Blessed are The Dead in The Lord | Revelation 14:12-13 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (3/15/26)

To worship our Lord Jesus Christ, because he alone is worthy of all of our praise and honor and adoration. And we get to come in and do that yet again on this Lord's day. As we begin our service, I'd like to start reading in Acts chapter three. Acts chapter three verses one through eight. Acts chapter three.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And the man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gates to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him as did John and said, look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, But what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and enter the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God.

And let's scroll down to chapter four beginning at verse five. And on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, by what power or by why or by or by what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, but by by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. By him, this man is standing before you well.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you. The builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. And we are gathered here this afternoon because of that, because of salvation only through Jesus Christ. And today, we exalt him.

We glorify him. We give him our all, and we proclaim him through our singing, through our prayers, and through the proclamation of the word of God. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you. Oh, Lord.

We thank you for just another time that you have given to us, that you have allotted to us to give back to you. And that is what we do these hours. Lord, we give back to you everything you've given to us, our our breath, our attention, our minds, our focus. We give it all to you as our spiritual act of worship. Lord, may you find it acceptable in your sight in a pleasing aroma today.

Lord, drain us of all selfish ambition. Drain us of all pride and arrogance. And fill us with humility. Lord, fill us with a deep longing to know you more, to be changed by you, to be refined as gold is refined in a furnace, that we might be purified in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Church, will you please stand and give your voices to the Lord?

Driving my fears and

and

when shadows lay them before my eyes. My lord and friend, companion through the valley

Father, we ask that you would make Christ more real to us. We thank you that many in this place can testify that we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. But we pray, oh, Lord, that we would taste more. And only by the power of your Holy Spirit and the means of grace that you've established in your church can we have any chance of knowing you in a deeper way. But, Lord, we have come as a church to proclaim that we have come to meet with you primarily.

So open our hearts, move us, and change us, and draw us closer to thee. We ask these things in the living and blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen. Amen. We'll turn to somebody.

Welcome then to this Lord's Day service. Well, good afternoon to you. What a joy. What a joy it is to gather on the Lord's day to remember that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave. That's what Sunnies is about.

And we're gonna continue to worship from our hearts and our giving at this time, and so the ushers will assist us in that. And while the ushers are helping us in our giving and there is instructions and ways to give on the screen, you know this, that we are making moves towards this new building that has been presented to us by God's grace. And we are so excited. The elders and other leaders and other, people from this church have been at this new building multiple times this past week. It's been a very busy past few days.

Meetings and inspections and all these other affairs. But every single time, I can say this at least for myself, every single time I step foot into that new place, I get more and more excited. It's amazing. Yes. And we, have another goal.

We have this building provided to us which is exciting, obviously. And our prayer and our desire is that we, as we enter into this new phase, would do so without any debt, any need for a loan. And so the goal for that is 1,500,000.0 and we announced this a couple weeks ago. And up to this point, we've been able to raise a $175,000, which is wonderful. We believe God's gonna come through.

And so there's still 1,325,000.000 to go. But listen, if you know the backstory of how this building was provided, that number should not intimidate us. It shouldn't. God is a God of miracles. He's already done miracles, and I believe he's gonna continue to do miracles.

So be prayerful about God providing these funds. Be prayerful and asking, Lord, how you can contribute to this financially and knowing that we are sowing into something that will last for generations should the Lord tarry. This is something beyond us. Yes. We get to benefit from it, but this is something that hopefully and prayerfully is going to go on beyond our lives and touch generations to come.

Amen? Amen. A few announcements for you. We have a, men's breakfast on March 21 at 10AM. So brothers, be mindful of that.

There's gonna be wonderful breakfast and food, fellowship, prayers, testimonies on that day. So we're looking forward to gathering together on that morning, Saturday morning at ten. Besides that, we have our, need for two ministries specifically. We have our Sunday school ministry that needs sisters to volunteer and help, carry that load of investing in our young children. So that's taking place, every Sunday and the more people we can join for that, the the better it is.

So all you have to do is send an email, go on our website mbchicago.org, contact us and say, I'd love to help in any way, in the Sunday School ministry. Beyond that, we have our hospitality ministry that, always needs people. As you know, we we do something unusual here on a weekly basis. We eat food every week almost. And, that means we get to spend more time together in this place face to face.

So if you wanna facilitate that, help foster that, also men or women, email us and ask us how you can help and we'll send that to the ministry team leaders and we will put you to work right away. And that will bless this church surely. Well, one of the reasons why finding a new building is so exciting, one of the main needs, for this new building is that Maranatha Bible Church won't stop having babies. The families are having so many babies and we have yet another baby dedication today. So I believe that we are an obedient church, and it looks like, one of the commands that we don't fail to obey is be fruitful and multiply.

And so I'm gonna ask Andrew and Karen to join us and with them. So you you need to know a little bit of history here. We have Andrew's parents here with us. And Andrew's father, Joseph Mas'ed, is a pastor in Canada. So good to see you.

Haven't seen you in years. Yes. And pastor Joseph, in his great kindness and mercy, was one of the first churches that allowed a freshly saved young adult to enter into the church and to preach to a youth group. So this is this is a pastor who opened the door for for me in many ways for ministry and I'm so grateful for that. So I'm gonna invite all of them up to join us here.

So please come on, we're gonna pray for baby Capri, the third addition to the family. Yes, Aziz, please join us as well. Hi. Yes. How comfortable is she for me to hold her?

We're gonna try? Oh, yes. I have to practice too. Right? Yeah.

Yeah. Welcome, my boy. Well, welcome. That's right. Say hi.

Say hi. You are beautiful. You're a gift from the Lord. So I'm gonna ask a few questions and, once, all you have to do is say is yes or amen, and then I'm gonna have pastor Joseph pray and then I'll follow him with with a prayer in English. Okay?

So do you both believe that Capri is a gift from the Lord Jesus, an extension of his grace into your lives? Yes. And do you promise before the Lord and God's people that you will exemplify what it means to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, to honor him, to worship him, to prioritize serving Him, especially in the local church? And do you seek to instruct Capri directly, to pray for her inner presence, to show her the wonders of God's word, and to never be ashamed of the gospel, never be ashamed or to hold back the precepts and the admonitions of the Lord directly from his word. Yes.

Amen. Alright. Let's pray. Cece, if you wanna come here and pray for it. I don't know if you wanna hold her.

Sure. Yes. Thank you. Of course. Let's pray.

My Lord, we thank you for baby Capri. We thank you for her life. We thank you that for the joy that she has brought to Andrew and Karen and her siblings. We pray that the joy of her life would extend to the church. She would be a blessing to the kingdom of God, that she would be a blessing to a world that needs more ambassadors of Christ.

May your hand of protection rest upon her. May your empowerment overshadow her. May you keep her from all evil, all temptation, all allurements, all sickness, all disease, all perversion, Lord. Keep her strong. Keep her close.

Give Andrew Karen the wisdom and the grace and the stamina to raise her and the others and bless them moving forward. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

You did great. Go back to my mind. And allow me to read a portion from Psalm one forty four that is a prayer for all of our children and all of our possessions and all of our resources and ultimately for all of our lives. In Psalm 144 verse 12, David prays, may our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace, May our granaries be full providing all kinds of produce. May our sheep bring forth thousands and 10 thousands in our fields.

May our cattle be heavy with young suffering no mishap or failure in bearing. May there be no cry of distress in our streets. Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall. Blessed are the people whose god is the lord. Amen.

Let's stand and worship the lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, Lord. We praise your name today. We thank you for gathering us in this place. Everything that we have, Lord, you have provided for so graciously, and just for us to be able to come today to worship you and to have joy in our hearts for salvation in Christ and for everything, God. We give you all the honor and glory today.

We ask, oh, Lord, as we continue now in our service that you you would continue to be with us by your Holy Spirit. We ask that as we receive your word today that it would open our eyes, it would open our ears, it would open our hearts to the truths that you are about to give us today, father, through your word. We ask, oh, lord, that your spirit would move powerfully in every heart. We wanna be changed by your very voice today, by your word, and we ask that you would conform us into the image of your son. Fill us with your strength, fill us with your joy, and we thank you and we love you, father.

We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

I gladly invite you to turn in your bibles with me to the book of Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. Many of you know this by way of experience, but the Christian life is like a marathon. And like any actual physical race, in order for there to be any hope to completing it well, there must be a preparedness of mind, an awareness that such a race will be demanding at times. In fact, if we're honest, it can become so demanding that we might even feel the temptation to quit, to quit on growing on holiness, to quit on sacrificial love, to quit on our pursuit of knowing the Lord, to quit on the local church, to quit on our ministries, and to even quit on our unashamed witness for Christ.

And the Lord is so tender. He's so kind. He's fully aware of our tendencies to dial down our convictions and our callings and so he provides us fuel for our faith. He has granted us means to know fresh oxygen to our souls. Enthusiasm in our endurance.

Strength for every stride. He has not abandoned us should those moments of weaknesses visit us. And that is what we are prepared to see here because one of the ways that God does in fact provide energy to us, hydration to our souls, is by reminding us just how blessed we are in Christ. And what we're gonna see with John in these two verses in Revelation 14 is just how rich and how great the scope of our treasures are in Jesus. And so vast are such blessings that John wants to focus on how we are even blessed in death.

