As I mentioned earlier, our first
call this morning was from Brother Skip telling us about Sandy being
at the doctor, needing to have surgery. Then earlier this afternoon,
I got a call from Brother Mark informing us of Regina's situation. And when I hung up the phone,
I fell on my face before God, crying our God, another of your
dear children is sick. Be gracious to them, comfort
them, and give me wisdom to be of help to them. As I did, I
thought immediately of many in our assembly and many friends
dear to our assembly who now are enduring times of sickness,
passing through times of difficulty. Thinking about these things,
I just pushed aside the stuff I'd been preparing for tonight
and opened my Bible again to this marvelous, marvelous story
of Lazarus, his sickness, his death, and his resurrection.
in John chapter 11. Turn to that if you will. Here's the sweet story of this
blessed family at Bethany in a time of great need. And the
Lord Jesus dealt with them in marvelous grace, sending sickness and death and bereavement. He dealt with them in marvelous
grace, sending sickness and death and the bereavement that comes
from the loss of one dearly loved. Now, if God will enable me, I
want to try once more to address this matter of sickness and the
things we learn about it here in John chapter 11. We'll begin
at verse one. 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 sisters sent unto
him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said,
this sickness is not unto death. This sickness is not unto death. Now, you can underscore that.
I'm going to repeat it in a minute. For you who believe, there is
no such thing as sickness unto death. This sickness is not unto death. but for the glory of God, that
the son of God might be glorified thereby. This sickness has come
for God's glory so that I might, through this sickness, glorify
myself, make manifest my glory before many. Read on, verse five. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus. When he had heard, therefore,
that Lazarus was sick, he abode two days still in the
same place where he was. Then after that, saith he to
his disciples, let us go into Judea again. Those who are dearly
loved of God chosen in everlasting love, redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ, called by God's spirit, the objects of God's
constant special care, often suffer sickness and disease,
just like other people. Faith in Christ will not keep
you from a common cold, And faith in Christ will not keep you from
cancer. And faith in Christ will not
prevent heart disease. Faith in Christ does not mean
you live without pain and sorrow and sickness in this world. It's
important for us to understand something about God's purpose
in these things so that when the time comes, We might be prepared
at least in some measure and hopefully honor our God in times
of sorrow as well as in times of joy. In times of weakness
and difficulty and pain as in times of delight and peace and
prosperity. Yes, true believers suffer from
sickness and disease in this world. All of God's saints are going
to get sick and die. All of us. Eventually, we're
going to get sick and die. I heard Jimmy Swaggart say some
stupid things many years ago when he was still in his heyday,
but this was just about the dumbest. He said he planned to die in
good health. That's just not going to happen
to you. You're going to get sick and you're going to die. Job
did and David did and you will and I will. The fact is sickness
is sent to us by our heavenly father for our benefit. That which is aggravating to
our bodies is often good for our souls. Sickness tends to
draw our affections away from the world to our Savior. Sickness
has a way of sending you to your knees, to your Bible, to the
Savior. And anything that forces me to
my knees, anything that forces me to God's Word, Anything that
forces me to turn to my Redeemer is good for me. And you too. You too. Sickness reminds us
that life in this world, at its best, is just a vapor and will
soon be over. Sickness forces us to look to
the grave. I try I try earnestly with every
hint of sickness in my own body or in yours. With every hint
of the frailty of this body, I try to remind myself there's
just a breath between me and eternity. Just a breath between
me and eternity. Lord, help us to number our days
and apply our hearts to wisdom. That is, apply our hearts to
Christ, who is wisdom. Sickness causes us to give some
consideration to things we generally push out of our minds, death
and judgment and eternity. When sickness comes, be it nothing
more than a cold or something as serious as cancer, Let us
be patient before God, ever mindful of the fact that sickness comes
by God's decree, by God's will, and by God's work on our behalf,
whatever the sickness is. Sickness, yes, is the fruit of
sin. Sickness would not exist, did sin not exist. And you would
never get sick if you didn't have any sin. But don't ever
presume that because someone is sick, then they have some
sin for which God is punishing them. And certainly don't presume
that to be the case with yourself. Sickness is the forerunner of
death, warning us that it shall come and come suddenly. Sickness
and health, life and death alike, are in the hands of our God and
our Savior. But for believers, sickness is
never unto death. I remind you again of Mr. Baxter. When he was lying on his deathbed,
one of his friends walked in and asked him, as we commonly
do, such crazy things. We don't know what to say, so
we ask crazy questions. And he said, well, how are you
today? And Mr. Baxter leaned up on one elbow
and said, almost well. Almost well. Sickness for the
believer is not a death. Our Lord told Martha, he that
believeth on me shall never die. Never. He told his disciples,
Lazarus is asleep. Speaking of his death. And when
they thought he was just sleeping and resting, he said, Lazarus
is dead. But we use that term dead and
death with reference to believers only in reference to the body.
