Believing Fully in Him

Brilliant, thanks Beno.

All friends, hands down,

my favourite chapter in all of the Bible.

If we can get our heads around this,

if you're new here today and you don't know who this Jesus is,

then you have picked a fantastic week to join us today

because if you grasp who this man Jesus is and what he can do,

then it's got the power to change absolutely everything.

Now, a friend of mine once made an observation

about how we live our lives as human beings

and I want to bounce it off you today to see what you make of it.

They said this, they said,

isn't it funny how we spend our youth trying to get riches

and then when we get older,

we spend our riches trying to get youth.

You having that this morning?

Right, and this is the point in the service

where I try not to make eye contact with anyone,

but wherever you find yourself on that timeline today,

you've got to say that there is an element of truth

in what my friend was saying.

Right, if some of you were around in the 80s,

again, looking at my script,

German pop band Alphaville, do you remember them?

Sang back in the 80s,

we want to be what?

Help me out.

Want to be forever young.

Yeah, do you remember that song?

We want to be forever young.

And there's something deep inside of us

that wants to be forever young.

In fact, I was reading just the other day

about a 45-year-old American tech entrepreneur

called Brian Johnson.

You heard of him?

Brian Johnson.

He spends, and get this,

an estimated $2 million a year

on the perfect blend of 100 vitamins and supplements

as prescribed for him by his specialist team

of doctors and nutritionists

to try and keep him feeling,

and get this, like he's 18.

$2 million a year he spends on this.

And as human beings,

we kind of make our peace

with this whole concept

of the circle of life,

as Elton John sang,

the circle of life that moves us all.

But the problem is

that every time we experience death,

it doesn't feel natural at all, does it?

And you've got to say,

as human beings,

even in the year 2023,

with all the advancements in technology

and medicine that we have at our disposal,

we've got to hold our hands up

and say that we still do not have an answer

to our biggest problem.

And into our coffin-shaped conundrum

steps this man, Jesus,

who at a funeral of all places

flips the entire way of the world

on its head.

Spoiler alert,

verse 44,

a dead man came out.

Which means

that C.S. Lewis was right

when he said,

Christianity, if fogs,

is of no importance.

But if true,

it's of infinite importance.

The only thing that it cannot be

is moderately important.

And so the invitation

that this same Jesus extends to us today

is to get him in our lungs,

whatever is going on in your life today.

And I know some of you

are going through some stuff, okay?

Whatever is going on in your life today,

get him

in your lungs.

And take his hand

and let him teach you

three

wonderful things

about

him.

And here is the first one.

This is teaching us

that we can trust fully

in his perfect timing.

Now come with me

to the text.

No word of Scripture

is ever wasted.

There are so many details

in here

that I'd never really seen before,

before I really stopped

and studied this.

We pick up the narrative

at verse 1.

We learn

that one of Jesus' friends

called Lazarus

is

sick.

Now Lazarus lives

with

his two sisters,

Mary and Martha,

in a town

called

Bethany.

Bethany.

None of these details

are wasted, right?

This is

historical fact.

You can find

Bethany on a map.

Presumably you could

meet Mary and Martha

if you were to try

and find them.

They would have told you

this story,

which is why

John records it all.

Verse 5,

John wants us to know

and see this.

Verse 5,

that how did Jesus

feel about this family?

He

loved

them.

So he's telling us

right up top

that everything

that is about

to happen

flows from

Jesus'

deep love

for this

family.

Lazarus is sick

though,

prognosis

critical.

And in desperation,

do you see

how the sisters,

they send

word to

Jesus?

At verse 3,

they say

the word

is come

and see

our brother.

Right?

You're the only one,

Jesus,

who can help.

Would you come?

Would you come

with your presence?

Would you come

with your healing

power?

And they say,

Lord Jesus,

we need you to come

because we love you,

you love us,

we need you here.

Now,

question,

how would you

respond to

something like

that?

You know,

I remember when

my uncle died

at Christmas time,

as soon as I

learned that we

were talking

hours,

not days,

that very quickly

moved to we

were talking

minutes,

not hours,

I jumped in the

car and I

went.

Went.

So what we

would do,

but incredibly,

Jesus,

upon hearing

this news

about the

people he

loves,

says,

verse 5,

I'm staying

here two

more days,

which means

this is

24,

sorry,

48 hours

of no

show.

And his

reason,

verse 4,

is so that

his glory

might be

displayed,

that they

might see

something

utterly

transforming

about who

he

is.

And that's

what he

means when

he says

verse 14,

I'm glad

I wasn't

there,

so that

you would

believe.

Believe what?

Believe in

him.

You see,

this God

is in the

words of

Isaiah

Isaiah 25 · chapter mention

chapter 25,

this God,

his ways

are not

our ways.

Our

father,

his thoughts

are higher

than our

thoughts.

And this

God,

his heart

towards his

children

is steadfastly

and it's

wonderfully

good.

And you

need to know

that here

today if your

faith is in

him,

whatever is

going on in

your life

today,

his fatherly

perfect heart

towards you

is steadfast

and perfect.

Because

Jesus so

loves us

and he so

loves this

family

that he

uses the

darkest

moment in

their lives

to do the

deepest work

in their

hearts

in order

to draw

them

closer

to his

perfect

heart.

You see,

here's my

confession as I

come off the

back of this.

I think,

as I've

studied this

this week,

that I've

grossly

underestimated

Jesus'

commitment

to me.

And can I

put it to

you,

there's

something that

I want you

to bask

in today.

Do not

be in

any doubt,

no matter

what's going

on in your

life just

now,

of his

utter

commitment

to you.

This

Jesus is

way more

committed to

us than I

think.

we think

he is.

Well,

let us

not be

quick to

dismiss the

possibility

that the

Lord,

out of

his love

for us,

is teaching

us lessons

in seasons

of life

that don't

seem to

make much

sense to

us.

We were

at a

wedding

yesterday,

sitting next

to a

man called

Leonard.

Leonard was

telling me

about how

his youngest

daughter,

she was born

six weeks

prematurely,

and rushing

from

Kirkcaldy to

the sick

kids when

it was over

there just

by the

meadows,

and being

told the

story about

how his

daughter,

one of her

lungs had

collapsed and

the other

one was just

about to

go,

and the

doctor's

saying,

there's

nothing more

we can

do,

and he's

looking at

the stats

on the

vent

machine

that said

98,

which he

then figured

out meant

this machine

was running

at 98%

capacity,

there's not

a lot more

we can do

for her,

and he said

in that

moment I

had to

come to

grips with

the fact

that I

wasn't

holding her

life in

my hands,

the doctors

weren't

holding her

life in

their hands,

it was like

some kind

of guess who

where all

the tiles

had gone

down,

and he

said for

the first

time in

my life

I wasn't

in control,

but it

was as if

God stepped

in at that

point and

said,

I am.

In the

bed next

to them

with some

other little

girls was

a devout

Christian

family,

and the

two of

them have

remained

lifelong

friends ever

since,

because in

that moment

he said

it was like

God brought

people into

my path,

and the

doctor said

there's nothing

more we can

do,

and all of

a sudden

they came

back an

hour later,

you won't

believe it,

actually that

figure's

dropped,

again an

hour later,

actually that

figure's

dropped again,

and actually

the long story

short,

this girl is

now celebrating,

not without

her health

difficulties,

understand,

she's now

celebrating her

21st birthday

really soon,

and he said

nothing has

changed my

perspective on

life like

going through

that,

oh that the

Lord,

he teaches

us out of

his love

for us,

lessons about

life that we

would not learn

any other way,

never doubt

his commitment

to you,

dear friends,

in the words,

and some of

you remember

this old hymn

by William

Cowper,

judge not

the Lord,

by feeble

sense,

but trust

him for

his grace,

behind a

frowning

providence,

he hides

a smiling

face,

Jesus invites

us today to

know that we

can trust

fully in

his perfect

timing,

and secondly,

he wants us

to know that

we can lean

fully into

his gentle

heart,

you see,

back in the

story,

another 48

hours have

passed,

which means

by the time

that Jesus

and his

disciples,

they get to

Bethany,

you see John

underscore it,

Lazarus has

been dead

for four

days,

now presumably

that's to

underscore the

fact that

Lazarus is

dead,

right,

you read

around this

and there

are some

kind of

myths doing

the rounds

in the day

that a

person's

spirit hovers

over them

three days

after they're

dead,

and so some

people think

there is the

possibility of

resuscitation,

and so four

days could well

be the fact

that Jesus

is saying,

no,

this man

is dead,

he's dead,

and when they

reach Bethany,

do you see

how Jesus

and his

disciples,

they encounter

this scene

of deep

grief,

of people

weeping,

of pouring

their hearts

out,

they're

consoling

each other,

they're mourning

the loss

of their

friend Lazarus,

and right in

the middle of

it are these

two sisters,

they're utterly

shell-shocked

by the painful

reality that's

just played out

in front of

them,

and here's

what I love,

and I'd never

thought about

this before

until I saw

it this week,

look at the

text,

do you

see how

when

eventually

Mary and

Martha

see Jesus,

do you

see how

it's made

so clear

that they

ask him

the exact

same

question?

