By the appointment of Almighty God, we are gathered here today to remember the life of Donna Koble. Your presence is a great encouragement and comfort to the family. We're praying that the Lord will minister to their hearts today and to the hearts of all of us. as we consider those things which are eternal. Donna.
had a large family. She was born. On May 1st, 1934, It passed into eternity on November 24. of this year. She is survived by two sons, Tony Koble and his wife Sandy, and Terry Koble.
By Grandchildren Melanie Lowe, Brian Koble. Adam Coble. Jenny Campbell. Brandon Cobel Misty Hebstuth. Ashley Barnhart and Jason Koebel.
And great-grandchildren, and I won't read that whole list, it's such a long one. But what a blessing. was preceded in death by her husband. Married for sixty-seven years to P. J.
Coble. and by two sons. Tim? And Tom? and two grandsons.
Tony Coble Jr. and Matt Coble. Yeah. Her parents are deceased. Clarence Greeson and Mabel Greeson.
as well as two sisters, Nancy Smith and Linda Smith. She lived a long life. Our gathering together today is to worship God and we need to keep that foremost in our minds. But today, our worship of God is focusing upon what He did in the life of an individual. One that he made in his image, for we are all created in the image of God.
One that he redeemed by his grace by giving his own son. That those who trust in him might be redeemed. And so we are thinking today about Almighty God and His goodness in giving this life and working through this life. and using Donna Coble to touch the lives of so many others. And so we pray the Lord.
will help us to do that. This very day shall we pray. Father, we look to you. We come to acknowledge you as The almighty God and ruler of this universe and creator of everything that we see. We acknowledge that you are the one who gave life to Donna Koble, and you are the one who.
gave eternal life to her. by not sparing your own son, but delivering him up. that sinners might be redeemed. We pray, therefore, O Lord, that you will bless Our undertaking to day May the words that are said May the songs that are sung May the truths that are imparted Bring honor and glory to Christ as we worship Him. And may they acknowledge your working in the lives of one of your children.
As we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. If you'll take a hymnal. And turn to number 371. Are going to sing a familiar hymn.
When peace like a river attendeth my way. It is well, it is well with my soul. May God make that the reality of every heart. If you're able to stand, Please stand and join us as we sing. In Jesus I am living and heaven in my faith and silence I see with us for thy God thou hast for me to say in his heaven in his heavenly soul in his heaven in his life in my soul in my soul in his life in his life Those nations are still and high steam in my will.
This is on love for us. In his will, in thy soul, in his will, is well in my soul. I sin of the mist that is glory. I sin body, and the Lord is faith into this. And I pray no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, your soul. It is heaven, in my soul, in my soul, in his heaven, in his heavenly soul. On his way, the praise shall be sung of man and the song of sun shall resound, and the Lord shall be sing in his will with our soul in his love, in his time thy soul. In his soul, in his family. Thank you.
It's a real privilege for me to share. share some scripture with you. When I was asked to do this The passage came right to mind that I knew that the Lord would have me share. It's one of the best known passages of Scripture in the Bible and one of the best loved. It's a passage of scripture that I shared with PJ and with Donna, and I'll share a little illustration about that when I'm done with it, and that is Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. As Minister of Families at Beacon, I Have the privilege of getting to know folks on a more intimate level than I would at. Church. We share pleasantries, and how are you, and how are things going?
But when you have an opportunity to go into homes, You get to sit down with people and talk at length, and it's been my privilege to do that. I want to share just one experience that involved both PJ and Donna. And I believe that it will give insights into Donna's most sincere desire for her family. On a visit when PJ was still relatively strong and clear thinking, He and I were in the back bedroom alone. I had read Psalm twenty three to him at some point.
I told him that I wanted to ask him a question that I'd asked my own parents. as they entered the end of their lives. And the question was this. Are you certain? that the Lord is your shepherd.
your personal Lord and Saviour. Before he can answer, I quickly followed the question with this illustration. PJ, you can say that you believe in your head that a person could go 13,000 feet up in an airplane wearing a parachute. Jump from the plane and float to earth safely. You base that on the fact that thousands of others have safely done so.
