Good evening, brethren. Good
evening, Will. Let's turn to John chapter 11. John chapter
11. Old Will and Brother Frank will be
here Saturday to preach to you Sunday. We'll be heading back
out Monday morning. Been a long time since he was running
a marathon out here last time he was here. I think he had dark
hair. Mustache. Meanwhile, he's excited
to come see you all. They've been very him and the
brethren and ashes have been very generous to the congregation
here. I'm thankful for them. They've been consistently generous
to us. And it's a great honor to have
him out. We read the Lord's word, it's
a living word. To his people and. Oh, ye of
little faith. I just want to go hide in a corner.
Isn't that horrible? Oh, how little my faith is. I
don't want to brag to nobody about stuff. I don't want them
to know nothing about me. I'm horrible. And the next day,
he says, oh, ye of little faith. You said, you hear that? He said,
we got faith. If we have it, he gave it. Where
it is, nothing else matters. He'll take care of it. I'll be
fine. The word's a living word, isn't
it? I want to have a thought-provoking title, provocative title, but
a thought-provoking title. Am I, I'm asking me and asking
you, you can ask yourself if you care to tough through 30
minutes, am I a trusting Thomas? He said what? Am I trusting Thomas? What we call Thomas? Doubting
Thomas. Now do you think there might
be a chance that we're just a shade high on our horse? looking down
on Thomas. Maybe. That's probably pretty
likely it. Trusting Thomas. See it through
my eyes. What a blessing. And Thomas might
take us all out back and bend us over to his knee behind the
woodshed if we was to call him that to his face. I don't know
what kind of fellow that was. I know what he says in this text,
and I know what he says throughout the scriptures about just four
things mentioned. Here in John 11, John 14, And then after our
Lord's ascended, or before our Lord's ascension, after he is
risen from the grave, it comes this evening. We'll look here
at verse 16 is what caught my eye. John 11, verse 16, let's
read it together in our Bibles. Then said Thomas, which is called
Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, he looks at the rest of them
and says, let us go also that we may die with him. Let's get the dine started. Good
place to be. Why would he say such a thing?
They've been with the Lord for a while, haven't they? We've
been spending, we've been taking our time going through this book,
and that's just once a week. That's just once a week, isn't
it? They lived with our Lord. They walked with our Lord. He
was taught everything that we've been taught going through this
book, and then some. John says of the accounts of
our Lord, books couldn't hold them. This earth couldn't be,
couldn't contain him, the acts that he's performed. Thomas had
been with him a long time, hadn't he? What had happened right now?
What are they talking about right now? It says in verse 1, John
11 verse 1, now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany,
the town of Mary, Mary and her sister Martha. Bethany is just
about two miles from Jerusalem and Where they are now, remember
at the end of chapter 10, they went back to where John was baptized.
That's where they went to, and those people went with them.
And that's about a half day or a whole day's walk, depending
on how long your legs are, to where Brother Lazarus is, between
there and where John the Baptist was baptized. And it says in
verse two, it was that Mary which anointed the Lord with anointment
and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Now, is that just a religious
act she performed? We will now do the anointing
of the... Swinging that incense and having little kids holding
candles. No! That's silly, isn't it? Let's
look at Mark 14. Mark 14. There was some dying
with this. Dying of self. There was some
decreasing of self and Christ increasing. Here in Mark 14,
verse 3. I'm in Matthew, hold on a second.
That won't do. Mark 14, verse three. In the
beginning of Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as
he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment,
of spikenard, very precious. And she break the box and poured
it on his head. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves and said, within themselves. They knew better to say that.
You know how many times I've heard people talk and I walk in their room
and they stop talking? Children do that often, don't
they? I've seen some grown men do it, too. They said that's
all within themselves. Why was this waste of the ointment
made? What is she doing? We know Mary. It's a small town. It's Bethany.
What's Mary doing wasting that whole box of ointment on his
head? It took a year for her to work for that. For it might
have been sold for more than 300 pence, verse five, and have
been given to the poor, and they murmured against her. What'd the Lord say? They're
gonna persecute you. They're gonna persecute you.
You've been murmured against? Inside. He'll give you a look.
I would never do that. I know better than what she's
doing. Did Mary pop up and say, let's
take it out in the parking lot? I'm sick of your mouth. Are you
grown men? I'm going to take you out there
and poop every one of you. She's a wiry lady. Did she say
that? They'd have been a whole lot better off if she had. They'd
have been a whole lot better off if she had. Verse six, and
Jesus said, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She hath
wrought a good work on me. She hath wrought a good work
so you could see it. Not that she had done this, and
people was watching, and boy, they'd sure like it if they did
that. So and so would be happy, and that'd make Mama happy, and
Daddy'd be happy if I did this. That'd make Mary happy, or Martha
happy. No, she did it unto the Lord. She did not care what anybody
said. That worldly people in there was dead to her. She didn't
care. Her Lord was there. She did it
unto the Lord. He said, verse 7, for you have
the poor with you always. There's always poor folks around.
And whensoever you may, you do them good. You want to take care
of the poor folks? You got $5 in your pocket? Go buy them an
In-N-Out burger. They're on every corner. And
the corners are filling up as fast as the days go by, ain't
they? They're living in vehicles all over this county. Go buy
them a pizza. They said, they're with you always.
But me, you have not always. buddy. Seek him while he may
be found, knock while the door may be opened. Worship him while
the gospel is being preached. It may be gone. I was listening
to a message of Brother Ian Potts. I'm going to get a hold of him.
I'm going to thank him for preaching that message. And if I could get on
national television and look their king dead in the eye, I
said, y'all messed up. That's God's man. And he may
be taking him from you. The Lord's got a lot in this
whole nation. Y'all may want to act right around him, take
care of him. She hath done what she could.
He looks on the heart, doesn't he? She has come aforehand to
anoint my body to the burying. That's vital, isn't it? Verily
I say unto you, truly I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel
shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that
she hath done shall be spoken of her has spoken of for a memorial
to her. Does that mean we should sit
around and talk about Mary and you ought to get you a box of
ointment and work real hard for it and it's got to be worth a
year's worth of the wage and break it and have people mad
at you? Of course not. Of course not. What's going to
be spoken of her? Mary's just such a good Christian.
No, she loved the Lord. That's what love does. Those
that ain't never been loved don't know what love is. That's what
love does right there It don't care what people say and it does
what it love does It looks after it cares for it anoints It covers
It helps it sits with by the feet What's the great thing we
know about Mary What's the very best thing that somebody could
say about you? If you could pick, if I could let you pick, if you
could let me pick, what's the best thing I could write down
and say, here, now get the president to say this out loud about you?
I mean it. Kimberly's going through her
head all the things. That'd be a book, wouldn't it? I'd write a whole
lot of good things about me. Would you? What's the best thing
that could be said about you? Back in our text. That you discern
the anointing of the burial. The Redeemer has come. This is
the Messiah. I will anoint them now. No. Look
here at John 11 verse 5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. He loved Mary. He loved Mary. And she loved him. And she worked
hard to get that box unto him. And she brought that box of ointment
in front of all them gang sayers and all them people making fun
of her and murmuring against her. And she prepared his body
for bearing. Why? He first loved her. He taught her. He comforted her. She sat at his feet, hanging
on every word. And the Lord taught her something.
You know what? If you're around him long enough, you're going to learn
something. He's the great preacher. He might
train you up a little bit. He may learn you something, as
we said where I grew up. Verse 3 says, Therefore his sister
sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is
sick. They tell him what to do. They
didn't ask him to do nothing. They didn't say the one that
loves you and the one that's your friend. He said, he whom
thou lovest is sick. Oh, what wisdom. And when Jesus
heard, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. How's it going to be glorified?
By raising Lazarus from the dead. The father is going to be glorified
because the son is honored and the son is glorified. That's
how it's going to happen. People say, I want to honor God.
Well, you know how you're going to do it? Kissing the son. Honoring
the son. Praising the son. That's always
going to happen. That's it. No other way. He prayed in John 17, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify thy son. that thy son
also may glorify thee. That's who's gonna do it. He
said in John 5, that all men should honor the son even as
they honor the father. He that honoreth not the son,
honoreth not the father, which hath sinned. You honor the father,
you honor Christ. He said, if any man serve me,
let him follow me. And where I am, there also shall
my servant be. And boy, if we could get this,
if religion, if people play in religion all around this county,
I've been going to church for 57 years to get a hold of this.
If any man served me, if any man honored me, him will my Father
honor. Now it ain't going through the
motions. Now this isn't just what we do. That's what the Lord's
gonna do to us. He's gonna curse us or honor
us. If we honor Christ, the Father's gonna honor us. Does that mean
we have to honor Him? That means I want to honor Him.
I want to. That's what love does, it wants
to, doesn't it? It has a desire to. Christ is
glorified when men and women acknowledge who He is. Paul told
the church at Philippi, he said that the name, at the name of
Jesus, every knee should bow, things in heaven, things in the
earth, things under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. You want to glorify God? Let's
honor God here. Be in your need of Christ. Bow
to Him. Bow to Him. He said in 1 Corinthians,
but if you are in Him, you're in Christ. But of Him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Why? That according as it is
written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Well,
I'm smart. I came to know, I found and figured
the Lord out in the scriptures. No, you didn't. You've figured
out your Lord in the Scriptures, not the Lord. Well, I've sanctified
myself. Know you have it, you'll die
in your sins. You'll go to hell doing that. You better knock
it off. Christ is my sanctification. Well, I've done righteous works.
I've had acts of a holy nature that I've been doing and keeping
this town squared away. We're going to get rid of all
the abortion clinics. He'll be right there with them. He'll
be right there with them. He that glories, let him glory
in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is glorified when men and women
acknowledge who He is, what He did, why He did it, and where
He is now. And all of this with Lazarus.
If we could get a hold of this, too, we'd stop murmuring. All
this with Lazarus. All of it is for the glory of
God. Every bit of it. Lazarus' sickness. That all started with
a sneeze, didn't it? How are you going to die? Might
start with a splinter. Turn into septic shock, you're
gone. It starts with something, doesn't it? That sickness, his
death, his sister sending word, his sister's mourning, you know
they cried. You know they cried. Those in
that town that mourned, we'll see that in a week or two, they
saw, look how he loved them. They used to hire people back
then to come cry at funerals. We'll get to it. The apostles
with the Lord, for them to see that, it's all for the glory
of God. Colossus just declared to them that this whole event
is for him and for his father's glory. His and His Father's glory.
Now, before He does anything concerning this incident, He
gives them why. He tells them why this is going
to happen. Verse 5. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her
sisters and Lazarus. What did He do? What did that
love do? His love. What did His love do? Did He
rush to comfort them right then? Oh, oh, I got to go. I got to
go. Mary, get them babies. No. Did He rush to heal them?
Get out of my way. Lazarus is hurt. Verse six, when
he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still
in the same place where he was. He didn't move. Lord, he's sick,
so this ain't nothing to do. It'll be all right. I'll go there
when it's time. Who knows when time is best?
He does. He does. We think we know, but
he does. His thoughts are higher than
our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways. You know how much
higher? Infinitely. Isaiah said, for as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways of my thoughts and your thoughts. I would do it another
way. I would do it another way. Y'all
would, wouldn't I? Or worse, worse, I think. I heresy. My opinion. That's far worse,
isn't it? What I think. God did this? What? Oh, the Lord did this. What's
a fool say in their heart? No, God. No, God. I was telling a friend of mine
about Brother D. I said, he's just a year or two older than
me and kids about the same age and the Lord's just stricken
him with cancer. God did it. God put that in him. And they
said, he's too young. He's too young. Who do you think
you are? Who do I think I am? Do I think
the same things? Of course, he knows what he's
doing. He knows best. His thoughts are higher than
my thoughts. His ways are higher than my ways. I have a way. I've
got a way. I think this is a certain way.
You know what I think? Solomon said, there's a way which
seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof is the ways of death. You're going to die doing that
or quit it. Verse 6 there says, When he had
heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still
in the same place where he was. Then after that, after he waited,
he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. All right,
boys, it's time to go. And his disciples said unto him,
Master, the Jews of late, recently, we just read it in chapter 10,
sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again? What are
you doing? We just left there, they's gonna stone you to death.
You're gonna go right back through them? Jesus answered, are there
not 12 hours in the day? Any man walk in the day, he stumbles
not, because he seeeth the light of this world. But if a man walk
in the night, he stumbles, because there's no light in him. What
our Lord's telling his disciples again, you have to be told more
than once, I do, they do too. He's telling them again, the
time given to me by my Father to accomplish what he sent me
to do, my redemptive work of my people, It is fixed, and it's
as fixed as the hours of the days are. There's a time he's
going to work. There's a time that door's open.
There's a time his gospel will be in a place, and then there's
a time it ain't. There's a time this'll be over.
Turn back to John 9. He already told this once. Begin
in John 9. You know, that blind man was sitting on the way, and
the Lord went to him. Here in John 9, verse 2. And
his disciples asked him, saying, Master, Who did sin, this man
or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, neither
hath this man sinned nor his parents. Now we've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God, we know that. But he said, this
ain't why he's blind. But that the works of God should
be made manifest in him, I must work the works of him that sent
me. While it's day, the night cometh when no man can work. As long as I'm in the world,
I'm the light of the world. When it's daytime, have you ever
heard the expression, make hay while the sun's shining? He's making hay while the sun's
shining, wasn't he? Then he goes on, what does he do? He gives
sight to that blind man. He's telling them. He said, there's
12 hours in the day, boys. You already learned this lesson.
Do you remember this? Do you remember this? Back in our text. Here in verse
9. Jesus answered, are there not 12 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 walketh not, he
stumbleth, because there's no light in him. Verse 11. These
things said he. And after that, he saith unto
them, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. But I go, that I may wake him
out of his sleep. Who was Lazarus? Well, he was loved of God. He
was God's friend. And he was those disciples' friend,
too, wasn't he? They knew him well. He said,
our friend, our friend. There's some brethren down in
Arkansas I've never met. They believe the same gospel I believe.
They have the same God I have. You know what? That's my friends. I can meet anybody out in this
county. I prefer them over somebody I work with or go to school with
or something. That's my friends. They have
the same God I do. He said, our friend Laz was sleeping. But
I go that I may wake him out of his sleep. I'm going to wake
him up. Only God can do that. And he
said to his disciples, Lord, if he's asleep, he shall do well.
That's good. His body needs rest. What are you talking about? Are
you talking about a nap? Is he taking a nap? If he's sick,
he needs to sleep, right? That's a way that seems good
to man. I told you that last week. Papa said, if you're broke,
a good place to go is work. He said, if you're sick, a good
thing to do is break a sweat. That was his answer to everything.
Work hard. Break a sweat. If you're tired,
go break a sweat. The world says sleep. And they said, that's good, isn't
it? Albeit Jesus spoke of his death. But they thought that
he spoke and they had taken a rest and sleep. They thought he was
just taking a nap. And then Jesus said unto them plainly, plainly,
he preached to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Three words,
Lazarus is dead. Our Lord said in his words, when
he spoke this, they didn't understand it. Natural, carnal man can't
understand things, God. They said in his world, in his
words, he said Lazarus was asleep. They didn't understand that.
And you know what? We wouldn't either. Like old Dowding Thomas. Put down our nose at him though.
You wouldn't have got it either. I wouldn't have got it either.
