I'd like for you to open your
Bibles with me to the book of Revelation again, the 14th chapter. I have many, many things to say
this evening. I pray that, as Brother Jay has
already prayed, that God will be pleased to make it profitable
unto all who are assembled here. and bring forth glory to his
matchless name as a result of what has been said and done.
Now, Scripture, Revelation 14, 13, and I heard a voice, 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. Tomorrow night we'll be observing
a memorial service, a service in the memory of a very dear
and beloved brother, and our congregation will be filled with
visitors and people from throughout the city and throughout this
area. who wouldn't understand if I said tomorrow night what
I plan to say tonight. So I'm going to be preaching
tomorrow night a gospel message on what I know about death. But
tonight I want to talk to the family, this is the family, the
church family, on the subject, blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. Now my friends, the believer,
the child of God, the true redeemed believer, does not wish to hear
himself praised in any fashion, but he desires his pastor and
minister to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. Let that be first established. That is our concern and that
is our desire. If you are a true believer in
Christ, you want to see his name lifted up, not your own. You
want to hear his glory exalted and not your own. You want to
hear of his accomplishments and his work and not your own. For John said, I must decrease.
I must decrease, always decreasing, while my Lord must increase,
not only with words but in my thoughts and in my heart. And
the Apostle Paul said, though I be nothing, though I be nothing. I'm not one whit behind the chief
apostle," he said, as far as gifts are concerned. I speak
with tongues more than all of you. And he went on naming some
of the accomplishments that had been his through the grace of
God. But he said, though I be nothing,
he said, I am what I am by the grace of God. And in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing. Now, I lay that foundation to
add this, however, however, the Scripture tells us to give honor
to whom honors due. The scripture tells us that those
who labor in the word and in the ministry are worthy of double
honor. The scripture tells us that there
are men and women who are to be highly esteemed for their
works' sake. That's scriptural. And isn't
our God called, Charlie, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Well, who were Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, Bob, but men? Somebody's talking about men,
aren't they? Who was Daniel but a man? A man in his day, a contemporary
man at that time. Well, who are the contemporaries
today but Cecil Roach, Half Yates, John Howsam, J. Wimberly? See what I'm saying? They talked
about Isaac and Abraham and Jacob. They talked about Daniel, David,
and Hosea. They talked about Elijah, Elisha,
and Jeremiah, but I'm talking about the men who are in this
day, whose example is to be followed. God didn't raise up a few men
whose example was to be followed and then not raise up any more.
God's work's not finished. God's work's not over. Barnard
said this is one of our greatest errors of this day. We crucify
the living and brag on the dead. And they've been doing that ever
since there's been a Bible. When Moses was here, they cursed him.
When he died, they said, we have Moses. You see that? When the apostles were here,
they crucified and burned them at the stake and cut their heads
off. After they were dead, they said, we have the apostles. When
John Calvin and Martin Luther and Zwingli and Huss and those
men were here, they despised them. Somebody said they named
their dogs Calvin and their sons Duke. Now they named their dogs
Duke and their sons Calvin. That's human nature. That's what
the Pharisees said to our Lord. They said, we've been living
the days of the prophets. We'd have never done that. Oh, he
said, you would have to. And because you're crucifying
today's prophets, you're going to share in the responsibility
for the blood of every prophet that ever lived, from Zacharias
to the last one. Well, now, what'd he say? We
brag on the dead and crucify the living, brag on the dead
and forget the living. Well, I'm going to spend some
time tonight talking about living examples. living examples. Blessed are the dead when Jeremiah
died, blessed are the dead today who die in the Lord. Blessed
are the dead when Elijah died, who die in the Lord, and blessed
are the men today who die in the Lord. These died in faith.
These died in faith. We're talking about Abraham died
in faith, Noah died in faith, Enoch died in faith. But we've
got members of the 13th Street Baptist Church that died in the
same faith those people died in. Not a nickel's worth of difference. Elijah was a man of like passion.
He's no different from us. We make these Bible heroes half
gods and half heroes, and they were just men. James says that
Elijah was a man of like passion as you are. He walked in the
flesh just like you do. He had the same discouragements
and trials and difficulties you have, and he believed in the
same God. And I want to pay tribute tonight
before the family, the 13th Street Baptist Church and our guests,
to a man who has meant so much to me for a long, long time,
Brother Edgell Moore. The Lord was pleased to call
him away from us Monday night, almost midnight. Brother Edgell
has been my friend for 34 years. as the assistant pastor of the
Apollard Baptist Church almost 35 years ago, 34 years ago. I was 21 years old, and Brother
Edgell was about 36, 37, about your age, Bob. I was 21. And he opened his home and his
heart to me, as many of you who are here tonight did. and with
my friends, steadfast, along with Woody Thompson back then,
one of my first friends. Stood with me, young and ignorant,
made a lot of mistakes, but they stood, and they were friends.
And then when I became pastor of this church, 30 years ago,
I was only, I was the age of Paul, my son Paul, when I became
pastor of the Apollo Baptist Church. Brother Edgell was 41
years of age. And through these years, I wish
I could I could say to you what he has meant to me, what his
strength and his loyalty and his faithfulness. I remember
Brother Paul back in 1954 when the chairman of the Board of
Deacons at Pollard was going to call the meeting of the whole
church to fire the pastor, you remember. And I sat on the pulpit. That was a tough Sunday. And
I knew a few who were with me, and I didn't know who was against
me, but I knew There sat Edgelmore right beside me on the platform.
He took his place right beside me. I sat there and he sat beside
me and the chairman of the Board of Deacons called him to vacate
the pulpit, sat over there. But Edgel was my strength. He
was my strong tower and stood with me before the whole congregation
and had some things to say. And I've never forgotten that.
He stood for the gospel. And he stood all these years
in faithfulness and loyalty and support and strength. And you
know, I've often said to someone, if he and Nina were not in the
service, they were either sick or out of town. Now, you could
be sure of that. She's here tonight. I expect
her to be here because she loves Christ. He loved Christ. He was our treasurer for 25 years. serving faithfully and diligently
during difficult days. God has given us days of prosperity
now and days of plenty. But I won't forget some men sitting
out here in this congregation. Without them, now I know without
God, we can do nothing. It's all of His grace. They're
His men, Jay. They're His men. But God uses
men, and what I'm saying is to encourage you younger men. Someday
there's another pastor going to be standing up 30 or 40 years
from now. And I hope by God's grace he
can say about you, Bill Parker, what I'm saying about Edgelmore,
don't you? About you, Paul, about other men here that I hope they
can stand and say he stood for the gospel without wavering faithfully,
loyally, among difficult times, hard times, discouraging times,
it stood. The old oak tree stood. I'll
tell you why it stands, because the roots down deep in Christ,
that's where it stands. And I don't have time to go over
all this congregation tonight and tell all you men what you've
meant to me and to this church and to the gospel in this area.
But there's not a church in this entire area or all the churches
put together that's preaching the gospel to as many people
as we are. All of them put together are not giving as much to foreign
missions as you are. All of them put together do not
have as many missionaries on the field as we have. And I told
a preacher over the telephone last night who called me from
down in Florida, I said, I'll tell you this, if you've got
to discuss who's most important, the man in the pulpit or the
man in the pew, you're going to have your problem. I can be
replaced much easier than you can. I mean that. I said that
to him, and I meant that. But actually, somebody says,
well, what would be worse, to have a congregation without a
preacher of the gospel or have a preacher of the gospel without
a congregation? I don't know, Cecil. I just don't know. They go together, don't they?
You just can't have a great church without great soldiers. You can't
have a great pulpit without a man who's willing to stand up and
be counted and preach the gospel. So I'm paying tribute tonight
to a man who taught our young people for ten years. He was
the teacher of our boys and girls every Sunday, faithfully, in
all the services. And I thought as I was writing
these things and going over some of the blessings that to me and
to some of you, and I can say the same thing about the rest
of you, and all the rest of you men sitting out here, and you
younger men that are coming along. But we went in this thing together,
and we're going to see it through together. And that's the spirit
of a man who is called of God. God doesn't call a man like a
butterfly to get a little juice here and a little there and a
little yonder. He calls men to build. He calls men to be pillars,
pillars of the truth. He calls them to be living stones
in a living temple. He calls them to stay and to
build and not be discouraged. And I'm saying these things that
other men in this congregation might be encouraged in the ministry
of the gospel. I told this preacher last night
also, I said, everybody's in the ministry who's saved. We
all have a ministry. We're all preachers of the gospel.
Witnesses of Christ in the home, in the shop, in the office, on
the streets, the playgrounds, the schools, or wherever we are.
We're ministers of the gospel, witnesses of Jesus Christ. And
you never know what you, just your very presence, your handshake,
your gifts, your encouragement, you just do not realize what
it means to those who are standing out here in leadership. Let's
look at James, listen to this, James chapter 2. James chapter
2 verse 17 says, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead.
Being alone. It goes on, it says, A man may
say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without
your works. Show me your faith without your
faithfulness. Show me your faith without your dependability. Show
me your faith without your perseverance. He said, I'll show you my faith
by my works. You believe there's one God?
Well, you do well, the devil believes that and trembles. But
will you know, vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac
his son upon the altar? You see how, see thou how faith
wroth with his works and by his works? Was faith perfected? Now
here's what James is saying. Now Paul is saying this. Paul
is saying that soul is justified by faith, and faith alone, nothing. enters into the justification
of the soul, but Christ's blood and Christ's righteousness and
our confidence and faith in Christ alone. But what James is saying
is that faith is justified by works. The soul is justified
by faith, but that faith is justified before men by works. You see,
Brother Edgell, the Lord called him home the other day. And I
can stand here with some evidence, Jay, some reason to believe he's
with God. Now, what's my evidence and what's
my reason? What he said? No. A lot of men
say that who fall away. The thing that convinces me and
gives me evidence and confidence and hope that he's with the Lord
is his life and his works and his testimony and his perseverance
and loyalty bear fruit, you see, and reveal his faith. If he'd
have never been in the service And if he'd have backed down
when he was challenged on the gospel, if when the testing time
came he wasn't to be found, I'd tremble. I'd be concerned. And that's the reason when we
come to preach a memorial service like your mother, Sandy, we can
have confidence because her life and her works gave evidence of
her faith. You see what I'm saying? And
you and I better have that now. This claim, this profession,
these words don't mean a thing to God or anybody else. But it's
faith that works by love. It's faith that is evidenced
by faithfulness. It's faith that is evidenced
by a confidence in Christ that produces a life lived in the
image of Christ. And we can have hope and confidence. Turn to 1 Thessalonians. Listen
to what Paul says over here. in 1 Thessalonians. We can have
confidence that a man is with Christ, not by just what he says,
but if what he says produces obedience and godliness
and righteousness and faithfulness. 1 Thessalonians, Paul says in
verse 4, chapter 1, Knowing, brethren beloved, your election
of God. I know you're elected. Now how
can a man know another man's elected? How can a man know another
man is beloved of the Lord? How can a man know another man
is a child of God? By what he says? No, Christ said,
many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
done this, that, and the other? Say they did it. But now watch
this. I know your election, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, verse 5, because our gospel didn't come
to you in word only. It came to you in power and the
Holy Ghost and much assurance. And verse 6 says, you became
followers, you became followers of us and the Lord. You received
the Word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. Verse
7, you became examples to everybody in Macedonia and Achaia. And
you became witnesses for us. Verse 8 says, from you sounded
out the Word of the Lord. And verse 9 says in the last
line, you turn from your idols to serve, to serve the living
and true God. And you wait for his Son from
heaven. So I'm convinced you're one of
God's elect. That's works, that's works. It's
a faith that produces works. It's a faith that's evidenced
by works. So I just feel like this day cannot pass and must
not pass and will not pass without both pastor and people. in one
voice and one heart giving thanks to God for our beloved brother
who gave every evidence of being one of God's elect. I'm grateful
for him, and when I say I'm grateful for him, I pass on that gratitude
to God for you, for you who have with him stood and will stand,
and for you young men and women who are coming along who can
be counted on in future years to stand for what we believe,
to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered
to the saints. Now another thing, secondly,
upon this occasion, upon this occasion, every one of us should
be reminded that our death is not far off. It can't be far
off. There's some of us in the congregation
now who in the sunset years, I know, I know people forever
scoffing and brushing this aside when I say, well, you may be
