He Still Speaks Today

Praise the Lord. I want you to take the Refuge app where we put notes. But listen, I just learned. Do me a favor. We have people seated in the concourse overflow this morning.

Would you do me a favor? Would you just greet those who are out there in the concourse this morning? Amen. Bless you guys that are out there watching on the screens. Hey, and also do me a big, big favor.

All of the men and women who are incarcerated across the nation that are watching our Easter service today via the Pando app. Give it up for all of those that are watching today. Bless you.

I want to talk to you about the power of his words. The power of his words. It was a little over 10 years ago that a 14 year old boy and two of his buddies on a January morning up in Missouri ventured out onto a frozen lake. Lake St. Louis in St. Charles, Missouri. The lake was frozen over, but the temperatures that day were up near 60 degrees and therefore the ice had begun to melt a little bit.

They didn't realize that, so they walk out onto the ice and 14 year old John Smith and his two buddies fell through the ice. One boy managed to climb out. Another was rescued. John, however, stayed under the ice, under the water for over 15 minutes before he was rescued. Once he was finally at the hospital, the Doctors worked for 30 minutes to try to revive him.

He went for an hour without a pulse. The doctor called Joyce, his mother in law, and told her, you need to say your final goodbyes to your son, John, 14 years old. And Joyce stood at his feet and she took his gray cold feet into her hands and she prayed out loud and she said, holy Spirit, please come and give me back my son. And his heart began to beat. And three weeks later, John Smith walked out of the hospital fully recovered.

Fully recovered. Listen to me. That mother's words had power. That mother's words had life. We just ended or we didn't.

March Madness just ended a couple of weeks ago. It's one of my favorite sporting events of all time, all throughout the year. And it reminded me, and some of you have heard about this or some of you were alive when this happened. It was actually all the way back in 1974. One of the biggest rivalries in college basketball happens right here in Olm State, Carolina vs. Duke.

And in that particular game, Duke was ahead by eight points and there were 17 seconds left in the game. If you know anything about basketball, that's an improbability and almost an impossibility, but yet coach Dean Smith called his team together and he said this to his team. It's not over. It's not over. 17 seconds left, eight points down.

And listen, back then 74, they didn't have the three point line, no three point shooting, but somehow, miraculously, if you want to call it that, Carolina came back, scored eight points in 17 seconds, tied the game up, and then won the game in, in overtime. Today is a day of celebration. We celebrate life over death. We celebrate redemption over sin. We celebrate victory over sickness.

We celebrate joy over depression. And we celebrate hope over despair. You see, in the enemy's mind, the clock had run out. Satan thought that he had finally achieve victory over Jesus. He thought, finally, I'm the top dog, he thought, finally, humanity is under my control.

Humanity is in my hands. But the enemy underestimated the power of Jesus words. And oftentimes, that's why I want to talk to you about this today. Oftentimes we do the same thing. We underestimate the power of, of his words.

John chapter 11 is where we're gonna look this morning. John chapter 11, beginning in verse 17. It's a story that's familiar to all of you, I would imagine. It's a story of a man being raised from the dead. A man by the name of Lazarus.

And I want us to read some verses. I'm gonna read this story to you, but I'm gonna ask you, if you will, to stand to honor the word of God. I know the place is packed, I know we've got people in the concourse, but stand, if you will, for a moment. Beginning in verse 17, it says, When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.

The sisters of Lazarus. And when Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, lord, if only you'd been here, my brother would not have died.

I imagine just to pause for a moment that Martha probably expressed that with a little more energy than what I just did. Like, there was tremendous frustration on her part. She knew, and they had already sent word to Jesus. Your friend, he's not doing well. He's probably not gonna make it.

And Jesus delayed his arrival in Bethany. She says, lord, if only he had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, and I love this declaration of faith, I know that God will give you whatever you asked. And Jesus told her, your brother will rise again. Yes, Martha said, he'll rise when everybody else rises at the last day.

And Jesus told her, watch, here's the statement. Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life power. In his words, anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never, ever died. Do you believe this, Martha?

Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb. Now, skipping down a little bit, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. Roll the stone aside, Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.

And Jesus responded, didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe? So they rolled the stone aside. And then Jesus looked up to heaven and he said, father, thank you for hearing me. Verse 42, you always hear me. But I said it aloud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe that you sent me.

And then Jesus shouted, lazarus, come out. And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. And Jesus told them, unwrap him and let him go. Let's make some declarations. Everybody together.

Ready? Go. I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This word is life to my body and health to my bones. I will be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only.

And I am confident of this.

We'll complete it in Jesus name. Amen. You can be seated. Church. Listen, Jesus.

Let me just. I know this is fundamental Christianity 101, but Jesus is God. We understand that. We know that Jesus is God. And he was present at creation.

Jesus was present as a member of the Trinity at creation. And with words. With words. God created. He spoke.

And birds were formed, creatures of the sea appeared, plants sprang up from the ground, animals began to exist. And mankind was created because of the power of his words. There's always been power in his words. In Exodus chapter 14, God speaks to and through Moses, and all of a sudden, an ocean parts, and the Israelites walk across on dry ground. In Exodus 19, his voice sounds like thunder because of the power of his words.

In Joshua chapter 3, God commands the waters of a river to flow backwards, creating a pathway for his people to once again cross over. In Matthew chapter 3, God's voice validates his son Jesus from the heavens. Jesus speaks to a blind man and he regains his sight. He speaks to a demon possessed man in a graveyard, and he's immediately set free. He speaks To a paralyzed man who's been lowered down in front of him.

And he is instantly forgiven of his sins and healed because of the power of the words of Jesus. And he walks out healed in front of everybody. He speaks to a 12 year old girl who has died, the daughter of a synagogue leader, and she comes back to life. He speaks to a dead boy in Nain, the only son of a widow, and he comes back to life. And here in our text that we just read, John chapter 11, Jesus declares that he has power over death because he embodies life.

He is life, he says. He's the author and the creator and the designer of life. And listen, there has always been power in his words. He knew the outcome of Lazarus death before he ever died. He knew that delaying his arrival in Bethany would not change the outcome of the situation.

So when he shows up at the tomb, listen, Jesus could have walked into that tomb. He gives a command, roll the stone aside. He could have walked into the tomb and he could have laid hands on Lazarus like he had done with so many people before, where he'd lay hands on them. And a woman who had been bent over for much of her life straightens back up. He lays hands on a blind man and all of a sudden he begins to see.

Lays hands on different people in different situations and they are miraculously touched and healed. And certainly he could have done the same thing with Lazarus. Yet rather than walking into the tomb and laying his hands on Lazarus, Jesus chooses to speak. He chooses to demonstrate to all of those who had gathered who were mourning the the death of Lazarus. He chooses to demonstrate the power of his words.

And the Bible says that he shouts into the tomb, he calls him by name a man who's been dead for four days. Listen to me. Today. That same Jesus who has not changed, can shout into your hopelessness. He can shout into your poverty.

That same Jesus can shout into your depression in an instant and take you from sorrow and grief and depression into great joy. He can shout into your addiction, no matter how long or how strong and set you free. He can shout into your brokenness. Come on, somebody. He can shout into your sickness.

He can shout into your dead soul. And he can produce life. He can produce freedom. He can produce joy. He can produce hope.

He can produce healing. He can produce complete freedom in your life today by shouting into your death. Why? Because of the power of his words.

And then soon after this miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, just days or at the most, a couple of weeks after that, Jesus hangs on a Cross.

And even from the cross, he demonstrates the power of his words. Even in his final hours, Jesus speaks powerful words. Luke 23 tells us that even while hanging on the cross, Jesus speaks words of forgiveness. He says in Luke 23, verse 34. Then Jesus said, father, forgive them.

They know not what they do. And his forgiveness for our sins still rings true 2,000 years later. Even from the cross, Jesus speaks words of salvation. In Luke 23, there's a criminal hanging beside him, actually one on each side. But one of them has a revelation while he's near death, has a revelation of who Jesus is, and verse 43 and 44.

Then he said, jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus replied, I assure you today you will be with me in paradise. Even while hanging on the cross, Jesus speaks words of salvation. He demonstrates the power of his words. Not only that, but Jesus speaks words of triumph from the cross.

John, chapter 19, verse 30. Jesus utters three words. And you know what they are? That they're three words that were so powerful that they cause an earthquake. They cause darkness to come over the earth.

