It doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life right now, the good, the bad or the ugly, one day soon, Jesus is coming back. And when that happens, the dead will be raised first, and those who are alive and believe in Jesus will be taken up in glory. Now that … that’s something to look forward to. The Dead Will Rise in Christ It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? What’s going to happen to you when your time on this earth is done and dusted? That will happen in one of two ways. Either Jesus will return – at which point everything on this earth will be over. Or – and perhaps you consider this option to be more likely – your body is going to give up the ghost when you breathe your last breath and your heart stops beating. And it’s that latter option that we’re going to talk about right now. We’re in the middle of a series of messages that I’ve called Merchants of Hope. Hope is such an important thing. Without hope, today’s not worth living – and tomorrow … well who cares? So many people – can I say, even people who believe in Jesus – are living without hope. And that’s crazy. Because our lives – whether we believe in Jesus or not – don’t end with a beep. There’s life after death – either in the presence of Jesus for all eternity – hallelujah – or apart from Him, in a place of eternal punishment and anguish and regret – that place with Satan and his demons that we call … hell. Hmm. So … where are you going to go after your beeeeep? Well, I believe … in fact I know … that last heart beat is not the end. It’s just the beginning of where you’re going to spend the rest of your eternity. And there are two parts to that eternity for anyone who believes in Jesus. The part between when you die and when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead, and the part after Jesus’ return. Let’s talk about the first part first. If you believe in Jesus, here’s what  will happen to you. Immediately upon your death, you will go to be in the presence of Jesus, in conscious blessedness – having escaped your punishment because you have put your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus – in the fact that He paid for your sins on that cross. Just like the criminal who hung next to Jesus on that fateful day. Have a listen to what happened to him Luke 23:39–42: One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ So … exactly when would this man be in paradise with Jesus? Today. The Apostle Paul knew it too, that straight after his death, he would be in the presence of Jesus. Philippians 1:21–23: For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. What happens to him when he departs this life? He is going to be with Christ. So if you and I die before Jesus returns, and if we believe in Jesus, we go immediately to be with Him, in His Presence. Just sit there now for a minute and look at all your present circumstances – all your pressures and worries – through the lens of that truth. See that hope, that certain hope – is meant to make a huge difference in your life. Paul the Apostle wrote that letter to the Philippians while he was in a Roman dungeon on death row. Have a read of it some time. It’s full of hope and rejoicing – because it’s written by a man who sees his present bleak circumstances through the lens of his certain hope in Christ. And at some point, Jesus will return and we will all – those who believe in Jesus and those who don’t – stand before Jesus in judgement. We’ve already talked about that. And when that happens, those who believe in Jesus who have died, will rise in Him. Have a listen – 1 Thess 4:13–16: But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Now we’re going to talk about what happens after that next week on the program. I’d love to go there right now because it’s awesome, we just don’t have time, so you and I are just going to have to wait. Just picture this glorious day. The dead in Christ will rise first. I was in a hospital a few months ago, visiting a friend who has since died of cancer. Hospitals have always seemed to be impersonal, sterile places. He was in a room of three other men who were also dying. The smell of death is a powerful thing, in this sanitised, brightly lit place with linoleum floors polished so much that it squeaks when you walk on them. There’s something stark and confronting about death. It’s inevitable. It’s not pleasant. And yet at the other end of that, is this triumphant, jubilant day when all those who have died in Christ will rise again with Him. Hallelujah. That's the hope. That’s why you and I and anyone else who believes in Jesus can look at our present day circumstances through the same lens as the Apostle Paul on death row. That’s why Paul wrote: When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Hallelujah!’ I know there are some people listening today who have lost a loved one … and you miss them terribly. Perhaps your wife or your husband. Well the good news is that if they believe in Jesus, one day you will see them again – because they will be raised in Christ. Or perhaps you’re getting pretty close to the end of your life, through old age or sickness – and you’re staring death down the barrel and that’s a scary thing for you. Wherever you and I are on our journey through life and towards death, the important thing to know, the thing that Jesus wants you to know – not just in your head but in your heart is this. Death is not the end, it’s just the beginning. It’s the beginning – for anyone who believes in Jesus – of an eternity praising Him and worshipping Him and celebrating with Him. It’s the beginning of an eternity without fear or tears or sickness or pain or illness. It’s the beginning of an eternity, that compared to our fleeting lives on this earth, is so awesome, so forever that you just can’t compare the two. That’s why Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote this to his friends in Rome – Chapter 8 verse 18: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed...

Released on 27 Mar 2022