FBC Morning Light – August 13, 2022

Good morning. Good Saturday morning, people of faith. We're in 1 Timothy chapter 6, and as you turn there or open your

Bibles there, I'm going to share a brief story with you. When I was a child growing up, my family used to watch the news every night.

And this one night there was a human interest story about a grocery store worker who was hit by a car in a parking lot and had a near -death experience.

And he claimed to have gone to heaven and had seen several of his family members who had already passed away and Jesus as well.

And afterward, this caused my grandmother and my father and several of my brothers and sisters to discuss the matter.

And everybody seemed to have their own opinion. And the question that remains is, who should you listen to in this matter?

And so we're going to go to 1 Timothy chapter 6 in regard to near -death experiences, and I'm going to have three words of caution for you or three thoughts of caution for you from 1

Timothy chapter 6. Let me start reading in verses, let me read verses 3 through 5.

It says, If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our

Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, from such withdraw yourself.

So in regards to stories of people having near -death experiences or going to heaven or to hell and coming back, keep this in mind that there are people who view godliness as a means of gain, meaning this, that they see stories like this as a way to line their pockets with your money.

And that's the first word of caution. There are people out there who want to manipulate you to line their pockets with your money.

Second, let's go down to verse 10. Oh, excuse me, that's still with the first thought.

It says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, from which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

That still goes with that first thought of people lining their pockets with your money. Verse 16, okay, so if someone goes to heaven and comes back, supposedly, and tells you all about heaven and gives you a picture of what god is like from that story, let's look at verse 16 and see what that has to say about it.

It says, Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.

Amen. That is clearly talking about god. And it says that no man has seen or can see, dwelling in unapproachable light, can't even get around there, can't get close, can't see him, won't be able to see him.

So, if they're coming back saying, well, god, the father was like this and he looked like this, know this, that they are lying.

They may not be intentionally lying. They could potentially be self -deceived. But god says here in his word that no man can see god and happen.

If it can't happen and someone's telling you that it did, which one will you believe?

Will you believe the word of god or will you believe someone who is potentially lying to line their own pockets or potentially self -deceived in lining their own pockets with your money?

Okay. So, we have two ideas so far. There are people out there who would lie to you intentionally or unintentionally to line their own pockets.

There are people out there who are self -deceived in thinking that they've gone to heaven, potentially, and come back.

There's a third category, a third word of caution here, and that has to do with the

Christian community I think has this idea that, wow, if a human were able to just go to heaven and come back and tell us what it was like, then we would all believe in an afterlife and be more likely to believe in Jesus.

Well, Jesus had some words for this in Luke chapter 16.

In Luke chapter 16, remember, we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man is in torment and has asked

Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and put a drop on his tongue.

He goes and asks that Lazarus be sent back to talk to his five brothers.

It's interesting that he doesn't ask for himself to be released from this torment, but asks for his brothers to not have to go through this torment.

It's interesting that he doesn't ask about himself, but that's another story for another day.

When he says, if one goes back from the dead, they will repent, this is the rich man talking about his brothers.

But Abraham says, but he said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, that is the

Old Testament, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead.

Very important to understand this, that while testimonies are great and wonderful, if people aren't convinced by the

Word of God, what are they really convinced by, and of what are they really convinced?

So, unless you are convinced based on the Word of God, that is the

Bible, you are not likely to be convinced at all, and that's our third word of caution here.

Let's take a moment and pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you that we can be convinced of what you have for us.

You have revealed to us in your Word what heaven is really like, and we don't need to hear the testimony of those who may be after our money rather than after our edification.

Help us to walk with you this day. It's in your Son's name, Jesus, that we pray.

Amen. Thank you for being with us this morning, and have a great Saturday, people of faith.