WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A MAN DIES?
(from the Breath of Life Series by C. D. Brooks)
transcribed and edited by Derek Morris
Our subject tonight is: “What Happens When a Man Dies?” Frankly, if this question was not so crystal clear in the Bible, I would leave it alone. I wouldn’t bother with it. But since it’s clear, I have to preach it. I believe before this night is over, you’ll discover that this is a very encouraging sermon. The truth of God’s Word is always more beautiful than the Devil’s lies. Would you say Amen?
Well, what happens when a man dies? How does it feel to be dead? What does the Bible say? I ask you very sincerely to write down all the Scripture texts that you hear and study this interesting subject in your own Bible.
The question I’m asking tonight about what happens when a man dies is found in the Bible. I want to read to you from Job 14:10. The Bible says, “But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he?” That is a question that has interested men and women for all the hundreds of years since it was recorded in Holy Writ. Man dies. Where is he? There are some who say he flies straight off to heaven or straight off to hell. There are others who say he comes back over and over and over again as something else. But I want to make a promise to you tonight: I’m not going to read to you what novelists or gurus or speculators say. I believe you want to know what the Bible says. If you do, say Amen?
Ladies and Gentlemen, since the Garden of Eden, the Devil has wanted to confuse people about death. God said to Adam and Eve as recorded in Genesis 2:16-17, “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, in Chapter 3 of Genesis Eve was off from her husband’s side and the Devil came and spoke to Eve and said (verse 1), “Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of the tree of the garden’?”
And Eve was quick to run to God’s defense. She said, “No, God didn’t say that. He said we can eat the fruit of all the trees in the Garden except the tree which is in the midst of the Garden. God has said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die.’”
And the Devil responds with the first recorded lie. The Devil says, “Ye shall not surely die.” What sophistry! How cunning and insidious! Here is the Devil admitting you will die, but not surely. And the majority of the people in the Christian church, let alone pagans, believe that folks are dead, sure; but not surely.
“Why are you weeping?”
“My father died.”
“Is he dead?”
“Yes.”
“Would you go up to his room tonight at midnight and get something?”
“No, not me!”
“Why, what’s wrong? I thought you said he was dead?”
“He is, but not surely!”
Now, you smile, but you know that many folks feel the same way. Most folks wouldn’t go to a cemetery at midnight to save their lives, and the reason is that they’ve heard all those folks are dead, but not surely.
Well, let’s do what we do so often. Let’s define some terms. What is death? I looked it up in the dictionary. It says, “Death is the end of living, the cessation of life.” Life has ceased. Well, if life has ceased, man’s dead. So when the Devil said, “You shall not surely die,” he was lying. That’s why John 8:44 says, “The Devil is a liar, and the father of it.”
But now I want to get serious with you. That lie that the Devil told in the Garden of Eden is the foundation of spiritualism. Did you hear what I said? That’s the foundation of spiritualism, and that lie has come down to the Christian world with mighty appeal, so that most folks tonight are afraid of dead people.
There are strong theologians that preach you’ve got a never-dying soul to save. Now, dear friends, I’m not trying to be offensive or funny but in all the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, never once do you read of a never-dying soul. It’s not in there. I want you to be sure of what you believe. Amen? It sounds good, I know. We heard the beautiful hymn about a never-dying soul to save and carry to the sky; but no matter how eloquently it is proclaimed, it is a contradiction of Scripture, and is therefore not the truth.
Now, it’s not enough for me to tell you that. I’ve got to prove it. I promised you on opening night that this book, the Bible, would be our text. Have I kept that promise? If I have, would you say Amen? I want to make it clear to you tonight what God says in the Bible concerning death so that you can make an intelligent decision based on truth.
I realize that this is a sensitive subject and so, as usual, I want to stick closely to the Word of God. I believe that as long as we do that, we’ll be safe, don’t you? Let’s look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13. The Bible says, “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.” Would you say Amen? God does not want His children to be ignorant concerning those which are asleep. He doesn’t want them to sorrow like the heathen, who have no hope. God wants us to be intelligent on this very, very serious subject.
In the beginning God created Adam and Eve and He formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). And the Bible says, “And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” God had formed him out of the dust of the ground. He was an inanimate body, and then God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And so, body plus breath equal a living soul.
In Psalm 104:29 the Bible tells us what happens when a man dies. “Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.” That’s very simple, isn’t it? When God takes away the life-giving breath, the person returns to dust.
The Bible not only refers to man as being a living soul. I want to read to you from Revelation 16:3. The Bible is talking about the plagues that are going to be poured out right before Jesus comes. And the Bible says, “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” There it is again. A living soul is the union of matter and God’s life-giving breath. Here it refers to the creatures of the sea as living souls.
The Bible refers to this life-giving breath as the spirit. Job 27:3. Please write it down. The Bible says, “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” If that’s clear, would you say Amen? Job says, “My breath is in me…the spirit of God is in my nostrils” just as it was in Adam’s nostrils when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
That life-giving breath or spirit was given to both man and beast, and when the flood came, Genesis 7:21-22 says, “All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land died.” Ladies and Gentlemen, I want you to listen carefully, and I want to promise you that this message is going to end with something beautiful.
Man breathes breath. A horse breathes the same breath. If the air is taken away so that a man can’t breathe, a horse can’t breathe. Like electricity: we have electricity that operates our P.A. system. We have the same electricity that lights up this church. The same electricity drives that projector that puts the slides on the screen. They are different things, but it’s the same electricity needed for all. Every living soul, according to the Bible texts we’ve read, breathes the same breath. The Bible says in James 2:26, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” If the Spirit of God is not in my nostrils, I’m dead, and so is faith without works. Would you say Amen?
Let’s go back to the original language. In the Greek the word used and translated “spirit” is pneuma, and pneuma means wind. We’ve all seen the road workers breaking up the road’s surface with powerful air-driven hammers. They are called pneumatic hammers: Driven by air. After the early days of the motor car, they developed an air-filled tire to replace the old solid rubber tire. It’s called a pneumatic tire–air-filled, from the Greek word pneuma which means wind. That is the word most often translated “spirit” in the New Testament: Pneuma, air, wind, breath.
In the Hebrew the word is ruach. It’s used thirty-three times as “breath” and one hundred seventeen times as “wind” in the Old Testament. So God, when He made man, put something in him–the what? Breath of life, and man became a living soul.
Now, I’ve got a very startling text that I would write down if I were you. I would look it up in my Bible and read it. It’s Ecclesiastes 3:19-20. And I want you to listen. “For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath.”
Well then, what happens when a man dies? In that same book of Ecclesiastes 12:7 the Bible says, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” When God created man, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life–the word there is ruach–and man became a living soul. And here, the Bible says, “When a man dies, his body returns to the dust, and his spirit”–the same word ruach (breath)–“returns to God who gave it.” If that’s clear, would you say Amen?
Now, there are some things that people say about dead folk. And I assure you that everything I say tonight, I pray will be with compassion. For I, too, have been touched by death. All of my grandparents are dead. I have lost many dear Christian friends. So I am not insensitive when I discuss this with you. It’s going to be beautiful before we finish. But the Devil knows how much sorrow is involved when a loved one dies, and the Devil takes advantage of grieving hearts. The Devil knows that there are people who lose a loved one and they would give anything, do anything just to see that loved one again. Death, the Bible says is an enemy, and because it is an enemy, and because it visits all of us sooner or later, the Devil knows that through sophistry and lies he can tempt us to doubt God just as he did with Eve.
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, before we go any further, I’d like to answer for you once and for all from God’s Word, the question: What is a soul? The Bible says in Genesis 2:7 (and we’ve already read it together), “God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.” Now, I want you to notice the wording. It does not say God gave man a soul. It does not say that man received a soul. It does not say that man has a soul. The Bible says “man became a living soul.” Would you say Amen? The Bible says, “You are a soul.” Stop thinking in terms of a little tiny person inside of you called a soul and when you die he leaps out and goes flying off somewhere. You are a soul. Adam became a living soul. If that’s clear would you say Amen?
The Apostle Paul had this clear. In Acts 27:37 he says, “And we were in all the ship 276 souls.” What is Paul saying? There were 276 living people on that ship. Over in 1 Peter 3:20 the Apostle Peter is speaking and talking about those saved in Noah’s ark says, “Wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” Eight people were saved. Now, that’s clear, isn’t it?
And yet there are all kinds of misconceptions about a soul. Some think it’s a little ghost that flits around and lights on the head of a pin and scares people, and jumps out from behind a curtain and says BOO!
Would you like to see a soul? Well, just turn your head a little and look at the person sitting next to you. The Bible says that’s a soul. Would you say Amen?
The Bible says in Ezekiel 18:4, “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” And Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” The Devil said in the beginning, “You will not surely die.” But the Bible says, “the wages of sin is death” and all those who cling to sin will surely die. Would you say Amen?
So we’ve settled that from God’s word. I mentioned earlier that there are some who say we have a never-dying soul to save, an immortal soul. Mortal means subject to death; immortal means not subject to death. Let’s look and see what the Bible says. 1 Timothy 6:15: “Which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality.” The Bible declared that God “only hath immortality.” Amen? 2 Timothy 1:10. The Bible says, “Jesus has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” The Devil lies and says, “You will not surely die.” But God’s word tells us we are mortal: subject to death. We are not naturally immortal, as the Devil would have us believe. Our only hope concerning immortality is through acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and being saved by His grace. Romans 2:7. Please write it down. The Bible says, “Men seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life.” Man seeks for immortality. Now, I want you to think with me. Why would man seek that which he already has?
This is my Bible and I have it in my hand. Wouldn’t I look foolish going around seeking this Bible? I don’t need to seek it if I already have it! Would you say Amen? But the Bible says, “God only hath immortality, and we seek immortality.” Well, when will we receive immortality? 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. The Bible says, “Behold I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep”–talking about the sleep of death–“but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” When do the saints receive immortality? At the last trump. When Jesus comes! Would you say Amen? But when Jesus comes, the dead in Christ shall rise and we shall all be changed. Then we’ll receive immortality, and only then. Until that time we are mortal. That means subject to death.
Well, what’s it like to be dead? I’m praying as I preach tonight. Let’s go first to the words of Jesus. I believe we can trust the words of Jesus, don’t you? John 11:11-14. Listen very carefully to the words of Jesus. He wants this subject to be very clear to us. Jesus is speaking, “‘Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of his sleep.’ Then the disciples said to Him, ‘Lord if he sleeps, he shall do well.’” They didn’t understand the words of Jesus. They said, “Lord if he’s just taking a nap, he’s okay.” Verse 13: “Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then Jesus said unto them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’” Jesus referred to death as a sleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:13–not ignorant) Over in John 5:28 Jesus said, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice.” Jesus is talking about the resurrection. And where does He say they are? In their graves. Now, I don’t want you to miss this. Jesus says to Martha (John 11:23), “Thy brother shall rise again.” And she replies, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She understood the teaching of Jesus. She realized that her brother was sleeping in the grave until the second coming of Jesus, when the dead in Christ shall rise. But Jesus says, “I’m going to raise Lazarus now.” And in verse 43 we read, “He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus come forth.’ And he that was dead came forth.”
I want you to notice something very important. Jesus cried out: “Lazarus,”–do what? “Come forth.” Now, if what some men say were true, Lazarus would have either gone up to heaven or down to hell when he died; he’d been dead for four days. But I want you to notice. Jesus said, “Lazarus is sleeping. He’s resting in the grave, in the sleep of death.” And Jesus didn’t say, “Lazarus, come down.” If what some men say were true, Jesus would have had to say, “Lazarus, come down.” But He didn’t. Would you say Amen? Jesus didn’t say, “Lazarus, come up.” No, my friends. Jesus said to Lazarus, who was sleeping in the grave, “Lazarus, come forth.” Would you say Amen? Now, when Lazarus came forth, did he come with any wonderful experiences from “up there”? Or any terrible experiences from “down there.”? No. The Bible records not a single word. Why? Because he was dead, resting in the grave.
Let’s move on. The Bible has plenty to say about what it’s like to be dead. And incidentally, the Devil is loaded with lies about what happens when a man dies. But I want to believe the Word of God, how about you? Amen?
Well, what does it feel like to be dead? Jesus says it’s a sleep. What does it feel like when the breath returns to God and the body returns to the dust from whence it came? Psalm 146:3-4. Write it down. David says, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” He’s talking about when a person dies. His breath goes forth, he returns to dust; in that very day his thoughts do what? Perish.
You know, sometimes people mistreat someone. And then that person dies, and they’re scared to death. They say, “I mistreated him. And I know somewhere, somehow he’s thinking about me. And if he ever gets a chance, he’s going to try to get even with me.” They’re scared to go by his house. Scared to call him by name. Sacred to go by the graveyard. Now, he might have thought something about them while he was dying, but when he died, the Bible says his thoughts what? Perish. He’s not thinking anything. If that’s clear, would you say Amen?
What else does the Bible say? Ecclesiastes 9:5. Please go home and read this in your Bible. “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” They don’t know anything, the Bible says. And in the next verse, verse 6, it goes on to say, “also their love, and their hatred and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.”
I’ve had dear, sincere people say to me, “I know my husband comes back. When I got ready to buy a car, I didn’t know whether to get a Ford or a Chevrolet. My husband came back and told me, ‘Get a Chevrolet.’ And he sat on the edge of my bed.” Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, something sat on the edge of the bed. But it wasn’t that husband. If it was that husband, the Bible is a lie. For the Bible says their memory is gone; their love and their hatred and their envy is gone and they don’t have anything to do forever with anything that’s done under the sun. Now, do you believe the Word of God? If you do, say Amen.
But the Bible has more to say. Talking about death, Job says in Job 7:8-10, “The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not. As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house; neither shall his place know him anymore.”
I had a dear person tell me one night, “Every time I set the table for dinner I set my husband’s place. I put his chair at the table.” Now, I’m not belittling anyone. These people are sincere. What I’m trying to show us all is this is not in harmony with the Word of God, and you ought to be glad. It shouldn’t be a problem. It should make you happy to know that they are resting until Jesus comes and not worrying about you.
Let’s go on. Ecclesiastes 9:10. The Bible says, “Whatsoever the hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.” Let’s say Amen out there. People want to know tonight, if I die out of Christ, can I work it out later? Is there some place that I can go and make it right? No, beloved. And since you don’t know when you’re going to die, the best time to get right with God is now! Would you say Amen? You don’t even know you’ll be alive in the morning. And I don’t know. And you don’t have to be old or sick. The Devil has ways to usher you into the grave that you know not of. And it’s possible tonight that there are some here who will never see the sunrise again. That’s why the Bible says if you plan to get right with God, do it today. If you plan to show some kindness to somebody, do it now. Would you say Amen? Because when you’re dead, you’re done. The Bible says, “There is no work”–how much work? “No work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where thou goest.”
Now, I realize what this is doing, and I’m preaching this with compassion tonight. I’m praying while I preach. I’m praying that the Holy Spirit will bring truth gently to hearts tonight. Psalm 115:17. The Bible says, “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” I’ve been to funerals and I’ve heard the preacher say, “I can hear Brother Jones praising God right now!” But the Bible says–who says? I didn’t say Pastor Morris says; the Bible says, “The dead praise not the Lord.”
The Devil wants you to think there’s another chance. He wants you to think there’s some way you can make it right later. Then you can live any way you want to until you die. That is a deception. The Devil is a liar and the father of it. If you plan to praise God from whom all blessings flow, you’d better learn to do it now, while the blood is coursing warm in your veins, while your heart is still beating. You’d better learn to praise God now, because if you wait until death comes, it’s too late.
Let’s review briefly. The Bible says we are mortal, subject to death. When do we receive immortality? When Jesus comes. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus said, “Death is a sleep.” We sleep in the grave until the resurrection when Jesus comes. The Bible says, “The dead know not anything, their thoughts perish, and they praise not God.”
Some people say that all the saints are in heaven when they die. Don’t get upset. When you see the beauty of God’s truth, it will make you glad. You’ll see that God’s way is always the best way. Would you say Amen?
I want to read to you from the New Testament. Peter is preaching, on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:29. The Bible says, “Men and brethren, let me speak freely unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” On the day of Pentecost, David had been dead for hundreds of years, but he wasn’t in heaven. But there are some people who say, “Ah, that’s just the Old Testament. As soon as Jesus rose, they all went to heaven.” Peter was preaching fifty days after the resurrection of Christ, and he said, “David is dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” Verse 34: “For David is not ascended into the heavens.” If that’s clear, would you say Amen?
I want to go back to the words of Jesus in John 5:28. Jesus is speaking. There are only two kinds of people that die: the righteous and the wicked; those who are saved, and those who are lost; those who got right with God and those who didn’t. The Bible says they both rest in the same place. I’m reading the words of Jesus, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves”–how many? “shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life.” You mean the righteous rest in the grave until the resurrection of life? That’s what the Bible says! If that’s clear, would you say Amen? “And they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.” The wicked rest in the same place until the resurrection of damnation, which the Bible calls the second resurrection. “Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first resurrection,” the Bible says in Revelation 20:6. “Blessed and holy” These are the redeemed. They haven’t gone anywhere. The Bible says they are resting in the grave until the resurrection of life.
Well, when will that resurrection take place? 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Please write it down and read it in your Bible. The Bible says, “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”–when are they going to rise? When the Lord descends from heaven, and the trumpet sounds “the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together”–caught up how? “together with them in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
What a day that will be! We’re all going to heaven together! Would you say Amen? That’s what the Bible says, and that’s a whole lot more beautiful than the old way. Some of us have mothers and fathers, daughter and sons that rest in Jesus. They could never be happy if they went straight to heaven and had to watch the sadness and the heartaches that we have to face down here, could they? They’d be miserable. Their hearts would break as they would see wayward children going farther and farther away from God.
Oh no, my friends. That’s not God’s way. God’s way is much more beautiful. The Bible says our loved ones rest in the grave until Jesus comes. For them it’s like a twinkling of an eye from when they close their eyes in death until the resurrection, and then we’re all going to glory together! Let’s say Amen out there. What a day that will be! There are parents here who are going to be looking for sons and daughters. Some of us are going to be looking for moms and dads on that great resurrection morning when Jesus comes, and the Bible says we’re all going to heaven together. What beauty there is in the truth of God’s Word! Would you say Amen!
Should I fall asleep in death before that great day when Jesus comes, I’m not going to be up in heaven going through the agony of seeing my wife suffer. My heart’s not going to be breaking to see my two little boys grow up without a father. Oh no, that’s not God’s way. God’s way is so much more beautiful. The Bible says I’ll just rest in the grave, in the sleep of death. For me it will be like the twinkling of an eye, and then I’ll hear the voice of Jesus, and the trumpet will sound. “Awake, awake ye that sleep in the dust and arise!” and by God’s grace, I’m coming up out of that resting place. Let’s say Amen out there! With the redeemed of all ages who have died in Christ, I’m coming up out of the tomb, and I’m going to cry out, “O death, where is now thy sting? O grave, where is now thy victory?”
And then my guardian angel is going to put his hand on my shoulder, and he’s going to say, “You wait right here. Don’t move. I don’t want to lose you.” That angel who has followed me through my life; my angel who has protected me from the Devil’s attacks; my angel who looked after me when I didn’t even know I was in trouble; my angel who marked the spot where I rested in the grave; my angel is going to say to me, “Derek, you wait right here.” And he’s going to disappear in the crowd. I just stand there, taking it all in. The clouds are rolling back like a scroll and I can see Jesus, surrounded by myriads of angels, and I know he’s coming to take me home. Let’s say Amen out there. I remember the words of Jesus in John 6:40: “And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on that last day.” I remember the promise of Jesus in John 14:1-3. He said, “If I go, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am there ye may be also.” I don’t go there when I die. Jesus said, “That’s why I’m coming back. I’m coming to receive you so you can be with Me.” If that’s clear, say Amen out there!
And I’m just standing there, drinking it all in, and thinking about the words of Jesus, when all of a sudden I see my angel coming, and he’s got some people with him. Glory be to the Lord! My wife is there, and my sons Christopher and Jonathan. He’s got one on each hand. With tears flowing down my cheeks I embrace them, and we’re caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We’re going to heaven together. Let’s say Amen? We’re going to heaven together. That’s the truth. That’s God’s way. And it’s the best way.
If you have mothers or fathers who rest in the sleep of death, rejoice tonight in the blessed hope. You’re going to glory together. If you have lost little ones, sons or daughters who sleep in Jesus, rejoice in that day; we’re going to heaven together. “For the dead in Christ shall rise…and we’ll be caught up together.” Let’s say Amen out there.
I want a part of that day, don’t you? Whether the Lord lays me to rest and I sleep in the grave until that day, or whether I have the privilege of living till that day, I want to be among the redeemed of all ages who are going to glory together; fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, going together. How about you? If that’s the desire of you heart tonight, I want you all to stand up right now, and let God know.
Let us pray. Lord, you have conquered death, and we’re standing here tonight to let heaven know that we want to be on the Lord’s side. We see the beauty of your truth. Lord, make this truth plain to your people. Don’t let the Devil deceive us. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would go to each person standing here tonight and convict them regarding the truth of Your Word. And give us peace as we wait for that day when we’re going to glory together: fathers, mothers, daughter, sons, husbands, wives, all together. Surround us with Your presence and keep us safe till then we ask it in Jesus’ name. Let everyone say Amen!