Introduction:
Now here is a text that ought
to cause us to stop and take notice! Psalm 23v4.
Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me.
If you ever get the opportunity
to visit Egypt and the tombs and pyramids, study what was
required to construct some of those monuments. Some studies
revealed that it required the efforts of one hundred thousand
workers for forty years to build one of the great pyramids.
As you tour the area there, you can't help but ask why.
Why so much effort? Why would somebody put that amount of
emphasis on a tomb, on the afterlife?
The answer is that the Egyptians
understood, full well, they would spend a lot more time
in the afterlife than they would spend in this life. Granted,
some of their conceptions of what would happen in the afterlife
were a little skewed. But the point is, they understood
to the core of there being that the afterlife was a whole
lot more important than this life, and so they prepared
for the afterlife during this life. God had placed eternity
in their hearts.
Bill Hybels, "Your Ever
After: Heaven," Preaching Today, Tape 34.
See: Ecc.3v11; John 3v36;
Matt. 24v44.
Now I am very aware that
death is not the most popular of subjects. Mention the subject
and immediately there hovers over the room morbidity that
is most disturbing, with eventually someone saying, how
on earth did we get onto that subject anyway, let’s
talk about something else.
Do you know dear friends,
humankind is the only creature that is continually aware
they are going to die and yet they desperately try to forget
it. That’s why so many dye the hair, spend a fortune
on anti-wrinkle cream and paint of one kind or another to
cover up the cracks. That’s the reason some men at
a certain age go out and buy a sports car. There is a desire
to be alive, and not give too much thought to death.
We do everything in our power
to obscure the fact we are winding down to the grave. Even
the cemetery we dress up to look as inviting, warm and friendly
as possible, we often plant a garden on the grave. It helps
take away the thoughts of death. Beloved, none of us like
the idea of death, but death is a very real fact and it’s
something we do not need to be afraid of.
I thank the Lord I have no
fear of death, but I have a very real fear of being buried
alive, so I have instructed one of my sons when my death
is announced and he is at some time in the room with me
on his own, he is to lift me by the collar, set me up in
the coffin, and slap me six times real hard on the face,
as hard as he knows how, then duck. You see if there is
one thing will bring me back to my senses if life is still
in me it’s the fact that my son bashed me on the face
and thought he could get away with it.
Now David had this anticipation
of death in mind when he writes this lovely Psalm. He shares
with us the secret of life, the secret of death, and the
secret of eternity. We today are dealing with the secret
of death!
1. The Thought Of A Valley
Presupposes A Mountain!
Now in the land of Palestine
there is a place called, "the valley of the shadow
of death". If you have been there you know it runs
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem about two thousand feet
above sea level. A little spring can be seen coming out
of the hillside and the water, sometimes trickles down and
sometimes cascades down. Over the years that running water
has cut a chasm, or little Grand Canyon in those Judean
hills right down to the Dead Sea. It is called the "Valley
of the Shadow of Death" because of the narrowness at
the bottom which in some places measures about twelve feet
wide and even at high noon its always filled with shadows.
It’s a place full of caves, in Bible times I understand
there were bears there, hyenas, leopards, robbers, steep
places where sheep could fall or be in some danger, it was
by all accounts a frightening place with all kinds of grotesque
shadows everywhere.
The reason the shepherd would
take his sheep there even with all the dangers was because
at certain times of the year it was the only feeding place
worth going to. Then Spring would arrive and those Judean
hills would blossom, as only they could, the shepherds would
then lead their sheep through the valley of the shadow of
death to higher ground. That’s what David had in mind
when he wrote the Psalm 23. He was simply saying, the Lord,
the Good Shepherd is to me what I was to my sheep. As the
sheep trusted David to lead them through the valley of the
shadow of death to higher ground so he would trust the good
shepherd to lead him through. David had learned to smile
at death! And beloved, I want you to learn to smile at death.
Here are three principles that will help you do just that!
A. Think Of Death As A
Fact Already Decided: Heb.9v27.
And as it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Here is an appointment everyone
will keep. We may not want to think much about it but it
is a fact already decided, and do you know what? We have
no say in the matter! God made this appointment and God
will see to it that we keep it. We, all of us have broken
appointments at one time or another for one reason or another
but here is an appointment we will keep for sure. Death
is sure. Do you know that death has an amazing statistic,
Romans 5v12.
Wherefore, as by one man,
sin entered into the world; and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Did you know, one out of
every one dies. And the statistics have never been wrong!
