Oh Death, Where is your Sting?

Intro:

There is a passage in 1 Corinthians that has given great HOPE through the Generations!

In fact in contains one of the earliest creeds of the church....

Meaning one of the earliest “Set of Beliefs” that would be quoted!

Paul says, I delivered to you first of all that which I also recieved....

That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures...

And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptues...

And that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve…and then by 500.

Paul also tells us about how the Last Enemy will be DESTROYED BY CHRIST....

And that last enemy is DEATH....

1 Corinthians 15:50–58 “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

That should get you FIRED UP!

O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING!

I believe we need to hear this message this morning...

YOU NEED TO HEAR....

That death is an ENEMY

But it is an enemy that will be defeated!

An enemy that will no longer be able to sting us!

YOU NEED TO HEAR...

That God will have VICTORY!

That this victory will be given to us in Christ!

THEREFORE....be steadfast immovable, always abounding in the Work of the Lord...

IT IS NOT IN VAIN!

These 90 days of BECOMING ARE NOT IN VAIN....

Your new ways of serving is not in vain....

Your sacrificial generosity is not in vain....

Your dedication to God’s word is not in vain.....

AND SAY YOU HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL WITH THE 90 DAYS....

THEN IT WILL NOT BE IN VAIN....

IF FOR THE NEXT 21 DAYS.....

You would be STEADFAST, IMMOVABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD!

WHY.....because it shall be said…O DEATH....WHERE IS YOUR STING!!!!

Today, we are going to see where Jesus is going to show us HIS WORK TOWARD THIS GREAT PROMISE!!

Take your Bibles and go to John 11.

Jesus has just been sharing how He and the Father are ONE!

He is the Good Shepherd....and his Sheep will know his voice!

And now, we are going to see the great and mighty power of this shepherd.

And particularity His power over DEATH!

Let’s read the first part of this passage....

John 11:1–16 NKJV

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?” 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. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

I. Sometimes our Cry for Help is met with a CONFUSING response. (John 11:1-16)

The Story:

There is a Cry for Help here.....

The Cry is SIMPLE......

Two sisters have a sick brother who seems to be DYING!

Will you heal him....

The Cry is PERSONAL....

It’s from a family that knows Jesus well!

They tell Jesus....THE ONE WHOM YOU LOVE is sick!

We also have a Confusing response....

Jesus says, this sickness is not unto death.....and then 10 verses later....JESUS SAYS he’s DEAD!

Then Jesus says, “Because He LOVES THEM SO MUCH, He decides to STAY WHERE HE is for a few days instead of heading that way.

Application: This is true for us too!

There will be times in life where you Cry for help!

The longer I am around....the more i recognize how hard this ole World is!

This week, I met with someone whose Father is in prison.....mother is deceased....and now Grandma has passed away…THATS HARD!!!!

Seeing marriages struggle and lose hope.....THAT'S HARD!

Watching a child turn from God and living in te grip of this world…THAT’S HARD!

I see several of y’all go through Chemo Treatments....and Dialysis.....THAT'S HARD!

Losing a loved one....THAT'S HARD!

THERE WILL BE A TIME…that WE CRY FOR HELP!

And it will be a SIMPLE CRY....a PERSONAL CRY!!!

LORD, PLEASE HELP....and you feel like you are at your LOWEST POINT!!.....PLEASE HELP ME!

And there will be times that YOUR CRY is met with a CONFUSING RESPONSE!

Often times, its the silence that confusing!

God, why are you leaving me here all alone!

Why will you not hear me!?

Sometimes, the DELAY is whats confusing!

God, why are you answering this now....

Why couldn't you show me this earlier in life!

Other times, it simply the NO answer that confusing....

God, I don't understand....this would bring you GLORY!

We have given our lives to you, why this!

There will most likely be times....when your cry for help is met with confusing response!

But remember what Jesus said....

John 11:4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.””

John 11:14–15 “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.””

II. We must remember to WHOM we CRY OUT. (John 11:17-37)

John 11:17–37 NKJV

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” 32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” 37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

We must remember to WHOM we Cry out: (21, 32)

We cry to the ONE whom catches us when we collapse....

There are people in your life that you don't lie too when they ask how you are....

You don’t just say “I’m Fine”....but rather.... you collapse in their arms and lose it.

We do not have to tell God we are fine.....we get to collapse in His arms!

We see both sisters coming to Jesus…Mary even fell at his feet!

We cry to the ONE who is THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE! (25)

I love Jesus’ response here....

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

And Jesus SAYS, “ I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE”

He is our great HOPE....HE is our FINAL AND ULTIMATE HOPE!

And for the one that is crying out....HOPE IS THE VERY THING WE NEED!

We cry to the ONE who is THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, WHO IS TO COME INTO THE WORLD! (27)

Don’t forget this....

We cry to the long awaited one....the messiah who has been promised!

The one who has come into this world for the very reasons we are crying!

He stepped into darkness....into brokenness....to bring hope and healing!

We cry to the ONE who is Afflicted on our Behalf… (33-36)

Verse 33 says that Jesus groaned in the spirit and was troubled!

When was this.....when he saw her weeping!

He was moved with compassion and emotionally afflicted for her.

It even said that he wept!

I believe this is true for us too...

Hebrews 4:15 “15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Not only did he become emotionally afflicted, but we know that he was also physically afflicted on our behalf.

Hebrews 10:10 “10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This is the one we cry out to....JESUS!!!

The one that catches us when we collapse

Th Resurrection and the Life

The Christ, The Son of God, Who came into the World

The one afflicted on our behalf.

And when we remember who it is that we cry out to......then

III. Our “IFs” are met with God’s Greater PURPOSE! (John 11:38-44)

You remember the Sisters “IF STATEMENTS”...

Martha said, “Lord, If you had been here, my brother would not have died”

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

Think about these statements...

Sometimes we jump right to the complaining tone......LORD IF THIS....IF THAT....

But the reality is that these are STATEMENTS OF FAITH!

They knew Jesus was who He said he was....and they believed that he could heal!

But they were discouraged because he wasn't there....

I think we can learn something here though.....

Our faith is not meant to never have discouragement and struggle.

But rather God meet us THROUGH THIS FAITH!

And that is exactly what Jesus does!

John 11:38–44 NKJV

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

You see…their IFs were met with God’s Greater Purpose!

I mean could you imagine this....

2000 years ago....there was a man who had died.....laid in the tomb for FOUR DAYS.....

And here comes a Jewish Man who has gotten some religious flack......

He walks up to this tomb and with a loud voice.....he cry's out ....LAZARUS, COME FORTH!

And you start hearing the wrestling of a man bound in grave clothes coming out!

Look at the Greater Purpose here:

“Did I not say that if you Believe, you would see the Glory of God”

And Jesus, says to the Father....”Thank you for already hearing me, but FOR THEM I SAID THIS…THAT THEY MAY BELIEVE YOU SENT ME!

John 11:4 “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.””

Invitation:

There is something remarkable about this whole passage....

There are times in our life that WE come to a place where we don't know what to do BUT SIMPLY CRY OUT TO GOD FOR HELP!

And there are certainly times that this CRY IS MET WITH A CONFUSING RESPONSE.

However, we are crying out to an infinite and perfect, loving GOD......who has GREAT PURPOSE IN WHATEVER HE DOES.

AND HERE’S THE BEAUTY RIGHT HERE......

THE ONE WE CRY OUT TO, IS ULTIMATELY THE ONE WHO CRIED OUT FOR US!

As he was being beat, he cried out......FATHER FORGIVE THEM

He Cried out His last breath saying IT IS FINISHED!

However, that CRY echoes through the halls of eternity with the same CRY LAZARUS HEARD......

“Jerry, COME FORTH”

“Al, COME FORTH”

“Sharla, COME FORTH”

“Melissa,COME FORTH”

“SAMANTHA, COME FORTH”

AND WE WHO WERE JUST AS DEAD AS LAZARUS.....CAME FORTH.....

Shredding the old clothes we were put in the grave with.....

Pride, Anger, Slander, Greed, Lust....

And putting on Christ.....our new garment of RIGHTEOUSNESS!