This body must die. This body must return to the
dust. But the believer has life and
life ever in ever endless eternal life in Christ Jesus, the Lord.
You're familiar. With the story of Martha and
Mary and Lazarus. These three people trusted the
Lord Jesus. They loved the Savior, and they
were, more importantly, loved by the Savior. They lived by
faith. They sought the will of God.
The Lord Jesus seems to have had peculiar delight as a man
in spending time in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. These folks were saved people. They saw the glory of God in
Christ. They were among very, very few in that day who worshiped
Jesus Christ, the man as God, their Savior and King. And the
Lord loved them. Look at verse five. Now, Jesus
loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. But Lazarus was sick. Lazarus was sick. And Martha
and Mary wrote a note out. and sent it to the Savior. They
said, Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick. They didn't say, Lord, he whom
thou lovest is sick, hurry down to Bethany. Though, obviously,
that's what they wanted. They didn't say, Lord, he whom
thou lovest is sick, come heal him. Though, obviously, that's
what they desired. They didn't say, Lord, he whom
thou lovest is sick. Why is this? They simply laid
their hearts pain before he who loved them. They said, Lord,
he whom thou lovest is sick. Blessed are those who can follow
such an example of confident, simple, childlike faith. Tell it to Jesus. That's all. That's all. Just tell it. Don't
order anything. Don't command anything. Learn
not to desire anything but His will. Learn not to want anything
but His purpose. For that, after all, is best. He says, my grace is sufficient
for thee. You remember how Paul asked three
times that the Lord would remove this thorn in the flesh. He said,
God, I can't live with it. I just, I can't take it anymore.
And the Lord spoke to Paul and said, live with it. Live with it. No point speculating
about what it is. He said, it's yours. Live with
it. My grace is sufficient for thee. You see, our Savior, our God,
our Heavenly Father, oh, God teach me to realize this, always
knows and does what's best. I never do. You never do. We never know what's best. We
know what we want for ourselves. We know what we desire for ourselves. We know what our hearts are wrapped
around and what we must have, we think. Don't ever make such
a presumption and ask God to break you from such presumption. The Lord loved Lazarus, yet Lazarus
was sick. So it's evident sickness is not
a sign of God's anger or his displeasure. In their time of
need, Martha and Mary turned to the Lord Jesus and they simply
informed the Lord of their trouble. They didn't ask for anything
or demand anything. They simply told him their hearts
burdened and they were resigned to his will, submissive to his
purpose. Knowing Christ's love and power,
it appears that they knew he knows best. Now, as you go through
the chapter, you see it didn't stay that way. Go through the
chapter, you find that both Martha and Mary seemed to resent the
fact that the Lord lingered for three days until Lazarus was
dead before he came. Lazarus had been in the grave
four days by the time he got there. And they both seemed to
upbraid the master for that, because Martha and Mary are like
you and me. They were sinful, fickle men
or women who believed God, just as we do, with a very poor, very
poor, very poor excuse for faith. And Merle Hart, our faith in
him, just a poor excuse for faith in him. People talk about how strong
their faith is. I don't know anything at all about that. I
just don't know anything at all about that. Do I believe God? Yes. But my believing him is
mixed with so much unbelief. You can hardly call it believing
him. And yet Martha and Mary here, when they first brought
their case to the Lord, seemed to simply bow to his will. He
whom thou lovest is sick. Let me try to answer three or
four questions. Why do God's people get sick? How do you answer your little
boy or little girl when they say, Daddy, why do people get
sick and die? Find the answer here. Find the
answer here. Why do people get sick and die?
