Hopeful Theology of Death

Background

If we have not had the pleasure of meeting my name is John Colunga and I have the privilige of serving as lead pastor here at New Day Pasadena

I also have the privilige of bringing this weeks sermon

So if you have your Bibles, plese turn to John 14:1-7, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8,

This is the final sermon in our sermon series titled “Afterlife”

The first week we talked about heaven and hell being real places

We talked about there being a real seperation of the believers from the unbelievers

And if we are to die before Jesus’ second coming, we do go to heaven, but it is an intermediate heaven

Because Jesus said when he comes back that a new heaven and a new earth would be created

And then last week Pastor Mac Gervais gave a hopeful theology of this new heaven and what it’s like

That this temporary earth is going to pass away and an eternal heaven will be left

Sin that occurs right now will no longer be present

And it cant be present because we will be in the direct presence of God

We will have direct access to God

Pastor Mac said this and I love it. “While we are here on earth, it has always been God’s plan to come and redeem us to dwell with him

What God wants most is for us to be in relationship with him,

And so this starts by first trusting and believing in Jesus

And, as we begin today, I want to start today by saying this,

Theology Matters - (Theology Matters)

And if you are not familiar with the word theology, it means “The study of the nature of God”

The Study of the nature of God matters

And I would make the argument that everyone in here either knowingly or unknowingly engages in theology every week if not every day

Whether you are aware of it or not, the theology you currently have is influencing the way you think, the way you act, it influences the way you live

If you are here today and you are a believer, your theology influences the way you read scripture and the way you apply it to your life

R. C. Sproul wrote a book called Everyones a Theologian which is an introduction into systematic theology but in the opening of the book, he makes the case that everyone is a theologian

The believers in God thinks about the nature of God, the way of salvation, and similar topics, formulating theories about how the Lord works and operates

But that, even those who do not believe in God have a theology, their theology is that there is no God

But in the book he gives a clear purpose as to what theology is, “The purpose of theology is not to tickle our intellects but to instruct us in the ways of God, so that we can grow up into maturity and fullness of obedience to Him. That is why we engage in theology.”

And so let me start by clearing something up first - Your relationship with God,

Your relationship with Jesus, comes first

Realize that the first thing R. C. said was that the purpose of theology is not to tickle our intellect

And unfortunatley there are many who take theology and they let it do more than tickle their intellect

They take theology and they make it their God

They take theology and they make the word of God more about head knowledge than heart knowledge

We know that this is exactly how the Pharisees came to be - they were more concerned with the law than what the law was trying to teach them

Brothers and sisters, I do not intend for anyone to let theology lead them down this path

I reject, God rejects, that theology should come before your relationship with Him

Rather, I affirm, that God wants your theology to be formed by your love and affection for Him

And so the title of todays message is “A Hopeful Theology of Death”

A hopeful study of the nature of God as it relates to death

And I want to key in on the word Hope -

Because when we think of death and judgement - it usually always used in a negative way

But a careful study of Gods nature and his work as it pertains to death, isn’t negative

And so, at this time, If you are able, I ask that you please stand and follow along as I read God’s Word - John 14:1-7

““Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””

This is the word of the Lord, you may now be seated

Do not be troubled

What we know is the disciple and apostle John wrote this gospel book named John

And John writes this book in a way that magnifies Jesus as the Messiah

He writes this book in a way that makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is the promised Savior and that Jesus, being fully God and fully man, is the only one who can save

The very beginning of his book starts with the fact that Jesus is the Word

Jesus is God, and Jesus coming to earth was God incarnate

And when you fastforward to what we just read, we find Jesus talking to his disciples

And Chapter 14 is a continuation of chapter 13 Where Jesus and his disciples are in the Upper Room

And Jesus tells that he will be betrayed and reveals that it is Judas who is betraying him and so Judas gets up and leaves

Then Jesus tells the disciples that he has to leave and that they cannot come with him

However, as they remain they are to love one another and that others will know Jesus because of how they love

And then Peter asks where he is going

To Which Jesus responds you cannot follow me right now but you will follow me after

Peter being Peter states that he follow Jesus everywhere and will give his life for him

And then Jesus reveals that Peter will deny him 3 times

And so I want you to put yourself in the disciples shoes - maybe put yourself in Peters shoes

You have been on this journey with Jesus, seein ghim do all these miracles, learning from him, running with him, you have had a front frow seat to Jesus who is the Messiah - The whom you were taught from a young age that was promised and here he is

And even even though you have had this intimate relationship with him, he tells you I have to go and you cannot come with me!

You have followed me well but you cannot follow me in my next steps

And then you put yourself in Peter’s shoes and you boldly - It is bold - and in your heart of hearts you want this to be true - that Jesus I will follow you whereve you go

I will die for you !

And then Jesus turns to you and says, Actually, you are going to deny me 3 times

How would you feel in that moment?

Not only could you not follow this Messiah whom you love,

But he tells you to your face that you will deny him 3 times!

I can only imagine the troubled hearts

Yet, Jesus’ very next words are Let not your hearts be troubled.

In the midst of the worst news the disciples and Peter could recieve

Jesus’ very next words for them not to be troubled

Jesus is telling them to be at peace

And look at this - Jesus tells them to be at peace even knowing that he himself will soon be betrayed and will soon be put to death on the cross

The disciples may have an idea of somewhat or an estimation of whats to come - but I submit that they have little to no idea of the agony and the horror that Jesus is about to endure

We as human beings - we need comfort in the midst of our troubles

We need comfort in the midst of of our circumstances

We need comfort in the midst of our tribulations

And every time, every time Jesus is there with an answer of peace

Dispite what he was about to endure, despite knowing what is to come - Jesus is meeting the needs of his disciples

And so he reveals to the disciples a promise to help them through their troubled time

But he starts off by reminding the disciples that he is God

When Jesus says “Believe in God” right here, he is not giving them a command

He is saying since you believe in God, believe also in me.

Why is he saying this? Because he is reiterating that he is God

In John 10:22-42 we find Jesus teaching that he and the Father are one

He is teaching them theology right here

God the Father and God the Son are of one nature!

They are both God and so that means that both of their words are true

God cannot lie! - Thats theology

So Jesus assures the disciples that as God, in heaven, there are many rooms

And you can believe that if this were untrue I would have told you because I cannot lie

Jesus is teaching his disciples the theology that God himself gives an assurance of heaven

There is a heaven - there is a place beyond this world and it has many rooms that will be filled

Heaven is a real and sure thing

I Am Leaving for You

And so Jesus is telling his disciples where he is going

He is going to His Fathers House to prepare a place for them

Jesus is telling his disciples that I am not just leaving you

I am leaving For you

I am leaving so that I may prepare a place for you

Why?

Because, you my disciples, we may be apart for awhile but after I prepare this place for you, and I will come back for you, and we will be together for all eternity

This is theology - That Jesus’ work is a redeeming work for his people

To redeem his people to himself

Jesus’ leaving, Jesus’ death is essential for us!

His earthly work was made complete so that he would prepared a place for his people to be redeemed, unified, made new, rest in for all eternity

The agony Jesus was about to endure was to ensure that the very people he loved would be with him forever

So when we say Jesus loves you - Yes this is theology - but this is so much more

That Jesus loves you, fights for you, dies for you, is not so that you can have head knowledge about him,

But that your hearts would be transformed to have an intimate and real relationship with Him

And in this relationship he provides peace, comfort, joy, and a promise

Here is the promise. That no matter how great our intimacy with Jesus is now, our intimacy with him in Heaven will be far greater than anything we can think or imagine

We believe our Jesus is love

We experience that our Jesus is love

And we have hope and assurance that we will be in the real and intimate presence of Jesus’ love one day

This hope and assurance is an amazing and beautiful part of our theology

We then find Jesus - in what seems like leading on his disciples

He tells them that they would know the way

And of course its Thomas who speaks up and asks, But how would we know the way.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.””

