Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of John chapter 11. While you're turning there,
as I was looking at what Brother Mike was reading in that last
verse, verse 9 of Psalm 28, where the psalmist said, Save thy people
and bless thine inheritance. That's the heart of what the
Lord, when He was teaching His disciples, when they said, Lord,
teach us to pray. When the Lord taught that That
group, that model prayer, not to be quoted by vain repetition,
but as the heart, the spirit of prayer. When he said, Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This is what he meant. Save thy people. Bless thine
inheritance. And that's what we pray this
day. Today is the Lord's day. We meet together on Sundays,
the first day of the week, because under the inspiration of God's
Spirit, the disciples began meeting not on the last day, on the Sabbath,
but on the first day in honor of our Lord being resurrected.
There's a reason that we meet on Sundays. This is the Lord's
day, and we pray this morning. Lord, save your people. Call out your inheritance. I
know that He's going to. Salvation is sure. And I pray
that today the Lord bless His Word. John 11. I'd like to look at verses 5
and 6. We're approaching. taking this particular chapter
and looking at just a few verses. It's so full of the wonder of
God's grace. I'd like to look at verses 5
and 6, and I've entitled this, The Blessing of Waiting on God. Now, the miracle of the sickness
and then soon-to-be resurrection to life of Lazarus actually sets
forth the glorious truth of the Lord's deity in his humanity. Truly man, the Lord God of heaven,
truly was made flesh. A body, the scripture says, was
prepared him. A body in which, though he knew
no sin, a body was prepared that could age. Now, you know, we
get older as we're approaching dying. We get older because of
sin. And we have frailties because
of sin. Now, he was in all points, yet
without sin. Tempted as we are. He felt the
frailties of this flesh. He knew. He understood. He experienced. He learned, the Scripture says,
obedience in the things that he suffered. He actually experienced. to obey God. He experienced the
trials of this flesh. So now we're going to see in
the glorious humanity of Christ, joined in indescribable unity,
the deity of Almighty God. Great is the mystery of godliness. was manifest in the flesh. And
now we're going to see the Lord God of heaven that truly is going
to raise from the dead Lazarus. And He's going to actually display
the glory of who He is, but all what's taught in that blessed
resurrection. We're going to actually see and
examine the actual raising of Lazarus here, Lord willing, in
the next few weeks. But I'd like for us to consider
today a couple of the events that actually took place leading
up to that miracle as the Spirit of God sets them forth. The Scripture says in verse 5,
John 11 verse 5, Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus. I read over that verse again
this morning and I thought to myself, how quickly do we pass
over the wonder of that verse. That Almighty God, and I cannot,
I mean, I read it and it just amazes me Almighty
God loves His people. He loves them. He loves them
as they are in His blessed Son. He loves them as the apple of
His eye because they are in Christ. What a miracle of distinguishing
grace! And Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. It makes no mention of anybody
else. I'm not saying that there was
no one else in Bethany that He knew in distinguishing grace.
I'm not saying that. But the Scripture doesn't bear
it out. And I'm telling you, when we consider the miracle
that Almighty God would set His affection upon anybody. Considering the rebellion of
a man's heart, born in Adam, man by nature is a rebel, and
nothing thwarts the love of God towards people. Man's fall in
the garden did not negate God's love for His people. Now, He's
going to deal with them. He's going to have them. He's
going to call them to Himself. And He's going to give them a
new heart. And they're going to have a new mind, new love, new will,
new spirit. He's going to call them to Himself. They're going to hear His voice.
And they're going to follow Him. Oh, the miracle and the beauty
of watching, reading, The redemption of God's people. The calling
of God's people. The regeneration of God's people.
But I'll tell you something that's a wonderful thing to behold too.
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Three siblings. Three out of the same family. Now that's a miracle of God's
grace to behold. multiple members of one family
chosen to be disciples of Christ. It's something that you don't
see very often. I know and am thankful if the
Lord calls and gives a heart for Christ Himself out of a family,
but I would venture to say that there's not a family sitting
here this morning that can say, everybody in my family, everybody
that I know of in my family, if it's not the immediate family,
it will go down to the kids or the grandkids or something that
can't truthfully admit that there are some that know not our Lord. And that's a grief to you that
know Him. You pray for them. You ask. As I've told you, I get emails. People are going to scold me
and straighten me out. And they wrote me the other day
and said, based on what you're preaching, do you even pray for
the lost? I wrote them back and just told
them, yeah. Yeah, I do. I don't know who the Lord is
going to save, but I know how He is going to save them. I know
that He is going to save them through the preaching of the
gospel of Christ. I know that. And I prayed as we looked at
the faith of Ezekiel last Wednesday night. When the Lord asked Ezekiel
in that valley of dry bones, can these bones live? And Ezekiel answered as wisely
as any man would ever answer, Lord, Thou knowest. I love that
answer. Lord, You know. Lord only You
know. He said, I want you to prophesy
to those dry bones and say, O ye dry bones, you dead, dry, lifeless,
heartless, mindless, Faithless, loveless bones. You dry bones,
hear the Word of the Lord. And that's what we do this morning.
We preach to dry bones. Some that God's already called
out of darkness and given life to. But in themselves, hadn't
changed a bit, Neil. They're still just in myself. It's no good thing. But Almighty
God pleased. Prophesy to the bones, then prophesy
to the wind. Pray. And ask God Almighty. Ask God's Spirit. Lord, save
your people, as you just read mine. Lord, thy kingdom come. Lord, save. Save our kids. Save our grandchildren. You that
know Him, that's what you want. That's what you desire. You desire
God's will. You ask Him and knock and seek.
Who knows? The Lord may give someone today
a heart. Trust Him or confess Him in baptism. The Lord loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. I know this, salvation does not
run necessarily in blood. John 1.13 talks about God's people
which were born not of blood. Do you know what that means?
Just because the Lord has saved one, saved your mom and daddy,
that doesn't mean God is going to necessarily save the kids.
He may or may not. He does that which is right.
All souls are His. But here we see the Holy Spirit
revealing God's eternal love, His heart for these two sisters
and their brother. Now, we don't know a whole lot
about Lazarus. I know he died. I know we're going to see how
the Lord raised him from the dead, brought him to life. But for right now, I want us
to look at Martha and Mary, these two women who were very different
in character, both loved of the Lord. The Lord says He loved
them. He loved Martha, He loved her
sister, and He loved Lazarus. Two women and their brother truly
loved of God. Now, I want you to turn with
me But I tell you what, let me just, for sake of time, let me
read this to you. Luke 10 sets forth that when
the Lord came and visited with Martha and Mary, Martha was cumbered
about much serving. Scripture says, and one thing
was needful, And Mary had chosen that good part which was not
going to be taken from her. Now, there was a definite difference
between these two women. And there's a definite need of
the character of these two women. These two women were loved of
God. Two women and their brother.
And there was something that was set forth Martha had a spirit
of concern. The Lord was coming. She wanted everything right,
everything to be set, everything in order, and that was good. I thank God for the Marthas. Mary had chosen a good part that
was not going to be taken from her, and that submission, that
bowing before Him, listening to Him, longing after His Word. And these two attitudes and acts
of faithfulness were both in clear view, and the Lord loved
them both. Now, I know that Men and women, as the Spirit of God
leads and guides and directs, we need to prayerfully be considering
the difference in human beings. God's people are not possessing
the same characteristics. God's people are made by Almighty
God and they're placed in the order, in the assembly for a
specific need. Met. I thank Almighty God that
the Lord would create in His people a knowledge and a desire
to be servants Servants of Christ. That's what Paul said. I'll read
this at Romans 1.1. I love this. I read this and
look at this and I think, here's Romans 1.1. Paul, a servant of
Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle. Separated
unto the gospel of God, which he had promised to for by the
prophets in the Holy Scriptures. We're not all made of the same
Constitution. That's a needful thing for me
to be reminded of. I want for myself to be taught
that God Almighty gives a man or woman a heart after Him, and
they may not always think exactly the way I think. Now, they do
in the Gospel. But concerning The way in which
they do. Martha? Cucumbered about much
serving. Mary has chosen the good part. That's not going to be taken
away from her. I thank God. I thank God for
Martha. I thank God for Mary. 1 Corinthians 10.31 says, Whether
therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do it all
to the glory of God. Jesus loved Martha, her sister,
and Lazarus. And then verse 6 says, And when
he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days
still in the same place where he was. Now here is the absolute
wisdom of Almighty God. I know that our Lord did exactly,
abiding in that same place where He was. He loved Martha, He loved
Mary, He loved Lazarus. And they sent a messenger to
the Lord, and they said this, He whom thou lovest is sick. The Lord knew that. He was the one that allowed Lazarus
to get sick. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. And when he heard that, the Scripture
sets forth that he abode two days still in the same place
where he was. And the reason that he did it
was for the glory of God and because of his eternal love for
Martha and Mary and Lazarus. He loved them. And because He
loved them, and because He walked in absolute obedience to His
Father's command, I do only, always those things that please
the Father. And because of His love for them,
He stopped and stayed two days and waited. Though his delay would surely
cause anxiety, wonder, pain to their flesh, and I know it would
be for mine. I know when I'm expecting somebody,
you know, it's like I'm waiting. I'm watching. I look outside.
Kids are coming in, you know, and they're supposed to be here
about three or something. I kind of imagine, where are
they? I'm looking for them. You know, watching for them.
They ought to be here. They ought to be here in about
15 minutes or something. Well, they ought to be getting
here about right now. How many times do you think that Martha
and Mary looked down that road? They had sent for the Lord. They
were waiting on Him. And He knew exactly what was
needed for the strengthening of the faith of these beloved
disciples. to wait. It's hard to wait. That's a trying... I want to
know. I want to know right now. Just tell me now. Don't leave
me on edge. Lazarus was going to have to
physically die. The Lord was going to raise him
from the dead. And it was needful that Lazarus
be in the ground four days Because that's how long he was in the
ground. That's how long he was in the grave. They're going to
tell him in just a little bit, Lord, I don't know about that
rolling back of that stone. Martha said, you know, he's been
in the ground four days. He stinks by now. There's no
embalming. And he had to be there. When our Lord makes us wait to
behold His deliverance, I can tell you, and this I will admit
right now, and you know this is so, this goes against our
flesh. This goes against what we want. But it is to bless us. It is to bring honor to Himself.
And we shall behold His blessing in a much different way, greater
way, more marvelous way, than we thought it would be. Isaiah 30, 18, Therefore will
the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you. Therefore
will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you. For the
Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are they that wait for
Him. To wait. He knows best when to
relieve. Remember, there's no coldness
in the acts of judgment. As I've told you before, that
judgment now doesn't necessarily mean always bad. As I've told
you, a judge listens to the evidence in a court of law if the judgment
is made in favor of. That's good. It's his determination
when I say judgment. Almighty God does that which
is right. There's no coldness in the acts. of His judgment, of His call,
of His determination toward His people. Let me read Jeremiah
29.11. Jeremiah 29.11, Scripture says, For I know the thoughts that
I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not
of evil, to give you an expected end. An end of expectation. I know what I think. And everything
that He does, He does in perfect timing for His people. The perfect
moment of our relief. The perfect moment of our deliverance
is in His hand. He does all things well and orders
all things perfectly for His people. I don't see that. Why? Why would the Lord wait? Because it's right. It's His
will. I'm telling you often, He's going
to bring us to the end of ourselves that His deliverance and glory
might perfectly shine. I don't know what to do, Pat.
I don't know what to do. I don't know when to go. I don't
know when to stop. I don't know when to talk. I
don't know when to shut up. The steps of a good man are ordered
by the Lord. But oh, how this tries me. And how can we truly understand? How can we now truly understand? We understand when the disciples
ask this question out of the frailty of their flesh. Master,
carest thou not that we perish? Lord, do you care that we're
going to die? Lord, if you don't do something. If I'm sick, trials with children,
trials with work, trials with this, trials with that. Lord,
do you care? Lord, do you know what I'm going
through? Oh, how foolish we are to question
Him who has eternally loved us, lived for us, died for us. guardingly
watches over us, directs all things in this world for our
good and His glory. I need to be reminded, if He
waits two days, if He waits two years, it's the Lord. Let Him do what
seemeth Him good. Lord, help us to remember. Not
to interpret your love toward us by your gracious acts of providence in our temporal circumstances.
He has all power to relieve immediately, if that's best. Our blessed Savior. I think of
these words, and I'll tell you this, I'm going to quote the
Scripture and we're going to all be amazed. In the Garden of Gethsemane,
Father, if it be Your will that this
cup... And let me tell you what I truly
believe He was talking about. Not His death. He came. He set His face like a flint.
But He was getting ready to be made sin. Hanging upon that cross,
He was going to be made sin. He was going to be separated.
being forsaken of His Father. He who was ever before the Father,
who was ever the delight of His Father. He who came up with Him
as one before Him. One whose joy was always in the
children of men. The one who knew the Father and
the Father knew. The one that knew the Father's
will and the Father that knew His obedience. If there be any way, if there
be any way that this cup could pass from me, nevertheless, not
my will but thine be done." Now those are the words of our Lord.
The prophet says, well, what's the depth of that? I don't know.
I don't know. I can tell you there was God
Almighty doing business with God Almighty. That was God speaking
to God. And the Lord Jesus Christ obediently
bowed to the Father's pleasure. Why did He wait two days? Mary,
you think He's coming? I don't know, Martha. He waited two days. But if He leaves
me in my present situation, then it's because of His love for
me. And I need to be taught. I need to be. And oh Lord, may
I not question your good providence." He was obediently doing the will
of His Father. He said, John 6, 38, I came down
from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that
sent me. What was the will of God? For the Lord Jesus Christ
and for Martha and Mary and Lazarus, what was God's will? That He
wait two days. Wait. Just wait. Wait. Obedience. His love for His people was exhibited
in His submission to the Father's will. That sickness, He said,
was for the glory of God in all of the circumstances of his people
are to. Lord, we believe. Help thou our unbelief. May the
Lord bless these words to our heart for Christ's sake.