Precious in the Sight of the Lord
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
There is a verse in Scripture that seems odd when you first read it, but resonates hope and comfort in the midst of loss when we examine it and we understand it.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
Isn’t death the result of sin? How could the passing of people that we love be precious in the sight of the Lord?
As we answer these questions this afternoon, I believe we will find great joy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a cause to celebrate the life of _________________________.
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SUFFERING HAS CEASED
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SUFFERING HAS CEASED
The Hebrew word for precious in Psalm 116:15 is one that was used when talking about a valuable and splendid item.
One of the reasons that the passing of a believer is precious to God is that in death, suffering ends for a child of God.
We live in a world of pain and suffering and broken bones and emotional hurt, but Revelation 21:4 promises that eternal life is the opposite.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
A life free of tears and death and mourning and crying and pain—a life free of the former things—that is what God intended for Adam and Eve before their disobedience in the garden when they disobeyed Him and sin entered the world.
In truth, we can say that real life is the life that John describes in Revelation 21:4.
Real life has begun for ______________ in the presence of his/her Savior.
A splendid transformation has taken place for him/her—a transformation into the imperishable that we all followers of Christ look forward to one day.
Frances Havergal wrote many hymns of faith and her most famous might have been “Take My Life and Let It Be.”
On the final day of her life, she asked her friend to read Isaiah 42 and her bedside.
When the friend read the sixth verse—“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness. I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you--,” Miss Havergal stopped her friend and said, “Called…Held…Kept! I can go home on that.”
By faith ______________________ was called home into an eternal life free from sin and pain and he/she will be held and kept by the grip of our righteous Savior for ages to come and sooner or later—everyone here who is a believer in Christ will join him/her in that blessed place.
Here is Thomas Watson describing that blessed place:
Eternity is the highest link of the saint’s happiness; the soul of a believer shall be forever bathing itself in the pure and pleasant fountain of bliss. The lamp of glory shall be ever burning, never wasting. As there is no intermission in the joys of heaven, so no expiration. When once God hath set His plants in the celestial paradise, He will never pluck them up anymore; He will never transplant them. Never will Christ lose any member of this body; you may sooner separate light from the sun than a glorified saint from Jesus Christ. O eternity, eternity, what a spring that be that shall have no autumn. What a day that shall have no night.
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SORROW GIVES WAY TO CELEBRATION
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SORROW GIVES WAY TO CELEBRATION
Sorrow is a constant companion in our life on this earth. Sometimes it seems far away from us, but it is always hovering in the distance because we know that we are always just a moment away from great pain and suffering.
Isaiah 53:3 explains that Jesus was a “man of sorrows acquainted with grief.”
In His humanity, the Son of God felt the sting of death.
He felt it when his friend Lazarus died and John 11:35 says that, “He wept.”
And He felt it at Calvary.
When Jesus died on the Cross, He took the punishment for my sin.
He took the punishment for your sin. He took the punishment for ____________________ sin.
All of the punishment we should get for eternity for breaking God’s law, Jesus stood in our place and He took our death sentence.
But the story does not end there.
The beauty of the Gospel is that that sorrow gives way to celebration.
Jesus did not remain in the grave. He was crucified on a Friday, but resurrected on a Sunday.
When He did, He proved that He really was the Son of God and that He had defeated sin and death.
He proved that the sacrifice He made on our behalf was truly accepted by the Father—meaning, our sins can really be forgiven and we can be saved.
Now if we agree with God that our sin is evil and we turn away from it and we pray and ask God to forgive us and we trust that He truly paid for our sin and defeated our sin through the Cross and the Resurrection—we will receive forgiveness and have eternal life.
It sounds like a cliché “preacher at a funeral” thing to say, but sorrow has given way to celebration for ___________________ because he/she was and is a follower of Christ.
And that is real.
Here is the Matthew Mead writing about this:
Heaven is a freedom from all evil both of sin and suffering, so that a name in heaven entitles us to a blessed redemption from all evil. There is no sin there. Grace weakens sin, but it is glory that abolishes it…There is no affliction there. Sin and sorrow came in together, and they shall go out together.
Matthew Mead
I know that for the family and friends still here, we feel the sorrow in a way where we may not feel much like celebrating. And that is okay.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:4:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
With His comfort in hand, He is here you.
Jesus comes through on His promises.
There is comfort for you. And as the mourning fades, the comfort of God will lead you out of sorrow into celebration over what He did in ___________’s life and what He is continuing to do as he/she is in His presence.
But as you mourn, don’t mourn for __________________.
Mourn for yourself, as you are still living in this fallen world—feeling the sting of death.
There is no sting for _______________.
He/she is free and where he/she is—there is no sorrow there.
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SEPARATION GIVES WAY TO GLORIFICATION
THE DEATH OF A CHRIST-FOLLOWER IS PRECIOUS TO GOD BECAUSE SEPARATION GIVES WAY TO GLORIFICATION
Paul speaks a glorious truth in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 that is designed to encourage and give courage:
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Jesus Himself told the disciples in John 14:3:
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
“At home with the Lord.” … “Where I am you may be also.”
In heaven with Christ, there is no separation or isolation from God.
In His presence, there is indescribable purity, uncontainable satisfaction, irresistible love and undeniable completion.
Theologians call it glorification. It is the ultimate exclamation point on our salvation and it lasts forever.
William Ames spoke of it in this way:
Perfect glorification is in the taking away of all imperfection from the soul and body and communication of all perfection. This is granted to the soul immediately after separation from the body.
William Ames
We were made for this glory.
We were made to be in the presence of God.
Sin messed that up in the Garden of Eden, but when we leave this earth and go to be with Him forever, we finally get to be in relationship to God in the way that we were always meant to be in relationship to God.
CS Lewis said that we all have an “old ache,” within us that longs for the completion that comes with being in the presence of Christ.
We all feel it.
It is the feeling that things aren’t quite right here and we aren’t exactly where we are supposed to be.
How often do we pray and our prayers are interrupted by others or our own feeble attention span?
How often to we perform some grace and kindness to another only to taint it with prideful feelings about our own goodness?
How often to we intend to love, but our words come out sharp and brash and we wish we could have a do-over?
The old ache in us longs for these things to be no more.
We long to be separated from the old man forever and brought into the sinless, perfect presence of God.
We long to be like Him from the head to the toe.
And in glorification, that ache is dispensed and we are just as we long to be. Justified, sanctified. And finally, glorified.
The last time I saw Wayne, he couldn’t speak. He tried. He furrowed his brow, almost as if he was apologizing that he couldnt’ shake my hand and greet me like he wanted.
Well he has his voice back now.
God is joyful over the presence of His saints for eternity.
God is joyful that Wayne’s voice has joined in on the songs of heaven. His praise and completion in Him is precious in His sight.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
I will close up this afternoon with a quote from Adrian Rodgers:
"Saints who have died are now leaping, dancing, and praising God. Heaven is all that the loving heart of God can desire, the omniscient mind of God can conceive, and the omnipotent hand of God can perform...The God who sculpted the wings of the butterfly, blended the hues of the rainbow, and painted the meadows with daffodils is the same One who made heaven. Blessed are the dead in Christ, for they are rejoicing."
Adrian Rodgers
· There is no need to have sorrow for ________________________ this afternoon. We can be overjoyed for him/her.
· As we are sorrowful over our separation with our loved friend, take heart in the promised comfort of God and lean solely on Him for salvation.
Precious in the Lord’s sight is the death of His saints.