Nana's Funeral Sermon

“LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED” (Funeral for INTRODUCTION: 1. I’m so thankful for Psalms of comfort such as Psalm 23. And I’m thankful for songs that comfort our hearts such as we’ve heard today in Amazing Grace and I’m Already There. And as much as we want this funeral to be more about celebrating David’s life than mourning his death, we can’t escape the sadness that evades our hearts today.

2. Disease is sad. Death is sad. Saying goodbye to our loved ones is sad. And these things can trouble our hearts. 3. Jesus’ original followers — we call them his disciples — were experiencing such a time where their hearts were troubled. And they were troubled because they were having to say goodbye to someone they loved dearly. They were having to say goodbye to the One who changed their lives — they were saying goodbye to Jesus. 4. Jesus was about to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Then, God would raise Him from the dead and He would ascend back to heaven. When he told the disciples this, their hearts were troubled. They didn’t want Jesus to die. They didn’t want to say goodbye. 5. And here’s what Jesus told them in John 14:1 - “Let not your heart be troubled.” That word “trouble” means more than just being sad; they were shaken, they were scared, they were uncertain. Jesus told them, “I don’t want your heart to be troubled in this way.” 6. And I would say the same thing to you all here today. Let not your heart be troubled. I know that the death of someone we love brings some uncertainty in our minds and can shake us to the core. When you lose your husband, it can be scary. When you lose your Dad, it can cause you to be uncertain about a lot of things. When you lose a brother, a close friend and coworker, it can shake you up a bit. But I would say to you what Jesus said to his friends, “Let not your heart be troubled”.

7. You may be thinking, how is that possible? Jesus tells us how this is possible and why we don’t have to be scared and shaken and uncertain during these times. 8. John 14:2-3 - “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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” I. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE TROUBLED BECAUSE JESUS HAS PREPARED A REAL PLACE CALLED HEAVEN. 1. Jesus said Himself that He wouldn’t have made that promise if it wasn’t true. I can say with absolute certainty: Heaven is a real place. 2. It’s a place with no more sorrow or crying. 3. It’s a place where the hurts and disappointments of this world have no more sting. 4. It’s a place where the frustrations of life are replaced with unspeakable joys. 5. It’s a place where the pains of life are not permitted and the failures of life control us no longer. 6. It’s a place with no more pain — Heaven has no handicap parking places, no pharmacies, no hospitals, no nursing homes, no rehabilitation centers, no more chemotherapy, no more radiation treatments, and no more cancer.

7. Heaven is a place of great beauty — walls of jasper, streets of gold, and gates of pearl. 8. But most importantly heaven is a place where God dwells. The Bible says he is seated on his throne and Jesus is seated at his right hand. Transition: But the fact that heaven is a real place of great beauty with the absence of pain and the presence of God would not be comforting if wasn’t for what Jesus next to his disciples about heaven. He told them, I have prepared this place FOR YOU. II. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE TROUBLED TODAY BECAUSE HEAVEN IS PREPARED FOR YOU. 1. I’m thankful that David made a choice to trust in Jesus Christ as His personal Savior. At that moment, David became a child of God. His name was written in the book of life. And Jesus began preparing a place in heaven for him. 2. Imagine for a moment that when David took his last breath on earth, he took his first breath in heaven. 3. Imagine him living with a cancer free, pain free, sorrow free body. 4. Imagine him being received into Heaven by God Himself. 5. Imagine him being welcomed by a love that forgives every failure He had in his life, a love that mends every hurt that he felt, a love that understands every feeling he had, and a love that completely satisfies the longing of his soul.

6. I don’t know about you, but when I imagine these things, my heart isn’t near as troubled, my mind isn’t nearly as uncertain, and my soul is nearly as shaken. Transition: After Jesus told his disciples about this great place called heaven that He has prepared for them, one of the disciples had a good question for Jesus. He asked him, “... how can we know the way?” In other words, we want to go to heaven but how do we get there? Jesus answered him by saying this... III. I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME. 1. Jesus said that there is only one way to go to this great place called heaven when you die — through a personal relationship with Him. 2. Notice what He didn’t say — He didn’t say that you get to heaven through the church. He didn’t say you get to heaven through being a religious person. He didn’t say you get to heaven through good deeds. He didn’t say you get to heaven because somebody prayed for you to get there. He said the only way to heaven is through Him. 3. David was a caring man. David was a generous man. David was a hard working man. David loved his family and he loved his friends. But none of those things got David to heaven. David is in heaven today because he entered into a personal relationship with Jesus. 4. So, the question is: how do we enter into a relationship with Jesus so that we, too, can go to heaven?

IV. HOW TO ENTER INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS 1. You enter into a relationship with Jesus by believing in Him. John 3:36 - “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life...” John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but hath everlasting life.” 2. What are we supposed to believe about Jesus? Romans 10:9 - “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” If you want to enter into a relationship with Jesus and have a place in heaven, you have to do what David did — you have to believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, but rose again. 3. You might say, “Why did Jesus have to do that? And why is that so important to believe?” Here’s why: Because of what He died and rose again for. He died for your sins so you wouldn’t have to. And he rose again so as to conquer death for us so that our death doesn’t have to be the end. • Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” 4. Here’s the truth: You are a sinner. I am a sinner. David was a sinner. And sin cannot dwell in heaven. So, God sent his only son Jesus to die for our sin so that we could be made right with God and go to heaven when we die.

• Romans 5:8 — “But commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 5. The only thing we have to do is believe that Jesus did that and place our faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. 6. And when we do, the Bible promises this: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” 7. Do you want to see David again? Do you want to go to this beautiful, amazing, real place called heaven when you die? Then, you must accept God’s free gift of salvation by believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sin, asking Him to forgive you of your sin, and calling upon Him to be your Savior. CLOSING: 1. I would say to you today what Jesus told his friends: Let not your heart be troubled because Jesus has prepared a real place called heaven. And he’s prepared this place for you. He prepared it for David. But the only way to get there is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 2. As we close our service today, we are going to play a very appropriate song about heaven called I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. As this song is played, let it speak to your heart and comfort your heart. And for a moment just imagine how sweet of a place that David is enjoying today and that you will enjoy if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. SONG: I CAN ONLY IMAGINE DISMISSAL PRAYER