BIG QUESTIONS - What happens when we die?

A Path at the End of the Clearing - Jesus Wins.

Announce

We have some fun family news...

Jeremy Haage who has attended her for ___ years got married a couple weeks ago, September 2nd at the Stephensons house. Make sure you congratulate them and welcome Rosita into the GP family. Their relationship is quite a story, be sure to ask them about it if you get the chance.

Also, the Lapines have welcomed another little one into the family! Charlotte Elizabeth Lapine was born on September 13th, she weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 20.5", she was delivered by her "Nana", Misty Lapine! That makes 10 grandkids for Misty and Rick! Baby and Mom are both healthy!

Intro:

We are continuing our series of Big Questions. Pastor Paul began our series with an indepth look at the series and the subject of Original Sin. Last week, Michael led us through the jovial jaunt through the subject of the Satan. He walked us the origin story and reminding ourselves that God vanquishes Satan…that the power of God is vastly superior to the lies of the evil one.

One of the lies is that we all have lots of time left in life. Death is a reality but we don’t live like it is. How many times we make plans, put loving God and loving others on the back burner with the conscious or unconscious idea that we have more time. Reminds me of the parable Jesus tells in Luke 12 with the man who made all the plans to build new barns....stockpile all the resources…eat drink and be merry. And that very night, his life was demanded…and who now gets all the resources he stored up.

We don’t live with the statistics of death in mind. Because according to the statistics, save perhaps Enoch and Elijiah, humanity and death are destined to meet. 100 percent of the time.

Hebrews 9:27 NIV

27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

In fact, as I prepared for this message, I found myself frustrated because I typically don’t think of death because I don’t want to. It bums me out. Even after experiencing the heartache and grief of my younger brother in 2012, I still gravitate away from the sobering thought that the days of man are numbered. More importantly, that the days of those I am in relationship are numbers…no amount of time is promised.

I think another reason we struggle with death is that we were created for eternity. In the garden of Eden, God created man....for the purpose of eternally dwelling with Him. God and humanity together forever. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has put eternity in man’s heart.”. I have experienced with tragic loss and with expected loss. When it happens, I am caught off guard as if my mind can’t comprehend that someone is now gone.

Today, we want to explore a big question that has rattled around humanity. What happens when we die? There will be lots of feelings with our question today. Many in this room have dealt with the loss of a loved one. We will be talking about loss today. We will be looking at the decision we make in this life to put our trust in Jesus or not and the consequences of that decision. It is sobering. It can lead to more questions. But there is also room for great hope and great rejoicing.

But with the subject of death, I found so many resources that seemed to pray on the very feelings we all get when the subject of death comes up. The frustrations…the tension. The speculating. Our news cycles are filled with outrage and doomsday predictions which result in a cloud of despair over our culture that drives us toward hopelessness in our theology. Speculating is especially tempting when God’s word doesn’t paint the absolute, paint by numbers clear picture for exactly how everything will go.

But rather than speculate…which means to form a theory or conjecture without firm evidence....we should look for that which we can be faithfully certain. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Our aim today as we look at death and the eternal life is this. As we live our lives in the reality of mortality, we should turn away from speculation.

Instead when we trust in Christ, we have certainty that we will be in the presence of Christ with a future of God’s fully restored Kingdom... reigning forever. rest in the certainty that God makes all things new through Christ and that, in the end, Jesus wins.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?

WITH HIM

we can be certain of is that, for those who trust in Christ, who have placed their hope in Christ, we will be with Him. Just a few scriptures that help point to this certainty.

We read the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 5:6-9

2 Corinthians 5:6–9 NIV

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

Paul is saying that when we are away from our body (death) we are at home with the Lord. With the Lord If you are a note taking type of person, just write that down. if not, say it in your mind. With the Lord.

Paul references this again in Philippians 1:21-23 which we have just gone over as a church this past sermon series.

Philippians 1:21–23 NIV

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

I desire to depart and be with Christ.....to die is gain…why? Because he will be WITH CHRIST, which is better by far. This is not only a new testament thought. God has always wanted to dwell with His people and death is not too big for God to overcome.

Psalm 49:15 NIV

15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.

Redeem from death and take me to himself. With Christ.

Hosea 13:14 NIV

14 “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction? “I will have no compassion,

Delivered from the power of the grave…redeemed....With Christ.

IS THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU?

I have an observation and a confession right off here.

The observation is that we often skip right past what is supposed to be the driving part, the great aspect of life after death for those who believe in Christ. We are with Him. With Christ who saved us. With Christ who died on the cross for all of our brokenness. We are with Him.

In our pragmatic state, we often want to get right past it. Seek answers or details.....forgetting what these verses give certainty.

When we die, we will be with Christ. Nothing is greater than that. To be with Christ.

A confession. At times, I still struggle with wanting to see more things in this life. I want to grow old with my wife. We are living out the truth told to us when we got married to not believe the lie but rather embrace the truth that it gets better and better with time. I want more time with her.

I want to see my boys grow and become faithful men who have long lives, quick laughs, deep friendships, kind and true hearts....I want them to experience the peace and love God. I want to see that desperately.

The confession is that being with Christ in spirit… is greater than anything else I can possibly imagine. greater than a long life with my wife. Greater than watching my boys grow to be men of great renown. I find myself knowing this but not living it out in my life.

We are told we will be with Christ......and we jump immediately to.....”who else will be there?” “Will I eat there?” “Will I recognize people?”. Not bad questions but we should ask them in light of the amazing fact that all we will ever need in life will be WITH US. Jesus Christ, never-ending love, grace, peace....together. God and man dwelling together.

In his book God Is the Gospel, John Piper asks a piercing question,

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? (15)

Convicting because we know…that without Christ, paradise, heaven, the sweet by and by, is not anything but hell.

When we die, we will be with Christ. But lets dive a little deeper here....our we fully with Christ at this moment. Body and Spirit?

Intermediate State

The historical view of this is that no, in death, our bodies pass away to dust. Remember the curse in Genesis 3:19. For dust you are and to dust you will return.

In death, our bodies go to dust. But the Spirit, the breath of God within humanity was set for eternity. Believers in Christ, those who place there hope in Christ, their spirit is reunited with Christ immediately. Phil 1:21-23 again reminds us that when believers depart the body in death, they go immediately with Christ.

The “intermediate state” is the phrase used by theologians to describe the state that those who die are in between now and the time that Jesus comes again.

Both the verse In Phil 1 and the 2 Cor 5 make a solid biblical case for this in that, Paul is acknowledging that the spirit goes on when the body is no more. He says that to be with Christ in Spirit is better by far, a level of awareness there. In fact, the thief on the cross in Luke 23:43 asks Jesus to remember him, the thief when he enters into his kingdom. John Piper points out in his commentary on Jesus response"Today you shall be with Me in paradise" can in context only be taken to mean, "Not only will I remember you when I come in my kingdom, but already today you shall be with me in heaven."

My take on it is the historical view, that our spirits go to be With Christ in light of the verses I just read. But there are other views.

Some hold to a view that we sleep or our unconscious spirits until we are awakened and in the presence of Christ along with everyone else at the 2nd coming of Christ. A verse like

Daniel 12:2 NIV

2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

could be interpreted this way. or 1 Thess 4:13

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

These are the differences that get people really anxious and upset and speculating around exactly how it will be.

Can you tell the difference?

I was trying my best to figure out how to tell you, as followers of Christ, focus on being with Christ....however it happens. That is the important part!

Earlier this week, my son Charlie had to have some imaging done. Nothing serious at all but his brainstem goes just a bit lower than the expected range so they wanted to get some pictures of it. It is a 2 hour imaging test. That is a long time for anyone including adults not to mention a rascal of a 7 year old to stay completely still. So they gave him something to put him to sleep while they did the tests.

