Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / July 4, 2021 | Good Question - What Happens When We Die?

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July 4, 2021 | Good Question - What Happens When We Die? · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, everybody.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Happy Fourth of July, like Doug said in his prayer.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: That was that was great.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: So thankful for the freedoms that we have.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Moreover, thankful for the freedoms that we have in Christ, right?
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um, in a bit of a tone shift, um, we've got one of those existential kind of questions that we're looking at this morning, and um I think there's something that we can all gain from today in the sense that this is a question that applies to every single one of us, uh, which is what happens when we die?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And for some of us, uh there is probably some imagery in our heads of puffy cotton candy clouds and harps, and which would not be my instrument of choice, but um, you know, we've got our our white gowns on and St.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Peter is at the gates of heaven.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um, while that is certainly the image that our popular culture has presented to us, it's um not really the accurate representation of what happens when we die.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, our culture does have a pretty interesting way of displaying these things.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: If any of you have watched The Twilight Zone, um there's uh a really famous episode where a hunter and his dog Rip, they go raccoon hunting, and uh Rip dives into the water.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: The hunter, as a great owner, goes in to save his dog, and they come the we see the raccoon actually come back out of the water, but neither one of them.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: He goes back home to his wife, and she's not listening to him.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's sort of actually, it is exactly the plot of the sixth sense, late about 40 years later, where you're like, oh, he was he was dead the whole time.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: But it was more believable that the wife wasn't talking to the husband than it was the fact that he was dead the whole time, which is sort of funny.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um regardless, uh he then walks down sort of this lane, him and his dog, as they are now in the afterlife, and he comes eventually to this gate in the row uh where he uh finds heaven to be, and the angel tells him that there is a uh raccoon hunt and a picnic going on inside tonight.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, with with that image of heaven, or as um the the country Western philosopher Kenny Chesney has told us, he says, um, everybody wants to go to heaven, have a mansion high above the clouds, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, heaven is sort of a mixed bag for us because we um sometimes we don't understand all of the things about it.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And furthermore, that what is really interesting about our topic this morning is that the um the idea of heaven that is presented, um, the truth of heaven that is presented in revelation is not actually what we will experience if we were to die right now.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: And there are go uh there's a couple times during today's message where I might use the words like, it appears or it seems to be, and I'm not trying to qualify the statements, but it's sometimes a little difficult to nail down our specific questions that we want with the information that God has given to us.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a little bit like playing a Sudoku puzzle where you can take God's word and what he has revealed and sort of knock off different parts and answer certain questions.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: But one of the things that is really very clear is that um if we are to die today, that we are not going to go to the place where we will eventually be.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Revelation speaks of this in Revelation 21, 1 through 2.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: It says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very clear event in the Bible that there will be a new heavens and a new earth, that the true eternity that we will spend with God will be back here on this earth in a renewed sense in what it was supposed to be.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: It will come down out of heaven, and this is the vision that John is seeing.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is his revelation, that is coming in the future.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: But what we also have to pick up is that John is saying that the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that's actually the topic of what we're discussing this morning, which is what is this first heaven?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's where we go.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's paradise, it's Abraham's side, it is the land that Paul spoke of going to in Philippians when he says that to die is to be with Christ.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are in the first earth right now, that's where we're at.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: You are here, uh, we are first earth, and we are waiting for this time.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So to help us get a sense of what will happen, um, there are two really important scriptures we need to look at in the chap in the book of Luke.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have your Bibles, I'm gonna be reading from them because they're a little bit longer.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And these two passages sort of work in tandem with one another.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna explain why in a second.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if you want to follow along, I think it'll be helpful.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to be in Luke 13, uh, verses 28 through 30, though I'm gonna back up to verse 22 so we can get a little bit more of the context.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Okie dokie.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Luke chapter 13.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna start again at verse 22, and we're gonna go through verse 30.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Someone asked him, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: He said to them, Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir, open the door for us.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: But he will answer, I don't know you or where you come from.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Then you will say, We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets, but he will reply, I don't know you or where you come from.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Away from me, all you evildoers.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed there are those who will who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this passage is interesting.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, first of all, because the thing that is normally focused on in commentaries and sermons is the first part about what it means for there being a narrow door, and uh that the time is closing in which those who can believe in Christ will have the opportunity.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that there is a narrow sort of life that we have to live in order to achieve heaven, but rather that the window of time is closing before we will all pass on into uh death.