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We welcome you to this special occasion,
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this special moment,
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as we come to give thanks to God
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for the life of Herbert Conrad Murrell
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of Bentley, Louisiana.
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He was born December 15th, 1928 in Bentley
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and went to be with his Lord
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February 23rd, 2018
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at the age of 89 years,
2 months, and 8 days.
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He's survived by his children
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Timothy Murrell and his wife Shirley,
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James Murrell and Cherry,
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Kenneth Murrell and Sylvia,
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William Murrell and Brenda,
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and Pamela Johnson and Dale.
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Step-children, Gary Gatch and Lynn,
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David Gatch and Melissa,
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Julia Cogan and Christopher,
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and Stephanie Holliday;
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17 grandchildren,
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17 great-grandchildren,
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a sister Glenda Landry
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and a host of other family
members and friends.
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He was preceded in death
by his first wife Eunice,
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his second wife,
Grace Owens Gatch Murrell,
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his daughter-in-law,
Kay Malone Murrell;
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his parents Alvin and
Era Thompson Murrell,
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brothers Kerwin, Fred,
and Waynon Murrell,
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and a sister, Lila Gayle Willingham.
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"Forever with the Lord."
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Those were Conrad's words
about his father Alvin
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when he passed in 1971.
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I heard him say it in a sermon
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joyfully, powerfully -
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"forever with the Lord."
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And now it applies to him.
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To his father and his mother
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and his first wife Eunice
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and his second wife Grace,
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and now Conrad himself,
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forever with the Lord.
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"And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
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'write this: Blessed are the dead
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who die in the Lord.
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From now on, blessed
indeed, says the Lord,
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that they may rest from their labors
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and their works do follow them.'"
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"A good name is to be chosen
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as better than precious ointment."
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So how can one describe Conrad Murrell?
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How would you describe what he was to you?
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Perhaps a beloved father or grandfather?
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A father in the faith?
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The greatest influence in your life?
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The deepest thinker and
preacher you ever heard?
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A faithful brother and a true friend?
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Or, just a godly, humble man?
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He was one who carried the mark
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and fragrance of Christlikeness
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for over 65 years as a Christian.
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Mark LaCour, on his first trip to Bentley
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to meet his preacher he had heard of,
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said this, "I drove to nowhere
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to meet a man no one knew,
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who would become my father in the faith.
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That day changed everything.
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Who I would marry,
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what work I would do,
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the brethren I would come to love,
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how I would minister,
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and who this great God is
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that I would come to know more fully
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because of Conrad Murrell."
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(Incomplete thought)
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We could stay here till the end of March
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sharing memories.
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What single greatest memory do you have
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of Conrad's life or ministry?
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Well, the first time I heard him preach
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was 1977 on a cassette tape.
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A friend gave me a cassette series
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called "Faith Cometh."
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I was forever changed.
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First time I heard him in person
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was in Weatherford, Texas, in 1980.
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And then the last time I heard him preach
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was in St. Louis at his beloved friend
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Holmes Morris' conference in April 2013.
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I, like many of you, remember
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many particular sermons
that were life-changing.
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The Ruth series;
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the Sin of Jeroboam;
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the Passover series on
redemption from Exodus;
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"Paul, a Pattern of Conversion," Acts 26;
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the Mysteries of the
Kingdom on the parables.
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Don Johnson said God gave His church
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a great gift when He
gave us Conrad Murrell,
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with his unique ability to show us
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the difference between
truth and popular error.
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I remember personal times in our home
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and his kindness and
prayers for our children.
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And I remember him distinctly saying
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how children grow up too quickly
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and are soon gone.
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I remember a two-mile walk with him
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one morning when he was 84
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over here at his house.
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He was walking so briskly,
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I could hardly keep up with him.
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I remember conversations on theology
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and sharing some of my views,
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hoping he would be impressed,
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or at least that he might agree.
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He wasn't impressed.
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But he would begin graciously sharing
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the truth with me more,
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and insight and wisdom would flow,
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and I realized I had not seen as much
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as I had thought I'd seen.
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I remember his love for all his churches.
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Your churches.
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And many others he loved over the years.
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He always had his churches on his heart,
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and in his mind, and in his prayers.
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We all remember how wonderfully
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he led the Bentley camps,
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and those afternoon Q&A's.
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He would try to get you to ask questions
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and very few would ask questions,
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because they knew he was going to sum up
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at the end the things that we had said
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that were incorrect.
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In two sentences, he could just distill
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the gold from the moment.
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I, like so many many,
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greatly benefitted from his great wisdom
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and discernment,
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and his ability in giving out counsel.
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I once sought his counsel on
a major decision in 2017.
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Several people affirmed
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my considering this choice.
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He alone said to me,
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'Don't do it. I don't think God's in it.'
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And he was right.
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I was spared a great mistake.
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I remember his humility.
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His simplicity of life. His honesty.
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His no sense of self-importance.
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His godliness, his sense of humor,
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his love for his wife,
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his children, his grandchildren.
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And, of course, I remember
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the power and the authority
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of his preaching.
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Gary Gatch said this:
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"I remember vividly how his messages
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fed my soul.
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I had never experienced that before,
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but I had longed for it.
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I remember thinking
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that is what preaching should be -
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the heavenly power,
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the solid doctrinal content,
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the experiential reality,
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the accurate, deep
theological understanding,
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coming under the anointing
of the Holy Spirit
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like an irresistible force
of awesome truth.
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When you heard Conrad preach regularly,
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it would hit you, it would slap you,
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it would startle you, surprise you,
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rattle you,
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even confuse you for awhile.
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You'd go away saying
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now wait a minute.
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I thought I knew.
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I thought that...
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I've always believed...
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I've never heard such things before.
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That's what his ministry would do to you.
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But in the coming days,
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a metamorphosis happened
supernaturally in your life.
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You start being changed by the truth.
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You're freed. You're transformed.
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You begin to love the Bible more.
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You begin to have clarity on doctrines
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that you never were clear on before.
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You begin to love God's people more.
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You begin to see salvation in a way
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never seen before.
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You begin to see this is a much bigger
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and bigger God and more glorious Christ
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than you've ever realized.
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And you even joyfully begin to realize
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the Holy Spirit is real and wonderful.
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Conrad's ministry did that
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to hundreds, perhaps thousands.
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The force of truths by the Spirit
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through a man from Bentley.
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Unknown and yet well known.
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Conrad and his friend Leonard Ravenhill
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stood alone in power in preaching
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above all others, in my opinion.
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And time fails us to share
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all that we remember and treasure,
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but an old Christian said
of a godly friend of his
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who passed away, whose example and life
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was powerful. He said this.
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And I thought this
applies to Conrad Murrell.
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"In a day of hustle and bustle
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and busy activity,
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it would do us well to study the life
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of one who stood in
the midst of this world,
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but was not of this world,
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was never drawn into it
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and spent his life
drawing others out of it
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into the joy which
he himself so fully knew.
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In an age of false ideas
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and shallow hero worship,
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it is good to have seen one
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who took at his model the Son of God,
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and he knew above most
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what intimacy with God means
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in producing a true and fragrant life."
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His dear friend Holmes Morris
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said of Brother Murrell,
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"Conrad saw and felt deeply
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that which was wrong with modern churches,
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and was not afraid to
take a stand against error."
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Well, that's kind of an understatement.
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He writes a tract:
"Mourn. God may hate you."
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Or I could mention others.
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"He was not afraid to
take a stand against error.
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A man has to have the
power of the Spirit of God
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upon him to have such
a ministry for years."
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Holmes Morris says,
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"I believe he had special
gifts and anointing
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which became the key
to his entire ministry.
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It has been said when
a giant tree finally falls,
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it leaves an empty space in the sky.
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When God finally takes Conrad Murrell
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home to glory, it will certainly leave
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a huge empty space in our sky."
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In the early years of his ministry,
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Conrad wrote a weekly column
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in the Colfax Chronicle
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called "Bread from the Book."
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It was just devotional commentary
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on Psalms.
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And on Psalm 42, Conrad said this:
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"It is a terrifying experience
to look around you
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and find yourself alone
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without anyone on earth
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to rescue you from peril,
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but it is a most wonderful
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and blessed reality when
you lift your eyes
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above the land of the living,
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all of whom shall very soon die.
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It's a blessed thing to lift your eyes
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to the eternal God who ever lives
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and to find Him to be
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your everlasting refuge."
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Praise God for our dear brother.
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To the children:
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Herbert Conrad Murrell.
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Do you know him?
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Tell me.
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His name they did mention.
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Among the saints he did labor.
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With boisterous voice, he spoke His favor.
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I am crucified with Christ,
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nevertheless I live.
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He stood firm.
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His life the Lord did sieve.
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You've heard the power
in which he did speak.
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Christ in His glory,
and yet this man weak.
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No great man in his own stature.
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His Lord, his only pasture.
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Tell me you've heard.
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He didn't speak his own name.
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The faith of the Son of God his only fame.
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A man remembered for his God.
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A testimony of where our Savior trod.
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Tell me they've told you
about his great King.
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Tell me they've told
you His praise to sing.
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Tell me they've told you
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about the kingdom he'll inherit.
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Tell me they've told you,
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it's not by his merit.
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Tell me they've told you,
it should be yours.
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Tell me they've told you,
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Christ would open the doors.
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Tell me they've told you
why he did preach.
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He could not contain the
love he had for each.
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Tell me you've heard
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of the great God he should soon behold.
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Tell me you've heard
of the riches he's told.
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For his telling is past,
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but yours is not.
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Abound in what you've heard.
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Let it not rot.
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Children, speak.
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Love others to the end.
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For our great God a Savior did send.
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Tell me they've told you
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the power of obedience and humility.
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Tell me they've told you
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his peace and victory.
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I am the youngest of five children.
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I was the baby.
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I was kind of apart
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from my brothers and sisters growing up.
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And I just wanted to share
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some of the things that I observed
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of my dad.
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You may not know.
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These are little things; small things.
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My dad had a little room.
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It was no larger than a small closet.
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He could barely fit the little desk in it.
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He had some homemade bookshelves.
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His library was in that bookshelf.
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Spurgeon.
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Wesley.
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Brainard.
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Josephus.
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See, those of are some of the books
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I remember reading.
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Some of the scholarly,
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some of the sermons - Spurgeon's sermons,
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he studied those very, very deeply.
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He was a big fan of the Reformation.
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That was the strongest part of his drive;
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formed in what occurred
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during the Reformation.
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A lot of the truths that he discovered,
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that God showed him,
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came from the teachings
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of these great preachers
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that taught during these times.
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But he would get up in the morning,
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and you wouldn't see him.
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He would go to that room.
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He would not come out.
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You could hear him pray.
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You could hear him talk to God.
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That's how he started his day
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every single day.
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On Monday's, he didn't eat.
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Monday was his fast day.
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For most ministers that I've seen,
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their focus is on Sunday
and Wednesday night,
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and maybe some business
meetings in the church,
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but dad's - what I saw was daily.
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I never saw him get mad at something
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that he shouldn't have gotten mad at.
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He's gotten mad at me.
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He got mad at a lot of things.
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But I never saw him get mad
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at a lot of things that we
would have gotten mad at.
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Case in point:
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We lived on Hanley Loop.
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He stuck his hand
underneath the lawn mower.
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And it split his fingers.
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And his vernacular was not extreme.
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What he said was not extreme.
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He very calmly called me over.
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I was seven years old.
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Called me over and said,
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"Billy, go get your mama."
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That was it. Go get your mama.
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He knew he needed help.
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There was no point in
saying anything else.
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His humor - he was a pragmatist.
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He was a sneaky, sneaky pragmatist
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when it came to work.
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Now, as a young man, I didn't
like to work too much.
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I worked very hard because
my dad made me work,
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and I learned to work.
He taught me to work.
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I remember this one particular time
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that I had discovered
a few games at school,
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and one of them was pick-up-sticks.
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You remember pick-up-sticks?
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He said, "you want
to play pick-up-sticks?"
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Yeah!
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We all know what happened next.
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I'm in the backyard or in the pasture
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picking up sticks.
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So, his humor was amazing.
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He made up words.
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He made up words.
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But the one word that sticks with me
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is "stickability."
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Stickability is your ability
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to finish whatever you start.
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That's meant a lot to me in my life.
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I'd like to close with this one thing
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that I remember from one of his sermons.
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He said as an analogy
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to make people realize how small
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and insignificant we are in this world;
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he said the next time you start thinking
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yourself high and mighty;
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next time you start thinking
well about yourself,
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go get a bucket. Fill it with water.
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Stick your arm in the bucket.
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Slosh that water around
as much as you want to
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for as long as you want to.
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And when you pull your
arm out of that bucket,
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the hole that you leave in that bucket
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is the impact that you left on this world
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when you leave.
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That's the truth.
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My dad's impact was not of his own doing.
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It was because he made himself
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an instrument.
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That's all.
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Thank you.
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(Incomplete thought)
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I haven't had the honor of sitting under
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as many of my papa's sermons
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as many of you have.
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I've sat through some.
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But, that is an honor.
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Because of papa,
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my dad was always a pastor.
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I do remember when I was young
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going to some of his revivals
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and camp meetings from time to time.
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Dad would bring us.
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When I was four years old,
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the very first song I ever sang in church
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was "He's Still Working On Me."
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And I know that I never went
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to any of my Papa's camp meetings
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or revivals that he didn't request
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that I sing that song.
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And at the time, it was
just a childhood song.
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I'm not going to say it didn't
mean anything to me. It did.
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But, you know, you
think of it kind of like,
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"This Little Light of Mine,"
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or just a childhood song.
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But through the years, it has grown
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to mean more and more to me.
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And I find that the lyrics are applicable
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to any age no matter how young or old.
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Because we are a work in progress always.
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There's always more growing
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that we can do in the Lord.
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And I know that that was
part of my Papa's message
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to all that he shared Jesus with.
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And there was never a time - not one -
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even as recent as Christmas day
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when we sat at the dinner table
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and Papa sat to my left
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at the head of the table.
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He would always say,
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"He's still working on me,
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is He still working on you?"
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Always. Always.
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And that was the last
time that he said it to me.
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And today, the song,
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though it began as just a childhood song
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means more to me than it ever has before,
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and I know that it always will.
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I'm not sure of the date,
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but it was the day after Christmas
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when he was put into the hospital.
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In the weeks following,
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we went to visit him in the hospital,
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and he slept the whole time.
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He didn't wake up to visit.
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And we were getting ready to go.
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Pam was there. My dad was there.
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My husband, Kevin, and myself were there.
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And we stayed and
visited for a little while,
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and before we left,
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I just felt led to lean over
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and to sing it into his ear.
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And I asked which was his good ear
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and I leaned over
and I sang it in his ear.
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And he started kind of
moving around in the bed.
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And he opened his eyes
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and they filled up with tears.
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Because I think we were questioning
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if he was responsive or hearing us.
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But he definitely heard it
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and he opened his eyes
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and they welled up with tears.
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And he started moaning as if to say it.
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He couldn't get the words out,
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but I know that they were there.
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So, Kaylee and I are
going to sing it today.
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If you know it, sing along with us.
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I wanted to read a Scripture.
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Philippians 1:6
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"Being confident of this very thing,
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that He which hath
begun a good work in you
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will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ."
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Praise the Lord.
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On February 23rd,
Papa drew his last breath.
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And he was complete.
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But up until that moment,
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he chose to allow Jesus to continue
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to work on him throughout his whole life.
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And so I challenge all of us,
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I know if he was here
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and could say one more thing to me,
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he would say,
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"He's finished with me,
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but is He still working on you?"
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Let's join our hearts in prayer.
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Our gracious God and Father in heaven,
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we praise Thy holy name.
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And we are very thankful today
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for the grace of God
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that came to Conrad Murrell
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in saving him as a young adult,
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so suddenly, so powerfully;
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and for calling him into the ministry
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of the gospel of the grace of God.
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Lord, thank You for the grace that's come
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to him and through him,
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to his family and to so many.
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We're grateful for the life and ministry
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of your servant.
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Lord, many of us could say
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in our own lives,
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there's not arisen in all our lives
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a prophet like this Moses,
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whom the Lord knew so closely.
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Or like Elisha,
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a holy man who passed
by our lives continually.
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Like a David who served his own generation
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in the will of God.
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And now has died in a good old age,
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full of days, riches, and honor.
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Full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
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And like Simeon has now departed
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in peace.
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Father, Your Word says the day of death
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is better than the day of one's birth.
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Better to go to the house of mourning
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than the house of feasting.
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And the living take it to heart.
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Far better, said Paul,
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to depart and be with Christ,
-
because that is gain.
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So, Lord, today comfort every heart here.
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We feel like there will be a deep hole
-
in our water bucket for a long time.
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It's there. A big space in our sky.
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This one who's now with You.
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Thank You for the fruit that abides.
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Thank You for the
legacy, for the memories.
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Lord, Your Word says
-
the name of the wicked will rot,
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but the memory of
the righteous is blessed.
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So comfort every heart.
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Strengthen every soul.
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Touch every tear.
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Make us all more faithful Christians,
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not only because we had Conrad
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touch us in our journey.
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Make us more faithful now in his death,
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more like him,
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and ultimately, Lord,
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more like our Savior.
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We thank You, Lord,
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for that pure river of the water of life,
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clear as crystal, proceeding out of
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the throne of God and of the Lamb.
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Lord, in the midst of the street
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on either side of the tree of life.
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And Lord, we thank You there,
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there will be no more curse,
-
but the throne of God and the Lamb
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shall be in it,
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and Your servants will serve You.
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And they shall see Your face.
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And Your name will be on their foreheads.
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And there's no night there.
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No need for candle or light of the sun,
-
for the Lord God giveth them light,
-
and they shall reign forever and ever.
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And He said these sayings
-
are faithful and true.
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Behold, I come quickly.
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Blessed is he who keeps the sayings
-
of the prophecy of this book.
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Lord, we bless Your name this day.
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We worship You in this hour.
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And we're very, very grateful
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from our hearts for all Your mercies
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that You've shed abroad
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through such a life.
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In the sure and mighty name
-
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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we pray. Amen.
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There's an old saying
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that God buries His workers,
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but doesn't bury His work.
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But a work that is never buried
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works off of the memory
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of the workers that are.
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And one of those such workers
-
is H. Conrad Murrell.
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In Ecclesiastes 7,
-
we've referred to it a few times already,
-
it says in v. 1, "A good name is better
-
than a good ointment,
-
and the day of one's death is better
-
than the day of one's birth.
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It is better to go to a house of mourning,
-
(here)
-
than to go to a house of feasting
-
because that is the end of every man
-
and the living takes it to heart.
-
Sorrow is better than laughter,
-
for when a face is sad,
-
a heart may be happy.
-
The mind of the wise is in
the house of mourning,
-
while the mind of fools
-
is in the house of pleasure."
-
Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes 7
-
talks about a good name,
-
and how a good name is better
-
than a precious ointment.
-
And of course, you kind of wonder why
-
there's a comparison between an ointment
-
and a good name.
-
And of course, back in the day,
-
when a baby was born,
-
depending on the wealth of the family,
-
they would anoint the baby with ointment.
-
And so, as he's making this comparison -
-
Solomon here writing Ecclesiastes -
-
he's drawing these contrasts
-
when it comes to wisdom
-
it isn't always found in the
conventional kind of way.
-
Many times, it's found in contrasts
-
where you have a good name -
-
a good name -
-
not just a name you're given at birth,
-
but a good name.
-
And it's better than that ointment
-
that you were given at birth.
-
And that's why he says a
little bit later on in v. 1
-
that a good name translates also
-
into pleasant expiration dates.
-
They go together.
-
So December 15th, 1928
-
was the day Conrad was born.
-
According to Ecclesiastes 7,
-
February 23rd, 2018 is a better day.
-
In fact, he celebrated
that birthday 89 times
-
and that one day in February
-
is worth all the more than that
one day in December combined.
-
Because that's what the text says.
-
They don't compare in value.
-
So what makes the day of one's death
-
a better day?
-
You've got to be asking the question
-
to yourself as you sit here
-
in the classroom, God says,
-
in Ecclesiastes 7,
-
which is the house of mourning.
-
Will my day of death be
better than my birthday?
-
Really, the only way you
can answer that question
-
is the first part of the verse:
-
Do I have a good name?
-
We don't really care about the ointment
-
you might be having in
your storage pantry.
-
It's the good name.
-
So what makes February 23rd, 2018
-
a better day than December 15th, 1928?
-
Well, there's a few things
-
according to the text.
-
For starters, not everybody has
-
a better day on the day of their death.
-
I think you know that.
-
On that day in December,
-
when Conrad was given his name
-
by his mom and dad,
-
Adolf Hitler was given a name
-
on the day of his birth.
-
Everything being equal,
-
on the day of their deaths,
-
something has taken a shift, hasn't it?
-
Because your name identifies you
-
with your character
-
and what you have done
-
or what you haven't done.
-
A good name isn't a catchy name.
-
You've got people today
-
that try to name their
kids in such a way
-
that they stand out.
-
Like Mr. and Mrs. Aire who
named their son "Billion."
-
We want our son to stand out.
-
We're going to name him Billion.
-
Oh, he'll stand out all right.
-
So it's not just a catchy name.
-
But it's not even a great name.
-
He doesn't say "a great name."
-
He says, "a good name."
-
You've got a lot of great names out there
-
that won't be found in
the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
Thomas Edison had a great name.
-
In fact, he was called
"America's inventor."
-
The greatest inventor America had.
-
But he was a naturalist.
-
Einstein. Everybody knows who Einstein is.
-
And he worshiped the god
of Spinosa the philosopher.
-
He doesn't have a good name.
-
A great one among men.
-
Among scientists.
-
Among philosophers.
-
But the day of his death is not better
-
than the day of his birth.
-
Because it's not a good name.
-
Proverbs 10:7 says,
-
"The memory of the
righteous is a blessing."
-
It's a blessing to us.
-
Knowing who Conrad was,
-
reading his books,
-
listening to his sermons,
-
seeing pictures, telling stories -
-
they're meant to encourage us.
-
And they do.
-
As they all focus toward that
name above every name,
-
Jesus Christ.
-
See, if your name doesn't dovetail
-
into that direction,
-
you don't have a good name.
-
And it's not going to be a good day
-
when the expiration date comes for you.
-
Now, this is just what the text says.
-
Do you ever wonder why you're even
-
given a name in the first place?
-
A name identifies you.
-
It makes you part of a society.
-
It tells the community around you
-
that you exist and you're an individual.
-
You give babies names.
-
They don't want you naming fetuses,
-
because that would make them valuable.
-
That would make them a person.
-
That would give them rights.
-
That would somehow elevate them
-
into the community.
-
But we're all given names.
-
We're given names for a reason.
-
And God calls us by name.
-
The very essence of what
it means to be human
-
means that we have this naming function
-
that we see in Adam in
the garden, for example.
-
He names the animals.
-
He names them because that's what they are
-
and God says, "name the animals."
-
Because God's given him a name.
-
That's how he can name Eve
-
and say who she is.
-
Not just a proper name, "Eve,"
-
but her function and her identity.
-
We do that.
-
It's called dominion.
-
And you have a name.
-
But the question this morning
-
is will it be a good name?
-
We celebrate Conrad's life
-
because he had a good name.
-
His name's found in the
Lamb's Book of Life.
-
There are many names,
-
names that you know,
-
that will not be found in
the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
Well, if you need an example,
-
Caitlin Jenner will not be found
in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
Bruce Jenner might be.
-
That's just an example.
It's not a good name.
-
You can change it.
-
You can nickname it.
-
You can make it catchy.
-
You can do something among men
-
and be great, but if it isn't good,
-
and the righteous are blessed by it,
-
and Christ is glorified in it,
-
it's not a good name.
-
And the day of one's death is not
-
going to be better than
the day of one's birth.
-
So how is this day, February 23rd,
-
a better day than the
day of Conrad's birth
-
celebrated 89 times?
-
Well, the most obvious way it's better -
-
it's better for Conrad.
-
Think about what that day meant for him.
-
It wasn't like a birthday party
-
and celebrating and blowing out candles
-
and opening up a few presents.
-
Think about how Conrad entered the world
-
on the day of his birth.
-
Let's compare the two days.
-
On December 15th, he entered the world
-
under the wrath of God
-
according to Ephesians 2.
-
He entered heaven under the grace of God
-
in nothing but praise
and worship to the Lamb.
-
I think that's a better day.
-
He comes in crying. He goes out praising.
-
Surrounded by sinners
-
and a world of demons and depravity,
-
and according to Romans 8, futility.
-
And he enters a world of completion,
-
inheritance.
-
That work, we heard sung,
in Philippians 1:6 is done.
-
It's completed.
-
He's complete.
-
He's entered into his inheritance.
-
That's a good day.
-
The book he writes, "Faith Cometh,"
-
it's sight cometh.
-
There's no more salvation when,
-
it's salvation now.
-
These are realities that our brother
-
not just has experienced on that day,
-
but that's for all of us
-
who have a good name.
-
His fight ended.
-
His race concluded.
-
His cross exchanged.
-
A name that was written
-
on the Savior's hand -
-
Isaiah 49:16.
-
Inscribed in the palm of His hand it says.
-
Inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
He's now one with the
name above all names.
-
He's one with his Savior.
-
So it's not only better for Conrad,
-
it's also better for us.
-
Better for us.
-
Wait a minute. That doesn't
make a lot of sense.
-
I mean, I thought we were
praying that he would live on.
-
You pray for your loved ones.
You don't want to see them die
-
and leave and depart
from you, but it's better.
-
Even for us left behind.
-
How is it better for us?
-
Being sad isn't the same
thing as being worse off.
-
The heart can be sad, it says,
-
and there can be laughter in the heart.
-
We don't mourn like the world
-
who has no hope.
-
It's better for us because,
-
as it says in Hebrews 13,
-
we can follow his conduct,
-
imitate his faith - leaders among us,
-
the writer tells us.
-
Observe their conduct.
-
Imitate their faith.
-
Well, his conduct all the way
-
till the day he died was faithfulness.
-
You need to imitate that kind of faith.
-
That's better for us.
-
He didn't back out at the last
-
hundred yards of the marathon.
-
That's a testimony for us.
-
It's a testimony knowing that God
-
can take a man made out of clay like us,
-
same frailties and weakness,
-
and bring him across Jordan.
-
That's a good thing.
-
He can turn around and
say I'm about to die.
-
You watch me die
-
and you follow my example.
-
You need me to die,
-
so you can follow my example.
-
Now that's a leader.
-
Reminds me of Bob Jennings
-
making his own coffin.
-
Constructing it. Who does that?
-
Leaders saying I'm ready to go.
-
You watch me make this.
-
You learn from me.
-
Like Paul would say, "follow my example."
-
We need leaders like that
-
who can face death;
-
that have no fear of death, as it says.
-
We're not enslaved as it says in Romans 8.
-
You cry, "Abba, Father;"
-
you can't cry "scary, scary"
when it comes to death.
-
No. That's the testimony.
-
So it's better for us
-
that Conrad leaves us richer
-
because of these things.
-
Remember his legacy of how he freely gave.
-
How he judiciously spoke.
-
Sometimes you couldn't
pry a word out of him.
-
Sometimes.
-
But that's a testimony
that he leaves behind.
-
He passionately preached,
-
and he unconditionally loved.
-
But lastly, it's not only a
better day for Conrad,
-
and a better day for us,
-
ironically, it's a better day for God.
-
Wait, how can it be a better day for God?
-
There's no better and worse for God.
-
He's perfect, right?
-
Exactly. We know that.
-
But God says in Psalm 116:15,
-
"Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of His godly ones."
-
God says last Friday,
-
He had a precious moment.
-
Friday.
-
That was God's precious moment.
-
He says that.
-
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of His godly ones.
-
Something changed on the
part of God and Conrad
-
last Friday,
-
that will change with you
on the day of your death.
-
The intercession of Christ is complete
-
for our brother in the earthly body.
-
He enters into the joy of his Master.
-
Our sympathetic High Priest -
-
there's no sympathy anymore
with Conrad there.
-
He's perfect and complete.
-
He's not entering into that type
-
of necessity from the High Priest
-
in the earthly body.
-
It was the testimony
-
of what Christ did on the cross
-
with Conrad's sins in taking them away
-
and taking away in propitiation
-
the wrath of God,
-
and God making those promises
-
to be faithful to the end,
-
God was vindicated on that day.
-
I was faithful to the end with My own.
-
I kept My own to the end,
-
as Christ prays in John 17.
-
I kept this one till the end.
-
And I am testifying to all the world
-
that I kept him till the end.
-
That was a better day for God.
-
He certifies He's faithful
-
to His own people for His own purposes
-
and for His own cause.
-
Better for Conrad, better for us,
-
better for God.
-
If you don't have a good name,
-
I guess you better hope
you had a good ointment.
-
Which isn't going to prove effectual
-
on that day.
-
Jesus had a name at birth.
-
"You shall call His name Jesus
-
for He will save His
people from their sins."
-
The baby in the manger
didn't save anybody.
-
Not yet.
-
You know how many Jesus's there were
-
running around in Israel in those days?
-
It was a common name.
-
It's a derivative of Joshua.
-
Hundreds of Jewish children named Jesus.
-
But at the end of His life,
-
He had a name no one else had:
-
Jesus Christ.
-
The Messiah.
-
He had to learn to become
-
that faithful High Priest.
-
You don't become that in the manger.
-
You do earn those stripes when you say,
-
"It is finished," at the cross.
-
That's a good name.
-
The name above all names.
-
At the name of Jesus
Christ, men are saved.
-
They call upon the name
of the Lord and are saved.
-
What kind of power does
a name like that have?
-
The name of Jesus Christ.
-
That's a good name.
-
A name that demons fear.
-
A name above every name.
-
So, I close with this.
-
Do you have a good name?
-
Good names also have
-
good reservations in heaven already made.
-
Made in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
If the only place your name is recorded
-
is on your birth certificate,
-
your name will not be found on that day.
-
Because on that day as it says
-
in Revelation 20, "And they looked,
-
and his name was not recorded
-
in the Lamb's Book of Life."
-
Or, his name was recorded
-
in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-
Your name. It identifies who you are.
-
It doesn't have to be catchy,
-
and it doesn't have to be great.
-
But it has to be tied and surrounded
-
and dovetailed into the
name above all names -
-
Jesus Christ -
-
for it to be a good name.
-
And you know when it's a good name,
-
it says in Revelation 2,
-
He'll give you a new name.
-
Imagine that.
-
A new name.
-
And it won't have a last name
-
that identifies me with
the tribe of LaCour,
-
and identifies me specifically
out of the tribe of LeCour - Mark.
-
And I've got a middle
name to make sure
-
in case there's two Mark's,
-
I'm Mark Keith LaCour.
-
No, it won't be like that.
-
It will be a new name.
-
A new name that He gives to His own.
-
His own children.
-
A name that incorporates His name with it.
-
Abram wasn't always going
to stay Abram, right?
-
He was going to be called "Abraham."
-
And the "-ham" part is part of Yahweh
-
when you pronounce it in the Hebrew.
-
And God says you're going
to take in part of My name.
-
And you're going to walk
the rest of your life -
-
this is what you're going to be called.
-
No, you're not going to be called Saul.
You're going to be called Paul.
-
No, Cephas, you're going
to be called Peter.
-
What are they going to call you?
-
What is that new name going to be?
-
Do you have one?
-
You can't get a new one,
-
unless you have a good one.
-
And good ones are found recorded
-
in the Lamb's Book of Life by the Lamb.
-
Conrad Murrell had a good name.
-
He wore many hats, but it's that name.
-
Will that name be remembered?
-
Of course. Will yours be remembered?
-
Let's ask the Lord and pray.
-
Father, we ask, help us in this, Lord,
-
in Your Word.
-
We seek to lift up Jesus Christ.
-
We ask Father, that You would
-
bring Your Word to bear.
-
Cause us, Father, to have a good name.
-
Not just simply the names
-
our parents gave us,
-
but the name You give us.
-
One of Your own.
-
One of the Lamb's elect.
-
He died on the cross for our sins.
-
We love You and we thank You.
-
In Christ's great name we pray, Amen.
-
I want to read a passage
-
out of 2 Timothy.
-
We want to listen close to the words.
-
And as we read this,
-
it is Paul.
-
But I think it's worthy
that Conrad Murrell
-
can say these words.
-
At that time while he was still waiting
-
his time.
-
He says here:
-
"For I am now ready..."
-
I am ready.
-
And he'd want to know, are we ready?
-
Now remember, one time he said,
-
pulled between two -
whether to stay or not stay,
-
it'd be better to be there than here,
-
but he stayed because
God still wanted him here.
-
We should be content with the will of God
-
to be here as long as God wants us.
-
And Brother Conrad was
still blessing my heart
-
even when he could hardly
get out of the house.
-
Why? God didn't leave him here
-
just for a trophy.
-
He left him here still a treasure
-
that is rich if you could sit at his feet
-
and just begin to listen to his few words.
-
He would embrace you
-
with the love and grace of God.
-
Alright, now.
-
"I'm now ready to be offered."
-
Now this is a continuing thing here.
-
(unintelligible)
-
Many times rejected by some.
-
But loved by the many that are here
-
on this day now.
-
He says, "the time is at hand,
-
I have fought a good fight.
-
I have finished my course."
-
Not somebody else's.
-
He didn't come off an assembly line.
-
But from the throne and the heart of God,
-
to minister to you and I.
-
"I have kept the faith.
-
Henceforth, there is laid up for me
-
a crown of righteousness."
-
One thing we see that is missing
-
in the language - it's not really missing,
-
but it's not there.
-
He's ready to be offered.
-
He didn't say or use the word "death."
-
Do we get it?
-
That's right. It's not in that passage.
-
Though it was in knowing it would be so,
-
and I wasn't there at the death
-
with the rest of the family,
-
but I don't think he had a fear of death.
-
(unintelligible)
-
It's been conquered in Christ.
-
And his life was to the
end, the Apostle Paul,
-
was to be offered.
-
He was still going on.
-
(unintelligible)
-
He said have those bring my cloak.
-
He didn't know when, but
he knew it was at hand.
-
And our brother knew his was at hand,
-
and he was ready to be offered.
-
And I would say you never heard him
-
in fear of death, did you?
-
No.
-
We misunderstand sometimes
-
like the disciples.
-
Lord, if Lazarus is just asleep...
-
He said I'm going to have to speak
-
on your level, your terms - he's dead.
-
But here the Apostle Paul
-
and our brother Conrad,
-
he didn't talk about these things.
-
Men, for each of us,
-
the greatest fear on
the face of this earth
-
is death.
-
Just rest in the Lord.
-
Just trust Him.
-
Nothing to fear.
-
Before my wife sings this song
-
that Conrad always loved
-
and wanted to hear her sing,
-
I've been thinking about some words
-
that Conrad penned -
-
first preached and then penned
in his book "Faith Cometh."
-
He said, "Faith is not a state of mind.
-
Faith is not conviction.
-
It is not assurance.
-
Faith is something you do
-
in light of who God is
-
and what God has said."
-
And I saw that in our dear brother,
-
an abiding faith
-
and just a rest in Christ.
-
And this song, I think, captured
-
that restfulness of his
spirit in the Lord.
-
No matter what the Lord gave,
-
it was alright with our brother
-
and should be alright with us.
-
Our God is good.
-
He would really shout loud too.
-
Consider the lilies,
-
they don't toil, nor spin.
-
And there's not a king
-
with more splendor than them.