….and I’m not talking about the Barry Manilow song by that name, even though I think it was a great song….(did pretty well for him anyway) I’m talking about the Even Now of scripture….So let’s start with….
John 11:14 “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. v15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent that you may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. v17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the grave four days already. v18 Now Bethany, (where Jesus was) was near Jerusalem, about 4 miles away. v19 And many friends had come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. v20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went out and met him: but Mary remained in the house. v21 Then Martha said unto Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. v22 But I know, that even now, whatever You ask of God, He will give it unto you”.
Mary and Martha were disappointed with Jesus. He had healed total strangers…opened blind eyes, made the lame to walk, caused lepers to be cleansed, made the deaf to hear…. Now here is a close friend of Jesus, and they had watched their brother become more and more ill, and no Jesus, then they watched him breath his last breath, and no Jesus…. They joined with their friends and had his funeral service, and still no Jesus…. It is now 4 days later, Lazarus is gone, with no hope of any changing a hopeless situation….
Sometimes when you need a hero and you go to the Yellow Pages…. It skips right from herbs to hobbies… And they don’t list any numbers to call when you need an Angel….
I love to hear the testimonies of People who have prayed for work and found the perfect job. And of people have been sick and others have prayed for them and they have gotten better… but none of those things were in the realm of the impossible. I mean, people have found the perfect job without praying, sick people have gotten better without praying, relationships have been restored without God.
But when David stepped in front of Goliath with a sling shot…. I would say we’re getting into the territory of an “Even Now” situation….
When the Israelites started marching around Jericho, with just trumpets and pitchers and expect the walls to fall down flat… I would say we’re getting into “Even Now” territory!
Or wouldn’t you have to say that it was definitely an “Even Now” situation when Gideon needed the sun to stand still, so that they could win the battle! And we could mention Daniel in the lion’s den filled with hungry lions, Noah building a 450 foot boat with no water anywhere in sight….or Abraham and Sarah giving birth at 100 years old… Those are some good “Even Now” situations!
In all of these situations, certainly they must have thought of many other ways the outcome could have been achieved without such drastic measures being needed….
There are many things which are possible but they are not probable….People addicted to one thing or another have tried everything to break that addiction…was it possible yes, but the odds say that it is not probable. Through prayer abusive husbands have become loving caring life partners and awesome dads, wives and mothers who were witches and the other word that rhymes with it, have become encouragers and care givers like no other….and impossible teens who’s lives seem to be dedicated to making your life hell on earth, have become your best friends and future leaders and examples for others…. Yes, these things are possible, but the laws of probability give it a slim chance….
But there’s a key phrase which is located in the Lazarus story and applies to all of these stories and others as well…. v15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent you may believe.”
You see, it is human nature to explain things away as coincidence, or chance, or fate, or even the strength of human resolve…. But there are times when God is looking to score a greater victory, so that all the ways that human reasoning would try to explain it away, fail miserably!
When Job was going through the terrible ordeal he went through…. He couldn’t answer his friends when they asked him why! Where is God now? He could only trust that when everything looked like it was going down the tubes …. God was going to come up with a way to get Himself Glory out of it!
I love Job’s words…. “Though God slay me, yet will I trust l Him”! “Yet shall I see God face to face!” Even Now I will trust Him!!!
All of you in this room are facing situations that are possible, but the odds say that they are not probable…. I’m here to tell you that God will find a way to get Himself some glory, if you’ll trust Him…. You see, what Job was really saying was ….GOD IS GOD AND I AM NOT!!!
If God is not in a hurry, why should you be! Get in step with His timing…..
Both Mary and Martha said “Lord if you had only been here, my brother Lazarus would not have died.”…. Like us, they saw things in the natural mind and through the eyes of logical conclusions. But God saw their thing and our thing, through eternal outcomes.
Satan loves to get folks to explain things away as the way it would have turned out anyway…. Or Kay Sa Ra, Sa Ra, whatever will be will be.... But when God allows things to get to the place that it is virtually impossible….and He sets you up so that no one can get you out…. And then He does the impossible, it’s hard to explain the impossible away!
Why else would Jesus wait two days when he knew all that was happening with Lazarus… Why else would he wait till the improbable became the impossible?.... But Martha finally got it, it began to register with her, and she blurted out…. “Even now, you are able to raise Him up”…..
Albert Einstein said…”Out of the clutter, find the simplicity. In all the discord, find the harmony. In the middle of all the difficulty lies the opportunity.”
