For example, many who have too much time on their hands are interested in watching-
- THE “SOAPS.”
- The people who are interested in the “soap” operas can sit around in a circle and talk about those programs as if what was going on had something to do with real personal friends of theirs. They know those characters on a first-name basis.
Have you ever wondered why they call those programs “soap” operas? One reason could be because as one watches that filth he feels so grimy by the time it is over that he feels as if he has to get some soap and take a shower.
Many Christians, who are spiritually mature, know it is not good to fill their mind with those “trash shows,” so they do not care about talking about them. They have no interest in the low-life of those characters.
Like it or not, many people are interested in those “trash shows.” And those who are interested love to talk about them.
For other people, the thing that grabs their attention is-
- THE SPORTS.
In 1994, professional baseball players struck. You would have thought the world had come to an end! Why? Because the millions of baseball fans had no baseball to watch!
Well, for those of us who are not interested in professional baseball, it gave us a chance to say a big, “Hoo-Ray! And may the strike last a long time!”
Those who love the game will perk up any time the word is mentioned because they are interested in it.
There are MANY things we could talk about that some people are interested in and others are not.
However, there is ONE THING that concerns every person alive, whether he will admit it or not. This thing is DEATH! DEATH concerns every person. I would like us to think about TWO things.
I. OUR DEATH.
We often talk about death. We talk about the death of:
- Family members.
- Friends.
- Bible characters
- Politicians.
- Entertainers.
- Athletes.
Every week that goes by it seems, especially as we grow older, we speak of death. It is something that concerns us.
Today I would like us to think about our death.
Illus: If we go to a doctor and he tells us we have a terminal disease and we will die, we would be shocked. We would hate to hear such news. In fact, many will not go to the doctor because they are afraid they might hear such news.
Well, the fact is; a doctor can say you are the picture of health, but still the Word of God tells us each of us will die. Let us look at OUR DEATH and see TWO THINGS.
A.The certainty of death.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
God’s Word says there is no discussion about it. Everyone here is going to die. We all have an appointment with death. We do not know when that appointment will come, but when it comes we will not be one second late.
There is an old saying, “There are two things a person must do, pay taxes and die.” That is true for most people, but that is not true for everyone. Every year when it comes time to pay taxes many folks cheat Uncle Sam out of that portion that belongs to him.
There is only one thing we really have to do; we all have to DIE!
There are some who will cheat the grave, but they will not cheat death. You ask, “Preacher, what do you mean, ‘Some will cheat the grave, but will not cheat death.’”
Illus: When Christ returns, the Bible says all the living will be changed in the “twinkling of an eye!” The bodies of the saints will be exchanged for glorified bodies. Before those old bodies can hit the ground, the saints will have been fitted with their glorified bodies. They may cheat the grave, but they will not cheat death.
THERE IS NO WAY TO GET OUT OF THIS LIFE ALIVE IN THE BODIES IN WHICH WE LIVE! Why? Because we can not enter heaven clothed in these mortal bodies.
Look at I Cor. 15:50-55. We read, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
So we understand the point--THE CERTAINTY OF DEATH. Now look at:
B. The celerity of death.
Preacher, what do you mean: THE CELERITY OF DEATH? The word “celerity,” means “swiftness.” We all have an interest in death because we know that DEATH IS FOR CERTAIN. We understand that everyone here is going to die one day, but the thing that SHOCKS all of us about death is its SWIFTNESS.
- We read the obituary column of the newspaper and are shocked to find names of people we thought we would never see there. We point at the name of a person as if had to be a mistake!
- We can be talking to a person today and be shocked to learn the next day that the person has died.
David recognized the swiftness of death. In I Samuel 20:3b we read his words, “...but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.”
David said that we could be walking somewhere, and the next step we take may be the step when death will take us from this life into eternity.
Illus: Some feel that the small step that was taken when man landed on the moon was “One Giant Step For Mankind.” That was big as far as mortal accomplishment is concerned, but the biggest step that any of us will ever take is that last step from this life into eternity.
Remember David’s words, “...there is but a step between me and death.”
- David knew even though he was a king that death would CERTAINLY come and when that time came it would be as SWIFT as taking one small step.
- We who are blessed to live in a land that has the best health care in the world know that one day, in spite of the wisdom of fine doctors and in spite of the excellent medicine we have at our disposal, those things will do us no good. We know that one day we will die.
- We, who watch dare-devils do their deadly stunts, know that one day, even though they have defied death hundreds of times, they are not going to be able to walk away.
- We know there are places we could move to, where the water is clean and the air is pure, but still it could not be said, “Come live in our state and you will never die.”
You young people can look around and see people here who have wrinkles, gray hair, a limp, hearing problems, etc., and you look at yourself and think to yourself, “I have a long time to live before I get there.” If you were to take time to talk to those in their golden years of life...
- They would tell you it seems as if it were just yesterday when they had smooth skin, just like yours.
- They would tell you it seems just as if it were yesterday when they could run and jump around the way you do.
They would tell you all the things that seem as if they happened just yesterday. Life goes by so swiftly.
David said that if you think the steps of life have swiftly brought the elderly to the end of the road, the step of death that takes us to eternity is even faster.
As we consider OUR DEATH, we need to realize that today we have one less day than we had yesterday. We need to consider that IF WE ARE GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR CHRIST we had better get with the program because it may be that we do not have very long to finish what God has for us to do!
- If you feel that God wants you to teach a Sunday School class, you had better begin teaching.
- If you feel that God wants you to witness to a loved one or a friend, you had better begin witnessing.
- If you feel that God would have you give a love offering to promote the work of God, you had better get your check book out and begin writing that check.
- If you feel that God would have you pray for someone, you had better begin now!
Each person here would be surprised if God were to show you how short a time you have left to serve Him here on earth.
OUR DEATH IS CERTAIN! IT WILL COME MUCH FASTER THAN WE REALIZE WHEN IT COMES. We are here one minute and gone the next!
As we consider OUR DEATH in this message, I believe it is also important that we also consider Christ, and...
II. HIS DEATH.
The LIFE and DEATH OF CHRIST has done more to affect the life of mankind than ANY OTHER LIFE or ANY OTHER DEATH that has ever occurred.
Illus: This is why it is appropriate that man has divided the measurement of time as being what has happened B.C. (Before Christ came), and A.D. (In the year of our Lord.) to refer to time after Christ.
Many have lived their lives without making any contributions to mankind whatsoever.
Illus: “Oct. 2, 1979, Jesse Bishop was led to the gas chamber at the Nevada State Prison and put to death at 12:01,”
So read newspapers all across this nation. Jesse Bishop spent twenty of his forty years on earth in prison. Only a short time before he was killed he confessed to 18 more murders he had committed across the U.S. His life offered no valuable contribution to the society in which he lived. In fact, his dying was his only contribution.
What a contrast to the life of Christ, everything about the LIFE OF CHRIST and HIS DEATH OFFERS MANKIND NOTHING EXCEPT MARVELOUS THINGS.
Let me show you three things about His death in what it accomplished for mankind. His death provided us with a demonstration of:
A.His love.
I John 3:16 says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us...”
Look at these words, “...he laid down his life for us...” When they came to capture Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane to arrest Him, they brought a whole gang of Roman soldiers, but that was totally unnecessary. He was not crucified because He was overpowered. The Bible says that He loved us so much that He willingly laid His life down for us.
Illus: It was not the spikes that held Him on that cross. His love for us held Him there. He could have called 10,000 angels down from heaven to rescue him, but He looked down through the telescope of time and he saw each and every one of us that we need a Savior, and it was His love for us that held Him on that cross.
His willingness to die for us, His death, reflects His great love for us.
B. His forgiveness.
Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Notice we do not have redemption through joining a church or doing many good works; we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God.
Now notice the last words in this verse, “...according to the riches of his grace.” The grace of God is incomprehensible. I can see how Christ would die for some good moral person, but the fact is that Christ did not die just for morally good people. Christ died for those who have become VILE and WRETCHED!
Illus: A mother stood outside of a prison. Her son was a serial killer. Large crowds stood outside, rejoicing over the fact that his execution was about to take place. A television reporter was talking to different people in the crowd. As each one was being interviewed, you could see in their eyes that they saw no good in that serial killer and they demanded justice. Then the journalist came across the mother. When she spoke of her son, you would never know she was talking about a man who had done the horrible things he had done! What was the difference between her and the crowd who demanded justice? The difference was that she saw her son. No matter how evil he had been, she saw him through eyes of love. The crowd only saw the evil he had done.
Jesus has the capability of seeing OUR EVIL DEEDS and of LOVING US AT THE SAME TIME.
Paul spoke of the “riches of his grace.” That is; when it comes to God’s grace, He is not bankrupt. He has an ample supply of grace.
Illus: In the years when Elvis Presley was making records and films, we are told he paid more taxes than any other person in America. He made so much money that he refused to take advantage of any loopholes when filling out his income tax forms. The reason he did that was because he was making so much money that he could not get rid of it fast enough. As wealthy as he was, however, one day his wealth would run out.
God is so rich in grace that it will never run out! His death reveals to us how marvelous His grace was--by His grace we are redeemed. Also it revealed-
C. His justification.
Romans 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Some folks have a hard time forgiving themselves, but listen, God goes before the heavenly Father and makes everything right between us and Him. He forgives us, and God puts our sins in the sea of His forgetfulness, never to be remembered again.
Conclusion:
I. OUR DEATH.
II. HIS DEATH.
Note: You can hear Dr. Odell Belger preach many of his sermons on Youtube. Go to You tube and type Youtube Lykesland
