Live Like They Were Dying | 4/8/12 AM Sermon

(The following is my sermon manuscript from April 8th, 2012, AM Service.)
A few years ago, Tim McGraw came out with a song titled "Live Like You Were Dying." I think most of you have probably heard the song, but in case you haven't, let me tell you a little bit about it.

The song reads like a conversation with a man who was diagnosed with some sort of terminal illness in his early forties. Of course when he finds out that time is limited in his life, he sets out to try to live life to the fullest. The chorus reads:

  "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,

   I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.

   And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter,

   And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying.

   An' he said: 'Some day, I hope you get the chance,

   To live like you were dyin'."

 

Obviously the song is about valuing every day that we have here on this earth, and living it to the fullest. It's definitely a worthwhile thought for all of us to consider (cf. Psalm 90:12). But I want to switch things around a little. Instead of thinking about living life like you are dying, I want you to think about this very sobering thought:

What would it mean to live life like THEY were dying?

THE SCENARIO

For the purposes of this discussion, let's consider the "they" of that sentence to refer to someone you love. Maybe "they" are a husband, or a wife, or a child. Maybe "they" are parents, or friends. Whoever "they" are, you are close to them. But "they" aren't close to God.

Imagine the scene with me for just a moment. You are busy working, and the phone rings. The tone of their voice tells you everything you need to know. There's something terribly wrong. They go on to tell you that there's been an accident. Or maybe they tell you that the test results have come back. You brace yourself, knowing what's coming. You find out that "they" only have a short time left here on this earth.

What's going through your mind? When someone almost dies, they might talk about having a "life flashing before my eyes" kind of moment. For those of you who have ever experienced such news, maybe it's almost the same. Your mind's eye travels to the time you met "them," and what life was like to that point. And then you realize that from this very moment in time, you'll have fewer memories of this person in the future than you do in the past. I think that saying you might feel a sense of "urgency" about being with them would be an understatement.

Suddenly, your mind is racing through all the things you should have said, but never uttered. All of the things you wanted to do, but never did. Suddenly the time with that person becomes precious. There are so many things to tell them, so many things you want them to know and understand.

Months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, all become precious. What would you want to tell them? What if you were to make a list of the things that you wanted them to know. What would be on it? Keep in mind that this is a person who does not "know God." Where would God fit on that list?

That's how we want to approach our discussion. I've put together a list of things, things that I'd want someone to know if they were dying. Now I need to explain a little to you about my list. It has seven points. It also may not be a list of the things that you might initially think to tell a dying person. But here's the thing: If these things aren't understood and taken care of, I will never see this person again after they die. But if they are, then it's only a matter of time before I seem them again. The tone changes from "goodbye," to "see you later." Only these things really matter.

So what's on the list? What would I tell them?

(*Note: The rest of this list reads as though I'm delivering it to that person.)

1) GOD LOVES YOU.

One of the most basic needs of all people is to feel loved, and to love. Even the most calloused person wants to find genuine acceptance somewhere. The question is, where will you find that love?

Many a heart has been broken, and a soul led astray simply because that person went looking for love in the wrong place. Your need to feel accepted, to feel loved, will cause you do things. Sometimes, it may cause you to do things you never imagined that you would do, or go places you never imagined you would be.

But instead of looking for love and acceptance from places you really know you shouldn't be looking, what about looking to God's love? You see, God loves you more than any person or group of people on this earth ever would, or even could.

God loved Adam and Eve, and placed them in a beautiful Garden in the beginning of time. But they broke His heart, and disobeyed what appeared to be the only negative command he had really given to them (cf. Genesis 2:17). The penalty for disobeying that command? Death. But you see, God had a plan in place for these things before the beginning of time (cf. Eph. 1:4); That plan was for God to sacrifice his Son, his blood forgiving us of our sins, and reconciling us back to Him (Eph. 2:13, 16).

God's love hasn't just been told of, it has been demonstrated. God so loved the world that he gave His only son (John 3:16-17). God loves you and wants you back even though you are a sinner (cf. Rom. 5:8). That brings us to item number 2 on our list.

2) Sin is Real.

For some reason, a lot of people in our world like to scoff at the reality of sin. Some act like they don't believe sin exists. Others say they don't believe sin exists.

Many times I've seen someone talking about, or even doing something they know is a sin, and they will make a joke about it. "Well I guess I'm going to Hell, because I ___________." Even though the Bible never says anything about Satan's face, you can almost imagine the expressions that they make when they say such things being the same that Satan would keep on his own face. They speak and act as though sin is just something their aged, stodgy grandmother believes in, and that "times have changed," morality has changed, and as long as society accepts something and it's not illegal, it's not a "sin."

What a foolish way to live a life. People may try to ignore it. But they can no more ignore sin than they can ignore a tree in the path of their car. Wishing it will go away won't make it disappear. It has to be avoided.

I want you to understand that sin is real, and is an ever-present danger. The word itself could simply be defined as "missing the mark." The picture painted by those words is of a target, but the dart or arrow thrown at it misses wide to one direction. God has put the target in place, and when we miss it, we sin.

John writes that "sin is lawlessness" in 1 John 3:4. James further tells us that our desires can draw us away from God, and when left unchecked, "mature" into sin (James 1:14-15). That brings us to number 3.

3) UNFORGIVEN SIN MEANS ETERNITY IN HELL.

There is a part of you that will live forever; Your soul. Likewise, in John 5:28-29, Jesus makes it very clear that everyone will be resurrected someday. Everyone is going to be somewhere for eternity. Those who have done good will be resurrected to "life." Those who have done evil? "The resurrection of judgment." Hell.

Some people will laugh, scoff, and make jokes about hell. Some teach that hell doesn't exist. Others teach that those who go there will only suffer for a time, before being annihilated. None of these things is correct.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus makes it clear that few will find the way to life, i.e., Heaven. It's a difficult path. Sin is so much easier. But sin separates us from God (cf. Isaiah 59:1-2). Everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). The due payment for the work of sin? Death (cf. Rom. 6:23).

Those who don't believe? Well, they'll be judged by Jesus, whether they believe in Him or not (cf. John 12:48). They will then be cast into the fire, the "second death" (Rev. 21:8); into a flame which burns eternally, but never consumes (Mark 9:47-48). Despite the fact that the flame burns, it's also darkness, filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Matt. 8:12). This is where you'll go if you aren't forgiven of your sins.

But there's another option.

4) FORGIVEN SIN MEANS ETERNITY IN HEAVEN.

In Romans 7:25 Paul describes serving the "law of sin." He describes it as captivity, and bondange (cf. Rom. 7:23). But then he goes on to write about freedom, in Romans 8:2 - freedom from that "law of sin and death." That freedom comes through forgiveness.

The way he provided that freedom is again described, this time on Romans 8:3-4. Jesus came in the flesh, and "condemned sin in the flesh" (vs. 3) through his life and death. In doing so, he prepared a place, a way for you to go to Heaven (cf. John 14:1-6).

So what about that forgiveness?

5) GOD WILL FORGIVE YOUR SIN.

Sometimes people might wonder whether God can really forgive them. Maybe they've done things that are so terrible, they can't "forgive" themselves. They can't conceive of ever really having forgiveness.

Don't think of God as having the Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" kind of disposition. He promises to forgive those who obey. After all, He doesn't want you to die (2 Pet. 3:9).

6) GOD WILL FORGIVE YOUR SIN WHEN YOU OBEY.

Contrary to what Luther, Calvin, and many today teach, salvation isn't as simple as praying some prayer. There's nowhere in the Bible that says that someone simply "let's Jesus into their heart" or "makes him Lord of their life," neither is there any example of someone being saved by doing such. Paul prayed for three days (Acts 9:9, 11) but he wasn't forgiven until he did what Ananias told him to do (cf. Acts 22:16). Jesus petitioned God to forgive the angry mobs crucifying him (Luke 23:34), but they weren't forgiven until  they obeyed the command of Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38).

If you want to have a relationship with God, to say that you "know" Him, then you have to do what John writes about. In 1 John 2:3-6, John writes that to "know" God means that you keep His commandments. The person who keeps God's commandments can know that he is "in Him." Likewise, the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 5:9 writes about how Jesus became the "author of eternal salvation, to all who obey Him." How could it be any clearer?

Jesus says that upon hearing God's Word (cf. Rom. 10:17), someone must believe it (John 3:16; Heb. 11:6), take that faith and put it into action by repentance (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38), acknowledge with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9-10), and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Mark. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21).

Those are the things God desires. Those are the things that Jesus' death allows you to do. Doing those things no more earns your salvation than you can earn any other gift (cf. Ephesians 2:8-10). Doing those things doesn't mean you even deserve salvation. But they are what God asks us to do. And in order to "accept" that gift of grace, you have to obey.

7) GOD WANTS YOU BACK FROM SATAN.

Maybe you've done those things, but you've become like the prodigal son of Luke 15. You've left home, and wasted your "inheritance" on partying. Now you've found yourself in the pig pen. You've done a lot of thinking while you're in the pig pin.

Now is the time to come home. God is pictured as the father in Luke 15:20-24, who meets his son as he sees him coming from afar, and dresses him in the finest clothes, throwing a banquet in his favor. That's the kind of joy God would experience if you would come home to Him. Satan has had you, but God wants you back.

You see, the journey isn't over at item #6 on the list. God expects continued faithfulness. Hebrews 10:23 tells us to "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." God will keep his Promise to save us, if we keep our faith in Him firm to the end. God will keep His promise if we live a life of service, righteousness, and devotion to Him. He is faithful. Are you? Will you be?

CONCLUSION

Here's the "catch." If you haven't obeyed God's commands for salvation, or you have "left home" like the prodigal, then you are dying. You are dying from your sin. Sin is a terminal disease (cf. James 1:15). You are not forgiven. You are the person I'm sharing the list with.

Today, now, is all you know that you have. Understand that everyone will die, and leave life here on this earth (Heb. 9:27-28). Understand as well that you don't know when that might be (cf. James 4:14).

Today, you can be in one of two places. You can be the dying, or you can be watching someone else pass from this life. If you are the one who needs to repent and obey, I pray that you will take the time to give these things deep consideration. If you are someone who has a loved one who is dying of sin, have you told them these things? Why are you waiting?

Let's go back to a question that I asked earlier. If you were to make a list of all of the things that you wanted someone to know before they passed from this life, what would you put on it. I think if you were to condense down all of the possibilities on that list, they could probably be summed up in just one word: Love. You would want that person to know just how much you loved and cared about them.

Do you realize that's exactly what God has done? His "list" revolves around His love for us (cf. Rom. 5:8). He made his "list" because were were dead, and he wanted to make us alive again (Colossians 2:13-14). James writes about that "list," i.e., his Law (the Bible) in James 1:25. James writes that the one who is a doer, who acts, will be blessed in his doing. What are you doing today? What are you doing with what God wants you to know? Are you on a path to eternal death, or eternal life?

 

-Daniel