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In Jesus' day there were two primary Jewish religious groups whose beliefs were opposed to one another and who were constantly at war with each other. The first group believed in the scriptures as the "Word of God" and were called the Pharisees. The second group believed that the scriptures were just spiritual allegories and were not necessarily to be taken literal, and were called the Sadducees. Jesus had problems with the second group because they did not believe the scriptures. He had issues with the first group, because although they believed the scriptures were the Word of God, they weren't consistent in obeying them at all times. They were two groups with Jesus caught in the middle: the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

The biggest difference between the two was that the Pharisees believed in life after death and thus a future resurrection of the dead, and the Sadducees did not. Their arguments on the subject would often grow heated. In Acts 23, we find the Apostle Paul being tried by the Jews before the Roman governor, and in order to save himself, Paul -- knowing how heated the debate really was -- stood up and cried "the reason I'm here is that I've been called on my belief that there is a resurrection!" And this was true, because they had arrested him for saying that Jesus had risen again from the dead. But Paul was fanning the flames and when he stood up cried this, the scriptures say that the Pharisees and the Sadducees in the group that was accusing him began to argue about it and a fight broke out and the courtroom turned into a brawl, and the Bible says that the roman guard had to remove Paul from the courtyard because he was afraid that Paul would have been torn into pieces by the crowd! Such was the division and passion as to the belief in a future resurrection.

How very sad it would not be if there were no future resurrection! Paul said the same:

Paul said that the whole of Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and if He got up, then so will we one day be resurrected also! And then "if we have hope in Christ in this life only, then we have no reason to rejoice." Think of it: if this earth is all the heaven that we will ever see, then what a pitiful existence and what a hopeless state we are in today! If this is all of eternal life that we will ever have, then we deserve to have a pity party and to be depressed and distraught.

And let me say this: if you are without God as your master and savior. If you are not living your life for Him, then you are in the sad, sad state of this life being the only heaven that you will ever know! The pleasures of this life will be the only reward that you ever get! If you are lost, then heaven will only be as good as the good that you receive today! When people try to entice me with the pleasures of sin and the alcohol and the sexual immorality and the "party lifestyle" I have to shake my head and confess that I'm not interested because if I choose that route, then whatever little pleasure that I derive from it, will be the only heaven that I will ever know! And I can't see missing out on a party for eternity to have a sinful party for a few years down here!

But if you are doing things God's way and serving Him and loving Him and obeying His commandments, then you know that you don't have to have all of that stuff to have a good time on earth! We drink, but it's the wine of the Holy Spirit! We get high but it's from receiving the Holy Ghost! We dance, but it's with the Lord as our partner! We sing, but it's praises to Him and Him alone! We stay up late on weekends but it's because God moved and the service went a little long or else we are with Godly friends enjoying Godly fellowship! Living for God or not is not a choice between partying or not partying, but rather how you party! I have found that it's more fun to party God's way because His partying doesn't lead to you getting arrested, hangovers, or regrets! His way of partying doesn't pull your family apart, but will put your family back together if both of you will obey Him!

And the best part is that if you party God's way, not only do you have good time on earth, but it's just a warm up for the party of the centuries for eternity! Heaven will be beyond your wildest dreams and hopes! Heaven will be better than anything you can imagine. It starts with a resurrection and a marriage supper of millions and after watching a little fireworks, we get a new heaven and a new earth, and a new Jerusalem to live within! And it will never end! The hope of the resurrection is this: this life is but a foretaste of the real celebration to come! Whatever joy I have down here, it will not compare with the joy that I have up there. Whatever love and happiness and contentment that I have here, will be far surpassed by eternity! And if my life were to be hard and full of disappointments and trials and consumed by unpleasant times and pain, then I have a promise that none of that will be over there and the future will more than make up for the past! I think I'll choose to party God's way!

If you choose to party hell's way, then I hope you enjoyed the brief moments of fun and ecstasy that you had between the down times because that is all the heaven you will ever get! And if there is were no resurrection or true eternity, then you really better live it up because there would be no promise of anything better. My father-in-law used to say that the Sadducees were "sad you see" because they didn't have anything better to look forward to! But if there is a resurrection and you are serving God, then even someone who started out as a Sadducee can be "glad you see" because they have a bright future! I thank God that we can know that there will be a resurrection because of His resurrection! Because He lives, His promise that we shall live is true!

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But those poor Sadducees! In trying to stump Jesus one day, they began to ask Him all of the hardest questions that they could come up with about the resurrection. In the verses before our text, Jesus neatly answered their questions and traps and then decided to throw in a little more proof of the resurrection from the very scriptures that they studied. In our text, Jesus said:

The scripture that Jesus quoted was God's word to Moses at the burning bush hundreds of years after the death of Abraham and his son and grandson. And the point that Jesus was making was that God told Moses about men who were already dead "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Years after their death, God says "I am their God." Catch this: He didn't say "I was" their God! But "I am." Jesus' point was that if they were never to rise again, how could God speak in the present tense? But the God who can never lie said "I am their God" therefore they will rise again, because He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!

We serve a very present God. He is not a God that "was." He is not a God that "will be" but if you are to live for Him, you must live for Him in the here and now. He is the God that is the "I am" God. He told Moses that His name was "I am that I am." The God that we serve is stuck in the present. He is real and revealed only in this moment.

Understand what I am saying. I've known people to say "oh, yeah I used to live for Him." "Oh, I was raised that way, and studied those scriptures years ago and used to go to church back then all the time." As if their effort in the past somehow justified their lack of effort in the present! We don't serve a God who is the Great I Was! If He once was your king, that doesn't mean that He is your king now! If He was your savior and the point of your life and your priority, and He is not still so in the present, then the past does you no Good. He's the Great I Am and not the Great I was!

I've also known people that were always putting off serving Him to another day. To them, He is the God of the future. They say "I'm doing my own thing now, but one day I will serve Him." In other words, they are saying "God will be my Lord and King one day." "He will be my savior when I eventually get around to it." "I'm not going to serve Him today, but I will tomorrow, and tomorrow never comes!" Our God is not the Great I will be! If He is not the king in your "here and now," then you will probably never get around to live for Him! The scriptures say that "today is the day of salvation!" Let's call for Him while it is still called "today." We serve a very present God! He is not the great I was or I will be, but He is the Great I am! You will be saved only if you will act now upon His precious promises.

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And so maybe now you can catch the true meaning of Jesus' words in our other text -- a meaning that even Martha, who heard Him first, missed. Her brother Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus, upon hearing about his illness, had purposefully waited around and delayed coming for a few days until after He heard that Lazarus had died. The dead man's sisters, Mary and Martha, were a little miffed at Jesus' later arrival. In their grief, they turned their blame upon Him. When Jesus finally arrives after the funeral, Mary is so distraught that she does not even bother to come out to greet Jesus. Martha comes but immediately says:

That's a veiled way of saying that "my brother is dead because you didn't show up like you were supposed to!" At least Martha has guts enough to present her true feelings to Jesus. Mary is pouting back at the house and won't even come to see Jesus, yet!

How often we get mad at God today because He didn't show up like we wanted Him to and like we had it figured out! But notice that Jesus doesn't dwell on the past, but immediately goes to the present situation:

Jesus is talking of the here and now, and Martha is focused on the past and the future. Jesus is wanting to resurrect Lazarus on this day, and yet Martha is like "yes, Lord, I know that he will eventually get up on the last day!" But that was not what Jesus meant when He told her that "your brother will rise again."

How often do we -- like Martha -- get so focused on the past and the future that we miss what God is actually wanting to do in the present? Jesus did not say "I was the resurrection." He did not even say "I will be the resurrection." He said "I am the resurrection, Martha!" She heard "I am" and thought of the extreme future, but that's not what He said! Jesus was planning a resurrection here on this day, in the here and now. He was desiring to be to her "a very present resurrection." "I am the resurrection and the life."

Like Martha, we get caught up in believing that Jesus was the resurrection and that He will be the resurrection, and forget that He said "I am the resurrection!" We believe that Jesus rose from the dead back then. We believe that those dead people who came into contact with Jesus Christ got up back then. We believe that Jesus will cause His saints to rise again from the dead in the future. We believe that one day all the "dead in Christ shall rise!" And yet we look at situations in our life that are dead or nigh unto death. We look at hopes and dreams and relationships and things present and we forget that Jesus would like to resurrect some things right now! If we are not careful, we can find ourselves like Martha, stating our belief in what Jesus has done and will do, and yet we are proclaiming His resurrection power in the past and future when before us on this day is a grave with something that we need Him to resurrect as we speak!

But I'm here to preach to you that Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life." And Hebrews 13:8 reads:

That means that today, in the here and now, if you were to hear Jesus speak, He would still say "I am the resurrection and the life."

Thank God for the past demonstration power of the resurrection for without Jesus' resurrection, we would not have hope today. Thank God that we hope not in this life only, but that one day there will be a future resurrection where the dead will get up. But if we proclaim the past and the future as being realities, then why can't He resurrect some things in our lives right now!? Come on Martha, and listen to what He's saying: He's not discussing the past and the future, but He is concerned with this tomb and this hurt that is here right now! The resurrection power is here, why not let Him be a very present resurrection!?

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Jesus desires to be a very present resurrection. There are some things that are dead in your life that He wants to command to be made alive again today! Not tomorrow but here and now, Jesus wants to be a very present resurrection.

I'm preaching to some people with some dead dreams. Some dreams that you once believed in and held to and worked toward, seem dead because of the way things have turned out in your life. Like Jacob, you are holding a bloody coat that is showing you that your precious future and gifts from God seem dead. Like Joseph, your prison seems to be in the dungeon while you watch other people's dreams come true. I'm preaching to some people who had big plans for doing something for God, and great intentions, and a good start, but things didn't turn out quite like you wanted or thought they would, and so as a result, the dreams of yesteryear have seemed to die and are seemingly nowhere near life today. To you, Jesus wants to be a very present resurrection today.

Likewise, I'm preaching to some people here with dead faith. The scriptures teach us that we are all given a measure of faith, and maybe you have planted yours and seen it grow, but for some reason, you don't have it today. Maybe you have actively used your faith many times in the past, but today you don't feel filled with expectation as you once were. Maybe it's been too long since you did as Jude said:

And maybe the Holy Ghost tank is somewhat depleted and you need a refill. If you know what the scriptures say and yet can't seem to muster up the excitement to step out on the promises of the scriptures, then I'm preaching to you! Your faith is dying or maybe even dead. But if you could hear what Jesus is saying to you right now, you would hear Him state without hesitation and very adamantly: I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus wants to resurrect your faith today!

I'm preaching to some people here with dead relationships and marriages. You think that the situation between your friend or your spouse is hopeless and it is hopeless just as hopeless as Lazarus lying in the tomb for four days. But even in the darkest situation and in the worst circumstances, Jesus is saying "I am the resurrection and the life!" Even the most far gone relationship can be restored with His power at work in it! You cannot get any deader than dead! And Jesus wants to be a very present resurrection to you today!

I'm preaching to some people here with a dead spiritual man and walk with God. You do not hunger for the things of God, and have scarcely given a second thought about serving Him according to His Word. It is because the death that sin brought to the spiritual man of Adam has been passed down to you through birth and so you have inherited an inner man who is not alive to the things of God. You have inherited a spiritual man who is dead and dormant and does not have the close fellowship with God's Spirit as it was created to have. And yet such even the most hopeless dead man spiritually can be resurrected but by the simple command of Christ! His Spirit is still be given today and you can receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost here today! When His Spirit comes within, a well of living water springs up and cleanses the pollutants! A fire awakens in your soul and you will live spiritually and desire Him as never before! For you who have never received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost, Jesus wants to be a very present resurrection to you today!

And He is here -- oh the miracle worker who ever funeral that He interrupted was suspended until further notice -- that same One who walked the shores of Galilee two thousand years ago is here! He said where two or three are gathered together in His name, that He would be in the midst of them. And so He is here and He wants to be a very present resurrection!

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Now listen carefully so that you fully grasp what I am about to say. Just because we have something that is dead that needs resurrection in our life and just because Jesus is here doesn't necessarily mean we shall receive our miracle. Jesus was the resurrection and the life while He stood talking to Martha and then Mary and yet Lazarus was very much still dead. He is the resurrection and wants to be the very present resurrection, but there are some things that are in the way that must be first dealt with, if we are to see His life-giving power in operation. The story of Lazarus' resurrection teaches us the steps and things that must be accomplished if we are to see Jesus' power manifest in our life:

Jesus looked at Martha and said:

The answer to the question is imperative, and Martha answered "yes," and that is the only reason why there was a rest of the story. If you have need of a miracle today; if you have need of Him to resurrect something that has died in your life, then question must be asked of you "do you believe that He is able to do it?" If the answer is "no" then I can't help you and neither can Jesus. But if the answer is yes, then you are on the right track to a "rest of the story!" And the devil tries to stop us at this level most often. If you do not believe that Jesus can fill you with the Holy Ghost, then you will not receive. If you do not believe that He can heal, then He will not. If you do not believe that He can fix your marriage, then know that you are right. Your answer to the question is important Jesus said "I am and I can, that's not the issue; the issue is do you believe this?"

Martha's first words to Jesus were "if you had been here, my brother would not have died." In other words, "it's your fault, Jesus, that I'm going through this ordeal." When Mary finally left her pity party at the house and approached Jesus, her first words were:

Mary was the spiritual one of the two sisters, and yet here she is blaming Jesus for her problems as well! Listen well, Mary and Martha, Jesus did not cause the sickness that killed your brother. Jesus did not perform the sin that first brought the sickness into the world. If you want to blame anyone, blame the first Adam and not the last Adam who was sent to get us out of the mess that the first got us in!

