Scripture:

John 11:25　Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live;

I. A man had died:

  1. First, mention that a man was sick, and his sisters came to ask the Lord for healing.
  2. the Lord’s salvation is not to heal but to cause the dead to resurrect. The Lord’s salvation is not to cause man to be healed but to cause man to be enlivened. Healing is a matter of correction, whereas enlivening is a matter of life. The Lord’s salvation is not to correct man’s problem but to enliven man that man may receive His life. This point needs to be emphasized.

II. The Lord is life:

  1. The need of the dead is to receive life. The only way for a dead person to be healed is to receive life. Only life can vanquish death.
  2. Give examples to prove that man is dead: (1). A dead person is weak and impotent in doing good. (2). A dead person has no consciousness in doing evil. The fact that man is weak and impotent in doing good and yet has no consciousness in doing evil is a proof that man is dead. (3). A dead person is in bondage. The dead Lazarus was bound with burial cloths and confined in a tomb. Many today are bound in a theater, and the theater is their tomb.
  3. The Lord said that He is life. Only the Lord can meet the need of the dead.

III.  How the Lord causes man to receive life:

  1. The Lord’s life is in His words. The Lord’s words are the Lord’s voice, which is the Lord’s gospel. Today the gospel is being preached to you so that you may believe in His words, for in His words there is the Lord’s life.
  2. What caused Lazarus to be resurrected from death that day was the Lord’s words, saying, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). The dead Lazarus heard the Lord’s words and was quickened.
  3. Today the words of the gospel are the voice of the Lord. Friends, if you will listen to this voice, you will live. Those who believe are the ones who have really heard His voice.

IV. The result of obtaining the Lord’s life:

  1. Lazarus lived when he heard the words of the Lord, and he came out of the tomb. Today as you hear the gospel, you have also heard the words of the Lord, and you live. Because you are living, you will surely come out of the movie theaters and other sinful pits.
  2. Freed from the bondage. Eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling are all bondages. They cause you to be unable to move an inch. When you receive life, you will be freed from the bondage.