But the Angel Gabriel put it this way when he spoke to Mary in… Luke 1:37 “For nothing is impossible with God.”
It takes great courage to walk on water…. And faithfully follow what we know to be true… and courage is just another word for determined faith…. Determined because we have separated fact from fiction, and all that is not part of the Creator’s play book, is only fiction.
A lady in one of the churches I pastored, came to me and told me of a woman who got the pink ribbon and was in the final stages of cancer. The cancer had turned this healthy woman into an emaciated vestige of her former self. She said they only gave her days to live and asked me to please pray for her. I prayed about this and asked the Lord, how I should approach this impossible situation… The Lord put peace in my heart and assured me that “Even Now” He was able to do the impossible. I found the house and they told me she was up in the attic. I made my way up to the dingy, dark unfinished attic, and there was a cot and a small dresser, the only furniture up there. She was so far gone, that she hardly made a lump in the blanket that covered her. I walked over and the words “I have come to minister the right of healing” came out of my mouth. ( I have never said that before or since) I shared some scriptures on healing, prayed the prayer of salvation, anointed her, and told her to begin to receive her healing…. I had brought a handkerchief and I anointed that and asked her to keep it on her chest, and not take it off till she was healed. To be honest, my faith was struggling and the smell of death was strong in that attic. But God be praised, a few months later, she was whole, restored, and back on the job. Everyone had given up, and she was just waiting to die, but God had an “Even Now” He hadn’t used yet, just waiting for that woman!!
We all face situations that look like they’ll never work out. The odds are against us and we’re tempted to settle where we are. We begin to think "It wasn’t meant to be…" That’s how it could have been when Hezekiah was told he would die and to get his house in order….but he believed that the grace of God was bigger than the covenant of death….he reminded God that he had been faithful and obedient, and had lived a Godly life. God repented and gave him another 15 years of life!
The scripture tells us that if we could see it, it wouldn’t be faith…. Can we pass the test of staying in faith when we don’t see anything happening? When God is silent? When you’re calling out to Him and you don’t hear anything?
Faith is knowing that, every battle is about conquering the thing that would defeat us… every struggle is about overcoming the limits that would confine us… every hinderance is about rising above it to move to a larger place….The challenge is to be the person God has called you to be in spite of all the forces that try to make you into something else.
We are not identified by the battles and struggles that come against us…we are identified by how we respond to those battles and struggles of life….
Confucius said “The diamond cannot be polished without friction and man will not be finished without some trials.” Take me to the place in your situation, where you have thought of giving up…. Now stand in that scary, frightening, seemingly hopeless place and declare…..”EVEN NOW”…COME ON SAY IT,
“EVEN NOW”…. Father I’m going to let you be God in this…. I’m going to let you do this Your way!
Martha told Jesus, “By now he stinks”….When something hasdied in your life, the stink begins. When a marriage dies, the stink begins. A friend betrayed you and hurt you, and now, like Lazarus, it stinks, it’s a mess. but unless you’re willing to deal with your stinky stuff, you probably won’t get your miracle.
We make excuses, “they hurt me, they walked out of therelationship, it wasn’t my fault, that’s right, sure I’m angry and bitter.” No, you’ve got to do your part and let go of the stink. Forgiveness is a great deodorizer, for the stink of the people that have done you wrong, deal with the stinky stuff, and God will deal with the rest .
You’re not done yet! It’s not over till it’s over. You have yet to see what God is going to do with the stink! Even Now, God will resurrect what you thought was dead.
After trying a new shampoo for the first time, a guy fired off an enthusiastic letter of approval to the manufacturer. Several weeks later he came home from work to a large carton in the middle of the floor. Inside were free samples of the many products the company produced such as soaps, detergents, tooth paste, and paper items. “Well, what do you think?” his wife asked smiling. “Next time,” he replied. “I'm going to send a letter to General Motors!”
Listen, whatever is going on, stay positive, keep your attitude… I know we all slip, but get back up and watch your confession…. Some good things are on there way to your address! If you’re holding a cup of coffee and someone bumps into you and you spill coffee everywhere….the reason is that there was coffee in your cup. If it had been coke, tea, or milk, that’s what would have spilled out…. The point is not that you spilled it, the point is that you can only spill what is in the cup. When life comes along and bumps you, whatever is in you will come out. Does joy, gratitude, thanksgiving, and longsuffering come out, or anger, bitterness, harsh words and frustration come out? When life bumps you it may be to find out what’s in your cup.
Kurt Hahn has said….”There is far more to us than we know. If we can somehow be made to see it, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for anything less.”
