Through the Window and Back
Notes
Transcript
Children’s Sermon
Children’s Sermon
Sometimes, not always, but sometimes - teachers, professors like to act as if they know everything about the subject they’re teaching…and perhaps other subjects as well…but I assure you, they don’t. It’s absurd to me that as education has excluded God more and more, they act as if they are getting better and better. There are things nobody, no teacher, scientist, philosopher, can explain to you in great detail. Near Death Experiences are in that category. Don’t ever give up your sense of curiosity, wonder, amazement, faith in God.
Scripture
Scripture
Acts 7:54-60 - Once the council members heard these words from Stephen, they went wild and gritted their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God’s majesty as well as Jesus standing at God’s right side. He exclaimed, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand!” Hearing this, the council shrieked and covered their ears. Then, together, they charged at him and drug him out of the city while stoning him with rocks. The witnesses all placed their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. As the rocks hit Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Falling to his knees, he cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Then, he died.
Engage
Engage
We examine today a topic I have not personally experienced, or at least not that I remember. I know I came close to death as an infant on several occasions…but if I had any NDEs as part of that, of course I don’t remember them. Yet, my lack of personal experience on the topic doesn’t diminish the abundance of evidence we have that NDEs absolutely happen. As long as human beings have been documenting things, NDEs have been documented including all of church history. There are numerous books by numerous people documenting their experiences, and the experiences of others. Science, in some cases, has even noticed. The University of Virginia School of Medicine, for instance, has had a Division of Perceptual Studies for some years now…One of the things they have studied heavily…is near death experiences. They have studied, in depth, more than one thousands cases. I lean heavily today on the NDE of a scientist, a spinal surgeon in fact, Dr. Mary Neal…who has described her own NDE in great detail as well as common elements between her experience and many others.
As with the other topics of this series, friends, we don’t talk enough about death. It’s TOO taboo, I believe. Of course some elements of, and circumstances around death sometimes should be taboo, perhaps. But, overall, diminishing our fear of death, and of examining it, can bring holy definition to our lives.
Encounter
Encounter
So what, by and large, do people encounter when they experience a NDE? I say by and large because not EVERYONE has a positive experience. A few cases, at least, have been documented that were not pleasant. Some have been sort of empty experiences…consciousness, but not anything particularly spectacular or horrifying. Some have visited hell and come back with warnings and with personal transformation. One man who visited hell, said, for example, “It is SO bad…I had no idea.” But, the vast majority that are documented have been positive. I will say, though they may exist, I have yet to hear of a negative experience from anyone with any semblance of faith…and certainly not from faithful Christians. Never have I heard a faithful Christian have a NDE and come back saying, “It’s all nonsense. There is no God. Jesus is fake,” or anything remotely resembling that.
Our Scripture today of Stephen’s martyrdom is a vision experienced immediately pre-death. But, it’s not inconsistent with what many experience in NDEs. Others in Scripture VISIT heaven, though not necessarily when they were nearly died. Paul, Ezekiel, John, Isaiah, etc.
Diminishing our fear of death, and examining those who’ve returned from it, can bring holy definition to our lives.
So, here are some common elements of more modern NDEs. Again, not EVERY experience, but common...
1) First, a deep sense of well-being infused with pure love. Love without fear and more complete, and full, and rich than anything on earth. And, unlike on earth, the feeling isn’t fleeting or temporary. It isn’t a mountaintop that you then begin to slide down. This love is there and it stays. This feeling is beyond description by human language. In talking about his visit to heaven (though not technically a NDE) to the Corinthians, Paul says he heard things so astounding they cannot be expressed in words. You know, as imperfectly and slowly as I grow in faith, I sure do appreciate Paul more and more. Elsewhere he says, echoing Isaiah, “ God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being.” The deep profound love experienced by many in their NDEs certainly fits this description.
2) Also, many who experience a NDE report a separation of their spirits from their bodies. Now, a caveat. As Christians, we believe Jesus’ BODY was resurrected, not just his spirit. AND, we believe our bodies, in some form, will ultimately resurrect as well. But, clearly, it’s possible for the two to be separated, at least for a time. People who experience this often give details of what happened while they were “dead” that are unexplainable. For example, a heart attack patient who was unconscious when brought to the hospital later described leaving her body and floating above the hospital. She told Kimberly, a social worker, about a dark blue tennis shoe on the ledge outside the window on the opposite side of the hospital. Kimberly later went and checked…there was the shoe, exactly as Maria had described. Mary Neal describes watching as they finally got her body out of the river where she drowned, after around 30 minutes, watching all the activity, and going back occasionally from heaven to take a breath as they were requesting.
3) Also, many who experience a NDE report they had no fear or terror of death or while dying. Not all, but many. Or, as death gets very near the pain and struggle fades away. Now, AFTER a NDE, there are often physical difficulties, pain, and complications from whatever had the person dying in the first place. But sometimes the painlessness even extends a bit into this…you might say the healing of heaven they experience on their visit carries over a bit into their revived earthly life. This happens with the face of Moses after his encounters with God…his face shines. You know, friends, Moses was an old man when he was hiking up and down that mountain meeting with God. I have little doubt that some of the glory of God fed, and fueled, and strengthened his body for his tasks.
4)Many NDE survivors also tell of a life review with Jesus. Most describe this experience as fact finding rather than fault finding. This experience often leads to profound and lasting change in the survivors life post NDE. Many experience a profound sense of grace and a totality of understanding impossible on earth. For instance, Mary Neal reports seeing scenes from her life from all perspectives, even reliving certain scenes from all perspectives. Laurelynn Martin writes that, as a girl, she had made fun of a scrawny, malnourished asthmatic kid. He died at age 17 from an aneurysm. When the boy was twelve, he had written a love letter to Laurelynn that she had rejected. She re-experienced this in her life review…in an instant, she knew her perspective, his perspective, and God’s perspective. She felt his pain, which became her pain. She also felt a tremendous amount of love for this boy and herself. She felt his soul. He had a vibrant, bright light burning inside of him. His spirit was full of strength and vitality…which was inconceivable on earth especially seeing his physical sufferings. Friends, I believe God can give us glimpses of this on earth if we’ll allow him too..If our hearts aren’t closed or hardened. There have been times in my life when I’ve seen someone who is obviously disabled in some way…and I’ve felt an other-wordly type of love for them flood into my heart. I know some of you have as well…don’t close yourself off this from this possibility! This aspect of a NDE, described by many survivors, echoes, in a way, Jesus’ promise, and Scriptures promise, that all will be known. And that it may not be as scary as it sounds...
Diminishing our fear of death, and examining those who’ve returned from it, can bring holy definition to our lives.
4) Most NDE survivors also describe a new form of incredible reality they experienced. For many of us, the birth of our children, or other profound events expand our hearts and minds to a new plane of reality, in a way. NDEs often do the same thing. Communication happens without words, lame people walk, people see sounds and hear colors…There is a warmth, a brightness, a beauty impossible in this life. I learned in my reading on this topic something that perhaps I would’ve guessed, perhaps not. Did you know that people who were born blind, do not have visual components to their dreams, or nightmares, or when they are given hallucinogenic drugs. Try and think of dreaming with nothing visual…Interesting. Anyhow, numerous people born blind have come back from a NDE describing beautiful meadows, trees, flowers, all sorts of things. One such person, in a book written by Ring and Cooper, saw NOTHING for 43 years, having been born blind. Then, they had a NDE after as a result of a car accident. “Flowers were everywhere in different colors and variety. Both the flowers and birds I observed in the trees seemed to have light around them. Then I saw four of my previously deceased friends. They seemed to be healed, or somehow made better.” Even better than just seeing these flower,s and birds, and people is seeing AND KNOWING who/what they are! That’s another common experience in a NDE, of course. Seeing and reconnecting with those who’ve gone before and, often, with others. Other beings who, though not necessarily part of the survivors current earthly life, are KNOWN, or have been KNOWN to the person. Many of you remember the little boy, Colton Burpo, experiencing heaven and meeting a sister he didn’t know he had…his parents had never told him about his mothers miscarriage. Yet there she was, with Jesus. As I recall, on his visit, Colton asked his sister her name. “I don’t have one, our parents never gave me one.” Friends, God gives us undeserved, amazing authority over our domains. Give God some praise today! Many also report seeing animals and pets who’ve gone before as well. Bryce Bond met all the dogs he’d owned before. Jan Price’s dog Maggi came right to her.
5) Many survivors of NDEs come back with unusual knowledge or foresight. Anita Moorjani visualized the cause of her cancer, which led to it’s cure when she returned. Tony Cicoria returned with an ability to play the piano, and Olaf Swenson says he gained an advanced knowledge of quantum physics during his NDE that has allowed him to develop more than 100 patent ideas in subatomic chemistry. Some, like Mary Neal, are given knowledge of future challenges they will face. Some see their future children. Reality itself and time are reformed and much different.
6) Many survivors also report a point of no return. A gate, or some such, whereby entering means not going back. Some are told they need to go back and are given assignments, like Mary Neal was, to tell her story. Some choose to go back given knowledge of their future impact on earth. Most don’t want to return but are compelled to by knowledge they are given…knowing that they will return to glory again when their earthly lives finish again.
Diminishing our fear of death, and examining those who’ve returned from it, can bring holy definition to our lives.
Empower
Empower
7) Finally, as Mary says, “Most who have had this sort of profound spiritual experience hold an unwavering belief that we have experienced something of immeasurable significance. We have learned something about the purpose of life.” Mary says this even experiencing an excruciating recovery from her badly broken body after her drowning. And, after the loss of her son in his late teen years. Grief and pain still come at her in waves, but her experience certainly helps her perspective. Most survivors of a NDE come back more graceful, more forgiving, more spiritual and more dedicated to spreading the message of God and of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, friends, there is no harm in believing them and learning from them. WE can benefit from their NDEs as well. That’s not cheating. It’s ok, it’s a good thing. God gives us this overwhelming amount of evidence to USE.
These accounts I’ve shared are not from crazy people. They aren’t drug users and they don’t wear hats made of tinfoil. They don’t talk endlessly about hollow earth, or flat earth, or lizard people, or whatever. They are everyday people like you and me. I choose to believe them, will you? If you will, pray with me.
Lord, thank you! Thank you for standing on the street corner and shouting your presence. Thank you for the overwhelming amount of evidence you’ve given of your existence, your truth, your light, your love, and your desire to love us eternally. Show us the ways our faith can turn into action…in our thoughts, our attitudes, our behaviors, in how we treat ourselves, our families, and all the other beings you love and care for…in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.