On The Fourth Day
by Tyler Sullivan
January 3, 2021 · Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: John 11:1-6, Matthew 13:24, Matthew 8:29, John 11:25

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/tyler-sullivan--on-the-fourth-day
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Amen. He's worthy of all that we can give him. God bless you in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for allowing me to be here in this beautiful, beautiful sanctuary this morning, and I am honored. Greetings from the country of California. It's good to be back in the States today. And I, uh, am so enjoying your, your state. And when I say, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord," I really mean it. And, uh, there are times when we cannot gather in California, so it's nice to actually come to the house of the Lord. You all are blessed today. You all are blessed today.

And it is, it is my honor to be here. Give honor to your pastor. Thank you for allowing me to be here, Brother Alan. And appreciate you and your leadership. To my friends, Wes and Lindsey Stevens, God bless you. And, uh, Sister Sanetha, good to see you today in the house of the Lord, my friend as well. And good to see all of you here today. And what a joy it is to be in the house of the Lord after Christmas. And I'm, I said earlier, I'm enjoying your state. I was able to be in Pigeon Forge for a little bit, got to enjoy a white Christmas. And so, so beautiful. As Brother Stevens was saying, I'm about, about 10 minutes from the California state capitol, and we don't get snow there. And it's nice to actually come and have a white Christmas here in this beautiful, beautiful state. So thank you for allowing me to be here today.

And let's go to the word of the Lord directly. Media team, I apologize, I'll be going to a different passage and what I gave you. I'll be going to John chapter 11, and starting in verse number one. John chapter 11, starting in verse number one.

How many are enjoying the presence of the Lord that you're feeling today? What a powerful move we've had already. I believe the Lord wants to do something deeper, in Jesus name. I don't believe he's done yet.

John chapter 11, starting in verse number one, it reads this: "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 sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 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." He abode two days still in the same place where he was.

With the help of the Holy Ghost this morning, let's preach for a while on the subject: On The Fourth Day. On the fourth day. Amen. Will you lift your hands towards heaven again? We ask the Lord to help us, in Jesus name. Lord, we love you. We're grateful for your presence that we already feel in this place. I pray that you would anoint me to preach your already anointed word. Grateful for the worship. Grateful for the opportunity to be here. I pray today that you would use me as a source of encouragement for your people. In the name of Jesus, give you all the praise and all the glory, in Jesus name. Everybody said amen. God bless you. You may be seated today, in Jesus name.

The story from which we are taking our passage today is only recorded in the gospel of John. The other gospels do not paint this picture in this portion of the life of Jesus. It is right before the Pharisees begin their plot to kill Jesus, and right after he has told his disciples and followers that they should know that the Father is in me, and I in him. Essentially reaffirming to them again the revelation that there are not three in the godhead, but that he was God manifest in the flesh. And that's what I love about this time of the year. It's a great time to remind ourselves of who we serve. I don't serve a montage or a myriad of gods over here or over there. No, I serve one true living God, and his name is Jesus. Somebody said amen. Amen. And in him dwelleth the fullness of the godhead bodily. In him is everything we need in that name. In the name of Jesus is healing. In that name is deliverance. In that name, anything is possible. Somebody said amen. Would somebody shout the name of Jesus this morning? Somebody shouted again, "Jesus!"

And they are angry at Jesus, and they try and take a hold of him. And he escapes their grasp. And the next thing we read in the book of John is the beginning of the story of Lazarus. The setting for this story: in Bethany, where his dear friends Mary and Martha and Lazarus live. Jesus frequented this house, in this city, because the Bible says that he loved them. It was Mary who had anointed the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. And we read about Jesus coming to this house before, when he had rebuked Martha and told her that she worried too much, and that Mary had found the good part. Mary found the good part by sitting at Jesus' feet. She found the good part by going to where Jesus was and listening to his words. And she founded the good part, while Martha was running around. And Jesus rebukes her. And I guess if you've been rebuked by Jesus and he still loves coming to your house, then he really must like you. And he did. He really loved them. He had a special relationship with them. So much so that when Lazarus falls ill, Mary and Martha send word to Jesus, telling him, "Lazarus, the one you love, is sick."

And Jesus responds and receives this word, and immediately speaks a powerful word of faith, and says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Praise God. Don't you love when God speaks something and says it's going to be all right? And don't you get all excited? You, you finally, I got the word. I've been waiting for, I got the word I've been praying for. Jesus said it's gonna be all right. Pastor said it's gonna be okay. Help is on the way. Amen. We get excited about it.

But then, when Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick, and after he speaks this word, he does something opposite of what we would expect. The Bible doesn't say that he rushes to Bethany. It doesn't say that he drops everything he was doing and says, "Let's go, disciples." He didn't get into a rush and go to where the problem and the issue was. But instead, after he had received the news, the Bible says that he speaks this powerful word of faith, and abides two days in the same place.

Now wait a minute, Jesus. Lazarus, the one you love, is sick. Not just sick, but he's deathly sick. And you just said, "This sickness is not unto death, but it's for the glory of God." And now you're just sitting here abiding, and playing checkers with your disciples. You're just abiding. He didn't rush to Bethany and perform a miracle. He didn't make it a priority to get to where the issue was. He simply stays where he is, and abides there for two days. But he stays. He, he doesn't move. But his priority at that moment was to simply abide.

Sometimes abiding may not seem like a needed or a desired priority, especially when it seems like everything is going wrong, and everything's in chaos, and everything's going crazy. What do you mean, God, you're just going to simply abide? Sometimes abiding may not seem like a needed or desired priority.

In Matthew 13 24, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tare. The man had sown good seed in his field. But when he slept, the enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat, so that when the wheat came up, so did the weeds. And the servants come to him, and they asked the master, "Do you want us to pull the weeds out of the field? While we were sleeping, somebody came in and they begin to sow them. And now the, the wheat's coming up, but so are the weeds." And the master tells them, "No, just leave them alone. Because if you pull up the tares, you're also going to pull up the wheat. And when harvest time comes, just pull them both up. And then gather the wheat together, and gather the tares together, and you go burn the tares." But you put the wheat in my barn. But if you pull everything up now, you're just going to mess the whole harvest up. So leave it alone, and abide. And at the end, there will be a harvest.

And as people, our flesh often wants to rush in and fix the issue and do it our way, instead of standing still and knowing that he is God. And that's where we get into trouble and mess everything up. Because most of the time, our priorities are not his priorities. And our ways are not his ways. And our thoughts are not his thoughts. And we don't understand what God is doing. Why are you just abiding over their, God? Why are you just seeing when everything else is going crazy? It just seems like God is somewhere a million miles away, just simply abiding. Jesus is saying wait, but your flesh is saying go. Jesus is saying hold on a minute, but your carnality is saying, "I've got to go do this."

One of the hardest things the children of Israel had to do in the Old Testament was to march around the city of Jericho every day, without saying a word, without shooting an arrow, without throwing a spear. The hardest thing for them to do was simply march, without doing anything else. "Are we supposed to be fighting, Pastor? Are we supposed to be conquering? We've crossed over Jordan, and we're going into the promised land. Aren't we supposed to be winning?" No. Because in order to conquer your adversary, you first got to conquer yourself. Or else you're going to wind up in the middle of a battlefield dead. Do it, because you did something crazy. The battle at Jericho was more about defeating the Israelites' ego than it was conquering the city. And God is teaching them that if you're going to conquer the promised land, you're going to do it my way. You think it ought to be done this way. You think it ought to happen that way. No, he's saying, if you're going to do this, you're going to do it my way.

