Dr. Stanley Toussaint Memorial Service

[Music] do you please stand [Music] [Music] please be seated we are here today to acknowledge the entrance of dr. Stanley deed to st. into the presence of his Heavenly Father God in His grace gave Stan 89 years of life on this earth it was a long life it was a life well-lived back in the 70s I had the privilege of sitting under dr. to st. as a student at Dallas Theological Seminary and then in the 80s I was given the honor of serving beside him as a pass as pastors in our local church dr. to st. was not only my professor he was my mentor he showed me how to be a pastor but most of all he became my friend and I love him and I know you love him too that's why we're all here today you're not the only ones there are hundreds thousands of people all over this world who have been influenced greatly by him God used this humble servant to influence the lives of all of us in profound ways and so we've come together as friends and as family to remember stand to Saints life and his legacy but also to celebrate his home going one of the things that is so hard for us about the loss of a loved one and death is that it feels so final we fear that we won't see them again or it'll be a long time and our world programs us to think that way the prevailing philosophies in our world have a would have us to believe that we are in the land of the living and we are in route to the land of the and when you die that's it but the Bible tells us that's not it for those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we are actually in the land of the dying and we are in route to the land of the living so in this past Tuesday morning God assured stand to st. peacefully and triumphantly into the land of the living and we're here to celebrate that to rejoice in that in a few moments Stan's grandson Marcus will come up here and read for us second Corinthians chapter five it's printed in your program I want to give you a preview it begins this way for we know that if this earthly house it could be translated as earthly tent we live in is dissolved or destroyed we have a building from God an eternal house not made by human hands reserved for us in heaven and then down in verse 8 Paul says to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord the idea is that when we leave this body of death we immediately receive a glorious body of life what a powerful truth that is so again last Tuesday morning when Stan took his last breath on earth he took his very next breath in heaven and because of that great truth we are not here today to grieve for Stan we're glad for him we grieve for ourselves we're gonna miss him we love him so much but we're relieved for him his physical tent had worn out and God in His mercy took him home and gave him a new body that will that will never be broken that will never be sick that will never die stan has never been more alive than he is right now and he is experiencing and has experienced this past week what we still long for ken guy wrote this about death for the Christian he said death is probably the most misunderstood part of life it is not a great sleep but a great awakening it's That moment when we awake and we rub our eyes and we see things at last the way God has seen them all along doctor to st. the loaded devoted his life to the reading and studying and teaching and preaching of the Bible and living according to its truth he did that because he believed that this is God's Word and this word of God this Bible assures us that Stan has not gone away from us max he has just gone ahead of us and there is a great reunion coming and it'll be sooner than we think let's pray together our dear Heavenly Father our Abba we come together this afternoon to remember your servant stand to say thank you for the testimony of his life thank you for the influence that he has had on all of us thank you for his marriage to max for 67 years what a testimony of covenant love thank you for their devotion to your people to their own sons Douglas and Mark and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren and Lord we ask you to be with them in a special way Lord may they sent your presence and experienced your grace and your and your love in abundance and be with us all Lord in this hour may we laugh together and cry together because we love stand because we love Jesus and because we are members together in your family and Lord may we be inspired by Stan's life to live the remainder of our days to be pleasing to you in all we do for the glory of your name amen well it's no secret that my grandfather loved the scriptures and I can remember as a child one year grandpa's he made a deal with me that if I read one chapter of Proverbs a day for a year he would give me the immeasurable some fifty bucks and and I did it and I did not understand at the time what I increasingly come to know which is what an investment it is to daily feast upon the Word of God and just biblical wisdom and yeah I am I've heard it said that if you want to hear God speak read the Bible all out and I just I just counted an immeasurable gift to I've heard the voice of God so often throughout my life through the voice of my grandfather and as he baptized me as he officiated my wedding as he made me write really long papers at DTS I what a gift and he was always there for me and with the word and those times and so it's a privilege for me to get to to bring the word at this celebration of his life would you please stand for the reading of God's Word before we know that if the earthly house of our Tabernacle be dissolved we have a building from God a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens for verily in this we groan longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven if so be that being clothed that we shall not be found naked for indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened not for that we would be unclothed but that we would be clothed upon that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life now he that wrought us for this very thing is God who gave us gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit being therefore always of good courage and knowing that whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith not by sight we are of good courage I say and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord wherefore also we make it our aim whether at home or absent to be well pleasing unto Him thank you be seated family has chosen two very meaningful songs for us to sing together as part of this worship service the words will be projected up on the screen but also there in our hymnal our first hymn is it is well with my soul hymn 7:05 [Music] it is my [Music] [Applause] it is [Music] for [Music] [Applause] [Music] Sussman [Applause] [Music] if the ice [Music] spy [Music] I said of his call [Music] I said r10 car ha his name to cause [Music] it's no more graceful Lord praise long [Music] my it is why [Music] with my soul is one why by saw [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] my name is Harry I'm 10 years younger than then Stan so I don't have a lot of stories to tell about Stan in his early years obviously but I do have one then I'd like to share if you know Stan he'd love to tease he was he could put a clinic on putting couldn't on teasing and I was I think in the 2nd grade at the time and he was really teasing me and teasing me and teasing me and finally I really got angry and there was our parents had changed a rocking chair to a chair and there was a rail a rocking rails on the floor and I picked that rail up and threw it at him and it went through the window and so he so I was really getting angry with and he says why are you mad at me I says you didn't need to duck but anyway Stan's legacy was very difficult for a younger brother to come the standard was very high and anyway just comparing the two of us it's pretty pathetic on my side he was salutatorian of his high school class and I was in the upper half and in college you was student body president at Hogg's burg college and I went to the same school and but I got I lettered in football anyway he he ended up being uh if you look in the folder he ended up being a president of a small college and I got to be a sales manager at 3m not not to not to the quite a difference there Stan loved to teach even when he preached he was teaching if you think of his messages he was teaching and anyway he how many here by here there were in his Sunday School class in the later years holy cow he loved you guys yeah that was amazing anyway yeah yeah he just loved that Sunday School class so much the one his voice was taken that in at that but there really he really loved you guys he also loved to hunt and fish and I think some of you were here that underneath with him did you hunted geese I think I did and he never did deer hunt with me but I think that was because most the deer hunting in Minnesota you have to climb I have a deer stand and elevated up about 15 feet high and that was difficult for him to do but he loved to hunt and fish and he loved to help people but he didn't really accept people bring him that that well we can help you up the stairs no I can make it you know help you here no I can make it so anyway max you two were team I remember the Bible school let you headed to melaka free church now many people were led to the Lord during that time you're one of my high school friends who was one of the toughest kids I ever played football with and his life early in it he was also very tough and rough but he ended up being a minister and there was spanner max that I did him to the Lord and Max you were his greatest cheerleader Cupid I don't care if he gave a poor message she saw as she said it was wonderful she she she was really really a cheerleader form but he is the last half year or three quarters of a year was really miserable for him but when his voice was taken away couldn't speak and so anyway he lived to rough great prep old age and anyway his passing it we should be celebrating his life because he was really frustrated with his inability to talk stand proud to be your brother I miss you my name is Marc I'm the youngest it's always been my worst nightmare to follow Harry I'm the younger more prodigal brother here I'm told I'm somewhat of a singer and I was gonna get up and sing maybe one of dads favorite songs all glory laud and honor was always my favorite day-by-day How Great Thou art but since I'm not really suited for those I toyed with choruses of king of the road or maybe you picked a fine time to leave me Lucille dad's eyes would light up when those came on and that kind of Santa Claus way that dad's eyes would light up I had the best eyes the most expressive eyes that has nothing to do with what I wanted to say my dad was an amazing guy you couldn't help but respect and love my father as I look around this meager contingent of well-wishers I can't help but think that Dad would be kind of embarrassed to have such a fuss made over him he was humble often to a fault he was humble in our opinion he never felt like he accomplished very much I always felt like there was so much more to do he always felt inadequate to you heavy I always kind of likened it to what Moses must have felt like his humility made him forgiving often way beyond what I could understand he was a grace full man he was full of grace to people he recognized the weakness in people it was a good judge of character but he always saw the very best in each individual that he met and somehow his character made one want to be that better version of yourself he did it without trying I don't think he ever figured that out about himself he loves all of his friends very deeply and the instant you met dad you wanted to be his friend and you were which was with drew people to him and all around the world and that was a good fisherman loved to fish as well he should he was a good singer I he and mom sang duets when I was growing up they were fantastic he was an excellent pastor and teacher you know that an amazing husband and father he was a wonderful example he was my personal go-to guy sometimes for advice more times than not for forgiveness but always for love no I know it's selfish but I will miss him every day hello I am Douglas the older brother and most of you know me by Doug because that's how my family always referred to me and still does and but as a grown up I became a Douglas and so you can call me whatever first and foremost I guess I am my father's son and my father is a preacher and it's not easy being a preacher's son it comes freighted with a whole set of expectations that other people maybe don't it's not hard being a preacher's son it's not like being a criminal son or a politician side or somebody that's a little above but being a preacher's son he likes it has that certain onus of being stand to st. son is something else again because everybody knows the preacher of course and everybody oh you guys hey everybody knows Stan Tuesday I was in an airport in Cairo and ran into somebody that said hey are you stand to Saints none I was in a hostel in Amsterdam they had somebody say to saying I know that name Stan - thanks hon I mean it's just people knew Stan - saying so much so that my brother and I flirted with changing our name from - st. - to song and so like or uncle we called ourselves Toussaint for some time and then I think mark still does and and as and then I went to lived in Montreal for a while and my French friends told me that only people from Louisiana say to song so so I went back to being a to st. happily and that's what my dad was and that's what my grandfather wasn't so we are two things together today and that's what my children are and but still you know the preacher thing you know this isn't just being Stan to sing something that's being staying to st. the preacher son you know and again like I said the expectations it can be you know to be really good like Stan or it could be maybe not so good and thankfully I didn't actually get drawn to that side it never occurred to me to be the bad preacher's son and I guess which is a good thing in fact I didn't really do that much wrong and didn't even have that much conflict with my dad the preacher in fact the only like knock-down drag-out fight I can ever remember having with my dad was over my hair length when I was 16 I gradually eked it down into a Prince Valiant pageboy and my dad just one Friday night said that's it we're going to the barber getting that cut off and he told me to get in the car and I didn't want to get in the car and we got in the car we were driving and I said hateful things to him and he just took it but he was enraged up there driving in an enraged fashion and I just find it so deeply ironic that I I reminded him of that as well I had it for such a short time he should have let me keep it but anyway that conflict was seeing past us because actually the haircut was good and I had good hair for a number of years and then you know I got even closer to my dad again when he dropped me off for college because they took me to Tech in Lubbock which is not the end of the earth but you can see it from there and they dropped me off at my dorm which they were under the impression you know no women allowed which you know is silly but so mom didn't come in and dad walked me up the stairs to this ancient old prison like dorm and left me in my room and he hugged me for the first time since I was 8 years old because I remember as he's hugging me that when I was 8 I was trying to be the big boy and I said daddy you don't need to hug or kiss me anymore and he honored that all the way until I was 18 and he hugged me and my dorm room is he abandoned me to Texas Tech University so we were good then and even got better when after college I worked for a year and then went into I just decided to go to Europe and stay there for a while and the last thing he said to me as they were saying he's a teacher I just think he said to me before I got on the plane was that don't be calling home collect so for five months I never called he told me not to so I didn't then I ran into a friend in Paris and she said you need to call your dad he's worried about you I never occurred to me that he'd be worried about me and so I that night called home and dad answered the phone I said dad it's Doug and he said oh I've been so worried about you and I said yeah but I write you guys letters and he goes but we don't even know where you are because the letters take a week to get here and then you're someplace else we never know where you were in fact I haven't said this to your mom but I wonder every night if somebody will just drop you in a swamp somewhere and we'll never hear from you again and it never occurred to me that this might be a concern of theirs that I might well actually I never felt that I could be dropped in a swamp but it was true no one would ever hear from me again you know and it was weird and as I had that moment of mortality maybe for the first time and my dad was selling this I actually thought about my dad too because here my dad and mom they're on the other side of the world and I'm not hearing from them either they can't call me so I don't know where they are or what's happened to them what happened if something happened to my dad my mom thankfully nothing did and we had 35 more years closed happy and saw amazing things and did amazing thing he met most of you and he got to live long enough to meet my beautiful life trend and my truly wonderful children Silvia and Gillian and got to do so much and see so much and touch so many lives and now he's gone and that hurts but the night after he died I was having this Restless tossing and turning fitful sleep and I had a waking dream a dream I was aware was a dream but it was crystal clear and sharp in that way that you get those dreams occasionally that seem like they're from someplace else and I knew in my dream that I was in heaven and I was standing on the side of a parkland and there was a baseball diamond just a pickup game Diamond laid out on this grass and I guess I brought this into my dream because my dad just two days before he went into the hospital for what he was gonna be his last time on this earth had been to a baseball game and so in my dream I'm walking along a pickup baseball game field like the kind of things kids put together you know outside of school and somehow I look like through the trees was a small school and I saw coming towards me my dad young with dark hair and I have never seen my dad young with dark hair he's been gray-haired since I can remember and here he came toward me dark hair and his dark glasses wearing a t-shirt and he was hard and muscular because I remember the mom stories about working their way through seminary where he would dig ditches so he could go to school and so I imagined him hard and muscular and he's coming towards me and he's walking next to his pal Hadden Robinson who also of course recently passed and who they went seminary to get and who they were young fit healthy guys in the two of them are walking towards me and they're walking along this baseline and my dad and Haddon are jostling each other and bumping up against each other and my dad looks down this base line as he passes in front of me and as you all know he had polio since he was 11 years old and he always told me that he had been the fastest boy in his class and that someday when we get to heaven that he would challenge me to a footrace and here's my dad looking down this base line and he's fit and he's healthy and he's happy and he jostles hadn't and he says I'm gonna run I'm gonna race gonna slide into the dust of my dream that's the last I have so thank you for being a part of his life yes it's been the best part I and understand to sink faithfully tot into Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary since 1960 and has pastored for more than 20 years alongside or intermittent with that teaching dr. Tuesday Napoli blended the mix of biblical scholarship with a pastoral heart for both God and God's people started teaching at Northwestern College in 1957 became an instructor in 1960 and then proceeded through the ranks of assistant professor he took a year off to be president of Western Bible Institute and he told me what was that a mistake and he came back in 1969 he went to pastoring Immanuel Baptist Church in Richmond Virginia and then at 73 in 1973 he came back to DTS he became a professor of Bible exposition he was the chairman of the department when I was hired in 1985 and I loved him to this day because he was willing to take a chance on me he served as chairman and then he retired from full-time service in December of 1992 I wanted to live out by the lake he said 1993 he we gave him the title of senior professor emeritus in 1996 we hired him back at Dallas seminary as an adjunct faculty member when they moved back to town and then when he retired at December 31st 2012 for good we gave him the title of senior professor emeritus of Bible exposition which he held until he went home I've always called him chief to his face but mr. precision behind his back when I think of the ministry of dr. stand to Saint I believe it epitomizes a pastoral exegete his exposition is rooted in the judicious handling of the Scriptures in their original languages and the biblical authors argument in its literary context however he would never allow you to be satisfied by staying there he's known for his crisply worded applications that pull back the curtain of his pastoral love for people whether they be students a conference audience and adult Bible Fellowship class a local body of believers that make up the churches he has pastored and addressed these many years when we had DTS think about our beloved prophet colleague and friend a few qualities come to mind first he was careful as we've mentioned in his exposition always text centered in Christ exalting whether on the campus at church or in conferences you never had to worry he would take you deep to the Scriptures second he was always precise in his delivery his enunciation of the words and the clarity of his organization of his material made him easy to follow third he was tenacious in his will he has childhood polio became a catalyst of determination whether defying all obstacles to fish for fish and mountain streams or when fishing for people in his consistent and winsome evangelism fourth doctor to saint was contagious in his humor he was famous for his parrot jokes and favorite expressions as some of you know like the one about the owner who put the parrot in the freezer for cussing and then the parrot asking the owner what did the frozen turkeys say for why he was in there so phone or the parrot in the house warning a burglar that Jesus was watching and ultimately reveals that that was referring to the Rottweiler dogs sitting in the corner he had a bunch and we loved it some of you remember his famous expressions good honk stone the crows star the lizards what in the brown eyed world and he was always telling us about Hinckley Minnesota where the men are men the pansies are flowers in the women well I'll just leave it there 50 was loyal in his marriage how he so loved you Maxine besides the Lord you were the light of his life one of the measurements of ministry integrity is to see how a spouse looks and listens while his or her counterpart is preaching or teaching the scriptures I'm actually been a classy and a radiant compliment to dr. to Saints ministry every time he speaks thank you for your model of loyalty thank you for your lifelong faithful support of our beloved colleague as you joined him here at home or as he took you all over the globe sex doctor to st. was beloved in his travels he was a crowd favorite everywhere he went and enjoyed a lifetime of repeat engagements because event as a young faculty member he introduced me to places like northern Pines where he was always a favorite a word of life from scrutiny screw Lake New York he spoke for us in our DTS Mount Hermon conference but one of the places that he introduced our family and us to was one of his favorites was Horn Creek in Colorado I remember us coming up the week after he was finished and we met at a restaurant in Raton New Mexico at a restaurant and he had bandages on his elbows and I said what happened he said oh I I hit the Ridge seams of the half pipe as I was going down the big water slide of the camp he did that well into his senior years he was fun and finally a friend and mentor was humble in his own spirituality I remember when I came to the seminary my office was placed between his and dr. Pentecost talk about intimidation and I used to pray that the theological and Biblical news would come under the walls and I just wait for it but I remember looking through the crack in his door early morning because he would arrive early and he would be praying he's quietly praying probably for his class and probably over the scriptures never made anything about it but just was a tremendous model and when talking about the passage that's in your bulletin speaking about motivation and life and ministry I'll never forget his message from 2nd Corinthians at T bar him when he was with us for a DTS weekend he made a statement that has haunted me and helped me he said I don't think I've ever done anything with an absolutely pure motive he was honest we're always thinking about how people are thinking about us and whether it comes across or whether we did a good job but his honesty as a senior statesman in spirituality and the scriptures I don't think I've ever done anything with an absolutely set of pure motives on the tribute page on the BTS website dr. to st. verbalized his two priorities which became his counsel to all of us teach him preach the scriptures and love God's people in his last sermon he delivered during Heritage Week one year ago in the fall of 2016 he taught from that great Psalm Psalm 19 any voiced his major thesis if God has spoken there is nothing more important than to listen to what he says and that listening should come with humility grace and submission he believed that stay and model that and by God's grace we should never forget that from our colleagues our staff and faculty and students at Dallas seminary to the family we loved and will always love dr. to st. I'll never forget his final strong hug and can't wait to see him free of those limitations god bless you [Music] like River here's God's perfect peace [Music] in his price increase Oh [Music] every day [Music] stay [Music] genius Hebrew [Music] and [Music] of his blessed hand never never traitors stand [Music] master to Oh hearts of oh my [Music] Ebru [Music] reasoned with [Music] George [Music] - porn or time [Music] we may trust him [Music] us to do hey who trusts him [Music] it's a phone [Music] as he broke best perfect peace and [Music] little did I realize the impact of one man on my life I could still remember the day we first met it was a hot August afternoon that Monday late August 1960 57 years ago I was leaving Moser library as it was then called on the campus of Dallas seminary my mind was whirling over all that was in front of me as I began my second year feeling overwhelmed and way over my head my arms were full of books that I had either purchased from the bookstore or checked out of the library and I was walking toward the steps of the that would lead down from the platform out from the library and up walked this 32 year old man with a serious limp struggling to get up the steps as he was negotiating the steps I walked over and put my books aside and reached down to help him and he thought I wanted to shake his hand so he didn't accept my help but once he got to the top of the steps he stuck out his hand and he shook him shook my hand as he looked me in the eye and said hi I'm Stanley to see I'm from Hinckley Minnesota two thoughts flashed through my head I've never met this man before and I've certainly never heard of Haley Minnesota by the way he named the place you would think it was a part of the Tri Cities in Minnesota Minneapolis st. Paul and Haley I've some time found maps that didn't even have Hinckley on it but he would always go Heatley Hinckley so I got used to that I soon learned that he was the newest faculty member on the campus and had joined the New Testament literature and exegesis department which being translated means he would be teaching Greek and since that was a part of my curriculum that second year I would soon be one of his students not only would I be often sitting and in his class we would become lifelong friends and one day our roles would reverse and he would become a member of a church that I pastor where he would sit and listen to me teach as I had often set to listen to him and he actually looked like he was benefiting from it but I often had my doubts what was it that drew you and me so close to doctor to Saint why was it that that first encounter so long ago was still vivid in my mind why do I find myself so grateful every time I see another picture of him and I have several why is it I am always so grateful for him how could those 57 years of friendship have been for me so enriching so fulfilling so rewarding I have a feeling that my answers will be the same or very similar is yours was it his linguistic intellect his theological scholarship is biblical knowledge his ability to analyze and to understand and to glean so much from God's Word and then to spell it out so simply that even people like you and I could get it well he was certainly right and insightful but it was so much more than that was it his warmth and wit his clever stories his is a choice sense of humor we all loved that about him but it was so much more than that was it his zeal and passion his boundless energy as he continued his active life far beyond his so-called retirement years it was that but it was so much more than that was it his love for Christ and the gospel of the Savior his love for his wife and his sons and his students for over fifty years and our country his love for you and me which were never doubted remember his mantra teach the truth and love the people he said that to me when I left for Massachusetts to begin a ministry far away from everyone on you he said it to me again when I went to California teach the truth and love the people he said it to me when I returned to the seminary it was that but it was so much more I speak for all of us it was so much more than those things let's see if I can unpack so much more it was not only what he was able to do but it was who he was that enraptured us he was always just himself did you notice that in our family we would say he never put on airs he Trevor tried to act like he was somebody he wasn't never once expected to be called doctor often corrected me for doing so he said you keep it up I'm gonna call you dr. swindle it was that okay dr. Tuesday but for me to call him Stan would be like my calling General Douglas MacArthur Doug couldn't do it Cynthia I remember when we invited them over to come to our little tiny apartment on campus so small you had to go outside and change your mind really a little place he was gonna teach his wives fellowship that night and so we thought he needs a good meal so she put together one of her famous dishes sweet-and-sour pork with rice it's fabulous fabulous meal so he started in look down wolfed it down ask for more ok so we got up and gave him a second helping piled it on look down wolfed it down ask for more Cynthia kind of raised her eyebrows like I should have double the menu or the recipe I thought he's gonna take a box lunch with him when he goes to teach at Weis fellowship tell you that guy could shovel it down because he was completely at ease with all of us we could all be at ease when we were around him we never had to put on airs as if we had airs to put on here's another thought he was without guile you noticed that he was without guile amazingly innocent man without deceit I would never knew him to try to trick anyone ever taken advantage of a student no secret life you realize this 57 years I knew him not one scandal not one throughout his years of ministry no skeletons no secrets no surprises to break the hearts of the church no deceptive strategies he held a ministry in highest esteem and if you were trained by him so to you he didn't mess around with that I looked at my ordination council document that I framed in my study at home and and there is his name along with seven or eight others you would know most of them and for two hours I was grilled in preparation for ministry but no one had harder on a life of personal purity than dr. to Sade he said to me on that 12th of May 1963 you hold this calling in highest esteem Chuck you represent Jesus Christ he could say that because he did that I often heard him refer to second Corinthians 5:9 as being his ministry statement remember what it says so whether we are here in the body are away from this body our goal is to please him and then he would say under his breath be pleasing to the Lord it's my definition of success just please the Lord he modeled it beautifully and I might add consistently he had an uncanny ability to keep everything in balance never given to extremes you noticed that with all of that in mind I want to complete my thoughts regarding this man who made such a transforming difference in my life but turning to the ancient wise and timeless words of a prophet named Micah talked about keeping everything in balance Micah asks a question and then answers it he doesn't leave you wondering what the answer is very long what does the Lord require of you he lists several possibilities each one of them increasingly more intense and enormous until he finally gets to ten thousand rivers of oil does God require that and then very quietly adds the statement in Micah 6 and verse 8 do what is right love kindness and walk humbly with your God and what will be the result of that the words have already been used from his pulpit today the result will be a life worth living listen to me for 57 years I watched this man often up close and very personal I said in a classroom of only seven students on one occasion for an entire semester on the letter to second Corinthians one of his favorites I watched him with only a Greek text in his hand not a note not a notebook just a Greek text as all of us came with just the text and one after another we parsed every verb we declined every noun we took apart every piece of syntax as long as time would allow as we worked our way through this I watched him in that class he did what was right he loved kindness even when the student on the other side of him said I'm sorry doctor to say I have a sick baby I wasn't able to prepare he put his hand on him and said that's all right you'll be fine and then we paused and prayed for his sick baby he loved kindness and always want to walk humbly with God I watched it up close in the class of seven years later I watched him in a room of elders as we wrestled with issues at this church and I watched him as he helped guide us through issues that were extremely forney difficult to do to manage and he was hardly taking a second breath led us through that time was beautiful to watch I watched him later when he lost his ability to speak when the stroke struck and he was interrupted of all things a teacher with no voice and I saw him do what was right still love kindness still walk in humility it's beautiful a Washington during his lifelong fallout with polio I learned just today from age 11 on we all watched his as his struggle gave way to the use of a cane and then a walker and finally a scooter and I watched him without one word of complaint from his lips at least I never heard one and I saw him as he sat next to me when we investigated and examined young men being ordained for ministry and I watched him as he would rub his legs having just gotten to the seat where he said it would question the different men across the desk and I heard him say to them what he had said to me back in 63 you hold this ministry in highest esteem do you hear me no one could say it like doctor to say he could see it and I also watched him as he beamed and humbled delight five and a half years ago when we dedicated our pipe organ to him and his wife Maxine as well as to the late dr. Howie Hendricks and his wife Jean he loved this instrument he would whisper in my ear as he wanted me to give a message to our organist tell John he cannot play it too loud so I would tell John you cannot play it too loud so John has learned to play it loud as a result it all stemmed from Stan dr. stand to say for 57 years I've watched one of my heroes do what is right love what is kind and walk humbly with his God do you nobody would say if he were to stand in my place today and by the way he now stands at full height no pain no crunch no Walker no scooter he would put his hand on my shoulder and he would say this I want you to tell everyone there that today is not about me it was about the one who changed my life his name is Jesus I want you to tell them that God loved me so much that He gave His Son for me and his son died for my sins just as he died for your sins he would want me to say and just as I trusted in Jesus you can trust in Jesus and you must believe in him who knows what a difference you can make in someone else's life once the Lord Jesus transforms yours as you trust in him with your whole heart it's called the gospel how doctor to Saint loved the gospel and speaking of your life changing another earlier this week I found a piece that brought tears to my eyes written by a fellow Dallas seminary graduate titled a father's gift the legacy of memories I read it today in honor of a man who modeled this what pictures will my son remember when he comes to the plain granite marker over his father's grave what would my daughter's remember or my wife what pictures will be left behind for them to thumb through in the nostalgic late afternoons of their lives well the pictures strengthen them for the journey or send them hobbling through life crippled I'm resolved to give fewer lectures and send fewer platitudes rolling their way to give less criticism to offer fewer opinions after all where does it say that a father has to voice an opinion on everything or even have an opinion on everything from now on I'll give them pictures they can live by pictures that can comfort them encourage them and keep them warm in my absence because when I'm gone there will only be silence and memories of all I could give to make their lives a little fuller a little richer a little more prepared for the journey ahead of them nothing compares to the gift of remembrance pictures that show they are special and that they are loved pictures that will be there when I am NOT pictures that have within them a Redemption all their own looking back over fifty-seven years of mental pictures little did I realize when we first met the impact that one man would make on my life [Music] before [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] inside [Music] Oh [Music] I'm [Music] to [Music] Oh [Music] the family would like to invite all of you to join us for a reception in the atrium immediately following this meeting they will do their best to greet all of you as best they can in the time that we are together we understand if that reaches a limit and they're under unable to stay through the entire time but you are welcome please come and join them may we pray now unto Him who is able to guard us from stumbling and present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy to the only wise God Our Saviour be glory and Majesty Dominion and power both now and forevermore world without end everyone said amen [Music] [Music]

Channel: StonebriarMusic

Views: 5,216

Rating: 4.7692308 out of 5

Keywords: Stonebriar, Community, Church, Toussaint Memorial

Id: z_iczfxYwiA

Length: 85min 25sec (5125 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 09 2017