FLOSSIE WILDMAN
INTRO.- Eccl. 9:5 "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten."
THE LIVING KNOW THAT THEY WILL DIE. We should know this. The older we get, the more we realize this. The more loved ones we lose in death, the more we realize this.
ILL.- I lost my father 20 years ago and my mother on June 30th of this year. It’s getting closer all the time. What’s getting closer? DEATH.
But as we all know, a person doesn’t have to be old to die.
We all need to realize that death is just a breath away. The important thing is to be prepared for it. And there is only one way to be prepared and that is by trusting the Lord for salvation.
THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING. Solomon is saying that once people leave this world they do not know what is happening on planet earth. If they did knowing everything that was going on, how could they be happy in heaven?
When Christian people leave this world, they apparently leave everything behind that would cause them pain and sorrow.
THEY HAVE NO FURTHER REWARD. I think Solomon is saying that when people leave this world they have no further reward here on earth. They are done with earth and it’s matters.
EVEN THE MEMORY OF THEM IS FORGOTTEN. This is where Solomon sounds rather pessimistic. He is suggesting that we eventually forget our loved ones. All I can say is, I hope not!
I think some memory of our loved ones is forgotten. My memory can only go back so far. I can only remember certain family members in my life: grandparents, one great-grandmother, uncles, aunts, parents, etc.
And I admit that I can only remember certain things about these people’s lives. Even though we all die, hopefully, we will be remembered for who we are and for the good things we have done in life.
ILL.- Someone said it this way: "Say goodbye to me, but not to the thought of me."
We may say "goodbye" to our loved one during the time of death and we may not. The important thing is that we never say goodbye to our thoughts of them!
We must REMEMBER people! And both the living and the dead. People are important! All people are important to God and they should be to us as well. Especially, family members.
It’s sad, however, when our memories are not pleasant.
ILL.- I had a Christian man in one church tell me one time that his father was a "mean old man." Wow! That took me back. I certainly didn’t ask him any more questions about his father. That man had a very bad memory of his father.
He wasn’t trying to be negative, just truthful. And it’s very sad when people have only BAD memories of their family members.
What about Flossie? What can we say about her? She could be a never-ending topic of our discussion.
As soon as I moved to Mattoon to minister with the church I immediately heard stories about Flossie. And I’ll never forget my first visit with her. We visited about many things...the church, life, family, etc. And her family was very important to her. She always talked about her family and people.
When I got ready to leave she wanted to hug me. She said, "Come here, I want to get a look at you!" And she grabbed me by my collars and pulled me into her face. And I wasn’t the first person she’d done that to.
One thing I must commend Flossie for is this: she was always asking me about my family, my mother, my wife, my children, etc. It is so commendable when we show interest in other people’s lives. Unselfishness is a great Christian virtue. It is very Christ-like.
Say goodbye to me, but not to the thought of me. We say "goodbye" to Flossie today, in a sense, but we will never in this life say "goodbye" to our thoughts of her.
Each of you have special thoughts, special memories of Flossie. Please treasure those memories. Thank God for them. And allow the good things, the good traits of her life to be a part of your life as well. Imitate her in the ways that she imitated Christ.
PROP.- Now I want to say just a few things about heaven, because that’s where Flossie wanted to go.
I. HEAVEN IS A PLACE
John 14:2 Jesus said, "I am going to prepare a place for you..."
In Matthew 6:9 Jesus taught to pray, "Our Father in heaven..." Heaven is a real place! Jesus said so! Even though some people in our world don’t believe, we should!
How often we trust each other
And only doubt our Lord
We take the word of mortals
And yet distrust His Word.
But oh, what light and glory
Would shine o’er all our days
If we always would remember
God means just what He says.
We need to believe in the heaven, a better life, a better place beyond this life, because Jesus is who He claimed to be and He never lied to mankind in His Word.
II. HEAVEN IS A PREPARED PLACE
John 14:2 Jesus said, "I am going to PREPARE a place for you."
Planet earth contains some beautiful places. I haven’t visited many of the scenic places of this world, because I’ve always lived in central USA. Either in Missouri or Illinois. Ah, but even here there are beautiful places! The fall of the year is generally very beautiful, as evidenced in the colorful leaves, etc.
ILL.- I was told by one man who visited the Grand Canyon for the first time that he immediately cried because he was so overwhelmed by its beauty and awesomeness.
God has prepared a beautiful place for us here on earth. And sometimes we are very blind to this beauty.
God has prepared an even more beautiful place for us in heaven.
ILL.- A small girl looked up one evening at the star-studded sky and exclaimed, "If the wrong side of heaven looks like this, what must the right side look like?"
Hopefully, we all want to know what the right side of heaven looks like. Heaven is a prepared placed. If God could create such beauty here, just think what heaven will be like!
III. HEAVEN IS A HAPPY PLACE
John 14:1 Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled...believe in me...trust in me...I have prepared a place for you."
We all have our moments in this life: moments of sadness and moments of joy.
Moments of joy: a birth, a baby, a new home, a new job, a raise in salary, a wedding, a new grandbaby, good fortune for our family or freinds, etc.
Moments of sadness: a troubled world, 9/11, financial loss, troubled family members, prodigal children, failing health, loss of loved ones, stress of life and work, etc.
I tend to think that happiness in this life is an elusive thing, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I believe that the Lord wants us to experience a certain amount of happiness in this life, but not fully.
Why is it not possible to find complete joy in this life? Because God has something better in mind. He has prepared for us a place where we can find complete joy or happiness.
Rev. 21:3-4 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
These words sound very good! No more tears, no more crying, no more pain, no more death! THIS MUST BE HEAVEN!
Rom. 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." The glory revealed in us, to us. That’s heaven. A happy place. A place that will be worth every pain we have endured in this life.
All "present sufferings" will be no more in heaven. No more in heaven!
CONCLUSION----------------------------------
Flossie longed to see the Lord and she longed for heaven. She is there and she is His as never before. She is rejoicing. She is well. She is healthy. She is strong. She is happy. God has promised.
ILL.- No Disappointment in Heaven
There’s no disappointment in heaven,
No weariness, sorrow or pain;
No hearts that are bleeding and broken,
No song with a minor refrain.
The clouds of our earthly horizon
Will never appear in the sky,
For all will be shunshine and gladness,
With never a sob nor a sigh.
We’ll never pay rent for our mansion,
The taxes will never come due;
Our garments will never grow threadbare,
But always be fadeless and new.
We’ll never be hungry nor thirsty,
Nor languish in poverty there,
For all the rich bounties of heaven
His sanctified children will share.
There’ll never be crepe on the door-knob,
No funeral train in the sky;
No graves on the hillside of Glory,
For there we shall never more die.
The old will be young there forever,
Transformed in a moment of time;
Immortal we’ll stand in His likeness,
The stars and the sun to outshine.
I’m bound for that beautiful city
My Lord has prepared for His own;
Where all the redeemed of all ages
Sing “Glory!” around the white throne.
Sometimes I grow homesick for heaven,
And the glories I there shall behold:
What a joy that will be when my Savior I see,
In that beautiful city of gold!
~ F. M. Lehman
