Lessons From Lazarus
CCCAG August 12th, 2018
Scripture- John 11
Intro:
One of the things that I get asked most often about my secular work being a paramedic is how I can handle being around all that death and suffering. It’s even worse now as a deputy coroner.
I tell them that being a corner is sometimes much easier than being a paramedic. After all the patient number complains, they never try to hit me, they don't scream and cuss, and they lie absolutely still if you need to do a procedure. If you can get past the death thing, often being a coroner so much easier. I say that with a little bit of tongue in cheek, as I see that job as an extension of ministry and having the ability to comfort those who are grieving and find answers for them about why their loved one died.
Death is the great equalizer in life. It affects rich and the poor. The famous and the unknown. Most people fear death- Even many Christians live in fear of death.
People fear death because they believe death is the end.
Bertrand Russell was a 20th century philosopher and an atheist. As he approached his death in 1970, he wrote: "The life of Man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, towards a goal that few can hope to reach and where none can tarry long. One by one, as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent Death."
That’s a pretty bleak thought isn’t it?
That's how in atheist views death.
But the Bible tells us that we do not grieve as the world does who has no hope. We have some incredible promises In God's word that we can cling to when the time is up for us or for our loved ones.
This morning we're going to go through several lessons that we can learn from the death and resurrection of Lazarus. It’s my belief that as we understand the truth of God’s word about exactly what death is for a believer, that we will walk away with a new view of God, and of our lives.
This morning we're going to begin by looking at what our creator has to say about death. One of my favorite sayings you have heard me say over and over again is that truth is reality as seen through the eyes of God.
So God’s view of death is what is real, and therefore it should be our view.
I. Jesus’ View of Death (vs 4)
John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Before we get any further enter this lesson this morning, We need to establish one vital and critical point-No human being who is ever existed has truly blinked out of existence.
Every single person who is ever been born is an eternal being after that birth.
You are going to live forever.
Death is simply stepping through one of 2 doors. The door to the left goes to everlasting destruction that Jesus and the bible call hell.
The door to the right goes to everlasting reward enjoy that we call heaven
When a person ceases life on this earth they will “figuratively speaking” be confronted by these 2 doors.
One door is locked, and one door has been made wide open.
The best part about these doors is this- you hold the key. The decision is completely yours as to which door you walk through and which door remains locked.
The difference of which door is open depends on that person's relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now that we have that firm truth established let's look at some of the different ways that the Bible describes the word death in relation to a person.
Throughout the bible, and particularly in the New Testament, the bible has different languages and phrases when speaking of death.
The first way that the end of life is described is simply the word-
A. Death- the unbeliever
If you were to have any fear of death, it is the death of the unbeliever.
One of the arguments the unbelieving world wants to use against the Bible is that Jesus was a great moral teacher who is all about happiness joy and second chances.
What they fail to recognize is that Jesus was and is our chief theologian when it comes to the subject of hell.
Jesus spoke a lot about hell within the 4 gospels. It was one of his most popular subjects to speak about because it fit in with His Mission on this earth to seek and save the lost.
One of the principle scriptures about the fate of the unbeliever is found in Luke 16 when he's talking about the rich man and Lazarus; not the same Lazarus we're talking about here.
In this parable Jesus talks about the difference between a poor yet faithful man going to his eternal reward in heaven, while an unfaithful yet rich man goes into the eternal torment we call hell.
There are several things we learn about hell here
#1-It is fixed. There is a huge gulf between heaven and hell and no one can cross it. It is fixed by God’s decree and is impassable- no second chances.
#2-It is eternal. Those people who go there have no hope. They will spend forever regretting the choices they are making right now in life which are in rebellion against God.
#3- God has given all humanity sufficient evidence to point us to Him. Any thinking person who looks at the order of creation has to talk themselves out of the logical conclusion but there has to be a creator if there is a creation.
Paul explains this in Romans 1
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
This is the answer to those may object to God’s justice-
They might say what about the cannibal in the Congo who never hears the name of Jesus. My answer is-let God worry about the Congo-
You are neither a cannibal nor in the Congo. You live in America or the truth of Christianity is only an Internet search away or heard on dozens of Christian radio or TV stations. You are without excuse.
Today if you choose to go to hell by ignoring the reality of what Jesus Christ has done for you-
In Proverbs The bible describes you like a foolish person starving in the midst of an all you can eat buffet. You are simply refusing to reach up and get the food that is there for you.
So whether you're here today or listening by podcast - I would implore you today- turn to Jesus, today is a day of your Salvation if will you let him into your heart, become HIS disciple and let him change your life forever.
Surrender to Jesus and let him put you on a new path that will lead into his arms in heaven because the alternative is too frightening even to contemplate.
The second way the New Testament and Jesus described death is
B. Sleeping- The believer (vs 11)
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
The fact that we experience this thing called death is a result of sin. Because of the effects of sin on our earthly bodies over the course of human history, our bodies will eventually start to breakdown or because of disease fall into a state of sickness that will lead to death.
However, we are not simply physical beings.
Your first nature is that of a spiritual being, not a physical being.
This physical body that we spend so much time thinking about is only a vessel that allows us to experience life on this earth.
Think of your body like this-
If we were to board a rocket and head to earth’s moon, and you wanted to go for a walk- you would need a space suit to be able to exist in the environment outside the spacecraft.
