Speaker: Pastor Olutayo Fisayo

Jh.11: 1- 7
What I would like to do is introduce you to an old friend. You’ve known him for a long time, but you probably didn’t know that he was a friend.

Let me explain to you what a friend really is.

A friend is somebody who makes you a better person. We are told in PROV.27: 17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend”.

This means that a ‘true friend’ will put an edge on your life.
A ‘true friend’ will make you a sharper person.

Sometimes A friend will love you so much that they may hurt you in order to help you. PROV.27: 6 says “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
The “friend’s name” that I am referring to today is “Trouble”. Whether you understand it or not; whether you want a friend like this or not;
“Trouble” many times will help you become a stronger person;
And “Trouble” will help you see yourself for who you really are.

Here in this story that is in front of us, we see that our Lord put Mary and Martha in an impossible situation that only He could handle. The Lord allowed “trouble” to pay them a visit in their home. Their brother Lazarus became sick; and he eventually died.

In their difficult circumstance, Jesus was going to teach them at least 3 things:

They were going to learn that Jesus was bigger than their problem!
They were going to learn that He is always on time.
They were also going to learn that they could fully and completely trust God because He would always do what is right in every situation.

Jh.11: 15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.” Jesus wanted His disciples to learn that if they fully trusted Him—He would do greater things than they could ever imagine.

What I would like to do for a few moments is try and help you believe God even when we don’t understand what He is doing in our lives. You and I need to learn that we can believe God in our impossible situations. You can believe God even if you think that He is late in showing up in your life! I want you to learn that you can always trust God because He will show up on time. God is an on time God.

As you read in John Chapter 11 you don’t have to get into the story very long before you notice that Mary and Martha had a great need in their life. They are facing a family crisis. As many of you that are facing family crisis, God will intervene in the name of Jesus.

In vs.1-3 we are told that Lazarus “was sick”. They sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was very sick. I am sure that Mary and Martha would not have bothered Jesus unless it was an emergency. They had spent a lot of time with the Lord, and they knew that He was very busy. But they needed Jesus to come to their aid.

There are some of you that are facing a major crisis in your life. It may involve your finances, it may involve a physical illness or disease, and it may involve your family. There may be division between you and your spouse or there may be a problem between you and your children. It may involve this fellowship; there may be barriers that have been made that keeps God from working in this Church. It may involve your future. You may be facing decisions about what direction God wants you to take. It may involve your faith. You may be here and you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. It may involve your commitment; your Christian life may be up-and-down, it is not consistent.

I have heard people down through the years say; “If the Lord truly loved me, then He wouldn’t allow these things to happen to me and my family.” Go with me to Jh.11: 3, 5, and 36. When Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, the Jews realized then just how much Jesus loved this family. I pray that Jesus will love you.

Listen carefully. Don’t measure the love of Jesus by your circumstances.
Don’t measure God’s love by what happens in your life.
You measure the Love of God by His going to Calvary when He died for our sins.
He bore pain that He didn’t deserve so that we could go to Heaven by trusting in Him.

Jh.11: 21 “Now Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”.
Jh.11: 32 “Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”.
Both Mary and Martha asked Jesus the same question. They said; “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” I wonder how many times in those 4 days as they waited for Jesus to come and help them that they asked themselves this question; “If Jesus had been here, Lazarus wouldn’t have died.” It sounds like they were disappointed in the way Jesus was handling their situation.

In the main time look at Jh.11: 6 “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the same place where He was.”

Think about something: Jesus was God in the flesh and He knew this family’s situation before He ever received word about Lazarus’ sickness. Jesus knows all things. The news about Lazarus didn’t take Jesus by surprise. It didn’t catch the Lord off guard. Jesus knew fully well Lazarus’ situation.

Jesus knew that Lazarus needed immediate attention. Jesus knew that the family needed comforting. But He stayed in the same place for more than 2 days before He took His journey to see the family.

Have you wondered why Jesus didn’t take immediate action to go to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus’s home? He was approximately 12 miles from their home. This wasn’t even a half day’s journey. Jesus could have been there very quickly. More than likely because of the short distance – Jesus could have gotten there before Lazarus had died. This was truly an unexpected delay.

Someone wrote concerning ‘God’s Delays’ “Delay is hard on the flesh; but it is good for our faith.”

Have you thought about it that delays are meant to reveal the level of our faith and tolerance.

There are some of you that need God to do something for you; and you feel that you really need Him right now.
I want to give you a word of encouragement. What you need to do is get to the point in your life where you just let God be God! Don’t get too discouraged.

We are told that Jesus may not have come when they wanted Him to, but at least He came at His own time. Jh.11: 17 “So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days”.

Keep in mind that God doesn’t work on our time schedule.
Heaven doesn’t run by a clock or calendar.
Jesus is not upset or nervous about your situation. But Jesus will come to you at some point!

God works in time. He knows [when], [where], and [how] He is going to work in your life.
God works on time. If you will think carefully about how God has worked in the past for you, you will discover that He was never late. God showed up at His appointed time.
God works every time. God knows from beginning to the end.
I truly believe that the reason why Jesus delayed His journey was because he wanted to show them something greater than what they were asking for. I pray in the name of Jesus that God will give you more than what you are asking for.

