Well, as I mentioned a moment
ago, we are in the book of Hebrews, continuing on in chapter 2 of
Hebrews. We read these words, chapter
2, beginning at verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself, speaking of
our Lord, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were
all their lifetime subject to bondage. What a solemn, sobering
conversation this is about death. It's a question, are you afraid
of death? Now don't get me wrong, I'm afraid
of what it's going to be like to go through that death. I fear pain. You know, I can
be scared just as anybody can be with the horrors of what we
see and feel with this flesh. But when it comes to being on
the other side, when this body shuts down and is no longer working,
To be absent from the flesh is to be in the presence of the
Lord, and that's perfect bliss. And I'm not afraid of that at
all. I remember a time when, wondering, well what is that
on the other side? Is it what the Indians call it
to be? I knew that we would never come back as frogs. I knew there
was only one life. And I knew that only because
God gave me that ability to know that. God gave me that knowledge.
But still, I wondered and was afraid of what it was. And that's
our nature, isn't it? Isn't it our nature to be afraid
of what is on the other side of that? Nobody knows. Nobody's
come back from it. Nobody's come back and said, oh, I know there's
a light on the other side. Yeah, I don't trust people who say
that they know those things. But in our nature, we're afraid
of those things that we don't know. Romans 8.28 says, and we
know. I know what's on the other side
now. I know the truth of God's word, and you do too if the Lord
has enlightened your hearts to his truth. So I ask the question,
are we afraid to die? It's a solemn conversation, sobering,
and it's a serious question to ask people. Some may try to avoid
it, but I'll tell you right now, no one can. You may suppress
it, you may postpone dealing with it, but someday, you're
not going to be able to avoid it anymore, and you're going
to be looking at it right in the face. Brother Don Fortner
wrote this, he says, I have watched a lot of men die, some young
and some old, some believers and some infidels, some with
no hope at all, some with a false hope, and some with a good hope. I have seen some die in utter
terror, I've seen some die with great comfort, some in brazen
blasphemy and defiance, and some with peace and with joy. How
will it be for you when you come to death's chilly waters? He
goes on to say this, he says, I know a good many men and women
who do everything they can to avoid visiting a rest home out
of fear that that might be what's for them. Some who go out of
their way to avoid hospitals or funeral parks because they
simply cannot face the fact that they too must soon die. Even now the fear of death terrorizes
them and I ask you, writes Don, what Jeremiah asked a long, long
time ago. He said, if sickness and death
torment you now, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? How will you do when that time
comes? Are you afraid to die? It's a
reasonable fear if you don't know the Lord. A very reasonable
fear. The fear of death comes to natural
men, to natural sinful men. And the fact is, if you're without
Christ, you've got very good reason to fear. Very good reason
to fear. And scripture tells us that it
is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, judgment. Soon, you and I must go through
that doormark death. A dying man once requested these
words to be inscribed on his tombstone. He said, please view
my grave as you pass by. For as you are so, once was I. And as I am soon, you must be,
so make your plans to follow me." Cute little poem to put
on your gravestone, huh? This man wanted all who passed
by his grave to be reminded of the frailty of life, to be reminded
of the certainty of death. Because of our sin and guilt
before God, we all must die, but death will not end our existence. One day we all will stand before
the holy, just, and righteous God in judgment, and some will
reap the exact penalty due for their sin. The infinite, the
eternal wrath of God in hell is that penalty. Look over at
2 Corinthians 5, talking about the day we go through that doormarked
death. Those who are not in Christ have
great reason to fear, and here's why. Look at verses 10 and 11
of 2 Corinthians chapter 5. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, that at every one may receive
the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto
God, and I trust also we are made manifest in your consciousness. One more, if you would, turn
over to Revelation, Revelation 20. In Revelation chapter 20,
we begin reading at verse 11, And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books
were opened. And another book was opened,
which is in the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out
of those things which were written in the books according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it, and the death of hell delivered up the dead
which were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So we
see there are two types of people even here in the judgment seat.
Those whose names were written in the Book of Life. Well, what
is the Book of Life? The Book of Life is He who is
Life. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's those whose names were written
on His breastplate. It's those whose names were carved
in the palms of His hands, as it says, engraven in the palms
of His hands. It's those for whom He is known
as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This second death,
the everlasting death of our souls in hell, it is a torturous
death that never dies. But we have some hope. We have
a hope when we read these words of the second death, and we know
what we deserve, we know what we've earned. When God has revealed
the depth of our sin to us, and the penalty of that sin, we have
a hope because scripture tells us two words. You know what those
two words that give us great hope? But God. But, that means there's something
else besides the second death before us. There could be eternal
life. What a hope. What a great hope
to have. But God. There's a blessed deliverance
from this second death. For the believer, things are
much different. In Hebrews chapter 2, we read
in verses 14 and 15, the Holy Spirit tells us that one great
purpose of our Savior's incarnation, one great purpose for Him to
become flesh, was that He might destroy Satan and deliver His
elect from the fear of death. He might deliver you and I from
the fear of what's in the ever after. Our Lord Jesus came into
this world for this very purpose that he might deliver them who
through the fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. You and I who were washed in
the blood of Christ living by faith in him should have no fear
of death now. Certainly we must not expect
to have dying grace until that time comes. We have doubts. That's not what I'm saying here.
