Death – From Bad News to Good News

You know how much I love listening to the sermons of Robert Morris. This post is based upon the final of a series of three sermons on Good News. These are my thoughts and musings sprinkled with some of his thoughts.

Before the coming of Christ, death was final to the people of the ancient world. They had no hope of a life after death. Paul tells them, But we do not want you to be uninformed brethren, about those who are asleep (dead), that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 1Thes. 4:13 (NASB). Depending on one’s beliefs, death was either bad news or good news.

BAD NEWS FOR NON-BELIEVERS

The view of death is very different for the non-believer versus the believer.

For anyone who dies without believing that Jesus is the Son of God, death is very bad news. They will die in their sin and will spend eternity separated from God and all their family and friends who are followers of Christ. This makes me very sad for I have family members who have chosen not to accept Christ, but we continue to pray for each of them.

Did you know we are told to mourn the dead? The Bible contains many passages about grief and mourning. Ecclesiastes 3:2-4 includes the verses about there being a season for all things. Verse 4 says, a time to weep, and a time to laugh: a time to mourn, and a time to dance (ESV).  Jesus, Himself said, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5: 4 NASB).

I like the dance portion of that scripture. Zephania 3:17 says, Adonai your God is in your midst–a mighty Savior! He will delight over you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing.  I love picturing my Abba dancing and singing over me, just as my earthly father did most of my life. (I won’t put it here, but if you’d like to hear a lovely anthem based on this scripture, you will find it on YouTube. Look for ENC A. There is no video, just a photo and the recording. The choir is very good.  And The Father Will Dance)

Just as God will dance over us at times, another part of death and dying is to weep. Remember the shortest verse in the entire Bible? Jesus wept. John 11: 35 (ESV). If you look closely, you’ll see He wasn’t weeping over the death of Lazarus. Jesus already knew He was going to raise him from the dead even though Lazarus had been dead and in his tomb for four days. He loved Mary and Martha, and their broken hearts touched Jesus to the point of weeping. Jesus cares about our joys and our sorrows, and He weeps with us when we weep. Romans 12:15 (ESV) says Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Jesus was the best example of this, ever.

John 11: 33 says, When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled (KJV). Pastor Robert said the groaned and troubled here translates to being angry and agitated. Jesus was angry with Satan for bringing death into the world through sin.

GOOD NEWS FOR CHRIST-FOLLOWERS

Death - From Bad News to Good News @DDuPreeWilliams #faith #writing #JesusOvercameDeath Share on X

But to those of us who are Christ-Followers, death is good news. Remember the Greek word for good news, euangelion, which is where we get the word evangelical. The core word here is angel or messenger. They were bringers of good news or Gospel. This is the Gospel message—Jesus died, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead, appeared bodily to many, and He’s coming again. 1 Corin. 15:1-6 (NASB). Jesus overcame death, and because He lives, we have the promise of eternal life.  John 3:16 (ESV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In John 11: 25-26 Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? (NASB).

I ask you, do you believe this? If you are reading this and you do not know for sure that when you die, you will be in the presence of Jesus, please contact me. The world is a scary place right now. Not one of us can claim tomorrow. If you just made the decision to put your faith and trust in Jesus, contact me so that I may rejoice with you.

Make that choice to call upon the Name of Jesus.

Blessings, y’all!

 

David Phelps is my all-time favorite male singer. He is soooo gifted. This is my favorite of the songs I’ve heard him sing.  I pray it blesses you.