Lazarus – John 11:17-44

About 10 years ago, I rode my motorcycle out to see my sister living in Georgia.  I stopped in Birmingham, Alabama to get some gas and when I went in the little convenience store to pay I didn’t really pay much attention to the young lady behind the counter.  I was tired from travelling and it was getting late and I just wanted to get going and find some place to stay for the night so when she slid me the receipt to sign, I just scribbled my signature and slid it back to her.  Then she spoke.

“You…sure…have…an…interesting…signature.”  It took her a minute and a half to say those 6 words and by the time she was through I was smitten!  I didn’t want her to stop talking.  This little Birmingham Belle went from being average in every way to the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.  I couldn’t even respond.  I was afraid the only words that would come out of my mouth might be, “I love you.”

When she spoke it was so soft and sultry and that southern drawl was like honey dripping off her tongue and I found myself just staring at her, mesmerized by her words.  Even now, I don’t remember what she looked like but I remember the caress of her speech on my ears.  Am I making too big of a deal about this?  I’m telling you it’s worth a trip to Alabama just to hear the women speak!

Have you ever heard words that soothed you?  Have you ever heard somebody say something that brought great peace and you didn’t want them to stop talking?  You’re thinking that is not the case today, aren’t you?  Well, I am not blessed with a great speaking voice or with great words to speak but I know of One who is and His name is Jesus.

When Jesus spoke in the New Testament His words had great power.  They had the power to attract like they did for the disciples when Jesus simply said, “Follow me” and they immediately dropped what they were doing and followed.  In John 5 Jesus told a lame man to pick up his mat and walk and just the power of His words healed that man. 

He had words to convict like He did with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 where He talked of living water and the woman’s life was changed.  He spoke words of comfort in John 14.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God.  Trust also in me.”  And when He said, “I am He!” to the men coming to arrest Him, the very words coming out of His mouth knocked them off their feet.

The words of Jesus had great power and maybe nowhere more so than in John chapter 11 where we see the words of Jesus have the power to comfort, to encourage, enlighten and even bring the dead back to life.  We are starting a new series today looking forward to the coming of Easter.  Yes, I know Easter is another month and a half away but I want us to gradually start focusing on it because Jesus was trying to get His disciples to start focusing on it months ahead of time as well because it was all about Easter for Him and it is for us as well.

While Jesus preached and taught on all kinds of different subjects, His whole focus; His whole reason for even being born, living and dying was so He could be glorified on that Easter Sunday when He rose from the grave and broke all the rules and changed everything as He fulfilled prophecy and the Law.  So, as He went He gradually started preparing His disciples for that special day so that they would know without a doubt that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Chosen One, the Son of God come to earth to redeem all of mankind.

Turn to John 11 and I want to read verses 17-44.  It’s on page 760 of most of the Bibles in the pews.  Here we see a passage that is used oftentimes at funerals and well it should be.  There is great comfort in the words of Jesus but we also see the great power of His words as well.  Jesus has gotten word that His good friend Lazarus is sick and his family has asked that Jesus come to him.  The problem is that Jesus waits for a while before leaving and by the time He gets there Lazarus has been dead for 4 days.  It’s obviously too late for Him to do anything.

Lazarus was dead.  He was decayed but at the risk of spoiling the ending, we will also see that he was delivered.  Let’s read John 11:17-44.

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. ²¹ “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” ²⁸ After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” ²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. ³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”  ³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Several times in this passage I find myself wanting to ask the question, “Why?”  Why did Jesus wait?  Why didn’t He just heal Lazarus from a distance like He had done others?  Why did He cry?  Why did He tell them to move the stone when He could have done it Himself with a word?  Some of these questions we can probably answer and some of them we can’t.

One thing I do know is that none of this happened by chance.  It didn’t surprise Jesus.  It happened for a reason.  Jesus Himself says it happened so that God might be glorified and in this glorification Jesus prepares His disciples for His own resurrection.  If He has the power to bring Lazarus back to life after 4 days, He surely has the power to resurrect Himself after 3.  I see this as one of the first ways Jesus was preparing them for what we now call Easter.

We don’t know what kind of disease killed Lazarus and it doesn’t really matter.  It worked quickly and now Lazarus was dead.  I remember the first time I saw a dead person.  I was just a small child and my dad was about to officiate a man’s funeral and he and I got there early for some reason before anybody else and we went to view the man’s body in the casket at the front of the church.

Pop picked me up so I could see into the casket and he told me I could touch the man’s arm if I wanted.  I wasn’t about to do that but I remember Pop gave him a bit of a nudge.  It wasn’t disrespectful at all.  It just showed me that the guy wasn’t asleep.  He was dead and dead people don’t respond to things like people who are alive.  You can shout at a dead man or beg him to wake up or try to bribe him with his favorite food or lots of money.  We all know that is ridiculous because he is dead.  He couldn’t make that decision if he wanted to.

The Bible says that unsaved people are dead in their sins.  (Eph. 2 & Col. 2)  They are spiritually dead and there is nothing you can do; no power of your own that will bring them to life.  It is only the Word of Jesus that can do that.  Have you ever tried to witness to somebody only to have them completely blow you off?  They aren’t interested in church or the Bible or worship.  They wouldn’t come in here if we were handing out free money.

Do you know why?  Because they are spiritually dead and it is ridiculous to think they would be motivated by spiritual things.  In John 6:44 Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.”  The act of coming to faith in Jesus is initiated by God but it is the power of the Word of God through His Son and written in the Bible, the Word of God, that brings a person out of death and into life.

I quote my friend Scott Parrish again when I say that Jesus did not come to earth to make bad people good.  He came to make dead people alive and we have the responsibility to share the Word of God with people to give them the opportunity to truly live.  What dead people don’t need is education or sermons or religion.  What they need is new life in Jesus.  Just like Mary and Martha did, we need to bring Jesus to those who are dead and let His Word resurrect them spiritually.

Lazarus was dead.  He had been dead for 4 days and he was decayed.  Jesus waited for a while after He got the news about Lazarus.  Why do you think that was?  (Response)  I always like to research every aspect of what I am going to say to make sure that what I say is truth and so I researched how long it takes for a human body to decompose.  I wish I hadn’t.

Trust me.  I will NOT go into detail but I did learn that 4 days is plenty of time for the human body to seriously start decomposing.  That’s all you really need to know.  Lazarus was decayed and Jesus waited on purpose so that there would be no doubt of His power to bring life.

In Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel is led by God to a valley of dry bones and God says to him, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ 10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Isaiah 26:19 says, “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise-- let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy.”  Even the people who are nothing but dust and ashes will one day be resurrected.  Now, I have a question.  Was Lazarus more dead than somebody who was only dead for 2 days?  Was he less dead than somebody that was dust and ashes?  No.  Dead is dead.  Lazarus was more decayed but he was not more dead. 

People sometimes think that they are too far gone for Jesus to forgive them or for them to be used in God’s Kingdom.  Imagine with me, if you will, that every time you sin a thousand times you get one of these red pieces.  (Pieces of red construction paper cut up) Some of them are big and some are small.  Some are fairly normal and some are pretty ugly.

Ok, this is the life of, say, Billy Graham.  He only has a few of these normal shaped red pieces.  Here is the life of your grandmother.  She has a few more, bless her heart.  She really tried.  This is your neighbor.  He has quite a few and you don’t even want to know what he’s into.  It’s pretty bad.

Now, here is your life.  Yep, you have a bunch.  Lots and lots of red pieces and some are pretty gnarly.  Ooh yuck.  Look at this one.  I can’t believe you did that.  Now this is horrible.  How can a human even do something like that?  Over and over and over again!  Have you no shame?  It’s too much!  It’s just too much!

But Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  All unrighteousness.  Yes, you are decayed.  Yes, you are nasty and putrid and disgusting and that is on your best day but you are not too decayed for Jesus.  Nobody is.

