I AM AFRAID OF DEATH

Dr. Jim Bohrer

EMPTY YOUR WORRY WAGON • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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I AM AFRAID OF DEATH

It’s easy, amid the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, to see it as an inevitable success. NASA had been preparing for the task for years, ever since President John F. Kennedy made his famous speech at Rice University in 1962, declaring America would “go to the moon in this decade.” When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, we met the challenge with time to spare. It was a moment of national pride, a historical triumph.

But, we should also remember, it could just as easily not have been. And, in the event of a fatal mishap, President Richard Nixon had his own speech about Apollo 11’s unhappy ending ready to go.

A Fateful Call

Traveling through space is inherently dangerous, and any number of problems could have doomed the mission, from the launch pad to the landing. But while NASA had sent astronauts right up to the moon, Apollo 11 would be the first time humans actually set foot on another world, and it would be the first time they tried to get off it. Should the lunar module experience any problems trying to leave the surface, that would be the end of Armstrong and Aldrin. No rescue would be coming.

It’s a grim thought, and a hard one to entertain today. Apparently, it was so even at the time. “Americans had become accustomed to happy endings on space flights, and so had I,” wrote Nixon speechwriter William Safire in his autobiography Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House. Despite occasional failures — most notably the Apollo 1 fire that killed three astronauts — NASA’s efforts had been remarkably successful. It took a call from Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman to convince Safire of the mission’s real dangers. From his book:

“But on June 13, Frank Borman — an astronaut the President liked and whom NASA had assigned to be our liaison — called me to say, “You want to be thinking of some alternative posture for the President in the event of mishaps on Apollo XI.” When I didn’t react promptly, Borman moved off the formal language: “—like what to do for the widows.” The potential for tragedy was underscored by the nature of the failure that was most possible: inability to get the moon vehicle up off the moon. … Disaster would not come in the form of a sudden explosion — it would mean the men would be stranded on the moon.

As a result, Safire wrote a speech for Nixon to read “In Event of Moon Disaster,” as he titled the memo. He never officially submitted it, and when the mission proved victorious he quietly tucked it away into the record, as the National Archives puts it. But in 1999, 30 years after the landing, Safire discussed the almost speech on NBC’s Meet The Press, bringing it to the attention of many for the first time. (Tim Russert also took the opportunity to tweak Safire — a columnist at the New York Times who often wrote on language — for making a grammatical error on the plaque Apollo 11 left on the moon.)

Below is the full text of that speech, which sets the tone with the very first line. (The last line is likely a reference to Rupert Brooke’s poem The Soldier, also a tribute to the fallen.) Safire specified that the speech should only come after the astronauts’ widows were informed, and it would be followed by a clergyman “commending their souls,” as in a burial at sea.

IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Hebrews 2:14–15 NASB95

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

WHAT WE LEARN ABOUT DEATH AND LIFE FROM CHRIST.

DEATH CAME FROM A CHOICE TO BELIEVE THE LIE OF THE DEVIL. (THE ONE WHO HAD THE POWER OF DEATH.)

Genesis 3:4 NASB95

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!

GENESIS 3:4

Death was not God’s ideal plan, but our choice. We could have chosen Life or the Lie. You can choose to live in the lie that the mortal body is all there is.

But the Bible not only talks about physical death, it also talks about eternal death in which we are separated from God forever in what the Bible calls hell. And that’s why the Bible says, "It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." And the first thing the Bible tells us about death is that death is the realm where Satan exercises his authority and death is the devil’s idea. Death was never God’s idea because it came as a result of sin coming into the world and with sin came death. And the first thing it says is that death is the devil’s idea.

2. UNCERTAINTY ABOUT DEATH CHAINS US TO FEAR. (FEAR OF DEATH. . . MADE SLAVES. . .)

But then there’s a second thing it tells us about death and it’s something that every single one of us knows and that is that the fear of death reduces us to slaves. Look what it says in verse 15, "And release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." And that word bondage means slavery - the fear of death reduces us to slaves. It dictates where we go, it dictates where we don’t go. It dictates what we eat, it dictates what we don’t eat. It dictates who we talk to. It dictates who we don’t talk to. It dictates how we travel, it dictates how we don’t travel. And the fear of death reduces us to slaves.

