We've read a good portion of
the chapter a moment ago, and we'll of course consider our text in the context of the
chapter, and our text will be, by the way, verse 28. These words,
the master is come, when the master comes. In the context
of the chapter, everything changes when the master comes. Concerning salvation, it's experienced
when the Master comes. And the blessed promise of the
gospel is this, to whom everyone our Lord is pleased to bestow
His grace on, have the equally as certain and sure promise that
they shall receive glory as well when the Master comes. Verse
1 again here in chapter 11 of John, Now a certain man was sick,
named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary, and her sister
Martha. Bethany, the home of this dear
family, one of the few places where the Lord Jesus Christ received
the welcome when he was on earth. Very few places he was welcomed. This home in Bethany was one
of them. They loved him. Mary, Martha,
Lazarus, this family loved the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason
they did so was because he first loved them. His love, like his
grace, is effectual. Like his mercy and every attribute
of that one in whom we're complete was effectual. They loved him
but it was because as John says he first loved them. Turn if
you will back to Luke's gospel chapter 10. You have here another
scene in this same home in Bethany. A much happier scene than what
we first encounter in John's gospel chapter 11. Picture this
here in verse 38 of Luke 10. Now it came to pass as they went,
that is Christ and his disciples, they entered into a certain village. Not just at random, not just
at perchance, but a certain village, on purpose, very deliberate.
And a certain woman. They entered a certain village
and a certain woman. named Martha received him into
her house and she had a sister called Mary which also sat at
Jesus feet and heard his word. Can you picture the scene? Can
you picture that scene in your mind's eye? The word made flesh. The eternal word of God, that
one by whom all the world was made, heaven and earth was made
by him, that word, the eternal word of God was made flesh and
dwelt among us. That one that was in the world
and the world was made by him and the world knew him not, but
all this little household at Bethany, this certain family,
they did know him. Can you picture Mary as she sits
at his feet, soaking up, as we say, like a sponge, every word
that fell from his gracious lips because never a man spake like
this man. And Mary was giving him what
he most richly deserved, her undivided attention. Look, if
you will, here in chapter 10 previous to the arrival of our
Lord at that little house in Bethany what we read in verse
20 verse 21 rather here in Luke 10 In that hour, Jesus rejoiced
in spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things, all things,
are delivered to me and my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son
is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal Him." Again in John 1 we read, He came
unto His own, and His own received Him not. But Martha, we're told
in verse 38 of Luke 10, received Him unto her house. Oh, what
wondrous grace this is! Many didn't receive Him, but
they did. What's the reason for it? In
John chapter 1 we're told the reason. Verse 12, But as many
as received him, he came unto his own, and his own received
him not. But as many as received him, O, he gave power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believed on his name, who
were born. This is why they received him,
John. This is what made them to differ. Not their will, not
their worth, not their work, oh no. Only God and His mighty
grace in Christ made this difference and this is how it came about.
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. What wondrous, wondrous
grace if God opens a man's heart, pours in his grace and by that
he receives the Lord Jesus Christ. I read this statement by old
John Newton the other evening. I want to share it with you.
He wrote It is part of my daily habit to look back to my slavery
in Africa. There was a time in Newton's
life that he not only was a slave trader, but he himself became
a slave. It was part of my habit to look
back to my slavery in Africa and retrace the path by which
the Lord has led me. Oh my, how he leads his dear
children along. For about 47 years since, he
called me from infidelity and madness. My astonishing, unsought
deliverance from the hopeless wickedness and misery into which
I had plunged myself taken in connection with what he has done
for me since that time, make me say with peculiar emphasis
what we just sang a moment ago. Oh to grace, how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be. Excuse me, Mr. Newton. I've got
to use the same words for the same reason, because I too am
a trophy of God's amazing grace. What a wonder, oh to grace how
great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. But the scene here before
us in John chapter 11 is not one of gladness about that special
visitor that we read of in Luke chapter 10, but rather on this
occasion it's not laughter that we hear, but weeping. Not joy
is no longer their experience, but sorrow, because death has
come. The rider on the pale horse has
visited this little home in Bethany, and Lazarus is no longer there. All flesh is grass. And the grass
has withered. Look at verse 14 here in John
11. Our Lord says plainly to his disciples, who at first thought
our Lord spoke of Lazarus being asleep and that being the case,
they thought of everything as well. But then our Lord spoke
very plainly and said, Lazarus is dead. Lazarus is dead. Now what can bring back the joy
in the home in Bethany? Who can heal these sisters' broken
hearts? Now, if we would search for an
answer from anyone else or from anything
else, we would never find one. But bless God, there is an answer. There is one who can heal the
brokenhearted. There is one. There is one who
is able to restore their happiness to them again. Look at verse
25. It's the eternal I am. I am. Here again we have one
of the seven I am's. Our Lord spoke concerning himself
in the gospel of John. He says here I am. Not that I
was, but I am. Present tense. I am the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believest thou this? And Martha replies, Yea, Lord,
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, who
should come into the world. And when he had so said, she
went her way and called Mary her sister, secretly saying,
The Master is come and calleth for thee. Oh, when the Master
comes! Bobbie sang Friday at her mother's
funeral. A portion of the hymn said this,
Oft I walk beneath the cloud, Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud. But. Oh, bless God for those
blessed intermissions, interventions of his amazing grace. But. When fear is at its height,
Jesus comes and all is light. Mary, the Master has come and
calls for you. Yes, it's true, as the Psalmist
declared. And there are no exceptions to
this for any believer. Weeping is our experience. Weeping
may endure through the night, but Another blessed but, but
joy cometh in the morning. In last Sunday's bulletin, there
was a brief article by Martin Lloyd-Jones, and he said this,
the sufferings of this present time are many, and they are painful. It's foolish to pretend otherwise. They're painful. They hurt. We feel them. They cause us to
weep and to be sad and they rob us of rest and sleep and make
our days sometimes dreary and our nights weary. They take from
us our mates and our dear children. They cause us to be troubled
on every side and perplexed and sometimes cast down. But, but,
as Paul said in Romans 8, they are not worthy to be compared
with the glory of Christ which shall be revealed in us. Yes, Lazarus is gone but the
Master has come. The Master has come and He is
all. He is all my salvation and all
my hope. He is the true treasure. In the
Bible there are seven different words for our English word translated
master. Seven. The number of completeness,
the number of perfection. And only Christ claims all seven
of these words. The most familiar one is rabbi,
teacher. He told his disciples, you have
only one master, only one rabbi. The other is Lord, meaning one
possessing all authority and all power. Father, you've given
me power. Power over all flesh. Our master possesses all power. And the one that Peter spoke
of, when our Lord told him to cast his net on the other side
after they had fished all night and taken nothing, you remember
Peter's answer to him? We fished all night. have taken
nothing, but master, master at your word will cast the net,
will obey you." Master Peter said, the word in that instance
means superior officer. I like that, don't you? The captain
of our salvation. The other word is used is despot. Having absolute power in heaven
and in earth. When the Master comes, death,
though it reigns, now grace reigns. When He who is the resurrection
comes, life comes. When the Master comes, hope comes. Oh my! We would be without hope if we
were without Christ. We would be without grace. We
would be without salvation. Oh, but when the Master comes,
hope comes. Grace comes. Salvation comes. Because the Master is that one
who is mighty to save. As old Scott Richardson used
to say, Brother Henry I think I've heard say it as well, Oh
I wish, I wish I half believed that. I wish I half believed
that. Is there any sinner, is there
any prodigal son or daughter that's beyond the reach of that
one who is the omnipotent God and Savior, who is mighty to
save? Has his arm shortened that it
cannot reach? Is his ear heavy that it can
no longer hear the cries of his people? Oh, when that one who
is the master, who is mighty to save comes, he has power to
save all that come unto God by him. All that come unto God by
him. That's why he came into this
world in the first place. I love this text of Scripture.
I love it. Matthew 1 and 21. Oh, this gives
this sinner hope. Joseph called his name Jesus
for he shall save his people from their sins. Oh, Jesus, Savior,
Master. There's something about that
name Jesus. The salvation of the Lord is
the meaning of the word. The same as the Hebrew Joshua. The salvation of God. He shall. He shall. Well, that babe in
the manger is none other than the Prince of Peace. He's the
Everlasting Father. He's the mighty God. The government of the universe
is upon His shoulders. So when we read concerning Him
that He shall, regardless of what might follow the words,
we know that it must come to pass. He shall do whatever He
came to do, whatever He willed to do, whatever God Almighty
His Father sent Him into this world to do, He shall do. Who shall prevent Him? He's that
one whose hand none can stay. Or saying to Him, what doest
thou? He's the one who has His way. I get tired. When I hear someone speak of
my glorious Savior, my successful Redeemer, as trying to do something. Oh no, no. He shall do whatsoever
he came here to do. And Joseph was told that he shall
save. He shall say, take the word in
the broadest possible meaning that you can take it. He shall
save whatever that requires, whatever that involves, whatever
that great word means, salvation, Jesus Christ shall accomplish. He shall save His people. His people. All of His people. All of His people. None shall
be lost. None shall perish. He shall save
all of his people. John saw them. And he said, they're
a multitude that no man can number. You know when it kind of slips
out among your relations or your neighbors or your acquaintances
that you believe that doctrine of election. You'll sometimes
be accused of believing only one or two will be saved. Oh
no, John, oh no. No, I don't believe one or two
might be saved. I believe there's a multitude
that might. It's not a matter of might be
saved. They shall be saved. They'll all be saved. They'll
be saved to the very uttermost from the power of sin. from the
penalty of sin and one day glory to his name from the very presence
of sin. John said when we see him We
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. I saw them
before the throne of God, robed in white robes, a picture of
the absolute perfect robe of Christ's righteousness without
a spot or a blemish or any such thing. And they all sing the
same song, salvation to our God that setteth upon the throne
and to the lamb he had redeemed us with his own blood. blood. He shall save his people. None shall be lost. Not one shall
ever perish from their sins. All their sin. All their sin. Oh, can you imagine that again? Referring to the second song
that Bobby sung Friday at the funeral of Bess. When I stand
before the throne. When I see thee as thou art,
I think about this a lot, Lester, but I can't get much of a handle
on it right now. Just can't. When I see thee as
thou art, oh, what a wonder that is. Oh, what a blessed prospect
that is. What a blessed good hope that
is. Oh, but when I see thee as thou
art, and love thee with an unsinning heart? an unsinning heart standing where
I am now wretched man that I am now prone to wonder as I am now
everything I do or say or think tainted with sin now oh but then
then when I see him when the veil is taken away I no longer
see through a glass darkly but I see him who is perfect and
I see him with perfect vision on the Mount of Transfiguration
We read the disciples lifted up their eyes and they saw no
man save Jesus only. Talk about 2020. Now Robin had
some cataracts removed here in the last month or so and they
said that she has 2020. Oh, but what a glorious, glorious
view would that be. When I stand before the Son of
God and I don't have any darkness, any clouds, any sin to dim my
view of that one. We shall see him as he is and
we shall be like him without sin. Jeremiah we read, in those
days and in that time saith the Lord the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for and there shall be none. Oh my, how can that be? How can
that be? Because the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. The iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be none. And the sins of Judah,
and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I
reserve. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. This is the result of our glorious Redeemer's grace. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 9. Know ye
not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor infeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. And such were. Now notice, were
past tense. Past tense. Because if any man
be in Christ, old things are passed away. They fall in the
past tense and all things become new. And such were some of you,
but what happened? John, when I lived back in the
mountains of West Virginia as a young boy, one of our friends
sometimes would come and tell us about a new swimming hole
he'd heard of. So we would get together to go
find it. And when we would, often it would
be at the base of rocks and cliffs. Well we just don't know, might
not be smart to jump in without knowing if it's deep enough.
So one would make their way down, swim out, dive down and come
back up and say jump. Don't worry. It's deep enough. I didn't touch the bottom. Jump
in. Jump in. Oh, look at this multitude
of filthy, fallen, depraved, defiled sinners standing near
that fountain, filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And look, look, they jump in. They jump in. And sinners plunge
beneath that blood, lose all their guilty stains. But you're
washed, but you're sanctified, but you're justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Yes, when the Master comes. In Matthew chapter 11, John taught
on this not long ago. John the Baptist is in prison.
He sends two of his disciples with this question. Ask the Lord
Jesus, are thou he that should come or do we look for another?
And our Lord's answer was this, go show John again those things
which you do hear and see. The blind receive their sight
and the lame walk. the leopards are cleansed, and
the dead hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have
the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me." The blind see. The blind receive their
sight. Turn if you will to Mark's gospel,
chapter 10, and you have a demonstration of that when the Master has come. Mark chapter 10, verse 46. Now remember, this
takes place not long before our Lord enters Jerusalem for the
last time and observes the last Passover and soon after that
the Lamb of God, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. But here
in verse 46, on his way to do that, to accomplish the eternal
salvation of his people, to obtain redemption for them, they come
to Jericho. Verse 46, and as he went out
of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people,
blind Martibeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the wayside bagging. And
when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry
out and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And
many charged him that he should hold his peace. But he cried
to more a great deal, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Is that not a picture of you
and I? There was a time we, like Bartimaeus, sat in darkness,
spiritual darkness. We were just blind and ignorant,
blind as to who we really are. Blind as to who God is. Blind as to any need or desire
for Jesus Christ. My answer to anybody that asked
was, I don't need Him. Away with that. Away with that. Oh, but when Jesus comes, when
Jesus comes, the hymn writer said, one set alone beside the
highway begging. His eyes were blind, the light
he could not see. He clutched his rags and shivered
in the shadows. Then Jesus came. Then Jesus came. Oh, my soul. Child of God, don't
ever forget where you were, what you were, and where you would
be at this very moment except for this, the Master came. Then Jesus came and bade his
darkness flee. Verse 49, and Jesus stood still. and commanded him to be called.
And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort. Arise, he calleth for thee. Mary, the master's come. And
he, casting away his garment, arose and came to Jesus. And
Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should
do unto thee? The blind man said unto him,
Lord, you know what the literal translation of that is? What
Bartimaeus said was, My great one, my great one, mercy there
was great and grace was free. I need a great God and Savior. I'm a great sinner and I need
great grace and mercy. Oh, my great one, that I might
receive my sight. And Jesus said, Go thy way, thy
faith hath saved thee, thy faith rather hath made thee whole.
And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the
way. When the Master comes, God who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined into
our hearts to give us the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Turn if you will, are you still
in Mark? Turn to Mark chapter 5. Mark chapter 5. In chapter 4, the Lord says,
let us pass over into the other side. Because other sheep he said I
have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Oh, I like that. I must bring. that they also may hear my voice
and they'll be one fold and one shepherd and so he crosses the
sea and comes to the other side verse 1 of chapter 5 and they came over to the other
side of the sea unto the country of the Gadarenes and when he
was come out of the ship immediately there met him out of the tombs
a man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the
tombs And no man could bind him, no, not with chains, because
he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains
had been plucked asunder by him. And the fetters broken in pieces,
neither could any man tame him. And always, day and night, he
was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself
with stones." Again, a picture of you and I. And religion couldn't
tame us, could it? Tradition, religious tradition
couldn't cure us. No. It tried and it failed. Until this happened. Verse 6. Verse 6. But when he saw Jesus,
oh but when the master comes, when the master comes, When he
saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, and cried with
a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus,
thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God that thou
torment me not, for he said unto him, hath said, Come out of the
man, thou unclean spirit." And look at this blessed result.
Look what reigning grace has done. Look what the Master has
done. Verse 15, And they came to Jesus,
and see him that was possessed. If any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature. See him that was possessed with
the devil, and had the legion setting and clothed, and in his
right mind, and they were afraid. From home and friends the evil
spirits drove him. Among the tombs he dwelt in misery. He cut himself as demon powers
possessed him. Oh, then Jesus came. Then Jesus
came and set the captive free. When the master comes. One more
here in Mark. Turn if you will to Mark's gospel
chapter 1. Chapter 1. Mark chapter 1. Another picture of the power
of the master. And it's also another picture
of us. Look at verse 40. Mark 1 verse
40. And there came a leopard to him,
beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto
him, the emphasis is on him, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you
will, you can make me clean, if you will. And Jesus moved with compassion. put forth his hand and touched
him and said unto him, I will. Oh my. Can you imagine The joy
that must have filled the heart of that leper when he heard those
sweet words from the master. I will, he says, be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, as soon as the words were spoken,
immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was cleansed. Again, from that hymn, unclean,
unclean, the leper cried in torment. The death, the dumb, and helplessness
stood near. The fever, rage, disease had
gripped its victim. Then Jesus came. Then Jesus came
and cast out every fear." And here in our text, in the chapter,
John chapter 11, we read in verse 14 again, Lazarus is dead. Paul tells us in Romans 5, and
Adam all died. Ephesians 2, you were dead in
trespasses and sins. And sinners in that condition,
they can't take the first step to God. Preachers tell sinners
all the time, if you'll take the first step, excuse me preacher,
that's the problem. Right there is the problem. I'm
dead. I can't take the first step.
I can't believe. I can't repent. I can't come
to Christ. Oh, but it's easy. Oh, no. No,
it's not. No, it's not. It's impossible. It's impossible until the master
comes. Salvation is a miracle. I need a great savior. Like Bartimaeus
said, oh, my great one. My great one, if you will, you
can make me clean. My great one, I need to receive
my sight. My great one, have mercy upon
me. Oh, when the master comes, that
one who is mighty to save, one able to save me to the uttermost,
and one who is able to keep this sinner from falling, and to present
me faultless before the throne of God. One who can cause me
to approach unto him. Look here in John 11 again. Look
at verse 43. Three times our Lord spoke, those
who had already died, back to life. Three times. The young
maid, 12 years old, wasn't she? He said, maid, arise. The young
man, the widow's son, he said, sun arise, Lazarus a total of
eight words all what power and they all came to life look at
verse 43 Lazarus come forth come forth. Oh this personal call
someone very well said he specified Lazarus cause if not all that
were in the graves hearing his voice as he himself taught in
John 5 would at that moment come forth but he was speaking to
Lazarus. Lazarus come forth, a personal
call, an effectual call, an irresistible call. I like that. I like that. And look at the
result. Verse 44, and he that was dead,
you had he quickened who were dead, and he that was dead came
forth. Oh, what a miracle. What a blessed,
blessed miracle of his omnipotent power and grace. This is a picture
of what he has done for sinners. When they hear his voice, they
shall live. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave cloths. And his face was bound
with a napkin. And Jesus said unto them, Loose
him, and let him go. The hymn went on to say, their
hearts were sad as in the tomb they laid him. where death had
come and taken him away. Their night was dark and bitter
tears were falling. Then Jesus came. Mary, the master
has come. The master has come. The master
is here. Then Jesus came and night was
turned to day. When Jesus comes, the tempter's
power is broken. When Jesus comes, the tears are
wiped away. He takes the gloom and fills
the life with glory. For all is changed when Jesus
comes to stay. And listen to this. Soon the
same glorious master, the great one, who called this rebel by
his grace, successfully shall do the same thing when he calls
me to heaven. Hear our great high priest as
he prays father I will also that those whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am that they may behold my glory. Since I've been your pastor almost
six years the Lord has been pleased to call home first Louise and
then brother Lloyd And then most recently, this. He wills that
we too be with him where he is. And his will is the will of that
one that cannot be defeated. This must be the very blessed
result concerning all of his redeemed ones. All of those redeemed
with his precious blood, they shall see his face. They shall see his face. I think
I've told you the story before. One evening before Brother Lowell
became so very ill, we sat on the patio in the backyard and
we were talking about these things. God's grace, salvation, heaven,
seeing Christ. And he said, Larry, I can't imagine. I can't imagine what that's going
to be like. Well, you know what, John? He
no longer imagines. He experiences it. He no longer
imagines it. He sees Him as He is. When the
Master comes and calls us home, we won't imagine any more either.
We shall see Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. When
the Master comes, and calls for us and takes us home. Farewell
mortality, Jesus is mine. Welcome eternity, Jesus is mine. Welcome, oh, loved and blessed.
Welcome, sweet scenes of rest. Welcome, my Savior's breast. Jesus is mine. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.