Good to be back with you all.
We've been on the road for the past couple of weeks. Good to
be back home. Turn with me, if you would, to Ephesians chapter
3. And while you're turning, I have a message from our pastor.
We're going to go to Ephesians chapter 3. While I was sitting
there, I was thinking, because these are Frank's words. Frank
texts this. So this is a message directly
from our pastor. It's not secondhand. It's his
words. And I was sitting there thinking,
That's what we're doing here at night, isn't it? We're reading
a letter from our Savior written to sinners. And that's my prayer
for this evening, that we hear the Lord's word, his words, his
words. These are Frank's words. From
our pastor, he says, nothing new to report as far as my health
goes. Thankfully, the pain is still
mostly under control. We'll have to wait and see how
soon I'll be able to preach after the surgery. Surgery is this
Friday. Surgeon thinks I'll be ready physically, before I'll
be ready mentally because of the meds. So we'll wait and see
what the Lord's will is for me. I long to see everyone. I long
to see everyone. And I pray our Lord will use
this surgery to enable me to see you all soon. And he quotes
this verse, Acts chapter 20, verse 32. And now, brethren,
I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able
to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified. So that's the message from our
pastor, I know y'all, as we do, we continue to keep him and Janet
in our prayers. Again, turn with me if you would,
uh, Ephesians chapter three, read, uh, the two verses there
at the end of the chapter, verse 20 and verse 21. And I'll reference
this verse a lot as we go through the message today, because I've
read this from the pulpit before this way. This is the way I like
to read this verse. We've been doing, in the spirit
of going back to school, we've been doing some sentence diagramming,
haven't we? So I like to diagram this sentence just a little bit
and read through it. It always blesses me when I look at this.
Now unto him that is able to do all that we ask or think. But that's not what the verse
says. It says, now unto him who's able to do above all that we
ask or think. But that's not what the verse
says. It says, now unto him who's able to do abundantly, abundantly
above all that we ask or even think. But he's able to exceed
that. Now unto him who's able to do
exceedingly, exceeding abundant, exceeding abundantly above all. that we ask or think, according
to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the
church, by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Let's pray together. Our Father, what a privilege
it is to address you as our Father. We pray that your name be glorified
as it ought to this evening. We pray that you send your spirit
to bless your word. We take comfort in the fact that
you've promised we're two or three together. Two or three are gathered
together in your name. Father, you'll be in the midst
and we take comfort in that. We rely on that promise even
now. We pray that you bless this word
and make it yours. Bless the hearts of your people.
Call sinners to repentance. Glorify your holy name as it
ought to be glorified here even now. Pray for ourselves, we pray
for other congregations wherever they're meeting, where your name's
being declared, that that name go out in power according to
your will and according to your word, that Christ be glorified
wherever your name is being declared this evening. Father, we rely on you for all
things. We rely on you as a congregation. We thank you for continuing to
bless us as you've seen fit. We rely on you as a As a local
assembly and even as a country, we pray that you keep your hand
on us and direct according to your will. Give us faith to rest
and to wait on you. We pray for our pastor and for
Janet. Thank you for sustaining them. We pray that you use this
surgery to accomplish your will. Be with them, comfort, strengthen
according to your will. We thank you, Father, for all
things. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. Arise my soul, arise Shake off
thy guilty fears The bleeding sacrifice In my behalf appears
Before the throne my surety stands My name is written on his hands
My name is written And on His hands He ever lives above For
me to intercede His all-redeeming love His precious blood to plead
His blood atoned for all His race And sprinkles now the throne
of grace And sprinkles now the throne of grace Five bleeding wounds he bears
Received on Calvary They pour effectual prayers, they strongly
plead for me. Forgive him, O forgive, they
cry, nor let that ransom sinner die, nor let that ransom sinner
die. The Father hears him pray His
dear anointed one He cannot turn away The presence of His Son
His Spirit answers to the blood And tells me I am born of God
And tells me My God is reconciled His pardoning
voice I hear He owns me for His child I can no longer fear With
confidence I now draw nigh And Father, Abba, Father, cry. And Father, Abba, Father, cry. And one of those verses could
be the title of this message, Christ Won't Let his ransom sinners
die. It's exactly right. It's good.
