(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

So, like I said, I changed my sermon for this morning and I put a title on it. It's called, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. And you'll find this reference in Psalm 116 and verse 15. And so, the one thing I want to get across is that God cares. God cares about when his people die, when they come home to him. And I want to talk particularly, and I'm going to talk about it in general as far as when saved people die, but more so with children because that's obviously what's on my mind. And I want to teach the doctrine, and I've taught this before. We're in Romans chapter 7 and I talked about this as far as what happens if a baby were to die before they were born or after they were born, stuff like that. Where do they go and stuff like that. And so I want to talk about that. And I automatically, when I think of that subject, I think of 2 Samuel chapter 12. Because in this case, David loses a child and he says something that is very quintessential to understand where the child goes. And obviously in this chapter, he's getting punished for what he did. He committed adultery and he had Uriah killed. So this is a punishment that the child dies. But I'm also going to get into the fact that that's not always the case. And with the Slagle family, I don't believe that's the case at all. I believe this is tragic and it's not something that is their fault or anything like that. Because it's kind of like Job, you don't go up to Job. His friends came up to him and said it was his fault. Obviously there's other cases of why bad things can happen. And so I want to talk about that. But as you're in 2 Samuel chapter 12, notice what it says in verse 22. Because the people around him were kind of, when he was fasting and wouldn't eat, well that's obviously he's fasting so he didn't eat. And he was praying and wouldn't wash himself or anything like that when the child was still alive and when the child was about to die. But notice that they were amazed at the fact that when he found out the child was dead, he got up, washed himself and started to eat. But the reason for that is because there's nothing you can do after that point. We're not Catholics so we don't believe you have to pray someone out of purgatory. And we don't believe that you pray for, you know, when someone dies, if they're saved, or they're not saved, there's nothing you can do for them after they die. There's nothing. You can pray all day long but nothing's going to change the fact of where they're at. And so when you need to pray for somebody is when they're still alive. That's the key. And that's what David's making here. He's saying, notice in verse 22, he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? And so that's the key. He's saying, you know, why would I fast now? Because there's nothing I can do now. The child has died. But notice what he says right after that. I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. So he's basically saying, he's not going to come back from the dead, but I'm going to go to him. And the key with this is, and I don't have time to go through all this, but David was a saved man. David, you know, was a sweet psalmist of Israel. He was a man after God's own heart. He said he was going to forever dwell in the house of the Lord, according to Psalm 23. So we know David's saved, and we know where's he going to go? To the throne of God. He's going to go to heaven. And so when he says, I'm going to go to him, that's what he's saying. He's like, you know, I'm going to go to heaven one day. I'm going to die, and I'll go to him, but he's not going to return to me. So that's what he's saying, is that I'm going to see him one day. And so that's the thing that we need to realize when it comes to saved people and when they die. But this also shows you that the child went to heaven. And so there's some weird doctrines out there, and, you know, Calvinism's one of them, where God's out there picking and choosing who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, and they would probably say something to the effect of, well, some of the children that die, they go to hell. I mean, that's a wicked God, okay, that would bring someone into existence and not give them a chance at all to go to heaven, that they would be damned immediately. But I'm going to show you the doctrine in the Bible. Why would they go to heaven? Because obviously the baby couldn't believe on Christ. I mean, they can't understand. My little girls still aren't old enough to believe on Christ, you know. And so I want to talk about that subject as far as that goes. But go to Deuteronomy chapter 1. Because it's actually really simple as far as why children, you know, young children, babies, babies that have not been born yet. And I'm not going into this, but I'm just going to assume everybody agrees with me that life begins at conception and that that's a baby from the moment that they're conceived, so therefore that's a life. And if they were to, you know, if you were to have a miscarriage at any point, that's a real person that would go to heaven. Okay, I'm just going to assume everybody knows that. I'm going into that this morning. But that's what we believe. That's what the Bible teaches, that as soon as the conception happens, that's a baby. That's a child. That's a person. But notice in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 39, and this is talking about the fact that obviously the children of Israel didn't go into the Promised Land until 40 years later because they disobeyed God and they didn't believe that they would be able to take out the Anakims and take out the Canaanites and all that stuff. And so in verse 39, notice what it says. It says, Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. And so this isn't all the people that he's talking about actually that's going to go in because this is talking about a select group of people as far as little ones and children that didn't have the knowledge of good and evil, and that is the key when it comes to the fact of who needs to be saved. Did Adam and Eve need to be saved before they ate of the fruit? No. It wouldn't make any sense. They haven't fallen. They don't need a Savior. There's no salvation without damnation, first of all. And if you're not condemned, then there's no reason to be saved. But I go to Genesis chapter 2 just to kind of show you that. So this doctrine as far as children going to heaven or young children going to heaven, if they were to die, it goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 2. And so Deuteronomy 1 is really showing us that, but it doesn't point back, because isn't that exactly what the knowledge, the tree of knowledge of good and evil? And so this is what it's going back to. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 16, Genesis chapter 2 verse 16, it says, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now, the key here is that, let me ask you a question. When Adam and Eve ate that fruit, did they die that day physically? No. He was 130 years old when he had Seth, so he didn't die that day. He lived like 900 and some years, so he obviously lived way past that, and then he eventually died physically. But it says in the day, and I believe the Bible and I believe every word of the Bible, but that's not talking about a physical death, that's talking about a spiritual death. And so I'm going to prove this in the Bible, so go to Romans chapter 7. But basically, I'm just going to explain it real quick. You have to be dead spiritually in order to go to hell, okay? And this is where the Catholic Church comes in and says there's original sin and they need to baptize babies so that they would go to heaven. Because they believe that they have original sin that's inherently in them. Now, I'll say this, that their flesh does, and that's why they would even die in the first place. Because if their flesh was not sinful, then how it says sin when it is finished bringing forth death. You can't die if you don't have sin on you. And so Jesus obviously was perfect, but he was made to be sin for us, and so therefore he took the sin of the whole world on him. That's why he could even die in the first place. But the baby, why would the flesh die? Because it has sin. And that's why when you find verses where it says they'll come out of the womb speaking lies, that's what it's talking about. It's talking about the flesh. But spiritually, and I didn't even put this in my notes, but if you go to Romans chapter 9 talking about Jacob and Esau, when they have done neither good nor evil, so they're in the womb and they've done neither good nor evil, but they're babies, they're alive, but it's spiritually speaking, okay? Now Romans chapter 7 I really believe just shows you exactly what this is talking about, because there comes a point when you die spiritually, okay? Not everybody comes to that point. And so not everybody comes to the point where they need to be saved. And so I want to show you this. So that's the key, the knowledge of good and evil. And not just the knowledge, because I want to, and I'll clarify this obviously in Romans chapter 7, it's not just that they realize that they shouldn't do something. You know, like my little girls, you know, know, they'll knowingly, knowing that I don't want them to go do something, we'll do it, you know, Clara will do it anyway, right? So there's a case where she knows that, but does she understand that there's a transgression against God's law? No, okay? That's what we're talking about. We're talking about the knowledge of good and evil. We're talking about the commandments of the Lord. And so I don't want you to think, okay, well, my one-year-old can understand that she shouldn't go put her hand in the socket because I've slapped her hand so many times, you know what I mean? That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the fact that they can understand that they are condemned by God's law. And there comes a point where they can understand that. And, you know, I've heard this, and I haven't got that far yet, obviously, with my children, because Clara is, you know, getting closer to three, but, you know, Anna's going to be one, so obviously they're not that old yet. But I've heard, you know, I've heard the lowest number I've ever heard was four, but most of the time it's five, six, seven, you know, as far as where a child would understand it and get saved. And this is different. You know, people call it the age of accountability, but that can be different for everybody. And so, and also, there could be people that never come to that because there are people that are mentally handicapped that will never come, they can never grasp that. And according to, like, what the Catholics would teach or what the Calvinists would teach is that that person just was born and they're going to go to hell because they can't believe on Christ. And that's just ridiculous when we know that God is not willing that any should perish. So if He's not willing that any should perish and He doesn't give them the ability at all ever, you know, that's where the Calvinists come in. Now, we believe in the reprobate doctrine, which means that God does take away the ability for some people, but they did have the ability at one time, and they could have believed. They were able to be saved, but then they became ever learning and ever able to come to the knowledge of the truth. But that's a different story. Now, Romans chapter 7, look in verse 7, verse 7. So notice what it says. It says, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Notice the no. He knew that this was sin because of what? The law. The law of God showed him that, hey, that's a sin to lust because it says, Thou shalt not covet. Notice verse 8. But sin taken occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner concupiscence, for without the law sin was dead. But notice what it says in verse 9. This is the key. For I was alive without the law once. So Paul is saying, hey, I was alive once. Now, obviously, he's talking spiritually speaking. He was alive at one time. But notice what it says right after that. But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. That's where Adam died. Adam and Eve died when they took the knowledge of the fruit, the knowledge of good and evil. The day that they ate that fruit, they died spiritually. And the day that you realize that you've broken God's commandment, that you basically, that you can understand the fact that this is something higher than just what your parents are saying to you, OK? Understanding God's laws. When you can understand that, then that's when you need to get saved. That's when you die spiritually. And so, and it keeps going there. In verse 10 there, it says, In the commandment which was ordained to life, I found it beyond the death. For sin taken occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. And he goes on to say, you know, it's not that the commandment's evil. The commandment's spiritual. You know, the law is spiritual. I am carnal, sold under sin. And he's basically saying, hey, you know, and the children, you know, that are, you know, two, three, four, you know, five, that they've sinned, OK? You know this as parents, OK? That your children are not perfect, and if you tell me that, I know you're lying, OK? But they've sinned, but their body would die. That would be the penalty for their body that sinned. But do you see how there's a disconnect between their soul and that body that's sinning? And just as much as when we get saved, we were dead in trespasses and sins, but then we were made alive through Christ. There's that disconnect there again. And so now my soul is perfect. It says, Blessed is he in whom spirit is no guile. And so, and it says, Whosoever born of God doth not commit sin for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. There is a disconnect with anybody that's in here that's a believer because, spiritually speaking, I am righteous because of God's righteousness, but my body's dead. My body's sinful. And so my body will die, but my soul will never die. It has everlasting life. And so that's what the case is with children before they come to the knowledge of good and evil. Does that make sense? So you'd say, well, are they saved? Well, no, they don't need to be saved. Does that make sense? They're innocent. And so when you think about Adam and Eve, when they were in the Garden of Eden, they were naked, and they didn't think that there was anything wrong with that. And, you know, again, this isn't a general marker, but if a child doesn't care to run around naked, that's probably a good indication that they're still innocent. Now, if you have children that, if they were to just take off all their clothes right here, right now, and they were ashamed of that, then maybe they're probably getting to that point where they can realize that they need, that they're coming to the knowledge of good and evil. Does that make sense? Because that's kind of a good marker that I see. And again, that's not perfect. I'm not saying like, you know, a four-year-old's like kind of ashamed, or a three-year-old's kind of ashamed. But Clara doesn't care, okay? I'm just telling you, she's two and a half. She's getting closer to three. But she would run around here naked and not care, okay? But that's because she's a child. She's innocent, okay, and spiritually speaking. And so, you know, when I hear, obviously it's tragic, when you hear about a baby dying, and you hear about miscarriages, and you hear about children being born, but then they don't make it. You know, my brother-in-law, they had a child raped before Clara. We were pregnant, or Holly was pregnant with Clara, and the baby had a heart condition and all that stuff, and she didn't last long. It was just a couple months down the road after birth that she passed away. But there's a lot of comfort in the fact that you know, hey, they're in heaven, okay? And so it's obviously tragic, and, you know, I hate when it happens. And so this is something, you need to pray for the family. And obviously when we knew that this was kind of a higher risk case with Miss Ruth, and obviously we were praying, I was praying a lot when I heard about the fact that she was, that her water broke and she was only 22 weeks and stuff like that. And so, you know, it's kind of like that story, only it's not like a bad, you know, it's not like she was under punishment. But it's kind of like that story where you're praying, you're fasting, you're trying to do everything you can to get a hold of God, and hopefully God will be gracious. But afterwards, I mean, there's nothing you can do. And so, but I want to talk about this because, and this is in general, okay, because we kind of covered, okay, babies go to heaven, okay? Hopefully that makes sense. Hopefully that's pretty simple, right? The fact of the knowledge of good and evil. And until children come to that knowledge of good and evil, they're not going to be able to understand salvation, right? One of the first things we go to is that, hey, you're a sinner, and that sin condemns you. But if they can't understand that, then how in the world are they going to even get saved? So God's not willing to finish a parish. He's not going to send people to hell that can't even understand the gospel, okay? And so, but I want to talk about this because when it comes to when people die, there's this school of thought out there, you know, well, you're saved, they're saved, then you should just be joyful. That's not true, okay? Now, obviously, you need to have that in the back of your mind that, hey, I'm going to see them again. But there is a time to mourn, okay? And don't forget to do that because it's healthy to mourn. It's healthy to weep for those that you've lost. Go to Romans chapter 12. And so, I forgot to put this verse down, but there's a verse that talks about, basically, he that singeth songs, and I'm going to misquote it, he that singeth songs to him that is of a heavy heart, it is like you took a garment away from him in cold weather, and I'm misquoting that. I should have wrote it down. But it's in Proverbs, but basically, if someone's weeping and mourning for the loss of a child, for the loss of a loved one, or for anything like that, and you go up to him and say, to God be the glory, you know, like, that's not the right response, okay? Now, obviously, I love that song, and I love that, but do you see how he that singeth, like, a song like that to someone that's grieving, it's like you took away their coat in a snowy, cold day because that's not something that, and obviously, we need to be uplifting, and I'm not saying not to be encouraging, but you don't want to be just going in there and be like, hey, let's have a good time. You know, like, you need to weep with them that weep, and notice in Romans chapter 12 and verse 15, it says, Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. So if someone's weeping, you need to get down on their level, and you need to mourn with them, okay? And I'm not saying, you know, you need to be fake about it, okay? You need to be real, and obviously, if it's someone that they're mourning for and you don't know them, you're not going to be that attached, and you're not going to be weeping, okay? But you don't want to go up to them and just act like everything's just fine, you need to get over it, and I've seen that where people are just like, you need to not mourn. Why are you mourning? They're saved. Why are you weeping? You need to be happy. It's like, no. That's not what the Bible teaches. Ecclesiastes, go to Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and I feel like I'm always going to this chapter. I was doing my imprecatory prayer sermon last week, and I'm always going to this chapter, but it's true because I feel like people are always on this one side of the spectrum where it's all joy, love, peace, happiness. It's like, you got to get into the real world here. You got to get into real life where you're going to have sorrow, you're going to have pain, and you're going to have these times where you're not always going to be happy. And obviously we have this joy unspeakable and full of glory. We have this joy that never leaves us, but it doesn't mean we're never going to be sorrowful. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 4, and obviously there's a time for every person under the sun, and verse 4 says, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. Those are two contrasting things. And obviously when you get into a funeral setting, and a lot of times you're trying to light the mood, I'm not against that. I'm not saying like, hey, never laugh, just be stoic as you're in that situation, but you need to be also mindful of the fact that, hey, this isn't playtime. You want to try to lighten up people, and you want to kind of encourage them, but you also need to see that, hey, this is still a time of mourning. This still is something that we need to weep with them that weep, mourn with them that mourn, and here's the thing. Everybody, and I'm not saying I'm perfect at this, but everybody always asks, what do you say? What do you say in those times of trouble with people? There's nothing really you can say. Obviously you can give encouragement and maybe give a Bible verse here and there, but you know what people need when they're mourning is just for you to care about them, for you to mourn with them, just be there with them. Job's three friends did that with them for three days. They just sat there with them, and then they opened their mouth, okay? But that's what they did for the first three days. They just sat there with them, and that's what people need. They just need you to be there with them. There's nothing you're going to say that's just going to be a trigger where they're just going to lose all pain, lose all sorrow, and so they just need you to be there, and so be there with them, mourn with them, and the biggest thing that I would say is take it as seriously as they are. There's gravity in that. You don't want to be light about it. You don't want to be jovial about it. You want to be sincere. You care, and you're mourning with them. You're weeping with them, and whatever you can do to help them. That's the way I go into that type of situation because I am not, you know, Holly's kind of the same way with me. I'm not a very emotional kind of person. I don't just weep all the time. I don't just cry, and so it takes a lot, you know, and it takes for someone, if someone died that was really close to me, obviously I would, but a lot of times in those situations, I feel bad because I'm not as, like, you know, emotional, I guess, and I'm like, I feel like I should, you know, like, am I that mean? Am I that, like, cold-hearted, you know, that I'm not, like, very emotional about stuff? But here's the thing. It's not about that. It's not like they're like, oh, he didn't cry, therefore he doesn't care. That's, I never look at that. If someone's not weeping when they're consoling me, it's not like I'm like, oh, they don't care. It's more so the fact you can see whether someone cares. You can see that compassion in their eyes. But in Ecclesiastes, you're in Ecclesiastes 3. Go to Ecclesiastes 7. Mourning is a lot, is actually a good thing, okay? And I want to point this out. Now, we're not supposed to mourn all the time. Remember, there's a time to mourn, and there's a time to dance. There's a time to weep, and there's a time to laugh. But mourning is actually a good thing. You know, when you think of, actually, it's a really good thing to go through hard times because it makes you stronger. But in Ecclesiastes 7, it kind of touches on this as far as being in the house of mourning is actually a better thing in a lot of cases. And notice in verse 1, so Ecclesiastes 7, verse 1, it says, A good name is better than precious ointment in the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. For that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Verse 3, I'm sorry, Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Now, if you know mirth, it's usually dealing with laughter, dealing with, you know, joyous-type things. And so when I think of, you know, when someone passes away, obviously I'll mourn with them to mourn, I'll weep with them to weep, but you know that's a great opportunity to talk to people about Jesus. You know, the best place to ever give the gospel was at a funeral because people are thinking about death. Notice, you know, in verse 2, it says, It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men. Because everybody's thinking, Hey, this is my end, too. We're all going to die, right? That is the end of all men. So that's their mindset, right? And the living will lay it to his heart. When