Today, as we prepare for our message, we turn to the book of Job, chapter 1, verses 20 through 22.
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
From there, we turn to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 51 through 58. Paul writes:
‘Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.’
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, you have given us your word, just as you have given us your Son. Your Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us have been given to us as a source of comfort, as our great Comforter. Just as your word is used for us, it encourages us, it convicts us, but most of all, in times like these, it comforts us because it contains and tells us about all your glorious and wonderful promises—promises of life to come in the kingdom with you.
And now, we ask that, as you are here in our midst, you open our ears to hear and our hearts to understand. You fill us with your hope and your joy because we believe what you have promised. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
We have gathered here together today for an occasion that is both somber and quite joyous. We remember the life of Bruce Engel, which has now passed, so we grieve. But we are also here to celebrate and rejoice at the life with Jesus Christ that he has found through the confidence of his faith.
Now, I have been blessed to have known Bruce for as long as I have, short though it may be. One thing that I quickly realized about him is that he is not the kind of person for half measures. He is an all or nothing kind of guy, and I recognize that also in his faithfulness to Jesus.
When we met together not so long ago, after the decision to begin hospice was made, his attitude and expression well exemplified the perspective of Job, who, upon his receipt of the worst news imaginable, faithfully declared, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
Now, some folks might take that expression as being one of resigned defeat, of apathy, of assuming a sense of futility in our lives, but that was not Job’s belief, nor did that seem to be in Bruce’s mind. There was acceptance, yes, an acceptance of the Lord’s divine providence both for the positive and the negative. Yet there is also thanksgiving and praise to the Lord because he is the one who has given us all that we have received, a grace well beyond what we deserve, and he is worthy to be praised for it.
Throughout the whole period of uncertainty, wondering what was wrong, wondering if the treatments were working, Bruce never lost his faith or gave into fear because of whom his faith is in and because of whom he trusted was in control of all these things, ordering and ordaining them for good, even if we do not always see it at the time.
Jesus Christ, Bruce knew, and had peace because he knew the Prince of Peace. He had joy in the midst of trial because of the eternal hope which he and every Christian possesses—the hope of our future resurrection and life eternal with Jesus in the heavenly kingdom and in the New Jerusalem upon the renewed earth following the day of final judgment.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
And the Apostle Paul, he writes to us, encouraging us, saying that at the final trumpet sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
Our Christian hope is that we shall be changed—not that we might be changed or that we may be changed, but we are assured that we will be changed. Our faith is not futile; it is very real and is the result of the promise of God. The mortal will become immortal. The dead will be made alive. The defeated will be made victorious by the power of the cross and the promise of the empty tomb—all because God, our Father, has raised Jesus from the dead, and we have received this glorious gospel promise of forgiveness for our sins.
We are justified by our faith and have had our hearts filled with such joy that we need not fear death or anything at all to come in this life or in the next. The very same Lord who created the heavens and the earth, he who gives us our very breath and provides for our every need, has provided the only way to be restored to our intended place as his children: the perfectly atoning death of Christ on the cross.
The sinless sacrifice, willingly made as our substitute, Jesus—God the Son—suffered the wrath due us. He suffered the death we deserve so that we would receive the mercy which he should have had. He was made to be accursed so that we would be blessed. Jesus suffered separation from the love of the Father, descending into hell for a little while so that we shall enjoy the Father’s love eternally instead of being condemned to the lake of fire.
The belief that he defeated God there up on Calvary’s hill was wrong; death was swallowed up in Jesus’ victory on the third day when the stone was rolled away and the Son of Righteousness rose early on that Lord’s day.
We now have died to sin’s penalty because Jesus has paid our debt; tetelestai—justice has been satisfied, and so grace and mercy have been given to us.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
All that we have comes from the providing hand of the Lord’s love for his creation, but especially for his children. He has given us so much grace in everything, and we do not deserve anything that we have. Thus, it is right and good and proper that we should say, ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord.’
All that he gives to us prepares us according to his good and our eternal future. The time that we have now is short compared to the promise that we are waiting for, and the trials that we face in this life are opportunities to turn to Jesus for comfort and support.
The challenges that we strive through are opportunities to trust the Lord for his help and strength and to depend on his power instead of our own—opportunities to rely on God for all things instead of ourselves. This is our training, our workout, where we are being built up in faith, hope, and confidence for Jesus’s sake.
The football player prepares himself by hitting the gym, lifting weights, running laps, doing drills—working out again and again, pushing themselves to the limits of their endurance and then continuing onward, stretching themselves, growing stronger and faster, and getting better.
No player really wants to be doing all this hard work and effort, although they may enjoy parts of it, but they do want to play the game. They look forward to the ultimate result of their hard work and the final benefit—the victory at the final buzzer.
God allows us to face our struggles, and then he helps us to overcome them, preparing us for his final victory. Death is that final challenge, and it is a challenge that the faithful in Christ will not face alone, for we have a great High Priest who does sympathize with us in our weakness and who will carry us across that finish line to the Father’s throne of grace and mercy.
Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?
If you trust in Jesus Christ alone as your Savior, then death has lost its sting for you. Its power over you has been destroyed upon that cross, and you possess the promise of the empty tomb.
We are all sinners; none of us are good people. We are all in need of forgiveness, but there is one who is able and willing to forgive us—Jesus. And if you hear him calling to you, respond in faith. Run and cling to the cross of Christ and be washed clean through the power of his blood.
Repent and believe in him whose name is the only name by which anyone may be saved. Accept the free gift of grace that he offers to you, and watch him take away the sin stain from your soul and the guilt that weighs down your conscience or heart.
It is through our faith in Christ Jesus that we may live and love, knowing that our labors are not in vain but that they work towards God’s glory. We are confident that he will preserve us and persevere us to the very end and give us the victory in him.
Then, when that day comes—and unless Jesus comes first, it will come for all of us—and we cross the threshold from this present life into the next, we will enter those gates with thanksgiving instead of fear and proclaim, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’
Amen.