And then he says, in your language, in my language, I say he's asleep.
In your language, the languages you use, he's dead. Lazarus is
dead. What's death? My pastor said
this one time. It was too good to not copy.
I'm gonna give it to you. What's death? It's a whole lot
of different things to different people, isn't it? To a physician,
death is failure. You lost a patient. You didn't
win the fight. To a newspaper, it's a story.
Breaking news. Famous comedians dead, or famous
actors dead. That's what death is to them.
To an insurance company, it's claim, paperwork. To a lawyer,
death's to be probated. Then the next one, read the will. Then the next one, then read
another will. Then the next one, make sure this person gets this
letter. Then the next one, that's all they do. To a philosopher,
death's a mystery. Oh, what happens whenever the
lights go out? To a theologian, Death's God's
judgment of sin. Our Lord, knowing our friend
Lazarus was dead, our words, he said he's asleep. He said
he's asleep. We'll look at that another day,
what it is for saints to sleep. And it's precious. I look forward
to preaching the funerals of believers. That's a precious
thing. That's a good time. That's a happy time. Because
the Lord said it's precious in the sight of the Lord, the death
of his saints. Sad things made up another Lord. But I want to
look just for a moment at the Lord's plain words. He said,
then said Jesus unto them plainly, plainly. Lazarus is dead. Verse 15, and I'm glad for your
sakes that I was not there. It's not recorded anywhere in
scripture that someone died in the presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is life. He said, but I'm glad. He's dead
and I'm glad. Does that sound loving to you? His ways ain't our ways. We live
right now. This is the eternal God speaking
to him. He said, I'm glad for your sakes that I was not there
to the intent that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.
I'm glad he's dead for your sakes that I wasn't there to the intent.
Here's what's going to happen. You're going to believe. you
want to believe. Lazarus was dead. He didn't used
to be. There's a whole lot in that,
isn't there? A whole lot there. Three words. He didn't used to
be dead. He was alive. Now he's dead.
He's going to live again and he's going to sleep again. He's
going to be with the Lord forever. Lazarus is a picture of the Lord
saving every one of his children. We at one time in Adam, our seminal
head, we had communion with the Lord. God walked with Adam in
the garden, and he was alive. He was morally innocent. And
then he failed. He died in the garden. We fell
in him. We fell in him. The Lord told
them, he said, we're going to go to him. Nevertheless, let
us go unto him. And he said, all this happened, I'm glad I
wasn't there, to the intent you could believe. What if you knew?
What if the Lord looked you dead in the eye and said, we're going
to walk 14 miles that way, and you will believe me? Well, I got some cows to check
on. We'll take a nap first. I'll knock you down and get out
that door. Give me coordinates. I'll run
to it. You got a map? What would we do if we knew that
we would believe, if we knew that we'd be made faithful, if
we knew that we'd be blessed? What would be worth it? Where do you save me, these people? He died on purpose. Lazarus died
just as Adam died. He slept just as we sleep and
we think that we're living. Paul said, wherefore as by one
man sinner in the world and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men for all that have sinned. And there's a bifocal passage
we quote with partial knowledge many times, don't we? And it's
appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgment.
And that means our end. And that's right. We're all going
to die. Everybody's going to die. We have an end. And it's
appointed. God appointed that. We know that,
right? That one time was in the garden. That's when it was appointed
for man to die. Judgment. Death. Passed upon
all men. Sin. That's why you get wrinkles.
That's why you get liver spots. That's why your vision starts
going in to have reading glasses. Your hair turns gray. Sin. Death. You're dying. The outside's proven
it. We ain't as clean as we think
we are. Lazarus died in this body twice, didn't he? Everyone
that was raised from the dead fell asleep while Paul was preaching.
He went and laid on top of him and brought him back. I can't help but laugh at that
one. He had died another time. He broke his neck. However, he
died the same. He died twice. Everyone raised
from the dead died twice, didn't they? There's a couple in the
past that didn't die. By faith, Enoch was translated
that he should not see death, that physical death, and was
not found because God translated it. That's where it goes. I don't
know where it's gone. The Lord took Elijah up in a whirlwind.
He was separated from Elisha as walking, talking about it.
And he said, can I have a double portion of your mantle when you
go? He said, I don't know. If you see me when I go, you'll
get a double portion. But you wrapped his mantle up
hard in waters as walking. And it said it came to pass,
and they still went on and talked. that behold, there appeared a
chariot of fire and horses of fire right then, and parted them
both asunder. That ought to absolutely shake
us in our boots. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind
into heaven. He didn't die. Enoch didn't die. And that final
day when our Redeemer comes and sinks walking around this earth,
if the Lord comes right now, we'll be with him. 1 Thessalonians
4, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God. And the
dead in Christ shall rise first. Those that are sleeping, the
bodies are in the grave. He said they're sleeping. They'll
be with him. Spirit will be with him, but
this old flesh will be rotting in the grave. It's going to rise up
first and go be with him. Then, we which are alive, we're
still walking around and remain. We shall be caught up together
with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall
we ever be with the Lord. What's that going to look like?
I have no idea. But Paul says, wherefore comfort
one another with these words. I don't know what it's going
to be like. It's going to be better than you think it is. Whatever I can say, it's
going to be like. It's going to be better than
that. We're going to be with him. Watch it. So there's a death
that's common to all of us born of Adam, and that's a sin death.
That's what got Paul rolling in Romans 7, where we often quote,
don't we, that internal warfare of believers that's just fighting
us? He said, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, when God spoke to my heart through the Holy Spirit, sin
revived, and I died. You ever been dead? Remember
that time you was just walking in war with God, and you was
worshiping a false god? You remember them days? Paul
said he did. And he said, in the commandment,
which was ordained to life, I found a being to death. That law's
there. Do this and live. I can't. I'm going to die. For sin, taken
occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it, it slew
me." He died right at the end. I can't keep this law. I'm dead.
Trespassers and sinners. And Lazarus, just like Adam,
just like Paul, just like Thomas, and just like me, he's dead. He can't walk, he can't wash,
he can't work, he can't seek God, he can't study the scriptures,
he can't study God, he can't be a theologian. He can't cry
out, he can't pray. A man that don't know God can't
pray. Somebody's dead, you can just
say a bunch of words. What Ann and I said, I ain't
going after Saul. Lord, I know who he is. He said, he prayed.
He said, all right, I'll go. That man's got life in him. That's
my brother. He's my friend. Can't do anything if you did.
And I'm going to have to, Lord's going to have to gun him where
I am. He's going to have to go where Lazarus is, because Lazarus
can't gun him where he's dead. He's going to have to give love.
He's going to have to speak to him. And then he's going to have to
call him out of that tomb and tell them to open that tomb up. And
he's going to have to draw him near. And then he's going to
have to loose him and let him go and give him liberty. Physically,
you're gonna see this happen, boys. That's what he's telling
the apostles. And then spiritually, and you're
gonna believe on me, and you're gonna have life, and you'll believe. He said, let's go. It's time
to go. Verse 25 down there in John 11. And Jesus said unto her, I am
the resurrection and the life, and he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth,
what comes first? Livin'. God has to give life,
we'd be born again. And believin'. How do I know
I'm gonna believe? If you have life he gives, it's
gonna believe. The instinct. Shall never die. Shall never
die. Those boys will go to sleep.
Are you afraid to take a nap? I got the temperature cranked
up in here, ain't nobody afraid to take a nap, I'll tell you that right
now. You afraid to take a nap? No, it's a nap, you just go to
sleep. At night time, I ain't afraid to go to sleep. What's
a believer going to do? Just go to sleep. Wake up with
him. Be absent from his body and be
present with the Lord. That's a precious thing. Ain't nothing to be afraid
about going to sleep. It'll be all right. The Lord
said so. He said, you'll never die because you have life. And
you believe me. Do you believe him? Is he lying?