That in Christ even death becomes a blessing. And my prayer is that by looking at these scriptures, each of us will know heavenly enthusiasm poured into our hearts afresh. And so let's turn here to verse 12 and verse 13 and ask the Lord after we read it for this to be our portion today. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints. Those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed says the spirit that they may rest from their labors for their deeds follow them. Father, we ask, oh, you've heard our prayers since the beginning of this service but we come yet again as we open your word and we pray how we pray for the Holy Spirit's help to understand your mind and your heart in these scriptures. May they be delivered in power. May they be received in humility.

And may you receive glory through it. We thank you and we trust that you will indeed speak to us today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Question number one.

You've been following with us hopefully through this series in Revelation carefully, patiently. And what I wanna know reading these two verses is, why is John commanded to write about this now? It seems a little bit out of place because John just finished describing a very vivid picture of the eternal torment that awaits those who deny Christ and worship the antichrist. But that is precisely the point. Right after describing the horrors and the torment and the holy wrath of God that will be poured out on those who deny his grace, we have this strong contrast between two different types of worshipers.

We have here first the distinction between those who worship the beast and those who serve Jesus Christ. And there are many many differences between the eternal fates of such worshipers but the one thing that the Holy Spirit wants to emphasize is that of rest. Scroll back to verse 11. Let's remind ourselves what was said last week. John writes, and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest.

Day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image and whoever receives the mark of its name. And in comparison as what we just read in verse 13, those who die in the Lord will have rest from their labors. So you notice what's being highlighted here that there is a rest that is eternal and unending for those who worship Christ and there is no rest for those who reject Christ. Now this message was primarily given for those who would be believers during the tribulation era, more specifically the great tribulation. And it makes sense, doesn't it?

That they would have to undergo such torment and sorrow and difficulties as they are living under the tyrannical reign of a man who demands the devotion of the masses. And so contextually, what's happening here is that the Holy Spirit wants to provide fuel to those who have to face such oppression and he grants them the fuel to remain faithful even if it means martyrdom, even if it means believing in Jesus will cost me my life. But listen, this promise here, this blessing in verse 13 is not reserved for a single future generation will have to undergo end times persecution. It's also for you and me. And the reason why we know that is because of the wider testimony of scripture concerning the believer and his or hers experience of death.

It all is confirmed here. This confirms what we see in the wider testimony of the word of God. And I believe the best way, though there are many ways to approach this one verse. Verse 13 is what we're gonna be spending time on. Is to consider at least three reasons why the Christian can know blessing in death.

Job tells us that death is the king of terrors but because of our faith in Christ, because of what Christ had accomplished on the cross, death is different now. And I want us to focus on these three things that we find in this one verse. The first thing that we have to consider is the reassurance of death. The reassurance about death. This can be so easily overlooked, but you and I can't skip over the reliable testimony of this blessing that's being pronounced.

Notice what John says. He tells us that he sees as he's experiencing this vision, a hearing of a voice. He hears a voice from heaven saying. Now the Bible doesn't tell us whose voice this is exactly, but knowing where it came from is enough for us to comfort us. It came from heaven.

Heaven. Why is that important? Well, for one, we know that heaven is a place of perfect holiness. There are no liars in heaven. There are no manipulators in heaven.

There is no exaggeration in heaven, which tells me that if there's any representative from heaven, it is going to be dependable. It's going to be true. It's going to be right. It's going to be trustworthy. But secondly, heaven is a realm beyond this world.

And what that tells us is that death ushers us into heaven if we are in Christ, which means that this announcement is coming from someone who is on the other side. Someone who is witnessing and speaking of what awaits the saints when they die in the Lord. Do you remember what the Lord Jesus told Nicodemus when he wanted to provide credibility to his teaching? When he wanted to explain why his teaching is more authoritative than any other kind of teaching. Well, let me remind you in John chapter three.

Let's turn there. Notice what Christ says to Nicodemus as he explains him of spiritual things. He pauses to inform him why he is more credible than any other voice. John chapter three. Look at verse 11 and read the blessed words of our Lord.

John three eleven reads, truly truly I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I've told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the son of man. You see the case that Christ is making here, especially in verse 13. Nicodemus, I can tell you about heavenly things because I descended from heaven.

I have experiential knowledge of heaven, therefore, I am the most qualified to speak about heavenly things. I have the greatest rabbinic credentials because heaven has been my home from eternity past. Therefore, I alone have firsthand experience of spiritual things and spiritual dimensions. I come from heaven, so listen to me. And in like manner when we consider this voice in Revelation 14 verse 13, the fact that it is speaking about the blessedness of dying from heaven gives the testimony more weight.

