Pastor Dan's Messages: March 2020

March 29, 2020

Hall Wesleyan Church Sermon

Pastor Dan Denning

For this week's Sermon Teaser, go to: https://youtu.be/oJUYkuS7LP0

Manuscript:

John 11:1-44 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Raising of Lazarus

¹¹ A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. ² This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. ³ So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling Him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

⁴ But when Jesus heard about it, He said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” ⁵ So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, ⁶ He stayed where He was for the next two days. ⁷ Finally, He said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”

⁸ But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone You. Are You going there again?”

⁹ Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the Light of this World. ¹⁰ But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.”¹¹ Then He said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”

¹² The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” ¹³ They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

¹⁴ So He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

¹⁶ Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived at Bethany, He was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. ²⁰ When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, "Lord if only you had been here, my brother would have not died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God.” ²⁸ Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” ²⁹ So Mary immediately went to Him.

³⁰ Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met Him. ³¹ When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So, they followed her there. ³² When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him, and He was deeply troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” He asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus wept. ³⁶ The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much He loved him!” ³⁷ But some said, “This Man healed a blind man. Couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus was still angry as He arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ³⁹ “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

⁴⁰ Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” ⁴¹ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to Heaven and said, “Father, thank You for hearing Me. ⁴² You always hear Me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe You sent Me.” ⁴³ Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”


	John 11:1-44

Do you agree with me

· That when we read anything

o And so often this is True of the Bible,

· It is all too easy for us to quickly skip to the exciting stuff.

· We gloss over the beginning which is often so important for us to understand,

· Through the middle which explains so much of the motives,

· And then we zero-in upon right to where the action is?

And this story about Jesus and Lazarus is of no exception.

· We rush past the beginning

o Because the rest of the story appears,

o At 1^st glance, to be far more fascinating.

And this comes with no wonder within our story for today.

· Because it is what Jesus does at the end of the story

o Which stimulates our attention.

After all, this is where we see the astonishing miracle.

Where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead

o After being dead and in his tomb for 4 days.

Now - Jesus had done a number of other miracles within the Gospel of John.

· We have when He had turned water into wine.

· When He healed the paralyzed man.

· And when He restored the sight to a man who was blind from birth.

But to raise someone up after 4 days!

· THAT IS Breathtaking to say the least!

o It is totally unheard of!

§ What a Remarkable Sign of the Hope (with a Capital ‘H’)

· Which we place within Jesus' – own - resurrection.

It is No Wonder that we skip through this story

· And focus upon the ending.

That is where the fireworks are.

Sometimes,

· After we have jumped to the end of the story

o After we stand and Marvel in Amazement

§ Of what occurs at the end of the story,

o We sometimes, still have enough energy left over

§ To shift our sights to what Jesus did

§ In the middle of the story -- namely, “He wept”.

This piece of John’s writing is so fascinating.

· "Then Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

That is the shortest verse within the Bible.

But it may also be the hardest verse for us to understand.

Why did Jesus weep?

· Is He moved with grief over the death of His friend Lazarus?

· Is He in sorrow over the unbelief which is all around Him?

· Is He thinking ahead to His own death?

John does not say.

· But even though the reasons for His feelings

o Seem to remain somewhat of a mystery,

· We are still drawn to this picture

o In the middle of this story

o Showing us an emotionally affected Jesus,

§ Who actual has tears falling slowly down His cheeks.

But it is because

· We have this dramatic conclusion With Lazarus'

o Coming back from the dead at the end of this story.

· And we have the weeping of Jesus in the middle

o (which in itself is so puzzling).

· It is therefore - So Easy for us to overlook

o The very beginning of the story.

But what do we find in the beginning of this story

· That could be so ‘challenging for our attention’

o That it would or even could pull our attention away

§ From the Dramatic Ending

· Or even from the Puzzling Middle of this story?

Now - would you believe that the Beginning of this story could be

· Of such Great Importance,

o That it cannot only hold a candle

§ To the Ending and the Middle,

o But it may also be more important

§ Then the Ending and the Middle put together?

The item which makes the beginning of this Story So Fascinating is:

· That Jesus actually –

o He intentionally –

§ Delays His Return to Save Lazarus.

See - Jesus receives word that His good friend, Lazarus

· Is very ill and he is in the village of Bethany.

But as John writes, he makes it very clear

· That Jesus is in absolutely - no hurry to respond.

In fact, John even draws our attention to Jesus' delay.

