In this last hour before Jesus returns for his church we will see the last enemy put under the feet of the Lord Jesus and thus the feet of the body of Christ. And that enemy is death. In times past various stories have been told of the dead being raised. We know of several instances in the bible where the dead were raised. Even in modern times we have heard of people being raised from the dead. Now I am not talking about the use of medical science or emergency medical teams doing their outstanding job in regard to human life. I am talking about raising the dead in the name of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost to the glory of God.
We know from the book of Revelation that Jesus holds the keys of death and Hell. We are now to use his authority to preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection and then upon preaching we are to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. By raising the dead we are putting the final nail in the coffin of the enemy so to speak. Death is swallowed up in victory. But before that happens we are to consistently demonstrate the power of our resurrected Lord in the raising of the dead.
We will be examining the story of Lazarus in the bible as found in John 11:1-48.
Lazarus was sick. His sisters were Mary and Martha.
Lazarus was so sick that they sent for Jesus. This family believed on him.
So first and foremost those who are Christians and are sick have a right to healing from the Lord. Jesus said that, "Lazarus' sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."
The first thing in raising the dead is that when you hear of a fellow brother or sister in Christ that is about to die from some satanic oppression, you immediately lock in the spiritual principle of believing you have what you say according to Mark 11:23. In Acts 10:38 it says that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power and he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the Devil because God was with him. So we know that sickness is satanic oppression. Raising the dead is It a sign that will cause people to believe in Jesus Christ because of the miracle power that is demonstrated.
Mark 11:23 reads, "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Therefore, even before you start raising the dead you must build up your faith and keep it built up. You must always, as much as possible, pray in tongues because you are building yourself up on your most holy faith (Jude 1:20) Next you must speak in tongues and pray that you may interpret. According to 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen this is the door to operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You will need to do this frequently as preparation for raising the dead. We should be prepared when raising the dead. The gifts that will be in operation are all the power gifts. You will have the gift of faith followed by the working of miracles and followed by gifts of healing. All three will be working at the same time. The gift of faith will bring their spirit back. The working of miracles will set them free from physical death. And the gifts of healing will heal them of whatever caused them to die or whatever needs to be healed so that they do not die from it again.
In preparation, praying in tongues builds you up on your most holy faith and interpreting your tongues during your private prayer time opens the door to the supernatural operation of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. So praying in tongues will fan the flame or generate the power and the interpreting keeps the conduit open between God and the spiritual realm and you and the physical or natural realm. But there is another realm that is between the spiritual realm and the physical or natural realm. That realm is the realm of the soul. The soul is made up of the mind, the will and the emotions. This is where we must renew our minds so that we have the mind of Christ in regard to raising the dead. This is where we keep adding to our faith and as a result become bold as a lion when the time comes to raise the dead. Our emotional state is included in our becoming as bold as a lion. And the Word of God will cause tremendous resolve in our "wills" in regard to raising the dead because it is written: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
I recommend praying in tongues at least three hours a day. This means that you are praying in tongues at every opportunity. And if you pray that you interpret while praying in tongues then you can be going back and forth between praying in tongues and interpreting and still have it count. Paul said he, "prayed in tongues more than you all." And we know in the book of Acts of at least one person that Paul raised from the dead. The scriptures you must use in preparation of developing your faith in order to rise to the occasion of raising the dead are the following: (I have put them into a confession of faith that you can say several times a day as you meditate on them. You can also see yourself raising the dead frequently in your mind and imagination as you speak the following faith confession. This will have you doing the principle of getting miracles by faith of ask, seek and knock. You will be speaking faith and thinking faith. And while doing the first two of speaking faith and thinking faith on a continuous daily basis in preparation, you will bring to your path of ministry opportunities for acting on your faith. In this case those opportunities will be that of raising the dead.)
Here is the confession of faith. Say this at least twice per day while following the previous instructions and definitely more often if you are serious about raising the dead as a ministry.
"In the name of Jesus Christ, I give thanks and believe I receive that I raise the dead because it is written: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." Matthew 10:8 / John 11:25, 26 / John 14:12
You need to know that apart from Christ we can do nothing. Jesus asked why his disciples could not tarry with him for one hour. It is important to spend at least an hour a day in the Word of God. We have to read and meditate and study the Word of God in order for the Word to get in us so that it can be effective when opportunity for ministry arises.
Jesus loves you and he loves God's children and no one should die before their time. It is time for death to be put under the feet of our Lord.
In verse six we find that Jesus stayed where he was for two more days after finding out that Lazarus was sick. This is the next point in raising the dead. We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Do not be in a rush or you will fail. Peter prayed before raising Dorcas. Jesus is waiting two more days (not that you will have to wait two more days when raising the dead. The point is that you have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.) Even Elijah paced back and forth while in the process of raising the dead. All were waiting on the Holy Spirit. You will know what to do from the Holy Spirit. You may not have all the information as to what to do up front for everything, but you will surely know what to do as a starting point. But you must stop and pause and wait and listen to the Holy Spirit in your spirit. This is another reason why you should pray in tongues a lot and interpret while building up your faith along with the Word of God. It keeps your spiritual ears hearing clearly what the Holy Spirit is saying in regard to raising the dead.
Once Jesus had the go ahead from the Holy Spirit he went to Judea. Once you have the go ahead from the Holy Spirit then you will be able to proceed in raising the dead.
The next point is where Jesus is talking about walking in the light of the day and not at night so as to stumble in the dark. We are talking about giving glory to God here and not glory to man in raising the dead. Your motives have to be pure and holy. You raise the dead because you love God and love people and hate evil and the results of sin which is death. It does not mean that the person died as a result of sin, it is just that you choose to live for Jesus and let him live his life through you as a vessel for the glory of God.
Now the next thing in raising the dead is to know that when those in Christ die they fall asleep and do not experience the pangs of death that sinners experience that are without Christ. Even Stephen when he was stoned to death fell asleep. Death for Christians is like going to sleep. There is no pain. God gives us sweet sleep. So death to a Christian is like going to sleep and it is sweet because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
If there are people around you that are talking and acting in unbelief or even mocking, then place them outside the area of raising the dead. When Jesus raised Jairus' daughter he put everyone out except the mother and the father and Peter, James, and John. Peter did not have anyone with him except him and Dorcas in the room. Elijah just had the boy with him when he raised him. Unbelief stops miracles. Jesus could do no mighty work in his hometown except lay his hands on a few sick folk and heal them. And the bible says that the number eight is considered a few such as when Noah and his family went into the ark. Only about eight people with minor ailments got healed in Nazareth when Jesus was there. It was their unbelief that kept the miracles from happening. So you will have to take charge and control the environment when raising the dead. No control means no dead raised. That is another reason why you must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Now when you get to the place where the dead person is you may not know why or how he or she died. It does not matter. You are not a doctor or a medical professional. Most likely they have pronounced the person dead. If they have not pronounced the person dead then it still does not matter. You are there to raise them. Jesus found that Lazarus had been dead and in the grave for four days. Most likely there will be people there mourning and comforting those that were close to the dead person. You may even hear that God could have healed the person but it is too late now. This is similar to what Martha said to Jesus. And then you may hear some religious views like, "at least he (or she) is in heaven." This will be true if they are a Christian, but you know that it is only temporary because you will be raising the dead. The point here is that you cannot be persuaded in your speaking faith or in your thinking faith or in your acting faith when raising the dead. That is why the Word of God in your daily preparation is so important. You keep that resolve intact and will not be persuaded by anything the Devil will throw at you. You have a job to do for the glory of God and you are going to get it done in the name of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing and no one will stop you from raising the dead. You are calling that which be not as though it were and seeing it done in the Spirit and acting on it by faith.
These next two scriptures are paramount in raising the dead, particularly the 25th verse of chapter eleven from the book of John. "Jesus said unto her (Martha), I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live." This is the foundation scripture for raising the dead. The Lord made the world and creation with his hands, but it was the strength of the arm of the Lord that raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus became sin so that we might be the righteousness of God in him. In becoming sin he was separated from God which is spiritual death. By his stripes we are healed of sicknesses and diseases. He died so that we could be redeemed from sin and death. God raised him from spiritual and physical death and Jesus became the firstborn of many brethren. By God raising Jesus from the dead, God combined two things into one flesh. The two is God and man. God and man were made into one new creation through Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. Jesus Christ is 100% man and 100% God. He is the mediator between God and man and the executor of the New Covenant which we call the New Testament. His righteous blood that he shed made it possible for all those who call upon his name to be saved and to be like him and one spirit with him. As he is so are we in this world. Our spirits and bodies belong to him if he is our Lord and Savior. Therefore, our spirits and our bodies can be raised from the dead and our souls restored (because our souls are always with our spirits). Verse 26 reads, "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" If we are still alive physically and believe in Jesus and believe that God raised him from the dead and if we have confessed him as Lord, we shall not see death as a sinner sees death. When we die we will be in the presence of the Lord. We will not experience the "sting" of death and the pain and the anguish and the fear associated with it, because we are in Christ. Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.
