God's Anwer To Man's Death

Introduction

John 11

Would you take God’s Word and be finding John chapter eleven; and, when you’ve found it, look up here for just a moment. And I want to tell you that Jesus is the only reason that we live. As a matter of fact, He came that we might live. He said, in John ten and verse ten - now, you’re in John eleven, but He said in John ten and verse ten - “I have come that you might have life.” He is the only reason I live. “I’ve come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

So, most folks today do not have life; they have existence. They are fighting to live while They are living to fight. They are drawing their breath, and drawing their salary, and one day is turning into another. They have existence, but they do not have life. They’ve got it all backward. Let us take the word life - L - I - F - E - and think about it a little bit, because life is the way we live. L - I - V - E is the way we live. Now if you take live, and spell it backward, what is it? E - V - I - L - evil. Just get it backward. And, after you’ve lived, if you haven’t lived for Jesus, if you’ve lived for some other reason, when your life is over, when it has been lived, just take lived and spell it backward: D - E - V - I - L - devil.

Folks, Jesus has come that you might have life. Satan has come to rob you of life; he comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. We are not fools for following the Lord Jesus Christ, but the problem is, many people do not have life. They do not understand life, and they look at life very pessimistically. Disraeli said that, youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret. Well, that may be true, if you do not know the Lord Jesus. It was Shakespeare who said that, “Life’s a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Some college students were asked to give a definition of life for the school newspaper, and here are some definitions that won honorable mention. One said, “Life is a joke that isn’t even funny.” Another said, “Life is a disease, for which the only cure is death.” Another said, “Life is a jail sentence that we get for the crime of being born.” You know, we think about Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Dr. Death. I wonder what makes that man tick? What motivates him? What’s his basic underlying, underpinning philosophy? Well, I read it the other day, because he was being interviewed on 60 Minutes, and he was asked about religion. He was asked about faith, and here’s what Dr. Death said. He said people like us base their whole outlook on mythology. He believes that what we believe is mythology, you see. And then, he says, “Religion is an internal spiritual world. I have my own god, Johann Sebastian Bach.” My Brother Jim, Bach, that’s his god - Dr. Kevorkian. And then, he goes on to say, “Why not? You invent gods. At least, He is not invented.” That’s Dr. Death.

Well, let me read to you about the Lord of life, the Lord Jesus. Look, if you will, in verse twenty - five: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” Now, I’d rather go with the Lord of life than Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Disraeli, or Shakespeare, or those college students, or so many other people who do not understand the meaning of life.

Actually, we have been studying together seven miracles in the Gospel of John, and these are miracles with a message. These are signs with a significance. They are literal, actual miracles. They are miracles of glory that have in them messages of grace. Now, the miracles happened, but the miracles happened to teach us greater lessons; to teach us great, eternal spiritual truth. Now, what We are studying today is the miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Well, did Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead just in order to raise Lazarus from the dead? No. Lazarus died again. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to give us an illustration of the greater spiritual truth of eternal life. Where He says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die,” that’s the greatest truth; that’s the truth we need to learn. Now, we saw Jesus turning water into wine, and we saw that Jesus is God’s answer to man’s disappointment. The wines of this world run out, but Jesus gives joy that is full and free and forever. Then we saw Jesus healing the nobleman’s son, the nobleman had difficulty believing, and Jesus said, “Except ye see signs and miracles, you’ll not believe.” But Jesus is not only God’s answer to man’s disappointment; Jesus is God’s answer to man’s doubt. And He gave this man a great lesson on spiritual faith. And then, we saw the Lord Jesus Christ heal an impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda. The man was paralyzed, he could do nothing; and Jesus came and said, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” Why that miracle? To show us the greater miracle: that Jesus is God’s answer to man’s disability. While we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. And then, we saw the Lord Jesus Christ as He fed five thousand - five thousand hungry people. Was He doing that just to show that He could feed five thousand people? Of course not! He didn’t feed everybody there, everywhere He went. He is teaching a lesson. It was a miracle of glory, but it spoke of a miracle of grace: that Jesus is God’s answer for man’s desires. I am the Bread of Life. That’s the lesson behind the miracle. That’s the significance in the sign.

And then, Jesus walked on the water. What was He doing? Was He just showing off? Oh no, there’s a lesson. When Jesus there walked on the water, those disciples were in a storm. They thought their little ship was about to sink. They were in despair. And then, they saw that everything that looked like it was going to be over their head was already under His feet. Jesus is God’s answer to man’s despair.

And then, Jesus opens the eyes of a man born blind. This man stumbling in darkness, a man blind by birth, a beggar, he needed life. And Jesus opens his eyes. Why? Just to show that He can open a blind man’s eyes? He didn’t open every blind man’s eyes. But what was He showing? Jesus is God’s answer to man’s darkness. I am the Light of the world. That’s the message in the miracle. And now, we come to the last of these seven miracles.

Jesus is raising a man from the dead. That man’s name is Lazarus. Well, He doesn’t raise everybody from the dead in this life, of course not. But what is the message in the miracle? Jesus is God’s answer to man’s death - I am the Resurrection and the Life -  miracles of glory that speak of greater miracles of grace. That’s the reason I told you, friend, believe in miracles, but trust in Jesus. Do you understand what I’m talking about? These miracles are not to have us put our faith in miracles. Our faith is to be in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, I want us to see today what We are going to learn from this wonderful miracle. If you want full life, wonderful life, the abundant life that we’ve been talking about, the life that Tim sang about, let me give you some steps.

I.  I Must Experience Life in Jesus

Step number one - jot it down, get a pencil and a piece of paper, and write this down: I must experience life in Jesus - I must experience life in Jesus.

Now, look, if you will, in verse fourteen of this chapter. Jesus talks about His friend, Lazarus. “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is” - what? What’s that word?

Let us see if you’re reading: “dead.” Lazarus is dead. Now, folks, Lazarus had a king - size problem: He is dead. Now, there might have been many wonderful things you could say about Lazarus. You might say Lazarus has a full set of hair. You might say that Lazarus has a nice suntan. You might say that Lazarus is wearing a nice suit. You might say that Lazarus is surrounded by many friends. You might say that Lazarus is lying on a nice couch. No matter how many things might be right about him, there’s nothing really right about him, because there’s one thing very wrong about him: he is dead.

Now, you might be telling me all the wonderful things about you today, but if you do not know the Lord Jesus, what do they matter, if you’re dead? You see, there are many folks who are listening to me right now who are dead. You’re dead in trespasses and sin. And the Bible says that, in 1 Timothy chapter five, verse six, “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Do you know any folks who are dead while they live? Memphis is full of them. New York City is full of them. Tokyo is full of them. They are dead while they live. And yet, there are other people we call dead who are not dead at all. You say, my mama is dead; my daddy is dead. Not if they know Jesus - not if they know Jesus. They are just kicking up gold dust on the streets of glory. They are not dead.

Hey, you want to see a man that it’s impossible for that man to die, a man that cannot die? Take a good look right up here, right here: here he is. I can never die. You say, now wait a minute, Adrian; of course you can die. No, I can never die. It’s absolutely, totally impossible for me to die. Now, this body may cease to function. What does the Bible call my body? An earthly house. Now, my earthly house may decay. It may wind down to the grave. Suppose I were to give a gasp and a shudder, and fall on this platform, and get very still. And suppose some of these doctors - and I’m looking into the face of some good doctor friends right now - were to come up here and take my vital signs - whatever they do. Then they would stand up, and say, Well, the Pastor is dead. Well, that wouldn’t be true. That wouldn’t be true. Jesus said, He that lives and believes in me shall I never die. Now, whose word are you going to take - the doctor’s or Jesus’? You see, I cannot die, I will just simply move out. But I will not die. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It is absolutely totally impossible for me to die. So many people who are listening to me right now, you think you have life; but Jesus says you’re dead. And so many people that we call dead are not dead at all, because they have eternal life. Do you understand? I hope you understand that we never really die when we know the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the most unusual men that I ever had the joy of knowing was a man named Charlie Fisher. He was a little wiry guy; we called him Uncle Charlie. He was more on fire for Jesus, I believe, than any man I’ve ever seen. And Uncle Charlie, was a member of my church in Fort Pierce, Florida. Uncle Charlie was the kind of guy that had an old airplane, an old canvas - covered airplane. He would fly over county fairs and dump out bushels of tracts, and then have a loudspeaker, and he would fly around and preach to the people down there, telling them about the Lord Jesus. He would go on street meetings, did all kinds of strange things. I could tell you so many stories about Uncle Charlie. But I think the strangest thing about Uncle Charlie is, when he finally died, he preached his own funeral. What Uncle Charlie did was to tell his son, Lee, he said, Now, Lee, when they come to my funeral, just get all my friends there. You do not have to do a thing. Just get all my friends there, and here’s a tape recorder. Just push that button right there - that’s all. And so, all his friends were there, and it was time for the funeral, and Uncle Charlie was out there - at least, his body was there. And they pushed the button on the tape recorder, and it was Uncle Charlie Fisher. He said, Hello, friends. This is Charlie Fisher. He said, I’m up here in heaven, and it is wonderful up here in heaven, and he began to describe heaven, and tell all about heaven, and tell how wonderful it was. And then, he said, I want all of you down there to come and meet me in heaven. The only man I ever knew who preached his own funeral, Uncle Charlie Fisher. And he, being dead, was yet speaking.

