Turn in your Bibles this morning to John chapter 12.
! We're going to look in just a minute at John chapter 12, verse 9, 10, and 11.
But before I have you follow that passage, I want to take just a moment
and give you perhaps one of the most redundant statements of my ministry,
and that is that I would plead with you to pray for me.
I think one of the things I've said more than anything else would be that I am dependent upon your prayers.
I can't speak for other pastors, but I can tell you this, that for Tim Knoyer,
an indication of where I am spiritually is how consistently and how persistently I beg for prayer.
It is a reflection of my confidence in God answering prayer,
and it is also a reflection of my recognition of my own heart and the need of God's help.
So I trust that as I am preaching that you are multitaskers.
What I mean by that is that you are listening, and along with listening, you are praying for me.
And I am not the least bit put off if at moments you decide that you need to kind of ventilate and say it publicly.
It wouldn't put me off in the least if one of you would stop in the middle of my sermon.
Don't stop, but just say, oh, Lord, help him.
It's not going to bother me because I am aware that preaching the Word of God
is not merely an intellectual or an academic exercise
that is dependent upon an individual's ability alone.
That doesn't mean that preaching is not something that requires study
and deliberate and careful thinking.
But at the end of the day, preaching that is powerful and is used by the Spirit of God
is something that is dependent upon God.
And I want you to remember that.
I want you to pray for that.
Now, with that said, I want to start out by having you just kind of mark this passage in your thinking.
We're going to be looking at verse 9, 10, and 11.
And at the beginning of our lesson, I want to tell you ahead of time what it's about.
The first thing that I want you to recognize is that Christ's power raises the dead to life
and makes them incredible witnesses to His grace.
Christ's power does something that people can't get their head around in one sense
and allows the individual who has been saved by the grace of God to be a testimony to His power.
Secondly, I think another thing that we should see in this passage is that the blindness of sin
isn't simply overcome by more evidence.
I think we'd all like to think that just a little more education,
a little more information is the undeniable key to life transformation,
and that's not the case.
Ultimately, genuine conversion is not simply a matter of information,
but it is the work of God taking information, driving it home in an individual's heart,
and bringing them to the point of understanding, first of all,
the absolute despair of the human soul and man's inability to transform who he is really inside
that brings us to the point of saying,
God, if you don't work, I'm lost,
and I desperately need the work of Christ to change me and to save me.
So with these things in mind, let me read the passage, and then we'll pray.
John chapter 12, verse 9,
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there,
they came not only on account of Him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom He'd raised from the dead.
So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,
because on account of Him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
Father, this morning as we take this passage in hand,
we are thankful that You've given to us the sure and settled scriptures
that we may rely upon to instruct us, to inform us,
to help us see the power of Christ.
We're thankful also, Father, that we may call upon You to work in us
and in that request we confess that we in ourselves
are not going to grasp the sweetness of the scriptures
apart from Your helping us to see it.
And so, touch our hearts, open our ears,
incline our thinking and our affections towards You
that we would see wonderful and beautiful truths in Your Word,
and that those who are here that know the Lord Jesus Christ
would grow in their affection for Him
and their clear and convincing pursuit of His glory.
And that those that are here that do not know Christ
would be drawn to see their desperate need for the Lord Jesus
as their only Savior, and that today they would call upon His name
and be saved.
And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
So now, as we take this passage in mind,
the first thing that I want you to recognize
is that as we look at these three little verses,
what we are seeing is the powerful draw of a changed life.
And we're going to see primarily Lazarus
that was an attractive and magnetic individual,
not by virtue of his personality,
but by virtue of what Christ had done in him.
I think it's important to understand a little bit of the background
because, as I commented last week,
we're only a week away from the cross.
We're not very far from Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.
And it is interesting that as Christ made His way methodically towards the cross,
He set the stage for His public ministry as the Lamb of God.
Now, there's no specific text to actually support the idea,
but you would have to recognize that it was not an accident
that here is Jesus coming into Bethany
that is only two miles away from Jerusalem.
And He came into Bethany to do a miracle
that because of its proximity,
how close it was to Jerusalem,
it allowed for many of the people in Jerusalem,
the absolute center of the Jewish world, so to speak,
to come down to Bethany
to sympathize with Martha and with Mary
at the death of their brother.
And in that culture,
you'll remember that the death of a loved one
was something that was given a great deal of weight,
and so many, many had gathered around.
They had come to comfort
and encourage Mary and Martha as they were grieving,
and they were witness
to the fact that
Jesus had finally arrived
after a four-day delay.
And when He came into town,
ultimately what He did
was He asked that He be taken to the gravesite,
and there it was.
There was a tomb that had been cut into the rock,
and there was stone rolled across the front of it,
and in that little chamber
was a body that now had been aging
for four days.
And you'll remember that
Jesus had made a statement to Martha
about Him being the resurrection and the life,
and she had borne testimony
to her faith in Christ.
And later,
He had asked that they go to the gravesite,
actually to the point where,
the place where Lazarus was buried,
and in the presence of all this audience
that had gathered around Him,
remember what Jesus said?
He said,
Do you believe?
Yes.
Well, roll the stone away.
What was the response
of Mary and Martha,
and what did the rest of the crowd think
when He said,
roll the stone away?
Huh?
Their very practical statement was,
if you kind of rely on the King James,
it says,
He stinketh.
You know?
There's something going on inside
that we don't want outside.
Just let it go.
We're all right.
And He says,
roll the stone away.
They rolled it away,
and I want you to imagine
the impression on the crowd
that were kind of around Mary and Martha
when they said,
okay, okay, roll it away.
And after Jesus had had the stone rolled away,
you remember what happened.
He prays.
By the way,
who did He pray for?
He prayed,
it tells us in the passage,
to bring information and insight
into the lives of those who were listening,
and after He'd finished His prayer,
He shouts,
Lazarus,
come forth.
Question,
could Jesus have brought Lazarus
through the face of the tomb,
through the stone,
out into public,
completely stripped of the grave clothes
and with new clothes on and all?
Could He have done that?
The answer is,
not a problem.
But He had called Mary and Martha
to an act of faith,
rolled the stone away,
and then out He called on Lazarus,
and out He came,
and there He was with His grave clothes on, okay?
Now, grave clothes,
we're not talking about a three-piece suit.
We're talking about a guy
that basically had a sheet wrapped around Him,
and then,
you know,
it's like they didn't duct tape Him,
they didn't have duct tape in the good old days,
but they had taken strips of linen
and wrapped it around His legs,
and so I gotta tell you,
you can kind of have a little bit of
spiritual fantasy here,
kind of imagining how Lazarus
had gotten out of the tomb,
you know,
hop, hop, hop, hop,
He came to the front,
and Jesus said,
hey, let Him loose,
and it was an impressive moment.
It was something that captured
everybody's imagination.
Now, stop with me just for a minute,
and think about a couple other instances
of Jesus dealing with dead people.
How many of you know
that this was not the first resurrection
that He had done?
One of them is that He had stopped
a graveside procession,
and the widow's son,
the widow of Nain,
He had stopped the procession,
and He'd spoken to the young man,
and He'd risen up.
Another one,
Jairus' daughter,
remember,
they'd called him,
he'd gone down into the town,
and he said,
she's sleeping,
and they said,
no,
she's dead,
and they'd already gathered
to kind of weep and mourn,
but in neither case
had the death
been longstanding.
What I mean by that is that
in Jairus' daughter
and in the widow's son,
because of the burial process
in the ancient time,
the burial happened very quickly,
but with Lazarus,
he had been dead for four days.
There was no question
that he was dead,
to the point
that when the idea
of rolling the stone away
came up,
everybody was,
whoa,
don't go there.
That's not a good idea,
Jesus.
We appreciate what you did
feeding the 5,000,
and dealing with blind people,
we're good with that,
but let him stay.
Roll the stone back,
and out he comes.
Now,
the takeaway on that
is that Lazarus
ended up being
an undeniable
and spectacular
illustration
of the power of Christ.
Lazarus proved
to everyone
what Jesus could do
and who he was.
He served
as an undeniable
proof of Christ's
power and authority
over sin and death,
and I think it's important
for us
to get our head
around that
and recognize
that Lazarus
was an undeniable
testimony
to the power of Christ.
Now,
let's take that
and play it out
a little bit more
in our own personal lives
recognize this.
The reality is this,
is that a painting
is an illustration
of the painter's skill.
Isn't that right?
I look at Thad,
and Thad is an artist.
He went to
Columbus School
of Art and Design,
and anytime we have
some artwork around here,
we don't ask
Tim Knoyer
to do it
because crayons
are about the limit
of my skill.
We ask Thad,
and he does a good job.
By the way,
when you really
want to figure out
whether an engineer
has any capability,
what do you look at?
You look at
what they've made.
You look at
what they've accomplished,
and as you look
at the machinery
or whatever it is
that that engineer
has put together,
you end up saying,
man,
that guy's got it.
I want you to realize
that every genuine convert
points to the power
of Christ.
Every genuine convert
points to the power
of Christ.
And I want you
to recognize
that Scripture
is full
of illustrations
to this point.
Stop and think
with me
of the passage
in John chapter 4,
and let's go back there
just for a moment.
John chapter 4,
verse 28 and 29,
after Jesus
touches the life
of the woman
at the well.
Look at what it says
there in verse 28
and 29.
So the woman
left her water jar
and went away
into town
and said to the people,
and stop just
for a moment.
Here's a woman
we know
from the account
was at the well
because she was
embarrassed
with what people
knew about her,
and she was kind
of shunned
and put out
by the society.
She was kind
of on the outskirts
of culture
and community,
and here she is
transformed
by the gospel,
and after she
has converted,
what does she do?
Go to look
at verse 29.
Come,
see a man
who told me
all that I ever did.
Can this be the Christ?
I like the way
in which it says
that passage
in the King James.
Is not this the Christ?
Come,
see the man
who told me
all that I ever did.
Now stop and think
with me just for a moment.
How many of you
have things in your life
that you are really
glad other people
don't know?
Okay?
Here is a woman
who goes into town
and everybody knew
pretty much everything
about her
because in a small town
are there secrets?
What's the answer?
In a small town
are there secrets?
Nah,
not to,
eventually you figure
it out,
right?
And here is a woman
who goes back
into town and says,
hey,
you come meet the man
who told me all about me.
Underlying that
is that
he also loves me
and has forgiven me.
Let me have you look
at another passage
in John chapter 9.
John chapter 9
verse 10 and 11.
So they said to them,
this is the man
that was born blind
that Jesus heals
and following that
he ends up
being brought
before the Sanhedrin,
before the council
because of the fact
that Jesus healed
on the Sabbath.
verse 10,
so they said to him,
then how were
your eyes opened?
Verse 11,
he answered,
the man called Jesus,
made mud
and anointed my eyes
and said to me,
go to Siloam
and wash.
So I went and washed
and received my sight.
Third illustration
I want you to see
is over in Luke
chapter 8.
Luke chapter 8,
you're in John,
just kind of turn back
a little bit
to Luke chapter 8
verse 35 through 39.
Now let me give you
a little bit of background
because I think
it's important
to understand
the significance
of what had taken place.
Here was a man
who had reached
the point
in his extreme
captivity
to Satan's power
that he had not only
been driven out
by the town,
but he was also
living naked
in the tombs
and he was
self-abusive
as well as abusive
to all kinds
of other people.
He was an outcast
by society.
He was hated.
He was disliked.
And Jesus came to him
and delivered him
of all that baggage
and that burden.
And we read there
in verse 35,
then people came out
to see what had happened
and they came to Jesus
and found the man
from whom the demons
had gone,
sitting at the feet
of Jesus,
clothed
and in his right mind
and they were,
what?
Afraid.
And those who had seen it
told how the demon-possessed man
had been healed.
Then all the people
of the surrounding country
of Gazerines
asked him to depart
from them
for they were seized
with great fear.
So he got into the boat
and returned
to the man,
verse 38,
from whom the demons
had gone,
begged that he might be
with him.
But Jesus sent him away
saying,
return to your home
and declare how much
God has done for you.
And he went away
proclaiming throughout
the whole city
how much Jesus
had done for him.
I love this story.
Do you know why?
Because I can identify
as you can as well
at what it must have been like
to be an individual
who was a little ashamed
of their history
and their past.
And here was a man
who Jesus had radically
transformed
with the power
of the gospel
who says,
hey,
I would like to leave
my past behind
and I would like
to go somewhere else
where I can get
a fresh start.
