The One Who Conquers Death Part 3 - Come Out of Your Tomb of Unbelief - John 11:36-46

0:46In fact, Jesus says, let's go. And the disciples decide to go with him that they may die with him. Then, part two, we looked at verses 17 through 35, and we looked at two sisters, where the emphasis was really upon Martha and Mary. And as we've been going through, we've been looking at the characteristics of this individual, Jesus, who conquers death. It's no mystery that he's going to come in. He's going to raise the dead. That's not, we're not reading this as to some kind of climactic event that nobody's expecting. No, we're all expecting it. We do know it's coming. The readers know it's coming.

1:30Interesting is how Jesus, throughout this process, is wanting to get people to believe in him. And so he's going to great lengths to make sure people have the framework to understand the miracle of what he's of bringing Lazarus from the grave. Well, now we turn a corner, and I want us to come away today with an understanding of where he's going with all this. What does Jesus want to do? What does he want to accomplish by raising Lazarus from the grave?

2:12In fact, if I boiled this whole series down to one exhortation, it would be this, come out of your unbelief. Come out of your unbelief. I believe that is what Jesus is doing here. He wants people to come out of their tombs of unbelief. In fact, that's what he wants us to do here today. He wants us to come out of our own incarcerated, little death-stenched tomb of unbelief. And it's evident when he raised Lazarus from the dead, he was wanting to do more than just restoring mortal life.

3:00To a physical body. He wanted to bring the spiritually dead out of their unbelief. And he wanted to heighten the faith of those who had already believed, yet were struggling in so much about who he was, including his disciples, including Martha, including Mary, who, if you'll remember, the last time we saw her, she's there at his feet, wailing is the word in verse 33, wailing, weeping, in the very presence of Jesus Himself, yet wailing as one who had no hope. And along with her were these Jews who were doing the same.

3:51So we looked last time at Martha and Mary. Well, this time, beginning in verse 36, we're going to go to 46. We're going to be seeing two kinds of Jews, two kinds of Jews. By the way, the raising of Lazarus is really kind of a minor part of this whole narrative, even though it's the climactic event. If this were a drama, you wouldn't really want to try out for Lazarus' position because it wouldn't pay very much. It's not a very prominent position, right? He comes out of the tomb. He doesn't say anything. It's all about what's happening by Jesus raising Lazarus. From the dead, that's important. And the focus today is going to be upon two different Jews.

4:38Two different Jews. Actually, there is one group of Jews, and then after they see the miracle, they become two groups of Jews, one believing and one not. So here we are, back at verse 35, and Jesus is weeping. And he's not wailing like those who had no hope, like Mary and the Jews. I believe that Jesus here is weeping because of the unbelief of those around. Not so much the Jews, though I think he's angered and in this emotion, being deeply moved, he is moved in spirit. Verse 33, when he saw Mary weeping, when he saw the Jews also weeping, he was deeply moved and troubled. And the idea certainly carries a significant degree of anger, yet also grief.

5:47Grief and anger over the hardness, over the unbelief, and the complete misunderstanding of who he is. And that's what death, physical death, is. Such a picture of unbelief. Listen, if you do not believe, your life is dead to God. You act like one who is dead to God, isolated, no relationship with God. And certainly, death is a physical death, is a picture of unbelief. And so, as we pick up, I just want to read this text to you, and then we'll work our way through it. Verse 36. So the Jews were saying, See how he loved him. But some of them said, Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man also from dying? So Jesus again, being deeply moved within, came 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 four days. Jesus said to her, Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?

7:17So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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 had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his faith was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him and let him go. Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

8:06I just want to back up to verse 36, and I just want us to walk through this text. I want us to relive the moment. And John uses present verbs a lot here, as if to take us into the moment and walk through the moment. And so, where he does that, that's how we'll walk through it in a present sort of fashion. Look back at verse 36. So the Jews were saying, See how he loved him. But some of them said, Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man also from dying?

