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You know friend, the more I study the Word of God, the more I am amazed at its powerful teachings that have the fantastic ability to touch the hearts of humanity. Yes, God's Word has power, power to change hearts and lives and most of all, to save our souls. On that last note, I want to open for you a portion of Scripture that gives us a glimpse into the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. If you have a Bible handy turn with me to the New Testament book of the Gospel of John chapter eleven. I'll be reading selected verses, so follow along if you can, or just listen as I read this wonderful story about Jesus and three friends - Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We begin by reading,
John 11:1-28 (KJV-selected verses) "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha ... 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he [tarried] two days still in the same place where he was."... 17 "Then when Jesus came, he found that [Lazarus] had lain in the grave four days already."... 21-28 "Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. 28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee."
As I previously read this portion of Scripture in John 11, I entered into the feelings of Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. You could feel the love they had for each other.
Their home must have been a simple home. Apparently none of the sisters were married, nor Lazarus. So they lived together and cared for each other. Lazarus was the head of the household and provided for this happy trio. But time and the curse of sin has a way of breaking into happy lives, and bring darkness and death. So it was, that Lazarus died! Their happiness was broken, and the bond of love between these three was shattered. What's worse, the one whom they thought could heal Lazarus, had failed them. Oh what a story! Yet God puts it there for all generation of humanity to read and understand. Now as I read this story, it was the last part that arrested my attention and heart. Did you remember what Martha said? After Jesus came and comforted her with words of hope and faith, she hurried to her sister Mary and excitedly said,
John 11:28 (KJV) "... The Master is come, and calleth for thee."
Here we are confronted with a tremendous Bible truth and teaching about God and humanity. Indeed, the "Master," has come. This term rightly translated in today's English means one who is teacher, someone who has authority and knowledge to lead their pupil into greater light and truth. In the Bible we know that the real "Master," of all humanity is none other than God himself. Yes, even to this day one of the greatest Bible teaching is the fact that God, our Creator and Master has come. We read in,
Gal 4:4 (NIV) "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,"
God has for all time appeared unto men in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. It is He who is the Master, the One to whom all the earth shall come when He calls. And, my friend, that is what this Bible passage says so wonderfully. Martha with great anticipation and excitement, hurried to her sister Mary and told her, "The Master calleth for thee."
You see in the Bible we find that God's favorite word is "come." As such, God is always calling for sinners to come to Him. From cover to cover, the Scriptures reveal so many passages that reflect this truth. We would do well to study some of them and learn about God's call to mankind. In fact, did you know the most prominent word God uses in the Bible is "come?" It is God's call to sinners. We read of God's call to us in,
Isa 1:18 (NIV) ""Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."
Here we find a pleading God ,who urges all men to stop and reason about where we stand in relationship to a holy and sinless God? Again Isaiah writes,
Isa 45:22 (NIV) ""Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."
Yes, God is calling sinners to Himself. This is the real message of the Bible. Why is God doing this? The answer is we all exist in a state of extreme peril. If any of us die in this estranged state, the Bible says we will perish in our sins for all eternity. Therefore, this pleading voice of God can be heard throughout the Old Testament. For example, Ezekiel cries,
Ezek 33:11 (NIV) "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'"
Although many unsaved people today think the God of Christianity and eternity is a harsh, vengeful, merciless God - the Bible on the contrary shows us differently. He is a God of love, who desires that all men be saved, and reconciled to Himself. So God calls and draws men to come to Him -- He pleads for them to come, so they will not have to die. This is the Bible's greatest message my friend.
Why even as one goes into the New Testament, we hear God's call to men to come and be reconciled. In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear God the Son's pleading voice,
Mat 11:28-30 (NIV) ""Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.""
Why even the very last words in the Bible in the Book of Revelation, we hear God's general and efficacious call,
Rev 22:17 (NIV) "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."
All the New Testament Scriptures, we must conclude contain God's divine call for men to be saved from their sins by coming to Jesus, for He calls all of us to Himself. Now, if this is so I must ask you - have you come? Have you heard God's call? Indeed, "the Master has come and He calleth for thee." And, since God calls clearly, every man, woman and child who does not come stands condemned already. Now in light of Martha's words to her sister Mary, I see that God uses various methods of reaching out to sinners. In three distinct ways God's call comes to all humanity. Let's examine these various calls, and see how they touch our lives. Now, we find the first way God calls is...
(1) THROUGH THE BIBLE ITSELF - Yes we've just read many Scriptures that tell us God is calling sinner to Himself. And, therefore the Bible is God's call to all men! When Jesus came to Mary and Martha, although darkness and death had ruined their happy home, Jesus was indeed God's call for them to come to Him for help, hope, comfort and of course deliverance and faith. But say, have you come friend, through God's Word? If not, come right now in light of what God has said.
Now secondly we find God calls another way. Looking at our story , we find that when Martha received those comforting words of hope that Lazarus would indeed rise again, a new life of anticipation and joy surfaced in her sorrowing heart. This new hope, caused her to be Jesus' messenger to her sister. She hurried to Mary and said, " the Master has come and calleth for thee." Here we see the second blessed truth ...
