Address—E. Wakefield
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Morning in the barbershop there was an.
There was a property of Time magazine which the Barber drew our attention to and it said is God coming? I think it said is God coming alive again?
Well, there's a verse that I was reading in the 13th chapter of Acts. It says, but God raised him from the dead. What a wonderful thing tonight it is that we have a living Savior, but God raised him from the dead. I'd like to speak tonight on the three persons that the Lord Jesus raised from the dead.
In the gospel, when he was here on earth, three persons.
That the Lord Jesus raised from the dead. Each of these incidents we have, I believe, many valuable lessons to learn. I think they're very blessed to see how God teaches us and these three occasions, many truths in connection with you and with me and our Christian lives. First one, of course, is in the first chapter of Mark's gospel. We will not read the whole thing.
We know, I'm sure we all know this very well.
But it's really the end of the chapter.
We start reading from the 35th verse.
On the 35th verse of Mark chapter 5.
While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead. Why troubles thou the master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he says under the ruler of the synagogue. But you're not afraid, only believe.
And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter and James.
John the brother of James, and he cometh to the House of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth of. And then this wept and wailed bravely. And when he was come in, he said unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepless. And they laughed into scorn when he had put them all out.
He take it the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him.
And Andrew at the end where the damsel was lying, and he took her by, they took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her.
Till I see a cumai which has been interpreted damsel, I say unto thee, Arise.
And straight where the damsel arose and warps, for she was of the age of 12 years.
And they were astonished with a great astonishment, and he charged them straightly that no man should know it, and commanded that something should be given her to eat. Well, I believe just quickly to look at the earlier verses. There verse 35 we have man's reason why trouble is out of master any further.
As far as this world is concerned, death made it impossible for anything to be done, he thought. Why trouble us, thou?
The Master any further that would be bring before us man's reason then in the 40 is 1St And they laughed in the scorn that would bring before us man's unbelief. And we notice what the Lord Jesus did, He put them all out and tells us.
In the 40th verse they allowed him to storm, but when he had put the mall out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and then we were with him and enters in where the damsel was lying. Here we have the Lord Jesus in the presence of death. You know, it's a wonderful thing to think of this. Many of us here have convective Funeral services.
But the Lord Jesus never conducted a funeral service.
There's no record in the Scriptures of the Lord Jesus ever taking a funeral service because death could not be in his presence. He never conducted a funeral service, and here was the Son of God in the presence of death. There he stood, the Son of God, all those who with unbelief were put out.
They were all put out, you know, maybe as Christians.
We have, we have unbelief. Don't we think that God can only do certain things?
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We sometimes limit God, don't we? I'm sure there's maybe mothers and fathers here, like many of us. It was hard ache over our children and we just wonder what will happen to these children? What is going to happen? Maybe we limit God and we think how hard it is to see our children going off into the world, giving up and throwing everything overboard and going out into the world and the devil uses these things.
To the start as each one of us that isn't the fact aren't their parents here. And I speak for myself too.
We're discouraged about our children. Maybe some of them don't live up to what we think is are the standard.
And we get very discouraged and the devil uses these things to bring more discouragement into our lives if he can. How nice it is to know that Jesus is with us, but he's able to bring blessing to our children if we will but believe and trust Him and so.
We noticed this girl was dead.
And all each one of us were Christians. This was our portion, was it not? Once we were dead, we were dead spiritually. We had no life, but Jesus crossed our pathway. How blessed that was. And our experience that Jesus came where we were, came to the very place we were, where we were in our death. And it tells us here in this 41St verse. And he took the devil. I took these dams. Oh, pardon me by the.
What a wonderful thing this is. This was personal contact with Christ. He took the damsel by the hand. Oh, now we have something different here with a called hand, a hand that was called and death. And the great hand of Jesus takes that hand. Oh what a wonderful thing. Now we have a personal contact with this poor dead girl. This is what happened to us, beloved. We were dead and the blessed Savior.
Reached for his great hand of power and took our hands, and we had personal contact with Christ.
Maybe there's some young person here tonight, but he says that I don't enjoy the Christian life. Why? When I was a boy in Sunday school, I accepted the Lord. I believe these things that I haven't got this kind of joy. I don't enjoy the Bible. I don't enjoy prayer. I don't enjoy being at the prayer meeting or the Bible readings. Maybe you've never had personal contact with Christ.
