LECTURE 29
THE PREREQUISITE FOR A HAPPY DEATH : OF KNOWING JESUS, OF SURRENDERING TO HIS LORDSHIP AND OF ACCEPTING HIM AS SAVIOUR.
If any man so desires to have a blessed and a holy death and thus make it to The Abode of ‘Abba Father’, then he ought to first repent of his sins and then surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by accepting him as Lord and Saviour.
Irrespective of how gentle, devout and loving a man may be, he will still suffer an uneasy death and more so eternal damnation, should he refuse to do penance and to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (accepting Him as his Lord and his Saviour).
He may be so charitable and benevolent. He may be so merciful and kind. He may as well be lively and diligent in feeding the poor and in giving to orphaned homes. But once this man dies without knowing Christ, we will surely meet up with a very unfriendly death and subsequently suffer his soul to damnation.
St. Francis of Sales did make a powerful illustration to this effect when he spoke on True Devotions. For he says, “The ostrich never flies,—the hen rises with difficulty, and achieves but a brief and rare flight, but the eagle, the dove, and the swallow, are continually on the wing, and soar high;—even so sinners do not rise towards God, for all their movements are earthly and earthbound.”
This blessed Saint goes on to say, “Well-meaning people who have not as yet attained a true devotion, attempt a manner of flight by means of their good actions, but rarely, slowly and heavily; while really devout men rise up to God frequently, and with a swift and soaring wing.”
I just seem to love the part when he declares explicitly that “sinners do not rise towards God” and indeed that is truly so.
Though a man may live like a saint and would not indulge in the slightest lie, he will still encounter the horrors of death in eternity should his life lack the fragrance of Christ’s Lordship. He will be in no less doom than that notorious assassin on death row waiting feverishly in queue to face the firing Squad.
Yours truly, until we all accept the fact that we are sinful (and deserving of God’s mercy), repent of our sins and subsequently surrender to The Lordship of Jesus, we will find no solace in eternity.
If there is one word that best describes we the sons of Adam, this particular word will do – FILTHY. Yes, that’s what we are. The word fits us perfectly. It tells us exactly what we are. We by natural birth are nasty, shameful, ugly, dirty and so wretched. And until we surrender ourselves to the Triune God and allow ourselves to be adopted by the Spirit of His Christ, we are still deemed under the death sentence which through Adam spread to all men.
Life is found in no other than Christ. He only is Life. He only has The Power to quicken to Life what we lost to the devil through Adam’s disobedience. Jesus is That Life and aside HIM, there is NO LIFE IN ANY OTHER. “He is The Way (the One True Way), The Truth (The Real Truth) and The Life (The Surest Life): if any man so desire to climb up to the Father, it must be through HIM and only through HIM. Without HIM, no one and absolutely NO ONE can get to The Father, The God of Abraham. For He stands at the gate of time and He has eternity in His Hands. Only they ‘who fear and know Him’ will be granted eternal rest.
He is The Bread of Life: the man who satisfies his soul with ‘This Living Manna’ will never hunger in the weariness of time. And His Living Water will but refresh his soul in death.
He is The Light of The World: he who chooses and follows Him, will never see darkness in the fall of eternal tide.
Friends, He is The Good Shepherd: and he who entrusts his life to His care will sufer no fear walking down the valleys of death. For His rod and His staff will be thy comfort.
He is The Resurrection, and THE LIFE: he who believeth in Him, though he were dead, shall surely live again.
Yes…Jesus is The True Vine: if only we will abide in Him and allow His Words abide in us, we will have but nothing to fear should death seal our eyes in eternal sleep.
Blessed indeed is that man who has Jesus as his All-in-All. He really has nothing to fear in the blackout of time. For Jesus will soothe that soul into a joyous sleep, make it to lie down in green pastures, and then safely shepherd it besides the still waters right into the bosom of Abraham.
Friends, just as common sense beckons men to buy the best of insurance for assets, death also does beckon us to buy the best of policy for our soul. And which better policy is there than this - ‘KNOWING & FEARING JESUS’ and ‘HAVING HIM AS LORD AND SAVIOUR’.
Oh wayfaring men, will you insure houses and neglect your souls? Will you buy policies for straws, and abandon the soul? What negligence is this? For it is foolishness above all foolishness and the price is eternal damnation.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” - Mat 16:26
Dear Friend, The Blessed Saviour yet stands, calling out to a dying and a sinful world. If only we would go to Him, He will gladly bear us in His hands. He will gladly receive them who in hopelessness shall cast themselves at His Feet. He will neither intimidate nor forsake. He will not reject nor cast away; whether a sinner or a saint, whether criminal or devout, whether adulterous or virtuous. He will heal us, He will cleanse us, He will save us and He will lead us unto Eternal Life. Oh what great gift The Saviour affords all men!
If only we will strive to ‘Know and Fear Him’ and to ‘Have Him as Our Lord’, we may declare with the same zeal like St. Paul - “For to me TO LIVE IS CHRIST, and TO DIE IS GAIN”
Oh what Blessedness above all Blessedness is it to ‘KNOW JESUS’ and to boast of Him as Lord.. For even as some men observe protocols in their dealings and do grant favors to people based on contacts and ‘who they know’, eternity does also observe protocols and permit favors to souls based on ‘Who They Know’. Truly they are blessed indeed who know JESUS.
Friends, let me conclude by saying this - If you do not know and have Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour, NOW is the best TIME to do so. First repent of your sins, and then surrender to His Lordship by praying the prayer below. Take this first step to begin your walk with Him.
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know I am a sinner deserving of death because your Word says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
Lord I come to you just as I am, modifying nothing, sparing nothing and excusing nothing. I come to you as one bound by sin, poisoned by bitterness, full of carnal affections and one who cannot save himself.
I come to you because you have said in your word that he who comes to you, shall in no wise be cast out (John 6:37).
Lord, I pray for the forgiveness of sins and also rest for my soul after death.
Jesus, I believe you are LORD. I also believe you died on the cross and resurrected on the third day for my sake. Please be the LORD and SAVIOUR of my life that I may be a son/daughter to you. Write my name also in the Lamb’s Book of Life that I may spend eternity with you. Thank you for saving me and for calling me your child. Amen.
A PRAYER FOR COMPLETE SELF-GIVING
By Francois Fenelon
MY GOD,I wish to give myself to the. Give me the courage to do so. Strengthen my feeble will, which sighs for thee. I stretch my arms to thee. Take me. If I have not the strength to give myself to thee, draw me to thee by the sweetness of thy perfumes. Lead me after thee by the strings of thy love. Lord, whose am I, if not thine own? What hard bondage to belong to myself and to my passions! O true freedom of the children of God! We do not know it. Happy is he who has discovered where it lies, and seeks it no longer where it is not. A thousand times happy is he who depends on God for everything, no longer to depend except on him alone.
But how is it, O my divine bridegroom, that we fear to break our chains? Do passing vanities mean more than thy eternal truth, and thou thyself? Can we fear to give ourselves to thee? O monstrous folly! That would be to fear for our happiness. That would be to fear to go out of Egypt to enter the promised land. That would be to complain in the desert, to lose taste for the manna, remembering the flesh pots of Egypt.
It is not I who would give myself to thee. It is thou, O my love, who givest thyself to me. I do not hesitate to give thee my heart. What joy to be in solitude and to be there with thee, no more to hear and no more to speak what is empty and useless, so that I may listen to thee! O infinite wisdom!
Dost thou not speak to me of better things than these foolish men? Thou wilt speak to me, O love of my God! Thou wilt teach me, thou wilt make me flee vanity and lying. Thou wilt feed me from thyself. Thou wilt hold back in me all idle curiosity. Lord, when I consider thy yoke, it seems to me too mild. And is this then the cross which I ought to carry as I follow thee all the days of my life? Hast thou no other cup, more bitter with thy passion to make me drink to the dregs? Dost thou limit to this peaceful retreat, under a holy rule, and among such good examples, the severe penitence which I have deserved for my sins? O love! Thou only makest me to love thee. Thou strikest not.
Thou sparest my weakness. After this should I fear to draw near to thee? Can the crosses of solitude frighten me? Those with which the world overwhelms us ought to frighten us. What blindness not to be afraid of them. No infinite misery, which thy mercy alone can overcome! The less I have had of light and of courage, the more I have deserved thy compassion. O God, I have made myself unworthy of thee, but I can become a miracle of thy grace. Give me all that I lack, and there will be nothing in me which does not exalt thy gifts. Amen!