“AS FOR ME”
Job 19:25; Joshua 24:15 from “but as for me”;
Those in this room know what our brother was and know some of the features about him that have already been drawn attention to. But what lay behind them, beloved brethren? What lay behind the kind of man that our brother was? I would like to suggest it was conviction.
These three men that we read of were convicted. It is a blessed matter to be convicted. Are you convicted about your soul salvation? We are in the presence of death. This is a time, beloved, to take account before God of where you are. Death finishes and fixes matters. There are some who are given the opportunity, the medical authorities may say that you have some time to get your affairs in order. Beloved, that relates to what is down here. But are your affairs in order in relation to Christ?
Our beloved brother knew that his Redeemer lives. And he knew the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His precious blood in order that my sins and your sins could be washed away for ever before a holy God. Do you have that conviction that there is a Man who has died for you, who shed His precious blood, who went into death? As we have been reminded, He is no longer there, He is in glory. What a matter! We have had our attention drawn to the glory of that blessed One who has the keys of death and of hades. Our brother knew that his Redeemer lives. Think of that.
And then Job says, “and the Last, he shall stand upon the earth”. Think of what God is going to do. You wonder at the life of Job in his time, but there it is. He saw, dear friend, that there was One who was going to redeem him. In the earlier chapters he was looking for a mediator (see Job 9:33). That is what we need. We need the Saviour. Do you have the confidence and the conviction that you have a personal link with Him? “The Last, he shall stand upon the earth”. The same One that our brother drew attention to, the Alpha, the Omega, the first and the last. There is none like Him, beloved, none like Him. Job appears to lay emphasis on ‘me’ - ‘And as for me’. So it is a personal matter. The Lord would speak to us all personally, particularly at a time like this.
In the scripture in Joshua, this was a difficult time because persons were seeking after other things, seeking after other gods. But what does Joshua say? He says, “but as for me”. Friends, beloved brethren, are we going to be among this number: “as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah”? Not only did our brother love the Lord and know that his Redeemer lives, but he loved the truth. That was demonstrated as we saw him amongst us. “… but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah”.
We are given these examples in scripture, but the Lord also gives us living examples of persons who set out these features of conviction. These features are not just to be admired: they are to be taken on by us. They are to be formed in us, features of Christ. So Joshua says, “but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah”. In the time that remains to us, dear hearer, will that be your path – to serve Jehovah? He is a wonderful Master. He is a wonderful Person to serve.
Then this touch in Psalm 17, of which our brother had the light. Our brother said in a word recently that the believer need not fear death, death is simply a doorway into the eternal presence of Jesus. He had that before him. I think the Lord gave him that impression personally. And here David says, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness”. What a time it will be when we see Jesus as He is! It says, “I shall be satisfied”. There will be no dissatisfaction in heaven, friend. Will you be there? Will you be among the host of the redeemed? Will you be with Jesus? For those who belong to Him, He is coming for us. What a hope we have. David says, “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness”. All those that are asleep through Jesus and those that live who love Jesus and have put their faith and trust in Him are going to be like Him. We will not have these bodies of humiliation, we will have bodies of glory, in conformity to His body of glory (Phil.3:21). What a hope we have. Our brother is already there. He is awaiting his body of glory but he is with Jesus which is very much better (Phil.1:23).
Dear friend, it is a personal matter. You need the Saviour. You cannot do without Him. Our brother put his faith and trust in Jesus and his eternal salvation was unequivocal. It was never in doubt. That is where he is now. May we be encouraged, but let us each take this to ourselves, and be able to say: ‘but as for me’. Friend, do you know that your Redeemer lives? He is available for you. May you put your faith and trust in Him and may our hearts be comforted in the knowledge that we are going to see Jesus as He is and it will not be long.
May the Lord bless the word.
Trevor R Campbell
Words given at a burial meeting, Strood
15 March 2023