Buried Too Soon!

Buried Too Soon!

John 11:1-44

Do you have anyone in your life that you are praying for?

Is it someone that needs a major change?

· Are they lost?

· Are they an alcoholic?

· Are they just in need of a transformation?

And they are so bad off that you are praying for them night and day. You have them on every prayer list in every church in the southeast. Praying for a Change!

But there is a problem with some folks:

People get something on you and they basically believe that you will always be – who you always were.

· He is a druggie and always will be known for his drugs

· She is one that tells everything she knows and she will always be known as the town gossip.

· She was a bad mother and will always be considered a bad mother

· He is a trouble maker and will always be a trouble maker

To tell me that I could never change –

Then why are you praying for me if you’re not going to accept the change when it comes?

They watch you go down

They watch how you react while you are down

Then they make a decision about you

Some of you are still suffering from a decision that was made about you a long time ago:

(ex. Telling your child he/she is stupid

You are giving your child permission to be stupid.

You’re saying, “I expect nothing else from you.”

There is only one thing worse than all of this –

Some of you won’t pray for someone to recognize their ways and change. Because you don’t won’t to accept them when God makes them a new person.

They have hurt you too much

I may have to forgive them if they change

So I don’t want them to change – I am not praying for them!

We find in John 11 a sick family member:

Read John 11:1-4

So the need here is for someone that is sick. Lazarus is the one that is sick and now the family has been called in.

Mary and Martha do what we all do during this time, they call for Jesus. They begin to pray!

Why? Because when someone in your family is sick, it affects the entire family.

· Affects where you go

· Who you can go with

· What you can do

· How many times you call home

· Affects your sleeping habits

All because someone is sick and requires ATTENTION!

Many of you have lived with a sick Lazarus:

You can’t live with an alcoholic and not be affected

So we find Mary and Martha praying –

You have to understand there are things that happen in your life that you are not going to be able to handle.

Doctors can’t handle it

Mom/Dad can’t bail you out

You boss can’t help you…

You realize that I have to send for Jesus!

But we have become CHURCHIZED!

Acting as though this is the way we have always been.

We even have the nerve to sit back and not worship:

The music is not right –

Wrong tempo, words, and key

The preacher is not right –

Wrong message, too long, never preaches to me

The church is not right –

Too cold and they are always asking for money

They Sent for Jesus (verse 3)

· But Jesus didn’t do what they thought He was going to do or when they thought He was going to do it.

So reality has set in for the family. Something is going to happen.

· People in the community will find out

· Some will start talking about us

· Some might even stare at us

You can hide a headache:

But in your situation it could be that something else is embarrassing to your family.

· Son has just been arrested

· Teenage daughter has come up pregnant

· My wife of 25 years has left me

· My husband ran off with his co-worker

I am talking about that sickness that you can’t hide!

Something you have to understand:

Everyone has a line for you and when you cross that line they are through with you.

Even God has a line: Lazarus Died!

In that day due to the hot climate, the dead bodies decayed rapidly. So burials usually took place within a few hours after death. Acts 9:37 tell us they washed the bodies and then wrapped in cloth…

Might as well wrap:

Lazarus he’s dead He crossed the line – Wrap it!

My husband beats me He’s an alcoholic – Wrap it!

My marriage is gone She won’t change – Wrap it!

The church is not right It will never be the same

Might as well wrap up Lazarus: