The Breakout Beyond the Breakthrough | John 12: 17-18 CSB

There is an exegetical invitation I want to extend to you, and I pray that you accept. You've been invited to fellowship with me this morning. The Gospel of Saint John, chapter 12. 716-427-1138. All you gotta do is call in and listen. Saint John chapter 12. I can't stay, you know, I can't even. Saint John Chapter 12. I want to go down to verse 17. Saint John, Johannine Gospel, Chapter 12. Beginning with verse number 17, word of God reads, meanwhile the crowd which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard that Jesus had done this thing. You may be seated. We thank God for his word and for the perpetual nature that lies there within. Y'all have some pretty spring colors on today. For just a few moments on this Palm Sunday. Take an interesting angle and deal with the subject: the breakout beyond the breakthrough. The breakout beyond the breakthrough. Time is now 11:20. Let me see how I can get through this. It is now March Madness, NCAA Tournament time. During this time of the year, there's always this craze because people do what's called a bracket. They do a bracket. It is people's way of predicting the outcome in these various games. However, it's interesting to note that you have a better chance of winning the jackpot than you do of getting a 100% accurate bracket, which lets us know that as human beings we are handicapped because we do not have the ability to understand how one thing will impact another. We have our own opinions, we have our own predictions, we have our own data, But you and I in our flesh just don't know what can come out of one thing. Palm Sunday, you know very well that is the day in which Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, in which the people raised their voice crying out, Hosanna! Which means save now. And you've grown up in the church and you love to say it because we say it here, that when they tried to get the people to be quiet, Jesus told them that if they would keep their peace, there are rocks that'll cry out for him. However, have you ever wondered beyond Passover, what was it about Jesus during this time that led them to celebrate Jesus in such a way? If you read this account, this Johannan account of the Palm Sunday narrative, tells us something unique that the other synoptic gospels do not tell us. John stretches and tells us that the crowd was attracted to Jesus not just because he turned water into wine. This crowd here in this time was not attracted to Jesus because of blind Bartimaeus. The crowd in this time was not attracted to Jesus because he took 2 fish, 5 loaves of bread, and fed the multitude of 5,000, not counting the women and children. But this crowd, according to John's account, teaches us that the crowd was there and they were celebrating Jesus in a marvelous manner because of what Jesus did for Lazarus. And if you church legends know the story of Lazarus— Lazarus, who was a friend of Jesus, he and his sisters Mary and Martha They called for Jesus in chapter 11 and said that Lazarus, whom you love, is sick. Jesus took his time. He was late on purpose, and by the time he got there, Lazarus was dead for 4 days. And the Bible teaches us that not only was Lazarus dead— are you paying attention this morning? But the Bible says that Lazarus at this point had begun to decompose and he stinking. But Jesus did something that no other power could do, is that he took something that was dead, called him by name, brought him out of this dead— deafness— and gave him a brand new life. And because Jesus blessed Lazarus, and because Jesus raised Lazarus. Him raising Lazarus caused not just a revival in Lazarus' house. It did not cause a revival just with Mary and Martha. You still ain't paying attention. Y'all still talking. But when this time came in the Bible, when Jesus raised Lazarus, the testimony went beyond their house and it went outside of the house and it caused a multitude of people to praise God. You missed everything I said, so now it's gonna cost you an extra 10 minutes on this sermon. When Jesus got Lazarus out of the grave, it was more than just Lazarus, Mary, and Martha whose life was impacted. But there were thousands of people in Jerusalem who began to cry out and say, Jesus, save us now, because of what he did not in their life, but what he did in the life of somebody else. And I want to survey the room this morning to ask this critical question: is Lazarus at Pilgrim Rest this morning, or is Lazaranisha in Pilgrim Rest this morning? Who you know that you were dead in your sin, you know that you were dead in your circumstance, you know that you were dead in your calamity. It was all but over. Everybody gave up on you. Everybody thought it was over, but Jesus came and showed up and spoke in your situation. And now that which was dead is now alive again. That person who was headed to hell is now heaven-bound. That one who had no life now has life, and life more abundantly. I want to ask this question this morning because I know it's Fifth Sunday and we like to take Fifth Sundays off, but since we here, we might as well have church. Is there anybody who's been raised this morning? Is there anybody who's been revived this morning? Anybody that God has given a new life? Anybody who's a living miracle this morning? A breathing testimony? A walking testimony who can lift their hands and say, that's me, because God has moved in my life? And here's what should happen. Lazarus got a breakthrough. But Tony, not