July 11th, 2003
To the family, to all friends and love ones, we at The First Church of God in
Harvey grieve with you in the passing of one whom we all dearly love, in the person
of Bro. Rodney Casimere. Even though we all love Bro. Casimere, there is someone
who loves him more, and because of this love, when Bro. Casimere heard his name
being called last Saturday morning by his friend, he had to answer the call. Bro.
Casimere had no time to say good-bye to his daughter Allison or to his son-in law
Rhay, because they were both in Jamaica. He had no time to say good-bye to his
brother, Bro. Shedrick Casimere. He had no time to say good-bye to his many
friends, because when God calls your name, you have to answer. Bro. Casimere was
able to call his nephew William, and shortly after, answered the Lord’s call, and left
this world of trouble and sorrow to be with his Lord.......elaborate...Bro. Casimere is
absent from the body, but he is present with the Lord......
It was about 8:30 last Saturday morning that I received the call that Bro. Casimere
had passed away. I was a bit surprised when I heard the news, but came to realize
that each of us one day will have to leave this world.............elaborate......each of us
one day will have to stand before God for ourselves......
Bro. Casimere was a very soft spoken man who loves sports, and everytime I visited
him he would be watching foot-ball or baseball, or some other sports, or listening to
the news.
When my son played foot-ball for Northwestern, Bro. Casimere and I would talk
about Northwestern foot-ball team, and we would later talked about UPenn where
my other son currently plays foot-ball. Bro. Casimere enjoyed talking about current
events, but did not like to discuss too much politics.............elaborate........he was a
good listener, he would listen and say what he had to say............
Bro. Casimere was a member of our church, but because of illness was not involved
as he would like to have been. He started this Christian race about 5 years ago, and
ran until time for him, was no more. All of us here today are in a race, and how we
run the race will determine where we go at the end of the race.
I would like to speak for a few minutes on the to-pic, The Christian Race. In
Hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2 we read these words. Where-fore seeing we also are com-
passed about with a great cloud of wit-ness-es, let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin whih doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. In our text,
the Christian is represented as a runner competing for the prize. The runner may
not run anywhere, but must pursue the course marked out for him. Beginning at the
starting point he must pursue the definite course until he reach the goal. In this
Christian race we all do not start at the same time, some might start when they are
young, some when they are older, but everyone should have the same desire of
completing the race. Bro. Casimere ran, and completed his race on July 5th, 2003.
In this Christian life the race is set before us and it is marked out by the Word of
God by the examples of the faithful servants of God who have finished their course,
and is that cloud of witnesses with which they are compassed about.
In order to run this race successful there are certain things we must do, we must lay
aside every weight, cast off everything that would hinder us running this race. We
must lay aside every sin which doth so easily beset us, and run the race with
patience and perseverance. There will be need of patience to encounter the
difficulties that lie in our way, and perseverance until the goal is reached. I believe
as Bro. Casimere was running his race, he might have got a bit impatient along the
way; he might have wondered why do I have to go through all this. He might have
wondered why do I have to suffer so much. He might have wondered how long will
this last. I believe the witnesses in the grand stand of glory were watching Bro.
Casimere as he was running this race. I believe they were encouraging him. I believe
they were saying to him don’t stop brother just keep on running. Don’t give up now,
the finisher line is almost in view. On Saturday morning, July 5th, Bro. Casimere
saw the finish line, and he ran until he came to the end of his journey.......elaborate
In this Christian Race our example is Jesus, and we are called upon to look to him;
Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. In the long procession of
heroes celebrated for their faith our Lord stands at the head, and we are called upon
to look to him as our great example. The course our Lord had to run was one of
extreme difficulty, danger and suffering, and so we are called upon to look to him.
He overcame and finished his course with joy, and so we are called upon to look to
him. In seasons of despondency, when faith is weak, and your spirit sinks within
you, when there is nobody around to help you, you are called upon to look to Jesus.
In times of exhaustion and weariness, when you faint because of the difficulties of
the way, you are called upon to look to Jesus. When your loved one has been taken
away, and there is a void that cannot be filled, you are still called upon to look to
Jesus, because Jesus understands.....elaborate.
To all of you here today, I want you to know that there is no friend like Jesus. All of
us here today, are in a race, and our destination is dependent upon how we run our
race. If we live for the Lord, then our destination will be heaven when we come to
the end of our journey. On the other hand if we don’t live for the Lord, when we
come to the end of our journey we will be away from the pre-sence of the Lord. A
man’s death is in keeping with a man’s life.......elaborate......
If you are in this race today, but you find yourself going in the wrong direction, I
would encourage you to change lanes, turn around, and start heading in the right
direction. It’s a fact we are all on a journey. It’s fact, we are on the final leg of our
journey. It’s a fact that in order to be a success on our journey, we have to cast aside
any hindrances that would be stumbling-block on the journey, and run with
patience the race that is set before us. As we journey, we are called upon to keep our
eyes on Jesus, to look to him, the one who is the author and finisher of our faith.
We all grieve the passing of Bro. Rodney Casimere one whom we all dearly love. He
has run his race, he has finished his course, and now he is with the Lord. He has no
more pain, no more suffering, no more shortness of breath, he now has a brand new
body....... How are you running your race? Where are you headed as you approach
the finish line? Are you looking to Jesus for help and for guidance? Jesus is the
friend you need. To the family, to all friends and love ones, if you do not know Je-
sus as your Lord and Savior, I now recommend him to you, as the friend that you
truly need. "There is not a friend like Je-sus, When you draw your life’s last breath;
If you’ll be his friend while living, He will be your friend in death."
Bro. Casimere’s friend was Je-sus, and Je-sus wants to be your friend too. Right
now, you can change lanes, turn around, put your trust in Je-sus, and make him
your friend. If you want Je-sus to be your friend, if today you want to put your trust
in him, if you intend to see Bro. Casimere someday, I would like to pray for you at
this time, if you will raise your hand.......................
Let us pray
