And I want you to look down in
verse 40 with me, just a moment. Now they're standing outside
the grave of a man that had been dead for
four days. And Jesus saith unto her, says
to Martha, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe,
thou shouldst see, the glory of God. Now, faith is the opposite
of sight. That's why our Lord says, Believe,
then you'll see. You'll not see until you believe. You've got to believe before
you see anything. And that's what our Lord is saying
here. Faith is just the opposite of sight. That's why we walk
by faith and we don't walk by sight. But here in this little
town of Bethany, There is a brother and two sisters. These folks
were God-fearing. They loved the Lord Jesus Christ.
They loved the Lord's people. And we've been confronted with
these two sisters at different times and different conditions.
Look what it says there in verse 2. It said, It was that Mary
which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet
with her hair. whose brother Laz was so sick
unto death. You remember when she was, he
was in Simon's Pharisee's house eating, and she came in and began
to wash her feet with her tears? And look at them again, we'll
show you them again over here in Luke chapter 10 and verse
38. We've been confronted with these
sisters a couple of different times. And prominent women in
the scriptures. And Mary, And they, you know,
two sisters from the same mother and entirely different in the
way they viewed things, entirely different in the way they acted,
entirely different in the way they reacted to the Lord Jesus
Christ and the things that they did. Mary spent her time at Christ's
feet, weeping, wiping them with her hair, not worried about all
the Pharisees that were around. And then look down in verse 38
here of Luke 10. Now it came to pass, as they
went into a certain village, a certain woman named Martha
received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary,
which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha
was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord,
doest thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her that she help me. Two different women, two different
outlooks, two different natures, looking at everything entirely
different. And our Lord said to her, Martha, Martha, you're
careful. You're full of care and you're
troubled about many things, but one thing's needful. Mary had
chosen that good part. And I'm not going to take it
away from you. Mary always, every time you see her, she's at Christ's
feet or she's looking for him in the garden. And when you find
Martha, she's always working, always doing, always taking care
of things. To entirely two different women
with entirely two different ways of looking at things. But these
two women and this brother, they not only did love our Lord Jesus
Christ, but our Lord loved them. Look what he says there in verse
3, John 11. Therefore his sister sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. They
knew that the Lord Jesus Christ loved Lazarus. We know you love
him. We know you love him. And, oh,
Lord, he whom you love is sick. And, oh, look what it said in
verse 5. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister Lazarus. Loved them. Said here, right
here, said that he loved them. And so they had this wonderful
relationship, a real close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, these
three people, two sisters and a brother. And here's this happy
home, this God-fearing home, this home where Christ was welcomed,
where Christ was felt at home, where our Lord Jesus was loved
and welcomed and loved those in that home. This home, this
blessed home, had suddenly been visited with sorrow. Lazarus
was sick. He whom thou lovest is sick.
And the sisters, whose heart is full of love, breathed into
their Lord's ear all their troubles, their fears. And they said, He whom thou lovest,
Lord, is sick. But look what our Lord Jesus
said in verse four. When Jesus heard that he was
sick, that he heard, that he said, this sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be
glorified there. Now you think about how strange
this appears to the understanding of everybody that's involved.
When he heard that this man was sick, he knows he's going to
die. He said, this sickness is unto death, but it's unto death
for the glory of God. This sickness is for the glory
of God? You know, people say, how can this sickness be for
the glory of God? What? Sickness for God's glory? Hurt for God's glory? Sorrow
for God's glory? Man, that's a strange thing. Most people will tell you that,
you know, if you're sick, it's not God's will. Here he says,
this sickness is not unto death, but for my glory. How in the
world can God be glorified in people being sick, His people
being sick, the ones He loves being sick, and those who love
Him being sick? Oh my, we're all pretty slow
to believe this. We're all, you know, we quote,
and we quote it, you know, we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them that are called according
to His purpose. And you know, we quote that,
but oh my, these folks are going to have to live it. These people
are going to have to live it. And for God, be sick for the
glory of God. That's a hard thing to get around,
get your head around, get your heart around. See somebody laying
very, very, very sick and say, that's for the glory of God. Next time you see somebody sick
and hurting real bad, say, that's for the glory of God. Can you
say that from your heart? I can give you several reasons
why it's for the glory of God. First of all, the abundance of
grace that God gives through sickness. The abundance of love
that's shown through somebody's sickness. The abundance of prayer
that's offered through somebody that's sick. The abundance of
gifts and labor that you can do for those that are sick. Oh,
how God is glorified when His people are sick. All the things
that people rise to the occasion when they hear somebody's sickness.
First thing they do, what can I do? What can I do? And they
just start doing it. And that's the way it was here.
In fact, just to give you an illustration, the Lord Jesus
was four days away. He was a long way off. And they
sent somebody. And somebody was so happy to
go and say, I'm going to tell the Lord that he's sick. It's
been a long way to tell the Lord because they loved Martha and
Lazarus and Mary. And they said, I'm going to tell
the Lord for you. Oh, this is for the glory of God. And though
he loved them, all of them, he stayed two days in the same place.
Stayed two days in that same place. Look what I said in verse
six. When he heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two
days still in the same place where he was. He just stayed
right there for two days. How strange. They said, Lord,
he whom you love is sick. How strange that he would not
immediately run up and go over there. How strange. Did you know, like this morning,
the quickest they heard that they had a sick child or a son
and a grandson in trouble, they went running just as fast as
they could get there. But our Lord Jesus Christ didn't
do that. How strange that His absence
from them should be a proof that He loves them. I'm not going when they first
ask me. That's what he said, because I'm going to give them
something far above what they ever thought they could ask for.
I'm going to give them something that they never in their life
thought could happen in their hearts and in their lives. And
look what he says down in verse 15. He told them plainly in verse
14 that Lazarus is dead now. And he said, and I'm glad for
your sakes that I was not there to the intent that you may believe.
Now let me ask you a question. Which is the greater act? Him
running over there and healing Lazarus, or letting him die and
proving that he's the resurrection and the life? Which is the greater
act? He could have stopped him. He
opened the man, that's what one fellow said, but this man which
opened the eyes of the blind, could he not even cause that
this man should have died? But he said, I didn't go over
there to the intent that you may believe. I didn't go because
I wanted your faith to see something. I wanted you all to believe what's
going to happen. I mean, your faith needs to be
strengthened. Your faith needs to be encouraged.
Your faith needs to see some things. And he said, I've done
this for your faith, for your faith. And all they had prayed,
and they had wept a bucket of tears. And now he says, believe
and trust. He said, verse 21 down. Martha
said unto him, Jesus Lord, if you'd been here, my brother had
not died. If you'd just been here. And then she says, but now I
know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will
give it to you. You just ask God, God will give
it to you. And our Lord said unto her, thy brother shall rise
again. Oh, he's going to rise again.
Martha said unto him, I know that, Lord. I know that. I'm
not stupid. I know that. Now she answers
the Lord. I know that he'll rise again
to the resurrection at the last day. She went from, Lord, she
had been here now to the last day. She went past decades and
centuries. And our Lord said unto her, I'm
the resurrection. You don't have to wait till the
last day. You don't have to wait millennia to find out what life
is all about. You don't have to wait till the
last day when there's a resurrection of the just and the unjust. I'm
the resurrection. You can have life right now. And he that believeth in me,
though he were dead. Now this dead he's talking about
is spiritually dead. should never die. Do you believe
this? That's what he says. Do you believe
this? She said unto him, Yea, Lord. Now watch what I said.
Yea, Lord. She didn't say, I believe you're
the resurrection and the life. I don't believe that whosoever
believeth in you shall have life. She didn't say that. I believe
that thou art the Christ which shall come into the world. That's
what I believe. She never acknowledged that he's
the resurrection and the life. Oh, beloved. And faith, now let me tell you
something, faith must be tested before it can receive the reward
it's looking for. You know, faith must be tested
if you're going to get the reward. You know over in Hebrews 11.6,
it says, He that comes to God must first believe that He is. Now when you go thinking about
that, the first thing Hebrews 11.1 says, that we believe that
the worlds were framed by the Word of God. That this world
was created by God speaking things into existence. And that we believe
that God warned Noah of a flood, and Noah prepared an ark to save
him. So he tells you what God gave the brief in. Not just a
God. Everybody says there's a God somewhere. But he says you must
believe that He is the Creator. The One that sent the flood.
The One that saved Abel. The One that saved Enoch. You've
got, that's the God you're going to believe in, except you believe
that he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and he's
a rewarder that he will give what he promised to give. Why
did he give it? Why did he give it? Noah gave
him an ark, because he believed God. Oh, so faith must be tested.
And that's why here in verse 40, that's where I'm going to
take my test. Believe, then you see. Jesus
said unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe,
thou shouldst see the glory of God? Let's look at this faith
testing. Our Lord Jesus said, there in
verse 41. In verse 39, excuse me, verse 39,
I'm sorry, verse 39. Jesus says, take ye away the
stone. Take away the stone. Take it away. You believe that
I'm the resurrection of the life, said, I'm not under thee, take
away the stone. I told you that this was it.
But you decide to see the glory of God, you want to see life,
see that I'm the resurrection of the life, well, take away
the stone. Take away the stone. There's a stone. A lot of stones
in people's ways. Now, this was a pretty good-sized
stone, covering a cave, where he was. And you believe that
your brother will rise again, well then take away the stone.
You said you believe he'll rise again. And I told you that I'm
the resurrection. You want to see the glory of
God? You want to see my glory? Then take away that stone. And
I tell you something, beloved, faith without works is dead.
That's what James said. He says, you know, show me your
faith without your works. And I'll show you my faith by
my works. And now what that means is that
God knows whether you've got faith or not, but nobody else
around there knows whether you've got faith or not. Our Lord Jesus
Christ said, let everybody here see your faith in me. Let everybody
here see that you believe I'm the resurrection of the life.
Take away that stone. I want your faith. Your faith
is going to have to do something here. Your faith, if you believe
who I say, take away that stone. Take away that stone. And oh,
Mark, listen, let me tell you, take away the stone of ignorance.
Oh, how ignorant some people are of the ways of God. How ignorant
some people are of the Scriptures. So ignorant some people are of
themselves. And people say, well, I don't
know, so much I don't know. But I tell you, you know what
our Lord said? He didn't say, He didn't ask them how much they
knew. He said, believe, and then you'll see the glory of God. Ignorance is no excuse. And then
there's the stone of sin. She said, Lord, it's my brother.
It's my brother. Surely, you're surely, you're
not having, wanting me to take away the stone and let everybody
look at my poor brother in the condition that he's in. Oh my
Lord, please don't make me take away that stone. I don't want
people to see what shape my brother's in. But oh, listen, our Lord Jesus
Christ said, if you believe I'm the resurrection, you want to
see God's glory, take away the stone. And then there's the stone
of tradition. In all traditions, the last thing
in the world to die. People say, I wasn't raised that
way. I wasn't raised to believe that way. I wasn't raised to
believe in God's sovereignty. I couldn't tell you how many
times people have told me, when you preach about God's sovereignty
and people being sick, and this for the glory of God, they say,
there's no way in the world that it's God's will for you to be
sick. If it ain't, whose will is it? Is it the devil? He got power
over God? And I'll tell you something,
beloved, we was born in sin, shaped in iniquity, and we was
born under a curse, and as long as we live in this world, this
body right here is rotten, corrupting, and dying every single day. You
know why? Because sin in this body. And
that's why, beloved, it's so necessary. That's why this gospel,
we got Christ around the resurrection and the life. We go to war these days, and
you'll see Lazarus got a new body when he come out of that
grave. Did you know that? The body they put in the grave,
it come out different. I wasn't raised to believe that
way. I was raised to believe that
Jesus wouldn't let people be sick and die for His glory. I
was taught that everybody had faith, that it's an easy thing
to believe. All you've got to do is accept
Him, open up your heart and let Him in. All you've got to do
is just raise your hands and say, I accept Jesus. Jesus don't
want anybody to suffer at all. I tell you what, do you believe
man is really dead? Look what our Lord said in verse
11 here. These things said he after that he saith unto them,
our friend Lazarus sleepeth, But I know that I may wake him
out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he's asleep, he's doing good. Why do you want to wake him up
for? Oh, my, don't wake me up if I'm asleep. But then our Lord
said, I'll bid Jesus speak of his death. But they thought that
he had spoken of taking a rest of sleep. Then Jesus said unto
them plainly, Lazarus is dead, dead. And, oh, beloved, that's
why, oh, dead in trespasses and sin. Then
there's the stone of dignity. There's the stone of dignity.
