Introduction
I confessed to you last week that when I became a Christian, I didn’t know all the ways my life would change when I accepted Christ as my Savior. For example, I didn’t know that I would now be living my life on two different time schedules. Mine, which is not waiting. I hate to wait. I like for things to be done and done now. Let’s call my time schedule: impatient. And then there is God’s time schedule and it seems that He enjoys waiting to the last second to move in my life or to move on a situation that is causing me problems. Let’s call His time schedule: very patient.
And so, I began to ask God why are you so patient about things in my life and I am so impatient? Why do You have to wait to the last second; why do You wait until I am holding on by a thread before You act in my life? As I was asking God that, I felt this tug at my heart to look at the last-minute miracles recorded in the Bible because I felt like the Holy Spirit was telling me that there you will find your answer.
And so last week, I shared with you the first last minute miracle I studied. It was the miracle were an angel set Peter free from the Roman jail on the very day that he was to be executed. It was only a few hours before Peter’s execution. And what I shared with you is that God waits until the last minute so that we learn to stay hopeful because I need to grow in my level of confident hopefulness. And so, God wait to the last minute but when God intervenes, He won’t be stopped. He will get whatever needs to be done, done!
Today, we are going to look at another last-minute miracle. On first glance, it appears that Jesus has showed up too late for this miracle because the funeral procession is carrying the young man to the cemetery just as Jesus is entering the city. Let’s read about it in Luke 7:11-17 and see what we can discover.
Scripture
Luke 7:11-17 (NKJV)
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."
14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people."
17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
Point #1
DON’T PUT YOUR FOCUS ON WHEN IS GOD GOING TO DO SOMETHING, BUT RATHER TAKE COMFORT THAT WHEN GOD DOES ACT, HE WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING.
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
In Mississippi, we have this custom, although it is somewhat dying out, that when a funeral procession passes down the street that cars will pull over to the side of the road and wait until the procession passes before proceeding down the street.
Well, the Jews also had a custom as it relates to funeral procession. Their custom was if you saw a funeral processing heading down the street, you were to join it and continue with the procession to the cemetery.
Our passage of Scripture tells us that the funeral procession was nearing the gate heading toward the cemetery and Jesus, his disciples and a large crowd were nearing the gate heading into the city. For Jesus and His followers to comply with the Jewish custom, they would need to join the funeral procession and follow the people to the cemetery.
Unless, Jesus changes everything. Unless He raises the young man from the dead, and now he is no longer headed to a burial in the cemetery. This would allow the funeral crowd to join in with the Jesus crowd and follow Jesus into the city.
He changed everything. And I believe that He does the same thing in our lives. When He acts on our behalf, He changes everything. He cannot be stopped, and He changes everything- that is worth waiting for.
Point #2
DON’T PUT YOUR FOCUS ON WHEN IS GOD GOING TO DO SOMETHING, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF TIMES THAT GOD DOES LAST-MINUTE MIRACLES ON YOUR BEHALF WITHOUT YOU ASKING.
13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."
14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."
There are many times, I get in my car, drive out of my subdivision, and realize that I forgot something and head back home to get it and then drive off. After doing that I cannot tell you how many times I am driving to my destination and a see a wreck that has occurred a few minutes ago, and I wonder to myself if I didn’t go back home would I have been in that wreck. Going back home was God’s last-minute miracle to me without me asking for it.
As I read our Scripture today, I know that the young man being carried out of town could not possibly asked for this last-minute miracle because he is dead. The Scripture doesn’t say that the mother asked for the miracle. The funeral crowd does not shout out to Jesus to bring the young man back to life. In fact, his own disciples and followers are silent because although Jesus has performed miracles, this is first person Jesus raises from the dead.
So, why did this last- minute miracle occur? The Scripture says because Jesus had compassion for her. Now think about this, if Jesus is moved by compassion to do a last-minute miracle for this widow; how much more is Jesus moved by love to do a last-minute miracle for His children.
Point #3
DON’T PUT YOUR FOCUS ON WHEN IS GOD GOING TO DO SOMETHING, BECAUSE GOD IS GOING TO THAT LAST-MINUTE MIRACLE WHEN IT BRINGS THE GREATEST GLORY TO HIMSELF AND YOU AND I DON’T KNOW WHEN THAT IS.
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited His people."
17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
At that time in Jewish history, a Jewish person had to be put in the grave the day of his death. That is why there was such a rush to put Jesus’ body in the grave before sunset. So, this young man could have been dead for maybe an hour or a couple of hours. Jesus was all God and all man, and so as all God, He knew that He was going to raise the young man from the grave. Well, He could have gotten there sooner, before the young man died or right after he died. But the greatest glory would occur to the Father if Jesus meet the young man at the Gate because of the number of people who would have gathered as part of their custom to bring the body to the cemetery would have been at their greatest number. And the Bible says that it affected all of them. He changed everything. Great fear came upon them and they began to worship God.
Maybe in your life, you are waiting for a last-minute miracle, but the delay maybe because God is waiting for that point that brings the greatest glory to Himself. Maybe in healing you, He is waiting for your family to come to the place that they are ready to acknowledge God as their Savior and Lord. That certainly would bring great glory to the Father.
Conclusion
So, we have learned so far in our study of last-minute miracles that God cannot be stopped, and He changes everything. That is a pretty awesome God we serve!
