Let me read the text again from
John 11. Verse 20 of John 11 says, Then
Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and
met him. But Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died. But I know that even now, whatsoever
you will ask of God, he will give it thee." The Lord Jesus
loved this little family at Bethany. Mary, Martha, and their brother
Lazarus spent time in their home. They sent word to the Master
in another city when he was in another city, that Lazarus was
sick, very sick. And the Lord purposely, according
to his word, stayed away until Lazarus died and was buried and
had been in the tomb four days. And then, with his disciples,
he came to Bethany. Now, both sisters greeted the
Master with the same comment. A little later in the chapter,
Mary, as soon as she found out the Lord was there, ran out to
meet him, and she said the same thing. She said, Lord, if you'd
been here, he would not have died. But Martha added a comment
that will serve for my text tonight, a comment that caught my attention when I read
it. And when I talked to Walter about it this afternoon, he said
he'd been thinking about this very statement, or one similar,
even now. Martha looked at him and she
said, my brother's dead. And if you'd have been here,
he wouldn't have died. But even now, even now, whatever you ask
God, he'll give it to you. Now, what did she mean? Well,
she meant this. Lazarus was dead. And Lazarus' spirit was gone.
And Lazarus was lying in the tomb, dead, dead. And he'd been in that tomb four
days. Not only was he dead, but his
body was already decaying, already rotting. He stinked, they said. He'd been there four days. Behold,
Lord, he stinked. A stone had been rolled in front
of the tomb, signifying what? That the one inside was going
to stay there. You know, our homes have doors
with hinges. We go in and out. But they put
a large stone in front of it. Total human hopelessness. No hope. Absolutely, if I could
describe this thing like I ought to, if I had the ability, what
I'm showing is total helplessness. total hopelessness. Lazarus is
dead. Lazarus is rotting. Lazarus is stinking. Lazarus'
spirit is gone. The stone is rolled in front
of the door. Do you get the picture? It's
like when Ezekiel stood on top of that mountain, or wherever
he was in the plain, wherever God took him. And there'd been
a battle fought in that valley And the birds had picked the
meat from the bones. This had happened years and years
and years before Ezekiel came there. The scripture says there
were very many bones in the valley, buried dry. In other words, they
had been whitened and bleached and parched by the sun. They
had been cast around. They had been picked up by the
animals and the birds and the meat taken off of them. And the
sand had blown over them, a bone sticking out here and there,
a skeleton, an arm bone, a leg bone. And God said, Ezekiel,
can these bones live? And Ezekiel replied, Lord, you
know. If it's left up to me, no. If
it's left up to them, beyond a shadow of a doubt. But you
know. And this is what Mary is saying.
She is saying, my brother is dead, hopelessly, helplessly
dead. The stone is in front of the
grave, he stinketh, he's corrupting. But I know, I know, I believe
even now, in the face of human helplessness, in the face of
total hopelessness, even now, even now, whatever you will shall
be done. Sarah's womb is dead. Abraham
is 100 years old and Sarah is 90. She's past the age of bearing
children. But even now, the will of God
shall be done. Israel's people were mired in
slavery for 400 years. They had lost any hope of ever
being delivered. They had no army. They had no
leader. They had no weapons. They were
powerless. They were totally in submission
and subjection to their captors 400 years. ten generations they had been
in Egypt. But even now, even now, his will
shall be done. Jonah, now think of this, Jonah
cast off the ship, swallowed by a giant fish prepared by God,
and taken to the bottom of the sea. The iron bars, he said,
closed about him forever, the weeds wrapped around his head.
I believe as many that Jonah was D.E.A.D. dead in the bottom
of the sea. He did cry, salvations of the
Lord, salvations of the Lord. And there in the fish, Jonah, hopeless, helpless, in
the bottom of the sea. But even now, even now, you see
what I'm saying? Even now. Here's a man forty-some-odd years
of age, in his early forties. He's a man dedicated and devoted
to his religious beliefs and his religious principles and
his religious convictions. He hates, he hates to the point
of securing papers to stamp out that way. He hates the name of
Jesus Christ. He despises all believers. He's on the road. He's on a mission
to go down in a certain place and bring Christians out of their
homes and put the men in prison and flog the women and break
up their meeting places. That's his mission. He's dedicated
to it. He's got the papers in his pocket.
He believes he's right. Even now, our God is able to
stop that man on his road and bring him to a knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Is anything too hard for God? I'm preaching to myself now,
and I hope I'm preaching to you. Our God said, can I not do with
my own what I will? You make the situation as impossible
as you want to. It was here. It was to Martha.
It was totally. She said, he's dead. He is dead. And the crowd stood around weeping.
Now, if you'd been here, he wouldn't have died, but he's now dead.
But I know even now, I know even now, that whatever you ask will
be done. Can I not do with my own, God
said, what I will? Do you believe that? Hath not
the potter power over the clay? Let me give you some illustrations. Somebody here in this congregation
tonight, I don't know, I suppose they are, but they're very old.
And they've been dead in cold paganism, no knowledge or interest
in Christ. No knowledge and interest in
the gospel. But even now, and I know that vast denominations
say that if you don't get them when they're young, you don't
get them at all. But I'll tell you this, our God gets greater
glory in the face of human helplessness than anywhere else. I don't care
how old you are. I'm not selling a brand of religion
or talking people into a campaign or talking them into a profession
of faith. I'm seeking out God's elect,
and I just believe some of them might be 80 or 90 years old.
Even now. The more hopeless, the more glory
he gets. To whom much is forgiven, they'll
love much. I'll give you an illustration.
Our Lord went to dinner one night, and in that dinner hall or wherever
they were having the dinner, there were some outstanding religious
leaders. There were some good, clean,
moral men, Pharisees, pastors and religious leaders and scribes
and Pharisees, Sadducees, translators of the Bible, scribes who I mean,
who took the scriptures and put them on other paper and so forth,
all of these dignitaries from the town, everybody was there.
A harlot came in, a woman from the streets whom everybody knew,
and down at his feet she bathed those feet with tears and dried
them with the hair of her head. Our Lord saved somebody in that
hall. Who do you suppose it was? The most hopeless, the most helpless
The most notorious situation in the whole hall is where God
was pleased to send his power that he might get all the glory.
That's what he said. That's what he's saying in 1
Corinthians 1. He's chosen the foolish to confound
the wise. He had chosen the weak to bring
to naught or to bring to note the things that
are strong, the things that are despised, yea, the things that
are in the eyes of men abased, God will use it. And that's what
I'm saying. Second, your children, maybe
you're here tonight and your children, or some of them, or
one of them, or two of them, are total rebels. Rebels. Haters of God, lovers of the
world, strangers to God and grace, no conviction or need or concern
for their souls. They laugh, they scoff, they
mock at everything holy and sacred. Even now. That's what I'm saying. Even now. You believe he's able? I know he's able. I'm looking
over this congregation and I see young men and young ladies that
were just right there where I'm talking about number two. Rebels.
Your God was gold, flesh, evil, dope, drugs, whatever. You had no use for God. In fact,
you made fun of all those fanatics and radicals down at the church.
But now, God's brought you to be a lover of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Even now. Maybe somebody here tonight is
troubled and bowed down with a burden and a trial. You see
no way out. Turn to Psalm 107. I'm going
to show you something here. Psalm 107. You see no way out. You see no way out. You come
to a blank wall. I'll tell you now, if we could
lay hold of the faith of Martha, even now, even now, even now. Psalm 107, listen to this, in
verse 4. in the wilderness in a solitary
way, they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their
soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, he delivered them out of their distresses."
Look at verse 11. They rebelled against the words
of God, they contemned the counsel of the Most High, he brought
down their heart with labor, they fell down, there was no
one to help. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, he saved them out of their distresses. But
even now, even now, you have a desire to preach. There are
young men here. You have a desire to preach.
But the gifts are few. The desire is there, the zeal,
the enthusiasm, but the gifts come slow and the talent and
ability and the doors, the open doors are even fewer. You're
near to despair and at times you've been ready to quit. Martha
says, I know even now, even now, what ye will shall be done. Even
now. Maybe someone here is sick tonight,
weak, your days seem few, frail, your bodies feeble. Even now,
what he asks shall be done. Your plans are large and your
expectations great to build a witness for the glory of God. I have
those expectations and those desires and those plans. But
enemies are strong, and they throw stumbling blocks in the
way, and there's no cooperation from those without. And you desire
it so much, even now, even now. I think about this situation
regarding our enlargement or parking, and some of the people
who own the property become bitter because this congregation would
not meet exorbitant demands. extravagant demands. And so they've
set their hearts and steeled them. But I'll tell you this,
if God wants us to have it, we'll have it, even now. I know that. Lazarus is dead, he sure is. And he's rotten, he sure is.
