02/14/2021 MIRACLES ARE MESSY - WEEK 2
February 14, 2021

1 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.”
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.” —John 11:1 - 4

-Jesus is more concerned with glorifying God and growing us in trials than our comfort.

-The messiness of the miracle is always about seeing through the lens of Jesus.

-Miracles are messy because Jesus is not bound by time.

-The messiness of the miracle will always reveal more of who Jesus is.

-The messiness of the delay doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t care.

1. Miracles are messy because dead places seem hopeless.

And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” —John 11:34

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. —John 11:38

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting. —Psalms 139:23 -24

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. —John 15:5

2. Miracles are messy because they take work.

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.” —John 11:39

3. The messiness of the miracle allows the promises of God to become a reality.

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” —John 11:40

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. —2 Corinthians 1:20

“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? —Numbers 23:19

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. —Romans 10:17

4. Your miracle is never just about you.

41 Then they took away the stone [a]from the place where the dead man was lying. 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.” —John 11:41-42

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. —Revelation 12:11

3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, [b]character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. —Romans 5:3-5

9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. —John 12:9 - 11

5. Jesus is always speaking from a place of life because He has overcome death.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. —John 11:25

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.” —John 11:43 - 44> “O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?” —1 Corinthians 15:55