Supernatural Jesus & Me 08: Moving into the Glory of the Supernatural Jesus

Turn to John 11
John 11 contains the story of Jesus’ ultimate miracle: That of raising the dead!

If anyone had any doubts about the genuine identity of Jesus of Nazareth, this should have settled it. He spoke life to a dead man, and life was the result. Let that sink in.

You’ve been to the graveside. Milling about with family, friends and strangers as the minister says a few words and that’s that. It’s time for cold cuts and potato salad.

As we read in verse 39, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. It wasn’t like he swooned, or was in a coma, he was dead. So dead, that when Jesus tells them to open up the tomb, Lazarus’ sister Martha warns against such a move:

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” V. 39

But that doesn’t stop Jesus – He orders the stone removed from the door of the tomb and in verse 40…
“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”” John 11:40-44

Where there was death, there is now life. IN CHRIST THE IMPOSSIBLE IS MADE POSSIBLE.

Which is why we read in verse 45:
“Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” John 11:45

Wouldn’t you? You’ve stood there in wonder and seen with your own eyes the power of God to resurrect. How could you not place your faith in Him?

Do you know why Jesus resurrected His friend? Look at verse 40 again…
“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40

Read it again – slowly - “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?””
John 11:40

In this one sentence, Jesus lays out the very key to your life:
FAITH BRINGS ME INTO THE GLORY OF GOD!

I can only experience the realities of the Kingdom of God as I live in faith. Jesus says that as I choose to believe, I will see His glory! Jesus says that as I choose to believe, I will see life from a whole new perspective. Jesus says that as I choose to believe, I will life in an entirely different realm – the realm of glory!

• How does one enter into salvation? By faith.
• How does one move in the power of the Holy Spirit? By faith.
• How does one hear the voice of God? By faith.

Faith is the critical element for a Christian. Hebrews 11:1 says…
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

What do you hope for?
• You hope that you can be authentically connected to your Creator.
• You hope that when you die, you’ll live forever with Christ!
• You hope that even now, in this temporary physical life, you can have a touch of the eternal!

How does that hope turn to certainty?
By faith. As I live in faith, I am able to experience the reality of relationship with my Creator. And the more of Him I experience, the more confident that my faith becomes!

The Apostle Paul wrote…
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

In this world, God is not seen as clearly as He will be. We are still in bodies corrupted by sin – we still have to deal with our physical limitations – we are still in a battle against the enemy - but there will be a day when battle is over and we will see Him face-to-face!

What a promise. And the key to the promise is faith. But Jesus makes it easier to believe when He pulls over miracles like this one. Where there was death – there is now life!

Christ tells us in verse 40 that faith opens the door to the glory of God!
“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40

What is the glory of God?
The Bible uses two words that we translate as ‘glory’ – in the OT, it is the word KAWBODE and in the NT it is the word DOXA. Let me combine the two words to give us an idea of what the Bible means by the glory of God.

Glory is honor, abundance, majesty, beauty, brightness, and an exalted state of being, excellence, significance and weight.

To move into the glory of God is to move into an awareness of Who He Really Is. It is to see Him in majesty and excellence. To move into the glory of God is to experience His significance – His weight.

Far too many of us have a two-dimensional Jesus. We have bad paintings of Him that we bought at the Christian bookstore. Even the best paintings – you know – the Leonardo DaVinci type of paintings – are at best only a hint of who He really is.

To move into the glory of God is to move into a present awareness of the three-dimensional Christ! It is to feel Him, to touch Him, to be touched by Him, to hear His voice of challenge in our spirits. Christ still moves. He breathes, He lives. To move into the glory of God is to be somehow lifted up out of our circumstance and into His presence, all the while remaining in the moment and interacting with those around us in the ‘stuff of life’ – but realizing that the ‘stuff’ isn’t all that there is, and that He is wanting us to experience Him in the midst of the ‘stuff’.

When Christ called Lazarus out of the tomb – He was calling all those present to experience His glory. Do you think that you could have been unchanged by what happened in that cemetery that day?

When you choose to live by faith, growing in expectations that what Christ has promised will become your reality – you are moving into glory. On the other hand, when I choose to live by fear, cynical and doubt-filled, I am moving into despair.

