Who Do You Trust?

August 30, 2020
Pastor Clint Ziemer

Audio of the sermon preached on August 30, 2020, at Cable Community Church, Sherrard, IL.

Episode Notes

Who Do You Trust?



John 11: 25-26

Review: We’ve been studying the statements of Jesus from John known as the “I am” discourses. 7 statements Jesus made to help us to realize that He is the great “I am” of the O.T., who has become flesh in the N.T. to seek and to save all of us who are lost.

So far, Jesus has said:

    *  “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)

    * “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5)

    * “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7, 9)

    * “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14)

Today as we turn our attention to the 5th statement I was reminded of a funny story I heard about two boys playing together.

A pastor’s son and his friend were playing outside when they found a dead robin. They decided the bird deserved a proper burial and so they put him in a Kleenex box, dug a hole, and placed their feathered friend in the ground. The minister’s son was chosen to say a few words. Remembering what his father said at times like this, the boy proclaimed loudly, “Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn…and into the hole he goooes!”

With all that’s going on in the country (and the world,) it probably seems like the safest place to be is to crawl into a hole.  You know?  Just cover up and ride it out, right?

I wonder if some of you feel like you’ve been in a hole for quite a while? Perhaps you’re hurting because someone close to you has recently died. Maybe a relationship has ruptured and you’re filled with a combination of rage and numbness. Sooner or later, each of us will experience disappointment, sickness, even death because they are a common heritage of being descendants of Adam and Eve.

This is the case in our text this morning from John chapter 11.  Friend after friend had stepped forward, hugged Martha and kissed her and said “Your brother will rise again”.

She had probably lost track of the number of times she heard it as she stood by the body and at the tomb of her brother Lazarus.

And now Jesus came along and said the same thing “Your brother will rise again” (Jn 11:23).

Choking back a sob, she says, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (Jn 11:24) but that would be a long way off - and didn’t give her much comfort right then.

Then Jesus makes an astounding statement – one of the seven famous “I am” statements recorded in John’s Gospel

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”

What did Jesus mean by that?


  1. Body
    1. Bad Things Happen -  to Godly People All for the Glory of God
      1. Whether your circumstances make you feel like a modern day Job, or whether you believe that all hope is gone as in this situation with Lazarus.
      2. God will work all things together for the good… (Rm. 8:28)
      3. This means God is never caught off guard. He might allow the difficulties of living in a depraved and decaying world to run their course in our lives – yet He has promised that He can and will use what’s happened for His glory – whether it is to strengthen us, protect us, motivate us, or empower us.
        1. James tells us God provides trials to mature us and complete us.
        2. From David we learn that sometimes God puts a Saul in our life to take the Saul-like qualities out of us because He is growing and guiding us.
        3. The Exodus teaches us that God allows difficulty to remind us that He is God and that He is in control.
        4. At times God allows bad things to happen to show us He is near.
      4. Did you know that He promised:
        1. I am with you always…
        2. I’ll never leave you nor forsake you...
        3. I am confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it… (Ph. 1:6)
        4. Though you walk through the valley of death… (Ps. 23)
      5. There is one exception to this rule – when something bad happens as a result of sin. We all should understand by now that the wages of sin is death – meaning just as there was a destructive consequence for Adam and Eve’s sin – all of creation was marred, and all of mankind was separated from God (Rm. 5:12) and therefore dead in our trespasses and sin - so too is their an ongoing relationship between sin and death – when you and I sin, something dies.
      6. If a spouse is unfaithful – something in the marriage is likely to die.
      7. If you lie, cheat, and steal, you’ll likely get caught and go to jail or worse.
      8. As they say, “If you play with fire, you will likely get burned.”
    2. God’s Timing is Perfect – Never Early, Never Late, but Always on Time
      1. We have all heard this statement made, but I am not so sure that we’ve truly come to grips with it. More often than not, most of us feel like Mary and Martha – we’re wondering where God is when we need Him most.
      2. Note: This text serves to remind us that God has perfect timing.
      3. At the same time, God will allow us - at times -  to get ahead of Him. But His will is not threatened or thwarted by our misunderstanding or lack of patience.
      4. One Old Testament examples of this is when Abraham jumped ahead of God. God promised to make him a great nation and to give him a son, but when Abe and Sarah thought that they were getting too old to bear children, they jumped ahead of God – and now we have an entire religion (Islam) as a result of their not trusting God to show up on time.
      5. In this text, Jesus shows up four days after Lazarus’ death – he wanted to make sure that everyone understood that Lazarus was good and dead. He didn’t want anyone, anyway to be able to discredit this miracle.
      6. I don’t know why God appears slow on some things and why he allows or disallows other things other than to say because He has a bigger plan. But I am certain that God is never early or late – but right on time.
    3. We Must Believe
      1. When Martha first approached Jesus she sternly rebukes Him for not coming sooner and healing Lazarus, but then softens her approach by saying I know that you can still do something.
      2. God is not distressed or dismayed when we are honest with Him. The foundations of the world are not sent spiraling out of control whenever we question or doubt God. In fact, it is when we get honest with ourselves and with God that He is enabled to move with greater freedom in our lives.
      3. It is important that when you get honest with God that you never forget that He is God and you’re not.
      4. Very few of us if we get upset with our boss are going to march in and tell him what we think – at least not if we want to keep our jobs. Just like there is an appropriate way to approach people in authority over us, there is an appropriate way to approach God.
      5. Quote: The biggest difference between me and God is God doesn’t think that He is me.
      6. It’s incredibly important to remember that God is always good, only capable of doing good, and always working for His good in our lives.


  1. Conclusion
    1. Funeral Traditions Are Always Changing- They’re different now than in Jesus’ day
      1. The pandemic has accelerated change in so many areas, included among them are how we are doing funerals now.
      2. Visitations are now often limited in numbers, socially distant and or drive-by.
      3. Like our church services did, many funeral services have moved online.
      4. Funeral directors say that more people are choosing to have loved ones cremated with memorial services “at a later time.”  
      5. In fact, 50% of National Funeral Directors Association member funeral homes report families postponing a loved one's service due to COVID-19, with plans to hold some type of service “at a later date.”
    2. God's  Love Is Bigger Than Death
      1. A very simple principle – though He knows Lazarus is in a better place – that He is getting ready to raise him from the dead – that Mary and Martha are surrounded by people who love them – He compassionately cares for them. He hurts because they hurt. In the same way, He hurts when you hurt.
      2. Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Heb. 4:15
      3. When Jesus finally gets to the tomb, Martha’s faith gets a little wobbly. Yet even still, her lack of faith does not prohibit Jesus from working miraculously – it only inhibits her trust and relationship with God.
      4. The focus of our faith must never be the circumstances around us but the God before us. We should fear the consequences of our unbelief far more than the stench of death surrounding a dying entity.
      5. The only time your faith will stink is when you are focused on your will being done instead of God’s will being done.
    3. As Long as Jesus is Around, Nothing is Ever Dead, there’s Always a Chance
      1. It might be a marriage relationship that’s on the brink of death or has died – but God can revive it. 
      2. It might be a physical illness – God can heal it. 
      3. It might be a nation where people don’t see eye to eye – God can still move.

Content Copyright Belongs to Cable Community Church
6631