only did Lazarus get a breakthrough, but his breakthrough caused a breakout. Preach by yourself this morning, Gabby, cause you feel like it. Not only did you have a breakthrough, but when God has a breakthrough in your life when other people see what God is doing or has done in your life. You gotta take that testimony outside of these four walls, and you have to take that testimony outside of your house, but go up to Walmart and let the clerk know that God has done something marvelous in my life. When every doctor gave up on me, and when every banker gave up on me, and when every supervisor gave up on me, A man named Jesus came and moved in my life. And I want to challenge you today to don't just let your breakthrough sit with you, but you need to let your breakthrough break out. Tell this world what God did in your life. Here's my simple thesis. If you get this one sentence and you act like you like it, I may, may, may, if you act kind today, I may let you out early. Here's the thesis: when God does something that's undeniable in your life, it is never meant to stop with you. It's designed to move through you and draw others to him. Y'all ain't acting like you like it, so I gotta sit here all day. I'll say it again: when God has done something that's undeniable in your life, Tony is not meant to stop with you, but it's meant to go through you in order to draw others to him. In other words, open your mouth and tell who did it in your life. Show this world that I'm not gonna be a closet Christian, but I'm gonna be proud of who God has made me to be. And, and I'm gonna show this other world, not so they can look at me, but so they can see that there is a God who's deserving of our trust. There is a God who's worthy of our praise, and if you trust him, he can do it for you too. I'm at 9 minutes. Are y'all bored? I don't care if you are. On my way up, 167, I want to show you something in this text. First thing I want to show you Dr. Mason, welcome back, because they've been saying I ain't been preaching worth nothing since you've been gone. First thing this text teaches us is about a subdued outburst. A subdued, calm outburst. Hold on, they trying to figure out what I'm talking about, but I'm about to tell you. Because something that's subdued It's quiet underneath. So how did something subdued become an outburst? You know, something interesting about Lazarus is that he teaches us that we can be victorious even when we're not vocal. We know Lazarus very well. He was dead 4 days, but Jesus called him by name. And y'all know I was gonna do it. The old preacher said he had to say, Lazarus, come forth. Because if he didn't say Lazarus, old man Abraham would have walked out. But he got Lazarus out of his tomb, said, 'Loosen and let him go.' This is the sine qua non of Jesus's miracles in Saint John. I'm upset on behalf of Lazarus because John nor any of the other gospel writers gave Lazarus any lines. Lazarus never came out of the tomb and we find him the next Sunday standing before the crowd saying, giving honor to God, who's the head of my life. To the pastor, who have been guests and free. But we find something unique about Lazarus is that Lazarus, his victory was not in his voice, but the victory that was in Lazarus was him simply being visible. Lord have mercy. This lets us know that sometimes you can't always use your voice to let everybody know. Sometimes it's your mere visibility. Oh, I'ma feel like it in a minute. Somebody in Pilgrim Rest this morning, you know the truth that you may not be walking up and down these aisles, you may not be preaching an expository sermon, you might not have just sung Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine, but you are here and you have breath in your body, and there is somebody on your pew who knows your story, and they heard the report, and they see you now. And the fact that you are visible should set this house on fire. I want to know this morning, is there anybody in here who can testify that the fact that you see me should set this house on fire? I've been up and down these dangerous highways, and I've had accidents and incidents, But I'm able to stand here and see you, and you're able to see me. God is a good God. You know you should have been caught in your sin. You know you should have died in your mess. You know you should have died in your drama. But I'm looking at you right now, and it makes me say, thank you, Lord. You ain't gotta speak in tongues, and you ain't gotta give a welcome. You ain't gotta give a motion and a second, but just let somebody see you. With your hands lifted up. Just let somebody see you with your mouth filled with praise, and that should set the house on fire. Uh, brothers and sisters, don't overlook the miracle of just being visible. Many of us have gone through hell all week long. You've been in battles in your mind, and you've been fighting depression, and you've been fighting chaos, and you've been fighting mental illness, you've been fighting illness in your body, you've been fighting doubt, and you've been fighting a lack of faith. But somehow, some way, God woke you up this morning, and you didn't just stay in your bed, but you put your clothes on, and you look kind of good this morning. That's a miracle within itself. They try to plot on you at the job, but look at you I see you today. They tried to scandalize your name, but I see you today. And that lets the devil know that you tried it, but I'm still visible. His victory was not in his voice, but his