The Only Death A Believer In Christ Will Ever Know

"Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death.” John 8:51 What an amazing statement Jesus made here. Sometimes words in the Scriptures are so foreign to the way we think that we just skip over them, not taking to heart what is being said. How can Jesus say that if one keeps his Word, he will never die? Do you think he meant exactly what he said? When one questions the validity of a Scripture passage, one way to learn more about it is to look to see if the same principle is repeated anywhere else in the Scriptures. This particular Word of Jesus Christ IS repeated: The setting is the death of Lazarus as Jesus comes upon the graveyard scene and meets the two sisters who question why he didn't come earlier, crying that he might have healed their brother so that he wouldn't have died. In the conversation that ensues, Jesus once again makes that remarkable statement: "And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:26 How can this be? We've all known many believers who have died. Was Jesus wrong about this? Jesus went on to ask: "Do you believe this?" The noted Bible scholar Chuck Missler said that when you see an apparent contradiction in the Bible, you should follow it through and search it out because there's a gem waiting to be discovered. No, Jesus was not wrong when he said that those who believe in him shall never die. When a believer in Jesus Christ dies in this world, he immediately opens his eyes in heaven. So truly, truly, every believer in Jesus Christ simply changes location when they leave this world and enter the next. It’s not death, it’s simply a change in location. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2nd Corinthians 5:8) The person who dies in this world doesn’t cease to exist. He enters into a new life of an abundance of joy. Death therefore, is actually a glorious thing. The believer will immediately be welcomed by loved ones who have gone on before; it will be a tremendously exciting experience filled with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." If every believer could thoroughly understand this, death would no longer be the terrible thing that those of us on this side think it to be. There was never a single moment in the departing saint's life that could have been equaled to the joyful arrival in heaven to a tremendous welcoming group of loved ones. And once the joy and hugs and embraces and excitement is finished ...the believer ...will be taken to meet ....Jesus. There is no joy in existence that can even come close to the joy of a believer being welcomed by the one he/she believed in for so long without seeing. I read a short passage one time that I've always remembered. It was the story of a ship leaving the docks and heading out into the horizon. On the waterfront the loved ones are watching and waving and sobbing as the ship slowly departs. But ...on the other side ...are the shouts of glory, "Here she comes!" And that is death, the only death the believer in Jesus Christ will ever know.

Visiting Mediums - How Serious A Sin Is This?

“Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.'” 2nd Kings 1:2 Ahaziah was the king of Israel at that time and he had an accident, falling from a window ledge and was seriously hurt. So he sent to prophets of the god of Ekron, asking whether he would recover from his injuries. The Lord was displeased, to say the least. He sent HIS prophet, Elijah, to bring HIS word to king Ahaziah saying: vs 6: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? THEREFORE you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.” One who knows the Word of God knows that one of the greatest offenses a person can commit is to seek information from any supernatural source other than God himself, and he’s made that abundantly clear throughout his Word. It is the height of insult that this king of Israel would seek information from a prophet of another god, and he would pay with his life for this sin. In another passage in God’s Word, another king by the name of Saul needed information in the face of a great decision he had to make, and he went to a psychic medium at Endor. Because of this great sin, he also paid for it with his life. There are two sources of supernatural power, God and Satan. Demonic spirits have the ability to speak through mediums or channelers, and they can speak a message and then cause what they have spoken to come to pass. Satan also has knowledge of the inquirer’s history, so he can tell him things that no one else has known about that person, or he can give details from the distant past in that person’s life, to cause the inquirer to believe in this medium or channeler or fortune teller. And that’s the point: Satan entertains them with supernatural power in order to get their faith in him, rather than in God alone. It’s spiritual adultery. God has spoken in his Word in many places that seeking information from any supernatural source other than himself is spiritual adultery, and there are great penalties for doing so, even if the person does not know better, because seeking out a medium or channeler opens a door into the occult realm, and demonic spirits will come into that person’s life through any door opened to them whether he does it in ignorance or not. To touch the occult is to open a door for demonic spirits into your life. All ventures into the occult bring a curse with them. And when Satan has a way into a person's life, great is the damage he brings, oftentimes even the forfeiting of the person's life or the life of a family member. God has put mankind on this earth and he has presented his Word, the Bible, to them. This book informs the reader who God is, who we are, and all about our relationship to him, what it’s all about, where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. Anyone who has not taken the Word of God and fed upon it, has no excuse. If he violates the Word of God, even in ignorance, there will be great consequences. It's a matter of spiritual principles: just as gravity is a physical law, the consequences of judgment upon involvement in the occult is a spiritual law. Opening a door in the occult invites Satan in. God has placed us here to have a relationship with him, and he has specified the terms of that relationship. He demands that we hold in utter respect all that he is and all that he says. He demands faithfulness, and the spurning of the enemy who so desires to destroy that relationship. For those who will receive the Lord on his terms, and live according to the terms of his Word, they will enter into a life totally different from the life they led in the world, because their heart is changed. The Lord is their God and those who have made this choice are his people. We have his presence to guide us through every story in our lives, we have the frequent communication and guidance he gives so personally, so individually, and we are the recipients of the love of the great God and creator of all that is. That is beyond awesome, it's an incomparable privilege. Decide who you are going to be joined with and make it a serious decision, one you will hold for the rest of your life. “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.'” 1st Kings 18:20

