Today, we’re looking at John chapter 11. John chapter 11; the story of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus.
Some of you this morning may feel like you are at the end of your rope. You may feel you like you have nothing left to give. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and he can raise you up today if you only trust in him.
Our topic this morning asks the question; “Will everything turn out okay?”
Many of you are asking that question this morning. You see the world around us. You see the financial system. You see the wars. You see the hurricanes. And you’re asking the question whether or not everything will turn out okay?
I believe the Bible has the answers for us this morning as we ask that question.
In this morning, we are looking at John chapter 11 specifically verse 25.
the Bible says;
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27 ESV)
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. When we ask the question; “Will everything turn out okay?” The answer lies in Jesus.
So my question today is the same question that Jesus asked Martha—he asked; “do you believe this?”
Have you come to a point in your life where, like Martha, you say;
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11: 27 ESV)
“Do you believe this?” You can believe this today.
The question we ask today is;
Will everything turn out okay?
It is an age-old question. It is a question that goes all the way back to the beginning of time.
The Bible says;
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 ESV)
“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening…” (Genesis 1:31a ESV)
God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. And there was a tree in the center of the Garden, “the Tree Of Life” that God said that they should not eat from. .
There are so many things in our lives that we should not put in our bodies. It could be physical things, it could be mental things, or it could be words we hear. These things we should not go near!
One of these is alcohol. That’s right—alcohol. Alcohol is one of those things you should not take part in.
I read a story about a boy from Laguna Beach, California who was treated for hypothermia and extreme alcohol intoxication after falling from a 50 foot cliff just a couple weeks ago.
Reuters news service posted, last year, that alcohol is responsible for 4% of the deaths worldwide. That is more than AIDS. That is more than tuberculosis. And that is more than violence. There are things in our world that we should not put into our bodies.
And that’s what we see Adam and Eve there is a tree in the garden that they should not eat from and they ate of that fruit.
And, right there, sin entered the world. Sin entered the world by free choice of man. And you and I are sinners.
The Bible says; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23 ESV)
We are all sinners.
And because of our sin, we deserve death.
Romans 5:12 says;
“… just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 ESV)
So as we look at the question about whether or not everything will turn out okay, we must ask ourselves why is everything so bad?
Why are we asking the question in the first place?
And the reason why everything is so bad, is because we are sinners and we are separated from God.
We see hear in John 11, a man who had a sickness.
John 11:1 says;
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (John 11:1 ESV)
Lazarus was sick. We don’t know if he had pneumonia. We don’t know if he had appendicitis. We don’t know if he had cancer. What we know is that Lazarus was sick.
Lazarus was being cared for by Mary and Martha his sisters.
The second verse spells it out, exactly who Lazarus was:
It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (John 11:2-3 ESV)
These are people that Jesus loved.
And they were at the end of their rope. They were asking themselves—“will everything turn out ok?”
We find later in the story that Lazarus died because of that sickness. He died. Some of us have gone through deaths of loved ones. It is painful for those around. It is numbing, it is lonely, and it is empty. And that is what Mary and Martha are going through.
Now we see verse 17:
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. (John 11:17 ESV)
Verse 21:
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (John 11:21 ESV)
This is such a common response when things start to fall apart! If only, Jesus, you had been there!
Some of you have recently said the same things:
You may say “If only I hadn’t joined the Army!” You like the Army—but life back home feels as if it is falling apart.
“If only I hadn’t gotten married so young!” You love your spouse, but marriage is tough.
“If only I were there with your friend before he killed himself.”
And you ask “Will everything turn out ok?”
Verse 23
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…” (John 11:23-26 ESV)
In verse 43, we see that Jesus prayed
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:43-44 ESV)
Lazarus rose from the grave command of Christ! All the people around him were watching Jesus to see if “everything would turn out OK.” And Jesus reminded them that he is the resurrection and the life!
Through trusting in Christ, these people found that only Jesus can make everything OK. Only Jesus can raise the dead! Jesus made the impossible possible and revived the dead lifeless body of Lazarus.
And he can raise your life as well.
Every single one of us have a sickness this morning. We are sick before God—and that sickness is sin. It runs through our veins and haunts us at every corner and without Christ it will lead us to death.
The consequences of sin in our society are devastating. Many times—it leads directly to death. Some of your friends have been shot and killed in the street because of sin. Many times it leads to long time hurt and emptiness–some of you have experienced the trauma of sexual assault because of sin. Many times it leads to loneliness and isolation—as some of you know what it means when your parent split up and go their separate ways.
The consequences of sin in our lives are equally as devastating. You may have committed adultery, which is sex outside of marriage and you’ve discovered the emptiness and the hurt that it brings. You may have harbored hate in your heart—that Jesus says is equal to murder—and the only person you have hurt is yourself. You may have lied and have fought to keep the lie as your story and the harder you’ve tried the story simply unravels all the more, receiving the consequences not only for the act that you wanted hidden, but the consequences of no one trusting your word.
We are separated from a Holy God because of our sin.
The Good news is that Jesus came.
And the Bible says;
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)
The story of Lazarus contains the shortest verse in the Bible:
John 11:35 says:
Jesus wept.(John 11:35 ESV)
Jesus wept because he loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha. He was moved by the grief that surrounded him. And God loves you. He loves you so much that he sent his son—for you. To die in your place.
You deserve death. I deserve death. But Jesus died in our place because he loves you and me.
Here in this story, we see that Jesus can raise the dead. And this morning he can raise you up as well when you trust in him.
So, I come to you this morning with the same question that Jesus asks Martha; “Do you believe this?”
This is the vital question. The question of whether or not things turn out okay depends on what you do with Christ.
We spend a lot of our time to worry about what can happen for 10 weeks or fifteen weeks depending on how long you are here. We spend a lot of our time worrying about what may happen on a deployment. We spend a lot of time worrying about what will happen when we go home. We wonder whether our families will stay together, whether our children will grow up to be successful, or whether we will get a job.
But the question today that is more important than any other question that you will ever have. The question today will determine how you will spend eternity.
Jesus asked Martha; “Do you believe this?”
And I am asking you as well.
“Do you believe this?”
What are you going to do with Christ? He died on a cross to make your eternity is secure.
He says;
… “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 ESV)
You need to settle whether or not everything will turn out okay.
This morning, I believe God is speaking to you today—drawing you to him. But, you must take a stand. You must publically make this commitment—settling to yourself the decision that you have made.
In a moment, I am going to say a prayer and Cliff will come and play some music. This is your chance to stand up and come forward for Christ. You may come forward because you need prayer. You may come forward because you are a Christian and have gone astray—and you want to settle things with God.
But, you also may be one who has never known Christ before. You have been wondering how things will turn out—and it doesn’t look good.
Today, you can make that change. Today, you can answer the question of Christ and say;
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11: 27 ESV)
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This sermon was preached at Heritage Chapel, Fort Lee, VA on 13 November 2011. All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.