When I Die

Problems with you and I turn with me if you would to second Samuel chapter 23 and will be looking at verses one through seven. Now these are the last words of David, the article of David, the son of Jesse, the Oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. The spirit of the Lord speaks by me. The word is on my tongue, the God of Israel and spoke in the rock of Israel is said to me when one rule justly over me and ruling in the fear of God. He dawns on them like the morning light like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth for just not my hell stand. So with God free is made with me and everlasting covenant ordered in all things, and secure for, will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire but worthless men are like thorns that are thrown away. They cannot be taken with the hand. The man who touches them arms himself with iron in the shaft of the spear and they are utterly concerned with fire that with things we got our Lord in prayer. Heavenly father, we lift up the Baileys to you today is Barry has been able to come home from the hospital.

We thank you for that answered prayer and pray Lord that he will continue to heal very quickly. She would be with him and just encourage him in helping to heal fast. We pray heavenly father for the Ifor family that you might continue to be with them in their sorrow that you give to them, that peace that passes all understanding. Heavenly father.

The passage before us today was written by David, who was elderly and was making preparations to die is soon coming death was a certainty.

He wanted to be prepared for eternity. But he also wanted his nation to be prepared for eternity of the last two years we have been through a pandemic and are still in it with had loved ones and friends to pass away and it has forced us to all of us to consider our own mortality. David prepared for death. So should we. David stood face-to-face with death without trembling, help us to have that type of faith. Help us to fight fear and trepidation help us to be ready to die while help me preach this morning. May Jesus be exalted by your flock here at Grace church be edified, and helped and fed.

What is the precious and holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. What does it mean when it says that these were the last words of David, does that mean that David was on his deathbed and that he uttered these words and then he closed his eyes, breathed his last breath and was taken to glory. No, not in this case, what we have here are David's last public words to Israel.

David has last words that he says from his deathbed that we will see that when we get over into first Kings chapter 2 David is speaking to Solomon.

Is he getting ready to die giving him instructions on how to become the new king of Israel. Besides, what we have here is much more glorious than that it is written in the form of a song I don't know about you but I it sends shivers down, up and down my spine when I think about people speaking their last words and just how important they are. I've been pastoring after 42 years and in that time of pastoring.

I have been with people on their deathbed over and over and over again and so often I have heard them speak their last words will never forget one particular situation where a Christian. Dad was dying and he loves the Lord. He was on his deathbed he had his four sons and his wife. They are, and I was there with them.

Three of the sons the oldest ones were all Christians. The youngest one was not. He was a wild just rebellious hellion and the father begin to go around the. The bad instinct each one of them.

He spoke to the oldest three sons first one by one and he said to them, I want you to know that I love you and I will see you soon I got to the last son and he looked at him and he got quiet for a minute and then he said, son, we repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and the boy said that I can't do that right now I'm not ready to do that right now and the father said to him than son.

All I can say to you is this goodbye. A few minutes later that man died and went to be with the Lord. I looked over at this young man and and you could just see the shock in the bewilderment in his face. I said this young man I said nobody escapes death. Hebrews chapters 9 verse 27 tells us that it is appointed him to me and wants to die and after that the judgment and that young man looked around the room and he said dad said that each one of you. I will see you soon, but he said to me goodbye and he burst into tears. RG Lee, the great Baptist pastor was on his deathbed and his family and some close friends that were rounding and he went into coma for several hours as he was in that coma. All of a sudden he just stopped breathing for about a minute and everybody thought will he's probably gone. And then all of a sudden he sat straight up in bed and he looked right over at his daughter-in-law and he said to his daughter-in-law said honey do you remember that sermon that I preached called a place called heaven and she said yes sir. That was my favorite sermon that you've ever preached and he said I want you know I didn't do it justice and he fell right back down on his pillow. A few minutes later he was with the Lord deal. Moody was preaching a sermon then, and he felt himself dying as he was up to the pulpit. His heart was just giving out peeling down the front row and there was already Tory great preacher on the front row. He said to Tori Tory on I need you to get up here quickly and you need to finish the sermon. I believe that I'm dying because I need several of the deacons to come up and help me to the back room and he was a huge man in several of the deacons came up a little. He picked them up. They carried into the back room. They laid them out on the floor and he was laying on the floor. The past out was unconscious.

After a few minutes he awoke out of that unconsciousness and he said the earth receives avenues open to me and his son will say that I think you you were dreaming.

He said oh no I was not dreaming. He said this was like a trance and he said if this is death, and death is sweet is not a valid across. He said I'm going to be with the Lord and I can't wait to see him face-to-face. I think of Simon Peter's death. Simon Peter was in in prison in Rome. His wife was in that same prison in another section and I got ready Nero didn't order him to be crucified, and Nero said when you crucify Peter I want you to crucify his wife so much you make him watch her crucifixion. Maybe it will breaking and so they brought Peter and his wife out to this heel. They out laid his his wife out on the cross took huge nails and they drove those nails through her hands and threw her feet. They lifted the cross up in the air and the end they are.

She started just bleeding and and he was.

They are under the cross.

Looking at her and tears rolling down his cheeks and he began to encourage her to honey remember the Lord. Remember the Lord. Remember the Lord.

She died very quickly and then the executioner turned around to him and and said Peter, do you have anything to say we get ready to crucify you and he said yes when you crucify me, crucify me upside down from not worthy to be crucified like Jesus brothers and sisters.

That's the way to die. That's the way to die, glorifying Christ, even as you go back to David's last words to Israel. I got four points I want to share with you .1 is God-given authority. Look with me in verses one into nothing. As of the last words of David, the Oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the Oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. The spirit of the Lord speaks by me.

His word is on my tongue when I get personal. How often and how deep you think about death, is another question, how often and how deep should you think about death.

I got a call this couple weeks ago to three weeks ago now from Doug Colwell and Doug Colwell is a good friend of mine lives at the beach in a 72 years old. Doug said Doug I want you to know that been to the doctor.

They diagnosed me with stage IV cancer. They have said that it's metastasized all over my body to the major organs and are not given me long to live. He said, could you send me some verses to meditate on. Could you send me some sermons that might help me to prepare for death. I pray for him and assured him that I would do these things and then got off the phone little bit later I saw Eugene and Atoll Eugene about what was going on with Doug Colwell and Eugene said Doug got a getting to read the book heaven, Randy Alcorn. He said man that put a hunger in my heart for heaven and I thought, man, that's a great idea and I still didn't put on a hunger in my heart for heaven to and it was just feel with Scripture, and so I called Doug back and told him to to get that that great book in his book on heaven, Randy Alcorn said this as human beings we have a terminal disease, mortality, the current death rate is 100% unless Christ returns soon were all going to die. We don't like to think about death. Yet, worldwide, sweet people die every second hundred 80 every minute nearly at 11,000 every hour. If the Bible is right about what happens to us after death. It means that more than 250,000 people every day go either to heaven or to hail. David said show me oh Lord my lice in the number of my days. Let me know how fleeting is my life. You've made my day's a mere handbreadth, the span of my years is as nothing before you each man's life is but a breath picture a single breath escaping your mouth on a cold day and dissipating into the a or such as the brevity of life here. The wise will consider what awaits us.

On the other side of this life that so quickly ends most people live unprepared for death, but those who are wise will go to a reliable source to investigate what's on the other side. If they discover that the choices they make during their brief stay in this world will matter in this world to come there one adjust those choices accordingly. What is the reliable source that Randy Alcorn was pointing to.

It is simply and plainly, the word of God folks man's ideas and man's prognostications are not enough with it but but the word of God is is what we can trust and we can trust implicitly. David is saying what I'm writing to you Israel is not just my conjectures is not just my ideas what I am writing to you is this is the plenary verbal infallible in error. The inspired word of God.

But what you believe about the Bible. Did you believe the Bible contains errors. You believe that the Bible has contradictions do you believe that the Bible contains the word of God, or do you believe the Bible is the word of God and second Timothy chapter 3 verse 616. Paul said all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and instruction in righteousness and then in the Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. The Scripture says is this it says for the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in the joints of the marrow ends discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 18 Jesus said for verily I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle shall pass away from my law and what is a jot jot is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet scalding yellowed. It looks like a little' what is a tittle until is one little mark on on some of the Hebrew letters into what was Jesus saying he was saying. Not only are the books of the Bible, inspired not only of the statements of the Scripture, inspired not only of the words of the Scripture inspired but even the letters and even portions of letters are absolutely accurate folks. I want to know the truth is not relative truth is absolutely absolute and as the writers of the New Testament wrote there other than the Scriptures out 2000 years ago.

They came off their PN exactly as God wanted it as perfect truth in the Old Testament when they wrote their the prophecies when they wrote the history what we had layer is perfect absolute truth. Truth does not change in verses one into David is saying listen to this. These words carefully, for these are not my words that are being spoken. These are the words of God .2. Gratitude for God's grace verses three and four, the God of Israel is spoken the rock of Israel and said to me when one rules justly over men ruling in the fear of God. He dawns on them like the morning light like the sun shining on a cloudless morning light rain that makes grass to Schatz sprout from the earth dated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit praises God for the grace that made him king and and helped him to live out his kingship.

He remembers back to Samuel the prophet come into his house when he was 16 years old come to Jesse's home. His dad and he was gonna power of God anoint one of the above, the sons of Jesse to be the new king of Israel be passed over the first seven brothers and he chose David by God's inspiration.

David would never forget that he anointed him to be the king and then not only that but he remembers back to his fight against Goliath the giant and have the Lord directed the stone that came right out of his slingshot directed it right to the four head right between his eyes of the giant and killing.

They are on the spot. He remembers how Saul came after him to killing time and time again, and God protected him every single time. David realized that there were times of failure in his kingship. There were times when he gave into the flesh.

There were times when he trusted David instead of trusting God, but David was a king who knew this truth.

God is the rock God is the rock of Israel, and I will live out my kingship by fearing God. I think most Americans are extremely sad in the day and time in which we live as we have seen a shift to secularism and socialism. We have seen an acceptance of almost every form of sexual immorality that there is we have political corruption that is so nasty and so entrenched that it seems almost impossible for us to see a genuine change take place. We sing the Holocaust of abortion where abortion the killing of babies has been just push down our throat. Whether we liked it or not, we sing a horrible deadly disease cove in 19 used to create political oppression and we've asked the question why has this happened David is telling us here because you have rejected the Lord is your rock as your foundation is your light and as your strength and because you are not living out your life in the fear of God. You know we can do is the church we can send not our fault is to culture we take point in the culture because what is God commanded us to do if he has commanded us to be a bright shining light to this debt nasty ugly culture that we are living in, and we haven't done that. We haven't lived in the fear of God. We've done pretty much what we wanted to do lived out how we want to live.

We chosen compromise over holiness. We chosen social justice over biblical justice.

We chosen relativism over the word of God. Look at verse 4C.

God's promise to those who truly fear him, since he dawns on them like the morning light like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning light rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth early in the sermon I mentioned Simon Peter as he was preparing for his own crucifixion, his wife and just died, and the executioner says Peter and anything you want to say before you crucified, and he says yes, crucify me upside down from not worthy to be crucified like Jesus folks they did that, he was crucified upside down in order that people would realize how much he loved Jesus and how much he wanted to glorify him now want you for just a minute if you it will to think about that and what a glorious situation that was and where David was unaware of Peter was in his spiritual life at that point in time. Then I want you to go with me if you will all the way back in time to the night before Jesus is being crucified and at that point in time Peter is in the courtyard. They are taking Jesus through this mock trial. Peter is already denied Jesus two times in this teenage girl comes up to Peter and she says to Peter, I think I know you yeah yeah you're you're one of the disciples. You're one of his followers as who you are and what did Peter do pieces know I'm not. I don't know him have no idea what you're talking about and he cursed and swore that he did not even know who Jesus was, just didn't know.

Just as Jesus prophesied the Kok Road. The second time right after his third denial. The Scriptures is that Peter went out with bitterly how you get high and you get from there were Peter was at this point in time, to Peter, standing before those that were crucifying him an absolutely blowing them away with his faith with his spiritual intestinal fortitude and with his great desire to glorify God. How did he get that far along spiritually.

I think most of the Heart Growth Took Pl. in Peter when Jesus came back in his new resurrected body and met Peter they are at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus asked Peter one question three times. He said Peter do you love me Peter said yes Lord you know I love you Jesus and then feed my sheep.

Peter do you love me yes Lord you know I love you and feed my sheep. Peter, do you even like me hello yes Lord you know that I love you then feed my sheep. Peter had denied Jesus Christ three times Jesus impaled him at this point in time to to confess his love to Jesus three times and when he did. All of a sudden there was a change that took place in Peter's heart he realized Jesus still loves me.

Peers forgiven me and he is going to use me vertically. Peter made plenty of mistakes for the rest of his life. Let me tell you one mistake he never made.