Thank you. Turn with me to John chapter 11. John chapter 11, we're actually
read through the first 45 verses and then we'll make some, some
comments. We'll come back and make some comments to them. John
chapter 11, we're going to read the first 45 verses. Now a certain
man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and
her sister Martha. It was that Mary, which anointed
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose
brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore, his sister sent unto
him saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When
Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but
for the glory of God, that the son of God might be glorified
thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When
he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days
still in the same place where he was. Then after that, he saith
to his disciples, let us go into Judea again. His disciples say
unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee. Goest
thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not
twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he
stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But
if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no
light in him. These things said he, and after
that he saith unto them, Our friend, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that I may awake him
out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he sleep, he shall do well. How be it Jesus spake of his
death. They thought that he had spoken of taking of taking of
rest and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes
that I was not there to the intent that you may believe. Nevertheless,
let us go into him. Then said Thomas, which is called
Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, let us go also, that we may die
with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in
the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem,
about fifteen furloughs off. Many of the Jews came to Martha
and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as
soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went in and met him,
but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus,
Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that
even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it
thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother
shall rise again. Martha said unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest
thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord,
I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should
come into the world. And when she had so said, she
went her way and called Mary her sister secretly, saying,
The Master has come and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard
that, she rose quickly and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet
come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
The Jews then, which were with her in the house and comforted
her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went
out, followed her, saying, she goeth unto the grave to weep
there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, thou hast been
here, my brother had not died. Jesus therefore saw her weeping,
and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, He groaned in
the spirit and was troubled and said, where have you led him?
Where have you laid him? She said unto him, Lord, come
and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold how
he loved him. Some of them said, could not
this man, which opened the eyes of the blind and caused that
even this man should not have died? Jesus, therefore, again
groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and
a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the
stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time ye stinketh, for
ye have been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I
not unto thee that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the
glory of God? Then they took away the stone
from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up
his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the
people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that
thou hast sent me. When he thus had spoken, he cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came
forth, bound hand and foot with great clothes. His face was bound
about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose
him and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came
to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, they believed
on him. Let's go back through these verses
and just look together at a few points. In the first three verses
there, certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, town
of Mary and her sister Martha. Verse three says that his sister
sent unto Christ, unto the Lord, saying, Behold, he whom thou
lovest is sick. Lazarus was sick. Lazarus was
sick unto death. He's part of the human race,
right? I mean, Lazarus is part of the human race, and as being
part of the human race, his days are numbered. Psalm 90 says,
the days of our years are three score and 10. Three score and
10. And if by reason of strength
they before score, yet is their strength labor and sorrow. for
it is soon cut off and we fly away. Lazarus is part of the
human race, and as a member of the human race, as a member of
that population, his days are numbered. Lazarus is sick unto
death. Sick unto death. He's born sick with his days
numbered, just as a member of the human race, right? Romans
5.12 says, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world
and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. And as a race, and I'm speaking
physically for right now, as a race, we're all physically
born, and we all physically die, such is the way of man, right?
As Adam's race, as part of Adam's race, we're all born, we're all
born spiritually dead, we're all born without the ability
to come to God as a race under Adam's representation. Adam's race, we're born dead,
we're born, spiritually dead, sick unto death. We're born without
the will to come to God, without the ability to come to God. We're
born without the right to come to God. He gives us the right
to walk into his presence on our own merit. What even gives
us the right? We don't have the right. We don't have the will.
We don't have the ability. We don't have the life. We're
born spiritually dead. Can't and won't come to God.
We're born Spiritually dead, represented by our father, Adam. Represented by our father, Adam.
We're all born spiritually dead, in him, dead. What can a dead
sinner do for God? Martha tells us there in verse
39. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him,
Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he's been dead four days.
That's what we in Adam, as a population in Adam, that's what we can do.
We can stink. We can stink. Even our best works,
Paul calls them dung. Dung. Even my kids know what
dung is. Paul calls his best works dung.
At our best, at our best in ourselves, we stink. It's the best that
we can do. Lazarus was absolutely represented
under Adam's race. He was a sinner by birth. But
look back there at verse one. This really struck me. Now a
certain man, a certain man was sick. named Lazarus. Lazarus, he's a certain man,
and he was sick. And it's a true statement for
me to say that I'm a sinner because I'm born in Adam's race, because
my father Adam sinned, therefore I'm a sinner. That's an absolutely
true statement. Don't diminish from that for a minute. It's
an absolutely true statement. We are under that judgment. It's
also true to say that I'm a sinner, a certain man. A certain man
was sick. I'm a sinner. A certain man named
Lazarus was sick, what it says in verse one named Lazarus. Christ saved certain men by name,
by name. Turn over to back a few pages
to John chapter one. John chapter one in verse 48. Nathanael saith unto him, whence
knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto
him, before that Philip called thee, thou was under the fig
tree. When thou was under the fig tree, I knew thee. Nathanael
answered and said, Rabbi, Rabbi, thou art the son of God. Thou
art the king of Israel. A certain man called a certain man, Lazarus. Lazarus is sick. Now I look at
that and I put my name there, you know, sick unto death, a
certain man. a certain man, Jonathan, sick unto death, born, born sick
unto death. But God, look, look, look at
verse four, but God, we, we see God, Christ's sovereign control
here. When Jesus heard that he said,
this sickness is not unto death. It's not unto death. How so? How, how can, can Christ
declare that this sickness is not unto death? Well, it's not
because Christ declared it not to be so. Look back in Acts chapter
13. Acts chapter 13 verses 38 and 39. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified,
justified from all things, from which he cannot be justified
by the law of Moses." Justified, declared righteous. How could
Lazarus be declared not sick unto death? Because Christ declared
it that way. He declared him not sick unto
death. Christ declares righteousness. And who has the authority or
right to declare a sinner who is sick unto death, sinned, sick
unto death, unto spiritual death? Who has the right to declare
a sinner not spiritually sick unto death? And only a sovereign
God who owns that sinner, who owns that
sinner, could have the right to declare that sinner justified.
And our God is a just God, is just God. So you'd only do that
if the sin debt was paid, if the sin debt was already paid.
Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and
by him all that believe are justified, are declared righteous, justified
from all things from which he cannot be justified under the
law of Moses. Who has the authority or the right to declare that
Lazarus' sickness is not unto death. Only a sovereign God who
created that life has the ability to control it. And that's exactly
what Christ did here. He declared, this sickness is
not unto death. God's sovereign control he has to declare what
is. So how and why would a God, would
a holy God, declare a sinner righteous? How can that be right?
How can a holy God declare a sinner righteous? We'll look at a few
points. First, Christ's love. Christ's
love. Look in verse three again. Christ's
love. Therefore his sisters sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Look
down in verse five. Jesus loved Martha and her sister
and Lazarus. In verse 11, and this is what
really drew me to the text today, These things said he, and after
that he saith unto them, our friend, Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that I may awake him
out of sleep. He calls Lazarus his friend.
Christ's love. Who's sufficient for these things?
You start talking about Christ's love. My goodness, who is sufficient
to even begin a conversation about Christ's love? What was
the verse we read before the service? Exceeding abundantly. above all that we ask or think,
we can't scratch the surface. We talk about Christ's love exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think. I've heard Christ's
love preached in such a way that it sounds like God's love to
us is contractual. Almost that he has to love us
because Christ died for us. And if that were the case, That
would be above all that I could ask or think. That would be above
all that I could ask or think. And that'd be more than I deserve.
