John 11:39-44 (KJV)

³⁹ “Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

⁴⁰ Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

How many people do we encounter in life that look like ‘they stinketh?’

Lazarus was dead for 4 days… decomposing.

And this was no thing for Jesus.

So, to the person that looks like hope is lost— they are too far gone, too dirty, too stained, too stinky— Jesus has something to say to them, too… He’s calling them by name, to “COME OUT.”

It doesn’t matter how much ‘you stinketh.’ Nor does it matter how long you’ve been ‘dead,’ separated, choosing even on purpose to live a life apart from God.

Just like Lazarus, Jesus can instantaneously bring you back to life.

What about the believer?

The believer in Jesus who has allowed some stinky stuff to sneak into your soul…

None of us are immune to it, even as believers, sin can sneak in through the cracks, and we didn’t even notice…

Causing stink to spill out instead of Spirit…

Even in pastors, Bible teachers, spiritual leaders… the forever church goers, mentors… sin doesn’t discriminate.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been hiding that stink, or how much of it is there.

It doesn’t matter how tightly the grave clothes have you wrapped, how suffocating that face napkin is, Jesus commands it to “loose, and let her go.”

All it takes is ONE WORD from Jesus, the Christ, to bring the real you back out, back to life…

It’s never too late, it’s never too far gone.

Here’s your word: (insert your name here…) “________________, COME OUT.”

It’s not over.