Come On In...

Luke 23:43

Luke 23:43 ESV

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

On Friday, August 16, my Dad received his heavenly reward. I had the priviledge of not only being his son but also his pastor. I worked with my dad for 16 years before he retired. I saw this man literally every day and in situations that were less than ideal. He truly tried to exemplify Christ in his life. And people took notice. I want to share with you this evening three things that i think are important for us to remember tonight. First...

1. We have a living hope.

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Our hope is alive. My hope is alive, and my dad’s hope is alive. Your hope can be alive also. How can you have hope, Pastor? This living hope only happens one way, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I’m not hoping in anything that is of myself. My hope is in what Christ did on the cross of Calvary. My hope is in the fact that when they buried my Lord, He did not stay in the ground. He rose from the grave and appeared to over 500 eye witnesses. Over the course of 40 days, he met with and ministered to His followers. My hope is in the fact that because He rose from the dead, we as believers will rise again to be with Him for eternity.

2. We have a filling hope.

Romans 15:13 ESV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

This hope that only comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ will fill you with joy and peace, and in doing so, your hope will overflow. We often mistake happiness for joy but the two are very different. You can have happiness without a relationship with Christ but true joy only comes through knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. Happiness is based on circumstances and what is going on around you in the moment. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit that indwells each believer and is based on the condidtion of your soul, not your surroundings.

3. We have an abiding hope.

Psalm 31:24 NLT

So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!

Proverbs 24:14 ESV

Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Romans 5:4–5 ESV

and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

The things that come from the Lord remain with us, they abide. This hope remains, this joy remains, this peace remains, the holy spirit remains. And Jesus remains with us, he will not leave us nor forsake us. Dad would want you to know this hope, not just know about this hope. If my dad could whisper to you one last time, he would say to you “Are you ready?” Each one of us stands at this door, waiting to walk through. Are you ready when it’s your turn? I want you to know that you can be ready.

Dad liked a lot of things but i think he liked to laugh better than anything else. He liked to joke and cut up and he had this infectious, contagious smile on his face all the time. He would try to cheer you up and make you feel better, no matter what was going on in his life. Even in the hospital, the nurse would ask dad about his pain level. He would reply “about a 8” and then and the nurse how he/she was. That was just who he was. He wanted your day to be better, even if you were having a great day.

Dad loved to be outdoors. He liked hunting and fishing, camping, or just sitting on his porch with mom and a cup of coffee. In the last year or so, that was about all his health would allow him to do. But he had a pair of binoculars that stayed on a shelf near his chair or on his table on the porch. He sat where he could see the fields across from his house and he would watch for deer or turkey or whatever wildlife the Lord blessed him with seeing that day. As we went through old pictures, we were reminded of camping trips from years ago and how Pappaw loved to take us camping. The fun we had, the memories we make are all sweeter because of the man that the Lord allowed us to know for a little while on this earth. But Robin told me last night, “You know, your dad was just camping here for a while. Now he’s exploring his mansion.”

Dad had a saying anytime i walked in the house. I guess he used it on everyone but i know he said it to me. “Come on in.” But he didn’t just say it, he put a tune to it. I can just imagine that last Friday afternoon, Jesus said that to dad. “Come on in.” Come on in, your journey is over. Come on in, your race is finished. Come on in, your struggles are gone. Come on in, no more pain or heartache or sadness. Come on in.