"With the Lord"

PASTOR G.A. BATES:
    Often one wonders what it means to have the Lord Jesus Christ present in the time of sorrow in the home. We find that in John’s Gospel we have the record of the visit of the Savior where there were bereaved hearts; and I am confident that Dad would want us to meet today responsively and happily in order that each of us might go from this place to pick up the torch that he has laid down. After all, there is the truth of the baptism for the dead. One drops out of the ranks, and another takes his place. In the resurrection chapter, we are admonished to “Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame,” says Paul.

    It is important for us to realize that 100,000 people die every twenty-four hours; and granted that only ten people mourn the loss of one and the grief lasts but ten days we have the staggering fact that ten million people are sorrowing every day of the calendar year.

    So I would like to read a few verses from the eleventh chapter concerning the visit of our Savior to the two bereft sisters: John 11:20-27, 31, 32.

    Quite interesting, these two sisters owned Jesus Christ as the Lord of Life and believed in the name of our lovely Savior; and in a moment each of us will have the privilege of speaking concerning Him, who to each of us is precious. Now shall we bow together in prayer.

    Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that we meet today in the name of our lovely Savior, knowing that He has abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. We thank Thee for the wondrous privileges that we have in Christ Jesus, and we pray that we may recognize all the provisions that are found in Him. We are mindful that He was willing to become poor, very poor, that we through His poverty might become very rich; and we thank Thee for the heritage that we have today in Christ. We pray that Thou wilt help us to realize that He was willing to come from the virgin’s womb with a body that had the capacity to die, but did not have the germ of death in the nature such as we have.  We are mindful that the transmissive poison of Adam has coursed through the veins of the human family, and today we, too, face the fact that we need a Savior Who has conquered death; and we thank Thee that Dad readily owned his sinfulness and was ready to own Christ as his all-sufficiency. And we thank Thee for what we have in the Savior today. We thank Thee that heaven is increasingly precious because another whom we love is in the presence of One whom he dearly loved. Hear us when we pray in the peerless name of One who loved us unto death and rose for our justification and who is coming soon. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

    We will not be having any music today, but there will be hymns read which were precious to Dad and to each of us. So in this order: one of his grandsons, Paul Leonard, will speak; and then a grandson by marriage, Kenneth Engle; then Pastor Romig; and then an esteemed friend, Brother Frank Ratajeski; and for those of you who do not know me, I am a son-in-law vitally enriched by the one in whose memory we meet today.

PAUL E. LEONARD:
    Some time ago, in anticipation of his home going, Granddad wrote a personal letter with instructions penciled across the top that it was to be read at his funeral. I should like to read that message from him at this time.

    “E.G. Haines, born December 7th, 1871; came to the United States of America in November 1910; lived in Cincinnati until May 1918; sent by my employers to help manage the Canonsburg Steel and Iron Works; retired December 1945.

    I have noticed when attending funerals that there is always mention made of some good deeds and sayings of the deceased person. Well, perhaps not always, as occasionally the preacher is not familiar with the deceased or any of the family, so he then makes a plain statement of the birth, age, associations and surviving relatives. I don’t want anyone to remember and record anything which is supposed to be commendable, that may happen to come into their minds or be reported to the preacher at my funeral.

    I report myself that somewhere about 1890 I became a professed Christian and most of my activities since then, outside of course my office hours, have been devoted to fellowship with other Christians, either in places of worship or visitation and the home.

    God blessed me with a good Christian partner and three daughters. One daughter, Mary, at the age of 16 went to be with Christ. The other two, Avril and Freda, have been a constant source of joy to me as they have been devoted to Christ, each having good husbands each seeking to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If their children grow up to be as earnest Christians as they are, and I live to see the results of their efforts to lead them to Christ and His service, I will be 100% satisfied.

    Some folk know me better than others and know my failures and limitations. I hope they will forgive me for what they believe or know of my unfaithfulness to my Lord, the same as He has forgiven me, and learn from my failures to avoid them in their own lives. To each of the listeners of this record I would say, “the most important person in the whole universe of God is His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the next is you. Because He is either your Savior or your Judge, after death it will be you and He. Either you will meet Him as your Savior or your Judge, condemned for not having accepted Him as your Savior from your sins. Don’t be satisfied to just belong to a church. Be sure you belong to Him, to Christ, for He said, “My sheep hear my voice and follow me and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

    In the front of a hymnbook of Granddad’s, selections from which he liked to read each day, are written the following words, “E.G.H.”
    “God did not create us to mourn.” This was his attitude and in keeping with it I would like to simply read a few verses from two of his favorite hymns, both found in this book.

MR. KENNETH ENGLE:
    We read in Mark the fourteenth chapter concerning the Lord Jesus: Mark 14:3-8

    Just a week ago, Granddaddy and I were looking at these verses, especially the verse “She hath done what she could.” We were thinking that this woman was a believer. The Lord Jesus had spoken in the chapter before this about the fact that He was going to the cross and was going to rise again the third day. The disciples had been there, but they hadn’t listened; they hadn’t heard it, but this woman had believed. She had come there and anointed the Lord. So the Lord Jesus said of her, “She hath done what she could.” I am sure as we look back today that Granddaddy has done what he could. And I am sure of those to whom the Lord can say that, He will also say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

    Then on the last day of the year, Saturday, December 31st, we took a little book that has a number of verses in it for each day of the year. And these were the verses we read. They fit in with the end of the year and also the end of life. “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.” Another verse in the set of verses we were looking at in THE DAILY LIGHT: “This God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death.”

PASTOR ROMIG:
    I did not happen to be Brother Haines’ pastor. I might better say he was mine. Because of a number of needs, I felt the Lord earlier this fall would have me enter upon a series of messages in the church seeking to exalt the Lord Jesus. After that decision, and beginning study on it, I received this interesting letter from Brother Haines. He knew his place; he knew the relationship of pastor to people; and it is noticeable in the letter which was written  October 31st: “Dear Brother in Christ, I have for the past few weeks been thinking of the past two communion services I have attended and your sermons before the breaking of bread, and how you made us feel our utter unworthiness in being objects of God’s grace. Pardon my being so bold as to ask you to take for your subject the next time, ‘Jesus Himself Drew Near.’” That is taken from the 24th Chapter of Luke. Luke 24:13-17, 26-32.

    Then speaking concerning this portion, he said, “The Lord Jesus drew them out to express their thoughts. Only three days before He had been the Lamb of God, crucified, to take away the sins of the world, to shed his precious blood to keep them clean, and eventually along with all the redeemed to present to himself the church without blemish. He loved to think they were talking about Himself; He wanted their confidence. He said in answer, ‘Ought not Christ to have suffered and to enter into his glory?’” and on and on about a number of other things. He said, “You know how to make these things live for the congregation. Sincerely, Love in Christ, Ernest.”

    Later I asked him “did you pass on to me an outline you found elsewhere, or were those your own thoughts?” He said, “Those were my own.”

    Then only Sunday, learning that he was failing rapidly, I went down to visit. The Lord laid on my heart two verses of Scripture in the 147th Psalm, verses 3 and 4.
      verse 3. “He healeth the broken heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
      verse 4. “He telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by their names.”

    A pastor friend of mine, several years ago, spoke on this verse under the title, “The God of Stars and Broken Hearts”: The God who made the stars, put them in their places, timed them, set them in motion, and then controlled their orbits and their motions, even with the allowance for stopping the sun for a day in order that one of his servants might finish a task in battle. And then another heartsick child of God, being ill, when promised that he would be recovered, asked for a sign; and Hezekiah asked not that the sun might go down ten degrees but that it might go backwards ten degrees. And scientists to this day demonstrate the fact, without the knowledge of the Bible, that the universe is just that much out of time. That same God who put the stars in the Heavens and controls their movements is also the God who loves us, who made us, and of whom it is said the very hairs of our heads are numbered; He watches the sparrows, and though they are so plentiful, not one of them can fall to the ground without His knowledge. He is interested in the details; He is interested in our cares, our needs. The same One who came here in the person of Jesus Christ, laid down His life, shed His blood as a sacrifice, paying for our sins, in order that we, by simple faith, might be restored to His fellowship.

    Brother Haines knew the Lord. He loved the Lord. He loved to talk of the Lord, and it was refreshing just to hear him pray. As one has said, “We have lost a great intercessor.” We’ll miss him, but we’ll thank God for the privilege of this time.

MR. FRANK RATAJESKI:
    There is a little verse in the Book of Philemon which I want to read as the remarks I have to make are better contained there than in any other. Philemon, verses 4-6
    verse 4. “I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers.”
    verse 5. “Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou has toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints.”
    verse 6. “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

    I am going to speak of my relationship with Brother Haines in sort of a personal way. I was privileged to know him rather intimately, and I think the first time we met we crossed swords. He was a man with convictions, and he lived them; and I couldn’t help but admire a man like that. The things that we found a difference of opinion on, we both acknowledged were personal persuasions, and we resolved all our difficulties by going to the Bible. If he was able to present the proposition and substantiate it by the Word of God, I said, “That’s enough, Brother Haines.” And if I was able to do the same, here was a man who had a heart for the Word of God, and would change his behavior subsequently if you could show him it was in the Bible. I love an open-minded man; I think that is why Brother Ernest appealed to me so much.

