ADRIONA

Psalms 23: 1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

To begin with brothers, sisters, Christian Friends, Well Wishers, Saints of God and to this Bereaved Family, I like to start off with The Lord. The Lord is our Shepherd and even though we’re going through this time of bereavement whereas death has once again invaded the ranks of our community, our friends and our beloved family, Still in all The Lord is our Shepherd.

And let me say for the record Adriona was dearly beloved by all of us. She had a sweet spirit. And family members the best advice I can give at this moment is that the Lord is our Shepherd. The Lord is going to hold us in the hollow of His Hand and the devil can’t pluck us out before our time. Because there’s a time for everything under the heavens And it was just Adriona’s time. Sudden death is not easy, but just know this, that Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal.Family Turn this over to the Lord, and over time He will heal your hearts. because The Lord is a heart fixer and a mind regulator. The Lord is a burden bearer and a heavy load carrier. The Lord is the God of all Comfort and He will comfort your hearts.

I can’t stand here and profess to know how you feel, but as your pastor I feel your hurts and pains and this is a hard pill to swallow.

And the comfort in this situation is that Jesus said let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in Me. That in my Father’s House there are many mansions. And as we say our final goodbyes to Adriona , I just want to say that she was a beautiful daughter, beautiful sister, beautiful granddaughter, beautiful auntie, beautiful family member, a beautiful church member, and a beautiful friend and she will be sadly missed. And I can imagine Adriona saying to listen to me my beloved family,I’ve changed my address to heaven I’ve crossed the Great Divide where no traveler has ever returned,I know there’s no sorrow or crying because I’ve reached the other side.

I am so happy to be here, for the Lord Himself I see.

I’ve changed my address to Heaven, I bid this world goodbye.I now live forever with Jesus in my new home in the sky.

I have no burdens or heartaches and from tears I am now free. and with the Lord I’ll forever be.

I’ve changed my address to Heaven, I’m safe forevermore.

For the Lord built a mansion and my name is on the door.

You can find us walking together, for where He is, I’ll always be. I’ve changed my address to Heaven,

That’s the place you’ll find me. And somebody said .What’s the address and I imagine her saying 12 Gates to the City Hallelujah Avenue New Jerusalem, Heaven 77777. Adriona said Church I’ve changed my address! and now she’s in the Lord’s hands.

Because the bible says The Lord is my Shepherd And young people I know that church is not the most popular place for young people to go, I get that, 3x I really do, but one day you got leave the world. And that’s when you’re going to need the Lord to be your Shepherd and honestly be able to say and I shall not want.

and that He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. You need to know the Shepherd of the 23 Psalms in other words you need to know Jesus for yourself.

Young people, At least go and get baptized. At least try God for yourself. At least make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Lord and Savior... Say Amen And so ladies and gentlemen Brothers and sisters Christian Friends well wishers Saints of God and to this bereaved family make sure you have that connection with the God of the 23 Psalms. Because one day a word from God will apply to your life. James the just said “what is our life ,” “it’s just a vapor, “puff” and we’re gone”. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthian 15:51 Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 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 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 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 thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Young people, At least try God for yourself. At least make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Lord and Savior

And that means that when the Psalmist say He makes me lie down in green pastures meaning He keeps you living large and plush, He leads me besides the still waters, meaning God keeps you away from the drama in them streets because God’s waters are still and calm and peaceful. God restores my soul, meaning He fixes things that went wrong in my life. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. meaning you’re His child and He has a plan to keep you from hurt harm and danger because the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. And even though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death I shall fear no evil.... Y’all know why? Because the word of God say The Lord is with us. and His rod and His staff they comfort us. That means that God has a hedge of protection around His saints.. The word says the Lord prepares a table full of good stuff right in front of my enemies, meaning God makes your enemies watch you be blessed better than blessed, Praise the Lord. The text says that The Lord anoints my head with oil, meaning He pours holy ghost goodness on our heads and sanctifies Us. And The Lord does it so good until the word says our cup runs over, meaning there’s an overflow of God’s manifold blessings. And then lastly David says that God of the 23 Psalms has twins that follow me everywhere The word says Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

And for the record Adriona believed in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Because the bible says in Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Family I promised I wouldn’t be long today but want to think back on this. “I can remember when Adriona was 9 years old and she came running to me saying that she wanted to get baptized. Great God and We scheduled a Sunday for her baptism. And I remember saying Adriona upon the profession of your faith I now baptize you In the Name of the Father and of the Son and in the Name of the Holy Ghost Amen. I never thought that I’d have to bury such a sweet child. Listen folk when Willie would come by the house to drop off his famous cheese cake sometimes we would talk about our kids. Children I know your mom and dad loves you very much. And I know if there was anything that they could have done to keep ADIONA here they would have done it.

My heart goes out to y’all but consider that alternative, at least Adriona had a connection with God because there was a story about an atheist man who didn’t believe in God, who taught his son not to believe in God. And one day when the atheist man was about to die, his son said hold on daddy, hold on, And sadly his daddy said “That’s just it son, I don’t have anything to hold on too!!!” Brothers and sisters, we’re got to have a connection to the God of the 23 Psalms because The Lord is my Shepherd and I believe that Jesus is my Savior. “And God is the Righteous Judge.” And I’m here to comfort the family in this hour of bereavement.

Start Closing slowly

But tah as the Pastor I’m also here to tell somebody that there’s a reality in serving a true and living God. And for the record there’s no other name except the name of Jesus whereby men must be saved, Because the bible says in Hebrews 9:27 that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement.

And time that has been won’t be no more. Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, and to this bereaved family “Whenever it your time whether you’re young or old you’ve got to be ready when the Lord calls your name.

And my prayer for the family is Lord Please SIR to have mercy on today. Oh Lord 2x. I know that God didn’t make a mistake Because I imagine in my mind ADRIONA saying when it’s His to call and mine to answer I’ll be listening to hear my name called. And on the other Sunday And angel stepped in the room suddenly and said Adriona it’s time to go to your heavenly home Oh Lordy And I heard the angel saying I’ve got some golden slipper for you to put on, Oh Lord And Adriona I’ve got a long white robe that’s Taylor made just for you. And I’ve got two wings And that you can Fly away Fly away Fly Away and be at rest.

One of these old days we all got to leave this place And question is will you be ready 2x when the Lord calls your name. if you know you’ll be ready Say Yeah 3x

I want to hear the Lord say Servant 3x