Mangu Crusade Day 3 by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

John 11:40–42 is the foundation for this message. Jesus was out of town when Lazarus fell sick. His sisters sent word urging him to come quickly. They knew he had power over sickness. But when Jesus heard the news, he kept calm. Days passed. Lazarus died. Then Jesus rose up and said, "Let us go. Our friend Lazarus has need of us now."

The disciples were bewildered. When he was sick and something could be done, Jesus did not react. Now that it is over, what are you talking about? But that was exactly the point.

When Jesus arrived, Martha rushed out to him. Her first words: "Lord, if you were here, our brother would not have died." What she was saying was: you have power over sickness, but unfortunately you do not have power over death. He has died. So she limited Jesus to a certain level of power. Then Mary arrived and repeated the same phrase, as though they had practiced it.

But the answer Jesus gave them is the answer for every situation that appears to be too far gone.

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

The first thing Jesus said was: "I am." When God wanted to introduce himself to Moses, he said: "Tell Pharaoh, I AM THAT I AM has sent you." In John 8, when the Pharisees challenged Jesus, he said, "Before Abraham was, I AM" — and they took up stones to kill him because they knew that introduction is for God alone.

When Jesus says "I am," he is not only saying he is present. He is saying he is in the present, in the future, in the past, and can make anything happen within the context of all three.

Martha had told him, "I know on the last day he will rise." Jesus said: "I am not talking about a future event. I am the last day. I am the first day. I am today. I am the resurrection. I am the life. Death does not intimidate me. I do not only have power over sickness. I have power over death."

Jesus is the summation of the totality of the event of God.

The Condition — If Thou Wouldest Believe

Before Jesus raised Lazarus, he whispered something to those present: "If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God." He wanted them to understand that what was about to happen was not a one-time spectacle — it was meant to be replicated. Anyone through whom he can work must believe.

If thou wouldest believe — cancer can dematerialize. If thou wouldest believe.

He thanked the Father first: "Father, I thank you because you always hear me." Then he stood at the tomb and shouted: "Lazarus, come forth!" Does the dead hear? But in the realm of faith, everything hears. The deaf hear. The dead hear. Even bones obey in the realm of faith. And Lazarus came forth.

Mark 9:23: "All things are possible to them that believe." Not some things. All things. God says with him nothing is impossible, but Jesus says there is a point of intersection where God and man become one — and that point is faith. When a man believes, the same way nothing is impossible to God, nothing shall be impossible to that man.

What You Must Believe

There are two summary beliefs that unlock everything God has promised:

1. Believe That Jesus Is the Son of God

   The moment you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the total package of God's blessings is activated in your life. 2 Corinthians 1:20: "All the promises of God are yea, and in Christ Jesus, amen." In him, they are accomplished. Healing. Deliverance. Whatever you need — it enters the moment you believe he is the Son of God.

   No other religion dares to tell you that you will not go to hell. No other religion promises with assurance that you are saved from eternal condemnation. Only Christianity — because we believe the Son of God came to us. And the implication of that belief is this: in a human body, the life of God can be tabernacled. Therefore, when you say Jesus is the Son of God, it becomes the reason why you too can become a son of God. It is only in Christianity that people call themselves sons of God, because we are the only ones who believe that possibility.

   As a son, you do not beg your father for breakfast. You wake up and eat because the house is yours. When something is wrong with you, it is your father's responsibility. Healing is a children's bread.

2. Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead

   There is no religion in the world where the founder defied death. The zenith of every human problem is death. Sickness ends in death. Sin ends in death. Poverty ends in death. Failure ends in death. When Jesus defeated death, he made two statements: first, there is no problem you have that he does not have the answer to. Second, death is not your end.

   John 5:24: "He that believeth in me shall not come into condemnation. He has passed from death to life." Past tense. Not "will pass." Has passed. Cancer is in your past. Sickness is in your past. Failure is in your past. You have passed from death to life.

   Believing that Jesus rose from the dead means your problem is already overcome — because the end of every problem is death, and if he has conquered death, he has conquered cancer, failure, defeat. Everything.

Believing Is Action

Believing is not mental assent. It is not nodding at a statement and saying "that makes sense." Even the devil believes that there is one God. James 2:19: "The devils also believe and tremble." The difference between your believing and the devil's believing is that your believing has action.

The story of the tightrope walker illustrates this perfectly. A man stretched a rope between two skyscrapers and walked across. He gathered a crowd, performed the feat, then asked, "Who believes I can carry someone across?" The whole crowd shouted "We believe!" But when he invited someone to come up and be carried, nobody moved. Except a little girl of about five years old. She walked up to the man and he carried her. While he carefully navigated the rope, she was playing — not afraid, not gripping in panic. The crowd was amazed. They asked her: "How were you so bold?" She answered: "Because he's my father. I know he cannot throw me down. If it were not possible, he would not have tried it with me."

When God says you are healed, if you could not walk — stand up and walk. If you could not see — open your eyes. Proof that you believe is not just what you say. It is your action.