Finishing the Race with Faith – A Thanksgiving for Don’s Life
Notes
Transcript
We gather today to give thanks for the life of our dear brother, Don.
He was a man who walked faithfully with Christ,
a man who loved his Lord and served Him well.
And as such, a man who would not be best pleased with me,
if we spent this time in God’s word talking about him, rather than His Lord.
When I asked Rachel, his daughter, what passage they would like for this service this is the reply I received:
For the last 5 months quite often on our visits to the care home, Richard and I would read the bible systematically with my dad, a chapter or two every time. Amazingly he could always remember where we had got to in the book and which book we were in even when he couldn’t remember other things.
It was always amazing to hear him read fluently when he couldn’t always find the words when he spoke and sometimes on good days he would pray too - and though it was sometimes repetitive he was also fluent when he prayed.
On the afternoon before he died I was at work and Richard went to see him as he hadn’t been well since the morning, and I said I would go after work.
He was in bed, but with it, and Richard said they could read together.
We have been going through the letters and had got to 2 Timothy.
That afternoon they read 2 Timothy 4. And verses 6-8 are quite poignant: ‘finishing the race’
It certainly is poignant,
especially as this passage is the Apostle Paul’s farewell testimony.
He writes from prison,
knowing that his time on earth is short.
These are the words of a man who has lived for Christ,
suffered for Christ,
and is now preparing to meet Christ.
And while they are not about Don, they are a celebration of all those who like Don
have kept the faith until the end,
and they are a solemn call to examine our own faith and life.
Paul begins with a charge:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season.
Don understood that his life was lived under the authority of God.
He knew that every breath, every action,
and every word mattered because he was accountable to his Creator.
He was not perfect, I’m sure his family can attest to that,
but he was a man who sought to obey the Lord in all things.
And he was certainly a man who was keen to preach the Word, in season and out.
I recall a number of years ago, while Don was still able to attend church in person,
I’d asked him to come to the front to be interviewed about something.
I’ve no idea what I asked him,
but i remember his approximate answer - and it was nothing to do with the questions:
Up came his walking stick - pointing out to everyone in the room -
“if you don’t believe in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins,
well then today,
right now,
is the time to do it!
repent of your sins, becasue Jesus loves you,
and has died for you, so that you might have life eternal with him”
pause
Don knew, this and all the NT, where not sentimental moral teachings - but that they contained the only hope and truth in our world.
He knew that God will judge the living and dead, and that all would be found condemned,
unless they went to their loving saviour for mercy.
Most of us will have heard stories of Don speaking about his Lord Jesus to those who don’t know him:
His care workers at the homes he’s been in,
those in his churches he attended or pastored,
those in South America during His Latin Link Days,
those in his family,
Have all heard the gospel of Jesus.
And they have heard becasue, not only does Jesus love us, but so did Don
- so keen was he to share Jesus - becasue he knew the truth that can save - and loved those around him enough to tell them often and always.
It would be a crime if this day went by without every person here,
reflecting for a time on there own position before God?
After all, it’s very, very easy to get distracted by things we want to hear, rather than things we need to hear: As Paul’s predicted…
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Are we really prepared to throw the dice with God, try our luck by doing life our own way,
ignoring the authority of God,
the coming judgement of God,
and crucially - rejecting the love of God that he offers us in Jesus.
If we have respect for this faithful man we are giving thanks to God for today
- then I am without doubt - he would want each of us, to commit to truly considering Jesus, that man for whom Don lived and preached.
pause
Many of us here today, have repented of our sins, and seek as Don did, to serve our loving Lord - for he died to take the punishment we deserve before a Holy God.
Nothing would bring Don more joy than to know we, like him, are planning to keep the faith, until the end:
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
These are not words of regret, but of triumph.
Paul had given his all for Christ, and now he was ready to receive his reward.
And what a joy it is today, to celebrate God’s kindness to Don, in allowing these words to be true of Him!
What a joy and inheritance Don now enjoys:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
If i had a walking stick myself - this is the point for me to point it out at all of us here..
do you long for the appearing of Jesus as Don did!
Do you desire to receive the crown of righteousness in eternal life?
The reward for having faith in Jesus!
Such joy, the fulness of life awaits
- not weighed down by suffering and trials and old age, no.
Don, Madge, every saint that has gone before us - living their best and eternal life, with and for, their glorious Lord.
Let us finish the race with the same faith.
Perhaps you have respected Don’s faith, admired his character, and even been blessed by his kindness.
But admiration is not salvation.
Being near the faith is not the same as being in the faith.
The gospel is clear: We are all sinners in need of a Saviour.
Our best efforts cannot earn us a place in heaven.
But Jesus Christ came, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and rose again in victory.
He offers salvation freely to all who will repent and believe in Him.
If you are in Christ, take heart! Press on in faith, we will meet our brother Don again and we’ll worship Jesus together.
If you have not yet trusted in Him, do not delay. Today is the day of salvation. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Let us give thanks for Don’s life by praising Jesus alone.
Amen.