And what did Jesus say?
You go back to town
and serve as an
undeniable illustration
of my power
to change a life.
I'll never forget
many years ago
in ministry,
not here,
I had a man come up
to me in the church
and say,
so would you allow
a convicted felon
to come to church?
And the obvious answer
from any of us
would be what?
Absolutely.
The person went on
and said,
would you allow
a convicted felon
who was in prison
for 10 years
for child pornography
to come to church?
I said,
absolutely.
And I remember
counseling that man
when he came back
to town
after he had been
sent away
for 10 years
and he said to me,
how is it
that you are willing
to have me here?
I said,
well,
sinners need to be here
to hear the gospel.
He said,
well,
I'm saved.
I have come to faith.
I said,
then I expect you here
to be a testimony
of the power of Christ
to change a life.
Does that make sense?
I got a call
two weeks ago
when I was in the hospital.
Terry Wolcott
called me three times.
Three times.
He wanted to know
how I was doing.
And he brought it up.
He said,
Pastor,
I'll never forget
what it was
when you were willing
to let me come
to the church.
Incidentally,
over time,
he ended up
serving cookies
in VBS
with me standing
at his shoulder.
Do you understand that?
Later,
he became a deacon
in our fellowship.
An undeniable,
godly testimony
to the power of Christ.
Do you know
what he's doing today?
He's 72.
He is traveling
back and forth
to prisons
all over this state
and he is telling
people every chance
he gets,
Jesus can change
a broken
and ruined life.
And you know what?
When Terry tells his story,
I want to tell you something.
He's not the hero in it.
Lazarus wasn't the hero
in his story either.
He was proof
of the power of Christ.
Isn't that what we see?
I want you to recognize that.
So here is Lazarus
and you look at the passage there,
go back to John chapter 12
and it says that
people came,
verse 9,
not only account of him
but also to see Lazarus.
Yes, people wanted
to see Jesus
but here's the deal.
They really wanted
to see the evidence
of the power of the gospel
to do something incredible
in the life
of a person
who at one point
had been dead.
They wanted to see
the power of Christ
on display
and evident.
And I wonder this morning
whether or not
your life bears
similar testimony
to the power of Christ
to change you
from who you used to be
to who you are
and who you someday will be.
You know,
I wish the fact
of the matter is
is that conversion
made us go from
absolute dark
to absolute light
with no in between,
right?
Okay?
It's like nothing else
to be done
to continue the process
of growing in grace
but here's what conversion does.
Conversion brings life
to a dead heart.
Conversion changes
a person's eternal address.
Conversion gives to a person
a new interest.
Conversion gives to a person
a different desire.
And Lazarus bore testimony
to the power of Christ
to change a life.
So let me ask you
a practical question.
Here is Lazarus
who as a result
of the power of Christ
was undeniable,
irrefutable proof
of the power of Jesus
to change a person.
How clearly?
How clearly
does your life
point to the power
of Jesus
to save and change a heart?
How clearly?
Are you different today?
Are you growing?
Are you different
than you used to be?
And can you see
the evidence
of progressive sanctification,
the process of Jesus
changing you
to be more and more
like Him
and less and less
like you used to be?
I've got to tell you something.
One of the convincing facts,
it's interesting,
I asked the question
last Wednesday night
in our Bible study,
I said,
so what are some
of the theological truths
that you are firmly
convinced of?
One individual said,
I'm convinced of the,
he used the word
soteriology
and that's kind of
like heavy duty.
He said,
I'm convinced
of the power of Christ
to save.
Are you convinced
of that?
Are you convinced
of the power of Christ
to save because you know
what He's done for you
and you're not
who you used to be?
That's what should be
going on in your life.
And Lazarus
was such an illustration
of that power
that the unbelieving world
came to see it
and they came to bear
testimony to it.
Now that brings up
something else
that I want you to see.
Look there at verse 10.
So the chief priest
made plans
to put Lazarus
to death as well.
There is a hateful desire
to destroy evidence.
Do you follow that?
We like to believe
that all people need
is proof
and proof
would stand by itself
and do its job
on its own.
No.
The unbeliever
is not going to be
persuaded necessarily
by the proof.
In fact,
when the proof
is on the table,
one of the things
that often happens
in the heart
of an unregenerate person
is they end up
disliking
what is convicting.
