The Doctrine Of Death

0:07 I read a couple of days ago, 170,000 people die per day. That's about 7,000 per hour, 119 per minute, and 1.98 people per second. When I mention death, I know what it does. It makes everyone uncomfortable. We don't like to talk about death. We're going to have a bunch of parties coming up in the holiday season, and if you want to get out of a conversation, just say, hey, let's talk about death. Isn't it funny how we use all of these other terms but death? He clocked out, we say. They passed away. he met his maker, he kicked the bucket,

1:07 lost his life, ceased to be. We'll call it all of these other terms and phrases, but what it is, death. And in an audience this size, some of you are not going to be here next year. I'm not trying to scare anyone. I'm just talking about in reality. 20 years from now, a lot of us will not be here. 30 years, 40 years, we're not gonna be on this side of the dirt. And that's a sobering thing to think about, isn't it? Death is inevitable. It's the ultimate intruder. We can put it off and say it's not going to happen to us or people around us, but if I could interview every single person here and who's online at our other locations, I think we would all have a story about death.

2:16 We've just seen and read about the deaths with this brutal hurricane. We've heard about the deaths that are happening right now in the Middle East, and death is all over the place. It surrounds us and confounds us. What I want you to understand is death is inevitable to be Captain Obvious. George Bernard Shaw said, one out of one, die.

2:46 He also said, the stats on death are quite impressive. Think about it, one out of one, die. We're not gonna beat the odds. we're not going to dodge it. It's inevitable. In Ecclesiastes chapter three, verse two says, there's a time to be born and a time to die. Death, it's important. Number two, as you're following, is not a punishment for believers. Sometimes people think, oh, I'm gonna die as a punishment. No, it's a result of living in a fallen world, a broken world. number three death is the culmination of our sanctification we've been in this series on theology sanctification is that process after salvation of being set apart it's growing and maturing in our relationship with christ we move through infancy through adolescence Then we're into maturity, adulthood.

3:59 So the bookends of sanctification would be our salvation and the glorification. Yet the sanctification ends right before glorification. And glorification would be those of us here who've trusted Christ, who will live forever in heaven. So that's the stopping point, if you will, of sanctification here on this earth. Therefore, our obedience to God, I'm still in number three, is more important than preserving our own lives. And read about so many matriarchs and patriarchs in Scripture. Read about so many of the martyrs. They understood this and lived this out. So then it comes to this question, how do we face our own death? We're going to die.

4:51 How do we face it? There was a conversation one day that I heard about this guy in his 60s was talking to kind of a young, up-and-coming businessman. And he began to ask him questions. He said, well, tell me about your plans. So the businessman said, well, you know, I want to start this business, and I want to make this amount of money. And the older guy goes, well, what next? He said, well, maybe I can then afford to get married. And the older guy goes, you never can really afford to get married, but what next? He goes, have kids. What next? Get this house. What next? Retirement. What next? Investment. He said, what next? He said, well, I guess I'll die.

5:46 and then he said well what next and this young successful guy goes I haven't planned for that and the wise man said young man you're not ready to live until you're ready to die and I've got to ask you straight up man to man man to woman, are you ready to die? Now, obviously, I want to live. You want to live. I don't want to die now. You don't want to die now or tomorrow or next week or next month or next year, but are you ready to die?

6:36 We think about death. We're like, I've got a will, man. I have an estate, and I've got trusts for my kids. good. That's lovely. And we think about death in a general term, but do we think about death in a deep way? I'm talking about six feet deep. I'm talking about a personal way. I'm talking about your death, not your spouse's death, not your child's death, your death.

7:16 Philippians chapter 1, verse 21 and 23, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. This is Paul talking. If I'm to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, what shall I choose? I don't know. I'm torn between the two. I desire to depart to be with Christ, which is better by far. Then we go to the death of believers and non-believers. You see that? How do we treat that? well those of us who are in Christ we will be and I'll talk about this in a second resurrected the moment we die the moment you close your eyes on this planet you'll open them up into eternity in a nanosecond the Bible says that The Bible says that we will live forever.

