Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places

Apr 05, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus is the source of true and lasting life.

Many people search for fulfillment in temporary things—possessions, achievements, or fleeting pleasures. These pursuits often leave a deeper emptiness, a sense that the drawer we keep returning to is finally empty. True life is not found in what we do or acquire, but in a person. It is found in a living, breathing relationship with Jesus Christ, who is life itself. He is the only one who can satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul. [48:09]

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 CSB)

Reflection: What is one “empty drawer” you have been returning to, hoping it would provide fulfillment, only to be left wanting? What would it look like to turn from that and seek true life in Jesus this week?

Day 2: Holding onto hope with the words “even now.”

Life is filled with moments of profound pain, loss, and disappointment. In these times, it can feel as if God is distant or has abandoned us. Yet, the testimony of faith is to declare “even now” in the midst of the struggle. This phrase is a powerful affirmation of trust, acknowledging that God’s power and presence are not limited by our present circumstances. It is a declaration that our hope is in Him, not in our situation. [50:46]

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (John 11:21-22 CSB)

Reflection: Where in your life are you currently facing a situation that feels hopeless? How can you, like Martha, choose to say “even now” and trust in God’s power and goodness right where you are?

Day 3: Resurrection is not just an event; it is an identity.

The hope of Christianity is not merely a future promise but a present reality. Jesus did not simply perform a resurrection; He declared that He is the resurrection. This means that eternal life begins the moment we place our faith in Him, not when we die. To know Jesus is to know life. To have Jesus is to have life. This new life transforms our identity and reorients our entire existence around Him. [01:01:05]

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25 CSB)

Reflection: In what ways do you tend to think of the resurrection as a distant event rather than a present identity? How might living today as someone who already possesses resurrection life change your perspective and actions?

Day 4: Christ calls us to leave our grave clothes behind.

Through His power, Jesus calls us out of our spiritual death and into new life. Yet, like Lazarus, we can sometimes continue to walk around bound by the grave clothes of our old habits, hurts, and sins. Christ’s command is to be “loosed” and set free from all that entangles us. He invites us to shed the remnants of our past and fully embrace the freedom and new identity we have in Him. [01:10:32]

The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” (John 11:44 CSB)

Reflection: What “grave clothes”—old patterns of thought, sin, or pain—are you still wearing that Christ is asking you to let go of so you can walk in the full freedom He has given you?

Day 5: We are adopted into God’s family with full rights.

The gospel is more than forgiveness; it is an adoption. God, in His grace, does not merely pardon us but brings us into His family as beloved children. In the ancient world, an adopted child was chosen and could not be disowned, and all their debts were paid by their new father. This is our status in Christ—chosen, secure, and freed from the debt of sin, with all the rights and privileges of being a child of God. [01:12:20]

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16 CSB)

Reflection: How does understanding your relationship with God as one of a chosen, adopted child, rather than just a forgiven sinner, change the way you approach Him in prayer and in your daily life?

Sermon Summary

John 11 frames a searching human heart that keeps looking for life in shallow places and then meets the decisive claim that life itself stands in Jesus. Small, silly pleasures and dangerous shortcuts get listed as examples of how people chase quick fixes that never satisfy. The Lazarus story grounds the lesson: Jesus arrives after four days, confronts grief, and declares, "I am the resurrection and the life," challenging ordinary expectations about death, hope, and God's timing. Martha voices a faith that trusts Jesus even amid loss—"even now"—and that phrase becomes a hinge between despair and expectation.

The narrative insists that resurrection is not merely a future event to be learned about; it names the identity of Jesus and the present reality he brings. Resurrection life begins the moment someone trusts Jesus, reshaping daily living, easing the fear of death, and reordering priorities. The text urges honesty about empty habits—returning to the same "drawers" that no longer satisfy—and calls for unwrapping the "grave clothes" that bind people to past failures. When Lazarus walks out bound in linens, the command to "loose him and set him free" models spiritual unbinding: repentance, release, and practical ministry to help one step fully into new life.

