Nevertheless, God's Timing Is Perfect
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Intro: Waiting is not a word in our vocabulary today. We live in an instant gratification world and when we don’t get what we want when we want it, people get bent out of shape and tempers flare. For instance;
Waiting behind someone at a red-light after its turned green and they are still texting on their phone
Waiting three hours in an emergency room with an emergency and no one seems to care
Waiting in the self-scan line at Walmart with 20 people ahead of you and no other registers are open.
Being put on hold during a phone call while they answer another call coming in.
I admit, that I fall into some of these categories of a person who can be a little impatient. I really don’t like to be put off or wait. But there is one good side of my impatience, “I’m on time [early] and I pay my bills ahead of time.”
Regardless if we like it or not, waiting is a part of living in this world. Even if we do live in a high tech society.
Waiting is also a part of living for the Lord. God doesn’t work off our time table but His own. And sometimes that can be discouraging, especially when we are praying in a crisis and God doesn’t respond as soon as we would like Him too.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says 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 must remember that “God’s Timing Is Perfect”, and His way is better than ours!
Text: John 11:11-15
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”
13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Mary and Martha send word to Jesus that His friend Lazarus is sick. They are concerned that Lazarus may die and they want the Lord to come and heal Him. This family is close friends with Jesus and have welcomed Him into their home before and had served Him while He was ministering. When Jesus got word about Lazarus, He did something that seems unusual in this crisis, “He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”
Why did Jesus do this? Because God’s Timing Is Perfect!
1. God’s Timing Is For His Glory; 4
1. God’s Timing Is For His Glory; 4
Jesus was not happy that Lazarus died, nor was He insensitive to the needs of Lazarus or the emotions of Martha and Mary [v.5]. But Jesus sees the big picture where we don’t.
This sickness is not unto death- Even though Lazarus has died physically, Jesus states that this happened for the “Glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead as a type of His coming resurrection. God would bring glory to His Son through death/resurrection!
Jesus has done many miracles of healing and casting out demons. But if Jesus can do nothing about death, then all the other miracles really amount to nothing.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
It brought more glory to God for Lazarus to die than if he had been healed. It may have broke the hearts of Martha and Mary, and even stunned Jesus’ disciples for delaying going to him, but God’s timing is perfect.
When we have a crisis in our lives [health, financial, family, national crisis] and we go to the Lord with it in prayer, as we should, we want immediate action. But if immediate action will not bring glory to God that He deserves, then we must learn to trust in His timing.
God answers prayer in three ways; Yes, No and Wait!
Remember Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah [God proved himself faithful with a ram for a sacrifice]
Remember Moses at the Red Sea [Pharaoh’s army had them between a rock and hard place] but God proved Himself mighty for His glory
Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace, yet God proved Himself worthy of their worship and saved them from death.
Remember Daniel in the lion’s den, yet God closed the mouth of the lions and sent an His angel to protect him. God took what was meant for evil and brought good from it
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
2. God’s Timing teaches us to Trust/Wait; 6-7
2. God’s Timing teaches us to Trust/Wait; 6-7
Trust- the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something:
Wait- stay where one is or delay action until someone arrives or is ready:
These two words seem to work against each other, but in reality they work in harmony in God’s timing.
God is not obligated to do anything but to perform/complete His perfect will and purposes, we must learn to trust Him to do the right thing at the right time for His glory and our good.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Martha, Mary and all the disciples think that Jesus might have been insensitive to Lazarus’ circumstances, but He’s trying to teach them to trust Him and that requires waiting upon Him.
Psalm 25:5 (NKJV)
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
Psalm 37:5 (NKJV)
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Romans 5:3–4 (NKJV)
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
James 1:2–4 (NKJV)
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Patience perfect work is trust!
3. God’s Timing Increases Our Faith; 15
3. God’s Timing Increases Our Faith; 15
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is not only trusting in what Jesus has done but also what He will do.
Lazarus was dead. Faith may have been shaken. But Jesus was just getting started.
Jesus wasn’t glad Lazarus died but He was glad that He would raise him from the dead and it would bring some to believe in Him and strengthen the faith of those who already trusted in Him.
[17-20] Jesus goes to Bethany to the tomb of Lazarus. He is dead now four days so there is no doubt about that in anyone’s mind. Mourners are there, hope for healing is all but gone.
[Sometimes our dreams have been dashed and God has not answered our prayers and there is no doubt in our minds that all hope is gone. We are at our lowest time, in the “valley of the shadow of death”, so to say.]
[21] Martha makes a true statement to Jesus about Lazarus situation. This shows her faith in what Jesus has done and could have done.
[Often when our prayers aren’t answered we give up on God or even get mad at Him and quit praying and coming to church. That’s a bad place to be! We need to remember what He has done in the past and is capable of doing even now.]
[22-27] Martha shows hope in the future of the last day when the Lord would fulfill His promises to His people in the resurrection.
[That is the focus we need to have in knowing that God is not done with any of us yet]
12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
[39-40] But Martha, just like us, often struggle in our faith in the present because we believe God is sometimes too late to help.
[It’s amazing that as Christians we thank God for our salvation in Christ and we look forward to spending eternity with Him, yet we have such a weak faith that we walk in daily. Its like God is not able to do for us now when things seem impossible.]
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
[41-45] Even though death seems to be the end of all hope, when you are in Christ, death has no say over you, Jesus does!
[God’s timing in this situation with Lazarus was for people, then and now, to believe in the power of God through His Son to give life over death!]
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
54 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.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Close;
Regardless of how and when we want things to happen, we need to remember “God’s Timing Is Perfect.” He has a time and season for everything under the sun. There is a time to be born and a time to die. A time to laugh and a time to cry. A time of war and a time of peace [Eccl. 3].
But there is also a time of faith, a time to believe!
2 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.
God is waiting on you this morning! This is the Perfect Time to Come to Christ!