Now I speak with respect, and I'm sure you'll.
Forgive me for saying these things, beloved, but there's many young people I'm sure that come to our meetings who've never had personal contact with Christ. They have a sort of a head belief they were brought up with only natural that the human mind, you know, we know can't enter into these things as we can who have the Spirit of God. We know that. But the human mind can grasp certain things like John 316 that can.
Verse in John 524 But have you had personal contact with Christ? Has Christ touched you? Has the Lord touched your heart? Has the Lord brought you into blessings? And so he took her by the hand, and he spoke to her and said, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. He was speaking directly to this girl. Oh beloved, how wonderful is the Lord Jesus has spoken to us personally.
He said I say unto thee, arrive. I notice what happened in this 42nd verse. And straightway the damsel arose and walked. This is the first thing we have and this first instance of of a resurrection from the dead. We have life and we have walk. This is exactly, I believe what follows the Christians, the Sinner who's who's brought the Christ, the Sinner who's brought to the Lord Jesus.
Has life in Christ. The first thing he does is he walks, the Lord said to many whom he gave health and raised up from their sickness. Take up thy bed and walk. Wasn't that nice? Take up thy bed and walk. He gave that person the power that was hopeless and helpless and weak. He gave them the power to stand up and to walk and saw this dead person.
Who was raised from the dead? He gave her power. Straight wing. Oh, we believe in straightway conversion.
Believe American be saved instantly. One simple look at her face of Christ brings instant life. Salvation instantly. Straightway the very voice of Jesus reached her stone. I say unto thee, Arise. And straightway the damsel arose and walk where she was at the age of 12 years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. They charged them straightly, that no man.
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Should know it and come out of something to be given her to eat. That is exactly the Christian life beloved. Notice death, then life hurt life, second walk and the third food. What a wonderful thing life, walk and food doesn't. That's exactly what happened to each one of us all I remember.
In my own case, the Bible became a new book.
The Bible, the surprise. Oh how I have no use for this book. This was a bad book, but I was dead. The book wasn't dead, but I was dead. But all, how wonderful was the Bible? I can see it now in my early days when I first came to Christ. The Bible beside my bed, waking up in those early morning at early morning in the month of May.
And the sun was streaming in the window and waiting for this. They all booked the wonderful book, The Word of God.
At least one of Christians. We need this. Not only that we have the life, but we really know the Lord. We have the life.
And we can walk for the Lord, but we also need food. And I want to speak to the young Christian and connection with this food. We must have this food just as a baby. There's many young people in this meeting here. I understand with young children you have to feed those children. And God's children must be fed. And if you don't read your Bible, you'll never grow.
All how few have time to read the Bible you know?
In the days of you read the book of Exodus, you notice what Pharaoh was a picture of the devil there. He took away the straw from children of Israel, took away their straw and said, I want you to make the same number of bricks, but no straw. And why did he say in that? Because he said they are idle. They are idle.
And that's why they want to go 3 days into the wilderness to worship their God, their idol. They have nothing to do. This is exactly what the devil has done in this age, in Beloved. There's nobody in this room can deny this. There's nobody here in this room can deny what I'm going to say now. There's never been more time for men. There is today. The business hours are shorter.
The holidays are longer, 3 weeks a month, all kinds of long weekends, Saturdays, no business.
And yet there is no time to read the Bible. Why? Because the devil says they are idol. Their idols take away their strong, they have no time. We said this in the Montreal meeting and after the meeting three young men came to me and they said, brother, that's true, we have no time. One of them went so far as to say this.
The boys in the college where I go, unsaved young men who cursed and swear and drink and attend all night parties, they have time for their all night parties. But we have no time. No time to read our Bibles. We have no time because the devil is taking away our strong. Isn't this a fact the devil has first drawn? There's no time for food, but the Lord commanded that something should be given.
And we have something in this book which is food for our souls. Young Christians, read your Bibles, put the Lord 1St. I'm going to say something else that I've been sometimes challenged. We're saying, but I believe if you put the Lord first, you'll never lose. You'll never be able to stand before the Lord and say to him, I put you first.
When I was down in that world, I put you first.
I read your words first, I prayed first, and because of that I lost.
I lost the life. God will never under any circumstance allow one of his children to ever say those words. He will bless us in the beginning, the first words of the Bible. In the beginning, God, seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteous, and all these things shall be added unto you. Young people, you have to study, you go to school, you must do your studies, but put the Lord first.
And your studies 2nd. And God will bless you in this world of reason.
This world of doubt and this world of unbelief, Man's reason put it aside.
And put the Lord 1St and He will bless you. He commanded her to get something to eat.
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So we have here life, walk, and food. Now let's turn to the 7th chapter of Luke, where we have the second. I think it's very wonderful to see how we advance here in connection with this second man, the young man here.
Verse 11 of Luke Chapter 7.
I cannot pass. The day after they went into a city called Maine, and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came now to the gate of the city, the whole there was a dead man carried out.
The only son of his mother. Isn't this a beautiful expression? The only son of his mother. Now who does? Who does? This young man, that of course, the only son of his mother meets at the gate of the city, beloved, he met the only son of his father.
Wasn't this beautiful? The only son of his mother, a dead young man, comes into contact with the only son of his father. And what happened? And she was a widow, and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, weak not here was a woman a widow.
You know, Clarence London, my brother, points out that the widow speaks of the penance and the woman speaks to weakness.
Was a woman weak, A woman of dependence? What was her dependence? Her boy, her son? But her son was dead. She had lost her dependence and how weak she was. And the Lord said to her, weak not. What a strange thing for the Lord to say to a broken hearted widow woman. Her boy lying dead and his, his coffin being carried out to burial. Weak not.
Was this reason? Is it? Will this be a reasonable thing to say? No, but.
Oh, how blessed it was when the Lord came and said to that woman, sweet not. And then it says in the next verse, and he came and touched the beard. That is to say, I suppose the crossing that held this young man a prisoner, he was held in that that coffin. Oh, what is holiness? Is it not the unsaved maybe in our own family.
They're unsaved. What is told there's something that's holding them prisoners.
Touch that he touched the very thing that tell this young man.
Is it nice when the Lord touches those things that hold us down, that hold us prisoners? The Lord touched that very thing. And then it said, It says here in the 14th verse. And they that bear him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise now what happens, It says.
In the 15th version, that was dead. Stand up and began to speak. Oh, here's another step. First of all, there was life, and then there was. Second, there was.
The walk and 3rd there was there was a food and now he began to see what is this? This is so important, beloved, he confessed. A big charge to my soul, or rather a confession. And how many there are among us, I suppose right in this room tonight there's young people.
Who have never confessed? The Lord, I suppose there's many who attend our meetings who never confess. The Lord people say, is that young man saved? Or they say, oh, sure, he's saying he must be saved. He comes to all the meetings, He's always at the meetings, he's at the conference. There he is, but he never confesses. The Lord here was a young man. He began to speak.
Isn't that nice when the Lord gives us life to speak? All the devil hates this.
The devil will contest this. He'll place this. He'll the man that we keep our mouths closed.
He'll say, you know you're nervous, you're a nervous type, just keep quiet. God knows if you're saved, you're not how nice it is to confess the Lord. I like to suggest to any young man or young lady in this room who have received the Lord Jesus as their Savior and who have got life and who know they're saved and who has never confessed the Lord, to bow your head and ask God to give you courage.
Tonight to confess with your most.
That Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Savior. Young boys and young girls, confess the Lord. This young man, he sat up ahead, right? He had been dead, but he had life. And he began to speak and these beautiful words, and he delivered him to his mother.
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Oh, doesn't this touch our heart? What a wonderful savior. He doesn't say to this young man, follow me. He doesn't say to this young man, come after me. But he delivered him back to his mother. He gave him back. He knew the Lord knew this woman's aching heart. He knew her dependence on this young man. He knew that this woman this year, what a woman needed her boy. And he graciously delivered him back to his mother. What a wonderful savior.
He gave them back to his mother. How gracious, how good, how kind, how loving and how faithful the blessed Lord was. He began to speak, Oh, isn't it nice when we see a person and we have a case down in New Brunswick, down in McAdam, NB. But man, it was a drunkard, the village drunk he was called.
All he the Lord met him the Lord.
The Lord deliver them from drink, and the Lord delivered him from tobacco, and he began to speak. And the very men in the town of McAdams who were afraid of Dave McKay are now still afraid of them, but not for the same reason. They're not afraid of them knocking them down with his big fists anymore, but they're afraid that he might speak to them about Jesus. They're still afraid of them.
