Latest / Challenges of Faith Radio Program / Is death real 4 U? Ep 3415

Transcript

Is death real 4 U? Ep 3415 · Challenges of Faith Radio Program

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Dear Heavenly Gracious God, we thank you for who you
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: are and who you continue to be in each of
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: our lives. Forgive us for each and every known sin,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: be it words, thoughts, or deeds. And we thank you
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: for what Jesus Christ did at the cross of Calvary.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: In his precious name we ask you, thank you, amen.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Challenges of Faith radio program. The question is,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: is death real for you? Well, is it? But you know,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: you've got to keep in mind, you know, you and
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I cannot really fully grasp what's on the other side
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: of death. When we return to the Word of God
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: or the Bible in the wake of a loved one's death,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: you notice how our grief and lament lead us to
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: the man of sorrows. We're talking about not only the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: one who conquered death, but also experienced it, our Saviour.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: But what's interesting is that our loving God's presence can
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: change yours and my perspective and give us hope in
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: the valleys of shadow of death and beyond. And when
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: you look at death, do you notice that death is
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: an enemy that you and I and everybody on this
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: planet that's been, that is, and that will be are
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: going to have to face? But the scripture points us
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: not to why, but to who, a saviour. that's been
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: acquainted with grief, who walks with us through the valley.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: And there's a reason, if you really think about it,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: we don't like talking about death. I'm not going to
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: pretend there's no fear as death draws near, whether it's
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: our own or that of a loved one. But we
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: quake before it and rail against this last enemy. Think
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: about it. I don't know about you, but our minds
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: cannot fully grasp what's beyond our present reality, let alone
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: on the other side of death. And so when you
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: and I lack those cold hard facts in a world,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: in a society that demands them, you notice how fear flourishes.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: And that's why our hearts, you know, death is a
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: harsh reality for those it leaves behind. You know it do.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Those who can identify. Because it threatens to break us apart.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: You know, to shake us to pieces. You know, to
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: make target practice out of our hearts, poking holes in
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: that faith that we thought was firm and solid on
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: a firm foundation. But a lot of times when we
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: go to the Bible in the wake of death, we're
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: asking why. And if you really think about it, it's
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: an overarching storyline that answers us with a different question
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: of who. Because our grief and lament lead us, however
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: painfully and slowly, again to the man of sorrows himself.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: A Savior so acquainted with grief That it defined him.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: And you can find that over in Isaiah chapter 53
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: verse 3. I know you write it down. And when
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: you turn and you notice how he faced death when
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: it took his friend Lazarus. Do you notice how he
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: faced death as it took his own life? Do you
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: notice he faces the fullness of it for us and
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: with us in our life? Yet our Savior, the Lord
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, rose again declaring powerfully victory over death. But
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: do you notice he still wept? I mean, really wept
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: at the tomb of Lazarus. He still cried, my God,
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: my God, why have you forsaken me? Even during his
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: own death on the cross. And you can see that
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: in Matthew chapter 27, verse 46. Beloved household of faith,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: and those of you who don't know him who died
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: for you, we too will be wounded when it comes
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: to take those we love. We too are going to
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: cry out. We're going to weep as I have, as
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: you have, at the bedsides and gravesides of our loved ones.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: We're going to tear up. We might be out at
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: the grocery store. We may be sitting in a car.
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: We're going to cry. And we're going to stumble on
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: a memory and, you know, curl into a ball intermittently
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: for months and years and lifetimes, even if we know
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: that one day our Savior is going to wipe away
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: every tear And that's no tidy theology that's going to
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: keep those tears from falling. But our suffering and death,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: it doesn't need to be deepened by surprise. Remember Paul
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: used the phrase, do not be surprised in his letters
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: to the first century churches. And he did that while
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: addressing the concepts of fiery trials and return of Christ.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: But also John also told his readers not to be
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: surprised if the world hates them. because they knew that
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: being surprised by something that feels so theologically unsettling would
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: only add to the weight of their sorrows. And likewise,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: if you and I don't understand and have not tested
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the doctrines that you and I claim, that God has
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: pointed the arrows of his wrath not at us who
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: deserve it, but at his own Son to save us,
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: then every trial, challenging trial, remember now, you have either
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: one coming out or one awaiting one, can feel like
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: a double trial, leaving us to wonder whether God is
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: truly for us in the middle of it. And you've
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: got to remember now that death can leave us vulnerable
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: to this way of thinking, especially when it strikes sooner
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: than our today's life expectancy predicts. That grief that accompanies
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: it hits you and I, each of us, so uniquely
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: that it can be so disorienting and dangerously isolating. And
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: bottom line is, this is when it matters to believe
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: in a Savior who not only conquered death, but also experiences,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: surely has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, as
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Isaiah 53 verse 4 talks about. And remember now, the
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: promise in the valley of the shadow of death is
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: not that you and I are not going to walk
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: through it, because there's no way to avoid it, but
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: that God is with us when we do. Over in
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Psalm chapter 23 verse 4 makes it clear that And
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: maybe we're too familiar with it, because this truth boils
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: us over, and it should. In the valley of the
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: shadow of death, do you notice how God with this
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: both changes and comforts us? Do you notice that in
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: verse 4 as you look at it? Do you notice
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: when you go on down to verse 6, and it
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: lifts our eyes to the day when we would dwell
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: in his presence? Temporary? No. Forever. Forever. And you've got
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: to remember, if God's presence is promised in this valley
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: of death, shouldn't that change our perspective of it as
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: disciples of Christ? Well, shouldn't it? Because if God's story
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: is all about his desire to dwell with us and
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: to think about and about us receiving a desire to
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: dwell with him in return, then that makes the place
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: where his presence is promised the climax of the story.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: It's not to be skipped over. It's to be soaked in,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: you know, pondered in. Remember how the word let us
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: know when John 16, 12, I was at ease, but
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: he had broken me asunder. He had also taken me
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: by my neck and shaken me to pieces and set
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: me up for his mark. And you can also turn
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: to Revelation 21, verse 4, 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: and 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 4, and 1 John
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: chapter 3, verse 13. I know you're turning because you
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: want to independently verify what the Word says for your
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: life on this topic.