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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
In Memory of Nanny!
Victory Temple
5/6/01 Sun AM
We come together this morning as a church family. But there is a different feeling here this morning for most of us because we have experienced the loss of a dear Saint of God. There are mixed feelings on occasions such as this. Firstly, there is sadness for ourselves as we know that Sis. Elmore will be so greatly missed. Her prayers and her presence have been such a powerful influence upon not just myself but upon the entire church.
After we get past our great feelings of loss and grief, we must come to the realization that Sis. Elmore, or Nanny as I have always called her, has ceased to suffer from her illnesses and that she is so very happy this morning. I can just picture in my mind this morning her expressions as she was carried by the angels into the presence of Jesus Christ her Lord.
Four weeks ago, on April 1st, 2001, Nanny gave us a word from the Lord in a sermon titled, “The Promises of God”. She spoke of hiding the Word in her heart and of holding to the promises of God. Her life was an example of one who loved Jesus and she testified of Christ on every opportunity. She told us of the cost of discipleship and faithfulness to the calling of God upon our lives. The words of her sermon were powerful and spoke volumes to us of living for God but the greatest sermon she preached was the way she lived her life.
Most of you may not have known Nanny well enough to remember one of her favorite expressions and so perhaps you won’t get the full meaning of this, but I can almost hear her as she begins to experience life in Heaven.
“My Lands”, I never dreamed Heaven could be so beautiful. I can see Nanny in the spirit as her pain is gone, as she is clothed in pure white, glowing with joy and happiness and shouting the victory this morning, the beginning of a long and glorious day in eternity. I can see her face as she is beaming with peace and happiness when she finds her husband, Ralph, and they hold hands and, along with the angels and Jesus, they begin to stroll through those golden avenues and walk beside the River of Life. Oh, what a time Nanny is having this morning!
Certainly we shall miss here in this earthly realm, but what joy there is in our hearts and what peace we have in our soul, to know with certainty that we shall all see her again very soon as we shall all cross that river into glory one day. Whether it is years in this fleshly tabernacle or whether Jesus catches us away in the next heartbeat, the fact is that life itself is but a puff of smoke in the light of eternity and it will soon be done.
While it is a wonderful thing to remember our dear friend and sister in the Lord, I know that if Nanny could speak here this morning, she would say to me, “That’s enough of that! Quit talking about me and talk about the Lord. Tell these folks about my Savior for He is the one that can help them, not me. Tell them about the truth of God’s Word and the fact that each of you will soon follow the same path that I have walked”
And so, in memory of my friend Nanny, that’s what I intend to do.
2 Corinthians 5:1-8, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight). We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
As we grow older we become more aware of the brevity of life. I can look at life now, from a perspective of having lived for over 53 years and realize that I have less time to go than I have already had unless God sees fit to allow me to live a longer than normal lifespan.
Only those who love Jesus and have surrendered their lives to Him can fully understand these verse that the Apostle Paul has written to the Corinthian church and to the church of today.
We have a great hope and peace in every storm, and God gives us strength through the darkest hours of life, even in the times of deepest sorrow. Our strength comes from the joy of knowing our eternal destination is the same place where Nanny is today. Our hope is not of this life with its troubles, sickness, and death; but our hope is Jesus and His saving grace and mercy. Our hope and our dreams are based upon the promises of God that are given time and again of a glorious future in a bright and wonderful eternal home where all tears shall be wiped away and where sickness, old age and death will not exist.
Just as Nanny was heard to say that she was tired of being sick, all of us who love Jesus and watching for His coming, are tired and sick of the sin and troubles of this earthly life. Deep within the heart of every true Child of God, the spirit within us is groaning and searching for that home in the heavens. True, none of us wants to die, this fleshly tent or tabernacle or body that we live in is all we have ever known and we fear the uncertainty of what lies ahead when we leave this body. But, I want you to know, that when the time comes to leave, we will all be so much better off than we are now.
I long for the day when I won’t have to worry any longer about sickness, weakness, financial pressures, bills, job losses, and all the cares of this life. I look forward to that time when we will all stand in the glories of Heaven and be able to enjoy one another’s company without the effects of pain and sorrow. My hope is not in this life but in that life that knows no more troubles but is eternally perfect.
I want to be able to visit with Sis. Rose without watching her suffer in pain and discouragement. I want to talk with each of you without the sorrow of sickness and distress as the overpowering source of conversation. Aren’t you looking forward to that day?
It’s not that I want this body to die but that I would greatly prefer that glorious body that doesn’t grow old, get sick or die. I want to be clothed in the glorious body that is promised to all that are resurrected into eternal life.
Jesus has promised us that at the moment of death, our spirit will leave this earthly body and go to be with Him in the Heavenly realm. One of the primary jobs of angels is to escort the spirit of one who leaves this earth into the presence of Jesus Christ. I have been there personally and heard of many other times when those who were nearing the portal of death would begin to confess that they could see the angels of God or even Jesus himself standing around the bed where they lay. None of us could see them but they could because God was already opening the door Heaven for them to see inside. Their fear of death was gone for they simply stepped from this life into the next in one quick moment.
Jesus broke the power of death and the grave upon the cross.
1 Corinthians 15:53-55, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
When Jesus says that we fall asleep that’s exactly what he means. The moment of death for a saint of God is no more than falling asleep. In one quick moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we pass from this mortal realm into that of immortality. Faster than you can snap your finger, this world fades and the glories of Heaven burst forth. While this body of flesh may go back to dust, the spirit, mind and soul which make up the essence or heart of who you are suddenly go from the effects of sin in this present life to, instantly, be transformed into the Heavenly realm of perfect peace and joy.
That’s the hope of Christianity! Jesus has destroyed the power of pain and fear in passing from this life to the next. He has utterly destroyed the power of the uncertainty and holding power of the grave and even though the body must return to the earth from which it came, the soul will instantly return to the Father from where it was born into life eternal.
That is the message that the Word of God, given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to Paul for you this morning.
If Sis. Elmore, Nanny, could stand here today and preach you one last sermon, after having experienced the absolute joy and victory that she has experienced since 5 o’clock Friday morning, she would say to you, “Don’t sorrow over me!”
She would want me to say to you this morning, “ I love each of you”. In fact, those very words were the last words I heard her say to me. She would stand here in beautiful and glowing white robes of righteousness and victory to say to you “Stay faithful to Jesus, make sure your heart is right with God, for if you do, we shall all be together soon. If you don’t, I will remember you no more.”
If Nanny could speak this morning I believe that she would say to us those same words that Paul said so long ago, “Oh death where is your pain, Oh grave where is your victory.” For her this life has given way to a wonderful bursting forth of power and victory and to the beauty and glory of Heaven.
We sorrow not for her but for ourselves. We desire to be where she is, not for her to be here with us.
But the importance of this message this morning is not so much to honor Sis. Elmore as it is to make us all aware that life is short and we all go to meet God.
The greatest questions this morning for each of you are these:
ARE YOU READY TO MEET GOD? WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
I can pay no greater honor to God, I can do greater thing for Jesus, and I can give no greater gift to Nanny than to use this occasion to ask each of you these two questions and then give you an opportunity to examine your own life.
If you are ready to meet God and you are saved, then we shall all soon be together in the Heaven that God has prepared for us.
If you aren’t ready you won’t be with us unless you give your heart to Jesus this morning. As we close this service, examine your life, examine your heart and make your decision this morning to be a part of that great homecoming.
Give your heart and life to Jesus, confess Him as Lord and Savior, confess your sin to Him and let Jesus make your heart ready. Jesus wants you to be with Him, your loved ones who have died in Christ are waiting for you there, and when we get to Heaven, I know that Nanny will be standing there waiting to welcome us home again.