It's the difference between someone suggesting something without experience of it and someone who has tasted it for themselves. That is not to say that the voice that is speaking to John is someone who died, but what it does mean is that this is something and someone coming from the place that death leads to. You know, if that wasn't enough, amazingly we have a second glorious testimony to this blessedness. Go back to verse 13. What does it say?

And I heard a voice from heaven saying write this, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed says the spirit. Now the Holy Spirit interjects and he confirms this blessing. And here's what's so fascinating about this. The Holy Spirit's speech is not frequently quoted directly in the New Testament especially.

There are times in the New Testament where we read that the Spirit says, the Holy Spirit says, but to have his words actually recorded rarely occurs. In fact, the two books that have the consider the seven letters to the churches where we read at the end of every letter, he who hasn't hear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches, you only have two recorded places in the book of Revelation where the Holy Spirit is quoted directly. What we find here and what we find at the end of the book, when we read that the spirit and the bride say come, they make that invitation for those who are thirsty and desire to take the water of life without price. So consider this for a moment. We know that all of the word of God is breathed out by God.

We know that the Holy Spirit is the author of this book. But for him to speak out, for him to almost interrupt and to say something at a particular point, says something. And for him to say something at a point where a promise is being made to the saints in order to encourage them in facing death, says something about his eagerness. Does it not? The spirit himself speaks up.

So here's the author who's inspiring John to write it and he takes the time now to actually interject and make his own personal pledge in order to offer even more guarantee, a double guarantee to this single blessing. Now if you doubt that this is the interpretation of this, consider another interesting detail in that verse alone. Did you notice that this voice from heaven tells John, write this? Look again. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this.

You would think that's obvious. Why would you think that's obvious? Because the last time that John was commanded this clearly and specifically to write something, again, if you don't include what is said in the churches, is back in Revelation one. Let's remind ourselves, go back to the beginning of the book. This is John's initial commission by Jesus Christ that he faithfully honored.

Revelation one verse 11, Saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. Look at verse 19. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. Write it, John. He's told at the start and we know that he honored this command because he completed the book.

We even see a glimpse of John's faithfulness in chapter 10 where we read that he's about to write what he saw and the Lord says, okay, this you don't write about. So he had this constant posture of obedience and so it seems strange to be redundant here. It makes us wonder why are you telling someone who is faithfully doing what he was called to do from the beginning to do it here. Unless, of course, it's meant to convey the absolute importance of what's about to be said. As though this voice is saying, John, don't miss this.

You've been writing but I wanna ensure that you document this blessing for my people especially my people who are enduring great pressure for their faith in Christ. And so what I want you and I to see is the reassurance about death. You have this voice from heaven, a voice from another realm, a voice in which death will usher us into. You have the voice of the Holy Spirit. You have this eagerness, this keenness in order for us to be assured.

Consider the source of this promise. God himself wants you to know that there is blessing that awaits death. That death in Christ becomes a portal into glory. The second reason why death is a blessing for the believer is because of the rest that follows death. Isn't that what's being underscored here?

The spirit says blessed indeed, says the spirit, that they may rest from their labors. Heaven is a domain of uninterrupted, unending, marvelous, blissful rest. And the question I have is, what kind of rest are we talking about? Rest from what? We don't have to guess, he tells us.

Rest from their labors. So hold on, is heaven going to be this eternal slumber? Is it gonna be this unending idle way of life, strolling around glory doing nothing? Very unlikely. You know this very well that work was a part of the world before it was fractured by sin.

I believe that many of us are gonna be very busy in heaven. But there will be no toil, there will be no sweat on our brow. There's gonna be a lot more to do in heaven than you think. So then when he says rest from our labors, what is he implying? Well, here's where word studies help a little bit.

Labor can be more than just hard work. It can actually communicate trouble. A labor that comes through sorrow and grief. Now that makes more sense according to this context. Because again, the primary audience are those who will be alive during this great tribulation era who are trying to survive under a Christ hating regime.

And so, yes, they're maintaining their faith. They're trying to survive physically and spiritually. All the horrors that will be imposed, all the threats, all the dangers, all the loss, all the layers of problems that they will have to face. And the Holy Spirit wants to let that audience know primarily, listen, in Christ, death will be the greatest relief you will ever know. Now, most of us in here have lived long enough to know that the human experience has much trouble in it, never mind the tribulation period.

And that's why this truth applies to you and I as well. That death, although it is a a great danger and threat to many, for the believer it has a different translation. All of Satan's harassments, every single allurement of the world, all the frustration that our flesh causes us, all the the sadness and the pain from disease and sickness and the evil that people inflict on one another will suddenly come to an end. Will forever be put behind us and death will be the instrument to bring it about. Someone said something so wise about death, that because of sin, death is brought into the body.

Before the redeemed, death will cast sin out of the body. Isn't that true? There is a relief that awaits us through death. There is going to be a new dress, a new body, a new mind, a new heart, a new environment, a new world. And this is what's being offered to these believers and to us, realize this, that you and I are being called into a reality that offers rest.

Now some would take this verse and make crazy conclusions like, See this shows that when you die even if you're a Christian that you remain unconscious, That rest is synonymous with you being dormant. And you're actually gonna come alive in eternity when that final day comes and Christ summons us in the resurrection. But that's not what the bible teaches. For the spirit to say that there is rest that that awaits us assures us that we will be fully alive the moment we die. In fact, you will be more alive than ever.

And that's supposed to comfort us and more than just comfort us in our own experience with that appointment, but also brings consolation concerning those whom we love that have gone before us to rest in the Lord forever. I wanna take the time to actually address that. You know, my prayer has been leading up to this message that those who are still trying to manage the pain of losing a loved one would know relief from the truth that's about to be explained. There's so many places that we can go to bring us that kind of consolation, but let's turn to the book of Job to see it. Go to Job chapter one for a moment.

Job chapter one verse one. I'll wait for you. I don't mind listening to the pages of our Bibles flipping over in this place. It's one of my favorite sounds on Sunday afternoon. Job one verse one.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. Remember that. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. So you're in Job one.

Right? Go to the very end of the book of Job. We know the story very well, and most of us are aware that after Job endured this trial and received the fresh revelation of God's sovereignty, God blesses Job very specifically. Look at verse 10 of Job 42. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had had before.

Twice as much as what? As he had had before, what you just read in chapter one. And we're told exactly that in verse 12 of 42. Look at it with me. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, and he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

He also had seven sons and three daughters. Wait a minute. Hold on. There must be a miscalculation here. The Bible says that the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had.

So based on what we read, he doubled the sheep. Yes. He multiplied the camels. Absolutely. He doubled the yoke of oxen and he did the same with the female donkeys.

We would think then that when it came to his children that it would be consistent. That the Lord will also give him what? Well, if he had seven sons and three daughters, it's basic math, 14 sons and six daughters. But that's not what we read. Verse 13, he also had seven sons and three daughters.

Is this a mistake? Is this an error? Did he forget about the children? Not not at all. This is intentional.

And when you see something like this that seems to be a discrepancy, it invites you to lean in and ask the question, why? And when you don't have a clear answer in the immediate text, you are invited because God's word is consistent because our God is consistent. He doesn't contradict himself. To see how other truths in the bible can inform what we find here for example. If God said that he doubled the blessing that Job once had, when but when it came to his children there was no double, then what could that mean?

The best explanation for this apparent contradiction is that although Job's children tragically and suddenly died, they did not cease to live. What does the bible teach about the death of the righteous? It does not mean the cessation of life. It may mean the cessation of life in this world, but we go on living, do we not? So what do we find here?

Here's what we find. Job is told that he would be blessed. Job receives double blessing. When it came to his children, it's the same number. Why?

Because he's gonna be reunited with the first sons and daughters that he lost in chapter one. If you count them, seven sons and three daughters and here he has seven sons and three daughters, that is double the number. And that teaches us a glorious truth of what happens to those who pass on from this life to the next. Jesus said that those who believe in him, that believe he is the resurrection of the life, they will not die. Well, weren't Job's children sinners?

Read your bible carefully. When Job woke up every day to intercede for his children that visited each other on feast days, he said, it may be that they have sinned in their hearts. People have this understanding that that Job's children went on partying every single day and Job interceded for them. Job said, it may be that this it didn't say that they're guilty of sin. And here's God who pronounces his blessing over this man of God and he indirectly communicates to them.

I'll give you double of the camels, I'll give you double of the donkeys, I'll give you double of this and a double of that, but I don't need to double your children because your children are gonna be reunited with you one day. So what about your loved one in the Lord? They are more alive than you can imagine. They are more at rest than you can fathom. And there is an appropriate time for grief.

Even Jesus knowing that he was gonna raise his friend from the dead wept. There was somebody who didn't need to cry about someone's death, it was him and yet he still showed emotion because Christ hates death. Thank God through his sacrifice, he changes our experience of it but he still hates it. He will conquer that final enemy. But listen, brother and sister, if it's been three years and you can't still get out of bed, you can't go on your normal life, may God give you a revelation of the rest that your loved one is enjoying now.

