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About The Episode:

Have you ever found grace in the least likely of places or held onto hope when the world around you seemed to crumble? Our latest episode brings to light the incredible saga of Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy, two women whose steadfast faith and gratitude endured the unspeakable hardships of a concentration camp. Their story, alongside the biblical account of Joseph, offers a powerful testament to maintaining belief against all odds. We grapple with the essence of true Christianity, steering away from the diluted modern-day version and calling for a return to the authentic discipleship Christ intended.

Wrestling with our own belief systems, we delve into Jesus’ perspective on signs and wonders, confronting the hard truths within the Gospels about faith that does not hinge on miracles. We dissect Jesus’ stark messages to the Pharisees and Sadducees, and how their quest for signs reflected hearts misaligned with divine truth. The episode culminates with the transformative power of Jesus as the Word made flesh, as outlined in the Gospel of John, urging us to anchor our trust in the enduring and life-giving Word of God. Join us as we navigate these deep waters, seeking to fortify our faith and understanding of the scriptures.

Where to dive in:

(0:00:00) – The Power of Faith and Gratitude

Resurrection, faith, gratitude, Joseph’s story, genuine Christianity, power of belief, and the Christian walk.

(0:15:36) – Interpreting Jesus’ View on Signs

Jesus rebukes those seeking signs in unbelief, referencing the sign of Jonah and confronting the Pharisees’ murderous intent.

(0:24:14) – The Power of the Spoken Word

Jesus, the Word made flesh, is a beacon of light and truth, and His teachings affirm the infallibility of Scripture.

About your host:

Jaime Luce’ testimony has daunting personal mountains and treacherous financial valleys. She was trapped in day-to-day stress and couldn’t see a way forward. But how she started is not how she finished! And she wants you to know God has a plan for your life too, no matter how tough it seems. Today, Jaime has been married to the love of her life for almost three decades, owns two companies, and has become an author and podcaster. God’s way is always the blessed way! 

Free chapter of Jaime’s new book: You Don’t Need Money, You Just Need God: https://jaimeluce.com/book/

Connect with Jaime: 

Website: https://jaimeluce.com

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Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, shall he live. Folks, no matter if you feel that you have died, no matter what has died, no matter what you have suffered the loss of, if you will still believe I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, shall he live. Welcome to the Jamie Luce podcast. I am so happy to be with you today. I really do believe I have a word of the Lord for you and I hope that if you are dealing with anything today, a struggle of any kind, that you will really listen in, listen to the whole message. God has a word for you today.

I was recently reading about where Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy were in the concentration camp and how the struggle for Corrie was that she felt like she could not see God, that where is God, that he’s not loving and he has deserted them, and all of these feelings of loss that she was dealing with. And you know, I can imagine why she felt those things. They were dealing with the most difficult of circumstances, the most treacherous treatment. It was horrifying what they had to deal with and go through. It was just horrifying. And yet her sister Betsy was such a person of faith in who God was and she was constantly encouraging her sister Corrie and telling her that Jesus has been so loved or not Jesus sorry, they’re Jews that God has so loves them and is with them. And she tells the story.

Corrie tells the story of how her sister Betsy could give thanks in every circumstance, that she would give thanks to God in every circumstance, and one of those was when they had a portion of scripture that was torn from the scriptures and they hid it inside their pillowcase. And if those guards were to find it they would have been in serious trouble for it. They probably could have even been killed for it. Um, but what they did was because they hid it inside the pillowcase. They were so infested with lice. It was so bad their conditions, their sleeping conditions and living conditions, and the infants infestation was so bad that the guards would not put their hands in and check their pillows because they did not want the lice to touch them. So her sister Betsy would give thanks to God for the lice and say it’s because of the lice. Thank you, god, for sending the lice, because now we have your word and we’re able to read your word. Can you imagine being able to give thanks? Why was she able to give thanks to God in the most horrifying circumstances? Thanking him for it, legitimately thanking him for it, because she believed who God was. She believed what the word had said, she believed what the scriptures had spoke, and it caused me to think of another passage of scripture.

So this isn’t our text for today, but I want to start in Psalm 105. And if you’re jotting anything, any notes down or scripture references, this would be the time to do that and I’m going to read to you through. I won’t be the time to do that and I’m going to read to you through. I won’t read the whole Psalm, but I’m going to read a good little portion here and I want you to see if you can understand what the heart of Betsy, where she was coming from and how she would use scripture to align her words and her thoughts and her belief in God, how the actions she took and the gratitude in her heart, the disposition of her spirit, how she was able to do that in such difficult circumstances because she did believe the word of God.

