Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 6/27/12

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 6/27/12

David said in the plural, “We thank thee.”

Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

It is wonderful to be thankful.  It sets our spiritual man in proper relation to God.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t have needs or that our family doesn’t.

Joh 11:1  Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

Joh 11:2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

Joh 11:3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

Joh 11:5  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

Jesus loved these people but He didn’t hastily go to Bethany.  He knew that things would happen but it was all to be to the glory of God.  We would feel that there are requests that need immediate attention maybe even before tomorrow.  We can come before the Lord with the urgency that we feel yet surrender it to Him because He is God and He knows exactly how things are.

Joh 11:17  Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

The scene is that Lazarus had died, was buried and had been in the grave four days:

Joh 11:18  Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:

Joh 11:19  And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Joh 11:20  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

Joh 11:21  Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Joh 11:22  But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Joh 11:23  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

Joh 11:24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Jesus is teaching a wonderful lesson to all of us that it is Jesus Christ that brings life.  We had a list of requests tonight; and for all of these precious souls, it is only Jesus that can bring life.  I believe that God will help you and me to see as we continue looking at this lesson that there is a great spiritual significance in these verses.

Joh 11:27  She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Joh 11:28  And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

Joh 11:29  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

Joh 11:30  Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

Joh 11:31  The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

Joh 11:32  Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Joh 11:33  When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

It is a wonderful thing recorded for us: Jesus understands our tears.  He understands our burden and our distress.  He understands.  He was troubled; He groaned. 

Joh 11:34  And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

Joh 11:35  Jesus wept.

Jesus wept.  Whatever your burden is tonight, if you are saved.  (I’m not talking about the sadness of this world, feeling like you’ve missed something in the world.)  If you are weeping before God for your soul or for others, God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit wants us to know that they are touched, they are moved. 

Lazarus wasn’t able to do anything until Christ spoke to him.  I think that there are some things that I need you saints to teach me in this lesson.  God has given me some things, but I think that God will teach you some things that I need for you to teach me.

Joh 11:36  Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

Joh 11:37  And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

We already know that nothing is impossible with God.

Joh 11:38  Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

A stone lay upon it.

Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Jesus said, “Take ye away the stone.”  We know that Jesus could have moved the stone.  He could have called one angel or a legion of angels to move the stone.  (It may have been the same year that the angels moved the stone from His own tomb.) 

“Take ye away the stone.”  What has become a burden upon my heart is that anyone that is in a tomb or a spiritual prison: sinners are in a tomb and I believe also there are people that are saved that are held captive in tombs.  “Take ye away the stone.” 

People had put this stone in front of the cave, they were well-meaning people.  I believe that there are people in caves and tombs that people have locked in with a stone and they are really bound in the tomb and the cave.  Some sinners are bound because of false reports or unbelief. 

God help me, help Paradise that if someone is held captive and there is something that we can do to help move the stone away that we are willing to be misunderstood, really misunderstood.  Whenever you try to help people you open yourself up to extreme criticism.  You open yourself, as my Aunt Mae said, to be shot through with bullets until the wind whistles through you.  That is nothing if we can help a soul.  I doubt that there is anyone here that hasn’t been misunderstood and taken a few shots anyway.  There are a lot of people packing weapons in this state that are willing to fire upon whomever and I’m not talking about guns.

Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

Joh 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Every once in a while Jesus does this to me.  “Haven’t I talked to you about this before son?” 

Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Jesus wasn’t worried about the foul smell.  I can see Jesus stepping to the cave and lifting His eyes to heaven and lifting His hands.  “Father I thank thee that you have heard me, I know that you hear me always.”

Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

“Lazarus, come forth.”  I don’t care whose name you put in there tonight. I’ll shout.  I’m old and tired and there is not much strength anywhere in me, but when I see someone coming out of the tomb of bondage, whether it is sin or someone that is saved and wrapped up, I’ll shout.

Jesus said “Lazarus come forth; loose him and let him go.”

Joh 11:44  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Joh 11:45  Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

Joh 11:46  But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

Bro Bill – the thought of the stone is that:   “It is over and now there is no hope; it is hopeless for Lazarus.”  The stone can be unbelief.  In my life there are times that things that seem hopeless.  Yet God can do anything.