1 MAKING LIFE WORK: YOUR DEATH 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18 FEBRUARY 8, 2015 Over the last few weeks we ve talked about making life work in our families, by knowing our true identity, in our workplaces, in our finances, and in our physical health. Today we re going to look at making life work by facing death. There s a cheery topic! We don t like to talk about death in our culture. We avoid it like the plague. We much prefer youthfulness and vibrancy. So if your hair starts going gray. Uh-oh, now I ve gone to meddling. Notice you never have trouble finding a parking space at a nursing home. There s a reason for that. We do not want to face the reality of human mortality. But no matter how much we might deny it, the death rate still runs right around 100%. Sooner or later, you ll have to face it. Unless, of course, Jesus comes back before that. That was abundantly clear to me this last year. In 2014 I performed 14 funerals, 12 of them for members of NWH, a record for us, and attended several other services, including my mother s memorial service. This year has started off at the faster pace. This afternoon I ll be doing funeral #3 for this year. Sometimes, I feel like I need to wear a black shroud and carry a scythe. Death is real, it s coming for each one of us one day, and so we ought to figure out how to face it. How do we make life work when we are facing our own death? When we are facing the death of a love one? The general trend in society today it to ignore it and hope it goes away. Which, of course, is futile. There are some who insist death is the end, the period at the end of the sentence, and there s nothing after it. So just grit your teeth and soldier on through to the end. That s pretty grim. There are others who think in really fuzzy terms about everyone s spirit going to heaven, or at least good people going to heaven, whatever qualifies as good. It s all very vague, and so very uncertain. And so very scary. It was scary for John Wesley, the founder of the 18 th century Methodist movement. For the first 35 years of his life and 12 years after he had been ordained as an Anglican priest, he was insecure in his salvation, afraid he did not measure up morally, and he lived in the dread of death because it might be followed by hell. In 1736, John followed his brother, Charles to Savannah, Georgia. Charles had been hired to be the colonial secretary to Governor Oglethorpe, and John came over as the pastor of the Anglican church that still exists there today. John s great hope was that he d prove himself good enough for heaven by leading the American Indians to Christ. On the boat over, the seas were particularly rough
and even the sailors thought they would go down. Grown men were weeping in terror fearing for their lives. One of them was John Wesley. He was afraid he d drown and go to hell. However, on the boat were a group of Christians called Moravians. They comforted everyone and held prayer and praise services, and John noticed that even their children were unafraid to die. His stay in Savannah was short, his ministry there not a great success, and he never met an American Indian, much less led one to Christ. So he d not proven himself good enough for heaven. On his return journey in 1738, John found himself once again in rough seas and once again in great fear of death. Once again, there were Moravian men, women and children on the ship who exhibited a genuine peace, and, as he records later, even the children were unafraid to die. When he asked how they had such peace, they tried to explain, but he just didn t get it. Back home he eventually went to a Moravian meeting held regularly on Aldersgate Street in London. There on May 24, 1738, John attended that meeting where he heard teaching from the letter to the Romans. It was the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Justification, that is, being forgiven, declared not guilty, set right with God. By grace. It s not by works, not by being a good person, not by measuring up, but a sheer gift, undeserved, unearned, freely given. Justification by grace through faith. It is received by believing Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, and that he rose from the dead so you could have eternal life. Believing it happened, believing he did it for YOU, and consciously choosing to accept that gift from him. John Wesley heard teaching on justification by grace through faith. Wesley s journal entry describes what happened to him, In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. In a moment of revelation, John understood that that he was saved by grace through faith, and not by works lest any man should boast. From that time on he knew his eternal destiny and was no longer afraid to die. And as he shaped his ministry and his people in England who were called Methodists, a physician who treated several Methodists told John Wesley s brother Charles, Most people die for fear of dying. But I never met with such people as yours. They are none of them afraid of death, but are calm, and patient, and resigned to the last. A common comment was, 2
3 Good Methodists die well. Fear of death is common to man and has been with us since the beginning of time. But no Christian needs to be afraid to die. In fact, a Christian properly trained in God s word can face death with perfect peace and positive anticipation. Paul taught us that by his own testimony. While sitting in prison and facing an uncertain future he wrote, For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Phlp.1:21-24) To the Corinthians, who were struggling to understand, he wrote a description of the resurrection, at least as much description as can be given in a metaphor. I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1Cor.15:51-55) And that s not just Paul thinking that sort of thing. You find the same thing in every book of the New Testament. Death is not the end. God will not lose his grip on any who belong to him. Those who follow Jesus in life will follow him after death. There are certain things that Christians believe about life and death, and certain biblical passages that clearly express these things. And if we spend time reading, studying, meditating on those things, when we need them the Holy Spirit can bring them to mind. I saw it in my mom. Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and losing ground each day, she showed no fear. Oh, she wasn t exactly thrilled with the idea of leaving us. Her one concern was that we would take good care of our dad. But she was not afraid of what was after death. She had walked with the Lord for decades, she had studied and meditated on the Scriptures, and she had no doubts. I want to be able to face my own death the way she did. But while we can face our own death with peace and anticipation of what s next, we still have to face the death of our loved ones. And no matter how strong your faith, no matter how unshakable your belief, we still need to grieve. We might celebrate their life and rejoice that they re now face-to-face with God. But we still need to grieve because of our loss. Our loved one is no longer with us.