But Christ says in verse 11, our friend, Lazarus. Our friend,
Lazarus. That's abundantly above all that
I could ask or think. Our friend, Lazarus, he says.
Christ's love touching just the surface. In Matthew 11, the Pharisee,
they called Christ the friend of sinners. Friend of sinners. That's abundantly above all that
I could ask or think. Look back at Hebrews two, let's
turn to that. Friend of sinners. Hebrews chapter two in verse
11. How can a holy God declare a
sinner righteous? Christ's love, both he that sanctified
and they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause? He's not ashamed to call them
brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in
the midst of the church while I sing praise unto thee. Brethren.
Christ calls Lazarus his friend. He calls us brethren. Now that's
exceeding abundantly above all that I could ask or think. Brethren.
Christ's love. Back in our text there, the Savior's
promise. Look at verse 25. Christ's promise is a revelation
to his people. He tells Martha, your soul will
never die. I'm the resurrection. He's revealing
who he is. Christ's promise is a revelation
to his people. I'm the resurrection. I'm the life. Jesus said unto
her, I'm the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? He says, I'm the resurrection.
I'm, I'm the life. And his promises is wrapped up
in that revelation of, of, of who he is. He's able, right? He's able to make this, his promise.
I'm the resurrection. I'm the life. He's able to make
that promise because of who he is. The son of God, he can, He
has all authority. He can call the rocks. He can
raise the rocks up to worship him. He can breathe life into
dry bones. All authority. He has the right to say, I'm
the resurrection and the life because, because of who he is. He can call those dry bones up
to worship him just as, just as he does here for Lazarus.
He has the right to be sovereign because of who he is. He paid
that atonement, paid that full atonement. He earned that right.
For all of his children, what did he say in Matthew 26, just
before he instituted the Lord's Supper? He said, this is my blood
of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins. He has that right to say, to
declare, to reveal, I'm the resurrection, I'm the life. Because of who
he is, because of what he's done. He's the holy son of God who
shed his blood for the remission of sins. He has the right to
say that, he has the right to say that. Christ shed his blood,
the only payment that could pay that perfect demand of God's
justice and God's law. How, how can a holy God declare
a sinner righteous? He paid the price. So his promises
is sure. He tells Martha, again, back
there in verse 25, he tells Martha, Jesus said unto her, I'm the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. and whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. How can a holy God declare a
sinner righteous? Christ loved, he called Lazarus
friends, he calls his children brethren. Christ promised, Christ
our great high priest, look in verse 33 there in our text. Christ
our great high priest. When Jesus therefore saw her
weeping, And the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned
in the spirit and was troubled and said, where have you laid
him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold, how
he loved him and what manner he loved him. Behold, how, how
he loved him. He groaned in his spirit. Verse
35 said, said Jesus wept. Christ, Christ, the son of God,
the creator of the universe, wept, was touched with our emotions. As a man, sinless, he sinlessly
wept, touched with our emotions. That verse is abundantly above
all that I could ask or think. What's the scripture? The word
was made flesh, made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace
and truth. sinless, perfect flesh, entirely
man, so that Jesus wept. He wept. He was touched with
human emotions. Christ, the Son of God, the scripture
says, we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities, right? Christ, the Son of God,
is touched with human emotion. Christ, the Son of God, is touched
with the feeling of our infirmities. How? Because he was at all point
tempted Like as we are, yet without sin, just as Christ was made
flesh, Christ was made sin. He's made sin. He who knew no
sin was made sin. No other sacrifice could be right.
It couldn't be right in the payment for sin. It couldn't be right
to present before God. No other sacrifice could be.
The blood of bulls and goats was a type. Blood of bulls and
goats was never intended to take away sin. It's a type, it's a
picture pointing to Christ. They're never intended to take
away sin. How could they? How could a goat's blood be equal
to a human's blood, a man's blood? But Christ's sacrifice, that
wasn't a type. That wasn't a picture. That wasn't some sort of administrative
procedure. Christ's blood literally took
away sin. Christ was made sin. Christ's blood literally took
away sin. Look again, back in Hebrews 10.
We were there a little bit earlier. Hebrews chapter 10, starting
in verse 10. By the witch will we are sanctified,
made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once.
And every priest standeth daily administering and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool. By one offering, he had perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Whereof, the Holy Ghost also
is a witness to us. After that, he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their hearts
and in their minds while I write them. Their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. Now, where remission of sins
is, there's no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness. boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus. It wasn't a type, it wasn't a
picture, it wasn't an example. Christ's blood actually took
away sin because he was made sin, shed his blood on the cross
as atonement before a holy God. Jesus wept. He was made sin,
he was made flesh. Jesus wept. Finally, let's look there at
the The Savior's call. Based on everything we've talked
about, God's sovereign control, his right to declare what is,
Christ's love. He said, what, our friend Lazarus,
right? The Savior's promise, I'm the
resurrection, I'm the life. And our great high priest who's
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, made sin yet without
sin. Based on Christ's power and right
to do so, he declares in verse 43, Back in our text, verse 43,
when we need this spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus
come forth based on who he is and what he has done. Christ
can say, Lazarus come forth. What does a preacher say during,
during a wedding, right before the preacher says, I now to pronounce
you man and wife, right? What's the preacher say right
before they said based on the power vested in me by Usually
we hear here by the state of Kentucky, right? The state of
Kentucky has to give that power to the preacher to declare those
people married, husband and wife. Christ doesn't have to do that,
not so with our Lord. Christ has that power. Based on who
he is and what he has done, he's earned that power. He doesn't
have to say, based on the power vested in me by, he says, Lazarus,
come forth. Lazarus, come forth. Christ says, sinner, So he says
spiritually, sinner come forth. The spirit says, sinner live,
sinner live. Look there in verse 44, what's
the sinner's response? Christ said, Lazarus come forth,
and he that was dead came forth. Bound hand and foot with grave
clothes, his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto
them, loose him and let him go. Now, he had on those grave clothes,
He lived, he who is dead. Lord spoke life to him, just
as he does to a sinner's spiritual deadness. He creates
life where there was no life before. The Lord says live, and a sinner
lives. We get up with those great clothes
on. That's the believer here in this world. Spirit has given
life. And that life is born from above
and that which is born from above is perfect, cannot sin. It's
wrapped in those grave clothes, that old flesh. I can imagine
Lazarus, you know, they wrapped the body head to toe, all the
way down to the ankles. Yeah, I can imagine he was tight
in there walking in those grave clothes before they loosed him. And then that's us walking in
this world, wrapped up in those grave clothes of our sinful flesh
with a sinful nature. But now that Lord speaks life
and that life is there, that life is there. If I look for
it, if I look for it, I won't see it. If I look for it in myself,
or if you look for it in myself, you won't see it, but it's there
based on the promise of this book. We know it to be so that's
exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask to think that
life is there and life is there. It's so in verse 45, many of the Jews,
which came to Mary had seen the things which Jesus did. they
believed on him. And that's what we pray. I pray that you're blessed as
I have been through the study. Seeing the Lord's power and authority
and right that he has because of who he is and right that he
has earned because of his shed, holy, perfect blood to say to
a sinner, sinner live, and the sinner lives. They that saw it
believed. Amen. Let's pray. Our Holy Father, I pray that
you take these words and use them for your will. Bless according
to your word. We pray again. We know that you
know the need. We pray for our pastor. We pray
for Janet. We pray for this coming Friday. Our will, Father, you
told us to make our prayers, our petitions known before you.
We come before your throne of grace. We ask, our will is that
you heal, Father. We pray that you do. We pray
that you give us faith, faith to believe and to trust, to wait,
to rest on your word. Be with us as we go home this
evening. Thank you for this time that we've had together. We pray
this thankfully in Christ's name, for his sake. Amen.