Don’t Die Before Your Time

Our message this week is titled, “Don’t die before your time.”

A lot of people claim they cannot die until their time comes. But what does the Bible say? The Bible makes us to understand that we can lengthen or shorten our lives according to the way we live and the way we believe. That is why any enemy that is not afraid of dying is indeed a great enemy. The way you believe is very important.

The Bible says King Asa died before his time. Let us see why he died in 2 Chronicles 16:12: “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.” (The Bible did not say it was a sin for him to seek the physicians but he did not bother to seek the Lord at all). Verses 13-14: “And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.”

King Asa died before his time. The Bible gave the answer in a very short sentence: “In his disease he sought not to the Lord,” but to the physicians and therefore he died.

Anyone that puts his total hope on a doctor and believes that the doctor is the alpha and omega and believes anything he says from his book is hundred percent correct on his life, such a person will die before his time.

The Bible says something very interesting in Ecclesiastes 8:13: “But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

The wicked will not be able to prolong his days because he does not fear God. Proverbs 10:27 also says, “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days. But the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”

King Asa committed the agenda of his life to the hands of the doctors and refused to pray. He did not know that there is no medical X-ray or device that can detect the arrow of witchcraft. He did not know that doctors themselves find some cases absolutely mysterious. Sometimes, some doctors who are honest own up that some cases are not medical problems. They advise people in such conditions to go and pray. There was the case of a sister that was menstruating maggots. Her doctor told her it was not a medical problem and counselled her to go and pray.

Jesus knows that men could die before their time. The fact that Jesus raised people from the dead and gave others powers to do so shows that many people die untimely.

The devil went to the meeting of the children of God and was roaming around there. When the Lord asked him what he was doing there, he said he was roaming around. Then the Lord said, “Have you seen my servant Job?” The devil said, "Yes, let me deal with him and he will deny you." The Lord said, “Go but do not touch his life.” Beloved, the enemy has power to shorten life and to kill.

All the people Jesus raised from the dead were young people. Lazarus was a young man and had not lived out his days when he died. It is very sad to note that nowadays, young people are dying at an alarming rate.

Sometime ago, at a crusade, a mother brought her 6 years old daughter who had high blood pressure. I was thoroughly taken aback. I asked her about herself and she said that she and her husband, the girl’s father, were fine.

The son of the widow of Nain in the Bible was a young man. He had not lived out his days. Jesus had to intervene. The daughter of Jairus that died, was a young lady. She had not lived out her life before she died. Jesus raised her to life so that she could live out her days and possess her possessions. Any power that does not want you alive by any method is not the kind of thing to joke with.

Peter called Dorcas back to life so that she would finish her assignment. The devil has come to steal, to kill and to destroy. Unfortunately, many people have been turned over to satan to die an early death. It was not the will of God for Korah, Dathan and Abiram to die in the wilderness but they stood in the way of the work of God. Those men and their family members died before their time. It was not the will of God for Ananias and Sapphira to fall down inside the church and die, but they told lies to the Holy Spirit and died before their time.