A House of Presence

All right. Well, we’re going to get into the Word. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Psalm chapter 27 this morning. Psalm 27, and we’re going to start at verse 4. Let’s go ahead and read this out loud together, and let’s just fill this atmosphere with the Word of God this morning. Ready? Go.

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”

Let’s pray. Lord, we thank You for Your Word. Lord, we just open our hearts to receive Your Word to us. We thank You, Lord, that Your Word is living and active, that Your Word is truth. It is eternal. It is unchanging. And so, Lord, we open our hearts to receive all that You have for us. Speak to us today by Your Spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Why “Dwelling House”

For those of you that don’t know, we recently had a name change, and that officially went live just a couple weeks ago — hence the slip there. We are now Dwelling House Church. If you haven’t heard the story, it was well over a year ago. I was praying through the Psalms, and I came to this verse, Psalm 27:4. We were formerly Chapel Valley Church, because we were located on Chapel Valley Road, which is in Fitchburg. And when we became mobile and we were moving, people were like, “Well, are you going to change the name?” And the idea was always, I don’t want to just change the name to change the name. If the Lord gives us a name, then we’ll change the name.

As I was praying through the Psalms and came to this verse — it’s King David really expressing his heart, and he says, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord” — I had such a strong sense that the Lord said, “That is who you are. You are Dwelling House.” Hence the name Dwelling House Church. That this would be a place of prayer. That this would be a house of His presence. That this would be a house for people.

And what I love about this verse — this is David. Now, David could have had many titles, right? He was a giant slayer. How many of you like that one? Would you like the nickname “giant slayer”? Yeah, that’s cool. Conqueror, right? Empire builder. Warrior. All these titles. And the title that hit the heart of David more than any other was “a man after God’s own heart.” And he comes to this and he says, “I have all these things. I have accumulated all this wealth. I have a kingdom. I have possessions. I have achievements. I have accolades.” But David comes to the point in his life where he says this: “One thing I desire. It all comes down to one thing.” Everybody say, “One thing.” “One thing I have desired, that will I seek.” What? “That I may dwell in the house of the Lord.”

Hunger is the prerequisite

I want to talk a little bit about being a house of presence today. How many of you know, to be people who come into His presence, the prerequisite to come into the presence of the Lord is to have a hunger for the Lord? How many of you know He has already paid the price to give us access to His presence? Right. And we know that God is everywhere at all times. We know that He’s omnipresent. But we’re not just talking about God being there. We’re talking about being with Him — where we come into His manifest presence, where you know something is different about this atmosphere, that there is an atmosphere we can welcome Him into.

Scripture gives us very clear instructions on how we come into His presence. We come boldly before the throne of grace by the precious blood that was shed for us, that makes us clean, that gives us access. But we come in with thanksgiving. We come in with praise. There’s a way that we are to come. But if you do not have hunger, you will not come into His presence. You see, David was a man who was after God’s own heart. He didn’t just say, “God, if You want to show me something, You’ll show me. If it’s Your will, it’s just going to happen.” No, he was after the Lord, and he would spend time in His presence. And so I want to talk about being a house of presence. But in order to be a house of presence, we must be a people who have a hunger for the Lord.

Love Him with all of you

Look with me in the book of Mark, chapter 12. We’re going to start at verse 28 this morning. Mark 12, starting at verse 28. It says this:

“Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which is the first commandment of all?’ Jesus answered him, ‘The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment.’”

Jesus boils everything down. I think in the Torah, in Scripture, there are roughly 1,500 commands, and Jesus boils everything down to this one: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” How many of you know this is a full expression of who we are? This is everything that we are. God really wants to be loved with all of us, with everything that we are, with everything that we have. He wants to be loved with the entirety of your existence. And how many of you know this is the purpose of the Christian life? This is the ultimate purpose: to be a people who are desperately in love with Him. Amen. To love Him with everything you are.

Sometimes I think we believers get confused, thinking that God cares equally about all things. But how many of you know that’s not true? God really does have a priority structure in His heart. There are certain things that God wants more than other things. There are certain things that God desires more than other things. There are certain things that God hates more than other things. There are certain things that He rewards you for more than other things. There are certain sins that are actually more grievous than others. Now, we know sin is separation from God, and that really sin is equal, but there are sins that have greater consequence to our life and to our heart toward Him. And so not all things are equal before the Lord.

But there is this commandment, first and foremost. It is doubly endorsed. Not only did God speak this in Deuteronomy — “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength” — Jesus is coming, and He’s doubling down. And He’s saying, this is what it’s all about: that you would love Him with everything. That He would actually be in your thoughts through the day. That He would be your priority. That He would be the factor in your decision-making process. You see, Jesus is endorsing it. And how many of you know this is the same God? He’s already endorsed this before, and He’s endorsing it again. Jesus is telling us what is to be first and foremost.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” How many of you know that’s the inner man, with everything inside of you — that there would be a heart and a passion and a hunger for Him. That you would love Him with all your soul. Everybody say “soul.” Our soul is our mind, our will, our emotions. It’s that inner part. That you would love Him with all your mind — meaning our thought life. How many of you know God actually cares how much you think about Him? Did you know that? I don’t know about you, but there have been times where I’ve gone through my days and I’m like, “I didn’t even give Him a thought.” Did you know God actually cares about that?

If you’ve ever been in a romantic relationship — if you’re a husband or wife — you like to know that your significant other, the one that you love, is thinking about you. Whether that’s a little text message here and there — or my wife loves gifts, so that’s an expensive expression of love. But nevertheless, there is something special when someone that you love lets you know, “I’m thinking about you too.” Did you know God has feelings? He actually feels and cares about what you think. He cares about how you approach Him, how you consider Him, how you talk about Him, what you think about Him.

And it says you shall love Him with all of your strength. That’s talking about what we say, what we do, where we go. How many of you can see God wants to be our everything? He wants to really be our all in all. That when we leave this room, we don’t just leave and go about our week, but we actually have Him in mind. That we look for Him around every corner, everywhere we go: “What is the Lord doing? What is He speaking? God, what do You want? God, I need You.” That He really would be everything.

Spiritual worship with our bodies

Romans 12:1 talks about this. I want to read this out of the ESV. It says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” We see here that Romans connects holy living, the offering of our bodies, to spiritual worship. How many of you know God does care about what you do in the flesh? He cares about how you take care of yourself. He cares about what we do. And Romans is referring to it as spiritual worship. Say that: “spiritual worship.”

It is no wonder to consider how close we can feel to God when we go out of our way and give money to the poor. Something that we like to do — we like to worship, we like to pray. This is a house of worship. This is a house of prayer. And that’s something that we typically do during the week; on Wednesdays we do that. But on the second Wednesday of every month, we go to the laundromat and we pay for people’s laundry. Why? To let people know how good we are? Or is that worship? How many of you know what we do with our bodies, and how we behave, and how we conduct ourselves, how we present ourselves before the Lord — all of that is spiritual worship.

When we connect our heart, our spirit, to our body, it can become an offering in a moment. I can’t tell you how many powerful moments I’ve had with God that begin with just this. There’s something about our actions. There’s something about taking those initiative steps that moves us on the inside to connect with Him differently. That’s why Scripture says, “Sing to the Lord a new song.” That’s why Scripture says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” Why? Because these are all things that we are bringing in worship to the Lord with our bodies. And as we worship with our bodies, our hearts follow. Are you guys with me?

You see, what we do matters. How you live your life matters. God wants us to love Him with the entirety of our existence. Let’s say that together: “God wants me to love Him with my entire existence.” That’s His heart. That’s what He wants.

Why does He ask for everything? Why does He want so much? “You mean He wants me to think about Him every day, all the time?” Yeah, He does. Why? How can He ask that of you? Some people would say, “Well, that sounds really selfish.” But how many of you know He gave everything for you? He gave up His place in heaven and He took on flesh. This is the incarnate God. This is Jesus. He took on flesh; He added flesh to His eternal divinity. He became man and gave His life for us, that we could be one with Him, that we could be with Him. He gave everything.

So for Him to ask that we would consider Him when we’re making decisions, when we go about our days, when we talk — when we think, “Well, should I actually go do this? Should I hang out with these people? Should I take this opportunity? Should I move here? Should I go there?” Are we even considering what the Lord would have to say about that? So why is this the first and greatest commandment? Because it’s what He wants the most: that you would love Him with all of your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. There is nothing He wants more.

I coach football, and one of the things that we often talk about is TNT: what are the things that take no talent? I’ll tell you this: most of the ones that are playing on the field are not necessarily the best athletes. They’re the ones that do the little things. They’re the ones that are paying attention. They’re the ones that are working hard. They’re the ones that are hustling. They’re the ones that know the assignment. They know their job, and because they know it, they can go do it. And the Lord is saying, “Listen, I’m not asking you to be the most talented. I’m not asking you to be the most gifted. I’m not asking you to be the most spiritual, or to be on a platform, or to preach a message. All I’m asking is, will you love Me?” That’s all He wants.

And yet — we don’t necessarily say it with our lips, but we do with our actions — we ignore Him. We go about our days. We take care of our business. We’ve got our priorities. We’ve got our dreams. We’ve got our to-do list. And we say, “God, I’ll come and visit You on Sundays, but every other day of the week, that’s mine.” How many functional marriages can actually work seeing their spouse one day a week? It might work for a little bit, but you can’t live like that forever. There’s no intimacy. There’s no connection. There’s no knowledge. What does God want? This is the first and greatest commandment. Why? Because that’s what He wants the most. Somebody say amen.

The better part at Bethany

Now listen to Luke 10:38. I think this is the most beautiful picture. Luke 10, starting at verse 38, says, “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching.” How many of you know there’s no better place to be than at the feet of Jesus? “But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing’” — everybody say, “one thing” — “‘one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion’” — everybody say, “the good portion” — “‘which will not be taken away from her.’”

Listen, there are many things in life — honestly, everything in life — that will be taken. Did we prioritize the one thing that matters most, the one thing that won’t be taken away? This sounds an awful lot like David, doesn’t it? “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek.” And here is Jesus. He’s saying, “Martha, Martha, you’re worried about all these things, but Mary has chosen the one thing that matters most.”

I do think Martha gets a bad rap. Anybody else? A lot of times you hear people talk about Martha, and it’s like they’re talking about Jezebel, right? Straight rebellion, demonic to the core. No, she gets a bad rap. It wasn’t that she chose the wrong thing or the bad thing. She just didn’t choose the best thing. You see, she was serving the Lord. How bad is that? “I’m preparing a meal. I’m feeding the Lord Jesus.” It’s a good thing. How many of you know it’s a good thing to serve the Lord? But if you’re serving the Lord but you don’t spend time with Him, you’re missing the better part.

You see, there are a lot of people that like to do things for the Lord, but because they’re not with Him, they’re missing the things that are actually forever. They’re missing the most important things. If you want to serve the Lord, you must first know how to minister to the Lord. So Martha did not choose the best part. Mary did choose the best. This portion tells us that the Lord will watch two people in His presence, and to one He will say, “That’s pretty good,” but to another He’ll say, “That’s even better.” Some of you got that. We can all be in the same room. The Lord can be in the house, and we can be here, and the Lord will come and He’ll be like, “Oh, that’s good. I’m so glad.” Is the Lord glad you’re here? Yeah, it’s good that you’re in the room. But are you choosing the better part? The Lord is passing by. Are you willing to do what it takes to touch the hem of His garment? Do you see the difference? There is a distinguishing factor. It’s not all equal. The Lord looks at our actions. He looks at our hearts. Are we honoring Him the way that He wants?

We see this with Jesus even when He was confronted by the Pharisee in his home. The Pharisee was giving Jesus a hard time, saying, “How can You let this filthy woman in Your presence? She’s a sinner. She doesn’t belong near You.” And what was Jesus’ response? He speaks to him and says, “Actually, she did A, B, C, and D. You didn’t do any of those things for Me. She welcomed Me. She washed My feet. She greeted Me with a kiss, but you didn’t.” That means even though we can look good on the outside — we can look religious, we can look like we’ve got things in order — we’re not actually doing the things that welcome Him. You see, there’s a better part. Everybody say, “There’s a better part.”

And so the Lord notices these things. He notices. How do we treat Him? How do you talk during the week? What things do you choose to do with your body? Are you bringing glory to the Lord, or are you settling for a very shallow love?

We see here also the house where Jesus came to in this village. It was the house in Bethany. Everybody say “Bethany.” And there’s a reason why Jesus loved this house at Bethany. Bethany literally means a place or a house of poverty. Now, that doesn’t mean it was just a financial poverty. I’m sure it was a humble abode. But really what that is speaking to is the type of humility, the poverty in Matthew 5:3, where it says, “Blessed are the poor” — everybody say “poor” — “in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the kind of poverty the Lord is looking for. Are you poor in spirit? Meaning, are you desperate for Him? Do you recognize how much you actually need Him? Is there a hunger in your heart? Is there a thirst for Him? Because that’s what Jesus is looking for. What does Jesus say about the hungry? “Blessed are those who hunger.” Why? Because they will be satisfied. If you have it all together, if you’re doing fine without Him, you will not be filled. But those who hunger and thirst, those who are poor in spirit —

How many of you would say, “I want to live in the kingdom of heaven”? Anybody? All hands should be going up in this place. Come on. But those who recognize their complete dependence on God will see not only the kingdom of heaven in eternity. Those who hunger and thirst, who are poor in spirit, will see the power of the kingdom of heaven in their life right now. It is a humility and a hunger for Him.

Jesus loved it in Bethany. Scripture talks about how Jesus went everywhere preaching, teaching, and healing. Jesus preached everywhere, but He rested and reclined somewhere, and it was in Bethany. Scripture even refers to Bethany as “a certain village,” meaning this was a place that was unique. This was a place that was special — not because of the place, but because of how He was welcomed, how He was honored, how He was treated. Bethany is the house of hunger. It’s the house where service to the Lord exists, but more importantly, where the people minister to the Lord.

If you want to serve the Lord, you must first learn how to minister to the Lord. And I will tell you this: the times where I can serve people the best are when I’m most connected to Jesus. When I’m just trying to give people myself, that doesn’t go very far. But when I walk into the room and I give people Jesus because I’ve been with Him, how many of you know that makes a pretty big impact? I think Suzie said a few weeks ago, what would it look like if we walked into the room like Jesus sent you there? So often we just go through the room and go about our things. But what would it look like with that heart and with that intention?

One of the reasons I believe that you are here today is because you want to encounter the manifest presence of the Lord. We don’t necessarily have the best musicians — and I’m not knocking our musicians; I’m not knocking myself or anything like that. We don’t have the best teaching — I’m not going to put myself there. No way. But the reason we come is because there’s something special that happens when we come together in unity and we lift our voices to the Lord with one heart. And what does Scripture say? Where two or more are gathered, I’m there. And we come into His presence.

And I really believe that the Lord gave us this name, Dwelling House, because the Lord is prophetically speaking: “This will be a place where people come into My manifest presence. Why? Because you’re a people who worship Me, who honor Me, who know how to tap into My heart.” Not just going through the motions, not just doing our spiritual duty by being here on a Sunday. No, we are people who come poor in spirit, desperate and hungry, saying, “God, You’re everything that we need. You’re everything to me. God, would You come and show Yourself? Lord, give me eyes to see You.”

And when that happens, when Jesus is glorified and when Jesus is magnified, the Holy Spirit gets poured out. Somebody say amen. And when the Holy Spirit is poured out, He begins to move on hearts, and all of a sudden mindsets begin to change, and strongholds and addictions begin to break. Why? It’s not because we’re just being encouraged or exhorted. No, it is the power of the Lord Jesus Christ moving by the Holy Spirit on the hearts of people and transforming lives. But it all happens in an atmosphere of praise and worship and giving glory to God, where people know how to minister to the Lord. Somebody say amen.

His feelings were tended to

Another reason that Jesus loved it in Bethany is because His feelings were tended to. How many of you would say, “I love the Lord. I love Jesus”? Right? But how often do we really consider that He has feelings, that we should care for those feelings? Did you also know that you can move His feelings? As His people, we can cause pain in His heart. We can also cause joy in His heart.

