The Testing of Faith Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Testing of Faith Part 2. He will be in John 11:1-13

I want you to remember that even in our sickness, even in our sufferings, even in our struggles, God has a purpose, God has a plan, and ultimately it is about His glory. This is Pastor Mike Sanders and this is Hope Worth Having.

We are excited that you are with us today and we are looking forward to studying the Bible together. We’re continuing our series, The Testing of Faith. We’re in the Gospel of John chapter 11 verses 1 through 13.

And here we are learning about how God will test us and He will put us sometimes through the fire. But friends, as we come through that fire, God is going to bring us forth as gold that we may bring honor and glory to His name.

Let’s get into our study this morning in John chapter 11. Thank you for being here, but would you wait? If you just let us get our stuff done and then you can come in and minister to the family. And I learned as a young pastor, you need to wait.

Let the doctors do their job. Let the nurses do their job. Let them get the patient stabilized. Let them get the treatment that they need because if they don’t, if everybody keeps rushing in and interfering, then there ain’t going to be anybody to pray for, right?

So I learned to wait. I learned to wait. Jesus waited. He heard the news that His friend Lazarus, who He loved, He knew that He was very sick. And yet the Bible says it was two days. So it’s a day’s journey for the messenger to get to Jesus.

It’s two days Jesus waits and it takes Jesus a day to get there. It’s really four days of waiting. Why does Jesus make them wait. Look at verse 17 of chapter 11. Then when He came, He found that He had lain in the grave four days already.

Last night, Terry and I got to go to sight and sound and see Jesus. And what a great show. You need to see it if you haven’t. It’s worth the investment. Take your old family. But they put this whole John 11.

So I was getting sermon prep right there at sight and sound. I was loving it, adding to my message. But what I thought was interesting is this angle that they gave about how that the family was really resistant to Jesus rolling away the stone because it had been four days and they were worried.

that Lazarus, not only the smell would be overwhelming, but that it would be embarrassing for people to see Lazarus as his body was decaying. Jesus waited. He waited, waited. But I want to remind you something.

Jesus didn’t want to heal a sick man. He wanted to raise a dead man. And that even in our sickness, God has a plan, and I know that we cry out to God, and we say, Lord, do you hear me? Do you notice me?

Hello, God? I’m hurting down here. I’m alone. I’m struggling. My emotions are all over. And we wonder, where is God? I assure you that God is there. He is there. So sometimes it seems like the love of Christ makes little difference in our life.

Sometimes it seems like the word of Christ is not true in our life. Verse 4 of chapter 11, Jesus said to his disciples, the sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

When I was a pastor, again, I’m sorry to tell you all these stories, but I just, you know, as I go through the passage, I think of things. I remember a young mother had lost her baby in our community and in Indiana.

The funeral director called me and said, Pastor, would you come down and help her? I came down and I tried to share. She looked at me and said, and she said, don’t give me that God stuff. I wasn’t mad or angry because I understand and that’s the way we feel sometimes, right?

Is that we begin to question and doubt even God’s word and we wrestle with that in our hearts. Is it true? This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, is that true? You can only imagine what the sisters are thinking, what the family is thinking as they are puzzled by Jesus’ statement to them because they’d never seen a resurrection.

They’d never experienced a resurrection and yet Jesus is telling them that this is not a sickness unto death, but the reality is that Lazarus is dead. The reality is that Jesus said it’s for the glory of God, but their hearts are hurting and they don’t see any glory.

They don’t see any good. All they see is hurt and grief and struggle. The next thing I want you to consider is that sometimes it seems that the way Christ does things does not make sense to us. I just want to read and I want you to follow along with me in verse 5 and I want you to see the commands that Jesus gives and what He instructs them to do and how unusual it is.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that He was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was. Then after that He said to His disciples, Let us go into Judea.

His disciples say unto Him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again? So He’s waited. Seems like He should run and rush. His life and the disciples’ lives are in jeopardy.

Should He even go back? Verse 9, Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him.

These things said he, and after that he said unto them, Are friend Lazarus sleepeth? But I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death?

But they thought that He, He had spoken of taking a rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there. Wow. To the intent you may believe.

Nevertheless, let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow’s disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. The disciples don’t even get it. They think they’re going in and they’re gonna have to do everything they can to try to save Jesus.

There’s gonna be a great conflict. Jesus is thinking about how he is going to help this family that he loves so much for their faith. to grow, and he is wanting God to be glorified, and he’s going to do something miraculous that verifies that everything he said is true, and the claims that he makes about being God are true.

But nothing makes sense, and at the heart of it is that your ways are not God’s ways. And my thoughts are not God’s thoughts, and he works in mysterious ways that are beyond our ability to fully understand.

Anybody who tells you that they know why somebody is suffering or they understand suffering in the sense that they can explain it is just lying to you. Because the truth is, the reality of it all is hard to wrap our minds around it.

So I want to leave you with three things for us to build our faith on. One, I want to remind you that in the midst of mysteries, we are called to trust Jesus. That faith is not trusting God because I get what I want.

That faith is though he slayed me, I still trust him. We know that Christ is worthy of our trust. We know that in our minds, but in our hearts, in our emotions, we don’t always feel it. But the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 37 .5, to commit your way unto the Lord.

Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to be as you want it. it doesn’t mean that everything’s gonna life’s gonna be what you want it to be you know we have our dreams we have our goals we write them out and things that we want to pursue but life happens have you noticed that life happens there aren’t always good answers but in those mysteries would you remember these three things that the love of Christ makes all the difference in your life you may not feel loved by God today because of your hurt I want you to know that God does love you and I get it that the timetable is not what you want but out of great love he is up to something that is special It is unique and it is specific to what God is doing in your life that you might bring glory to Him.

Christ always will come at the right time. Jesus did not, I say to you again, He did not want to heal a sick man. He wanted to raise a dead man. And in the end His love for us makes all the difference and do not let your circumstances and your emotions cloud God’s love for you.

I stand here declaring it to you again and reminding you that you are loved of Christ and if you doubt it, look to the cross. The ultimate display of God’s love for us and that Jesus gave His life for us.

God did not abandon us in our sinfulness. He did not abandon us in our selfishness. He did not abandon us in our sufferings. Christ suffered for us. But the cross not only teaches me that Christ suffered for us that we might have eternal life, Christ suffers with us.

Christ suffers with us. He suffers with us. He knows better than any person what it is to suffer. The emotions, the feelings, He walks with you. And I want you to be encouraged this morning to know that if you are grieving today, you’re lonely today.

If someone has walked out of jail, of your life and abandoned you, though their love for you may have ceased, his love has not. It is immense and it is intense. And he is watching over you. The second thing I want you to remember this morning is that the word of Christ proves itself to be true.

In time, it will prove itself to be true, completely true, completely true in your life. Whatever appears to you in the moment of grief and sorrow and sickness, whatever those emotions are, remember that the mind can be deceptive the heart can be deceptive.

People say to me, Mike, I’m going to follow my heart. I say, please do not. Don’t do that. The heart is deceitful. The heart is deceitful. Here’s what I want to tell you. Don’t believe everything you think.

Don’t believe every emotion that runs through your heart. Don’t believe it. You get back to the Bible and let the Word of God adjust and align your thinking, because here’s the truth. God’s Word will always be true.

It will always be true. In the end, the death of Lazarus, the delay of Jesus, the danger that Jesus was in with His disciples that they faced in Judea, it all served a higher purpose. It was part of the plan of God, and God used the waiting to prepare His people for a miracle.

He used everything that unfolds in this chapter as a way for God’s people to learn that Jesus is the resurrection. Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the distinguishing factor that separates Jesus from all other religious figures throughout human history is that Jesus has risen.

He is alive. He lives today. And what He performed, that miracle of calling forth Lazarus out of that tomb was a foreshadowing of what God is going to do not only in your life, but each and every one of your loved ones that loves Jesus Christ, He may not have healed.

The sick man, but I guarantee you he is gonna raise the dead man. He is gonna bring life and so you remember that his word is true and Peter told us this, that our hope is a living hope and it is living because of the resurrection of Jesus.

My hope is not in this world and it’s definitely not in the crazy politics, right? And it’s definitely not in my current circumstances and it’s not in how things are going at the job or in my finances, but it’s in Christ, in Christ alone, he lives today.

And you’re waiting. You’re waiting. You’re waiting to see your loved one again. You’re waiting to see your spouse again. You’re waiting to see your child again. You’re waiting to see that person that was so special to you again, your mother, your father.

I don’t know who they are, but I’m just telling you, you’re waiting. God’s word will be true. And one day you will wait no more. And his timing will be perfect. And you will know and experience that the dead in Christ shall rise again.

And we which remain shall be caught up together to be with the Lord forevermore. And so church, his word is true. And always remember that the word is what aligns my thoughts and brings me back in the right perspective, but left to Mike’s thoughts and speculations and myths that flood my mind.

It only leads to more misery and hurt. I’ve heard it once. I’ve heard it a thousand times as a pastor. Why pastor? Why? If I knew the answer to why, I definitely would be a millionaire. Church, sometimes we don’t have the answer to why.

I don’t know why you’re hurting today. I don’t know why this happened in your life. But I’m here to tell you God’s word is true. And I know that God wants to bring glory. And the way that we respond to it helps bring glory to God.

And if we continue to say why, then we’re gonna be a dog chasing our tail. And it gets endless. And the hurt goes deeper. Because let me ask you, is there ever an answer to that question that’s good enough for you?

Is there any answer that anybody could give that would all of a sudden make you feel better about your heart? No. There is no good answers to why. The final thing I want to leave with you is this, that the way of Christ always proves to be right.

The way of Christ always proves to be right. One thing is clear in the Bible. God loves you. Christ loves you. But His love for you is not synonymous with safety and security in the sense that your circumstances will always be as you want them to be.

God is, His love and His wisdom is very real. His comfort is very reliable. But I want to tell you something. God’s way is not always predictable. It’s just not predictable. He is calling you to have faith in the drama of life.

He is calling you to love Him even when your dreams are gone. He is calling you to show faith even if you must suffer much on His behalf. He is calling us not only to our good that we would have faith, but to His glory for Him.

D .A. Carson in his book entitled Scandalous writes these words again. I quote, there is a school of thought in Christian circles that almost views death so much as a blessing that you are not allowed to cry.

But in the Bible, death is an enemy. And it can be a fierce one. It is ugly. It destroys relationships. It is to be feared. It is repulsive. There is something odious about death. Never pretend otherwise.

But death does not have the last word. Dr. Carson continues and says thank God for a savior who could claim I am the resurrection of life. And to quote, would you pray with me? you Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed.

your faith is being tested. But as you walk through the fire, as you deal with the sorrow, you have a living savior. And he is at work in your life. This morning where you sit, I invite you to surrender your sorrows, your sufferings, your struggles to Jesus.

Just give it to him now. And your heart just envision an altar of total surrender to God. Say, Lord, I believe, and I still believe, I don’t like what I’m going through. I don’t like what I’m experiencing.

But here’s my life, Lord. And may you be glorified. Ask the Lord to reaffirm his love and presence and power in your life. In small, tangible ways, he’ll do that. He’ll embrace you. He’ll embrace you and sustain you.

He will uphold you. He will hear you. He will not forget you. He remembers. He remembers. This morning, if you walked in and sorrow brought you to the church. Suffering brought you here because your life has been a mess.

It’s not by accident that God brought you here. God uses all that’s going on in our life. To bring us to salvation. You don’t know Jesus Christ. I plead with you to receive him today. It doesn’t mean when you walk out of here, your life’s going all of a sudden be perfect.

But I tell you, you got someone with you all the way. You got someone who has given his life for you. And by faith, if we believe in him, we can have the comfort and the assurance that eternal life is ours.

That his forgiveness is true. And that he gives us new life and a new start. This is your moment and this is your time. Don’t delay. Come to Jesus right now in your heart. And give your life to him. Acknowledge that you’re a sinner.

Acknowledge that he’s a savior, and confess to him that you believe, and whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Father, this morning we pray for your people. We pray for those whom you love so intensely.

Those who you have shown your love to, because you went to the cross for them. And we know that life has many different detours, and many real struggles. But God, I pray that you would just show yourself to be real in the life of your people.

Lord, I pray that you would bring them back to the balance of your word. Forgive us, God, if we have believed myths about you and ourselves and our circumstances. and help us, Lord, to only believe what is true and honorable to dwell on those things that are just and right, things that are praiseworthy.

I pray, Father, that as the good shepherd, you would just uphold your people who are grieving today. I pray, Lord, for the lonely that you would be a friend that’s closer than a brother. I ask, Father, that you’d be a shelter to those who feel great danger and anxiety in their life.

And we ask, God, that you would continue to prove yourself mighty as a strong tower to your people. Lord, we pray for those that do not know you. You know our heart, God. We long for their salvation, and we know your heart, God.

You long for their salvation. And we pray today that they would respond to the Spirit and to the Word, and they would receive you and cry out for mercy for forgiveness and grace in their hearts. And may today be the day of salvation for them.

We love you, Jesus. We thank you for loving us. And even when we don’t feel it, thank you for loving us and help us, God, to believe you no matter what the outcome is in our life. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ and God’s people said, Amen.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to wait. Mary and Martha, as soon as they found out that their brother Lazarus had died, they waited. They had to wait for Jesus. And we might think that Jesus is not on time.

And here we are in the midst of our problems where is God friends I want you to know he’s an on time God and he will always be there at the right time in your life and you can never worry about whether God is faithful and caring he is there a hundred percent of the time for you I just want to encourage you in this day that maybe you’re walking through some trials and you’re finding yourself dealing with problems that seem overwhelming want you to go to a hope worth having .com our website hope worth having .com let us know about your prayer requests one of the great privileges we have is praying for you my friend and so you reach out right now just grab your phone whatever device and go to hope worth having .com hit the contact button and let us know how we can pray for you and I want you to know that as we pray for you and partner with you you and I are gonna see God do a great work in your life and through your life this is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.