All right, let's take our Bibles over to John chapter 11 and I just wanted to give a little bit of a background about this passage. The Gospel of John is very interesting because it's not a short gospel but the events that are recorded is pretty brief. Chapters 1 through 11 is essentially the ministry of Christ and in chapter 12 on to the end of the book is literally just the last few weeks leading up to Christ's crucifixion.

And so I'm asking you to turn to chapter 11 and that is going to be a like a tipping point. It's a pivotal transition in the Gospel of John. Chapter 11 contains the last and perhaps the greatest of the miracles that Jesus is going to perform and his works are going to testify of who he is and he's going to teach his disciples but namely Mary, Martha, and the family are going to be taught an invaluable lesson.

Now I'm just going to give you a preface a little bit. This sermon is way longer than I thought it would be. I originally slotted out six verses to study and preach but now I'm going to be doing 45 verses. Okay, I just wanted to give you a heads up.

Okay, let's pray about that. Let's pray for God to bless the time of our study in the Word. Let's take a moment to bow. Father God we want to thank you for your truth. I pray God that as as we approach your Word help us to approach it with gratitude that you are revealing truth to us.

Help us to have humble hearts, accepting hearts of what you have and also God would you continue just to cause our minds to be renewed and that deep inside if there is any anything that keeps us from you that those would be both exposed and dealt with by your grace.

God we also pray for your blessing upon the India team. We pray for every single member. God that their minds and hearts would be eager to serve the Lord, to serve the people, to love on strangers and those who are different and God just to have an eternal perspective that what they are doing though it be short, although it be just a few weeks, God they have eternal consequences.

Father we thank you it's in Christ's name. Amen. Okay, when I think about this chapter I think about movies because it's a pretty dramatic story and I felt the need to walk through the whole story with you. I don't watch a whole bunch of movies but I do like once in a while looking up these movie trailers because the movie trailers you kind of get a gist of what the whole entire movie is about anyway right?

But sometimes you know almost as a joke and whatnot there are these outlandish movie reviews where it's like this movie has everything. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It'll make you you know all this kind of stuff and it promises so much you know. Suspense so riveting and I'm trying to do my best voice with that guy but it kind of gives you this hype of like what the movie is all gonna be about and then you and you watch the movie and you're like oh my gosh this is so boring.

Well the thing about it is if I could give a review of this chapter just chapter 11 of John I would give you that kind of review. This chapter it's gonna make you laugh because there's some comedy. It's gonna make you cry because it's moving and there's death. The suspense is truly is captivating.

The drama oh there's a lot of drama okay. It has it all but most of all sometimes a good movie just hits you and where your emotions are as they say it these days like it hits you in the feels you know. It makes you just I don't know come out with feeling like the story really captivated everything about you and moves you along and this chapter does that for me and I wanted I wanted to preach on this.

Mainly though aside from the suspense and the laughter and all that stuff surprisingly this chapter that talks about the death of Lazarus was probably one of the most profound stories that taught me that God loves us and it struck me so deep I just as I was studying that small section I wanted to preach I read the chapter and I just had to stop and so I want to give you this introduction to say look for the Lord's love throughout this story.

Let's jump in starting from verse 1 and it says now a certain man was sick Lazarus of Bethany the village of Mary and her sister Martha it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick so the sisters sent word to him saying Lord behold he whom you love is sick but when Jesus heard this he said this sickness is not to end in death but for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Lazarus sorry and her sister and Lazarus so when he heard that he was sick he then stayed two days longer in the place where he was. If I were directing this movie this is the beginning crisis you know a lot of times the movie is open with just a man like running through the wilderness and you're like what's going on and it looks like he's almost running for his life and he's just panting and he finally gets to this city where Jesus and his disciples are I found you there's anxiety in his eyes you know and there's like his heart is pumping he can barely get it out and this brother you love Lazarus he's dying you know it's the suspense of the opening scene it's the crisis that lends for the development of the story and within it you see Jesus respond with this great grand a response of what God is going to do this scenario Lazarus is not gonna die but he's gonna live and God will be glorified you know it's kind of like the you know when you see these movies of grand epic venture something huge is gonna happen the Lord is gonna be glorified by this and there's a question how right what's he gonna do what's Jesus gonna do in this story and then Jesus goes I'm gonna sit down it's just confusing like the disconnect and what's going on and I could just probably imagine the face of the man who was the messenger who just ran and I believe he probably journeyed a day or two because if you look at the storyline of it the man is sent while Lazarus is sick and then he comes and tells Jesus Jesus waits two days and then when Jesus finally arrives on the scene it says that Lazarus has been in the grave four days that means tribal time is very long so he's out of breath he's like you gotta come Mary I'm Arthur calling and laughs is gonna die he's mortally wounded or something he's sick you know and then Jesus like yes I love him and God's gonna be glorified let's wait what and I'm thinking it'd be a very awkward moment for the messenger I say do I stay with you what do I do do I go back you know and then he's just sitting there like what do I do what do I do and so there's a moment of confusion there's a moment of disconnect and if in that there's a lot of things going on but what you see is this what you see is first the introduction in the crisis of the huge elements that are going to be in the story number one Jesus loves Lazarus Lazarus the love of God is there the love of Christ is there but in this entire story what's gonna come about as a result is Christ and God will be glorified in one right but then you see confusingly the suffering of the people okay there's three things love the glory the suffering and it teaches us from the very beginning although it's just the crisis setup it teaches us a lot now what is most glorifying to God often comes painfully to us Mary and Martha are going to be in grief they're gonna be in disappointment and we're gonna see their character develop later right the disciples they're gonna be put out in a situation where they're gonna whether go or not or what are they gonna do and the typically what we think is in our best interest typically what we think should happen sometimes and actually many times is not what is most glorifying to God and Christ says at the very beginning of this crisis although the people are thinking easy solution you come do your thing do the miracle and Christ says I'm gonna wait but you know what's very interesting about all this it's gonna all come together because what you see is in the verse it says that now Jesus loved Martha and his sister and Lazarus so therefore from the love therefore he waited all that's gonna start working together so let's see the development of the story and I'm gonna call the next section the suspense builds the suspense builds I know for those you guys taking notes doing a huge section is gonna be hard to follow along but I'm gonna try to break it up into pieces and move along a plot line okay so the suspense is building suspense is building let's continue in the story in verse 7 then after he after this after he waited right after this question of like what are you doing what's gonna happen what's what's gonna be glorious right he says now said to the disciples let us go to Judea again but the disciples they said to him rabbi the Jews were just about now to seeking to stone you and are you going there again in chapter 10 what happened was the Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy and they picked up stones literally to put him to death then and there but Jesus you know it exited and then he came out of Jerusalem right and so then the disciples mind they're just thinking like are you crazy we're not going back there and not only that they know what Jesus can do they know what Jesus is capable of capable of they've seen Jesus say a word to the centurion and it's the centurion servant be healed right just say the word Jesus let's do distance healing you don't even need to go in the city just do the sniper thing from afar you don't have to go in there and you can just imagine the the disciples thinking about this I'm pretty sure one of the disciples they just waited two days that means they went to bed they ate he's just doing his thing and Jesus is like hey let's go I could just imagine the story of the some of these disciples thinking like that couldn't we just do this from before and then Jesus answers in verse 9 are there not 12 hours in the day if anyone walks in the day he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world but if anyone walks in the night he stumbles because the light is not in him what Jesus is saying is very simple are there not 12 hours in the day and you're like no there's 24 but you know what it's talking about he's talking about a day in which you work the full day in which you're actually awake right and so as he's thinking about that there isn't a lot of time to which