Death and Life Matters
Matters of the Heart • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.
Tonight as we continue our series on 2 Corinthians, entitled, [Matters of the Heart], I want to speak on the subject of [Death and Life Matters].
In 2017, there were 3,855,500 births in the United States. That equals to 10,563 a day, 440 an hour, and 7 every minutes.
In the same year, there were 2,813,503 deaths in the United States. That equals 7708 a day, 321 an hour, and 5 every minutes.
When those numbers are spouted, it sounds like a statistic. The numbers do not sound that important until the birth occurs in our family or until the death is someone close to us.
My first memory of a birth was my sister. My siblings and I are all two years and nine months a part. Some may be surprised by this, but I can remember when my mom told us we were going to have a baby sister.
Every night my brother would pray for a baby sister. So being a good brother, I would pray for a baby brother. I still remember mom getting Hannah’s nursery ready. Even though I was two, I have memories of my baby sister being born.
My first encounter with death occured when I was five. My great-grandpa passed away. My grandma and mom explained death to me and why he had to go to heaven.
When I read those statistics of births and deaths in the United States, I started to think of my family. I thought of the joy that accompanies a birth, the hope and promise of that baby.
Then I thought of the sorrow and sadness that goes along with the loss of a family member or friend. Generally speaking, people are excited to talk about births, but death is a subject that is avoided.
However, as people of God, we celebrate when a child is born, but we also celebrate when a child of God gets to return home to heaven.
Why do we this? Because we have a biblical perspective on what we are to do while we live for the Lord and where we are going when we die.
Tonight as we study Paul’s writing to the Corinthians church, he shows us that our Death Matters and our Life Matters.
Our aim as believers is to make sure that when we die we go to heaven. And while we live we must make every moment matter for the Kingdom of God.
Likewise, we must make sure that our loved ones, friends, acquaintances and even strangers are ready for when death meets them.
For if we will discuss what will happen when we die, we can discover that the way we live will change. I want us to see tonight how knowing Jesus as our personal Savior changes our perspective on matters of death and life.
Because Jesus is in our hearts, we will find that our Death and Life does matter. I have two points, [What Happens When We Die] and [What Happens Why We Live].
Let’s begin
1. What Happens When We Die
1. What Happens When We Die
1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
Paul compares our present bodies and life as a tent. Notice how Paul first said, “We Know.” What hope we have as believers. We are not left guessing or wondering what will happen in the future.
We do not have to speculate as to what happens when we die. We know this life we have now is like a tent. When Paul wrote this, I am sure his original audience remembered how Paul made tents in Corinth when he first arrived there to minister.
Tents can be fun. People camp in tents. I have been to outdoor Tent Revivals. But the fact is, tents are not permanent dwellings. When people look to buy homes they don’t go to Walmart and purchase a tent.
Paul’s point? Our current bodies are like a tent, good for today, but will eventually age and perish. But God has prepared for us a permanent dwelling. A home in heaven not made with hands.
Currently we groan with the pains of this life, but there will be a day when we will exchange this perishable body for an imperishable body.
When we get our new body or our new dwelling place, we will not be bothered with the cares and troubles of this life, for we will possess a new dwelling when we stand before the Lord forever and forever!
First, when we die, we will exchange this temporary life for an everlasting life.
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
When we think of Everlasting Life, we must ALWAYS remember, it does not begin when we die, it begins now. We live for eternity TODAY!
In this life we are making preparations for the hope that God has for us. How do we know this? God has given us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of things to come.
The Holy Spirit gives us a glimpse into what is waiting for us in heaven! Knowing our future, we have confident regardless what lies ahead of us.
Why? When we leave this body we will be present with the Lord. We have faith in a future we have not seen yet. It is important to understand verse eight.
There are different views of death. Some view death as the end, a future with no heaven or hell. Others view it as temporary transition to a better future regardless of how we live in the present.
Others view death as a time of “soul sleep.” Where the body rests until the return of the Lord. But Paul shows us that when we die, we immediately go to heaven of hell.
What will happen when we get to heaven?
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
When we get to heaven, through the death or the rapture, we will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We discussed this rather extensively on Sunday Night a few weeks back.
But let’s look at it again. At the Judgment Seat of Christ we will be judged, but not for our sin. Our sin was judged at the cross and we have been forgiven.
Instead we will be judged for what we did for God on earth. Our rewards from God will be determined by what we did on earth. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, God will reward us!
We will then turn these rewards back to God and glorify Him for all He has done for us.
Verse eleven transitions into Paul’s next point about life. Knowing the finality of death and the hope of heaven, we must persuade people to know God.
That is our aim in life as Christians. We know what happens when we die, but we must understand...
2. What Happens While We Live?
2. What Happens While We Live?
12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
12 For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
As Christians we live counter-culture. That means we live in a way that is contrary to the way our world lives. A.W. Tozer described it this way:
A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest, and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes so he can have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge.
Paul’s goal was not to impress the Corinthians when his great exploits. Instead he wanted them to understand the way we are to live as followers of Christ.
He espouses that idea that because Jesus died for all, those who have accepted Him can no longer live for themselves. Instead they have to live for the one who died and rose again.
It is vitally important that followers of Christ live set apart. We are to be holy, living a sanctified life.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Since we have been saved, we should not desire to feed and satisfy the sin nature. We are new creations, the OLD has passed away.
My sins have been forgiven, and I need God’s help to overcome temptation so that I might life a life pleasing to Him.
I told Bekah the other night when I was in High School I had a disagreement with a friend who believed different than I did on the security of the believer.
I told him I believe that Christians should not give into temptation and that we should do all we can to avoid sin. He answered, NO, Jesus died for ALL of our sins so it does not matter how we live every sin we have committed and will ever commit is forgiven.
I find it somewhat humorous that two sixteen-year-olds raised their voice and allowed themselves to get so upset. But I rushed home after school and searched in my bible to see who was right.
I got to
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
I called Pastor Tucker to make sure I had the right train of thought, he told me yes. I could not wait to get back and show my friend what scripture said.
But there is a mindset amongst some believers that God doesn't really care how we live. I contend that if God didn’t care how we live, He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to save us from death and give us life!
Because we are new creations, we should do all we can to live for Jesus in the present. We should not pine for the days of past sin. We should look forward to the hope God has for us!
Knowing this, what is our goal and our aim?
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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We must remember that we are a part of the ministry of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is the process where God and humanity are brought together again. How did this become possible? It happened through the blood of Jesus.
Our sins separated us from God. But Jesus’ blood was applied and now we have new life. The relationship God desired with humanity was impossible because of sin.
The righteous and holy God could not be near the sin-filled people without consuming them. To remedy this, He sent His Son to die in our place.
Because of Jesus, we have been reconciled. However, we have a part of the ministry of reconciliation. We are responsible to persuade others with our lifestyle and with our words to show them there is a better way.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
I love these two verses. Now that we have been saved, God has given us a position in His Kingdom. We are ambassadors for heaven.
An ambassador is an individual who is authorized by his or her government to represent their country on foreign soil.
One author explained,
Ambassadors engaged upon human affairs are chosen especially for their tact, their dignity, and their courtesy, and because they are gifted with persuasive powers. The ambassadors for Christ should show the same characteristics. They must never try to force men and women into the Kingdom. But they must speak the truth in love… by the gentleness and meekness of Christ.
What an amazing revelation. That God has entrusted to us this position. We are sent on assignment from heaven to be part of the reconciliation of people back to God.
What happens while we live? We show people through our lives, our actions, and our words, God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might be in right standing with Him!
What a wonderful Savior we have. To think, not only does He save us when we call on Him. But He has plans to use us. In our living for Jesus, we must keep His business as our top priority.
Close:
I read an author that wrote, “People often say only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. Well you and I know people who have somehow weaseled their way out of the latter. But we know of nobody who has been able to cheat the former” (Swindoll).
Whether we are comfortable discussing it or not, it is inevitable one day our life on this earth will be over.
However, we cannot spend our days constantly worried, could this be the day? Now, the sting and fear of death should be removed because we have hope in Jesus.
I like how Paul began this chapter with the what normally saddens people and concluded it with what people want to do... live.
But in the Kingdom of God there is a different perspective on death and life.
1 A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;
Think about that. The wisest man in history besides Jesus said to die is better than being born.
How counterculture. We throw baby showers not funeral showers. When someone is about to have a baby, we ask, when are you due? We do not go to people who are sick and ask, when are you due?
However, there is a truth to Solomon’s writing and Paul confirms this, when we die in the Lord, there is a hope of trading the temporary for the eternal, the sorrow for joy, and this body for a glorified body.
There is a lot more waiting for us in heaven than there is on earth. But that does not mean life should be depressing and discouraging.
While we live we have the promise of the Holy Spirit who will help us. With His help we have a holy assignment: reconcile people to God.
We ministers of reconciliation and notice Paul did not address this letter to the Pastor in Corinth, but to the Church in Corinth. That means every born again believer has this assignment.
And to make this possible, God gives us His mantle of authority by making us Ambassadors, being sent on assignment!
Tonight, let’s pray for God’s help to make our life matter and when God takes us home, I want to leave empty. I want to leave knowing I have done ALL He called me to do.
I do not want my life to end with untapped potential, I want to leave this world knowing when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, God will be able to say, WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.
Death and life matters to God, we better make sure Death and Life Matters to us!