Faithbase

Hey, guys, welcome to Fuel. I'm excited to bring in the last message of this series of On Your Way, where we get to just talk about Jesus' relational ministry on his way, just, you know, doing his thing and talking to people. Not only that, but he's healing left and right, he's forgiving people, and he's also, in his interaction, he's changing lives. Last week, we talked about the woman at the well, did we talk about that? And then, and we talked about how his interaction with her changed her life. I got to tell you guys, I have to share something with you guys before I just start the message. It is awesome to see you guys worship. You know, it is awesome that you guys are choosing to be here on a Wednesday night and just be able to be in the presence of God. It's not something to take lightly. I don't want you guys to just brush it off like, oh, okay, yeah, it is what it is, or... But let me tell you, I see you guys worshiping God, and let me tell you, God hears your prayers. He sees you guys worshiping, he sees you guys crying out to him, and if I know God to who he is, he's not going to abandon you, he's not going to leave you, and he hears your prayers, and he meets you where you are at. And much like he meets today, in today's message, he meets Mary and Martha when Lazarus dies. So let's take a look at this passage in the book of John, chapter 11, and let's read together. It says here, verse 1, A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was sick. So the two sisters sent the message to Jesus telling him, Lord, your dear friend is very sick. When Jesus heard about it, he said, Lazarus' sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of Man will receive glory from this moment. So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Let's just pause there real quick. Have you guys ever had moments in your life where you were kind of expecting God to move in one way and it seemed like he totally did the opposite? Anybody? Is that just me? Has everybody ever experienced that, where you're crying out to God and just like a moment like tonight, and then you're asking for an answer prayer or you're praying for God to move in a certain situation, maybe a very serious one, maybe one that is life or death, and then it just doesn't necessarily go exactly how you planned? You know, let me tell you guys that Martha and Mary definitely felt that in this situation where he just heard the news that his dear friend was sick, but he decided to stay two days. Tell the person next to you, it's all part of the plan. You guys can say it loud. It's all part of the plan. It's all part of the plan. Thank you. Verse seven, let's get to it. Finally, he said to his disciples, let's go back to Judea. But his disciples objected, Rabbi, they said, only a few days ago, the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going to go there again? And Jesus replied, there are 12 hours of daylight every day. During the day, people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world, but at night, there is danger stumbling because they have no light. Then he said, our friend Nazareth has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up. And the disciples are a little bit clueless in this moment. He said, Lord, if he is sleeping, he'll soon get better. They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus has died. And he basically just was like, man, Lazarus is dead. He's dead. Do you get that? And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe. Come let's go see him. Let's pause it for a second. Let me tell you, I am definitely, I can classify myself because I know myself. I am definitely a stubborn person. And I don't know about you, but sometimes it does take a few reminders, a few messages to get the message through to me sometimes, especially in the past, especially when I was in high school. So, it's like as if God knew how to handle me. He knew Elias very well, but yeah, I said Elias, not Eli, my bad, that's actually my full name, guys. He knew Elias very well. And then in this moment right here, I just remember those moments where I would act stubborn, not just towards God, but towards life situation. And then in this line, it says it here, and for your sakes, I am glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe. Looking back in the past of my own life, and you guys can look in the reflection of yours, you probably wonder like, man, God, why didn't you do things a certain way? And then while we may not have all the answers, I love the story of the raising of Lazarus, the spoiler alert, Lazarus does become alive again. He uses this moment not just to do another miracle, not just to do another healing, but he used this moment to be able to impact the people that were already around them, Martha, Mary, and the other disciples, and he used this moment to deepen a relationship with them. And then in verse 16, it says, Thomas, nicknamed the twin, said to his fellow disciples, let's go too and die with Jesus. And that was kind of like a little bit like undertone statement, kind of saying, because they clearly, when they were first in that city, they almost kind of literally died. So the twins are like, all right, cool, I guess we're going to die then, this is ridiculous. But he was kind of grumbling along to say like, okay, we'll see where this is heading. And in verse 17, it continues on where it says, when Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Now this information was very important, guys, because in that culture, during that time, honestly, beyond three days, they did not, excuse me, beyond three days, they did not believe that you could even, definitely for sure, like that person's not just dead, they are dead, dead, like their spirit is long gone. You will definitely, even if you were a prophet, or if you were a person who can do resurrection, like we don't believe past the three-day mark, like, and not only that, but that he would really, really, really smell. So verse 18, it says, Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Let's pause there really quick. You know, it's really interesting to see two different people react in two different ways. Now, this situation at this point has already gone past its expiration date, pun intended, like the dude was dead. And then, so now you have Martha, when she heard about that Jesus was coming, coming to meet where they were at, she actually ran towards him to meet him. He went to meet him, but you have Mary, a completely different person who stayed in the house. So just so you know, we're seeing two different personalities at play right here. And verse 21, Martha said to Jesus, the one that ran over to meet Jesus, she said, Lord, if you only had been here, my brother would not have died. You know, I have quite an interesting admiration for Martha because she, it seems like she does have the faith, like she was like, if she knew the person of Jesus, like I've seen your miracles, I've seen your healing, I've seen you do some crazy stuff. If you were here, he wouldn't have not died. And then he, and then she goes on to say, but even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Almost like almost of a hopeful tone right there. And then Jesus said, she told her, your brother will rise again. And then Martha goes on to say, yes, he will rise when everyone else rises at the last day. Like she was already kind of projecting as far as like, yes, Jesus, we know your story. You know that in the end, very soon in the last days of our lives and the end of times that we will all be resurrected. Yes. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. It was like kind of like a jab. But then Jesus was like, then goes on to tell you like, no, no. Verse 26, he says, Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this, Martha? It was such an interesting question because he's trying to grow her faith and not just knowing that, hey, I'm not just talking about of a life here on earth, but I'm talking about an internal life. Because to Jesus, death was just the beginning. And in verse 27, it says, yes, Lord, she told him, I have always believed you are the Messiah, the son of God, the one who has come into the world from God. Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, the teacher is here and wants to see you. So Mary immediately went to him. And in verse 30, Jesus had stayed outside the village at the place where Martha met him. And the people saw who were at the house consoling Mary, saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus' grave to weep. So they followed her here. So we have a crowd around this happening. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you only had been here, my brother would not have died. Same words that she said, same words that Martha had said. When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, within Jesus, and he was deeply troubled. Where have you put him? He asked them. We're going to pause there right there because we're going to reflect just a little bit more on these specific words, especially the words where he saw her weeping and the other people wailing and then the deep anger welled up in him. And I remember reading this scripture for the first time and I wonder like, hold on, where did the anger come from? Is it anger because Lazarus is dead? That would be a little bit confusing because he knows the power that holds within himself to raise him from the dead. He knows the plan. And then when we look a little bit more, the deep anger welled up after he saw the people weeping, after he saw the people wailing, after he saw the people mourning. So then it goes on to say, as a reflection, even after he said, where have you put him? So like an action plan, like where is he? It's almost to see that Jesus' character of like, man, you guys are not getting it. You guys are not seeing the bigger picture of the eternal life, that I am the resurrection and the life. That you guys have seen me heal lepers and even Peter's mother-in-law and many others and all of these things. This was a whole bunch of other miracles has happened already at that point. And it's coming up to a situation where his deep anger, it doesn't even seem as if it's towards them directly, but the fact that they even have to even go through a situation to encounter death, that they even have to go through an experience to meet the wages of sin, which is death. So then he goes into his action plan and he says, where have you put him? And I remember reading this, reflecting on this message, and I felt like God was definitely talking to me when I was reading this message, where he was talking about like, hey, Elias, where did you put the things that you have laid to rest? The things that have gone, that you thought were gone? And then Proverbs 13, 12 came to my mind. It says, hope deferred makes the heart sick. And I felt like that was kind of my response to God. I'm like, God, you know why. You know why I've laid certain things to rest. You know why I kind of put it in the grave? Because hope deferred makes the heart sick. And I got tired and I got sick of waiting. I got burdened with caring and waiting and waiting for certain things to happen in my life. But then in the message translation, it's not up there, but you can finish reading the passage. It says here, unrelenting disappointment, this is the message translation, unrelenting disappointment leaves you heart sick. And then the second part of the passage says, but a sudden good break can turn life around. And I'll read that again. Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heart sick, but a sudden good break can turn your life around. And let me tell you guys, I didn't have just one good break throughout my lifespan as in your age or even in a young adult, but I had many good breaks. I had various good breaks, and they all came from Christ at very points of intersection where it seems like I laid many of my dreams down, where I laid many of my expectations down, where I laid many of things that I thought were good for me, and then God turned it around and said, hold on, I'm going to wait two days on this. And I'm like, God, you don't know what you're doing. And then he's like, trust me, it's all part of the plan. And in this part right here, he says, where have you put it? And that's a reflection where I ask you guys, where have you put your hopes? Where have you put your dreams? And that question can sometimes seem like as if it's easily answered to physical materials, but I'm actually talking about your day to day emotions, your day to day thoughts where you're kind of consumed, whether it's on the phone or on the TV, but then you realize day passes, a week passes, a month passes, a year passes, and you realize like, man, what am I doing with my life? Instead of looking to Christ who is the resurrection and the life, and if you always put your hope in him, you're never going to be disappointed. So then we continue on to reading in the passage that says, he said, where do you put it? So they said, they told him, Lord, come and see. Then Jesus wept. And this is probably the shortest Bible verse right here, if you guys want to memorize, a lot of people know this. And it's, again, a showing the character of Jesus, that he's seeing his good old friend Laz experience death, and then what death brings, the mourning, the sadness, the pain. And what's crazy is that God knew that pretty soon he was going to just abolish all of that as far as that when we do experience death, that's not going to be the end. rather than the beginning of an eternal life with him. And then in verse 36, people said, the people were standing nearby, said, see how much he loved them? And then they said, but some said, this man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying? You know, when I first read that, I realized that they were comparing a provision of God of the past to a current situation. And I realized how dangerous that can be in the life of a Christian. Because even though we see God move in the past in a wondrous way, in an amazing way, how dangerous it could be when we compare God in the past to God in our present. When we do that, we limit him. Because he's saying, God, you did this. And it's great to do it as a reminder, as a memory to know how faithful it is. But when we start saying like, hey, God, you did this. Can you do it again? It's like saying like, man, but I can do so much more. And they did that. They said like, man, if you were here, you would have raised them. If you were here, this would have happened. And he was trying to tell him like, dude, I could go beyond death. And that is a pretty freaking amazing thing. And then verse 38, it says, Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb. A cave with a stone rolled across it, its entrance. Roll the stone aside, Jesus said to them. And then right then and there, I remember even hearing this scripture being preached. And one thing really stuck out of everything that I've heard is that part right there. Because honestly, like Jesus has all this power. He could have just gone like, like just destroyed the stone in million pieces. And like, but he actually had people partake in this miracle. That he had to have people like, how far are they gonna trust him to the point that for him to be able to do what he needed to do? He's like, move the stone away. And it's like such a crazy thing that God is talking to us today, that he can do the miracles in life, that he could do so many things, but he's still calling, can you move the stone away? Out of your thoughts, out of your hearts, and allow God to do what he needs to do. But Martha, the dead man's sister protested, Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible. You know, and then Jesus responded, didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe? You know, when I read in that, and just a quick reflection, it's like, there's a difference in knowing versus actually experiencing something. There's a difference between a religion and a relationship. And in that question right there, that's what really stands out to me. He's like saying like, listen, the belief not just come from knowing that I'm the son of God, the belief also comes from knowing that you are going to be experiencing me in your life, in your present, in this lifetime, me, like God saying, I'm gonna be God in your life, not just by the God that you read in the Bibles that you know that it's to be thousands of years out. No, I'm gonna do it in your life now. I'm gonna do it today. You know, Jesus wanted to take them to a different level of trust. And Jesus wants us to know him more and more, even right here, right now. And in verse 41, as this story comes in, it says, so they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me. But I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that you will believe, so they will believe you sent me. Then Jesus shouted, Lazarus, come out. And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound, still in the grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. And Jesus told them, unwrap him and let him go. It's an incredible story. And some of you may have know it, but there's two points that I want to leave you guys today, especially when it comes to the part where Martha and Mary says, Lord, if you only been here, my brother would have died. The first point is limitations leads to a lack of faith. And I say that really in a loving way to challenge you guys. And I know that's easier said than done. When you reach into a wall and it feels like, this doesn't seem as if it would go according to my way. It doesn't seem as if I would do it in this way. What I need you guys to do is to roll that stone and step aside and let God do what he needs to do. Because don't limit God to only what you think you know he can do, he can do so much more. And the second point is comparison leads to a confliction of the spirit. The issue that happened various points across this time, point of time in history, is that people kept comparing of the past. If you would have only been here, if this would have happened, wasn't this the man that also healed and couldn't he just do this? When we constantly compare God to other things, other people and say, Ooh, let me just tell you something. Something that just came to my mind. How many times do we compare even people to previous experience and God is trying to let you know, like I have so much better for you. Not only just in a relationships, but also in your path that you are taking. Like guys, this is the last message of this series. And this series is supposed to basically let you guys know, not only as Jesus is on his way in his relational ministry, doing amazing things that you guys can do it too. Some of you guys are seniors and you guys are about to head into a world of so many different things. So I wanna encourage you guys, don't compare, don't limit God. And if you reach that wall, move it to the side and let God do what he needs to do. Amen. Let's pray and let's just take this message and let it simmer in our hearts. And as you guys break into your small group, go ahead, ask those questions. Go ahead and talk about what you need to talk about. Maybe you guys are wondering a few other things that maybe your small group can guide you through. And also just know that we are about to have baptisms next week. And there's still time. So if you are interested in being baptized, you wanna take basically a visible profession of whatever is already happening inside your heart, inside your life, then that is an opportunity for you to do so. That is an opportunity for you to just demonstrate that according to God's word. So let's just pray. Father, thank you so much for this night. Thank you, Lord, for your word. That is amazing and that is true. Thank you, Lord, that you raised Lazarus, though that was just a temporary raise. Eventually Lazarus did meet again a physical death. What you ultimately did on the cross was give eternal life, not just to Lazarus, not just to Mary or Martha, but to everybody else here in this room as well. Jesus, we thank you so much. We thank you so much for this series. When we're talking about the woman who anointed your body with her hair and her tears and about the encounter that you have with the Samaritan, when we thank you so much for these amazing historical events that we can learn from. And Jesus, we ask that you have your way in our lives in the same, that you impact our lives, that we open up our hearts, that we surrender at all as we were just seeing. Those words may not just be words on a screen, but may be words reflected onto our lives daily, that we know that we are not perfect, but that we serve a perfect God, that we know that we are gonna make mistakes, but God, you and your words are in us to transform us daily. So God, I just ask that you may continue pouring out your presence over these students, every single person that is here, so that we can get to know you deeper and that every single day that we do fight the good fight, that we do use the resources that you have given to us to reach into a deeper and deeper relationship with you and to flee from the enemy and flee from the things of this world. We love you, Jesus, and we thank you in your precious and holy name, amen.