Power Over Death | Finding Hope in Tragedy

A New Beginning presents a new book from Pastor Greg Laurie. We are offering a brand new resource called The House of David Devotional and it's based on the great Psalms of David as well as the life of David. So I'm going to put this brand new devotional in your hand so you can learn from this man of God. Or your gift of any size at harvest.org.

It's the official companion resource for the new Amazon TV series also called The House of David. If God loved me, why did he let this happen? We've asked this before. We know God is all powerful. He could have prevented our pain.

Could have, but didn't. That's a crisis point for many. Today Pastor Greg Laurie brings us the big picture. God has made everything beautiful in his time. See, we look at the temporal. God looks at the eternal. He's looking at what he's ultimately going to do in your life. Many people ask one question when tragedy strikes.

It's the one word question that reverberates in our very soul. Why? Why did this have to happen? Why? Why me? Why now?

Why this? Maybe you've asked that question or maybe you've tried to answer that question. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie addresses that challenge head on. When earthly answers don't satisfy, we have to look to what God tells us in his word, truth that speaks to the heart.

Let's turn in our Bibles to John chapter 11 and the title of my message is Power Over Death. So my grandchildren used to have a bunch of rabbits and there was, they had different names, a fuzzy and cotton. One was named Chubby Cutie, which is funny because that's what my wife calls me.

So back to fuzzy and cotton. They were a couple that, let's say they were very successful at bringing more rabbits into the world. My granddaughter Ali came to me one day and she was in tears and she said, Papa Fuzzy the rabbit died.

And then she said, it's not fair. And I assured her that Fuzzy had lived a very long life. He had many offspring that he left behind.

We counted around 80 bunnies that were left from Fuzzy. And so this happens and of course we wonder, will we see our pets again in heaven? Well I think it's a pretty simple answer. All dogs go to heaven, no cats do.

It's simple, no, no. But will we see them? I don't know.

Who knows? It's possible that you might see your pet on the other side somewhere. But we don't have certainty of that. But we know that when heaven comes to earth and what we call the new earth, that there will be animals with us. And we read about a little child leading a lion, which would be the ultimate pet, a lion. That's one cat I can get behind, right?

A lion. And so we don't know about these things but Ali raised a good issue and it's simply this, death is not fair. Death is harsh, it's mean, and it rips people that we love away from us. Sometimes expectedly we know it's coming, other times unexpectedly. It's so hard for us to wrap our minds around the death of a child. You know we know that grandparents are going to definitely die and then parents and time and even us in time.

But nobody plans or thinks through the death of a child or doing a funeral service for your child. Our son Christopher, he's in heaven. And we know we will see him again. And Kathy and I and our son Jonathan went to his grave and we reflected on his life and we all prayed and recommitted ourselves to the calling God has put on our lives. And you say well that's a really morbid thing to do. I mean go to a grave and well yeah but it's a grounding thing to do. I'll tell you that because it just reminds you one day I will be here too. I've told you this before about a person who was walking through a cemetery and they saw a tombstone and on it were inscribed these words, pause now stranger as you pass by as you are now so once was I as I am now so you will be so prepare for death and follow me. And a person reading that was overheard to say to follow you is not my intent until I know which way you went.

Right? The Christian can look death right in the face and not be afraid because we know death is not the end. We know there is life beyond the grave. Sure we're realists. You know people accuse Christians of being out of touch with reality.

I think other people are out of touch with reality that don't deal with this topic head on as we ought to. Because only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live. So we look at death and we say I'm not looking forward to it but I know it's not the end and I know I'm simply changing my address from earth to heaven because I put my faith in Jesus Christ.

And that's how we can view it. And this is not only does a believer have the hope that the moment they die they go immediately into the presence of God but the Bible also teaches there will be a bodily resurrection. That means the body that is in the grave now will one day be resurrected.

We will see our loved ones again. But we're so uncomfortable with this topic. We don't even like to use the actual words. Instead of saying someone died we'll say well they passed on.

