Bible Text: John 11:25 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25

When you face a critical decision, would you be more confident if you could sit down and actually talk over the situation with Jesus Christ? If you are a business man and you face an important conference, would you feel better if Jesus Christ could be at your side to give advice? As a mother whose only child has to face surgery, would you have less concern if you were confident that the hand of Jesus guided the hand of the surgeon who must operate on your baby?

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, and the Word of God is true, then what I have just described is exactly the way it is. It’s all contained in a four-word promise which came from the lips of Jesus immediately before His ascension to heaven after His resurrection.

He said plainly, “…I am with you…” If you turn to the last verse of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, you’ll find these words, which are Guidelines for today. Ponder them for a few brief moments. First, the pronoun which is the subject of the sentence. Who is this one who made such a promise?

He actually never traveled farther than 200 miles away from home, but He changed the course of history. He spoke as no other person ever spoke. His words were cutting, penetrating, comforting. He healed the sick and made no charges for his service. He never considered whether or not something was possible. He simply did it. Death could not keep him, for He rose literally from the grave on the third day. It is He who says, “I am with you.”

Then notice the force of the second word, “I AM with you!” It’s a present tense, meaning “right now!” We speak of great leaders in the past, Moses, Alexander, Socrates, Napoleon, Roosevelt, and Churchill, but the promise which Christ made is present tense. Those words, “I AM…” remind me vividly of the way in which God revealed Himself to Moses when he was confronted by the Almighty, who wanted to send him to Pharaoh. “Whom shall I tell him is sending me?” Moses asked, and God said, “Tell him, ‘I AM…'” has sent you. The Pharisees remembered those exact words when Jesus said, “…Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58 KJV).

But the phrase, “I am” is incomplete. I am what? There are a score of answers. “I am the Lord who heals you.” “I am the way, the truth, the life.” “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” It’s endless.

Think of that third word in this great promise. “I am WITH you!” It means one who accompanies you, who walks with you, who is by your side. You may not see Him, or feel Him, or hear Him, but He’s there just the same.
To complete our focus on this great promise, now ponder the force of the last word — YOU. “I am with YOU!” That means you, friend, with your failures, your shortcomings, your broken promises and shattered dreams. He never says, “Once you get your act together and learn to be perfect, then I will walk with you.” He’s with us in the world of cut-throat competition and heartache, a broken world where we face the effects of sin.

A closing thought: This great promise is made to the children of God, who have been brought into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a promise to God’s own children made by His Son, so if you have never joined the family of God, read John Chapter three in your New Testament and invite Him to be your Savior and walk with you. He will! Of that, you can be sure.

Resource reading: John 11:1-44