In fact, being decayed brings all the more glory to God for His love that He has shown to us because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8)  We were dead and spiritually unable to come to Him and so He came to us.  Then He cleansed us from all unrighteousness even though we were decayed.  Now look at verse 43.  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

That phrase “called out” is the same word used to describe what the crowd did as they cried out “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” just a short time later.  They called for death.  Jesus called for life and look what happened in verse 44.  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

He was dead.  He was decayed but now he is delivered.  “Let him go!”  By the power of the word of Jesus, His friend Lazarus was set free.  Freedom is a big deal.  Nobody wants to be a slave.  You know we sing that song, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!  I am free to dance, free to love, free to sing when I can’t carry a tune…or whatever it says.”

But what does it really mean to be free?  (Response) What are we free from and what are we free to?  Romans 6:22 says, “But now you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God.”  See, you are going to be slaves to something.  That’s just the way it is.  You are either going to be a slave to sin and the death and decay that goes along with it or you are going to be a slave of God.  Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came to give us a full life.

When you see that neighbor of yours that we talked about earlier who is into some really weird, nasty stuff, just know that weird and nasty is what sinners do.  They are supposed to.  I’m not saying it’s right.  In fact, just the opposite.  I’m saying that unbelievers are slaves to sin and they are going to do what sinners do.  You can expect it.  Don’t be surprised when dead people start to decay and don’t be surprised when sinners sin.

But we have been called out of that.  We are free from sin and free to new life.  Romans 6:4 says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  That’s what our baptism is about.  It represents the death and resurrection of Jesus and just like Lazarus, we are called to new life.

Let him go!  He doesn’t have to decay any longer.  He is living a new life.  For us, we don’t have to keep sinning.  That pet sin of ours is kicked out.  By the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit working in our lives, we are new creations.  We are free to live without sin.  In fact, sin should be the exception and no longer the rule.  Did you know that you can’t sin when you are worshiping?  When you are communicating with Jesus, there will be no sin.  So when you are tempted, run to Him.  Grab your Bible.  Sing a worship song.  Worship.

Just like thousands and thousands of our military men and women have died to provide us with freedom as a country, Jesus died so that we might live free; free from sin and free to a full life.  Lazarus was physically dead just like we are spiritually dead in our sins and decay.  But he was raised to live a new life just like we are when we meet Jesus.

If you are a Christian struggling with sin then something is wrong.  You are no longer a slave to sin.  Give it to God in worship.  Do it right now.

If you are not a true believer then that would explain your struggle with sin.  That’s what you are supposed to do.  You are supposed to decay.  But if you don’t want to live in that life of death any longer then come to Jesus today to be cleansed of all unrighteousness and live a full life.

Repent of your sin.  Turn away from it and ask God for forgiveness before it’s too late.  There is a real Heaven and a real Hell and while being a believer in Jesus will not always be easy, it brings peace and joy in this life and eternal life in Heaven with our Savior Jesus in the next life.  Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior today and by the power of His word you will be changed.

“Lovey Dovey” – John 15:9-17

Well, happy Valentine’s Day to you!  I hope you and your valentine have a great day together.  I asked Brian this morning what he got Belinda for Valentines and he said he got her a bag and a belt and I thought that was so nice.  I said, “I hope she likes them.”  He said he hoped so, too, and he hoped the vacuum cleaner worked better now as well.

Lois told me she took a nap the other day and when she woke up, she told Morris, "I just dreamt that you gave me a diamond necklace for Valentine's Day.  What do you think it means?"
"You’ll find out tonight", he said.
That evening, Morris came home with a small package and gave it to her. Delighted, she opened it. She found a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams".

I heard Janet telling Ruby the other day that the first 5 years of marriage are the hardest.  Ruby asked her how long she and David had been married.  She said, “5 years.”

In all seriousness, today is my dear parents’ 58^th wedding anniversary!  Congratulations to them!  Pop told me the other day that he and Mama were sitting at the table drinking coffee and Mom said, “I love you so much.  I don’t know how I could ever live without you.”

