Good evening, everyone. We're gathered here this evening
for a memorial service for Merle J. Hart Sr. Merle was a faithful
member and deacon of this church, Grace Baptist Church. He was
a beloved brother in Christ and a cherished friend. And I'm confident that in this
memorial service that Christ will be exalted And that's exactly
what our dear brother would like to happen here tonight, is for
Christ to be exalted. Not glory and honor to himself,
but glory and honor unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Merle J. Hart Sr., he was born
February 1st, 1937. He was called home to be with
his Lord July the 13th. Merle was the son of the late
Robert and Virgie Atkinson Hart. He was the loving husband of
Charlotte May McCray Hart. They were married January 10,
1953. Married for 71 years. He is the father of Teresa Coleman,
the late David Coleman, her husband. the father of Merle J. Hart Jr.,
his wife, Lisa. He was a grandfather to Amy Richards,
married to Eric, Rachel Coleman, Christy Lynch, married to Michael,
MJ Hart, married to Tara, and Brandon Hart, married to Tess. He had 10 great-grandchildren.
And he had a sister, Geraldine Calvert, married to Homer. And
he had two brothers, the late Marshall Hart and the late Ralph
Hart. This time I'll ask Bill Raleigh
to come and have scripture reading and prayer for us. Good evening, I'd like to read
Psalm 25, this evening, Psalm 25. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift
up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not
my enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee
be ashamed. Let them be ashamed, which transgress
without cause. Show me thy ways, O Lord, teach
me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach
me, for thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait
all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy loving kindness, for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor the transgressions according to thy mercy. Remember thou me
for thy goodness sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord.
Therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he
guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the
paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great. What man is he that feareth
the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way
that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease,
and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out
of the net. Turn thee unto me and have mercy
upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my
heart are enlarged, O bring thou me out of my distress. Look upon
my afflictions, and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Consider
my enemies, for there are many that hate me with cruel hatred.
O, keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I
put my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness
preserve me, for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of
all his troubles. Let's pray. Dear precious Holy
Father, thank you, Lord, for gathering us here tonight. You
bring us here, Lord, to hear your word. Lord, we give thanks
for bringing Merle's family and our families together as brothers
and sisters in Christ. Lord, you brought us together
for years and years upon with each other, what friendships
we had developed. Lord, we pray that you give Merle
and his family peace and comfort as only you can, Lord. Thank
you, Lord, for the blood of Jesus to save his people. We ask you, Lord, to bless his
service. Give Darwin the ability to preach
your word that you've gave Darwin tonight to comfort us, Lord,
to try to bring your mighty grace and mercy upon all of us. We're
so thankful, Lord, that you are sovereign in all things. And
we know that all things are for you and your glory. Lord, comfort
us. Comfort us, O Lord. In precious
Jesus' name I pray, amen. Good evening, saints of God.
If you'll turn in your hymn books to 332. Hymn 332. My Jesus, I love Thee, I know
Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin
I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior
art Thou. If ever I love Thee, my Jesus,
tis now. I love thee because thou hast
first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree. I love Thee, Lord, wearing the
thorns on Thy brow. If ever I love Thee, my Jesus
is now. I'll love thee in my life, I
will love thee in death And praise Thee as long as Thou
in dust me breast, And say when the day, dear light, fall on
my brow, If ever I love Thee, my Jesus
is now. In mansions of glory and endless
delight How ever the glory in heaven so bright I'll sing with the bitter green
crown on my brow. If ever I love thee, my Jesus,
just now. I feel very privileged and counted
in honor to speak a few words about my dear brother, Merle
Hart. Merle was a dear friend to me
and the entire church, the church family. He was a very dear friend.
Merle was a man that I greatly admired and I looked up to. He
was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it meant something. Merle spoke with great wisdom,
and I placed great value in what he said. I have had and I continue to
have the utmost respect for my brother, Merle Hart. He was a
faithful man. He was faithful to his wife of
71 years and loved her dearly. And you know it. He was faithful
to his family and loved each and every one of them dearly.
He was faithful to his church and to his pastor. Most importantly,
he was faithful to our faithful Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Murrow
was a very quiet and soft-spoken man. Murrow was respectful to
everyone. He was patient and he was forbearing. He was very private. However,
even though he was a very private person, he placed a very high
value on public worship. He never neglected or willingly
absented himself from public worship. When these doors were
opened for worship services, you could count on Merle and
Charlotte to be here. Merle believed and trusted the
Lord Jesus Christ for all of his salvation. we would do well to emulate the
kind of man demonstrated by Merle's life. I never heard Merle say a bad
word or speak ill of anybody. And how many people do you know
like that? I'd venture to say not very many. I believe Merle demonstrated
true love in his life. He and Charlotte were married
at a very young age. The ripe old age of 16, I believe. And they were married for 71
years. And I believe that Merle and
Charlotte had a genuine love story for 71 years. Teresa told me that in his last
days at the Willows, Merle would look at his caregivers, he'd
say, did you see that lady over there? Isn't she beautiful? And those workers were amazed
at how a couple married for 71 years could still be so in love. What a treasure. The best definition that I've
heard about love is that love is the giving of oneself for
the happiness and the benefit of another. How many of you were the beneficiaries
of this type of love for Merle? Giving of himself. Merle demonstrated
his love to his savior. He was a faithful servant of
our Lord. I met Merle in 1986 in this church,
and we have worshipped the Lord together for 38 years. That's
how long I've been here. He'd been worshipping longer
than that. But Merle served as a faithful deacon of this church
for well over 40 years. I don't know when that started,
but it was a long time, and he was a faithful deacon, servant
for this church. And he was a pillar of this church.
You could count on Merle. Merle was, that's just the way
he was. He was, he's been, Merle has
been a solid rock in supporting this ministry and the furtherance
of the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. We would do
well to emulate Merle. And this is the second time that
I've said it because I want it to sink in. As I said, Merle was a very quiet
man, but he lived his life as a great example of how a Christian
should live. Merle led and taught me, and
I'm sure many of you by example. I personally would like to be
more like Merle. In Proverbs chapter 13, verse
22, we are told, A good man leaveth an inheritance
to his children's children. And I'm here to tell you, Merle
left you an inheritance that is more valuable than money. Merle could not provide salvation
or give you eternal life. That's God's work. However, Merle
gave you his love. and lived his life as an example
of how a Christian, saved by God's grace, is to walk in this
world. Treasure this. Treasure the inheritance
that Merle has left you. Again, we would do good to emulate
Merle. Some of you, especially his grandchildren,
may or may not know that In his younger days, Merle played fast-pitch
softball. Not sure if you knew that or
not. He wasn't that young when I met
him, but he and Oscar Bailey played fast-pitch softball together. Now, Oscar was a very good pitcher,
but he always told me that Merle was his catcher. And you know what I can picture
in my mind, I can picture Merle behind the plate. Because what
you want behind the plate is someone who's solid as a rock
and that's what Merle was. He was, if nothing was gonna
get by him, he was gonna, he, and that's, I can just picture
him as that solid rock behind the plate. But one thing that
I'm also sure of, is that those batters did not hear any chatter
coming out of Murl. They didn't hear any talk. They
didn't hear any of that. But I'm also quite sure that
he let his actions speak volumes on the diamond just like he did
in his life. Murl was a self-employed master
trim carpenter. And his work is spread all over
central Kentucky, maybe farther, I don't know. Some of his work
you'll see in this church. Some of this is right here behind
me and some of this is right here in this pulpit. And I recall working with Merle
when we were building the Parsonage in 1987. I was 24 years old and I didn't
know much about carpentry. But I can recall numerous times
when I would ask Merle, I was always looking for assurance,
and I would ask Merle, I'd say, how's this look, Merle? And he'd respond, he'd say, nail
it. That stuck with me. Several years
later, I was doing my own trim work for the stairs in my basement. And I consulted with Merle. I
called him and talked to him. I wanted to know how to make
a good transition for my skirt board going up an outside wall
and transitioning back to the inside. And I called Merle and
talked to him about it. And he gave me some good advice.
But he was also smart enough to stay home and let me figure
it out. I often recall that simple phrase
used by Merle. Nail it. And I believe that's exactly
what Merle did in the life that he lived. He nailed it. Jay and MJ counted a high honor
to be named after this man. For the grandchildren, Christy,
MJ, Brandon, Amy, Rachel, remember this man. Tell your children
and your grandchildren about this man. How he loved you and
served others. But most of all, how he loved
our Lord Jesus Christ. Emulate this man and his love
for Christ. I want to read on the back of
this. I'm going to read this. which is titled, Don't Stand
Around My Grave and Cry, by our dear brother Don Fortner. When I have breathed my final
breath and dropped this robe of flesh in death, when my appointed
work is done and my allotted time is gone, don't stand around
my grave and cry. I'll not be there. I did not
die. My Savior came to call me home.
and I with him to heaven have gone. Now I am free from sin
and pain, and with the glorified I reign. Don't stand around my
grave and cry, I'm glorified, I did not die. Seated with Jesus
on his throne, glorified by what he has done, I am a trophy of
his grace. Rejoicing, I behold his face. Don't stand around my grave and
cry. I am with Christ. I did not die. My body lies beneath
the clay until the resurrection day. In that day when Christ
comes again, body and soul unite again. Don't stand around my
grave and cry. Rejoice with me. I did not die. If you would turn in your hymn
books. Be Thou my vision, O Lord of
my heart. Naught be all else to me, save
that Thou art. Thou my best thought, my day,
O my night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence
my light. Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my
true word. with thee and thou with me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I thy true
Son. Thou in me dwelling and I with
thee one. Riches I've e'en o'er men's empty
praise, Thou my incare of chains, Thou and Thou only, Thou and
Thou only, first in my heart. Our King of Heaven, thy treasure
thou art. My King of Heaven, my victory
won May I reach heaven's shores, O bright heaven's sun Heart of
my own heart, whatever befall ? Still be my vision ? ? O'er all
the land of the free ? Anybody have a pop case? I can't
reach the pulpit. I want to thank you for the privilege
of being here and getting to say
a few things concerning this dear saint of God who was my
friend. I've got a lot of acquaintances.
I have a few friends, and Merle was one of them. When Teresa
called me and asked me to do this, two texts immediately came
to my mind. The very first one was Revelation
chapter 20 and verse 6, where he said, blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection. raised up with
Christ, ascending up with Christ, being seated with Christ in the
heavenlies. That's a blessed man. On such the second death hath
no power. And I thought as I read that
text, I thought, how blessed is the saint? Huh? Just stop and think about it
a minute. How blessed is a saint? Well, let me tell you what the
Lord said. He said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ. Well, how do you know that means
saints? Because that's what it says in the verse just before
it. He's talking to the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus.
How blessed is a saint? Huh? He's blessed forever. He's
blessed with all things. There's nothing that he's not
blessed with. Even his mistakes are a blessing.
Everything he does is a blessing. Set apart by divine election
to be blessed. When you think of election, is
that how you think about it? Or you just think about a bunch
of people out here and God said, well, I'm going to save him.
And I'm going to say, no, he elected a people to be blessed. Elections not under condemnation,
elections under salvation, elections of blessing. set apart by divine election
to be blessed in everything concerning these blessings is secured in
his Son. It's secured in the Savior. Not
only is the believer blessed, but this verse also says over
in Revelations, he's holy. Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection. And that word holy is not easily
defined. That word holy doesn't have to
do with your hairstyle and your dress and all that kind of nonsense. Holiness has to do with the wholeness
of God. We're holy in one consideration,
in Christ. He chose us in Him that we might
be holy. No more dying. Death swallowed
up in victory. And oh, what a blessed text to
console those yet in this world. But there's another text that
seemed to win the day as far as my part in this is concerned,
and that's in Hebrews chapter four and verse nine. He said,
there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. Now every funeral I've ever been
to, they talk about whoever it was that died, resting. But that's not what this is talking
about. This is talking about resting in Christ. Resting, there remaineth therefore
a rest, to who? To the people of God. And the
older I get, the less I desire to go to funerals. Too much sentimentality. Too many sensual sayings, even
the funeral homes are getting involved in it now, all these
sensual sayings. And too much outright contradiction
to the Word of God. They don't care what they say. Actually, a funeral message has
three distinct tones. When I sit down to prepare this,
these three things, I always, if I'm gonna officiate over a
funeral or I'm gonna preach a message, at a memorial for a funeral,
these three things come to my mind and I try to let these things
bleed into my message. First and foremost is to glorify
God. If everybody in the place stomps
out the door, that's okay as long as I glorify God. That's my first goal is to, what
purpose could there be to preaching a message if it doesn't glorify
God? And secondly, I want folks that
are gathered here, it may be the only message they ever hear
in their life. And I want to bring Christ to
them. I want to point them to Christ.
They may have never understood. I didn't. Went through my whole
life and didn't know anything about Christ. And one day a preacher
pointed me to Christ. And God the Spirit enabled me
to see it. and understand it, perceive it,
lay hold of it. There's a time. There's a time.
That time might be today. Could be. Might be the only time
you ever hear the gospel in your life. So I want to keep that
in mind. And at the very least, I want
to warn you to flee the wrath to come. Judgment's coming. And then thirdly, I want to comfort
God's people with the gospel promises of God. Do you hope
to be comforted? That's the only thing that's
gonna comfort you. I've tried everything. Nothing's
gonna comfort you from the loss of a loved one except the promises
of God. Actually, scripture said all
the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen, all of them. Nothing iffy about them. They're
yea and amen. And with these things in mind,
I have five things, just brief points I want you to see in this
text, in this wonderful passage of scripture, and I pray that
the Holy Spirit will be our teacher, and that we, as those who have
gone on before us, might enter into this rest. Oh, it's a blessed
rest. And the first thing I see in
this passage that gives me comfort and hope is that God has a people. I tell you, if you start looking
for them, you'll find them. They're few and far between.
You ain't gonna find them on every street corner. But God
has a people. If he didn't have a people, there'd
be no reason to preach. There'd be no reason to meet.
There'd be no reason to do anything. But God has a people. He has
a people. He's not left every man to himself. He's gonna save somebody. Why
not me? Why not you? God's gonna save
somebody. He has a people. He's not left for all the man
to devise his way or follow vain and deceitful ways passed down
from generation to generation. Every man has a mixture. It comes from the time he's born.
It comes from his beloved grandmother, and his mother, and his father,
and acquaintances, and schoolmates, and who knows what else. And
it's like this big potion. And that's what he, after a while,
he forms what he thinks he believes. But God doesn't leave us to ourselves. God's ordained means to recover
his banished, and one of these means is the preaching of the
gospel. God has a people. There are people,
he tells us in Ephesians 1, that God chose in Christ, made full
provision for before the foundation of the world. People say, well, election, you
mean God saves some and condemns some to hell? No, that's not
election. Election has to do with salvation. Sin has to do
with condemnation. Sin belongs to you. Election
belongs to God. Elections unto salvation. And
apart from this eternal election of God, nobody'd be saved. In
Isaiah chapter one, verse nine, the prophet said, except the
Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we'd have been like Sodom and
Gomorrah. And the Bible is abundantly clear
that man has no hope in himself. Well, I'm going to get my life
together. No, you're the one who messed
it up. You're the last one who needs to straighten it out. It's abundantly clear that man
has no hope in himself, and he has no hope by this wicked world
in which he lives. Our Lord said in answer to a
question that was proposed to him, the rich young ruler come.
Boy, if ever there was a candidate for salvation, this was him.
Everybody loved him, he gave, he was smart, he kept the law,
here he is. And he runs down before the Lord
and said, good master. And the Lord stopped him in his
tracks. He said, why callest thou me good? I ain't nothing
good but God. Are you saying I'm God? Anyway, he said, well, what must
I do to be saved? Well, I love how the Lord can
get right down on a man's level. He said, you can keep the law.
Oh, it's all that I've done from my youth up. Well, you won't have no problem
with this then. Sell everything you have. Take up your cross
and follow me. Give it to the poor. The investment
you've been talking, just get rid of it. Give it to the poor. Take up your cross and follow
me. And he walked off. And the disciples looked at each
other and they said, who then can be saved? You know what the
Lord said? With man it is impossible. That's what I just told you. Man can't save himself. Can't
save himself. God has to save him. It's abundantly clear that no
man has any hope in himself and no hope coming from this wicked
world in which he lives. Man's nature in the fall has
rendered him helpless in the salvation of his soul. Why? Because there's none righteous. You think Paul didn't know he
was going to be questioned? He followed that statement with
no, not one. There's none that understandeth.
Is that shocking? It ought to. There's
none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after
God. They're all gone astray. They're
together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Carnal mind. Scripture said it's
enmity against God, not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. He goes on to say about those
under sin, there's no fear of God before his eye. None. His mouth's full of cursing and
bitterness, destruction and misery in his ways. Leave him alone,
he'll self-destruct. Now where exactly will that man
draw in himself the water of life? You see what I'm saying? The Lord said, my people have
committed two evils. Number one, they've forsaken
me. Everything's in him, but they
forsook him. Life, light, it's all in him. But we forsook him. My people
committed two evils. They forsaken me, the fountain
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns
that can hold no water. Not only must there be a righteousness
wrought for a fallen man, but their debt of sin must be paid
to the full, and they have nothing wherewith to pay it. What are
you gonna give God for your sin? How are you gonna satisfy him? I tell you, here's where hope
rests. We're blessed in him. God has a people. Second thing
I see in this text is that those who find it, find it through
the gospel. Verse one of Hebrews chapter four, it said, let us
therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto
us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, talking about
typical Israel back in the wilderness. But the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. And Israel, being a typical people, sent spies into the promised
land and returned with some amazing examples of its fertility and
fruit. They had to bear a thing of grapes
on a pole between two men. I mean, it was amazing at the
fruit that they returned with. But the promised land and the
blessings that were to accompany that were soon washed away by
an evil report. They brought these big fruits
in. Everybody looked at them and was in awe. And then they
said, oh, by the way, there's walled cities over there. That
place is inhabited. And there's giants in the land.
And you talk about armies, you haven't seen an army until you've
seen their armies. And weapons, unlike anything
we've ever seen, they brought back an evil report. God never promised them their
inheritance based on their power to overcome its possessors. It
wasn't based on their might and power, but on God's hand. And
gospel rest comes being mixed with faith in them that hear
it. He gives faith to perceive it. Well, it's simple enough. I've
quoted you word for word what it says about election in the
book of Ephesians. You don't have to preach the
book of Ephesians, just read it. People understand what you're
saying. What makes it so complicated
is all these preconceived notions that they got in their head.
It don't make sense. It don't fit. Those who find and enter into
this rest find it in the preaching of the gospel. Hebrews chapter
4 verse 3 says, for we which have believed, do enter into
rest. We can rest in these things.
You mean you can rest in election? You bet I can. When I wake up and preach, you're
talking about election. You're preaching predestination.
You bet I am. And that's exactly what he follows
it up with, isn't it? Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children. But there's another side to this
coin, and this is my third thing I want us to see. Those who find
no hope in the gospel always find something else and
are left holding an empty bag. They won't have the gospel, but
they're gonna have something. Unbelieving men and women always
find an alternative. Their rebellion was explained
away as a matter of practical decision. They're walled cities. It made perfect sense to them
not to go in there. And another thing is they didn't
really appear to be cursed at all. Earth didn't swallow them
up. Fire didn't fall from heaven. Actually, and I have no doubt,
they returned to their homes, even though they couldn't go
into the promised land, they returned to their homes. Israel
was forced back out into the wilderness for all those years. And these men who came back with
that evil report and wouldn't have the gospel continued in
their lives in the wilderness, bringing their sacrifices to
the tabernacle. That's what the Jews did. Keeping
the holy days, they rested on the Sabbath. And with the rest of them, they
came on certain days to the tabernacle. The provisions given to God's
elect are the gifts of God and are not to be taken lightly,
and all those who try to claim the promises of God without faith
are left in the power and misery of the flesh. And they find an
alternative, but they never find rest. What's so blessed about
this man that's passed away? He found the rest. Oh, I don't know how many days
I've worked with him. I've worked with him for years. And how we'd rejoice and talk
about our hope and that rest that we had in Christ. There's only one hope, and that
hope is Christ, and that hope is brought to pass in the preaching
of the gospel. God's ordered things that way,
and that's the way things are. Paul preached at Antioch, and
those Jews got all up in the air about it, and he said, Behold,
you despisers, and wander and perish, for I work a work in
your days, a work which you shall in no wise believe, though a
man declare it to you. He'll take his book, and he'll
open it up, and it says right here, and he'll go here, and
it says right here, and he'll go down, but you won't have it.
You won't have it. When I think about this rest,
I think about God having a people, chosen of God and precious, and
all those blessed of God are enabled by faith to enter into
that blessed rest in him. And all those who don't, they
find some alternative and they perish in the wilderness of this
world. All right, here's the fourth
thing. Where do you and I fit in? Where do we fit into this
thing? Am I exempt from it? I'm just
here, a few minutes, I gotta go. Where do I fit in in this
thing? Where do I stand in this matter
of rest? What's my reaction to the means
and message of God? Can I find comfort in the company
of a handful of rebels? That's what they did. God's means and message and people
are clearly revealed in the scripture. Where then do I stand? He that believeth and is baptized
The scripture said, shall be saved. And I found this to be
just as true. He that believeth not shall be
damned. He shall not see light, but the
wrath of God abideth on him. And then fifthly and lastly,
let me without any reservation or doubt tell you that there
remaineth a rest to the children of God. Jesus Christ is that rest. Without any contribution on my
part whatsoever, I can rest in Him. I can rest in Him. Without any dependency on this
flesh, I can rest in Him. In Him who? The God-man. Full
provision is made for the sinner in Christ, And I find rest in
Him. Why? How can you rest in this
man that you've never met? How can you rest in this one
who says He's God come into the flesh? Well, I'll tell you how I can
rest in Him. I rest in His eternal appointments, Savior. What's that? That's something
he found along the way or made up of? No. He was appointed Savior
before the foundation of the world. It's his appointment. He's Savior. He's substitute. He's Redeemer. He's the high
priest. He's the mediator. He's the prophet, priest, and
king. He's the Lord. And all these blessed appointments
were given to him for the salvation of God's elect. Why do I think God will save
me in the end? Because He's the Savior. I rest in His eternal appointments,
and secondly, I rest in His wonderful works. He said, I come to do
the will of God. In the volume of the book, it's
written of me. I come to do thy will, O God. By the witch will, the doing
of it. It's God's redemptive will. And
by his doing and dying, we're sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. By one offering, perfected
forever, then they're sanctified. And by the works he wrought,
he wrought out a justifying righteousness. God himself can't find a reason
to rebuke me. I'm perfect in Christ. Perfect. Oh, the works of Christ. He raised
the dead. That's where he found me. He
cleansed the lepers, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear,
the blind to see. By himself, the scripture said,
he purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of God by himself. He exalted the law, the scripture
said, and made it honorable. He ordained and sent out apostles
and evangelists and pastor-teachers. He ascended up into glory, sat
down at the right hand of God. Both He and His Father, both
of them together, resting in His works. I'm rejoicing in His works, not
mine. I have to mourn over mine, but
I don't have to mourn over His. I find rest in His works, don't
you? Can you rest when he cried from the cross, it is finished?
Boy, I can rest in that. It's done. And I preach to men
and women who cannot of themselves do what they're commanded to
do, nor would they choose to do it if they could. And my hope
here today is not in me or in you, but in the Lord who gives
the gift of faith and life. Merle wanted somebody to stand
and preach his gospel after he's gone and tell folks about him
in whom he believed and found rest. Oh, I rest in his appointments,
I rest in his wonderful works, and I rest in his glorious person. I don't know if you ever thought
about this, but Jesus Christ is a one of a kind. He's a one-of-a-kind. There's
nothing in heaven, earth, or hell like Him. He's a one-of-a-kind. He's the
God-man. The God-man. I can rest in Him because He's
God, and yet God cannot suffer and man can't satisfy, but the
God-man can do both. And my friend, I can rest in
Him because He ascended up into glory and took His seat at the
right hand of God. What's that mean? That means
He's sitting there expecting till His enemies be made His
footstool. He's victorious. Religion has Him wringing His
hands and looking over the banister of heaven and worried about who's
going to believe and who ain't going to believe. That's not
the Christ. He's seated at the right hand
of God, expecting till he's enemies be made his footstool. All of them believers put their
hope in man, hoping they can muster enough merit in their
faith and life to gain an entrance into glory. God's people know
they're raised up together with Christ and made to sit together
in him. I can rest in that. And I rest
in him who never failed to keep a promise. Did he promise eternal
life? He said, don't be upset. He said, I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I'm coming back. And I'm going to receive you
under myself. that where I am, there you may
be also." Can you rest in that? Oh, my soul. Everything you could
possibly want is in Him. Actually, Scripture said, in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you're
complete in Him. What's that mean? That means
you have everything you need. Now, you're complete. Can you
rest if you're complete? You can rest, can't you? Nothing
missing. No surprises. It's all in Him. May the Lord add His blessing
to His Word. Thank you. God has declared his justice
to you through the preacher you've seen. Praise God. Stand if you
want. Turn over to 509 and begin the
process. 509. The sands of time are sinking,
the dawn of heaven breaks. The summer morn I sighed for,
the fresh spring morn awakes. The dark hath been the midnight,
but day's praise hath ended, and glory, glory to heaven in
Emmanuel's land. O Christ, he is the fountain,
the deep, sweet well of wine. The streams on earth I've tasted,
more deep I'll drink of wine. There, too, an ocean full of
mist, His mercy doth expand, And glory, glory, to heaven in
eminence stand. Beloved, and my Beloved's wife,
He brings the poor a sinner into His house of wine. I stand upon His place, I know
no other stand, Not in the glory dwelleth Emmanuel stand. ? The bright eyes of our God ?
? The earth in bright blue space ? ? I will not gaze at glory
? ? But on my King of grace ? ? Not at the crown He gave me ? Let's
close our service with a word of prayer. Our merciful Father, as we come
to the conclusion of this service, remembering the life of our dear
friend, a life lived so well, Father, we thank You for the
assurance we have from Your Word that our dear friend is now beholding the face of His glorified Savior,
enjoying a bliss that we cannot begin to
understand, that we cannot, in our wildest imaginations, begin
to grasp. And Father, we thank You for
the assurance we have that our dear brother is now
resting. No more pain, no more heartache, no more sorrow, because
we're told those former things have passed away. And Father, we rest in the fact that the words, Christ is all,
are no longer just a verse of Scripture to our dear brother,
but an astounding reality. But Father, we know if He was
standing here before us, He would be the first to tell us that
He was but a wretched sinner. But Father, we glory in the fact
that He was a wretched sinner saved by grace, washed in the
blood of our blessed Redeemer, made to be as righteous and as
holy as Christ Himself. And Father, we thank You for
that assurance. And we look forward to that day when we can join
Him beholding the face of our Savior. And Father, for those
here today that do not know You in saving faith, our dear brother,
were he able, we'd encourage you, look to Christ, for He is
all. And Father, we thank You for
Your goodness, Your mercy towards sinners, that we can rest in
the fact that when Christ declared, it is finished, our salvation
was indeed as sure as if we were already in heaven. So help us,
Father, as we leave this place to glory in our dear Savior.
We ask all these things in His name and for His name's sake.
Amen. That concludes our service, you're
dismissed. th th th th th th th