 We're going to look today at the subject I chose to entitle when love waits, and we're going to be seeing that in the event before us we're going to be looking at at a man by the name of Lazarus and Jesus and what happens as Jesus raised him from the dead That's what we'll be looking at here in chapter 11. So let's begin reading in John chapter 11 at verse 1 I'll read to verse 6 and we'll get into our study John chapter 11 verse 1 and reading to verse 6 John writes a certain man was sick Lazarus a Bethany the town of Mary and her sister Martha It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick Therefore the sisters sent to him saying Lord behold he whom you love is sick When Jesus heard that he said the sickness is not into death But for the glory of God that the son of God may be glorified through it now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus so when he heard that he was sick he stayed two more days in the place where he was and So as mentioned I'm going to be sharing with you about the raising of Lazarus from the dead And I chose to entitle it when love waits now this miracle if you take notes this miracle recorded here in John chapter 11 Is the seventh miracle that is recorded in the gospel of John? The first miracle that we saw the first miracle recorded was in chapter 2 when Jesus made water into wine When we got to chapter 4 we saw Jesus heal the nobleman son When we got to chapter 5 he healed a crippled man in chapter 6 he fed 5,000 in chapter 6 also he he walked on water and In chapter 9 he healed a blind man So this is the seventh miracle the raising of Lazarus from the dead Now this isn't the only account in scripture where Jesus Christ raises someone from the dead when you look at your Bibles You'll notice that in Luke chapter 7. There's a miracle of raising the dead when Jesus Raised the widow of Nain's son from the dead. That's found in Luke 7 11 through 16 We also know in Mark chapter 5 verses 38 through 42 Jesus raised a Young girl the daughter of a man by the name of Jairus But this is a particular miracle that has Extreme extremely is extremely important We'll see why in just a moment and so as we do so I'll begin again at verse 1 by reading and then beginning to comment A certain man was sick Lazarus of Bethany the town of Mary and her sister Martha Now Jesus is in a city at this time and we saw this in chapter 10 at verse 40 basically we knew that he was in the area that was called a Beth Bethavara Jesus is his ministry now in a place or moving on into a place where Lazarus is and so we're being introduced right now to a man by the name of Lazarus And we're being introduced in John's gospel to his sisters He had two sisters Martha and the other is is Mary Lazarus is only mentioned here. He'll also be mentioned later on in the 12th chapter But Mary and Martha are mentioned in both chapters as well as in Luke's gospel And they're very well known in chapter 10 verses 38 through 42. We have a real story concerning Martha being caught up with too much Concern and and Mary choosing the better part But you see them and you see them a few times in scripture and we see that Jesus loved them deeply now when he speaks of this and he says that Jesus isn't is in He's gonna minister to Lazarus of Bethany and it's mentioned as being the the town of Mary and her Sister Martha in verse 2 he wants to identify for us who this is so he says it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with Fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick Interestingly enough. We don't see that event until chapter 12 But he's speaking of that and we'll look at that in detail when we get there what has happened here is that They have sent messengers to Jesus to notify him that Lazarus their brother is ill That's what it says in verse 3 when it says the sister sent to him So messengers came and this was the message Lord now notice how they say this behold he whom you love is sick and So they they they make mention of the fact that this is someone that Jesus loves very much And if you have anything that you take out of just that one statement Let me encourage you with this, you know when it says that the one whom you love is sick Remember that he also is in love with you. I know I don't have to say that I know every one of you know how deeply loved you are By the Lord, but in fact, I think most of us sometimes wonder if he cares at all So remember this this is a is a statement that's being made this when you love very much and This is a great place when you know that the Lord loves you by the way This is a great place to start when you take your petitions to him You see we need to realize that our need is beyond our strength But we can have confidence in God's love for us In Jeremiah 32 17 It reads our Lord God behold You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm And then he says there is nothing too hard for you We need to remember that and these are people who are secure in the love of Jesus Christ And the knowledge that he loved Lazarus and them gave them great hope in confidence And so they bring that message Lord behold he whom you love is sick And so notice Jesus's reaction verse 4 when Jesus heard that he said this sickness is not into death But for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it So he had said something similar concerning the man born blind in chapter 9 Remember that the apostles that said who did sin this man or his parents that he was born blind And in John 9 3 Jesus said this he said neither this man nor his parents sinned But that the works of God should be revealed in him And so God's Works are going to be revealed in what he's about to do in the raising of Lazarus The question could be asked so how could this situation produce glory to God and result in Jesus being glorified? Well, what's going to happen is this it's going to result in Jesus's arrest and death And that will bring glory to God because in chapter 12 verses 9 through 11 It says a great many of the Jews knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus's sake only But that they might also see Lazarus whom he raised from the dead But the chief priest plotted to put Lazarus to death also because on account of him Many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus So this work that's going to occur is going to result in Jesus ultimately being arrested And then after being arrested we know that he's put on a cross and he's dying and he dies And this is what is going to ultimately bring glory to the lord to the lord god in that Jesus Sacrifices his life which we'll see as we continue through the gospels Now in verse 5 it says And this is interesting I want you to note verse 3 you hold he whom you love is sick And then you see in verse 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus So what does love do it says in verse 6 when he heard that he was sick he stayed Two more days in the place where he was He waited He stayed he didn't move You would have thought that because he loves him that he would have Left immediately to go be with him yet. John tells us that Jesus stayed two more days in the place where he was So the question is asked. Why did he wait? Why the delay? And here's your answer because Lazarus must be unmistakably dead And it takes time For somebody's death to settle in And I'll show you a few things about that in just a moment But it takes time for someone's death to settle in there's normally a bit of shock and and God is very gracious to give us a place where we actually can Almost be numb to the things and and it takes time for death to settle in And we'll see a little bit more in just a moment just wanted to touch that Well in verse 7 it says After this he said to the disciples. Let us go to Judea again Now the disciples said to him rabbi Lately the jew sought to stone you and are you going there again? I know none of us would ever give advice to god I know none of us would ever question what he says. We simply would agree right none of us But I find it interesting How human the bible allows us to see the disciples. They were not superstars. They were not Superman of any sort. They were regular and ordinary human beings and and so they think they can give god some advice They think that they need to tell him what the situation is And and all uh, it's because they're concerned that he's going to be killed But his time has not yet arrived And so he wants to make that very clear and that's why in verse 9 he answers and says are there not 12 hours in the day If anyone walks in the day, he doesn't stumble because he sees the light of this world But if one walks in the in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him these things he said And after that he said to them our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up And the disciples said lord if he sleeps, he'll get well However, jesus spoke of his death But they thought that he was speaking about taking rest and sleep and jesus said to them plainly Shut up you guys you bother me He said Lazarus is dead jesus knew jesus knew that Lazarus had died And he also knew what he was soon to do When he says Lazarus sleeps in verse 11 The men thought he was speaking in a literal sense So they think well since he's sleeping there's really no need to go back because that means he's going to get well soon Because you know a lot of times when you haven't been well you take a nap or sleep for a while And you wake up refreshed and that's they're taking him literally So when he says our friend Lazarus sleeps I go that I may wake him up. That's why in verse 12 They said if he sleeps he'll get well But in verse 13 jesus spoke of his death They thought he was speaking about taking rest and sleep and that's why verse 14 jesus said to them plainly Lazarus is dead And I'm glad for your sake said I wasn't there that you may believe Nevertheless, let us go to him He's aware of what he's about to do And he's pleased Because he'll strengthen their faith He's gonna die They're gonna Lazarus died, but death will not have the final say The point is god will be glorified Psalm 4610 is a beautiful psalm. You might want to mark this down be still and know that I am god I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth Be still and know that I am god. I will be exalted You know one of the things that we need to remember is that faith is developed over time through experience You have what is called head faith and sometimes you have what is called said faith But head faith and said faith doesn't save you and it doesn't give you peace What you need to have is living faith You need to have a faith that expects that confidently rests in god a faith that knows that my god is able no matter what You need to have a faith that trusts god a faith that says god I have my plans and I have my ideas But lord you have yours and may your may your plans overrule mine may your Your desires be greater than mine and lord help me not to ask for something you don't want me to have Because if you give it to me, I might think it'll give me pleasure It may for a moment, but