WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.699 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.699 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast, 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:20.839 you can have an encounter with Jesus that'll 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.359 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:28.420 message from our preaching team. One Friday evening 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:31.719 when I was worshipping at a different church, 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.640 I haven't always gone to this one. This is only 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:38.299 a new one, so I used to go to a different one. 00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:41.979 One Friday evening at a church in Gula, I just 00:00:41.979 --> 00:00:44.719 finished on a walk with my beautiful mother -in 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:50.119 -law. It wasn't daylight savings, as of today, 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:52.100 just like, I'm not sure if you got a little bit 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:55.539 extra sleep like I did today. So it was a bit 00:00:55.539 --> 00:00:59.100 dark and chilly, and we used to do band practice 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:02.079 before youth groups, so the hall was open and 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:04.780 the lights were on. There was some leaders in 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:07.500 there and there was some youth because all the 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:10.780 youth was in the band. And I was saying goodbye 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:14.180 to my mother -in -law in the car park. And I 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:17.459 heard this angry voice shouting just on the other 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:21.379 side. And I knew the voice. I knew the voice. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.319 You know, I was a bit angry and was one of our 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:28.260 regular congregation members. Except it sounded 00:01:28.260 --> 00:01:30.760 a bit different. And it's because he was drunk. 00:01:31.659 --> 00:01:35.040 That part was not regular. He would often call 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:39.500 out during the sermons, like some of you riff 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:43.980 raff. But he was not usually angry. He was not 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:46.560 usually angry when he'd called out. And so I 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:48.959 walked over to him to see if he was okay. See 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.459 if he was okay. And I quickly realized that he 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:56.500 wanted to go into the church. Of course he would. 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:59.060 Everyone else was in there. They seemed like 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.959 having a great time. And I was like, well, I 00:02:01.959 --> 00:02:05.959 can't really let that happen, as you can imagine 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:11.819 why. So I kind of redirected him away from the 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:14.460 church saying, come on, how about we go this 00:02:14.460 --> 00:02:19.240 way? And he wasn't really happy about this. He 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:20.960 wasn't really happy at all. So we kind of walked 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:24.860 off into the night. I said, OK, everything's 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:26.740 going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine. 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:28.780 So I went to go walk into the church to let the 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:33.689 other leaders know. what had happened. But then 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:36.110 within moments, he had turned back around and 00:02:36.110 --> 00:02:40.229 was walking towards my mother -in -law. I was 00:02:40.229 --> 00:02:43.069 like, what is the right thing to do in this situation? 00:02:44.270 --> 00:02:48.110 What is the right thing to do? Now you might 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:51.050 have a different response to me, and that is 00:02:51.050 --> 00:02:55.870 totally valid. That is totally okay. I would 00:02:55.870 --> 00:02:59.139 be okay. But what was the right... What was the 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:03.659 right thing for me to do? I stood between the 00:03:03.659 --> 00:03:07.680 man and my mother -in -law as he got very aggressive 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:11.819 and she was able to go inside to get some additional 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:16.919 help. Eventually he ran off. I think he knew 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:23.560 my father -in -law was coming. What was the next 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.699 right thing to do? What was the next right thing 00:03:26.699 --> 00:03:31.150 to do? as a Christian. What was the next right 00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:35.129 thing to do as a person? Should I take further 00:03:35.129 --> 00:03:40.629 action? We did take further action. We let the 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:43.409 police know so that this wouldn't happen again. 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.870 None of these decisions were easy. Particularly 00:03:48.870 --> 00:03:51.110 the second one. The first one was a little easier 00:03:51.110 --> 00:03:56.659 for me. What was the right thing to do? Sometimes 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:59.979 we have this tension between what is easy and 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:03.180 what is right. Have you ever felt this tension? 