The Tough Sayings of Jesus II - The Weeping General

8/7/2019 The Tough Sayings of Jesus II - The Weeping General

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THE TOUGH SAYINGS OF JESUS IILesson 3 ² The Weeping General



INTRO

Here is a question for you today.

What is value?

Value is not just a dollar amount

on something but it is how much

someone willing to sacrifice for

it.

Since one man·s trash is another

man·s treasure value seems

kind of subjective.



V ALUE

´ It seems value isdetermined by ones

priorities.

´ Then the question is: Is

there anything that is

universally valuable?

´ If there is one person who

has absolutely correct

priorities it is Jesus.

´ But what does Jesus value?

´ Lets go into John 11:1-37



JESUS WAITING

´ Mary, Martha and Lazaruswere not strangers to Jesus.This family were some of hisbest friends.

´ We know from other

accounts of Jesus that hecould of healed Lazarus andat that did not have to bethere.

´ But Jesus does

nothing«Have we not askedJesus to do something yet itseems like he does nothing?



MORE IMPORTANTLY

´ From Jesus not going toLazarus right away we know

that something was more

important, more valuable

than Lazarus.

´ Jesus was no coward. He

was on his way to Jerusalem

to die on the cross. No

Jesus reveals His reason in

verse 4.

´ The glory of God!!! That is

what Jesus values most.



THE GLORY OF GOD

´ The glory of God ² God·sreputation, fame and praise.As believers we do not addto the glory of God we canmerely recognize and

display it to others throughour lives.

´ This is the most valuablething to Jesus.

´ And let me make this clear:

The thing God values morethan anything even you orme is His glory.



CONSEQUENCES

´ Even if we get the reason for Jesus waiting the next

question is a bit troubling. What about Lazarus?

´ There are consequences when Jesus does nothing

and even though God will be glorified in it yet Jesus

waited while Lazarus died. And waited four days so

everyone knew that Lazarus was dead.



THE GENERAL

´ We like to think of loving Jesus.The Jesus that would drop

everything to come and help out

you and me. We see Jesus a bit

like some loving butler someone

to take care of us.

´ But Jesus is not a butler but more

like a general.

´ Generals make tough decisions.

´ In Bethany there is a happy

ending. John 11:38-44.´ But despite this in times of

suffering we ask: What about«?



FINALLY

´ Think about Jesus follower. Asthey went to Bethany 4 dayslater.

´ Or what about Martha, she ran

out to meet Jesus and must

have thought ´What about mybrother?µ Yet her words are inverse 22.

´ But Jesus did nothing, in hermind, and reminded her of who he was.

´ Then came Mary.

´ Mary was a thinker and athinker with plenty of time.



THE COMFORTER

´ Jesus understands our

suffering better than we do.

And he knows that through

our suffering the glory of

God is advanced.

´ Jesus knows that suffering

can bring good yet it doesn·t

mean he likes it.

´ Jesus shows how to be acomforter in verse 35.



GENERAL IMM ANUEL

´ Here is the General wefollow. He is not a man who

tells the troops attack with

no concerns of what that

will do to them. For he is

the first one into battle and

the last one off.

´ General Immanuel ² ´God

with us.µ We can know that

God is with us as we suffer.

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The Tough Sayings of Jesus II - The Weeping General