2019-04-07-LIVE OAKS - Hope From A Funeral
a better Okay, that was some that was part of it of three songs showing that was at my mom's funeral and the only thing different was it that I wanted to add was the last picture which was my family all of my family together. The title of my message today is seen Hope from a funeral ends. I'm going to have to be really careful that okay?
I've got to find the right spot. Better. This is going to make me stand still probably a really good thing. I like to move so I won't be able to today. But but anyways just add that last picture of her family because it really really sums up in my mother's life. And this message is kind of dedicated to her. It's called seeing Hope from a funeral ends. If you have your bibles, if you could turn with me to First thoughtful out that selonians 413 starting 13 through 18 starting there, but I do not want you to be ignorant Brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep last you sorrow as others who have no hope or if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means proceed those who are asleep for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive or maybe she'll be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and that's it. We shall always be with the Lord there for Comfort one another with these words must friend Lord. Our heavenly father. We thank you for the word of God. We thank you for this blessed. Hope that you are there and that because of you we have hope and a future we have hope that we when we take our last breath, it won't be our last that you will be meeting us on the other side. Lord as we go forward, and we we really focus on this word today what it means to have hope and what it means to not have hope let it just working our hearts allow us to chew on this this week allowed to mean something more than just words on a page but b-but B words and in a word that that inspires us to give the good word to those around us your precious name we pray. Amen.
tiger on back
Alright. Thank you. Alright the power of hope, you know, one of the things that I think it's more than what it is really the most important thing in life. If you think about it, if you have hope you have an ability to get up again, you're so many times in our life. We have these times where we fall and we mess up with Skinner knees and it is the ability to wake up in a new day and see the sun shining again and say today is a new day. I love that saying isn't it great that especially in Florida, you know, I don't know if you realize this but Clearwater we we live is known to be the nation's capital for the most sunny days. Thank goodness for that. You know, I have friends that live on Washington are visiting us right now dear dear friends, I grew up with from Minnesota David Rondon embarrassing to death here. But anyways, these guys live in Washington in in in Washington is very different. There's a lot of cloudy days OK and in those days he knows how is hard when you wake up and you see the rain in the clouds and everything like that, but it is so cool to be in Florida when you wake up and you see the sun over and over and over again, and there's hope Now hope in it of itself. This is some quotes on hope by John Maxwell. He says where there is. No hope in the future. There is no power in the present. I really agree with that in that true. You know, where there is where there is no. Hope of a future. Have you ever been in a job where you're sitting in their job and go back to this job is in dead-end job. There is no. Hope tell me how fun that is to get up every day and go to work with a job worry, you don't necessarily like what you're doing. You don't necessarily like the people you're working with and you have no form of advancement or any type of opportunity in front of you very very challenging. You know, Johnny eareckson Tada, who was this lady very very inspirational lady who when she was younger had delve into the water as a teen and she had broke her neck and she says this she became one of the most incredible artist who painted a pictures with her with her lips with with a brush and you would never know. I mean, they are phenomenal Is this the best we can hope for in this life is a knothole peek at The Shining realities ahead get a glimpse is enough. It's enough to convince our hearts that whatever sufferings and Sorrows currently estate are worthy of comparison to which Waits Over the Horizon and that's true. I mean we have this knot-hole view this little hole that we give me a cup of water, please thank you, but we have this little not home view of of what heaven is. We don't have a huge picture. We don't have you can come to me and ask me what is heaven like and I can give you a couple portions of scripture and I can give you some attributes of God and I can do all that but I really cannot tell you the mystery behind it all I can't tell you what we're all going to see but what Johnny says we have this hope all this little knock will like looking through the the IRA if you ever want to it when I was a kid, I used to go to the Minnesota Twins baseball game.