The Sardis of Today - How Far The Church Has Fallen!

Hear the words of Jesus to the church in Sardis: "These things says he who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: 'I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.'" Revelation 3:1 The message to this church was that it was dead. This church had "a name," so it was a popular and recognized church among the people, today's equivalent to our mega-churches. In our generation this might apply to churches with loud music, maybe strobe lights, and a feel-good message - a seeker-friendly church, a church that brings in the trappings of current society in order to attract people. To all appearances, it looks wonderful. But it reminds one of the words of Jesus to the Pharisees, they appear beautiful on the outside, but they're actually dead inside: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs WHICH INDEED APPEAR BEAUTIFUL OUTWARDLY, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:27-28 The story of the church of Sardis then is a story of degeneration. It undoubtedly started out good, but it went downhill probably under the pride of its beauty; isn’t that reminiscent of a being who fell because of the pride of his beauty! Sardis became a great church ...of unsaved people going through the motions of happy religion. But a dead church won't have the benefit of the living power of the Holy Spirit to bring about repentance, nor would it have leaders who were godly and who manifested the humility, life and power of God. The church in Sardis was the very reverse of the church in neighboring Smyrna. Smyrna was persecuted, some of its members put to death and yet God said it lived; Sardis on the other hand, appeared to be alive and beautiful, yet was dead. It is amazing that most of this country's ivy-league colleges and the universities of today actually started out as seminaries to train men to preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 106 of the first 108 colleges in the United States were started on the foundation of the Bible. By the end of 1860 there were 246 colleges in America, most were founded by Christian denominations or by individuals who avowed a religious purpose. Today they are all, to a one, centers of "New Age" teachings and practices with hardly a reference to Christ anywhere. HOW FAR we have fallen! I worked one summer at one of these colleges, definitely one of the most beautiful colleges in the country. Mesmerized by its beauty, I was absolutely shocked to find what was going on behind those ivy-vined walls. It sure was an object lesson that I will never forget. After that, I would never again be impressed by outward beauty. God only knows what hides behind the luxury of what men revere. Jesus gives a warning to the church at Sardis, telling them that if they continue as they are, they will not know the hour when the Bridegroom comes for the believers, and to them he will come ...as a thief. "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you." Revelation 3:3 It's reminiscent of the passage about the five wise and five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). They were all waiting for the Bridegroom but five of them, or half of those who call themselves Christians, were left behind when the Bridegroom came. They did not have oil in their lamps, oil being a symbol of the Holy Spirit. They didn't know the Word of God, they were just practicing religion, so they walked in darkness and were left behind when the Bridegroom came. Notice: HALF of those calling themselves "Christians" were left behind. Be sure of which group you belong to, and don't assume you're of the five wise. Ask the Lord to show you if you are in error or deception, if you're just practicing religion, and commit to him that you will co-operate with him in all humility and will seek him in spirit and truth. “...the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship him.” John 4:23