SERMON: FINDING JOY -- ADVENT WEEK 3

16 December 2018

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Acts 16:25-34

Acts 16:25-34 (NIV)

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.

            -- As a third-century man was anticipating death at the hands of the Romans, he penned these last words to a friend -- "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world -- But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret -- They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life -- They are despised and persecuted, but they care not -- They are masters of their souls -- They have overcome the world -- These people are the Christians -- and I am one of them."

            [Modified from: Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 18.]

            -- joy -- joy is one of those elusive elements of life that all of us want -- men and women have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable -- Some have successfully found it while others have spent their entire life looking for it -- Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:

            -- Joy is Not Found in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type -- at the end of his life he wrote: "I wish I had never been born."

            -- Joy is Not Found in Pleasure -- if anyone ever lived a life of pleasure, it was Lord Byron -- but yet he wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."

            --  Joy is Not Found in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that -- When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."

            -- Joy is Not Found in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both -- He wrote: "Youth is a mistake -- manhood a struggle -- old age a regret."

            -- Joy is Not Found in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day -- but when he had done so, he wept in his tent in misery as he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

            -- Where, then, is real joy to be found? -- the answer is simple -- just as that third-century martyr penned to his friend, true joy is found in Christ and Christ alone.

            [Modified from: The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993. http://www.eSermons.com]

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our Advent sermon series as we prepare our hearts and souls to celebrate the coming of Jesus at Christmas -- the first week of Advent was about Christ as our hope -- last week, we talked about Christ being our way -- and, this morning, we are going to talk about finding joy through Christ

  

II. Difference Between Joy and Happiness

            -- this concept of joy is something that we seem to struggle with in the church -- even though it's mentioned in the Bible almost 250 times, we don't really seem to understand it -- we tend to get joy confused with happiness -- and, so when we read in the Bible that we are to be joyful, we interpret that as meaning that we are to be happy -- but joy and happiness are not the same thing

            -- I think part of our confusion goes back to our school days when we learned about the Declaration of Independence -- probably the most famous line in that document says "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

            -- and I think that line -- "the pursuit of happiness" -- more than any other -- has gotten us confused about the biblical concept of joy -- you know, the Declaration of Independence is a remarkable document, but it's not a spiritual text, and it's flat wrong in regards to the pursuit of happiness as being something that God wanted in our lives

            -- no where in the Bible are we told to pursue happiness -- no where in the Bible are we promised happiness -- in fact, the word "happy" is not mentioned much in the Bible at all -- depending on your translation, "happy" only occurs in the Bible about 26 times

            -- what the Bible does tell us to do is to pursue joy -- and what the Bible promises us if we follow God is joy in our lives

            -- so, before we go any farther in our study on joy, let's first clarify what the difference is between joy and happiness and get a good definition of joy to build on

            -- let's start with happiness -- what is happiness?

            -- happiness is the good feeling you get when you are living in favorable circumstances -- in other words, happiness is based on the things around you -- if everything around you is favorable -- if everything is going your way, then you're happy

            -- I heard about this man who was driving and wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing -- he didn't realize the light in front of him had turned red, and he ran right into the back of the car in front of him -- the door to the car in front of him opened up, and the driver, a little person, jumped out and ran back to his window -- the little person said, "I'm not happy" -- and the man replied, "Well, then, which one are you?" -- at that point, the fight broke out, and no one was happy

            -- that's the problem with happiness -- you can only be happy if your circumstances are good

            -- another way to think about it is like this -- happiness is that feeling you get when everything is going just like you want it -- as Steve Nelson points out, if we get what we want, the way we want it, when we want it and at the right price, we are happy

            -- so, happiness is external -- it depends on our circumstances -- it depends on whether we are getting what we want

            -- let me give you another example -- I read a story about this man in Budapest who went to his pastor and complained, "Life is unbearable -- there are nine of us living in one room -- what can I do?" -- the pastor replied, "Take your goat into the room with you." -- the man was incredulous, but the pastor insisted -- "Do as I say -- take your goat into the room with you and come back in one week"

            -- a week later, the man comes back looking more distraught than ever -- "We can't stand it, " he tells the pastor. "The goat is filthy." -- the pastor tells him, "Go home and let the goat out and then come back in one week"

            -- one week later, the man returns and he is just radiant -- he exclaims, "Life is beautiful -- we enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat -- only the nine of us living in one room"

            -- this man was pursuing happiness -- his happiness depended on what was going on around him at that moment -- originally, he was not happy because there were nine people living in one room -- then he really got unhappy when the goat was added

            -- his external circumstances determined how he felt -- just removing the goat from the room made him happy, even though his original circumstances hadn't changed

            -- happiness is all about the external -- it's all about your wants and your wishes -- and if everything is going good, then you're happy -- but if everything is not going good, then you're unhappy -- that's why you really can't pursue happiness, because your happiness is dependent on things that you can't control

            -- joy, on the other hand, is different -- it doesn't depend on what's going on around us -- it doesn't depend on our circumstances -- joy comes from within -- it is the peace, contentment, and satisfaction that come from God when we are in a right relationship with Him -- or, as Ed Young says, joy is the "positive confidence I feel from knowing and trusting God regardless of the circumstances"

            -- just to summarize:  happiness is external, joy is internal -- happiness is based on circumstances -- on the things that happen to you -- joy is based on Christ -- happiness is based on chance, joy is based on a choice

III.  Scripture Lesson (Acts 16:25-34)

            -- you can plainly see the difference between joy and happiness here in this passage in Acts -- just to remind you of the context, Paul is on his second missionary journey -- this time he is traveling with Silas, and he has passed through Syria and Lystra and has made his way to Philippi in the region of Macedonia

            -- it was here that Paul and Silas ran into trouble -- they got harassed by a slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit, and when they cast the evil spirit out of her, they also cast away her ability to tell the future -- since her master had been making a lot of money from this ability, he got mad and had Paul and Silas turned over to the officials and thrown into prison

            -- Paul and Silas were stripped and beaten -- they were flogged severely and then put in the inner cell in the prison with their feet locked down in stocks so they couldn't even stand up or move

            -- you want to talk about bad situations, this was it -- Paul and Silas' external circumstances were not good -- in fact, they couldn't hardly get much worse -- the inside of that prison would have been completely dark -- no windows -- no ventilation -- no toilet -- probably no food and just stale water -- surrounded by criminals and other prisoners -- just a horrible place to be

            -- do you think Paul and Silas were happy? -- No -- I don't think so -- who could be happy in that place? -- so, how did they respond to their circumstances? -- how would you have responded?

