Such as:
• Thousands gather in large stadiums across this nation frequently because they all have in a common a love for a certain sporting event.
• Thousands of Music fans gather in large stadiums or Coliseums to hear a particular singer. Being fans of this particular singer makes them have something in common.
Today we have come together like wise because we have a common interest.
We have all been brought together because of our love and for the HOME GOING OF DOT LIVINGSTON.
We do not like to talk about death because it separates us from our loved ones.
Illus: For example, we are told that Doris Day a favorite singer of many of us refuse to talk about death or refuse to allow anyone in her home talk about death.
But today we are forced to talk about death.
• For the last years Dot has had to deal with death. She knew this day was coming.
• And we know that one day we will have to personally deal with it.
That is, we know if the Lord tarries, that death will come and snatch away the last breath we will ever breathe on this earth.
Illus: Song writer stated it in these words, “Death chilling water, soon will be passing”
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?
God has a way of showing us this day is approaching many of us here today!!!
We know it is coming because:
• The wrinkles in the face are saying it want be long!
• The grey hairs in our head are saying it want be long!
• The aches and pains in our bodies that we never had before are saying to us - get ready it want be long!
• The grandchildren growing old and we are growing OLDER! This tells us IT WANT BE LONG!
• When we were young, we look forward to our birthdays but now we hate to see a birthday coming because each one is telling us IT WANT BE LONG!
• When we attend class reunion and the class in numbers is getting smaller and smaller it is telling us it WANT BE LONG!
• And yes, every time we attend a funeral it is telling us IT WANT BE LONG!
Today we are forced to deal with death if we like it or not and it is a reminder that today DOT HAS DONE SOMETHING WE ALL ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO!
I would like to share with the FAMILY and FRIENDS of two things for us to consider at a time like this that will cheer us up about death.
For example, let’s look at-
I. WHAT DEATH CAN DO FOR US
The Word of God we read in Job 5:7, Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
From the moment we are born into this life we start to experience trouble.
Illus: Babies are born into this life not laughing but crying.
Why?
Because shortly after they arrive here, they discover things that are annoying and disturbing to them!
The Bible is absolutely correct, “…Man is born unto trouble…”
Sometime the problems we face are so severe that the only relief from that suffering is through death.
When this happens, death becomes our friend and takes us from the misery of this life.
Illus: Years ago, a very godly woman in Columbia, South Carolina was diagnosed to have terminal cancer.
Everyone who knew her knew her for her godliness.
But she became very ill before she died, but on her death bed she testified to everyone who came to see her of the Savior who died for her sins. And with the smile of an angel, she would tell them how she looked forward to going to be with the Lord.
But the last few months she suffered so bad that her loved ones could barely stand to stay in the room to hear her suffer. They gave her maximum dosage of morphine to ease the pain, but still the pain was so severe that it was almost unbearable.
It was at this time, that death became the best friend she had.
Death did for her what no family member, no friend, no doctor, or no medication could do for her. Death came and set her free from the misery that she was suffering.
• Death is more than a physical event
• Death is a time for transformation
• Death is precarious
In the last few months of Dot’s failing health, the Livingston’s family gathered around her as she faced death to express to her how much they loved her and show their appreciation for her life.
In this sense, death can be our friend, but let’s look at someone we know who our friend is.
We have seen WHAT DEATH CAN DO FOR US, but let’s look at-
II. WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US?
Death may put us out of our misery and bring us close together as a family and friends, but it takes the Lord Jesus to put us in heaven.
The Lord told a grieving family one day that lost a member of their family some startling news.
Their hearts were sad because of the death of this loved one.
He said to them in John 11:26, “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
In this verse of scripture the Lord stated two things:
1. He made a statement.
2. And then the Lord asked them did they believe the statement he made is true.
The Lord said those who believe in Him will NEVER DIE.
DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
The obituary column said that Dot Livingston no longer exists. But God’s Word states clearly this is not the case.
Illus: D.L. Moody said, “One day you will read in the obituary column that D.L. Moody has died. He said, “Do not believe a word of it, I will be more alive than ever before.”
God is saying to the family and friends who have gathered here today…
• Dot belonged to ME before she belonged to you!
• You had her for ____years and now I want her to come to live in her eternal home with me for eternity.
This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to Dot.
Nothing in she has ever experienced can compare to the greatness of this that which has happened to her.
But we need to make it perfectly clear WHY SHE IS IN THAT GREAT AND GLORIOUS PLACE!
The reason she has gone to this glorious place call heaven:
• It is not because she attended church regularly
• It is not because she joined the church.
• It is not because she got baptized.
• It is not because of the good deeds she has done.
The only reason she is in heaven today is because of WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR HER!
• Not a person on this earth has to die and go to a Christ less eternity. NOT A ONE!
• Christ died for WHOSOVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.
Dot called upon the Lord to save her and that is exactly what the Lord did.
We rejoice today with Dot because we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
In a short time we will go to the cemetery and bury a body that Dot lived in for almost ninety years but she is no longer living in that body…SHE IS NOW LIVING WITH THE LORD JESUS IN HEAVEN.
There is a song we old timers love to sing; it goes like this:
“There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar:
For the Father waits over the way,
To prepare us a dwelling place there.”
• Today Dot is seeing beauty her eyes have never seen before.
• She is hearing beauty that her ears have never heard before.
If you are weeping for her, you do not need to weep anymore!
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 has zero crime rate.
• If she moved to a city with no hospitals, jails, no funeral homes and no cemetery 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.
• If she now lives in a place with her Savior now lives.
No, we would rejoice with her!
Dot has gone to such a place, and we rejoice with her.
Because of what the Lord Jesus did for her on Calvary this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her!
Nothing on earth can come close to comparing to what she is experiencing today.
In Bible-preaching churches like this one,
• We sing a lot about heaven.
• We teach a lot about heaven.
• We preach a lot about heaven.
But the one thing that will make heaven to be so great:
Illus: In a recent funeral the other day I preach I was sharing with the family that many of us have had pets that we loved so much that they were like a part of our family.
And when those pets die it is like a member of our family had died.
WHY WERE WE SO SAD?
For two reasons:
(1) We are going to miss them greatly every day in our daily life that we had become accustomed to having them with us.
(2) We weep because we know these pets did not have souls and we will never see them again…NEVER!
But because of what the Lord has done for us we SHALL SEE DOT AGAIN IN HER GLORIFIED BODY!
It is wonderful to hear about the beauty of heaven, it is EXCITING!
Conclusion:
But when we get to heaven the first thing, we all are going to want to do is SEE IS THE LORD JESUS.
Illus: No matter what we suffer in this life, the song writer said it this way, “One glimpse of his dear face and all sorrows will erase.”
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT HEAVEN IS SUCH A WONDERFUL PLACE?
The first things any of who know Christ is when we get to heaven we will want to see HIM WHO HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BE IN THIS GLORIOUS PLACE CALL HEAVEN.
• Illus: Robert Louis Stevenson said before he died, “If this is death, isn’t it sweet!”
• Illus: The apostle John followed the Lord faithfully. Because of his strong faith in Christ, he was banished to live alone on the isle of Patmos. But the Lord knew how lonely and discouraged he was and rolled back the curtains of heaven to let him look over into that glorious place. When the Lord showed him the beauty of heaven, he became so excited about heaven he said, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
Saying “Farewell” is never pleasant, none of us want to leave our family and friends behind.
But the good news today because of what Christ has done, today we come to say, “Farewell” to Dot not “Goodbye”. Because we are going to see her again.
Conclusion:
We Christians must never fear death…
Let me read you this letter from a Marine who was in a foxhole facing death.
WE can tell he was not very educated by the letter I want to share with you.
He did not know the Lord until he was in this foxhole situation.
He does not use the language of a theologian but notice as he writes drawing nigh to the Lord that the fear of death is no longer a part of his life.
Listen to him as he stirs death in the face in that foxhole. He said-
“Look, God, I have never spoken to you, but now I want to say, “How do you do.”
You see, God, they told me you didn’t exist. And like a fool I believed all this.
Last night from this bomb shell hole I saw your sky. I figured right then they had told me a lie. Had I taken time to see things you made, I’d would have known they weren’t calling a spade a spade.
I wonder, God, if you’d shake my hand. Somehow, I feel you will understand.
Funny, I had to come to this hellish place before I had time to see your face.
Well, I guess there isn’t much more to say, but I’m sure glad, God, I met you today. I guess the zero hour will soon be here, But I’m not afraid since I know you’re near.
They signaled! Well God, I’ll have to go. Though I wasn’t friendly to you before, I wonder, God, if you’d wait at the door.
Look, I’m crying. Me, shedding tears! I wish I’d known you these many years. Well, I have to go now, God, good-bye; strange, since I met you, I’m not afraid to die.”
Men and women in all kinds of situations facing death have come to realize when we have the Lord near us, we do not have to fear death. They have come to realize that death is no more than a tool that God uses to take us from this life to a better life.
We have looked at:
I. WHAT DEATH CAN DO FOR US?
II. WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US?
We have no choice when it comes to when we die, but we do have a choice when it comes to accepting CHRIST.
I hope that you will make a wise choice, confess He died for your sins, repent of your sins, and ask Him to save you today so you can go to this glorious place also where we can be reunited with our loved ones.
(Insert personal comments about the decrease)
Generally, at a time like this in my sermon I mention things about the decease that the congregation does not know about the decease. BUT EVERYONE HERE KNOWS WHAT A GODLY AND WONDERFUL WOMAN DOT LIVINGTON WAS. If I was to mention all the things about this godly when has done all I would be doing is repeating things you already know about her.
But I would like to say:
• To Brother Bill you and Dot have had many decades of a wonderful life together. You had a marriage that a lot of folks have never had.
• I would also like to say this to Ronnie and Steve here today you had a wonderful MOTHER something a lot of folks have never had. She loved her boys Terry, Ronnie and Steve.
• And I would like to say to all these grandchildren something you already know…you had a wonderful GRAND MOTHER something every had never.
• And I would like to address the LORD JESUS before I close in prayer and THANK him as pastor of this great church for giving Dot to us for many years and we are so happy that Dot is now with you in this glorious place call heaven.
Prayer:
