GLADNESS OF HEART
#047 GLADNESS OF HEART
Scripture Psalm 96:9-13 NIV Orig. 12-5-61
Rewr. 10-29-87
Passage: 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Purpose: To share a hopeful and heartening message at the funeral of a church member
Keywords: Funeral Joy
Introduction
Death and sorrow are inseparable. With the loss of one so intimately entwined with our lives, there are the sudden and sure pangs of grief and loss. At this point, Christians are no different. In fact, these feelings may be more inordinately felt.
To measure life by eternal scales is to feel with an intensity that others cannot know. It is sadness for the one parted from us, whose parting came under such struggle and toil. There is given to the believer, however, the potential even in such a place, to know peace, even to know gladness of heart.
At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky
And flinging the clouds and the towers by,
Is a place of central calm;
So here in the roar of mortal things,
I have a place where my spirit sings,
In the hollow of God’s palm.
Edwin Markham
I. Gladness of Heart Comes in Knowing that the Lord Reigns. V10 “Say,” says the Psalmist, “that the Lord reigns.” How can there be tragedy that is not negated by that good news? Surely, there are regrets in such partings as this. But resentment, for the believer, is a thing impossible. For there is no untoward thing that cannot bring refreshment to the believing spirit.
“Time flies,
Suns rise
And shadows fall.
Let time go by.
Love is forever over all.”
English Sun Dial (Q1, II, p30)
He came to reign, and the heart in which he reigns is at peace. Isaiah 51:11 “The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion: and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
To know the Lord is to know redemption. It is to know that though the parting was a grievous one, the first greeting will be as happy as the last one was sad. It does us well to remember that peace is not a human condition but a divine complement.
A man on his deathbed (attributed to John Newton, writer of Amazing Grace) dictated a short letter that he wanted delivered to a friend. He started, “I am yet in the land of the living.” Suddenly, he directed the one taking the letter to stop writing. “Change that,” he said. “I am yet in the land of the dying, but soon will be in the land of the living.”
II. Gladness of Heart Comes in Remembering the Goodness of God. V13 “… the Lord cometh to judge . . . the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” It is here in the land of the dying that the gracious hand of God comforts his people. We are surrounded by heartache, struggle, a thousand other things that we would change if we could, even things that are meant to magnify God’s grace. It is in the struggle that we are best able to perceive the sovereignty. The returning captives would know the sheer, unadulterated joy of victory over their deepest sorrows.
Isaiah saw the day of return. Isaiah 55:12 “Ye shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace: the mountain and the hills will break forth before you in singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
It is his will to introduce us from this land of death, to one of life. James Tinsley has preceded us. Knowing what he now knows, he would not change a thing. He would plead with his renewed voice to be ready, for the time will come and for many, when they are least ready.
“I prayed to see the face of God, illumined by the central suns
Turning in their ancient track;
But what I saw was not His face at all—
I saw His bent figure on a windy hill,
Carrying a double load upon His back.”
--R. Perkins in Anthology of Modern Verse
Conclusion
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was asked by a respondent a question about his own death. She wanted to know, “How would you spend the next few hours if you knew you were to die at midnight tomorrow?”
He replied, “Just as I intend to spend them now. I would preach this evening at Gloucester. Again at 5:00 tomorrow morning. I would ride to Tewksbury to preach in the evening. Then to meet with the societies, and to go to friend Martin’s house. There I would converse and pray with his family, retire to my room at ten. Commend myself to my heavenly Father. Lie down to rest. And wake up in glory.”
MEMORIAL SERVICE, MRS. LIB COLVIN
#922 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
Bernice, Louisiana
May 6, 1991
Memorial Service
Mrs. Lib Colvin
There is a nonsensical story of an old farmer sitting on a rickety rocker on the porch of his cabin way back in the hills. A backpacker happened along the trail that brought him by the cabin. Being hot and thirsty on the August day, he stopped and attempted to engage the old man, hoping to get an offer to stop and rest. Asked about cotton, the old man told the youth there was none because of boll weevils. Asked about corn, he informed him that it was not smart to plant corn when there was no rain. Asked what he did plant, the farmer responded, “I didn’t plant nothin’! I played it safe!”
But this has nothing to do with Miss Lib. The one thing that she was careful to avoid was playing it safe, especially where her Christian responsibility was concerned. She knew what she ought to do, needed to do, and set about doing it.
Too many people are like the old farmer. Just playing it safe! And when the end comes, nothing is left. We have so much to learn from Miss Lib. As much as we grieve for her, yet we know that this was the essence of her life. She was prepared for this moment of truth.
My wife taught her Sunday School lesson yesterday. She fretted when she first found that it would be her job. Then, someone gave her the material that Miss Lib herself had prepared. She knew what her responsibility was, and she was ready. Imagine, she went in the hospital on Thursday, and her lesson for the next Sunday was already prepared.
I know teachers who don’t start preparing until Friday night. I know preachers who have no idea on Saturday what they are going to preach about on Sunday night. Occasionally, Sunday morning also. This dear lady, who has taught this class longer than any of us can remember, regularly prepared her lesson early in the week, starting even on Sunday afternoon. She would never run the risk of being unprepared. Her message to us here today is preparation. What we are responsible for, do it well. Because we face the future uncertainly, face it squarely, with Christ as Lord of our lives.
I. We Learn from Her the Importance of Something to Believe. “If I do not the work of my Father,” Jesus said, “believe me not. But if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works; that you may know and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in Him.” (John 10:37-38.) Again from John (11:25), “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
No matter where we are in life, the essence of living is in what we believe: the content of our belief and the way we live our lives in response to the things believed. For the Christian, what we believe about Christ sets the tone for everything we do. Of course, there are generalities, like believing the sun will rise tomorrow. But the special things that show Christ alive within this committed life have particular meaning. Romans 15:13, “Now the God of all hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”
II. The Next Thing there is to Learn from Her is of Something to Be. I John 3:1-3, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we shall be called children of God . . . now we are God’s children, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is.”
The example of Jesus was of major importance in Miss Lib’s life: Moral persuasion, compassion, and commitment to God’s will. Hebrews 10:9, “Then said He, Lo, I come to do thy will O God.” Our highest resolve is shallow outside of the will of God. She was a fine example of womanhood, of sacrificial service, and of commitment of one’s best.
III. The Third Thing that We Learn from Her is of Something to Do. Rev. 22:14, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates to the city.” There is a proper sequence: Something to believe, something to be, and something to do. The example of Jesus was to do what He was uniquely equipped to do.
We have surrendered a friend to the ages who showed us that this works in ordinary lives also. She found Christ sufficiently able to forgive sin. She grew in God’s grace to discover His purpose in deliverance from sin also.
Conclusion
Henry C. Morrison, missionary to Africa, tells of his return to America. A life had been spent in faithful and effective missionary service in Africa. He was retiring, regretting that he was at the end of the way. Teddy Roosevelt was on the same ship, returning from some safari or the other. Servants attended his every need on board the ship. As they approached New York harbor, passengers could see crowds of people at the dock, awaiting the president.
Mr. Morrison said he was filled with self-pity. For the president, it had been fun and games. For him, it had been devotion and service. But the crowds were waiting to see the president, not him. But suddenly, he said, the Lord filled him with an understanding that he “was not home yet.”