Again, never, ever again did he deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not, here's the answer Grace Grace Grace sovereign grace folks, Peter was able to dial whale why grace David was able to dial whale why grace do you want to die whale then revel in God's grace, but was what if you have go to the doctor this week and your daughter says to you, you have cancer and advanced stage.

You're not going to live more than two more weeks. What you gonna do, you can adjust fall apart or are you going to give up throw up your hands know you go back to those times of grace in your life at that time when you had a loved one to pass away if you thought it was just going destroy you and you praying about it in the Lord put in your heart, a peace that passes all understanding. You remember that time when you send it was a bad sin. And you thought God could never forgive me for this, and yet you confess that sin and he and and and you repented of that sin and you fail the Lord's loving arms coming around you and holding you and you knew that you had been forgiven for all of eternity.

Maybe it was a sermon that you heard is that sermon was being preached the truth of God just drove down into your heart and drove that fear away. That's the power of sovereign grace, folks. That's what happened to Martin Hayford lesson two weeks ago. I preach Martin Hayford's funeral message. I told the congregation at that point in time that a few weeks before that that Martin had called me up. They just taken them to the hospital. He had coded it was.

It was just really bad. He was having a hard time talking a hard time breathing.

It was just really really struggling with all this he was going through this very difficult time and as we talked. He said Doug he said I had the privilege of watching braces a Sunday night service online last Sunday and he said Jay Crestor was preaching the sermon and said he preached out of Isaiah on the sovereignty of God.

He said Doug please tell Jay how much that sermon immensely helped me Fort reminded me that God is sovereign over this situation. Pay said Doug I want you to know that I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. In this situation that I might end it is not in my hands.

It is not in the doctor's hands is not in the devil's hands is in God's hands and if this is my time to go to be with him, then so be it. I'm ready to go and I couldn't wait to talk to Cindy about that and I said her blessed God. That's the way we all other die would die with no fear with no confusion but with an unbridled confidence that Jesus pulls us fast.

That's what David is doing here in his last words to Israel. He is expressing gratitude for grace gratitude for grace that attempting to defeat a giant gratitude for grace that helped him lead the people of Israel and gratitude for grace that gave him boldness is he's approaching death taxes to .3 dependence on future grace. Look at verse five. What is not my hail stand. So with God. Three is made with me and everlasting covenant ordered in all things, and secure for Willey not calls to prosper all my help and my desire is dying.

David trusted God for what he done in the past lite he was trusting God even more for what God is going to do in the future, for he admits his failures in verse five. How there were many failures in his life and he knew that, but then he remembers back to the promise that God gave him in second Samuel chapter 7 he remembers and and and the promise that God gave him the everlasting covenant that God was going to see in his promised Messiah and that promised Messiah would be a perfect and sinless king David did not have full revelation here, but he knew this, that God had a plan and that plan was not built on David's integrity. It was built on the integrity of the coming Messiah.

But it's God's plan before Adam and Eve was created, God's plan before the foundation of this earth was that he would send his only begotten son took to this earth to live a perfect and sinless life, and then to die substitutionary death for his people there where he would take our sin and give us his righteousness. We would take our hail and give us his heaven Euro born-again Christian today and you fear death and my advice to you is this quit looking at yourself and start looking at Jesus did, did Jesus promise to save you. Yes he did.

He said he who comes to me I will in no wise cast out. Paul said that all the promises of God in Christ Jesus our yes and amen and John 10 Jesus said, the thief cometh not to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you might have life and that you might have it abundantly. In John 10 Jesus said, not given to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of my hand.

In Romans chapter 8 verse 38 and 39. It was Paul who said the prime persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you're Christian you fear death. And remember this, you weren't saved on the basis of your goodness or your righteousness are your merits you were saved on the goodness and righteousness and merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And when you stand before the Lord in that final judgment and you stand before him and want to achieve these not going to see your sin, Fort is washed away in the precious blood of Jesus and what will he say he will see your sin he will see his own perfect righteousness. Death is not fearful to us. Paul said for me to live is Christ, but to die is gain for sale be no waiting period for us. Second Corinthians 5 a says for the Christian to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Why was David so fearless because he quit looking at King David and he started looking at King Jesus if you're Christian, you're afraid to die than you are believing a lie. You believe in a lie. Second Timothy 117 says this for God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and of a sound mind. I hate you notice what he says about fear here. He then called a feeling it in color and emotion because of the spirit. If that spirit is not coming from God yes was coming from is coming from Satan but you.

