God's Presence in the Hour of Death

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truths, so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message.

Here's Adrian Rogers. The title of the message in our thought today, God's presence in the hour of death. Man is the only creature who knows he's going to die, and he's trying desperately to forget it. I believe that's the reason that some ladies, when they reach a certain age, overdo the cosmetics. I believe that's the reason that some guys get that sports car, and they're trying to hold on to that youth that is slipping away and receding over the horizon. And you know, the fear of death keeps people in bondage.

Did you know that? Let me give you a verse of scripture, even before we read from Genesis. It's found in Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 and 15. It speaks of Jesus, who became a human being. And he came to this earth for one purpose, and that is to destroy the works of the devil. And listen to this. The Bible says, And he also likewise took part of the same, that is flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Now you think about that. He came to deliver those who through fear of death all of their lifetime were in bondage. May I tell you something? You are not ready to live until you're no longer afraid to die. You're not ready to live until you're no longer afraid to die, and Jesus came to deliver you from that bondage of fear. A child of God can smile at death. That's what Joseph did, and I want you to read the scripture here, beginning in verse 22. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's house, and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years, but he still died.

One hundred and ten years, but, you know, he was a great man, but he still died. And no matter who you are and how great you are, you're going to die. The only exception to that, possible exception, is that if Jesus were to come before death, and Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation, and then skip to verse 24, and Joseph said unto his brethren, I die.

It's a pretty flat statement, isn't it? I die, and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. That is, God's going to take you out of Egypt, and God's going to bring you into Canaan. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. That is, God's going to come, he's going to take you out of Egypt, he's going to bring you to the promised land, and when he does, you take my bones with you. Now, notice verse 26.

So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Now, was that important? That little statement, God's going to visit you, he's going to take you out of Egypt, and when he takes you, you take my bones with you, will you please?

Just carry me out of Egypt into Canaan. Question, was that important? You better believe it was important. Remember that 25% of the book of Genesis is given to the life of Joseph. And when the New Testament comments on the life of Joseph, do you know what one thing the New Testament commented on in the life of Joseph? It's an amazing thing, this statement, that you carry my bones with you. Put in your margin Hebrews 11, verse 22, and listen to what it says. Hebrews 11, verse 22, by faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Now, of all of the things that could have been written about the life of Joseph, by faith, the Bible says, he reminded them that they were clearing out of Egypt, they were going to Canaan, and he made mention of his bones, and he did it by faith. Now, we're going to talk today about the blessing in a box of bones.

I'll give you a skeleton outline, all right? We're going to talk about the blessing that is in that box of bones. Here, Joseph is saying, look, I'm leaving here. I'm going with you. I'll be dead, but I'm going with you. We're clearing out of here. No longer are we going to be in Egypt.

We're going out, and when you go, you take my bones with you. He's still practicing the presence of God. Now he's practicing the presence of God in the time of death. Would you like to be able to smile at death when your feet touch those chilly waters of Jordan, when loved ones around you are at bedside, when they're talking in hushed tones, if that's the way you go? Would you like to have the assurance that Joseph had so long ago? Three things I lay on your heart that come out of this passage of Scripture if you would practice the presence of God in the time of death. The first thought, we need to remember the unbreakable promises of God. Now, you're not going to have any peace at the time of death unless you have some promises to stand on. We need to remember, get it down in your heart now, let God the Holy Spirit write this on your heart.

We need to remember the unbreakable promises of God. Now, how could Joseph do all of this? The Bible says in Hebrews 11, remember that he said it was by faith that he made mention of leaving Egypt. It was by faith that he said, take my bones with you. You see, Joseph had the Word of God. Remember what the book of Romans tells us in Romans 10, verse 17?

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Well, what had God said? More than 300 years before Joseph said what he said, God had made a promise. God made a promise to Abraham three centuries ago. God said something to Abraham and Joseph knew it, and that's the reason Joseph said what he said. What did God say to Abraham?

Put in your margin Genesis chapter 15, verses 13 and 14. And he said unto Abram, that is, God the Father, Abraham's name was Abram at that time, know of a surety, that is, you can bank on it, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, that is, you're going to Egypt, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. That's what God said. Abram, I'm going to make a great nation of you, but your descendants are going down to a place, a land that's not theirs.

They're going to stay there four hundred years, and after they stay there four hundred years, they are coming out, and when they come out, they're going to come out very wealthy. Now Joseph knew this, and that's the reason Joseph said what he said by faith. His faith was rooted in an unshakable, unbreakable promise of God.

Now, do you want to smile at death? Do you want to practice the presence of God in the time of death? There's no possible way you can do it without faith, and what is faith? Let me tell you again what faith is. Faith is not positive thinking. Now, I love positive thinking, but that's not faith. Faith is not following a hunch. Sometimes our hunches are good, but that's not faith. Faith is not hoping for the best. I hope you hope for the best, but that's not faith. Faith is not a feeling of optimism. I love optimists, but that's not faith. Faith is not self-confidence.

Self-confidence is all right if your confidence is first in the Lord. Faith is not wishing upon a star. What is faith? It's creating a word from God and believing it.

Hebrews 11 and verse 1, that same chapter of Hebrews that says, By faith Joseph gave commandment concerning his bones. Hebrews 11, verse 1 tells us what that faith is. It says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That word hope, faith is the substance of things hoped for, does not mean maybe so, perhaps so. Hope in the Bible means rock-ribbed assurance based on the Word of God. The second coming of Jesus is called the blessed what?

Hope. That doesn't mean a blessed maybe, a blessed perhaps. It means absolute assurance based on the Word of God. Faith is the substance of the absolute assurance based on the Word of God. God had made a promise to Abram, God cannot lie.

Joseph, therefore, in the time of death could smile at death because he had the unbreakable promises of God. Now, what is faith? Faith, friend, is not naming it and claiming it.

You can't claim it until God names it. Faith is standing on the promises of God. Well, you say, How come Joseph had so much faith and I have so little? Well, Joseph had soaked his soul in the Word of God.

Dwight L. Moody was not an educated seminary trained man, but Moody, he just said, his biographer said, he took two continents, North America and Europe and shook them for God. Moody was a man of great faith. He gave this testimony concerning his faith. He said, I wanted faith. He said, I prayed for faith, I prayed for faith, I prayed for faith, I prayed for faith, but he said, my faith didn't grow. Then he said, I read in the book of Romans that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And he said, I stopped asking God for faith. I got in the Bible. I saturated my soul with the Word of God. And he said, my faith began to grow and to grow and to grow. Now, do you want to be able to smile at death?

Do you want to practice the presence of God in the time of death? Remember the unbreakable promises of God. Notice verse 24.

Look at it again. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die and God will surely visit you, bringing you out of this land into the land. Now watch, which he swear to Abraham.

Underscore that. He swear to Abraham. God took an oath. If one promise in the Word of God fails, God loses his character. God is a liar. God has taken an oath and he's broken his Word.

Friend, God can't lie. Remember that. So what's the first thing? We need to remember the unbreakable, unbreakable promises of God.

Have you got it? Okay, second thing. We need to rest in the unshakable power of God. You see, the promises without the power mean nothing. Now, notice what he says in verse 24. He says God will surely bring you out. How could he be so sure? Because God is God.

He is the almighty God. Now let me tell you something else about faith. We're talking now about unshakable faith. We're talking about the unbreakable Word. Now we're talking about the unshakable power. You see, faith is not shaken by appearances.

You think about it. When Joseph quoted this promise that God had made, from all appearances there was no reason for them to think of ever leaving Egypt. They were ensconced there. Joseph was the prime minister there. They had it good there. They were living a life of ease. They had come from the land of Canaan to Egypt because of a famine. There's no famine now in Egypt.

They're in a place of privileged position. Don't you take any promise of God and parade it past the judgment bar of your reason. Don't say, well, we better reexamine the Word of God in the light of present-day circumstances. It was unshaken in the face of human reasoning. Also, it was unshakable in the place of human emotions. You know, emotions don't really matter when it comes to God's Word. Now, in the passage in front of us, nothing is said about Joseph's emotions one way or the other. I don't know what they were, but I want to tell you.

They really did not matter that much. Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. The Bible is the Word of God.

Not else is worth believing. Don't take counsel with your emotions as to whether or not a promise of God is true. I've told you before that your emotions are the shallowest part of your nature. Salvation is the deepest work of God. God doesn't do the deepest work in the shallowest part. Forget your emotions. The Bible doesn't have a whole lot to say about your feelings.

Put your confidence in the unshakable power of God, not your reasoning and not your emotions. Martin Luther, the great reformer. I had an encounter with Satan. Satan was just face-to-face with him. And Satan said to Luther, do you feel your sins are forgiven? Luther says, it doesn't matter how I feel. It's what God says.

I like that. I read a corresponding story, very different, but almost the same, of a young man, a little boy, really, went to a revival crusade. And in this revival crusade, the preacher preached from John chapter 5, verse 24, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.

The boy believed that message, gave his heart to Christ and was saved, but he said, and he gave this testimony later on as a mature Christian. He said, that night when I walked home, he said, it seemed as if Satan were perched on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, saying, you're not saved. You're not good enough. You're not strong enough. You didn't do this, you didn't do that.

You'll never make it. And he said, he went home and Satan kept taunting him. And the little fellow said, I sat on the couch in our living room. And he said, it seemed as though Satan were under the couch.

