John Page Memorial Service

We take this time to review Your Word so that we may orient to a divine viewpoint regarding the promotion to eternity of our beloved John Page—Father, Grandfather, Pastor/Teacher, and dear friend—and our personal loss on earth. Thank You for this time and for Your blessings as we examine Your plan and Your provision for us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for the privilege of entering into Your presence today. We desire Your sustaining comfort and blessing upon our souls. We know that You have received John, our dearly departed believer, pastor‑teacher, father, grandfather, and friend, into Heaven’s glory. We know he is blessed in the very presence of Jesus Christ. John sees this as present fulfilled reality; we see it through the eyes of faith—faith informed by the truths revealed in Your Holy Word.

Thank You, Father, for our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You for providing the Bible as the inspired revelation of the mind of Christ. Thank You for sharing with us the life of John Page. We have been greatly blessed by his love for Christ and his devotion to Your Holy Word. We look to You for special comfort and blessing as we celebrate the life of this dear believer and honor her graduation to Heaven’s glory.

May Your Holy Spirit lead us into truth, bring peace to our souls where needed, and affliction to our souls where needed, that we might turn to You.

We gratefully thank You and pray these things in the blessed and precious name of our Lord and eternal Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon: When Jesus Shows Up — John 11

First of all I want to give you a word of encouragement and comfort.

In the Gospel of John, 11:25-26, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ delivered this clear affirmation to Martha, the sister of 4-days-departed Lazarus of Bethany,

John 11:25-26

John 11:25–26 NKJV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Our beloved departed John, absolutely believed that declaration, and he is now ecstatically enjoying a personal relationship face-to-face with our living Savior. With that in mind, we assemble this morning, taking comfort from the Apostle Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NKJV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I want to look today at two passages, first in John 11.

In our first passage, which you may be familiar with, Jesus is told that His dear friend Lazarus is sick and dying and that He is urgently needed. But Jesus knows that there is a greater event that is going to happen.

1. Jesus Meets His Loved Ones in a Crisis

Mary and Martha send word to Jesus: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” But Jesus delays. When He arrives, Lazarus has already died. Yet Jesus comes not too late — but right on time for what He intends to do.

When Jesus arrives, Martha greets Him, and we read

John 11:21-22

John 11:21–22 NKJV

21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Notice that Jesus did not prevent death, but when Lazarus died, Jesus was there — He cares for those who are touched by the death of a loved one.

While this is true of Jesus in caring for His personal friends, It is even more true that Jesus cares for those for whom He personally died, rose again, and was resurrected for. He paid the price for our sins as the perfects substitute. He cared enough to take care of the greatest problem we could ever face — our sinfulness, and guiltiness before God.

We call this A Fortiori logic.

If He is willing and able to take care of the bigger thing, then how much more is He willing and able to take care of the lessor thing.

He cares for our Salvation, by a fortiori we understand he cares for our physical and mental and spiritual state and need.

2. Jesus Meets Us in Our Grief

As we move along in John 11, we see that Mary falls at Jesus’ feet, weeping. The mourners are grieving. Jesus is deeply moved — and He weeps. The Son of God does not stand above sorrow, but he is touched by our infirmities and moved by our

John 11:33-35

John 11:33–35 NKJV

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.

Notice that Jesus did not rebuke their tears — He joins them. Grief is not weakness. It is love in action, and Jesus Himself empathized with their loss.

Now let me be clear here … if you know the story you know that Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead. You might think that he would take an objective high road, and say there is no reason to cry - I’m about to raise him from the dead. But Jesus knew the end of the story, and yet he still felt compassion and empathy.

JESUS IS WITH US WHEN WE GRIEVE.

3. Jesus is the master of life ...

As our narrative of what happens progresses, we find Jesus standing before the tomb, Jesus commands the stone to be rolled away. He prays, then calls Lazarus by name. Death obeys. Life returns. The grave is not the final word - because Jesus speaks.

John 11:43-44

John 11:43–44 NKJV

43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

When it comes to death, Jesus doesn’t just meet us where we are, and Jesus doesn’t just comfort — He has conquered death. The same voice that called Lazarus will one day call all who believe. For those who are in Christ, death is not the end.

This brings us to 1 Corinthians 15:51-55

1 Corinthians 15:51-55

1 Corinthians 15:51–55 NKJV

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

This depicts the time when the resurrection and rapture take place. This is for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now I want to procede with what John wanted me to do, and give you a teaching on the doctrine of death:

The Doctrine of Death

1. First of all, let's get a simple definition: Physical death is defined as the separation of the human soul from the human body so that the person is no longer living on planet earth.

Your soul is the real you. It contains your human life, your mentality, your memory, your conscience, and your free will. It defines who you are. You are not your visible body. You are not what you wear or what you eat. You are what you think. Your soul was created by God at your birth. It had a beginning, but it has no end. The soul never dies. Once created, it lives forever. The body is like a tent or a house in which your soul lives here on earth. The body, being mortal, will die. But your soul lives on, very consciously by the way. Using figurative language, the body sleeps in death, but the Bible does not teach any such thing as the sleep of the soul after physical death. You are consciously awake, aware, thinking, and remembering. I refer you to the teaching of Jesus on the Rich Man and Lazarus, from Luke 16:19-31 – which is not a parable [nothing in the text states or indicates that it is parabolic], but a revelation from Christ of an actual occurrence

Luke 16:19-31

Luke 16:19–31 NKJV

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

2. After death, the soul of the believer, together with his human spirit received at the New Birth, goes directly to God's heaven.

There, we will be consciously present with the Lord Jesus Christ and with believers who have previously died. You will be able to ask questions of Abraham, David, Lazarus, Peter, and Paul. Believers will be able to identify one another. We will not be invisible or disembodied spirit-only creatures. Once in heaven, we await the future Rapture of the Church. That is when we will leave the third heaven, return with Christ to the atmosphere of this planet, and receive our eternal glorified resurrection bodies. Each Christian believer is promised a perfect resurrection body of the very same type, category, and quality as Christ's own resurrection body.

Philippians 3:20-21

Philippians 3:20–21 NKJV

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

3. Physical death cannot separate the believer from God, Rom 8:38-39.

Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38–39 NKJV

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, nothing can separate us from God's love. This is just one in a long list of points involved the believer's Assurance of the Eternal Security of his spiritual life. Eternal Security is true because your eternal life was given to you by grace. And it is guaranteed by God's perfect character and the perfect promises in His Word. Those saved by grace cannot lose their salvation. But be warned, there is a Woodshed of Divine Discipline for those believers who refuse to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

4. Physical death is a matter of the sovereign decision of God.

Your death, the timing, and all the details are based on God's perfect knowledge of all the facts. He planned it all out for you in eternity past. So, when the Lord decides to take you, you are taken. That's it. Nothing can take your life ahead of God’s time. Nothing will delay your death by one second. It is God's sovereign decision. We only display our arrogance if we question God's right timing.

Until that right time, there are two additional truths for our comfort. I'll just mention them briefly. We can teach the dozen or so verses on another occasion:

5. God can and does prolong physical life,

Psalm 102:19-20, 23-24;

Psalm 102:19–20 NKJV

19 For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the Lord viewed the earth, 20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death,

Psalm 102:23–24 NKJV

23 He weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days. 24 I said, “O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations.

Psalm 118:18

Psalm 118:18 NKJV

18 The Lord has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.

Proverbs 14:27

Proverbs 14:27 NKJV

27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

6. God also delivers the believer from death,

Job 5:20

Job 5:20 NKJV

20 In famine He shall redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.

Psalm 33:19

Psalm 33:19 NKJV

19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 56:13

Psalm 56:13 NKJV

13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?

Psalm 116:8

Psalm 116:8 NKJV

8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.

7. The believer who attains spiritual maturity departs this life under special conditions of blessing. We call this the doctrine of dying grace.

Psalm 23:4

Psalm 23:4 NKJV

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 116:15

Psalm 116:15 NKJV

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.

This is not necessarily freedom from pain. However, pain is minimized by the blessings of sound doctrine within the soul of the spiritually-prepared believer. Dying grace is the preferred and blessed way to transfer from earth to Heaven.

8. Resurrection is victory over death. Resurrection supersedes whatever you were in this life. It supersedes whatever you were while dying physically. Therefore, it is victory for all believers, 1 Cor 15:54-57.

(I will read that Scripture at the close). God gives this victory to successful believers, to failure believers, to spiritual believers and carnal believers, to winners and losers in the Christian Life. There is no victory for death or the grave. All believers are guaranteed a resurrection body like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The victory of physical death is for believers only. Unbelievers will also have their own resurrection bodies for the Last Judgment. But woe to them. They and their resurrection bodies will be cast off into everlasting punishment. Why? Because they rejected God's offer of salvation for free by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing else. .

9. Death can be defined for the Christian believer per the following Scriptures:

a — Death means no appointment with judgment,

Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1 NKJV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Hebrews 9:27

Hebrews 9:27 NKJV

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

The first appointment is physical death. The second appointment, for the lake of fire, is cancelled for all believers in Jesus Christ. We need to include the next verse, v. 28. because it makes an analogy between humans dying one time only to face eternal judgment; and Christ dying one time only for our sins, to deliver us from eternal judgment.

Hebrews 9:28

Hebrews 9:28 NKJV

28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

The vocabulary word translated as "salvation" may also be legitimately translated as "deliverance," depending on the context. Here, it should be translated as deliverance. The Messiah will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring deliverance to those who are waiting for Him. That is deliverance from judgment.

b — Death means being face to face with the Lord,

2 Corinthians 5:8

2 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV

8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 13:12

1 Corinthians 13:12 NKJV

12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

The phrase face-to-face translates an NT Greek proposition, pros. And it literally means face-to-face.

c — Death means the end of pain,

Revelation 21:4

Revelation 21:4 NKJV

4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

(Context, the new heavens and the new earth of the eternal state). The previous things that have passed away include this present corrupt earth, the sin nature, Satan, and his cosmic system of evil, death itself. All these things will be eternally removed from our presence.

d — Death means an eternal inheritance,

1 Peter 1:4-5

1 Peter 1:4–5 NKJV

4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

e — Death means a new home,

John 14:1-3

John 14:1–3 NKJV

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

f — Death means realization of eternal life already guaranteed:

John 10:28

John 10:28 NKJV

28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

John 11:25

John 11:25 NKJV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

John 20:31

John 20:31 NKJV

31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

1 John 5:11-12

1 John 5:11–12 NKJV

11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

g — Death means waiting for the resurrection: Job was an OT believer who lived about the same time as Abraham. The doctrine of resurrection was well known in the OT.

Job 19:25-26

Job 19:25–26 NKJV

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 NKJV

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The crowning passage for the resurrection of Church Age believers is 1 Cor 15:51-57:

1 Corinthians 15:51-57

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 NKJV

10. For the believer who advances to spiritual maturity, death is going to be profitable forever.

Philippians 1:20-21

Philippians 1:20–21 NKJV

20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

2 Corinthians 5:10

2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

These verses lead us right into the doctrine of Crowns and Rewards. John will qualify admirably because he pursued grace and doctrine throughout his earthly Christian life. The crowns include the crown of life for endurance under trial, the crown of righteousness for loving His appearing, the crown of rejoicing for soul-winning, the incorruptible crown for self-discipline, and then for Pastor Teachers and for John, He will have, as an apex of his victory accouterments, the Crown of Glory mentioned in 1 Peter 5:4, which is the only crown in the New Testament explicitly tied to the work of shepherding and teaching the flock of God.

1 Peter 5:4

1 Peter 5:4 NKJV

4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

This reward is given for feeding the flock, guarding the flock, teaching sound doctrine, shepherding willingly and sacrificially, and serving under the Chief Shepherd (Jesus Christ) and no other. This is specifically tied to the pastor-teacher office. The Crown of Glory is the reward given to faithful shepherds who feed, guard, and teach His flock. As Robert Dean mentioned to me when I informed Him that John had preceded us in graduation to Glory – He was a faithful Pastor! There is a principle addressed in parables to Israel, per the context, in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, and the Parable of Minas in Luke 19, but the principle is universal, and I believe it applies in cases like this. I fully expect that John has received from the lips of Jesus, this very phrase: “well done, good and faithful servant – enter into your inheritance.”

End of Sermon Prayer

Join me in prayer: Gracious Father,

We thank You for the comfort of Your Word and the presence of Your Son, Jesus Christ — who meets us in our crisis, weeps with us in our grief, and speaks life into our death.

You did not spare Your own Son, but gave Him up for us all. And if You have done the greater thing — securing our eternal salvation — how much more will You care for us in our sorrow and need.

We praise You that Jesus is not only the Resurrection and the Life, but also our compassionate High Priest, who is touched by our infirmities and moved by our tears.

And we rejoice in the promise that the trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible — that death is swallowed up in victory, and the grave has lost its sting.

Comfort every heart here today. Strengthen those who mourn. And may we walk forward in the hope of resurrection, the assurance of Your love, and the peace that passes understanding. Thank you Heavenly Father for your faithful grace, truth, and blessing so generously bestowed upon John, upon his family, and upon all who call upon your Holy name. Go with us, each and every one. Fill us with Your peace and comfort. Equip us with Your spiritual wisdom which surpasses all human knowledge and understanding. We ask these prayers in the victorious name of our living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and coming King,

Amen.

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