Don’t Count Me Out
I Still Believe
John 11 – 17; 25-45 Amplified
John 12:1-2
John 11:25 Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Because I believe in Christ, he is the resurrection and he is the life, that gives us the access that we need and we can declare with an assurance, though I am dead, I am yet alive through Christ Jesus….so don’t count me out because of what it looks like.
Verse 26-Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha, that’s why it’s so important that we let the word of God abide in us and we abide in it, because as long as we’re abiding in the Word and the Word is abiding in us, we have life. Now to the natural eye, the situation might look dead and it very well might be, but in our inner man there is life and that more abundantly. I decree and declare I will live and not die. I will declare the works of the Lord. Because he that is within me is Greater than he that is in the world. This our hope and our
Confidence, this should be our declaration.
Verse 32: when Mary came she fell at his feet saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died – sometimes we fall on our face and we begin to say Lord if you had of moved this would not have happened, or Lord if it had of been like this or like that the situation would have turned out differently, in our moments of sorrow, or in our moments of feeling like we have been defeated, let us not forget who we are trusting and believing, that we will not be easily moved from our place of faith. The journey sometimes can be disappointing, the test and trials sometimes can be tough and it takes every ounce of strength just to hold on to the promises of God. But I want to remind you that in our weakness he is our strength, in and of ourselves we can do nothing, but through Christ Jesus that strengthens me, I can make this journey, I can endure hardship as a good soldier! So be encouraged today to hold on and don’t waiver. Whatever God has promised you, whatever God has predestined for your life it will surely come to pass, so don’t count yourself out and surely don’t let no one else speak defeat over your life and your circumstances. Some things on this journey will make you feel like you literally have had the wind knocked out of you, but I’m here to remind you about the Rauch breath of God, Holy Spirit breathe on us again, breathe on our situation breathe on that thing that looks like it might be dead but you have ordained it to live. Breathe on our mind, that it will be renewed daily, Breathe on our hearts because we don’t want a hard and stony heart, but a heart of flesh.
When Jesus saw Mary sobbing he was moved, even moved to the point of anger and troubled because of the sorrow that death had caused. Listen Christ is mindful of us, he knows how we feel, he knows what we are going through and he has a solution, though you sow in tears, you’ll reap in joy, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning, After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be]. 1 Peter 5:10-Amp. Let it be known he’s mindful of us, he knows exactly what we’re going through.
Verse 36: Now you have the hecklers, so if Jesus had them, what about us. Could not this Man, who opened the blind man’s eyes, have kept this man from dying? So he was again deeply moved. When we have hecklers we have to be moved to the point that we are going to trust God, no matter what it looks like, no matter what other people say. God I trust you with everything in me, I trust that what you have promised will surely come to pass and because I trust you I’m going to work the Word and the Word is going to work for me. How am I going to work the Word, through my obedience and letting it purify me, letting my old man be crucified and the new creature that I am in Christ live and those old things be passed away. Because if God said it than that’s what it is, Because God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it? Numbers 23:19 Amp. So that’s my proclamation, I’m going to be moved to the point of faith and not to the point of clap back. I don’t know about you but I want to see the Glory in my situation, I want to see the Glory in my circumstances. So allow the heckling to catapult you to a greater level of faith, a greater level of righteousness, a greater level of obedience. Sometimes people say things and then watch for your reaction, the intent was to hurt, the intent was to cast a snare, but no matter what man’s intent, come on and let’s level up!! Level up in your faith, level up in trusting God, level up in letting the word perfect and mature you. That’s why you can shout Don’t count me out, I still believe.
Verse: 40 Jesus told them to take away the stone. Lord take away the stone!! Ezekiel 36:26 – says Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them. Lord that away the stone, because the stone represents blockage, nothing could get in and nothing could get out. For if my heart is hard, your word can not abide and sin will not leave, but if I have a new heart, a heart of flesh you word your spirit can abide in and with me, and because you are abiding in me, that old man will have to die! So Lord take away the stone!!! Whatever that stone represents, that causes us not to mature and hear you calling us! Lord take away the stone!
Verse 41-42 Notice how he began to thank his Father 1st, we want to develop a spirit of thanksgiving even in the midst of what looks like a disaster or what’s not going our way!! Father, I want to take the time out right now to say Thank you! Thank you for all that you have done, thank you for making ways, thank you for just being God! Hallelujah thank you Jesus!!!
Verse 43-44 – He shouted with a loud voice Lazarus, come out!! Lazarus comes out, with his hands and feet tightly wrapped in burial cloths and with a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, Unwrap him and release him. Now that the stone was removed Lazarus was able to hear Christ call him and come out, but he came out with what he was wrapped in, after God brings us out, sometimes there is some residue that we will need to be loosed from, we decree and declare on today that even residue must unwrap and release us. So we no longer look like the former things, we no longer sound and act like the dead things because we are alive and we’re coming forth. We have to change our garments. We’re going to put on the oil of joy for mourning, we’re going to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that we might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
In my conclusion don’t let nobody count you out! Don’t count your own self out. Don’t come in alignment or in agreement with what God hasn’t said or ordained for your life. Because it can offset your life. Hear me, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words. And don’t be moved, but hold fast to your belief in God because we are going to see the Glory if we faint not. Because of our faith and steadfastness in God it will cause the eyewitnesses to believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! So you can say with confidence don’t count me out because I still believe and there’s still work assigned to our hands!!!!!
