Jim Degeer's Memorial Service

Welcome, Call to Worship, Prayer

Romans 12:15 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness (43)

Eulogy: Kurt

Hymn: Psalm 23 (50)

Message (me)

Hymn: Abide With Me (419)

Thanks and Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

On behalf of the family, thank you for coming and helping us to honor Jim Degeer and God’s grace in his life. Please join us after…

Message: Sorrow to Glory

The Apostle Paul once wrote:

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

What did he mean? That for every believer, the pain of this era will give way to a far greater glory in the next.

Now, is that just a flowery religious thought, given to make us feel better? Or is there something to it?

Actually, in that passage—Romans 8—Paul had more to say than just that: he gave a full explanation as to why the world will turn from suffering to glory. And I want to walk through this briefly, to give us a grip on this truth. Why? Because this truth will help us to grieve in hope. And this truth is that The groans and pangs of this world must give way to resurrected glory.

Creation Waits

a. And this begins with remembering why there is sorrow and pain in the first place: the divine curse. When the first man, Adam, rebelled against God, the whole human race fell with him. And in response, God placed a curse on the world. And this tells us two things:

First, our Good Creator is pure — he hates sin because he loves what is good. That is why he placed a curse on the world in response to human sin.

Second, our world used to be whole — free of sorrow, pain, and death. Human beings were not originally designed to die, or to live in a world that contains sorrow and pain. That is why these things grieve us.

But here is where Paul tells us something unexpected. In Romans 8:19, talking about this divine curse, he writes:

Romans 8:20 ESV

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope

Did you catch that? All creation was cursed by God IN HOPE. But in what hope? The next verse, verse 21, explains that this hope is:

Romans 8:21 ESV

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

So then, a day is coming when all Creation will be freed from the curse. But when will this happen? Back to verse 19:

Romans 8:19 ESV

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

b. What does that mean? That on the day when Jim Degeer, and every one else who has died in faith, is glorified through resurrection—the whole of creation will also be glorified along with him, set completely free from the curse forever. Creation longs to see the day when we who belong to Christ are resurrected and glorified, because that is the day when its own groans and pangs must also give way to resurrected glory.

We and Creation Groan in Labor

But Paul goes further. Why do I keep talking about groans and pangs? Listen to verse 22:

Romans 8:22 ESV

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

a. So then: All Creation under the curse is described as a woman in labor. And it’s a metaphor, of course: Creation suffers childbirth pangs, which are the pains and sufferings and decay of our present age. And she groans in lament, longing for the day when her labor pains finally produce the child she so desires to see. But who is the child, in this metaphor?

It’s the children of God, born into the promised resurrected glory. [that’s what we just heard from vs. 19]

So it’s a poetic picture: all creation is like a woman in labor, groaning and longing for the day when God’s children appear in resurrected glory. That is the day when she herself will be set free from corruption, and will even enter into the glory which has been promised to us in Christ.

b. But it’s not just the created world that undergoes these groans of lament. Listen to verse 23:

Romans 8:23 ESV

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

So, we also are like a woman in labor, groaning as we suffer childbirth pangs — the sorrows and pains of life in a cursed creation. And in this metaphor, the child we eagerly desire is the redemption of our bodies — meaning, our resurrection.

But notice: Paul says, “we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly” In other words, their are two things going on in our hearts as we wait for the promised resurrection to eternal life:

First, we wait eagerly: it is the certain destiny of every believer, and of all creation with us, that every scrap of this present darkness—including death itself—will give way to the indescribable glory of the New Creation.

But second, we groan. The weight of this present darkness often feels like too much to bear. And so we groan. And if you look a little further on in the passage, it tells us exactly what these groans are: prayers. In the midst of our suffering, we don’t even know how to pray as we should. So what does the Spirit of God do? He intercedes on our behalf, with groans too deep for words, as we cry out to God

c. Friends, I want you to see something here. In childbirth—in labor—the pangs are painful, frightening, and even overwhelming. It is the same with our own pain and suffering in this life, up to the point of death itself. But thing about childbirth is this: the painful contractions are designed to end with overwhelming joy. As Jesus himself said:

John 16:21 ESV

When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

In other words: by the very nature of what they are, our own sorrows and cries of lament are tracking unavoidably toward a joy that they are not worth comparing to: The groans and pangs of this world must give way to resurrected glory

Suffering to Glory

a. And this was the path that our Savior himself first walked.

b. Remember: the curse is a result of human sin. So the problem of human sin must first be solved, if the curse is to be reversed. Or, to be more personal: your own sin—all your selfish pride—must be dealt with if you are to have any hope of gaining this resurrected glory.

And here’s the thing: Jesus has dealt with it: he himself carried the full, terrifying weight of the divine curse as if he were guilty for the sins of his people. He took their sins on himself. He did this as he died on the cross. And so, he has removed God’s judgement against all who belong to him.

And, as Hebrews states, “After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Meaning, after his death in our place, after his cries of lament from the cross, he came to resurrected glory.

b. And the result is this: all who repent—who turn from sin and turn to him for mercy are saved, and are guaranteed the same path that he walked: sufferings and lament in this life, and in the next, glories unspeakable in the presence of God in the New Creation. In this way, The groans and pangs of this world will give way to resurrected glory

Grandpa’s Pangs, Our Pangs, and Future Glory

That is the case for Jim Degeer. His faith was anchored in Jesus, and so his destiny is glory. In fact, he is with Jesus now, waiting for that day when Jesus will return to make all things new—that’s the glory that will be revealed to us. For Jim, the days of pangs and groans are over, and the beauties of Christ fill his vision.

How about for you? Have you trusted in Christ? If not, you are still under the destiny of an eternal curse: turn to Jesus and live, and gain the destiny of eternal glory. But if you have trusted in Jesus for salvation, then receive this promise afresh from the Apostle Paul: The groans and pangs of this world must give way to resurrected glory.