Now before I deal with the text
which I have selected tonight, I'd like to point out three or
four important things concerning the death of a believer. I'm
talking tonight in the message exclusively about the death of
a believer. And there are three or four things
that I would like for you to notice before we get to our text
in Philippians. First of all, we're turning to
2 Corinthians 5. Now this is an important foundation
for the message, so you listen very carefully. 2 Corinthians
5, we'll begin reading with verse 5. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 5. Now he that hath wrought us for
the selfsame thing is God. who also hath given unto us the
earnest of his Spirit. Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord." Now I want you to notice this while I'm reading
these verses. Paul did not consider his body
to be himself. Paul did not consider his body
to be himself. Back in verse one, he said, we
know that if our earthly house, dwelling place, Paul believed
himself to be in this body, but this body is not himself. This
body is simply a tent. Read on in verse one. We know
that if our earthly house of this tent, and that's what the
word is, were dissolved, we have a building of God. We're moving
out. We're just staying here for a while, then we're moving
out. We live here. Now that house over there on
Stevens Street is not me. I'm just living there. And if
that house burned down tonight, I'd just move out somewhere else.
And this body here is not me, and that body out there is not
you. That's the place where you're living right now. That's the
tent. It is a frail tent. It is a tent that may blow down
tonight, it may perish tomorrow, and you'll be moving out. Now
that's what he's talking about. Read verse 7 now. Verse 7, For we walk by faith,
and not by sight. We're confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, we absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord. This body is not me. And when
Paul speaks of the body, he speaks of that body as being a frail
tent that he expects to fold up one of these days and lay
aside and himself leave it. to dwell in a permanent home.
Now, if we can learn this lesson, if we can learn that this body
is not us, that this body is only a frail tent in which we
are dwelling for a little while, if we can learn this, it'll encourage
us to put less emphasis on the flesh and the things of the flesh,
and more emphasis on the things that are pertaining to my real
self. That's the reason our Lord said,
What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world? Now
the world appeals to the body. The things of the world appeal
to the body. What shall it profit a man if
he gain the whole world? Things that have reference to
this flesh, and lose himself, lose his soul. And again, the
Scripture says, when that young man who had built great barns
and had all these crops laid by him, his barns wouldn't hold
all of his harvest, so he said, I'm going to tear down these
barns and build bigger barns, and then I'm going to say, soul,
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Christ said, thy
fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, and then
who shall these things be? And again, our Lord said, seek
ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Don't seek
what you shall eat and what you shall drink and what you shall
wear, that which pertaineth to the flesh. Seek first the kingdom
of God, that which pertaineth to the soul, and all these other
things will be added to you. So this body is not myself. This body is only a dwelling
place. This body is only a temporary
shelter. This body is a frail tent which
I shall one of these days fold up and lay aside. I'll still
be me, but I'll be dwelling somewhere else. I'll be done with this
body before very long." Now the second thing that I would like
to state regarding the death of a believer is found in Psalm
68. Now this is the first thing that
we need to learn, we need to remember. I'm not going to dwell
on it a long time, on each one of these, but just briefly pass
them by, establish them, then move on. This body is not me. It is my temporary home. That's the reason Christ said,
fear not them which kill the body, and after that have no
more that they can do. I'll tell you whom you shall
fear, fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in
hell. The death of this body is something
that is certain and sure, but the death of the soul will lie
only in the fact that we have not received Christ and been
renewed and regenerated in Him. My soul doesn't have to die,
my body does. Now in Psalm 68, verse 20, here's
the second thing that I wish to establish about the death
of a believer. God is completely sovereign in
my death. If you deny that, you deny the
Word of God. In Psalm 68, verse 20, now listen
to it. He that is our God is the God
of salvation. and unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. You know the reason why I encourage
men and women to read the Old Testament? I encourage our members
to read the Old Testament because in the Old Testament economy,
the Lord God of heaven is continually glorified. When you read the
Old Testament, you'll read always the glory of God, the majesty
of God, the power of God. In the Old Testament, God is
in all and God is over all. It is God from first to last,
God's glory, God's majesty, God's power, God's sovereignty, all
the way through the Old Testament. And very little consideration
is given to the rights of men or the claims of men or the dignity
of men. Throughout the Old Testament,
actually, wonder is expressed that God should even be mindful
of men. Have you noticed that about the
Old Testament? David said, when I consider the heavens, the work
of thy hands, what is man that thou art mindful of him? When
you read the writings of Moses, it's God and the glory of God
and the power of God and the sovereignty of God. When you
read the Psalms of David, it's praise the Lord. Let everything
that hath breath praise the Lord. When you read the writings of
the prophets to him, give all the prophets witness. You don't
find man and his dignity and his rights. and his merits and
his claims, you find God. God from Genesis to Malachi. And in the Old Testament, man
is rolled in the dust from whence he came and to which he will
return. And only God is over all. and there's none beside him.
