BEAUTY AND BENEFITS OF DEATH

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better…. Philippians 1:20-23

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” – Philippians 1:21.

One day LIFE and DEATH came into contact with each other. LIFE asked DEATH, “Why do people love me, but hate you?” DEATH looked at LIFE, laughed and responded: “Because you are a beautiful lie, but I am the painful truth.”   

Everyone of us here today love life, but hate death. Whenever and wherever death strikes we weep and wail, calling Mr. Death all manner of unprintable names. I do not like death because he is wicked and lacks compassion.

A story was told of how death became uncompassionate: One day God sent Death on a mission to pluck the life of an elderly man. When he arrived, the people wailed and pleaded asking him to allow the old man to at least enjoy the fruits of his labours having suffered to raise his children. Death listened and went back and reported to God. Another day, he was sent to pluck the life of a young person. When he arrived, the people cried and pleaded, asking him to be compassionate having seen that this young person was still full of life and should be allowed to enjoy life a little more. As before, Death listened and went back. This scenario kept playing until one day God asked Death to draw near because He had a message for him. When Death came, God pierced through the eyes of Mr. Death and blinded him. He also dug His fingers into his ear drums causing him to become deaf. Therefore, whenever and wherever Death arrives, and whoever he lays his hands on, no matter how much we cry and plead, Death would not listen.

At Philippians 1:21 Apostle Paul enthused, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

    

Each time I read this passage or hear it read, I always ask myself, “What gain is there in death?”

Without mincing words, I affirm that Death is both beautiful and beneficial. Without death, earth would be a terrible place to live in. Imagine living with all the Adolph Hitlers, Idi Amins, Osama Bin Ladens, Sani Abachas’ etcetera of this world. Earth would be a living Hell. This is why Hell is a terrible place for anyone who goes there because in Hell you would not find one single good person. Unlike Heaven, there will be no single unrighteous person there.     

If there is no death, Mama whom we have gathered today to bid farewell to would still be racked by the sickness that took her life. My own mother died of stroke almost five years ago. If not for death, she would still have been plagued by that terrible malady.

Earthly life is a journey which terminates at physical death, but continues in another conscious realm of existence in eternity. Man is a being whose origin transcends time. He is created in eternity, born in time and returns back to eternity. Time is the period of tests and transition in which the soul’s Heaven’s worthiness is ascertained or its unworthiness revealed.

Death is not the end of man, but the unclothing of mortality and encasement of immortality in eternity’s two great divides of either joy or sorrow bespeaking of the need for man to carefully moderate his activities in this realm, aware that the good or ill that defines his activities are what determines his place in eternity. Those who are wise use time to prepare for eternity, not to jeopardize it.     

In Divine order of things, man is to be born and man is to die (Ecclesiastes 3:1). His days are numbered, so much so that not even one day of his life will be extended (Job 14:5). For every birth, there is a death.

Death is not the end of life in its entirety. It is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another chapter in another continuous conscious existence.

HOW IS DEATH GAIN?

1. Death is a Cleanser

a.     This is in consonance with the natural order of things. It clears off the old to make room for the young.

b.    If there is no death, there will be no birth. In my community, there was a time when the community was losing too many of her indigenes to death. So, a “powerful” juju man was commissioned to prepare a strong medicine that would stop death. He did. For years no one died, but no child was born! The medicine had to be destroyed. People began to die and births were recorded.

2. Death is Rest (Revelations 14:13)

    a. Imagine what would have happened if we are to live

forever in a world tainted by sin – what would happen to our pains and sicknesses? At death, all these are terminated.  

b. To Christians, death is rest. Revelations 14:13 says:

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:’ Yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”   

3. Death Unravels the Treasure God has in Store For

    us (I Corinthians 2:9)

a.     To unravel what God has laid in store for each of us requires that we should first die to be able to access them. I Corinthians 2:9 says:

But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

b.Jesus envisages our individual death when He said:

“Do not let your heart be troubled: in My Father’s House there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you that where I am there you will also be.”(John 14:1-3).  

c.     Any time any of us dies, Jesus has come to take such to be with Him in that Holiday of Glory. Luke 16:22 says,

“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom....”

4. Death is the only passage to Heaven.

   a. It was Peter Tosh who sang, “People want to get to Heaven, but no

       one wants to die.”

b.    Righteous people are not afraid to die, but unrighteous people do. Righteous people look forward to dying because they know that death is the only avenue through which they will enjoy eternity with God in Heaven. At Numbers 23:10, Prophet Balaam said:

Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

c.     Truly, righteous people know that what they experience when they “die” is nothing but the “Shadow of death” (Psalms 23:7). Those who suffer Death in the real sense of the word are the unrighteous.    

