Sometimes, it can feel like your prayers are hitting the ceiling. But just because you don’t feel God doesn’t mean He isn’t working.
I wanted to speak about that because
everybody in the room has a Lazarus it
is that located part of your life where
you thought God would it could be a help
that you expected emotionally it could
be a help that you expected relationally
it could be what did his name mean one
whom God helps and what did the sisters
say when they sent for him the one that
You love it is a direct contradiction of
their expectation and an apparent
contradiction of Christ’s character that
because He loved them and He didn’t just
love Martha and He didn’t just love Mary
He loved Lazarus and I don’t know if
you’ve read the whole story before but
after He says Lazarus won’t die Lazarus
dies the Lazarus factor it is that
sometimes the exact opposite of what you
thought God would do based on who you
knew him to be happens in your life and
everybody has a Lazarus everybody wanted
to play college baseball and tore their
meniscus I don’t even know what a
meniscus is but I hear people say they
tore it
everybody has an ideal of what they
thought a relationship would be until
you discovered there were some things
about them that did not show up on the
third date or the fourth date or the
fifth day or the sixth date or the
seventh day you didn’t see those crazy
eyes did you until y’all shared a
blender oh when you start sharing stuff
in a house you find out now I’m using
trivial things here because if we think
about it in too epic of a fashion you
won’t allow yourself to locate your
Lazarus if we don’t speak in a specific
fashion about those little things that
disappoint us
those little Lazarus those those little
things that we bury those little hopes
that were crushed those little dreams
that were stripped of their meaning and
potential those those little moments
that were stolen by what people did or
said but those little doors that were
closed right when you were trying to
walk through them if we don’t break it
down specifically you will keep it out
of here at a distance because that’s
what we always do to God when we are
disappointed we put Him at a distance
and we allow Him to come no closer and
I’m going to show you in the text that
that’s exactly what the sisters did when
they lost their Lazarus what do you do
when you lose your Lazarus what do you
do when God leaves you unread what do
you do when He listens to you pray but
decides apparently to stay two days away
until the messengers come and say it’s
too late Lazarus the one you love has
been laid to rest the Lazarus factor and
now Jesus has some explaining to do
because He said he wouldn’t die and then
He waited two days and then he died I’m
smiling not because the story is happy
but just because I know the outcome you
hear me I’m smiling because I’ve only
read up until verse six right here in
front of you but I read to verse 44 all
week as a matter of fact I’m smiling
about something that I read in verse two
I want to show this real quick it says
in verse two this Mary
whose brother Lazarus now lay sick was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped
His feet with her hair can I tell you
something that doesn’t happen until chapter 12
it’s a flash-forward y’all been watching
this is us
it’s a flash-forward it’s to let us know
that even though Lazarus dies his story
does not because this same Mary who is
disappointed in chapter 11 is going to
be worshiping in Chapter 12 now go ahead
and make up your mind I’m going to be
worshiping in Chapter 12 I’m going to be
worshipping next Monday I’m going to be
worshipping no matter what happens in
this deal this dilemma this trial this
saturation point is only going to serve
to release greater glory in my life in
my family in my generation in my
bloodline there will be glory I declare
it and decree it by the eyes of faith
now y’all sit down and listen to this
story as it unfolds because at the end
of the story Mary is worshiping for what Jesus did
but first before she can worship she has
to wait and wait and wait
is He coming is He coming anybody heard
anything is He coming communication was
very primitive in John chapter 11 so we
don’t know if He’s coming until the
messenger gets back how else would we
know but here comes the messenger and
Lazarus is close to the end and you want
to know um where is He He’s not coming what do you mean
mean He’s not coming
He came when I cooked
but He didn’t come when I cried we feel
this way but we can’t talk about it my
job is to say what you think so you
don’t think you’re going to hell for
thinking it and this is kind of humorous too okay I love how God puts a little bit
of humor for those of us who are slow
when when Jesus got there um He said in
verse 7 let’s go back to Judea because
Bethany this village where Lazarus was
in the process of dying it’s two miles
from Jerusalem where there was a price
on Jesus’s head and the disciples
contradict Him they’re like but Rabbi a
short while ago the Jews there tried to
stone you and you’re going back you see
what I mean it would have been a
horrible job to be Jesus PR
representative chief-of-staff you can’t
get Him to do anything He it’s almost
like He’s God and He won’t be controlled
or something like that it’s almost like
faith is more mystery than it is
manipulation Jesus answered are there
not twelve hours of daylight anyone who
walks in the daytime will not stumble
for they see by this world’s light it is
when a person walks at night that they
stumble for they have no light that
clears it up we’re gonna die or not
after He said this He went on to tell
them our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep but I am going there to wake him
up and His disciples replied do your
best stuff forrest gump voice lord if he
sleeps he will get better Jesus had been
speaking of his death but His disciples
thought He meant natural sleep verse 14
is my verse so He told them plainly
Lazarus is dead
now there comes some things in your life
that you interpreted at surface level and
then God has to make it plain He told
them plainly and not only He told them
plainly but He was about to reveal to
them in a way that they would never
forget an aspect of who He was that they
had not yet seen of all of the seven
signs that John’s Gospel records this is
the most important minus Jesus’ own
resurrection what is about to happen in
Bethany two miles from Jerusalem tells
us more about the character of Jesus
Christ than all of the other signs
combined because up until now Jesus has
been foreshadowing not only His death
and resurrection
but His fulfillment of the law and the
prophets now He’s about to do something
that He can only do not if He is a good
teacher not if He is a rabbi not if He
is a human instructor but what He is
about to do He can only do if He’s God
and while I was preparing this message
