FUNERAL MESSAGE FOR SHAWN WAGNER

07.23.09

Sweetwater School Multi-purpose Bldg 10:30am

When things like this happen, I feel like I am living in the Twilight Zone. It just seems impossible. There have been so many young people from this area that have been taken from us at much too early an age. I have known Shawn, since he was a boy, and he would sometimes come to church with his aunt. That was while the family was still living at Arnett. In many ways, it is like, I have lost a child of my own.

Shawn was at church Sunday and had been to Falls Creek (Youth camp in Oklahoma) the week before. I did not get to go this year but understand that everything went well and Shawn had a good time. Shawn wanted to share about Falls Creek with the church, and he did read a couple of Scriptures and thanked the church for letting him go. Two of the verses that he read were Psalm 145:4-5, "One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works." Shawn seemed to be in a good mood Sunday, as he was most of the time that I was around him.

There were some things about Shawn that were different from some young people. For one thing, he had a priority in his life. That priority was that he was going to attend church. He loved it. Shawn was different too in that, he was always ready to help if he was asked. Shawn was ready to help out as an usher at church and he was ready to pray if he was asked to. I had a couple of months ago asked Shawn if he would be willing to learn to operate the sound system and video projection system at church, and he was ready to do it. We had worked on this a few times and Shawn seemed to fully capable of operating everything. I was excited that we would have someone else that could help out when it was needed.

Shawn was different. He wanted to please; he wanted to help others when he could. Shawn was in many ways an unforgettable person. I know I will never forget about Shawn Wagner. Shawn is unforgettable!

I have seen people lash out at Shawn before at Falls Creek a couple of years ago, people that did not know him - but Shawn was different in that he never struck back that I remember seeing. He never tried to get back at anyone that was ever mean to him. Shawn was different but then I am different too and the fact is that every person upon this earth is a unique person different from every other - every one of us have idiosyncrasies that others could point out.

So, Shawn may have been different, but he was just like the rest of us because even though we may not want to admit it, we are different too. Unique individuals - and it would be wonderful if more of us would make church a priority like Shawn did? And wouldn't it be wonderful if more of us would be willing to help when asked? And wouldn't it be wonderful if more us would turn the other cheek when others lash out at us? It would be a much better world.

It is just such a shock to see someone in good health one day and the next day to know that they are gone - that they have gone out into eternity. I have no doubt about where Shawn is now because I know that Shawn knew the Lord as his Savior. Shawn is in Heaven with His Lord, with his grandmother.

Some people say that when you die, you go to the place of the dead or Sheol. The apostle Paul makes it clear as to what happens when a Christian dies. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9, "So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." It is very clear from this that when a Christian dies, he goes to be with Jesus, whatever you want to call it - I choose to call that place, Heaven. If you are absent from the body you are present with the Lord. Jesus said to the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day.

And Shawn is not just up there in Heaven sleeping - In the vision of Heaven that we are given by the apostle John in Revelation 4, the 24 elders are not laying around the throne sleeping. No, they are very much alive, and awake, praising God saying, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11)."

Some people, some denominations claim that suicide is an unforgivable sin. However, that it is not true. It is a sin but if you know Jesus as your Savior, even that sin was forgiven at the moment that you received Christ as your Savior. When you believe upon Jesus as your Savior, at that moment in time, all of your sins past, present, and future are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. From that point on, when the Father looks at you, He does not see the dirty rotten sinner that you are, instead He sees the righteousness of Jesus.

There is only one unforgivable sin, and that sin is to reject Jesus as your Savior. You sin against the Holy Spirit by rejecting Jesus. Every time that you reject Jesus, your heart grows a little harder. The next time you reject Jesus it grows harder still until finally you have rejected Jesus so many times that you can no longer hear the Holy Spirit calling you to Jesus. You have no desire for Jesus, or for church, or for the Word of God, or prayer. At that point, you have committed the unforgivable sin.

How many times does it take to reach that point? I don't know, but if you know that God is calling you to Himself, please, please, don't risk pushing Him away again. Becoming a Christian means believing upon Jesus Christ. It is not just a knowledge of Him but believing upon Him as your Savior. Jesus says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." And Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

Open up the door of your heart through prayer and invite Jesus Christ to come in. Admit that you are a sinner, ask Him to forgive you. Believe upon Jesus to save you, and confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior before others. Because of the situation, I want to give you an opportunity to do that here today. Please remember that it is not words that save you, but whether you mean it, believe it in your heart. (Bow heads, close eyes) Pray with me: "Dear Lord Jesus, I believe you died on the cross for my sins and rose again on the third day. Please forgive me for the sins, the bad things that I have done, I want to change and be like you. Please help me to change, be my Lord, and my Master, and my Savior. In Your Name Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart and save me. Amen." If you prayed that prayer, please raise your hand. (At least nine people raised their hands that they had prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior.)

Samson is one Biblical example that we are given of someone that has committed suicide although there are others (King Saul is another example.). However, in Hebrews chapter 11, we read this: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot, Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens (Hebrews 11:30-34)."

Even though Samson committed suicide, he is still on the list of God's heroes together with Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and others. His name is mentioned with the heroes of the faith and for this reason I am sure he is saved. Samson is not in Hell, he is in Heaven - Shawn is just as surely in Heaven too.

Which brings us to another point, which we need to address today. If I am a Christian, and if I commit suicide, I will go to Heaven, then why do we stay here when the glories of Heaven are waiting? Because it is not our place to determine when our lives are to end. We are told in Hebrews 9:27, "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." It is God that has made that appointment with death for us. If we take our own lives, we are putting ourselves into the place of God.

We are not upon this earth just to play around and have fun. God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us. We do not want to miss out on it. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God says this, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." God has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives that when we are young we most likely are unable to foresee. Unable to see clearly. His ways and thoughts are higher, as far as Heaven is from the earth, they are higher and better than ours. But make no mistake you don't want to miss out on what God has for you in this life.

In Jeremiah 29, God says this to His people, and He says it today to those who are His people through knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior. Listen to this: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)." God has a plan for your life! He has a plan for you, and in that plan you will prosper, you will have hope, you will have a future! You don't want to miss out on what God has for you. Don't you want to know what God's plan, His dream is for your life?

The sad truth is that I think most people do miss out on God's ultimate plan for their lives. But you don't have to! At one time, I was praying that I could be a pastor of a certain church. But one day as I was praying about this God told me that He had something better for me. That something better, that better plan for my life, was for me to be the pastor of this church at Sweetwater. That's why I'm here today because God's plan has been far better, way better than mine.

The fact is that you will never discover God's plan, God's will for your life if you don't make attending church a priority. You will never discover God's plan, God's will for your life if you are not reading God's Word every day. You will never discover God's plan, God's will for your life if you are not praying every day, praying for God to bring about His plan, His will, His purpose in your life.

Why do you want to keep on living in this old world that sometimes has so much pain? I like what Tom Hanks' character says in the movie castaway when he was asked why he didn't just give up - He said you've got to, "keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise, and you never know what the tide will bring." He said that in the movie because, the tide one day washed up a piece of metal that he was able to use as a sail for the raft that he built to escape the island.

I like the story of Gideon in the Old Testament because he reminds me of what God likes to do. He likes to take the most unlikely people and raise them up to serve Him in mighty ways. Gideon and his people were living under oppression of the Midianites. But the angel of God appeared to Gideon one day and revealed God's plan for his life.

Gideon was out threshing wheat on what seemed like a very ordinary day, a day just like any other when, the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor (Judges 6:12)!" And Gideon said in effect, "Who me?" Here's part of what Gideon said, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." In other words, Gideon was saying, "You've got the wrong guy! I'm the very weakest, least likely person in all of Israel to do this."

But with God, Gideon did become a mighty man of valor leading his people to victory over the Midianites. God wants to do the same for you. He can lead you to victory in this life "because tomorrow the sun will rise, and you never know what the tide will bring." And you never know what God will do in your life. He can suddenly, supernaturally change everything, and you do not want to miss out on that.

In Romans 8:28 we are told this, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." It is a terrible thing that has happened to Shawn, that he has missed out on God's best plan for his life. But God can bring good out of this. It is up to each of us here today for that good to be brought about. If as a result of this we begin to live our lives for the Lord, seek His will, and plan for our lives then the good will come. Even if just one of you decide to live your life as God would have you to live it, then the good will come.

Are you just going to keep on living for yourself or are you going to take this opportunity that God is giving you to commit yourself in a fresh way to God's plan, God's dream for your life? It's up to you. It's your choice. I surely pray you make the right one.

Today we know that Shawn is not here - He is in Heaven, and he has been reunited with his grandmother and others that have gone before him. Shawn has been walking around on those streets of gold and gazing out at that crystal sea. And he has seen his Lord and Savior, Jesus - face to face.

If Shawn could tell you something today after having seen the glories of Heaven, I think he would tell you what I have told you and that is don't live for yourself. Live your life for God, seek God's plan, seek God's dream for your life with all your heart, mind and soul.