Confirm your call

Confirm your call

John 11:38-44

August 25, 2024

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If you were to think about all the movies, TV series you have watched, or books you have read, can you think of the ones with the worst endings? Movies like the Titanic come to mind. Even going to that movie you are prepared for the worst ending of your life. There was no hero to that story, 90% of the people drowned and there was a love story ripped apart for extra credit. Another one in my mind is a series called “How I Met Your Mother”. Not a happy ending, she dies of cancer.

But, there are movies and books with great endings. The best books are ones where they transport you into the story and you personally feel as if you are in the shoes of the main character. I am thinking of John Bunion’s “Pilgrims Progress”. It has the very best ending one could imagine and you feel like you are walking with the main character through his journey.

My point is that we are being offered an opportunity today. We are being granted the chance to compare our journey spiritually speaking with that of a man who has gone before us. Today’s passage can be called an “allusion”. I did not say illusion but allusion.

Allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly. (Kid competition)

We must remember why John wrote his gospel. His “thesis” statement is found in John 20:30-31

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

John is not designed to be a historical account, rather, a purposeful book intended to introduce us to the God who saves. Our passage today is the exclamation point intended to show you beyond a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is and to teach us what is in store for us.

In John 20, he clearly said that there were other “signs”. Please remember that a sign points to something. John records 7 signs, all pointing clearly to a purpose. Instead of going in historical order, John writes these so that you can get the point. The point is that you believe.

For example:

1. John 2: He turns water into wine (He has the power over the physical and spiritual.

2. John 4: He heals the nobleman’s son showing His identity over unbelief.

3. John 5: He heals a man born lame showing power over corruption.

4. John 6: He feeds the 5K showing that He is the bread of life.

5. John 6: He walks on water showing power over creation.

6. John 9: He heals the blind man and shows us He is the light of the world.

7. John 11: the exclamation point of His miracles alluding to your potential story.

Today it’s my goal to have you confirm your calling, your story, your journey with what is recorded here before us. I am praying that by the end of today, you see the comparison and 1. Take heart and be encouraged, or 2. Humble yourself and ask, Lord, am I confirmed?

In order to do this, let’s follow Jesus as He is coming to the grave site of a dead man.

1. Jesus Proceeds:

Here is the setting, Jesus had just had intimate meetings with Martha and now Mary. He had just told Martha, He was the resurrection and the life and she responded by saying that she believed that. He had just had a face-to-face with Mary and wept over the sting of sin and death on people He loves. Now, with tears on His face, He is walking to the tomb.

Vs 38: “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.”

Remember what I said last Sunday about what “deeply moved” means? Jesus was angry, frustrated, and moved by this scene. He was sensitive to this moment and troubled. Not because Lazarus was dead, but because of the sting of sin and death.

A little historical detail: the tomb was a cave with shelves chiseled out of the side wall. The stone was most likely limestone and was intended to house the family of the deceased. The stone at the front was intended for several reasons. To keep grave robbers out (it took many men) to roll it away. It was also intended to keep animals out and stench in.

Clinically speaking, without embalmment (something that the Jews did not do) by day four, Martha was 100% right. The body of Lazarus would not be recognizable. The decay would have cleared any gathering. In today’s world, you can be around a body if it has been embalmed. But, for old Lazarus, that would not have been the case.

I want to be very clear that there is an application for you and me here. You may say, but why, I am not dead? Yeah, well if you are in Christ, you and Lazarus have a lot of similarities.

You see, this passage teaches us the finality of death apart from Christ. Ephesians 2:1-10 says TWICE “And you were dead in the trespasses of sin…” and again in verse 5 “even when we were dead in our trespasses”.

The word choice is not accidental or haphazard. The truth about our condition is not isolated in one passage! Col 2:13: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses…” John 5:24 we move from death to life… Romans 5:12 “just as sin and DEATH came by one man, life came by Christ.”

That is not all the verses, just some. The point is clear. Before Christ, you were 100% dead. It is a teaching and TRUTH taught from Genesis to revelations that death is complete in sin. You aren’t sick, weakened or hindered by sin but dead IN sin. It is a delusion and trick of the devil to convince people that they were in any other condition because that cheapens and alters the magnitude of the saving work of Christ.

