+ Lynn A. Young+

Psalm 23 KJV 1900

A Psalm of David. 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.

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 ESV

51 Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:1–6 ESV

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

SERMON

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” Jn 14:1

Jesus used these words a few hours before his death to instruct his disciples in how not to be troubled in death. He does not ask you to stop grieving. He doesn’t ask the impossible. Jesus is fully human, so He knows what we are going through. At the same time, He is also aware of the power of the resurrection. And yet, though He knows this He still shed tears at the death of his friend Lazarus.

Nevertheless, He urges us: “Let not your hearts be troubled...”

How is this possible?

Why Should We Not Be Anxious, Worried, When Faced with Death?

Well, there are three truths Jesus gave to His the disciples and to you, for comfort at a moment like this.

I. Because God is Really Here for You to Believe In

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God...”—

God, who created us and everything that exists, who is the Almighty, who numbers the hairs of your heads, who clothes the lilies of the field, who knows when a sparrow falls to earth. He loves you more than all the things He created. He loves you so much that He gave his only Son to suffer the penalty for your sin, for my sin, and for Lynn’s. All the things we have done wrong, all those things that we should not have said, and all those things we have left undone, God forgives because of Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross.

God who made and loves you this much is really here for you at a time like this. He also made and loves Lynn in exactly the same way.

The second truth Jesus gives to comfort us at a moment like this is,

II. Because Christ is a Real Savior for You to Believe In.

Not only did Jesus say, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God...”, He goes on to say, “Believe also in me”.

One day Jesus’ good friend Lazarus died. Jesus visited the sisters of Lazarus. His calm assurance to them was:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (EHV)

When Jesus was crucified He said,  ‘It is finished,’ then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).

Jesus said, “Believe also in me.” Believe that the death of Jesus paid for all sins of all time.

St. John writes:

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7).

On Easter Sunday the message of the angel was:

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay” (Mt 28:5–6).

Lynn believed Christ gave him life, life to the full, in his resurrection. And though he was not an active church goer, he never stopped believing in this Jesus all though his life.

The last truth Jesus gives to comfort us on a day like today:

III. Because There Really is a Place Prepared For You to Believe In.

Then Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (Jn 14:2.

It’s foolish to think we fully understand this picture, but know this Word of promise comes from the One who is the way, the truth, and the life.

We give thanks for Lynn’s earthly life and his Christian witness. We rejoice in the gift of eternal life God granted him, and the crown of righteousness he will wear for all eternity. This is such an incredible testimony of God love and grace.

“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8).

Finally, our Lord Jesus promises He will never leave those who confess Him as Lord. He will be with us to do the following for us:

To strengthen our faith—so that we are not troubled by things we cannot understand, but will trust in almighty God, who made us his children through faith in Christ. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12).

To strengthen our hope. As we continue to listen to his words of truth and life. Jesus is the one who has us in his plan, in his arms, in his love. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).

To strengthen our love—to care for one another as Christ cares for us, to help us. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. . . We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:14, 19).

Dear Family, this is how Jesus comforts us and all his children. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14).

May we now, and at our last hour, trust in the comfort Christ has promised!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.