8:47So, as previously, they really couldn't correctly interpret Jesus. He's crying, or he's got tears coming out of his eyes. Why? Well, they don't really believe, they don't believe in him, and so they're not able to correctly interpret. Interpret what's going on. They can tell he's grieving, but they have no reason, no, no ability to understand why. And so they conclude: okay, he's grieving. Lazarus died. See how much he loved him. But some of them say, perhaps this man has reached his limit.

9:25Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind have kept this man also from dying? Does this guy have a limit on his power? Maybe he was not able to keep Lazarus from dying. He opened the eyes of the blind, but maybe this has gone beyond his pay grade. Since he's weeping, obviously he loved Lazarus, but he doesn't seem to have been able to do anything to prevent it. And so that's kind of the idea. Well, maybe he couldn't do anything. Well, it's in this context that Jesus demonstrates that he wants them and he wants us to come out of our unbelief. This is the main objective. He wants all of us to come out of our unbelief. He wants us to come out and keep coming out of our unbelief. He wants us on a trajectory out of our unbelief.

10:32And there are four lines of evidence that demonstrate that this is what Jesus wants. And so we're going to look at those four lines of evidence this morning that demonstrates that Jesus wants all of us on a trajectory out of our unbelief. He wants us coming out of our unbelief and keep coming out of our unbelief. So that's where we're going this morning. I want you to see four lines of evidence that Jesus' exhortation, it's one big dramatic drama illustration, exhortation to come out of your tomb of unbelief. And so we're going to look at those four lines of evidence this morning.

11:19First line of evidence is that his advance to the tomb demonstrates that he wants you to come out of your tomb of unbelief. Look at verse 38. So Jesus again being deeply moved, and there's that expression of intense emotion. So Jesus again being deeply moved within came to the tomb. And now it was a cave. And a stone was lying against it. Literally, this is how Jesus is saying, now here's Jesus. He is deeply. Move. He is angered. He is stirred within. He is grieved within. And see him coming to the tomb. That's John. So here's this one with intense emotion coming to the tomb. He's advancing to the tomb.

12:23The sight that angered him also grieved him, and it stirred him within, and he advanced to the tomb. You know, I want to share a few thoughts from another one who was anointed, mean David, 1 Samuel 17. And I want to take a little excursion there. I've heard a lot of sermons on David and Goliath, and a lot of people trying to relate what's going on there and that sort of thing. Well, I believe, and if you've been around me very long, you realize I believe that David means David and Goliath means Goliath. I don't believe that we should draw an exegetical connection between 1 Samuel 17 and John 11. I do not even think that we should draw a typological link and say, okay, Goliath represents death or anything like that. I don't think we should make that kind of connection. Either. And I certainly don't believe we need to read into David and Goliath a bunch of allegory. No, I believe very much what those events say and mean in their context that they were given. However, I do believe that by reliving some of the events of 1 Samuel 17, we can get perhaps a little bit of an illumination into the emotions and some of the dynamics of John 11, because there's some similar dynamics between the two.

14:12Remember in 1 Samuel 16:13, what happens? Samuel anoints David, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon David. Okay, and you go into chapter 17, and all of a sudden we meet this foe that just strikes terror in the armies of Israel, and that is Goliath, the mighty Goliath. He's a champion. I mean, you see the size of his helmet. I mean, you see his armor. I mean, no one can beat this guy. And in verse 10 of 17, you hear these words from the Philistine. He says, I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.

15:00And when Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. So they hear, here's a foe that can't be beaten, and they are afraid. Here are the ranks of the living God. Israel cowering before this giant. And then sober thought comes on to the scene as the little shepherd boy comes out in verse 26, and David says, Look, Goliath's not in control of this situation. Verse 26, David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God?

15:55Listen, do you know who he is? Do you know who you are? Do you know who is in our midst? Who is this? And who are you that you should let this happen? Goliath is not in control of this situation. So what happens? He makes his way to Saul in verse 33. And what does Saul say to David? You're not able to go up against this guy, right? Saul said to David, you're not able to go against this Philistine. Philistine, to fight with him, for you were but a youth, and he has been a warrior from his youth.

