Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Who likes going to funerals?
[00:00:05] I mean, who just loves being at a funeral?
[00:00:11] I didn't anticipate a lot of hands going up.
[00:00:13] Memorial services don't really stir the fomo.
[00:00:19] I mean, literally, you're not. You're not excited. So funerals, they're part of my job, and over the years, I've actually really come to appreciate them. I mean, I mourn with those who mourn and weep with those who weep. But when I'm at a funeral, like, part of me is stirred.
[00:00:39] I can feel the seed of eternity that God has planted in my heart. I can feel it bend and, like, reach towards its true light.
[00:00:49] I become aware of my status as a stranger and a pilgrim on this earth. My soul longs for the homeland where there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
[00:01:02] I hear Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes that he said, it's better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
[00:01:07] After all, everyone dies, so the living should take this to heart.
[00:01:12] This was my attitude recently at a funeral. My family was walking in. The kids and I were laughing about a memory of our friend who had gone to be with Jesus.
[00:01:22] I was smiling to myself, imagining her running towards him on the legs that could barely support her in this life.
[00:01:31] And I was laughing and smiling to myself. And I opened the door for my family to walk in, and I just happened to see a guy in the parking lot just stuck in his truck, just frozen.
[00:01:42] The look on his face said that we did not share the same feelings about funerals.
[00:01:47] He's probably asking and feeling the way you do today, like, I don't want to.
[00:01:51] Don't want to talk about death.
[00:01:54] I don't want to go to a funeral. I don't want to talk about what happens when I die.
[00:01:58] So we will ask that question today for a friend, of course, in the series finale. Man, you guys are excited about this topic. I can feel it.
[00:02:09] In the series finale of Asking for a Friend Today, we ask, what happens when I die?
[00:02:17] So week one of this series, we asked, can I trust the Bible?
[00:02:23] The answer of yes still echoes in this room.
[00:02:27] So the Bible will be today's travel guide for our journey beyond death.
[00:02:32] There are some things we will do today and some we will not.
[00:02:36] We will face death.
[00:02:41] As Tennessee Williams wrote, not facing a fire doesn't put it out right.
[00:02:48] If there's a fire and we walk away from it, it keeps burning, so we may as well address it. Death is inevitable.
[00:02:54] It's the parting gift for playing the Game of life.
[00:02:58] So we are going to consider our options because we have a say in what happens when we die.
[00:03:05] Here's what we won't do. We won't get caught in the weeds.
[00:03:09] We're not going to get stuck in details that don't actually help answer this question.
[00:03:13] We also won't answer with feelings.
[00:03:16] We're not going to say, well, I don't believe a loving God would send someone to hell. What we will say is, since the Bible teaches some people will end up in hell, I want to make sure it's not me or you or anyone we love.
[00:03:31] Our goal is to speak to the anxiety that keeps us from going to the funeral.
[00:03:37] I just want to talk to that guy who was stuck in his truck that day and talk about what happens when I die.
[00:03:45] So let's pray. God, we thank you that the answer to this question we find in you gives us freedom.
[00:03:54] It relieves our fears.
[00:03:58] It gives peace that is only found in you. So help us to see that peace today.
[00:04:03] And I pray for anyone here who does not know Jesus as their savior, that today would be the day you open their eyes. You draw them to yourself. Please, God, pray that we would see your love that you revealed through Jesus. Pray that you would use me in spite of me in spirit, that you would preach a better sermon than I will. Today we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. What's the only state with a one syllable name?
[00:04:34] Maine. I heard it. Maine. How do you get from Texas to Maine?
[00:04:40] You don't.
[00:04:42] You stay in Texas.
[00:04:45] But if you had to, you take a right, you kind of go that general direction. You'll get there, right?
[00:04:55] Better yet, you take a left and buy a plane ticket.
[00:04:59] Either one of those options is going to lead to more questions. So today that's how we're going to answer the question, what happens when I die? By asking more questions.
[00:05:09] First we are going to ask, is this.
[00:05:14] Is this all there is?
[00:05:16] When we take our last breath, does it just go black?
[00:05:21] Silence on the radio.
[00:05:23] Let's hear from Solomon again. He says, God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart.
[00:05:34] That means God created us as eternal beings who have an existence. After this life ends.
[00:05:43] We are eternal. And Jesus said, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life.
[00:05:52] They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
[00:06:01] You pay attention how this is working. When you trust Jesus, you already have eternal life.
[00:06:07] You've passed from death to Life. Now, the word for death here, it means the end of this body.
[00:06:14] The end of this body with the implied future of hell.
[00:06:20] So that means this body is creeping closer to its conclusion. Either the eternal existence with God or the misery of hell apart from God.
[00:06:34] So if you're tracking this, leads to our next question. What are heaven and hell?
[00:06:42] Because Jesus promises, he says, when everything is ready, I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am. Where is that?
[00:06:52] Where does Jesus take his followers?
[00:06:56] When in Revelation 21, we're going to see, John's going to pull back the curtain a little bit and show us. He says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the old heaven, and the old earth had disappeared. And I heard a shout from the throne saying, look, God's home is now among his people. He will live with them, and they will be his people. God Himself will be with them.
[00:07:21] If you need comfort this morning, he promises he will wipe every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, because all these things are gone forever.
[00:07:35] Amen. When Jesus comes back for his people, we will take residence on the new earth with new bodies in the presence of God, and everything will be good and right, just as God intended.
[00:07:51] When your faith is in Jesus, that is the future you can anticipate.
[00:07:57] Okay, the alternative. What about hell? The Bible gives several descriptions. It's the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
[00:08:05] Have you been around a literal sulfur spring?
[00:08:09] The smell alone is reason to consider your future.
[00:08:15] The fiery lake of burning sulfur, a place where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out. A place of blackest darkness. A land whose residents will suffer and the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever. And they will have no relief, day or night.
[00:08:32] This is a very logical on ramp for our next question.
[00:08:36] How can a loving God send someone to hell?
[00:08:42] This is probably the most common and the most raw question on this topic. So I want to be gentle, but also very clear in how we answer this.
[00:08:52] Hell is not a place for people who follow Jesus, who occasionally get lost and make mistakes very clearly. Hell is a place for people who run away from Jesus and want nothing to do with Him.
[00:09:08] God doesn't hate anyone so much that he sends them to hell. He loves people so much, he will give them what they want.
[00:09:17] When God hears, get away, get away. Get away from me.
[00:09:22] Eventually he will honor that demand.
[00:09:25] We see this in the Bible. There's. There's a story of Jesus healing this. This Guy who was known by an entire city.
[00:09:32] The city simply knew him as the crazy naked guy.
[00:09:35] Then he met. You guys can laugh. It's going to be okay. I promise.
[00:09:39] In the end, the this is all gonna be okay.
[00:09:43] So take a breath. Relax. We're gonna be okay.
[00:09:47] So crazy naked guy. Ha ha ha.
[00:09:52] Good job, Kyle. You're getting it.
[00:09:56] Crazy naked guy meets Jesus.
[00:10:01] Then he's healed.
[00:10:03] And then mark 5. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed, perfectly sane.
[00:10:15] And their response is. They were all afraid.
[00:10:18] And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.
[00:10:25] It's so sad. The scene ends with Jesus getting in a boat to do exactly what they asked.
[00:10:32] So if you tell God to leave you alone, eventually he will.
[00:10:39] So to answer our question, how can a loving God send someone to hell?
[00:10:45] He doesn't.
[00:10:47] Everyone who ends up in hell is there because they didn't want to be with God.
[00:10:53] Remember, Remember our picture of heaven? It says God's home is now among his people.
[00:10:57] God himself will be with them.
[00:11:00] Our future heaven, that is God's home.
[00:11:04] So naturally he will be there, right? There's no like mother in law suite option. You know, close but not too close.
[00:11:11] If you're there, you're going to be with him.
[00:11:14] So if you don't want to be with God, he's not going to force you and shove you into heaven.
[00:11:20] And you caught it.
[00:11:23] Got to be real careful with a mother in law reference when the topic is hell. You got it.
[00:11:28] It's a gentle dance.
[00:11:31] It was about the sweet, not the person.
[00:11:34] Okay, so who goes where when we die?
[00:11:39] Is my favorite question in this. Do good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell?
[00:11:48] Speed round answer no.
[00:11:51] The only thing that will gain you entrance into heaven and salvation is faith by grace. You have been saved through faith.
[00:12:03] This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. So no one not a result of works.
[00:12:10] This is going to be fun.
[00:12:12] If only faith saves us and leads to a future in God's presence. Let's. Let's think back through this. Asking for a friend Sermon Series Week one We ask, can I trust the Bible?
[00:12:26] You will probably be in heaven with someone who in this life mocked the Bible and mocked your faith until they read the Bible and the Spirit opened their eyes and then they trusted Jesus in faith.
[00:12:42] Week two. Does it matter what I take in? That was code word because all ages are in this room.
[00:12:49] You may be in heaven with your neighbor who wrecked her family and tore her marriage apart because of her pornography addiction. And then at rock bottom, she met Jesus and put faith in Him.
[00:13:04] Week three. Am I addicted? You could be in heaven with someone who you knew only as a drug addict in this life. And when everyone left him and he was totally alone, there in the emptiness, there was Jesus and he put faith in him.
[00:13:20] Week four. You may be in heaven with somebody who struggled with their gender identity in this life until they found their true identity in Jesus and put faith in Him.
[00:13:31] Last week, you probably will be in heaven with somebody who fought with anxiety every day in this life, and you'll see them in the next life standing firm and confident in the power and authority not of themselves, but but of Jesus.
[00:13:47] My guess is there will be a lot of people in heaven that we may have had experiences with and labeled as bad people in this life because God's grace is greater than our sin and only faith brings us into his presence.
[00:14:06] But that just doesn't quite seem fair, does it?
[00:14:11] Because some of you work really, really hard to be good people and do good things, and so it doesn't seem fair. Grace is not fair.
[00:14:23] That's the definition of grace. Receiving something good that we don't deserve.
[00:14:29] Grace is the most. If you're taking notes, if you're filling in blanks, that's your first one.
[00:14:34] And good for you.
[00:14:39] Grace is the most unfair truth that exists.
[00:14:46] In his song Be My Escape, Matt Tyson wrote, the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.
[00:14:54] I remember I was on a run like 20 years ago with headphones in, and I heard that song lyric and I stopped running and thought, now what?
[00:15:04] I thought grace was a good thing. And then you realize, oh, it is so unfair because there is no earning it right. It is God's gift he gives us through faith. That means bad people could end up in heaven and good people could be on the road to hell. Because only faith in Jesus earns salvation.
[00:15:25] Grace is not fair in a good way.
[00:15:31] We get that right? That's good.
[00:15:36] Final question.
[00:15:38] What do I do now?
[00:15:41] If there is more than this life, if heaven are real, if hell is real, if only faith earns salvation and gets me into heaven, what do I do? First, check your perspective.
[00:15:57] In second, Peter. Peter assures us that all of this creation will be judged and destroyed.
[00:16:05] And he encouraged us. He says, since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live.
[00:16:14] What he's saying is your knowledge about the Future should determine how you live today.
[00:16:22] Because one day, the biggest, most impressive buildings on this earth will be pounded and pulverized into dust.
[00:16:31] One day, artificial intelligence will be revealed as artificial.
[00:16:40] One day, the most beautiful works of art on this earth won't be worthy to hang on the refrigerator door in heaven.
[00:16:49] So for followers of Jesus, this life is as bad as it gets.
[00:16:55] This is the worst. The best is yet to come. So check your perspective.
[00:17:01] Remember, everything around us except the people in your lives and the Word of God are temporary.
[00:17:06] So make sure what we are investing in is eternal, like mentoring someone young.
[00:17:14] That's an eternal investment.
[00:17:16] Serving and grace kids, greeting outside and welcoming new people, being part of a group to encourage one another. These are eternal investments. They're not something good church folk do. They are eternal investments.
[00:17:32] More important than that, though. Check your paperwork.
[00:17:37] That's your next blank. Check your paperwork. Let me explain this.
[00:17:42] A couple years ago, I was waiting on a flight, and I heard somebody go, hey, I found a passport.
[00:17:50] And it was an international flight. So I kind of stood still and watched. And this young dude just kind of sheepishly walked away from his group and took it. And I wanted to be like, young man, you say thank you to her.
[00:18:02] But I didn't. So he walks away now. If he had gone to the gate without that passport, would he have gone home?
[00:18:12] No. So let's take one more look into the Future from Revelation 20.
[00:18:18] I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened, including the Book of Life.
[00:18:30] So this means great people with remarkable achievements and intimidating titles and fat bank accounts and small people whose absence wasn't even noticed in this life.
[00:18:44] They died and no one noticed.
[00:18:46] They were there, standing before God's throne in the Book of life in verse 15. And anyone whose name was not recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
[00:19:00] Right? So the great weren't ushered in. Oh, you're here. Here. Just go right in. Go right in. You're so impressive. Go right in.
[00:19:08] And the small weren't locked out because they were inferior.
[00:19:11] Right. The only appearance that matters is the appearance of your name in Jesus Book of Life.
[00:19:20] So check your paperwork.
[00:19:22] Is your name written in the Book of Life?
[00:19:26] Because the only way it gets there is through faith in Jesus.
[00:19:31] And he promises those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life.
[00:19:39] They'll never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life.
[00:19:46] So that means when we put our faith in Jesus, he Says, I'm going to take you on a detour.
[00:19:51] We're going to go straight around death. We're going to enter eternal life, and I'm going to write it down in my Book of Life. And then he says, I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
[00:20:10] You are in his grip, and nothing can tear you out of it.
[00:20:16] When you put your faith in Jesus, he stands before God the Father and his angels, and he says, she is mine.
[00:20:26] And he says, and this guy, I know, it might surprise you, but he is mine. And I love him.
[00:20:38] Because when he writes your name in that book, there is nothing that can erase it. So. So are you his?
[00:20:49] What will happen when you die?
[00:20:52] This has now become your question to answer.
[00:20:59] And I get it. Like, you may have been keeping a church seat warm for decades, and you may be embarrassed that today you go, I get it.
[00:21:12] It's not about being a good person and earning my salvation. It's only about faith in Jesus.
[00:21:19] Praise God.
[00:21:22] Or you may have been living in the shadow of somebody else's faith.
[00:21:27] Right? That young man at the airport, he was not going to get on that plane just because he was with the right crowd.
[00:21:33] Right? They were going to check and make sure his name was written down.
[00:21:37] Your grandma's faith is not going to save you.
[00:21:40] Your private school diploma is not the Book of Life.
[00:21:45] Jesus made a way for your salvation.
[00:21:48] He already took judgment in your place. It's already happened. By grace, you have been saved through faith.
[00:21:58] This is not your own doing. It's the gift of God. So the most important question we ask today is, will you accept that gift?
[00:22:07] Will you accept God's gift of grace?
[00:22:14] And if you have, we don't need to fear death, because Jesus set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
[00:22:26] Amen.
[00:22:28] Okay, I want to leave you with the words of a song that I once sung at my funeral.
[00:22:33] It's the Boot Scootin Boogie by Brooks and Diamond.
[00:22:40] It's been a heavy morning. I had to get one.
[00:22:44] I had to get one joke in.
[00:22:50] I'm kidding. It's actually.
[00:22:52] It's actually Smooth by Carlos Santana featuring Rob Thomas.
[00:22:59] Too far. Okay, so this is.
[00:23:04] We got to get light. It's been a heavy morning. It's okay.
[00:23:09] So these words are from a hymn called it is not death to die.
[00:23:15] It is not death to die.
[00:23:17] To leave this weary road and join the saints who dwell on high who found their home with God, it is not death to close the eyes long dimmed by tears and wake in joy before your throne delivered from our fears.
[00:23:36] And here's why we can sing those words. Oh Jesus, conquering the grave, your precious blood has power to save. Those who trust in you will in your mercy find that it is not death to die.
[00:23:53] If you are a follower of Jesus when you put faith in him, this life is as bad as it gets.
[00:23:59] The best is yet to come and it is not death to die.
[00:24:09] Thank you God that you have conquered death, that you have defeated our sin.
[00:24:15] And that when we put our faith in Jesus, he writes our name in the book of life and it shall never be removed.
[00:24:22] That we will that one day you'll put your arm around us and say, she's mine, he's mine. And the Father and the angels will rejoice.
[00:24:34] And thank you that we don't have to fear that because you have already faced our fears.
[00:24:40] And God, I pray for anyone here today who when I said we're talking about what happens when I die, who said, oh no, that if you have called their heart to you, God, that we would be able to rejoice with them today.
[00:24:55] And I pray for those who are struggling, who want hope but just aren't sure, who feel like because of things they've done, you couldn't love them or things that have been done to them, you see them differently. But God, you, grace conquers everything. Your mercy covers all.
[00:25:20] So help that to be a real truth for them today.
[00:25:27] Now we thank you for what you have already done. In Jesus name, amen.
[00:25:33] So I think today is the day we have to respond to this.
[00:25:39] And all week I prayed about how this moment's going to look and how it's going to work. And I still don't have an answer.
[00:25:47] But I think we can see today that faith in Jesus is not something we should be ashamed of or hide.
[00:25:53] So let's try this. If you are totally confident Jesus is your savior, would you raise your hand?
[00:26:05] Praise God. We can put them down now if you're super bold. If today's the first day you were confident of that, would you raise your hand?
[00:26:19] Well, God, we praise you God, for your family.
[00:26:27] God, we thank you for what you are doing, God, what only you can do. Spirit, we thank you for moving in hearts and lives lives today.
[00:26:38] God, I pray that we would, as Peter said, pursue lives that are reaching into eternity.
[00:26:50] Thank you God for your goodness and your faithfulness in Jesus name, Amen.