And there's stones before the hole in the ground, but he's,
and he can't come out. Total human hopelessness. But Martha said, even now, even
now. Even before the dead carcass,
even before the dead womb, even before the walled cities of Jericho,
even before the Red Sea, old Moses stood there and said, stand
still and watch God open the door. Stand still. Quit going about with what you
do and planting and all of these things. Just stand still and
shut your mouth and watch God work. The battle is the Lord,
it's not ours. Turn to Luke 4, let me show you.
This is what salvation is all about. This is what our God is
saying to those people at Nazareth. He said in Luke 4, 18, the Spirit
of God is on me. The Spirit of God is on me. He
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. This is a
valuable, valuable extravagant priceless gift. And that's the
people that can afford it. Those that don't have anything.
That's the people that can afford eternal life to those who can't
pay for it. Now you think about that a minute.
Those who can't pay for it. What do you reckon God will sell
you, his son? How much? You can't pay the price. That's
who it's for, that's what he's saying. Listen, he goes on, he
sent me to heal the broken, broken-hearted. He sent me to put deliverance
to the captives, recover sight to those stone-blind, and to
set at liberty them that are bruised, even now. All right,
Brother Mahan, how can you be so sure, so certain of these
blessings? I'll give you six things, just
as an outline and then close. First of all, I'm certain because
the gospel is still preached. It is the gospel that's the power
of God unto salvation. Turn to 1 Timothy or 2 Timothy
2. Now, you listen to Paul here.
That's my first reason for this faith. I believe even now, even
in 1981, even in the face of modernism, liberalism, fundamentalism,
Catholicism, and every other ism, our God's able. Because
the gospel, the pure, powerful, redeeming, Christ-honoring gospel
is still preached here and there. And where it's preached, it'll
not return void. It'll accomplish that whereunto
our Lord has sent it. Look at 2 Timothy 2, verse 9. Paul says, I suffer trouble as
an evildoer. even under bonds. They've got
me in jail, they've got my arms chained, my legs chained, I can't
move, I can't go out, sail the seas, walk the streets, preach
the gospel, I'm bound. But God's Word's not bound. God's Word's not bound. It's
the gospel that's the power of God unto salvation, the gospel
of his grace, his glory, his mercy, his love in Christ. It's
the promise of life in Christ Jesus. That gospel is not bound.
And it's still being preached. Not everywhere, but somewhere. And I have hope that where the
true gospel is preached, it'll call forth the blind, the captives,
the dead, the dumb, the lame, and the deaf. Because it's the
power of God on the salvation. Second reason why I turned to
Revelation 1, 17. Even now, Even in the face of my total
inability, my total helplessness, yours, even now, what he wills
shall be done. Why? Because Christ lives. Revelation 1.17. When he appeared
to John on the Isle of Patmos, he said, When I saw him, I felt
that his feet is dead. He laid his hand on me and said,
Don't be afraid. I'm the first and the last. I
am he that liveth. I was dead. But I am he that
liveth." At the tomb, the angels met the disciples and the women
and said, why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not
here, he's risen. Christ lives. Our Lord lives,
and he who lives is able to do what he will. There's our hope
for all things. He lives. Christ Jesus lives
today. He is at the Father's right hand,
and the Father said he's going to make all his enemies his footstool. The third reason, even now, whatever
the situation, I don't care what it is, I don't care who it is,
if my Lord wills to conquer that city, he'll conquer it. If he
wills to raise that dead, he'll raise it. If he wills to do a
work of grace, he'll do it. Even now. But brother man, it
just seems impossible. That's good. The more impossible
it gets, the more confident I am. Or want to be. Or ought to be.
Going to be. That's right. Because thirdly,
his blood still has the power to save us. That's what John
said, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. I'm
not going to despair. because he is able to save to
the uttermost them that come to God by him. All forgiveness,
redemption, salvation is through the blood of the Lamb. There
is a fountain filled with blood. It was drawn from Emmanuel's
veins, and sinners like you and me plunge beneath that flood,
lose all their guilty stains. And the dying Lamb, dear dying
Lamb, thy precious blood will never lose its power, never. until all the ransomed Church
of God be saved to sin no more. And it won't be needed after
that, because we're going to be just like him. I need his
cleansing blood. I need the cleansing of his blood.
