It's good to be back here and thankful for the opportunity to come this way and the invitation. I have had a lot of issues, I guess you could say, health issues for a while and had COVID back in January and probably one of the few people that can say that COVID did me some good. It put me down for a couple weeks and I spent five straight days just sleeping pretty much and didn't eat. And going through that helped my other health issues that I was dealing with to heal up some. So I came out of COVID and feel better now than I felt since probably last summer sometime. And I'm thankful to that thankful for that. Sometimes you got to, it's got to get worse before to get better. And there was a few days there, it was pretty bad. Talking to the Lord while I was laying there with COVID and, and no strength and in pain and, and everything and just pretty much saying, Lord, if this is it, just go ahead and take me I'm ready to go. And it's bad when you get that low when you get to that point. And but if you got to Got your Bibles and you'd like to read along with us. I don't intend, I hope not to read the entire 44 verses here, but, you know, if we have to, we have to and we'll do what... I'm just going to try to follow my heart here and that's all I can do because if I got up here and tried to do it myself, it'd make a mess out of it and... I don't want to do it myself. I want God to have His way this evening. If you've got your Bibles and would like to read along, I'm going to be reading from John chapter 11. Very familiar story. You probably won't even have to open your Bibles up to keep up with it, but it's the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. I'll start with the first verse. It says, Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. And then after that, he said, saith he to his disciples, let us go into Judea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again. I'm going to stop right there and look at these verses we've read. And it just introduces us to Lazarus and shows us, you know, who Mary and Martha are and the relation there. And we know that Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus's. But they sent word to Jesus when he was sick, knowing that he was the one that could heal him and bring him through this sickness. And so they sent word to him. That fourth verse says, When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now, I want to keep those words in our mind here as we go on. In the sixth verse where he says, he says, when he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. And you might think, well, you know, if your friend's really sick and you've got the power to, to, to take care of him and, uh, you know, bring him out of this sickness, bring him through this sickness, you might be moving on instead of tearing on a couple of days. And, uh, but it said that, that he tarried in the same place he stayed there for two more days. And so then he gets ready to go on, and his disciples question him, you know, about the wisdom of going to this place, where they ask him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again? And Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things saith he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then saith Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." And sometimes things have to be put very plainly to us. And His disciples there, they thought He was just speaking of Him sleeping. But Jesus already knew that Lazarus was dead. And so He made that very clear to them. And He said, I am glad for your sakes that I was not there. to the intent you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him." You see, there was a plan in the works here that Jesus knew about. He knew what his work was, and he knew what the plan was, and he knew he had to stay behind just a couple more days for this to come to pass. And then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nine to Jerusalem, about 15 furlongs off, and that's a little less than a couple miles, best I could figure out. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she had heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. See, she believed that Jesus could heal her brother from his sickness and from his illness. But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? And she saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet coming to the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. And the Jews then, which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come to where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. And Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. And Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Lazarus didn't ask for any of this to happen to him. And maybe he had a heart that, you know, God, whatever would please you, I want your will to be done. And you know, we pray that all the time. God, I want your will to be done. And I don't know exactly what that's going to entail, brother. And that might bring some trouble and some trial, and it might even bring some sickness and some ailment my way. And I don't know but I'm true in that when I say Lord I want your will to be done because if there's anything short of God's will being accomplished Then nothing's being accomplished brother and We go back here to that fourth verse where we were reading there, and it said that Jesus heard them and he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. And I don't know what troubles and trials you might have going on in your life or what you might have been through or what you might go through yet, But just stop and consider for a moment. It might be for the honor and the glory of God. Not something that we've asked for, brother. Not something that