Sermon Tone Analysis

When Death Knocks

Text:

Intro.

The late William Randolph Hearst forbid anyone to use the word death in his presence.

What a contrast to Philip II, King of Macedon and father of Alexander the Great, who commissioned a servant to come into his presence daily and solemnly announce, “Remember, Philip, thou must die.”

Only a fool would ignore or deny that death will one day knock at his or her door.

On the other hand, one who is wise will live with an awareness of one’s mortality, while choosing to not be overly obsessed about it.

God wants us to be wise.

He reminds us throughout the Bible that death is a reality that must be faced and should be prepared for.

No one will deny the reality of death, yet few discuss it, consequently, many are left with little knowledge of death.

Sadly, the knowledge we have, is often wrong, because what we know about it comes from Hollywood, or the internet.

The only dependable source of information on death comes from the Bible, God’s Word.

In it we told about the pain of death, the process of death, the purpose of death, and the promises surrounding death.

Out of the many passages that deals with death, I’ve chosen :35-57 as our text.

READ .

In the latter part of our text, in verses 55 and 56, the sting of death is mentioned.

We can all related to the pain caused by a wasp or bee sting.

This sting not only effects those who die, it also impacts in a mighty way the friends and loved ones who are left behind.

We begin our look into the passage with the pain of death.

I.

The Pain of Death

In the first verse of our text, verse 35, we see the pain felt by those left behind.

They are seeking to ease it by focusing on the resurrection of their departed friend or family member.

But their lack of knowledge prompts them to ask questions about what the resurrection will be like.

Will they be able to recognize their loved one?

In Paul’s explanation, he points out the necessity of death in order to experience the resurrection and the new body that comes with it.

One of the greatest pains associated with death is that of hopelessness.

Paul addresses this issue in .

In response to questions from the Thessalonica Christians he writes, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Unlike non-believers, we understand that death is not the end of us or our loved ones.

Paul explains that those who have put their trust in Christ and His finished work on the cross, can look forward to their own resurrection.

Our hope in Christ is not just for this life, but for eternity.

One of the greatest pains of all is that of hopelessness.

In our age of scientific advancement, it is said that we are evolving to the point that we no longer need to believe in the existence of God or a Savior.

One of the most verified event in the Bible is the resurrection of Christ.

God arranged it to be that way because belief in Christ’s physical resurrection is essential to the Christian faith, and consequently it would be the most attacked by Satan and the unbelievers of the world.

The Christian faith is now being confronted with unparalleled attacks by many in the intellectual community.

Although God has given us all we need in both the Scriptures and in His design of the universe to rage a winning battle with the non-believers, sadly, most believers have not equipped themselves for the battle we are now engaged in.

Consequently, many are walking away from the faith, even giving up their belief in God.

But what they are not told by the promoters of atheism is the excruciating pain of hopelessness when death comes for us.

Many of the beliefs and philosophies that are used to attack the Christian faith finds their foundation in French playwright, satirist, and philosopher Voltaire who lived from 1694-1778).

When death came for him, it was not a pretty sight.

The French nurse who was present at the deathbed of Voltaire, was latter asked to care for an Englishman who was critically ill.

When asked she replied: “Is the man a Christian?”

“Yes,” came the reply, “He is a man who lives in the fear of God, but why do you ask?”

“Sir,” she answered, “I was the nurse who cared for Voltaire in his last illness, and for all the wealth of Europe, I would never see another infidel die!”

Those who reject God, also reject the one who gives us hope when death comes.

We will look at this hope later in the message.

But for now let’s look at the process of death.

II.

The Process of Death

It doesn’t seem like it, but we begin dying the day we are born.

Our cells are constantly dying and being replaced.

Early in life, our body produces more cells than those dying.

But as we get older the dying ones increase and the new ones decrease.

The process of dying is two-fold.

There is the physical process that begins when we are born and speeds up as we age.

Our eyesight fades, our hearing dulls, our teeth fall out, and arthritis sets up, all of which are warning signs to remind us that we are mortal.

The Bible puts it this way in reference to our bodies.

For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,… 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (, ).

The older we get, the more we groan.

But we have a hope of putting off this body and putting on a new one in the next life, just as Christ did after His resurrection.

However, before we receive our new bodies, something else happens as the old physical body dies.

During the process of death, the spirit of a person, which is eternal, must leave the physical body.

The Bible doesn’t give us much information on this, but it does give us enough.

In , the apostle Paul writes, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

For a follower of Christ, to be away from the body is to be in the presence of the Lord.

When our spirit leaves the body, it goes to heaven—it’s in the presence of Christ.

However, for the non-follower of Christ, for the lost person, their spirit will go to a place called Hades, not the same as hell, but similar.

It is the intermediary place where all the lost will reside until the Judgment Day, at which time they will be judged, and sentenced to hell, where the beast, the false prophet, and satan will already be at by this time.

We see this in .

Please read along with me in you Bibles in .

It is also found on page 1326 in the pew Bibles.

Before I go on to the purpose of death, I want to say a few words from my heart to yours.

Watching our loved ones slowly die, is a painful process, even for those of us who have a hope of seeing them again.

Letting them go can be just as painful.

This is why we need to be sure of their relationship with Christ.

We need to be as confident as we can be that they know Christ as their Lord and Savior, and that their relationship is based solely on the Bible.

Having this assurance, we need to trust God’s decision.

When God calls us, or our loved ones home to Heaven, we must be willing to let go or let them go.

Now I’m not talking about giving up because we received a dire prognosis from the doctor.

I’m talking about when we or our loved one is struggling to stay alive with tubes and machines that have robbed us of all quality of life.

I believe that God gives us dying grace when it comes our appointed time to die.

But often times we have a hard time letting them go, when they would much rather be set free from their tubes, machines.

I remember one case where a man was in the last few hours of his life.

He was unconscious, or at least seemed to be and struggling with to get enough oxygen.

He was taking deep long breaths.

After hours of this, his daughters and wife said, it's okay dad, you can go on, we will be okay and mom will be okay.

Within minutes his breathing slowed and he passed.

He fighting the impossible because that's what he thought his family wanted.

III.

The Purpose of Death

When it gets to that point, we have to trust God's decision to bring us to the doors of death and just let them go.

Now the purpose of death.

III.

The Purpose of Death

IV.

The Promises Surrounding Death