Jentezen Franklin - When Jesus Touches Your Coffin
Look with me at this amazing story in Luke 7. I'll begin reading with Verse 11. Now it happened the day after that He went into the city called Nain and many of His disciples went with Him a large crowd, that's important, and when He came near the gate of the city, behold a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a large crowd, see, you've got the large crowd in Verse 11 with Jesus. You've got a large crowd with the funeral procession in Verse 12. A large crowd from the city was with her and when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, do not weep.
She was weeping over her child, and Jesus said do not weep. Then He came, underscore this, and He touched the coffin, and those who carried Him stood still, and He said, young man, I say to you arise. So, he who was dead sat up and began to speak, and He presented him to his mother. How many of you sense we're missing a few things in between the lines? Can you imagine this actually happening? Then fear came upon them all. They glorified God saying a great prophet has risen up among us, and God has visited His people. The report about Him went throughout all of Judea and all of the surrounding region.
Then, Verse 14 says, He came and touched the coffin. I'm preaching today on what happens when Jesus touches your coffin. It's interesting that one of the definitions of Webster's Dictionary on boxes is he puts in it. I'll just tell you what he said. He said it's a small compartment. A box is a small compartment with a lid on it, and then he concludes after he gives other descriptions of what a box is and one of the definitions, I found very interesting was a coffin. A coffin is a box.
And I want to talk to you for a few moments because here's a widow that we are told she had lost her husband, and now she's dealing with a tremendous grief in a male-dominated society. The only heir, the only protector, the only provider that she had was her son, and now her son has died a premature death. They're on their way to the graveyard to bury him, and this woman has a large group with her who are mourning. They're crying. They're singing funeral songs, sad songs, tears, moaning, groaning.
It's sad, and they're coming one way, and they have a coffin of the heir, the boy, the only one who could take care of her in that male-dominated society, and they're going to the funeral ground to bury him and then coming from the opposite direction on the same road is Jesus, and the Bible said He had a large crow with Him, and they're singing, but they're not singing funeral songs. They're singing praise songs. I think that somebody was singing I was blind, but now I see. I think somebody was singing I was lame, but now I can leap. I think somebody in the back was singing bass probably singing I was dead, and now I'm alive. And so, here you got this happy, joyful praise party going on, and you've got sad, sad, sad, and the two collide. The two collide.
Now, I just love what Jesus did when they collided. Jesus turned to the mother who was mourning and said, "Weep not over your child". I believe today that God is wanting to collide with the sad songs and the sad stories and the sad episodes of your life, and He wants your praise to overcome your sadness, and I love the fact that Jesus said to her stop weeping. Don't cry anymore over what you think is finished in your life, and then Jesus walked over, and He did something strange. He did not touch the dead boy. He touched the coffin. He touched the box. He touched the thing that had the boy in a box. He touched it. And when He touched it, the boy sat up and began to speak. He said, "Weep not". And when He did, the kid sits up, and he begins to say something.
What did He say? The Bible is not clear what he said, but since I'm going to preach this sermon, I'm going to tell you what I think he could have said. Do you know that it was common in biblical days in that again male-dominated society? The reason that widows were in such a horrible place and you read of widows constantly in the Bible and how in need they always were is because she had lost her husband and now she had lost the only male left in her family and now she would be out on her own. She would be an outcast. She would be dependent on somebody just basically giving her scraps from their table. She had not a bright future, but here's what I want you to see.
When Jesus touched that coffin and that kid sat up, you know what they said? They said that even when a male died and there were no heirs to that male in the family anymore that because they were such a communal family and group that the people from the community, the men, would come in, and you couldn't just run down to a Walmart or somewhere to the mall and get clothes. Clothes were very valuable, and male clothes were needed always. So, if they knew that the last male had died in that home, the men from the community would go in and take his clothes.
And do you know what they said? They said they would actually many times wear them to your funeral. They would get your shoes and wear them to the funeral. And she couldn't stop them. The widow couldn't stop them. They'd take the coat, the hat, the shoes, the trousers. They would have it all on at the funeral so they would look good. And when Jesus touched the box or the coffin that him limited and Jesus said come out of there, and he comes out, and he sits up, and he begins to say something.
