Devotional | Resurrection Day is Coming!
The Gospel is all about the empty tomb and how Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Now, by the power of the resurrection, we are coming out of our tombs as well. But when Lazarus was supernaturally raised from the dead, he still had grave clothes binding him. His family and friends had to unwrap him from his grave clothes. Read the full story in John 11.
We are resurrected with Christ, but we are still wrapped in grave clothes that we need to be freed from.
We need to learn how to remove the garments (residue) of death and darkness. God not only wants to set us free spiritually, he wants to set us free emotionally, physically, and financially. He wants every garment of death from before we met Jesus to be removed.
‘And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.’ Ephesians 2:1-7
How does that happen? Lazarus is a prophetic picture of our new birth experience. Every one of us were dead in sins and trespasses, locked in by the powers of darkness and we didn’t even know it. Jesus called our name and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, raised us from our death and we are no longer in our sins. We are in Christ now.
‘He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,’ Colossians 1:13
God wants us to be alive like Lazarus, but He also wants those around us to help remove the garments that have bound us. When we are born again, instantly everything changes on the inside, but our mind and our flesh changes very little. There is a process for our mind and body to become new like our spirit. We are no longer tomb dwellers, bound by the clothes of sin and death. We need to move from being a convert to being a disciple.
We all need help removing the grave clothes.
We need to have family—whether natural or in the Body—and friends to be there when we step out of the tomb. Being part of a community, like a life group, Sunday school class, or neighborhood fellowship, helps us grow in our new journey of freedom. In a community we can receive encouragement and be a source of encouragement to others. Getting free and staying free is connected to our community of family and friends.
‘Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.’ Hebrews 10:25
When we’re born again and spirit-filled we are made new in Christ, but we still must put off our old man—the residue of our past life and our way of thinking. We have been thinking a certain way for a long time and it doesn’t change overnight.
‘That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.’ Ephesians 4:22-24
Here are four things we all need in order to unwrap the grave clothes from ourselves and others:
The Word of God – become a disciple and continue in His Word.
The Love of God – gain an understanding of His unconditional love.
The Will of God – see His will in the light of the cross and the new creation.
The Mind of Christ – meditate on the Word for the renewing of our mind.
Putting off our grave clothes is a process of letting go of the old man and putting on the new man through the renewing of our mind in Christ Jesus. Get connected with people who will unwrap your grave clothes and walk with you in overcoming the grave!