            -- look back at verse 25

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

            -- they sang -- can you believe that? -- locked up in a Roman prison -- chained together with their feet bound in stocks -- sitting in total darkness and in pain from the flogging and the beating that they had just endured -- and they're singing hymns and praising God

            -- regardless of what that old hymn tells us, they didn't sing because they were happy -- they sang because they were joyful -- they trusted God -- they had confidence in Him regardless of their circumstances -- in spite of what was going on around them, they were able to sing because they had made a choice to believe in God in all situations and all circumstances and they knew that He was with them, even in the depths of that prison

            -- you have to be a spiritually mature Christian to do what Paul and Silas did -- you have to reach that point in your life where you realize that what happens here and now pales in comparison to your eternal life with God

            -- joy leads to contentment -- that is why Paul later wrote in a letter to the people in Philippi where he was imprisoned, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. -- I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty -- I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want -- I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

            -- you can think of joy as a gauge that determines where you are in your relationship with God -- it measures your degree of holiness -- your degree of spiritual maturity

            -- let me give you an example -- in your car, there is a relationship between the engine and the cooling system -- in order for you to go anywhere, the water must be flowing through the engine to keep it from overheating -- that is the normal perfect relationship

            -- now, in most cars, there is a temperature gauge on the dash -- this gauge tells you how the status of the relationship between your engine and the cooling system -- so long as the relationship is strong and everything is working together, the temperature gauge stays in the "normal" position

            -- but if the relationship goes wrong -- say you run out of water in your radiator or the thermostat gets stuck and won't let the water circulate -- then that gauge will start to move to let you know that something is wrong -- if you don't do anything about it, your engine may overheat and lock down on you

            -- when that gauge says that you have a problem, you have a choice to make -- you can either listen to that gauge and stop and fix the problem or you can ignore it

            -- well, joy works the same way in our lives -- when we're in a right relationship with God, our external circumstances don't matter -- when we are in a right relationship with God, gratitude and joy well up from within us, causing us to sing with praise to God for what He has done and giving us the ability to walk through storms and trials with peace and contentment, knowing that in the end, everything is going to work out because we have been saved by the mighty right hand of God

            -- joy is what enabled Paul and Silas to sing and praise God in a Philippian prison

            -- look back at verse 26

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.

            -- joyful Christians are different -- they think differently -- they act differently -- they react differently

            -- joyful Christians don't let negative thoughts fill their minds -- they don't let the cares and troubles of this world take away their joy -- they're able to walk over the troubles and trials and unhappy circumstances just like Jesus walked on the water -- they stay above it all

            -- everyone in that prison was locked up and chained because of their circumstances -- but, when Paul and Silas rose above their circumstances -- when they looked at their situation with eyes of faith rather than eyes of flesh -- the prison walls were shaken -- the doors sprung open -- and the chains fell away

            -- that's what joy does to you -- it frees you from bondage to your circumstances -- it frees you to walk with God -- joyful Christians have positive attitudes because they put their trust in God and not in their situation -- joyful Christians can even find contentment in a prison cell in Philippi because their sense of well-being comes from within

            -- verse 27

27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family.

            -- joyful Christians affect those around them -- they honor God with their actions -- they don't let the world affect how they live, but they let Christ live through them

            -- people can tell when you are filled with joy -- they'll see that in you -- and they'll be drawn to that sense of peace and confidence and contentment that comes with the joy of trusting in God

            -- when the walls shook and the doors opened and the chains fell free, the jailer lost hope -- his circumstances had changed -- he became extremely unhappy and started to kill himself because he knew his life would be forfeit if the prisoners in his care escaped

            -- but Paul called out to him and told him that everything was okay -- that no one had left -- and when the jailer came to them and saw joy and confidence shining out of their eyes despite their circumstances, he was shaken to his core

            -- he fell trembling before Paul and Silas and asked them what he must do to be saved -- what he had to do to get that same presence of joy that they had in their lives

            -- in verses 33-34, Luke tells us that the jailer believed in God -- that he and his whole family were baptized -- and that he was filled with the same joy that Paul and Silas had -- he no longer cared about his circumstances here on earth -- his affections were now on a higher plane

            -- joyful Christians affect those around them

IV.  Closing

            -- everyone here is probably familiar with Mother Teresa -- she was an amazing woman who spent her whole life in Calcutta, India, ministering to those society had discarded as useless and worthless -- as part of this ministry, she created a home for those who were dying and who had no one else to care for them -- this home was filled with "so much sickness, so much pain, so much suffering, and so much misery. Death was there as well."

            "You could tell just by looking at the people that almost all of them would be dead soon -- By the time they reached the home most of them were too sick to recover -- Mother Teresa didn't create the home to be a hospital -- She created it so the people who were dying on the streets could have a place to die with dignity, with peace, and with a feeling of being loved."

            -- Joseph Mazzella wrote about seeing that home that Mother Teresa created -- he said, "It was this love that so deeply touched me -- The Sisters in the home radiated it to those they cared for -- In spite of the misery, suffering, and death this home was a place of joy

            -- "The joy and love flowed from God through the hearts and souls of the Sisters and blessed all those who were there -- the sick and dying knew that they were loved -- they felt God's love and the love of the Sisters and they died in peace -- often with the most joyous expressions on their faces."

            -- "It was such a beautiful thing to see and it showed me for the first time that life really is about the love and joy that we choose and share -- without [love and joy] life has no meaning, but with [them] life becomes a glorious gift from God..."

            [Source:  Story by Joseph J. Mazzella joecool@wirefire.com on The Sermon Illustrator]

            -- joy -- that positive confidence that we feel in knowing and trusting God regardless of the circumstances of life

            -- joy -- that attribute of God that we experience as the Holy Spirit works in us and through us

            -- it only comes as we walk though trials and troubles and experience God's deliverance -- it only comes as we grow spiritually mature and learn to trust in God in all situations -- looking to Him for our contentment rather than our own wants and wishes or the circumstances where we find ourselves

            -- joy is a fruit of the Spirit that comes from abiding in God -- in trusting in God -- in seeing God at work in all things -- joy is essential for spiritual maturity -- and it is a part of becoming holy in all that we do

            -- joy is what we first found when the news of the angels told us about the baby born in a manger -- about the Savior who was born in Bethlehem on Christmas Day -- because of Jesus, we can find joy in every moment

            -- this morning, as we close in prayer, I want to invite you to pray with me for the ability to see past our circumstances and our trials and troubles to the truth that lies within

            -- let's pray that we will stop pursuing happiness through the things of this world

            -- let's pray that we will stop letting other things and other people determine our behavior and our thoughts and our attitudes

            -- and, let's pray that we will start pursuing joy by letting God's presence in our lives shape us and mold us from the inside out so that we will live holy and righteous lives through Him

            -- let us pray

SERMON: SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT -- CHRIST THE WAY

9 December 2018

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

             -- Have any of you ever been lost? -- Maybe not in the woods, but maybe in a big city, or in a shopping mall, or even on a highway after you made a wrong turn? -- can you remember a time when you turned around and all of a sudden you realized you didn't know where you were -- you didn't know where to go -- you had lost your way?

            -- well, Noel Scantillon certainly can -- in 2015, Noel gained international fame when he got lost on a trip to Iceland and became dubbed, “The Lost Tourist” -- you see, Noel had become fascinated with Iceland after seeing the pictures of their volcano erupting back in 2010 -- he started reading about the country and seeing travel photos of their famous Blue Lagoon spa, and the 28-year old Sam’s Club Manager from New Jersey decided to do something spontaneous -- although he had never traveled out of the country, he got on a flight all by himself and flew into Iceland’s capitol city for the adventure of a lifetime

            -- when he got off the plane in Reykjavík, he loaded up into his rental car, dutifully punched in the address to his motel in the English-speaking GPS, and headed off just as the sun was rising on a new day

            -- enjoying the scenery around him and following the GPS instructions, Noel drove…and drove…and drove…and drove -- after driving for about an hour and finding himself on a lonely gravel road in the middle of nowhere, Noel got concerned -- he stopped to top off the gas tank, reentered the address of his motel back into the GPS, and saw that he still had 8 more hours of driving ahead of him

            -- he thought maybe something was off, but he decided to trust the GPS -- so, Noel continued on, driving and driving and driving for another 8 hours -- the GPS led him up two-lane icy paths and narrow mountain roads with steep drop-offs -- he finally had to admit it to himself -- he was lost

            -- the GPS eventually led him to a small blue house in a tiny town in northern Iceland -- when he knocked on the door and showed the lady who answered his hotel reservation, she just laughed -- “No, this is not it,” she said.  “Your motel is in Reykjavik, 280 km (or 175 miles) south of us.”

            -- when the locals heard Noel’s story, he became an instant sensation -- news of his getting lost became the top story in the country, and he was interviewed by TV and the newspaper -- eventually, his fame as “The Lost Tourist” spread internationally, and people still want to meet him and hear his story today ¹

            -- I can sympathize with Noel -- I’ve been lost before -- I’ve been turned around in cities because I was trying to follow a GPS, just like him -- and I’ve been lost in the woods -- and, it’s not a good feeling -- when you get lost, there’s a feeling that comes over you -- as Noel put it when he realized he was lost, he just knew something wasn’t right -- when you don’t know where you are -- when you don’t know how to get home or how to find your way again, it’s a scary feeling -- and it can set you off in a panic as you blindly seek to find your way

            -- but getting lost is not just a physical experience -- there's another way of getting lost I want to talk about today -- you can also get lost spiritually -- and that's exactly the situation that we find ourselves in as we turn to this passage in Matthew

            -- as we open this passage, we see a world that was spiritually lost -- most of the people in this time had no knowledge or understanding about the true God of the Bible -- most of them were lost in a world of spiritual idolatry and paganism -- worshiping a pantheon of gods and even nature itself

            -- but even those who knew about God in this time -- the Jews -- God's chosen people -- they were lost, too -- they had lost their way and they were wandering in a land of legalism and religious tradition -- they were just as lost as the rest of the world -- just as lost as the Magi who wandered into Jerusalem that night following a star

II.  The Magi Find The Way (Matthew 2:1-12)

            -- this morning we are continuing in our celebration of the Advent season -- last week, we lit the first candle of Advent to symbolize Christ as our hope -- today, we lit the second candle of Advent to symbolize Christ as the way

            -- so let's turn now to this passage in Matthew and see what we can learn about being lost and then finding our Way through the coming of Jesus on Christmas morning

            -- if you would, look back with me here at Matthew 2, starting at verse 1

1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

            -- Matthew tells us that after Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, Magi -- or wise men -- from the east came to Jerusalem looking for Him -- and this brings up the first point we need to remember when it comes to being lost -- before anything else can happen -- before you can get back on track and find your way -- you have to realize you're lost

            -- the people who lived in the world when Jesus was born were lost -- they just didn't know it -- for the most part, they were happy wandering around and following their myriad of gods and their religious traditions without a care in the world -- but it didn't change the fact they were lost and headed in the wrong direction

            -- I went to a backpacking seminar one time where they talked about what happens when people get lost in the wilderness -- every year, thousands of people get lost or hurt in the backcountry -- and every year, many people lose their lives because they are never found or never find their way back out

            -- the leaders of the seminar told us that the difference in survival and death is realizing quickly that you are lost -- it sounds counter-intuitive, but when people realize something is not right, they tend to start moving in random directions at a quicker pace, evidently to try to get out of trouble as fast as possible -- and this usually ends up with them getting farther off the path and farther into trouble

            -- the best thing you can do when you are lost is to stop, think about where you are, and take some time to reconsider your path and how you got there -- and take some time to think about where you should be headed

            -- that's exactly what was going on with the Magi here in this passage -- these were wise men -- learned in religion and astronomy and science -- these were the scholars of the ancient world -- and through their studies, they came to realize they were lost -- they came to the understanding that the path they had been following was wrong -- and so they stopped what they were doing -- they took a look around to see where they were and where they should be headed -- and God showed them a new path by leading them to Israel with the star of Christmas before them

            -- there's a lot of people in our world today who are lost -- they're wandering around following all kinds of paths -- looking for peace -- looking for happiness and satisfaction -- but, despite all their movement -- despite all their frantic activity -- they're just as lost as the people in the ancient world were on that first Christmas morning

            -- as C.S. Lewis pointed out, sometimes the first step in evangelism is helping people see their need for a Savior -- we have an opportunity this time of the year to help people realize their lostness -- to help people realize this season is about more than just opening presents under a tree or gathering with loved ones for a celebration on Christmas Day -- what better time of the year to point out the Savior to people than during Christmas, when everyone already has the baby Jesus on their mind?