Oh, he began to speak. You began to speak. Yes, you began to speak about Jesus.
You have that joy in your soul. Some of us have that. Today as we met the Barber and the Barber shop, we found a child of God. My brother introduced me to a postman who belonged to Christ, and we stood there on the lawn with his mail back there as we spoke about the Son of God. Oh, this man, this postman, he was rejoicing in the Lord. He was Speaking of Christ.
Or do we speak about Christ? That we speak about Christ? What are what are we speaking? What is our conversation based on the politics of the land?
How to make the United States a better country? How to make Los Angeles a cleaner city? Is that our ambition on life? No, beloved, we're not here for that. The Lord has called it out of darkness into his marvelous life to be a testimony to a rejected place to replace. This world is cast out. You and I are to be a testimony to Him to begin to speak. Young boys, young men, you young gospel preachers here.
Speak well of Christ. Preach Christ. I was so happy the other day at the conference when they mentioned this. And I I say this with respectful other not to speak unkindly, to bless many of our beloved brothers who use that expression of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. How nice it is to give them this full title. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. God hath made that same Jesus.
Whom he crucified, both Lord and Christ. I'd like to encourage the young man here. You know, the devil is a real person. The devil is a real person. And he tries to keep young men with their mouths closed tight. Has God-given you a gift? What an honor it is what I say. What an honor it is to be able to stand up and speak well of Christ in this poor world. What an honor is.
We had a dozen degrees after our names. That's nothing compared to the honor that God has conferred upon some by His grace to speak well of the man this world cast, said, and spit upon and crucified. What an honor we think. Young men, young brothers.
May God help you.
As the older brothers are taken away, if the Lord doesn't come, May God give you courage and faithfulness. Not to soft pedal the gospel, not to put the pedal on. Some are putting the soft pedal on. Oh how nice it is to preach the gospel of God's wondrous love has to speak well of Christ. This young man, he got life, he began to speak.
Oh, how nice. Maybe there's some young man or some young boy or some young girl in this room tonight.
Who will begin to speak and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their own Savior? Now the third is this blessed story in the 11Th chapter of John's Gospel.
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And here we have life again, and this time liberty, Life and liberty.
We'll start reading with the 34th verse.
The Lord is speaking and he says.
John 1134 Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, behold how he loved them all. Beloved, isn't this a wonderful thing? Behold how he loved us. Isn't this a beautiful thing? Behold the Jews that behold how he loved him. They knew that the Lord loved.
Man, Lazarus, and now each one of us who belong to Christ tonight and can say of ourselves, behold how he loved me, behold how he loved me. Isn't that blessed? Now these things are not new, but the Bible is such a wonderful book. We can speak about these things time again. Behold as you look into that looking glass in our homes and look and see ourselves in that.
Be able to say, Behold, behold how he loved me, or doesn't touch our hearts. Behold a wonderful love, the love of Christ, behold how he loved me. And some of them said, Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again grown in himself, cometh of the grave with a cave.
And a stone lay upon us.
Jesus said, Take ye away. The stone Mars of the sister of him that was dead said unto him, Lord, by this time he stink of for he has been dead 4 days. That is, he was dead past the resurrection day. One day passed the third day hopelessly dead. This man was really dead.
Even if all.
From the order from that grave would show he was a dead man. He had died, He was really dead, He had gone beyond the resurrection thing. Jesus said unto her, verse 40 said I not unto thee, that if thou would believe, thou should have see the glory of God. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid, and Jesus was up his eyes and said.
Father, I thank you that thou hast heard me.
And I knew that Thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent me.
When he has thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. In the first case he said, Damn the lie Santa, they arrived. The second case he said young man arrived, but now he mentions his friends name. Oh isn't it wonderful to be a friend of Jesus and all he knows our names. Lazarus, I say unto thee, come forth.
Lazarus come forth, and he that was dead came forth bound.
Hands and foot with the grave. Pause. Now here was a man who had life. This man had life the very minute that word of Jesus. Notice he called his name too, I believe, because if he had just said in that cemetery come forth, all the graves would have opened.
So he distinctly calls this man by his name, Lazarus, come forth, and he that was dead came forth bound. Notice now it tells us here hand and foot. Well, maybe some of us tonight in this room are bound hands. What does this speak of? Service for the Lord, Bound hands and foot. We can't walk for the Lord.
How many Christians there are like that? They don't even know they're saved.
