PREACHED:
OL,10-12-03,AM
“OUR H0PE IN LIFE AND DEATH”
1· NOBODY DECIDES TO BE BORN, AND
FEW DECIDE TO DIE.
A. But everyone has to decide what he or she is
going to do to deal with the challenges of living.
1. Job said, “Man who is born of woman is few
of days and full of trouble…” (Job
14:1)
B. It is amazing the amount of emphasis we hear
about “Problem Solving.”
1. Why? Because there are so many problems to
solve!
C. HERMAN MELVILLE, Moby Dick: “All men
are born with halters around their necks.”
1. He meant that we are all being led to the
ultimate end of this life…death.
2¸ UNIQUE THING ABOUT MAN AND DEATH!
A. Others living things die, but only man has a
deep knowledge of death!
B. ERNIE PYLE, WWII correspondent (who himself
died in the war) described the atmosphere that surrounded those going on
bombing raids the next day:
1. On the average, only /4 returned.
2. Didn’t really fear death, but were
possessed with a “profound reluctance to give up the future.”
C. ELIZABETH KUBLER-ROSS wrote the bestseller, On
Death and Dying.
1. Based on decade-long work with dying patients.
2. Five Stages:
a. Denial
Anger
Bargaining
(Hezekiah)
Despair
Acceptance
(David, “I am about to go the way of
all the earth…”)
3. Why—bestseller?
a. We all want to know more about death and dying.
b. Possibly, We want to see how others handle it
and that will help us in dealing with death.
3¹ FACING DEATH HAS BEEN A CONCERN
OF ALL GENERATIONS:
A. Job asked the perpetual question, “If a man
dies shall he live again?” (Job
14:14)
B. The 5th Century Greek philosopher,
Socrates, was forced to drink hemlock (deadly poison):
1. “And now, O my judges, I desire to prove to
you that the real philosopher has reason to be of good cheer when he about to
die, and that he may hope to obtain the greatest good in the other world…know
of a certainty that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after
death.”
C. Paul
was optimistic about dying:
1. II Tim 4:6-8. “I am already being
poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge will award me on that Day, and not only to me but also to
all who love his appearing.”
D. But
death is still an enemy!
1. I Cor 15:25,26. “For he (Christ) must
reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be
destroyed is death.”
2. Life without the faith in the destruction of
this enemy make men cynical:
a. THOMAS HOBBS said that life is “poor, nasty,
brutish and short.”
b. DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON opined, “In this life,
there is much to be endured and little to be enjoyed.”
E. I think there is a great deal of truth to the
statement, “Life is as good or bad as you make it.”
1. That’s true of life, but what about death? Is
it possible to be optimistic and positive about dying?
a. And the
answer is “YES!”
1) Not for the UNBELIEVER but the BELIEVER!
a) Rom 8:23. “…we our- selves who have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for
adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
4º LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE
BEAUTY OF THE CHRISTIAN HOPE!
A. In Romans 8, after Paul had discussed our
desire for the redemption of our bodies—another way of saying the obtaining of
immortal bodies after death and the resurrection—Paul elaborated:
1. 8:24,25. “For in this hope we were
saved. Now hope that his seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But
if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
a. You see, a different way of viewing death—in
hope not despair—is the very essence of our salvation! It is at the core! It is
the way we project our faith and confidence to others in a cynical, secular and
hopeless world!
b. “Earth holds no treasures, but perish with
using, however precious they be; yet, there’s a country to which I am
going—heaven holds all to me!”
1) Christians are often thought of by materialists
as “escapists.”
a) They laugh and chide us for “wishful
thinking,” “ignoring the needs of the world,” or “not living with reality.”
b) But while they “whistle in the graveyard,”
we have a “light to show us the way through it!”
c) We are not escapists, but as C.S. LEWIS said, “Christians
aim at heaven and get the earth thrown in.”
d) But if you aim at the earth, you get NEITHER!
e) I Tim 4:8. “Bodily training is of
some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds the promise of the
present life and also for the life to come.”
B. C.S. LEWIS also observed the difficulty of many
people seeking heaven in our time:
1. Education centers everything on the here and
now.
2. He said, “In fact the whole world cries out,
‘Look here!’”
C. But why in the midst of the self-described “good
life” that this world affords, do
people still constantly talk of their dissatisfaction?
1. Eccl 3:10. “(God) has put eternity
into man’s heart…”
2. You can have the best job, fall in love with a
beautiful woman or handsome man, drive the hottest luxury car on the market,
stay in 5 star hotels every time you go on a trip, go on expensive vacations…
but these will never satisfy for very long!
a. As Solomon said, “Vanity of vanities, all
is vanity…”
3. Isn’t it odd how we rationalize? When our
trinkets don’t bring happiness, we blame the trinkets!
a. “If I just had a new house, a different car,
a promotion at work, a new wife, a new husband, some place more exciting to
go…”
D. There’s only one way to find happiness in life
and security in death!
1.
Col 3:1,2
5» THE REASON WE LIVE ABUNDANTLY AND
DO NOT FEAR DEATH!
A. The
resurrection of Christ!!
1. I Cor 15:19,20. “If in this life only
we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ
has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep!”
a. As Brother North said, “He is the first to
be raised, never to die again!”
1) Vs. 22,23. “For as in Adam, all die,
so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But eachin his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, then at his coming all
those who belong to Christ.”
B. We laid my sweet mother to rest the other day,
but not without hope—the hope we shared in life, a hope I still cling to and
a reality she now enjoys!