Our friend, our friend, our friend
Lazarus is asleep. Our friend Lazarus is asleep. But I go that I may awake him
out of his sleep, out of sleep. I suppose this message is more
for me than for you, but if it's a blessing to me, I believe it'll
be a blessing to you. I've been thinking about our
many friends who have gone from us. Many are. The Lord's already
called many of our beloved, our friends, as Christ said of Lazarus,
our friend. Lazarus is asleep. And he's called
many of our friends, and it won't be long till he'll call some
more. There's some of us who are in
the sunset years, and the sun is rapidly sinking. And we know
that. We rejoice in that fact. But
all will one day be called away, supported unto all men who wants
to die. After that, the judgment. But
when we think about those who are gone, whom the Lord hath
called, if we're not careful, we're prone to dwell on our loss
more than on their gain. Do you find that true? We're prone to dwell more on
our state than their state, on our sorrow, instead of dwelling
upon their happiness and joy. And I believe that this passage
that we're going to look at this evening, if the Lord's pleased
to bless it, it's in His hands whether He blesses it or not.
But I believe it'll add a measure of comfort to our hearts and
encouragement to our hearts and joy. even in our sorrow, because
we sorrow not as those who have no hope, because we have a blessed
hope, a good hope through grace, a living hope. But let's look
at John 11, see what we find here. In John 11, verse 1, now
a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany. The town of Mary and her sister
Martha, the town of Bethany, was about two miles from Jerusalem. And Bethany was the town, we
know it as the town where Mary and Martha and Lazarus lived,
two sisters and a brother. We believe Martha was the older
sister. She seemed to be in charge of
the household. Lazarus, a beloved brother, and
Mary, the younger sister. And our Lord knew this family
and loved this family, having been in their home several times,
and would be in their home again after this incident. In verse
2, he identifies Mary. John identifies Mary. He said,
it's that Mary. You see several women in the
Bible by that name. So he identifies this Mary, it's
the one which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet
with her hair. It's her brother Lazarus that
was sick. Turn back to Mark 14, and let's
read about Mary over here. She's the one that sat at His
feet, heard His words. She's the one that anointed Him
with the precious ointment and dried his feet with her hair. Mark 14, verse 3, And being in
Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat,
there came a woman, having an alabaster box of ointment, of
spikenard, very precious. She broke the box and poured
it on his head. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves, saying, Why was this waste of
ointment made? Might have been sold for more
than 300 pence, given to the poor. And they murmured against
her. And Jesus said, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She
hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you
always, and whensoever you will do well, you may do them good. But me you have not always. She
hath done what she could. She's come beforehand to anoint
my body to the burying. And verily I say unto you, Wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world Which
is being done tonight? This also that she hath done
shall be spoken of a memorial of her. That's exactly what I'm
doing It was that Mary which anointed
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair Whose
brother Lazarus was sick? Now then, therefore his sister
sent unto him," now the Lord was not in the area. Some people
believe he was in Galilee, I do not know, but the sister sent
word that their brother was sick. And I want you to note how they
worded this message. This is very important. Therefore
his sister sent unto him, saying, Behold, he whom thou lovest is
sick." Now, they did not mention their merit. We're your friends. We're your friends, and our brother
is your friend. And they didn't mention their
merits, or his merit. And they didn't say anything
about their kindness to the Lord. Martha had fixed meals for Christ. fed him. Mary anointed his head
with that precious ointment. She never said anything about
that. Wiped his feet with her hair, sat at his feet, loved
him. They didn't instruct the Lord
as to what he should do. They didn't promise any additional
service if he would do what they wanted done. Now if you'll come
and heal him, we'll really shape up. And we'll do more for you."
They didn't say that. They didn't even say, do you
remember how Lazarus loves you? They said, Lord, he whom thou
lovest is sick. That is different, isn't it?
He whom thou lovest is sick. You love him. So verse 4, the Lord knew that Lazarus was
going to die, don't you? You know that. And the Lord knew that He was
going to raise Lazarus. And the Lord Himself sent this
illness and this experience for His glory. the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, when Jesus heard
that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. It's not going to result in Lazarus'
ultimate death. This is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God might be glorified by raising him from
the dead. You see, the Father is glorified
when the Son is glorified. When the Son is honored, the
Father is glorified. Father, glorify Thy Son, that
Thy Son may glorify Thee. That's what He prayed. And our
Lord said, He that honoreth the Son. And this is, preachers everywhere
need to learn this, church members too. He that honoreth the Son,
the Father will honor. You see, Christ is glorified
when His divine power is manifested. Christ is glorified when men
and women acknowledge who He is. Every knee is going to bow
and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus. who has made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that he that
gloryeth in glory in the Lord." So, Christ is glorifying when
men and women acknowledge who He is, and what He did, and why
He did it, and where He is now. Where He is now. So this, all
of this is for the glory of God. All of it. Lazarus' sickness,
Lazarus' death, his sister's sorrow, all of this is for the
glory of God. Somehow, for the glory of God. You see verse 5, the Lord loved
these people. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust Him for His grace. Behind a frowning providence
is the Lord's smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but all sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err. and search his work in vain. Why did he do this? Why did he
do this? Blind unbelief is sure to err. And search his work for cause,
reason. And he gives no account of his
matters to the creature. But blind unbelief is sure to
err. The only place it can lead you
is the wrong way. If you start questioning God's
wisdom You see, when God sent all of these problems and troubles
to Job, he never charged God with foolishness. Never did. He regretted the day he was born.
But he never charged God with a mistake or foolishness. So
blind unbelief is sure to err and search his work in vain.
He's not going to answer your question. He doesn't owe us an
explanation. God is His own interpreter. And one day, He'll make it plain. You see what he's saying? The
author is saying, blind unbelief is sure to err. You can count
on it. When we search His work in vain,
God is His own interpreter. And someday, He'll make it plain. And that's what our Lord said
here. He loved Martha. He loved her sister. He loved
Lazarus. But He did not go to heal Lazarus.
He did not respond when they called, Lord, He whom thou lovest
is sick. He stayed right there. He didn't
come to comfort them. He didn't come to heal Lazarus. When He heard When he had heard,
therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the
same place where he was." The ways of the Lord are strange
to us. And don't wonder that they're
strange because the Lord is so far above us, so far, so superior. My thoughts aren't your thoughts.
My ways are not your ways. As the heavens are high above
the earth, my ways are higher than your ways." Well, this is
the way I do it, and that's probably wrong. He does it right. There's a way that seems right
to me, and this is right. Where does it end? Death. He
says that three times, I think, in the Scripture. So, verse 8. Verse 7 says, that saith he to his disciples,
Let us go into Judea." See, Bethany is just two miles from Jerusalem,
far as from here to the city limits. So he lets go. And his disciples said unto him
in verse 8, Master, the Jews up there of late sought to stone
you. And you're going back there again?
Don't go back there again. Don't do that. Jesus answered
them. Are there not 12 hours in the
day? This is in those countries where
they didn't have artificial light. So if a man walks in the day,
he doesn't stumble. There's 12 hours in the day when
a man can work, see what he's doing, and do what he's seeing. He stumbleth not, because he
seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night,
he stumbles, because there's no light in him. What he's saying
here is, they said, don't go to Jerusalem. That's where they
were going to stone you last time you were up there. They
were going to put you to death. He said, now wait a minute. The
time given me by my Father to accomplish what He sent me to
accomplish, My work, my redemptive work, is as fixed as the hours
of daylight. And this time cannot be lengthened
by you, my friends, and your well wishes, and it cannot be
shortened by my enemies. My time is determined. So is
yours. So is mine. My course is set. The number of my months are with
the Lord. I walk while it's daylight. And you can't, by thinking, consideration,
add one minute to your life. My boundaries are set. Christ
said, I'm here to do the work my Father sent me to do. I must
work the works of my Father. Turn back to John 9. You'll see
that. John 9. John 9, verse 4, listen. John 9, verse... Well, verse 1, Jesus passed by
and saw a man blind from birth, and His disciples asked Him,
Master, who sinned? Who did sin? This man or his
parents that he was born blind? Jesus said, neither. Neither hath this man done any
unusual sinning. All sin can come short of the
glory of God. Nor did his parents do some outlandish
thing, but the man, blind at the works of God, should be made
manifest. I must work the works of Him
that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man
can work. And when he said that, he spat on the ground, made clay,
and healed the man's eyes." This is my work. And my friends' consideration
and concern are going to lengthen it, and my enemies violence and
hatred are going to shorten it. I must work the works of Him
that sent me on this day. Now then, verse 11, These things
said he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus
is sleeping, that I go that I may wake him out of his sleep. And
his disciples said, Lord, if he is asleep, He'd do it well. It'd be good for him. It'd be
good for his disease, his troubles, his pain. Howbeit Jesus spake of
his death. But they thought he had spoken
of Lazarus taking a rest in sleep. And then said the Lord Jesus
to the disciples plainly so they could understand He's dead. Lazarus is dead. But our Lord,
in His words, said he's asleep. He's asleep. In your language,
he's dead. In my language, he's asleep. What is death? Well, it's different
things to different people. To the physician, death is a
failure, a patience lost. And he goes
on to the next one. To the newspaper, death is a
story, breaking news, they call it. And when it's over, they
forget it and go on to the next shocking incident. To the insurance company, death
is a claim. You are clean. To the lawyer,
death is a will to be probated. We'll get to the next one, and
the next one, and the next one, next one. To the philosopher,
death is a mystery to discuss and argue. To the
theologian, death is an act of God as a result of man's sin. But the Lord Jesus, knowing that
Lazarus, my friend, had departed this life, our Lord said, he's
asleep. Lazarus is asleep. Now, this
word is used in the scripture frequently to express what natural
man calls death. 2 Kings 2.10 says David slept with
his fathers and was buried in the city of David. He slept.