You could even put on a parachute and go up in a plane with the intention of parachuting to the ground. You'll never be a parachutist. until you make the irreversible decision to entrust your life to the parachute. and follow through by actually leaping into space. Only then are you a parachutist.
And then I said the same is true spiritually. you can say that you believe in your head that Jesus Christ is God the Son. who came to earth, who fulfilled the law perfectly, Who died a substitutionary death on the cross for all who had placed faith in him. who rose in victory over sin and the grave, and secured eternal life.
Some people. Partly based that on the fact that thousands of others have professed to do so, and their decision is evident to varying degrees in their lives. But the Bible states that even the demons believe the facts about who Christ is and they tremble. they do not and cannot embrace the truth of the Gospel in their hearts. And then I said, the question is this.
Is it evident in your own heart that you are personally entrusting your soul? to the safe keeping of Christ as your Saviour. PJ looked at me. and his quiet, But firm response was Yes. his countenance Confirmed in May.
the sincerity of his commitment to Christ.
Now you might ask why do you share that illustration about PJ with us? Because when I later told Donna, about my conversation with PJ. and his response to my question. She radiated. with a smile.
Just like that. She understood what the words the Lord is, my shepherd mane. The Apostle John wrote, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. While John was speaking about his spiritual children, every parent and grandparent who knows the Lord as his or her shepherd, longs for the same thing. in the lives of their loved ones.
every time. That I visited Donna in the final weeks of her life to conversation. was about family. It is my belief that Marmadana, desired that those she loved so dearly would be able to proclaim with confidence that the Lord is indeed their shepherd as well. there can be no better tribute.
that could be paid to her. What a wonderful heritage what a treasured memory for her children. for her grandchildren. for her great-grandchildren. to have when they think of her.
I speak on behalf of ten grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren. A letter to our grandma. Dear Mama Aldonna. The void you left behind is already being felt greatly by all of us. You were such a huge part of our lives, one of the hooks that our childhood memories are hung upon.
God carefully designed you and gave you eighty-five years on this earth. Eighty five years made up of days and minutes of laughter, joy, pain, toil, grief, and many seemingly insignificant moments. But all moments ordained by God. If he ordained your being in all of those moments, then we should surely celebrate you and them. Many people have grandmas.
grandmas with fluffy white hair, funny clothes and orthopedic shoes. But not us. Grandma, you always had style in class, always dressed to the nines, with care for how you carried yourself.
So many people have mentioned this week how beautiful you always were. I remember how you showed up to the hospital in the early hours of the morning after the birth of my first child, dressed in a full suit, stockings, and dress shoes. You knew you only had one chance to make a first impression, and you wanted yours to be a good one. I remember even in that moment of craziness thinking, how in the world does she pull it off? You would hit the ground running early in the morning and did more by 9 a.m.
than most people do all day. I have vivid pictures in my head of you sitting at your dressing table, applying your makeup. with either hot rollers or Velcro curlers in your hair. Your dressing room still smells to day as it did then. I stood there this week taking it in because memories are precious.
You married young, and you stood by your man. It didn't even occur to me until this week when I was sitting by your side how scared you must have been to leave your parents' home so young and start a life with your husband. Papa wasn't al always the easiest to live with, but you fiercely stood by him, loved him passionately, and demonstrated to all of us grandchildren what true commitment was, And what, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, really means.
Nowadays no one sticks with it. But you stuck with it, grandma, and you did it well. You loved your PJ, and he loved you. We are so happy that you are finally together again, as it should be. You were a dynamic couple and accom accomplished so much together.
Two people fell in love, and now there are almost forty people here on this earth because of you. Family was everything to you. You were the matriarch, and you did it well. You taught your granddaughters to be strong Southern women. to care for our families with love, strength, commitment and grace.
I learned from you that to ensure your family comes around, You have to feed them. And boy, did you master that. Every single one of your grandchildren has said their favorite memory was your Sunday dinners. For years you fed your quickly growing family twice a month, with a spread that compared to a Baptist homecoming. You wouldn't let us bring anything, and you cooked for days to get it all done.
