Rudolph Chester "Rudy" Abbott Funeral
Notes
Transcript
2 Corinthians 1:3-4; John 14:1-6; Romans Road Passages
God is the God of all Comfort; His Son is the ONLY WAY to HEAVEN
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WELCOME & PRAYER (Pastor John Hester)
WELCOME & PRAYER (Pastor John Hester)
READING of the OBITUARY (Pastor Ray Lyons)
READING of the OBITUARY (Pastor Ray Lyons)
Eulogy (Pastor Ray Lyons)
Eulogy (Pastor Ray Lyons)
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MESSAGE (Pastor John Hester)
MESSAGE (Pastor John Hester)
Today, we are celebrating the life of Rudolph Chester Abbott. To his close friends and family, he was known as “Rudy.” Wednesday, January 31, at 10:00 pm, was a HOMEGOING for Rudy.
Serving as Rudy's pastor over the past ten years has been my great privilege. Rudy was a good man who loved the Lord. He was faithful to his church, his family, and his friends.
There are two things that, in my mind, made Rudy such a great person.
First, Rudy had this amazing smile and warmth to him. Every Sunday, after the service, I stand in the back and shake hands with everyone as they leave. Rudy was one of those I look forward to seeing each Sunday. He would always walk up with a great big smile on his face. He even had a twinkle in his eye. At least, I always thought so. He was always a great source of encouragement to me as his pastor.
Second, Rudy was willing to do anything to help people. He was the same for his church. As many of you probably know, Rudy was an electrician. A light switch in the Family Life Center was giving me trouble. I asked Rudy one day if he would mind coming over and looking at it for me. He said, “Yeah, I would be happy to come over and take a look.” That next week, Rudy came over. I showed him the switch and what was happening. He said, “Yeah, I will take it apart and see what is happening.” I left him as he took it apart. An hour or so later, he came by and said it was fixed. He said it needed a new switch. However, he said, “I already replaced it.” I asked him about the new switch. He said he went, bought one, and replaced it. I told him, “Rudy, you didn’t have to buy a new switch; the church could have bought it.” He replied, “Nah, I just got one and fixed it. The church didn’t need to pay for it. Besides, I want to do it for the church and the Lord.” That was Rudy. He also came over and fixed an icemaker in one of our refrigerators. He and I often joked about how we were jacks of all trades but masters of none. I talked with Carol and Melissa on Friday, and they affirmed what I already knew. Rudy loved helping others. He didn’t mind going to someone’s house or the church to help someone with a problem.
Rudy was a good man who loved his family, friends, church, and the Lord. His love was often reflected in his willingness to sacrifice his time and talent for others. A characteristic that speaks to the fact that he truly knew the Lord and desired to please the Lord with his life.
A lawyer once asked Christ about the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses. The lawyer wanted Christ to name which commandment of the Ten Commandments was the greatest. Christ said this.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
I truly believe these two verses are the two main focuses of a believer’s life. Each believer is to exhibit a great love for the Lord and, as they do, love others. Rudy demonstrated these commandments in the ten years I knew him. He loved the Lord and often told me as much. I do not doubt that Rudy is in Heaven. My assurance is not based solely on his verbal testimony but on how he lived his life. Rudy also loved others.
It is often said that parting is such sweet sorrow. Indeed, for many of us, we are feeling that sweet sorrow today. Anytime we lose someone close to us, it leaves a huge void.
There was a time when Christ, God’s Son, also left a void, just like many of us feel today. Many months before His death, Christ encouraged His disciples, preparing them for the void they would feel at His death. We find these words recorded in John 14.
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 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.
3 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.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Christ had just finished telling His disciples in the chapters before this that He would be betrayed and put to death.
Hearing those words, the disciples were DISCOURAGED, DEPRESSED, and GRIEVED.
Listen again to what Christ told them!
He gave them 2 COMMANDS!
STOP being troubled (discouraged, depressed, grieved) “Let not your heart be troubled…” (v.1)
BELIEVE in me! “…ye believe in God, BELIEVE also in ME.” (v. 1)
These two commands still hold today. In difficult times, we must stop being troubled and put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He then gave them 3 PROMISES!
I GO… (v. 2)
John 14:2 (KJV 1900)
2 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 WILL COME AGAIN… (v. 3)
John 14:3 (KJV 1900)
3 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 WILL RECEIVE “you” … (v. 3)
John 14:3 (KJV 1900)
3 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.
You might be wondering what any of this has to do with why we are here today.
It is simply this! Those who, like Rudy, place their faith in Christ are those He receives unto Himself.
There is something significant that we must know about verse 3.
Remember, Christ said, “I will come again, and receive YOU unto myself!”
The “you” is NOT everyone!
Further down, we read these words in verse 6.
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Verse 6 explains that “NO MAN cometh…but by ME.” Christ is speaking of the ASSURANCE of going to HEAVEN.
On January 31, RUDY entered God’s presence. On that day, he met the LORD JESUS CHRIST FACE to FACE, just as EACH of us will one day.
HERE IS THE QUESTION – ARE YOU READY TO MEET GOD? I know from Rudy’s testimony and life that he was ready!
Unfortunately, not everyone is ready.
Many people today are confused by what it means to be ready. When Christ uttered these words, some of his disciples were also confused.
Thomas, one of Christ’s disciples, asked Christ a similar question.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Essentially, his question was, HOW CAN WE BE READY? How can we KNOW the way?
Even now, the great news is that we can KNOW FOR SURE (100%) we are going to HEAVEN.You see, the Bible tells us all we need to know.
What, then, does the Bible say?
By the way, more than ever, Rudy would want you to know that you are going to Heaven. He would want to see and experience everything he sees and understands even now.
There are 4 VERY SIMPLE THINGS we must understand and accept to go to HEAVEN!
EVERYONE is BORN AS a SINNER
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
What is interesting about this verse is that it was written long before any of us here today were born! How, then, could God say before we were born that we would be sinners? The answer is found in Romans 5:12 which says:
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The one man spoken of here is Adam. He is our father. Long before Adam and Eve gave birth to their first son, they sinned and rebelled against God. God pronounced judgment upon them. In doing so, God cast them out of the garden, breaking their fellowship with Him. On that day, sin entered into the world. Sin brought its companion death. Even though Adam and Eve did not die physically the day God judged them, they died spiritually. Today, we are here because death has separated us from Rudy. That is what death does is separate. Adam’s sin resulted in spiritual separation from God. Later, Adam and Eve died physically. But long before they died physically, they were already dead spiritually. Since that day, everyone born into this world is born already spiritually dead. They are born sinners. We sin because we are sinners.
EVERYONE is BORN A SINNER and ALREADY UNDER CONDEMNATION
Again, in Romans, we learn that sin has consequences. Almost everyone has heard at some time in their life the verse, John 3:16.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
However, many have not heard the verses after it, which say:
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
You see, we are born not just sinners but sinners under condemnation.
Here is another excellent verse that helps us understand our helpless condition.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first part of that verse talks about sin’s wages. A wage is something earned. Our sin earns us death - spiritual death. Condemnation speaks to the fact that if we live our lives under sin’s wage (spiritually dead/separated from God) when we die physically, we do not go to be with Him. Instead, Scripture clearly states our eternal destination without God is a place of great suffering and torment.
Thus, as I often illustrate, you are born already separated from God, and if you live your entire life without Him, you will die separated from God and live eternally separated from God.
Now, if that were the only thing God ever told us about ourselves, we would be hopelessly and helplessly destined for eternal punishment - aka condemnation. But, Praise God, there is some GOOD NEWS!
CHRIST DIED FOR ALL SINNERS
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 5:8 which says:
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I like this verse for two reasons. First, I like it because of God’s love. God commended (demonstrated) His great love to us. How did He do so? He allowed His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for us. Remember John 3:16!