The resurrection secures both adoption and debt cancellation: adoption into God’s family gives legal standing and inheritance, while Christ pays the debt that the soul cannot pay. The passage presses for a decisive response—believing, identifying with Christ, and entering a living relationship rather than a cultural religion. The Easter claim carries moral urgency: if resurrection is true, then life must be found in the risen one, not in empty drawers, fleeting pleasures, or rituals alone. The call lands plain and immediate: admit the emptiness, abandon the old draws, unwrap the grave clothes, and embrace the resurrection life that begins now and continues forever.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus is the resurrection and life The claim that Jesus is the resurrection names resurrection as his very identity, not merely a future miracle. To believe him means to accept that life in him begins now and reshapes fear, purpose, and daily choices. Belief reorients hope away from temporary fixes toward the permanence of divine life. [48:09]
2. Even now: faith amid suffering Saying "even now" acknowledges present grief while refusing finality; it trusts God's power in the immediate moment. That phrase trains the soul to hold sorrow and expectancy together, expecting God to work within pain rather than bypassing honest grief. Practicing "even now" sustains endurance without false optimism. [50:46]
3. Stop returning to empty drawers Repeating old habits that once satisfied wastes spiritual energy and deepens emptiness. Those drawers once yielded scraps of comfort but now only reveal loss and shame; recognizing that emptiness invites a radical reorientation toward Christ. The discipline of confession and new habit-building reclaims life from what exhausted it. [61:37]
4. Unwrap grave clothes; be set free The image of Lazarus bound in burial cloths shows how new life can arrive while past restraints remain. The command to "loose him and set him free" requires others to help remove the bindings—repentance, confession, and communal care. Real resurrection moves people into fuller visibility, responsibility, and freedom. [70:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[42:51] - Title: Looking for Life
[43:27] - Searching for Joy in Small Things
[44:35] - Silly and Dangerous Substitutes
[46:56] - Reading John 11: Context
[48:09] - "I am the resurrection" Declaration
[50:46] - "Even now" Faith in Suffering
[53:50] - Resurrection Brings Present Hope
[61:05] - Resurrection as Identity
[70:32] - Lazarus Raised; Free from Grave Clothes
[73:19] - Adoption and Paid Debt
[75:24] - Invitation: Receive New Life

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: John 11:17-27 (CSB)
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away). Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”

Observation questions

What was the situation Jesus found when he arrived in Bethany, and how long had Lazarus been in the tomb?
What was Martha’s initial statement to Jesus when she met him?
What specific title does Jesus use to describe himself in his response to Martha?
What two-part question does Jesus ask Martha following his declaration?

Interpretation questions

Martha says, “Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” [50:46] What does the phrase “even now” reveal about the nature of her faith in that moment of grief?
Jesus declares, “I am the resurrection and the life,” not “I will bring about the resurrection.” [59:17] What is the significance of this being a statement of his identity rather than just a description of a future event he will perform?
When Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” and she responds, “Yes, Lord,” [01:08:02] what is she being asked to accept and stake her life upon?
Jesus states that everyone who lives and believes in him “will never die.” How does this statement redefine the common human understanding of death?

Application questions

The phrase “even now” is a declaration of faith in the midst of present pain. [52:38] What is a current situation in your life where you need to choose to say, “even now, I trust you, Jesus”?
The sermon described the habit of going back to “empty drawers”—old habits or sources that once offered comfort but now yield nothing. [01:01:37] What is one “empty drawer” you find yourself returning to, and what would it look like to stop going back to it and instead turn to Christ for life?
When Lazarus was raised, he came out still bound in his grave clothes, and Jesus commanded the people to “loose him and set him free.” [01:10:32] What are some “grave clothes”—past hurts, habits, or failures—that you are still wrapped in, even though you have new life in Christ? Who can help you unwrap them?
Resurrection life is not just a future hope but begins the moment we trust in Christ. [01:04:23] How does knowing that resurrection life starts now change your perspective on a current fear or struggle you are facing?
The resurrection secures our adoption into God’s family and the cancellation of our debt. [01:11:58] How does being a chosen, adopted child of God, whose debt has been fully paid, affect your sense of identity, security, and purpose today?
The ultimate call of the Easter message is to be in a right relationship with Christ. [01:09:07] If someone were to look at your daily life—your priorities, your choices, your speech—what would it tell them about where you are truly looking for life?

