Come to Jesus
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We have gathered together today to say farewell to Kevin - to remember his life and to bring closure to our relationships with him. These times of loss are the times that make us wonder what’s next. What comes after these fragile mortal bodies come to an end.
Some will say nothing comes after this we just decay and become part of the earth. Others will say we will be reincarnated as someone or something else. Anybody want to be an ant? You might even hear that we can do enough good stuff to earn our way to heaven or that all the possible choices that we can make will put us in heaven because that is all there is after death. But, those of us who believe in Christ Jesus know there is more to come and we know there is only one way to be sure of a favorable outcome for your immortal soul. That one way to be sure you know what is happening to you after death requires you to make a decision. Some times that isn’t easy to do.
We live here in this perishable body in this perishable world and we have lots of choices. You chose to come here today when you probably could have chose to do something else. When we go to the store we can choose from a wide variety of stuff to include multiple versions of the same things. Have you ever counted the number of different kinds of Cheerios there are? When I was a kid we had one - now there are nine or ten to chose from. Go to a restaurant and look at the menu. There will be dozens of things to choose from. Sometimes there are so many choices that choosing becomes a chore. So what do we do? We get the same thing as always because we don’t want to make a choice. To many chooses cause paralysis.
The problem with having so many choices is that it makes us feel as though there should always be lots of choices. We are entitled to the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of possibilities. So when it comes to making the one choice that really matters it might become hard to choose. We want variety. We want to chose. God gave us exactly that. He gave us free choice. He gave us the opportunity to choose what happens to us after this life comes to an end.
However, when it comes to what happens to you after your body dies is very limited. In fact there is only one choice. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 15 verses 42-44 it says:
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
This tells us that these perishable bodies come to an end, however, we will receive an imperishable spiritual body. But the question is what will happen to your imperishable spiritual body. There are only two possibilities. One choice is eternal life in Heaven. So what is eternal life?
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Basically, eternal life is eternity in the presence of God and Christ Jesus. Where there will be no more pain, tears, evil or death.
The other choice is eternal death in hell. So what is eternal death?
9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Basically eternal death is the opposite. Eternity is outer darkness away from the presence of the Lord where there will be wailing, gnashing of teeth and suffering.
It’s your choice - your final destination, heaven or hell is the one choice you have to make before your perishable body comes to an end.
In the Gospel of John chapter 14 verse 6 Jesus said:
John 14:6 (NASB95)
6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
So you see Christ Jesus is the way to the Father. He is the door through which we must pass in order to find Eternal life in Heaven. He is the choice we must make before our perishable bodies come to an end. If you fail to make that choice because you never get around to it, or you just can’t choose, it’s just like saying no. Failing to chose is the same as denying Him. Failing to chose Him is the same as choosing eternal death. So chose, chose Christ Jesus and call upon Him as Lord and Savior and you shall be saved.
I have been told that Kevin chose Christ Jesus, so we who call upon the name of Christ Jesus have the hope that we will see Kevin living eternally with God when we put on immortality.
We have a lot of chooses in this life, but remember there is only one choice to make for immortality. That choice is Christ Jesus. If you haven’t made the choice to call upon His name do so now. You never know when your chances to make that one important decision will come to an end. We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye our perishable will end and our imperishable will begin. Are you ready for that moment.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.