we're supposed to work yes and they say yeah so we're not going to be excused or killed or we're not gonna leave this scene until it's God's timing we're not gonna die early God's timing is set God's plan is sovereign and so Jesus Christ began responding to the crisis as God is going to be glorified he's reminding his own disciples God is going to be glorified by our work and while it is day we're gonna work and nothing is outside of God's timing so he's giving the disciples confidence and saying guys let's go stop your whining that's what he's doing and so after he says that take a look at verse 11 this he said and after he's after that he said to them our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I go so that I may awaken him out of sleep and in disciples that said to him Lord if he has fallen asleep he will recover now Jesus has spoken of his death but they thought that he was speaking of literal sleep so Jesus then said to them plainly Lazarus is dead okay and I just want to take a moment there and sometimes Bible is a little funny I think this is one of these funny moments I don't know if Jesus is one of these like you know slap in the back of the head it's like guys we have to go it's in God's timing God's gonna be glorified through this he's gonna do a wonderful work yet to see what's more our friend Lazarus he's asleep you know and he's using a euphemistic words to say he's dead but they're like oh come on Jesus he's being lazy you know he could wake up on his own just let the guy alone he's gonna wake up and Jesus like oh my god okay guys listen to me all right he's dead sometimes we're slow okay the fact of the matter is sometimes we're simple-minded and we don't get the sarcasm I can relate to that I'm really slow I don't get jokes very well sometimes you have to say the things to me very literally otherwise I'm like oh and I'm not as Korean as I think cuz I don't I don't like do the sarcastic thing sometimes I try and then I end up really hurting people it's not a good thing so I just given up on for me cuz I'm just simple-minded like that the disciples here straight up simple-minded as can be I can't believe they straight up said like he's gonna wake up though so it's alright yeah and Jesus is probably just shaking his head I bet you maybe he didn't slap his head Jesus is more sanctified than I am I would have slapped their heads she was probably just in one of these like let's just go okay I'm gonna respond to you um but what's interesting is in verse 15 Jesus says and I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there saying what I'm glad for your sake I wasn't there see this kind of talk to us humanistically sounds not only off and disconnected it sounds wrong because you understand the scenario right God has chosen to wait deliberately allowing more time for Martha and Mary to suffer they're in pain they're grieving the people are grieving they're weeping and wailing for whose sake your sake for whose benefit who gets to choose that guys God is sovereign God is mighty and he's gonna be glorified and somehow even though it doesn't make sense God's love and everything is going to cohesively harmonize but he says this and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there so that you may believe so let us go let us go to him so you see what's happening the suspense is building because in the crisis Christ did not respond to the crisis as expected but he said God will be glorified and I want you to see it and now he's saying to the disciples the same thing I want to show you this glory but what is it what are you going to do and then verse 16 it gets even funnier therefore Thomas who is called Didymus aka Diddy said to him let us all go and we're just gonna die with him and this is who I call the drama boy right he's like all the other disciples like I don't want to go we're gonna get stoned and the other guys like come on that guy's being lazy he can get up on his own and the other guys like come on we were gonna stay here and then Thomas is like fine we're gonna go let's all die you know it's like whoa buddy you're like too Korean you know it's just like too much drama in you I just thought I was hilarious that's got nothing to do with the story all right and then what happens is in the moment then you see the band Jesus's disciples and the band now moving over to Bethany close to Jerusalem to go now to visit the family and through that visit what you're gonna see is a character development of the story okay the character development of the story I want us to emphasize on the characters that come out now first 17 so when Jesus came he found that he had already been in the tomb four days now Bethany was near Jerusalem about two miles off and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother Martha therefore when she heard that Jesus was coming went to meet him but Mary stayed at the house I'm gonna pause right there as we read this story because we may get introduced to the characters of Martha and Mary and it's kind of giving them a little background of where they're at there in Bethany close to Jerusalem Martha and Mary many times experienced Jesus's ministry because they were close and remember that Jesus would actually come to their house and Jesus would teach and remember Martha was the one enslaving away in the kitchen and she got all grumpy and she was like how come my sister is not you know helping me Jesus tell her rebuke her you know but Mary being the one more like in the moment she was like I'm gonna sit here and listen to my master you know and she was at Jesus's feet and Jesus said look she chose the better thing you know and I think you know the story is beautiful and stuff but what's interesting is in this story you kind of get it should be reintroduced to them and their roles are reversed now I think purposefully it's reversed because before Martha was like I'm just working by myself slaving away in the kitchen but I think now it's Mary at the home I'm pretty sure they all heard Jesus is coming Mary decides to stay kind of revealing that maybe Mary was why didn't Jesus come before right Martha having a little bit more hope goes out to meet Jesus and then she asked him this question verse 21 Martha then said to Jesus Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died even now I know that whether you ask well whether whatever you ask of God God will give you G God will give to you and Jesus said to her your brother will rise and then Martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day now you look at Martha's statement and the introduction of her character and what's happening in this statement is this a lot of people think that Martha came and she exercised great faith because she said even now if you ask God God will answer your prayer I do agree that Martha is exercising faith but she is battling doubt she is seriously battling doubt and exposed when she says this statement if you had it been here my brother would not have died do you see that a little bit and what you see is essentially when she says something like that it's kind of like Jesus why didn't you come earlier you could have but you didn't where were you and in that there is a subtle questioning do you care you could have prevented this right and if you've ever been in a fight and you've been in ever been in an argument you might have said some states and it's like well you could have you could have said something you could have been nicer you could have done this you could have done that you could have done this and what you're expressing is I'm disappointed in you because you didn't do what you were supposed to do right Martha I think is disappointed in Christ that's real she just lost her brother she like anybody that are human is in the face of death and death is final it seems way too late it seems it's all done what's the point what's to use but she's fighting that you see that she's fighting that and she's saying even now Jesus if you were to ask God God would answer you wouldn't he so she's in a moment where she's battling this unbelief and Christ and his love for her explains the truth he says Martha I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me will live even if he dies and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die do you believe this you see what Jesus is doing when Jesus said your brother will rise Martha did not have faith because she immediately thought oh great here's a theologian going on about eschatology talking about the end day sure fine I agree in the end we're all gonna rise but you see what Jesus is doing Martha you are looking for a forward future day I am that day Jesus is revealing his love for her by explaining Martha I am here you are looking for something right now you're interpreting this entire life situation as I am just giving you words I'm just giving you theology and for you you still don't have your brother and so you're still questioning what I can do but Martha I am the resurrection I am the life I am the solution to this problem I am the hope for you and for him that is why Christ says when he state makes the statement that first I am the resurrection and the life he who believes in me will live even if he dies that's for Lazarus keep saying Lazarus Lazarus that's for Lazarus but then the next statement and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die that's for her Jesus is explaining his glory first primarily in the truth that he is the resurrection life hope joy everything is in him and he's here now before her she needs to see that brothers and sisters to me this points something for us sometimes we want joy sometimes we want hope we want peace we want love we want to solve our problem of isolation being alone being hurt not having enough feeling disappointed but the fact of the matter is still in a Martha's eyes that life is something that Christ can give it's not in him we need to join this together to believe that no joy no peace no hope no love is really true and real outside of the presence of Christ outside of the fellowship of Christ there's none of that in existence but we're fooled to think that there is and so Martha is saying where is it I thought you could do stuff I thought you could give life and healing I thought you can heal my brother but Christ and his love for her is still saying to her I'm here I'm here and so this is relevant for us as Christ asked her this question do you believe this same question is here for you and me do you believe that Christ is the resurrection in a life do you believe that all the benefits all the joys and all the things that come from knowing Christ is truly simply in him and so here we have Christ answering the crisis in a preliminary truth kind of fashion and this is his love for Martha now the plot begins to thicken and the plot begins to rise to its peak so in any plot you have a climactic point and here we go verse 27 so Martha after talking to Jesus she says yes Lord I have believed that you are the Christ the Son of God even he who comes into the world when she said had said this she went away and called Mary her sister saying secretly the teacher is here and he's calling for you and when she heard it she got up quickly and was coming to him now Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha met him then the Jews who were with her in the house and consoling her when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out they follow her supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there now before we read the next verse I just want to make mention again to get the picture of the story in our head I am only reading into the storyline as I try to picture it in my mind I could be wrong but I think Mary's a little you know she doesn't say anything and Martha secretly goes over to Mary to talk to her why because sometimes if somebody is you know when you're super sad have you ever been so super sad all of a sudden it turned into angry sad like you're mad sad or you're like kind of bitter sad right we're all of a sudden that in that sadness and the anger and it's just a complex emotion but there was just like you know and then when you're like that the people around you're very like you know and I just imagine Martha like like secretly and then it just kind of records on Martha doesn't even say anything I'm sorry Mary doesn't even say anything just quickly she gets up and then everybody has to suppose I guess she's going to the tomb because she's just going she can and then someone's like where are you okay it's like going you know that's how I picture it I could be wrong I could be wrong but I picture Mary just bottled up emotion now having spent four days with her brother in the tomb I'm not sure if you guys have ever hurt real bad and you bottled up your emotions I do that sometimes I'm not sure if you guys have ever clammed up you know you become a clam when you're angry and you start giving people a cold shoulder and you just don't say anything you just hold it inside and people have to give you your distance and then now she's about to explode okay verse 32 therefore when Mary came where Jesus was she saw him and she collapses she fell at his feet saying to him Lord if you'd been here my brother would not have died and when Jesus therefore saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her was also weeping he was deeply moved in his spirit and he was troubled and he said where have you laid him and they said to him Lord come and see and Jesus wept so the Jews were saying see how he loved him I asked you at the beginning of the sermon to jot down and notice every time you see the love of Christ and here and now we recognize the sympathetic love of Christ was to the degree where is where Christ's emotions come out and the people who are gravitas looking at him and saying oh my goodness look at how much Jesus loved Lazarus see his love you can see it in the tears in his eyes you can see it in the emotion that comes out you can see it as he's trembling almost he's moved in the spirit and he's troubled to tell you honestly I don't know if I could have responded this way if a lady came up to me and started blaming me where were you you could have been here I was hurting you could have saved him I think I would have gotten a little bit mad but Christ in his deep love sympathy he hurts with them and he begins to weep and the people can see it we have the sympathetic Lord and Savior who loves us to such a degree we have in the Bible it says to us that we do not have a high priest who does not know but rather one who understands if you turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 2 verses 10 through 18 it's a long segment of the Bible but it speaks so much of Christ's sympathy towards us it speaks so much of Christ's desire to meet us where we are Jesus sees our pain Jesus sees our slavery sin Jesus sees where we're headed in our great demise and in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10 this is what it says please follow along it's a bit long for it was fitting for him for whom are all things and through whom are all things and bringing many sons to glory to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering for both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one father for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren saying I will proclaim your name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise and again I will put my trust in him and again behold I and the children whom God has given me therefore look at this since the children share in flesh and blood since we are weak he himself likewise also partook of the same that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death that is the devil and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all of their lives for as surely he does not give help to angels but he gives help to the descendants of Abraham therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest and the things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people for since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered he is able to aid those who are tempted he is able to come to the aid of those who are mourning if you are hurting today I want you to understand he is so able to understand you and know you if you might harden your heart and think nobody understands nobody knows what I'm going through that's a lie that's a lie Christ understands as a matter of fact the truth of the matter is Christ knows infinitely more what it means to suffer than you do and the love of Christ is seen in his sympathy for the people although Martha might come to and said Jesus you could have done something where were you do you really love us do you really care Christ in his simple expression of emotion proves of course he loves them he hurts for them he's come to aid them he's there now this is the love of our Lord but in this moment in which Jesus has a has an expression of great emotion and empathy there are some Jews who are saying I don't know because if you look at the story there are these doubters verse 37 going back to John chapter 11 verse 37 but some of them said could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man also from dying I see that as an attack on Christ why because maybe Christ feels bad maybe Christ does love but what good is your tears when my brother is in the grave that's what I hear I don't know if I'm reading way too into it but if you look Christ is constantly trying to fight doubt and so Christ says so then again being deeply moved within he comes to the tomb now it was a cave and a stone was lying against it Jesus said remove the stone Martha the sister of the deceased said to him Lord by this time there will be a stench for he has been dead for four days and Jesus said to her didn't I say to you that if you believe you will see the glory of God now the moment is intense the plot is coming to a pinnacle moment and maybe this is the comic relief Jesus says Martha remove the stone and Martha goes Jesus it's gonna smell bad she's she's like um it's been a while and we're just gonna get a big whiff of nasty like it's just gonna be really bad that's what she says but in that you know what I hear doubt doubt doubt all we're gonna get is a stench what's the use why move the stone we're not gonna get anything but a big whiff of death do you see the doubts and that's why Jesus responds with didn't I say to you I was gonna show you my glory Jesus wanted the messengers to see the glory Jesus wanted the disciples to see the glory Jesus wanted Martha and Mary to see the glory and now he's gonna want everybody all of us to see the glory you see what's really interesting about this is that I think although Christ was moved Christ was moved with sympathy for Lazarus