I have never been to it, but there is a beautiful landmark building in California called the Hearst Castle. It is a remarkable piece of architecture and an even more remarkable display of opulence, wealth, and privilege.

The estate includes 165 rooms and 123 acres of beautiful gardens, terraces, pools, and hidden walkways.

During his lifetime, William Randolph Hearst—a newspaper publisher—made the castle a social hotspot for Hollywood glitterati, government powerbrokers, and the world's elite.

You might not know that all the guests who visited were given one very specific rule. They were absolutely forbidden to break this rule, because if they did they would be immediately kicked out of the castle grounds, and they would never be allowed on the grounds again.

That rule was that no one should ever, under any circumstances, in Mr. Hearst's presence, say the word death.

Hearst tried to ignore death. He tried to push it out of his thinking. But, as always happens to men like that, death caught up with him one day. He himself died. His castle was donated to the state. All that was once his is no longer even in the possession of his family.

It is foolish, of course, to try to ignore death. It is even more foolish to ignore what comes after.

Jesus taught us this parable:

"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame'" (Luke 16:19-24).

In the parable, as Jesus crafts it, Abraham explains why this is impossible... and he says that if someone will not believe the Word of God, not even a miracle of someone coming back from the dead will persuade them.

This rich man was yet another man who had everything money could buy, but didn't prepare for death, and in the end was even less prepared for what came after.

And that—what comes after death—is what I want to talk about with you today.

I actually have good news for you today.

When Jesus said he would be your Savior, he didn't just mean this life on this planet in this lifetime... but he's your Savior for the life to come too.

I want you to go out of here today with more confidence and hope than you had when you walked in. I want you to be confident that there is awesome, wonderful, overflowing, perfectly timed grace for you before your death, at your death, and after your death.

Let's look together at 7 Blessings of Future Grace.

The Grace of FINAL-MOMENT ASSURANCE

"We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

You are made of three elements: body, soul, and spirit. When your soul and spirit leave your body, we call this physical death.

The Bible says that when you are absent from the body, you are present with the Lord.

Your body is put into the grave or cremated, or whatever may happen to your physical remains. That makes no difference.

But your soul and spirit... meaning your personality, your personhood, your identity, the real you... that part of you leaves your body behind and goes to be with Jesus forever.

And notice, in the parable, that even though Lazarus was not in his physical body, the rich man could still recognize him. He was still himself, still Lazarus, still the same person he was on earth.

Even after your physical death, you will still be you.

Lazarus did not just snuff out like a candle, and you won't either.

He did not turn into a ghost, and neither will you.

He was not absorbed into the universe, or into the cosmic consciousness, and you won't be either.

Your body will go to the grave. But the part of you that is not made of matter, that part we call the soul and spirit, is eternal.

And I believe that, in the moment of your death, God will pull you out of your body before the unbearable pain happens.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you" (Isaiah 43:2).

If you are a believer in Jesus, and if you are walking with him, then the time and manner of your death are in the Lord's hands, and he will take better care of you than you can imagine.

If you are a believer in Jesus, do not be afraid of death, for in Christ, no one ever dies alone. You have the dying grace of ASSURANCE IN YOUR FINAL MOMENTS.

When you close your eyes in death, you will immediately have the 2nd blessing of dying grace.