8:25 Now, if you just contemplate forever, forever, forever, it'll blow your mind. It blows my mind because we can't even comprehend it. It's another dimension. So when believers pass away, there's sadness, obviously. there is hurt, there's pain like we can't imagine. Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died. We have other people in scripture weeping in death. When our daughter died three years ago, in fact, this Thursday was her birthday, When she died, suddenly, Lisa and I, our family, so many of you, her friends, we wept. We have great sorrow in our lives because of that.

9:28 And death is mysterious, and mourning in one way never really stops, yet heaven has become sweeter to us. heaven has become more and more realistic because the Bible says when we worship just like we were worshiping and singing we're joining with the angels and all of the saints all of your loved ones and mine who've graduated from this life into heaven and that's an awesome thing so as a believer However, we're going to be saddened when someone passes away, but also there's going to be this joy because we know where they are, and we're going to join them very, very soon.

10:23 Well, how do we react to the death of nonbelievers? When we're dealing with nonbelievers, those people who have rejected Jesus, we have to understand that eternity is real, that there are different places, different destinations that we reside in forever, heaven or hell. In the Bible, there's no purgatory. Catholicism talks about purgatory. There's one problem with it. It's not in the Bible. There's no green room.

11:16 There's no holding cell. There's no long lines. It's either heaven or hell. And I'll talk about those subjects in just a moment. But yet, when a loved one that is not a believer dies, we should not, as Christians, say, well, they're in a better place. Because there's a great chance they're not. It's a time for Christians to say, life is short. It's a time for Christians to say, I have a greater urgency now to tell my neighbor, my friend, my classmate, the guy I play golf with regularly, about the Lord Jesus Christ. Also too, we don't know what the person, the unbeliever went through right before they died. Did they remember a song from Sunday school back in the day?

12:14 And did they trust Christ? We don't know. So we don't know. We have to understand though that God is fair. We have to understand that God will simply give us a greater measure of what we wanted on planet Earth. God's gonna say, if you did the Derrick Henry thing, he's known for a stiff arm, right, Derrick Henry? Correct? If you did the Derrick Henry thing and stiff-armed me at every juncture, at every interchange, God's gonna say, you know what? I'm gonna give you a greater measure of what you desired. You'll have the forever stiff arm. You'll be in a place called hell. for the rest of your existence. On the other hand, those of us who have trusted Christ, those of us who have been saved by grace through faith, we're gonna have a greater measure of that, we'll spend eternity in heaven.

13:09 death is certain. That's what I'm trying to tell you. It's certain. Yet, we're uncertain about what happens after we die. And this is what I want to spend the lion's share of my time on today. I have 11 minutes left. I want to talk to you about the agenda, what is going to take place the moment you die. Let's say, for example, you are involved in a business meeting, and it's the most important business meeting of your life. You know that this business meeting can change the geological plates of your finances and your opportunities forever.

13:58 You prepare for this meeting. You see the agenda, and the agenda is what's gonna happen in the meeting. You're prepared for every question and everything the person asks you and challenges you with because remember, it's gonna change the course of your life financially. I think all of us, if we knew we were gonna have a meeting tomorrow like that, would be prepared, wouldn't we? I think we would do our homework. I think we would dress nice. I think we would brush our teeth and use cologne. I think we would do a lot of research, and we would Google this and Google that, and we would smile, and man, this meeting is gonna change the course of my life.

