What Happens When Life Flashes Before Your Eyes?
Jeff Hoyt · Tidal Church Moncton · October 27, 2024 · What Happens When You Die? series
Jeff Hoyt looks at King Hezekiah's second chance in Isaiah 38 and invites us to use ours well. Before life flashes before our eyes, we can mend our relationships with others, ourselves and God, and let Him change us.
More from Jeff Hoyt · The What Happens When You Die? series
Topics: Faith, Forgiveness, Relationships
Transcript
[0:00] I don't know about you, but I'm so glad we have something to go by other than some people's thoughts or opinions of what happens after we die. But we actually have God's voice and God's Word. Amen. As we look at this topic of what happens when we die, in the topic of dying itself, I suspect that maybe somebody very close to you comes to mind. Somebody who passed on maybe in the not too distant past. For me, it's my own father who died a little while ago, 25 years ago in 1999, but I'll never forget it. I remember one night, it was December the sixth, 1999, and my mother called me. I was living in Florida with my wife, Pastor Liz, and she said, just letting you know that your dad and I were out curling this evening.
[0:48] He wasn't feeling good. We kind of shut it down early and I dropped him off at the hospital. They decided to keep him overnight 'cause he wasn't feeling well at all. And so just letting you know that he's over there at the hospital and we'll probably just get him tomorrow. Well, a few years prior to that, my dad had been through a crazy sickness and he came through it and he survived it. And so I thought, my dad is bionic. My dad is Superman, he's gonna be fine. So I went to sleep and got up the next morning and I called my mom and I couldn't get ahold of her. And so I called the hospital and they advised me that because my dad had had such a rough night, they were actually rushing him to the St. John Cardiac Unit. And so here I am in Florida.
[1:35] So through God's sovereignty and our budget, we were able to get a flight, a quick flight from Fort Lauderdale up to Portland or to Boston, sorry. And then by God's graciousness, some church people were able to take us, take me from Boston up to Portland, Maine. Some other ones picked me up in Portland, took me to Bangor. And then some others picked me up and brought me from Bangor to St. John. I arrived at the St. John Hospital at 1:30 AM and I went into my dad's room and he was there and he was hooked up to everything. And I said something to him, I'm sure. And then I went out and I talked to the doctors and I said out loud, I said, "He's gonna make it. I know there's gonna be a long road ahead. I get it, but my dad's going to make it."
[2:22] Well, the doctors brought me back to reality in that moment and advised me that my dad was really sick, that he'd sustained a lot of damage to his heart. And it wasn't. But a short 30 minutes later, at 2:02 AM on December the eighth, 1999, my dad passed on. He didn't get another chance to do things differently. What was done was done. You see, there are no do-overs in this life. I've worked at a funeral home for nearly 10 years and I can assure you of the finality of death as I stare at that every day.
[3:08] And I experience that every day. There is a finality that comes. Many times we have a hard time maybe believing that and seeing ourselves kind of coming to that stage where we pass on too. But it is a sure thing. I can assure you of that. Now for another story of someone who was facing his own death, but a little less personal, we're gonna look at the death of an ancient king, King Hezekiah. If you have your Bibles, you want to turn with me, turn with me if you would, to Isaiah chapter 38. It will be on the screen for you if you'd like as well. Who was King Hezekiah? King Hezekiah was a godly king of Judah for approximately 29 years. He survived approximately 700 years before the time of Christ.
[3:57] And what's interesting is King Hezekiah is known as and remembered as one of God's most faithful kings. And yet he was the son of one of Judah's most evil and faithless kings, King Ahaz. Isaiah 38:1. We get here and we see this. In those days, Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says. Put your house in order, because you are going to die. You will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. "Remember, Lord, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes."
