Ed Daniels Jr. Funeral

Greeting

Good morning.

On behalf of Pam and Tom, and family, I want to thank you for being here today. Your love and support, you care and kindness are not overlooked or lost.

We may often not know what to do to help those grieving and mourning. But truthfully, sometimes, the best thing we can do is just show up. Be present. Even without a word, your presence can speak volumes and bring comfort.

So your presence here today is significant.

For those who do not know me, I am Pastor Mike Stitzel, the lead pastor here at Hephzibah. Pam and Ed’s mother was a part of our congregation many years ago before her own passing. And over the years, God has enabled us to remain connected to the Daniel’s family. In a few moments, Pastor Jeff, will share a few words. Over the years, Pastor Jeff has sought faithfully to keep connected to Ed and would get together from time to time with Ed for lunch. In a moment, he will come and share some thoughts as we begin our time together.

But before he comes, Pam mentioned when we talked earlier this week, that she had always appreciated the song Amazing Grace. So as we begin, I have asked our pianist, Karyn, if she could start us of by just playing a couple of verses of the hymn while we sit in quiet reflection/remembrance. As the music plays, if you want to follow along with the lyrics, you can do so by turning to page ____ in the hymnbook in front of you on the back the pew. If not, just listen. Close your eyes. Pray. Reflect. Allow these moments of stillness, and the quiet music playing behind you to all your heart to still and calm after the tumult of the the day, of the week, of the month.

Today, in your grief and sorrow, God comes to meet you with grace.

God is a God of grace and He stands ready with it, if you will but come.

God offers us grace by offering to be our refuge, our safe haven, our place of rest and security in a world where so little of that can be found at times.

Psalm 27 is one of my favorite Psalms, being one that we walked through together as a church during Covid. And in it, God promises to be a refuge for us in times of trouble.

Friend, today, God IS a refuge for us in times of sorrow, grieving, and struggle—

IF we run to Him.

A refuge not run to, can do no more to protect you than an umbrella closed and tied shut, in your hand, in the midst of a torrential downpour. Even if you clutch it fiercely, it cannot protect you unless you open it and take shelter under it’s protection.

God stands ready to be a refuge for you today, your grieving and mourning, and sorrowing. But to find comfort and protection in that refuge—

You must take shelter in His presence.

You must seek the Lord.

Today, God invites you to come in your grief.

Your sorrow is heaven’s invitation to come.

May your grief and sorrow and loss compel you to come, to run to God and not away from Him.

Let’s pray as we begin. After I pray, Karyn will play, and after Karyn plays, Jeff come and share your thoughts before I come back and share a word of hope for your heart today.

Prayer

Prayer for comfort, for an affirming response to be the summons to come to God for comfort and care.

Pray that in our grief, we see God’s open invitation to come and pray that we/they would come in their hour of need.

Music - Amazing Grace

Jeff - Obituary and Comments

Sermon

Big Idea: In times of grief and suffering, hope comes from the salvation offered in the gospel.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 5845 The Picture When Inverted

5845 The Picture When Inverted

The famous Thomas Nast, in a public exhibition of his skill, once performed a strange feat with his brushes. Taking a canvas about six-feet long by two-feet wide, he placed it nearly horizontal upon an easel before his audience, and began to sketch rapidly a landscape. In quick succession appeared green meadows with cattle, fields of grain, the farmhouse and surrounding buildings, with orchard near; while, over all, the bright sky, with fleecy clouds, seemed to pour Heaven’s benediction upon the scene below. At length no finishing touch was necessary. Still the artist held his brush, as he stepped aside to receive the hearty plaudits of the admiring audience.

When the applause had subsided, Mr. Nast stepped back to the canvas, as if he had not quite completed the picture. Taking darker colors, he applied them most recklessly to the canvas. Out went the bright sky. “Did you ever see a picture like this?” he asked, as he blotted out the meadows, fields, orchards, and buildings. Up, down and across passed the artist’s hand, until the landscape was totally obliterated, and nothing but a daub, such as a child might make, remained. Then, with a more satisfied look, he stepped aside, laying down his brush as if to say. “It is finished.”

But no applause came from the perplexed audience, and Nast then ordered the stage attendants to place a gilded frame around the ruined work of art, and to turn it to a vertical position. The mystery was revealed, for before the audience stood a panel picture of a beautiful waterfall, the water plunging over a precipice of dark rock, skirted with trees and verdue. It is needless to say that the audience burst into rounds of applause.

—Ludlow

Sometimes, what we see as a dark and broken mess, God is making into something more beautiful than we can begin to imagine.

Today, our hearts ache and grieve for Ed, and the loss we feel at this death. And it may well be hard to see the gloriously beautiful tapestry that God is working to complete in each of our lives, but it is there.

Our grief is an invitation, a signal for us to turn our hearts to God, to look to Him in our hour of need and find in Him all we need.

A man named Asaph new this well. This morning, I wanted to just share with you from Psalm 77. As you grieve the loss of a loved one, as your hearts ache and as you struggle through the mourning process, there may be a temptation to despair.

But I hope to share with you the message that I believe Ed would want you to hear if they could come back and deliver it to you themself.

Asaph was a man who knew the depths of despair that life can take us to

In Psalm 77 he expresses his utter despair.

The Utter Despair - Ps 77:1-4.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77:1–4 ESV

1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Asaph begins writing this Psalm by layout out just how deep his grief his.

His soul refused to be comforted

He moaned

His spirit fainted within him. He was weak and helpless.

His eyelids had to be held open by another

He was so troubled, he could not speak. He may have cried out to God, but it seems it was a silent prayer type of cry.

His grief was deep and long. Perhaps would be diagnosed as depression in today’s lingo.

Have you ever felt like this? Do you NOW feel like this?

If you have ever felt like this, then you share in Asaph’s sentiment.

In this moment of despair, Asaph did the one and only thing I could, He turned to God.

He comes to him and he brings the question deeply unsettling his soul.

The Question in Longing - Ps 77:5-9.

Psalm 77:5–9 ESV

5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

Asaph’s burning question…has God forgotten me? Has he forsaken me?

For Asaph, this would be the worst possible fate, even more so than the suffering he is enduring. For him, the suffering he is enduring seems to be evidence of God’s abandonment…and this is a tragic and terrible thing.

And indeed, he would be right!

Asaph has known God. He remembers the days of old. He remembers intimacy with God. He remembers the blessing of God.

Having remembered it, seen it, he trembles at the thought of God abandoning him.

Now, in truth, I do not think that Asaph believes God has abandoned him; but it does not stop his emotions from feeling it. He does acutely feel it, even while his head knows differently.

I don’t know all of your stories, I don’t know what you think or feel about God, but maybe you are feeling as Asaph did. Maybe you question whether God even exists. Maybe you question his goodness or his power. Maybe you question his love and care. Maybe you do not even really truly know him well enough to even think about him in your time of suffering and sorrow.

Where-ever you are with God, I appeal to you to hang tight for a moment, because God is inviting you to see Him AND inviting you to come.

As Asaph continues though, he makes a bold appeal to God.

The Appeal in Remembrance - Ps 77:10-15.

Psalm 77:10–15 ESV

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

Asaph makes an appeal.

Asaph appeals to God and His faithfulness as the foundation for hope in his current suffering.

He looks BACK.

He sees how God has ALWAYS been faithful to his people. I will remember your works of old, he says.

He looks back to a specific event in time to strengthen His faith in God at teh present.

The Hope of the Gospel - Ps 77:16-20.

Psalm 77:16–20 ESV

16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. 18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Asaph here refers to an event in the life of the Nation of Israel. They had been enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. They cried out to God and God heard their cry.

God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, and using them as his mouth and hands, would ultimately force Egypt to let the people go. He freed them from the slavery that they had endured for these hundreds of years.

After sending 10 horrible plagues upon the land that pretty much destroyed the land, the nation of Israel left Egypt.

But no sooner had they left, then Pharaoh gathered his army and set off in pursuit of them.

They end up trapped between a mountain, the pursuing army, and the Red Sea. They have no where to go and imminent death, capture, and/or return to slavery is certain for them.

BUT THEN

God intercedes.