   

 5. Death is a Leveler.

    At death, a poor man in time can become a wealthy man of eternity while the wealthy man in time can become the poor man of eternity (Luke 16:19-31).   

   6. Death Wipes Away our Physical Deficiencies and

       Enables us to Put on New Natures

a.     At death, we exchange mortality for immortality. I Corinthians 15:53-55 says:

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

b.    When I die, my physical disabilities will become a thing of the past.  

   

WILL YOUR DEATH BE A LOSS OR A GAIN?

When Christians die, Earth loses, but Heaven gains. When unbelievers die, Earth’s loses and Heaven loses. The question that we should ask are: “If I die today, will Earth lose and Heaven gain?” or, “If I die today, will Earth lose and Heaven lose?”

If my death is gain to Christ (because He has harvested me), how is my life beneficial to Him? Am I living to bring glory to God?  

Why is the death of Christians a gain to God?

1.    Their death are precious to Him. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” – (Psalms 116:15).

2.    They did not bring shame to Him while they lived (Hebrews 11:14-16)

What we do in time will affect us in eternity. How we live here on Earth determines our fate in the great beyond. 

When we talk about death, we are talking about eternity. Eternity matters are serious matters, which require urgent action. Eternity is that period in our respective histories when time ceases to exist.

How would you enter eternity – in a state of grace or disgrace? The best way to prepare for eternity is to enter into a covenant relationship with God in Christ.

Why not now? 

NOW THAT YOU HAVE IT, BUILD IT - MESSAGE FOR THE NEWLY MARRIED

This topic is informed by the story of a man whose son had pestered on him to set up a business for him. After he had done that, at the handover date, he told his son, “Son, now that you have your business, build it!”

Marriage is a favour and a favoured business (Proverbs 18:22). The moment you set your mind to get married, God sets in motion various machineries of favour. All that you need is the willingness and readiness to make the necessary sacrifices. Do not be afraid to get married. Just have the vision and God will make the Pro-vision.

Man was created for woman and woman for man (Genesis 2: 18, 21-23).

In Greek mythology, it was said that God made man a god with four hands and four legs, but when he became two proud, He cut him into two equal parts and separated him from himself. Ever since the two parts have been searching for each other. When they find each other, they become welded together. The original English word wedding was welding - the act of attaching two objects with similar qualities or materials.  

Marriage is like a magnet looking for metal. The moment the two meet, they get glued.

Marriage first exists in the mind. When two minds agree because their hearts beat as one, the process of marriage is initiated and when completed becomes official.   

Now that you have found each other, build your union.

Understand that Marriage is a Covenant (Malachi 2:14)  

a.     To build this union, you must first understand that

     marriage is a covenant, not a contract.  

b.     This is not just a covenant between a man and a woman but a covenant between man, woman and God. 

In other words, your marriage is your covenant with God. He is the chief Witness Who is constantly watching you.

At Genesis 31:49-50, Laban said to Jacob: “The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another... no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.”

Because God is involved in your marriage, your prayers can be enhanced or hindered as a result of what you do to each other (I Peter 3:7)  

  Be Open – be naked to each other (Genesis 2:25).

a.     Nakedness is about openness and openness is about trust.  Build your marriage by building trust. One of the powerful ingredients in marriage is trust. If you lose it, you have lost everything. You cannot build trust if you are not open to each other.

b.     Why must you be naked? No one who is naked can put his hand in a pocket.

c.        Be open to your spouse on your whereabouts, plans, investments and resources.

Serve God Together (Luke 1:5-6).

a.     Serving God together is one of the greatest insurances you need in your marriage.

b.     When you serve God together, you will be able to weather any storm that comes your way (Luke 1:7).

c.     Each time you see couples who serve God together, you will continually see peace and progress.

i.       Aquila and Priscilla served God together (Acts 18:1-2).

ii. The day you dig your marital grave is the day you stop serving God in truth and righteousness – the case of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-11).

   Put Yourselves in Each Other’s Shoes (Matthew 7:12)

a. That which you wish to be done to, do it to your partner by provoking him or her to it (Hebrews 10:24).

b. How do you want your spouse to treat you? Do it first!  

CONCLUSION

          May your marriage be a blessing to you, your various families, the Church and society. May your marriage bring honour to God and cause those who are contemplating getting married to see the beauty of doing so. 

PAYING THE PRICE FOR A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

First, let me congratulate you over your decision to become man and wife. Aside salvation decision, marriage is one of the greatest decisions anyone can make.

Marriage is status conferral. It confers on you the status of honourability (Hebrews 13:4) and responsibility. The moment you are married, society considers you an honourable person. Your status of as a man or woman changes. When you meet the man, you would ask, “How is Madam?” and when you meet the woman you would ask, “How is Oga?” You are now “Oga” and “Madam.”

No matter how highly placed you are, if you are not married, you are not considered “responsible.” No matter how poor you are, the moment you are married you are considered “responsible.”         

Aside your decision to marry is your decision of who to marry. Who you marry is critical because it will determine what your life on earth and in eternity will be. Your life can be made a living hell on this plane of existence or a foretaste of Heaven on earth. Socrates once advised:

By all means marry. If you get a good wife (husband) twice blessed you will be; if you get a bad wife (husband) you will become a philosopher.    

Today, I want to speak to you on what I captioned: Paying the Price for a Successful Marriage. It is said that you cannot make an omelet without breaking an egg. You want to eat an omelet? You have to sacrifice at least an egg or two.

For every PRIZE there is a PRICE. Marriage is the only institution you do not graduate from until you die. In marriage, you are a student for life. Some people think that marriage is all dovy: we do not quarrel, we love ourselves, etcetera. It is all a lie. You have to work on your marriage to make it work.

To make your marriage work, first:

1. BURN THE BRIDGES

“So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant” (I Kings 19:21).

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

In marriage, a new relationship is created. Previous relationships become inconsequential. All admirers and admirees should cease. Your parents should now play only advisory roles, not directors.  

2. AVOID COMPARISONS

^“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (II Corinthians 10:12)

Avoid comparing your wife to your mother and avoid comparing your husband to your father. Do not compare each other to just about anyone. To do so is to hurt and destroy your union.  

Do not compare your friends’ wives to your wife and do not compare your friends’ husbands to your husband. Do not compare your marriage or family to another’s.    

3. NOURISH AND CHERISH

“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:28-29).

Marriage is not a restaurant where we are called to be served, but to serve. One of the duties of man and woman in marriage is to feed each other.

Feed to be fed.

Many people come into marriage with “Entitlement mentality” in which they expect to enjoy certain privileges. Men have their expectations while women have theirs.

It takes sacrifices for a couple to Nourish each other. Nourishing your spouse should be a holistic affair: physically, emotionally and psychologically. You have to forget yourself for your Significant Other.   

4. AVOID “STOLEN WATER”

“Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.” (Proverbs 9:17-18).

Marital fidelity is not a subject to trifle with. It is a grave matter. It is not only a sin against your spouse, but against God, society and yourself.

Stolen waters may be sweet and bread eaten in secret may be pleasant, but know that death is the end.   

5. BEAR WITH EACH OTHER’S WEAKNESSES

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2).

One of the mistakes we often make in marriage is to think that the person we marry is an angel, not a human being. Even angels have their weaknesses.

In marriage, you marry both assets (strengths) and liabilities (weaknesses).

CONCLUSION

Woman, make RESPECT for your husband the pivot of your relationship with him. (Ephesians 5:22).

Man, make love for your wife the pivot of your relationship with her (Ephesians 5:25).

Avoid anything that will make you to keep secrets from each other.    

   

A HEARTY SERVICE TO GOD

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. – Colossians 3:23-25, NASB

Your decisions determine your destiny. The decisions we make today determine how our lives will turn out in future. Our eternal destinies are determined by the kinds of decisions we make today.

The greatest decision anyone can make in life is the decision to serve God. Investing in God’s Service pays the greatest dividends. In the days of Prophet Malachi, people felt it was “useless to serve God.” Consequently, they cast aspersions on serving God and made mockery of those who did. At Malachi 3:13-15, God said:    

“Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of Hosts?  So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and escape.’”

In spite of the society-wide disinterest in serving God in Malachi’s days, a handful of people who knew the value of serving God continued to meet together and encouraged one another to keep faith alive. At Malachi 3:16-4:2 we read:  

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of Hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God does not just pay, He rewards! The difference between pay and reward is that while PAY (a verb) means “To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or service,” REWARD (a noun) is “something of value given in return for an act.” At Hebrews 11:6 we read:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.    

At Matthew 19:29, God gives us a snippet of what reward is, “hundredfolds” (NKJV):

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

One classical example of reward for serving God was that of Hebrew midwives who decided to key into God’s agenda and jettisoned Pharaoh’s instruction. At Exodus 1:15-21 we read:

Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. (NASB) 

When we serve God, He rewards us.  

KING DAVID: AN EXAMPLE OF ONE WHO SERVED GOD HEARTILY

Two outstanding testimonies about King David resonates throughout recorded history, which should lead conversations and define the narratives about man’s most important work on this plane of human existence:

“I have found David, Son of Jesse, a man after my heart….”  (Acts 13:22).

Why?

Because “… David served the purpose of God in his own generation….” (Acts 13:36). 

These two testimonies are inseparable: one would always lead to the other. “Serving the purpose of God in one’s generation” is another way of saying that “someone served God.”  

Without equivocation, the most important thing anyone can do in this life is to SERVE GOD. It is the services we render to God that really counts in the whole of eternity. Our secular callings, as important as they are cannot be equated to the spiritual services we render to God, yet they remain the primeval channels of our services to God. It needs to be emphasized that everything we ever achieved or can achieve in this life aside our services to God will pale into insignificance.

Serving God is not a tea-party affair. It is a call for self-denial and sacrifices. It implies living for God (Micah 6:8) and being  subsumed in His Will – to love what He loves and hate what He hates (Psalms 97:10; Hebrews 1:9).

WHY SHOULD WE SERVE GOD?

1.     God is the epicenter on which our lives revolve (Acts 17:26-28).

a.     An Arabic saying has it that “All mankind come from God, live in God and will go back to God.”

b.     New American Standard Bible’s translation of II Corinthians 8:6 is very apt:

“… yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from Whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” 

2.     Scripture testifies that our individual and collective goals should be: “Dead or Alive – To Make God Happy!” (II Corinthians 5:9).

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SERVING GOD?

1.     We are direct beneficiaries of our services to God.

Job 22:2-3says,

Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

Proverbs 9:12 corroborates Job 22:2-3:

If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

2.     God honours those who serve Him.

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” – John 12:26.   

 At I Samuel 2:30 we read:

Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me -for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed.

           At Psalm 91:15 -16, God assures:

“He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”

3.     Serving God adds to our eternal accounts.

“For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” – Hebrews 6:10

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. – Philippians 4:17

4.     Serving God singles us out for distinction.

So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of Hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.   

5.  Serving God makes us productive all year round                             

“Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright” – Psalm 93:13-14

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE?

          In view of the foregoing benefits of serving God, what should be our responses?

1.     Fervency in Spirit.

Writing to Romans Christians, Apostle Paul enjoined, “…not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).

a.     The word, “Fervent” means “passion.” When you apply passion to what you do, you are said to passionate. When one is passionate, he/she simply injects life into what he/she does.

b.     God wants us to inject life into our services to Him.

c.      Jesus was passionate in His Services to God. At John 2:17 after they saw Jesus cleanse the Temple of all manners of abuse, Jesus’ disciples remembered the portion of Scripture, which spoke of Jesus, “Passion for Your House will consume me.”  

d.     King Jehu was passionate in his services to God. When he met Jehonadab at I Kings 10:15-16, we read:

Now when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he made him ride in his chariot.

e.      In spite of their challenges, Macedonian Christians demonstrated cheerfulness in their services to God. At II Corinthians 8:1-5, we read:

 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.  

i.    Let cheerfulness define your activities for the Lord.

ii.  Sing cheerfully, give cheerfully and evangelize cheerfully; whatever you do, do it cheerfully. When joy defines your activities for the Lord, that joy becomes your inner strength. At Nehemiah 8:10 we read that the “…Joy of the Lord is our strength.”      

2.     Worship God cheerfully.  

II Corinthians 9:6-7 tells us that “God loves a cheerful giver.” If God loves a cheerful giver, then He certainly loves a cheerful worshipper!

a. When we understand what worship is, then worship will characterize everything we do on a daily basis.

b. Worship is a Sunday-Sunday affair. It is not a 9:00AM – 1:00PM weekly business. It is a 24-hour, 7-days a week activity.

c.      “What is worship?” You may ask. Late Brother Jim Massey defined worship as an “Outward expression of an inward sense of praise.”

d.     Let your daily worship of God bubble out from your inside – let your cheerfulness be so contagious that when people see you, they would be attracted to the God you serve. At Zechariah 8:23 we read of what serving God enthusiastically will do:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

CONCLUSION

One of the best gifts we can give to God is the gift of cheerful service. When we serve God heartily/cheerfully, we open up new vistas of opportunities to witness for Him. I encourage you to let hearty service characterize your worship of God. When you do, you will become the primary beneficiary, your local congregation will benefit and the Brotherhood at large will also benefit.

God bless you!