Martha

at verse

21 and

then Mary

at verse

32,

do you

see it's

the exact

same

question?

Lord,

if you

had been

here,

my brother

would not

have died,

so Jesus

has taken

this question

from both

of them,

but if you

think about

it,

it's not

a question

because it's

not a point

that's meant

to invite

deep discussion,

it's a point

that's meant

to convey

to Jesus

their utter

pain at

what's going

on in

this moment.

Where were

you,

Jesus?

I thought

you loved

us.

How could

you have

let this

happen?

We sent

word to

you,

we know

that you

got the

message.

Who even

are you

Lord?

Have you

been there?

If you

have,

I want

you to

see what

comes next

because isn't

it incredible

that Jesus

responds to

their exact

same question

in profoundly

different ways?

Could it

be,

and here's

what I want

you to

listen to,

could it

be that

Jesus

perceives

that

Martha's

biggest

need

in this

moment

is to

know

that

he's

in

control?

And

this

same

Jesus

perceives

that

Mary's

biggest

need

in

this

moment

is

to

know

that

he

cares.

And

dear

friends,

we have

a Jesus

who

excels

in

both.

love.

Because

do you

see

Martha

who

has

some

understanding

verse 24

of

the

resurrection

on the

last

day.

And I

take it

she's

taking that

from the

words of

Job.

Job would

say,

I know

my

redeemer

lives.

Jesus

says,

I am,

and he's

using the

divine title

there of

God

himself.

He

says,

I

am

the

resurrection

and the

life.

And what

he's

doing is

he's

taking the

knowledge,

the hope

that she

has,

the longings

that she

has in

an event,

and he's

taking it

and he's

connecting it

to himself.

Everything

that you

hope for,

everything

that you

long for,

you'll find

it in

me.

So that

her faith

is no

longer in

an event.

No,

no,

no,

he wants

to transfer

that

faith

fully

to him.

Martha's

biggest need

in this

moment is

to hear

Jesus say,

as it

were,

I've

got him

and I've

got you

and I've

got your

sister.

And then

we get

Mary and

here's what

I love

about Mary.

Do you

see verse

20,

how Martha

hears this

news about

Jesus is

near?

What's

Martha's

reaction,

verse 20?

What does

she do?

She runs

to him,

right?

But what

does

Mary do?

Do you

see it?

What does

she do?

She stays

at home.

Now,

can I read

between the

lines a

little?

Could it

be that

Mary is

just so

disillusioned

with Jesus?

She's so

angry,

unupset,

and feels

let down

by him

that she

cannot bear

to go?

And in

verse 28,

Martha

says to

her,

the

teacher

is

asking

for you.

Jesus

has drawn

her out

here

to him.

He knows

precisely the

pain and

the questions

that are

going on

in her

heart.

And he

says,

I want

you to

come to

me with

that.

And in

a flash,

do you

see how

Mary's

running for

him?

And I

take it

that's why

others notice

it.

It must

have been

such a

sprint that

she's just

up and

she's at

it and

she's out.

as she

falls at

his feet

and the

floodgates

open and

it all

comes

bursting

out of

her.

And for

the eggheads

out there,

what follows

is the

shortest

verse in

the Bible.

Right?

But make

no mistake,

boy is it

one of the

most profound.

In response

to seeing the

utter devastation

which Lazarus'

death has

brought upon

those who

he loves,

do you see

those two

words?

Jesus

wept.

Now is

that not

incredible?

That

Jesus would

come,

he would

enter our

world and

that he

would stoop

and here

he is

crying at

the death

of his

friend.

Why is he

crying?

I've thought

about this

all this

week.

Why is he

crying?

Was he

deeply

moved by

the loss

of his

friend?

Absolutely.

Does Jesus

know the

sorrows and

the scars

which each

of his

people bear?

Definitely.

But if you

think about

it,

if the only

reason that

his tear

ducts opened

was that he

simply misses

his friend,

well he's

just got to

wait five

minutes and

he knows

himself that

that one is

going to be

over pretty

quick.

Which strikes

me as a

classic case

of crocodile

tears.

But what we

need to see

here is that

there's

something

bigger

going on

here.

