When I was a teenager, I heard Dr. Harry Rimmer speak at West Avenue Methodist Church in Rochester, NY. He was known for his many books indicating that there was no conflict between science and the Bible. Harry Rimmer was the man who was involved in "The Lawsuit Against the Bible". Teamed up with Christian attorney, James Bennett, they represented a formidable duo. When Dr. Rimmer was dying, he wrote Dr. Charles E. Fuller of "The Old Fashioned Revival Hour":

My Dear Charlie,

Next Sunday I understand you are to talk about Heaven. I am interested in that land, because I have a clear title to a bit of property there for over 50 years. I did not buy it for it was given to me without money and without price. But the Donor purchased it for me at tremendous cost. I'm not holding it for speculation, for the deed is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot, for I have been sending materials there for over 50 years - out of which the greatest Architect and Builder of the Universe has been building a home for me which will suit me perfectly and will never need to be repaired. Termites cannot undermine its foundations, for it rests upon the "Rock of Ages". Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon its doors for no devious person can ever enter that land where my dwelling stands, almost completed. It is ready for me to enter in and rest in peace eternally, without fear of being evicted.

There is a valley of deep shadow between the place where I live in California and that to which I shall journey in a short time. I cannot reach my home in that city of gold without passing through this dark valley of shadows. But I am not afraid - because the best Friend I ever had went through this same valley long ago and drove away its gloom. He has stuck with me through thick and thin since we first became acquainted 52 years ago and I hold His promise in printed form - never to forsake me or to leave me alone. He will be with me as I walk through the valley of shadows and I shall not lose when He is with me.

I hope to hear your sermon on Sunday next from my home here but I have no assurance that I shall. My ticket to heaven has no date stamped upon it - no return coupon and no permit for baggage. I'm already to go and I may not be here when you are talking next Sunday; but if not, I shall meet you there some day.

This letter was placed upon Dr. Fuller's desk the very next Wednesday. By that time, Dr. Rimmer was already in that land that is fairer than day - the land that he had seen by faith for over 50 years.

Now here is the issue: What proof did Dr. Rimmer have of these positive statements? II Corinthians 5:1-5 shares that proof. Study the following.

I. THE PRESENT POSSESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A PLEDGE OF THE ULTIMATE TRANSFORMATION. (II Corinthians 5:5)

"Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit."

Since I was in a High School with very few genuine believers, I memorized Dr. Rimmer's convincing evidence. The Science Department couldn't answer me but it didn't change their humanistic approach. Why? The answer is that only a work of God in the heart can do this.

I Corinthians 2:9 has nothing to do with the idea we can't comprehend Eternity Future. I Corinthians 2:9 reminds us that we don't have the capacity to grasp Divine viewpoint period. Man cannot find God through human wisdom is the idea of I Corinthians 2:9: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Don't be upset with your unbelieving friends any more than you could be upset with a blind man trying to judge the sunset. Your unbelieving friends must first meet God on God's terms and then God will give them the Holy Spirit who alone provides the capacity to believe. That is what II Corinthians 5:5 is all about. Don't be surprised at the error which is on the increase because it is evident for two reasons:

1. Man cannot find God except by God's method and since many don't realize this, they turn to substitutes for God. Error is always available.

2. Some times man realizes he must meet God on God's terms but Satan blinds man and inoculates him with pride so he rejects the fact that he must admit his complete ruin in sin and God's perfect remedy in Jesus Christ. That is what II Corinthians 4:3,4 is all about.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

I never pray for people to be converted. I pray for a John 16:8 happening so they will see their need for conversion: "And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."

I'm not going to be "seeker friendly" in writing to you if you have not come to the faith. I'm going to be very blunt and tell you that your problem is your volition. The issue is this: Do you really want to know God? If you are an unbeliever it is because you want to be but if you will meet God on God's terms, He will give you the Holy Spirit who will do what debate can never do -- i.e. the Holy Spirit is the convincer. Read Jeremiah 29:13: "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."

II Corinthians 5:5 reminds us that God is the Great Initiator. Of course, this is the idea of Philippians 1:6 and Ephesians 2:1: "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ". "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins".

In summary, II Corinthians 5:5 states it is God who has prepared us and the Holy Spirit is the key factor. Let me take this a step further. When David Tavilla went to be with the Lord, I prayed with him. He had cancer and with all the discomfort of pain and the side effects of morphine, I prayed with David something like this: "Lord Jesus - may the Holy Spirit of Power take over at this moment. He is our pledge that what You have taught us can be trusted and He is our Power for that present circumstance." David went to Heaven in triumph. What really happened? Read I Peter 4:14: "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified."

I Peter 4:14 is not only a method for handling opposition but the method for handling any pressure is the life. A very dear friend of mine, Steve Green, is going to care for his parents right in his home. Because he knows Ephesians 6:2 responsibility but also because he wants his children to see the difference the Holy Spirit makes at death. We can memorize I Peter 4:14 but we must see it work. I'll never forget when my Dad had his first heart attack. The EMT's said he was terrified and this troubled me. After all, Dad was a

member of the Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Newark, NY. he was a faithful member. He handled my mother's death with dignity and resolve and made it clear that he only loved one woman and never wanted to marry again. He didn't -- although I encouraged it but now this terrible fear of death troubled me. Then at age 80, Dad came to Boston. He traveled with me in weekend meetings and listened to Songtime daily. 1976 came and it was evident that Dad's surgery was too much for him so I asked him what he wanted. Shall we prolong life? Should we go all out with the techniques of modern medicine? I should have listened to him that day in the Infirmary of the Rogerson House. He never should have had the big surgical procedures which was far too debilitating for a man 90 years of age. Dad said: "I want to be with my wife - the only woman I ever loved. Tell them to leave me alone." I called the ambulance and he never did die with the dignity that should have been his. He was weeks in the Baptist Hospital. I didn't see a man die with dignity. Surgery didn't give him quality living. However, he did die on a Tuesday morning about 3 AM on that Monday evening. I saw him in a wheelchair in the corridor of the hospital. He reminded me that he was cold and then he said, "Go to the Red Sox game. They need to win/" I did and even though I wish I had prevented useless surgery I'll never forget the contrast between his heart attack in his 70's and his attitude at age 90. I experienced the Holy Spirit of Glory (I Peter 4:14) totally removing the sting of death. Death had no victory.

If you are not sure the Holy Spirit is resident in your life then you will have a problem with life as well as death. (Write for the hour-long cassette study "Explaining Christianity"). If you do have the Holy Spirit but the loss of a loved one has caused you to sorrow as "others who have no hope" (I Thess. 4:13) then you need to relate to the "Filling of the Spirit technique" (Ephesians 5:18). The Holy Spirit who can activate Psalm 23:4 at death, can also activate Psalm 23:1-5 in life!! What the Holy Spirit can do for you now only Omnipotence could do.

(NEXT TIME - Another look via II Corinthians 5:1-5 as to What we Can Know About the Future")