it isn't could be a lasting one. So I need to rest in you and trust in you Faith is a faith that expects god to move but sometimes it's also faith that's described as resting We rest in the lord and we trust him so that he might do what is right I don't always understand And yes, I've had many questions of the lord in in john's gospel god gave me a scripture a long time ago We'll be seeing it when we we are about to close But it's when jesus is having a conversation with with the apostle peter and begins to speak to him and i'll paraphrase He begins to say to him, you know when you were young you got up and went where you want You dressed yourself and go where you want to go. He said but when you're older You're going to be taken where you don't want to go and this he spoke concerning the death that he would glorify God with he was speaking of his martyrdom But he's speaking to peter and he's speaking to peter. He begins to speak directly to him And he says, you know You got up you went where you wanted on your own will and your own timing and everything when you were young But one day you're going to be taken where you don't want to go He speaks of the way he's going to glorify god in his death now. What is peter's response? Well, well, it says that he saw john the one whom jesus loved standing over there and he says well, what about that man? Now, isn't that typical human? Okay, you just told me i'm gonna die. Can he die too? I mean that What about him? And i'm one of those guys, you know that i can return to this i can return to this mentality now. Wait a minute lord What about that guy? And the answer jesus gave to peter is an answer he's given to me and maybe to somebody in this room right now He says what have you got to do with him? You follow me Don't be worrying about how i work in somebody else's life You be concerned about how i'm working in yours Instead of wanting to meddle in what i do with somebody else Why don't you concentrate on the work that i'm performing in you? Don't worry about john i'll take care of him and the way i take care of people But peter you need to follow me You need to trust me because ultimately we know that john though they tried to put him to death didn't succeed And we know that the apostle peter was martyred for his faith in jesus christ So his eyes were to remain on jesus and not to question god's will for his life To the degree that he would become unsatisfied with with what god was presently doing in it Even at that time your faith is developed over time and it's developed with experience The lord will give you something in scripture and you'll say i trust and i believe that But over time that verse Is going to make more sense through the greater experience you have in seeing god fulfill those verses In your life you'll begin to learn something about how the lord works by holding fast to his promises And as you hold fast to his promises Then you begin to see god fulfilling his promises and when you see those things take place Your faith expands and you begin to realize that he's good to his word And so what the lord is about to do is a tremendous miracle But he has to be playing about what he's doing. So he has to say to them Lazarus is dead And in verse 15 and he says i'm glad for your sake said i wasn't there that you may believe Nevertheless, let us go to him In verse 16 thomas who is called the twin Uh didymus maybe your your scriptures that you're reading the word didymus the word didymus means the twin So he obviously had an On a twin a brother that looked like him thomas who is called the twin said to his fellow disciples Let us also go that we may die with him now if i say thomas What's the first word that you associate with him? Doubting thomas We're so kind aren't we? Doubting thomas That's a courageous statement that he just made We'll go with him That we may die with him because he's sure That jesus is going to die I don't see thomas as doubting thomas the way we've called him over the years I see him as disappointed thomas I see him as a man who had difficulty, but this man here is showing me courage And it's a courageous statement yet. It's also a faithless statement It's even a hopeless statement He doesn't understand what's about to happen, but he's ready to go and he says we'll die with him Someone said he looked death in the face And chose jesus rather than life In luke 9 23 Jesus said to them If anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself take up his cross daily And follow me Let him deny himself and take up the instrument of his own death pick up his cross And follow me and thomas was willing in a literal sense at that moment to go and to die with him Now jesus's desire is to increase their faith So they reluctantly follow him as he's returning In verse 17 when jesus came he found that he had already been in the tomb for four days Now bethany was near jerusalem about two miles away And many of the jews had joined the women around martha and mary to comfort them concerning their brother So It says that he's been in the tomb four days. Here's your question. What is significant about four days? Why is it important enough for him to point out that he had already been in the tomb four days? Well, when you do some research on this and ask that question You discover that some jews believed that the soul would visit the tomb for three days hoping to re-enter the body On the fourth day It would see decomposition And leave because death was irreversible Do you know that that belief is still in israel to this day