SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: August 07, 2010
Date Preached: August 08, 2010
Event: Jack Phillips Funeral
Oak Park Baptist Church
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Title: The Sudden Loss of A Christian
Text: 1 Thess 4:13
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
Introduction:
Today we gather together with grief in our hearts because we have lost a dear loved one in Jack Phillips. BUT, Mr. Jack would NOT want us to come here and mully grub all day… he would NOT want us to be downcast and sorrowful! Mr. Jack would want this to be a time of rejoicing and celebration! Yes! We can celebrate and rejoice thru the tears of grief!
We come here today as a celebration of the life of a man who touched many lives! I don’t want to think that you should NOT grieve the loss of this wonderful man, but in the midst of our grief I know what God’s word tells us and it is that even thru the grief, we can still celebrate!
Today we gather together to celebrate 1st…
HIS LIFE of LOVE…
We can read in PHIL 1:3 that Paul took time to celebrate life with those around him! Paul did NOT take life for granted… and we find Paul writing, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you…”
In my ministry my focus in a funeral or time of tragedy is to encourage families to do to celebrate the memories of the one they have lost! I ask them stories about their loved one and most of the time, it is a tearfully JOYFUL time of remembrance by the family!
I believe that looking at and celebrating the life of their loved one is going to serve them as a great encouragement when all the people are gone… and they are at home alone and you wake up one day and suddenly you are overwhelmed with sorrow. Pull out those memories and play ‘em over and over again…
Not ONLY does celebrating all your memories serve as a comfort to you BUT I can see that it also is going to serve as a wonderful way of passing down to the next generation that special heritage… those special memories… to those whom you love!
Family, when all the company is gone and when you are all alone and the grief seems to be overwhelming you, I challenge you to NOT be afraid to take your grief to God… He has said that He would be there for us… Go to God and talk to Him about your loss and loneliness.
Mr Jack celebrated LIFE with his family in just about everything he ever did. Now you may not know this about Jack or not, but people tell me that Jack was not what you might call a ‘talkative’ person…
I know that for the 3 yrs I was his pastor, he was for the most part very quiet, but I discovered that I could NOT mistake that quiet nature for a lack of interest in his family! Jack was ALL about creating memories each and every time his family got together…
From loudly tapping the table with his fingers to get someone to play their card… to climbing a tree at 69 to put up a swing for his granddaughter, to rough-housing and getting involved with his grandchildren… to taking ALL the grandkids for rides on his motorcycle…. Jack was HANDS ON with his family! He was about serving them and loving them… Jack celebrated his family and the life God had given him.
Not only do we celebrate Jack’s life, but I can also see where we must celebrate…
HIS WITNESS of CHRIST...
1 Peter 2:4-5 [ESV]
4 As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Saved as a young man, Jack was NOT very ‘active’ in church for a long time. Mrs Sallie told me that for the 1st 25 yrs of their marriage, if you would have told her that Jack would become a deacon…she would have laughed in your face!
But just because Jack did not get openly involved in church does not mean that he was not a faithful husband, and father! You see for the 1st few yrs of their marriage they moved around a lot… but before Jack would do ANYTHING in a new town, he would find a church for the family to attend!
I have been told that if they moved in on Saturday, they were in a church on Sunday… and even tho’ from the outside it may not have seemed so… CHURCH was very important to the life and witness of Jack Phillips!
He was a guide, mentor and spiritual leader for his family. He was not perfect… but none of us are… but there is memory after memory from Mrs Sallie, his children and his grandchildren of how Jack was a rock of faith! He was a man of God! One such story is told my his granddaughter Callie…
When she was asked what she remembered most about Pappaw… she related a story about when she was 5 or 6 yrs old, and Mammaw and Pappaw would come to take them to church on Sunday mornings… and she remembered that big ole’ finger reaching down to lead her to the car and into the church! What a great picture of a true believer who was faithful and dedicated man who loved his family… NOT just by his words, but by his life!
Jack was a man who would come to your house… fix your fence… or whatever you wanted! He was a servant at heart! Jack’s life reflected a godly spirit and a loving demeanor that touched the lives of so many people! Jack’s life WAS a great witness to the love of Christ that abounded greatly in his heart! But not only his life and witness… but today we celebrate…
HIS FINISHING THE RACE... FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
In 1 Tim 4:6-8 [ESV]
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Bro Jack fought the good fight… and now we know that Bro Jack and FINISHED his course, and now stands before His Savior, in the presence of his loved ones! Jack has crossed the finish line of life… but that is not the end!
Scripture tells us in Psalms that God finds the death of His saints a precious thing… but why would God be glad that we die? Well, when we die… those of us who are saved and have a personal relationship with Christ… this brings us face to face with our Savior! Never again to be separated from Him!
Another reason is that we are removed from sin, pain, suffering and heartache! I truly love what Paul said about this in the book of Romans when he said, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Death is a sad and difficult thing to endure, but what we suffer here will never compare to how WONDERFUL things will be when we see our Savior! We may think things are AT their worst, but when we are finally with Jesus, all that will fade away!
But you know that I believe Bro Jack not only has experience crossing life’s finish line BUT I believe that he was ready to cross that finish line… I truly believe in my heart HE was ready to meet Jesus!
No, I don’t mean that Jack was looking FORWARD to death… He loved his family far too much for that, but what I mean is that his heart was yearning to be with His savior! I saw his face each Sunday morning when God’s word was preached and you could tell that he reveled in hearing about God… learning about his Savior and knowing that one day he would meet Jesus face to face!
Today we CELEBRATE Jack Phillips life of service and his witness of Christ… Today we CELEBRATE that another of God’s children has found his way home to the Savior…never more to hurt again, never more to cry again, never more to suffer, be sick or die… but forever alive in the presence of His Savior… OUR Savior, Jesus Christ!
If there is ONE message that Jack could give to you sitting here this morning… it would be this: Surrender your heart today, give your life to Jesus, serve Him, live for Him and tell the world about Him!
Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except thru Me…” Today you can know Jesus… Jack would urge you to give your life to Him today!
This service is ending and in a few moments I am going to ask you to exit out of this sanctuary as the family proceeds to a private graveside farewell… I urge you to pray for them in this time of grief, but also rejoice with them as they know where Jack is today…
I am going to ask Steven to come and you all to stand, and we are going to sing the Family of God as we are dismissed from this service. As you exit, I urge you to give your heart to Jesus today! Would you stand with us…