We see this in Genesis 6, where Scripture says He was sorry that He had made mankind, because there was so much evil, because they were so rebellious. But yet He found one, Noah, whose heart was His, who walked with Him, who was obedient to Him. I want to encourage you: never underestimate being one who walks with Jesus, because it can change everything. That you would be people that know how to walk with Him, how to walk worthy, how to be obedient to Him. Never underestimate the value of being one person who learns how to be with Him. But consider this: our actions, our attitudes, can impact the Lord’s heart.

How many of you remember Jesus at Lazarus’s tomb? In fact, we’re going to close with this. Jesus shows up; Lazarus has been dead for four days. Jesus comes, and Martha begins to talk to Jesus, and she talks about theology. She talks about the resurrection. But then Mary comes, and something special happens. I want you to look at this in John chapter 11. And we love Martha, by the way. Say, “Yeah, Martha.” Martha was great.

But look at John 11, starting at verse 17. It says, “So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.”

This says two things. Number one, Mary was hurting. How many of you know there was a loss here? There was pain in her heart. But number two, Mary also knew that when it comes to being in the presence of the Lord, you have to be invited. She knew something. Moses knew this too. You can’t just walk into the glory cloud. You have to be invited. Now, how many of you are thankful that we have an ongoing, eternal invitation into the presence of the Lord, signed by the blood of Jesus?

Listen, this is why it grieves me when I go through the motions and I recognize it — when you find yourself just kind of going through the stuff and you’re like, “What am I even doing?” Because do you know how precious that invitation is? That we have access into the presence of the Lord today, at any time? That we can come in not because of what we deserve, not because of our good behavior, not because I’m a pretty good person. No, we come in by the blood of Jesus. And it is an eternal, ongoing invitation. Somebody say amen. You’ve been invited into the presence. Will you accept that invite? We have a choice.

It says, “Now Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’” How many of you know Martha’s faith is strong? She knows. She’s proclaiming the truth. She’s speaking good things. She’s speaking true, sound theology. She is recognizing who this is — that this is not just a man; this is God, that He can do all things. “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’” There she is; she’s talking theology. “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”

How many of you are thankful that this is a promise to all of us? It’s that quote that Billy Graham gave so long ago: there will be a day when people say Billy Graham is dead, but “I am not dead. I’ve merely changed my address.” Verse 27 says, “She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’” How precious is that? Martha is literally declaring the truth of who Jesus is, and that is wonderful. But listen, Jesus is looking for a different conversation here. He’s looking for something else, something deeper, so that real resurrection can take place. He’s looking for more than theological discussion.

She fell at His feet

Verse 28 says, “And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, ‘The Teacher has come and is calling for you.’” Somebody say, “Jesus is here.” The Teacher has come, and He’s calling for you. How awesome is that? “As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly.” Did she wait? I always tell my kids, “Why are you dawdling?” They knew what that word meant early, because I would give them the hardest time: “Why are we dawdling?” I don’t even know where I got that word. But so oftentimes Jesus is calling, and we say, “Well, maybe not today. Today’s my day. This is my time. I have plans. I’ve got my thing going.” When Jesus is calling, are you willing to set aside everything and come to Him? Because when Jesus is passing by, He can also be missed.

And so here He is. Jesus has come. The Teacher has come. He is calling for you. “As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, ‘She is going to the tomb to weep there.’” How many of you know the best way to have impact in ministry is to go after Jesus?

“Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet.” Notice the posture here. When she saw Jesus, she fell down. When she saw Jesus, she went low. There is something about being humble before the Lord. The opposite of humility is pride, and Scripture says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. You see, there’s a posture that matters to the Lord. Do we come to Him humbly? Do we come to Him with humility? When she saw Jesus, she went low. Isn’t this the only appropriate response when we come into the presence of the Lord?

Let me ask you this: is that a valid expression of worship — when we come into the presence of the Lord, that we would go to our knees and say, “Lord, I humble myself before You. Not my way, but Your way. Would You bend my will to Your will?” You see, there’s something there. There’s something that the Lord is after.

It says, “When Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” Does Jesus have feelings? “And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’ And some of them said, ‘Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’”

Take away the stone

Everybody say, “Take away the stone.” How many of you know Jesus removes the stones in your life? That is who He is. He is the resurrection and the life. And whatever things hold you, that trap you in the darkness, that keep you in a place of bondage, in death, where things are rotting and decaying, where there is no life — Jesus has come to take away the stone. And Jesus is calling. Can you hear Him? He says, “Take away the stone.” Whatever stone it is — if it’s a stone of addiction, if it’s a stone of depression, if it’s a stone of greed, a stone of fear, a stone of boredom and apathy, of going through the motions — whatever it is, come to the Lord and say, “Lord, let me see You more clearly.” And when you do, the appropriate response is what? To fall on our face, to get on our knees, and we begin to worship. Do you see? There’s something here.

“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.’” Jesus is the same one who formed Adam’s body. How many of you know He is not afraid of the decay on Lazarus’s body? “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes.”

How many of you know this is the pattern of every miracle? To lift up your eyes, seeing that God is greater than the need in front of me. When He multiplied the bread and the fish, what did Jesus do? He lifted His eyes to heaven and He began to give thanks. You see, Jesus knows that God is greater than the need in front of Him. Sometimes we just want to go to God because we have a need. But what really moves the heart of God is when we go to God first, ahead of our need.

And so Jesus lifted His eyes. He looked to the Father, and He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 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. Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ 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.’”

How many of you know, for many believers the stone has been rolled away in their life? They’ve received salvation, but they’re still in their graveclothes. There’s still a stench. There are still former ways of thinking. There are still old patterns. There are still things clinging on to them that are keeping them from the full things that God has for them. But how many of you know Jesus doesn’t want to just remove the stone? He wants to take away the graveclothes.

Let’s stand. We’re going to close, and with every eye closed, can we just lift our hands before the Lord? How many of you know this is a humble posture in itself? It’s surrender to the Lord, saying, “Lord, I need You.” Just begin to tell Him right now: “Lord, I need You. Lord, show me who You are. Show me what You have for me. Lord, let me have eyes to see You, to see You in all of Your glory.”

Lord, that we wouldn’t just be people who know about You, but that we would be people who are with You. Lord, that You would be our everything. That we would have a hunger for You and for You alone, Lord Jesus. With our hands lifted, I believe that there are stones in lives being rolled away today. Those things that are keeping us from Your resurrection — they’re leaving today. And I declare over this house that the stone would be rolled away and that we would behold the beauty of the Lord.

And I just have a sense that there’s an invitation the Lord is bringing us, that we would come and that we could give Him everything today. If you are here and you want to be loosed, if you are here and you need your life to be restored, if you’re here and you want to leave the darkness of the tomb, you need to know Jesus is here to love you, to save you, and to rescue you. And if that’s you, I want you just to lift your hands to heaven and say, “Lord, I need You. I need You. Lord, I’m calling on You. You are the Lord. You are the one that I need. You’re the one that I’m desperate for.”

Lord, would You give us a hunger, a deeper hunger for You, that we wouldn’t be apathetic, that we wouldn’t go through the motions, but that we would be hungry for more of Your presence, more of You, Lord. That we would have eyes to see You, Lord Jesus. That we would look for You everywhere that we go. You are the resurrection, and You are the life.

And if your hands are lifted, I’m just going to ask that you pray this prayer with me. Say, “Heavenly Father, forgive my sin. Wash me with the blood of Jesus. Cleanse my soul. Jesus, here I am. Roll the stones away. Take off the graveclothes. Raise me from the dead. Here I am, Lord. By the power of Your cross, by the power of Your shed blood, You give me life. You are worthy. I repent of my sin. I turn from my sin. I turn from the devil. I turn from the power and the age of this world. And I look to You, wonderful Jesus, my only Savior. And I declare You are the Lord of my life. I ask that You would live in my heart. Save my soul. In Jesus’ name.” If you agree, say amen.

Amen. And can we thank the Lord this morning? Thank You, Lord. If you prayed that prayer for the first time, number one, all of heaven is rejoicing. That’s what Scripture says. Because heaven knows the gravity of what we are saved from — that we were separated from God. But now, because of Him, if you prayed that prayer in faith, believing that not only is Jesus the Lord, not only is He God, but He saved me, He has washed me, He has cleansed me — how many of you know you are born again? Amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.