So listen, I'm going to preserve my dignity. I ain't going to
take away that stone. I'm not going to bow down. I'm
not going to do what you tell me to. I'm just, you know, I've
got some dignity and I'm not going to walk over and move that
stone away. There's some other folks that can do it, but I'm
not going to do it. And oh, when my brother dies, I'm going to
preserve my dignity. I'm going to keep a stiff upper lip. I'm not
going to cry. I'm not going to ask the Lord
for nothing. I'm not going to take away the stone. And I tell
you what, men will preserve their dignity at the expense of God's
glory. And here's the awful stone they
are. This is the horriblest stone they are. There's the stone of
morality. The stone that I'm a good person.
the stone that I'm a good person. When God said he went looking
for a good man, and you know what he comes back and said in
Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, God went looking for a good man. You know
what he said? I did not find one. No, not one. There's not
a good man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. That's
what the scripture said. Men of morality, oh, listen,
I'm an honest person, and I do good, and I wouldn't hurt nobody
for nothing. Well, listen, I'll tell you what
you are hurting. You're hurting the glory of God when you don't
believe Christ. You're hurting the glory of God,
and you'll never see the glory of God when you're looking at
yourself in your own goodness, in your own morality, in your
own honesty, in your own integrity. And you're looking at that and
not looking to Christ. And another stone is the stone
of merit. Oh, I'm a pretty good person.
I'm a good person. I've got some worth. I've got
some merit. I mean, listen, my mama says
I'm a good person. And there's the stone of good
works. Stone of good works. Oh, you
wouldn't believe all the works I've done for the Lord. You wouldn't
believe all the works I've done for other people. And let me
tell you something about every one of these stones. Behind every
one of these stones is just like glasses. Behind that stone and
behind every stone I mention is death. There's a dead man. Is that not right? That was behind
that stone where Lazarus was, he is dead. And behind every
stone I mentioned, there's a spiritually dead person. But now look what
happens in verse 39. Our Lord said to Martha, take
ye away the stone. Now look what happens. Look how
Martha reasons here. She reasons and she doubts. The
voice of reason. This is how people think. And
this is how people, you know, they start reasoning things out.
She said, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto
him, Lord, by this time he stinketh. He's been dead four days. Lord,
corruption is setting in. If we take away that stone, that
stench, and that rottenness, and that smell, and that awful
corruption is going to come running out and just meet us head on. And our Lord didn't deny that.
No, no, no. All this is true. Yet He said
in verse 40, He said, I'm not unto thee if you would believe.
You'll see the glory of God. What He said is, you're reasoning.
You're not believing. You're looking at the difficulty.
You're looking at the problem. You're not looking at the promise.
When I told you that I'm the resurrection and I'm the life,
I told you your brother would rise again, and you're looking
at all the reason. You're trying to figure it out.
And there's no figuring it out. You believe, and then you'll
see. Your eyes and your mind and your heart is still on the
dead one instead of on life. Instead of the one who gives
life, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a tough thing to say,
and it's hard to see. And we say it all the time. I
couldn't tell you how I pray for you. But some men's eyes
and minds still on the dead instead of on the life, the Lord Jesus
Christ on the water of Gisela. This is the reason most of us
don't see the glory of God. We don't see the glory of His
power. We don't see the glory of His life-giving grace. We
don't see the glory of His sovereignty and His power when He comes down
and quickens a dead soul and He calls His sheep to life. Because
we don't see the glory of Jesus Christ and the glory of His blessed
power and the blessed love that He has towards His people when
He comes to them and quickens them and starts giving them understanding,
starts giving them sight, starts giving them the ability to look
to Him and believe on Him. You know, instead of looking
to see in the glory of God, you know what we see? We see our
loved ones in the dead, stinking position, and we mourn over them
as if there's no hope. And I'll tell you why we mourn
over them as if there's no hope, because our eyes aren't fixed
on Him who's the resurrection and the life. As long as there's
life in this world, I believe there's hope for a sinner. I
really do. I really do. And then look what
he said in verse 40, a little rebuke of us. He went to reasoning,
went into doubting, trying to figure it out. Oh, Lord, we don't
want to take away that stone. Oh, we don't want that stone
taken away. I'll tell you what, just leave
him alone. I know he'll rise up at the last day. Didn't I
tell you, Mark, that God is resurrection? And I did not tell you that your
brother will rise again. But, Lord, listen. We start reasoning,
we start doubting, we start questioning. But look what our Lord said again,
and what a rebuke of life. And all Jesus saith unto her,
said I not unto thee. I told you Martha, I told you
that if you'd believe, believe. Didn't I tell you that you'd
see the glory of God? How do you suppose these words
affected Martha? How do you reckon they affected
her heart? I believe they melted it. I believe
they just pierced her right to the very heart. And she said,
Oh, my. Here I am reasoning with the Lord of glory. Here I am
reasoning with Him who's got all power and got all life. And
let me tell you something, beloved. Doubting is not a weakness. Doubting
is not an infirmity. But it's a sin. Unbelief is a
sin. Doubting is a sin. It's not an
infirmity. You keep John 11, look in Matthew
13, 58. People think it's a light thing
to just not believe. Oh, my. Unbelief is sinful. To doubt the Lord is sinful.
To doubt Him whose word cannot fail? Doubt Him who has all power? Doubt Him who's never ever failed
to fulfill a promise? He said, your brother's going
to rise again. He promised that. And he's put his glorious stake
over that. Now, is he going to rise again? Y'all want me to
turn the air conditioner back up just a little? I think it's,
huh? Some women are fanning and others
are covering up. I know what the weather's in
here like when folks start covering up. But up here, John, Matthew
13, 58. And he did not many mighty works
there. Why? Because of their unbelief. Next time you doubt him, next
time you question him, next time you say, well, you know, I'm
just human. I mean, I'm just. No, you may. Yeah, you're human. That's right. But it's sinful
to doubt. It's not an infirmity, it's a
sin. And then they said, Oh, Lord, if you'd have been here,
my brother had not died. And how often if we thought,
Lord, if you'd have been here, Lord, if you'd have been here,
if you'd have went and took care of this, but I'll tell you something,
my Lord is always present. Always present. There's never
a time that our Lord isn't present. There's never a time when our
Lord knows what's going on. That's why he stayed over there.
He said, this man is going to die. But you know why He's going
to die? He's going to die for my glory.
He's going to die for their faith. He's going to die for my glory.
He's going to die that they might believe. He's going to die so
that they can see that I've got the resurrection and I'm the
life. They're going to find out that I really am the one who
gives life. That I am really one who raises
dead sinners to life. That I'm the one who saves men
who are so far gone that they stink and they're corrupt. And that's what he does. Believe
and you'll see the glory of God. Then look what they did. Then
they obeyed. In verse 41. Then they took away the stone
where the dead was laid. Then they took away the stone.
Over in Samuel it said obedience is better than sacrifice. That's
why the Lord said he wanted to show mercy and not sacrifice.
To obey is better than offering any sacrifice. And that stone
of unbelief that was between Martha's heart and seeing the
glory of God and raising the dead, that stone had to be taken
away. And there's lots of stones in
the ways of so many. Fear of man. You know, the love of the world.