16:38David's, in his response, is basically saying, I'm not the one going out to destroy Goliath. I'm not alone. And then in verse 44, Goliath basically says the same thing to David, you're not able. Verse 44, the Philistine also said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field. And what does David basically say to him? Same thing he says to Saul, but in other words, he says, Look, it's not me you have to worry about. I'm not alone on this battlefield.

17:20Look at what he says in verse 45. Then David says to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you, and I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth. Why? That all of the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And that. This assembly, this cowering assembly, may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear, for the battle is the Lord's.

18:11So basically, Goliath, you're meeting him in this battlefield. Armies of Israel, it's not me going out on this field, it is the Lord of hosts. So imagine how David felt if he can go back to when he heard, when he heard Goliath and he looked up on the utter dismay of not only Israel's armies, but the king of Israel. Can you imagine there's a bit of an anger, right? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? So there's anger at the opponent for sure, but there's also displeasure in those around.

19:04And this mixture of emotions led David to do something about it, right? And so he advanced upon the battlefield with Goliath to face him head on. Now, let's come back to Lazarus for a moment. Think of. There's some similar dynamics happening here. You don't just have the anointed of the Lord. You do have the anointed, but you have God Himself there in the midst. What we saw as a dim reflection in David, you see in its glory in the presence of Christ.

19:51And so here's Jesus, moved within, advancing to the tomb. And it's no wonder when he gets there, remove the stone. Verse 39, remove the stone. Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be a stench. Literally, I would translate it like this: Lord, already he is stinking. Already he is stinking. He's been in there four days. Well, and so it's upon this scene. There's the Jews. They were wailing as those who had no hope. There is Mary at the feet of Jesus, wailing as if there's one who has no hope.

20:51Even in the presence of Jesus, Mary seems to be beyond herself. Well, death is that. Overwhelming foe of humanity, right? We could say this: if Saul had slayed his thousands and David had slayed his what? Tens of thousands, what do we say about death? Billions, right? A statistical perfect record. Maybe Elijah got away, but statistically 100%, right? Right? So here, so if the one who claims to be life, the resurrection and the life, is there in the presence of death, and if he is Lord over death, then his followers certainly need to know it.

21:56And so there he goes to meet death face to face. Remove the stone. Do what? Martha. Notice it's Martha speaking. Mary doesn't. I don't think she knows what's about to happen. But everything in this text speaks of the certainty that Lazarus is dead. This is no pocus pocus. He stinks. An important detail. Who does he say remove the stone to? We'll come back to that a little bit later. I don't think he told Martha to do that or Mary. The only other people in the context here are the Jews. Obviously, the disciples are there, but they're not mentioned. The Jews.

22:59Well, four lines of evidence that demonstrate Jesus wants us to come out of our unbelief. You can see that in the way he advances to the tomb. He is going there so that we will believe, so that those will understand the implications of who he is and who the Christ of Israel really is. Second line of evidence that demonstrates that Jesus wants us to come out of our unbelief is that his teaching at the tomb demonstrates it. His teaching at the tomb. Look at verse 40. Jesus said to her, that's into Martha's objection, Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?

23:54This is a classic if-then statement, right? If the condition is met, Then the consequences naturally follow, right? If you believe, that is, assent with your mind and trust in your heart, that kind of belief, if you believe, then, future verb, you will see the glory of God. If this condition is met in you, if you are believing in Christ, and you believe what is said about him, what he says about himself, you will see the glory of God.

24:36This is what he says to Martha. What's interesting is we don't have a record of him saying that anywhere to Martha. Now, in verse 4, if you look back in verse 11, he says, When Jesus heard this, that Lazarus had died, 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. So that Jesus, as the Son of God, will be glorified. And so he tells his disciples that, and probably the messengers that were there at that moment, right? They came bringing word. And he says, this isn't going to end in death, but the glory of God. And then he has a conversation with Martha. We looked at it in depth last time. Martha in verse 21 is saying, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. In verse 22, Even now, I know whatever you ask, God will give you. And Jesus said, Your brother will rise again. Martha said, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live forever, even if he dies. And everyone who believes or who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Martha, do you believe this? So there's an emphasis upon believing and seeing and glory all throughout this. So it's certainly something that Jesus had impressed upon her and maybe has even directly spoken to her. But certainly we see the theme already.

26:17You see, what's really at issue here, it's really irrelevant whether or not he raises Lazarus from the dead. He's saying, Martha, if you believe in me, the truth remains. You will see the glory of God, even if I don't change this circumstance. You can trust that I am the Christ. I am the Son of God with all the authority of God Himself. And I am very much engaged in tune with what's going on in your life. Do you believe this?

27:00If so, you will see the glory of God, even if some of our circumstances don't change like we would like for them to. Believe, and you will see the glory of God. Well, in this case, Jesus is going to do the unthinkable. Which brings us to a very important conclusion. I think there's a couple of conclusions here we need to take away from this teaching at the tomb. Number one, seeing the glory of God is accessible only through faith.

27:38Seeing the glory of God is only accessible through faith. Listen, there are a lot of people that were there that day, and they saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, but they did not see the glory of God. They saw Jesus, a great man, they saw him do the unthinkable, bring a dead man out of the tomb, but they did not see the glory of God because they did not believe in who Jesus is. You see, there were some that day that saw him raise Lazarus from the dead, but they also saw the glory of God.

28:24Only those who believed saw the glory of God. Listen, the radiance of God is Jesus. And think about this. Martha saw the glory of God in this event. She saw more than her brother come out of his grave. She saw the very person of God himself. And all of a sudden, it hits. Your facial expressions are the facial expressions of God. Your voice inflections are the voice inflections of God. I am in the presence of my Creator.

29:05It hits her. You see, seeing the glory of God is accessible only through faith. And that's why Jesus is taking some time with Martha at the tomb, saying, What's important is that you believe in me. She's already made this wonderful profession, one of the highest that you find in the New Testament. I believe, right? What did she say? She says, yes, Lord, in verse 27, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world. I have believed that. That is settled in my heart. And He's saying, Yes, and I am also the resurrection and the life. And you need to take that a step further and understand what all these titles imply. You're in the very presence of God.

29:55That was necessary for her to see what was going on. People saw a great miracle, but they didn't see the glory of God. So, very important: you'll never see the glory of God unless you believe in the God of Scriptures. You'll never see the glory of the God of Scriptures unless you believe in the God of Scriptures. You'll never see the glory of God unless you believe in the Christ of Scriptures. But there's a second conclusion that you must see here, and it's very obvious. Jesus wants us to believe in Him so that we will see the glory of God. That's what He wants, right? He wants us to believe in Him so that we will see the glory of God. And that's why He took time to teach Martha and His disciples at the tomb. That's why this is written down for us because the very heart of Christ is for us to believe, to be on a trajectory out of our unbelief, to come out of our tombs of unbelief, so that you will see the glory of God.

31:28Third line of evidence. That demonstrates Jesus wants us to come out of our unbelief. And that is his prayer at the tomb, demonstrates it. Look at verse 41. So they removed the stone. So apparently, Martha consented. They, probably the Jews, removed the stones. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, speaks audibly, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 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.

32:12Listen, he makes this public prayer. He looks up as they remove the stone. His eyes look up to heaven. He prays and says, Thank you, Father, that you have heard me. He says, I know that you always hear me, but because of these standing around here, I said it so that they may believe that you have sent me. Do you see his concern for the unbelievers in their midst, even as he prays? Listen, he knew. It's like he can say, yeah, he had such a relationship. He didn't need to speak audibly. It goes without saying. He knew God, the Father, answered his prayers, but he wanted us. To know as well.

33:04And why? Very simply. He wants people to believe in him. He wants people to believe in him. Fourth line of evidence that demonstrates that Jesus wants us to come out of our unbelief is that his commands at the tomb demonstrate it. His commands at the tomb. Look at verse 43. When he had said these things, that is his prayer, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. The man who had died came forth bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Unbind him and let him go.

