Don’t stay any longer.
In John 11:1-45 we read about Lazarus who was raised from the dead. We love the story because it shows that Jesus has power over death. Not just that, but because death was caused by sin (Rom 3:23) it also showed that He has power over sin. This demonstration of His power was before He even died for sin. I wonder sometimes how people who saw Jesus heal and raise people from the dead didn’t get the revelation.
He told them that He could forgive sins and to prove it He healed the man on the Sabbath. (John 9) The religious folk got mad and they even rebuked the blind man for telling them “no man has opened the eyes of a blind man”. They just couldn’t see it. Yet in spite of the fact that they saw it all happen in front of their eyes, they never changed. They chose to stay where they were. Even sin can get comfortable. Just do it enough times and you will begin to believe that what you are doing is not that bad. People confuse the grace of God with permission. Because there is grace, it doesn’t mean we can continue to sin. That is what Paul addresses in Romans 6:1 when he asks the question, “Shall we sin now that grace abounds?”
Sometimes people get used to the pain because in return they get sympathy. Sometimes people get used to the addiction because they get the help without the expectation to change. The word for this time is: Do not stay any longer.
Lets get back to Lazarus. Jesus is there ready to raise him up. Even though his sisters confess that they want Jesus to do something about their dead brother, they are fearful of what will happen when the stone gets rolled away. “He stinks", they say, trying to constrain Jesus. What do you do with someone that stinks? We all use to carry the stench of our sins. They expected Lazarus to smell like his last experience. Isn't that what people look for when they judge us? Trying to see if you still carry the smell of your failure!
Did she really believe that Jesus could raise him up and Lazarus could come out, not smelling like death but like someone that is alive? In the spirit world you carry a fragrance and that is why satan is called the lord of the flies – Beelzebub. Sin has a stench that attracts demons and devils. In 2 Cor 2:14-16 Paul writes about the fragrance we carry. A fragrance of life unto God but a fragrance of death to the enemy. Don’t worry, you smell like heaven now. We have to understand that when you encounter the One that is Life, you are not the same as you use to be. He makes us new creations in which the old passes away and all things become new. (2 Cor 5:17)
When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb an amazing thing happened. It says that Lazarus came forth while his hands and feet were still bound. Back in those days, they would embalm your body and it would harden within days. Now I don’t know how he got out. Maybe he tiptoed. Maybe he floated out. The bible doesn’t say. All it says is that Jesus told them to “let him loose and let him go”. Here is what I want you to see.
Lazarus was too incapacitated to walk, but too determined to stay.
When he heard his name called, nothing could hold him down. He had enough of this dead thing and it was time to live some more. That is how we need to be. We need to cast off these things that so easily ensnare us, (Heb 12:1) and with new boldness we need to walk this kingdom out in the earth. Just get to the place where you don’t worry about the thing that killed you, but your concern is the voice that is calling you saying, “Come forth”.
It says that many saw what Jesus did and they believed. Is it possible that what happens to you has influence. What happens to you could make other people believe in God. Why would you stay where you are? God wants to use you to demonstrate His power so that others can believe and be saved. What Peter did by walking on the water made the rest believe.
God is calling you to move from where you are and to trust Him. He wants to use you to show others that He has the power to overcome anything this world can throw at you!