IT”S NOT TOO LATE
John 11: 20 - 22
Turn to your neighbor and repeat these words after me say neighbor it’s not too late. God encourage our heart that it is not to late. A lot of times the enemy tries to convenience us that we missed our blessing. The devil will play with your mind. He will say if we would have done this at this time I will be further ahead and I would have my blessing a long time ago. So we will feel defeated due to the fact that we should have done that 3years ago. Well while that might be true in some sense, it’s not too late. God has a time for all of our lives. God time is not my time. God time is not your time. I use to say God I want you to come right now quick fast and in a hurry. And most of us really want him to come right now. But isn’t it something when God delays his coming. He delays it for a reason. Some of us can not handle a right now blessing. So he makes us wait. In our waiting he works out our patience. In our waiting he has to bring our attitude under control. Some of us have a bad attitude. We are mean and clean. It bothers me when I see saints that are claiming to know God with a bad attitude, it bothers me. Even with our attitude we want god to come quick fast and in a hurry. Saints are to be so sweet until we are dripping syrup. When I see you I should not have to wonder if you are saved and sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost. I should see the attributes of the spirit. I should see love, peace, joy, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness, temperest and faith. Come on now! By the fruits shall you know them? That’s how you can tell; if they possess what you confess. Have you ever notices how people want god to move for them but they don’t want to move for God. We use god like we use table sugar in our coffee. Every morning you get up you get the sugar off of the shelf and when you finish you put it back on the shelf. We use god for our convenience. When we get in trouble we take him off the shelf. As soon as the trouble is over we put him back on the shelf. When we need a healing we take him off the shelf, as soon as we are healed we put him back on the shelf. When we need a way made we take him off the shelf, as soon as he makes the way we put him back on the shelf.
But it’s amazing how when we get in trouble and we need something we want him to come quick, fast and in a hurry. It’s a shame when that’s the only time we get real with God. And that is why God will not move for you now. He makes you wait. It’s only fair. You make him wait. But it does not mean that he is not going to move. He just wants you to know he is going to move when he gets ready. When he gets ready to move then you will appreciate God just a little bit better.
But that’s our mentality Lord I want you to come now. Fed-Ex Overnight service, Western Union. And when He don’t come now then we are going to do it ourselves.
And that’s the worst thing you can do is try to rush God. If you just learn to wait right there. God may be working some other things out for you. While you are waiting on a right now miracle, He can be working some other things out. That’s why I am learning how to rest in the Lord. There is a rest in God. There is a place where you can just stand still and see the salvation of God. While you are resting tell the devil “I know it’s not too late!”
In our text tonight. We find a story of a man named Lazarus of Bethany and he had a sister by the name of Mary and Martha. Now this was the same Mary that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. And Lazarus was her brother. One day Lazarus got sick and his sickness was unto death. Somebody said “Go tell Jesus that he whom thou love is sick. Lazarus is lying on his bed of affliction. He is laying there with no help. But we were with Jesus when we saw the blind eyes come open, dead raised, raise Jarius daughter. The man with the withered hand, deaf ears come unstopped, lame straightened up. SO there is nothing to hard for God. Go tell Jesus that Lazarus is sick. We need a right now miracle. Tell him to drop everything because he whom thou love is sick. Tell him to forget about healing the sick, making a way. And because he loves Lazarus, He going to come right now.
But the Bible says “When they told Jesus that Lazarus was sick, He did not budge, he did not go anywhere. He stayed right there 2 extra days preaching and teaching about the goodness of God. In the meantime, Lazarus died. 2 days went by. Jesus said “Let’s go into Judea. I got to go and get Lazarus because he is asleep. “The disciples thought that Lazarus was taking a nap, but Jesus had to make it plain. Lazarus is dead. I got to go and wake him up out of his sleep. They said Jesus you can’t go back there, the Jews are seeking to kill you. He said “That’s alright, I am going anyway.”
By this time 4 days went by. They had buried Lazarus, wrapped him up like a mummy, put him in a sepulcher…if you will. The Jews believed that for 3 days the Spirit was hovering around trying to enter back into the body. On the 4th day, they said “It’s all over he’s gone now. His spirit can not enter.”
Jesus said “I am glad for your sake that I wasn’t there. I am glad because now you will know that it’s not too late. Now you know that whatever you need I got it. Whatever you want from me I got it. It’s not too late. Look at your neighbor and say “I want to encourage you. Its’ not too late.” Tell them God has a blessing with your name on it. And I don’t care what the devil say I know that it’s not too late.
When Jesus got there Martha heard Jesus was coming. She went running to Jesus with a bad attitude. If you would have been here my brother would not have died. I want to ask the church….Where do you think he is when you are going through your trials, tears running down your face? My bible lets me know that God is still on the throne sitting high looking, attending to his people. He wouldn’t leave me all by myself. He is going to bring me out. It’s not too late to break through. It’s not too late for God to make away. It’s not too late for God to open a door.
God is never too busy. God is always on time. Say yes.
But look at her attitude. She got humble in her spirit. She said Jesus even now, even though Lazarus is dead a stinking in the grave, even now I got enough faith even right now all you got to do is ask God and God will give it to you. And the Bible says “Whatever you ask in my name, I will give it to you.” It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. If you don’t doubt him God hears your prayers. God wants you to be encouraged. River of Life, its’ not too late.
Now Jesus said since you said that you will see your brother again. Her attitude changed. I know I am going to see him. I will see him in the resurrection. I can see Jesus with my spiritual mind. He said “I am what you are talking about. I am the resurrection and the life. All I got to do is speak and man shall live. And if I speak, man shall die. So go tell mary to come here. And here comes another bad attitude. If you would have been here my brother would not have died and Jesus said hush and take me where you laid him.
When he got to the grave the Bible said “Jesus cried with the compassion that the Jews had. He also cried because the people did not believe him. All he said was “Take away the stone.” They said “Lord he’s been dead for 4 long days. By this time he has an odor; decay has set in his body.” Jesus said “All I want you to do is take away the stone.” Take away the stone of depression. Take away the stone of envy. You put it there.
So the Lord started praying. (vs. 42) After he got threw praying, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus come forth!”
I can see with my spiritual mind. Somebody said we know he can raise the dead after a couple of hours, but Lazarus been dead for 4 days.
Jesus is here tonight and he is saying it’s never too late.
When Lazarus came forth the Bible says he came dressed in his grave clothes, wrapped up from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet. Will you be like Lazzrus when Jesus call you. Will you come forward. It don’t matter if I am sea bound I will come forward, it don’t matter if I am in a firey furnaces I will come forward. Will you come when he say your name. say yes! So when Lazarus got to the mouth of the grave, they said “How do we know if that is him. Jesus said “Loose him and let him go.”
God wants the church to know you don’t have to be bound, sick because its’ not too late.
Let me call on some friends of mines that will tell you that it is not to late. Come here Adam tell them how you were trick by the devil and it was to destroy the rest of your seed for eteninty, but Jesus step in. come here meshach, shedrack and abedigo. We were down in a firey furnace that the king requested it to be 7 times hotter. But God step in because its not to late. Now come here Jesus. As Jesus was hanging between yonder and yonder , up and down then and there. He will tell you that’s it not to late. Even after going to before Annas, before Caiaphas, before the Sanhedrin, before Pilate, before Herod and back to Pilate. After giving his back to the cross.
