How to Handle Life Problems

TRANSCRIPT

Maybe like me when life hasn't turned out the way that you imagined it would or something happens, it can be easy to kind of doubt God's presence in the midst of that. And maybe for people in the room or watching online this morning, some kind of personal tragedy that has happened in your life or in your family or friend's life is the reason that you've actually said, well, I can't even believe.

in a loving God. And for others of us, maybe stuff has happened that has caused you to just really waver in your faith and wonder if it could all be true. Today, I want to explore the idea that if we are open to it, that the tragedies and the circumstances of our life are actually opportunities to lean in and experience the presence of God like no other time.

They're actually incredible opportunities. And so we're going to walk through today a story that is found in John. He was one of the disciples of Jesus and he recorded a whole bunch of stuff. In fact, throughout his whole book, John gives us like this front row seat to the life of Jesus. He records the miracles that he performed, the interactions he performed.

He records about his. whole life and his death and resurrection. But one of the stories that he records is one that probably most of you are familiar with, at least in part. And that is the story of Lazarus. And it is an account that is so full. of emotion. I mean, within this story, we have got grief and anger and sickness and hurt and despair and disappointment and finally even death.

But through it all, as we read it, we are going to be assured that in the midst of our circumstances, God is aware and God It's not only aware, but that God cares, our heavenly father is in us is, is with us in our circumstances and he will see us through. So in chapter 11 of John, and I'll just give you some context to where we're going to pick up.

Lazarus is one of Jesus's. He is not just somebody that followed Jesus as part of the crowd and, you know, had witnessed a miracle here and there. He was actually a friend of Jesus. We read other times in scripture about Jesus going to his house and visiting with his sisters, Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

So Jesus knew him and his sisters personally. And so Lazarus is sick. And so his sisters, Mary and Martha have sent a servant off. In the general direction that they thought that Jesus would be because it was well before the time when, you know, you could just pull up your phone and give them a call. So he sends, they send word that Lazarus is sick and they are assuming, and rightly so, I would say, that Jesus is going to come straight away.

and heal their brother. They've seen, they have been witnesses to, they've heard all of the other accounts of how Jesus has healed strangers. So they send words saying, our brother is sick and Jesus loves Lazarus. So surely he's going to come and heal him too, right? Let's pick it up in verse five. It says, now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he left immediately and went back to heal him.

He stayed where he was for two more days. Now, if this is the first time that you are reading this account. You would probably think what has Lazarus done to upset Jesus? Like, have they had some kind of falling out? Because this doesn't seem like the way that a friend would react to this news. But multiple times in this account, John assures us that he loves them.

That he he's their friend and Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So they say they stay for two days. Let's read onto the next bit. It says and then he said to his disciples, let us go back to Judea. So two days later, He suddenly decides, let's go back. At this point, I'm thinking the disciples are like, what is going on?

Like, why didn't we just go when we could? And so they say, but Rabbi. A short while ago, the Jews there tried to stone you and yet you are going back. I'm thinking at this point, the disciples are like, you know, all of those times that you've done a miracle by just speaking the word now would be a good time to do one of those.

Because if the Jews were trying to stone you, that by kind of default means they're to stone you. Try and stone us as well. So let's do the miracle, but maybe let's just do it from here. But Jesus replies, our friend, there it is again, our friend, Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.

And his disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. So they're thinking a little bit like us at the moment. You know, you've got a fever, go to bed. When the fever wakes, you'll, you'll. You'll be right. But Jesus has to actually spell it out a little bit more because Jesus was speaking of his death and the disciples thought that he meant natural sleep.

And so Jesus told them plainly at this point, Lazarus is dead. And then he goes on and he says, for your sake. I am glad I was not there. Okay, so he's delayed going to heal his friend and now he's made this actually kind of harsh sounding statement. For your sake, I am glad I was not there. You can almost picture the disciples reaction at this point, can't you?

They would have been so confused. What do you mean you were glad you weren't there? Lazarus is your friend. His sisters are your friends, you know, you love them and you are the very one that could have done something You could have healed him and changed the entire Trajectory of this story. How could you say that you were glad that you were not there?

Well, that's not where the statement finishes Jesus actually continues and he says I am glad that I was not there so that you may You Believe, but let us go to him so that you may believe. Believe what? That is what we are going to discover as we continue through this account. So the next verse there says, Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.

Now, when I read this, I actually laughed out loud because I was thinking Thomas. Poor old Thomas. He is not the glass is half full kind of guy. I wonder if in the room and online, like I am Miss Positivity. I, the glass is always half full. Is anyone with me on that? You're always seeing the bright side of life.

