INTRODUCTION

1. When David was fleeing from Saul, he knew that his life was in great danger.  He told his friend Jonathan, "But truly as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death" (1Sam. 20:13).

2. Just as David was facing his own death, so also we all must face death.  How shall we prepare ourselves for the certainty of death?

    

GETTING READY FOR DEATH

1. Accept that death is coming to you.

   1. Death is an inescapable appointment that every man and woman must keep, for "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Heb. 9:27).

   2. Both Joshua and David described their own impending deaths as "going the way of all the earth" (Josh. 23:14; 1Ki. 2:2).  No one on earth can avoid going this way.

   3. Only those who are alive on earth when the Lord comes again will not die (1Thess. 4:15), but we do not know when He is coming, and none of us has any choice in the matter.

   4. Therefore, you should accept that you must die rather than living in denial.

2. Set your house in order.

   1. Knowing that you must die, you should prepare for this inevitability.

   2. Consider 2Kings 20:1, when the prophet Isaiah came to Hezekiah while he was sick and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

      1. All of us need to heed the message of God through Isaiah, for we all need to prepare for death.  For us, this means getting our lives in order so that we are ready to stand before the Lord in judgment (2Cor. 5:10).

      2. Notice that Hezekiah was already mortally ill when Isaiah brought this message.  This demonstrates that even those who are at the end of their lives still have time to prepare for death.  They can still seek salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16).

3. Believe that righteousness delivers from death.

   1. Death is unavoidable, but it can be overcome only through righteousness.

      1. The Scriptures teach us that "riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death" (Prov. 11:4; see also 10:2).

      2. Men attempt to extend their lives and cheat death by many worldly means, but only righteousness will deliver them from death.

   2. Our own personal righteousness is insufficient to overcome death, for "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment" (Isa. 64:6), and "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

   3. However, the righteousness of God is available to us through the gospel of Christ.

      1. The righteousness of God (i.e., His way for us to be made righteous) is revealed in the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17).

      2. Through faith in the death and resurrection of Christ we may be justified and made righteous (Rom. 5:1, 15-21).

   4. Therefore, seek deliverance from death by seeking righteousness through faith in Christ.

4. Trust in God, and do not be afraid of death.

   1. Death takes away the power and value of every worldly thing. The prospect of death must make you realize that you cannot trust in this world or yourself for deliverance. Consider the example of Paul and Timothy from 2Corinthians 1:8-10:

      ⁸For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; ⁹indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; ¹⁰who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us...

   2. As you see your physical body declining, do not be dismayed, for this must happen.  Trust in God, and focus on your spiritual existence.  Notice 2Corinthians 4:16-18:

      ¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  ¹⁷For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, ¹⁸while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

   3. If you believe that righteousness in Christ delivers from death, and you are a faithful Christian, then you have nothing to fear. Consider Hebrews 2:14-15, which says,

      ¹⁴Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

   4. Consider Jesus Himself, who endured His own trials and death by "entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1Pet. 2:23).

5. Understand what is going to happen to you when you die.

   1. Death is often viewed as merely the end of life. However, Scripture reveals that death is actually a portal to an unworldly, immaterial existence.

      1. No one ceases to exist at death, for all live to God (Luke 20:38).

      2. The Old Testament often describes the death of a man as being "gathered to his people" (Gen. 25:8, 17; 35:29; 49:33; Num. 20:24-26; Deut. 32:50).  This indicates that those who have gone before still exist and those who die will go to be with them.

   2. The best explanation for what happens at death is found in Luke 16:19-31.

      1. The poor man, Lazarus, and the rich man were both taken to Hades after death, but Lazarus was in the comfort of "Abraham's bosom" while the rich man was in a tormenting flame.  These places within Hades were separated by an impassable chasm.

      2. Notice that these men retained their identities although they were dead.

      3. The Lord's lesson in this passage teaches us to repent and heed His word while living in the world.  Only under these conditions will we be taken into comfort at death, and we will not have a second chance to cross the chasm.

   3. Consider that Jesus Himself went into the place of comfort when He died (Luke 23:43; Acts 2:27).  This is a place of peace and rest, and it is where you will go if you are faithful in Christ.

6. Know that you will be raised up with a new, immortal body.

   1. Every soul will be called from the grave by Christ.  Those who did good deeds will be raised up for life, and those who did evil will be raised up for judgment (John 5:28-29).

   2. Those who "have fallen asleep in Jesus" and are "dead in Christ" will rise when He comes again, and they will "always be with the Lord" (1Thess. 4:13-18).

   3. When you are raised, you will escape death forever with a new, immortal body (1Cor. 15:42-58).

      1. You will no longer be confined to the physical body that now fails you (see 2Cor. 5:1-4).

      2. When you put on this imperishable, immortal body, you will have won the victory over death through Christ Jesus.

7. Don't worry about the world you leave behind, but embrace the reward to which you are going.

   1. As you see death approaching, do not cling to this world. You cannot stay here, and you cannot take this world with you (Ps. 90:10; Eccl. 5:15).

   2. Do your best to influence the world for God's glory while you are here, but let it go when it is your time to die.  The dead "no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun" (Eccl. 9:5-6, 10).

   3. Instead, eagerly anticipate what you will soon experience just as Paul did.

      1. It is very much better to depart and be with Christ (Phil. 1:21-24).

      2. Notice 2Timothy 4:6-8:

         ⁶For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.  ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

          

CONCLUSION

1. Death is as much a part of life as birth is, and "whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:8).

2. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones" (Ps. 116:15).  Have you prepared yourself as one of His godly ones so that your death will be precious in His sight and in your own?