Good morning. You're privileged to be down at any part of the Bible conference this week. I trust you were encouraged as I was. A lot of rich teaching on the life of Christ and through Isaac's been recorded for us in John's gospel. And I know some of you were down there yesterday and some of you weren't. And if you were down there yesterday, you get to hear again what you heard from me. And if you weren't, I trust the spirit of God is going to encourage you and what we look at. If you have your Bible with you, open it to John chapter 11 if you would, John chapter 11. And this passage we're gonna go over really emphasizes in so many ways different aspects about our Savior who is absolutely sovereign and absolutely does all things well. And though when you look through a very narrow and temporal lens at what you might be going through, you might conclude differently. And this passage really encourages us to step back and realize our Savior does all things well. Hopefully, that'll be something that is indelibly impressed in your mind as we look at this particular passage. And I'm sure if I were to ask you, theoretically, if you believe Jesus does all things well, I'm sure I'd get a hearty amen. There'd be no doubt in your mind. And yet, oftentimes when we evaluate our life circumstances, we can question that, we can wonder that. You know, when something unexpected, something dreadful, maybe severely dreadful happens that doesn't meet your expectations of who you think God is and how you think he should function, you can start to question perhaps the goodness of God and his plan and his wisdom. And that really stems from the fact that oftentimes our perspective is one in which we think we're the center of the universe. When we get up in the morning, invariably your first thought is, what about me? In some capacity, some way, shape, or form, even if you have to run to the bathroom, it's still, what about me, right? I mean, that's just how it is. And so, that default, we default to that oftentimes, and that's the very thing that can eat our lunch and that causes us to draw wrong conclusions about who the savior is, because it's impossible for God not to be God and to do all things well. You know, and life is difficult. I get very grieved when I hear, for example, that Gilbert's battles continue. You know, just on a personal level, I just wish that there could be a steady state even for a time, and it seems it's one thing after another. And that can be very wearisome. That can draw on you. It could cause you to just be burdened beyond belief. And yet what we know from the scriptures is that our savior is who he is. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, right? He's not gonna change himself. He's not gonna change his word. He's not gonna change his character. He is who he is. Malachi 3.6, the Lord told the nation of Israel that I am the Lord and I change not. And so, the one thing we can all count on here, without question, is God is gonna be God. He's not gonna be something he is not. And yet, we still have expectations in our mind and perceptions in our mind of how we think God should act in a certain set of circumstances. You know, over the years as a pastor, I've talked to people that think that life should be a smooth sail, that everything should be roses. I mean, I belong to God, why shouldn't life be rosy? I kind of thought that a little bit when I first got saved, but it didn't take me long to figure out that that's not even close to reality. And so, and the word of God bears that out. The last thing Christ said to his disciples before he prayed for them and then continued to go to the cross that horrible evening, he said, I've spoken to you these things and he told them that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, that in me you might have peace. And I think we oftentimes try to find peace in something that it really can't be found. It's associated with some aspect or circumstances, some aspect of how life is going to be going, and yet you find it in him, in him alone, because in this world, things are not going to be rosy. There's going to be difficulties, tribulations, heartache. We're all under the curse. I find myself running out of gas more and more as I get older, and it really bothers me. I think I should be just as surprised as I was when I was 35. And, of course, I look in the mirror and I realize that something's changed dramatically since I was 35. And then when I roll over in bed, I realize there's something else that's changed dramatically as this hurts, that hurts, and all the rest of it. But you know, in this passage, we're gonna see here that Jesus does things that at least initially in the mind of some of his fathers are perplexing, they're confusing, they think, well, wait a minute. And here's where we always need to remember that whatever comes our way, whatever we have to deal with, God's plan is always bigger than you. It's always bigger than you. And so how the Savior works is recorded here in John 11, gives us insight. for all of us to stop and think when life does not fit neatly into a box, which it rarely does, and even when your temporal hopes are dashed. You know, I don't know if you're one of those guys that goes into shock when things horribly happen, and again, you know, in America, we're kind of trained that things should go better than perhaps they normally do, and most of us have been spared with some horrifying things, and yet, Ultimately, things can change in a heartbeat. You know, look at that hurricane and the devastation it did. And someone told me this morning there's another one coming to Florida, which I wasn't aware of. But you know, there's an element of suffering in every book of the Bible, and when you get to the book of Revelation, it culminates with a tremendous amount of suffering. And so not to expect suffering and difficulty in a sin-cursed world is truly to have the wrong expectation. Now it takes various form, and I'll be the first one to tell you that I've been spared much difficulty. Difficulty in suffering life is not equally distributed. God's ultimately in charge of that. He has his purposes in it. And that's where you really have to believe, regardless of how you might view it otherwise, that Jesus does all things well. That's gonna be the theme of what we're gonna talk about here this morning. Jesus does all things well. Now we're going to look at the resurrection of Lazarus, something we've looked at before in the series in Our Life of Christ. It is impressive. But you know, the gospel is, John, unique. It records for us a number of conversations that Jesus had and a number of things he did. It's