Transcription
Family. You've all heard me say I was raised old school Baptist. Yeah. Yeah. I was raised at Louisville Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 10706 South Michigan on the south side of Chicago. Whether Reverend Dr. LR Jackson was my pastor and in that old school church, they'd say he may not come when you want him, but he's always right on time. My friend Pastor Timothy Sloan has a millennial remix of that. He says, "He may not come when you want him, but you sure going to want him when he comes. Thank you for being an ontime God." Speak that Lord now to someone who feels like you're running a little late, who feels that you may have forgotten, who may be doubting if it can ever happen. Remind us that you're right on time. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.
Family, I want to read in your hearing a portion of a verse of scripture that shows up twice in the same chapter. One of the rare occasions where in one chapter you find two verses that read exactly the same. If you're physically able to stand, I would that you hear as I read and you're hearing John 11. And when you go home and you reread the 11th chapter of John, you'll find that the 21st and the 32nd verse read exactly the same. John 11:21 and verse 32. And the lips of Martha and the lips of Mary go like this. "Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died." That's enough. If you may be seated in the presence of the Lord.
"Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died." This Sunday morning, allow me to encourage myself and you how to get through the "if." How to get through the "if." It's Lent. We're renewing our appreciation for the resurrection of Jesus. But it's also Women's History Month, where we're honoring the work and the witness of women before us and among us. And when you stand in scripture at the intersection of resurrection and women, you're drawn to one place: the resurrection of Lazarus, starring his sisters, Mary and Martha. The resurrection of Lazarus from the dead in John 11 is arguably one of the most popular and powerful miracles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. More popular than turning water into wine, as powerful as healing the woman with the issue of blood, as prolific as the feeding of the 5,000, singularly stands this raising of a dead man in Bethany, two miles outside of Jerusalem. And I'm willing to bet that even if you dropped out of Sunday school and got kicked out of VBS, I'm willing to bet you know something about what goes down in John chapter 11. I'm willing to bet you know that Jesus and Lazarus were best friends. As a matter of fact, Jesus was close to Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. And often time in his ministry, when Jesus wanted to escape the demands of the crowd, he would go out and hide in Bethany at Martha and Mary's house to be with his best friend Lazarus. As a matter of fact, Earl, the gospel writer John suggests that the woman who broke open that fragrant oil and poured it on the feet of Jesus and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair, that was this Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. I'm going to bet you know Jesus and Lazarus were close. And I'm going to bet you know what happens. Lazarus gets sick. And I'm not talking about a flu. I'm not talking about a runny nose. I'm talking about something that pushed and pressed him near death. But Mary and Martha aren't too worried because they know who Lazarus' BFF is. The miracle worker from Nazareth. And so they're not too worried because they know if anyone can heal and help Lazarus, it's Jesus. The one who walked on water, the one who opens blinded eyes, the one who speaks and the winds and the waves even obey his will. If anybody's going to help Lazarus, it's Jesus.
So, I'm willing to bet you know that the Bible says they called on Jesus. Go home and reread John 11. Damian, they don't send word and say, "Lazarus is sick." No, in order to push Jesus, they say, "The one you love is sick." Let's remind you who he is, Jesus. And in their mind, because Jesus loves Lazarus and they're best friends, surely Jesus is going to make his way. He's done more for folk who knew him less. And remember, he's only two miles away. Yeah, two miles. That's about a 30-minute walk. They called on Jesus, knowing in 30 minutes he'll be right here. They did what they were supposed to do. They called on the Lord. They did what I've done when I needed God to do something. I got down on my knees and I called on the Lord. They did what you and I have done when we have found ourselves in situations that we could not handle by ourselves. We called on the Lord because we believe prayer changes things. That's right. We believe that we have a God who loves us so much that he hears and he answers our prayer. We call on the Lord because we've learned the words of that hymn: "Let's have a little talk with Jesus and tell him all about our troubles. He will hear our faintest cry. He will answer by and by." Cuz when you feel a little prayer wheel turning and know a little fire's burning, just a little talk. I wish I had some old school saint. A little talk with Jesus makes it right. At some moment in your life, you called on the Lord because you came to church and you heard someone on your pew testify that they prayed and God answered. And then someone else told you, "There is no secret what God can do. If he did it for her, he can do it for you." They prayed. They called on the Lord.