Major league players playing for free as a kid, but that's what she was saying something that's coming. That is so incredible. Another preacher says this Jesus is the hope of the world in the local church is the vehicle of expressing the hope this world. It's really true. You know, if you think about Jesus life he was he is he is all hope and when his life was when he was on this Earth, he provided that hope he healed he's restored. He did all these things but then when Jesus left his plan was to Institute the local church to keep it going and so you and I now are the drivers we are the car. We are the vehicle vehicle to spread the hope of Jesus Christ that is what is called the gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ loved us so much that he died on the cross for our sins that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Isn't that amazing? Hope?
I can give you a couple of space and not having hope when I was a kid. I played hockey. So glad my friend my best friend. It was the worst team ever to put on Skate. It was horrible. We played for a little place on our block help Portman and you got to understand in my city hockey is everything and it just happened to be that on my little block. We had the worst hockey players in the whole area and not including my friend. My friend is the only bright shining on that team, but we went out there every week and we would try to get up and Inspire ourselves to go out and play in every game. It was like 7191 11:1 And I remember even a little younger I played on that team without him. I actually played hockey before he didn't even know. He was the hockey player. I was about to play but I played as a real young kid into my first apartment the worst team in the city and my dad was so excited. He never had a hockey player and he sat behind me and I was playing goalie and I'm telling you these kids on the other team. These kids these kids on the other team. We're skating like bees. I mean they were everywhere and they were swarming our team and I saw a shot after shot after shot and 90% of them would pass me. Okay? 90% And I remember my dad going, you know, keeping encouraging me even trying to say to me and finally I said, This is hopeless. It's hopeless. Our guys can't even skeet. They can't even skate with this team. It was absolutely the most frustrating thing. If you've ever been a part of something where you're losing so badly and there wasn't any hope that many of them, but that was a really painful time. Then the other one was when I was younger the one that kind of turned it around for me. I play chess. I remember is so funny. The fact that chest is even in my background, but when I was in 5th grade David and I went and started playing on we had a like a chess club and I remember, you know, I never really felt like I could do anything like a teacher that was that was heading this up. He saw us play one time with playing against the kid that was supposed to be the best in our school and I was hanging in there with them and and he said Mr. Henry said he could be pretty good at this game. And just those kind of little words man. I took them and I started like I want to play chess all the time and I became very easy to me and I just remember the feeling of Pride and you know what it all came down to a kind word of Hope. Hope is important folks. Hope is what our world needs right now. Our world does not have hope and I and I want to bring you back to Philippians 4:13. I do not want you to be ignorant Brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep that you sorrow as others who have no hope. I want to be very very clear today we have in our world a lot of what we call fake news. We hear it all the time.
Satan wants to have people believe that no matter what you did in your life. No matter what what you did good bad or ugly that in the end. You are in a better place. That is fake news. now what kind of doctor do you want to come to see if you want to doctor and you're having stomach problems your back is killing you you don't feel well and an inside a you have cancer, but the doctor says I want to give this guy bad news. No, I don't take a couple of these times. You'll be better in the morning. Or do you want to go to the Doctor Who's going to thoroughly? Check you out and say you know what? I'm sorry to have you hear this, but you have cancer.
In our world today, we have a blinding by Satan that he does not want you to hear the truth. He doesn't want you to hear your condition. He doesn't want to hear where you are based on what?
And I I have this message is based on three funerals that I've tended to and I've called it seeing Hope from a funeral ends. Because when you go to a funeral and if you know, I always appreciate these guys that do this for a living and they watched funeral after funeral after funeral. In fact after the last funeral that but my mom's the guy that was was there on the back that was kind of running this thing from the the funeral home. He came up to me and he goes I have seen thousands of funerals. I've never seen anything like that one. I thought I forgot to be huge compliment. But I appreciate his view on his perspective because he is seeing life from the very end and he seen people cry he seemed people mourn. He seen people that have witnessed. The loved ones die in different ways, but he has seen the end of it. The folks I often thought about I said, you know what one of the Great War why is this things we could do is take every person and go look at life from the end and see what it looks like. Because if you can do that and you can go to the end of the light of your life and you can see what it would be like at that moment and what people are saying about you. What what what life meant and all this thing's I think we would all live a little different. So, you know, what as your assistant pastor. I'm bringing you there today. I'm bringing you to the end and I'm going to bring out the lenses. I want you to see it. I want you to see what life's about. and my first funeral I did was for an unsaved man. It was a Rancher that had rented a place for me. He and his wife were not Christians. She became a Christian while she rented from mean actually work for me at my company is still one of my dearest friends. My name is beauty. And her husband that I was not a saved man and I had witnessed with him multiple times. We would work on the rental together. If you were always want to help me get COPD so badly could barely breathe. Around and oxygen tank in all of this time we go we go places and you wanted to come with me to help buy things and just be with me and so we would talk and I would share in it was really amazing. He really liked me but he cut me off on one thing and that was the name of Jesus.
Amazing to me I could talk to him about anything else. I could talk to him about doing good things helping others and stuff. But there was something about the name of Jesus that he put up the wall.
He could never ever get to a point where he saw Jesus as anything other than a man. You couldn't get past to the idea of the possibility that Jesus Christ was actually indeed God he couldn't get to the point in a fact in his life that Jesus Christ actually died on the cross for our reason. He couldn't get to the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for him personally, and he could never do it. They put the wall up and eat shows that Jesus Christ was not going to be So I gave this funeral.
Was my very first funeral. And I had people that wanted to come up and they were telling about him and they were saying things like oh, I'm so glad he's in a better place. I'm so glad he's done suffering and he's in the arms of God. I'm so glad he's in his happy place.
And I sat there that day and I thought about it. In the one thing that came to my mind as I said, I am going to never ever ever ever let another funeral go by with a people that I'm over in leadership. without telling the truth
That was a horrible funeral one that I don't want to do again very very difficult for one who knows the truth to go and deliver a funeral for someone that never accepted Jesus Christ folks. The Bible is very clear without Jesus Christ. There is no hope there is no future In Heaven There is no eternity with God review. There's a reality that without Jesus Christ as your personal savior that you will go spend eternity in hell. People say to me, I can't believe you believe that.
I have the unfortunate responsibility. Read my Bible. See what a written on the pages by our Lord. And what it tells me is a far different reality than fake news. What Bible what the Bible says is that there's a reason why Jesus Christ was sent to this Earth from God. There's a reason why he came to die on a cross. There's a reason why he bled on Calvary. It was because you and I were destined to go to hell without it.
People don't realize exactly how much God gave Jesus. Talks about Good Works in about all the things religion has to offer a cloud the truth. But I could never make it to Heaven our good works can never be good enough because God is a righteous. God is pure God is Holy and having the reason why having is having is because God is there and soon does not exist and because of that we cannot enter Heaven with sin in our lives. So that is why Jesus died on the cross.
This next part of scripture. Well, I think I gave you point one with god without receiving Jesus Christ point one. There is no hope going through is this true? How is only found in Jesus name? Once you think about that, I'm going to slow down true. Hope is only found in the name of Jesus. Let's listen to this verse 1st Thessalonians 4:14 for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him. Those who sleep in Jesus. God will rescue those who believe that Jesus died and rose again. I have a picture here. This next one is of my father and I hope I made it here. I don't know if you got it there come. next funerals my fathers My dad was not a good man. When he was young. My dad was very selfish. She had grown up and then there's a lot of reasons for that. My dad had grown up with an alcoholic mother there at the bar all the time. I had many many times. My dad would have to go to the bar to get my dad or didn't get his dad in and drag him home. My dad had a very difficult life, but my dad also was very selfish. There was many many times that my dad would be on hunting and fishing trips. This is when my brothers and sisters were younger not me. And he would want hunting and fishing trips and leave my mom home for weeks with the kids by herself. All these five kids. My dad was very selfish on what on Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursday nights was involved in Bowling leagues. My father had more bowling trophies in our basement. It was incredible my friend David can attest to this he was down there with me. I mean, they're probably was 40 trophies down there. I don't even know how in the world. We had a mall. Your personal self Ambitions. He wanted to be great. He was a city councilor at our city. He he was voted in to become the head of a city council. My dad had a raging temper. My brother was a really good basketball player. And my dad many times would yell at him to the point make my brother cry hudocks even punch him sometimes. I found it at the funeral. I knew one time. I knew my father and she didn't my mother but my father had she do my mother twice.
Ian was not a good man. One day my mother went to church she accepted Christ. Are kids accepting Christ in my brother's all went to Bible College and my dad saw something happening in our family. It was different. It was different than what scene in this world. It was Supernatural.
It's all people that cared about other people. My brother's care deeply about others and they all went into the ministry.
And my brothers became pastors that serve the Lord.
My brother's let my father Christ.
My dad stopped going on fishing trips and he took his son fishing.
Took a Liberty Liberty Liberty University correspondence course and became a pastor. Is all the rage my dad password of small church and spent the next 30 years of his life in the Bible from cover to cover. He did this at least 15 times. My dad had a passion for end-time prophecy and I'm given the gospel.
But I will say this my dad had his life to do over again.
Would change where I spend his time as earlier.
If you could go back I know fishing trips would be less. His kids would have come with him.
What's too late when you die?
My father's funeral was an illustration of The Amazing Grace of Jesus Christ. I can cut your heart. I'm so self-centered and self-absorbed. They can break through it and God's work and change the heart and life.
Why number 3? True. Hope is knowing Jesus Christ is coming back. Those who believe in him? There's a reason why I'm going to come whole crazy guy that I sent emails out there. Probably drive you all crazy. I got frustrated this week. I'm sorry. I got to learn some patience. The reason why I'm so strong in the gospel the social reason why I scared because my parents taught me this. True. Hope his nose in Jesus. Christ is coming back.
Set girlfriend this week. Why you doing all this and I said, you know what?
What am I going to do golf?
That's what guys do right when I get older. They live their life. They work really really hard so they can move to Florida and go. That's not my path. What's yours?
Bible says this
I'm in 1st Thessalonians 4 16 through 17 the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
You know, Jesus Christ is coming back and my dad he is going to see Jesus again.
Jesus Christ is coming back and he will be the first one that rises the dead in Christ will rise first. And those who remain there's a think there's going to be a time where the trumpet is going to sound in. Jesus is coming back and those were going to rise. Those who remain will be caught up together with him.
Lasting Hope
My final point is this a life of true. Hope leaves a legacy of Believers to carry on. I've got my mom's picture on this now. This is the third funeral.
My mom's funeral is very different.
It's the funeral that I choose to want. I choose to hope for my mom's funeral. My mom was was not perfect. My mother was was someone that was very very self sensitive to how she she was other people thought of her. I remember as a kid. She said she was in her 50s and so I hung out with some older people have a kid and we went to this lady's house with 85 years old and and she brought me. Would you like some milk? I love some milk. So she comes out with this picture of milk, and I she's pouring it hurts going down the glass. And I saw it and then my eyes were bugging out and I remember my mom looking over me.
Pokemon with that glass. I looked at it. I could see it jiggling in there and I put it in my lips and coming out my nose.
unbelievable My mom also was one that believe in being very very clean. She had to have her kids squeaky clean when she went to school. I don't know if they've ever saw this but my mom would she would every morning she would trap me to wash your face and she take this brown washcloth that was sitting there and she grabbed it all up and then she would rub it in your face. It's all for me as I grew up. It was always this game. I'm not letting that thing touch my face cuz they was painful that would Dodge out of the way and she hit the wall and it was always this game and the game ended tragically one day and this is what happened. This is the truth. I was in our bathroom. We had our bathroom. I just like every other bathroom. I was going to the bathroom in my dad, you know, you live with brothers and sisters brothers been going. You know what I had my brother on this time, and I know he comes in and you gotta understand my dad had just woken up and he would wear these boxer shorts. Okay, nothing on top. My dad was a little bit overweight and he was bald guy with black hair Gargamel from Smurfs in any sat there. And then I saw that my eyes I ran out of that bathroom so fast and I told my mother I said you are never touching my face again. I know where that has been. And that was it. That was it.
And the reality is is that my mother was not perfect and if she had a lot of weird kind of corpse, but this is what I say about my mother. My mother loved her kids. She loved people she had a huge family or my mom was a Bible Warrior. She brought her Bible. In fact of my dad and her to live with me. So I picture of them reading the Bible together. That wasn't my dad's Choice. My mom made him. It was 10 chapters everyday in my house while I was taking care of them, even when they were seeing how that's what they did. And my mom showed us the love of Jesus Christ. And their stories after story and then one of the greatest ones with fat when I had done something really bad my mom. I was so afraid to see her and she forgave me. My mom was someone who could look past faults and forgive and the greatest Testament of her forgiveness was how she treated my father after he cheated on her twice. the fact that my wife that my mother stayed with my father The Testament of forgiveness And because of her forgiveness to my father. My family responded and all of them except one every kid have a grandkid - 1.2 get believer to the stand. The folks I'm not telling you to brag about my family.
Stream me proud cuz you never see it. I'm so proud. I'm not doing it supposed to say there's a better way my mom showed it to me. My mom taught that Jesus Christ our relationship with Jesus Christ is where to put your eggs. If you want to put your eggs in one basket put it in Jesus and the second thing is put it in other people.
There's a couple versus I leave you with verse Mark 8:36 for what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul my father majority of his life Bill trophy after he built the walls of his kingdom on his own and all those trophies when my parents passed we took those trophies and we brought them up and we threw them in the garbage. And all the works and all the things he did ended up in a trash can in a dump. My mother placed her time and energy into her children and her grandchildren and the people around her and she has a legacy internal me.
Oops, I challenge you today. If you do not know for sure that you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ. There is hope
that is within us as Christians is that Jesus Christ entered Our Lives when we confess to him that we are sinners and we need them. I have you all by your head and close your eyes.
Jesus I'm coming to you today, and this is your floor.
You have done Mighty miraculous things.
Can't even say enough about you or what you mean to me.
Thank you for my mother. And I thank you for her testimony and thank you that what she did. Transfers to today and it can be used as a testament of what forgiveness and do. Anthony means Lord I'm coming to you and I'm praying that you can Vicks hard to this is your world. This is your people. I'm just at school.
It is in your plan in your prayer is your purpose to have someone except price today and pick their hearts to realize that by their good works. They can never hit heaven. Faith and trust in you. They need to turn a need to change from what they're living right now. Not any work that they're doing, but they have to change their belief in their thinking that only you and save them Works will never save anyone. So God if there's someone right now today that wants to get their life as their personal savior. No one looking around anyone. Please raise your hand side like to accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior today, so I know I'm going to heaven. Is there anyone? Medieval Time God is working in your heart right now, and you don't know for sure. Ben in different churches that pot good works religions different things, but he didn't know he don't know for sure that your saved if you want to get it right today raise your hand and I'll introduce you the savior.
for the rest of us
This message has been one that teaches us to come back and look at the life that we're living in it and compare it to what's going to happen. When we die. Are we going to go through our whole life building up Treasures that the Earth is just going to take back. Our is our time going to be on things that really don't matter or we going to start waking up and investing our heart. Jesus Christ in other people Lord I pray for the people of our church. I pray that the heart of the of you Jesus will come down to us that we may have sensitivity to the people that are lost a lot of sensitivity for family members. I need Jesus that we will love each other and forgive each other God. We thank you so much for all you do for us. Now as a time we go ahead as we have our time of communion. Maybe remember you and glorify you for what you did on the cross for our sins in your name. Amen. The elders come forward as we have her time of communion.