This broadcaster has 1222 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
January 22, 2021 2:00 am
Benjamin Franklin once said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Given death's sure nature, we must talk about it. In the message "Death Is Certain...but God," Skip encourages you to focus on your eternal future.
This teaching is from the series ...but God.
Links:Website: https://connectwithskip.com
Donate: https://connnectwithskip.com/donate
This week's DevoMail: https://connnectwithskip.com/devomail
The book of Psalms was used in ancient times in Israel outside about the songbook hymnbook or temple worship.
To this day, Jews will sing or recite the Psalms in their liturgy of worship throughout the year and it was thus used in ancient times, but Psalm 49 in particular gives us the basic reality of life that you could sum up the entire Psalm. This way we live precariously we die. Certainly, we must plan accordingly. Death is a sure thing. In fact, it's one of the only things were guaranteed but you don't have to live in fear of death today on connect with skintight scriptures while you can have hope, peace and joy in the face of death. Want to let you know about a resource that will transform your spiritual life as you see God for who he really is the best biographies make you feel like you personally intimately know the person you've read about from Mozart to Mother Teresa Sojourner Truth to Steve Jobs. It's exciting to learn the details of influential people, but one biography stands out above the rest.
Biography of God hears the author skip. I think there's nothing more elevating to mankind than the study of God himself. Discover the omnipotence paradox is an mystery central to God's being and remove the limits you may have placed on who God is.
I've noticed that almost every problem that a person has in their life stems from an inadequate skip's new book is our thanks when you give $35 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air, call 800-922-1888, or get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer Psalm 49 for today's show.
Let's join Skip was an elderly man who feeling is a planning that I've sure gotten old.
I've had to bypass surgeries hip replacement new knees. I fought prostate cancer and diabetes.
I'm half blind. I can hear anything quieter than a jet engine take off.
I take 40 different medications that make me dizzy wended and subject to blackouts. I have bouts with dementia. I have poor circulation. I can hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. I can't remember a 585 or 92, I lost all my friends, but thank God I still have my drivers license look out at some point we all have to face our own mortality that were not gonna live in these physical bodies on this planet for ever. In fact, would you agree that the most basic thing about life is death. Psalm 49 addresses that it's one of the most practical Psalms in all of the book of Psalms and you could even title this Psalm the brevity of life and the certainty of death, the brevity of life and the certainty of death, that is its theme years ago when Dr. Billy Graham was still alive. He was at a university and a student asked him a question. Dr. Graham what is the most surprising thing you have discovered about life and he quickly quipped back its brevity and all of us who are getting older, have the experience that time seems to accelerate the older you get right you look back the word of that time go and even James in the New Testament, said for what is your life is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes. If you're around these parts in the fall of the year down in the valley on cold mornings when it's just a little bit moist really, but all it is a little bit moist. You get a morning fog that settles in the valley but stand around and wait 10 minutes because as soon as the sun comes out that vapor quickly dissipate. But God has a solution to that for us and it suggested here in this Psalm is a sneak peak by going to a couple of verses that will look at it just a little bit verse 14. Like sheep. They are late in the grave death shall feed on them. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning and their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave for he shall receive me as a little background on Psalms. Did you know Psalms is the longest book in Scripture. That is, it is more chapters 150 chapter of Psalms are written in this book the longest chapter in the Bible is found in Psalm Psalm 119. The shortest chapter in the Bible is also found in this book. Psalm 117 only two verses. But the book of Psalms was used in ancient times in Israel as sort of like the songbook hymnbook or temple worship. To this day, Jews will sing or recite the Psalms in their liturgy of worship throughout the year and it was thus used in ancient times in the temple, but Psalm 49 in particular gives us the basic reality of life that you could sum up the entire Psalm. This way we live precariously we die. Certainly, we must plan accordingly. That sums up the entire message of Psalm 49. Do you ever think about your own death. Most people don't. Most people get creeped out by it or somebody brings it up like a parent or grandparent somebody in the family was no talk about that I want discuss it. That's been the trend. In fact, the CBS poll said that most Americans 54% don't spend much time or any time thinking thinking about their own death, but that never used to be much higher. There is a growing trend and it's a good trend where people are saying, you know, we should at least think and talk about the inevitable that trend. As I said is growing more people are confronting death in more than just abstract terms. So for example there's a phenomenon called death dinners or boy come to my house for a death dinner. That would just sit around and need to talk about dying, but they become popular. People gather to talk about the inevitability of the end of their life, then there's something called death solons where you sit around and talk over death, dying end-of-life issues over craft beer. I can only imagine the conversation gets more interesting as the night goes on. Then there are a little over 100 cities in America that have death Café same principle we surround over tea, coffee, cookies, something sweet to talk about us, our subject and then I discovered a YouTube series and social are not a social man. YouTube called to ask a mortician and it's interesting as this young gal who is a mortician professionally trained.