They cause a curtain that has hung for years 9 inches thick that would separate the outer court from the inner court, that would symbolize that man cannot enter into the holy of holies. Only one man, the high priest. One time a year, when Jesus speaks those words from the cross. Words of triumph when he says it is finished. Symbolically, that nine inch thick curtain is torn from top to bottom, signifying now that people like us, you and I, can go right into the presence of a risen king.

Triumphal words over death. Triumphal words over the enemy. It's important for you and I to understand today that even though he uttered those three words on the cross, it is finished. Even though there was such power in his words then. I need you to understand today that the power of his words did not die on the cross.

That his words are still powerful today and he still speaks today in his resurrection. There's power in his words. Here's my question for you. Do you know his voice? Are you hearing through the white noise of our culture?

Are you hearing what the spirit of the Lord is saying? Are you hearing him shout over your death? Are you hearing him shout over your depression? Do you hear him shout over your addiction? Do you hear him shout over your shame or your immorality?

Because he still speaks today, and there's still power in his words today. And it's so important for you to be able to distinguish his voice, for you to be able to hear his voice. Even when the disappointments of life cause us to not recognize him. The Bible says. I read this a few weeks ago.

John, chapter 20, verse 11. Mary was standing outside the tomb, crying. This is Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. She'd become a part of his ministry. Because God can make beauty out of ashes.

God can take anybody, no matter how broken, no matter how messed up, no matter how addicted, no matter how immoral. And God can use you for his glory. He does that with Mary Magdalene. And there she is, standing at the tomb and she's weeping. And she stooped in and looked in and verse 12.

She saw two white robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. Dear woman, why are you crying? The angels ask her. Because they have taken away my Lord, she replied. And I don't know where they have put him.

Disappointment, disappointment that has covered Mary Magdalene. She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus. Watch. But she didn't recognize him.

In her disappointment, she couldn't recognize him. Dear woman, why are you crying? Jesus asked her, who are you looking for? She thought he was the gardener. Sir, she said, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him and I'll go get him.

And just like he called the name of Lazarus, all of a sudden, the resurrected Jesus speaks her name. And as soon as he says her name, Mary, all of a sudden she realizes, recognizes, turns to him and cries out rabbani, which is Hebrew for teacher, I'm asking you today, do you hear his voice? Because even in the midst of your disappointment, his words still have power. He'll call you by name. He's still speaking.

Sometimes it's hard for us to hear because we're disappointed we didn't get the job. We're disappointed we went through the divorce. We're disappointed that we lost our life savings. We're disappointed that we've not yet been healed. We're disappointed, and we have a hard time recognizing him.

But I want you to know I'm reminding you today, he's still speaking. He's still speaking. And there's power in his words. Here's the second thing. We need to be able to distinguish his voice and and hear his voice when fear tries to isolate us from him.

When fear tries to isolate us from him. John, chapter 20, verse 19 through 22. It says this. That Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. They were Afraid of the Jewish leaders.

Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. But I want you to notice what Jesus did. He spoke. He spoke. He addressed their fear.

He says to them, peace be with you, he said. And as he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. And again he said, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I'm sending you.

And then he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. Listen, if you're in a place today where you're afraid, you're afraid of the future, you're afraid of the circumstances, you're afraid of the diagnosis, you're afraid of the bank statement or what your balance shows. You're afraid of what's going on relationally. You're afraid of what's going on in our world. You got to hear his voice because he's still speaking, even in his resurrection.

Listen to me. His words and the power of his words did not die on that cross. No, no, no. He's speaking today. There's power in his words.

And he can speak right to your fear. He can speak right to your insecurity. He can speak right to the unknown of your life ahead and speak peace over you and cause you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here's the third thing. And then we're going to close.

We need to be able to hear his voice when we've lost our way. When we've lost our way. You know, I sense from the Holy Spirit, there's some of you that are here today, some of you that are watching online, and you've lost your way. You've lost your way. But watch this.

In John, chapter 21, the disciples who have spent over three years with Jesus, they know Him.

They know the miracle working power that he embodies. But look what happens beginning in verse 1. John, chapter 21. Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee. And this is how it happened.

