Death and Dying

Mission and Vision

Hopefully everyone has gotten something from this sermon series

It has been my hope that through looking at the end times… looking ahead to what is in store for those who love Christ, we could realign our hearts to the things of the Lord

Hopefully you have allowed the weight of the topic to press you a little

to bring you to a point where you do question… or rather you assess… are you living the life you’ve been blessed with in a way that honors God and utilizes the time you have left

Today we are going to be hit with a little more of that weight as we continue looking at the end.

Today we are talking about Death

What’s funny about death is that its the one thing that almost every living being will experience… however its something we spend our whole lives not talking about

I say almost because there are a couple people in scripture Enoch and Elijah that never died. They were just taken up by the Lord… you and I may not have that opportunity

Its true for most people that conversations about what happens after life is avoided or shirked around with ambiguity

why is that?

Mostly because it’s scary

It’s final and It’s full of the unknown

Those are 2 things that pump fear into the heart of man like none other… finality and the unknown

And death embodies both of those things to the fullest

But if Jesus doesn’t come he’s going to call.

It’s final because you don’t come back and its unknown because no one on the other side is talking.... right?

Let’s talk about that in a minute… but first we gotta go all the way back to the Garden

We have to go way back to Adam and Eve.

This is the reason we even have to deal with death

When Adam and Eve sinned. They fractured creation.

At that moment the unity and the wholeness that was created was fractured. And just like a cracked mirror can still reflect your face so creation still reflected God’s glory but it’s warped. It’s no longer whole and beautiful

Now death has entered into the picture

Now the earth has to deal with decay and brokenness

The reason this life is so tough… sin. The fractured relationship between mankind and the Lord

The wages of sin is Death

God told Adam that if he ate from the tree he would die

Adam and Eve didn’t believe God so they tested him… guess what…he was right

Death reigned

Death became the mechanism that Satan used to pump fear into the world… in fact it still is

If you look at the fears that grip us… most of them revolve around death

But what would happen if we were no longer motivated by fear?

You guys know what the oppossite of fear is? Love

perfect love cast out all fear

What would happen if you understood that death had no power over you?

This is what happened on easter Sunday

Death was the tool that Satan used to attempt to destroy the mission of God

The cross was supposed to crush the Messiah…

But when he rose… when he rose he took the keys to death. Death couldn’t hold him

And when he rose again he showed the world that He was and Is the only hope that we have that transcends life. The only hope that goes beyond the grave

What Jesus did on Easter morning is he marched out of the depths of death and claimed his rightful place as master of both death and life

This is good news for each and every person on earth… why?

Because scripture tells us that if you live in Christ you have to die to self… And then you live in him forever

Get that… the tool that the enemy tries to use to keep you afraid… death… is something that we wear around our neck as a symbol that we have eternal life in Jesus and him alone

You have already died to your self… and therefore the life you live now is supposed to be all Jesus.

If this is the life you live then the moment you cross from life to eternal life is going to be as Paul says in Corinthians a twinkling of an eye

Paul actually says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord

This means that each person who is a believer in Christ who has died in this life closed thier eyes on this side and opened eternal eyes looking at Jesus

That’s what our scripture tells us… those who have fallen asleep are going to come down with Jesus

They will come down and be reunited with their glorified bodies… and those who are still alive when Jesus comes will be caught up and meet him in the air

side note… this passage is where the idea of rapture comes from

But if you think about it like this… those who are caught up are going to meet our conquering king in the air as he descends to the earth to reign… he’s not trying to snatch us up and leave… hes coming and giving us the ability to ride in his enterage

So what about those who have died who do not know the Lord? Well let’s look at a couple different catagories real quick

First off… no one is in hell

tells us that at the Judgement Day hell will receive its population

So the people who have died apart from Christ are in Hades… or Sheol

Sheol is a holding place for the dead

Also known as the underworld… a place where people are just kinda posted

Jesus, in telling us about Lazarus and the Rich man… he tells us that people who die apart from God will be sitting in the outer darkness, hot, parched, and in regret. There is much gnashing of teeth

Do you guys know what that phrase means.? (SHOw Them)

People who died rejecting the grace of God are sitting in a holding place right now going (GNASH)

They are wanting you to know that Jesus is real… they are wanting you to avoid what they are experienceing right now

They are sitting there waiting for their judgement… and just like a kid who knows he’s going to get a whoopin when dad comes home… they are thinking about all the areas of thier life where they lived in open rebellion to the love and Grace of God

There is another part of this story that quite a few people use to justify their own rejection of God

This is called the Gospel of the unevangelized

That means the people who never heard of the grace of God in Jesus Christ and never had the opportunity to put their faith in them

I’ve got a couple things to say about this

One I trust that the God we serve is just but he is also mercyful

I’m sure that he’s got a plan for the millions of people who died in the amazonian jungles who never heard the gospel of Jesus. I don’t personally believe that they are all going to be thrown into hell… you can disagree if you want… but I don’t believe that’s the plan

The other thing I have to say… is why would you worry so much about others salvation… that you reject jesus yourself?. What kind of sense does that make?

Why would you reject the lifejacket because others are drowning… wouldn’t it be better to get in the boat and help save others? Doesn’t that just make sense?

Your salvation is never going to be based on someone else’s decision to follow the Jesus that they were shown...

Your salvation is your issue!

Either way… you are responsible for the truth that you are hearing today

I want to leave you with this thought… You are eternal

you will exist forever

Death is not the end. You don’t go into a void… How do I know

Because I know someone who has died and come back

No not some tell of some heavenly vision… I’m talking about Jesus Christ!

C.S. Lewis was famously athiest. What turned him toward the reality of faith in Jesus Christ was the insurmountable evidence of the resurrection

Jesus lived. He died. And he came back.

His word has never failed.

He said to the thief on the cross that he would be in paradise THAT day

Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for us with his father in HEaven..

Jesus said that no one can come to the father but by him…

None of this is me.. this is all Jesus

So you can go ahead and trust your gut, some philosophers, your really smart and morally superieor friends who say that there is no hell, there is nothing after this life so just try to be kind

Or you can trust the living word of God who upholds all of creation by his very being

You can listen to the one who died, who rose, and who is coming again

Weather he comes or calls. You will live forever. The question is where are you going to spend eternity

Closing

I don’t say this to scare you, although there should be some Holy and honest examination of your heart.

I say this so that you can truly evaluate how you are living your life

I trust you that you are closer to meeting him now then you were yesterday. It is just the truth

You don’t have time to hold on to regret, to shame, to pain, to hurt, to anger, to sin, to frustration, You don’t have time to live a luke-warm Christianity that will just keep you out of hell

You should be motivated to spend as much time with him on this side so that when you go to the other side it’s just a more full version of the life you’re living now

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