The Master is come and calleth for thee

That Lazarus have sent for the Lord Jesus, and it appears that he hasn't come. That's really the background of what we're going to consider here from John's Gospel chapter 11. You know he abode, if you look at verse number 5, it says, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

When he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. And it was eventually four days when the Lord Jesus reached Bethany, and he came to this house of bereavement. Look down with me please at verse number 20, 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.

And then the Lord Jesus actually begins to pour into her heart divine truth. The first mention of the rapture, believe it or not, was given to a woman who had a breaking heart. And we find that in verse number 27, verse number 25, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life.

He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And notice verse 26, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She said unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

When she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, Now notice this please, because this is really what I'm going to speak about. The end of verse 28, she called Mary her sister secretly, and she said, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. Now tell me, in what we have read together, where did the Master speak those words? If you search carefully, I don't think that you'll find them in John 11.

But Martha's words to Mary were these, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. Verse 29 says, as soon as she heard that, that's Mary. She arose quickly, and she came unto him.

Now Jesus was not yet come unto the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. We could read further, but I'll defer doing that. And I know you know the story of John 11 very well.

The Master is come, and calleth for thee. That word Master is quite interesting. It conveys that idea indeed.

The one that is the Master, frequently along with that idea, it conveys a secondary idea, and sometimes those are inverted. He's not only the Master, he's the Teacher. And I want us to keep that in mind as we're moving into this subject.

The Master and the Teacher. When you come to John's Gospel, we frequently find that he's referred to as the Master. You think of John 1. Those disciples that went out to find him.

And you remember what they said to him. They said unto him, Rabbi. And then we're told it's interpreted, which being interpreted means Master.

So right in John 1, he's the Master. You think of John 3, and the man Nicodemus that goes to meet the Lord Jesus. And you remember what Nicodemus says.

He says, Rabbi, we know that thou art a Teacher, Master. We know that thou art a Teacher come from God. You move into John 8, and the unbelievers, they call him the Master.

You come to John 13, and the Lord says to the disciples in the upper room. Ye call me Master and Lord. And you say, well, for so I am.

You go over to John 20, and you remember that brokenhearted woman. As she's found at the grave of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus reveals himself to her.

Mary, Mary Magdalene. She actually rises up in her appreciation. And she says, Rabboni.

You of course know there was a Rabb. That was the lowest of the three. And then there was the Rabbi.

That was rising higher. Mary Magdalene gave him the highest title of those three that she could give. She called him, my great Master.

And so right here in John's Gospel. He is the Master. The Master is come.

And he calleth for thee. Of course, we love John's Gospel, don't we? I would say, we've actually been told the purpose of John's Gospel. Our brother Michael appreciated that today with the children.

He was telling us. There's some of those books, we work through them. And we wonder, just what's the force? And what's the impact of this book? Well, John's Gospel is very clear.

These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ. The Son of God. And so the purpose of the Gospel is certainly impactful.

You notice in John's Gospel. We've got, it's not only it's purpose. It's very personal.

You go through all those personal things in John's Gospel. Whether it's the man, John 3 that comes by night. Whether it's the woman at the well.

Whether it's the man at the pool. Whether it's the woman taken in adultery. Whether it's the blind man.

It's so personal. And of course, I would suggest. It's very personal to each one of us.

It's very precious. If I was asking you today now. Now, I'm not going to do this.

If I was asking for a show of hands. What's your favorite Gospel? I wonder what you'd tell me. My own answer to that immediately is John.

It might be a name thing. But I think it's more than that. It might be slightly more than that.

There's a depth to John's Gospel. That really, I know there's depths in Matthew as well. But there is a depth in John's Gospel.

Written in such simplicity of language. There's a depth here. And it's precious.

And I hope beloved saints by the time I'm finished. In the moments that I will take this afternoon. That it will appeal to some beloved Christians.

In it's preciousness. The Master is come. And he calleth for thee.

Of course, Mary and Martha. They appear onto the stage of Scripture. On three occasions.

You'll remember Mary and Martha are found. In Luke's Gospel chapter 10. And then of course here.

In John's Gospel chapter 11. And then there's John's Gospel chapter 12. Where we have Mary and Martha and Lazarus.

When you're back in Luke's Gospel chapter 10. The subject there is work. You'll recall there was a certain woman.

Named Martha. And she took him into her house. One of the brethren.