4 Our grief is an expression of pain at our loss, even if it s only temporary. Even Jesus shed tears at the graveside of his friend Lazarus. The shortest verse in the Bible is, Jesus wept. Even though he knew he d raise Lazarus from the dead, he grieved. Maybe it was not just for Lazarus. Maybe it was over the reality that sin and death still infect this world. Maybe it was because he saw that others were in pain. But he shed tears. So our tears are appropriate, too. But even as we grieve we can find comfort in the future God has for the one who died, if they were a person of faith. To the church in Thessalonica, where people were troubled by the delay of Jesus return, and wondering about the fate of those who died before he came back, Paul offered reassurance. Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. We who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1Th.4:13-18) As I said before, there are certain things that Christians believe about life and death, and certain biblical passages that clearly express these things. And if we spend time reading, studying, meditating on those things, when we need them the Holy Spirit can bring them to mind. When my mom was dying from cancer, the Lord brought to my mind scriptures I ve read at dozens of funerals: There are the words of that beloved Psalm 23: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. (Ps.23:4) There are Jesus words to his followers the night he would be arrested and led away: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There are the words of Paul to the church in Rome: (Jn.14:1-6)
5 Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. (Ro.8:38-39) Not even death. I ve read those texts and explained them so many times to offer comfort to others. And now God raised them up in my mind for me. So much of it was putting death and dying into a larger perspective, reminding me that there s more than the here and now, more than the eye can see, that God was with us even in the valley of the shadow of death, even in that terrible process of dying that it did not separate my mom or us from the love of God, and that Jesus would escort her along the way. And one day he will escort each of us who believe, into the very presence of God the Father. And it ll be a heavenly reunion with all the faithful who went before us. So what shall we do? First, read, study, and meditate on scriptures related to death, life after death, and the assurance of God s saving grace freely given to all who put their trust in him. Let it sink in deeply. Second, face the reality of death. John Wesley actually sought out the dying, not just so he could minister to them, but because he wanted to learn from them. Visiting with and praying with those who are dealing with terminal illness is a valuable ministry to them. But it will also change YOU. Third, as you face the reality of death, and the inevitability of your own death, take the opportunity to examine the condition of your own soul, and reach for greater peace with God. That will drain away a lot of uncertainty and anxiety when you do face the end. Finally, a major key to dying well is in living well. Keep in mind that every moment of life is a precious gift from God. Don t squander it on lesser pursuits and neglect more important things in ways that you might later regret. John Wesley said, You have no time to lose; see that you redeem every moment that remains. Remove everything out of the way, be it ever so small that might anyways obstruct your lowliness and meekness, your seriousness of spirit, your single intention to glorify God, in all your thoughts and words and actions. Those who fully invest their lives in the pursuit of glorifying God have nothing to fear from death; rather death becomes yet another opportunity for the grace of God to be made manifest. How might you live, if you learned tomorrow morning that you would die tomorrow night, so that you would not regret the day as wasted? The day will come when you die. So, for the sake of good preparation, imagine that you know it s coming and you have time to reflect on it.
6 Would you lie on your death bed and say, Gee, I wish I d spent more time at the office? Boy, if I only had spent more money to buy more stuff? Would you be wondering, What s God going to say about this part of my life? Will I get to go in? What s going to happen to me? Would you be thinking, I wish I hadn t said that, or done that to so-and-so / Or would you like to be saying, Thanks, God for the gift of this life. Thanks for loving me, and kindling in my heart a love for you. Thanks for giving me friends and family to love and who loved me back. They are so dear to me. Please watch over them and comfort them for me. Thanks for forgiving my sins and telling me about heaven. No guilt or regrets over the past, just anticipation of the wonder of the future. I know all those verses are metaphors and symbols of something too big and beautiful for my mind to comprehend. I can t wait to see you face-to-face. I am sooo ready. Are you ready? Are you living so you can die well?