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What if death was more than the absent of a heartbeat?
Death Wrath Judgment.
There are some pictures of death in your Bible that will give you chills. Angels who have the power to destroy entire cities by lifting there hand. A single angel strikes down 185 thousand warriors. Death is shown as a spiritual entity that rides on a pale horse. Death even came to Egypt as the Lord walked the streets at midnight.
Death is horrific. There is a Biblical Horror Story about death and the judgement that follows. There is a wrath against sin coming that is so terrible. This is the fate of every sinner…
Only one thing can cause judgement & wrath pass over you. Death. Wrath. Judgment. It is coming. Are you ready?
Biblical Horror Story 5 – Death walked the streets of the city: Death, Wrath, Judgement from Redemption Church on Vimeo.
Biblical Horror Story 5 – Death Walked the Streets: Death Wrath Judgement
Sermon notes by Pastor Chris Fluitt
Redemption Church is a nondenominational church in Plano Tx. Come experience Redemption
BIBLICAL HORROR STORY BUMPER
Hello Redemption Church. Hello to everyone connecting online. My name is Chris Fluitt. This is the final week of our spooky sermon series – Biblical Horror Stories.
Biblical Horror Story
There are stories in your Bible that your Sunday School teacher may have skipped over. There are stories that teach, not by shining light, but revealing an absence of light.
When the light of Jesus is absent from our life, things do grow a little dark. If you missed any of the previous weeks, please check them out on our website.. www.redemption-church.com
Have you heard the one where death walked upon the earth?
What if death was more than the absence of a heart beat?
There are some pictures of death in your Bible that will give you chills.
2 Samuel 24:15 (NIV2011) So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
2 Samuel 24:16 (NIV2011) When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
An Angel is used to bring death. The Angel comes right to the edge of Jerusalem and lifts up his hand to destroy the city, but God stops the Angel. Somehow the Angel was going to destroy the city with its uplifted hand.
Here is another Angel used to bring death.
2 Kings 19:35 (NIV2011) That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!
Imagine this. There is an army encamped all around Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem is doomed by the siege of the Assyrians, but at night an Angel of the Lord shows up and puts 185,000 to death.
Imagine an Angel marching through the camp putting people to death. Imagine what that looked like. This Angel is an instrument of death! This Angel is a 1 man army. Earlier in this series we talked about the Angel that struck Herod and caused him to die a gross maggot death… but now we see an Angel wipe out an entire army.
Is anyone surprised by this visual of an Angel of death & destruction? This next one is really interesting and people still aren’t sure what to make of it.
Revelation 6:7 (NIV2011) When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
Revelation 6:8 (NIV2011) I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
A rider named “Death” and Hades/Hell follows close behind him. Revelation speaks of things that are literal and also things that are symbolic. What if this is literal? How scary would that be to see the rider named “death,” who has the power to kill over a fourth of the Earth?
Zechariah had a similar vision of 4 horsemen and says they are “SPIRITS.” (Zechariah 6:5)
It is scary enough to talk about death, but to imagine death at the hands of an Angel or a spirit… that is terrifying. I mean I know how to try to fight a physical enemy, but how do you over power an Angel or spirit?
So if any of that imagery is scary, consider this story of death.
Exodus 12:23 (NIV2011) When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
Exodus 12:29 (NIV2011) At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.
Exodus 12:30 (NIV2011) Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
The Lord God, creator and sustainer of all things became the instrument of death on this night in Egypt. The Lord is going through the land. The Lord is looking up at the doorpost to see if there is the sign of blood. At midnight the Lord strikes down all the firstborn.
In the night there was the sound of loud wailing. I wonder if anyone saw what happened that night. Did anyone see a figure moving in the dark street? Did they see an entity walk through the wall or door and make its way to the bedroom of the first born?
We describe the Lord in a lot of ways, but on this night the Lord was the bringer of death. (That might make you feel uneasy. It should!)
What if death was more than just the absence of a heart beat?
Have you ever thought about how you might die? Some might say that is a morbid and unhealthy way to think, but I would tell you that death comes for us all and that we would do well to think about it before that moment arrives. It is unhealthy to think that you won’t ever die. It is crazy to think that you are immune to death and that death is an impossibility for you.
Hebrews 9:27 (NIV2011) …people are destined to die once, and after that…
All people are destined to face a death and then after that… We will talk about the after in a moment, but first I need to ask you…
Are you ready to die?
Are you ready to die? Death is coming. Are you ready? Some of you would say that it is a miracle that you aren’t dead already. So I need to ask you, what are you doing with that miracle of more time? Are you getting ready?
We spend most of our life getting ready for…
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College
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Job
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Marriage
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Children
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Retirement
But are you ready to die?
If you are worried that you have wandered into a suicidal cult, let me put your mind at ease. We are not handing out poisoned kool-aid.
But I do want to remind you that death walked the streets of a city… there is a rider named death who has the power to bring death to millions… there are spiritual forces who held up their hand to destroy an entire city.
