Bold for Christ 6

 Losing your life

Today we will wrap up our series entitled “Bold for Christ.” We already covered

Bold for Christ. Losing a Job. God supplies your needs.
Bold for Christ. Losing loved ones. Anyone who does will receive many more.
Bold for Christ. Losing property. Anyone who does will receive many more.
Bold for Christ. Losing your freedom. You are truly free in Christ.

Today? Today may be a tough one. But even this, should not be.

Bold for Christ. Losing your very life.

Death is not something to be feared. At least not for children of the Most High. Life on earth is like everything else on earth. Life on earth is temporary. It lasts but a time, and then it is on to the next stage of existence. Death is as natural as birth. It is as natural as life itself. It will come for all living things.

I understand that many fear death. It is natural to fear the unknown. But it doesn't have to be the unknown. As a child of God, you know what to expect. You should understand that it is not a punishment when that time comes for you. It is not a horrific event. It comes because it must.

If you have your Bible, turn to Ecclesiastes 3, starting at verse 1

“For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up, a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Read that one part again. “A time to be born, and a time to die.” In other words, death will come. There is an appointed time. We all must face our immortality in this temporal world. I truly believe that we fear this because of uncertainty. We fear what comes next. However, we do not have to. Why? Yeshua or as translated, Jesus, tells us what comes next. Turn to John 14, also starting at verse 1

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that is where I am, and you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." John 14:1-3

Revelations 21 tells us what the capital, if you will, of the new earth will look like.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

This will happen. EVERYTHING you know, some of which you may very well love, will “pass away.” But look what is coming.

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also, he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

This is for you child of God. However, this will not be everyone.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." Revelation 21:1-8

Again. This WILL happen. Not maybe. Not could. Not what if? It is not a matter of if, but when. Want to know more? Read on and you will see pure beauty that cannot even be comprehended

“Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a rarest jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed-- on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city does not need a sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelations 21:9-27

Now this is after the Tribulation, the end time. But I want you to think about this. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." And "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Imagine that. It is a far better place to go, than the one where we live. A place where God Himself will wipe away our tears. A place where there will be no more sorrow, pain, sickness, or death itself.

You see, it is appointed to man {Humans} to die twice. Yup. Twice. The first is a physical death. The body will die. As stated in Ecclesiastes 3: 2

“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”

The second is a spiritual death. The old man is put away. In Revelations, it declares this.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

This is the aftermath of the White Throne Judgement. Turn to Revelations 20 verse 11

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, the earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15

So let's look at the two deaths. And how do you get your name written in the Book of Life? The first is obvious. A physical death. The body fades away from dust to dust. Every living thing faces this death. The second is spiritual.

You must remember, that because of one man, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are born into sin. We are born into the family of the devil. We are not all children of God. We are all God's creations. But not all Children. It is just this simple.

“that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order for the world to be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:15-18

It really cannot be simpler to understand than that.

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12

It does not matter one iota what “religion” you claim, or how educated you may be. It does not matter how much money you have. Even who you know. The ONLY way to Heaven and the ONLY way to salvation is Yeshua. Jesus’s sacrifice for the payment for your sins.

Remember what Yeshua said to the Priests and Rulers of the Synagogue in His time on earth? He never minced words. He never left it open for misunderstanding. Nor interpretation. 

“They answered him, "Abraham is our father."

They said we are the holy ones. We are the ones who know God and we are the true chosen by God. What did He respond with?

“Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the work your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father--even God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my words.”

They simply were not hearing Him. Rather they did not accept what He was saying. So He made it plain and crystal clear.

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." John 8:39-47

Just because they were religious, doesn't mean they were saved. That doesn't mean that they were children of God. He called them the children of the Devil. The only way you can become a child of God is through the adoption of the Spirit.

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:16-17

Only then can you be called a child of God. Only then can you be free from the fear of death, because it is at that moment that you will understand that your destination after leaving this earth is far better than what you are leaving behind.

Now we have said all that to say this. Why fear those who could make this happen? Those who can kill the body?

"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

What about those who hate God and His Word so much that they are willing to murder you for it?

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:26-28

Death is not to be feared. Dare I say, to me, it is something to actually look forward to. Think about it. Someone ends your life here and you wake up standing before God and hopefully, He says

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:21

Be bold for Christ. Even if it means you will meet Him in person, face to face. Are you a child of God? Can you be bold for Christ? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"

That's it. It is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10


The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and the peace of our Lord Yeshua, be with you all. May God bless and be with you, always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!