[4:45] And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, "Go and tell Hezekiah, this is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add 15 years to your life." I've heard your prayers and seen your tears. I will add 15 years to your life. It's just a fascinating story when you think of it. King Hezekiah thought his days were done, that his time on earth had come to an end, but they hadn't. He got another chance at living. He stood on death's doorstep, but got a chance to go back to continue on living and to make any adjustments that he felt necessary.
[5:33] Have you ever watched the television show Intervention? Maybe some of you have. Well, for those of you that have, I can tell you this. It's real. It's real. I know you're not supposed to believe anything you see on the internet or especially on TV, but I can tell you it's real, 'cause I'm watching that show one night and then all of a sudden I ran into the other room and I said, "Liz," I said, "Brad is on TV. Our neighbor Brad is on TV," and they continued to tell his story, of which I knew about. Intervention is a reality show of some very broken people, broken just like us. Many times their lives are messy and messed up just like ours.
[6:18] Sometimes they're on a collision course with death because of their various addictions and they're given a chance to put on the brakes and to reassess the truly important things in life. They're given a chance to fix some things in order to move ahead like they've always wanted. Well, you have that opportunity today. You're being given that opportunity today because sometimes our lives need work too. We all watch and we pray during that show. We pray that they make the right choice to get the help they need to live healthier and smarter.
[7:03] And we pray the same for you today. Just like Hezekiah, who was mercifully given more time on this earth, and these folks on Intervention who are standing on death's doorstep with their addictions, you today are being given another chance, another chance to get it right and to become the person you long to be and to become the person that God created you to be. Maybe there's some things God wants to fix before it's too late. Today we're not gonna talk so much about the hereafter, but we're gonna talk about the here and now. We're gonna take you back from the afterlife to just life.
[7:52] Although those two are firmly and concretely tied together, we're gonna take you back from the time of eternity, to where things are out of your control, to today, where things are firmly in your control and from what happens after you die to what do you need to do. What do you need to do before you die? Many have stood on death's doorstep. Many have had their life flash before their eyes in various situations, and many, because of possibly some very serious health issues, have had an opportunity that the rest of us have not had. They've had a moment of clarity.
[8:38] They've had a moment of clarity that only comes by standing and staring death in the face. These people have faced the stark reality of who they are, what they have done, and a vision of how things could have turned out differently. And as they look back on their life in those moments to how things could have gone differently and any regrets that they may have, I believe these regrets would fall into three main categories. And these categories of regret generally have nothing to do with possessions or success or career.
[9:24] They usually have nothing to do with the things that sometimes we place the highest value on. They have nothing to do with the things that money can buy, but they have everything to do with the things that money cannot buy. I have a personal friend who, because of his health these days, is having to stare death in the face. And he has absolutely verified everything I'm about to tell you. For you see, what was very important to him last month today seems to be of little to no importance whatsoever. And he's focusing on these very three specific things that we will discuss here this morning.
[10:12] I strongly believe that as our life flashes before our eyes, when our time has come, the only things that will truly matter, the only things that will be at the forefront of our minds will all have to do with personal relationships. And there's three types of those we're gonna look at today. And the first one is this: our relationships with others and the importance of our relationships with others. The fact that nobody ever wants to die alone speaks to this very fact that relationships matter a lot when dying. We want to be surrounded by those we love and those who love us.
[11:01] Those personal relationships at that time in our lives will possibly be the very most important thing to us. And I ask you this, if that's true, then the question is, do we live today like those are the most important things to us? If we say that in the end they will be, are you living today like they truly are? Before it's too late, we have a chance to reevaluate those relationships, reevaluate our lives, and put first things first. Today we're getting a chance to minimize the regrets that we could have someday and get it right. God makes it clear throughout the Scriptures that our relationships with others are of critical importance, but sometimes we forget, we ignore that.
[11:59] The Bible exhorts us to love one another, serve one another, forgive one another, befriend one another, encourage one another, comfort one another, be patient with one another and offer grace to one another. God seems to make it more than obvious that we are to prioritize one another, but we put other things first sometimes and we get our priorities backwards. Sometimes we're called to prioritize our relationships with one another, but many times we wait until it's too late. We wait until there's no time left to fix them. And then we are inevitably left with regret.