Paul Washer often says “If you downplay the doctrine of the total depravity of man, and you will downplay the glory of the Gospel.”

The reason why I am spending time on this is because dead men and women don’t DO things other than stink. They are incapable. You may say, “Yea pastor I know this.” But Christians don’t act like we do. We are quick to forget the gravity of where we came from. In so doing, we elevate our position and teach His lessons. Washer is 100% right. The Glory of the Gospel is the death that we once were and the new life we are now.

It is for this reason Jesus is moved to complete His mission and save those who are dead. This is the reason why he is making this next request.

2. Jesus Requests:

Vs 39, 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”[1]

This was not a simple demand. Be careful to not read this mechanically. First, this stone was NOT small! It would have taken several men and a lot of effort. Next, the men doing this and those near would have to be okay with this as well. The reason is that it would have made them ceremonially unclean and they would not have been able to go to the temple.

This was a big deal! If you and I had made this request, no way it would have happened! Parents, have you ever wondered what you are going to do when your kids just stare at you after you give them a command? Or, as an adult, you give a directive to one of your employees and they just ignore you?

Interestingly, Jesus was popular to some but HATED by the leaders. Why would these guys open the cave? Why obey His command? Simply put, it was because of who gave the order. We will come to that in a few minutes.

Okay, let’s talk again about old Martha. She is quick to remind Jesus about the facts. We all have some Martha’s in our lives and I love them dearly. These are the concrete thinkers and planners. They weigh the facts and the negatives and will make sure and tell us with no filter why our plan will not work. She is a no-filter, extra concrete, and VOCAL woman who will keep you in line.

Interesting isn’t it how we tell God how to make a plan? We may laugh and giggle at Martha’s “straight-shooting” comments, but before we do, let’s be honest, we all have a little of Martha in us. We are quick to argue with God about “our plan” when His plan is THE PLAN. “But Lord, He is going to stink!”

Please look closely at how our LORD responds. He did not challenge her on her personality but on her comment. He did not destroy her but affirmed her.

3. Jesus Affirms.

Vs 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. [2]”

Did I not tell you…We do not have tone here but I feel like Jesus is telling me this daily. Worse yet, when I see Him, it breaks my heart to know that He will affirm these words to me. “Von, did I tell you to trust me? Did I not tell you so many times that you need to follow me?”

As a father of three boys, I get frustrated when I have to correct them over and over and over for the same mistake. I am continually shaping, continually correcting, and reminding them. But, as I do, I am reminded of how many times my Father is correcting, reminding, redirecting, and showing me that I too need to right my course, correct my actions, and trust Him for the results.

Jesus affirms Martha’s claim that He is the Son of God and reminds her about the purpose of this miracle and sign. He is reminding her and us, “if you believe, you will see the Glory of God.”

Remember what we talked about several weeks ago. Jesus taught Martha and us that HE IS the resurrection. The Resurrection is not an event, but a Person (Christ). By reminding her and us about this, he is showing us the Glory of God through this sign. The culmination of all signs written by John save His own resurrection. This sign proves and shows clearly who He is, THE Resurrection. No one else in human history has this power but HIM.

In combination with the Father, The Son will demonstrate the power of the LORD of Life. He has the absolute authority given Him by the Father to execute the sovereign plan in perfect unity.

Verses 40-42 are for us. It is a representation of a conversation that has already happened and is for our benefit. Jesus had already had the conversation with the Father and the Father and He knew this was going to happen. The reason is all right back in verse 40, for us to “see the glory of God.”

Have you ever wondered why our prayers are not answered? Our prayers are powerfully answered and shown to be effective when they are for God’s Glory.

JOHN CRISS comedy routine:

James 5:16 says that the prayers of a righteous man is powerful and effective. If you want to make sure and have your prayers answered, ask, am I righteous, and is my prayer glorifying God? If you strike out with those two conditions, you may not hear back the way you want. He may correct the two conditions (your righteousness and His Glory) before getting to the request.

4. Jesus performs.

The allusion to this event is now on full display. Again, an allusion is an expression designed to call something to mind without explicitly saying it.

Vs 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”[3]”

The implications with one verse are innumerable. Contained in this one verse we see

WHO: CHRIST- the instigator of the command.

