Do you believe this.. Living like you mean it

Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. John 11:21-27

Jesus’ affirmation, “I am the resurrection and the life,” is a powerful and important statement, I like this passage more because of the question that follows that statement, “Do you believe this?” Answering this question means more than just assenting to the words Jesus has said, it means shaping our lives according to the affirmation that Jesus has made. We also must have faith that Jesus is.

Martha seems to have lost faith.
She is certain that Jesus has missed his opportunity for a miracle and her brother Lazarus is gone for good. Jesus assures Martha that her brother will rise again, but Martha does not seem to find much hope in this. Her response to Jesus is almost yadda, yadda.., “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” It’s as if she is saying to Jesus, “what’s the big deal, lots of people will be resurrected.” This was part of Jewish belief, even during that time. Martha, it seems, has blindly accepted this message of eternal life, she finds no real hope or encouragement in Jesus’ words that Lazarus will rise again.

Sometimes, blind acceptance of the Gospel means that we never expect to see its promises carried out. Martha did not have any faith or hope that Jesus meant what he had just said in a very real sense; she was just answering the question the way it was “supposed” to be answered. To Martha, Jesus’ words were not a present reality; they were just some prediction of a distant future.

Often, it is very difficult to look at the present situation and see a different reality; it’s easier to put our expectations in the future. This is exactly what Martha did when she responded to Jesus that she knew Lazarus would be raised in the resurrection on the last day; Martha set Jesus’ words, as some far distant possibility, not a reality of the here and now.

If we are able to truly say that we believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, then we will have a faith that goes beyond just hearing Jesus’ words and imagining a different future. When Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again,” we will know that to be true even now. And in answer to the question, “Do you believe this?” we will offer a resounding, “Yes!”

Will you live like you believe?
Despite all that’s going on in your life, will you live like you believe?
Don’t just say you believe and give some Sunday school answer like Martha first did. Live your life based on your belief that Jesus Christ will take you to heaven.

Living like you believe means receiving life itself.
Your spiritual life cannot survive without the one who gives life. Jesus asks Martha this question because Martha wasn’t living like she believed. She said she believed but from her obvious amount of frustration with the way Jesus didn’t heal her brother proved that she didn’t really believe. So the question is not only, “Do we believe?” But also, “Do our lives show evidence that we are taking Jesus at his word, that we do indeed believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life?”

Martha answered Jesus a second time. “Yes lord; I have believed that you are the Christ, the son of god, even he who comes into the world.” Live like you believe! Jesus asked a very simple and yet ultimate question, “do you believe?” If so, then live like it. If not, let me introduce to the miracle of the life that only Jesus can provide.

Jesus loves us so much that he died on a cross so that we can live forever with God. We know that offer of life is real because three days after he died, Jesus was resurrected. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in him, though they die, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in him will never die. This life was given to us by God in love. And in love, God offers to us eternal life. If we are to know that love and that life, we must place our reliance totally in God’s hands. We must surrender our sins, We must put aside our selfishness, And we must seek God first in everything in our lives. And when Jesus asks that question of us that he asked of Martha, “Do you believe this?” We must be prepared to say yes not only with our words, but also with our minds, our hearts, and our whole lives!

Do you believe that:
“Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe the He is . . .” Hebrews 11:6

1. I am the resurrection
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” Rom 1:4 We need to believe in His person. Who He is.

“looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god.” Hebrews 12:2

2. The life
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. John 6.63

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. John 10:18

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3

3. Belief
“Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established.” 2Chr 20:20

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.