ONE STEP TWO APPOINTMENTS
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 16 viewsNotes
Transcript
And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Death.
The very word can trigger images of darkness, men and women in black, of grief, and for some, fear.
But God doesn’t want us to live in fear nor defeat.
He wants us to live, and die, with the confidence that comes from knowing we belong to the victorious, risen King who defeated death when He died on the cross and rose from the grave.
The reality of death can point us to an incredible hope we have in Christ.
Every heartache and struggle on earth can draw us closer to our Savior, center us deeper in His truths, and motivate us to engage in transformative conversations with others.
As Christians we must be careful to build our thinking about death upon solid Biblical ground.
We who are subject to death cannot define death.
Only Someone who exists outside of the sphere of death can objectively define death for us.
God has done that in His Word.
Spiritual death means that man, apart from salvation in Christ, is separated from God.
In other words if you are not saved, you’re already dead spiritually.
Paul speaks of the unsaved as being "alienated (Greek, estranged or shut out) from the life of God"
This is true even though the unsaved person has physical life.
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
The Second Death
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Someone has said the two most certain things in life are death and taxes.
Our text says two very certain things every person can expect, put in his appointment book, are death and judgment.
“It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment.”
You may miss and cancel many appointments on your schedule but you will not be able to escape this appointment
FIRST—THE FACT OF DEATH “Death.”
This is not some strange idea or strange and crazy view concerning death.
But experience says we all face death sooner or later, history confirms it, and the Bible emphasizes it.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Death is not a subject we normally like to talk about.
It is not the most pleasant subject and I am not suggesting we get morbid and make it our main thought.
But we do need to ponder the end of life for how we prepare in life will have much to do with where we will spend eternity.
All of us are scheduled to die, notice I said schedule, a appointment, when you die then what?
Are you ready for what happens after you die?
SECOND—THOSE WHO ARE FREE FROM DEATH
“It is appointed unto men.”
The only people who will not go through the valley of death are the believers who are raptured when Christ comes for the church prior to the Tribulation period.
Many of us would like to be part of the rapture, but whether we are or not, we must face the declaration of our text that life here on this earth will end.
THIRD—THE FINALITY OF DEATH
“Once to die.”
When you die the end has come You will not be reincarnated, made unconscious, or cease existence.
Suicide is like going from the frying pan into the fire.
You may hasten your day of death by suicide but your cannot change the fact of judgment after death.
Last Words
Voltaire, the famous infidel who spent most of his life fighting Christianity, cried out with his dying breath, “I am abandoned by God and man: I shall go to hell!”
Mirabeau, noted French statesman: “Give me more laudanum, that I may not think of eternity! O Christ, O Jesus Christ!”
Charles IX, King of France: “What blood, what murders, what evil councils I have followed. I am lost! I see it well!”
Mazarin, French Cardinal and statesman: “O my poor soul! what will become of thee? whither wilt thou go?”
Hobbes, the atheist: “I am taking a fearful leap in the dark!”
Sir Thomas Scott, Chancellor of England: “Until this moment, I thought there was neither God nor hell; now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty!”
Edward Gibbon, author of “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:” “All is dark and doubtful!”
Abbott: “Glory to God! I see Heaven sweetly opened before me!”
Dwight L. Moody: “This is glorious! Earth receding, Heaven opening. God calling me!”
John Wesley: “Best of all, God is with us!”
John Knox: “Live in Christ and the flesh need not fear death.”
John A. Lyth: “Can this be death? Why, it is better than living! Tell them I die happy in Jesus!”
Margaret Prior: “Eternity rolls before me like a sea of glory!”
Martha McCrackin: “How bright the room! How full of angels!”
Stephen Last Words
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.