That’s what Jesus is talking about he that lives in pleasure or she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives, but, when we have the Lord Jesus Christ, we have everlasting life. You know, folks, sometimes we look around at other people, and we think that We are a little bit better than they are. You know that the Bible records that Jesus raised three from the dead. Do you remember who they were? There was a little girl that was in the back bedroom asleep. Well, actually, she died. Jesus said, sHe is asleep, and every one laughed him to scorn. But her little body was still warm, a precious little girl there in the back bedroom. Jesus went back while the rest were laughing, and Jesus said, wake up, sweetheart. Literally - that’s what the Greek language says - little darling get up. She wakes up; He raises this little girl.

Then there was another occasion. Jesus was on His way, and there was a funeral. And a young man was there, being carried along. He had died - rigor mortis had set in, but decay had not yet set in. And, you know, Jesus broke up every funeral He ever came to. Jesus raised that young man from the dead.

And then, the third person that the Bible records that Jesus raised from the dead was this man Lazarus. How many days had he been in the tomb? Four. How long was he before they put him in the tomb? We do not know, but there was time for putrefication and decay and corruption to begin. And when Jesus said, roll away the stone, they said no; no, no, wait a minute, Lord, what about the stench? Jesus said, roll away the stone, and this man, whose body had begun to decay, Jesus raised from the dead.

Now, I want to ask you a question. The little girl, the young man, and Lazarus -  which one was the most dead? Which one was the most dead? Folks, dead is dead. Isn’t that right? Dead is dead. There’s no such thing as being a little bit pregnant and a little bit dead. Dead is dead. Now, what we do, we turn around and we look at other people, and we see the drunk covered with vomit and flies, and reeking in corruption -  the dope addict, the prostitute. We say, man, look at that. I want to tell you, mister, you sitting in this service today all dressed up without Jesus, you’re just as dead - just as dead. I want to tell you, precious young lady here today, you may be a teenage girl, sweet and pure as the driven snow, sexually. You may have never used booze and dope, but without Jesus Christ, you are dead in trespasses and sin. I hope we understand that today, that men need life from the Lord Jesus Christ. So put it down: I must experience life in Christ.

Now, how do you experience life in Christ? How? Suppose we had a dead person up here on this platform today and we raised the dead. Well, let me ask you what do social engineers say that many need today. I’m talking about what the people in the universities say. What do the sociologist, the psychologist, and the psychiatrist say that people need today? Let me give you, their four E’s. They say people need example, people need encouragement, people need environment, and people need education. That’s what they say. People need example, they need encouragement, they need environment, and they need education. Now, folks, We are spending billions of dollars on those things, to try to do those things.

Now, suppose we had a dead man up here today, and We are trying to raise a dead man today. How are we going to raise that dead man? I’ll tell you one way we could raise that dead man. See if you think this will work: by giving him an example. I could get Brother Bobby Lewis over here, and I’d say, Bobby, I’ve got a dead man; come show him how a live man lives. Do fifty push - ups. Could you do that? Do fifty push - ups.

So here’s Bobby down here showing this man the strength and energy that he has.

That’s an example to dead man. Do you think an example is going to raise a dead man? Well, you say, no, that won’t do it. All right, what are we going to do? We are going to encourage him. Here he is. And so, I’m a pastor. And so, I say hey, man, you can do it. Come on, now. Come on. Atta boy. Atta boy. Am I going to encourage a dead man to life?

Well, you say, environment - that’s the answer. Let us take that dead man and leave him in this room full of living people. And, if you put him in the right environment, that’ll give him life. No, it won’t. Let me tell you something. Environment is not the answer, and the people of this world can never learn that. I think that we ought to do all we can do to help people have a good environment, but I want to remind you of something. Adam and Eve got in trouble in the Garden of Eden. You can’t have a better environment than that. You think environment is the answer? It cannot be the answer.

Well, you say, I’ll tell you what the answer is. Brother Bobby, go get a medical book.

Let us educate this man. Let us give him twenty lessons on life. He is dead. And so, many people think, well, the answer to this world’s problem is education. No. It’s Jesus. Salvation does not come by learning lessons from the life of Christ, but by receiving life from the death of Christ.

But those four E’s are not the answer to a dead man. I need life from the Lord Jesus. That’s why Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave: to tell us what it is all about. Now, how does Jesus raise Lazarus? It’s very simple and very sweet. Jesus just says to him, in verse 43, “And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.” No pleading, no argument, just, Lazarus, come forth.

How do you raise a dead man spiritually? The same way that Jesus raised Lazarus: by His Word. That was a good place for an amen. I’ll say it again. How do you raise a man spiritually? The same way that Jesus raised Lazarus physically: by His Word. Amen? Okay. All right now, listen. He is already said, in John chapter 6 and verse 43, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing” - the word quickeneth means gives life - “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life - the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.” We are born again by the Word of God. The Word of God is quick and powerful. And the word quick is zoon. It’s the word we get zoology from. Alive. And powerful, energize, with power. The Word of God.

How do you raise a dead man? The Word of God - the Word of God. That’s the reason that the Bible says, in Philippians chapter two, verse sixteen, we are to be “holding forth the word of life.”

II.  I Must Exercise Liberty Through Jesus

All right, the first thing that you wrote down is I must experience life in Christ. Now, write this down: I must exercise liberty through Christ. Now, look, if you will, in verse fortyfour. Lazarus comes out of the grave, and the Bible says, “and he that was dead came fourth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” Can you imagine that scene? Jesus says, Roll away the stone. I can imagine, every eye is fixed on that gaping hole. And then, Jesus said, Lazarus, come out of there. Suppose you’d been there. You’re looking at the mouth of the tomb, and after a while, there appears in the door of that tomb a figure - Hollywood hasn’t got it all - a wreck round and round. He has life, but he doesn’t have liberty. He is bound, he blind, He is gagged; he can’t walk he can’t work, he can’t speak, he can’t see. And yet, he has life. And, Jesus says, loose him, and let him go. Now, Lazarus, at this stage, is like so many people I know. They have been saved, but they are not living in victory. They have been to Calvary for pardon, but they’ve not yet been to Pentecost for power. Somehow, they have bogged down between Calvary and Pentecost. They have life, but they do not have liberty.

Now, would you have wanted to have Lazarus home for dinner at this particular stage? I mean, he may have life, he may be raised, but his grave clothes stink. The stench of death is on him. He still has the smell of death. Those grave clothes are relics of his old life, and our Lord says, take that off of him, unwrap him. Loose him, and let him go. Now, listen. Jesus did not just simply come to give you life. He came to give you abundant life. He doesn’t want you wearing the grave clothes of the old life. In John chapter eight and verse thirty - two: You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you - what? - free. And John eight, verse thirty - six: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” You see, so many of us still are wearing the grave clothes of the old live, and yet we have truly been saved. The old loves, the old lusts, the old learning, the old lies - they all stay there - because we still have the grave clothes of the old life. But Jesus says, set him free. That’s the reason we need the church.

Do you know what the ministry of the church is? Number one: to call forth the dead. Number two: to unwrap the saints. Number one: to raise the dead. Number two: to unwrap the saints; to give them liberty. Thank God for those who unwrapped me, and They are still unwrapping. I’m so grateful for the church I was raised in. I wish I had more time to talk about that, but we’ve got to go on to step number three.

III.  I Must Enjoy Love for Jesus

Now notice, folks, that you’ve got to have life from Jesus. You’ve got to have liberty in Jesus, or through Jesus. Now, write down number three. I must enjoy love for Jesus. I must enjoy love for Jesus. Experience life in Jesus. I must exercise liberty through Jesus. I must enjoy love for Jesus. Turn to chapter twelve, now, and read verses one and two: “Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany. Where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.” Now, notice verse two: “There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that set at the table with him.” Do not you like that?

Oh, folks, life, liberty, and now fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is gone from the tomb to the table. He is sitting up there at the table now, no more grave clothes. There he is face - to - face with Jesus. Wouldn’t you love to have a meal with Jesus? I mean, wouldn’t you love to have fellowship with Him? Well, you can have. That’s what we have every time we come to the Lord’s Table. That’s a meal with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says in Revelation chapter three, verse twenty: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

You know, if you read the Bible, so many times Jesus was inviting His disciples to eat with Him. He would say, come and dine. People say we Baptists put too much emphasis on banquets. Maybe we do not put enough - maybe we do not put enough.

Friend, it is our legacy to fellowship with one another. It is our legacy to fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Come and dine, Jesus said. I will have supper with Him, and he with me, and now here’s Lazarus sitting at the table with the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, folks. Salvation is not a penalty that you pay in order to get to heaven. I’d want to be a

Christian if there were no heaven. There is a heaven. But just to know the Lord Jesus Christ, in this life, to love the Lord Jesus and to have Him love me back. Well, I wish I had more time there, but I’m going to move on.