I can still picture those two big pans of marinated chicken you fixed for us. I can accomplish a lot, but I still do not know to this day how you did all of that. We'd either have chicken pie, marinated chicken, or country style steak. And of course, mashed potatoes, green beans you had canned, fresh corn you had frozen, biscuits, the list goes on.
Now our Christmas your spread was even bigger with the addition of an appetizer table. which of course had to include your famous cheese spread and checks mix. and a dessert table that went on for days. The time alone you spent on cracking and shredding coconut for your fresh coconut cake. and on making the famous peanut butter fondant blows my mind.
You were organized, efficient, and productive. You taught us that the best way to keep your kitchen clean when you cooked was to clean as you go. I still haven't really mastered that, but she taught me that. You gave cooking classes to your granddaughters and were so well known for your cooking that you decided to publish a cookbook, Donna's Country Cooking. To this day this is one of my most prized possessions.
You had Papa so spoiled that I never knew of a restaurant he went to that he liked better than your cooking. I don't think he ever went to work a day in his life that he didn't have one of your homemade desserts in tow. You were the family photographer, and as annoyed as I used to get of you snapping pictures of us all the time.
Now how grateful I am for them. You weren't the best photographer, really, but we have pictures of every single family event that has ever happened. And that is a legacy you left for us. The time and effort and money you lavished on us grandchildren did not go unnoticed. From beach trips, Florida trips, Easter parties, loading us in the back of the pickup truck on Sundays to go pick out pumpkins.
Y'all remember that? Visits to the circus. Family Christmas dinners at the Angus Barn. taking granddaughters to the doll show, Taking us to get facials with you at Leon's? Gathering at the pool, baking cookies with us.
There are really more memories than I can even mention. The memories we've all made at your house and duck are so precious I can't even speak of them without breaking down. What a gift that home was for so many years Your property in the country was beautiful, and we also enjoyed our times there. Your yard, the pool, the pasture, the cows, It is also beautiful. and oh, how you loved your cows We stood in your driveway Sunday evening and wept.
We couldn't believe our time there at your house was really over. I still remember sitting on your patio with you and other family members on summer evenings when I was little, shucking dozens and dozens of ears of corn and snapping bushels of beans for you to freeze and can for Sunday dinners. And I'm pretty sure the day ended with hand cranked fresh peach ice cream. I even remember taking my turn at the crank. I'd give anything to go back and have a day like that again.
You also carried your love and attention over to your great-grandchildren as long as you were physically able. You never missed a birthday party, and you and Papa were always some of the first people at the hospital when a baby was born. You loved your babies. You would always announce the birth of your great grandchildren in church. You are proud of your family.
Even some of the great grands got to spend time with you in the kitchen learning your wisdom and tips. Like Mattie said, you taught her how to cook yummy sweets, and that it was okay to lick the bowl in the end and enjoy the fruit of your labor.
Now, mamma, you know I can't let you get by without mentioning your spunk and strong will. You rarely took no for an answer, and when you decided you were going to do something, you did it full speed ahead. You were impulsive, to your detriment, at times. I remember us riding on the old Beach Road in Kitty Hawk and somehow you quickly spotted fishermen hitting the jackpot as a large school of ba of blues passed close to the shore. Without thinking, you jerked the car off the road into a sandy lot so that we could watch them.
But We weren't in a four-wheel drive. I still remember papa coming to get us out, and not being too happy about it, he said, Donna, what were you thinking? And Adam said, I couldn't let you get by without telling about the time. You thought a construction worker at a neighboring beach house was giving you an unwanted gesture, and what did you do? You grabbed Paw Paw's pistol and shot at him.
It occurred to me this week how our lives would have been very different had you actually hit him.
Well, I could go on and on. This doesn't even seem like a fitting tribute to all that you were. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love, your sacrifice, your commitment. and for faithfully praying for every one of us every single morning. Only eternity will reveal how your prayers were answered and what dangers your prayers may have kept us from.
You taught Sunday school for 43 years. and many this week have said you were their favorite teacher. Only eternity will reveal again how God used your faithfulness in proclaiming His Word in the lives of all the students you touched through the years. We truly can't believe you are gone. I don't know why I thought you'd live forever.
