First Baptist Church Litchfield
chapel 4/9
  • Come Thou Fount
  • Crown Him With Many Crowns (Diademata)
  • I Will Rise
  • The Power Of The Cross

  • Death Does Not Discriminate

    An Indiana cemetery has a tombstone over a hundred years old that bears this epitaph:

    Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by,

    As you are now, so once was I.

    As I am now, so you will be,

    So prepare for death and follow me.

    The epitaph on the tombstone reveals two truths we know deep in our hearts. Death is coming to everyone, and it does not discriminate between young or old, black or white, rich or poor, abled or disabled. The bible teaches all of us to to thoughtful about the days of our lives. The Psalmist says, Psalm 90:12
    Psalm 90:12 ESV
    12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
    James, the half brother of Jesus says,
    James 4:13–14 ESV
    13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
    That was the case for Lazarus. He was a young man who was loved by his two sisters, Mary and Martha, and Jesus (John 11:5). One day he woke up not feeling well. The bible does not say what made him sick, but he became deathly ill. He was so sick that Mary and Martha were scared for Him and sent for Jesus to come quickly so that he can heal him (John 11:3).
    When Jesus got word that the one whom he loved, Lazarus was sick, Jesus did something peculiar.
    John 11:6 ESV
    So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
    Jesus delayed for another two days, during which Lazarus passed away (John 11:11-12). This situation confounds us. Jesus had a profound love for Lazarus (John 11:3, 5). So why wait until his death? How can that be seen as love? Unlike Mary and Martha, we are aware of the bigger picture: Jesus had an extraordinary plan for Lazarus, one that would illuminate the greatness of God, Jesus himself, and even Lazarus. This plan deviated from what anyone anticipated but aligned perfectly with God's wishes and was magnificent.
    Jesus intended to let Lazarus experience death so that he could resurrect him, demonstrating to the world that Jesus embodies resurrection and life. By bringing Lazarus back from the dead, Jesus reveals this truth to us today.,

    Those who believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life will have eternal life now and the hope of the resurrection to come.

    Jesus is the eternal life to all who will believe in Him.

    Jesus arrives to Lazarus's home town and is greeted by Martha. She is upset that her brother has died. She tells him
    John 11:21 ESV
    Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
    She recognized that Jesus had the ability to heal her brother, yet her perception of Him was limited. Jesus aimed to demonstrate that He transcends the role of a Jewish healer. He can even raise the dead. Beyond being a miracle worker, Jesus embodies the resurrection and the life for everyone who believes in Him. Many of us misunderstand Jesus. Some see Him merely as a good person or a valued teacher, while others view Him as a wise sage or a religious radical. Too many regard Him as irrelevant to our lives until we confront death, as Mary and Martha did with Lazarus. Could it be that this morning, Jesus wants to reveal to you that He is more than just a good teacher or prophet , more than a historical figure? He is the risen Lord who grants life and resurrection to all who believe in Him. These same question he poses to Martha, He poses to you:
    John 11:25–26 ESV
    25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
    There are two things Jesus asks Martha, and you to believe.

    Do you believe Jesus is the Resurrection (John 11:25)?

    John 11:25 ESV
    Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
    What does Jesus mean what he says, “I am the resurrection?” Jesus is telling Martha that those who believe in Him will come to life. There are two ways to look at this. First, there is eternal life. God is the giver of eternal life, that is life after death. Jesus says, “even though he die, yet he shall live.”
    God created us to live with Him. He made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve sinned against God, and the curse of sin is death.
    Romans 6:23 ESV
    For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    All of us who are from Adam are sinners and all of us die. That is why death does not discriminate. Sin breaks everything and destroys everything. God also made us with souls, to live for eternity after we die. Sin, however, separates us from God. Paul says the wages of sin is death. The death he is referring to is physical death and spiritual death. Everyone who dies separated from God receives his wrath in hell. This is the spiritual death.
    When Jesus states, “He is the resurrection,” He assures you that spiritual death does not have to come to you. You need not face God’s wrath; instead, you can attain eternal life through Jesus. Paul refers to Jesus as God's free gift, emphasizing that His eternal life is available to everyone who chooses to place their faith in Him. Jesus's sacrificial death on the cross has the power to transfer God’s wrath away from you and onto Himself. By believing in your heart and publicly confessing that He is Lord, Jesus grants you His righteousness, reconciling you with God, and promising you everlasting life even in death. Furthermore, resurrection signifies being raised from the dead, as Jesus did for Lazarus. He commanded Lazarus to emerge from the grave and live again, which he did. However, the issue with Lazarus’s resurrection was that he returned in his old body, meaning he would ultimately face death again. In contrast, when Jesus grants you eternal life, He will also resurrect your body from the grave, endowing you with a new glorified body suitable for heaven.

    Do you believe Jesus is the Life (John 11:25)?

    Jesus is the only source of eternal life. There is no life outside of Christ. You cannot find eternal life in a bottle or a drug or a life style. You cannot find eternal life in your politics or any other religion. You can only find eternal life in Christ.
    There could have been a hundred people at Lazarus’s grave when Jesus arrived. Only Jesus had the power to speak to dead Lazarus and call him from the tomb. Only when Jesus commanded him to rise and come out, did Lazarus walk out of that grave.
    D.A Carson once said,
    “Ordinary, mortal life ebbs away; the life that Jesus gives never ends. It is in that sense that whoever lives and believes in Jesus will never die.” D.A. Carson
    We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. We celebrate the reality that Christ has risen from the grave. He was resurrected. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, alive, giving life to all who will believe in him. This life will ebb away, but because Jesus is alive and is the source of life, all who believe he is the resurrection and the life, will have His resurrection and his eternal life. Do you believe this?
    An unknown passerby had read those words on the gravestone and scratched this reply below them:

    To follow you I’m not content,

    Until I know which way you went.

    That is great advice. Today do not follow just anyone into death. Follow Jesus into death knowing he is the only way to life.

    Those who believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life will have eternal life now and the hope of the resurrection to come.

  • Empowered by the Spirit, Guided by the Word
First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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