He reminded our hearts of Luke's Gospel. How precious it was. He told us at the beginning of Luke's Gospel.

There was a man. And he took Christ up. His name was Simeon.

At the end of Luke's Gospel. There was a man. His name was Joseph.

And he took Christ down. You see in Luke's Gospel chapter 10. There was a woman and her name was Martha.

And she took Christ in. Into her home. You remember this story well.

There she is in the home. And Mary goes to the feet of the Lord Jesus. And Martha gets a little bit upset about it.

And she says. She says Lord. She was comforted about with much serving.

She says. She says. Bid her come and help me.

And Luke 10 the subject is work. Of course you know in John 12. The subject was worship.

That dear woman. Mary of Bethany. In the home.

She took that. That alabaster box. Now be careful.

Our brethren used to pour into our hearts. I've heard people say. That the box was broken.

Not in John 12. You know in John's Gospel. There are no unbroken things.

Apart from the legs of the thieves. You go through John's Gospel. In John's Gospel.

The net is not broken. In John's Gospel. The box is not broken.

In John's Gospel. The scripture cannot be broken. And of course in John's Gospel.

You will remember. The Savior is upon the cross. That the scripture might be fulfilled.

A bone of him. Shall not be broken. And yet that woman takes that.

That box of ointment. Very precious. And she uses it.

On the feet of Christ. And the fragrance filled the house. I have to admit to you.

I'm a fragrance guy. I'm almost. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that in Iowa.

Peter Orosok was staying with me one time. And we were just living in just a little home. It was really a one bedroom home.

And when Mr. Orosok was staying with us. We gave him our bedroom. And we were sleeping on a mattress.

Just in the next room. After a few months. I had my cologne sitting on the bureau.

And after a few months. Peter Orosok was a rascal you know. After a few months he came to me.

And he says those colognes you like to wear. Do they still smell the same? I didn't really notice any difference. He says you know.

Whenever I was in your bedroom there. I unscrewed the lid of Tommy Hilfiger. And I took off the lid of Hugo Boss.

And he said I mixed the two together for you. He says now you can call them. Hugo Hilfiger.

Well. There was a fragrance in John 12. And it filled the house.

And there was a fragrance on that dear lady. And there was a fragrance on the Lord Jesus. Mind you beloved saints.

There are certain sisters and I have known them. And they carry with them a fragrance of Christ. I agree with what our brother Brandon said yesterday.

Sisters that come into a gospel meeting. I have a gospel meeting just like our brother. And sisters have come in.

And you see when they come in. It doesn't seem you get as much opposition that night. And it seems there is a freedom.

And it seems there is. And sometimes I look and I have thought to myself. There are dear beloved sisters here.

And through the work that they do. There is a fragrance of Christ that is being carried. But here in John's gospel.

It is not the subject of work. Luke 10. And it is not the subject of worship.

John 12. You and I very well know. It is the subject of weeping.

And there are two broken hearted ladies. Martha and Mary. And Martha eventually comes to her sister.

And she says. The master has come. And he calleth for thee.

I want to speak for just a moment. I want you to consider with me. He is the master of communion.

And don't forget now he is the teacher. And we are going to learn the lesson. He is the master of communion.

And you say. What do you mean by that? Well don't forget. That when they heard that Christ was coming.

Both of these ladies. They went to him. In the midst of the circumstances.

And the circumstances were bitter. And the tears were fresh. And there was an envelopment.

Of a storm in life. That they never thought would come. One of the things that I have learned.

Beloved saints is this. In the storms of life. It is very different to.

Difficult. To maintain communion. When the wind is blowing.

And when the white caps. Are sealing our little barks in life. And when like our brother Scott.

We are brought into trials in life. One of the things that is very difficult to maintain. Is communion.

Well do you notice. That the master that was coming. He had the ability.

To draw people in difficult circumstances. Unto himself. There is something about the Lord Jesus.

In the midst of trial. Here is Martha. And she is drawn to him.

And then Mary. She also is drawn to the Lord Jesus. I would say beloved saints.

And there is dear ones that have gone through trials here. That I have never been through. But you ask some of those dear saints.

And they will tell you this. You see in the midst of the trial. There was something about the person of Christ.

That drew them unto himself. Even when they felt they couldn't pray. And when they felt communion was small.