That's what she does for a living and she brings up these unsavory topics and talks about them in a series of videos called ask mortician and her idea is to help people accept their own mortality.
So it's becoming more popular. I think it's good to think about death. I think it's good to talk about that, but it's even better to prepare for death to get ready for some years ago I buried a dear lady from this congregation. She was struck by a disease that took her very quickly. I had talked to her and her family. I prayed with her. She went into the hospital. She deteriorated rapidly and I was asked to come by the family to her room because they said she's not to be around much longer would you just come in one last time and pray for. So I came in. It was in the night. The room was dark. She was lying down quietly in repose. The family was gathered around and I anticipated a very solemn affair. I walked in the room. Her husband whispered in her here that I had come as soon as she heard that I was in the room. She opened her eyes, sat up in bed and raised her arm to heaven and she said I'm ready to go and I left that room thinking I want a guy like that was inspiring to me. So let's look at this Psalm, a little more carefully and let me give you. What are some bottom-line realities about life and death, and about being prepared for. First of all, life is unstable. Life is unstable. Look at verse one. This all peoples give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will disclose my dark saying on a harp, so think of a musician picking up the instrument and he says I'm going I'm going disclose our riddle to talk about an unsavory topic and I'm at a set it to music. The events verse five.
Why should I fear in the days of evil when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me know. In those five verses that we just read. There's some language used. We could easily Skip over that we should notice it.
For example, in verse one. Notice the contrast between high and low speaking of one status in life. Also, the words rich and poor, you know that is in verse five he mentions days of evil bad days where iniquity is that my heel sulked.
This poetic Psalm points to life's instability and uncertainty in talking about these common experiences. Somebody might be high.
That is powerful. Somebody bite below that is not so influential. In fact, even beggarly might be rich. One might be poor and then we all have good days. We all have bad days with the psalmist called evil days and then some days even feel like you're being chased and you can barely keep up. That would be summed up by the phrase iniquity is at my heels. She just feel like you can't get ahead of it. It's funny. Malcolm Muggeridge once said, I have 1 foot in heaven and 1 foot on earth in the foot on earth is on a banana peel very slippery around here and it's this kind of instability in life that really bombed out Solomon when he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. He looked around he observed life, and he used the words being vanity. It's all emptiness and effect, to turn them into a fatalist and Ecclesiastes chapter 6 verse 12 Solomon writes for who knows what is good for a man in life all the days of his main life which he passes like a shadow. Who can tell a man what's going to happen after him under the sun. You don't want that geyser counselor, but he's discovered the truth of this Psalm. Life is unstable now in the New Testament were dealing with your but in the New Testament, there are three different Greek words that are used that are all translated into one English word life is always fascinated me degree can be so detailed in English is sort of so sparse a week we call life. We we use that term, but in Greek, there were three different experiences all translated in English life. The first two are unstable. The third is stable and explain the first word the most basic word in Greek for the word life is the word Diaz we might see it and spell it or pronounce it BIOS is where we get our word biology from his physical life is life on the external plane. The physical plane only is focusing on externals and this is where most people spend most of their time and energy, effort, attention, money, how do I look is my hair try to lose weight. We spend most of our thought processes on Diaz biological life, but I think you'll agree that physical life is very unstable. Why because a sudden illness can happen a virus, a blog, a test, a single diagnosis from a physician and everything changes or an auto accident and everything changes. I had a friend once part of our flock young, healthy, hard-working, then one day he didn't feel good. He went to the doctor.
The doctor announce to him. He had had an advanced stage of brain cancer. He died very quickly thereafter leaving a life. Children very difficult time to compound that that widow. Several months later was an auto accident and she died it was like sorrow upon sorrow because of the instability of physical life is the second word. The Greek New Testament uses translated in English life, and it's the word Sue K Sue K is what we get the word psyche or psychology or psychological. It means your inward life, your personality, how you process thoughts, speaks of the inner person and what you think but that life is also unstable because you can have peace one day be filled with anxiety the next. You can be happy one day. Sad the next and many people are alive physically but they are tormented mentally. They have absolutely no peace of mind. So those are two types of life that are unstable.
