So one of the things that has become more interesting for me is to think about and to try to analyze our culture.
And so do you ever notice things in our culture and wonder, you know, why is that so appealing?
Or what does this event or this reality say about the culture we live in?
What do our presidential candidates say about us as a culture?
Or this video that's gone viral on the internet, what does that say about our culture?
And as I've been asking these questions, one of the places that keeps coming to mind is the box office.
So what do our movies tell us about the culture that we live in?
Well, recently I was invited by a friend to go see Batman vs. Superman.
And one of the things that stuck out to me as I was watching the previews and thinking about other movies
is there seems to be this growing amount of superhero video or movies that have been coming out.
So why do you think these movies, these superhero movies, why do you think they're so appealing?
You know, part of the reason is probably the incredible graphics, the cinematography of these kind of amazing movies that our technology can provide.
And part of the reason is the stories.
We love good stories, right?
And the age-old story of good vs. evil always sparks something in us.
There's something resonating about seeing humanity in crisis and then watching someone come in and save the day and be a hero.
Well, along with this, I think these movies are captivating.
And this isn't just with superhero movies, but movies in general is that they help us to wrestle with the fundamental questions
that we all face as human beings.
So there's a scene in the Batman vs. Superman movie where one of the characters, Lex Luthor,
he asks or implies one of the fundamental questions that we all have to answer.
He asks, if there is a God, he implies, then what is he like?
Now this is a question that everyone answers, and there's basically two answers that most people will give.
Other people will say, God doesn't exist at all.
You know, everything that we see is all by chance, some random explosion of atoms.
Or they will say, yes, God does exist, but he exists with flaws.
He has some kind of limit or imperfections.
In the movie, Lex Luthor answers the question like this.
After seeing a world that is broken and evil, he concludes,
either God must be all-loving or all-powerful, but he cannot be both.
And the logic is this.
If God is all-loving, then why does he allow the suffering that this world experiences?
If he has the power to stop evil and he doesn't, he must not be powerful enough to stop it.
However, if he is all-powerful, then the brokenness that we see proves that he can't be all-loving.
To have the power to stop evil and suffering and not means that he could not possibly be all-loving.
Have you ever felt this tension before?
The tension of trying to reconcile your experiences in a broken world, whether you're a Christian or not,
with what you're experiencing and what you believe to be true about God.
For many people, an atheistic view of God or a view that he is deficient in some way are the only possible explanations.
But this morning, I'd like to suggest that the Bible offers a third possibility.
Now, the Bible speaks to this fundamental question in different places, but one of the clearest examples is found in John chapter 11.
And I'm going to ask you to turn there with me to the Gospel of John chapter 11.
In this passage, we see a story of Jesus and his interactions with a family that is very dear to him.
And this family's experiences, in many ways, similar to our own.
As we'll see, they experience the intense pain and sorrow of living in a broken world.
And yet, as the story unfolds, their experience of suffering and pain is actually the very thing God uses to reveal himself,
to reveal who he is and what he's like.
So as we kind of go forward now this morning, we're going to make three moves.
First, we're going to look at this story and see what it says.
Second, we're going to look at a few points that emerge from this story.
And then third, we'll try to apply it to our lives.
So story, points, application.
And before we go any further, would you pray with me?
God, thank you that you are not silent, but that you have spoken to us.
Lord, you have revealed yourself in creation.
You have revealed yourself in your word, and you have revealed yourself in Jesus.
So God, would you speak now to us a word of encouragement?
God, would your word refresh us?
God, would your word strengthen us this morning and build us up?
Lord, would your word give us faith to trust you?
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, well, we're going to read John 11, 1 through 46, which is a long passage.
I'm going to do my best to read well.
You guys do your best to follow along.
So starting in verse 1.
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair,
whose brother Lazarus was ill.
So the sisters sent to him, saying,
Lord, he whom you love is ill.
But when Jesus heard it, he said,
This illness does not lead to death.
It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Then after this, he said to the disciples,
Let us go to Judea again.
The disciples said to him,
Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you.
Are you going there again?
And Jesus answered,
Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.
After saying these things, he said to them,
Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.
The disciples said to him,
Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.
Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought he meant he was taking rest and sleep.
Then Jesus told them plainly,
So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples,
Let us go, that we may die with him.
Verse 17,
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him.
But Mary remained seated in the house.
Martha said to Jesus,
Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.
Jesus said to her,
Your brother will rise again.
Martha said to him,
I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.
Jesus said to her,
I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.
Do you believe this?
She said to him,
Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
who is coming into the world.
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private,
The teacher is here and is calling for you.
And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
When the Jews who were with her in the house,
consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out,
they followed her,
supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Now when Mary came to where Jesus was inside,
she fell at his feet, saying to him,
Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
When Jesus saw her weeping,
and the Jews who had come with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
And he said, Where have you laid him?
They said to him, Lord, come and see.
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, See how he loved him.
But some of them said,
Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man
also have kept this man from dying?
And Jesus, deeply moved again,
came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Jesus said, Take away the stone.
Martha, the sister of the dead man,
said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an odor,
for he has been in there for four days.
Jesus said to her,
Did I not tell you that if you believed,
you would see the glory of God?
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
I knew that you always hear me,
but I said this on account of the people standing around,
that they may believe that you sent me.
When he had said these things,
he cried out with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come out.
The man who died came out,
his hands and feet bound with linen strips,
his face unwrapped with a cloth.
Sorry, his face wrapped with a cloth.
And Jesus said to them,
Unbind him and let him go.
Many Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary
and had seen what he did, believed in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So let's take a moment now
to consider what's going on in this story.
As we just read,
this story takes place in a little village called Bethany,
which was about two miles outside of Jerusalem.
And here in this village,
there was a man named Lazarus,
who we learned right from the start,
was sick and ill.
Now it doesn't give us the details
of what he was sick with
or how sudden or gradual this illness came,
but we know that it went from good to bad to worse.
And now his sisters were scrambling
to find a way to care for their brother.
Now you can just imagine what's going on
in Mary and Martha's mind.
They've likely used up all of their options
and all of their resources
and up until then,
nothing had happened for their brother.
And facing the unthinkable,
you can picture their face
when that thought of Jesus came into their minds.
Have you ever been faced with an incredible challenge?
And as you've racked your brain for a solution,
something pops into your mind
and you're like,
that has to be the solution.
Well, as I mentioned earlier,
this family was very dear to Jesus.
They had spent time with him.
He had been in their home.
It's very likely they even saw him heal other people.
And so when their brother was in need of a miracle,
they did what any of us would have done
and they called for the one
who had the power to heal Lazarus.
Verse three says,
You can hear in this request
both an appeal to his love
and an appeal to his power.
And yet, in verse four,
we read that when Jesus heard it,
he said,
this illness does not lead to death.
It is for the glory of God
so that the Son of God
may be glorified through it.
Now there's a lot we could say about this response,
but for now,
notice that when Jesus heard this news,
it didn't take him by surprise.
He didn't hear the news
and then all of a sudden drop everything
and rush to Lazarus.
In fact, he actually did the exact opposite.
Rather than leave it at once,
we read in verse five,
now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
This probably wasn't,
or probably isn't the response
that we would expect, right?
And it's definitely not the response
that Mary and Martha were hoping for.
But after two days,
Jesus gathered his disciples together
and though there was some resistance
because of a fear of what the Jews might do to them
and harming them or stoning them,
they nonetheless followed Jesus
as he went to be with his family.
And when they got there,
they must have arrived on a scene
that just seemed totally and utterly hopeless.
Verse 17 paints the picture of this bleak scene
by saying,
When Jesus came,
he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb
for four days.
And many Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to console them concerning their brother.
By all outward appearances,
Jesus had gotten there too late.
There was no chance,
no hope,
that he would heal him
before he died.
So what do you do
when the one solution
that was supposed to solve everything
doesn't work out?
What do you do
when your hopes and dreams
are dashed
by a world
that is broken
and flawed?
Well, it was here
in the midst of this dark
and gloomy scene
that the hope-filled glory of God
began to shine in.
Martha heard that Jesus had come
and she went out to meet him.
Her words are telling,
but they also reflect a heart
that is fighting for faith,
that ultimately wants to trust in Jesus.
She says in a phrase
that would be repeated,
Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Jesus tells her,
Your brother will rise again.
To which she responds,
I know my brother will rise again
on the last day
in the resurrection.
Martha is in a state of distress
and yet fighting for faith,
fighting for understanding.
And Jesus,
fully aware of everything
that's going on in her mind
and in her heart,
he speaks a word
of powerful hope.
A word that reveals
for John's readers
a magnificent reality
about who Jesus is.
So Martha says,
I know he will rise again
in the resurrection
on the last day.
And Jesus responds,
I am the resurrection
and the life.
Seven power-filled words
that change everything.
I am the resurrection
and the life.
Whoever believes in me,
though he die,
yet shall he live.
And everyone who lives
and believes in me
shall never die.
Do you believe this?
Do you believe that I have power
over life and death?
Do you believe that salvation
is found in me?
Do you believe that I am
the divine Son of God?
Well, Martha responds beautifully,
doesn't she?
In verse 27,
she said to him,
Yes, Lord,
I believe that you are the Christ,
the Son of God,
who is coming into the world.
And what we see in this passage
is that it answers
the first part
of Lex Luthor's question.
If there is a God,
then what is he like?
The Gospel of John says
without reservation,
there is no if
when it comes to God.
There absolutely is a God
and we need to look
no further than Jesus,
the second member of the Trinity,
to see this reality.
In fact,
that is not only the main point
of this passage,
it's the main point
of John's Gospel.
From the very first verse
all the way through to the end,
John presents Jesus
as the Messiah
and Son of God,
the one the Father sent
into the world
to rescue it.
He starts off his book
by saying this,
In the beginning was the Word,
speaking about Jesus,
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
And towards the end of this book,
we read this,
Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of his disciples
which are not written
in this book,
but these are written.
What we read in John chapter 11,
these are written
so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing
you may have life
in his name.
And so Jesus wrote,
or sorry,
John wrote this Gospel
so that we would know
who Jesus is,
that he is the Son of God,
the Messiah,
who has come into this world.
And the way this passage,
our passage this morning,
drives that purpose
is by what Jesus says
in verse 25
when he says,
I am the resurrection
and the life.
But we see after this conversation
with Martha,
then Jesus encounters Mary.
Look again at verse 31.
When the Jews
who were with her in the house
consoling her
saw Mary rise quickly
and go out,
they followed her.
And supposing that she was
going to the tomb
to weep there,
now when Mary came
to where Jesus was
and saw him,
she fell at his feet saying,
Lord, if you had been there,
my brother would not have died.
Now you can just imagine
Mary's grief and sorrow.
And you wonder
if implied in her statement
is actually a question.
Probably the question
we all want to ask, right?
Lord, if you had been there,
my brother would not have died,
so why weren't you here?
Jesus, where were you
when all this was happening?
Jesus, didn't you see
what we were going through?
What we are about to experience?
How could you let this happen?
Have you ever found yourself
asking these questions?
God, why are you letting
this happen to me?
Do you really love us?
Don't you see what's going on?
A few years ago,
our family went through a season
where there was just
a mounting set of challenges.
Emergency room visits,
a blown transmission
in our old car,
a deer that ran into
our new car,
sleepless nights
while working third shift,
sleepless nights
with having a newborn,
and on and on.
And as the months dragged on,
I found myself
asking this question.
God, is this really
your plan for us?
Like, do you see
what's going on right now?
Lord, do you really
care about me?
And you wonder if Mary,
knowing that Jesus
had the power to heal Lazarus,
even from afar,
was questioning
his love for them.
They knew the perfect solution
for the worst scenario,
and yet,
it didn't seem to work out.
Notice also,
the crowd who was with Mary
also had questions
about Jesus.
They didn't wonder
about his love.
They wondered about
what could have been.
After seeing Jesus weep
in verse 35,
the Jews said,
see how he loved him?
But some of them said,
could not he
who opened the eyes
of the blind man
also kept this man
from dying?
You know,
poor Jesus,
a man full of compassion
and love,
and yet unable
to get here in time,
unable to save the day.
You wonder if they saw
Jesus as all loving,
full of compassion,
and yet,
not all powerful.
But whatever was going
through their minds,
no one expected Jesus
to do what he did next.
Deeply moved
by the pain and sorrow
caused by living
in a fallen world,
Jesus came to the tomb
where Lazarus was buried,
and he asked them
to take the stone away.
Martha protested at first,
saying,
there's going to be an odor.
Lazarus has been in there
for four days.
But in response,
Jesus told Martha
to trust him,
and then he publicly
prayed this,
what we've already read.
Father, I thank you
that you have heard me.
I knew that you
always hear me,
but I said this
on account of the people
standing around,
that they may believe
that you sent me.
And when he said
these things,
he cried out
in a loud voice,
Lazarus, come out!
The man who had died
came out,
his hands and feet
bound with linen strips,
and his face
wrapped with a cloth.
And Jesus said to them,
unbind him
and let him go.
Many of the Jews,
therefore,
who had come with Mary
and had seen what he did,
believed in him,
but some of them
went to the Pharisees
and told them
what Jesus had done.
So this passage
shows us
that Jesus
is the resurrection
and the life.
He has power
over death.
He is the source
of life.
As Martha confessed
in verse 27,
he is the Messiah
and the Son of God
sent by the Father
to rescue
the world.
There is no if
when it comes to God.
There absolutely
is a God
and his name
is Jesus.
Well, this raises
the other part
of our opening question
and leads us
to the second move.
The second part
of the question
is this,
what is this God
Jesus like?
What is he like?
Is he flawed
or slowed down
by some imperfection?
Sure, he exists,
but is he hindered
or lacking
in some way?
Well, in answer
to that question,
there are three truths
or three characteristics
that this passage
shows us
about Jesus.
It teaches us
something about
his knowledge,
his love,
and his power.
His knowledge,
his love,
his power.
So let's look
at each one of these
briefly.
First, his knowledge.
All throughout
this passage,
we see verses
showing us
that Jesus knew
beforehand
all that was going
to take place.
In verse 4,
Jesus,
knowing what would
ultimately happen,
said,
this illness
does not lead
to death.
In verses 7 to 16,
before they arrive
in Bethany,
Jesus already knows
that Lazarus
has died,
and he knows
what he's going
to do.
He says,
our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep,
but I go to awaken him.
And then in verse 41,
Jesus prays,
Father,
I thank you
that you have heard me.
I knew that you
always hear me,
but I said this
on account of the people
standing around,
that they may believe
that you sent me.
And so one of the
beautiful truths
that emerges
from this passage
is that the mind
of Jesus
knows all things.
The mind of Jesus
knows all things.
Jesus didn't default
to plan B
because somehow
plan A
didn't work out.
It's not like
he's just incredibly
smart,
and even though
he doesn't always know
what exactly
is going to happen,
he's just really prepared
for the next best option.
That's not our Jesus.
No,
he doesn't have
plan B's.
Jesus doesn't take risks.
He doesn't wonder.
He doesn't speculate.
He doesn't make guesses.
Jesus knows all things.
There's nothing
in this story
that happened,
nothing in our lives
that happens
that takes Jesus
by surprise.
Brothers and sisters,
one of the things
this passage teaches us
about God
is that he is not
unaware of our
life situations.
He intimately knows
the details of our lives,
and whatever place
you find yourself in,
it is not God's plan B.
The mind of Jesus
knows all things.
Well,
this leads to the second
truth about Jesus,
his love.
Look again at verse 5.
You've got to see
what's here.
Verse 5.
This is what it says.
Now,
Jesus loved Martha
and her sister
and Lazarus,
so when he heard
that Lazarus was ill,
he stayed two days longer
in the place
where he was.
I don't know about you,
but when I first read
those verses,
I was like,
wait, what?
That doesn't seem
to make sense.
It actually seems
to contradict itself.
It says that Jesus
loved them,
but what he did
didn't seem
to be very loving,
right?
And yet,
John is unavoidably
clear that Jesus
stayed because
he loved them.
That little word
so,
it means therefore
or because.
Because Jesus
loved them,
he stayed
two more days.
Because he loved them,
he allowed Lazarus
to die.
So the question becomes,
how was that loving?
How was letting
Lazarus die
and letting Mary
and Martha
experience grief
and sorrow,
how was that loving?
Well,
the answer is actually
in verse 4.
Look back
a verse there.
It says,
this illness,
Jesus says,
does not lead to death.
It is for the glory
of God
so that the Son
of God
may be glorified
through it.
Friends,
listen,
our greatest good
as human beings
is to behold
and experience
the glory
of God.
And the reason
is because
when Jesus,
when he reveals
his glory,
he gives us
himself.
Jesus shares
with us
his magnificent
beauty
and infinite worth
in the display
of his glory.
And so,
so the greater
display of his glory,
the greater
display of his love.
The reason
allowing this grief
and suffering
was loving
was because
it led to the most
wonderful display
of his glory
that they had yet
to see.
And in seeing
his glory
this way,
hundreds of times
greater than if
Jesus would just
have healed
Lazarus,
they were positioned
to believe
and treasure Christ
in the deepest
and most satisfying
way.
you see,
when Jesus
raised Lazarus
from the dead,
the best thing
this family
received was not
freedom from pain
and suffering.
It wasn't even
Lazarus' physical
life.
The greatest gift
they received
was Jesus
himself.
That's how
this was loving.
suffering.
I love what
John Piper says
about this.
Listen to this
quote.
He says,
Jesus does not
mainly love us
in this life
by sparing us
suffering and death.
He mainly
loves us
by showing us
and giving us
himself
and his glory.
Listen,
don't measure
the love of God
for you by how
much wealth
and health
and comfort
he brings to you
in this life.
Measure God's love
for you by how
much of himself
he shows you.
How much of himself
he gives you
to know
and enjoy.
Earlier I mentioned
that my family
went through this
season where we
encountered trial
after trial.
And after a few
months I began
to make a list
of these trials
in my mind.
And so somebody
would ask me
how I'm doing
and I was really
quick to go to
this list and
just share with them
all of these
different trials
that I was
encountering.
And as the months
dragged on
and this list
continued to grow
I found myself
becoming bitter
and starting to
question God.
God is this really
the plan
you have
for our life?
How can you
keep letting
these things
happen to us?
And then finally
a dream that had
been in the works
for years
and was about
to be realized
was about to be
grasped
didn't work
out.
It ended up
being lost
and for a while
I just gave up
I just didn't
care.
And what's worse
is that I began
to think
as I began to
think about this
list again in my
head
not only did I
want to put
that dashed dream
on this list
I wanted to put
God on that list
this list of things
that was happening
to me
but then God
in his mercy
stepped in
and began
to show me
what I was doing
I was measuring
God's love
for me
based on this
list of circumstances
and in his
kindness
he said
let me give you
a new list
to run through
your mind
a list with
Hebrews 13
5
I will never
leave you
nor forsake you
a list with
Psalm 16
the Lord is my
chosen portion
and cup
you hold my
lot
the lines have
fallen for me
in pleasant places
indeed I have a
beautiful
inheritance
a list with
John 11
5 and 6
Jesus loved
Martha
and her sister
and Lazarus
so when he
heard that
Lazarus was
ill
he stayed
two days
longer
in the place
where he was
and with new
eyes to see
my circumstances
I began to
start experiencing
his glorious
love
a love that
was personal
and tender
a love like
we see in
verse 35
where even
though he
knows he's
about to
raise Lazarus
from the
dead
Jesus weeps
with compassion
for their
experience of
this broken
world
a love that
helps us see
his glory
as our
greatest good
well this
leads to the
last truth
his power
in this
gospel
John records
a series of
miracles
what he calls
signs
and they're
meant to
display his
power
and to
establish
Jesus'
identity
as the
Messiah
and the
Son of
God
and so
in the
previous
chapters
leading up
to John
11
he's recorded
six other
signs
Jesus turning
water into
wine
the feeding
of the
5,000
the healing
of three
different
individuals
and the
walking
on water
and all
of these
miracles
put on
display
Jesus'
glorious
power
and they
lead up
to this
final and
ultimate
miracle
of raising
Lazarus
from the
dead
you notice
again in
verses 17
and 39
it says
that Lazarus
had been in
the tomb
for four
days
now this is
significant
not only
because
physically
speaking
his body
would have
began
to decompose
and also
in light of
some early
Jewish beliefs
that may
have been
present
so one
writer notes
some rabbis
believe that
the soul
hovered over
the body
for three
days
intending
to reenter
it
but as
soon as
decomposition
started
it would
leave
in other
words
at that
point
death
was
irreversible
and so
the length
of four
days
in the
tomb
left
no
speculation
to whether
or not
Lazarus
was dead
and it
shows
all the
more
how
amazing
this
miracle
truly
was
and so
this family
experienced
the real
and awful
effects
of living
in a world
marred
by brokenness
a world
of suffering
and pain
and sorrow
but
the glory
of God
broken
Jesus
full of
wisdom
and love
and power
brought this
man back
to life
in a loud
voice
which must
have just
given chills
to everyone
who heard it
he said
Lazarus
come out
and the man
who was dead
obeyed the voice
of God
and came out
of the tomb
now what's
interesting about
this resurrection
miracle
isn't only
what we see
in this passage
but what it
points to
Lazarus
is not
the last
person in
this book
who will
die
and then
be raised
from the
dead
there's another
death and
resurrection
that John
records
it's the
death and
resurrection
of Jesus
this miracle
in John 11
foreshadows
the ultimate
miracle
we see
in the
gospel
in the
gospel
we see
I'm talking
about the
good news
of Jesus
we see
the greatest
display
of God's
glory
his divine
knowledge
perfect love
sovereign power
all wonderfully
intersect in the
death and
resurrection
of Jesus
and his divine
foreknowledge
before the
foundation of the
world
God the
Father
planned to
send the
Son
in the
power of
the Holy
Spirit
to rescue
a world
that he
created
a world
that rebelled
against him
the cross
the death
and resurrection
was not
God's
plan
B
and in
his perfect
love
Jesus
gave us
himself
Jesus
experienced
death
so that we
could experience
life
Jesus
experienced
despair
so that we
could experience
hope
Jesus
experienced
the Father's
wrath
so that we
could experience
his love
brothers and
sisters
he took
our sin
on himself
and died
the death
that we
all deserved
to die
and in God's
sovereign
glorious power
Jesus was
raised from
the dead
not just
providing
eternal life
for Jesus
but eternal
life for
everyone
who would
believe in
him
Jesus
is the
resurrection
and the
life
do you
believe this
you see
what Jesus
did for
Lazarus
physically
is what
he does
for us
now
spiritually
Lazarus
was completely
helpless
completely
unable
to bring
himself
back to
life
which is
how the
Bible
describes
us
we were
dead
in our
sin
unable
to save
ourselves
in other
words
salvation
is not
based on
our works
or our
performance
of doing
more good
things than
bad things
we are
dead
in our
sins
can you
imagine
someone going
up to
Lazarus
and asking
him how
he did
it
how did
you come
back to
life
and Lazarus
would be
like I
didn't do
anything
I was
dead
I was
in a
tomb
next thing
I know
I'm
outside
the tomb
I'm
alive
Jesus
did
that
last
week I
was talking
to this
guy at
my church
and I
was like
hey tell
me a
little bit
about how
you became
a Christian
and when
I said
that he
was like
kind of
like dude
are you
serious
like
and then
he said
God
did it
man
and he
starts
he's like
this really
animated
guy
so he's
like you
know he's
moving around
he's like he
starts sharing
his story
someone gave
him a
bible
he started
reading it
and it
came to
some point
where he
said I
don't know
man
all I
know is
that one
month I'm
addicted to
cocaine
I'm an
alcoholic
and the
next month
I'm in
church and
I'm reading
a bible
I can't
explain it
other than
God did
it
he just
kept saying
I don't
know what
to tell
you man
God
did it
and that's
exactly
right
what
Lazarus
experienced
physically
we experience
spiritually
we are
hopelessly dead
in our sin
and the only
way we can
be rescued
is through
the powerful
word of
Jesus
spoken to
us
in the
gospel
Jesus
is the
resurrection
and the
life
well as
we close
this morning
let me say
a couple
things
first
the question
it's the
same
question
that
Jesus
asks
Martha
Jesus
said to
her
I am
the
resurrection
and the
life
whoever
believes
in me
though
he
die
yet
shall
he
live
and
everyone
who
lives
and
believes
in me
shall
never
die
do
you
believe
this
do
you
believe
that
Jesus
will
give
you
eternal
life
if
you
repent
and
follow
him
there
are
really
only
two
answers
to
that
question
actually
we
see
them
in
verses
45
and
46
this
blows
my
mind
look
at
verses
45
and
46
many
of
the
Jews
therefore
who
had
come
with
Mary
and
had
seen
what
he
did
believed
in
him
but
some
of
them
went
to
the
Pharisees
and
told
them
what
Jesus
had
done
again
this
blows
my
mind
a lot
of
times
today
you'll
hear
people
say
if
Jesus
would
just
show
me
that
he's
real
if
he
would
just
give
me
a
sign
then
I
would
believe
but
what
we
realize
is
that
there
were
people
here
in
this
story
who
witnessed
the
most
powerful
miracle
imaginable
and yet
they
didn't
believe
it's
not
enough
just
to
see
with
our
eyes
or
to
reason
with
our
minds
though
there
are
reasons
what
we
need
is
Jesus
to
make
us
alive
and
he
makes
us
alive
by
giving
us
faith
in
him
faith
that
all
of
our
sins
the
worst
things
that
we've
ever
done
the
worst
things
that
we'll
ever
do
are
laid
on
Jesus
at
the
cross
and
paid
for
by
his
death
faith
that
leads
to
eternal
life
that
starts
today
if
you
put
your
faith
in
him
secondly
one
of the
challenges
of the
Christian
life
can be
reconciling
our
experience
in a
broken
world
with
what
we
know
and
believe
about
God
reconciling
our
experience
on this
side
but then
also trying to bring it together with what we know to be true about God
the place where our theology and our experience intersect can often be a difficult time
a difficult place
Lord you tell me that you love me and that you want my greatest good but what I'm experiencing right now it doesn't feel very loving and what this passage teaches us what it teaches us to do is not only trust Jesus for our salvation and eternal life in heaven but it teaches us to trust him for every moment of every day all the circumstances that we find ourselves in
brothers and
when we're tempted to question
I bear witness
I bear witness that the worst days I have ever had have turned out to be my best days and when God has seen most cruel to me he has then been most kind
if there is anything in this world for which I would bless him more than anything else it is for pain and affliction
I am sure that in these the richest tenderest love has been manifest to me
listen
our father's
let's pray
Jesus you are the resurrection
let's pray
Jesus you are the resurrection
you are the resurrection
and the life
we praise you this morning for this passage and what it tells us about you
thank you
thank you that nothing takes you by surprise
thank you for your love to us
in giving us yourself
thank you for your power displayed in the gospel
God I ask that you would strengthen this church that you would build it up that they would be a body that brings glory to your name
in Jesus name
Amen