Sunday, March 19, 2023
Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, TX
The most important thing in life is knowing JESUS CHRIST and experiencing the power of His RESURRECTION.
Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.
The bible is full stories within the stories, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes called nested stories. And the Bible is Nested with endless layers of revelation and discovery of Jesus.
John 11:1-5
The Account of Lazarus
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
The story within the story Point No. 1
FRIENDSHIP AND COVENANT RELATIONSHIPS:
Jesus had and still has friends He is closer to than others.
On a human level Jesus had friends. Some closer than others. He insisted on it.
FELLOWSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP HAVE TO DO WITH COMPATIBILITY
a state in which two things are able to exist or occur together without problems or conflict.
God sees you. Gods visits you. God habitats or lives with you
Proverbs 18:1
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.
He restores friendship with himself, as He did with Enoch and Noah, who “walked with God”—a Hebrew expression of friendship (Gen. 5:24; Gen. 6:9). Abraham was called “a friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8). Moses spoke with God “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (Ex. 33:11).
If God and the Lord Jesus Christ have to friends, I promise you those of us in the body of Christ have to have friends.
Proverbs Is a Practical Guide to Forging True Friendship.
Proverbs gives us wisdom for navigating the complexities of our relationships. And it doesn’t just address relationships in general, but also friendship in particular. For example, it teaches us what to look for in finding true friends (Prov. 13:20; Prov 22:24-25).
LOYALTY of friendship It shows us why loyalty is so important for cultivating friendship (18:24; 19:6; 27:9–10). It also shows us the one thing that is most damaging to this kind of relationship: spreading secrets (16:28; 17:9).
4. True Friendship Is More Like a Covenant Than a Contract
We often treat relationships as consumers: we befriend for the benefits we receive. But like a contract, when the relationship doesn’t give us the goods we want, we leave.
But the Bible shows us that real friendship is more covenantal than contractual. Proverbs teaches us about “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). It commands us, “Do not forsake your friend” (27:10).
A family is strong when there are friendships within the family
A Church is strong when there are friendships within the church
The apostle John refers to fellow believers in churches as his “friends” (3 John 15).
Every local church can be a surprising and welcoming counter-cultural glimpse of true friendship.
1 Samuel 20:23
“…indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.”
Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
ARE YOU THE FRIEND OF JESUS?
John 15:1
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Amplified Bible
You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you.
The last recorded words of Mama Mary in the Bible are
John 2:5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Serving God leads you into friendship.
Friendship with God leads you into sonship.
Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Going back to the Lazarus account:
John 11:3-4
Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
THE GLORY OF GOD
What is God’s Glory?
We want to make God’s glory visible
Is when God’s spiritual holiness moves into a natural and tangible way
His manifest presence
His manifest goodness
His manifest power
His visible awesomeness
“I will cause my goodness to pass before you”
Quality or substance or the weight of God’s character and goodness.
The infinite value of God. His incredible worth
When that goes public He is glorified
When his awesomeness and holiness and goodness is manifest in a way that He can be felt or you can smell how Good he is or when who God is in heaven is seen o earth or when who God is I the unseen realm is seen publicly GOD IS GLORIFIED
1 Kings 10:4-5
And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.
Mathew 5:16
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
If we live the principles of the gospel, we are the fulfillment of the Savior’s pronouncement: “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14).
John 11:38-44
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
8 different biblical appearances of Jesus after His resurrection.
8 different stories of resurrection in the Bible.
8 new things that God gives us/
New song
New name
New heart
New Spirit
New tongue
New commandment
A new heaven and a new earth
Resurrection Power
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