Now Martha went and told Mary (secretly which means she lied) that Jesus had arrived and was calling for her. When raising the dead you may find some people who are eager to manipulate you or the situation or both. That is why Jesus stayed in the same place where Martha had met him. He is still following the leading of the Holy Spirit and is not allowing circumstances or people or things to sway him from obeying God or from stealing his faith. And he is deliberately doing things in following the Spirit of God so that he remains in a spirit of love and compassion.
So Mary comes quickly to Jesus based of what her sister had said. And those that were comforting the family and mourning with them went with Mary. They thought she was going to the grave. Here is something to notice. Jesus takes his time in order to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. In raising the dead we must do the same thing. Next Martha tries to manipulate the situation and Jesus to "make him act in some way that she thinks should be done" or else "manipulate him into having a guilt complex" because he did not do what she thought should be done. Raising the dead may not be done the same way all the time. The end result is the same, but how you get there may be different. That is why you must spend daily time in preparation and follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every case. It is a case by case basis when raising the dead. You cannot allow circumstances or people or things manipulate you or your thinking or your speaking or your actions when it comes to raising the dead. You have one boss and he is the Holy Spirit.
Mary comes to Jesus and falls at his feet and says if he had been there Lazarus would not have died. That is a true statement. But it was a situation that had been manipulated by Martha. And it was compounded by the fact that Jesus had been waiting on the Holy Spirit and as a result the circumstances had grown worse. This is another very important point when raising the dead. Besides not having the same step by step process for each case of raising the dead, you cannot ever think that something is ever too late for God to handle and make a miracle come to pass. All things are possible with God and nothing is impossible to him that believes. Be not afraid, only believe are the words of Jesus to us when raising the dead.
Now this next step is very important. All the steps are important but you must pay attention to this one. When Jesus saw Mary weeping and those that were with her weeping he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Let's stop here and go over to Romans chapter eight to find out what he was doing and what we should do to when raising the dead. As an example we know that Peter prayed before raising Dorcas. So let's look at Romans chapter eight to find out what Jesus was doing and what Peter did when each raised someone from the dead.
"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death." This is the law of God that gives us the right to raise someone from the dead. The righteousness of God that is in us through Christ is the eternal life that will be used by the Holy Spirit through the manifestation of (the gift of) faith in order to bring a person's spirit back from the dead. Because by an act of our will we are spending at least an hour a day in God's Word and also making confessions of faith at least twice a day or more, we are causing ourselves to be spiritually minded and not carnally minded. We are cutting out the world in order to be used for God's glory. We are walking by faith and not by sight and are pleasing to God and are sons and daughters in service to our Lord. This enables us to hold steady and to make a stand against death when we have done all to stand. We hold our resolve and nothing shakes our tree. There are no circumstances or people or things that can get in the way or manipulate us to fail from the objective of raising the dead. This includes trying to secretly get any glory or praise for ourselves in raising the dead. This will allow the working of miracles to work mightily in raising the dead physically because we will be bold in our faith and actions. We won't be thinking of ourselves or thinking of anything or considering anyone else when the time comes to actually do the "raising of the dead." And because the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, God will quicken and heal the body of the person whom we are raising so that they are made whole. That also includes removing anything from the body that any medical professional or undertaker has put in there and replacing it with blood and body parts and anything else that is needed to make them whole.
The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God. And because he does this we know, without question, that we have the authority as children of God to raise the dead. We are not trying to do it. We are raising the dead. The Holy Spirit is actually the one raising the dead through us, but to the outside world it looks like we are doing it. So we are bold in our authority. We do not back off once we get started. We show no signs of weakness or failure because "love never fails." Because we are joint heirs with Christ we know that we can do what he did and do even greater things because he went back to be with the Father (John 14:12). We are not fearful of nor do we even consider failure. We are not afraid of and do not consider backlash or ridicule by the naysayers.
This is what is meant by the creation awaiting the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God. Death entered through sin. Jesus conquered sin and death. It is time to reign through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. It is time for death to be placed under the feet of Jesus and under our feet as the body of Christ. It is time for people to be released from the fear of death through salvation and the fear of death from dying before their time. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. And it is time to proclaim and demonstrate spiritual and physical freedom from death through Jesus Christ.