Our God is more than the season you’re at, and greater than the stinky moment you may be in!
Like Jacob at Jabbok, may we also lay hold of God, saying, "I will not let You go, until you bless me." To such faith the Lord will never turn away, but will always respond by revealing Himself in new and greater ways. He that refuses to be denied shall not be denied.
Hudson Taylor, who was such a powerful and effective missionary and did such a wonderful work for China, went through some dark days of confusion and disorientation in his younger life. Even though he was brought up in a Godly home, he chose to go in the opposite direction. One day, when his mother was home, a great burden gripped her for Hudson, and she went up to her room to plead with God that "even now", as far from God as he was, the Lord would save him. She said that she would not leave the room until she had the assurance that her boy would come to Christ. At length her faith triumphed, and with peace in her heart, she rose quite certain that all was well, and that "even now" in spite of how it all looked, her son would be saved. Mean while, her son had walked into his dad’s empty office and suddenly the Spirit of conviction came down upon him like a mantle as he fell to his knees in repentance and turned to the Lord. He called his mom, and was ready to tell her the good news, but before he could say anything, she shouted I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! She said God already told me!.... Hudson Taylor, went on to become God’s voice of blessing to China and the world. It was possible because of a mom, who came to her own “Even Now” moment!
I want to encourage someone to step over into “I am crucified with Christ, never the less I live” so you can get free to experience “Even Now” faith… no matter what it looks like, feels like, or how it appears to be right now! There is no freedom like the freedom of the cross!
You’re not the first to face situations that look like they’re never going to work out. When you don’t seem to get any better or get well, when you can’t see how you’ll ever get out of debt. When you wonder how can you ever accomplish the dream that is in your heart…Yes, the odds are all against you, but God is not!
He’s the one who put the dream in your heart, He put the desire to be debt free in you, He lit the spark in your spirit that you could be healthy, well and whole.
Oh, I love the song that says, “He didn’t bring us this far to leave us. He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown. He didn’t build His home in us to move away. He didn’t pick us up to let us down”!
A woman got on the plane in the economy section, but noticed that first class was much better, so she went up to the last seat in first class. The steward asked her to move back to economy, but she refused. The pilot went back and she still refused. Another passenger in first class said he knew the woman and went back and whispered something to her. She immediately got up and went back to economy. The pilot asked the man, “what in the world did you say to her?” I just told her that first class wasn’t going to New York!
Friend you may be tempted to take things in your own hands, butstay right where you are because God is getting you right where He wanted you all along!
Whose report will you believe…Yes, there will be times in life when, the medical report doesn’t look good, but you declare, “I believe even now You can heal me.” Your business is hanging by a thread, but even now You can prosper me. Your marriage looks like it’s over, but even now You can restore the love and passion.” when it looks impossible, the odds are against you, you don’t see how it can work out, you dig your heels in and get a good dose of even now faith. “God, even now You can turn my child around. I’ve had these panic attacks I’ve struggled with it for years, but even now You can set me free. I’ve been believing to have a baby, the medical report says it’s not going to happen; but God, I’m bold enough to believe that even now, in spite of how long it’s been, what I’ve been told, what I feel, I know You have the final say. I believe that nothing is too hard for You. I may not see a way, but I know You have a way.” I choose to believe the report of the Lord!
I used to love that program called Extreme Makeover, where they would send the family away, and the community would come in and totally build them a new home or drastically renovate their old home….They would bring them back and a bus would block their view, and at the right moment everyone would shout…”Move that bus”….Well you need to look at someone *….and tell them….”Move that stone” John 11:39 “ Jesus said, Take away the stone from the grave”. The Lord will strengthen and anoint you, but only you can roll the stone away from the place of that dead thing…. Sometimes life has a way of trying to seal you in with the hopeless looking things.
The bible tells us that before they entered the promised land, every Hebrew male was commanded by God to be circumcised at a place called Gilgal. You can find it in Joshua 5: 1-9 There were some things in their hearts that had to be taken away, there were some things in their lives and their value system, that had to be removed, in order to experience the life of miracles, signs and wonders. And in verse 9 we are told that the name Gilgal means To “roll away the reproach”… They had left Egypt, the place of bondage, slavery and captivity, but Egypt had not gotten out of them. That bondage, slavery and captivity, was sealed in them and would be an anchor that they would drag wherever they went.
All of us must experience our own Gilgal, where the reproach is rolled away… where every thing that would keep us out of our promises, our inheritance, our destiny must be rolled away, so the clear light of faith, hope and the glory of God can flood the tomb where every dead dream, every dead relationship, ever dead promise can live and thrive again! Jesus told them “Roll away the stone”…. I’m coming in!!!!