Sermon Clips

46s

#RightWithChrist

“I want you to listen to this. Make no mistake, the ultimate desire in Easter call for every person in this building, for all of us in this world, the Easter message is this, for your life today and forever, is to be in right relationship with Christ because if we're not, we've missed everything. We can have all kinds of money. We can have a nice home. We can drive nice cars. We can do everything in the world. But if we miss this, we miss everything. I am the resurrection of the life. I am the resurrection of life. We don't need to miss him.”

27s

#JesusIsLife

“Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God he will give. You see the e the essence of the Easter message in a world of pain and suffering is that even now Jesus has always been life and he always will be. Jesus is life. We're looking for life in all the wrong places. You come to Jesus, you found what life is all about.”

37s

#JesusOverLifeAndDeath

“You believe that? I do. I believe that. I believe one day when I get to heaven I'll see my father again and be with him for eternity. I haven't seen My father's been twenty five years. One day I will see my little brother again that I haven't seen since I was a three year old. One day you can fill in the blank. We tell people that all the time, that they can trust him if that's what it is. That even now, God shows up. That that's what the resurrection is all about. Why? Because Jesus holds the reigns over life and death.”

34s

#WayTruthLife

“Jesus wants a relationship with us, a living, breathing relationship with us, that he will abide with us and walk with us. The essence of the resurrection is that Jesus took our sin upon himself. He took upon himself what he did not deserve because he never sinned, therefore he didn't deserve death, hell, and eternal separation from God, from the father. He did not deserve to go to the grave. But because he never sinned, he resurrected and so he can cry out and say, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man come to the father except through me. That is the essence of Easter.”

45s

#HopeInJesus

“That thing that once fed you and you thought you got pleasure out of. You thought that it was it was it. It's no longer it and you know it's not. But some of us are too prideful to admit that what that's not what life's all about. It's not about going back to that same old empty drawer. It's about opening ourself up and realizing we need something so much more we need Jesus. That's the essence of Easter. In the middle of all darkness, in the middle of even in a hospital room, an emergency room, there's hope because there's Jesus. If there's Jesus, there's always hope. There's always life. For he is the resurrection.”

47s

#ChooseLifeNotAddiction

“Some of us need to stop. We need to take an honest look. We need to realize it's not working. There was a time you could drink enough, man, where you you didn't feel anymore, but then that drinking took over you. Maybe it's some other sin. I don't know. A lot of times I see this for me as a teenager, it was pornography. But after a while, it so sears your mind and your heart that you become callous. You don't feel anymore because that drawer is empty. Jesus is life. He's the light of the world. He's the bread of life. He wants to give you life.”

49s

#ResurrectionIsReal

“It's not it's not just because we get new clothes or because it's just a day that we celebrate and get with families. It's much more than that. It is the essence. It is the apex. It is the very top of our of our spiritual life because if the resurrection is not true, Christianity is not true and therefore there is no hope. So don't treat it like it's just some kind of religious, you know, kind of idealism. That's not what it is. It's an actual literal historical event of which Jesus proved that he had he had victory over death. And so because he had victory over death, regardless of what we carry in this place, we have victory over that too. We can celebrate that. That's what the what Easter is all about.”

35s

#EmptyDrawersNoMore

“When I was a kid, my father used to leave chain in his drawer in the morning until he realized one day that we had discovered his chains drawer and man, we were raiding it every day. And I would go back when I need to go to the store, I'll go get a get a dollars worth of of change, and I get all this. And and then I started noticing that there wasn't there was only 70¢, and there was only 50¢, there were only 20. Then I noticed it dried up completely. It didn't stop me from keep going back to that drawer to see if I could pull something out of the crack or the corner or something or lift something else up. I look in the other drawers, and I found out it was all gone. But I kept going back. Some of you are going back to empty drawers.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Hyland Heights Baptist Church This sermon · AI assistant

What does I am the resurrection mean?

How does resurrection change our present life?

How should believers remove their grave clothes?

Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus is the source of true and lasting life.

Day 2: Holding onto hope with the words “even now.”

Day 3: Resurrection is not just an event; it is an identity.

Day 4: Christ calls us to leave our grave clothes behind.

Day 5: We are adopted into God’s family with full rights.

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Looking for Life in All the Wrong Places

Share