Transcript

Who's In Control?

John 11:1-16
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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For two of the past three weeks I have been preaching on the abundant life we enjoy in Christ Jesus. Through faith and repentance, the Lord Jesus takes up residence in our lives. He not only promises to give us eternal life with Him in heaven, but also abundant life with Him for the remaining years on this planet. Through our abiding in Him and His abiding in us, we receive meaningful contentment and satisfaction. We receive His joy and His peace. We receive the great promise to know that He is sovereignly working all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28). Should it then be a surprise that we are commanded to, "Rejoice in the Lord, always" (Phil. 4:4)?

Well, earlier this week, the Lord put my faith in this promise to the test. I thought it would be a fun idea to take the family camping. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate the torrential downpour we experienced. A sleepless night, crying children, wet sleeping bags, a leaky tent and 4 bodies piled high on an inflatable air mattress made me ask the question as water was dripping on my head at 4:00 in the morning - Randy, are you rejoicing?

Though my trial was somewhat of a joke, many of our trials are no laughing matter. They are agonizing, difficult and ongoing. And it is in the midst of this real heart-wrenching pain that our faith is tested and we find ourselves battling for the joy as promised by our Lord. All of us this morning, to different degrees, are suffering. We live in a fallen world plagued with tribulations. But Jesus has come to bring deliverance. Yet He did not promise to remove these tribulations, but He did promise to impart abundant life in the midst of these tribulations. Though the world teaches that joy and sorrow and thanksgiving and grief are incompatible, the Bible teaches that they can all be reconciled in Christ. Our account this morning in John 11 gives evidence of this profound truth.

However, before we begin this new chapter in John, allow me to provide you with some background information to help acquaint you with this wonderful account. As we learned in the close of chapter 10, Jesus, rejected by the majority of His own people, retreated to a small village and ceased all public teaching. Chapters 11 and 12 therefore basically form a transition between Christ's public ministry and His passion at Calvary beginning in chapter 13. In chapter 11 we will witness Christ's most dramatic miracle of all, the resurrection of a man who had already been dead and had undergone four days of decomposition (Jn. 11:17, 39). This miracle, a tremendous manifestation of Christ's glory, will be a foreshadowing of His own resurrection from the grave just months, if not weeks, in the future.

In verse 3 Jesus received word from a messenger that a dear friend of His was sick. The man is identified as "he whom You love." In verses 1 and 2 we learn that the man's name was Lazarus. He is from Bethany, an insignificant village about 2 miles from Jerusalem (Jn. 11:18). Lazarus has two older sisters named Mary and Martha. Mary is remembered for the one who loved to sit at the Lord's feet and contemplate His teachings (Lk. 10:39). Verse 2 reminds the reader that it was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. Martha, you'll recall from Luke 10, was the one who was busy and committed to service, but gently rebuked by the Lord for her lack of devotion to Him.

Well, let's begin. This morning I would like to present 4 practical points of application from this text that will promote your joy even in the midst of life's worst trials.

1. JOY IN THE MIDST OF REAL PAIN

Last week I made it clear that we have the direct command in the Scriptures to rejoice in the Lord. The Lord has provided us with all that we need to experience joyful abundant life in Him. However, I do not want to paint the picture that sorrow, grief and sadness are necessarily sinful emotions that are to be avoided. We live in a sin-tainted world. We experience pain and that pain is real and our suffering is genuine.

You can well imagine the agony that Mary and Martha faced. Their family was in disarray. Their dear brother Lazarus, whom they loved deeply, was sick. He was nearing the point of death. Their hearts were broken! We read in verses 19 and 31 that many of the Jews were consoling these grieving sisters.

To mask or camouflage or suppress these emotions is to deny the very essence of our humanness created in the image of God. Throughout the Bible we read of God grieving (Gen. 6:6; Psm. 78:40) over the rebellious nature of His creatures. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (Lk. 19:41). Even in this account we read of Jesus being "troubled" and "deeply moved in spirit" (verse 33). Verse 35 plainly says, "Jesus wept."

