CHRIST IS RISEN

1 Corinthians.15:16-23; Deuteronomy 34:1-6;

Deuteronomy 33:26,27 (to “arms”)

It goes without saying that today is a sad day; we feel the sorrow. And there is sorrow in the world. People speak about crumbs of comfort and what they mean is that, at such a time, you cling to some small comfort, some small thing that you can take hold of. But God does not deal in crumbs of comfort. There is enormous comfort to be had, there is resource; God has comfort to give and He would give it freely to us today. In the face of what seems such great sorrow, He would comfort us.

In the last few days, our desires as to our sister have changed. We and so many who are here, and many others too, have prayed for so long that she would prove mercy in her illness. But she does not need our prayers any more! What a wonderful thing it is to know that she is with our Lord Jesus, and that she is happy. Her sorrowing and her suffering are over, and this is a great comfort. And so our needs have changed. The need today is for comfort and I would like to draw some comfort from these scriptures.

I think it is right to say that there is no greater comfort than what we have in 1 Corinthians 15 because Christ is raised! Paul makes reference to the fact that if Christ had not been raised, we would be miserable, but we do not have to be miserable because Christ is raised. The power of death that we have before us today has been broken – the Lord Jesus has broken it and broken it forever. He came victorious and triumphant out of the grave, and its power is broken, gone for ever. Its sting has been taken away. There is no greater comfort, I think you might agree, than that Christ is raised. It says, “For as in the Adam all die, thus also in the Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own rank: the first-fruits, Christ” – He is out of the grave, He lives! – “then those that are the Christ’s at his coming”. There is every assurance in the resurrection of Christ that others will follow, and that our sister will be raised by the One in whom she put her trust. She belongs to the Lord Jesus, and because He is raised, she will be too. She will have her place in that great resurrection of believers in the Lord Jesus, and she will be raised on that day when He comes for us. I would submit it to you that there is no greater comfort than that. In the face of death, as we are today, in the face of sorrow, needing comfort as we do and as the family do, there is no greater comfort than the fact that Christ is raised. And therefore there is the assurance that those who have died having faith in our Lord Jesus will be raised too.

My second scripture speaks about the death of Moses. In some ways, our sister was very different to Moses, but it refers to him when he died as the servant of Jehovah, and in her way, our sister was a servant of God. I believe that in her suffering in those years when she bore so much, her uncomplaining spirit to the end, her peacefulness, her calmness, her acceptance of what the Lord led her through – these features were like Christ, and in that way she served her God. So she was like Moses in that way; she was a servant of God, and the Lord Jesus has taken her to be with Himself. What struck me in this scripture was that God was with Moses in this; it was a private matter. We have the assurance, through some of the things that our sister said, that in her suffering at the end the Lord drew very near to her, He was with her. There was a time when even her loved ones could do no more to support her, but we have the assurance that the Lord was with her. So God showed Moses things, and what things He might show His own at such a time. These things we hold on to; they are comforting for us. As we have said, with sorrowing hearts, the family have to let go as far as nature is concerned. But they do not let go thinking that she goes into a cold place, but rather as knowing that she is with the Lord Jesus. The Lord drew near to her and was with her, and she is with Him now. This is a comfort to us and I trust that it will be a comfort to all here.

My last scripture I address particularly to the family – by extension to all of us, but to them in particular. I would just like to draw attention to this, “thy refuge is the God of old, And underneath are the eternal arms”. May that be a comfort to you. Days are coming when those of us who would desire to support those that mourn, we will falter, and our words will run out, but “Thy refuge is the God of old”. There is something there in these eternal arms that will not fail you. They are there for support; you are never to lack support. When everything else may fail you, the God of old is there. He is there to comfort and sustain you. I trust that will be your portion and the portion of all here, and that these few words will bring comfort into our hearts at this time, for His name’s sake.

Word at a burial, Manchester

7 August 2019

Garth McKay

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