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:06.659 Maybe you're kind of sitting with this tension 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:11.259 at the moment. Maybe there's a workplace or a 00:04:11.259 --> 00:04:14.520 family decision that you've got going on. What 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:16.959 is the right thing to do? It'd be really easy 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.500 to do this, but I don't know if that's right. 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:24.579 Judah experiences this regularly. It's a six 00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:27.620 -year -old, it's a hard life. Every day after 00:04:27.620 --> 00:04:31.819 school, in fact, the right thing to do is to 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:34.699 walk in, take his bag off, put his lunch box 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.540 on the bench. That is the right thing to do. 00:04:37.540 --> 00:04:39.459 But it is not the easy thing to do for young 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:42.480 Judah. I think literally anything else would 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:45.819 be the easy thing for Judah to do. But yet he 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:49.600 struggles to do the right thing. And you know, 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.199 we come to this passage and Jesus is faced with 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:57.009 a situation. Does he do what is easy or does 00:04:57.009 --> 00:05:03.850 he do what is right? He was in Bethany. He just 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.149 escaped. We didn't read it. We didn't even read 00:05:06.149 --> 00:05:09.790 all of chapter 11 because that was too long. 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:14.350 But in chapter 10, he had just escaped being 00:05:14.350 --> 00:05:16.129 stoned. So he nearly got stoned. Like people 00:05:16.129 --> 00:05:17.509 had literally picked up their rocks and they 00:05:17.509 --> 00:05:20.329 were like... and it didn't happen. So he'd nearly 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:22.589 got stoned to death. He'd just escaped it and 00:05:22.589 --> 00:05:25.449 then he'd come to Bethany. He was just chilling 00:05:25.449 --> 00:05:28.750 out, calming down his nervous system. And two 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:33.610 women had sent a messenger to him. These two 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:36.269 women called Mary and Martha. You probably, you 00:05:36.269 --> 00:05:38.350 might have heard of them before. These were the 00:05:38.350 --> 00:05:40.589 two women who, when Jesus went to their home, 00:05:41.029 --> 00:05:43.170 Martha was like, what can I do for you? Like, 00:05:43.209 --> 00:05:48.680 cup of tea? biscuit um like busying herself and 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:51.360 Jesus like Martha Martha Martha and then Mary 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:54.360 was like oh chilling these are these are the 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:57.000 women these are the one we're talking about Mary 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.339 was the one in the next chapter which we haven't 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:01.699 read either but she's the one that pours the 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:04.560 perfume upon Jesus's feet these are these are 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.060 like they're not mentioned once is what I'm saying 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.360 even though even if you mentioned once in the 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:13.079 Bible like That'd be pretty important. Like these 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:14.819 are mentioned more than one time. So these are 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.639 women that Jesus loves. They love Jesus. And 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.920 their brother Lazarus, who is a dear friend of 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:25.800 Jesus. He is sick. He is so sick that he is going 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:28.740 to die. And Jesus was probably about a day's 00:06:28.740 --> 00:06:34.220 travel away. What is Jesus to do? What is the 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:39.560 right thing to do? Surely. The easy thing to 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:43.060 do was just to not go at all. I mean, He probably 00:06:43.060 --> 00:06:46.759 deserved just to take a minute. Just to like, 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:50.699 take a minute, take a break. I mean, Jesus knew 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:54.620 what was probably gonna happen later on, the 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:58.259 whole dying for their sins thing. Like, why take 00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:05.220 the risk and the effort? But instead, an opportunity 00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.420 to grow the faith of the disciples. and to bring 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:11.920 glory to God. And so after some time he makes 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:15.680 the journey to Bethany and after some doubt from 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:18.560 the very same people that asked Jesus for help, 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:22.839 he goes to the grave and he rolls the stone away 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:27.079 and he knows the miracle has occurred because 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:31.279 of two reasons. One, when the stone rolls away 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:35.980 there is no smell and like you can kind of picture 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:38.230 it there would have been a smell. because there 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:41.290 was a dead body in there for four days in like 00:07:41.290 --> 00:07:43.769 