[ ] 1/27/2013 #10015
THE SHADOW OF DEATH
Psalms 23:1-6
INTRODUCTION:We will all face a major interruption in our lives; we have an appointment with death. This is true for the Christian and the non-Christian. The difference between the two groups is their destination and the quality of life after death. Life on this earth is very brief and eternity is very, very long.The path through the valley of death leads the Christian to that glorious city of God where he will enjoy abundant life. The lost will live forever in the misery of Hell. The Christian has been given God’s promise that He is with us in this life and that He will be with us at death.
I. VIEWS OF DEATH
A. REALITY OF DEATH.
It is no denying that death is a reality. Each of us has an appointment with death. Still people live as if death did not exist. Satan lied to Eve saying, “Ye shall not surely die.” It seems as if people have believed this lie. They are so busy living their lives on earth that few take time to prepare for eternity.
Even at the end of life, we tend to deny the reality of death by embalming the dead and using cosmetics to restore the corpse to a natural, healthy look. We dress the dead in suits and gowns as if they were going to a party instead of returning to dust. The tradition of dressing in such colors as white or black for mourning has gradually been disappearing. We do not want to believe that death ends life.
In recent years, courses on death and dying have been introduced in many colleges and high schools. Some colleges and universities also offer courses on the occult and other phenomenonsuch as near-death experiences which allegedly offer scientific evidence for life beyond death. All of these trends suggest there is a renewed interest today to unravel the mystery of death and to gain reassurance about some form of life after death.
B. REASON FOR DEATH.
God warned Adam that the day he ate the forbidden fruit he would die.
Adam ate the fruit in disobedience to God’s command. In the moment of his transgression Adam died spiritually and would die physically.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12
“For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23
C. RESPONSE TO DEATH.
1. Secular response to death.
Secular humanist:“I feel no fear of death and seldom give it much thought. When I die I will simply cease to exist. A person may suffer before dying, but death itself has no suffering. My advice is to do your best while living and not worry about death.”
“Secular Humanists believe suffering comes from the cause of people or series of unfortunate events. As there is no god or faith outside science, death is an end and nothing more. No bright lights at the end of the tunnel, etc. By this cynical worldview suffering can also be viewed as nothing more than an unfortunate emotion evolution has brought on.”
2. Scriptural response to death.
The Bible clearly teaches man’s soul is immortal. The soul of man will live forever in heaven or hell. Christians do not believe that man is annihilated at death. The child of God has assurance in his/her heart of eternal life with God.
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”Job 19:25-27
“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:6-8
II. VALLEY OF DEATH
The Bible uses sheep as a metaphor for Christians. Sheep are animals that need a shepherd to care and protect them. They are easily frightened.
A. SHEEP IN THE VALLEY.
1. Personal walk. “Yea, though I walk”
The life of a Christian is described in the Bible as a walk.
“That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” 1 Thes. 2:12
In 2 Corinthians 5:7 Paul stated: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
When death visitsyou, you will have to walk through this valley of death alone because no other human being can take this walk for you.
2. Path of the walk. “through the valley”
Valleys remind us that on either side there are mountains. In the deep valley there are paths that we are to follow.
B. SHADOW IN THE VALLY. “shadow of death”
Death cast its shadow over those who are traveling through the valley. Shadows can cause fear and cause the heart to faint, but shadowscannot inflict hurt.
C. SHEPHERD IN THE VALLY.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He promised us “I am with you always.” (Matt. 29)
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8
“For this God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48:14
1. Talking to the Shepherd. “thou art with me”
2. Trusting in the Shepherd. “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”
A good shepherd in those days would provide comfort to his sheep. He would protect his sheep with his rod and use his staff to give guidance and correction to his sheep.The rod is a sign of power. Moses was told to “lift thou up thy rod and stretch out thy hand.” He did this and the Red Sea divided so Israel could cross over on dry ground. Like David, we can find comfort in our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. VICTORY OVER DEATH
A. LIGHT FROM THE SHEPHERD.
The Lord was David’s Shepherd and the source of light. A shadow gives evidence of the existence of light.
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
B. LIFE FROM THE SHEPHERD.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:26-28
“Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:17-18
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:55-57
“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
2 Tim. 1:10
LESSONS FOR LIFE:
Death of your physical body is certain. Your soul will exist forever. You will either be with God or separated from God. Eternal life is having Jesus Christ as your Savior. Assurancein this life and at death comes when you can say with David: “The LORD is my Shepherd.
Precious Lord Take My Hand
Words & music by Thomas A. Dorsey
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I’m weak, I’m worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
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
When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I’m weak, Lord I’m worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
Even in the face of death, friends say, Adrian Rogers exemplified the Christian faith he spent a lifetime sharing.
The longtime pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in suburban Memphis and the three-time Southern Baptist Convention president died Nov. 15 at the age of 74 following a battle with pneumonia and cancer.
But days earlier -- before he slipped into unconsciousness -- Rogers delivered a message to those gathered in his hospital room that won't soon be forgotten. At the time, doctors were preparing to place Rogers on a ventilator, which would prevent him from speaking.
Steve Gaines, Rogers' successor at Bellevue, was in the room.
"The last thing I heard him say was, 'I am at perfect peace,'" Gaines, who succeeded Rogers this year, told Baptist Press.
Gaines and others then left the room, but Gaines decided to go back in to see Rogers "one more time." By then, Rogers was on the ventilator, unable to talk, surrounded by doctors and nurses.
"His eyes and my eyes caught one another," Gaines said. "He looked right at me and he gave me a thumbs up. That's just him -- he was Mr. Positive. He was an awesome guy."
Top of Form
Great people don’t know that they are great; they just go out and do great things. Dr. Adrian Rogers was the “Golden Throat” of a generation, a modern-day Charles Haddon Spurgeon to preachers worldwide. When we spend time with the right people in the right place, we can become the right person. From knowing Dr. Rogers, I believe he was truly one of the most amazing giants to walk this earth. In the shadow of the fifth anniversary of Dr. Rogers’ homegoing, here are five powerful principles to ponder regarding his life and ministry.
The Preaching Develops the Programs
Dr. Adrian Rogers taught that the programs of the local church flowed out of the preaching from the pulpit. In other words, his preaching became the fountainhead for the ministry programs of the local congregation. The pulpit was the central focus for the church. Praise and worship set the stage for the “word from God” for each week. Today, much is written about “church growth” but little expressed about “pulpit growth.” There are many roles that we can fill as pastors, but our number one assignment is to be ready when we step into the pulpit. Dr. Rogers believed that his number one assignment each week for more than 50 years was to be “ready in season and out of season.” If we fill the pulpit, we can expect Christ to fill the building.
Over the last two decades, I would often purposely fly through Memphis just to go to Bellevue Baptist Church so I could watch and listen to Dr. Rogers preach to his people. I remember once making a distinct effort to sit high in the balcony, so I could feel the impact of this mighty man of God from the furthest possible place from the pulpit. On that particular Sunday morning, he was preaching on the Great White Throne judgment. Dr. Rogers preached with such passion and tears that the entire congregation was moved to make a decision as to where they would spend eternity. Today, it seems that such God-given crescendos are often replaced with man-made chatter. To Dr. Rogers, the preacher’s role developed the local church’s goal and not the reverse. When he walked into the church service, everyone knew who the leader of Bellevue Baptist Church was.
The Process Determines the Progress
Dr. Rogers made this preaching principle more clear to me than anyone else. Three years after his passing, I visited Mrs. Joyce Rogers and her children in the family home in Memphis, Tennessee. During the visit, I was invited into Dr. Rogers’ study. Over the decades, not more than ten people outside of family were ever invited into his study. Dr. Rogers’ study was where he met with God and crafted more than 3,000 sermons from every Bible book.
In his study were three separate desks he used in his process of preparation. One desk was for preparing Sunday mornings. The second desk was for Sunday evenings. The last desk was for Wednesday evenings and various sermon series. Dr. Rogers’ powerful progress was not because he had three separate desks, but because he had personalized a process that directed his progress. I can almost envision some pastors contemplating having multiple desks for their future studying of sermonic messages and still miss the real point. It is not the number of desks that make the difference, but the reality that when a preacher has a process of study, time is redeemed and his sermon quality continues to rise over the years. What made Adrian Rogers the preacher he became over time was that he knew where he was going and had a process to get him there. Whatever looks simple on the outside, the preacher paid a price on the inside.
The Passion Directs the Persuasion
I may have never met another man who loved Jesus as much as Adrian Rogers. When a pastor reads the Adrian Rogers Legacy Collection, they will read thousands of times, “I invite you to come to Jesus!” Jesus was more real to Dr. Rogers than life itself. His passion to serve Christ overflowed into every level of his life, especially in his preaching. When he preached about Jesus, it was not uncommon for him to fight tears from rolling down his cheeks.
In April 2010, Dr. Leonard Sweet and I were co-hosting our annual North American Conference on Biblical Preaching in Houston, Texas. During the conference, we were conversing about Dr. Sweet’s latest book, titled Jesus Manifesto. I asked, “Who will be writing the foreword to your book?”
Dr. Sweet said, “Jesus does not need a foreword!”
Then he went on to say, “It is not the purpose-driven life, but it is the Person-driven life.”
What Dr. Sweet said continues to reverberate in my mind and illustrates Dr. Rogers’ passion for Christ. It was so contagious that it caused his local church to repeatedly fall in love with Jesus. No wonder thousands of people were persuaded to walk the aisle “to come to Jesus” while Dr. Rogers stood on the main floor with open arms. They knew that this pastor really loved Jesus and wanted everyone to know the “Person-driven life” in their hearts!
How much do you love Jesus? Does your love for Christ inspire your audience to respond to your preaching? When one was with Dr. Rogers, it was clear that he had an intimate relationship with the King of the Universe. When one saw how he conducted his life, there was no doubt he was a Christ-follower, both in the private and public arenas of his life.
The Privacy Discerns the Price
Even though Adrian Rogers was a public figure in the Church and an international leader in the world, he was at the same time a private person. It was not until the twilight years of his life that he began to reveal some of the measures and treasures of his life.
Approximately two years before his death, Dr. Rogers began pulling together manageable groups of pastors around him to teach like “Elijah teaching Elisha” for the next generation. During those training sessions, he revealed the treasures that a pastor needs to know about preaching, teaching, money, management, leadership, marriage, and so much more. Dr. Rogers chose to name this dynamic series, “What Every Pastor Ought to Know.” I think he’s named it well.
Yet, Dr. Rogers did not begin to share such insights until he had clearly thought them through and was ready to deliver them. So much of what is often said in ministry today is made up of random thoughts or parroted expressions heard from another preacher, without much serious thought to how these ideas were marinated over a long period of time. We can dress as if we are intelligent, but when we open our mouth, everyone will know! When Dr. Rogers preached to the masses or shared with the few, the people knew they were hearing from a godly man who had truly thought through the subject before sharing it with others.
Adrian Rogers did not show his sermon notes to other people. For decades he wrote his sermons on six-by-nine-inch paper—the perfect size to fit inside his Bible. Often when he finished preaching, Dr. Rogers would fold his notes in half and place them in his suit pocket or back inside his Bible. Yet, no one knew he graded his sermons until he passed away.
On one occasion, when Joyce Rogers, his wife of more than 50 years, was in the study, she saw on the back of the last page of a sermon a numerical grade that had been placed there. For decades, Dr. Rogers graded his sermons between one and ten as to the quality of content and delivery. If he ever preached the same sermon twice, there would be the notation of the date preached and a grade between one and ten. He NEVER gave himself a ten.