I watched Whitney Houston’s funeral on Saturday afternoon. I usually do not get caught up in celebrity stuff, but I could NOT pull myself away from watching her funeral.
Amidst the sorrow, pity and perhaps anger of Whitney’s death, her funeral ultimately placed the focus on God.
Pastor Marvin Winans preached the Eulogy at the service. When he got up to preach, he commented that Whitney’s funeral took the world to church!
He was so right, we will never know how many people searching for life meaning were won over to the Lord simply by watching a celebrity’s funeral.
I sat in utter amazement as Pastor Winans read Matthew 6:31-33. 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (NLT)
Scripture being read on national TV? I was waiting for the signal to go out!(LOL!)
Pastor Winans titled his message, “Prioritize” and summed the passage (Matthew 6:31-33) up this way:
“The devil wants to use your circumstance against you by making you anxious when things don’t happen on your timetable. Jesus is saying I don’t want you to become anxious about life. I don’t want you to feel that life has happened without purpose. God works all things after the council of his own will. You are not a mistake. You are not a mishap. God had a purpose before he ever created a person.”
Pastor Winans only mentioned Whitney’s name once during the eulogy. He simply mentioned that we all knew that she had left too soon. Many people wondered why he wasn’t talking about her.
Well, in all honesty, Whitney’s time on this side of life is over. His message was for the living. However, I think he did talk about her without talking about her.
He mentioned that our life and talents are God’s gift to us and how we live our lives is our gift to God. (Wow!)
He also made the comment that sometimes we are “believer’s behaving badly”. How true. We all fall under that category and as such can get off our proverbial high horses and stop looking down on Whitney for her life struggles. We all fall short of the Glory of God.
Pastor Winans summed up his sermon with these words: “I want us to recognize that our faith in God is not something that we attach to the end of our lives, but that we must prioritize. You make your decision based on your faith. You walk according to what you believe. You can never say yes to God and have God make you a stranger.”
Amen.
My prayer is that people everywhere PRIORITIZE! How miraculous would our world be if we ALL sought out the Kingdom of God and its righteousness FIRST?
I really did like the topic prioritize. It speaks loudly when you really think about the meaning of the word. When God is first in your life, everything else will fall into place.
Thanks for posting this. Living in Germany, I couldn't view the funeral.
I loved the sermon and the whole service had me feeling like it was Sunday morning. You're so right, we'll never know how many people who never step foot into a church came to God that day.
“Scripture being read on national TV? I was waiting for the signal to go out!” Yes, so true!! I also watched every second and I was moved by it all. Felt like I was at church.
PS – Love your blog! Just discovered it and added your button to my blog. CUTE!