33:55It's an interesting resurrection. It's an interesting command that he gives to Lazarus. There's no verb here. It says, Lazarus, here, outside. Adverbs. Lazarus. I had this, you might get a sense of it. I was a couple days ago, I was trying to get my dog to come. My little beagle wasn't coming. And I'm like, Smoky? Here. Smoky, here wouldn't come. Listen, that just don't ever put your trust in a preacher. We can't even call a beagle to.

34:43But that's a sense of what he says here. He doesn't say come here. He says, Lazarus, outside. Here. I want you outside your tomb, and I want you outside your tomb now. That's basically his sentence, but it's just outside, outside of that tomb, now. And I love one commentator, probably others, said he had to say Lazarus, otherwise, everybody else would have come out too. No, not you. Get back in there. Well, I don't. I don't know. I certainly were before one tomb, one dead man, only.

35:41And here is this individual that comes up, face of death, open it up, let the smell out outside now. And look at what happens. The man who died came forth. Bound hand and foot with the wrappings, the gravecloths, face was covered. And Jesus gives the commands, two commands: unbind him and let him go. Again, who's he speaking to? I think there's only one group he's speaking to here: the Jews who came with Mary. Remove the stone. I want you guys going over there and I want you removing the stone. Lazarus, outside now.

36:38Now, Jews, I want you to go over there and I want you to take those cloths off of his body. I want you to know for certain that this is no stunt. This last week, I saw in Johannesburg that this pastor raised a person from the dead. They got it on video. He moved a little bit beforehand, but anyway, three, three funeral homes are suing him for fraud. Now, there's a group of these people that are going to go back to the Jews and take the message of what had happened. And if there had been any hope.

37:30Of accounting this or writing this off as a fraud, they would have done it for sure. For sure. If they weren't convinced, and boy, they would do everything they could to discredit, discount, write Jesus off as a fraud. They couldn't because they were convinced of the reality of the miracles he was doing. But do you see Christ's mercy there? Go over there. And remember, in chapter 10, there's these antagonistic Jews that come and they want to stone him right at the end, the feast of lights. And he goes out of the temple and he says, Look, if you won't believe, believe, if you won't believe my words, but at least believe in the miracles, they point to me. And he's doing everything. Listen, there is no gospel that is more clear about the miracle it takes for anyone to believe than John's gospel. It is a work of God. It is a complete work of God from start to finish.

38:56And yet, at the same time, you do not see another gospel where Jesus. Jesus gets down on the level of an unbeliever with more tenacity to bring them out of their unbelief than in John. Go unwrap him. You see, Jesus wanted the Jews to believe, and some did. Look at verse 45. And this is where we come back to these now two categories of Jews. There was one category of Jew, those who came out to console Mary. Now there are two categories of Jews. Verse 45, therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he had done believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. There's no question about the legitimacy of the miracle. They were there, right? No question.

40:03But many of the Jews who came, and this is a picture of what Christ does. He comes to divide. He comes to divide. And he said this, I come to proclaim who God is, demonstrate who God is. And what is going to happen is it's going to cause a division from those who will receive the light and those who suppress the light. Who are you? Are you one who is going to receive the light or suppress the light?

40:41But even in the face of great miracle, there were those who didn't understand Jesus. His miracle was not seen as the glory of God, but a personal threat or a national threat to the Jewish establishment. And so they go. They inform the Pharisees. And as we continue on this journey through John chapter 11, we're going to realize that the greatest foe that humanity faces is not physical death, it's the incarcerated unbelief of the human disposition that is dead to God.

41:36And this champion who has taken down physical death is going to march onward to do away and to continue to do away with the unbelieving hearts and men. Look forward to that. The greater foe to be conquered is not physical death. It's a miracle that anyone ever gets saved. But there are those who saw the radiant glory of God. And let's just take it for a moment. We're going to pause the study and we're going to pick it up. But let's talk about us for a minute. Do you believe Jesus? That's what He wants us to do. He wants us to believe in Him, and then He wants us to go through life believing who He is and how that impacts our circumstances. Listen, we may sometimes read this account, and we may sit here a little bit smug and say, Man, I can't believe they didn't believe that. Or they should have put it together. And maybe some of us might say, Yeah, you're right. Maybe, yeah, I probably would have done the same thing. However, you know, whatever, I wouldn't have grieved that hard or whatever. But from our vantage point, we don't struggle so much with believing that Jesus can raise the dead. We see it in the text. We see it, we've grown up with it. A lot of us have. And so it becomes almost, at least in theory, we agree with it.