May I even submit this thought for your consideration? I believe the problem is not that we mourn too much, but that we don't mourn enough over the things that should really grieve our hearts! Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Mt. 5:4). God wants us to mourn over our sin. After his adultery with Bathsheba, David wrote, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise" (Psm. 51:17). In Psalm 34 he said, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psm. 34:18). The apostle Paul said, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Cor. 7:10). And if you study the life of Paul, you often find him grieving over more than just sin. Paul grieved over false teachers promoting heretical doctrine (Phil. 3:18), the lost without salvation in Christ (Rom. 9:2) and the condition of the church (2 Cor. 2:4; 11:29). These are the things that should bring us ultimate sadness as well.

My point, however, is that we have been created to express sorrow. The last thing that I would wish to convey to this church is that though we are expected to rejoice in the Lord we must display it with plastic faces and painted smiles. It's OK to mourn and the church is called to weep with you (Rom. 12:15) and bear your burdens (Gal. 6:2). However, in the midst of our sufferings, we are to experience a deep and abiding joy that is not dependent on our circumstances. Yes we grieve, but not as the rest of the world. Yes we weep, but not without faith. Yes we suffer, but not without hope. Perhaps Paul said it perfectly in his second letter to the Corinthians. "I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction" (2 Cor. 7:4) and "as sorrowful yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10).

2. TRIALS DO NOT MEAN THE ABSENCE OF GOD'S LOVE

Let's move to the second point. Trials do not mean the absence of God's love.

Verses 5 and 6 of chapter 11 are some of the most unexpected verses (next to the resurrection of Lazarus) in this account. "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was." In an age of ambulances and rescue helicopters we would have expected Jesus to frantically rush to His friend's aid, especially when we consider all that we know about Christ's compassionate heart. But verse 6 says He intentionally chose to remain in the place He was for two additional days after hearing the tragic news. Why? Was it because He lacked love for Lazarus and his sisters? No! Actually it's the opposite. Verse 5 declares that His love for the family was the purpose of His delay.

Let me unpack this important truth. Since all trials pass through the sovereign hands of God, the original sickness of Lazarus could have been prevented. Additionally, Jesus could have arrived before Lazarus deceased and cured his sickness as easily as curing a stuffy nose. But He didn't. He allowed the sickness to occur and He refused to come to the man's aid as requested. And the reason the Scriptures provide such apparent insensitivity is His love for Lazarus. Don't miss that! Because Jesus loved Lazarus, He permitted Him to get sick and refused to heal him when the opportunity provided itself. Verse 3, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." Verse 5, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Verse 6, "so when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was."

Have you ever felt abandoned, forsaken of God because of some trial you are facing? Have you ever felt that God was unconcerned for your welfare since your prayers seemed to be falling on deaf ears? I have! But such a heart reveals a lack of trust in God's love for us. Because if God loves us as He says (and He is all-wise and all-powerful), naturally He will respond for our ultimate good in a way and time that is best. Right?

In Isaiah 55 God said, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8-9). Is God wrong because He does not act according to my timetable and respond in a way that I think is best? No, He's loving! We may have all the details worked out in our puny, finite minds, but God loves us too much to always grant our desires. And looking back, I'm thankful for that! He always has a better plan that will bring Himself greater glory (verse 4) and us greater good. Our finite understanding only enables us to see a fraction of the picture, but God knows all the details, all the answers, all the possibilities and all the reasons. How can we dare question His wisdom with an arrogant mind that thinks it knows more than the Almighty? We must believe that He loves us unconditionally. We must wait on Him. We must trust that His plan for us is perfect.

A Pastor once said, "But it is even more than simply that heavy things and dark days and discouragements will lead at last to light and glory for the children of God. It is even more than that troubles will bring their blessings while we are still in this world because God has appointed our troubles for good in our lives. No, when you confess that God is absolutely sovereign, infinitely wise, and immeasurably kind and merciful, it becomes necessary for us to go on to confess that as dark as our way may sometimes seem, there could be no better way for us to travel" (Robert S. Rayburn).

Samuel Rutherford once made this same point in a letter to Lady Kenmure, a woman who more than once felt sorrows and bitter disappointments such as Martha and Mary felt in the death of their brother. "Madam, when ye are come to the other side of the water, and have set down your foot on the shore of glorious eternity, and look back again to the waters and to your wearisome journey, and shall see, in that clear glass of endless glory, nearer to the bottom of God's wisdom, ye shall then be forced to say, 'If God had done otherwise with me than He hath done, I had never come to the enjoying of this crown of glory'" (Letter XI, p. 52).