Jesus’ answer here is the foundation of our faith

Jesus’ answer here is the theology of our faith

Jesus’ answer here is the most anti-intellectual thing you can image

Jesus tells his disciples that because you know me, you know my Father

That because you believe in me, you believe in my Father

And because I and the Father are one, you have seen God

You can not get to the Father apart from me for I am God

And Anly God can be the way - the truth - and the life

Nothing else matters!

Faith in Jesus Christ is the way to Heaven

He tells his disciples you know where I am going, you know the way, because you know me

Brothers and Sisters What is our Hope in Life and death - Christ Alone

He is our road map and on this map there is one way

There are no intersections, there are no detours, there are no shortcuts

Our map is given to us by God’s Grace Alone and it calls us to have Faith Alone in Jesus Christ

And I dont care what the world says, we follow Scripture Alone because it is the very word of God

Every passage, every word, is breathed out by God and points to God

And it says to have faith in me and no one else

And it says to have faith in me and nothing else

And it says to have faith in me because I am all you need

How do we get to heaven? By believing in Jesus Christ Alone

And once we have that faith, once we have Jesus, once our heart is changed

We live to give Glory to him Alone!

And the world does not understand the beauty of this

The world doesnt understand that we do not think we have all the answers

News Flash we dont! But we have THEE answer!

And Jesus, the answer - The way, the truth, and the Life

He tells us how we are to live while we wait for our time of death

Please flip on over now to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

Paul writes this letter to the church at Thessalonica and this church

Thessalonica was a gentile city that had a lot of new believers come to faith

And so Paul is exhorting the believers of this church to live in a manner that pleases God

And he tells them that the will of God is for their sanctification

That they continuously changed to the image of Christ

Sanctification - is incremental growth in Christ Jesus

That the people will slowly but surely be faithful to the gospel and that they would change to want the things of Christ and not the things of the world

And for the first time this church in Thessalonica is hearing that they arent supposeed to have sex before marriage, that men are devoted to their one wife, that their passions and lust are to be controlled - And especially don’t do it within the church - if a married man sleeps with a married mans wife within the church you have transgressed against your own brother in Christ

Paul is exhorting this church to live a life of purity and holiness that reflects Christ

This exhoration is hinged off of a relationship with Jesus and creates a theology of how he wants us to live

And so this is my exhortation to this church

God’s will for you New Day Pasadena

That you would walk and please God,

Just as you are doing, so that you do so more and more

For this is the will of God, your sanctification

That we would never stop longing to seek who God is so that we may reflect Him

That we gather together, that we are in Gods word, that we pray, that we tithe and give offerinngs, that we serve each other, that we serve others, and that we share the good news of Jesus Christ with others beyond these walls

If our theology is that Jesus is God and that Jesus Alone saves,

Then we are not called to live passive lives

We are called to live proactive lives

As Jesus left the disciples, they did not go back and live ordinary lives

Actually, all of them besides John became Martyrs for the gospel of Jesus Christ

They lived a life of sanctification and they did not compromise on the gospel

The gospel that Jesus Alone is the way, the truth, and the life

It is on this truth, this relationship, this theology, that we can never compromise on

The world needs this truth

Remember Jesus comforted when he was hurting

Brothers and Sisters - I know you are hurting

I know that life is hard

I know you have a lot going on

I know that it is now a chore just to get out of bed

But Jesus, in the midst of needing comfort, gave comfort

We need to share the comfort, the peace, the love of Jesus no matter our own discomfort

This relationship and this theology of God should also cause us to share this with others

The answer to bringing truth to this world isn’t to elect Christian Leaders

The answer to bringing truth to this world isn’t to debate on Facebook

The answer to bringing truth to this world God says is through you, you are his vessel

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Romans 10:14-15 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!””