Just like we need a space suit to walk on the moon our body is our suit for this earth that our spirit resides in. When we come to the end of our physical life our body goes into the ground, but if you are a Christian your spirit goes directly into the presence of God.
What Jesus was referring to sleeping here, he was referring to the body.
But here is some good news-
There is coming a day when a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible- meaning you will be a superman or superwoman- nothing will ever be able to harm you again.
There will be no more death, there will be no more disease, there will be no more fear. We will have bodies like Jesus has-Still able to enjoy all the things of this earth but immune to any dangers.
I'll tell you what I can't wait to get into that body. Lock my keys in my car no problem just teleport in there and get my keys. Actually when you think about it we won't need keys because there will be no thievery so you won't have any locks on any doors. Who knows we might not even need doors anymore. I so look forward to that day
That’s the hope that all who believe in Christ should have. Our physical death is merely walking through a door. It's as much a part of life is laying your head on the pillow at night and going to sleep.
Because you know no matter what you will wake up either here on this earth or if you believe in Christ into eternal glory and joy.
That brings us to the second lesson about Lazarus that I want to bring to you today.
II. Jesus shares your grief Verse 35
We move a little further into the story now and Jesus is at the graveside of his friend Lazarus comforting his sisters Mary and Martha.
To set the scene we have to remember the culture that Jesus lived in. Whenever somebody would die it wasn't like our western European manner of dealing with death-usually is stiff upper lip, don't cry, and act strong throughout the entire grieving process. I remember when my dad told me a favorite uncle died. He said you get 10 minutes to cry, and after that and at the funeral I was to “behave myself” and act like a man.
In biblical times it was the exact opposite of that. Woman would spend days loudly wailing and weeping, man would tear their clothes and sit and dust into the air to land upon them. If you were in a wealthy family, they would even hire professional mourners to come and do all that with you.
That is why Jesus is reaction to all of this is so significant.
John 11:35 Is the shortest verse in the entire Bible. Yet the shortest verse in the whole Bible is also one of the most profound verses in the whole Bible.
It is only 2 words “Jesus Wept”
I want you to stop and think about that for a moment.
Jesus had traveled days to reach Bethany where Lazarus was buried.
Jesus came there with the express purpose of raising Lazarus from the dead.
Yet he pauses now.
This pause speaks more to us about the heart of God then volumes of scripture or books that man has written could ever express.
The almighty, all knowing, all powerful creator God who knew what He was about to do next still stopped and shared in the emotions of those he loved.
This is a lesson for me as much is it is for anyone listening to this message today- God weeps with you.
When your heart is filled with pain- He feels it
When you feel like there is no hope, he is there
When you feel like you will never see the light again- Jesus is there carrying you through the darkness.
When you look around and all you see is the darkness of an open grave know that Jesus is going to catch you as you fall.
One of the greatest promises in all of scripture-
Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That's the savior I'm calling you too today. Whether you were here in the church building with us right now or listening by podcast these promises are for anyone who becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ.
The next lesson that we learn from Lazarus is this
III. Resurrection has a name- Jesus
Resurrection means to bring something that was dead back to life
The term resurrection is one of those theological terms that we can throw are around but not really understand. You don't have to be an expert in theology, you don't have to understand exegesis or hermeneutics to know that you can summarize the entire concept of resurrection into one name and that name is Jesus.
The idea of resurrection is not supposed to be something that we just understand with our minds or feel with our hearts.
It is a truth that only people who know Jesus can truly appreciate.
What that means for you and I today is this
Everyone born after Adam and Eve was born with a sin nature.
Because of that nature we all have the desire and the propensity to sin. To sin is simply to do something that is outside the character and nature of God.
Strictly speaking the biblical definition means to miss the mark. It is an archery term meaning your arrow has missed what you were aiming for.
What that means for you and I in how we live our lives is whether or not our thoughts and actions are mirroring those of our father God.
Anything outside of God’s nature misses the mark and is called sin.
Because God is completely righteous and completely just, He has to punish sin. That's where Jesus comes in. Jesus took all that punishment that we do deserve upon himself and then died on a cross in our place. HE became our substitutionary sacrifice for sin.
But that is not the end of the story.
3 days after he went into the grave he rose again.
That is why resurrection is not just a condition
it's not just a theological truth
it's not just a fancy Bible word
Resurrection is a person and that person's name is Jesus.
But another lesson that we learn from Lazarus is not just that Jesus raises us from the dead. Resurrection isn’t just raising us from the dead and leaving us the same.
Jesus teaches us the 4th lesson from Lazurus-
IV. Spiritual Resurrection the starting point-
After Jesus says Lazarus come out of his grave, Jesus’ next instruction is this remove his graveclothes.
What this means for us-
Jesus doesn't just save those who come to him in repentance and faith from death, he gives them a new life.
That is one of the most glorious truth of the gospel that we have.
Jesus saves you into a new life in him.
That’s why you need to believe and understand what resurrection means for you-
It means that every addiction you have right now Jesus is the answer
It means that every problem you have right now Jesus is the answer
Is every struggle you have right now Jesus is the answer
Every desire, both good and bad you have right now Jesus is the answer
Jesus is the answer.
If you get nothing else out of today's message put that and bury it deep within your hearts Jesus is YOUR answer.
All Rise
Prayer for souls
