It Can Get Personal
Message four of five
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
March 25, 2012
Michael Wiley
John 11:25
Introduction:
When I was in High School and then again in college, I hated studying poetry. Now the writing and reading of poetry is an art form. An art form I appreciate but don’t enjoy much.
I’m just a black and white kind of guy down deep.
If you’ve got something to say, say it! Don’t hide in simile and metaphor, just say it!
Some people love poetry. They love the challenge of finding the true meaning of the poem, fleshing out what the author was trying to say.
That’s really not me.
There was one Sonnet however, in college, that I connected with. It seemed to touch me, because I got it, and could see what the author was saying.
That Sonnet was the Silken Tent by Robert Frost.
She is as in a field, a silken tent
At midday when a sunny summer breeze
Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,
So that in guys it gently sways at ease,
And its supporting central pole,
That is its pinnacle to heavenward
And signifies the sureness of the soul,
Seems to owe naught to any single cord,
But strictly held by none, is loosely bound
By countless silken ties of love and thought
To everything on earth the compass round,
And only by one's going slightly taut
In the capriciousness of summer air
Is of the slightest bondage made aware.
Frost is speaking of a woman, beautiful and strong as silk, able to stand strong on her own.
But when the challenges of life come she feels the tug of bondage. She finds she is tied to the laws of life and nature.
Transition:
This poem came to mind as I was reading John chapter 11 in preparation for today.
Mary and Martha, Jesus’ closest female disciples, found the confines of life pulling on them and send for their Lord.
Using Frost’s Sonnet as a backdrop, I want to look at this chapter and apply it to our own lives – lives that are tied to this world, but long for the new world to come.
You must know where to go when life’s chords tighten
We all live in the constraints of this world.
We must go to work to provide
We must follow the laws of the land
We must get sick and work to get well
In Jesus’ prayer to the father just before He was arrested and killed, He prayed, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” (John 17:15)
Some Christians believe the best way the can survive in the world is to separated themselves from it.
BUT, in fleeing from the world we would be fleeing from duty. Jesus told His disciples that they were to be the salt to check and prevent the spread of corruption. Every Christian is to make one spot of the world purer, sweeter, a holier place to live in. If we hide away from men, we are withdrawing the salt of our life from the world, and leaving our little allotted spot unblessed.
Jesus said also that His disciples were to be the light of the world. He wants us to throw our light where it is dark, that we may be a comfort to others and cheer dreary lives. If we go off into seclusion, we leave those places dim, which it was our responsibility to fill with light.
The Lord wants us in the midst of the world's evil—that we may cleanse it, comfort it.
(http://www.gracegems.org/Miller/christian_in_the_world.htm)
Yes the Chords of life constrain us, and at times seem to defeat us, so we need to know where to go in our time of need.
John chapter 11 opens with this:
John 11:1-3
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (ESV)
The two sisters, Mary and Martha, knew where to go. In their time of need, they went straight to Jesus. Of course they didn’t want to leave their brother so they sent a messenger the one-day walk to get Him.
Where else would they turn?
They could have gone straight to the doctor.
Have you ever noticed how we Western Christians have an ailment, go to the doctor, get his advice or medicine and act on it? We tend to only go to Lord when the doctors fail – when the diagnosis is bleak, then we stat praying.
What about going to the Lord first?
Hebrews 4:16
(ESV)
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Notice what the text says next:
John 11:4-6
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Now, the messenger had spent one day getting to Jesus, Jesus stays two more days, then travels one day to get their. Verse 17 tells us that when Jesus got there, Lazarus had died and been dead four days. SO, Jesus knew that as this messenger was speaking to him Lazarus was already dead.
John 11:11-15
11 [then Jesus says] to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
So Jesus does and says what may seem like some peculiar things here.
Verse 5 and 6 says, “Because he loved Mary and Martha, He didn’t go right away but stayed where He was two more days.
Verse 14 and 15 Jesus says, Lazarus is dead and for your sake I’m glad I wasn’t there. Why is he glad he wasn’t there? Out of compassion he would have healed Lazarus and Lazarus would not have died.
So in affect, Jesus is glad Lazarus died!
Why?
We go back to verse four:
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (ESV)
John chapter 11, Jesus stands in the shadow of the cross. His arrest and death are just a few short days away. In chapter 10, Jesus had left the area where Lazarus lives because of the hostility and rejection.
So in the last few days of Jesus’ ministry the tone will change from rejection to the absolute glory and testament to His deity in the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead.
When the world tugs on your ropes, Christ can be glorified.
ILL A few weeks ago, Kathy, Amy Christian’s sister passed away, losing the battle she had fought against cancer. At her memorial service, Her Pastor, Pastor Gibson, painted the picture of a strong Christian woman, who although was losing her battle against cancer, still continued to glorify Christ in the little time she had left.
You see, we may not find physical healing, but if we seek it, the Lord does give us “mercy and…grace to help in time of need.”(Hebrews 4:16)
Now, I’m not going to flesh out the rest of this chapter. I’m going to have you do that in your Growth Groups this week.
But I do want to jump to verse 23:
John 11:23-26a
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die…”
Death has no hold on the one who has put their trust in Christ.
Later in the chapter Jesus tells them to remove the stone off of Lazarus tomb. Martha says, but Jesus, he’s been dead four days. He’s going to stink! Jesus said, “Do it.” They did. And Jesus called Lazarus from the grave. He walks out, dressed for burial, dazed and stinking, but ALIVE!
Conclusion:
In all of your life, Jesus the Resurrection and the Life is your central support.
He has come to give you life to the fullest, lean on Him when life gets tough.
He will never let you down.
Even death has no power over you. You will rise again!
