WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.299 So here today on this final day in the season 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:12.039 of Lent we are looking at Jesus as the resurrection 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:15.619 and life in John 11. Let us now pray together. 00:00:16.940 --> 00:00:20.019 Oh Lord and our God we give thanks unto you that 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:22.980 you have welcomed us into your presence. You 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:25.640 have made us your people and you have given us 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.420 such great promises in and through Jesus Christ 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:31.579 our Lord. And we now humbly ask you that you 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:33.820 make the words of my mouth and the meditations 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:37.000 of all our hearts pleasing in your sight. We 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:40.399 ask all this for the sake of Jesus, our nearest 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:45.979 kinsman redeemer. Amen. So reading the central 00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:51.439 portion of John 11, let us hear God's word. So 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:53.920 when Jesus came, he found that he had already 00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:57.479 been in the tomb for four days. Now, Bethany 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:01.700 was near Jerusalem, about two miles away, and 00:01:01.700 --> 00:01:03.820 many of the Jews had joined the women around 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.900 Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:10.140 brother. Now, Martha, as soon as she heard that 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:13.579 Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary 00:01:13.579 --> 00:01:16.379 was sitting in the house. Now, Martha said to 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:18.920 Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:22.219 would not have died, but even now I know that 00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:26.030 whatever you ask of God, God will give you. And 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:29.430 Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. 00:01:29.909 --> 00:01:32.530 And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:36.010 again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus 00:01:36.010 --> 00:01:39.290 said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:01:39.870 --> 00:01:43.870 He who believes in me, though he may die, he 00:01:43.870 --> 00:01:46.989 shall live. And whoever lives and believes in 00:01:46.989 --> 00:01:50.930 me shall never die. Do you believe this? And 00:01:50.930 --> 00:01:54.430 she said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:57.459 are the Christ. the Son of God who is coming 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.680 to the world. These are the words of Almighty 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:04.879 God. Receive them in your hearts. As we look 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:09.259 at this passage today, I would like to point 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:13.900 out three things. You'll see this theme. One 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:20.120 is God's sovereign time. God's sovereign time. 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:27.419 Secondly, The grave consequences of sin. The 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:32.500 grave consequences of sin. And yes, there is 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:38.460 a pun there. And finally, no hope outside of 00:02:38.460 --> 00:02:44.840 Jesus. No hope outside of Jesus. What concerns 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:49.680 you? Children, look up here. Look up here. What 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:55.639 makes you afraid? What keeps you awake at night? 00:02:56.259 --> 00:03:00.460 For you adults, what causes anxiety and dread 00:03:00.460 --> 00:03:05.659 and your stress? For many, the answer is death. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:10.020 In a world who lives without God, death has a 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:14.259 finality of loss and an emptiness that drives 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:19.240 people into despair. Some turn to life -controlling 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:24.020 pursuits of money. prestige and success, and 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:29.159 yet they somehow never achieve enough and find 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:34.659 it lacking, and in time turn to drugs, both illicit 00:03:34.659 --> 00:03:39.120 and prescriptions, alcohol, porn, immoral and 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:43.219 forbidden sex, anything to drown out the misery, 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:48.039 the emptiness and the hopelessness. For the Christian, 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:51.419 we have been given God's sovereign intervention 00:03:51.419 --> 00:03:55.780 that we did not see coming. God has given us 00:03:55.780 --> 00:03:59.300 an understanding that what we actually lack is 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:04.400 God Himself. God helps us to see our sin, and 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:09.819 He does not leave us without remedy. His plan 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:12.439 since the beginning of time has been our redemption 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:16.350 through the work of His Son. Jesus has reconciled 00:04:16.350 --> 00:04:22.009 us, His people, the Church, to God the Father 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:26.170 