As Jesus

watches death

wield its

teeth,

the death

that's in

our world

because of

our sin

and our

rebellion

against our

creator,

the death

that is here

that's causing

chaos in

people's lives,

this Jesus

cries because

he is

incensed.

These are

tears that

are a

concoction

of love,

of determination

and of

outrage at

what's

happened in

front of

his eyes.

Are you not

grateful for a

Jesus like

that?

Can you

imagine if

Jesus were

stone cold

at this

point?

if he

wasn't moved

at all

with compassion

by the

trials and

the pain of

his people?

Imagine if he

was some

kind of

James Bond

figure taking

instructions from

M.

What is it M

always says

to Bond?

Don't get

too what?

Emotionally

caught up

in the mission

because if you

do then you're

going to

jeopardize

potentially the

whole thing.

If Jesus was

like that would

you want to

worship him?

I know I

wouldn't.

A God who

cares not to

hoots for

what you and

I are going

through in

life.

But I want

you to know

here today that

we do not

have an

arm's length

Jesus.

Jesus

wept and

what his

tears are

proof of

is the

truth that

this is not

the way that

it was

supposed to

be.

And I

think the

problem that

I face and

I'm sure we

all face is

that we have

got so good

in our

culture at

pretending it

is.

You know

there's so many

stereotypes about

British people.

One of them is

that they were

particularly good

at doing the

stiff upper

lip.

Right?

Some of you

might remember

Chaz and Dave

back in the

80s.

What was their

song?

Mustn't

grumble.

Right?

Just get on

with it.

Keep on

going.

It's what we

Brits do.

We just get

on with life.

But here is

Jesus giving us

permission to

know what we

instinctively know

to be true

deep down at

every single

funeral that we

attend.

Every time we

see a friend

who's suffering

and in need.

And every

single time we've

tried to process

the tragedies

that befall

us in this

world

that this

isn't

right.

And it's

just like the

time when a

warning light

goes on on

your car

dashboard.

And it's

your car's

way of telling

you that

something is

not right.

Do you not

find that every

time we go

through this

that the

death light

as it were

goes on in

our hearts

on the

dashboard of

our lives

and says

something's

not right.

You see

death according

to the Bible

is an

unwelcome

intruder in

God's good

creation.

And what that

means is that

Christians of

all people

should not be

people who

bottle it.

Our world

doesn't know

how to mourn.

There's no

grid.

There's no

way to process

it.

But Jesus

gives us

here a

way to

of processing

our grief.

Jesus

gives us

here permission

to join

him in

crying over

a broken

world.

And I

think that

means that

as Christians

we should

be the

people who

have got

a full

understanding

of what

grief and

death is.

And it

gives us

permission to

be able to

feel the

depths of

it because

we join

him here

in crying

knowing

that death

is not

right.

And I

wonder if

some of

us here

we need

to come

to Jesus

today not

to bottle

it.

Some of

us are

maybe angry

at him.

Some of

us don't

know what

to do

with him.

But Jesus

if that's

you here

today hear

his call

to you

like it

was to

Mary to

come to

him.

You see

Jesus wants

us to know

that we can

lean fully

into his

gentle heart

and then

just

lastly

he wants

us to

know that

we can

rely fully

on his

powerful

words.

Come with

me to

verse 43.

You see

Jesus in a

spirit of

defiance he

calls for

the stone

in front of

Lazarus'

tomb to

be rolled

away.

Now I

love Martha's

instinctive

response to

that particularly

as you get

it in some

of the older

translations of

the Bible.

She says

Lord by

this time

surely he

stinketh.

He's been in

the tomb

four days.

The odour,

the smell,

what are you

doing to us

Jesus?

And when you

think about it

what a hugely

insensitive thing

for Jesus to

say.

Talk about

things that you

don't say at

a funeral.

This line has

got to be right

up the top

there has it

not?

Everyone stop

what you're

doing,

let's have

that coffin

lid off and

let's see if

we can do

something about

it.

That's

effectively what

Jesus is

saying here

right?

And yet

Jesus is

deadly serious.

None of

us would

want a God

who didn't

care.

Neither can

I suggest

would any

of us want

a God

who couldn't

do anything

about it.

Like some

kind of lucky

mascot you

have in an

exam when you

were young.

I mean

honestly what

use was

that?

Well very

much in

keeping with

how it

started at

the beginning

of the

Bible story

and there

was a group

of us who

met this

week and I

loved thinking

about this

again.

It starts

with God

and what

does he do

with Adam?

He breathes

the breath of

life into

his lungs.

It's lovely

intimate language

about this

God who's

intimately

involved with

his creation.

He breathes

life into

Adam and

just like

that as

Adam becomes

a living

being is

God breathes

breath of

life into

him.

Jesus speaks

into the

abyss, into

the chaos,

into the

darkness and

this must have

been the

weirdest thing

if you were

there to

see this.

And he

breathes

life into

Lazarus.

And the

man who

was verifiably

dead, again

this man

wasn't in need

of resuscitation,

this man was

in need of

resurrection,

this man,

his hands

and feet

still bound

with cloths,

he hobbles

out.

That's some

kind of comedy

sketch, isn't

it?

Hobbles out.

And Jesus

says, do you

notice the last

words there at

verse 44?

He says,

let him go.

The question

for you,

who's Jesus

speaking to

there?

Yeah, he's

speaking to his

disciples.

I take it

those in

earshot who

can hear

exactly what's

going on,

let him go.

But who

else in a

more deeper

profound way

is Jesus

speaking to?

Who needs

to let him

go?

Who no

longer has

a claim

on him?

Death

itself.

Let him

go.

And so

here's the

top story

on your

Bethany

News at

six.

Lazarus

lives.

And as

wonderful as

this moment

is, joy,

celebration,

dancing,

delight, as

special a

moment as

this is, the

thing is that

one day

Lazarus will

die again.

It's not like

he somehow

obtains

immortality from

this point on.

No, no, he

will die again,

but boy, would

that have been a

different funeral.

Would you not

love to have been

at Lazarus'

second funeral?

I don't

imagine the

sense of

loss was any

deeper.

It would have

been just as

deep, the

sense of

grief and

loss, but

boy, would I

imagine the

sense of

hope would

have been

phenomenally

more because

of this

episode.

Because I

know the

one who

speaks and

he brings

life back

from the

debt.

And what

was wonderfully

foreshadowed

here was a

day that was

coming not

so long

after this

one, when

another stone

would be

rolled away

from the

tomb.

And another

man who

was verifiably

dead would

walk out,

except there's

a difference.

Because unlike

Lazarus who

would die

again, Jesus,

dear friends,

the one who

loves us, the

one who holds

us, the one

who knows

us, he

will never

die again.

So the

same question

that Jesus

asks Martha

is the one

he asks us

today as we

close, is

do you

believe?

Will you

put your

faith in

me?

Even when

you don't

understand,

even when it

looks like all

is lost, do

you trust me

that I've

got you and

I've got

this?

Because I

am the

resurrection and

the life.

you know,

just as we

close, can I

tell you about

a chat that I

had recently

with my

eldest daughter?

So the

moment we're

potty training

Eve, it's

messy, but

Chloe's watching

on one day

and she's

laughing at

it.

And I

say to her,

listen, I

remember what

it was like

when you were

that age and

I was changing

your nappy,

we were

trying to

get you

off nappies,

trying to

get you

onto the

potty.

When you

were really

little, I

was helping

you go to

the toilet.

And then I

tried to

teach her a

little life

lesson and

I said, the

funny thing

about life

is that, see

when I'm

old, you

will be

doing the

exact same

thing for

me.

And her

eight-year-old

brain, she

processed it and

eventually she

got what I

was saying.

And I

said to her,

I said,

listen, will

you look after

mummy and

daddy when

we're old?

And she

said, I

guess so.

Which

admittedly wasn't

the reassurance I

was looking

for.

But it got me

thinking on this

passage as well.

See when you

and I are

our weakest

moments in

life.

Where will we

turn?

where will we

go?

What do we

need to know

most when our

physical energy

fails us?

Who do we

need to know

most on those

days when we

are mentally

done?

Who do we

need to know

when the bad

news comes

that, as you

like, it rips

the rug out

from underneath

our feet and

we have got

nowhere else

to go?

Who do we

need to know

in our

weakest

moments in

life?

We need to

know the

Jesus here

who invites

us to

know that

because of

our faith

in him,

in the

weakest

moments of

our lives

when nothing

seems to

make sense,

that we're

held by

and loved

by the

strongest

and most

loving

of saviors.

Jesus says,

I am the

resurrection

and the

life.

So why don't

we pray?

And just

before I

pray, let's

respond to

this rightly.

And I know

some of us,

this is really

raw what we

thought about

today.

And if

you've,

anything that

we've said

or thought

about today

that you

would love

to pray

about,

we would

love to

do that

with you

after the

service.

It should

be the

most natural

thing that

we do

together as

a church

family.

But perhaps