Prepared - Funeral Sermon

John 13:33-36

33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”

Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

Ed N__ followed Jesus on earth and now in eternity. He has gone where Jesus went when He left the earth. So today we gather to remember Ed, to comfort his family, and to honor God, even in sorrowful times.

Funerals remind us of:

a. The Certainty of Death (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

1) Observation and Revelation (Hebrews 9:27)

2) Day of Death is an important day – Ecclesiastes 7:1 (NKJV):

A good name is better than precious ointment,

And the day of death than the day of one’s birth;

[Did angels gather to welcome Ed as we gather to welcome the birth of a child?

[We face death prepared or unprepared. Following Christ is our ultimate preparation.

b. The Shortness of life (James 4:14)

c. The Shortage of life (John 10:10)

• How much do we waste on the trivial?

• There is power in priority! (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

Ed Nix prepared for November 9, 2022, the day he passed into eternity. He knew as what his favorite apostle wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12 (NKJV):

I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Ed was not a perfect individual, there is only One who lived perfectly. Ed is forgiven by the power of the cross and wears the righteousness of Christ. Ed knew by faith and now by sight that we are children and servants of God

We Enter the Family and Service of God by Grace Through Faith – Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV):

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

1. We Can’t earn salvation by good works – comply with the will of God

2. Good works follow salvation for which we are rewarded – Matthew 16:27 (NKJV):

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

3. Example of Matthew 25 – When did we see you? Least of these my brethren.

Ed’s Heart of Service

[While living in Albuquerque, the family was driving to work on the cabin in Chama. Ed and Alta May were in one vehicle and Richard was following in another. A man flagged Ed down on the highway and asked for assistance saying he was too shaken to drive and needed to get to Santa Fe. Ed got in the man’s vehicle, Alta May drove their vehicle, and Richard followed not knowing the particulars.

As they were driving Ed noticed a bullet hole in the windshield and asked the man about it. The man was a jockey at the local racetrack and someone got upset with him and fired a gun at him. Fortunately, the bullet missed the mark but shook the man. Thankfully Ed was there to help.

He blessed his family and sacrificially cared for them. One of the first things Alta May said to me when we met to discuss today’s service was, “He took good care of me.”

• Washed her hair her every Saturday night for years.

• Put eye drops in her eyes as long as he was able.

• He had wanted to live and retire in Albuquerque but happily moved his family back to Oklahoma to take care of Alta May’s mother.

Ed’s Heart of Service Reflected His Work Ethic

Ed had been a butcher and transitioned to work as an award-winning salesman in the meat industry.

He thought being on time was being 15-30 minutes early for his job and other activities, not actually on the exact time.

[“Puritan Work Ethic” described honest, hard work. The Pilgrims were from the Puritan side of the church world in the 17th century. When they moved to Holland they vowed not to compete with the Dutch over jobs, making their own way. However, the Pilgrims were so productive that the Dutch business owners preferred hiring Pilgrims over their own Dutch neighbors.