Intro: When I was a kid I’d go and stay w/my grandparents a couple of weeks each summer in Ft. Worth. I loved going there b/c my grandmother would make me whatever I wanted for breakfast and I didn’t have to take a bath if I didn’t want to. I mean life couldn’t get any better.
-But uncle would terrorize me the entire time I was there. He had this coconut that had a painted face on it like an Indian. And he’d sneak into my room at night, nudge me until I woke up and then shine the light on the coconut head and start making these obnoxious noises.
-I would jump out of my skin and start screaming bloody murder and my uncle would run off dying laughing. What’s amazing is I’d play w/that coconut head during the day but at night it scared me to death.
-Now was there any reason for me to be scared? Absolutely not! When it came down to it that coconut couldn’t do anything to harm me. But what I did was allow it to scare me when there really was no reason for me to be scared.
-One of the greatest fears most people have is the fear of dying. And it’s pretty understandable. Death is permanent. It’s not like you die and then get a do over. Death means separation. Most of us have lost people we dearly care @, and when they die, they’re gone. That personal relationship is over and it’s sad and lonely.
-But I think death is also fearful b/c it carries w/it a great unknown. What happens to us when we die? Is that it? Do we just live for a few years on this earth and then it’s all over? Or do we have a life beyond this life?
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see Jesus giving encouragement to a man @ his future as he was dying. That right there is a great comfort to me to see that Jesus is speaking of a future for a man who was dying. But thru this conversation Jesus had w/this man we’re going to discover 3 things that happen to us after we die.
TEXT: LUKE 23: 39-43
Bckgrd: When Jesus was taken to the cross He had 1 man crucified on either side of Him. Luke 23: 32, “Two other men, both criminals, were also led out w/Him to be executed.” These men had heard @ Jesus and His claims to be the Messiah. And one of the criminals started abusing Jesus saying, “If you’re really the Son of God, why don’t you get us down from here! Why don’t you rescue us?!”
-He was a guy who had no hope for the future. But the other criminal understood there was something special @ Jesus. He got on to the guy for mocking Jesus. He said in Luke 23: 40-41, “But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’”
-It’s after this statement Jesus addressed the man and let him know what would happen to him after he died. So what does happen to us after we die? We’re going to see 3 things that happen to followers of Christ after they die. The 1st thing that happens to Xians after they die is:
DIV. 1: THEY LEAVE IMMEDIATELY (v. 43)
Exp: A question I get asked every once in a while is, “What happens to a person after he dies? Does he just stay dead forever. Or does he just sit in the ground waiting for the day when God will raise him from the dead? What happens?” I don’t know @ you but I like to know what’s going to happen ahead of time. I typically don’t like it when I’m caught off guard or if things are in limbo and I’m not too sure what’s coming next.
ILLUS: When you have knowledge @ the future it gives you confidence in how you live; it gives you confidence in the way you act. During a PBS program Dr. Daniel Boorstin, the librarian of Congress, brought out a little blue box from a small closet. The label on the box read: Contents of the President’s pockets on the night of April 14, 1865. That was the night Pres. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
-He pulled out the items Lincoln carried w/him on that night. He was carrying a handkerchief that had “A. Lincoln” embroidered on it. A pen knife, a spectacles case, a Confederate $5 bill, and some old and worn newspaper clippings.
-One of the clippings read, “Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest men of all times.” Today that’s common knowledge, but back then there were some serious doubts. Yet Lincoln held on to that clipping as a reminder that what he was doing was right and it enabled him to pursue an agenda that would bring our country together.
A. I believe that if we know what happens to us after we die it can give us confidence in how we live. When we know what’s next for us, then it can enable us to live w/o fear and to pursue the agenda God has for our lives.
1. Now here’s the good news. Jesus answers the question of what happens to us after we die in this verse. If you look at our text you’ll see the thief had asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom; when He got to the place He was going when He died. He’s inferring that he thought this would be some time down the road. Therefore he said, “Remember me.”
a. But Jesus’ answer gives us some hope @ what happens to us right after we die. He told the thief, “today you will be w/Me in paradise.” The key word is “today.” Jesus didn’t say, “After a long period of time I’ll take you to be w/Me in heaven.” He didn’t say, “You know, I’m not real sure.” He said he would immediately have life after his death.
b. That statement coincides w/what Jesus told us in John 3: 16 when He said, “For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him should not die but have everlasting life.”
B. That one word “today” gives me assurance. That one word lets me know that when I die I’m not going to be hanging around in limbo. It lets me know for certain what will happen to me.
1. You might wonder, “How can you move on into a new life if your body is still here?” Scientifically we know that our bodies decompose. It’s simply a shell of who are you. But your spirit goes on to be w/God. Paul wrote in Phil. 1: 23, “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be w/Christ (immediately), which is better by far.”
a. The basic belief is that we will enter into a new life as a spirit until Christ returns to earth and then resurrects our bodies to be joined w/our spirits. Phil. 3: 21, “the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”
b. The joining of our new bodies to our spirit will occur after Christ’s return. But in the mean time, we immediately move from this life into the next one.
Reit: The 1st thing that happens to Xians after they die is they leave immediately. The 2nd thing that happens to Xians after they die is:
DIV. 2: THEY COME INTO GOD’S PRESENCE (v. 43)
Exp: Jesus told the thief that on that day he’d be w/Him in paradise. I think most of the time when we think of heaven, we think of being reunited w/the people who’ve gone on before us. I know there are people I’ll look forward to seeing when I go to heaven. It’ll be amazing to see my grandparents again, to see my aunt and uncle and to see some of my friends.
A. But what I tend to overlook is the fact that I’ll also be w/Christ! The only reason heaven is heaven is b/c God will be there. A lack of God’s presence is miserable and destructive.
1. Col. 1: 17 tells us, “in Him all things hold together.” The word “hold” means “to band together.” In other words, Jesus is the glue that holds all things together. He is the One who makes our world work. Now what happens if you remove the glue? Then everything falls apart.
a. That right there is the reason we want to be in the presence of Jesus after we die b/c w/o Him everything is in chaos. W/o His presence nothing works! Bible scholars have noted that the defining characteristic of hell isn’t the hopelessness and suffering, but instead it’s the lack of God’s presence.
ILLUS: Last month there was a huge scandal that broke in sports w/Tiger Woods. Now I’m not going to get into the details, but there’s no doubt his image has taken a major blow. This was a guy who didn’t have a ding on his reputation. His image was so “perfect” that he became the 1st “Billion Dollar Man” in sports. But after the scandal he could possibly lose some major endorsements.
-But the fact is, golf needs him to recover. You know why? B/c when he plays in a tournament the ratings basically DOUBLE! Unbelievable. There’s an incredible buzz and excitement around a tournament when he’s in the field. But when he’s not playing, there’s a lack of interest. It’s just another ho hum event.
b. In a much more powerful way, the same is true w/Christ. Heaven w/o Jesus wouldn’t be heaven! It’d just be another place. But w/Christ there it makes heaven special; it makes it desirable.
2. And Jesus told the thief that he was going to be there w/Him. Why would Jesus be in heaven w/us? Why in the world would He want to be around the very people who put Him on a cross?
a. You might say, “I didn’t put Him on the cross. I wasn’t there!” And that’s true that we weren’t there at the actual crucifixion. But Jesus went to the cross for the sins of the past, present and also FUTURE (which would include us in the responsibility of His death).
b. But Jesus will be there for the simple reason that He loves us. The beginning of John 3: 16 tells us that God loves the world. Rom. 5: 8, “God demonstrates His own love towards us in this: in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
B. That is some kind of love that God has for us in that He’s willing to love the one’s who put His Son on the cross. It’s an amazing love that chooses to love us unconditionally; that chooses to love us just as we are, like He did the thief on the cross who was deserving of death!
Reit: What happens to us after we die? The 1st thing that happens to Xians after they die is they leave immediately. The 2nd thing that happens is they come into God’s presence. And the final thing that happens to Xians after they die is:
DIV. 3: THEY ENTER INTO PARADISE (v. 43)
Exp: Last week we discovered that heaven is an actual place. It’s not just some made up land like Middle Earth or Narnia. Jesus told the thief on the cross that he’d be w/Him in paradise on that very day. Now what exactly is paradise?