by His substitutionary atonement and sacrifice 00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:31.329 on the cross. Jesus' holiness was the only sacrifice 00:04:31.329 --> 00:04:35.290 that could be made to redeem us and reconcile 00:04:35.290 --> 00:04:39.670 us to God. God the Father did not, of course, 00:04:39.910 --> 00:04:43.319 leave Jesus dead, but raised Him up. to be the 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:47.860 firstborn of the resurrection for all those that 00:04:47.860 --> 00:04:54.459 he called from death to life. Our text today 00:04:54.459 --> 00:04:57.620 from John 11 brings to bear the seventh validating 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:02.259 sign that Jesus was the Son of God. And we see 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:07.240 these seven signs in the Gospel of John. Now 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:11.300 Jesus' resurrection at Easter That's the eighth 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:14.019 sign, bringing the start of the new creation. 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:20.000 The events of John 11 begin with a word reaching 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.000 Jesus that his good friend Lazarus was sick. 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:27.779 In fact, this was not just Jesus' good friend, 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:30.540 this was one that he loved. And he loved Mary 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.379 and Martha and Lazarus all together. And this 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:37.300 was so much the situation that when the servant 00:05:37.300 --> 00:05:43.079 came and told Jesus, Lazarus condition he said 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:49.819 this Lord behold he whom you love is sick for 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.379 all of us here today if we have the power to 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:55.899 ease the suffering and bring health to our loved 00:05:55.899 --> 00:05:59.500 ones and close friends we would jump up and immediately 00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:05.519 go to them Jesus however doesn't do what we expect 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:09.060 He said, this sickness is not unto death, but 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:12.379 for the glory of God that the Son may be glorified 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:14.680 through it. Remember last week we talked about 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:18.639 the blind man? Right? And how he was blind not 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:22.000 because of his sin, but that the glory of God 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.680 might be seen in him, might be revealed in him? 00:06:26.019 --> 00:06:28.959 There's a carryover of that theme here today. 00:06:31.019 --> 00:06:33.980 Astonishingly, we read that Jesus waits two more 00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:37.149 days. and then tells his disciples that they 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:40.089 should go for our friend's sleeps, and I am going 00:06:40.089 --> 00:06:43.149 to wake him up. Now the disciples were confused, 00:06:44.110 --> 00:06:48.209 right? They were confused. Why? Because they 00:06:48.209 --> 00:06:50.370 all know, just like you know, if you're sick, 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:53.290 what do you do? You need to rest. You need to 00:06:53.290 --> 00:06:57.389 be hydrated. You need to sleep. And so when Jesus 00:06:57.389 --> 00:06:59.949 says sleep, they're thinking, oh, must be part 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:04.500 of his recovery. And Jesus has to clear up the 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:11.740 confusion and say, no, Lazarus is dead. And Jesus 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.519 tells his disciples that he is glad for their 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:21.000 sakes that Lazarus is dead. And why? That they 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:27.660 may believe. Jesus is glad that he waited so 00:07:27.660 --> 00:07:32.490 that they would believe. God works in his good 00:07:32.490 --> 00:07:35.889 righteous and ordained time so that his people 00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:41.350 may believe and see the works of God When our 00:07:41.350 --> 00:07:46.290 loved ones are sick or suffering or even die 00:07:46.290 --> 00:07:54.129 We question what is God doing? We ask why is 00:07:54.129 --> 00:07:59.389 he waiting to respond or even to show up? People 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:04.589 of God Our God has a master plan to deliver his 00:08:04.589 --> 00:08:07.949 people in order that we might see him revealed 00:08:07.949 --> 00:08:14.870 and believe and trust in him He is revealed in 00:08:14.870 --> 00:08:20.050 his unfolding plan, and he is glorified in it 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:28.819 God is never late God is never negligent God 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:33.220 is great and great is his faithfulness. It is 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:36.940 always, his faithfulness is always for his glory 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:40.960 and our benefit. As a matter of fact, his glory 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:47.639 is our benefit. Your health and death are appointed 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:52.159 to you by God alone. Have you ever wondered how 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.299 some people can do all the things that they think 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:59.070 are the right things? Exercise. Eat salads a 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:00.750 little bit of protein. They're counting cow. 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:03.230 They're doing everything they think they can 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:07.509 do to preserve their life and then they drop 00:09:07.509 --> 00:09:12.570 dead 35 and Others who seem to care nothing at 00:09:12.570 --> 00:09:16.230 all and in God's same good providence. They live 00:09:16.230 --> 00:09:19.769 a long life Now we do have a responsibility to 00:09:19.769 --> 00:09:22.070 be good stewards of our bodies. I'm not recommending 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:26.409 throw caution to the wind What I am saying though, 00:09:26.549 --> 00:09:30.950 it's this that it is God who ordains the days 00:09:30.950 --> 00:09:34.370 and steps of your life. And He is the one that 00:09:34.370 --> 00:09:38.129 gives you life today. And on the day of His choosing, 00:09:38.590 --> 00:09:46.370 He will call you up. As Christians, God's children, 00:09:47.269 --> 00:09:51.269 we are to be glad and be content and be filled 00:09:51.269 --> 00:09:55.149 with gratitude for His will is at work in our 00:09:55.149 --> 00:09:58.789 lives. We are to honor God in sickness and in 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:03.629 health, and in so doing, glorify Him. That is, 00:10:04.070 --> 00:10:07.009 as we live with gladness and contentment and 00:10:07.009 --> 00:10:10.429 gratitude, even in the hard difficulties of pain 00:10:10.429 --> 00:10:14.190 and sickness and even the loss of a loved one, 00:10:15.210 --> 00:10:19.929 we are pointing to God. That is, that others 00:10:19.929 --> 00:10:23.370 may see the glory of God and praise our Father 00:10:23.370 --> 00:10:27.090 in heaven. Now Jesus arrives in Bethany where 00:10:27.090 --> 00:10:30.190 Mary, Martha and Lazarus are. Now Bethany is 00:10:30.190 --> 00:10:34.450 just two miles away from Jerusalem. So from Bethany 00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:37.750 you can kind of look up and you can see the great 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:40.009 city of Zion, Jerusalem up there. You can see 00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:44.149 the temple and in that city is where all of the 00:10:44.149 --> 00:10:50.870 religious leaders and political leaders are enthroned 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:57.860 and plotting against Jesus. Now Jesus first encounters 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:00.980 Martha, who came when she heard that Jesus was 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:04.639 arriving. Martha believing Jesus utters this. 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:08.539 And have you ever said this? If you had only 00:11:08.539 --> 00:11:12.620 been here, my brother would not have died. But 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:15.259 even now, whatever you ask of God, God will give 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:20.799 you. Martha sort of has this Hail Mary desperate 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:24.820 act. He's dead. You could have fixed him if you 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:28.470 were here. But I know, here's the Hail Mary, 00:11:28.529 --> 00:11:31.230 here's the desperate plea, anything you ask of 00:11:31.230 --> 00:11:37.269 God, God will give it to you. And now Jesus says, 00:11:41.509 --> 00:11:44.769 be ready. He's gonna make a clear definitive 00:11:44.769 --> 00:11:49.629 statement here. And this is gonna contrast greatly 00:11:49.629 --> 00:11:52.129 the difference of one of the prevailing views 00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:54.750 of the day. the high priests were part of the 00:11:54.750 --> 00:11:58.350 Sadducees. And many were following the Sadducees, 00:11:58.409 --> 00:12:00.669 and they did not believe in the resurrection 00:12:00.669 --> 00:12:05.809 whatsoever. So that kind of made it, okay, well, 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:07.610 whatever I can get away with now, I can get away 00:12:07.610 --> 00:12:11.490 with. That's not Martha. That's not even the 00:12:11.490 --> 00:12:17.649 Pharisees. But here, Jesus makes a clear, definitive 00:12:17.649 --> 00:12:21.149 statement. I am the resurrection and the life. 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:25.080 He who believes in me, though he may die, he 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.980 shall live. And whoever lives and believes in 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:31.960 me shall never die." And then he says, do you 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:35.860 believe this? Jesus now declares in a very clear 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:39.039 way that he is the answer to what ails all of 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:44.200 mankind. As Romans 5 -12 reminds us that just 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:48.220 as through one man sinner entered the world and 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:51.799 death through sin, Thus death spread to all men 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:55.840 because all have sinned a little further down 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:59.639 in verse 19 It says for as by one man's disobedience 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:03.600 many were made sinners so also also by one man's 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:09.659 obedience Many will be made righteous Jesus by 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:12.840 the power and authority given to him by the father 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:16.299 declares that he is the resurrection and life 00:13:17.129 --> 00:13:23.190 Sin ravages mankind, bringing death to all men. 00:13:24.470 --> 00:13:26.990 Cut off from our Creator and the gift giver by 00:13:26.990 --> 00:13:32.029 our sin, we are justly destined to die and suffer 00:13:32.029 --> 00:13:37.330 eternity in hell for our wickedness. Dearly beloved, 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:43.389 Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Martha 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:46.570 responds to Jesus' question, do you believe this? 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.720 Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:56.080 the son of God who is coming into the world Martha 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.639 is declaring what acts for tells us that there 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:05.019 is no salvation in any other than Jesus For there 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:07.580 is no other name under heaven given among men 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:13.480 by which we may be saved Martha secretly calls 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:17.179 her sister Mary who comes running to Jesus And 00:14:17.179 --> 00:14:21.460 we have this very emotional scene of Mary weeping 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:25.600 and all the mourners that ran after Mary. And 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.340 following her, they're all weeping. And this 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:32.080 isn't just like a regular weep. They are howling. 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:39.600 They are mourning hard. And once again, we have 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:43.919 a repetition of Martha's conversation. Mary says, 00:14:44.299 --> 00:14:50.419 Jesus if you had only been here The text explains 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:55.220 that Jesus groaned in the spirit and was troubled 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:59.120 Jesus here is groaning and troubled because here 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.799 in this moment Jesus sees the great devastation 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:12.620 of sin He is troubled and in a deep and an enraged 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:20.419 way of the wages of sin. He hates sin. How sin 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:25.360 brings suffering, trials, loss, and a sense of 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:30.679 hopelessness. For death is inevitable. In men, 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:36.220 there is no recourse. Jesus asked to see where 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.340 they have laid Lazarus, and they answered, come 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:44.889 and see. Come and see the hideous Results of 00:15:44.889 --> 00:15:56.190 sin. Jesus wept. The bystanders declare, see 00:15:56.190 --> 00:16:00.230 how Jesus loved Lazarus, and now for the third 00:16:00.230 --> 00:16:05.450 time the question of Jesus' timing occurs. The 00:16:05.450 --> 00:16:09.049 crowd too inquires, could not this man who I 00:16:09.049 --> 00:16:12.169 opened the eyes of blind also kept this man from 00:16:12.169 --> 00:16:15.600 dying? There's a clear reference to what we just 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:19.799 studied last week remember Bethany's here Jerusalem's 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:21.840 here Jesus was coming out of the temple last 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:24.639 week, and he sees the blind man, and he does 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:28.480 in fact store sight not just of his eyes, but 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.600 of his heart and They're saying well. We know 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:33.360 that story that just happened a few months ago 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:38.539 like like let's He could certainly do this It's 00:16:38.539 --> 00:16:43.370 all about the timing Jesus again groans at the 00:16:43.370 --> 00:16:47.070 blindness to God's deliverance for His people. 00:16:47.850 --> 00:16:52.149 Saints of God, remember how Jesus told His disciples 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:54.830 that Lazarus had died that they might believe? 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:00.730 Jesus, saddened by the effects of sin, is glad 00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:03.470 that the works of God are being revealed in Him 00:17:03.470 --> 00:17:08.220 as truly the resurrection and the life. Jesus 00:17:08.220 --> 00:17:10.880 tells them to take the stone closure off the 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:14.799 grave and roll it away Now we have Martha here 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.180 who believes that Jesus is the Christ the Son 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:22.400 of God who's coming to the world She's like yep. 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:26.299 You're the Messiah. You're the one and What does 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:29.720 she say she objects because it has been four 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:36.369 days, and there's a stench You know It's interesting 00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:39.170 to note that at that time the rabbinical teachings 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:43.369 had this idea that, you know, you could sometimes 00:17:43.369 --> 00:17:45.829 put a person in the grave and you might be able 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:47.630 to do something and you could revive them up 00:17:47.630 --> 00:17:55.190 to three days. Nobody is capable of coming back 00:17:55.190 --> 00:18:01.930 to life after four days. They would say he was 00:18:01.930 --> 00:18:06.299 really dead. And as if we looked at Older translations, 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:09.640 it says this. This is Martha in the King James. 