When I choose to live by faith, growing in my experience with the Living Christ, I am becoming more alive than ever before! Surely in our lives there are places in need of resurrection. Surely in our lives there are dead zones. And the only hope is that we’d allow Christ to call us out of death and into the glory of His life!

Someone has said: “The glory of God is man fully alive.”

God showed His glory when Lazarus walked out of the tomb. And God shows His glory when you overcome fear, doubt, addictions, insecurities, anger, rage, bitterness and other lesser gods – by faith in Him.

When you become fully alive – you demonstrate the glory of God!

Glory can mean two things – either it means “FAME” or it means ‘LUMINOSITY’. The glory of God is all about luminosity. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14

Of course that makes sense – when you’ve been touched with the resurrection power of Christ, your life takes on a luminosity that positively glows!

Moses met with God on the mountain, and the glory of God was so strong that Moses had to cover his face – He was literally glowing in the dark!

When I move into the glory of God by faith, the quality of my life is changed:
• Where others have anxiety, my faith moves me into peace.
• Where others strive and sweat, my faith gives me rest.
• Where others hold on to control and power, my faith allows me to stay surrendered.
• Where others are confused and aimless, my faith steers my life into safe harbor!

Christ said – Here’s the offer: “You can have death, or you can have life! Choose life!”

No one would consciously choose death – but every time we life ‘as if’ we were alone, ‘as if’ we were in charge, ‘as if’ Christ were not present – we choose death.

And every time that we live in faith, we choose life.

Turn to 2 Samuel 6
• King David is on a mission to return the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
• The Ark of the Covenant represents the Presence and the Glory of God
• But it has been misplaced for some sixty years.
• While they were bringing it back to Jerusalem something really bad happened.

Verse 6
“When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.” 2 Samuel 6:6, 7

You weren’t supposed to touch the ark. The penalty for doing so was death, and Uzzah died that day.

Look at verse 8:
“Then David was angry because the LORD’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.” 2 Samuel 6:8-10

David ‘wasn’t willing’ to go any further, so he asks his friend Obed-Edom to take care of the Ark of the Covenant until they figured out what to do.

Now, look at verse 11:
“The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.” 2 Samuel 6:11

I want you to see something. For 90 days, Obed-Edom has the Ark of the Covenant in his living room. For 90 days, Oded-Edom has the Glory of God in his home. For 90 days. Three months.

Can you imagine what would happen in your life if for the next three months you openly pursued the glory of God? Can you imagine the changes? Can you imagine the insights? Can you imagine the power?

Look what happens to Obed-Edom: “and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.”

I can only imagine what this blessing looked like. But, imagine with me:
• His marriage took on a beauty and intimacy like never before.
• His children saw the change and were changed themselves.
• His crops grew without weeds, without bugs and were larger and sweeter than ever!
• Whatever Obed-Edom touched turned into blessing!

I want some of the blessing of Obed-Edom.

And the blessing comes not by my efforts – but by moving into the glory of God through faith.

Lazarus lived again, but eventually died again. But, don’t you agree that this second lease on life had a dimension of glory to it that the first did not? Don’t you think that like the man healed of blindness, Lazarus spent the rest of His life giving glory to Christ!? Don’t you think that Lazarus lived very differently this time?

What about you? Have you been touched by the glory of God?

God has spoken to me and told me that through the cancer in my body – He would be glorified. I’m counting on it. And I’m beginning to figure out that glory spreads to those around Him. So, if I stay in close with Him by faith, I believe that His glory will touch my life as well.

It’s time to move out of our ordinary life and into His life-giving glory!

How? Through faith.
Hebrews 11:6 says…
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

I want the reward.
I want to be fully alive.
I want the glory of God to be revealed in me.

And the good news is that this desire within me aligns with God’s will. My hunger for life and for glory lines up perfectly with His plans.

CONCLUSION:
What Christ did for Lazarus – He’ll do for you!
He is the Supernatural Jesus calling you to His places of glory!
Christ is calling to you in your tombs – “Lazarus come forth!
Christ is calling to you in your places of deadness – “Come forth!”

Can you imagine Lazarus standing inside the tomb stubbornly holding on to the stone?

It’s time to let go of that that masquerades as life but in actuality is death. It’s time to fall to your knees and to pursue the life that Christ offers!

Let’s move into the Glory of the Supernatural Jesus!