Well, no. What he says is true. How do you know that? Well, he
gave me life. I believe him. You ain't never going to die.
You'll go sleep, his body'll go away. He'll give you a new
one. What's it gonna be like? I don't know. However he wants
it, he'll be right. He said, believest thou this?
Do you believe that? Do I? Believe what he says. John 11, 27, she saith unto him,
yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
which shall come into the world, your hand, your God. I believe everything you say.
You and I are sitting here with the disciples. And someone asked,
how exactly would this play out? I have no idea. But I can tell
you the result of Christ preaching that to the heart of him giving
life. There's a proof of life, isn't there? Little babies are
starting to come around this place. You hear one crying, that
one's alive, isn't it? If they ain't moving, they ain't
crying, you go check on them. What's the proof of life of Christ preaching
to the heart? Here's old trusting Thomas, look at verse 16. Then
said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples,
let us go, that we may die with him. I had that wrote in the
beginning and I forgot to say anything. Attitude means a whole
lot, doesn't it? I said that before. We could have, everybody
in here could have potluck dinner and everybody bring chili and
we can just kick rocks and get mad and frown our faces. That's
where all our wrinkles are. You can tell somebody's wrinkles
if they smile or frown all the time. And just say, this is terrible.
Everybody's brought the same thing. Or we could charge $25 a head
and call it a chili cook-off, couldn't we? Attitude makes a
big difference, don't it? We always think Thomas is doubting.
Why, I doubt. And I gotta find somebody to
look down upon. There's three views that could
be seen here of Thomas. Him said, let us also go that
we may die with him. You ready to die? Doubting Thomas
says that Christ is going to die. Well, we might as well just
go with him. We'll die when he does, kicking rocks. I don't
think so. I don't think that's what he's
getting at. There's days I have fatalistic faith like that. Fatalism
runs through me, and I say, well, just get it over with. Get it
over with. That's horrible, isn't it? What
kind of attitude is that? That's a bad attitude. That's an unbelieving
attitude. It's a faithless attitude. Another
view of it, Christ is likely going to be stoned to death.
But like Peter says, where crucifixion takes place, he said, I'll never
leave you, Lord. These other ones may leave you, I ain't gonna
leave you. I'll go down with the ship. I
need to be where you are. Wherever you are, that's where
I wanna be. Even if it means persecution, just like Mary. Even if it means
I gotta chop somebody's ear off. I'm gonna do it. Let's go, we'll
die with him. We'll die with Christ. Or what
I've had burning in me all week, the third one. I don't know how
this is gonna take place, but I'm just like Lazarus. Are you? I'm dead. I died in Adam. I died in this body. And Lord,
you must come to me and you must speak to me and you must be ever
present for me to live. And you must draw me and you
must loose me. You must intend, as he told him,
you must intend for me to live. You must intend for me to believe.
And I will live with you forever. I'll never die. I'll stay right
by your side. Now let's go. Let's die with him. Trusting
Thomas believed the words of the Lord. He might not have fully
understood it. I'm sure he didn't. We don't either. But he believed
him. And he said, let's get to dying.
Let's get to that. This world is nothing for me.
He said, you're my life and I believe you. We sing that song, I know
whom I've believed. And it's off every stanza of
it. I know not why the Lord came to me. I don't know why He gave
me saving faith. I don't know how He works in
the hearts of His people. I don't know nothing, is what
I keep saying. But I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded He's able to
keep that which I've committed to Him against that day. I know
Him. I'm going to go with Him. I want
to be where He is. What's the result of the other
apostles preaching? Look here at John 20. This is for me. I'll try to hurry. I think if
I get up and preach, surely, surely the Lord's gonna save
some folks. I pray I'm His man. These apostles
preached. They're in John 20, verse 24. The Lord appeared to them. They
had the door shut. People said, Jesus is knocking
on the door. They had the door shut and the Lord appeared in
the midst of them. He went through the door. And He said, peace
to you. And they saw His hands and His
feet and his side. Thomas wasn't there, though.
So they went and found him. John 20, verse 24. But Thomas,
one of the twelve called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus
came. And the other disciples therefore said unto him, We have
seen the Lord. You know what I tell you, I hope,
every time I stand up here? I've seen what the Lord's done
to me. Here he is. I see him. You see him? We've
seen the Lord. They said, We've seen the Lord.
But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the
prints of the nails, and put my finger in the prints of the
nails, and thrust my hand to his side, I will not believe. I need proof. Your word ain't
good enough. And people say, do you see that
such unbelief? That's like old James. Everybody takes James
to whip people with works. James knew what he was talking
about. That man was speaking love and grace through the whole
thing. We just ain't caught up with him yet. Thomas is here. He said, unless I see him, I
gotta hear from him. It's how he's God's will save
his people is through the preaching of the gospel. You ain't gonna
get saved another way. He said so. So I'm gonna have
to speak to somebody. But me talking to you ain't gonna
make you hear. Me talking to you ain't gonna
make you believe. Well, if it could, I'd get a funnel and pour
it down your throat. I'd make you do it. That ain't
gonna work. Christ has to speak to you. I know that. And you know what
I'm going to do next time we meet? I'm going to get up and
preach. I'm going to keep doing it. It's just putting my hand
to do. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care what the outcome
is. That's what I'm charged to do.
But he has to speak. And you can take down notes.
I saw a man one time cut notes for years. I mean, just, boy,
if I could be like him. Oh, he just cut notes and notes
and notes and notes and just hung on every word. And one day,
he put the notebook down. And I saw a tear come out of
his eye. God worked in him. Christ has to speak to the Lord.
Look here in verse 26. And after eight days again, his
disciples were with him, and Thomas with them. And then came
Jesus, the door being shut, and stood in the midst. He showed
up. It's the omnipresent God right
there. And said, peace be unto you.
And he said to Thomas, what did Thomas say to him? Thomas didn't
say nothing. God hears every word. He knows the heart of His
people. He knows the heart of all men. He said to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands. And reach hither thy
hand, and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believe
me. I'm so faithless. I'm dead, like
Lazarus, unless God's pleased to come If God does that to somebody,
this ain't playin' church, this ain't walkin' the aisle, this
ain't growin' up in the right place and bein' religious. If God does that, if he makes
someone have faith, if he gives them life and he makes them believe,
what are they gonna do? Start handin' out Bibles? Nope.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord and my God,
my Lord and my God. You're the Almighty One and you're
my, that's the Lordship of Christ. People quote Barnard messages,
tell you to turn purple. Boy, if He's your Lord and your
God. Sometimes all you can say is
just cry to Him and glorify Him. You're declared His name. That's
where we started, wasn't it? The Lord said, I'm glad this
happened, Lazarus. I intended this, you all gonna
believe. If you're going to glorify me, you can call me Lord. You
will know I'm God. It took a little while. Thomas was his. And then what
happened? Lord kept his word, didn't he?
He was faithful. And Thomas cried out, my Lord,
my God. Did he know him before? Yep. Did he know him after chapter
14? Yep. Did he know him here? Uh-huh.
Does he know him now? You bet. You bet. We have to
keep being brought to him, don't we? It ain't a one and done. Boy, I'm thankful. If that's
repetitive like that, if it's consistent, I have been saved,
I am being saved, and I shall be saved. That's the tenses of
salvation in the scriptures. That means it's gonna be a lot
of consistency needed. That ain't me. He's faithful, our Lord and our
God. Let's pray again. Father, thank
you for this hour. Lord, forgive us. We're dead
without you. We have no belief without you.
We have no faith without your faith. Thank you for your son. Draw us near to him. Let us die
with him, be risen with him, and see him where he is. Often,
often, let's remember his death, his person, and his word. If
our brethren are here with us, Lord, Thank you for this day. It's
a cross thing that we ask.