It was April 1991, my dad went home to be with the Lord, and my brother-in-law Bob did the service. And there by his grave, Bob opened it up if anyone had something to say And it was quiet. You could hear a pin drop.
My son Micah who was 8 at the time spoke up and began to give a benediction of his grandfather and his grandfather's love for the Lord, then Bob prayed and I started to cry.
After we were dismissed, Ran, Bob's brother came up to me put his arms on my shoulder, and said, it will be ok.
I said I know I will see him again.
You see at that time I was not sad for my dad I was confident He was with the Lord. My tears were tears of joy because I was a proud father of a son who spoke in a still small voice.
It was for me at that moment a very proud moment.
Jesus in Matthew 16 asks the disciples in verse 15 a question and these men were like His children, He had chosen them, the bible says God knew us before the foundation of the world and this is Jesus who is God incarnate.
When the disciples followed Jesus they left everything behind. So Jesus was like their earthly father for 3 years and asked them a question.
The question was Who do they say that I am????????????????????????????
The disciples began to elaborate and give answers to the question but they would not commit to anything.
The disciples said well some call you John the Baptist and some call you Elijah and the bible does say but I believe there was some other answer to that He had heard. Maybe one of them said, Enoch or Moses.
Because they would not commit Jesus then made it personal and He Then asked them~
But who do you say that I Am?
Peter
then answers and says~
16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Now I don't know if Jesus gave Peter a high-five or a pat on the back, The bible does not say that just like I am proud of my children, I believe Jesus was proud of Peter.
The same thing I said to Ran that day holds today for Gary, We will see Him again, and the question Jesus asked his disciples is the same one you have to ask yourself today.
This Memorial service message is not for Gary. I am guessing He is in a meeting with my dad and some great men of God looking down on all of this.
But this service is for you and the question remains today, Who do you say Jesus is?
We all have to make a choice, Not to make a choice is choosing against the Lord who died for you. You either accept or reject the Lord there is no in-between.
In a minute we are going to sing a song and allow you to accept Jesus into your heart.
The Bible says that we must repent and we do that by believing by faith that Jesus is the Son of God. And as we believe it then the bible says to confess it with our mouth. I am not going to ask you to come to the front or stand up but if you make a choice today for the Lord and follow him, let someone know.
Recently we did a Christian concert at the fair, like a harvest Crusade on a small scale, and after the alter call I had a group of young men around me, and along with them came their mother who still had not accepted the Lord. As I was counseling these young men the mom blurts out well I am not choosing I am going to be neutral. So I turned towards her and said today is a sad day and she said why and I said because you are not going to be able to be with them in eternity and you will always have pain and suffering rather than joy. She was very mad and I thought she was going to kiss me but she began to cry and she said I don't want that. By the time we were done, she had given her life to the Lord.
One of my favorite writers puts it this way.
~ J.C. Ryle ~
There is a resurrection after death. Let this never be forgotten. The life that we live here in the flesh is not all. The visible world around us is not the only world with which we have to do. All is not over when the last breath is drawn, and men and women are carried to their long homes in the grave. The trumpet shall one day sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. All that are in the graves shall hear Christ’s voice and come forth– This is one of the great foundation truths of the Christian relationship. Let us cling to it firmly, and never let it go. You must be born of the Spirit of God.
The Bible says in John 3:16
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Rom
10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
As this song is (playing) make a choice and then we will pray
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