Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me now to the book of John chapter 11. Isn't it wonderful just to be able
to go through the Scriptures word by word, line by line, verse
by verse? John chapter 11, verses 7 to
10. The scripture says, then after
that, saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again. And his disciples say unto him,
Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou
thither again? And Jesus answered, Are there
not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he
stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But
if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no
light in him. 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 his sleep." Lazarus was sick. His sisters sent word to the
Lord concerning his condition. And the Lord related to those
that were around him that the sickness was not unto death,
but it was for the glory of Almighty God. Now remember this, the Lord loved
Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He loved them. And he allowed,
he sent this sickness. He directed this. This was the
means. God sent this. God directed that
this man that he loved be sick. God sent that sickness. You say,
well, how did he send it? It doesn't matter how he sent
it. He sent trials to Job. How did he send them? Through
Satan. Satan had come to the Lord and said, well, you know,
when the Lord asked him, he said, have you considered my servant,
Job? He's a just man. Just. Just in Christ. Just in Christ. Satan said, well,
yeah, I've considered him, but he said, I can't get to him.
He said, you've got a hedge around him. And the Lord said, well, When Satan told him, he said,
you know, you remove that hedge. He said, you take that hedge.
You touch him. And he said, Job will cuss you
to your face. And that's when the Lord told
him. He said, well, you can touch him. You can't kill him. You
can touch him. You can afflict him. Job was
afflicted. All of his kids killed. All of his animals taken. Property
destroyed. Animals. Who did that? Who did that? The Lord. The Lord did that. I just read
that in Amos. He said, is there evil in the
city and I've not done it. But let me ask you this, was
it for Job's good? Yes, it was. Yes, it was. God Almighty proved to Job that
God was faithful. That was for Job's good. You
mean all of those trials and lost his kids and took his property
and all of his animals and destroyed? Just took everything, everything
from him. And that was for his good? Yes,
sir. Yes, sir. Oh, Lord, help me to
remember that. Help me to remember that. when
trials and tribulation come my way. Lord, grant me the grace
to stand according to Your purpose, Your will, kept by Your grace
and Your power." Well, our Lord, after being told and instructed
of what He knew eternally, what He ordered, He whom thou lovest
is sick. The Lord sent that sickness.
And he waited two more days, the Scripture says, in the same
place where he was. Well, I know this. The right
moment for him to come was not yet. He waited two days according
to God's will. God's direction. His Father had
ordered predestinated all of these things the Lord Jesus waited. Why? Well, a few little things
that I know. I know that patience was going
to be tried in the sisters. I know that. They were going
to have to wait. People were going to come from
the communities. Many people, the Scripture says,
came to, we'll see that, Lord willing, here in the next week
or so, came to comfort Mary and Martha. It says they came to
comfort them, but you know there's no comfort really from an unbeliever,
is there really? Not really. I mean, they mean
well. I'm not trying to be insensitive
here at all, but patience under God's trials is only given by
the Spirit of God, through God's Word. I'll listen to folks on
TV. Listen, when I hear these massacres,
like here a few months ago, six months ago, whenever it is, all
those kids that were shot by that maniac, and killed. You know what? I mean, my heart
just breaks for the family. It does. It does. But then when
somebody says, well, our thoughts and prayers are with you, but
you think, what comfort is that? I need some true comfort. That's
no comfort. I need some true peace. I need
for the Lord to settle my heart. But the Lord Himself weighed
in. That which would heighten their joy It must be performed. But most importantly, the Lord
Jesus waited on the direction of His Father. He was waiting.
He knew. He knew. His time was not yet
to go. His time was not yet for being
crucified. I came down from heaven not to
do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Verse 7 says, then after that,
after his wait, after he waited, he saith he to his disciples,
let us go into Judea again. Now, two days waiting accomplished
exactly that which was needful. The Father now obviously willed
him. to go into Judea. I don't know. I don't know. I mentioned a few things. I don't
know. Why does God wait? Why do we
have to wait? Why do we go through? Why is
there trials when we go through things? Why is it? He knows. That's enough. Trust in the Lord. Wait. He'll direct your path. Waiting
is so good for us. Oh, but it hurts. Hurts. Boy, it works on His flesh. The
Lord Jesus soon would be taken by wicked hands and crucified. Finishing the work that the Father
had given Him to do. The faith of Martha and Mary. was tried to the exact proportion
of his omniscient purpose. Now this is amazing. Listen to
this scripture. 1 Corinthians 10.13. There hath
no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will
not suffer you to be tempted above your able, but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able
to bear it." Oh, what a promise in every trial, in every temptation,
in every act of His loving chastisement. In obedience to His Father, in
the trial of the faith of Martha and Mary, here we see the Lord
proving His own disciples, let us go into Judea again. Now notice that. Let us go into
Judea. Not let us go into Judea. But
let us go into Judea again. Well, what was the significance
of that? Well, in John 10, verse 39, it says, "...therefore they
sought..." That was in Judea. Again, to take him. Wanted to
take him and wanted to kill him. But he escaped out of their hands.
Judeo, that was a dangerous place for the Lord Jesus. Christ must
suffer. And not only must suffer, He
must suffer where Almighty God appointed that He suffer. on the day that God appointed
that he suffer. Do you remember how for years
and years and years, do you remember back in Egypt when they established
the Passover? The Lord came through. Scripture
says that the Lord told Moses, I will come through. Put the
blood on the lentil. When I come through, when I see
the blood, I'll pass over you. And the Passover lamb was killed
on a certain day. And every year, every year, every
year, that Passover lamb, that was a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ had
to be killed on the Passover. On a certain day. Certain time. Perfect timing. Perfect timing. Waited two days. Why? God ordained
it. Time wasn't yet. You wait. And he says to his disciples,
let's go again. The Scripture says forth that
his disciples wonder, it's time, let's go in that dangerous place. Zechariah 13.7 says, Awake, O
sword, against my shepherd. against the man that is my fellow."
You know, I was going over my notes this morning, and the Lord
said, wake, O sword, against my fellow. And I thought about
this scripture, and I jotted it down, John 9, 20, 29. It says that those that hated
him, it says, we know that God spake unto Moses, ask for this
fellow. This fellow. We know not from
whence he is. Well, I'll tell you who that
fellow was. That was God's fellow. That's
what the Lord said. My servant. Awake, O sword against
My shepherd, against the man that is My fellow, saith the
Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd and the sheep
shall be scattered. All of those disciples that follow
Him. They're going to have to be there
at His crucifixion. Witness it. Peter must deny Him. They must be scattered that they
might see the frailty that is within. And all the efficiency
of Him keeping them in spite of being scattered. He said,
I'm going to gather you back. I'll gather you. Well, He told
them in verse 7. Let's go again. Into that place? Yes. Look at verse 8. His disciples
said unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee,
and goest thou thither again? You know, it never ceases. When I read that again this morning,
it never ceases to amaze me. I'll speak for myself. You can
just enter in if you want to of our ignorance. Who were they
talking to? They're talking to the Lord.
They're talking to the Lord of glory. The one that Peter said,
you're the Christ. The one that John said later,
we touched Him. We beheld His glory. What a question. Master, the Jews of late sought
to stone Thee. You think He knew that? And goest
thou thither again?" Lord, are you sure you know what you're
doing? Lord, are you sure you've got
this right? I think about Peter when Peter
denied the Lord. And thereafter, the Lord told
him, He said, this is what you're going to do. And Peter did it,
denied Him three times before that rooster crowed twice. And
I think of that Scripture that says, and the Lord looked at
him. It went out and wept bitterly.
Lord, are you sure? I read this Scripture this morning. I was here again going over my
notes, struggling on whether or not to preach out of Proverbs
3, 5, and 6. And I had this in my notes this
morning. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge Him. He shall direct thy path." Oh,
how often we're led in paths that truly we don't understand. We don't. I would have never
thought to direct my feet to be right here, right now. I told
you this. A year before I met with the
men, Carl and Glenn, different ones, that talked to me about
praying about coming here. A year before that, Brother Scott
had asked me. He said, why don't you consider
coming here? And I told him. I just told him. I didn't even
think about it. I just told him. I said, Brother Scott, there's
no possible way. There is no possible way that
I could come here. I just can't do it. I just can't
do it. Oh, really? Really? Trust in
the Lord. He'll direct your path. Lord,
we're going again to Judea. Lord, do you know they tried
to stone you there? And we're going back. And the
Lord Jesus, verse 9 and 10, answered, Are there not twelve hours in
the day? If any man walk in the day, he
stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. If a
man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in
him." Here the Lord in perfect wisdom, His wisdom Himself answering
the fear of His disciples. They could not understand why
He would want to go back to a place where his life had been threatened. But his faith was set as a flint
to go to the cross. That's what the Scripture says.
He was going to the cross. Redemption of his people was
absolutely in his hands. It was on his heart. That was
his desire. That was his pleasure. That was
his joy. To do the will of the Father.
The one that had sent him. And they couldn't see it. They
didn't know. All they knew was that Judea is trouble. This is the reason He came. He
must save His people. He must be made sin for them.
Sin must be paid for. Almighty God is just. He's just. Can God Almighty forgive sin
without that sin being dealt with? No. No. I'm a just God. The soul of the sinner is going
to die. Where sin is found, the penalty of the law always executes
judgment. Always. I used to think that
God could just sweep sin under the rug and just say, well, you
know, boys will be boys. Not so. There's no plea bargain
with God. Sin is dealt with. It's dealt
with in absolute, strict judgment and wrath. The only way that
Almighty God can show mercy to a sinner is for that sinner's
guilt to truly be dealt with in a substitute, this is a miracle
of God's grace. If I have broken the law and
I am guilty, There is no way that I could take and impute
and charge my guilt to another. I cannot do it. Oh, I'm not saying
that somebody couldn't be executed for something, but it still didn't
negate my guilt. I was still the one guilty. Somebody
can pay something, they might have falsely accused them, and
executed the wrong person. But it did not change my guilt. The only way that true guilt
is ever actually taken off of one and actually made somebody
else's guilt is here. This is it. There is no other
way. And where guilt is charged to
Christ, The law. The law that is unwavering. The
law that does not falter. The law that does not show mercy. Deals with it in strict judgment
and justice. The law demands obedience. And where obedience is not found,
judgment Lord, are you going back there? Are there not twelve hours in
a day? The Lord had given him a work,
his father. There was an allotted time, a
measured period in which he was to complete his work. This was
his day. This was his time. And that work
must be completed in the exact time frame that the Father's
will demanded it. Why? That the Scriptures might
be fulfilled. He came at the exact time. Born on the exact day, in the
exact moment. Crucified the exact period, the
exact time. There's 12 hours in a day. It
was impossible. For the Jews to take Him before
His time. His time was not yet. Lord, are we going back to Judea? Back where they tried to stone
you. Are there not twelve hours in a day? If a man walk in the
day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. To everything Ecclesiastes 3
says there is a season and a time. To every purpose under heaven. Everything. Order. Order. This is the God we serve. The
God of order. All things. Everything. Perfect.
Perfect. Perfect. Nothing moved. Nothing moves.
Nothing is directed. Nothing without His order. His direction. His Word. His dictate. I'm telling you,
everything minutely ordered by Almighty God. The Lord has ordained
all these things for the glory of Christ, the good of His people. I tell you, if He's going to
get somebody under the gospel, if He's purposed to get somebody
under the gospel, I'm telling you, the Lord will move all things
He'll raise up a nation and He'll put down a nation to get one
center unto the sound of the gospel. He'll set up a king,
give that king a heart to go against his people, to bring
that people unto that king's dominion, that God can send a
prophet to that person right there, and save that person out
of darkness where God put him, and then judge the king for oppressing
his people. That's the God we serve. That's
God. Heaven and earth moves at His
Word. Are there not twelve hours in
the day? Walking in the day. Man, walk
in the day. What does that mean? It's to
walk after Christ as He's revealed
in this Scripture, trusting Him and believing Him that He's working
everything according to His will and purpose. We're walking in
illumination when it says walking in the day. David said concerning the Lord,
who is He? He's my light. He's my light. You know why I can see you right
now? Because there's light here. There's light. You ever been
in a cave? I remember one time, Mom and Dad brought me down in
this cave. You know, you get down there real far. Then they
turned the lights off. And they said, ok, now put your
hand in front of your face. There's no light there. That which illuminates, that
which is around us, is light. I mean, even color. Why do you
see color? There's only so many colors in
the spectrum, in the rainbow. And different things have different
pigments of color in them. And the only color that you see
when light illuminates, the only reason I can see that color Ruthie,
on your shawl right there, it's because most of the yellow and
the blue is out of it. It doesn't reflect it. All I
see is the reflected red, pink, fuchsia. That's all I see. Light. Light is absolutely necessary
to be able to see. Are there not twelve hours in
the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not because
he seeth the light of this world. Why? Do you see or perceive the
gospel of God's greatness? Why do you see Christ? How do
you see it? The light of the glory of God
has shined in our hearts to give the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ, in the character. The only way
we see this, we have eyes to see, and God has given light
and understanding Why do you believe? Why do you believe this
gospel? Why do you believe Christ? God
has given you light. But if he walked in the night,
in the night of unbelief, of darkness of unbelief, he stumbleth.
Why? Because there is no light in
him. I think about that scripture. If the light that is in you is
darkness, How great is that darkness? If
the light, and every man's got some light. You know that. We
dealt with that last week. Every man's got some light. Every
man knows that there's a God that's offended. Even the pagans
know that. They know that. They're doing
something, trying to reconcile themselves back to God. They've
got some light. The light of conscience. There's
a conscience in a man that knows good and evil. You don't have
to teach somebody that killing somebody is evil. You don't have to teach somebody
that adultery is wrong. They know that. They know that.
Murder, lying, they know that. They know that. But the light
of the glory of God in Christ, God must give that. Man's not
born to that. But we're not 12 hours in the
day. Walking the day, you don't stumble. Walk in the night, you
stumble. Stumble before God. Why? Because there is no light in
you. Lord, bless these words to our heart, for Christ's sake.