The On-Time God
Notes
Transcript
The On-Time God
The On-Time God
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SERIES: “Jesus, Our Savior”
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I’m here to talk to you about the timing of God.
Text
Text
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
For His Glory
For His Glory
The Situation
The Situation
Lazarus was sick. Evidently it was very bad.
His sisters sent out a distress call to Jesus. “You’ve got to come.”
Now, they lived in Bethany, which was not far from Jerusalem. Jesus had actually left this area to avoid being arrested. And it seems that He was a long journey away from them.
Jesus Loved Them
Jesus Loved Them
Now, John 11:5 specifically notes this:
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
We are left with no doubt about how He feels about them all.
Jesus Waited
Jesus Waited
But here’s where we get to the odd part…
With Lazarus being sick, you would think that Jesus would put a rush on being present to heal. You’d think that He’d overnight a healing to them, and jump up and run.
Nope.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
Whereas Mary and Martha are saying, “HELP! NOW!” Jesus is saying, from our perspective, “I’m gonna take my sweet holy time.”
But I want to point something out today. Jesus waited BECAUSE He loved them. Let’s look at verses 5 and 6 together:
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
The key word here is “therefore.” It points back to the last statement made. So you could actually say it this way: “Jesus loved them; therefore, He abode two days still.”
So I’m going to make a statement that somebody needs to hear this morning: Sometimes Jesus makes us wait because He loves us.
He could have arrived, worked the miracle, and pulled Lazarus back from death’s door. But He did not. Because that was not His plan.
Sometimes He loves us enough to make us wait.
I can look at it every which way and see that God should do a thing right this instant. And He’ll say that the timing is not quite right yet. And you know what, I can be okay with that… because, although it might not meet my itinerary, Jesus is always RIGHT ON TIME.
In His Love, He Sometimes Waits to Respond
In His Love, He Sometimes Waits to Respond
He knows that there are some things that can only be learned in the waiting.
You might think of it this way: if you raise a child and they become a teenager and all the way through you simply hand them everything (money, things, wants), they can develop and entitlement mindset. The want for things without effort. But if you can teach them the payoff for hard work, they’ll have a completely different mindset.
In a society, if there are more people consuming than there are contributing, it’s not sustainable. It think that principle carries over in the local church as well!
And so, for the child, you don’t just hand things all of the time. There’s got to be a learned reward for effort.
And there are spiritual principles that work this way as well.
Some strength can only be developed by bearing a burden for a while and praying until something happens.
Strong faith is build in waiting.
Perseverance and patience are developed in the waiting.
It’s in the waiting room that we grow the most!
You need to value the waiting room!
Kairos and Kronos
Kairos and Kronos
There are two different Greek words in the new testament for “time”. Chronos and Kairos.
CHRONOS - time; duration; time that can be measured.
KAIROS - the right or critical moment; opportunity; season; fitting time.
CHRONOS emphasizes the duration of the time.
KAIROS expresses an appointed time, with no regard for the length of the time.
Kairos scriptures:
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
I believe the Lord spoke this word “kairos” into my spirit recently. That’s why in the very short future, we’re going to have a prayer gathering here at the church called “Kairos”. And we are going to invite people from many churches around. Because it’s the appointed time!
Kairos is the idea of an opportunity or a suitable time for an action to take place. When we “seize the day,” we are taking advantage of the kairos given to us! This word is where we get the phrase “things coming to a head.” And it’s now time for action!
We operate off of chronos - God operates off kairos!
The Detour
The Detour
Jesus Traveled Through Judea
Jesus Traveled Through Judea
So, Jesus was now going to travel back through Judea. He was in Bethabara which was just to the right of the Jordan, right above the dead sea. It was going to be a journey to get into Judea again.
Judea was the place that they had attempted to arrest Him for claiming to be God.
And this decision to return was not a popular one with the disciples:
His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
To which He responded:
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
As usual, the disciples did not get it. So Jesus made it plain:
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
So what He was making clear to them was that His purpose in going there outweighed the danger of His life.
Again, as in the story of Jonah, if they wanted to see the miracle, they were going to have to get out of their comfort. God wants to remove our comfortable shade tree and release divine operation in our community!
Remaining Faithful, Even When He Doesn’t Do What We Want
Remaining Faithful, Even When He Doesn’t Do What We Want
So then, Thomas (the Thomas in Scripture was a lot different from our Thomas here at New Life)… Thomas blurts out this little beauty:
Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
But the thing is, he truly expected that Jesus would die if He returned to Judea, and so would they… YET, he was willing to go with Jesus.
What about us? Are we willing to follow Him when it might cost us dearly? Our life. Or at least the quality of our life. Or the lifestyle we are used to. This is what gets a lot of people hung up.
When Jesus does what we want Him to do, it’s easy to follow Him. But when Jesus does not do what we want when we want Him to, will we still follow Him?
When He tells us to wait, will we still follow Him?
When living for Him requires risk and challenge, will we still have the courage to walk?
If we don’t have the courage to take the risk, we may never see the miracles and revival He has in store for us. You got to come out from under the shade tree!
And we certainly do have a shade tree!
Our singers are more talented than ever.
Our musicians are more advanced than ever.