a really hot climate. So they rolled the stone 00:07:43.769 --> 00:07:46.949 away. He's like, okay, cool, it worked. But also 00:07:46.949 --> 00:07:48.670 he knows the miracles occurred because he prayed 00:07:48.670 --> 00:07:52.730 about it and he has faith in God and he shouts, 00:07:53.009 --> 00:07:59.370 Lazarus come out. Jesus did the right thing, 00:07:59.910 --> 00:08:05.410 not the easy thing, but at what cost? Because 00:08:05.410 --> 00:08:09.410 the right thing is not normally the easy thing 00:08:09.410 --> 00:08:14.170 for a reason. And for Jesus, this was the rubber 00:08:14.170 --> 00:08:17.569 stamp that sealed His fate. This was the end 00:08:17.569 --> 00:08:22.389 of Jesus' public ministry and life. The decision 00:08:22.389 --> 00:08:24.889 was made by the Pharisees upon hearing of this 00:08:24.889 --> 00:08:31.250 miracle that He was to be put to death. That 00:08:31.250 --> 00:08:36.720 was creepy. But yet... He made the decision to 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:40.379 raise Lazarus anyway. So how do we do it? Like, 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:44.639 how do we do it? How, because like we don't just 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:48.440 walk into making the right decisions. Like we 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:55.559 aren't just people who always, like always know 00:08:55.559 --> 00:09:00.519 and always do the right thing. Maybe we sometimes 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:04.679 know and sometimes do, but. We won't always do 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:07.360 the right thing. So how did Jesus do it? There 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.039 was four key things. I'm going to tell you exactly 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.539 what I'm going to preach. So if I got off track, 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:15.679 you can be like, actually, that's not what you 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:18.480 said you're going to say. So there's four key 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.940 things that he, four key movements he made before 00:09:22.940 --> 00:09:26.779 Lazarus walked out of that tomb, wrapped in cloth 00:09:26.779 --> 00:09:31.620 from dead to alive. Four key things. Jesus takes 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:35.220 his time. Jesus is willing to face his enemy. 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:40.039 Jesus weeps and Jesus testifies to the father. 00:09:41.379 --> 00:09:43.899 So let's talk about the first one. Jesus takes 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:48.000 his time. So the two sisters sent a message to 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.500 Jesus telling him, Lord, your dear friend is 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:54.440 very sick. But when Jesus heard about it, he 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.720 said, Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. 00:09:57.850 --> 00:10:01.090 It happened for the glory of God so that the 00:10:01.090 --> 00:10:06.149 Son of God will receive glory from this. So although 00:10:06.149 --> 00:10:09.210 Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed 00:10:09.210 --> 00:10:14.970 where he was for the next two days. Could you 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:18.970 imagine being Mary and Martha when the messenger 00:10:18.970 --> 00:10:25.090 comes back to them? So where is he? I don't know. 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:36.279 So is he coming? I don't know. Like, okay, perhaps 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.799 you have a tendency to put something off for 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:44.620 a few days. Like you get a difficult email, someone, 00:10:44.759 --> 00:10:48.299 your husband, wife, housemate, asks you to take 00:10:48.299 --> 00:10:51.559 the bins out or empty the dishwasher. And you're 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:56.240 like, yeah, yeah, like I will get to it. This 00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:59.860 is not what I'm talking about, okay? This is 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:03.700 not what I'm talking about. Do not go home saying, 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.279 I know it is the right thing to do to take the 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:11.700 washing off the line. But Ashley said, to take 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:17.399 my time. Jesus took two days. I am not talking 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:20.559 about that. I have had too many sermons misconstrued. 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:24.960 Let me be very clear. Jesus was praying. and 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:29.720 he was unrushed, but he was not complacent and 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:33.940 procrastinating. We can trust God and we can 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:37.240 take our time. We can take a minute knowing he's 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:40.740 in control. We can be intentional in eliminating 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:43.559 our hurry. Read the book, it'll be on the shelf. 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:50.200 By first seeking God and slowing down. Maybe 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:53.200 we take two days to consider. Maybe we take two 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:57.370 minutes. but coming before God the Father and 00:11:57.370 --> 00:12:00.389 saying, regardless of how fast my heart is beating 00:12:00.389 --> 00:12:04.370 right now, I want to seek your will first. Sometimes 00:12:04.370 --> 00:12:08.289 the easy decision is taken because we rush and 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:11.269 act too quickly. Perhaps God is saying to you 00:12:11.269 --> 00:12:15.309 today, stop, pause and pray because Lazarus isn't 00:12:15.309 --> 00:12:18.730 getting any more dead. My miracle will still 00:12:18.730 --> 00:12:22.460 happen. Seek me first, I am in control, stop 00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:25.899 trying to wrestle it away from me. Just as Jesus 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:31.860 takes his time, we can slow down too. And this 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.159 is coming from someone who's constantly asking 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.480 the United Church just to move a little faster. 00:12:41.139 --> 00:12:45.259 Jesus is willing to face his fear, to face his 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:50.509 enemy. Finally, he said to his disciples, let's 00:12:50.509 --> 00:12:54.309 go back to Judea. But his disciples objected. 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:57.009 Rabbi, they said, only a few days ago the people 00:12:57.009 --> 00:13:00.269 in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going 00:13:00.269 --> 00:13:07.389 there again? Who are you hiding from? What are 00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:11.059 you hiding from? When we are faced with a difficult 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:13.419 situation, when we are seeking to do what is 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.840 right and not what is easy, we must be willing 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:22.019 to face our enemies. We must be willing to face 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:25.759 our fears. Jesus didn't go to Judea after this 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:31.000 comment, but He is willing. He is not afraid 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:36.120 to if that is what is required. Knowing that 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.940 returning to Judea would be dangerous and lead 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:41.980 to his probable death. If we want to be people 00:13:41.980 --> 00:13:44.120 who do what is right and not what is easy, then 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:47.799 God might need to lead us to places that we are 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:52.220 afraid to go. Now because of my life experiences, 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:57.120 there's certain particular people that I'm a 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:59.379 bit afraid of being alone with. I'm like, I'm 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:03.940 not talking about extroverts. add to that like 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:06.200 this impending possibility that I might faint 00:14:06.200 --> 00:14:10.679 in those situations. I've convinced myself in 00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:14.039 a lot of situations that that nudging in my spirit 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.639 is not God and that it's just empathy and it 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.299 should not be listened to under any circumstances. 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:25.259 But one day I got off a train in Gawla and I 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:27.139 saw someone was struggling to walk in a straight 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:31.779 line in the middle of the road and That annoying 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:37.039 nudge was there. And so I stopped. I slowed down. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:40.460 And I chose to observe from a distance for a 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:45.639 few moments. And then I prayed, Lord, I am afraid 00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:50.080 that this could go really badly for me. Please 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.740 protect me. Be with me. Be with that person. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.820 And make it really clear that this is what you 00:14:55.820 --> 00:15:00.500 want me to do. Everything worked out okay. I 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:04.200 walked him the 25 minutes -ish home and he was 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:11.360 a lovely -ish man. Offered me tea. God isn't 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.519 always going to call you into the valleys. God 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:16.620 isn't always going to call you into the things 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:19.399 that you are terrified of doing. He is a good 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:23.759 and kind God. But I do know that doing the right 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:27.870 thing over the easy thing requires us more often 00:15:27.870 --> 00:15:31.070 than not to get a little uncomfortable. And I 00:15:31.070 --> 00:15:33.549 do know that he goes before you and he will be 00:15:33.549 --> 00:15:35.149 with you and he will never leave you and he will 00:15:35.149 --> 00:15:39.190 never forsake you. It says in Psalm 23, he guides 00:15:39.190 --> 00:15:42.029 me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:44.509 Even when I walk through the darkest valleys, 00:15:44.590 --> 00:15:47.149 I will not be afraid for you are close beside 00:15:47.149 --> 00:15:50.470 me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort 00:15:50.470 --> 00:15:54.879 me. You prepare a feast for me. in the presence 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:00.100 of my enemies. Church, are you willing to face 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:02.440 your fears, to face your enemies, to get a bit 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.720 uncomfortable to do the right thing and not the 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:09.840 easy thing? Maybe being willing to say yes to 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:13.759 public speaking. Maybe being willing to say yes 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:17.639 to help another in need. Maybe being willing 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.460 to say yes to that critical conversation because 00:16:20.460 --> 00:16:23.620 those are terrifying and I am afraid to do them. 00:16:24.649 --> 00:16:28.330 But more often than not, they are what is right. 