The raising of Lazarus illustrates that Christ offers spiritual life and liberty to all who are dead in their sins. Jesus' delay in responding to the sisters' plea highlights that God's timing is not always our own, and His purposes are for His glory. The core lesson is that salvation is a gift of life received by faith in Christ, not earned by human effort, and that true liberty comes from being freed from the 'grave clothes' of tradition. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to receive Christ's offer of eternal life, just as Lazarus was called forth from death.
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To our radio friends, we're very happy to have the privilege of proclaiming the gospel of God's grace, and we trust that you'll be able to listen to the entire program as we seek to tell you of God's wonderful love to guilty sinners. I trust you'll be blessed as you take time out to listen to this gospel broadcast. Music You have heard of little Moses and the bull rush. You have heard of fearless David and his sling.
You have heard the story told of dreaming Joseph and of Jonah and of where you often sing. There are many, many others through the Bible. I should like to meet them all I will declare. By and by the Lord will surely let us meet them at the meeting in the air. Many things will there be missing in that meeting, for the morning cry will have no place at all.
There will never be a sermon preached to sinners, for the sinner had refused to leave the call. There will be no mourning over way with loved ones. There will be no lonely nights of bleeding prayer. All our burdens and our anguish will be lifted at the meeting in the end.
There is going to be a meeting in the air in the sweet, sweet by and by. I am going to meet you, meet you there in that home beyond the sky. The singing you will hear, never heard by mortal ear. T'will be glory of man who declares, And God's own son will be the leading one.
That's a meeting in the air. For our scripture reading, I am turning to John's Gospel, Chapter Eleven. Now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest 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 might be glorified thereby.
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. As we briefly meditate on this portion of God's word, it is with a view that we shall learn some practical lessons that may be of profit to us if and when we shall be found in the hour of need. We are visiting a Christian home in Bethany, a home where the Lord Jesus felt at home and where he was always welcomed. Two sisters and a brother who, because of the grace of God, lived happily for the Lord.
The Christian home is not immune to sickness nor sorrow. Some of God's choices saints have glorified God through years of suffering and spiritual qualities that were never known were produced under the pressure of a faithful God of love. When the day of trouble strikes, the Christian home... They immediately find strength and repose on the Savior's breath, knowing that if he knows, nothing can go wrong. All will be well. The very first recorded thought that came to the mind of the sisters in Bethany was, Send word to Jesus.
The message was, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. To faith, that was sufficient. Perhaps you do not have a Christian home. Perhaps the importance of being saved has never been given much thought. You may try your best to be the happy-go-lucky, carefree kind, but you surely do know that your home shall eventually be visited by sickness and perchance even by death. An unsaved home in the day of trouble is an unpleasant sight. Some will call upon the Lord having very little confidence that he will hear. Others will consider it cowardly to reject him in days of prosperity and only call on him in need.
Unsaved friends come to wish good luck. Others are speechless. The entire sight is pitiful. No refuge. No source of comfort. Just grit your teeth and take it. God never intended anyone to feel so alone, and I trust such will never be your case. When Mary and Martha sent the message to Jesus, they did not say, come at once. It seemed sufficient that he knows. Oftentimes we are at a loss to make a request of him, but there's a wonderful peace in being assured that he knows all about the case. No doubt the burdened sisters were expecting him to come.
But while waiting, the patient grows worse, and finally life leaves the body. Lazarus is dead. Funeral arrangements are made at once, and soon the sorrowful procession wends its way to the cemetery, where the remains of the dear one is laid in a cave and a stone placed against it. Sympathizing friends do their best to console the bereaved, who have been robbed by sickness and death. How strange that Jesus did not come, nor send a message, nor did he come the next day, nor the next. He was a Bethabra. near to what is now called Allenby's Bridge, about a two-day's journey from Bethany.
Strange as it may seem, when the message of sickness reached him, he answered calmly, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God. It is hard for me to understand anyone who believes that all sicknesses of the devil, when our Lord Jesus definitely says it is for the glory of God. Jesus knows that in this case death was not going to keep this man, but God was going to be glorified in some wondrous way, so that there was no hurry on the part of Jesus. His delays are not always denials. We are often so impatient, and the time element seems so important to us.
We must have our prayers answered immediately. If not, we are so prone to think that our Heavenly Father is indifferent and does not care. Many times his delays are used to teach lessons that cannot be learned in any other way. On the fourth day, someone bursts in with the news that Jesus is on the outskirts of the town. Martha immediately hastens to him. She expresses her perplexity and regrets in the words, If thou hast been here, my brother had not died. She also expresses an unshaken confidence and a glimmering hope, as she adds.
