The Truth Network Podcast is playing now. The Truth Network Podcast is playing now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On behalf of the family, let me express for them their thanksgiving and appreciation for you being here today. It is a testimony of Tony's life, the life that she touched and how many people she touched, and the friends that she has been able to influence through her earthly sojourn.
If everybody would have stayed that has been through the line, this auditorium is not big enough. So thank you for being here and for your words of encouragement and for your promised prayers in the days ahead for Bill and his family. I want to say at the front end of this, there is no way to sugarcoat this. There is nothing easy about death.
It is hard. I would like to play a word association game with you quickly. I don't want you to respond to me, but I want you to think with me. When I say death, what words come to your mind?
What do you associate with death? A few of you, probably only a few of you, came up with the word precious. And we hear that and we go, no, wait a minute here. There is nothing precious about this. Let me remind you of what the Bible says in Psalm 116 verse 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
When I hear that and when I remind you of that, it alerts me to the fact that we need a reorientation. Because that is not the first thought that comes to our mind, precious. But precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. So we don't have the sight of the Lord. We have an earthly sight. And from our vantage point, there is nothing precious about this.
So one of the purposes of a celebration service like this is to get our orientation corrected. And to begin to think about the death of a loved one like Tony and the life that she lived. From God's vantage point and not ours. Question. Why did the Lord take Tony from us so soon when we would have preferred her to stay with us?
Why? There are several answers to that question. But let me give you one from the Lord Jesus from his high priestly prayer in John 17. This is what Jesus said in verse 24 of John 17. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am. On Wednesday this past week, the desire of Jesus for this sister in Christ, Tony Brown, to be with him, was far greater than our desire for her to stay here.
You say, wait a minute. The Bible says delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Yes, it does say that. But when God's desire is greater than your desire, his desire is going to win out. Jesus said, Father, I desire they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am. This past Wednesday, Jesus said, Father, I want her to be with me where I am. And the Father always answers the prayer of the Son. So that's the explanation for that. At times like this, we often hear well-meaning people say, well, in time you'll get over this.
I think we need to rethink that. I'm convinced that we're not going to get over it, but we're going to get through it by the grace of God and his help. This past Memorial Day I was in Pennsylvania, visited our family gravesite and stood at the grave of my father, who's been dead for 36 years.
He died at 67 years of age. And my mother, who died at the age of 41. And I was sobered by that, standing in the cemetery. And my mind went to this, the words that are printed in 1 Corinthians 15.
I said out loud to myself, it was just me there, O death, O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God that we have the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have victory.
The Bible tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and our sister is with the Lord. No question about that. Paul says in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21, For to me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.
I'm just being honest with you. It's hard for us from our vantage point to view this as gain. It seems like loss, not gain, right?
Am I right? That's how we view it. But at times like this, we need to come together and we need to seek the face of God through the scriptures, through the words that are going to be sung, through the prayers that are prayed, to get God's perspective on things. The wages of sin is death. If Jesus doesn't, if he tarries his coming, there's none of us getting out of here alive. I know that doesn't sound like good news, but that's just a fact, right?
It's reality. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment, and death has a 100% track record. Nobody gets out of here apart from death. So today we're looking to him to help us, to give us grace, to see death as he sees it, and to rejoice in the provision that he's made for our sister, who we've loved and appreciated, and she finished well for that we're thankful. Word came to the Lord Jesus.
Him whom thou lovest is sick. That's in John chapter 11, and that person was Lazarus, and Jesus delayed his coming to go to Lazarus. He waited till Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus was, and the Bible tells us it's the shortest verse in the Bible. John 11 verse 35, Jesus wept. You say, Jesus wept?
He knew he was going to raise him from the dead. Why was Jesus weeping? I believe to give credibility to the human emotion, and tears have a language all to themselves, because the Bible says in the very next verse, the Jews saw Jesus shedding tears, and they said, oh how he must have loved him. We should not apologize for tears. Tears are part of our Constitution. God's given us tears, emotions to express we sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. So we all grieve in different ways, but let's acknowledge the human emotion of sorrow. If Jesus could weep at the grave of Lazarus, we can weep here today, okay? How can you not weep? If you can't weep and if tears don't come and there's no sorrow, there's something wrong, right? And you're not here because you didn't have something else to do. You're here because you knew this sister, and you loved her and her family.
