The Power Of Thinking About Death

I. Introduction: Wake-up moments, like car crashes, should get us thinking.

A. The goal of this lesson is not to downplay thinking about Judgment Day, Christ's return, etc. The goal of this lesson is similar to what Solomon wrote concerning going into the house of those mourning death (Ecclesiastes 7:1-4).

  1. For thousands of years, too many people have wrongly believed that what they value in this life will somehow endure forever (Psalms 49:1-14).
  2. In death, all things in this life are left behind (Ecclesiastes 5:13-17).
  3. Think about how that SHOULD change what you value (Matthew 6:19-21).

B. Again, I do not want to downplay thinking about Jesus’ return and the judgment. Jesus could come at ANY TIME as no one knows when He will return (Mark 13:31-37).

  1. As we just read from Jesus, WATCH because you don’t know when He’ll return (Matthew 24:42).
  2. If you’re unprepared, you will not be given time to get prepared (Matthew 25:1-13).
  3. At the return of Christ, the Judgment will occur (II Timothy 4:1).
  4. Yet, the point of our lesson is to simply think about death. To see the power we can gain over our lives in this world when we accept that reality.

II. Body: When You Understand And Accept The Reality Of Death (Ecclesiastes 8:7-8).

A. Your focus changes when you accept reality (Ecclesiastes 9:1-12).

  1. Your flesh returns to dust (Ecclesiastes 3:18-22).
  2. What you were thinking about concerning your future is over when the spirit departs the body (Psalms 146:3-4; cf. Psalms 90:10 and James 2:26).
  3. Since you will die, what do you really have even if you have great riches (Ecclesiastes 6:1-12)?

B. When you are not thinking about death, you are held powerless by the thought of always preparing for tomorrow (Luke 12:13-21).

  1. What do we know about tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1 and James 4:13-17)?
  2. You think “this or that is mine tomorrow”. WRONG (Psalms 39:6)!

C. Consider the power of a proper focus (II Corinthians 4:8-5:11).

  1. Consider what is “great gain” (I Timothy 6:6-10).
  2. Look at Paul’s mindset concerning death (II Timothy 4:6-8).

III. Conclusion: Death is coming for us all, and accountability will follow (Hebrews 9:27).


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