(2) GOD ALSO CALLS THROUGH OTHER CHRISTIANS. So it is always God's plan to use believers to reach others. The sad truth is many Christians are not prepared or willing to take God's call to sinners around them. They fear they will be rejected, or be persecuted, or laughed at. So they remain silent. Can you imagine Martha ignoring Jesus' command for her to summon Mary to His side so He could comfort her? Only one who had no love could do such evil. Perhaps we can see the same in our failure to tell others of Christ's call to them? If we really love our fellow man, we will not withhold God's Word to them. Paul the great apostle said,
2 Cor 5:11 (NIV) "Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men...."
Paul said because we know that God is a holy God who will by no means clear the guilty, we must go to our families, friends and fellow neighbors and tell them of God's call and the consequences of refusing to come. This portion of Scripture reminds us who are believers, that we have a responsibility and obligation to evangelize, to pass on the Word of Christ to a lost world of sinners, regardless of how they will respond. So in figure, Martha brought Mary to Jesus. In the Bible we find this pattern often worked out. For instance, Andrew brought Simon Peter his brother to Jesus (John 1:41). Philip brought Nathaniel to Jesus (John 1:45-49). John the Baptist brought two of his disciples to Jesus (John 1:35-37), and then the woman at the well in Samaria invited a whole crowd from her town to meet Jesus. She said,
John 4:29 (NIV) ""Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?""
That is God's way. Have you, believer in Christ, been faithful? But perhaps you who are listening are not a believer in Christ. Maybe you have a believing mate, parent, brother, sister, relative, work-mate or friend. They come to you inviting you to Christ, calling you to hear of Him through church meetings, Bible studies, or gospel presentations. Yet you do not respond. Know this - you will be held accountable for not hearing the voice of God spoken to you through them, for God is calling you right now to come to Him. Every Christian is God's voice to a lost world of sinners, who will be held accountable for not properly responding to God's love and grace.
Lastly, we find that God calls yet another way which we see in this story. We find that Jesus didn't come to the rescue of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, until -- trouble, pain, suffering and loss filled their lives! Here again is another Bible principle that surrounds God's call to men. We read in the Bible these words,
Rom 2:4 (NIV) "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"
God's first way to reach lost sinners, is to shower them with all His kindness and love. Just look around you at what you have? Life and health? Home and heart? Abundance and plenty? As we march toward the 21st century, there are few in the industrial nations of the world that are not blessed by God with much. It is God's intention for us to realize that all these good things are here by God's gracious loving hand. But then, if we do not heed His call, and refuse to come, God deals with us differently. Now, this brings us to the third way God calls men. We find that,
(3) GOD'S CALL COMES THROUGH ADVERSITY & TROUBLE - we learn that God wanted Mary and Martha to have a closer relationship to Him, and it appears there was no other way to bring this about than to take away what was most dear to them, so they would flee into His loving arms for help and hope. These sisters could see no good in this death of their brother, but God meant it for good. Jesus told his disciples,
John 11:4, 14-15 (NIV) "... Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.""... 14 "So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.""
Jesus had special plans to allow this tragedy so that He could open their hearts to believe in Him, and to walk more closely with Him. The truth we all know is some will never see the Lord Jesus until they experience deep tears that wash away the scales of unbelief and rejection. We know that some of the most productive places for God's call to be received is in the lives of people who have lost the world around them. Prisons, hospitals, funeral parlors - there people are broken by their loss and are open to hear God's call to them. Why even the great King David knew this when he said,
Psa 119:67 (NIV) "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word."
Moreover Job who suffered greater than any other man said at the end of his trials,
Job 42:2, 5-6 (NIV) ""I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."... 5 "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.""
Now none of us like trouble and we certainly don't want it. But God's Word says, He will not ignore us, and will use trouble and adversity to bring men to Himself if they will not respond any other way. Say friend, have you responded to God's call in the Bible? To God's call through other Christians? Or are you resistant? Do you think God will ignore you, and let you go on living in disobedience to His divine calling? Think again, for our story from the pages of Scriptures tells us, God will use any means to reach lost sinners whom He loves.
So I ask again, what have you done with God's Word? Are you regularly listening to it preached to you or do you neglect to go to a Bible preaching Church, forget to open God's Word and hear the still small voice of God? Perhaps there are Christians around you who witness to you, invite you to hear God's Word, they share Bible truths with you, but you still do not respond. You prefer for them to leave you alone. If this is your state, know that God's next step is to take away the blessings you have - not because He doesn't love you, but because He does!
Dear friend, if you hear God calling today through this message and His Word, don't turn away! Don't reject God's voice, rather like Mary and Martha, respond and flee into His loving arms. Jesus still says,
Mat 11:28-30 (NIV) ""Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.""
John 6:37 (NIV) "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
Oh sinner, say yes to Jesus' call right now wherever you are! Say yes, as the hymn writer has so well written. "Just as I am without one plea. But that Thy blood was shed for me; and that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God I come, I come!"
Our story from Scripture reveals that Martha brought Mary to Jesus and when they were all assembled in His presence, God brought a miracle to their lives. We read in Scripture,
John 11:40-43 (NIV) "Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!""
And of course the rest is the miracle story of Lazarus' rising from the dead! God brought new life to those who came to Him and believed! God is still doing that thousands of years later. New life, the spiritually dead being raise to walk in newness of life is for all who will simply come to Jesus, respond to His call for reconciliation and forgiveness. That my friend, is God's message to us all today. I Trust you have or will respond, and enter into God's life eternal. This is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan at