John 11:1- 45

1. Jesus loved the family of Lazarus. But ,he too, became sick and died. Through his death, God’s name was glorified. Yes, there are sickness and sufferings for the children of God too.
2. We can learn many things from the resurrection of Lazarus. When he became sick , his sisters Martha and Mary sent the message to Jesus about the sickness of Lazarus. Yes, let us learn to tell all our problems and sicknesses to Jesus, before we tell to people or to visit doctors.
3. Martha and Mary had great faith on Jesus. So they both confessed their faith, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Yes, let us also confess our faith inspite of our sicknesses and sufferings.
4. When Jesus heard about the sickness of Lazarus, he never came to them immediately. Instead, He stayed there 2 more days.Now when Jesus came to their place, Lazarus was in the tomb for 4 days and there would be stench( bad smell). Yes, today, do we face difficult problems like this which are giving stench? Let us not weary in our heart. Jesus is going to do the greater miracle.
5. When Jesus saw Martha and Mary weeping, He groaned in His spirit and was troubled. Yes, Jesus wept. Our Lord is so compassionate and merciful. Remember that the Holy Spirit is makig intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
6. When Jesus came to the tomb, He prayed to the Father with faith, saying Father, l thank You, that You have heard Me. Yes, the prayer of faith will save the sick.
7. He told them to take away the stone which was laid against the tomb. Yes, today there may be stones which may be blocking our blessings and these stones should be removed only by us through our obedience.
8. Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth”. Yes, His voice or the word of God should be heard in our life too, for the deliverance.
9. Lazarus came out with bound hands and foot with grave clothes. Jesus told them, “loose him, let him go”. Yes, we too should be loosened from our bondages, so that we can work and walk for the Lord.
10. Because Lazarus was raised from the dead, many Jews believed Jesus and God’s name was glorified. Yes, in our life too, when God will do the miracle, the name of our Lord will be glorified.

Lazarus became a living witness. May our Lord bless us to be His living witness and glorify His name. But today there are many Lazaruses, who are dead with stench because of sin. Let us pray for them to be raised and to be saved . Amen. Hallelujah.

Dr. Padmini Selvyn.