Once The Casket Is Closed Hebrews 9:27,28

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1 MESSAGE FOR SUNDAY AUGUST 31, 2008 REVIVAL MESSAGE CHRISTIAN HOPE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PLYMOUTH, NORTH CAROLINA by Reggie A. Braziel, minister (This is a revision of a Revival message I first preached in I preached this message at a number of Churches in eastern NC including Fairview Christian, Cape Colony, Terra Ceia, etc. ) Read Scripture Text Prayer Introduction Once The Casket Is Closed Hebrews 9:27,28 Death is such a sobering subject. We don t want to think about it. We don t want to talk about it. And yet the Bible tells us very plainly that DEATH is an appointment we will all keep. *You can CANCEL your appointment with your DOCTOR. *You can CANCEL your appointment with your DENTIST. *You can CANCEL your appointment with your LAWYER. *You can CANCEL your appointment with your MECHANIC. BUT YOU CAN T CANCEL YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH..For it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Do you realize every single person mentioned in the Bible died with the exception of just two men? GENESIS 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. II KINGS 2:11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and ELIJAH went up to heaven in a whirlwind. The statistics on death are not good: ONE out of every ONE people who are born will die.

2 We can deny it and try to defy it. We can exercise and take excellent care of ourselves. We can take vitamins and eat health foods and have regular checkups. We can get our TUMMY TUCKED and our FACE LIFTED to make us look 20 years younger..we can DYE our hair to cover the gray and use ointments to cover the red spots..we can wear the trendiest FASHIONS and drive a CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE. But no matter what we do it doesn t change this scriptural truth that all of has an APPOINTMENT with this great ENEMY called DEATH. But while we KNOW death is an appointment we will all keep, what none of us knows is THE TIME OF OUR APPOINTMENT. DAVID expressed this truth to his dear friend, JONATHAN in II KINGS 20:3 Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only ONE STEP between me and DEATH. PSALM 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years----or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. DAVID also writes in PSALM 103:15-17a As for man his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord s love is with those who fear Him. *************** It has been said, It is only when we come to grips with our own mortality that we become FREE to LIVE! The fact that the Bible mentions death over 400 times tells us the Lord wants us to be soberly aware of how precious and valuable each and every day is. And how vitally important it is to take care of those things that truly matter most.

3 For the remainder of the message let s consider THREE things we can t do ONCE THE CASKET IS CLOSED. I. Once the Casket is Closed You Can t Say the Things You Should Have Said PSALM 94:17 Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the SILENCE of DEATH. PSALM 115:17 It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to silence. 1. Once the casket is closed you can t say the things you should have said. Like the old saying goes, Dead men tell no tales. Dead men don t speak. 2. Throughout our lifetime hundreds of thousands of words come out of our mouths. We talk about the WEATHER..we talk about SPORTS we talk about POLITICS and we even TALK ABOUT EACH OTHER. But so often in life the words that seem to never get spoken or not spoken often enough are those words that are the most important. Words like. I LOVE YOU I FORGIVE YOU I APPRECIATE YOU I M SORRY I WAS WRONG

4 I MADE A MISTAKE I CARE ABOUT YOU I UNDERSTAND GOOD JOB NICE TRY WAY TO GO Oh brothers and sisters, don t ever underestimate the POWER OF YOUR WORDS! PROVERBS 18:21 The tongue has the power of life. PROVERBS 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life. PROVERBS 10:21 The lips of the righteous nourish many PROVERBS 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life. Before the casket is closed say those words that encourage..say those words that heal wounds.say those words that lift spirits say those words that give hope and courage and strength! I L L U S T R A T I O N Last year I had this truth really hit home with me. I was in Wal-Mart in Washington one day. And it was one of those days when I had a hundred things to do. As I was heading toward the checkout I saw a friend of mine that worked with me at National Spinning Company in the late 80 s and early 90 s. His name was Kermit Midgette.

5 Kermit was no more than 25 feet away from me. He never saw me. And I felt like I was in too big of a hurry to stop and speak. Two weeks later Kermit Midgette s obituary was in the paper. 3. Oh brothers and sisters, life is too uncertain and too unpredictable to gamble on having the opportunity to say those important words we need to say.. BECAUSE ONCE THE CASKET IS CLOSED IT WILL BE TOO LATE. **************** Here s another important truth to consider II. Once The Casket is Closed You Can t Do The Things You Should Have Done 1. Some of us live life like we have all the time in the world as though if we don t do it today, there is always tomorrow. You and I know the scriptures certainly don t teach us that. 2. The scriptures teach us TIME is precious we need to REDEEM the TIME we need to MAKE THE MOST of every opportunity. ECCLESIASTES 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going there is neither working, nor planning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom.

6 JAMES 4:13-15 Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If it is the Lord s will, we will and do this or that. 3. To put off doing the important things we need to be doing is the Sin of presumption...its presuming we will still be alive tomorrow when the scriptures plainly teach us that tomorrow is an uncertainty for all of us. I ll do it when I m in a better mood. I ll do it when I m not so tired. I ll do it when I ve got more time. I ll do it after I get to feeling better. I ll do it when my schedule eases up. I ll do it when things slow down. I ll do it when I don t have so many irons in the fire. Sound familiar? 4. Have you been intending to get more involved in the work of the Church? You better do it because once the casket is closed you won t be much good to the church. Have you been intending to read your Bible more? You d better do it because once the casket is closed you won t be doing much reading.

7 Have you been intending to talk to your loved ones and friends about Christ? You d better do it because once the casket is closed you won t be doing much witnessing. Have you been intending to spend more time with your mate? You d better do it, because once the casket is closed you won t be doing any traveling or sight seeing. Have you been intending to spend more time with your kids? You d better do it, because once the casket is closed you won t be able to take your kids fishing or play pitch and catch or tuck them in at night. Have you been intending to pick up the phone and call to lift the spirits of someone you know needs some encouragement? You better do it, because once the casket is closed you won t be making any phone calls. Have you been intending to write a letter or send a card to someone who really made a difference in your life? You had better do it, because once the casket is closed I doubt that you will be doing any writing. Yes, Once the Casket Is Closed You Can t Say the Things You Should Have Said.You Can t Do the Things You Should Have Done, and finally..

8 III. Once the Casket Is Closed You Can t Decide Decide the Things You Should Have Decided Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found. Ecclesiastes 12: 1, 7 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years approach when you will say, I find no pleasure in them -----and the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 1. All of our lives we make DECISIONS..IMPORTANT DECISIONS. *It was tough making a decision to get married! But you made it didn t you? *It may have been tough to make a decision on career. But you made it didn t you? *It was tough making a decision to go see that doctor when you were having health problems. But you made it didn t you? 2. For the life of me I have never understood why intelligent, well-adjusted, successful people can make all kinds of decisions in life except the most important decision of all. And that is the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 3. In Matthew 19 we read about the Rich, Young Ruler coming to Jesus asking him the most important question one can ask, What good thing must I do to get eternal life? Like so many people today, the Rich Young Ruler thought he could be good enough on his own to earn eternal life.

9 But in that same scripture we read that the Rich Young Ruler walked away sorrowful that day and we never read about him again. This leads us to believe he left this world without ever DECIDING WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE DECIDED. 4. In Acts 26 after hearing the Apostle Paul give a defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, King Agrippa said to Paul, You ALMOST you ALMOST persuade me to become a Christian. And that is the last we ever read about King Agrippa. Which leads us to believe he too left this world without ever DECIDING WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE DECIDED. 5. Oh my friend if you don t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, don t make the same tragic mistake the Rich, Young Ruler and King Agrippa made. ********************** Conclusion Because once the casket is closed you can t DECIDE WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE DECIDED! Many years ago when I was preaching near Salem, Illinois, I conducted the funeral for a man named Raymond Graggert. Out of all the funerals I have ever done, his was truly one of the saddest. Raymond Graggert was one of those guys who would give you the shirt off his back. You know the kind. He was a good neighbor and a good friend to many. But perhaps it was his own goodness toward others that got in his way of ever accepting Jesus Christ. Perhaps he thought his own goodness would get him into heaven.

10 As I stood up to begin Raymond s funeral, his sobbing wife got up out of her pew on the front row of the funeral home chapel and ran to Raymond s casket, throwing herself across his lifeless body. She began wailing, Oh dear God, please let Raymond into heaven. He was a good man Oh, please dear God, please! God if I ve ever done anything good, please give Raymond the credit for it. Please don t send him to hell..please don t send him to hell! *************************************** Oh my friend please listen carefully. You may think the most important thing you can leave behind for your loved ones is a BIG INHERITANCE or a HEFTY INSURANCE POLICY or LOTS OF NICE MATERIAL THINGS. But what will any of those things mean if you don t leave them with the HOPE of seeing you again in HEAVEN? What will any of those things mean if you leave this world having never made the most important decision you ll ever make in this life the DECISION TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR? Yes It is appointed unto man once to die, then to face the judgment! And Once the Casket Is Closed. You Can t Say The Things You Should Have Said! You Can t Do The Things You Should Have Done! And You Can t Decide the Things You Should Have Decided! The distance between HEAVEN and HELL is the between you and this front pew! Jesus has been waiting for you a long time! Why don t you come to Him today!

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