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2210 Farrington Hwy. P.O. Box 157 Ho'olehua, Moloka'i, HI 96729 PHONE: 808-567-6420 FAX: 808-553-5685

March 9th, 2008

Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-44
Before I went to the Philippines Tubz told me that he had a burden for us to take on a Grace Church fitness challenge. I said "Great! As long as we don't have to weigh in before worship!" We took it to the leadership and they thought it was a great idea - to begin to take our bodies and this Body of Christ seriously. It was a natural follow-up to last year's focus on strengthening our core. We were going to begin after Easter. But when I read this morning's readings, I want to start right now!
Anyone here ever feel like you were DEAD? Remember those old zombie movies? When we're under sin's curse we move through life as spiritual zombies rather than knowing Life.

Are you spiritually alive and dynamic this morning? Have you ever allowed the Resurrection and the Life to call you out of your sin and death? You can and He will.
Not only does Jesus make you dynamically alive, but He also makes you DIFFERENT - He sets you free!
Jesus was away when He heard that His friend Lazarus. And still He stayed where He was for two more days. What's up with that? You know that Jesus came to do His Father's will. He listened and obeyed, even when it didn't make sense to the people around Him. And we know it hurt Jesus. By the time He got to his friends' town, Lazarus had been dead four days. We're told He was deeply moved in spirit and He wept. Visualize the tomb. Jesus, with tears still on His face, says, "Take away the stone!" He lifted His eyes toward heaven and He prayed so all could hear and see. (Theme from 2001 Space Odyssey begins and plays)
Jesus commands, "Lazarus come out!" Wait! What's that in the back of the church? Turn and look! (Lazarus waddles out of the tomb, bound up in grave clothes - actually toilet paper!). Jesus says to the witnesses "Loose him, let him go!" (there were a few light handed attempts to break the paper, but Lazarus still couldn't get out. I had to tell more and more people to help him get out of his grave clothes! Our Lazarus' own 3 year old grandson finally raced forward to help release his grandfather's right leg).
Lazarus could have responded to Jesus' command by saying, "You know Jesus, I kind of like these clothes - I've grown accustomed to them over the last four days - I think I'll just send them out to the dry cleaners and they'll be just fine." Here's the point - don't miss it. THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MADE DYNAMICALLY ALIVE BY JESUS HAVE NO BUSINESS WADDLING AROUND IN THE TRAPPINGS OF DEATH (repeat). We are to be DIFFERENT.
I'm talking about your way of life, your grave clothes - your lifestyle and habits before Jesus gave you life - some of which you may have been hanging onto even until this day. I'm talking this morning about the sins and addictions that have you all tied up and that you can't seem to shake loose. Jesus can set you free - from your zombie life.
I proclaim that to you this morning from personal experience! If you have a zombie marriage or a zombie home life, if your relationships and your job are zombie, then let The One who says, "I Am the Resurrection and the Life," who says "Loose him!" set you free right now. Get rid of the burial clothes and put on the clothes of new life.
The Bible says this, " So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!" (John 8:36) It also says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, everything is brand new." (I Corinthians 5: 17) Let Christ loose you and set you free!

But freedom can be wonderful and it can also be dangerous. Freedom can inspire others who are bound to be free. During the days of slavery in the South, slave owners used to hate freed slaves because they were such a strong motivation towards freedom.
After Jesus raised him, Lazarus became a dangerous man - everybody wanted to see the man that Jesus had raised from the dead. Lazarus was living proof that Jesus wasn't all talk. The Sanhedrin just couldn't afford to have the proof that Jesus was the Son of God walking around. Lazarus was lethal to their cause. So the Jewish leaders put out a contract on Lazarus - they wanted him dead. Please keep reading in John from where we left off in chapter 11 until you get to next week - Palm Sunday. Why did they want Jesus dead? You'll see…
Does your freedom in Christ draw others to Jesus? Is your freedom contagious and dangerous? Or are you still hobbling around in those old grave clothes? Let Christ make you alive. Let Jesus make you dangerous. Let Jesus make you free. And then never stop telling the story of how you were dead, but now the Lord has given you life.
Let's change gears for a moment and reflect on the passage from Ezekiel.
The Greek version of the Old Testament often helps us to compare Greek words in the Old Testament with Greek words in the New Testament. In the NT we see that after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" and He breathed on them. In the Septuagint, the Greek OT, we see that the same word that the Gospel of John used for "breath" occurs in only two significant places.
The first is in creation. God breathed into Adam and gave him life. The second is in this story of the Valley of the Dry Bones. There was a pile of dried out bones in the wilderness. The Spirit is told, "Breathe on these bones." Suddenly they became alive. Picture it for a moment. Think of a pile of bones suddenly coming back to life. Then think of this.
God breathed into us His breath, His life when we began to trust in Him. We can move from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. God's breath has the power to give us new life, to move us from a dried bone death to something alive, fresh and wonderful. The dried bones were a symbol of hope in the Lord for people whose hope had dried up.
You know Lazarus came back to life, and chapter 12 tells us that he and his sisters had dinner with Jesus later in the week. But Jesus didn't raise Lazarus so there could be an extra hand for the poker game. Lazarus was raised to be the walking reminder of the love and authority of Jesus.
The disciples received the breath of the Lord so that they could be empowered to bring the gospel to a hostile world.
And we have received the breath of the Lord, But sometimes we act like we have been given new life so that we can improve our golf swing or to build that new boat. And we miss the joy of the special assignment that God has for us.
Church historians tell us that Lazarus somehow avoided the contract put out on his life and eventually moved to Cyprus, where he died a second time. I'm told there's a stupendous Orthodox church that stands over his second grave. And he never stopped talking about what Jesus did in his life.
Have you stopped talking about what Jesus has done in your life?

Are there barriers that keep you from sharing?
Back in John 11 we're told that Jesus came to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said… The stone was the barrier that stood between Jesus and Lazarus and the Lord wanted it removed. Are there some things in your life that need to be moved so that you can be closer to Jesus? It may be your schedule, your job, your finances, an illness…
Even those close to us or those who have strong opinions about removing those barriers can be barriers. Lazarus's sister Martha, tried to stop Jesus saying, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Your relatives know how bad your situation stinks and how long you've been this way…don't let them stop you!

Then Lazarus was commanded to do something that no one had ever been asked to do before. New life often means new direction. If you find yourself being called in a new direction; a ministry; your personal life; witnessing; spiritual disciplines obey the Lord and let HIM deal with the consequences that follow.

Uncle John gave us a visual example that even though Lazarus was alive he still was wrapped up so tightly that he couldn't move freely. Jesus told the witnesses to help him get unwrapped.
As the Lord breathes His life into our dried bones, He commands every follower of Jesus to let Him use their lives to help unwrap our brothers and sisters who are struggling.
By the way, when you have been given another chance at life people take notice. They are watching you to see what forgiveness and freedom look like. They are checking you out to see if that new life is really worth the risk. They are used to the dried bones. It's all they know. And the grave may be dark but at least it keeps the rain out. To step out towards Jesus is to step away from the safety of their comfort zones.

My hope is that the people around us see the life that the Lord has breathed into us and put their faith in Him.
What experience do you need this morning to get there? Do you need to REMOVE something between you & Jesus? Do you need to RESPOND to a command of Jesus and step out? Do you need to be RELEASED from something that is limiting you? Do you need to REVEAL to others what God had done for you? We can help each other as we move through the Grace Church challenge to become more dynamic, different and dangerous believers who have been set loose to change the world. We can do it! Praise the Lord Church! In Him, we can do it. Amen!