17

Jump Start # 1766

Posted on January 17, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1766

John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

 

I have recently realized that observation is a gift. Some have it in abundance and some don’t. For the longest time I could not understand why some couldn’t see what seemed so obvious. I guess they didn’t have the eyes of observation.

 

Our passage is based upon observation. By the calendar, there was still a quarter of the year left before harvest. Four months is a long while for a person who is waiting. Take a vacation. Read a book. Catch up on some odds and ends. When harvest time comes, it will be a busy time. Bringing in the sheaves, as the old hymn reminds us. No time for vacation during the harvest. Yet, Jesus tells these disciples to “lift up your eyes,” one of the great lines of the New Testament. Observe. Look. Look on the fields, the Lord says. I know the calendar says we have four months to go, but observation tells us that now is the harvest time. Now is the time to get busy.

 

Observation—Jesus used this to derail our common problem of worry. In Matthew 6, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air” (v. 26). Later in this section He says, “Observe how the lilies of the field grow” (v. 28). Look. Observe. Open your eyes. Lift up your eyes. See. If God takes care of these small things in creation, which are not made in His image and which do not live on in eternity, will He not take care of you?

 

Throughout the book of Revelation, this thought of seeing things is found. Revelation four begins with, “I looked and behold, a door standing open in Heaven.” The next chapter begins, “I saw in the right hand…” Chapter six begins, “Then I saw…” Chapter seven begins, “After this I saw…”. The expression, “I saw” is repeated over 40 times in Revelation. The book of Revelation is a picture book. Look. See. Observe.

 

So, some have the gift to see things and others do not. Those that see things need to share what they see with those who do not see things. This is how we work together as a team. Mom comes home and all the kids are on the couch watching TV, and clean dishes are stacked up in the sink, the trash cans are full and overflowing, there is clean laundry in the dryer and no one is moving on these things. Mom sighs. Mom gets upset and discouraged. She sees these things. The kids never do. Why can’t they? Maybe they don’t want to. Maybe TV is more important. Maybe they just haven’t learned how to lift up their eyes.

 

The same happens spiritually. A new family comes in and starts worshipping with the church. They don’t know many people. Immediately, those with open eyes and observation, see the need to help them connect. They see how wonderful it would be for them to be homes and to get to know others. There are others who would never see this. Once it is mentioned, they’d agree that this is a great idea and some would even offer to have them in their home. But on their own, they would never see this.

 

It happens with Bible studies. A young couple is struggling. They are hit and miss with their attendance and lately it’s been more miss than hit. Those with open eyes and observation, see what is about to happen. Here is another couple that are on the brink of going over the waterfall. They will soon drop out all together. If nothing is done, they will be gone. They need some attention. They need some encouraging. They need some TLC. Observers see this. There are others who would hate to see them go, but they would never see how serious the situation is. They would not know where to begin or what to do. They would never see it until it was too late.

 

It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that the leaders of God’s people, the shepherds, need to be those who are observers. The expression, “Overseers” implies that very thought. To oversee means much more than standing in the back of the auditorium and see who is not there. It is to observe. It is to lift up your eyes. They need to see where the sheep need to be and what it will take to get them there. They need to be able to recognize the early stages of spiritual disease. To see what is working and what is not working. To see what is most important. To see what is the biggest threat and concern. How sad it is for a congregation to be led by men with good hearts but who do not see things. In such places, the leaders usually go from one mess to the next, trying to clean things up. They are not preventive because they do not have their eyes lifted up to see what is ahead. They are always looking to what has happened. Instead of planning, they are reactionary. They wait until something happens then they try to clean up what has happened. The Psalmist said, “He leads me to green pastures.” The implication is that the green pastures wasn’t immediately under his feet. If so, there is no leading that needs to be done. The words would be, “eat.” But what we have, is a pasture that has been well eaten. Now it’s time to find greener fields. Where to go. When to go. The shepherd knows. He leads. His eyes are open. He is looking ahead. Too many congregations are not looking beyond this current year. Where will they be in ten years? Who will still be among them in ten years? Lifting up eyes. Looking forward. Making plans.