Here’s a fourth thing I want you to write down, and this is the final one. I must express loyalty to Jesus - life from Jesus, liberty through Jesus, love for Jesus, and loyalty to Jesus. Now, you’re in chapter twelve; continue to read here in verse nine: “The Jews, therefore, knew that he was there.” That is who was there. Lazarus was there. “And they came not for Jesus sake only, but that they might see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead.” “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death because by reason of him” - that is, by reason of Lazarus - “many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus.” Now, here’s the man with the life, the liberty, and the love, and now He is expressing loyalty. He is standing up for Jesus; He is giving testimonies for Jesus, and he is dangerous to Satan’s kingdom. I mean, people are getting saved. They are coming to Jesus; They are being saved. Not that more dead people are getting raised - that’s not the purpose of it. People are believing on Jesus; people are getting saved; They are getting eternal life. And the Pharisees there, in whom the milk of human kindness had curdled, they said, we’ve got to do something about this guy. Shut him up. Put him to death. Now, you talk about a joke - that is a joke: They are going to kill Lazarus. I want to ask you a question: do you think Lazarus was the least bit worried about that? You think about it - you think about it. Do you think that death held any more terrors for this man named Lazarus? Think about it. I mean, folks, he is not intimidated at all by the fact that they might put him to death. You see, Satan is the sinister minister of fear, and the Bible says that through the fear of death he keeps people in bondage. Lazarus is no longer afraid of death. They are going to kill him. He already knows now that he has the Lord of life. They may destroy his body, but all they’ll do is hasten him on to heaven. He knows that now.

No man is ready to live until he is no longer afraid to die. And, when We are no longer afraid to die, then we live as this man Lazarus lived. And when we live our lives for Jesus, when we have life and liberty and love and fellowship and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ, then we are experiencing the life that He is talking about, when He said, I’ve come that you might have life and have it abundantly.

Conclusion

Now, look up here and let me just give you the bottom line of the whole thing. Many folks here, you’ve got problems. You’re not saved. You say, what is the answer to my problem? Well, it’s not a what; it’s who. His name is Jesus. He is God’s answer to your problem - all of these seven problems summed up in the big one called death.

Can you remember the story of the four men who brought this paralyzed man to Jesus? Let us just use a little imagination. Here are these four men, and they are saying to their friend who’s totally paralyzed, We are going to bring you to Jesus. Get on this stretcher. He says to the man on this corner of this stretcher, but look, Jesus can’t do anything for me. I am totally paralyzed. But the man says, I had blind eyes. He opened my blind eyes. He said, that’s just your eyes; I’m paralyzed all over. The man on this corner says, but, wait a minute, let me tell you about, I had a withered arm, and Jesus strengthened my arm. He said, yes, but that’s just your arm. I’m paralyzed all over. Here’s another man: I was deaf; I couldn’t hear, and Jesus opened my deaf ears. He said, yes, but that’s just your ears. I’m paralyzed all over. Now, Let us just imagine a man on this corner of the stretcher who says, may I introduce myself to you? My name is Lazarus. Hello? I do not care what your problem is, friend, the one who can raise the dead is the answer to your problem. You do not have a problem too big for Him. That’s the reason this is the seventh in this parade of miracles.

Believe in miracles - okay - but trust in Jesus. He did not come just simply to open blinded eyes, unstop deaf ears, to straightened withered arms, even to raise physical bodies temporarily from the grave; He came to save soul. I’ve come that you might have life, and have it abundantly. Beyond miracles, and on to Jesus.

Bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. You need Jesus right now - no one stirring please; if you’re saved, begin to pray for those round about you who may not be saved. You may not know if They are saved or not, so just pray for them. If you want the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And that word believe means trust - trust Him, trust Him. Do not just believe intellectually; put your faith in Him. Trust Him. Pray this way. Dear God, I am a sinner. I’m lost. I need to be saved. I am dead in trespasses and sin. I need more than encouragement. I need more than education. I need more than example. I need more than environment. I need life. Lord, I need you. Come into my heart. Come into my life, right now. Pray this from your heart, friend. Come into my heart, right now. Just forget anybody else is here; you can be saved this moment, if you are sincere. Lord Jesus, come into my heart, into my life. I repent of my sin. I turn from my sin. I open my heart. I receive you. Lord, you’re strong, but I am weak. So, begin now to make me the person you want me to be. Help me, Lord. Help me to get off the grave clothes. Help me, Lord, to fellowship with you, even to witness for you. I need you, Lord Jesus. In your name I pray. Amen.