We get in the room, I give him a hug and heads off to get the imaging. Two and half hours later, they let me know that Charlie is all done. I walk back up from the cafeteria where I have sampled all the coffee and pastries.....and they let me in to the recovery room. Charlie is just waking up and very confused. To him, I just left the room. It has only been a few min. To me, it was a long but enjoyable time of seeking out the next treat.

My point is this....how can you tell the difference? And is it worth the frustration, division, when I am not sure if we all experienced it, we would be able to explain exactly what was happening anyway. If we are asleep, we wake to be with Jesus. If we don’t sleep, we are with Jesus. Either way, we are with Jesus.

But wait…there’s more!

NEW BODIES

Our spirits are with Christ as we put our hope and trust in Him in this life. But remember, God desires for all of man....body and spirit to dwell with God forever. His intent in the garden of Eden. Paul referrences this in 2 Cor 5:1-4

2 Corinthians 5:1–4 NIV

1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Paul, the tent maker, is bringing in his knowledge of tents to remind us of the reality of our earthly bodies. There are groans, burdens Amen! Paul is saying, “we know that we have earthly tents for our spirits that our eternal. It reminds me of a time when my quite a few guys from my family went on a hiking trip. We hiked about 30 miles in a couple of days. We were really tired and got into camp. My brother and I had bragged about this tent we had got on craigslist. Super light. An instant pop up tent. The person selling it to us had said that it was water proof.

You guessed it a storm came in that night. The wind shook as we heard tree branches breaking a little ways off. The rain came in and....our tent was not waterproof in any sense. I can’t quite describe the saddness of my spirit as all of my clothes, bedding, were suddenly soaked. I was soaked…to the bone. Not a good tent.

Sometimes, we feel that in our bodies. I am 41 and the rule that at 40, things start to go downhill health wise is absolutely real. Knees pop and hurt for no reason. Eyesight suddenly just says “nope”. I enjoyed a comic recently who said “I have given my body all the tasty food it craved for 40 years…and now my body says “nope....we are now going to revolt” These tents are burdened and groaning.

But God in his grace is a giving god. He will give us new bodies. As the verse says a new heavenly dwelling in verse 4. In the first book to the Cor, 1 Cor 15:49

1 Corinthians 15:49 NIV

49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

God desires for man, body and spirit, to be image bearers of his glory. Paul makes this clear that a full resurrection of man is in the future of those who put their hope in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:13 NIV

13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

Christ was resurrected. We see a glimpse of this new body paradigm. Phil 3:21 says that Christ with all power will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

When Christ returned, he had similarities to his old body..... He carried scars and wounds from the cross. He ate fish so I am still hoping for meat eating with Jesus. There were times where he was recognized.

But there there were vast differences....He appeared in rooms that the laws of physics said he shouldn’t have been able to get in. There were times he was not recognized at all by people he was close to. What we learn from this is that our bodies will have similarities. Jesus’ body was not in the tomb....it was gone. Transformed and revealing its its glory. At the coming of Christ, our new bodies will be similar and different.

Unlike anything we can fathom

It is here that perhaps there is a part of us that wants to know all things....how will that work? What is the science behind it? How is that possible?

In connection with the idea of eternity...One question we received from a young person here at our church is this..Will we get old in heaven?

Will we get old in heaven?

The historical view is that the bible doesn’t give all that much info on how time will work in eternity other than....in the name, time will be endless. Some believe that believers will be the age that they die in heaven. Others believe there is a cap....nothing past the age of 33.

However, most scholars say that the bible does not give a direct answer to this question of how age and time will function in heaven. What I am certain of is that we are with the Lord. What I am certain of is that nothing will perish when we are with him. Instead, it will be life everlasting. That detail is already pushing beyond what our minds have ever been exposed to. Time will not be in the construct as we think about it because it will be endless. My answer would be that no....in the way that we consider getting old, we won’t be required to get old because time is everlasting and there is no effect of breakdown of the body from an effect of sin and time.