What about the other half of you? Is anyone here willing to put their hand up and say, you know, what actually often the glass is half full? Yeah, I thought Kev might put his hand up. There's a few of you. Lazarus would, I'm not Lazarus, he's dead. Thomas, Thomas has got his hand up at this point. He is a kind of glass half full kind of guy.

He's like, you know what? The sisters are going to be angry. You didn't show up. The rest of the family are there. They're mourning. We've already probably missed the funeral. They're gonna stone us. Lazarus is, let's, let's just go. Sure, let's just go and we'll all die together. But if we just back it up a little bit to the previous verse, it says, I am glad I was not there so that you may believe that you may believe what is so important that Jesus is dear friends.

Would have to suffer through watching their brother die. What was so important to believe that Jesus actually allowed these circumstances to play out like they did. He actually allowed these circumstances to play out and see Lazarus die so that we would believe instead of kind of riding in there and saving the heartache and saving the day.

Well, in a few verses, we're going to discover what they hoped that we would believe, but to understand truly what he wants us to believe, we actually have to understand what, who the you is. So if we go to that verse, it says, I'm glad I was not there so that you May believe obviously the you in here are the disciples, right?

The Apostles who Jesus was talking to at the time, but when John wrote this account, this was years later This was after the the death and resurrection of Jesus so we can assume then that in writing that you also includes you. It also includes me. It includes each one of us sitting in the room, watching online, you know, in the 21st century, thousands of years later.

Jesus is saying that the delay that he had, the reason that he allowed this story to play out the way that it did was so that each one of us would believe. So that when we, in our lives, Kev's just said before, we all have stuff going on in our lives and, and each one of us in those, like, where is God in this moments, this story played out the way that it did so that we.

And so the story continues and John tells us that Jesus and the disciples make their way to Bethany and it takes them a few days of travel to get there. And so by the time they actually arrive in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead. for four days. The funeral has happened. He, his body has been, you know, wrapped in funeral clothes and he has been placed in the tomb and the Jews from the neighboring areas have all come down and they are supporting Mary and Martha and they are grieving together.

And so, Into this scene Jesus and his disciples arrive and a servant must've run ahead and said to Mary and Martha, the rabbi is on his way, like he's at the end of the street. And so Martha now remember Martha across the last few chapters that we've read, we have seen Martha open her home to Jesus and serve him and, and provide hospitality.

She and her sister have have followed Jesus and, and done everything that they can to support Jesus and his disciples. And she wants to go and have a few words with Jesus before he arrives with the rest of the mourners. Because he is late, he, he's late. He missed the opportunity to heal her brother.

He missed the funeral, and so she has something to say, and this is what she says in verse 21. She says, Lord, if you had been here. My brother would not have died. Translation. God, this is your fault. How many of us have echoed similar words to Martha's? If you had been here, you could have kept this from happening.

She expressed what many of us have experienced and she expressed what many of us have probably thought in our minds and maybe even had the courage to utter out loud to God in our quiet times. She expressed what it feels like to experience having a need and knowing that God could do something about it, but not having him show up and do it in the way that we thought he should.

And so in this moment in the story, we are all included. It's no longer a story just about Lazarus and Mary and Martha. It's now a story about each and every one of us, because our stories are included in the grand and incredible and beautiful story of God's grace and God's great joy that was for each of us.

And so for the story that we're reading to outwork the way that it did, And for Jesus to be able to say that it outworked that way so that we would believe, it means that each and every one of us can identify with who is in the story. And so Jesus continues on to Bethany and Mary, the sister goes out and she echoes exactly what Martha had said.

It says, when Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet. And she said the same thing, Lord, if you had been here. My brother would not have died. And she is full of grief and she is full of frustration and disappointment and she is weeping. Why? Because she is in the very presence of the one who could have kept it from happening.

And 33 verse 33 says that when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved. And he was troubled. Where have you laid him? He asked. And come and see Lord, they replied. And in this next portion, something really beautiful happens. It's the shortest verse in the Bible.

And I was thinking young people, as I was preparing this, that if you've been thinking about memorizing scripture, this is a really good place to start. Two words, two words, but they convey so much emotion. And so much meaning. And so John records that Jesus standing there surrounded by Mary and Martha and their friends and family, and they are weeping and they're standing literally in front of Lazarus's grave.

And it says, Jesus wept standing with the other mourners. Jesus wept. He wept with Mary and Martha, who at this point were blaming him, doubting him, and he feels their hurt, and he feels their heaviness, and their sorrow, and not only that, but he enters into it. He enters into their pain, into their disappointment, and into their grief, and he weeps with them.

