Lazarus Raised

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Lazarus Raised

John 11:21-24

21 Then [oun] said [epo] Martha [Martha] unto [pros] Jesus [Iesous] , Lord [kurios] , if [ei] thou hadst been [en] here [hode] , my [mou] brother [adelphos] [an] had [thnesko] not [ou] died [thnesko] .
22 But [alla] I know [eido] , that even [kai] now [nun] , whatsoever [hoti] [hosos] [an] thou wilt ask [aiteo] of God [theos] , God [theos] will give [didomi] it thee [soi] .
23 Jesus [Iesous] saith [lego] unto her [autos] , Thy [sou] brother [adelphos] shall rise again [anistemi] .
24 Martha [Martha] saith [lego] unto him [autos] , I know [eido] that [hoti] he shall rise again [anistemi] in [en] the resurrection [anastasis] at [en] the last [eschatos] day [hemera] . KJV-Interlinear

21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 'Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' 23 Jesus said to her, 'Your brother shall rise again.' 24 Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.' NASB

You should take the time to review the fifth chapter of John, for it clarifies and distinguishes the relative roles of the Father and the Son in life. And, it clarifies as to why we have the Christian faith and how it differs from all other religions. Christianity is not a religion by the way, it is a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.

Many religions recognize God, and of course many religions have several gods just to keep themselves different from other beliefs, and to provide some variety for their membership. But as for God, there is Judaism, and Islam (for example) which recognize an all powerful and all knowing God to whom they say they look.

But God the Father has set out a plan for mankind. God knows that man will do anything he can in his wickedness, to counter God and His plan, and God knows that Satan will do more than his part to confuse the issue for mankind. Man of course will embrace the false beliefs because they have alluring temptations which make believing in them very convenient and compatible with the sin natures of mankind.

So we have Gods plan, which is to approach Him only through Jesus Christ. To reject Christ (which all religions in this world do) is to reject the very plan God set forth by which mankind can approach Him. To reject the plan is to reject God.

Martha understands this principle. Although she is upset with Jesus' not showing up sooner and healing her brother, she still understands the principles of the relationship between Jesus and God the Father.

'I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' Why? Because God the Father and God the Son are on the same script in history. They have established a plan whereby man will not be allowed to rise up through the efforts of his own sin nature and make himself equal with God. This is Satan's first sin of arrogance, 'to be like the Most High.'

What God the Father planned, is what God the Son executes in history. The Son does not do anything apart from the divine plan which was agreed to in eternity past. This means simply that mans works are out, and Gods works are in. Man does selfishly for himself and even at the expense of others. Man could care less about others when it comes to getting what he wants.

God on the other hand has set out a plan for each individual in history. God set up a plan which will give each individual every possible advantage, both in time and in eternity. 'But what happened,' you say? 'Where is all of this blessing for me?'

And that answer is a very simple one. Gods plan for you is a perfect one. Even in giving you volition and the right to make your own decisions. And, that is where the problems begin. You are your own worst enemy. You think, or better put, you don't think. And that means you do not think the right thoughts. You don't think Gods thoughts. Therefore you create barriers within your own life.

We all have access to two systems of thought - carnal thoughts which are governed by the sin nature, and spiritual thoughts which are governed by the Holy Spirit (when you are in fellowship).

Now back to Martha. She knows the relationship between the Father and the Son. She has just lost a loved one and is upset, so she wishes that Jesus had been there to help Lazarus. Tomorrow, we'll see that she will identify Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. You can sneak a peek ahead a few verses if you want. By the way, reading ahead in the Bible is permitted in this study!!!

Martha knows of the resurrection. Her doctrine is pretty sound. Probably more so than the disciples, who can't make up there mind about anything it would seem. But we shouldn't pick on them too much. They are only doing the very things that we all do. I emphasize there failures in this study so that we all can see the same failures in our own lives, and so that we can correct them.

Lazarus will rise and have life whenever Christ wills it. For that matter, all of us will have life so long as Christ wills it, and not for one moment longer.

We can play the poor me game in life. We can be sad over the problems we are inundated with. We can be apprehensive about our futures. We can be angry over not having a better existence. But will this type of attitude make things better? No.

We can rebel, and just force our own way through life. We can pretend that things will never change, and so we justify our going ahead with anything we want to do. We can maintain our chosen life style. We can maintain our own beliefs about ourselves and our future, and decide that we are the only ones who can either make our life or break it. And the only part of that last sentence that is true, is the last part.

And therein is our flaw in life. God has given us a perfect plan for life, and we are the ones that mess it up.

So again you say, 'What about the environment, the disabilities, the lack of advantages in life, the monthly bills?' Soooo. Can't God overcome any of these? Yes He can. It is the devils world, and so long as the Devil runs loose, there will be trouble, disadvantages, inequities, unfair things in life, and so forth. But these are not barriers for God, they are barriers only in the minds of mankind.

If we stick with our Bible study, and grow up spiritually, in the proper way, then we will all see a better life than even we could imagine.

Like Martha, most of us know the facts of doctrine. We know that there is a God, a Son of God, a resurrection, and many other things, but we need to commit them to our understanding and then apply them to our personal life. The Christian life is not something that we merely hear about, and not incorporate into our lives. Too many people follow that approach in life. That is where the difficulties in faith begins, and in the spiritual life, faith is one of the most elusive concepts to grasp and to hold. Our emotions get in the way. But if we keep with our daily study, day after day, and persevere, then it will not be we who build up faith within ourselves it will be God who builds it up within us.