In Judges 16:1-3 Samson went to Gilgal and while he was sleeping, in verse 2 it says that the people surrounded the city that they might kill him. But in verse 3 we read that in the middle of the night, he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose. He then lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. (Hebron means “the place of fellowship”). Samson removed the offensive barrier and entered the place of fellowship.
Psalm 107:15-16 says, Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. .
We must roll away every stone that would try to destroy our fellowship with our Lord. That’s exactly what these distractions of disappointment, loss, betrayal and unforgiveness are trying to do in our lives….Jesus is ready to anoint us to rip the gates off and meet Him at Hebron, the place of renewed fellowship.
Yes, people will look at you strange when you don’t get all down and negative like most folks…. And you keep on singing and rejoicing in spite of everything… They don’t understand, because they’ve bought into the lie, that you just have to go with the flow….
Joe had asked Bob to help him out with his deck after work, so Bob went straight over to Joe's place. When they got to the door, Joe went straight to his wife, gave her a hug and told her how beautiful she was and how much he had missed her at work. They worked until it was time for supper, and Joe complimented his wife on her cooking, kissed her and told her how much he loved her. As they continued working on the deck, Bob commented about how Joe made over his wife. Joe said that he'd started doing this about six months ago, because their marriage had gotten bumpy and it had really revived their relationship…things just couldn't be better. Bob thought he'd give it a go. When he got home, he gave his wife a massive hug, kissed her and told her that he loved her. His wife burst into tears. Bob was confused and asked why she was crying. She said, "This is the worst day of my life. First, little Billy fell off his bike and twisted his ankle. Then, the washing machine broke down and flooded the basement. And now, you come home drunk!"
When you do the right thing, folks may misunderstand, but do the right thing anyway!
John 11:43 “And Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” v44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Let’s get it straight…. We talk about resurrection life, but RESURRECTION LIFE IS NOT JUST FOR THE LIVING, IT’S FOR THE THINGS THAT HAVE DIED! We are told by the Lord that if we’re still struggling and wrestling with stinking stuff, we’re not dead yet!
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”.
Lazarus was dead 4 days….Four is considered as a perfect number…there are 4 seasons, 4 directions, 4 primary colors, 4 periods of the day, and 4 elements. This tells me that even though Lazarus was dead, he was in the perfect place at the perfect time for a miracle! There was no question as to how dead he was. THE MAN WAS DEAD! That should shout to all of us…. When I give up the struggle, when I stop fighting what I cannot win, when I reach the end of myself, I will find His life, His strength, His power!
We need to go back to that place where we stopped hoping, and decided to just live with the problem, and ask ourselves, “is my God bigger than this problem? Is He greater than this bondage? Is He more powerful than this sickness”? Get a fresh look at your God, there on your knees…He is still Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord my provider! He is still Jehova-Rapha, the Lord my healer!is He still El Shaddai, the God who is more than enough!” When you remind yourself who your God is, your improbabilities, and your impossibilities begin to wither before Him.
Know that It is never too late for God. Know that God specializes in man’s impossibilities. Know that God will often require us to do something, in faith, that goes directly the opposite of how we feel. Know that when we are fed up with the stink and roll away the stone, then God is free to bring our dead situation back to life! Know that the greater the problem, the greater the miracle!
Let’s take a moment and examine what’s in our cup, because what you’re dealing with and what’s been rubbing you the wrong way may just be showing you what’s inside….Does a fish become a fish by swimming under the water, or does it swim under the water because it is a fish? Does a bird become a bird once it learns to fly through the air? Or does it fly through the air because it is a bird? Which is it? Of course, the bird is a bird, and therefore it flies…What we do flows out of who we are and who we are is the source of what we do….Who we are is redeemed, delivered, healed and set free. We do the works of Christ because that’s who we are!
Philippians 4:11 “I do not focus on my lack, for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. v12 For I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound, everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need v13 For I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”.
I have a challenge for you today….In the bible where Jesus said “Lazarus, come forth”… I want you to put your name, or your child’s name, or your family member’s name in there and begin to call them forth…. Judy, Bill, Martha, Jack….. Come Forth! And keep calling, until you get peace in your heart and spirit that it is done…. You may not see it yet, but in your heart you know it’s done! Perhaps there are some things that seem to be blocked and sealed up where you can’t get to them….we’re in agreement here, that they begin to come forth!
