If In This Life Only
I Corinthians 15:12-19
12Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. 16For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
Today my wife and I attended her uncle's funeral. While I was watching the ceremony, I started thinking about the passage of Scripture we just read. As her cousin was reading the eulogy, I started thinking about my life and what has happened to me and how I would want to be remembered. Then I decided that there are three things that I would want my friends and family to remember about me.
1. I Was A Christian - My life as a Christian has been filled with ups and downs(sometimes it seems like more downs than ups). I haven't always been the Christian I wanted to be. I've said and done things that I know have grieved the Holy Spirit. But through it all, I know that God still loves me and forgiven me of all my sin. He sent His son to die for me and pay the penalty of my sin so that I wouldn't have to. He knows me and yet, He still did that for me. The Bible says, Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1. I know that I am saved from the penalty of sin because the Bible says in Romans 10:9,10 & 13 - 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 13For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
2. I know that I'm saved because I believe the Bible to be the Word of God. The inspired, inerrant Word of God. When it says that God loves me, I believe it. When it says that He loved that world so much that He sent His son to die, so that mankind would not have to pay the price of sin, then I believe it. When the Bible says that all a person has to do is repent(turn away from their sin) and accept Christ as their savior, then I believe it. I believe that he Bible was written for us so that we would have a stable guideline to follow in our search for God and His will for our lives. I John 5:13 - These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. People have tried for hundreds of years to prove it to be wrong, but they are still unsuccessful in their attempts.
3. I know that I am saved because I am a completely different person than I use to be. On October 22, 1978, I accepted Christ as my Savior and my world completely changed. I use to drink beer and smoke pot. I use to cheat, lie, steal, and do anything to satisfy my lustful desires. But when I accepted Christ, everything changed. My every thought, word or action changed. I became a new creation. I was amazed when I started reading the Bible and found a verse that described exactly what had happened to me. It is in II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. That is exactly what happened to me. My old self died and I became a new creation, with new thoughts, new desires, even new words coming out of my mouth.
2. I Tried To Be A Good Husband And Father - Like I said before, I've made many mistakes and I probably will probably never realize just how many mistakes and the consequences of those mistakes will have on my family. But, I can honestly say, that I have tried my best to be a good husband to my wife, and a good father to my kids and her kids. I love my family and every decision that I have made, I have made it with their welfare in mind. Have they been good decisions? No! But, right or wrong, I have always wanted their happiness, comfort and joy to be first. Am I bragging about the things I have done? Certainly not! Any Good thing that I have done, or any right decision I have made, has always been because of the Love of Christ in my heart. I couldn't love them the way I do, if it wasn't for Him.
I have tried to teach my kids what it means to love God and follow His direction. If I can leave anything for them, it would be the love of God in their lives and a deep love for His Word. It is the most valuable thing I could give them. It is riches that will never fade away and will bring more joy and happiness than any bank account could ever do. Proverbs 2:1-5 - My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 3:1-18 says what I would want to say to my kids better than anything I ever could, so if you'll allow me the liberty, I will use them a my own for this moment.
My son, do not forget my law, 1 But let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. 13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.
If I could teach my wife, my children, my step children and anyone else that might happen to hear this message one thing before I go, it would be this. The four most valuable things you can own in this world are love, joy, peace and contentment. All the money in the world cannot buy them. Many people have tried and all have failed. The only way they can be attained is by accepting Christ as your Savior. Your search for them will be painful and futile without Christ.
3. I Am No Longer In This World - The third thing that I would want my family and friends to remember about me is that I am no longer in this body. That the body that is laid before them is nothing but an empty shell. I am no longer in this world. I am in my new home. More beautiful that the mind could ever imagine. 1 Corinthians 2:9 - But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." DON'T BE SAD FOR ME!!!!!!! You can't possibly imagine the beauty of my new Home, or the peace and contentment that I will be experiencing, or the love that I will not only have for everyone there, but the love they will be having for me. I can promise you I won't be sad there. If it were possible to be sad, it would not be for me, it would be for you. Because you're not there with me, free of all the cares and worries of this life on earth. But it is not possible to be sad in Heaven. Look at Revelation 21:1-8 - 1Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
When I'm gone I don't want anybody to be sad or crying for me. It won't be a funeral. It will be a homecoming celebration.
Like the verses said in the beginning of this message, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable". That is so true my friend. If there is no hope of a resurrection, we are to be the most pitied people in the world. But the truth is, there is hope. It is true. Christ rose from the dead and because He lives, we who are His will too. Thank God for His mercy and love. Thank God that when we leave this world, we have a far better place to go. It will be eternal and free of the sin that plagues everyone of us. I have that hope. I hope you do too.