Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday,
April 21, 2019
MAL 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.
God the Holy Spirit gives us the “proper doctrinal information” for us to use, honor, and obey the “resurrection and the life” that was provided by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit just for us.
Notice = What a fantastic opportunity and illustration we have for both doctrinal ladies, Martha and Mary, to glorify our Lord even through His death.
When it comes to the death of a friend, or a family member, or a neighbor, the Lord has given us everything that we would ever need to bring glory to God — even through death.
Let me try to give you an idea as to what was about to happen to Lazarus of Bethany (not the beggar), Mary and her sister Martha.
All three individuals, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were believers and were facing one of the most difficult trials or challenges in this life = Death.
HEB 2:14 Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil;
HEB 2:15 and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
The original language of the Greek tells us that Lazarus was a real close friend to our Lord.
Just like Enoch was;
Abraham was;
Job was;
Moses was;
David was.
There are a few more who our Lord is willing to call “Friends” and more that he is not “ashamed” to call them Brethren.
Who is called a friend of God?
(SL) The answer to that is found beginning in JOH 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
JOH 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Does our Lord feel ashamed of you, or me?
HEB 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.
This is one of the reasons why we have one of the shortest verses in the Bible in Joh 11:35 which says, “Jesus wept.”
Some say our Lord wept because He was observing the lack of faith and trust that Martha and Mary both had.
He was looking death right in the face and He knew what death had done to the human race and what He was going to have to do to overcome it; (that is death).
He was about to go through the sufferings before the cross and then the sufferings on the cross.
Look once again where we can see our Lord being judged by certain Jews even after He performs a miracle and after He raises certain people from the dead!
Why did certain Jews STILL judge our Lord?
They were jealous of our Lord and hated to see Him loved, honored, and respected.
This is another reason why “If they persecute Him, they will persecute you and me.
If they hated Him they are going to hate us.
If they loved and honored our Lord, they will love and honor us.
- Lazarus was not just a follower of our Lord, but he was best friends with our Lord; Joh 11:1.
The word that tells us this is the word “certain” which the Bible says about Lazarus, who was called a “Certain Man”
- Lazarus had been sick for a while, to the point of death according to what Martha and Mary said concerning their brother Lazarus.
- The woman in our passage who is known as Mary of Bethany, was the same Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair.
- Both Martha and Mary knew how close Lazarus and Jesus were in JOH 11:3 “The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
- Our Lord is going to reveal that Lazarus’s sickness and death was for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it; Joh 11:4.”
- There are times that the Lord will delay when dealing with us so that He can teach us patience; JOH 11:6 When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was.
- Our Lord purposely delayed His coming so that Martha and Mary were both tested concerning their relationship with our Lord and their trust and faith that they should have because of our Lord.
We are right back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and his woman blamed the Lord for the death of Lazarus.
Next comes the accusations that even believers must deal with; JOH 11:22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Martha = a typical individual who thinks she has a lot of works to do but what she really needs to do is what her younger sister Mary was known to do, learn at the feet of Jesus.
She is blaming the Lord again because He was not there under her timing, but He was going to come in God’s timing, which is also His Timing.
In God’s time, He will reveal His love no matter what sight says.
There’s always some legalistic people who cannot stand to hear good news, especially if they like to fink on others to try and stop what is going on; JOH 11:46.
There is our Lord’s #1 enemy = Religion (2Co 4:3-4).
There is the Apostle Paul’s #1 enemy = Religion and Sentimentality as described for us; (2Co 11:3-17.
There is our #1 enemy = Religion and guilt; Rom 8:1.
The evil of religion.
The evil of legalism.
The lies of the god of this world, Satan promotes.
We need to remind ourselves about the motivation that our Lord lived by concerning His family, His people, and His blessings and the promises from God.
The importance of God’s word even before the New Testament was finished and the Word of God was given to the apostle John to complete and wrap up the last book of the Bible = “The Book of Revelation.
In Job 23, Job is in the middle of speaking to our Lord and wondering what has been going on in his personal life.
EZE 14:14 even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job [all winner believers] were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves, “declares the Lord God.
His friends will insinuate that Job was a Loser and not a Winner.
His so-called friends will be little wimpy as they have no idea what Job is going through and still keep on judging him as though he was guilty.
Job was and is a complainer who was never content.
Most of us would have said or at least thought some of the very same things that Job was thinking, saying and doing.
Lord, what did I do to deserve this?”
What has happened to make you angry at me, Lord?”
“What should I do to recover from the fall I fell into?”
All of these things happened to Job because he was a man who lived in the land of Uz, and was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil; Job 1:1.
“Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil;” Job 1:8.
Job — “I’m not letting up‑‑I’m standing my ground.”
“My complaint is legitimate.”
God has no right to treat me like this‑‑ it isn’t fair!
“I’d find out exactly what He’s thinking, discover what’s going on in His head……that’s what Job thinks.
No matter what you go through as a believer, you must go through it as a child of God knowing that He has your back!
DEU 33:27a “The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms;
PSA 37:24 When we fall, we shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.
Many things may not be what you think that you need but I can guarantee you that the Lord knows exactly what it is that we all need.
This means that what we need;
When would we need it;
Where we need it;
How we need it.
All we have to do is wait upon the Lord for Him to release the many benefits and blessings that we all need to function with in the PPOG and with our personal sense of destiny.
The timing of God is necessary for all of God’s people to wait upon the Lord and His divine blessings.
JOB 23:12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
Job 23:13 “But He is unique [dispensation of the Hypostatic Union] and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does.
JOB 23:14 “For [and here is 1Th 5:24 of the Old Testament] He performs what is appointed for me, and many such decrees are with Him.
1TH 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.