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Proverbs 22:20-29
20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of
counsels and knowledge,
21 That I may make you know the certainty of the
words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?
22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at
the gate;
23 For the LORD will plead their cause, And
plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
24 Make no friendship with an angry man, And
with a furious man do not go,
25 Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for
your soul.
26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a
pledge, One of those who is surety for debts;
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under
you?
28 Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your
fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not
stand before unknown men.
Father God, we pray that our hearts be set in order to
honor you and your Son Jesus on this soon arriving Resurrection Day that we
will be celebrating. There is no greater expression of love than what You and
Jesus did to redeem mankind. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Gospel of John 11:1-13 NKJV
Today John tells us about the story of
Lazarus being sick and dying. With this event we learn about faith, where is
our faith; fear and worry, do we worry; love we have for friends, do we truly
love our friend? It never ceases to amaze me the lessons that are taught in a
simple story that surrounds Jesus. When a person really studies the verses
small precious nuggets of how we are to live surfaces. Just like a miner picks
out the nuggets of gold, we are to pick out the nuggets of the Bible to live
by.
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her
sister Martha.
Now
a certain man was sick; This man Lazarus is not the Lazarus that
is recorded in Luke Chapter 16. He died some time before this. There is not
much said about this Lazarus, in fact the other Apostles did not even write
about Lazarus being raised from the dead. It could be because the Jews had a
desire to kill Lazarus because of him being resurrected, and because of that,
Jesus had a great many more believers that the Sanhedrin abhorred. John 12:10-11 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to
death also, 11
because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
Lazarus
of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha; The village of Bethany was located
about two miles east of Jerusalem, close enough to put Jesus and the disciples in
danger, but far enough away so as not to attract attention. This event took
place about 3 months after the events of the last chapter, so it was
approaching April and the Passover. Jesus spent a considerable amount of time
with this family when He was in Judea. Simon the leper was also from Bethany; Matthew 26:6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of
Simon the leper.
Because of their relationship
with Jesus, this family was privileged to experience three things: 1) To sit at
His Feet and hear Words of Life; 2) Lazarus would be raised from the dead; 3)
To Anoint Jesus. Anyone can have this type of relationship with Jesus if they
so desire.
2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with
fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
This Mary is not the one in Luke 7:37,
as some think, but Mary in John 12:3. Even though this anointing hasn’t
taken place yet, John is diligent in pointing out which Mary this is, that is
why he used the words “that Mary”. The anointing took place shortly before the
Crucifixion, and after the event of Lazarus being raised from the dead.
3 Therefore
the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is
sick."
Mary and Martha knew the
graveness of their brother’s illness and therefore turned to Jesus for the
answer of healing. As we will see in the upcoming verses of this chapter, Mary
and Martha had great faith; they knew who Jesus was; they knew the power He
had; they knew if Jesus ask the Father anything it would be granted. They knew
Jesus was the answer for healing, but what they didn’t consider was their
brother being raised from 4 days of physical death.
How strong is your faith in
Jesus, the living Word of God? Did, or do you have a New Year’s Resolution of
fortifying your relationship with Jesus this year, if so how is it going?
4 When
Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
When
Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death; The Greek Text actually says, “he shall
not fall prey to death,” which is the way it should have been translated.
Any trial a believer faces
can ultimately bring glory to God because God can bring good out of any bad
situation. When trouble comes, do you grumble, complain, and blame God, or do
you see your problems as opportunities to honor him? Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
But for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified
through it; Do you
remember the blind man that Jesus healed in Chapter 9? His disciples asked the
cause of the man’s blindness, the sins of the man or the sins of his parents.
Jesus answered neither; John
9:3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the
works of God should be revealed in him.
Jesus performed such
miracles to glorify God; to be obedient to God; and to show who He was, the Son
of God to be glorified and make believers out of non-believers. Therefore
Lazarus sickness and death was designed to furnish an opportunity to display
the glory of God, and what life there is in Jesus Christ His Son, if one
desires eternal life.
5 Now Jesus
loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Jesus loved this family and
often stayed with them when in or around Jerusalem. They loved and believed in
Jesus and who He was. Their door was open to Jesus at all times and that is the
state our heart should be in at all times.
6 So, when
He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
So,
when He heard that he was sick; This
messenger that delivered the news to Jesus had no idea that Lazarus was dead
when he met up with Jesus, because he stated he was sick. Lazarus died sometime
after the messenger left and it appears it was right after he left, for Lazarus
to be in the grave four days by the time Jesus arrived.
He
stayed two more days in the place where He was; When Jesus received word of Lazarus
illness, He already knew Lazarus was dead and the sorrow of his sisters, but
didn’t respond immediately because of the miracle that was to take place. The
Holy Spirit directed Jesus to stay where He was for two more days. Had Jesus
responded immediately and arrived just as Lazarus was placed in the grave, it
would given many the thought of some type of deception of Lazarus being raised
from the dead. They wouldn’t have believed that Lazarus had actually died.