Parents, simply think of it this way. My children have never thanked my wife and I for making them wear their seatbelts, eat vegetables and brush their teeth. If anything, these regulations often make us appear very cruel in their eyes. However, some day they will look back (probably when they have their own kids) and realize that our alleged cruelty was only acts of love. And if we expect our children to trust our love for them, how much more should our finite minds trust the love of our perfect heavenly Father?

3. SECURITY IN THE HANDS OF GOD

Moving to the third point. In the midst of our trials, it is important to know that we have security in the hands of God.

Verse 7, "Then after this (after the two day delay) He (Jesus) said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'" The disciples certainly didn't have short attention spans. You'll remember, the last time Jesus was in Judea the Jews sought to kill Him (Jn. 10:31; 39)! Verse 8, "The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again.'" Imagine the disciples saying, "To enter Judea again is nothing less than suicide, Jesus! We are enjoying peace and many conversions at this location (Jn. 10:42). After all, Jesus, can't you just heal Lazarus from a distance" (Jn.4:50)?

Nevertheless, Jesus received His signal from His heavenly Father. It was time to perform the miracle and resurrect Lazarus from the dead.

Verses 9-10, "Jesus answered (His disciples), 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.'" The ancient world did not have the luxury of modern clocks so they divided the daylight period into 12, 1 "hour" segments. People worked during the daylight periods and ceased when the darkness came (c.f. Jn. 9:4). The plain meaning of verses 9-10 is that working during the day is profitable, because one has the "light of the world" or more specifically, the S-U-N. But the deeper meaning of verses 9-10 applied to the disciples. Since they were called to accompany Jesus to Judea, they should perform the works assigned to them before the "Light of the World" (Jn. 8:12; 9:5) or more specifically, the S-O-N is removed from their presence. Jesus Christ also realized that He was working according to the divine timetable of the Father. It was His responsibility to persevere in the Father's work until the daylight is up when He concludes His sacrificial work at Calvary.

In the same way, we must realize that God has a divine plan for each of us. We are all starters, not benchwarmers or cheerleaders on God's team. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Not only are our good works foreordained, but also are our trials. 1 Thessalonians 3:3 says, "So that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this" (c.f. Ac. 9:16; 14:22; 1 Tim. 3:12; Jas. 1:2).

Therefore, in the midst of our trials we must remember that God is in control. We need not be manipulated by the fear of man. He has assigned us a period of "daylight" to work in. During that period He will protect us until the "night" arrives and the time He has allotted to our earthly life expires (Job 14:5; Psm. 139:16). Unlike the disciples, we must trust God's protection and security in the work and trials He has called us to. Biblically, the only danger we need to fear is when we disobey God's will, walk out of the light and then stumble in the darkness.

One of the very last pieces ever published by John Chrysostom, the great preacher of early Christianity, was a letter to a faithful Christian woman, Olympias who had been one of John's lifelong friends. It concerned the persecution then being suffered by many of his followers. John himself was in exile during this time and died just a few months later. The letter bore the title, "No Man can be Harmed Save by Himself." John's point was a simple one. God is in control of our lives and things fall out according to His will and purpose. "We may not be able to see that purpose, but we can trust it to be good and tending to our blessing and salvation. Therefore, all that remains for us to do, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, is to trust and to obey. Believing our lives to be in the Lord's hands, let us then serve Him faithfully, cheerfully, obediently. The Lord is directing our steps with an infinite love in His heart. It is ours to live for Him as though we know that! Our circumstances can do us no harm," said Chrysostom, "only our failure to remember the Lord who stands behind them and will bless us in them."

If you are walking in the "light," in the will of God, you have security in the midst of your trials.

4. TRIALS HAVE A PURPOSE

Allow me to show you one more truth before we conclude that will protect your joy in the midst of trials. Regardless of the trial that comes your way, always remember that a loving and sovereign God has custom fit each trial to achieve a specific objective in your life. In other words, our suffering is never meaningless and our trials are never without purpose.

