Shirley Dressor - Funeral Sermon - John 14:1-6, 27-29

Introduction

<<READ 14:1-6, 27-29>>, Announce page number

Introduction

<<READ 14:1-6>>, ANNOUNCE PAGE NUMBER

Friends and family, on Sunday, January 3rd, the Lord Jesus fulfilled His promise to Shirley Dressor, the same promise he made to everyone who believes in Him. Jesus is the only one who could bring her into the presence of God. Jesus is the only one who can give you peace with God.

I was delighted to sit down recently with Dianne, Terry, and Lana to discuss how we would honor her memory and her Savior this afternoon. In some ways, Shirley made it easy. She picked out hymns, Scriptures, and all kinds of other things. She even picked this Bible passage for our message.

Shirley was not afraid to plan her funeral because she knew that her Savior had made the way for her to come home to God. Indeed, He is the Way.

Shirley was incredibly sweet. You heard this morning how sweet, and how kind, and how hard-working as a mother she was. She was a delight to everyone who met her. But she is rejoicing in the presence of God today not because she earned it. She is there because Jesus did.

Every man and woman who ever tried to make themselves worthy of heaven, in their most honest moments, has wondered, “How can I know if I’ve done enough?”

Jesus Himself tells us the answer to that question. In Mark’s Gospel chapter 10, a young man who thought he had kept all the important rules and laws asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and Jesus said, “You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.”

And that young man said, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” He must have thought a congratulation was forthcoming. But Mark 10:21 says, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Mk. 10:21 ESV) The man turned, and left, saddened.

Jesus does not tell him that if he had sold all his possessions, that that would save him. In fact, after the young man turned away, Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!<<FULL STOP>> 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?"

And here’s where Jesus answers our question:

27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." (Mk. 10:23-27 ESV)

Man’s way to inherit eternal life is impossible. Keep all the rules. Never slip. Keep your ledger clean with God. Never stop. Never lie. Never cheat. Friends, if you have come this morning thinking that Shirley is in heaven because she was good, you can forget it. If you think you’re on your way to heaven because you’re good, you can forget it. Man’s way is impossible. But there is another way.

In our best moments, we know man’s way is impossible, because we think there must be an answer to the question, “How will I know if I’ve done enough?” That’s why the man asked Jesus that question.

We ask the question because we see in ourselves and in the world around us wrongs that we know should not be there. And we know, because God has made us to know, that because He is holy, that is, perfectly good, those wrongs absolutely will be answered. And that puts us in a bind - if the wrongs in me - what the Bible calls sin, must be answered by the perfectly good God, how in the world could I ever stand in His presence when I die?

Everyone but Jesus answers this terrifying question by denying something that we all, deep down, know is true. They deny God by telling us that there’s no judge to answer the wrongs that we do, either because He doesn’t exist or He doesn’t care. But friends, a God who doesn’t care about the wrongs that we do cannot be trusted not to do wrong to you.

But the world around us, for all the brokenness that we experience, shines through with the glorious beauty of the truth that God is good, and He is good to you, in spite of your brokenness and mine. The Bible in Ps 145:9 tells us that “The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

But we’re still stuck with the problem - if God is good enough to do good to us, then He must know how far we fall short of that goodness. How can I stand in His presence? With man, it is impossible - we can never do enough. But there is another way.

Shirley knew the way.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Soon thereafter, he was betrayed, accused of false charges by the religious leaders, and sentenced to die by an unscrupulous Roman prefect who had already declared him innocent three times.

If he were any other man, it would simply have been an appalling injustice. But Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

All the wrongs that make us wonder, “How can I know if I’ve done enough?” are answered for those who come to the Father through Jesus. Jesus told his disciples earlier in his ministry, in fact, just a few paragraphs after the story of the rich young man, he said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

Jesus is the way to the Father because He came to give his life as a ransom for many. Isaiah 53:6 says “ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-- every one-- to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him, that is, on His suffering servant, the Son of Man, the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:6 ESV)

The Good God, who loves what is good and hates what is evil, has answered the wrongs of all who will come to Him through His Son Jesus by laying upon Him our iniquity - our sin - our rebellion.

How can my sin be paid by another? Because He is not only the Way, but also the Truth. God, who is good to all, has made a way for us to come to Him by doing something that we could never do. Jesus tells us that He is not only the Son of Man, but also the Son of God. God’s good way for us was so much better than anything we could have come up with for ourselves. Isaiah 59:16 says

Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. (Isa. 59:15-16 ESV)

God saw and knew that man’s way was impossible. So God Himself came down and became like us in every way, but without sin. Because He was God, He was the truth, perfect, holy, and just, unlike us. But because He was Man, he could die. And because He gave his life as a ransom for many, we can be set free from the question that can only end in despair: How can I know if I’ve done enough?

Jesus has done enough. And if you belong to Him, like Shirley does, then you will inherit eternal life, because He has earned it. He is the way, and the truth, and the life.

He died on a Friday, but on Sunday, he rose in triumph over the grave, and through Him we receive the same resurrection power if we believe in Him.

Shirley knew Jesus. She knew that when she died, she would stand in the presence of God in joy, because she knew the way and the truth and the life. And she wanted everyone else to know the Way. She knew that man’s way was impossible. But with God, all things are possible. He has made a Way, He has become the Way. And Jesus says to you, to all of us, what He said to his friends Mary and Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Shirley selected this Bible passage not to say something about herself, but to make her final message to you that you, just like her, can know the peace of God that passes all understanding.

INVITATION