And we see this also in Joseph. Joseph, and you may be dealing with this today. You may be in a situation where your life looks nothing like the promise that you feel God gave you that, whatever it is that you are believing God for right now, you could look at your life and you could look at the circumstances you’re dealing with and you would say how do I believe in this God, how do I believe this word, when nothing in my life looks like what God has said? Because the enemy will try to bring in deception. He will try to get us to turn loose and not believe what God has spoken into our hearts, that we will not be those who are of true faith in God, because we are living in a society where the word Christian is thrown around and it doesn’t even mean that you believe in Jesus, which makes no sense. I mean we live during a time where we take words that have great meaning and we attribute by counterculture that against Christ, against Christians, is to take these words in society and attribute new meaning to them. And by attributing new meaning to them and taking away their power, we lose the power of those words and we lose what’s behind that, what we understood that word to be and how valuable that word was.

The word Christian means little Christ. It meant those who followed after him, those who were discipled by him. Their actions looked like his. They chose to live as he lived, to follow his teachings. And I can’t call myself a Christian and yet not believe in who Jesus is, to not know who God is. And so this is the trick of the enemy right now in our society is to call ourselves Christians, to actually go to church and not be people of the word. We don’t know what the word says, we don’t know what it means, we’re not students of it. We aren’t actually students of what Jesus did. To be his disciple, to follow after his teachings. We just go to church and we think that we’re a good person and we decipher who we are and what our position in God is, based off of our own design, which is idol worship. I have made my own and crafted my own religion and I think I’m okay. I do what’s right in my own eyes, as scripture calls it. So we’re going to dive into a bunch of this and I promise you that if you will stay with me, I have great encouragement for you today.

But let’s start in Psalm 105. And I want you to have in the back of your mind the story of Corrie and her sister Betsy, and how Betsy chose to see God even in the worst of circumstances. Let’s begin in verse one oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name and make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually. Remember the wondrous works that he has done and his miracles and the judgments he uttered. O, offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones, he is the Lord, our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever. Covenant forever, the word that he commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel, as an everlasting covenant saying to you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.

When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. He allowed no one to oppress them. He allowed no one to oppress them. He rebuked kings on their account, saying touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm. So we can see that in this passage already he’s saying give thanks to God for who he is. Make sure you want to be always in his presence and that you remember all the wonderful things that he’s done. Then he says and he’s a covenant keeper, sure you want to be always in his presence and that you remember all the wonderful things that he’s done. Then he says and he’s a covenant keeper, he doesn’t break his promises. And he says and for their sakes, he did all these wonderful things to protect them.

Now look at what comes next, verse 16, when he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread. So we’re seeing that God did all these wondrous things. But then we also see that he ordered a famine, that they would need to eat bread he had sent. Let me start off. I want 16 in its full, the full scripture together when he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them. So he’s saying even though I sent this, I have made preparations ahead of time. He had sent a man ahead of them, joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron Until what he had said came to pass.

The word of the Lord tested him. That’s what I want to talk to you today about. Is the word of the Lord testing you? Are you in a test right now? Not a testimony yet Are you in the test? The word of the Lord has tested him.

It looked so bad before it ever looked good. His circumstance was so dire. He was in physical pain. He was in emotional pain from the loss of his family and the betrayal of his brothers. He could have easily felt that God betrayed him, that he spoke a promise over his life, and yet this is my life. Do you feel that way? Are you questioning God? Are you in doubt that God is who he says? He? Is that the word he promised? You has somehow lost power or you heard it wrong? Have you lost faith? Has your faith dwindled? Have you not practiced his presence, as we read in Psalm 105, have we not remained in a place of strength so that we can endure through the hardship?

Thinking about this, I was reminded of several different passages that we’re going to go over before we get to our text. But Jesus had dealt so much with this lack of faith not only with his disciples and saying to them many times oh, ye of little faith. They did have faith, they had little faith. And yet he had to deal with the Pharisees so many times and those who studied the law because they did not believe. And in their unbelief they were constantly saying to Jesus show us a sign, show us a sign that you’re who you say you are. Show us a sign. And we can tend to do that. We can tend to say, lord, you spoke your word, and I say with my mouth that I believe who you are. But in my heart, my very actions, my very word, choices of saying, but show me a sign, prove to me you’re who you say you are tells that I don’t believe he’s who he says he is. It speaks to my doubt that he’s who he says he is. And so let’s look at Matthew, chapter 16. I’m turning there with you, matthew, chapter 16. And we’re going to look at verses 1 through 4.

And listen to this, because you might find yourself today in a situation where you got the word of God for your life, for your circumstance, and maybe you’ve got a family member, a child, who is addicted to a substance or something that is detrimental to their life, detrimental to your family unit, to your marriage. Maybe there’s an illness in the family, maybe you’ve got a prodigal that you’re praying for. Maybe your finances are in such a bad place that you think you’ll never crawl out of the hole you’re finding yourself into and you’re in a place of loss and maybe in that place, instead of remaining in a place of thanksgiving and gratitude, like Betsy did, you feel yourself in a place of doubt and anger and disappointment, and you no longer go to the scripture to reinforce and strengthen that faith in you, but you’re, you’re turning loose of it. You’re saying it wouldn’t look this way, it wouldn’t be this way If you were here with me, lord, if you, if you were hearing my prayers and you could hear my cries. It wouldn’t be this way and it wouldn’t go this way. And why does it look that? You know it’s when Gideon was approached from the angel and he said to him oh you, mighty man of valor. And Gideon’s like wait what? And then he says if God’s with us, why is all this happening? That tends to be the natural way that we think in our secular minds and hearts and, in the natural course of things, we think well, if you’re with me, why is this problem in front of me? Why am I dealing with the situation? Why have you not changed it yet? Show me a sign, god, that you’re still real, that I’m not believing some lie. Show me a sign that you’re going to change my circumstance and that you’re still there, or that it’s not going to always be like this.

But let’s look at how Jesus viewed signs. Okay, chapter 16, verse 1. And the pharisees and sadducees came and to test him. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them. When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be a stormy day today, for the sky is red and threatening. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of Jonah. So he left them and departed. What was he meaning by that? Well, the story of Jonah is that he was in the deep down in the depths of the belly of the whale for three days and nights and then he was spit up on dry land and the picture is that Jesus will spend his three days in the heart of the earth and then he will come up and be resurrected. And so Jesus is saying you’re gonna get a sign, and it’s the only sign I’m giving you, because you are asking for a sign in unbelief. These people were asking for something to test him. They didn’t actually believe who he was. In fact, there are several other scriptures. Let me give you this too John 4. John 4. And we’re going to read verse 48, which says eight, which says so Jesus said to him unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Now, this was a man coming to have someone healed and this man, there’s a crowd of people around hearing this. So Jesus is calling them out on their unbelief and he’s saying that you’re asking for a sign because you don’t believe. The problem is the same problem. Look at Matthew 12. Let’s go to Matthew 12. I know I’ve got you flipping around here a little bit, but Matthew 12, verse 38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you, but he answered them. An evil and adulterous generation seek for a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. That’s in Matthew 12. So we see that he has said that twice.

Now I want you to turn to John, chapter 8. John, chapter 8. And this is really telling. This shows the heart of who these people were and what they truly believed. And we need to be doing some heart examination of our own. But John 8, in fact I’m going to. Let’s start reading at verse. Where do I want to start? Let’s start at verse 42, and we’re going to read down through verse 49.

Jesus said to them if god were your father, you would love me, for I came from god and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? Is it because you cannot bear to hear my word? And this is their response you are of your father, the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires. Oh, I’m sorry. This is Jesus saying this to them, not their response to Jesus. This is Jesus still saying this to them you are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires.

He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you? Okay, this is a really strong indictment. What he’s saying is they were making plans to kill him. They wanted him dead. There is murder in their hearts and Jesus knows it. And he goes directly to the heart of the matter, directly to the core of who they are, and he says you’re of your father the devil because he was a murderer from the beginning, core of who they are. And he says you’re of your father the devil because he was a murderer from the beginning. You want what your father wants. That’s why he says and your will is to do your father’s desires. You want to do what your father wants you to do. It proves who your father is Folks.

This is why we have to look at our hearts. What are we truly desiring? Are we desiring something from God because we love him and we trust him and we know who he is? Therefore, we are making our requests known to him, we are being bold and we are coming to him and asking him to to answer our petitions or to do the thing that he’s promised that he would do. Or are we those who say with our mouth that we question God? We say show us a sign, and we say surely if you were God, you would do these signs and you would do what we ask for you to do?

But Jesus corrects them and says no, the things that you’re saying, you’re calling me a demon. You’re asking for a sign, yet you call me a demon. That’s why Jesus had to correct them. That’s why he has to tell them. No, you’re asking for a sign, yet you call me a demon. That’s why Jesus had to correct him. That’s why he has to tell them no, you’re the one who’s dealing with demons. You’re the one whose father is the devil and you act just like him and you think like him, and so we’ve got to make sure.

What am I In fact. Let’s do that. Let’s think about our situation. Think about what we’re thinking about. Am I believing what God has spoken to me? Have I allowed myself to atrophy in my faith? I’m not standing in a place of faith. I’m not believing God because I’m so worn out by this. This is. This is causing me great pain. Like Joseph, he was in fetters folks, he dealt with prison, he was in mire and muck and he was helping others all the while while being lied upon. He was being treated terribly. We have to understand that we can allow ourselves and not know that we’re doing it, but we can turn loose of the promise of God and not believe in who he is the promise of God and not believe in who he is.

You know, my husband recently had a rotator cuff surgery and he was someone who worked out regularly. He would work out and build his muscles three days or four days, even sometimes five days a week. He was very diligent to take care of himself and with this injury, he has not been able to work out for at least six weeks. And with this injury, he has not been able to work out for at least six weeks. And he said it’s amazing he’s just now starting the process of rehabilitation for that shoulder and he said it’s amazing how weak his arm is, that no matter how strong he was, his arm is now weak and that he has to start with the simplest of tasks and he has to be able to try to move his arm in ways that you would think that takes no muscle at all and yet it takes so much strength. And he didn’t realize how much has been lost just in such a short period of time.

Folks, when we go without feeding on the word, this is the bread of life. Who is Jesus? Let’s look at it. Who is he Go to? John 1. John 1.1. Jesus, let’s look at it. Who is he Go to? John? 1. John 1.1. Let’s look there just real quickly.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him was not anything made. That was made In him was life and the light. The life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. We serve the light of the world. He was before the world. He was with God. He is the spoken word of God. Everything he speaks is truth. It comes to pass. It cannot lie. In fact, everything that is in scripture. Folks, if you believe who Jesus is, that his word cannot lie, that his word is truth, you understand that, regardless of how terrible the situation is right now, how dark it looks, how bleak it looks, how impossible it looks, his word can never fail. In fact, jesus himself said in John 10, go there, john 10. Let’s look at. Oh, which verse is it John 10.? Okay, I’m going to read you this little portion.

Here Jesus is explaining that he and the Father are one, and in verse 31, it says the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him. It is not for a good work that we’re going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them. Is it not written in your law? I said you are gods. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him, who the father consecrated and sent into the world. You are blaspheming Because I said I am the son of God. If I am not doing the works of my father, then do not believe, but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and understand that the father is in me and I am in the father.

