Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20050327.htm

SPECIAL EASTER SUNDAY INTERLUDE
Relying On Christ's Resurrection In God's Power For Living And Dying
(Romans 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1-11 et al.)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In our culture as is generally true of many cultures in Western Civilizations today, we put the thought of physical death and dying on the "back burner" as something to be avoided at all costs:

(1) When we landed at the Sacramento, California airport last October and met the rental car agent who was to take us to get our rental, he asked where we had come from, and I answered, "Hartford, Connecticut."

He immediately replied, "Well, that's quite a ways you've come today -- all across the country! Are you vacationing or coming back home for a visit?'

I replied, "I grew up here south of the Chico, California area and we're returning to be with family."

He wanted to know why, so I told him, "May Dad just passed away and we're back for his memorial service!"

His response was immediate: "Oh, that's awful!!"

He didn't carry on the conversation any more, and since we were tired and still had a two hour drive to the wake up in Chico, I didn't press the issue anymore.

However, I remember thinking, "I know my Dad is with the Lord and is in peace, and though I'm not really looking forward to his memorial service, I don't really view this whole issue as 'awful' like this agent did! To him as with so many, death is something you put off like the plague and deal with it as quickly and silently as you can!

(2) A Christian spoke with me last Sunday about a coming medical procedure he will face in the near future, and as he shook my hand, he admitted, "I'm scared!"

The doctors had assured him he would survive well, that there was only an extremely slim chance of his not living a normal length of years in his earthly sojourn, but the FACT that there was the SLIM CHANCE of facing a premature death still deeply bothered him!



On this Easter Sunday morning when we focus on the bodily RESURRECTION of our Lord Jesus Christ, DO we have grounds for facing the issue of LIVING or DYING productively? If so, WHAT is it?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Our culture puts death and dying on the 'back burner' as a fearful, dreadful thing to face. Yet, I recently have had to face the matter, so I want to know how to DEAL with it WELL!"
  1. For the UNBELIEVER (or even a carnal Christian), SATAN holds the FEAR of death over his head to lead him to LIVE in SIN so as to preserve his life, Heb. 2:14-15, Bib. Know. Com., N. T., p. 784.
  2. Yet, for the CHRISTIAN, though death is an enemy, it WILL BE DEFEATED via CHRIST'S RESURRECTION so that he MAY NOW victoriously FACE death by FERVENT, GODLY LIVING through LEANING on the indwelling GOD the HOLY SPIRIT:
    1. When one trusts in Christ as his personal Savior from sin, he receives God the Holy Spirit Who indwells him, 1 Cor. 3:16; Rom. 8:9b.
    2. This member of the Godhead causes the believer to yearn earnestly for the resurrection that will defeat his mortality, Romans 8:23.
    3. Paul described this coming victory over mortality in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 as what we today term, the "rapture" of the Church, which victory is BASED ON Christ's own BODILY RESURRECTION:
      1. Paul revealed the Christian's resurrection is based on the SURE event of Christ's OWN bodily resurrection, 1 Thess. 4:14-17:
        1. Paul used the word, "if" in v. 14 from the particle "ei" that is used with the verb, "pisteuomen" in the indicative mood in a first class condition to mean "since we believe," showing "the reality of his premise" that Christ HAD [bodily in this context] RISEN from the DEAD , U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 710; Dana & Mantey, A Man. Grammar of the Grk. N. T., p. 289.
        2. Well, based on Christ's bodily resurrection, physically deceased and living believers at Christ's return will be given immortal bodies and go to be with Christ forever, 1 Thess. 4:14b-17!
      2. Such a hope WE call the "rapture" of the Church is to be used to comfort one another in dealing with physical death, 1 Thess. 4:18.
    4. Now, the indwelling Spirit acts as God's pledge the believer will be raised, a fact that CAN assuredly alter his view of living and dying from what the unsaved know PROVIDING he relies on the Spirit:
      1. Physical death is still an enemy for all of us mortals, 1 Cor. 15:26!
      2. However, the indwelling Holy Spirit acts as God's proof positive that he will be bodily resurrected at the "rapture" of the Church AS WELL AS enjoy IMMEDIATE BLESSED entrance into heaven to dwell with God if he dies BEFORE the rapture, 2 Cor. 5:1-11:
        1. 2 Cor. 5:5 teaches God's Spirit acts as an "Earnest," or pledge to the believer that "binds [God] . . . to complete fully the salvation . . . He has begun in the heart," cf. Ryrie, The Holy Spirit, p. 26.
        2. Well, that completeness of salvation is the salvation of the believer's mortal body at the rapture, cf. Romans 8:23!
        3. Thus, as the believer RELIES on the indwelling Holy Spirit and His blessed exhibitions show up in his life (love, joy, peace, gentleness, etc., cf. Galatians 5:16, 22-23) and his supernatural gift of service that exhibits the indwelling Spirit's POWER (2 Tim. 1:6-7) in his service, the believer is assured the following beliefs WILL OCCUR were he to die BEFORE the rapture: (a) he is thereby assured the moment he expires, he will enter heaven, 2 Cor. 5:6-8. (b) He is thereby assured once he is there, God will give him a temporal heavenly body to use until the rapture even if his earthly body is destroyed, 5:1-4.
      3. Being assured of all this, the Holy Spirit-led believer ALSO knows he will give an account to God for his Christian life when he enters heaven, so he fervently does God's will NOW, 5:9, 10-11.
Application: If we DREAD dying, we feel the effects of Satan's bondage, and must first (1) trust in Christ for salvation from sin and death, John 3:16, thus receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit, Rom. 8:9. (2) If we are a BELIEVER and dread death, we are not living by the Spirit's POWER, so we must (a) confess any post-salvation sins that block the Holy Spirit's filling and (b) rely on Him for spiritual power. (c) We will gain wonderful, practical evidence in our experience of the REALITY of our HOPE of the rapture by the Spirit's EVIDENCE in our LIVES, and the REALITY of that hope will spur us to LIVE GODLY LIVES to prepare to give an account to the Lord when we get into heaven!

