Only Show Up For Jesus

Text: John 11:11  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

Lazarus was beyond sleep, he was dead.

But beyond his spiritual, physical, and mental condition, Jesus still called him friend.

Some people only call me friend if they can benefit from my existence, or use me. Jesus called Lazarus friend, even though he seemed to be at the point of no return. Jesus and Lazarus relationship was stronger than the predicament threatened to divide them.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

Jesus keeps his commitment to people who have been discarded by others. He has always befriended the sick, the decomposing, and the rotten.

a.    Jesus is the friend of sinners, He comes when others have walked away, and His brilliance shines brighter w darkness.

b.    John 11:1-4

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

             i.        There's a lot of things that come into our lives that God allows to happen so that it can bring Him glory.

            ii.        When you come out of your darkest hour, God is glorified.

c.    John 11:14-15, 21

14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

21  Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

d.   John 11:24-25

24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

             i.        I got family on the other side, and the truth is, they are more alive today than they ever were when they were walking the earth.

e.    The thing that we call death is not really death; it's a graduation.

f.     Verse 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

             i.    Mary said I don't know a whole lot of things, but I know that you are the Messiah that we have been waiting for.

g.   He shouts a great shaken word of deliverance into the crypts of our lives.

h.   It is God we must have, there is nothing else we can do.

             i.    There is a void we have, and it cannot be filled  with anything else other than God.

            ii.    You try to fill that void with anything else other than God and you will not have peace.

i.     Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

             i.    Even though Adam disobeyed God, He still called Adam the son of God.

            ii.    God didn't speak Adam into existence from a distance, he personally touched and molded Adam.

           iii.    God's fingerprints are etched into every fiber or our being.

j.     To every person that dreamed of a comeback, this is proof positive that God can produce a comeback from every setback.

             i.    Then we arose to the sweet voice of a loving Saviour who's living words chased death from our bodies.

            ii.    Have you ever experienced His voice of resurrection when you thought it was over?

1.  Only Show Up For Jesus

a.   If you come to church for Jesus you will have joy in your heart because you came for one thing! If you come for anything else, you won't be here long.

             i.        No matter how much you love your church family, they are not enough to keep you sticking around when all hell is breaking loose.

            ii.        And sometimes, no matter how much we love you, there is absolutely nothing we can do to help you.

b.    God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the ones He calls.

c.    John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

d.   Once you hear Jesus speak, you'll want to hear Him over and over again, and other things no longer move you.

             i.        Lazarus no longer cared to run here and there to places that were once fulfilling.

e.    You have a ministry inside of you, that you may be scared to let out because of what people might say, that God is dying fro you to let out!

f.     Once you have a resurrection experience, your priorities will change, from wanting accolades from people, to only desiring accolades from God.

             i.        The people that abandon you, you don't have time to be bothering yourself over them.

            ii.        If you have favor from God you will also have favor from the right people.

g.   John 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

             i.        In this room, we have people that were alcoholics, were fornicators, were prostitutes, but God came in and changed them.

            ii.        Lazarus never went out to heap disciples unto himself, he stayed with Jesus! That's what I'm talking about today.

           iii.        Lazarus never even preached a sermon. You will never see a word spoken of him in this Bible, but his life spoke volumes.

h.   Colossians 3:1-2

1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

2.  Only show up for Jesus because He gave you everything you have.

a.   Our pardon is eternal, and yet we are so reserved.

b.    Once you have survived what Lazarus did, you are not free to be a cold and unfeeling Christian, Once you have had the touch from God, you realize that He is the man upstairs.

c.    Most people stay until they are out of immediate danger, and then once that passes they find something else to do than follow the will of God.

d.   This should put us in the spirit of worship. God's people need worship like a drug addict needs dope.

e.    We were created to dwell in His presence. Worship is the first step to rehabilitation.

             i.        Worship is more than just a service, it is a lifestyle, a way you live that worships God.

f.     Jesus didn't resurrect you to rebury you under the old worries and stresses.

             i.        Through all that you have been through, you are still here. Others have quit and given up, but you have stuck with God.

            ii.        Throw yourself a party and say I know that all I have is because of you. Celebrate the fact that God has kept your family together, the fact that your church is here, that you have breath, that you have purpose!

           iii.        Until you learn to love you, you can't love nobody else.

          iv.        The problem with Christianity is that we teach Christians to hate themselves, then try to get them to love everybody else. How can you accept other's mistakes if you can't accept your own?

3.  Don't let others intimidate you.

a.   John 12:9-11

9   Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake

10  But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;

11  Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

             i.        People only fear what they have not faced.

            ii.        There are certain things you can't be threatened with when you have looked death and failure in the face.

b.    If the grave can't hold us, then nothing else that the devil could throw at us can hold us either.

c.    Victory comes from surviving.

             i.    We will survive the onslaught of the devil, because we are more than conquerors in Christ.

d.   Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it. As soldiers, we have to be courageous.

             i.    No matter what life brings, God will bring you out. Be not weary in well-doing, for you shall reap- this is a promise from God. Whenever you see the word shall, that is a promise, and whenever you see the word if, that's a condition - if you don't quit.

Whatever happens, keep fighting. God promises that you will be rewarded if you keep fighting.

I thank God for having courageous people around me. I thank God for Norristown Baptist Church. - Pastor Butler