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Ask anyone to tell you about their "greatest moments" and they immediately have a mental list of the times that they feel were the best and most treasured and precious events of their life. At the top of the favored memories for some are the moment of the birth of a child or the day that they met their spouse. For others it is a moment such as a graduation or some other day marking great achievement and completion in their life. Maybe you remember a magical moment where everything in the world seemed right or perhaps even now your thoughts go back to a happier time where your family was together or perhaps all seemed peaceful. If we took the time, to ask the question, "what is the single greatest and most precious moment of your life?" most of us would have to think to choose only one example. And perhaps, some of you would say that "your greatest moment has yet to happen."

But what if you knew all things? What if you were omniscient and not only could see your point of view in events, but see all the other related happenings that are normally hidden to finite humans? What if you were able to go back to your treasured moments and see every implication and know the thoughts of all involved and to know the future and how things would turn out from there? Would such knowledge change your defining of your greatest moments? Probably without a doubt it would.

And so we come to our text in Psalms where we find out what the One in the Universe who does see and know all things -- God Almighty -- feels is the most precious moment of a believer's life. The only One in existence that can actually see the future and know the beginning from the ending -- such a One as that -- picks what to us would seem a strange choice for a Christian's greatest moment:

The Lord who is perfect and cannot tell a lie pronounces that "precious" or "treasured" or "of great value" or "excellent," is "the death of his saints." As foreign as it sounds to you and I, the Lord says that a Christian's greatest moment is the time of his or her death! I want to preach to you today why what the Lord says here is true and that the point of death is the greatest moment of a Christian's life, and I want to preach to you first how that it is true in the natural and then that it is also true in the spiritual.

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We live in a world that elevates birthdays and the moment of birth above all other. Yet, our modern society is one of the few cultures to even remember the day of birth or care to mention it. In Biblical times, the day of birth was often lost in the shuffle of life and ill remembered, but the day of death was glorified and celebrated and never forgotten. Glory -- if there was to be given for a particular appointed day -- was reserved for death. Great treasure and pyramids were not stored and built on the birth date of a Pharaoh's son in ancient Egypt, but rather upon the date of his death. We even see this trend in the Bible, in that only a few select people have the details of their births recorded, but we have hundreds of details of people's deaths. The ancient world of old knew that it mattered little your circumstances as to how you entered this life, and more so how you went out! There is great argument as to the date of Christ's birth and we're still not absolutely sure of even the year, nevertheless the month and day of it, but the date of His death is accurately fixed and settled. We know the year and the moment of His death down to the very hour and minute of the day! The Bible does not give us enough clues as to be sure of His birthday, but is very careful to let us know the exact point of death.

What the ancients believed then is still true today! I know some people who live their whole lives under the shadow and influence of their birth circumstances. They live their whole existence using their poor birth family as an excuse as to why they cannot get financially ahead. Or, more often, they use the degenerate behavior of parents and siblings that they did not themselves choose, as excuse as to why they do not change and become all that they can be in God. On the other side of the token, I've seen people who go through life thinking themselves great and blessed or "holy" because they were born to talented or great or righteous parents. And such people sometimes go through life thinking that they are great just by inheritance or "holy" just by osmosis. And some of those people that I have known -- despite having the most wonderful parents and grandparents -- have lived their life as some of the most ruthless, heartless, and fake people that I have ever known, because they assumed that their birth circumstances assured their success.

Let me preach to you that it matters little how you came into this world and you had little choice in the matter. It matters little as to whether you had both parents living or present or whether you were rich or poor. It matters little whether your childhood was peaceful or tumultuous. It matters little if your education was of the highest class or of the lowest level. What is tragic is to go through life looking back at your birth as the excuse for not being everything that you could be! Because really the most important day of your life will not be the day of your birth or any birthday celebrated in between, but rather the day of your death. Because on that day, the record will be stated both on earth and in heaven "he or she overcame such and such and such" or "he and she could never overcome such and such." Matters little how you came into this world, but of utmost importance is the way you go out! The Bible says:

And John wrote in the Book of Revelation:

The dead were raised to give an account of their actions up until the day of their death! There was not any thing between the day of their death and this judgment that changed anything; there is no such thing as a "purgatory" no matter what the pope may say. Such teachings are the foolish meandering of medieval monks and not based upon scriptural principles. We die and then the judgment. In the time in between we sleep.

And so to the sinful man and woman of this world, the time of death is that of terror and regret. To those who don't know that eternity stretches on after death, they realize that their life has come to an end and so death is unfavorable in that it marks the ending of their being able to live for the moment. It is also terrifying because as they pass from this life to the next, then comes the realization that there was more to their existence than just living and dying on earth. To the sinner who is not right with God, I would say that the moment of death is the worst possible moment of life. It is the ultimate proof that they were searching for and valuing the wrong things in life.

To the believer that has haphazardly lived for God and put off till tomorrow complete obedience to God's commands, the moment of death is also one of horrific terror. Because suddenly they realize that tomorrow never comes and that the wasted opportunities of yesterday were their moment of opportunity. Suddenly they realize that all that they were living for has passed away and removed from them and now they must face eternity standing upon their ship-shod, heartless obedience and commitment.

Bro. Hancock and I were discussing how sobering it is when we have reminders such as this week of how fragile and short life really is. If most of us would have our way, we would never let our loved ones go and would never have a moment of walking in the shadow of the valley of death. But from a God-like stand point, it is good that we should at times walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It shakes us to realize the fragileness of our existence. It reminds of us that the duties of God are by far the most important parts of our lives. It causes us to refocus on our daily life with eternity in mind. It causes us to get off "cruise control" spiritually and seek the relationship that we must have with Him! It brings a reality check to our motives and commitment and actions. It teaches us to realize that we must make the best of the opportunity given to us today and not wait until another time or a more "convenient season." It is good that all of us walk that dark road in the lives of people that we love and within our own existence, because the realization of your mortality to a Christian can only lead to a closer dependence upon He who is immortal! It was a brush with death in a near-fatal car accident that caused the twenty-something man who would later become my father to wake up to the sinfulness of his soul and begin to search for a remedy! It was at the death of our grandfathers -- coming within months of each other -- that impressed upon Bro. and Sis. Sibley the importance of reaching for souls and winning those to who we still had opportunity. Death can be a good thing when viewed through the eyes of the will of God Almighty.

Death can be good because it means that a new generation has the great promises of God available to them and their turn in the kingdom is near. I remember standing at the graveside of awesome men of God who were Godly and mighty in preaching and anointing and wisdom and yet as a young man having the realization press upon me heavily, that now someone from the next generation would be called upon to fill the gap and the void in the kingdom. It hit me early in my life that if only older men preached the gospel, then sooner or later there would be nobody preaching the gospel! That if only older saints witnessed, then soon there would be no witnesses. I give honor to those who have gone before us and I mean no disrespect by preaching as I am today -- thank God for those who blazed the trail and showed by example how to be holy and righteous beacons of truth. But I also refuse to subscribe to the common fear and anguish of some when a great man of God passes away, "oh no, how can they ever be replaced?!" They -- in their unique personality and walk and style will never be duplicated, but as far as their anointing and calling and impact and power, we must realize that when the men before them died, the same things were said and we must admit that it is not the man from which springs the anointing, calling, and power, but rather God is the giver of those things and when one generation passes on, then God immediately seeks those of the next generation upon whom He can bestow such blessings and callings. And sometimes -- as was in the case of Elisha and Elijah -- the younger generation can build upon what was handed to them and achieve even greater things for God! If the Lord tarries, there very well may come a day where my death could be one of the brightest moments of the plan of God because it would allow those to whom I have nourished to blossom in God's great plan!

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And so, returning to our text, the death of the saints is vastly different from the death of the unrighteous or the ungodly. I'm not talking about "saints" as defined by the pope and medieval and idolatrous theology, but rather I'm referring to the "saints" as God did, meaning the "righteous;" those who have overcome doubt to with faith obey God's commandments. Those who have allowed the Spirit, blood, and water of God to transform them into "Christians" -- people who are truly "Christ-like." I'm talking of imperfect people who were forgiven and became faithful to His perfect will for their lives. By saints, we mean those who have found mercy and grace and hope in trading in their old lifestyle for His! To such people, their greatest moment is the time of their death! At least, if God's opinion counts for anything! Let me preach to you a moment on this subject:

To the righteous, the moment of death, means that no longer do they have to use the shield of faith to quench the fiery attacks of an adversary that seeks to destroy their soul. No longer do they have to trust God for things that they have not seen. No more do they have to wander in this land, a part of it, but not a part of it; on the earth but a citizen of another country. To the true Christian, death means that they have indeed "endured to the end!" That they have "fought a good fight" and that the struggle is over. It means that their time of reward is now drawing near and that their faithfulness is complete! It means that no more do they have to worry that a trial of life would snatch through a moment of weakness their treasured prize. It means that persecution is over and conquered. So is sickness and pain. It means an end to discouragement and empty labor.

Death is the greatest moment to a Christian because it represents saying goodbye to the struggle with sinful flesh that they have endured for their entire days. It is a goodbye to the circumstances of their physical birth that they have now left behind for good. It is goodbye to many failures and mistakes and shortcomings and down times and yet a testimony that "in spite of all of that, I made it!" It means that heartache and fair-weather friends are a thing of the past! That the prize has been won! That the race was finished! Indeed the day of death of a Christian is the greatest possible moment of their life on earth!

It is a great day because not only is it a "goodbye" to this life, but it is a "hello" to an even greater existence! The Apostle Paul wrote:

There was a song that came out years ago as I was first beginning my ministry that was based upon this scripture and that touched me deeply. It said, "Life is a dream and heaven's reality." We tend to think of it the other way around, but we see imperfectly here. The wise man said that life was "but a vapor" and barely a flash in the pan in eternity. Too many people live their lives and get discouraged or encouraged based upon this life viewing it as the ultimate and that what happens in this life is the finality. This is just a short warm up for eternity! This life is but a short blip on the radar of God's plan for you and I! If you think that this is all that there is to living, then you are sadly mistaken, because after 100 million years or so, when eternity is still just beginning, the few short decades that you spent on this earth will be but a fading and distant memory. Heaven is the reality and this life is but a dream in comparison. If you live for yourself, then this earth is all you have, but we who know our God -- we live for the future: our reality is eternity!

We cry at funerals and rightfully so because the humanity of us weeps at the graveside just as Jesus did. But I'm afraid that too many of us view death in a drastically wrong way. The story is told of a young girl who found in her backyard a nest full of perfect bird eggs and every few days she went out to gaze upon them and to look upon them and squealed with delight when she showed them to her friends. One day the little girl rushed into the house to her mother crying and sobbing uncontrollably. "What is wrong?" the mother exclaimed! "Something is dreadfully wrong, the perfect little eggs are now all broken and messed up in the nest and now they are ruined!" To which the wise mother replied, "they are not ruined, but rather they have served their purpose. There were little birds within them and they have been broken and discarded to release the life within them."

Like those eggs in the nest, such is this shell of a body! When we stand at the casket of a righteous man or woman, understand that we are not viewing the evidence of a broken and ruined life. But rather we are witnessing a shell that has served its purpose and now the new life that it contained has been released to fulfill its perfect and ultimate will! We are not witnessing the ending of a life, but rather the release and the liberation of it from this earthly container! Now, they can know all things and truly be all things as they were meant to be! Now they have an eternity without the timer of mortality ticking ominously in the background! Truly the death of the saints of God are a precious and mighty thing! Truly it is the saints finest hour: because now they have been released for the purpose for which they were created! Talking about a Christian's greatest moment! The Apostle Paul said it like this:

If this was all that there was to life: eating and drinking and living and dying, then certainly the Christian believer must be pitied. And certainly the way of the heathen -- have fun while you can at all costs -- must be followed. But if Christ rose again, then that means that His promise that we will also one day rise again is true. And if that be true, then there is much, much more to this life that what we see in this finite existence on earth.

And so I preach to you: if for some reason I should lose my mind and lose His mind and turn away from this precious truth and live my last days in sin and disobedience of the Word of God, then were I to die in such a state, then come to my funeral and make no end of wailing and bereaving over my body, because my wretched condition belies such a fate and it shall be a dreadful day indeed!

But if I stay the course and keep the faith and daily do as He has commanded and stand strong through this life and the Lord tarries in His coming and I die my appointed death upon this ball of mud. Then come and weep and say how much you loved me and I hope there are many there that say such things, but somewhere in the day dry your tears and turn from the pieces of the eggshells in the nest and realize that I am not sharing your sad moment. Because if I die the death of a righteous and if I die a saint of God Almighty, then I have just experienced the most precious and treasured and greatest day of my life! The best possible moment has just taken place and now I enter into His rest and into His hands! This sermon is not a death wish -- I have no morbid plans to die young -- but when I do, cry your tears and make your remembrance, but if I die right in God, then go get fried chicken and let my departure strengthen your resolve to join me! Because I have just passed from a form of living to really living! I have just passed into what I was created to and the shell of my body has delivered me into my promised destiny in God. The dream is now over and reality has begun! Truly death is a Christian's greatest moment! Because it is not the end! But the beginning.

In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul likened a Christian's being buried to a seed being planted in the ground. The burial is just a prelude to the fruitfulness that is coming. And he finished the chapter by writing:

This is a great promise to those who are in Christ! To the Spirit-filled believer, death is only a prelude setting you up for the "final flight!" And so knowing this Paul was able to willingly lay his head down on the chopping block of Nero without struggle or regret or fear. And he was earlier able to write from a Roman jail:

He said "I am betwixt a great problem." "I know to live is to experience great things in Christ, but to die is even far better!" Paul knew that the death of a righteous man is indeed his greatest moment! It is goodbye to hardship and hello to the reality of God's perfect will and blessing! What a glorious day!

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And so we come to our other text in the final week of Jesus' earthly life. And He looks around at His disciples and says:

Perhaps it seemed strange at first glance this morning for Jesus to say "now the hour is here for the Son of Man to be glorified" and then to read that the avenue through which He would be glorified would be to "die." But perhaps now you understand a little more fully what Jesus already knew. His coming without His death in obedience to God's perfect plan would have been pointless. Only through His death would sin and hell be destroyed in His follower's lives. Jesus knew that the harvest of righteousness would only come through the sacrifice of Calvary and so we find that God's greatest moment is when the flesh that He became died on this earth! If that is true of Christ, then it is true of a Christian!

And as I steer this message to a close, I want to point out that not only is it true in the natural, physical sense, but it is also true in the spiritual. If we back up from the point of physical death and ask, "before that in the realm of earthly life and existence, what is the Christian's greatest moment?" We must admit that even during life, the greatest moment of a Christian is still the moment that they died. The moment that they died out to their dreams and embraced the new beginning of God's dreams. The moment that at an altar of repentance, they died out to their old identity and asked God for His identity! The moment that the death of their sinful will of trying to do things their way happened, that is the greatest moment of their life. Even in living, their greatest moment was death!

Jesus told the disciples, what has always been to me a neat scripture:

What has always struck me is not that heaven rejoices at a sinner coming to God, but that Jesus said that the rejoicing begins at "repentance." Water Baptism is certainly important, but Jesus did not say that heaven erupts into jubilation at water baptism. Receiving the Holy Spirit ranks in my life as one of the top moments of my spiritual life, but I must realize that heaven was rejoicing way before when I was still crying out true tears of sorrow to God at the altar. Hearing the voice of God to preach His gospel, was a great and monumental point of surrender in my life but I doubt heaven was moved by it. Instead, Jesus said that the angels were rejoicing at the first steps -- at the repentant prayer that rose from my lips.

This does not mean that water baptism is not important, we know from other scriptures that it is commanded and necessary. This does not mean that receiving the Holy Spirit is not important because we know without it we are none of His. We understand that we must not only believe the Gospel to be saved, but obey the Gospel and we obey His death, burial, and resurrection by dying to our old man at repentance, being "buried with Him in baptism," as the Bible says, and receiving the new life of the Holy Spirit! But notice that the celebration kicks off in heaven, at the point of death -- when a sinner bows in humble repentance to God Almighty.

Today, repentance has been cheapened by many so-called "religious people" but I must tell you that repentance is not just repeating a sinner's prayer led by a preacher. Repentance is not a form or a ritual. True repentance involves a person's will being broken before God. True repentance means a desire for all of God. True repentance is not as neat or as packaged as the prayers that you see on television, because it is a spiritual death! It is when a person truly dies out to their will and surrenders themselves to God's will for their life. It is when a person reaches the place to admit their need for God in every way and that they lay all of their self on the altar and let it be "crucified with Christ." True repentance is not something pleasant to watch, because if you truly die out to self, then you care less what others think of you. You care less what man's tradition and man's dogma says and only that you please Him and His Word! True repentance is a grisly thing with your flesh being conquered by the power of surrendering to the only one greater than your will!

And so heaven rejoices at the true prayer of repentance by a sinner! Because if they have truly repented, then they will certainly obey His command to be baptized in His name. If they have truly repented, then they will have little difficulty receiving the Spirit baptism as they did on the Day of Pentecost. If a person has truly repented, then that means that as they walk in the new life that they have received, they will answer the call to whatever ministry and calling God has for them. If a person has truly repented, then the kingdom of Heaven is open to them and His promises are yea and amen. Therefore heaven rejoices at the spiritual death because it is the greatest moment of a Christian's life!

Thank God for the day that you had your sins washed away in the crimson flood of the blood of Jesus by being baptized in His name! Thank God for the day that His Spirit filled your life and you spake forth with a heavenly language! Thank God for the day you realized you were created and saved for more than just to sit idly on a pew and that you heeded the call of God in your life! Thank God for the day that you became a witness to the power of God to this lost world and thank Him for the day you chose to come out and be separate from this world. But heaven is the most grateful for the day you truly repented and truly died out to your old self, because without that moment, all of the other would never have been possible! Even in life, your greatest day was the day of your spiritual death! Because it was the day that hope dawned bright in your life and future. It was the day that you first began to be able to grasp the great things of God! What a glorious day it was! What is true in the natural is true in the spiritual: the moment of death of a believer dying out to their will and their ways, and the moment that they have lost their life and found His is the greatest moment of their existence!

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And so I close with this:

What this means is that today could be the greatest day so far in your life! Maybe you have prayed sinner's prayers until you are blue in the face, you should know that the scriptures never gives us an example of such a prayer. In scripture the preacher never leads anybody through such a thing and they have been invented by men and their tradition. But the scriptures do teach us about repentance. And God wants you to change the way that you view it. It is a grisly thing. It means that you must choose against what your flesh naturally wants to do. It means that you must choose opposite of what is natural. It means sacrifice and dying out to your dreams and those things are not easy. But remember the words of Jesus before you turn away:

If you would come and die out to your old identity and cry out in repentance to God for a new life in Him, you will find that this would indeed turn out to be the best day of your life! There's nothing like dying to live!

And to you who are already called "saints" who have yet been struggling with your fleshly desires and will and selfish dreams. The call is for you also to come and die. Come seek His face and turn from sinful and selfish ways. Truly the scripture is true: "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." If you would stop giving excuses and come and die out to Him, this would turn out to be the greatest day of your life thus far! The call of God comes forth to come and repent before Him! Come surrender everything to Him and find your identity in Him! Choose today to stop holding alive your agenda and release it and let it go! Come die so that you might live and know that when you are weak is when He is made stronger!

Truly death and dying is a Christian's greatest moment!