Unwrap and Release: The Church's Call to Freedom

God’s banner of freedom goes before His people, behind them, and on every side. God does not hide that freedom from the enemy, but raises it high like Israel’s banners and trumpets going into battle. God’s people do not walk into trials in their own power, because Christ has bought and declared freedom over their minds, hearts, families, provision, and lives.

John 11 brings the church back to Lazarus’s tomb. Jesus knew Lazarus would die, yet He said the story would not end in death, because He had resurrection, victory, and freedom already in view. Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out,” and the dead man walked out alive, though his hands, feet, and face were still bound in grave clothes. Jesus then turned to the people standing around Lazarus and said, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

Jesus alone calls people out of the grave. Jesus alone saves, restores, and makes dead people alive by grace. The church cannot manufacture resurrection or become anybody’s savior, but it must make room for the people Jesus is drawing. God may bring somebody into the room carrying a story, habits, wounds, fears, or a look that does not fit what people expect, and Christ’s work in that person must be honored.

Lazarus’s grave clothes did not mean he was still dead. The clothes belonged to where he had been, not to where Jesus had brought him. Salvation begins a process of unwrapping, because a person can have a new heart while still carrying an old vocabulary, old fears, years of shame, emotional wounds, or habits that need surrendered. Sanctification takes time, and freedom takes practice.

Jesus calls His community into the miracle. The church is not called to shame people for still wearing grave clothes, but neither is it called to leave people in them. Galatians calls believers to carry one another’s burdens and restore those caught in wrongdoing with a gentle spirit. Biblical community gets close enough to notice, ask another question, pray when words are gone, correct with grace, and celebrate real progress.

Christ’s freedom continued through a community willing to touch the grave clothes. Jesus calls people out, and His people help show them what walking free looks like. The church becomes family when it refuses to be a crowd of spectators and becomes a people ready to sit in the mess, offer love, bring accountability, speak truth, and keep walking together.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus alone calls people from death [47:07] Jesus performed the resurrection that nobody around Lazarus could perform. Grace does not rest on a church’s effort, a friend’s prayers, or somebody’s ability to clean up first. Christ interrupts the old life with His voice and gives life to the dead. The church serves best when it remembers that Jesus is Savior and it is not. [47:07]
• 2. Grave clothes do not define life [54:17] Lazarus came out alive while still looking like he had been in the grave. Old habits, fears, shame, and wounds can remain visible after Christ has made someone new. Those things need attention, surrender, healing, and discipleship, but they do not cancel the reality of salvation. The clothes belong to the old place, not the new identity. [54:17]
• 3. Unwrapping requires patient, close community [58:55] Growth does not happen through a quick paper, a rule list, or distant observation. Discipleship takes relationship, time, check-ins, prayer, correction with love, and room for awkward moments. A person cannot be helped out of grave clothes from a distance. Christ calls His people to get close enough to carry what another person cannot carry alone yet. [58:55]
• 4. Grace refuses shame and neglect [01:05:18] The church must not shame people for the grave clothes still wrapped around them. The church must also refuse the easier path of leaving them bound and calling it acceptance. Love gathers around, helps untie what is holding someone back, and points that person toward lasting freedom. Freedom without condemnation still includes repentance, truth, and growth. [65:18]
• 5. Healthy disciples learn dependence on God [01:13:06] Unwrapping does not create dependence on people. Discipleship helps believers become strong enough to stand, serve, lead, and eventually help somebody else. The goal is not control or endless dependence on a church member. The goal is a life that leans on God when times get tough and walks in the freedom Christ has given.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:57] - God Is Faithful in Every Trial
• [37:35] - The Banner of Freedom
• [41:23] - Returning to Lazarus’s Tomb
• [44:34] - Unwrap Him and Let Him Go
• [46:41] - Jesus Calls the Dead to Life
• [51:56] - Resurrection Begins Unwrapping
• [55:32] - Old Grave Clothes in a New Life
• [58:55] - Patience, Practice, and Discipleship
• [61:34] - Carry One Another’s Burdens
• [65:18] - No Shame for Grave Clothes
• [66:45] - Jesus Calls the Community Into the Miracle
• [68:38] - The Church Cannot Be Spectators
• [74:12] - Ministry Gets Close to the Mess
• [77:10] - Releasing What Still Binds

1. In John 11:43-44, what does Jesus do for Lazarus, and what does He tell the people standing nearby to do?
2. What details show that Lazarus was alive even though he was still wearing grave clothes? [44:38]
3. What examples of “grave clothes” can remain in a person’s life after coming to faith in Christ? [01:01:00]
4. According to Galatians 6:1-2 and Romans 12:15, what actions should believers take when another person is struggling, caught in sin, grieving, or celebrating?

1. Ephesians 2:4-5 says people are made alive by God’s mercy and grace. Why is it important for believers to remember that they cannot save or rescue another person?
2. Jesus tells the crowd, “Unbind him, and let him go.” What does this show about the difference between Christ’s role in salvation and the church’s role in discipleship? [01:07:43]
3. Lazarus’s grave clothes showed where he had been, not where he belonged now. How can this picture help a believer respond wisely to someone whose past wounds, habits, fears, or vocabulary are still visible? [55:20]
4. Galatians 6:1 calls for restoration with gentleness. What might gentle restoration look like when a believer needs both loving support and honest correction? [01:12:18]

1. What grave clothes might still be wrapped around your own life—such as shame, fear, bitterness, an old identity, a wound, a habit, or a lie you have believed? What would it look like to bring that honestly before Jesus and a trusted believer? [01:17:50]
2. Is there someone in your life who may be following Jesus but still looks like they are carrying things from an old season? How can you treat them as a brother or sister rather than as a project? [57:30]
3. Growth takes time, and freedom takes practice. Where do you need more patience with someone else’s process, and where do you hope others will show patience with yours? [58:55]
4. Carrying burdens requires closeness. What is one simple way you could get close enough this week to notice how someone is really doing—by asking a second question, making a call, sharing a meal, or praying with them? [01:15:31]
5. A healthy church does not shame people for grave clothes, but it also does not leave people bound. How can you offer someone both acceptance and truth without becoming harsh, distant, or controlling? [01:05:41]
6. Is there an area of struggle where you have been trying to walk alone? Who is a trustworthy, gentle person you could invite into that part of your life for prayer, encouragement, and accountability? [01:03:42]
7. The goal of discipleship is not dependence on people but dependence on God. What would becoming stronger in your dependence on God look like in a current challenge or temptation? [01:13:08]