last year when we were in israel? One our guide was speaking about that belief that's very common among some of the jews even to this day That the soul hovers around for a while before it leaves and that's all the way 2000 years ago. So jesus waits that time and then it takes time to get there So it's a four-day period so that they would know in no unmistakable terms That he had actually died Because there are cases where people have appeared to be dead and even been buried When in fact they weren't dead In the history of the united states we have different sayings that we have different little things we say How many of you and i know all you can raise your hand to this one have heard the term save by the bell You know raise your hand i'd like to say yes i'd love to halloween, but anyway see your hands raised in churches a nice thing Save by the bell you know where that came from some of you do But many of you may not know where that saying saved by the bell came from There was a time when people would drink their beverages out of lead cups And when they drank their beverages out of lead cups the lead sometimes would pollute the beverage They would have lead poisoning And so they drank they would suffer with lead poisoning and go into a state of coma There was no embalming at that time so they would simply bury them and The tombs that they used very often were reused So they would let that body remain until it would it would You know Disintegrate then they would go and take the bones All of you have heard of the word ossuary They would get the bones and put them in in a container. It was called an ossuary And then they would use that same burial place for the next relative who died That's how it was Well, they would open up sometimes the casket And find the hands of the dead person up Their nails peeled off And they would look at the the the container lid and see it was scratched And they discovered they were burying people alive And so because they were doing that They began to put a bell and a string They would put the string in the casket. They drill a hole put a string in the casket near the dead person's head And then they had somebody who would stay watch From midnight to the early morning. They called that graveyard It's the second thing So if he was pulling graveyard From midnight to the morning And if that person awakened out of the coma He would pull the string and would be saved By the bell. So that's where that comes from. It's not a boxing term. We were saved by them. No, it's literally Somebody stayed alive because of that So there was this belief that the soul would hover around That the the dead body and would not depart until three days By the fourth day the body begins to corrupt. So jesus specifically remains Where he's at so that four days would pass after his death So everybody would know he had specifically Completely died and you'll see this in just a moment And so he had been verse 17 in the tomb four days Bethany was near Jerusalem about two miles away to the south and the east we go through Bethany When we walked down the palm sundae road So as this is taking place verse 19 many of the jews joined the women around martha and mary to comfort them concerning their brother Well verse 20 martha as soon as she heard that jesus was coming Went and met him mary was sitting in the house Martha said to jesus Lord if you had been here my brother wouldn't have died But even now i know that whatever you ask of god god will give you Jesus said to her your brother will rise again Martha said to him i know that he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day And jesus said to her I am the resurrection and the life He who believes in me though he may die He shall live Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die Do you believe this? And she said to him yes lord I believe that you are the christ the son of god who has come Into the world. I believe But I really don't Now martha is the eldest sister News of the approach of christ comes And so she rushes out to welcome jesus As we just read mary remains behind But she begins to pour her heart out notice in verse 21 if you'd have been here my brother wouldn't have died Now she knew that jesus has the ability to heal at a distance He had done so before When you read your your gospel of mathu chapter 8 verses 5 through 8 It records how jesus was in the city of capernaum and the centurion had approached him He had a servant he cared about and he asked jesus to heal him and jesus said that he's going to come But the man says to him lord i'm not worthy that you should come under my roof speak a word My servant will be healed. I know that you have power and that distance between where you're at and what's going on It doesn't matter. He knew that even here in in in john's gospel in chapter 4 verses 49 through 51 Well, when jesus was in the city of cana a nobleman from capernaum had asked for him to come and heal his son But instead of going to capernaum jesus had healed from a distance She knew that jesus did that but her grief causes her to forget what she already knew and once again That's what happens when you undergo grief When you undergo grief when you go through pain when you go through loss when you go through hurt Sometimes your grief can overcome your faith Sometimes the reality of what you're seeing Overcomes what you say you believe And so this is what's taking place here. She knew jesus had capacities But she's kind of limiting even in this moment when she's saying if you'd have been here He wouldn't