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: And once we enter into that period, there won't be an opportunity to change sides, if you will.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's something that we're going to see in Luke 16.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: But why are we bringing up this?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because there are a couple things in this passage that you're gonna notice are tied in with Luke 16, where we're going next.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And the other reason that this is interesting and helpful is because I think that this is speaking specifically about this intermediate state where we go to now.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible does refer to it as heaven.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that it's not heaven.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: We are still with God, with Christ.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: It is a there's a place for believers and for those who have rejected God.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is not something to be scared of, but it is different.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it seems to be that there are a couple themes that run alongside of it that we'll pick up here in Luke 16.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I know we've got a lot of content right now, but let's jump to 16, and then this will be our main passage for the morning, and then we're going to jump back and forth a little bit.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: So Luke 16, uh, verses 19 through 31 is where we're going to be.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 19.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, and lived in luxury every day.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Your translation might say Abraham's bosom or something like that.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um the rich man died and was buried.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: He answered, Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let him warn them, so that they will not also be able to come to this place of torment.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: He said to them, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: How are these passages similar?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you look at the full chapter, Jesus in both of these instances, in Luke 13 and Luke 16, he has the same audience, which is the Pharisees.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: And the Pharisees are, you know, frequent in the Gospels and their opposition for Jesus, but there's also a particular condemnation that Jesus has for the Pharisees, which is that they believe they are holy, while on the inside, you know, he uses the phrase that they are whitewashed tombs, that they are beautiful on the outside but dead on the inside.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so he is speaking to this group of people who need to understand that there is a narrow door, that they are not necessarily saved if they don't trust in him, and they need to, because the time is closing, uh, if they want to be with, right, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these luminaries of the Old Testament, these figures that they would be assuming they are going to see in the afterlife or the next phase.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but Jesus is saying, you won't unless you trust in me.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then later on in Luke 16, he's got where he moved from more of a theological explanation in 13 to an experiential story.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people would call this a parable.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it is unique in the sense that it's the only parable that includes somebody's name being Lazarus.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but regardless, Luke 16 then tells us sort of what it would be like to be in this space and have lost out on entering through the narrow door.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing that's interesting and why we're sure that what we're talking about is not in the future Jesus' second coming, but the present situation is that in this space, Jesus hasn't returned yet.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: There is not the triumphant um entry of Christ in revelation, but rather we are going, and there is this judgment of the dead that happens immediately when we exit this mortal coil and go on to be with God.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And there is a judgment that happens, there's a judgment of faith.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: And we go into this space that the New Testament is calling heaven and hell, or Hades and heaven.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing that's interesting about these two passages is that, like I said, in some of your translations, maybe if they're a bit older, they would use the phrase Abraham's bosom to refer to the space in Luke 16.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of like an interesting way to put it, right?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: That you are in Abraham's chest.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: But in Luke 13, there is a great connection that we often miss.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: It says in Luke 13 at the end, that we will go and there will be a banquet or a sort of a buffet, right?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: But what the word actually is is that we will go and rest at their side.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Which, if we don't understand what was going on in the New Testament period, be like, that doesn't make much sense.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're familiar with the Last Supper, Jesus reclined at the table.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so what we've got here is this imagery of a banquet, which is why it's translated that way.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: But we are saying that we are going to go and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those who have trusted in God.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then in Luke 16, that is the same word that's used for, again, translated to Abraham's bosom, that you will go and be at Abraham's side.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: So they're connected in this way.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: They've got this thread that is bringing them together.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we read this passage in Luke 16, we sort of bring in the information from Luke 13.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've got five observations that I think we can concretely take away from what heaven, this first heaven, will be like until Jesus returns.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're still with me, this is the first one.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is that we will meet um immediately be in God's presence.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: It says in Luke 16 that when Lazarus died, the angels ushered him to be with God.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Lazarus and the rich man were brought into God's presence.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: There wasn't a waiting period.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: It was something that gave them peace.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: They were there to be with Christ.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: And although Jesus isn't mentioned in these passages, the rest of the Bible is replete with these ideas that when we die as believers, that we are going to go and be in fellowship with God.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: That the brokenness that has characterized this life, our inability to connect with God fully on this side of heaven, will be no more.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And our and our ability to connect, then have fellowship with and see our Savior will be complete.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so Lazarus is in the presence of these things.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are brought into the story as sort of a pointed criticism or a note towards the Pharisees who would be expecting them to be in heaven.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't care for Jesus much, but for those of us who know and love Christ, he is going to be there as well.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: There is a belief among some, though, that there would be something called soul sleep.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: That once we die, that um we would sort of rest in the ground until Jesus did return.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: And while there are some verses that you could take, um, maybe in my opinion, you'd be misinterpreting them, um, to believe this.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: One of them would be like an Ecclesiastes, where it says that the dead are gone, they are no more, they are not in the realm of the living.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean, Ecclesiastes is a book about our life here on earth, how to live it with joy.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so it makes sense that they're saying it doesn't matter what the dead have done, it matters what the living are doing and how you live your life.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: But that would be a one verse that they have taken to reference soul sleep.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Another one, and the more popular one, is in Luke 8.52 or other places in the New Testament, where those who have died, it says that they have fallen asleep.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: This would be kind of the clear interpretation.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: In Acts, when Stephen is stoned, the first martyr, it says that he falls asleep when he is killed.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, two things about that.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: One is that that is not the only thing that is said about those who die in the New Testament.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it is clearly presented that they are dead and that uh for some of them they have gone on to be with God.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the other thing is that this is not actually an unfamiliar idea in the Old Greek to say that someone had fallen asleep.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, in the Iliad, um, Agamemnon kills a man.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: I can't pronounce his name, but he killed a guy, and it says that he slept in a sleep of bronze, and he was not sleeping after what Agamemnon did to him.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got this idea from the scriptures that when we die, sleep is just a way to reference those who are waiting to be resurrected bodily, but there is still a conscious place where they are at.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: A final note on this is Philippians, and Paul, when he says, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me, and I don't know which one I should choose.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am torn between the two.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I long to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if if we believe that there is nothing until revelation once we die, that there is no presence with God, there is no paradise, there is no fellowship with God, then this really undercuts what Paul is saying here.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Where he is saying, he makes this, it's a great sort of moment in Philippians where he says, I know what I could head off towards by dying is far better than being here, but because I desire to carry out the work of the gospel and the kingdom of God, I'm going to live on.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if Paul was actually saying I could either be asleep or live with you guys, it doesn't really make the same kind of impact.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: So the first thing and the first concrete thing we understand is that we will immediately be with God in heaven, in sort of this first heaven.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is what the Bible's telling us.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: The second is that we will understand the truth.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: And what do I mean by that?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what's interesting is that in the few examples we've got in the Bible of those who have returned from the dead or spoken from the dead, they are speaking with the air of someone who has complete confidence and an understanding of God's plan.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, the most interesting one of these, and I had to cut this out.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: I had to cut down a little bit on this because there's a little too much here, but in 1 Samuel 28, Samuel, the prophet Samuel, the last judge, is brought up from the dead by Saul and a witch.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um actually the word in the Hebrew for her is one who has a ritual pit, which is quite the title.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but there was uh there were these people, they were it they were banished, or they're supposed to be gone because of God's law.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And in the context of 1 Samuel 28, the woman is fearful that Saul is going to punish her for bringing up this person from the dead, because she's not supposed to.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: But regardless, Samuel comes back.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know anything about Samuel, like he his life was so faithful.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: He he was, again, he was the last judge, he was um faithful in the house of Eli, he uh anointed Saul as king, he denounced Saul as king, he anointed David as king.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, his life was filled with God.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: He was dedicated to God's purpose on the world, um, and he was just a faithful servant.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: But when he comes up from the dead, he's got this sort of interesting response.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, Why'd you bother me?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why'd you bring me up from the dead?
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Saul, this man who he had cared about so much, is having this huge crisis of faith.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Saul, don't you understand?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: He said this is um, it's out of order chronologically in 1 Samuel, but this event happens right before the battle where Saul dies.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: And Samuel tells him, he says, Don't you know that you're gonna die tomorrow?
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: You and your sons are gonna die.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: God has taken the kingdom away from you.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you understand this, right?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know this, Saul, don't you?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a bit of a um disassociation that's going on.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas before his language towards Saul is his heart breaking at the fact that Saul has broken God's covenant and rejected God and started doing all of these foolish things.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: And here it is this sort of matter-of-fact language.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Samuel is saying, don't you understand Saul?