[12:51] Today we aren't gonna focus so much on what happens after we die, but we're focusing on what we need to do while we're still alive, before it's too late, before our life flashes before our eyes that one last time. As we look at our personal relationships with others, one thing we can all agree on is that they're not always easy. Do I get an amen? Amen. Amen. They're not always easy, and sometimes they seem downright impossible. All we have to do is take a quick look back into the Bible to see that they don't always go as God intended. We see that Cain killed his brother, Abel.
[13:37] Samson was betrayed by his wife Delilah. Joseph was belittled by those he called friends. Jacob stole his brother Esau's blessing. Amnon abused his half sister Tamar. Saul tried to kill his protégé. David and Judas betrayed his friend Jesus. But the truth is we don't have to look at history to see broken relationships, do we? My wife and I were with somebody last week when she received word that her mother had passed. And as shocking and surprising as that was to be there at the moment when she received that phone call, what was even more shocking and surprising was later in the conversation when she advised us that her sister hadn't talked to her mother in 25 years.
[14:35] By God's grace, that daughter had reached out two days before her mother died. By God's grace, I worked in a funeral home for nearly 10 years, and I can tell you that turmoil and drama and dysfunction surrounds most families when somebody's passing or when somebody has passed. It's almost normal. It's sad, but it's almost normal. Relationships are hard, and relationships that go sour are certainly one of the greatest forms of heartache we will ever experience.
[15:23] And since they're difficult to try to fix, many times we throw our hands up in the air and just refuse to deal with them. And there they lie, dead on the road of our past experiences, as we try our best to forget about them and move on. We've all been there. We try to move on. But the truth is we continue to carry a heaviness about them nonetheless. In Matthew chapter 5, we see this topic of broken relationships addressed in and amongst Matthew talking about relationships that are in complete disarray. He concludes by saying this: "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift."
[16:30] And what jerked me to attention as I read this particular passage in preparing for this message was verse 23, where it says, "If you remember that your brother has something against you." I'd always thought that it said, as it does in other passages in Scripture, if you have something against your brother, go and fix it. But here it mentions the broken relationship where your brother has something against you. I guess the reality is either way, the relationship is still broken. And even though God is obviously concerned with how it got broken, He's quite obviously more concerned with reconciliation and healing of that broken relationship.
[17:25] And we are encouraged in both scenarios to do what we can to reconcile, whether we have something against our brother or sister or our brother or sister has something against us. We are encouraged to do what we can do to fix the broken relationship. As I read this particular passage, preparing for this sermon, God clearly showed me, showed me a relationship in my life that He wanted to fix. It was a relationship that I thought was over, but God knew that it wasn't. And even though I no longer held a grudge or sore feelings, I had a strong suspicion that the other party did that. He still had something against me.
[18:15] And so what'd they do? What do we do with those hard scriptures? We just jump on past 'em to move to something easier, right? Because it's too hard. And I thought, no, I can't do that. I gotta practice what I'm about to preach. And so because I had deleted his phone number outta my phone a number of years ago, I called someone I knew that knew him and would have his number and got his phone number. And then after a couple days, I finally mustered enough courage to call him. What was really cool was God was working behind the scenes 'cause it turned into a friendly conversation quite quickly.
[19:01] We agreed to meet to have a meal together. We had another friendly conversation and we opened up to each other again for the first time in a long time. And at the end of the conversation I said, how about this? I said, we put our history into history and if you get offended or if I get offended or you feel hurt in some way, or if I get hurt in some way, we actually talk about it so that we don't get there again. And God brought healing to that relationship with a guy that I'd known for nearly 40 years. God's good. Even though I was not carrying a grudge, I was carrying a heaviness regarding that relationship nonetheless.
