He was There
John 11: 11 - 26
11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. 16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. 18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. 21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 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:
While Jesus was here during His earthly ministry, he befriended a lot of people [Thereby debunking the myth that God is distant, cold and uncaring] Indeed, the Jesus of the bible had many , many friends. Many of them male , many of them female. He was loved by Children as well as the senior citizens of the day as a matter of Fact. To be sure, many people flocked after Our Lord because of what he could do for them, still others were curious about the scientific nature of what he did to them. There just had to be an explanation to these miracles. Still others hung around Jesus because they thought it was cool to be with the guy who had all this great power , who was going to kick the pants off the Romans and restore the Kingdom of Israel back to it's glory days under David and Solomon. But among those that followed Jesus there were some very loyal, very dedicated people who actually listened to what he had to say about the Kingdom of Heaven , the need for repentance and the need for a Savior.
Among those people that Christ became very familiar with was that of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. And although it would seem that Jesus, the son of God, would be too busy and too important to be concerned with the affairs of certain individuals, it appears that Jesus who remember was still God, was not too busy , not to Important, not to tired, not too unconcerned, not too anything to stop what he was doing and hear the dire request of His good friends. And isn't that still true of the way that God operates. Even tho' God Almighty right now is managing the affairs of the entire Universe , Controlling this chaotic world that we live in and Controlling this demonically challenged nation that we live in God still has time to deal with each and every seemingly trivial to some but rather major to us, events that come our way. In other words, God can still be God, yet not Forget about little ol' You and little ol' me.
On this day, The family of Martha and Mary had a problem. It was not a small problem either. It was major, very major. The brother Lazarus apparently had been ill. His illness was not getting any better either. He was sick. Now it's not actually known from the Bible what his illness was, but all we really know is that the illness eventually overcame him. Right about now I want to dispel a major myth that is being floated around churches these days. And it's that Satan has power over life and Death.
That's a lie straight out of the pit of Hell and don't you ever believe it. Only God has the power to give life and only God has the power to take a life.
There are things that the Devil can do and things that he can't do, but much of what He does involves influencing the mind to do contray to God's will. As it reads in Job, God allowed Satan
To do but so much, and not any furthur.
So it is in error to think that the Devil can do anything independently of God. He can't
This point is brought home dramatically after Jesus was telephoned , paged , beeped and e-mailed to GET HERE SOON and do something because your good buddy Lazarus is about to die. And even tho' the devil is not credited with an attempt on the life of Lazarus this day, it is apparent that the people thought that the miracles of Jesus, the very power of Jesus, the very power of God somehow stopped squarely at the door of death. But I beg to ask you the question, does the power of the Sovereign of the Universe end when our lives end. Do we, as some other religions believe, believe that we reincarnate, that is come back again and again in various forms over and over until we get it right. Do we , as the agnostics believe, believe that when we die that that's it. That in our existence it was like we were never here. Do we believe in a Heaven and a Hell, because everybody does not buy into that type of thinking.
Or do you believe in the God of the Bible that says that every man will have to give an Account of all of his actions at the Judgement. The Judgement for believers, of our works for the Lord. The Judgement for Non Believers, of their rejection of their savior.
But By the time Jesus made it the two miles that Bethany was from Jerusalem Lazarus had been in the grave for all of four days. However, the fact that Lazarus died and was buried was to Jesus was a good thing . Now how could this ge a good thing ? A good thing because in this instance it became just another opportunity to glorify God. Do we Christians really know what our purpose here on earth is. I'll bet that if you took a poll of Churchgoers today, the answers would range anywhere from going to heaven to getting paid. As a matter of fact, many people think that God is some kind of Sugar Daddy just waiting in heaven to give us what we want, how we want it and when we want it. But that misconception is as far from the truth as can be. The Truth is that our purpose and only purpose is to glorify God with the Lives that we live. In effect we are to be the ones waiting on God to make the call to us to take on the next assignment for Him , not matter what it is , no matter what it takes. Our purpose is to surrender all for Jesus not the other way. But more often than not , we oftentimes get mighty confused. The word says that:
Eph1 : 5 Having predestinated [ Having chosen us] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will
Therefore, we should understand that
Our existence is for God's Glory
Now I'd like to ask a question ?
Have you ever made yourself available for the Glory of God
Have you surrendered all ? I know haven't but that doesn't mean that
I can't or that I never will …….
Yet on this occasion Jesus took his time ….for the Glory of God.
Yet when he arrived at the house Martha said Master, If only you had been here.
Well Martha you didn’t really know it but He was already there. And isn't that our problem in the year 2000.
Don't we get caught up in the what we can only see rather than looking beyond that
We look at the circumstance…but God looks at what will result
We limit God…but God is unlimited
We are powerless…but God is All Power….
The word says that we
But just as important we have to realize that
II Our Time is Not God's Time
God is Eternal…we are not Eternal
We are bound by Time…God is not bound by time or Space !!!
The fact of the matter is is that ….We limit God.!!!
Me…
Lord, if only you could have walked a little faster…maybe not have stopped to talk to some many strangers , be too busy healing other sick folk, maybe didn't stop to preach so much between here and there. Lord if you had only been here. God couldn't you have put everything on hold . Lord don't you care about my situation?
Don't you know that I'm going thru a crisis here ?
[Heb 13:5] But God has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Me_ God will be with you in the sixth trouble and in the seventh trouble He will not forsake you.
[end coming soon]
BUT God will Never , never leave you alone
And if that's not enough for us present day believers the word says that
That's the Person of The Holy Spirit.
Even when we're going thru somsthing, isn't it comforting
To know deep down inside that God will take care of you
Therefore Martha, Mary , Joe , Tom whoever you are, you don't have to worry where God is because God is right there right now. God is not at all distant….He's just a prayer away.
[Y e t, even still ] We need to learn that
III Our Ways are not God's Ways
Is. 9:55 says that
8 For my thoughts are LORD. not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
God doesn't operate the way we do. He can't , He's greater than we are.
He is the Higher authority…He is the Master Planner.
The way life's events unfold is peculiar to watch of us for all of us . Why is it that our prayers seldom get answered precisely the way we expect them to. Do your answered prayers ever result just the way you expected. Hardly ever, yet if the truth be told, God's answers happen much better than you could ever expect.
I recall how God opened doors me in my present job situation. When I think about what God did, how he moved on my behalf inspite of me , his biggest stumbling block, instead of me saying God If you had only been there I now say to all that ask, You should have been there.
I felt like singing' , You should have been there….when he put my name on the roll…
Yet finally, Martha quickly realized that she was still dealing with the Almighty God
v. 22 "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee"
Don't give up Church….We all have been pass the point of no return…but I know that ,even now….
He's an even now God…
He's a God that can Calm the oceans…
He's a God that can control the weather…
He's a God that can control the Devil himself…
You see what's impossible with man is has always been possible with God.
Conclusion
If you're looking for a real God that's there always….you need to stop your search with Jesus.
Heb 13:5
God will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
That's in the bible….I know where it's at but it's best for you that you find it.
God's Everywhere at the same time
Psalm 139
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
But even before that he reminds us That…..
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
WE DON'T HAVE TO Worry about where God is anymore.
If you know Him then you know He's always there all the time.