00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:13.960 Surely, Lord, he stinketh. Decomposition has 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:19.579 begun. And in just a little, he's ripe. And he's 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:24.420 ripe with death. For Mary, Martha, the disciples, 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:28.319 and all those who had come from all over to comfort 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:34.690 the family, there's now no hope. No hope. outside 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:38.849 of Jesus We need to remember that Jesus came 00:18:38.849 --> 00:18:44.210 to thwart unbelief And so Jesus said to her did 00:18:44.210 --> 00:18:47.089 I not say to you that you would that if you would 00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:51.390 believe You would see the glory of God It's interesting. 00:18:51.450 --> 00:18:54.210 He is like you'll see this miracle. It's about 00:18:54.210 --> 00:18:57.329 what? He is constantly pointing to glorifying 00:18:57.329 --> 00:19:00.470 his father in everything he's doing. He's reconciling 00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:03.970 men to the father and it all for the father's 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:09.549 glory. And then they took the stone from the 00:19:09.549 --> 00:19:12.710 place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus 00:19:12.710 --> 00:19:16.390 lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank 00:19:16.390 --> 00:19:19.130 you that you have heard me. And I know that you 00:19:19.130 --> 00:19:21.849 always hear me. But because of the people who 00:19:21.849 --> 00:19:26.109 are standing by, I said this. that they may believe 00:19:26.109 --> 00:19:30.009 that you sent me. Now when he had said these 00:19:30.009 --> 00:19:34.329 things, he crowed with a loud voice, Lazarus, 00:19:34.450 --> 00:19:39.750 come forth. And he who had died came out, bound 00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:42.650 hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face 00:19:42.650 --> 00:19:45.630 was wrapped in a cloth. And Jesus said to them, 00:19:45.970 --> 00:19:51.250 Loose him and let him go. Jesus points to the 00:19:51.250 --> 00:19:55.920 glory of God over death. Jesus prayers praise 00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:00.140 a prayer of thankfulness For this the greatest 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:03.440 and seventh revelation before the cross that 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:07.680 they may see and Truly see and truly believe 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:13.579 that God the Father has sent him Jesus demonstrates 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:17.839 his authority over death Lazarus come forth and 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.200 loose him and let him go Lazarus who was dead 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:25.400 came out bound in grave clothes from head to 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:29.619 foot and Jesus commanded that he be let loose 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:33.960 Dearly beloved when Jesus calls us out of the 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:36.960 grave from the deadness of our sins He commands 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:41.660 us to life and a life of being loosed When God 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:45.119 gives us a new heart he puts his name on us in 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:51.519 baptism. We are his He is faithful to give us 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:54.440 both the resurrection in the future and true 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:59.500 life now We must be discipled to obey all that 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:04.880 he has commanded us What happened to Mary Martha 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:08.460 the disciples and all those observers that day 00:21:08.460 --> 00:21:12.559 was meant to reveal who Christ Jesus is That 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:17.859 they might believe in him So too for all of us 00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:21.859 who call and trust in Jesus, call on the name 00:21:21.859 --> 00:21:25.539 of the Lord Jesus and trust in Him as the resurrection 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:28.920 of life can be assured by what we hear in 2 Timothy 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:33.160 chapter 2. This is a faithful saying, for if 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:36.240 we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:40.519 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:44.920 we deny Him, He will also deny us. If we are 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:50.369 faithless, He Remains faithful he cannot deny 00:21:50.369 --> 00:21:54.630 himself I know oftentimes when I read that passage 00:21:54.630 --> 00:22:00.569 I Feel pretty small I pre I feel pretty helpless 00:22:00.569 --> 00:22:08.609 Saints of God Jesus is faithful We need not fear 00:22:08.609 --> 00:22:13.670 or worry of Jesus faithfulness We must with humility 00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:17.779 and gratitude lay aside our sin and confession, 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:21.779 and then turn to actions that glorify the Father 00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:25.579 in heaven. We have a tendency to prop ourselves 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:28.859 up on our own righteousness by going to church 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:33.779 and then not trusting in Jesus. You have been 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:36.619 set free by the atoning work of Jesus on the 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:44.160 cross. Dearly beloved, in Christ Jesus, God has 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:48.660 called you to life Don't hold on to your sin 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:54.740 and your unbelief In the face of the resurrection 00:22:54.740 --> 00:23:00.259 of Lazarus many resisted Believing in Jesus with 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:04.059 all those signs here. They are water to wine 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:07.279 The healing of the nobleman's son the healing 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:10.220 of the paralytic the feeding of the five thousand 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.480 Jesus walking on water the healing of the blind 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:18.559 man and now the obvious resurrection of Lazarus 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.759 and all these plotters They've been around the 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.079 whole time. They know about these things and 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:32.180 with all this They resisted God Even to the point 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:39.259 of death Jesus Now unbelief remains. We see at 00:23:39.259 --> 00:23:43.180 the end of chapter 11, it says this, then the 00:23:43.180 --> 00:23:45.859 chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council 00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:49.000 and said, what shall we do? For this man works 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:53.079 many signs. If we let him alone like this, everyone 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:56.720 will believe in him. And the Romans will come 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:00.079 and take away both our place and our nation. 00:24:01.420 --> 00:24:05.019 Look at this they are and this is the third week 00:24:05.019 --> 00:24:07.339 in a row We talked about Jeroboam two weeks in 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:09.759 a row and this whole thing about wanting to keep 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:14.059 the control over everything I Want to keep control 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:18.140 over my life more? That I want to believe God 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:20.480 more than I want to see people reconcile to God 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:24.140 more than I want to see people come to the knowledge 00:24:24.140 --> 00:24:29.940 of he who is resurrection and the life And of 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:32.200 course it gets a little worse if we look over 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:36.660 It says that they from that day on they plotted 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:40.859 to put him to death. That's Jesus Later on in 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:43.539 chapter 12 we see that it says this but the chief 00:24:43.539 --> 00:24:47.180 priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:50.039 Because on account of him many of the Jews went 00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:58.140 away and believed in Jesus Selfishness all for 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:02.039 my own gain, to maintain my power, my position, 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:06.519 my control over things. And I'm gonna do all 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:10.880 that against God and against seeing anyone else 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:17.819 come to know Him. Dearly beloved, Jesus is the 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:22.839 resurrection and the life. Without Him, we face 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:28.480 the grievous consequences of our sin. But rejoice 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:34.700 for Jesus our only hope is always faithful and 00:25:34.700 --> 00:25:40.619 always on time Let us pray Heavenly father we 00:25:40.619 --> 00:25:44.480 come to you you are the one who has ordained 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:49.200 joy for us in the midst of all things and triumphs 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:54.299 over even death Be merciful to us for often our 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:56.779 minds are too much filled with the problems of 00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:00.740 the world and our own problems So much so that 00:26:00.740 --> 00:26:03.519 we forget to sing your praises and rejoice in 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:07.799 you to give thanks to you We ask that you take 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:11.420 away the discontent from our hearts and the impatience 00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:15.140 at the trials that we undergo Fix our hearts 00:26:15.140 --> 00:26:19.779 where our true joy is to be found even on Christ 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:23.250 Jesus our Lord We ask all this for the sake of 00:26:23.250 --> 00:26:26.190 our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who reigns with 00:26:26.190 --> 00:26:30.049 you in the Holy Spirit forever and ever amen 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:33.549 All right, let us continue our worship by the 00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:52.440 giving of our tithes and offerings Bring forth 00:26:52.440 --> 00:27:01.900 the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. Bring 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:10.539 forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:15.519 all. Let us pray. Blessed are you, O Lord God, 00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:18.200 for through your goodness we have these gifts 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.500 to share. Accept and use your tithes and offerings 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:24.640 for your glory and for service in your kingdom. 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:27.819 Blessed be God forever and ever. Amen.