I Believe

Q: What does the Bible say about resurrection?

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, and through Him, believers gain eternal life. The Scriptures declare Christ as the source of life and resurrection, notably in John 11:25-26, where Jesus states, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.' This profound truth emphasizes that physical death is not the end for those who believe in Jesus. In Him, believers are granted eternal life and victory over death, as seen in Ephesians 2:5-6, which speaks of God 'quickening' believers together with Christ. The hope of resurrection is grounded in the person and work of Jesus, confirming that all things related to life and death are under His sovereign power.

Q: How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

Jesus is identified as the Christ through His divine nature and fulfillment of Scripture, recognized by His followers. The distinction of Jesus as the Christ, or the Anointed One of God, is confirmed through both scriptural prophecy and His divine acts. In John 11:27, Martha affirms her faith in Jesus, declaring, 'Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.' This recognition is not merely intellectual; it is a revelation given by God, as emphasized in Matthew 16:17 when Jesus acknowledges Peter's understanding, stating that it was revealed to him by the Father in heaven. Christ's identity is established through His unique relationship with the Father and His profound works, including miracles and His resurrection, which fulfill divine promises and attest to His messianic role.

Q: Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

The resurrection is central to Christian faith, assuring believers of their eternal life and victory over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus is pivotal for Christians, serving as the foundation of their faith. In 1 Corinthians 15:17, Paul notes, 'And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.' This indicates that the resurrection assures believers of their justification and forgiveness. Furthermore, Jesus's resurrection is a promise of the resurrection of His people; as He rose, so too will those who are in Him, as stated in Romans 6:5. The resurrection signifies not only a triumph over physical death but also the power of God at work within believers, granting them new life and hope that transcends earthly existence.

Q: What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Believing in Jesus means trusting in Him for salvation, recognizing Him as the source of eternal life. To believe in Jesus signifies a deep trust in Him as the Savior who redeems from sin and grants eternal life. As stated in John 11:26, 'And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.' This belief is not a mere acknowledgment but involves a personal relationship with Christ, wherein the believer is born again, or regenerated, as outlined in John 3:3. The act of believing encompasses accepting Christ's work on the cross and His resurrection as sufficient for salvation, leading to the gift of eternal life. It reflects both an initial step of faith and a continuing reliance on Him for all aspects of spiritual life.

O Jordan strong and free! I am bound for the promised land I am bound for the promised land for the promised land. Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land. All over the wide extended plain shines one eternal day. There God the Son forever reigns and He stares nigh the way I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land Oh, who will come and go with me?

I am bound for the promised land! Oh, chilling winds, your poisonous break and be sad! Pain and death are felt and feared no more. I am bound for the promised land. I am bound for the promised land. Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land. Which shall I reach, let that be placed, and be forever blest? Which shall I see my Father's face, and in His bosom rest? I am bound for the promised land, I am bound for the promised land. Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land. Number 15. All is.

The Holy One comes down with a great holy manna will be showered all around Where there's sin or sinners around you, Son, bring on the brink of war! Death is coming, hell is moving, can you bear to let them in? Our fathers and our mothers and our children singing now Prayer, prayer, holy manna will be showered all around Sisters, will you join and help us, Moses' sisters, aideth Him? Will you help the trembling mourners who are struggling hard with sin?

Tell them all about the Savior, tell them that He will be found! Sisters pray and holy men of duty shower all around! Let us love our God supremely. Let us love each other too. Let us love and pray for sinners till our God mentions all things new. Then He'll call us home to Heaven At His table we'll sit down Christ will burn in self-answer But with sweet manna all around I'm reading verse 17 through to verse 27.

Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. That is Lazarus. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about 15 furlongs off. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary sat still in the house.

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, thou hast been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it to thee. And Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. And Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. And Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Believest thou this? She says, and yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come to the world. Let us pray. Now, Father in Heaven, most merciful, gracious, loving Father, we praise you for who you are. We know, as we read of dead Lazarus, that it's a picture of what we are in nature, dead in trespasses and sins. We know that nothing short of a miracle of grace, an act of God Almighty, to send the resurrection and the life unto us and bring us to life in Jesus Christ. We know that you have fit it so that you're elect during their sojourn here on earth, born in sin, conceived in iniquity, drinking iniquity like water, lost, lame, impotent, dead in trespasses and sins. You have ordained and predestinated that in due course you would cross their path with the gospel of grace and by your spirit through the word would awaken their having their conscience purged from sin and their conscience purged from dead works. Showing them what they are by nature and revealing what they are by grace. What a thing for wretched sinners to use We pray for those who are sick and going through trials and tribulations.

Thou knowest every case. Pray for those on our prayer list, our friends and our relatives who are sick. Ask your help for them. For those that are away from us, we pray you'd watch over them, bring them back safely home to us. Help us now, as we are gathered here, to indeed worship you in spirit and in truth.

You're worthy of all praise and honor and glory. Salvation belongs to you. Power belongs to you. Help us now. Help me, Lord, who sent forth the glories of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grant me the privilege to speak well of him and say right things concerning him. Don't leave me here by myself. Take your word. pierce our hearts. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

As I was preparing for this message, I was thinking a great deal on Christ up to this point as he's been revealed in scripture because he's about to make a new revelation of himself in this particular passage of scripture. Follow the words of John in chapter 1 and chapter 2.

All of the words of Christ, John's words, were that Jesus Christ was the Word. And He was the Word, was God. Therefore, Jesus Christ was God. And He was the Creator of all things. He was the Light that lighteth all men that comes into the world. He was the Word who became and was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Because He dwelt among us and tabernacled among us, we were able to see the grace and the glory of God. We'd never known anything about God's grace, God's mercy, God's glory. Not His true glory, which is manifest fully in His salvation of the elect. Had not Jesus Christ came into this world and revealed the Father to us and declared the Father to us. He was said to be the end of the law for Moses. The law came by Moses, but he's the He's the source of all grace, and grace came by Jesus Christ.

He said that he was the temple. When the Pharisees asked him who he was, he said, Terry, I'm his temple, I'll raise it up again in three days. He spoke of his own body, he says, his own body, his body is missed. We are the temple of God, the fullness of him that filleth all.

Chapter two, he did his first miracle, turned the water into wine. Chapter 3, he introduced a new thing that had never been spoken of in the Old Testament except by hints, and small hints it wasn't that. A thing called the new birth. What we call regeneration, but it's the new birth. A person being born again. Being born from heaven. Being born by the Spirit through the Word.

He introduced that concept to a man who was very religious. And to the same man he introduced the concept of the flesh and the spirit. These things were paramount as the apostles wrote the epistles. Things like the flesh and the spirit, the new birth, they became paramount in their teaching. And our Lord first introduced them to this man named Nicodemus.

He said of himself that he was the son of man. And as he looked Nicodemus in the eye, he says, right now I'm looking at you, I'm with you, and I'm in heaven also. How can that be? He's God. He's God. Then He feeds 5,000. He takes a blind man or a man who's lame on his bed and tells him to rise up and walk. He makes a blind man to see. He's revealed Himself as the Son of God.

He's revealed He's even said that I am. He said, if you believe not that I am, you shall die in your sins. Now when he said I, in that particular text, the word he is in italics, so it was added by the translators as not necessary to the understanding. He said, I am. I am. They understood.

He's talking about the one of Guelph and Nebuchadnezzar. Moses saw on the mount who said, To Moses, when Moses said, who shall I say sent me? He says, you tell them, I am that I am has sent thee. If you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins. He said, I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for my sheep. That's a revelation of who he is. He's a shepherd of the sheep. The sheep will hear his voice and follow him. And he gives unto them eternal life. I am the Good Shepherd.

John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb. He revealed who He was, the Lamb of God. The sufficient, efficient sacrifice of Almighty God, offered to God on behalf of His people. This is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He's the Lamb. He's the Shepherd. He's the Lamb. Now He reveals Himself as something else altogether in this passage of Scripture.

We know that this whole episode, according to him, Lazarus's death, his sickness and his death, was for a particular purpose. It was for the glory of God. That the glory of God might be manifest. You mean God would have somebody be sick for his glory? Yes, he'll have people sick for his glory. He'll have people die for his glory. He'll have people raised from the dead for his glory. He'll heal the sick for his glory. He does everything for his glory.

Everything in this world that happens in this world It takes place since the beginning of time till time is no more. It's for the glory of God. That's why you're here. You exist. It says that in Ephesians chapter 1, that you should be, exist, walk and breathe in this world for His glory. That's why you're here.

And everyone knows, who knows anything about the glory of God and God Almighty and His sovereign majesty know this, that they will. glorify Him. We all will glorify Him in one way or another. We will glorify Him. Either we'll glorify Him in His wrath when He does righteous judgment against us and puts us in eternal damnation or we'll glorify His grace where He takes us to eternal glory but it's all for His glory. Everything was made, everything was made by Him and for Him and all things resound to His glory and now He reveals And he's made his friend, whom he loves, sick for his glory. And that sickness is unto death.

Because we read in verse 17, then Jesus came and found that he had lain in the grave four days. So he's been four days dead. You remember Christ delayed coming down. He didn't come when Martha sent messengers that said, he who thou lovest is sick. He didn't go, he waited. Why did he wait for him to die? Because that's what he's going to teach, who he is and what that means. Now he was near Bethany, about 15 furlongs away.

And it says in verse 19 that many of the Jews came to Martha to comfort them. Martha and Mary comforted them concerning their brother. So that he was dead, it's been four days dead now, and people are coming to be comfort just like we would, bring a covered dish and sit down and be quiet and talk when people want to talk, to gather around, to mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. Then in Mark it says in verse 20, Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus came, Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.

Mary's the one who sits still a lot. We'll find that also that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus when Martha was going about, coming about with much serving. She chose the better thing, to sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. But she went to meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now she went there with the thoughts to tell him that her brother's dead. Of course, he knows that already. We told her their brother's dead and if he'd been there, that might not have happened. He might have been able to heal him from the sickness he was having if the Lord had only been there. She said in verse 21, the Lord, if thou had been here, my brother had not died. So she knew that Jesus Christ had the ability. Remember, he had been to their house many times. They were friends of his. They loved that family. So they were aware of all the fact that he had great miracle power.

And she knew that if he'd been there, Lazarus wouldn't have died. Lazarus wouldn't have died. That's what she knew in her mind. And she was right, had that been his intent to begin with. But that's not his intent at all. She said, then she said, but I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it to you. She had some outside hope that maybe Whatever Christ asked of him, asked of God, God will give him. Maybe he will raise him from the dead now.

That's in the back of her mind. She knows it's too late to heal him from the sickness, because he's already been dead four days. And as we'll read on in this passage later on, they will even say, when the Lord says, I'm going to raise him from the dead, they say, well, he stinks by now. He's been dead four days, body's already corrupted. They knew he stunk. That's why they put the rock over the grave so they couldn't smell him.

But her idea is that maybe he'll still be able to do something. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it to thee. So she believed that Jesus Christ had aligned to God. She believed he was the Son of God. And she might not have understood fully that he was God Almighty yet. But she knew that he had power that no other man had, and her desire was that maybe if you ask God, he could do something about the situation. I don't know what she was asking for, because it doesn't say. It doesn't say. Maybe it's in her mind she was looking for comfort, for some ease of mind about the situation. Who knows?

And Jesus said unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Our brother shall rise again. Now she's a believer. She believes the Lord Jesus Christ. She knows who he is. He's been a friend of the family. She knows who he is and she knows what he can do. Our brother shall rise again.

She's also probably been listening to the Pharisees preach because the Pharisees believed in the resurrection. That's taught in scripture. Remember Christ was raised according to the scriptures. They believed in the resurrection. So she believed in the resurrection. She believed that at the end of time, when time was no more, there would be a resurrection of all people. And that's going to happen.

It's called the general resurrection. I know that some dispensationists like to have two or three resurrections, but there's just one where everybody's raised at the end of the time, and these raised when? When Jesus Christ comes. And the reason why they're raised when he comes is given in this passage of scripture.

He's the resurrection and the life. Thy brethren shall rise again. So she's believing in the resurrection. She knows that in that day, her brother will be raised. Like everybody will be raised when all the graves will be opened. She said under her eye, she said, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. So she knows and she's thinking that's what he's talking about. And then he introduces himself in a whole new way.

Remember, he's the light of the world. He's the son of God. He's the shepherd of the sheep. He's the great I Am. He's all those things. He's the Son of Man. He's the miracle worker. He's God Almighty. He's the Word made flesh. And now He says, I'm the resurrection. I am the resurrection. He says, I am the resurrection and the life. What does that mean? The Bible puts that resurrection in many forms. When the Lord introduced the new birth, that's the resurrection. Being quickened from the dead, that's how it's described in Ephesians chapter 2. You have to be quickened from the dead and your trespasses and sins. His Word, He's the Word. or quick, the word.

This is a wondrous thing we talk about, what we deal with and what we believe and what we know and understand because of scriptures is that a wondrous thing takes place when the gospel is preached. When a person hears the gospel, hears it as God opens his heart and his mind to hear the gospel, something wondrous happens. He becomes alive. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We know that we're not redeemed by corruptible things, but incorruptible things by the precious blood of the Lamb. And the Word of God is what is used and employed to redeem His people or to awaken His people to that redemption. When you hear the Gospel, if God has given you a hearing ear and that seeing eye when you hear the Gospel and see Jesus Christ in Scripture, you're made alive. He said, well, maybe you made it alive before that, because you could see and hear.

Well, there's no use in trying to separate those things, like life comes before this. Life precedes all things, so the new birth is quickening. He said, that's me. Everything is drawn to this singular person. Everything about our salvation never gets outside the scope of this singular person, the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the resurrection and the life.

Yet, when we were dead in sins, it says in Ephesians 2, we were quickened together with Christ. That seems to say that when He rose from the dead, we rose with Him. We did it in purpose, I know for sure. And in time, we rose from the dead by His Word. By His Word. That's the wondrous thing. He said, that's me. That's me. Once again, all things. pertaining to salvation, pertaining to life, pertaining to godliness, rest in this singular person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's why Paul said in Ephesians, or 1 Corinthians chapter one and verse two, I determine, I determine to do this. He didn't say I am determined, though he was. He says this is what I've determined in my mind to do, to preach nothing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Why is that? Because that's where it all rests.

No man comes to the Father but by me. He's already said that in chapter 6. All that the Father given me shall come to me. When they're tall, when the Father teaches you, you come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is coming to Christ. It's all in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the resurrection. I am the resurrection. I was raised. How? In Christ. I was raised in Him from the dead. I was raised in Him. I am the resurrection and I am the life.

This is the fact. This is the fact. Nobody has eternal life saved by Jesus Christ. And the life they have is Jesus Christ. He's in my life. That's what it says in Colossians chapter 1, chapter 3, verse 1. Christ who is our life. And we shall appear with Him when He appears. He is our life. What about your salvation can you attribute to anything but Him?

Can you? Redemption? In Christ. Election? In Christ. Love? Where's the love of God? It's in Jesus Christ. Go to Romans chapter 8 verse 39. The love of God is in Jesus Christ. You don't have any love of God outside of Jesus Christ. You don't have any life outside of Jesus Christ. You're not raised from the dead outside of Jesus Christ, because he's the resurrection and the life. You don't have a life.

I know religion likes to say you have a life. And you can make that life better if you incorporate Jesus into it. That's what they say. Won't you invite Jesus into your what? Your life. You don't have a life. Without Him, there is no life. You're dead in trespasses and sins. You're twice dead and plucked up by the roots, as Scripture says. O'Garnett Bell says, you're graveyard dead. That's how dead you are. I am the resurrection and the life. And he says to her, the person that believes on me, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Yet shall he live. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

God brings all this stuff together. People like to separate it sometimes. I had an old friend who was a primitive Baptist man. He liked to talk about life prior to understanding. And he separated it by a possibility of years. That you could be alive, but not know it until many years later. That's not how the scripture says it.

Life, resurrection, quickening, redemption, all these things are realized in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and all of these things are simultaneous in the scripture. You know, God doesn't separate them because he's brought them all into the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith. Faith is a product of God giving you life. But God doesn't separate life and faith. God doesn't separate. Look back at John chapter 1 just for a second. John chapter 1 talking about those who receive Jesus Christ. What is it to receive Christ? It's for God to give Him to you by His Spirit.

To them gave He power or authority or right Verse 12, to become the sons of God. And the word even is added, we know, but it doesn't need to be. Because these two are not separated. To them he authority to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name. Now, which comes first? Receiving Christ comes first. We know that. That's a logical reason.

But God doesn't separate the two. When you receive Christ, you know what you receive? You receive faith with Christ. You receive life with Christ. You believe when you receive Christ, even to them that believe on His name. And you're born, not of blood, not of the will of man, not of the will of flesh, but of God. It's God who gives you that new birth.

Resurrection and life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. I was dead in trespasses and sins. Just like that little child in Ezekiel 16, the Lord came by her, she was dead. Been cast aside, of no use, she was dead. And he said, live. And she lived. And he ended up marrying her. He decked her out in beauty and he married her and became her husband. But first he said, live.