Jesus was God. He knew that Lazarus would die. He also knew that Lazarus would rise again. And he is God. He could have chosen to be above human emotion, but he didn't. He chose to enter in. He chose to partake of like our human emotion. And he showed such deep, Compassion for those that suffered. And I don't know about you, but just knowing that he did that, that he wept with his friends, it makes my sorrow and my pain a little bit more bearable.

In those moments where you don't even have words and you can feel pain to the very depth of your soul, you can know that Jesus weeps for you. with you. He enters into your pain. He is a God of compassion and love. And I don't know about you, but that's a God that I can trust when I'm hurting. Even when the prayers that I'm praying are not being answered exactly how I imagined they would be.

He's not distant and he's not distant from your emotion. He enters into it. with you. He weeps with you. So let's continue the story. Verse 36 says, then the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? So there's two reactions.

They're seeing Jesus weep. And I mean, Jesus was weeping. His eyes were not just closed. Welling up. He was weeping, which was probably not culturally except, you know, normal at the time. And there's two responses. Those that said, wow, look at the compassion of that man. Clearly he loved his friend, but the others are like, yeah, but he could like open the eyes of the blind guy.

Surely he could have come a little bit earlier and saved Lazarus just in time to keep his friend from dying. And it's true. He could have, he didn't even need to come. He could have just spoken a word and Lazarus could be healed, but because he didn't, we get to see this tapestry of events, this beautiful account that was written to demonstrate his compassion and his love.

He had a bigger story in mind and that biggest story included you and I. He had your wife, and your husband, and your kids, and your family, and your friends in mind as this story played out. And he chose to allow the story to play out so that each and every one of us would believe. And so just when you think that there is surely no more room for any more emotion in this story, there It continues and it says Jesus once more, deeply moved, came to the tomb and it was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

And Jesus says, take away the stone. Now, I'm not sure what you picture in this moment, but it's not like a modern day morgue that just has a door that they can easily open. Like it would be an abyss. a feat to try and open this tomb that's been sealed shut with a stone. It's wedged closed. It's, it's meant to be shut for a long time.

And so the people there, they have a decision to make. They have to choose whether to take him at his word. And trust him, this rabbi who has shown up late, do they take him at his word? And I don't want to be graphic here, but like, it's a serious decision because it's not a refrigerated morgue. It's, it's.

It's Israel. It is hot. He's been wrapped in funeral clothes and he has been in there for four days. The body is decaying in that environment. Lazarus does not look like Lazarus anymore. And so it's a big thing that he's asking for them to do. And Martha decides that this is a good time to remind Jesus of that fact.

And she says, By this time, there is a bad odor. It's bad, Jesus. And then just because she hasn't said it enough. She reminds him again. He has been there for four days. Remember? You're so late. Four days. Jesus, you didn't just miss his final breath. You didn't just miss his funeral. You didn't just get here a day late or two days late.

You are four days late. And, you know, Kev reminded me this week, something else really significant about being four days later at this time, the Jewish belief system, they believed that the spirit would hang around the body for up to three days before it departed after somebody had passed away. So in waiting four days, Jesus is saying like there is no, it has to be miraculous.

Like, like everything that they believed in their belief system was like, he is, he is well and truly gone. And so they're, they're, they're sort of weighing all of this up. Martha reminds him, him, yep, it's going to smell bad anyway. But what does Jesus say to that? He says, did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?

And so with that statement, they lean in and they take away the stone. And this is the best part of the story that we're now getting to. Jesus prays, and he prays out loud, so that everybody will hear it. And he prays so that John, who was there witnessing bystander for this moment, would later record it down for us to hear as well.

And this is what he, what Jesus prayed. He looked up, that's what we often do in times of, you know, When we need help. And he said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. He's already been praying. And then he goes on and he says, I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you have sent me.

What was it that he wanted us to believe that he was sent? He said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I think he also said it for the benefit of the people sitting here and sitting out in the cafe and watching online. He said it so that each of us would believe that you sent me. He said that for the benefit of people navigating really hard circumstances in life, people who are in the midst of feeling literally crushed by the weight of what they're going through.

People who are praying, but wondering if God is even hearing them. He said it for the benefit. of you and for me that we might believe that he was sent. Is it possible that this whole story was orchestrated so that we would know it was about the one who sent Jesus? Yep. All of the emotion, all of the pain, all of the grief, it was worth it because it showed you and I that Jesus was sent, that God sent Jesus.

If the father sent the son to tell us what the father is like, then we can be so sure that our father is kind and compassionate and that we serve a God who enters in to the pain of his people, just the way that Jesus did. When you believe that Jesus was sent, And if the father is like the son, you know, and the son represents God, then you can know that circumstances are not an indicator of God's absence.