[19:50] But as I read His scripture and as I put God's scripture into practice, God brought healing. Isn't that amazing? Who would think it? Eh, reading His Word, putting His Word actually into practice that God can bring healing. Healthy interpersonal relationships are what we long for, but because they're difficult and hurtful, sometimes we settle for broken, fractured, and unhealthy ones. But I can promise you this today, when it's all said and done, some of our biggest regrets at the end of our lives will revolve around broken relationships.
[20:36] Romans 12:18 says, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone, as far as it depends on you. Now today, you may find yourself saying, I've done all I can do. But someday, someday when our time is getting near, we just may find ourselves saying, I could have done more today. It's not too late. Someday it just might be. The second relationship we're gonna talk about today. Another relationship which can cause us to have serious regret when our time has come is our relationship with ourselves, a relationship with ourselves.
[21:33] And while this thought about personal relationship with ourselves may sound a bit odd, it is a reality nonetheless, the fact that there are some days when we love who we see in the mirror and other days when we don't even like that same reflection, speaks this truth that we do have a relationship with ourselves. Smiling at ourselves in the mirror or barely being able to look at ourselves in the mirror tells us that same truth. Phrases like "I hate myself" or "I love being me" also speak to this same reality that we do have a form of relationship with ourselves. Allow me to elaborate a bit with the use of a passage in the book of Mark. Mark 12:28 says this, one of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating, noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer.
[22:25] He asked Him, of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment. There is no commandment greater than these. Love your neighbor as yourself and herein lies the problem. Sometimes we do exactly what it says, but the problem can be that sometimes we don't love ourselves very much for a vast array of reasons.
[23:14] We don't like the person we see in the mirror sometimes. And with the same disdain we hold for ourselves, we express that same disdain to others. The same hatred we have for ourselves is the same hatred we express to others and with the same lack of love we have for ourselves, we offer to others that same lack of love, loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. That's exactly what we do. Sometimes a lack of love for oneself is nothing new and in our rebellious, sinful, and self-centered state, let's face it, sometimes we aren't very lovable on our own.
[24:02] We struggle and we fail and we can actually feel like a failure. And the devil wants us to believe that we are a failure, that we are unlovable, that we are unworthy, that we are unforgivable for what we've done. But what happens when we stop looking to the lies of the devil and look up to our Creator, up to our heavenly Father? Maybe we've believed that we're unworthy of love, but God counted us so worthy of love that He sent His Son to die in our place. That's love. Maybe we've believed that we've done the unforgivable, but Christ forgave everyone He came across that asked for forgiveness, including murderers, liars and adulterers.
[24:50] He forgave 'em all. Maybe we believe we don't deserve mercy. And you're right, we don't. None of us do deserve mercy, but when we acknowledge our brokenness and repent of our sinfulness, God promised us to step in and bring the healing that we need. He promises to love us even when we can't love ourselves. He did it for me and He will do it for you. God's plan is not for us to go to our grave, broken, pathetic, and defeated. That's the devil's plan. The goal for us today is to acknowledge that we have been given another chance to get it right.
[25:39] King Hezekiah was given another chance at life and so are we. It's not too late before it's too late in more ways than one. Let's look at one more thing last, but certainly not least, the other relationship which will be of utmost importance and the single cause of our greatest regret ever will be our relationship with God. Let me suggest to you today that this is the number one personal relationship of all time. This is the one relationship that we cannot do without. This is the one relationship that desperately needs to be in place for this life and the afterlife. There will be no bigger regrets ever known than living and dying like we can ignore the very one who gave us life, ignoring the one who gave us our breath and ignoring the one who gave up His last breath for us will be the mistake of all mistakes.
