Ministry That Touches God [continued]
Ministry should be about bringing the new creation man into full stature in Christ. Now our focus is brought to Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary. Keep in mind that Lazarus represents the fruit of ministry. If ministry does not produce spiritual fruit, it is cumbered and ineffective. Let us see what the Holy Spirit will show concerning Lazarus.
“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick). Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. “(John 11:1-3)
Lazarus was sick and both sisters and ministries sent word to Jesus. The message emphasized “he whom thou lovest is sick.” The word used for sick carries a meaning of a sickness that is in decline where death is imminent. That is the precise condition of man apart from Christ. Because of the Fall, every man is spiritually dead, and despite physical life, the state of sickness persists apart from God. It is so profound that the Lord is reminded of His love for Lazarus. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).
“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.
Now Jesus
loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore that
he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Then
after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.
His
disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the
day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the
light of this world.
But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because
there is no light in him.
These things said he: and after that he saith unto
them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of
sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit
Jesus spake of his death: but they thought he has spoken of taking of rest
in sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
And I am glad
for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe;
nevertheless let us go unto him.
Then Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto
his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. (John
11:5-16).
Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, received the news of Lazarus’
condition. Despite His great love for Lazarus, He could not proceed without
Father’s permission.
Father had a season for His Son to be glorified. In His
glory, Jesus would undo the work of the adversary in the Fall. As Messiah,
He had a precise plan to follow. All the way to the Cross, His actions in
all things would manifest Father’s thoughts. Eternal power was being
demonstrated in every parable, healing, teaching, and movement, fulfilling
all the Law and prophets spoke of. Unmoved by the threat of death, He moved
fearlessly at Father’s command.
As the Light of the world, He taught the
disciples of walking in the day to keep from stumbling. As long as they were
with the Light, all would be well.
“Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.” (John 11:17).
This Scripture describes the state of man in Adam at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. “But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8). From Adam to Christ is 4,000 years or four days. Everything Jesus did revealed an aspect of Himself as the Lord of heaven. He abode two more days after getting the news of Lazarus because Father’s Word (Jesus) is being fulfilled. The Cross was fast approaching and Jesus was about to perform a miracle that spoke to the very miracle of salvation.
“Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.” Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. (John 11:18-22).
Let us focus again on the two types of ministry. Martha, or cumbered ministry, goes to meet Jesus. While she begins to proclaim truths concerning Him, her knowledge of Him is not guided by understanding. When that happens, it means simply a lack of revelation of Who Jesus really is. For example, today in many ministries, there are a lot of truths rehearsed to the Lord; however, there is no spiritual understanding of what those truths mean. Martha even demonstrates her faith. Real faith toward God is executed from a position of rest in Him. It proceeds from peace instead of anxiety. Mary, the ministry that touches the Lord, remained still in the house.
“Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto
him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou are the Christ, the Son of God, which
should come into the world.
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 soon
as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not
yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. (John
11:25-30).
Mary, or ministry that touches the Lord, did not move until she received word that the Lord called her. What a profound revelation if ministry everywhere responded only when called upon by the Lord. Not only did she move at His call, she moved quickly. By moving quickly at the call of God, we deny the adversary of any chance of talking us out of our purpose. Notice that Jesus remained in the place where Martha met Him.
“The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (John 11:31-34).
There is no mention of anyone following Martha to Jesus. However, they followed Mary. It is time for every ministry to acknowledge whether or not it is taking people to Jesus. There is a huge difference in teaching Adam, the fallen man, to be successful in the things of this world, and leading the Jews (spiritual Israel) to our Lord.
When Mary approached Jesus, the first thing she did was worship Him. What a contrast to Martha. Prayerfully, we can see the power of approaching God in the correct manner. It is fine to make our requests known but only after we have approached Him properly in worship. Once Mary worshipped Jesus, then she made her request known, which was verbatim to Martha’s statement. It takes ministry full of faith, that praises and worships the Lord, to move Him into the situation of need.
When Jesus saw her and the Jews weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Weeping speaks to true repentance. Repentance tells God that He is right and we are wrong. Repentance proceeds from a pure heart. Heaven takes notice. This ministry touched Jesus to the point of moving Him from that place to Lazarus’ grave. Apart from Christ, man’s body of earth is a grave, because it contains a dead man. True ministry brings resurrection life to the situation.
“Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? (John 11:35-37)
Jesus completely identified with the state of man. God’s love was being manifested in their midst. His love is evident through His presence. As a result of ministry that took the people to Jesus and brought Jesus into the situation, the faith of the people increased. They began to remember the miraculous work of opening blind eyes. Once our spiritual sight is open, it is much easier to understand His resurrection power.
“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? (John 11:38-40).
Ministry that is anxious will never allow God’s people to see His power. The focus will always be on the circumstances. Even now, despite the power of the Cross, many are not walking in newness of life. There is no situation that God is not able to handle. With Him all things are possible to them that believe.
“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11:41-44)
The ministry of Mary brought Jesus into the situation. Through worship, the people were led to Jesus, and through worship Jesus was moved. Father was then moved by the obedience of His Son. Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. Once Jesus came on the scene, Father had the opportunity to bless. It is with Jesus that Father is well pleased.
The ministry that touches God results in resurrection life power. Once raised from the dead, Lazarus enjoyed the kingdom, power and presence of the Lord. The same is true for those who have accepted our death with Christ on the Cross. As Paul said to the church at Galatia, we are crucified with Christ. By accepting our death, we can receive His life.
“Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. (John 12:1-2)
Ministry that touches God affects everything around it. Notice Martha is still serving but there is no mention of being cumbered about much serving. A transformation has taken place as a result of the intervention of resurrection life power. The word “served” here is one and the same as minister, deacon, pastor, or teacher. May God bless ministry today to enter His rest and worship Him in total dependence upon His resurrection power. Lazarus is no longer sick unto death or dead but seated at the table with the Lord. Hallelujah!
“Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. (John 12: 3)
The ministry of Mary moved from faith to faith and glory to glory. The ultimate act of worship is our best unto Him. All our best! Still in a posture of praise and worship, Mary poured out all her best and gave him all the glory as expressed in wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. The whole house was filled with the fragrance of the anointing. God inhabits the praises of His people!
Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he care for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. (John 12: 4-11).
Judas, whose name is the Greek form of Judah which means let Him be praised, was offended at the ministry that touched God. He preferred to deny Jesus the true sacrifice of praise and instead merchandize it for temporal pleasure. He was a weapon for the adversary, the thief, and sought to subvert the true victory of Christ. The depth of his evil is exposed by the Holy Spirit in mentioning the price he sought. Three hundred is the Bible number for victory in conflict. The devil’s whole plan was to stop the mission of Messiah. Praise God, the devil failed completely and his works were destroyed through the victory of the Cross.
A footnote to ministry that touches God is the eternal effect it has on mankind. Lazarus’ resurrection was so powerful it caused many to stop following the tradition of the chief priests and believe on Jesus. True ministry works through the power of God and causes hearts to be turned to Him. There is no other name under heaven whereby men might be saved other than the name of Jesus. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9). Thank you Lord!
Prayer: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation , but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. In the Name of Jesus we give thanks, Amen.
