DCLM HIGHER EVERYDAY 25 June 2022 — Lazarus resurrects
DCLM Higher Everyday 25 June 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Lazarus resurrects
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TOPIC: LAZARUS RESURRECTS
TEXT: JOHN 11:38-46
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
MEMORY VERSE: “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (JOHN 11:44).
MESSAGE:
Thomas S. Monson equates Lazarus’ resurrection to Christ’s way of transforming dead believers’ lives today, when he says, “The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men’s lives. As He said to the dead Lazarus, so He says to you and me: ‘Come forth.'”
Christians are required to come forth from the despair of doubt, the sorrow of sin, and the depth of disbelief to a newness of life. Lazarus’ emergence from his tomb three days after his burial made a deep impression on early Christians, and should do same on us today.
The story sheds light on the rest of the Gospel of John in that it foreshadows Jesus’ own death and resurrection. Other ‘miracles’ recorded in the other gospels are simply referred to as ‘signs’ in John’s Gospel.
There are seven signs, and Lazarus’ story shows the final one – the resurrection and the life. As believers, Lazarus’ story helps build in us a bridge of faith across which we can walk to better understand and believe in the Master’s own death and resurrection.
QUOTE: Come forth from the despair of doubt.
CHALLENGE: What does Lazarus’ resurrection mean to you?
PRAYER: Oh God, help me to better understand Christ’s resurrection.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
