Most folks, they want to see
before they believe. They want a sign. They want some
evidence. But faith is not involved with
evidence. It wouldn't be faith if there
was evidence. It wouldn't be faith if you could see it. Faith
wouldn't have anything to do with it if you could see it.
And that's what our Lord says there to Mary and Martha in verse
40. Jesus saith unto her, said I
not unto thee, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the
glory of God. Now that was three people, two
sisters and a brother, that lived in a little town called Bethany. And that says there in verse
1 of this chapter, now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of
Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. These folks
lived in Bethany. And they were God-fearing people. They were people who knew the
Lord Jesus Christ and loved the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're
confronted with these two sisters in a couple of different places.
This same Mary, it says there in verse 2, it was that Mary
that annoyed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair,
whose brother was Lazarus. This is the same one who washed
the Lord Jesus Christ's feet with her tears and wiped them
with her hair. Same Mary. And you remember also when they
were, had the Lord Jesus in their home once, you can find this
in Luke chapter 10, they were there and Martha was, Mary was
sitting at the Lord Jesus' feet and Martha came up to him and
says, Master, she said, cares thou not that here I am, I'm
working and Mary's sitting here at your feet, tell her to get
up and help me. She was cumbered about many things, working here,
working yonder, fixing and moving and all that, fixing meals and
all that. And Mary says, Martha, Martha,
Martha, the Lord said to her, you're cumbered, you're burdened
about many things, worried about many things. But Mary hath chosen
that good part, she's chosen that part with me, chosen that
part to be with me. You can have supper anytime,
but you can't have me anytime. You can be in an uproar about
a lot of things, but you can't be in an uproar when I'm around.
Mary has chosen that good part, and it ain't going to be taken
away from her. She's going to sit right here. You go ahead
and do what you got to do. Mary's not getting up. And oh
beloved, that's why we are when we finally see and know the Lord
Jesus Christ. But not only did they love our
Lord Jesus Christ, but our Lord Jesus loved these three people.
Look what it says down there in verse 5 of chapter 11. now
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus everybody talks about
loving the Lord but oh my it says here that the Lord Jesus
loved them now Jesus loved Mary and Martha
and Lazarus oh what a happy home this was what a blessed home
this was this home where God was feared This home where the
Lord Jesus was loved and welcomed, and he loved those that were
there. But they had suddenly been stricken with sorrow, with
grief. It says that Lazarus was sick.
And so those sisters, whose heart is full of love, breathed into
their Lord their trouble. It says there now, in verse 3,
Therefore his sisters said unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he
whom thou lovest is sick. Then our Lord Jesus Christ stayed
there for two days and while he was there waiting, Lazarus
died. Lazarus died. Lazarus died. And oh, enough of what our Lord
Jesus said. Things appear strange to the
understanding of everybody here involved. You know, it says here
in verse 4, listen to this, this is strange, this is especially
strange to folks who don't understand the providence and sovereignty
of God. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He said, this
sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the
Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now what in the world? He said this sickness here is
going to be unto death. This man is going to die. Lazarus
is going to die. But this sickness is for the glory of God. His
death is going to be for the glory of God. And it's going
to be that the Son of God might be glorified. Sickness for the
glory of God? Dying for the glory of God? Heartache
and sorrow for the glory of God? That's sure enough to appear
strange. Who ever heard such a thing? Huh? Boy, it's strange
to everybody but faith. And everything but faith. For
we know that all things, all things work together for the
good of them. Now here's the key kicker to
it. To them that love God. To them that love God and His,
and second thing, called according to His purpose. It don't happen
good for everybody. Oh, it's not good for you to
die without Christ. It's not good for you to be sick
without Christ. It's not good for you to go into
eternity without Christ. But if you know Christ, oh, what
a blessed thing it is. What a glory it is to God. How
the Son of God is glorified by that. Though He loved them, and
He loved all of them, He stayed in this same place for two more
days, two more days. And how strange, how strange
that his absence from them should be a proof of his love for them.
Instead of coming immediately, that's why they said, where are
he whom thou lovest is sick, come on over here. That's why
they said, Lord, if you would have been here, my brother had
not died. If you'd have come on over here,
if you'd have been here, and that's what the Jews said, could
not this man who opened the eyes of the blind, could not he have
kept this man from dying? Well, of course it could have.
