3 FACTS ABOUT BROTHER J

I preached a funeral today for a brother in Christ. For the sake of the family's privacy I will just call him "Brother J" here:

Today we are gathered together to pay respect to a man. It doesn't matter what your relationship to Brother J was, your presence here today indicates he will be missed. 

 I do not plan on keeping you long this afternoon, but I'd like to share with you three facts about the man I call Brother J.

#1 - BROTHER J IS IN HEAVEN

He's not here. He’s not at the funeral home. Have you ever gone to someone at work and then found out they weren't there? They went home. His body was J's place of work but he's not there, he has gone home.

2 Cor. 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

#2 - BROTHER J IS IN HEAVEN BECAUSE HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Remember what Jesus said in John 14

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

J knew he wasn't perfect. He knew the Bible teaches us that "...all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" He understood that "...the wages of sin is death;" and he understood that good news "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." He knew that if he, or you, or I, didn't get our sin situation resolved we would have to go to the place commonly called Hell. But he knew from the Bible that "... God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." and that by rising on the third day Jesus proved He was who He said He was, God in the flesh and that the payment He had made on the cross was enough to pay for all our sins. And so, knowing these truths, J put his faith in the crucified and risen Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Eph. 2:8-9 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.

John 1: 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Back in the early Fall of 2017 they gave J 3-6 weeks to live. Now J by that time had been at death’s door so many times he had worn a hole in the welcome mat. He even got me out of jury duty. During these months J and I had a chance to talk again and again about what the Lord had done for us. He let me know that he knew where he was going and why he was going there. There is only One Way anyone gets to Heaven and that is by the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. J had trusted Christ and that is why I tell you he is in Heaven today.

#3 - BROTHER J IS IN HEAVEN BECAUSE HE TRUSTED THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HE WANTS YOU TO TRUST HIM TOO!

J was praying for many of you. Some of you relatives and friends who haven't trusted Christ yet. He was praying for you to trust Christ. Some of you who have trusted Christ but aren't living for Him, he was praying for you to turn your life over to Christ and live for Him. You really need to get this settled. It sure would be good if some of you would trust Christ this afternoon. Stop playing with this thing and get it settled.

Rom. 10:9-13 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Let's pray.