Meaning to Death
We are creatures who relentlessly seek meaning to our existence. Why are we born? What meaning is there in suffering? What is God's will for me?
I watched a documentary recently on the Normandy invasion. The men who survived the carnage, most spent the remainder of their lives wondering why they were spared and their buddies taken.
When Jesus' death approached, he tried in vain to relay the meaning of his death to his disciples. They could not get it in their heads why God would allow His son to die a ruthless and hideous death--the same death handed out to criminals.
The last act of Jesus with his disciples was the Passover meal. Jesus spelled out the terms and reason for his death in story form. He knew that afterward, the disciples would replay the events of that evening and piece together the meaning.
Many times in our lives we seek meaning because of some tragedy that has befallen us. We turn to God, but his voice is mute. It is at this time that we begin to reflect on the passion of the Christ. It is the death of Jesus that gives us meaning for our existence. It is the passion of Christ that displays, that illustrates the purpose of why we are here and what we are to do while we are here.
A man by the name of Bryan Chapell tells a story that happened many years ago in his hometown. Two brothers were playing on the sandbanks by a river. One ran after another up a large mound of sand. Unfortunately, the mound was not solid, and their weight caused them to sink in quickly.
When the boys did not return home for dinner, the family and neighbors organized a search. They found the younger brother unconscious, with his head and shoulders sticking out above the sand. When they cleared the sand to his waist, he awakened. The searchers asked, "Where is your brother?
The child replied, "I'm standing on his shoulders"
With the sacrifice of his own life, the older brother lifted the younger to safety. The tangible and sacrificial love of the older brother literally served as a foundation for the younger brother's life.
The ultimate expression of God's love for us was giving up his only begotten son. There are many was to express love. It can be expressed by a word, by deed, by a gift...but the greatest expression of love is giving up ones life for another human being, especially a stranger.
This morning I want to speak about the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross.
It has a three-fold meaning. 1. It means God's hand extended. 2. It means God's grace fulfilled. 3. God's promise of return.
One--God's hand extended. Many scriptures speak of God's strong right hand. It says that God upholds us by his strong right hand. It says that nothing can pluck us from God's hand. It says that God's hands are righteous.
The story is told about a little boy and his father who walked to the local country store for supplies. After the purchase, the store owner offered the boy some candy. "Get a hand full of candy" the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, it's free." Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said "Because I knew that your hand is bigger than mine."
The next time you are tempted to extend your hand to pull yourself up, remember this story. God's hand is much, much bigger than yours. Let him pull you up.
Thomas Dorsey was an African-American jazz musician from Atlanta who was known in the early 1920's for the suggestive lyrics he combined with original music. In 1926 he gave up the suggestive music and began to write gospel lyrics. In 1932 times were hard for Dorsey as they were for nearly everyone trying to survive the depression.
The most difficult night of his life came one night while living in St. Louis. He received a telegram telling him that his pregnant wife had suddenly died. Dorsey was filled with grief and his faith was shaken, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, he expressed his agony the only way he knew how. He wrote this song. . .
Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light; Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.
It is the second stanza that really echos our need of God's hand to lift us up: When my way grows drear, Precious Lord linger near. When my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall. Take my hand Precious Lord, lead me home.
In spite of Dorsey's checkered past he experienced God's presence during that crises. That song which came out of his pain and grief has comforted and challenged thousands of people since then. If we are honest, most of us have had a moment, or two or three when God's presence was all that could get us through. (Contributed to Sermon Central by Tim Richards)
Two..the death of Jesus means that the Father's grace if fulfilled in us.
What's So Amazing About Grace?
Its been said that Christianity is supremely a religion of grace. And that is certainly true. But, even so, grace is not well understood. We use the word a great deal but rarely think about what it means.
In his book, "What's So Amazing About Grace," Phillip Yancey points out that part of our problem is in the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It's hard to accept, hard to believe, and hard to receive. Grace shocks us in what it offers. It is truly not of this world. It frightens us with what it does for sinners.
Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would save the not-so-bad. God starts with the undesirables and then works downward from there. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don't deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. That's why God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.
In the end grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. God specializes in saving really bad people. Do you have some things in your background that you would be ashamed to talk about in public? Fear not. God knows all about it, and His grace is greater than your sin.
Grace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don't need God's grace. God's grace cannot help you until you are desperate enough to receive it.
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God's unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.
Three--the death of Jesus means that Jesus conquered death to return for us who live.
Vance Havner (an Evangelist), who is now deceased, lost his wife Sarah a few years before he died. Shortly after Sarah's death Vance Havner saw a friend of his, Warren Wiersbe, at Moody Bible Institute. Wiersbe expressed his sympathy with the simple words, "I'm sorry to hear you lost your wife." Dr. Havner smiled and replied, "Son, when you know where something is, you haven't lost it."
We who are won by His love will never be lost again. Jesus found us. He redeemed us. He keeps us, and one day he will return for us. Let us be busy about our Father's business.
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
Throughout time people have wrestled with their mortality. Even today billions of dollars are spent annually trying to postpone the inevitable--death. But it still remains true--death is a fact of life, and all of us will face it one day. My question to you is this: When death comes, will you be ready?
I want to read to you from I Corinthians 15,
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised..., and we will be changed. 53 For the mortal body must clothe itself with immortality,.... 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
Conclusion:
The Bible declares, "Death is swallowed up in victory"--One day death will be no more. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Live today without fear of dying. The sting of death holds nothing on you.
You and I will live forever--this is what it means to have conquered death.
We are creatures who relentlessly seek meaning to our existence. Why are we born? What meaning is there in suffering? What is God's will for me?
I watched a documentary recently on the Normandy invasion. The men who survived the carnage, most spent the remainder of their lives wondering why they were spared and their buddies taken.
When Jesus' death approached, he tried in vain to relay the meaning of his death to his disciples. They could not get it in their heads why God would allow His son to die a ruthless and hideous death--the same death handed out to criminals.
The last act of Jesus with his disciples was the Passover meal. Jesus spelled out the terms and reason for his death in story form. He knew that afterward, the disciples would replay the events of that evening and piece together the meaning.
Many times in our lives we seek meaning because of some tragedy that has befallen us. We turn to God, but his voice is mute. It is at this time that we begin to reflect on the passion of the Christ. It is the death of Jesus that gives us meaning for our existence. It is the passion of Christ that displays, that illustrates the purpose of why we are here and what we are to do while we are here.
A man by the name of Bryan Chapell tells a story that happened many years ago in his hometown. Two brothers were playing on the sandbanks by a river. One ran after another up a large mound of sand. Unfortunately, the mound was not solid, and their weight caused them to sink in quickly.
When the boys did not return home for dinner, the family and neighbors organized a search. They found the younger brother unconscious, with his head and shoulders sticking out above the sand. When they cleared the sand to his waist, he awakened. The searchers asked, "Where is your brother?
The child replied, "I'm standing on his shoulders"
With the sacrifice of his own life, the older brother lifted the younger to safety. The tangible and sacrificial love of the older brother literally served as a foundation for the younger brother's life.
The ultimate expression of God's love for us was giving up his only begotten son. There are many was to express love. It can be expressed by a word, by deed, by a gift...but the greatest expression of love is giving up ones life for another human being, especially a stranger.
This morning I want to speak about the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross.
It has a three-fold meaning. 1. It means God's hand extended. 2. It means God's grace fulfilled. 3. God's promise of return.
One--God's hand extended. Many scriptures speak of God's strong right hand. It says that God upholds us by his strong right hand. It says that nothing can pluck us from God's hand. It says that God's hands are righteous.
The story is told about a little boy and his father who walked to the local country store for supplies. After the purchase, the store owner offered the boy some candy. "Get a hand full of candy" the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, it's free." Again the boy did not move, continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said "Because I knew that your hand is bigger than mine."
The next time you are tempted to extend your hand to pull yourself up, remember this story. God's hand is much, much bigger than yours. Let him pull you up.
Thomas Dorsey was an African-American jazz musician from Atlanta who was known in the early 1920's for the suggestive lyrics he combined with original music. In 1926 he gave up the suggestive music and began to write gospel lyrics. In 1932 times were hard for Dorsey as they were for nearly everyone trying to survive the depression.
The most difficult night of his life came one night while living in St. Louis. He received a telegram telling him that his pregnant wife had suddenly died. Dorsey was filled with grief and his faith was shaken, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, he expressed his agony the only way he knew how. He wrote this song. . .
Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light; Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.
It is the second stanza that really echos our need of God's hand to lift us up: When my way grows drear, Precious Lord linger near. When my life is almost gone; Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall. Take my hand Precious Lord, lead me home.
In spite of Dorsey's checkered past he experienced God's presence during that crises. That song which came out of his pain and grief has comforted and challenged thousands of people since then. If we are honest, most of us have had a moment, or two or three when God's presence was all that could get us through. (Contributed to Sermon Central by Tim Richards)
Two..the death of Jesus means that the Father's grace if fulfilled in us.
What's So Amazing About Grace?
Its been said that Christianity is supremely a religion of grace. And that is certainly true. But, even so, grace is not well understood. We use the word a great deal but rarely think about what it means.
In his book, "What's So Amazing About Grace," Phillip Yancey points out that part of our problem is in the nature of grace itself. Grace is scandalous. It's hard to accept, hard to believe, and hard to receive. Grace shocks us in what it offers. It is truly not of this world. It frightens us with what it does for sinners.
Grace teaches us that God does for others what we would never do for them. We would save the not-so-bad. God starts with the undesirables and then works downward from there. Grace is a gift that costs everything to the giver and nothing to the receiver. It is given to those who don't deserve it, barely recognize it, and hardly appreciate it. That's why God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.
In the end grace means that no one is too bad to be saved. God specializes in saving really bad people. Do you have some things in your background that you would be ashamed to talk about in public? Fear not. God knows all about it, and His grace is greater than your sin.
Grace also means that some people may be too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don't need God's grace. God's grace cannot help you until you are desperate enough to receive it.
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God's unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.
Three--the death of Jesus means that Jesus conquered death to return for us who live.
Vance Havner (an Evangelist), who is now deceased, lost his wife Sarah a few years before he died. Shortly after Sarah's death Vance Havner saw a friend of his, Warren Wiersbe, at Moody Bible Institute. Wiersbe expressed his sympathy with the simple words, "I'm sorry to hear you lost your wife." Dr. Havner smiled and replied, "Son, when you know where something is, you haven't lost it."
We who are won by His love will never be lost again. Jesus found us. He redeemed us. He keeps us, and one day he will return for us. Let us be busy about our Father's business.
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought." Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we're to be lights as we watch and wait.
Throughout time people have wrestled with their mortality. Even today billions of dollars are spent annually trying to postpone the inevitable--death. But it still remains true--death is a fact of life, and all of us will face it one day. My question to you is this: When death comes, will you be ready?
I want to read to you from I Corinthians 15,
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised..., and we will be changed. 53 For the mortal body must clothe itself with immortality,.... 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
Conclusion:
The Bible declares, "Death is swallowed up in victory"--One day death will be no more. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Live today without fear of dying. The sting of death holds nothing on you.
You and I will live forever--this is what it means to have conquered death.
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