And so as we move
a little further
into this scene,
we see just how dark
and how hard
the hearts
of unregenerate people
can be.
Here the highest authorities
of Jewish culture
had decided
that the appropriate
thing to do
was not only murder
Jesus,
who was the Messiah
and the Savior,
and was doing
all these miracles,
but they decided
that not in addition
to murdering Jesus,
they were going
to murder Lazarus.
Why?
Because he was evidence
of the power of Christ
to change a life.
And so here,
we recognize
that the leaders
of the nation of Israel
had become a law
unto themselves.
They saw themselves
not as the law teachers,
but as the lawmakers.
And as a side note,
one of the things
that you should recognize
and just understand
about culture
is that when a nation
turns its eyes away
from the truth
of the law of God,
ultimately what happens
is those who are there
to support
and encourage
or respect for the law
end up being
a law to themselves
and not applying
the law to themselves.
So don't be surprised
at what we see
in our culture
and the cultures
around the world
where people have
turned their back
on the word of God
and turned their back
on the law of God.
It happens.
It happened here.
Nor should you be surprised
at the sinfulness
of an unregenerate heart.
What I want you to see here,
it says there
in verse 11,
because of an account
of him,
talking about Lazarus,
many of the Jews
were going away
and believing in Jesus
and as a result
of the impact
of the life of Lazarus,
the people
who were in leadership
thought,
hey listen,
we got to get rid
of Lazarus
as well as Jesus.
And so recognize
that sinners
are going to hate
the light
and their hatred
of the truth
will always seek
to suppress
its convicting power.
That's what happens.
I want you to look
at another passage
with me just to kind
of firm this up
in your thinking.
Go back in your Bible
to John chapter 3
verse 19 and 20.
John chapter 3
verse 19 and 20.
He'd like to believe
that all people need
is light.
Ah, get enough light,
the problem solved.
That's not necessarily
the truth at all.
Sometimes all that light
does is give
a clear picture
of the blackness
and the darkness
of the human heart
and it leads
to a rebellion
against the light.
Look at John chapter 3
verse 19.
This is the judgment.
The light has come
into the world
and people love
the darkness
rather than the light
because their works
were evil.
For everyone
who does wicked things
hates the light
and does not come
to the light
lest his work
should be exposed.
Now by the way,
there may be
some of you here
that are in the process
of kind of thinking
through who is Jesus
and what's he all about?
I can't think
of a better thing
for you to do
if that is a curious
question in the back
of your mind.
Who is Jesus
and what's he all about?
The ideal thing
for you to do
would be take
the gospel of John.
In fact,
you can take
the Bible
that is in the pew
right in front of you.
We have stacks
of in the back room
and if you don't have
a Bible,
take it home with you.
You got me?
How many of you
understood what I said?
You want a Bible?
Take it.
Read the gospel of John
and keep on asking yourself
this question.
Who is Jesus?
Why did he come?
Jesus said,
I am the light
of the world.
So when the light
becomes clear,
the unregenerate heart,
apart from the grace
of God,
has a tendency
to dislike
what they see
and react against it.
I want you to recognize
that as we read
this passage,
we see a clear picture
of how the unregenerate
respond to the light.
Now, beloved,
I encourage you
to recognize
that in the culture
in which we live,
we ought to not be surprised
if when we serve
in humility
and tenderness
and serve as the light,
there's going to be
a little bit of pushback.
I want you to recognize
at the same time
when we think about
the issue of serving
in the community
and culture
where God's put us,
that we are careful
at the same time
that we are light,
that we're not brassy
and arrogant
in being that.
I want you to look
at a passage
just for a moment
to kind of confirm
that in your hearts.
You're there in John,
but go to 1 Peter 3.
1 Peter 3.
I'm just going to read
this passage
and let it kind of
soak in
to your own thinking
for a later time.
1 Peter 3, verse 8,
it says this,
Finally, all of you
have unity of mind,
sympathy, brotherly love,
a tender heart,
and a humble mind.
Stop just for a moment.
Everybody smile at me
so you know
I'm talking to you.
The unbelieving world
completely understands
not really getting along.
Do you follow that?
The unbelieving world
completely understands
really not getting along.
The thing that is stunning
is when people
stay in relationships
despite the frailties
of the flesh
of other people
in the circle with them.
Wouldn't it be nice
if every sinner
in the canoe with you
was better than you are
in their heart?
The problem is
is that all of the people
that are in companionship
and community with you
are struggling
with some of the same things.
And here is Peter
as he is coming
towards the end of his life
and he says this,
hey, he says,
Have unity of mind,
sympathy, brotherly love,
a tender heart,
and a humble mind.
Verse 9,
Do not repay evil for evil
or reviling for reviling,
but on the contrary,
bless,
for to this you were called.
Why were you called?
To be a blessing,
to give a blessing.
Then it goes on there
in verse 10,
Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue
from evil.
Now, how do you keep
your tongue from evil?
Question.
How many of you
don't need practice
at being stupid
with what you say?
Okay.
I think one of the distinct
privileges of being
a little older
is that I have
suffered adequately
for stupid things
I've said
that I at least think
more carefully
than I used to.
Well, in addition to that,
the grace of God
should teach us
to be more gentle
and patient
and cautious
in what we have to say.
And here it says,
Hey, keep your tongue
from evil.
Verse 11,
Let him turn away
from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace
and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord
are on the righteous
and his ears
are open to their prayers.
But the face of the Lord
is against those
who do evil.
Now, who is there
to harm you
if you are zealous
for what is good?
But even if you should
suffer for righteousness' sake,
you will be blessed.
Have no fear of them
nor be troubled.
But in your hearts,
honor Christ the Lord
as holy,
always being prepared
to make a defense
to anyone
who asks you
for a reason
for the hope
that is in you.
Now, mark the end,
yet do it with gentleness
and respect.
Listen to me.
We are living in a day
when the belligerence
of the unbelieving world
is just like it's on steroids.
And I would appeal to you
who are believers
that that kind of spirit
should not characterize
your Facebook posts,
your little comments
that you make
on Snapchat or Twitter
or wherever else,
or even things you say
in the office.
Or here,
let's go one better.
Or things you say
to companions
professedly in the gospel.
I gotta tell you,
I'm tired of snarky statements
from believers.
How many of you heard me?
You know what snarky statements are?
Critical, sarcastic little comments
that belong in a bar room,
not in the family of God.
And all God's people said,
okay.
So next time someone does it,
and I do drift
left of center occasionally,
here's what I want you to do.
Put your arm around me
and say,
Pastor,
you just preached on that.
Stop.
Help me.
By the way,
I'm here to help you.
Okay.
Now we got that out of the way.
Let's talk about
practical textual fruit.
In other words,
when you preach the word,
there's gotta be something
to do with it,
and that's where we're at.
I am struck,
for one,
by the evidence
that a witness
to Christ's power
is simply that.
There's no indication
that before
the woman at the well
scampered into town
to talk to people
about Jesus,
or the man
who once had been blind,
or Lazarus,
took a 12-week course
in how to share the gospel
before they waltzed in
and did their thing,
right?
All they did
was say,
I used to be blind
and now I see.
Come meet the man
who loves me
despite the fact
that I've been a skunk.
So,
I can't tell you
how many times
I've heard people say
that they just
don't witness
because they don't know how.
I'm not convinced of that.
I don't think it's true.
Witnessing is not
about training.
Write that down.
Witnessing is not
about training.
Witnessing is about
being evidence
of His power
to change a broken
and ruined life.
That's simple.
The woman at the well,
the blind man,
the demoniac,
Lazarus,
all they did
was bear testimony
of what Christ
had done in their lives.
So,
if there is a consistent
lack of witnessing
opportunity in your life,
it's fair to ask
a couple questions
of yourself.
Number one,
you may not really be
convinced
of His power
to change life.
Years ago,
I remember
I hurt myself,
my back,
serious injury,
and I had numbness
down the left leg
and it got to the point
that I was staggering
around and
I went to a
doctor and said,
yeah,
you need an MRI
and the doctor said,
you have a herniated disc
and there's no solution
but surgery.
My wife was working
for a group of attorneys
that specialized
in lawsuits
for malpractice,
etc.,
and I said,
find out
who the best surgeon
is in Columbus.
Does all that make sense
to you,
right?
And,
she found out
that Dr. Janet Bay
was top of the line.
I begged,
borrowed,
and whatever else
and got into
Dr. Janet's office
and she did my surgery
and I have never
had another,
I'm good,
my back,
I mean,
that's 25 years ago,
do you follow that?
So,
I am all the time
ready to talk about
the best surgeon I know
when it comes to
back surgery.
It may be that you
don't understand
the power of Christ
and that's the reason
you can't speak
to the power of Christ
and I would plead
with you that if you're
here this morning
and you do not
understand the power
of Christ,
it might be that
you've never really
come to faith.
Do you follow that?
The blind man
put it this way,
I don't know who he is
and what he has to do
but I'll tell you,
I was blind
and now I see.
I do think sometimes
that believers
can get caught up
in things that are
of no eternal purpose
and their lives
can be compromised.
I think about a passage
in 2 Timothy
where it says this,
Demas has forsaken me
having loved
this present age.
we can be seduced
as believers
who are on our way
to heaven
to be so caught up
in the things
of this present life
that we just lose sight
of the glory of Christ.
Isn't that right?
I've got to tell you,
the most important thing
is not what I'm going
to leave behind
or where my vacations were
or whether or not
my children put a bunch
of trophies
on a shelf
that later go in
a cardboard box
that end up
in a garage
that my grandchildren
have to dispose of.
Do you got my point?
The point?
The truth of the matter
is this,
we have been saved
for His glory
and we are to bear
testimony to His power
to change a life.
Don't get caught
and seduced
by the things
of this world.
There's one other thing.
I think about that statement
in Revelation
where it says,
you've lost
your first love.
Some of you
may have forgotten
what Jesus did
in saving you.
Some of you
may have forgotten
the darkness
and the misery
of your heart.
And as a result
of forgetting
the blessing
of His salvation,
you no longer
share it
with affection
and passion.
And there is
no remedy
apart from
rekindling
your spirit
with humility
and saying,
Lord,
restore to me
the affection
and the love
that I had
for you
at that time
when you saved me.
I want you
to think also
of the fact
that witnessing
is about being
an evidence
of His power
but here's another thing.
I want you to know
that you can count
on the fact
that over time
being living proof
of His power
will lead some
to faith.
That's what happened
in John's passage here.
Lazarus,
by virtue
of the life
that he lived,
ended up
drawing people
to Christ.
That's what we see
happening in the Bible.
Do you know
that as a result
of practical,
quiet testimonies
of faith,
people are coming
to faith
all over the world?
All over the world.
The most powerful
testimonies
are generally
in the hottest
crucibles
and under
the greatest suffering.
Do you know
where the gospel
is having
some of the greatest
impact today?
It's in Iran.
People lose
their lives
for their faith
in Iran.
Do you know
that Christians
in China
numerically
are going to
surpass
Christians in America?
And it isn't
because you have
all kinds of
Christian radio
and all kinds
of Christian music
and all kinds
of Christian preaching.
It's because
you have
Christian witnessing.
Lives that are
changed
by the power
of the cross.
So my question
to you this morning
is this.
Where are you
in your testimony?
Are you like Lazarus
who by virtue
of the power
of Christ
to change a life
are being used
by Christ
to draw other
people to see
and to hope
and to believe
in the Lord Jesus
Christ as Savior
of the world
or are you
someone who is
here today
and does not
know Christ?
If you're here
and you know Christ
I would plead
with you
that what you do
is repent
if you've not
been the testimony
and witness
that you should be.
And if you are here
and do not know Christ
then I would plead
with you now is
the hour
now is the time
to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ
in whom is salvation
alone.
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father God
we are thankful
for the little reminder
of Lazarus
and a life
that was changed
by the power
of Christ
and the magnetic
witness that he was
and the testimony
that that is to us
that we
who know the Lord Jesus
are to bear testimony
to his power.
That that's the purpose
of our life.
And I pray this morning
that as the word of God
sits on the hearts
and lives
of your people
that it would be used
to draw people
to obedience
and to being godly witnesses.
Also that those
who are here
this morning
that do not know
the Lord Jesus Christ
would be drawn
to the cross
by the power
of the gospel
that Christ Jesus
might be exalted
here as he is
in eternity.
And we ask this
in Jesus name.
Amen.