So far in this sermon series on worship, we have talked about having a heart that treasures and values God, and, specifically, a heart that exults in God exalting himself. And last week we focused a bit more narrowly, asking how we can have that kind of heart when we are in great anguish, for we are commanded to worship in those times as well. In other words, the great commandment to love the Lord our God was not given to us to carry out when everything lines up so as to make that command easy; it was a command given to all of us, at all times, in all situations. Therefore, last week we answered how to do that, being reminded from Paul that a heart that truly exults in God being exalted can rejoice in suffering, for we can delight in the fact that in our weakness, God’s power is clearly being demonstrated. Therefore, our weakness and suffering is a time when God shows himself to be great, and as our heart exults in him exalting himself, we are given a prime opportunity to see his glory and value and treasure our God (i.e., worship him).
But in focusing on the God-centeredness that the call to worship demands, we may find ourselves asking, “Does God love us or rejoice in loving us?” So far we may have the mindset that God punishes us, not giving a care about us, and we celebrate because he is still great no matter what we’re going through. However, what I want to show this morning is that God’s passion to exalt himself above all things and his command that we exult in that fits in perfectly with his passionate love for and delight in his children. Or to say it better: God’s command that we exult in him exalting himself (even in our suffering) is the outgrowth of his passionate love for his children.
And this is good news for those of you who have been struggling with how God commanding us to exult in him exalting himself has any benefit to the obedient child.
In order to show this thesis this morning, I want to direct our attention to the story of Lazarus, for it was in a comment made by someone at the pastor’s conference Jonathan and I attended in February that opened my eyes again to the thesis that I’m going to propose this morning. And at the end of the message, I want to call our attention to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus to show how it echoes the thesis I want to propose this morning.
But before getting to that, let me ask the question that we’re trying to answer this morning: “Does God’s passion to exalt himself above all things and his command that I exult (or rejoice) in that mean that God does not love me?” Or how does God’s passion for his glory leave any room for God to love me?
And I want to answer this question from the story of Lazarus.
Many of us are familiar with this story of Lazarus. Jesus is out of town, away from Bethany, when Lazarus becomes very ill. Therefore, knowing Jesus and his ability to heal people, Lazarus’ sisters send for Jesus to come to town and heal their brother. However, Jesus delays a few days, Lazarus dies, and when Jesus arrives, Lazarus is dead. Martha reminds Jesus of the great tragedy caused by his delay, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:21). And Mary also tells him later, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (11:32).
Then Jesus ordered that the stone be removed from the opening of the tomb where Lazarus had been buried. Therefore, Martha reminded him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days” (11:39). But Jesus has the stone removed, prayed, and said, “Lazarus, come out” (11:43). Then John tells us, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’” (11:44). Thus, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
But why did all of this happen? Why did Lazarus die? Why did Lazarus have to die? Oddly enough, I think if we answer this question we will understand how God’s passion to exalt himself and his command that we exult therein fits in perfectly with his love for us. So, again, why did Lazarus have to die?
There are two answers to this question. The second is the most shocking, therefore, I will start with the first.
This is the answer that we might expect after the past few weeks. Lazarus died so that God might exalt his glory therein. Jesus tells his disciples in John 11:4, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Thus, Jesus informs his disciples that Lazarus will not die (for good) because of this illness, but rather this is happening “for the glory of God, so that [i.e. purpose or reason for Lazarus’ death] the Son of God may be glorified through it” (emphasis added).
Also, later, as Jesus stands before the tomb, he says, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God” and prays, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me” (11:40-42 – emphasis added). Therefore, he wanted people to see God’s glory and even prayed something for the benefit of the people around him, helping them to see his glory.
Therefore, we could all say clearly from this text that the reason Lazarus died is because he was chosen to be a vessel through whom God would display his glorious might in allowing him to die and raising him from the dead. Lazarus died because God delights in exalting himself above all things.
But there is another answer here, and it is when we put both of these answers together that we will be able to answer the larger question posed this morning about the connection between God’s demand that we exult in his exaltation and his love for us.
Now this hardly makes any sense. However, I want to show you that I am simply saying what the text says. John tells us in John 11:5-6, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was” (emphasis added).
Let me remind you of the circumstances so that you catch the full impact of this verse. Jesus had gotten word that Lazarus was ill and to come to Bethany to heal him so that he might not die. However, Jesus intentionally delayed two days longer where he was and Lazarus died. And Jesus delayed two days longer where he was because [“so”] he loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Doesn’t that strike you as odd? How did his love for them drive him to remain two days longer and let Lazarus die? It would seem that the text would read, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so he rushed to Bethany as soon as he could.” But the second half of that statement is the exact opposite of what he text really says.
So how or why did Jesus love for these three drive him to remain where he was three days longer? What is the logic of this?
The logic of this is only understood as you realize this one thing, and it is my thesis this morning:
That is the most loving thing God can do for us. In essence, this is what he tells his disciples in John 11:14 as he had told them Lazarus was asleep. John writes, “Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” Jesus let Lazarus die not simply because he loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; he let Lazarus die because he loved his disciples. And he wanted all of them to get a chance to see and delight in the glory of God as it was demonstrated through him, as he raised Lazarus from the dead.
You see, God could say to us, “I love you so much that I am going to let you see how great you are and delight in all the facets of your own greatness.” But that wouldn’t be a very loving thing to do, for I’m not great and in no time I find that there is nothing more to delight in, to exult in, to treasure and value. However, God could say, “I love you so much, I am going to let you delight in, exult in, and treasure something that is so glorious that you will never run out of reason for delight, reason for praise, reason for new rejoicing, new discoveries of glory, and something infinitely so glorious that you will never run out of a source for joy by looking to it.”
And what I have just described can only describe one thing, one person – God.
Therefore, God’s demand that we exult in him is a loving command that shows how much he loves us. And that’s why the songs we sing, the messages we preach, the prayers we pray, and everything we do must be about exalting God, for only then will we be inviting people to know that which surpasses all knowledge – the love of Christ.
So what Jesus did in allowing Lazarus to die was a very loving thing to do because he allowed those around him to see how glorious he is so that they might find more and more delight in him. So many people miss this, and that is why when you say, “God is passionate about exalting himself” they want to argue with you and say, “No, because I know that he loves me, for the Bible tells me so.” What they should say is, “Yes, I know; he loves me so much that he not only exalts himself but will not let me mess around with lesser pleasures but commands me to exult in him!”
So God’s passion for his own glory, his showing of that to us, and his command that we rejoice in that is a reminder to us of how much our God loves us.
Therefore, this morning as we are remembering the fact that Jesus died, was buried, and was raised, why did he do it? Well, he did it to exalt himself and display his glory. For as Jesus is going to the cross he says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once” (John 13:31-32). But he also did it because he loved us: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). He loved us so much that he died, was buried, and was raised so that he might propitiate God’s wrath toward us, that we who were God’s enemies might be his friends, that we who were separated from God might be reconciled to him. In short, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). He died to bring us to God so that we might join in delighting in God’s infinite glory.
Therefore, if we are going to be a people of worship, we must understand that it is the most loving thing for God to command us to delight in him making much of himself. To command us to delight in anything less than himself would be loving.
Therefore, everything we do on Sunday morning should be about showing how great our God is and reminding each other of that. And this is the blessing of corporate worship, for when you find something you can delight in, don’t you want other people to join with you? You just can’t help it. Therefore, in corporate worship on Sunday mornings, we get to join with others who understand this reality, praise God with them, and continually remind one another of God’s glory and invite one another to delight in him.
That is what must happen on Sunday morning. To his glory we joyfully labor. Amen.