John says that even though Jesus loves Lazarus

And Jesus loves his two sisters, Mary and Martha,

Nonetheless, Jesus waits 2 more days,

After He heard the news,

Asking Him to come to Bethany (John 11:5-6).

But - by the time of His arrival,

It is too late. Lazarus is dead.

And then we have those moments recorded when both sisters,

· Martha and Mary, simply pours salt into this wound

o By pointing out to Jesus

§ That it is because of His late arrival,

· ‘That’ is what caused the death of their brother.

^11:21 “Martha said to Jesus,

“Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.’”

^11:32 Mary said,

“Lord, if only You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

See – Apostle John is waving a Huge Flag over this

· So that we do not miss it.

o Indeed, Jesus was not there.

o He was delayed and that delay was intentionally done by Jesus.

o And it is because of Jesus not being there, Lazarus did die.

NOW - Honestly,

· How do YOU feel towards Jesus, ‘Intentional Delaying’ His Return?

It is tough for us to actually come up with an HONEST Answer,

· Because we know the whole story,

But let me experiment with this just a little.

Let me put it this way.

· Say you are in your basement,

o Working on the plumbing

§ And, by accident, you broke off the main water line.

· Now water by the truck loads is spilling in your basement

o And you by chance have a Good Friend who lives next door

§ And he has the only tool which can shut off the water.

· So, you call him

o And he chooses - on purpose,

§ To not come over and help until 6 hours has passed.

· Through this delay, your entire basement fills up with water

o To such a point that the water is now running

§ Out of your front door and down the street.

· Then 6 hours after your call, he shows up.

o And it is only then when he decides to come and help you.

Tell me,

· “What thoughts would you have of your friend?”

o Would you have Good thoughts?

§ What about Bad thoughts?

· Is he even still your friend?

I believe if we could be honest,

· Our temptation to judge Jesus is pretty Strong.

· We would have feelings that would be very similar to our friend who delayed to help us with the plumbing issue.

Tell Me:

1. What kind of person would mess around and wait:

a. While a good friend of yours is dying or needs our help desperately?

2. What could possibly have kept Jesus where He was while Lazarus,

a. Whom He loved,

b. Breathed out his last few breaths on his death bed?

3. Up to this point, we have constantly witnessed

a. Jesus’ love and compassion,

b. But what He did here seems to be in

c. Violation of that basic human compassion

d. Let alone to mention totally missing the boat in pastoral care.

Why in heaven's name, we ask, ‘Why was Jesus late?’

And that is precisely the question that John, the author, Wants us to ask.

Why in heaven's name was Jesus late?

· See - John knows, IF we keep asking that question,

o We will discover something profound about

§ Heaven's name,

§ About Jesus

§ And about God's ways within our world.

Part of what we will find is that

· Jesus sometimes saves us by being absent or away,

o Rather than Him being present.

§ Well, at least not present in the ways

· Which we demand or expect.

Later in the Gospel of John,

· Jesus will be telling his disciples that He will soon depart from them. "You will look for Me," He says, "... [but] where I am going, you cannot come" (John 13:33).

This announcement which Jesus plans to separate Himself

· From the disciples understandably –

o Causes a Great Deal of Fear –

§ And Perhaps even Panic, to set in.

The disciples cannot imagine being apart from Jesus.

· They plead that they will be lost without him (John 14:5),

· They beg to be allowed to follow him (John 13:37),

o But Jesus refuses.

o He clearly intends to be their Lord by being apart from them.

See – What this means is that:

· Jesus will be obedient to God's Will and not theirs.

· Jesus will accomplish the saving work of God

o Rather than their small and local understanding of who He should be.

They want Jesus to be the leader of their little band,

· But Jesus is the Light of the whole world.

They want Jesus to teach them, guide them, heal them, protect them, save them;

· But Jesus teaches, guides, heals, protects, and saves all humanity.

They want Jesus to respond to their immediate concerns,

· But Jesus’ mission is not captive to their sense of what is urgent.

· He is their Lord because He transcends their little world;

· He is their Lord because He is Lord of all.

Today, you are watching or reading this Sermon Message on-line rather than sitting in the pews of our church.

One can argue and say that we should have the church building open,

· That we should be telling people to come to church,

· That we should be having church as we have grown accustomed to having it.

o And there is an argument to support that.

But what about being where we are being called to be.

· God is everywhere.

· Now we have grown accustomed to coming to church

o So that we can be with God.