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
We can be made spiritually alive because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Listen again to Romans 6:23 which says:
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A wage is something earned. However, the opposite of a salary is a gift. A gift is free. A gift is something of value given by someone who purchased it with the mindset to give it away without strings attached. The Lord Jesus Christ, by His actions upon the cross, purchased with His blood the gift of eternal life. Now, He, the Lord Jesus, offers that gift to all of us. And, just like any gift, we all have to reach out and take it.
How, then, does one receive this wonderful gift of eternal life? That is a great question! One must receive Christ and, in doing so, receive eternal life.
YOU MUST RECEIVE CHRIST
Listen closely to these verses.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
You might remember the words of John 14:6 which say:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The only way to receive eternal life and to enter Heaven is to receive Christ as your personal Savior.
How does a person receive Christ? The answer is found in Romans 10 where we read:
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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Note that we are to:
Confess with our MOUTH the Lord Jesus by calling upon His name.
Believe with our HEARTS the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus, outwardly, we are to receive Him as well as inwardly. God’s promise to those who do is they will be saved and saved from what? Saved from condemnation. Saved from spending eternity without Him and saved from a place of eternal torment and pain, with a new and everlasting life and a promise of spending eternity with Him.
Why share all of that with you this morning? I share it with you this morning because Rudy wants you to hear it. You see, he is enjoying the promises of God today. He is enjoying His presence. I know that he would want you to enjoy and know all that he is experiencing even now.
May I say to you today that the GREATEST COMFORT and the GREATEST JOY is to KNOW Jesus Christ as YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR and to trust Him alone to take you to Heaven.
INVITATION
INVITATION
ASK FOR HEADS TO BOW AND EYES TO CLOSE
How many of you KNOW for SURE, without any doubt, you are going to Heaven?
Great! Several raised their hands; praise the Lord! However, some of you did not raise your hands today, indicating you are NOT 100% SURE! May I LOVINGLY and TENDERLY tell you what a wonderful thing it is to be a Christian, and may I RECOMMEND my Savior to you?
If you want to receive Christ today, would you RAISE your hand?
(IF SOME DO) Pray the sinner’s prayer!
Just repeat this prayer after me.
Dear Lord Jesus,
I realize that I am a sinner. I know that the penalty for my sin is death. I repent of my sin and confess that you died for me, was buried, and rose again on the third day. I accept your wonderful gift of salvation. I accept you into my life today as Savior. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
If you prayed that prayer, then know today that Christ is now your ticket to Heaven. I encourage you to come by and let me know so I can pray for you. I have some small pamphlets with me this morning. Please take one and read it. It will help explain even more the assurance you now have of Heaven.
CLOSING PRAYER
CLOSING PRAYER
Lord, we thank you once again for the beautiful life of Rudy Abbott. Today, we commend HIM into your hands. May all those who are here today turn to YOU for their comfort! Indeed, you are the God of all Comfort. You are also the God of salvation. May those who do not KNOW 100% for sure they are going to Heaven take the same steps that RUDY did. May his life be counted as a testimony to how wonderful you are, and may we all be determined to live lives pleasing unto you. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, Amen!
GRAVESIDE – The family has requested one last song to close this service portion. After the song has ended, you are invited to stand with the family at the graveside, where we will conclude this memorial service.
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GRAVESIDE
GRAVESIDE
*BE SURE TO STAND AT HEAD OF CASKET
VERSES TO BE READ by Pastor Ray Lyons!
VERSES TO BE READ by Pastor Ray Lyons!
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 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.
3 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.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
PRAY
PRAY
Lord, again, we commit unto our beloved brother, Rudy. He was a wonderful testimony to you. We are thankful for the time we spent with him. He is truly missed. However, we, who are believers, know we will see him again. While wait for that day, may we rely completely upon you for our comfort. Help Carol, Melissa, and the rest of the family in the days to come especially in those times when missing him hits home. May the rest of his family and friends lean upon you as well for their comfort. And, may all of us, commit ourselves to You and living the remainder of our lives serving you. May his life serve as a constant reminder to us of Your grace, mercy, and love. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, AMEN!
GREET NEXT of KIN
GREET NEXT of KIN
Shake hands and give a word of encouragement.