As Christians, we are all about saying "God is worthy," and He is, and I believe it is the intent of most believers to mean those words. Of course, He is worthy. (There I go.). But to the point! How do we lift Him up? With our lives, which is our worship in service. Romans 12:Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. This a well-known scripture, and Paul was writing from experience. His experience was this: many say they want to worship Jesus, but many also fall away because they did not give their lives in worship to the One who is worthy, Jesus.
It is no different in today's world, where hearts burn brightly for a while, and then, over time, those hearts grow cold and indifferent. There is a constant burden I feel, and it is heavy, to just do the "status quo" and let that be my offering of worship. Then that pesky attack dog, the Holy Spirit, stirs my heart anew and I face the reality that Jesus really is the one who is worthy of keeping going. I say attack dog because the way the Holy Spirit attacks my apathy and indifference is the wake-up call to action, and He is very faithful in reminding me of what Jesus did and what He has called me to do. It is all about the one who is worthy, and that is Jesus.
In John 11, Jesus has word sent to him that His friend Lazarus is sick, and his sisters want Jesus to come. John 11:3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” What happened next? John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” Jesus did not go immediately to help Lazarus, and He spent two more days with His disciples. In the above scripture, we see that Jesus' timing was necessary for one thing: to glorify God! The scripture above specifically says that "Jesus loved, Lazarus, Martha, and her sister Mary." These were not only followers, but close friends.
Jesus' followers reminded Him of this fact in John 11:8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” The delay to go back immediately was not because of lack of love from Jesus, but His plans were much bigger than helping Lazarus. Jesus was going to resurrect His friend to bring glory to God and show "visibly" He had the power of death. What a great witness to those people and to us who call Jesus our Savior. If you ever doubted that you will be resurrected, this is a strong example of the power of Jesus, who is the resurrection. I love verse 11 where Jesus says “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” HIs disciples had missed the first thing Jesus said, when Jesus said that Lazarus was sleeping. Jesus meant and confirmed what He meant in verse 12 where scripture says He told them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
In a world that is so lukewarm, Jesus says to pick one, hot or cold. Indecision is the curse of an apathetic heart and life. We are called to believe totally. Not just casual belief, but total faith. We must learn to trust Jesus first. Trust that He is who He says He is. Savior (def)-God or Jesus Christ as the redeemer of sin and saver of souls. Redeemer (def) - Jesus is our redeemer and gives us salvation for our souls. Restorer (def) - to bring back to or put back into a former or original state. God is bringing us back to a place of fellowship with Him as He intended, and Jesus gives us life eternal. And even though we die, we also shall live, just like Lazarus.
A point to think about is this. Even though Jesus had showed up at the place where Lazarus was buried, Martha and the others still did not understand the power of the one they trusted to save the life of Lazarus. They thought that any distance from that place would limit what Jesus could do. But oh, there is no distance that can lessen the power of Jesus. In Matthew 8 there is a vivid example of the power of Jesus that is not held to distance and it took the faith of a Roman Centurion to show this kind of faith. Matthew 8:5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him,6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!
Jesus was not seeing this great faith from religious Hebrews, who should have known better who He was. What kind of faith do we see today among those who are called "spiritual?" It should be the kind of faith that believes that Jesus can heal the sick, bless the needy, send rain for the crops, bring a country back to it's roots of faith, and yes, save a lost and dying sinner from hell. Jesus does it all and continues to move in our midst, and the problem is our lack of faith. The curse of apathy is strong, and so strong when someone takes a stand for what is right they are beat down and discredited like President Trump. When the only that is being done is moving forward and "doing" something. Jesus sets the example of moving forward with His plan and He said when the Holy Spirit comes we will do even more than He has. Is that happening? Then it is time to get with the program and move forward as "the church."
Here is how Paul approached this subject in Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. That sums up the whole point of "Is Jesus worthy of giving our lives in service, which is worship?" HE IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE AND OUR TRUST. So trust. Just trust. Then you will be able to see that which seemed impossible, like the resurrection of Lazarus, is definitely possible. GIVE HIM PRAISE!!
Today's Message,
David Warren
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