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is God's plan.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is what's going to happen, and this is what's going to happen tomorrow.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we get that little vignette, if you will, of this peace almost that those who have passed have about understanding.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: God's plans for the world.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: We get this a little bit in Luke 16 as well, and that Abraham and the way that he speaks with the man who has rejected God sort of handles him.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's interesting that they're able to communicate with each other.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: But when the rich man speaks with Abraham, he uses this word technon in the Greek.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like my child.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: He has mercy, he has sort of a gentle language towards the rich man.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, You have made a mistake.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: You did not trust in God while you were on earth.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And what you also don't understand is that if we were to give them as many miracles, those who don't understand God's word and don't trust in it, they aren't going to believe when they see miracles either.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's this great understanding of God's plan.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: So for us, what does that look like?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think when we get to heaven and we are able to be with Christ, be with those who have died, and understand God's plan.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: There will be a great, there will be an awakening.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that now it's like we are seeing things like the reflection in a dusty mirror.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And know that when we die and we are with God, we will understand things fully.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a pain attached to this, though, and that the most alarming reaction comes from the rich man in Luke 16.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that the rich man is clearly and significantly aware of the mistake that he made by rejecting God while he is on earth.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: And he also comes to the realization that there is no change in his eternal destiny now that he is on the other side.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: That is why he is so desirous for Lazarus, who he's still treating like a servant, to go back and to tell his family.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So there is both joy and potential pain for those of us when we die.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: If we know Christ, it will be understanding God's plan, the beauty of it, what it means to actually see the full work of one who is truly good.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's also the pain of those who will recognize that they didn't trust God while they were on earth.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: And there's no change that's going to happen.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we like to think that, that there will be a change.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: C.S.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Lewis, in his book, The Great Divorce, has got a holy bus that travels from hell to heaven, and that anybody who's in hell and recognizes their mistake can go on into heaven and make the change.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And while that sort of stirs within us the ideas of mercy and longing that we have for those we know who did not trust Christ, we just have to understand that that is not the case.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you remember two weeks ago, I was up here and I was talking about how it's okay to have a faith that trusts in things that we don't always understand.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean our faith is weak, it doesn't mean it's wrong, but rather we are understanding that God has a greater plan, that we can trust in the one who is all-loving and all justice, and that part of this all truth that we will be able to appreciate when we die, is that we will understand his judgment.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know that that causes a lot of pain, but know also that there is something that ties into this.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the third idea is that we will also have complete peace.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Lazarus, the one who was given up to such terrible things during his life, sores that dogs were licking, and being a beggar that was thrown out into the streets, and one who never really had much of a life.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: In Luke 13, Jesus says those who are last will be first.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: And in Luke 16, he gives the sort of explanation for that.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: That individuals like Lazarus, who might not have lived the most wonderful life on earth, will find wonder and beauty in God's coming kingdom.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is also a rejection of the prosperity gospel, and that it doesn't, it means very clearly that there are some of us who will trust in Christ, that our lives won't be marked by great virtue or great success or great peace or great joy.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: There will be sad things that can happen to us.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not an indictment upon our faith, but rather that God understands, and as he says in Luke 16, Lazarus did not have much when he was on earth, and now he has much.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth is that we will see others who have died.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's two parts to this, right?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Very clearly, the one that's given is that we will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and by that we mean that we will see those that we read about in the Bible.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: You want to ask Moses what it was like to split the Red Sea?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: You want to talk with some of the early apostles and hear about Peter and tell me, like, what was it like at Pentecost when everybody started to speak in a different language?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: You want to just listen to those that are in Hebrews 11, sort of that hall of faith that we've got.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: You get to do it.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if they're taking reservations right now, if open table has a uh set up for you to have your dinner, but you'll be able to meet those, and most importantly, you will be able to speak with Christ.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: You will be able to be with Christ.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: But also, and I know that this one touches very closely to some of you, you will see those who've trusted in Christ that have gone on from this world.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Our loved ones, our dear ones who are no longer with us, who are at peace, who do have complete truth.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: You will be able to be with them and see them.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's a bit of a bittersweet thing.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: Unlike Kenny Chesney, who's saying that we don't maybe want to go to heaven now.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know for me, there's a lot of um joyful reunions I'm looking forward to in heaven.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: People who've exited this life, gone over the final obstacle that death presents, the one that we can't hurdle due to our sin, but believing in a savior that has defeated death, I know that I get to see them again.