about his free gift of salvation to the
world. But the way he chose was
to tell his story was through his people.
What will it take for us to see the miracle of spiritual resurrection
in the lives of our friends, families, and neighbors?
Scripture Text:
John 11:33 (KJS) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews
also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was
troubled, 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord,
come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the
blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? 38 Jesus
therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and
a stone lay upon it. 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. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto
thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone [from the place] where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou
hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the
people which stand by I said [it], that they may believe that thou hast sent
me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus,
come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with
grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto
them, Loose him, and let him go. 45 Then many of the Jews which came to
Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
1.
Will we ask for the Lord to come?
Why should we want Him to come? We
must recognize that the Lord is the only one who can make the difference in
lives of those who we know and they love.
Mary and Martha knew the Lord and they knew that He would come and make
a difference. People need the Lord in life, in work, in play, and in
death. It is going to take the
power of the Lord to change their lives.
He can enter in and raise them up.
2.
Will we seek the raising of the lives of our friends and
loved ones? Have we recognized the need to have a spiritual resurrection
in our friends lives? Do we
love them enough to seek the raising of the dead?
Will we have compassion for those who are dead, dying, and without
hope? Jesus Wept! .
35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
We have not because we ask not.
3.
Will we listen to the Lord and believe that He can do it?
Is there anything too hard for the Lord of glory?
Martha said that it was too late.
It had been four days since he had died.
Do we believe that it is too late for many, so we have given up hope?
On the average it takes eight invitations before someone comes to the
church for the first time.
4.
Will we do the hard work necessary to see them raised from the dead?
Answer the call to go. Why
is it that we believe in working hard when it comes to everything else but the
Lord’s work? It is a work and a
labor of love. He called on those
there that day to move the stone away from the mouth of the cave that held the
body of his friend. Will we be
willing to do what it will take to join with the Lord in seeing a miracle?
Many Christians and churches aren’t blessed because of disobedience
in their lives. We fail to
realize the command that the Lord has given us to go to the lost in our
communities and bring them to Jesus.
5.
Will we loose (untie) them and let them come to the Lord?
Where did the grave clothes come from that held Lazarus?
Many of the grave clothes that bind people today are the ones that have
been put there but us the church and Christians of the day. In many situations
people are unbelieving, disrespectful, and disappointed because we have not
lived up to the name of Christ. They
have seen the church and Christians at their worst, now it is time to show
them the best of the Lord. It is
time to live the life and show the world who the Lord really is.
6.
Will we enjoy the benefits of working with the Lord in his work of
revival? By working with the
Lord in praying for our friends, inviting them, bringing them, and leading
them to the Lord we will be the ones who will be strengthened and blessed.
For too many years we have felt that the way of the Christian life was
coming to church, reading our Bibles, and saying our prayers.
We have missed the meat of the Christian life through not going out to
bring them in.