It is important upfront that we establish why she has gone to that PLACE:
• It is not because she attended church regularly.
• It is not because she joined the church.
• It is not because she tithed.
• It is not because she was baptized.
• It is not because of the good deeds she has done, WHICH WERE MANY!
It is because the Lord Jesus died for her sins and made her a child of His when she accepted Him as her Lord and Savior.
NONE OF US WANT TO BE HERE TODAY FOR MARGARET’S HOMEGOING…NONE OF US!!!
We would prefer to be anywhere but here!!!
That is, we come to this service with mixed emotions:
We want to be here and we do not want to be here.
(1) We are sad that Margaret is no longer with us.
(2) But we are glad that Margaret has gone to be with her loved ones in heaven and with the Lord Jesus whom she dearly loved.
Some of you are here:
• Because you lost a mother
• Because you have lost a friend
• Because you have lost a good neighbor
• Because you have lost a sibling
I am here because I have lost a wonderful former church member and a wonderful friend.
We do not come questioning God who saw fit to take her from us.
Illus: I know a man who is angry with God and will not attend church. The reason he is angry is because he said God took his mother and brother and he felt God had no right.
BUT GOD DOES HAVE A RIGHT!
God creates all life and God has a right to do with life as He pleases.
She may be:
• Your mother
• Your friend
• Your church member
But she is God’s creation and God’s child and He has every right to take her from us.
Illus: It is like God is saying--- I have let you have her for over seventy years and now I want to bring her home to be with me.
The Bible tells us in…Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Now if God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts….THIS CAN LEAD TO A LIFE OF US BUTTING HEADS WITH GOD.
But notice the Word of God tells us HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OURS.
1. He is infinite--we are finite.
2. He knows the end from the beginning while we see just a short part of the now.
3. Examples through scripture and experience in life clearly illustrate that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts.
Illus: Let me illustrate one of the frustrations I have with God’s ways.
When I pray for something I know that is in the scripture He does not move fast enough the way I think He should sometimes. I WANT HIM TO CATCH UP!!!
That is, God does not have a wrist watch that controls Him like I have.
Illus: I pray for something and I want it right now!
• God’s way is to take Margaret home to her eternal home,
• Our way is to keep her here with us in her earthly home.
But we have to remember HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS!!!
We have a good example of HIS WAYS or not OUR WAYS IN THE SCRIPTURES in another way.
For example Psalms 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”
It confuses us when we read that the death of Margaret is PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT!
This almost offends us!!!
How can Margaret’s death be precious in his sight?
Remember HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER. It is precious for a number of ways, such as:
I. It is precious in the sight of the Lord because Margaret is now with her heavenly family.
She has been with her earthly family for many decades. But now she is with her heavenly family.
She is now meeting brothers and sisters in Christ that she has never met before
This woman loved her children, grandchildren and her husband in her earthly life.
Illus: I asked my brother, who Margaret used to work for, what thoughts does he have of Margaret. He said two things:
(1) She was a good worker
(2) She loved her husband, Glenn
If there ever has been a glue that holds the family together it would be love. And Margaret was the glue that held this family together.
You children and grandchildren are blessed to have such a mother and grandmother like Margaret.
There are some people in the Bible who we know instantly at the sound of their name.
Names like Moses, Esther, Peter, Mary and Paul.
Yet there are people whose names we don’t know, yet their actions changed history,
For example:
• The little girl who told Namaan, the great Syrian General, who to go to so he could be healed…WE DO NOT KNOW HER NAME, WE ONLY KNOW HER BY THE ACTIONS SHE TOOK IN LIFE.
• The little boy who shared his lunch with the disciples so that Jesus could feed 5,000…WE DO NOT KNOW HIS NAME, WE ONLY KNOW HIM BY THE ACTIONS HE TOOK IN LIFE.
• The woman who used her hair to wash Jesus’ feet with her hair and her perfume so that Jesus could teach us the heart of forgiveness…WE DO NOT KNOW HER NAME, WE ONLY KNOW HER BY THE ACTIONS SHE TOOK IN LIFE.
God creates some people who are to become well known in the world, and God creates some people who are very special in the world in which we live.
MARGARET SHEALY IS SUCH A PERSON WHO HAS MADE A WONDERFUL IMPACT IN THE LIVES OF HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Illus: I have heard people say when we get to heaven that Dr. Billy Graham will be first in line.
I am not sure about that, not taking anything from the great work he did, but it could be people like Margaret Shealy who walked through life quietly, humbly, an un-recognized doing what she could do with very little notoriety in the front of the line.
As long as her children and grandchildren live the impact of her life will be a part of their lives.
Illus: When Robert Ingersoll, the notorious skeptic, was in his heyday, two college students went to hear him lecture. As they walked down the street after the lecture…
• One said to the other, “Well, I guess he knocked the props out from under Christianity, didn’t he?”
• The other said, “No, I don’t think he did. Ingersoll did not explain my mother’s life, and until he can explain my mother’s life I will stand by my mother’s God.”
Her death is precious in the sight of the Lord because now she has gone to be with her heavenly family.
Also, her death…
II. It is precious in the sight of the Lord because Margaret now has a glorified body
There are some things we Christians have to look forward to when we reach heaven.
One of those things is we will be given a glorified body.
Something these bodies of ours has been compared to is a house.
Some of us remember that song called, “THIS OLD HOUSE.”
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now it trembles in the darkness
When the lightning walks about
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
Ain't gonna need this house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Margaret no longer lives in a body that is constantly deterating. She does not need this old body anymore. She has received a glorified body.
Illus: She makes me think of Elvis Presley when he was a live he held concerts. When he sung the last song without saying anything he would disappear off the stage. Everyone is sitting there and someone on the speaker would say “Elvis has left the building.”
Margaret has left the building. She does not need this OLD HOUSE that she lived in.
God has prepared so many wonderful things for the children of God. And one of those things is that every child of God will receive is a glorified body. That is:
• Free of Pain
• Free of aging
• Free of medication
• Free of doctors
• Free of hospitals
• Praise God, free of taxes
No wonder the Lord Jesus said about Margaret’s death: “PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS.”
But also…
III. It is precious in the sight of the Lord because Margaret is now enjoying the beauty of heaven.
Why? Why would you weep for her…
• If she inherited a beautiful mansion?
• If she received a body that is free from pain and sorrow?
• If she moved to a city that had zero crime rate?
• If she moved to a city with no hospitals, no jails, no funeral homes and no cemetery, no taxes because there was no need for such things there?
• If she moved to a place where the streets were paved with gold?
• If she moved to a place where the walls were made of precious stones?
No, we would rejoice with her!
This is why God tells us HE WOULD NOT HAVE US TO BE IGNORANT ABOUT DEATH.
It would be the most SELFISH thing we could do if we had the power to bring her back and brought her back to her earthly life. This would be the most selfish thing we could do!!!
The other day when Margaret breathed that last breath it was the best thing that ever happened to her.
She is now SEEING THINGS and HEARING THINGS that she has never seen are heard before.
No wonder the Lord tells us, “PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS!”
But also…
IV. It is precious in the sight of the Lord because Margaret is now with her Savior
We have heard folks talk about when they get to heaven they want to see:
• Streets of God
• Walls of precious stones
• Parents
• Siblings
• Friends
But I do not believe that will be the most important thing that people will want to see when they arrive in heaven.
I believe they will want to see Jesus
In The Garden Lyrics
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· 8/13/2014
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Praise Adonai
Illus: Listen to the lyrics to that song called, “IN THE GARDEN”
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me, I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing
And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me, I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
I'd stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling
But He bids me go through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling
And He walks with me, and He talks with me
And He tells me, I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
We have talked with Him and He has talked to us, but when we arrive in heaven we will SEE HIM!
I do not believe we have any idea what it is going to be like to SEE HIM!!!
Conclusion:
lllus: Before I go to my office each day I first go by to take care of my brother. I need to make sure he has breakfast, medicine and the caretaker is there to take care of him.
But as I go to his house his neighbor is always sitting on the front porch. He retired SEVERAL MONTHS ago. He sits in a comfortable chair wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts, drinking a cup of coffee and playing with his cell phone.
He is really enjoying retirement and I told him the other day, “Mark, every time I drive up here and see you enjoying your retirement, you sure make retirement look good.
But as I read what the scripture says about heaven the older I get the better HEAVEN looks.
And I can assure you that Margaret today is really enjoying this glorious place called heaven.
No wonder God says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” He knows what every child of God has to look forward to.