· But if God is everywhere,

o Why can we not come to God where we are?

§ In our homes with our families,

§ On our computers,

§ And even, in our cars?

God always takes what is evil and He turns it into His Glory.

· I am not sure how God is using our today’s situation for His Glory

o Besides, the fact of opening us up to a new thought,

o To a new beginning,

o To a new connection in Him.

On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and all of the days,

· We have the opportunity to explore God and to once again,

o Bring Him into our homes

§ And home to our families.

Yes, it is Holy to spend time with God in the church

· However, it is equally Holy to spend time with God

o In our homes and where we are.

I have faith

· That because of the Holy Spirit,

o Even as powerful as the Spirit would have made this sermon message

§ If it was given within the church building

· To the people who came to church on that day,

§ I believe that the impact which the Spirit

· Will give to this message

o As it is given online,

· He will multiply that impact

o By at least 10 times greater

"Even more powerful ... in the absence."

In other words, God has chosen for the church buildings to be absent

· So that He can bring an even larger sense

o Of His Mission to the people.

Jesus' Mission trumps our tiny explanations of Our Urgency.

· A man was dying.

· More than that, he was Jesus' friend, Lazarus, and he was dying.

· Lazarus' body grew weaker, he was hot with fever.

· Mary and Martha were wringing their hands with worry.

· The whole village of Bethany was troubled.

Naturally, from Bethany's perspective,

· This was the most urgent matter!

· It was of high importance!!

· It is a life or death crisis!!!

o And, in their thoughts,

o YES - Jesus should have dropped

§ Everything in the world to be there.

But Jesus will Not Drop the World;

· He will save it,

o And He will save all of it.

SEE - Jesus is not controlled by illness and death,

· Not even - if it is His dear friend Lazarus' illness and death;

But it is to the contrary.

Jesus is the One Who is in control.

SEE - Not only will Jesus not allow

· Illness and Death to set His agenda,

o Neither will Jesus allow death to be the ruler of time.

In our world, as we know it, death is in charge of time.

When you are in a hospital and their intercom crackles

· With the message "Code Blue,"

· A signal of urgency speaks to all patient care.

· Death has sounded the alarm

· It has pushed the stop watch,

· And all must urgently obey death's timetable.

But that is not with Jesus.

· He gets word of "Code Blue" on Lazarus,

o He has received the notice that the stop watch is ticking.

o The "911" call goes out

o And It demands immediate attention.

BUT SEE - Jesus does not respond to death's timetable.

· Jesus is THE LORD over death

· And He is THE LORD of all time.

No longer will death set the times and seasons,

· But only God.

So, Jesus takes His time to respond,

because it is,

after all,

“His Time.”

He is the Lord of the sabbath,

· And He is the Lord over Monday, and Thursday,

· And of all of the ticking minutes and desperate seasons of life.

· He is Lord over all time.

· He was there in the beginning,

o Before all time,

o And through Him - all creation,

§ Including Time, came into being.

John is sharing God’s Theological Vision.

· Time finally belongs –

o Not to human beings,

o Not to the corruption of illness and death,

§ But to God.

We know what time it is

· Not by looking at death's clock,

o But by Looking at Jesus' Light.

Jesus arrived in Bethany on Jesus’ schedule, not death's.

When Jesus got to the tomb of Lazarus,

· Now dead four days,

o Jesus,

§ The Lord of PAST,

§ PRESENT,

§ And FUTURE,

· Jesus Reached into the Future of His Own Resurrection Victory

· And Reversed the Past of Lazarus' death,

· Thus displaying the Glory of God in the Present.

John writes: "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him" He can change our clocks.

Instead of us watching the clock,

· Wondering when death will finally come calling

o When death will stop the hands of the clock from moving.

§ Those who believe in Him

· And those who recognize That it is Jesus

· Who is the One with eternal Life.

· We are the ones who get to rest within His Time.

· When Jesus at last came calling on the little village of Bethany,

o It was the common judgement that He was mournfully late.

§ But when Lazarus danced away from the tomb of death,

· With the light of eternal life within his eyes,

· The whole world could see

o That Jesus’ timing was right on time.

So, the question becomes,

· Who is in control of your Life-Clock?

Pastor Dan's Messages

Monday, March 30, 2020

Unite714 Week 2 Prayer

Unite714

Saturday, March 28, 2020

March 29, 2020 Hall Wesleyan Church Sermon & Teaser

March 29, 2020