But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. The world says, While there is life, there's hope. Martha's faith in the Son of God was far greater, for she seemed to have a flickering hope even after life had fled. Death in the presence of the Lord Jesus is only sleep With all the sorrow in that humble home in Bethany, there was a calm of confidence which is expressed in the words, I know that he shall rise again. If the way of salvation was not so clear and simple, we would understand why you continue to live without Christ.
But since Christ has accomplished all the work by his death on Calvary's cross, and simply waits for you to take refuge in his finished work, I say very kindly, it is a reflection upon your intelligence to remain unsaved. The story of the raising of Lazarus presents a very unique picture of the way of salvation. First, Lazarus was dead. And believe it or not, every unsaved person is spiritually dead. To the Ephesian Christians, Paul writes, And you have he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. A dead man is helpless. and so are you, if unsaved.
Any effort on your part to improve your condition is folly. Picture me standing beside a corpse and saying with a loud voice, stretch out your hands, bend your knees, open your eyes, turn your head, you need exercise. I'm sorry to say that some well-meaning religious workers make such ridiculous suggestions to dead sinners. Quit your meanness. Turn over a new leaf. Join a church, pass through the ceremonies, give a tenth of your income, be good to your family. Some of these suggestions may be proper in their proper place, but are less appropriate when addressed to a spiritually dead unsaved person than words of encouragement to a corpse.
What a dead man needs is life, and life is always a gift. No one can produce life. You must receive life as a gift. First John five, eleven. This is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. Lazarus was a helpless dead man. And Christ did not come to Bethany to offer words of encouragement at the tomb, but rather to give life. In like manner, he has come into the world to give life to you. When he said, Lazarus come forth, Lazarus responded and came forth.
In John five-twenty-four we have the message and the response brought together. He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life. You have heard his word, but you have not believed on him. The pride of a skilled undertaker is to make a dead person appear as near alive as possible. And I am afraid there are many religious people who have only a religious veneer. They are trying to look as near alive as possible. They talk like Christians. They live like Christians. They act like Christians. But down deep in the heart, there is a grave suspicion that there may be only a beautiful corpse lacking eternal life.
If you are suspicious of this condition, come to the Savior just as you are and receive him and receive eternal life from his hand. As Lazarus received life from Christ, you too may receive eternal life from the same Christ who is still offering salvation to whosoever will. having us our Lord, what could be a sign?
No, it's not a cross for me, he died, but shall we be. Where did the devil's great in grace must bring you? How did the devil's voice reply to me? Where did I heard his voice, and did I hear him? The word of life I keep my word, With a candle at the low I pray, Till I yield my glory to God, to travel on me. Mercy, let the great disgrace must be, I will never prophesy to thee, And my bread will not live, but peace I shall love.
Oh, the love that we shall make on his land. Oh, the grace that love is down to land. Oh, the mighty love that God gives us back now. Oh, Church in every way that grace must be. The heart of heaven will be mine to live. And the earth will not deliver thee, but shall the holy Greetings to our radio listeners.
The sweetest story ever told is the story of God's redeeming love, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He is able and willing to save the up and out as well as the down and out, and that includes all who may claim to be in between. We ask you to relax and listen as we bring the claims of Jesus Christ to your attention. This is Welcome, Deathwiler Speaking. So it went to our wonder glory, and it was among the love.
Then once we found the heaven moving, maybe not the hope of God. Who will take a song each and a love? Oh, the love of the cross will be dear. Oh, when down to our place has taken, cry it out of our glory. Upon of the Lord forsaken, upon of the Lord his reign.
Who sang a song, he said aloud, A song upon the cross. What did he do? And for grace he died, with light heaven is his name. She will return to the Savior. She will accept her holy love. You who shall come to know his favor. He will pray to save you now. And now as we turn to God's precious words, I want to continue the story of the raising of Lazarus, and I am reading from John's Gospel, chapter eleven, verse forty-one.
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always. But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he had thus spoken, he cried, With a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him.
But some of them went their way to the Pharisees. and told them what things Jesus had done. Those who call in question the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures have the difficulty of explaining away or removing the miracles that Christ performed during his brief earthly ministry. If the miracle of Jesus can be classified, then from the natural viewpoint, the raising of Lazarus, is the greatest. The Bible records three instances where Christ invades the territory of death and brings the dead to life, proving his mighty power and that he was the spotless son of God.
