Are You Ready to Die? by Steve Keeler
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:9
"But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we also believe,
therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised
the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will
present us with you. For all things are for your sakes,
so that the grace which is spreading to more and more
people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the
glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but
though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is
being renewed day by day. For momentary, light
affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but
the things which are not seen are eternal."
Someone asked if I would give a message about the
end times to which I said sure I will. But as I was
thinking about the end times, I realized that some of us
here will face our end time before the rest of us and
that's what I want to talk about today.
I want you to consider this question very, very
seriously, are you ready to for your end times?
I going to talk with you today about the Savior, about
Jesus being our only means for the forgiveness of your
sins and entrance into God's glorious presence.
The choice I going to talk about will be the most
important decision you will ever make. This afternoon
I'd like to spend these few moments talking to you
about eternity and your end times.
Only Jesus can make you truly ready to die. I pray that
today you are indeed ready for your end time. First,
you need to recognized that you are a sinner, and that
Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for your sins.
Jesus, not only died on the cross of Calvary, but rose
from the dead.
When you make Jesus your Lord and Savior it changes
you, you love to be in His presence and you will yearn
to spend eternity there.
It is true that our earthly pains make us want to let go
of this life, and cause us to anxiously seek what's next.
We don't simply want to escape the suffering of this
life, it's more than that, we long to be with our Savior
forever. That's why Christ followers can face death
without fear because Jesus took that fear away.
In the Book of Hebrews 2:14-15 we read, "Therefore,
since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself
likewise also partook of the same, that through death
He might render powerless him who had the power of
death, that is, the devil, and might free those who
through fear of death were subject to slavery all their
lives."
Let me explain something, when you have that love
relationship with Jesus you yearn for heaven and an
eternity of no more sorrow and no more pain.
Paul felt the same way, after he came to faith in Jesus.
Listen to Philippians 1:21-24 "For to me, to live is Christ
and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this
will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which
to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions,
having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that
is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is
more necessary for your sake."
I can't know your hearts, my friends, but you know, and
God knows. As we come face to face with the reality of
our end time today, is there fear in your heart, or faith.
Do you dread death and try to avoid even thinking
about it, or do you see death as an escape from this
life and a moment from the presence of God forever?
The difference is what you do with the death of Jesus
Christ, who died so your sins might be forgiven, and so
you might enter into eternal life.
I want to make a important truth very clear: being
religious is not the same as being a Christian. Let me
say that again, being religious is not the same as being
a Christian.
There may be those here today who are trying to
suppress the fear of death with the consolation that
they are good people, religious, or churchy.
I can tell you, right now, absolutely that religion will
never save you, only a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ, by maintained in faith can truly save.
I am simply telling you what Jesus Himself said, as it
says in the the Gospel of John. A Pharisee named
Nicodemus had just asked Jesus what he must do to
be saved. Here's Jesus answer in John 3:3; "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot
see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus was totally confused, and in verse 4 he
replied in a sarcastic way I believe saying "How can a
old man be born again, is he to return to the womb and
be born a second time?"
But in verse 5 Jesus told him again; "Truly, truly, I say
to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
The bible makes it clear that Nicodemus was a
Pharisee, a devoutly religious man, and he was "the
teacher of Israel". He was, perhaps, the most
prominent teacher of that day, and yet Jesus told him
he must be "born again."
You see, to be born again Nicodemus had to decide to
trust in Jesus, the one who would soon be "lifted up" on
the cross of Calvary.
To be born again, Nicodemus can't trust in what he had
done - or would do - or what a good guy he was. He
had to put his trust in what Christ had done, and in
what the Holy Spirit would do to give him life.
Being born again meant that Nicodemus would have to
renounce his religious good works and trust in Jesus
Christ, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead.
It wouldn't be long before another Pharisee, Saul soon
to be Paul, would be "born again." He describes his
conversion in Philippians 3, he says he was a great
Pharisee and a Hebrew of Hebrews, found blameless
in the Law.
Listen to Philippians 3:7-11; "But whatever things were
gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be
loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain
Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a
righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but
that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may
know Him and the power of His resurrection and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from
the dead."
And so, as we come face to face today with sin and the
reality of its penalty which is death, I must ask each of
you this question: "Are you ready to face your end
time?"
"Are you trusting in your good works or in your religion
to save you? Are you trusting in the traditions of the
church for your salvation, or are you trusting in God's
only path to salvation, Jesus Christ?"
Jesus' death paid the penalty for your sins. His
resurrection won victory for us over death, so that we
can some day spend eternity in the presence of God.
I want each of you to leave here today trusting in Jesus
Christ and not walking in fear. I want you to be sure
you are ready to face your end time. I want you to
know, without a doubt, that on the resurrection morning
you'll see your Savior face to face.
Listen to this wonderful promise from the Son of God in
John 14:6; "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father but through Me."
For those who are indeed ready, this is one of the
greatest promises in the entire Bible. To those not
ready it's also a promise, one of destruction.
If you are not yet ready, then I urge you to put your
trust in Jesus today, this very hour. Don't wait until it's
too late! While there is time, you need to straighten up,
turn your life around, and come to the Lord.
I'm not trying to be mean or point fingers but unless
you prepare for your end time, you will not take part in
the resurrection of the living.
But as I said, there is a promise for the lost as well,
they will take part in the second resurrection, the
resurrection of the dead to eternal destruction and
eternal separation from God.
There is still time for you to prepare. As long as you
have breath you still have a chance. For someone, it
may be the last chance today.
God, in His infinite mercy, is giving you another
chance, another moment, another period of grace that
begins now because He loves you so much.
We are to be ready at all times to meet our God face to
face. We don't know the day or the hour He will come
in the clouds to take us home.
Are you ready to live with the Lord God for all eternity?
Your end time could be today. If your not prepared,
He's waiting and calling to you today, won't you enter
into His eternal love, the love of a lifetime?
Amen!