Well known personality Ted Turner said in Time magazine, "The greatest fear I have is the fear of death." Because of the fear of death, some people will never again step on a major airlines. Because of the fear of death, some people do not want to see a doctor. Because of the fear of death, some people when they are sick, the doctor is the first person they want to see.

Some time ago, a doctor said, "I’ve seen many people leaving my office saying, ’Oh my goodness, I’ve got an incurable disease,’ and the fact is, they have nothing but a chronic illness. But because they are so afraid of death, the moment they are ill they are convinced they have a deadly disease." Because of the fear of death, there are some people when they walk into a grocery store will always pick up certain items. Because of the fear of death, there are some people who when they walk into a grocery tore, there are some items they will never pick up. And the fear of death reduces us to slaves.

Some time ago a teenager wrote to a newspaper columnist and said, "I have this terrible fear that I am going to get sick and die. There is no reason for it. I’ve always been healthy. But I keep thinking I’ll get sick - something incurable - and die young.

Some time ago a man was honest enough to confess, "There is a superstitious saying that says, ’If you break a mirror you will have seven years of hard luck.’ I am so afraid of death that I am trying to break a mirror just to make sure I live seven more years even if it has to be hard luck."

Birth & Death Rates

World Birth and Death Rates

Estimated 2011Birth RateDeath Rate• 55.3 million people die each year• 151,600 people die each day• 6,316 people die each hour• 105 people die each minute• • Nearly two people die each

The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency)

3. You can’t cheat death, but because of Christ’s POWER, you will beat death.

Hebrews 9:27 NASB95

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

John 5:24 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 14:1–5 NASB95

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. “And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”

JOHN 14:

You can’t cheat death, but because of Christ’s plan, you will beat death.

John 14:1–6 NASB95

4. THOSE IN CHRIST CONTINUE IN GOD’S FAMILY.

And that is, Jesus Christ Himself died. Look at verse 14. "For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same. That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the death." He Himself is referring to Jesus Christ. It is saying Jesus Christ Himself died.

Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body. I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever. – D.L. Moody

2. After death Lazarus was still Lazarus and the rich man was still the rich man.

3. You will still be you after you die.

4. The Bible says that hell is a place of conscience and memory where, should you not come to Christ, you will remember your opportunities to avoid going there and what suffering you could have spared yourself.

D. You will Either Spend Eternity in Suffering or Comfort

Mark 12:26–27 NASB95

“But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

a. You retain your individuality after mortal death.

5. Those who choose Christ receive crowns.

a. Crown of Life for those who remain faithful under stress.

James 1:12 NASB95

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

b. Incorruptible Crown to those who focus on the eternal and not merely the material.

1 Corinthians 9:25 NASB95

Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

c. Crown of Righteousness for all who are in Christ.

2 Timothy 4:8 NASB95

in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church He Suffered to Prepare Freedom from Suffering

He suffered to prepare freedom from suffering for those who suffer in Him; He descended that He might raise us up; He took on Himself the trial of being born, that we might love Him who is unbegotten; He went down to corruption, that corruption might put on immortality; He became weak for us, that we might rise with power; He descended to death, that He might bestow on us immortality, and give life to the dead. Finally, He became man, that we who die as men might live again, and that death should no more reign over us; for the apostolic word proclaims, “Death shall not have the dominion over us.”

ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA

d. Crown of Glory for those who care for the flock.

1 Peter 5:4 NASB95

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

1 Peter 5:2–4 NASB95

shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

1 Peter 5:

e. Crown of Rejoicing for those who witness.

Philippians 4:1 NASB95

Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 NASB95

For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

Which Crowns have you been aiming towards?

3. You will still be you after you die.

D. You will Either Spend Eternity in Suffering or Comfort

Haiti has never truly recovered from the earthquake that hit the city of Port-Au-Price years ago. In a building at the time was a woman with a small baby. As soon as she saw the ceiling start to crack, the walls start to shake, she took that baby and she placed it on the floor and she stretched her body over it. When the ceiling came down and the walls fell in, it fell on the woman first. And she died in that baby’s place.

The Bible is saying that when the punishment for our sin fell, it fell on Christ first and He saved us by dying for us. They nailed Him where they should have nailed us. He died in our place and rose again the third day. Many times when there is a national tragedy, people ask, "How do we know God loves us?" I don’t know why God allows what He does. But the fact is, the cross says in the loudest way it can be said, "I love you, I love you, I love you." Because on that cross He died where we should have died. He took the punishment we deserved. And He died as our substitute.

But frankly, that death did not have a period behind it. It had an exclamation point because the third day He arose, victorious over death and the devil. And in so doing, as it says in verse 14, He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That means, He made him powerless to forever control your life in the area of death. That’s why the last thing it says about death is the best news of all.

The first thing it says is: Death is of the devil. The second thing it says is: The fear of death reduces us to slaves. The third thing it says is: Jesus Christ Himself died. And the fourth thing it says is the best of all: That is, because He died, death can now be a positive instead of a negative experience.

Young says, “Christian realists are contingent dualists but not eternal dualists. They hold that there are two kinds of substance: Spirit (or God) and matter which was created by God ex nihilo as Augustine suggested. Matter is not spirit, nor is it reducible to spirit, but its existence is always dependent upon God Who created it out of nothing.”3 Young chooses to use the term Christian realism to represent the Christian philosophy. In an effort to stress the existence of something other than the material, we employ the term supernaturalism.

At this juncture, science aids the Christian philosopher in undermining the materialist worldview. Writes Buswell, “The mind is not the brain. The ‘brain track’ psychology has failed.... It is a known fact that if certain parts of the brain are destroyed, and the functions corresponding to those parts impaired, the functions may be taken up by other parts of the brain. There is no exact correspondence between mind and brain.”4

Sir John Eccles has made a voluminous contribution to this discussion in recent years. His three works, The Self and Its Brain (with Karl Popper), The Human Mystery, and The Human Psyche are considered classics in the field. Eccles maintains that having a mind means one is conscious, and that consciousness is a mental event, not a material event. He further contends that there are two distinct, different orders, i.e., the brain is in the material world and the mind is in the “world of subjective experience.”

Christian Philosophy and the Naturalist Dilemma Lewis cuts to the heart of the materialist and naturalist dilemma when he writes, “The Naturalists have been engaged in thinking about Nature. They have not attended to the fact that they were thinking. The moment one attends to this it is obvious that one’s own thinking cannot be merely a natural event, and that therefore something other than Nature exists. The Supernatural is not remote and abstruse: it is a matter of daily and hourly experience, as intimate as breathing.”5

D. Elton Trueblood believes that supernaturalism is unavoidable: “How can nature include mind as an integral part unless it is grounded in mind? If mind were seen as something alien or accidental, the case would be different, but the further we go in modern science the clearer it becomes that mental experience is no strange offshoot. Rather it is something which is deeply rooted in the entire structure.”6 Implied, then, is the existence of a God who could create an entire structure with mind as an integral part. Once an individual grants the existence of an orderly mind separate from the physical universe, belief in the Ultimate Mind becomes the only rational option.

We must remember, however, that God is much more than an “Ultimate Mind.” The mental proof may help to establish the existence of God, but the God of rational “proofs” alone is unworthy of worship—only the Christian God, in all His power and holiness, elicits awe and love in their proper proportion.

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church Basil’s Advice to One Who Suffered Loss

We do not know how to pick and choose what is good for our souls, or how to fix the limits of the life of humankind. Look around at all the world in which you live; remember that everything you see is mortal, and all subject to corruption. Look up to heaven; even it shall be dissolved; look at the sun, not even the sun will last forever. All the stars together, all living things of land and sea, all which is fair on earth, even earth itself, all are subject to decay; yet a little while and all shall be no more. Let these considerations be some comfort to you in your trouble. Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do it will seem intolerable; but if you take all human affairs into account you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.

BASIL OF CAESAREA

Better to Die in Christ than Reign over the Earth

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church He Suffered to Prepare Freedom from Suffering

ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA

In order for love to be real, God had to give us free choice. That entailed the ability to respond lovingly and obediently to Him and the possibility of disobedience.

You can’t cheat death but you can experience the defeat of death.

You will either die in the lie or live in the truth of life.

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