I am the Lord, there's none beside me. None can stay my hand, or
say unto me, What doest thou? I create darkness, I create light,
I create good, I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things. The Lord reigneth among the armies
of heaven and the inhabitants of this earth, and giveth it
to whomsoever He will. In the Old Testament, it's God
in all and God over all. God's majesty, God's glory. Now listen to this. Isn't it a great crime that coming
into the brighter light of the New Testament, which we claim
the brighter light of the New Testament, that we see less of
the glory and the majesty of God? Something wrong, isn't it? Somebody's not interpreting the
New Testament all right. If all the way through the Old
Testament, under the Mosaic dispensation, under the Old Testament dispensation,
under the writings of the prophets, whom we say didn't have the light
we have and the revelation we have and the knowledge we have,
and these men glorified God from morning till night. And David
said, even in the night watches on my bed, I think of the glory
of God. And here we are in the greater
light of the New Testament. And today presented less and
less is the glory and majesty of God, and more and more is
the dignity of men. There's something wrong with
that. Turn to Job, chapter 14. Listen
to this. Job, the 14th chapter. David
said here in Psalm 68, he said, unto the Lord belong the issues
of death. deaths in the hands of God. And
Job said in Job fourteen, listen to it, Job fourteen, verse one,
Man that is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble,
he cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down, he fleeth also
as a shadow, and continueth not. Dost thou open thine eyes upon
such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? Marvel of
marvels! Sounds like Charles Wesley's
great old hymn, Can it be that I should gain an interest in
the Saviour's blood? Died he for me who shed his blood? But read on, as Job talks, who
can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. Seeing man's
days are determined, the number of his months are with thee,
with the Lord. Thou hast appointed his bounds."
Who appointed his bounds? Lady Luck, Mother Nature, chance,
fate, the horoscope. Who appointed his bounds? God
appointed his bounds. So that he cannot pass that line. Now brethren, that's so. That's so. Now turn back to Psalm
68, the third thing I want to point out about a believer's
death. This is what the Word of God says. First of all, first
of all, this body is not me. I live here. When this body's
cut down, I'm going somewhere else. When this tent is folded
and laid aside, I'm moving out. This isn't me. You can kill this
body, and you cannot touch my soul. I'm just dwelling here
for a little while." And God Almighty, the God of glory, in
His hands are the issues of life and death. He has determined
our days, He has determined our months, He has set our bounds,
He has established the end of our lives. We cannot pass. And you who know something about
the Word of God know that when Christ said, which of you, by
taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature, his day to his
life. Now, you check that. That's so. Which of you can add one day
to his life? God's established our bounds.
He has set the... One scripture says the instrument
of death is already prepared. already prepared. God's already
prepared the hour you'll die and the way you'll die. Somebody
says, Preacher, I don't like that. Well, it's not a question
of whether we like it or not, it's so. Let's establish whether
something's so, first of all, and then we will come to like
it if we love Him who says it. Now here's the third thing, and
thank God for this, my death is in the hands of the God of
my salvation." Now, that means an awful lot. Look back at verse
20. He that is our God is the God of salvation, Jehovah, the
God of redemption. Now, this doesn't take the force
from the doctrine, but it takes the fear out of it. Here's a
little boy, and he's got a splinter in his And he's out in the yard,
and there's several men out there in the yard, and he's playing
on the teeter-totter of the seesaw, and he gets a splinter in his
finger. Which one of those men do you suppose he'll run to to
get that splinter out of his finger? His daddy. He's not going to run to a stranger.
The splinter's going to have to be removed, and there's going
to have to be a certain amount of pain involved. There's going
to have to be a certain operation performed. But he wants his daddy
to perform the operation because he knows his daddy cares whether
he hurts or not. And his daddy cares about the
results, and his daddy cares about his feelings. So my death
is set. The instrument of death is already
prepared, whether I shall die of a heart attack, or an automobile
wreck, or an airplane crash, or with cancer, or however, I
shall die. That's already determined by God. And that day is already
set. That's what the Word of God declares
now. But here's the thing, that day
is in the hands of my Father, the God of my salvation, the
God of my redemption, not a stranger. And it doesn't take the force
out of it, but it takes the fear out of it. You know, turn to
1 Chronicles 21. Here's a good illustration of
this particular point. I thought, well, how are we going
to illustrate this? Here's a good illustration. David
words it for us in 1 Chronicles 21. I want you to listen to this.
Now, David had sinned. God told him not to number Israel.
Well, he numbered them anyhow. His chief captain Joab told him
not to do it, but he did it anyway. And in 1 Chronicles 21 verse
9, And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and
tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer you three things. Choose thee one of them, that
I may do it unto thee. David, I'm going to punish you
for numbering Israel. I told you not to. Now you've
got to suffer the consequences. I'll give you three choices.
All right. Either three years of famine,
or three months to be destroyed before your enemies, while that
the sword of thine enemies overtake thee, or else three days the
sword of the Lord, even the pestilence in the land, and the angel of
the Lord destroying throughout all the coast of Egypt, Israel.
Now therefore, Advise thyself what word I shall bring again
to him that sent me." And David said unto Gad, I am in a great
strength. Let me fall into the hand of
the Lord, for very great are his mercies. Don't let me fall
into the hands of men. God sent David a choice. He said,
David, I'm going to deal with you for numbering Israel, but
I'm going to give you a choice whether or not you want to fall
into the hands of the enemy or whether you want to take three
days of the sword of God, the justice of God, the dealings
of God in your midst. David said, I'll take dealing
with God. Whatever it is. He didn't even
ask what it was. Just, whatever it is, Lord, I'll let me fall
into your hands, but don't let me fall into the hands of men. So why should I fret or be anxious
over death when the wise God, my Savior,
my Redeemer, the one who chose me for Himself back in eternity,
the one who loved me so much that He gave His Son to die for
my sins, The One who loved me so much that He sent His Holy
Spirit to call me out of darkness into light, and out of death
into life, and from the dunghill to the throne. The One who has
made me His heir, a joint heir with His beloved Son, who has
given me eternal life. The One who cares for me and
loves me. Why should I be anxious and fretful
and fear what He'll do to and for me? I don't. It's in His
hands. In the hands, not of a God of
wrath, but in the hands of Him who loves us. Him who loves us. And that takes the fear out of
it. He will deal right with me, and He will deal graciously with
me, as He has, and He will deal merciful with me. And if He takes
me now, He'll deal merciful with my family, because I'm an object
of His love. So that takes the fear out of
it. First of all now, this isn't me. Now let's face that. This
body is not us. We live here. We dwell here.