God will supply all our
needs, but not necessarily in the time frame and urgency we want. Sometimes we
may even think God hasn’t heard us and isn’t or won’t answer our prayers, but
all we need to do is wait patiently, for God’s timeframe is perfect for us and He
knows best what we need. Philippians
4:19 And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
7 Then
after this He said to the
disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."
After staying two days the
Holy Spirit directed Jesus to go to Martha and Mary. Jesus was so obedient and
in harmony with His Father’s will, it is beyond our comprehension. Everything
Jesus did was according to instructions given Him by the Spirit of God. He was
totally led and directed by the Spirit, which should be an example to us.
Jesus prayed all night long
before choosing His disciples, He sought the will of God, which tells us the
absolute necessity of a strong prayer life to hear and do the will of God in
all aspects of our life Luke 6:12–13. Jesus prayed all night, have you? I
haven’t, in fact after about an hour I struggle in prayer. I wonder what kind
of relationship I would have with Jesus if I did pray all night????
Let us go to Judea “again”
tells us not too much time had passed since they were in Jerusalem.
8 The
disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and
are You going there again?"
Jesus disciples were greatly
concerned for His safety after His last visit there. There were so many enemies
and dangers there, with little hope of doing much good, they feared for Jesus
and probably their own lives, whereas where they were, they were among friends
and doing good works.
This verse also displays the
thinking of the human being. The disciples were concerned, but should they be,
after all they were with Jesus? We aren’t to worry if we are a child of God and
have our faith properly placed in the Cross of Christ. If we are a child of God
by submitting our life to Jesus, we should act like children and depend on God
for all things just like our children and grandchildren depend on us for their
needs. Matthew 6:25 "Therefore I say to
you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the
body more than clothing?
9 Jesus
answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?
If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of
this world.
Jesus is using this verse
and the next verse as an analogy of the faith we should have. He is also saying
to His disciples that He is with them and not to worry.
Just as the sun provides
light so we can see where we are walking to avoid stumbling over things here on
Earth, Jesus is our Spiritual Light to guide us spiritually while we are here
on Earth, so that one day when we leave this Earth we will be with Jesus in
Heaven.
Life on Earth is all about
realizing who we are, why we are here, that Jesus is the most important reason
for us to live, and that we need to realize we are sinners and need Jesus in
our life to survive now and forever. Many view life here on Earth as a party
and that we should live it up and have fun, which ultimately is fun in sin.
10 But if one walks in the
night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."
Have you ever walked around
out in the woods at night without a flashlight? If you have you know you will stumble
over vines, tangled weeds, sticks, logs, etc., but this isn’t what this verse
is about. With the last phrase being, “because the light is not in him” it is
referring to our spiritual life not physically walking around in the dark;
walking in the light of Jesus; walking in Jesus shadow; conducting our life
with the mentality of What Would Jesus Do. This is all about faith and what we
have our faith in, Jesus, religion, or self. If we have our faith in anything
other than the Cross we are lost spiritually. We will stumble spiritually in
believing false teachers, preachers, doctrine, and religion. We need the light
of Christ in us to discern the false and that is why the Bible is so important.
We need to analyze everything with the Word of God.
11 These things He said, and after that He said to
them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I
may wake him up."
These
things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our
friend Lazarus sleeps; Here
Jesus is speaking of physical death, but as the next verse tells us the
disciples are thinking Lazarus is merely sleeping. Many times in Scripture the
Holy Spirit uses the term “sleep” concerning physical death (Acts
7:60; I Corinthians 11:30; 15:18–20; I Thessalonians
4:13–17).
But I go that I may wake him up; Being in tune with His Father Jesus knew exactly what He
was to do when He arrived at Bethany and that was to raise Lazarus from the
dead.
12 Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he
sleeps he will get well."
With this verse we know
without a doubt that the disciples didn’t know what Jesus was talking about.
Normally sleep will aid one to recover from an illness and the disciples
thought Lazarus was merely resting in a physical peaceful sleep. In the back of
their mind they were probably thinking if he is sleeping he will get better and
there is no need to go to him and risk the dangers of the Sanhedrin.
13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they
thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
We are told here by John
that Jesus was referring to Lazarus physical death. This also tells us of the disciple’s
spiritual dullness. They interpreted Jesus carnally and not spiritually.
This
lesson brings out the awareness of each of us to examine our spiritual position
with Jesus in relation to worldly things. When was the last time you did a deep
down spiritual examination of where your heart is? What does your actions and
lips tell those around you??????
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John
3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;
10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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