I need the power, and that power is not diminished. He's able,
even now, because the blood of Christ still has power to save.
And you don't need to add any 1981 customs or traditions or
ceremonies to it. It's still the same old blood,
the same old gospel, the same message, ever new. Fourthly,
because the Holy Spirit has been sent by God to convict and reveal
Christ. That's what he said in John 16.
Let's turn over there and look at it. In John 16, here in verse
7, we're not alone. We're not alone. God has sent
his Spirit, the invincible power of his Spirit. We're not alone.
He said, I won't leave you alone. I won't leave you alone. Verse
7, John 16, he said, I tell you the truth, it's expedient for
you that I go away, and if I go not away, the Comforter will
not come, but if I depart, I'll send him unto you, and he'll
convince the world of sin. Can you stop Christ? No, sir,
and you can't stop his Spirit. Can you thwart his purpose? And
you can't thwart the purpose of his Spirit. He says in verse
down here, in verse 14, he said, and he'll glorify me, didn't
say ought to or might, he said he shall, and he shall receive
of mine and show it unto you. God doesn't command you to produce
a righteousness. People are trying it on every
hand. He has commanded us to receive one already produced.
God doesn't command me to provide an atonement, but to trust one
already made. God does not command me to save
my soul. He commands me to believe on
him who is able. Fifthly, I believe even now,
any situation, my Lord's will shall be done. There is no enemy
that can stop him. None can stay his hand or say
unto him, What doest thou? I just don't want to be in his
way, dear, when he sets forth to accomplish his purpose. I
wouldn't want to own a piece of property that God wanted and
I wasn't willing to let him have it. I wouldn't want to be in
that place. I just wouldn't want to. I feel
sorry for those who are. Because if he wills to have something,
he'll have it. And fifthly, because the father
is still merciful to the prodigal and still welcomes him home.
You get the picture. That father was still watching
for that boy. And when he saw him coming at
a far off, the scripture said, he ran to meet him. And he said,
rejoice with me. My son was dead and now he lives.
And my father, my heavenly father, is still merciful to the returning
prodigals. I'm so glad that God's not a
man. God is so merciful, God is so gracious. You thought I
was altogether such a one as yourself, but God is merciful. He delights to show mercy. You
can always find mercy at the throne of grace. Even now, I
mean even now, there's no cause for any man to despair except
the man who's wrapped in pride. There's no cause for any man
to despair except the man who still has some strength. Still
got some strength? I would if I was you. I'd despair.
But the person who is helpless, hopeless, guilty in need, oh,
everyone that thirsts it, come to the water. In the sixth place,
and we quit with this, because faith is the way of redemption,
not works. Now, I can't honor the law, but
I can believe. I can't satisfy God's justice,
but I can believe. He says, come for all things
are ready, just bring an appetite. You can do that, can't you? Come,
the table is spread. It's prepared. You can, you have
an appetite. Let not conscience, the songwriter
said, make you linger, nor a fitness fondly dream. All the fitness
Christ requires is to feel your need of him. Now here's a mistake
that many people make. They get interested in the gospel.
They're sinners and they know it to a degree. And they want
to get right with God, and that's a bad statement, get right with
God. Make your peace with God. That's
bad business. And they begin to, what they
call, wait. They're going to confess Christ,
they're going to believe on Christ, but they want to wait and they
want to straighten some things up first. That's where you make
your mistake. God will not mix your works and
his. He will not mix his grace and
your efforts. You come just as you are, without
one plea, but that his blood was shed for thee. You come just
as you are, and waiting not to rid your soul of one dark blood,
but that his blood was shed to cleanse each spot." You see what
I'm saying? Just like God meets men at the point of total, complete
inability. And that way, he gets all the
glory. That's what he said, he chose those things that no flesh
should glow in his presence. So if we can come to the point
where Martha stood in front of that open, that closed grave,
that stone rolled in front of that grave, and the dead brother
behind him, she said, he's dead. He's dead. But I know even now
what you will will be done. And brother, I tell you, that
stone came away from that grave. Can we believe? Let's sing just
a verse of a song, give the people time to stand a minute, and Brother
Walter Gruber is going to come and speak to us and show us some
slides from Mexico.