[26:45] The one that will make all other regrets seem almost like nothing. What happens when we die? That's the question we're looking at and wrestling with for this sermon series. It's necessary and sometimes interesting to focus on the complexities of what's gonna happen when we die, but it can be a little confusing, a little complicated, but I've been able to uncomplicate it and think of it rather simply for when you break it all down to bare bones, it is rather simple, and here it is. When we die, we will all simply continue down the road we've chosen to travel.
[27:34] When we die, we will all simply continue to travel down the road. We've chosen to travel, we will continue with God or we will continue without God. We will continue in servanthood to the King of kings or we will continue in slavery to the great deceiver. I ask you this today: Are you ready to die on the same road you've been traveling? The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Why? Because we don't know if we even have tomorrow. It's not too late. We've talked today about dying without regret, and we've looked at the three main sources of regret that we need to focus on most: personal relationships.
[28:29] So regarding these three relationships, do you have work to do in your relationship with others? Do you have work to do in your relationship with yourself, or do you have work to do in your relationship with God? Focusing on that most important relationship for a moment, I ask us all, what have we done with the very One who gave us the breath of life, the One who created us and sustains us and gives us a hope and a future in eternity? The relationship we have with God throughout our lives and at the time of our crossing over will be of utmost importance.
[29:15] It will be torment to some, in a source of pure joy to others. To be in right relationship with the One who holds the keys to eternity will mean everything. And while many can ignore God while they're alive, they will certainly not have that luxury when they pass on. Romans 14 tells us, for, is it for? It is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me and every tongue shall confess to God." The only thing is that it will be too late for some, and there could never ever be a greater regret. Isaiah 30:15 says, "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.
[30:13] But you would have none of it, but you would have none of it." Don't let that be you. I was in a cemetery just a couple of weeks ago. An old, old gravestone said this at the very bottom: He died as he lived, a Christian. He died as he lived, a Christian. May that be our story. God tells us in Isaiah 30:18 that He longs to be gracious to us. And in 2 Peter 3:9 we're told that God is being patient with a disobedient world because He's not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting everyone to come to repentance.
[31:04] That's why He's being patient with us. Acts 3:19 says, "Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Working in the funeral home as long as I have and seeing the hundreds of funerals, being a part of as many funerals as I have been over the years, something comes to mind, and it's this. Just because the minister says that they're in a better place doesn't mean that they are. Just because the minister says that there's no more suffering for that person doesn't mean that that's the truth.
[31:53] Just because they say that they're looking down on us from heaven doesn't necessarily make that a reality. I think we can all acknowledge that there's a lot more to it than that. So before it's too late, before you find yourself on death's doorstep, dying with untold regrets, today you have an opportunity to get things right. You have an opportunity to fix some things. It's not too late. As long as you have breath, it's not too late. It's not too late to make those needed repairs in your relationships with others, or with yourself, or with God.
[32:39] There is hope. But maybe some of you this morning have given up hope on those things, and today you find yourself saying, "I've tried. I've tried, but I can't change." Well, the good news today is that you don't need to change. You need to be changed. Chances are you can't do it, but God can. As we allow Him to change us, miracles can happen. You don't need to change.
[33:26] You need to be changed by the Almighty God. Now, change will certainly happen as you turn to Him, but you're not to be the driving force behind it. He is. We simply and humbly surrender our lives to Him and get on board as He does His work. We need to be changed. Will you allow God to begin that change today, if you will? I promise that there will be a greater level of peace than you could ever imagine in these personal relationships, for today, for tomorrow, and for eternity. Don't wait till it's too late to fix things.
[34:13] Don't die with those regrets. Just like Hezekiah, who was given another chance at living, and just like those folks on Intervention who are given a fresh chance at getting things right, you today are being given that same opportunity to fix some things, to let Him fix some things. He wants you to be at peace, at peace with others, at peace with yourself, and most of all, peace with Him. God is willing to help you today. Are you willing to receive that help? It's not too late.
[34:58] Someday it will be, but not today. Right now you have the opportunity, all the world, all the hope in the world. God has great things in store for us. Let us turn to Him.