 

Jesus’ words in our verse today tells us that we must not go by conventional wisdom. Forget the calendar. Don’t tell me the harvest is still months away. Look. It’s ready right now. Some live by the thought that things will just get better. They don’t want to get involved, get messy or have to do anything. Slow is the pace and with little being done, they feel that things will just work itself out. Have you noticed that never works in life. With a drip in your bedroom ceiling, right above your bed, do you say, “It’ll just work itself out. Give it some time.” That thinking is disastrous in parenting, leading God’s people or in leaking bedroom ceiling. See what is going on and do something. Lift up your eyes.

 

We need folks with keen observation. They help those who do not have it. Because of them, they help us to do our duty and keep things going. Those with the gift of observation can’t get discouraged because others don’t see things. Just share what you see. Share ideas. Share concerns. Do what you can.

 

Through these past few years I am often asked where do I come up with what I do from these verses. There is only one answer. It’s a gift. One older preacher asked me to help him see what I saw. I was honored and shared with him a few books that I read a long time ago that helped me to open my eyes and to look upon verses.

 

Lift up your eyes and see…

 

Roger

 

16

Jump Start # 1765

Posted on January 16, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1765

Psalms 30:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

  It was off the orchestra the other evening for my wife and I. She loves classical music and I love being with her. On this occasion it was a performance of Debussy, Mozart and a feature of Brahms. It was great. We have seats in the sixth row from the center which allows us to really see the musicians up closer and personal. My wife and I have very different reactions to a night of the orchestra. She truly understands the music. She hears themes and can understand what the composer was trying to reveal. For me, it’s more the observations that I usually point out to her between pieces. Things such as, I wonder why some violins are shinny and others are not. I wonder why some are dark wood and others light. I noticed the guest conductor the other evening never had a music stand or the score in front of him. He had memorized all three pieces and was conducting without looking at any music. We have never seen that before. Impressive. We sit close enough that I can watch the eyes of the musicians. There is a lot of eye movement going on. They will look at their music. They will look at the conductor. I noticed the first chair viola was looking at the first chair cello player, who in turn would look at the concertmaster, the first chair violin. Like a quarterback, looking over the defense before the ball was hiked, these musicians were playing as a team.

 

I noticed something else the other evening. It happened twice during the final piece. It was an intense part, and all the musicians were playing fast. They all looked serious, a few even had wrinkled foreheads. You could tell that they were really concentrating and giving it their all. But right there, in the midst of all of this, a young viola player, smiled. He smiled while they were playing. He did it later on. That caught my eye. Everyone else was so serious looking, almost frowning, because of the intensity. But here was a young musician who actually was enjoying the moment. He was happy to be there and he was enjoyed what he was playing. I hadn’t seen that before in all the performances that we have been to. I’ll be watching for it now.

 

That happy musician made me think of our verse today. “Delight yourself in the Lord…” I wonder if we ever do the same? I wonder if we are so intense in our walk with the Lord, wanting to do what is right, wanting to obey God, not wanting to mess up, that we fail to enjoy what we are doing. I’ve heard folks say repeatedly, “It’s hard being a Christian.” And I hear about all the struggles, the difficulties and hardships, that we may have forgotten to enjoy our walk with the Lord.

 

I wonder if we preachers enjoy our sermons. Certainly we work hard on them. We pour hours into research, finding the best words and trying to find ways to teach and make things stick with the audience, but while we are preaching, do we ever smile? Do we listen, as the young musician did?

 

The same could be said of our song leaders. They do a great job. Choosing the right song, practicing it, getting everyone started and keeping the tempo. Do you enjoy it? My youngest is like that musician at the concert the other night. When my youngest leads singing, he rarely looks at the song book, he just looks at the audience and smiles. He’s the smilest song leader that I know.

 

Enjoy what we are doing. Delight in the Lord. In Hebrews, the leaders are to watch over our souls with joy. That’s forgotten these days. Troubles in the rank, complaints, issues here, problems there, and the work of leading God’s people is endured. It’s long. It’s hard. It must be done. But rarely do we hear one saying, “It’s joyful.” “It’s a delight.” “I like leading God’s people.” Maybe more would be leaders today, if more of our leaders smiled now and then. It’s  like the Presidency. Have you seen the latest pictures of our current president? It happens to nearly every president. By the time they finish their term, they look old. They have aged so much. Their hair has changed color. Wrinkles have appeared. The toll of the office has changed the way that they look. I think some see that same thing with leading God’s people. So, many steer clear of it. Happy elders. Smiling elders. Wouldn’t that lift the spirits of everyone and change the atmosphere of the place. Maybe more would want to lead if they saw smiles.

 

But it’s not just the leaders, our minds take us to Paul’s words to the Philippians, where numerous times they are told to “rejoice in the Lord.” Delight in God. Smile. Some folks shuffle into the church house like they are walking into the funeral home. Maybe the world does that to us. Maybe work is tearing us up on the inside. Maybe home life is tough. But when folks leave that same way, something’s not right. We ought to have a smile on our face and a spring in our step. We’ve been with the people of God. We have just worshiped the Lord and studied His amazing book. Equipped, challenged, reminded, built up, hearts filled with courage and faith, those smiles ought to come back to us.

 

Happy folks. That ought to be us. Sure there is negative things to take that smile off. The world is running from God. Things are tough in many congregations. While some are exploding in growth and hope, others are falling apart. Terrorism. Atheism. Materialism. There are always “isms” to frighten and concern us. But God is greater than all of those isms. God is able. God loves us and it is to Him that we are marching everyday.

 

The music sounds wonderful. But occasionally, we need to not only hear it as we play it, but we need to enjoy it. A young musician, playing his heart out, surrounded by stuffy older musicians, smiled. He was on stage and playing a wonderful piece. There was much to be happy about.

 

Give it a try today. Smile at work. Some will probably notice and say, “What are you smiling about?” Your answer, “I’m just happy today.” Someone will certainly shoot back, “It’s Monday. I’m never happy on Monday.”  So sad.  This is the day that the Lord has made.

 

I’ve noticed something about smiles. When someone smiles at you, you tend to smile back. It just works that way. I found myself smiling at a young musician who was giving it his all.

 

Delight in the Lord.

 

Roger

 

13

Jump Start # 1764

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1764

Daniel 4:30 “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

 

King Nebuchadnezzar had a serious problem. It effected his vision. It wasn’t an “eye” problem, but rather an “I” issue. Everywhere he looked, he saw himself. The great Babylon, he reflected was built by the great King. It was by his power, his insight, his vision that Babylon was great. The greatest king standing upon the greatest palace in the greatest kingdom of all the world. There was simply nothing greater than he was. Long before the boxer Ali declared, “I am the greatest,” Nebuchadnezzar was actually believing it about himself.

 

This common “I” infection discounts the help of others, eliminates the rest of the team and swells the head. I truly doubt that the king actually had a shovel and dug foundations for the palace and then, on his own, built the palace completely. He most likely had hired men, slaves and foremen to oversee the work. I also doubt that the king paid for the entire project out of his own pocket. Taxes from the citizens and tribute money from foreign nations amassed a large fortune so the king could fund the project. Truth being told, there were many hands involved in making Babylon powerful, impressive and great. The king was not a one man army. All of this talk about self did not credit the help of others. But the king also forgot that there was someone above him, someone greater than he was, and that was, and is, God. The Lord put Nebuchadnezzar in the position that he was in. He allowed the right people, the right times to all come together. Babylon was an instrument of God to punish Judah. Without God, Nebuchadnezzar may never had been king, and without God’s word, our passage today from Daniel, he would have long been lost in history and forgotten all together. Instead of thanking others, the king was patting himself on the back. Rather than being humble, his head swelled and he thought way too much of himself.