next, or I may be next, and they brush it aside and say, well,
I may outlive all of you. Well, that's okay to say that,
but it's just not usually true. And someone else may say, well,
some of these young folks may go before me. There's a good
possibility that some may, but not very probable. I'd say, you
know, like the Lord said, his days shall be three score and
ten, that's And there's not many of us go very far beyond that,
not too many. So we ought to be reminded that
by this occasion that our death is not far off. Someone said
in autumn, when we stand out and begin to see and we see the
leaves begin to fall, we see the leaves begin to fall, first
one, and then several, and then a whole lot of them, we conclude
that the rest of them will soon follow. So teach us, me, to number my
days that I may apply my heart to wisdom. If God enables me
and permits me to live as long as he did, Brother Edgell, then
I have 16 more years to live, which is not very long, not very
long at all. And those 16 years, I say this
with all of the strength that I can muster
to say it, those 16 years ought to be. and by God's grace will
be, live for His glory in pursuit of spiritual things. Not in pursuit
of the material, not in pursuit of the physical, not in pursuit
of the things of this world, but in pursuit of spiritual things.
Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him, that I may know
Him and the power of His resurrection, that I may attain to the resurrection
of the dead. Why don't we quit playing games? Because the fashion of this world
fadeth away, it passeth away. It's not going to last. I'm sure
if Nina could take this pulpit tonight, she'd say to every one
of us, the Lord is her helper and her strength, but she'd say
to every one of us this, that these 46 years that she and Edgel
had together, they're gone in no time, Nina, aren't they? They're
so brief, they're just here and they're gone. Young people, it's
gone. Now what matters? I'll tell you all that matters
to know Christ. That's all that matters. Brother
Edgelmore had a lot of accomplishments. He was a man of great character
and reputation and accomplishments in the community and in Armco
and in so many fields and YMCA and the Kiwanis Club and all
of these things. But I'm sure he would say one
thing was uppermost in his heart and mind and in his life, and
that was his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Because
I can tell you, as his pastor, that's what he put first. I've
never known him ever to schedule anything before his church, and
before the gospel, and before the master. Never have. So teach
me to number my days. You know, those who live the
longest have died. We talk about, well, I may live
to be 90. You may do it, but you're still going to die. Well,
preacher, I may outlive you all. You just may, but you're still
going to die. It's appointed unto men what's to die. A few
more days, Job said, and I shall go the way from which I shall
not return. I wish we could get that into
our hearts. I read this to Jay today. Those
who live the longest died also. Enos lived 905 years, but happy
died. Seth lived 912 years, but he died. Adam lived 930 years,
he died too. Jared lived 962 years, and he
died. And Methuselah outlived them
all. 969 years, he died too. He died too. So the cheap wisdom
of this preacher, and the cheap wisdom of you men sitting out
there in the congregation, I'm not talking about just the elders
and the deacons. I'm not just talking about the
mother Israels here with gray in their hair. I'm talking to
you girls and you young mothers. The cheap wisdom of any man or
woman is to live well and die well. That's man's cheap wisdom. What did the Old Testament writers
say? Let me die the death of the righteous
and let my last end be like his. It matters not when men die,
that's really not the issue. It matters not when men die.
Whether they die when they're 21 or 71. It matters not where
men die. Whether they die at home in bed
or in the hospital or on the highway or on the battlefield.
All that matters is how men die. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. In the Lord. in the Lord. Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord. It said these all died in faith. Now let me point out three things
from this text quickly, from Revelation 14. And if I can challenge
myself, if I can in any way encourage you, and the Scripture tells
us to exhort one another, so much more as we see that day
approaching. As we see that day approaching, I take my older
friends by the hand and I say, come on now. It's not long. Let's walk together in the unity
of faith. Let's walk in the pursuit of
Christ. Let's walk in the seeking of the Lord. Let's give our time
and everything we have to the Lord Jesus Christ, to fellowship
around His gospel. I take my young friends by the
hand and I say to them, it looks like you've got a long time,
but my friend, let me tell you, it's not long at all. It's like
a vapor. A mist that appears for a little
while and then it's gone. It's like a flower that blooms
and blooms in beauty, but soon it's withered and faded and gone.
It's just a shadow, just a vapor, it's just a day's journey. And
life is ended. Here's the first thing. I want
to look at three things tonight from verse 13. I heard a voice,
first of all verse 13, I heard a voice. I heard a voice from
heaven saying unto me, How do I know that those who die in
the Lord are blessed? Did I just think that up? Is
that just my denominational creed? Is that just my human thought
and logic? Is that just what a Baptist thinks or a Methodist
thinks or a Presbyterian thinks? Is that just what a religious
fanatic thinks? No, sir. John said, I heard a
voice from heaven say that. That's where I got that information.
That's where I got that information. You got every right, as I stand
here before you and preach Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday
night, to ask me, where'd you get that information? John says,
blessed! The natural man can't see anything
blessed about death. He fears it worse than he fears
anything. The natural man can't see anything blessed about closing
the eyes in death. When the eye strings pop, the
golden bowl is broken. The silver pitcher broken at
the fountain, man goes to his long home. The mourners stand
about the bedside. No man by nature can see anything
blessed in there. Where did you get your information?
I heard a voice from heaven, John said, say that. That's where
I got my information. That's my word of authority.
That's my foundation. That's my hope. I say, blessed,
blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Because the same
voice that says, let there be light, said, blessed are the
dead that die in the Lord. That same voice that said, I
will be merciful to whom I will be merciful, said, blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord. That same voice that says, this
is my beloved son, said, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
That same voice that said, while walking on this earth, I'm the
good shepherd, I lay down my life for my sheep. My sheep hear
my voice, they follow me. That same voice said, blessed! Not blessed of the mighty, not
blessed of the wise, not blessed of the rich, not blessed of the
strong, not blessed of the famous, blessed of the dead who die in
the Lord. That's where we get our information.
God said it. God said it. And if a preacher
will preach what God said, that preacher will preach for the
blessing and benefit of his congregation. If they speak not according to
the law and the prophets, it's because there's no light in them.
God's not left himself without a witness. God's not left himself
to man's logic or thought or understanding. Let God be true
and every man a liar, including this man. The witness is his
blessed, infallible, inerrant, unbroken, verbally inspired word. His word, a voice from heaven. Holy men of God spake as they
were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. And one of them
wrote, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. And I'll tell
you this, you can't write cursed where God writes blessed. You
can't write cursed where God writes blessed, and you can't
write blessed where God writes cursed. Cursed is every man that
loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ. Our source of all knowledge,
our source of all hope, our source of all assurance is the blessed
Word of the living God. That's our source. And how do
I know Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, because John
said, I heard a voice from heaven. Him who is life said, blessed
are the dead. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. Well, secondly, what is it to
die in the Lord? What is it to die in the Lord? Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. Well, it's not to die in church,
in the holy place. because old Joab died hanging
on to the altar, and he wasn't blessed. He wasn't blessed. It's not to die even in the holy
place made with hands. One fellow went into that holy
place and it drug him out dead, white as snow, a leper. It's not to die clutching religious
relics. Uzzah had his hand on the ark
when he died. the most holy piece of furniture
this world has ever seen, the Ark of God, over which the cherubim
separated his Shekinah glory, and Uzzah had his hand on that
Ark, and died. It didn't help him a bit. It's
not dying doing religious duties. Ananias and Sapphira died bringing
their offering to the front of the Church. That's not to die in the Lord.
What is it to die in the Lord? Let me give you about four things.
Number one, it's to die in faith. In faith. Our Lord said, he that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth on the
Son. Paul said, I'm ready to depart. I've kept the faith. I've kept
the faith. It says of those great men in
Hebrews chapter 11, 12, and 13, they died in the faith. He died in the faith. I believe
God. Turn to Romans 4 just a moment. Let me show you something in
Romans 4. I believe God. I believe God. In Romans chapter
4, it says here, talking about Abraham, and he's a pretty fair
country example of faith, isn't he? Abraham. It says here in
Romans chapter 4, verse 20, he staggered not at the promise
of God. Brother, all he had was a promise.
A promise that his seed would bring life. A promise that there'd
be a Redeemer. A promise that there'd be a cross. A promise that there'd be a sent-off. He believed a promise. A promise. But he knew God's promises were
as good as accomplished. He believed God. That's the reason
you talk about the resurrection, the eternal life, and the heaven's
glories. Why, God's promises are just
as good as done. God declared the end from the
beginning, but he believed the promise. He believed the promise.
He was strong in faith. In verse 28, he gave glory to
God for the whole thing, and he was fully persuaded that what
God had promised, he was able to perform. Therefore, it was
charged to his account, imputed unto him as his own, for righteousness. Now, watch this. This wasn't
written for his sake alone, that righteousness was imputed to
him, but for us also, us folks, us poor, country boys, us poor
human beings, us men of the flesh. He's written for us. Us. Written for our sake. To whom
it shall be imputed if we believe on him that not just promised,
but he raised Christ from the dead. We have all the witnesses
in the world tell us that. It's a lot easier for me to believe
than it was for Abraham. Lord, I have more revelation.
I have more understanding. It's to die in faith. To die
in faith. Secondly, it's to die being found
in Christ. Now watch this. Turn to Philippians
3. Being found in Christ. Now, my friends, salvation is
Christ in you. That's the hope of glory. Salvation.
I wish there was some way I could explain this, but I can preach
it all day and those who have a part in it will understand
it, and those who don't have a part in it, it's got to be
revealed. But now salvation, this thing
of dying in the Lord, is not just to make a profession. It's
not just to join a church. It's not just to memorize some
doctrines. It's not just to change your way of living. It's to be
found in Christ. to be found in Christ. You see,
all these things the Apostle Paul had at one time in religion,
he talks back here in the first part of chapter 3 about verse
4 having confidence in the flesh, verse 5 about being circumcised
and born a Hebrew and a Pharisee, and verse 6 about his zeal. and
verse 6 about his morality, and then he says in verse 7, these
things that I once thought were so important and counted gain,
I count loss. I count, verse 8, he said, everything
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found, be found
in Him, in Him, in Him. be found by God's law in Christ,
be found by God's justice in Christ, be found by God's holiness
in Christ, be found by all the requirements of God Almighty's
truth in Christ, to be found in Him, in Him. Not having my
own righteousness, my own covering, but Christ is my righteousness,
Christ is my robe, Christ is my sanctification, Christ is
all these things. Let me show you another verse,
2 Corinthians 5. Listen to this over here, 2 Corinthians
5, verse 3. It says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse
3, "...if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked."
Not be found naked. We stand around in front of men. We're clothed with a veneer of
religion. We're clothed with some scripture we can quote. We're clothed with some deeds
we've done. We're clothed with some rags of self-righteousness. We've
never, like one man said from this pulpy, he'd never done this,
that, and the other. You know, he began to name these
things he hadn't done. And we're clothed with all these
things. But God looks not on the outward countenance. God
looks on the heart, and I don't want to stand before Him someday
and be found naked, naked before His searchlight of holiness,
before His searchlight of righteousness, before His searchlight of truth.
I want to be found in Christ, not in myself or my deeds or
even in my faith or religious experience or religious decision,
but found in Christ. Chosen in Him, loved in Him,
redeemed in Him, accepted in Him, seated in Him, everything
in Christ. Loved in Him. Just in Christ. Like the branches in the vine. Like the head, the bodies in
the head are connected with the head. There's no, can't separate
them. In Christ. That's where I want to be found.
That's what it is to die in the Lord. is to die in the faith
of Christ and die being found in Christ. Now watch this. And
it's to die following Him, following Christ. Turn to Colossians, if
you will. Colossians, I believe it's chapter
1, verse 20, 21, 22. Paul says here that verse 21,
you were one time alienated enemies in your mind by wicked Yet He's
reconciled you, Colossians 1.22, in the body of His flesh through
death to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight if
you continue in the faith. I know what Brother Roth meant
years ago when somebody asked him, Brother Roth, you think
I'm saved? He said, and you may think these
things are a little amusing and all, they are to a degree. He
said, I don't know, let's see me in 30 years. I know what he
meant. He meant if you're continuing
in the faith, you give pretty good evidence you've been saved.
There's no man can give evidence. There's nobody who can tell what
the end of the race is going to be by how a fellow got started.
There's nobody who can tell how the end of the race is going
to come out by what he's doing at the halfway mark. The best indication of how a
man ran is when he crosses the finish line. He does in faith. He continues in faith. He continues
in the confidence steadfast to the end. That's what I exhort
you to do. I exhort you to die following
the Lord. Like old Caleb. Caleb had this
testimony. He followed the Lord fully. You
know what the word Caleb means? I'm kind of surprised his mother
named him this, but I guess she knew what she was doing. Maybe
she got some orders from the Lord. But the word Caleb means
a faithful dog, a faithful dog. And I'll tell you, that old faithful
dog will follow his master, too. And two men walking down the
road, and there's a dog walking right between them. You say,
who's that dog belong to? I don't know. Wait till they
come to a crossroads. When one of them goes that way and one
of them goes that way, I'll tell you where that dog will go. He'll go with his
master. And he'll follow him to the end. And when his master
dies, he'll lie down on his grave and mourn himself to death. That's
right. It's to follow him fully. And
then it's this. Turn to 2 Samuel 23. What is
it to die in the Lord? 2 Samuel 23. It's to die fully
trusting Him, simply trusting every day, trusting in a stormy
way, even though my faith is small, trusting Jesus. That's
all. Trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him.
I trust Him. I trust Him. It's the Lord. Let
Him do what He will. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right? I trust Him. I trust Him. Put no confidence
in the flesh. Trust Him. Though He slay me,
Job said, I trust Him. Oh, Job, you got to be a fool,
his wife said. Why don't you curse God and die?
Why don't you give up? Why do you sit there and maintain
your faith and maintain your integrity and maintain your position
when everybody's quit you? Don't you know even the kids
are making fun of you? They're whispering about you.
The young maidens won't even answer you when you call. Your
servants won't even pay any attention to you. Your children are all
dead. Everything's gone. You're sitting
there covered with boils. You're about to die yourself,
scraping your skin on a dunghill. Won't you curse God and die?
Though He slay me, I'll trust Him. That's what it means to
die in the Lord, trust Him. These be the last words of David,
chapter 23, 2 Samuel. Goes on, talks about David in
verse 5, and here's his last words. Although my house be not
so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire. Although he make it not to grow,
I trust him. You just sit right there and
trust Him, my friend. He'll never leave you or forsake
you. And the clouds may be so dark outside you can't see the
sun. It may be so lonely inside that
you don't have a friend. Paul said, everybody left me
but Luke. At my first trial, nobody stood with me. But I'll
trust Him. I'll trust Him. You can trust
Him. Darwin, when you and Kathy go down there, you can trust
Him. If you will, if you will. He's faithful. He's faithful. I'm not saying He won't let you
have some troubles and trials and sorrows and tribulations.
He will, but they'll be for your good. Be for His glory. You can trust Him. You'll be
all right, Job. I know it. I got the witness
in here. Old David said, I'm old. I've
been young. I've never seen God's seed begging bread. You can trust
Him. You can't trust a man, but you can trust the Lord God. That's
what it is to die in the Lord. It's to die in faith. It's to
die in faith. It's to die being found in Him.
Not having my own righteousness. It's to die following Him. Following
Him. Persevering. Continuing in the
faith. It's to die trusting Him. I trust
Him. He does everything He does. He
does it right. All right? Let's notice the third
thing. How are those blessed? It says blessed are those that
die in the Lord. Blessed are they. How are they blessed? How
is death blessed? How in the world, if I stand
here before you tonight and drop dead in this spot, and how could
that be blessed? When you carried me out, as they
took Brother Edgell out, how can you watch them take him out
and say, blessed, blessed? I'll tell you why. Several things.
The pain, the suffering, the sorrow, and the sin are no more.
Are no more. You read it. There shall be.
And I thought a while ago about some of our people who have suffered.
And you said there shall be no more pain. No more pain. That's a blessing. No more sorrow.
No more sin. No more suffering. No more death. Isn't that great? No more. And I tell you this. The believer
is blessed because he dies without fear of punishment or judgment
or condemnation. There is no judgment to them
who are in Christ. And I care not what preachers
say. They talk about somehow everybody's got to stand in the
judgment, and everybody's got to appear before the judgment,
and everybody's deeds are going to be brought out and weighed.
Let me tell you something. I was judged at Calvary in the
person of my Lord, and my sin debt was all paid. And I don't
know whether I'll be a spectator to judgment or what I'll be doing,
but I won't be being judged. I guarantee you that. I guarantee
you. I'm just sure of that as this
Bible is the Word of God. There is therefore now no, no,
no judgment to them who are in Christ. I believe that. You say,
who told you that? A voice from heaven? That's right. That's who told me that. I didn't
get that from the school. I got that from heaven. You can
bank on it. No judgment. There is no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. And I'll tell you something else.
Blessed, blessed are the dead. They die in the hope of the resurrection.
Brother Edgell fell asleep. He awakened glory. And the same
God who redeemed his soul, redeemed his body, he's going to bring
it out. But it won't be a tired body.
It'll be a new body. It won't be a dying body, it'll
be a living body. It won't be a body that's known
sin and the marks of shame. It'll be a holy body like Jesus
Christ. It'll be an eternal body. And
I'll tell you why they're blessed. They're going to see Christ.
I thought when I left you the other night, 9, I thought to
myself as I walked home through the night, I'd love to be seeing
what edge you're looking at right now. Think about that. That just
makes cold chills run up down my back. Looking on His face. Every question he's ever wanted
answered has been answered. Every mystery has been revealed. You think about that. He's going
to join those who've gone before. I tell you, you get to thinking
about this, and brother, if it doesn't make you feel like Paul,
a desire to depart and be with Christ, you better think a little
more about it. You better think a little more.
We're going to be like him. Be like Him. We're not going
to be like Adam anymore. We're going to be like Christ.
Not a thought! Not a thought! Except holiness. Not an imagination. Except perfect
righteousness. You think about that. In the
image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it won't be like that. We'll
all be with Him. Just like that. Just falling asleep. Like you
go to bed at night and fall asleep, and you sleep seven or eight
hours, and you wake up, it seems like you just went to bed. And
those who sleep in Christ, this thing will be over just like
waking up in the morning, and be like blessed, blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord. Write, he said, you write it,
and they that are wise will hear it. Let him that hath ears hear
what the Lord says to the churches. He that hath ears, blessed are
the dead who die in the Lord. The most blessed man this whole
congregation had this week died Monday night. He's blessed above
every one of them. You're sitting there thinking
about how the Lord blessed you with this, that, and the other.
He blessed him more than you've ever been blessed. He took him
home. That's right. More than anything, a most blessed,
honored, favored man from our church. Maybe he'll favor one
of us pretty soon. Huh? Wouldn't you like that?
Oh, I know that's difficult, and I realize that. Responsibility. Paul said, for you, it's expedient
that I stay around, but for me, he said, I want to go to be with
Christ. Blessed. If we can establish this not
as a doctrine, but as an experience, James, then we'll quit this sorrowing
without hope and this bad witness type of sorrow when one of our
loved ones is taken. We can look at it. If we'll get
this in our heart, Barney used to say, if you'll get it from
here to here, then it will control your emotions, it'll control
your thoughts, it'll control your ideas about things, and
you can sit with joy and peace. Yet, feeling, it's, it's, it's,
this is the experience right now that, that those of you who
know Christ, there's an emptiness. One of our closest friends is
gone. But there's a fullness in knowing
where he's gone. One of our closest friends is
not here for a while. But the great joy and happiness
is he doesn't have to put up with what is here now. He's in
the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when our son was
killed, that was one of the things that sustained me and gave me
the strength and courage and comfort I needed. I wish I was
with him where he is. That's the way I was thinking.
I wouldn't bring him back for anything. Because to be with
Christ is far better. To live is Christ, to die is
gain, total gain. There's not a loss in it anywhere. Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord. Our Father, honor your word.
Now, the title of my message this evening