And we groan within ourselves because we do not know what to pray for, but the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be uttered. When we start out praying in tongues we will quickly find ourselves making sounds like we are groaning. If you listen closely there will be somewhat of a vibration to the groaning. This groaning is our spirit praying by the Holy Spirit in deep intercession. As we do this before raising the dead we will in fact be praying the whole scenario of raising the dead back to life. We will be calling their spirit back from the dead and causing it to be placed, with their soul, back into their body. We will be interceding and activating the healing in their body. The entire miracle from beginning to end will be prayed out. And because it is a deep prayer of faith, any sins that might have caused the untimely death will be forgiven because we are standing in the gap through intercession. God covers all bases when raising the dead. The groaning brings to life all the systems of the body and reconnects the spirit to the body and restores the soul to its place. It recovers the body and makes it whole. Through the groaning the body receives the supernatural life of God that jolts it back to life much like a jolt that goes to the heart when jump starting it. The only thing missing is saying, "Clear."
We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus and we can do all things through Christ which strengthens or enables us. And this includes raising the dead.
So the next step is to pray in tongues and to groan in the Spirit while still being led by the Holy Spirit.
Then we take that step of faith. This is the point of no return. We do not back off in thoughts or words or actions at this point. Jesus asked where they had laid Lazarus and they said come and see. The bible said Jesus wept. The people said, "How he loved him." That is not why Jesus wept. Jesus was weeping because he knew what God had already done and it was just a matter of manifesting the miracle for the glory of God. As far as God was concerned Lazarus was raised. That is why Jesus wept. You may weep too. You are so overwhelmed with the presence and victory through Christ that you don't see anything else or hear anything else or even consider anything else, except God in this situation of raising the dead. You are so absorbed in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that you totally miss what the naysayers are speaking. In this case they were saying, "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?"
Jesus groaned within himself again as he came to the grave. You will find that you will groan in the Spirit more than just once or even doing so a little bit. The Holy Spirit is working in and through you. You must yield to him in order to be effective. And because you yield to the Holy Spirit you will know what to do when it comes to working a miracle combined with commanding a miracle by faith and healing. Jesus said for them to take the stone away. This is the working of a miracle part. You are doing something. In this case Jesus is having those around him do something. Then Martha starts manipulating again by complaining that Lazarus had been dead four days and would be smelly. Don't you think that when God raises the dead he will take the stench of death away at the same time? The Devil will fight every step of the way. When you have done all to stand you keep your resolve and faith which was given you through the Word of God and you keep proceeding and attacking. Death is a terrorist. You have to be bold and forceful and not back off. You must attack. That is why you also groan in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit builds you up on your most holy faith. Groaning in the Spirit releases the same power that raised Jesus from the dead on the scene to defeat death and annihilate it and cause the dead to be raised and made whole and restored.
Jesus said, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" At this point in raising the dead do not say anything but, "It is written," and then quote scripture. Your words must stay lined up with the Word of God and you must believe you have what you say and not doubt. That is why daily preparation is so important. You must be ready for anything at any time.
So they took away the stone and Jesus starts praising God for the dead being raised and nothing has happened yet. That is faith. In the face of circumstances and what people say and negative thoughts and things that will get in the way, you choose to believe God and not back down. And you show it by praising and thanking him. You are calling those things that are not as though they were and God is answering with a mighty miracle.
Then Jesus commands with a loud voice, "Lazarus come forth." This was not screaming. This command was coming from deep in his spirit, from his diaphragm or belly. This was the gift of faith operating and calling the spirit and soul back into the body and reconnecting Lazarus to his body. The process had already been started and the power of God was moving upon Lazarus and removing death from him when they removed the stone. The miracle had started to be worked. Then Jesus commanded and Lazarus came back into his body.
Not only did Lazarus come back into his body but while still wrapped up like a mummy the Holy Spirit brought Lazarus out of that grave and stood him on his feet. Jesus said to loose him and let him go. This was again the working of miracles and in addition the process of healing was rapidly taking place at the same time. This was done so that whatever killed Lazarus would not immediately kill him off again once he was released.
I need to point out again that each case of raising the dead must rest on its own merits. It is not a "do this" followed by "do that" process which is the same every time. We must be prepared on a daily basis. We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
I am a faith teaching, gospel preaching, holiness living, ordained Christian Pentecostal Evangelist that travels the highways and byways proclaiming the good news of healing and salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ with all Signs, Wonders, and Miracles following. For more information on how to receive miracles by faith check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVxmTVR0GiFIcmuJACqOWqg
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