Eulogy for Antonio Jones
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In our time of bereavement God is with us.
In our time of bereavement God is with us.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
God is a God of compassion:
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
God promises us comfort:
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
God will comfort us, but the last part says that God will comfort them in Jerusalem. in other-words, where ever we may find ourselves, even in our lowest places, God will comfort us. In death, God will comfort us, in loss God will comfort us, in pain, God will comfort us.
We need to seek God’s presence:
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Text:
Text:
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Thoughts:
Thoughts:
Antonio was raised in the church. He sung on our children’s choir for several years until he got older and was able to make his own decisions. He decided to leave us for awhile, he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last. However, the seed was deposited within him......he heard the word taught and preached.
We all know that he experienced a tragic moment in his life. Yet, God was still with him.....thank God that God never leaves us....we may leave Him.....but He is faithful and He will never leave us. It is through this tragic experience that I believe Antonio would become reacquainted with the LORD. Eric Dillard and Lisa Manns from my understanding helped him to view our online services on Sunday I believe. Although he wasn’t able to worship with us physically, he could catch the services online.
With that being said, we don’t know what conversation he had with the LORD before he left this earth. One thing I know is that he believed. Listen to what Jesus says about those who believe:
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Let’s unpack this and then we will call for the morticians.
Martha’s and Mary’s brother Lazarus died of an illness.
Jesus could have came earlier and prevented Lazarus’ death but Jesus delayed his coming, because in the end God was going to be glorified even in death.
Martha runs out to meet Jesus and tells the Lord “if you had only been here our brother Lazarus wouldn’t have died.
But then she reaches out in faith and declares “But I know, that even now.......this is a bad situation......our brother has crossed over to the other side.......we our hurting......we are grieving....BUT I KNOW, THAT EVEN NOW, whatever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Let me ask you this, do you have faith in God to know that whatever you need right now God can give it to you. Now, Antonio has crossed over and his soul has gone back to be with the LORD, you are left here. You are dealing with his departure, you are dealing with the void that death has left behind. But even now.....do you have faith enough to believe that God is going to bring you through this bereavement? Do you have faith to believe that God will give you strength and comfort? That God can give you joy in the midst of your sorrow?
Jesus says “Thy brother shall rise again”, but Martha is thinking that oh “I believe he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She didn’t have faith to believe that Lazarus was going to get up again way before the last day, he was getting ready to get up in a few moments. However she did have faith. Let me ask you this question? Do you believe that one day Antonio is going to get up?
Jesus then says “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” I need to stop right there and repeat what Jesus said, “Jesus said “Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” Let’s take inventory, last I checked Antonio believed and if he believed then Jesus said “ he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” I know that we are mourning and rightfully so, but that’s a cause for celebration right there, one day Antonio is going to live again.
Then Jesus says “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Who ever lives in Jesus, who ever has a true relationship with Jesus. Whoever fellowships with Jesus, who ever believes in Jesus, believes in his words, believes in his promises, believes, acknowledges, and accepts that Jesus died so that my sins could be forgiven, believes that Jesus died to reconcile me back to God, accepts the free gift of salvation through Christ......they will never die!
What do you mean never die, to die means that is it, to die means there is no coming back. When plants die that’s it, there is no second chance, when animals die, there is no reincarnation, but when a believer passes from this life, they sleep, they rest in the LORD. This is why his disciples looked at Jesus kind of crazy when he told them that Lazarus was sleeping. Because when you sleep......YOU’RE GOING TO GET BACK UP AGAIN!
Paul the Apostle says:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Closing:
We all at some point or another we are going to have to die. I believe that before Antonio left this world, he made his peace with God. Sometimes, the LORD may have to put us on a bed of affliction in order for us to be saved. Paul told the saints at Corinth (1 Cor 5:4-5)
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
When a person is delivered over to Satan they will experience all types of difficulties in life. Here Paul says there sin was so grievous and they refuse to repent that they needed to be put out the church. A lot of times it isn’t anyone putting us out the church, we put our own-selves out of the church and we get wrapped up in this world and a life of sin. Then all of the hardships comes, then the sickness comes, then the tragic experiences come and Satan uses those to try to destroy you, but God uses it as a means to get you to repent and come back to Him. They turned this person over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (most likely sickness) but for their soul to be saved in the day of the LORD Jesus. Don’t allow God to have to put you on a bed of affliction to get you to repent and serve Him.....do it now.
Antonio believed the gospel and was baptized in Jesus name’. That’s what you should do if you haven’t done so, if you aren’t sure, do it anyhow.
And now Antonio rests until the second coming of Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.