So tears are all right. Let's look to the Lord for his help as we proceed through this service. Father, we thank you for the life of Toni Brown. We thank you for giving her to us. We thank you for saving her and making her a blessing to so many. Lord, we confess that we are struggling to process this, and yet we thank you for the help that we find in the Word of God. We sorrow, but not as those who have no hope. Our sorrow is hope-filled because we know that there is a day when all the saints of God will gather together and we will be united together someday, and we rejoice in that. And we rejoice that our sister's struggle with her health is behind her, and that she is with the Savior that has redeemed her, and we rejoice with that. Father, right now we're gathered in this place for these next 30 minutes or so, and we pray that you would come to us and that you would minister to us at our point of need.
Father, some are confused, perplexed, heartbroken, downtrodden. We pray, our Father, that you would meet us at our point of need and grant us grace. We thank you that your grace is made perfect in our weakness. We thank you that you are our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.
We thank you for the promise that you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. So, Lord, would you fan the flames of our faith? Would you help us to rejoice in the words of the Lord Jesus when he said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this? And we say, yes, Lord, we believe, but help our unbelief. Help our faith to be strong.
Help us to honor you in our response to this. Father, bless the hymns that we sing, the solos that are sung, the word that is preached. Father, may it all redound to your glory and to the help of these family members and friends who have gathered here today. We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen. His robes for mine, O wonderful exchange. Clothed in my sin, Christ's offered needs God's rage. Draped in his righteousness, I'm justified. In Christ I live, for in my place he died. I cling to Christ and marvel at the cost. Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God, but by such love my life is not my own. My praise, my all shall be for Christ alone.
His robes for mine, what cause have I for dread? God's daunting law, Christ mastered in my stead. Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine. Saved by my Lord's vicarious death and life.
His robes for mine, God's justice is appeased. Jesus is crushed and thus the fathers pleased. Christ drank God's wrath on sin, then Christ is done.
Sin's wages paid, propitiation won. I cling to Christ and marvel at the cost. Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God, but by such love my life is not my own.
My praise, my all shall be for Christ alone. His robes for mine, such anguish none can know. Christ, God's beloved, condemned as though his foe.
He has no eye, cursed and left alone. I as though he embraced and welcomed home. I cling to Christ and marvel at the cost. Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God, but by such love my life is not my own. My praise, my all, my praise, my all shall be for Christ alone. You'll turn in your hymnals with me to page 352. Like a river glorious.
352 if you'll stand we'll sing together. Like a river glorious is God's birth and peace. Over all employers in his right embrace. Perfect gave, O death, fuller every day. Perfect gave, O death, keeper of the grave. Over all employers in his right embrace. Perfect gave, O death, fuller every day. In the hollow of his blessed hand.
Let her hope and follow, let her traitors stand. Not a surge of hurry, not a shade of care. Not a blast of hurry, touch the spirit there. Day upon day, oh God, hearts are fully blessed. By the everlasting promise, birth with peace and rest.
Enjoy your trial, call it from above. Trace upon our Kyle, by the Son of God. We may trust Him fully, all for us to do. We may trust Him fully, find Him fully true.
Stay up on Genoa, hearts are fully blessed. By the everlasting promise, perfect peace and rest. On behalf of Bill and the family I also want to thank you for the love that you've shown and for your attendance here today. On December 17, 2023, Tony told Erin to write down what she wanted in her memorial service. At that time she thought she was going to die.
She requested that very little be said about her. We can honor that request by encouraging you to read her obituary if you haven't already done so. I must say to the family that reading it was truly a blessing to me. Tony's main request was that the gospel be shared for the sake of those whom she loved. She gave me the responsibility of doing so and it is a privilege that I take most seriously. 530 days after making those requests, her desire will be fulfilled in this service. It's my prayer that what I share will foster an atmosphere of worship as we rejoice that God has freed our sister from physical weakness and struggles.
He has transported her into His presence. What I share today will be in two parts. The first part will be the gospel. The second part will be to encourage the family.
But I ask please listen intently to the fervent desires of a wife, a mother, and a grandmother who cherished her family. What is the gospel? In 1 Corinthians 15, 1 through 4, Paul is writing to Christians. He said, Brethren, I declared you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand, by which also you're saved, if you hold fast that word that I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered you first of all that which I also received. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. Romans 10, 9 and 10 states, If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with a heart one believes unto righteousness, and with a mouth confession is made unto salvation. Confessing the Lord Jesus involves declaring with personal conviction that he is God the Son, who became man that we by faith might become sons of God. Believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead is to embrace in the very core of your being that Christ was victorious over sin and death, that through his resurrection God demonstrated satisfaction with his payment for sin. Beloved, believing in your heart involves your mind, your will, and your emotion. Your mind acknowledges the truth of Christ's perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, but head knowledge is not enough.
It's critical, but simply not enough. Your will submits to Christ as Lord and trusts in him alone for salvation. It results in choosing to keep his commandments out of love for his sacrifice on your behalf. Not only your mind acknowledging the truth, not only your will submitting to Christ as Lord, but your emotions embracing the gospel with genuine sorrow that leads you to repent of your sins.