I've put up with that if you're a believer you do not have to put up with that believers listen don't fear death. I promise you this heaven will not be a disappointment .4 a warning of neglected grace. Look at verses 6 to 7, but worthless men are like thorns that are thrown away. They cannot be taken with a hand. The man who touches them arms himself with iron in the shaft of the spear and they are utterly consumed with fire David into his last words to Israel with the powerful warning worthless men are like thorns that are thrown away and consumed in the fire now. Who are these worthless me and that he's talking about here, and he could've just been talked about his enemies. He could've said the Philistines, the Jebusites and Amorites ammonites. The Moabites, all those not what he does race or ethnicity is not the question here. The question is, what will these men do with God's covenant.

What will they do with God's covenant. The worthless men did not rejoice over it.

They did not approach it with fear and trembling. They ignored it and repudiated it and they lived as if God didn't even exist. They rejected the revelation of God. They rejected the word of God. They said truth is relative, we will only believe that which pleases the flesh so you got your trays and I've got my truth and everybody's happy was a problem with that, my truth in your truth or not truth. There is only one truth and that is God's truth.

If that truth is rejected. There are eternal consequences. Listen to what Jesus said in John 318 through 19 whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he is not believed in the name of the only son of God and this is the judgment, the light is come into the world and people loved darkness rather than light, because their works were evil we don't have the full revelation of hail in the Old Testament, but David understood that wicked people who die in unbelief would spin forever in the eternal hail. He understood that we get over to the New Testament, and there is great revelation about what Hales really like and and pastors today who will preach on hail are mocked and there made fun of and there laughed at and people's I will.

They're just cruel and their harsh in their lien at why won't they be like Squanto, like Jesus, who was kind and always loving tell you something folks Jesus spoke more on hail than anybody else in the Bible Jesus spoke twice as much about hail as he did about heaven. Jesus never watered it down the never soft pedal.

The subject of divine judgment in order to placate an unbeliever. He described it, be described as a place of eternal suffering is a place of burning as a place of solitary confinement as a place of darkness so great that it could be felt. He described it as a place of memory so as to those that are in hail will remember every sermon they've ever heard there. Remember, every gospel tract I've ever read that there remember every tug of the Holy Spirit upon their heart, and there will no that they are in eternal torment and it can never change, and it will never ever end.

With that said, on the close the sermon with some questions that Randy Alcorn gives us that I think are great questions to ask our sales and I think we ought to read them often. So in your newsletter today.

I have those questions written out for you but listen very clout closely to what he said. What will last for eternity, not your car, your house, degrees, trophies or businesses. What will last for eternity as every service to the needy.

Every dollar given to feed the hungry every cup of cold water given to the thirsty, every investment in missions. Every prayer for the needy. Every effort invested in evangelism and every moment spent caring for precious children, including rocking them to sleep in changing their diapers.

The Bible says will reap in eternity we planted in this life saving our minds on heaven is a discipline that needs to be learned. Pastors and church leaders should train them sales and their people to be heaven minded.

This means teaching and preaching about heaven. It means presenting a biblical theology of heaven that can shape and transform people's lives liberating them from the shallow hopelessness of life centered on a fallen and failing world. Here's the questions do daily reflect on my mortality. Do I daily realized that there only two destinations heaven or hail and that I and every person I know will go to one or the other. Do I daily remind myself that this world is not my home and everything in it will burn leaving behind only what's eternal you I daily recognize that my choices and actions have a direct influence on the world to come you I daily realized that my life is being examined by God. The audience of one, and that only appraisal of my life that will ultimately matter is he is you I daily reflect on the fact that my ultimate home will be the new earth where I will see God and serve him as a resurrected billion and a resurrected human society where I will overflow with joy and delight in drawing near to God by studying him in his creation and where I will exercise to go out to God's glory. Dominion over his creation. Take those questions home go over them often and the Lord will use that in your life to help you get ready to die. Spray heavenly father there important issues in life, there are none more important than where will spend eternity. I pray that you convict us all convict us as Christians that we might love you more deeply and obey you more faithfully. We pray for any unbeliever here today she would open spiritual eyes and ears and show them that Jesus Christ is our hope, our only hope. Help us to realize the urgency of the gospel help us to fight the temptation to procrastinate. Do not let us live with delayed repentance or prayer this morning is this sanctify the believers and save the lost. Thank you Jesus for your death on the cross, the shedding of your blood, your resurrection from the dead, you are our hope for us in Jesus name we pray.

Amen