    In connection with the function of “the brethren”, so called, he mentioned this one particular fact. He said that he wasn’t able to understand how we could obey the Word of God and still be at odds with one another. And he referred to the time when he went West with his wife. I think at the time she was arthritic and in a great deal of pain and trouble, and he used the wheelchair to carry her about. He loved his wife dearly, you could see that, and he administered to her in a very affectionate way. On the Lord’s Day, he wheeled her some distance from his car to a church, and a leader of the brethren was reluctant to acknowledge him as a Christian. He never got over telling me about that.

    Dear to my heart is the truth of the unity in the Body of Christ, and the fact that Christ is the head of His church and not some pastor or group of brethren. And I said to brother Haines, “If that’s your feeling, why don’t you nail your colors up and admit that Christ is the head of all these arrangements and that we are all brethren?” then he said, “I do that as much as I am able.” “Well,” I said, “You have just got an ally.” And from that day on it seemed like a unity came into our experience, and we as brethren enjoyed meeting and writing and corresponding with brethren also of the same body and the same Head as we.

    There were some outstanding things about Brother Haines, and I think I should make mention of them. One of those was his consistency. I don’t know of a man in my experience whom you could depend on to the same extent as he. He was always available in case there was a need, or there was pastoral work to be done, or an indication that someone was in need of a visit or a word of encouragement; immediately a letter was dispatched marked, “Ernest G.” In fact, we had a kind of a saying around the house (we got to know our brother so well) when one of us got out of hand, the rest of the family would turn on us and say, “We’ll have brother Ernest write you a letter.” He had an interesting way of settling controversies. I think he was a gift from God in the sense of the pastoral as he could administer to your need and was very practical about it. That is one thing that was characteristic of him. He had a way of feeling you out and you didn’t really know you were being administered to many times because it happened in such a casual way, and he didn’t want any credit. I thought that was remarkable. He enriched my life.

    At home, he often came and refreshed us. Like Onesiphorus, in Scriptures, “He oft refreshed me.” I can say that of our brother. I recall many times when he gave thanks, there seemed to be such a simplicity about it. He talked to the Lord just like he talked to me, He knew the Lord intimately. There was a touch about him that was rather remarkable. I think you could transplant him in any group or segment of society and he would be at home. I think that touch came from Christ. He was not a pretentious man, but he had some interesting ways about him. I didn’t agree with everything he said, and I didn’t agree with everything he did. And I think he would admire me for saying that today, but who am I, and who are you, to judge the Lord’s servants? I think one of the things that our brother taught me was that it doesn’t matter what I think, or what you think, what other people think but what the Lord thinks, because every last one of us shall give an account of himself to God. One of the nicest things about Brother Haines which I enjoyed most of all was the fact that he was instant in season and out of season in bringing the Word of God to bear on the individual life. It didn’t matter to whom you introduced him, it was just a matter of seconds before he was probing around to see if their relationship with Christ was right or not. He was a good fisherman and seemed to have been led by the Spirit in such a way.

    He was an elderly man and had a factual way about him, but at the same time he meant business, and you knew he meant business. Many a time I heard him, or was in the company of those to whom he preached, and without fail he asked the question: “Do you appreciate the fact that this wonderful provision of God was given for your blessing and for your benefit? Do you know that you are in such a state by nature that you will never be in heaven, you’ll never know the grace of Christ or His joy or His strength until you own Him as your Savior?” The individual would be gracious to acknowledge that he didn’t know the Savior or that he did know the Savior. There is one thing about Brother Haines that I think was outstanding. He wasn’t alarmed at all about people if they refused the offer of mercy through Christ. He came and discharged his message. He gave his testimony day by day and whatever the reaction was he left with the Lord.

    Brothers and sisters I think you ought to take courage from the fact that our brother lived so. He has demonstrated by the fruit of his life the effects of an indwelling Spirit from God. Who can question that, and that is its own testimony.
    One fact was evident that he was loved by the Lord and he really served Him. And if he did anything in my life, he encouraged me to do the same.

