Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Most of us have some fear of death, but the Bible paints some lovely pictures of what happens when a Christian dies, like folding your tent and leaving the campground or weighing anchor and setting sail for home. Today, a final picture of a Christian's death, what a believer can look forward to in that transition from shadows to sunlight.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, your current series is all about what happens one minute after you die. I'm glad you have words of hope today for believers who may be facing their passage into eternity. You know, Dave, the good news is we don't have to understand everything that we will experience one minute after we die, but we do know this, that in Jesus Christ, if our faith is in him, we will be welcomed into everlasting habitations.
It will be more glorious than we can possibly conceive. For a gift of any amount, we're making available to our listeners a book I've written entitled One Minute After You Die. Here's what you can do.
Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. And at the end of this broadcast, I'm going to be mentioning to you something very important that this book contains that will, I believe, be a blessing to many. And you know, I don't know about you, but I'm not afraid to go to sleep. In fact, I look forward to it when I'm tired.
Now, when you're not tired, you don't want to go to sleep. And you know, when you're young and vigorous and you can still play tennis like some of us do, you don't really look forward to death. But when you have lived your life and served Christ and the time comes for you to go, you are ready to go because you'll be able to say like the Apostle Paul, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness given to all those who love his appearing, not just Paul, but all of us who love Christ.
And you're ready to go. The scripture says in Revelation chapter 14 verse 11, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord for they rest, they rest from their labors. Did I tell you about the woman who was 100 years old and she could not hear very well. And someone said to her, why don't you get a hearing aid and bless that woman. She said, I'm 100 years old and I've heard enough. I've heard enough.
I'm not nearly that old and I'm beginning to think I've heard enough too. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord for they rest from their labors. They're tired and they've gone home and their works follow them. What a blessed verse that is. That means just like a pebble that is thrown into the water that has all of the impact.
And you can see those waves of water that are created, those semi circles in the very same way. The good that we do is carried on to eternity. I know that Shakespeare said that the evil that men do lives after them and the good is interred with their bones, but that's not true. That's not true.
Shakespeare was wrong. And so the scripture says we rest and even in the Old Testament, David said, as for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness and I will be satisfied when I awake. Sleep is rest. There's a third image and that is a collapsing tent, collapsing tent. And you may now take your Bibles and turn to 2 Corinthians chapter five, 2 Corinthians five. And although we shall look at other passages, I suggest that you keep your Bibles open there because we shall end there in a few moments. 2 Corinthians chapter five verse one. We know that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
In another message, we'll discuss what that building is that we have in the heavens. But notice that if we, if our earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, what a good image that is. You know, there are enthusiasts who like to live in tents. They like to go camping.
And I admire these folks. They like to rough it. But you know, eventually their tent becomes tattered.
The wind blows and you have all of the problems of rain and everything else. And eventually, you know, it's time to hang up the old tent. Time to put it aside. That's the way it is in our lives. You know, the older you get, the more things begin to creak, the more your body begins to hurt. And you know how that experience is. When you bend over to tie your shoes while you're down there, you think, is there anything else I can do now that I am down there?
Some of you are at that point. Our old tent begins to weaken. It begins to deteriorate and looks very dilapidated. What a beautiful image. It's a reminder of the fact that this world is not our home. You know, we're just a passing through. The whole idea of tents has to do with, with how temporal life is, that it's not our permanent place. And when you die, you set aside that tent and you get on with your eternal home.
You really do. So don't be discouraged today if the tent that you have brought with you needs some repair, needs some work. You did the best you could this morning.
Clearly, as I look out, I can see that you worked on it. But don't be discouraged because you're getting something better and you're getting a permanent home. And you do remember that story about the guys who were out camping and someone said to the other, don't drive in the stakes so deeply because we're leaving in the morning. We're leaving in the morning. We are strangers and pilgrims in this world. And so one illustration of death, one figure of speech is that it is a collapsing tent.
You can keep it up for a long time, but eventually it is going to come down. Number four, the sailing of a ship. I want you to keep your Bibles open to 2 Corinthians, but also turn to Philippians chapter one now where the Apostle Paul uses the word depart. And this is a different word. This is not the word Exodus, as we learned last time.
Notice what Paul says in Philippians chapter one, verse 23. But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart. Ava luo, to set loose and to be with Christ, which is far better. This is a Greek word that was often used for a ship that was cut loose so that it might be able to sail. One of the Greek scholars says that it has to do with the loosing of an anchor or to weigh anchor and to put out to sea.
What a beautiful image. Jesus Christ has gone across the sea. He's made it to the other side. And so he invites us now to come where he is. Death has all that mystery, but one of the things about it is as long as you know that Jesus is going to be there somehow, all the other things aren't so fearful. The Apostle Paul used the same word before he died when he says the time of my departure has now come. It's time for the ship to come into harbor. There's a passage of scripture in the book of Hebrews, which I will read to you only, but what a beautiful use of this image. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil where Jesus has entered as the forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The imagery of the forerunner is this, that when you had a ship that was coming to harbor, the forerunner would hop out before the ship got to shore, take the rope and tie it around a rock. And then with a winch would bring that ship in so that it would come safely into harbor. And the scripture says that Jesus is the anchor of the soul and has gone, catch this, within the veil. In the very heart of God, the very holy of holies, the very place where you and I dare to tread, that's where Jesus is and he brings us right there.
