When Jesus doesn't hurry

In this story, Jesus was in the city of Bethany, outside of Jerusalem, far from Jerusalem, the point is that obviously news reached him that Lazarus had died. And I've talked about this on other occasions and this always hits me, that when you receive a response like this it's like the initial reaction is like, wow, we're going there and we're going to be with the family and things like that.

For example, yesterday I received news that someone fell seriously ill in the hospital, that he had a stroke, and that news shocked me so much that I stopped doing everything I was doing here in the office and ran to the hospital. The reaction was like this.

But when I see what Jesus did here, what was it? What happened? He ran out to go see Lazarus? No, how long did it take? 4 days. It took 4 days to go there. 4 days. 4 days that could have made a difference.

Now, when I was reflecting on this, my brothers, this is where I saw the hook of this passage. Because when Jesus arrives and meets Martha and Mary, that's where Martha says to him, Lord, in verse 21 of Chapter 11, she says:

"...Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died..."

He was claiming on one side. But then he said:

“…But I also know that whatever you ask of God, he will give it to you. And Jesus tells her, “your brother is going to rise again”, and Martha told him, “ah, yes I know that he is going to rise again in the resurrection on the last day”. He was already talking about other things over there, but Jesus was telling him, "no, no, no, I am the resurrection in life, whoever believes in me even if they are dead will live and whoever lives and believes in me will not die." eternally…"

Look at the question that he says at the end, what is it that he tells him? Look, it's very interesting because in the conversation I had with Rafael, we were talking, like you know that you are one of those people who come to church week after week, that you see them arrive here, pray, leave the altar full of snot and all that and tears and the ushers have to come clean them and clean the altar too.

But then when they walk out that door it's like, another person, they forgot everything they left here and on the one hand it's good that they forget everything they left here, but they literally forget that there is even a God who exists and that it can do something in the midst of their lives.

And when I see that, my brothers, there are times that I say to myself, wow, there are times that we need Jesus to confront us first because we come up with this little game that yes, I am going to comply with going to church and praying 7 days a week. the week, at such an hour because that is the hour that the Lord blesses, if not I get up early, then God does not help me. I don't know, we have these myths and stigmas that if we comply with that we will have God's blessing.

Look, I know that God blesses those actions but they don't necessarily manipulate it, it's not that those actions manipulate God and many times what we try to do is precisely that, manipulate God to conform to what one wants and what one wants. And there are times when God has to put the brake on us.

I imagine that, I want you to visualize this scenario with me. That you are at a funeral, perhaps it is not the best scenario of all, but obviously when you are at a funeral it is like everything is very solemn, one arrives to offer their condolences to the person, to the relatives of the deceased, the deceased , and you go with all your care and seriousness and things like that, let me not say anything that there are times when you go to a funeral and it's like everyone is saying, yes, we're going to see him in heaven, but that was a son of the devil I don't know in which sky we're going to see it, but you don't want to say anything that won't offend anyone. But the point is that one comes and proceeds cautiously, lovingly to encourage the person.

But imagine here Jesus, he enters like he is coming with all his care and suddenly he says to Marta like, Marta, come here, but what is happening with you? Haven't I told you that there is something I can do? Have I not told you that I have the power to be able to do something in the midst of things?

It is very interesting, my brothers, because this story when Jesus is saying that the resurrection is in him, he is talking about that he is the one who has the power of life and death in his hands. He is the one in control of all those things. If you read the previous passage, in Chapter 10, I am going to tell you a secret but don't tell anyone. If you read the previous passage of John, Chapter 10, particularly verse 18. Look at how Jesus himself says, he is speaking saying that “…no one takes my life but I lay it down from myself. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again. This is the commandment that I received from my Father…”

That phrase of Jesus, he himself is saying that he is the one who has power over those dimensions of life that we are often even afraid of. And after having said it, he verified it in the story of Lazarus, that he is the one who had power over all those things. And look, God longs through his Son Jesus to show all that power in the midst of our lives. But sometimes the biggest problem is that we don't believe enough that he can do it.

We come, we pray, we ask, we listen to the sermons, and we sit for an hour and a half, two hours, but when we go out there our actions, our lifestyles say the complete opposite of what one receives here. And I'm not talking about any of you, I know this doesn't apply to any of you, I'm talking about other people, I'm talking about those who didn't come today.

But the point is that, my brothers, when I see that Jesus asks Martha that question, he says, "Do you believe this?" In other words, in a moment of pain, in a moment of trauma, Jesus suddenly stops the horse, and tells him, come here, do you believe or not? Or do you comb your hair or do you roll? What is he going to do?

And look, if you continue reading afterwards, it says, ah, that Jesus approached the tomb and what did he say, the shortest verse in the entire Bible, what is it? And Jesus wept. Why did Jesus cry? Have you ever wondered why, what did Jesus cry about? Did Jesus weep because Lazarus had died? Could be. Did Jesus weep because of the unbelief of the people? I think so. Was there a combination of all these things mixed up? I think so, that Jesus cried for all those things. She did cry, because the passage says, oh, look how she loved him. Yes, he loved Lázaro, there was a feeling there. But I think that what hurt Jesus the most was the disbelief of the people. That even those people who shared the most with him, because look, Martha and Mary were two of the women in the biblical story who shared the most, who were "closest to Jesus."

Doesn't that give you a little light? That we kill ourselves praying, fasting, seeking God and we have that closeness to him, but nevertheless, many times disbelief dominates in us? Yes, it's true my brothers, it's true. That many times the things that God does do not make sense and there is a book that is titled “When what God does does not make sense”. But do we need it all to make sense on our own terms? Or do we rather have to adjust to God's terms?

Look, my brothers, I confess to you, even as a pastor, I do not have all the answers to situations, there are times when I face some life situations that you share with one, that I am speechless. There are times when I don't even know how to pray for those things. What's more, even right here in the service, right now, when we were praying, my brothers, I came up with an idea of how to direct the prayer time, but when we began to pray here my mind went blank. I was like... I mean, there are times when I can't understand what God is wanting to do. There are times when I can't, as if to say, grasp, I can't get a good grasp of what he's doing, how he's moving, and it's not because I don't have faith, it's not because I'm not sufficiently connected with God. No, no, no, it's just that there are times, my brothers, that God works like this.

When the Bible says that God is a mysterious being, it is precisely for this reason, because there are times that he works in ways that we do not necessarily have to understand him from A to Z, but God tells us that famous text that says, " …by faith we walk and not by sight…”

Look, wherever you are right now, whether it's the things you've been through or the things you're going to face, have faith in this: whatever happens, God is going to see that everything works out for the best. Don't say amen to me yet. Because I don't want this to sound like a cliché. Ah, whatever happens, no, no, no, I don't want it to sound like that. Moreover, I am going to give you the example of Sadrac, Mesac and Abed Negó. Do you remember the story of Sadrac, Mesac and Abed Denied? When they were blowing the trumpet that at the blow of the trumpet everyone had to bow before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had made and they remained standing. And what happened? Ah, the threat, let's get out of the fire and what did they say? King, we want you to know that we are not going to bow before your statue, because we know who we believe in. But this is where the climax is, when they say, “…and even if God doesn't save us, we're still not going to bow down to that idol you made…”

That part of “even if God doesn't do what we are expecting him to do as he wants”. You said it, that's faith. That is faith. That is faith. Where is the money going to come from to do this? And even if God doesn't provide the money, my faith is in him.

Look, a bacterium that could easily kill Ana María and I listen to what you just said now. When I heard that first news, I was like, wow, here it came. We have done everything we could, we have prayed, we have fasted, we have interceded, we have put a hand on it and if it does not happen, well, God will get something out of this. But look, God turned the tortilla around again.

Do you believe this? Look at the question, do you believe this? Do you think I can do something? Even at that most climax, even when things are there tightening, like you're falling off a cliff and the rope you're holding on to isn't a rope, it's just one of the little threads, and you're there like … and even there, one can say, even if I fall, God can answer.

I remember a dream that a sister had in the church here with me, who saw me jump off a bridge and saw me falling. And she saw me when I fell to the floor and I bounced and everything on the floor, but she also saw me that she picked me up and when she picked me up another man came up to me, wiped me off, threw my hand, and continued walking with me. That dream was very precious, my brothers, and that sister endured that dream, because she was afraid to tell me, because oh, the pastor is not going to feel bad or something. But when I asked him when did he have it? He had it at a moment where I was precisely feeling that way, that I was falling and that I had bounced on the floor.

But I also felt the presence of God who lifted me up, forced me, encouraged me to keep going. In that dream I was not holding on to a thread, I fell. It's not that I'm saying that I fell into a sin or anything like that, it was just a stage in my life where it felt like that, like one falls like a soursop on the ground. But likewise God comes and raises one up.

Look, my brothers, my final point in all this, I've already passed by ten minutes. My final point in all this is the following, just as Jesus says, do you believe in this? I am the resurrection, the life, whoever believes in me, look, is going to live, he believes in me even if the IRS shows up at the door of the house, that person is going to live, even if they are deported to another country, that person is going to live in the other country because he believes in God. Even if a flood comes from where I don't know where the rays come from, and the basement ends up under water, that person will live. Even if he turns 50 and you are going through the midlife crisis, that person is going to live. Even though you are sitting there at your dining room table at midnight and you have all the bills like this and you don't know where the money is going to come from, believe that you are going to live, that your family is going to live and that God is going to provide for you. the tools for you to know how to decipher all those things that lie ahead of you. Just believe.

Let's pray. Dear God, I thank you once again, because your words amaze me, they amaze us, Lord, words so simple, so clear, but that have so much depth and so much power to reach our being. Lord, I present this word that I have shared with my brothers and sisters, and I ask that this word continue to echo in our hearts and that you inspire us to know how, my God, to lead a life as you command, so that we are not by emotions, Lord, but let us live by the conviction of our belief in you, that even if things do not turn out as expected, that you are in control, that you can resurrect our situation, Lord, whatever it is, you can bring life , Lord, in the middle of those spaces that seem to be dead.

You are the one who brings life, Lord, you are the one who brings life to hearts that are discouraged. You are the one who brings life to bodies that are hurting, you are the one who brings life to families that are broken, to marriages that are facing a divorce, whatever it is, you are the one who can bring life at the most precise moment, Mister. You are the one who can bring life to those people who are transitioning from one job to another, Lord, you are the one who can bring life to high school and college students who are cramped with their jobs and don't know how everything is going. To emerge.

You can bring life, you can bring light, you can bring an answer, Lord. Just ask that we can believe in you, be able to believe in your power, in your grace, in your favor over us. And have the courage and faith to be able to say that even if you didn't, we will remain faithful to you, Lord. With everything we will continue to say that our belief, our faithfulness is directed to you, Lord. For everything you have done, for everything you are doing and for everything you will do.

Lord bless my brothers and sisters, as they prepare to leave and return to their homes, return to the reality of what they are experiencing, Lord, I pray, Father, that these words provide light in the midst of the darkness, and if there is a person here, or people, who are in that light, my God, may that light shine even more and may they infect and illuminate others around them. You are the one who can make it possible, Lord, and we will give you glory and honor always. We give thanks, Lord. Bless my brothers, take them safely to their homes so that they can have a restful sleep, that you renew their strength, their energies, and that tomorrow if you allow it, be a fruitful day, my God, where they can achieve the things that you want us to be able to do. We bless your name in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah!