The Gospel and Death

Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome to St Paul's. My name's Steve. I know I met you before. I'm a senior pastor here at St Paul's.

! Let me just add my welcome to that of Nick, whether you're here in the building or online, but also want to welcome specifically Craig Farmer into our building this morning.

Craig, for those of you who are not aware, Parish Council has engaged Craig to help us as a church family to discern where God is leading us into the next phase of our life and ministry together

as we see Chatswood and beyond to treasure Jesus for their joy. And so Craig is here and he is going to start today with some focus groups that you've been invited into to hear from you.

We want to hear from you about that process. So welcome, Craig, as part of today and thank you for your contribution to our church life beyond this day.

If you are just joined in amongst us as well, as we have just heard from Nick, we are in 1 Thessalonians.

If you've got a Bible, I'd be grateful for you to open it. If you don't, there are versions available around here for you.

But what I'm going to be saying will be on the screen or in a printout in front of you.

Where we're up to in 1 Thessalonians is the Apostle Paul is now encouraging people, the Thessalonians,

to live lives worthy of God, that is to live lives pleasing God.

And the foundation of that is what he has already said in the first couple of chapters of 1 Thessalonians,

and that is that you, in the gospel of the Lord Jesus, have the pleasure of God already imparted to you,

which is why you can live to please God, because you've already received the pleasure of God in Jesus.

And so last week, we started that process of what it means to live pleasing to God.

And Paul picked up on, he's really focusing in chapter 4 on three major areas that are a major preoccupation for all of humanity,

and that is sex, work, vocation, if you like, and number three, death.

And I said, the first two are the ones that you want me to spend more time on.

I'm going to be really brief with those.

I'm going to focus more time on today.

And death, the thing you don't want me to talk about.

So we're going to spend our time talking about death.

Let's pray.

Gracious God, we are thankful for the hope of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,

that he who died and rose again, that we who believe in him might have his life imparted to us,

so that death has no more sting.

It has no more mastery over us.

We pray that this hope would fill our hearts today,

and it would be a hope that would overflow into this city.

And we ask it for your glory.

Amen.

Mark Ashton was a minister in Cambridge in England.

At the age of 62, he was diagnosed with inoperable gallbladder cancer.

He wrote a book about his journey towards Jesus.

Oh, sorry, his journey with Jesus in the final 15 months of his life.

His joy in Jesus, in fact, in those 15 months were profound.

He showed an enormous deal of confidence

and even anticipation of his impending death in those months,

despite a keen recognition of the grief and the sadness

of not just his church family, but his family and friends and so on and so forth.

A very keen recognition of that grief,

accompanied with a deep sense of joy and contentment at the same time.

So over those last 15 months of his life,

he talked with virtually everyone he met about his coming death,

with ease, with elegance, and with a great deal of poise.

And this unnerved so many people.

He found not only...

People found not only his attitude,

but even his presence difficult to take.

For instance, he tells the story in the book,

one day getting his hair cut.

And he was asked by the young lady who regularly cut his hair,

you know, how he was.

And he replied,

well, actually, I've only got a few more months to live.

And he said,

in that moment,

the ordinary pleasantness of the salon

just stopped.

The friendliness, the chatting just stopped.

Not just with him,

but everyone else in the room at the same time.

And he said,

no matter how much he tried to talk to the hairdresser,

not about death,

but about anything,

he could not get another word out of her

for the rest of the haircut.

At all.

And yet,

as he said,

the great irony of it all is,

it's...

Death's not something that any of us can avoid

in any way.

It's been said that all the wars,

all the plagues

have never actually raised the death toll.

It's still one for one ratio.

Death makes a claim

on each and every one of us,

and it pursues us relentlessly

throughout all of our days.

And yet,

we,

this generation,

this modern generation,

seems to be far less prepared

for it

than our ancestors were.

not even able to talk about it

in our society.

You see,

we know intellectually and rationally

that we can't beat the statistics.

But deep down,

we sort of repress it.

And we kind of act day by day

as if somehow we can

or that we will.

And rather than accept it

and prepare for the inevitable,

we only avert it.

We deny it.

And so,

in our modern society,

death has replaced sex

as the unmentionable topic

in polite company.

So,

three points today.

They're on the St. Paul's app

if you've got that,

if you want to take notes along the way.

But fearing death,

death to death,

and living with death.

So,

verse 13,

fear of death.

Brothers and sisters,

we don't want you

to be uninformed

about those who sleep in death

so that you do not grieve

like the rest of mankind

who have no hope.

Death,

as I've said,

it's that universal problem.

Everybody struggles with it.

And there are traditionally two ways

that we struggle

with the fear of death.

There's the Stoic way,

which the Stoic way

acknowledges death

as something that's terrible,

something that is awful.

There's a normal reaction

of anger and grief with death.

death.

But the way to handle that

is to acknowledge it,

but then shut it down.

Shut down the emotions

associated with it.

Even talking to someone recently

about their banter

with someone about death,

talked about not going to be here

much longer.

And you can't talk like that.

You shouldn't talk like that

at all.

The number of times

as a pastor,

I've sat with people

who are dying

or visiting them in hospital,

and one of the questions

I've always asked is,

have you talked about

your impending death

with your loved ones?

The vast majority say no.

No.

Don't know how to do that.

That's the stoic way.

Acknowledge it's awful.

Suppress it.

Don't give in to the emotions.

Be strong.

Because nothing good

will come out of grief.

That's the assumption

behind it all.

The more recent approach

in our modern world

is to handle

the inevitability of death,

particularly in the secular age,

is to deny anything

about death

that is in fact

terrible,

horrible.

So one acknowledges grief

and it's awful,

just don't

deal with the emotions

associated with it,

don't grieve it.

Over here

is the other one

that says

there's nothing really

that bad about it.

and this approach

sees that death

is just simply

the natural process

of the cycle of life.

It's just the next,

it's just the next step.

You can go into funeral homes

!

And grab the material

off their shelf

as to how do we

understand death?

It's just natural.

It's just the next phase

of life.

It's part of the life cycle

where you will simply

slip into a state

of non-being.

It's natural,

nothing to fear.

And in your death

you help others live

by becoming worm food

as Shakespeare said

in Hamlet.

I think,

sorry for the Shakespearean people,

out there,

it sounded impressive

though,

didn't it?

You just become worm food

and so you're helping

the flowers grow.

Secularism says

there's no God,

there's no soul,

there's nothing

of the supernatural.

Life is constrained

to this early life

and so instead

of fearing death,

which you can't control,

ensure that the life

that you do have,

you live it

to your fullest

because there's nothing

beyond it.

So you do whatever

it takes to live now.

Discover whatever it is

that gives you meaning,

purpose,

and go for it.

Just don't think about death.

And the problem with that philosophy

of life

is that everything

that you think

will give you meaning,

everything that will give you

hope and joy

and happiness

in this life,

death takes it all away.

It removes it all.

It's all gone.

Whatever we build

our lives on

in this short

season of life,

death destroys it all,

makes a mockery

of it all.

If the greatest joy

in your life

is relationships,

loving relationships,

then death

strips you

away of all of that.

Bit by bit,

death will strip you

of all of your loved ones

and eventually

will strip your loved ones

of you.

It destroys everything

meaningful in life.

The great irony

of the secularist

who says,

I do not fear death.

The irony of that statement

is that if you really

understand what you've just said,

you've just said,

I do not love life.

I do not love

what I have in life

right now.

The other reason

we should fear death

is because we don't know

what happens after death.

You see,

it is an enormous

leap of faith

to say that we just

slip into a

non-conscious state.

That's an enormous

leap of faith.

No one knows

that to be true.

There hasn't been

a culture in history

that has approached

death

so

shallowly

and given its people

so little tools

to handle

the inevitability

of death

as our modern

secular age.

to say death

is just natural,

is to harden

and perhaps

even to kill

a part

of the heart's

hope

that makes

us human.

No animal

thinks about death.

death.

We know

deep down

that we are

not just

trees

or grass.

We know

something

deep down

that says

that we were

created to last.

We don't

ever want

to be just

fleeting

to be

inconsequential.

and the

deepest

desire

of our

hearts

is for

a love

that

actually

lasts.

And

death

is not

the way

it ought

to be.

It's

abnormal.

Death

is not

natural.

It is not

a friend.

It is not

right.

And so

Paul says

here

grieve

cry

but with

hope.

And I

would say

that these

verses here

that we have

in front of us

this morning

and the

Christian hope

that sits

in these

verses

we have

in the

Christian

faith

the resource

that all

of humanity

needs

to face

death

and therefore

how to live

well.

this is

if you

like

the

greatest

contribution

that we

can make

to Chatswood

to our

neighbours.

Verse 13

again

Paul writes

so that

you do

not

grieve

like the

rest of

mankind

who have

no hope.

It's a

double

negative

which

basically

what he's

saying

quite

literally

to grieve

hopefully

he doesn't

say

instead of

grieving

I want

you to

have

hope

nor does

he say

there's

no real

hope

so just

grieve

he says

Christians

can and

must

both

grieve

profoundly

and fully

because

death

is wrong

it is

unnatural

and yet

do it

with

such

hope

because

grief

while

good

unfortunately

can

turn

into

bitterness

it can

darken

your life

it can

stifle

your joy

if grief

takes over

without

hope

now

let me

just

jump

back

in the

New

Testament

to

John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

we have

the

greatest

example

of

how to

grieve

hopefully

and it's

in

Jesus

when he

goes

to

his

mate

Lazarus

who's

just

died

in

John

11

notice

in

there

you won't

notice it

because

you haven't

got you

to read

it

but

in

John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

Jesus

does

not

come

up

to

Lazarus

sisters

Mary

and

Martha

his

bereaved

sisters

who

were

grieving

and

he

doesn't

say

to

them

they're

there

stiff

upper

lip

chin

up

be

strong

he

didn't

do

any

of

that

at

all

he

did

bring

words

of

comfort

to

them

he

did

speak

to

them

he

did

bring

words

of

comfort

that

I

am

the

resurrection

and

the

life

it was

something

they

looked

forward

to

he

reminded

them

that

Lazarus

will

rise

again

but

that's

not

all

that

happened

here

we

are

told

in

the

shortest

verse

in

the

Bible

in

verse

35

John

Jesus

wept

he

he

was

deeply

grieved

deeply

grieved

!

as he

sees the

grief of

the people

weeping

over

Lazarus

and the

fact that

he lost

one of

his

mates

so

think

about

this

think

about

here

is

Jesus

the

son

of

God

who

knew

quite

well

in

that

moment

when

he

weeps

that

he

is

about

to

do

a

great

miracle

and

raise

Lazarus

from

the

dead

and

he

weeps

would

he

not

have

come

in

to

Mary

and

Martha

and

gone

chin

up

just

follow

me

I'll

show

you

something

there's

good

news

here

no

need

to

grieve

I

know

it's

sad

but

just

wait

hang

on

something

big's

about

to

happen

he

weeps

and

he

calls

the

Thessalonians

and

us

to

grieve

likewise

but

to

do

it

hopefully

and

that's

the

next

bit

in

verse

the

death

to

death

the

key

to

all

of

this

is

in

verse

14

we

believe

that

Jesus

died

and

rose

again

that's

the

key

benefit

of

the

Christian

faith

if

I

could

be

so

bold

is

that

Jesus

defeated

death

that

is

if

death

is

our

greatest

fear

so

much

so

that

we

can't

even

handle

talking

about

it

and

we

spend

our

lives

avoiding

it

then

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

is

what

we

hold

out

to

a

community

as

we

treasure

Jesus

together

and

we

do

it

for

their

joy

this

is

the

greatest

thing

that we

have

to

offer

them

one of

the

interesting

things

about

the

John

11

passage

is

that

Jesus

didn't

go

home

if

you've

not

had

the

experience

of

a

funeral

nowadays

so

many

funeral

services

nowadays

never

get

done

in the

presence

of a

coffin

they're

not

actually

funeral

the

preference

nowadays

is

memorial

service

so

many

times

I

have

I

have

literally

laid

a

person

to

rest

in

the

presence

of

no

one

we've

done

the

memorial

service

and

it's

just

me

a

funeral

director

and a

coffin

to lay

that

body

to rest

because

we

cannot

cope

in

the

face

of

death

and

so

this

is

interesting

because

Jesus

arrives

he

weeps

with

Mary

and

Martha

and

then

he

does

the

unthinkable

what

does

he

do

he

heads

to

the

tomb

who

does

that

he

heads

to

the

tomb

and

as

Jesus

goes

to

the

tomb

we

are

told

twice

in

chapter

11

that

Jesus

is

deeply

moved

deeply

moved

and

when

we

read

that

we

assume

that

well

you know

the

whole

emotion

of

everything

he's

weeping

he's

grieving

and

yet

that's

not

what

that

statement

deeply

moved

means

it

doesn't

mean

that

he's

weeping

it

doesn't

mean

that

he's

grieving

quite

literally

the words

deeply

moved

there

in the

original

language

mean

he was

snorting

with

rage

as he

walked

to the

tomb

snorting

he was

roaring

towards

the tomb

with

anger

death

how

could

the

creator

of

the

world

be

angry

at

something

that

was

natural

in

his

world

only

if

death

is

not

natural

it

is

an

intruder

into

his

world

death

was

not

the

original

design

of

God

for

human

life

we

see

that

right

at

the

beginning

of

the

Bible

Genesis

1

and

3

tells

us

that

we

were

never

meant

to

die

we

were

meant

to

last

we

were

meant

to

get

more

and

more

beautiful

as

time

goes

on

not

more

and

more

debilitated

we

meant

to

get

stronger

not

weakened

and

die

Romans

Romans 8:18

8

verses

18

and

23

says

that

when

we

turn

from

God

to

find

for

ourselves

our

own

meaning

our

own

ruler

to

become

our

own

rescuers

everything

in

the

God's

created

order

broke

the

natural

created

order

our

bodies

our

hearts

our

life

nothing

works

as it

was

originally

designed

by God

to be

everything

is marred

everything

is distorted

everything

is broken

death

is not

just

our

enemy

death

is our

executioner

because

it is

the

punishment

that

humanity

deserves

for

rejecting

the

author

of

life

and

Jesus

grieves

!

as he

witnesses

the

intruder

playing

havoc

with

his

people

and

he

is

angry

at

the

monstrosity

of

death

it

is

the

deepest

distortion

of

the

creation

that

he

loves

it

is

hideous

it

is

frightening

it

is

cruel

and

it

is

unusual

it

is

not

the

way

life

was

meant

to

be

and

our

grief

while

we

may

not

express

it

publicly

our

grief

that

is

there

that

we

carry

in

the

depths

of

our

being

acknowledges

death

as

just

that

and

Jesus

weeps

as he

sees

and

experiences

the

destruction

of

death

and

he

storms

with

anger

towards

Lazarus

tomb

and

Jesus

knew

in

that

moment

something

that

no one

else

knew

in

that

moment

and

yes

they did

not know

that he

was going

to raise

him

from

the

dead

they

did

not

know

that

but

there

was

something

else

that

no

one

else

could

predict

in

that

moment

as

he

went

to

the

tomb

we

get a

glimpse

of it

right at

the end

of John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

when

Jesus

raises

his

mate

Lazarus

from

the

dead

and

people

are

rejoicing

except

not

everyone

is

the

enemies

of

Jesus

when

they

saw

Lazarus

alive

after

being

dead

for

four

days

that

was

the

signal

for

them

well

that's

it

we

now

have

to

kill

Jesus

that

was

the

signal

for

them

we

now

have

to

kill

Jesus

you

see

what

Jesus

knew

as

he

stormed

with

anger

towards

Lazarus

tomb

was

that

for

him

to

bring

joy

to

Lazarus

family

and

friends

to

bring

Lazarus

out

of

the

tomb

was

for

him

to

be

put

into

the

tomb

that's

what

he

knew

in

that

moment

the

only

way

he

could

give

Lazarus

life

was

ultimately

for

him

to

give

up

his

the

only

way

to

get

him

out

of

that

tomb

was

for

him

to

be

put

into

the

tomb

if

he

is

to

guarantee

the

resurrection

for

all

who

believe

in

him

he

must

succumb

to

the

great

enemy

and

executioner

of

humanity

and

put

himself

in

the

grave

that

is

Jesus

Christ

the

eternal

son

of

God

who

always

existed

came

into

his

broken

creation

and

he

chose

death

he

was

born

to

die

on

the

cross

he

died

as

our

substitute

for

our

sin

against

God

he

lived

the

life

that

we

should

have

lived

and

he

died

the

death

that

we

should

have

died

he

faced

our

greatest

enemy

and

executioner

and

he

was

the

victor

every

Easter

day

we

celebrate

that

he

walked

out

of

that

tomb

on

the

third

day

triumphant

over

death

triumphant

over

sin

and

Paul

is here

reminding

the

Thessalonians

that

because of

Jesus

death

and

resurrection

those

who

believe

in

him

those

who

put

their

trust

in

him

are

released

from

sin

and

death

and

they

share

in

his

resurrection

in

such

a

way

death

no

longer

has

its

sting

and

so

if

you

are

someone

who

right

at

this

point

do

not

trust

in

the

Lord

Jesus

at

all

if

you're

online

or in

the

building

I'm

not

asking

whether

you think

I'm

asking

whether

or not

you've

embraced

Jesus

as

your

life

take

the

decision

today

to

die

to

yourself

and

surrender

to

Jesus

and

put

all

of

your

hope

in

him

I'd

be

delighted

to

talk

to

you

about

that

after

service

or

in

the

coming

days

or

weeks

or

whatever

it

is

do

not

let

this

moment

if

you

felt

anything

in

your

heart

go

ping

do

not

let

this

moment

pass

do

not

be

distracted

!

from

it

at

all

so

Paul

is

encouraging

!

these

Thessalonians

how

therefore

to

live

in

the

face

of

their

impending

death

how

to

live

with

death

so

that's

my

last

point

he's

really

trying

to

encourage

these

Thessalonians

clearly

some of

their

members

of

their

church

in

such

a

short

time

have

died

they're

worried

about

them

what

does

it

mean

does

that

mean

they

miss

out

of

the

hope

that

is

in

Jesus

and

he

points

them

the

hope

of

the

gospel

and

then

he

adds

right

the

word

encourage

is

an

active

word

it

doesn't

simply

mean

to

call

them

to

take

heart

and

to

have

some

perspective

on

their

life

and

death

what

he's

written

here

is

not

to

even

to

feed

some