Job said this in Job 7.21, Now I shall sleep in the dust, and
you will seek me in the morning, but I shall not be there. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 51, Paul
said, We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in
a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, when the Lord comes. This
corruptible will put on incorruption. But we shall not all sleep, but
some will. Stephen, Acts 7, says, Stephen,
when they stoned him, kneeled down and cried, Lord, lay not
this sin to their charge. And when he said that, he fell
asleep. He fell asleep. I want you to turn to Luke chapter
8. This world doesn't understand the language of my Lord, the
gospel of my Lord, the grace of my Lord. Do not appreciate
it. Luke chapter 8 verse 49. Listen
to him here. Luke 8, 49, While he yet spake,
there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying
to him, Thy daughter is dead, thy daughter is dead, trouble
not the master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered
him, saying, Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house,
he suffered no man to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the
father and the mother of the maiden, and all wept and bewailed
her. And he said, Weep not, she's
not dead. She's asleep. And they laughed. And they laughed him to scorn."
Can you imagine that? They laughed at him. You see, they knew she was dead. To them, she was dead. To Him,
she was asleep. When you think about it, now
think about it a moment. The word dead just cannot apply
to a child of God. Whether they're here or in heaven.
That's what our Lord is saying. Our friend Lazarus is asleep.
Well, if he's asleep, he's doing good. He's dead in your language. To
me, he's asleep. You see, the word dead does not
apply to a believer because dead means without life. Without life
means without Christ, who is our life. Isn't it? Dead means without God, and without
God is without hope. So you can't say of a child of
God, he's dead. And to be telling the truth,
he's not dead. He's asleep. A flower's dead. It'll never
bloom again. A dog is dead. run over by a truck, never to
live again. A sinner's dead in trespasses
and sins if God hasn't quickened him, and he'll stay dead. But
I'm not dead, and I'm not going to die. The child of God has already
passed from what? Death to life. And that life
can never be quenched because that life is Christ. Look at verse 23 of John 11 here. Jesus said to Martha, your brother
will rise again. She said, I know he'll rise again
in the resurrection at the last day. He said, Martha, I'm the
resurrection and I'm the life. He that believeth on me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Do you believe
this? Do you believe that? Our Lord said, if a man keep
my sayings, he'll never see death. John 8, verse 51. Ephesians 2, verse 1 said, you
have to quicken who were damned. But now you're alive, and you're
risen with Christ, and you're seated in the heavenlies. Our Lord said to the thief on
the cross, who believed on him, barely I say unto you, today
you'll be dead. No, he didn't. Today you'll be
with me in paradise, not dead, with me. When the Lord Jesus, as we say,
died on the cross and they laid his body in a tomb, was he dead? Was he dead? No, sir. He wasn't
dead. You can't kill God. You can't
kill Christ. His body was in the tomb asleep. He lives. He ever lives. And
the same thing is true of those who know Him and love Him and
who are saved by His grace. He that hath the Son of God hath
life. Now, he that hath not the Son
of God is dead, and Jude said one day he'll be twice dead. That's what happens when an unbeliever
dies. He's already dead in trespasses
and sin, and when he dies again, he's twice dead. He's dead in
judgment, second death. But the believer, when he passes
from this life, is asleep. And John read it. The body returns to the dust
from whence it came, as Job said, I'll sleep in the dust. And you'll
come looking for me, but I won't be there. I'll be with him. To
be absent of the body is to be present with the Lord. But my
body is going to sleep until my Lord comes and wakes it up. But in the meantime, I have a
building, a building, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens, those dwelling places, he said he went to prepare. Romans 6. Turn over here for
a moment. Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter
6, verse 9. Romans 6, 9. Knowing that Christ, being raised
from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over
him. In that he died, he died unto
sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise
reckon ye yourselves also, yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." I'm crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, and I'll
never die. In the life which I now live,
by faith I live, In the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." So really, the
word dead just does not apply to the believer. He's passed
from death unto life. And when he goes through this
experience of old age, and God calls him home, he's not dead. He's like the little bird that
breaks out of the shell and leaves the shell, leaves it lying there,
and then the wind blows it onto the ground, and the wind blows
the shell until somebody steps on it and crushes it. It just
disappears into the soil, but the little bird is flying. He
lives. He's freed from his shell. He's freed from that temporary
place where he spent several weeks, and he's gone. And when we leave this body,
it sleeps in the dust till the day of resurrection, and we're
not dead. That's the reason our Lord said about Lazarus, our
friend Lazarus is asleep. Our dear friends who left us,
they're asleep. You say, but preacher in 1 Corinthians,
turn to 1 Corinthians 15. It says, the last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death. That's right. 1 Corinthians 15,
24. Then cometh the end. Now listen
to me, just a few more minutes. Then cometh the end. This is
the end of the world. When he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and all power, for he must reign,
Christ Jesus must reign, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet. And the last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death." Now when you say that, the last
fortress, the last enemy, The last stronghold that the Lord
will put under and destroy is death. We're talking about death
as a power, as a principle, as a presence in this universe.