I was able to go to the country of France a couple of years ago. And I'm so used to the American way of eating, you know: go through Taco Bell, get 10 tacos, eat them on the way home, and then, you know, that's dinner. That's, you're done. No, no, in France, I figured out that you don't just go and sit down and eat dinner, then you're done. No, you go down, and it's, it's a two to two and a half hour process. And I learned that they don't just go. You have to actually converse with people, uh, for two to two and a half hours over dinner, because it's a, it's just a big deal. You have to abide at dinner time. You have to be really interesting for me to talk to you for two and a half hours, I'll just tell you that right now. But I learned in France that, as you do, you have to learn to talk to people over dinner, because they don't bring you the appetizer until about 30 minutes later. And then they have, about 30 minutes later, they'll bring you, they'll bring you the water. The 30 minutes later, they'll bring you the meal. The 30 minutes later, they'll bring you the dessert. And about two to two and a half hours later, you're finally done with dinner. And you've got to converse in that time. You don't just go and have dinner. You have dinner in France. And I learned that you just got to learn to sit down and talk to somebody, and just abide during dinner time.

And then, and then Jesus hears about Lazarus being sick, and abiding was a priority at that moment. We've got to remember that with God, nothing just happens. But rather, all things are working together for good, to them who love God and are called according to his purpose. The word "work together" that Paul uses here, this phrase "work together" means to cooperate or come together. When it's about his purpose, not about my purpose, not about my ambitions or my dreams. But when it's about his purpose, isn't it interesting how everything starts to come together when you get in the will of God? Isn't it interesting, everything just starts to flow when you get into the will of God? It's not going to be just perfect. It's not going to be everything just a bed of roses. But you've got to remember that he's forming you, and he's molding you. And oftentimes, because of our flesh, we get our priorities mixed up, and try to get to Bethany to fix the problem in the middle of the molding process. We want to control everything. We want to fix everything. When perhaps the Lord just wants us to abide, so at the end of the day, he can get some glory for everything. We're going through. You hear me, there will be a resurrection at the end of the day. But by definition, the only way a resurrection can take place is something first has to die. How can God intervene and fix the issue, if we keep trying to resurrect it? The reality is that sometimes we refuse to let some things go that are supposed to be let go of, all because are part of our human nature is to try and control things. We fear the unknown. We, we fear what we can't control. And we get our priorities mixed up. And we try to keep some things alive that are supposed to pass on. We try to keep relationships alive. We try to keep thoughts alive. We try to keep dreams alive. We try to keep ambitions alive, when God is saying, let some things die.

And hear me, this leaves us tired and worn out, and emotionally drained and frustrated, trying to breathe life into bones that only the Spirit can resurrect. Jesus' priority wasn't to get to where Lazarus was, to save the day. His priority was to simply abide, and let Lazarus die, because he knew a resurrection was coming. And until some things die in our lives, and we align our priorities with what God truly values, he can never do a completed work.

You keep saying to yourself, "Well, maybe if I try this, it'll fix it. Maybe if I do this, I'll be able to work it out. Maybe if I just keep on doing the same thing I've always done, I'll just be able to make, make it work this time. And maybe if I keep investing and pouring myself into it, it'll come out all right." Stop trying to control things you don't understand, and trying to resurrect things that only God can bring back to life in his own time. Sometimes you just gotta learn to abide.

There's gotta come a point where you say, "Okay, God, it's in your hands now, and I'm going to leave it there." Have questions about your life? Trust and abide. Wondering what your future is? Trust and abide. Asking why some things are taking place? Trust and abide. Timing is everything with God. Timing is everything with God.

I think it's Matthew 8 and 29. The Bible begins to tell a story about two possessed men. We usually preach them as one man possessed with thousands of devils, coming in the gatherings to where Jesus was. But Matthew tells a different story. He tells the story of two men that are possessed with thousands of devils, that came and ran to where Jesus was when Jesus steps on the shores. And they ran, these two men ran, and worshiped him. And, and the demons began to cry out of these two possessed men. And they've said it, "God, if you've come to torment us before our time." Even the enemy knows, timing is everything with God. Even the enemy knows he cannot do a completed work before his time. Timing is everything with God.

And time passes, and Jesus finally tells his disciples, "Let's go into Judea again." And his disciples tell him he's crazy. "They want to stone you back there, God. Don't you remember the last time we were there? They wanted to kill you. Don't you remember the last time we were in Judea? They, they wanted to take a hold. God, don't you remember this? Why would you want to go back there?" He tells them. He tells them, "Because Lazarus is dead." Because Lazarus is dead. The disciples think that Jesus is going to die by going back.

And I love this part of the story, because this part of the story tells about a particular disciple, who looked at everybody else when they said, "Why in the world would he want to go back? He's going to die." And this one man, this one man, we all know him by the name of Doubting Thomas, because he doubted one time. But one disciple stands up among all the rest, and he looks at everybody else and says, "If he's going to go back and die, we're going to go back and die with him." Yeah, he got the nickname Doubting Thomas, but he should have been called Faithful Thomas. Because he was one of the only disciples, and said, "If that's where he's going, that's where I'm going to go to. If that's what he's doing, that's what I'm going to do too. If that's what he says he's going to, he's going to do right now, that's what I'm going to go do right now." And Thomas looks at everybody else and says, "We're going to go, so we can die with him."

And they get to Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem, and they find that Lazarus has already been dead four days. And Martha, the one Jesus had rebuked, runs out of the house and comes to Jesus and says, "Oh God, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn't have died. If you would have just been here, my brother would still be alive. If you wouldn't have been abiding somewhere, my brother would be running out to greet you right now."

And Jesus looks at Martha and says, "No, no, you don't understand. Your brother will rise again." And Martha, thinking that he's talking about the final resurrection, when all the dead in Christ rise — and I'm looking forward to that day, when God come out, and God comes back. I'm looking forward when he comes out on the clouds of glory and calls his church. And just as the duke goes on, I look forward more and more to the time when we get to walk on streets of gold, and cast our crowns at his feet. I'm looking forward to that day.

But Jesus looks at her and said, "Yeah, you don't understand. Your brother is going to rise again." But Martha's thinking that he's talking about the final resurrection, when everybody rises again. Looks at him and said, "I know he's going to rise again in the resurrection with everybody else on that final day. I know the dead in Christ are going to rise. I know everybody's going to be called up to meet him in the air. Of course he's going to rise again on that day." But Jesus looks at her and says, "You don't understand. You still don't get it." Because in 11 25, he looks at her and he says this. He said, "I am the resurrection, and I am the life. And he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

And he asks Mary and Martha, "Where have you laid him?" And they get to the cave of Lazarus, and Jesus is recorded as beginning to weep. And he tells them, "Take the stone away." He tells them, you do something that you can do, so that I can step in and do something you can't. A lot of the times, our miracles are predicated on us doing what we can, so that God can step in and do something we cannot. Some of us have not seen our miracles yet, because we refuse to put our hands to the plow, and we refuse to get out there and say, "I'm going to do whatever I can." Come on, God said, this is a two-way streak. You gotta let your faith intersect with my faith. And sometimes when we decide we're going to do that, God then says, "Okay, you've done everything you can do. You've prayed every prayer you can pray. You've hammered every nail that can be hammered. You've done everything you can. So now I'm going to step in, and I'm going to do something you cannot do."

How many have some needs that you know only God can answer? How many have some things in your life, you know that there's some things that, "Oh, this has to be a God thing." Some of you just need to step aside, because you've done everything you can. And you need to let God step in and say, "It's time for me to do something you can't."

And he tells them, "Take the stone away." And Martha, Martha, Martha comes up to him. Martha's like the modern day Karen. And she looks at him and said, "Lord, money stinks. He's been dead four days, and you're going to take the stone away?" I can just see Jesus: "Martha, please go back over there." "But he stinks." And Jesus hollers out, "Lazarus, come forth!" And on the fourth day, he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound to the napkin. Jesus said unto them, "Loose him, and let him go."

And now Lazarus is living again, because God, and God alone, has wrought a miracle. He's done it himself. But why did he wait four days? Because the people in that day believed that the soul remained with the body for three days until after death. Even the pagans believed that God, the gods, could not revive somebody who has been dead for more than three days. So by abiding until Lazarus has been dead for four days, Jesus is demonstrating the power of his miracle. He was showing everybody that he was the resurrection, and he was the life. And when he breathes life into bones, they've got to come back to life. And when he says something lives, something's got to live. And when he says something's coming forth, something's got to come forth. It doesn't matter who said it's never going to happen. It doesn't matter who said it's never going to take place. No, no, no, no, no, there is a fourth day coming that no man can hinder, that nobody can stop. That Jesus walks in and says, "I don't care what the past says. I'm saying it's going to live again."

Let me preach to this church for a while. There is a fourth day coming. There is a fourth day coming, when God is going to step in and says, "Yeah, I know I've been abiding somewhere for a while, and you haven't understood everything you've been going through, and everything I've put the world through. But at the end of the day, when I come back, you're going to understand. This is going to be for my glory. This is going to be so high can get some."

I wish somebody would clap your hands if you believe there is coming a fourth day. Come on. This is not going to last forever, Brother Stevens. We're not going to be in this mess forever. Come, it's not going to last forever. But there is coming a fourth. Come on, I said, there is coming a fourth day. And devil, you'd better watch out. Because when the fourth day comes, we're going to baptize more people than we've ever baptized. We're going to bring more people through than we've ever prayed through before. We're going to see more signs and miracles and wonders than we've ever seen. The church is not going down. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. But the church is victorious, because there is coming a — I received that today — there is coming a fourth day.

So I'm not going to lose my shout. I'm not going to lose my dance. I'm not going to stop worshiping. I'm not gonna stop praising. But you're gonna see me worshiping harder. You're gonna see me praising louder. You're gonna see me — come on, there is coming a fourth day. Devil, you cannot have my worship. You cannot have my praise. You cannot have my victory. I wish somebody would rejoice in it right now.

Some of you have been down, and your faith has been tested. But I'm here to remind you today: keep your faith. There is a fourth day coming. Keep praying. There is a fourth day coming. Keep worshipping.

Oh. Oh, I wish some of you would practice right now like it is the fourth day. I wish some of you in worship right now, even though you haven't seen your miracle yet. I wish some of you would praise right now, even though you haven't seen some things that have been prophesied come to pass yet. I wish somebody, you would let loose in the Holy Ghost just for a minute, and stand to your feet, and lift your hands towards heaven, and say, "God, I may not have seen you yet. I may be in the middle of the second day. I may be in the middle of the third day. But I know there is a fourth day that is coming."

Come on, don't you be weary in well-doing. The church is still alive. The church is still powerful. The church is still on the move. But in the middle chapter of the second day, you're still going to find me praising. In the middle of the third day, you're still going to find me worshiping. Because I know, I know, I know, there is a fourth day coming.

Whew. On the fourth day, Lazarus is getting back up. On the fourth day, Jonah's getting spit up. On the fourth day, after spending three days on the banks of the Jordan, Israel is finally going to cross over into Canaan. On the fourth day, after three days of fasting, my Mordecai, Esther's finally gonna go see the king. And the Christ may have been dead for three days and three nights, but all that matters is, on the fourth day, he's alive.

"Rejoice not against me, all mine enemies, for when I fall, there is a fourth day coming when I shall arise." Oh, this may have been a tough year, yes, but there's a fourth day coming. I may not have seen everything I want to see, but there is a fourth day coming. And there's coming a day when this church is not going to be able to contain every miracle, every soul, every sign, every wonder that's going to take place in here. I'm telling you, do not be weary in well-doing. There is coming a fourth day. Somebody shout about it for a minute right now. Somebody rejoice in the God of your salvation just for a minute right now. There is a force.

I haven't seen my family come back to God, but there's a fourth day coming. I haven't seen my miracle yet, but there is a fourth day coming. I haven't seen prophecy come to pass, but there is a fourth day coming. And in 2020, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat, and take your faith from you. But I have prayed for you, God said, that your faith fail you not. And just because I have not seen it yet, just because it seems like God is somewhere abiding, Pastor, I may not understand it. I may not know why. I can't tell you why everything's going on. But I can tell you, I'm still holding out hope for the fourth day. Because I received a word that said he would never leave me or forsake me. And as long as I can hold on to that word, as long as I can keep on believing that he's never going to leave me, but his promises are yea and amen, that everything he said is true, and he cannot lie. As long as I can hold on to that, I know there is a fourth day.

Some of you have had prophecies spoken over your life that you're one, you have not seen them come to pass yet. You're wondering, is God, is it ever going to happen? And your faith has been tested. Some of your faith is being tested this morning, this afternoon. And you're saying, "God, is it ever going to come to pass?" God cannot lie. And you've got to believe his promises are yay and amen. And even though I have not seen it come to pass yet, even if I have not seen it happen yet, God, I'm still believing. And I'm still going to be faithful. And I'm still going to keep on worshiping. Because I know, I know there is a fourth day that is coming.

And if God said it, if God said it, I believe it. And I believe with all my heart. I'm not just saying this. This is not just random words coming off of my, my lips this morning, Pastor. But I believe there is a fourth day coming for this church. There is a fourth day coming. I'll say it again. And you're not going to be able to contain the amount of people that this place is going to baptize, and this place is going to pray through. This place is not going to be big enough for what God's going to happen on the fourth day. Your mind is going to be blown. Your faith is going to be expanded. Things you never even thought would happen are going to happen in this church, because there is a fourth — "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices," because they know there is a fourth day coming. "And yonder breaks a new and glorious mourn."

And if I can encourage everybody, stand if you would. I want to encourage this church: there is a fourth day coming. And the only way some people are going to be able to live again is when they begin to let some things die. Let wrong priorities die. Let personal ambitions die. Let your pride die. And let God resurrect the right things in your life, so he can get some glory.

Pastor, I don't know why, it just seems like in 2020, God has just been abiding somewhere. I haven't heard one prophet predict any of this. I haven't heard one person say, da da, this was all going to happen. I haven't heard it. I haven't heard anybody say, "Here's what we've got to do now, and here's what's coming next." But I do know, well, God is abiding somewhere, reading himself for the fourth day. I'm going to abide and keep on believing that God is faithful, and that God cannot lie. And the God is faithful, and that there is a fourth day coming. And I'm going to keep on being faithful, Pastor, in my attendance. I'm going to keep on keeping on. I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to stop.

This is the worst time in the world to think about leaving the church, with this close to God coming back, friend. Oh, it's the worst time in the world, not only because of the threat of, but because there's a fourth day coming. And I'm not going to miss the fourth day. I've waited too long. I've waited too long. And there isn't anybody, any devil, any saint of God, that's going to keep me from missing the fourth day, when God steps in and says, "You may not have understood everything, but now it's time. And I'm going to reveal to you why everything's been going on."

Get your mind in his word. Get rid of the distractions. Get your mind out of the news, to his calling. Oh, because there is a fourth day coming.

Lift your hands and lift your voice again, will you? Come on, there is a fourth day coming. Come on, will somebody lift your voice and rejoice right now in the God of your salvation? Hey, it may have been a long year, but there is a fourth day that is coming.

I may not have understood everything, but there is a fourth day that is coming. So I'm not going to be weary and well doing. I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to quit. Because when God says it's time for the fourth day, he will have found me faithful. Lift up your hands. Lift up your voice again. Let's thank him. There is a fourth day that's coming.