Our preachers are more polished than ever.
Our saints are more blessed than ever.
Our buildings are much bigger than ever.
Our technology is much cooler than ever.
Our presentation is more professional than ever.
Our sound systems are much louder than ever.
Our suits are more pricey than ever.
Our cars are much faster than ever.
Our homes are much nicer than ever.
Our lives are more busy than ever.
Yet…
Our cities are mostly unevangelized.
Our neighbors are mostly unseen.
Our friends are mostly uninvited.
Our bible study charts are mostly unused.
We are better than ever, but our world is more lost than ever.
Let me ask the tough questions:
Who will go and pray with someone outside of the building?
Who will buy a meal?
Who will teach a bible study?
Who will commit to winning a soul personally?
I know there’s risk involved! I know it means getting out from under the shade tree a bit.
But there’s a response in my heart today that I hope is stirring in yours: SEND ME! SEND ME! SEND ME!
Jesus’ Compassion
Jesus’ Compassion
From Hopelessness to Hope
From Hopelessness to Hope
Jesus and the disciples finally arrived near Bethany. Martha was on her way out to meet Him. Mary was still weeping in the house. And Lazarus was now lying dead in his tomb for the past four days.
This is a situation in which it appears that there is no hope.
Even Jewish traditions said no hope. In the Talmud, it said that the soul of the dead floated above the body for three days, wanting to return. But after those three days, the person was gone forever.
Hopelessness.
It is something everyone experiences eventually. In some sense. You haven’t truly experienced the human condition until you’ve felt that.
For them, it was their brother, lost forever.
For us, it’s things like…
Depression and anxiety that cripple.
Things from our past haunting us.
Spouses and family who seem to have no desire to see the Truth.
Hopelessness was even in Martha’s voice:
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
And that there tells us much of where she was emotionally. And then something changes with her next words…
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Hopelessness is real… right up until the point that we let Jesus in!!!
There are three words in what she said that are truly powerful: “BUT… I… KNOW!”
Hear this: There is what you’ve been told, what you’ve heard, what you’ve felt… and then there’s WHAT YOU KNOW!!!
You can say a lot of discouraging things to me and make me feel certain ways. I can go through a lot in life… but that doesn’t change WHAT I KNOW!
Can I tell you that the evidence before you may point at something else for your life and your fate… BUT I KNOW that Jesus wants to make you a mighty man or woman of God!!!
THIS SICKNESS IS NOT UNTIL DEATH!
THIS PAIN IS NOT UNTIL DEATH!
THIS TROUBLE DOESN’T LAST ALWAYS!
But I know a man named Jesus!!!
Jesus Proclaims Hope
Jesus Proclaims Hope
And after her expression of faith, Jesus begins to make some hope-filled statements:
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Jesus Weeps With Mary
Jesus Weeps With Mary
Jesus looks around and asks where Mary is. She was too devastated to even come out to meet Him. But Martha hurried into the house, found her, and had her come.
Mary falls at His feet, and says, too:
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Unlike Martha, Mary had no faith-filled statement following that. She was grieving. She was broken. She felt lost and hopeless in that moment.
And then the Bible says something that I find to be truly powerful.
Jesus wept.
He did not lecture Mary.
He did not launch into a theological discussion.
He did not blast her for a lack of faith or give her a study on the power of positive thinking.
Nope. Jesus wept with her. He groaned with her.
He was troubled by what troubled her.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
He weeps with those who weep, and He mourns with those who mourn.
I’ll tell you that if all you can do today is fall at Jesus’ feet and ask, “Why weren’t You here on time?” that would be okay - because He will sit down in the dust with you like He sat with Mary and weep with you!
Jesus Raises Lazarus
Jesus Raises Lazarus
So they lead Jesus to the tomb. And Jesus demands, “Take away the stone.”
Martha speaks up and says, “Now, wait a minute… I hope one of you people brought some Febreeze because by this time, he stinketh. It’s been four days!”
And then Jesus lets her know that this is a test of her faith that she had spoken of before:
Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Now, we would expect Him to say, “If you’ll just roll away the stone, you will see the glory of God.” But action is permanently linked with faith. You have to believe. And it was time for Martha to put legs on her faith!
Belief is the start. But if you really have belief, it’ll go from just belief and into how you behave!!!
Paul asked some of ‘em, “Have you RECEIVED the Holy Ghost since you BELIEVED?”
And we Pentecostals get a bad rap for how we behave. But it’s because our belief is not empty! We don’t come in here just saying we’re thankful for what He’s done in our lives! He REALLY delivered us! And so we give Him a REAL praise!
And so some people have their belief right, but they’ve got too much pride for the behavior part!
Martha, put your money where your mouth is! Roll away that stone!
And they no more than get the stone rolled away, and Lazarus is up and walking out!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus wept with them, but then they allowed Him in to work the miracle.
Let me talk to you directly: I know what you’ve experienced is bad! I know what happened to you is unfortunate… and yes, He is moved by what has happened to you… but Jesus isn’t only interested in weeping with you…
He’s moved by your grave, but he’s not interested in you staying there!!!
It’s not over yet! That hopelessness is getting ready to dissolve, because the Waymaker is here!!!