He tells Moses to lift up his staff and stretch his hand out of the Red Sea. When he does, the waters part. Two towers of water rise, leaving a DRY path THROUGH the Red Sea to get them safely to the other side.

It was a miraculous deliverance and salvation…one that was a picture of an even greater one to come.

Jesus, the VERY SON OF GOD, God Himself would later come IN PERSON. He would leave heaven to come to earth and ultimately provide salvation for all who choose to repent and believe.

He would be born of a virgin, no human father involved in his conception.

He would live a perfect life, never committing any sin.

Around age 30, he would begin teaching, preaching, performing miracles, and telling people he came to save them from their sins and from God’s wrath for their sins.

He would later be betrayed by one of his disciples .

He would be put on an illegal trial, with false witnesses making up lies about him, and the religious leaders twisting and manipulating his words.

He would be convicted and sentenced to death, the worst kind of death…death on a cross.

He would be tortured and brutally killed as an innocent man.

BUT in so doing, he would serve as a substitute for you and for me. OUR SIN is what he was really dying for.

He was dying so that we did not have too. In fact, we couldn’t have.

Our sin and our rebellion to God comes at the highest price…eternal separation from God and judgment for it.

The only escape, a perfect sacrifice…one who was perfecting dying to pay the debt owed against sin.

That was not us. We are not perfect.

But, because God loved us, he sent Jesus to die for us, A PERFECT man so that we could have the hope of being saved from his wrath against our sin.

All that we must do is REPENT (Agree with God that we are sinners, that we have sinned against him, and owe debt to him because of it AND have a sorrow for that sin that causes us to REJECT and TURN AWAY from that sin and be obedient to Him instead)

We must REPENT and BELIEVE that Jesus is the son of God and trust HIS sacrifice to save us.

We have nothing to offer, nothing to bring, nothing that can save us.

We are like Israel, trapped and certain death is imminent.

Like the Red Sea parting to provide a means of escape and salvation, Jesus’ death on the cross the means for us to escape the wrath of God and find salvation from our sin.

AND WHEN WE FIND THIS…

We have hope.

For Asaph, his confidence rested in the fact that God delivered them at the Red Sea.

He could have hope now in his suffering and sorrow BECAUSE that was true.

If God would go to such great lengths to save them then, he would not abandon them now.

The same is true for us, when we repent of our sin and place our faith in him, no matter how much suffering, sorrow, and loss we endure now, we can trust that IF he did that for us in Jesus, HE WILL NOT abandon us now and we can find hope even while our hearts sorrow and grieve.

God INVITES US in our grief to come to Him for comfort, to be our refuge. If you already know Him, just come.

If you do not, He invites you to repent and believe today.

In your days of mourning and sorrow, may you see that God stands ready to be everything for you, if you but come.

He is ready to be the refuge for you, from everything…but you must make the decision to come to Him today.

Conclusion

Big Idea: In times of grief and suffering, hope comes from the salvation offered in the gospel.

Today, as we celebrate Ed’s life, I appeal to you, if you do not have this hope in Jesus, take time to talk with me and I would be delighted to show you how you can have it.

Their life will be most honored if, through their death, you find your way to an intimate relationship with God and/or strengthen and deepen your passion for and intimacy with that God.

In our times of suffering and grief, our hope comes from the truth that Jesus love us enough to die for OUR sin to make a way for us to be restored to a right relationship to Him.

It is my prayer today for you that you would find comfort and strength in that truth and by finding or strengthening your relationship to God.

An umbrella closed, cannot protect you from the rain.

Come today, run to Christ in your sorrow. He is waiting.

Pray

Graveside

As we gather here today, at the grave, I will be brief.

In a moment, we will commit Ed’s body the ground. In so doing, we honor his life.

I invite us to remember, death is not the end. Death simply ushers us into the eternity. Our souls are eternal, created in the image of God. Death transitions us from this life to the next.

In the face of the death that we experience in this life, let it be an invitation for us to run to the great Shepherd who loves and cares for us.

Psalm 23 reminds us…

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let’s pray together as we commit Ed’s body to the ground, honor his life, and let our hearts find refuge and comfort in God.