May you be comforted in knowing that there is a time coming where you will be greeted by them and they will embrace you. And I'm sure whatever they are experiencing now, they wouldn't want you to waste a moment of grief because of the glory that they are basking in. Listen very carefully. You're joining them one day. This is just a temporary separation.

They're on vacation right now and they're waiting for you on the shores of eternity. And that reunion though the greatest union will be between us and Christ. There is layers of blessing to this place that death will usher us into. And one of the treasures that are there is that we will see our loved ones face to face again. And Job is just one illustration of that truth where he receives children but not in a way that replaces the ones that passed on because they are alive.

To this day, I've not been able to find any theologian or minister who is able to speak about death like the Puritans. And I wanna read to you a quote from a Puritan from the book, The Fading of the Flesh and the Flourishing of Faith. Just lean in and listen to these words. What wise man will grieve at his friends gain? In the ceremonial law, there was a year of jubilee in which every man who had lost or sold his land gained it back.

The day of death for your believing friend is his day of jubilee in which he is restored to the possession of his eternal inestimable portion. Who complains about receiving his inheritance once he comes of age? Their death is not penal but remedial. It is not destructive but perfective to their souls. It does for them what none of the ordinances of God, the providences of God or graces of the spirit ever did for them.

It sends the weary soul to its sweet and eternal rest. This serpent is turned into a rod like in Exodus four with which God works wonders for their good. Do you see the argument being made here? Who grieves at the gain that their friend experiences? If death is gained for us, then how can we sorrow over the loss of those who have gone on before us?

This thing called death and this is the analogies being used, it's like a serpent but because of God's power it's turned into a rod and then that rod is used for our good. Brothers and sisters, you and I need to constantly remind ourselves that Christ changes everything including death. And that's true for you and that is true for those who die in the Lord that you love. The second reason why we can rejoice even in the face of this terror is because there is a rest that follows it. There is a life that awaits.

Lastly, there is a reward that awaits us after death. Look again at verse 13. He says at the end here the final words of the spirit, for their deeds follow them. For their deeds follow them. You know, one of the difficulties of facing death is that it calls for separation from what we've always known.

And that separation may include permanent severance. Right? Like from your possessions and your positions in this life. Or that separation might be temporal like from our believing loved ones. But the bible reminds us in this one verse that there is something that will immediately follow us when we are summoned into that new world.

Our deeds. What you and I have done with the name and the will and the message of Jesus Christ, that comes with you and I right away. And that message, again, is primarily to comfort the Christian. Remember who John is writing to primarily. Look at verse 12.

Here's a call for the endurance of the saints. Those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. So this is meant to stimulate the faithful, the selfless, the sacrificial, those who are again paying a price to serve the Lord. And what John is saying here is also for you and I. The Lord will not forget a single deed, a single act that you've done for him.

Not one. And even if your faithfulness to Christ will cost you your life, all that you did for the Lord will be accounted for. Every single thing will be rewarded. Every single minute that was spent, every single dollar that was donated, every single mile that was driven, every single visit that you made, every soul that you served, whether small or great, will be remembered and recompensed by our God. Remind yourself of that.

Remind and exhort others about that truth because this is a truth that echoes throughout the bible that our God because of his nature, because of his grace will reward us for what we did in his name. We will celebrate for what he's done for us. None of our deeds will guarantee or even give us a chance of eternal life. It's his deeds, his words, we know this. Nevertheless, it's possible that we would grow weary and miss out on even greater experiences in the world to come because we don't consider how seriously God takes our deeds.

Turn with me to the book of Hebrews for a moment in chapter six. Hebrews six and look at verse 10. Here you have another group of Christians who are very weary. They're battered, they're bruised, they're ready to quit, they're ready to just assimilate with their Jewish culture again. If that means denying the Messiah, at least I get to go to the temple.

At least I get to be visited by my Jewish neighbors. At least I get to be integrated back into society. And the author by the Holy Spirit wants to encourage faithfulness until the end. Notice what he says here in verse 10 of Hebrews six. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do.

Most of us know this verse but I don't think many connected to the next part. Verse 11, and we desire each of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end. Many people start with enthusiasm and excitement and they lose it over time and one of the reasons is not because of temptation but because of pressure, persecution, and problems that arise because of your faith. So let me just tone it down a bit. Let me not be so public with my faith.

Let me not be so sacrificial in my service to Christ. And the author says by the spirit, don't you dare. It's possible to maintain that same earnestness until the end and that's the will of God. The nature of your service and mine might change over the years but the conviction and the passion for it shouldn't. And that should encourage us to keep going.