He was that real. And he said, I got to think, well, maybe I'm not saved. I better look at that verse again. And he picked it up, verily, verily, I say unto you. He said, well, Jesus is speaking. He said, I've heard. He said, I've heard it and believed on him that sent me. He said, I believe, has everlasting life. He said, I have everlasting life. There devil, read it for yourself.

Put his finger on the verse, put it under the couch. He said, from that moment, from that moment, he had the assurance. You see, it is the word of God, not your feelings that give that assurance.

Now I'll tell you something else. Faith is not shaken by reason. It is not shaken by emotion.

It is not shaken by delay. The promise that Joseph was standing on was already 300 years old. And Joseph now is talking of his bones.

It will be centuries yet to come before they go out. Did you know that faith can wait? I love that passage in Habakkuk chapter two and verse three, it is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie.

Though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come. Friend, listen, I'm glad, I'm glad that Joseph didn't try to allegorize the scriptures. I'm glad that he did not try to spiritualize the scriptures. God, when God says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. It may take 500 years, but he's going to do it. He's going to do it. And he's going to do it literally. Do you believe in the literal second coming of Jesus Christ, Adrian?

Of course I do. Actually, literally, visibly, bodily. Many people missed his first coming because they tried to explain away the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the first time. When the Bible said he'd be born of a virgin, he was. When the Bible said he'd be born in Bethlehem, he was. I tell you, his second coming is going to be just that real.

Delay means nothing. People are saying, well, pastor, you believe Jesus is coming again? Why hasn't he come? Well, the Bible speaks of people who say things like that. And Peter says, many shall say, where's the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were. But Peter says, the day of the Lord will surely come. One day's with the Lord is a thousand years, a thousand years as one day. Now let's move to the third and final thing if you would learn to smile at death.

First of all, what do you do? You remember the unbreakable promises of God and you rest in the unshakable power of God. What God says he will do, he will do.

I hope you believe that. God will surely bring you out. That's what Joseph said. All right, his unshakable power. And then receive the unmistakable peace of God. The unmistakable peace of God.

That's the third thing. You see, was Joseph's faith rewarded? Put these scriptures down in your margin. Exodus chapter 13, beginning in verse 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. When Moses was getting ready to go, all right, go get that coffin, get old Joe, load him up on that wagon. And when they said, we're cleared out.

Hi-yo, let's go. Take his bones. There's old Joseph's coffin riding along. Well, Moses didn't get to go all the way into Canaan. Who was it that led him into Canaan?

It was Joshua. And you read in the book of Joshua chapter 24 verse 32. And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel were brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem. Shechem is where Abram was buried. And so they're taking the bones of Joseph. Moses brought them across the burning sands of the Sinai and Joshua carries them across Jordan into Shechem and there the bones are buried there in Shechem. Just as Joseph had faith to believe it was done, it was done.

It always happens as God promises that it will happen. Well, why? Why did Joseph say, take my bones with you? I mean, why is that so important? I mean, after all, he was dead.

Well, you see, Joseph wanted to be a part of what God was doing. Have you ever seen the tombs in Egypt? I've been to Egypt on a number of occasions. To see some of those tombs, I've been inside the Great Pyramid. Incredible. Have you seen all of the accoutrements that belong to the king, old King Tut?

Have you ever gone, if you go to London, to the London Museum and see all of those sarcophagi and see those mummies there in the London Museum, it's something to see. Boy, I'm glad you can't find one of Joseph in there. I mean, Joseph was not a materialist. He had all of this wealth. He could have built a monument, a colossal monument. He built a better monument, a monument of faith. He had wealth, but God could trust him with it. Talk about a lawyer, got him a BMW and always wanted one.

I was so proud of it. Just when he opened the door to get out, a car came along and side-swiped it. Tore the door off while he was opening the door. He said, oh, no. Oh, no, my Beamer. Oh, no. The policeman said, man, are you crazy? You're worrying about that door. Look, it ripped your left arm off. Oh, he said, oh, no, my Rolex.

It got a lot like that. They're living for this world, this world only. Joseph, he was wanting to be a part of what God was doing. You know, all of the success of Egypt meant nothing to him. He wanted to leave a monument of faith. I believe that he knew, I believe that he knew that God was not finished with his bones. Let me give you a couple of scriptures. Daniel 12, verse 2, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.

Talking about Joseph now. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. There's a great getting up morning, isn't there? What did Jesus say? John chapter 5, verses 28 and 29, Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.

Ah, there's a getting up morning. I think when they lowered that coffin into the ground there at Shechem. If you listen, you could hear a little laughter coming from those bones, maybe a chuckle from a knuckle and a little glee from a knee and a grin from a shin as they put those bones into the ground. Joseph knew that one of these days the voice of the Son of God is going to speak. The dead in Christ will rise first and we which remain in our lives will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air.

You see, folks, if you know the Lord and you know the unbreakable promises of God, the unshakable power of God, you will experience that undeniable peace of God when it comes time to die. You know, every time those people saw those bones, there's that coffin. What did he leave to his brothers? Every time they saw that, they were reminded of the brevity of life, the length of eternity. And if they were living in prosperity, those bones reminded them that one of these days they had to leave it all.

And if they were living in adversity, those bones reminded them that there's a better day coming. There was a preacher in Texas, Joe Henry Hankins. Joe Henry Hankins preached and the wife of a very successful businessman came to faith in Christ.

Hankins thought he would go and visit the businessman. So, he went by and said, My wife has been saved, she's going to be baptized Sunday night. I'd like to baptize the two of you together.

I want you to give your heart to Christ. The businessman put him off a little bit, but the preacher began to press and say, No, sir, you need to be saved. After there was this encounter that many times soul winners have, the businessman said, Preacher, I'll tell you what, on Saturday, tomorrow morning, I'll come to church. You give the invitation, I'll be the first one down that aisle.

I will accept Christ as my personal Savior and that night when my wife is baptized, I'll be baptized with her. Preacher said, Great, wonderful. And he started out, put his hand on the doorknob and he said, No, wait a minute, something's wrong here.

Something's wrong. And finally went back to that man whose name was Pat and he said, Pat, listen, if you're going to do it tomorrow morning, why not now? Why don't you just pray now and give your heart to Jesus and come and make it public tomorrow morning? The businessman said, Look, preacher, I'm a man of my word.

If I say I'm going to do it tomorrow morning, I'm going to do it tomorrow morning, you can bank on it. Preacher said, Well, all right. He did that again the second time.

Got his hand on the doorknob. He knew something was not right. He took out his New Testament and opened it up to the scripture that says, Behold, now is the accepted time.

Behold, now is the day of salvation. He said, Pat, this is what God says. The devil says tomorrow, God says today, has ever a man anywhere ever done wrong by doing what God says? And is a man ever anywhere done right by doing what Satan says?

He came back a little bit. He said, Preacher put the scripture in his hand and said, You read it. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. The man slammed his hand into his fist, and he said, Preacher, you're right. The devil's never done anything good for me, but lie to me. This is what God says.

I'm going to do it now. They slipped down on their knees and Pat prayed and gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Hankins left that house. When he was having breakfast in the morning, the phone rang. It was Pat's nephew. He said, Preacher, Pat wanted me to call you. He's had a heart attack. He said he's not coming to church this morning, but he wanted you to know that he's not failing to keep his word. He's had a little heart attack.

We think you'll be better. They had the service that morning. When Hankins was having lunch that Sunday, the phone rang again. This time it was a sister-in-law. He said, Preacher, you need to know that he's had another heart attack.

This one very serious. Then before Hankins could get up and go to the hospital to visit, the phone rang the third time. They said, you don't need to come right away. He's gone. He's dead. But, Preacher, Pat said to be sure to tell you that he was so glad you encouraged him to give his heart to Jesus Christ last night.

So glad. Friend, the Bible says, Boast not thyself of tomorrow. Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, and every box of bones that you see, every casket that you see, every funeral that you see reminds you today is the day of salvation.

Give your heart to Jesus and you can smile at death. And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you can be saved today. I'm not talking about being a Baptist or a Methodist or something like that.

I'm not talking about doing better. I'm talking about being saved, knowing Christ as your personal Savior. Now, you need to understand that you're a sinner. Your sin deserves judgment. If you die in your sin, you'll die and be lost in hell forever. But if you will repent of your sin and receive Jesus Christ by faith as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved. For the Bible says clearly and plainly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. The word believe doesn't mean intellectual belief alone.

It means trust, trust Him. Would you like to do that? Pray a prayer like this. Dear God, I am a sinner. I am lost.

That might be hard for you to say because pride doesn't want to say that. But if you're not saved, you are lost. I'm lost and I need to be saved and I want to be saved and I hope that you do want to be saved. Jesus, you died to save me. You promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you, Jesus.

Would you do that? Would you put your faith where God puts your sins on Jesus? I do trust you, Jesus, right now, this moment with my heart. I'm not asking for a feeling.

I'm not looking for a sign. I stand on your Word. I trust you to save me now.

Thank you for doing it. You begin now to make me the person you want me to be because I'm weak, but you're strong. I will live for you the rest of my life, not in order to be saved.

That is a gift that I have received. I will live for you because I'm saved and I will not be ashamed of you. I will make this public. I will not be ashamed of you. I love you, Jesus, my Lord and my Savior. Amen.