If you ask them, are you saved, they say, I hope so.
If you ask them, are your sins forgiven? They say I certainly hope they are.
But they never come to the place where they know they're bound hand and foot. How many dear Christians, how many dear people of God tonight are bound hand and foot, bound by the systems of men, bound with the grave clothes? That's what Lazarus was. He was bound hand and foot.
I know that we noticed that everything that men could do, the Lord allowed them to do. There was only one thing that they couldn't do, and that is they couldn't give life. He gave life. They could roll away the stone. A man can roll away a stone, a man can undo grave clothes, but a man can't give life. And how life? This is encouraging, for we were Christians in connection with.
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Serving the Lord. Maybe there's a young man tonight in this room who's maybe discouraged.
Maybe we don't see very much blessing, we read. And the press a great blessing.
Some some creatures get great blessings. May we get discouraged and say we don't see you this kind of blessing. There's only one who can give life and that is the Son of God himself. He's the one that gave gave life. He gave Lazarus this life and he says to he says to them, loose him and let him go.
Now where do we get loose beloved? Well, I believe in the assembly meeting. I believe in the assembly meetings or the Lord Jesus is in the midst. Now do we believe this? Do we really believe is this is only a doctrine and pretty easily to take Matthew 18 and 20 and poke that 100 times a year until we really believe it is. It has established fact that when we come into this room on Wednesday night and Friday night.
Is it a real, true, honest fact?
The Lord is in the midst. There's this only a doctrine that we have some idea we have on our mind if we do not true, we like to say it because it encourages is it a real fact that when we come together, we come to meet a person, we come to meet the Lord and if we if we could really see him as a man in the room like the spiritualist did in the 20th chapter of John.
And we walked in through that door and looked into the very midst, as it were. We saw the Lord Jesus there personally, and we looked at his hands, and we saw the nail print.
The seat inside the Nail Prince, they looked at his side and we saw the fear market as we walked in. He raised his eyes and smiled and said, I'm so glad you've come tonight to be with me for this hour. Wouldn't that be a compensation? Wouldn't our hearts rejoice if the Lord Jesus met us and spoke to us like that? Well, I believe he is in the midst, beloved, I really believe that when we come together.
The Lord is in the midst. The Lord is here. The Lord is here in the midst. Do we believe that? If we really believe that, now I know there's mothers and fathers. We all, we had children too. We have to have our turn. Going to the prayer meeting and the Bible reading. One of us had to babysit.
You have to do that too. Some people have to work at night, but I'm in the state, generally speaking, those that are free.
Do we find ourselves gathered around the person of Christ at the prayer meeting? You know, you go to a Bible reading. There's generally a lot of people there. But when you go to the prayer meeting, the powerhouse, how many missed the powerhouse, the time of prayer? So few seem to come to the prayer meeting. And sometimes the prayer meeting lags on. And I don't say this to be critical, but sometimes at a care meeting, a dozen brothers can all speak and keep us so late there. And we're so.
Waiting to go home, to go to bed, and they talk and talk and talk. But the next night is prayer meeting night and the mysteriously quiet. They have nothing to say. Wasn't it nice to pray, Beloved? We come together to pray, to pray and to lay our request before our Lord and to pray. There's so much to pray for, so many things to pray for. Well, the Bible reading where the grave clothes are taken off.
Where we find I remember your pardon the personal reference when I was a young Christian, a boys in the office.
Just to go to the next room where there was a man who led me to Christ and who who much more about the Bible than I did. And they said to him, we want to ask you a question. If you commit a sin today and you were killed by a car, where would you spend eternity? And he said, I would spend eternity with the Lord Jesus. Now I didn't know anything about this. Then they came to me and said.
If you were to commit a sin today and die.
Where would you spend eternity? And I said in hell. Well, they said you fellas better get together.
He tells us the next room, He go to heaven. You tell us you go to hell, What's the matter with you? Well, this dear Christian explained to me then that if I really belong to the Lord Jesus, I possess the eternal life. I was a child of God. I was saved for eternity and the brave clothes were taken off. How wonderful it is to have those brave clothes taken off. We sit on the feet corner.
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Home one night by the grace of God preaching the gospel and we said, and we trust the Lord let us to say it. We like to call tonight from the Roman Catholic Bible, John 5 verse 24 of those that wonderful verse where the Lord Jesus was speaking. And when we got back after the after the meeting was closing up, it was a young couple came. I suppose they were in their 30s young married couple and they said, oh Sir, we were so.
