Luke 23:46               Father, Into Thy Hands                             2/22/2009      ßà   

·         Three Hours of Darkness (Luke 23:44-46, 34, John 19:26-27, Luke 23:43, Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34, John 19:28, 30, Luke 23:46, Mal 4:2, Matt 27:51, Heb 10:20)

 

 

 

#1.       Father, Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit (Luke 23:46, John 10:17-18, 17:23, 1John 3:1)

 

 

 

·         Buried with Christ (Eph 1:3-5, John 6:37,39,40,44,65, Luke 10:20, Rom 6:3-5)

 

 

 

·         His Deity Was Buried with Christ (Mic 5:2, John 3:13, Matt 1:21)

 

 

 

#2.       The Vengeance of God (Acts 2:23, Psalm 31:5, 2Thess 1:8-9, 1:6, Matt 18:7)

 

 

 

·        He Gave Up His Spirit (Rom 8:16, Rev 6:9, Heb 12:22-23, John 4:24)

 

 

 

·         He Gave Up the Ghost (Luke 23:46, 2Tim 1:12, Phil 4:13, John 10:17-18, Psalm 69:21)

 

 

 

#3.       Eternal Security (John 6:37, 10:29, 1Pet 1:5)

 

 

 

 

Please open your Bibles to the Gospel According to Luke, Luke 23:44 (2X). We are continuing to look into all the events that have to do with the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. There were seven recorded utterances of the Lord Jesus just before He died. As you know, the number seven is the number that indicates "perfection". But the number seven is also the number of "Rest" in a finished work. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and He rested the seventh day. Today we will look at the seventh saying of the Lord Jesus indicating that He rested in His finished work on the cross. The task the Father had given Him was now complete, and now He rested and put His Spirit in the Father's hands.Let me review those last seven sayings of Jesus. This is the sequence in which He said to them: #1. Luke 23:34, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. #2. John 19:26-27, Woman, behold thy son; Behold, thy mother. #3. Luke 23:43, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. #4. Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? #5. John 19:28, I thirst. #6. John 19:30, It is finished! #7. Luke 23:46, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit. Today we want to look into the last of the seven sayings of the Lord Jesus. Therefore the title of the Sermon today is, Father, Into Thy Hands (2X). Let us first read about the events accompanying this saying of the Lord Jesus. We read here in Luke 23:44-45 that there were,

·         Three Hours of Darkness (Luke 23:44-46, 34, John 19:26-27, Luke 23:43, Matt 27:46, Mark 15:34, John 19:28, 30, Luke 23:46, Mal 4:2, Matt 27:51, Heb 10:20)

Lu 23:44-45 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

What was the sixth hour? In the terminology of the Jews of those days the sixth hour was at noon. It was about 12 O'clock.  And there was darkness over all the earth until 3 O'clock in the afternoon. This was not a sun-eclipse. The time of Passover always coincided with full moon. Therefore the moon did not position itself between the earth and the sun; the moon was on the other side of the earth, and the moon would become visible after sundown. This darkness over all the earth was a true miracle from God to indicate that God's face was hidden from the sin bearer, the Lord Jesus Christ, because darkness was symbolic of Hell. In His parables the Lord Jesus compared Hell to a place of "outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". And perhaps you have noticed that the name of Hell is “outer darkness”, not utter darkness, indicating that it is the darkness out there that is outside the kingdom of God. It does not belong in the kingdom of God. And now Christ Himself was surrounded by that outer darkness, indicating that both in His body and in His soul He was suffering the wrath of God in that outer darkness, indicating that He was suffering the equivalent of the torments of Hell for all those sins He was bearing. And during these three hours there was no communication with the Father in heaven. This darkness did not originate from Satan. God repeated this in verse 45, where He said, "And the sun was darkened", referring to the "SUN of righteousness", out of Mal 4:2. This was a miraculous darkness, and God did it. God also said, "the veil of the temple was rent in the midst", or if we use the wording from Matt 27:51, "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom", as if the finger of God tore that veil from the top to the bottom. The result was that the Holy of Holies in the temple was exposed. The most holy place, which was the place where in the OT God resided above the Ark of the Covenant, and where God spoke with Moses from between the cherubim, that most holy place was closed off with a very heavy curtain from the rest of the temple. Only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, was a high priest allowed behind that veil with the blood of a bull for his own sins and with the blood of a goat for the people's sins. This was to indicate that the people had only access to God through a mediator, which was in the OT time the high priest. But now the veil was rent, and the Holy of Holies was exposed, whereby God indicated that anyone could now have access to God directly, except he has to go through the torn veil, which represented the torn flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Heb 10:20. This is what God had in view when He recorded that incident of the torn veil. And then the Lord Jesus said in the next verse, Luke 23:46,

#1.       Father, Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit (Luke 23:46, John 10:17-18, 17:23, 1John 3:1)

Lu 23:46  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

The darkness had passed. It was beginning to get light again. Later Jesus indicated the end of His sufferings for our sins when He said with a loud voice, "It Is Finished". But now Jesus said also with a loud voice, "Father". It means that the line of communication with the Father had been restored. Why did He say these things with a loud voice? For two reasons: First of all, Jesus spoke with a loud voice to let His enemies know that He obtained the victory. His prize was to have purchased grace and mercy for all His people, which are those whom the Father has elected from before the foundation of the world. All the efforts of His enemies to destroy Him were turned upon their own heads. How so? At the cross all the elect of God had all the guilt of all their sins erased. But in their lifetime, at the time of them being “Born Again”, their sins would also be erased. This was the only day in the history of mankind that the guilt of sins was blotted out, since the Lord Jesus Christ was the substitute for His elect people before the judgment throne of the Heavenly Father. This was the only day in history that a perfectly righteous man, a sinless man, suffered vicariously for the sins of other human beings. No sinless man existed before or after Him. Everyone else in the world was assigned to pay for their own sins in Hell. They desired to be the enemies of God, and God grants them their wish. Secondly, Christ spoke with a loud voice to let His disciples know, and to let us know, that the Lord Jesus laid down His life voluntarily for His sheep, and only for His sheep; it was not taken from Him, but He laid it down of His own accord. He was not an exhausted victim on the cross. He was not dying because He was exhausted from so much suffering at the hands of men. No! He laid down His life because in His Spirit He had completed the torments of Hell for all the sins of His sheep. He had completed the payment for our sins. The Lord Jesus spoke of this emphatically when He said in John 10:17-18,

Joh 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

It means that the Lord Jesus suffered in His humanity, and that He received the authority to lay down His life when He has finished paying for our sins, and He also received the authority to make Himself alive in His humanity when He was lying in His grave. No other human being can say that of himself. No other human being can make his own body alive again. And now He said with a loud voice, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit". The sword of Divine justice had smitten the Suffering Servant of Jehovah, but now justice has been served. The cup of the wrath of God was drained. The storm of wrath was spent. The darkness was passed. The communion was restored. And now, by an act of faith, He confidently laid His Spirit in the hands of His Heavenly Father. What does it mean, “Heavenly Father”?

Think of this now: If we belong to His people, then His Father is also our Father. The Lord Jesus said in John 17:23, "That the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me". This is an incredible statement. Does the Father love us as much as He loves the Lord Jesus? This is what Jesus is saying here. But think of it now in human terms: If a Father chose a Bride for His Son, would He not love His Son's Bride as much as He loves His Son? In human terms, that is a distinct possibility. The Lord Jesus said that this applies to the relation between the Heavenly Father and the Bride of Christ. He is our Father, because God the Father is Christ's Father. What a love, and what a comfort, and what an assurance. It means that He will supply all my needs. It means that I do not need to be afraid of my enemies. The Father cares for me, and He will protect me that no harm will be done to me, so that all things shall work together for my good. God says in 1John 3:1, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God". Then Jesus said: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.” What Spirit was He speaking about? He was speaking of His human spirit. We know this from studying various passages about the incarnation and harmonize these passages with His atonement, especially His burial and resurrection. First we will consider “To be:

·         Buried with Christ (Eph 1:3-5, John 6:37,39,40,44,65, Luke 10:20, Rom 6:3-5)

Let us first look at the atonement of Christ. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Ephesians, Eph 1:3 (2X). When we look at the atonement of Christ, we should always remember that “WE were in Christ” at that time. And when the Bible says that “WE were in Christ”, the Bible does not refer to every human being in the world, but only to those whom the Father chose to become saved, and then the Father shall draw those to the lord Jesus, according to John 6:37,39,40,44,65. This is very clearly stated throughout the Bible, and cannot be denied. And when the Bible says that WE were in Christ, we should no try to rationalize it, for we personally did not exist yet, and our souls did not exist yet. But the Bible tells us in more than 200 verses of our being in Christ, and that already before the foundation of the world when no one else than the triune God existed. It is a fact that cannot be denied. The best picture of this fact is that our names were inscribed into the mind of God the Son from before the foundation of the world. For example, we read in Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” We read in Eph 1:3-5,

Eph 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

And so, since we were in Christ from the beginning of time, we were still in Christ when He went to the cross. Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Romans, Rom 6:3 (2X). In addition, the Bible says in many places that WE have been crucified with Christ and in Christ, WE have died with Christ and in Christ, WE have been buried with Christ and in Christ, WE have been raised with Christ and in Christ, WE have ascended with Christ and in Christ into heaven, WE are seated with Christ and in Christ in the heavenlies, and WE are presently reigning with Christ and in Christ. Presently I cannot dish out all the references to the things I am speaking about, but we will look into one of them here in Rom 6:3-5,

Ro 6:3-5  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

What baptism is God speaking about here in Rom 6? Is this passage speaking of water baptism? No! We do not see any water here. The entire passage deals with the death and resurrection of Christ. What does it mean to be baptized into His death? The Lord Jesus spoke of this when He addressed the disciples James and John in Matt 20:22-23, who wanted to have a place of honor in heaven. When we look at the context in Matt 20, we see that Matt 20:17-23 deals with the cross of Christ. It has nothing to do with water baptism. And so, the Lord Jesus answered James and John in Matt 20:22-23,

Mt 20:22-23 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

And so, the baptism that the Lord Jesus spoke of was His crucifixion, which He calls a baptism, which means a washing, since He was going to be washed from the sins that were imputed on Him. And so, Rom 6:3 speaks of the fact that we have been crucified with Christ, and Rom 6:4 speaks of the facts that we were buried with Christ and that we were raised with Christ. But if we were buried with Christ, then what was that spirit that went into heaven when the Lord Jesus said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit”? We must have a clear understanding of what went into the grave. It means that:

·         His Deity Was Buried with Christ (Mic 5:2, John 3:13, Matt 1:21)

When the Bible speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as being one in essence with the Father, coeternal, the exact image of the person of the Father, and the reflection of His glory, being in all things like Him, then we know that He is the Son of God, not only from the time that He assumed our nature, but from all eternity. When the Bible also says that God created all things by Jesus Christ, then it must follow that He who is called God, or the Word, or the Son, or Jesus Christ, already existed when al things were created by Him. And therefore the prophet Micah says in Mic 5:2 that “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”. So then, Christ is the true eternal God, the Almighty. Therefore, when God fulfilled the promise which He made to the fathers by the mouth of His holy prophets, in the fulness of time He sent into the world His only begotten and eternal Son, God the Son, who took upon Him the form of a servant and became like unto man, really assuming the true human nature with all its infirmities, except for sin. The human nature that God the Son chose to unite with was the man Christ Jesus, who was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, without the means of man. God the Son did not only assume human nature as to the body, but also a true human soul, that He might be a real man. Therefore, by this conception the person of God the Son is inseparably united and connected with the human nature, so that there are not two Sons of God, but two natures united in one single person; yet each nature retains its own distinct properties. That is why he Lord Jesus could say in John 3:13, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” In other words, Christ was standing before Nicodemus and speaking to him, but at the same time He was in heaven. And so, His divine nature has always remained uncreated, without beginning of days or end of life, filling heaven and earth; likewise in His human nature He has not lost its properties, but remained a creature, having beginning of days, and retaining al the properties of a real human body. That is why the Lord Jesus in His humanity could be hungry or thirsty, or be so tired that He slept, but in His Divinity He could wake up and calm the storm and the waves. But since man sinned only a man could atone for the sins of man. And therefore the Lord Jesus had to suffer the atonement in His humanity, the human nature of His person, which was so strengthened by His Divine nature that He could endure the sufferings of Hell without being consumed in the process. These two natures are so closely united in one person that they were not separated even by His death. Therefore, that which He commended into the hands of His heavenly Father, was a real human spirit, departing from His body. That is why the Bible can say that we were buried with Christ; for the same person that we were in before the foundation of the world, God the Son, must still be united with the dead body of the lord Jesus when He was laid in the tomb. And thus the Bible declares hereby that the Divine nature always remained united with the human, even when He lay in the grave; and the Godhead did not cease to be in Him, even when He was an infant. Therefore we declare that He is very God and very man; very God by His power to conquer death, and very man that He might suffer the atonement for us in His human nature, both in body and in soul. Therefore He restored that which He took not away, and He suffered, the righteous for the unrighteous, in His body as well as in His soul, feeling the terrible punishment which our sins have merited. Therefore by His only sacrifice, once offered, He ha forever perfected them that are sanctified, meaning set apart. This is also the reason why He was called Jesus by the Angel of the Lord, in Matt 1:21, for Jesus means Savior, because He would save His people from their sins.

Now we understand what spirit the Lord Jesus was speaking about when He said, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit”. And then He died.

#2.       The Vengeance of God (Acts 2:23, Psalm 31:5, 2Thess 1:8-9, 1:6, Matt 18:7)

All along the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him". Now, the appointed hour had struck. He was delivered into the hands of sinners. The Lamb of God was led to the slaughter. How shamefully had they treated Him. It was their opportunity to vent their hatred of Jesus. And why did they hate Him so? It was all out of envy. That is exactly right. This is what envy can do to you. And with wicked hands they caused Him to be crucified not knowing that it was all in "the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God", according to Acts 2:23. God wanted Jesus crucified so that salvation can come to His elect, and God used the sin of the Scribes and Pharisees to accomplish His goals. Voluntarily He delivered Himself into the hands of sinners. And now, voluntarily He delivered Himself into the hands of His Father. "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit". Here again, the Lord Jesus said this so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. He quoted these words from Psalm 31:5, "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth". Never again will He be in the hands of man. Never again will He be at the mercy of the wicked. Never again will He suffer the shame of the cross. He put His Spirit in the hands of the Father. That is the safest place to be. His Spirit went into heaven; His dead body went into the grave. Two days later the Father raised up His body from the grave, and 40 days later the Father exalted Him high above all principalities and powers, and above every name that is named in heaven and on earth, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavens. From there He shall come on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead, and He shall come with power and great glory. Then the tables shall be turned. Him, whom the world has cast out, shall rule and reign over them with a rod of iron. When He was here on earth He was judged, but then He shall judge them. Once He was in their hands, or so they thought, but then shall they be in His hands. Once they cried, "Away with Him", but then shall He say, "Depart from Me, all ye that work iniquity". Now He is in the Father's hands waiting for the right time to avenge Himself on all His enemies. Please turn in your Bibles to the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, 2Thess 1:8 (2X). Does Christ have many enemies? Most certainly He does. All the people in the world that know not the God of the Bible are His enemies. God says in 2Thess 1:8-9, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power". All the people that know not God shall God consider to be His enemies. Is that not harsh? No! Not at all! Because in the same chapter, 2Thess 1, we read that they are the ones who trouble us here on earth. Some of them are envious of our material things, some are envious of the spiritual rest we have in Christ, some are envious of our knowledge of the Bible, and so on. Their envy turns them into action, and this is why they trouble us. God says in 2Thess 1:6, "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you". God is the avenger of those who will hurt the Bride He has chosen. God says in Matt 18:7, "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" God knows every sin that is going to be committed, for He is omniscient, and He knows the desires and the intents of every heart. And although God has made His plans on account of every sin, God is not the author of any sin. Man sins voluntarily. It is for this reason that God can justifiably send people to Hell; they sinned voluntarily.

The Lord Jesus said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit".

·        He Gave Up His Spirit (Rom 8:16, Rev 6:9, Heb 12:22-23, John 4:24)

Please turn in your Bibles to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Heb 12:22 (2X). Some people think that man consists of three components: a body, a soul and a spirit. But that is needlessly complex. Man consists of two components: a body and a soul, or a body and a spirit. The words "soul" and "spirit" are interchangeably used as synonyms. The non-material ego in man is called a "spirit" in contexts where the direct relationship to God is the point of emphasis, but where its bodily, emotional, or intellectual aspects are not prominent. For example, we read in Rom 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God". "Our spirit" refers to our souls. For example, they are called souls in Rev 6:9, "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held". Here they are called souls, since there is special reference to the brutal form of their physical death. But these same souls in heaven are called spirits in the exalted description of the heavenly goal which lies before the church. We see it here in Heb

Heb 12:22-23  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Here the blessed dead are referred to as "the spirits of just men made perfect", which are the same entities as "the souls under the altar" in Rev 6:9. Therefore, whether we call them spirits or souls depends on the context. The context must show whether the emphasis is on a direct relationship to God or on a relationship to the body, or whether the meaning is personal or impersonal. Another example: The Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth". Here we must consider the triune God as one Spirit, for the nature of God from eternity past is that He is a Spirit. We cannot speak here of a soul, because God does not have another spirit dwelling within Him. When the Lord Jesus Christ died His human spirit, or soul, went to heaven, and His body was laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea.

Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel according to John, John 10:17 (2X). We read in Luke 23:46, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost". Can you see that the Lord Jesus left us here an example? Do we realize that He committed His Spirit to the Father, because it was in the Father's hands all His life? Can we claim that also of ourselves? If so, then it is in safekeeping. Can we with the Apostle Paul say, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day"? (2Tim 1:12). Are we living for His glory? We know that the Lord Jesus said, "for without me ye can do nothing", and so, the question is are we then walking daily as depending on Him? On the other hand, are we learning that we can do all things through Christ? The Apostle Paul wrote in Phil 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me". You see, how we die depends on how we live. Are we living and dying in absolute dependency upon God? Will it be easy for us to say, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit"? If so, then it is well with our souls.

But now look at the unique way the Lord Jesus gave up the Ghost. His life was not taken from Him, but He laid it down of His own accord. The Lord Jesus was very explicit about this. He said in:

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

With the sinner it is death first, and after that the judgment. With Christ the order is reversed. In laying down His life, His death was different from all others. He died by an act of His own volition. In mere man this would be called suicide, but in Him He died like He was the Prince of Life.

How can we know that He indeed laid down His life, and that He was not a victim? Well, look at the following 6 examples: #1. During His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked, "Whom seek ye"? They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth". Jesus said, "I AM", and they fell to the ground. Jesus could have walked away from them, because they were powerless on the ground. But He did not do that. He delivered Himself up into their hands. #2. Christ spoke with a loud voice. He still had most of His strength. Most of His blood was still in His body. Only after a soldier pierced His side gushed there out blood and water. #3. When Jesus said, "I Thirst", He spoke these words that the Scripture (singular) [not the Scriptures] might be fulfilled. The Lord was referring to one specific Scripture, Psalm 69:21. In other words, His mind was unclouded. #4. When Jesus said, "It is finished" He bowed His head. This means that His head was erect all the time for 6 hours on the cross. He consciously, calmly, reverently bowed His head. #5. When Jesus said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit", he calmly gave up His Spirit; no one took it from Him. For example, when Stephen died he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Jesus gave up His Spirit. Stephen asked Jesus to receive his spirit. #6. It was not natural for Jesus to be dead in 6 hours. The 2 thieves next to Him were still very much alive. People have survived crucifixion for 10 days. Therefore, when Jesus gave up the ghost, He laid down His life; it was not taken from Him.

But now, look at the blessed place of eternal security that followed after Jesus died.

#3.       Eternal Security (John 6:37, 10:29, 1Pet 1:5)

His Spirit went into heaven. He knew which people had been given to Him. The Lord Jesus said in

John 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.                   (And this He repeated many more times.)

He knew that He would come back after His resurrection from the grave to take home His elect. If He would not have been raised from the dead, our faith would be vain, and we would still be in our sins; for if Christ was not raised from the dead He would still be paying for our sins. But Christ was raised from the dead. This is the basis of our assurance, since God said through 1Pet 1:5 that we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation". Therefore, every soul that has been "Born Again" is eternally secure in the Father's hand, because Jesus promised it when He said in John 10:29 (2X),

Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Just like Christ on the cross we can experience the blessedness of communion with God. We have the privilege to communicate with God at any time, any place, or under any circumstances, even near death. We can talk to God about our fear of death, and why it is that our faith is failing at that moment? Christ has extracted the sting out of death. We should no longer be afraid of death. Death is the door which admits us into the presence of Christ. We too can say, "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit", because it is our earnest desire to be with Him. Nothing but God can satisfy our desires and our heartfelt needs in this world. The prayers of dying saints show what great value they place on their soul. At the time of our death we express our faith and trust in the Father's care for our soul. And when we say, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" we plead with God to keep us safe until the moment our life flees from us. That is our eternal security, for God has promised that He will keep us safe until we die.

We live in a world full of trouble. We are unable to take care of ourselves in this life, much less are we able to do so at the time of death. The world, the flesh and the Devil are combined against us. They are too much for our strength. We need help from God, because in ourselves we are weak. Only by grace can we be strong. Only by grace can we have the faith that God provides to all who love Him, to all who are the called according to His purpose. Here is the harbor of shelter from all storms. Here is the blessed shield of faith, which protects us from all the fiery darts of the evil one. Thank God there is a refuge from the storms of life and from the terrors of death: It is in the Father's hand. It is our faith that we are in the Father's hand. That is truly a refuge.

AMEN.                        Let us turn to the Lord in prayer.