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30 July 2003 - "So send I you" - Funeral of Maria Stegen (photos)

Maria is the wife of Ronald Stegen, son of Heino Stegen. She leaves behind her husband, Ronald, and two children.

(Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen)

John 20:21 - 23

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

These words are not just for the 12 disciples, but for all of us.

There was a man dying of cancer in a hospital in Bloemfontein. He asked me to come and see him. I thought how I could comfort him. When I arrived, he said to me, 'We who have cancer are the chosen of the Lord. You do not know how you would die - in an accident, heart attack, etc., but when we hear that we have cancer, we know that our end is at hand, and we must prepare for it. We get time to prepare.' For a long time he spoke to me and comforted me, and I did not have to say much.

There were some other young people who died in a car accident. The car was full of alcohol fumes, with bottles scattered inside. It looked as if they entered eternity drunk. What an awful shock it must be to enter eternity like that! Unprepared!

Jesus said that as the Father sent Him, so He sends us. Are we conscious of this? Do we know what we've been called to, while here on earth? When He had said this, He breathed on them, saying, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' He sends us, but we need His Spirit to do the work. On our own we cannot do it.

We must be Jesus' messengers as He was God's messenger. Once, when He was questioned about His authority, He replied that He did nothing of Himself, but whatever pleases the Father. His life was controlled from above, and so our lives need to be controlled from above. One translator translated v23 that, what you bind on earth has been bound in heaven and what you loose on earth has been loosened already in heaven. This speaks of a life close to God, knowing God's heartbeat. I can say to someone your sins are forgiven, but what does God say? It does not help if God did not say that. We must live in the closest fellowship with God, saying that what He says.

Funeral photos: