I cannot think of anything better
than that, can you? Belonging to Jesus, purchased
by his precious blood. Now, I belong to him, Jesus belongs
to me. I've asked Diane Reese, I know
there are several ladies who could speak tonight, but I asked
Diane if she would take a few minutes and remind us of some
things that she observed over the years about Linda. So Diane,
you come if you will. Several things that Pastor Pledger
just said I had written in here about a week ago. So it sounds
like I'm repeating his, but I'm really not. Uh, Linda moved here
to Houston in 2009 and most of the people here have known her
for many, many years, but I hadn't from the very beginning. Uh,
she was warm and friendly and I felt very comfortable with
her. She moved here from Dallas. to be near a church where the
true gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is preached and not the
doctrines of men. She knew we're responsible and
we have a lot of work to do, but the matter of our salvation
is complete in Christ and we can move forward with confidence.
From the very first, as I said, she was very warm to me and friendly
and I felt comfortable with her. The first time she visited in
our home, we went walking on the trail over there at Quiet
Forest talked about a bunch of different things, and she says,
I am a sinner. And I said, Linda, we all are.
So we moved on from that. She loved the people of this
congregation and sister churches, and she was generous and gave
gifts. There were times some people would compliment some
of my attire, and I'd say, well, Linda gave me this, and she told
me what to wear it with. She had good taste, and as Elizabeth
Alanis says, she was an elegant lady. She kept a very neat apartment,
and she had an eagle eye for a speck of dirt on that floor
or a wrinkle in her bed covers. And once we were sitting there
at her dining table, and she says, I spilled yogurt in the
floor in front of the kitchen sink there. And I got the floor
clean, but I could see those specks on the kickboard under
the sink. Would you mind? I didn't mind. Everyone here has pitched in
to help Linda in one way or another. And it's not just the ladies. I see everybody here, and I think
of things that have done and been said. But the men, too. I wanted, even though I know
several of the men had done some things, I wanted to mention Andy.
He has been over there and fixed a thermostat, changed her oil,
took care of the technical whatever with her television, and I just
thought I'd mention his name. Everybody contributed in their
own way, not just physical, but fellowship, encouragement, conversation. And as Pauline Morris said, we're
all like a piece of a puzzle, and each fits into their particular
place. Linda was fun-loving. She was
a joy to be around. And even toward the end, when
you knew she was going through so much, she would smile, and
it just lit up the room for me. Her byword was, oh, my soul. Every time she'd get concerned
or worried, she'd say, oh, my soul, which reminded me of Psalm
103. Bless the Lord, oh, my soul,
and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the
Lord, oh, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth
thy life from destruction, who crannoth thee with loving kindness
and tender mercies. Linda did all she could to fight
cancer, but she trusted the Lord, and she knew that he does all
things right for his glory and for his people. I appreciate those words. And Diane
mentioned the fact that Linda moved here from Dallas 11 years
ago to be near a church that preaches the gospel, that loves
to preach the gospel. And I know sometimes people hear
that and they think, well, there's a church on every corner. And
there is. There is. But not every church
preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. There's another gospel. The Apostle Paul spoke of this,
another gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You say, how do you identify
that gospel? Well, I'd just mention a few
things that are true about the gospel that saves sinners. First
of all, the true gospel has God as its author. The gospel's not
some message something that man have got together and concocted
out of their fallen minds. God is the author of the gospel. And the true gospel has the Lord
Jesus Christ as the subject. He is the gospel, really. He
is the gospel. And the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the gospel in which the righteousness of God is revealed. First chapter of Romans, verse
17. For therein, that is in the gospel,
that is the power of God unto salvation, therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. And the gospel that saves sinners,
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a message designed
for those who have nothing to pay, those who cannot contribute
one thing to their salvation. You see, salvation is either
100% by the grace of God, or it is not. It is of works. If
it's 1%, by something other than the grace
of God, then it is not the gospel. It is a message that man has
made up. And the gospel that saves is
the gospel that gives all the glory to God. Someone said, how
do I know? How can I tell if I'm hearing
the gospel? Well, here's a good gauge. It's
a message that you're hearing does God get all the glory? Or does man get some of the glory? If man gets any of the glory,
it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Linda knew this, and
she loved the gospel. She was, as has already been
said, an encouragement to men who preach the gospel. Before
she ever moved here, 11 years ago, several times over the years,
she would send me a card and always with words of encouragement
to preach the gospel. And the gospel is the gospel
that God the Father planned in eternity, and God the Son purchased
in time, and God the Holy Spirit applies. That's the gospel that
Linda loved, the gospel that she moved here so she could hear
preached consistently. I have a set of books back in
my library there that she gave to me. They were an expensive
set of books. It's The Life of George Whitefield,
two volume set. And I'd come to the place, I'd
determined I wasn't going to spend any more money on books.
I'm up at the age that I just feel like, you know, I don't
have the time. to buy another book. But she
gave me that set and I couldn't put it down. It was such a blessing
to read about that English evangelist that visited in the United States
and the birth almost in the late 1700s during the time of the
First Great Awakening. The last book that she loaned
me was The Wife's It's the title of the book, The Wives of Adoniram
Judson, the first Baptist missionary that ever left the shores of
the United States. He went out as a congregationalist. And on the way, he was convinced
from the word of God that baptism, immersion, is a way of baptism. So when he got to India, he and
his wife were baptized there by the mission of William Carey.
And then he went on to Burma, and he buried his first wife.
I believe her name was Ann. And then he remarried, and his
second wife passed away. And his third wife outlived him,
and she's the one that contributed a great deal to the book that
Linda Long made. Such a blessing. It was an old
book, too. I mean, it was an old book. I
doubt you could even find that book today anywhere. She told
me she found it in some old used bookstore. And I hope if her
daughters are watching tonight that you realize you've got a
prize in those books that your mother had and she loved to read
and she appreciated the truth. I could say a good deal more
about Linda, but I'm going to pass on that right now. Kevin's
going to come and saying, it is well with my soul. What a
blessed truth in this, this helm, and especially that third verse,
my sins, not in part, but the whole are nailed to the cross
and I bear them no more. Praise the Lord. It's well with
my soul. You come, Kevin. When peace like a river Attenteth
my way when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught
me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though
trial should come, Let this blessed assurance control. That Christ hath regarded my
helpless estate And has shed his own blood for my soul It
is well with my soul It is well, it is well with my
soul. My sin, oh the bliss of this
glorious sorrow. My sin, is nailed to the cross, then
I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul, it is well. with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. And Lord, haste the day when
my faith shall be The clouds be rolled back as
a scroll. The drunk shall resound, and
the lord shall It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Three verses of scripture that
I try to meditate upon, think about when I hear the news of
the death of one of God's children. One is found in Psalm 116 in
verse 15, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his
saints. That's looking at death from
God's side. Precious. in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. And then there's another one
in Revelation chapter 14, verse 13, blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord. And another one, Philippians
1 and verse 23, the apostle Paul wrote, having a desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better. This evening,
I'm going to take this last verse and speak to you and I about
what takes place when a child of God leaves this world. This
verse tells us that two things happen. First, the child of God
departs, having a desire to depart. The Apostle Paul used this same
word in writing to Timothy about his death that he saw future. He said, the time of my departure
is at hand. I have a friend, a pastor friend,
who for many years was afraid of flying. He was just fearful
of flying. He wouldn't fly. I think it was his niece, he
told me, took him or went with him to the airport there in the
state where they live. And she explained to him how
it all works. And he said, I saw that board
that said arrivals. And over here, I saw this board
that said departures. And it told the time and the
gate. That's what Paul said about his
death. The time of my departure is at
hand. Every child of God, and let me
finish that, he was not afraid to fly anymore. Once it was explained
to him how it all works, he wasn't any longer afraid of flying. Every child of God has a departure
time on God's board, just like those planes have the time of
their departure on that board. So you and I, and every child
of God, and Linda, there was a time that God had ordained
from old eternity, time To be born and a time to die, the scripture
says in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, and everything is beautiful
in His own way. There's a time to be born. There's
a time to die. There's a time on that departure
board. And I'm so thankful, as the psalmist
said, that my times are in His hands. Your times are in His
hands as well. Job said this about this in Job
chapter 14. He said this about all men, seeing
His days are determined. We like to count years, don't
we? He's so many years old. His days,
that's a whole lot less than a year. His days are determined. The number of the months are
with Thee, that is with God. The number of months, the number
of days, the number of years. Thou hast appointed His bounds
that He cannot pass over. You hear sometimes people speak
about death before their time. That never has happened and never
will happen. God has the time fixed. And for God's children, that's
a great comfort, isn't it? To depart. Just like my friend learned there
was nothing to fear there at the airport. So for the child
of God, there's nothing to fear about death. Why? Because the
Lord Jesus Christ has conquered death for his children. He swallowed
up death. But what happens when a child
of God departs? As I've said so far, this happens
to all men, but I'm speaking tonight about one of God's children. What happens when a child of
God departs? The first thing that happens
is this tabernacle in which the child of God has lived is laid
aside. This tabernacle, this tent in
which we have dwelt for however many days, months, and years
that God has given us, it is called the body of our humiliation,
this physical body. But the child of God doesn't
die. They just depart from this tent.
The child of God doesn't die because the child of God has
been given eternal life. The Lord Jesus Christ in his
prayer in John chapter 17 tells us two things about eternal life. Many people think, well, that
just means endless duration. Well, that's part of it. But
that's not the way the Lord Jesus Christ defined eternal life.
He said, this, this is life eternal. To know Thee, the only true God,
and Jesus and His Son, whom Thou hast sent. This is life eternal. It's to know God, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. You know, the Lord
Jesus Christ stood outside the grave or close to the grave,
rather, of Lazarus, who had been dead now for four days. And his
two sisters were weeping. They were sad, no doubt. And the Lord Jesus Christ told
Martha, your brother shall rise again. She said, oh, I know he'll
rise in the resurrection. He said, Martha, I am the resurrection
and the life. He is eternal life. You see, there's no knowing God.
This is life eternal, to know Thee, the only true God. But
there's only one way to know God, and that is through His
Son, Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. So that's the first thing
that happens. The child of God departs, departs
this tabernacle. Many times it's pretty well worn
out. And it's easily taken down. Have you ever camped in a tent?
Doesn't take a whole lot of time, does it, to take a tent down,
pull out a few stakes, untie a few ropes, and it's down. Doesn't take long,
and it doesn't take long for this body to die. But a child of God departs this
tabernacle, but they don't die. The second thing that happens
to a child of God when they depart, they depart that old sinful nature. And this is one thing that makes
dying precious to a child of God. You see, when the Lord saves
a person, God quickens a dead sinner and gives him life. The
first expression of life is faith, trusting in Christ, believing
in Christ. And that new nature that is imported
has to cohabit with the old nature. The old man, the apostle Paul
calls it, The new man is created in righteousness and true holiness. And so as long as we continue
in this world, a child of God continues in this world from
the time of their conversion, from the time of their regeneration
and conversion, there's this ongoing tension always. You read about it in Romans chapter
seven, the apostle Paul spoke about it. so that we cannot do that which
we would. A child of God would never sin,
would never sin if he could live without sin. But we know that's
not possible. Why? Because of that old nature.
And there's always that ongoing tension or conflict. The flesh
lusting against the spirit. The spirit, that new man, lusting
against the flesh. But when a child of God leaves
this world, we depart. We leave that old nature. As I said, that's one thing that
makes the death of a child of God precious. In Ecclesiastes,
we're told that the death of a person, a child of God is better
than their life, their birth rather. And the only way we know
that it's true is because we leave this sinful nature. And third, he departs this sinful
world. In Galatians chapter one in verse
four. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul said, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver
us from this, now listen, this present evil world, according
to the will of God and our Father. The world, wouldn't you have
loved to have seen the world at the end of that first week
recorded in Genesis chapter one, When God looked upon everything
that he had made and he said, it's good. I'll tell you something,
when God says something's good, it's good. It's good. Amen. But we know when Adam disobeyed
God, sin entered into this world. And this world is under a curse. And the world's not going to
get any better. Many people somehow believe they're
going to bring about a world in which righteousness is going
to reign. The only way that's going to
take place, and yes it will take place, but man's not going to
produce it. One day this world The heavens
and the earth shall be burned with fire and replaced with a
new heavens and a new earth where in dwelleth righteousness. Righteousness. So that's the
first thing that our text tells us to depart and be with Christ,
which is far better. the child of God departs. Someone wrote the words of this
hymn. It is not death to die, to leave
this weary road and miss the brotherhood on high to be at
home with God. It is not death to close the
eye long dimmed by tears and wake in glorious repose to spend
eternal years. It is not death to bear the wrench
that sets us free from dungeon chain to breathe the air of boundless
liberty. It is not death to fling aside
this sinful dust and rise on strong, exulting wing to live
among the just. Jesus, thou prince of life, thy
chosen cannot die. Like thee, they conquer in the
strife to reign with thee on high. The child of God departs. Departs this body, this tent
in which we have lived. Departs that old sinful nature,
never again to be troubled with that, and it departs this sinful
world. Now, the second thing the text
tells us, the child of God goes to be with Christ. To be with
Christ, which is far better. Now, to be with Christ includes
a number of things. I'll mention six. First, When
Linda departed this world a week and a half ago now, she opened
her eyes to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Up to that point, she
had only seen him with the eye of faith and loved him. But now
she saw Christ and loved him even more. She sees, when she
looked into the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, looked upon him
who loved her and gave himself for her, she could see the marks
in his hands where he was pierced when he was crucified to bear
her sins. Don't you know that call for
a shout of hallelujah? I believe it did. I believe it
did. And the second thing to depart
and be with Christ means to receive a building of God, a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Corinthians chapter
5 and verse 1. Now that's not our resurrected
body. I understand that. The resurrected body of the believer
will not be received until Christ comes a second time. But even
still, the apostle tells us that when we depart, we have a building
of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
You say, explain that. God has never called me to explain
his word. He's called me to proclaim it.
And there are things because of who God is. I can't explain,
and neither can any other person, but I believe it because it's
what God says in the book. And I believe the book, don't
you? That's what God says. The third thing, and this is
truly amazing to me, the child of God no longer knows in part
And I just confess unto you tonight, I've been studying this book
for a long time. And sometimes I feel like I've
just started. I know that's true because it's
God's book, it's God's word. But I know this, that a child
of God who is only known in part, just as soon as they arrive in
heaven, know even as they are known. No more, she knows more
than you and I. If we put all of our knowledge
of God together tonight, it probably wouldn't fill up a thimble when
you compare how great God is. And yet Linda, she knows even
as she is known. And that's true of every one
of his children. And then I like this. Child of
God joins a heavenly choir. Old Ralph Barnard told the story
one time, and Linda heard me use this example, and she heard
Ralph say this as well. He dreamed one night that he
died, and he said he went to heaven. And he said it was like a great
stadium, full of people, full of people. And he saw one chair
way up in the height, and he made his way towards that chair.
And when he got there, he looked down and there was his name,
Rolf Barnard. You see, those who are saved
are those whom God has chosen. chosen in Christ from before
the foundation of the world. There's not going to be any surprises
in heaven. Everyone that God the Father
gave to his darling son to redeem has been redeemed and will be
brought home. Not one is going, he's not going
to appear there and say, Father, here am I and most Most of the
children which you have given me. Oh no! Father, here am I
and the children which you have given me. And not one is going
to be missing. And Brother Barnard said in his
dream, he said, not only did he see his name there, but he
took his place and he said, I began to sing. And Brother Barnard,
he loved to sing. He'd be preaching like I'm trying
to do tonight, and he'd just start singing. He had a good
voice. I would do that if I could sing.
Sometimes I feel like it. I really do. But he started singing, and Linda,
I guarantee you, she started singing, and she knew the song. She knew the hymn because she'd
been singing it. since the Lord saved her. Worthy is the Lamb. I wonder if we couldn't hear Linda's
voice. Worthy. Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain and has redeemed us under our God by his blood. And the fifth thing, the child
of God enters heaven to serve God. This is what the scripture
says in Revelation 7 and verse 15. Therefore are they before
the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. Well, but didn't she serve him
here? Oh yes, she did. But still with
all of her service here, there was always mixed that Imperfection,
because she was like all of us. The only man who's ever done
anything that was perfect is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he perfectly satisfied his
father. When he said, it is finished,
it was finished. And even the Lord Jesus Christ,
when he was here, remember in John chapter four, why was he
sitting there at the well when that woman of Samaria came? Well,
I know he had an appointment there with one of his sheep,
no doubt about that, but the scripture says he was weary. And yes, even in serving the
Lord in this body, sometimes we do grow weary. Not weary of
the work, we love the work. but sometimes weary in the work. But those in heaven are serving
him and never, ever, ever, ever will grow weary. And the seventh, or the sixth, when child of God departs to
be with Christ, they enter into the joy of the Lord. The joy which their Heavenly
Father has prepared for His people and gives to them. In this world,
we know and we experience the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah tells
us the joy of the Lord is our strength. And if you've been
saved for any time at all, you know what I'm talking about.
You experience the joy of the Lord. That's the fruit, one of
the fruits of the Spirit of God. But sometimes we lose that joy,
and sometimes God hides his face from his children. And we're
like Job. We say, oh, that I knew where
I might find him. She'll never experience that
again. Oh, no. She's now where the scripture
says there is fullness of joy. Now, to be with Christ is far
better. And think about this, forever
with the Lord. It's not temporary. This is for
all eternity. I pray that the Lord would bless
these words and comfort each one of us, and we could rejoice. I'm rejoicing, are you? I'm rejoicing
in Christ. I'm thankful tonight. And I want us to sing this hymn
when we all get to heaven. What a day of rejoicing that
will be when we all see Jesus. Let's turn to that hymn. I believe
it's number 498. And let's stand and we'll be
dismissed with this hymn singing. Before we sing the hymn,