Linda Ferguson Funeral

I wanted to begin here with sharing what Gene had written about his wife. When I came to Gene’s house after Linda passed away he handed me a notepad with things he had written down about Linda. He noted that she was born in Denison, TX and that she came to know Jesus at a church camp when she was 8 years old. Her family moved to Muskogee and attended Shiloh Baptist Church where a young guy named Gene Ferguson also attended, They did not know each other existed for quite some time. Then a “twinkle” appeared in his eyes and a “twinkle” came in her eyes too. He would sit with her in church and secretly hold hands (right next to her dad----and Gene notes here…a really big dad). Love blossomed strong and of course he asked for her hand in marriage with three years of college to go.

During this time Gene was the Training Union Director (Shiloh was smaller church, Gene notes). Linda helped him collect attendance and then they reported to the pastor—who very slyly did some marriage counseling (this went on for the two years of their engagement) They were married on December 22, 1961 at Shiloh. Gene finished college and was offered a teaching job with Neosho schools. They arrived here in the fall of 1963 with a baby due in October. The first church they visited was Calvary and immediately knew that was home. And it was ‘home’ forever for Linda. Gene also noted her work in the nursery and with us recently losing Rita Brock he mentioned that the Lord now has three of our precious nursery workers, Linda, Rita, and Pauletta Keller.

I wanted to share this because Gene and Linda’s love for one another was evident. They were dedicated to each other. They sparked joy in each other. It’s a model of Christ and his church. The way Gene carried for his wife in the last few years was just astounding to me. COVID was brutal and caused them to not be able to be physically in the same room for a season. But their love for one another would not be defeated by walls as brother Gene would sit outside her room for hours and they’d talk on the phone and see each other through the window.

This, friends, is but a shadow of what we see in Romans 8 about the love for Christ. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can persecution, death, famine, sword....nursing home walls…? And so I share this because I know that as Psalm 130 was a precious Psalm for Linda in many ways it becomes your Psalm as well.

Listen in...

Psalm 130:1–8 ESV

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

There are a couple of things in this text which I would draw your attention to this afternoon.

First, this is a psalm of lament and a plea for mercy. It’s context is that of personal sin. There is one sense in which we are here today because of sin. The wages of sin is death. Death would not be present if sin was not present. Linda was an amazing woman. But as Gene noted in his story of their romance she came to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior at the age of 8. What does that mean? It means that Linda herself acknowledged—even in words like these—that she needed God’s mercy for her sin.

“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities who could stand?” I want that verse to sink in. If God would count our sin against us and only our sin this would not be a day with any hope. This would be a great day of sorrow. It’d be the end of the story. Death. Sorrow. Wages of Sin. That would the end of it. But verse 4 tells us where our hope is found. “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared”.

It is because of this that we can have great hope today. This is looking forward to the finished work of Jesus on our behalf. And it means that just as he was resurrected—so too will we be. Our union with Christ. This was such great news for Linda. And it’s good news even today.

It’s why we can say things like “our prayers for her healing were ultimately answered.” Because they are. And it’s because of God’s grace. Our hope is in the resurrection. And we believe that for Linda every bit of her guilt is taken away by Christ.

But the second thing I’d have us see is what you see in verse 5 and 6. These were verses that were so precious for Linda. She loved that theme of waiting upon the Lord. You know what that means don’t you? It means that she had a firm belief that God was going to come through for her.

Why?

Because of verse 5, “in his word I hope”. She was resting on the promises of God. And so because of this her faith is now sight. I think this waiting means a couple of things for us doesn’t it. When you’re sick, hurting, when COVID separates you from loved ones…you’re waiting for the Lord to come through. And often in our minds we’re thinking, “end COVID, help me feel better, reunite all this broken stuff” and sometimes this side of glory we don’t see all those things reunited quite yet. But waiting on the LORD and hoping in him means more than that too doesn’t it. It means that you know this isn’t all there is.

Why does he mention watchmen for the morning here? He mentions it twice. You ever have to wait at night for something…quiet, lonely, cold, still, nothing really to distract you, but you can’t fall asleep you have to stay on your guard…it feels endless. But you know what the watchmen knew....morning was coming. It was certain. There was an end to the night. Night may seem endless but morning is certain.

There is a word for us here in our grief as well. This nighttime might seem endless. There will be painful days of ache. There will be lonely days. There will be a void there. It’ll heal…in part. But it’ll never quite be the same. But there is hope....morning is coming.

Linda was waiting for the Lord. She was waiting for God to make things right. For her faith to be made sight. She’s not waiting any longer. She is experiencing the “plentiful redemption” of verse 7.

Now we wait. Not just biding our time and waiting for the Lord to return or for us to be taken by death. That’s not what this waiting means. It’s an active waiting. A trusting. A resting on the Lord. A dedication that you’re going to go all-in on this belief that God doesn’t mark your iniquities and so you live your life as a free person…you’re waiting on the Lord to make all the broken things right. You’ll notice that in verse 7 the psalmist turns to his people and says, “O Israel.” That’s what this type of hope does…it overflows to others.

And so we grieve today but we grieve with hope. Linda’s hope in Christ is even overflowing for us today. You’re seeing how she was trusting in and waiting on the Lord and seeing in part the fulfillment of that. Her joy and hope in the Lord is actually tempering your grief and sadness today. But don’t confuse the stream with the source. Her joy, her hope, came from Christ. It is to Jesus that we turn today. It is here in him that we find hope.

And there is no doubt that all of us here today would have loved more time with Linda. There is no doubt that we would not be grieving this afternoon if she were here. But if she could come back for one brief moment, I believe I know what she would tell us. Having seen what she has seen and experienced what he is experiencing, she would tell us: Be certain that you know Jesus. Put your faith and trust in Jesus and him alone, he is the only one that can pardon you and the only one that we can hope in. Do not leave this life without knowing the One who is Life Himself.

I believe that she would very passionately let us know that Psalm 130 is true. Having now seen what she has seen and heard the things that she has heard—she would certainly tell us it’s worth the wait.

Linda would say to those of us that are believers—it’s worth it. Keep pressing on, keep trusting Jesus, every ounce of pain and suffering is worth it. It only makes Christ all the more sweeter. And to those here that may not be trusting in Christ—I am confident that Linda would encourage you to trust in Jesus alone. He is all that really matters.

May we wait upon the Lord. For with him is steadfast love. Trust him. Hope in him. Know that he will finish the beautiful story He is writing. Linda loved mysteries…she loved stories that had a twist to them.

Is there a greater one than this. God saves sinners.

In the death of His Son, God saves rebels. By uniting sinners to the sinless Jesus we are pardoned, forgiven, clean, filled wit hope. Death is defeated. The death of death happened in the death of Christ. That’s quite a turn. And so Linda is today living out the truths of the greatest story ever told.

Wait, my friends, he is good. Hope in him.