Full Life and Resurrection

What if the full life God promises doesn't look like getting what you want, when you want it? This Sunday, Pastor Josh took us through John 11 — the raising of Lazarus — and flipped our idea of the "full life" upside down. The sermon wasn't about healing. It was about resurrection, timing, and the difference between wanting God's performance and wanting God's presence.

When Jesus Doesn't Give You What You Want

Pastor Josh opened by reminding us that it's okay to come to God with a shopping list. Sharing your desires with God isn't wrong — in fact, honest failure is far more relevant than fake success when it comes to prayer. But here's the twist: why are we craving what we're craving?

He used his own January fast (sugar, caffeine, and alcohol — though he quickly edited the Instagram post to remove that last one) to illustrate how we don't realize how much we crave something until we step away from it. That same craving pattern shapes how we approach God: we want this, we want this, we want this — right now, right here.

But John 11 delivers the complete opposite message. Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is dying — someone he deeply loves — and his first response is stunning: it's not the time. He has all the power and resources to solve the problem immediately, but he deliberately stays two more days where he is. He even lets Lazarus die.

"When Jesus doesn't give you what you want, he probably has a very good reason why he's not giving you what you want."

Pastor Josh didn't sugarcoat how frustrating this is. He asked openly: do you find God annoying sometimes? Because the disciples certainly did. Jesus tells them Lazarus has "fallen asleep," they take him literally, and then he says plainly — Lazarus has died. And then, the most provocative line: "For your sake, I'm glad I was not there."

Trusting His Timing in the Season of No Wind

This is where the sermon really landed. Full life, Pastor Josh argued, is not about getting what you want when you want it. It's about trusting God's timing and being faithful in whatever season you're in — storm, wind, or even no wind at all.

"Having full life is far more than getting what I want when I want, here and now. It's really about trusting him and his timing."

He shared how full life in Christ might actually look like growing in strength through patience in the tough season — withholding in the storm, overcoming the temptation to quit through trials, pain, or even boredom. Because the foundation of that patience is believing that God loves you. And if you don't get what you want, there is something better waiting.

He illustrated this with his famous "parking gift" — a supernatural ability (his wife was once a doubter but is now a believer) where the perfect parking spot always appears when he arrives. But sometimes it means passing up the first available spot and waiting, because something better is around the corner. A silly illustration, but a real training ground for the heart.

Then he turned serious and addressed something he sees crippling young people: the addiction to instant gratification. He talked about AI chatbots that validate you instantly, algorithms that feed you exactly what you want to hear, and Dr. Anna Lembke's research on how short-form video is a slow poison that fries the brain.

"This AI that validates you, agrees with you instantly, no matter what you say — it may make you feel better, but it will not build you. It will not strengthen you. And that AI will do nothing in the moment of crisis."

God is not like that. He knows what you want is not always what you need. And just getting everything you want is what Pastor Josh called a "sweet poison" — it feels good but slowly destroys you.

Presence Over Performance

The heart of the sermon came in a single, repeated statement: the greatest gift of God to us is his presence, not his performance.

When Martha runs to Jesus after Lazarus has been dead four days, she says something remarkable: "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." She doesn't know what's coming, but she still has hope. Mary says the same thing and falls at Jesus' feet. And Jesus weeps.

Pastor Josh paused here. God is a God of empathy. When Jesus waited at a distance after hearing Lazarus had died, he wasn't happy about it. He wasn't enjoying the suffering. He wept. He feels your struggle, your unanswered questions. But God is not moved by emotion — he is the master of emotion. He moves by his purpose.

"Okay, you want the healing, but I'll give you something better. I am. I'm going to give you me."

Jesus doesn't say, "I'm going to raise him." He says, "I am the resurrection and the life." Not what he does — who he is. The problem, Pastor Josh challenged, is that we treat God like a performer, like an ATM. We want his solutions, not his company. He drew a painfully relatable parallel to his own parents: the hardest thing for them was feeling like an ATM to their children, when what they really wanted was presence — a phone call just to talk, not to ask for something.

"I don't think my parents want something from me. I think they want my presence. Because my greatest gift is actually showing up."

And that is exactly what God offers us. Not just performance, miracle, and answered prayer — but himself.

"Lazarus, Come Out!" — Resurrection, Not Resuscitation

The climax of John 11 hit with full force. Jesus arrives at the tomb. Martha warns him about the smell — it's been four days. Jesus calls out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come out!" And the dead man walks out, wrapped in burial cloth like something out of a horror movie.

But Pastor Josh made a critical distinction. This wasn't actually resurrection — it was resuscitation. Lazarus came back to life, but he eventually died again. The real point of the story isn't about Lazarus walking out; it's about the one calling him to walk out.

"God wants you to know that he is a God of resurrection. Not just resuscitation."

Everything we struggle with — marriage, illness, job loss, meaninglessness, even boredom — Pastor Josh called these symptoms, not the cause. The real cause is separation from God. Sin is the cancer. God isn't interested in slapping a bandage on a symptom. He wants to remove the cancer and heal us from the inside out.

He quoted Romans 6:8-10 — that since Christ was raised from the dead, death no longer has dominion over him — and then dropped a Leonard Ravenhill quote that summed up the whole sermon:

"Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men alive."

Challenge: Walk Out of the Tomb Every Day

Pastor Josh closed with his own crafted summary statement, one he'd written down — something he rarely does:

"Full life in Christ is a life that grows in faith and love each day, through all the seasons of life, through all the struggles of deadness, walking out of the tomb by the power of the gospel."

His challenge was direct and personal. You need to hear Jesus calling "Lazarus, come out!" every single day. Get out of the deadness. But don't focus on the one walking out of the tomb — focus on the one who is calling.

He pushed us to inconvenience ourselves: come to the early morning prayer, sit in the presence of God, even if you fall asleep. Stop worrying about being effective. Your algorithm wasn't built for stillness — that's exactly why you need it. Try the 21 days. Let your brain get rewired. Let your spiritual connection get rewired.

"Do you want me, or do you want what I can do for you? Do you want me in your life, or do you want my solution in your life? Do you want my presence or do you want my performance? Because I am the resurrection."

This isn't about walking out the door thinking it was a great seminar. It's about the rest of your life. Your full life is found in his resurrection. And he is inviting you: come.