Sickness, disease, pain, and death are clearly the results
of sin. When Adam sinned in the garden,
we died. Man fell. And God's curse fell
upon the human race. And these runny noses we have
are all indications of the curse. No child, no baby, no infant
would ever be sick if it weren't for the fact that that child
is born depraved, born in the curse of Adam's nature. That's
the reason for sickness. That's the reason for death.
The most universal testimony there is to human depravity is
the fact that innocents, infants, get sick and die just like adults
do. Why, however, do those who are
forgiven of God, loved of God, redeemed by Christ's blood, why
do they get sick? You understand God could prevent
it. I don't have to have these sniffles. dealing with allergies
ever since he got his and never had that before. And welcome
to Kentucky. God can prevent that. I have
no trouble to him. He brings it. Why? God can prevent
the heart disease. God can prevent the cancer. God
can prevent it. Not only could he prevent it,
Sam, when it comes to pass, God did it. God did it. Often. Very often those who are
loved of God are afflicted with sickness and disease and weakness,
that which causes pain and trouble, that which works on their minds
and works on their hearts as well as their bodies. Those loved
of Christ are no more exempt than those who are the objects
of his wrath. Job and David and Hezekiah and Paul and faithful
Epaphroditus were all men who believed God and served Him who
experienced sickness, real sickness. Yes, our God, our Heavenly Father
has a good purpose for bringing it to pass. I read this by Spurgeon
today. I don't remember reading it in
the past. Spurgeon wrote, I venture to
say that the greatest earthly blessing God can give to any
of us is health. The greatest earthly blessing
God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of
sickness. Sickness has frequently been
of more use to God's saints than health has. By this means, he
tries and proves our faith. Sickness has a way of humbling,
mellowing our hearts, stripping us of our pride, teaching us
patience, increasing our faith. Sickness, when sanctified to
our hearts, reminds us of the vanity of this world, the brevity
of life in this world, and the utter helplessness of
man. The Joe back there is a medical
doctor. And no one, Joe, I'd suspect he was a good one when
he was practicing. And I don't know that I've ever
asked you this, how often have you stood beside somebody you
were treating with all the skill and all the medicine and all
that was available to you in utter helplessness as you watch
them die. Helpless. Helpless. You hold your wife's hand and
you weep in helplessness. You visit a friend and you are
heartbroken because of helplessness. utter helplessness. Richard Sibbes,
the Puritan, said the time of sickness is a time of purging
from the defilement we've gathered in health. That is a good sickness
which tends to the health of our souls. Through pain and sickness,
Christ often appears more precious than ever before. Sometimes God
makes one of his children sick for the benefit of others. It
didn't hurt Lazarus to get sick and die. That didn't hurt Lazarus at all.
The only ones who hurt by it were Martha and Mary. They're
the only ones involved in the story who were hurt by it. Martha
and Mary. But Lazarus, the Lord made him
sick and the Lord killed his body for the benefit of Martha
and Mary. Often, that which brings great
difficulty to one of God's children is a source of great blessing
to another. When we were in college, Shelby and I had a professor.
I don't even know whether the man's still on the earth or not.
