In the 12th chapter of Luke's
Gospel, our Lord Jesus gives us a parable, a parable by which
he teaches the utter vanity of all things in this world and
the certainty of death and judgment and eternity. Let's begin reading
in Luke chapter 12 and verse 15. And he said unto them, take heed
and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake
a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee. This night shall thy soul be
required of thee. I wonder how you would respond
should God speak those words directly to you. This night shall
thy soul be required of thee. I wonder how I would respond
should God speak those words directly to me. I want you to consider this solemn
sober, serious question. Will you die tonight? That's my subject. Will you die
tonight? And I pray that when I'm done
preaching, you will still hear the question ringing in your
heart, and that God will give you no rest until you can answer
that question with peace and satisfaction. Will you die tonight? I've tried to thoughtfully examine
my own heart and soul with this question. I can't answer it with
any absolute certainty. I may or may not die tonight
and you may or may not die tonight. But my purpose in asking the
question is that we may prepare ourselves to die tonight. So give this thoughtful, earnest
consideration. Will you die tonight? Let me make five statements,
facts. Facts I know are true. Without
any shadow of doubt, I know these things are true of every one
of us. And then I'll try to answer the
question for you from the word of God. Understand this first. You deserve to die. You deserve to die. The wages
of sin is death. The fact that you're here still
breathing God's air on God's earth is a marvel of God's mercy. You should have been in hell
a long time ago. You deserve to die. You and I
by nature, by choice, by action, deserve the wrath of God. Thank
God for his mercy that saves us from death, eternal death
in hell. Number two, you're going to die. The day and hour of your death
has been appointed by God from eternity. The appointment has
been made and you're going to keep it. And all that you and
I may do to put off keeping the appointment will account for
nothing. At the appointed hour, when God
snuffs out your breath, you shall die. And God will snuff out your
breath at precisely his own appointed hour. Is there not an appointed
time to man upon the earth? Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee. Thou hast appointed
his bounds that he cannot pass. Job said, all the days of my
appointed time will I wait till my change come. At the appointed
hour, you will die, and me too. Life in this world, at its best,
taken at its longest possible view, is but a brief, brief experience,
just the breadth of a man's hand, no more. It's a vapor that appears
for just a little while and then is gone. How quickly the ships
pass over the sea of time and are gone. At God's appointed
time, you and I will leave this world. You may be young and healthy
and strong and think to yourself, I have a long life ahead of me,
but soon, very, very soon, The cold sweat of death will be on
your brow. Every community has a cemetery. The tombstones in the graveyard
remind us that those whose corpses now lie beneath the sod once
lived among us. And this is the end of all men. Every time I go to preach at
Robert Street Church in Dudley. I spend a little time by myself
if I can get alone walking around the church grounds. The church
building has been there for a long time. They've got a cemetery
and folks have been buried there for a long time. And I like to
read the inscriptions and think about the people who are buried
beneath the sod. I'm reminded every time I look
on a gravestone of something that was written on one a long
time ago. Please view my tomb as you pass by. For as you are,
so once was I. And as I am, soon you shall be. So make your plans to follow
me. The wise man said, it's better
to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting.
For that's the end of all men, and the living will lay it to
his heart. Here's a third fact. When you
die, when you die, immediately you will meet God in judgment.
Immediately you will meet God in judgment. For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ. that everyone may
receive the things done in his body according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad. God's gonna give you in eternity
exactly what God says you deserve. No more and no less. He will
reward perfect righteousness with everlasting life and heavenly
glory. He will reward sin, any sin,
all sin, with everlasting death, darkness, damnation, in the torments
of hell. And while men may argue and fuss
on their way to hell, nobody's gonna argue and fuss in that
day, everybody will be compelled when God casts them into hell
to say amen. And everybody will be compelled
when God takes them into glory to say hallelujah, amen. God has done right. He takes
sinners saved by his grace into heavenly glory because he makes
the very righteousness of Christ our righteousness. And by the
blood of his darling son has washed away our sins, completely
put them away by the sacrifice of his son. and he sends sinners
to hell because justice demands. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The silly superstitions of purgatory
and limbo and soul sleep are totally contrary to the word
of God. No sooner will you close your eyes in death than you will
meet God, the incarnate God, Jesus Christ, Lord of glory in
judgment. judgment. Number four, after
you die, after your body is laid in the grave, you will live forever. Eternal death is not eternal
annihilation. Eternal death is not an eternal
cessation of being. Eternal death is eternal dying. After your body is laid in the
grave, you will live forever, either in the pit of the damned,
suffering the wrath of God, or in the bliss of heaven, enjoying
the blessedness of God's bounty and God's goodness. And I know this fifth thing.
If you die without Christ, you will be forever damned. If you die without Christ, you
will be forever damned. You must be found in Christ or
forever perish. One with Christ or forever lost. united to Christ by a living
union of faith are forever cast away from God, cast away from
Christ, cast away from good because of sin. You must believe on the
Son of God. I don't mean that Joining the
church, getting baptized, changing the way you live, giving up bad
habits and starting to do good things will do you any good,
it won't. I don't mean that you need to come to the front of
the church and make a decision and say a prayer somebody tells
you to say, that won't help a bit. I don't mean you must make a
decision for Jesus, that won't help a bit. I mean you must believe
on the Son of God. Not facts about Him, Him. Not truths concerning Him, Him. You must believe on the Son of
God or you must forever perish. Oh, God help you to believe His
Son. Prepare to meet thy God. And there's only one way to prepare.
You got to trust His Son. You got to trust His Son. Prepare
to meet thy God, for soon you shall die. Now let me try to
answer this question. I've asked myself this question
countless times in the last couple of weeks. I've asked myself this
question countless times today. Will you die tonight? And I have
some answers. First, I know this. I am a dying
man. In this world, there are a few
things about which I can speak with certainty. But I know I'm
a dying man. I must die. I'm 66 years old
and my body is wearing out. I'm reminded of it every day.
This earthly house, this tabernacle of clay is rapidly dissolving
and soon must be dissolved. As much as I have loved and overloved
this body, and I have, I must leave it to the grave. There,
this body must lie and rot and return to the dust from which
it came. That's just fact. Very soon,
these eyes will see no more. These ears will hear no more.
This mouth will speak no more. These hands will work no more. These feet will move no more. This is the fruit of sin. But
thank God, oh thank God, this is not me. This is not me. I live inside
here. This is just a tent. a tabernacle,
a dwelling place for this mortal being in which we find ourselves
now. This body is just our clothing,
not ourselves. Death is separation from the
body. It must come. But when it comes,
for the believer, it will be a welcome relief. It will be
separation from a troublesome, hateful companion. Richard Baxter
wrote one time, it's like taking off a shoe that hurts my foot. It will be a welcome relief.
I used to sell shoes, and I try to wear comfortable shoes, make
it a point to do so. I know the importance of it.
Some years ago, A friend of mine, a dear lady, bought me a pair
of real expensive shoes, nicest shoes I'd ever owned. She found
them on sale. She paid more for them on sale
than I ever paid for shoes. So I decided to wear them home.
I was in Texas. What a mistake. By the time I
got home, my feet and my legs were killing me. You know what
I did with those expensive shoes? I pulled them off and threw them
away. Never intended to wear them again
because they hurt my feet. I can't tell you how life in
this body of flesh hurts my soul. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? The Lord Jesus Christ shall.
And when I'm free from the bondage of this corruption and this prison
of sin, I will be free indeed and not until then. Somehow,
we must learn to treat this body as a perishing thing. I don't
mean by that that we should be neglectful or that we should
be reckless with regard to our health. That would be a great
evil. But I do mean that we spend far
too much time and too much care pampering, soothing and satisfying
this body. Soon it's going to the grave. It's your soul that's important.
Your everlasting undying immortal soul. What shall a man give if
he shall gain the whole world? gratifying his body and lose
his own soul. It's your soul. It's my soul
that's important. Will you die tonight? Here's
my second answer. I know I'm a dying man. Second,
now listen to me. I'm not afraid to die. I'm not
afraid to die. I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded. I am. I am fully
convinced. He's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Death is not something
I dread. Death is not something I fear.
I can speak with a little more experience than most living men
can concerning it. I've been faced with the prospect
of dying immediately a couple of times in my life. I'm not
afraid to die. And I don't mean to impress you
with bravery, that's got nothing to do with it. I don't mean to
impress you with the strength of my faith, that's got nothing
to do with it. I'm not afraid to die because
Jesus Christ is my savior. Now I'll tell you what makes
people afraid to die. I've watched some folks die,
a good many. Believers and unbelievers. If you're fearful of death, here's
the reason. You're sinning. You're sinning. You may suppress it, you may
try to push it aside, but it's your sin. That's the thing that
bothers you. and your righteousness. You know,
if you don't trust Christ, if you're not born of God, if Christ
is not made of God unto you, what David just said, righteousness. If he's not your righteousness,
you know your righteousness is not good enough. It's not good
enough. Many, many years ago, I had an
occasion to speak to my nephew, Michael, son of my older sister,
Jean. And Jean is a remarkable lady.
That woman spent her life. She has spent her life, literally. She dates, she keeps a calendar
and arranges her life going and doing stuff for folks. She's
done it for as long as I can remember. She's a remarkable
lady. And I said to Michael, her son,
I said, your mother's a remarkable, remarkable lady. but her goodness
won't get her to glory. Neither will yours. And you know
it won't. You know it. You may lead on
your righteousness, but it's not acceptable to God. You know
the motive behind it all. A third thing that causes fear
of death is apprehension and fear with regard to that which
is unknown. I don't, normally go to funerals
and listen to a preacher blaspheme God any more than I go to the
church house and listen to him on Sunday morning. If I know
the fella taking care of the funeral doesn't believe the gospel,
I'm not gonna go listen to him. I'll say goodbye at the visitation
the night before. I'm just not gonna go do it.
But several years ago, and I don't even remember whose funeral it
was, I was attending a funeral in West Virginia, and the preacher,
a Baptist preacher, supposed to be a conservative Baptist
preacher, stood in the pulpit and he said, well, the reality
is we really just don't know what lies beyond the grave. I
wanted to throw a rock at him. I do. I do. The thing that makes folks fear
death is they fear the unknown, and that which lies beyond the
grave to most people is unknown, because they've not read the
book of God, because they've not been taught of God, because
they don't believe God. Fourth great concern for everybody
with regard to death, and this is one we all struggle with who
are believers, is our families, the welfare of our families.
And the fifth great concern for believers and especially for
preachers is the church of God, the welfare of God's church and
kingdom. Immediately, when Brother Todd
and I were talking Thursday morning after the Lord had taken Brother
Cody Groover home to glory, Todd said, what's gonna happen to
that work there? Immediately, that's our concern. Let me deal
with each of these common fears just briefly. First, there's
no reason to fear the welfare of God's church. Now, I have
to acknowledge, I have to confess, that troubles me a great deal.
What's gonna happen to this congregation when God takes me away? What
stupid pride. What stupid, insane pride. God's church got along for 2,000
years without me and it'll get along just fine when I'm gone.
The Lord supplies his church with pastors exactly according
to his purpose and the eternal good of his elect. And there's
no reason to be concerned about my family when I've left them
in this world. When I think about death, I recognize
that the Lord God is wiser, kinder, stronger, and richer than I am. He can meet the needs of my wife,
my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandchildren far better than
I can. Many years ago, when I really
thought I was going to die of cancer, And I had concern for
my little girl. She was just a toddler. I had
great concern for leaving her fatherless. And the Lord God
spoke peace to my soul, assuring me she's not sure she's mine.