PASTOR G.A. BATES:
    In thinking of a verse that would describe Dad, I could not help but think of the verse, “So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12. Significant is the fact that he was interested in mathematics and was very eager to acquaint himself and be efficient in the use of figures. From a lad to his closing days on earth, he was conscious of the need to be taught. It is interesting to observe this little word “so.” “So teach us to number our days.” There are some things that are indefinable, and we have to state: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son;” “So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” This is possible only as we seek to be thorough. In Jeremiah 21:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

    The remarks up to this moment have indicated the application of a life disciplined in order that he might know the Lord Jesus more intimately. Queen Elizabeth had a private secretary named Sir Thomas Smith who some months before his death made this statement, “That it was a great pity men know not to what end they were born into this world, until they were ready to go out of it.” Well, you can be a secretary to the Queen of England and wake up too late to be thorough; but significant is the fact that in E.G. Haine’s youth there was a disposition to be taught in order that he might apply his heart to wisdom.

    I was interested to observe that Dad Haines lived 32,530 days; and in all those days he did just simple things. He got up, he knew his morning ablutions, he ate his breakfast and there was a regular time for the study of the Word and prayer. He was off to the office earlier than others so that he might set a good example and he lived these days in this fashion. It is amazing when you realize the accumulation of 32,530 days and the fact that if he used one day wisely, then the days become an accumulation of blessing and power so that the impact of a life is left in your experience and mine.

    Chronologists tell us that in the three and one-half years of ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on the earth, only 61 days are recorded; and of those 61 days three had to do definitely with his ministering to grief-stricken hearts and showing His power over death. I thrill to reflect upon the power of our lovely Savior. Power belongs to God, and in Him, and in Him alone, are the issues of life. I have often been impressed as I have read concerning great men. While many of them are defiant of the God who has given them breath, yet there is a very succinct statement in the Scripture, which confronts them, “Sin has reigned in death.” So all your years can be years of blasphemy and secularism of faith, but at the end of life’s sojourn, sin has reigned in death. If you do not know the One who has conquered death you are of all men not only most miserable, but most pitiful, you are powerless, you are subject to judgment.

    Let us look at the three days that our Savior spent on earth with relationship to this matter of death. The first record is found in Luke 8, verses 40 through 56; and the story is known to all of us how Jairus had a lovely little daughter only twelve years of age. She was grievously ill, and critical, and the Lord Jesus came into the home at the time of her death. Jairus’ name means “he will give light.” When the Savior walked inot this home, He and He alone could provide the light in the presence of death. Remember that Jesus Christ had abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. So whether it be at Jairus’ home and the experience of his family, or whether it be in your life or mine, He has light for the experience of each of us. Taking this precious little girl by the hand, He called her by name. I love to think how God is the God of individuals and He cares for each of us. Remember our God is an amazing God. There are no two flowers alike. Look at all these lovely expressions of interest and sympathy. No two flowers alike, no two persons have the same fingerprints, not even two snowflakes are alike. And if this is so in God’s creation, then I am confident that he knew E.G. Haines, and He knows each of us who has entered into the shepherd care of One who found us in our sins.

    The second day as recorded in Scripture is found in Luke, Chapter 7, verses 11 through 17. In this instance, the funeral procession was moving toward the cemetery. Here was a lonely woman, her only son dead, and his body about to be buried. When the Savior stopped the funeral procession, He said this, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” And he that was dead sat up. This word “sat up” is a medical term. It was used only one other time and relates to the instance in Peter’s life when he said, “Tabitha, arise,” and she opened her eyes and when she saw Peter, she sat up. I love to think of the fact that our Savior could say to a dead body, “Young man, arise.” Where did this young man come from? Already he had left his body hours before and though the spirit was out of this earth’s orbit and interest, yet the Savior could simply say, “Young man, arise.” He sat up! You know the other day Dad Haines got tired of ‘time’, and, possessor of eternal life, he thought he would just enter more fully into eternity. So we have this lovely statement of the Savior coming into dad’s room and saying, “Arise, son, come home.” Again we see the individual relationship of the Savior to His own.

    The third is in the setting which I read earlier, of how a beloved brother had died, was buried, decomposition had already set in, and the sisters faced this fact very realistically. The Savior was informed of the fact that Lazarus was sick unto death, and unlike us, for when we receive a cable or a long distance call, we are given to much activity, the Savior purposely delayed in order that He might make possible the impact of His power upon life. I wonder if you realize today that it was the resurrection of Lazarus that brought about His crucifixion from the human viewpoint. Remember that when He walked out to the cemetery, He simply said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Had He not spoken his name, the cemetery would have been empty. It was this tremendous expression of power which created such hostility that brought about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.