Temporarily we dwell here. And when you think this body
is you, you put too much emphasis upon it. And you care too much
for it. You're just living here. And
God is sovereign in death. He has set the bounds and the
date and the instrument and the way that we shall die. It is
established in His eternal purpose and in His eternal wisdom. That's
what this book declares. But thank God that day of death
and that instrument of death is going to be handled by the
God of my salvation, the God of my redemption. And he that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him freely give us all things?" Now the fourth thing
about death, in our text tonight, and this will get to our text,
now Philippians 1.23, the fourth thing about death, and that is,
death is not the end of our being. He says, I am in a strait, verse
23, I am in a straight betwixt two. I have a desire to depart
and to be with Christ. Now hold on to your pew just
a minute. I'm going to make a controversial
statement here. I believe it. I believe it. And I want you to think about
it a little while before you decide whether you do or don't
believe it. I don't make up your mind in five minutes whether
you do or don't believe this, but you listen carefully to it. A Christian's view of his own
death, a Christian's view of his own
death is a clear barometer of his spiritual condition. I think that over. A Christian's view of his own
death is a clear barometer of his spiritual condition. When men fear death, it doesn't
mean that they're unbelievers, but it does indicate a weak faith. When men fear death, it doesn't
mean they're lost. I'm not saying a man who fears
death is lost. I'm saying he's a weak believer. We need to learn to look into
eternity with confidence in our God. I have a desire, Paul said,
to depart, to be absent from the bodies, to be present with
the Lord. I am in a strait betwixt the
two. For me to live is Christ, for
me to die is A man who cannot look upon his own death with
that kind of confidence, and who cannot leave his life and
his death in the hands of his beloved God, doesn't have enough
faith in his God. When men desire death, you say,
well, is the opposite true? When men fear death, it's a sign
of weak faith. What about when people desire
death? Is that an indication of strong
faith sometimes? When men desire death, though
it doesn't mean necessarily that they're saved, because there
are many suicides who've desired death, who didn't know the Lord. But they desired death for the
wrong motive. They desired death for the wrong
motive. A man who kills himself, who destroys his body, who takes
his life, is a man who's desiring death for the wrong motive. But
a man who desires death for the right reasons is a man whose heart is in tune
with God, if he desires death for the right reasons. So our
view of our own death, I didn't say our view of death, I said
our view of our death, I'm not saying our view of somebody else's
death, it's not too hard sometimes to let somebody else die. I'm
talking about the view of our own death is a barometer of our
spiritual condition. Simeon held the child Jesus in
his arms and said, now let me depart. I've seen the Lord's
salvation, I'm ready. What else is there to see? I've
seen everything. I've been to Calvary, James.
I've been everywhere. I've got Christ in His salvation. I've got everything. My name's
in the Book of Life. I'm an heir of everything. What
else can the world add to me? Not one blessed thing. Not one
blessed thing. Let's see three things here briefly. Paul gives us a description of
death. And then secondly, Paul gives
us a desire for death. And then thirdly, he gives us
a reason for that desire. Now, first of all, Paul's description
of death. He says in verse 23, I'm in a
strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart. Now, when
I was growing up, I saw pictures of death. Have you ever seen
that picture? old skeleton with the beard, with that sigh, you
know, with that old long robe on, coming out of the darkness
to cut men down. That's not death. And then I've
heard people talk about plunging into the icy waters of death. Death, for the believers, is
not a plunge, it's a climb. It's an ascension. It's not a
plunge down, down, down into the bottomless pit of despair. Paul says, my death is a departure. I am in a strait betwixt the
two having a desire to depart. It's a departure from one place
to another. That's what it is. It's just
like a ship. It's tied up to the war. And
the gangplank is there and people are going on board. You stand
there and a friend goes on board the ship. And then they pull
in the gangplank. And then they take away the lines.
And then the old ship begins to move away from the wharf.
Well, the sigh hasn't cut down your friend. Your friend hasn't
plunged into the icy waters of a bottomless pit. He's departed
from this shore to another. And death is a departure. And
while those in glory rejoice, we weep. And while they're singing
praises to God, we're mourning. They've departed from here to
His presence. Somebody said, in vain the poet
tries to paint the moment after death, the glories which surround
the believer when he yields up his breath. this much, and this
is all we know, that they are supremely blessed. They have
done with sin and care and woe, and with the Savior they rest. So death is a departure. It's
to leave one place and go to another. It's not a plunge into
an icy stream. It's not a journey into an unknown. It's not a journey through darkness. It's not being cut down by the
sigh of a skeleton. It is being born by the angels
into the presence of God. That's what death is. What is death, secondly? It's
to be with Christ. Now, brethren, First of all,
this means vision. I've heard of Christ. I've read
of Christ. When I die, I'm going to see
Him. Now you think about that. I'm
going to see Him whom my heart loves. I'm going to see Him,
Job said, with my eyes, not another. I'm going to see Him with my
eyes. We shall gaze upon the Lord of
glory in his beauty, in his majesty, and our eyes will have undergone
such a change that we'll be able to look upon him and not die,
look upon him and live. To be with Christ not only means
vision, it means communion. I'm going to walk with God as
Adam did in the garden. I'm going to walk with God. I'm
going to listen to Christ speak. I'm going to have personal, intimate
fellowship with the Lord of Glory. And to be with Christ means conformity
to His image. When I see Him, I'm going to
be just like Him. Perfect in thought, perfect in
word, perfect in body, perfect in appearance, perfect in imagination,
perfect in mind, Perfect in brain, perfect in sight, perfect in
speech, perfect just like Jesus Christ. Now you think about that. Man, I tell you, when you spend
a little time thinking about that, you'll know a little bit
about what Paul's talking about when he says, I have a desire
to depart and to be with Christ. I want to see the Lord. I want
to be like Him. I want to know as I am known.
