R1162 The Happiest Funeral Ever

The happiest funeral ever? Yes, that's today's topic from Dr. Don Wilton here on the Encouraging Word broadcast. As we study the Word together, we're here for you at 866-899-9673, and right now on our website, pray for your spouse.

31 Days of Prayer is at TEWONLINE.ORG. Meet us there. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. You know, when Jesus died on the cross, he looked out and he saw you and me. He saw the people of the world. But you know what? He died for you. Someone said to me one time, they said to me, Pastor, what's the difference, you know, between Christianity and all the other religions of the world?

Here it is. I have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. He loves me. He died for me. He forgives me, writes my name in his book in heaven. And he'll do the same for you. And in just a moment, I'm going to ask you if you'd give your heart to Jesus.

It's time, isn't it? I don't know what brought you here, and I may not know all the details of your background, but I do know when you look at us, we, the people, we are divorced. We are single. We're married. We're old. We're young. We're rich. We're poor. We're Democrats. We're Republicans. We're independents.

We come from the north, south, east, west. Jesus looks at us, and he looks into our hearts, and he loves us, and Jesus died for you. I'm going to invite you to trust Jesus. In fact, I'm going to tell you something. This is really going to come across a little bit sort of strange, but I want to welcome you to this funeral service today. I don't know how many of us got up today and said, you know, I think I'll go to a funeral service.

That's what you've come to. We're all at a funeral service, but I'm going to tell you, and I'm going to show you something here today. I want to share with you the happiest funeral service ever, the happiest funeral service ever. Now, folks, we're going to be in the Bible. I'm going to ask you, we're going to open our Bibles to John chapter 20. So you're going to need your Bibles open there at John chapter 20, and I invite you to turn. If you don't have a copy of your own, you may want to look there on your iPhone or your Blackberry, your iPad, and don't you worry, those of us who are of the older generation, we get it.

We understand. That person next to you right now is not sending an email to someone. They're opening God's Word, and I too, on my iPhone, I have copies of God's Word.

I've got the King James version and the New International Version, and many times if I'm doing something I want to reference it, I just get out my phone, and it's amazing the technology today, but the bottom line is I want you to read God's Word. I want you to see this, because I'm about to share with you the happiest funeral ever. So can I just get this out of the way, folks? I promise you if Jesus doesn't come, I'm going to have a funeral service.

I am. Some of you are going to actually look at me at some time when God decides I'm going to have a funeral service. I don't want it right away, but God knows, but I tell you what I'm praying that I would have for Don the happiest funeral ever. I don't want my family, and I don't want you, and I don't want people to be sad at my funeral, and we're going to see that. You see, my life is in Christ.

Everything about Christ is me. It's you, and when Jesus died, the most agonizing circumstances I can't even imagine, because folks, funeral services are very hard things. We feel incredible sadness, don't we? I've never been able to quite figure out what I can say to help people who suffer such loss and who are hurting so badly, and pain is very real, and grief goes on for years.

It's not just limited to the death and funeral. It goes on because you miss that loved one. Your heart cries out. Your heart breaks. I got some friends who just grieve over the loss of loved ones.

I'm in a family. I know the grief and the pain. It never goes away. It's always there.

There's always that missing seat at the table, isn't there? So you can imagine the grief, the grief and the sorrow that surrounded the death of Jesus, and we talk about that, and we know that, but in the midst of this, there was such happiness. The word happy is not a word that we associate, you know, with walking around with a big smile on your face.

You don't walk around with a big smile on your face when you're at a funeral service. It's not the kind of human happiness. The word happy here is the same word Jesus used even in the Beatitudes when he said blessed are those that mourn for they shall be comforted. The word blessed there is a word that speaks to our completeness. There's a wholeness.

There's a future hope. It's not a final nothingness. I had someone say to me one time, they said to me, well, pastor, when I die, that's it.

No, it isn't. You see, death is not final. We look at it like that, obviously, because that person's with us, and then they no longer with us in life, and it's very hard for us to figure out life after death, but we look at Jesus, and when Jesus died, the happiest funeral service ever took place, and Jesus gave to us that example.

So I want to just read this to you. It's an incredible story. John chapter 20, verse 1. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him. So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter, reached the tomb first, and he bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw strips of linen lying there as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head.

The cloth was folded up by itself separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside, and he saw and believed, even though they still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. The disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.

As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she still did not realize that it was Jesus. Woman, he said, why are you crying?

Who is it that you are looking for? Thinking he was the gardener, she said, sir, if you have carried him away, please tell me where you have put him and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabbanai, which means teacher. And Jesus said, do not hold onto me for I have not yet returned to the father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my father and your father and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord.

And she told them that he had said these things to her. What an incredible passage of scripture. I welcome you today, ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls, to the happiest funeral ever. I think I've had the privilege of conducting and participating in hundreds of funerals. It's one of the great privileges that God gives to me as your pastor to stand alongside friends and family and people that I love as they journey through the agony of death. I want you to see people that love the Lord standing around watching.

We know all the stories. Oh, yeah, there were the people who howled for his blood. Oh, yeah, there were people who doubted. There were people who shouted, crucify him, give us Barabbas.

There were people who charged him, but while they crucified him, God crowned him king. Just look at those people. Go to a funeral service today. Look at the people. People who come. They gathered around and they saw them take the Lord Jesus, drive nails through his hands and feet and drop him with a thud into a hole in the ground, ripping his body apart, restricting his lungs, rendering him paralyzed, inflicting the worst kind of human damage on his human body, having beaten him to a pulp, and there he hung and looked out across the nations and said, Father, forgive them because they know not what they do. For those on the outside, I think they had no idea they were observing the happiest funeral ever. For those on the inside who had a personal relationship with him, oh, they knew all right. They knew. Because those who know Christ, they know that it's just the beginning. They know what it means that Jesus went to the cross and that he suffered and that he died for you and for me.

Oh, they knew. You see, Jesus' funeral, though agonizingly sad, carried four beacons of joy and happiness and hope for all people. If you wind the clock back and you go to the announcement of his birth, when the angel came and said, Peace on earth, good will toward man, this is it. This is the final chapter.

This is the culminating point. When the angels came to announce the birth of Jesus, they understood that he was destined to show us in public demonstration the happiest funeral ever. He was giving to us a reason to see beyond the grave. He was giving us the very essence and the fact of our faith and trust. That's why he said, lean on me, put your faith in me.

That's why the Bible says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should have the happiest funeral ever and will not perish but will have eternal life. You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton. Please don't go away. The rest of today's message on the happiest funeral ever is about to come. But know that we'd love to connect with you between these broadcasts on our website at www.tewonline.org. You can hear today's entire broadcast, including some sections we weren't able to share with you, on our website at www.tewonline.org. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don. It's all there at www.tewonline.org. So I just simply draw our attention today on these four beacons of happiness.

Here they are. They're four beacons of happiness. Number one, because Jesus was born with purpose. Jesus was born with purpose. And amongst all the purposes for which Jesus was born in Bethlehem was the purpose of his provision of the way to the Father. He was born with God's express purpose that he, the Son of God, would provide the way to the Father, which is in heaven. And he was born with the express purpose to prove the way. It's one thing for Jesus to have provided the way, but when we see the empty tomb, we understand that he was born with a purpose to prove the way.

This was their proof. May I say, I pray with all of my heart that when my funeral service comes one day that my sons no doubt who will have a lot to say and my daughter and my friends and my loved ones that at least at my funeral service with the joy in their hearts would be able to say, you know, Don Wilton, we are convinced that he was born with a purpose. People all over the world are looking for meaning. People everywhere are saying, why am I here? What on earth am I here for?

What am I doing? What's the reason for my existence? The futility of the vacuum in which I find myself, the sphere of nothingness into which I have been dropped, this endless search for meaning and the search for significance. And the Bible tells us that you and I were created in the image of God with the express purpose of God, not only to find the way, but to experience the way to the Father and that in experiencing that way that we would live an abundant life in him. I tell you, my friends, there is nothing in this world that can compare to knowing that God has you where he has you because he has a purpose for you. I grew up in a wonderful Christian home, lived on the other side of the world, went off into special forces and trained as a tank commander and rubbed shoulders with the best and the worst of them and spent years of my life searching for significance.

And even though in the context of a wonderful Christian home, I ran headlong into a most beautiful young girl, my first day in city street, my first day out of an army uniform, my first day on a campus, my first day sitting in a church just like this. And Jesus stood in front of me and began to get a hold of my heart and a hold of my life and say to me, Don Wilton, you were born with a purpose. I created you with a specific purpose of being meaningful and complete in me, being forgiven of your sin and of being a true man among men, somebody who's got the guts enough to stand up and stand by your convictions and to lead people in the paths of righteousness.

Jesus, what a funeral service Jesus had. These four beacons of happiness are number one because Jesus was born with a purpose. Number two because Jesus lived his life with purpose.

Wasn't just born with purpose, he lived his life with purpose. He lived to demonstrate the way and he lived to teach the way. Did you know that everything Jesus did while he lived was designed to demonstrate the way and to teach the way?

Everything. So I was sorely tempted to go back into the New Testament and find examples and I came to the conclusion, just go back to when Jesus was born and read his story because it's his story. All the way to this moment at which we look into the empty tomb and understand that by the power of God, he's been raised to walk in newness of life and you'll find that Jesus lived his life with purpose. There's not a single thing that Jesus did and there's not a single thing that Jesus taught that was not designed for you and me.

He had you and me in mind. He lived his life with purpose. I pray that when my time comes, that somehow, somewhere by the grace of God, my children will be able to say, you know, if there's anything about dad, dad was born with a purpose of God and dad lived his life with the purpose of God.

See, there's nothing more important than being right there in the center of what God wants us to do because you and I have got a lot of decisions to make, a lot of roads to walk, a lot of highways to travel, a lot of bags to pack. Jesus lived his life with purpose. But there's a third beacon of happiness and that third beacon of happiness is because Jesus died with purpose. He died with purpose.

So watch this. He was born with purpose. He lived his life with purpose. Jesus died with purpose. He died, number one, to take our place. What a purpose. And he died, number two, to provide our place.

This is just too magnificent for words. That's why I want to invite you to give your life to Christ. That's why all across everywhere people are listening to the name of Jesus. We're inviting you to trust him today because Jesus died with purpose.

And that purpose was to take our place. You see, the Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's not one righteous. The Bible says all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Bible says because we're born in sin, we're condemned to die. Every one of us. There's not a single self-righteous person in this place.

The biggest problem Jesus had was with the self-righteousness of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. And some of you are sitting here today and you're saying, Pastor, you don't understand. You're talking about prisons a minute ago. I'm in prison. There's someone here today that you're part of Celebrate Recovery.

You're saying, Pastor, you don't understand. Not only have I had an addiction, but I broke up my family. I'll guarantee you there's one person here today saying, I am, as you speak, committing adultery. I am unfaithful to my wife.

There's at least one person here today that already Satan has condemned you. You are being relegated to the back seat and to the sewers and the dregs of this world. You've been told that you have no hope. It's over.

Wash your hands. Leave. Get out while you're ahead.

Make the best of yourself. You might as well go and sow your seeds to Satan because it's gone anyway. No, it isn't. No, it isn't.

No, sir. Not if you understand the happiest funeral service ever because Jesus died to take our place. Yes, you are condemned. I am condemned, but Jesus died upon a cross. And the Bible says there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

Isn't that wonderful? Oh, he died with purpose. He died to take our place, but he died to provide our place.

Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. You believe also in me because in my father's house, there are many mansions.

And if it were not so, I would have told you. I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.

I will receive you unto myself that where I am there, ye may be also. Yeah, he died with a purpose. He died, yep, to take my place, but he died in order that I might have my place at the feast table of the king. Welcome to this funeral service. I tell you, this is a great funeral service. Wow.

I mean, wait a minute now. Jesus was bludgeoned to death. The weeping that was going on, the sadness.

Oh, yes. I mean, Jesus was so concerned. He turned to John and he looked at his mother and he even commanded Mary to John, said, John, take care of your mother, Mary. And he did even unto his death. I mean, he was concerned about the fabric of society. He was concerned about caring and providing and protecting. He was concerned about moms and dads and grandparents and senior adults. He was concerned that one day Mary might fall victim to Alzheimer's and wouldn't be able to take care of herself.

He was concerned about all of those things. But upon that cross, what he was doing was more magnificent than you and I could possibly ever imagine because he was providing for us our place to be seated at the feast table of the king. There were four beacons of happiness at this funeral service because he was born with a purpose and because he lived this life with purpose and because he died with purpose. But I couldn't wait for this one. You know that I couldn't wait for this one. Number four, because Jesus rose from the grave with purpose. That's what this is all about, folks. You see, he rose from the grave to conquer sin and death and the grave. Now, be honest. How many of you actually believe that when someone's dead that they're dead?

Well, I do. Bible says nobody ever who has ever died is dead because Jesus conquered sin and death in the grave. And the Bible says that our eternal destiny alive, whether it is eternal separation from him, God forbid, or eternal communion and fellowship with him, which is why I'm inviting you to give your life to Christ, happened right there when Jesus stepped out of that grave. He rose from the grave to conquer sin and death and the grave, but he rose from the grave to prove God's power for us. The empty tomb is the single greatest demonstration of the almightiness of a loving Heavenly Father.

There is nothing that can compare to it. What a powerful time of teaching from Dr. Don. But before we get away, as he steps into the studio, I pray you'd open your heart to what he wants to share next. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin, and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name, my friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. Perhaps moments ago, you were praying with Dr. Wilton for a new beginning. If you are praying to receive Christ or rededicate your life to Jesus, Dr. Wilton has free resources he wants you to have if you'll call 866-899-WORD right now. That's 866-899-9673. And on our website, 31 Days of Prayer for My Husband and 31 Days of Prayer for My Wife, a wonderful couple's, here in the month of February, our love month, a wonderful couple's resource is on our website right now. It's T-E-W online.org. And while you're there at the website, be sure and sign up for the daily encouraging word devotional from Dr. Don. It's all there at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G.