Jim Yates’ Funeral
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24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Introduction
Introduction
I have done quite a few funerals over the last 6.5 years.
I always meet with the family before the service to get their input on how they would like the service to go.
It was a joy to sit with Darren and Tara and to hear them talk about the influence that their father had on them.
They used words like…
Integrity
Sacrifice
Dedication
Meekness
These are all fantastic words for a child to use of their parent.
Why do these words resonate with us?
How could James/Jim display these traits throughout his life?
I would submit to you that anything good about Jim’s character came as a result of his decision as a 6 year old boy to trust Jesus as his savior at that Liberty Baptist church in Hawkins, Tx.
That decision is why we can gather together today and celebrate the legacy of a gather and the home going of a child of God.
The greatest legacy a Christian Father can leave is to demonstrate God’s character to his children.
The greatest legacy a Christian Father can leave is to demonstrate God’s character to his children.
In this role a man finds fellowship with Jesus.
Jesus came to this earth to reveal the Father to all of humanity.
One of Jim’s favorite verses is John 5:24 “24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Jesus said these words in the middle of a sermon where he was making the connection between himself and His Father.
Jesus made the connection that if you had seen Him you had seen the Father.
The intention was that the testimony of Christ would lead to belief in God.
This belief would lead to forgiveness.
Forgiveness means that there would be no judgment for the one that believed.
A Christian father has this same intention.
Not that he is one and the same as the Father, like Jesus was.
But it should be that our children see glimpses of the Father in their fathers.
This should result in a desire in our children to believe in God and to receive his salvation.
Jim may have most fully accomplished this in his relationship with his wife, Connie.
The marriage between a man and a woman is intended to be a picture of the gospel.
Jim a faithful, loving husband to Connie, as was his role.
He also demonstrated that dedication and sacrifice that God displayed for us when he became a caregiver for her as she battled cancer.
For 6 years Jim set his wants and needs aside in order to care for his wife.
It was this sacrifice that energized his son to take responsibility for his dad, when he could no longer care for himself.
It is a sad truth of life that as we age we begin to lose things.
Friends
Spouses
Physical and mental abilities.
Bro Jim faced all of these losses.
There is something that age can never take from us.
There is something that age can never take from us.
This leads me to Bro. Jim’s other favorite verse.
John 10:28 “28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
When length of days threatens to strip us of all the things we once held dear, there is one relationship we can never grow out of.
Our relationship with Jesus.
When James Yates asked Jesus to forgive his sins 81 years ago, the Bible says that at that moment he inherited eternal life.
He was placed in the hand of Jesus.
Jesus has never let go of one of his children.
Not one believer had ever slipped away from their Savior.
Not because of sin and definitely not because of old age.
Because Jim made the decision to place his faith in Jesus all those years ago, we know that he is enjoying that eternal life with Jesus right now.
He may be absent from his body, but he is present with the Lord.
He is reunited with his Connie.
Someday, all of us that believe as he did, will be with him again in heaven.
Have you ever asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins?
Have you ever asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins?
As grateful as I know the family is for your presence at this church today, they would much more like to see you one day in heaven when all believers are reunited.
When we see James Yates again, will you be there?
One act of faith and humility can insure that you are.
Will you admit to God that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness?
Will you believe that Jesus’ death on the cross gives him the only authority to grant that forgiveness?
We are grateful for men with testimonies like Jim Yates that point us to Jesus.
You can have a testimony like that too.
If you will make the decision that Jim did 81 years ago.