MAN UNDER AUTHORITY – III

What follows is what I spoke in church, at my mother’s funeral service …

“When all is said and done … nothing matters but Jesus.

Here we are in the year 2007, gathered together on the occasion of my mother’s death and the Lord is still working . . . not always with fanfare, but quietly . . . by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of the Lord, in the heart of one soul.

In 1992 my mother was on her death bed.  We prayed and asked the Lord to extend her life because she did not know Him. She did not understand His Word.  But in the years that followed my mother did come to saving faith.  In November of 2005 she told my father to pray and ask the Lord to send him the Holy Spirit so we could all be together in heaven. Another time she asked me what it meant to be born again. When I told her it meant the indwelling of the Holy Spirit she got a relieved look on her face and said something like “then I’m ok” if that’s what it means.  She also understood the true meaning of repentance, telling me what it meant as she lay sick in the hospital. In the last few days that she was conscious we sang songs together.  Barely able to speak she sang I Have Decided To Follow Jesus and Jesus Draw Me Close, which we sang together in Italian.

The beauty of the Gospel, the beauty of the Lord is that in this “sophisticated” world of “increased knowledge”, the King of Kings and the Lord of the whole earth did not forget an ordinary person like Jennie (everyone called her Jennie).  Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost, and I can joyfully say that Jennie came to understand and accept the true Gospel in her latter years. Ephesians 2:8, 9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

The Lord promises us that believers will see each other again. So this is not a forever goodby but only a temporary parting. Death has been swallowed up in victory and the painful sting of death removed at the Cross.  Therefore I rejoice to know that I will see my mother again some day because I do believe Jesus, just as she did. John 11:25-26 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?

Yes we are gathered here to remember my mother Jennie, but more importantly let us remember Jesus, His Words, the Cross, and the blood He shed for us.  We can know heaven will be our eternal home if we repent, and fully trust in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.  The Bible says absent from the body, present with the Lord. Jesus told even the thief on the cross … Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Jennie is with Jesus right now.  Here we are in the year 2007, gathered together on the occasion of my mother’s death and the Lord is still working … not always with fanfare, but quietly . . . by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and by the Word of the Lord, in the heart of one soul … one soul at a time.

When all is said and done … nothing matters but Jesus.”

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 5:20

See also …

Man Under Authority – I – My mother was dying, and she was not born again.  I asked the Lord to give her more time on this earth.

Man Under Authority – II – My mother’s road to the Lord.