Introduction: By all standards, death is the most dreaded event. Our society will pay any price to prolong life. Just one more month, or even another day;
Someone has said in our early years we will spend our health to get wealth, but in our later years we spend our wealth to keep our health.
Ben Franklin said, “Nothing is certain in life but death and taxes”
For each of us death must be viewed in the context of eternity.
That is the jest of the question Jesus asks of today.
BACKGROUND
• Jesus has received word Lazarus is sick
• John 11:6 tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Lazarus and his sisters – HE LOVED THEM
• Jesus waits another 2 days and then heads to Bethany
• Upon arriving in Bethany Jesus and his disciples discover that Lazarus has died.
READ TEXT – JOHN 11:17-26
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
In this passage we learn 3 important truths about an eternal perspective.
1. Death is a natural part of Life
A. Since sin entered the world death has been part of the curse of man.
Gen 3:17-19, To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ’You must not eat of it,’ "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
B. The psalmist saw death as a part of life’s cycle, giving the example of our lives are like new grass in the morning, but by the end of the day it has withered. Ps 90:5-6
C. James described our life as a vapor – here today and gone tomorrow.
D. Saint Augustine – “Nothing is so certain as death, and nothing is so uncertain as the hour of death.”
E. Now while death is common to all men have you noticed the lengths we go to avoid death.
• Woody Allen – I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.
• Have you noticed the euphemisms we use?
We frivolously say…
Kicked the bucket… Bought the farm… Pushing up daisies
Or we delicately say
They are dearly departed… Passed on… Gone home
In our text today Jesus spoke of Lazarus’s death as he has gone to sleep
• Not only do we have other names for death we have discovered a science to avoid death all together – Cryogenics, the process of freezing ones remains and reviving them at a later date – is big business. For a cost ranging between 100K and 150K you can be prepared for life at a later date. If the price is too steep – fear not, the Cryonic Institute located in a suburb of Detroit Michigan will place you in a state of cryostasis for $35,000, $28,000 if you are a member of the institute. It seems that the Cryonic Institute in Michigan is the “Wal-mart” of Cryogenics!
F. While society may not be comfortable with the idea of death we must admit death is a part of the natural process of life. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:2, It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
G. The Hebrew Writer wrote, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
2. Death must be viewed with an eternal perspective
A. Death is not the end of one’s life – Life is not just accumulation of time, 70+ years and then it is over.
B. Understanding our death in light of eternity.
• The Bible teaches we all face a Physical Death as a result of the curse of Adam. Unless Jesus comes back we will all face physically death. Cancer, heart disease, accidents, violent crimes or we simply wear out – But physical death is our fate.
Though we physically die we will experience a physical – bodily resurrection.
Jesus taught about the bodily resurrection in John 5, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. John 5:24-29
The apostle Paul also spoke of a bodily resurrection stating that at the return of the Christ the dead in Christ (believers) would rise from their graves first.
C. The Bible also speaks of a Spiritual Death
This is the death where we die to our sins.
D. This is where the eternal perspective comes in. LISTEN!
• If you die a second death before your physical death you experience life with Christ in eternity, Romans 6:6-8, For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
• BUT, If you die a physical death before you can experience the spiritual death, then you spend eternity WITHOUT CHRIST! Revelation 21:8 describes this decision as the SECOND DEATH, But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
E. The book of Revelation reminds us we can be rescued from the second death.
• Revelation 2:11, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
• Revelation 20:6, Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them.
• Revelation 20:13-15, The Sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
F. How is one rescued from the second death?
Name is found in the book of Life. How is your name placed in the book of life? By accepting Christ as your Lord and savior
G. Someone describe the eternal perspective of death in this manner
If you are born twice you only die once, but if you are born once then you die twice.
3. Since death must be viewed with an eternal perspective, live it self must be viewed in light of eternity.
What does that mean to us today?
A. We can mourn the passing of a loved one temporarily
• John tells us when Jesus and the disciples arrived in Bethany; Jews from Jerusalem had come to comfort Mary and Martha in their time of morning. Grief is an appropriate response to death. [TEMPORARILY]
• According to scripture Death is not the end of one’s existence, Verse 24, Martha said she knew there would be a great resurrection, she would see her brother again. THERE WILL BE A REUNION
• On this day, Jesus was going to give her more than a future hope. He said, I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE – not I will be or I was, but I am – when death comes and it will come, remember there is one who with you now to help you get through the grief, and the sorrow the fear and the loneliness.
• The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 23, Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me The New Living Translation puts it this way Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
B. We must make the most of our lives
Psalm 90:12, Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
• There is something very amazing in this narrative about Lazarus – he never speaks – in fact scripture does not record a single word Lazarus ever said. But listen to what is said about Lazarus…
John 11:1 – 5, Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "LORD, THE ONE YOU LOVE IS SICK." When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it." JESUS LOVED MARTHA AND HER SISTER AND LAZARUS.
I believe he made the most of his life – We do not know his vocation or his religious background all we know is that Christ loved him! We later read that Jesus was moved to tears at his grave and then in act of love for his Lazarus sisters and to show he was the Son of God, performed a miracle of resurrection and raised Lazarus from the dead.
Lazarus lived such away that anyone who reads the book of John, knows the story of Lazarus – think of the number osf sermons that have been preached and the lessons that have been taught from this passage – LAZARUS MADE THE MOST OF HIS LIFE!
• Imagine each of us has a back account and a wealthy benefactor places in your account $86400 with only one stipulation at the end of the day all unused funds are removed from your account and you start with a zero balance, we would be quit diligent in how we spent our money. The truth of the matter is that we do have a wealthy benefactor in our God and everyday he deposits into our account not money but time – 86,400 seconds – how do you spend that time because at the end of the day that time will be removed, and if permitted we are given another day to make eternal difference in the life of our family, friends and strangers.
Colossians 4:5-6, Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
• What are you involved in today, which is making an eternal difference. 1 Corinthians 3:13 There is going to come a time of testing at Christ’s Judgment Day to see what kind of material each builder has used. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished.
• Of all the endeavors, all the accomplishments, all the efforts only the work of the local church will have an eternal significance, because the church deals with the eternal issues of life.
• When we understand there is a world beyond our walls which is spiritually dead and what they do not need is more education, better medicine or a stricter morality, what they need is Jesus Christ, and that all the local church can offer.
• The challenge for us today is to lay aside all the trappings of this world and begin to seek out ways we can make an impact for eternity.
• Evangelism
• Making disciples
• Serving
• Are you making impact today? When your time on earth is done will you have made a difference for eternity sake?
• Will your children have a faith?
• Will you have placed treasures in heaven?
C. We need to live in light of our divine appointment
The clock is ticking on this life. Either we will die a physical death or Christ will return for us. Either way we will all face a divine appointment.
A time when we will be held accountable for the acts we done, the words we have said and the people we have touched. Are you preparing for that appointment?
There is only one way to be prepared for such an appointment, and that is to come to terms with the one who said he was the resurrection and the life, that is Jesus. We live in a world that says eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. What a fatalistic approach.
The world says you live your seventy plus years, you work heard, your play hard and then life is over. BUT JESUS SAYS, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Verse 27 we have MARY’S RESPONSE, "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
That response prepared her for eternity; Mary was ready for her divine appointment.
Conclusion: How about you are you ready for your divine appointment – it is coming, it cannot be avoided or canceled.
For on that day you will either hear the words WELL DONE or DEPART FROM ME!
Are you living for the moment or are you living for eternity?
Your divine appointment is waiting. Will you be ready for eternity? There is a way you can be ready today, by making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. The old Hymn says it best…
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion— For more than conquerors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
