What Happens Immediately After The Death Of A Christian
Song: Holy Forever
Call to Worship: 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Song: Every Praise
Announcements:
Praise Reports and Prayer Concerns:
Song: Way Maker
Worship with the Giving of Our Tithes and Offerings
Song: Praise to The Lord, the Almighty
Message:
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Saturday Night
Yes I Can, Yes I Can, Yes I Can. No I Can’t, No I Can’t, No I Can’t
Satan, the Father of all Lies, was speaking to me in both ears.
I flopped.
I leaned upon my own understanding and did not give it to God. I should have prayed, but failed to do so.
I failed to realize that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
I had a GIANT in front of me and didn’t call on the LORD for victory.
Exodus 14:13-14 “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still”.
Psalms 35:1 (David) “Come and defend me! My God and Lord, fight for me! LORD my God, defend me with your justice. Don’t let them laugh at me”
The Prayer of Faith James 5
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian, it doesn’t matter how closely you walk with the Lord, Satan is relentless. He will continually stalk you, tempting you, tricking you up.
Learn from my mistake. When you are in any situation, give it to the Lord. Give all your cares to Him because He Cares for you.
Luke 23:39-43
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Two Sundays ago we looked at the Resurrection of the Dead which will take place on the day of the Rapture of the church. This is when the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those who are believers of Jesus who are still living at the time, will be caught up in the air to be with him.
It will happen in a flash, at the “twinkling of an eye.” It will be at the last trumpet.
When this happens, we who are believers in Christ will have imperishable bodies (KJV – incorruptible). In other words, we will have bodies that will never age, never wear out!
When this happens, we who are believers in Christ will have glorious bodies. Our bodies will be identifiable. We will know each other immediately! I like that.
When this happens, we who are believers in Christ will have bodies that are raised in power. They will be incredible bodies.
When this happens, we who are believers in Christ will have bodies that are spiritual.
This morning I have great news! We are going to take a dive into what happens immediately after the death of a Christian. This will excite you in your faith and I hope it will make you search the scriptures.
In our reading this morning (go over the happenings).
Jesus told the man on the cross, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (another name for heaven).
This statement gives us a pretty clear indication that once a believer in Jesus Christ takes his/her last breath on earth, they will immediately be with Jesus in heaven.
Paul told the Philippians 1:23-24, “23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
This indicates to me that when you die, you will be with Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5:8 Paul states, that he “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5 also tells us we will not be spirits without bodies. Here is what it says, verses 1-3. “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.” Paul plainly tells us that we will have heavenly bodies.
I don’t know exactly what a heavenly body looks like, but I know, because we will have it in heaven, it will be glorious!
4. Now, there are some who believe that after death, everyone sleeps, called “Soul Sleep,” until the Resurrection of the Dead or the Rapture of the Church (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist).
3. Some believe that when people die, they are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destination.
2. Still, others believe that the soul/spirit is sent to a “temporary” heaven or hell to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and the finality of their eternal destination.
1. The Roman Catholics believe that everyone enters a place called “Purgatory.” Here they are punished to atone for the sins not covered by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. Once their sins have been adequately or sufficiently punished, because they are faithful, will enter into Paradise.
Let’s take a look at what the Bible says, because, regardless of what we hope, wish, or think, the Bible is the final authority.
Again, looking at our text this morning. What did Jesus say to the man who repented? “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Kind of refutes the “Soul Sleep” and the “Purgatory” theology, doesn’t it?
The Bible is not perfectly clear as to the nature of the human soul. But from studying the way the word soul is used in Scripture, we can come to some conclusions. Simply stated, the human soul is the part of a person that is not physical, as we know physical.
The story, not a parable, Jesus gives in Luke 16 about the Rich Man and Lazarus. The Rich Man saw Lazarus in heaven, next to Abraham. He recognized them immediately, both Lazarus and Abraham!
Peter, James, and John went with Jesus to the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them. (Matthew 17:1-3). Here’s how it reads. “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.” The disciples recognized Moses and Elijah.
In Revelation 6:9, John saw the “souls of all those who were slain for the testimony of Christ.”They were in heaven.
“So, after death, for the believer, the Bible tells us that their soul/spirit is taken to heaven because their sins were forgiven when they received Christ as Savior (John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” ).
For believers, death means being “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6–8; Philippians 1:23).
When we die, what goes to heaven?
What goes to heaven is the soul.
It is the soul of those who have called upon the name of the Lord.
It is those who have trusted in God for their salvation.
It is those who have died before they ever reached the age of accountability for their sins.
They will have some type of definitive form.
They will be recognizable, just as the rich man recognized Lazarus and Abraham.
They will be recognizable just as Peter, John, and James recognized Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.
When you die, I believe, based on scripture, you will know your loved ones and friends.