By the way, notice the greatest motivation in serving the saints. You know, one of the reasons why I believe the author is saying this is because as we go on serving the Lord, we tend to lose the encouragement for it because we feel overlooked and even Christians can overlook us. Right? Especially for those who are working in the background, who keep things running but nobody sees it. Because most people see what's happening here and most people applaud what's happening here.

And the author wants to say, hey listen, people may overlook you, even Christians may overlook you, elders may overlook you. God does not overlook you. His character is at stake. His nature is at stake. He is just and if he were to forget, he would be unjust and he will never be unjust.

But notice, there's there's the greatest motivation intertwined in this promise. What does he say here? Look at the language carefully. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name. The love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints.

You wanna know how to continue serving the saints? Because the saints alone will give you a lot of reasons not to continue to serve them. It's love for his name. Your love for his name will help you love others even when they are unlovable at times. And so you see what God is saying here.

There's this there's this push and there's this drive, love for his name. And and God so loves you that you will have a conversation one day with him about what you did for him and he has blessings awaiting. He has treasures in mind. And so the spirit of God in Revelation fourteen thirteen says, there is a reward that awaits. And death is the means by which we get to inherit them and no one will take them away from us.

They will never rot. They can never be stolen. They'll be yours. Let's end them with one final verse. Do you remember the prophet Balaam?

He wasn't a good prophet. He was a false prophet. He said something amazing in his first oracle when he was hired by Balak to pronounce curses toward the people of Israel while they were wandering through the wilderness. And God in his sovereignty turns those curses into blessings, but from time to time, Balaam also received revelation of Christ and those who belong to Christ. And here's one instance of that.

Turn to numbers 23 and look here at one single verse, verse 10. Balaam. The New Testament doesn't speak very kindly of Balaam. Balaam is a picture of a false teacher, of a wicked man, of a covetous man, and he's a real man. Notice what he says here in numbers 23 verse 10.

Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright and let my end be like his. Do you see that? Balaam, as he is giving these oracles, as he is receiving downloads from God, catches a glimpse of the death of the upright. And he sees something about the end of those who are righteous and he can't help but exclaim, oh, that my end might be like his.

That I might share in that same faith. Makes you wonder that Balaam have a revelation of the reassurance of death and about death? The rest that follows death? The rewards that await us after death? But you know what shocks me the most about Balaam's experience here?

It's not that he got a revelation of it, it's that he desired it. This is an evil man. This is a sorcerer. And yet he can't help but say, I want that. But he never realized it.

Because when you continue numbers, especially in chapter 31, Balaam will be killed. Balaam will be killed because of God's judgment. Balaam never experienced the death of the upright and yet he desired it. Desires are tricky things. People can desire righteousness and holiness and they can even desire Christ and never own it, never possess it, in fact, die without it.

And it's possible for you and I to listen to a message like we just heard in the last forty minutes or so and be moved by these truths and these insights. Job and the eagerness and the keenness of the spirit and heaven comforting Christians is I I want that and never realize it. Do you know why Balaam never realized it even though he desired it? Because he longed for the death of the upright, but he didn't want to live the life of the upright. Do you know why Balaam never got the chance to even live the life of the upright?

Because he loved money. That's why. Money was his God. He obeyed money instead of Yahweh. He lived for money instead of God.

He submitted to the impulses and the inspirations of money instead of the will of God. You want to die the death of the righteous? Number one, you have to surrender your life to the righteous one. Living the life of the upright doesn't mean that you pull your bootstraps and become more moral and become more clean in your living and integral at your workplace and pure in your sexuality. That's pride to think that you can attain your own righteousness.

It primarily means that you surrender to an alien righteousness and a righteousness outside of yourself where you surrender your garments and you say clothe me in the righteousness of Christ. Let him be my canopy and be my banner. I wanna live under his grace and mercy. I receive his gift of salvation. And then from there, the righteousness that's imputed onto you inspires you to now live righteous for him.

This is Christian righteousness. Not that we reach out to try to please God, but that we bend the knee and surrender to what God had done in Christ on our behalf and then from there you lift from out of the place of gratitude and grace. Big difference. And my question for you today is how confident are you for your appointment with death? Because no matter how advanced we become in this society, in our cultures, in our civilization, we still haven't figured out this death problem.

Oh sure, you can take a little bit more vitamins and go to the gym and live a bit bit longer, but even guys who do that sometimes die tragically. It doesn't matter what we invent or what we come up with or what things we discover in science, we can't seem to break free from our individual appointment with death. And with all the studies that we're trying to come up with and all the ideas that philosophers have been able to conjure up, only the bible has the most articulate and accurate data concerning death. It's not going anywhere. It's not going anywhere because we brought death into this world through our sin.

