This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. Some of you will remember that many years ago now, I preached through Isaiah for many years. And Dave and Diane could not wait for me to get to Isaiah 35. And the night that I got to Isaiah 35, I'll never forget, Dave and Diane came bopping into church singing, therefore let the redeemed of the Lord. And I will always, always remember that. James chapter 1, it's a familiar passage to us. Consider it all joy, verse two, sorry. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Let's pray. Father, we rejoice today that our sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought, our sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and we bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh, my soul. And because we do not bear our sins, we have no reason to fear death. Because we trust in the one who not only put all of our sins away, but we also trust in the one who conquered death. So Father, today we pray that you would fix our hearts on the risen Christ, the one who is seated at your right hand. And this past Monday stood to receive another one for whom he died. We now pray that you would speak to us through your word. Father, we gladly admit human words fail us. So we long to hear something from you. In Jesus' name, amen. Joy and sorrow are not mutually exclusive categories in the Bible. In fact, Paul could say sorrowful, but always rejoicing. And right now, I rejoice. at the thought of our dear sister, Diane, being in the very presence of the Savior whom she loved. She loved Christ and her faith has become sight. She worshiped Christ, adored Christ, shared Christ with others, and now she's with Christ, which according to Paul is far better than being here. So I rejoice for her. It actually brings me joy to think of the very moment when her spirit left her body and entered into the presence of the risen King of Kings. It's an awesome thing. As most of you know, Diane always had a certain colorfulness and flamboyance about her. And I think that her entrance into glory probably even made the angels stop and take notice. Brings me joy. It also brings me great sorrow. to think of our loss. It struck me that for the last 17, 18 years or so, Diane has been a huge part of our life and a huge part of our family's life. And it dawned on me that I think I'd like to believe that we were a big part of her life And I realized that Diane made lots of people feel that way. She had that ability. That's our loss. I have sorrow when I think of Dave's loss. I sorrow when I think of Mark and Christy. I sorrow when I think of Dave's daughters and their children. I think of Aiden, I sorrow. When I think of the loss City of Refuge has experienced, it makes me sad. Diane had a way with the girls. Unconventional at times, but she had a way. She had the heart of her Savior. It's a loss for City of Refuge. When I think of Pilgrim Radio, 22 years, is that right? 22 years of Diane's voice. Some of you, little, not little now, big kids, adults, remember with joy listening to Mrs. Gamble read and do Kid's Corner and read Basket of Flowers and what was the name of the, huh? Huh? Uncle Bob. And Did you, nature, you made that up Dave. Uncle Bob, it was so long ago. Did any of the children actually, grown children remember what it was called? Obviously memories are failing, but it was always great fun. I remember we got into the car after Sunday morning service and getting ready to drive back to the house and Diane was on the radio and Zach says, Daddy, how did Mrs. Gamble get into the radio so fast? I just saw her at church. And Pilgrim Radio has experienced a loss. Diane was just a vital part of so many things. And when one member of the body suffers, we all suffer, 1 Corinthians 12, 26. And Diane's life touched so many people and she was such a blessing. And she was just a joy. And we're gonna think about those things this coming Wednesday. I'd encourage you to come. Young people, you need to listen. This is not a part of the sermon, but you need to listen to this. Always go to the funeral. Always go to the funeral. There was a generation that understood that. You always go to the funeral. We have a generation that doesn't understand that so much. Go to the funeral. you need to be there. It's better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting because this is the end of every man and the living should take it to heart. So, there's something that, I mean, it really is, it's surreal, isn't it? It's surreal. One week ago today, Diane was singing with us. And now she's singing with the spirits of just men made perfect. It brings us face to face with the reality that as a church, We have been under many frowning providences for the last year and a half. We have a relatively young congregation, three deaths in five months. And each time, I've been gone. in God's providence away, but I have to tell you that to me these seem like such strange, strange providences. To want to be able to sit with and weep with the people that I love more than life itself and yet have the physical impossibility to be able to do it, it actually is something that has boggled my mind. the sicknesses and the afflictions that are going on. I hope you realize actually how sick Pastor Charlie is. This is not just a matter of him being a little ill. He has a virus that's attacking his nervous system and is causing degrees of paralysis. The list could go on and on. You know, Dave is a master of metaphor of sorts. And he has a saying, I feel like I'm the goalie for the javelin team. As a church, that's what it feels like, doesn't it? It's what it feels like. Anybody have anything I can wipe my nose with? Thank you. So I've asked the Lord to help me, to help us to see what we're supposed to see and to learn what we're supposed to learn. And during times of utter loss, just crying out to the Lord saying, Lord, in the midst of all of this, you have to be the one that helps us to see these things, because in and of ourselves, we won't. I have a conviction, and the conviction is actually very simple. It's best articulated by John Flavel in The Mystery of Providence. And Flavel says this, he says, having proved the affairs of the people of God to be conducted by the care of special providence and given instances of what influence providence has upon those interests and concerns of theirs, we come in the next place to prove it to be the duty of the people of God to meditate upon these performances of providence for them at all times, but especially in times of difficulty and trouble. So that's just a Puritan way of saying, We've already demonstrated that God's providence is over every detail of our life. There's not any, there's no such thing as an accident. There's no such thing as fate. There's no such thing as luck. Everything is working out after the counsel of God's will. God's providence is unfolding all of these things. And so Flavel says, not only do you have the duty to understand that, you also have the duty then to in turn meditate and seek what God is doing in the mystery of his providence. to be sure we don't plumb the depths of it in this life. Right? We will never know the fullness of what God is doing, but we have the responsibility to seek God, to seek his face, to seek him in the scriptures. And so here's what I'm convinced of. I'm convinced that God is always doing something. And that in trials, God is always teaching us something. And that in trials, his design, as we see in James, is to actually strengthen our faith and cause us to grow. Now, I'll tell you that the art of meditating on divine providence and trying to discern what God is teaching is a lost art. In Jonathan Edwards' day, Edwards is preaching and the balcony in his church collapses and a number of people are killed. It's a terrible calamity and what they do is they set aside a day of solemn seeking the face of God because they believe there are no accidents. What's God saying to us in this? They set aside a day of fasting and seeking the face of God because they were convinced that God rules providence. So, these are just simple things, but they're necessary things. In light of those truths, consider this lesson. In Diane's home going, God reminds us that he's sovereign over life and over death. Diane's days were both sovereignly and lovingly and wisely determined by her heavenly father. What is said in Psalm 139, that our days are in God's book. Before even one of them comes to pass, He has it written out. That reality is something that we should think about The first Sunday of March, Diane sang with all of us, O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. And he did. Right on schedule. God is wisely, lovingly, and sovereignly in control of when you and I come into this world and when you and I go out of this world. And what was agony and struggle and grief on this side according to Psalm 116.15 was precious in the sight of the Lord. That's hard for me to get my head around. When I think of the trauma of losing someone, as Dave did on Monday morning, the weight and the agony of it is almost unbearable to think about. And yet what we look at as the deepest of trial, God says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. And so we don't know the day of our death. Sometimes it does come suddenly. So be ready. Young people, you are not invincible. Young people, die. Middle-aged people, die. Old people, die. Death is a reality that all of us need to face and I ask the young people, are you actually ready to die? Are you ready? I didn't ask if you want to die. Nobody wants to die. Are you ready to die? Are you ready to actually meet the God who formed you in your mother's womb? Jim Elliot in his journals wrote, when the time comes to die, make sure all you have to do is die. Regardless of the length of your life, life is short. Understand, you could die at age 20, you could die at age 80. And the fact is, is that both are short. In the spectrum of eternity, both are short. And so the Bible tells us that man is just a mere breath. Just a mere breath. Your life is, the psalmist says in Psalm 39, is a hand breath. That's the width from thumb to pinky. That's as long as your life is, boom. And it's over. The Bible tells us that our life is like a vapor. We don't know what our life is gonna be like. Tomorrow's not guaranteed. Our life is like a vapor. I was sitting in the San Francisco airport. I think it was San Francisco. And there's this thing, there's this area for kids. And there's this tornado machine. And there's vapor that comes up and then they've got this wind thing at the top and it's, you know, only like in San Francisco would you find something like this. And the vapor comes out and it goes, whoosh. And I just, I sat there and just watched it. That's what your life is like. That's what it is. It's vapor. And so be prepared to meet God. And be prepared to stand in the judgment. Be prepared to leave this world. And in fact, I would suggest to you that we are only really truly prepared to live in so far as that we're prepared to die. And so be prepared to stand before the God and to give an account and to be able to say, I don't have any refuge other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, In Diane's homegoing, we see the importance of the ministry of the Word and the fellowship of the saints. Last Lord's Day, Diane heard the Word of God preached. And it was exactly what Diane needed to hear, exactly. And that ministry of the word brought by Jason was precisely the arrow that Diane needed from the Lord's quiver. It was exactly what she needed, and what happened was, was that through the ministry of the Word, that gospel brought her great joy and strong assurance of faith that very day. So in one sense, I'm glad that I wasn't here because God had a different plan, a different preacher to be in a different part for the very thing that Diane needed. But here is the fact is that she was here to receive it. God had something for her. She was here to receive it. She enjoyed being with God's people. You're her family. Why do you think she brought a bag of candy to church every Sunday? You think she has some secret deal with Dr. Dragon that I bring candy and you give me kickbacks on all the cavities that you fix? I don't know this for sure. But I think that she brought candy because she loved being surrounded by the kids after service. Last Lord's Day was a means of grace that strengthened her soul and prepared both her and Dave for her home going. You understand it prepared both Diane and Dave for her home going, because she and Dave ended up having sweet fellowship that afternoon revolving around the ministry of the word, rejoicing in the day, rejoicing in the Lord together, closing that day in prayer. During times like this, I think of just so many different passages in the hymnal Show me what I have to do. Every hour my strength renew. Let me live a life of faith and let me die thy people's death. Imagine. Imagine if she had missed the sermon. Imagine if she had missed the fellowship. Imagine if her faith had burned low, and instead of fellowship with Dave that afternoon around the means of grace, there had been an argument, or they had gone to bed contentious with each other, or there had been something that was just out of place. God was actually so gracious in preparing Diane and her loved ones, and he did it through the appointed means. It wasn't through a dream, it wasn't through a vision, it was through ordinary means of grace. And we say that God gives us his word and he gives us fellowship and all that for our joy and our progress in the faith. That's true. Sometimes he gives us those things for our joy and our preparation for our first face-to-face meeting. So cherish the word. Cherish the means of grace. The one who despises the word Proverbs 13, 13 will be indebted to it. But the one who keeps the commandment finds great reward. Finally, in Diane's life, we see the value of giving joy to others. Diane brought joy to people. She made us laugh. That was a gift. It was a gift. I was thinking of elders, elders' wives' dinners that we've had and being in stitches, ready to wet our pants because Diane had said something and Ingrid didn't get it and it's true, isn't it? She was a joy to people. She was generous. She was kind. She had a heart to serve others. The fact is, is that Diane's legacy is huge. How many girls? How many listeners? How many children? How many friends? And so just as Jesus gives us his joy, John 15, 9 to 11, so that our joy may be complete, Diane in turn, gave that joy to others. It's a great gift. It's a great gift. Paul's told the Philippians that to live is Christ, to die is gain. And he says that to choose between the two, I don't know which one, because actually to stay on is much better for you but to go and be with Christ is far better. But I think that God's gonna have me stick around, and he says these words in Philippians 1.25, for your joy and your progress in the faith. Paul could also say to the Corinthians, it's not that we lord it over you, but we are laborers for your joy. So I think of Dinah, a laborer for people's joy. She did that. And we can learn something from that. She was never afraid to let the clay show. She was the most unpretentious person I've ever met. What you see is what you got, period. And she was good with that. She in turn had received so much from Christ freely she had given, or freely she'd received, freely she gave. That's a blessing. It's a lesson to us. I'm sure that over the next number of months and even years, there will be things that come to mind and that we think about. But these are the things that come to my mind of what God could be teaching us. Number your days. You don't know when your last one will be. Remember the importance of the ministry of the word and the fellowship of the saints. You never know what God may have for you in that particular time at that particular day. Your trial may not be leaving this life. You may have a trial that hits you on a Monday. And in fact, I think of another such example where it was actually on the way home from a men's retreat. when Mark McKinnon heard that Aidan had, shortly after he got back, had leukemia. And it was that men's retreat that helped prepare him to stabilize his soul and his faith. God has a purpose for us to be together and to hear his word. And then finally, see the value of giving joy to others. Labor for their joy. Husbands, labor for the joy of your wife. Wives, labor for the joy of your husband, for your children, for one another. We're gonna close with a song that this morning when I woke up, I knew that we had to sing it. So Ashley and the rest of you, if you come on up. It is a song that's an old song, but it's a new song, newly redone. And it's got that line in it that we love to sing. Trust not the Lord with feeble sense, but trust him for his grace, for behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would teach us to think on your providence, Think about what you're doing, what you're saying, how you're trying to grow us. We pray that you would help us to mourn with those who mourn. We ask that this coming Wednesday, your son would be put on such glorious display. that we'd be able to say the very words we're gonna sing. Oh God, we trust in you. Help us. Help us, we pray. In Jesus' name. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.