“The Grace of God that Brings Salvation” By Chris Ulrich April 8th, 2018 Amen. Thank you, you may be seated. Just seeing Shirley get baptized last week, that's a great introduction to the service, and I definitely want to thank God for that. So, we looked at the theme for the month and it's a question that Christ asked the disciples. It's simply this, He said, “Who do men say that I am?” And, last week, Parrish talked about how we talk about God, and how it's like, if we see a good movie or we go out to a good restaurant or something that we want to talk about with different people, the same way we talk about the Lord. It's something that means that much, personally, to us all. And, our theme verse for the month is for Matthew, sixteen, verse thirteen, and it says: Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And, I don't know when it really began for everyone, I really can't say I remember when the thought of life's purpose really started to dawn on me, personally, but I feel like this searching started pretty early on. I would definitely say that I had an enjoyable childhood, and, it's not as though I feel like I'm trying to say that I was just burdened down with this plight all during my childhood, because I wasn't. I feel like it was a lot of good times, but I would have to say that there was definitely a searching element. I would say that there was even, at times, I kind of carefree attitude, and probably even a little bit reckless at times, but the journey through time would have to be survived best just by saying, “Well I survived.” And, there's a lot to be said for that. At this point, I'm going to ask Rob Severance to come up, he's going to lead us in a word of prayer for the message this morning. Rob: Lord Jesus, God, I thank you for this day, and I thank you, God, for your goodness your mercy, your truth, and your long-suffering, Lord, and for allowing us to come here today to hear Your Word, God. And, I pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit will bless us, bless the message that is brought forth, Lord God. And, I pray, Lord, that is You who speaks to us, Lord God. I pray Lord that you would open our ears to receive what the message has for us. And, I pray that you bless the messenger, that he is anointed of you, that Your Spirit is upon him and that Your Spirit speaks through him. God, I give you glory, honor, and praise in Jesus name. Amen. Part 1: Searching for Truth Thanks, Rob. Searching for truth; It's part one of the sermon today. So, how do we really know if we found it or what the truth even is? How can we be so sure when we hear all kinds of preachers and teachers and ministers and rulers and rabbis and philosophers and Sherpas and whatever else you want to call some instructor, some person with higher education or whatever the case might be, that are making all kinds of claims. Who are we really going to listen to? Who do we listen to, and who can we trust? I'm going to ask if you could turn with me this morning, our first passage, this morning, is going to be from the book of First John, chapter four, verses one through three. Because we come across a lot of information in life, and whether it's online, or whether it's in reading, or whether it's television, or radio, or billboards, or whatever the case might be, whatever information is presented a lot of it just has to do with selling products, or a lot of it has to do with an advertisement for a show or a movie or a job opening somewhere. But in the Book of First John, four, it tells us: 1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. This was written 2000 years ago. People talk about the Antichrist; it's been here. It's something that's real. It exists. People talk about, “Do you believe in ghosts?” I believe in the Holy Ghost. “Are there other manifestations of spirits?” Absolutely, but the Holy Ghost trumps all. And, this may sound strange, or even a little bit out of place, but trying the spirits comes even before we pick up the Bible. It's a built-in sense that God gives us all, and I'm not talking about witchcraft or wizardry or psychics, I'm talking about a sense that God gives us to have an understanding of how to understand and discern what's going on around us. And, it comes before we even pick up any kind of reading material that might give us some articles of importance. And, having said that, trying the spirits only reinforces what the Bible teaches as Truth. I'm going to ask if you could turn with me to John, chapter eighteen, verses thirty-six through thirty-eight. Because we are talking about a search for truth, a search for truth, search for answers, a search for understanding of what's the meaning of life. And, I get that not everybody really cares; this isn't me trying to jam it down anybody's throat that, “Well, you've got to search, you’ve got to find this, and you got to find your calling.” if people aren't interested, okay. All we can do is shrug your shoulders, and just say, then follow whatever path you choose to go down, and we'll see at the end. John 18:36-38 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. [that's a highlight point right there] Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. It's not some big mystery. It's not something where it's revealed much later on in life. It's there for the taking. And, if everyone searches for Truth at some point in their life, and the Grace that God that bringeth salvation has appeared to all men like it says in Matthew, chapter 7, Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:14). Why would it seem like, if everybody has the opportunity to hear it, that only a few that actually find it? The reason, is because most people just decide to stop, or they don't want to accept Jesus as the Truth. So, they get to a point in their life where they're searching, like everybody does—I honestly believe that everybody does some degree of searching for a greater purpose, for life's answers, for the great unknown, whatever people would want to call it—but when they come to a realization that, “Oh, it's Jesus? Well, I've heard that before. I don't really know that I want to give up…”—and then there's all kinds of excuse-making. Obviously not everybody, but again, you go back to strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads unto life and few there be that find it. And, this is not some new revelation from God. This is just telling it like it is. This isn't a matter of us just trying to talk big, or like, it's so profound. It's just an understanding that we get to as we go through life and we start to see everything kind of whittle down a little bit more and a little bit more, but then looking at it from the standpoint, like we talked about hope a lot this month, and I thank God to hear that. Because that is--it's not just hope, either; it's a matter of knowing. It's a matter of trying the spirits whether they are of God, and knowing that this is a real thing. But, what about somebody that claims to be an atheist, and we see that opinion more and more frequently? And, having been in that boat at one point in my life, I can understand where they're coming from, even though I don't agree with it anymore. But, I suspect if you ask an atheist did God ever deal with you? I honestly would have to say that most of them would say, “No, God didn't ever deal with me,” because it goes against what they actually stand for. Because, if they said, “Yeah, God dealt with me nineteen years ago, but I said, ‘No, I don't want any part of that,’ but, now I'm an atheist.” Well, then you just told on yourself. Because, you just said, “God dealt with me, so, I realize there's a God, I just don't believe in Him anymore.” Well, if you believe in him, why don't you just say “There is a God, I just don't want to do it, I don't want to live that life.” And, I would venture to say a bulk of society, and people in general, do mimic that point, but because atheism has become so popular and that position has become so—I don't know what other way to describe it—than seemingly, almost, I guess, popular would probably be the best way of describing it. But, it is a matter of looking at it like. people just jump on the bandwagon “Oh, I don't believe in God. I don't believe.” “Well, we ought to believe.” “I don't believe in him either,” “No, no, there's no God.” “no there's no God.” And they are influenced by different well known philosophers, or thinkers, or people in society and they read about, “Wow, this scientist said this,” or “This well-known philosopher said that,” or they basically made these claims, so, “If Brad Pitt says that he's an atheist, then I'm an atheist too.” Or, if this person, this well-known producer, or this well-known athlete, says, “Well, I don't believe in God.” There's a guy that played football a few years, “I’m an atheist,” and so then it becomes people jumping on the bandwagon, and it really comes down to, “Well, am I going to follow along with that? Am I going to be swayed in my opinion because of somebody else that’s got the mike? Somebody else that’s got the degree of popularity? Somebody else that has a degree, or fame and fortune and glory? Then it's a matter of looking at it as a matter of integrity. Then it's a matter of looking at it from the standpoint that, “Where do I really stand with God? And, has God dealt with me?” And, if I'm honest about it, I'm going to say, “Yes, He has.” and to anybody that does make that claim, and puts their heels in the sand, and makes that stance, all we can really say is, “Okay, that's your choice. I respect you as a person, I don't agree with your choice, I don't agree with what you're saying, but we're not going to answer for everybody else, anyway.” I'm going to ask if you could turn with me to the Book of Titus, chapter two, verses eleven and twelve. And, this is a verse that is probably one of the best for proving that God does deal with everybody, because it's a matter of, if we believe any of the Bible, within we believe all of it. And there are parts that are hard to explain. I'll just put it like that. The Bible says in Deuteronomy, twenty-nine, it says the secret things belong to God, but the things that He's revealed are enough that we may know the law and do it (Deuteronomy 29:29). So it's not as though God is just going to tell us every single solitary thing and why do I really feel like I need to know an explanation or an understanding of every single thing solitary thing that’s ever existed in the course of humanity, because is that going to be just one more sign? And, we're going to get into that a little bit later, about signs. But Titus, two, eleven and twelve says: Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Part 2: The Bible Is the Gold Standard.
Anybody that's not familiar with that term, the United States currency actually used to be based on the gold standard. There was enough gold in Fort Knox that were reserves to actually back up the paper currency that we use. Now that was changed in 1971. I've looked at some of the history, I didn't really do a lot of deep research on it, but there is an administration that decided, “Well, we don't have enough gold to be able to back up the equivalent of the amount of the United States currency.” Whatever all the reasons behind it, I don't know, I wasn't there, but the gold standard—the United States currency was taken off the gold standard. So, we're not all wired exactly alike, it's true that there's a common ground that we all share, of everyone that's here in this room. We all bleed red, we all have wants and needs, and we all have a soul. What's different about us is our background, day-to-day routine, the family from which we came from, the family we’re part of now; we all have hobbies and interests that are exclusive to us, and everyone is unique in some way. And, thank God for that. In other words, everyone has a story that gives them their personality, that makes them distinct from each other person, even twins, triplets, quadruplets. There's people that have their own—we, my parents had some friends of theirs, growing up, they had a couple of twin boys that were close to me and my brothers age and their names were Mike and Michael Tudor. So, they used to come up and we would go skiing up in Vermont, or we used to go down and visit them, down in Delaware. But, as I got to know them two, I got to understand, I could tell them two apart, even though they looked identical, because of the way they acted. Because of certain things that they'd say, because of certain characteristics that they had. One was a little more daring, and one was a little more, you know, conservative. One was a better ping pong player; I mean, just little things like that, that kind of distinguished them. But I want to get a little more direct, now, and now that I've established these things, and mostly gotten your attention, some of us like to read, and some of us don't really like to read. Maybe it has to do with how you were raised, but there's another saying that was popularized back in the 1960’s and it's very simple, “Reading Is Fundamental” (RIF). How many remembers that? Okay, there was kind of a campaign that began; it was started by a woman by the name of Margaret McNamara, back in the late 60’s, and what it stemmed from, she was a teacher in the Washington DC school system. She started to understand and learn that many of the students that she had, didn't have their own books. A lot of them couldn't read. And, so she formed this program, and it became something of a national phenomenon. It was something where it started to grow, it started to get a lot of traction, and it was something that, I would say, looking back, it really made a great impact, I believe, on American society in general. And, interestingly enough, her husband was actually the Secretary of Defense at the time, a guy by the name of Robert McNamara. This started, I think, during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. So, that change, and that movement, it got a lot of these kids that were illiterate or the didn't have any books of their own, it got them interested in reading. It got them to see books a little bit differently than they would have, maybe, otherwise. Personally, I liked reading, myself, over the years, and, I've always felt like it had a great benefit. It has nothing to do with being gifted. I think it just has to do with being something that I gravitated towards. Now there's other things, I mean, I enjoy sports, I enjoy traveling, I enjoy hanging out with friends, like Jason. I'm kind of proud of that, I knew, that was in my notes, when you mentioned that, just hanging out with friends. There's a lot to be said for something like that, where you're not really doing any set agenda, “Oh, let's go over here. Let's go walk over there. Let's go out to this restaurant. Let's go out to the mall,” or, whatever the case might be, “Let's go get some coffee,” something like that. So, where am I going with all this talk about reading? Part two of the sermon today, as I had mentioned earlier, the Bible is the gold standard. And that goes back to—that goes for all literature. We're not just talking about the Bible, set aside, we're talking about any book that you'll see out there. And, I want to ask if you would turn to with me to the book of Second Timothy, two, verses fifteen and sixteen. This is a verse that a lot of us are pretty familiar with. One of those that we’ve maybe even said when we beat you over the head with it for umpteen years. But, it is worth revisiting, because we're talking about things that we understand, we learn from God, we learn from the Bible. And it says: 2 Timothy 2:15-16 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. So, there's a relatively famous model, named Chrissy Teigen, that had made a statement this past week. And, what she said was, “I'm not good with the Bible.” Now, I don't know the entire gist of the entire background of where that resulted from, but it was one of those that popped up on different articles, and different websites, and so on and so forth. I believe it stemmed from, her husband is playing Jesus in the play Jesus Christ Superstar. So, I think that's where the connection resulted. But, I'm not here to be her judge, or anyone else, for that matter, whether you read or don't read, whether you like it or you don't like it, but I want to ask you a question: how good do we want to be with the Bible? Or, a little bit more personally, how good do I want to be with the Bible? Quite honestly, I want to know it better than the back of my hand. I don’t want to look at it like something where I feel like it's too challenging, or it's something I that I don't feel like it's worth my time. And, while we’re there, there isn't any particular standard each day, each week, each month, or whatever the case might be for how often we go to it. But, I get that there's is always something new that we can learn and just obtaining knowledge, and just reading the Bible, isn’t what Christianity is all about. There's other expectations God has for us our lives, as far as charity, as far as visitations, as far as stewardship, as far as music, as far as fellowship, as far as getting along, as far as evangelism, I mean—but, those things, when you go back to what the Bible teaches, that's our decree. That's where it starts from. I mean, if we don't know what it says, we just walk around in the dark, thinking, “Oh, well, I'm really not that good for with it, so I'll just leave it up to somebody else, or I'll just sit here, you know, I'm just sick and tired of reading it.” Okay. Well, you remember, we're all flesh it's not as though reading the Bible is fun, it's just so much fun, I absolutely like looking at it, and there's no pictures, and... It's not that at all. But, Christ said, “My words are spirit and they are life.” I mean, we're talking about something that transcends, even if there are certain books that you like reading. I mean, there's a lot of books that I've read in my life that I’ve enjoy tremendously. There's a book called Centennial, which is about the history of Colorado, and I'm not from there, but, it starts, like, in the 1500s, and goes up to modern day. There's a book called The Grapes of Wrath, which is about—it’s set during the Great Depression. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. You know, some of these books you may have heard of, some of them maybe you've never heard of. But those are just a few off the top of my head. I know Jennifer Fuentes she loves reading. So, I'm looking out there, and she's a big reader; she's an inspiration to me. She's going to college next year, so… But, I know that, I have to ask this question, is learning and knowing the Bible high on our priority list? Or, is it just kind of far down there, just, “Uh, I'll get to it,” or, you know, “I've read it enough, and I’ve built up enough knowledge over the years, that I think I'm good, I think I'm good.” It doesn't work like that. But, as we discussed in part one, the reason why so few people actually accept the truth, the reason that so few people keep the truth is they just give up on studying, and showing themselves acceptable unto God. So, you have sort of a small number of people that actually love—you know, initially accept the truth, and then, as far as, how many people actually stick with it… Well, one of the biggest things goes back to continuing to read. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen anybody who was really diligent in their studies and seeking God and everything else connected to it that was just, “Well, I'm leaving. I've had enough of this. I just don't want to live it. I don't want to do this anymore,” and they have a really diligent study habit? It doesn't work like that. Has anybody else? That’s good; I was hoping nobody would raise their hand on that one. But, you know, my goal today isn’t to try to goad anybody, or shame anybody, into reading more, or scare them to think that, “Oh, this is what's going to be what provokes people.” But, I will say if you're only going to read one book in your life, I would say make it the Bible. And I know, good and well, that everybody here is going to read other material, whether it's a magazine, whether it's an online article, I mean, how long does it take to read an online article? Maybe five minutes? And, I'm not negating that or saying, “Don't do that, don't do that;” that's not what I'm up here to do. I'm saying balance it out, balance it out with the Word of God. Are we serious about Christianity, or just casual? Because that's sort of like, where the rubber hits the road. That is one indicator right there. I remember, and I've shared this before, this was probably twenty years ago, when we had a church location down on Belvidere there was a guy that had gotten baptized probably six months before, and this wasn't me trying to rough him up, or trying to, again, shame him or anything like that, but, I said, “So, you’ve been reading the Bible?” We talk about other things, don't get me wrong. He’s like, “No, no.” I go, “Well, when was the last time you read it?” “About six months ago.” and I was like, “what?” I'm thinking to myself, “What are you doing here? I mean, what's the point?” And, you know what? It wasn't long for this ship! I mean, he was gone, probably in the matter of about a month or two. And that wasn't me trying to push him out the door, I mean, we were rooting for people. We were hoping to see people succeed. We’re trying to see people do well, and prosper in God, not kick them down, or kick them out the door. And, is there an earnestness in our approach, or do we just throw up our hands, and say, “Oh, I'm just not going to read the Bible?” I would have to say, when I heard that lady make that statement, this week, it did kind of strike me a little bit, but, what ensued was several alibis that were related to that statement, “Oh, well most people aren't good with that.” and I'm thinking, it just starts out, again, like a bandwagon type thing, where everybody gets on. “Oh, yeah, I'm not very good.” “Yeah, I'm not very good, either,” and, after a while, it's like, okay, well, then, turn it around. And, then, that's really the main thing. Which brings us to the question, “Who do people say that Jesus is?” Well, I know I can't speak for everyone else, and, really, for a fact, I can only speak for myself. But, that's how judgment’s going to go down. And, who do I say that Jesus is? The title of the sermon today is, “The Grace of God That Brings Salvation.” That's who Jesus is to me. And, since we already referenced that passage in Titus; this is a different one, but, it's still relevant to the message. I'm going to ask if you could turn with me to Luke, eleven, twenty-nine through thirty-two: Luke 11:29-32 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. So, how many signs do we really need to know that Jesus is the salvation of our soul? Are we thinking God needs to show us just one more miracle, or just one more blessing, or just one more catastrophe to be convinced that he's real? How much proof is enough? I don't mean to be morbid, but, as a youngster, I remember the thought of death that scared me a lot, because I didn't understand what lies beyond. I wouldn't say it plainly day and night, that I was afraid to make a move or come out of my bedroom, or take any risks in life, but, it was something that I knew I didn't know anything about. So, I started to ask around. I asked teachers, asked my parents, I asked my friends, I tried to read—I tried to read the Bible, too, as a matter of fact. But, I didn't have that understanding, and there still wasn't anything that anyone said, and I didn't have that understanding of a teacher teaching me the Bible. And, that's a big difference. When you start to read it on your own, without a teacher first, instructing us, it's almost impossible to understand. Now, there's more signs than I feel like I know what to do with. And that's a good thing. But, one of the biggest signs that all of us has read about, or happens if your family, or friends, and complete strangers for that matter, and know what awaits us, is the reality of our mortality. So, I look at just one person's death, I see one gravestone, and it makes me realize that that's a sign for every one of us has a termination point. And I don't care how many scientists are philosophers try to convince us that they found a way to cheat death. They can keep coming up with these type of stories, and possibilities, and “Oh, this will get us there! Eventually, after I'm gone, probably,” but, it's not going to happen. It's just not going to happen. I'm going to ask if you would go with me—this is one last verse that we're going to look at—it's from the Book of Ecclesiastes, eleven, nine through ten, and then twelve. It's a little bit lengthier, but, it does go into a lot of detail about what we're facing, and what we have to understand about what we have in our life. And it says: Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. So, as I'd look through that, and I’ve read through that before, there's some very challenging, and I don't even know if I would call it metaphorical descriptions of mortality. There's things in here that the secret things do belong to God. I'm not going to sit here and tell you, “Oh, well, I know exactly what it means.” “And the grasshopper shall be a burden.” What does that mean? I don't know. Does it really matter? No. We don't need to understand every single, solitary thing about even the Bible, or about creation, or about science, or astrology, or anything. God said the things that He’s given to us are enough to know the Law, and do it. And, I'm going to be closing here in a moment, but I want to share one last thing: there was a baseball player that was pretty well-known amongst the old-timers, and, by that, I mean people my dad’s age. His name was Ted Williams. How many’s ever heard of Ted Williams? He played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox, but, he was also a pilot, doing two stints in the service, 3 in World War II and 2 in Korea, so, he was actually quite an American icon and hero. And, he was probably also one of my dad's all-time favorites, but, what's funny is I played a softball game about five years ago with some guys from work, and, one of the guys that played, he was batted left-handed, and threw left-handed, and he had a number nine hat with the Red Sox color, and I go, “Where did you get the Hat?” and he said, “Oh, I got it at Fenway Park.” And, this is a guy from Chicago. And, you know, Ted Williams has been passed away for a number of years. I’m going to get into sharing that, but, this is a guy who's, probably, now in his forties. Why would he idolize somebody like that? Maybe because he was a great hitter, and he kind of liked Fenway park. He brought his son to Fenway Park probably ten years ago, and really enjoyed it. So, in other words, the memory of Ted Williams, sort of, has gone on to another generation, to another generation past my dad's age. So, pretty well-known guy, but I want to show you something here, I remember I was at home, back in the summer of 2002, and, interestingly enough, that week, Ted Williams had passed away, and, I remember seeing this paper. So, this is from July of 2002. I don't know if you can see that real well, up here, but it just says, “Goodbye, Number 9.” There's some tributes in here. I'm going to read a couple of them, just because I think some of you will know who these people were. And I think it's— I'm going to be getting to a point here, but I want to read one here that Carl Yastrzemski, pretty well-known—they were just paying tribute, they were paying tribute. And he said, “I was supposed to be his replacement, but nobody could replace Ted Williams. I just followed him.” And, Joe Morgan, a guy who played for the Reds, “Ted was like John Wayne, he was a man's man.” Another famous sports broadcaster, Curt Gowdy, said, “I was hosting the American Sportsman TV show for twenty years. I got to fish with most of the world's great fisherman, and Ted was the best all-around fisherman I ever met.” So, a lot of kind words and sentiments. So, when he did pass, he was in his eighties at that point; he'd been quite ill for a period of time, so it wasn't sudden or unexpected. But I remember that after his passing there was some deliberation amongst his family members about what to do with the body. And, his son, Ted Williams’ son had been in contact with a group that did cryogenic freezing. And, they actually had his body interred. So, “For what purpose?” you ask. For him to be reincarnated? To pass on the DNA? Hope for some scientific or medical breakthrough in the coming years? I don't know. And, really, I can't say that I know much about that type of thing. But, we go back to the spirit goes back to the God that gave it. And, I guess, the really sad part about it is that Ted’s son, the person who was responsible for coordinating this, he was diagnosed with leukemia about a year later, and passed away in 2004. Yeah, it's a pretty sad type of thing. I mean, you look at something like that and you think, “You just can't cheat it.” So, Hall of Fame baseball player, war hero, it doesn't really matter. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return it to the God that gave it. And, I know it's kind of a somber way to wrap up a message, death is certainly not the most pleasant topic, and that's putting it mildly, but we're talking about signs that get our attention. Despite the sting of death, we have a hope in Jesus Christ. And, despite the hopelessness we sometimes see around us, we know that our Redeemer lives, we did that song last week, I believe. Despite these things, the grace of God that brings salvation will appear to us all. And, I want to just transition real quick; I know that for me, this service meant a lot. I've got a situation that’s come up, here, in the last couple of days, and you ever get so angry about something that you’re just literally seeing red? I mean, you've heard that expression before; well, I think it comes from bullfighting, because they say when the Matador is out there with the cape, that it's a red cape. Well, I think they determined years later that it wasn't the actual color, it was the movement of the cape. But, there are times that we go through something like that where we just feel like something is out of control, and we feel like it's something that just infuriates us to the point of we just can't even see straight, or we’re just seeing nothing but red. I mean, how many has been there? That's good. The Bible does say be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26). But, you know, I got to thinking, and what I wanted to share here, as I close, is what has meant, to me, a lot about the service is I got to thinking about a song where the title is Turn Your Eyes On Jesus, and there's a lyric in there right after it says “Turn your eyes on Jesus and look into his glorious face and the things of life will seem strangely dim.” That's what this has felt like for me today. I know I was over here and I looked over at Kirk, and I started laughing and It wasn't laughing at the singing, I was laughing at, sometimes how I was seeing red, and, then, sometimes you’ve just got to laugh. Sometimes you’ve just got to think, “I just got to—that’s all I can do...” Parrish and Andy know, because I sent them a text last night, regarding the situation—I'm not going to get into it all the details about it—but I just have to say that when we turn our eyes on Jesus, and we look into his glorious face, the things of life will seem strangely dim. Thank you for your time and God bless.
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