Hear you quote from our Bible tonight. And I said, Isn't that a wonderful verse? And we put her again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me has eternal life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life. They said, Sir, those are wonderful words. And I said to them.
Have you got eternal life? And they said we hope so.
Do you really believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross of Calvary? They said, why, of course we do. We certainly do. Then we said, listen to the verse of games and we caught it again and we said, I can say I have eternal life. Why can't you say that if you really believe in him? And they said, we can't say that, Sir. We prefer to say we hope so. Well, we had the grave clothes on and maybe there's somebody in this room tonight has the grave.
Until you receive the Lord Jesus, you know you have, you know you love him, you know he's your Savior. You know if he walks into this room, you'd arise out of that chair and say, beloved Savior, you died for me, and you bowed on his presence and worship him and praise him. Maybe you say I don't.
I can't say I'm saved. I can't say my sins are forgiven. Oh, the Lord tells us and his word that the believer has eternal life, the believer hasn't. And my sheep hear my voice and I know that. Isn't that blessing? You know, there's many of us say these words. Isn't it good to know the Lord Jesus? And it is wonderful. We can praise God for that. But there's something better than that. Something's better than that.
What is that? You're saying that the Lord Jesus knows me? Isn't that far better as I know Him? It's wonderful to know him, but it's more wonderful than he knows me and knows all about me and loves me. That's the same. What a savior. And so this, this man Lazarus now.
He gets liberty, he gets liberty, He gets liberty from the very words, the very mouth of Christ.
A little Sam and let him go. Now if we just turn to the 12Th chapter, we have another thing.
We go on now from from the beginning and we had death, then we had life, then we had walk, then we had food, then we had the young man speaking and now we have this man that loose. Now he's loose. Notice what he does in the 12Th chapter of John, this well known chapter verse one then Jesus.
Six days before the Passover came to Bethany.
Didn't, didn't go to Jerusalem, didn't go to that great city. He went to that little place called Bethany. There he was at the place called Bessemer, a place where he was welcomed, a place where his friends were and and tells us again where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
Again, it's mentioned, this man's name is mentioned. The connection was one who was raised. All beloved Saints of God, do we believe this?
We have been raised from the dead, that is the faith, spiritual death.
Each one of us have received life through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we've been raised from the dead.
And only what it says in the next verse. There they made him a supper. I like that word. They, they were all of one mind and one heart for Christ. There they made him a supper. Mary and Martha and Lazarus, they were together. They were one mind for Christ. How nice it is to see, brethren with one mind for Christ. There they made him a supper.
And that tells us.
But Lazarus, there they met us having a Martha serve, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with them. Isn't this encouraging? This is very encouraging. I think it's very encouraging for the sisters especially and for those who never take part in the meeting. Here was Martha serving. He was serving in the 10th chapter, Luke in the wrong way, but here she's serving. What was what was Lazarus doing? He was sitting at the table. What was he doing at the table, beloved?
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Enjoying Christ that's what he was doing he was just sitting in there and he was looking on that blessed one and he was just enjoying his company. There's many don't take part in the meeting. There's many never give out a hymn as many probably never stand up to prey on the Lords day morning and the sisters of course don't but you dear sisters, can't you just be like Lazarus and sit there at the table and enjoy Christ. That's what Lazarus was doing he was enjoying the company of.
There he was. He had been raised from the dead. I can see him almost as he sat there and his eyes riveted on that blessed man. He had raised him from the dead. He had brought him under the grave. Well, mighty look upon him, an adoration and praise. And well may we, beloved, who have been raised out of a spiritual death on the way to hell.
Well, may we gaze with wonder on that blessed man who loved us and gave himself for us. Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him, then took Mary a pound of wine from the spike in our very costly.
If you just notice now the fifth verse Judas is speaking. Why was not this ointment sorrow for 300 pence and given to the poor? Oh that notice the difference what? How God valued it very constantly. What does Judah say 300 pence? That's what he said worth 300 pence. Why the Lord had been assumed to be sold for 30 pieces of silver. That's what this world thinks of Christ 310.
All young men or young sister here tonight, if you live for Christ, you can't expect the world to clap and applaud you. They'll say you're a fool.