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a really beautiful thing.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth and final item is that our future destination will be final.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Our future destination will be final, and why this is important is the rich man understood that he was in the wrong location.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's a really interesting note given in Luke 16, that there's a great chasm that will separate those who have trusted in Christ and those who have rejected him, and it will be impassable.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's no switching over.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And why this is important is because there are some of us who have not yet trusted in Christ.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: And the words of Luke 13, that there is a narrow door, once again, that is not about living the perfect life so that we can be with Jesus.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's saying that, sort of like in an Indiana Jones movie, the door is shutting and you've got to slide under it and able to make it through, that the time is growing shorter where we are able to trust in Christ.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that whole dialogue that Jesus has with the one who has died is not that they say that I really believed in Jesus and you're saying I didn't.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying, no, now, after you died, when you understand all truth, is the time at which you coming to me won't be effective.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: We have to trust in Christ with faith, because our future destination will be final, and this first heaven and hell that we're talking about, they spin off into these greater things.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: We get what was in Revelation earlier with the new heavens and the new earth, and then eventually those who are in hell right now, they will be resurrected bodily as well into the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20, and they will be sent into their eternal destination also.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Due to time, I'm going to say that if you would like to read more about Revelation 20 and the great white throne judgment, you can go there.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: That is where you see what the final judgment of all believers will be.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: It is not a judgment of faith at that point, it is a judgment of works.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: The judgment of faith happens when we die and when we God decides where we will go based upon our faith in Christ.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: But Revelation 20 gives you more information there.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to give um a uh a message of hope, though, because I understand if you're like me that you might have somebody in your family who you're not sure whether they trust Christ, whether they did when they passed away.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so, as a message of hope, and not false hope, I wanted to point you to Luke 23, verses 42 through 43.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this is the interchange between Jesus and the thief on the cross.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the thief says, then um, then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, underlining the immediate nature of our departure and going to be with God in peace.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: But also this very important note that you don't know what happened to somebody in their last moments and how they decided to reckon with the creator of the universe.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: If there was ever a statement about a gospel of grace and not works, it is the thief on the cross who literally could not move because he was tied to his crucifix and uttered one word, one sentence, and Jesus said, Today you will be with me in paradise.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know the type of um moments that our loved ones have uh when that time draws near.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that that is a really sensitive subject.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just want to say, not as a matter of false hope, but rather that you don't know.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: And that it is always good to hope.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: And furthermore, that this should lead us into what I believe is our message this morning, which is that for those who don't know Jesus as their savior, there's still time to seek him.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you are hearing this message and you don't know Jesus as your Savior, this idea of Luke 13, the narrow door, uh that is what applies to you.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: That there is time right now for you to trust in Christ, but that there is a time coming when you will exit this world and there will be no more time to make that decision.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody in this room and watching and online has an eternal soul.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that eternal soul will spend its eternity somewhere, and uh you have the opportunity to decide where that will be based upon your decision to trust in Christ as your Savior.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: The second item and the final thing for us this morning is that for those who love Jesus, there's no need to fear death.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: What we are heading towards in that sort of whirlwind of content is that what I hopefully you can draw from it is that where we are heading is good.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Where we are heading is peace, where we are heading is a full reuniting, banquet, glory-filled reunion with everybody who loves Jesus and knows him.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: That every one of us, unless Jesus returns first, will pass through this window of death.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: But then once we do, and that final obstacle is conquered because of Christ and his resurrection, we will get to be with those who have also passed on.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a beautiful thing.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I would like to close us in prayer, and then we are going to head into a time of communion this morning, and that's how we'll end today.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'll pray for us, and then I believe Jeremiah is going to come out and lead us in a short time of reflection, and then I will come back up and lead us through our communion process.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: So would you all pray with me?
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, we thank you for today.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: God, the the idea of what happens after we die is a sensitive one for some of us.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's something that applies to all of us.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: But God, you have defeated death, and your resurrection is the power to reunite us with you, to give us eternity in your presence.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so, God, we thank you for that.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: We thank you that there is peace, that there is a kingdom coming where there will be no more crying and no more tears, that what happens after we die for those who trust Christ is beauty.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: And Lord, for those who don't, we pray that this message might resonate deeply, that they might see the narrow door and enter through it, God, while there is still time for them to trust in you.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, Father, we pray all these things in Jesus' name.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.