I just couldn't imagine life without you. But generations come and generations go. I still don't know how I'm going to get through a home school week without the kids and I coming over for a visit. them playing in the back yard, and us just sitting and chatting. just watching the kids and the cows through your back windows.
I will miss our strolls in the wheelchair all around your yard. and our trips to Homeland Creamery for ice cream. She loved her ice cream. It was a privilege to be by your side the last weeks of your life. Precious, precious time that I will never forget.
Gathered with family. Singing to you, reading scriptures to you. praying over you, rejoicing and praising God for the gift of you, and just holding your hand. It was a hard journey and a long one. And you did well, Mama.
You did well. After you took your last breath, I sat beside you. Completely filled with awe and wonder of what you were experiencing, I literally thought I was going to burst. It is only by grace alone that we have that hope. Grace poured down on you by God, through the blood of His perfect Son, Jesus.
Your love for us was evident as you even in your dying days and in a semi conscious state, repeatedly poured kisses and hugs upon us. Thank you for pouring your life into us. We will never forget. We rejoice you are now basking in the glorious presence of your Savior. pain-free and clear of mind.
We wouldn't bring you back for anything. We love you, Mama. On behalf of the family, I must take this time to thank Linda. And the ladies from home care providers. That took care of grandma day after day for us when we couldn't be there.
You loved her, you doted on her, and you maintained her dignity literally to the very end. You tolerated the difficult days and you came back the next day for more. You became like family to us and think you just doesn't seem sufficient. There's doing your job and then there's doing your job well. You did it well.
Thank you for giving her your all.
Some of you came by last week and spent hours with us off the clock. being there for the family. reminiscing and laughing about your good times with her weeping over her and kissing her cheeks. and that meant to the world to me and my family. We love you all.
Thank you, Melanie.
So very, very.
Well said. I've been asked to give a pastor's reflections, having Pastered. Uh Donna for Well, since the beginning of our church in 1973, it goes back a long, long ways. In fact, I couldn't help but reflect when I saw Silas Smith here. This afternoon, when you did the grating for our building back in about 1976, And who would have known That you'd still be here and that I'd still be here.
But here we are. by the grace of God after all these years.
Well, I would like to say some things about Donna Cobel in in three areas. First, in the area of her Christian commitment. Secondly, her Christian compassion, and thirdly, her family, which has already been. thoroughly covered. By Melanie, but I'd like to reflect a few things from a pastor's perspective as well.
In regard to Donna's Christian commitment. Three things, there are a number of things that stand out, but three things in particular. Number one, Her faithful, faithful attendance to church. Until her health broke and she couldn't come any more but Donna and PJ. were the kind of Christians who, if the doors were open, They were there.
Now I'm not implying But that Brings salvation to anyone. Of course, it doesn't. No one is saved because they attend church or anything else they do. but it's a reflection of what is in the heart, to want to be there. There are other people who attend church, but usually not with that kind of devotion.
But Donna was there every time. in her place, faithfully. As a testimony of her Commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. But beyond her faithful attendance at church, there was her active service, and that's already been mentioned. Particularly her teaching of the girls' Sunday School class for decades.
I don't know how many girls passed through that class and were taught the Word of God by a faithful Christian lady. But there are scores and scores, and I'm sure hundreds over the years. And she has impacted many, many lives in that way. It's one thing to attend church, it's another thing to serve in the church. And Donna's commitment to the Lord was such that.
Church was not just something you attended, but it was something you became involved in, something that you helped. to uh make work. It takes workers to make a church work. And Donna was involved in serving the Lord in that way. And then thirdly, Donna and PJ together were very Faithful and committed in their financial support of the Lord's work at this church.
And that was a great blessing to us over the years.
Now, I could talk about other things as well, but I move on for lack of time. I secondly would like to comment upon Donna's compassion at heart. She had a real Love for others and want to help and encourage them, and that was seen. In fact, the first instance of that In my personal Experience goes back before. the beginning of this church.
before I was married. Uh my wife Mardi. Grew up as the daughter of missionary parents, and those parents were supported by the church that Donna was a member of. Before we began this church, And knowing the situation, she thought it would be. appropriate to have a bridal shower.
