Signs & Miracles // The Smell of Heaven & Earth // Pastor Jarrod McEachron

John 11 steps into a house that already has history with Jesus. Mary had sat at his feet, Martha had been busy serving, and Jesus had already made it clear that heart to heart connection matters more than all the activity people think God needs. Mary would later pour out a year’s wages at Jesus’ feet, and that costly worship only makes sense because her brother was sitting at the table instead of lying in a grave. The fragrance of that perfume says, “Don’t judge somebody’s worship until the grave they came out of is understood.”

Jesus loves Lazarus deeply, even though Scripture records no conversation between them. That love shows the scandal of grace. God’s love does not wait for perfect behavior, perfect words, or a perfect track record. Grace breaks through every barrier, and Jesus stands before the Father as the Lamb who says, “This one I paid for.”

Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick, gives a promise, and then stays where he is for two more days. The delay feels wrong to Mary and Martha, but the delay is not failure. Jesus is not late. Jesus is setting the stage so that the glory of God gets bigger, and the sickness “will not end in death.”

John 11:11 becomes a trumpet blast: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” That awakening is not only for Lazarus. Dry bones still need the word of the Lord spoken over them, and God still tells his people to open their mouths. Complaining gives the enemy too much enjoyment, but prophecy lines up with heaven and speaks life over families, bodies, jobs, and impossible places.

The call to surrender runs right through the middle of it. A 95 percent life still leaves room for the idol, the addiction, the vice, and the stubborn corner of the heart. Full surrender opens the door for new birth, for the aroma of heaven, and for fruit that cannot be taped to a whiteboard by human effort. Love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, and self control grow from being connected to the vine.

Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Christianity is not just a hell fire insurance policy. Jesus leaves his people on earth so heaven can come through them, so ordinary people who have been with Jesus can heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead, and preach good news. When Jesus cries, “Lazarus, come out,” death has to let go, grave clothes have to come off, and every hidden person has to come forth.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Delay is not denial Jesus stayed two more days after giving a promise, and that delay looked like absence to grieving sisters. The delay was not neglect, because Jesus was moving toward a greater display of glory than anyone expected. Faith has to learn the difference between God being late and God setting the stage. [10:33]
• 2. Costly worship has a history Mary’s perfume looked wasteful to people who did not feel the weight of Lazarus sitting alive at the table. Extravagant worship often sounds unreasonable until the grave, the tears, and the resurrection behind it are known. Gratitude becomes costly when grace has touched what death had already claimed. [07:08]
• 3. Surrender opens what striving cannot A 95 percent surrender still leaves the heart managing its own idol. The 100 percent yes lets the Holy Spirit do what self help, willpower, and religious effort cannot do. New birth is not behavior modification, but the life of Christ changing a person from the inside out. [22:24]
• 4. Awakening needs an open mouth Dry bones did not hear private thoughts, but a prophetic word spoken out loud. God can put life in a body, a family, a job, or a future, but his people are often called to speak before they see movement. The mouth can either rehearse death or agree with heaven. [17:38]
• 5. Ordinary people carry resurrection power Jesus chose normal people, not religious experts with polished resumes. The mark of spiritual authority was not status, but the clear evidence that ordinary people had been with Jesus. A life filled with the Spirit does not have to announce fire, because fire shows up in the eyes.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:39] - Mary, Martha, and Sitting at Jesus’ Feet
• [04:34] - Mary’s Costly Perfume and Lazarus Alive
• [07:42] - The Scandal of Grace
• [09:16] - Lazarus’ Sickness Will Not End in Death
• [13:07] - John 11:11 and Spiritual Awakening
• [17:04] - Dry Bones and Prophetic Speech
• [20:04] - Filling the Void and Full Surrender
• [24:20] - Born Again and the Aroma of Heaven
• [25:58] - Fruit Comes From the Vine
• [30:08] - Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life
• [33:37] - Bringing Heaven to Earth
• [38:10] - Hearing God’s Voice in Obedience
• [42:35] - A Miracle Baby Testimony
• [44:27] - Lazarus, Come Out

Bible Reading

John 11:1-44
“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’

“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’

“When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” [01:07] [02:39] [09:16] [10:33] [13:12] [30:08] [44:27] [45:45]

Ezekiel 37:1-14
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’” [17:04] [17:38]

Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” [25:58]

Observation questions

1. In John 11, what are some details that show both Jesus’ love for Lazarus and the reality that Lazarus truly died before Jesus raised him? [07:42]
2. What does Martha say to Jesus when he arrives, and how does Jesus answer her before going to the tomb? [30:08]
3. In Ezekiel 37, what does God tell Ezekiel to do with his mouth before the bones begin to move? [17:38]
4. In Galatians 5:22-23, which qualities are named as fruit of the Spirit, and how are they different from something a person can just force by effort? [25:58]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “This illness does not lead to death,” and then still allows Lazarus to die and remain in the tomb for four days. What does that reveal about the difference between a painful moment and a final outcome in God’s hands? [10:33]
2. Mary’s costly perfume makes more sense once Lazarus is seen alive at the table. How does that help explain why some acts of worship look excessive to people who do not know the full story? [07:08]
3. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” not merely “I can bring resurrection.” What does that suggest about what people actually need most in seasons of grief, disappointment, or spiritual dryness? [30:08]
4. Ezekiel is told to prophesy to dry bones, and Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave with a loud voice. What do these passages suggest about the way God uses spoken words to bring life into hopeless places? [13:12]

Application questions

1. Where does life currently feel delayed—health, family, work, prayer, or something else? What would it look like this week to trust that delay is not denial and keep standing on God’s word instead of giving up? [10:33]
2. Costly worship often has a history behind it. What has Jesus brought out of the grave in your own life, and how has that shaped the way you pray, worship, give, or respond to him? [07:08]
3. A 95 percent surrender still leaves room for an idol, vice, or hidden corner of the heart. What area feels hardest to place fully in Jesus’ hands right now, and why does that area seem so difficult to release? [22:24]
4. Dry bones did not respond to private thoughts but to the word of the Lord spoken out loud. What have you been saying over your life lately—more complaint, fear, and frustration, or words that agree with God’s promises? [17:38]
5. Fruit grows from staying connected to the vine, not from trying to tape good behavior onto life. Which fruit of the Spirit feels most lacking right now, and what might abiding in Christ look like in that area this week? [25:58]
6. Jesus leaves his people on earth so that heaven can come through them. Where might God be asking you to bring life, prayer, courage, or compassion into an ordinary setting this week? [33:37]
7. Lazarus came out alive, but he still needed the grave clothes removed. After Jesus has brought someone out of death, what “grave clothes” can still cling to them—old shame, old habits, old labels, fear—and which of those may still need to come off in your own life? [45:45]