43:27At the moment, we're not pressed to believe that. We're not being stretched like that at the moment, as they were in their context. But what do we struggle with? Do we struggle with unbelief? What areas in our lives that we might be stretched, being stretched by God, or inclined to doubt God? And which ways and maybe be like Mary, absolutely hopeless with a high confession of who Christ is, hopeless in the presence of Christ. And I know, I know many of you may think, or some of you may think, Pastor, you do not understand the depth of my depression.

44:17Pastor, you have no idea how to understand my loss. Pastor, you have no idea about the wrongness of my current situation. Pastor, you have no idea of what I've done and the unworthiness I feel before God. Pastor, my circumstances are beyond what you can really understand. That may be true, but I can say this, and I can say it respectfully: your despair is not about your circumstances. Your despair is the cause of your unbelief. Caused by your unbelief in who Christ is.

45:08Let me offer a few areas that I think we are called to exercise faith that we struggle with. Here's a few suggestions. We don't, Jesus was present there. Is Jesus really present with us today? I mean, do you really believe that Jesus is with you? Do you really believe? Or do you? He made so many promises that he's with us. Do you really believe he's here? Do you really believe he's present? Your only choices are to make him out a liar or to believe.

46:02Many of us would profess that, yeah, we believe he's with us, but then we're absolutely hopeless in the presence of Jesus, just like Mary when difficult circumstances or situations come upon us. Is Jesus really God? Maybe you really struggle with that one, right? Is he really God? Is he really present? And does he really have the power of Almighty God? Do you believe this? Here's one. Does he really love me? I think many of us struggle with this far more than we think.

46:42Is he really present? Is he really God? And if so, does he really care? Let me tell you something. There is no greater expression of love than what was done on the cross. Do you believe this? We could go on down a list. Can Jesus really raise my unbelieving loved ones? Does he really love them? Will he love them? Will he care? Does he concern about what... I mean, you could go right on down the list of things that concern us, circumstances, situation.

47:17Is God in your midst or not? Do you believe that? Well, that's the importance of belief. We cannot understand him until we believe him. We cannot understand our circumstances or what they're sent for until we believe. And that's why we are to come out of our tomb of unbelief. And life is a series of discoveries of who Jesus is and a trajectory of growing away from our unbelief. I mean, do you really believe that the one who conquers death is present with us? Today, do you really believe that he is the one in control over every situation? Or do you believe it's chance, or somewhat chance, or maybe a little bit of government? Or maybe do you think people have a little bit of sovereignty over your life? Or do you think it's the human suffering you see? What is the master?

48:27Well, I can assure you it's not death, it's not chance, it's not your difficult circumstances. Do you believe that Jesus is the one who is Lord over every circumstance, that he is present, that he is really God, that he really loves you? Do you believe this? If so, you will see the glory of God, and life will be one discovery after another of the glory of God. So come out of your tomb of unbelief. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I know all of us struggle with unbelief in varying degrees. There are some in this room that are incarcerated, dead, and apart from you, and they've never put their faith and trust in you, that they are outside.

49:29And Father, I ask. Today, that they would hear your voice and that they would indeed obey and come out of their unbelief. And I would just say to you that if that's you, just say, I choose to believe. Forgive my unbelief, forgive my sin, and I just, I am just going to believe, unless there's absolute good reason not to. I'm going to choose to believe. Come out this day of your unbelief. And, Father, for many of us here, we have high confessions, and yet we recognize there's a big gap between what we profess and how we face and go through life.

50:22And, Father, I just pray that you would increase our faith this morning, forgive our unbelief and our propensity to go back and prefer the cold, dead, smelly tomb of unbelief. May you be exalted and glorified, and may the people here assembled today truly believe and truly see your glory in their lives. Do this, I ask, in your Son's name. Amen.