Do you know what death is?
Many conjure up thoughts of the Grim Reaper.
Grim Reaper
Not sure where the idea of the grim reaper came from, but it is a cloaked skeleton with a sickle who comes for the souls of those about to die. Some people think death is an angel. There are many other ideas that personify and spiritualize death.
This is not what death is.
Death is separation
The Biblical idea for death is separation.
Physical death is when your soul is separated from your body. There is no more heartbeat, your body is buried in the dirt and your soul goes somewhere else.
This is what is so painful about a loved one dying. We have trouble putting into words what we are feeling – but it’s simply a separation.
Death is more than the absence of a heart beat… Look what God said about dying in Genesis 2.
Genesis 2:17 (NIV2011) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
In the next chapter they eat of the tree and it appears like they don’t die. Eve eats some and then gives it to her husband; they still both look very much alive. They have heartbeats. They breathe. They think and speak. On the cover it almost looks like God lied, because they ate the fruit yet still lived… Have you ever thought about this?
The moment they ate, their heart did not stop, but they died just the same. Because…
Death is separation
Adam & Eve eventually died of physical old age, but the moment they ate the fruit they died spiritually. Because of their sin, they were separated from God.
Romans 6:23 (NIV2011) For the wages of sin is death…
Sin is a spiritual death… A separation from God.
A few moments ago I asked you…
Are you ready to die?
Now I am going to tell you that…
You may already be dead
Even if you have a heartbeat, because of sin you are separated from God.
Everyone is a sinner. Sin brings death to everyone by immediately separating us from God.
You may have a heartbeat but there is gulf between you and God… You are separated from God by your sin.
In this series we have consistently come back to the idea of Responsibility. It is true that we need to make responsible decisions. Our lives suffer irresponsible horror. It is true that many of our problems are a result of irresponsibility. But today I want to tell you that…
You cannot handle the responsibility for sin
Romans 5:21 (NIV2011) sin reigns in death
Sin just doesn’t come into your life. Sin reigns. Sin sets up a kingdom and builds itself a throne. Sin wears a crown in your life. Sin reigns in death. Is the king of your life sin? And do you realize that if we die with this sin that sin will reign forever in our eternal death?
Let’s finish that verse we started earlier.
Hebrews 9:27 (NIV2011) Just as people are destined to die once, and after that… to face judgment,
Death is coming and after that… judgment. The Bible says that we will stand in front of a judgment seat. We will stand before a throne of judgment, and here we will be judged for everything we have ever done. This day is coming.
We need to get rid of sin, but we can’t do it our self.
Death is coming. It is making its way through the dark city. It has turned on our street. It has reached our front door.
What can you do? You can’t outrun death. There is no lock that can keep death out. God’s anger against sin is real. God’s wrath against sin is not something you can handle.
There is only one thing that can stop death… The Blood!
When the Lord walked up to the door of the house and saw the blood of a lamb on the door posts of the house, he would PASSOVER that house.
Only the Blood could save them from death!
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Your church attendance won’t save you.
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Your good deeds won’t save you.
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Your bank account won’t save you.
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Your fancy job title will not save you.
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No amount of praying will save you.
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It doesn’t matter how many worship songs you know or scriptures you have memorized.
Only the Blood can save! And here is how… Do you remember that…
You can’t handle the responsibility for sin
Israel was ordered to take a lamb and sacrifice it, and to take its blood and paint it on the door posts. The lamb took responsibility for the sin. The lamb took the death that was meant for the house.
Being an Israelite did not save them. If they hadn’t obeyed God and covered their sin with the blood of a lamb, they would have met the same fate as Egypt.
Let the Lamb take responsibility for your sin
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! (John 1:29)
Jesus has taken responsibility for the sins of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says Jesus became your sin so that you could become the righteousness of God. Jesus has taken your sins as His responsibility and he has taken the death that was meant for you.
Only by applying His blood to your life will judgment Passover you.
The greatest horror is not having your sins covered by Jesus’ blood
Just like death walked the streets of Egypt… Just as God brought judgment & wrath against sin in Egypt, He will one day judge us. He is walking through the streets of the city. He is turning on your street. He is approaching your address. Are you ready?
He will look upon the door post of your house. Do you have the blood of Jesus?
Ephesians 1:7 (NIV2011) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
We need to Apply the Blood of Jesus.
Apply the blood
Only by applying His blood to your life will judgment Passover you.
We have irresponsible horrors… but Jesus Christ will take responsibility for your every sin… and take responsibility for your death.
Have you ever applied the blood of Jesus to your life? How do you apply the blood of Jesus?
#1. You must believe! You must believe that Jesus is the sinless perfect son of God.
#2. You must confess that you are a sinner. You must admit that you are separated from God by your sin.
#3. You must repent. You must DIE to the sin. You must become separated from your sin. It is the only way you can become united with God.
Come apply the blood today.
When was the last time you checked the door posts of your home. When was the last time you had all your sins covered by the blood of the lamb.