00:16:29.850 --> 00:16:33.470 Who are you afraid of? And what are you hiding 00:16:33.470 --> 00:16:38.250 from? Because God is with you if you are willing 00:16:38.250 --> 00:16:46.250 to face it. Jesus wept. When Jesus saw her weeping 00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:49.169 and saw other people wailing with her, a deep 00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:52.070 anger welled up within him and he was deeply 00:16:52.070 --> 00:16:55.399 troubled. Where have you put him? He asked them 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:59.240 and they told him Lord come see and then Jesus 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:06.420 wept Anger a crowd had gathered and many had 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:08.299 traveled from the city because they had heard 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:11.900 of Lazarus's death and of Jesus coming to call 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:17.119 him from the grave and yet The people of God 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:27.940 had such unbelief faithfulness and hope. Jesus 00:17:27.940 --> 00:17:31.339 had been praying since he had been told of Lazarus's 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:35.079 condition. He'd petitioned the Father. He knew 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:37.960 that Lazarus's sickness would not end in death, 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:40.019 but that it happened for the glory of God so 00:17:40.019 --> 00:17:41.859 that the Son of God would receive glory from 00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:46.920 this. In the middle of this moment, in the chaos, 00:17:47.099 --> 00:17:49.380 in the heat, in the crowd of all the people, 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:54.319 looking out at them all, Jesus's heart ached. 00:17:55.880 --> 00:18:00.240 and groaned for the havoc that sin and death 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:08.460 had raged on this world. And so he wept. He wept. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.180 It's hard times for this world. Not like a single 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:18.400 tear. He didn't try to keep his face composed. 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:21.059 He probably could have got away with it. He was 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:29.460 probably sweaty enough. He wept for his people. 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:36.839 His people noticed. Jesus leant into the emotion. 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:42.900 He didn't go, now is not the time man, pull it 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:49.140 together. He didn't go, don't worry, you're literally 00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:54.720 about to die for their sins. It'll be all good. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.779 Cue list of all the other CBT distorted thinking 00:18:58.779 --> 00:19:06.319 patterns. Jesus's heart ached. And so he wept. 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:11.759 If my many dollars of therapy have taught me 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:15.220 anything, and it's taught me a lot, don't worry. 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:20.519 When you try to numb one emotion, you tend to 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.619 numb them all. Has anyone heard that before? 00:19:25.030 --> 00:19:32.369 Wow, cool. Here first, money worth while. Doing 00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:37.130 what is right and not what is easy doesn't mean 00:19:37.130 --> 00:19:40.869 you have to be happy about it all the time. It 00:19:40.869 --> 00:19:42.410 doesn't mean that you're gonna feel good about 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:45.970 it all the time. It can be quite the complicated 00:19:45.970 --> 00:19:50.829 situation. But you know what? We can be colourful 00:19:50.829 --> 00:19:55.160 crowns. This is single -handedly one of the most 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:58.980 profound books I have read. And it's only a few 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:01.079 pages long, so you can knock it off on Goodreads 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:03.259 real quick, and then you can tell Pastor Tim 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:05.920 that you read a book this week. You can read 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:10.359 it after the service if you like. Simply, each 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:14.299 crown represents an emotion. Purple is grumpy. 00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:16.680 That wasn't deliberate, by the way. That wasn't 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:24.059 like, you're all purple crowns. And where it 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:26.680 lands, spoiler alert, is that we do not have 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:31.619 to be one colour. We can be colourful crowns. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:35.259 We can hold more than one emotion at the same 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:42.200 time. I'll show you the last page. See? Spoiler! 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:44.980 It's a crown and it's lots of different colours. 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:49.700 Read it. Add it to the pile. This is your book 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:56.140 list. My family's favorite is to say we can be 00:20:56.140 --> 00:21:01.160 scared and brave because we are colorful crowns. 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:03.259 Now I'm not gonna sit here and talk too much 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:04.599 about this stuff because you can either read 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:09.160 emotionally healthy spirituality or go to therapy. 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:14.640 But friends, I will say, I will say that Jesus 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:18.099 wept even though he knew his friend wasn't dead. 00:21:20.049 --> 00:21:22.829 Jesus wept even though he knew his friend wasn't 00:21:22.829 --> 00:21:26.250 dead and that God was going to be glorified in 00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:29.710 a miracle in a few more moments. It is okay, 00:21:29.869 --> 00:21:36.589 no. We must feel the feels as they come up because 00:21:36.589 --> 00:21:39.190 I do not want any of you to be missing out on 00:21:39.190 --> 00:21:42.309 the fullness of life that God has for you in 00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:44.349 the fullness of expression that is all of our 00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:53.539 emotions. Jesus testifies to the Father. So they 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:58.119 rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.640 to heaven and said, Father, thank you for hearing 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:06.000 me. You always hear me. But I said it out loud 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:09.259 for the sake of all these people standing here, 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:12.279 so they will believe you sent me. Then Jesus 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:15.700 shouted, Lazarus, come out. We're so close, we're 00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:19.250 nearly there. Jesus took his time. Jesus is willing 00:22:19.250 --> 00:22:22.410 to face his enemies. Jesus wept. And in the last 00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:28.309 moments before Jesus calls Lazarus out, he testifies 00:22:28.309 --> 00:22:32.710 to the Father, to who God the Father is. Jesus 00:22:32.710 --> 00:22:36.349 doesn't need to do this for the miracle to work. 00:22:37.609 --> 00:22:41.069 He doesn't need to do this for God to hear him. 00:22:41.730 --> 00:22:44.609 He's already been praying to God. He'd been doing 00:22:44.609 --> 00:22:49.250 that for the two days probably. But this prayer, 00:22:49.890 --> 00:22:53.950 in this moment, is for those who would hear Him. 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:57.569 This prayer was for that those who were listening 00:22:57.569 --> 00:23:00.369 and watching would know that it was not by Jesus's 00:23:00.369 --> 00:23:04.950 power, but it was by the Father's. That is whom 00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:08.950 Jesus was given glory and honor to. Now I'm not 00:23:08.950 --> 00:23:11.410 saying that before you do any good and right 00:23:11.410 --> 00:23:13.930 thing, you sit everyone down and say, let me 00:23:13.930 --> 00:23:16.210 tell you about your Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 00:23:16.990 --> 00:23:20.369 But I'm also not not saying that the old, God 00:23:20.369 --> 00:23:23.170 bless, when you hold the door open for a mum 00:23:23.170 --> 00:23:27.869 with a pram and toddler goes astray. Primarily, 00:23:28.130 --> 00:23:31.789 doing what is right is ultimately not about us. 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:38.269 It is not about the glory we can earn from others. 00:23:38.750 --> 00:23:41.369 It is not about the favour we can earn from God. 00:23:41.990 --> 00:23:45.470 It is about giving glory to our Lord. What a 00:23:45.470 --> 00:23:50.579 relief. What a relief. Because if even Jesus 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:54.000 didn't make doing the right thing about Himself 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:58.119 and He was raising someone from the dead, then 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:01.700 why should we? Scripture upon Scripture talks 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:06.440 about the way we live matters. All accumulating 00:24:06.440 --> 00:24:10.359 to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, You are 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:13.299 the light of the world. A city set on a hill 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:16.240 cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:18.839 and put it under a basket, but on a stand and 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:22.460 it gives light to all in the house. In the same 00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:24.799 way, let your light shine before others so that 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.859 they may see your good works and give glory to 00:24:27.859 --> 00:24:33.819 the Father who is in heaven. This is how we do 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:38.640 what is right, not what is easy. This is how 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:43.079 we do what is right and not what is easy. We 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:50.960 take our time, we face our fears, we feel the 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:55.980 feels, and we testify and we give glory to God 00:24:55.980 --> 00:25:06.400 the Father. But, but, how do we know What is 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:09.839 the right thing? Like, how do we know? How do 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:13.940 we know what is the right thing? Like, what is 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:18.460 worth it? What is worth it? Because friends, 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:22.720 like, everything changed for Jesus after this. 