When God makes a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness,
death as a power, as a principle, as a presence shall be no more.
But for the believer, that's already done. For the believer in Christ, death
hath no power over you. You're his. Death as a principle
does not reign over you. He that believeth on me shall
never die, never die, never die. Death hath no more dominion over
Christ or over me, his child. I pass from death unto life.
My body will sleep. But when my body sleeps, and
while it sleeps, I'll be with Him in Paradise." Paul said,
really, my dear friends, I have a desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better. So our beloved, beloved loved
ones who the Lord had called away, He called them away. Their
bodies sleep. And you've seen them lie there
in the casket or on the bed asleep. But they've gone to be with Him.
And they're asleep in Jesus. That's what it says in 1 Thessalonians. Listen. 1 Thessalonians chapter
4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Listen to verse 14. If we believe
1 Thessalonians 4, Verse 14, if
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. They sleep in
Christ. You see, they were chosen in
Christ, they were redeemed in Christ, they were accepted in
Christ, they were seated in Christ, and they sleep in Christ. In
His love, in His grace, in His arms. They sleep in Christ. And then they sleep in their
own identity. When a body lies down to sleep,
tonight when you go to bed, you sleep one hour, two, five, no
matter how long you sleep, when you awaken, you're the same person
that lay down. Aren't you? You're the same person. These people sleep in Christ.
Our loved ones sleep in Christ, and they sleep in the same identity
as they had when they lay down. Job said, write this down in
a book, he said. Put it on my tombstone while
you're at it. I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and one day He'll stand on this earth. And though worms destroy
this body, this body sleeps in the dust and goes back to the
dust. Yet in my flesh I'll see God. I myself, he said, not another. Sleep in their own identity.
And then thirdly, they sleep in rest from all discomfort. Our Lord said no more tears,
no more pain, no more sorrow, no more darkness, no more sin,
no more suffering. They enter their rest. They sleep
in peace and rest and joy from all troubles and all comfort. I know some of you here know
what pain is, what pain is. Real pain. If you don't know
what real pain is, you're not going to know what I'm talking
about. But some of you have suffered real pain. One time in my life,
I've suffered real pain. Keep you from sleeping. Wake
you up at four o'clock in the morning. Just don't think you
can stand another minute of the pain. And you take one of those
pills the doctor gives you. Oh, I'm telling you, it's wonderful. Just absolutely, oh, I'm glad
they invented that stuff. But you just lie there, and you
don't feel anything, you don't care. But the pain's gone. And that's just a sorry illustration, but it
is an illustration of the suffering some of our folks have been through
in this world. And one day, pain was gone. And the sorrow, and the suffering,
and they fell asleep. Hmm? And that'll be our experience,
and it'll all be gone. Never to know it again. Isn't
that something? Isn't that something? They sleep
in rest and freedom, and then they sleep in hope of a resurrection. Our Lord said this there in verse
11. I couldn't help but just pause
there a minute in verse 11, chapter 11. He says, our friend Lazarus
is asleep, but I go that I may awaken him out of
his sleep. And bless your heart, one of
these days, one of these grand, oh what a day, my saying about
that will be, when He comes and all of these rise to meet Him in there. They sleep in Jesus, in their
own identity, in perfect rest, awaiting that glorious day when
we'll all be together again, never depart.