IN THE MORNING
A. "FOR HIS ANGER ENDURETH BUT A MOMENT; IN HIS FAVOUR IS LIFE: WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT, BUT JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING." - Ps. 30:5
1. David was a realist:
a. Experience had taught him that life and death are close together. "There is but a step between me and death" - 1 Sam. 20:3
b. He knew that sickness and sorrow are the constant reminders of death.
2. But, what is important at this moment is the proper perspective of life and death:
a. God loves us; He does not design to place us in pain, suffering, and death, "his anger endureth but a moment."
b. "In his favour is life."
c. Death is the result of sin, and not God's design - Rom. 5:12-19; 6:23
B. IN THE MORNING
1. The morning has its glories:
a. It proclaims the dawn of a new day.
b. It brings to a close the night of uncertainty and weeping.
c. It admits men and beasts to enjoy the bright light of the sun.
2. At this time, when deep sorrow fills our hearts over the loss of a loved one:
a. Tears fill our eyes and it seems that eternal darkness has enveloped us completely.
b. We feel that we have been forsaken and left without consolation.
c. We are tempted to ask the question, "Does God care how deeply our sorrows have entered our hearts, our family, and our lives?"
d. We may justly turn to our minister with the cry, "Watchman on the walls of Zion, is the morning coming?" - Isa. 21:11, 12
e. It is to be admitted that the night of weeping is painful, and no minister knows how to comfort those who sorrow. Death has broken into the family; it has silenced the voice of a loved one, and what is more, it has taken her away from us, never to return to us while this present life continues.
C. IN THE MORNING
1. We think, at this time, of the resurrection morning:
a. The passing of the night of sin, sorrow, and death.
b. "And 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." - Rev. 21:4
2. Let us note seven specific blessings that the glorious resurrection morning will bring to the redeemed:
a. It will bring eternal liberty to the saints -- liberty from all our enemies - Rom. 8:18-23; liberty from all the uncertainties that make this present life difficult.
b. It will bring joy unspeakable to the redeemed. "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." - Ps. 126:1, 2
c. It will reunite loved ones that had been separated by death. Compare Jer. 31:15-17 with 2 Thess. 2:1-3
d. It will give us the privilege to see face to face our heavenly Father, our blessed Saviour, who loved us and gave Himself for us, and we will see the angels that ministered to us. Compare Matt. 5:8 with Rev. 21:3
e. We will meet Adam and Eve and all the saints of all ages!
f. We shall see the tree of life and eat of its fruit - Rev. 22:2
g. We shall see the glories of a new heaven and a new earth, the promises we longed to see fulfilled.
We shall see that all the nights of sin, sickness, suffering and death are passed forever.
Yes, dear friends, all these things we see in the morning.
ASLEEP IN JESUS
1 THESSALONIANS 4:14, 15
A. DEATH AS SEEN AND UNDERSTOOD BY MEN
1. To some death is a transition from the physical world to that of "the spirit world":
2. Others think of death as the gateway to heaven or hell, depending on the life one lives now:
3. Webster defines death as "the suspension of consciousness."
4. Paul speaks of death as "the last enemy": 1 Cor. 15:26
B. CHRIST AND THE BIBLE GIVE TO DEATH AN ADDED MEANING
1. Our Lord speaks of death as a sleep: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth" - John 11:11, 14
2. Paul follows the Lord, by speaking of death as a sleep: 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Cor. 15:51
3. This added meaning of death is full of divine signification:
a. It shows that the state of dissolution or suspension of consciousness is temporary.
b. The dead will be raised again - Isa. 26:19; John 11:23
4. But note, please, that Paul's statement about the dead is qualified:
a. "Fallen asleep in Christ Jesus" - 1 Cor. 15:18
b. To sleep in Jesus presupposes that we live in Jesus.
c. But to live in Jesus presupposes that we have broken with the world and its sinful pleasures.
d. No man can serve two masters - Matt. 6:24
e. They are Christ's to begin with - Gal. 3:26-29
f. "To me to live is Christ" - Phil. 1:21
g. Asleep in Jesus is eternal security for all who live in Jesus; who have made Christ their hope of both life and the resurrection of life.
h. They have set their hope in God, who raises the dead.
C. ASLEEP IN JESUS
1. Asleep in Jesus Christ:
a. Brings quiet repose to God's weary pilgrims - Rev. 14:13, 14
b. Just as the hireling longs for the end of his toil and seeks rest in sleep - Job 7:1, 2
c. So God's children seek rest in their bed-chambers - Isa. 26:20
2. But this sleep means more than repose:
a. It indicates that they have finished their course - 2 Tim. 4:6, 7
b. It means that they lay down to sleep in full assurance that their labor has not been in vain, "their works do follow them" - Rev. 14:13
c. They await the call of the lifegiver - Job 13:22; 14:15; John 5:28, 29
d. They are free from the constant assault of Satan against them and their lives - Rom. 8:21-23
3. What a blessed future for them that have fallen asleep in Jesus Christ:
a. They are precious to the Lord - Ps. 116:15
b. "Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing" - Ps. 126:2
c. "Sorrow and sighing shall flee away" - Isa. 35:10
d. The shout of eternal victory shall fill the air - 1 Thess. 4:16; Zeph. 3:14
4. But, dear ones, to look forward with that hope:
a. We must make sure that this hope lives in us while we are in this body, while we are yet living in this world.
b. We must make sure -
(1) That our sins are washed away.
(2) That our names are written in the book of life.
(3) That our lives are under the full control of the Holy Spirit.
(4) That nothing shall come between us and the resurrection hope.
"IS THERE NOT AN APPOINTED TIME?"
JOB 7:1
A. "IS THERE NOT AN APPOINTED TIME TO MAN UPON EARTH? ARE NOT HIS DAYS ALSO LIKE THE DAYS OF AN HIRELING?"
1. Job, in pain and perplexity, speaks of life as:
a. A limited time.
b. A time of service, comparable to that of an hireling, who works for wages.
2. He sees life:
a. As made up of hard toil.
b. Filled with bitter disappointments.
c. And measured in days.
B. "IS THERE NOT AN APPOINTED TIME TO MAN UPON THE EARTH?"
1. Since the Bible teaches that, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven", it seems reasonable to conclude that God has a reason for my being in this world:
a. That would indicate that life is not an accident, it was planned before I was born.
b. Man was, in the beginning, created to the glory of God.
c. That purpose is clearly stated in Genesis chapters one and two.
d. Service is God's design for man - Rom. 14:7
e. That was the great reason for the coming into this world by the Son of God; He became a servant of servants.
2. A time limited service:
a. Man's time is measured in days. "So teach us to number our days." - Ps. 90:12
b. "For all our days are passed away . . . we spent our years as a tale that is told." - Ps. 90:9, 10
c. "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle." - Job 7:6
d. "For we are but of yesterday . . . because our days upon the earth are a shadow." - Job 8:9
e. "Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away." - Job 9:25
C. WE MAY DRAW FROM OUR OPENING TEXT THE FOLLOWING LESSON
1. There is, and rightly so, a constant sense of infirmity in human nature:
a. We are born to die - "it is appointed unto man once to die." - Heb. 9:27
b. The human mind has difficulty to submit patiently to this doom.
c. Earthly affections cry out against it; that is especially true when so many things seem to have attached themselves to us.
d. The thought of utter dissolution seems incredible.
2. But there is a blessing in this realization:
a. The knowledge of our brevity in this present life leads us to focus our attention upon the promise of a life to come.
b. It will endear the promises of God in Christ -- of a better world, a better life, in the world to come.
c. It shows God's plan of salvation in all its bright colors.
3. So, dear friends, when life's sorrows and disappointments make our outlook in this life painful and hopeless, let us set our sights upon the heavenly things:
a. That is what Abraham did - Heb. 11:8-10
b. That is what God's pilgrims and strangers in all ages did - Heb. 11:13-39
c. Says Paul, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." - 1 Cor. 15:19
d. "We, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." - 2 Pet. 3:13
4. Summary:
a. Life is service because no man liveth unto himself, and no man dieth to himself - Rom. 14:7
b. Life is a time limited service -- "That thou doest, do quickly." - John 13:27
c. And remember that the wages for your hire will be given to you when Christ comes in the clouds of heaven - Rev. 22:12
"SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER"
ISAIAH 38:1, 2
A. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER: FOR THOU SHALT DIE AND NOT LIVE"
1. The divine summons:
a. Came unexpectedly. King Hezekiah was in his middle age and had a lot to look forward to.
b. That summons came to Belshazzar, too, unexpectedly - Dan. 5:5
c. And none of us knows when it might come to us.
2. It is the summons of death:
a. "For thou shalt die, and not live"
b. "This night thy soul shall be required of thee" - Luke 12:20
B. "THUS SAITH THE LORD, SET THINE HOUSE IN ORDER"
1. This divine summons is full of signification for all who face the inevitable:
a. There are responsibilities that must be taken care of before we enter the shadows; before we leave this world.
b. These solemn responsibilities may differ in each case, but they are here just the same.
c. Hezekiah was the king of a nation and for that reason had kingly responsibilities to take care of.
d. Our responsibilities may be limited to our immediate family -
(1) Some things may have to be made right in the family relation.
(2) A long neglected duty as a father or a mother may have to be performed before we depart out of this life.
2. The divine summons comes to us:
a. Because God loves us.
b. He desires for us to have no regrets on the day of judgment.
c. Such a summons is a preparation, not only for death, but also for the life to come.
d. When we leave this world we should have the hope to awake in the world to come with a clear conscience - "I am now ready . . . I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." - 2 Tim. 4:6-8
C. HOW TO RELATE OURSELVES TO THE SUMMONS OF DEATH
1. It is the one summons we all dread:
a. "Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me" - Isa. 21:3
b. "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me." - Job. 6:4
2. But we know, too, that the summons is inevitable:
a. For it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment - Heb. 9:27
b. Death is a part of our present nature. Someone has said that death is a process of life in the human body.
3. When the summons of death comes to us, we should remember:
a. That our Creator and Redeemer forewarns us for our own good.
b. He knows the unfinished business of our life and urges us on to take care of whatever is unfinished -
(1) It may be that we are unprepared for death to overtake us.
(2) We may have to correct some action in our life, if neglected, would keep us out of the kingdom of God.
(3) There may have to be some humble confessions made to our loved ones.
(4) Or it may be that some business transactions need correction.
c. Whatever reason the counsel of our heavenly Father may include, we must heed it with the utmost speed.
4. Friends of mine:
a. What if this service this afternoon is God's summons to us -- "set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live."
b. Shall we heed the summons?
c. Shall we, at this very moment, search our hearts and life to find the unfinished business?
d. Surely we do not want to enter the shadows of death without the needed preparation for this most solemn fate of our life.
"ENTER THOU INTO THY CHAMBERS"
ISAIAH 26:19, 20
A. "COME, MY PEOPLE, ENTER THOU INTO THY CHAMBERS, AND SHUT THE DOORS ABOUT THEE: HIDE THYSELF AS IT WERE FOR A LITTLE MOMENT, UNTIL THE INDIGNATION BE OVERPAST."
1. The words of our text are another expression of God's loving care for his own:
a. He cares for them in life - "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." - 1 Pet. 5:7
b. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." - Ps. 103:13
c. "For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." - Matt. 6:32