Annual Sermons Volume 1 / Sermon 30 Victory in Our Tears (John 11:35) Jesus wept! (A Funeral Sermon for a Devout Christian) Today we come to celebrate the home going of a good friend and loved one. Words are inadequate to describe this person. The loving, serving, Christ-like life we all saw, said it all. Edgar A. Guest said it best: Quote Sermons We See. Our words are inadequate to give us hope. For that we must go to the Word of God. Our knowledge ends at the grave. We go this far but no further. But thank God, we know one who lived on both sides of the grave. He came to us in Bethlehem s barn, left us on a wooden cross, came back to give us a job to do and went back to heaven to prepare a place for us to live with Him. But beyond the grave, man s wisdom standssilent, but where man ends, God begins, in his Word, the Bible. And what better place to begin that with Psalm 23 which tells us that if God is our Shepherd, we don t have to be afraid of life, of death or of eternity. And of course, this Shepherd is Jesus, who called Himself the good Shepherd who laid down His life for you and me (Jn. 1). Read Psalm 23:1-3 You don t have to be afraid of life Read Psalm 23:4-5 You don t have to be afraid of death. Read Psalm 23:6 You don t have to be afraid of eternity. Jesus Christ, God in human form, tasted death for every man. A few hours before His death He saw the fear and hurt in His disciples faces and He said (Read John 14:1-3). In a few hours the human race did its worst when Jesus was at His best. When we reached the lowest depths of sin, He reached
the highest heights of love (Read Luke 23:33-46). But the old hymn is right Death could not hold its prey/he tore the bars away/up from the grave He arose/with a mighty triumph o er His foes (Read Luke 24:1-8). And Jesus said, because He lives we shall live also. The Apostle Paul tells us: (Read 1 Cor. 15:12, 13, 19, 42-44, 49-50, 54, 56-58). A funeral is a time of mixed emotions for Christians. We don t know how to act. Part of us wants to stand up and praise God. But part of us wants to sit down and weep. And both emotions are right and all right. A martyr, being led to the flames, looked upon the sad faces of his friends, and shouted, Isn t there anyone here who will praise God? We understand that. But it is also proper to cry. Tears are not signs of selfishness. They are signs of love. They are our way of saying, We miss you! We love you! No one can take your place! You are and will always be special and precious to me. But when we cry, let it be made clear that we do not weep as those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). There is victory and even joy in our tears. At the grave of his friend Lazarus, the Bible says, Jesus wept! (John 11:35). One of my favorite authors, Dr. Charles Allen, says Jesus wept BECAUSE HE WAS BRINGING LAZARUS BACK. None of us would call back at this time. Our tears are tears of victory because A. WAS A CHRISTIAN (Tell here some facts about the person, especially concerning his or her character and contribution to the church and the Kingdom.) B. IS NOT ALONE One of the greatest promises our Lord ever gave us was, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). David,
knowing this truth, said, Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for thou art with me. (Psalm 23). I do not believejesus was referring to His Second Coming when He said in John 14, And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you will be also. He meant that one by one, as they died, He would come and lead them to their room in the Father s house. When Stephen was about to die he said, Behold! I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man S TANDING at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56). When he died, he said, Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit (7:59). Jesus stood up to welcome the first Martyr. He does it to receive each one of His people. I love the old Hymn: When we come to the river at ending of day, When the last winds of sorrow have blown, There ll be Somebody waiting to show us the way, We won t have to cross Jordan alone. is also with many of his, and our loved ones, who have gone before. Will we know each other in heaven? Certainly! Talmadge says, I will have as much sense over there as I have down here. Moody said if we did not know each other, heaven would have no precious memories and our lives on earth no would be The Bible says God is the God of ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB AND BOB MARCAURELLE AND YOU, AND YOU. We can sing: When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be, When we all see Jesus, We ll sing and shout the victory. III. IS BETTER OFF The Bible does not tell us much about heaven but the glimpses we get reveal the unspeakable joys that are ahead for the child of God. Paul said, Eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, the glorious things God
hath prepared for those who love Him. The word that sums it all up is release. Death sets us free to become what God created and redeemed us to be. 1.Heaven is Release From Suffering (Rev. 21:4) Heaven is the blessed place of release from suffering. The Bible says, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Rev. 21:4). This is not pie in the sky as our critics claim. It is the only thing that makes life make any sense. God will put an end to the sufferer s pain. Heaven will heal us all. Heaven will dry every tear. Heaven will soothe every heart. The Apostle Paul walked the valleys of pain. But when he through of heaven he said, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18). 2. Heaven Is Release From Sin. Heaven is also the blessed, joyful release from sin. The Bible says, We shall be like Him (Jesus) for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). The Bible says of heaven, Nothing impure will ever enter it... (Rev. 21:27). Down here we struggle with our lower nature and suffer the shame of giving in. Down here we are weak and even wicked. We hurt ourselves. We hurt those we love. We hurt our God. We say with Paul, Oh, wretched man that I am, who will rescue me... (Rom. 7:24). Our answer comes from the Christian martyr, who turned to his young friend as they were being led to the stake. He said, Courage, brother, this fire will cure us both! 3. Heaven Is Release From Separation. Heaven is a community. It is a city. It is where God and His people live together. Thus it is release from isolation and loneliness and separation. We are not separated from our Lord. Down here we pray and search and grope and try to believe in the presence and love of God in our trials. Faith is often so hard to come by. How we long to see Jesus and hear Jesus and reach out and touch Jesus to know that He is with us. In our darkness we look
up to the heavenly Father and say, Are you turned toward me? We know He is, but it is often so hard to believe. But in heaven the Bible says we will see His face (Rev. 22:4). 4. Heaven Is Release For Service (Rev. 22:3). Heaven is not, as some have pictured, a place of sterile, fruitless, boring inactivity where we lie around on clouds and do nothing but sing and go to church. In Rev. 22:3 and 7:15 it is said we will serve God. Jesus talked of our being put in charge of cities (Luke 19:17ff.) and Paul talked about our judging of angels (1 Cor. 6:3). We can only speculate as to what we will do, but we can rest assured we will do something. Henry Ward Beecher said, after I am dead and people ask you where I am, tell them I am somewhere doing business for God. It will work, yes. But it will be work without weariness and boredom and frustration and failure and competition and pride and envy. The Bible promises that we will Rest from our labors (Rev. 14:13). This great word rest does not mean we are asleep or inactive. It carries the meaning of being rested and refreshed and ready for each day s work with a song in our hearts.