14:51 I wanna talk to you about a meeting that you can't put off, that I can't put off, and this meeting is gonna be with the God of the universe. you're going to sit down at his table the moment you die the bible says the moment you die you'll be resurrected you die and you're resurrected that's the first thing i want you to understand the first aspect the first item on the agenda is the resurrection the resurrection you close your eyes here, you open your eyes there. So our souls, the essence of who we are, will go directly into the presence of the Lord, and we have this meeting, a resurrection meeting. The Bible says in Acts chapter 24, verse 15, there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

15:53 Now, it doesn't take someone brilliant to understand that a resurrection is gonna take place. Our creation, the creation shows us about resurrection, the cycles of life and death. You think about a seed. A seed's kind of dead, right? And you plant it in the ground. It's water, sunlight, et cetera. it grows into a beautiful plant, producing fruit, and then the whole thing starts over. So we have this cycle of life and death and life and death. Think about a caterpillar cruising around. Caterpillars are ugly, U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, ugly. They make this cocoon-like structure. It's like a tomb. And then they burst forth.

16:47 That's a butterfly. So the cycles are all around us. Think about physics. Albert Einstein said, matter may change states, but it will not be created or destroyed. A hint of the afterlife. Think about philosophy. Philosopher Immanuel Kant said, since justice is not applied fully, it must be applied in the afterlife by the judge who settles all accounts. Study anthropology. As anthropologists look at different people groups, almost all of them have an advanced knowledge and system of the afterlife. On top of that, there are over 10 million near-death experiences. So it's front and center.

17:45 It's obvious there's life after the grave. My grandfather had a near-death experience. He became a believer in his 60s. He literally died on an operating table. When he came back, he told his wife, my grandmother, that he was in heaven as a baby. and he said, I didn't want to come back to earth. He said, Jesus told me, his name was Homer. Is that a great name? Homer, I've got more for you before you come see me in eternity, and it revolutionized his life. So we die.

18:39 you've got the resurrection, now you've got judgment. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 27, just as a man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment. We will face judgment. God will look at you and he'll go through this agenda and he'll say, okay, okay, one question I have for you. Here it is, here it is. What did you do with Jesus? That's the question. What did you do with Jesus? And we have a choice. Because the third part of the agenda after the resurrection and judgment is separation. People always tell me this, Ed, how could a good God allow people to go to hell? we make that choice.

19:35 God does not slam dunk anyone to go to hell. You make that choice, I make that choice. Matthew 25, 32, all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Resurrection. judgment what are you going to do with jesus what did you do with jesus god the father will ask you separation in one of two places and following the separation we have heaven and hell what is hell like I'm sure you've wondered it's being able to do anything and everything you've always wanted to do alone It's called the outer darkness, Matthew 25.

20:43 It's called the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, Matthew 13, 50. Gnashing of teeth would be, let's say, you're on the 18th, and if you sink this putt, you'll win $100, and you push it to the right. Gnashing of teeth. Well, we're talking about gnashing of teeth on another level. It's a place where the worm never dies, Mark chapter 9. The fire is never ceased.

21:14 Hell. Hell. We determine our own destiny. On the other hand, heaven is going to be a place so amazing, so awesome, so incredible, words can't describe it. We'll have connection and community and purpose like we can't even understand.

21:43 So you see what's gonna happen? Resurrection, judgment, separation, and then you have the second coming and reunite and we're reunited with our bodies. Now this is important. Obviously all of it's important, it's theology. we die, we're resurrected, our spirits, right, the essence of who we are, are in the presence of the Lord. We're either spending heaven or hell in eternity. When Jesus comes back, don't miss this now, for the second coming, he brings with him the spirits and the souls of those who've died. Our bodies and souls will be reunited.

22:42 If you understand that, just nod your head. Our bodies will look like the resurrected body of Jesus. They'll be perfect. they're going to be youthful and also full of maturity. No sickness, no death, no pain, no drama. It is going to be awesome. We throw the word awesome around too much, but that's what's going to happen. And then five, the final judgment. The final judgment. When our souls are reunited with our bodies and we spend eternity in either heaven or hell forever and ever and ever, and that is a heck of a long time, forever.

23:40 But let's go back to what I just talked about earlier. Let's go back to the resurrection. Let's go back to the judgment. Let's go back to the question. you're looking across the table at the Lord. He's saying, and he's gonna ask you this one question, what did you do with Jesus? what did you do?

