Escapes from Death - God to the Rescue
Posted: Saturday, November 07, 2009
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
Last month was a challenging month for many of the members of the church I pastor. Our church family was impacted by the deaths of at least five people. And although the reader would not be familiar with those who have passed away at my church, there have been other deaths, other family members, other relatives, other neighbors and old friends that you know or have heard about. Each have died… DEATH… it is all around us and each of us have an appointed time, we each have an appointment with death…
For some, the thought of death is a frightening and fearful matter. For them, death is a dark and sinister stalking spirit from which they try to run. But we cannot run from death. It is coming to us all, sooner than we might expect, Cold… Dark… Death!
Job 30:23 Job cried out…
For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.
Psalm 89:48 King David cried out…
What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?
And in Hebrews 9:27 the Word of God tells us that it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment
So, death seems inevitable, unavoidable, predestined and preordained for all of the members of the human race.
Or… is it?
Psalm 68:20 David tells us, Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.
You see, King David knew and understood that our God of salvation provides escapes from death.
Remember during the Great Flood… all flesh would have perished, but God allowed 7 people to escape on the ark with Noah?
Remember when Abraham was preparing to slay his son, Isaac, upon the altar, how the boy was able to escape death when a sacrificial ram was provided by the angel of the Lord?
Remember when the Angel of Death went over Egypt and all the first born were slain? Yet, God allowed all those who had the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts to escape death.
Remember how Elisha escaped death by being caught up in the clouds with the Lord?
And the Bible provides us with one account after another from beginning to end of how people escaped death by the sovereign intervention of Almighty God.
Indeed, God not only intervenes in death, he provides a way of escape from death.
In Jeremiah 21:8 the prophet tells us, "Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
So, friends, God's intervention often provides us with a choice to make… one choice will lead to life, the other leads to death.
Sadly, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
You see, sometimes when we think we are right, we may be wrong. Dead wrong. But, even if we make mistakes along the road of life, and some of these mistakes may be HUGE, they may appear to be sins that lead to death… We need to remember that our God is Lord of escapes from death.
And the Word of God even tells us how to escape death.
Ezekiel 18:31-32 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"
God says… we need to cast away our transgressions and get a new heart and a new spirit if we want to live. God says, turn and live.
Proverbs 12:28 King Solomon said, "In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death."
The problem of course is that it is so very difficult to live a righteous life. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and that the wages of sin is death… not just physical death, but eternal death as well.
In Matthew 10:28 Jesus said, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
But our God is a God of salvation who provides escapes from death. And just as he provided a way of escape to the Israelites in Egypt, just as he had 8 souls escape the Great Flood, just as Isaac escaped being slain on the altar, and just as Elisha never tasted of death, so also our God can provide escapes from death for us as well.
Indeed, some of us have escaped death, again and again in our lives. And when we look back at it we see the hand of the Lord.
Jesus provides escape from death!
Most everyone is familiar with John 3:16 where Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
And again, in John 5:24 he said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Yes, Jesus can give us eternal life instead of eternal death. Through his death he has paid the price for our sins, purchased our life and set us free from death. That is why Hebrews 2:14-16 tells us…
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
But, can Jesus keep us from dying a physical death?
In 1 Corinthians 15:50-52 (NLT) the Apostle Paul gives us the answer...
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
Some people refer to it as the rapture. In any event, when Jesus returns, those who love the Lord and are alive will not die! They will be transformed, changed instantaneously into their glorified bodies, their "resurrected" bodies.
The Apostle Paul clarifies this for us in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (NASB) when he says...
15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
So, you see, God provides many escapes from death. He provides devine protection, which is the reason many of us are alive today. He provides spiritual life to those who have surrendered their lives to him. And finally, in His Word we are promised that if we remain faithful to Him and are still alive when Christ returns... then we will never taste of death.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)I spent 17 months in Viet Nam. It is only with the approach of old age that Jesus becomes so important. Thank you
Hi Jim,It sounds like you had 17 months of escapes from death.Thanks for your comments.Mark
MARANATHA!!!!!! Thanks for writing this = praying that God's Word will not return void and that many will have "ears to hear and eyes to see". MarijoWell, Maranatha right back at ya, Marijo!Thanks for your comments. I'm looking forward to catching up with you on your latest questions in Q&A...Blessings,MarkI see you got hooked on the Q+A, didn't you!? MarijoWell, let's see...How should I answer that question for bonus points...YOU BETCHA!Mark
WOw its crazy how I'm reading this piece when I completely understood the message....My life flashed before my eyes on Monday, thank God for brakes....That's something I always had a hard time trying to figure out, whether or not we have a scheduled date to meet with death?? All I know now is that, it wasn't destined for me to meet with death on that Monday....I prayed to God for that.....I am sorry for the lost of the lives at your church...
Hi Arnold,God is gracious to us. He provides us with escapes from death. The only question is, when we realize it... "How then shall we live?"Thanks for your comments. And may God continue to show you favor.Mark
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