you go out sowing, what are you, first of all, trying to do? You're trying to get people to realize the gravity of the situation, that this is a big deal, that, hey, you will die one day. Where will you go? And if you don't know where you're going to go, you're going to go to hell. And so that's the gravity that sets in in the house of mourning. And throughout the Bible, it talks about being grave, being sober, not being light, not being, you know, and light meaning the opposite of being grave and having gravity. And so gravity is something that we're supposed to have most of the time, and when someone dies, that forces you into being grave. Does that make sense? And it forces other people to be into that, and they take heart, and they take knowledge of that. So I just wanted to kind of talk about that, you know, as far as, people will come out to you, and if you were to ever lose a loved one, they say, you need to just be happy. You will never get that from me. If you ever lose someone here, and you ever, anything like that happens, I'm not going to be like, you just need to get over it. They're saved. You're saved. Why are you weeping? Why are you crying? That's not biblical. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Actually, the Bible teaches that it's better to be in the house of mourning than in the house of feasting. And so those times, and obviously it's tragic, and we're going to go through those type of times, but those type of times are actually going to make you a stronger Christian. They're going to help you to keep sight on eternal things, right? Because when someone dies, when I think of when Wes Thompson died, my friend who was 20 years old, when he died, and it was tragic, it was something out of the blue, and I had no idea it was going to happen. No one did. You know what? That just made me think about the fact of how short this life is and how I could die today. I could die tomorrow. And it puts gravity on the situation, and it helps you not worry about the things that are of this life. You don't care. All that stuff doesn't matter. Your vehicle, your house, all the materials, nothing matters. And when you lose a loved one, all that stuff disappears. You could care less about everything that's around you. You'd say, set the house on fire. I don't care. I'd rather have that person here with me right now. And this is something that is close to me because my dad lost his twin brother back in, it was in 95, right? I was 10 years old. But at the time, he'd say, why would someone like that die? He was a good guy. As far as, obviously, I was 10 years old, so I didn't know him that well as far as my other uncle and other relatives. But you think about, why would that happen? And you say, why would this child die? And I'm going to get into that, but when I think about the it's better to be in the house of mourning, you know when that happened, I thought about death at 10 years old, and I wanted to know that I would go to heaven, and I wanted to know I wasn't going to go to hell, and I had an interest in the word of God from that day forward. I may not be saved today. I may not be a pastor today. I may not have, you know, you think of all the, and I'm sure, I'm not saying I've won a whole bunch of people to Christ, but I definitely have won a lot of people to Christ since I've been saved, and would that have happened if that tragic thing wouldn't have happened to me when I was 10 years old? Because that was a pivotal point in my life where, you know, you're 10 years old, you don't think about that type of stuff. You just think everybody's going to live forever. You don't worry about it, but you know, my grandpa died, you know, in 91, and I was younger, obviously. I was 6 years old, but you still, you kind of think about it a little bit, and you don't really understand it, but when he died when I was 10 years old, when my Uncle Jack died when I was 10 years old, that resonated, and so that's what I'm talking about is that that stuff, you never know the reason for that. My uncle dying at a young age may have caused a lot of people to get saved that may have never gotten saved, and so you never know. You never see the big picture until later, and so think about the people that I've gotten saved that have gone out and started doing it themselves. I think of my younger brother, Justin. I've won a whole bunch of people to Christ, and if I didn't get saved, I'm the one that won him to the Lord, and so it's tough to think about. Now, what I want to say, though, is that mourning is good but not without hope, okay, and that's where we come into the fact of, go to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. You don't want to have sorrow without hope, and that's the key. I mean, so obviously, I would say mourn with them that mourn, weep with them that weep, but you don't want to mourn in a state where there's no hope, okay, and people that if someone dies that's not saved and you're not saved and all that, then you have no hope, and yes, then sorrow is going to overcome you because at that point, it is over. I mean, if you're an atheist, okay, let's say all this is, you know, the Bible's wrong, all this stuff, and there's atheists, and you just die. There's no hope. They're never coming back. You'll never see them again, and so, but obviously, we have hope in Christ, and in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4 and verse 13, there's a famous rapture passage, but this is also a great passage to think about if you lose a loved one. It says in verse 13, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. So this is definitely a comforting passage here to know that, hey, you know, even at the very end, you know, if you died before the rapture happened, you're just going to be in heaven with them. But, hey, you know, that body, even that body of that person that died is going to rise before you even do. If you were to be here alive, they're going to be going up first, and then you're going to meet everybody in the clouds, and we're going to all be together. This isn't the end. That's what you've got to think about. That's where the hope comes in is that, hey, you know, if we live to three score in ten or four score years, you know, that's 70, 80 years. I mean, that's nothing in the time of eternity. So you've got to remember the fact that, hey, our life is short. But Jesus also, you know, is a great person to go to. Now, I know you know this, but obviously our Savior is a great person to go to. In Isaiah 53, this is what it said about our Savior. Isaiah 53 and verse 3, it says, He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. And so Jesus is someone to take all our cares to. He's a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief. And so we can take our sorrows and all our problems to Him, and He'll take them all. Tell it to Jesus. You know, take your burdens to the cross. Take it to Jesus. And it's interesting how verses pop out to you as far as verses that are very comforting and very moving. But I'll show you one of the verses that just, I don't know why, but I just love this verse. Go to 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. 1 Peter chapter 5. Start there in verse 6. 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 6. And this one verse, I don't know why, but it's just one of those verses that really just sticks out to me as far as God loving me and caring about all the stuff that I go through. But in verse 6 there it says, Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Cast all your cares upon Him. He has borne our sorrows. And so take it all upon Him. He was all points tempted like as we are, and it says that He was tempted, and He was able to succor them that are tempted. And so He can help those. He's gone through all those temptations that you've gone through. But all the cares and sorrows that you have, put it on Jesus because He cares for you. He says, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Now the one thing that people would say, well, why does God allow, you know, like babies to die? You know, like what's the reasoning? You know, we kind of already talked about it. You know, there's obviously a bigger picture, and I want you to see that. But go to Isaiah 57, Isaiah 57. So whenever anybody ever asks me, you know, why does a good person die? I mean, obviously you've got to think about this, that we're all sinners, so our punishment is death, you know, even if we're saved. You know, our body dies. And we already covered the fact that saved people are alive spiritually, and babies that haven't reached the knowledge of good and evil, they're perfect spiritually, so their body just dies. That's the punishment for sin. But Isaiah 57, I believe, gives us kind of an idea of another case as far as why would a good person die? Why would a baby die that hasn't done anything? But in Isaiah 57, verse 1, notice what it says. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace. They shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. So sometimes, you know, why would a righteous person die? Because he's taken away before something worse would happen. He's taken away from evil to come. And you say, well, when would that apply to a baby? Well, I'll show you a story in the Bible. Go to 1 Kings, chapter 14. You have to bear with me, because I want you to see the story, and I feel like if I don't read it all, then you may not understand the context. But it's about Jeroboam. Jeroboam was the first king over the northern kingdom of Israel after Solomon died. And so they had that split. That's where the first split was. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, took the northern kingdom, and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, took the lower portion of Judah. And obviously Jeroboam sinned. He made two golden calves, but one in Bethel, one in Dan, because he didn't want people to go down to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, because he was afraid that the tribes would assimilate again, that they would all come together and say, no, we want to worship the true God. And so he made these golden calves. And so God's punishing him for this. So again, this is a punishment, but I want you to see that that Isaiah 57 actually applies here because another child is going to die. And so in 1 Kings 14, verse 1, we'll start off here. It says, at that time, Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick. So that's the key here is that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, his son Abijah is sick. And notice what it says. It says, and Jeroboam said to his wife, arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam, and get thee to Shiloh. Behold, there is Ahijah, the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves and cracknoles and a cruise of honey, and go to him. He shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah, but Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shalt thou say unto her, for it shall be when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam. Why faintest thou thyself to be another? For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee, and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes. But hast done evil above all that were before thee, for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back. Therefore, behold, I bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat, for the Lord hath spoken it. Arise thou, therefore, get thee to thine own house, and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. Verse thirteen, And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel, and the house of Jeroboam. So I know it's a lot, but basically what happens here? Jeroboam, his whole house is going to be destroyed by God, and he says that all his sons, and that's what it means when it says he that pisses against the wall, who does that? Men, right? So his sons are all going to die, and not only are they going to die, but they're going to be eaten by the dogs and eaten by the fowl. They're not going to go to the grave. So that's not a blessing, okay? So when they die, the dogs are going to eat them, and the fowls are going to eat their flesh. They're not going to have a proper burial. And he says the child's going to die, but what does he say right after that? He says, And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him. He's the only person of Jeroboam that's going to actually have a proper burial. For he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. And so there's a case where you have Isaiah 57, where if you would have let the child live, that would have been the child's end. And you know, the child, think about this, he's coming up in Jeroboam, the son of Nebed. Do you think his children got saved? You know, I don't know if Jeroboam was saved or not. He could have just been a wicked Christian, you know, that made the molten images and all this stuff. But in a lot of these cases, their children become like reprobates. And so, you know, think about a child in a family where it's just, you know that when he grows up, he's going to hate the Lord. And he's going to follow all this wickedness of their father. But God takes them out before that happens. Now they go to heaven. And now they don't have to have that judgment upon them because he put that judgment on the whole house, but he saved that child from that judgment. And so obviously this is a case that wouldn't apply to any of us right now. You know, I'm not saying like this is like something that applies, but that aspect of it applies. That aspect of the fact that the child may have died because of evil to come. And you don't know, you know, what that is. And I'm not saying that that's always the answer. But there are cases where God, you know, God allows things to happen, and sometimes he allows people to die, good people to die, because of evil to come. To save them from evil to come. You know, you think about, you know, the end times, you know, we could be getting close, especially if Trump goes to war, you know. You know, our Trump, you know, the president that's supposed to be all about peace and hated war and all this stuff. And now, you know, it just shows you that our presidents are just a bunch of puppets for the elite that are actually running our country. You know, all the bankers and JP Morgans, all that. Anyway, but all I'm saying with that is that, you know, you think about the end times coming up, what did the Bible say about children when the end times coming up? All to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. I'm not saying not to have children. Obviously we're planning on having more children. That is what the Lord will give us. And I'm not saying that in a manner as far as like you shouldn't have children and you should fear to have children. But all I'm saying is that you never know the bigger picture of judgment that's going to come upon this nation, that's going to come upon, you know, other things or horrible things are going to happen and God sees that before you do. God knows the beginning from the end. And so, something to think about, but also just remember this, that our life is short. And so you think about a child dying. Yes, that's tragic and I can't imagine it because I never had to go through it. I don't want to go through it. But you got to remember, you know, that if someone dies and even if it's someone that's older or whatever, that this life is very short. You know, before you know it, let's say an older person dies, before you know it, you're going to be their age and you're going to be in the same position, okay, because there's not that much time between everybody. You know, you think of someone that's 70, it's like, well, I got 40 some years or less than 40 years to get there. So, you know, I'll be there soon. And so it's just a matter of time, it's all going to happen to us and, you know, we need to remember that. But in Job chapter 8 and verse 9, it says, For we are but of yesterday and know nothing because our days upon earth are a shadow. In Psalm 144 and verse 4, and if you want to jot these down, I'm kind of just running through these. But in Psalm 144 and verse 4, it says, Man is like to vanity, his days are as a shadow that passeth away. And one of the most famous passages is in James chapter 4 and verse 14 where it says, Whereas ye know not what should be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanisheth away. So what is the Bible liken our life to here on the earth? A shadow, a vapor. And so you got to remember that as your life goes on is the fact that, hey, it's just a small little portion. That's why we need to get to work now, you know, when it comes to the things of God, because you never know how much longer you have. And even if you do have 70 years on this earth, that's still not a lot of time. And so you need to get everything you can get done now, get to work, get into God's word, because you don't know how much longer you have. And even if you have the longest time that God will give you, it's still a shadow. It's still a vapor. It still appears for a little time and then vanishes away. But I wanted to talk about, you know, this is the last thing, I will end on this, about how, you know, obviously God cares when someone dies. You know, in the name of the sermon, you know, Psalm 116, verse 15, it says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. It's precious to God, and I wanted to just show you a couple places where, you know, where I kind of see that as far as the preciousness of it. Go to Luke 16. And no, I'm not going to talk about the rich man going to hell. But the other portion of this that, you know, when I go to Luke, usually when you go to Luke 16, you talk about the rich man and you're trying to prove hell and all this other stuff, and that's obviously valid. But I want to focus more on Lazarus and just what happened with him when he died. Because I want you to think about this. When someone dies, what happens? Well, in Luke 16, verse 22, it says, And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. When someone dies, and I believe this applies to everybody, that's saved, right? Because the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell. He wasn't carried by angels. He was just in hell. But the beggar was obviously a saved man, and he was carried by angels. So think about the escort that you're getting into heaven and the fact that God cares about you. He has, you know, the angels are ministering spirits to them who shall be heirs of salvation. And so the angels are our ministers. That's their whole purpose is to minister unto us and help us. And so they're being carried by angels. Go to Acts chapter 7. Now, obviously, I believe that happens with everybody that dies, that's saved, is that they're carried by angels into God's presence. But if you think about this, you know, this isn't unorthodox because how do we get raptured? God sends forth his angels and gathers his elect from that one end of heaven to the other. So you can even see that apply with the resurrection with the angels. And so God cares. He's sending down his angels to bring up his children when they die. In Acts chapter 17, now, this is a story with Stephen. He preached a hardcore sermon against the Jews, and they kill them. But I want you to see something that happens here. Most of you know where I'm going with this. But in Acts chapter 7, verse 44, 54, verse 54 there, Acts 7, verse 54, it says, When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And so this is the famous martyr Stephen who was stoned for just preaching the word of God. And notice what he says, though, that he looked up into heaven, he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Now what you'll notice, usually every other place in the Bible when it talks about Jesus, you know, when he ascended up to heaven is that he's seated at the right hand of the Father. He's seated at the right hand of the Father. You know what that shows me is that when Stephen was being killed, he stood up for him. Think about that. The King of Kings and God of Gods, the Lord of Lords, your Savior, the only wise God, the only potentate, stood up, got out of his seat to watch his faithful Christian die for him. And so God cares. It is precious in the sight of the Lord when his saints die. So precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the saints. And remember this, it's far better to be in heaven than to be down here. So you don't want to feel sorry for those that go on. Obviously, we mourn because we want them to be with us, we want to be around them, and it's kind of, you know, we want them to be around us and stuff like that. But in Philippians, chapter 1, a famous passage, in verse 21, it says, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain, but if I live in the flesh is the fruit of my labor, yet what I shall choose, I what not. And it says, you know, in one of the most famous passages, it says, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. It is far better to be with Christ. It's far better to go to heaven. It's far better that if I were to die, to be with God in heaven, but notice what it says right after that. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. You know, obviously, it's far better for me to go up into heaven right now, but it's a lot more needful for my family than I'm here. Right? And so I have a desire to part and be with Christ, but, and it's far better, but it's also more needful for me to be down here right now. And so that's the mindset you got to have is the fact that, hey, if I were to die today, hey, that'd be far better, but you got to have the mindset, hey, but I need to be around here. I need to suffer through this. I need to go through this stuff because it's more needful for the people that need to get saved. It's more needful for your family that needs you to provide for them, take care of them, raise them to be here on earth. It's more needful for them for you to abide in the flesh, but you still have that desire. You're in a strait betwixt two. You're like, I need to be here to do this, this, and this, but I'd rather be in heaven. I'd rather be done with all this, right? And so the mindset, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 8, it says, we are confident, I say, and willing, rather, to be asked in front of the body and to be present with the Lord. Willing to be asked in front of the body and be present with the Lord. That's the mindset, you know. I'd rather be with Christ. It's far better. You know, I'm willing to be asked in front of the body, be present with the Lord, because that's a lot better. You're done with your works, right? You're done dealing with everything you've got to deal with. You're done with the sorrow and the pain and all that stuff that's down here, but, you know, we've got to live here. I think of people that pass away, they really aren't suffering like we are. We're grieving and all this stuff. We're down here. They're in heaven. It's far better up there. So whenever someone dies that you know is saved, I know it's sad, and you should mourn, and we should weep with those that weep, and I'm all for that. Don't forget that step, because you need it, but we don't sorrow as those which have no hope, and we need to remember that because it's far better to be with Christ. It's far better, and we need to remember that it's better to be asked in front of the body and be present with the Lord, and so I hope this sermon helps. I hope that, you know, especially when you're dealing with children because, you know, there's such weird doctrines out there, you know, as far as what happens to children if they were to die, and so I hope that helps as far as understanding that, but also just understanding the process as far as grieving over somebody. Don't forget that step, because that's an important step, but also just don't have sorrow as others that don't have hope, and if someone good or someone that's a good person dies, God knows best sometimes for those people, and there's maybe a reason for that, a reason for that. I'm not saying there's always a reason. I'm not saying that's always the case, but sometimes that is the case. That's what the Bible teaches. So let's end with a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, what we thank you for today. Thank you for everybody that came out, and Lord, we just pray that you would bless the time that we have with fellowship but also with the soul-winning efforts later on today, and Lord, we just pray that you'd hold off the rain until we can go out for a little bit and maybe give the Gospel to some, and Lord, we just pray that you'd give us safe travels, give those safe travels, especially those from long distances, and Lord, we love you, and we pray that you use Christ's name. Amen.