24:07 We have two responses. The first response is, you know, Lord, I relied on my goodness, on my performance to get into heaven. I was better than most people. I was better than ax murderers and serial killers. I was a lot better than my neighbor. I was a lot better than my husband. I'm telling you, Lord, I performed the best way I knew how. I grew up Baptist. I grew up Catholic. I was baptized, pasteurized, homogenized. God, I tried so hard. I performed, and God's going to say, it's not about that. because if you are relying on your performance, you're not gonna make it.

25:11 That's not the gospel. You're not gonna make it because God's standards are perfect. No matter how well you perform or I perform, the Bible says all of our works, all of our performances fall miserably short. So if you're relying on that, you're in severe trouble. You're in eternal trouble right now. right now. well I mean I really try I'm a good guy I'm a good girl I keep my nose clean I even throw some money in the offering plate good for you are you relying on your performance? Because see, word on the street says we can perform our way in.

26:05 Did you know that? Word on the street says that God's gonna grade on this cosmic curve. He's the benevolent grandfather. He's gonna wink and say, boys will be boys, girls will be girls. Come on into heaven. You performed your way in. You weren't perfect, but... Now, if you're perfect, you can get in.

26:30 So are you relying on your performance or on the performance of Jesus? Again, God's gonna say, what did you do with Jesus? Because Jesus performed for you and me. He did the work. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, rose again, and offers you and me eternal life. have you made that decision? Every time I speak,

27:01 four things are in play. The first one is the request. I am giving right now the gospel request to every single person, thousands and thousands of people. Right now, the gospel is being put out to all of you.

27:23 Okay. The Holy Spirit of God is doing the work of regeneration in people's lives right now. I don't know who, but he is. He's preparing the soil for you to become a follower of Christ. I'm not saving anybody. Salvation is from God. I'm just a conduit, you know, just an instrument. So you have the request, you have the regeneration, and some of you are experiencing it right now, then you have your decision to repent and have faith in Christ.

28:05 And then the fourth thing is, it's your response. You either respond and say, Jesus, have your way in my life like you saw in the video. I'm down on one knee, I put the other knee down, or not. that's what's happening every time someone shares the gospel. So I have confidence. I mean, when I was driving in this morning, I was like, I know some people here are going to be saved. I know it because of God. But everyone is not going to be saved. God wants everyone to be saved, but everyone's not. So the question is, what are you going to do with that question? are you going to rely on your performance, which will get you nowhere, or the performance of Jesus Christ?

29:09 Death. It's inevitable. Death. It's the ultimate intruder. Death. As a believer, it's our graduation. into heaven.

29:33 Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Lord Jesus, thank you for providing us salvation. Thank you for providing us a way, the way, the truth, and the life to know you. And it's my earnest prayer as the gospel call, this request has gone out. it's my prayer as the Holy Spirit is preparing right now the soils for many, I believe, to follow you. as others are repenting and having faith to follow you. as still others are responding to this gospel call,

30:28 it's my prayer that you would just say this to Jesus. Just say, dear God, I admit to you, that I'm a sinner, that my goodness performance has fallen short.

30:50 I repent, I turn from my sins and turn to you. I trust you, Jesus. I put my faith in your perfect performance on the cross and how you... you shattered death and how you are seated at the right hand of the father and how you Jesus how you want to invade my life and right now Lord just say that invade my life I give you all that I am and all that I will ever become as our heads are bowed and eyes are closed if you prayed that prayer with me for the first time, would you lift your hand? Don't be shy. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. All right. Hands going up. You prayed that prayer with me for the first time in your life. Awesome. Incredible. It's the best thing you'll ever do. As our heads are bowed, I'm going to ask you to do something. After I conclude this prayer with amen, someone will come up to you because they're looking and seeing these hands and they're gonna give you just some information about the greatest thing in the world, your walk with the Lord Jesus.

32:11 So Father, we give this time to you and we believe, Lord, in your gospel and this great response in Christ's name. Thank you.