For my wife. And that wasn't easy to do because. My wife lived in South Carolina. Of course, Donna lived in In Alamance County, North Carolina. But she worked it out.
And um provided transportation and provided a lovely bridal shower and then she and PJ Put my wife in the car and drove down to Chester, South Carolina, on a Sunday afternoon when the bridal shower was over, where I served. in a church as weekend youth pastor while I was in training. for the ministry. And I met Don and P. J.
Coble for the first time. And I suppose that would have been about 19 Well, probably 70 we got Married in 1970, so that probably was in the spring of 1970. I still remember the day that Donna pulled my. Wife Marty aside and had some photos, and she said, Look at these. photos and they were photos of their new beach house under construction.
And she said, I wanted you to see where you will be going. And um Sure enough. Year after year after year, Adonna and PJ gave this pastor and his wife A lovely free week at their beach house. in Duck, North Carolina. That was special for us.
The church was young. And Small and our salary was slender. We'd never had a vacation like that. For Marty and I, and our four children, to go on vacation, meant to go sponge with my parents for a week. We'd never been to a rental Vacation home, never been to a a resort.
Until then. But the compassion of this dear lady to provide something for us that otherwise we wouldn't have had. was an evidence of her Christian compassion. In nineteen eighty four, I had cancer. Very aggressive cancer.
It had to be treated very severely with chemotherapy that would that would cure me if he didn't kill me and it almost killed me. But I was um I was determined to continue. The ministry that God had given me, so even after those chemotherapy treatments, week after week, I would somehow manage to get in the pulpit and preach. I look back now and I say That was crazy. But at the time it seemed like exactly the right thing to do.
But here's what happened. With each chemotherapy treatment, my hair got thinner and thinner. It was heading toward absolute bald.
Now that In those days, that was not cool. That was not... Um Bald heads were not cool. But I didn't have any options. Uh didn't occ i if if the If the culture or the climate were the same today, I could just shave off what stray hairs were up there and I'd be right in style.
But back in that day, Uh that didn't that was not an option, nor was purchasing A hairpiece an option for this poor preacher. And Donna Cobel. saw the need and sprang into action. Talk to my wife. made arrangements with our with my barber.
to get a hair piece that would match my hair perfectly. It was expensive. Many hundreds of dollars she paid for that hair piece. but she was a lady of compassion. And she just didn't think it was suitable for her pastor to be preaching with that bald head and those few stray hairs.
And she demonstrated Christian compassion. And finally, I can tell you that over the years, Don and P.J. Koble gave thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars as benevolence gifts. to people in our church who were in need. She would consult with With me, and I would consult with the other pastors to try to determine.
Uh who was Who were the members of our church who were most in need? And quietly that money came, and quietly it went to those people. They didn't know where it came from. But Now that she's with the Lord, I think it's appropriate for me. to publicly declare this example of Christian compassion.
And then finally, as has already been talked about, she was a Lady who focused on her family. She was thoroughly involved in the family business as office manager, She Arranged for her family to be together regularly in the home for meals, and who could. who could stay away from From that kind of cooking. And she did everything she could to make sure that What she had learned would be passed on by way of family heritage. Of course the cookbooks are One of the ways that she did that, her country.
Cooking. But she not only Did these things, but she gathered her grandchildren around her while she did these things. She didn't just cook. For the family, she taught. The grandchildren.
She didn't have any daughters to teach, so she she missed that that generation, but At least as far as I know. Tony, did she teach you to cook? No. Did she?
Okay. But um The granddaughter, she gathered them into the kitchen and taught them to cook and passed.
some of that legacy on to them. When I was reflecting on this, I thought about Proverbs thirty one The Proverbs 31 woman that the Bible sets before us. There are a lot of interesting things about that woman that's described in Proverbs 31. When you read about that lady, that wife, that mother, You see a woman who is strong. You see a woman who is determined to provide for her family.
You see a woman who is focused. And yet, you see a woman who's in a supporting role. supporting her husband and because of her Diligence he is honoured in the city gates. the equivalent of a city council member in that day. And I thought, you know, that's a pretty good description of the Donna Cobal that I know.
She was strong. She was determined. But she was also Submitted to God's order in the home. And two, the supporting role which God had given to her.
Something that's not very.
Well esteemed in the day in which we live, but she demonstrated all of that so well. Uh nobody ever thought of Donna Koble is being a weak woman. Nobody ever thought of Donna Koble as being a woman who had no influence. Oh, she did. She did.
She did, oh how she did. but in a biblical way. And that is my Pastoral. Reflection. on this woman and the grace of God in her life.
It is not death to die. To leave this weary And join the saints who dwell on high, who found their home with Uh It is not death to close. The eyes long dimmed by tears And waking joy before your throne, delivered from my fears. Oh, Jesus. Jesus conquering the great.
Your prayer Blood has power to save. The Those who trust in you. Will in your mercy Crazy file. That it is not. God death to death.
It is not death to fling. Outside this earthly dust And rise with strong and noble wing To live among the just It is not death to hear. The key unlocked Lock the door. It sets us free from mortals Years to crazy. You evermore O Jesus, conquering the grave.
Your precious blood has power to save. Those who trust in you will in your mercy find that it is not death to die O Jesus conquering the grave Your precious blood has power to save those who trust in you will in your mercy find That it is not death to die Second Corinthians chapter five, we have these words. For we know That if our earthly house This tent. is destroyed We have a building from God. A house not made with hands, Eternal in the heavens For in this we groan.
earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven. If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened. Not because we want to be unclothed. but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
Now he who has prepared us for this very thing is God. who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always confident Knowing that while we are at home in the body, We are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith. not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleasing. or well pleased rather.
to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Therefore, We make it our aim. whether present or absent, To be Well pleasing. To him. It is not death to die.
And why is that? There's a phrase in verse. Number four of the passage that I read here in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And I know at a time like this. Our minds can be Adrift We're fighting to stay composed.
We're a bit numb because our emotions have been assaulted. And after A funeral sermon is preached. Not too much is retained. That's just The fact.
However, If you hear nothing, That I say Hear these words from Scripture. And Give thought to them, meditate upon them. about what truth God is communicating to us here. Mortality may be swallowed up What does the word mortality mean?
Well, mortality is the state of being that is subject. to death. That state of being that is subject to death. And this passage says, that mortality May be swallowed up. By life.
Now, reason with me, think with me, engage with me for a moment. Family? You have carried on a bedside vigil. for this dear precious one. for days and weeks.
What did you see? What did you observe? What did you witness? Did your eyes not tell you? That Life?
was being swallowed up by death? Isn't that what? Your senses told you That The life of this dear one was swallowed up by death. That's what our senses tell us. But listen.
God is telling us just the opposite. Mortality, that state of being that's subject to death. may be swallowed up by life.
Now that's absolutely counter to what our senses was telling us in these days. And here's the question. What life? What life has power to swallow up mortality.
Well, it's not this physical life. Because it's appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. Paul's telling us of the limitations of the physical body. He refers to This body that houses our soul is a tent. He mentions that twice.
Mentions it in verse 1. He mentions it again in verse 4. For we know that if, and that word if can mean since, since our earthly house, this tent is destroyed. This building from God, this house made. With hands eternal in the heavens, for this we groan.
Groaning. Burdensome. Those are the characteristics of This earthly tent, this earthly house that houses our souls. There are limitations. To the physical body.
And the reason there are limitations for the physical body is God has. designed for the soul. that this physical body cannot Fulfill. We're going to live forever. For those who have put faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will live with God forever and ever and ever.
And this physical body is not designed for eternal life.
So God is in the business of constructing, preparing a resurrection body. that's suited and fitted for eternal living. Hallelujah for that. We won't carry these aches and pains and the weariness and the decay of our bodies into that world. We'll have a body.
Suited. for heavenly habitation. But this phrase that mortality may be swallowed up by life. The life that has power to swallow up mortality and death. is the life of God.