And Denzel, let me tell you what makes this prayer so powerful. Okay. Can, can I show you what makes their calling on the Lord powerful? They sent word to Jesus and said, "The one you love is sick." But they didn't even ask Jesus to do nothing. They simply said, "He's sick." And what's implied is, "We trust you enough to do whatever you need to do to handle this situation." Do you know how much trust you have when you bow down and you pray to God and you don't even have a request? You just tell God what's going on and you trust God enough to do whatever God needs to do that you can say, "Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way. Not my will, but Thy will be done." Anyway, you blessed me, God, I'll be satisfied. That's some faithful praying when you say, "God, have your way." They called on the Lord, which is what they're supposed to do. They trusted Him enough to not even tell Him what He needed to do. They simply said, "Do what you want to do." And that's the kind of prayer that ought to move God. When you trust God enough to say, "Have your own way and it'll be all right with me." Surely God moves when we pray like that.
That's what makes the response of Jesus so problematic. When you go home and you reread John 11, the Bible says, "When he heard that, therefore he stayed where he was two more days." Look, let me give you the 2026 translation. Because he loved Lazarus, he stayed where he was two more days. No running to Bethany. You've been over here eating at our house all the time, and now that we call you, you can't even find your way over here. No running. He doesn't even speak healing in the atmosphere like he did in Matthew chapter 8 when that centurion's son was sick. Jesus just spoke it and he was healed. None of that, Judy. No. No Thanos finger-snapping just to heal Lazarus at the snap of his finger. Jesus is in no hurry at all.
Javon, I'm going to bet you know what happens in those two days while he stayed there. Lazarus dies. Jesus finally decides to get up and go. And when he gets there, it's four days after the funeral. Remember, they told him he was sick. He stayed two days. He shows up four days after the funeral. So, if your math is mathing, it took him two days to get two miles. He's in no hurry. Maybe that's when he shows up, he meets an angry Martha. 'Cause Martha is like me. She's ADD, HD, AD, OCD, type one orange personality. Tell you what aggravates and irritates people like me. What aggravates and irritates people like me are people like you who... I am aggravated by folk who don't share my sense of urgency over a situation. You want to get on my nerves? Let me try to be there on time and you taking your sweet time. You want to make me mad? Let me want to be early and you don't mind being late. You want to make me mad? You got to understand that to be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. And to be late is unacceptable. I got issue with folk that ain't got no sense of urgency. And here come Jesus, strolling in four days after the funeral. Martha's mad. Mary won't even get up out of the house. But they both greet him the same way: "If you had been here, this would not have happened. If you had come when we called you, we could have avoided all this. If you had done a little something-something, he'd still be here. You healed that man at the pool of Bethesda and you ain't even know him. You've been over here every time you needed to get away from folk. We hid you. We covered you. We prayed with you. We fed you. And you couldn't show up. If you had been here, this wouldn't have happened."
Y'all, I know some of you are really saved, so you're not going to say yes here. Have you ever had an "if" moment with God? "God, if you loved me, why did this happen? If you can do everything, why didn't you do something? If you knew this was going to happen, why didn't you stop it from happening? If you answer prayer, why didn't you answer my prayer? If you healed her mother, why did mine die?" If... If you're frustrated with God, "if" is where you're disappointed in what God did do or didn't do. "If" is when your church attendance starts to go down. "If" is when your prayer life is a little less than it needs to be. "If" is when your Bible gets dusty 'cause it sits in your car from Sunday to Sunday and you only bring it into church to prove to people you own one. "If" is when you're upset with God. And I know some of you, maybe you've never had an "if" moment because you've got a PhD in God and nothing God does confuses you. Maybe you've never had an "if" moment because your faith is so strong that you believe everything that happens is the will of God and it's well with your soul. Maybe you've never had an "if" moment because you were raised to never question God. So you come to church every Sunday and fake and pretend like all is well in your life when you know you really ain't feeling God the way you want to. But the one thing that will push you to "if" is what happened to Mary and Martha: the death of someone you love. Vanessa, I ain't talking about grandmama dying at 102 in her sleep. Right. That's well with me. I'm talking about a young man being shot on a basketball court. If... I'm talking about a spouse dying after an extended battle with cancer. If... I'm talking about a friend your age who was fine on Friday and you got a call on Sunday that they're no longer here. I'm talking about a man getting drunk, getting behind a wheel, causing an accident, killing four people, and he walks away sober. "If you had been here, God, this would not have happened." And at some moment in your walk with God, you're going to encounter a God that allows something to happen that makes you wonder, "God, why did you let this happen this way?"
"If..." They both say, "Lord, if you'd been here." But Judy, they don't say it the same way. Martha says it in anger. Her "if" goes like this: "God, if you had done what I asked you to do." Mary is sorrowful. Her "if" is not angry, it's laced with tears. "God, if you had just done what I asked you to do." Notice one is in anger and one is in sorrow. Martha is mad as... And Mary is so sorrowful she can't even get up to go see Jesus when he's coming. Martha's angry, Mary is sad, and Jesus accepts them both. There's no reprimand. There's no rebuke. There's no, "Oh, ye of little faith." Jesus makes room for authentic anger and sincere sorrow. That it's all right to come into the presence of the Lord and be mad or be quiet because you're struggling with God. And allow me to say that if Jesus makes room for anger and silence and sorrow, maybe we should do the same in the house of God. To allow people to come and be in God's presence and be upset with God, be angry with God, be quiet with God. Do me a favor, y'all. Stop judging folk that don't shout like you. Stop judging folk who don't clap like you clap. Stop judging folk who don't stand up when you stand up. There may be a Martha on your pew and a Mary in your section that's struggling with God. And the authenticity of my worship is not my shout. It's my presence. At least I'm here, y'all.
The problem with church is that we create a culture of fake. That the only way I can fit in is to act like I'm always happy. Hallelujah. That I'm always God glad. That I'm always filled with Jesus joy. No. Can I come to church and be mad sometimes? Can I come to church and be struggling with God? Can you accept me when I don't want to say amen? I don't want to shout Hallelujah. And I ain't touching my neighbor to say nothing. I want to know, can I bring the real me to church? Can I bring the me that's got issue with God? Can I bring the me that when I pray, I don't even know where to start and what to say? Can I bring the me that's got a Bible on my shelf and some Hennessy in my kitchen? And baby, if one of them don't work, the other's going to get me through. Can I bring you the real me? Can I be real with you? I got some Martha moments. I'm having a Mary minute. How do I get through this "if"? What do you do when God hasn't done what you think God should do? How do you live when you're disappointed with how God did not answer your request? I'm talking about a sincere prayer. Well, you laid it all on the line and trusted God with everything, and the worst still happened.
I want you to see what happens before the resurrection of Lazarus. The reason I want you to see that is because every "if" doesn't end with resurrection. Every disappointment doesn't end with God giving you something that just erases all the pain. Our loved ones will not be resurrected in this life. You want to go through something with God and there's no miracle at the end that makes it all better. You got to learn to live through the "if." How do you get through the "if"? Give me 12 minutes. Let me tell you what Jesus does. When Jesus gets word that Lazarus is dying, he's with his disciples. He's two miles outside the city, remember I told you that. And when he gets word, notice, Lynn, that Jesus spends a lot of time trying to get the disciples to understand what's going on. He says, "No, this is to the glory of God." He says, "Matter of fact, I'm glad Lazarus is sick so I can show y'all something." He waits two days and when it's time to go, he wants to go back into Bethany, but he's got to go through Judea. And the Bible says that the disciples looked at Jesus and said, "Hey, we shouldn't do this 'cause remember the Pharisees are looking for you. They want to kill you." Jesus says to them in that moment, "Lazarus is asleep. I'm going to go wake him up." The disciples go, "Well, if he's asleep, he's going to wake up anyway. Why go through Judea in enemy territory and risk getting arrested if he's just asleep?" So then Jesus says, "No, I'm sorry. He's dead." He's going back and forth with the disciples to try to get them to understand what God is doing in Lazarus.
But when he gets to Bethany and Martha runs out, Alana, there's no attempt from Jesus to get her to understand. He doesn't share with her the same things he told his disciples. No word about sleeping. No word about the glory of God. Jesus doesn't even give an explanation of why he's four days late. He doesn't try to get her to understand on the other side of the death because sometimes there are things about God you cannot understand. We serve a God whose sovereignty is above explanation. A God who moves in ways you will not always comprehend. A God who does things that will leave your head scratching. That's what Job finds out when he loses everything and he goes to God in sincerity and says, "God, why?" And God responds to Job with 77 questions that Job cannot answer to let him know there are things about me you will never understand. You will never comprehend. You will never grasp. God is bigger than your understanding. And I know that that confuses us because we think the more we come to church and the more Bible we read and the more ministry we do, the more we will understand God. But God can sometimes be a mystery that escapes your understanding. And every now and then, I need you to learn these three words: "I don't know." "I don't know why my dad died the way he did. I don't know why Lewis was shot on that basketball court. I don't know why God didn't stop what you're going through."
Jesus doesn't try to get Martha to understand. What he does ask her on three occasions is, "What do you believe?" He says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me shall never die." He says, "Your brother will rise again. Do you believe this?" He says, "I'm telling you, if you believe, you will see." Jesus continues to push Martha, not about what is in her head, but what is in her heart. Because at some moment, my brother, my sister, it's not what you understand about God. It's what you believe about God that will hold you together when life is pulling you apart. It's not what your mind can grasp. It's what your heart holds on to. What do you believe when you don't understand? What do you believe? What do you believe?
Martha responds and tells Jesus, "I believe two things. Read John 11 when you get home." She says, "Number one, I believe that my brother will rise at the last day in the resurrection of the dead." Can I teach Bible real quick? Yes, sir. That phrase, "he'll rise in the last day," was part of the Jewish tradition of belief that the Pharisees held onto. The Pharisees taught and believed that at the last day, all the dead will rise again. Martha says, "I believe what the Pharisees have been teaching, that the last day the dead will rise." The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, y'all. That's what separated the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed the dead will rise. The Sadducees did not. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, which is why they were sad, you see. So the resurrection of the dead that the Pharisees taught came from Daniel 12:2. Teach the Bible, Howard John. So what Martha is saying is, "Lord, even though my brother is dead and you didn't do what I want you to do, I still believe what the word said. That what's holding me together in this moment is that I still believe in the power of God's word. I still believe that they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. I still believe that God hears and answers prayer. I still believe that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. I still believe that yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is still with me." And I came by to tell you that when you face an "if" moment in life, you got to still hold on to the truth of the promise of God's word. I'm looking for some folk who still believe God and take God at His word. I still believe that greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. I still believe that they may have meant it for evil, but God means it for good. I still believe in the word of God. Somebody holler, "I believe the word." "I believe the word." The most dangerous thing you can do in life is run up on an "if" and you ain't got no word in you. That's why you ought to read your Bible every day. It'll make you a better Christian. It will prepare you for the "if" moments of life. When you've got enough word inside of you that no matter what happens in your life, I stand on the truth of God's word. I'm standing on the promises of Christ my King. Through eternal ages, let His praises ring. Glory in the highest. I will shout and sing. I'm standing. I'm sorry, y'all, new school Baptist. You don't know that's a hymn of the church.
She says, "I still believe the word." And watch what she says. "And I believe that you are the Christ. I don't know why this is happening, but I know who you are. I've spent so much time with you in my house that I know who you are. I've spent so much time with you in conversation that I know who you are. I've spent so much time in worship that I know who you are." At some moment, my brother and my sister, when you run up on an "if" in life, there's some things you just got to believe about God that you have found out in your walk with God. And I'm not going to let whatever I go through cause me to doubt what I know to be true about God. I wish I had about five folk in here who say, "I know God too much to doubt God." Right now, God has shown Himself too much for me to doubt God right now. I don't know why it went down the way it did, but I know that He's still God. I believe some things about God. I believe He's too good to be bad. He's too holy to be evil. He's too merciful to be mean. He's too righteous to be wrong. He's too faithful to be forgetful. He's too eternal to be late. He's too present to be absent. He's too attentive to be apathetic. He's too sovereign to be surprised. He's too gracious to be stingy. He's too magnificent to be ordinary. He's too kind to be cruel. He's too omnipotent to be helpless. He's too loving to be condemning. He's too marvelous to be malicious. I know some things about God. She says, "I believe the word and I believe you're God."
Jesus helps her get through by asking her what she believes. The gospel writer John helps you and I get through in a very technical way. I, I, I need you to put on your thinking cap for a moment. It's time to have a moment of pre-Bible study on Sunday morning. John writes this story in a way that is meant to help you when you face your "if." Can I show you to you? Can I show it to you? Here it is. John uses a literary device called prolapsis. Let the church say prolapsis. Prolapsis. Put it up. Let me give you a definition. Prolapsis is a literary tool, watch this, where a writer takes an event that he knows in the future and presents it in the present as if it's already passed. Yeah. It's an example of what we call prochronism. Welcome to Alpha Street Baptist Church. Prochronism is an error in time where something in the future is presented as if it's present. It's prolapsis. Here it is. Make sure you catch this so you can base your coworker tomorrow in the office. Prolapsis is when I take something from the future. I show it to you in the present and I speak about it like it's past. One more time. I'm grabbing something from tomorrow. I'm sharing it with you today and I want you to act like it happened yesterday. One more time. I'm grabbing something that's about to happen, but I'm going to tell it to you like it's happening so you can act like it's already done. One more time. I'm gonna take something from your future and deposit it in your present and I want you to shout like it was yesterday. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Uh, here it is. Let me show you prolapsis.
Prolapsis happens whenever you read the name Judas in the Gospels. We meet Judas early when Jesus chooses him. And every time you see the name Judas, there's a comma: "the one who betrayed Jesus." Say with me, prolapsis. Here it is. Jesus chooses him in the beginning. The writer says he betrayed Jesus, but that don't happen to the end. But the writer has grabbed the betrayal from tomorrow and put it in today and wrote it in the past tense. God, I feel like preaching. I'm taking the future. I'm telling it to you today and you should act like it happened yesterday. Here it is in the raising of Lazarus, and I'm done. He introduces Mary by saying, "Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary, the one who anointed his feet with her hair." Have mercy. John 11: Mary, the one who anointed him. Now the reason you ain't shouting is 'cause you're slow. Mary does not anoint Jesus until the next chapter, but John grabbed what was in the next chapter and put it right now and wrote it in the past so that you would know what happens in this chapter ain't the last chapter. That there's another story that's coming tomorrow, but I'm going to tell it to you today. Yes, good vibe, Alfred Street Baptist Church.
But can I be proleptic with you? This is not the end of your story. This is not the last chapter. This is not the last move of God. There's something in your tomorrow that God is doing right now. And I need you to praise God like it's already happened. Praise God like He's already made a way. Praise God like it's already working for your good. Praise God like He's already turned it around. Praise God like you know it's not over yet. Listen, won't you stand? I want you to know something. You're going to live through this. You're going to love again. You're going to live again. You're going to have joy again. You're going to get through this moment. All you got to do is give God some time. Let God finish what He started. Let God work the rest of the story. Let God put the pieces in place. Let God get you through this. This is not the end. If it's not the end, if it's not the end, but you have to give God time. We have a saying at Alpha Street that I want to share with you: Whenever it seems like God isn't good, it's 'cause God ain't done. Hear me. God never ends on a bad note. But I know, I know, I know someone standing and saying, "But it did end badly." You forget that we serve a God who works through generations. But beloved, I wasn't going to say this today, but I need to put it in your heart. God didn't start being God when you were born. And God ain't going to stop being God when you're done. What God started started before you were here. And what God is working out will not be completed when you're gone. It will take time. We serve a generational God. There's some things happening in you that God began in your great-grandmother. And there's some things that God is doing through you that won't be finished until your great-grandson arrives. There's some things God started before you got on that job. And it won't be done until generations after you walk through that door. Give God time. And that time is not simply in your life. Allow God to work through you what God is doing. We serve a generational God. Stop demanding God prove Himself while you can see it.