Brian Mee; A Life Worth Celebrating
Funerals • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
What Makes Brian’s Life a Life Worth Celebrating?
What Makes Brian’s Life a Life Worth Celebrating?
The family, friends, we all appreciate all of you being here this morning. Taking time out of your busy schedule to celebrate the life of Brian Mee.
Why would we do this? What makes Brian’s life a life worth celebrating?
In a world of unremarkable ppl, what’s so remarkable about Brian that we would gather here and talk about him?
He is a drummer. Drummers are a unique lot.
He was a bean counter. Numbers guy. Budgets. We all appreciate the bean counters in our life. Brian kept us out of trouble in Munds Park by keeping up with our finances. But, I can’t think of the last time I heard the word remarkable and bean-counter used in the same context.
But Brian is remarkable. He stood out in way that drew all of us. Not necessarily to him, but to the God who saved him and answered his prayer.
What motivates us to be here is the same thing that motivated the writer of Chronicles, in the midst of a genealogy, so and so begat so and so, and so on, a list of very unremarkable ppl; something motivated the writer to pause and talk briefly about 1 man in the lineage like he didn’t talk about any of the others.
Jabez.
Brian, like Jabez, is a man of faith, who dared pray a big prayer and then experienced God’s answers in ways that only God could do.
We are all participants, recipients of God’s answers in Brian’s life. We represent the results of God’s faithfulness to Brian. And that’s what has led us here today.
The prayer of Jabez, 1 verse, 4 requests. It was a guiding principle in Brian’s life, that gave his life direction every day. He was committed to asking God for these 4 things. And equally committed to following God’s answers to these 4 requests wherever they led, whatever they required of him.
The intro to Jabez starts out with a comment from his mother. Due respect to those of you who have given birth, but it seems Jabez brought more pain to mother in childbirth that what might be normally expected.
He started out as a huge pain. In fact, the name Jabez in Hebrew means, pain. This was his primary defining characteristic in his early life. But then, God changed him.
But then God made something significant out of his life. And it all centered around this brief little prayer.
His prayer, 1 verse, 4 requests:
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
His first request:
Oh, that you would bless me
Oh, that you would bless me
On the surface, this seems completely self-centered. Typically, when we think of God’s blessings we think of material things, health, relationships.
But, that’s not what blessing means in the bible.
Jesus unpacked this term in Mt. 5. There are 9 “Blessed are those who…” perspectives, priorities.
The term blessed in these contexts means, content. Deeply satisfied in life w/ who you are and what you have.
Contentment is not circumstance driven. Good, bad, or otherwise, our circumstances can change with the weather and the wind. But true contentment lasts throughout.
Paul said he learned to be content in times of plenty and times of scarcity.
And, if I may summarize the 9 perspectives, priorities that Jesus listed in Mt, Blessed are those who are completely dependent on God for everything.
Sure, material things, health, family; but not limited. So much more.
If God has provided for you spiritually, it really does not matter what your material condition or physical condition may be.
To pray and ask that God would bless you is a humble request that only God can grant. It is completely out of our control beyond the asking. It implies a total dependence on God for everything good. It is asking God for much more than we could get on our own.
Things may not seem so good at the time. But then Jesus will reveal the goodness in your tough situ and you will realize that God has blessed you.
Brian was a settled, content man. He was content with his family. Content in his career. Content w/ where he was in life and satisfied that God was maximizing everything possible for him.
He did not want for anything.
And, this is a factor in the answer to his second request. Who enjoys hanging out w/ someone who is never happy, never content, always complaining that they wish they had more?
We are drawn to ppl whose contentment is deeper than the veneers of health and wealth.
As we are drawn to Brain, then we are drawn to God which is the answer to his second request.
Oh, that you would enlarge my territory
Oh, that you would enlarge my territory
Again, on the surface, it can seem like this is a purely selfish request. More acreage. Bigger house. Promotion at work. Nicer car.
But, that’s not what this means.
It is a request that God would give him more responsibility, greater influence, a broader reach; not to reflect on himself. But, to influence ppl to be attracted to God.
We get this. We are the hands and feet of God. Sometimes He works and speaks directly to someone. But usually He speaks thru one of us.
We can either repel ppl, or attract ppl. But the attraction here is to God.
More opportunities to lead ppl closer to Jesus.
Brian’s master’s degree was in leadership. You can study leadership. You can call yourself a leader. You can have the title of leader. But if no one is following then you’re just a maverick.
Leaders lead ppl. Not just in career fields or families. But in life.
Brian prayed every day that God would give him more opportunities to influence ppl closer to Christ.
How many of you rec’d Brian’s texts every morning at 6:30?
I was a fairly recent add to that list. But w/ each one of us he added to his text chain God expanded Brian’s territory. He broadened his responsibility. He gave him more opportunities to start each day for so many of us focusing on God, setting our sights on the end goal of the day.
Brian wasn’t into promoting himself. He was into promoting God and attracting as many of us as he could into a closer walk.
So, here’s where he is so far.
Deeply contented, regardless of circumstances.
More responsibilities and opportunities to influence ppl onto a closer walk w/ Christ.
What happens when things in life go south?
We’re not going to follow someone who always seems to end up on top. That’s not real life. It’s easy to live your life for God when things are going great.
What happens when they aren’t?
If we expect never to have any problems in life then we’re living in a world of unreal expectations. That’s not real life. We live in a fallen world where things break.
Our bodies break, relationships break, careers and financial plans break. How can we live a deeply contented life even when the waves are crashing in around us?
Request #3
Let Your Hand be with Me.
Let Your Hand be with Me.
When God extends His hand to us, it comes w/ all the resources we need to survive and thrive in our current situ.
If God is going to expand your territory, then He’s going to take you places you’ve never been before. He will stretch you beyond your own resources.
Those who say God will never give us anything we can’t handle could never pray this prayer. Yes, He does. He takes us places where, if He doesn’t provide the power and ability we need, we will fail.
If we could do it on our own, we would need God. WE wouldn’t be talking about this. And that’s not the reality.
When God answers this prayer, He leads us places where success can only happen if He intervenes. Power, wisdom, courage, strength.
When God’s hand is on you, you don’t become great. God becomes great thru you.
You become a tool in His hand that He employs to things you never could on your own.
It’s not safe. I can’t do this. True, but God will thru you.
More blessing. More territory. The need for more resources to be successful.
In the years before they sold their cabin in MP, Brian and I had a number of conversations about this.
Doctors and diagnoses were not being good to him. It didn’t seem fair all the things he had to deal with regarding the seriousness of his health.
But I will tell you, never once did he complain. Never once did he express a desire for something different. He knew he was right where God wanted him to be, dealing w/ whatever God wanted him to deal w/.
He knew, very likely, when God’s pre-determined number of days for his life came to an end, it would very likely happen suddenly.
And, he was okay w/ this. He wasn’t stressed over it. What might be. When it might be. He was ready. On a moment’s notice, he would stand in the presence of God. No regrets.
And this is the life of a man who regularly experienced the hand of God accomplishing things he never could have on his own.
And, for someone who has such an influence on the ppl around him, you should expect opposition. We have an enemy who is real, powerful, and bad.
But, He who is in us, is more powerful than He who is in the world. And, asking for help w/ Him is request #4.
Oh, that you would keep me from harm.
Oh, that you would keep me from harm.
Keep me from harm, literally, the evil one.
Opportunities for success also bring opportunities for failure. If there’s no risk, then where was the need for God?
Opposition, expect it!
I have had ppl come to me to complain that Satan is attacking them left and right. I look at their life and wonder why. They aren’t church leaders. They aren’t attracting their friends to Jesus. Why would Satan be messing w/ you?
But, those whom Satan really is trying to mess w/. Those whose influence and territory is expanding. Those like Brian, rarely every reference the enemy. You know He didn’t want Brian succeeding. You know He didn’t want us to experience and participate in God’s answers to his prayer.
Yet, we all did.
Why are we here celebrating Brian’s life? B/C he never gave in. He never gave up.
He dared pray a huge prayer and dug in for the work that was req’d.
But, I go back to where I started today. Brian is a man of faith. W/out faith, this prayer is virtually meaningless.
If you are motivated to pray this prayer, more power to you. But understand, it is based on the foundation of faith in Jesus.
You’re here this morning, you may be part of the church crowd, ppl of faith. Or, you may be part of Brian’s professional crowd.
Either way, inspired by his life to pray this prayer to see God do great things, then please understand the first, most important step, is to have faith.
You know if you’re not right w/ God. You feel it. You know. Maybe you’ve tried some of these things but still haven’t found the contentment you’re after.
The only way to find it is to understand the deficit that exists between you and God. And, there is nothing you can do to make up that deficit. You can’t. But, if you want the contentment, the deficit must be made up.
Your only hope is to accept the offer Jesus made all of us when He died on the cross. For those of us who have accepted his death as payment to make up that deficit, now we can pray this prayer and see God do great things.
There would be no greater way to honor the life of Brian Mee, than at his celebration of Life, if you would come to faith so that not only will God do great things thru you, but one day you will join Brian in a glorious reunion in heaven.
Let’s pray.