Death is a Blessing

Revelation chapter 14 is where we are this evening. Why the dead are blessed. Death is something we don't necessarily like to sit around the dinner table and talk about. In fact, most of us Are scared to death to even face it. Makes us feel uncomfortable. In fact, we even recoil when someone brings up the subject. And one of the reasons is because we haven't been able to conquer it yet. In spite of all of our medical achievements and our desire to live longer, man still dies. But God has conquered death.

1 Corinthians 15, verse number 55, says this: O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It was Christ who said in John 5, He who hears my words and believes in him who sent me has eternal life. and does not come into judgment, but passes out of death into life. Whether you are a Christian or not, whether you are hopeful or despairing, we all have one thing in common, and that is we all die.

Hebrews 9:2, it is appointed that a man wants to die after that. The judgment. But it isn't the end. Death is never the end. Death is really the beginning of the rest. Of your life. Death is that transition. Death is that doorway that takes us from the temporary to the eternal. Whether you're a believer or non-believer, that is reality. The question is: where will you spend eternity? The Bible in Revel 14 says, Blessed are the dead. And our desire tonight is to find out why the dead are blessed. Three reasons.

Number one, because of their eternal relationship. Number two, because of their eternal re. And number three, because of their eternal reward.

Listen to what the Bible says. Verse number 12. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes. Says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them. I have to admit, this is my favorite funeral text. When I speak on it, most people are completely baffled by the fact that we talk about how the one who has just died They know the Lord is blessed, and why they are so blessed, and why we should rejoice at the blessing that God bestows upon them.

Tonight, as we look at this wonderful passage, three things you're going to see, and these three things will tell you why the dead are blessed.

Number one, because of their eternal relationship. Three things I want you to see. Number one, their position.

Number two, their perseverance. And number three, its punctuation. First of all, their position. It says, bl are the de who die in the L. That's very important. See, because if you don't die in the Lord, you're not going to be blessed. If you die outside the Lord, you're going to be cursed. But if you die in the Lord, you receive the blessing. The blessing doesn't come to just anybody who dies, but to those who live in obedient trust to God. When it talks about being in the Lord, Paul over in Colossians 1 speaks about that from this perspective.

In verse number 25, he says this: of this church. I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit that I might fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God. That is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints, to whom God willed to make known. What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory? Paul says that there was a mystery in generations past that was not revealed.

A mystery is something that's hidden in the Old Testament and now is revealed in the New Testament. And that mystery now being revealed, that Paul now has become a steward in this ministry, is the fact that Jesus Christ now is going to dwell in man. The Old Testament, they look to Christ coming, the Messiah coming, and being with us, God with us. But the most important thing is not that God is with us, but that God is in us. And that's the mystery. And Paul says that's what we preach. Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Over in 2 Corinthians 6, verse number 16, Christ dwells in us. For we are the temple of the living God. And because He dwells in us, we understand that those who die In the Lord, in Christ, with Him dwelling in them, are the ones who are blessed. Number two, because of their perseverance.

Look at verse number 12, Revelation 14. It says this: Here is the perseverance of the saints. You need to circle that phrase, perseverance of the saints. This becomes one of the most important doctrines of the church. to deep theological truth. And when you go through the book of Revelation, there's not a lot of things you can hang doctrine on. There's not a lot of doctrinal truth necessarily presented in R. Except right here, Revelation chapter 14. The perseverance of the saints. It is a doctrine that brings peace and hope and joy to every believer.

It's the truth that says the elect, the called, the justified, listen very carefully, will never lose, nor will they ever abandon the faith. You can't lose your faith totally, nor will you lose it fin. Maybe you've heard this phrase, eternal security. Or maybe this phrase, once saved. Always sa. The biblical phrase is neither one of those two, it is perseverance of the saints. It is a reality that regenerated people will continue in their faith until the end, no m what happens. To them. The character of saving faith, listen very carefully, is endurance.

The evidence of that is never more powerfully seen than in our passage this evening. This is very strategically placed in the scriptures. Because persecution against the believer at this time is the worst they have ever faced. And so, for us to understand the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, we need to look at the saints.

Who live during the most difficult time in history, and we will see that the saints who live in that time never ab their faith. Despite the fact that the sky falls, despite the fact that Satan and his fury run rampant on the earth, despite the fact that demons control the world, Despite the fact that the seals and bowls and trumpet judgments are being poured out, these people who are believers will never lose their faith. They will never turn their back on their God because that's what the perseverance of the saints is all about.

So, what do we have? We have the perseverance of the saints. We understand the perseverance of the saints as being that which helps us understand the eternal security of the believer. The eternal security of the believer is based, number one, on the promises of God.

God made a promise: I will keep you, I will give you eternal life. It's based number two on the power of God, number three, the purposes of God.

Number four, the prayers of Christ. The prayers of Christ. Remember the interchange Christ had with Peter. Peter, Satan has come to me and has desired to sift you like wheat. And Peter said. You said no, right? And Christ said, no, on the contrary. I have prayed for you that your faith will not what? Fail. You're going to be tempted. Satan's going to come at you with all that he has. But I have prayed for you, Peter, so that your faith will not. Fail. Very important. Keep that in your memory. That's, by the way, Luke 2:3 to 32.

Turn over to John 17 for a moment. John 17. Christ prayed this in verse 11. John 17:1. And I am no more in the world. And yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep them in thy name, the name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are. Christ is praying for his men. Christ is praying for specifically what is going to happen with his men. That they would be one as he and the father are one. But go down with me, if you would, to verse number 20. I do not ask in behalf of these alone.

But for those also who believe in me through their word. So, not only is he talking to the disciples specifically, but he's speaking to us today, all of us who come to saving faith. That The Father would keep us and protect us, that we would one day be one with Him. Let me ask you a question: Is the prayers of Christ always answered?

Absolutely. Why? Because he never prays with selfish motives. Because he has no selfish motives. He's pure and holy. Now listen very carefully to Hebrews chapter 7, verse number 2. It says this. He is able to save forever. He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through him. Since he always li to make intercess for them. The reason you're Eternal life is secure. The reason you can't lose your salvation is because of the prayers of Christ. He lives to make intercession for you. He prays that you will be saved forever.

How long is forever? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory. It's forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. And the reason you'll be saved forever is because He lives to make intercession for you. Because of the prayers of Christ, you never lose your salvation. If you're not convinced yet, let me share with you Ephesians chapter 1, verse number 13.

For this is the fifth objective reason a person can never lose his salvation. In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise. Who was given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God's own possession. We have been given a down payment. That's the Spirit of God. He has sealed us. He has sealed us. So that we will be fully redeemed in the end. So you have the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is the fifth objective reason.

Over in Ephesians 4, verse number 30, it says this. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. You can grieve God's Spirit. And that one spirit that keeps you and protects you, don't grieve, Paul says, because you're sealed until the day of redemption. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. From now on. Even those who continue to die through tribulation, they're going to be blessed too. Oh, they got lots of heartache now.

But they will be blessed. Why? Because of their eternal relationship. They are in the Lord. That's their position. And because they're in the Lord, they persevere to the very end. And then, number three, look at its punctuation.

Yes, says the Spirit. The Holy Spirit punctuates a statement. Yes! Yes! Why is the Holy Spirit so glad? Well, his job is to protect everybody, seal everybody. That's his job. He wants them all home with him. Spirit speaks twice in Revelation. Revelation 14, verse number 13, and Revelation 22, verse number 13. 17. But the Spirit speaks. After all, he has the ministry of sustaining them. He's excited about their pain being over. So he punctuates the statement. Yes. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.

Yes, he says. Why are the dead blessed? Because of their eternal relationship with the Lord. Do you know for certain you have an eternal relationship? Or do you have a temporal relationship? Do you believe you can lose your salvation? Listen, if you believe you can lose it, you probably don't have it. Simple as that. Can't lose what you did not earn. If you can earn it, you can lose it. So, if you believe you can lose it, you can believe you earned it. If you believed you earned it, you probably weren't saved to begin with.

Because salvation is a free gift of God. See that? So clear. So very clear. Why are the dead blessed? Because of their eternal relationship. Number two, because of their eternal rest.

Their eternal rest. Two things I want you to see: the comment and the contrast. It says this. And by the, it says in verse number 13, and I heard a voice from heaven saying, I believe that's the Lord. I believe it's the Lord for one main reason. Angels are speaking all through Revel 14. I believe if it was an angel, it would have said, and another angel said. It doesn't say that. It just says, and I heard a voice from heaven. Saying, write. Remember, God's been telling John to write. Got to write these things down, John.

You've got to get it down on paper. People got to read it, so write it, John. They got to know what's going on. It's great for you to see the visions, but people in the future got to know what you saw, so put it down on pen and paper, with pen and paper, or with whatever it is he was writing with at that time. He says. That they may rest from their labors. The word labors means to tire onesel, to lament, to beat the breast. These people are in the tribulation. These people have lamented. These people have gone through great pain.

These people have seen their loved ones die. They've seen their loved ones suffer. They've seen their loved ones m Occ. And they have run from the Antichrist. They have run to the hills. They have been without food. They have been without water. They have been without shelter. Their labors are great. But now? Now there is re. Those who are wearied from the struggle of running, hiding, and persecution, the Spirit says, Yes, your labors are over. Your work is over. Remember, Matthew 11:2, 2, Christ says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.

This is the culmination of that rest. Maybe you're struggling today. I think that whenever, listen very carefully to what I'm going to say, whenever you go through a difficult period in your life, You got to go back and read Revel 14, 12, and 13. You got to go back. Because whatever it is you're laboring in, it's nothing like what these people are laboring in. And there is an eternal rest awaiting you, an eternal rest. Christ says, I'll give you rest.

We work now. We rest in heaven. We struggle now. We sleep and rest in heaven. Kind of take it easy with our Lord God. Remember, you've been on a long journey? Long journey. Travel through the night. When I was growing up, my parents were, you, I was raised in a military family, so you're always up at 4 a. and you're up until midnight, you know, on vacation. It 's not really a vacation, it's boot camping. And so you're up at 4 a. you travel all day, you walk to this sightseeing event, and that sightseeing thing and that sightseeing thing, and you go to bed at midnight, you're dead tired, and you're up next morning at 4 o'clock.

Parents saying, Okay, time to get up, let's go, man. You're out, you're on vacation, you're just dead tired. I hated vacation when I was a kid. That's why we don go on vacation now.

I'm so tired of working while I was on vacation as a kid. But on that journey home, man, there's nothing like getting home and getting to your house and getting into your own bed and your own bedroom and saying, ah, it's over. It's over. The long journey home. Travel to the night because you don want to put out the buck to stay at the hotel. You travel all night into the next day, into the next night, and you finally get home.

And now you can rest. What happ like? You finally get home, you can finally rest. Christ says. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again, receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. There you may be also. With me resting. In gl. The comment is: they rest from their labors. The contrast is, the damned never rest. They never rest. Look back up in verse number 11. Talked about last week. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have what?

No rest, no rest. The damned never rest. But those who know the Lord, who die in the Lord, they rest. Over in Luke 16, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man says in verse number 25 that Lazarus Was comforted. He was comforted. But the rich man, being in agony, lifted up his eyes. There is no rest. For the wicked. Why are the dead blessed? Number one, because of their eternal relationship.

Number two, because of their eternal rest. Number three, because of their eternal reward. They rest from their labors, for the deeds follow with them. What is that? Well, that's their crowns. The deeds that follow them are the service for the Lord. The things you do for God today will follow you into heaven. You know that, don't you? The things you do for God today, the things you do out of selfless motives, the things you do because you want to honor God, you do for Him, and those deeds will follow you into heaven.

Hebrews 6:10 speaks of the fact that God will always remember those things. It says this: Hebrews chapter 6, verse number 10. 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 is still ministering to the saints. Your deeds follow you. And when your deeds follow you, God will reward them, and you will be crowned. The Bible speaks of those crowns. James 1:12 speaks of the crown of life. That's given to those who persevere in a trial.

Philippians 4:1 and 1 Thessalonians 2:19 speak of the crown of rejoicing, the crown of exaltation, the crown of joy. That's given to those who lead people to Christ. And build them up in the faith. 1 Corinthians 9:2 and 25 is the crown that's incorruptible, the crown that's imperishable. That 's who run the Christian life victoriously. 1 Peter 5, 1 to 4 talk about the crown of glory. It's given to those who shepherd the flock of God and lead sacrificially and willingly and humbly with great integrity in the church.

2 Timothy 4, 7 and 8 speaks of the crown of righteousness, which is reserved for those who live in the light of Christ, return and fight the good fight of faith, as Paul did. Those are the crowns. Your deeds follow you. And God will crown you. That's your reward. But there's something unique about those crowns. You don't keep them. Turn back, if you would, to Revelation chapter 4. When the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him, verse number 9, who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever.

2 elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne. And if you've been with us, you know the 2 elders is representative of the church of Jesus Christ. And will worship him who lives forever and ever, and will what? Cast their cr before the throne, saying, Worthy art thou, our Lord, and our God. To receive glory and honor and power, for Thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed and were created. Wow. The reward Are the crowns. And what do you do with the crowns? You cast them at the feet of the one who is worthy to receive glory and honor.

Because you see, when you get to heaven, listen very carefully, you want no recognition. God will give it to you because he promised it to you, but you know what? You don't want it. Why? Because your crown pales in comparison to the worthiness of the Lamb of God. Heaven's all about God. That's why the dead are blessed. Their eternal relationship with God, the eternal rest they will receive, and their eternal reward. That they will attain, the crowns that they give, and they will cast them at the feet of God.

For the believer, There is a wreath, a stephanos, a victorious crown. For the unbeliever, no wreath, just wrath. That's it. There is no rest, there is no reward, there's nothing but death and pain and turmoil. You know why? Because there's no rel. Before you leave this evening, you need to ask yourself: do I have an eternal relationship with the living God? Do I know God. Do I know him in such a way that I walk with him and talk with him? Do I know in such a way that I know for certain that if I die tonight, I'd spend eternity Resting with my God, receiving my reward because of my relationship with Him this day.

Let's pray, God. Father, we thank you, Lord, for all that you've done. A chance, Lord, to open the Word of God tonight and talk about a great doctrine: the perseverance of the saints. Thank you for the testimony of these people who will one day live. And end to the end. Thank you for those in Hebrews 11 who never turned their back, who all died in faith. May we today If we don't live to see you return, die in faith. Thus be blessed. We pray in your name. Amen.