I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Though he were dead, yet shall he live. And he that liveth and believeth on me shall never die.

Shall never die. This is true of all creatures that God has created, all human beings that God has created. They don't ever die. But to believe on him is to have eternal life. And a person who doesn't know Christ will die and he'll live forever. But he'll live forever in eternal punishment. The soul doesn't die. It doesn't die. It's going to reside somewhere forever.

It's either going to be in glory, in the presence of Almighty God. But here's what it is for the child of God. When you, this physical body dies, And that's going to happen to us right soon. We all know that. Many of us have been together 48 years. Been together under the gospel for 48 years. We've heard some men standing in this pulpit preaching the best gospels ever been preached. Anywhere in the world.

We're going to die. We're going to die. you none if you believe on me. You're going to go to sleep. You're going to close your eyes and go to sleep. Now, it's normal for us to fear that, to fear death. But the believer's fear is removed because he's not worried about the judgment. See, that's what people fear in death. They fear the judgment. We fear the judgment. After death is the judgment. But the believers don't fear that. Why? Because the judgment has been set. We have peace in our mind because God has judged us in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

When we cross that threshold, whatever it is, nobody's ever come back and told what it was about. Paul went there when he was stoned at Lystra and died. went to the third heaven and heard things and saw things that was unlawful for him to tell anybody. Jesus Christ rose after being dead for three days. Lazarus rose after being dead, was risen after being dead for four days, but nothing's ever said about what they saw or what death was like.

People say, well, you know, I saw light at the end of the tunnel. Restarted about four or five times when he had his big heart and he said he didn't see no light at the end of the tunnel. But people talk about things like that, about wondrous things. But there ain't no light at the end of the tunnel.

But listen, for a child of God, you're going to sleep. You're going to sleep. A child of God has no more fear of that than he does to lay down at night and put his head on a pillow and go to sleep. You fear doing that tonight? I'm looking forward to that actually. I do every night.

You're not going to die. Not like other men die. You're going to die in Jesus Christ. One day, the Lord himself is going to come and get you. Now if he's tasted death before, what does that mean? Well, he had the power just to taste it and put it down the floor. Death don't have power over him, he has power over death. And what he says to you, don't taste that man. You shall never die. You shall never die.

Martha, you believe this. Believeth thou this. Do you believe that? In your heart, in your mind, do you believe that? If you're a child of God, you do. And you can't explain why you do acceptance. It's in this Word. You don't have any proof of it. There's no empirical evidence of it because nobody's ever told you what it's like.

Like the old preacher said, he was complaining to his wife. One night he was laying in the bed and the preacher says, you know, everybody, I'm married and then we got divorced. And everybody, everybody baptized and got left the church. She says, well, everybody he buried is still dead. He's gonna die one day. I'm going down one day.

Do you believe?" This is what he asked her, Matthew. He knew Martha was a believer. She'd already said, I believe that he'd be raised up in the last day. And I believe that if you want to do something, you can ask God and it'll get done. I believe in you. He said, you believe this? Because you see, this is the circumstance He's in a cave, and there's a rock been rolled over there, and he's been wrapped in gray clothes, bound up in gray clothes, wrapped around his face. Do you believe this? Lazarus believed on me. He's gonna live again. He'll be raised from the dead. Do you believe that? And here's what she said. And this kind of covers it all.

This is what Peter said in Luke chapter 16 when he said, whom do men say that I am? Some people say you're Elijah. Some people say you're Jeremiah. They say you're probably one of the prophets. A lot of people say that. He said, whom do you say that I am?

The Son of the Living God. You know what the Lord said to him? Peter, you didn't get that from books. Flesh and blood is not revealed to you, but the Father which is in heaven. It's the same thing she said right here. Look what she said. I believe that thou art the Christ, the anointed of God, the Son of God. I believe that God has busted open heaven and come down to this world. How did she know that? The same way Peter did. Flesh and blood did not reveal that to her.

But the Father was in heaven. Jesus Christ. He's my life. He's my death. He's my judgment. He's my refreshment. He's my life. He's my resurrection. He's all. He's it. This is salvage. What is? A son of God that should come into this world. Father, bless us. Son of Stan, pray for us.

I Believe

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about resurrection?

How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Sermon Transcript

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I Believe

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about resurrection?

How do we know Jesus is the Christ?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does it mean to believe in Jesus?

Sermon Transcript

About Tim James

Comments

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