The gospel of Jesus is what saves and we the people, are the primary means of which the gospel is shared

And we should not fear the world - we should not fear rejection - we should not fear isolation

Rather, we should have peace that no matter what happens in this world, we know that there is a place that is prepared for us

There is a place that has John Albert Colunga written on it and Iknow that there is a place for Marianne Marie Colunga, I just hope its next door to mine!

And this is the peace of God

That God could take her from me today, and as much as that wold hurt and as much as I would miss her, Since I am still here, I would still have a responsibly to grow in my sanctification, to seek who God is, to model Him, and to share him with others

Whatever circumstance you are in, whatever is going on in your life, I exhort to first continuously build your relationship with Christ

Jesus is the only way to get to heaven and only he brings the peace that surpasses all understanding

Continue to seek who he is, When you learn from his word about who he is

You are then able to live it out as image bearers

Testimony

We did not have a testimony time today because I am going to give one

I wouldn’t change a single thing that has happened in my life

Every experience and every success/failure I can learn from

I grew up in a Christian church and the church I grew up in really loved theology

I mean they know their theology inside and out

They can defend it in scripture and it is taught heavily even in the younger classes

So growing up I definitely learned a lot of theology and why things are true and why we believe the way we do

And I don’t believe this was intentional but what ended up happening for me is that theology took precedence over my relationship with Jesus

And so theology became something to be proud of and I would actually openly engage with other Christians in debates on different theological matters but I didnt do it for God’s glory

I was doing it to prove that I had the right theology and the right way of believing who God is

And because I was fostering an intellectual theology rather than a relationship with Jesus,

The things the church taught me to do to foster a relationship with Jesus, I took as tasks or ways to build up my war chest

Reading the Bible became a daily check mark and a way for me to learn how I can better defend my position

My prayer life was non existent and at times just not sincere,

Since I had the right position in scripture, what else did I need?

And because I was fillin my brain with scripture, my heart was left empty

The enemy knows exactly how to attack and slowly I would fill my heart with things of the world

Yet, as I look back I can see all along how Jesus was pursuing my heart and therefore pursuing me

He brought me out of the lowest of lows and showed me who he is and how he is with me

His love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace for me wasn’t just intellectual

It’s real and living

And as I started to develop a relationship with Him, a true and real relationship

Something crazy happened, the theology and doctrines that I was taught became so real and beautful because that is who God is - And I admit I dont agree with all the doctrines I was raised in, but as I am continuously sanctified, as I grow in my relationship with Jesus, these teachings became so alive

And so I amnot casting stones at that church - there are other kids who did not have the same walk or experience as I did and I believe the theology I learned is what God was teaching me so that it can be applicable to my current and future ministry

That when I teach about death or heaven, it’s not just theological belief - But that it’s a beautiful assurance I have in Jesus

That it is nothing I have done but everything to do with God

That Jesus has a place prepared with John’s name on it

And I no longer read scripture to prove I am right, but I read scripture to further magnify who Christ is as the Messiah

And John was dead in his trespasses and sins 2 in which he once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom he once lived in the passions of his flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature a child of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved John, 5 even when we was dead in his trespasses, made John alive together with Christ—by grace John has been saved— 6 and raised John up with him and seated John with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward John in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace John has been saved through faith. And this is not of John’s own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that John may not boast. 10 For John is his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that John should walk in them.

It is my prayer that you do not rely in the texts of scripture - but that you rely on whom the texts are written about

Because when you rely in Jesus first, in Jesus Alone, the rest of scripture becomes so much more beautiful

Let us pray

Announcements

Connect Card - Please fill out, we want to connect with you

Canvas the Neighborhood - Creating flyers to invite others to church (Focusing on Deepwater and Dallas (between Burke and Strawberry)

Easter Sunday - April 9th - 2 services 9 and 11am, easter egg hunt after both services

New Day Reading Plan - Mon-Fri - Luke 12- Luke 16.

Please stand and recieve the benediction before we leave -

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen

Thank you, you are now dismissed