I want to begin our service tonight by reading two verses of scripture to you, and then we'll go to our text. The first one is in Revelation 14. Turn with me if you would there to Revelation 14. Revelation 14 verse 13 says, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. That's gonna be the theme of our message tonight. We're gonna worship our Lord tonight. First and foremost, that's what we're here to do. That's what our sister Juanita would want us to do. There is no doubt in my mind that that is, there's no doubt in your mind that that's what our sister Juanita would want us to do. We're here to worship our Lord. And we're gonna do that in light of the blessing that our Lord gave to our sister in calling her home to himself last Wednesday afternoon. Blessed, blessed, oh how blessed are the dead to us by the way that we see things. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. And it's because of this reason right here. Here's the second scripture. Turn with me to Psalm 116. Psalm 116 verse 15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. I think about that when one of our believing loved ones is called home. I think about the interaction between our loved one and our loving Lord. Do you ever think about that? Do you ever think about that moment? It's so exciting to us. It's so the thought of it. We know it's going to be so exciting to us. It's going to be so relieving to us. What a moment that is for us. What a moment that is. But I love thinking about and knowing and realizing that. That moment is just as precious to our Lord. As it is to us. Verse 15 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Now every death is not precious in the sight of the Lord. Not every death is precious. It doesn't say that. It says the death of His saints is precious in His sight. In Revelation 14, it did not say, blessed are the dead which die. Just because a person dies, that does not mean that was a blessed person, even though I've never been to a funeral where the person didn't go to heaven and everything wasn't all better now, and I've never been to a funeral like that. But just because a person dies, That does not mean that was a blessed person. Lest are the dead which die in the Lord. Lest are the dead which die in the Lord. That's what a saint is. A saint is a soul that has been placed by the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Father made all of His souls and created all of His souls. And one of these days every soul that God created and gave is going to go back to the God that gave it. And on every soul that he was pleased to do so, every sinful, wicked soul, the Father took one of them, and he set it right there inside the Lord Jesus Christ. And he took another one, and he set it right there inside the Lord Jesus. That's a saint. A saint is a soul that has been placed in Christ, and what a blessed person that is. What a blessed person that is. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. I want to take a minute tonight and see what that truly means. What is it? What does it mean to die in the Lord? What does that mean? What is it to die in the Lord? All right. Turn with me to our text. And while you turn there, I'll tell you why this is our text. This is not not a standard text for a service like this. But I'll tell you why. Go to Romans 15. Romans chapter 15. I have known for years that our sister Juanita had and listened to a lot of CDs. Message, you know, preaching CDs. from many different true preachers. She had a lot of them from my dad, a lot of them. For years she was on their mailing list and she got CDs every week and she would tell me, I just listened to this message by your dad the other night. I knew she had a lot of CDs, but I just didn't have a clue how many it truly was. That's the part I didn't know. Hannah and myself and Daniel Moody and Stan, we were over at Juanita's house on Monday getting a few things. Karen and David lovingly passed out some of Juanita's things. We got some things for the church. David met us over there and in Juanita's garage was a big pile of plastic tubs, a bunch of plastic tubs, clear plastic tubs. And David told me, he said, these are all the tubs that held all of Juanita's CDs. He said all of them were completely full of CDs. And I said to him, I said, are you serious? He said, yeah, I'm serious. She listened to CDs all day, every day, and every night. And her compliment to you, she used to tell me, I fell asleep listening to you on CD. You know, and I take that as I put her to sleep. That's not what she meant. She meant I listened and listened and listened until I just couldn't listen anymore. That's what she did. She listened to her CDs. Well, what led to Juanita going to the hospital was Karen went to Juanita's house to check on her and she walked in the front door and Juanita was laying there in the floor holding onto a CD she had just listened to. And Karen, seeing her, rushed over to her, trying to figure out what's going on. What's happened? Is she OK? And Karen said the whole time Juanita was just trying to give her the points of this message, this message she just heard, trying to tell her all about this message. Karen's trying to figure out, are you OK? What's going on? And she said, I couldn't get any information out of her because she wouldn't stop talking about this message. That touches my soul. That touches my soul. Karen told me that, I thought, how glorious is that? How glorious is that? The CD that Juanita was holding when Karen found her is on my desk right now. David and Karen brought it to me last Sunday. They said, we thought you'd like to see the CD that the story came from. It was a message from my father titled. Be ye like minded. And I will tell you this, I want to be like minded. The text was from Romans 15. Versus four to eight. And I turned over here, and I read those verses and a few more, and I thought, that will be a wonderful text for us tonight. Let's read the first 13 verses here, okay? Romans 15, verse one, it says, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves, Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. Now watch verse three. For even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written for this cause, I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. And again, he saith, rejoice ye Gentiles with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all ye people. And again, Isaiah saith, there shall be a root of Jesse And he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles trust. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. Verse seven right there said, wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us. to the glory of God. Think about that. Christ also received us to the glory of God. That's our goal. That is our prize. That is the hope of our calling that Christ would receive us to the glory of God. Can you imagine what our sister is experiencing right now? The glory of God. That's where she is. That's what she's been received to. The glory of God. Now, as I mentioned, our theme and our question for the evening is, what is it to die in the Lord? That's what we're going to look at. What is it to die in the Lord? Blessed are the dead. And again, that's as we know it and as we see it to be on this earth. Our God is not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. I read John 11 for our scripture reading. Our Lord said, whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Never die. To leave this world is to leave the world of the dead. We're in death right now. And to leave this world is to leave the world of the dead and to go on to life, eternal life. But from our point of view, blessed are the dead. who die in the Lord. What does that mean? What is it to die in the Lord? We're going to use Romans 15 to answer that for us, all right? Verse 1 says, we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself But as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. He said, Father, the sin of my people who sinned against you, that sin fell on me. That reproach fell on me. That guilt fell on me. That condemnation fell on me. That responsibility fell on me. That payment fell on me. That agony fell on me. That cup, that cup of suffering, it fell on me. To die in the Lord is to die in His sufferings. That's what it is. When we talk about what is it to die in the Lord, it's to die in His suffering. That is such a good place to die. What a blessed Blessed place to die in His sufferings, not our own, but His. Paul told the Philippians, oh, that I may know the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto His resurrection. A sinner who dies in the Lord, That's a sinner who dies in the suffering of the Lord, the suffering for his own sin. That's a blessed soul. That's a blessed soul. Look at verse four right here. It says, for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. A soul who dies in the Lord, that's a soul who dies in hope, the hope of the Lord, looking to, honestly, sincerely looking to, trusting in, waiting on the Lord. God's people have been called to hope and expected anticipation. We hope in Him. We truly trust Him. We truly look to Him. And we do that all the way to the end. All the way to the end. Our sister clung to Christ all the way to the end. Hebrews 10 says, God's people are not of those who draw back. Those who hear of Christ for a while. Gather with the saints for a while. seem to believe on, seem to follow Christ for a while, but ultimately they leave him for other things in the world. Those who die in the Lord believe, look, trust, hope all the way to the end. They hold to him all the way to the end. They cling to Christ all the way to the end. And it's only because Christ is holding on to them and clinging to them. But the evidence of Christ holding on to a person is that person will hold on to Christ. That's the evidence. That's the response to Christ holding on to a person. That person will be kept clinging by the power of God. To die in the Lord is to die in His sufferings. It's to die in His hope. Look at verse five. To die in the Lord is to die in unity and agreement with Christ Jesus. Whatever he says, amen. Whatever he says, amen. It's to be like minded with whatever the word of the Lord says. Every word that has proceeded out of the mouth of God, his sufferings, his hope, his mind, his will, his purpose in all things. Look at verse six. that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. To die in the Lord is to leave this world giving Christ all the glory for all things that were, are, and will ever be. All the glory. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Verse 7 says, Wherefore, receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Wherefore, receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. To die in the Lord is to die in the love and the fellowship of His people. Our Lord said, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. God's people love God's people. They love Christ and they love Christ in His people. To die in the Lord is to die in the love and the unity and the fellowship of God's people around the gospel of God's Word and God's worship. For a soul in the Lord, there's nothing better. There's nothing better. Verse 8 says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. To confirm the promises made unto the fathers. To die in the Lord is to die in His covenant. Is to die in His promise. God elected a people and He made a promise to save those people. And to die in the Lord is to leave this world clinging to that covenant promise. He made a promise. I believe Him. Verse nine. and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written, for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles and sing unto thy name. To die in the Lord is to die in His mercy. I need His mercy. I started in His mercy. I'm going to end in His mercy. I live in His mercy. I need to die in His mercy. I need mercy, the mercy of the Lord. I need redemption. I need the covering of that blood. That's what His mercy is. To die in the Lord is to die in His blood. What a blessed place to die. Verse 10 says, and again, He saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people. To die in the Lord is to die in His joy. had many health problems, but you know what stood out to me every time I talked to her, and I mean what I'm saying. This stood out to me every time I talked to her. The joy of the Lord. She was happy. She was so happy. So many times after a message was over that I had just preached, she would come up to me and she would say, now that was good, wasn't it? Wasn't that good? And I'd say, well, I hope so. She'd say, that was good. But you didn't preach long enough. Can't tell you how many times she told me that. You didn't preach long enough. I'd tell her I gave you all I had. I ran till I was empty. I'm always brief, but every time I knew I had a short message, I knew I'm going to be in for it with Juanita. I appreciate that. That woman had the joy of the Lord. She was happy in the Lord. Verse 11, and again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. and laud Him, all you people. To die in the Lord is to leave this world praising Him, lauding Him, magnifying Him and Him alone. Verse 12 says, and again, Isaiah saith, there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles in him shall the Gentiles trust. To die in the Lord is to die in the love and the acknowledgement of His reign, His sovereignty, His sovereign reign over all things and all people and all places and all salvation and all everything. That's what it is to die in the Lord. It's to die knowing, believing, saying Christ is all. Christ is all. Our sister Juanita died in the Lord. That's where I want to die. Where she died, that's where I want to die. Where she was buried, you know where she was buried? In Christ. Where she was buried, that's where I want to be buried. Where she has gone, that's where I want to go. Where she now lodges, that's where I want to lodge. I want her people to be my people. I want her God to be my God. I want to die in the Lord. I want to die in the Lord. Verse 13 says, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. David said, I'll be satisfied when I awake with his likeness. David has awoken with his likeness. Juanita has awoken with his likeness. And I'll be satisfied and we will all be satisfied when by his grace we awake with his likeness. Oh, Lord, bless us, let us die in you, let us die in you. Let me close this message by making just a few factual statements concerning our sister Juanita for our comfort, our hope, our enjoyment. It's amazing to me. A week ago Friday, Hannah and I went and visited her and talked with her. Things are different now. And it's just, it's amazing. But here's a few facts concerning her for our comfort and our enjoyment. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 8 says, to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. Our sister Juanita is right now with the Lord. She's with the Lord. Romans 8 tells us that nothing will ever, for all of time and eternity, be able to separate her from the Lord. Nothing will ever be able to separate her from the Lord. She will never again not be in the presence of the Lord. Never again. Never again. There will never be a moment where she's not in the presence of the Lord. Never again. From here on out, she will forever be with the Lord. That's what she is, with the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 John chapter 3 both tell us that she is just like our Lord. She's just like our Lord. And the reason is because she now sees Him as He is. Psalm 110 tells us that you would recognize her. The apostles recognized Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. They knew, they looked at them and knew. That's Moses, that's Elijah. If you looked at her right now, you would say, that's Juanita. You would recognize her. But you wouldn't recognize her because she looks so young. She right now has the dew of youth on her brow. The scripture says in the twinkling of an eye we're going to be changed. I don't know how far from this we're going to be changed. We're going to be changed from this. This is a vile body. I don't know how far things changed from when Adam fell to what he looked like before to after. I don't know. But I do know if you want to have any idea of what she looks like right now, you're going to have to dig up some really old photos because she's young. She's very young. We spend our whole lives trying to accomplish anti-aging. The moment a child of God leaves this world, they're young. They immediately go young. As Christ is, Juanita literally is. As he has the dew of youth on his brow, she has the dew of Christ on her brow. And very soon, we're going to see her again. Very, very soon. If not in glory before, we're going to see her in the skies of this earth. This earth right here. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 13 says, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Juanita is coming back with Him. Roy is coming back with Him. And a whole bunch of other believers who have already gone to be with the Lord, they're coming back with Christ. They're coming back with Jesus Christ. Verse 15 says, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. Revelation 21 says, The moment we're with Him, there is no more sorrow, there's no more pain, there's no more tears, only everlasting joy. That's all it is. That's all it is. Blessed are they that die in the Lord. Lord, bless us like you blessed our sister Juanita. Bless us like you blessed her, for Christ's sake.