What a Miracle it would have been to see Jesus come to Lazarus bed side and raise his sick body. But what a greater Miracle it was to see Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb and raise him from the dead.

Did you know that it is easy for us to rejoice over this story because we know how it is going to turn out? But Mary and Martha didn’t have the privilege of knowing the end of the story. They didn’t know at that moment what Jesus was up to. Many of you see how this story turns out—but you don’t know how your situation is going to turn out. But the same God who made the story of Lazarus to have a happy ending will make your story to have a happy ending.

Our Lord may just be delaying His coming to you at this moment so that He may show you something greater.

I can make this statement because I know that GOD IS AN ON TIME GOD! God has Divine Appointments to keep. He has never been late. So you can rest assure that when it’s time for Him to show up, He will be right there, on time.

When Jesus arrived at their house, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. In fact, Lazarus’ body was deteriorating. At this point, their problem seemed greater than before; their situation looked hopeless, and it seemed absolutely impossible. But notice again the words in Jh.11; 17 “So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days”. There are 2 specific things that took place when Jesus came to where they were

Jh.11; 21- 26 Martha believed that Jesus could do the impossible, but she started looking at the past and then started looking into the future. She told Jesus that she believed that He could have healed Lazarus if He had just arrived a few days earlier. She also told Jesus that she believed that Lazarus was going to be raised from the dead in the future.

But Jesus didn’t talk in past tense or future tense. Jesus told Martha that Lazarus was going to rise again. All Jesus was doing was announcing a Miracle in advance and the miracle was about to take place. There is somebody here that your time of miracle and breakthrough is now. The set time to favor you is now.
Jesus said very clearly; “I AM”. When Jesus called Himself “I AM” – He was letting Martha know that He was sufficient for her immediate need.

Jesus didn’t say that He was “The Bread of Life” because they didn’t need bread.
Jesus didn’t say that He was “The Light of the World” because they didn’t need light.
Jesus didn’t say that He was “The Door” because they didn’t need a door to walk through.

When Jesus said “I AM” He was saying that He was able to meet their need right then and there.

Let me ask you a question. What do you need from the Lord? What do you need for Jesus to do for you? Are you willing to let Jesus help you in your present situation?

Jesus was Sufficient for their Problem!
Jesus was Supreme over their Problem
When Jesus said “I am the resurrection” He was saying that He was enough to get Lazarus up from the grave. You will get out of your grave in the name of Jesus.

Jesus was saying that He could get Lazarus out of the grave and give him energy to live; He could give enjoyment in living; and He could give him excitement for living. In the same way, God will give you energy for living, enjoyment in living, and excitement for living in the name of Jesus.

Lazarus was going to come alive because “I AM” showed up.

When Mary and Martha and the people that was with the family started toward the tomb of Lazarus, they were going on the Words of Jesus. This was their only hope. They put all their faith in the Words that Jesus had spoken.

Every person that is here in this building can leave this place with a Word from Jesus tonight. You may be here and you are facing a situation in your life that you feel that there is no hope whatsoever. God has a Word for you.

GOD HAS A WORD FOR THIS CHURCH! Jesus says to us as a congregation: “Upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” the Church may get attacked. The Church has the backing of Heaven behind it. The Church has a Word from God to support it and stand on. The Church is going forward.

GOD HAS A WORD FOR THE CHRISTIAN! Jesus comes to you as an individual and says; “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

There are too many defeated Christians living in our day and time. If you come to Jesus, you can find rest for your weary soul. You can leave here with a Word from the Lord. Everything is going to be all right when you trust in what the Lord has said.

GOD HAS A WORD FOR THE UNSAVED! Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto to the Father but by Me.” I am sure that there are those in this building that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You can leave here trusting in Jesus; receiving Him into your heart; allowing Him to be Lord of your life. You don’t have to go to hell. You can go to Heaven through Jesus Christ. You have His Word on it. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED.” You don’t have to leave here a hell-bound sinner.

I want to remind you that GOD IS AN ON TIME GOD! Jesus may be 4 days late, but He is right on time. Jesus will keep His Divine Appointments.

Some people wonder; “Since Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to come out of the grave, why did He weep?” HEBREWS 4:14-16. I believe Jesus was outwardly showing that He is touched with our feelings.

Jh.11: 43- 45 Jesus cried with a loud voice because there were so many people around Him. He wanted them to hear His Words. And Lazarus came out of the tomb on the Words of Jesus.

When Jesus spoke the words “Lazarus, come forth” He was showing that He had Power to overcome anything that is impossible for us to handle.
He Overcame Death – When Jesus spoke, death lost its grip on Lazarus. All of you who have covenant with death; that covenant is destroyed in the name of Jesus. You will not die but live to declare the glory of God.

He Overcame Decay – Lazarus had been dead for 4 day. His body was decaying. But when Jesus spoke, life shot through his body. Color quickly covered his skin. He was alive. Everything that is decaying in your life will receive the Word of God and there will be a renewal of strength and live.
He Overcame Division – Jesus put their family back together. Jesus healed broken fellowship. Every family that is falling apart will receive the Word of God tonight and there will be a reunion in the name of Jesus.

This is an amazing story. But I am reminded that GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR LAZARUS! I EZEK.37: 12 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God; Behold, o my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel”. Open the graves and bring you into the land that flows with milk and honey; into the Promised Land; into a place of rest and peace.