It also makes you grateful for his sacrifice that saved you from God's wrath. Dear family and friends, I caution you not to be content with a head knowledge of some facts about the Christian religion. Professing Christ is not the same as possessing Christ. The Apostle John addressed Christians when he penned these sobering words. 1 John 2.29, If you know that he, Jesus, is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of him. 1 John 3.7, Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he, Jesus, is righteous. I implore you to make certain that who Christ is and what he accomplished is embedded in your heart by faith. As John wrote, this will be evident in your life's habits.
By God's grace, Toni Brown has a history of saving faith in Christ and of steady growth. The one desire of her heart is that each of you will one day follow her. The question is this, family, will you?
Your answer to that question has eternal and unchanging consequences. Now I want to share some words of encouragement for the family. Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song? As the burdens press and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long, oh yes, he cares. I know he cares.
His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades, does he care enough to be near? Oh, yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. Does Jesus care when I've said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me and my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks?
Is it ought to him? Does he see? Oh, yes, he cares.
I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares. For a few moments, I want to share some thoughts out of 2 Corinthians 1 through 4, and I pray that these will encourage the family. 2 Corinthians 1, 1 through 4. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in Achaia, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Verse 1 speaks of the providence of God in the lives of his children.
It says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. In this life, God's providence includes the day of our birth, the day of our death, and everything in between. God's providence in the day of our birth. David wrote, your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed, and in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them.
God's appointed day for Tony's birth was Monday, September 23, 1957. God's providence in the details of our life's journey. Psalm 37 23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. God directs our very steps.
The word ordered means to be firmly established, to be fixed, to be securely determined, to be directed right. God directed Tony's life for 67 years. Her obituary is a wonderful tribute to who she was as a believer, as a wife, as a mother, as a grandmother, as a friend. God's providence in the day of our death. Speaking of the Lord, Job states, in his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. In Job 14 5, he reinforces this truth. He says, since man's days are determined, the number of his months is with you.
You have appointed his limit so that he cannot pass. Beloved, in God's providence, God called Tony to himself on the morning of Wednesday, May 28, 2025. John 1 15 verse 16 states, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
One of those saints is Tony Brown. We honor God today by bowing to his providence for our loved ones and for us. Whatever my God ordains as right, his holy will abideth. I will be still whatever he does and follow where he guideth. He is my God. Though dark my path, he holds me that I shall not fall. Wherefore, I leave to him at all. Whatever my God ordains as right, he never will deceive me. He leads me by the proper path.
I know he will not leave me. I take content what he has sent. His hand can turn my griefs away and patiently I wait his day. Whatever my God ordains as right, though now this cup in drinking may bitter seem to my faint heart, I take it all in shrinking.
My God is true. Each morn anew, sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart and pain and sorrow shall depart. Whatever my God ordains as right, here shall my stand be taken. Though sorrow needs or death be mine, yet I am not forsaken.
My Father's care is round me there. He holds me that I shall not fall and so to him I leave it all. After mentioning the providence of God, Paul then mentions the people of God. He writes of Timothy, our brother, the church at Corinth, and the saints who are in Alakea. Beloved, there is a brotherhood of believers who are part of the one body in Christ, and as a spiritual family, these brothers and sisters in Christ rejoice for those who rejoice, and we weep for those who weep.
We weep with Bill and the family because of the temporary loss of the one that they love dearly and who loved them intensely. But we also rejoice that our sister in Christ, Tony Brown, is experiencing joy unspeakable and full of glory in the presence of God and her Savior Christ. Verse 2 addresses the prayer to God, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is the unmerited, unearned favor of God. Beloved, without the grace of God, there is no peace with God. There is no peace from God. Peace is quietness, rest, contentment. A verse that I share often with folks in the hospitals, Isaiah 26-3, and it states, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind has stayed or leaning on you because he trusts in you.
It is grace alone that brings personal and lasting peace. In 1995, my father-in-law passed away. That was probably the death of someone who was the closest to me in years, and we had a very close relationship. At the end of that time, I thought long and hard, How do we handle death?
How do we handle death? And I wrote this, and I pray, Bill, that it will be an encouragement to you and the family. I sought to ease the heartache felt, or loved ones snatched from out of time. I pitied homes that death had touched, but then my soul invaded mine. The words of love and themes of hope that seemed so right for others' woes fell strangely then upon my ears as I endured deep sorrows' throes. Though loved ones eased the weight of grief, and I in turn held them more dear, it was grace alone that let me see the paradox of joy amidst tears. Assurance over doubts prevailed, though clouds of anguish lingered o'er face unseen beacon cast its glow and shed God's peace on me once more. That poem mentions the paradox of joy amidst tears.