Several of the disciples were there. Simon Peter, Thomas, nicknamed the twin, Nathaniel from Canaan, Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, I'm going fishing.

Simon Peter, caught in a place of indecision, caught in a place of just losing his way. Because everything that he thought was going to happen, it seems now that the opposite has happened. Jesus has been crucified. They thought he was going to establish this great kingdom. They thought they were going to have prominent roles in this new kingdom.

And now Jesus is not around. Now they don't know what to do. And so Simon Peter just says, I'm going to go back to what I know. I preached a message years ago called the fallacy of the familiar. In other words, when we get in a panic, when we don't know what to do, oftentimes we just, in our default setting, will go back to the thing that we think will bring us comfort.

We'll go back to that toxic relationship because we know it's not good, but it's all that we know. We'll go back to religion because it's what we knew when we were growing up, but we'll go back to trying to make money again, whatever it is. And Simon Peter says, I just don't know what to do. I'm gonna go fishing. I'm gonna go back to that thing that can bring me some sense of security.

And guess what? Those disciples said, we're going too. Even though Jesus had called them away from that. He had called them to be fishers, not of fish, but fishers of men. And there they are.

They've lost their way. They don't know what to do. Let's just go back to what we know, guys. We'll come too, they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

And I have to believe that was by design of God. And at dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. And so he called out, because he still speaks, even in our despair, even when we've lost our way. He knows where you are. He'll still speak to you.

He calls out to them, fellows, hey, have you caught any fish? Rubbing a little salt in the wound maybe? I don't know. No, they replied. And then he said, throw out your net on the right hand side of the boat and you'll get some.

And so they did. And they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. And then the disciple that Jesus loved said to Peter, it's the Lord. They recognized him. And all of a sudden, in that moment, because he spoke, they remembered, we're not called to do this.

We're called to go reach souls. And maybe you've lost your way. I heard this week that scammers now have the ability to find recordings of your voice on social media or on the Internet. And they'll grab a sampling of your voice and through AI, they can create an entire dialogue in just a couple of minutes for about five bucks. And then they can call your family members and.

And it sounds like your Voice telling your family member that you're in distress and you need money right away. And last year, $752 million were lost because of counterfeit voices.

You see, the enemy is always trying to counterfeit the voice of God, and the enemy's always trying to contradict the word of God. And that's why it's so important that you know his voice, that you understand that he still speaks. Even in the midst of your despair, even in the midst of the diagnosis, even though you may have lost your way, even though there's a cloud of depression hanging over you on this resurrection Sunday, I really felt from God, and let me just tell you, I wrestled, wrestled over this message, wrestled to apprehend the word of the Lord, but I felt from God I was going a different direction. And I felt like God laid this word on my heart for you today and for those of you that are watching online because he wants you to know that there's still power in his words. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes?

Come on. Even those watching online, those out in the concourse, those that are watching via the Pando app, because I sense from God, there's some of you today, you need to hear his voice. You need to hear him shouting into your hopelessness, Some of you that need to hear him shouting into your depression, shouting into your sickness, where you've partnered with the lie of the enemy, you'll never be healed. Well, some of you that are addicted, you've partnered with the lie of the enemy, and you believe I'll never get free. It's just my future.

It's my life. I'm gonna always be addicted. No, you need to hear him shouting to the chains that have you bound today. You need to get a picture today of you being set free, of you walking in total freedom. How can that happen?

Because of the power of his words, even in his resurrection. There's power in his words today. And he sees you. He knows you. Over 8 billion people on the planet.

He knows your name and he loves you. So, Father, I pray over every person that's here, every person that's watching online, all of our dear friends that are watching via the Pando app, I pray something God would register in their spirit that would say, there's power in his words, and that power is for me. I need his word today. Lord, I pray that we would trust and believe that you can heal us, you can deliver us, you can save us, no matter what we've done or how long we've done it. You can set us, us free.

Oh, God, I pray for miracles. I pray that people today would go from death to life. They would go from depression to joy. People would go from sickness to healing. People today would go from hopelessness to hope, from despair to joy.

I pray, oh, God, that you would bring miracles in this place right now. And for every person who's watching. You're the God of miracles. You're the God of miracles. And I thank you for the power of your words.

In the name of Jesus, we pray.