God’s Way Works

Introduction

Good morning! Thank you so much for joining us, whether you are here in person or watching online we are so glad you are gathering with us.

My name is Grant Grimes and I am a student at the River Church’s Pastors Academy and I am so thankful to be able to open God’s word with you this morning. If you have a Bible please open them to John 11:1-5

This morning we will be continuing on in our “Why, God?” series and this truth is a particularly hard one for me to submit to, so I am really glad to see how God is going to use this truth in my life as well as yours.

John 11:1–5 ESV

1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

Perspective One ( Mary and Martha)

In every story there is a point of view or a perspective, as the reader we get to see every aspect of the story, we see what Martha and Mary know and we get to see what Jesus knows. But I want us to pause on this…

What is Mary and Martha’s perspective?

There brother becomes deathly ill and they become frantic, searching for a cure and seeking something to solve the present problem. We can imagine they were nervous, didn’t know what to do, worried for their brothers health so they come to Jesus.

This isn’t their first interaction with Jesus, they know He is Lord and can help in this situation yet they are still urgently seeking Jesus and sending message.

A problem arises and they enter crisis mode, Lazarus needs help and Jesus can save him.

Application

How many times in our life do we come across hardship and we lose our heads? Whether it is a family member getting sick or losing our job, many difficulties come upon us and we are lost.

The perspective we have is minimal and narrow, all we can think of is the now and the very thing in front of us. We beg God for help and try to persuade Him in our favor. Mary and Martha say Lord please come help the one you love, so often we come to the Lord and ask him to do the same.

Lord don’t forget you love me, don’t forget what we have done for you, Lord please do me this favor.

We lose sight of the person we are asking for help, God is no longer God but a means of success, happiness, a genie granting the wish in which we desire.

When we utilize our own perspective we begin to ask God, Why can’t my way work? Lord this is how I envisioned your help, comfort, blessing, etc. But we read in Proverbs 14:12

Proverbs 14:12 ESV

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Our perspective and our way leads to death, this is where the truth for this morning comes into play. “ GODS WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS”

Our way seems right to us, it may seem like the only way to survive yet Scripture says it leads to death, we cannot rely on human perspective it fails and leads to more hurt than the hurt you feel in the moment and might be feeling now.

SO if our perspective or our way leads to death then what is God’s way?

Perspective two (God’s Way)

John 11:6–16 ESV

6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

What is the perspective of God? We see that the disciples are struggling with what Jesus has for them but we just got out of Israel we just got out of where you want us to go again why and yet Jesus has a plan.

Jesus knew what was going on, God knows the situation that you are in. His perspective is complete and whole. He tries to tell this to the disciples in the very beginning, “ it is for my glory” and yet he continues to have to convince the disciples.

Guys Lazarus is a sleep and I am going to wake him up stop messing around and lets get going. I imagine the disciples are like well if he is just sleeping than leave the man alone. I don’t want to die to be this mans alarm clock he is fine.

Finally Jesus has to be quite Frank, “LAZARUS IS DEAD”

The people traveling with Jesus daily even thought their ways were better than Christ, Jesus has to explain this truth to the men as well.

I think the heart of God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways is in this line however, John 11:15

John 11:15 ESV

15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Jesus waited for Lazarus to die so that we may believe in Him. Not ourselves, not the doctors, not the people around us or coincidence. SO THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE IN GOD

Application

God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways, God can see the big picture he has the ultimate perspective.

God sees the beginning and the end of the struggle. Yet we have to understand that God does not do things in our timing nor the way we think He should.

Talk about song “ Your ways are higher than mine” by The Collingsworth Family.

It's not what I prayed for It's not what I wanted It's not something I understand My circumstances seem so confusing I'm placing it all in Your hands

Your ways are higher than mine I want mountains to move You want me to climb So I'm gonna trust Your work, Your will, and Your time Your ways are higher than mine

This past year I have really struggled with this truth, I say the past year just because it is the most recent but truthfully I have struggled with this my whole life. I am a planner I always have been, there is a certain way I expect things to be done and I crash and break when things go astray.

As I have been preparing to graduate high school and see what the Lord has for me I have consistently failed at understanding God’s ways. I kept asking the question Lord why are my friends leaving me, Lord why do I feel like you want me to be alone, Lord why do I keep on struggling with relenting control.

Lord why do I feel inept and broken. I kept asking God why things weren’t going my way, why they couldn’t go the way I saw things fit. It was because His ways are higher than mine. He saw the full picture, even the things I can’t see now the Lord has a plan for and wants me to have faith in Him. These trials and situations I have gone through in my life, from the lose of my grandma, to my grandpa wanting nothing to do with my family, even up till now figuring out future plans of college. God had me go through them to bring Him glory, so that I placed my faith in Him and could as Lazarus does in the next chapter bring others to believe through his struggle and God’s triumph.

The 4 Most Important Truths reign, God is in complete control, All things exist for the Glory of God, and God’s Ways are not Our ways.

Closing ( What Is Your Perspective?)

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We read in Isaiah that even the Israelites, the people God lead through trials and great triumphs questioned God’s ways.

So what is your perspective going to be? Is it my way or the highway, Lord things need to be done the way I want them to because as I said earlier, Proverbs tells us that leads to death.

Maybe you are saying that you don’t even know who God is and that the only perspective or way you can see is your own.

God’s ways have taken care of that too. In John 3:16 it says, “16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s ways brought us life and eternal rest with them and that none of us will perish if we only trust in His ways.

The Bible says that our ways lead to a falling short, Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Yet if we believe and place our trust in God Romans 10:9 says,“9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Our ways lead to death and a life filled with hurt and suffering, Jesus brings us comfort and knows the outcome. God’s ways are so that we will believe, and bring Him glory through this be saved from an even greater thing than death and that is separation from God.

If you have not accepted Jesus as Lord call out to Him and ask for forgiveness, I know you have hurt and pain right now but He sees the whole picture, God’s ways are better.