God said to tell you what He’s about to
do in your life is something that He can
only do not if He’s just a good teacher
not if He’s just a historical figure not
if He’s just a Santa Claus but if He is
God and I mean a great big God I mean
the word incarnate God I mean the
indestructible incomprehensible ever
living ever breathing God I mean Yahweh
the Great I Am me the healer the prophet
if He’s that He can do this He said I’m
gonna wake him up they say let him sleep
he’s sick and Jesus said my God you’re
bright
and the remedial lesson of faith happens
in the action not the explanation
because verse 15 is kind of hard to
understand because He said for your sake
I’m glad I was not there so that you may
what did I tell you was the purpose of
John’s Gospel so that you may what feel
amazing so that you may get rich and
famous so that you may the Lazarus
factor is that everything that God
allows you to lose can lead to a deeper
belief in who He is
and I just want to know did you ever
lose something in your life only to know
God better on the other side and has
there ever been a time where God used
the thing that you would not have chosen
to happen to change you in a way and you
would not give the change for anything
even though you did not choose the
circumstances that caused it I thought
so
I thought when I was preparing everybody
has a Lazarus everybody has a
disappointment everybody has a current
expectation that we are processing and
Jesus shows up not on time I was gonna
say He’s fashionably late but He’s
actually functionally late He’s doing
work while they’re waiting He’s working
they assume He’s not there but He is
leaving a space that He intends to fill
He said I’m glad I wasn’t there because
sometimes my greatest lessons are taught
in the spaces that you consider my
absence
sometimes your greatest faith is built
in the absence of your feeling and your
greatest wisdom is built in the absence
of your understanding but let us go to
Him then Thomas also known as didymus
said to the rest of the disciples let’s
go also that we may die with them lots
of faith with these twelve guys right
these are the all-stars these are the
ones that He’s gonna entrust the gospel
to go to the world
great plan Jesus well on His arrival I
want to show you this in verse 17 Jesus
found that Lazarus had already been in
the tomb for four days now Bethany was
less than two miles from Jerusalem I
think I told you that already and many
Jews had come to Martha and Mary to
comfort them in the loss of their
brother in the loss of Lazarus and you
will have people in times of loss that
can support you to a certain level but
there is only so much that others can do
with being mad at people because they
can’t give you what only God has and
quit pushing people out of your life
because they can’t be everything to you
only God can be everything to you so
they came to comfort but they couldn’t
change the situation so when they got
there I don’t know who that was for but
I felt the Holy Spirit on that and when
when Jesus got there many Jews had come
to comfort them but when Martha heard
verse 20 that Jesus was coming she went
out to meet Him but Mary stayed home we
are seeing their personalities who you
are is who you are we are seeing Mary
stay home because what am I going to do
about it we are seeing Martha meet Jesus
at the gate of the village because I’m
not even sure if I want Him to come back
to my house I’m not cooking nothing
today
the kitchen is closed today You can have
some doordash today I hope you got
Ubereats Peter because I’m not feeding
none of y’all today
and she met Him watch this sobbing at
the gate weeping at the gate mad at the
gate as Lazarus’ hope went down and he
eventually was dead and his body
decomposed
according to the Jewish superstition
within three days the breath could come
back to the body and the process could
be reversed but now that hope is gone
because it’s the fourth day Jesus shows
up after there is a hope that
resurrection can happen by natural
spiritual customs so Martha comes to the
gate find time for you to show up thanks
a lot for thanks a lot for nothing Jesus
thanks a lot for your teaching Jesus
thanks a lot for being my God Jesus
thanks a lot I prayed to you
my marriage and now it’s over thanks a
lot God I did everything I knew to do
she saying stuff like this but then she
said a word in verse 21 that shifts the
the attention from what she has just
lost to the possibility that exists in
this moment still and I want to pray
that the Lord would give us through His
word this same shift in verse 21 where
she says Lord kurios Lord Martha said to
Jesus if you had been here so she ain’t
saying nothing real worshipful right
she’s actually very mature to know that
the presence of Jesus is an excellent
place to process your disappointments
and if you don’t learn how to process
your disappointments in His presence
you’ll process them somewhere else that
is not safe or they will become toxic
oxygen and you will choke on the lack of
the compassion that He can give so I
think it’s really beautiful the Lazarus
factor lets me know that I can let God
know when I’m let down you know you
never lost a battle except this one you
never lost the battle you remember I
came over a studio that day we were
playing around and I said you’ve never
lost a battle and I talked about what if
we recorded that and we may do this
remix for a Christmas version or
something um if it gradually got more
honest as you’re saying it you’ve never
lost a battle you seldom lost a battle
oh come on this is John chapter 11
Lazarus is dead
Yeah but he’s about to be resurrected he
dies again he still dies he just got
resurrected for a little while he’s not
still walking around
everybody dies he dies again there’s
only one person who didn’t die again
it’s about to become plain in a minute I
promise you what God is doing in this
season of your life is about to become
plain but only if you get honest only if
you get honest if You had been here my
brother would not have died but I know
that say the next two words out loud
even now it would be one thing for you
to stay in the past it will be another
thing for you to look to the future but
there is power in the now there is power
in the presence of God there is power in
an honest confession of faith that I
don’t understand this turn of events but
I know that even now God will give you
whatever you ask I know that possibility
stands before me when now I know that
potential for healing is before me when
why aren’t y’all here with me I thought
I was in front of some people who have
lost some Lazarus in your life and lost
some time and maybe even lost some
opportunity and maybe even lost some
hope and maybe even lost some optimism
but I declare now in the name of Jesus
even now God can do it even now God can
break it even now God can fulfill it
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