Say you're stupid to spend your time serving the Lord. The world never puts any value on Christ.
300 pence that miserable Judah said, why was not this this ointment so for 300 cents, but God shows he's a hypocrite. In the very next verse he said he didn't care for the poor. Judas had no respect or notice there for the poor, nor do you have any respect for Christ.
And these people in the world that say what are these missionaries going to China for an Africa for an India for wasting their time?
Do they care about the people wasting their time? No. What is their object of enmity? It's Christ. They have no use for Christ. They have no time for Christ. Everything that's done for the Lord Jesus and this world to the man of the world is a waste of time. It's just a pure waste. They think, oh, how sad this is. But isn't it nice that God said it was very costly?
And he tells us.
Then took Mary a pound of ointment. Why the Lord has even measured the weight of that ointment. He tells us it was a it was a pound. It was a real pound of ointment. I read someplace I pass it on. I enjoyed it about the women in the East. They used to they didn't have hope chefs like the girls have today, they had.
A box of ointments, and they kept it beside them wherever they went, and when they found the man who won their hearts, they took the ointment.
And they put it on their head as he, as Mary did in the in the book of Mark, I think it is the 26th of Matthew.
And on his feet. And when they did that, they showed.
So that man.
That he had won their heart. Isn't that beautiful when Mary did that to the Lord Jesus?
He said as much as this. Here's the man who's won my heart for love. It's only an illustration. I read it and I enjoyed it.
As he won our heart, has he won our heart Very costly, all this dear woman. I wonder what she paid for this ointment. Very costly. God said he appreciated, he appreciated this. God appreciated it. He's recorded in his word and the Lord said wherever the gospel is preached, what this woman has done shall be told tonight in 1969, nearly 2000 years after the Lord said these words were Spain of the game.
The story of this dear woman devoted to Christ who took this very costly ointment.
And poured it upon him, his feet. Notice what it says in this third verse.
And noise is the feet of Jesus. You have to get down right to His feet. Isn't it nice to be at His feet? Mary's always at the Lords feet. She was there in the 10th chapter of Luke. She heard His word, she heard his words. And you know the Lord made a remarkable statement of Mary and that day or to Martha, He said that good thing.
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Shall not be taken away from her, you know, and Glory, when we get there, we're going to meet Mary A Bethany and she's going to be able to tell us exactly what the Lord told her in the 10th salute. It was hers. He was never going to lose it. She was never going to lose it. And I believe from that we learned this problem, everything that we really enjoy of Christ down here will never lose it. It's ours for eternity.
I was married who sat at his feet? And here she's down again at the blessed feet of the Lord Jesus. And it says she wipes his feet with her hands. What does her hair speak of? Her glory? And she laid her glory at those blessed feet.
He laid that glory of hers, that was her glory, but on the presence of that Blessed One.
She found one more glorious, and she laid her glory at those blessed people. How beautiful those feet were, beloved. How beautiful and marked gospel to see those blessed feet. And they took that precious save your previous land unwanted, his past unheard by earthly smiles.
LED only to the cross, those lovely feet of the Son of God. Which man dares a nail to the cross of Calvary? As much as I say we'll stop those feet, we'll nail those feet to the cross, they won't be able to walk anymore. But all beloved, He was raised from the dead, and that blessed One now still walk. And he talks with us, does He not? He walks with me and he talks with me, and he tells me.
I am his own. How glorious.
They couldn't stop him. He lived. Our Savior lived. He wiped his feet with her hands and the house was filled with the order of the ointment. How blessed that was, I suppose as those people walked out of that house that day and the door opened and that order went out into the street, they say, what's going on in this house? What's going on here today? These people that walk out, what is this odor that's on them? Or they would say.
This is in the house, Jesus is there and Mary's taken the ointment of poured on his feet in his head and the house is just filled with the order of the ointment. Oh how beautiful this is and how nice on Lords Day morning when the breaking of bread meeting closes for us to walk out and have with us that order of the person of Christ still on us. So the world will say, who are these people? They're so happy.
They're smiling. They're rejoicing. Who are these people in this poor, sad world with sickness and death all around? Who are these happy, smiling people?
Or they've been just a few Christians and they've been with Jesus. They've been there for an hour and a half in the company of Jesus, remembering him in death. The house was filled with the order of the ointment. Well, this is this is very, very precious, is it not? Now we have we have here worship life, a man who was raised from the dead of worshiper now.
