We gather together this afternoon
with joy in our hearts and yet tears in our eyes, as I said
earlier, to kiss the hand of God's providence. Let me in the
beginning say that we're not here today by accident. We're
not here today because of bad luck. We're not here this afternoon
because of misfortune or some unfortunate occurrence. And we're
not here because of some medical care negligence. We're here because
the Lord God of heaven and earth appointed and brought to pass
the hour of the departure of Larry Brown, whom we love. We
call it divine providence. It's the governance of God by
which he with power, Wisdom, love, and justice directs all
things in the world. And God in Christ has the right
as the creator of the universe to rule and reign. And that He
does. The psalmist said, our God is
in the heavens, and He's done whatsoever He hath pleased. And whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He, in heaven and in earth and in the seas and in
all deep places. Psalm 135, 6. This was Larry
Brown's confidence. Larry's God and Savior worked
all things after the counsel of His own will, Ephesians 1,
11. And Larry's God and Savior worked all things together for
His good. Romans 8, 38. Why? Because Larry loved the Lord
and the God of the Bible, and he was one of thee called according
to God's purpose. Romans 8, 38. Larry was Carol's husband, and
she was the love of his life. And Larry was Jennifer and Caroline's
father, and they were the apple of his eye. Larry was Steve's
brother. who was with Larry until the
end of his earthly life. And he was Linda Gale and Karabeth's
grandfather. And his face would light up at
the mention of your name. He was uncle to some of you.
He was one of the best friends I ever had. He was my brother in Christ and
was also to many of you here. But to God, Larry was His beloved. To Christ, the Great Shepherd, Larry
was one of His lambs, one of His sheep. And to many of God's
preachers, he was a great helper, a warrior in the trenches of
a war that rages in the heart and the souls of men and women.
The war of sin. And Larry dedicated the last
35 years or so of his life to putting together study materials
for the students of the Scripture. And Larry developed study tools
and websites that were used daily by Gospel preachers. I being
one of them. Larry published several gospel
books and commentaries written by faithful men over the years,
which are and still are used frequently in the furtherance
of the gospel. But let me tell you this straight
up. Larry would not want me to go on about him and what he did
for the cause of Christ. Because Larry knew that it wasn't
about him. And that's what I want you to
know today. This is not about us. What we're
doing today is about one thing that is needful for every single
one of us. And that is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's to know Christ, the power
of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,
and being made conformable unto Christ's death. Philippians 3.
Friends, Jesus Christ is the one thing needful. And I can,
with great confidence, assure you that Larry Brown is right
now face to face with Christ, his Savior. I know that's said
in most every funeral service about the one that's deceased.
It's believed to be because the one who passed accepted Jesus,
or made a decision, or made Jesus the Lord of their life, exercised
their free will, and got saved. But that's not why Larry Brown
is with Christ. Larry didn't accept Jesus. Larry
was accepted in the Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Big difference. Larry didn't decide to let God
save him. It was God who decided to have
mercy and grace upon him. Larry didn't exercise his free
will. Larry didn't let go and let God
save him. Larry was saved and redeemed
according to the free will and purpose of God Almighty. It simply
pleased the Lord to make Larry one of His. For no reason apart
from His own free will, God Almighty chose to make Larry to differ
from others who would never come to Christ for life. He would
be the first to tell you, the Lord made me to differ. I didn't
make myself to differ. Larry didn't get saved, God saved
him. Larry didn't make Jesus Lord.
Jesus Christ was Lord long before Larry Brown was born. Christ
has always been Lord. Larry bowed to Him as Lord. Larry's
direction to the presence of Christ was not turn right and
go straight. We hear ridiculous things like
that all the time. Jesus Christ was the way, and
Jesus Christ was the truth, and was the life, and Larry knew
that no one came to his Father but by Him. Now this is what
the Bible teaches, and it teaches the God of the Bible. Larry would
tell you that he was redeemed by God-given grace through God-given
faith. He would tell you that it was
not of himself, that it was the gift of God, not by works, lest
any man should boast. No man can do, accomplish, or
do what God requires, and that's provide a perfect righteousness
before a thrice holy God. Now let me tell you all what
some of you already know. Larry's former dwelling place,
this body, in this casket, is not Larry Brown. The real Larry
Brown left this realm of time and was ushered into eternity,
the glory of heaven, to forever be with Christ, Friday, August
the 9th, 2024. This earthly tabernacle that
we're putting in the ground today was but a temporary dwelling
place for Larry. And this past Friday, God retired
it. It had become dilapidated. It
had become old and it was worn out by the corruption of sin. And God condemned that frail
structure. in which Larry dwelt. And Larry's
physicians, oh, they tried to put it back together. They tried
to rebuild it, but they failed. And the plumbing had gone bad.
The electrical system was shot. The foundation was cracked. The
roof needed replacing. And the great physician said,
that's enough. That's enough. I'm going to build
Larry a new house. And I'm going to give him a glorified
dwelling place." And that's what he did. He promised he would
do it. And God is not a man that he
should lie or a son of man that he should repent. What God promises,
that He does. We're told in Genesis chapter
2 verse 7, And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became
a living soul. What made that form dust a living
soul? The breath of God. The breath
of life. And when God is pleased to remove
that breath, that man returns to the dust of the ground. For
out of the ground was man taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return. Genesis 3.19. And the wise man
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3, verse 20, all go into one
place, all are of the dust, and turn to dust again. Now the great physician has prepared
for Larry a new house that cannot corrupt, dilapidate, or fail. In Larry's glorified body there's
not going to be any more tears. They're not going to be, why
won't there be more tears? God's going to wipe them away.
There's not going to be any more death, for Christ has given everlasting
life. There's not going to be any more
sorrow, any more crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
Why? Because the former things are
passed away. Revelation 21, 4. And when the Lord returns, the
scriptures clear, the dead, these corruptible houses in which we
live, shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, for
this corruptible must must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality. Why? Because Christ has prepared
for us a new dwelling place, those who trust Him, those who
know Him. And our corruption is our sin,
and if sin's gone, corruption is gone. Let me tell you, Larry
Brown had no sin. Now he would tell you straight
up that he was a sinner, but he didn't have any sin. Do you
know why? Because the Lord Jesus took his sin upon himself and
gave Larry his perfect righteousness. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, that's talking about these new houses that the Lord
gives His people, these new dwelling places that we receive. Then,
at the time of Christ's return, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Listen,
we're celebrating a victory today. We're not, and I know we're sorrowful,
me as much as anyone. I love this man. But death is
swallowed up in victory. That's what we're celebrating.
Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?
You know what that means? Exactly what it says. Death is
swallowed up. No more death. Because Christ
has finished the work. It was Christ's victory over
sin that swallowed it up. And Larry was made perfect in
Christ. The Lord Jesus has presented
Larry Brown holy and unblameable and unreprovable in God's sight. And that's all that matters.
In God's sight. If Larry could, he would tell
you right now that being with Christ is not by works of righteousness
that he's done, but according to his God's mercy that he saved
him. And Larry's in the presence of
Christ not because of something that he did for God, But Larry
is in Christ's presence because of what God did for him. Folks,
today we've got it backwards. Got it backwards. The Bible's
clear. Salvation's of the Lord. But men have made salvation of
man. Larry trusted in the God of the Bible. And you might be
asking yourself right now, well, why do you feel the need to add
that phrase of the Bible to the name of God? I'm going to tell
you. Because we live in a day where so-called preachers preach
a God and a Jesus that in no way resembles the God of the
Bible. The God men preach today tries
and wants to save. The God of the Bible saves whom
He wills. The God men preach today needs
man's help. Won't you give Jesus your heart?
Won't you let God save you? Listen, the God of the Bible
does what He wills in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What
doest Thou? That was Larry Brown's God. And
that's the only God. The one and true and living God. Larry knew the difference because
God made him the difference. Because God revealed it to him.
That's the only way that it can be shown to us. And Larry stood
for the truth because God revealed the truth to him. Larry professed
the blood shed by Christ as his only hope of redemption. And
Larry, like the Apostle Paul, he had great confidence that
the time of his departure was at hand. I want you to try to
understand that. This is not death. This is just
departure. This is a promotion. Larry wouldn't come back if he
could. He's in the presence of Christ. Larry's absence from us today
is because he's present with the Lord. And I'm confident of
that because I'm confident in the one in whom Larry put his
trust. That's what Paul said. He said,
we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from
the body and to be present with the Lord. To be absent from this
body, and he is. That dwelling place is done. We're going to put it in the
ground and it's going to go back to being dust. But Larry is with
his Lord. Oh, to be absent from the body
is to be present from the Lord. Isn't that something to rejoice
over? Sure it is. Paul went on to say,
I fought a good fight. I can tell you first hand. Larry
Brown fought a good fight. Paul said, I finished my course.
Larry finished his course. Paul said, I've kept the faith.
Larry kept the faith. And it was all because the Lord
kept Larry. Back in March, Larry told me
about his medical issues. I remember saying to him, Larry,
I'm sure sorry that you've got to go through this trial. And
in Larry fashion, If I can say that. He said, well, don't be.
Don't be. He told me, I'll never forget
this. He said, David, there got to
be some means to us laying down this flesh. It's appointed unto man once
to die. And after this, the judgment,
you see, Larry knew that physical death was an appointment. Who
made that appointment with Larry? God did. Listen to what the book
of Job says. Man that is born of woman is
of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower
and is cut down. He fleeth also as a shadow and
continueth not. And seeing man's days are determined,
who determines them? God does. The number of His months,
man's months, are with Thee, with God. Thou, God, hast appointed
His, man's bounds, that He cannot pass. Now listen, God determines
when we come into this world, and God determines when we leave
it. I hear folks all the time talking
about, well, so-and-so had a baby and they were born early. They
were born premature. No, they weren't. No. According
to God, they were born right on time. And we won't go one
second past the time that God gives us. Our bounds are appointed
of God that we cannot pass. Before God ever created this
world, God appointed and determined that Larry Brown would be born
into this world, and that he would live 922 months, 2 weeks,
and 2 days, and not a second longer. Not a second longer. It was determined by God. And
do you know what God says about that? It's found in Psalm 116,
verse 3, and it reads, precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of His saints. My, my. Here's a view of death of a peculiar
kind. It speaks of a particular death,
that being the death of God's saints. God's saints are those
who trust in Christ alone to provide them with the perfect
righteousness that a thrice holy God requires of them. You and
I can't provide it. Only Christ can. There's none
righteous, no not one. God in Christ makes His people
righteous. How? Christ was made to be sin
for His people. Christ who knew no sin. He was
sinless. He was perfect. He took His people's
sin upon Himself that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5.21. And that, my friends, is why
the death of one of God's saints, and he was one of them, is precious. Precious. Death for an unbeliever
is terrible. It's terrible. It's a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But death
for a believer? Oh my, a saint? Oh, it's reason
for rejoicing. In the death of the saint, there's
no punishment for sin to be administered. Christ has already bore the punishment
and the penalty of sin. Larry's sin was punished in his
substitute. It could and would not be consistent
with God's holy justice that the death penalty should be executed
upon the Lord Jesus Christ and then again upon the one for whom
Christ died. Matter of fact, it was said best
in an old hymn, payment God will not twice demand, first at my
bleeding surety's hand and then again in mine. No, if Christ
has borne my sin, then my sin's gone. It's not just swept under
a rug to be found later. It's gone. God throws it behind
his back, and God never looks backwards. In the last conversation
Larry and I had before his surgery, he spoke these words to me. I'll
never forget them. He said, David, it's a privilege
to die in Christ. That, my friends, is what makes
us precious. The death of God's saints is
precious because Christ Himself is precious. The apostle Peter
said, unto you therefore which believe, He is precious. And those of you that know Christ
know what I'm speaking of. Christ was certainly precious
to Larry. Is He precious to you? That's the question of the hour.
What think ye of Christ? That's the most important question
you'll ever be asked. It is. Larry would want me to
ask you, what do you think of Jesus Christ? It's a matter of
life and death, eternal life and eternal death. When Larry
left this world Friday, August the 9th, it was precious in the
sight of the Lord. And you know why? It's precious
to me. Because I know where He is. None
of us know when the time of our death will come. Will our death
be precious in the sight of the Lord? Only if Christ is precious
to us in our sight. And only if we're trusting in
Christ to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Are you trusting
in Christ? Bow with me in prayer. Father,
we thank you for the time that you gave each of us with this
dear husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. Enable us,
Lord, to rejoice in his departure. Enable us to be thankful for
His promotion. Ease our hearts of the pain.
Bless us with fond memories of days gone by. And at the same
time, stir our hearts, Lord, to consider the days ahead. Show
us the urgency of our condition. Make us to know the seriousness
of sin's wages. Show us our desperate need of
a substitute. Comfort this family in the days
ahead. Give them the peace that passes
all understanding, that peace that will keep their hearts and
their minds on Christ, who is the one thing needful. We beg
you, O Lord, to bring these things to pass for your glory, our good,
and for Christ's sake. Amen.