by Jerry Ousley
Doubt and Lazarus
Part 3 – Doubt Dismissed
And then, everything changed. Surrounded by so much doubt and mixed emotions, Jesus brought a positive out of a negative situation. He does that often you know. He has made death, the most dreaded ending to every man, to be a victory if we come to Him. He makes sickness and disease, physical handicaps and disabilities, to become victorious witnesses for His sustaining power. He works miracles of healing, health and wellness, but also brings those unhealed, unhealthy and sick, into His kingdom. Sometimes I wonder if the greater miracle is in the act of being made whole or in the faith despite healing, of those who are faithful to God in the face of their weakness. In either case, our Lord always, always, always brings the victory and He gets the glory.
In the face of all those who were against Him at that moment, after they had removed the stone from the mouth of the sepulcher, Jesus cried out with a loud voice: “LAZARUS, COME FORTH!” It was the Church Father, Augustine in the fifth century A.D. who said that if He had not specified Lazarus that all the graves would have been opened and the dead resurrected. The power behind that cry was enough to raise all the dead in all the Earth.
Our Lord wants to cry out to you today. He wants to call your name and say “COME FORTH!” He frees from sin. He makes those of us who will come to Him to rise from the death of our sin and our depravity and COME FORTH into the newness of life in Him. Yes, those who have accepted Christ as Savior will be resurrected in the last day but we can be resurrected and brought back to life spiritually right now. Jesus, God in the flesh, cries out to you to ‘COME FORTH!” The power behind that cry can free you from any enslavement sin has cursed you with. The powerful words of Christ, our Lord, can instantly cleanse all the filthiness, and bondage that has you wrapped up in the death caused by sin. There is no life, no situation and no circumstance that Jesus cannot mend, fix and restore if we are only willing to be obedient to His cry, “COME FORTH!”
But that wasn’t the end of it. The Bible tells us that here came Lazarus out of that tomb, hopping up and down, because he was still bound in those grave cloths. Jesus told them “Loose him, and let him go.” In other words, remove those grave cloths and free him to move about with ease.
God wants to free you. I have seen drunks fall at the altar and get up sober, sickness healed in an instant, and lives miraculously changed because of surrender to His cry. Jesus is still a miracle worker. Yes, all we have to do is accept Him and believe on Him but we must really believe, not just mouth a few words and expect the work to be done. Yes, He can do that instantly but we need to know that we have been forgiven. We need to know that He has raised us from the death of sin. There is something to be said for the old-fashioned altar. I wholeheartedly believe that salvation is an instant work but we need to know that He has done it. Spending time at an altar allows us to truly be sorry for our sin, to weigh the decision we have made and realize the miracle of the new birth. You have longed to be changed. You have possibly spent years wishing you could be free, not just from your physical bondage but also from the mental anguish it has caused you. You doubt because, even though it sounds good and promising, can it really work for you? Will Christ really perform a miracle in your situation? The answer is a resounding “YES!” He calls you forth. Will you come forth, despite the grave cloths that bind your life; despite the handicaps that firmly hold you in your particular situation? If you do then you can be free. You can be whole. Even if your physical condition doesn’t change, your life can be made completely free and transformed.
An old hymn that has been used thousands and thousands of times in altar calls and invitations states that “There’s Room at the Cross for You.” THERE REALLY IS ROOM AT THE CROSS FOR YOU! Though millions have come, there is still room for one – for you. The choice is yours.
. . . Praise the Lord! . . .
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ïSoul Challengeï, ïSoul Journeyï, ïOrdealï, ïThe Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ïThe Shoe Tree.ï Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.
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