March 27, 1997
Opening Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
We gather here today to honor the memory of Bill Lord. We also gather to comfort those of his family by our words and by our presence. And finally, we are here to hear what God would say to us through His word about the realities of life, death, and eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.
You are all here today because your lives were touched in some way by the life of Bill Lord. You are his family, or his friends. You could share, if you were standing where I stand, the many things he meant to you and the many ways he touched your life. Memories like those will continue to live on in your hearts — and those memories are very precious, and to be highly valued. Their worth is far more valuable than words can describe. And each of you could give testimony of how highly you thought of Bill by your presence here today.
Bill leaves behind his wife, Fannie, and his son, Tom, as well as his sister-in-law, Edith. Our sympathy and prayers are certainly with you in this time of loss. But we must remember that Bill also leaves behind all the rest of us as well, because his life has not ended, but has entered into a new dimension of life eternal. Life does not end in death; the Bible teaches us that we all live forever.
As individuals, I think there is no more difficult time than this to express our true feelings. We are going to miss Bill. He was such a fine human being. As his Pastor, I found him a to be a faithful and dedicated Christian. Unless he was sick, I could count on seeing Bill at church each Sunday. He was fun to be around. He had such a wonderful and dry sense of humor. He was always glad to see you. I’ve only known him for about 10 years, but I will miss him, and I know you will too.
To find the proper words is so difficult and at a time like this words seem so inadequate, so incomplete. But I am reminded again that what we need at a time like this is revelation, not just words.
We need something that speaks of certainties, not just hopes.
We need something that speaks with authority.
We need something that provides true comfort and gives something and someone to believe in—to trust as we go on from here.
We need more than sincere expressions of sympathy and concern (as wonderful as they are) in a time of sorrow and death
We need the authoritative, comforting "Thus saith the Lord!" the revelation of Scripture.
Listen to other words of Scripture that the Word of God may be a comfort in this time of need.
Psalm 145:18-19
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. (KJV)
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear… (KJV)
Isaiah 41:10, 13
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. . . . For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. (KJV)
Psalm 23:1-6
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. (KJV)
2 Corinthians 4:16-15:8
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Message:
As we gather here today, we are reminded of the realities of life and death.
We understand, firstly, that life is generous to some people.
Bill Lord lived over 82 years. Many are not given that much time. We can be thankful that he/she lived a good and full life and that he lived to see his family grow up before him. We can be thankful that he had the opportunity to share life with his family and friends and pass on the wisdom of his experiences, both good and bad, to those he loved. He had the opportunity to live, and your lives have been enriched by knowing Bill Lord.
We are also reminded that life is limited for all people. However long we live, death inevitably comes to all of us. In spite of all the powers of humankind and the steady advance of medical technology, we have never succeeded in defeating death. We all will die.
But death is just a transition. Although the body ceases to function, the spirit lives on. Death, according to the Bible, is a change of status. That which perishes is exchanged for that which is imperishable. Death ushers us into the presence of the living God. Death brings us into eternity.
All of us must face death sometime. Hebrews 9:27 says, ". . . man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment." In light of this, we should all take great care to live in such a way that when it comes our time to die, we are ready to face God.
You see, death is not death if you know the Lord. It is merely a change of place, a change of state, and a transferal from one realm of existence into another.
Death is not death, if it kills no part of us, except that which hindered us from perfect life.
Death is not death, if it raises us in a moment from darkness into light, from weakness into strength, from sinfulness into holiness.
Death is not death, if it perfects our faith by sight, and let’s us behold Him in whom we have believed.
Death is not death, if it rids us of doubt and fear, of sickness and disease, of sorrow and sadness.
Death is not death, if it gives us to those whom we have loved and lost, for whom we have lived, for whom we long to live again.
Death is not death; for Christ has conquered death, for Himself, and for those who trust in Him.
The Bible Promises the Believer a Reception in
Glory
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
Paul was writing to these believers to instruct them about those who had died. The term "fall asleep" refers to those who had died. Paul doesn’t want those left behind to sorrow as those who have no hope.
The reason they don’t have to sorrow as others without hope is that those who have died in the Lord are with Christ. The souls (immaterial part) of departed Christians are with God and Jesus is going to bring them back with Him when He comes for His Church.
The rest of Scripture teaches us the same thing.
II Corinthians 5:6-8 tells us that when we Christians die, we go immediately to be with God. To be "absent from the body-present with the Lord."
Philippians l:23 Paul tells us when we depart from this life, we are with Christ.
We need not sorrow then as others who have no hope because the authoritative Word of God promises the believer an immediate reception in glory— "absent from the body; present with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:8"
But not only does the Bible promise the Christian an immediate reception in glory but . . .
The Bible Promises the Believer a Resurrection
Body
1 Thessalonians 4:15-16
15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
These verses promise that our Christian loved ones will be raised from the dead.
These verses teach us that those bodies of Christians who have died will one-day come forth—be resurrected as a new body when Christ comes back. In vs. 16 we see that the souls of the believers (who are now with Christ) will be united with their resurrected bodies at Jesus’ coming for His church.
And that body will be a body described in Rev. 21:3-4 as:
- free from pain
- free from sorrow, crying, tears
- free from sin
- free from death
The Christian’s soul goes immediately to the presence of the Lord. The Christian’s body is left behind until the day the Lord comes back for His church when it will be resurrected into a glorious body and be reunited with the soul.
We need not sorrow as others who have no hope for the Christian is promised: an immediate reception in glory; and a resurrection body. But there is more . . . for not only does the Christian who dies have the certainty of an immediate reception in glory and a resurrection body but . . .
The Bible Promises a Reunion With Christ and With
Loved Ones
I Thessalonians 4:17
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
The reunion is actually two-fold:
First with loved ones. The Lord may come back today, if He does the believers who are alive will be reunited with our Christian loved ones in God’s presence. Our separation is not permanent!
Then secondly there will be a reunion with Christ. One day the Lord will come back and Christians who are alive will be caught up to join the resurrected bodies of those who have died. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord."
So then, the Christian who dies has the promise:
- of an immediate reception into the Lord’s presence
- of a resurrected body
- of reunion with loved ones (fellow believers)
Little wonder Paul says that these verses should be used at times like these, for he says, "Therefore encourage each other with these words." Those who are left behind can be comforted in knowing the certainties of these verses.
Application/Conclusion
But we should not forget that these promises are conditioned on faith in Christ as Savior who died as our substitute on Calvary and rose again (vs. 14)
The reality of death is that we all die. And death puts us face to face with God. This we cannot change. But we can do something about eternity. If we do not commit our life to Christ to serve Him, then to die is an eternal loss. The realities of heaven and hell confront us as we consider death. But the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can be forgiven for our sins and enjoy God’s presence forever. We do not have to fear death, for death is not death if it transports us to eternal life.
Right now, if you’re not sure where you will spend eternity . . . I invite you to ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior from sin by an act of your will; trusting Him to save you from your sin.
If Bill could come back and speak to this assembled group today, I know he would tell us the importance of preparing for eternity. Some of you already have. But if you have not, we invite you to make that commitment today. What more fitting time to do it than today.
Graveside Service:
Scriptures:
In John 11:25 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." Then He asked, " Do you believe this?"
It is the Christian’s belief in Christ as the resurrection and the life and its strong validation by Christ’s own resurrection from the grave and death that so encourages our hearts as we face the loss of our loved ones and friends and face death ourselves.
We read in Romans, "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." (Psalm 44:22) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:31-39)
Writing of the Believer’s ultimate source of encouragement through the Bible, the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:4-5: "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus;"
Committal:
In the light of these promises of God in His Word, and because it has pleased the Lord in His divine wisdom and purpose to take from our midst one whom we have loved; we commit the body of Bill Lord to its final resting place to await the fulfillment of these marvelous and comforting promises of the Bible.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for revealing to us what lies beyond death, for giving to us the Holy Scriptures, and for authenticating them through many wonderful evidences and making them sure through the incontrovertible evidence of Christ’s resurrection. Thank you, therefore,
- for the glorious hope and for the great consolation concerning those who sleep in Jesus as believers in Christ,
- that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, and
- that our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared a place for those who have placed their faith in Him, and
- that He is personally coming back to raise us from the grave and
- receive us all to Himself to dwell together in the glories of eternity.
And now for the family, for the loved ones and friends we ask that:
- there might be the recognition that while death is our enemy, it has been conquered by the Lord, and that he works all things together for good for those who love Him.
- May we also recognize and rest in the promise of Scripture that precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints and that death for the believer is a going home, a relief from the pain and sorrows of this life.
- May there also be a casting of our care upon you with the ability that is needed to focus on what death means to the our dear friend who is now with you, and
- We ask that you would comfort and strengthen in the days ahead. Help the family and friends to rest and draw strength and comfort from you.
These things we ask in the name of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, even Jesus Christ our Savior who is coming again. Amen.
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