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:27.000 Everything changed. The Pharisees and the high 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.359 Jewish leaders, upon hearing what Jesus had done, 00:25:29.539 --> 00:25:32.759 decided that he would be arrested and put to 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:38.700 death. That's a big cost. Jesus retreated after 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:41.740 this into the Passover festival, and we'll hear 00:25:41.740 --> 00:25:43.920 more about that in a few weeks, for about six 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:54.559 weeks. Was raising Lazarus worth it? Surely other 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:59.240 people had died and He didn't raise them. I mean, 00:25:59.539 --> 00:26:04.279 Lazarus was gonna die again anyway. What is the 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:07.680 right thing? How did Jesus know it was the right 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:13.140 decision? How are we to know what is right? How 00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:17.460 are we to know what is worth sticking our necks 00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:26.100 on the line for? What is worth the cost? Jesus 00:26:26.100 --> 00:26:30.779 explicitly says Lazarus' illness was not for 00:26:30.779 --> 00:26:34.799 death, but for the glory of God. And faced with 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:38.119 this glory, the religious leaders plotted Jesus' 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:42.799 death. Jesus' gift of life is the most radical 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:46.299 and dangerous thing to these authorities in power. 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:51.170 And yet... And yet, in trying to subdue this 00:26:51.170 --> 00:26:55.369 threat, they only made a way for Jesus' true 00:26:55.369 --> 00:26:58.430 power over life and death to go out into all 00:26:58.430 --> 00:27:03.549 time and all world. While Lazarus' death was 00:27:03.549 --> 00:27:07.250 simply reversed, and one day he would become 00:27:07.250 --> 00:27:11.089 ill and die again. Jesus would make the journey 00:27:11.089 --> 00:27:14.990 through death, descend into hell, conquer death, 00:27:15.309 --> 00:27:20.450 rise to new life, and ascend into heaven. What 00:27:20.450 --> 00:27:26.549 is right might not always be clear, but it will 00:27:26.549 --> 00:27:31.990 always point to the coming kingdom of God. Lazarus' 00:27:32.170 --> 00:27:38.319 death pointed towards Jesus' death. The power 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.859 over the gift, the power over the gift of life 00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:44.940 points towards the power of the life and death 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:51.539 that is to come. What is right will always be 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:56.660 kingdom coded. What is right will always be about 00:27:56.660 --> 00:28:00.140 the kingdom of God. What is right will always 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:03.700 be about justice. We'll always be about peacemaking. 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:06.079 We'll always be about reconciliation. We'll always 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:08.599 be about forgiveness. We'll always be about obedience 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:11.579 of God. If you are ever unsure about what is 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:14.140 right, then we need to look to the life of Jesus. 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:16.960 And this is the last book recommendation. This 00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:20.220 one. If we are unsure about what is right, then 00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:23.180 we look to the life of Jesus and look at what 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:30.589 He did. Church. I want to see God's kingdom come 00:28:30.589 --> 00:28:33.589 here in Henley as it is in heaven. I want to 00:28:33.589 --> 00:28:37.230 see hearts transformed and minds renewed. I want 00:28:37.230 --> 00:28:39.250 to see families coming together at the dinner 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:43.009 table, praying over one another, taking back 00:28:43.009 --> 00:28:46.049 the ground that the enemy has taken. I want to 00:28:46.049 --> 00:28:48.849 see healing over mental health of the lives of 00:28:48.849 --> 00:28:51.390 our community, because God does not just care 00:28:51.390 --> 00:28:53.490 about the spiritual health, but he has claimed 00:28:53.490 --> 00:28:57.009 victory over it all. I wanna see reconciliation 00:28:57.009 --> 00:28:59.569 between friends and neighbours who have spent 00:28:59.569 --> 00:29:01.849 years ignoring the conflicts and ills between 00:29:01.849 --> 00:29:03.990 them because they did not think that there was 00:29:03.990 --> 00:29:07.349 a way back in grace. I wanna see the poor in 00:29:07.349 --> 00:29:12.130 our community live in dignity. I wanna see people, 00:29:12.250 --> 00:29:13.890 I wanna see adults, I wanna see grandparents, 00:29:13.970 --> 00:29:16.609 I wanna see children coming to an understanding 00:29:16.609 --> 00:29:20.190 that they are deeply loved by a creator who sees 00:29:20.190 --> 00:29:23.529 them and knows them and gave up his life for 00:29:23.529 --> 00:29:26.869 them. And I don't want to just see it. I don't 00:29:26.869 --> 00:29:29.529 want to just see it. I want to be a part of it. 00:29:30.190 --> 00:29:32.329 I want to be a part of God's kingdom coming here 00:29:32.329 --> 00:29:35.329 in heaven. Do you? Do you want to be a part of 00:29:35.329 --> 00:29:38.250 that? Because this is why we exist. We exist 00:29:38.250 --> 00:29:41.410 so that everyone may have an encounter with Jesus. 00:29:42.130 --> 00:29:45.130 Let us stand. I want to be a part of choosing 00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:47.829 what is right, not what is easy, because it points 00:29:47.829 --> 00:29:53.059 towards the kingdom of God. Thanks so much for 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:55.599 tuning into this week's message. If you felt 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:58.400 challenged or need prayer, we'd love to hear 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:01.440 from you on Instagram at encounterhenley. Or 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.720 if you're interested in how you can support this 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:07.400 ministry, please go to our website encounteradelaide 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:11.579 .com .au. Thanks again for listening. God bless 00:30:11.579 --> 00:30:11.940 you.