We do not like to see our friends and loved ones suffer as he had to suffer in the last few years of his life.
But sometimes this suffering is a blessing in disguise. It gives:
• A person a chance to reflect on the way they live their life
• A person a chance to repent of their sins and make things right with God and others
• A person a chance to express their love to their family and friends
While we do not rejoice in the sufferings that ___________ had to endure, we certainly rejoice that he was given these opportunities and he took advantage of these opportunities.
We are thankful indeed that in the last few months of his life, ____________ came to know Christ as His Savior.
He made that especially clear to those of us who were around him. Knowing this, makes this eulogy a great deal easier to deliver today.
A few minutes ago I read a precious verse of scripture. In Rom. 8:18, we read, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Notice, in this verse of scripture, the Apostle Paul speaks of our "present sufferings."
There are many different forms of suffering in this life that people have had to experience. For example, there is:
I. PHYSICAL SUFFERING
We saw some of the physical suffering in the life of ___________ before he died.
In the last few years, he suffered a great deal.
We all are thankful for the doctors and nurses, and the medication that eased a great deal of his pain.
There is so much PHYSICAL SUFFERING that we see daily:
• We see suffering in NURSING HOMES
• We see suffering in CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS
• We see suffering on the NATIONAL NEWS, of men, women and boys and girls suffering in SOMALIA, BOSNIA and HAITI. This brings tears to our eyes.
We see a great deal of PHYSICAL SUFFERING in this life.
The word PAIN is a universal word, it is a word that every one is familiar with, and knows what it means.
We all see a great deal of PHYSICAL SUFFERING, but also we see a great deal of-
II. EMOTIONAL SUFFERING
For example:
• Some have gone through the trauma of a divorce. (Some say this kind of suffering is worst than death itself.)
• Many parents have suffered emotionally due to a wayward child.
• Many people have emotionally suffered due to the loss of a loved one or a friend to death.
Everywhere we go we see emotional suffering today.
And this kind of suffering is as painful as physical suffering, many times even greater!
III. SUFFERING FOR SIN
We all see people that we know and love, and we see what sin has done to each of them. It has robbed some of:
• Beauty
• Health
• Minds
• Opportunities
• Families
• Friends
Make no mistake about it, sin has robbed people of many of the blessings of life.
Because of sin, the only way they can cope with life is through drugs and alcohol.
WHEN WE ADD IT ALL UP, we have to admit there is a great deal of suffering in this life.
We saw much of the PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, and SIN SUFERING in the life of ___________________.
In this world of suffering, we who know the Lord, FIND THIS ONE RAY OF HOPE IN GOD’S WORD.
Look at Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Illus: Paul gives us the image of a pair of balancing scales. He said on the one side we put all the suffering of this life. On the other side we put all the blessings of this life, and the life to come, and no matter how many times you weigh it, the scales always go down on the glory side, and always go up on the suffering side.
Think of what this means.
• There is no suffering so great that it is greater than the glory that we are going to experience in Christ
• There is no evil so bad that it can overcome the good
• There is no darkness so dark that it can chase away the light
I want to remind you again of these precious verses of scripture, “ ...That the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US.”
WHAT IS THIS GLORY THAT PAUL TALKS ABOUT THAT SHALL BE REVEALED?
He is talking of the glory that _____________ is experiencing at this very moment.
If ________________ had lived every day of his life for the Lord, and suffered for the cause of Christ greatly, the Bible says all that suffering cannot be, “…compared with the GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US.”
As we come here today, we have some questions that we would like to have some answers to. For example-
1. WHERE IS __________________ RIGHT NOW?
There have been many answers given concerning the place of the dead.
The secular humanist says the dead are nowhere. "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust"
• That's it
• That's all
• That's the end!
In contrast to the theory of the secular humanist, Jesus gives us truth.
John 11:25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
The Bible tells us:
• There is no halfway place for the believer
• There is no intermediate state
• There is no period of soul sleep
• There is no purgatory
The Bible says we are alive in this body, and then go out of this body into the presence of the Lord.
Look at 2 Cor. 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
We see that so clearly as we look at the thief on the Cross who believed on Christ. Look at Christ’s words to him afterward, in Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
Because __________________ placed his trust and faith in Christ for salvation, WE KNOW WHERE HE IS.
2. WHAT KIND OF LIFE IS ___________ NOW ENJOYING?
Look at 1 Cor. 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
This reminds me of what we hear Paul speak about in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
It is hard for us to comprehend that when we leave this life we can go to a better place.
YET, WE HAVE THIS CONFIDENCE: The glory that ___________ now has by the grace of God, is far better than anything he had on this earth.
To all that put their trust in the Lord, God has promised:
• A NEW AND BETTER LIFE
• A NEW AND BETTER BODY
• A NEW AND BETTER PLACE
Paul said, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
3. WHEN DID ALL THIS HAPPEN FOR _____________?
Around (time and day), _____________ passed from a life of SUFFERING to a life of GLORY!
Illus: Have you ever taken a balloon ride? Every time I have seen one of those majestic balloons, I have thought about it. Before take off, the balloon is bound to the earth by many cords. As the process of filling it with gas begins, it struggles to get free. The first line is set free, and immediately that side lifts from the earth. Then the second and third ropes are loosened and it lifts on those sides. When the last cord is set free, the balloon rises majestically toward the heavens.
On (time and day), the last string was set free for ________. All the cords that bound ____________ to the earth have been freed. He has ascended to the glory he was looking for and waiting for.
It was only a few days ago, ____________ was in a hospital bed struggling to breathe, then he went from SUFFERING TO GLORY!
Illus: This ad was found in a local newspaper. “In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, a Japanese gymnast, Shun Fujimoto, was competing in the team competition. Somehow, during the floor exercises, he broke his right knee. It was obvious to all reasonable observers that he would be forced to withdraw from competition. But they came to that conclusion not recognizing the determination of a true competitor. On the following day, Fujimoto competed in his strongest event, the rings. His routine was excellent, but the critical point lay ahead - the dismount. Without hesitation, Fujimoto ended with a twisting, triple somersault. There was a moment of intense quiet as he landed with tremendous impact on his wounded knee. Then came thundering applause as he stood his ground. Later, reporters asked about that moment, and he replied, "The pain shot through me like a knife. It brought tears to my eyes. But now I have a gold medal and the pain is gone."
According to Fujimoto, the gold medal made the pain and suffering seem like nothing.
Conclusion:
__________________, because of what the Lord Jesus did for him on Calvary, has gone from A LIFE OF SUFFERING to a LIFE OF GLORY!
But the Bible teaches that many go from this life of SUFFERING to a life of ETERNAL SUFFERING. WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE?
Only those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as their Savior, as _________ HAS DONE, go from suffering to glory.
A Funeral Service of this kind can be very valuable in teaching us many things.
(1) It provides us with an atmosphere where we can release our tears of sorrow.
(2) It provides us with a place where friends can gather to comfort the ones they love.
(3) It gives us the opportunity to reflect on the one we love who has past from this life.
(4) It gives us the opportunity to reflect on our own life.
_________ has crossed the bridge of death, something we all must do one day.
As I look across this congregation today, I cannot help but ask:
• Who among us will be next?
• How much longer does that person have before they depart from this life?
The Lord does many things to teach us about death.
• We have the season where the flowers blossom and we have the season where the flowers die.
• We have the pets that we love and enjoy, but then one day they die, teaching us that death is something that we all have to face.
• We have the death of our loved ones, that teaches us that death comes to every city, every neighborhood, every family, and one day it will come to us.
We all are going to miss __________, but we are glad that because of what the Lord Jesus did for him on Calvary he has gone from SUFFERING to GLORY.
Personal Comments:
