 I want to look at one guy in the Bible. His name was Lazarus and when Lazarus died, as you saw, the Bible says they put him in a tomb. I could not bring the tomb from Jerusalem, so I found a cheaper version of it. Thank you, Mike Melnick. And so when Jesus came to Lazarus' tomb, the Bible says Lazarus was dead, and not only he was dead, but he was covered inside of a tomb. And this is what Jesus says. Jesus called up some people if I could have Bryson, and Jesus said, He says, I want you to open the tomb. Open the tomb. Open the tomb. Now the camera, who's the floating camera? Come over here so that the live viewers can see those of you who are not able to see. Lazarus is right here. He is dead. Lazarus, be dead, so to close your eyes. All right. Jesus stood from a distance, and the Bible says, Now Lazarus is dead. He's gone. The fact that he's wrapped up in grave clothes is one thing, and Jesus stood there and he said this. He said, Lazarus, out! And at that moment Lazarus got raised from the dead. Now you don't see that right now, but I can tell you one thing. Come over here and help me. Lazarus, his eyes is open. Can you breathe? He's alive. Now Lazarus is alive. I want you to watch this. His resurrection was such a big miracle. Everybody stood outside. We're amazed that he's raised from the dead. How many of you know it's a big deal? I want you to come out. I want you to come out. I want you to see one thing, is that Jesus tells Lazarus to come out. What we don't see a lot of times is that nobody helps him out. In his grave clothes, he's trying to come out. The crowd is standing there. And probably these clothes were not like these. They were maybe a little bit lighter. But nevertheless, I want you to see this, is that he had to come out of the grave with his clothes that were tying him up. It's a struggle. Come out, Lazarus. Come out. You're doing great. You're doing amazing. I'm going to give him a little help. Would you help me to help Lazarus get on his feet? Let's get him on his feet. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Thank you, Lord. Thank you so much. Thank you, Lazarus. Lazarus came out. Thank you, Jesus. I want you to see this. The biggest miracle, such a big deal, is that he's alive. But he doesn't feel that it's a big deal that he's alive. When Lazarus became alive, the first thing that happened to him, he got confused. What am I doing here? Why are these people gathered? Why is Jesus screaming at me? Why am I in this clothes? Who chose this red tie? Why am I here? I want you to notice this. Your righteousness is a big deal. Your rags are not. They're only big deal if you're in them. For everyone outside, the fact that you're breathing is a huge deal. Everybody outside stands to say, oh my God, he's alive. But because you're on the inside, you say, this sucks. This is bad. This is hard. The fact that you have a new heart inside of you is a big deal. The fact that you are addicted is not. Your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life is a big deal. The fact that you're hurting is not. Now to you, it's the big deal because you're here. You're hurting. You're suffering. You're confused. But honestly, I want to put it into perspective of every person that is hurting and struggling right now. The fact that you have righteousness inside of you is the biggest deal. It's the biggest celebration. Hallelujah. I want to tell you something right now. I'm not in any way downplaying power of sin. I just don't want to downplay in the power of God. I don't want to downplay the power of sonship and the power of righteousness. I don't want to downplay the power of the forgiveness of sins and the power of the blood of Jesus on the cross. And I want to tell you something. These rags, yes, they're bad. Yes, they're horrible. But the power of death that's been defeated in you already is a big deal. It's such a big deal. Hallelujah. That is a big deal. The fact that 2,000 years ago Jesus crushed the head of the serpent, that is a big deal. The fact that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that is a big deal. I know you still have a cigarette once in a while, but the big deal is that you're alive inside. That's why the cigarette doesn't feel comfortable in your mouth. That's why pornography doesn't feel normal. That's why sleeping with your girlfriend doesn't feel right because you're alive. But I want you to see this. It's Jesus tells Lazarus not to become alive. He tells him to come out. Watch this. He doesn't send disciples and say, guys, Lazarus is there. Get him out. Jesus doesn't go to the tomb himself and says, Lazarus, let me help you out. He tells a dead man who is bound, come toward me. And he was after. Lazarus took steps. Lazarus, come, come, come, come. Stay here. It was after Lazarus took steps that Jesus sent people to help him become free. What I want to tell some of you here today is after God gives you righteousness, He doesn't always bring you freedom. But He does ask you to walk toward Him in bondage. But I want you to walk to Jesus when you struggle. Three things I want you to write it down in two minutes. And then three things to take home with you. Number one, when you struggle before you get free, learn to overcome your guilt before you overcome your sin. Write this down. Learn to overcome your guilt before you overcome your sin. The process of this struggle, the most powerful part in this struggle is not your sin. It's your guilt. Guilt is more powerful than sin because sin lasts five, twenty, fifty minutes tops. Guilt lasts five years, fifty years. You overcome your guilt and that's how you overcome your sin. Number two, you stop seeking God for freedom. You seek God for God. After a while you have to walk forward. Not so you can get free. You have to walk forward so you can get close to God. When you get close to God, God will start giving you freedom. Don't seek freedom. Seek God. I know it hurts to be bound. It hurts to fall into the same pattern. I want to challenge each one of you. Stop using God to get freedom. Love God to get God. Freedom will come. And lastly, I want you to write this down. Your problem will be persistent. Therefore, you must be consistent in your relationship with Jesus. What I like to say, your issue will be persistent. Therefore, your intimacy must be consistent. The story comes from Esther. When Esther had an enemy in the palace, she stopped being invited to the king. She had to overcome this feeling. I'm not being loved. She had to overcome sense of guilt. That's the first point. The second thing is when Esther met the king, as I mentioned, she didn't ask for freedom, she asked for lunch. She wasn't asking for liberty. She was asking for lunch. She says, let's go on a date even though she needed freedom. Don't be a person who uses God to get what you want. Even if what you want is something that God really wants from you too. Goodness and righteousness. Always come to God and say, God, I need your freedom. I need your help, but I'm here to worship. I'm here to love you the way I am. What I got right now is what I'm going to give you. And thirdly, Esther, when she asked for lunch with the king, the first lunch, she didn't tell him the problem. She asked on the first lunch to have a second lunch. Meaning, she said, I'm going to get this thing consistent. I'm not just going to pray one time and see God. I will pray consistently because your problem is persistent. You must be consistent.