A message for Akron Alliance Fellowship Church, Akron OH, October 15, 2023.
For the “Live in Church” audio of this message, please select here.
This message is dedicated to my beloved cousin, Debra Grilly (1954-2023).
Here’s a question to ponder for today:
Do you have a fear of dying?
For starters, your answer to this question will not constitute a pass/fail scenario or being graded on a curve. It’s a straight-forward question, and if you need help before answering it, let me provide a story of a person who lived an exemplary, selfless life even in death.
Joe Delaney was a two-time all-American athlete in football and track who played at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and played running back for two seasons. In that time, he would set four franchise rushing records in 1981 that would last for more than twenty years. The team finished with a 9-7 record that year—their first winning season in 8 years. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, was voted as AFC Rookie of the Year, made the Pro Bowl and the Pro Football Writers All-Rookie Team.1
Of course, his stature as a professional football player called greater attention to his acts of benevolence. He paid for the funeral of a former teacher whose family could not afford it.2 It was on June 29, 1983, he responded to the cries for help of three young children floundering in a pond at Critter’s Creek, an amusement center in Monroe, Louisiana. I’ll read an account from CK Rairden, columnist for the Platte County (Missouri) Landmark:
“Joe was at that park and became an extraordinary hero in the blink of an eye. Reports are that Joe instructed others nearby to call for help, while he acted. You see Joe Delaney could not swim, but he knew without his intervention these children would surely perish in that pond of water in the park.
“Joe waded into the water and managed to get one of the boys to the bank of the body of water. That child was saved. Then as extraordinary heroes do, Joe went back for the other two children. He would never return from the water alive. The other two children he attempted to save also perished on this June day in 1983.”3 Delaney, who was married with three children, passed away at age 24. His wife, Carolyn, remarked as to her husband’s selflessness. “He always said if there was any way he could help someone, he would.”4
In the days following Delaney’s death, President Ronald Reagan honored Delaney with the Presidential Citizens Medal, saying, “He made the ultimate sacrifice by placing the lives of three children above regard for his own safety. By the supreme example of courage and compassion, this brilliantly gifted young man left a spiritual legacy for his fellow Americans.”4
It’s been forty years since Delaney’s passing, and while he was a great contributor in the football world for a brief period of time, his legacy is more about his life of charity and caring for others.
“It’s been 40 years since Joanna Noel saw her father, Joe Delaney, former Kansas City Chiefs running back, alive, as she was three months when he passed away. His strong moral character and mission to do right by others drive Noel’s everyday decisions. Today, Noel, his youngest daughter, along with her mom and older sister, run the Delaney 37 Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to serving the youth through mentorship, education, leadership development, financial literacy, and the promotion of water safety. The organization prides itself on creating opportunities to build character as the youth transform into contributing citizens in the community.”5
Joe Delaney lived, by all accounts, a life of love and selflessness, even in death. He did not fear death. His life is an example for us to look at, and even admire, but there are few who would make the ultimate sacrifice that he made. It is the greatest example of love you would ever see.
Jesus tells us this very thing:
John 15:13 NIV
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
He is telling us that love is the foundational principle in giving one’s life for others.
I will challenge you with the premise that as you and I grow more and more in our relationship with Jesus, the fear of death becomes less and less prevalent, and as you trust in God and live a life of greater faith, you will readily declare the necessity for Jesus to “come quickly.” It’s fitting that at the very end of Scripture in the prophetic book of Revelation that Jesus affirms these very words. He says that He is “coming soon” within Revelation 22 THREE TIMES. I will feature the third reference here:
Revelation 22:20 ESV
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Our fear of death has a remedy. It involves the sacrificial actions of Jesus on the cross for us. If you believe in Jesus and acknowledge your need for His salvation, there is no longer a need for you to be fearful of physical death. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us and gave us the ability to live forever with Him. There is no greater love than this. He loves us and He gave of Himself for us, the people that He loves.
Since Jesus has done this, He gives us what we need to overcome all of our fears with faith. Why is faith important? Because we cannot live a life for Jesus without it.
Hebrews 11:6 HCSB
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God loves us so much that He even provides us the capacity of having faith. It is given to us because of His love and, frankly, His patience with us. He gives us faith through His grace. With this love, there is no need to fear our physical death. We know where we are going to be when we leave the earthly realm.
Faith is a necessity of life in Christ. A lack of faith has a way of slowing our growth potential. It is the strengthening that comes in faith that helps us along with each moment that we trust in the words of Jesus.
We are to look to the words of Jesus that He was sent by God, during His first appearance on earth, to be the Savior of all who look to Him (John 3:17). In doing so, He was carrying out the will of His Father. He was, and remains, the living manifestation of God’s righteousness and our redemption.
Romans 3:21-24 CSB
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
He is Jesus Christ, our Savior. Our perfect example of a selfless Redeemer.
As we look to Jesus, we are to live in the same manner that Jesus lived. He lived an exemplary life that we are to emulate as a reflection of His message and His character. Jesus lived out His purpose here on earth.
Let’s consider three attributes of Jesus that reflect His earthly mission as the Savior for the world:
1. His Acts of Obedience
Jesus’s life was completely devoted to expressing the love of God through His obedience to the Father for the sake of those He loves…and that’s us. Author Nicholas Needham writes of Christ having a “passive obedience” that is more reflective of how He suffered for us. In fact, Jesus “embraced suffering,” and He was also practiced “active obedience” in His character in showing us how we are to live in our own life. Christ’s obedience is a fulfillment of the Law “fleshed out in His human life.”6
Philippians 2:7-8 CSB
7 Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
John 10:17-18 NIV
17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
2. His Acts of Servanthood
Jesus’s obedience to the Father involved taking a lesser position. His disciples, because of their association with Jesus, believed that they had earned a special, highly elevated position. Here was a teachable moment for them.
John 10:35-45 NIV
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Our fleshly nature tends to elevate who we are, even for those of us who are in Christ. Jesus teaches us that our stature is not in our titles or positions. Our stature is in our willingness to give of ourselves, and even without a lot of notoriety. Joe Delaney didn’t think for a moment about who he was or what his position was. He simply gave of himself. Jesus reminds us that all who look to Him are to follow His example of being a servant.
He is also our servant in the present as He is always available for you. He always has been present because of His love for us (Deuteronomy 31:6):
Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”
We saw earlier how Jesus emptied Himself to live as a man and as a humble servant (Philippians 2:7), and He challenges each of us to live the same way with our brothers and sisters:
John 12:26 ESV
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
A servant for Christ is reminded that he or she has to truly die to self to live for Jesus.
John 11:25-26 NIV
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
This is where faith comes in. The gift of faith gives you what you need to believe the words that Jesus tells you.
3. His Acts of Love
Jesus often speaks of the love of God for His people, and it is always there for anyone who cares to see it and receive it. He wants His love for us to be conveyed to those that He has called us to proclaim the truth of His gospel message.
John 3:16-17 NIV
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Matthew 22:36-40 CSB
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
The foundation of everything we see that comes from Jesus are acts of love for His people. The fundamental way that we share God’s Word is with a loving heart and a concern for the salvation of others. After all, that’s what Jesus has provided for us: salvation in taking away the penalty of our sins.
John 1:29 ESV
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Romans 3:23 ESV
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 6:23 ESV
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 1:9 ESV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That’s the work that only our divine Savior can do. It’s because of His act of love in giving His life for us on the cross.
Are you still worried about dying? We’re all going to die one day. Prayerfully, it will take place with the secure knowledge that when you cross over, you will see Jesus face to face. It is admirable when we see how others have given their lives for complete strangers. But these people are not strange to Jesus. He knows every one of them, and He gave His life for them to complete His mission on earth.
We do not need to wonder what’s going to happen to us when we die. Jesus has all of this taken care of—if we believe in Him as Lord and Savior.
1 John 3:23-24 CSB
23 Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us.
That’s love. His assurance means we don’t need to fear.
Copyright © 2023 Melvin Gaines
1 Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, September 15). Joe Delaney. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Delaney
2 Deriso, Nick. (June 16, 2008). “Pro football player Joe Delaney met an heroic end locally”. The News-Star. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
3 Rairden, C.K. (September 24, 2002). “Joe Delaney: Don’t let the memory fade”. The Landmark. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
4 Joe Delaney. National Football Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2023 from https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=1982
5 Fluker, D. (2023, June 23). The life’s work of community activist was birthed from her superstar father’s heroic sacrifice. Essence. https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/joe-delaney-37-foundation/
6 Needham, N. (2004, April 1). Obedient unto death. Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/obedient-unto-death
Melvin Gaines 