PSALM 116:15. A Saint has gone home

Transcription

1 PSALM 116:15 A Saint has gone home

2 PSALM 116:15 A Soul has gone to where she belongs

3 PSALM 116:15 A Soul is now with the One Whom she loves the most

4 PSALM 116:15 A Saint that spent more of her life in Christ than she did in the world has been heralded by fellow Saints

5 PSALM 116:15 Indeed, a tremendous Saint of God has gone home

6 One oppressively hot afternoon in July, 1864, a man named Dr. Lowry was lying on a lounge in a state of physical exhaustion His imagination began to take itself wings. Visions of the future passed before him with startling vividness. The imagery of the apocalypse took the form of a tableau (graphic description)

7 Brightest of all were the throne, the heavenly river, and the gathering of the saints He began to wonder why the hymn writers had said so much about the river of death and so little about the pure water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb.

8 As he mused, the words began to construct themselves. They came first as a question of Christian inquiry, Shall we gather? Then they broke in chorus, Yes, we ll gather. On this question and answer, the hymn developed itself. The music came with the hymn.

9 ANOTHER STORY BEHIND THE HYMN A very severe epidemic was raging in Brooklyn, and hundreds were passing over the river of death.

10 ANOTHER STORY BEHIND THE HYMN Dr. Lowry on a hot July day in 1864 was thinking of the sad scenes all around him when the question arose in his mind, "Shall we meet again?

11 ANOTHER STORY BEHIND THE HYMN We are parting at the river of death; shall we meet at the river of life?

12 ANOTHER STORY BEHIND THE HYMN With his heart full of these thoughts, he seated himself at his parlor organ, and both the words and the music of the famous hymn came to him as if by inspiration

13 THE QUESTION?Shall we meet our mother again??shall we Gather at the River?Shall we meet at the river of life?

14 SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?

15 LIFE AT THE RIVER OF LIFE N0 tears at the river of Life NO death at the river of life NO mourning at the river of life

16 LIFE AT THE RIVER OF LIFE NO crying at the river of life Life is actually new at the river of Life WHO WOULD NOT LIKE TO BE THERE?

17 SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?

18 #1 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE DIE CHRISTIAN

19 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE DIE CHRISTIAN 1.To God: a)a Christian is NOT merely a good person (Acts 10:1-2; 11:14) b)christian is NOT any religious person (Acts 17:22)

20 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE DIE CHRISTIAN 2.To God: a. A Christian is a New Creature in Christ (Jn. 3:3-5; Mk 16:15-16; 1 Peter 3:21) b. A Christian is a Member of the Body of Christ (Acts 2:47; 1 Cor. 12:20; c.f. Eph. 1:22-23)

21 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE DIE CHRISTIAN 2.To God: c. A Christian is Living a New Standard (Acts 2:41-42 c.f. 2 Jn. 9) d. A Christian is Living the New Life (Col. 3:1-9)

22 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE DIE CHRISTIAN

23 SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?

24 #2 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE

25 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE Successful Christian life is no more judged by the quality of one s moral life but by the physical benefits that one enjoys such as possessions, health, etc. c.f. Col. 3:1-4

26 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE A mind fixed on God do things to please God

27 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE A mind fixed on God uses his/her money, talent, energy, cars, house (s), knowledge, etc. to promote things of God more than this of this world

28 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE A mind fixed on God uses all that he/she has to earn a place in a permanent world than a temporal world

29 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE A life well lived is not about how much of this world you have, but how much of Christ you have

30 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE FIX OUR MINDS ON THINGS ABOVE

31 SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?

32 #3 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH

33 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH A soul that dreams of having eternal rest in heaven would always take God serious more than anything else

34 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH Most of us are not faithful in our moral lives - compromises

35 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH Most of us are faithful to our Employers than God

36 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH Most of us are faithful at work place than in the church In our Duties In attendance In Giving

37 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH At the same time most of us are not faithful to God at our workplace in the areas of: In our Duties In attendance Monies

38 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH Most of us are not faithful to God in our: Marriages Bachelorhood Spinsterhood Singlehood Businesses

39 YES, WE SHALL GATHER AT THE RIVER IF WE REMAIN FAITHFUL TILL DEATH

40 THOSE WHO WOULD MISS THE GATHERING AT THE RIVER 2 Thess. 1:8-9 a)those who did not fear God b)those who did Not Obey the Gospel

41 SHALL WE GATHER AT THE RIVER?