Lesson: Death IS dreadful for all who live apart from the filling of God's Holy Spirit, for SATAN rules and uses this world to TERRIFY people who do not live under the Holy Spirit's power so as to influence them to SIN by trying to preserve their earthly lives. Yet, God has supplied HOPE of victory OVER death through Christ's resurrection, a hope to be applied to the believer's body for its resurrection [or translation] at the rapture; this hope is CONFIRMED as a VALID one via EVIDENCE of the indwelling Holy Spirit in a believer's life as he DEPENDS on the Spirit, which REAL HOPE also MOTIVATES him unto GODLY LIVING!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 In recent days, our nation has been held captive through the news media to the battle that rose over the life of a brain-damaged Florida woman named Terri Shiavo. The March 21, 2005 issue of the USA Today national newspaper reported doctors had concluded she was in a permanent vegetative state, a part of her brain already gone, so her husband with the permission of the courts had directed her doctors to remove the feeding tube that has kept her alive.

In response, a groundswell of people concerned about protecting the right of Americans for what our constitution terms as "life" influenced the nation's Congress and President to take unprecedented moves to urge the courts to review the matter so as to restore her feeding tube in accord with her parents' wishes.

Without addressing the moral issue of whether the feeding tube should have been removed, suppose one of US were in Terri's place, and suppose we KNEW what was going on (there is a big debate over how much she now knows!) -- how would WE HANDLE it all?

From Scripture as given in this message, here is HOW GOD would want us to face it: (1) GOD would want us to believe in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ as our personal Savior from sin so that whether the feeding tube was restored OR NOT, we would be assured of entering His heavenly presence when we passed out of our earthly body. (2) Then, AS a BELIEVER, God would want us to confess any sins we might have committed mentally in how we thought about the people around us, and to rely on His indwelling Holy Spirit for His comfort and power to face what we were facing. As we found God giving us an attitude of love, joy, peace, gentleness, etc., we would rejoice that the HOPE of entering heaven was REAL as CERTIFIED by the REALITY of the Holy Spirit's work in our attitude.

Then, GOD would want us (3) to SERVE Him by MENTALLY PRAYING for those ministering to us and for the entire world that IT might come to faith in Christ over what was happening to us! (4) Then, when we entered heaven either by death or by the rapture, God would REWARD us for how we had spent our time PRAYING for others from that hospital bed!

May we apply the TRUTH of Scripture covered this Easter Sunday that we might both LIVE as well as DIE in the will of God!