WHAT: HE CRIED OUT LOUD- the Greek is very clear and English is too light- it means to scream, shout, and yell. Jesus did not wish this or whisper this but commanded it as the creative power in the beginning of creation.

TO WHO: One person, NOT all but Lazarus. As Augustine commented on this passage, if Jesus would not have directed this to Lazarus, the entire cemetery would have come out.

We have to see that it is CHRIST who calls people from graves. It is NOT the dead man asking to come out of the grave. Christ gives the directive, and the dead respond. They do not argue with the calling of the voice. Do you think that Lazarus resisted this calling? If He did, it really didn’t matter because He DID respond!

I need to make this clear. Our Lord calls His sheep, and they respond. This is called the effectual calling. Remember the passage in John 10:16

“16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd[4]”

No one thwarts the calling of Jesus. No one can hold it back. His calling is going out! Just as the Jews listened to His command to remove the stone, the dead listened to the call of the voice of the Resurrection. There is a response from the dead to come to life when He makes that calling.

Church, this shows us so many things. It shows us the power of His voice to call a man or woman from death to life. It also shows us the pathway for our new birth. When He calls you from death to life, respond!

This passage also demonstrates to believers our role in this event. We are called to remove stones. Notice please, that Jesus could have melted the stone in front of the cave. He could have called angels to move it. He could have moved it Himself. HE could, knowing its molecular make-up, cause it to crumble.

But, that is not what he did. He TOLD men to remove the stone. Throughout human history, God has used broken vessels to take part in the plan of salvation. To be clear, we do not save people, but we are called to shout at some graves and remove some stone. We are called to present the Gospel of new life to the dead in Spirit.

It seems like a paradox to me. I don’t know why God uses us or allows us to take part in something so important as this. CH Spurgeon said that if people are on their way to damnation, may they step over the bodies of believers who are telling them about the Gospel of life.

Believer, that is our job. Tell of this new life to all that will listen. Act with a sense of urgency! Hell is eternal, act like it. I want all of us now to enter into this story and personalize it.

5. Confirm your calling: ___________ come forth

That blank is there for your name. Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter 3:3-10

“3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

Church this is not the only passage that speaks of His “calling” us to His own glory. Here are just a few: 1 Thes 2:12; 2 Thes 2:14; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Peter 5:10 and Jude 1. He is calling dead men from graves.

Then verses 4- 9 Peter tells us about living a sanctified (set apart life) as a RESULT of what Jesus has done in us and for us. To live Godly lives with self-control. Not a life of perfection, but a life of progression towards holiness.

But look closely at VS 10:

10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.[5]

Church, there are two types of resurrections: 1. A resurrection to glory. This is what we want for you! 2. The resurrection to damnation. There is no middle ground. There is no “hybrid” between the two for “good” people who just don’t recognize Jesus as Lord. There are a lot of “good” people in hell. The only ones who are with Christ in Heaven are the ones who recognize Christ and who are called by Christ from the grave of death.

Remember that John’s entire point of writing the gospel of John is found at the end of the book. John 20:30

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. [6]”

Now look back at my final point, please. There is a line there to write your own version of the end of your movie or book. We talked about endings for movies and books in the introduction. The best movies and books are the ones where you see yourself as the main character. I want you to confirm your ending.

My entire point of this message is that you confirm that you are in fact called! You may say, but pastor, how you described it, I am not in charge of that calling so how can I?

Oh, if you said that, I am SO proud of you! You get it! You see it! You are 100% right! It is only Him who calls. But, it is you who responds. I am asking you to respond. No, I am telling you to respond! I am telling you, He is calling you, get up off the slab of death, walk to His voice, and let Him take those grave clothes of death from your new body.

I love how Voddie Baucham says this. He said “The only requirement that the Gospel makes from us is repentance and faith, but one may say what about obedience? Obedience is what it produces, so do you see obedience to the word of God in your life? Jesus said why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what

I say?”

Allow Him to do what He does so perfectly. He takes what was dead and makes it new. Now, confirm that you have walked from that grave. If that is you, put your name on that line! Confirm it today! Then tell someone that you are confirmed in your relationship with Christ!