Here we have another step in the Christian life. He's a worshiper. Oh, are you a worshiper?
Are you found here in the Lord today morning? Is it your accustomed to sleep in Sunday morning you are you found here remembering the Lord and death? Are you found here gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to remember him and death? Are you a worshiper of the Son of God? He's worthy of our worship. How blessed it is and the last point we have is.
Is testimony. Here was a man who went from his worship. We have last his testimony.
The ninth verse Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there.
And they came not for Jesus sake, only they might see.
Lazarus also again God repeats this, whom he had raised from the dead.
It always comes back to this. It reminds the children of Israel how many times God reminded those people that they be delivered from the land of Egypt. And in this case Lazarus again is mentioned, whom he raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death because of by reason of him. Many of the Jews went away and believed on Jesus. Here was a man who had life.
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Testimony. A man with a testimony. How blessed. This is why they said.
Let's get rid of Lazarus too. Isn't that what the world would like to do? And the world is going to soon get rid of us. The Lord's going to come. The Lord's going to come. Men are reaching out for the moon. I was thinking of a man is reaching out for the moon. The lesser light. The lesser light was the rule of light. The moon is connected with the night, and you and I are the children of the day. We're not going to the moon, beloved. We're going to the SON, the sun.
Going to the sun, we're going to pass that moon so fast we won't even see it. We're going to the sun. We don't belong to this world. The moon belongs to the world. The lesser light to rule a night. But God says here, not of the night, you're the children of the day, not of darkness, but children of the day. We're going to the sun. And so the people said, let's kill this summer. Let's kill this man. What was Lazarus then? He was.
Associated with Christ. What an honor, beloved, He was associated with Jesus.
And the same world that said there's no place for Jesus, said there's no place for this man Lazarus. Let us kill him.
Because by reason of him what a testimony or we would cover that testimony that men would say because of that man people are going away and believing on Jesus. Is it true of us? Is it true? Does the world see Christ on earth, a hungry, dark, dismal, thin purse earth with death all around us, war and destruction and misery and man getting darker and darker?
And the world collapsed in all around us. What is the world looking for?
And Christians, Christ, that's what the world looks for. And you and me and we looked at God, they could see Christ. Not religion, not people, sanctimony, it's the long faces. But something in our stalls, something in our lives, something in our lives that they'll say these people are real, they belong to Christ. They belong to Christ. He's won them, He's captured them.
They're sincere people. They belong to Jesus. He's won their harm. And so this man was a man with a testimony. And so we have to go back before we stop.
We have that three of them were dead. They're all dead, but they met Jesus and they got life, life with a walk, life with food. Life was began to speak of confession. Speaking of confession, then we have liberty, then we have worship and then we have testimony. The whole Christian life is wrapped up and these three glorious resurrections from the dead. Each one got Harter the 12 year old girl she.
The young man, he was being dead and was carried to the grave, but the last man was dead for four days. And maybe there's somebody in this room 12 years of age. You were young, your mother and father to you. But the Lord and they said, I feel that this heart is getting soft. Oh, you know, I, I want to say this, our time is just about up. You know, some of us, when we get older, we get harder.
Oh, let us.
Let us, beloved, get soft. Let us be soft for Christ.
Love of God may touch our hearts. Our children, when they're young, their hearts are tender. We tell them the story of the male, we tell them the story of the crown of thorns, and they weep. Their little hearts are touched. But when they get older, it's a sad thing. We're ashamed to cry. We're ashamed to have tears in our eyes for the melting story of the love of Christ, the melting story of the love of God.
And so these little 12 year olds, when they're young and tender, then they get to be like the young man.
18 years old. If they're not saved, their hearts are getting harder and higher and it's harder to get them up to the gospel meeting. They say I'm too big to go to Sunday, so I'm not a kid any longer. I don't want to go to city school. They're beginning to kick over the phrases at 18, but then when they get to be like Lazarus.
They're dead 4 days. Nothing seems to move them. You tell them the story of the love of Christ.
And they just walk away. Their hearts are hardened. Is there a boy tonight in this room just like this, or a girl? You've never received the Lord Jesus, You've come tonight. Or what have you got in this world? What have you got? Nothing, absolutely nothing, if you have Christ. And so bless his word, and may he exalt that blessed One when we try to present tonight that blessed Savior, that lovely man who loved us and gave himself.