 

Nebuchadnezzar’s “I” infection is still contagious today. You hear it at home. You hear it at work. You hear it in politics. You even hear it at church. The hymn, “The great I AM,” is about God, not ourselves. “I” infections upset others. It makes them feel that their contributions and hard work was not noticed, appreciated or even needed. Too much of this “I” talk and some leave. They leave thinking, “They don’t need me there.” This “I” infection discounts the numerous things that God does for us. God who gives us life, opens doors for us and has gifted us with our talents and abilities, is the one that we ought to be thankful for. A mind that can see things and come up with ideas, be thankful for that. A mind that can express ideas and lead people, be thankful for. All of us have had a team of people in our lives that have helped us get to where we are today. Parents who were behind us and opened doors for us by paying our bills. Teachers who guided us. Brethren who gave us a chance. People who hired us. Sure it took hard work, persistent determination on our part, but don’t forget those around you and the One who is above you. Without all of that, we never had a chance.

 

Nebuchadnezzar’s “I” infection is nothing more than pride. Too much of self. Too much of ole’ Nebuchadnezzar in Nebuchadnezzar. Have you noticed a lot of folks just love to talk about themselves. I guess it’s their favorite topic. On and on they go, all about how they feel, what happened to them, and how wonderful or miserable their life is. The problem with pride is that it distorts things. It’s hard to see the picture when you are in the frame. It makes you bigger than what you really are and it makes others smaller than what they really are.

 

A walk through the book of Proverbs quickly reveals that God doesn’t think too highly of prideful people. The proud won’t listen to others. The proud will only do something if it is their idea. Quick to talk, quick to blame others, quick to steal the glory, often the glory that belongs to others, are the actions of the proud.

 

God took care of Nebuchadnezzar. For seven periods, the king lost his mind. He grazed in the fields like a cow. The great looked like an idiot. I don’t know if the seven periods represented seven years, but a day of that is enough for me. Today, we’d say, “he’s out of his mind.” Behind his back, folks would declare, “He’s nuts.” God lowered the king below human dignity. God pulled the rug out from this great king. The man who declared I did all of this, could do nothing about his present condition. Where was his great power now? God was always above Him. Now he came to see that.

 

The farmer in Luke 12 also had an “I” infection. He was planning to tear down his barns and build larger barns. Nothing wrong with that, except in the passage it is all about himself and nothing said about God. I will do this. Then I will enjoy this. I. I. I. Instead of taking his mind, God took his life. That night, he died. All his barns went to someone else. Now he stood alone before God.

 

You can’t impress God with who you are or what you have done. Do you think the engineers at NASA would be impressed with a paper airplane that you made? Do you think the folks at the art museum would be impressed with a stick figure picture you show up with? Do you think you can impress God? What moves God and what catches God’s eyes is faith. Jesus recognized it. He praised it. He noticed it. Faith in God. Trust, love and a heart that wants to follow God, that grabs God’s attention. Prayers to God. Obedience to God. Putting God first in your life. The Babylonian king didn’t have any of that. Sometimes we forget.

 

Those that don’t know God will thrive on pride. It’s all that they have. They will promote themselves. They will honor themselves. They will bow down to themselves. Don’t get caught up in that stuff. It’s all shallow and vain. Within a month after they die or retire, they are replaced. This is true of the CEO, the President of the United States, the MVP athlete, the coach, and even the preacher. We do our jobs the best we can recognizing that God has helped us, gifted us and given us a great opportunity. We realize that without a team of others all around us that we could never accomplish what we do. We need each other. We may not admit it, but we do. This is even true in the church. The heads of some preachers can get so large that they barely can fit it through the double doors. Put the preacher up in the sound booth, with all the buttons and lights, and most of us wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do. I still do not fully understand how you receive these Jump Starts every day. I write them and I send them to a place that sends them out. That’s all I know. Anything beyond that, and it hurts my head trying to understand. But I realize that I have a team of wonderful people that I can count upon that makes all of this happen. I have a congregation that happily funds what it takes to do this. And, I have a God who has given me a talent to see things and share them with others. He has put me in a place where all of this has come together.

 

Arrogance eliminates the need for others. Arrogance removes God from the picture. Too much of me and the picture is distorted.

 

What a contrast Daniel four presents to us. It begins with a king standing on top of the palace praising himself and it leads to a king down in the grass grazing like a cow. Thankfully, the king got it. His mind came back to him. The chapter ends with Nebuchadnezzar praising and honoring God, even recognizing that  “He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

 

What will it take for you to give up the pride? When will your “I” infection clear up? The glory belongs to God.

 

Roger

 

12

Jump Start # 1763

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1763

Proverbs 17:10 “A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.”

  The other day I passed by a junk yard. There was nothing special about this junk yard except that it sat right along the highway. I have passed this same junk yard many times. But for some reason, on this day, I took a long look at the wrecked autos stacked up there. They were a real mess. Shattered windshields. Caved in roofs. Front ends smashed. You could tell by the weeds around these cars that they had been sitting there for sometime. That image stuck with me. I wondered about the people that were in those cars when they wrecked. I wondered if some didn’t make it. I wondered how others might be doing today. Their cars were toast, but how about their lives? Had they recovered? Were some crippled because of those accidents? Had the people moved on and put the wreck out of their minds? We see the damaged cars, but what about the lives?

 

This is where our verse comes in today. Rebuke means correcting. For most of us, it started with our mothers who rebuked us. Our moms were trying to shape us into decent human beings and barnyard animals. That’s why she wouldn’t put up with burping at the table or reaching for food without asking for it to be passed. It’s why she made us apologize when we hit our sister or made us share with our little brother. She was on us. Some moms were like drill sergeants. Tough. There was no faking things when it came to mom.

 

Then we grew up and moved on. Most got married. We got jobs. We are going to church. Rebukes haven’t stop. Some Sundays it seems like the preacher won’t let up. He can really lay it on heavy in his sermons. Co-workers are telling us what we ought to be doing. Friends get on us about stuff. A person can feel like people are always telling me what to do in my life.

 

Rebukes come because someone feels that you are not doing something right. A correction needs to be made. Some rebukes are mild and simple. You forgot to sign a paper at work. Those things don’t keep you up at night. But there are other rebukes such as, “You don’t spend enough time with the kids.” Or, “You never want to do things with me anymore.” Ouch. Those sting. And they should. That’s the way rebukes work. A person who has understanding, our verse tells us, will allow the rebuke to sink in deeply. It will affect him, change him and improvements will result. The fool laughs it off. The fool argues back. The fool won’t change. It is as if you beat that fool a hundred times. That very thought is painful. About ten times and I’m done—for good and forever. Beat and beat that fool and he won’t change. He won’t get it. Nothing good results from that. The key in this passage is understanding. The one with understanding has hope when he is corrected.

 

Junk yards and rebukes have something in common. It makes a person wonder what happens to the people later on. Someone corrects you, what happens down the road? Have you become better or bitter about that?  Junk yards do more than just hold broken and wrecked autos. They become a reminder of pain, trouble and changed lives. They are an unfortunate memorial of wrecked lives. There are other kinds of junk yards than just the ugly ones that sit along the highway that are full of rusting cars. There are the junk yards of broken relationships and hurt feelings.

 

Just as I passed that junk yard the other day and wondered about the people that were involved in those car accidents, we wonder about the families that were part of the church that divorced and quit coming. Their marriage is now junk. Whatever happened to them? We wonder what happened to their kids? Did they turn out ok or were they damaged, crippled and hurt for a long time because of the marriage wreck? What happened?

 

Then there are those that remember from the past. We moved. They moved. We once worshipped with them. Time and distance have separated us. Whatever happened to them? We wonder if they are still worshipping God?

 

Then there are those who got upset. Someone said something. Someone rebuked them. Feelings got hurt. Relationships damaged. They pulled away. They dropped out. Did they recover from the things said? Is the wounds still fresh after all these years? Did they ever get over it?