And the only time death will be dealt with is when Christ comes back and fixes everything. It's inescapable. And my my wish really, my prayer is that more churches would remind the people of God of death. Not from a morbid place. Because the world is constantly telling you and I of how to make the most of this life and how you can live forever and how you can enjoy this as though there's nothing else after this.

And it's God's house that has to regularly remind us, listen, this isn't it. You're gonna leave behind everything. That house that you're building, that bank account that you're trying to stuff with more money, those relationships even that you're building to a certain degree, all of this is gonna be left behind. And the only thing that's gonna matter with your final breath is, did I put my faith and trust in Jesus? Did I walk with him in this life?

Am I gonna stand before Christ as a stranger or as a familiar friend? Am I gonna be ashamed at his appearing or will I sing? And it's the preacher's duty to do exactly what's taking place here to ensure not to just give you life hacks, not to just make your family a little bit more comfortable, how to overcome this and there is a place for that, yes. But from time to time, oh, we need to remember about eternity. And not just the people of God, but people who stumble into this place who don't know Christ.

And like Balaam, you like listening to sermons, but you don't know the one that we're speaking about. You like the songs, they're nice. They have a nice tune. I like the lyrics. They make me feel a certain way.

Who cares about the feelings? What's going on with your faith? Where's your confidence? Where's your conviction? Where's the assurance?

I come here because I know the one that the preacher is talking about. I come here because I'm singing to the one that I have a living vibrant relationship with. And so today can be the day where even your interest, your curiosity, your attraction to Christian realities can become true for you. And the only way that can happen is if you humble yourself in the presence of God and say, oh God, forgive me for my sins. I repent.

I believe that what you did on the cross, you did for me. I believe that there's no other way that I can have heaven and the rest that it offers and the lords that await unless I put my complete trust and confidence in you. I believe that I will only have the chance to stand before you because of what Christ did for me and stood in the gap for me. Would you do that today? Would you go from desire to devotion today?

Christ is waiting. Let's seek him. Here is a call for the endurance of those who obey the commandments of God and have faith in Jesus. We pray, Lord, that you would give us more energy, more efficiency, more enthusiasm to serve you as we are reminded of death. Thank you that you reassure us that it is a blessing.

Thank you that you promise us that there is a rest that we will enjoy forever. Thank you that though undeserving, there will be rewards for what we've done in your name. And, Lord, if there's any Balaam's listening to this now, we pray that they would go beyond desire, but that by your spirit you would draw them to yourself into saving faith. Lord, we sing because you have informed us of the glories of the gospel, that in Christ you not only change us now, but you change what we will experience at the end of our lives. For this, we are thankful.

We bless you and worship you now in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand and let's worship the Lord for the gift that we have in Jesus.

When Christ, our life appears, our hope will be complete. Our longings the rest, as we fall at his feet. When Jesus comes to reign, restoring everything, our tears will turn to tides of praises who are

So perhaps you heard the story of a father and his son driving in a car on a beautiful warm, sunny afternoon in the summer. And while the wind was coming in, they reached the intersection and all of a sudden a bee enters into the car. And they continue to drive, and as they're driving, the the sun is in absolute disarray, panicking and shrieking and even crying because he he's allergic to bees. And after a few seconds, the father grabs the bee with his hand and a couple seconds later let lets go of it again. And whatever reprieve that boy felt after the son grabbed that bee was interrupted, and he resumed in his panic again.

And shrieking and crying and screaming, and finally, the father looked over to his son and says, you don't need to be afraid. And the boy tried to explain to his dad, how did you forget? I'm allergic to bees. This bee is still here. I can hear it buzzing.

And quietly, with the left hand on the steering wheel, the father opens his right hand and he reveals that the sting was in his hand. And as the boy tried to make sense of it with his tear stained eyes, he realized that that bee was no longer a threat. He was still in the car making noise and buzzing, but the father showed him that he took the sting. Death has been swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory?

Oh death, where is your sting? There might be a natural fear towards death. There might be, from time to time, the visitation of terror contemplating our mortality, but there is no sting. There is no power. It cannot claim you if you are in Christ.

He took the sting. He paid the price, and he changes it into a portal into eternal glory for us. Lord, we thank you that your victory is so great that it rewrites all of our stories forever. And we pray for the one here who may even be a believer but fears death, that the truths that they heard today would change their perspective into worship. We pray for the one here who doesn't have confidence to face death or eternity, and today would be the day where they bow their knee to Christ and know the joy of abundant life now and everlasting life to come.

Thank you for making us more than conquerors in Christ. May we remember this going into this new week. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. May our victorious and glorious Lord Jesus Christ go before you.

Please stay with us and enjoy fellowship downstairs. We hope to see you next week. God bless you. Take care.