In every one, that he redeems. You say, well, how was that? God does not want us to be uninformed or misinformed. He wants us to hear the word of God that helps us at a time like this.
So he tells us what it is that we're to know. We're to know that this. Earthly body is temporary, it's not suited for heavenly habitation. and that knowledge is to give way to confidence. And what is our confidence?
Our confidence is that to be absent from this body. For a Christian is to be present with the Lord. That's our confidence. And that confidence comes from believing what God has said, not what we've seen with our eyes.
Now, He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit. as a guarantee.
So, God doesn't want us to be uncertain about this. He doesn't want us to be confused about this. God wants us to have a confidence about this because there's nothing any more important at a time like this than what we're talking about. And God The Spirit indwells every. Redeemed Saint.
The life of God is in us. And that's why, when we breathe our last breath in our physical bodies, our life doesn't end. There's a separation from the soul to the body. The body stays here, the tent, the house, the building. But that part of us that's real That part of us that lives beyond this earthly life.
Leaves the body. And it leaves with the power of God in it. And that's why mortality is swallowed up by life.
Now we have a wonderful illustration of that. In John chapter 11. Word comes to Jesus that his friend Lazarus has died. And Jesus goes to The place where Lazarus has been put in a tomb, and he has been dead for four days. And he goes, he encounters Mary and Martha and they're They're overwhelmed with Sorrow Their brother Lazarus has died.
And Jesus says to them in their sorrow, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And then he asks this question. which I must ask the question today.
Believest thou this? Do you believe this? Jesus said that to all those who were around. I am the resurrection and the life. There is a statement of unparalleled power and authority.
Who has the nerve to make such a claim? I am the resurrection and the life. That's what Jesus said.
Now to attest that he was speaking the truth. that he was who he claimed to be. He went to the tomb where Lazarus had been dead for four days and called him out of the tomb. He said, Lazarus, come forth. And guess what?
Lazarus came forth. Who has power to do that? Who has power to do that? Only God has power to do that. And Jesus Christ was God come in the flesh.
A statement. of unparalleled Power and authority. Jesus said right before he Gave the great commission. All authority has been given unto me in heaven and on earth. All authority.
Jesus asks. Authority over life and authority over. Death. In Job chapter 14, verse 14, we have Job asking a question. that I want to draw to your attention.
Job 14, 14 says, When a man dies, shall he Live. Again. There's not a more important question to have an answer for than that right now. When a man, when a woman dies, shall he or she live again? We should want to know that question.
Answered. Not just for Donna Coble, but for all of us, because just as two years ago we were here And PJ. was in front of us and we were talking about him. There's a day coming when you two will be at a place like this, and they'll be talking about you.
Somebody will.
So, we want to know the answer to that question, not just for Donna Coble's sake, but for our own sake.
So when Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. That was a statement of unparalleled power and authority. No one else. Has said that. No one else.
can say that, only he can say that, and he demonstrated that What he said was true. by raising Lazarus from the dead. And not only that, Jesus said about himself, I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it back up again. Only God can do that.
So, in that statement that Jesus makes, I am the resurrection and the life, he who believeth in me. Here is a condition to embrace. He that believeth in me That's the question. Are you believing in him today? Are you trusting him?
to the saving of your soul. Here is a condition to embrace. He that believeth in me. And here's a promise attached to any and all who believe in him. He that believeth in me, though he were dead.
Yeah. Shall he or she live. It was said of D. L. Moody.
He said to his friends, those around him, he said, Word's going to come to you in a little while that D.L. Moody is dead. He says, Don't believe it. Don't believe it. I will be more alive than I've ever been before.
And that's what's true of Donna Cobel. She's more alive today than she's ever been. Why? Because of the authority of the word of God. He who believeth in me, though he were dead yet, yet, Yet shall he live.
So there's the promise, and here's the invitation. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never perish. Die. That's an invitation. And it's all-inclusive.
It's for any and everyone sitting in this place today. Whosoever liveth and believeth in me. shall never die. See, it's not just head knowledge, it's just not an affirmation: yes, I believe in Jesus. Whether you believe in Jesus to the saving of your soul will be determined by the way you live your life.
