INTRO.- People say there are only two certainties in life. What are they? Death and taxes.
ILL.- A woman named Shirley from Beverly Hills had a heart attack and was taken to Cedars Sinai hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near-death experience. She saw God and asked, "Is this it?" God said, "No, you have another 30 to 40 years to live."
Upon her recovery, she decided to stay in the hospital and have collagen shots, cheek implants, a face lift, liposuction, etc.. She even had someone dye her hair. She figured since she had another 30 to 40 years, she might as well make the most of it.
She walked out of Cedars Sinai lobby after the last operation and was killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital. She arrived in front of God and said, "I thought you said I had another 30 to 40 years?" God replied, "Well, Shirley, I didn’t recognize you!"
Never fear, God will always recognize us, dead or alive. HE IS GOD!
Most people are scared when you talk about the possibility of them dying and going into the presence of God. Although some people probably aren’t worried about seeing God when they die since they believe death is the end.
Hebrews 10:31 “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
It will be dreadful for some, for sure! But for us who are in Christ it will be a different matter! What will it be like? Isaiah of old may give some insight about God’s heavenly presence.
Isaiah 6:1-7 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
I don’t understand everything in this picture but I get the main point! Isaiah was greatly humbled before God. He was more than humbled. He was also convinced of God’s might and power and he was convicted of His sin. “I am a man of unclean lips.”
Most of us are guilty of far more than unclean lips!
What happened to Isaiah needs to happens to us, only it needs to happen here and now, before death comes! It needs to happen in this life so that our guilt is taken away and our sin is atoned for! Our sin has already been atoned for in the person of Jesus but we have to humbly accept His atonement for our sins!
What will it be like to see God, face-to-face?
ILL.- The gospel music group “MERCY ME” sings that great song, “I can Only Imagine.” Here are some of the lyrics.
I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
We who are in Christ must live by faith and walk in hope. The promise is sure because God is faithful. Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, HE WILL BE WITH US!
PROP.- In our text, Paul gives us the lowdown on death; when and what to do.
1- Death reaches all
2- Death requires preparation
3- Death reveals our future
I. DEATH REACHES ALL
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.
THE TIME HAS COME. Paul was very aware of his impending death. The circumstances of his life had led him to make that statement.
Have you ever been in a situation where you thought your life might end? I’m sure our soldiers serving on the battlefront have felt that way, but other situations in life can also make us think this way.
ILL.- When I totaled my 1955 Chevy in 1963 and saw that I was heading straight for that telephone pole I thought instantly that was the end of me. EVER BEEN IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT?
And I wasn’t ready at that time. Are you fully aware that death is coming? It’s not a bad idea to remember this, because it will help us to live better lives, to seek the Lord continually, to walk with Him.
ILL.- Before his death in 1981, American writer William Saroyan telephoned in to the Associated Press this final, and said: "Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"
No, there is no exception and sometimes, death comes quicker than expected.
ILL.- REMEMBER THE ARKANSAS FLOOD? 6/11/10, At least 20 dead, many missing in Arkansas flood. Flash floods swept through a campground in western Arkansas overnight, killing at least 20 people as they slept.
Brothers and sisters, what happened to those 20 (God rest their souls) can happen to anyone if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time! They were in a flood plane when it flooded and some couldn’t escape.
And we know that all sorts of other accidents happen to take people’s lives: tornadoes, hurricanes, car accidents, etc There are times, however, when people tempt fate, that is, they tempt death and that’s not a smart thing to do.
ILL.- June 11, 2010. Perhaps you remember that 16 year old Abby Sunderland attempted to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe but found stranded at sea after a storm tossed her boat on its side and snapped the mast. Abby Sunderland told search and rescuers that she was unharmed and had righted her boat, but had lost sailing capacity. BUT some veteran sailors said it’s all but irresponsible to send a teenager off alone in a small boat.
WE DARE NOT TEMPT FATE OR TEMPT DEATH. Some people do that all the time by trying daring feats.
ILL.- I had a friend back in IL (school principal older than me) who was always trying something different. One time he tried hang gliding, being pulled behind a truck or car. He crashed and died not long after that. Death reaches all but it reaches some quicker than others. Don’t be foolish and don’t do foolish things.
Hebrews 9:27 “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”
We’re all destined for death. We will not leave this world as Enoch of old did. But, of course, if the Lord comes back first that will take care of death for us. Either way, HE’LL TAKE CARE OF US! That, He has promised!
