The Death Of His Saints Series

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.