Or technically you might say well they expired. An undertaker we call them a mortician. A coffin is called a casket.

A graveyard is a memorial park. Well that's whatever you want to call it. It is what it is. And death is harsh. And death is mean. And death is final. And death is real. And death is not our friend.

It is the enemy. In fact 1 Corinthians 15 26 says the last enemy to be destroyed is death. And actually God never wanted us to die. There was no death in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. There was no sickness. There was no aging.

There was no need for police officers or the military or anything of that kind. There was no suffering at all. It was pure bliss but our first parents ate of the forbidden fruit and sin entered the world and so did death. And this is a story before us now in John 11 of three people that were impacted by the death of someone they loved. We're talking about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

And we're talking about when Lazarus the brother got sick and died. And by the way they were inseparable. They were close siblings. Not all siblings are close. Sometimes we have sibling rivalry.

They're fighting with each other all the time but other siblings do everything together. I remember when I first met my wife Kathy. She wasn't my wife yet. And she was at a Bible study with her two sisters. They went everywhere together.

Mary, Kathy, and Dodie. And so there they were sitting in front of me. And I noticed Kathy. And I noticed her because there was a light shining on her. And I realized later Dodie was holding a flashlight over her head. And I noticed her and I thought wow there's something about this girl.

I want to meet her. So I went up to all of them. Hey how are you?

I'm Greg. And so I said you want to go get coffee after church? And we did.

And then another week passed. I saw him again. Hey you want to go out after church and get some dessert?

Sure. We all went. And the third week I said to Kathy hey you want to go out after church and get some dessert? She said sure I'll get my sisters. I said I don't want your sisters.

I just want you. And thus our relationship began. But they did everything together and so did Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

A tight-knit family. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Emails, phone calls, and social media messages from listeners are so encouraging to us.

And they let us know the effectiveness of these studies. Hi Pastor Greg. I have been listening to your sermons and podcasts for a long time. During my pregnancy in 2020 I listened to you daily and my baby listened along.

From my belly of course. He is now five years old and still sits with me and listens to your podcasts. Your recent releases of your animated series, Been Born Again, has been a hit in this household. My son loves it and asks to watch it often.

Even when he's not watching it he's listening to it. Thank you so much for producing such great stuff that anybody can enjoy. How have these studies in God's Word touched your life? If you have a story to share why not call us and let us know. Call 866-871-1144.

That's 866-871-1144. Well today Pastor Greg is offering insights based on the resurrection of Lazarus recorded in John chapter 11. It's a message called power over death. So this is sign number seven in our series that we're calling the seven signs of Jesus.

The first sign was turning water into wine at a wedding. The final sign was the resurrection of a man from the dead. So we go from a wedding to a funeral reminding us that God is in control of all things in our life from the beginning to the end.

He's there with us in our joys and our sorrows. But the ultimate sign of Jesus was not even the resurrection of Lazarus as amazing as it was. The ultimate sign of Jesus was his death and resurrection.

Everything was building to this crescendo. Jesus said a wicked and an adulterous generation seeks after a sign. But no sign will be given to them without of the prophet Jonah. And as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster or the great fish so will the eye the son of man Jesus speaking be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

Loose paraphrase. Jesus says you guys want a miracle? You want a sign?

Here it is. I'm going to die on a cross. I'm going to bear the sin of the world and I'm going to rise again from the dead.

But let's see what happened to Lazarus. John 11. I'm starting in verse one. I'm reading from the New King James Version. Now a certain man was sick Lazarus of Bethany the town of Mary and her sister Martha and it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Therefore the sister said to him saying behold he whom you love is sick. So we'll stop there. What did we learn from this story?

Point number one if you're taking notes. Life is filled with pain and sorrow and the death of loved ones. Is that not the most depressing point of all time? But is it not true?

Sorry that I have to be the one to break this to you in case you don't know it. But life is filled with the pain death and sorrow of loved ones. Now when you're younger this is hard to wrap your mind around. But you see people dying and and it starts to settle in that one day this will happen to you as well so this is what we see. And when tragedy comes in our life or we lose a loved one we say why me?

Why is this happening to me? But it's ultimately going to happen to everyone including you. In fact we're told in 1 Peter 4 12 don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which will try you as though some strange thing is happening to you. So we have to accept this fact but that brings me to point number two. God loves us. God loves us. Don't rush over that.

Don't misunderstand it. Let it sink in. God loves you. I want you to say this out loud. God loves me.

Go. It's true. Do you believe that? God loves you. Okay so no matter what you're facing right now don't forget this simple fact. Therefore what he does or allows to happen in your life as his child is motivated by his everlasting love for you.

God loves you therefore whatever he does or allows to happen in your life as his child is motivated by his everlasting love for you. Now I'm interested in what Mary and Martha do. Now remember Lazarus is still alive but he's very sick.

They know this is serious. So they send word to Jesus the one that you love is sick. In verse three another translation of the same statement is Lord your dear friend is very sick.

And this is an excellent example of what we need to do when we are in crisis. We are not here to tell God what he should do but we are here to tell him about our problem and say Lord here's my problem and they describe it to Jesus. Call on the Lord. There's nothing wrong with asking God to help you. Nothing wrong with asking God to deliver you. In fact you should do it because in the book of James it says you have not because you ask not. Now God may deliver you from your problem and he may simply walk with you through your problem but bring it before the Lord. When the Israelites are criticizing and turning against Moses we read in Exodus 15 25 he cried unto the Lord. When Hezekiah received a threatening letter we read in Isaiah 37 he spread it out before the Lord. When John the Baptist was beheaded his disciples went and told Jesus.

That's what we should do. Christ says go and tell Jesus. Hey Jesus I have a problem. I have a need. I have a burden. I have this thing that's happening to me right now and I'm asking you to help me. Psalm 46 one reminds us that Jesus is a very present help in times of trouble.

A present help. Now they could have said now look Lord you owe us. We fed you and your disciples a lot of times. You see Jesus and his boys would often frequent the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary, Martha and Lazarus could legitimately say Jesus is our friend. You see they lived in Bethany and Bethany is striking distance from Jerusalem. So as Christ would make his way into the city he would just stop by. I wonder if he came by unannounced.

He certainly couldn't text Martha. Hey Martha how's it going? We're on our way into Jerusalem. Man are we hungry and we all know what a great cook you are.

Could you make something for us? Sure come on in Lord. And then they would all come. They probably all went into the kitchen together. Why is it that in our homes everyone wants to hang around in the kitchen. You might even have a proper living room that no one ever uses. The most worthless room in a home.

The living room. We all want to be in the kitchen because that's where the action is right. Isn't this making you hungry right now. Because that's where the food is and everyone you know people are leaning up against the stove and they close their kitchen on fire but the food's there. It's good right. So they could have said Lord we fed you so many times you kind of owe us.

It's time to reciprocate. But they didn't do anything like that. They just said Lord the one that you love is sick. They didn't even say the one that loves you is sick. They said the one that you love is sick. They weren't even appealing on the basis of their love for him.

They were appealing on the basis of his love for them. Let's pick the story up John 11 verse 4. When Jesus heard about it he said Lazarus sickness will not end in death.

No it happened for the glory of God so the son of God will receive glory from this. Now don't miss this verse. Although Jesus loved Martha Mary and Lazarus he stayed where he was for the next two days.

I'd underline that actually. Although Jesus loved Martha Mary and Lazarus he stayed where he was for the next two days. Then he said to his disciples let's go back to Judea. He loved them so he waited.

That doesn't make sense. If we would expect that verse to say because Jesus loved Mary Martha and Lazarus he got on the back of the fastest horse and rode to them. Or hey in the case of Christ he could have just moved there.

Just boom here I am. Or he could have spoken the word. He didn't even have to go to them. He could have spoken the word and said Lazarus you are healed. But none of this happened. He delayed his arrival. Why? Listen because he loved Lazarus.

Now we think this is a contradiction. If Jesus really loved Lazarus why didn't he immediately go and heal him. And in the same way when hardship, tragedy, or even death come into our lives we wonder if God really loved me why did he let this happen. Right?

We've asked this before. If God loved me why did he let this happen. It's hard to see through eyes that are filled with tears. And the point that we need to see in all of this is not why it's happened but remember God is in control.

And also remember that his delays are not necessarily his denials. A verse I love Ecclesiastes 3-11 says God has made everything beautiful in his time. See we look at the small picture. God looks at the big picture. We look at the temporal.

God looks at the eternal. See I'm an artist of sorts. More of a cartoonist if you want to call that an artist. I like to think of myself as an advanced doodler. But I like to draw. If there's a piece of paper near me and a pen I'll start drawing.

I can't stop myself. And people will say do a caricature of me. Now a caricature by its very definition is an exaggeration of something. And so if someone says draw me I'll look at them and I see them in a certain way.

As something of an artist and also as someone with a warped sense of humor. And I might see flaws. Like oh wow your ears are quite big.

So in the drawing I do of you your ears are going to be gigantic. And that's what a caricature is. That's why I never do caricatures of girls. Because I'll draw a girl and make her perfect. Flawless.

So cute and adorable. She'll say I don't look like that. But guys I'm brutal man. I just yeah I'm gonna go for it. It's meant to make you laugh right. So even before I begin to draw I might start laughing. You don't see anything in the paper but I see it in my imagination. I know what I'm going to do. So God is drawing a picture of our life.

He does a stroke here. A line there. And we say I don't what is this. I don't see what it's going to be. Lord says you're going to like it.

But that's done. We're a work in progress. He's looking at what he's ultimately going to do in your life. Pastor Greg Laurie is presenting his message called Power Over Death. And obviously there's more to come from this study here on A New Beginning. But God's plan for our lives is not only for the here and now.

For the problems and crises we may be facing today. He has a plan for your eternity. He's extended his invitation for you to go to heaven when this life is over. But you may not be sure you're headed there. Pastor Greg how can someone be sure? Yes here's what the Bible says.

Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. So you need to reach out to God. Not just think about it. Not just say one of these days I would like to. Just do it.

In fact you can do it right now. You say well how do I call out to the name of the Lord. You do it through prayer.

God is just a prayer away. He desires a relationship with you. He wants you to know him.

He wants to reveal himself to you. So you just need to call out and say Lord save me and help me. How about if I lead you in a prayer and you could pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like. You can pray it quietly in your heart. But direct this prayer toward God and you could pray it after me right now.

You ready? Pray this after me. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the savior and I want a relationship with you. So as your word says I'm calling on the name of the Lord. I'm asking you to save me from my sin and I'm asking that we begin a new relationship today.

Thank you for loving me and sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and then raising him from the dead. I now put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Listen if you have just prayed that prayer along with Pastor Greg and you've meant those words sincerely let us be the first to welcome you into the family of God. And we want to help you get started off right in this new daily walk with the Lord. Pastor Greg would like to send you his New Believers Bible. It's a special edition of God's Word for those who are new to the faith with scores of helps for new believers written by Pastor Greg.

So get in touch and ask for the New Believers Bible. We'll send it your way free of charge. Just call 1-800-821-3300.

Call anytime 24 hours a day 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God. You know Pastor Greg we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. That's right. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.

Yeah it's really true Dave. You know and even a little bit helps. You know people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the Word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it and I'm called to do it and I'm thankful for it.

But I can't do it alone. So I'm going to ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel. If you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God then perfectly consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner.

Which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So thanks for that. Yeah that's right and we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime day or night at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time more helpful encouragement on reaching out to the Lord in our times of trial and tragedy. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Lord.