Selfish indifference. People worried about making a
false profession. Let me ask you something. If
you put all your eggs in one basket
and put them all in Christ, how could you make a false profession
when you put everything in Christ? How can you make a false profession
when you say, Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and I'm a sinner,
and I'm coming to Him. I have no place else to go. I
have no place else nobody to take me. And how in the world
can you make a false profession? And then you say, but you don't
understand how weak I am. Oh, I do, I do, I do, I do. I understand perfectly well how
weak you are. You just don't know how much
my flesh is... Oh, I do, I do, I do. What if I make a profession,
then I end up being bad? If you trust Christ, Christ will
never let you go. He said, Him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out. You know what that means? That
means that when David sinned with Bathsheba, Christ didn't
cast him out. When Peter denied him, Christ
didn't cast him out. When Paul shaved his head and
took a bow and went back under that law, Christ didn't cast
him out. There's nothing, when Noah got
out of that ark and waited till them first grapes come and made
him some wine and got drunk and got naked in his tent, Christ
never cast him out. Do you know why? Because it's
Christ's work that saves us, not ours. All we are is sin,
and all He is is a Savior. All we are is weakness, all He
is is strength. All we are is nothing, and He
is everything. Huh? Now, how can you go wrong
trusting Him? Old John Bunyan said, If I had
ten thousand souls, I'd trust Him with every single one of
them. And all beloved, lots of stones.
Surely you're not afraid of man. Surely it's not the love of the
world, selfish indifference that's keeping you from coming to Christ.
But they took away that stone. And then look what happens. And
then our Lord Jesus, verse 41, lifted up His eyes and said,
this has happened twice. In John 17, He lifted up His
eyes. And He lifted up His eyes and
says, Father, I thank You 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." He prayed to the Father, I want everybody here to understand
that you sent me into this world. And when he had prayed that prayer,
when he had thus spoken, look what happens. And how was this
glory seen? He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus,
come forth. Well, how was his glory seen?
He said in verse 44, And he that was dead came forth. He that was dead came forth. Dead men don't come forth. They
do at pastoral, so they do. And not only had he been dead,
but they didn't even bomb in those days. When they put you
in the ground, you had to be put in the ground real quick,
and then your body started corrupting immediately. And now Lord Jesus
Christ beloved, he took that body and he reversed the effects
of death. And that's what He does with
us. He reverses the effects of death. He reverses the effects
of corruption. He reverses the effects of the
sin that come in our hearts and in our lives. He takes all that
sin, and He reverses it. In Adam we die, in Christ we're
made alive. In Adam we disobey, in Christ
we have obedience. In Adam we have sin and the curse,
in Christ we have life and blessings. And He reversed it. How is this
man stinking? When he comes out of that grave,
he wasn't stinking! He wasn't stinkin' anymore. We're not the same people. The
same fellow went in that grave. He'd come out all different.
Man, won't you imagine how they thought. Oh, my Lord, when you
take away everything. There was not one smell came
out of that thing, but life came out of that grave. Oh, that's how the glory of God
was seen, life from the dead. And every one of you that Christ
was raised from the death of your sins and your corruption,
and you understand the longer you live, you understand just
how corrupt you was and how corrupt you are. And you understand, beloved,
how the glory of God is seen in giving you your life and taking
away that corruption, taking away that curse. Taking away
all of those things that saw against you. And oh, listen,
not only did they life and his glory have seen the life from
the dead, but life was seen in his liberty, liberty for the
living. Look what he said. And he came
forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes. Now, how in the
world does a man move when he's bound hand and foot? His hands
are bound, his feet are bound. I tell you, that's what we're
talking about seeing the glory of Christ. No matter how bound
you are, no matter how bound up you are with all the things
that bind you, when our Lord Jesus Christ says, come forth,
He said, come forth, and you got all bound up. And look what
He says. And He had a face, and there
was a napkin even over His face. And our Lord said unto him, what
is he? I tell you, great clothes are
not for the dead, they're for the living. I mean, great clothes
is for the dead, and the dead and the living don't need great
clothes. So he said, start taking. First thing you've done, somebody
else took that napkin off. I believe Mary and Martha went
just running as far as they could go, and we started unwrapping
all them clothes. I believe Mary and Martha's the
one that done it. Martha's store and stand there reading to me.