Pop said, “Are you talking to me or the coffee?”

She said, “I’m talking to you, my hand-picked, dark-roasted loved one!”

It’s so easy to say the words, “I love you.”  Te amo! (Spanish)  Je t'aime! (French) or Chicken fried steak! (Redneck)

However you say it, it does not prove that you actually do, does it ?  How do you prove that you love somebody ?  You prove it by what you do and for how long you do it.  Saying it is a vitally important part of the communication process but words without actions are meaningless.  You can talk until your lips fall off about how much you love someone but if you never do anything to prove it then you prove that you don’t.

I went to a restaurant the other day and there was a young couple sitting in a booth not far from me.  You’ve seen this couple before, right ?  Smoochie, smoochie, muah, muah, lovey dovey, hands all over each other.  Just stop it.  Nobody wants to see all that.  I’m trying to eat over here and they’re grossing me out.  They were far enough away that I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I could read their lips easy enough.  I love you !  Probably known each other for a week.  There’s no proof in the words.  There is no power in the words.

Just for today, I want us to look at a beautiful passage of scripture in the gospel of John that talks about love.  It talks about how love is proven and what it looks like.  In 2016 we hear the words and we see what the world calls love.  Let’s see what Jesus says about it 2000+ years ago in John 15 :9-17.  In most of the Bibles in the pew it is on page 764.

Jesus says John 15 :9-17,  “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

Do you remember in math class when the teacher told you to show your work?  She wanted to know if you truly knew the answer or if you were just faking it and guessing.  Later on in higher math they actually called it, “showing your proofs”.  I was never good at math…or love, come to think of it…but thankfully Jesus is good at both and so in verse 9 when Jesus told His disciples that He loved them we know it to be true because we know He proved it.

Jesus loves us and He proved it.  We prove that we love Him – not just with words – but with our obedience and we prove our obedience by bearing fruit.  That’s what this passage is saying.  Let’s look at it closer.

Do you know that there is great power in the words, ‘Jesus loves you’?  There is power in just those words because it has been proven.  Jesus loves you so much that He took your sins and died on the cross so you wouldn’t have to die (John 3:16).  He loves you so much that He sent the Holy Spirit to live in your life to give you direction and wisdom when you gave your life to Him (John 14:26).  He loves you so much that He has gone back to Heaven to prepare a place for you to stay with Him in Heaven forever (John 14:2).  Ephesians 1:4 says that God loved you before He created the universe.  He said it and He proved it before you were born, He has proven it while you live and He will continue to prove it for eternity.

Men, there are going to be times when your wife comes home and she is upset about how her day went.  The car wouldn’t start.  She had a bad hair day.  The boss fired her.  She ‘accidently’ killed her boss with a stapler.  You know how it is.  What she needs right then is for you to just say, ‘I love you’.  Now, if you have not proven you love her then don’t say that but if your love has been proven over time then all she needs to hear is ‘I love you’…and maybe ‘I know where to hide the body’ or something like that. 

No, all she needs to hear is the proven words ‘I love you’ and she will know that those words mean it is going to be okay.  She will know that you are there for her and that you will do everything in your power to make it right.  That is exactly what we all need and what we all have in the person of Jesus Christ when we have a relationship with Him.

We will see in a minute that Jesus calls us friends in this passage.  This amazing gift comes to us because of His wonderful grace toward us: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). We don’t have to earn His love; we simply accept it.

It may be difficult to believe Jesus loves you because of other people who have let you down in the past. However, Jesus is unlike any other person; He is God in human form (John 1:14). He was involved in creating us, He sustains our every breath, and He offers us new life now and eternal life in heaven with Him.