I'm tired of looking through a glass dimly. I want to see
face to face. I want faith to give way to reality. I want hope to give way to reality. I want appearance to give way
to truth, personified in the person of Jesus Christ. Don't
you? And the apostle says here, look
at this word. He says, I am in a strait betwixt
the two, I have a desire. You know what that word is? Now
you who have Greek concordances, you look this up when you get
home. The word desire in Philippians 1.23 is the word longing, passion, and the word that's
used for lust. That's right, right there in
the Greek concord. Paul had such a desire to depart
and be with Christ, he says, it's a longing, it's a hunger,
it is a passion with me. I want to be with my Lord. Because he knew that when he
was with Christ, he'd be completely rid of sin. Paul hated sin. I wish we hated sin like Paul.
Don't you get weary of thinking the wrong things? Don't you get
weary of saying the wrong things? Don't you get weary of doing
the wrong things? Spurgeon said, the dog of sin
follows me everywhere I go. One of these days he'll follow
me to the gates of death and he can go no further. He stops
right there. And I shall never again think
anything but that which is pure and holy and of God. And I shall
never ever speak another thing but that which is heavenly and
holy and brilliant." Boy, that's something. Paul desired
long, had a very lust and passion to be rid of sin. And secondly,
he wanted to be with Christ. He says this over and over again.
He says, to be absent from the body is to be present with the
Lord. Paul never talks about a cabin in the corner of glory. Paul never talks about a mansion
next door to Jesus. Paul never talks about walking
on streets of gold. He talks about being with the
Lord. Being with the Lord. I am in a strait betwixt the
two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ. To be absent
from the bodies, to be present with the Lord. That's what our
Lord said in John 14. He said to his disciples, I go
to prepare a place for you that where I am, there ye may be. He said to the thief on the cross,
today shalt thou be with me. That's heaven, to be with Christ.
Now I believe heaven is going to be on this earth. I believe
God's going to make a new earth, a perfect earth. I believe God
is going to give his people access to earth, to the new heaven,
and to the new earth. And the holy city, Jerusalem,
is going to descend from heaven down here to this earth, right
here. I believe that this new earth is going to be a whole
lot like this one, except perfect. without spot, without stain,
without sin, without blight, without famine, without weeds,
without briars, without wild beasts, without thorns, without
sickness, without death, without tears, without parting, without
sadness, without any of those things. God's going to make the
whole world over again. Oh, what a day! And Paul wanted to be with Christ.
But this much I know. Heaven, wherever it is, Whether
I'm yonder in the presence of God in the third heaven or standing
on the new earth, I'm going to be with Christ, never to be separated
from His presence." And then, I think Paul wanted to see those
who had gone before. Now, I said Sunday, and I've
been thinking about this a little bit, I said Sunday in my message
that salvation and godliness Christianity is not inconsistent
with natural affections. Don't rule it out. I believe
when God saves a man, He makes him a better man. I believe He
makes him a better husband. I believe when God saves a woman,
He makes her a submissive and loving and precious wife. If
she's not, she's not saved. I believe when God saves children,
he makes them submissive children who love their parents and who
obey their parents. I believe when God saves a man
out there on the job, he doesn't only praise God in the building,
he'll praise him out there on the job. He'll be a better workman. He won't cheat his employer.
He'll give him a full day's work. He won't take anything that doesn't
belong to him. He's not one thing in the church
and another thing in the plant. You cannot separate true Christianity
from natural affections. You can't do it. Therefore, and
I know we theologians in the past have been hard on songs
like this, shake hands with mother again. But you people who've
lost your mothers and to whom your mothers were very, very
close to you, it'd be kind of good to shake hands with her
again, wouldn't it? Huh? Admit it. Of course it will. And you know that song, I got
to thinking about it today. I'd like to be standing at mother's
grave when Christ comes in his power. I wouldn't mind being
standing by my son's grave when Christ comes and see him come
out of that grave. That's natural affection. God didn't change
that. God doesn't change that. There's some folks I'd like to
see. I'd like to see Ralph again, wouldn't you? We got a lot to
talk about. And I don't see a thing in the
world wrong with that. Coming to know Christ doesn't
take away our love for others, it gives us a deeper love. Coming
to know Christ doesn't take away my desire to be with people,
and to see them, and to love them, and to hold them, and to
cherish them. Coming to know Christ doesn't
do away with my memories, it makes them more precious. And
I think Paul says, I'm in a straight betwixt the two. I have a desire
to depart and be with Christ and to be like Christ. And boy,
I'm sure Paul would have said, I want to meet David. I want
to meet Abraham. I want to see these, I want to
see Stephen. Stephen was stoned. Stephen's
dead. I'd like to see Stephen. I want to put my arm around him
and say, Stephen, I was there when they stoned you. And I held
the coats of the men that stoned me." Oh, bless your heart. Well, don't you imagine he wanted
to see Steve? I know that he did. He's a human being. But
he knew the Lord. All right. Last of all, now look
at this. I'm in a strait betwixt two. I have a desire, a longing to
depart and to be with Christ. And here's my reason. It's far
better. It's far better. It's better
than anything this world got to offer. It's better than riches. It's better than prosperity. It's better than health. It's
better than wealth. It's better than anything this
world's got to offer to be with Christ. It's so far better than
anything that this world's got to offer that it's indescribable.
There's a day, there's coming a day, when no heartaches will
come, no more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye. All is peace forevermore on that
happy golden shore. What a day, what a glorious day
that will be. There'll be no sorrow there,
no more burdens to bear, no more sickness, no pain, no more parting
over there. and forever I'll be with the
one who died for me. What a day, what a glorious day
that will be. What a day that will be when
Jesus I shall see. I shall look upon his face, the
one who saved me by his grace, and he'll take me by the hand,
and he'll lead me through the promised land. What a day. Hmm? What a day. What a glorious
day that will be. Fear that? Dread that? Pray against that? Not me. I want more and more to come
to the place where I'll be able to talk like this apostle. For
me to live is Christ, but for me to die is gain. And I'm in
a strait betwixt two. I have a desire, I have a longing
to depart. I don't have any longing to walk
in any icy waters. I don't have any longing to plunge
into darkness and the unknown, as you say. I have a longing
to be with Christ, for that's what death is, to depart from
this shore and to be in that fair haven of rest and to be
with my Lord forevermore. What a day! What a day, what
a glorious day that will be. Our Father, take thy word tonight
and bless it to these hearts of ours. Like our brother Milton
prayed, they're so stony, they're so cold, they're so hard, they're
so wrapped up with the flesh. They pant after carnality and
materialism and the things of this old world wean us from these
things. Let us enjoy these things that
Thou hast blessed for our enjoyment, but let us hold lightly to them.
Let us look upon them as vanity and less than nothing and temporary
enjoyments and luxuries. But the very panting of our heart,
the very longing of our spirit, the very desire of our nature
is to be with Him. Oh, that I may know Christ and
the power of His resurrection. Oh, that I may win Christ. and
be found in him that the world might fade away and Christ be
the uppermost thought and passion and concern and person in my
whole being. Bring us to that place. We ask
for Christ's sake and in his name. Amen.