            -- verse 3

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

            -- how sad it is when people who should know where they are find themselves lost

            -- when I worked at Fort Benning, I got stopped one day by a couple of soldiers who were doing a land navigation course -- they were standing in the road holding a map and they motioned for me to stop -- I rolled down the window and they said, "Where are we?" -- so I showed on the map where they were and then they started arguing with me -- "That's not where we are -- we're right here" -- and they pointed to another spot on the map -- I said, "Fine -- I'm not the one lost here -- you are -- either believe what I say or don't" -- and I drove off

            -- that's kind of what happened with the Magi -- they followed the star to Jerusalem looking for the King of the Jews -- so when they got to Jerusalem, they immediately went to the people who should know where they were -- the Magi turned to the Jewish King and his advisors and said, "Where are we? -- Where do we go to find the newborn king?"

            -- the chief priests and the king's advisors all knew where the Messiah was going to be born -- they knew the town -- they knew the location -- surely, they had seen the star appear just like the Magi did -- but they thought they knew better -- they thought they knew where they were in relation to God and couldn't accept the truth they were lost when the Magi showed up -- "Yeah, the Messiah is going to be born in Bethlehem, but not right now -- not this year -- not today -- that's not where we are"

            -- there's a warning there for us -- something I've been trying to work through myself over the last few years -- where are we in our journey with Christ?

            -- although we are Christians -- although we should know where we are -- we can find ourselves lost just like Herod's advisors and the chief priests in this passage -- how many times do we blindly follow tradition in our spiritual lives without stopping to see what the Bible truly says? -- how often do we just listen to what a spiritual teacher says without checking to see if what they are saying lines up with Scripture?

            -- for instance, I always like to point out to people this time of the year that a lot of the facts we know about Christmas just aren't true -- for instance, we all know that Mary rode a donkey into Bethlehem, right? -- no, that's not in the Bible -- it doesn't say how she got there -- we just assume she rode a donkey

            -- and we all know there were three wise men, right? -- that's what we see in our nativity sets -- no, the Bible doesn't tell us how many there were -- we assume three based on the gifts they gave the baby Jesus

            -- and we always picture them going to the manger and giving the gifts to the baby Jesus while He's laying in a crib -- but the Bible teaches they actually showed up in Bethlehem at least a year or more after He was born

            -- so, if we've got this wrong, what else do we have wrong? -- what other teachings and traditions have we been blindly following without checking to see if they are true? -- how lost are we in our own spiritual lives because we haven't sought out the Scriptures ourselves for the truth?

            -- verse 7

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

            -- the Magi left Herod and made their way to Bethlehem -- when I read this passage, I find it interesting that the Magi didn't follow the directions of the chief priests and the teachers of the law -- instead they followed the star and the star led them to the place where Jesus was -- it just goes to prove you can't get to Heaven by following men

            -- if you are spiritually lost, there is only one Way you can go -- only one Way you can follow -- that's exactly what we see in John 14:6 when Jesus said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father apart from Me."

            -- we've all heard this verse before, but it means so much more in context -- if you would, hold your place here and flip over real quick to John 14 and let's read verses 1-6

            -- we're not going to go into a lot of detail, but I want you to see why Jesus said what He did in this passage

John 14:1-6

1“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

      -- this conversation takes place in the Upper Room -- Jesus is fixing to go to the Garden of Gethsemane where He is going to be arrested and taken before the High Priest and eventually crucified on Calvary -- He's taking this moment to prepare His disciples for what is about to happen and He tells them, "Don't worry -- just believe -- just trust in God the Father and trust in Me -- believe in what I have told you and don't worry about tomorrow -- you know where the way to where I am going"

-- and then Thomas -- doubting Thomas -- says the words that are on everyone's mind -- "We don't know where you are going -- so how can we know the way?"

-- and Jesus replies to Thomas, "Via, Veritas, Vita -- "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life -- there is only one Way, and I am it -- do you want to know what the road is, Thomas? -- I am the road -- I am the Way"

-- kind of like the guy who went to Egypt to see the pyramids -- when he got there, he hired a guide and the guide led him down this road to the desert -- when they got to the desert, the road ended -- there was nothing but wind-swept sand for as far as the eye could see

-- the man asked the guide, "where's the road?" -- the guide looked at him and said, "I'm the road" -- the guide knew the way -- if this man wanted to see the pyramids, all he had to do was follow the guide and the guide would show him the way

-- that's the same message we see in John 14 and in Matthew 2 -- Jesus is our road -- Jesus is our Way -- He will show us how to get to the Father's house

-- if we want to go to Heaven, there is only one way to go -- and that's through Jesus -- that's why it says here, "No one comes to the Father except through me"

-- it says the same thing in Acts 4:12, " Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

-- the Magi got it -- they understood -- go back to Matthew 2 -- look at the last verse in this passage -- verse 12 [read Matthew 2:12]

-- don't miss what this verse is saying -- "the Magi returned to their country by another route"

-- the Magi had journeyed to Israel as lost wanderers -- they had sought direction from the king and the chief priests -- they had followed the star of Christmas to the place where Jesus was -- they had been lost in their journeys -- but now they were found -- now they were on another route -- now they followed The Way

-- when you find Jesus, He changes you -- you will always return differently after you have been in the presence of the Savior -- you will always be on the right path, when you follow the Son

III.  Closing

            -- I saw a bumper sticker on a car at Walmart one day that I would to have -- it read, "Lost? Follow Me.  I know the Way."

            -- Advent is about finding the Way -- in a world that was lost -- in a world that wandered aimlessly looking for salvation -- God sent a baby to be born in a manger who would become the Way for salvation and the forgiveness of sin

            -- it was through the baby Jesus the Magi found their path home -- and it is through the baby Jesus that we, too, find our path home

            -- so, as we leave here today and continue on in our celebration of Advent, may we take a moment to stop and look around -- to make sure we're not lost -- to make sure that we haven't wandered away into tradition or legalism or religiousity -- to make sure we are still on The Way

            -- and, let us open our eyes to those around us who are lost today -- to those who seem so confident -- who seem to have it all together -- but, who are on a wrong path and are lost spiritually

            -- be their map -- be their road -- show them the Way -- tell them about Jesus -- and point them to the star of Christmas that shines brightly with the promise of new life and salvation and the forgiveness of sins

            -- let us pray

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

1 David Kushner, “Is Your GPS Scrambling Your Brain?”, Outside Magazine, 15 November 2016

SERMON: HOPE -- ADVENT WEEK 1

I.  Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Colossians 1:21-29

21.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of  your evil behavior.

 22.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--

 23.  if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

 24.  Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

 25.  I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness--

 26.  the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.

 27.  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 28.  We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

 29.  To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

-- have you ever been in a situation that you thought was hopeless? -- have you ever faced a situation in your life where you looked around and saw no way out and you just didn’t know what you could do?

-- I'm sure we all have -- right now, we have a lot of our people in our area who are coming into an Advent and Christmas season and are facing a situation that they regard as hopeless -- even though Hurricane Michael blew through here almost two months ago, we still have people near us living in tents -- some communities and homes are still without power -- and that’s all on top of what happened to them at the moment when Michael came through -- in an instant, these people’s lives were shattered -- their homes were destroyed -- their jobs lost -- all of their financial security gone in an instant -- I’m sure that right now their situation seems pretty hopeless

-- we can probably all empathize with their situation -- we’ve all been there -- we’ve all had times in our lives where it felt like things were never going to get better

II.  The Causes of Hopelessness

-- there’s many ways we can find ourselves in situations that look hopeless

-- first, hopelessness can be caused externally, from things that just happen to us because we’re living in this fallen world -- things like natural disasters, like Hurricane Michael or the earthquake in Alaska or the floods or the wildfires we’ve seen in our country in recent weeks -- or maybe the loss of a loved one -- a bitter divorce -- a family member caught in addiction or sin -- financial issues -- job losses

-- when I think about hopeless situations caused by external conditions, I think of the story of Job in the Old Testament -- where in a single instance he lost his way of life -- his children -- his home -- and his health

-- sometimes our governments promote doctrines that can lead to a feeling of hopelessness -- for instance, in the communist nations, these governments promoted the group over the individual and, as a result, they destroyed the hope of individuals and of families for better lives in the future -- everything was for the good of the nation and a lot of people and families were forced into poverty and poor jobs with no hope for the future

-- this loss of hope -- this feeling of hopelessness by those who lived in these countries -- was intentional -- because it forced the citizens of these countries to depend on the government to survive

-- sometimes we find ourselves in what seems like hopeless situations because of internal circumstances -- depression -- addiction -- broken hearts -- hurt feelings -- anger -- isolation -- alienation -- all of these can put a person into a situation where they feel like they’re drowning in a pool of darkness with no light around and no hope on the horizon

-- and, when the source of your hopelessness is internal, it’s especially hard -- because others really can’t help like they do when a natural disaster puts someone in a seemingly hopeless situation -- when someone is depressed or addicted, giving them money or clothing or food is not going to bring healing -- it’s a temporary help, at best -- and, when the source is internal, others really can’t feel what you’re feeling -- they really don’t understand what you are going through -- and, so people in situations like this find themselves lost on the inside -- isolated and alone in the midst of their pain -- hopeless, even in the midst of friends and family who love them

-- the third way we find ourselves in what seems like a hopeless situation is because of our spiritual state

-- in this passage from Colossians, the Apostle Paul reminds us of a time we all shared -- a time when we all really lived without hope -- all of us, at tone time, were all alienated from God and condemned because of our sin -- and those around us who are not believers are still in this state, even though they may not be aware of it -- look back at verse 21

21.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of  your evil behavior.

-- this passage is just one of many in the Bible that points out our former conditions without Christ -- Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God -- Romans 3:10-12 tells us plainly that none of us is good, no one -- that we’ve all turned aside and no one seeks God

-- the fact is that no matter how good or moral we think we are as a person, the Bible tells us that all of us have fallen short of God’s standard -- and, as a result, we were all alienated from God -- separated from Him by our sin -- enemies of Him -- sentenced to eternal death through our own evil behaviors

-- and there was nothing we could do about it -- we couldn’t work our way to heaven -- we couldn’t do enough good works to overcome our sinful nature and our accumulated sins -- we couldn’t buy our way into heaven with wealth or power or prestige -- we couldn’t even follow religious rules and live good and moral lives to the point where we made up for our past sins -- because once we had broken God’s law at any point, it was broken and irreparable forever

-- talk about a hopeless situation -- this was it -- lost and condemned to eternal wrath with no way out

-- when Martha Stewart had her television show -- I don’t think it’s still on, but it might be -- anyway, when she had her show, I remember catching it on TV from time to time and watching as she would come up with some new recipe or decoration or homestyle life hack to help celebrate the holidays or to make your home a better place -- for the rest of the show, she would show you how to do it step-by-step -- and, at the end, she would hold up the finished product and show it off to the camera and say, "…and that's a good thing"

-- well, living without hope is not a good thing -- it means that there is nothing to celebrate -- it means that there is no rescue -- no relief -- no promise of better days or better ways

-- hopelessness means that you are in a darkness in which no light will ever shine -- you are on a journey that will never end -- hopelessness means that nothing will -- or can -- change in your life or in your circumstances -- hopelessness means that all is lost and there is nothing you can do about it

III.  The Hope of the Advent

-- however, the message of the Bible is that because of Christ, we are never in a place of true hopelessness -- no matter how dark the days -- no matter how bad the situation -- no matter the shape of your soul or the seriousness of your sins, hope shines brightly -- especially at this time of the year

-- today we begin the season of Advent -- the time of preparation for Christmas -- Advent is a season that is characterized by hope -- as Romans 8:25 says, hope is the eager anticipation -- the eager waiting -- for something that has not yet happened but that will come to pass to change our situation -- to change our circumstances -- to change our lives

-- two thousand years ago, the Jewish nation lived in bondage to the Romans in their own country -- With their way of life oppressed and dominated by foreigners, they longed for the coming of the Messiah -- the One who God promised would come and restore Israel to its glory and who would rule over the nation forever -- the One who would bring healing and restoration and salvation to both Israel and the world

-- however, for over 400 years, God had been silent and had not spoken to the Israelites -- His prophets were silent --the priests offered only empty sacrifices and lip-service to the God their forefathers had served -- and now, for hundreds of years, the nation of Israel had been under the rule of foreigners -- first Greeks and now Romans -- and for a Jew living in Israel two thousand years ago, they had no real hope -- they felt like God had turned His back on His people -- they couldn't see how anything would change in the near future

-- yet, still, in the midst of what seemed to be a hopeless situation, the true believers waited in hopeful expectation of the fulfillment of prophecy and the return of the King to Israel -- they lived with the hope that maybe this year would be the year that the Messiah would come and restore Israel -- they waited for the fulfillment of the promise that their God had made to them -- that their Messiah would come

-- this is what the season of Advent is all about -- waiting expectantly -- hoping -- believing -- anticipating -- that God is going to come and His promises are going to be fulfilled and that all is going to be made right again

-- the word “Advent” means coming -- and so during the Advent season we celebrate the first coming of Christ -- we gather as God’s people -- as the church of Christ on earth -- to remember and to celebrate the fact that the Messiah did come into the world as promised over 2000 years ago -- born as a baby in a manger -- raised as a man who did not sin and who showed us the way to live with God and in God -- and who died on the cross for our sins -- rising from the dead on the third day to show victory over sin and death and to bring hope back into a hopeless world

-- the situation described in verse 21 seemed like a hopeless situation -- before we were saved, we were alienated from God -- enemies of Him in our own minds because of our evil behavior -- sentenced to death because of our unrighteous acts

-- yet, in the midst of that hopeless situation, hope came alive -- the Savior was born in a manger on Christmas morning two thousand years ago and died on a cross for our sins -- in that atoning act on the cross, Jesus poured oil onto the fire and fanned into flames the hope that lay hidden deep within us

IV.  Hope in Christ

-- in 1 Peter 1:3 we read that through His death and resurrection, Christ gave us new birth into a living hope -- what does it mean to have a living hope in Christ?

-- a living hope in Christ is based on God and on His grace -- everything in the Christian life -- from salvation to growing in faith to serving Jesus -- has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him

-- a living hope in Christ means that we live life based on the promises that God has given us in Christ -- with the expectation that all His promises will come to pass, just as He said

-- our hope, first, is in salvation and eternal life with Christ -- look again at verse 22

22.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--

 23.  if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

-- Paul tells us here that it is through Christ we have been reconciled with God and been made holy in His sight -- because of His death on the cross, we are without blemish and free from accusation -- we have received salvation and eternal life

-- Romans 3:22-25 says that "righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

-- it is our faith in Christ's atoning death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead on the third day that gives us hope -- that causes us to expectantly wait -- for the promised salvation and eternal life in Christ that is to come

-- all we have to do is to recognize our need for a Savior and ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins and to accept, through faith, His death on the cross in our place and His resurrection from the dead, and we will step into this hope of eternal life through Him

-- secondly, with a living hope, we hope in sanctification -- in growing in faith in Christ -- in becoming holy as He is holy

-- we believe that we have been indwelt with the very presence of Christ -- the Holy Spirit -- who leads us and guides us down the path of holiness and righteousness -- that is why Paul writes in verse 23 that we should continue in our faith -- established and firm -- not moved from the hope held out in the gospel

-- through the Holy Spirit we grow in our faith and in our trust in the ability of Christ to meet all of our needs -- to be our strength in times of trial and tribulations -- to bring hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations

-- through the power of the Holy Spirit working in our life we come to truly trust and believe that in Christ we can do all things -- that in Christ we are more than conquerors -- that through Him, there is no situation that cannot be redeemed and there is no life that cannot be touched for His glory

-- in other words, we acknowledge that we might occasionally face storms in our lives -- we may occasionally find ourselves tossed about on the waves of despair -- but our faith is in Christ and we hope -- we wait expectantly -- for His deliverance in our lives -- and, if not in our physical lives here on earth, in our ultimate deliverance as we go to be with Him forever

-- finally, with a living hope we hope in the promise of serving Jesus here on earth -- look back at vs. 28

28.  We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

 29.  To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

 -- Paul tells us that we are called to proclaim the gospel of Christ, admonishing and teaching everyone so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ

-- this means two things -- this means that we serve Jesus through evangelism -- by telling others of the good news of Christ -- by telling them of the hope that we have of eternal life through Jesus' death and resurrection and how they can have it in their own lives

-- and it also means that we demonstrate the grace of Christ to others through our actions -- as it says in 1 Peter 4:10, we administer -- we demonstrate God's grace in various forms by serving our neighbors -- what better way to proclaim the gospel of Christ than by being the hands and feet of Christ in your community? -- what better way to proclaim the gospel of Christ than by demonstrating God's love by meeting the physical needs of those around you?

-- with a living hope, we go forth to serve Christ expecting Him to work through us -- we go forth with the knowledge that there is nothing that we cannot do with Christ's power -- that there is no one that we cannot touch -- that there are no situations that we cannot work through -- hope and faith give us the ability to demonstrate the love and the grace of God to hopeless people all around us

V.  Closing

-- one of the greatest books in Christianity is an allegory written by John Bunyan called "The Pilgrim's Progress" -- during his journey to the celestial city, the main character in the story -- Christian -- visits the house of Interpreter -- while he is there he sees a wall against which a fire blazes brightly -- there is a man standing near the wall, pouring water on the flames, but no matter how much water he pours on the fire, the fire does not go out -- instead, the fire burns higher and hotter and grows bigger and bigger

-- Christian watches for a little while trying to understand what was going on -- suddenly it hits him -- the flames represent hope and the man who is pouring water on the fire represents all those things in our life and all those situations in our life that try to take away all of our hope -- a marriage starts to fail, a bucket of water is thrown on the fire -- a wayward child, another bucket of water -- a sin that alienates us from God, more water -- but, yet, the fire doesn't go out -- and not only does it not go out, it burns brighter and bigger

-- you see, on the other side of the wall there is another man -- and at the same time the first man is pouring water on the fire, this man is pouring oil onto the flames, causing the fire to roar and blaze with increasing power 

-- the message from Bunyan was that no matter how much water is thrown on the fire -- no matter how the storms of life try to dampen our spirits and wash away hope -- they never can succeed because of the man pouring oil on the fire -- Jesus Christ

-- it is a reminder that Jesus came at the first Advent to bring us hope and life -- to reconcile us with the Father -- to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might live holy and righteous and forgiven -- and to give us eternal life through Him

-- in the paraphrase, The Message, we read the following in 1 Cor 1:9, "God, who got you started on this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of His Son and our Master Jesus.  He will never give up on you.  Never forget that."

-- the message of Advent is that hope in Christ overcomes all -- the message of Advent is that God's promises will always come to pass -- the message of Advent is that we can have hope in seemingly hopeless situations because our Messiah has come -- as long as He is present, there is reason for hope -- hope for salvation and eternal life -- hope for sanctification -- and hope for service in His name

-- let us pray

Sermon Video -- Miracles of Jesus Part 7: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead

SERMON: THE MIRACLES OF JESUS, PART 7 -- LAZARUS RAISED FROM THE DEAD

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to John 11:1-4

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

      -- skip down to verse 17

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] 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?”

      -- one more -- skip down to verse 43

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.”

      -- because Kim and I both work and tend to have crazy schedules -- constantly running from here to there -- it’s rare for us to find time to actually make a plan and go out and buy enough groceries to get us through the week -- we tend to make supper plans on the fly -- and this results in us going to the store too many times throughout the week

      -- so, what happens is we call each other and get an idea of what’s going on that day and that night and make a decision about supper -- and one of us will run to the store and pick up whatever it is we need -- and, because I work out at Moody, it’s generally easier for me to just swing by and pick up stuff at the store on my way home from work

      -- it works out well -- Kim will give me a list over the phone and I’ll write down everything she needs and, honestly, I can get through a grocery store in a hurry with a list -- I don’t just shop -- I go in like it’s a mission -- usually, we get the same stuff, and I know where it is and I can run in, grab just what I need, and come out in a matter of minutes

      -- but, occasionally, I get tripped up -- for instance, one day Kim sent me to the store to get stuff for hamburgers, and I came home with a large pack of sausage that wasn’t on the list -- and she asked why I got them -- honestly, she’s quit asking now -- she’s knows it’s useless

      -- here’s what happened -- I was running through the store with my list -- knowing exactly what I needed and where it was at -- I was dodging people in buggies -- and skirting around families with little kids in tow -- when it happened -- I smelled sausage -- and I love sausage -- and I was hungry -- I had been at work all day -- so I followed my nose right to the meat department where the store had a woman set up with a grill cooking sausage right there in the store -- she was handing out free samples -- she made me try two different kinds -- and I walked out of there with an entire, family-sized pack of sausage that I had never intended on purchasing

      -- so, what does my purchase of sausage have to do with our study in the Bible today? -- I’m glad you asked

      -- we’ve been going over this sermon series on the miracles of Jesus from the Book of John -- when we started this series, I told you that there were seven miracles given to us in this narrative -- and how it was important that there were seven -- in the Bible, the number seven indicates completeness -- perfection -- wholeness -- it is seen as God’s number, and indicates the completion and perfection of His work -- so, taken together, these seven miracles were given to show us the complete and perfect working of God through Jesus in His earthly ministry

      -- we also talked about how these miracles were given to us as signs that pointed us to who Jesus was and what His purpose in coming to earth was -- through these miracles, we learned more about the attributes and nature and power of Christ -- and they pointed to the reason for which He came -- Jesus didn’t come just to preach and teach and heal for three years and show us how to live as Christians -- no, as we all know, Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins -- to give us eternal life through His atoning sacrifice and to prove His victory over sin and death through His resurrection

      -- the miracles point to this ministry -- every miracle was a sign -- from the turning of the water into wine and His using the water purification jars as holders for the wine because the Jews would no longer have to seek temporary purification through religious rituals -- to the healing of the official’s son, the paralytic man, and the blind man -- pointing to Jesus’ healing of our bodies and souls that would come from the cross -- and, now, His final miracle in this gospel -- the raising of Lazarus from the dead -- pointing to His ultimate purpose in coming to earth -- to be the resurrection and the life for a people living in darkness

      -- so, just like those sausage samples led me to purchase the whole pack of sausages, each of these miracles was like a sample of who God is and why Jesus came -- it was just a taste that promised more -- it was just a bite -- to introduce us to the One who came to save us -- body, mind, soul, and spirit -- so that, we might receive the whole package of Jesus

      -- so that, we might become one with Him and one with each other -- made holy and pure and reconciled to the Father through His body and blood

      -- the miracles were small glimpses of heaven -- small samples of grace -- that pointed us to Jesus

      -- this miracle we are looking at today -- the raising of Lazarus from the dead -- marks a pivotal point in this gospel -- no more miracles are recorded by John after this event -- from this point on, the focus of the gospel of John is on the fulfillment of the purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth -- His death and resurrection -- that is why this miracle is the last -- it is the overarching miracle -- the final sign that foreshadows the good news that the Messiah has come to bring life to us all

      -- so, let us end our time together in this study of the miracles of Jesus by looking at one of the most familiar stories in the entire Bible -- the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead

II. Scripture Lesson (John 11)

      -- this is a long story -- it takes up almost all of John Chapter 11 -- and there is just way too much for me to unpack this morning -- so, we’re just going to hit the highlights that are relevant to our purposes today

      -- if you would, look with me now at John 11, and we’ll start in verse 1

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

      -- the family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are mentioned several times in the gospels -- you’re probably familiar with the story of Martha getting upset at Mary because she wasn’t helping with a meal in honor of Jesus one time -- that happened some time before the events of John 11

      -- Mary, Martha, and Lazarus all lived in Bethany, a small town about a mile and half east of Jerusalem on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives -- there is some indication that Martha and Mary may have lived by themselves and that Lazarus may have had his own home there in Bethany, but that’s just a guess based on the context and interpretation of the various passages -- what we do know is that Jesus loved them and spent time in their homes and was comfortable there -- even when the world was persecuting Him and plotting against Him, He found refuge and peace in their home

      -- so, when Jesus’ friend Lazarus takes ill, the sisters do what we all should do in such a situation -- they cried out to Jesus -- “The one you love is sick” -- we all know what they mean, even though they didn’t come out and say it -- “Lazarus is sick -- come heal him”

      -- they knew Jesus could do that -- they had seen the miracles -- they knew about the paralytic man and the official’s son and the blind man -- they knew that if Jesus came, He would certainly heal Lazarus

      -- but look what Jesus says in verse 4 -- this is key

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

      -- God had a plan -- Lazarus’ sickness was going to result in Jesus’ greatest ministry and miracle outside of the cross -- this was going to be the ultimate demonstration of God’s grace and mercy and power so that God would receive glory and Jesus would be glorified through it

      -- verse 17

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] 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.”

      -- by the time Jesus reached Bethany, Lazarus has died -- Mary and Martha’s homes were filled with mourners -- with people from Jerusalem who had come to grieve with them -- to share in this time of loss -- we understand these verses -- we’ve lived these verses -- we know exactly how this felt to Mary and Martha and their friends

      -- remember, Jesus said this sickness would not end in death -- that this happened because it was intended for God’s glory -- we know this -- but Mary and Martha didn’t -- they’re hurting -- they’re grieving -- they’ve lost their brother -- and their only hope didn’t come in time to save him

      -- verse 20 is what I call a pregnant verse -- there’s a lot of meaning in there -- there’s a lot going on there -- it reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ novel, “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” -- if you remember the opening of that book, the land of Narnia is held in the grip of cold and darkness -- with little hope that spring will come, bringing light and life to their land once more -- but rumors and whispers can be heard throughout the land -- “Aslan is coming, Aslan is on the move”

      -- that’s what I picture here -- even while the people are grieving -- even while the mourners are comforting Mary and Martha in their home -- the word goes before Jesus and fills the ears and hearts of everyone along the way -- “Jesus is coming…Jesus is coming”

      -- those words bring hope where hope is lost -- those words bring healing where sickness abounds -- those words bring life where death is found

      -- Martha heard those words -- with a broken heart and without knowing what Jesus could do in this situation, she went out to meet Him

      -- “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died -- but even now, God will give You whatever You ask” -- this is a declaration of faith -- Martha’s come a long way from being just concerned about putting together a meal for a friend -- she’s come to believe in who Jesus is -- that He is one that God uses to bring healing -- and now she’s asking for the ultimate act of healing, if that is even possible

      -- Jesus replies to her in verses 25 and 26 with a pronouncement that is second only to His pronouncement from the cross, “It is finished!” -- as she acknowledges her faith in the resurrection at the last day, Jesus responds by telling her, “I am the resurrection and the life -- he who believes in Me will live, even though he dies -- and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die”

      -- this is why Jesus came -- this is what all the miracles were pointing to -- the promise of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life -- it’s important to note both are promised here -- To resurrect something means you bring it back from the dead -- It shows power over death -- To bring something to life means that you give it new life -- it become a new creation -- the old has passed -- the new has come -- that is the promise Jesus is giving Martha here

      -- remember that Jesus ultimately came to do two things for us -- To save us from our sins -- to break the bonds of sin and death -- the eternal death that was keeping us separated from God forever -- and, He came to give us life -- not just to resurrect us, but to make us new -- to give us eternal life -- life with Him -- that begins, not at death, but at the moment someone believes in faith and receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior -- as Jesus said in John 10:10, I have come that you may have life, life to the full -- abundant life -- not just in the future, but here -- now -- on earth

      -- Martha’s faith is made complete on hearing this power “I AM” statement from Jesus -- she boldly proclaims her faith and says, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world”

      -- that’s the whole purpose of the miracles -- that’s the whole reason Jesus turned the water into wine and healed the sick and the lame and walked on the water and fed the 5,000 -- it wasn’t just to draw a crowd

      -- it was to bring them to this point where Martha is right now -- believing that He was the Son of God -- believing that He was the Messiah -- believing that He was the Savior God who came to make us new

      -- skip down to verse 38

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.”

      -- the NIV tells us that when Jesus saw Mary and the other Jews weeping with grief at the death of Lazarus that He was deeply moved in His spirit and troubled -- other translations say that the sight of Mary and the Jews weeping stirred Jesus to anger

            -- what caused such extreme emotions in Jesus? -- was it just the loss of a friend -- of someone He loved? -- no, I don't think so -- I think it was related to the reason for which He had come

            -- Jesus was moved in His spirit -- He became troubled and angry -- not just at the loss of His friend Lazarus -- but at the power and control that sin and death had on the human race

            -- it was not God's original intent for sin and death to bind us in chains -- it was not God's original intent for us to live in fear of death -- this all happened in the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Adam and Eve and caused them to bring sin into this world -- separating them from God and causing them to die spiritually -- this is what deeply moved Jesus -- this is what made Him troubled in His spirit -- this is what made Him angry

            -- so, Jesus asked to be taken to the place where Lazarus lay -- and He stood at the door of that tomb, facing a stone that separated the dead from Himself -- He told them to move the stone away -- to get rid of it, for it would no longer be needed

            -- Martha and the others protested -- they couldn’t move the stone -- it needed to be there -- they always put a stone on the grave of those who had died -- but, remember, this is a sign -- this sign is announcing that the old ways of death were done -- things had changed because Jesus had come

            -- so, the stone was removed -- and Jesus prayed to the Father in the hearing of those gathered there at the tomb -- and, in a loud voice, He called out, "Lazarus, come forth"

            -- can you imagine what that sounded like? -- can you imagine the power that went forth in that call to Lazarus? -- think about it -- the same voice that spoke life into being at the start of time now spoke life into the dead -- all creation -- all of heaven and all of earth -- would have reverberated with the power of Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave

            -- and, then it happened -- Lazarus came out -- "take off the grave clothes," Jesus said, "and let Lazarus go" -- with these words -- with this miracle and with this act of removing the clothes that bound Lazarus in his death -- Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Resurrection and the Life -- He proclaimed Himself the Messiah -- God in the flesh -- God with us

            -- Lazarus was freed -- not only from the cold grip of death in the tomb -- but from the power of Satan and from the power of sin and death that had held this world in bondage for thousands of years

            -- this was the miracle that pointed to the cross -- and the resurrection of Lazarus was but a taste -- it was but a small sample -- of the blessed hope we all now have through Jesus

III.  Closing

            -- and, so, we come to the end -- the miracles of Jesus have been completed -- the signs have been given -- everything has pointed the people to Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah -- and, as the Son of Man is lifted up on the cross -- bearing the sins of the world upon Himself -- He calls on us to see Him and believe

            -- this was John’s purpose in writing his gospel -- this was Jesus’ purpose in doing what He had done -- turning water into wine -- healing the sick and the blind and the lame -- feeding the 5,000 -- walking on water -- and raising Lazarus from the dead -- these were done for the purpose of proclaiming the promise of the cross -- of proclaiming the Resurrection and the Life -- of proclaiming hope for you and for me

            -- as we end our study in these miracles of Jesus, I want to leave you with this final thought -- the miracles of Jesus recorded in the gospels were given for a particular purpose -- they were done for a reason -- but, miracles still continue to this very day -- Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever -- the same God that raised from the dead and healed the sick and the blind and the lame still works in the lives of people in our day and age

            -- miracles may be rare -- God may not choose to heal those we love -- He may allow trials and troubles into our lives -- we have to remember that God’s focus is always on the eternal, not on the temporal -- and our present-day sufferings are nothing when compared to the glory that awaits

            -- yet still, although rare, miracles in this plane do occur -- we have to believe -- we have to trust and have faith -- and we have to accept God’s will, regardless of whether He moves in a supernatural way and does a miracle in our lives or not

            -- as Pat Robertson pointed out:  "It is better to ask confidently for supernatural help, even expect it - and sometimes be disappointed - than not to risk asking at all -- God, of course, can do what He wants, regardless of the faith or expectations of any human being -- But it's part of His scheme of things in the universe to involve men and women in His work - including miraculous work."

            -- so, here’s the take-home message from this study of the miracles of Jesus -- miracles still occur -- Jesus still works in the lives of His people -- and He calls us to join Him in praying and working and serving God in this world today, keeping in mind our ultimate calling, which is to share the good news of His coming, His atoning death, and His resurrection with those around us

            -- let us pray