A. “Paradise” is actually a Persian word that means “garden.” Now it’s not talking @ a garden w/tomatoes and corn. It’s talking @ a royal garden. The middle eastern climate gets hot. And so a king would have a garden where he could go to relax and to get away from the heat.
1. The garden was also a safe place b/c it was walled in and protected. It was an exclusive place. You couldn’t just walk in to the garden. You had to have the permission of the king; you had to be invited by the king. And the king would only bring those he was closest to w/him.
a. What we have in our text is the King of Kings inviting someone to walk in the garden w/Him. The thief was a man who obviously didn’t have security (if he did he might have chosen a different profession). He didn’t have the favor of other people; and he didn’t have anything to look forward to as he was hanging on that cross.
b. And yet Jesus invited this man to come to a place w/Him where his needs would be met. We live in a world w/o security. We live in a world that’s tainted by sin; where death and destruction happen all around us; where we worry @ how to make ends meet. But Jesus lets us know thru this text it’s not always going to be that way. God is going to rescue us by bringing us to be w/Him in paradise.
2. Rev. 21: 3-4 gives us a picture of what this paradise is going to be like. It says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is w/men, and He will live w/them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”
a. A place where nothing goes wrong is pretty hard to comprehend. A place where all wrongs will be righted almost sounds too good to be true. I’ve had people tell me before that a place that good; a place that perfect wouldn’t be a place for them.
b. And they’ll say it’s b/c they’ve done too many things wrong in their lives to ever be able to have something like that. They’re right. None of us on our own deserve to have anything like that.
B. The Bible says in Rom. 3: 10-11, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” I think it’s pretty obvious the thief was an undeserving guy.
1. Yet Jesus reserved a spot for him in heaven. And guess what? He will reserve a spot for you as well! But to be assured of that spot, you need to make your reservation NOW! There’s a sense of urgency @ it b/c the fact of the matter is we have no idea how long we have.
a. That’s why Joshua, in the OT, encouraged the people to make a decision @ their allegiance to God immediately! He said in Josh. 24: 15, “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
ILLUS: Have you ever flown stand-by before? Oh, what a nightmare. I have a friend who’s wife is a flight attendant. And b/c of that they can fly anywhere in the U.S. for just @ nothing! The only problem is, they have to fly “stand-by.” That means they go to the airport and wait to see if there’s room for them on the plane; they have to wait and see if someone doesn’t show up for their seat or if they are extra seats on the plane.
-It’s a great deal but it’s awfully hard to make travel plans when you’re not sure if you’re going to be able to get on the plane or not. The husband told me there had been times when they had to wait HOURS before they could finally catch a ride on a plane.
b. Obviously, having reservations is the best way to go b/c you can know there’s a place on the plane that’s specifically for you. You’re not waiting for someone else to drop off so you can take their seat. The seat is yours from the start and that can give you a sense of peace.
2. Instead of being the guy pacing around the airport wondering if he’s going to get on the plane, you’re the person who’s taking a little nap before you board b/c you know your seat is reserved for you.
Conclusion: Here’s my closing question for you. How confident are you that you have a place in paradise? How confident are you that you have reservations in heaven w/God?
-I hope you’ll take time to really think @ that. All indicators show we’re destined to die. You may have noticed there’s not a 2,500 year old man walking around telling us the secrets to his long life. Heb. 9: 27, “It is appointed unto man once to die and then to face the judgment.”
-So when that day comes what happens? For a believer great things happen. First, they leave immediately. The 2nd thing that happens is they come into God’s presence. And the final thing that happens when a Xian dies is they enter into paradise.
-It’s time for some of you to put in your reservations now. If you’d like to do that, pray this prayer after me. “Dear Jesus, I’m a sinner and I ask you for forgiveness. I want you to be the leader of my life. Save me and reserve a spot for me in heaven.”
-If you prayed that prayer, open your bulletin and fill out the section on the right side, tear it out and then place it in the offering basket so we can get you some information in the mail on how to grow in your walk w/Christ.
-Others of you are believers but you’ve been living in fear of death. I hope these words today have brought you comfort as you can see that God has taken care of the future. His promise is that we will go to be w/Him forever in a place where all wrongs will be righted.
