The Other Side of the Stone
- Pastor Tim Rigdon
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Pastor Tim Rigdon
Sunday, August 23, 2026
Today's Scriptures and Notes:
John 11:38–44 NKJV 38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Because there are some things God will do for us,
…and there are some things He expects us to do
The miracle belonged to Jesus.
But moving the stone belonged to them.
Sometimes the greatest thing standing between you and your miracle isn’t the devil
...It’s the stone
1. THE STONE WAS BETWEEN THEM AND THE MIRACLE
John 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
The stone was simply an obstacle.
Sometimes we mistake the obstacle
…for the impossibility
2. SOME STONES ARE NOT GOD’S JOB TO MOVE
Martha was looking at what was inside the tomb
Jesus was looking at what was about to come out of it
There was a difference between what Martha could see
…and what Jesus knew.
Sometimes there is a difference between what You see
…and what Jesus knows
Martha saw death
…Jesus saw resurrection
She saw a sealed tomb
…Jesus saw an opportunity for God’s glory
Faith doesn’t deny what is in the tomb
Faith believes Jesus is greater than what is in the tomb
3. WHAT IS YOUR STONE?
And sometimes the stone is simply:
“I don’t believe God can do it anymore.”
4. THE STONE MAY BE HEAVY,
…BUT IT IS NOT BIGGER THAN JESUS
God wasn’t asking them to perform the miracle
He was asking them to make room for the miracle
But there are things you must do
… before you see what only God can do
You can’t raise Lazarus
…But you can move the stone
You can’t change somebody’s heart.
…But you can forgive
You can’t save yourself
…But you can surrender
You can’t produce revival
…But you can build an altar
You can’t make the fire fall
…But you can prepare the sacrifice
Move your stone.
5. DON’T LET THE STONE BECOME YOUR EXCUSE
“Jesus,
…You don’t understand how bad this is.”
Sometimes the worse or harder the situation
…becomes our excuse
Sometimes we give Jesus an explanation
… when He is asking for obedience
“Move the stone.”
You just have to obey the One who told you
…to move the stone
6. WHEN THE STONE MOVED, JESUS SPOKE
John 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
But Jesus wouldn’t call Lazarus out
…until they were willing to move the stone
Your obedience may be the doorway
…to somebody else’s miracle
When Jesus spoke
…Death had to surrender to life.
7. THERE IS LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR STONE
If Jesus is there,
…resurrection is still possible
“Will you move the stone?”
8. THE STONE WASN’T THE END OF THE STORY
Whenever Jesus shows up,
…what looks final can become a beginning
The stone wasn’t moved so Jesus could get out
The stone was moved so they could see in
Because Jesus lives
…dead things can live again
“Take away the stone”
Just move the stone
And when the stone moves,
…get ready
because Jesus is about to speak life
…into what you thought was dead.
“MOVE THE STONE”
“Move it.”
On the other side of that stone
…there’s a miracle waiting to come forth
today,
…Jesus is still calling dead things back to life
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