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weekly sermon 6-14-09 The Facts Of Life
This past week we had a good friend experience the loss of a dear loved one. This person's husband passed from this life on the 8th of this month. We know that this is a very hard time for anyone that loses a loved one, but we also need to reflect on our life and times with them and the complete picture of God.
This couple had the great opportunity to experience over 30 great years together as husband and wife. Through this time, they experienced bad times as well as good times. This man was a veteran of the Vietnam war and dearly loved his country. These are some of the great memories that shall be experienced of their great husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, and uncle.
Now we should look at what the Bible has to say about the experiences we should also obtain from this mournful occasion.
I want us to truly read the words in Ecclesiastes and fully understand what they mean. Turn with me to Ecclesiastes 7:1-4, "A good name [is] better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. (2)[It is] better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that [is] the end of all men; and the living will lay [it] to his heart. (3)Sorrow [is] better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. (4)The heart of the wise [is] in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools [is] in the house of mirth."
Notice here in Ecclesiastes that it states that a good man is better than precious ointment. Back in Biblical times precious ointment was considered a sign of royalty. Only the wealthy could afford these types of ointments. This statement would put a good man above royalty. It also says that the day of a man's death is far better than the day of his birth. Everyone that is here was, naturally, born. This includes all men, good, bad, or indifferent, but only the good man that is better than precious ointment will rejoice at his death, because he knows that his life has really just begun; his life with Christ. It says that it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting: for it is the end of all men. Like I said, all men were born, and all must eventually die. Once we understand one thing we will know more about life and death, remember that the very day you take your first breath; THAT same day, you begin to die. When we have figured this out, then all we need to strive on is what we do with the time between the first and the last. Next we see that it says that sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sorrow is the heart made better. You can reflect back on the many times in your life and see that very little lessons were learned from the happy times, but many were learned from the sad times. Grass does not grow on the top of a mountain but down in the valley. When we are on top of the world we are not learning as many lessons as we do when we are down.
Now turn with me, if you will, to John 11:4, "When Jesus heard [that], he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." This passage is from a popular story about Lazarus, when he had died, and Jesus, during Lazarus' resurrection. Here Jesus is saying that the sickness is not unto death or corruption, but just a temporary death, so that God may be made manifest in the resurrection. If Lazarus had never been resurrected, whether by Jesus raising him from the dead, or had he been resurrected at the time of the second coming, there would have never been glory to God. Glory is given to God upon resurrection, not on death. This shows us here that God is not glorified by sickness, but only by resurrection. This should show us that God does not cause sickness, because it does not magnify Him, but is only glorified when one is raised.
Let us think about the deceased for just a moment, put ourselves in their position. While we keep this in mind turn with me to Philippians 1:22-23, "But if [I] live on in the flesh, this [will mean] fruit from [my] labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. (23) For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, [which is] far better." Here you can see that if we were to stay alive from now on then we would be nothing except workers here on this earth versus passing on to a life with Christ, which we can all agree will be a far better life.
When we think about the end of our natural lives and the passing on to the afterlife, we as family think of the sadness endured as our loved ones pass on, but we MUST know that this time means the end of time coming for our Lord. Turn with me to James 5:11, "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." The Lord takes us, whom follow His commandments, from a life in a sinful world to an afterlife with Him through His tender mercy. From this, we know that we will never truly see death, if we follow the Lord. Just as it states in John 8:51, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death." As we can see, we shall never see death. What I mean is, we will pass from this life, and our flesh bodies will experience death, but our souls shall never see death. When Jesus returns to carry his people home, their souls will rise and LIVE with Christ.
Revelations 14:13-16, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. (14)And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. (15)And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. (16)And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
We see from the above passage, from Revelations, that the ones that die in the Lord are blessed from then on. We can now rest from all of our labors and our works of following Him. Jesus will come on a white cloud, looking as the Son of man, wearing a golden crown, and carrying a sickle. This sickle is used to reap the harvest of the earth. please understand here that WE are the harvest of the earth. Christ will return to gather us, as His harvest, on the earth.
Do not get me wrong, when our loved ones pass from this life, we will mourn the loss, but we are mourning OUR loss, NOT the loss of the one that has passed. There is a song that is about a man who has passed away and he is doing the talking in the song. This man has just died, floated above his body, and resurrected to Heaven. God is feeling pity on the loved ones and is considering sending him back. The man in the song pleads with God to NOT send him back, but to keep him there in Heaven. He tells God that if the folks on earth could just see the things he is seeing and experience the things he is while there with God, he just knows they would never ask for him to come back to earth. This is the thing we must understand about our lost loved ones, they are in a far better place, loving their new lives with God and would never want to come back to this life. Let us also take the time during the loss to reflect back on the good times we had with those who have passed and praise God that our loved ones are in a place where they would never want to leave.
While we are reflecting upon the loss of our loved one, that has just passed, let us look at our own lives. Let us understand what we were put here, on this earth, to do. We are put here to do the will of God. Just as Jesus came to do the will of God, we are also here to do the same, do the will of God. Let us look back and see if we are truly doing what we were put here to do. Once we learn that we are to be here only to glorify God, and we start doing this, we will be in the place we need to be when Christ returns to reap His harvest.
Are you in the correct place to be received in the harvest? If you are not but you know you want to be, then all you have to do is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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