There is 1/3 type illustrated by 1/3 word and that is stable. It is the word Soleil Soleil is the word for life in Greek, but it is usually translated eternal life or everlasting life is life on a spiritual plane is a theological term that shows up 143 times in the New Testament. It describes a quality not just the quantity of life, but quality of life that is not speaking about life in the band and their far in the future is about life in the here and now that will follow you into the future. Jesus said, whoever hears my word and believes has not will have has right now present tense. Has everlasting life about new life comes from the new birth Jesus that you must be born again you are born again and you're not just living biological or psychological but spiritual life.
Now you have a sense of stability.
Other than that life is unstable. Second, bottom-line reality about life and death of Solomon covers not only is life unstable, but death is universal where you read this, but look in verse one again and notice how the Psalm kinda cuts across all different categories of geography here this all peoples are just my people, not just by Jewish people, not just my neighbors in Jerusalem. He's addressing a message to all people give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both high and low, rich and poor together so it crosses all social strata as well as geographical areas. He has a message for everyone. What is that message simple login to die.
That's the message were all going to die. No one gets out of this alive and it's time we are to think that through that death is the grade level or for all of us. Verse six. Those who trust in their wealth, materialism, and boast in the multitude of the richest none of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him for the redemption of their souls is costly and it shall cease forever that he should continue to live eternally and not see the PIP for he sees wise men die. Likewise, the fool and the senseless person perish, and they leave their wealth to other now you're reading this and maybe thinking this guy is like a bummer of a worship leader. If this is the song he sang in that day in the temple. If this is a musician setting this to attune this guy's fatalistic, but is not fatalistic. He's realistic.
It's realistic. Hebrews 927. It is appointed to every man once to die, and after this the judgment. Did you know that death is mentioned 394×394 times you can escape this mentioned that many times in Scripture. One of the most famous you all know this.
If you're as old as I am you remember a song by the birds that was based on Ecclesiastes 3. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born in the time to that time to be able. I want us. With a comes to my mind. I think about those who are born will all die. Now those are realities that are happening simultaneously. We know this to be true. 4.3 people are born into our world. Every second. Two people die every second. So, more than twice, are being born onto the earth and are leaving the earth what that means is every hour, 6316 people die in the next hour over 6000 people will die under all of that to say the simple reality of the Psalm. Death is a part of life and I get very graphic.
One day, your home will be 6 feet under some plot of ground as will mine be so you can you can stay healthy. Until then, you can Ron. You can take vitamins you can pump iron.
You can count the calories you can stretch her face pasture earlobes butchered and alludes one day you will keep an appointment with death IDC Washington DC undertaker signs all of his correspondence. Eventually yours verse seven. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor get the got a ransom for him. Go down verse 11 and finish that up there thought that is these secular minded unbelievers have no thought for God. Their thought is that their homes houses will last forever. Their dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names and it funny how towns have names of people who started them as settlers years ago that the name still sticks, but even us.
We who lives in Sion are making payments on properties are names written on the title. They call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, man. Go in honor does not remain. He is like the beasts that perish. This is the way of those who are foolish and of their posterity who approve their same so not even the wealthiest person with access to the world's best healthcare can escape death people who tend to rely on wealth or status or what they have in their family bank to rely on that is an exercise in futility. Why, because he says you can't redeem yourself, you can't redeem anyone else all the money in the world can by life. It always amazes me and I notice this is a trend I've noticed is in every generation that the wealthiest people on earth get to a point where they have so much stuff and then one day it dawns on them.
I'm in a die and then is alive and I have a lot of money.
Maybe I don't have to. Maybe I could invest in something that figures out a way to be death.
I kid you not, it's usually a mental disease of the very very welcome basket with a message from the series but God's gift to share. You can keep these messages coming your way to connect you and others to the gospel of Jesus and the priority grid of life.
God should always come first, and he should be at the center of everything you do. We want to keep connecting others to the life-changing truth of the gospel so they might be led to make Jesus the Lord of their life. And when you give generously, you become part of that life transforming work. Here's how you can give today give us a call at 800-922-1888 to make a donation. 800-922-1888 wargame online@connectwithskip.com/donate.
That's connectwithskip.com/donate your support is vital to help connect more people like you to Christ.
So thank you for giving generously now before we go to juvenile that you can watch gifts messages from the comfort of your home with your local device for Apple TV.
Just search for his channel and watch thousands of powerful Bible teachings and live services. Find more information on the broadcasting connect with.com and we'll catch connect with Isaac on the hills on channel on Saturdays at 4:30 PM Mountain or watch it on TV and on Sundays at 5:30 AM Eastern. Check your local listings sure to come back again next Skip to give you a refreshing and help dealing with death can help for more satisfying life Skip Presentation of Connection Communications Ever-Changing True