But God will give us grace when we need it. Isn't that what we
talked about in Friday night's Bible study? My grace is sufficient,
not just for what we do this moment, but for everything in
our lives. And we know that God's grace is sufficient even for
that day. We know that His grace was sufficient for Abraham when
He told Abraham to take his son to the mountain and sacrifice
his son. His grace will be sufficient
for us too. I can imagine my brother Bill
on his Harley Davidson, coming down the road, and things starting
to get real fuzzy before him. I can imagine him thinking, is
this my time, Lord? Am I ready? Are you ready to
take me home? I know if he was thinking that,
there would be a smile on his face. No, we don't fear what's
in the ever after. There's two places in the ever
after. There's everlasting hell and everlasting bliss in heaven. If I go to heaven, it's because
of God's grace. If I go to hell, it's because I deserve it. It's
what I've earned. If I go to heaven, my Lord has
taken what I deserve upon Himself fully. But God. Christ came not
only to deliver us from death, but also from the fear of death.
He did so by effectually teaching us the gospel. Giving us the
blessed confidence of faith in Him as our all-sufficient Savior. What is the gospel? The gospel
is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. You say, well, that's only two
words. Isn't there three things that we're supposed to be looking
at? Who He is, what He's done, and where He is? Well, number
one, Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? He's God
Almighty. I and my Father are one. Everything
between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
are in complete, perfect tune. Because they are one. All the
fullness of the Godhead dwelleth in the Lord Jesus bodily. Knowing
that, we know that everything that he did was perfect. Including
laying down his life. There you go. Jesus Christ and
him crucified. But being God, death could not
hold him. So where is he right now? He's
sitting on his throne. He paid the price. When we stand
before God Almighty in that day of judgment that we just read
about, the Lord will say, Come, thou faithful servant, to those
that He has loved from before. Why? Because they were faithful,
His Son was faithful, and they were in Him. Christ in Him crucified,
our substitute. Look over at Jeremiah chapter
31. One verse I want to read for you over there. Jeremiah
chapter 31, verse 3. The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saith Jeremiah, saying to him, Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love. Jeremiah is basically saying
these words about God. All this other stuff that's going
on in the flesh that we see with our eyes of the flesh, all the
stuff that we Think about with this the mind of the flesh, but
God has loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee. Now one more if you would, turn
over to John chapter 10. In verse 7 of John chapter 10
we read, Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. This is the gospel. This is the good news to those
who have been delivered from darkness, those who have had
the light of the Son of God shine in their hearts. Verily, verily,
I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came
before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall
be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief
cometh not but for to steal and to kill and destroy. I am come
that they might have life, that they might have it more abundantly.
These are words, folks, of assurance to God's people. Assurance that
He will not fail His promises. He will not fail what He has
said He would do in His Word. He is capable and able to do.
Verse 11, He says, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth
His life for the sheep. That's what we stand upon that
day in the Day of Judgment. As John reads in the flesh, done,
Things to deserve? Hell, absolutely. But my Lord,
what's it say right there? He giveth his life for the sheep. That's our hope. That's our trust.
That was the hope of Clay's dad. As I understand, he was under
the ministry of Darwin Pruitt there in Arkansas and believed
God. He believed his son. What his
son preaches up there in Ewing, New Jersey. Everyone that knows
the man of true faith declare that he was, as far as anyone
can tell of any man, just like as far as I can tell of Bill,
or my wife, or any other person of the flesh, as far as I can
tell, they believe. They believe that God the Son
gave his life, the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,
but he that is a hireling, verse 12, and not the shepherd, whose
own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and believeth
the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth
the sheep. Verse 13, the hireling fleeth, because he is in hireling,
and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know
my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring. And they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth
my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. This is the good news. This is
the gospel. This is the word of God that
comes to His people, His chosen people, His loved, His redeemed,
those that He has justified before Himself, the just one. This is
the good news to us. Those He has loved from before
the foundation of the world, they have been judged in the
death of God's Son. God's justice for us has been
satisfied in His Son, the Lord Jesus. Now if that's not good
news to you, I don't know what could be. I know it's certainly
wonderful news to me.