An excerpt from a sermon delivered at the Roseville Church of Christ
December 22, 2019
Music that, as I get older, deepens my longing for heaven.
As I get older, I have come to appreciate even
more some of the funeral songs. Though I have loved “I’ll fly Away” since long
before I qualified as a senior citizen. “When I die, Hallelujah,
Bye and Bye, I’ll Fly Away.” When we get to the point in our understanding of
God and His promises that we can throw a “Hallelujah” into a line about dying,
then we know that we don’t have to be afraid of anything.
Not being afraid is a sermon all by itself, but I will summarize it like this: Psalms 56:3 says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” And Psalm 56:11 says “In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?”
Jesus said this in Luke 12: “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26 If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."
“When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye.” Death is our passport to heaven! There is no reason to be afraid.
“Jesus is coming soon” is one of my favorites in this regard. The second verse talks about trumpets, then the third verse goes like this. “Troubles will soon be o’er; happy for evermore; when we meet on that shore; free from all care. Rising up in the Sky; telling this world goodbye; homeward we then will fly; glory to share. Jesus is coming soon; morning or night or noon: many will meet their doom; trumpets will sound! All of the dead shall rise; righteous meet in the skies; going where no one dies; Heavenward bound.” Amen!
When I delivered a shorter version of this to the little men’s group about a week ago, one of the guys asked me if I distinguished between old songs and new songs. I knew what he was asking. There is something of an age war, a culture war going on. Some of the young people are not impressed with the older songs. And some older people really dislike the newer songs.
But I had to say that I love some of both sets. You know the name Fanny Crosby. She died in 1915. She wrote 19 of the songs in one of our current song books. Powerful songs like “To God be the Glory,” “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer.” I pointed out to him that when she wrote it, those were new songs. I wonder if she was put down for her songs because they were new. But we have come to love them and to depend upon them for our worship of God.
At the same time, Charlene has a play list of songs by the group “A Capella” that she plays regularly. Some of them are a little older now, but I believe they are still putting out some new stuff. One of her favorites is “Everybody Said (But Nobody Did).” You may have heard it. It is done with a Jamaican accent and talks about the work of the church. What the song is saying is:
“Well I'm too busy so I tell everybody
The work's got to get done by somebody
It can be done by anybody
But nobody (nobody), nobody (nobody), nobody did”
Not being afraid is a sermon all by itself, but I will summarize it like this: Psalms 56:3 says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” And Psalm 56:11 says “In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?”
Jesus said this in Luke 12: “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? 26 If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."
“When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye.” Death is our passport to heaven! There is no reason to be afraid.
“Jesus is coming soon” is one of my favorites in this regard. The second verse talks about trumpets, then the third verse goes like this. “Troubles will soon be o’er; happy for evermore; when we meet on that shore; free from all care. Rising up in the Sky; telling this world goodbye; homeward we then will fly; glory to share. Jesus is coming soon; morning or night or noon: many will meet their doom; trumpets will sound! All of the dead shall rise; righteous meet in the skies; going where no one dies; Heavenward bound.” Amen!
When I delivered a shorter version of this to the little men’s group about a week ago, one of the guys asked me if I distinguished between old songs and new songs. I knew what he was asking. There is something of an age war, a culture war going on. Some of the young people are not impressed with the older songs. And some older people really dislike the newer songs.
But I had to say that I love some of both sets. You know the name Fanny Crosby. She died in 1915. She wrote 19 of the songs in one of our current song books. Powerful songs like “To God be the Glory,” “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer.” I pointed out to him that when she wrote it, those were new songs. I wonder if she was put down for her songs because they were new. But we have come to love them and to depend upon them for our worship of God.
At the same time, Charlene has a play list of songs by the group “A Capella” that she plays regularly. Some of them are a little older now, but I believe they are still putting out some new stuff. One of her favorites is “Everybody Said (But Nobody Did).” You may have heard it. It is done with a Jamaican accent and talks about the work of the church. What the song is saying is:
“Well I'm too busy so I tell everybody
The work's got to get done by somebody
It can be done by anybody
But nobody (nobody), nobody (nobody), nobody did”
“Everybody said that anybody could do
The important things somebody should do
Everybody knows that anybody could do
All the good things that nobody did.”
The important things somebody should do
Everybody knows that anybody could do
All the good things that nobody did.”
That’s important new music.
One of my favorite You Tube videos is of an auditorium full of U.S. Marines singing “Days of Elijah.” And Charlene loves one we learned in Haiti: “Ain’t no rock gonna cry in my place.” It goes on with the theme, “Aint no bird gonna sing in my place. And ends with: “As long as I'm alive I'll glorify his holy name.”
These songs have become a strong part of who we are. They are in our souls. You can’t separate us from them. If someone kidnaps us and holds us captive, they can’t take these songs from us. The songs have brought us to Jesus and have kept us with Him through the years. They are causing us to be excited about Jesus' second coming – to look forward to it. To listen for the trumpet call of God and the Shout of the Archangel.
If you are not there yet, listen to the song we are about to sing. If you are ready to be baptized or want us to pray with you, Come on down front while we stand and sing this song.
One of my favorite You Tube videos is of an auditorium full of U.S. Marines singing “Days of Elijah.” And Charlene loves one we learned in Haiti: “Ain’t no rock gonna cry in my place.” It goes on with the theme, “Aint no bird gonna sing in my place. And ends with: “As long as I'm alive I'll glorify his holy name.”
These songs have become a strong part of who we are. They are in our souls. You can’t separate us from them. If someone kidnaps us and holds us captive, they can’t take these songs from us. The songs have brought us to Jesus and have kept us with Him through the years. They are causing us to be excited about Jesus' second coming – to look forward to it. To listen for the trumpet call of God and the Shout of the Archangel.
If you are not there yet, listen to the song we are about to sing. If you are ready to be baptized or want us to pray with you, Come on down front while we stand and sing this song.
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