Okay, what is Jesus saying in this passage? Jesus is saying you say you believe the scriptures. God said that we are gods. What is this? How does he say it In your law? It says I said you are gods. If he called them gods, meaning the people that the word was coming to, if I called them gods to whom the word of God came. And scripture cannot be broken. Jesus himself is saying scripture cannot be broken. If it has been spoken, it has to accomplish what it was sent out to do. It cannot fail. What is scripture? It’s Jesus. What did we read in 1 John? He’s the word. Jesus is the word. What you have here is Jesus. This word is Jesus. He is the word. The worlds were created by the word, jesus by the word. And Jesus is saying scripture cannot fail. Folks, we have to get this in our spirits. We have to settle this, if Jesus has said it, if he has given you a promise from this word, it cannot fail. From this word it cannot fail. Our faith needs to be that that word will come to pass, no matter what it looks like right now, no matter how opposite my situation looks compared to the promise that God has given me. I need to settle it in my heart who God is, who God is. Look at John. We were at John 8. I want us to look at John 11. This was when Jesus was already crucified, or, I’m sorry, the plot to kill Jesus. He wasn’t already crucified. It was the plot to kill Jesus. And this is the last scripture I’m going to give you. Listen to the unbelief I want us to find ourselves. Where are we at? Let’s do the self-examination right now. Where are we at? Am I in belief or am I in total doubt? Has my faith weakened because I haven’t spent my time in the word, I haven’t been in his presence, I haven’t made sure that I stay strong, that I give him thanks and everything, understanding he’s working all things together for my good. If that scripture is true, I have the ability to look at, no matter how difficult it is, the situation that I’m facing and say he is working this together for my good, but where am I at in this? Look at this scripture, chapter 11, verses 45 to 48. Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said what are we to do, for this man performs many signs. This man performs many signs. They keep asking for a sign, yet they know he’s performing signs. They are completely not in belief On purpose. They have chosen their position. He has performed many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. They didn’t want to believe because somehow that was going to mess up their own little plan of power and pomp and circumstance and all the things that fed their flesh, and pomp and circumstance and all the things that fed their flesh, proving what Jesus had said you’re of your father the devil, you are not of my father. And if you’re of the father your father the devil you have no place or ability to say about me and who my father is and folks. We’ve got to find this out. We’ve got to settle it in our hearts today. And if you’re a person of faith today but you’re struggling, I’m not browbeating you, I’m getting there, we’re ready to get into the text and I’m going to encourage you. But you need to hear the word of God. You need to know that you’ve got to choose to stand in faith and the only way to do that is to truly believe. If your faith is weak, you’ve got to get in the word. Who is Jesus? Who do I believe he is? What has he already done? What works, like we read in Psalm 105? What works has he already done? What things can I look at in this scripture and say he has done that already? That’s who he is and I believe who he is. It cannot be changed. It cannot be altered. Who he is has not changed. His power has not been stripping from him. Instead, he has been magnified. He has ascended to the father, is sitting in his kingdom at the right hand of God and is in authority over every circumstance and situation we face right now. So let’s look. This is the text today John, chapter 8. This is the story of Lazarus and I want you to set yourself in this text. I know you will see yourself. If you are dealing with a very difficult circumstance today, something, a mountain, is in front of you, whether it’s a mountain of pain, of disappointment, or you’ve waited so long and you’ve not seen an answer yet. Regardless of where you find yourself in your trouble, in your circumstance, I want you to see yourself in this story because Jesus does want to speak to you today. Let’s start at verse 1. Now a certain man was ill, lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary, and her sister, martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, lazarus, was ill. So the sisters sent to him saying Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard it, he said this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Okay, let’s stop there just for a minute. Here we see very specifically, this is going to be said more than once. This is very specific. They’re saying this message is being sent to Jesus. So your prayers about your situation. I want you to think of yourself in this situation. They’ve sent out the word. Okay, for us, that would be sending up the prayers. We have sent out the word that the one Jesus loves is ill. The problem that we’re facing, father there’s somebody you love who’s in trouble. It could be you. You could be the one in trouble. The one you love is ill. It’s been sent out, the word’s been sent out, and Jesus replies. He hears the cry and this is what he says this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. What is Jesus doing here? Jesus is prophetically speaking about this situation. He is specifically prophesying about this situation. He is saying this is not unto death, though we know the story and Lazarus did die. So, right off the bat, that can seem like this doesn’t make sense. It’s the opposite. I am experiencing the opposite of what you said, and we might come to Jesus in a posture of heart saying God, you said this, and instead this is what I got. And what we don’t realize is Jesus is prophetically speaking. This story isn’t over yet and, folks, I need to say this for you your story isn’t over yet. If we’re looking to God and we are trusting God, and he has spoken something about our circumstance to us, and it doesn’t look like that yet. That’s because it’s not done, it’s not finished yet, just as it was for Joseph. God spoke the promise to him, yet he experienced everything that was contrary, completely the opposite of what God spoke to him until it wasn’t, until it wasn’t. So you need to know the power of God’s word, and if God has spoken it, it cannot be broken. And