we've chosen our path to be. But God is in it and He chooses to use us in a way that maybe we didn't see. And maybe we weren't even willing to be a part of. But God's got every right to use us in a way like that. If He wants to put me in a grave and then to bring me out of it to prove Himself to the world, then so be it, He is God. And I'll tell you this, if you don't bring me out of it, I've got a home in glory. It's OK. But he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. I've got a dear friend over in Missouri. And a year ago, he was going through COVID himself. He pulled through it, he had a long spell with it, and he pulled through it. And then down in the summer, his son went through the same thing and had it probably worse than he did. And I say probably, he did have it worse. He was right down to the day that they called the family and was bringing him in. And the doctors were saying there's nothing more we can do, his time is short. And my brother over there, He didn't doubt for a moment. He said, people pray. There's no room for doubt here. He said, you pray for my son. He said, God's not finished here yet. And people were praying across this country and maybe in foreign countries too. And I want you to know that his son, that he began to turn around and his vital signs began to come back. And today he is out of that hospital and he's doing well. He is fully recovered. and with just a few little signs that he's ever been sick that he deals with, God came on the scene and God came in and did what the doctors said we can't do. The doctors were finished and they just had to stand back and let God have His way. You know what happened while his son was in the hospital? Well, his son was in the hospital and he was non-responsive. He knew that they were there from time to time. He couldn't speak to them. And, but his daughter fell under conviction and she found the Lord and was saved. And you know, the only thought I could have is what if his father sometime back was praying and saying, God, whatever your will is, just save my children. And God said, well, you know what my will is going to be? I'm going to take you right to the brink of death and I'm going to lay you on your deathbed. And I'm going to put you in a place where the doctors don't have anything. And I'm going to reach out and I'm going to convict her little heart. And I'm going to bring her to a place of repentance. And she did that and she found peace with God. And you know, he got to come through it and now rejoice. And what a story it is to be able to be on this side of it. And these words right here maybe mean something more to him now. This sickness is not unto death. You know, he didn't have to die like Lazarus did there. Oh, but he had to go to a place. He said, I don't doubt for a moment. He said, God, whatever it takes to save my children. Well, sometimes it might take a little bit more than we're willing to let go of. I see a host of young ones out here. Prayers going up for them all already and have been for years, I'm sure. And I know that they are because I got grandchildren that cover this age range myself and I'm praying for them. I'm praying for them and Lord, whatever it takes. And if it takes me in a grave, If it takes taking me out of their life to humble them, to bring them to a place of contrition, a place where they will humble their heart before God and call on Him, then so be it. I'd rather be on the other side and know they're coming to see me. They're coming to be with me for all of eternity than for them to die lost. That last verse we read right there, the 44th verse. It said, And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice. This was Jesus. And he said, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound with a napkin. And Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go. I want to turn over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. There's a few verses here. And Paul being the writer here speaking in the 4th chapter, in the 13th verse, he says, but I would not, let's hit the 12th verse, that you may walk honestly, that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words, Folks, those are comforting words tonight. I don't care what trial, what tribulation you've got in your life, what illnesses you go through. Whatever I've been dealing with in my health, if God chooses that I deal with this the rest of my life, then so be it. There's going to come a day when I'm going to lay this old body down and all these trials are going to be over. All these tribulations are going to be over. All these illnesses and ailments are going to be over. The pains and the suffering will be over. And the worries will be over because the Lord's coming back. And with His own voice, just that same voice that He called out, Lazarus, where He said, Lazarus come forth and said He's going to return with a shout. And I'm looking forward to that shout someday. And I don't know if I'm going to be on this side of the grave. And it doesn't matter if I'm in the grave. It says that I'm coming out when He returns and I'm going on to glory with Him. And it tells me to comfort you and for you to comfort me with these words because we're going on to a place that's perfect and we're going to leave all of this behind. Lost friend, whoever may be listening, paying attention to this tonight, in your lost condition, you don't have this promise. But I can assure you it's going to happen. And if it happens before you find peace with God, you're not going to have this to comfort yourself with. You're not going to have You're not going to have that home in glory. When the Lord returns with that shout, if you're still alive, you're not going to go out with Him. You're not going to be drawn up with Him into the clouds. You're going to be left behind. And there's a place that's been prepared for the devil and his angels. It doesn't say that it's been prepared for you, but I can assure you that place is the place that you're going to reside for all eternity. And the Bible teaches me that it enlarges itself daily to make room for those that go there. It was never intended for you. It was never intended for me. But hell will make room. for those that go there, for those that push aside the calling and the drawing of our Lord. If God's knocking at your heart tonight, I don't care if you're at home listening to this online or if you're listening to it someday after a while on a recording or if you're in this congregation tonight. If you are lost and you're separated from God and you feel that drawing power of God knocking at your heart, just humble yourself to Him. I did that when I was a 12-year-old boy. And Brother Junior, I remember it just as well today as I did back in June of 1979. Just as well as I know you remember it from July of 1958. Brother Junior has told his testimony enough that almost every one of us at Southside can tell you it was July the 28th, 1958 as he says it. And I'm thankful that He's shared His testimony with us enough that that is in my memory, that I remember it. And I know my brother's going on to glory because of the testimony he's left behind. Brothers and sisters, I'm going to tell you tonight, that's where we're falling short. We're not telling the world. We're not standing and testifying and praising God and thanking Him for saving our soul like He did and like He has commanded us to do. If our children don't see us standing and giving God honor and praise and glory and thanking Him for saving our soul, will they ever do it? It would be an awful quiet church, brother. It'll be an awful quiet church. We've got something to be thankful for. Something to praise Him for and I thank Him. That morning when I was 12 years old, there at Southside on that second bench, and He knocked at my heart and let me know I was lost. I don't even know exactly what was going on in the service. I don't know if they were singing or they were preaching or what, but I do know this. God let me know I wasn't a part of it and I was separated. And I did what I knew to do. I just humbled my heart right there. I didn't go to the preacher. I didn't go to Mom. I went to the One that could save my soul, brother. I went to the One that could bring peace to my troubled heart, to my troubled soul. And, lost friend, that's what you've got to do. You've got to go to the One, the only One that can bring peace. Jesus here had all the power to prevent Lazarus from dying. But there was a greater work to be done there with Lazarus. But I can assure you tonight, He's got all the power to save you from going to hell. And He wants to do it. He won't tarry. He won't tarry on that one. When your heartbroken heart calls out to Him and you repent and you beg forgiveness for the sinner that you are, when you beg forgiveness and you truly mean it from the depths of your heart, He will save your soul. He won't tarry one moment. He will save you so fast, it will make you wonder how it ever happened that quick. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Bible says we're going to be changed in that last day when we're taken out of here. And that's how fast it happened when God saved my soul. Just like that. Faster than I could just snap my fingers. And peace came in. And I've had it every day now. Almost 44 years. It will be 44 years this summer. And I'm thankful for it. Go back just a moment here on those first thoughts that we read there. If you've got troubles and trials in your life, things you're going through, step back and let God have His way. Because you just may be going through it because He needs honor and glory and He needs your life to get it. He has every right to use our life. Y'all know what I've been through. in my life here recently. And I hope and pray that God gets every bit of honor and glory through it. I hope His name is lifted up. That the lost and dying world will be able to see it. I hope when people look at me that they don't see me. And I hope they don't see me weeping and crying, woe is me because of what has happened to me. But I hope and pray that they see my faith in the Lord. And I hope and pray that they see Him. And I want them to see me. I want them to see the Lord. Because He's the only reason I'm here today. He's the one that's picked me up and carried me through. He's carried through my marital problems. He's carried me through my financial problems. He's carried me through every kind of problem I could have. Health issues, you name it. The Lord has brought me through them all. And I know He'll continue to do so. It doesn't matter what the problem is, my answer is in the Lord. Your answer is in the Lord. I hope and pray that these have been words that you can draw comfort from, brother and sister. And I hope that you can comfort each other with these words. And lost friend, I hope you find some hope in these words. And I hope most of all that you find the Lord that these words will lodge in your heart. And when you lay down on your bed to sleep, I sleep with a great peace. I lay down and I go right off to sleep in about five or ten minutes pretty usually. And it's because I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it. I worry about very little anymore. I just thank the Lord for the peace that He's given me, brother. And I thank you for the opportunity to stand and share about that piece with you tonight. Thankful again for this opportunity. I'm going to turn it back over to Brother Derek. And I thank you again for the opportunity to come.