What do you think he said? You know what I think he said? I think from that elevated position on the shoulders of those people, he looks out, and he sees his coat, he sees his shoes, he sees his hat, and he says, Hey, you, give me my coat back. Hey, you, give me my hat back. Hey, you, that's not your shoes. That's my shoes. Give them back. When Jesus touched your coffin, you can tell the devil to give me back my joy. Give me back my health. Give me back my dream. Give me back my expectation. Give me back my faith and my victory. I don't have to live life in a box full of limitations with a lid on my success and joy.
When Jesus touches your coffin, you can say to the enemy, I'm taking it all back. The undertakers and the grave diggers went out of business. In other words, those who were profiting from death when Jesus touches the coffin, and you may be listening to me and the enemy may have your child in a coffin of drug addiction, in a box of alcoholism, in a box of depression, and anorexia, and some kind of thing that the enemy is doing trying to kill your child. Some parent has been weeping and weeping, but today, you're going to have a collision with the power of Jesus Christ, and He told me to tell you He's going to touch the coffin of your child, the thing that has held them bound, and they're going to come up and come out in Jesus' name. If you believe it, it's time to say something.
He opened his mouth, and he said something when Jesus touched his coffin. A coffin is a box. I really believe the enemy wants to box all of us in. I believe that he loves to get us in a box and put us in there and put our God in there and put our dream in there and then put a lid on it and say that's as far as you're going. That's as successful as you're going to be. That's as good as life is going to get for you, and the enemy loves to box us in, and here's the lesson: if you stay in a box long enough it becomes a coffin.
I believe what the enemy wants to do is box God in and box you in into small spaces into small compartments and get you to stay there until the dream ends up dead because you allowed your faith to have a lid on it. In the Old Testament, the presence of God was kept in a box. It's called the Ark of the Covenant, and they believed that the box that God was in that was made with man's hands brought them victory, but they had God with a box and they had lid on that box. And if they had that box, then they had victory. If they didn't have that box, they had defeat. The Old Testament is a book about a God who is in the box called the Ark of the Covenant, but Jeremiah prophesied when there was coming a day when no longer would we wish for the good old days of the Ark of the Covenant, but he said there will come a day when the Lord Himself will be among you.
The New Testament is not a book about God in the box. The New Testament is the flesh. The word was made flesh and dwelled among us. Suddenly, God in the New Testament stepped out, put skin on, and Jesus got out of the box. That means that you don't have to confine God to church that you can't say He can only bless me in church. God is out of the box. He'll go into your home. He'll go into a bar. He'll go into a crack house. He'll go into a messed up marriage. He'll go anywhere. This doesn't just feel good in here. You can take it with you. God wants to get out of the box. The box of religion, the box of tradition. God is bigger than the box of drugs. God is bigger than the box of addiction.
I'm just going to preach just a minute. We like to put God in a box because we think God is like us. God will not go in this box. He is not a Republican. Isn't that a shock? God is not a Republican. You can't put Him in that box. God is not a Democrat. You can't put Him in that box. I'm going to go even further. God is not from Georgia. I'm going to go even further. God is not an American. God loves the man in Nigeria. God loves the man in Mexico. God loves the man in South America. God loves the woman in Europe. God cannot be put in a box.
We want God to be like us, but God says I'm all by myself. He's not on the Republican side or the Democratic box. He says I'm on my own side. You're either with me or you don't get me. I don't get in your box. I'm God all my myself. God's not in a white box, a black box, a Hispanic box, an Asian box. We're all God's people, and we've got to get out of the box and be the church He's called us to be. Somebody give Him praise if you believe, and I apologize for screaming. It's the truth. You know why some of you don't praise the Lord yet? It's because you came up in a little religious box that said and the enemy has put a lid on you, and that's why you're half dead. But if you would just allow the Holy Spirit to break the lid off just a little bit and stick your little hand up you'd be amazed.
Praise is not a Pentecostal thing. It's a Bible thing. Just get your hand up and do what the Bible said, and God will bless you. Anybody want to get out of the box of religion, out of the box of worship, out of the box of man-made theology? You know why some of you don't tithe? See, I just killed it, cause that doesn't fit in my box. So, you just said, God, you stay out of my finances. I'm my own provider. You know what the problem is? I'm enjoying this if nobody else did. We treat Jesus like a Jack-in-the-box. We get discouraged. We go through hard times. I can't wait to get to church Sunday. Oh, I need Pastor to really be anointed. I hope they sing my favorite song. Oh, and crank it up, crank it up, and it starts. "Oh, hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah, I'm feeling something. Praise the Lord. Oh, Franklin Jentezen".
Oh, Jack is out of the box. That's kind of how we do Jesus. Crank it up. Get the music going. Preach a little bit. Get some joy. Get some faith in my soul. Jesus comes out of the box. We feel like I can make it... as soon as the service is over. Get back in the box, Jesus. That felt good in church, but that won't work out here.
That was amazing, but my marriage has real problems. My kid is really on drugs, and we're going through hell. My finances are falling to pieces, and I appreciate that service, but you need to just get back in your box.
And that's all we do many times is just come in and do this over and over and over. And Jesus gets out of the box, and we put Him back in, but He wants to get out of the box and go home with you. He's bigger than the box you put Him in and if the enemy can't get us to put Jesus in the box, then He'll come along and try to push us back in the box.
"Okay, okay, Jack. You got saved. You walked down and gave your heart to Jesus, but I know who you really are. You get back in that box of shame. You get back in that box of condemnation. You get back in that box of depression. You get back in that box of addiction. You're an alcoholic and you can't stop and you're never going to stop. And you're addicted to drugs, and you're never going to get free. And you're depressed. Go back in your box of depression and then go back and get a little help and pop up a little again and then let me push you back in".
I'm telling you what I believe the Lord is trying to say to people who are listening to me with a simple, simple message. It's time to get God out of the box and let Him take you out of the box because when He touches your coffin, He's bigger than your problem. He's bigger than your situation. He's bigger than your needs. When Jesus touches your coffin, the coffin cannot hold you. He didn't touch the person. He touched the thing that held them down that put a lid on them. He said I am breaking the power of the box off of your life. There is not lid. There is no limit. There is no stopping you from going where I've called you to go and doing what I've called you to do.
Somebody give the Lord a praise right now if you believe it. Don't let the devil treat you like a Jack-in-the-box. I'm free, and I'm staying free. I'm out, and I'm staying out. I'm delivered, and I'm staying delivered. The only time the box is mentioned any time in the New Testament, it's always talked about in the Old Testament is a box, the Ark of the Covenant, but the only time a box is mentioned in the New Testament, the actual word box is used is found when the woman with the alabaster box walked into where Jesus was with that expensive perfume, and it did not say she poured it on His feet. It said she broke the box at His feet.
Do you know how you can break the curse of the box, the limit of the box, the limitations, the small space that life has put you in, the enemy that keeps pressing you down and pressing you down? Do you know how you break out of that box? At the feet of Jesus?
God sees your past. He knows you have a past. What blessed me about that is she was a prostitute and she used that perfume to attract men. One commentary said that smell would identify her in the marketplace to men to know that she was available, and she brought the thing that represented the cycle of sin in her life, the box, like you're a nobody. You're a prostitute. This is how you are. Stay in this box. You'll never change. And she broke it at His feet and turned what used to bring shame into worship and poured it on His feet.
God knows you have a past, but He sees past your past. And she broke the box at the feet of Jesus, and I've come to tell you today that there is a cure if life has put you in a box and you feel like you're so limited in small spaces, and it's just not happening. When Jesus touches your coffin. He didn't touch the boy. He touched the thing that had him limited, and it had to let him go. When Jesus touches your coffin, that thing that has you boxed in has to let you go.
And this is your day. Jesus is ready to touch your coffin. If you don't get out of the box, it will end up being a coffin. But today there's hope. Today, there's faith. I feel life. I feel faith. I feel joy. I feel like that we're about to hear the crushing sound of boxes in the spirit world. Some of you have hit a plateau in your life, in your career. You're not here today by accident.
I'm telling you I have faith for this stuff cause I watch the enemy. Every time we would grow. Every time we would get to a certain place the enemy would come and say, well, you did good, but that's about it. Now, don't believe for anymore, and every time God had to break me out of the box and believe for greater, greater, greater. There are no limits on you.
Take the lid off. Don't you let the enemy treat you like Jack-in-the-box. Get back in there. Get back in that low self-esteem. Get back in those excuses of "I'm not talented enough. I'm not good looking enough. I'm not educated enough. I don't have enough money. I can't do it. I'm nobody. I'm the wrong color. I'm the wrong person. I'm the wrong gender". Don't let the enemy push you in that box.