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Today we worshiped at Home.

Scripture: John 11:1-44 –

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 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. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Bob’s thoughts:

There have been days where we both were too sick to get to a church, but today it is all on me. I fell on Monday and my body is a mosaic of green/blue/black/purple/yellow with a fair amount of pain.

This is the second time I got out the one word prayer that saved me – “Jesus!” There was not time – or need – for anything more. I came away beat up and bruised but nothing broken and with a renewed thanksgiving for my God.

The other time I remember using this prayer, I was stopped on a Parkway ramp watching for a break in traffic when I saw a car bearing down on me in the rearview mirror. There was no time to react and nowhere to go. As I invoked the name of Jesus in prayer, the car swerved into the guard rail and passed by me, removing most of the right side of the car in the process as he forced his way into traffic and was gone, leaving me in my vehicle wrapped in God’s loving arms.

Today we listened to a message about Christ raising Lazarus from the tomb and it spoke to me. I have and always will struggle with why God did not use me to raise my son whole and healthy. I knew then I had Christ’s power to do it and I know it now, but I knew he would not honor that prayer. I wasn’t so obedient that I didn’t try anyhow, but I knew it was in vain. When I lay on hands in prayer I don’t always know that God will bring the healing I look for, but usually know when healing isn’t going to happen.

In the story of Lazarus we ponder what the sisters were thinking while at their brother’s tomb with Christ, that it could be worth all this pain for just a glimpse of God’s glory. Christ wept because He felt their pain and their loss.

We are called to know that He can, that sometimes He waits, and we must trust in the meantime. Are we any different than Lazarus’ family, when God doesn’t meet our expectations?

Jan’s thoughts:

Had we not stayed home today for the reason I’m sure Bob already mentioned, we would not have heard this message. God uses every little thing in our lives to guide us.

The Andy Stanley message we listened to, entitled “When God is Late,” was based on our question of “Why doesn’t God do something about that?” He explained there can be many “thats” in our lives, and the question is universal. But what Jesus did in the story of Lazarus was “create a ‘that,’ then did not do something about ‘that’ in order for us to learn how to live with ‘that’ in the future.” He created a new category of ‘thats’ that are for God’s glory.

Stanley pointed out that every time we ask God “Why didn’t You come? You could have stopped this,” Jesus’ answer would be that it was worth it for the glory we will witness as a result. In our pain we must learn three things: that He can, that He waits sometimes, and I can trust Him in the meantime. He has promised that if we continue to believe, we will see God’s glory.

I recall asking God more than once why He did not stop the accident that killed our son, so I can surely relate to this question. God has been gracious to me in my periods of questioning and unbelief, and instead of an answer has given me more of Himself, and He promised that I will one day see His glory. All I can say is amen and hallelujah!

Our prayer:
Holy Lord, we believe; forgive our unbelief. Help us to be strong as we put our worst days in Your hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.