Let me ask the congregation please to stand. You may be seated. And as you take your seat, maybe could you check your mobile phone is off? That would be most helpful, or at least put it in silent, we would appreciate that. We welcome you to God's house this afternoon to worship God and to join together with a family who grieve the passing of a husband, of a father, a grandfather, a brother. And I want to just commence by, on behalf of the Logan Family Circle, to thank all who have joined them or this service of thanksgiving for the life of the late Mr. Stuart Logan. I know that your presence here today and your expressions of sympathy at the family home in recent days have been a tremendous comfort to them as a family circle in this, their time of sorrow. I want to, on behalf of the church family here in Portland-owned Free Presbyterian Church, to extend heartfelt Christian sympathy to a number of people. Firstly, to Mrs. Logan, who has, with untiring devotion, loved and supported and cared for her husband over the last 55 years, almost 56. Secondly, to Mr. Logan's children, to Claire, and to Richard, to Jonathan, and to Judith, to their spouses Jan, Heather, Naomi, and Haran. and their families who brought Mr. Logan so much pride and so much joy. Thirdly, to Mr. Logan's surviving sisters, Mrs. Nan Lamont and Mrs. Jean Wilson. And finally, to all of the extended Logan family circle, and all who knew Mr. Logan, we sympathize with you, we stand with you in this, your time of sorrow. May the God of all comfort be pleased to grant to all who mourn today, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Let me, on behalf of the Logan family, take this opportunity to thank Mr. Darwin Stevenson and the staff of James Stevenson and Son Funeral Directors for their professional and sympathetic arrangement of the funeral today. The family are also grateful for the attentive care given to Mr. Logan from all carers over recent days. The family also appreciate all who ever called and visited with Mr. Logan during his time of illness. And then thanks also to every minister and pastor who's provided pastoral care for the family circle. It has been deeply appreciated, I know, by Mrs. Logan and the entire family circle. And I thank Mrs. Edith Cameron for playing at the service today. We really appreciate your help. It was King Solomon who said in Ecclesiastes 7 verse 2, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men. and the living will lay it to his heart. Today, God in his providence has brought us to a house of mourning in which we are reminded of God's sovereignty in death as well as in life. I pray that the reality of our own day of death, the sureness of the final judgment, and the greatness of God's unending eternity will cause our hearts to be solemnized in this funeral service. We're going to worship God in praise and we're going to take our order of service and turn to the opening hymn. We're going home to glory soon to see the city bright. Walk the golden streets of heaven and bask in God's own light. But some of you. are out of Christ and held by many a snare. We cannot leave you lost and lone. We want you over there. These hymns have been chosen by Mr. Logan. He had his funeral arrangements in place. And so we're singing this to the glory of God. Wherever you are in the church building, all of these various side rooms are filled with individuals. So we encourage you to stand and sing whenever we get some notes of music, please. Let's stop and let's worship. We're going home to the glory center. It's been a steady ride. ♪ To walk the golden streets of Bethlehem ♪ ♪ And bask in God's own light ♪ ♪ But some of you are I of Christ ♪ ♪ And help I may astray ♪ ♪ We cannot leave you lost and lonely ♪ ♪ We want to hold you dear ♪ ♪ Early gates are open wide ♪ ♪ And we shall enter in ♪ ♪ To the oldest foreflows near our side ♪ ♪ No sorrow and no sin ♪ ♪ O come with us and come and watch ♪ ♪ That land of pride and joy ♪ We come to tell the story true of one so rich and free, a crucified and living Lord, as raised for you and me. to the words of love His messengers declare. We cannot leave you lost and low. We want you over. Lord in store with ship and armory and staff, on Christ has washed us in his blood, and he has made us glad. We're glad that the Reverend David Linden is with us. the minister of the congregation here for over 30 years and a family friend and God's servant is now going to come and he's going to offer prayer in our opening prayer. Thank you. We look to the Lord again and seek his face and seek for that real sense of the Lord's presence with us here. as we have come to God's house. Eternal God and loving and heavenly Father, we bow before Thee. We enter into Thy presence in prayer. We come in and through the name of Thine eternal Son and the Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. We bow before Thee, Lord, to thank Thee for all of thy love and thy mercy and thy grace in providing salvation for undeserving sinners. But Lord, we come here today and we seek thy face now for this service. Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest the feeling of every heart. And, O Lord, we bring before Thee in a special way the family of Thy servant and our brother Stuart that Thou hast taken to be with Thyself. We want to thank Thee, Lord, for Thy saving grace. We want to thank Thee, Lord, that the one that Thou hast taken, that Thou hast saved him many, many years ago. And we praise Thee, Lord, for that. And that today we can say with full assurance that is based on the Word of God that our brother is in glory, our brother is in heaven. We thank Thee for that place of many mansions, the Father's house. In our eyes today, Lord, today would be upon the promises of Thy Word and the God of the Word. that has given to us the promise, the assurance, that those who die in Christ are with the Lord, and that is far better for them. But Lord, we pray for the family, and we hold them before Thee. Thou knowest the ache within the heart because of the loss of this loved one. We do remember again our sister, Mrs. Logan. We do pray, Lord, that thine hand will be upon her in a special way today, that she will know the sufficiency of thy grace as she has known it in the years gone by. We thank thee, Lord, for the care that Margaret gave to Stuart, especially over the times of his illness just past. And, Lord, we thank Thee for the grace of God in her life. Now we pray that she will know again afresh, even now and this day, and in the days that lie ahead, she will know the sufficiency of Thy grace. Remember the family, the children of the home. We hold them before Thee, Lord. We pray for Richard and Claire and Jonathan and Judith, for their loved ones, Lord, for all the grandchildren. We pray for Nan and for Jean. We hold them, Lord, before Thee, that Thou would draw so tenderly and graciously near to them, even now, Lord, that they know the upholding hand of the Lord, the arms of the loving God around them. We thank Thee, Lord, that all of the children are saved. Thank Thee, Lord, for Thy salvation throughout the family, so many in the family redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Lord, we pray today for any that are outside of Christ, whether in the family or outside the family, Whether among the friends or neighbors, Lord, we pray that even this day that the word of God will be applied to such hearts in such a way that they will be convicted of their sin and brought savingly to Christ. Pray that that word will be applied to the hearts of each one who grieves and that it will be a comforting word. Remember thy servant, Lord, who has the responsibility of bringing the word today. We pray that thou would lay liberally to his hand. We pray he know the help of God and the blessing of God in his own soul as he would preach the word that thou has given to him. And so, Lord, we commit this service to thee and the family circle to thee ourselves, Lord. And we pray that we will know the comfort of God, that comfort that will be to our hearts, and to the warming of our hearts even this day. We pray, Lord, that throughout this day we know thy presence with us. We thank thee for thy presence. We thank thee that thou hast assured us that thou wilt never leave us nor forsake us. What a God we have, the God of our salvation. Lord, let us know afresh today that joy of salvation found in Christ. Answer prayer. Be with us now, tardy with us, Lord, we pray thee, for we ask it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen. We appreciate the Reverend Lyndon opening in prayer. Mr Stuart Logan was many things to many people. He was a businessman, he was a neighbour, he was an elder in the congregation, but first and foremost, He was a family man. He loved his family. He had such pride in them. So glad that many of them are here, all of them are here, and some are going to take part at this particular moment of time. We're going to have just some of the Logan grandchildren. They're going to come just now. and they're going to read the scriptures. And after that, Mr. Richard Logan will lead a tribute for the family. And then after that, then Mr. Jonathan Logan, accompanied with his father-in-law here, will sing to us. And so we'll have it in that particular order at this time. So the grandchildren first, then Richard, and then to Jonathan. I'm going to read from God's Word, Psalm 23, a psalm that was close to my grandad's heart. It reads, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And maybe I should quickly apologize to the Reverend Stewart for not following him in on the fact that Caleb was speaking on behalf of all of the... Grandchildren, we weren't really sure what was happening, so forgive me for that. Reverend Stewart, I just want to, on behalf of the family, thank you, and the Elders, and the committee of the church, and indeed everyone who's been so good to Dad. Dad loved the church here, and he's always, we have so many fond memories of growing up here, and Dad was such a big part of it and loved it very much. And Reverend Stewart, I just think, The staff who cared for my dad over the past year. I just want to mention three names in particular. They went way above and beyond what was required of them. Donna, Esther and Dawn. Thank you so much for making those last few days of dad's life easy. Easy for all of us and easy for him. Now the hard bit. So you're a son of Sturdy Logan. That was what I heard most of my life. And if I had one pound for every time I heard that in my lifetime, I might be the millionaire many people thought I was. The truth is that to be a son or a daughter of Stuart Logan was an amazing privilege. Dad was born on the 13th of June, 1936, to my granny and grandad, Elizabeth and Hugh Logan. I hope I've got that right, actually. I'm just starting to panic I've got that right. He was number, this could be wrong, he was number five out of seven. Her eldest sister, Margaret, she suffered a brain injury during her birth. She was given a short time to live, but she lived until she was 50. She was looked after by her mum, my granny, every day. There was no such thing as carers back then. We can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her. Dad's older brother, William, died of leukemia when dad was around 13 years old. And if I'm correct, dad also had two other younger children born into the family who died at birth. So it wasn't always easy growing, or just all a bed of roses and easy growing up, at 27 Dunoyan Road. Apparently Dad had done very well at school, he kept telling us that, but after his brother William died he had to give up school and stay at home and work on the farm. But as I've been told a few times over the past few days, Dad was never a farmer. So skipping quickly on past his pig farming days and his day of burning down the hayshed, literally. Somewhere along the way, he met and fell in love with my mum, Margaret Richardson from Rundlestone. He became a farm machinery dealer and he had four children, Claire, myself, Richard, and Jonathan and Judith. And apologies for skipping over that, but it's been busy the last few days, and I'm just hoping that what I've told you is relatively close to the truth. If you do want to find any more details about Dad's life, can I suggest you speak to his sister, my Aunt Jean, and she'll be happy to fill you in on all the missing details. Looking back, we had an amazing childhood. I have memories of sitting on top of a lorry load of hay, Ducking under branches in the trees, no thought for health and safety. Sailing in cars a little over the speed limit and quite often a little above the road surface if Dad could get enough speed. Sometimes a second run just to get quite right so we get enough air over the bump. And again, no health and safety, no seatbelts even. Riding around the roads on our bikes. I don't ever remember discussing with mum and dad where we were going or when we'd be back. And we had no mobile phones, but somehow it just worked and we coped. Those were great times. You know, it wasn't all fun. Dad expected a certain level of dedication and work ethic that we sometimes struggled to achieve. like scraping moss out from between the acres of paving brick that were on our drive each year, or brushing the lane with a standard size brush every summer. It was hard work, but Dad led by example. He just loved to work hard, and sometimes we could never get him to stop, no matter what time of the night it was. He just expected us to keep going. He also, like Mum, loved to keep everything tidy. For Dad and Mum, cleanliness was next to godliness. I've lived right next door to Mum and Dad for almost 20 years now. Many a Saturday morning, Definitely a Saturday morning. I've been waking with the beep beep of the forklift as it moved back and forth and looking down the lane, moving machines an inch here and an inch there just to line everything up and keep everything the way he liked it tidy and ordered. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. And for Claire and Jonathan and Judith, and I suppose myself, that's definitely true, but I think my apple just rolled a little bit further from the tree than theirs. But dad has many loves in his life. He had many loves in his life. He loved cars and driving. And I think I maybe get that one from him. He loved antiques. This one I just didn't quite get. I just didn't appreciate the fascination with all the stuff that my dad and my mum both had. He loved art. He loved buying and selling paintings, but he also loved painting, and some of my favorite early memories are sitting up late in the evening or as late as we could get away with beside him when he painted in the living room. He loved poetry. Dad loved writing poems. We found quite a few bits of stuff and books over the past few days, but you may have noticed in the next hymn we'll sing, in order of service, he wrote the last verse, and we found that a few days ago. Dad loved people. I have been blown away over these last few days hearing from so many of you about how Dad helped and advised and encouraged you. I thought he just did that for me and for us as a family but he seemed to be there for so many of you and been such an encouragement to us. He loved his family. He loved mum, Claire, Jonathan, Judith and myself and her wider family. We all knew what it was like to be loved. He didn't always use words to tell us that, but we just knew he showed it to us. He loved it out. One thing I'm most thankful to God for is that he loved Jesus. As a young boy, he gave his life to Jesus. And as we grew up, we saw it every day. He loved to read his Bible and sing hymns, and it's really been mentioned at the house in particular that I'm using the term sing very loosely. It was quite loud and off tune at times, but Dad didn't care. He sang, loved to sing, and he loved praying as well. I can remember hearing him in his bedroom praying for us and praying for other family and maybe many of you here today. He also showed his love for us in lots of practical ways. He taught in Sunday school. Maybe some of you remember giving you lifts to children's meetings in the cars and bringing you to church services. Dad was the epitome of, if you want something done, ask a busy man. But amazing as Dad was, like all of us, he knew he wouldn't live forever. Over the last year and a half, we saw Dad's health slowly deteriorate. But, and this is a big but, Mum went above and beyond to care for him. Mum did everything. Sometimes she maybe thinks she's done too much, but she's done everything for Dad. And we're so thankful for all that you did for Dad, Mum. Dad was clear of mind right up to the very end. On Friday morning, just passed, just before the carer left, She asked him if he was okay, and he said he was, and then he went on to say, I just want to go home. She actually spoke and said, but you are home, and your family are here, but we knew and we told her that he wanted to go to heaven. Back on his 86th birthday, Dad told one of his friends, who he was so good at calling and visiting with him, And I only found this out this week. Dad told one of his friends that he asked for one more year. And Dad turned 87 15 days ago. We will miss him more than we probably yet know. But though on Sunday morning Dad's body died, our Dad has never been more alive than he is right now. He's home. A couple of nights before Dad passed into glory, Mum and I were looking through the hymns that Dad had scribbled down, hymns to be sung at his funeral today. There were five in total, but you'll be thankful we're not all singing all five. One thing I noticed was that they were all about heaven. Every one of them was about heaven. I was so encouraged to see that. It showed me that in spite of all the things that God blessed him with and things that God gave him on this earth, Dad's heart and mind ultimately wasn't in the stuff down here, but it was in heaven and on his Savior. And on Sunday morning, Dad saw both. To finish, I just want to quote C.S. Lewis, who is the author of Chronicles of Narnia and also was an atheist before he became a Christian. And he said, if you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for this present world were those who thought most of the next. Aim at heaven, and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, and you will get neither. when some of the family suggested a few days ago that I might try and sing a piece today. At the time, it seemed a nice idea and a good idea. Standing here, I'm not so sure about that, to be honest with you, but I was thinking, we don't mourn as others. As a male minister said to me one time, O death, we can say, O death, where is thy sting? O grief, where is thy victory? And we can say in this piece, O victory in Jesus, my saviour, forever. I'm glad to have my father-in-law to help me out, and if you feel like singing along, brother, sing away. I heard an old, old story How a Savior came from glory How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood's atoning. Then I repented of my sins and won the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew him, and all my love is to him. He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. I heard about His healing, Of His cleansing power revealing, How He made the lame to walk again, And caused the blind to see. And then I cried, Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit. And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me. With his redeeming blood He loved me ere I knew him And all my love is to him He plunged me to victory Beneath the cleansing flood I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory. And I've heard about those streets of gold beyond the crystal sea. About the angels singing And the old redemption story And some sweet day I'll sing up there The song of victory Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. He sought me and He bought me. With his redeeming blood He loved me ere I knew him And all my love is to him He plunged me to victory Beneath the cleansing blood Well, we appreciate Caleb and Richard and Jonathan for taking part and what a fitting way to honor their father, their grandfather. I want to thank you for doing that. I'm sure many have been the expressions of sympathy and words that individuals have said to you as a family circle over recent days. But no greater place can we turn to for comfort than to the word of God itself. I want to read just two portions at this time before I bring a tribute from myself and from the church family here. The first is found in 1 Thessalonians, in the chapter number four, reading from the verse number 13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye 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. 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, 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. And then to the book of the Revelation, the chapter seven, reading from the verse number nine, speaking of John's vision, with regard to heaven itself, it says, and after this I beheld, and though great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the land, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders, and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. One of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God. and serve him day and night in his temple. He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them on to living fountains of waters. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Amen. May God bless even the public reading of his word. On behalf of the Kirk Session Committee and congregation, I want to place on public record our thanks to Almighty God for the life and testimony and service of Mr. Stuart Logan. While Mr. Logan would not have wanted me to say anything about him today, it would be remiss if I did not make some comments regarding God's servant. As I thought about him, I thought of a number of things that really set him apart. from the rest of the human race. Mr. Logan was a man of faith. Everything else that he was in his life, a faithful and loving husband of 55 years to his wife Margaret, a devoted father to his children Claire, Richard, Jonathan, and Judith, a respected father-in-law to his sons-in-laws and daughters-in-law, Jan, Heather, Naomi, and Haran. An affectionate grandfather to his grandchildren all flowed out of the fact that Mr. Stuart Logan was a man who had a saving faith in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Logan's Christian faith didn't stop at the doors of this church or even at the doors of this home. Christ went with him into his business life. And you could be sure that after the deal was closed, the conversation would turn to spiritual matters, and a gospel tract, a CD, or a calendar was placed into the hand of those who had come to do business with him. Not only was he a man of Christian faith, Mr. Logan was a man of prayer. With great faithfulness, God's servant was found at every prayer meeting convened in this church, the prayer meetings before the Lord's Day services, the midweek prayer meeting on a Wednesday night, the men's monthly prayer meeting, and other seasons of prayer that were convened. But it wasn't that he was only just present at the prayer times, he participated in them, praying for the minister, praying for the congregation, praying for the lost, those who had grown careless in their walk with God. He was a man of prayer. Mr. Logan was a man of tremendous generosity. Generosity when it comes to encouraging preachers. He would have been the first to shake your hand at the door with a word of encouragement regarding the message that you had preached, even though that you had thought it hadn't just went the way that you would have wanted it to go. But he was so generous at the door. But his generosity also touched his pocket. And that's a hard place for generosity to touch, even more so a County Antrim man. Mr. Logan was, with his full backing of his dear wife, supported missionaries and evangelistic and evangelical organizations across the world. He may never have gone to the mission field himself, but Stuart Logan kept many a missionary on the mission field. Mr. Logan was a man of dedicated service. Having experienced salvation himself, Mr. Logan wanted others to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. I believe he served as an elder in this congregation for 40 years and occupied the esteemed office of clerk of session. He also taught Sunday school. and assisted in the work of the Lord's treasury, I believe, him and his wife for a time, even before I became a minister in the congregation. His counsel and his advice at our session and our committee meetings was invaluable and will be sorely missed. Having said all that I have about Mr. Logan, He would be the first to admit that it was only by the grace of God that he was the man that he was. Mr. Logan leaves a lasting legacy in this congregation and in this community. 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. Mr. Logan, love preaching. And I want to turn your attention for a few moments to the word of God. I want to address you from 1 Corinthians chapter 13. We'll begin a reading at the verse number eight of the chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse eight. It is the chapter of charity or love. Charity never feeleth. But whether there be prophecies, they shall feel. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I speak as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity. These three, but the greatest of these is charity. Let's just briefly bow in prayer. Our Father in heaven, we do pray now for the help of thy spirit in filling off the Holy Ghost. Pray, O God, that thou wilt enable the preacher and the hearer as we sit around the Word of God, that activity that God's servant loves so much. Lord, we pray that we will cherish these moments and that the Word will be comforting and challenging to all who are gathered here. We pray especially that thou wilt draw near just at this moment, filling the preacher with power, We offer prayer now and through our Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. In the verses that we have just read together, we find a three-worded statement that I believe perfectly expresses the present state of all who die in saving union with Jesus Christ. That statement is found in the middle part of the verse number 12, where the apostle speaks about being face to face. Now we see through a glass darkly, Paul says, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. That's a statement that really encapsulates for us what every glorified saint comes to experience right now in heaven. They are face to face with God himself. Being face-to-face with God is a matter that the Apostle John speaks over there in Revelation 22 in the verse four, where the saints who serve God are said to see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads. As I began thinking about this phrase face-to-face, I came to think of a number of thoughts that really flow out of this figurative expression that sets forth the reality of all who die in Jesus Christ. That such people are now face-to-face with the Lord. It's those thoughts I want to draw your attention to for a few brief moments. In the first instance, being face-to-face with God conveys the idea of friendship. Conveys the idea of friendship. You will know that whenever a friendship is within a healthy condition or state, that friends will speak with each other face-to-face. It is an enemy, it is a foe that really is one who speaks or talks behind your back, but not a friend. A friend will speak to you face to face. And so there is this thought of friendship, I believe in this term, face to face. Now because of sin, there can be no friendship between the unrepentant sinner and God. The Word of God speaks of sinful man being at enmity with God. Sinners are on a war footing with the Almighty. Yet when the sinner comes to believe on Jesus Christ, or when they come to personally rest their souls on His finished work, then that individual is reconciled to God. Friendship is initiated when the sinner comes into contact with the friend of sinners. There was a time when Mr. Stuart Logan was not a friend of God. Born into this world as a sinner, like each and every one of us, Mr. Logan began his earthly pilgrimage as one who was at enmity with God. And yet there came a glorious night, a wonderful night, a life-transforming night. When Mr. Logan came to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as his own and personal Savior, he recounted his conversion at a recent baptismal service when I had the joy of baptizing him. He spoke about that particular night. He had just lost his older brother, taken from the family in death, and as a result of that, Stuart Logan began to think about eternal matters as he made his way towards his 13th birthday. Year was 19, I believe, 49. That's what he said on that night, so I'm going with that. Mr. Logan found himself under the ministry of the late Mr. George Leith in Cullibackie Faith Mission Hall. the end of the service, responding to the preacher's appeal to come to Christ, Mr. Logan knelt in little form at the back room of that particular hall, along, I believe, with a school friend, and there he repented of his sin, and he put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as a 12-year-old, almost 13-year-old boy. The moment that Stuart Logan did that, all of the enmity and all of the hostility that existed between him and God ceased. He had come face-to-face with the sinner's greatest friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he came to trust in Christ as his Savior, and it is because he did that so many years ago that today he's now face-to-face with God. I wonder this afternoon, how would you best describe your relationship with God today? Is it one of friendship or is it one of hostility? Have your sins been washed and cleansed in the blood of Christ? Or are you one here today who is at peace with God? Are you possessed with the peace of God? Because I must remind you, in faithfulness to my calling as a preacher, that you will never come face to face with God at the end of life's journey if you have never come face to face with God in the gospel. There must be an encounter with the living Christ. And it happened for a 12-year-old boy in Cullabake, 1949. He came into contact with the living Christ. To be face-to-face with Christ in eternity requires you to come face-to-face with Him in the gospel. And whenever you do that, what a revelation of your own sinfulness and the holiness of Christ that you encounter within that soul of yours when you come face-to-face with God in the gospel. I would say to you this afternoon, make sure Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus that you are a friend of God, because if you're not, then you are at enmity with God. This thought, this phrase, face-to-face, it speaks of friendship. In the second instance, being face-to-face with God, it conveys the idea of proximity. To be face-to-face with another person indicates that there is an intimacy, there is a nearness, there is a closeness, there is a proximity that exists between you and them. Therefore to use the phrase face to face when it comes to those who are now in glory indicates that such people are near to God. This phrase, face-to-face, is repeated in scripture on a number of occasions. It's used to highlight the proximity, the nearness of individuals to God. I think of its usage there in Genesis chapter 32. Jacob finds himself at a place called Peniel, and he changes the name of that place, and gives the reason for doing that in Genesis 32 verse 30. For I have seen, he said, God face-to-face. and my life is preserved. According to Jacob, that night with limbs entwined, Jacob saw God face to face. The phrase was also used with regard to Moses going into the tabernacle. We're told in Exodus 33 verse 11, and Lord spoke on to Moses face to face as a man speaketh on to his friend. There is intimacy, proximity. Those who come to dwell in heaven, they come to then occupy a place of proximity that even the sweetest seasons of communion with God on earth never brought that saved believer to. The glorified saints are at this moment before the throne of God. Mr. Logan is before the throne of God. What is that like? Is Matthew, Henry, With his sanctified imagination, thought of one in heaven, trying to communicate with those on earth as to what the redeemed are experiencing in heaven, he wrote the following. Would you know where I am? I am at home in my father's house. In the mansion Jesus prepared for me there. I am where I want to be, where I have longed and often desired to be. I'm no longer on the stormy sea, but in a safe and quiet harbor. My working time is done, I'm resting. My sowing time is done, I'm reaping. My joy is as the joy of harvest. Would you know how it is with me? I'm in perfect holiness. Grace is swallowed up in glory. Would you know what I'm doing? I see God. I see him as he is, not through a glass darkly, but face to face. The sight is transforming. It makes me like him. I'm in the sweet enjoyment of my blessed Redeemer, whom I so loved, and for whose sake I was willing to part with all. I am here bathing myself in the spring head of heavenly pleasures and unutterable joys, and therefore weep not for me. I am singing hallelujahs incessantly to him who sits upon the throne. Address not day and night from praising him. Would you know what my company I have? Bless a company better than the best on earth. Here are holy angels, the spirits of just men made perfect. I am here with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, with blessed Paul and Peter and James and John and all the saints. And here I meet with many old acquaintances that I fasted and prayed with who came here before me. And lastly, would you consider how long it is to continue? It is a garland that never withers. crown of glory that never fades away. After millions of millions of ages, it will be as fresh as it is now, and therefore weep not for me. Close to God, before the throne, is where Stuart Logan is today. When you come to die, let me ask you, will you stand before the throne of God among the redeemed? Or will you be banished from God's presence, cast out into outer darkness as an unrepentant sinner? I say, if you haven't been brought now by the blood of Christ to God, then sadly it will be the latter that will be your latter end. And so if you know not Christ, savingly today, in the words of Job 22 verse 21, acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace, and thereby good shall come. unto thee." In the third instance, being face to face with God, it conveys the idea of revelation. revelation. You know, whenever you're face-to-face with an individual, you become better acquainted with them. You see all of those facial features, all of their blemishes on their skin. Whenever you're face-to-face with them, you come to experience their personality traits at first hand. It would be true to say that you get a clear revelation when you come face-to-face with another person. Mr. Logan attended many meetings, many meetings, going through his life. But on Sunday morning, God's servant learned more about his God in heaven in the first minute than he did throughout all the sermons he ever listened to on earth. In our text, Paul emphasizes the thought, I believe, of a clear revelation being given to the believer at a future date. He speaks of what we on earth experience now. For now, he says, for now, we see through a glass darkly. That's our experience here, now, in this present moment of time. He employs the term glass. It is the term mirror. Now, the mirrors of Paul's day were not like the mirrors of our day. showing up everything, but those mirrors were really simply of some kind of metal that was polished. And so the image that would have been in that particular glass or mirror, it would have been obscured, it would have been dim. Therefore, the term darkly is used here. It is an obscure image. It is, as it were, just the outline. And that's really what we come to see on earth. It's simply but the outline. But our view of Christ when we come to stand before him face to face, will be a vision that is unfettered. It will be a clear vision, a vision that we never possessed on earth. It will be 2020 vision when we find ourselves before the throne of God. All that causes the present obscurity, A death will be taken away for the child of God, and we shall see him as he is, face to face. What a revelation that is for the child of God. You see, on that day, the child of God, they'll come to behold the king in all of his beauty. What a ravishing sight that will be. Because the first object that will take up the attention of the glorified in heaven is not the streets of gold. It's not the many prepared mansions, or the gates of pearl, or the walls of jasper, or the precious stone foundations that those walls rest upon. It's not the river of life. It's not the loved ones you have gone on before, or the holy seraphim or cherubim. The first thing that enthralls the vision of the Christian when they enter heaven The first thing that ravishes the heart of the glorified saint when they pass through the gates of splendor, the first thing that will arrest the attention of the battle-worn Christian warrior is the king in all of his beauty, because the land is all the glory. In Emmanuel's land, the bloody sweat of Gethsemane, the crimson broy of Gilbatha is passed, for heaven's king. is now enthroned in beauty. J.C. Philpott, the 19th century preacher, he asked the question, where in heaven or in earth can there be found such a lovely object as the Son of God? He says, if you've seen him by the eye of faith, and if he has revealed himself to you in some small measure, you have seen a beauty in him beyond all other beauties, for it is a holy beauty, a divine beauty, the beauty of his heavenly grace, the beauty of his uncreated and eternal glory. The Sir Logan now face to face with Jesus Christ has been given a revelation of him that no amount of preaching, listen to, or reading done could have informed him on this side of eternity. Oh that God would reveal himself to you. He would reveal himself to you in the gospel if you have not seen a beauty in Jesus Christ. Oh, that the sight of Christ living and dying and rising again would melt your heart as it did the heart of Mr. Stuart Logan. For if you're to see the king and all of his beauty in the land that is now afar off, then you need to behold his beauty now on earth. Oh, that God would open your eyes. He prayed for that. May God open your eyes. May God reveal himself to you today in the gospel. One final thought. Being face to face with God, I believe it conveys the idea of acceptance. What do people do when they don't accept you? Well, they turn their back on you. They turn their face from you. The turning of one's face toward another person, it conveys the idea that they are accepting you. They are accepting of you. And so when the child of God comes to be face-to-face with God in heaven, such will indicate that they have been accepted by God. But how has such an acceptance come about? Well, it hasn't come about by simply a person going to church, or by an individual reading their Bible, or them saying their prayers, or being kind, or charitable, or moral. They come to be accepted by God in heaven because they entered into the blessed state of being accepted in the beloved on earth. You'll only find acceptance with God in heaven if you have found acceptance with God through Christ on earth. Paul speaks about being accepted in the beloved. The only reason why Mr. Stuart Logan is in heaven today is because he, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, was found at death to be one who was accepted in the beloved. And no greater seal on his acceptance with God could there be today than for him now to be face to face with Christ at this very moment as one who is accepted through and by and in Christ. My soul, I wonder, are you personally accepted today in the beloved? Forget about your works, forget about your morality, forget about your charity, forget about your religious activity. Acceptance with God comes only through being savingly united to Jesus Christ. So let me ask you very simply, are you a saved man? Are you a saved woman? Are you a Christian? Mr. Logan, saved. And today he is before the throne as one accepted by God because he himself repented of his sin and trusted in Christ for salvation. It is then imperative that you would do the same. You must humble yourself as a sinner. And you must take your rightful place before God as a sinner. And you must confess your sins to God alone. and then repose that soul of yours on the mercy of God. So then at your death, you will join the ranks of those who are now before the throne of God. What a thought to think about in this service of thanksgiving. God's servant is face to face with his Lord, his Savior, and his God. He has seen The feet and the hands that were pierced for him on the cross. He's looked upon the Redeemer's bride that was once crowned with thorns, but is now crowned with many crowns. Face to face, O blissful moment. Face to face to say no. Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loved me so. may all gathered today come to behold him face to face in the gospel. For if you don't, then you at his appearing will cry to the mountains and to the rocks to fall on us and to hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. It is my prayer that you today will come face to face with God and the gospel. Come to know Stuart Logan's Savior, friend and Lord. Repent, believe the gospel, and make sure that whenever you come to die, you yourself will be face to face with Christ, your Lord and your Savior. It is my prayer that the word will have been a comfort and a challenge to all who have heard it for Christ's sake. Amen and amen. Before we close with the closing hymn, can I make just a number of announcements, please? Just to say that the committal will take place immediately after the service in the Hockle Cemetery. For those who are not attending, the committal tea will be served in the church hall We just ask all those who are presently in the church hall, we need you to vacate that hall and to allow the men to arrange the seating and also for the ladies to set up the tea. So the tea will be served as soon as Iris and her team are ready. But please, all who are in the church hall, please vacate that hall and allow the men to set out the chairs and the tables, please. After we sing the closing hymn, He asks you to remain standing for prayer, and that will be offered by the Reverend Fred Greenfield. And then continue to stand while the earthly remains are taken from the church building, please. So we're having our closing hymn on the order of service. It has been already mentioned by Richard. The third verse was written by Mr. Stuart Logan. And so we'll sing that, and all the hymn to the glory of God. And I will sing the hymn, we'll remain standing for closing prayer, and then also for the removal of the earthly remains of God's servant, please. Let's stand when we get some notes of music, please. in the sky, no more fears within the eye. All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore. On a day, glorious day that will be On a day that will be When my Jesus I shall see And I look upon His face The One who saved me by His grace When He takes me by a hand ♪ That leads me through the promised land ♪ ♪ What a day, glorious day that will be ♪ ♪ There will be no sorrow there ♪ ♪ No more furnace to bear ♪ ♪ No more sickness, no pain ♪ there. And forever I will be with the one who died for me. What a day, glorious day that will be. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. on his face, the one who's chained me by his grace, where he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. What a day! ♪ Glorious day that will be ♪ ♪ We shall praise his name for aye ♪ ♪ Throughout all eternity ♪ ♪ We shall lay our burdens high ♪ ♪ And exchange them for our pride ♪ What a day, glorious day, that would be! What a day, that would be, when my Jesus I should see, That's why they gather for prayer. Our gracious God and our loving Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord, again today for thy presence with us. We thank you, O God, that it is thy presence that matters. Thank you, Lord, for thy precious word, fresh to our hearts. We thank you, Lord, for the hymns of Zion that we have been singing together, for the message and song. And, Lord, we thank thee today for the victory that we have in Christ. We thank thee, Lord, for this service of thanksgiving, for the life and the work and the testimony and the witness of thy dear servant, Stuart. We thank thee for him and every remembrance of him. And again today, we commend his dear wife, Margaret, to thee. We pray again for Claire and Richard and Johnny and Judith. We pray for Stuart's sisters, Nan and Jean, that you'll continue to be with them and bless them in these days and strengthen them by the way. Think of all the grandchildren, Lord. We thank thee for the godly example that Stuart was to each and every one. We just pray that you'll bless them. Lord, we thank thee today for the note of praise and the reality of the gospel. We thank thee, Lord, as the old hymn writer says, we speak of a land of the blessed. of a country so bright and so fair, and oft are its glories confessed, but what must it be to be there? And we thank thee, Lord, for the reality that Stuart has entered in. He has seen the King in all his glory and in all his beauty. He's face to face with Christ, his Savior. And our Father, we just pray today for those who are left and remain, Lord, that your hand would be upon them each one. Remember those in our service today, perhaps they're strangers to grace and to God. We pray, Lord, even through the home calling of thy servant, that they might say like the psalmist, Lord, teach me to number my days and apply my heart onto wisdom. They might cry like one of old, then, oh, my God, prepare my soul for that great day. And wash me in Christ's precious blood. Take all my sins away. Be with us now, Lord. Bless those who will go to the grave. We pray that thy hand would be upon us there. And we ask thee, Lord, again, that you'll strengthen and comfort and bless the family today and tomorrow and in the days that lie ahead. We commend them to thee and to the grace of our God. Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest, remain, and abide with us all. We ask it in the Savior's name. Amen. you