The eleventh chapter of John's Gospel contains a message which is particularly relevant to us today. It is a message of two women in a Critical Condition. Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus, was critically ill. Mary and Martha sent an urgent message to the Savior, expecting that He would immediately come to them and heal Lazarus. John informs us, however, that Jesus responded (it would seem to the messengers who had been sent) that the illness of Lazarus was not unto death, but for the glory of God. Then, instead of hastening to Bethany, Jesus deliberately delayed for two days. When Mary and Martha sent news to our Lord of Lazarus' illness, they said, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick" (v. 3). That was not just their estimation, for in verse 5 we are told that Jesus did love Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. When Jesus arrived at the tomb of Lazarus, He wept (11:33, 35). Those who witnessed the response of the Lord to the grief of Mary and the others remarked, "Behold how He loved him! (11:36). Just as some believe that death is inconsistent with God's love, so they also contend that death is contrary to the glory of God. But our Lord told His disciples that the death of Lazarus was the reason for His delay, so that God might be glorified as He was glorified (v. 4). Let us now look at some of the critical conditions we may find ourselves in. I will present at least 3 stages in our critical conditions. These are:  Drifting Stage: Luke 21: 34 Brother Kimani who is from Mombasa tells me of how as a teenager he used to take a trip to Dian Beach to see the ocean. Even though he couldn’t really swim, he occasionally went out into the ocean on a floating raft. Before Kimani knew it he had drifted into the Indian ocean. Fortunately for him, he was able to get safely back to shore. He had to pad his floating raft back. There is another way to drift as shown in Hebrews 2:1 “We must pay careful attention, therefore to what we have heard so that we do not drift away”. As Kimani was drifting on the raft - it was peaceful and he was unaware of the danger of drifting. Drifting takes no effort - so as people make no effort to serve God - they will drift away from God. If you stay faithful to the Lord in bible study, prayer and fellowship - it will be hard to drift away from God, just as you cannot drift when you are paddling a raft upstream.  As a Christian prays less and less they start drifting away from the Lord. We continue drifting when we start losing a desire to spend time with Christians and attending church services. The correct attitude is shown in: Psalm 122:1 “I rejoiced with those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Christian fellowship is more than attending services -    Romans 14:19 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”  Christians need to encourage each other. -    Hebrews 3:13 “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” It is important to pick friends who are sold out for Jesus. -    I Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” If Christians prefer worldly friendship rather than Christian fellowship they are drifting to spiritual destruction. When a person accepts Jesus as savior - sins have been removed. They have a strong desire to share Jesus with others. As a Christian loses desire to share the good news of Jesus - they are drifting. You can also start drifting when you seek or enjoy the things of the world more than God. If you find you are drifting - put Jesus back in control of your life. Ask God to forgive you and then get back to serving the Lord wholeheartedly!  Dying stage:  2 Corinthians 1: 8-9 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, [1] of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. — Gen 2:17  It is very important for Christians to understand what spiritual death is and what causes it, so that they may know how to avoid it.  In the Bible, we find 4 types of death.  Physical death is when the spirit is separated from the body (Jam 2:26); Eternal death with is called the second death (Rev 2:11, 20:6, 14, 21:8) which is separation from God forever;  Spiritual death is when people are spiritually separated from God – which is called dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1); and dead to sin (Rom 6:2) which is separation from sin and happens when we are saved (Eph 2:5, 6). In 1 Timothy 5:6, Paul tells us that “she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” This person is alive physically, but those that live a life of pleasure are separated spiritually from God and this is referred to as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1). The Devil is still saying today what he told Eve back thousands of years ago, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen 3:4). You can sin and still be a Christian. One sin will not separate you from God. Hence, the devil desires to beguile you as he beguiled Eve when she believed his lie. James gives us the process of falling into sin. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jam 1:14, 15). When sin is finished (complete entire, consummated) it brings spiritual death.  If you keep the Lord’s sayings, you “shall never see death” (Joh 8:51), but if you love not your brother you “abideth in death” (1Joh 3:14).  Deception stage: Revelation 1:8-9 Sin will open you up to deception. It will destroy whatever faith you have. When you sin, you are deceived by Satan, you are under his control, thus you are his child. Satan comes to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (Joh 10:10) your spiritual life. If he tempts you to sin and tells you that “Ye shall not surely die”, don’t believe him. Four ways that Christians are being deceived in our day are: The Repackaged Lie: Satan is brilliantly clever at taking age-old lies, disguising them in subtlety, and gradually introducing them to even those who insist that they believe in the infallible authority of the Bible. Examples of lies the Enemy has deceived us with are all the various ways we are obsessed with "Self"; the numerous techniques of "Christianized" sorcery and divination within the Church; and the many issues and fads designed to give us a "Tower of Babel" vision for global unity. Blurred Distinctions: Not only is Satan the "Father of lies", but he is also the "Author of confusion". It is getting harder and harder to tell the difference between neo-paganism and the liberal church; or between the liberal church and Evangelical Christianity. The message and the priorities of the Church are becoming indistinguishable from the World. Unequal Yoking: Christian leaders and Christian organizations are more and more yoking themselves with unbiblical, pagan groups and movements which set the followers up for synthesis, syncretism and compromise of doctrine and priorities. What fellowship does light have with darkness? Following Gurus : The final way in which Christians are being deceived is very much related to the first three. We are much more likely, these days, to not refer to our Bible for our convictions and world- view, but instead to follow the opinions of leaders we look up to. In these days of "Christian Mass Media", Celebrity Ministers are likely to draw our attention and our allegiance. It is a dangerous thing to set up Gurus within the Body of Christ who are beyond criticism. "Touch not the Lord's anointed!" we are told when the Guru's doctrine or behavior is questioned, which is a reference to 1 Samuel 24 and 26. In those references, David was referring to not KILLING Saul. He was not forbidding CRITICISM of Saul. In fact, David himself rebukes Saul publicly. In these last days we cannot afford to follow human leaders as if they were Gurus; We are to be disciples of Jesus, and him alone. Our only hope to not be deceived in these last days is to "abide in the vine"; to surrender our hearts moment by moment to the Holy Spirit; to be Acts 17 "Bereans" and filter everything through the written Word of God; and to be lovers of the Truth.  "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."  2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 Our Life Situation During Critical Situation Make a Decision to Live DEUTRONOMY 30:19 “ This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19 (New International Version) Mind is what your brain does consciously. Our minds perform a series of information processing in order to form strategies needed to live our daily lives. This process is known as decision making. However, aside from making decisions, because of many kinds of uncertainties we also face a problem called decidophobia, which is the fear of making the wrong decisions combined with nervous agitation.   Decisions are at the heart of success, and at times there are critical moments when they can be difficult, perplexing, and nerve racking. Decision-making is about facing a question, such as, "To be or not to be?", i.e., to be the one you want to be or not to be? That is a decision. Humanity has always lived in the shadow of fears..A decision usually involves three steps: A recognition of a need: A dissatisfaction within oneself--a void or need;    A decision to change--to fill the void or need;  A conscious dedication to implement the decision.  For us to make proper decisions we need to choose 1) The right way, and be right with God 2) The right attitudes, and be right with ourselves 3) The right company, and be right with our friends.  Renew Your Vision For Life Philippians 3:13-14  There are a lot of people that have lost their way when it comes to their vision for their life. Never knowing their goals in life or some simply lost their vision of life objectives, but here is some guidance that can provide a way for your vision of life and career objectives to become reality. Having a Vision to life will help individuals identify and pursue their vision of life and career objectives. Your Vision Provides you with goals that will guide you through every task and every obstacle that you will encounter. Through building your own goals, you can transform the world around you and make it better for yourself and others. So having a vision for life provides a way for you to find the path that does not only help you, but also help others, by the path of righteousness. This world is in an ongoing state of deterioration, and it is the rare great man who focuses his vision of life and career objectives on addressing the decline and working to reverse it. Your society needs an agent of positive change, someone with a Christian personal vision plan, a person whose vision in life is to improve not only his lot but those of others. Expose The Enemies Of Your Life- Hebrews 12: 1 Some people will try to defend sinful activities and even encourage people to do them in the name of God. Christians should not be deceived because such reasoning means nothing next to the truth of God's word.  Many deceptive tactics are very subtle. For instance, some people encourage greed with the justification that as one earns more, he can give more to the church. However, the main enticement is earning money for pleasure, not to help others. Be wary of such schemes that promise a bit of good attached to practicing immorality or greed. We may hide our sins from those around us, our family, our spouse, etc. but we can never hide our sins from God. The omnipresent One sees all things (Psalm 139:7). The omniscient One knows all things (Psalm 145:3). He knows our risings and fallings (Psalm 139:2). Surely you don't believe that God does not know about your secret sins. Now is the time to expose them to His light (John 3:21). Now is not the time to try to hide our secret sins (Ephesians 5:12). All of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for our lives (Romans 2:7-8; 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10). King David tried to hide his sins from others and from God in 2 Samuel 11 with his adultery with Bathsheba and then murdering her husband, Uriah. David covered up his sins but the last verse of 2 Samuel 11 says this, "And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD" (2 Samuel 11:27). God sent Nathan the prophet to David to boldly declare that God knew his sins and that he was guilty before God (2 Samuel 12:7). We often read that as God rebuking David but in reality God sent Nathan to David because God loved David. God exposed David's sins to bring him back to fellowship with Himself (Psalm 51:10-12). Secret sins destroy. Secret sins rob us of joy and forgiveness. My prayer is that I would not harbor any secret sins but rather that God would open my eyes now to see my sins that I might repent and seek His mercy. Jesus died for my sins (Matthew 26:28) and it is through His grace that I am forgiven (1 John 1:7-10). His blood cleanses me from all sin (Ephesians 1:7) and now I can read Isaiah 1:18 and realize the promise of God is still true today, that He will make me white as snow before His eyes that are too pure to look on sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Protect Your Life With Accountability- Ecclessiastes 4:8-9 In order to establish Christian accountability, there needs to be trust. Developing trust is a slow process and it takes time to develop and grow. As people meet together to share, they begin to establish a rapport with one another. How is this accomplished? By practicing Active listening. James 1:19 says, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." By having a non-judgmental attitude. Remember, we can be accepting of an individual while being discerning of the situation. Matthew 7:1-2 says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." By caring for each other. 1 John 4:21 says, "And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." Accountability involves a willingness to open yourself up and share sensitive or personal information. This is why trust is so imperative. If you sense trust, you are more open to share your innermost thoughts without concern of betrayal. Relating is an important factor in Christian accountability. It is helpful when people share a common bond or have been through similar experiences. People who relate to one another can empathize and share with an understanding heart. People can feel comfortable in sharing their circumstances, and can be totally accepted without fear of rejection. First of all, the Bible says that God holds us accountable. Romans 14:12 says, "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." This is personal accountability. Christians are also accountable to one another. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we read that Christians are all part of the same body - the body of Christ - and each member needs or belongs to the other. This Scripture suggests the importance of strong accountability between Believers. It is important for every Believer to have at least one other person in which to confide, pray with, listen to, and encourage. Galatians 6:1-2 gives a helpful principle, "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." If your accountability friend has done something contrary to the Bible, you are called to confront him gently, forgive him, and comfort him. It also admonishes you to consider yourself because no one is above temptation. Another aspect of Christian accountability is encouraging each other to grow in their spiritual maturity. Hebrews 10:24 says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says to, "…encourage one another and build each other up…" Live for God- Romans 8:13-14 See therefore that you live upon God's approval as that which you chiefly seek, and will suffice you: which you may discover by these signs. You will be most careful to understand the Scripture, to know what doth please and displease God. You will be more careful in the doing of every duty, to fit it to the pleasing of God than men. You will look to your hearts, and not only to your actions; to your ends, and thoughts, and the inward manner and degree. You will look to secret duties as well as public and to that which men see not, as well as unto that which they see. You will reverence your consciences, and have much to do with them, and will not slight them: when they tell you of God's displeasure, it will disquiet you; when they tell you of his approval, it will comfort you.  Your pleasing men will be charitable for their good, and pious in order to the pleasing of God, and not proud and ambitious for your honour with them, nor impious against the pleasing of God. Whether men be pleased or displeased, or how they judge of you, or what they call you, will seem a small matter to you, as their own interest, in comparison to God's judgment. You live not on them. You can bear their displeasure, censures, and reproaches, if God be but pleased. These will be your evidences.