And I'm a better father than you are. I can't hear as well now as I
used to, but I used to could listen to two or three conversations
at a time, and I usually did when Shelby was involved. We
were out in California one year having lunch, and one of the
ladies down at the table asked Shelby, said, what are you gonna
do when Brother Don's gone? Live in the Parsons, don't have
anything, any property, what are you gonna do? And my wife
taught me something. She said, God's taken care of
me all these years. He'll take care of me then too. He is a better father and a better
husband than any of us. He'll take care of his own. And
then we have concern for our sin, our sin. But that doesn't
cause me any problem either. You see, the son of God took
my sin and made it his own. He took my guilt and made it
his guilt. He took my debt and made it his
debt. And when he bled and died under
the wrath of God, satisfying the justice of God, he paid all
my debt, put all my sin away, took away all my obligations,
all my guilt. He's my substitute. But Don,
what about your righteousness? Are you good enough, righteous
enough to meet God? So that God Almighty looks upon
you and smiles and accepts you? Indeed He does. Christ is my
righteousness. I have no other. All of that
that you can see, all of that that you look at,
If you see anything in me that you approve of, anything in me,
you say, that's good. That's just sin. Brother Claus, that's just fact
for you and me both. What we see and approve of in
each other is just sin, sin, sin. That's all, that's all. There's nothing you do, nothing
I think, nothing we feel. that's not marred with corruption
and sin. That's just fact. We have no
righteousness of our own. And until you can, by your own
hand, throw your righteousness away as a filthy, stinking, minstrel's
cloth, I won't have it. Get that filth
away from me! Until you can throw it away,
you don't know God. You just don't know God. Christ
is my righteousness. And God's already accepted him.
And already accepted me in him. The Lord Jesus Christ is my holiness,
my only holiness. It is that new man in me that
shall never die. The old man must. Thank God he
must. Soon Adam will die. Christ will never die. And that
new man in us is Christ Jesus the Lord. And life after death
is no mystery to me either. I know that when this body is
empty, I will live before the Lord. I know that though my body
returns to the dust, it shall one day be raised again in immortality. Job put it this way. I know that
my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I
shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another,
though my reins be consumed within me. Let me give you another answer. Will you die tonight? I don't know, but I endeavor
to live every day in the immediate prospect of death. Oh, Spirit of God, give me this
kind of faith. so that I live constantly looking
for Christ to come. Either in his glorious second
advent or in his great mercy to call me home. Either way is
perfectly all right. Either way is exactly what I
want. I want to see him come. I want to live constantly on
the tiptoe of faith looking for him. I endeavor purposefully
to live in the habit of dying. I want to be able to say with
the Apostle Paul, I die daily. That means that we must put down
the passions of life in this world and die to it. A dead man
can't be greatly charmed, moved, or affected by anything in this
world. Not a dead man. to hold everything here with
a loose hand, ready to let it go at God's call anytime, anytime. I've told you many times of a
young pastor visiting a man in his congregation. And he was
showing him around, man had his children and grandchildren and
all of them gathered with the family gathering, they invited
the pastor and his wife there. And sitting out in the garden
with all the grandchildren playing in the yard, he said, preacher,
these are the things that make it hard to die. They are indeed. They are indeed. But we're living
in a dying world. Everything around us is perishing.
If we would be wise, we must live in the awareness of that
fact. Husband and wife, mother and
father, son and daughter, all died. And all will be taken precisely
at God's appointed time. Brother Walter Groover is 80
years old. His 57-year-old son goes. Brother Henry Mahan, 90 years
old, buried both his daughter and one of his sons. You just
don't expect it to happen that way. Learn to expect it. Everybody
is dying. Everybody is dying. I have buried small children,
infants, toddlers, and I've buried old folks. Everybody's dying. Everything we count dear to our
flesh is perishing, everything. Everything we spend our lives
building is going to soon fall down. Everything we spend our
lives getting, we will soon turn loose of, everything. So hold
everything loosely. Try to live, try to live, and
I'm talking to me, I'm talking to me. I can't tell you how much
I'm talking to me, and I hope you'll listen in. try to live
in this world like a fellow traveling and spends every night in a different
motel room. Every night, just different motel
room. You know what you do? You put your bags down, get your
clothes out, take a shower and go to bed. And you don't much
care anything about the room. Long as it's reasonably clean,
it's all right. Now, some of you might demand
a little more than I do, but as long as I can't see dust fly
when I shake the covers, I'm all right. It's just reasonably
clean. But nothing in there much bothers
me. If something's crooked, that
doesn't bother me any. If the television doesn't work, I might
get a little bit aggravated, but give me a couple of minutes,
I'll forget that too. I don't need it. Nothing bothers me. Why? Because I'm just staying
overnight. I'm just staying overnight. You're just staying overnight. It won't be long, you're gonna
leave here. Oh, God teach us to live every day as if we knew
it were our last, putting everything in order, redeeming the time
for the days are evil, knowing the time is short, press everything
you can into every day. I don't mean all the fun you
can. I don't know what's become of society. I can remember, I'm
just 66 years old. Some of you are a lot older.
I can remember when folks didn't live to have a good time. I can
remember when they didn't live so they'd go out to dinner. I
can remember folks didn't live so they could go play games.
Folks lived to accomplish something. They live for a purpose. Children
of God, press everything you can in every day for the glory
of God, for the furtherance of the gospel, for the increase
of Christ's kingdom, for the good of God's people. Press everything
you can into every day. George Whitefield once said,
I try to keep my affairs so arranged that if I were to die at any
time, There'd be no trouble to those who come after me. That's
what I'm saying. Be ready to leave here. Here's
the third answer. If I should die tonight, I would
count it the greatest possible blessing. Now, understand what I'm talking
about. My life in this world is and has been the most blessed
life a man could possibly enjoy. I married to a lady who dotes
on me all the time. Loves me dearly. Whatever she
can do to make me more comfortable, whatever she can do to make me
more happy, she dotes on me all the time. Just thought it was
a standing in line waiting for me to die to get a chance at
her. Couldn't ask for more. God gave
us just one child. A child that never calls me a
restless night or a restless moment. My son-in-law, my grandchildren,
they love me and delight and I delight in them. And you, God's
given me this assembly with which to serve him and worship him. And he's given me friends literally
around the world. around the world, I'm talking
about folks who are friends. I wouldn't long to die just to
be free from what little trouble I may experience in this world.
Or just to be free from labor and toil, I had no desire for
that. Or just to be free from responsibilities
in life. But if I had my preference, if
I had that which I greatly desire, yes, I would die now. to die is gain, to die is gain,
to die is gain. Oh, God convinced me of that
more and more every day. The Apostle Paul wrote to the
Philippians, turn there if you will, Philippians chapter one.
He wrote to the Philippians and he told them and tells us that
he lived in the midst of relentless contention and opposition. There
were obviously, in verses 14 through 17, some men whom he
esteemed as brethren, fellow laborers in the gospel. But for
some reason, they counted Paul their enemy and spoke evil of
him. But it didn't allow either the flattery of friends or the
opposition of others to affect him too much. Look at verse 19.
I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. According to
my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall
be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also,
Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life
or by death. What more could a man want? Christ
shall be magnified in my body. Doesn't matter what these fellas
say. Doesn't matter what you, my friends, say. Doesn't matter
what these fellas do. Doesn't matter what you, my friends,
do. Doesn't matter whether I am in prison or free. Doesn't matter
whether I'm sick or healthy. Christ shall be magnified in
my body, whether by life or by death. Look at verse 21. For
to me, to live is Christ. and to die is gain. Christ is
living in me. And when I die, when I drop this
body, I'm going to live perfectly in him. But if I live in the
flesh, this is the fruit of my labor. Yet what I shall choose,
I want not. That's not up to me. I won't
make that decision. I can't make that decision. For
I'm in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and
be with Christ. which is far better. Nevertheless,
to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Think and meditate about what
it is to die in Christ. Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord. I've often told you of Richard
Baxter. who suffered so much in his day, he was dying, and
his congregation and his friends knew it. One of his friends came
to see him, and I guess men have always asked dumb questions,
and you walk in the room and the fellow's trying his best
to breathe. And one of his friends asked
him, he said, Pastor, how are you today? And Baxter mustered
enough strength to push up on one elbow, and he said, almost
well. Almost well, almost well. That's what it is to die in the
Lord, is to be made whole, well, perfectly conformed to Christ,
in perfect communion with Christ. When we leave this world and
are taken into glory, our Savior's prayer is answered, that we may
behold His glory. Imagine that. The knowledge,
the joy, the brightness, the life that awaits us. And when
we leave this world and are taken into glory, Our most earnest
prayers are answered. I want to be like Him. And when
you see Him, we should be like Him, for we'll see Him as He
is. I want His company all the time. We shall be with Him forever. I want sweet communion with my
Redeemer all the time, soon. Nothing will interrupt. I want
conformity to Him, perfect conformity. Soon it shall be mine. Death
takes the wife from her husband, the child from his mother, the
father from his family. But we cheer ourselves with the
prospect of a glorious, blessed reunion when Christ comes again. Look at 2 Thessalonians, or 1
Thessalonians chapter 4. Verse 13, I would not have you to be ignorant
brethren, concerning brother Cody Groover, brother Norman
Wheeler, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not
even as others which have no hope. The sorrow that's to be
expected, oh yes, oh yes, but not a hopeless despairing sorrow. 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
the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. Those who have gone before us,
they're gonna be first in the resurrection. 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. I remember reading once of an
old preacher who once stepped into his pulpit on a Sunday morning
and he read a verse of the hymn like they used to, they'd sound
them out and then folks would sing. He read a verse of the
hymn, Father, I long, I think, to see the place of thine abode.
I'd leave thine earthly courts and flee up to thy throne, my
God. And when he finished giving out
the verse, he sat down in his chair and laid back and went
up to glory. George Whitefield one night had
been preaching about the glories of heaven. And when he finished,
he stepped into glory. Believers leave this world of
sin and this body of sin and enter into glory when they leave
this world. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. One more answer to the question.
Will you die tonight? I can't answer the question with
certainty. If you should read or hear tomorrow
morning, Brother Don died during the night, don't be concerned.
That'd be perfectly all right. That'd be perfectly all right.
But to answer the question plainly for myself, I don't think so
just yet. I trust I'm not speaking presumptuously. I believe I have a good reason
for that answer. I know I won't die until my appointed
time has come. And I know I won't die until
it is God's will for me to die. And I know that I won't die until
my work on this earth appointed by God is finished. Mortals are
immortal here until their work is done. I'm sure the time's
getting near, but it appears to me for the present it's needful
for me to remain a while longer. A few more things to take care
of for the furtherance of the gospel. No other reason. A few more things to take care
of for the distribution of the gospel in this world. No other
reason. Have absolutely no other reason
for remaining here. Pray for me as God enables you.
that He'll give me grace, oh, God give me grace to give myself
wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly every day of my life until I
cease to live in this world to the cause of my Redeemer. And
I promise you, I pray God will give you that grace to give yourself
wholeheartedly to the cause of Christ every day you live in
this world. I don't mean, and I have to qualify
it, I don't mean that you neglect anything, oh no. You men who
have jobs to do, take care of your jobs, but do it for the
glory of God. You ladies who had children to
raise and houses to keep, take care of your children and houses,
but do it for the glory of God. Give yourself to God's glory,
God's will, and God's cause. But soon, soon, if you hear the
report tonight or tomorrow, Or the next day that by the dawn
is gone, he's died, don't believe it. Don't believe it. I will
only have pulled off a shoe that hurts my foot. Turn to John chapter
11, I'll show you. John chapter 11, verse 25. Jesus said to Martha, I am the
resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. Now watch this. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me, what does that say, Merle? Shall never die. Shall never die. Oh no, no, no. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Our Savior said. And they thought
he was talking about Lazarus taking a nap. He said, Lazarus
is dead. But then he qualifies it here.
He said, Martha, I don't mean Lazarus is dead like other folks
are dead. I mean Lazarus is going to glory. Whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. Amen.