However, we should not limit eternal life with Christ to our limitations but remember that our God is full of unlimited creativity and power. It will be beyond what we can think or imagine. 1st Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love him.” But we won’t be scared....overwhelmed negatively. We will be with Jesus.....peace, joy, and love will be our new never ending reality.

But wait there is even more.

New Heaven and New Earth -

Remember that God longed and designed from the very beginning for the kingdom of man and humanity to be one....dwelling together in harmony, love, peace all with Christ on the throne. With our arms around all of groaning creation, we long for the time when we together will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Not just our bodies but a new heaven and a new earth.

Our heaven is defined as being with Jesus. At the return of Jesus, a New Heaven and New Earth are created. Isaiah 65:17

Isaiah 65:17 NIV

17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Revelation 21:1 NIV

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Imagine a place where everything is not just better, but it is best. It is the very definition of good, right and perfect. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of humanity dwelling together as one with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ruling over all. It is described as a place of beauty, perfection, and joy, where God's presence is fully experienced, and the redeemed worship Him for all eternity. in Revelations 21:4, There is no grieving, pain, tears but all the old order of things have passed away…what is left.....we are with Jesus and He wins.

In God, all things are possible. The most important aspect is that we are with Jesus because He wins.

When and How will this happen? I have no idea. The word says in Matthew 24:36, “No one knows about that day or hour. When we seek out to know, I think we are thinking above our pay grade. The word says no one knows....I am gonna trust that.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?

We have spent much time talking about the promise of being with Christ. That promise is all that we need.

But it also reveals the counter point....that by choosing to reject Jesus....there will be a place where God honors that rejection and we experience life without Christ for eternity. We don’t have time to get into the theology or description of hell today. But I would remind you to look at it not as theoretical but to think of it soberly. A place where the decision to be without or apart from God is accepted for all time. This isn’t in a vacuum.....these are people who desperately need a little savior just like I do. That without Christ, you and I would find ourselves without Christ for all eternity.

Today, this week, this month....As you think about those in your life who have not expressed a faith in Christ, pray and actively communicate the gospel with words and deeds. It is so easy to play God with people we have pigeonholed as no chance. Stay vigilant, remember that love is patient. No one would have guessed that the thief on the cross was going to accept Christ but scripture proves otherwise. In fact, no one would have guessed Saul, who would later become Paul, was going to accept Christ. Pray and actively communicate the gospel in word and deed under the care of love.

Today, this week, this month....Remember that God never leaves us or forsakes us. Be reminded of your identity in Christ. Spend time in His word, spend time in Prayer, reflecting on all that God has done through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Christ, we experience the Holy Spirit and are with Christ now with a glorious hope of being fully with him after death. As you love God and love others, you are engaging in the heavenly attribute of love. Faith is great but it is fully realized in heaven because we can see Jesus. Hope is realized because our greatest treasure is now open and we enjoy the glory of God in His presence. But love....love is still the eternal behavior of citizens of heaven. Those with Christ…love Him and love others.

Remind yourself this week that In the end, Jesus wins. No speculation needed. We are certain! When we have trust in Christ, we have certainty that we will be in the presence of Christ. Better is one day in the courts of the Almighty than a thousand elsewhere.... Finally, with a future of God’s fully restored kingdom and citizens of heaven....God’s glory reigning forever.

As followers of Christ, we are drawn to Psalm 73:25

Psalm 73:25–26 NIV

25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Let us Pray

Questions?

As you think of death and life after death, what is the most difficult aspect to consider?

As you think of life after death, what are you most excited about?

what are ways you can orient yourself to Jesus in light of a promise of eternity with Him?

As you soberly consider eternity and those who have rejected Christ, who would you pray for? Is there someone you feel prompted to share the gospel with?