JULY 16TH, 2002
JAY McCLELLAN
I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR COMING HERE THIS MORNING TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT. YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS A TRIBUTE TO JAY.
PRAY …..
I WANT TO BEGIN BY SAYING HOW SORRY I AM FOR YOUR LOSS TODAY
-I WISH I COULD TAKE YOUR SORROW AWAY, BUT IKNOW I CAN’T
THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE IS PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT TIME IN LIFE
-GRIEF IS NEVER COMFORTABLE FOR ANY OF US
-SOMETIMES IT CAN SEEM UNBEARABLE
THE BIBLE DOESN’T SAY NOT TO GRIEVE …..
-IT SAYS IF A CHRISTIAN DIES, WE DON’T GRIEVE AS THOSE WHO HAVE NO HOPE …..
-WE HAVE HOPE TODAY …..
-NOT WISHING, BUT KNOWING TWO THINGS …
-JAY IS IN HEAVEN RIGHT NOW
-WE CAN SEE HIM AGAIN
JAY WAS A MAN WHO LOVED THE LORD …..
-HE EMBRACED JESUS WHILE HE WAS ALIVE …..
-NOW JESUS HAS EMBRACED HIM
IN HIS VERY FIRST SERMON JESUS MADE PROMISES TO ALL WHO BELIEVE …
Matthew 5:3-8
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
-WITH JESUS IN HIS HEART, JAY WAS “PURE IN HEART” …..
-AND NOW HE HAS SEEN GOD ! ! !
IT’S DIFFICULT TO KNOW WHAT TO SAY AT TIMES LIKE THIS …..
-TRYING TO DESCRIBE 60 YEARS OF LIVING IN A FEW SHORT MOMENTS
-HOW DO YOU DO JUSTICE TO SOMEONE WHO MEANT SO MUCH TO THE MANY PEOPLE WHO LOVED HIM ?
IT SEEMS LIKE JAY LEFT THIS WORLD TOO SOON …..
-BUT PEOPLE LIKE JAY ALWAYS SEEM TO LEAVE TOO SOON !
-YES, 60 IS TOO YOUNG TO DIE …..
-BUT IF HE WAS 80, IT WOULD STILL FEEL LIKE IT WAS TOO SOON TO LOSE SOMEONE YOU LOVED
JAY WAS A STABLE MAN IN AN UNSTABLE WORLD
HE NEVER EXPERIENCED FAME OR FORTUNE
HE LEFT NO GREAT WORKS OF ART
WROTE NO BOOKS
MADE NO GREAT DISCOVERY
YET HE IMPACTED ALL OF US WITH HIS SERVICE AND HIS FRIENDSHIP
HIS GOALS WERE HIGH
HIS JOYS WERE SIMPLE
HIS FRIENDSHIP WAS UNQUESTIONABLE
-HE WAS THE MEANEST, GRUFFEST MAN YOU EVER LOVED ! ! !
JAY WAS A MAN WHO BUILT HIS LIFE AROUND THE CHURCH
-IF THE CHURCH DOORS WERE OPEN, JAY WAS HERE WITH HIS FAMILY
-HE LOVED TO SERVE OTHER PEOPLE
JAY WAS A MAN WHO DIDN’T LET LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES GET HIM DOWN
-HE ALWAYS ASKED TO BORROW MY HARLEY
-I WOULD SAY, “JAY, YOU HAVE NO LEGS!”
-HE WOULD SAY, “IT HASN’T STOPPED ME FROM ANYTHING ELSE!”
HE LEAVES AS HIS LEGACY, HIS FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS, AND HIS FAITH ! ! !
WE ALL KNOW JAY IS IN HEAVEN RIGHT NOW …..
-BUT STILL, WE ARE LEFT WITH THE PAIN OF HIS LOSS
-FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, IT’S NEVER A GOOD TIME TO LOSE A LOVED ONE
-BUT JAY WOULD SAY, “IT’S NEVER A BAD TIME TO GO TO HEAVEN.”
ALL THIS WEEK, I’VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THE SAME THINGS …..
-THEY HAVE MIXED FEELINGS …
-SORROW AT THE THOUGHT OF NOT HAVING HIM WITH US
-JOY THAT HIS SUFFERING IS OVER
-JAY EMBRACED JESUS WHEN HE WAS ALIVE
-NOW JESUS HAS EMBRACED HIM
-THIS IS OFTEN A TIME OF QUESTIONING …..
-WHY ?
-WHY JAY ?
-WHY NOW ?
-THOSE QUESTIONS ARE ALL NATURAL
-I WISH I HAD THE ANSWERS, BUT I DON’T
-THOSE QUESTIONS HAVE NO ANSWERS
-AND ANSWERS OFFER NO COMFORT
-SOMETIMES THAT CAUSES PEOPLE TO STRUGGLE WITH
-FEELINGS OF : -FRUSTRATION
-HELPLESSNESS
-EVEN ANGER
-I AM CONFIDENT THAT GOD UNDERSTANDS WHAT WE’RE FEELING …..
-THE BIBLES SAYS JESUS WAS “A MAN OF SORROWS, ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF.”
-I AM ALSO CONFIDENT THAT IN OUR OWN WAYS, AT TIMES LIKE THIS WE ALL NEED THE SAME THINGS …..
-COMFORT, REST, HOPE, STRENGTH AND PEACE
-ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE FOUND IN JESUS ! ! !
WHEN LIFE STRIKES A BLOW LIKE THIS, IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE EITHER TURN TO GOD OR THEY TURN AWAY FROM GOD …..
-JAY WOULD TELL YOU TO TURN TO GOD ! ! !
-BECAUSE HE OFFERS US COMFORT THIS MORNING
-JESUS SAID, “GOD HAS SENT ME TO BIND UP THE BROKEN HEARTED AND TO COMFORT ALL WHO MOURN.”
-HE ALSO SAID, “AS A MOTHER COMFORTS HER CHILD, SO I WILL COMFORT YOU.”
THE APOSTLE PAUL WAS A MAN OF MANY SORROWS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
-EACH TIME, JESUS SAW HIM THROUGH
-LATER IN LIFE PAUL WOULD SAY GRATEFULLY …..
“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, WHO COMFORTS US.”
GOD UNDERSTANDS THE SORROW PEOPLE FEEL AT THE LOSS OF SOMEONE THEY LOVED …..
-HE KNOWS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LOSE A LOVED ONE …..
-HE LOST A SON !
-BUT HE DOES MORE THAN JUST UNDERSTAND …
-HE SHARES THAT SORROW …..
-AND HE WILL BEAR THAT SORROW WITH YOU IF YOU WILL
LET HIM ! ! !
THAT WAS SO BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED IN THE STORY OF LAZARUS
-JESUS’ FRIEND, LAZARUS HAD DIED
-THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE
-THE PROTECTOR AND THE PROVIDER OF HIS FAMILY
-THE BELOVED OLDER BROTHER WAS GONE
-HOW MANY TIMES HIS SISTERS HAD THOUGHT DURING HIS ILLNESS
-“IF JESUS WOULD ONLY COME BEFORE DEATH ARRIVES”
-AS HE ARRIVES, JESUS IS MET BY MARY, ONE OF LAZARUS’ SISTERS
-SHE SAYS, “IT’S TOO LATE, LAZARUS IS DEAD.”
-JESUS SAYS …..
John 11:25-26
25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies
-SHE STRAINS TO UNDERSTAND
-THE PROMISE IS TOO GREAT TO HOPE FOR
SO JESUS IS TAKEN TO THE FUNERAL OF HIS FRIEND
AS HE ARRIVES AT THE GRAVE, WE’RE TOLD THAT “JESUS WEPT”
-NOT FOR LAZARUS
-HE WAS MOMENTS FROM BEING RAISED TO LIFE
-SOON HE’D BE RUNNING AND JUMPING AND LAUGHING
-JESUS WEPT FOR THE MOURNERS
-HE WAS MOVED BY THEIR SORROW AND GRIEF
-JUST LIKE HE’S MOVED BY YOUR SORROW AND GRIEF TODAY
IF JESUS WERE HERE TODAY HE’D REPEAT SOMETHING HE SAID LONG AGO
“COME UNTO ME AL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”
ALONG WITH COMFORT AND REST, GOD OFFERS EACH OF US PEACE TODAY
-BECAUSE WE ARE ALL CERTAIN OF ONE THING …
-RIGHT NOW, JAY WOULDN’T CHANGE ONE THING ! ! !
PEOPLE OFTEN WONDER WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DIE …..
-YEARS AGO, A WISE CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXPLAINED IT BEST …..
HER SON DEVELOPED A FATAL DISEASE. THE DISEASE PROGRESSED RAPIDLY. AT FIRST HE WAS UNABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL. THEN UNABLE TO GO OUTSIDE TO PLAY AND FINALLY CONFINED TO HIS BED. ONE DAY THE QUESTION HIS MOTHER DREADED MOST CAME. “MOMMY, WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DIE?” THOUGH SHE’D PREPARED HERSELF FOR THAT MOMENT, BUT SHE COULDN’T HANDLE IT WHEN IT CAME. SHE LEFT HE ROOM, AND THERE IN THE BATHROOM SHE PRAYED FOR STRENGTH AND WISDOM. WHEN SHE CAME BACK INTO THE ROOM SHE SAID, “HONEY, REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE AND YOU WOULD FALL ASLEEP IN THE CAR? THE NEXT MORNING WHEN YOU WOKE UP YOU WOULD BE IN YOUR OWN BED. DO YOU KNOW HOW YOU GOT THERE? YOUR FATHER CAME AND LIFTED YOU UP AND GENTLY CARRIED YOU TO YOUR OWN BED IN YOUR OWN ROOM. THAT IS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DIE.”
LAST THURSDAY MORNING, JAY FELL ASLEEP. WHEN HE DID, THE GREATEST ARMS IN THE UNIVERSE SLIPPED UNDER HIM, GENTLY LIFTED HIM UP AND CARRIED HIM TO A PLACE THAT IS SAFE AND SECURE. A PLACE THAT IS HIS VERY OWN, FOREVER ! ! !
YOU SEE, JESUS MADE PROMISES TO US ALL … INCLUDING JAY…..
HE SAID, “DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED. TRUST IN GOD; TRUST ALSO IN ME. IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE ARE MANY ROOMS; IF IT WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I AM GOING THERE TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU; AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME BACK AND TAKE YOU TO BE WITH ME, THAT YOU ALSO MAY BE WHERE I AM.”
JESUS FULFILLED THAT PROMISE TO JAY THIS PAST THURSDAY ! ! !
-AND RIGHT NOW, JAY IS EXPERIENCING JESUS THE WAY HE ALWAYS DREAMED OF …….... FACE TO FACE ! ! !
-THAT’S WHY THE BIBLE SAYS, “PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF ONE OF HIS SAINTS.”
-IT’S NOT JAY FINAL SLEEP
-IT’S HIS FIRST REAL AWAKENING
SO, GOD FULFILLED EVERY PROMISE HE EVER MADE TO JAY…..
-AND HE WILL FULFILL HIS PROMISES TO US TOO ! ! !
-COMFORT
-REST
-HOPE
-STRENGTH
-PEACE
GOD HAS GIVEN US ALL ONE MORE THING …..
-OUR MEMORY OF JAY
-REMEMBER HOW HAPPY HE MADE YOU
-BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT, REMEMBER HOW HAPPY YOU MADE HIM
-REMEMBER HOW HAPPY HE IS RIGHT NOW
-AND REMEMBER THIS …..
-GOD THE FATHER LOST HIS SON ON A CROSS, BUT WAS REUNITED 3 DAYS LATER
-AND IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN YOU WILL BE REUNITED WITH JAY…..
-NEVER TO BE SEPARATED AGAIN ! ! ! ! !
AS JAY AROSE, HE DISTURBED NO ONE. THE WORLD DIDN’T HEAR THE VOICE THAT SUMMONED HIM. AS JESUS ALLOWED HIM TO FALL ASLEEP, HE QUIETLY AND GENTLY WOKE HIM WITH THE WORDS, ”WELCOME HOME”. INTO HIS SOUL THE FIRST RAY OF HEAVEN FINDS IT’S WAY. IT’S FRESHNESS AND IT’S PURITY … ALL SO SOLEMN AND YET SO FULL OF HOPE; THESE ARE NOW HIS.
WHAT CONTRAST BETWEEN THESE THINGS AND THE DARK NIGHT THROUGH WHICH HE HAS PASSED. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THESE THINGS AND THE GRAVE. AS JAY FLINGS MORTALITY ASIDE AND RISES, IN A GLORIFIED BODY TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR, HE IS GUIDED UPWARD, ALONG THE UNWALKED PATHWAY, BY THE BEAMS OF “THE MORNING STAR”, WHICH, LIKE THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM, CONDUCTS HIM INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE KING!
JUST IMAGINE …..
-STEPPING ON SHORE AND FINDING IT HEAVEN
-OF TAKING HOLD OF A HAND AND FINDING IT GOD’S HAND
-OF BREATHING IN NEW AIR AND FINDING IT HEAVEN’S AIR
-OF FEELING INVIGORATED AND FINDING IT IMMORTALITY
-OF PASSING FROM A STORM AND FINDING ETERNAL CALM
-OF WAKING UP IN HEAVEN AND FINDING IT TO BE HOME
THE BIBLE SAYS, “WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT, BUY JOY COMES IN THE MORNING.”
THERE IS NO NEED TO ERECT A MONUMENT TO JAY…..
-GOD HAS ALREADY DONE THAT IN HEAVEN …
-THE PLACE HE HAS PREPARED JUST FOR HIM ! ! !
LOOKING AROUND THIS ROOM WITH PEOPLE WHO KNEW & LOVED JAY
ONE THING BECOMES VERY CLEAR …..
-IF LIFE IS MEASURED BY WHAT’S LEFT BEHIND …..
-THE LIFE OF JAY McCLELLAN WAS TRULY A SUCCESSFUL ONE
PRAY
