The 8 Great Promises of JesusSample

Promise #8 - You will never die.

FOCUS VERSE: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

I don’t like going to funerals and, as a pastor, I don’t like doing funerals. Well, most funerals. The saddest are those where the loved ones have no hope, no promise. They have no assurance of what the soul of the dearly departed is doing at that moment. All they know is the person is gone, and they miss him. The pain and confusion of separation.

The best funerals are the promise funerals. These celebrations know the promise is being kept and the loved one is right at that moment dancing, praising and high-fiving the apostle Philip. So what’s the promise that can turn a depressing dirge into a dance-filled disco? 

Believing that Jesus is the resurrection and life, and that upon acknowledging that, they will live even though they die.

That promise is the difference between true life and painful death.

We all die. Our bodies reach their expiration date and drop dead. This is a physical death. But our spirits (also called a soul) live on. When God breathed life into Adam, he added an eternal substance to our unique personalities that caused us to live forever. Remember, we were meant to live forever in a relationship with God in the Garden of Eden. When sin broke up the party, the location of paradise changed from earth to heaven.

We are all invited to the party, but you have to accept the invitation. The invitation is Jesus Christ. Once you say, “Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only way to eternal life,” then your reservation is accepted and you are promised a place in paradise.

Those who reject the invitation to the banquet (see also Matthew 22), do not get to enjoy eternity with God and go to a place where “the life” does not exist. Those in hell are aware and conscious, but all the things that make life a party (joy, hope, love, forgiveness, gratitude) are absent from them.

Those who accept the invitation to the banquet enjoy the best food, the best friends, the best praise and unlimited access to our glorious God.

Of all the promises, this one has the longest lasting effect on those who believe.

RSVP and we’ll see you there one day. Jesus promised.

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You've completed the final day of The 8 Great Promises of Jesus with Troy Schmidt. To dig deeper, check out a chapter of Troy's book Fish Sandwiches: The Delight of Receiving God's Promises here-  http://bit.ly/2W68wz7 .