    I want you to notice that of these 61 days, three days were spent specifically in raising the dead: Jairus’ daughter, the young man, only son of the widow, and then in the experience of Lazarus. But more days were related to this fact, for you recall when He was informed, He said to His disciples, “We will tarry.” That was one day. Then they made the trip, and then on the day that they were in Bethany with the sisters they went out to the cemetery, so approximately five days out of the 61 recorded experiences of our Savior expressed His interest in people who are bereft of loved ones. In this third-day experience, it indicates to me His ability to provide for the body. Are you aware that when Dad took the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior, his body was sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption? There is a vast difference between the Grecian concept of immortality, which is very nebulous and intangible, and the Hebrew concept of immortality that had to do with the resurrection of the body. So, when Dad took the Lord Jesus as his Savior, the Holy Spirit sealed his body until the day of redemption, and I would like to share in a very practical way the meaning of this word “seal.” Just like a cattle rancher goes out on horseback and lassoes a steer, throws it to the ground and puts a hot brand denoting ownership, so, when we trust Christ as our Personal Savior, we have the mark indicating the ownership of God. As Spurgeon so often said, “If my body becomes a carnival of worms,” there is no problem because God has already indicated that He owns the body. The second concept is that as you go to a Notary Public to receive an embossed seal on a document indicating authority, so God indicates His authority and power over the body. The third concept comes out of the experience of the railroad. When a boxcar is loaded and a leaded seal is placed upon the door, the railroad provides detectives all along the way so that the cargo will reach its destination. How wonderful to know that while Dad’s body will be placed up there on the hill in a little while, that’s no problem, because God has sealed this body, indicating ownership, indicating authority. There is the assurance that while each of us will miss him dearly, yet we will be in his company someday, sooner possibly than we realize. And this is most wonderful!

    But, dear heart, if you are here in unbelief, you may be saying “How are the dead raised?” Paul’s word to you must simply state, foolish one, a kernel of corn left on the shelf just shrivels because it is out of the scheme of things, but place it in the ground and it will die. Through the processes of death, burial, and resurrection, it will come forth to reproduce itself in its’ likeness. There is no one living today who can tell you how one kernel of corn can produce stalk and cob and kernel and tassil and silk and leaves, and yet you and I eat cornbread. Scientists tell us that our bodies are changed every seven years, so just divide your age by seven and that is how many bodies you’ve had here on earth. Is it any problem then, to realize that Christ is the first fruits of them that slept and we who are Christ’s at His coming? You know, when you are born again, you have a birth certificate, and someday it will be proven that we are the children of God.

    I love to watch a creature called a caterpillar, from which we get our ideas of traction. It comes lazily and yet definitely over the surface of the earth. Suddenly it moves into a cocoon, and then emerges from this chrysalis state and soars around in another sphere, from which we get our ideas of aviation. Even its diet is changed and it enjoys the nectar of flowers. If God can take a caterpillar and bring it out of a chrysalis state and make it a butterfly, He can take Dad and myself and all the rest of us and make us like His lovely Son.

    Isn’t that a wonderful hope? It thrills my soul today that we can meet here in the name of our Savior and just rejoice because the one whom we love, and who is now with the Lord, has enriched our lives greatly. These are the days that are most important, days where we teach our hearts and where we want to apply our hearts to wisdom. Do you want to be wise like Dad was? Do you want to have a heritage such as he knows? Well, then, think and act like he. So teach us to number our days, his, 32,530, and apply our hearts to wisdom.

    Now I think it would be a lovely way to close this time of fellowship by asking our brother Ratajeski to read the hymn that Dad called out Sunday before Christmas about gazing on the face of the Savior.

PASTOR G.A. BATES
    Our Father, we thank Thee for the consciousness of  faith in Jesus Christ. We realize that unto us who believe He is precious there is the resulting preciousness. We thank Thee that Thou hast made us meet to become partakers of the inheritance of the saints in life. As we move up on the hill in a moment to place this sealed body, sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption, may we be conscious that even now it means to be absent from the body, present with the Lord. Though our finite minds cannot grasp what it means for Dad and Mother and Mary to be together and these whom they dearly loved and who preceded them, yet we do thank Thee that in the sure and certain hope we move toward that city whose builder and maker is God. So we bask in the hope of our calling. Granted that there be someone here without the Savior, may they trust Him now ere they meet Him someday as Judge. And so we thank Thee for the consciousness of Thy love, for the grace of the Lord Jesus, for the office work of the Holy Spirit, and for the fact that together we could think upon Him whom we love and in whose name we pray, Amen.