And he's the forerunner. He made it there and he says, you're coming too, even if I have to drag you all the way. And so we have this boat and the winds come and the sails are tattered, the sails are tattered. You look at the boat and even with a little bit of paint, it ain't what it used to be. You look at the boat and you notice that the floors creak. You notice that there are waves all around and we're constantly battered, but our forerunner has run within the veil and is now bringing us home.
He's bringing us home. There was a captain who was visiting someone in the hospital who was dying and when he got there, he discovered that this man had the flags of various countries around him. And as they talked, they discovered that they had served on the very same ship and both of them were believers. But one of them said, what are all these flags doing? And he said, well, don't you remember what it was like to be on the ship?
He said, these flags show that the boat is ready for sale and all that I'm asking, all that I'm asking, he says, is for the captain to give me the final order. And that's what death is to the Christian. It's the final order as the Lord says, come hither, come home.
There's a final image. Death is a departure. It is an exodus. It is a restful sleep.
It is a collapsing tent. It is the sailing of a ship. It is also a home, a home. You say, well, that's not really a figure of speech. That is what it is. And that's true. And for this, I want you to simply think about the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John. Let not your heart be troubled.
Ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house, there are many mansions. I don't know about you, but most of us who grew up in churches, we always think of that long, long ranch style house, about 10 acres, several limousines in the front yard, lawn, beautifully manicured. And that's where it is. And that's why we used to sing, you know, I've got a mansion over the hilltop.
Not heard you sing that recently, Jerry. Sometime you might want to try that, but I've got a mansion over the hilltop. So we think of ourselves as, as being in this mansion. Actually, the Greek is many dwelling places. And later on, we're going to have a message just on heaven.
And I'll tell you how big heaven really is. At least the book of Revelation seems to tell us, and how many possible mansions it has and how much space you're going to have. But for now, I simply want you to be reminded of the fact that these are dwelling places.
These are abodes. These are condominiums with your name on it. And if your name is on it, nobody else is going to move in.
Nobody else is going to move in. And the great thing is that where I am, there ye may be also. And that's the heart and soul of it, to be with Christ. Oh, we will see other people. We will recognize them. I think we'll have instant recognition. But I tell you that the most blessed thing is we will be with Christ and he with us.
And we'll have our abode with him. And so that's the fifth figure of speech. What I'd like to do is to simply conclude by giving you some lessons that we can learn so far from death. Number one, death is a gift of God.
I've already said it, but I need to say it again. Do you remember in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 21 and 23 Paul says, all things are yours, whether height or depth, whether pole or cephas, whether life or death. Death is a gift. It's a gift. I know that we do all that we possibly can to keep ourselves from opening it. We belong to HMOs. And some of them that I've heard about will help you open that gift, by the way.
Some people say not an HMO, a PPO, other options out there, but eventually death will get you. It'll get you. But it's a gift. You know what the early Christians used to say when they were being thrown to the lions? They used to say, you know, the pagans can take many things from us.
They can take our houses and they can take our lands and they can even take our children. One thing they cannot take from us is the gift of death. Nobody can take the gift of death from us. In fact, they might be the means that God will use to give us that gift, they said, but nobody can rid us of the possession of the Christian, namely death.
It is the entranceway into the heavenly kingdoms. You can't get there from here any other way. So don't fight it. Don't fight it unless we live when the Lord returns.
We're going to all go that way. Fight it for a while, but in the end, simply accept it. Do you know that when some of the believers in Europe during the time of the reformation were persecuted and when they were thrown into fires, drowning, soared, we have thousands and tens of thousands of people who did that. Most people don't know that that's our history. Some people, when I tell them that whole villages of men, women and children were massacred simply because they believe that one should be baptized as an adult upon profession of faith in the 1500s in Europe, they can't believe it. They say, did that really happen? Yeah, the stain of blood is throughout all of church history. But it is said that on one occasion that the authorities actually brought a band to drown out the songs of those who were singing as they were on their way to death.
That's how joyful they were to die and to be with Christ. Death is a gift. It's a gift. You go to the Drake Hotel here in Chicago. They have a 24 hour valet service. They'll open the door for you. It might cost you something once you get inside, but they'll open the door for you.
You can get a limousine to take you there. Listen, death is the chariot. It's the limousine that God sends to take us to himself and when we get there, we find out that there's a doorman and it's the one who we have come to trust in this life and he is there to meet us on the other side. Death is a gift. Secondly, eternity. Eternity must help us interpret time.
Did you get a chance to write that down? Eternity must help us interpret time. I asked you to keep your Bible open to 2 Corinthians and I went ahead and closed mine, but I'm going back there. Notice what the apostle Paul says just before chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians, that great discussion about heaven and a resurrection body.
He says in chapter 4 verse 16, 2 Corinthians, therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen, they are eternal. Did you notice all of our affliction is light and it is momentary. Take a string from here to the farthest star and when you think about it, our life then would be just a hairline, but actually we aren't going to live just to the farthest star as it were. We are going to actually live forever. Therefore, there is no suffering that God can ever put us through in this life that will not be made up to us in the life to come.
Many, many times over. In fact, Paul says if you were to take a scale and on one side put all of your trials and all of your difficulties, he said it will be as light as a feather in comparison to the heavy weight of glory. The glory of God on the other side causes the scale to go plunk because it's so much heavier and so much greater. I don't know what you're going through today, but I'm glad to inform you that it will someday end. It will someday end.
Isn't that encouraging? It isn't going to go on forever, but heaven will go on forever and the glory that is to be revealed in us will go on forever. So eternity must help us interpret time and finally third, our eternal destiny is determined in this life.
Our eternal destiny is determined in this life. Now eventually we're going to speak about the great white throne judgment and even the doctrine of hell, but let me simply say there are many people who think that someday they're going to stand before God and the purpose of that judgment they think is to determine whether they are going to go into heaven or hell. Did you know that the Bible does not give us any indication that there is a judgment like that? Rather, what the Bible teaches is that those who believe in Jesus Christ as savior, they are taken immediately to heaven and there they encounter Christ in what is known as the judgment seat of Jesus Christ to determine their degree of rewards in heaven. Those who do not know Christ as savior show up eventually.
They are raised in another judgment called the great white throne judgment and there they are judged to determine the degree of punishment that they will have in hell. Two different judgments, two different destinies, two different crowds of people and the decision as to whether or not you will be at one or the other is made in this life. There is no chance afterwards.
There's no chance afterwards. It is appointed unto men once to die and after death there is a judgment. There's a judgment for all of us, but there are two different judgments. Do you realize that it is only those who put faith and trust in Jesus Christ that can accept death the way in which I've outlined it in this message?
And the purpose and the reason for that is very clear because if you have come under the shelter of Christ's death and what he did on the cross for sinners, if you come under that protection, there is therefore now no eternal condemnation for you because you are passed from death unto life and this is what Jesus said. He that believeth on me shall not see death. He will not see death. Oh he'll die physically.
It'll either be cancer or Parkinson's disease or some other way, an accident or heart failure. There's a zillion different ways by which God has all kinds of chariots that he sends our way, but he that believeth in me shall not see death. He will not see an eternal death. He will see only life and when you hear that a believer dies and some of you have had that experience even recently within your families and within your friends, would you in your sorrow and in your tears rejoice in the fact that God has called another child home and he is saying to us today that death is the ascent into glory. It is the means by which God and his child are reconciled.
I end today by asking you a question. Is your faith in Christ alone? Christ alone.
Do you personally know him because you believed on him or is all of this kind of theoretical? Your eternal destiny is determined by what you do with Christ. Let us pray. Father, we want to thank you today that even though we do see through a glass darkly, thank you that we do see. We don't see clearly what lies on the other side of the curtain, but the fact that you will be there waiting for us makes us anticipate that day and we thank you that your word says that the sting has been taken out of death and we pray today Father that you will encourage your people to look at all of the events that take place in life, the hard times, the disappointments, the pain from the standpoint of an eternal existence, the eternal glory in your presence. And Lord for those who do not know you as Savior today, grant them the gift of faith. May they look to you even now and be saved and say Lord Jesus, I trust you at this moment. Before I close this prayer, I want you to pray and if you're here today and you've never believed in Christ, would you tell them that in your heart because he knows what you're thinking. Embrace him as your Savior at this moment. Father for those who waffle, for those who waffle, don't let them sleep, take away their appetite, bring them to a point where they call to you that they might be saved. In Jesus' name, amen. Well my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer.
You've heard my heart. If you've never put faith and trust in Jesus Christ, would you do so today? Running to win exists to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. And we also make available resources that help you make it all the way to the finish line, so to speak. Right now, you can receive the book entitled One Minute After You Die. I can't tell you the number of people that have come to me and told me that this book has been a tremendous blessing, especially when they've experienced death in their family, in the midst of sorrow. One of the reasons I think it is a blessing is because I discuss in this book the connection between earth and heaven, so to speak, and what their relatives and what their friends are thinking and doing now.
By that I mean, I emphasize that they are the same people over there as they were here even though they have a different body. That's why we're making this resource available. Here's what you do. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. I'm sure that you know friends and relatives who need to understand the Gospel.
They need to understand eternity. I believe that this resource will not only be a blessing to you, but also a guide for them to know that their faith is in Christ. RTWOffer.com. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago. Next time, a brief tour of heaven. Don't miss Welcome, You Have Arrived on our next program. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
