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Was that an angel singing? Oof. There's a place of thirst and hunger where the roots of faith grow deep, and there is rain and rolling thunder when the road is rough and steep. There is hope in desperation. Amen. There is victory in defeat, and the cross of restoration where joy and sorrow meet. We are thankful to be in God's presence.
There is no better place to be on a Sunday morning, especially after a tragedy that hit San Ramon Valley Bible Church, each and every home. But we come to church to get comfort. We come to church to be consoled. We come to church to hear the word of God. We come to church to be lifted up. We come to church to learn more about Jesus Christ, and we come to church to get directions how to live our lives in this world around us. And this morning, I have few words, and if I were to give a title for my message, the title is The God of Consolation.
In first Peter chapter five and verse seven, If you have your Bibles, I'd like, I'd like you to open your Bibles. I'd like to have my own Bible because sometimes you want to, uh, underneath, underline this. And I, I'm going to take two verses, one from the New Testament, one from the Old Testament. The verse from the New Testament, First Peter chapter five verse seven, casting all your care on him, for he cares for you. The second verse is from Psalm ninety four nineteen, ninety four nineteen.
And the uh... word of God says, when my anxious thoughts multiply within me, thy consolations delight my soul. I will repeat that. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, thy consolations delight my soul. And you know the best thing when we face a tragedy in life, or we face pressures and we face all kinds of problems, the Lord says, cast all your anxious thoughts on me, and I will offer you my heavenly care.
Isn't that comforting? Isn't that? The psalmist also was a man who's tested and with a proven faith, was perplexed by his suffering and hard times, but he was absolutely sure the Lord was on his side and would see him through. His testimony gives light and encouragement to all of God's children in their times of suffering and mental anguish. We are so busy in our daily lives, and the schedules we follow are so jammed, and sometimes we say it's a crazy world, don't you?
To the extent we do not allow ourselves to stop and take a deep breath until sorrow is experienced and the r- reality of life hits us hard. Then we stop. We then become like the ancient psalmist. We recognize that the cares of our hearts are many. Our hearts wearied from the toil and troubles of this lives, and we need a cheerful word this morning. Where can we find it except in the word of God? And God is the only one who can do that.
His consolations make all the difference in the world. And in this special service, I want to share with you two words. The first word, I want to assure you that God cares for you. Daphne, God cares for you. And this word is for me before it's for you, and I hope it will be for each and every person here. We are living in a very dangerous world. I think you've heard the saying, this is a God-forsaken world. While we agree that there is a lot of evil in this world, we know that God has not forsaken us.
With Christ in our hearts, we are never alone. God is with us. Emmanuel, his name, God is with us. And this great God who dwells in us knows all about us. He knows where we live. We can't hide from him. How much money we have, regardless of your secret accounts. He knows. Well, if, if the word of God cheers you this morning, we need it. We need it very bad. He knows our goings and comings, doesn't he? He knows our secret sins and what our favorite foods are.
He knows how hard we try to do good also. He knows our shortcomings. He knows our secret sins. He knows our strengths. He knows our weaknesses. He knows our fears. He knows our dreams. He knows our doubts, and he sure knows our afflictions. He knows our burdens. He knows our blessings because he sends them. He knows how to treat us and how to treat our ailments. He knows how to comfort us, the God of all comforts, in everything we go through. Paul writes to the Corinthians in second Corinthians chapter one, verses three and four.
I will read it to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which ourselves are comforted by God. How many words of comfort in these two verses, and how much we need to be comforted. And let me tell you, we comfort each other. This is why we come to church, because this way we see the family of God. And this family has been stricken hard, hit very hard.
But you know one thing? We are not dead. We are alive in Jesus Christ. And Don is not dead. The body goes back from dust to dust. He is alive and smiling and rejoicing in the presence of God. So many times when we go to a place, we say, wow, it's like paradise. We know nothing about paradise. We might think of a two palm trees and a, and a sea, blue sea, and say, this is paradise. Wait till we get there. Wait till you get... And Don, can you, can you explain to us this?
Eyes have not seen and ears have not heard what God has prepared to those who love him. Do you love God? The heaven is prepared for you, paradise. But Paul wrote that, and you know Paul went to paradise. Paul was taken to paradise. He spent a few hours, maybe a few minutes, maybe, I don't know, he went to paradise and came back and say, Paul, tell us about it. I can't describe it. Eyes have not seen. So let's remember that the end of the journey is not at any place down six feet under.
The end of our journey for every believer who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior is paradise and the presence of the Lord. Amen? George MacDonald wrote, how often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource. We go to him because we have nowhere else to go, and then we learn. Listen, and then we learn that the storms of life have driven us not upon the rocks, but into the desired havens of rest. In Ezra's prayers, we find the following words: Our God has not forsaken us, but has extended loving kindness to us.
God cares for his people. We sometimes are not willing to open ourselves for him, but he knows the whole story already. You can't keep a secret from God. You can keep it from your wife, you can keep it from your husband, you can keep it from work, you can keep it from your friends, you can keep secrets here, but we cannot keep secrets from God. He, he's the one who created us. He's the one who knows how many veins you have in your body. Millions. He knows them. He made us all together, and we cannot keep any secret. In spite of our failures, he stands by us.
And he said, I will never leave you, and you complete this verse. I will never leave you. He is not forsaken us. He is not going to forsake Daphne, nor her family, physical family, nor her spiritual family. God is with us, and he is going to care for us as long as we are taking this journey. We are not alone, and we will never, he doesn't want us to feel we are alone. He stands by us, not as a neutral being, but as our dearest friend. And we can say with the hymn writers, what a friend we have in Jesus.
What a friend. No matter what situation we are in, or trouble we face, or a tragedy he allows in our lives, rest assured, dear saint, nothing escapes him or slides by him. He cares and walks with us and shows us that he is the all-caring, the all-powerful, sovereign God. He'll never leave us, as I said, and he promised. And if we, if we look at the journey behind us, and I hope we have covered most of it, and what's left is a little, little stretch, and after that we're gonna see him face to face.
We find him reassuring of the psalmist saying, he will call upon me. This is what, what the Lord is telling the psalmist. He will call upon me, and I will answer him. Through this journey, we have a friend. He is not sitting on the fence and laughing at you when you fall. He's not sitting at the fence and mocking at you when you err. He is a God who's walking with you. He says, he calls upon me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble.
And this is, uh, this is the beautiful thing. He did not say, I will not let trouble come your way. We will experience trouble. We will experience problems. But he says, I will be with you in trouble. I'll be with you in tragedies. I'll walk with you. I will cry with you. When Lazarus died and Jesus came to the tomb, the Bible says Jesus wept. Jesus cried. And we cry. And we sorrow. And we miss. But above the, above all, we have Jesus Christ who can comfort our hearts.
I will rescue him. He will rescue us. He's not a neutral foe. Neutrality is someone like your enemy. He is not, he doesn't stand neutral. He is with us. I will rescue him and honor him, and with a long life I will satisfy him and let him behold my salvation. He's talking about the final salvation from this world, and when we are going to be with him, he said, with a long life. How long are you going to live, Christian? Long life. The grave is not the end. You are going to live throughout eternity, as long as Jesus lives.
So our life here, whether it's seventy or eighty, let me tell you one thing. This is not measured in the eyes of God. What measured is what you do for eternity, and you will live with him eternal life. Let us cling to our Savior and trust him in all our ways, for he promised that he will quiet our hearts and works all things according to his will. There is no refuge like our God and no shield like our Savior. John Darby once said, God's ways are behind the scenes, but he moves all the scenes which he is behind.
So God's hand in all this matter. And as I said Thursday night, God doesn't make mistakes. He's in control, and no one can take control out of him. He is in control. He's in total command of this family of God. This family and every family that calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and he will achieve his purpose in our lives. As someone wrote, God writes, writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, acts with a hand that never fails.
So lean on the never failing God, because he takes care of you. We have a caring God. The second word that I would like to share with you, God has a great future planned for you. God has a great future planned for you. Do you believe that? Christian, do you believe that? I'm optimistic. Regardless what happens in our lives, I am optimistic, and my wife tells me, you are the eternal optimist. You don't see anything negative. Well, thank God. Thank God.
You know why? If I, if I, I apply the word of God, God is taking care of me and has a great future for me. Why, why should I worry? I mean, let's ask Don. Well, he cannot communicate with us, but s- soon he will. Ask Don. He said, what is, what is the best verse you have in the Bible? We heard about it. And so I have great plans for you to give you a bright future. Daphne, smile because you're soon going to see him face to face and tell you, I told you so. I told you so. First and foremost, this God who works for our own good future, he is eternal.
We have to recognize that. He holds tomorrow in his hands, and you know one thing, there is no tomorrow that we face that did not pass through him first. Did you get that point? It has to pass through him. So don't worry about tomorrow. He has to screen it first. Those people are still working in the workplace, is there are things that they are screened. He has to screen it first. And if he says, well, we'll send tomorrow toward Linda, and that's a good tomorrow. And I want to tell you something, all the tomorrows of a Christian lives are good tomorrows, because he is in control.
He has plans for us, a future so glorious that our minds cannot now begin to comprehend it. And in his eternal wisdom and majestic power will bring his plan to completion and fulfillment in his own time and in his own way. We as citizens of this planet prepare for what we think is our future, which is good, and we try to save and plan for our children. We have to plan for our, uh, retirement. We plan for trips. We plan for vacations.
That we t- there is nothing wrong with that. I'm for that. When we go on vacation to San Luis Obispo, I make reservations for one year later when I'm still there. And I say, if we live and if it's God's will, we will go. If it's not God's will, thank God for the tomorrows he sends to our life. We will accept anything from him. We have, and there is nothing, and our, our brother made plans. Daphne told me Thursday early in the morning that they, before he went on his wa- final walk, that they reviewed their vacation.
They reviewed, he loved Disneyland, he wanted to go to Disneyland. They, uh, went through everything, uh, car rental, the hotel, everything. He said, honey, I'm gonna go walk for thirty minutes and come back and see you. Well, little did we know that his plans, God's plans were totally different than ours. We make plans. We prepare ourselves. One of the great men of God, they asked him, what do you think about death? He said, I cannot tell you anything about death except I am packed, my luggage is at the door, and I am ready when he calls.
He has the arrangements. He has the plans. He has everything prepared for you and me. And I pray that the plans will be a trumpet sound, and we shall hear the trumpet sound, and we shall all be changed and go to meet our Lord in heaven. From the youngest baby to the oldest man or woman, we can never guarantee the future. I have to bring that to your attention. No one can guarantee the future. The only security we have is the security of the word of God.
That guarantees future life. No insurance coverage will guarantee you future life. In fact, you buy insurance because there is death coming. If you know that you're not going to die, you won't buy that insurance policy. And there is no assurance that how long you're going to live. Death can visit us any moment, but the word of God can assure us of the future. Don didn't mind going anytime.
He lived a happy life, a wonderful life, a joyous life, because his future was insured and assured by the word of God. Do you have that insurance policy? And what was his insurance policy? He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior few years ago and given his life to him. And that's the only assurance you can have, and that's the only future you can have. You will have a bright future when you give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. And if I'm speaking this morning to an unsaved person or a doubting person about his or her salvation, this is the time to give Jesus Christ your life completely.
You know why? Because you don't know when you're gonna die. Say, Adol, you're, you're, you're making me fearful. Well, don't you fear death? Death came early, and we don't know why, but one thing we know, that Don is today in a place according to God's plan and God's future, good future for him.
As we transit this life, we are daily plagued by questions we cannot answer, right? Quen- questions that disturb us, and many questions come to our minds. Let me help you a little bit. Why did God allow this? Why a child dies? Why a plane falls and crashes? Why the earthquakes? Why the catastrophes that we see and read in the newspapers on a daily basis? It's not for us to do why, but to lift our hearts and say, God knows what he's doing.
God has the future, and the only answer comes from heaven. Man cannot give an answer. The Apostle Paul assured us, and here's the word of God again, with an answer. For now, he says, we see in a mirror dimly. We can't see it well, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall understand in full. God also has a great future. He prepared for us a place, didn't he? Those of you who know your Bibles, he said, let not your heart be troubled.
I go to prepare a place for you so that where I am, there you may be also. Don't think you are going to be living away from God in a shack in heaven. There are no shacks in heaven. There are only palaces in heaven. He, he says, I prepare for you a place. What did he mention too? I prepare mansions. There is no, there is no second, there are no apartments in heaven. Those of you who live in a, in a little apartment, this is gonna change. You're gonna have a great mansion. You're gonna enjoy the presence of the Lord, and you go near him.
As for me, I'm happy with my broccoli patch, and with Jeff Rudy and I, we will eat broccoli until... But I will be in the presence of the Lord, and I will rejoice in his presence. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you think God cares for you? Do you think God cares for your future? My final word. He cared even to give me a new body.
I'm going to heaven, I need a new body. We're going to heaven, we can't go with these bodies. These are earthly bodies. He says, I'm going to give them a new body. And Paul assured us of the returning Christ. When he returns, he says he will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body. Is that something that he is preparing for you and I? And John the Apostle confirms it in his writing. We know that when he appears, here's one, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Then you will look in his face and you shall see him. You will have the same body as Jesus. He- his will be shinier because he is God, but you will have the same body. That body that nothing can touch it. The body that will be alive forever and ever and ever. He cares for you here, he cares for you in the future, and it is in this sad scene, when our hearts are broken, we find comfort in knowing that God is good and that he is in control.
We look to him for the goodness, guidance, calmness, and strength we na- now desperately need. With faith and hope, and above all, love. There is nothing that covers anything like the love that God wants us to show the world. We would trust ourselves completely in his hands, our families, our church, our present, our future, our lives, our souls, our everything. Come rain or sunshine, we are his and he's ours.
And what a blessed assurance we have, a great God who feels with us, who has compassion over us, who weeps when we weep, who rejoices when we rejoice, and above all things, he'll never leave us nor forsake us. Amen. Let's bow our heads. Our Father, we come to you at this very moment, at this time in our lives where we are experiencing deep sorrow. Yet, deep inside our hearts, there's joy that we are not left alone, that we are not of this world.
We are created to spend eternity with you. How thankful we are for this great future that we have with you, we shall have with you, and we shall spend eternity in your presence. As we conclude this service, we pray that you, through the Holy Spirit, comfort our hearts. Console our hearts, multitude of thoughts and feelings, and a special prayer for Daphne and her family. We pray that you pour from heaven all the comforts of heaven.
Send your angels toward them to take them by the hand and comfort their hearts and strengthen them in times of needs like this. And as for us, the church, help us to stand firm, to live close to you. Whatever we do, to be found pleasing in your eyesight. Help us to live clean lives, honest lives, sincere lives, serving you until we hear the trumpet sound. Bless each and everyone, comfort our hearts, and we know very well that you'll never leave us nor forsake us.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray. Amen.