Death

 

2 Kings 20:1-11

1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,

3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.

6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

8 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?

9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

 

”Life does not cease to be funny when people die, any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” -George B. Shaw

 

Introduction:

The Bible answers important questions that science is unable to understand & the topic of death is one of them.

 

Psalms 55:4-5

4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

 

Note:  There is no struggle, no problem, no trouble, to experience in life that is worse than the tormenting fires of everlasting punishment & judgment.

 

We have to live righteous to be holy & acceptable to God ‘here & now’. Do God’s will & save yourself & as many others as you can.  If you only save yourself – well done!   

 

 

I.              According To The World

A.            Definition of Death is: the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. 

B.            Roughly 150,000 people die each day across the globe (1,050,000 / week). 

C.             There are many gruesome details & statistics that could be listed about man’s inhumanity toward their fellow man with causes of death in all its ugly forms (violence, pollution, disease, irresponsibility), but what would be the point. 

D.            Education doesn’t work with many people any more.  (Cigarette packages graphically show filthy lungs, babies, death, cancerous people & yet people still smoke);

·      Just enough alcohol can poison a person to death;

·      Too much of some drugs can overdose to death;

·      Smoking kills & damages babies & 2^nd hand smoke harms – but people don’t care.  Me 1^st – I want to smoke.

E.             Fewer & fewer people are taking advice through the use of ‘fear’ than ever before. 

Allowing for excuses & reasons to disregard correction by someone else (public events or private advice, even correction from our own body & mind), making excuses has taken over & controls the destiny of many people – smokers, alcoholics, addicts, unfit people, are all saying ‘so what if I die sooner – I may as well be enjoying myself.  (The truth be known, they are not enjoying life – they have low & poor quality of life & self esteem).

 

Defining Death: One of the challenges in defining death is in distinguishing it from life.

 

Death would seem to refer to either the moment at which life ends, or when the state that follows life begins (a difference of perspective for those who believe in an afterlife).

 

However, determining when death has occurred requires drawing precise conceptual boundaries between life and death. This is problematic however because there is little consensus over how to define life.

 

Some have suggested defining life in terms of consciousness. When consciousness ceases, a living organism can be said to have died (hence the ‘brain dead’ injuries leading to pulling the plug, etc.) 

 

It is important to medicine, & the general public, to know the exact time of death, to help determine the next thing to do – stop assisting life (pull the plug) or continue helping.  

 

The seriousness & urgency of life must be respected.  No one wants to die!  

• Exodus 20:13

 

• 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

 

• Joshua 2:19

 

 

II.            According To The Bible: What Is Life?

 

Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  

 

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.  

 

A.            The source of life is ‘God’

B.            The breath of life from God is our spirit & it gives our body life.

 

1.             When we die, our spirit, breath of life, ends & returns to God. 

 

C.             We know there are 2 main references to death

1.             Physical  

2.             Spiritual

We want to obtain ‘eternal life’. But we only have a limited time so let’s study physical life & death. 

 

Don’t take it for granted. You know about it because you see yourself alive in the mirror & hurt when someone pinches your skin. Also, don’t push this aside as unimportant because you are alive – we must give glory & thanksgiving to the right place for our life – Jesus. 

 

Plus, we want to be saved & this helps understand the importance of our responsibilities.

 

• Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

 

• John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

 

• John 1:1-5 life comes from Jesus until He blows out the candle.  He is the source & decides when

 

Location of our spirit (life):

• Hebrews 9:22 must have blood for remission. Why is blood so important all throughout?

 

• Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood:

 

• Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

 

• 1 John 5:11-12 to obtain eternal life we must use our time with the spirit of life properly.

 

The body is ‘alive’ because of the spirit of life, or ‘breath’ of life from God. All life is borrowed & comes from God.

 

It doesn’t matter what science & medicine say.  When God says it, it is true.  It helps us understand many other principles of life like salvation & the importance placed on ‘blood’.

 

Hebrews 2:14  

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

 

Summary: Life is God & we are given a part of His life for a short time to operate these bodies righteously. If we don’t, God will take back our spirit of life & judge the soul who is responsible.  

 

 

III.          What Is Death

 

God made us to ‘live’, enjoy life even during struggles. 

The end of life is death & the physical description in scripture to describe it, is: 

 

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

 

Job 10:20-22

20 Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little,

21 Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;

22 A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

 

Psalms 68:19-20 any questions about death?  Ask God!

 

 

 

IV.          Soon You Will Miss Everything

 

War vets want to see battlefields from the past; Religious people want to visit the holy land or pilgrimage to a holy place.

 

A.            Can’t miss the hockey game! The exhibition! The family reunion! But they wouldn’t understand – make them! 

1.             Some just like to travel to see the world.

 

B.            I don’t want to miss Jesus & heaven, streets of gold, a mansion with my name on it, a new body! I don’t want to miss it for anything else – & I won’t make excuses to be lazy here.  I love Him too much.

 

Some simply miss church because a friend or family member is doing something special & off they go – they say, ‘I wouldn’t want to miss what they are doing’.  Some don’t get it! 

 

This isn’t a worldly church or school, or even a workplace to miss now & then for something ‘I don’t want to miss’.  Is church that important?  It measures our love of God or lack thereof.

 

My Internet home page was designed to personalize it.  One item is a slide show of pictures of ‘places I may like to visit’.  I’ll never visit those places but!  Examples of Expressions we use:

 

• What did I miss?
• Let’s go a bit early. I don’t want to miss anything. These should be about church!
• You don’t know what you’re missing!
• You should have been there.

 

Being a Christian is realizing:

• All things in life from now on plan to miss a lot
• Grand kids grow; places
• Events are not that important
• The time is coming when death will come & we will miss everything

 

Ever have to stay home, can’t go or be there; yet be certain that you are ready for death – you won’t visit or enjoy anything ever again. 

 

Death is coming soon just as the Rapture. Don’t plan on seeing much more of the world. There’s nothing to miss when we are headed to Heaven. You definitely don’t want to miss eternal life!

 

We are all going to die if we don’t make the Rapture. Think of all the things you’ll miss seeing & experiencing here – not important.

 

 

V.            Conclusion

 

In 2 Kings 20 Hezekiah performed right in life! He had a record of living right & this gave him leverage with God at time of death.  Right living earned him 15 years of life. 

 

Prayer is so fantastic but anyone trying to hide wrong can’t stop doing wrong, can’t pray because they are scared to talk to God. 

 

What are you so afraid of? Get your conscience clean & clear & start living. 

 

Christians ready for the Rapture are excited about leaving here; we won’t miss anything or anyone. We are traveling permanently to a new home with no time. 

 

I am here to be an example of those who know death, have no fear of it, & won’t miss anything in life because I believe God’s word.