Participants: Bill Santos
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201219
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00:02 >>Bill: Neil Simon, who wrote The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park, was
00:06 asked on the Dick Cavett Show whether making a lot of money concerned him. 00:12 The studio went dead silent when Simon answered, "No, what does 00:18 concern me is the fear of dying." 00:35 ANNOUNCER: It has stood the test of time. 00:38 God's book: the Bible, 00:42 still relevant in today's complex world. 00:46 It Is Written, 00:50 sharing the messages of hope around the world. 01:02 The fear of death and dying isn't uncommon. 01:05 Most of us fear death to some degree. 01:10 In fact, the fear of death is so common that it has spurred multiple research 01:15 projects and intrigued everyone from scholars to religious leaders around 01:18 the world. 01:21 Some interesting findings have emerged from studying the fear of death. 01:26 For example, women have generally shown more fear of death than men, perhaps 01:30 because women are more likely to admit to and discuss their fears. 01:35 There is conflicting research about fear of death in young people 01:39 versus the elderly. 01:42 While most researchers will argue that young people fear death more 01:46 than the elderly, one study done with dying people in Taiwan and 01:51 published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management showed that the 01:56 fear of death actually didn't lessen with increased age. 02:01 Interestingly, the same study showed that patient's fear of death 02:06 decreased after they were admitted to hospice care likely a result of the 02:13 education and emotional/spiritual support patients receive 02:17 from the hospice team. 02:19 So what is it about death that has us so scared? 02:25 Fear of death is broken down into specific fears - according to the experts: 02:32 Fear of Pain and Suffering - many people fear that they will meet death with 02:37 excruciating pain and suffering. 02:41 This fear is common in many healthy people and is seen often in patients 02:45 dying of cancer or other painful diseases. 02:50 Fear of the Unknown - death is the ultimate unknown--no one has 02:55 survived it to tell us what happens afterward. 02:58 It's in our human nature to want to understand and make sense of the world 03:03 around us but death can never be fully understood while we are still alive. 03:10 That is an interesting statement, I don't agree with the experts, because 03:16 when I ask the Bible, I find that there is someone who has died and come back 03:24 to tell us all about death - look at Revelation 1: 18 03:46 You see, we don't have to grope around in the dark. 03:49 Jesus has died, and He came back. 03:54 Let's go to Him for some answers - and when it comes time to die, time to 03:59 close your eyes for the last time you'll know what to expect. 04:05 I think you'll be surprised at how much the Bible actually says on 04:11 this subject. 04:13 And it's going to take some effort on your part as we go through the 04:16 Bible. 04:18 We need to be willing to separate ourselves from the subject long enough to 04:21 let God do some explaining. 04:25 So I'll ask of you not to jump to conclusions and we simply Ask the Bible what 04:30 happens to someone when they die? 04:36 Here's how Jesus described death in one of the most compassionate scenes in 04:40 the Bible, John 11: 11 04:56 Jesus compares death to a sleep - so I asked myself - why? 05:03 You make your way through the Bible you are going to see that the Bible 05:08 compares death to a sleep in almost 60 verses. 05:12 Why has God chosen to compare death to sleep - over and over again in the 05:16 Bible? 05:19 I started digging a little bit deeper, I started to find some answers in the 05:23 scriptures - In Ecclesiastes 12:7 we have the formula for death: 05:44 It's very simple. 05:48 When you die, the spirit returns to God, and your body, which is made of 05:51 dust, decomposes and goes back to the earth. 05:55 "For dust thou art, and unto dust shall you return. 06:02 " It's one of the most basic statements and ugly truths in scripture. 06:08 That's what the book of Ecclesiastes says. 06:10 The dust returns to earth, and the spirit - small "s" - returns to God. 06:15 This isn't the only place you find that same formula. 06:19 If you go to the book of Genesis, for example, you find the reverse process 06:26 being described when God first created life: Genesis 2: 7 06:46 Let me make a bold suggestion. 06:49 And then we'll test it with the Bible. 06:51 They're the same formula. 06:55 Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:7 are two sides of the same coin. 07:01 Is it possible that the "breath of life" of Genesis 2: 7 is the same 07:08 as "spirit" of Ecclesiastes 12: 7 Let's look at Job 27: 3 07:29 Let me ask you a question. 07:31 How can the spirit be in Job's nostrils? 07:35 It's because in the Bible sometimes the word spirit refers to a spirit being 07:42 like the Holy Spirit or angels, but sometimes it refers simply to our 07:46 breath. 07:50 At least in Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Job 27:3, the spirit is not a ghost - it 07:55 is the breath of life. 07:58 It's the life giving principle that only God can give. 08:02 Look at Psalm 146: 3 - 4 08:22 The Bible says when you die - in Ecclesiastes it says your body goes back 08:28 to the dust and the spirit goes back to God. 08:31 Here's the formula again. 08:34 The breath goes forth and the body becomes dust but David adds one more 08:40 important thought. 08:42 The day you die, your thoughts perish. 08:45 You stop thinking. 08:48 That is what the Bible says. 08:49 Now think about it. 08:52 If, when you die, you immediately at that moment pass into the presence of 08:57 God, don't you think you might have some thoughts? 09:00 Now I know for a fact that this is a new way of thinking for a lot of 09:05 people. 09:07 This isn't what you've always been told. 09:10 We've always been told that when we die, our "ghost" floats away 09:12 somewhere. 09:14 And we've always been told that the "spirit" is our ghost - but the Bible 09:16 doesn't say that. 09:19 The spirit is our breath, and we are a living soul. 09:23 So then what happens when we die? 09:27 When you take a light bulb and turn it into a socket, and add electricity, what 09:34 do you get? 09:35 Light. 09:37 If you take away the electricity, the light goes out. 09:40 Now here's the important question: where did the light go? 09:43 It didn't go anywhere, did it? 09:45 It simply ceased to exist. 09:49 Now follow me carefully, because I don't want to be misunderstood. 09:53 According to the Bible, we are a combination of dust and breath - which makes a 09:59 living soul. 10:03 It's like a light bulb plus power creates light. 10:09 But when you take away the breath, the gift of life - where do we go? 10:13 Nowhere. 10:16 We die. 10:17 We cease to exist. 10:19 Look at Psalm 115: 17 10:33 Don't you think you might praise God that you actually made it? 10:37 The fact is you don't go to heaven right away. 10:41 The first thing that happens is that you die. 10:44 You go to the grave. 10:46 And that's how I know that the psychics don't have the answers - because they 10:49 can't talk to the dead - the dead have no thoughts. 10:53 They can't talk to you. 10:55 Job 7: 9 - 10 11:13 The Bible says that when you die, that's it. 11:17 If somebody says they're communicating with the dead, they're either lying 11:23 or they're deceived - because God says the dead don't come back. 11:26 They're dead. 11:28 They don't know anything: Ecclesiastes 9: 5 - 6 11:58 When you're dead, you're dead. 12:03 That's what the Bible teaches. 12:06 Let me prove it to you. 12:09 In the eleventh chapter of John, some people came to Jesus to tell Him that one 12:14 of His friends was very sick - and before Jesus can get to Him, he dies. 12:21 John 11: 11 - 14 12:58 The disciples didn't know that Lazarus was dead yet - and Jesus said, "Lazarus 13:01 is sleeping. 13:03 " "Jesus, that's great - if he's sleeping, he's going to get better. 13:07 " But that's not what Jesus meant. 13:11 He was trying to tell them that Lazarus was sleeping the sleep of death. 13:16 I would encourage you to check your Bible carefully - it calls death a sleep. 13:24 It doesn't say that people are whisked off to heaven, it doesn't say that people 13:27 are whisked off to hell, it says that they're sleeping. 13:31 And that's because when we die, we sleep until Jesus comes. 13:35 And that's exactly what Lazarus' sister believed: John 11: 23 - 24 13:57 When you die, you fall asleep. 14:02 What seems like just a moment passes - and when you open your eyes again, 14:06 you see Jesus coming. 14:09 And that is what the Bible teaches about death. 14:12 And that has been the hope of Christians for 2000 years. 14:16 Try to find a description of an immortal soul - I promise you you're not 14:24 going to find it. 14:26 In fact, the Bible says that only one person is immortal. 14:32 Do you know who? 14:34 1 Timothy 6: 15 - 16 14:56 Only God is immortal. 14:59 You and I are not. 15:00 We're going to die. 15:03 We are living souls now, but when we die, we go back to the dust. 15:09 In fact, you may not know it, but the Bible is very clear that a soul can die: 15:15 Ezekiel 18: 4 15:30 The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is what? 15:33 Death. 15:35 And here the Bible says that the soul that sins is going to die. 15:40 And you wait in your grave until the resurrection morning. 15:46 Let me share something with you. 15:49 This book in my hand is "A Study of the Christian Hope - Life and Death. 15:57 " The foreword says the following: 19:20 In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. 19:28 He didn't profess to be a born-again Christian, but it seems that he must have 19:33 been influenced by Paul's teaching of the resurrection. 19:37 Here's what he wrote: 20:11 The Bible says that our citizenship is in heaven. 20:14 We may have to fall asleep before Jesus comes, but the resurrection morning 20:20 is coming. 20:26 Things change, plans fail You look for love on a grander scale 20:37 Storms rise, hopes fade 20:44 And you place your bets on another day 20:50 When the going gets tough 20:53 When the ride's too rough 20:57 When you're just not sure enough 21:02 Jesus will still be there 21:08 His love will never change 21:12 Sure as the steady rain 21:15 Jesus will still be there 21:21 When no one else is true 21:25 He'll still be loving you 21:30 When it looks like you've lost it all 21:34 And you haven't got a prayer 21:38 Jesus will still be there 21:56 Time flies, hearts turn 22:02 A little bit wiser from lessons learned 22:08 But sometimes, weakness wins 22:15 And you lose your foothold once again 22:20 When the going gets tough 22:24 When the ride's too rough 22:28 When you're just not sure enough 22:32 Jesus will still be there 22:39 His love will never change 22:42 Sure as the steady rain 22:46 Jesus will still be there 22:52 When no one else is true 22:55 He'll still be loving you 23:00 When it looks like you've lost it all 23:05 And you haven't got a prayer 23:09 Jesus will still be there 23:19 Jesus will still be there 23:24 His love will never change 23:28 Sure as the steady rain 23:31 Jesus will still be there 23:37 When no one else is true 23:41 He'll still be loving you 23:46 When it looks like you've lost it all 23:51 And you haven't got a prayer 23:54 Jesus will still be there 24:03 When it looks like you've lost it all 24:07 And you haven't got a prayer 24:10 Jesus will still be there 24:33 >>Bill: Let us pray. 24:36 Gracious, loving Heavenly Father we thank you for the clarity of scripture, 24:37 we thank you for the truth that those that die wait in the grave for the 24:40 Gracious, loving Heavenly Father we thank you for the clarity of scripture, 24:42 we thank you for the truth that those that die wait in the grave for the 24:47 resurrection morning. 24:50 I pray that you comfort those that have lost a loved one, that you clear 24:53 our minds of mythology and falsehood and that you speak clearly to our 24:58 hearts. 25:01 Bless each and every viewer I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 25:23 We would like to make a couple of resources available to you so that 25:26 you can continue your study on today's topic. 25:31 The first is a study guide that is available for download on our web site 25:35 at www.itiswrittencanada.ca. 25:40 The other is a special edition of the magazine "Signs of the times" which 25:44 has as it's topic "what happens when you die". 25:49 This is our gift to you, here is the information you need to get your copy. 26:53 I want to thank you for joining us. 26:56 I'm glad that we had this opportunity to spend this time together. 27:00 You know, you can go to our web sit www.itiswrittencanada.ca. 27:06 There you can see anyone of these programs, in fact, all or our program 27:10 are archived there -- you can watch them at you leisure. 27:14 You can also send us a prayer request - every morning the staff gather 27:19 at our office and they pray over all of the requests that we receive 27:23 by mail, by email and over the web site. 27:28 You can also send a donation to It Is Written if you feel so impressed 27:30 to do so. 27:33 You can do that right from the web site knowing that every dollar you send is 27:36 used to keep this ministry on the air. 27:41 You can also visit our youtube channel all our programs are there also -- 27:44 youtube.com/IIWCanada and you can follow us on twitter. 27:49 I'll be praying that the good Lord will allow us the privilege of being 27:52 back together again next week. 27:55 You know it won't be the same if you're not here. 27:57 Until then remember, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but 28:03 by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 28:10 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-06