Circumstances are not an indicator of God's silence. He enters into the pain with you because that's what the son did. That is our heavenly father. He is compassionate and he is loving and he is kind and he is faithful and he is good. Amen. And he cares for each and every one of us. And this narrative gives us incredible hope because what you're about to read in the next portion about what Jesus did shows us that if Jesus could do that, just imagine what God is capable of.

And that assurance that we have in God's presence and in God's power is what gives us hope when we are suffering through our own circumstances. God so loved the world. That he gave his only son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have what everlasting life And so jesus takes a breath and he says in a loud voice lazarus Come out And the dead man came out, his hands and his feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face.

And Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him go. The next sentence says this, Therefore, And quite honestly, after what they've just witnessed, like this actually makes sense, doesn't it? It's not a surprise. Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary had seen what Jesus did and they believed in him.

What did they believe? that he was the son of God who had been sent by God to represent a loving, compassionate, faithful God who would enter into the circumstances of people and weep with them. No mortal man can call a man back to life after four days. It was clear that he had been sent by God. And so they believed that, and they believed that what he said could be trusted.

Because of Him, because He is the Son of God, because He went to the cross and He conquered death and He rose again, we have hope, even in the darkest night and the deepest valley. We can believe who He says He is, the Son of God. And that not only is that, that not only is he with us, but that he is for us, for God, so loved the world.

And that gives you the ability to face tomorrow with confidence and with hope, knowing that we are all part of this incredible story of God's redemptive love and knowing that he's good news of great joy. is for each and every one of us. We can face tomorrow because He is a part of our story. And the circumstances and the brokenness and the sorrow and the grief that we experience in this world are not an indicator that God does not care or that God is absent.

Without God, our circumstances can crush us. And they can feel hopeless. But if you can look through the circumstances, if you can change your perspective, you will see that he is present and he is compassionate and he is for you. Now, as I finish up, I want to share one more verse. With you a verse that contains such great promise of hope.

And it was written by one of the other disciples, Peter, Peter was also there. He was a witness to seeing Lazarus called out from the grave and raised to death. And he, years later, he writes this statement. He says humble yourselves, therefore under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

When you think about Peter and what he journeyed through, it gives this verse even more meaning. See, years before he wrote this, Peter actually was in a boat with the other disciples in the middle of the lake and they see Jesus walking out on the lake towards them. And Peter, in a moment of like, just.

absolute faith, says to Jesus, call to me that I might come to you, like that I could walk on the water towards you. And so Jesus says, come. And so Peter, in this moment of faith, steps out of the boat and onto the sea of Galilee. He's walking on water towards his saviour. But But then his eyes shift from the Savior and he starts to notice that the wind is pummeling him and that the waves are rising and in that moment doubt sets in and he begins to sink.

And he cries out. He's literally drowning. And as I read this account, I often think how he is, what he's doing physically, how often we feel literally, you know, we feel like we're drowning in our circumstances. And so Peter, he calls out to Jesus and he says, save me. And Jesus reaches out his hand right there on the Sea of Galilee.

And he grabs hold of Peter and he lifts him up. He saves him. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand. He's experienced it. He's experienced it, that he may lift you up in due time. That is hope. that he may lift you up in due time. He's experienced it and so can we. And then he continues and he says, cast all your worry on him because he cares for you.

You know, the Greek term used here actually means so much more than just worry. It means he cares for you. Cast, it means throw onto him. All of your worry, all of your concern, all of your anxiety, all of your hurt, all of your disappointment, all of your anger, all of your frustration, all of those times when you have been, you feel like you've been let down, throw it all, cast it all on God.

Your heavenly father who cares for you. And

I know that I don't know all of your situations. And I get that there are people that are walking through deep sorrow and such great hurt. But I believe that the Son was sent from the Father and that He represents our God who is full of compassion and full of mercy and full of grace and such great love for you.

And if you would just reach out to Him, He is there with His mighty hand to lift you up to Him. There is hope in whatever you are going through. Carolyn, your story today was such a beautiful picture of this, that we can know, hope that we can have confidence that we can, we can trust that God is good and that God is in control, regardless of what it is that we're facing.

And as I said, I, I can't imagine. Some of the stories that the people in this room and those of you that are online are facing. I I know that there are those of you who have buried children. I know that there are those of you who are trapped in addiction, that have, you know, facing bankruptcy, that are looking at fractured relationships and diagnoses from the doctor.

There are so many different situations and so many circumstances that we face in life. You know, A few days ago, Friday, actually, was the winter solstice. It's the longest night in Australia. And I just get this sense that there are some people that feel like one night, that's nothing. You know, I'm walking through a season of what I feel like is just Unending winter solstices, but I know my God.

I don't know your scenario, but I know my God. And I know that my God cares for you and loves you. And I know that. Because I've experienced it. And I know that so many of you have experienced it as well. When I was a teenager in my first year of high school, actually, I was 13 three people in my world died.

One was my grandad, one was a friend of my dad's who was the same age as my dad and had kids our age, and the other one was a school friend who died on a school camp in a really tragic accident at 13. And across that year, as a 13 year old girl, I remember grappling with death and really understanding that life was not guaranteed that it is a mist and a vapor and, and that there's nothing about the here and now that is, is solid or dependable except for Jesus.

And there is so much more to life than here and now. There's an eternity, but in the here and now we can lean onto the only thing that is solid in this world, and that is the hand of God. Jesus Christ, you know, I have a hope that is an anchor for my soul. And I know that many of you have experienced that as well.

And that hope has sustained, sustained me as I've, it has held me.

He sustains me.

I was not well this morning

and I nearly couldn't do this.

And kept it.

I'll come and speak for you. But my God sustains me. He is faithful. And he is good. And my life is good. He has helped me through really good times. But he's also helped me through the tough times. Through surgeries. And through sickness. And through, thanks Annie.

Three times when I think that my life looks different to what I imagined it might look like, but his hope holds me through it all. And what I want you to know this morning is that you can look past what the circumstances look like. And if you do that, you will see the hand of God. In everything, because he is there to reach you and lift you.

He is there to give you hope. And that is possible because of the person of Jesus Christ.

He is the constant and he is the hope that anchors me through my life. And as I said, I can't even begin to imagine what others are facing. I feel like what I have faced is so small compared to some of the hurt that you guys are walking through. But God sees you and he loves you and he is with you and he is your hope and your anchor.

I wanted to share another story, but I think I've run out of time. No, I think I'll do it. Kev's smiling at me. When I was a young adult, there was a beautiful teenager in our church. Her name was Amy and she her mom, her name was Kathy and Kathy to this day, one of the most inspiring people that I have ever met.

She buried her husband at age 42 and went on to raise her three kids by herself. And not many years after that, Amy was in a car accident and Amy was in intensive care and Pauline, I remember she'll make me cry some more. I remember gathering with our youth group, with our young adults, with our whole church family.

And we were praying for Amy. We were praying for a miracle that God would heal her body and she died. And I remember, We all wrestled with what that could look like, that, you know, that a God of compassion and care and love would, when so much faith was, was gathered together, like, how could the ending end like that?

But what I realized in that was that Amy did get her miracle. Her miracle was that she was whole and restored. And, and, in eternal life with her saviour. And Kathy, through that whole season, burying her husband and burying her only daughter, she had the most steadfast faith. She was confident that even though she didn't get the miracle, the resurrection of her daughter that she had hoped for, she was confident that there was a resurrection.

And that that was, you know, in Jesus Christ and that she could put her faith and that she could put her trust in him. And that's what she did. And it was so inspiring. And I look around this room and I think about some of the journeys that you guys are on, and I know that you are putting your confidence in Jesus Christ.

He is the one that is sustaining you. And I just want to say to the people this morning that maybe haven't made that decision yet, that. This whole story that we read this morning, it played out the way that it did so that you might believe. So that you might believe that a gracious and a loving and a compassionate God that we could call Abba Father sent his son to die.

And that he had victory over death. And that now that victory is ours, that we have the hope of an eternity with him. So whatever you're going through, whatever difficulties you are going through, Experiencing and navigating God is with you. God is good. God is faithful He is loving and Jesus went out of his way To demonstrate that for you and because of Jesus we're all invited to believe or maybe believe again Maybe believe for the first time to cast our concerns and our worries and our anxiety on him Because he cares for you.

And when you know that it changes everything, your perspective changes because God so loved the world that he sent his son to demonstrate that love for us, that whosoever would believe would have life forever with him. Would you pray with me this morning? Heavenly father, I thank you for meeting, for meeting each and every one This morning in their place of heartache, I thank you that you And I pray that you would actually help us to see and to feel your compassion in a very real way, even in the most painful moments and even in the darkest nights.

And for all of those who are hurting, I pray that they would be assured. Deep down in their souls that you care, that you love them. And I pray God that we would have the confidence and the courage to bring our concerns and our worries and our anger and our frustration, and that we would give them to you, God, because you care for us.

I thank you Jesus for the victory that you have over death and the promise that we have in you and I thank you God that because you live we can face tomorrow with confidence and with hope because you hold us. We thank you for that in Jesus name. Amen.