Let's pick up our text in verse 10. "'But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.' This He said, and after that He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.' The disciples then said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.' Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.' Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him'" (Jn. 11:10-16)

I especially want you to focus on verses 14 and 15. "So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe.'" Don't miss this. Basically Jesus said, "Lazarus is dead and I rejoice." We know He loved Lazarus so we must ask the question, "What made Jesus 'glad' in the death of Lazarus?" The answer is found in the purpose clause in verse 15, "So that you may believe." You may be asking, "I thought the disciples were already believers?" Yes they were, so the belief that Jesus must be speaking of here is an increase in their faith. (The purpose of this sermon!) Faith is a progressive thing, and Jesus knew the miracle would generate greater faith, not only in His disciples, but also in the sisters of Lazarus (Jn. 11:22ff). Furthermore, salvation faith was also intended from the unbelieving crowd. In verse 42 Jesus said to the Father, "I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me." Did it work? Did the death and resurrection of Lazarus have this result? You bet it did! Verse 45, "Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him" (c.f. Jn. 11:48).

If you are without Christ this morning, have you ever considered that the trials you may be complaining about could be God's attempt to convince you of His presence? They could be His token of mercy intended to get your attention and grant you eternal life. And if you are in Christ Jesus, remember that the appointed trials He sends your way have a wonderful purpose. Possibly God may be granting you greater faith like He did in our account this morning. Possibly He's giving you a softer heart or less desire for sin and the allurements of this world or a greater sympathy for others or some other gem that is molding you further into His image. In our text, the trial brought God greater glory and a more favorable outcome for all those involved.

So as James 1:2 says, not "if" but "when" you encounter trials, remember that joy can be experienced in the midst of real pain, and trials do not mean the absence of God's love, and there is security in the hands of God, and each of your trials are custom designed with a good purpose in mind. Putting this all together. God is sovereign in our trials, using them for His glory and our good.

We'll see that Mary ands Martha waiver a bit in their faith, but I want to close with a letter from another woman who truly understood the sovereignty and goodness of God in the midst of her trial. He husband, the great Puritan preacher, Christopher Love, was falsely accused and sentenced to death. His wife wrote this letter to him just before his scheduled execution.

July 14, 1651

Dear Christopher,

Before I write a word further, I beg you to think that this is not your wife now writing, rather a friend. I hope you have freely given up your wife and children to God, who has said in Jeremiah 49:11 -- "Leave your fatherless children. I will preserve them alive, and let your widow trust in Me." Your Maker will be my husband and a father to your children. Oh that the Lord would keep you from having one troubled thought about your family. I desire to freely give you up to the Father's hands and not only to look upon it as a crown of glory for you to die for Christ but as an honor for me that I should have a husband to leave for Christ. I dare not speak to you nor have a thought within my own heart about my unspeakable loss but I wholly keep my eye fixed on your inexpressible and inconceivable gain. You are leaving children, brothers and sisters to go to the Lord Jesus, your Eldest Brother. You leave your friends on the earth to go to the enjoyment of saints and angels and spirits of just men made perfect in glory. You leave earth for heaven and exchange a prison for a palace. And if earthly affections should begin to arise I hope that a spirit of grace that is within you will quell them quickly, knowing that all things here are but dross in comparison of those things that are above. I know you will keep your eye fixed on the hope of glory which makes your feet trample on the loss of earth. My dear, I know God has given glory for you, but also you for it. But I am persuaded that He will sweeten the way for you to come to the enjoyment of it. When you are putting on your clothes tomorrow morning, oh, think I am now putting on my wedding garments to go be with my everlasting Redeemer. And when the messenger of death comes to take you from prison to take you to the block, let him not seem dreadful to you, but look to him as a messenger that brings you tidings of eternal life. And when you climb the scaffold, think, as you told me you would, that you're climbing aboard the fiery chariot to carry you up to your Father's house. And when you lay down your precious head to receive your Father's stroke, remember what you said to me: "Though my head shall be severed from my body yet at that moment my soul will be united with my Head, the Lord Jesus, in heaven. And though it might seem something better that I am leaving this life sooner than we had wanted, let us consider, Christopher, that this decree is the decree and the will of our heavenly Father and it will not be long before we shall enjoy one another in heaven again. Let us comfort one another in these things; be comforted my dear heart. It is but a little stroke and you shall be there where the weary shall be at rest and where the wicked shall cease from troubling us. Remember that you may eat dinner with bitter herbs but you shall have a sweet supper with Christ that night. My dear, by what I write I do not intend to teach you, for these comforts I received from the Lord by you teaching me. I will write you no more nor ever trouble you further but commit you to the arms of God with whom you and I will be forever. Farewell, my dear. I shall never see your face until we both behold the face of the Lord Jesus at that great day.