Pastor Donald Fortner, Donald
Stuart Fortner, 69, went home to be with the Lord
on April 29th, 2020, at his residence in Danville. Born June 10th,
1950, in Bladdin County, North Carolina, to the late Claude
and Mary Harrelson Fortner. In addition to his parents, he
is pre-deceased by his sister, the late Juanita Disher. After
graduating Piedmont Bible College, Donald was pastor of Lookout
Baptist Church in West Virginia. He moved to Danville in 1980,
where he pastored Grace Baptist Church for 40 years. Donald ensured that his ministry
would continue through CDs and DVDs that have been distributed
throughout the world and by authoring thousands of hymns and more than
20 books. He is survived by his wife of
50 years, Shelby Peters Fortner, a daughter, Faith Hacker, married
to Doug of Lexington. two grandchildren, Audrey Grace
and William Stuart Hacker, two sisters, Jean Wilson, married
to Jimmy of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Patty Parrish,
married to Ken of Johnson City, Tennessee, and several nieces
and nephews. Don was not only my pastor for
the last 40 years, he was my friend. And he was the best kind of friend
you can have, because he was a friend who cared for my soul. Many of us that attended for
any time and heard him say more than once from the pulpit. The thing he admired more than
anything was faithfulness. And he himself was a very embodiment
of faithfulness. And some people think that Don's
ministry is over, but it's far from over because of the many
books many sermons that are online, many DVDs. He'll continue preaching
for untold amount of years. One of the old Puritan forefathers
said it best. He said, books may preach when
the author cannot, when the author dare not, when the author will
not, when the author may not and when the author is not. My friend and pastor will go
on preaching many a year and we rejoice in
that. Thanks. I've been asked to lead us in
scripture reading, which I have chosen the 17th chapter of John. But allow me, please, a little
liberty to say a few words. I've known Brother Don Fortner
for a little over 30 years. and have grown to love him and
Shelby more than I can put into words. He became one of our chief
speakers during our winter conference the last of January back in the
mid to late 80s, and I felt the warmth of his greeting, the handshake that was firm, and
considered it a great honor to introduce him to our congregation
and those who were visiting our conference. And when he started
preaching, I said, oh my, what have I gotten myself into? But it wasn't long, I was sitting
up on the edge of the pew and I was hanging on to every word. And it was just a little time
afterwards, Brother Henry Mahan was our summer conference speaker
and he told me that it was just too far for him to travel. So
I asked Don if he would consider being our summer conference preacher
as well, one of them. And he just jumped on that just
as quick as he could. So for the past 25 years or more, Me and my wife Judy and the members
of Rescue Baptist Church have had the honor of listening to
Brother Don Fortner preach at least six times a year, not counting
the times we heard him in other places. And I have learned much
from that man. He has been such an influence
in my life and the lives of so many. in Northern California
there at the little place called Rescue. We've grown to love Don
and Shelby over the years and consider it such a great honor
to be counted amongst the friends in their circle. Let me share
this with you. Don preached what he believed,
he believed what he preached, and he did not care who it was
that he stepped On their toe. He just preached he believed
God he believed the Word of God I Recall we were preaching together
in a little church in Southern, California and Don was scheduled
to preach after the pastor of that church and The pastor of
that church preached a horrible message. It was just absolutely
horrible Nothing but works. Pastor Norm Wells and I were
sitting right behind Don, and he turned around, Don turned
around, Brother Don did, and looked Norm straight in the eye
and said, I'll give you $100 if you'll go next. And Brother Norm said, no, I
wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole. Now, I don't know what
Don had planned to preach. But he changed his sermon from
the time he was sitting there in that pew until he stepped
into the pulpit. And I'm telling you the truth,
he tore the pastor of that church apart. He did everything but
call him by name. He took what that man had said,
almost quoting him verbatim, and went right into the Scriptures,
and showed how ugly and how sinful that doctrine was, and how a
man who believed that and preached that didn't know Christ, didn't
know His Gospel. But at the same time, he preached
Christ to those who loved Christ. Talking to us about our total
depraved condition how that God sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ
to this earth To redeem us with his precious blood how he Christ
our Savior By himself purged our sins how that he was delivered
for our offenses raised again for our justification I can hear
him now. I see him now and And I'm so
thankful for the way that he brought forth the truth, uncompromising
for the glory of our risen, exalted King. We're going to miss him. But it would be almost sinful
to want him back in this life. He's right where he wanted to
be. He sees his Savior face to face. And I know we have some kind
of a mandate here because of the virus our Lord has sent upon
this earth where we can't practice hugging and shaking hands like
we want to, but there's no such mandate in heaven. I know Don
hasn't been there long enough to have embraced all the saints
that have gone on before us, but he's got forever. And I don't
know about you, I think I do. I'm looking forward to that day,
and for some of us it might not be very long off, when we'll
be delivered from this body of death and be ushered into the
presence of our exalted King, who loved us and gave himself
for us, and be able to embrace our dear
brother once again. May our Lord Jesus send his comforting
spirit in a special way to the hearts of his daughter's family
and loved ones who loved him to comfort us during this time
of loss, but rejoice also for the good news that he has been
delivered from this body of death. John chapter 17, if you're with
me please, starting from verse one, These words spake Jesus,
and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is
come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine
they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given
me are of thee. For I have given unto them the
words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and
have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have
believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them. I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they
are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine
are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more
in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast
given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them
in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest
me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition,
that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and these
things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled
in themselves. I have given them thy word, and
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth,
thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for
their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified
through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word,
that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one. I am them, and thou art me, that
they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that
thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given
me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have
known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me, and I
have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them. and I in them,
and may God add his grace and mercy to the reading of his holy
scriptures. Thank you. Brother Gene, you made a comment
there about The way that Don divided that
preacher. Don had a way of dividing a lot
of churches. But he also had a way to mend
and bring together and build up. And we praise God for it. If you will take your program
And let's sing, Christ is all. Ruth is going to, Ruth, do you
want to come up? Again, this is being sung to
grace, which is a charming sound. In Christ, in Christ alone, my
soul has found sweet rest. By grace He takes me for His
Son and does for me what's best. Christ is all in all. Christ is all to me. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. is all, yes, all to me. On Christ I cast my care and
trust His providence. His sovereign throne forbids
my fear. His presence gives me peace. Christ is all in all, Christ
is all to me. Jesus Christ the Son of God is
all, yes all to me. While living in this world, O
Lord, help me to see all things now seen within this world, since
sin must pass away. Christ is all in all. Christ is all to me. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
is all, is all to me. is an aching place within my
heart, dear Lord. I long to see the blessed face
of Christ, my greatest Lord. Christ is all in all. Christ is all to me. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
is all, yes, all to me. In life I'll look to Christ. In heaven I only hope for Christ,
who is my all in all. Christ is all to me. Jesus Christ the Son of God is
all, yes all to me. The first thing I want to say
is what an honor it is for me to say just a few words about
my dear, dear friend and pastor, Brother Don Fortner. I met Don
and Shelby Fortner around 1978. Don was then pastoring a small
church in Lookout, West Virginia, not too far from where I lived
at the time. I had heard the name Don Fortner
through a mutual friend of his and mine, but I had never met
him. And from what my friend told
me about Don and what he preached, at that time I didn't want to
meet him. But God changed my tune. And when it pleased God
to teach me, begin to teach me something about that glorious
gospel that concerns his son, although years had gone by since
my friend had mentioned Don Fortner's name, I remembered. I remembered. Don Fortner. Maybe, maybe that's
what my friend was talking about. I think I'll call him up. So
I got the phone book one Saturday, and I found his name in it. And
I called him up, big booming voice came on the other end of
the line. Don Fortner, can I help you?
I said, yes sir, he sounded so much older than me. I said, yes
sir, Mr. Fortner. I said, my name is Larry
Chris. And I said, God has taught me
something wonderful. And I don't have anybody to talk
to about it. I don't have anybody to share
it with. And Don answered and said, has God taught you something
about his sovereignty? And I said, I believe that's
it. And he said, he said, why don't you come visit
me? And I did. Spent the whole day. Spent the whole day and I enjoyed
the first of many meals at Don and Shelby's table. And when
the evening had come and I was getting ready to leave, Don loaded
me down with messages he preached that were recorded on cassette
tapes. That's how I met Don. That was
42 years ago. And for those 42 years,
he's been my mentor, as Todd said earlier today, and also
my pastor. And he was also my best friend.
my best friend, and by that I mean that he was always there for
me, always. He was always willing to listen,
to encourage me, to offer a helping hand, and to tell me what I needed
to hear. It wasn't always what I wanted
to hear, but it's what I needed to hear. He was a good friend.
He was a faithful friend. I sat under Don in West Virginia
for a couple of years until he was called to be the pastor here
at Danville Grace Baptist Church in 1980. But God in his wonderful
providence, his adorable providence, I think was the last message
Don preached. And his adorable providence some eleven years
later brought me to follow Don here. And I was blessed to sit
under his ministry for another twenty years and listen to him
proclaim the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace. I can truly say, no question
about it, that one of God's chief gifts to me was giving me such
a faithful friend as Don Fortner. Again, I repeat, he was always
there for me. Seldom a week went by that we
didn't talk on the phone. As a matter of fact, I listened
to a voicemail that I saved the other day, and he said, well,
it used to be My friend would call me every now and then. Hadn't
heard nothing from you. Well, are you on the golf course?
Call me back. And it was always a delight to
do so. I could never thank God enough
for bringing Don and Shelby Fortner into my life. I talked to Don
Wednesday before last. And I could tell he was laboring
just to hold a conversation, to get his breath. And I said,
Don, I won't take up any more of your time. I can tell it's
tough for you to even talk. And he said, Larry, I would rather
use my breath to talk to you than anything else. And he said,
Larry, thank you for being my friend all these years. It's I who thank God that he
gave me a friend and faithful pastor in Don Fortner. When we
got the word Wednesday morning that God was pleased to take
Don home, Robin asked me, she said, Larry, I wonder what he's
doing right now. I wonder what he's doing right
now. Well, I know this. That right now, oh right now,
John is doing what he looked forward to doing for years. He's
beholding the face of his Redeemer. My soul, can you imagine that? He's looking into the eyes of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He beholds the King in His beauty. And he's doing so without any
obstacle in between. Nothing to hinder His view. Nothing like sorrow, or sin,
or pain. Nothing whatsoever to hinder
Him from viewing His glorious Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. So today I bid farewell to my
dear friend, but just for a little while, only for a little while,
because I hope by the same grace that brought him to glory, has
already taken him to glory, will bring me there also. As Brother
Gene just read, it's the will of the great shepherd of the
sheep that all that the Father gave him be with him. where he
is. Oh thank God what a day that
will be and we'll all view our Redeemer together and cast our
crowns at his feet and in perfect voice and heart and mind cry
worthy is the Lamb. Don told me Wednesday before
last before we said goodbye on the phone he said Larry if anybody
asks you how I'm doing You tell them, I said, there's nothing,
there's nothing more comfortable, there's nothing sweeter than
going out into eternity knowing that Jesus Christ did everything
that God required for me. I said, oh Don, that is sweet,
that is comforting. Let me just conclude these few
remarks reading one of Don's hymns. I think this is very timely. Don wrote, when I have breathed
my final breath and dropped this robe of flesh and death, when
my appointed work is done and my allotted time is gone, don't
stand around my grave and cry, I'm not there, I did not die. My Savior came to call me home,
and I with him to heaven have gone. 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. God bless each of you. Let's now sing eternal blood,
eternal lamb, the son to America the beautiful. Behold, the Lamb of God was slain
by God's own wise decree. The blood of Christ has stood
for me. God's wrath could not destroy
the world, through Adam fell in sin. Because the lamb was
slain for men before the world began, then at the time ordained his blood, for all the world
of his elect, and paid the debt we owed. Dear Lamb of God, your precious
blood has ransomed me from debt. And I will praise ye for that
blood as long as I have breath. Though Satan rage against my
soul, though I am full of sin, It gives me peace within. That blood is my security. Christ must be satisfied. Not one can ever be condemned
for whom the Lamb has died. When I have dropped this robe
of flesh and entered heaven blessed, the Lamb who has been slain for
me Eternal blood, eternal lamb,
eternal God, my King. I'm worthless sinner, saved by
grace. I owe you everything. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we come into your presence in Christ's name. And Lord, we're
so eternally grateful for the gospel of thy dear Son. that
makes us to be without sin before You. We're so thankful for His
righteousness. We're so thankful for the power
of His blood. We're so thankful for His intercession. And Lord, we're so thankful that
You have given Your servant the grace to preach Your gospel so
clearly to us. And we thank You for Him. And
Lord, we're so happy to think that He is in Your presence,
beholding Your glory. And Lord, we pray for Your continued
blessing upon us. We pray for this dear family.
We pray for this church that You'd order their steps in Your
Word. Your will be done in all things.
But Lord, how we thank you for having Don as our friend, as
our pastor, as our counselor. Lord, we give thanks. Oh, that we might be found in
Christ and we look for that time where we'll all be together singing
the praises of thy dear son. In his name we pray. Amen. I have about three scriptures
I want to turn to, if you want to follow me, if you do have
your Bibles. Over in 1 Corinthians chapter
15, but I want to say this, there were so many people, even that
I know, that wanted to be here today. I know if everyone that
wanted to be here was here, we wouldn't have had room on this
parking lot, that's for sure. But this is the way God would
have it. His servant that was faithful in his kingdom to preach
his grace, his sovereign and free grace for all of these years.
This is the way God would have it. A few people, a very small
number, gathered here upon this earth to say goodbye to our pastor,
our brother, but to be received by a great cloud of witnesses
in heaven. I too thank God for Don. He has been a dear friend, a
counselor to me, stood by me, encouraged me. But I thank God
for this congregation. Week after week, month after
month, decade after decade, this local church has gathered here
in faithfulness to maintain the public worship of our covenant
God. And I thank this congregation.
You've sent the gospel out all over this world to needy sinners. The gospel of redeeming love,
and I thank you for that. I thank God for you. And Shelby,
I thank God for you. What an example, dear sister,
you are, and I don't mean to embarrass you, but what an example
of grace, what an example to all of us to follow, of faith
and love. What an example of a spouse,
a loving spouse, faithful to her husband. What an example
of a laborer in the gospel with her pastor, now for all these
decades. And I know that Shelby probably
realizes this, but I don't know if you knew the number the last
few years of people that were anxious when Don traveled. Here in this congregation, but
everywhere, when we found out that Don was going out of state
or overseas, we all became so anxious. Will he make it back?
Will he be in the hospital? Will he get sick? And we were
so anxious, but I've heard so many say, Lindsey has said it
to me, Shelby is with him. Shelby is with him. That removed
a great degree of the anxiety. Shelby is with him. If Shelby
is with him, Don will be fine. Shelby, the Lord bless you dear
sister. The days ahead and your family,
whatever you may go through in sorrow, what a husband you have
left. You've lost a husband, but Christ
is your husband. I want to preach today, just
for a few minutes, on a subject I think may be appropriate for
this time. I notice you'll know behind me
is the grave of our dear brother. This is very unusual, isn't it?
Usually we have a funeral service and we take someone out and bury
them. This time we've buried our dear
brother and now we've come here to preach his funeral. And I
think this is a very appropriate scripture to read at this time.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul said in verse 3, I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was
buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures. And my subject that I want you
to think with me on just for a few minutes is, and He was
buried. And what an inappropriate thought,
I think, looking behind me and seeing the grave of our dear
brother. He was buried. You know, we know and we often
dwell upon the critical issue of the gospel that Christ died
for our sins. He suffered for our sins and
we often dwell upon the resurrection. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. And we see the miracle in His
death and the resurrection. But you know, there are some
miracles in His burial. His burial is just as critical
as His death and His resurrection. And the Apostle Paul said here
that He died according to the Scriptures and He was buried
according to the Scriptures. And there are several Scriptures
that would tell us, for instance, He made His grave with the wicked. Now, I don't know the depths
or the full meaning of that passage, but one thing it does tell us,
He had a grave. He made His grave with the wicked.
And as Jonah was three days and three nights in the heart of
the whale, so must the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth. Jesus Christ truly was buried. I have a couple of scriptures. One is over Acts chapter 13,
the Apostle Paul preached this message to this group in Antioch,
and he mentions something about the burial of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and what a miracle this is. Here in Acts chapter 13,
verse 28, he says, And though they found no cause of death
in him, yet they desired Pilate that he should be slain. And
when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took
him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher, but God raised
him from the dead. And then down in verse 34, as
concerning that he raised him from the dead, now to die no
more, or to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will
give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he said also
in another psalm, and he quotes psalms chapter 16 and verse 10,
Thou will not suffer thine holy one to see corruption. For David,
after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep,
and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption. But he whom
God raised again saw no corruption." This is the miracle concerning
the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I know that as
soon as a body dies, they have to do something with it. I had
a cousin that refused to be embalmed and they said, well, we'll have
to bury you within 24 hours. Your body is going to begin to
break down. It will begin to decay. That's
what happens. That's what's happened to our
dear brother's body behind me. It's breaking down. It's decaying. But here we're told in this scripture
that the Lord Jesus Christ died He was buried and for three days
and three nights he lay in the tomb in his sepulcher and he
saw no corruption. Now isn't that a miracle? He
took our sins, all of our sins. Every sin God gathered up of
all his elect people Put them in the bosom in the body of our
Lord Jesus Christ. He took them and claimed them
as his own hung up on Calvary's tree and all the Results all
the consequences of sin was given to him. He not only took our
sins He took all the guilt of our sins All the wrath of God
for our sins. He took the frowning face of
his God. He took the wrath of his God.
He took the corruption. Every consequences that belonged
to sin, he took it. And yet it had no effect upon
him. Isn't that amazing? The scripture
says he offered himself without spot to God. Isn't that amazing? His merit, his worth was far
more exceeding great than all the sin that he had took to himself. But here's a miracle just as
great as that one. He went into the grave for three
days and three nights. And he saw no corruption. And the Apostle Paul tells us
here why he saw no corruption. Nobody was born like Jesus Christ. Nobody lived like Jesus Christ. And nobody died like Jesus Christ. And while he was in the grave,
he was called the Holy One. The Holy One. The Holy Fang when
he was born, he lived holy, harmless and undefiled and the grave,
the grave could not corrupt him. Truly he is the Holy One of God. Isn't that confident? He was
buried but unlike our dear brother he saw no corruption. What a wonderful thing. Three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth and the grave
could not corrupt him. The Son of God was holy in his
humanity as holy as he was in his divinity and nothing can
affect absolute holiness. Nothing. When death gaped upon him, he
swallowed it up in life. When the bars of the grave enclosed
in upon him, he destroyed it. And he said, O grave, I will
be your destruction. And that he was. The Apostle
Peter quoted this same verse that the Apostle Paul quoted
in Psalms chapter 16 and verse 10 on that great message on the
day of Pentecost, but he added another Psalms to it, Psalms
132. Let me read what Peter said,
just thinking of the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, and saw
no corruption. Peter was quoting David, and
he said, Therefore David being a prophet, and knowing that God
had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins,
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his
throne, he seeing this beforehand, spake of the resurrection of
Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his
flesh see corruption. But when you turn over and read
that Psalms that Peter quoted, let me read it for you and look
just a little bit of difference how David wrote it. The Lord
has sworn in truth to David and will not turn from it of the
fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne the Lord said
to David the eternal Lord said to David the self-sufficient
self-existent Lord Jehovah said to David of the fruit of your
body I will set upon your throne what does that tell us that tells
us when Mary conceived in her womb that was God in her womb
When He walked upon this earth without sin and knew no sin,
that was God incarnate. And when He went to the cross,
hanging on the cross of Calvary, that was God incarnate hanging
upon that tree. And when He raised and ascended
and seated on the throne, that's the incarnate God seated there. And listen, when He was buried,
that was God in the grave. And God went to the grave and
it's had a profound effect upon the grave. It'll never be the
same again. God has been there. And that's
what's comforting to you. And that's what's comforting
to me this morning. And He was buried. And what a
profound effect that had upon the grave. I got one more passage
I want to read to you. It's over in John chapter 19.
This is where the death of our Lord had just happened. And now
the experience of His burial is given to us here in John chapter
19. And I want you to turn over there
if you have it. If you don't, you'll remember this. It's very
familiar. The Lord Jesus was buried, but here is some things
concerning His burial that is very comforting and very sweet
to us. This is why the grave has no
fear for God's children. This is why the grave can even
be a sweet resting place for God's children. Let me give you
the experience of His burial. These two men took Him down from
the cross. Here in verse 38. And after Joseph of Arimathea,
after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but
secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might
take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave, and
he came therefore and took the body of Jesus. And then came
also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night,
and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound
weight, Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen
cloths, with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Now the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the
garden a new sepulcher, wherein never man yet laid. There they
laid Jesus, Therefore because of the Jews preparation day the
sepulchre was nigh at hand." Now these verses suggest some
very sweet things to our thoughts. The burial of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the first one it suggests here to us Mr. Gill said is a
father evidence that our Lord was indeed dead when they buried
him. These two men They took him down
from the cross. They handled him. They examined
him. They saw the gaping hole in his
side. They saw all of his blood had
been poured out beneath the cross. They wound him tightly in those
linen clothes. They put a napkin tightly around
his face and they said he's dead. And they took him and laid him
out of their sight in the sepulchre. Now, I am willing, if the scriptures
just said one time that Christ died, I'm willing to accept that.
But if God is willing to give us more evidence, I thank Him
for it, don't you? And here we have it. His two
friends knew that He was dead. There's something else, though,
that suggests something very precious to our thoughts, and
it's this. Where He was buried, there was
a garden. He was buried in a garden and
this suggests to our thoughts that Jesus Christ our Lord was
truly a representative of his people. Where was it that death first
entered the human race? It was in a garden, wasn't it?
In the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die." Adam was
in a garden when he disobeyed God and died. And we all died
in him. In Genesis, the first man died
spiritually. We have it recorded and we all
died in him. And the very last verse in the
book of Genesis said that Joseph died and they put him in a coffin
down in Egypt. The first man died, and the last
man that we read about in the book of Genesis was buried, and
that would be our history, brothers and sisters, if we had to stop
there. We'd face sin and death and a
dark eternity if someone else had not come and represented
us in a garden. The second man undid what the
first man did and it was all in a garden. Isn't it very fitting
that death entered in a garden and death was turned out in a
garden? Death took its throne in a garden. Death reigns and death was dethroned
in a garden. Death got the victory in a garden
and death was defeated in a garden. Oh death, I will be your plague. Oh grave, I will be your destruction. And it all took place in a garden
by our representative. By man came death and they put
him in a coffin. But another man died and was
buried and rose again. And because he lives, we live
also. And he was buried. The third
thing that this passage here of our Lord Jesus experience
in Burroughs suggests to us is this, that the bitterness of
death, the bitterness of the grave, and the fear of the grave
is past. Here in verse 39 and verse 40,
they took 100 pounds of this precious ointment and spices
and they put it around the body and wrapped it up in these great
clothes and can you imagine what a sweet aroma filled that little
tomb where our Savior laid. It said as the manner of the
Jews were. Let me tell you about King Asa
when he died. He said that they buried King
Asa in his own sepulcher in the city of David and they laid him
in a bed which was filled with sweet odors and diverse kinds
of spices prepared for the apothecaries. Can you imagine how it must have
smelled the sweet aroma that went up in that little sepulcher
where our Lord Jesus lay? Not only was there no smell of
death or decay, but it was only a sweet aroma that they smelt
within that tomb. And doesn't this suggest to us
that not only is there no bitterness in the grave for those who are
in Christ Jesus, but it's even a place desired for one to lay
his weary body down to rest for a season. We don't have to be afraid of
the grave. Our Lord Jesus has been there already. And what
a sweet place it was when He lay. There's no fear in the grave
anymore, Brother Gene. The angels said to those timid
women, come see the place where He lay. You mean we can do that? There's no fear there? There's
no bitterness in that? None at all. It's sweet aroma. I have no fear for our dear brother.
Not at all. I have no fear today that he
is suffering, that he is some sort of in bitterness. No. No. He's resting. His body that
he gives to the service of his Master, an example to all of
us. He's laid that laboring body
down and now it's resting. Resting where the Master was.
I can't think of anything more encouraging to my heart than
to thank every situation that you can find yourself in. No
matter if you're in the darkest valley of the shatter of death,
or if you're climbing the hill of difficulty, no matter where
you're at in your Christian experience, you can find the footprints of
the Lord Jesus Christ there. You can look around and say,
my master was here. And there's nothing that you
can experience that will harm you, not even the grave, because
He's been here before us. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
We lay our dear brother today down to rest his body with this
confidence. There's nothing there to hurt
him. Our Master has been there. And what a sweet place the grave
is now. Fourthly, consider this with
me. We're told here that He was buried in a garden. Doesn't that
suggest to us fruit? I think it's very telling that
our Lord Jesus died in the spring, just about the time that you
and I are ready to plant our gardens. And here He is in the
grave, in the tomb, in the heart of the earth, I'm ready now to
plant my garden. Every year I plant a garden.
I'll take a few potatoes out and put them in the ground and
I'll get five gallon buckets of potatoes. A few bean seeds
and it just produces so many beans. My wife and I usually
go into the winter with maybe a hundred quarts of beans. And
you just sow your seed and up comes all of this fruit. And
you're the Lord Jesus said that he was as a grain of wheat that
he fell into the ground and he died and then what happens? He
brings forth much fruit. And I'm looking at that fruit
here today. And that fruit is from him. It
came from his dying. It came from his burial. It came
from his resurrecting again. You're his fruit. That's a blessed
thought, isn't it? He was buried in a garden. What a wonderful thought. Lastly,
consider this with me. Here in the 20th chapter of John,
concerning the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, here in verse
8, here is what the Holy Spirit says. Or in verse 5, when Peter
and John came here to the sepulcher, and stooping down and looking
in, he saw the linen clothes laying, yet went he not in? Then cometh Simon Peter, following
him, and went unto the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lay,
and the napkin that was about his head, not lined with the
linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went
in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre,
and saw and believed." Now what a wonderful, wonderful thought
this is, suggested here to our minds. They had wrapped the Lord
Jesus tightly in these grave clothes. He was greatly hindered. A living
man could not get around in these grave clothes. He had this napkin,
he could not speak, he could not see. And you remember Lazarus? When the Lord Jesus told Lazarus
to come forth from the grave, remember what he brought forth
from the grave with him? His grave clothes. And we don't
know how he got out of the grave, we don't know if he floated out,
if he paddled his way out, but he was greatly hindered by these
grave clothes. He could not run to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He had these grave clothes on.
He couldn't embrace the Lord Jesus. He had these grave clothes
on. He couldn't even see Him. If he saw Him, he had to peep
underneath the napkin. He was greatly hindered by these
grave clothes. And the Lord Jesus said to those
standing by, take those grave clothes off of Him and set Him
free. Loose Him. What does it mean
when we think of the Lord Jesus leaving His napkin and leaving
His grave closed in that tomb? What does that suggest to us?
That He's free. What He took in that grave, He
come out without. He ascended to heaven with nothing
but a glorified and free humanity. And I thought of my dear brother
as I was thinking upon this. He's free. Don had as much trouble as I
did when it comes to understanding the scriptures.
Somebody said, why does he read all the time? I said, because
he won't know it if he doesn't read all the time. And he told
me one day, he said, the more I find out of what the Bible
says about God, the less I realize I know about God. He saw underneath this napkin. He saw little bits and pieces. That napkin has been removed.
Now he's seeing face to face. He's not looking through a glass
darkly anymore. He's not pouring over his Bible.
He doesn't need to. He knows now as he's known. No,
he's worshipping. Oh, how many times did he complain
with the rest of us. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? Oh, I tell you,
the Apostle Paul counted it a great joy just to think of being released. He said, the time of my release
has come. Released from what? These grave
clothes. This napkin that blinds my mind. I want to be free, don't you?
John the Clarence said, down within sight of every regenerate
man is this longing to see the face of Him who created him. and worship Him with undimmed
eyes and a non-sinned heart. And just as our Savior is free
from His grave clothes, our dear brother is free from His. And
we wait till that resurrection day when body and soul shall
be joined together. Now, now, each of us, I may be
the next one, to say they buried Him. He was buried. All of us
are going to be buried. But here's the blessing. That's
not the end of it. That's just the beginning of
it. The beginning of life eternal. And we don't have to face the
grave, brothers and sisters, with anxiety, with fear, because
our Master Himself was buried. Let us pray. Oh, our Father, our merciful,
merciful Father in Heaven. We thank You for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thank You for sending us a Savior,
a great one, and what a fine job He has done of redeeming
Your people. Lord Jesus, we bless You today
that You came to this world, experienced everything that we
would experience, and You conquered everything. You took all out
that would harm us, and you ascended back to heaven where our brother
now is and where we soon hope to be. Bless dear Shelby in the
days ahead lead her and use her still in your service in your
kingdom. Keep faith and Doug and these
sweet children And watch over this dear congregation, our Father.
Lead them in the days ahead, Lord, in your will. May this
continually be a place where God is worshipped, where Jesus
Christ is exalted, and where men and women that are in Jesus
Christ love one another. And we praise you and we thank
you for it all in His wonderful name. Amen. I have a hope. I have the hope, though strong
and sure, the hope within, that there is Christ the Lord, My
advocate, he pleads and must prevail. My name is written on his breast,
inscribed by love and grace. In him my heart finds peace and
rest, He does my soul embrace. pain and talk. He is my hope and stay. I trust his gracious providence
to guide me in his way. I have no hope within myself, my other inner self. Great care I cast upon my Lord,
and for His grace I call. And when my time on earth is
done, I'll see my Savior as He is. My hope I shall embrace. On behalf of family and this
congregation. I want to thank you men for coming
and saying the words that you spoke, the comforting words,
thank you. Also on behalf of our congregation,
for those who are watching on the live stream, we say thank
you. It will be an impossibility for
us to thank each and everyone who has expressed kind thoughts,
comforting words, and assuring us that they will be remembering
us in prayer. Those words, by so many, are
so comforting for the family, and for this congregation. We
cherish that and we're thankful for that. Many of you have heard Don preach
for many years. Faithful. He had one message. and he was
consistent. A message that was despised by
many, but for all of God's people,
a message of comfort. Often times he would give examples,
illustrations. I want to attempt to give one
of his illustrations now, realizing I'll probably not be hotel at
all. But you remember him telling
us how that it was years ago, families would get together and
they would sit down and eat together. They would have a family meal. And occasionally, the mother
would start cleaning off the table. But she would also say, keep
your fork. The children then knew that there was something better. Something better coming. There was a dessert coming. For 40 years, our pastor's been telling us
about something better. And even in his death, he showed us there's something
better coming. You know what was in his hand
when he was buried? That's right. A fork. Something better is coming. Those who wish to do so, feel
free, feel comfortable to go to the grave give your time to think. If you wish to take a petal of
one of the flowers, feel free to do so. And for this congregation, as a result of what we have been taught for these 40 years. What he told us was that because he lives, I and we can face tomorrow. Let's not forget that. Let's keep that in mind. Praise
God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here
below. Praise Him above ye heavenly
hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. Thank you Lord. Be around, visit, as you see
fit. Again, there will be food provided
if you wish to stay. The Lord bless you, and may the
Lord bless us.