have died But she should have remembered that jesus could heal from a distance. He could raise the dead from the distance She should have known that But she says it if you'd have been here now That's probably what we would call grieving resignation. It'd be another way of saying I just wish you would have been here I wish you'd have been able to be here But she didn't know what jesus was planning on doing Isaiah 55 8 says it like this my thoughts are not your thoughts Nor are your ways my ways says the lord You don't know what i'm planning. You don't think like I do But she goes on in verse 22 even now. I know that whatever you ask of god god will give you It's been called a hope against hope statement It's kind of a courtesy that's being extended to him. It may even be kind of a cliche Because that's revealed by her later response when he orders the stone to be removed Well in verse 23 jesus speaks to her your your brother will rise again and she says well, I know he will at the resurrection So she thinks that jesus at first is just comforting her You see she's a believer in the resurrection when you read the old testament There aren't a whole lot of scriptures that give you insight into resurrection. There's just not a whole lot There are some you see promises of it hints of a resurrection in job 19 verses 25 through 27 I know that my redeemer lives. He shall stand at last on the earth after my skin is destroyed This I know that in my flesh I shall see god whom I shall see for myself My eyes shall behold and not another how my heart yearns within me In daniel 12 verse 2 many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake Some to everlasting life some to shame and everlasting contempt So you have resurrection hinted at in the old testament She's aware of that and so she says I know that he'll be raised again on the last day In the resurrection and this is where jesus's I am statement comes in verse 25 Can you imagine the drama of this for just a moment put yourself in a position where you're having this conversation Your your your brother's dead. Your heart is torn Your sister's remained behind. It's just you and the lord jesus. You're coming to him out of courtesy. You're the older Oldest sister you have certain responsibility You come to him but you love him very much and you know that he loves you. You know that he loves mary You know that he loves your brother and you're having a conversation and your heart is broken If you'd only been here my brother wouldn't have died even now I know that whatever you ask of god, he'll give to you. That's just a hopeless statement. It's not real. You'll see this later And then jesus is letting her talk and he's discussing this with her and I I I in some ways I wish I could have been watching this conversation Because he says your brother will rise again Now me if I were watching that I'd say oh, yeah on the resurrection. Yeah, I'd have been on martha's side Yeah, yeah, I know that That's why she says well in the resurrection at the last day my theology is correct, but my experience Isn't yet fully formed. So when she says in the resurrection at the last day and jesus looks at her Oh, don't you wish you could hear how he said this? I'm the resurrection in the life I wonder what that sounded like I wonder if she heard him Sometimes you don't hear when you're grieving I wonder if she heard him martha I am the resurrection It's not an event It's me I am the resurrection and The life and he who believes in me though he may die He shall live And then notice verse 26 whoever lives and believes in me shall never die And then he says do you believe this? That's where the rubber meets the road You know this But they do you believe this this statement? I am the resurrection and the life again. I mentioned that John's gospel records seven specific miracles But it also records what are called the seven I am statements of jesus And this I am statement here is the fifth statement that he makes I am he says the resurrection and the life It already said I am the bread. He said I'm the light of the world. I am the door I'm the good shepherd, but now he says I am the resurrection And he's saying listen though your physical life may come to an end in me You will live forever In me You will live forever pastor chuck my pastor Before he went to be with jesus quoted something That had been said By an earlier minister. I believe it was dl moody. You said it And he's in chuck said it like this. He said you're gonna hear that chuck smith has died He says but don't believe it Because at that moment i'll be more alive than i've ever been That's straight out of john If you believe in me you will never die Do you believe this Because death is final Death is finality There is no more of this person in front of me. Do I believe this still have life? Do I believe this still alive? I'm looking at a dead body But jesus said I am the resurrection. I am that life And he's saying That you'll be alive in him forever In john 851 he had said most assuredly I say to you if anyone keeps my word. He shall never see death You see in anticipation of jesus's resurrection those of us who trust in him are alive in him In first grinthians 15 20 through 22 Now christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep For since by man came death By man also came the resurrection of the dead For as in adam i'll die Even so in christ all shall be made alive And so the question is asked in verse 26 the last portion. Do you believe in this? And she answers very quickly. She says