"This ole house once knew his children
This ole house once knew his wife
This ole house was home and comfort
As they fought the storms of life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now he trembles in the darkness
When the lightnin' walks about.
This ole house is a-gettin' shaky
This ole house is a-gettin' old
This ole house lets in the rain
This ole house lets in the cold
On his knees I'm gettin' chilly
But he feel no fear nor pain
'Cause he see an angel peekin'
Through a broken windowpane.
This ole house is afraid of thunder
This ole house is afraid of storms
This ole house just groans and trembles
When the night wind flings its arms
This ole house is gettin' feeble
This old house is needin' paint
Just like him it's tuckered out
But he's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints.
This ole house dog lies a-sleepin'
He don't know I'm gonna leave
Else he'd wake up by the fireplace
And he'd sit there and howl and grieve
But my huntin' days are over
Ain't gonna hunt the coon no more
Gabriel done brought in my chariot
When the wind blew down the door."
CHORUS:
"Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
Ain't a-gonna need this house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend the windowpane
Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer
He's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints."
-- Stuart Hamblem
The words and music for "This Ole House" were written by Carl Stuart Hamblem.
Hamblem also wrote the words and music to "It is No Secret" in 1950.
"This Ole House" was named "Song of the Year" in 1954.
The truth expressed in 2 Corinthians 5 gives us assurance concerning our death,
and enables to understand what happens when a Christian dies.
For our Scripture text, we are going to start reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 4:18,
and we will read through chapter 5, verse 8.
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Now we know that if the earthly tent [KJV: "earthly house of this tabernacle"]
we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God,
an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened,
because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to clothed with our heavenly dwelling,
so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit
as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord.
We live by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body
and at home with the Lord."
Everyone should want the answer to the question:
"What happens after we die?"
There are several ways that people might answer that question. .
First, some people say, "Nothing happens."
There is a belief by some that death is the end of any kind of conscious existence.
Atheists usually take this position claiming that this life is all there is,
and when you die there is utter and absolute nothingness.
Second, there are those who say something like, "anything could happen."
They would say that "something does happen after death, but we don't know what happens."
This belief could be from those who believe in reincarnation,
or those who believe they will be transfered to another planet,
or they could believe in universalism that claims everyone will go to heaven.
Donald Trump once made the statement when asked about death,
and did he ever worry about death, and he answered: Trump replied,
"I don't worry about death, but I'm fatalistic, and I protect myself as well as I can.
I don't believe in reincarnation, or heaven or hell
— but we go someplace. But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out where."
But there is a another answer, and it is found in the he Bible.
The Bible teaches there are only two eternal destinations -- heaven or hell.
If we want to know the truth about life after death, we will find the answer in God's Word.
First we must understand that our physical body is a temporary body.
Our temporary physical body described as a tent in which we live.
In verse 1 and in verse 4 our body is described as "the earthly tent we live in"
... and "while we are in this tent we groan."
If you have ever spent a night in a tent you will have a clear understanding
of this scripture.
These verse teach us that our earthly bodies are like a tent — we only live in it temporarily.
There are at least two shortcomings about tents. A tent doesn't provide you any protection. A tent isn't a fortress.
The tent doesn't have a deadbolt to protect you from intruders.
The canvas isn't good at keeping wild animals away.
When there's a storm you don't seek shelter in a tent.
At best, a tent can only protect you from a little rain.
Our physical bodies are like that — we don't have any true security while we live in this physical tent.
A tent will not really provide you a good rest. If we were given a choice between sleeping in a sleeping bag on the hard ground
or staying in a hotel, most of us would choose the hotel.
If you've ever been camping, the first night is pretty exciting.
But then there's the mosquitoes, the dampness, the heat, the sound of the other campers snoring.
We cannot find real find true comfort while we live in this tent.
That's why Paul wrote that "while in this tent we groan."
Tents get old, and the canvas gets thin and torn.
The ropes get frayed, and the tent pegs start pulling out.
That's just the fact of getting old.
I will be 80 years old this year.
I have learned that staircases are steeper than they used to be.
And newspapers and magazines (and Bibles) have smaller and smaller type.
My arms aren't long enough to read the paper anymore!
And people are talking softer and softer than they used to because I can't hear
what they're saying all the time — they mumble a lot!
And shoes — have you noticed they've started making shoelaces so short that it's harder
and harder to bend down to tie them?
And it takes so much effort to bend over to tie your shoes that when you're down there,
you look around to see if there's anything you can do as long as you're there.
And the weather is colder than it used to and hotter in the summer.
It's just that this old tent is starting to groan more and more than it used to.
I believe that there are many others who can relate to those things.
We live in our bodies like a camper lives in a tent.
But God has something so much better for us: The good news is that we have a permanent building not made with human hands.
Paul contrasts the tent of our physical bodies to the permanence
of our glorified, heavenly bodies.
In verse 1 he wrote, "We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven,
not built by human hands."
There is so much misunderstanding about what we'll be like when we're in heaven.
According to a survey by Time Magazine in 1997, 43% of Americans believe
that will play harps in heaven. and 36% believe that we will wear halos.
Many Americans mistakenly believe that when we get to heaven we will become angels
sprouting our own set of wings.
The Bible never teaches that.
We get most of those misconceptions from Mediaeval and Renaissance art.
The main thing we know about our glorified bodies is that our bodies will be
like the glorified body of Jesus.
1John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is."
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:20-21: For our conversation is in heaven;
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power
that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies
so that they will be like his glorious body."
That doesn't mean that all of us will be 33 years old have a long beard and wear sandals.
It means that just as the glorified body of Jesus was real — he ate, spoke,
and the disciples touched Him — so, too, we will have real glorified bodies.
We're not going to be floating around on clouds like ghosts eating Milky Way candy bars.
Paul changed metaphors from buildings to clothing when he said we wouldn't be naked,
but we'll be "clothed with our heavenly dwelling."
We'll slip into our glorified bodies like we put on a suit of clothes.
I love the way this Christian man described what it will be like:
"They say that I am growing old;
I've heard them tell it times untold,
In language plain and bold—
But I'm not growing old.
This frail shell in which I dwell
Is growing old, I know full well—
But I am not the shell.
What if my hair is turning gray?
Gray hairs are honorable, they say.
What if my eyesight's growing dim?
I still can see to follow Him
Who sacrificed His life for me
Upon the cross of Calvary.
What should I care if time's old plow
Has left its furrows on my brow?
Another house, not made with hand,
Awaits me in the Glory Land.
What though I falter in my walk?
What though my tongue refuse to talk?
I still can tread the narrow way,
I still can watch and praise and pray.
My hearing may not be as keen
As in the past it may have been,
Still, I can hear my Saviour say,
In whispers soft, "This is the way."
The outward man, do what I can
To lengthen out this life's short span,
Shall perish, and return to dust,
As everything in nature must.
The inward man, the Scriptures say,
Is growing stronger every day.
Then how can I be growing old
When safe within my Saviour's fold?
Ere long my soul shall fly away
And leave this tenement of clay;
This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise
To seize the "everlasting prize."
I'll meet you on the streets of gold,
And prove that I'm not growing old." —John E. Roberts
When I die, it will be my moving day.
Death means that I will be leaving tent where my physical body lives to be with Jesus. Paul knew exactly what happens after a Christian dies.
He said it was simply moving from one place to another—from one body to another.
In verse 8 we read, "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body
and at home with the Lord."
Think for a moment about moving times.
Try to think about how many times you've loaded up boxes and furniture and moved
from one place to another.
We moved five times in the first two years were married.
I have known several who have moved more than 20 times.
Moving day is always a busy, tiring, and exciting time.
But the greatest move you'll ever make is from your tent to your permanent house
— from your earthly body to your heavenly home.
The moment a Christian dies, that Christian goes immediately into the presence of Jesus.
One of the words that the New Testament uses to describe the death
of a Christian is the word "departure."
It was the same word used when a soldier would strike camp, take down his tent,
and start his hike to his next location.
Paul was referring to his impending death when he wrote to Timothy,
"the time has come for my departure." (2 Timothy 4:6)
Paul had faced death many times, and he wasn't afraid because he knew that
it would simply be a departure from this world to the next.
He knew that he would just be moving from his earthly tent to his heavenly home.
He wrote, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body,
this will mean fruitful labor for me...I am torn between the two: I desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is better by far." (Philippians 1:21- 23).
He wanted to go but he was willing to stay.
How about you?
Is that your attitude toward death, or are yours just the opposite?
Are you willing to go, but wanting to stay?
When you truly understand the glories of heaven, you'll be looking forward to your moving day.
An unbeliever's body is mortal, but believers in Christ have immortal bodies.
An unbeliever's soul is still ruled by the sin nature, whereas a Christian's soul is filled
with the righteous nature of Jesus Christ.
For an unbeliever, their spirit is dead, and separated from God.
For those of us in Christ, our spirits have been made alive in Christ.
When a Christian dies, the body is left behind to be buried, or cremated,
or in the case of many sailors, lost at sea.
But in the instance of death, the invisible, inner person -- our soul (our spirit) goes
to be with Christ.
We are absent from the body and present with the Lord.
Immediately when we are absent with the Lord, and we shall see Him.
And then something amazing and incredible happens, as 1 John 3:2 tells us:
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is."
There is an old story about a from New England whose last name was "Pease".
When he was buried he had these words placed on his tombstone:
Under the sod and under the trees
Lies the body of Jonathan Pease.
He is not here, there's only the pod:
Pease shelled out and went to God."
When a Christian dies, he has moved out of his physical body into his new body in heaven.
Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25-26) Now I want to ask you the most important question that you will ever answer.
Where will you be just seconds after you die?
There are those who can answer this question by saying: "I will be with Jesus in heaven."
That's how Paul answered that question.
Notice his confident words.
He says, "I know!"
He did not say, "I hope" or "I wish, but "I know that if this earthly tent I live in is destroyed,
I have an eternal home in heaven!"
In verse 6 Paul wrote, "we are always confident..."
in verse 8 he wrote, "we are confident."
Because many great promises from God like this one, we can know that when we die,
we'll be with Jesus in heaven.
Right this moment, can you honestly and confidently answer with those seven words?
If you can't, then your honest answer could be: "I don't know."
That's an honest answer because there are people who really don't know.
Those people fall into two groups.
One group may be real Christians who just don't have a sense of assurance
of their salvation.
You may be one who, when asked that question, responds by saying,
"I don't know — I hope so. I think so."
What you mean is you're really not sure, but you're hoping and wishing
that you'll make it to heaven.
It may be either you aren't grounded in the truth about salvation
or you are a victim of the devil's lie.
Satan's greatest lie is to try to convince people that salvation has to be earned,
and that you must work to keep it or you'll lose it.
That is the lie of legalism compared to the Gospel of Grace.
God's word says in Romans 10:9, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,'
and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Period.
That is the end of the argument.
If you have placed your eternal trust in Jesus,
and your answer is still "I don't know," then you aren't where you need to be
or where you should be.
You must come to a place of confidence and assurance.
It's not confidence or assurance in yourself, but it having faith in God's Word.
You must let go of doubt and stand on the rock solid Word of God,
and come to full assurance of your salvation.
Then you can affirm by faith, "I will be with Jesus in heaven."
But there is others who sincerely don't know what the Bible has to say about eternal life.
Their answer "I don't know" comes because they have never been told.
If a Christian asks a person who isn't a believer,
"Where will you be in just seconds after you die?" and their reply is "I don't know."
Then it's the Christian's responsibility and privilege to tell the good news about Jesus.
To Here's what I say to anyone who honestly says, "I don't know."
The Bible says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement."
(Hebrews 9:27)
There are only two eternal destinations, and you'll either die in Christ
and go to heaven for eternity, or you'll die in your sins and go to a place
of eternal separation from God in a place called hell. "
We must tell them that God loves them so much He sent His only Son, Jesus,
to die on the cross for their sins, and if they will believe in Him, they will never perish,
and they will have eternal life.
Now once you have explained that to someone who honestly says, "I don't know"
Now they now they know!
At that point, they'll either seek to trust Jesus as their Lord and can say, "Now I know!" or they will reject the truth and have a calloused answer, "I don't care."
Some people's hearts have become so hardened to the gospel and their hearts
have become so hardened that they don't care.
They are not interested in Jesus and they have no desire to be with God in heaven.
It is not just that they have rejected the truth -- they really don't care.
And that is not really a honest answer, because the time will come when they will
care very much about where they will be those few seconds after they die.
At the moment they face death, there will be an instant doubt,
"What if all this stuff about Jesus was true?"
And those few seconds after they die, they will know for certain it is true,
and they will care at that moment. In fact, it will be the only thing that they care about.
So, where will you be those first few seconds after you die?
Can you answer with confidence, "I will be with Jesus in heaven."
Like Paul, I'm not afraid of death, because for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
There is a story about a little girl who walked home from school every day.
Her way home took her through the cemetery.
As she walked through the cemetery, she loved to feel the breezes,
and she enjoyed the sound of the birds, and the silence in the cemetery.
Sometimes she would just lie on her back in the grass and watch the moving clouds.
She would skip through the cemetery singing songs, and whistling her favorite tunes.
She loved to pause and read the names and dates of people on the tombstones.
One day one of her friends said, "Why do you walk through the cemetery every day,
aren't you afraid?"
The little girl answered, "No, I'm not afraid, it's just the way home."
And for this child of God, death holds no terror for me for death is my way home!
Sermon adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L. White