and that's why he cried because of this because of all the doubters because of all these questioning because of all the accusation Jesus where were you did you really love us did you really care I wonder actually if Jesus cried and not simply because Lazarus was dead but Jesus cried because of the accusations questioning his love and Christ's love was welling up inside you see when the pastor says that Jesus was moved and stirred it talks then the Greek it really means like a storm that's stirring and moving and other passages of the Bible later on actually in chapter 12 Jesus used the same thing about him going to the cross in other passages when his people are stirred it's talking about stirred in anger it's used negatively it's not stirred with like soft love and sympathy and pity rather stir as in like you're trembling how can you question the love of Christ but that was actually the emphatic point of this story God is working to reveal his glory the people are doubting whether Jesus actually cares this story is crazy crazy and then what happens is this the grand finale and the miracle the resolution to the problem chapter verse 40 chapter 11 verse 40 Jesus said to her did I not say to you if you believe you will see the glory of God so they removed the stone then Jesus raised his eyes and said father I thank you that you have heard me now check this out this is super interesting I knew that you always hear me but because of the people standing around I said it so that they may believe that you sent me when he said these things he cried out in a loud voice Lazarus come forth and the man who had died came forth bound hand and foot and wrappings and his face was wrapped around with cloth and Jesus said to them unbind him and let him go you want us to touch him that's right he's alive he's not deceased anymore and verse 45 therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done believed in them guys earlier we saw the love of Christ perhaps yes and his sympathy is Christ sympathetic to our pain absolutely because other passages like the book of Hebrews Colossians Ephesians everything teaches that Christ had a compassion for us and he hurt and pain over us but the greatest telling points of Christ's love for us and this story is not simply his tears but it is his resurrection mark this the people saw Christ's tears come out and the Jews said see how he loved him God in the story has been working and creating a drama so that when Christ would say Lazarus come out God would say see how he loved us Lazarus came out of the grave look how much he loved us because what is the resurrection for us it is Christ saying to us I love you and I will not leave you and abandon you in the grave I will exercise my power for you I will exercise my authority for you I will combine my great love and my great intention for you and I'll combine the strength that God has given me the authority that God has given me and I will exercise that to raise you from the dead that's resurrection for us the combining in harmony of his love and his power and his glory joined together to give you life that's the resurrection and in this great drama God has been building up and building up to show us I love you but here's the kicker but here's the you know what's more you know what's more amazing than that is God wants to make sure you know he loves you did you notice that did you notice from the very beginning yes it's true Jesus could have just said the word he could have snapped a finger blinked an eye maybe not even move just said in his mind live and then it would have been all done but God said this is going to be for my glory Jesus said I want you to believe Jesus showed Martha and Mary Jesus explained it Jesus said the truth Jesus described that he is a resurrection and now when the people are gathered Jesus knows God you always answer my prayer but for your sake I'm gonna say it out loud I don't know if you've ever truly felt the love of God but to me I feel the love of God when God says to me like he's just coming to us through this passage saying I just really want you to know do you know what I'm saying with that he's going out of his way to create a drama for his glory to be shown but he could have left it at his glory to be shown in the judgment of man and said see what happens when you doubt an almighty God he could have done that right look at Lazarus see what happens when you're a sinner God would have been glorified to rebuke Martha Mary and all the people of their doubt and judged them all then and there but to remain quiet to allow his emotions to come out and at the very end of it say I'm saying all this so you all know I want you to know I love you so if you turn in your Bibles to Ephesians I read this at the beginning Ephesians chapter 3 verse 14 it says starting from verse 14 for this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth the rise of name we owe it all to him that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the breadth length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God perhaps you might have been deceived to think that you need the love of Christ to live your life absolutely wrong you need to have strength so that you could understand the love of Christ let's not look to God and be disappointed because he didn't answer our prayers the way we wanted let's remember that Christ love for us is not primarily with health wealth and sparing you from death and pain let's never interpret the things in our lives it's just something goes bad our friends don't like us we don't we feel isolated and we're alone that all of a sudden God is against us we can be in the pits even worse than Mary Martha and the brothers but we may we know that Christ loves you because we have the resurrection the whole chapter the whole book the whole gospel is built around the revelation of the glory of Christ and this is the emphasis that we see that Jesus loved Jesus loved again not by sparing us from pain but showing us his glory I pray that when we think about the resurrection it's not simply a apologetical proof it's not simply a indication that God is real although it is that and so much more but the promise of the resurrection for you and me is God telling his story I love you let's pray