The Washington herald., 1922-04-17
SAYS HEAVEN IN YOUR HEART
WILROB DEATH OF STING
Rev. Chappell Emphasizes Blessed Are the
Dead Who Die IN the Lord"

Il unhealthy. That IL .unChristian
We are to best get ready for the
HE to come BY loving this life and
living It braveIy and faithfully.
But has death been. stripped for u
of its ugly grimness; has the grave
lost its CHASTITY horror because of
the faith thats;wes have as Chris
tians?
Fer Those who Love Him,
There are a great, many Chris
tians today who seem to believe
that those who have died, in the
lord are sleeping q sleep Of utter
Inconsistencies. Some day they
are going to arise. 1t, IL, true. but
at present. they have no conscious
life at all. They are just the same
as IL they had, never lived, IL
that were true, what John here
says could. not possibly be true.
You might as well say, blessed is
the beast of the :heidt that died a
Thousand, years ago. Ifsthe dead
are asleep they are, at present kno
more blessed. the greateat saint OF
them, than . dead animal, :.4.': = I
TheSe are those: who. fancy that
heavenly recognition As son ethfng
that 10 almost too good to be true.
Nothing IL too good for our Lord to
do for those who love Him. Much
OF the blessing of this earthly life
has como through our knowledge
and love for those who have
walked with US here. Certainly
that IL to be one of the Joys of
heaven. Paul said his new con-
verts were to be his Joy. But how
was he to enjoy them IL he did not
know them? Jesus said to the
thief. To-day thou shalt be with Me
in Paradise" How could the thief
know unless he could recognize
Jesus? When Elijah and Moses
stood on the Mount Of Transhgura-
ton they had been in heaven for
knew them at once. Certainly we
are not going to know less there
than here. We are going to know
far more. Now we see through a
glass darkly but then. face to face.
Not only are we to know the fell
lowship Of tho saints, but we are
to know in . far moro intimate
way than ever before the fellow
ship OF Jesus Christ. II will re-
ceive you unto Myself that where
I am there ye may be also" The
climax Of heaven Is going to be
our fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. One day you and I. II we
die in the Lord, shall sec Him as
He is.
But let us not forget this fact.
John did not say. Blessed are the
dead" and stop there. He did not
claim, the Bible does not teach
that all dead are blessed. Listen
to His Word. BLESSED are the dead
who die in the Lord" And the
only way to be sure of dying in
the Lord is to live In the Lord.
And the only way of being sure of
living in the Lord Is TO believe in
Him now. II you will believe in
Him now He will make you into
a new creation. For Paul says, IF
any man be in Christ he is a new
creation" and II any man be a
new creation he is also in Christ.
Put your hand in His In life and
He will hold to it when the waters
of death surge swift about you.
Oh. men and women. there is en-
tirely too much at stake for any
single one Of US to refuse to put
ourselves into the hands Of the
Lord. All our hopes for heaven
here and all our hopes for heaven
by and by are centered in Him.
Heaven is a place. I know. but Il
Is also a state. You must have
heaven In your own heart before
God is able to take you into
heaven. But after you put your
self into His hands then neither
angels nor principalities nor pow
ers nor things present nor things
to come nor heights nor depths nor
death nor life shall be able to sep
arate yon from Him. You will be
able to face all lifes- separations
without despair because e. you are
sure that it IL true. Blessed are
the dead who die In the Lord" :