So, It's I love you. I love you. you Hmmmm... You. So, you from you Someday the silver cord will
break And I no more as now shall sing But oh the joy when I awake
Within the palace of the King And I shall see him face to face
and tell the story saved by grace. And I shall see him face to face
and tell the story saved by grace. Someday my earthly house will
fall I cannot tell how soon t'will be But this I know, my all in
all Has now a place in heaven for me And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story saved by grace. And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story saved by grace. Someday, till then, I'll watch
and wait, My lamp all trimmed and burning bright, That when
my Savior opens the gate, My soul to Him will take its flight. And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace And I shall see Him face to face
And tell the story saved by grace Donna is now seeing him face
to face and telling the story saved by grace. We're going to
sing a congregational hymn, Faith, Faith, Each Earthly Joy. And
it was written when Jane Bonar lost her husband and upon losing
her husband, she sat down and penned these words. Dwayne, if
you'll come and lead us. What page is that on? 266. We'll
stand and sing. 266. Fate made each earthly joy, Jesus
is mine. Break every gender cock, Jesus
is mine. Dark is the wilderness, earth
has no resting place. Jesus alone can bless, Jesus
is mine. Tips not my soul away, Jesus
is mine. Here would I ever stay, Jesus
is mine. Perishing things I'll play, Born
but for one brief day, passed from my heart away, Jesus is
mine. Farewell, ye dreams of night,
Jesus is mine. Lost in His dawning bright, Jesus
is mine. All that my soul has tried, left
but a hismal void, Jesus has satisfied, Jesus is mine. Farewell mortality, Jesus is
mine. Welcome eternity, Jesus is mine. Welcome, O love, and bless. Welcome, sweet things of rest. I'm going to do something that
Donna would not want me to do. I'm
going to give a few minutes of eulogy. I esteem this woman so
very highly that I feel like I would be wrong in not doing
this, although she doesn't want it. Everyone sitting here who knew
Donna well knows what a special woman Donna Grubb was. She is survived by her husband,
Delfus, her daughter, Michelle, and her son, Clark. Donna was
born on June 30, 1960, to Jim and Dorothy Terry, along with
her sisters, Diane and Jeannie. She grew up in Irton, Ohio, and
has lived in Lexington for the past 25 years or so. And I can
honestly say, along with many of you, that Donna, I've never
known a finer woman. I esteem her so very highly. It's been such a privilege to
know her. She was a wonderful wife to Delphus. She was a wonderful
mother to Michelle and Clark. She was a wonderful daughter
to Jim and Dorothy and a wonderful sister to Diane and Jeannie. She was a wonderful friend to
all of us. Very special. And a sister in
Christ to many of us sitting here. And she was a selfless
person. She gave of herself tirelessly.
She went about quietly serving others. And I can say as her
pastor, for the last 25 years and her friend that I've not
known a finer person. She was always a great encouragement
to me and to all of you who knew her. Her laughter was easy, wasn't
it? Her countenance and her hospitality
were such a blessing. She was always a joy to be around
and she had a vast knowledge of all subjects. And if she didn't
know the answer to a question, you could be sure the next time
you saw her, she'd have the answer for you. We called her walking
encyclopedia around here, didn't we? Any information you needed,
you could go to her for it and she could find the answer. Now,
although her time on earth was relatively short, we are blessed
by having had her for a friend and a wife and a parent this
time. Adelphus, Michelle, Clark, Jim
and Dorothy, Diane and Jeannie, our hearts are saddened for your
loss. We mourn with you. And we know that there will be
sad days to come. And our prayer is that the Lord
will grant you peace. and comfort in these days ahead. As we sorrow with you, we also
rejoice with you in that Donna is right now in the presence
of the Lord. You know how people talk about
when people die, they say, well, they're looking down at us. No,
she's not. No, she's not. She's looking into the face of
her Redeemer. And rejoicing in him. Donna was sick for a long time.
Her sickness and pain is over. She is now truly healed. No more sorrow. No more pain. No more sin. No more sin. And to a believer,
that sounds so attractive. No more sin. I was talking to
Donna's mother just last week about what a fine woman Donna
was, and she said to me that Donna would be upset If I bragged
about her and exalted her, she would want me to exalt the Lord
Jesus Christ. And indeed, I know she would.
You know, all of these bodies will soon die, some soon, some
later. We're all facing death. What
is the hope of the believer who dies in the Lord? What was Donna's
hope? Donna wanted and requested her
funeral to be simple with the simple preaching of the gospel,
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel message she
believed and stood for. And the Lord, she looked to and
trusted to save her, and I pray the Lord will enable me to do
just that. I want to speak for a few moments
upon this subject. What happens when a believer
dies? What happens when a believer
dies. I'm going to read a few verses
from Genesis chapter 25. I'd like to read verses 7 and
8 of Genesis chapter 25. And these are the days of the
years of Abraham's life, which he lived. And hundred three score
and 15 years, 175 years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died. In a good old age,
an old man, and full of years, and he was gathered to his people. What happens when a believer
dies? Now, I'm not going to deal with what happens when an unbeliever
dies right now. It's too horrible almost even
thinking about. to die without Christ, to die
in your sins. I know this and I've got to say
this. I know one thing that every unbeliever will discover when
they die. They will die that they will
discover that there is a place called hell. And that's an awesome,
sorrowful thing to think about. But that's not what we're going
to consider tonight. Perhaps another time, but we're
going to consider what happens when a believer dies, the death
of the believer. Now, I know we all have some
fears regarding death, but I hope that after this message, you'll
be able to say with Paul, I long to depart. And to be with Christ,
which is far better, and I hope by the end of this message, you
will be envious of Donna. Now, Genesis 25 records the death
of Abraham. the father of the faithful, Abraham
is described as one, according to Hebrews 11, 13, who died in
faith. Now, I think it's interesting
in verse seven that even when 175 years is mentioned, it's
speaking of the days of Abraham's life. Life is brief. If you live 175
years, it's still not very long. His life is described in terms
of days, and then verse 8 says, he gave up the ghost. He died. And he died in a good old age. That can only be said of the
believer. He died an old man, and this
carries with it the idea of respect and dignity. He died an elder,
an honorable man, and she died with him. respect and dignity.
Everybody here that knows her knows she has. What a blessing
this woman is and has been to us. And she dies with respect
and dignity. And notice it says in verse 8
that he died full of years and he was gathered to his people.
And you'll notice if you have a King James version that years
is in the italics. It's literally he died full,
satisfied. No regrets. And my dear friends,
this is not so much a reference to satisfaction with his life.
His satisfaction was in Christ. Colossians chapter 2 verse 10
says, In him, 9 and 10 says, In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body, and you are complete. You're full. It can't get any better. If you're
a believer when you die, before you ever died, all you need to
make you fit for heaven, you already have. you already possess. He died full of years. He didn't have to say, oh, I
wish I'd done this, or I wish I did that. No. His satisfaction
is simply being complete in Christ. I love what the Apostle Paul
said without fear regarding death. He said, I fought a good fight.
I finished my course. I kept the faith. Abraham died.
And you and I will soon die. Well, what happens when a believer
dies? The death of the believer is
altogether different from the death of the unbeliever. The
unbeliever died without hope, but the hope of the believer
in their death. Now, this is interesting. There
are three words that describe the death of the believer in
the Word of God. The first word is blessed. Revelation, chapter
14, verse 13, says blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Blessed. She's blessed, supremely
blessed. We're sad. She's glad. She's
blessed by the Lord. Precious is the second word.
Psalm 116, verse 15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of his saints. And then it's called gain. In
Philippians 121, Paul says, For me to live is Christ and to die
is gain. The best thing that could ever
happen to me in this life right now is if God struck me dead
right now. Best thing that ever happened.
I'd be in the presence of Christ. Do you think there's any believer
in glory that would want to come back here? David said, a day in thy courts
is better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
And we're all going to die, but the believer's death is altogether
different from the death of the unbeliever. And I also know this
regarding death. Not one of us is without some
fear of death. Even believers, there is a fear
of the unknown. The writer of the Hebrews spake
of those who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime
subject to bondage. Well, how can that fear be removed?
How can the fear of death be removed? Well, here's how it's
removed for the believer. And here's the first thing I'd
like to say. The Lord Jesus died. He went in death before the believer. He actually died. He lived. They nailed him to a cross. He
died. They took a dead corpse down
from that cross. Jesus Christ, God the Son, the
Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the God-Man,
died. He died. Why did he die? Have you ever thought about that? Why did he die? There's only
one reason for death. Do you realize that? There's
one reason for death, and that reason is S-I-N, sin. The only reason anybody dies
is because of sin. Now, Jesus Christ never sinned.
The Scripture says regarding Him, He knew no sin. Yet the
sins of God's elect were placed upon Him as their substitute. This is why He died. The sins
of God's people, the sins of all those who believe, the sins
of the elect of God were placed upon Him. The Scripture says
He was made sin. I don't know what all that means,
but I know it means whatever it means. He was made sin, and
the wrath of God came down upon him, and he died. He truly died. Now remember, he never sinned.
Just as truly as he died, that perfect righteousness that he
worked out when he never sinned, that he obeyed God's law perfectly,
That perfect righteousness, that law-keeping of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the perfect obedience of Christ is literally counted
to the believer. Everybody He died for. Now listen
to me. Everybody He died for. That perfect
righteousness He worked out is theirs. Just as the sins of God's
elect became His, His righteousness becomes theirs. And now every
believer has no reason to fear. I'm the very righteousness of
God in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, if you take away the
reason for fear, you don't have to fear. The only thing that
would make us fear is sin. But my sin has been washed away
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus took away
the reason to fear death. Now, what is the fear of death? Well, the sting of death, the
Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 15, 56, is sin. But he took the sting away. You take a bee. I'm afraid of
bees, aren't you? One comes, a wasp, something
like that. If a wasp comes at me, I'm afraid of it. But if
that wasp's stinger is gone, I have nothing to fear, do I?
What can a wasp without a stinger do to you? It can't do anything
to you at all. You see, the reason for fear
has been taken away because the Lord Jesus Christ took away the
sins of everybody he died for. He was manifested to take away
our sins, 1 John 3, 4, and 5. He was manifested to take away
our sins, and in Him is no sin. That means if I'm in Him, I have
no sin. What is there to fear if I have
no sin? There's absolutely nothing to fear if I have no sin. How certain is heaven for the
believer? With just as certain as Christ died, every believer
is going to be in glory. I want to read a passage of scripture
to you from Ephesians chapter two. This is a verse that thrills
me. Ephesians chapter two. Verse
five. Or verse four, but God. who is
rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Now listen
to this. That means that everybody Christ died for, they're already
in heaven. I'm already there. How are you saying that you're
already there? I'm standing here looking at you because I'm united
to Christ. And if He's there, I'm there too. That's how sure,
that's how secure I am in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how
secure. You know, God was already in heaven before she died. In
the person of her Redeemer. United to Him, believing Him.
She's already there. So is every other believer. I'm
not as sure for heaven as if I'm already there. I'm already
there. In Christ Jesus the Lord. Isn't that glorious? I'm so thankful
for this. If Christ is my righteousness
before God, I have absolutely nothing to fear." And the Lord
changed the character of physical death for the believer. You know,
He said regarding Lazarus, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. He's asleep. It's a sleep of
rest. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4,
14, of them which sleep in Jesus. You see, death is not the end,
it's the beginning. It's graduation day. It's the
beginning of the eternal wedding feast. It's life. Donna lives. She lives a whole
lot more than you do. A whole lot more. She's entered
life itself. Now, somebody may ask the question,
when we die, do we go immediately to heaven? That's a good question. What did the Lord say to the
thief? Remember, today. Today, thou shalt be with me
in paradise. Well, what happens? Are we disembodied
spirits floating around after death? I certainly don't think
so. It's true. We will not yet have
our resurrection bodies. But our Lord said in my father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you I go to prepare a place for you. I think this is what
our Lord was talking about when he talked about Lazarus being
in Abraham's bosom. It's where believers are before
the final resurrection. Now, when the resurrection takes
place, and it will, Job said, For I know that my Redeemer liveth.
and that he shall stand on the latter day upon the earth, and
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eye shall behold
him, and not another's." Now, we're going to be resurrected.
Now, if the question happens, she's going to be resurrected, I'm
going to be resurrected. When we're resurrected, what
kind of bodies will we have? I'm going to read a passage of
Scripture from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Verse 35. Paul says, But some
man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body
do they come? He says, Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, except it die, and that which
thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but
bare grain, it may chance of wheat or of some other grain,
but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every
seed his own body. You plant a seed. It rots, it
dies, and it decays. And from the death of that seed,
what comes forth? Life. The blade, the tender grass comes
out of the soil. It's still the same, but it's
different, isn't it? It's different. It's a glorified body. When we're
resurrected, we'll still be flesh. Remember the words of the Lord
Jesus when he said in Luke 24, 39, Behold, my hands and feet
that I myself handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones as you see me have. We'll have a glorified body.
Paul put it this way in Philippians chapter three, verse 21. He shall
change our vile body and it should be fashioned like unto his glorified
body. What's a glorified body? I don't
know. I don't know. But I know this, it'll be a body
without sin. It'll be a body without pain. It'll be just like the Lord Jesus
Christ. Perfectly conformed to His image. Will we know one another? Will
I know Donna? Will she know me? Well, of course
we will. We'll still retain our identity.
Abraham is still Abraham. Moses is still Moses. Elijah
is still Elijah. I'll still be Todd and Donald
will still be Donald. We'll be retaining our identity. However, there will not be special
groups. There will not be special circles of friends or family,
ties. The Lord pointed out that in
the resurrection, they shall neither marry nor are given in
marriage, but are as the angels of God. Because of our marriage
to Christ, the human relationships will be forgotten. They just
will not be important. Everybody will love each other
equally. What will heaven be like? Dawn
is there now. What will it be like? You know,
I don't know. I can't conceive. Can you conceive of what it would
be to be without sin? I mean, I can't even imagine
what it would be to be without sin, but I know heaven will be
like this. There will be no sin. Those there
will have no sin. Now, I'd like to close by turning
to John chapter 14, if you could turn. The Lord says in verse 1, let
not your heart be troubled. You know, my heart's been troubled
a lot. Losing Donna, she's irreplaceable. But the Lord says, let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in Me. In my Father's house are many
mansions or dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you into myself
that where I am, there you may be also." The place of every believer has
already been prepared. I and every other believer were
fit for heaven. Clothed in the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, without sin, all having been washed away
by the blood of Christ, having His glorious righteousness on
as my wedding garment, I am fit for heaven. And truly, for the believer,
to die is gain. Best thing that can ever happen. So while we're sad at the passing
away of our dear sister, who we love so dearly and esteem
so highly, we're sad, we rejoice because she is in the presence
of Christ without sin, perfectly conformed to His image. And every believer has that awaiting
them. Truly, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Let's pray together. Lord, how we thank You for the
grace of thy blessed son and his precious blood that made
this dear lady one of your saints. And Lord, we're envious of her
actually in your presence. And Lord, we thank you and we
praise you for the life that you've given this dear sister,
dear wife and dear mother, dear child. Lord, we thank you for
the life that you've given her and we ascribe it all to your
grace. All glory goes to you and none
goes to man. Lord, I ask in Christ's name
that you would use these feeble words to teach somebody what
it is to die as a believer and to trust thy dear son as their
all in salvation. We thank you for the precious
blood of Christ. In his name we pray, Amen. We're going to sing another closing
hymn. It is Well With My Soul. And
let me give you a little bit of the history behind this hymn.
There was a man who lost his family, his wife and children. They had gone to England and
the boat sank and he lost all of his family. And he was going
to England. on the boat and someone told
him, there is where the boat sank. And he looked at that and
in his grief, he penned these words, it is well with my soul. And I trust we'll be enabled
to sing this from the depths of our hearts. Now, each of you
are invited to stay for a time of fellowship in our fellowship
hall. Just go out those doors and you'll
see it. Dwayne, could you come and lead
us? We'll stand. Stand and sing,
256. 256. When peace like a river attendeth
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. It is well, it is well with my
soul. No Satan should buffet, no trial
should come. Let this blessed assurance control. that Christ hath regarded my
helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. I sing o'er the bliss of their
glorious cause. I sing not in part, but the whole. It's nailed to the cross. And 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, face the day when thy
face shall be sighed. The clouds we roll back as a
scroll, shall resound, and the Lord shall
descend even so in His world with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my
soul. Please be seated. the the So, so so