Old people die, children die, young people die, all ages
die. I must preach as a dying man to dying men because I
don’t know when I will preach my last sermon, this
may be the last sermon I ever preach, this may be the last
sermon you ever hear. Many a sermon I have preached and
it was the very last sermon some in that congregation ever
heard. You say, Pastor that's morbid, no that's fact, and
David is reminding us of that fact lest we die with the
wrong thoughts in our mind, or attitude of heart before
God. Would you like to enter heaven with the thoughts you
have had since this sermon started? Would you like to stand
before the judgement seat of Christ with the thoughts you
have in your mind and heart at present? Death is sure, death
is statistical, and death is selfish. Death is personal!
Yea though I! You know don’t you that we are a selfish
body of people! You say Pastor now you are being offensive,
well I'm sorry, I don’t mean to be but it’s a
known fact. How often do you get annoyed about not doing
something for someone else or going to visit someone else
or helping someone else. But oh my, how upset we become
if others don’t take an interest in us, or do something
for us or come visit us. There's a selfish streak in us!
We will die, that's just how selfish we will become. Do
you know something? As most people die they have little
or no interest in anybody or anything. We will die and we
will not be concerned in the least about how those remain
are feeling or coping or what they are doing. Why? Because
selfish death has lain hold of selfish us, and the battle
is on. Selfish death wants to take you away and selfish
you wants to stay.
Friends, when Jesus was dying,
His only concern was for others, on a six to one ratio;
His interest was in others. Six times He spoke of others,
only once did He speak of Himself. Why? Because He thought
of death as a fact already decided and He gave Himself over
to the Fathers keeping. Folks; death is already settled!
It's coming, give up to him everything, every minute of
your day, every fibre of your being, every penny you own,
everything you have and are give up to him and when you
give completely over to Him what you have won't matter,
what you are will mean everything.
B. Think Of Death As A
Foe Already Defeated: "I will fear no evil."
The title of this segment
is:
A man had a check-up and
then went in to see his doctor to get the results. The doctor
said he had bad news and worse news for him, which did he
want to hear first? The man was a bit nonplussed and said
he'd rather hear the bad news first. The doctor said, "The
bad news is that you only have twenty-four hours to live."
At this the man jumped up,
totally flabbergasted and distraught. He paced the doctor's
office and complained, "Twenty-four hours to live?
I can't possibly get my affairs in order that quickly. I
can't believe this; it is incredible! What could be worse
news than this?"
The doctor said, "The
worse news is that I was supposed to tell you this yesterday
but you were too busy to come see me."
James S. Hewett, Illustrations
Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988),
p. 477.
My brothers and sisters,
if you want to learn to smile a conquering smile at death
then you will need to take time with the good shepherd who
lives for you in the valley of the shadow of death. You
are living between the two mounts. The Psalmist said, "I
will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh
my help, my help cometh from the Lord."
Look away to those two mounts.
Look away to Calvary and see the good shepherd as the crucified
one for you! Look away to Zion and see the chief shepherd
who has been crowned for you and remember He is also the
Great Shepherd who cradles you in the valley of the shadow
and will never leave you.
C. Think Of Death As Friend
Already Declared: "For thou art with me"
Beloved think of the wonder
of that glorious thought, "For thou art with me".
Is there anything quite so magnificent? Heb. 13v5 "
Let you manner of life be without covetousness, and be content
with such things as ye have; for he has said, I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee" is not just a good text
to know, it is a truth of God that cannot be broken.
God is the ultimate provider.
He provides food continually for the birds of the air, the
fish of the sea, the animals of the world. Our God is not
stingy, He covers this earth with snowdrops by the million,
flowers of every kind imaginable grow in the most unexpected
places He sends the springtime and the harvest and the soft
refreshing rain. God knows our needs, our circumstances,
and everything about us there is to know and He has given
us His pledge, He will always provide and never leave.
Dear folks, these are things
we know and should hold them fast!
"I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day" 2
Tim.1v12.
"If any man will do
his will, he shall know the doctrine" John 7v17.
"Ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall set you free" John 8v32.
"We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren"
1 John 3v14.
"We know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose" Rom.8v28.
"We know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have
a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens" 2 Cor.5v1.
We know He will never leave
us nor forsake us, He goes through the valley with us, He
has rendered death to a shadow and the shadow can never
harm us.
Maybe you are in that valley
just now, it’s a valley of doubt, dread, despair, depression,
a valley of some difficulty or another, it may even be that
valley of death and you just now are unaware of it. If it
suddenly strikes you how will you cope? Will you be ill
at ease or will you be at ease when ill? You can be at ease
when ill! You should be at ease when ill! If you take time
and walk with Him now, He will take time to walk with you
then, with Him you will be at ease when ill!
