A Lifetime of Receiving His Kingdom

Funeral of Rosetta Petersen

August 18, 2015

Matthew 6:33

A Lifetime of Receiving His Kingdom

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

In the springtime of 1935 a young lady in Wilton, Iowa, received words from her pastor that encouraged her for the rest of her life.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

These words spoken by Christ Jesus called Rosetta to seek and receive His kingdom and His righteousness. And she promptly did so. She received Christ's kingdom through His kingly gifts, more precious than gold or frankincense or myrrh; she received the Lord's true body and blood for the forgiveness of her sins.

And for the rest of her life, even when she was unable to come to God's house, she sought and received the gifts of His kingdom, His word, body, and blood. These divine gifts made Rosetta righteous in her Savior's sight.

This is why she insisted on putting her time at church and Sunday school on the record. She wanted this written down and remembered so that her children and grandchildren, whom she dearly loved, and all those who knew and cherished her, would know why she is still alive. Church and Sunday school, both as a girl and a grown woman, is where she gathered with fellow hungry sinners and was fed with the bread of life. Jesus said,

“I am the bread of life. No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.” (John 6:35)

Our perfect Savior-King used bread to describe Himself. Exactly right! Man cannot live without bread, without food; sinners cannot survive without Jesus. Rosetta appreciated a good bread, a good meal. It was rare to leave her table hungry. She loved food, but she cherished and adored the Bread of Life. And so she went to church and received His kingdom and His righteousness, as she heard Christ's words voiced by her pastors:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26)

One drop of Christ's blood is valuable. If the I-74 bridge was packed with 18-wheelers in both directions, each trailer filled with gold, what would you do? You'd take a different bridge, because a bridge jammed with gold won't get you anywhere. One drop of Christ's holy precious blood fills sinners with His kingdom and His righteousness. How many drops, how many cups, of His priceless blood did Christ pour into Rosetta's mouth over the years? How many words did Christ speak into Rosetta's ears over her almost 95 years? How much? Her cup runneth over.

Let us encourage each other with the holy promise of Christ that this beloved saint received 80 years ago. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness by going to where He laid down His life for you. Seek ye first His cross where He shed His blood for the sin of the world and seek ye first His body and blood shed for your sin.

Rosetta received His kingdom and righteousness. And she had many gifts added to her as well. Her marriage. Her family. Her fellow believers. And a piano. 53 Christmases ago Ed bought her a piano. (You can now see that very piano upstairs.) It would have been their 20th Christmas together as man and wife. I wonder what the first song played on that piano was. Maybe one of you remembers. For a lifetime that piano was used to bring the words of Christ through song into their home.

And for all eternity her King, who rules by dying like a little lamb, will receive the song of the sainted choir:

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! . . . To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:12-13)

Rosetta has joined the eternal choir. Her voice will never diminish because His kingdom and His righteousness will endure forever.

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. Alleluia! Amen!