Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Finding Hope in Grief Darkness Part I
Grief strikes without warning, leaving us shocked, emotionally devastated, and often feeling profoundly alone. Whether through sudden accident or long-term illness, nothing prepares us for the finality of losing someone we love.
This deeply personal exploration of grief through a biblical lens offers genuine comfort rather than platitudes. We examine how Scripture validates our feelings while pointing toward enduring hope. From King David's heart-wrenching cry over Absalom to Paul's declaration that death is our "enemy," the Bible doesn't minimize our pain but instead gives us language to express it honestly.
We discover how death was never part of God's original design—a truth that helps us understand why loss feels so fundamentally wrong. Yet even in our darkest moments, we're reminded of a powerful reality: Emmanuel, "God with us," means we're never truly alone in our suffering. Christ not only stands beside us but literally dwells within believers, making it impossible for us to be abandoned in our grief.
Most powerfully, we explore how Jesus confronted death itself on the cross. While death currently reigns in our broken world, Scripture promises its ultimate defeat. Revelation 21 offers a breathtaking vision of our future hope: a new heaven and earth where "God himself will wipe away every tear" and where "death shall be no more."
If you're walking through grief or know someone who is, this message offers biblical anchors to hold onto when everything else seems to be crumbling. Share this episode with someone who needs to be reminded they're not alone and that even in life's darkest valley, God remains present and hope endures.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Now, today, I'm doing something a little different, and I know the title of this is not something you would normally hear and think oh wow, this is going to be a good sermon. But no, there's a purpose behind everything, the same way that everything that is written in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is there, and it's there for a purpose. So the title of my message today is Finding Hope in the Darkness of Grief. You know those people that find themselves in this situation and truly this is more people than those will admit. You need to know that you're not alone. Nothing is more shocking, emotional or final than the death of a loved one, one.
Speaker 1:Facing the death of someone you love a child, a spouse, a parent, a close friend is one of life's most difficult experiences. Your head is spinning with so many thoughts, feelings and emotions. You can't grasp that you've had your last visit, your last conversation, your last meal and your last holiday with your loved one. Your mind is flooded with things you wish you had said or done. You want to say I love you one more time and you want to hear it said to you. Your warehouse of memories is filled with fond and painful embraces and you are holding tightly to that treasured collection of smartphone memories or the fading photographs, you don't feel ready to say goodbye or to deal with grief that's overtaking you. And this is irrespective of whether that person goes to be with the Lord early in life or late in life. We always say we wanted more time with them.
Speaker 1:The reason I've done this podcast is to help someone very special to Maria and myself and to help make sense at what appears to make no sense and to point her towards hope, even after experiencing the darkness of death. But without a doubt, there will be many things that need to hear this. Many people out there need to hear this. You know, or you know, someone else who could benefit from this. Now, I'm not going to mention this person's name. I mean, I talk about my wife and I talk about my kids and other people that have had impacts in my life or whatever. But with something like this, you know who I'm talking to, and if it's not the person that's requested this podcast from me, then, like I said, it may be someone that you know out there that needs to hear this. So what better place to start than the scriptural truth?
Speaker 1:I think it's always important to look at the fundamental foundation of our life's journey. When we're dealing with grief, your emotions race and your thoughts are scattered. In the middle of this confusing and hard time, you need to remember a few simple truths from the Bible, and it's easy to say that and I don't want to make light of this in any way, shape or form, because I don't know your individual grief or your sorrow or what you're dealing with the same as you don't know someone else's. It may be that it's related to your spouse or your family member, but the relationship that you had with them is rather unique to you, and so if anybody tries to tell you that they know how you're feeling, okay, just say, well, thanks very much, but no thanks, because you can't say that because you don't personally know. You know my dad used to say you know, never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes. You have to be in that exact same location and at that exact same point in your life's journey. But just remember this God will use them to help you understand what you are experiencing and to give you hooks on which you can hang your emotions, from a sudden accident or a long-term illness or something that just randomly, just happens out of left field. It always catches us unprepared. Death is so deeply emotional and stunningly final that there is nothing you can do ahead of time that will help you sail through that moment of loss. Those who knew that death was coming and those that were taken completely by surprise will go through many of the same things, will go through many of the same things. There is several levels of grief and I'm not here to teach on grief. I'm here to support your grief.
Speaker 1:The Bible includes many point in stories that mirror our experience, pointing stories that mirror our experience. The story of the death of David's son, absalom, gives us a picture of a grieving parent. Absalom plotted to take David's place as king of Israel when his rebellion was crushed. He was killed Even though David had ordered his soldiers to take him alive. David knew that Absalom's actions might lead to his death, but that didn't lessen his grief. 2 Samuel 18.33 tells us this. Samuel 18.33 tells us this. And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept, and as he went he said O, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. Would I had died instead of you? Oh, absalom, my son, my son.
Speaker 1:See, even in this situation now, most people would think that, okay, well, absalom was trying to kill his father to take over the throne, but still, there is that bond between a father and a child. You see, irrespective of how it comes around, death shakes us to the core. David's cry is the cry of every grieving parent. Whether it is unexpected or predictable, death shakes us to the core. The pain is inescapable. Don't feel guilty or embarrassed. If you feel unprepared to face it, there's no way to be ready for what you are going through. And the same thing applies for a close friend, a loved one, a spouse, wife, husband, cousin, uncle, brother, the list goes on. Anybody that you have a relationship with in some way, shape or form. Irrespective of whether it is a really really strong bond or a really really strong, deep, passionate love, it can still impact you the same way.
Speaker 1:I'll give you a little example. I had a friend of ours that had one of those caboodle-type dogs you know, like when my son's got I don't know whether I've talked about this before, but the dog went everywhere with this person and they would sit at the dinner table together and eat. She would even have conversations with this dog and when the dog passed away, she was grief-stricken to the extent that people were sort of like saying, but it was only a dog. It was sort of like saying, but it was only a dog, but not to her. It was a family member and it was something that she loved very, very dearly. So don't think you know what a person is going through or how they go about dealing with what they are.
Speaker 1:I'm hoping today that these tools will help you and will give you strength and encouragement and always remember you know, when you are weak he is strong. I'm talking about our Lord, our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. He made the ultimate sacrifice and went to the cross for us, but he bore it all upon the cross. But we have to have solace in knowing that he weeps for us as well. Now I'm getting ahead of myself here. Right Now. You've got to remember death was not part of God's original plan. One reason death is so hard to accept and understands the understanding of that is completely out of step with the life God's plan has made for the world. You know, before the fall, before Adam and Eve sinned and got thrown out of the Garden of Eden, god had a perfect plan for us, but that all changed. But that's another story. Let's not digress.
Speaker 1:The Apostle Paul calls death our enemy In 1 Corinthians 15, 25 to 26. Now I'd like you to write down these scriptures, because I don't even know whether I get through my whole message in time. I may have to break this into part one and part two, but write the scriptures down and go back and read them afterwards, and read the passage before and the passage after, to make sure that you put the scripture into context. And, as always, remember when you're reading the scriptures you've got to think to yourself who is writing this? And we know it's all penned by man through the holy spirit. That's not what I'm saying. But if paul is, is writing the scriptures, who is he writing to and what is the purpose behind it? This is the apostle paul writing to the corinthians. All right, so 1 corinthians 15, 25 to 26.
Speaker 1:Death is the enemy of everything good and beautiful about life. It should make you morally sad and righteously angry. There's nothing wrong with being angry. Death reminds us that we live in a world that is terribly broken. It's not functioning according to God's original design, where life was meant to give way to life and into eternity. It's biblical to treat death as a sad and unnatural thing, but also remembering.
Speaker 1:We've got to try and look at things not through man's eyes but through the eyes of Jesus. We live in this world, but we're not of it. We do not need to be controlled by the things of the world, what it tells us how we should behave and how we should act and how we should feel. No, we've got to look at this from a spiritual perspective. God encourages us you, me to mourn.
Speaker 1:Death was never meant to be. When you recognize this, you will hunger for a final restoration of all things. You will long to live in a place where the last enemy, death, has been defeated, and that's where it goes. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Right, if we are followers of Christ and I can go into so many categories of why some people that are not yet born again will still go to heaven, but that's for another story. All right, otherwise this will be like my book, you know, a couple hundred pages long, okay, but listen, remember, it's normal to feel alone, but with God you are never alone in the darkness.
Speaker 1:Death is one of the loneliest experiences of human existence. The circumstances you are dealing with are individual and unique to you. It's normal to feel as if no one has been through what you're experiencing. It's normal to feel all alone even when you are surrounded by people. See, loneliness isn't the state that you're actually in. The loneliness is inside. It's within dwelling. But the death of a loved one is a universal experience and a company of mourners surrounds you. Yet there is an even more powerful way in which you are not alone. Your Saviour Jesus has taken another name Emmanuel or God with us, god with us. This name reminds you that as you come to Christ, you literally become the place where God dwells. You need to focus on that more than anything else. It says in the word he'll never leave you nor forsake you, and he won't. I know sometimes you feel very alone, sometimes you feel very isolated, but the thing is you have a powerful brother, saviour, counsellor and friend who not only stands beside you but lives within you. His presence makes it impossible for you to be alone in that moment of pain.
Speaker 1:Here's another scripture for you Now. It's in the Gospel of John, 14, 15 through to 20. So that's John 14, 15 through to 20. Now, what was I going to say? The thing is, you will find your answers in the word, and because it will strengthen you, like I said before, in your weakness he is strong. We need to lean on him. Good can come out of every worst thing that is around. Is death a bad thing? Well, yes, but the Bible tells us the brightest of good things can be found in the midst of evil's darkness. Now, next week, hopefully, depending on how things go I'm actually going to do a teaching on Psalm 23. And what I want to do is I want to sort of like go through that in detail and there'll be some little golden nuggets in there that will also help. And it's a bit of a follow-on from this, because I know I'm going to run out of time, but we'll see how we go.
Speaker 1:Now with Jesus, in the sermon he preached on the day of Pentecost, peter said that Jesus' death was an evil thing done by evil men to one truly good person in the whole world. Now, that's in Acts 2, acts 2, 22 to 36. But this terrible moment was under God's control. God planned that this ultimate evil would accomplish the ultimate good In this dark moment, as Jesus died on the cross, he defeated sin and death, two enemies we could not defeat on our own. Jesus had to be that ultimate sacrifice. And if you remember, when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, right, he actually got there. He showed his human frailty because Jesus wept drops of blood, and he actually got there when he was praying. He said you know, if it be your will, let this cup pass me by, right. So in other words, he's saying saying I'll just add live a little bit here for a minute. And he's basically saying hey, um, hey, dad, look, there's got to be another option. You know there's an option b, you know, or do we stick with option one? But then then he strengthened himself in that time of prayer and he answered his own question and he said but not my will, your will be done. And that's when he continued his journey to the cross.
Speaker 1:Death is an enemy, but this enemy will die also One day. Death will be put to death. The death of a loved one should remind you that God's work is not yet complete. Because of sin, death entered the world. When sin is completely defeated, death will also be defeated.
Speaker 1:The Apostle Paul talks about Christ's present ministry. It's this way right, for he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, and that is in 1 Corinthians 15, 25 to 26. That's 1 Corinthians 15, 25 to 26. Once again, this is Paul talking to the Corinthians, and it's on the same subject matter, paul talking to the Corinthians, and it's on the same subject matter.
Speaker 1:Jesus died so that we would no longer have to die. When he rose from the dead, death was defeated. But until Jesus returns, we still will experience death. But one day life will not give way to death. Children will not mourn their parents, parents will not mourn their children and loved ones will not need to grieve. The widower or the widow will not be grieving. Your friends will not be grieving. Yes, we know death is an enemy, but this enemy will die. The present reign of Christ guarantees this. One day, life will give way to the life for eternity. As you weep, remember that the one who weeps with you understands your heartache. Isaiah 53. Heartache, isaiah 53 3. He is a man of sorrows and acquitted with grief, but he does more than understand he also acts. Jesus will not let death reign forever On the cross. He defeated death and his resurrection is your guarantee that one day, all who believe in him will be resurrected to a life of glory and peace, to a life of glory and peace. You see, one day he is coming again to end physical death and to usher in a new heaven and earth where there will be no dying, no tears and no sorrow.
Speaker 1:Now I'm just going to read this because I'm going to stop here and I'm going to do a part one and part two, but they will both be released today. Okay, so they're ready for uploading, so you can listen to them back to back if you want. But Revelation 21, 1 to 4. I just want to read that, you know, revelation. There we go, let's just go there. I wasn't going to do this, but I've decided that I think that I need to. So it's Revelation 21, okay, and it says all things made new. This is Revelation 21.
Speaker 1:Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, john, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be with his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. Very important that you understand the meaning of that Now if you read it in the Amplified. Let me just go through this one more time. Okay, I just want to make sure you understand this Now. This is in the Amplified.
Speaker 1:This is talking about the new heaven and the new earth. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, completely vanished, and there was no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband. And then I heard a loud voice from the throne saying See, the tabernacle of God is among men and he will live among them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God, will be with them, as their God, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will no longer be death. There will no longer be sorrow and anguish or crying or pain for the former order of things has passed away or, as you say, has vanished. Now I'm going to continue this, but I'm just going to pause for a moment and then I'm going to actually do part two. Okay, so stand by, I'll be right back.
