Behind a Frowning Providence (John 11:1-16 Jeff Kliewer)

I'm not prepared. First Corinthians, I think. First Corinthians four. So this morning, about the men's retreat, which is coming at the end of the month, I think you're all aware of it now because Pastor John has been announcing it for at least a month.

But we reserved space for 35 guys, and as of today, we've only had 16 to sign up. So we need to double that number, at least. So this morning, I was thinking about how I felt about it, and the last verse I read, literally, this morning, when I was doing my Bible reading, was, what do you wish?

Shall I come to you with a rod or with the love in the spirit of gentleness? That's a true, true story. So anyway, if you, either you're going and you signed up or you're not going, let your yes be yes and your no be no, okay.

But for those of you who are sitting on the fence, who've been procrastinating, or who say, ah, you know, I like to sleep in my own bed. I don't wanna go somewhere and sleep on another pillow. It's only for one night.

So it's actually less than 24 hours between check-in and check-out. So, you know, if you could, just psych yourself up and go on the Church Center app today and sign up for the men's retreat. And the other thing is, tomorrow, as usual, our Men's Breakfast Fellowship is meeting here at 6 a .m.

Thank you.

And if you don't, he'll have a stick in the hall to force you to do it. We have a Good Friday service this Friday at seven o 'clock. It'll be over about eight o 'clock. So this Friday, seven o 'clock, try to make it.

We also have an Easter sunrise service for the first time this year. Out on the field, it's gonna be very simple, just hymns sung a cappella out there in the field, and then a sermon by John Laskin. We also have two regular services for Easter, and I'm just gonna preach the gospel.

How about that? You know, because it's Easter Sunday. Bring a friend. This is a great one to bring someone who doesn't know the Lord. So at the nine and the 1045, we'll be preaching the gospel and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.

Any other announcements? Think we got it. Let's pray. So Father, we are so glad to come into your house this morning. We are here to praise your name, and we are thankful for the children that will be helping us to worship and leading us in worship for a moment.

We pray for them, God, that you would bless them, that you would fill them with the Holy Spirit, give them joy. We pray that this would be a time that honors you. We know that you delight in the praises of children, and you even silence your enemies by the lips of infants you have ordained praise.

And Lord, we thank you that you have given us these wonderful children in this church. We pray blessing on them, that you would help them in their lives, and that this would be part of how they grow to know you more and more.

And Father, we pray for all of us that we would have childlike faith in the hearing of your word, that we would have hearts of worship that are filled with wonder at who you are and what you've done. So now, Lord, as we come into a time of worship, would you inhabit the praise of your people, that we would worship in spirit and in truth, in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Worship, Childlike Faith, and the Opening Song

We're gonna stand together this morning and sing one song. As children prepare to come up and get set up, they're gonna share some songs with us and lead us in worship this morning. So let's sing this new song, All-Sufficient Merit.

All-sufficient merit Shining like the sun A fortune I inherit By the work I have done My righteousness I forfeit At my Savior's cross All-sufficient merit What I could not be condescending Eternal now in life without a blemish The maker made to die The law could never save us Flawlessness had won Until the pure and spotless lamb had finally come It is done, it is free No more dead, all-sufficient merit Not my own garments any empty left behind He perks up all cup dead by the sinful host Dressed in my Lord Jesus, a crimson robe made white For no more fear of judgment His righteousness is mine It is done, it is free No more dead, all-sufficient merit Not my own, it is done, it is finished No more dead, paid in full, all-sufficient The joy of my salvation shall be my reward My final breath, and when I stand accepted Before the throne of God, I'll gaze upon my Jesus And thank Him for the cross, yes I'll thank Him for the cross It is done, it is finished No more dead, I own, paid in full, all-sufficient Merit now my own, it is done, it is finished No more dead, I'm paid in full, all-sufficient Merit now my own, oh your merit not my own Oh your merit now my own

You may be seated.

The Lord's Table, Christ's Body and Blood, and the New Covenant

It's feel weird, I have to like pull this way down because Pastor Jeff is so much taller than I am. So we celebrate the Lord's Table once a month here at Cornerstone, and not that this month is any more special than any other month with regard to the Lord's Table, but given that we are really close to Easter, it really made me think about the gospel message and what this memorial meal means.

So we celebrate because of what Christ did for us and what that means for those of us who believe. To an unbeliever, it may seem strange that we celebrate our Lord's death, but only Christ's death could give us eternal life.

And we know the Lord didn't stay dead. Our salvation, while a free gift, was costly though. In this memorial meal, we partake first of the bread. The bread is symbolic of Christ's body broken for us. When we look at the bread, we see a dual truth.

First we see that the bread speaks to us both of Christ's suffering, but also of his sufficiency. He is both the Savior who suffered for us and who himself is sufficient to meet our every need. When you look at the bread, you see Christ's suffering.

This of course is a central message of this memorial meal. The Lord's table speaks to us of the death of Christ. It was a painful death. It was a death full of suffering which paid for our sins. That suffering reveals the gravity of sin.

Just how serious does God consider sin that Jesus had to die to forgive us of that sin? The fact that Jesus had to die for our sins to be forgiven indicates that God hates sin. We see this in Psalm 5 -5 where it says, "'The boastful shall not stand before your eyes.

"'You hate all evildoers.'. Our God is a holy God. He is too pure to condone sin. The sacrifice of Christ speaks loudly to the gravity of it. But the suffering of Christ also reveals the love of God. It was because of the love of God that Jesus suffered and died on the cross.

This is why he came. This is why he died. Charles Wesley, who's a great hymn writer, expressed it this way, "'Amazing love, how can it be "'that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? "'Our God died for us.'.

When Jesus died on that cross, it was the greatest expression of God's love. So today when you partake of the broken bread, understand that it symbolizes both his suffering and his sufficiency. Jesus called himself the bread of life.

He is the living bread which meets the deepest needs of our spiritual hunger. The second element of the Lord's table is the cup. The cup is filled with the fruit of the vine, which symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ.

The blood itself is a symbol of life. So when we speak of Christ's blood poured out, we are speaking of his life being poured out. And when his life was poured out, it was poured out as a payment for our sins.

We see the truth of this in Leviticus 17, 11, where it says, "'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, "'and I have given it for you on the altar "'to make atonement for your souls, "'for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.'.

A life had to be given, and blood had to be shed for forgiveness. It says in Hebrews 9, 22, "'Indeed, under the law, "'almost everything is purified with blood, "'and without the shedding of blood, "'there is no forgiveness of sins.'.

This is why a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins had to be made. In the Old Testament, it was the sacrifice of an animal, but this was not sufficient. What was needed was not the sacrifice of a lamb, but the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Jesus is the Lamb of God. It was at the celebration of the Feast of Passover when Jesus instituted the Lord's Table, and the Feast of Passover commemorated God's salvation of the Israelites when they were in captivity in Egypt of the angel of death.

A lamb had to be sacrificed, it had to be slain, and the blood had to be placed on the doorposts and lintel of each house. And when the angel of death came through, any believers who had done that were passed over.

Jesus is called our Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5, 7. Christ, the Lamb of God, has been sacrificed for our Passover. His blood was shed for us in a once-for-all sacrifice. Christ's blood poured out speaks of the forgiveness for sins.

Because of his shed blood, we can now be fully and freely forgiven by God. Christ's blood poured out also speaks of a new covenant of grace. Now, under this new covenant of grace, our sins are forgiven, and salvation does not depend on our works.

Our salvation depends upon another's work. It depends upon the finished work of Jesus Christ. He did what we could not do. He paid the penalty for our sins by his blood poured out on Calvary's cross. Now we can enter into a new covenant with God, not based on our own works, but based on the grace offered to us because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

In this new covenant, we now live for Christ by letting Christ live in us. When we receive Jesus, his righteousness is credited to our account, just like it said in the song that we were singing. We are saved through Christ's blood poured out.

We are forgiven through Christ's blood poured out. We are kept through Christ's blood poured out. So when you partake of the cup today, understand that Christ's blood poured out has purchased your salvation.

If the men could come. Lord God, I just thank you so much for this day. I thank you that you sent your son, that you loved us that much, that you sent your son to die on the cross for us for the forgiveness of sin.

We come to you as sinful people and ask for your forgiveness. God, we thank you that you stepped into time and took our penalty.

Amen.

Jesus said, this is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Jesus said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. God, it is so good to be reminded of the gospel in the bread and in the cup, to be reminded of the body and the blood. This is our life. This is the forgiveness of our sins.

This is the new covenant. Thank you, God, for saving us. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for us. And thank you, Holy Spirit, for applying this grace in our lives that we would know and believe. In Jesus the Christ.

We pray now, Lord, as we open the word of God that your spirit would move in us to have ears to hear and eyes to see. We pray that you would help us to think rightly about you and that you would transform us from the inside out by the working of your spirit.

And I pray, God, that you would help me to preach with freedom and clarity that your word would come forth in power in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The Cross Before the Crown and Suffering in God's Plan

The cross comes before the crown. There are crowns of glory and of joy that can only be worn by those who have carried a cross of suffering. Think back to the Old Testament. Abraham had great joy, overwhelming joy, to receive Isaac figuratively back from the dead.

But imagine the days of agony as he went from his hometown to that mountain to sacrifice his own son. Carrying a cross, as it were, of the knowledge of what was to come. Think about Moses. He had the great joy of leading the people out.

But when he first came to Egypt, Pharaoh did not listen to what he said. And even his own people turned against him because Pharaoh doubled their load and made them gather their own straw to make bricks.

Things got worse before they got better. There was a cross to carry before the crown. Think about King David. Before he was king of Israel, he was on the run for his life. Saul sought to take his life, and he traveled about in hidden caves and ran from place to place until the time came for him to become king.

And his joy was greater for having suffered. It was part of God's plan. In the New Testament, of course, Christ himself is the perfect preeminent example of this. We're told that for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.

The cross comes before the crown. Think about Peter. He endured crucifixion upside down before entering into glory. Think about Paul. He calls the churches that he planted his joy and his crown. Remember the book of Philippians?

His joy and his crown. But before he ever planted a church, God said to him, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. The cross comes before the crown. In my own life, I look back on the 12 years as a missionary in the inner city and the great suffering that we did endure with the loss of many young people that we loved and other difficult trials.

How many of those things were the cross that we had to bear before coming here? And so much of the joy and reward that we're experiencing in this place, it took the preparation of those 12 years as a missionary to be ready for this.

And I thank God for many of the difficult things that we endured as I look back on it and I see how it all fit together as part of God's plan. But probably the hardest thing is when we see our own loved ones suffer.

And we wonder why our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. How many prayers have you prayed for a loved one, but the answer didn't come in the time that you expect? Right now, we're suffering as both of our mothers, my wife's mom and my mom suffer.

Both of these women are the salt of the earth. Neither of them ever said a harsh word to anyone. Just kindness and the love of the Lord in both of them. And yet one suffers with Parkinson's, her mind and her body grinding to a halt and the other with cancer and the pain associated with that.

Or we think of this dear girl in our church, little Vivian. For some of you who know little Vivian, her smile would light up this room. Her joy is contagious. Her love and sweetness is just palpable. Everyone who knows her knows that the love of Christ shines forth and yet why is it that she would go through this difficult surgery?

And then the trauma of waking up at times to find tubes in her mouth and the fear that she experiences. And we wonder how long Lord and why do you allow suffering? This morning, we turn to what is a difficult passage to read at first, but a passage that surprises you with joy.

Because the secret will of God includes the suffering of his loved ones. The ones that he loves so deeply, he allows to go through a valley of the shadow of death. But it is not pointless. It is not without purpose.

God is concealing in his secret will some of the greatest rewards of joy that you could imagine on the other side of suffering. Turn with me to John 11. We come to the story of Lazarus. One of the most beloved stories in the entire Bible.

And so amazing how John tells the story. We're gonna read it through for the first time and then break it down verse by verse. Jesus conceals many glorious secrets of his will behind what almost sometimes appears to be indifference.

Almost as if he doesn't care, as if he doesn't love. But it is precisely because Jesus loves Lazarus and Mary and Martha that they endure the things they do. Let's read it. John 11 verses one to 16. Now a certain man was ill.

Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill.

But when Jesus heard it, he said, 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. 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. Then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and are you going there again?

Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

After saying these things, he said to them, our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant he was taking rest in sleep.

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. So Thomas called the twin, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him.

Amen, and may the Lord bless the reading of his word. Let's look at it more carefully. First of all, did you notice in the first verse that Lazarus comes from the city of Bethany? What does Bethany signify biblically?

Well, the word means house of affliction. In Hebrew, Beth-ani, Beth as in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Bethany means house of affliction, house of affliction. It was a place where afflicted people would go to find help.

So there would be an alms house in Bethany for the poor or those afflicted with various diseases. They could go to get charity. We learn of Simon the leper who lived there. A leper would live in Bethany because there's an alms house, a poor house, where he could gain help in his affliction.

Bethany is known as a place of affliction and a place of comfort, a house for those who are afflicted. Now, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived there. It's about two miles east of Jerusalem. So if you picture Jerusalem, and to the east is the Mount of Olives, this is just over the Mount of Olives on the bottom of the mountain, the east side, the city of Bethany.

Mary is the primary figure in the story. It's the village of Mary. Now, where else have we seen Mary prominent in the New Testament? She really has three cameos, three major points where she stars in the New Testament.

Remember the first one back in Luke chapter 10? Jesus was in the house of Mary and Martha, and one of them was the busy bee just floating around trying to get everything done. That was Martha. But where did we find Mary?

At the feet of Jesus, listening and learning. Every place that we see Mary in her three major appearances, we find her at the feet of Jesus. She's sitting there listening and learning earlier on. Here, look at verse two.

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. Do you guys remember reading that earlier in the book of John? Okay, you're all nodding your head, but that was a trick.

It hasn't happened yet. John is commenting for the reader about a story that they're familiar with, and that actually happens. Turn one page. In John chapter 12, verse three, you see that this is where Mary will pour the nard and the ointment on Jesus' feet.

So back in John 11, verse two, John, the author, is pointing out that this is that Mary, the one that they famously know, to have poured oil on his feet. Now, I wanna ask you a question about Mary and maybe compare it to your own worship.

When you see Mary at the feet of Jesus, pouring out the oil, using her very hair to wipe his feet, is that not a picture of pure, adoring, devoted love for the Messiah? Wouldn't you like to feel that kind of passion, that kind of love for the king, that she would be at his feet?

Now, you cannot understand this third episode in the story of Mary, where she falls at his feet and worships with this adoring affection, unless you understand the second instance, and that is John chapter 11.

In verse 32, you will see her fall at his feet, and cry to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. In John 11, 32, you see her at the feet of Jesus, but it is in a moment of suffering, intense suffering, calling on the Lord and even complaining, in a sense, Lord, you didn't come when I called.

Where were you when I needed you? Only days earlier, Lazarus had died, and shortly thereafter, he will be resurrected. You see, the kind of worship that Mary gives to the Lord Jesus, when she wipes his feet with hair, is the kind of worship that only comes through suffering and deliverance.

There is a purpose in suffering. The cross comes before the crown. The crown of rejoicing, the crown of glory, is given on the other side of suffering. Mary, first of all, had to go through the death of her own brother.

Imagine what this looks like. In chapter 11, verse one, it says a certain man was ill, but this illness is not just a cough and a headache that shuts down the whole world. This illness results in death.

This is a progression of illness that takes over the body, painfully vomiting and gasping for air, and the death pains in the throes of death before modern medicine to alleviate some of those things. This is intense suffering, and it results in death.

In verse three, if you look at it, when the sisters send to the Lord, they address him as Lord, which means they're praying. They're sending word to the Lord to do something about the suffering of their loved ones.

There's a kind of suffering that a man endures in his own body, and that kind of suffering can be endured, but how much harder is it for a man or a woman to watch the suffering of a loved one, to have such deep love, and to see a person that you love and be able to do nothing?

This is the situation of Mary and Martha, and they send a prayer, a request to the Lord, essentially saying, come, rescue, deliver. This is what we call a frowning providence. It was within the power of God to keep Lazarus healthy from the get-go, for his heart to remain strong and his body to fight off all disease.

It is within the power of God to uphold the health of Lazarus, yet in the frowning providence of God, he falls ill, and so they pray, and within the frowning providence of God, they hear no answer. This is difficult and hard to understand, and it would even make you begin to question whether Jesus loves Lazarus back.

Look at verse three, Lord, he whom you love is ill. Lord, you love him, right? You'll surely come because you love, and so even in that question, even in that request, there's an appeal to the love of God, and the love of God becomes central in the text, so don't miss that, because it'll happen again here in a moment.

Moving on to verse four. When Jesus heard it, he said, 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. This illness does not lead to death, but notice that this illness is part of God's plan.

God intended it to be this way. It, in fact, is for, it is accomplishing something, and what is it doing? According to verse four, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of Man, the Son of God, may be glorified through it, so not only for the glory of the Father, but also for the glory of the Son.

There is purpose in the suffering of Lazarus. Now, at this time, we don't know what that purpose is, but definitional to God himself is the knowledge of everything that happens under the sun. God has a secret plan, a purpose for everything that happens, although we don't often know what that is.

We're very limited.

Consider how little we know. Of all the events that have ever happened since the beginning of the world, God knows not only what happened, but the reason for it. He makes this point in Isaiah chapter 41.

You can read it later. Go there if you have some time, but in Isaiah 41, 21 to 24, he points out that he knows what happened in the past and what will happen in the future and the outcome of these things, how they all fit together.

God has secret knowledge of everything that happens, including the purpose for it. But now we come in verses five and six to the central point of this text this morning. It's regarding the love of God and the suffering of one that he loves.

Now, Jesus, note it, loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Jesus loves you, Christian, even though you've prayed and you've sought him to answer a prayer and it seems like he's not coming through.

Things that you might've prayed for for years and years, for a prodigal son who's been gone and he doesn't ever seem to come back, for a disease that you've asked God to heal and he never seems to answer.

Do you ever pray and wonder why God doesn't answer your prayer? And have you ever begun to wonder if he really loves you? Have you begun to question his love? Notice verse six. I think this is the thrust of where John is teaching us this morning.

That word so is crucial. Could also be translated therefore. It's not a throwaway word just to transition.

It's the point.

So, because he loves Martha and Mary and Lazarus, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Let that sink in. You would think that because he loved, the second he heard that Lazarus was ill, he left where he was and made a beeline to Lazarus to help his friend.

But that's not what the text says. It's precisely because he loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus so deeply, this special intimate connection he had with them that in his providence, he allowed the suffering to go on for two more days and then traveling slowly back up to them.

When he gets there, Lazarus has been in the grave for four days. And the suffering of the sisters has gone on for six more days. So the verse is very surprising, isn't it? What can we make of this kind of love?

We can understand that the plans of God, the purpose of God in our lives as Christians includes suffering. That's part of his secret will. It's not taking God by surprise. It's not outside of his control.

That's the lesson that we've focused on in recent weeks, that God has these things as part of his plan. But here's the element that we need to add this morning from this verse. Because of his deep love, he is preparing for us through that suffering a joy and a reward and a pleasure and a glory that we would never experience unless we went through that valley of the shadow of death.

Stated very precisely, if you look at 2 Corinthians 4 .17, these light momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. Because he loves you so much, he will allow you to endure hardship for a time and for your good, Romans 8 .28.

And what could that good possibly be? Well, from this particular story, we learn at least three things. One is the fellowship of his suffering. That in suffering, we begin to call on the Lord like never before.

They're praying and they're desperately seeking in a way that, you know, when you're coasting through life, when everything is sunshine and roses, we have a tendency to forget God. But there is a fellowship in Christ's suffering, according to Philippians 3 .10, that we begin to know him more as we suffer like him and we draw near to him, but that's not the end.

A second thing that we will see in future weeks is that the suffering that happens in Bethany results in the salvation of many souls. Very often, salvation comes through the instrument of people who have suffered.

Peter says, everyone who has suffered is done with sin. Suffering refines us and makes us more Christ-like and it makes us a more fit instrument for evangelism. And suffering becomes a part of our testimony and we comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

And we begin to see God use us as evangelists on the other side of suffering. Bethany, the house of affliction, becomes a house of evangelism. In fact, in John 12, we'll learn later, the triumphal entry of Jesus is launched from Bethany.

All the people came to see Lazarus and gathered around and from there surrounded Jesus in weeks to come. It's for evangelism. And third, there is an eternal weight of glory that we experience in heaven related to our suffering on earth.

It's something we don't experience necessarily in this life which is why the prosperity preachers have it all upside down. Paul suffered greatly in this life and his reward in the next life far surpasses anything he endured in this life.

So future reward on the other side of the veil. That's the reason why the love of Jesus in verse six is connected not to a quick answer to prayer to take them out of suffering, but that they would endure for a time, that their joy would be made full later on.

Verse seven and eight introduce a second area of suffering. The first six verses are about the suffering of Lazarus and the suffering of the sisters who love him so deeply. The second set of sufferers actually revolves around the disciples and their fear of dying.

Look at verses seven and eight. After he had said this to his disciples, after this he said, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you.

And are you going there again?

Notice in verse seven, he didn't put a topic for debate on the table. He didn't throw out a suggestion or just like this wild hair of an idea.

You know what?

Maybe we go down, what do you guys think? He didn't do that at all. Look at verse seven, it's a directive. He's saying, he's revealing his will and saying, let us go to Judea again. And the answer of those disciples who heard that was to try to dissuade him.

Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you and are you going there again? They're trying to talk him out of it. And the reason they're doing that clearly is because they are afraid. When God reveals his will through his word by commands or the providences, sometimes hard frowning providences of this life, when God reveals his will, two responses are competing for your attention.

The first is that you would obey what God has commanded and directed you to do. And the second is fear. Fear invades to try to keep you from obeying the revealed will of God. Jesus had told them where to go and what they were to do and right away they were filled with fear and anxiety and began to fight against the purpose of God in going to Jerusalem.

In verse nine and 10, Jesus answered, are there not 12 hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.

Strange answer to what they said, isn't it? They begin trying to talk him out of going to Judea again because that's where the Jews were seeking to stone him. And he says, there are 12 hours in the day.

If you walk in the day, you're not gonna stumble. If you walk at night, you'll stumble. Why does he answer in that way? He's teaching this principle that when you walk in the light, you have absolutely nothing to fear.

There are frowning providences in this life. Hard things that you'll have to endure. But Christian, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. The God who lives in you is the light of the world.

And as long as you keep your eyes set on Christ, as long as he is in you and you are in him and you're walking in the light, you're not harboring hidden sin, you're not cherishing sin in your heart, but you're open and you're in the light.

It's you and God as you go. There is nothing on earth that you have to fear. No circumstance, no enemy, no trial, nothing to fear. You just worry about walking in the light. Now, there are people in this world who ought to fear suffering.

And it's those who do not have the light in them and it's those who do not have the light in them. Look at this. The light is not in them, in verse 10. They walk in the night. When they stumble, they fall.

And when they fall, they die. And when they die, they're buried. And when they're buried, they depart to eternal suffering, that outer darkness, that eternal night of conscious torment. There is a such thing as night.

And there are things to be feared, but do not fear the one who can merely harm the body. Fear the one who can cast the soul into hell. Jesus knows why they objected to going to Judea. It's because they're afraid.