Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I invite you to turn with me
this morning in your Bible to John chapter 11. Here in John
chapter 11 is a story of a man named Lazarus. and it takes place
in a town called Bethany. And everything our Lord does
is so perfect. This is such an appropriate event
for this place. Bethany was in the Mount of Olives,
and our Lord loved going there. He went there all the time. It's
where he withered the fig tree, that story of the fig tree, he
cursed it. And that fig tree represents
man's own works. Adam and Eve covered themselves
in the garden in fig leaves, their own works. And the Lord
exposed man's works to be dead works. That's what he did whenever
he withered that fig tree. And he was in Bethany when he
sent two disciples to go get a colt. And they laid their clothes
on that colt and they laid their clothes in the way And he rode
triumphantly as the king of glory two miles down to Jerusalem to
finish his death that he was sent to accomplish. And then
after he arose from his grave, he went back to Bethany and that's
where he ascended up into glory and sat down on his throne. And our Lord, he illustrated
the truth of his gospel from Bethany. But I don't believe
it was just the place that drew our Lord there. There was a family
there. Two sisters, their names were
Martha and Mary, and their brother, his name was Lazarus. And our
Lord loved that family, and that family loved him. Look at chapter
12, verse 1, it says, Then Jesus, six days before the Passover,
came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom
he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper,
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the
table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment
of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus. and
wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with
the odor of the ointment." How precious is that? Can't you just
smell the love and the union that was in that house? It was
a sweet smelling savor to men and to God. Well, something happened to one
of the family members, Lazarus. and our Lord recorded what happened
to him here in his word, because what happened to Lazarus is what
happens to every single sinner that Christ came to save, every
one. My prayer is that this is our
story, my story, your story. Chapter 11, verse one says, now
a certain man, Did you know that God only saves certain people? Salvation in Christ is not a
general salvation. He chose and He purposed to save
certain people. Salvation is totally of the Lord.
Well, who are those certain people? Verse one says, now a certain
man was sick He came to save the sick. He said, they that
are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Sick
from what? Cancer? Heart disease? No, sin. Sick from sin. He said, I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners, that's who. Verse one says, now certain
man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and
her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose
brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters sent unto
him saying, Lord, behold, He whom thou lovest is sick. Who did Christ come to save?
He came to save the ones he loves. Every soul that Christ saves,
the reason he saves them is because he loves them. Somebody can say,
well, I thought God loved everybody. No, he doesn't. Let me ask you this question.
How could God love a man and allow him to go to hell when
it's in his power to keep him out? He said, I hold the keys
of death and hell. How could God allow that to happen
if he loves that man? Well, verse three right here
says, therefore his sister sent unto him saying, Lord, behold,
he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said,
this is what he told his disciples, this is what he comforted his
disciples with, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but
for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified
thereby. This sickness is not unto death. This sickness in the one he loves,
it's not unto death. The sickness is there. It is
there. but the reason it's there is
the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. That's why. Why has everything
happened in this world the way it has? You know everything happens
on purpose. Why has it happened the way it
has? The answer is for the glory of God that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby. Why has everything happened in
our lives and the lives of our loved ones the way it has? The
answer is, it's for the glory of God that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby. If God controls all things, if
nothing could happen without Him giving the command, why would
He allow sin to enter the world? Can you answer that for me? Why would He allow sin to enter
into man, the man that He made, the man that He loved? Why? Here's the answer. It was for
the glory of God that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Even my own death in sin. Adam died in the garden. When
Adam fell, He died in trespasses and sins. And when Adam fell,
I fell in him. I died in him. And even my fall
in sin was for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be
glorified thereby. In this story here, Lazarus represents
every single man and woman on the face of this earth. Everyone,
we're all sick. We're all sick in sin. Verse five right here says, now
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he had heard,
therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the
same place where he was. Why did our Lord do that? He
was for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified
thereby. And who am I to question God? He does all things well. Verse
7 says, Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go
into Judea again. And his disciples said unto him,
Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou
thither again. You're going to go there again?
They're going to kill you. 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 said unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that
I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he sleep, he shall do well. How be it Jesus spake of his
death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest
and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. He's dead. And that's every man
and woman that walks the face of this earth. In our humanity,
we're all dead. We're all dead in trespasses
and sins. We're all dead. Now, as I say
that, very few people will believe me. As I merely repeat what God has
said about our natural condition, as that declaration goes into
the ears of men and women, very few people will believe me. Very few. The reason is because
we're all dead. It takes life to believe. What that means is it takes Christ.
It takes Christ to believe because Christ is life. Verse 15 says,
I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there to the intent
you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto
him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow
disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now Thomas,
he just really never can say the right thing at the right
time, can he? He's always doubting. And he just never says the right
thing. Or does he? Thomas said, he's going to die. Let's go die with him. He said
that because he didn't believe our Lord was going to accomplish
what he was telling them he was about to accomplish. And what Thomas said though, that's all my hope. Thomas believed he's not even
going to make it to Lazarus. They're just going to kill him.
But what he actually said is, all my hope, wherever Christ
goes, let us also go, that we may die with him. That's the
only hope any of us have of eternal life, that we might die with
him so that we might live with him. That's our only hope. Verse
16, Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow
disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when
Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days
already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem
about fifteen furlongs off. And many of the Jews came to
Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then
Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and
met him, but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto
Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. What she said was, Lord, this
should never have happened. This should never have happened,
Lord. Now Martha was a believer. She was a believer. But how quickly
do we forget that our God is God? He's God. He orders all things and He orders
them well. Oh, I wish we could just believe
that and remember that. We may have loved ones right
now that are very sick. Should that sickness have happened? The answer's yes, and I'll tell
you why it should happen. For the glory of God, that the
Son of God might be glorified thereby. It's all for the glory
of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Verse 21,
then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here,
my brother had not died. But I know that even now whatsoever
thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus said unto
her, thy brother shall rise again. Oh, the promises of Christ are
so sweet. They are so sweet to a sinner. They're so glorious to a dead,
vile, decaying sinner. I know it looks bad now, but
joy is coming in the morning. Thy brother shall rise again. Now that's the word of God. Thy
brother shall rise again. This sinner is going to rise
again. Now here's the difference in
religion and life. Here's the difference in dead
doctrine and Christ. Verse 24, Martha said unto him,
I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last
day. I know. I already know that. You know, you can talk to anyone
in religion and they'll say, oh, I believe Jesus came. I believe
he lived. I believe he died. I believe
he rose again. I believe in the resurrection.
I believe in those facts. But when Christ brings life and
light to a sinner, this is what they see. Verse 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. And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should
come into the world. You know, the truth is not a
bunch of facts. The truth is a person. If we could ever see that, then
life has come to us. Heaven is not a place. Heaven
is a person. Life is not an existence. It's not a state of being. Life
is a person. He said, I am the way. I am the
truth. I am the life. The resurrection
is not an event. The resurrection is a person.
He is a person. Verse 27 says, She saith unto
him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son
of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so
said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying,
The Master is come, and calleth for thee. And as soon as she
heard that, she arose quickly and came unto him. Now when Jesus
was not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha
met him, the Jews then, which were with her in the house and
comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily
and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep
there. Then when Mary was come where
Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto
him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Oh, to be like Mary. Every time
this woman is mentioned, we find her at the feet of the Lord Jesus
Christ, listening to Him, falling down at His feet, wiping His
feet with her hair. That's the most glorious place
a sinner could be found, at the beautiful feet of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I hope to be there in person
one day. I hope to be at His beautiful feet with Mary. Verse
32, Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell
down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her
weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned
in the Spirit and was troubled. And he said, Where have you laid
him? They said unto him, Lord, come
and see. And Jesus wept. Then said the
Jews, behold how he loved him. And some of them said, could
not this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused
that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again,
groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave and
a stone lay upon it. Is that not the death of our
Lord? Is that not the death of our
Lord? He came to the place that we were, dead in our sins, and
He groaned in His Spirit. He troubled Himself for the souls
of every sinner that He loved. And he carried our griefs and
our sorrows. He said, my soul is exceeding
sorrowful even unto death. And he cried. He cried, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And as he hung there in my
shame, my shame, They all reviled him, saying, he saved others,
why can't he save himself? If he saved others, surely he
can save himself. What they actually said was,
he saved others, himself he cannot save. Never have truer words
been spoken, never. If he's going to save others,
Himself he cannot save. He bore those sins all the way
to the grave. It was a cave and a stone lay
upon it. Why did he do that? Why did he
do that? He did it for the glory of God.
that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. He laid there
in that grave for Lazarus. He laid there for Martha. He
laid there for Mary. I pray he laid there for you,
and I pray he laid there for me. Because he laid there in
that grave, and because he paid every single debt for the ones
he loved, Verse 39, Jesus said, take ye away the stone. Martha,
the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this
time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. Jesus said
unto her, said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe,
thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the
stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted
up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard
me. And I knew that thou hearest
me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said
it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he
had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth
bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound
about with a napkin. And Jesus said unto them, Loose
him and let him go. Glory to God in the highest.
There's a song that says, all glory and praise to the Lamb
that was slain, who has borne all our sins and cleansed every
stain. Hallelujah. Thine the glory. Hallelujah, all men. Salvation
has come to a sinner. Eternal life has come to a center. Lazarus was laying there in his
cold, dead darkness, and when the stone was rolled away, light
entered that tomb. The light of Christ entered that
tomb. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. Light entered that tomb. And
that dead corpse heard the voice of the shepherd cry, Lazarus,
come forth. And I'm sure he was in a place
where many graves were, a graveyard. There were probably tombs everywhere.
Had the master only cried, come forth, all the graves would have
opened up. But this was a particular calling. He said, Lazarus, Lazarus. And as soon as he heard that
call, his eyes opened. And he could see all that burlap
that he was wrapped up in. and he could see a little light
coming through the pores of it. He could see as it were through
a glass darkly, and he responded to the master's call. He came
forth, and the master says, come, and the sinner says, Lord Jesus,
I come to thee. I love that song. It says, out
of my bondage, sorrow, and night, into thy freedom, gladness, and
light, Out of my sickness, into thy health. Out of my want, out
of my lack, and into thy wealth. Out of my sin, and into thy self. Lord Jesus, I come to thee. Out
of the fear and dread of the tomb, into the joy and light
of thy home. Out of the depths of ruin untold,
into the peace of thy sheltering fold. Ever thy glorious face
to behold. Lord Jesus, I come to thee. Verse
44, he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave
clothes and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith
unto them, loose him and let him go. Set him free from the
grave clothes, everything that religion has bound him up with.
Set him free from the rules and the regulations and the doctrines
and the laws and the traditions, all that bondage. All religion
does for a man is just prepare him for the tomb, you know that?
All religion can do for a man or a woman is wrap him up in
bondage. Our Lord said, set him free from
all that. He has Christ now. He has life
now. If you know the truth, the truth
shall make you free. Verse 45 says, then many of the
Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did,
believed on him. Now I love the thought of this.
As we started this by saying, our Lord, he does everything
so perfectly. He does all things well. Our
Lord allowed Lazarus to die. And he did that so that many
Jews would come from Jerusalem, a couple of miles away, they'd
come from Jerusalem to comfort Martha and Mary. That's the only
reason they came from Jerusalem, to comfort Martha and Mary. And
our Lord did all that so that all those Jews could watch the
Lord raise Lazarus from the dead. They would never have been there
to see that had Lazarus not died. And our Lord did all that so
that all those Jews could believe on Him. Does He not do all things
well? He used this glorious event to
save many Jews. And now here we are preaching
it over the radio this morning, and I'm a Gentile and you're
a Gentile, and my prayer is that God would now use it to save
many Gentiles. Lord, save me, save us all. For Christ's sake, deliver us
from death, cause us to come. Until next Sunday morning, may
our Lord bless His Word. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.