Another reason it may be difficult to accept the truth that Jesus loves you is that something you have done in the past troubles you. Jesus already knows your past and still offers you eternal life and forgiveness. A wonderful example of His love can be found in His last hours on the cross. One of the men crucified next to Him was being put to death for his crimes. Turning to Jesus, he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, saying, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42–43). Despite this criminal’s sins, Jesus accepted his simple and sincere act of faith and promised him eternity in heaven—even though Jesus knew the man had no time to live his life differently.  (gotquestions.org)

Jesus proved His love for us, He is proving it and he will continue to prove it.  Somebody tell me what that means to you and for you.

So, we know that Jesus loves us and that love is life-changing, or it should be.  If Jesus has proven His love for us then the question is, how do we prove our love for Him?  Jesus answers that question in verse 10.  Look at that again.  ^10 “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”  So, again, Jesus is our model.  He was obedient to the Father and we should be obedient to Him.  We should do what He says to do.

When I became a pastor evidently people thought I was supposed to know something because almost immediately I started getting asked some of the craziest questions; questions about unicorns and dinosaurs. What is Satan’s last name?  Does God really love Puerto Ricans?  What kind of question is that?  People ask all the time about deep, deep theological issues about the end times or about how the Bible was written and they go off on one version being better than another and I want to say, “Hey, let’s concentrate on being obedient to what we know first and then move on to the dispensation of Arminianism in light of the millennial Pentecostalism.”  How about that?

We should ask questions about deep things.  It is good to want to know everything there is to know but not to the neglect of obedience of what we already know and when we do that, we not only prove that we love the Lord but Jesus says in verse 11 that it will bring us joy.  ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

I love to take my dogs for a walk.  We do it every day.  As I have told you, one of my neighbors doesn’t appreciate my dogs walking through the neighborhood without leashes so as soon as we get out of the neighborhood and into the acres of no-mans-land just a block or two away, I take their leashes off and let them roam. They do really well most of the time but sometimes they wander off too far and I have to call them to come back to me.

Most of the time they do pretty good about that.  They find their way back pretty quick and all is well and we have a great long walk and see all kinds of things…as long as they are obedient and come when I call them.  But sometimes they find something to smell of that they just don’t want to leave and I’m calling and calling and calling and I can’t stand that.  I get mad and I’m ready to go home.  When they are obedient to me and come when I call them it shows that they love and respect me and in turn we go way out into the fields and find armadillos and deer and all kinds of critters.  The dogs love that and so do I.  It brings us all great joy.

Now, I have talked to some of you in the past and I have given a few of you some homework to do when I think it will benefit you like it did me.  My favorite homework question to give is this:  How do we find joy?  Well, I’m giving you the answer to your homework right here.  Do you want joy?  Do you want to be able to smile in the darkest times of your life when the world is falling down around you and everybody else is freaking out?  Obedience is the secret.

Knowing whether Santa Clause will be in Heaven or how the hypostatic union affects the law of identity does not bring joy.  It brings me a headache.  But being obedient to what you know Jesus tells you to do…brings joy!  Jesus loves us and He proved it.  We prove our love for Him by being obedient and we get joy as a by-product of that obedience.

Lastly, we prove our obedience by bearing fruit.  Look at verse 16.  ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

What does it mean to bear fruit?  My concordance says it is the visible expression of invisible power.  (Repeat)  I have a special treat for you today; actually a treat for your eyes.  I want to show you this beautiful branch from an apple tree.  (It’s actually a bare stick I found on the ground.)  Do you see the beautiful red apples all over it?  Aren’t the white petals of the flowers so pretty with their delicate yellow insides?  You see it, right?  Sure you do; and you’re calling the mental ward right now to see if they have room for me, aren’t you?

No, you don’t see all of those things because there is no fruit, no bloom, no beauty whatsoever with this stick.  This stick can say it is part of an apple tree but we don’t believe that, do we?  It could say that it is part of an orange tree or a banana tree or a muffin tree.  It can talk about blooms and fruit all day long but there is no proof of any of that.  It is a bare branch that has been separated from some kind of tree for a long time.  It is dead.  It is useless.  It is headed for the burn pile.

Jesus said He loves us and He proves it.  We prove we love Him by our obedience to Him and the proof of our obedience is when we bear fruit.  There are libraries full of books that are able to explain bearing fruit better than I can but let me give you 5 quick ways that our lives will bear fruit when we are obedient.

#1  Our character will reflect the Fruit of the Spirit that Paul talks about in Galatians 5.  They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.  Those are characteristics that will show up in our lives as proof of our obedience.

#2  Right character will result in right conduct.  It drives me crazy when I hear people say, “Well, we all sin every day.”  Really?  Every day you choose to do something that nailed Jesus to the cross?  Every day you choose to displease the Savior and disobey the Creator?  Obedience is proven by holiness.

#3  Those who come to Christ through our witness are fruit.  When was the last time you witnessed to somebody?  When was the last time you actually broke out your Bible and led someone through what the Word says about how to be a Christian?  Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:19 to go and make disciples.  Are you doing that?

#4  We also bear fruit when we worship and this includes at church and away from church.  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

#5  We bear fruit when we give money.  “Oh, there he goes preaching on money again!”  Let me say this again.  This church doesn’t need your money.  God doesn’t need your money.  Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Paul told the Philippians, “Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more fruit be credited to your account.” KJV - Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation, Victor Books, 1989.

Verse 16 says that you didn’t choose Jesus.  He chose you!  As a believer, God chose you.  That ought to make you feel special and you are but it’s only by His grace and His mercy that He chose you.  It is only by His grace and His mercy that we have life and breath.  Everybody take a deep breath.  Feel that?  Do you see your chest fill up with air and your shoulders rise?  That is, by God’s grace, a visible expression of invisible power that enables you to continue bearing fruit.

When that stops then you can stop bearing fruit.  Until then, because Jesus has proven His love for us, we prove our love for Him by being obedient to what He tells us in His Word and by His Spirit and we prove that obedience by bearing fruit.

How about you?  Are you fruity?  Are you bearing fruit?  If not, there is something wrong with your relationship with the Vine.  It has either been fractured by sin or it doesn’t exist but you can fix that today.  Ask God for forgiveness today and repent – turn away from – that sin.  If you never have then today is the day of salvation and the day you truly believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life and that nobody gets to the Father but through Him. (John 14:6)

“How to be the person Satan wants you to be” – Jealous – 1 Sam. 18

Here is a scenario for you:  your boss assigns you and your co-workers a job to do.  Your job is to build widgets and you are one of the best widget-makers there is.  Your widget-making skills are well-known and have been for some time.  Then the boss hires a new person and he, too, starts making widgets and he, too, is really good.  Now, at the end of the week the boss compares everybody’s numbers and the new guy made 2 more widgets than you did.  Not only that but there’s another guy that hardly made any widgets and he is really upset.  How do you react?

Let me add another wrinkle here.  You happen to know that the new guy actually made 3 more widgets than you did, not 2 like the boss said.  Evidently the boss miscounted.  Now, how do you react?  Let’s think about your options.  You could go home and not think about any of them again.  You could go comfort the co-worker who is depressed about making so little.  You could congratulate the new guy on making 2 more than you.  You could tell the boss his mistake and make the new guy look even better.  Or you could even tear up several of the new guy’s widgets to make yourself look better.  Or maybe you do a combination of those.

The problem with asking about how you would react is that there just might be a difference between what you would do and what you should do, right?  Sitting here in church your answer is that you would comfort the one and encourage the other and be a stand-up guy and be honest with your boss and you would do everything right and you would do it humbly and generously and everybody would love you and write songs about how great you are.

For many years Sir Walter Scott was the leading literary figure in the British Empire. No one could write as well as he. Then the works of Lord Byron began to appear, and their greatness was immediately evident. Soon an anonymous critic praised his poems in a London Paper. He declared that in the presence of these brilliant works of poetic genius, Scott could no longer be considered the leading poet of England. It was later discovered that the unnamed reviewer had been none other than Sir Walter Scott himself! Dr. Gary Collins in Homemade, July, 1985

Would you do something like that if you worked at the widget factory?  Would you do something like that in the job you have?  Would you do something like that in your family or in your church or your neighborhood?  The question is would you be the person God wants you to be and enjoy seeing somebody else prosper; would you even make yourself a little lower so that they could be higher?  Would you, could you do what you could do to enable them to do better, be better even if it cost you something?

Or…and I know this isn’t you but it might be somebody in your row…or would you be jealous of their success and try to sabotage them to make you look better?  Now, that’s the person Satan wants you to be.  Satan can really get some stuff done if he has somebody like that to work with.  Just like he did with King Saul.

We’re going to read about King Saul’s jealousy in 1 Samuel 18:1-9.  This passage is the passage right after one of my all-time favorite passages in the whole Bible – the story of David and Goliath that is found in the previous chapter and it is important that you know the story of David and Goliath so that you understand a little bit about why Saul is so jealous. 

We have seen in the last two weeks that because of how Saul reacted out of worry and because of his selfishness that God has told him through the prophet Samuel that Saul will not be able to be king anymore like he could have been had he been obedient and that is a harsh penalty to pay for Saul’s disobedience but sin is always going to bring harsh punishment.  There are consequences of disobedience, right?

But for now Saul is still the official king even though, unbeknownst to him, Samuel has already anointed David to be king.  But for now, David is still a nobody out on the hillside tending his sheep like a good boy; and a boy he was, probably a young teenager.

Everything changed, though, when Israel went out to fight the Philistines one more time because the Philistines were led by the giant warrior Goliath.  He was over 9 feet tall and built like a tank and armed to the teeth and protected by bronze armor all over his body except for a little section right around his eyes so he could see.  And we see in chapter 17, verse 49 that was right where David aimed his slingshot and sent a rock over 100 mph right into his forehead and killed the big guy.

As you can imagine, David is the big hero and he never tended sheep again after that.  In fact, Saul invited him to be a part of his kingdom.  Our story today takes up right there after Saul watches David kill Goliath.  So, let’s turn to 1 Samuel 18 and let’s read verses 1-9.

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. ² From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. ³ And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. ⁴ Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. ⁵ Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.  ⁶ When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. ⁷ As they danced, they sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
    and David his tens of thousands.”

⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you.” ― Bette Midler 

In this story we see one person who was happy for another’s success and another person who was not.  I would like for us to see what both of them look like and how they apply to us and I want to start with the one who was jealous and then end on a good note so let’s look at verses 7-9 first and then we will go back and see how it’s supposed to be done in the first few verses.

So, here’s the scene:  Saul is leading his army through town and evidently word about David’s exploit had gone ahead of them and as the women of the town danced and sang with great joy, they made up a song to sing in their happiness. “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”  Pretty catchy tune they came up with there, huh?

Evidently Saul didn’t think it was too catchy.  He didn’t like it one bit.  What do you think Saul could have done or should have done instead of getting angry?

I was thinking as I read this about what he should have done instead of getting mad.  You know, he could have just laughed about it because it was pretty ridiculous.  Saul probably had killed thousands but David…David killed one guy.  One very big, very important guy but still only one and if Saul had made it into a joke and laughed and danced with them and sang along, nobody would have thought anything about it and Saul and David would have had a good chuckle about it for years to come.  But the very thought of David getting more glory than him infuriated Saul and you can almost see the wheels turning in his head about how he was going to deal with this kid.

Ben Franklin said, “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”  How right he was in regard to King Saul.  If you know the story of Saul you know that his jealousy of David developed into a burning hatred that ate him up for years to come and it started because some silly women sang a silly song.

I have to think that it didn’t help that Saul’s own son, Jonathan, thought so highly of David that he gave him almost everything he was wearing at the time but we will talk about that later.  Jealousy is a characteristic that, just like worry and selfishness that we have seen lately, also ruins relationships and just like worry and selfishness, jealousy is a fear that is based on poor self-esteem.

The root of all three characteristics is the misguided thinking that you have to do something; you have to provide; you have to prove yourself; you have to be worthy and in the end you know that you are not able to be any of those things and it eats you up.  Then Satan just sits back and watches you implode and he hardly has to do anything.  That’s why he enjoys it so much and wants you to worry; he wants you to be selfish and he wants you to be jealous.  You’re doing his work for him.

Not only does it eat you up but it ruins relationships with other people and it will mess up your relationship with God.  That’s three strikes and Satan is the big winner.  But people who have a right relationship with God and a right knowledge of not only who they are but also of Who God is don’t have to worry; they don’t have to be selfish or jealous because they know that they are not worthy and they cannot provide or prove themselves and they rely on God to do that through them to His glory.  That is how we should keep from being jealous and that is step one in being the person God wants you to be instead of the person Satan wants you to be.

Now, let’s look at step two in being who God wants us to be.  Let’s look at some practical ways that we can, not just not be jealous, but actually be who we are supposed to be and how we can make disciples by making God attractive to other people.  Look at verses 1 and 3 again.  It says that Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.  What was in this relationship for Jonathan?  What was in it for him if David did well or even became king?

If David becomes king then Jonathan is out of a job because it was sure to be passed down to him as Saul’s heir.  But look at what Jonathan does for David.  He gave David his robe, his princely robe.  This made David look like a prince.  He gave David his tunic or his outer clothes to go under the robe.  This showed his friendship.  Then he gave him his sword, his bow and his belt.  Now David looks the part of a warrior.  He looks like a princely warrior and Jonathan…is standing there basically in his underwear looking foolish.

Jonathan made the choice, not only to not be jealous, but to actually promote David; to lift him up; to make him look good at his own expense, not wanting people to see Jonathan but wanting people to see and admire David.  When you can do that, you can truly say that you love somebody.  Not only that but you can truly say that you love the Lord because Jonathan wanted God’s will to be done even if it meant losing his job; even if it meant looking temporarily foolish. 

Jonathan wasn’t worried, selfish or jealous because he knew God’s will was going to be done and he just wanted to be a part of it.  Saul wanted everybody to look at him because he was insecure.  Jonathan wanted everybody to look at God’s man David because Jonathan was secure in who he was and in Who God was.  I have an idea that when Jonathan heard those ladies singing about David killing tens of thousands he joined right in singing in his underwear making David look good.

Now, if you turn over to the New Testament Gospel of John and turn to chapter 3 you will see an interesting scene.  Verses 22-26 say, “After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. ²⁴ (This was before John was put in prison.) ²⁵ An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. ²⁶ They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

Think of it this way:  John has been making widgets and he has been making great widgets for a long time but some people come to him and say, “Hey, John, that Jesus guy over there is making more and better widgets than you are.  What are you going to do?”

Does John get in a worrisome, selfish, jealous panic and start screaming for everybody to look at the widgets he has made?  No, he doesn’t because all of his widgets point people to Jesus so when Jesus actually comes along, John says, “Look!  The Lamb of God!” (1:29) Don’t look at me.  Look at Him!  Everything John did pointed people to Jesus.

For a while God had called him to preach and teach and baptize and be focused upon for the sake of the Kingdom but when it came down to it, John’s focus was on Jesus and making Him look good even if it cost John his job or even his life, and it did not long after that.

This life is short and this world will tell you that you have to look out for number one.  You have to go for the gusto and get all you can while you can and while you’re out there running try not to have a heart attack brought on by worry, selfishness and jealousy.

I want to close with another of those passages that just makes you say, “Aah.”  First you have to know what Psalm 46:10 says.  It says, “Be still and know that I am God.”  Those words “Be still” actually mean to let your hands hang down.  Relax.  Quit trying.  Chill out.  Now, with your hands hanging down listen to what Matthew 6:25-33 says.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Be still and know that I am God and that I am all-powerful and all-loving and that I will take care of you better than you could ever take care of yourself.  As a child of the one true King, what do you have to worry about?  Why be selfish?  Why be jealous?  Put others first for the sake of the Kingdom and let your hands hang down.