As the family and friends of xxxx xxxxx, we are gathered today in the presence of God both to remember him and to find comfort from the word of God during this time of mourning.
The psalmist wrote, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” and then the writer of the book of Hebrews said, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” And for those who wrestle with so many questions as we face the loss of a loved one, Paul wrote, “For now we see through a glass darkly, someday we shall understand even as we are understood.” This tells us that someday, all of our questions will be answered and everything will be made clear.
Shall we pray: Our Father in heaven, how grateful we are that we have someone as loving and compassionate as you, for you are the one we turn to in our hour of need. You alone know the thoughts of each heart that’s bowed in your presence and so I would ask, that you would comfort all who mourn as only You can.
We thank you today for xxxx and the influence he has had on his family and his many friends. We pray that his memory might be an inspiration to each of us and that his death will stand to remind us of the brevity of life because none of know, when our time will come to leave this world. Grant that in our time here today, that each of us would hear the word of God with an open heart and that we would respond in a way that’s pleasing to you. For we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
We will have the ministry of music at this time.
Personal bio
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
In this passage we have an invitation from Jesus and it’s an invitation to come to Him to prepare ourselves for the day we have to meet God face to face. Now, many of us try to live good lives, we often give what we can and help where we’re able. And all this is good; but it’s not what Jesus is looking for because He says, “Come unto Me.”
Whenever I talk to someone about their relationship with the Lord they often say they’re a member or attend a certain church and they’re either excited or would rather forget they had ever gone. And some will associate what they know about the church with a popular television preacher or even someone they know who claims to be a Christian. But, Jesus doesn’t say that the forgiveness of God is found by going to church or by following anybody else but forgiveness for sin, is only found in Him.
People will say, “Well, I’m a religious person.” And the problem is, if you keep up with the news you’ve probably noticed that religion hasn’t solved too any of the world’s problems and if the truth be known it has probably hindered more than it’s ever helped. You see, religion is man’s way of reaching up to God; but when the Bible talks about a relationship with God it’s always God reaching down to man. And that’s why Jesus says, “Come unto Me.” A church can always help us grow in the faith but any faith without Jesus is no faith at all.
When we hear that we wonder, well, who is Jesus to invite us to come to Him? The Bible describes Him as the virgin-born Son of God who was crucified, died then buried and then He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament proves that He is who He says He is by showing Jesus doing miracles that only God could do. I mean, He healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, created food for thousands, cast out demons and He even controlled the weather. And those who knew Him, who were His disciples; claimed He was God, His enemies said He was innocent of the charges that were laid against Him and when God the Father spoke from heaven He said, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Listen, this is the One who says to both you and I; “Come unto Me.”
And then it tells us who should come when it says, “All you that labor and are heavy laden.” Where it says, all you that labor the word ‘labor’ carries the idea of someone who has been working to exhaustion. And some of those who were listening to Jesus back then and even some today have simply exhausted themselves trying to find relief from a guilty conscience. Some go to church, while others go to a psychiatrist and there are even some who go to a tavern but only Jesus can take our guilt away by forgiving our sin.
This being heavy laden is a kind of internal exhaustion that comes from looking for all the right answers in all the wrong places. The New Testament even describes those who exhaust themselves by being religious but without any relief. For instance, in John 5:39 and 40 Jesus describes the people of His day by saying to them, “Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of Me. And you will not come unto Me that you might have life.”
Listen, Jesus says, if you’re tired of trying to find your own answers for sin then come to Me and be forgiven. It’s like He’s saying, you have this great burden of sin on your back and on top of all this sin someone has come along and dumped this huge load of religion that doesn’t seem to help.
And this huge load was all the customs and traditions or religious obligations that the church of their day had piled on the people. These people had rules for every conceivable area of life. And if a person believed that keeping all these rules would get them into heaven they’d either run around in total frustration or they’d spend all their time doing nothing for fear of doing the wrong thing.
So, Jesus’ message is, if you’ve spent all your time searching for the truth and you haven’t found it and you’re tired of trying to live a life that’s pleasing to God because you realize that you can’t do it, then He says, I want you to come to Me.
And when a person sincerely comes to Jesus Christ admitting they need to be saved from sin and they’re aware they can’t save themselves, the Bible says their sins are lost in the sea of God’s forgetfulness. He says He’ll take away our sin and put it as far as the east is from the west. And when that happens, then we can rest; because we know that God loves us and that all of our sins are forgiven forever.
God rewards those who seek Him and part of His reward is that He takes us to a place called heaven. And heaven is best described by what’s not there. In Revelation 21:4 it says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” Wouldn’t you like to live in a world where there’s no death, sorrow, sickness or pain? You can, if you simply come to Him.
And then He talks about how the saved are to serve when He says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”
When He talks about the yoke that’s the part of the harness one placed on the neck of an animal in order to pull a plow. The yoke was used to control and guide the animal into useful work and it became a common term in Jesus day. A student was said to have been under the yoke of his teacher and an ancient Jewish writing contained this advice when it said, “Put your neck under the yoke and let your soul receive instruction.”
So, the yoke symbolized two things, there was submission or obedience to both the will and the word of the master and there was also work. I like how the motto of the Salvation Army puts it when it says, “We are saved to serve.” The New Testament refers to us as soldiers in His army, builders in His temple, as evangelists for the gospel and as ambassadors for the kingdom. So, we are the workers and the work we do doesn’t result in our salvation but we work because we’re already saved.
Most yokes were made for two and this reminds us that when Jesus invites us to take His yoke upon us; that He is on the other side and He who accompanies promises never to leave nor forsake us.
And finally, He says, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” An easy yoke is one that fits right. And God calls each of us to serve Him in a way that we are able. In other words, He never asks us to do what we can’t do although He does ask us to do things at times that we don’t want to do. But, even then we find His will is best because His burden is light.
And whatever burden we’re called to bear, the scriptures teach us that God’s rewards outweigh any trials we are called to endure because we can cast our every care upon Him because He cares for us.
Horatio Bonar wrote,
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Come unto Me and rest.
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down,
Thy head upon My breast.
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad.
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.
Come unto Me the savior says and that’s an invitation to which we must respond. God has provided for our salvation through the death of His Son and now He says, and whosoever will come.
Prayer
And now our Father, we are grateful for the message of hope found in your word and we realize that death is not the end but it’s the beginning of eternal life for all who have trusted in the finished work of Calvary. Grant that each of us would respond to your word in a way that’s pleasing to you and that we might live our lives in a way that would honor you. For we do ask this, in Jesus name.
We’ll have the ministry of music once again.
Announcements: There will be a committal service following the benediction.