In the first instance we have the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum. The child had just died and Jesus said to her so tenderly, Arise and she arose, giving to us a picture of how he calls those who are young by the gospel. It is indeed a wonderful privilege to point the boys and girls, the teenagers, to Christ. They seem to be so sincere and have a desire to be saved as soon as they discover their lost condition. I was saved when I was fourteen and I thank God for it. I've had the privilege of leading many older ones to Christ, and it is so common to hear them say, My greatest regret is that I waited so long.
Had I known how wonderful, and how easy it was to be saved I might have been saved in my teens, and by so doing I could have been spared from many heartaches. Young people, take warning from these earnest testimonies and come to Christ in the days of youth. The second instance of Christ raising the dead is in the city of Nain. A young man, the only son of a widow, is being carried to the cemetery. Jesus stops the procession and gives life to the dead son. which brought joy to the bereaved mother. This man was dead a little longer than the girl in Capernaum. And I like to think of him representing those who are between twenty and forty years of age.
And here we have the same Christ who brings salvation to the youth, bringing life to those who have ignored his earlier offer of salvation, and as a direct result have found life rather empty and a disappointment. Many young men and women dead in trespasses and in sins, are causing grief to godly fathers and mothers. The pain is as great as if they were following their casket toward a cemetery. They are journeying for the day when Jesus Christ shall have the privilege of presenting to their sons and daughters eternal life. The third instance of our Lord raising the dead is that of our reading in John chapter eleven.
Here it is not a case of having just died. But he has been dead four days. Already his body is resting in the earth, and decay has begun, and all hope is entirely gone. I like to think of Lazarus representing those who are past forty years of age, who have never received God's offer of salvation. From the natural point of view, these are almost hopeless cases. Statistics have many times proved that very, very few people are saved after they are forty years of age. I want to speak very directly to any of my radio listeners who are not sure of being saved and you are past forty years of age.
Do you realize that your chance of ever being saved is very slim? As far as God is concerned, you have the same chance of being saved as anyone else. But if during all these years you have turned down God's offer of salvation, There is not much reason to believe that you will ever change your mind and receive Christ who loved you and died for you. I put this before you as a challenge, and I trust that it will awaken you and cause you to say, I am going to be an exception to that general rule. I'm going to receive Christ right now before another sunrise. I know that God can save those who are past forty.
My dear parents were both saved past forty years of age. Although very religious and active in the work of the Lord, for many years they discovered that they were resting upon their own good works to merit heaven and had never received eternal life. One of the greatest modern miracles is when God saves a religious person advanced in years. When Lazarus was raised he received life, but that was not all. He also received liberty. In verse forty-four we read, And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about with a napkin.
Jesus said unto them, Loose him and let him go. The grave clothes represent the old ideas or traditions that man has picked up, things that sound reasonable, in which are supposed to be in the Bible, and are not. How sad it is to find some Christians bound by tradition still wearing their grave clothes. I remember a number of years ago attending a Bible conference in Seacliff, New York, where we learned a little chorus and the words were, Yes, Jesus died upon the tree to set the captive sinner free, that all who will on him believe life and liberty shall receive.
Lazarus received life and then He also received liberty. Loose him and let him go. If you have a desire to serve the Lord and find that you are bound, it is displeasing to God so to remain. You cannot serve him acceptably unless it is in perfect liberty. Listen to Galatians five one. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again by the yoke of bondage. Grave clothes belong to dead people. And when you pass from death into life, the grave clothes must be removed. The traditions of bind belong to people who do not want to be saved, but like to be religious.
They do not belong to save people. John very carefully records the twofold effect of Christ's miracles. That's in verse forty-five. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their way to the Pharisees. The history of Lazarus closes with leaving him sitting at the table in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, his Savior. The lesson that every unsaved person should learn is that Christ is able to give life to those who are dead in sins. He offers eternal life.
And when that offer is made, it must be received, or it must be rejected. If I have those in my radio audience who have never received eternal life, I want you to realize that just as he offered life to Lazarus many years ago, he offers life to you. He asked you to receive his Son, and the moment you receive him as your Lord and Savior, believe that he died in your place, took your sins, God will give you everlasting life and there will follow. A new life, new desires, and you will have a desire to serve and to live for the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust you will start by trusting that Savior this very hour.
I'm coming home The land will live too long I've come, Lord I'm coming home Coming home, coming home Never forced to go my arms of love, Lord, I'm coming home.
I'm waiting in His presence here, now I'm coming home. and deliver you, Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home, coming home, never is right by the arms of love, Lord, I'm coming home.
I'm good at this ready, Lord, now I Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home, coming home, never before. By the arms of God, Lord, I'm coming home.
I need His way, since all I know, how I'm coming home. and the snow. Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home. When Christ I come, the Lord, Lord, I'm coming.