in verse 27. Yes lord I believe that you are the christ the son of god who was to come into the world. Yes, I do She does But doesn't yet understand She's basically saying I believe and I want to believe and I will believe And that gives her comfort But it's not She's not yet prepared for what's about to happen because remember Ephesians 3 20 He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think And so in verse 28 when she had said these things She went her way and secretly called mary her sister Saint the teacher's come calling for you As soon as she heard that she arose quickly and came to him Now jesus had not yet come into the town but was in the place where martha met him And the jews who were with her in the house and comforting her when they saw that mary rose up quickly and went out Followed her saying she's going to the tomb to weep there Mary saw where jesus was saw him And fell down at his feet saying to him lord If you'd have been here, my brother would not have died. These are the same words that had just been stated by her sister martha And therefore in verse 33 when when jesus saw her weeping and the jews who came with her weeping He groaned in the spirit and was troubled and he said Who have you laid him? They said to him lord come and see jesus wept And the jews said See how he loved him And some of them said Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept this man from dying jesus wept He sees the weeping he sees the pain He sees all the people who came with her crying And he's upset One of the things you might want to mark in your heart Is you don't have a god who is distant from you you have one who understands you You have one who understands and he actually weep jesus actually was weeping with those who were in pain He understands our hurts And the scripture points out that he weeps with those who suffer Isiah tells us he is despised and rejected by men A man of sorrows acquainted with grief And as he's there He's basically groaning notice in verse 33. He groaned in the spirit and he was troubled There's an upset. He's upset. He's displaying an anger an anger at what sin has done to us Do you ever have that anger by the way? On occasion I do I don't I don't have an anger like this every day and I'll explain what I mean in just a moment But you know, we have a school right up here Just up the street. We know that little school their newman elementary And I'll come driving by there on the way to the office and the little kids the small ones the preschool age Or maybe kindergarten they're the little ones Turns out they're the cute ones and the good ones and they get older. They're the monsters, but these are the cute ones And I'll stop at a stop sign and And sometimes I'll look across And I'll see a little boy and you'll be they have a tricycle They have tricycles these kids were right and they have a little track And I'll be sitting there ready to take a left to come to the church And I'll see a little boy and he's just wheeling and just going as fast as he can And they're cute. They're cute, you know, I think they're so cute And I can't help because I have my my own children and I have my grandchildren I I can't help but just just flashback for a moment about what my kids were like You know, I remember my son little David was about three years old and we were up in Up in central coast. We were in Morro Bay And there's a little museum in that area that Marie and I and And my David and my Corinne we went there when they were small And I took Marie went With Corinne and was walking to the sidewalk area and I was in the parking lot And my son David was really always energetic always moving So I was always keeping an eye on that kid and And I told him David stand right here. Well, daddy pulls us out of the trunk I was pulling something out of the trunk and He saw mama mama was about 50 60 yards away And he decided to run to his mama. I didn't see him go But then I looked because I was one of these dads who would keep looking and three four seconds and I look and there he is running But there was an inclined hill That he was running in In the inclined hill and then it would flatten There was a car an older vehicle with a long hood And when this woman was driving up I could see from my angle that the hood was blocking her view Of what was in front of her And I still remember as I saw my baby run right in front of that car I still remember screaming his name at the top of my lungs David And when I screamed David the woman saw me and she hit her brakes and I remember The car the the the hood it she hit it so hard that the hood started bouncing and david ran to his mama And I applied the board of education to the seat of understanding Could have lost my son Well, I see these kids And I do I sit sometimes and I look at them and I think I had kids my babies were small my grandchildren are small And when they're small there's such angels But they don't always stay that way do they They don't always stay that way Even our babies that we raise to be the best that we can They break your heart Sometimes not always I pray that you had kids that didn't break your heart I didn't Children have a way of doing that They're in your heart and then they break it And you get disappointed but how much how many of those babies and I think this sometimes not enough Bizarre mean ugly way, but I think how any of you babies Are going to be addicted to drugs are going to harm somebody how many of you are going to live a lot Statistically many are And that's what prompts me that's