The name of Robert Cox. When Brother Cox was a young
man, he was a tall, strapping, Strong man. And suddenly was
stricken with a crippling form of arthritis. I don't know what
it was. By the time I met him, he was a little shorter than
my wife. He was over six feet tall as a young man. And he couldn't
move without moving like this. He always walked with his head
twisted down, never without pain. When he stepped off the curb,
It almost jumped off because it couldn't bend his joints like
we would. And you know what I found about
this fellow? I never saw him in any way out
of shape, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. He was the happiest,
most cheerful fellow to be around, ever meet in your life. I never
knew him to complain about anything, did you? Not one time. Not one
time. Oh, what a blessing. Just the
memory of the man is to me. What a reproof. And to hundreds
of others. God, send to me whatever is needful
to benefit you. You mean that? I really don't know. I hope so. I hope so. When Jesus heard that Lazarus
was sick, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God. That's enough. Father, glorify thy name. God sends sickness for our benefit,
to make us beneficial to others, and for his glory. Here's a second
question. What comfort can we find in such
times? Turn to Matthew chapter 8, Matthew
8th chapter. It's great to have the comfort
of friends. Friends who lovingly manifest
that comfort. Now, I'm not like some people. I'm not like a lot of people.
When I'm sick, y'all just smother me to death. Just smother me
to death. He wants to be alone. No, I don't
want to be alone. No, I want you there. Just smother
me to death. I may be grouchy, but I still
want you there. Just smother me to death. Friends,
oh my. You can't have too many friends
come hold your hand. You can't have too many friends
to express their love and their concern. But never a better friend
than this. Look here, Matthew 8 verse 14. When Jesus was coming to Peter's
house, he saw his wife's mother laying and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand and the
fever left her. And she arose and ministered
to them. When the evening was come, they brought unto him many
that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with
his word and healed all that were sick. He still does. That it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying, himself. Quite literally, he himself,
not another, took our infirmities and bare our sins. Bare our sicknesses, it says. What? He took our infirmities
and bare our sicknesses. He bore in his body all our sin, all our iniquities,
all our transgressions, and as the result bear all that's involved
in the curse that comes upon men because of those things.
I have no idea what all is included or excluded when our Lord tells
us here by His Spirit that it bear our sicknesses, but I'm
sure this much is included. He who sets yonder in glory,
who rules the universe, who holds in his hands the reins of total
sovereignty, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He's touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. Sometimes we see someone who's
suffering that we barely know or don't even know at all and
we're touched by just observing what's happened to them. Our
hearts are moved by it somewhat. Sometimes we can observe such
things and not be moved by it at all. But you find somebody that's
dear to you. and they're hurt. That's another story. That's
another story. Why? Because they're part of
you. They can't hurt and you not hurt. They can't be in pain and you
not be in pain. There's just something about
that sweet union of love between hearts. that won't allow it to
happen. And that's just a small, small,
small, small idea of Him who loved us and gave Himself for
us, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and therefore
He is able to succor them that are tempted. What a good word. To succor. to help with feeling. Oh, thank you, blessed Savior,
for the help of omnipotence with feeling of a man, with feeling
of a man who loves, with feeling of a man who's been tempted and
tried in all points, even to the point of bearing our infirmities
and our sicknesses. His word to us is always, oh,
I'm with you. I'm with you. Don't be afraid. I'm with you. When you pass through
the deep waters, I'm with you. When you pass through the fire,
I'm with you. Don't be afraid. I loved you. I redeemed you.
I called you by name. I created you for myself. I'm
your God. No need to be afraid. I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee. Our Lord Jesus assures
us of his constant presence in our deepest distress And that
assured promise of his presence is not nullified because we can't
sense it, because we aren't aware of it, because our hearts are
so dull, so hard, our hearts so full of unbelief that we can't
believe it. He is ever present with his all.
