1Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known”. There was an article in the USA Today newspaper dated June 2006. The cover story was about two young ladies who had been involved in an automobile accident where one was pronounced dead and the other survived. They were both so disfigured that they were unrecognizable. It said that after five weeks they realized that the one who was pronounce dead was really the one who had survived and the one who they thought had survived was really the one who had died. And just as the articlehad your full attention, wanting to find out what happen and what was the response of the family members, at the bottom of this cover page story read, “For the rest of the story” see page 3. But page 3was missing, so any hopes of getting an understanding of “The Rest of the Story”, was impossible. ( I won’t do that to you this morning)
Paul Harvey is well known for giving you a story and holding back the juicy parts. …. He would begin to tell a story about someone that we usually knew nothing about. Just when we thought we understood what it was all about, we suddenly realized that there was more to the story. And you would have to wait through a lengthy commercial before you could find out. Then he would fill in the details which was the real meat of the story. …..For instance, He tells of a headache medicine which John Pemberton invented in 1886, which had caffeine as a stimulant and cocaine as a pain reliever. It became very popular but the rest of the story is that the new drink was named “Coke-a-Cola”. The Cocaine was later removed, to the disappointment of many customers, who had become hooked on the cocaine. But it remained a popular drink anyway. Pemberton sold his formula for $2,500 and just one of the original bottles sold for $5,000 dollars. Recently just the Chilean franchise sold for $79 million dollars. And it started with a head ache treatment….
Winnie and I enjoy the TV program that is named “Mysteries at the Museum”. They always share some popular items which are displayed at various museums and then the commentator will say, “BUT, there is a seemingly unimportant piece of wood, or a chunk of stone, or a piece of cloth that has an important part of history attached to it….and we get the rest of the story….For instance there is a can of “Play Dough” and as host Don Wildman takes us back to the beginnings, we find that this popular children’s item, was originally invented as a wall paper cleaner, until it was discovered that it had many other uses. And the “Slinky” *….which was originally created as a shock absorber for the military, but then It was scaled down and transformed into a children’s toy.
Martin Luther King Junior didn’t live to see the rest of the story, but he gave us an example of how to allow God to direct your steps and do what it takes to achieve your goals, to make life better for millions of people, even if you never see the results yourself. In Washington DC, there are many monuments honoring this great civil rights leader and on one of the monuments his words are inscribed.
It says “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, that is temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil which may temporarily seem to triumph.” On the cross our Lord Jesus seemed to be temporarily defeated, but in this temporary defeat he triumphed over all evil, and it is with that over- coming power and authority that Jesus spoke and continues to speak into you and to me still today.
Like many other ministers, I have been called upon to do a funeral service and share the final words over folks who have come to the end of their earthly journey. They come to that place, some of them healthy, some sick, some young, some old, and everything in between. But they all will come and keep coming. The minister usually gives some history of the person, their contributions to society, names the surviving family members, and then delivers a message for the occasion.
But the most important thing every minister is called upon to do is to share the rest of the story. Because when the story that begins when this “life on earth” part of the journey is finished, the biggest, longest, and most important part of every one’s story is just beginning.
This is what the Apostle Paul was doing, when he shared much of his writings with us. I am choosing one particular portion, in… 1Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, v52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. v53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. v54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. v55 O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory”?
Benjamin Franklin said that nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. But that is not the whole truth. A clever man with a good lawyer can find a way around most if not all of his taxes, but no one escapes death. George Bernard Shaw remarked, “The percentages on death have not changed. The percentages are, that one out of every one person dies." Even Dorian Grey, who’s portrait aged so that he wouldn’t, came to that final end to his life…But we must add that the percentages are also that one out of every one person, that physically dies, will live forever, somewhere. And that’s where the rest of our story really begins!
Worldwide, there are approximately 4.7 million deaths everymonth, 155,000 every day, 6,500 every hour, 107 every minute, and 1.8 every second. The Greek playwright Sophocles said it this way: “Of all the great wonders of earth, none is greater than man. And yet for death he finds no cure.”
However, there is one who came who did find the cure to death and He died and met death eyeball to eyeball. He trampled it under His feet, pulled out it’s stinger, and set it’s boundaries then assigned death to hell, where it cannot avoid the sentence that He has established upon it. Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the (unrighteous) dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. v13 and the sea gave up the (unrighteous) dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the (unrighteous) dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works”.
This is important, because believers in Christ, will not be present at what this scripture is describing. The key is “according to their works”…. You see Christians who have received Christ, have already been judged when Jesus was tried and crucified. He took our place and no fault was found in Him when Pilate examined Him. Justification means that Jesus was judged for us all, so this scripture does not describe believers.
What is described in this scripture is the Great White Throne of Judgment where all who have not received Christ will appear. Our works are never enough. Only belief and acceptance of Christ work of redemption will let a person enter heaven and escape Hell.
You can go to church and know why folks raise their hands, you can know why they give out a hearty “Hallelujah” or an exuberant “Amen”…. and yet never experience that reality for yourself. If you did, your hands would be up and you would be shouting a few “Hallelujahs”……We have a reason and a reality that can’t be held in and it will come out!
Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death”.
So believers in Christ, will die a physical death, just as every person will.. but believers will not experience the second death, which is eternal separation from God. When Jesus experienced death for just a brief time, He cried out, My God, why have you forsaken me…. The demons of Hell thought they had Him, and He felt the pull, but He beat death and Hell, for Himself and all who would receive Him.
Death and Hell will be in the lake of fire, with all who have rejected Christ. It’s going to be Hell, hanging out with death for eternity!
Paul continues to write…..2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if our earthly house of this tent is dissolved, (He is speaking to believers when he says we and our) we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens”.
Tonto woke the Lone Ranger up and said “Kimo Saby” what do you see? Lone Ranger said, “I see that the stars are beautiful tonight”. Well, what does that mean, “Kimo Saby”?.... Well, according to the North star, it’s about 3:00 in the morning, It will be clear today, with no chance of rain. The Milky Way is in the third quadron, the moon is in the 7th house, and it is the dawning of Aquarius.. No, “Kimo Saby”…. It means that someone has stolen our tent!
Well we are all going to reach a point, where someone steals our tent!
But you can be in the tent and if the tent is gone, you can still be all right!
Our bodies are like tents. They wear out, they sag, they expand, they wrinkle, the joints get creaky, the arteries harden, gravity pulls everything downward, the heart slows down, the eyes grow dim, the teeth fall out, the back is stooped, and the arms grow weary. Our bones break, our muscles weaken. The body bulges in the wrong places. We brag about our strength but a tiny microbe can kill us. Sooner or later we grow old and our bodies begin to break down. Eventually they stop working altogether. No amount of Vitamin C or Siberian Ginseng can change that fact. At best, we can only slow down the aging process; we cannot delay it forever.
This groaning may be because of a job we hate. Because of unfulfilled dreams. Because our bodies break down. We groan because our marriages break up, because our children go astray or because our friends disappoint us.
We groan because we live in a fallen, mixed-up, messed-up, broken-down world, and we ourselves get broken and less than we once were. So we look for a better day and a better place, and we dream of a better world where there is . . .No more cancer. No more abuse. No more hatred. No more hurricanes. No more crime. No more sadness. No more night. No more sickness and no more death.
Exercise is good and good nutrition is even better, and it would help all of us to get in shape and stay in shape. But I have a bit of news for you. Your body is not intended by God to last forever. You can eat all the low-carb ice cream you want, but your body will still fall apart in the end. Did you know your body (your tent) is dying all the time, every day? Every 7 years your body, except for your brain, replaces itself. Every 7 years you get a new version of your dying body!
Before the sun goes down each day, between 50 and 70 billion of your cells will die. That’s 350 billion cells a week. No wonder you need to lie down and take a nap. You’re falling apart even while you are listening to this sermon.
A pastor asked a class of children “what do you have to do to go to heaven”….One child said, go to church…. Another said say your prayers.. still another said, be good…. Then one child hit it on the head when he said, you have to die!
If you are a believer in Christ, you are in the process of moving out of a tent and into a permanent residence. Tents are temporary and flimsy, easily torn, and meant to be replaced. A building is strong, built on a foundation, and has more permanence.
For the Christian, Death is not the end. Death is not reincarnation.Death is not evaporation. Death is not annihilation. Death is a trade-in and a trade-up. So….Paul continues to teach us, under divine inspiration…. 2 Corinthians 5:2-3 “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked (vulnerable)”.
Folks have it all wrong… We are not going from the land of the living to the land of the dying….We are going from the land of the dying to the land of the living!
When a believer dies, folks say they are “with the Lord”… That’s awesome because we are with the Lord now, and we are with the Lord when we die! There should never be a “lonely Christian”….who ever feels alone… Just Christians that are WITH THE LORD!!
2 Corinthians 5:5 “Now He that has wrought us (accomplished His work in us) for the selfsame thing ( with the same intention) is God, who has also given unto us the earnest (down payment or impartation) of the Spirit”.
Another important scripture to include here is…. 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord”.
I understand that when a loved one departs, a void is left in our hearts, and they are still loved and missed, but folks that go to a grave side and talk to their departed loved ones need to know…. You’re talking to a box! Nobody’s there. If they’re believers, they’re in heaven and they’re pretty busy! And If they’re not in heaven…. You’re still just talking to a box! Don’t get me wrong, visit the grave, draw inspiration from that person’s place in your life, rekindle the memories…but they are not there.
The body may be left behind but the believer’s soul and spirit are immediately in the presence of the Lord.
We can take assurance that Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us…. That He would be with us always, even to the end of the world (and the world won’t end, but it will be made new in the end) So, talk to Him, not a box…He will hear you, and be with you!
Our new bodies will be like His resurrection body. We shall share His resurrection likeness and characteristics. It won’t be some spooky, ghost like, misty apparition! When Jesus rose from the dead, he received a glorified body. He walked with the disciples, He ate with them, they touched Him, and He even cooked a meal of fish and chips for them. He could walk through walls, as he did when they were locked in the room for fear, and He appeared in the midst of them. He could transport himself from one place to another, because He was able to pass from outside to inside the room where the disciples were gathered.
Once a person has passed over, there’s no need to pray for them, or burn candles for them, or do penance, or buy indulgences to help them change their status, once they have passed over….
Hebrews 9:27 ”And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment”.
Also we have a scripture that is clear about the fact that whatever your condition when you depart this life, will be the condition you remain in…. Revelation 22:11 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still”.
We’re talking about the Rest of the Story here……
So we can’t stop at this point…..
Every person on the planet must come to the place where they seriously ask themselves this question, “Is that all there is?” It is one of the most transformative questions a person can ask! To which Paul answers a resounding, “No!” We were all made for something better than the sadness, the loss, the disappointment, and the brevity which we see in this world.
That’s why scripture tells us 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us, not willing (it was never His desire) that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”.
I’m very, very particular about where I spend eternity!!! That is something I don’t want to take for granted or have a wait and see attitude….
It was never God’s intention for any person to go to Hell. Hell was created for Satan and his fallen angels or demons. If anyone goes there, they have succeeded in rejecting the constant love of God, the intercession of Jesus, the call of the Holy Spirit, the prayers of the saints in heaven, the work being done by the angels in a multitude of ways, and every witness by every messenger here on earth. You have to be determined to go to hell in order to get there.
A sincere asking of the question “Is that all there is”… will cause an answer to rise from within….
“I want more”!!!! “I want more”….
So for those who answer the call, We will have a new body - not the same as before….. not just renovated or reconstructed, but a new body – and yet our identity will not change.
The disciples knew Jesus after the resurrection and He knew them.
1Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known”.
What a great time of rejoicing it will be, when we are reunited with our believing family and loved ones, in heaven. I’m believing with you that they will all be there! What a day that will be!
We are all designed for a new life and a new body, a new existence and a new reality in the Lord. God himself has made us for this very purpose. This is our destiny and what we were created for! To be as He is, and to be with Him forever, through out all eternity!
It’s as certain as your awakening and getting out of bed this morning…(I say that because you are here)
Satan can’t stop it, the world can’t stop it, death can’t stop it….onlywe can stop our new life destiny by rejecting Christ and going our own way!
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you”. (that’s not just at death, but in all of life as well)
Tell someone “Greater Things Lie Ahead”!!!
A woman who had been married 4 times, once to a banker, once to an actor, once to a minister, and once to an undertaker was near death. The minister visited her and asked her if she was ready to face eternity. She said “Reverend, I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and 4 to go!!!
Physical death is the final battle field, and it is on that sacred battle field, that we win the final battle, because Jesus came forth with a shout of triumph we shall come forth also!!!
The next time you go to a cemetery, take off your shoes, because you are standing on holy ground. It’s the place where God has harvested the most precious and valuable harvest of all. It is a harvest of destinies, it is a harvest of God’s purpose and intention for us all! It is a place of victory and triumph, and we who know Christ have already won!!!
Greater is He that is in you than death, Satan, fear, sickness, failure, sin, trials, and tests, and any other creature, that is in the world.
When there is a boxing or wrestling match, they grab the winner’s hand and lift his arm high into the air….
You that know Christ, have won the final battle…. (grab someone’s hand and lift their arm high in the air…. Now shout it out…..
“WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION”!!!!
Closing prayer….
Father, let Your Holy Spirit continue to fall as a “mighty Rushing Wind”, usher multitudes into Your church throughout this year. Lord continue to remove every blindfold of the enemy that is aimed at preventing folks from getting saved and established in the body of Christ. We come against and bind any resistance which would block the way of salvation and spiritual growth. let ears be opened and hearts transformed as Your message of grace goes forth.
Lord, let there be continuous confirmation of Your word with signs, wonders and miracles, that will persuade many into the Kingdom. Let there be revelation and understanding that will lead many into the ministry and the release of individual gifts to mobilize and motivate the church. We believe You, Lord, for deliverance and breakthrough that your church may be effective and world changing–
May your Church experience supernatural growth that will baffle and amaze human understanding this year.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we come against all interferences of excuses, weather, transportation challenges and every other thing that may hinder the growth of your church in this coming year. Lord, You said that you would build your church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Bring down the walls, that would divide and let your Kingdom advance and take back what the enemy has stolen.
Turn this city and the Keys into a harvest field this year and give us a new, sharp threshing instrument which will be effective in reaping the harvest –
Grant that we would have supernatural boldness, and glorious liberty as we reach out in Your mighty name. We pray for visions and dreams of the night, to prepare hearts even while they are asleep on their pillows. And we decree that every soul saved this year would be established in the faith and in Your Church –
We thank you in advance for your grace and favor on our lives –
In the name of Jesus, AMEN!!!
