1Bless
the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. =
2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benef=
its:
3Who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth t=
hee
with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who
satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the
eagle's. 6The LORD executeth righteousness a=
nd
judgment for all that are oppressed. 7He made
known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of
8=
The LORD is merciful and graci=
ous,
slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9He w=
ill
not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10He
hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our
iniquities. 11For as the heaven is high above=
the
earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us. 13Like as a father pitieth his chil=
dren,
so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14For
he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 15As
for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16For the wind passeth over it, and it is go=
ne;
and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17But
the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear
him, and his righteousness unto children's children; 18To
such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do
them.
19The
LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over a=
ll.
20Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel =
in
strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. =
21Bless
ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22Bless the LORD, all his works in all place=
s of
his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Prayer
Solo:
Turn, Turn, Turn (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 / set to music byPete Seeger)
1To
every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven=
:
2A
time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up=
that
which is planted;
3A
time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build=
up;
4A
time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5A
time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to
embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; <= o:p>
7A
time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to spea=
k;
8A
time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
23But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming. 24Then cometh the en=
d,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he
shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25For
he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…=
.
4=
9…as we have borne the image of =
the
earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
51Behold,
I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, a=
t the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have=
put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall =
be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victor=
y.
55O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is =
the
law.
57But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ=
.
58Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the w=
ork
of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lo=
rd.
Medi=
tation
The greatest hope that = any person can have is resurrection hope—the blessed assurance of eternal life in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord.
Now, we enjoy this life=
, and we
really don’t want it to end—but if the Lord tarries, we will all
experience death. There is no=
t one
of us, young or old, who will escape the death of these physical bodies.
Hebrews 9:27 states this clearly, “it is appointed unto men once to
die…" We all know =
this,
of course; but we understand it from the perspective of Christian faith.
Jesus came into a world= where there was much confusion about this. The religious leaders of the day were divided.
The Sadducees taught th= at there was no resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed in life after death. Both groups were prominent in Jesus’ day; and on occasion, they sought to drag Jesus into their disputes.
Paul was steeped in the
arguments on both sides of the issue.
He had been part of those debates in the past—but no longer.
For the Apostle Paul, a= nd for the followers of Jesus Christ for nearly 20 centuries now, that question is settled. The resurrection of = Jesus Christ from the grave forever answers the dilemma of life after death.
Christ died for us; and= on the third day, the Heavenly Father brought His crucified, dead, and buried Son forth from the grave. The que= stion was forever settled. “Yes,” that’s the answer—“Yes, because Christ lives, we too shall live!”
David Wakefield believed this—this was his faith. He received the risen Christ as Savior and Lord, and he never wavered from that commitment.
I have this image of Da= vid sitting up in the balcony of FBC, always so faithful as long as his health permitted him to be present. = He loved the Lord and he loved his church, and he blessed us with his dedicati= on, his warmth, his smile and quick sense of humor.
When I read that last v= erse of I Cor. 15, the part about being “steadfast and unmovable”—= ;I thought to myself: that’s the kind of person David Wakefield was—that’s the way he lived his life.
Honest, dependable, see= king always to be his best and do his best—this is how he lived. His leadership was not so much in = the words he spoke as in the example he set.&n= bsp; It was good.
He held to basic values—some might even call them “old school”—especially the part about always dressing in a suit and= tie and donning a hat that he would “tip” to the ladies—a true gentleman—but a man of basic values like faith, family, hard work, do= ing unto others what you would have them do unto you.
David served his countr=
y,
joining the Army before the US entered the Second World War. He was a pilot, and spent the war =
years at
three different bases in
After the war, David co= ntinued to serve his country in the Air Force Reserves, and finally retired as a Lt. Colonel and as commander of his reserve unit. He served his country well.
He served his Lord and = his church--as a Deacon, and as a member of several vital committees in the lif= e of First Baptist. Folks knew the= ir church, its buildings and finances were in good hands with David Wakefield. He was a proven le= ader and a trusted steward of these important responsibilities.
He served his community= --as a businessman, starting his own company which provided insurance and real est= ate services. He was also heavily= involved with the Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club. He made a positive impact in this community.
He didn’t let any= of this interfere with his golf game on Saturdays, though—and the names of th= ose who were his golfing partners over the years are also well-known around Anderson. He associated with = solid men in this community, leaders who were also committed to making a positive impact through their lives and work.
Something else he deriv= ed a great deal of pleasure from was his gardening—growing some of the best toma= toes around—and doing so organically, long before most people knew what th= at was.
He grew lots of other t=
hings
too. In fact, he used to kid =
his
dear
David Wakefield packed = a lot of living in his 91 years. He li= ved life fully, and he lived it well. He fought a good fight; but last Sunday afternoon, he stopped fighti= ng, and very peacefully let go of this life.&n= bsp; So what now?
Well, considering David= ’s love of gardening, this is interesting.&nb= sp; Paul compares the burial of the body--what is soon to happen to David’s body--he compares this to planting seeds in a garden. Listen again to
I Corinthians 15 as it = speaks of our bodies:
"It is sown in cor= ruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory= : it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”
Later he adds, “&= #8230;as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."
Paul did not give us al= l the answers—he didn’t have them all. “We see in a mirror darkly,&= #8221; he said earlier. Later he add= ed, “We walk by faith and not by sight.”
He couldn’t answe= r every question we have—none of us have all the answers—but we have en= ough to know that the Lord did not create us just to live for awhile and then die. Instead, He has invested= our lives with eternity.
We cannot fathom all th= e changes that will happen to us when this life ends. What we can do is trust God and be= lieve that He knows best and take Him at His word that if our lives are in Christ Jesus, we share not only in a death like His, but also in a resurrection li= ke His.
So I invite you to hear= once again the Good News—to hear it at the time when we need it most—= ;as we gather at the graveside of a loved one, a Christian brother, and a frien= d:
“Death is swallow=
ed up in
victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The st=
ing
of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
And as we close, I know David Wakefield—wired the way he was in this =
life—would
want to remind us of this last verse as well:
“Therefore, my be= loved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."Well done, David—good and faithful servant. Well done.
Benediction