victory was in his visibility. What I'm trying to tell you Show up for life anyway. When you're uncertain, just show up. When you don't know what to do, just show up. Even when you don't feel like it, just show up. Let the world know that I'm still here, because you just don't know that when people see you, it makes them point to him. When people see you, they ain't worried about your business, and if they are, so be it. Let them see that God is with me. He walks with me, he talks with me, he tells me that I am his own. You know, they know I'm sick, so I ain't gonna go up there. I don't want everybody in my business. Number 1, can I tell you a secret because I love you? People ain't worried about your business like you think they are. I know it's very humbling. It's very humble because we think our business is that important. But here it is, even if they are in your business, you put them in God's business. Oh, you know my mess, but you don't know what God is working in me. So if you see me right now, just keep on looking because you're gonna see the hand of God. Moving in my mess, and you're gonna see the hand of God touching me, and you're gonna see the hand of God looking at me. So just keep on looking. Cut some of this out again. Victory is not in his voice. The victory was in his visibility. Now I want to let even the quietest person here know You keep on showing up. You keep on putting a smile on your face. Don't you worry about what you're doing. You just sit there and let God be— use you as a living epistle. I showed to you yesterday, yesterday. I knew, I knew, I knew, I knew this was gonna end up being in one of my services. I just in the house. Yesterday morning, around this time, I was in the gym working out because I said before I preach, I want to look like I lift weights. So I lifted weights on my Saturday morning like I do every— and I noticed there was this man who kept looking at me. Why this dude keep looking at me? Like this. So what did I do? I increased the weight that I was lifting in case he wanted to size me up. He would know you don't want to mess with him. But the young man— the gentleman, he's not a young man, he's actually older— the man finally came without me saying a word. He came to me. I said, excuse me, sir, have you ever recovered from an Achilles repair? I said, yeah, I did. He says, I knew it because I see your scar. And the man said, I've been battling with a fear of tearing my Achilles, but now I see you moving. Now I see you moving after recovery. It lets me know I don't have to be scared. And guess what? I never talked to the man and told him I'm Reverend Dr. Gavin R. Hames. All I did was just walk. All I did was just show up. And the man saw what had happened in my life. And when he saw me without me quoting no scripture and without me speaking in tongues, he just saw me healed and say, I can be healed too. Who am I talking to today? You know that God has worked in your life. You ain't got to have all the church cliché, just show up. A victory. Was not in my vocabulary. My victory was in my physical, which, which, which— I don't know, man, it just dawned on me. I'm gonna trust you to remind me. I guess I need to tell that man my name because we never did talk about that. He just talked about what he saw and how it helped him. And somebody is looking at you today, and when they see it, it's gonna make them believe. I'm done, I'm done. I'm gonna add extra 13 minutes to it just because I feel like I might go argue with my brother today. We're gonna see. Not only do we see a subdued outburst, but we see a synchronized overload. Synchronized overload. My goodness, this shouting even going It ain't gonna shock y'all, because every time I say that, y'all don't even like it. I'm gonna say it anyway. We see in this text, you never know what God is orchestrating with what's overwhelming you. You never know. Lord, help me preach. You never know what God is orchestrating with what's overwhelming you. We know that this is Palm Sunday, and we now know, in case you didn't, that a But much of the attention that Jesus received on Palm Sunday was because of what he did for Lazarus. Good job, class. In chapter 11, when Jesus said— they came to Jesus saying Lazarus was sick. Lazarus, they actually— are we going? Jesus said, no, I'm not gonna go right now. It's good that I'm be late. In order for glory to be revealed. This was in chapter 11. Today I'm reading in chapter 12. When we read Jesus saying this, that is for the glory to be revealed, I've always only read that from the lens of chapter 11. Because I always thought that the glory was when Lazarus came out and they praised him then. But I just read to you— I'm trying to explain it from chapter 12, and I gave a whole lesson about how Palm Sunday was about Jesus entering into Jerusalem. He entered in as a king because the people were celebrating him, thinking that he was about to save them from Roman oppression. However, we know now, hindsight, that it was prophesied in Zephaniah about how he would come riding on on a donkey. So thousands of years earlier, before this even happened, it was prophesied that Jesus would come through riding on a donkey, entering into Jerusalem for Holy Week. But you know what was not prophesied? Him raising Lazarus and it causing the crowd to come. So what I'm trying to tell you is that God, Jesus the Christ, used Lazarus's sickness in order to fulfill something deeper. Y'all are not gonna make me raise my voice. When Mary and Martha was upset, if you would have been here, our brother wouldn't have died. Don't you know I'm the resurrection? Well, we know he's going to give them the rest. I am the resurrection. Lazarus, come forth. We thought that the glory stopped there, but keep reading. When all of those people are focused on Jesus, crying out, Jesus, save us! That lets us know that the glory didn't stop in chapter 11, but the glory kept on going in the next chapter. So say it this way, Gavin. Jesus took Lazarus' sickness, worked that out right then, and used what he did right then for future glory. And he never told— only reason you know this now is because we're reading the text from a systematic theology. The only reason we know that now is because it's been revealed. So this means that while Lazarus was in it, while Mary and Martha was in it, they didn't know what it was going to lead to. Come here. You're in your mess now, but what if I told you it may be overwhelming you But God is synchronizing what he's doing in your life for something that's gonna last beyond right now. You're worried about chapter 11, but God said, I'ma heal you in chapter 11, I'ma do it for you in chapter 11, you gonna give me praise in chapter 11. But when I get to chapter 12, more than you just gonna get the glory, more than you gonna be blessed. But it's gonna be everybody else who sees what I did way back then who's gonna give me glory for it. So what I'm trying to argue with is that when Jesus said he's gonna get glory, it was beyond what they could even imagine. He can do exceeding abundantly above all You can ask something. Come here, come here, come here, come here. Slow it down, slow down. You want God to fix it for you right now, but what if I told you that God won't fix it for you right now unless he can use what you're doing right now in the next chapter? Come here. Many of us want God to do something for our own selfish motives. You want God to heal you so you can feel better, rightfully so. But what if God wants to heal you for something that's going to do more than make you feel good? But down the line, somebody gonna hear about your testimony and say it was bigger than you. And we need to submit to the fact that God desires to bless us for something beyond us. Talk, Gavin Arhan. And I can see God saying now, I'm too big of a God just to be stuck in your chapter 11. But God wants to do it in a way where it all works together for your good and for his glory. And somebody this morning, you're wondering why you may be in it. I can't tell you that Jesus is causing it, But I can tell you that Jesus has a way of orchestrating all of your circumstances and your issues together for something that's bigger than what you can even imagine. As I close, I told you about— I told you this before— about my Achilles preparing. I remember 8 years ago now, I was getting ready to go I was nervous. I've never been in surgery before, and so I, you know, I'm wondering what it's going to be like to be under anesthesia, wonder what it's going to feel like come through surgery. I was nervous because I've never been in surgery before. I was in the room and the doctor came in, Dr. Paul came in. I've read his credentials. I can tell you where he went to school, where he studied. So I'm ready to go into surgery and I'm nervous. Dr. Paul Novakovic, who's getting ready to repair my Achilles, came in my room, didn't use any scientific terms, didn't use any medical chart. This man had the audacity to come in my room, take out a black marker, and write X's on my legs. Dr. Paul, We paying you all this money, me and Blue Cross Blue Shield paying all this money. I know that you gonna do more than write in a marker on my leg. I'm expecting more. Dr. Paul says, yeah, you right, Mr. Hams. You should know that I know too much for this to be the only thing. Good night, y'all. Missed all that. And many of y'all know too much about God right now. You've seen him perform too many miracles for what you see right now to be the whole story. It may look like he's just writing on you right now, but just keep on waiting on God He's opened too many blinded eyes. He's opened too many deaf ears. He's healed too many bodies. He's paid too many bills. He's created too many galaxies. And even though it looks like this to you now, it's gonna lead to something that you cannot do for yourself. Is there anybody in Pilgrim Rest today who can confess, God, I know you know too much to just leave my life like this. But when you give me my breakthrough, I promise you there's gonna be a breakout coming from it that I'm gonna let this world know. Matter of fact, I'm not gonna wait till then, but I'm gonna start right now because I believe by faith that you are a miracle-working God. I believe by faith that you work all things together. I believe by faith that the best days are still ahead for me. So just walk all you want to right now, because I know this is just the beginning. But here it is. I ain't break no sweat. Good. Here it is. When he does it for you, don't let it stop with you. Let it go through you. So he can bring others to him. Do I need to do it one more time? Wait, wait, when you, when you, when you, when you, when you blessed, you think that's it? I got my bill paid, whoo, thank you Jesus. He lowered my prescription, whoo, thank you Jesus. I know he's a prayer-answering God, I know he's a miracle worker. God's saying you ain't seen nothing yet. I'm too big of a God to just leave what I do for you at you. I offer Jesus to you this morning.