And as I said to you. It's the beginning of this Consideration of what Jesus said. Here is a statement of unparalleled power and authority. There's only two responses to that authority. And in John chapter 11, we have both responses.
Now when he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth and he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, Loose him and let him go. Verse 45, then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. Why not? Who has that kind of authority?
Who has that kind of power? Only Jesus. Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary and had seen the things Jesus did believed in him. Here's the other group, verse 46. But some of them went away.
To the Pharisees, and told them the things Jesus did. Dead. Verse 53 says, Then from that day on. They plotted. to put him to death.
This kind of authority demands a response from you. You either acknowledge who he is and submit yourself to him. Yield yourself to him. Not only believe upon him, but live your life for him. You reject his authority.
And that's what we see happening. Irrefutable evidence that Jesus was who he claimed to be. The God Man. the one who had authority over death itself. They determined We're going to Put this man to death, and they did.
So, I'm going to challenge you today. Because what we're talking about is not ascertained. by our five senses. Back to 2 Corinthians 5 that I read.
So we are always confident knowing that while we are At home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. And in verse 7, it says, For we walk by faith. Not by sight. We walk by faith, not by sight. The only way you're going to Affirm what I've said.
Agree with what you've heard. By what? By believing faith. But if you do not have this faith, Then You're left with your five senses trying to make sense out of what we're talking about, and it's impossible. The things that are eternal, the things that are spiritual, the things that are going to last forever are only.
ascertained Through the eye of faith. And God must give that. God must impart that. And that comes by believing on. The Lord Jesus Christ.
So again. My Challenge to you if you hear nothing. That these words would be ringing in your ears in the days and weeks and perhaps months to come. that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Mortality.
that state of being that's subject to death. That may be swallowed up by life. And if you do not have that life residing in you, That God, by His mercy, would bring you to surrender. and that life would be imparted to you. And that life is imparted to you by the ministry of the Spirit of God as He quickens men who are dead in trespasses and sins, and makes them alive spiritually.
And those of us who are alive spiritually know exactly what I'm talking about. The Spirit of God has exercised you in that way. The life of God's been imparted to you. You understand what I'm saying. you have the same hope.
that Donna Coble had. But if you're a stranger to it, There's nothing that these three pastors would want anymore. Then to see God bring fruit out of this experience today. that God would be pleased to quicken someone. whoever you might be.
to life today. And if you're in consternation, you can't understand what this preacher is saying, you're thinking, you know what, I want to be out of here, I'm going to be done with this. I don't agree with this, I don't understand this. All of that. is evidence that you need the very thing.
that I'm challenging you about. And I wouldn't be faithful. to my responsibility if I didn't press you on that. Because eternity is a very, very long time. Let us pray.
Father, we ask you to Cause your word to live in us. cause fruit to come. Through the ministry of your Spirit, I pray in Christ's name. Amen. Take your hymnal, please.
We're going to conclude. our service here by singing 247 247 Amazing grace. We're going to sing the first, the second, the third, and the last. And uh Let me tell you this. Before we sing.
We're going to sing words that say, through many Dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come. This sister knows about dangers, toils, and snares. But God in His grace was faithful to bring her through all of that. And it's all behind her, it's in the rearview mirror. no more toils, dangers, and snares for her.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come. She has already come. Tis grace. has led us safe thus far and grace will lead us home.
So grace is out in front of us, leading us. Pastor Latour read Psalm 23 to you, and at the end of Psalm 23 it says, goodness and mercy. Shall follow us all the days of our life. Get this picture. Grace is leading us.
Through every danger, toil, and snare, And grace and mercy is following us. There's bookends. How can you How can you fall away? How can you fall in a ditch? How can you miss?
getting to heaven with that kind of safeguard and protection. And then Psalm 23 ends. And I, this is David's testimony, this is what we believe about Donna Cobel. And I shall live in the house of the Lord forever. She's going to live in the house of the Lord forever.
And who ensured that that would happen? The God of grace, who led her through every toil, danger, and snare, and the God of. Mercy and kindness had followed her all the days of her life. May that be true of all of us. Stand and sing.