II. DEATH REQUIRES PREPARATION
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
I have finished the race. How can you finish a race if you haven’t prepared to run the race? Of course, you must first enter the race and you do that by giving your life to Jesus. Then you’re in the race. It’s the race of your life! In a sense, you’re trying to outrun the world, the flesh and the devil in order to win the prize!
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
To win the prize you must run the race and to run the race you must prepare for the race.
ILL.- A marathon foot race is 26.2 miles. Do you know how much work it takes just to be able to run that distance without stopping? It takes hard work and lots of miles of training to be able to run 26.2 miles, let alone run fast.
And what makes us think that preparing for the next life is easy? What makes us think that we should do less for something that is forever? Why is it that we work so hard for the things of this world that won’t last, but we won’t work as hard in preparing for the next life which is forever?!
This life is a preparation for the next life! We must realize this every day and get serious about living for Christ!
ILL.- How many of you went to school for only 12 years? How about less than 12 years? Two years of college? Four years of college? More than four years of college?
Did you think your education prepared you for life? I would say that most people would say their education helped some, but not totally. We always continue to learn after we get out of school. Life is a learning process, is it not?
ILL.- Henry Ford is quoted as saying: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or at eighty...”
As important as education is and as important as life is to educating us, there is something more important. And that is our preparation for death.
ARE YOU DOING THAT? Are you prepared to die right now? If not, why not? And if you are, what are you doing to prepare for your death?
ILL.- Every time a little boy went to a playmate’s house, he found the friend’s grandmother deeply engrossed in reading her Bible. Finally his curiosity got the better of him. “Why do you suppose your grandmother reads the Bible so much?” he asked. “I’m not sure,” said his friend, “but I think it’s because she’s cramming for her finals.”
Do you get the idea how important this is? I’ve often said and believe with all my heart, that I want to learn to walk with the Lord right now so I will be excited and look forward to coming into His presence at death! WE MUST PREPARE FOR DEATH!
III. DEATH REVEALS OUR FUTURE
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
There is waiting for me the crown of righteousness. That was Paul’s future. His future was bright and he knew it! Philippians 1:21
ILL.- From the pulpit, the preacher said to his congregation, “All those who want to go to haven remain seated and all those who want to join the devil in hell, stand up.”
An old gentleman, half drunk, rose his feet, looked around and then said to the preacher, “It looks like you and me are the only ones who are going to make it.”
No one in their right mind would want to go to hell. But are we truly interested in going to heaven? That’s our future, because we are in Christ and He is in us. That’s what Christianity is all about: believing in and trusting Jesus for eternal life!
And if we truly believe in heaven and trust Christ for heaven why don’t we talk about it more? If it’s as good as the Bible describes, why aren’t we excited about going there?
ILL.- My friend Bob Stacy wrote this devotion just last week. I often get tired. Do you? "Well, Bob, that’s a rather stupid question. Who doesn’t get tired?" And that’s right. We all get tired. At the end of a day in which we’ve put our heart into our work, we get tired and look forward to a relaxing evening at home.
For a Christian, his chief desire is to serve Jesus, to do all that he can to express his thanks for the blessings he receives from the gracious hand of the Lord. But the Christian, like all others, gets tired, too. He relishes those moments of just sinking down into an easy chair and enjoying a short nap or maybe even falling asleep for a long time. He looks forward to being at home where he can simply relax and rejuvenate for the tasks which he’ll face tomorrow. But what would please him more is not to feel tired at all!
Revelation 7 is a description of those standing before the throne of God. One verse has always caught my attention; verse 15, which states, "That is why they are standing in front of the throne of God, serving Him day and night in His Temple." Wow! No exhaustion in heaven. No need of an easy chair. No tiredness that begs for sleep. None of that!
Doesn’t this sound good? No exhaustion? And even more: no pain, no sorrow, no crying, etc. If this is all true when why aren’t we excited about going there?
Death reveals our future. IT SURE WILL! When we walk through death’s door (that’s figuratively speaking) we will know our future at that very moment! But we can know it here and now!
II Corinthians 5:6-9 “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
CONCLUSION--------------------
The time has come. Not yet but it will come for all of us. No one escapes death but we can escape the penalty of sin, which is hell. Our desire must be, our hope must be, our faith must be in the Lord Jesus who became sin for us!
ILL.- I remember when Brother Bill Griffin was in the hospital near the end. He said to Dorothy that he’d been asking the Lord to take him but he hadn’t done it yet.
AH WHAT FAITH IN THE LORD! And that’s the faith we all need. “Take me any time, Lord!”
Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord! (Romans 14:8)
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