what moves me to preach the gospel To encourage parents raise your children up into lord Because if you don't teach them things about jesus The world will teach them things about jesus And will keep them From committing themselves And so jesus is weeping. Why is he weeping? He knows that he's going to do he's going to raise him from the dead Why is he weeping could it be that? He sees what sin does to people the scripture says he loved lazarus And even though he knows he's raising him the wages of sin is death And jesus is groaning he sees the pain that death That death brings on people And because adam fell and we received his sin nature You know we die also and and because we we have sin natures We sometimes don't restrain it We don't have the power to and we aren't as good as we could be and sometimes we're We're bad and these are the things that that causes the our our messiah our christ to cry It's what death does to people. It's what sin did And he and he has an anger and he has a sorrow and he and he weeps and this is the small The shortest verse in scripture is something every one of us could could memorize very easily simply says jesus wept Two words But when you get hold of that it changes your life Well Mary had gone to him and the crowd thought she was going to the tomb and they began to follow Once again There she is at his feet crying out the same thing martha had said if you'd have been here my brother wouldn't have died and so jesus saw her weeping verse 33 he groaned in the spirit was troubled where if you laid him they said lord come and see jesus wept And then the jews said see how he loved him And so there's this pain there's this sorrow and then verse 38 jesus again groaning in himself came to the tomb It was a cave a stone lay against it and he said Take away the stone Martha the sister of him who was dead said to him Lord By this time there's a stench He's been dead four days And jesus said to her Did i not say to you that you that if you would believe you would see the glory Of god didn't i tell you that And 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 heard me 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 have sent me Now when he had said these things he cried with a loud voice Lazarus come forth And he who had died came out Bound hand and foot with grave clothes And his face was wrapped with a cloth and jesus said to them loose him Let him go Didn't i say to you If you believed you would see Someone said seen as believing but jesus said believing is seen Didn't i tell you that And notice what happens he he prays and gives glory to his father Jesus is sent from his By his father and he wants people to know that and that's why he prays. He says it out loud. That's what he's saying I thank you that you you've heard me I know that you always hear me because of the people who are standing by i said this That they may believe that you sent me. I want them to know in advance what's about to take place You know there are times that the lord may prompt you for something And i haven't always responded to his promptings Jesus knows that he's about to do But he wants them to know in advance so that when it happens they'll say he told us that was going to happen And that would have increased their faith Many years ago. I was uh my wife and I took her uh her brother Her younger brother We took him to a christian concert and and he was a young teen at that time and we wanted him to hear the message We wanted him to enjoy the music He wasn't a believer and we love him very much and wanted him to be introduced to To christ and all and we had friends we had uh four friends that we were going to meet at the anaheim convention center And so We drove in separate vehicles marina. I drove picked up her brother brought him from chino and our two friends couples Met us there. They were to meet us at the convention center. You've been to the convention center. It's each 8 000 plus people It's in a circle and there's all these doors all the way around it, right? And so we got there, but we hadn't made arrangements to meet these people in a certain location And so we step in and there's all these people the lights are real low. There's lighting in the uh in the Surrounding area as you're about to enter in but in the inside it's it's dark They had the lights down and they were doing their concert And I look at marie and I said we're not going to be able to find rich in sylvia. We're not going to be able to find them Uh, and she said well, I'll go around this way and you go around that way And I said that'll be fine because we would look in to see if they were waiting in a certain alcove or whatever And so I said that's okay. Okay, we'll do that. So I took her brother with me And as we're walking the spirit of the lord speaks to my heart And says tell him that you are going to meet with these couples at seven o'clock And I thought boy, what did I eat that provoked me to And I thought was that me who said that no I had to be me that couldn't have been god So I didn't say anything I didn't say anything Because I thought I started arguing I started thinking if I tell him that and it doesn't happen God you're gonna look bad And I'm going to be presuming on you. So I argued no I can't do that. I don't want to make you look bad So we're walking and as we're walking I connect with marie Added an opening a door opening and She says did you see them and I walked up with her brother? I said no, I I haven't seen them And then I hear hey guys and I look and they're outside Wanting us to open the door so they can come in All four of them And then I look at my watch and it's seven o'clock on the nose And I was so mad at marie for making me sin. No, I I've never forgotten that And I turned to my brother-in-law and I said I'm so sorry. God told me to tell you That at seven o'clock we were gonna connect and I didn't tell you and I still remember him looking at me saying. Oh, yeah, that's okay He's just being kind But if I had said in advance at seven o'clock we will connect the lord just told me that What do you think it would have done It would have awakened him to the reality that god is still alive and moving right Jesus did that He said I know what you're gonna do It isn't because I don't know it's because they don't And that's the reason I'm saying this out loud So that they hear And they will believe and that's what he's doing. So In verse 43 He cried out with a loud voice You can almost hear him yelling Lazarus Come forth Some commentator said he had to say Lazarus Because he would have said come forth all the dead people would have been bouncing out of the tombs He gave glory to god And summoned Lazarus He cried loudly So that all could hear And then all would see And at his word Lazarus came forth And at his word Life was given to a dead man And at his word Life is still given to dead men Because it's the gospel of jesus christ When received That gives us life We are walking spiritually dead people And then the gospel is given to us and god calls your name whatever it may be david come forth marie come forth Whatever your name may be And you come out and notice something we come back we come to life and then notice there's something else here I want to point verse 44 He who had died came out bound hand and foot with the grave clothes So he's he must I don't know how to even picture this whether he's bouncing or whatever, but he comes out His face was wrapped with a cloth and notice this jesus said loose him and let him go I wonder if by practical application We can say when people come to faith in christ, they're bound by their old life And I wonder if it's part of what the church is intended by god to do is to loose them and let them go In other words to be of help with them To be of help to them Think about your own life. I have some very good people in this room You were just good people and you got saved because you knew you needed to get saved And then I have the rest of you Who are bound Who are bound and crippled And you got saved And you got saved But you're still bound There's still things in other words that need to be dealt with And that's why I appreciate by application. That's why I appreciate brothers and sisters and the lord because these people unbound him And I think in in if I mean this is application. This isn't necessarily the full intent of this I'm just making application here But I wonder I mean when I came Forth even as jesus said david come forth and I came and and I was I was I wasn't whole yet I wasn't complete. I mean thank god i'm saved but he had a work to do in my life all these years He had things to remove things that stumbled me things that I was bound by alcohol and you name it And those are things that had to be removed so I could walk without anything disturbing me and crippling me and holding me back And I thank god for my friends I thank god for for christians who loved me Christians who administered to me when I was a brand new christian and I mean sometimes you may look at somebody You know who's 40 or 50 years old and you look at them and you think well I met them when they were 30 and I've known them for 10 years 15 years or whatever And you only think of them from the point you met them But think about somebody that's brand new born just brand new like a parent looks at their baby And that parent Knows them the way they were as a baby and then watch them grow up Well for me my friends knew who I was and what I was like and and I was bound by sin And now I'm a newborn and I need help and so they helped me They helped to unwind the class that stumbled me in my life to encourage me so that I didn't use profanity anymore So that didn't didn't use drugs anymore So that didn't habitually drink anymore that I learned to treat people with kindness All of this came through fellowship and reading the word of God and saying God make me like you make me like you I want to be unbound because I was dead and now I'm walking but I need help and that's what the church does That's what we do for one another guys Instead of keeping them bound help to unbind them Instead of judging them harshly and always always being unkind to them and said oh, I knew you How about showing a little compassion a little hope and and a little love and concern it goes a long way goes a long way Instead of saying I knew you'd blow it Because sometimes we do know if they're going to blow it Instead of saying that maybe you should say you know what our god is a big god And he's able to change you if he changed me he will change you whole fast to jesus christ And don't let go you will walk the way you want to walk You will be the person you want to be not because I'll make you that way But because he does he changes people's lives. That's what the church is to do That's what the church does And so jesus commands them He says loose him and let him go And that's what we do We help people So that they can go in christ What a powerful story a literal story of a man who was dead Who has come back to life because of jesus who is the resurrection and the life