But he stays back and keeps away. Now, in not going when they first
asked him, he is going to give them something above what they
asked for. He's going to give them exceedingly
more abundantly above what they asked. Now let me ask you this,
which is the greater act? Healing a sick man or raising
a dead man to life? It's easy for Christ to heal
a man. But to give life from the dead,
now that's a horse of a different color. He could have went over
there, he could have sent his word and healed him. He did that
before, he just sent his word and healed some. But here he
waits and waits and waits. Ain't that what he says? Look
down at verse 15. He said in verse 14, Then said
Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your
sakes that I was not there to the intent you may believe. I
was not there. I didn't go there. He's dead. And I stayed away for the intent
that you may believe. Nevertheless, let's go unto Him. Not go unto them, let's go unto
Him. Let's go unto Lazarus. He said, let's go unto Him. He didn't say, let's go see Mary
and Martha. He just said, let's go unto Him. Lazarus is dead. Why do you want to go over there
for? Oh my, they had prayed and wept a bucket of tears. Now he
says believe. Now he says trust. Martha said,
oh I know my brother is going to rise again in the last day
of the resurrection. The Lord Jesus said, I am the
resurrection. Dead people live by me now. Dead
sinners live by me now. There is no life apart from me.
If you're going to have spiritual life, life with God, life with
Christ, to know what sin is to be forgiven. He said, I'm the
resurrection and I'm the life. Do you believe this? He asked
her, do you believe this? Oh, she said, yeah, Lord, I believe
you. And I believe that you're the
Christ, the Son of God that should come into this world. Now, beloved,
faith. Faith. must be tested before
it can receive the reward. And you know what the reward
of faith is? Eyes to see. When you believe, that's when
you'll see. He that cometh to God must first believe that he
is. That's why he said, I thought
unto thee there in verse 40, that if thou wouldst believe,
you'd see the glory of God. First of all, we see here faith
put to the test. Verse 39, look what it says here.
Jesus said when he come to the grave, come to the tomb, come
to that cave, Jesus said, take ye away the stone. Take ye away
the stone. You believe, what he's saying
here, you believe that I'm the resurrection and that I'm the
life. You said, yea, Lord, I believe that. Then take away the stone. You want to see the glory of
God? You want to see God's glory? You want to see God's power manifested?
You want to see the Son of God glorified? Then take away the
stone. If you really believe on the resurrection, if you believe
on the life, take away this stone. Take it away. If you believe
your brother will rise again, take away the stone. Now beloved,
faith without works is dead. Christ could have spoken, that
stone would have just moved. I mean, he walked on water. He said, I could turn these stones
here into bread. If I was hungry, he told the
devil. He's the one, he was that manna that came down from heaven.
He was that smitten rock in the wilderness that the water gushed
out of. But faith without works is dead. You want to see the
glory of God? Take this stone away. If a man says, I've got
faith and does not have works, which faith and works go together?
And that's what he says, take away this stone. Would you see
the glory of God? Believe and you'll see. Now listen
to me. There's no such thing as blind
faith. There's no such thing as blind
faith. You've got to just take things
that people say, well, you know, I believe whether I can see,
but no, there's no such thing as blind faith. You know, faith
that's blind is not faith at all. This is not a leap into
the dark. Faith's not a leap into the dark. No, no. Faith sees. Faith gives evidence
of things you've never seen. I've never seen the throne of
God. I've never seen the Lord Jesus
Christ physically. I've never seen my sins taken
away. As far as I can say, as far as
my physical eye, I've never seen those things. But by faith, I
see the Son of God at the right hand of God. I see the Lord Jesus
Christ putting away my sins by the sacrifice of Himself. I see! The glory of God in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I see that the Lord's coming
again by faith. I see that when I die, I'm going
to go be with Christ. They said Lazarus is sleeping.
The Lord Jesus said if he sleeps, they said, well, if he's sleeping,
that does well. What our Lord was saying, when
a man leaps, the body sleeps just as he's rested. But that
spirit goes to be with Christ. No such thing as blind faith.
And that's why it says, take away the stone. Take away the
stone. Now, what did he mean, this take
away the stone? Well, there's lots of stones
in lots of people's way. And one of the greatest stones
have to be taken out of the way. And that's why we do preaching.
That's why we use the scriptures. That's why we read all the time
and try our best to get the gospel out. Take away the stone of ignorance.
Take away the stone of ignorance. Some people say, so much I don't
know. There's so much I don't know.
There's so much that I don't know. He didn't say if you would
see the glory of God, then you've got to know an awful lot. He
said if you'd see the glory of God, believe. He didn't say you'd
see the glory of God when you have so much understanding. He
didn't say you'd see the glory of God when you've got your head
full of facts. He didn't say you'd see the glory of God when
you've got all that kind of intellectual insight. He said believe and
you'll see the glory of God. And then take away the stone
of sentiment. Oh, sentiment. This is one that
she could have stood there, Mark could have stood there and said,
Oh, it's my brother. It's my brother. Oh, it's my brother.
Surely you're not going to have me take away the stone. It's
my brother. I don't want to see my brother
like that. And all this sentimentality and all that. He said, If you
would believe, you'd see the glory of God. And then take away
the stone of tradition. Oh, this is a tough one to take.
This is a tough one. Tradition. Oh, I wasn't raised
that way. I wasn't raised to believe in
God's sovereignty. Oh, I was raised to believe that
man's got a choice. That man's got to exercise his
free will. I was raised to believe that
God had to give every man a chance. That God cannot do His will in
the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
That God cannot do His will. and bring glory to himself, that
God can't do His will in the heavens, in the earth, in the
sea, and all deep places. That God cannot have mercy upon
whom He will have mercy. That God cannot have compassion
on whom He wants to have compassion. Oh, I wasn't raised to believe
it's not of Him that willeth or of Him that runneth, but it's
of God that showeth mercy. I wasn't raised to believe the
salvations of the Lord from start to finish. I wasn't raised to
believe that. I wasn't raised to believe that
Jesus that Jesus would let anybody be sick. It's the devil that
makes you sick. I wasn't raised to believe that
Jesus Christ would let people be sick and die for His glory. Oh no, that can't be so. Man,
we'll all get together, somebody gets sick, we'll all join hands
and we'll all agree on one purpose and one mind and we'll raise,
we'll get them folks well. We'll get us some anointing oil
and throw some oil on, throw some water in their face and
everybody get together in one mind of course. Then God's got
to do something. He just can't sit there on his
thumbs. Oh my. I was taught that everybody
had faith. Oh, everybody's got faith. I was raised to believe that
everybody had faith. All you have to do is exercise
it. That's an easy thing to believe. Well, the scripture says that
all men don't have faith. And if these folks here had it,
why would our Lord say that if you would believe, you'll see
the glory of God. Have you ever seen the glory
of God? Oh, I was raised to believe that
Jesus doesn't want anybody to suffer. And I certainly wasn't
raised to believe that man is really dead in trespasses and
sins. And the reason Lazarus died here
is to show us that Christ, Christ alone, Christ alone gives life
to the dead. And showing us what man is by
nature, a dead sinner. And then, oh my, let's take away
the stone of dignity. Stone of dignity. And oh, I'm
going to preserve my dignity. My brother may have died. I may
be, but 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 for the Lord's help. I ain't going to take away no
stone. I'm going to preserve, my dignity
just will not let me ask, won't let me cry. I'm going to keep
that stiff upper lip. Men will preserve their dignity
at the expense of God's glory. And here's some, here's some
stones. And I know a lot of you got some of these stones. I know
where these stones are. There's this stone of morality.
Stone of morality. Oh, I'm a good moral man. You
know, they had here a few years ago, they had the moral majority.
There's no such thing as a moral majority. Oh, man. Morality. Oh, my. They equate morality
with Christianity. You can be moral and not be a
Christian. But you can't be a Christian
and not be moral. And I'll tell you something,
the devil, if he can get you trusting in you being a good
person, without Christ, he's got you right where he wants
you. He can make you think that you're alright the way you are.
That you know you're a pretty good person, you don't bother
anybody, you don't use foul language, you don't drink, you don't cuss,
you don't smoke, you don't chew, and you don't have nothing to
do with those who do. And then there's that stone of
merit. Boy, we're worth something when
God says we're grasshoppers, that we're worms. What merit
do we have that God would have to give us something in return
for our goodness? What have we ever done? What
good thing have we ever done that God says, I've got to pay
them for that deed they've done? I need to pay them for that good
work they've done. Those folks right there, they've
got enough merit. And this is why Catholicism is
so blasphemous. Free willism is so blasphemous
because it teaches that man can actually have enough merit in
himself with a little help from somebody else to be accepted
of God. that you can even merit a blessing.
If you'll do enough, God will bless you. There's only one reason
God blesses a man, and that's for Christ's sake. All blessings,
all spiritual blessings are in heavenly places in Christ. And oh my, all these stones must
be taken away if a man would see the glory of God. Got to
take them away. And then look what Martha says
here. Look at the voice of reason. Look at the voice of doubt. You
know, people, instead of believing, they start reasoning things out.
They start trying to figure it out. Our Lord says, take away
the stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he sinketh. He'd
been dead for days. Corruption is set in. And that's
the voice of reason. Why in the world do you want
to take away the stones? He's dead. He stinks. He's been
dead for days. Oh, this don't even make sense. He didn't say it had to make
sense. He said believe. He knew how long he had been
dead? You think the Lord didn't know how long he had been dead?
You think the Lord didn't know he had been dead four days? The
Lord Jesus suddenly said the day they said word to him, this
sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God. He already
knew. He told his men, the disciples
before they ever left where he was, he says Lazarus is dead. And then it took him two more
days to get where he was going. Oh, you think he didn't know
it? But look what our Lord says. Oh, Martha, you're right. You're
right. He's been dead four days and
all this is true. Yet, take away the stone. If
you would believe, you'll see the glory of God. You're reasoning. You're trusting in your sense,
not believing. You're looking at the difficulty
more than the promise. And ain't that what we often
do? We'll look at the difficulty and won't look at the promise. And her eyes and her mind was
still on the dead instead of on the life that was standing
there in front of her. Where Christ said, I'm the life,
I'm the resurrection. Instead of looking at him, she
was worried about the dead man. She had her eyes on the dead
man and his condition. And this is the reason most of
us don't see the glory of God. This is the reason most of us
don't see the glory of His power. We see our loved ones, they're
dead. Trespasses and sins. We see them
live in lives of corruption. Sinfulness. They're in a stinking
corrupt position. And sometimes we mourn as if
there's no hope. We say, Lord, it looks like you're
never going to give them life. Looks like you're never. Oh,
God, please do something for us. And we mourn as if there's
no hope. That, oh, God, help us to fix
our eyes on Him who is the resurrection life. If He gives me life, He
can give them life. But now look what our Savior
said to her. He gave her a sweet rebuke of love. Jesus said unto
her, said I'm not unto thee. said I not unto thee if thou
wouldest believe you'd see the glory of God how do you suppose
these words affected Martha's heart she said Lord he's dead
oh he's dead don't move that stone oh we don't want to move
the stone he's stinking he's dead oh see how reason in a sense
entered into it she started questioning the Lord you know better than
this Lord You know, what do you want to hurt us like? What do
you want to make us face this situation the way it is? You
know how you think of such sweet words that our Lord said, said
I not unto thee? Said I not unto thee? Didn't
I tell you this? Didn't I tell you this, though
he was dead, will yet live? How do you believe these words
affect us? I believe they melted it. I believe they broke its
hardness. I believe it dispelled the doubts. Now listen to me something now.
Doubting is not a weakness. Doubting is not an infirmity.
It's a sin. Unbelief is a sin. To doubt God
Almighty and to question God Almighty is not a weakness. It's
sin. It's sin. Oh, I heard a fellow got up one
time and he started talking about, I committed an awful sin this
week. The preacher got up and said, he started talking about,
I committed an awful sin this week. He said, you just would
not believe what a sin I committed. Everybody got to looking, wondering
what in the world has the preacher done? What's he done? Is he fixing
to tell us he's committed adultery? So he's fixin' to tell us that
he got caught drunk? So he's fixin' to tell us that
he got put in jail? He's splittin' up with his wife?
What's he fixin' to tell us? And then he says, I've committed
the awfulest sin. What? Preacher, what? He said,
I didn't believe God. I had unbelief. Oh! You mean it's that bad? Is that bad? It is. To not believe Him who
put all the stars in the heavens and calls them by name? That
measures the waters in the hollow of His hands? That counts the
nations as a drop in the bucket? Who speaks and is done? Who commands
and extends fast? To say, oh, I find it hard to
believe Him? Oh, you know it's a denial of
Him who cannot lie? And He loved them. He said He
loved Martha and Lazarus and Mary. You know there's one place
He was at and He could do no mighty works. You know why? Because
of their unbelief. Unbelief. Unbelief. How often we say, and that's
what Martha and Mary both said this. They sat around and talked
about this and talked themselves into such a sad state. First
thing Martha told him when she saw the Lord, she says, Lord,
if you would have been here, if you would have just been here,
my brother would not have died. Well, when Mary gets out there
to see, Martha went home and says, the Master is out there
and he calls you. She runs up and runs out there and falls
at his feet. He said, Lord, If you would have been here, my
brother would have died. They sat there at the house and
they talked about it. Why didn't he come? Why didn't
he come? Why didn't he come for you to come? Well, Lazarus wouldn't
be dead now. Huh? Oh, the Lord Jesus always
knows what's going on. He says, believe and you'll see
the glory of God. Now look what happens. Look at
the obedience of this faith. In verse 41. He says, then they
took away the stone. Reasoning stopped. Unbelief stopped. Obedience is better than sacrifice. That stone of unbelief was between
Martha's heart and seeing God's glory in raising the dead. That's
what we, you know, we use God's sovereignty a lot of times to
keep us from trusting Him. In this sense, we use it as an
excuse for God not saving sinners. For God not blessing His gospel.
We'll say, well, if it's the Lord's will, He'll save this
and He'll save that one. And that's true, but the thing
about it is, we're preaching the gospel because that's what
God uses to save sinners. We keep this building open because
God saves sinners. You know, we sung that hymn at
the beginning, Christ receive us sinful men. That's the only
kind of people He receives, sinful men. Have we got any of them
around here this morning, any sinful men? You got any around
here that I mean are sinners? You know, if you do, Christ receives
them. Here's a man who's been dead
four days and was corrupt and stinking. And the Lord Jesus
loved him when he was alive, loved him when he was dead, and
loved him when he quickened him again from the dead. Lots of other stones in the way
of many people. Oh, the fear of man. I won't
believe to see the glory of God because I'm afraid of what somebody
will say about me. Oh, if I believe that, they'll
say, I've lost my mind. Oh, the love of the world keeps
people from seeing the glory of God and believe in Christ. They love the world too much.
And then there's this selfish indifference. I just, you know,
it don't make any difference to me. I don't care. I don't
care. It doesn't make any difference
to me. I just don't care. But oh, look what happens. Oh, after they believed. She said, if you believe, you'll
see the glory of God. Then 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 said it, that they may believe that thou
hast sent me. And watch what happens now. And
when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth. Now watch it. And he that was
dead came forth. Dead people don't come forth,
they do when Christ calls. Have you heard the voice of the
Son of God? They that hear His voice, the
dead shall live. He said, he that hears the voice
of the Son of God shall live. Oh, Lazarus come forth and then
he that was dead came forth. How was Christ's glory seen?
How was God's glory seen here? He spoke a man's name and the
man was raised from death to life. We hear about people living
and then dying, but how about being dead and coming back to
life? Life from the dead. And then
look what he said here. And then he was bound with hand
and foot with grave clothes. Grave clothes are all the things
we have when we're first quickened from the bed, when God first
gives us life. That's all our traditions and
all our opinions and all our feelings and all our old religion. All the junk we carry with us
and all the sayings and all the foolishness we carry with us.
Down we know, and Christ says, Lose him! And then watch this, let him
go. You know what, when Christ gives
you life from the dead, the grave clothes are taken off. You know
what he said? He didn't let you go. He didn't let you go. Where are you going to go? Same
place Lazarus did. Look what happens over here in
John chapter 12 and verse 1. Look what happens here. Then Jesus, six days before the
Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus, 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 to sit at the
table with." That's what happened with Christ.
He didn't lose you, he didn't let you go. You know where you
died? You sat at the table with him. He comes to your house and he
stays. Oh, Lazarus restored. God raised him back from the
dead and He sent him back home. And He lifted their hearts and
blessed their hearts. They believed and saw the glory
of God and were satisfied. Satisfied. Would you believe
and see the glory of God? Huh? Oh, these troubled sisters. Came the Lord Jesus. And he said, if you'd believe,
you'd see the glory of God. And they believed. And they saw
the glory of God in quickened and dead sinners. Let me ask
you some questions in closing. You might be an unbeliever who's
asking questions. How can I know that the Bible
is 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
really in Christ? Believe, and you shall see. Believe, and you shall see. You
believe, you'll never have no problem believing this Word of
God. You believe, you'll have no problem. Believe in Christ,
bled clean from all sin, because the guilt and condemnation will
be gone. Oh my! You may be a seeker. There are some people here that
are seekers. I believe there are some folks here that are
seekers. I believe you are seeking the Lord. I believe you have
been calling on the Lord. I believe you have been interested in knowing
Christ and you want to trust Christ. And if you are a seeker,
And you get anxious, you get concerned about how you can be
justified by simply believing. How can God justify me? Just
by believing. How can God wipe my slate clean
and treat me as if I had never sinned? Treat me righteously. Nearer to God I cannot be. Nearer
to God than being in Christ. And here, you know, how can God
justify me and clear me from all guilt and all sin? Just by
believing. How can He do that? Oh, Paul stood and says, by Him,
by Him, all that believe are justified from all things by
which the law of Moses could not justify. Wouldn't it be something
to have to know that all your life, ever sin you've ever committed,
ever thought ever went through your brain, ever things went
through your heart, clean as white as snow. And God look at
you and say, they have no sin, they have no guilt, they're righteous
in my sight. How do you get that? By believing. God said, I'll be just. Oh, He's
just. Oh, how can He be a Savior at
the same time? This is how He does it. He takes
the Son of God, His blessed Son, and when He is in this world,
when it comes time for Him to die, He took all the sins of
all of His people and charged them to His account, laid the
iniquity of them on Him. And there when His sins were
found on Him. God Himself pulled down the curtains
of heaven and the sun refused to shine. And the wrath of God
come down on the Son of God. And Christ Himself said, Oh my
God, my God, why? God forsakes men in their sin. And Christ was judged thereby
for God as the greatest sinner, as far as He is concerned, who
ever lived. Because all the sins of all these
people was on Him. And the wrath of God was poured
on him. And then he cried, it is finished.
What was finished? Sin was finished. Wrath was finished. Sin was finished. Death was finished. Everything they were against
was finished. They took him down. They put him in a tomb. But because
he had no sin of his own, Because he could never see corruption.
God raised him again early Sunday morning. And you know why he's raised
again? For our justification. How can I say that I'm justified? There is sense in God's right
hand. How can I say I have no sin? There is sense in God's
right hand. How can I say that I have no guilt? There is sense
in God's right hand. Oh, how can I say that I'm justified
in the sight of God and righteous in God's sight? There's my justification.
There is sense in God's right hand. The Lord Jesus Christ.
Not what I've said. Not what I've done. Not prayers
that I've prayed. Not my obedience. There's my
justification in God's right hand, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, when you face God, you meet Saint Peter. No, I ain't going
to meet Saint Peter. Saint Peter ain't going to be
in one garden today. You know where he's at? He's
already been there in glory all these years with Christ. Oh,
when I get there, What will be God's reason for letting me in?
What will be God's reason for letting me walk on the streets
of gold? What will be God's reason for letting me come into His
presence and come to gather around the throne? Christ will be the
reason. Oh my, it will be because He
bore my sin. And if He bore my sin, that means
I don't have Him. Sin can't be in two places at
the same time. And could God be just and punish
Christ for my sins and then come back and punish me for my own
sins? He couldn't be just to do that,
could he? So listen, if you're wondering,
how can God be justified simply by believing? Believe and you'll
see. And oh, some of you, we get discouraged
in our labor. We get discouraged. It seems
like people not being converted. It seems like people not much
interested in what's going on in the services and attending
the services and hearing what the preacher has to say. But
oh, like old Peter and John and James, we've toiled all night.
We've taken nothing. Our Lord Jesus said, launch out
into the deep. Throw yourself on me. And they
said, oh Lord, it's your Word. It's your Word. We'll do it.
It's your Word. We'll do it. And then, a believer
getting ready to leave this world. Oh my! A believer getting ready to leave
this world. Life fading out of view. Getting
foggy, getting dim. And for us who know Christ, the
things of this world just fading from our vision. But when you
get ready to leave this world, our Master said, I'm the resurrection. If you believe in Christ you
are already raised from the dead. I'm raised from the dead, I've
already been raised from the dead. I've already been resurrected.
That's why I'm going to go Christ is life and I'm going to be with
Christ. Now my body is going to go to the grave. And then
the scripture says that he's going to raise that dead body.
And he's going to make that body just like his body was. No wonder
David said, I'll be satisfied when I awaken your likeness.
It's like old Job said, I know my Redeemer living. And I shall
see him for myself in the latter days. Someday soon, someday soon,
all the stones will be gone. The last grave cloth will come
off. This old body of flesh. Oh, if you would believe. If
you'd believe, you'd see the glory of God. God helped you
to believe. Our blessed Savior, our gracious,
eternal Father, in the blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
bless this gospel today, bless the word, bless it to hearts,
minds, understandings. Lord, open hearts, open minds,
overcome wheels, move stones. Let somebody hear your voice
today. Let somebody, some Lazarus hear
their name called. May some Zacchaeus hear his name
called. May some Bartimaeus hear his
name called. May some Mary hear her name called.
O Lord Jesus, we come and bless you in Christ's holy name. Amen. Amen.