not, it's really interesting. I mean, you got chapter three, you got the woman at the well. Chapter four, or excuse me, chapter three, you got a conversation with Nicodemus. Chapter four, you got a conversation with a woman at the well. Chapter five, you have the healing of a guy that was paralyzed for 38 years. Then you have a few discourses, and then chapter nine, you have a conversation with a man born blind. And here in chapter 11, we have a conversation with Martha and Mary, and the raising of Lazarus. And it's unique in that regard, all designed to show you that Jesus is the Christ, and in believing in him, you have life through his name. It's amazing, and that's the point of it. And we've seen, we saw through our series on the life of Christ that when Christ did these miracles, and John's, again, purpose statement is that you would believe that Jesus is Christ, there was also those that opposed him at every turn, and as the cross approaches that, the intensity of that opposition is ratcheting up, and Jesus is actually gonna do this amazing miracle in the raising of a dead man to accentuate that resistance to the point where they absolutely conclude that he must die. we need to kill him, and this is part of God's plan. He did this, that was part of the purpose of doing this amazing miracle, so that they would say enough is enough, we need to kill this guy. That's part of God working, though mankind has his volition, and he freely chooses what he's gonna do. God works in a way so that, though he knows the outcome, he doesn't force anyone to do anything, and so they're gonna draw this whole conclusion that that's what they need to do, but it was, again, the fulfillment of his particular plan. It's amazing, isn't it? And the Bible's clear that you've got a spiritual heart this morning, and your heart is either positive toward the things of Christ or negative. There's really no middle ground in that regard. And the gospel of grace is the very thing that divides all mankind into two categories, either saved or lost. And depending on your response to the gospel, it's either an aroma from death to death, or it's an aroma of life to life. And who's adequate for these things? To me, the gospel was the sweetest smelling thing there ever was, and to others, it's an offensive smell in every way. And so that is the issue in the gospel, and we've seen many times that salvation is offered freely by God's grace to any and all that are willing to take it. And it's by grace. Grace means it's undeserved in every way. It's unmerited in every way. Faith is a means of appropriation that excludes any merit. And it's a gift of God. Like any gift you received, someone did all the work. Someone paid for it. Some offered it. And you simply received it. And that's why salvation is not of you, as this verse tells us. It's not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. It's not of works. Otherwise, you'd have reason to boast. And so the emphasis here is that salvation is by grace through faith. And the reason it is is because you can't save yourself. God had to do it all, and God in love provided a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's salvation in no one else. There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. And the reason we need to be saved is because we're sinners beyond hope. God is holy. We are not. There's a barrier of sin that separates us from God. It was explicitly explained in the Nation of Israel in Isaiah 59.2, your sins have separated you from God. And because we're born in Adam, the Bible says, we're born dead to God. We have no relationship with Him. There's a separation there. And we're dead because we're in transgressions and sins. And if you have a hard time believing that, simply evaluate yourself against God's standard, the Ten Commandments, and you'd see that you've broken. most if not all of them, multiple times. And so that sin that separates us from God means there's a gap between God's holiness and our simpleness and that gap can't be bridged by anything you can do. You can try every religion under the sun. You can go to every church in town and then some. You could try to be an outstanding individual with good work so you can go through a number of religious hoops and rituals and yet all it amounts to is a filthy rag that God doesn't want. And so, though the wages of sin is death, God offers something else called a gift, and it's eternal life, and it comes through who? The Lord Jesus Christ, and the reason it comes through him is because he came To be Israel's king and in doing so, he also became to be the lamb of God, a sacrificial lamb that could take away the sins of the world. And that's what he was doing on the cross. He became a sin offering for you and for me. He died in our place. He didn't merely die on a cross. More times than ever this year at the Alaska State Fair, when I asked people why did Jesus have to die, the Romans crucified him. That's what I got as an answer. I was just surprised because he was a rebel in their eyes. And I said, well, yeah. There's more to it than that. And that's missing in the mind of a lot of them. He was dying for you. He was dying for me because someone had to pay for sin. And so on the cross of Calvary, God's anger, judgment, punishment, wrath, and hatred for sin was poured on the just one. Christ was made a sin offering for us. And thankfully, he cried out, it is finished, which means paid in full. God accepted his payment. He rose from the grave. And because the work's been done, like any gift you've received, it's offered freely to any and all sinners. But everyone has to make a personal choice to place their own trust in him alone. It's not Christ plus anything you can think of. It's not a matter of you turning over newly, repenting from your sins, crying crocodile tears, promising to do better, going to church, getting baptized, or anything else. Christ is the Savior. He saves. He did it all. He gets all the glory. And so the question is, will you believe? Will you trust Him? Acts 16.31 tells us, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. And so if you're saved here today, you agree 100% with this statement. I trust in Christ alone for salvation. He's the way, the truth, and the life. And yet when you become saved, you become placed into Christ, he becomes, you become the object of his eternal love. Nothing can separate you from that love. And because that's the case, God is for you and not against you. What should we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Doesn't matter who's against us, because God's for us. And he proved that. He who spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall you not with him also freely give us all things? And because God is God, and because he loves us, and because he's got a plan for us, we can all rest in the truth of Romans 8, 28. All things are working together for good, even things that are not good in and of themselves, like what we're gonna see here, and the death of Lazarus. It's not good in and of itself. However, God, who is perfect in every way, can take the not so good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between, and cause it to work together for good according to notice. And this is key, his purpose. And so, Paul then, who went through much as a child of God, says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worthy, worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Do you believe that? Are you bogging down in the sufferings? Are you bogging down in the difficulties? And I'm not saying it's not easy to do. It's very easy to do. But our hope is in Christ and he needs to be our focus. And so as we look at this chapter, you can ask and answer yourself, because that's kind of a question that the passage brings out. How do you expect God to respond to your trials? And how does God expect you to respond to your trials? And this is really the ultimate question. Does Jesus do all things well or not? And the answer is, yes, he does, because he can't. And so as we look at John 11 here, it says, verse one, now a certain man was sick. Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and Martha, the sister, and it was Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sister sent to him, as Jesus is outside of Bethany some distance, Lord, behold, the one whom you love is sick. And when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Lazarus, so he came right away. Verse 6, No, when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was at. Interesting, that's the first time, that's the first opportunity we had to see that Jesus is doing something that we don't expect him to do, right? And so Jesus receives a report that his friend, and he's a close friend, Lazarus, is severely sick, and we know that he's going to die. Jesus is over here in Perea. He's a little bit of a way from, and we'll see Bethany is just a couple miles outside of Jerusalem, so he's not in the neighborhood. They sent for him, they told him, and they expected him undoubtedly to do something. And so he, the sisters, on what basis do they appeal to Jesus? On the fact that he loved who? Them and Lazarus, right? And isn't that why we come to Jesus? Because we know that he loves us? Yes, he does. In fact, his love for you is unmatched. And so that's the correct principle. In a time of trial, you need to call for the Savior who loves you. They did the right thing. They called for the Savior. Now, I find it interesting, they didn't ask him to do anything. They just informed him what was going on. Hey, the one whom love is sick, we're gonna leave that with you. We thought, you know, they're trusting that Jesus is gonna do all things well. but it isn't gonna shake out a whole they thought he would believe. But they believed who he was, and so they just let him know. And that's the beauty about faith. Believing Jesus does all things well, so you cast your burden upon him. But let's be honest, we do that with an expectation that he's gonna respond in a certain way, that is consistent with what we think he should respond. And that's why it's never good to play God. You know, never good to play God. They stepped out by our faith, but God is gonna expand their faith because, again, they need to grow in their understanding of who God is and what his objectives are in life. I'm gonna see here very clearly, it's to glorify him. I'm sure they concluded that Christ would come immediately. This is Lazarus, for crying out loud. This isn't Joe Blow from Kokomo, it's Lazarus. He'd immediately fix it because this is his friend. And yet, what does the words of Jesus here tell us in verse four? When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, and the word is mentioned twice, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through him. So it's the glory of God and the glory of Jesus. And you know, everything that happens in life, relative to us, and how we go through it, is to redound to his glory. And when you're thinking that like that, life is good, because the circumstance might not be. The greater goal of this trial is God's glory, and so God uses your trials to glorify himself. Now who here viewed their most recent trial with this lens? Yeah, he did. But I didn't. I typically don't. It takes me a minute or two to get there usually. Usually it's like hmm. And yet, boy, when you realize God's got his glory in mind, that changes everything, doesn't it? It does. God uses your trials to glorify himself because it's all about him anyway, right? I mean, this is one of the reasons God allows trials to come into your life so he has an opportunity to glorify himself. You have an opportunity to be part of that equation as you wait on him. Because doesn't God love you? Absolutely. He loves you. He's not allowing a trial in your life because he wants to make you miserable. That's inconsistent with who he is. And sometimes you think, well, if only this trial was eliminated, then God's saying, well, I understand why you think that way, but there's something greater in this for you. And that part of that includes my glorious Jesus. Something greater at stake than merely your comfort and my comfort, at least circumstantially, it's God's glory. And so the sisters appeal to Jesus on the basis that he loves Lazarus. And then the Spirit of God, through John, reiterates that in verse five. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary. I mean, it's mentioned twice for emphasis. There's no question in anyone's mind if Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he does. But he doesn't rush to the raid. But he does have a plan and a purpose and a timetable, which will again play out with a much greater objective called his glory. But you know, if my objective is something other than God's glory, how do I respond to a trial? Well, there's a whole myriad of ways, none of which are good, right? You know, Duluth, it's driving this week, it's go up the North Shore and see colors week. And it's also road construction week. And I got to be somewhere at a certain time week, not good. And there's Molly putts leading the way in the traffic. And so There's times, you know, I've told this to many of you, I only get in trouble when I want something. And when I want to get somewhere and someone's in my way, sometimes that's just not real pretty. But you know, if my objective isn't God's glory, I could have a horrible reaction. I could be disappointed. I could think in some way that God is letting me down, which is impossible. And so when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed two more days where he was. Wait, this isn't adding up, right? I mean, obviously, if I heard one of my kids was sick unto death, I think I'd stop what I'm doing and rush. But Jesus has got a bigger plan and a different idea. And either Jesus is doing all things well or he's not, and this is where it comes to a test. You know, if everything's rosy, does anyone doubt that Jesus is doing all things well? No, but when things aren't so rosy, does that like creep into your brain, maybe? Hmm. What's he up to? Doesn't he see the gravity of the situation? Yeah, I think he does. And this is where faith comes in. Sorry. I'm really tired. Oh, mercy. You know, the sisters do the right thing. They go to the Savior. And yet, again, there's a challenge in the expectation, isn't there? They think he's going to drop what he's doing, and he's going to rush to their aid. But he doesn't do that. But again, he's still in control. He still has a plan. And there's something, again, greater. It's called his glory. And so let that sink into your brain. God's got a plan. It involves his glory. And it's not like he doesn't care about you and your situation. And the principle here is this, though God loves you supremely, he will not prevent the trial, but allow the trial to come to pass. A lot of times you think, well, wait a minute. If God really loved me, why would I be in this trial? Well, it's because he does love you that you're in the trial. And this is why James could say this. Consider it pure joy, all joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever. That's each and every time you face a trial and they can be from something very trivial to something very significant because you know something. That God's got a greater objective than your comfort that he wants to build into your faith something called perseverance. And there's a process to the trial. Let perseverance have its work. God says, I got an objective this thing, we're gonna drag this thing out a little bit because There's all kinds of things in it that you and someone else might need because of that trial, and it's gonna result in your maturity, so you could be complete lacking anything. That's not normally the perspective we embrace, and yet that's God's perspective. And so when God is delaying, when the thing just goes on and on and on, recognize God's not divorced from this thing, that he is working in it behind the scenes. His delays are not denials. Part of it, I mean, there's all kinds of objectives. We can make all kinds of lists. It might be a test for you. Are you gonna pray about this? Because a lot of times, we don't pray like we should until we're backed up against the wall or stuck in a corner somewhere, right? But again, Jesus does all things well. You know, Job, in the process of his trial, he started out great, and then he had moments where he waned. And then he'd come back and say, wow, wait a minute here. And so in the middle of Job, he says, though he slay me, I will trust in him. Now, at other times, he wanted a face-to-face conversation with God, and he meant business. And yet, when you're thinking right, you can say, you know what? Jesus does all things well, and though he slay me, I can trust in him. Right? Not even his love for Martha and Mary could force him to act ahead of the proper time. There was a timetable in it, and he wasn't gonna budge, even though he loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Right? That's why, again, you gotta rise above your circumstances and see the hand of God in whatever comes your way. And every time I say this, I wonder, well, Lord, how are you gonna test me on this week? You know? It's easy to preach, but is it easy to believe when something goes right down the tubes? But here's the reality. No testing, you're going to get it. First of all, it's not outside the realm of normality. Secondly, God is faithful. Thirdly, he's not going to allow you to be tested above what you're able. Fourthly, he's going to make a way of escape that you might be able to bear it. I mean, I should make that number five, to be able to bear it. His grace is gonna be sufficient. He never gives you more than you can handle, but He doesn't give you anything less than you need. So the admonition that the writer of the book of Hebrews said is don't cast away your confidence. It has great reward, it'll be worth it all when you see Jesus. But you have need of endurance. Anyone here have need of endurance? Amen. After you've done the will of God, you're gonna receive the promise and it'll be worth it all. For yet a little while, He was coming, will come, He won't tarry. even though in your timetable it's like endless. David was in these situations. He said, I would have lost heart unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So he says, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and he'll straighten you out. Wait I say on the Lord. Are you willing to wait? No I'm not, so I'm gonna take the bull by the horns and I'm gonna make my own path forward and really muck it up. You know, God's thoughts are not your thoughts. God's ways are not your ways, nor are they mine. God sees the beginning from the end, and he's got a plan through it all that ultimately has his glory in view. And that's how he wants us to think. When David was thinking correctly, he said, my soul waits silently for God alone. I mean, that takes some concentration, and I'm gonna allow my expectation to be from him, because we all have expectations. We think God should work in a certain way at a certain time that ends just rosy. But Jesus got a plan here, verse seven, he says, then after this, he said to the disciples, well, let's go to Judea again, which is where Bethany is. The disciples said, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute here. Rabbi Leland, the Jews have sought to stone you at the end of chapter 10. They picked up stones to stone him because he claimed to be God. So the disciples are concerned for Jesus' well-being. They say, hey, wait a minute, you can't go back there. And Jesus says, you know, You've got to understand something here, guys. Aren't there not 12 hours in a day? If I'm walking in the will of God during the daytime, I'm in good hands. It's the essence of what he's saying here. He sees the light of the world. He's not going to stumble because he sees the light of the world. But if one walks at night and stumbles, the light is not in them. We're doing the will of God here, guys. We're in the hand of the Holy One. Those things he said, and after that he said to them, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I'm going to go wake him. So he's giving them a glimpse of what he's going to do here. And the disciples said, well, good, if he's sleeping, he's going to get well. But Jesus spoke of his death, because they thought he was simply speaking about taking rest and sleep. And Jesus said to them again, plainly, Lazarus is dead. But I'm glad for your sakes, I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let's go to him. And so at the right time, let me emphasize the right time, Jesus travels to Judea again. And they raise some objectives. But you see, Jesus knows all things. They're thinking, well, he's just asleep. And he says, no, he finally gives it to him straight. He's dead. He's dead. God was in perfect control. And when you're in a trial, you need to recognize God's gonna be true to his character in any and every trial. He's gonna be in control. He's gonna be in control. And he always functions righteously. No one can define God's sovereignty and omnipotence by saying God can do anything he wants to do, anytime he wants to do it, any way he wants to do it, for any purpose he wants to accomplish. Any use or disposition God chooses to make of any part of his creation, animate, inanimate, is his sovereign right. Anyone here got the right to tell God to do something? No. But you see, it's coupled with his righteousness, so we know that whatever God chooses to do, it's gonna be the correct, and in your case, it's coupled with his love, and so it's all wrapped together. We can say Jesus does all things well, right? That's how it is. He does all things well. He's not going to do anything that violates himself. And you know, Job understood that when his life completely unraveled all in one day. When he lost everything that had value on earth, he said, he rose towards rope, shaved his head, fell to the ground, and cursed God. No, he worshiped and he recognized that was his only correct response because naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I'm gonna go there. The Lord has given, that was his prerogative. The Lord has taken away, that was his prerogative. Regardless, he deserves to be praised. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Does that make any sense to you? In fact, at the end of the chapter two of Job, he's afflicted with boils from the top of his head to his toe. His wife says, why don't you just curse God and die? And he says, don't talk like a foolish woman. Haven't we received good at the hand of the Lord, now we've received evil? He never sinned. Should not the judge of all the earth do right, is the essence of what he's saying here. And you know, that's important when trials come, because I've quoted this many times. I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right, and in faithlessness, you've afflicted me. God says, you know what? Sean, you need this, and I'm gonna be faithful to give it to you. My puny perspective says, oh, no, I don't. And he goes, oh, yes, you do. I mean, it would have been nothing for Christ to say, to heal Lazarus from Judea, I mean, from Perea. He didn't have to go there. But he's got a plan. There's things he wants to accomplish for all kinds of people here. There's something for Martha, there's something for Mary, there's something for the disciples, there's something for the unbelievers that are positive toward Christ, and something for the unbelievers that are negative toward Christ. All in this thing, and of course Lazarus, he's got something for him too. And that's why he says he's glad here. Verse 15, right? I'm glad for your sakes I wasn't there. Why? Because I've got an objective with you disciples that I'm gonna use this trial for that you may believe. He had an objective for them. He wasn't glad for what happened, but he's glad for what's gonna come out of what happened. That's the idea there. Jesus had a plan. Isn't that encouraging? You know, Jesus already told the nation when they rejected him officially, it's recorded for us in Matthew chapter 12, that he would do no more miracles except the sign of Jonah. And the sign of Jonah was a resurrection. And so this is one aspect of that because he's gonna do a resurrection and this is a foreshadowing of what he's gonna do here shortly after this when he resurrects. That's the last sign he was gonna do. Told the nation this. But he's got a purpose in it. He's got a purpose in it that is consistent with his will and his plan for both Jesus and for the nation. Interesting, isn't it? Jesus does all things well. And so Jesus travels to Bethany. Well, it looks like I'm on a, I'm on a wag here. This is the principle. God will use your trial for your spiritual growth. He had something for the disciples. He's gonna have something for Martha and Mary and so forth. And so Jesus travels to Bethany and found that Lathers had been dead four days. Well, let's talk about verse 16 for a second. It says, then Thomas, who's called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, let's go off so that we may die with him. I never understood, I mean, they talk about a pessimistic viewpoint. Don't go to Judea, they're gonna kill you. He says, I'm going. He goes, well, let's go and die with you then. Such encouragement. But verse 17 says, when Jesus came, he found that he, Lazarus, had been dead in the tomb four days. And Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. So many Jews came out to comfort, well, The four days is kind of critical. I forgot to mention this yesterday. In the Jewish mindset, you were officially dead after four days. They had this, a lot of them thought that the soul hung around for three days, and after the fourth day, your body sees corruption, and you're officially dead. So Jesus purposely waited until he was dead four days to realize this guy was dead, because someone would say, well, he raised him after two days, the guy wasn't really dead. Isn't that interesting? He thought of that detail. And that's why since the Jews believed the corruption after four days, Jesus could only stay in the earth three days. Because it says in Psalm 16 that God wasn't gonna allow him to see corruption. Interesting how this all works, isn't it? And so many Jews come out to comfort Martha and Mary. And this really, again, alludes to another principle. God's timing, working, and deliverance in your trial is such that your faith can be strengthened because He is going to use this to strengthen Mary's faith and Martha's faith and so forth. You know, God's got a timetable within your trial. And they that wait for him, Isaiah 49 says, will not be disappointed. But that's the hard part. And so Jesus here, he cruises over from Perea here, and Benthany here is about two miles outside of Jerusalem, so it was close enough for a lot of Jews to come out and help mourn with Martha and Mary. But he's got a lesson for Martha here, beginning in verse 21. Now Martha, verse 20 will start, Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went out to meet him, and Mary was sitting in the house. And Martha said to Jesus, you know, Lord, if you would have been here, this whole thing wouldn't have happened, my brother wouldn't have died. But then she said some faith, even now I know whatever you ask of God, he will give you. Martha apparently rehearsed these words with her sister because she's gonna say the same thing in just a couple verses later. But it serves a way of saying, you know, you could have arrived in time for him not to die. And that's where that word if shows up. If, you know, if, if God would, if you showed up a little sooner, You know, and what ifing is a normal response to things when they're difficult, but what ifing can be a bad thing? I still remember when we were getting, when Jill was getting treatment for cancer and we're, two-thirds way through the first round and her number started to drop. And I'm thinking, well, maybe this isn't going to go well. And I started what-iffing in my four-hour trip home from Rochester. And the first three and a half were a disaster because I was what-iffing. What if she dies? What if this happens? What if that happens? And I finally got to the point where, no, Jesus does all things well. But it was a heck of a ride, I'll tell you, as I what-iffed. What if? What if we would have gone to the hospital a day earlier? What if we would have, you know, you could drive yourself right to the ground. God's sovereign over your what ifs. He knows everything possible and actual. He knows all the possible things that could or would or should happen. And so there's really not a place for what if-ing in God's plan. Now Martha had faith here, but she didn't know exactly what God would do, but she said, you know, whatever you do is going to be the right thing. A minute later, she said, if you would have been here, a minute earlier rather, you wouldn't have died. But now I go, you know, I'll give you another chance, Jesus. Kind of see that with Martha a little bit here, right? So he teaches her something. Where are we? Verse 23. Your brother is gonna rise again. She says, yeah, I know. I know he's gonna rise again. Resurrection last day. I know. Jesus said, guess what? I'm the resurrection of life. He who believes in me, though he die, physically, he's going to live because of that resurrection. And whoever lives because they put their faith in Christ and believes in me, in other words, your life physically, you choose to believe in Christ, you're never gonna die because physical death cannot interrupt eternal life. You get eternal life when you believe. and that doesn't come to an end. And so she's teaching him, verse 27. She said to him, yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who came into the world. Because he says, do you believe this? Yeah, I believe it, I believe it. But you know, truth can be established and reaffirmed and expanded through your trials. He's trying to, increase her knowledge of who Jesus is here. And resurrection and life are in a person, they're not in a program. I'm the resurrection, Jesus says, I'm the life, I'm the key to this whole thing. And so You know, most of us that have been saved for a period of time have truths under our belt, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be reaffirmed. That doesn't mean there's new nuances that we don't need to see and experience in our growth process. And that's the purpose of trials. He's bringing Martha to a different spot in her understanding of him, and that's what trials are designed to do for you and for me. So Christ takes an opportunity to explain to Martha some truths she needs to hear, even though she's saved and believes the Lord can help. I mean, he knew she was saved, but he asked the question anyway, do you believe this? It's reaffirming things. And it starts with the gospel, and that's one of the reasons we preach the gospel here all the time, because that's the foundation of everything we have in Christ, and it needs to be expanded upon in our brains. And so she gives her a testimony of faith. I believe it, Lord, verse 27. You're the Christ, you're the Son of God who's coming to the world. Now when she said these things, verse 28, she went away and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, the teacher has come and is calling for you. And as soon as she heard that, she rose quickly and came to him. And so Mary leaves the house to meet Jesus, but many Jews follow her, it says, verse 31. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, they saw Mary rose and quickly went out and followed her, saying, she's going to the tomb to weep there. And so Mary came to Jesus, verse 32, and she saw him, she fell down at his feet. You know, every time you see Mary in the Bible, she's at the feet of Jesus. Isn't that interesting? Worshiping. And she said to him, Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would have died. And this is not saying it the same way Martha did. Martha was saying, you know, Lord, and she's saying, you know, Lord, I mean, it's different posture altogether. Different posture altogether. They're filled with emotion. In fact, verse 33 says, therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, so she's weeping here. She's expressing her grief to the Savior. And the Jews who came with her weeping, when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. So Jesus groaned and is troubled in the spirit. It's interesting, the word groan there, is a word that actually means indignant with anger. So Jesus is angry here. So why is he angry? I think he's angry because of the curse of sin and the pain it causes. Every sin from Adam to the end, it's just like he hates the impact of sin. And he's angry. And he's troubled as well. He's sharing in her grief. He's troubled in his spirit. He's angry at the effects of sin. And he's troubled at the impact it's having on her. And he grieves with her. And it reminds us that Christ knows your pain and sorrow and trial and he grieves with you. He's grieving with her here. because it says Jesus wept, verse 34. And Jesus says, where have you laid him? And they said, Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. And that weeping there is a different word than the weeping that Mary had. Mary's weeping was, the word there is for wailing, loud wailing and deep expressions of grief. And this is more like a, Jesus has a sorrowful weep, like when he wept over Jerusalem. In fact, three times according to Jesus wept, he wept over Jerusalem, he wept in the garden, and he wept right here. And obviously that's a reminder that in the presence of death, it's not wrong to weep. But we have the privilege of not sorrowing like those who don't have any hope. And so she wept, Jesus wept with her, It's very special. But there's always a naysayer in the bunch, isn't there, verse 37? Could this not, man? They see, in fact, verse 36 says, look at how they loved him. They recognize Jesus loved them, and then they criticize him for not saving him. You know, I mentioned this yesterday. Don't be the naysayer in the group. There's people that come to church that actually like to poke holes in what's said. poke holes. So there's a guy in a crowd saying, you know, instead of being thankful that Jesus cares and he's weeping with him, they say, well, why didn't you save him in the first place? Don't be that person. They're looking to find fault. But Jesus proceeds to do a miracle here. Wait, I'm ahead of myself. When it comes to Jesus weeping with you, you can take this from Hebrews 4, 15 and 16. We don't have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points temporally are yet without sin, so let's come boldly, confidently to a throne of merit. No, a throne of grace, because he's got some mercy and grace to help you in time of your need. That's who our Savior is. You know, I'm amazed that Christ knows everything about me and loves me anyway. Are you amazed by that? I mean, we're ugly on the inside, all right? Is anyone going to fight me on that one? And he loves us, and he's always available to sympathize with us and offer mercy and grace to help in time of need. What a Savior, huh? Wow. Well, here we go, verse 38, Jesus again, groaning in himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave and the stone lay against it. He says, take away the stone. And then Martha has to interject here. Martha, the sister of whom was dead, said, wait a minute, Lord, come on. He stinks. You know, you get a picture, Martha's concerned about trivial details that really don't matter that much, in the sense that, you know, why don't you tell Mary to help me serve? You know, this happened in Luke 10, and Jesus said, Martha, Martha, Martha, Mary's sitting on my feet, that's the most excellent thing here. You're worried that the dishes are dirty and the carpet's got a stain on it, and, You know, if you come over to someone's house and they actually live in their house, so it's not, you know, it looks like they live there, and you're critical, you got bigger problems. You know, if you go there to inspect their toilet or something, you got bigger problems. You know what? We live. I mean, I kind of laughed this way. I got home at 8.30 last night. I stumbled into the house. I was exhausted. And I just threw everything. We got a big entryway. It's great. I just threw everything down and said, I'm done. Went and built a fire, done. I'm thinking, someone's gonna come over to my house, I can walk in and go, whoa, what happened here? And I decided I don't care. I'm tired, and I live in a house. And I'm willing to bet if I just popped into your house, there's a chance it might not be as clean as you'd like it to be. And if it is, you got bigger problems. You need to live a little. All right, enough of my editorialism here. But Martha, Martha, she's concerned. I'm gonna raise Lazarus and you're concerned he stinks. I just, it's so classic. Well, don't raise him, Lord, he stinks, really. Let's see here. Verse, we'll just jump to 41 here. Then they took away the stone and the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and says, Father, I thank you that you've heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they might believe that you sent me." Again, Jesus had a bigger objective here than simply raising someone from the dead, didn't he? Jesus prayed that through the miracle, people would believe on him. You ever consider that that's why he does things? and even allow certain things to come into your life because through the process, the trial, that you might be a light in the darkness and someone else could say, wow, how can you handle this the way you do? And have an opportunity to share Christ with them. Isn't that something? In fact, that's the principle. God will use your trial to encourage others to believe the gospel. He's using this difficulty with all these Jews present as an opportunity for them to hear the truth that would set them free. In fact, that's God's design in all of our trials, as Peter brings out. We're to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you, and again, you do it with a humbleness. And you're having a good conscience because you irritate them as a Christian, and they're gonna revile your good conscience in Christ, but they're gonna be ashamed because It's better if this is the will of God that you suffer, you suffer doing good, and you handle it well, that that's going to be a platform by which you can share Christ in. That's what it's all. See, this is why Jesus was glad he wasn't there when Lazarus died, because he had a greater objective involved. And he prays out loud for the sake of the people there. And he wants to let them know that he's not just a miracle worker, but he's associated with a father. He's the Christ. Isn't it amazing? We're to think in terms of recognizing that if God's in charge, sovereignly in charge of our trial, that there's something in it, not only for me, but there's something in it for others. so that you can say, I'm saying, when am I going to get my finger that's stuck out of this pencil sharpener out? You can think, well, wait a minute, Lord, how do you want to use this? Which is something Jill and I did when we were in Rochester. We said, this isn't all about us or you. There's people here that God wants to touch through this, and we need to be aware of that. And we were. And we had opportunities to witness. And we had opportunities to share Christ. And there was things in it for all kinds of people. In fact, the people that ministered to us, if there wasn't a trial, then the people that ministered to us was humbling to us. It brought us to tears on several occasions. And he said, you know what? Apart from this trial, this ministry wouldn't be going on. I mean, life is not all about me. It's not all about Jill. It's not all about you. There's a bigger objective here throughout it all. But I like what he said to Martha in verse 40, and this is key. Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? Remember he said the whole objective of this trial is the glory of God. And this is part of how that worked out. And this is what you gotta think. When you are willing to believe, you'll see God glorify in your trial. If you're willing to wait on the Lord, if you're willing to look at the big picture, if you're willing to see that Jesus does all things well, you can see it through a divine viewpoint that there's something greater in this than my trial. That's how God wants us to think. You know, Paul brought this out in Romans 4. relative to Abraham, not being weak in the faith, he did not consider his own body already dead, since he was about 100 years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened through that faith, and he gave glory to God. Isn't that how it's supposed to work? If I'm thinking straight, and I've got the objective of God's glory, I can count this all joy, I can go through the process knowing that there's something greater than me involved in the whole thing. Right? But God also had a greater objective for the Pharisees and the unbelievers. Verse, well, I should figure this, verse 43. Now when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he who had died, and it's several times throughout this passage, they make sure that you know that he was dead. He died. It wasn't some, you know, resuscitation here. He came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes. His face was wrapped with the cloths and Jesus said, loose him and let him go. But here's the negative. Here's part of his plan as well. Verse 45, that many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen these things Jesus did believe to him. That was one of the goals. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. These are the naysayers, the negatives. And the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what are we going to do? This man works many signs. And by the way, a lot of times when they say this man, it's a term of derision. This fellow. If we let him alone like this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. In other words, this guy's ruining our parade here, we got to eliminate him. And one of them, Caiaphas, being the high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it's expedient for us that one man should die for the people and not the whole nation should perish. We're going to sacrifice this guy in our place so we can have our way. Now this he did not say on his own authority, but being the high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation. I don't think he knew what he was saying. And not the nation only, but also he would gather together and warn the children of God who were scattered abroad. And that was God's goal. And this was part of Christ setting that up, knowing that these people would have a negative response to him and facilitate all the much quicker his death. that he would die at the right time. Verse 53, from that day on they plotted to put him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness to the city called Ephraim and remained with his disciples. He went back to the area of Perea. He says, we gotta get out of here, they're gonna kill us. And the Passover of the Jews was near, and the Passover's when they're gonna do it. And many went up to the country of Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. And they sought Jesus, And then they sought Jesus and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple. What do you think? Is he gonna come to the feast or not? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given the command that if anyone knew where he was, they should report it, that they might seize him. So God used this whole miracle for several purposes. One, for his disciples, that they would believe in. Two, for Martha and Mary, that they would see that God is in control, and they would learn more truth. For Lazarus, to have another shot. In fact, it says later, they're trying to kill him too, because he's an incredible testimony to the power of God, that Jesus was the Christ. It was for the unbelievers there, so they could believe on Christ and get saved, and it was for the naysayers, the ones that ultimately are responsible for his crucifixion on a human level, that they would go forth with their plan. It's pretty amazing. And so filling out your handout, some of the Jews who did not believe went to the Pharisees, and then they plotted to kill Jesus. Now, my opening question, one of them was, does Jesus do all things well? And what's the conclusion? Yes. Now we can see this here. Can you see it in your own life that Jesus is doing all things well? Isn't that where the test comes? When you go out there and someone slits your tires, you have four, you know, whatever it might be. Or Paris thought something worse might happen. Do you believe Jesus is doing all things well? You know, a poem that's ministered to me many times, many of you are familiar with it, it's called He Makes No Mistake. My father's way may twist and turn, my heart may throb and ache, but in my soul I'm glad I know he maketh no mistake. My cherished plans may go astray, my hopes may fade away, but still I'll trust my Lord till late for he doth know the way. And though night be dark, and it may seem the day will never break, I'll pin my faith, my all on him, he maketh no mistake. Night be dark, and it may seem the day will never break. That's where the test comes. There's so much now I cannot see, my eyesight far too dim, but come my way, I'll simply trust and leave it all to him. And by and by the mist will lift, and plain it all he'll make. Through all the way, though dark to me, he made not one mistake. That's our Savior. Got a lot to rejoice in, do we not? This is the comfort of my affliction. Your words have given me life. Are you going to allow the word of God to minister to your soul today and give you the life you need? Amen? Let's pray. Father, thank you for just an opportunity. Thank you for including this portion of scripture in the canon for our benefit. And we can be so impressed with the Savior. So impressed with the fact that he is in perfect control, does all things well, though on the surface it appears that perhaps we would prefer him move differently. We know when the dust settles and the smoke clears that Jesus does all things well. Help us to embrace that perspective by faith, to be thankful in our heart of hearts, to know that our times are in your hands, and we can always rest assured in the comfort that you give us through your word. So thank you for our time together this morning, in Jesus' name, amen.