John 11:17-27

17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles[d] down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

It is here in the midst of the crisis that second we see:

2.         The Comfort 

As Jesus goes to Bethany, He is closing in on the cross and is less than 2 miles from Jerusalem. While He is aware of the cross and the coming pain he is focused on the plan. Many of us choose to focus on the problems and the pain and so we miss God’s plan. Instead of focusing on a problem free life we need to start seeing God’s plan for our life. Now when it comes to comfort the first thing I want you to see is the: 

A.         Supporters 

It’s in the sorrow of life that we can come alongside to console and comfort others. Sorrow provides an opportunity to serve and support. Instead of seeing sorrow as an obstacle and a problem we need to start seeing it as an opportunity to serve. Many of us miss opportunities to serve in the midst of sorrow because we focus on our comfort instead of our call. Nobody likes sorrow but it is a part of life and when you start viewing it as an opportunity to serve instead of making it about our comfort we make it about caring.

19. Courage 

John 11:1-16

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” 8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?” 9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” 12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

It’s here that we see the third truth not only do we need to petition Jesus, and be patient but we need a proper perspective on:

B.         Death Vs 11-16

Even the sickness that leads to death does not separate the saved from the Savior. Jesus refers to the death of a believer as sleep, making it more familiar and less formidable. The picture He paints is not one of problems but one of profit. Because when Jesus compares being buried with going to bed, unless you’re a child you look forward to bedtime, because in sleep we get to rest from our labor. We don’t have to fear death instead we can see it as favorable. But don’t miss the real:  

C.         Danger Vs 7-16

Jesus is the one who takes the risk so we can rest. The people of Judea want to kill Jesus and when the disciples focus on the danger, they start telling Jesus what to do. Fear often causes us to follow our plans not the Fathers. The disciples were basing their decisions on the obstacles not on obedience. It’s interesting to note the differing perceptions here between the sisters Mary and Martha and the disciples. Mary and Martha’s perspective was that Jesus didn’t come soon enough, where the disciples felt that he was going too soon. Who was right? Neither, it’s not about our timing it’s about His. Because the disciples focus on the danger and not the deity their plan involved avoiding the perceived problem and not do anything. What about you, are you going to play it safe and stay back or go with the Savior? It is here that Thomas the one who is so often criticized because he later doubted speaks up, remember these are His first recorded words. Thomas says that he would rather suffer with the Savior than play it safe without the Savior. This is the crossroads of conviction, am I going to walk with Jesus into the war or play it safe and sit on the sidelines? Am I going to follow my feelings or follow the Savior? What about you, are you going to seek safety or serve the Savior? You are going to spend your life on something, so why not spend it serving the Savior? When we live for the Lord we never lose, but when we sit on the sidelines and play it safe, we squander our lives. You are either going to be a fair-weather follower or a faithful one. Thomas conviction challenged the other Christians to stop being cowards and start being courageous. Are you going to be a courageous Christian and follow Jesus even when it’s not popular, or are you going to be a coward so that you can feel comfortable and safe? Most Christians today are following fear because they are focused on the obstacles instead of the opportunities. While the rest of the disciples were making decisions based on the culture Thomas had the courage to look to Christ. Where are you at in your walk, are you following Christ courageously or cowering to the culture?