Turn with me to Psalm 116. Psalm
116. I believe I have two more messages
for us from Psalm 116, one right now and one possibly Wednesday
night. And I just want to publicly say
thank you to our Lord for this psalm and for allowing us to
go through this psalm. I have so enjoyed this. I believe I have personally benefited
from this psalm so much. And for this Bible study, our
text is going to be verse 15. It says, precious in the sight
of the Lord is the death of his saints. That's a good verse,
isn't it? We know that that is a true statement
because it's written in God's word. We know it's true because
God wrote it in his word. And that is something that all
of God's people are so thankful to hear. Precious in the sight
of the Lord is the death of his saints, the death of his saints,
the death of his elected ones. The death of His chosen ones,
His particular people. This verse and another verse
in Revelation 14. Turn with me over to Revelation
14. Revelation 14 verse 13, it says,
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed
are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit. that they
may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. Blessed
are the dead which die in the Lord. These are words of great
comfort and we often lean on these words when the Lord calls
a believing loved one home to glory. Every time that I'm called
on to preach the funeral of a believer, Every time I'm called on to preach
the funeral of a believer, I'm so thankful for the privilege
of being able to comfort the family with these words. That in that moment, in that
moment of being carried home, That's not just a precious moment
to the saint. We're always entering into how
wonderful is it going to be? How great is that moment going
to be? The moment we step into glory, the moment we see Christ,
that's not just precious for the saint. That's precious to
our Lord. That is a precious moment. It's precious to all of heaven.
It's a great welcoming in. And with that being said, even
though that's true, even though that moment is just precious,
everything about it is so precious, I have something that I want
us to consider this morning that I believe will be comfort on
top of that comfort. Comfort on top of comfort, all
right? We're gonna read through quite a few scriptures. Hang in here with me. I know
I turn a lot. We're really gonna turn a lot,
okay? Let's read some things here.
Go with me to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, speaking of Christ,
verse eight says, He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death. because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. He made his grave
with the wicked and with the rich. In his death, our Lord
died. Our Lord died. He died. Go with me to John 19. John 19 verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, I thirst. Now there was said a vessel full
of vinegar and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon
hyssop and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. He died. Can we enter into that
for just a second? He died. He died. I know that we know
that. I know that the whole world knows that, but can we really
enter into what that means? He died. Turn with me to Romans 14. Romans 14 verse nine. It says,
for to this end, Christ both died and rose and revived that
he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. He died
and rose and revived. You know, I've had all week to
think about this, and it's hard to enter into something in the
moment. That's why I beg the Lord's Spirit to help you. You know what it's like to get
a phone call. Have you heard? So-and-so died. And it's so shocking. You just can't believe it. They
died. That person died. Our Lord died. We don't enter
into the reality of that. And it's because we know the
end. But he died. Our Lord truly died, rose and
revived. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15 verse 1. No, verse three, first Corinthians
15 verse three, for I delivered unto you first of all, that which
I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according
to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again
the third day, according to the scriptures, Christ died. He was buried and he rose again.
Now. If you all think I've hounded that point enough, I'll move
on. If not, we'll go to more scriptures and read. He died.
He died. Do we, do we understand? He died. He died. All right. Go with me now to Galatians two. Galatians 2 verse 20. Galatians 2 verse 20. Paul said,
I am crucified with Christ. He said, when Christ was crucified,
I was crucified because I was crucified with him. When he was
crucified, I was crucified. Verse 20. I am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live yet. Not I, but Christ liveth in me. The only reason I'm alive is
because Christ liveth in me because I died. I was crucified with
Christ. and the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain." Paul said, I died with him. I died in him. That was God's grace to me. We
talk about the grace of God. Well, here it is. Here was the
gift of God. It was that when Christ died, I died. When Christ died, all of his
people died in him. All of them died in him. Look
with me at 2 Corinthians 5. It's back a few pages, 2 Corinthians
5. Verse 17, it says, therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away. That's what we say when a person
dies on this earth, we say that person passed away. Well, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature because every old thing about that person,
the old man, has already passed away. The whole life of that
old man cradled to the grave. We all haven't made it to the
grave yet. We still have old man ahead of
us. But everything about that old
man has already passed away in Christ, already passed away.
Look at Romans six with me. Romans 6 verse 3, it says, Know
ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death? Those who God chose to baptize,
that means immerse by his Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said,
I've come to you with water. That's all I have is water. What
he's saying is, all I have is a confession of something, but
somebody's coming who's gonna baptize you with the Holy Ghost,
who is gonna immerse you by the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.
And what are God's people immersed into? The death of Jesus Christ,
immersed into his death. Verse 4, Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism, the baptism of the Spirit of God, the immersion
of the Spirit of God, into death, that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him, not will be, is. And the body of sin might
be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin. For
he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death hath
no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once. But in that he liveth, he liveth
unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. He died and we died with him. Philippians 3 says all of God's
elect people were made conformable unto His death. Colossians 2
says we were buried with Him. Colossians 3 says we have risen
with Him. Look with me at 2 Timothy 2.
2 Timothy chapter 2. The next time that we do actually
come back to 2 Timothy, we got sidetracked with this study of
Psalm 116, but when we come back, this will be the next verse we
come back to. 2 Timothy 2, verse 11. It is a faithful saying, for
if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we be
dead. If we have already died with
Christ, then we will live forever with Christ. All right, now this is what I
want us to get ahold of. I pray this will be a real comfort to
us. Hebrews 7 verse 27 says, it is appointed unto men, man
wants to die. But after this, the judgment,
it's appointed unto every man and woman on this earth, appointed
by God to every soul on this earth to one time die and stand
before the judgment of God. And if a soul is in Christ, that
death and that judgment has already taken place. In reality, in shocking
reality, as though you got a phone call, so-and-so died. In shocking
reality, if a soul is in Christ, it happened. It already happened.
Spread the news. Go tell everybody. Put it on
social media. That soul died. He died. She
died. That death and the judgment,
a soul leaves this world and if a soul leaves without Christ,
I think, oh dear God, that soul immediately went and stood before
the judgment throne of God. And it makes me want to preach
the message I'm about to preach in just a minute. But if a soul is in Christ, that
shocking death and that shocking moment of standing before God
has already happened. It has already taken place. For
every soul that was elected to be saved in Christ, the cross
of Calvary was the death and the judgment of that soul. Death and judgment was appointed
once and only once. Only once. And for every soul
in Christ, it's already finished. And because the sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary for the sin
of His people, because His sacrifice and death was so precious to
the Father. For God so loved, He gave His
only begotten Son. How precious was his death to
the Father? Because Christ was the beloved
Son in whom the Father was well pleased. Because the sacrifice
atonement of Christ was such a sweet smelling savor to the
Father. Because the precious blood of
the precious Lamb was so precious to the Father. It made every
soul who died in that precious death precious to the Father. In Christ, the death of all of
his saints was precious in the sight of the Lord. Precious in
the sight of the Lord was the death of all his saints on the
cross of Calvary with Christ. The moment God's people died
on that cross in their Lord, they received rest from all their
labors. When did rest come to the people
of God? The moment Christ died on that
cross, the moment he died on that cross, rest from all their
labors came to the people of God. Yes, the moment that we
lay these bodies down and we leave this world, we're going
to receive physical rest. Yes, we will. But God's people
received spiritual rest right there in that moment on the cross. Concerning that moment when it's
time to lay these bodies down, we're all gonna lay these bodies
down. According to our Lord, that moment is not death. For God's people, death happened
on the cross of Calvary. It's still a precious moment,
that moment of laying these bodies down. Our bodies are gonna end
up in a casket, and we're all gonna gather around, Worship
our Lord and give thanks to our Lord for our brother or sister
who has departed. It's a precious moment, but according
to our Lord, it's not death. According to the Lord, it's not
death. Now, this is the whole point. I clearly
see I was off in my notes. So this is the whole point. All
right, here's the whole point of it. Follow me to a few places
and I'll be done. Go to Mark 5. Mark 5, verse 35. While he yet spake, while our
Lord yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's
house certain which said, thy daughter is dead, why troublest
thou the master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word
that was spoken, he said unto the ruler of the synagogue, be
not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow
him save Peter and James and John, the brother of James. And
he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and seeth
the tumult in them that wept and wailed greatly. And when
he was come in, he saith unto them, why make ye this ado and
weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and
the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and
entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel
by the hand and said unto her, Talitha Kumai, which is being
interpreted, damsel I say unto thee arise. And straightway the
damsel arose and walked, for she was of the age of 12 years.
And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he
charged them straightly that no man should know it and commanded
that something should be given her to eat. He told them, he
said, she's not dead. She's asleep. They didn't believe
him, but he told them the truth concerning her condition. She
was not dead. She was sleeping. Go over to
John 11. John 11 verse 1, now a certain man was sick named
Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped
his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore,
his sister sent unto him saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest
is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said,
This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that
the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha
and her sister and Lazarus. When he had heard, therefore,
that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place
where he was. Then after that, saith he to
his disciples, let us go into Judea again. Verse 11 says, these
things said he, and after that he saith unto them, our friend
Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that I may awake him
out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he sleep, he shall do well. How be it Jesus spake of his
death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest
and sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. The disciples didn't understand
what he was saying, so he worded it in language that they could
enter into, and he said he died. Verse 21, then said Martha unto
Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,
but I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will
give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, thy brother
shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Shall never die. He's saying
that happened once on the cross of Calvary, and that's over.
I'm the resurrection and life. Every soul in me is alive. Verse
43, and when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus,
come forth. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound
about with a napkin. Jesus said to him, loose him
and let him go. The body is sleeping, but the soul is alive. And one day, very soon, we are
all gonna realize that. I guess I should have titled
this, Don't Be Afraid of Sleep. Don't be afraid of sleeping.
I had a great night's sleep last night. I woke up so thankful
for it, so refreshed and happy. I didn't need to fear anything
last night. I don't need to fear anything tonight. Don't be afraid
of sleeping. One more place and I'll stop,
okay? 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4. Our Lord is
telling us the reality of this. 1 Thessalonians 4. Verse 13, But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, asleep,
that you sorrow not, even others which have no hope. For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto
you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we
ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words. For the child of God in Christ,
that child's death on the cross with him, that was a precious
moment in the sight of the Lord. And that child's moment of sleep,
when it's time to lay this old body down, that is a precious
moment in the sight of the Lord. And on the day that Christ returns,
which is what we just read about, on the day that He comes back
to gather all of His chosen people to Himself, for them to forever
be with the Lord. That is a precious moment in
the sight of the Lord. And all of those moments are
precious to us too. It's all precious to us too.
That death that Christ has already accomplished for us, Is it not
precious to you to know that Christ has already died for you
in reality and stood before that judgment throne for you? Precious is that death to us
because when the time comes for us to lay this body down, we
can rest in the comfort and the peace of knowing that life is
all that awaits us. Life is all that's coming. Life
is the only thing we're gonna wake up to. Life in Christ, life
with Him. That's comforting. For the soul
in Christ, death is over. Life is all awaits us, and that
is precious. So precious, thank God. All right,
we'll stop there. You're dismissed.