A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict. How can there be joy amidst heartache? Tears are the common language of unspeakable joy as well as soul-deep heartache.
I know you've all been there. When you can have a joy that goes beyond words and can only be expressed in tears, or you can have a heartache that goes beyond words or can only be expressed in tears. Tears and heartache are part of being human. But for believers, there's also the calm delight that when our saved loved one passed through the valley of the shadow of death, her shepherd was leading her. That, indeed, is cause for rejoicing. Verse 3 speaks of the praise of God or the praise to God. It says, blessed or praised be the God and Father for Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. The Father of mercies. God treats his own with kindness, pity, love, and tenderness.
It's equivalent to the title, Compassionate Father. Have you ever come to the point in your life where you don't know what to pray and you just cry out, Father? That's the sense of this verse. God of all comfort acknowledges him as the source of all true consolation. God the Holy Spirit comes alongside to help as an intercessor, a consoler, an advocate, a comforter. We're all familiar with Romans 8, 28, but Romans 8, 26 is a wonderful verse that illustrates the intercession of the Holy Spirit during times that leave us speechless. It says, likewise, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Two verses later, Paul shares a truth that only believers in Christ can embrace, and that is Romans 8, 28. We know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And listen carefully to this head and tail if you would, beloved. Part of the all things that work together for our good involves the pain of temporary separation.
Temporary separation. Part of the all things that work together for good also involves the praise of eternal salvation. For Tony, faith has become sight, hope has become reality, and God, who is love, has welcomed her home. Finally, and briefly, the purpose of God. It says of the Father of mercies and God of all comfort that he comforts us in all our tribulation.
Why? That we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with a comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. Tribulation in that verse refers to crushing pressure, affliction.
Nothing can match the agonizing pain of temporary losing a loved one. This verse makes it clear that as God comforts us, we are to comfort each other. Dear family members, when we feel that we are at the end of ourselves physically and emotionally, the God of all comfort is there. One of my favorite verses, Psalm 73 26, Asaph wrote, my flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Again, when we come to the end of ourselves physically and emotionally, God is there to strengthen us.
The Amplified Bible emphasizes the weightiness of every word in Hebrews 13 5. It says this, He, God himself, has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down or relax my hold on you.
Assuredly not. I want to close my comments today with a poem based on this text, Father of Mercy and God of all comfort. And I do pray that God will use it to encourage each family member and friend. Great Father of mercies and God of all comfort, what wonderful names to the king of my life, my healer and helper and heartache and sorrow. You're always beside me through sickness and strife. Great Father of mercies and God of all comfort. I rest in the grace and the peace you bestow and each tribulation you show yourself steadfast as trial and testing your faithfulness shows. Great Father of mercies and God of all comfort, your wise providence bring both pleasure and pain. Though pressed beyond measure, I trust in your goodness that grants consolation mid sunshine and rain. Great Father of mercies and God of all comforts, empower me to lift up those weary with care to come alongside them, to love and to guide them, a channel of comfort through whom hope is shared. Great Father of mercies and God of all comfort, I praise you for graciously answering prayer and ways that compel me to further petition my God who is able to meet all life's cares. Will, Aaron, Lee, families, may God grant you the comfort that only he can give through Jesus Christ our Lord.
May he use the gospel on each heart as was Tony's desire to him be all glory. Be not afraid for I have redeemed you. Be not afraid I have called you by name. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you pass through the floods, they will not sweep or you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be consumed. You are mine. You are precious in my soul. Be not afraid for I have redeemed you. Be not afraid I have called you by name. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you pass through the floods, they will not sweep or you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be consumed. You are mine. You are precious in my soul. My love for you is everlasting. My love for you shall have no end. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the floods, they will not sweep or you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be consumed. You are mine. You are precious in my sight. As we close in prayer, I trust that you friends will continue to come alongside the family, an extended family.
Encourage them. As Pastor Carnes said, and I mention in my notes, anguish doesn't stop when we walk out that door. And neither does God. He will sustain you. He will be with you each step of the way.
Let's pray. Father, as I come before you today, we recognize our dependence upon you to share your word humbly and accurately. And, Lord, it's our prayer that this was done today in every aspect of this service. Our desire is first and foremost for your glory.
And I believe that Toni personified wanting that in her request to be little spoken of and to make much of Christ. I pray for the family that you will console them in the days ahead. Help us to continue to come alongside them in prayer.
Father, I pray that you would be honored and glorified to all that has been done and said here today in Christ's name. Amen. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You.