Let me clear and extremely blunt: stop blaming God for your mess. It's not His fault. It's probably your fault. If you have a bad marriage, you've contributed to it. If you have a lack of faith, then your lack of prayer is probably what did it! If your spiritual man is dormant today because of Adam's sin, you've probably added a few on top of the originals all your own. If your dream died prematurely, chances are that your actions helped kill it. It's not popular because everyone wants to play the blame game and be the victim. It's never our fault. But usually when we say that, it is! Blame yourself. Blame your kindergarten teacher. Blame your potty training. Blame whatever you want to, but stop blaming God. How many times does He show up to help us only to hear whining about how He's let them down!? Stop blaming Him and ask Him for help! Stop accusing Him and admit that your situation is beyond your ability to fix it! Stop pouting and welcome Him here, because after all, He wants to be your resurrection! He was the Lamb of God that was sacrificed for you, and was never meant to be your scapegoat! If He is to be the object of your faith, then He must cease being the object of your scorn!

Jesus asked, "where have you laid him?" Knowing all things, Jesus knew where Lazarus' dead body was, but they had to be willing to give the miracle worker access to the graveyard! God is a gentleman, and He will only go where He is wanted.

When we have a failure or a death of a dream or relationship or of faith, our tendency is to place away in a secret place. We find an unused empty and dark spot in our soul and file it away and guard access to it with everything in us! When a time of despair or great hurt kills our childhood zeal, we tend to stow it away and try to put it out of sight and out of mind. But for Jesus to heal it and resurrect it, you must be willing to lead Him to the tomb and allow Him to face it! You've got to be willing to come in contact with the reminder of your grief once again! You've got to be willing to talk to Him about it. You've got to be willing to not just admit that you need Him in this area, but show your hurt to Him! He will only resurrect the areas, that you show to Him today! He is looking around asking "where is the tomb?" Where have you placed that dead body today? If you will not show it to Him, He cannot be your very present resurrection!

Lazarus was buried in a cave with a good size stone in front of the tomb. It is interesting that Jesus and His disciples did not force their way in and push it aside. Instead Jesus commanded Mary and Martha to give the okay to "roll away the stone." It's an object in their life that needs resurrecting, therefore they must be the ones to roll the stone away!

That stone represents doubt that Jesus could perform the miracle at that very moment. It was one thing to tell Him at the house where no dead bodies were "I believe that you are the resurrection and the life." But it was quite another now that they are standing outside of the tomb. It's one thing to amen His sermon on how He is the way, the truth, and the life when you are just in church, but it's another to step out on faith at the funeral! It's one thing to read the promise and say "I believe" and quite another when the moment comes that you actually need for Him to do it!

Martha told Him, "but Jesus, he's been dead for four days, by this time he stinks!" It's the moment of truth, Martha. He is wanting to be your very present resurrection, but there is a big boulder of doubt that must be rolled to the side, if you are to see it! Jesus is not wanting "I believe that He can do it one day faith, today." He is asking for "right now faith." Faith that is willing to take that huge rock of disbelief that He can do it in the immediate and will roll it away from in front of your miracle!

After they had done all that they could do, Jesus did what only He could do. He prayed and then commanded in a loud voice: "Lazarus, come forth!" And the scriptures say:

The miracle is alive and God has done the work, but it is still bound up by the things placed upon him by other people! Their miracle would have not truly been completed until they had stripped the grave clothes off of him and freed him from the bonds that they had placed upon him!

You can receive your miracle right here and right now! But you must be willing to loose it in your life! God can fill you with the Holy Ghost right here and now, but will you be willing to loose your spirit man to guide you to live for God as it wants? Or will you force it to live hopping around in the grave clothes of a life of sin?

God can heal your marriage right now, but are you willing to live in it completely healed, or will you force it to live, healed, but bound in the cloths of the past?

God can heal your dreams right now, but will you let them thrive and loose them to fly again, or will you allow your past hurts to wrap themselves around it so that even though it has been resurrected, the scars refuse to let your dreams off of the ground?

God can renew your power in the Holy Ghost today, but will you allow it abundant freedom to be as it desires, or will you place it back in the grave clothes of and uncommitted and prayer-less lifestyle?

He wants to be a very present resurrection today, but you must not only receive your miracle, but loose it from the grave cloths that you had placed around it!

The scriptures say this:

How did they give "witness of His resurrection?" How did they convince others that Jesus Christ really rose back then? Because they were regularly experiencing the resurrection power of God in their day to day lives. Experiencing His resurrection power today, is the greatest proof to you of His resurrection power back then and of the resurrection power that is to come! He said "I am the resurrection and the life!" Come let Him be a very present resurrection to you right now!