if God has spoken it, it cannot be broken. The scripture cannot be broken. Okay, let’s continue. Why, then, why is Jesus saying that he’s? Why is he speaking that this is not unto death? Why is he proclaiming a good end to this problem? Because this is the truth for you. This very portion is true for you. If god has spoken a promise to you, he has spoken what he has spoken to you because in the end, in the end, he calls it out. He said this illness is not unto death. So he is saying this problem is not your end. And why am I telling you that? Because this problem is going to end up giving glory to God and the son of God is going to get glory through that. Jesus is going to be glorified. Through this issue, through this battle, through this traumatic experience, god will get glory. Jesus will be glorified. It’s not the end, so let’s continue. He spoke that. This is the prophetic word going out. But now let’s look at verse five. Now, jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Here it is again. We are assured he loves them. Now, jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, okay, what’s the implication right there in the language? He loves them, so he’s going to do this. That’s the implication. So now, jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he had heard that Lazarus was ill, that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. What Put the brakes on? Did you just hear that he said he loved them, so he didn’t come? He waited two more days. Are you in the waiting period? Do you feel like you’ve cried out to God and, instead of him coming, he’s delayed his coming? You’re going through this and it’s taking so much longer than you thought he’s delayed his coming. I know that many of you are in this place. Folks, we have to remember that Jesus does not change. His word cannot fail, and even we, 2,000 years later, are believing he is who he said he was. We believe, even though time has passed and he has not returned yet, we still believe that he’s coming back for his church. We still believe that he’s the same yesterday, today and forever. Our trust is that he will do exactly what he said. He will do that if he said it, he will be faithful to complete it Two days longer. He stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Let’s continue reading. Then, after this, he said to the disciples Let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world, but if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. After saying these things, he said to them our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him Lord, if he’s fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly Lazarus has died. And for your sake, hear this. I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. Now, doesn’t that sound like the opposite? And if we know the kingdom and how the kingdom works, everything is opposite. We give so that we receive. We forgive so that we will be forgiven. We like to do things flipped, we like to do them. You prove it first. We don’t like faith. Faith says you show me a sign and then I’ll believe. And Jesus says you need to hear me and believe. And then the signs manifest. Because you believed. How many times did? He said be it unto you. According to your faith, the faith came first. The belief comes first. And Jesus says to them, in this opposite world, in this opposite kingdom, lazarus has died and for your sake, I’m glad I wasn’t there. I’m glad I wasn’t there. Now, why would he say that? Because he knows folks what his intent is, he knows what he has prophesied, he knows what the outcome is going to be. And he is saying to them I’m glad I wasn’t there, because it’s going to be better for you. This is going to cause you to really believe. You’re really going to know who I am. Your faith is going to grow to such an extent, you’re going to be a powerhouse and a tower of faith for me. You’re going to see more miracles and bigger things happen in your life than this, because you chose to allow me to work in this, the way I needed, to, standing in faith. If you will remain in faith, no matter how long it takes, according to the promise that I have given you, if you will stay in that place of faith, then you can know it’s better for you. It’s better for you. I know that’s hard to hear. I know when we’re suffering, it hurts and we’re saying I can’t do this, this is taking too long. But, folks, we think we can’t do it because we’re doing it in our own strength. We’re not doing it because of the power of his presence. We’re not doing it because we’ve been able to stand in a place of gratitude, in a place of saying I give thanks, like Betsy did to say I give thanks for the lice. I give thanks for this disgusting circumstance that I’m in, because I know that you have worked this for my good, that I’m able to have your word, I’m able to stand on who you are. I don’t have to trust in this circumstance. If I have to trust in the circumstance I’m done for. There’s nothing to have faith for if I have to trust in the circumstance, but if I trust in the one who has Jesus said. Hi, my name is Jamie Luce. I wanted to share with you some information about a brand new book entitled you Don’t Need Money, you Just Need God. It’s a playbook for miraculous provision and I want to share it with you because it solves the problem we are all facing right now. The economy is going crazy, gas prices are soaring, there’s wars and rumors of wars. We’ve got everything hitting us all at once, with interest rates rising. You need to know what to do, and so many times we think we need the money. But you don’t need money. I’m telling you, the answer is you need God, and that’s exactly what we want to teach you through this book. We’ll give you practical ways to know what to do and how to do it, so that you get answers. Now. You can find my book on Amazon. You can also go to jamielucecom. You can also find this book at youdontneedmoneyyoujustneedgodcom. This book is available today. Jesus kept telling his disciples you don’t know the Father. I know the Father. He wanted them to say. He’d say if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father. He kept trying to show them who God is, the power of God, based off of what he spoke and what he did and how he did it and how he did it, and we need to learn. Sometimes this is how he does it. It doesn’t mean the miracle isn’t coming, it just means he’s doing something even greater. He said I am glad for your sakes, I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. Let’s go down to verse 17. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus Lord, if you had been here and I know so many of you feel that today, lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. This issue would not have happened. I would not. I would not still be dealing with this. Lord, if you had been here, it wouldn’t look like this. But hear Martha. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, god will give you. So she was saying regardless of this death, regardless of what’s happened to my brother, regardless of what I think you could have done and changed, I believe that even now, if you ask God to do something on my behalf, then it will be done for you. So she’s believing that God is still who he says he is. She’s remaining in her faith, saying, regardless of this situation, I trust you, no matter what I see and no matter how bad this hurts. I trust you and you can still do something in my life. I’m still following you. I’m not turning loose. I’m not turning loose. Jesus said to her your brother will rise again. Here he’s saying. He’s repeating the same promise. He said it before this illness is not to death. And he’s telling her right now your brother will rise again. He is repeating the word. This is the word. The word hasn’t changed. Martha said to him I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day, and she thinks she understands what he’s saying, but she doesn’t. He says. Jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, shall he live, folks, no matter what has died, no matter what you have suffered the loss of, if you will still believe, remain in faith. What did Jesus say? That when he returns he’s looking to see, will there be any faith? Will there be any faith, will I find any faith when I return? He knows there’s been 2,000 years, he knows it’s been a long time. He knows sometimes we’re waiting on things and he says will I find faith? Will you still believe in me that I can do whatever needs to be done to bring life to a dead situation? Can I bring your dead heart back to? Can I bring your dead heart back to life? Can I bring your dead emotions back to life? Are you able to have joy again? I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die yet, shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And I’m asking you today do you believe this? She said to him yes, lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the son of God, who’s come into the world. When she had said this, she went and called her sister, mary, saying in private the teacher is here and he’s calling for you. And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now, jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him when the Jews who were with her in the house consolinging her saw Mary rise quickly and go out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now, when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet saying to him Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled, and he said when have you laid him? They said to him Lord, come and see Jesus wept. So the Jew said see how he loved him there. It is the third time he loved him there. It is the third time Jesus is making sure we understand how much he loves us. He sees your tears, the nights spent weeping, those who have tried to comfort you, and they cry with you. And God sees the lives of who have been touched by the circumstance that you’re dealing with. He knows that what you face feels impossible at this point and all you do is cry for what was yesterday and what’s different today. He sees all that pain and he weeps with you. He weeps with you because he’s compassionate. He weeps with you because he knows it hurts. He experienced betrayal, he experienced pain, he experienced death. He experienced everything that we could the thought of being alone and not being with the father. He experienced that betrayal and the oh, what’s the when you’ve been abandoned. He experiences the loss and the pain with you. He knows what you’re going through and he weeps with you. He doesn’t weep because it’s hopeless. He knows what he’s going to do, folks. He doesn’t weep with us for nothing. He doesn’t weep because it is hopeless and he’s going to do nothing. He weeps even knowing what he’s going to do. That will change the situation for you. He loves you so much that he takes the time that, in your time of tears and pain, he weeps with you. He feels the depth of your pain. He loves you. The problem that we tend to face is we think because we’re in this situation and because it hurts so bad and because we’ve waited so long and it hasn’t changed nothing has changed yet we seem to think then he doesn’t love me, he’s left me, I’ve done something, and now I’ve done it wrong or I haven’t had enough faith. And now I’m left alone and he doesn’t care, he’s forsaken me and he doesn’t love me anymore. That is a lie. John goes to great stakes to make sure that we see three times in one chapter how much Jesus loved them, and yet they had to go through this very difficult situation. He does love. He loves you, he cares about what you’re dealing with and his word is still his word. I encourage you stand in faith. Don’t turn loose. Do not allow the enemy of your soul, the liar, the father of lies, to come in and to condemn the word of God, the way that the Pharisees came to condemn Jesus and say that he was the liar. Do not allow the enemy of your soul to take away your hope, to take away the word that was spoken. What kind of soil are you today? Are you letting the birds come and rip the seeds off the ground? Are you letting the sun and the heat of the situation scorch your roots? Are you withered because of the tangle of the weeds, of all the cares of life that have come in to demolish your faith and take your time from being in the presence of God? To keep your faith strong? Or are you someone with good ground and the temptation is to allow the seed to be taken, but instead you grab hold of that seed and you take it deep into the soil. And no matter how long it takes to get it deep into that soil, you’re willing to wait. You’re willing to wait on that word to come to pass. You know, the Chinese bamboo tree goes into the ground, the seed goes into the ground and it stays under the ground with no sign of growth for years. I want to say that it’s either seven years or nine years. It’s a long time, a really long time. You see nothing. There is not even a blade that comes up to give you hope that that seed is still alive and doing what it’s supposed to do. But when it bursts forth, it can grow 90 feet in like a day, like grow right in front of you. Just immense growth In one day. The situation can change, but it’s because of what took place in the darkness. It’s what took place in that waiting time. And, folks, we have to know that his word will not fail you. If you will hang on to that word in faith, it will not fail. It cannot fail. According to Jesus, it cannot be broken, so let’s finish this up. Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it and Jesus said take away the stone. You have to be willing when Jesus comes to you in your heart and says it’s time to stop mourning this. It’s time to take this tomb and open this up. It’s time to let me in there. It’s time to let the light shine where it’s dark. It’s time to expose the stench of what’s inside of there. It’s time to deal with this. We have to listen. We’ve got to follow his instructions. Do whatever it takes. Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days. Jesus said to her did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? So they took away the stone and Jesus lifted up his eye and said Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around. Folks, we think he’s not hearing, we think he’s not listening. He hears. Jesus said this just to make this point, that he hears you. I know that you always have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me. So God’s about to get the glory and Jesus is getting the glory through this situation, and God always wants us. We need to love Jesus. God says I don’t see you. He says if you love the son, you love the father. If you accept the son, you accept the father, and if you will do these things, god gives us the benefit of loving his son. The way that this works is God says you may never have seen me, but you’ve seen my son and we may think well, yeah, I didn’t see him with my eyes, but yes, we’ve seen him In his scripture, we’ve seen him, we know who he is, we know what he’s done, we’ve seen him and if we’ll believe on him, we have recognition with the father. Um, let’s go back to verse 42. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice Lazarus, come out. The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them unbind him and let him go. Unbind him and let him go, him go. Not only do we need to, not only do we believe and not only will God do what he says he will do, but we need to be unshackled. So if sometimes we don’t realize we have shackled ourselves to old ways, old thoughts, old patterns, old habits, folks, we need to unshackle, we need to take the binds off, the chains need to come off and we need to be free to live as Jesus has called us out to live. However, he’s calling you out from the darkness and the sadness and the disappointment and the trouble. When he calls you out, you’ve got to let yourself be loose. Do what it takes to take those binds off of you, take those shackles off of you, so that you can walk free and fulfill what God has called you to fulfill. Lazarus’ testimony and the testimony for Mary and Martha was so impactful, it was so powerful that I read you this passage already. If we continue reading down to verse 48 and 49, let me make sure I’m reading the right one. Let’s just go there. Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said what are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. If you continue to read, you’ll see that they actually said they wanted to kill both Jesus and Lazarus, because Lazarus was the sign of the power of God to be raised from the dead. He was a miraculous sign of who Jesus was, the son of the living God and folks. We can have that kind of testimony. That was the word spoken. That was the word spoken. Jesus said this is going to give God glory and the son will receive glory through it, and the Son will receive glory through it. Your situation today. I declare to you, by the mercies of God, that whatever word he has spoken to you will come to pass, that his word cannot fail. The scripture will not be broken and that if you will allow God regardless of the time that has passed and how long you’ve been waiting if you will allow God to finish what he has started in your life by remaining in faith, if you will allow him, you will see the miraculous. God will be glorified and his son will be glorified. Through it, we will have a testimony and it will be a threat to the enemy. Our testimony will be glorious to you for your life, but to all those who witness it too. I challenge you today, if this has been an encouragement to you, that you don’t stop short. Get in your word, get in the presence of God, pray. He’s hearing you, he listens, he weeps with you, but stay in his presence. Give him thanks. The scripture tells us that it is the will of God that we give thanks in everything. That is the will of God for us, in fact, let me look that scripture up for you. For us, in fact, let me look that scripture up for you because, if you have this, it’s a great reminder that we regularly need to do this. Okay, 1 Thessalonians 5.18. 1 Thessalonians 5.18. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We have got to make sure that we are living according to God’s will. If you want to have your prayers answered, we ask according to God’s will. How do I know if I’m in God’s will? It plainly says this is the will of God for your life. This is the will of God for your life that you give thanks in every circumstance. So, folks, take those next steps. Make sure you’re giving thanks, that you are taking a hold of your thought, life and the way that you see your circumstance, that he is growing you through this, that it is better for you that he wait, that the glory and the outcome of what he’s going to do will so far surpass what you thought the answer would have looked like and would have done for you. Keep the right perspective in mind. If Jesus has waited, then it is better for you that he waited, and if you will remain in faith, you will see the impossible. If you know someone who this word would encourage, I would ask you to hit the like button and share. Give this message a chance to go to somebody who needs to hear the encouragement of the word of the Lord today and, if you have not yet subscribed, ring the bell. That way you get notified every time there’s a new episode that comes out. I’d love to hear from you. If you have a testimony or a prayer request, you can reach me by email and my email address is mail at jamielucecom and that’s M-A-I-L at J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E mail at jamielucecom. I’d love to hear from you. Thanks so much for being with me today. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.

Transcribed by https://podium.page