Paul Tripp: What is the light that can be found in the darkness of grief? It's the light of the presence of Christ and the light of the clarity of His truth.
Kate Crowley: Welcome to Right Here, Right Now and today's program from Paul Tripp Ministries. Join us as Paul connects the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Now, here's Paul Tripp.
Paul Tripp: He really was given the world's worst job description. It was one that none of us would have been willing to accept. He was told from the get-go that he would be required to experience all the things that we fear and would do our best to avoid. And He knew where it would all end and it was not pretty.
Not only would He be despised by people who should love Him, not only would He be rejected by the masses, not only would He be forsaken in the hour of His need by his closest friends, but He would face a painful and torturous death.
Yes, it's true; it was His job to die. He would not be able to deny it. He couldn't plot to avoid it. He would not be able to bargain His way out of it. There was no change in the plans. It had to be this way; He had to die. There simply was no other way.
Death was His job description and He knew it and He was willing. He knew the cruel end that He was facing. And the record says that He faced it not with anger or bitterness; He faced it not with envy or self-pity; He faced it not with self-important grandeur or as a self-appointed martyr. No, He faced it with joy.
Why did He face it with joy? Because He knew what this death would accomplish. He knew what was on the other side. He knew this one inescapable thing; He knew that there simply was no other way.
Music: "Father of Night" by Bob Dylan
Father of night, Father of day
Father who taketh the darkness away
Father who teacheth the bird to fly
Builder of rainbows up in the sky
Father of loneliness and pain
Father of love and Father of rain
Father of day, Father of night
Father of black, Father of white
Father who build the mountain so high
Who shapeth the cloud up in the sky
Father of time and Father of dreams
Father who turneth the rivers and streams
Father of grain, Father of wheat
Father of cold and Father of heat
Father of air and Father of trees
Who dwells in our hearts and our memories
Father of minutes, Father of days
Father of whom we most solemnly praise
Kate Crowley: And you are listening to Right Here, Right Now with Paul Tripp. Don't go away because there's more hope from the study titled "Light in the Darkness" from the series, "When Grief Enters Your Door."
Now you can learn more about this ministry when you log on to paultrippministries.org. And while you're online, don't forget to read Paul's latest blog. You can also look up other resources designed to help with the incredible grace that God provides. That's paultrippministries.org. And now, here's Paul Tripp with more, Right Here, Right Now.
The World's Worst Job Description
Paul Tripp: Now Jesus was a skilled spiritual mathematician. He understood the equation; "By one man sin entered the world; so all people became sinners." Sin results in death so another man had to come. This man had to live sinlessly, and this man had to die; and in His death, He would not only defeat sin, but would conquer death as well, therefore giving life to all who trust Him.
Now, perhaps I've confused you. Let me say what I've just repeated for you. I've repeated the life-death, death-life equation of the story of the Gospel. Here it is: God created life, and that life was to go on forever. But because of sin, death entered the world. And so, if death were going to be defeated, another man had to come who would live sinlessly and would give His life to death in order to give life to all who would believe. Life-death, death-life, that's the equation of the Gospel.
You see, the first Adam's actions brought death. The second Adam, Jesus, brought life. Life became death. Jesus died to give us back life. So Jesus knew exactly what He had to do. He knew exactly what He was facing. He knew that for all the rejection that He would face, for all the physical things that He would suffer, the one thing He actually came to do which He could not avoid, was dying.
Now, all of this is summarized very well in 1st Corinthians 15. 1st Corinthians 15, verses 12 through 18, and I want to read that for you. 1st Corinthians 15, verses 12 through 18:
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, (Now get this.) our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, then we are all to be pitied more than all men .
You see, if Jesus didn't die and conquer death, then there's no point to our faith. Death wins!
Music: "Can I Go With You" by Bruce Cockburn
When you ride out of the shining sky
To claim the ones who love you
Can I go with you?
Can I go with you?
When the angel shouts from the heart of the sun
And the living water flows down
Can I go with you?
Can I go with you?
Our Faith Is Not in Vain
Paul Tripp: Our faith is not in vain. We are not people to be pitied because Jesus has defeated sin and death. So even when you're facing death, even when we are overcome by grief, you can see light in the darkness; the light of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ who faced death so that death could no longer defeat you.
Again, it's hard to find words to do justice to what one goes through in moments of grief. Few things are more difficult than death; yet in the darkness, you can see the brightest of light in God's truth.
In death, you experience the damage that sin has caused, but you can also celebrate the new life that Jesus died to give you. In death, you can come to appreciate God's presence. In death, your heart can embrace the hope that God will give you what you need to face whatever He leads you through.
In death, you can be touched by the desire to help others who are also in their moments of darkness. In death, you can celebrate the end of the story in a way that you never have before. Death, someday, will die. There is a cause for rejoicing.
In fact, there are few experiences that reinforce more fully what the Bible teaches about who you are, who God is, and the importance of Christ's grace than the experience of death. And my prayer for you and for me is that all the good things that God wants you know about yourself, about Him, about His love, would not be challenged by grief, but would rather be expanded and deepened by this experience.
So what I want to do is I want to detail for you seven lessons of grief or seven lessons of death. You see, death is not only an intruder. Death, by God's grace, can be a teacher.
First, death powerfully reminds me of the destructive power of sin. Sin brought death into the world. Sin is not something to mess with; it's not something to be dealt with casually; it's not something to play around with. Sin is destructive. Sin brings death!
Second lesson of death is that every human being needs grace. You see, my life is not just about life; my life is about sin and death--Two enemies of everything that's good, and everything that's true, and everything that's right, and everything that's wonderful; sin and death. And I cannot defeat these enemies on my own. I do not have the power. I do not have the ability to do that. I need grace to be able to see sin and death defeated in my life.
Third, death teaches the present benefits of the work of Jesus Christ. Life in this fallen world is hard. Life in this fallen world greets me with tragic and greets me with the unexpected, greets me with hardship and travail. I cannot make it on my own. I need the wisdom; I need the power; I need the forgiveness; I need the freedom that only Jesus Christ can give me.
Fourth, death teaches me the accuracy and the practicality of the Biblical story. The Bible accurately diagnoses the struggle, and it practically lays out the only cure. The Bible is a book about reality in its harshest and most glorious forms. The Biblical story shows me people just like me who are going through what I go through, but it also points me to help, and hope, and change, and life.
Fifth, death teaches me the importance of community. Boy, death makes it very clear that my life is a community project. Death makes it very clear that I live in an interdependent web of relationships. And death makes it very clear that I need help, and it makes it very clear why God has provided those resources of help in the surrounding Christian community.
Sixth, death teaches the proneness of the heart to wander. Death often brings out things in me that I did not know were there. Often in grief, rather than running to God, I run from Him. Rather than entrusting myself to Him, I question His love; I question His goodness rather than doing good things. I quit doing good things and do unhealthy things.
Seventh, death teaches the necessity of eternity. It's stated quite well in the passage we read in Corinthians. If there is not a point in time when death will finally die, then our faith is useless; what we believed is in vain, and the promises of God mean nothing. Death screams the necessity of eternity.
What are the lessons to be learned in death?
Death teaches me the destructive power of sin
Death teaches me my deep need for grace.
Death teaches me the present benefits of the work of Jesus Christ.
Death teaches me the accuracy and practicality of the Biblical story.
Death teaches me the importance of community.
Death teaches me the proneness of my heart to wander.
Death teaches the necessity of eternity.
What is the light that can be found in the darkness of grief? It's the light of the presence of Christ and the light of the clarity of His truth. Think about this: rather than death being a contradiction of what you have believed, the experience of death and grief actually reinforces everything the Bible has said is true about you, true about God, and true about His provisions of love for you.
If you're going through death right now, the death of a loved one, the death of a friend, if you're experiencing grief right now, you feel like you're in the darkness; but I want to say to you, there is light to be found; the light of Christ, the light of His grace, the light of His truth that can guide your way through the darkness.
Music: "Draw Me Nearer" by Caedmon's Call
(Original words by Fanny J. Crosby; Music by William H. Doane)
I am Thine, O Lord,
I have heard Your voice,
And it told Your love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee
Draw me nearer,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer,
To Your precious, bleeding side.
There are great depths of love
That I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee
Draw me nearer,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer,
To Your precious, bleeding side.
What I Learned in the Hospital With My Mom
Paul Tripp: When I was going through those days with my mom in the hospital, her last final days, I didn't feel like I was being taught. I didn't feel like I was learning good things. I felt like I was going through the worst thing I could ever go through. There were times when I felt a bit forsaken.
So that's why it's important to remember that rather than death mocking the truth, rather than grief challenging faith, death preaches one more time everything that the Bible says is true. Think of these truths that death reinforces once more with me.
Death reinforces the fact that sin is destructive; it's not something to be toyed with.
Death reinforces the fact that we all need a daily supply of God's grace; we cannot live life all by ourselves.
Death reinforces the fact that, in this life, we are not alone, that Jesus is with us giving us what we need to face what He brings our way.
Death reinforces the fact that the Biblical story is the world's most accurate recording of the drama of life and death that every human being faces.
Death reinforces the fact that none of us was designed to live by ourselves. We were created to live in a web of interdependent relationships on one another, and we were created to rely on our Creator.
Death sadly reinforces the fact as long as sin remains in us, each of us has within us a proneness to wander away from the Lord and from all that we say we believe if only for just a moment.
And death reinforces the fact that if this story doesn't have an end, then everything in between is worth nothing. Death must die or it's all in vain.
But if you're God's child, what you have believed is accurate and true. And what you've done is never ever in vain. Paul ends his writing about death and resurrection with these words (1st Corinthians 15:55-58):
Where o death is your victory? Where o death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Why is your labor not in vain? Because Jesus has conquered sin and death, because life will win. What you do is never in vain.
(Music Interlude)
Paul Tripp: Well, death will never be easy. It will always be a gut-wrenching, heartbreaking experience. Why? As I've said many times; it is utterly unnatural and shockingly final. This was simply not the way it was supposed to be.
But there's something I want you to remember. Someday you will be invited to the ultimate funeral. It will be a funeral that you will not dread going to. It will, in fact, be a funeral that you will actually anticipate with joy, and it will be the last funeral you will ever attend.
As hard as it is to imagine, this funeral will not be sad; there will not be muffled sobs or cheeks wet with tears; this funeral will be marked by laughter, and worship, and celebration! There will be a day when you will be invited to the funeral of death. And when you leave that funeral, you will never ever have to face death again because death will have died once and for all.
So in your grief, you don't have to give up; you don't have to run away; you don't have to hide; you don't have to let fear control you, because death really has been defeated. Hang on! There's a funeral coming that you will really not want to miss. And because that funeral is coming, nothing you do right here, right now in God's name is in vain.
Kate Crowley: Paul Tripp, with a reminder that there is a way to deal with eternity. And be sure to join Paul next time for more of Right Here, Right Now.
Now, you can pick up your own copy of Paul's book, War of Words. In it, Paul talks about getting to the heart of your communication struggles and learning the blessing of speaking words of grace. That's War of Words, and you can request a copy when you visit paultrippministries.org. That's Paul Tripp; spelled T-R-I-P-P paultrippministries.org.
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By the way, next month, you can join Paul at Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana, on February 13-15. Just go online for more details. Next time, more words of grace from Paul Tripp; that's on Monday.
I'm Kate Crowley, and for all of us at Paul Tripp Ministries, remember, in Jesus Christ, there really is help, right here, right now. Have a great weekend.