And when they felt that the burdens were growing greater. There is something about the Savior. He has the ability.

To draw his saints unto himself. Not only that. The master of communion.

They confided in him. Did you notice what they said? Lord. Both of them said the same thing.

Perhaps. Perhaps. Maybe being a little bit hard on Martha here.

Perhaps. Mary said it in a slightly different way. Maybe.

But both of their sisters said to Christ. Lord. If thou hadst been here.

My brother had not died. And they began to confide in him. You know beloved saints.

What the Lord Jesus uses trial for is this. Just to remind our hearts. Of the value of the relationship that we have with him.

There is no one else. We value elders in assembly life. We value friends.

We have close confidence. But something about the Savior. Far surpasses all of that.

You and I know there is a moment comes. And you can't even tell your wife. Or you can't even tell your husband.

And you are drawn to him. And you know what happens. We bow our knees.

And there is a confiding that takes place. Beloved saints. The master has come.

And he calleth for thee. He is the master of communion. And he wants to teach to us the lesson.

So that we will enjoy communion with him. Let me ask you now. What about your communion with him? It is a challenging thing now.

There are young people here. Could I encourage our young people. Just in this conference.

To make sure you take time. For communion with the master. When you say we are busy.

I know you are busy. Some people think that preachers aren't busy. I was giving ministry in an assembly.

And I will keep the names out of it. To preserve the innocent. And I mentioned the book of Psalms.

And reading through the book of Psalms. And I said you know. If you choose 10 of those Psalms every day.

You are through the book of Psalms. In just over 2 weeks. And a dear sister that I know well.

And that I love in the Lord Jesus. She came to me. And she says it is very easy to tell that you are a preacher.

It is easy to tell that you don't have young children. She says I am very fortunate if I get one chapter in it. But let's stop for a moment.

What about the lesson of communion? Young people. Even if you have only a short time in the morning. Going out to work.

Take a verse with you. And muse upon that verse. About the Lord Jesus.

Through the day. And spend the time. The master has come.

And he calls for thee. He is the master of communion. And he wants to teach that lesson to us.

The second thing I will mention. I am up here longer than I anticipated already. So I will go through these very quickly.

The master of communion. He is the master of circumstances. You know.

These sisters. They thought. That it was all out of control.

I was listening to a hymn recently. A brother actually let me hear it. I wasn't aware of it.

And the lyrics of the hymn went something like this. He is 4 days late. And he is still on time.

You ever think of that? You ever get to the stage. In the envelopment of the circumstances of life. And you wonder.

Where is he? And you think. He has forgotten about us. These sisters.

It came to the stage. When he came. But it was 4 days.

And they thought. He is 4 days. And he is too late.

I say again beloved saints. He was 4 days late. And he was still on time.

Right through John's gospel. The gospel of deity. Everything is under his control.

You think of those men in the storm. And going now to John's gospel chapter 6. You think of the difficulties of the storm. And they had rode all night.

There in the storm. All of the difficulties are under his control. Everything was manifested.

When Christ stepped forth. Through the wind. And through the waves.

And the circumstances. Under the control of Christ. You think of John 18.

And the denial of Peter. It is not now difficulties. It is denial.

It is still under his control. In fact he told Peter. Before it ever happened.

What I do. Thou knowest not now. But thou shalt know hereafter.

You think of the disappointments of life. John's gospel chapter 20. And there is a woman with a breaking heart.

Standing at a sepulcher. And you can see the tears flowing down her face. And the Lord Jesus only had to say one thing.

He called her by her name. Did you notice that? All he said to her. He just said.

Mary. Actually used the Hebrew of her name. The Greek text preserved that.

He called her Maria. And so there we are. Miriam rather.

Maria is the Greek. My apologies. He called her Miriam.

And as soon as he called her by her name. She understood immediately. This is the Savior.

Why? Because he knows his own sheep. And he calleth them all by name. And there is no circumstances that are out of control.

Whether it is the difficulties of John 6. Whether it is the denial of John 18. Whether it is the disappointment of John 20. Or even here.

The devastation of John's Gospel chapter 11. The master has come. And he calleth for thee.

And he is the master of the circumstances. And he wants us to teach us the lesson. That the circumstances are under his control.

He is the master of care. You know what precedes John 11. Yeah, you say Mekin.

You are in Iowa. We know it is John 10. That's right.

Very good. Remember the teaching of John 10? It is in John 10 the Lord Jesus says. I am the good shepherd.

If he is ever going to prove his shepherd work. It is in John's Gospel chapter 11. It is quite a thing isn't it? He is the master of care.

You think of the shepherd work of Christ. Right through the Scriptures. The first intimation of the shepherd work of Christ.

Or of God. Is in Genesis 48. God that fed me.

Old Jacob says. God that fed me as a shepherd. All my life long.

And then he speaks in Genesis 49. And he speaks about the coming one. And he says.

From whence is the shepherd. The stone of Israel. And we muse through the Scriptures.

Isaiah mentions the shepherd work of Christ. Isaiah says. He will gently carry those that are with young.

Jeremiah mentions the shepherd work of Christ. Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah says.

He will keep the sheep. Ezekiel mentions the shepherd work of Christ. Ezekiel 34.

He searches for the sheep. He gathers the sheep. And then we go to David.

Mind you old David. He encapsulated it all. We just heard about that.

Dear David says. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

He leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. What a shepherd.

And if there was ever the manifestation of the shepherd work of Christ. It's here in John 11. Two broken hearted ladies.

And there's a man appears. In his shepherd work. In his care.

He's the master of care. Beloved saints. The master of care.

The master has come. That he calleth for thee. That he wants to teach us.

His care. He's the master of compassion. I'm sorry for going so long.

I apologize to my beloved brethren. Sincere apologies. You say if you really felt that you'd get down.

I'm here now. He's the master of compassion. You remember.

That great statement of Paul. Now abideth. Faith.

Hope. Love. These three.

But the greatest of these is love. Did you ever trace those in John's gospel? You remember in John's gospel. One of the key words in John is.

Believing. Right through the gospel. Believe.

Believe. Believe. And now abideth.

Faith. Another one of the key themes in John's gospel. Is life.

Everlasting life. Right through the gospel. Now abideth.

Faith. And hope. Because of everlasting life.

You say what about the third one? Do you remember what they said about the Lord Jesus. As he was standing at the grave of Lazarus. And the Lord Jesus wept.

And the tears were coming down his face now. Do you remember what they said about Christ? Behold. How he loved him.

Beloved saints. Now abideth. Faith.

Hope. Love. These three.

The greatest of these is love. He is the master of compassion. And he wants to teach us.

Maybe someone here in the gathering. And there is a particular need in your life. That no one else can meet.

Can I just speak today and say this. The master has come. And he calleth for thee.

The last thing I will mention. And I will sit down. He is the master of communication.

Oh. Dear Martha goes to Christ. And the Lord pours into the heart of Christ.

Things that no one had heard before. Pours into the heart of Martha. Things that no one had heard before.

Tells her about. He tells her about a day of resurrection. And Martha says.

She says I know about resurrection Lord. I know my brother shall rise again. At the last day.

But she didn't know this. The Savior poured into her heart the truth of rapture. There are some.

And they will not die. There are some. And they won't go through.

The awful suffering of death. You know beloved saints. Just as I am about to step down.

He is the master of communication. Even in difficult circumstances. He communicates to his own.

Did you notice? There is no communication with Mary. No. If you are reading in John 11.

Read it again carefully. Martha goes to Christ. And when Martha is with the Lord Jesus.

He pours into her heart certain truth. Mary comes to Christ. And she speaks almost exactly the same thing.

Perhaps with a different emphasis. If thou has been here. My brother had not died.

And there is no communication to Mary. Why? I personally believe that Mary was of such a spiritual stamp. She didn't need the communication.

There are certain sisters. And certain brethren. And they are so developed in the things of the Lord.

Mary was the one that was at the feet of Christ. Mary was the one that anointed Christ. For his burial.

Against the day of my burying. She hath kept this. That means she didn't use it on her brother.

She knew. Christ is going to die and be buried. I'll keep it for him.

Mary wasn't at the tomb with the other women. You know that very well. Mary Magdalene was there.

Some of the other ladies were there. But Mary of Bethany wasn't there. And the reason was this.

For that was this. Christ had already communicated to her. And she had accepted the communication.

Beloved Saints. He wants to teach us now. That's the reason why we have conference gatherings like this.

So that we will learn about Christ. More of him should we know. As I step down this afternoon.

Beloved Saints. The Master is come. And calleth for thee.