Oh, they start taking off from Rachel. You know, their grandpa's
falling down around them, you know. Greg's just falling down. And oh, when they opened him
up and there's his eyes and he sees Mary and Martha. He sees
all them people standing around. He sees Christ there. He sees
the Lord Jesus. First thing, when they took that
off, he sees He sees what glory it must have took for him to
come out of that grave. I remember being sick. I remember
my sisters crying, and now here I am, I'm living. And they started
unwrapping him, and they unwrapped his arms, and boy's arms went
to... Oh, I believe his arm went to hugging his sisters. I believe
it went to hugging Mary and Martha, and the Lord Jesus took him,
and he started walking. Oh, bless the Lord. Loose him
and let him go. And I tell you what, when Christ
loosened you, you are free, and free indeed. Whom the Son sets
free, is free indeed. And let Him go! And the ancestors
were restored back to their home. Can you imagine what a home,
how happy it was that day when He went back in there? And oh,
how free and how happy and how joyful their hearts were. They
believed! And they saw His glory. And oh,
how satisfied they were. Are you still mourning over people
that are hopelessly dead? Oh, my. The Lord Jesus said,
Believe and you'll see. That's what he said to these
two troubled sisters. Take it as a word and seize it
to yourself. If you would believe, you'd see
the glory of God. For you unbelievers who are questioning,
How am I to know the Bible's the Word of God? How do I know the Bible's the
Word of God? How am I to know that the blood of Christ cleanses
from all sin? How am I to know that life is
in Christ? Believe, and you'll see. Maybe
you're a seeker. Maybe you, in your heart and
in your mind, maybe in your soul, you're seeking the Lord. Maybe
you're anxious about how you can be justified by just simply
believing, by where you sit, that you can be saved by the
grace of God, have life, and all, you can come to Christ without
moving a muscle. And how you can be justified
from all things, from all sins, all thoughts, all imaginations,
everything you've ever thought, said, or done, be justified in
the sight of God, just by believing! I know you don't say how to,
but you believe, and you'll see. And this suffering believers,
suffering believers, if God found it necessary that you are in
heaven, it's through your manifold temptations. Don't you know that you'll receive
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul? Like
Job, you know? He was suffering greatly, but
you know what he said? He said, I know my Redeemer liveth,
and I shall see Him at the last day with my eyes for myself and
not nobody else. I'll see Him for myself. And
all you laborers, those of you that get discouraged, so discouraged
in laboring, praying, laboring for your loved ones, labored
and not seeming to be appreciated for it. You know, that's what
they told the master. They said, Master, we've toiled
all night and taken nothing. We're going to launch out into
the deep. Okay, Lord, at your word I will
believe, and you'll see. And then dying believer. Dying
believer. Life's fading from view. fading from view. You go to this
world now and a whole lot different than you did when you first started. All the things around you are
fading from view and you're focusing now. The things of this life
and this world are just fast fading from our vision. But our
Master said, He's the resurrection and He's the life. David said,
you know when I'll be satisfied? When I awaken your likeness.
Someday soon, someday very, very soon, all the stones will be
gone, all the grave clothes will be gone, and then we'll truly
be loosed and let go and spend eternity with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. Our Father, in the blessed name
of our Lord Jesus, I thank you for your word. I pray that it
was a blessing to the saints today, an encouragement. And
Lord Jesus, I pray that you would enable men and women here to believe that they might see the glory
of God. And Lord, if you gave them sight
to see, then they could see the glory of God all around them. So Lord, do a work that only
you can do. And Father, again, we pray for
Sister Peggy and Dot, Mike, Ruby, this young man. Oh God, our hearts
are so heavy for them. Please have mercy on them. meet
their needs. We ask in Christ's name. Amen.