I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John chapter 11.
John chapter 11. I'm going to read something out
of Ecclesiastes. And then we'll have a word of
prayer and I'm going to make some comments out of John 11. Scripture says, Ecclesiastes
3, to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under
the heaven, a time to be born and a time
to die, time to plant, time to pluck up that which is planted,
a time to kill, a time to heal, a time to break down, a time
to build up, a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn,
a time to dance, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather
stones together, a time to embrace, a time to refrain, from embracing. A time to get, a time to lose,
a time to keep, a time to cast away. A time to rend, a time
to sow, a time to keep silence, a time to speak, a time to love,
a time to hate, a time of war, and a time of peace. Let's pray together. Our Father, this evening as we
come together, we call upon you in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Lord, we know that you order all things. Everything
that comes to pass is according to your eternal covenant and
purpose of redemption for your people. Teach us this evening. Help us to worship. Forgive us
where we fail you for Christ's sake. Amen. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I'm going
to plan to preach for the Fred Clevenger's funeral. There will
be a lot of people there. that may or may not have ever
heard the gospel before. I plan to preach in light of
God's purpose, God's will, God's sovereignty, this very truth
set forth right here. There's a time ordered by God
Almighty for everything. The Lord does all things after
the counsel of His own will. But tonight, again in light of
Brother Fred's homecoming, I wanted to take this opportunity and
go to the Scriptures and just speak to us. I wanted to talk to the family. I said, there will be a lot of
people there tomorrow, but tonight I just want to talk to the family.
John chapter 11 verse 1 to 4, the scripture says, now a certain
man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and
her sister Martha. It was at Mary which anointed
the Lord with ointment, wiped his feet with her hair, whose
brother, Lazarus, was sick. Therefore his sister sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 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." Now, this scripture
tonight deals with the sickness and eventually the death of one
of the Lord's own. I've entitled this message, Being
Sick and Dying to the Glory of God. Now this is what the Lord
said concerning the sickness of Lazarus. This sickness is
not until eternal death. Because he's going to physically
die. The Lord is going to raise him from the dead. But the reason
that Lazarus was sick was for God's glory. The reason he died
was for God's glory. The reason He died when He died
was for God's glory. Almighty God is going to call
His people. Turn with me to John 21. Let
me show you something. John 21. Remember after the Lord was raised
from the dead, He met some disciples on the Seaside there, and he
was talking to Peter after Peter had denied him. And the Lord
said, and I'll just start in verse 17, John 21, 17, Then saith
unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time,
Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. And Jesus saith unto him, Feed
my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkest, whether
thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou
shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee,
and carry thee, whether thou wouldest not. This spake he,
signifying by what death he should glorify God. When he had spoken
this, he said unto him, follow me." For a believer, it is of great
comfort to know that Almighty God has ordained all things,
even the death of His saints, the time of the death of His
saints. for His honor and His glory, His praise. This sickness,
you said, concerning Lazarus was not unto death, but for the
glory of God, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's people
know in whom they believe. That's what Paul the Apostle
said, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that He's able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Lazarus
was sick. And Martha and Mary knew that
their hope for the recovery of their brother was in the Lord
Jesus Christ. So they sent to Him. And this
is how they appealed to Him. Lord, our only brother is sick.
Lord, you know, he's always loved you. No. He whom thou lovest
is sick. What a joy when you pray for
one of God's own. To express unto the Lord, casting
all of your care upon Him, for He careth for you. That's what
Peter said in 1 Peter 5, 7. Casting all your care. Talk to
Him about it. Lord, He whom thou lovest is
sick. There's the very heart of it.
The Lord said concerning His people, I've loved you with an
everlasting love. Lord, He whom thou lovest. Appealing to His will, His purpose,
His love for their brother. But the Scripture said the Lord
was pleased to do something that just exceeds our natural understanding. When I say natural understanding,
our carnal understanding. If the Lord loves him, why wouldn't
He come immediately? Why wouldn't He immediately respond
to their appeal unto His will and His love for Lazarus? He
delayed His coming, and according to God's purpose, the Lord Jesus
Christ knew exactly when Lazarus was going to die. And the Lord
stayed away. Why? Because He's all wise. Could not the Lord have prevented
this? Absolutely. He does all things well. He works
all things after the counsel of His own purpose. How constantly
do we need to be reminded according to the Word of our Lord, Isaiah
55a, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the Lord. Why does the Lord do what He
does? Because it pleases Him. He does
all things well. The Lord wisely and perfectly
purposes and brings about all that He does in accordance with
His everlasting will. The counsel of the Lord, the
will of the Lord, the purpose of the Lord is going to stand. Lazarus got sick right on time. Lazarus died right on time. And the Lord revealed, now here's
what was just said in verse 4, the very purpose of that sickness
and eventual death. Verse 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. Even in our statements and in
our love for our brethren, Just like Martha and Mary, for their
brethren, we behold the frailty of our flesh and their flesh. And of their faith, we think
way too disrespectfully of Him. Both of them ended up saying,
Lord, if you'd been here, Lord, if you'd have showed up,
is that not the... slight upon our character. Our Lord being there had absolutely
nothing to do with Lazarus' recovery. Look, hold your place right there.
Turn over to Matthew 8. You've seen this before. It's
just such a statement of faith. Matthew 8. The centurion had appealed to
the Lord. about his servant. He said, verse
6, Lord my servant, life and home sick, for the palsy, grievously
tormented, Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The most amazing thing about
this is when you realize, how many times do we read in the
Scriptures when the Pharisees would think something? They just thought it. And the
Lord said, why think ye in your heart? You think the Lord knew what
this man was going to say? He knew exactly what he was going
to say. He said, I'll come, I'll come
to your house. And the Lord who had granted faith to this centurion
listened to the speech of faith out of the abundance of that
man's heart His mouth spoke. And this is what the Lord had
put on his heart to say, for God's honor and God's glory,
for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The centurion answered
and said, Lord, I'm not worthy that thou shouldest come unto
my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. I am a man under authority, having
soldiers under me. I say to this man, Go, he goeth.
Another, come, he cometh. My servant, do this, he doeth
it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, said to them that followed, Verily
I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."
The Lord Jesus Christ needed not to be in the very presence
of Lazarus. He could but speak the word,
just like this centurion said. He said, My servant, behold.
The Lord is omnipresent. Omnipotent. Distance is nothing
to Him who is everywhere. Listen to Isaiah 6 verse 3, when
the seraphim cried one to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts, the whole earth. is full of His glory. Isn't that so? Did the Lord not
say to His disciples, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the
end of the world? Matthew 28, 20. What believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Lord not with personally right now? We're in this world. Are we going
to find a place where the Lord is not? Lord, if you'd been here,
just His Word. Oh, the mercy of Him who ever
loves His own. He then, in compassion and love,
speaks to Martha, Eventually to her sister Mary who came.
Tenderly he gave them some real hope. Here's what he said. Look at verse 23. Jesus saith
unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Now listen, we do grieve. at the loss of our brethren. Dick called me yesterday morning
and told me, he said, well, my dad died. And I said, well, Dick, I said, my heart breaks for you
and I rejoice. I'm just so glad to hear that. Number one, I know this, the
will of the Lord was done. Father, I will. that those that
Thou hast given me be with me where I am." Precious in the
sight of the Lord, death of His saints. I said, Dick, I rejoice
with you. I said, my heart breaks for you
because I know that you're hurt. I understand that. But I can
truthfully say this is the will of the Lord. Whenever the Lord
said to Martha, Your brother's going to rise again. Now listen,
there's been quite a few from our congregation. Some of you
sitting here have lost loved ones, and you've lost daddies,
and you've lost your mama, and you've lost your family, and
you know what it feels like. But listen, just talking tonight,
to the church, talking to God's sheep, talking to God's people.
God's people are going to rise again. Your brother is going
to rise again. And here our Lord revealed in
the simplest possible manner that Lazarus' sickness was not
unto final death. She said, Lord, I know he's going
to rise again in the resurrection. It said over in verse 4, this
sickness died unto death, and he died. But he's going to rise again.
I know he's going to rise again
in the resurrection of the last day. And Jesus saith unto her,
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead yet, shall he live. is going to come out of the ground.
Your brother is going to rise from the dead. The Lord had waited
until Lazarus died that he might raise him from the dead for the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the glory of God. Lazarus
got sick and Lazarus died for God's glory. Now God's people
behold this. An unbeliever doesn't know anything
about this. But a believer rejoices in the
comfort of knowing God's Word is sure. And listen, being eternally
found in the Lord Jesus Christ, chosen in Him, redeemed by Him,
regenerated by His Spirit, the Lord said, you're going to live
again. You're going to come out of the ground. You're going to
be with me. There's the comfort of God's
people. The Lord was pleased yesterday morning, about 10.30,
to call our friend and our brother home. Fred Clevenger was my friend,
my brother. When I first moved here, there
were so many of you. They just welcomed me and helped
me. I mean, all joined up, went over. I remember we were all at Carl
and Iva Lou's house and helped me unload stuff. I came over
here and Fred bought that chair that I sit in. I mean, he had
done so many things. I thought Fred was my friend.
He was my friend. Brother Henry said, when you
preach a funeral, he said, a eulogy is you say a good word about
it. Speak with respect for those that are due respect. The Lord
took Fred yesterday and based upon the confession of his faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, based on the authority of God's Word,
Fred Clevenger, just like every other object of God's mercy,
is going to rise again and going to do so for the glory of God. Tomorrow afternoon, we're going
to put a body in the ground, in the grave. That's the right
thing to do. That's the right thing to do.
Our Lord was buried, I think, according to The example of our
Lord is the right thing to do, to be buried. When we have baptism,
we are symbolically saying we are buried with Christ. It's my confession of faith.
I'm buried with Him. Rising, newness of life, raised
with Him. Tomorrow we'll bury a body. He's going to be sown in corruption.
But here's what the Scripture says according to 1 Corinthians
15.42. He's going to be raised in incorruption. The believer in the Lord Jesus
Christ, soon after passing from this life, Having His body placed
in the ground, that body is sown in dishonor, but it's going to be raised in
glory. We're getting older, and as we get older, we lose. Today I was looking at a lot
of the pictures over at the funeral home, Fred in June, and I was
noticing you know, the dew of youth that all of us at one time
had, you know, and oh, they were so young and vibrant, you know,
but we get older, we get weak, we get frail. This body, you
know, because of the effects of sin, it's going down. But I'll tell you one thing that
never goes down. the love of Christ for his own. Body sown
in dishonor, raised in glory. Scripture says, sown in weakness,
raised in power, raised in Him. Sown a natural body, raised a
spiritual body. You think again what our Lord
said concerning Lazarus being sick. This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be
glorified thereby." Very soon, our Lord is going to tell them
to roll that stone away, and He's going to say with a loud
voice, Lazarus, come forth. He comes forth, bound, and He
says, He was called forth for the glory
of God, even in the passing of a friend. Let me ask you something.
Do we not behold the glory of God, the glory of His Word, the
glory of His promise? Our friend passed away, but I'll
tell you what it does for us tonight. It gives us a perfect
opportunity to remember this. God's people are going to rise
again in Christ. They're going to rise in Him.
They're going to behold Him. And we that are on this earth
are not going to precede Him. Those that die in the faith, they're coming out first. They're
going to be raised first and meet the Lord first in the air. Those that died to the glory
of God, God's going to receive them first. Then, Paul says,
we which remain. She'll meet them in the air.
But we're not going to precede them. What honor is given by
the Lord for those that die in faith to Him. After the Lord
told Martha that her brother's going to rise again, that's when
Martha said, I know he's going to rise again on the resurrection
of that last day. And we have that confidence too.
We know that. We know that. But I tell you
that we who have cast ourselves upon the mercy of God in Christ,
we believe that we're going to rise seeing Him, looking at Him. Yesterday morning, Dick told me, he said, I'm sitting
there, he said, watching my dad. Eyes, he said, just kind of half
closed. He said, just real glassy. He
said, Marvin, He said, I'm telling you what I saw. He said, my dad
opened his eyes and he said, perfectly clear. He said, just
look straight up. And he said, he had that mask
on his face there with the oxygen. He said, every breath that he
would take, it would just fog up. Fog up. Fog up. And he said, he opened his eyes
and he said, it didn't fog anymore. He said, that was it. That was it. God's people are
going to be taken out of this world at exactly the right time,
according to God's will. Your brother is going to rise
again. I know he'll rise again in the last day, in the resurrection. And look at the words of our
Lord in verse 25. Jesus saith unto her, I am. the resurrection. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in me. He is the source of our life. He's the cause of our life. He's
the fountain of our life. He's God. And He as our surety and our
righteousness and our redemption are His by gift of His Father,
by purchase of His blood, and by giving us a new heart that
willingly comes to Him and casts ourselves upon Him for mercy
after the Lord has given us faith to believe. We think of the resurrection,
I've said this before, as an event, and it is. I understand
that. But the Lord reveals the fullness
of that resurrection as being Himself, the One in whom we're
raised. Our Lord's words to Martha turned
it from a mere doctrine to a person. Resurrection is Christ. Christ
Jesus is the power, the reason, and the merit of the resurrection
of His people. This evening, may our hearts
be comforted as we consider the precious promise of the Lord
Jesus Christ to His people. I know that we've lost a friend,
humanly speaking. I know that The Lord's been pleased
to take him out of this world, but I know this, the Lord says,
because I live, because I live, you shall live also. Lord, bless
these words to our heart and comfort our hearts. In the passing
of our friend and our brother, and may it be to the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ, in His name we ask these things.