Called And Commanded Loosed

CALLED AND COMMANDED LOOSED

John 11:30-44

Lazarus is now in the sweet rest. Although he is content, those who held him close are struggling to cope with the situation. God has given his survivors not emotional stability but vulnerability. The situation has grabbed them by the neck and left them dangling in their sandals.

The situation has caused despair, and they forgot that God could give them hope.

The situation has caused heartbreak, and the forgot that God could repair their shattered hearts.

The situation has caused sorrow, and they forgot God’s promise to never leave them.

The situation has caused frustration, and they forgot that God would work things out.

God has put them in this situation to show himself to them. I think I need to tell you that God will put you in a place of trial to show himself to you.

It wasn’t until Abraham was about t kill Isaac that God showed himself as Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider.

It wasn’t until Moses needed a name to tell the people that God revealed himself as the I Am That, I Am.

It wasn’t until Joshua had cold feet about Jericho that God revealed himself as the Commander of the Lord’s Host.

Jesus decides it’s time to go to Bethany. This isn’t by accident. This was time.

Everything God does is timed. When you get ready, God has been ready.

The Disciples demonstrated this. When they made a decision to go on a mission when they weren’t properly prepared. They weren’t prepared to heal people’s hearts. They weren’t prepared to cast out devils. It wasn’t time.

The memory of Lazarus is tormenting Mary and Martha. No one can consul them. The longing for his tender, embrace can only be fulfilled by recollection. God has failed them. He has forgot.

Somebody has had troubled in their life and been on the brink of despair and he forgot.

Somebody has had heartbreaks to the point of giving up and he forgot.

Somebody has had had times when they felt like they couldn’t go another-further, and he forgot.

They are feeling the pains of isolation, but Jesus is on his way. I know it feels too late, but Jesus is on his way. I know it seems like he’s forgot, but he is on his way. He is going to get some glory out of this.

Oh, thank God – I can go through things for his glory. He wouldn’t have brought me to it if he couldn’t get any glory. He wouldn’t have brought me through it if he couldn’t get any glory. I wouldn’t have come through if he couldn’t get any glory.

“When he shall come to be glorified in his saints…”

“That the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you…”

“Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may be glorified.”

“That God, in all things, may be glorified through Jesus Christ…”

Jesus arrives in Bethany. He is welcomed by the sorrowful cries of weeping sisters. He only finds complaints and no praise.

“Lord you should’ve been here.”

“Lord you could’ve changed it.”

“Lord you would’ve healed him, wouldn’t you?”

“Lord why didn’t you come earlier?”

Maybe that’s where we have strayed away in the church - there to be a time when the saints would praise their way out. They would be in the kitchen rattling pots and pans saying, “I love you to praise him, I love to praise his name!” They would be strutting through the house saying, “Real, real, Jesus is real to me.”

We live in a world now where some of us simply complain – but that’s a trick of the enemy. He wants you to major on the minors – he wants you to loose your focus – he wants you to cuss – he wants you to fuss.

Because he knows that praise is your secret weapon and it can make things happen.

Jesus is told everything. And he wants to see the tomb. The tomb was the location for the occasion. Jesus pays no attention to what has happened but focuses on what’s on the way to happening. This is interesting to me because God doesn’t care what happened in your past. He doesn’t care about you getting saved. He cares about what you do after you get saved.

He goes on t demand them to remove the stone. He doesn’t care about the odor. He doesn’t care about the stench. He doesn’t care about the smell.

They remove the stone. And while he watches, he begins to weep. He looks at their condition and weeps. He looks at their mentality and weeps. He looks at their hearts and weeps.

Maybe that’s where we fall short. We don’t care. We don’t weep for the hearts of the people anymore. We see hem dying and we don’t care. We see our daughters getting paid to show off their bodies and we don’t care. We see our sons deteriorating before our eyes and we don’t care. We see our communities going to hell in a hand basket and we don’t care.