Waiting for a Miracle

Nothing Is Over Until Jesus Says It’s Over

Scripture References

• John 11

Overview

Chris Beal opened a new series on miracles by walking through the whole of John 11—Jesus raising Lazarus. Miracles, he taught, are moments when God chooses to act outside the natural order He created, ultimately to display His glory and invite belief. Through the story, Chris showed how followers of Jesus can live with hope when they’re waiting for their own breakthrough, even when God seems late. He wove in the recent, near-fatal car accident of his son Seth as a present-day reminder that what God has done before, He can do again.

Context

• Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem, was the home of siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—close friends of Jesus.
• John 11 is one of Jesus’ last recorded miracles before Holy Week; in the larger narrative it accelerates both public belief and the plot to crucify Him.

Main Points

1. Pray Honest Prayers

• Martha met Jesus outside the village and blurted, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
• Honest lament isn’t irreverent; it’s intimate. You cannot have true closeness with a God to whom you will not be real.
• Illustration: In the first days after Seth’s spinal-cord injury, Chris told God bluntly, “I’m angry and I feel alone.” That honesty opened space for God’s presence.

2. Risk Your Heart and Believe Again

• Even after her complaint, Martha added, “Yet even now I know that whatever You ask of God, He will give You.”
• Jesus responded, “I am the resurrection and the life… Do you believe this?” Faith requires fresh, present-tense trust, not only past confidence.
• Story: A hospital cafeteria worker felt prompted to pray over Seth, anointed him with oil, and “preached heaven down.” From that day his recovery accelerated—walking, working, and lifting within months.
• Obedience to a Holy Spirit nudge can change someone else’s story for decades.

3. Nothing Is Finished Until Jesus Says It Is Finished

• Jesus waited until Lazarus had been dead four days—beyond the Jewish notion that a soul might linger three days—so there would be only one explanation.
• He wept, showing He enters our suffering, then called, “Lazarus, come out!” Delay was for God’s glory and others’ belief.
• Some miracles arrive after the “expiration of our expectation” so that God’s glorification is unmistakable.
• The Lazarus miracle sets in motion Jesus’ own path to the cross, where He finally declared, “It is finished,” conquering death for all who believe.

Key Truths

• Waiting on God is never wasted; a divine delay is not a denial.
• God can handle every raw emotion you dare to pray.
• Jesus stands with us in pain before He delivers us from it.
• Hope requires the courage to believe “even now.”
• Death lost its finality when Jesus rose; resurrection power is available today.

Response

• Speak honestly with God about your disappointments.
• Dare to pray “even now” over situations that look impossible.
• Obey Holy Spirit promptings—your action may be someone’s miracle.
• Detach God’s love from your preferred timeline; trust His higher purpose.
• Invite someone to hear about Jesus’ miracle-working power this week.

Closing

Chris reminded the church that some prayers seem unanswered—marriages still end, diagnoses still stand—but God is present in the temporary and focused on the eternal. The Lazarus account wasn’t chiefly about one man’s resuscitation; it was a sign pointing to Jesus’ own death and resurrection so that “whoever believes in Him shall never die.” Delay, pain, or even death cannot write the final sentence—only Jesus can, and He has already said, “It is finished.”

Prayer

Father, I need You.
I’ve sinned; I’m asking You to save me.
Jesus, I believe You died on a cross You didn’t deserve to pay for my sin and that You rose from the grave to bring me life.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can serve You always.
In Jesus’ name, amen.