 

Then there is the person who got upset with something the preacher said in a sermon. He didn’t like what was said. He didn’t agree. He left. He left angry. Another wreck. Another relationship headed to the junk yard. Did he ever think through what he was saying? Did he give up on God all together? Whatever happened?

 

Went I first left college, I was writing some bulletin articles for a fellow young preacher. We were friends. I moved to another state and stopped writing for him. He put in the back of his bulletin one day, “Whatever happened to Roger?” He put a blurb about where I was living and what I was doing. I thought that was odd to put in a bulletin and even odder the title, “Whatever happened to Roger?” I expect, just as I wonder about some people in my life, they might think the same about me. I wonder if that guy is still preaching? I wonder what happened to his kids?

 

People pass though our lives. Sometimes, like a meteor streaking across the sky, these moments are short and little impressions are left. Others have become lifelong friends. Others have changed us and influenced us for good. I received an old church directory from the 1960’s of a congregation that I grew up in. Many of the folks have gone on. But there were kids my age. Whatever happened to them?

 

It’s one thing to correct or rebuke someone. This must be done in kindness, with the golden rule in mind. But what happens to the person who is rebuked? Are they ok? Are they better? Are they destroyed? Have we added another wreckage to the junk yard of relationships?

 

It’s easy to tell another person what we think he ought to be doing. We can be quick with the rebuke. Maybe we need to do a better job of following up. Maybe we need to try to keep one family from becoming the next relationship tossed upon the junk yard. Think before you speak. Be quick to hear and slow to speak is what James says. Pick your battles carefully. Not everything you disagree with is wrong. It may be a matter of taste or just a different way of doing things. Don’t pick scabs. Don’t being overly judgmental. Point the radar gun at yourself as much as you do others. Pray about the people involved.

 

There is a place for rebuke. Timothy, the young preacher, was told to reprove and rebuke. I think some like rebuking others. I think some don’t give any thought to what happens after the rebuke. We may be adding to the ugly junk yards of life because we are not as thoughtful or careful as we ought to be.

 

Whatever happened to…

 

Roger

 

11

Jump Start # 1762

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1762

John 12:11 “Because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.”

  Our verse today is about a man who was responsible for leading many people to Christ. He is not known to have preached any sermons or taught any classes. He was a traveler. A most unusual traveler. Because of his travel people were believing in Jesus.

 

The man was Lazarus, the dear friend of Jesus and the brother of Mary and Martha. He lived in Bethany with his sisters. We are not told his age. I have always assumed that he was pretty close to Jesus in age. Lazarus becomes gravely ill. Jesus is sent for. Jesus delays on purpose. Lazarus dies and his buried. On the fourth day, Jesus shows up to a weeping household. Jesus raises Lazarus from the grave. All of this was not done behind closed doors or in the secret of the night. Not only did Mary and Martha know about Lazarus, there were many, many others. They had helped the sisters bury him. They were hanging around the house mourning with them. They opened the grave at Jesus’ request. They saw Lazarus come forth. News spread. It spread quickly through Bethany. It traveled the short distance to Jerusalem.

 

There are several remarkable things that lead up to our verse today.

 

First, Lazarus never asked to be raised. The Lord did it on His own. It demonstrated His power over death, Satan and the unseen world. At the beckoning of Jesus, Lazarus heard, and came. Even the dead obey Him.

 

Second, the Scriptures are silent about what Lazarus experienced. His soul went on a journey. It went somewhere. His soul returned back into his body and he came back to life. Those that know the Bible understand where Lazarus went. In Luke 16, another Lazarus died and the angels carried his soul to Hades. This is where Jesus and the penitent thief went upon their death. It is the unseen world where all souls go.

 

What’s missing and what we want to know about is what did it feel like? Did Lazarus sense himself rising up out of the bed? Did he see angels actually carrying his soul? How long did all of this take? What was it like in Hades? What is ’Abraham’s bosom’ like? How does God comfort the righteous in the next world? What did he see? Did he recognize anyone? How did he feel? Was he happy? Could he see what was happening on earth? Did he know what day it was? Did he know how long he was there?

 

Third, then Jesus calls Lazarus back. What was that like? Was he glad to return? How long did that take? What did that feel like?  Was he scared to be all wrapped up and in the dark tomb?

 

Tons of curious questions on our part. The Bible doesn’t answer any of these. I suppose it just doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change a thing. If it was something that we needed to know, God would have shown us. We can build a whole system of made up ideas surrounding things that we do not know. Our faith is not blind. It is not made up. It stands upon the revealed word of God. It is God’s word that is the foundation and the evidence of what we believe.

 

We turn a page in our Bibles and come to John 12. Large crowds gathered to see Jesus, and to see Lazarus. The chief priests planned to assassinate Lazarus. Destroy the evidence. Our verse is what follows. Because of Lazarus, because of him, many were believing. Lazarus didn’t have to say anything. He didn’t have to prepare a sermon. He just had to stand there and allow people to see that he was real. He hadn’t been dead for five minutes. It was four days. He was in the grave longer than Jesus was.

 

Resurrections are the greatest crushing blows to Satan. Satan loves death. It seems so final. It’s over. There is no more. But with Jesus, it’s up from the grave He arose.  The resurrection of Lazarus became a huge dividing point among the Jews. For many, that was it. They believed. Jesus was the Messiah. No more guessing. No more listening to the twisted words of the priests. They knew. They followed. But for others among the hierarchy, that was the last straw. Jesus had to die. From that time on, they were looking for a way to do it.

 

It is amazing to see this huge divide in faith and conviction. How could anyone not believe after they saw Lazarus standing there? Yet, similar things happen over and over today.

 

How can a person devote their life to science and not believe in God? The evidence is all around them. Many are realizing because of the complexity of DNA structures and microbiology that the time and chance theory necessary in evolution doesn’t work. You can’t time and chance things that are so interwoven and so complex and so dependent upon each other. It’s not like walking up a stair case. After the first step, then you work on the next step. Then the next step. It’s not like that at all. All the steps have to come together at once.

 

How can a doctor look at the human body and not believe in God? The way the body mends itself and is so complex, how can a person think that this just happened?

 

How can a person look at the Bible and declare that man wrote this? How do you account for prophecy, unity of thought and writers and knowledge of things, even scientifically, before they were commonly known? Why is it that there is no other book like this book? Who wrote it then? Why is no other book so translated, read, preached and shared as the Bible?

 

Sometimes it is safe just not believing. Not believing means a person does not have to change. It means that you can do as you please and you can live without guilt and shame. The knowledge of God changes that. It tells us that we are not in charge and some day we must stand before Him. The knowledge of God takes us to His word. He expects us to live a certain way. He expects us to worship Him as He has directed. He expects us to bow our hearts to Him. The knowledge of God takes us to the end of our lives. What happens when we die? There is a Heaven and a Hell. They stand together. Without one, there cannot be the other.

 

For some today, the easiest solution to all of this is to just destroy the evidence. Kill Lazarus. Burn the book. Remove the name “God” from all public places. Stop prayers. Close the churches. Maybe if all of that was done, they believe that they could then live in peace. It will never happen. Christ lives in the hearts of believers. Long before church buildings were built, the faith of Christians conquered the world. Standing before executioners, those early believers would not deny their Lord. Today, the same would happen.

 

Instead of destroying the evidence, it’s time to look at it. It’s time to think about it. It’s time to believe.

 

Kill Lazarus…they would kill Jesus. Later they killed Stephen. Then James. Then Antipas. Then most of the apostles and many of the early believers. They killed them and yet the word spread. Liberal theology and politics has no room for God and the Bible in it’s thinking. They are bent on destroying the evidence. It won’t work. God is greater than all of them.

 

Up from the grave He arose…

 

Roger