I've told you this many times. I remember years ago. Brother
Scott Richardson and I were preaching together down in Rocky Mountain,
Virginia. And he was preaching out of Exodus 12. He said, God
said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And Scott had
just recently visited his brother who'd been in an insane asylum
about all his life. He talked about his brother sitting
in a wheelchair, tied to the wheelchair, didn't know he was
around, didn't know his own name, much less Scott's name. And Scott
said, I may wind up getting that old-timers disease. And you come
visit old brother Scott sitting in the wheelchair and tied to
the wheelchair and drooling all over himself, doesn't know his
name or your name or God's name. And he can't see the blood. He
said, that won't matter. He didn't say when Scott sees
the blood, he said when I see the blood. And he saw it before
I saw it. He sees it now as I see it. And
he'll see it when I can't see it. And the same is true of His
promises. God's promises, our Redeemer's
promises, our Savior's promises are yea and amen. Never yea and nay. He said, I'm
with you. I will be with you. I'll never
leave you. I'll not forsake you. And in
the midst, turn back to Psalm 41 for a minute. Psalm 41. In the midst of your sickness,
this is what I'm trying to tell you. In the midst of any trouble,
in the midst of sickness, the Lord Jesus, our God and Savior,
will be your nurse to turn you on your bed so that you're comfortable
in your bed. Look at Psalm 41, verse 3. The
Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of his languishing."
If you have a marginal reference, he'll turn him. He'll turn him
on his bed. Someone been in the hospital
for a while, they get nurses come turn him on the bed so they
don't get bed sores. That's the reason for it. And
it's a great, great, great service, a great service. Here the psalmist says, thou
wilt make his bed, all his bed, in his sickness. He'll fix it,
Rex, so that the bed doesn't make you sore. He'll fix it so that the sickness
does you no harm. And we have this comfort, too,
that sickness is not unto death. We who have already died cannot
die again. Now, what benefits are to be
had from sickness? I've already touched on this.
I'll just be very brief. Let me remind you of a few things. Sickness causes us to pray. And we don't pray much till we
have to. We just don't. If it's different
with you, I apologize. By sickness, I'm made to see
the vanity of all earthly things. I've never met a man or a woman
lying on their deathbed who said to themselves, I wish I had more
money or more property or more fame,
more influence, or more power, or even more children. I've never
met anyone lying on their deathbed knowing they were about to die
who wished they had more of anything in this world that this world
gives. More of this vanity, this vanity. None of those things we labor
so hard to get or of any real value, houses and lands and fame
and fortune, financial security, great learning, they afford no
comfort to folks who are sick and dying. By sickness, I'm made aware that
sooner or later, every earthly tie must be broken. Brother Rex prayed, I believe
it was he, a few minutes ago. Lord, teach us not to hold anything
here more dearly than we will when we have to part with it.
Nothing. Don't hold anything so tightly
that God has to break your hands to get you turned loose of it.
Hold everything here with a loose hand, by sickness. We're made to see the brevity
of time, and I hope made more sympathetic with our suffering
brethren. By sickness, we're reminded that
Christ is all. Whom have I in heaven but thee?
There is none on earth that I desire beside thee. What do we learn
from these things? Take your cares to the Lord.
Learn to submit to God's providence. And if God calls your dearest
loved ones home, don't try to hold them. Don't murmur. I know I just spoke a mouthful. When God calls your dearest loved
ones home, don't try to hold them and don't murmur. I didn't say don't hurt. I didn't
say don't weep. I said don't try to hold them
and don't murmur against God. Turn to John 17 for a minute.
John 17. I may preach on this text to
you before long. Verse 24. One day before long. It won't
be long now, certainly not as long as it has been. You're going
to get an email or a telephone call, and somebody's going to
say, Brother Don, Don's gone. The Lord took him home this morning.
The Lord took him home last night. Or I may just sit down right
there when I get done preaching and be gone. And when that happens,
here's the reason. The master says, Father, I will
that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am
that they may behold my glory. That's all right. That's all
right. Live, oh my soul, live in the
immediate prospect eternity. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. When our earthly house of this
tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building, a house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens. We often say things, I do, you
do, I wouldn't want to live like that. I wouldn't want to go through
that. Well, God teach me not to prescribe
to you. Teach me not to prescribe to
you what's best for me or for your kingdom, for your people,
or your glory. Your will be done with me today,
tomorrow, and forever. Your will be done with my dear
wife today and tomorrow and forever. Your will be done with my children
today and tomorrow and forever. Your will be done with these,
my dear family, today and tomorrow and forever. And I cannot better
pray for you. I cannot desire anything better
for you. I cannot seek anything better
for you. Amen.